SEO & Social Media Marketing - Getting Started, Working Smarter

Social Media (SM) is an important tool in marketing any business when it's done right. And, SM is here to stay so this is the first post in an ongoing series of SM.

SM can go wrong is you are not careful. In the paper today there's a story of a news station that asked viewers to tweet what they are glad is over in 2014, since today is the last day of the year. It backfired. Viewers ended up mocking the station and the news casters too. (read story).

What is Social Media (aka social networks)

There are a slew of social media providers. The top ones in USA are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.  Those four are also free to use. There are many social networks that started free but now you must pay. For example Ning.com; however, there are no ads in that one like you see in Facebook or Linkedin. Click here to view an entire list of social media sites in Wikipedia.

How Does Social Media Work?

The old school  term is networking. Nowadays, it depends on what SM tool you are using in how to best put it to work. Keep in mind that SM is ALWAYS morphing with updates and new technology. I am going to focus here on the top four that I already mentioned. One key thread in these four is that they are use your email account(s) to garner people to link with you.

FaceBook
The basis is friends. When you share a post it is distributed to your friends. Depending on how they have set their "viewing settings," they may or may not see your post.  There are also communities, but I have never used them or participated in them.

Twitter
The basis is followers. When you send a tweet it is distributed to your followers. The idea is the more followers the more exposure. In the old days you could just sign up an account without much fuss. Today, when you setup a new account, you have to pick a scad of people to follow. That means you begin by being on the receiving end of their tweets.

LinkedIn
The basis is contacts. You can do a short post or a longer article, which is a recent change. LinkedIn is revamping its structure. Now when you do a short post it is distributed to your contacts but you can never see it or manage that post.In the other SM you can see your previous posts. Plus, in the new feature of a longer article, you can see that/those under the Profile menu. Obviously, Linkedin wants users to start doing longer articles. There are also communities here and I have used them somewhat but not had much success.

Google+ (G+)
The basis is circles.  From your email account you connect with people and place them into one or more circles. For example, I have a business circle, a client circle, and so forth. Blogspot.com is Googles free blog, when you make a post there, you select what circle will automatically receive it. Or, you can sent it to the general public. There are also established communities, some open and some need an invitation, where you can make relevant posts to that community. I have had a lot of success in G+ communities.

Common Feature in those four:  The link in your post, hopefully it is to your blog or web site, and works to boost your page rank.

I will go into those four in more detail in future posts. I think it's important since those are here to stay and they contain millions of potential viewers of your products and services.

Measure Your Results

The best part of any serious effort in life is measuring your results. Here is a simple, free, and easy way to track the results of your social marketing.

#1 Use the Chrome Browser.
#2 Install  free add called "Social Analytics" after you have installed Chrome. You can find this by googling "Chrome add on social analytics".

Now when you visit a web page, that add-on will automatically show you how many people have shared the page in the top four social networks. If you have a blog, go to the blog post to see the results for that specific post.

I hope this has been helpful to you in marketing your business.  To get automatic updates join my Google+ circle in the right hand column of this post. Receive my free SEO Tips booklet here.

Tutorial - Improve Your Data Sharing Skill: Technology In Classrooms and/or Offices

Data sharing is becoming an important life skill. In education, in business, in public projects, and in private projects allowing others to see, collaborate, and share your data is important for a host of reasons. This post will focus on free or inexpensive tools that allow for one form of data sharing or another.


Free Tool

Google Docs is a free Web-based application in which documents and spreadsheets can be created, edited and stored online. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured web browser.

Google Docs allows you to edit or share existing Microsoft Word or Excel files and Open Office files too.

To use Google Docs just login using your gmail account.  Select what type of fie you want to use by selecting the menu icon.


In the screen shot below you see a blank spreadsheet. The "title" field is in the top left corner. You can only see part of it here, but just click it to modify it.

 

 If you have an existing spreadsheet you want to use, click the "File" menu in top left corner and then select "Import." On the new screen that is displayed choose "upload" and a new window is displayed -  just drag your existing file onto that window.

There is no "Save" in Google Docs. When you close the window or log out your file is automatically saved.

Share your document or spreadsheet

There are three steps to sharing your document.

