Instant SEO by Google

Posted on December 13, 2010 by admin

Most of you Google.com users have probably noticed by now that Google launched its latest search innovation in Google Instant – a “search as you type” feature in which search results are displayed immediately as users enter their queries, letter by letter in the search box. The system will even try to predict what they believe you are going to type. Google instant relies on Google’s auto-complete technology to predict search queries as users type.

Google claims that Instant saves users two to five seconds per search. How you ask? The predictions help guide users in their searches, and instant lets them see the results without having to click anything. There is an option to turn this off, but after using it for the past couple of months I am in love with this new feature. Like anything that we have used for quite some time, there can be some resistance against change. However, in many cases change is good, and this is one of those changes I believe to be good from a searching stand point. Who doesn’t want to find what they are after faster than they were previously able to? It seems that “faster” is something all internet users are after whether it be searching for something to buy, loading a website, or making their website a success.

On the other hand this does have an impact on internet marketers which we must pay attention to.

Ranking Algorithm:
Google has been very clear that the search ranking algorithm has not changed. The only thing that has changed is how the results are displayed and presented.

Impressions:
How Google counts impressions has changed. When someone searches using Google Instant, ad impressions are counted in these situations:
*User beings to type a query on Google and clicks anywhere on page
*User chooses a particular query by clicking the search button, pressing enter, or selecting a predicted query
*User stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds

Google instant might increase or decrease your overall impression levels. Expect your impression counts in Google Adwords and Google Webmaster Tools to increase.

Localization:
Depending upon a user’s geographic location, they will receive different predictions and search results.

Filtering:
Google Instant does have a filter. For example, searches for words and phrases of an adult nature, e.g. pron, nude, etc., do not have these features available!

No matter what some analysts might be saying, Google Instant is in no way the end of SEO. If anything, Google Instant makes the job of an SEO more important as it represents a new paradigm shift in search, presenting new opportunities along the way.

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Increase Your Website Traffic with Lockalike WordPress Plugin

Posted on December 12, 2010 by admin

This nifty wordPress plugin is designed to do one thing for your site. Get more website traffic by encouraging visitors to share your content on their social networking page you instantly have the potential to reach out to a much wider audience.

This Social Traffic Boster plugin for wordpress works by placing a nice popup over your site with social network sharing buttons. To access your site the visitor must simply vote and share the site with their friends. There are many unique settings that are at your fingertips in the wordpress CMS system for administrating.

Lockalike WordPress Traffic Booster Plugin

We are going to install and test this plugin ourselves in the upcoming week on our own blogs. We have heard many good things about this plugin and as of right now the price is very inexpensive so grab it while they are selling this at a generous low price!

Click Here To Get Lockalife

Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Networking, Website Promotion | 1 Comment

6 Steps to a Successful Press Release

Posted on December 11, 2010 by admin

We are constantly asked by many website owners what they can do to self-promote their website or products. I could talk for days on different promotion tactics but today I am going to talk about 1 marketing strategy and that is Press Releases. There are 6 steps we follow religiously in our offices to ensure our press releases succeed at our objective.

6 Steps to a successful press release are:

Step 1: Be Professional. Use how, what, why, where, when and who.

Step 2: Tell a story. Press releases that tell a story of fat to thin, poor to wealthy, overweight to healthy, are all things that readers can relate to and like. Try to fit in a story in your press release if possible.

Step 3: Don’t be promotional. No one wants to read an online sales pitch. Think of your press release as an informational article about your product or company. Write it as if you were an outsider.

Step 4: Don’t be boring. Although I told you to be professional, you still do not want to be overly dry. You want to have balance between professional and using some humor or emotional words that incite feelings where appropriate.

Step 5: Call to action! You must call your reader to action or its all for nothing. Whether you want to generate leads, make direct sales, or send them to a demo page this is by far the most important aspect of a press release. If you forget to do this, then the rest is pointless. Your press release should have a purpose, which hopefully is to generate more business for you, so you have to tell your readers to act or they will procrastinate or not act at all.

Step 6: Ok, the biggest question I probably receive from people is:

“Where do I submit my press release?”

There are many places you can submit your press release but I am going to personally recommend a few I have experience with, both paid and free.

Here are 2 extremely good paid options that will give you the best exposure:
www.prweb.com
www.webwire.com

And here are some of the best free places to submit your press releases:
www.prlog.org
www.i-newswire.com
www.bignews.biz
www.pr.com
www.1888pressrelease.com
www.freepressrelease.com
www.yourfreepressrelease.net
www.pressreleasepublic.com
www.pr9.net
www.free-press-release.com

Now, please feel free to also do some offline marketing to promote your press release. Printed newspapers are still read by many believe it or not. Send your press release to newspaper editors and magazine editors, you never know where your article could be published.

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Free Web Design Mockups

Posted on December 10, 2010 by admin

I will keep this short and get immediately to the point. We offer free web design mockups with no strings attached! You do not go and buy a new car without testing driving it first, do you? If it doesn’t meet your expectations then are you guying to buy it? Hopefully the answer is no.

Although we have an extensive website portfolio available, wouldn’t it be nicer if you could get a glimpse of what YOUR custom website design could look like without any monetary commitment?!

If you are in need of web design services and wish to put our quality staff to work on your design project, then please request a free mockup design on our website today! You can have a custom website mockup in your email box within 72 hours or less! Go ahead, take advantage of one of many great free services our company offers. Who knows how long we can possibly continue to offer this as rapidly as we are growing. Take advantage of this before we are forced to discontinue this service based on the overwhelming demands.

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Is Blogging Worth It?

