Do you have a Question about Internet marketing
or search engine optimization, or your website?
We'll answer your question privately
or in our next newsletter!
This Month's Question
Q: My SEO Company said that I need more pages on my website? Is that true or are they just trying to get more business?
A: This was an interesting question because I spend a great deal of time and energy trying to explain to my customers the importance of adding new pages to their website.
The answer to your question is...
YES - IT'S TRUE!!!
I can certainly understand how many website owners like you may THINK that their SEO companies are just trying to build up business and get more money from them by saying that they need more pages but if you just took a moment to understand how search engines work you would see that the SEO company is really just trying to keep your website as competitive as possible.
So, how do search engines work? Why are more pages so necessary?
Search engines just want to please. When someone goes to a search engine and types in "chicago dentists" the search engine wants to give that person the best list of "chicago dentists" that it can. And the only way it can do that is to look for websites that are offering "chicago dentists" as part of their keyword phrases or anchor text linking.
So, that means that if your website wants to attract the market for people typing in "chicago dentists" then you need to have at least one page on your website marketing that keyword phrase.
Okay, so you have the very basics now of how search engines work. Now let's talk about how that affects your business website.
Let's say there ar 30 people a month typing in "chicago dentists". Your website has one page marketing the phrase "chicago dentists" and your SEO company got that website page in the top 10 in Google so your page now comes up in the first set of listings on Google when someone types in "chicago dentists". Great!!!
But, of the 30 people a month typing that keyword phrase in you might get 2 of them clicking on your website page. How can you get more?
You can get more by marketing more keyword phrases. And you can market more keyword phrases by having more pages on your website.
So, you can add...
"chicago cosmetic dentistry"
"invisalign braces - chicago"
"gentle dentistry in chicago"
"teeth whitening in chicago"
You get the idea. Each phrase adds a larger target audience coming to your website.
If your website has 10 pages and each page is marketing a keyword phrase that has 30 people typing that phrase in each month then you can potentially get 20 people a month cliking onto your website.
Every new page you add increases the number of visitors to your website.
I know these numbers are small but they're just to give you an idea.
Another factor to consider is your internet competition. If there are 20 other chicago dentist websites that have an average of 50 pages per website and your website is only 10 pages, well, you're not going to be able to compete with those other websites very well. Your SEO Company is probably looking at other competitor's websites and analyzing them to see what are they doing to get into the top 10 and then letting you know that you need to do the same thing. And that may include adding pages to the website.
A final factor to consider is the incoming links to your website. Many SEO companies encourage their clients to write articles, press releases, blogs, etc. All for the sake of getting links TO the website. If you write an article about "cosmetic dentistry" and post that article in several free article submission sites or on a blog or online press release then that article has a link TO your website. The search engine sees this links as a "referral" and gives your website an extra point for having another website "refer" to you.
So, don't worry. Your SEO Company is doing what they're supposed to be doing. They're trying to build your website to be the best it can be. After all, if they don't succeed, you can take your business elsewhere so it's to their advantage to make your website successful.
Following are some resources that I can
personally recommend!
Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.
Ultimate Guide To Google AdWords- If
you're really serious about managing your Google AdWords account or you want to learn all you can
about Google Adwords so you can provide the service to your clients, this is the book to get.
Click the book above
to buy your copy now!
Web Marketing For Dummies - the dummies
books are a great way for anyone to begin the process of learning just about anything! Web marketing
is no exception. If you're just starting out or even if you're a seasoned old pro, you'll love
this book. It explains things simple enough so that even if you know "how" to do web
marketing, you'll learn how to explain what you do! Something we all struggle with!
Click the book above
to buy your copy now!
101 Ways To Boost Your Web Traffic -
I love these 101 ways books. Many ideas I've already heard of or thought of but inevitably I will
always learn a few new ideas!
Click the book above
to buy your copy now!
