THEsmallCOMPANYBLOG » Organic Search

Inexpensive SEO for Small Company Websites: Part 4

Eric_Rudolf — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:22:01 +0000

Given the current state of the economy, the days of being able to afford professional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) help are gone. As website traffic struggles with the economic downturn, small companies need the services of market-leading firms like Bruce Clay, SEO Inc. and HighRankings.com now more than ever. Unfortunately, we have no hope of affording their five-figure start up fees, much less the $4,000 per month it costs to actually get these overpriced and often arrogant firms to do something productive.

But the good news is, there are plenty of things small companies can do to make a positive impact on both search engine rankings and organic search engine traffic. And the best part is, most of these things are easy to accomplish and absolutely free.

This posting is Part4 in a multi-part series called Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites. Each post covers 3 SEO tips small companies can implement on their own and with very few resources. Part 1 covered the concepts of using keyword themes to create web content, utilizing text-based navigation elements, and maximizing title tags. Part 2 of this series discussed minimizing the use of Flash and graphics, using Meta Description tags, and submitting a search engine sitemap. Part 3 reviewed adding a blog, actively looking for linkbacks, and starting a business-related social networking presence. Part 4 is presented below.

SEO Tip #10: Use Social Bookmarks on Educational Content

No matter what kind of website you operate, there are always a few pages that focus on educating customers without the obligatory sales pitch—industry articles, white papers, free tips, company histories, and so on. If these pages truly provide value, why not ask visitors to recommend your educational content to others with a small social networking block like the one below? Not only do social bookmarks drive millions (if not tens of millions) of visitors to websites every single day, but they also increase your number of backlinks AND in some cases provide additional search engine listings.

In terms of getting started with social bookmarking, the strategy is simple: figure out which social bookmarks your site visitors will use, and offer them. Checking out websites and blogs of companies in your industry can provide much of this information, but those of you who are short on time (or lazy) should know that most small companies will at LEAST include a Retweet button on educational content, as well as support for Diggs, Stumbles and Facebook mentions. Above and beyond that, your choices are literally unlimited—so choose wisely. For more information on Social Bookmarking, be sure to spend a few minutes reading one of our most popular articles of all-time, Social Bookmarking Dos and Don’ts.

SEO Tip #11: Sign Up for a (Free) Google Webmaster Tools Account

Because all entrepreneurs are good at finding free or low-cost tools to help grow their businesses, it surprises me whenever a small company owner tells me he or she doesn’t have a free Google Webmaster Tools Account. Sure, this tool (like many others) is capable of providing website owners with too much information. But on the flip side, you don’t actually have to look at it all—and the stuff you REALLY need is nicely presented on the same dashboard interface. On a single screen, the uber-geeks at Google will allow site owners to view most popular search terms, number of links back to their site (and where they come from), the top 5 most important key terms within their content, which pages are officially indexed by Google, and any dead links the site might have. Logging into Google Webmaster Tools for five minutes per day, three times per week is a great way for even the most inexperienced site owner to quickly and easily spot any changes—positive or negative—in SEO performance.

SEO Tip #12: Protect the SEO Results You’ve Already Earned

At some point around the age of 5, I noticed my dad had a bedtime routine. Every night he would turn off the TV, grab a quick snack, then walk to the back of the house and wiggle the doorknob. I remember asking him about this routine, and his reply was “Never go to sleep until you know the back door is locked.” Although these words were meaningless to me back then, their value was brought to light earlier this past year, when I literally lost every bit of SEO work I had ever done. Over the course of about a month I was banned from search engines, kicked out of multiple social networking programs, and lost my best performing links . . . all because I stopped checking the back door.

In my mad rush to build a high-traffic website, I got sloppy and let my computer become infected with a virus—a virus which eventually made its way onto the server where my website was hosted. For about six weeks, visitors to my website were redirected to any number of shady and semi-legal offshore websites (gambling, porn, pyramid schemes, whatever), which caused my site to be banned from enough places where it eventually ceased to exist. During the recovery process I became a member of a website security blog, and received a great 2-part recommendation from one of its primary contributors: 1) spend a few bucks on a two REALLY good virus checkers, and 2) run them BOTH in Safe Mode once per week on the computer you use to manage your website. Today, I use Malware Bytes and SuperAntiSpyware every Friday night, and thankfully have been able to recapture at least some of my former SEO glory.

