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Improving Your Current SEO Tactics

Learn valuable tips from 9 SEO professionals on how to get found in search engines and improve your SEO techniques. This session covers topics such as domain names, web presence consolidation, trust development, paid search relevance, attracting local visitors, social media utilization, great website copy, and diversified link building.

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Improving Your Current SEO Tactics

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  1. Improving Your Current SEO Tactics Anita Campbell Editor, Small Business Trends http://smallbiztrends.com Twitter: @smallbiztrends

  2. Agenda • Why we’re here today • Anita’s background • Tips from 9 SEO Professionals on “Getting Found in the Search Engines and Improving Your SEO Techniques

  3. Is This Your Business Online?

  4. About Your Speaker …

  5. About Anita Campbell … • Corporate experience for nearly 2 decades: • Culminating in CEO of a tech unit of Bell & Howell • Founded Small Business Trends LLC in 2003 • Online community touching 300,000 small businesspeople monthly • Network of 75+ Small Business Experts sharing advice • Live, eat, breathe the strategies and techniques for helping business owners/managers be successful • Sharing advice to improve your business is what we do!

  6. Poll …

  7. Question: Which of the following techniques do you currently use for online visibility in your business? (Check all that apply) • Search engine optimization services (SEO) • Search engine ads (Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Ads) • Our company blog • Online yellow pages, such as SuperPages.com • Listings in places such as Business.com, Google Local • Social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter • Email marketing • Online press releases • Banner ads, sponsorships • Guest posting on 3rd party blogs; or article marketing • None of the above

  8. Poll Results…

  9. 10 Ways to Improve your Current SEO Tactics …

  10. 1. Start with a Good Domain Name • According to Aaron Wall, SEOBook.com, a big mistake: not investing in a good domain name • Get a descriptive domain name • Search engines reward “exact match” for keywords and/or brand. Humans like them, too • May pay a premium price, but thereafter the renewal costs same as a less descriptive domain • You spend less to market & brand descriptive URLs • Dot-com preferred • Shorter the better; easy to spell and remember

  11. 2. Consolidate your Web Presence… Per Aaron Wall, SEOBook.com, another mistake: putting a blog and other sites on different URLs Better to consolidate under one domain Trust, reputation, link equity accumulates faster One large site where you focus all your efforts, is better than dividing efforts among multiple domains (Blogspot.com, etc.) “One large site is better than 3 small sites”

  12. 3. Develop Trust… Says Matt McGee of SmallBusinessSEM.com: Trust is #1 SEO Ranking Factor. To develop trust: Focus on visitors – earn trust of site visitors and search engines will follow suit Consistently share great content Establish yourself as expert Create excellent content that people will want to link to and share Keep a long-term focus “Tricks” and shortcuts don't create trust

  13. 4. Relevance is Key in Paid Search Match keywords, ad copy and landing pages. Keywords in ad copy will boost click-through rates – as much as 50% better Landing pages that deliver the promise of the ad will boost conversion rates. • Per Robert Brady, RighteousMarketing.com, for paid search, be RELEVANT to convert visitors to customers Better conversion rates mean better bottom lines

  14. 5. To Attract Local Visitors… Says Vedran Tomic of SEORabbit.com: Make sure your website includes words your customers use to describe your products or services. If you have a service geographic area, describe in detail.  Get Links From local businesses, local industry associations and local suppliers Create listings in “local” section of all major search engines and most Internet Yellow Page sites. Describe and categorize your business correctly Encourage customers to review your business

  15. 6. Use Social Media… Says Tamar Weinberg of Techipedia.com, social media sites are trusted:  This means search engines may rank these pages higher than other destinations on the 'net Create profiles on these sites Use them regularly so that there is fresh content Fresh content means search engines will visit often!

  16. 7. Invest in Great Copy on Sites… Says Marty Lamers of Articulayers.com: Include your targeted keyphrase in your page title. Use variations, like plurals or even synonyms in headers. Don’t repeat the targeted keyphrase too often Create stronger content versus increasing the density of targeted keywords. Increasing keyword density tends to read poorly Can invite over-optimization filters. Write for users first, not search engines. Keywords will ALWAYS take a back seat to making a connection with your target audience.

  17. 8. Don’t Put All Link-Building Eggs in One Basket … Says Will Spencer of MemeBridge.com: Links are crucial and link diversity is becoming increasingly important. Don't fall in love with one link building technique and exclude all others. A broad strategy will be the winning strategy for the next few years: link baiting blogger outreach guest blogging article marketing niche directory submission

  18. 9. Take a Big Picture Approach to Link Building Campaigns… Says Debra Mastaler of LinkSpiel.com: Understand your market and demographic, so you know where and how to promote your content. Survey your customers and watch popular news outlets for trends/ideas to create linkable content. Make it EASY to link to your branded content. Develop a presence on high traffic sites: YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, more Targeted niche sites (industry associations, blog and forums) Today’s Web is flooded with mediocre content; competition for attention is fierce: Focus on promoting your site and becoming "go-to" source.

  19. 10. Have a Strong Technical Foundation Says Diane Vigil of DianeV.com: Choose a great Web host with 24/7 phone support. Make sure you own your website and domain name Too often in hands of outside IT consultant Site backups are vital Insure your domain name resolves to www.site.com or site.com -- not both. Pay attention to your website's security. Penalties and reputation harm for loss of customer data Use secure FTP (SFTP) to upload so that you're not passing your password in plain text across the Web.

  20. Working With Outside SEO Providers SEO is increasingly valuable, so make it a key part of your marketing mix It is not voodoo But doing SEO well takes learning and skill Value that skill set when hiring SEO service providers; focus on the value of results, not price Educate yourself; the more you know, the better your interaction with SEO service providers Apply business principles to your SEO: As an ethical businessperson, insist on white hat tactics But do not be timid. Compete hard

  21. Resources and Reading List… SEO Tools:http://tools.seobook.com Bloggers Guide to SEO:http://www.seobook.com/bloggers Why Trust Matters and How to Earn It: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/trust/1107/ Local Business Listing Optimization Guide: http://www.seorabbit.com/optimizing-for-google-maps 5 Quick Ways to Improve Facebook SEO:http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/03/5-quick-ways-to-improve-your-facebook-seo.html SEO Success Pyramid graphic download: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/the-seo-success-pyramid/971/ Huge roundup of best Internet marketing posts of 2009: http://www.techipedia.com/2010/internet-marketing-posts-2009/

  22. What else would you like to know?

  23. Thank you! Anita Campbellhttp://smallbiztrends.comTwitter: @smallbiztrends

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