Beginning CSS Web Development - if you
haven't begun the process of really learning CSS then you better get cracking. Web designers trained
in schools can't graduate if they create a website with tables. They can only graduate if they
create full blown css websites. So, don't get caught behind the 8 ball. Get cracking!
Add Coupons To Your Website
and you can generate more traffic!
How?
1) Submit your site to coupon engines.
2) Submit your site to Craigs List and other free advertising lists.
3) Email your existing customers and alert them to your online coupon.
4) Write an online press release announcing the savings with your coupons.
Submit Your Article
Do you have an article
that you would like
to share with us?
One of the BEST ways to market your web site is to show the Internet audience that you
KNOW your stuff!
If you would like to write an article about any of the following topics and submit it to our Newsletter,
we would love to review it for inclusion in future issues.
Our topics of interest are...
Marketing (General)
Internet Marketing
Small Business Issues
Web Design
Web Hosting
Web site Programming
I read an interesting article in Search Marketing Standard this month. I'll reprint the article here and then put in my 2 cents!
Consumers Doing More Research Before Buying
Consumers are getting smarter about their purchasing decisions online. According to a May 2007 study by ScanAlert, consumers are taking longer to make a purchasing decision. Compared to the data collected in 2005, 26% of shoppers take more than three days to buy. That's a 28% increase from 2005. The number for more than a two-week delay in purchasing decision say an increase of 50% between the years 2005 and 2007.
So, what does this data mean? With a large number of choices, online shoppers are doing more window shopping and more research before making their final decision. This trend might also help explain the alarming shopping cart abandonment rates many online retailers are experiencing. With consumers taking an increasing amount of time to make that purchase, it is up to retailers to find ways of making sure they come back.
Delay
2005
2007
% Increase
> 1 Hour
50%
57%
14%
> 3 Hours
40%
44%
10%
> 12 Hours
35%
37%
5%
> 1 day
28%
30%
7%
> 3 days
21%
26%
23%
> 1 week
14%
18%
28%
> 2 weeks
4%
6%
50%
Source: Scan Alert, 2007 Window Shopping Report based on aggregate data from 480 A/B tests run by 470 websites (including B2B, B2C, nonprofits, national chains, manufacturers, trade publishers, content publishers and pure ecommerce), conducted between May 1, 2005 and May 1, 2007. For more information on ScanAlert or this study, visit http://www.scanalert.com
My 2 Cents Worth!
I love articles like this because they give some facts and data that can help not only website designers but website owners and SEO firms (like myself) determine what the next step should be for the website.
This article gives me information to tell my clients that they need to have some type of system in place to not only capture email addresses from potential buyers but also they must have a system to provide consistent data to those email addresses. A newsletter, a sales notice, tips, something! Something that will keep the website name in front of that customer so that if it takes them 2 weeks to make a decision on which website to purchase the item from, they'll have your name in front of them.
What do these systems entail? An auto response system would be great. A newsletter or blog would be great. A special coupon offer would be great.
I've said this before and I'll say it again. Too many website owners treat their websites as if it were an external part of the business. The truth is, the website is an extremely integral part of their business and until the website owner truly comprehends this they will not be able to take full advantage of their website.
I receive so many questions about the types of tools that I use not only for Internet Marketing but also for business that I decided I should add a section to the newsletter about them. So, each month (or so) I'll try to add a new tool to this section. Of course, if you have any tools you would like to recommend, please let me know!
Group Mail Is A Great Way To Send Out Professional Looking Emails
I love groupmail! It's so easy to use and set up! And to top it all, it's extremely affordable!
I use groupmail to send out emails notifying my newsletter subscribers that the new edition of The SEO Lady is ready. I also use groupmail to send out monthly marketing report notices and any other special notices.
The one piece of advice I can give you on sending out mass email is to check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to find out what is their limit on spam email? In other words, how many emails can you send out at one time before your ISP considers it spam? My ISP (Charter.net) has a limited of 100 so when I create the lists of emails to send to in my groupmail program I limit each list to 100. That way, none of the emails get returned for spam.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO and Article Marketing: Can They Get You a Top Ten Listing?
