Website Optimization

When it Makes Sense to Outsource Your SEO

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dangers-of-outsourcing SEOIf you’re a traditional advertising agency or Web design firm, it’s unlikely you have a need for a full-time SEO. But, outsourcing SEO can be risky. Here’s just one example of an email I received which was sent through my business website’s contact form (read spam). This should give you some idea of the legitimacy of this service, as it’s clear they hadn’t bothered to review my offerings. Hel-lo-o-o. I’m an SEO!

Hi,

We are team of 5 Freelance Link builder and Article/Content writer.

I have seen you are reputed web design company located in Corona. If you are looking for cheap link building services(blogs, directories, article directories, social bookmarking, video submissions etc) or Article/Content writer then just email me.

We charge around $0.4/submission and $5 for article writing of 500 words.

If you want i can show you my previous work. Reply to this mail if you are interested and we’ll talk further.

Thanks and Regards,

(name withheld to protect the guilty)

Now, that’s a compelling email request. No personalization, wrong city, we’re not a Web design company, poor grammar and punctuation and cheap link building just got slammed by Google’s Panda update. Don’t get me started on the $5 article writing. Read the rest of this entry »

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Revisiting the Keyword Meta Tag

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keyword meta tag spam filterAs everyone in Web marketing knows, keywords are the lifeblood of any website. The keywords meta tag fell by the wayside years ago for being abused by spammers. When it comes to Web page structure, however, we want to be careful when “throwing out the baby with the bath water.” In hindsight, eliminating the keyword meta tag also eliminated a “best practice” for mark up code.

Bing’s Algorithm & Keyword Meta Tag

Bing recently announced that they do, in fact, factor the keyword meta tag into their algorithm, but they do so as a “spam” indicator. Apparently, Web developers who abuse this meta tag still exist. What many of us have forgotten, myself included, is that meta data exists to communicate to search engine robots what a page is about.

Industry veteran, Shari Thurow, commented on why the keyword meta tag is still important for site search on Searchengineland.com: Read the rest of this entry »

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Don’t Let Your Web Designer Sabotage Your Online Success

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Don't-let-your-web-designer-sabotage-your-websiteMost of my writing is inspired by experience and real life examples. Many businesses are trying to do right by the Internet, but often don’t know the questions to ask or are simply misguided by their misconceptions about what a good website should cost.

While I advocate investing in a Web design strategy, cost is usually driven by the size of the website. The elements that go into creating an effective website, large or small, however, are the same. That being said, if you receive a $100,000 quote, your site ought to be a one with hundreds of pages. If not, you’re being gouged.

The Cost of Not Optimizing Prior to Launch

A potential client came to me with his completed website and was now ready to discuss website marketing. Had I consulted on the initial selection of the design firm, I would have made sure that basic search engine optimization (SEO) elements were factored into the bid.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Lost in Translation: 3 Top Handicaps for International Websites

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Houston’s home to 25 Fortune 500 companies and recognized as an international player in health care, energy, education and technology. So this article focuses on International SEO.

As marketers in America, we tend to be insular in our thinking and view Google as the “big fish.” The reality is that search represents a very different landscape when you leave our shores.

While my focus is more on local SEO and U.S.-based company websites, I’ve had remarkable success with a handful of bilingual sites by adhering to the following best practices. Read the rest of this entry »

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Experience

Nicolette Beard blogs for clients who are busy running their businesses but who recognize the value of educating and engaging with their customers.

She writes on a variety of topics ranging from B2B electrical supplies to motorcycle accessories and pretty much everything in between.

And, as you can see from this blog, she has a few things to say about search and social too!

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