Extend your domain renewal, apparently, it helps SEO!

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I’ve been hearing this for a long time and we apply this on our SEO just to be safe. This is really not confirmed, but I keep reading and hearing that the domain expiration has an influence in your Google Rankings. Domains registered for longer periods of time tend to rank better than those with 1 Yr renewals.

The reasoning behind it is that many illegitimate or spam sites tend to only renew their domain for 1 year periods. Also, (and I say again, apparently) Google and other search engines feel that an extended domain registration means you intend to stick around and be serious about your business. If you own a domain and website and you intend to have better odds of ranking well, it would be wise to extend your domain renewal to over 7 Years. It really doesn’t hurt and it’s pretty cheap.

New Trends in Web Design – Message & Fonts

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Alright, back to the keyboard! Today I want to talk bout trends, taste and the new things that are going on with visuals when it comes to Website Design.  We are part of this business, and it is our duty to keep looking at how other creative people are using new techniques to bring freshness and modernness through their designs.

Message & Fonts.
Everyone, listen to me…now it all seems to be about the message and the fonts. That’s it! And I understand why and intend to apply this into our new designs (including the one of our own Website which is kind of due now).

So why Message? Well, there is nothing out there that can prevent anyone from competing with a fantastic design. However, what are businesses looking for? Businesses are looking for “CLIENTS” and during the first stages of selection, flashy, colorful designs are not necessarily driving the potential client’s decision to move to the second step, the MESSAGE is taking over instead.

And Why Fonts? Because fantastic looking fonts over a clean (sometimes all white) design is what is taking over heavily cluttered graphics. Besides, what can better support a great message than a fantastic looking set of fonts?

The messages I found on these websites were very direct, straight to the point and highly inspiring. Graphics were toned down, still there but less. And the fonts were there to highlight the beauty of a great message, with is really what’s essential here.

Internet & Yellow Page Listings, To pay or not to pay

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Directory listings are indeed helpful for driving authority and sometimes traffic to our websites and should definitely be considered as part of your internet marketing or SEO strategy. As we all know, directory listings are categorized in such a way, that search engines are able to quickly find and categorize your site based on relevance. As an added bonus you may be able to get a quality link which may help improve your ranking (depending on relevance and raking of the source pages).

The real dilemma however is, “should we pay for directory listings?”. We have major players such as City Search, YP, and other Yellow Pages directories which sell sponsored listings to keep you on top of their search results. This is supposed to “increase visibility” and drive potential clients to your website (as they would put it to you). The truth is, there is a chance you can capitalize on paying for sponsored listings, but let me give you a trick before you shed any money out for these. If you are looking for traffic, then consider the following:

1. People hardly ever go to any of these directories to find businesses, therefore if your listing shows up it will be a multy-step process and it works like this: SEARCH IS PLUGGED IN TO GOOGLE >> THE DIRECTORY SHOWS A RESULTS PAGE WHERE YOUR LISTING IS >> YOUR SPONSORED RESULT APPEARS  >> PEOPLE CLICK ON YOUR LISTING >> PEOPLE MAY GO TO YOUR SITE. The longer the process to get to your listing and site the slimmer your chances to get a visitor “on your site”.
2. Because of the above, before paying for a sponsored listing on any of these directories, you can perform a search yourself and see if the section where you will be posted appears on Google, Yahoo or Bing. For instance, if you are a Flower Retailer, search for “flower shop,<your city, your state state>”, or “flower store <your city, your state state>” (the geographical span will be based on your market reach).
3. Following up on Point #2. If your desired category page (where you would be listed) does show up, consider how high up it ranks on the Search Engine list.
4. Also consider whether you see listings showing directly after the first click or if only results pages (where you will be listed with other businesses) appear. The more competition there is, the lesser the value of your listing.
5. Consider the price based on the above factors and determine if it is worth investing.