SEO and Article Marketing work together to provide you with the best solution to website promotion that you can have. Forget PPC programs, and forget ezine advertising. Nothing beats free adverts on the index listings of the major search engines.
Why pay to have an advert on the right hand side of Google, that everybody knows is an advert, when for less money (no money in fact) you get a lovely listing on the left hand side that everybody regards as being associated with authoritative sites. Not only is it free, but it is also a more prestigious listing that a paid Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing advert.
Proper search engine marketing can do that for you with a little bit of help from article marketing to give you a publicity kick start. Not only that, but a few links back to the web page of your choice from your Author’s Resource Box to help Google to help you. Google and most other search engines look upon links back to your website (actually a page on your site) as being an indication of the relevance of your web page to the search term being used by the search engine customer seeking information.
Search terms are commonly called keywords, and it is worth your while learning how search engine perceive keywords. Do you know that a search term such as search engine optimization is broken down by the search engine into the three separate words, and it then looks through its index of spidered web pages for these three words. The page with most relevance to all of these gets listed first, and then downwards till those relevant to only one of these words gets listed.
Of course, there is more to it than that. A site with a great deal of relevance and good content with reference to ‘search engine’ will be listed above one with poor content on ‘search engine optimization’, even if that is the title of the web page. A site with all three words will be listed highest if it contains good relevant content, but not if it does not.
There are techniques that can be used to give yourself the best chance of a high listing. A high listing can never be guaranteed, hence the disingenuousness of those offering it. All that can be offered is an improvement, but not a specific listing position. Any advert on the internet that offers a guaranteed top 10 position is lying, unless they are referring to a top 10 position for a silly keyword such as “silly keyword listing”. If you have a web page optimized for that, you might get even a #1 listing on all the search engines, but who is going to be using that term in a search? SEO and article marketing can be combined to provide you with the highest possible listing for the content on your web page, since search engines generally list web pages, not domains. There are methods that can be used to maximize that position and even attain a #1 listing, but no optimization expert can ever guarantee that. Unless, of course, they work high up in Google, and are willing to help you to cheat!
Recently, while on vacation at the beach, we bought some “quickie” food items. One of which was a new product by Oreos. Or should I say, yet another new product by Oreo. This one is called “Cakesters” and, like the name implies, it is less hard “cookie” and more soft “cake,” still with the ubiquitous cream spread in the middle.
I was then reminded of a column I wrote in this space a couple of years ago, worth repeating here (while snacking on one of those Cakesters…):
Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.
I was in the grocery store the other day and noticed the Oreo cookies. Only it wasn’t “just” Oreo cookies.
Sure, there were the “original” Oreo cookies that we all know and love. But, in separate packaging, there was also: Oreo Double-Stuf; Reduced Fat Oreo; Mint n’ Crème Oreo; Mini Oreo; Chocolate Crème Oreo -- whew, let me catch my breath here -- Golden Oreo Original; Fudge Covered Oreo; Fudge Mint Covered Oreo; Golden Oreo Chocolate Crème; Oreo Thin Crisps; and, not to be outdone, Double Delight Oreo Peanut Butter & Chocolate.
Now why would arguably this nation’s most popular cookie product come up with 12 different variations on an otherwise successful approach?
Because they want to either answer demand, or anticipate demand. Because they don’t want to get into a marketplace rut. Because they want to “keep things fresh.” Because they want to challenge themselves. Because they want to stay ahead of the cookie curve. Because with each new product introduction, they become top of mind. Again.
Or, maybe because they just want to stay (way) ahead of Hydrox, the “other” sandwich cookie…which, interestingly enough, was the FIRST “sandwich cookie with a cream filling” to be introduced to a sweet-toothed American public. Yet look what Oreo did to put Hydrox virtually out of our collective conscience.