Comments? Questions? Feel free to reply to this post. Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Universal Search: Still Relevant for Small Companies?

Eric_Rudolf — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:33:14 +0000

In mid-2007, Google gave SEO experts and Internet marketers an entire year’s worth of job security when it announced the first steps toward a Universal Search model. Shortly thereafter, similar announcements were made by MSN and YaHoo; and for the remainder of 2007 and much of 2008, the topic of Universal Search was featured at every marketing conference and written about by every blogger on the planet. But then—like O.J. Simpson to David Hasselhoff—social media swept in and stole Universal Search’s moment in the sun, and topics like blog monetization, social bookmarking and Twitter have dominated the marketing landscape ever since.

[ Aside ]In 1994, Hasselhoff was scheduled to perform a televised concert from Atlantic City to jump-start his U.S. singing career. On that same night, the infamous O.J. Simpson police chase was televised live across the country. Hasselhoff has not attempted a TV concert since.

So whatever became of Universal Search? With all of the other new and easy-to-use traffic generating technologies, should Universal Search still be on a small company’s marketing radar? The answer to this question is a definitive “Yes,” for one important reason:

Over 90% of organic search engine traffic comes from the first page of results.

The point here is, any marketing program that allows your small company to appear on the first page of search engine results is a wonderful use of your time, regardless of how many other more “trendy” marketing channels may exist. As a refresher for those of you who need it (I probably should have done this earlier) Universal Search is basically the integration by search engines of elements other than web pages in overall search results. These “other elements” can include videos, images, blogs, news, book and shopping listings.

If you click on the screen shot thumbnail to the right (which I found at SubHub.com) you will see how Universal Search elements are presented during a search for the phrase “Paris Hilton.” In addition to the standard list of 10 web pages, this particular search generated multiple listings for News, Images, Videos and Blogs about Paris Hilton—a total of TWELVE additional (and free) opportunities for exposure on the first page of results.

So how do you get there? As a small company with limited resources, are there some relatively low-cost steps you can take to leverage the value of Universal Search? Of course. And here they are:

Step #1: Walk Before You Run. Prior to putting a ton of effort into Universal Search, make sure your website is optimized for organic (regular) rankings. Maximize your title tags, work on your meta descriptions, and submit an XML sitemap to any engine that will take one. For more information on these specific tasks, check out Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part I and Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Website: Part II.

Step #2: Channel Surf. Because Universal Search will take information from all of a search engine’s “channels,” check each one to see what kind of exposure your site has (if any) within that specific channel. In Google, the channels you want to focus on are Images, Video, News, Blogs and Shopping (FYI—”Blogs” is actually underneath the “News” channel). Channels for other engines can usually be found above or near the search field.

Step 3: Take Inventory. Before your site can actually benefit from Universal Search, you need to make a comprehensive list of your company’s digital assets. Do you have files, images, videos and news releases that aren’t showing up in universal search results? If so, chances are these items are not tagged correctly. Find and review the Webmaster guidelines for each search engine your small company is targeting, and make sure you are follow proper tagging rules.

Step 4: Do the Easy Stuff. In addition to tagging Universal Search items like images, videos, news releases and blogs, there are a few other clever ways to earn free space on the first page of search results. Does your small company have a regional customer base? Update your local business listing. Also, figure out a way to get your company or one of its products (or possibly a key employee) a Wikipedia reference. And of course, if your company can justify one, start a blog. All of these are easy, and all can be done for free.

Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part III

Eric_Rudolf — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:33:06 +0000

But the good news is, there are plenty of things small companies can do to make a positive impact on both search engine rankings and organic search engine traffic. And the best part of all is, most of these things are both easy to accomplish and absolutely free.

This posting is Part III in a multi-part series (I’m estimating 4 parts total) on Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites. In each posting I will cover 3 to 4 SEO tips that small companies can implement on their own and with very few resources. Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part I covered the concepts of Using Keyword Themes to Create Web Content, Utilizing Text-Based Navigation Elements, and Maximizing Your Title Tags. Part II of this series covered Minimizing the Use of Flash and Graphics, Using Meta Description Tags, and Submitting a Search Engine Sitemap. In Part III I will discuss topics related to Blogging, Linkbacks, and Social Networking.