#1. Share your file with no ability to edit the content.
To do this click the blue "Share" button in the top right corner of the screen shot above. This will enabling sharing and provide a link to your file. Just send that link to anyone you ant to share the data with.

#2. Publish your file content to the web.
If you want to publish the content of a file to a web page or blog then this step is for you. First complete #1 above. Then, click the "File" menu and select the "Publish to the web" option that will display the screen below.

The next step is dictated by your project: how you plan to publish your file(s). For example, I recently completed publishing the inventory of a local bookstore to their web site. I am using Google Spreadsheets and you can read about it here. Your web site software or blog page will tell you the parameters. For example, if you were using a blog and wanted to embed the data of your file then in the screen above you would select "Embed" that gives you a code to place in your blog page.  Once you have selected the link or the embed option, then click the blue "Publish" button.

#3. Share your file with one or more people so then can edit and collaborate with you.

Click the "File" menu and select the "Email collaborators..." option which displays the screen below.

First you have to click the "Get sharable link" in the upper right corner. Then choose the right option of the ones displayed in "link Sharing." Under "people" on that same screen, enter email addresses of people who you want to have the access you defined above.

If you have any complex issue, use my google+ profile to send me an email. I will help you figure it out.

TWO FREE Resources: Storing/Sharing Files

One great resources that is free for 2GB of storage is SpiderOak. You install this on your computer and then the files you choose are stored on SpiderOak servers. Only you have the password and all your data is encrypted. No one will be able to hack your account unless you give them your password.

To send someone files that won't fit in gmail or yahoo, use DropBox. They have a free account and a paid account. Once you upload your file(s) to share then you are given a link to send, or DropBox will send a link when you put in the email address(es).

This post is designed as a simple tutorial on using Google Docs to create and share files. There are also two other free resources for storing/sharing files. Hopefully, this post has improved your data sharing skill. If so, consider sharing it with your colleagues and friends.

Steu Mann

2 Free Tools: protect your internet privacy, stop pesky ad displays

The other day I was out browsing the web looking at new GMC trucks. The next day, and it's still happening, almost every page I visit in my browser has ads for a GMC truck.

Finally, I came to the realization that the GMC sites I visited had installed a cookie (software code) on my computer and this was creating the GMC ads on those other - non related GMC - pages I was visiting. 

It's no coincidence those GMC ad were appearing every where. As I began talking to other people, many have had similar experiences. 

It's not GMC that is the issue, it's the nature of internet marketing gone bad - IMHO.

Hey, there are all sorts of companies collecting info about you when you surf the web. It's not just  Facebook, Google+,YouTube and the other 'biggies'.

If you don't mind this sort of practice that is literally mining your personal data (behaviors and habits), then do nothing.

And, if you want to retain your privacy in a digital world here are two great - free - tools you can use right now. If you using IE then you are just asking for trouble and you do live in a glass house.

AdBlock Plus - 300 million downloads to date
Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads on the web by default: video ads on YouTube, Facebook ads, flashy banners, pop-ups, pop-unders and much more. Simply install Adblock Plus to your browser (it is available for Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera) or your Android smartphone or tablet and all intrusive ads are automatically removed from any website you visit.

Disconnect
Disconnect was founded in 2011 by former Google engineers and a consumer-and privacy-rights attorney. We develop award-winning, user-friendly privacy and security software in San Francisco, California. Disconnect exists to help solve an important social issue and our founding principles are reflected in the way we run the company.  Our software also makes your Internet faster and reduces bandwidth consumption, by blocking tracking requests. We strive to give you the Internet on your terms: private, secure and fair.  (Web Site & Download)

SEO Guide - 9 common mistakes of search engine marketing

SEO is the practice of improving and promoting a website in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines - aka marketing in the 21st century.

There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on the web. Another piece of marketing is how you have your page setup in terms of words, links, and format.

Another layer of marketing involves your content is meta tags and rich snippets. Those two help search engines decipher what you are providing.

In the old days there were desktop computers. Then came laptops. Nowadays there are all sorts of mobile devices too, many of which are more powerful than those computers that sat on a desktop years ago. Can your web site or blog be easily read by a mobile computing device?