The parallel to be drawn here presumes to ask the question, what are you doing to “diversify” yourself? Nothing wrong with staying just as you are. “Stick with whomever brought you to the dance,” goes the old saying. But in these volatile times of strong and plentiful competition for what we do for a living, it may behoove us to reach into the old tool box, metaphorically speaking, and see what else we can do to add to our equipment as we build upon our own “product.”
(For example, among the newer “products” at JDK Marketing Communications Management is) a service to help adoption parents create profiles on themselves. This is to help promote their eligibility as parents-to-be to the original birth mother in order for her to decide which family she would select to ultimately parent her child. It’s a fascinating, and touching, process that few people outside of adoption circles know about. I certainly didn’t until recently when a friend of mine in the industry was thoughtful enough to “clue me in.” (Helene Nathanson heads) a home study agency, created to help North Carolina families with pre- and post-adoption requirements:
It's a little past July now but this video is still relevant! Every year I get a list of changes and new products to add to a website just a few weeks before Christmas! Ideally, it would be better to create those pages in the summer and begin marketing them so that by the time Christmas comes around, the pages are well indexed in the search engines.
Article Of The Month
6 SEO Questions (and the answers)
by Esther C. Kane
September 1, 2007
I found this great article on WebProNews.com and I thought it would make for a great article! Of course, I added the answers.
The questions below are from the SEO Guru of all, Danny Sullivan.
Here's the six questions Danny posed to the audience:
(Actually he posed 7 but I couldn't get the answer to #7 so I'm giving you six!)
1)How do you seize control of a local listing on Google?
Answer: Getting your website into Google Local is not difficult. It just takes a little bit of time and verification. It's just a matter of submitting the information on the form at Google Local and then verifying the data.
2)What elements are important to ranking well in Google Video and YouTube?
When you upload your video content at YouTube or Google, you are presented with several opportunities to infuse your video with relevancy:
Filename – When uploading your video, make sure that you give your content a relevant filename. If you have a video that is about a skateboarding cat, a relevant filename would include the words skateboarding and cat in it.
Title – The title field is another opportunity for you to exhibit relevancy. For your video about a skateboarding cat, rather than having your title be 'Mittens', you'd probably want something along the lines of "Mittens – The Skateboarding Cat".
Description – The description field is the perfect place for you to include a keyword-rich description about your content. If your video shows Mittens the Skateboarding Cat showing off his tricks at the Skate Park, you'll want to include that factoid here.
Permissions – Both YouTube and Google have the option to make the video private or accessible by the public. If you're looking to have your video appear in Google's search results, public is the way to go.
One option that is available on YouTube is tagging. With tagging, you can assign keyword-rich tags (think of tags like labels) to your video.
Want to get your article and even your picture into Google News? Well, it's really not that hard. The first step is to go to www.americanchronicle.com, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click on the link that says "submit work". From there you can sign up to be a contributor.
If accepted as a contributor, you will then be able to submit articles along with your picture. Many of their articles are syndicated on Google News and will be available to the millions of searchers who go to Google News each and every day.
If you are looking to get your press release into Google News, that is simple as well. All you have to do is submit your press release to prleap.com. Using these techniques, you can get into Google News 100% free, while many other webmasters are paying to do so.
Now that you know about the many faces of Google, you will be able to use these tactics to your advantage. You see, there are so many people who just don�t put in the extra effort required to get exceptional results. Luckily for you, this puts you at a great advantage over many of the webmasters online today.
Kim Roach, the Hip Marketing Gal, has many more free traffic tips to unveil. To Learn Exactly how to attract tons of targeted, qualified web site traffic to your site, visit http://www.unleashthetraffic.com/traffic.html
4) How do you submit to Google Product Search?
Answer:Google Base - You simply need an account with Google. Go to Google Base and submit your products. You can either submit one item at a time or you can create a spreadsheet (they give you instructions) and then submit the spreadsheet (in .txt format) as a bulk upload.
5)Do you have to have a mobile web site to be in Google Mobile? Yahoo Mobile?