Google, Yahoo and Bing Local have killed Online Directories by positioning their own local listings on top of all other organic results. With a little bit of patience, and basic knowledge of how search engines work, you can create  (or claim and enhance) your local business listing on any of these search engines for free. You will be much better served than paying for a directory listing.

Most Yellow Page and Listing Directories offer a free basic listing, if you see no added benefit to do sponsored listing, then don’t. Create a basic listing and this may still give you some minimal exposure without paying. The bottom line is, most of these listings are basically used for link building, but for the most part the “online directory” model has died. Everyone goes to Search Engines and expect to find their business with a single or just a few clicks. Consider Search Engine Optimization if you are serious about online visibility.

Again with false cheap SEO promises

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Once again, I’m here to tell stories about things that happen to me on a regular basis. Once again attacking ignorance and raising awareness on the never-ending mission of “the clowns” as I like to call them. See, in this industry of Internet Marketing and Web Design, anyone can deceive business owners with complicated words and unachievable promises. So let me tell my story….

One of my clients (undisclosed name), who is in the Telecom Industry sends me an email today asking me to paste a piece of code an SEO expert had provided to him while giving him promises of improved rankings and traffic. Here is his email:

“Hello. Your Seo code is ready. Please install this into the homepage of your website and within 6 months you will see a huge increase in visitors and serps.

<title>Cheap Calls | Discounted Phone Calls | Cheap International Calling</title>

<meta content=”CompanyName.com specializes in cheap calls, discounted phone calls, cheap international calling, calling card alternatives, & cheap long distance calls. Call anywhere at a low rate!” />

<meta content=”Cheap calls, discounted phone calls, cheap international calling, calling card alternatives, cheap long distance calls, call, calling, calls, phonecalls, phone calls, cheap phone calls, discount phone calls, calling anywhere cheap, call anywhere cheap, collect call alternatives, collect calling alternatives, call internationally cheap, international discounted calls.” />

<meta content=”index,follow” />

<meta content=”xxxxxxx.com” />

Thank you

Albert”

Basically, this individual (Albert) is promising my client “Huge increase in visitors” by just putting this code on his “home page”. This individual (Albert) sells SEO on EBAY for $5.00, and people actually buy it. His service is to provide this “SEO CODE” and the promise of huge rankings and traffic, and there was my client almost falling for it. The question is, why wasn’t my client looking to do SEO from me instead? And the answer is, because of those misleading promises going around online, he believes our SEO is too expensive.

Before I close this post, I just want to say, SEO requires previous keyword analysis, competition analysis, on page optimization (which includes this code but not stuffed of keywords as this one is), and link building. It is specific to “every page” of your website based on a thorough selection of keywords. It also takes time and effort and therefore it is not cheap. However, SEO is a great investment and it pays off several times over.

This promise is the same as if someone was selling you a Aston Martin for $200.00.

I’ll leave this to your consideration.

Optimizing for Local Searches

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All, I wanted to share a question/answer interaction that happened between one of our Linkedin group members and I. This is to further instruct and expose an answer/clarification on the post 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Site for Local Search Visibility

QUESTION

George Trauten • JD – Under #2 could you explain what you mean by: List with the major search engines and “include complete and geographically driven content”. The content part – some examples of what you mean would make this more clear. Thanks

ANSWER

Jovanky Delossantos • Sure George, and thank you for your question. Basically, local SEO is still very keyword driven, like organic SEO. Therefore when you do local SEO you want to also leverage it’s organic capabilities. When you list with the major search engines, you want to make sure that the description of your business ALSO includes geographical information, so that when the Search Engines index it, they continue to “localize” your listing even further. Also your listing is just like any other website page and having your city and state in the description of your profile will help Search Engines pick up the listing on searches not using the regular [city],[state] format that generates the maps.

As an example of this “geographically driven content” term, I can say that “JD Giron, LLC, has been providing Search Engine Optimization Services in the New Jersey and New York area for over 10 years. From our headquarters in Lyndhurst, NJ, we have served companies of all sizes with services that help them obtain higher online visibility” etc…

I hope this helps, let me know if you have additional questions.