And the layer after that is social marketing. You want your web site to be plugged into networks so people can find you more easily. Remember when Google was just a search engine. Today, Google offers free blogs, free web sites, and a free social network: Google+.

These are all important components of a successful web presence. What is your "success" measure by? That is easy, your site/information is easier to find, meaning your content will experience an increase in visitor traffic.

You want your content to be engaging to visitors, especially with all the mobile computing since those users tend to be younger. I want to help you expand your web presence and avoid the common pitfalls made by many small businesses.

You can easily make your web presence your partner instead of your adversary - just something else to contend with.

Today, you can have my handy (and free) SEO Guide to improve your marketing in the search engines.

To receive the 9 most common mistakes people make in search engine marketing - click here.

PageRank: what is it and how can it impact your marketing efforts?

PageRank (PR) is what Google uses to determine the importance of a web page. It's one of many factors used to determine which pages appear in search results. PR can impact your SEO and SEM, depending how you structure your web content.

Today, PR is used as the gold standard for measuring the quality of a web site or blog. 

The history of PageRank (PR)

PR was developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford. At the time that Page and Brin met, search engines typically linked to pages that had the highest keyword density, which meant people could game the system by repeating the same phrase over and over to attract higher search page results. 

PR is patented by Stanford, and the name PageRank comes from Larry Page. 

What does PR accomplish?

PR is a Standard that measures a web page's importance using baseline values inherent to the software code of PR.

Page and Brin's theory is that the most important pages on the Internet are the pages with the most links leading to them. PR thinks of links as votes, where a page linking to another page is casting a vote. 

PR is one of many factors that determines where your web page appears in search result ranking, but if all other factors are equal,PR  can have significant impact on your Google rankings.  

What is the PR scale?

Every web site or blog is assigned a PR value and the scale is below: zero to ten.  The comments are mine from observations over the years.

0 - You are NOT listed on Google, or you have been removed.

1 - Very poor. The only good part about a one is you are listed.
2 - Poor. The good news, you can improve.
3 - Average. Most sites are about a two or three.
4 - Above Average. You're doing the right SEO and SEM.
5 - Excelling and moving in the right directions.
6 - Your are in the BIG results area now.
7 - You have even more traffic and links to your site now.
8, 9, 10  - Apple, Microsoft, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, YELP, YouTube, Google+

NOTE: PR operates on a logarithmic scale. This means that the difference between a PR0 ranking and a PR1 ranking isn’t the same as the difference between a PR7 site and a PR8 site. 

PR Summary

When you have too many links that are lower than you PR linking to you, your PR is effectively pulled down (reduced). Conversely, when you have links into your site from sites with PR higher than your PR, your PR will increase; the higher PR ratings pull your up.

Obtain a FREE copy: the 9 most common mistakes to intern marketing - click here. 







 

7 Statistics Every Web Site & Blog Owner Should Know

Well, I am doing my best to help you get your arms and mind around the fact that social media, SEO, and SEM can help you grow your business. I have a  "web system" that I've  developed and used with clients very successfully.

 My "web system" has a static piece, a dynamic piece, and integrates social media. 

Below are the seven key statistics. The source of the information with a link is provided. 

1. There are networks of connectivity in the internet. "There are more devices connected to the Internet than there are people on Earth. AllTwitter"   

2. The best way to create a buzz about your products and services is using a blog or social network. "80% of active internet users visit social networks and blogs. AllTwitter" 

3. Google is the new yellow pages. You better make sure you are easily locatable there.

"61% of all online shoppers research products in search engines before making a purchase. Hubspot"

4 . Location, Location, Location. Put your web presence where it will be seen by potential clients most often.

"in May, 2011 Google searches led the all search engine queries with 61% of the total. Hubspot"

This table below shows the ranking of search engines by searches done in them during the months shown in 2012.

5.  Building organic links with search engine marketing is no longer optional, it's critical to online success. "70% of  the links clicked on in search engine results by web surfers are ORGANIC not paid links. Hubspot"

6.  Use social media that gives you the best bang for your buck. "The top 10 social sites are facebook, youtube, twitter, yahoo answers, pininterest, linkedin, google+, tagged, myspace, yelp.  AllTwitter"

 7.  "Up to 60 percent of consumers used mobile exclusively to make a purchase decision according to the latest research from xAd and Telmetrics in the third annual Mobile Path-to-Purchase report.