Answer: The short answer is Yes.
How can you convert your website into a mobile website?
You'll need the skills of a professional web designer to create a .mobi website for you. In the meantime, make sure to purchase your .mobi domain name from registrars such as GoDaddy.com
6)How do you know if Google is personalizing your web results?
Answer: If you're signed in to your Google account and you do a "search" on Google, your results may be different than if you were not signed in to your Google account. Why? Because Google is looking to give you results based on your search history. That's "personalizing".
The way you know is if you're signed in to your Google account or not.
Idea Of The Month
Remember 411? - Try Google!
Okay, remember when we used to pick up the phone and dial 411 to search for a phone number?
This used to be a free service but then the phone companies started charging for it. It's been so
long since I've used it I don't even know what the fee is anymore.
Well, now Google can do it for you for FREE.
Just call 1-800-466-4411, give the recording your city and state and
what you're searching for.
Google will not only give you the top 10 listings for that information they will also give you the
address, phone number and they'll even dial the phone number for you!
Spread this information to your friends. If it catches on, your website will begin getting traffic
not only from Internet users, but from phone users as well!
Do you have an Internet Marketing Idea or Tip you would
like to share?
Search engine promotion is important: most visitors use a search engine to find your site. But once they arrive, they have to be able to actually use the site and understand the content. Otherwise, your site is a waste of their time.
Our usability checklist highlights five important components of a usable Web site. This month's Webmaster Tips issue also contains handy, annotated checklists that address other important areas:
Design a clear and simple navigation system. According to Web usability expert, Jakob Nielsen, a good navigation system should answer three questions:
Where am I?
Where have I been?
Where can I go?
Your site's navigation system will answer all three questions if you're careful to include these basic elements:
Keep it consistent. The navigation system should be in the same place on every page and have the same format. Visitors will get confused and frustrated if links appear and disappear unpredictably. Consider using Server Side Includes for your main navigation system to make certain the navigation system stays consistent.
Use appropriate text inside links. Don't make your visitors guess where a link is going to take them. Visitors should be able to anticipate a link's destination by reading the text in the link or on the navigation button. This isn't the time to be cute or obscure - visitors don't have the time or patience for it.
If there's any question about a link's destination, clarify the issue with a TITLE attribute that explains exactly where the link goes.
Use CSS to emphasize text links. Some designers dislike underlined text links inside page content - although visitors expect to be able to click on underlined text. If you decide to remove this important visual navigation clue, style your links with CSS to replace underlining with another, consistent visual technique like a background color, different font, or text color that indicates a hyperlink.
Always include text links. You can create some great looking menus using JavaScript or other scripting language, but never rely completely on a dynamic menu system. Some users may have problems using a mouse to navigate through the menu and others may be listening to the page using a screen reader. Every page should have basic text links that link to all major sections of the site.
Add a text-based site map. Large or complex sites should always have a text-based site map in addition to text links. Every page should contain a text link to the site map. Lost visitors will use it to find their way, while search engines spiders will have reliable access to all your pages.
Include a home page link inside your main navigation system. Visitors may enter your site via an internal page, but hopefully they'll want to head for the home page next.
Site logo links to home page. Most sites include their logo somewhere at the top of every page - generally in the top, left-hand corner. Visitors expect this logo to be a link to your site's home page. They'll often go there before looking for the home link in the navigation system.
Include a site search box. A robust site search feature helps visitors quickly locate the information they want. Make the search box prominent and be sure that it searches all of your site - and only your site. We've run across far too many Web sites that include a "Search the Web" search box on their home page. The result? Visitors hardly get to the site before the search function sends them to another site!
Keep the content clear and simple. You may attract visitors with an eye-catching design, but content is what keeps them at the site and encourages them to return. Content is also the best way to boost your site in search engine rankings.
Always keep search engines in mind when you write content, but remember that your ultimate audience is human visitors. Present your content with humans in mind.