SEO Tip #7: Start a Blog

Back in January I posted a very well-received article on the importance of blogs for small company web traffic. This post basically stated that making a site-relevant blog entry every three or four days will eventually make your small company website rich with content and keywords, which is something search engines love. The post also discussed using a blog as an ‘editorial column’ to say things about your products and competitors that might not otherwise be well-received on your main site. At the risk of repeating the entire article, I will simply redirect you to it: The Importance of Blogs for Small Company Web Traffic.

SEO Tip #8: Find Sites that Will Link Back to You

If Search Engine Optimization were a quest for religious artifacts, getting websites to link back to yours is the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. Regardless of how much content you provide or how great your website looks, search engine rankings will be less than disappointing until other websites start linking back to you. Developers at Google, MSN and YaHoo understand a high ranking website should have lots of outbound AND inbound channels. Is a cell phone list of 1,000 friends REALLY any good if none of them will call you back? Of course not. And neither is a website lacking inbound links.

So how do you fix this problem? Every industry has at least one directory to get listed in, and one industry portal that will take an article or press release. Also, you might consider offering a discount on your product or service to a demographic sub-group (moms, Java developers, construction workers, cycling enthusiasts, etc.) and find some related websites to post your offer for free. And finally, if your site has a blog, you need to start submitting it to blog directories TODAY—here is comprehensive list of blog directories published by TopRankBlog.com. Take it from someone who has walked in your shoes: the first linkbacks will be the hardest ones to get. But if you work hard and get creative, good things will happen.

SEO Tip #9: Form a Business-Related Social Networking Group

One of the most common social networking mistakes I see is when otherwise intelligent people try to use their social networking accounts (FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) to promote a business. Here’s a tip: unless your 10-year old daughter is selling Girl Scout Cookies, friends and relatives do NOT want to buy things from you. As an alternative to alienating the people who love you, try setting up a separate group related to your business. If you own a bike shop, start a group for local cycling enthusiasts. If you operate a mail-order wine store, start a group for fans of rare vintages. There is no small business model in the world that can support itself selling exclusively to friends and relatives of the owner. Take a chance, and start a group that doesn’t include them.

Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part II

Eric_Rudolf — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:01:52 +0000

Given the current state of the economy, the days of being able to afford professional, full-scale Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are little more than a distant memory. As your website traffic struggles with the economic downturn, small companies like yours need the services of market-leading firms like Bruce Clay, SEO Inc. and HighRankings.com now more than ever. Unfortunately, you have no hope of affording their five-figure start up fees, much less the $4,000 per month it costs to actually get these overpriced (and often arrogant) firms to do something productive.

Note: Regarding the ‘arrogant’ comment . . . it is not uncommon for leading SEO firms to riddle their websites with statements like “Do not contact us unless you are ready to spend at least $25,000″ and “We only respond to SERIOUS inquiries from LARGE companies.” I don’t think use of the word ‘arrogant’ is unfair in these cases. For a great list of ways to recognize a bad SEO firm, check out Eric Enge’s blog posting “11 Ways to Recognize a Bad SEO Firm.”

This posting is Part II in what will be a multi-part series (I’m estimating 4 parts total) on Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites. In each of these postings I will cover 3 to 4 SEO tips—let’s call them ’secrets’—that small companies can implement on their own and with very few resources. Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part I covered the concepts of Using Keyword Themes to Create Web Content, Utilizing Text-Based Navigation Elements, and Maximizing Your Title Tags. Part II will cover three more areas: 1) Minimizing the Use of Flash and Graphics, 2) Using Meta Description Tags, and 3) Submitting a Search Engine Sitemap.

SEO Tip #4: Minimize the Use of Flash and Graphics

One of my favorite one-hit wonder marketing campaigns of all-time is Amp Energy Drink’s “Walk of Shame” commercial, which I first caught on SpikeTV in early 2008. After seeing what turned out to be the one and only commercial in the series, I jumped on my computer and tried to learn more. But no matter what search engine I used or what keywords I entered, I was not successful in finding Amp’s official website for the campaign until I caught the commercial a second time and wrote down the URL. And today, almost one year later, it is still nearly impossible to find a combination of search terms that will make this site come up on the first page of results. Why? Because none of the words on Amp’s website for this campaign can actually be indexed by a search engine. Every word on this site is either part of a graphical image, or trapped inside a Flash Video file.