SEO: 4 Most Important Web Page Elements

With billions of web pages, in order for your page to soar in the search engines, there are certain elements that you must have in each web page. SEO (search engine optimization) has morphed over the years in its' practices. That is nothing new really, all technology morphs over time. Cars are a another example of changing technology. When you are getting ready to publish your content, make sure it has these elements and you will accomplishing some basic SEO principles.

Content above the fold
 
Most web sites today are using an image at the top of the page, so "above the fold" means the top half of the page underneath that image which begins the page. If you are not using an image on the top of your page, "above the fold" means the top half of the page.

This content should contain key words. Key words are what you want to be found by in searches performed in a search engine. But, don't over due it. Use the key words in normal conversation tone, don't repeat them over and over. 

This content should not contain any links going off your site.  If you do put a link in this content don't change it for a year or more. That means, don't change the link and don't change where the link goes. And, if you do use a link, make sure it goes to another page on your site. For example, let's say you are selling apple carts.  And, you have a feature page describing the specific benefits of your apple carts. One link in that top half content could be "apple carts" that links to the features page.


Relevant links

The goal of every search engine is to provide the end user with relevant and useful results to a search. To do this, they must separate the wheat from the chaff. Links are one of the factors that search engines use to determine the authority and quality of a site. 

Google's latest updates are taking a closer look at links, evaluating their worth, and weighing the content relevancy of the documents or websites to which those links connect. In an effort to provide the end user with the most effective and rewarding online experience, Google has downgraded sites with an abundance of irrelevant links via their most current Penguin algorithm installment. 

A relevant link is a link that matches the content from the source of the link. For example, let's say that you have a page that talks about hammers and wrenches that auto repair guys use. You want any link from that page, going to a page off your site, to contains similar content - auto repair tools. For example, you don't want to put a link form that page to a another site with content about certification required to renew a license.

A quality link is a site with a PageRank that exceeds your PageRank.


Accurate meta tags

Every web page has meta tags that help the search engine decipher the content on your page.  Those tags are for title, description, key words, and author.

Make sure that every page on your site has as has least a meta description. This should be a concise statement, maybe containing key words, that exists in the web page content.
 
Differentiate the descriptions for different pages. Identical or similar descriptions on every page of a site aren't helpful when individual pages appear in the web results. If you don't have time to create a description for every single page, try to prioritize your content: At the very least, create a description for the critical URLs like your home page and popular pages.


Content Rich Snippets

Rich Snippets (RS) provide a small sample of a site’s content on Search Engine Result Pages of search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. They enhance your search listing, making it more enticing for users to click on and easier for search engines to extract information. 

Adding Rich Snippets to your site won’t affect the appearance or content of your pages; rather, everything is done behind the scenes in your site’s HTML code. To display RS, you just need to tweak the code of your website with some additional tags.

You need an understanding of HTML to create or edit a RS. To review the RS Standards click here.

If you have any questions, send me an email - click here. be sure to get a copy of my Free SEO  Guide.

Online Video Research - Six Facts Of Using Videos In Marketing

This video research will give you some serious evidence to consider when thinking about online video as part of your marketing tool set.

Keep in mind that you have 10 seconds to capture the attention of the viewer.  Visible Measures research is showing that 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer.

#1 According to the Online Publishers Association, 80% of Internet users recall watching a video ad on a website they visited in the past 30 days. It gets even better. Of that 80%, 46% took some action after viewing the ad. In fact:

• 26% looked for more information about the subject of the video 
• 22% visited the website named in the ad
• 15% visited the company represented in the video ad
• 12% purchased the specific product featured in the ad

#2 Of all viewers who watch online videos, 64% are more likely to buy a product on an online retail site. In addition, visitors who view videos stay on the site an average of 2 minutes longer than those who don’t view videos, comScore says.
 
#3 An Australian real estate group reports that real estate listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without videos. In other words, real estate ads with videos generate quadruple the leads of those without videos.

#4 Forbes Insight is reporting that 59%, of senior executives would rather watch a video than read text. About 65% of those who view a video click through to visit the vendor website, 50% look for more information and 45% report that they contacted a vendor after seeing an online video ad.