Don't save the best for last. Place your most important content high on the page. Think of a newspaper: the top story is always prominently displayed above the fold. Check your page display at in a number of different screen resolutions to make sure that your most important content is visible when the page loads.
Make page content easy to scan. You'll spend hours - maybe days - writing your page content and it's really annoying to think that visitors may read less than half of it. Format your content so that it's easy to scan. Emphasize important points (or product characteristics) with a combination of header tags, bold type, color, or lists.
Avoid using text inside images whenever possible. Text in images is invisible to search engine spiders and to visitors who may have images turned off in their browsers or who use assistive technologies like screen readers.
Add ALT and TITLE attributes to all images. Each image should have a descriptive ALT attribute and TITLE attribute associated with it - particularly images that are also links to other pages. That way, they can quickly jump to the page they're interested in without having to wait for the entire page to load.
Contrast, contrast, contrast! Be careful with background images and colors because they can obscure the text content on the page. Make sure you have a good reason to deviate from the successful dark text on a light background model. Visitors can't buy your products if they can't read the content.
Support your brand. A good brand creates or reinforces a user's impression of the site. When your site is strongly branded, that means that visitors will think of you first when they go shopping for your product or service.
Branding on a Web site takes time, effort, and close attention to page design and layout.
Keep colors and typefaces consistent. Visitors should never click on an internal link in your site and wonder if they've left your Web site. Choose your colors and fonts carefully and use them consistently throughout the site.
Keep page layout consistent. Use a Web site template to enforce a uniform page structure. Visitors should be able to predict the location of important page elements after visiting just one page in your site.
Custom error page. Create a useful custom error page that helps visitors if they should click on a broken internal link or type a URL incorrectly. The custom error page should reflect the site's overall color, type, and layout structure as much as possible and provide useful links to help visitors find what they're looking for.
Create a good tagline and use it on every page. A good tagline clearly and concisely explains your "value proposition" or what makes your site stand out from competing sites. It should be memorable and reinforce your brand in one quick phrase.
Provide for visitor feedback. Forms are critical to the success of ecommerce sites. Without forms, you can't have a shopping cart. But any site usually needs at least one form to allow for user feedback. A form helps you hide from email spiders and also helps you control how user feedback is formatted and sent.
Keep feedback forms short and clearly note which information is required to successfully submit the form. Take care to design accessible forms that all visitors can use.
Remember your international users and don't require information they may not have - like area codes or ZIP codes.
Present complete contact information including your business phone number and postal address. A street address is preferred, but you may want to use a PO box if yours is a home-based business. Visitors will probably prefer to contact you using email or a form, but they feel more comfortable with a site that allows other contact methods.
Test the site on real users. Remember that you're the designer so of course you effortlessly use the navigation system, love the content, and understand the value proposition. But now it's time to get user feedback - before your online users start sending it in.
Usability testing helps you replicate the experience of the average Web site user and correct problems before online visitors find them. It also gives you valuable answers to other questions:
Do visitors enjoy using the site? If so, they'll stay longer and read more content.
Do they understand the purpose of the site? If not, there's no compelling reason to return.
Is there any incentive to return after the first visit? Your site should try to be the ultimate authority on the Web for your topic. A site with depth and breadth encourages visitors to bookmark it and refer friends interested in the same topic.
Can they recover from errors? Usability testing is the best way to test how well your site search, site map, forms, and custom error pages function. They should all work together to guide a visitor through the site and help him get where he's going. Frustrated visitors aren't likely to return - ever.
Web usability means designing for your visitors instead of for yourself or your client. A site that conforms to user expectations makes visitors more comfortable and more apt to visit again and recommend the site to their friends. Good usability is critical to your site's success.
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Recently, while on vacation at the beach, we bought some “quickie” food items. One of which was a new product by Oreos. Or should I say, yet another new product by Oreo. This one is called “Cakesters” and, like the name implies, it is less hard “cookie” and more soft “cake,” still with the ubiquitous cream spread in the middle.