Posted on December 10, 2010 by admin

Have you been blogging for awhile and feel like you are getting nowhere? Do you start to wonder if blog sites such as shoemoney.com are anomolies? You are not alone. Everyone when starting out in the blogging realm at one point or another begin to wonder if its actually worth the time and effort.

It all depends how dedicate you are, your strategy, your content, and if you can spend the time and energy necessary to continue publishing quality blog posts. You must maintain your blog on a regular basis to keep it running smoothly. Invest a little money into improving and upgrading your site and design so it doesnt become outdated. Stay consistent with the quality and usefulness of content to meet your readers expectations. Stay inspired and creative so your posts always sound fresh and interesting. Tie your blog into your social media accounts, and take advantage of free applications such as hootsuite.com and ping.fm.

The dedicated win in this industry so do not give up and you will get rewarded for your hard work in the end. Good Luck!

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Common SEO Mistakes

Posted on September 1, 2010 by admin

The most common mistake when designing a website with SEO in mind are problems with the way keywords are dealt with. How many times have we all seen websites where the keywords are dropped in every other phrase it seems? Don’t make this error. Search engine algorithems are not impressed with an unbelievably high keyword density.

In fact, they may ban your site from their search results for using such a tactic. Instead, sprinkle your keywords liberally throughout the text as you would in normal conversation. Keep the reader in mind. Not just search engine results. Not using keywords in specific places is often another stumbling block. Places where you will always want to use your keywords are your title and meta title tags. These are the most important parts areas of your site with regard to search engine bots. Don’t sell yourself short by not turning them to your advantage.

If you are stuffing so many keywords in your content that it becomes unnatural to the reader, do yourself a favor and revise your content so it flows naturally. Find that happy medium and you will see your hard work pay off in the results!

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Finding a Web Developer

Posted on August 30, 2010 by admin

In today’s competitive business environment it is crucial to secure any advantage you can get. A great website will be a valuable resource that will generate leads, customers, and brand awareness. This will add significantly to your bottom line.

The single most important advice to keep in mind when choosing a web developer is that the more you know what you want in your website the more you can search for a web developer who can deliver it. Having specific features, style options, and a general idea on the size and page number you want, will go a long way in deciding the criteria for which web developer will be best for you. By taking the time to figure out what you want, and following this step to find the developer to deliver it will ensure that your website will be a integral and profitable part of your business operations.

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Getting Your Press Release Out There

Posted on August 29, 2010 by admin

Get your press release into the right hands. A little research will go a long ways in this regards. Find out what sites and outlets will be interested in your product. Community sites and blogs are great for this. Press releases aren’t just for journalists anymore. You’ll have a greater chance of an active blogger mentioning your product than any news service. That doesn’t mean leave them out, however.

If your company is using a PR firm, make sure you are all on the same page, with a list of people and organizations to target. They may not be familiar with search engine optimization techniques, but more often than not, their skills will coincide with improving the visibility of your page ranking anyways. Remember, the extra time doing research to identify good targets of your press release will almost certainly pay off in the end.

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Content is King

Posted on August 27, 2010 by admin

A great website is an invaluable resource for any business. It is a representative of you and your company. And it should look the part. With a great website, traffic and customers will be increased, brand image will be reinforced, and customer service will be made easier. It is therefore crucial to have a website that you and your business can be proud of.

It can’t be said enough, content is king. Make sure that you have material on your website that is worth looking at and visiting. While this seems obvious at first glance, really take the time to think about what your website will provide to the customer and how it will fill their needs. With good content any design problem can eventually be overcome. With bad content, it does not matter how well your site functions or how well it is designed, it will fail.

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Cheap Websites Equal Long Term Expenses

Posted on August 26, 2010 by admin

Today I am going to talk a little bit about the decisions company owners are faced with when choosing a web design company or freelancer to take on their web development needs. On average our company receives about 15-20 requests for quotations and web design mockups a week from small to large sized projects. In many cases people are willing to extend their budget appropriately to ensure they receive quality design and development. However, what I am interested in discussing today are the people who are lured in by web development companies that give an unrealistic quotation; in order to receive the business knowing they can not provide the client with the quality development necessary.

In some cases we can bring people back to reality with complete honesty about what they can expect to receive within their budget. No one ever wants to turn down business, but if the budget is not there to provide quality service that both parties can be proud of, then it is not worth cutting corners. Brazen Web Design wants to have an end product that ourselves and the client can be extremely proud of and are happy to add these sites to our ever growing portfolio. There is nothing worse then under bidding a project and not being able to deliver the quality that the client deserves. We just wont do it. That does not mean we are not flexible on our quotations or that website payment schedules can not be modified, but quality service and development is of up most importance.

Just in the past 4 months we have had 2 potential clients decide to move forward with another firm due to the cheaper quotation provided. And just recently both these company owners have contacted us back lettings us know that the other company fell short of delivering what they anticipated. We were asked to renegotiate our quotation and take over development. When this happens more time and more money is wasted, and the majority of the time work must be done completely from scratch. I urge people to make their decision carefully and do not make a decision solely on a sticker price. In the web development business you get what you pay for and in the long run it is not worth sacrificing quality for a few hundred or few thousand dollars.

Is saving money now worth losing out on your online business volume because your web development company was so eager to make a quick dollar they couldn’t provide the time and care necessary to take care of your needs appropriately?

If you get a quotation that seems to good to be true, then most the time it is. If you care about your business, your online presence, and your own customers then take your time and make the right decision when choosing a web design firm to fulfill your needs. If you find the right company a fruitful long term relationship for both parties can easily be established.

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