So, is the lesson here that the person who designed this site lost his or her job? Possibly. But the takeaway for you as a small company owner or manager is this: avoid the temptation to ‘hide’ searchable keywords and phrases within graphic images and super-slick flash applications. Instead, use text elements (HTML) wherever possible, and do your best to accomplish the desired effects with intelligent font and color choices. And if you’re planning on outsourcing your website design, lean toward working with an online marketing firm instead of a graphic design house. A marketing firm will (hopefully) understand the search engine-related implications of over-designing your website.

SEO Tip #5: Use the Meta Description Tags

Here’s a question for you: after performing a search on Google or MSN and receiving a page of results, what is the main thing that would cause you to NOT click on a listing? Believe it or not, it probably isn’t the title—it’s the description. Or in Website Designer terms, the Meta Description. The Meta Description is an invisible tag ‘behind’ each of your website pages that determines how a search engine will describe your site to a searcher. If you go to Google right now and type “Home Depot website” into the search field, the description of Home Depot’s listing within the general search results (not the paid results) is “World’s largest home improvement retailer, operating more than 1500 stores across North America.” Did this simply show up by accident? Of course not. Someone in the Marketing Department at The Home Depot entered the description into an invisible Meta Description tag.

Referring to the example above, why did The Home Depot choose to carefully write this description and include it as a tag on their home page? Because if a website page does not have a defined description, the search engine will write one for it—and do a poor job in the process. Have you ever noticed how many website descriptions are displayed by search engines as chopped up phrases like “Home About Us Contact Us Terms of Use Mailing List“? In these cases, Google or MSN simply grabbed the text from a navigation element and used it as the web site’s description. If you don’t want a Google or MSN robot making marketing decisions for your company, you have no choice but to use the Meta Description tag for every page on your website.

SEO Tip #6: Submit a Search Engine Sitemap

Instead of letting Google and MSN try to crawl your site on their own, wouldn’t it be great if you could tell their indexing robots where to look AND what to look at? The good news is, you CAN do this—by submitting a Sitemap. A Sitemap is essentially a map in XML format that is uploaded to your site’s root directory, and tells indexing robots a) which pages to look at when they visit, b) how often these pages change, and c) what the relative priority is for each page on your website. There are dozens of websites that will help you create this sitemap for free, but my personal favorite for beginners is XML-Sitemaps.com. As long as your website is under 500 pages, this site will create your sitemap free of charge, and there is no limit to how many times you can use it. For those of you using WordPress as both a blog and a main website, there are also a number of free sitemap plug ins you can download from The WordPress Plugin Directory.

And just so you know, there are a few caveats to submitting a sitemap. Most experts agree that sitemaps should be submitted no more than one time per month, and only if your site has actually changed (new pages, additional blog postings, URL name changes, etc.). Also, file transfer access to your web site’s root directory is required. If you need additional help or instruction on gaining access to your website’s root directory, feel free to reply to this post.

Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites: Part I

Eric_Rudolf — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:06:41 +0000

Given the current state of the economy, the days of being able to afford professional, full-scale Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are little more than a distant memory. As corporate website traffic struggles with the economic downturn, companies need the services of market-leading firms like Bruce Clay, SEO Inc. and HighRankings.com now more than ever. Unfortunately, we have no hope of affording their five-figure start up fees, much less the $4,000 per month it costs to actually get these overpriced (and often arrogant) firms to do something productive.

[ Note: Regarding the 'arrogant' comment . . . it is not uncommon for leading SEO firms to riddle their websites with statements like "Do not contact us unless you are ready to spend at least $25,000" and "We only respond to SERIOUS inquiries from LARGE companies." I don't think use of the word 'arrogant' is unfair in these cases. ]

This posting is Part I in what will be a multi-part series (I’m estimating 4 parts total) on Inexpensive SEO Strategies for Small Company Websites. In each of these postings I will cover 3 to 4 SEO tips—let’s call them ’secrets’—that small companies can implement on their own and with very few resources. Part I will cover three basics: 1) Using Keyword Themes to Create Web Content, 2) Utilizing Text-Based Navigation Elements, and 3) Maximizing Your Title Tags.