#5 in 2010 the Forrester Marketing group surveyed businesses and found that when marketers included a marketing or explainer video in an email, the click-through rate increased by 200% to 300%.

Read the entire article here: http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics

Bookstore Web Site & Google Spreadsheets

This is a brief article about a web site I built, for minimal cost, using Google Spreadsheets to display a book inventory.

I have a wonderful client who owns a used book store in Southern Oregon. Like so many small businesses, they have limited funds for marketing. But, at the same time there is a need to do as much marketing as possible.  All business want as much marketing as possible, right?

I got to know them by enjoying their great selection of adventure and mysteries books. Once we got to talking how they are doing their web presence,  I found out they didn't have a site or blog. It seemed like such a waste to me, all their thousands of books going idle, when the more people that can browse them, the more the books will be enjoyed. They felt the same way.

The Solution

The obvious solution is hooking up their database to a web site and off we go.  All though that's  probably the "best" method it was just not affordable for them. The fund factor was the driving force of the site design.

After doing research on certain methods and different software, I came across some software plug-ins that I could use with my web site software, on a MAC, that will pull data off Google Spreadsheets (GS) and display it on a web page.

While the plug-in has several limitations, it's an affordable fix for today, and that was the key ingredient. Just get the book inventory online with as little cost as possible.

GS has undergone some changes recently. The articles my research produced didn't work, but it took me trying all of them to reach that conclusion. The next step was wading through numerous forum Q/A's to see if anyone had a work around. Many were mentioned but after diligently testing them, none worked. After about throwing in the towel, I did find a solution that I was able to get working.

The Common Denominator

The techie point of the project is  displaying the content of a CSV file. 

- The bookstore database easily exported the inventory into a CSV file.
- The web site software could publish CSV content.
- There is a lot of collaboration in techie forums about the ease of using CSV files in one fashion or another.

With GS, the issue boiled down to recent GS updates. In the currence GS version they removed the publishing feature dealing with CSV files. In fact, if you go to GS today, there are zero formatting options for CSV.  They were all removed. The distributing piece of GS is that at first they were all for using CSV file and then overnight CSV literally disappeared off thier radar and documentation.

I think the great part of the web is, when you take your time, you can find some amazingly good hearted research that many people contribute to, which provides insights and knowledge to all. Like Google+.  I like G+ over Facebook any day for that same reason; the ability to collaborate with others without too much fuss and with privacy too.

What to do?

Take a chance, try something new and different.  In one Q/A exchange someone suggesting altering the file name that GS provides when you share the file so that it becomes CS. That turned out to be a million dollar idea.

You have to manually change the end of the file name as shown in link below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/..................ona0/edit?usp=sharing

will become

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/..................ona0/export?format=csv&id

Summary

A. In GS you have to 1) SHARE the file and 2) PUBLISH the file.
The SHARE option is up in the right hand corner. Today it's a blue button that say share.
The PUBLISH option is available in the FILE menu. 
Do not change the file name in GS after you do those two steps.

B. The web site software I used on this project is Rapid Weaver

C. The plug-in I used is Power Grid by Joe Workman.

NOTE: The forum where I found the solution was not using the same web site software solution I am, so this file name fix is at the level of your web site solution.

To receive my free SEO Guide, click here.

Guide: How To Interview For SEO Help

You have heard lots about SEO (search engine optimization). You may even know you need it. But how do you go about finding some with the right credentials and experience?  If you enjoy doing it yourself (DIY) checkout my 7 steps to SEO your blog.

When To Hire?

The best time is before you get started with a web site or blog. But, an effective SEO  professional can turn around any web site or blog so they begin receiving search engine visibility - being displayed in search engine results pages( SERP) for searches related to specific services or products.

Questions To Ask

Get more information by asking these seven essential questions. The answers will provide you with the measures to compare SEO candidates you are interviewing.

- Can you show me examples of your previous SEO work/results?

- Do you suggest organic results over paid advertising results?

- What time frame do you think I should use to expect some results?

- How will you measure the success of the SEO work on my behalf?

- What experience/success have you had on a national or global basis?

- What experience/success have you had in my geographical area?

- How will you explain the work you do om my site/blog?