3 Phrases or signs to watch out for when hiring an Online Visibility provider

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Generally, every crooked service provider has an attractive pitch to catch your attention with; also, generally their success is indirectly proportional to your level of understanding and education around their product or service. My “Public Service” of the day, is to provide you with a few common phrases, sentences and words that should make you slow down and look closer in your decision making process. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy from them, let’s not stereotype and discriminate, but just take the time to ensure you are doing a smart buy, also find your other options and compare.

1. 1^st Page of Google GUARANTEED! – Watch out, when you hear this phrase, you should ask whether the promise is for the Organic Results or for Paid Placement. If it is for Paid Placement or PPC (Pay Per Click), this can easily be achieved by just bidding at the required level. For more information about PPC and Organic results, visit our post here. But if their answer is “organic results” definitely go more in depth in questioning what is their strategy and how they can make such a guarantee before looking at your specific case, competitiveness of your field and budget. Very important! There is another one of our posts addressing this topic if you’re interested in reading about it.
   
2. Buy QUALITY TRAFFIC! – And then the list packages of traffic bulks based on prices. I won’t tell you to look closer or consider this, I will tell you to flat out RUN AWAY from them as fast as you can. You want targeted traffic, people looking for you. This requires analysis to find whether there is opportunity in your market, competition levels and other factors. You don’t just need traffic, you need quality leads, as one of our posts says “You sell fruit, do you want meat buyers?”
3. Cheap SEO, only $199.00 / year (just to say a very low price): – There isn’t a specific price for SEO, sure there are packages most clients fall into, but the final price will be based (again) on thorough analysis.  Two different markets may require different pricing; therefore the analysis is a must. Also and plainly, if it sounds too cheap, it probably isn’t what you’re looking for; SEO is a great investment and it pays off big time, but it certainly ain’t cheap!

Also keep in mind that before you can pay for SEO, your provider needs to show you that there is OPPORTUNITY for you to capitalize on SEO. If your services are not on demand on the Internet, then you will easily rank your keywords but no traffic will ever come to you. Look for an honest, qualified SEO provider.

Targeted Traffic, What every website wants!

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Targeted traffic is the type of traffic every websites strives for. This traffic is directly proportional to the amount of business you will generate through online. It is important to note that not all traffic is worthwhile; for instance, someone may have clicked on a link and come to your website without really meaning to, this is still a visitor, but not the one you want to attract. What you want is visitors who are at least initially interested in what you have to say or offer. That in other words is targeted traffic.

By having an online presence, you want your website visitors to buy your product or invest in your service; the ultimate goal is to increase your business sales or simply attract the attention you are looking for. Therefore the visitors who click around your site should be those who have already considered the services you provide or the information you share.

With all this in mind, please be extremely careful to fall into the traps of -Drive Traffic to Your Website- sharks. In your quest to increase exposure you will find companies offering to increase your traffic through several methods, some being “Expired Domains” and other methods. DO NOT, ,and I repeat DO NOT buy bulk traffic services and also don’t fall into the promises that sound sensationalistic, if it looks too good to be true, it most likely is.

To get targeted traffic, invest in internet marketing services by a trusting provider. True professionals can help you obtain the type of service through various methods. One important method is Search engine optimization. This helps people to find your website when they are looking for your product or service through a search engine using the organic results. Using the right keywords will direct more people to your website, but those who are looking for you, not accidentally. A similar method is Pay Per Click Advertising, this method allows you to bid for positions on the Search Engine Sponsored areas. Depending on how quickly you want your results to be, you may choose one or the other (or both).

Using blogs, article marketing, email marketing and submission marketing are also other ways to increase traffic to your website. Targeted traffic is an important part of a successful business online. There are many outstanding ways to see these results. With the proper plan and method, not only do you get more sales, but your brand recognition grows.