SEO Tip #1: Using Keyword Themes to Create Web Content

Most people don’t realize that writing for the web is a skill all its own, markedly different than any sort of writing ever taught in school. If the goal of traditional writing is to communicate an idea or theme, the goal of writing for the web is to communicate an idea or theme using specific sets of keywords and key phrases. Before developing content for a web page, it is important to identify not only what the page is about (the Theme of the page) but also the words and phrases people will use to search for it. Then, be sure to logically and contextually use the identified words and phrases within the body copy, being careful not to OVER use them—a practice that search engines can and will penalize you for.

SEO Tip #2: Utilizing Text-Based Navigation Elements

Although super-cool rollover and fly-out effects made for awesome website designs in the early 2000s, the fact is they make for horrible search engine rankings today. Navigation elements like graphics, buttons and animated menus are by nature rich in site content and keywords. Unfortunately, search engines can’t index them. With a few exceptions, it is safe to say that most keywords or phrases used in graphics, buttons or animated menus are invisible to Google, YaHoo and MSN. If you want credit for having these keywords and phrases as part of your Keyword Theme (described above), it is in your best interest to figure out an attractive and clever way to present them . . . in text format.

SEO Tip #3: Maximizing Your Title Tags

If you spend a few moments today visiting your favorite small to medium-sized websites, I guarantee you will find at least one site with nothing more than a Company Name in the Title Tag (here is an example from a graphic design firm I work with . . . the contents of the Title Tag appear in the bar at the top of your browser). This is a huge mistake many small companies make, not only because the Title Tag is used by search engines to index your site, but because the contents of your Title Tag are actually displayed by default in a search listing. Title tags need to be both descriptive and keyword-rich. If you need an example of a good title tag, check out what Amazon.com is using—Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs and more. Truly a thing of beauty.

This concludes Part I of the Inexpensive SEO Strategies series. In Part II, which I hope to complete and post within a week or so, I will cover Using Meta Keyword and Meta Description Tags, Implementing Linking Campaigns, and Submitting Site Maps.

The Importance of Blogs for Small Company Web Traffic

Eric_Rudolf — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:35:39 +0000

This past summer I attended a 3-day marketing conference. I spent most of my time in the e-Commerce and Web Marketing Track, hoping to learn more about increasing the effectiveness of my internet-based campaigns, generating additional web traffic, and maximizing new web technologies for marketing and online sales. One of my favorite sessions was a panel presentation and Q&A on the topic of blogs. The panel was loaded with heavy-hitting experts from Website Optimization firms (different than Search Engine Optimization firms) who not only made it their business to know how to manufacture website traffic, but had direct phone numbers and email addressees for people at Google and MSN—insiders who would willingly pick up the phone whenever they called.

Instead of simply passing on my notes from the session, I’ll boil them down into one, broad-reaching conclusion:

If your company can justify a blog as part of its website presence, add one. Soon.

So why are blogs so important for website traffic? To begin, making a site-relevant blog entry every three or four days refreshes your website with new content and keywords—something both Google and MSN love to see. In fact, even if no one actually reads your blog entries, by maintaining a blog you are still proving two things to major search engines: 1) that you regularly pay attention to your website, and 2) that you are continually adding relevant content. To avoid breaking down the super top secret algorithms that search engines use to display results, suffice it to say websites get ‘extra credit’ for these things (NOTE: I understand this is a bit of an over-simplification, but this posting is not written for the sophisticated search engine marketer—so please forgive the generalizations).

And of course, if people do actually begin to read your company’s blog, there are obviously advantages as well. Blogs can be used as a way to more deeply educate website visitors on company-related topics, or to convey information that doesn’t really ‘fit’ on your main site. Also, with a company blog you can sometimes get away with saying things about your products, your industry, and your competitors that would not necessarily be well-received if presented on other parts of your website. In other words, if you view your website as a newspaper, your company blog can be used as the editorial column.

However, if you decide to incorporate a blog as part of your corporate website, there is one caveat: your posts must be relevant to what your company is selling. If you run an IT consulting business, don’t blog about your new Sleep Number bed. If you own a boutique candle store, avoid the temptation to give readers a preview of your upcoming vacation. There is nothing search engines hate more than displaying non-relevant results. Loading your company blog with unrelated content won’t just drive the wrong people to your site, but could cause your site as a whole to lose ground when it comes to its search engine rankings.

If I receive good response to this post, I will likely continue by diving deeper into blog-related issues—selection, implementation, marketing issues, keyword use and so on. If you would like me to go in this direction, please feel free to comment on this post.

THEsmallCOMPANYBLOG » Organic Search

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