I often work with clients in an area that gets very little love, yet is critical for your website: Your own site's search function. We love to talk about Google and search engine optimization, but most of us spend almost no time optimizing our own site search. So few companies work on this capability that we are in danger of teaching visitors not to even bother using our site search. That's bad, because their alternative is to go back to Google and find someone else's site. One of the things that kills us over website search is that if we ask our customers what is wrong, they are likely to give us answers that don't help us. We must dig deeper than that, because if you really expect to optimize your marketing results, you can't ignore something this important.
To benefit from optimal search engine rankings (increased visibility, higher traffic, and improved sales), many effective tactics exist. If you incorporate these strategies into your websites as you build and maintain them, your business stands the best chance of SEO dominance over the competition.Read on to learn how businesses use SEO to maximize their impact in their industries and boost the bottom line....
Every now and then we get a call from a prospect who seems to want to try to talk themselves out of buying SEO. We call them "Yeah, Butters." And if you've been following this series, you understand why.One of the common objections we hear is, "But we already rank for our company name, so why do I need SEO?"There are a couple dynamics at play here. One, you're probably seeing personalized results, not necessarily what the rest of the world sees. And two, because... and this is important here... UNLESS YOU'RE A WELL-KNOWN BRAND, NOBODY IS SEARCHING FOR YOUR COMPANY...
If you are a marketer, you can't ignore differentiation. Differentiation is not just about a difference from the competition--it's a difference that your customers care about. Without some kind of differentiation, marketers don't have much to talk about. And talk they do, every kind of advertising is based on some kind of marketing message--most about differentiation. But how does the Internet change the way marketers discuss differentiation? Does the Internet allow more differentiation? Read on....
There are two types of writers:Those who write and produce masterpiecesThose who write to produce masterpiecesThe difference between the two is that the first one is a better writer than the second....
Search engines consider hundreds of factors to determine search engine rankings. Many of these factors are related to a website's content, such as its text and titles, or to the authenticity of the site itself. Several years ago, Google announced yet another consideration regarding ranking; the speed with which site visitors can view the pages....
At the end of the day, both the client and the SEO bear responsibility for the success of any campaign.
In my experience, grocery stores are one of the most frustrating places I go. I really try to avoid going at all costs. Why? Because when I go, I'm usually looking for unusual ingredients for something special my wife is planning to make. She sends me there for things like ground red pepper, evaporated chicken broth, rare beans or chopped green chiles.If I were going there for some milk, then no problem, because I know they always put the milk in the back corner of the store. But when I (the non-frequent grocery store user) go for unusual items, I...
I've always said that SEO is really about baby steps. While there are almost always some easy big wins when dealing with a site's architecture, for the most part, successful SEO is a combination of hundreds of different things.On algorithmic signals alone, there are over 200 that factor into how a page ranks. That number may or may not include local and mobile signals. Then add on top of that usability and conversion optimization, you're easily looking at several hundred individual issues that can, and often do, effect how your site performs against your competitors.Can you optimize for all of...
The recent news of an SEO getting sued for lack of results got me thinking about the dynamic that SEOs and their clients need to have in order for any web marketing campaign to be successful. Unlike many other industries, the success of SEO relies heavily on the client themselves....
In my efforts to help businesses improve the conversion rates on their websites, I hear objections ALL the time. Behind the objections, I have observed fear (about how the changes will perform), offense (because they think I'm implying their work isn't up to snuff) and procrastination (because they want to avoid the scary world of testing).A few factors that I've seen contribute to this include:> Stakeholder's opinions about what will work best for a particular site or page within a site are usually strongly held, whether it's because it's what they like themselves or what they believe as a professional.> ...
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