Link Popularity- why do we need it?

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Link popularity is one of the key factors that search engines use in determining where to place your site in search results. Generally, the more links on the Internet pointing to your site, the more popular your site is. This popularity is clearly compared to other sites listed under the keyword phrase and results are therefore, determined.

Google was the first search engine to focus on link popularity as a factor in ranking sites. Google concluded that sites receiving tons of links must be highly relevant, full of good content and should appear higher in the results. Ironically, Google has downgraded the importance of link popularity in ranking sites. Instead, it now focuses on the quality of links. This change was due to spam linking abuses.

Spam Linking

If the amount of links were the key to good rankings, why wouldn’t someone create a program or site to trade links? That is exactly what people did and links were being traded in high volumes. This became known as spam linking and the results were amazing.

Quality links are those from a site that is RELEVANT to the subject matter of your site. If you have a clothing site and other clothing-related sites link to it, you have the quality links. Alternatively, if it has pharmacy or animal sites linking to it, you have bad links and the site will drop in the rankings like a rock in water.

To further combat spam linking, Google through in a time factor in the linking process. The search engine smiles on sites that slowly and consistently obtain links. If your site suddenly picks up a few hundred links, Google assumes you are trying to pull a fast one and downgrades your site.

Yahoo, MSN and Google control most of the search engine traffic on the Internet. MSN and Yahoo have followed Google’s theory on linking and you should as well. If you can master these three search engines, you will be a very happy site owner.

How much is too much to pay for SEO

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Or how much is too much for a car? or how much is too much for a set of fancy porcelain china? The question can be asked in many forms, using any aspect, service or “thing” available for us to buy. The question is, what are you intending to get with your SEO? what is your current baseline? and the response is simple, if your intentions are met, then your SEO investment is worth it.

I will give you an example. We have a client in the Rubber Manufacturing industry. We recently developed a website for them, and also customized a ThomasNet catalog so it could flow from and to the main website as if they were one. Their baseline was that they were initially getting an average or 3.5 quote requests on a daily basis (already an improvement, as they didn’t get any online leads prior to our work).

Each converted lead represented an average of $3500 to them, and they converted about 1 for every 5 leads they received. This is very high (20%); due to the nature of their work and their credentials, they were able to convert at a high rate, but they wanted more. When they came to us for SEO, we promised to increase their “targeted” leads. We did not promise more traffic, we promised better quality traffic; traffic that would fill out the forms when they got to the website, people interested in what they did, not just traffic.

We quoted them for a 7k SEO job and they accepted. In a matter of 2 months, we have moved their most fierce keyword “Rubber Manufacturers” to the first page of Google, this represented a share of thousands of visitors a month between our client and its competitors. The other 24 keywords were also dramatically improved with the ranking as well.

Quality leads were increased from 3.5 to 6  per day. At a 20% conversion rate, that was 1.2 clients converted every day, at 3500 on average, we’re looking at $4200 per day. Now granted, this is a big company, with big clients. Their profit margin was 50%, which means they were making (only off the SEO) $2100 in profit. The SEO made them an additional $875 per day.

What does this all mean? this means that our client was able to pay off their SEO with 8 new customers generated by the campaign. And 4 more months remain with not only sustained results but “improved” ones. Their targeted lead average will increase with time.

Was it worth paying for SEO? ABSOLUTELY!!

This however does not work the same way for all companies. In order to determine if SEO is cost effective for your company, you need to hire a professional who can tell you the estimated traffic for the chosen keywords. If they can promise sustained improvements on those keywords, think of a no-fail number of clients you need to pay for the SEO price. Calculate your profits per client and determine how many clients you need to pay for the SEO. If you can pay for the SEO and make a profit, then SEO is not  expensive.

SEO is a great investment, but you need a responsible, honest provider to give you sound, sensitive and achievable expectations. Figure your numbers and you will see, that 9 out of 10, SEO will pay off for you.

Useful Social Media Usage Stats.

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