Guidelines

While no one can guarantee you a #1 results on SERP, a decent SEO rep can get you on the first page of SREP. Ideally, you want to be one of the first three organic results on the first page of SERP.

There are two types of search results on each SERP.  First, and the most sought after, are organic results are accomplished by methods involving the content and coding of your web pages.  The second type of search results are paid advertising. Those include paying a fee to be placed on SERP for specific key words (EX: Google AdWords), or using Pay Per Click (PPC): advertisers pay when an ad is clicked.

What To Avoid

1. Link programs. Avoid submitting your site to hundreds of search engines. While high quality inbound links are important, sending massive submissions of your site to hundreds of search engines is irrelevant, and can even do more harm than good. A high quality link is one that has a PageRank of 6 or higher. PageRank (PR) is a scale to measure the online health of a site that includes many factors. An average site is a PR 3. The highest PR is 10, which is Twitter.

2. Obscure Key Words. Setup your key word strategy with short phrases that key in on features or benefits of your products/service. Never mind with your business name. New, potential clients are not searching on business names. In fact, they don't know your business name, what they are looking for is a solution to the question in their mind. You work is to think about what questions they will ask to find you. Or, what key words represent the features and benefits of your products?

3. No Specific Information.  Don't do business with a SEO rep who doesn't have a track record you can verify in a search engine. Ask them for search results they have done with other clients and then test those results yourself.  Get a plan, written or spoken, about the specific steps they will take with your site to reduce confusion about progress once the SEO effort is underway.


A Simple SEO Plan

• research key words
• write content for priority pages with key word strategy
• anchor text uses key words
• code the meta tags appropriately
• code images for key words
• make plan to create high quality links
• test meta tags for effectiveness
• test search engine for key word strategy and note placement to be used for future search engine results comparison
• index site

To help boost your search engine, you are welcome to have my Free SEO Guide - click here.

SEO: Three Things To Consider When Hiring SEO Assistance

In this article I offer guidelines on how to measure SEO, search engine optimization, or SEM, search engine marketing, services for your website or blog. At one time or another you will be pitched to hire someone. Now you are gonna know what to look for in hiring someone.

It’s the century old story. You can buy a dress shirt at the box store for a lot less than at the men’s store. But, the shirt at the men’s store is custom fit to your shape and the actual shirt material is a different quality.  You always get what you pay for. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will have a better understanding of the characteristics being offered to you for SEM and SEO work.

Make no mistake, SEO and SEM are critical to the success of any website or blog. There are millions of web sites and blogs out there You must consistently provide quality SEO and SEM to your pages in order to stand out from the herd; show up on the front page of the search engine results. I have covered the six common errors to kill you SEO previously.


What Assistance Can They Provide You With In PageRank?

Since April this year the PageRanks have been dipping, diving, and rising. There has been shakeout as the PPC, pay per click, sites get identified from Google’s Penguin update, thereby lowering those sites with any assortment of those PPC links. 

Right now, a stable and average site is a three or four from what I can tell.  I have talked with hundreds of web site owners over the last 10 years. You don’t get an honest traffic measurement from those PageRanks (PR) either. In other words, two sites with a PR of four may have different web site visitor numbers.

Hopefully, the person you hire to help with boosting your SEO  has a strategy to enhance your PR. It won't happen overnight, but increasing your PR requires a methodical approach.


What Assistance Can They Provide In Building Your Back Links?

Like it or not, back links are a standard measurement of inbound activity by Google. And, forget about any PPC links you have accumulated because Google won’t count ‘em, they may even ding you for having them.

Look for organic links from reputable sites. I think it’s better to have one link from a thousand sites each than 1,000 links from the same site. The more sites linking into your site communicate to the search engines that you have a broader interest in your material/products/services.

The person you hire to do your search engine optimization or search engine marketing needs a web site or blog with 10K to 15K back links. Ask to see the list. Are the links from one site or many sites? Hey, time is not a factor here. When you know what you are doing, organic back links can be established in a timely, methodical manner.


What Content Have They Written?

This person you are about to hire must be doing writing for you. The attributes of that content will be educational, persuasive, or analytical depending on your marketing strategy. Ask to see some of their articles so you can imagine how they will be writing for your products and services.

Do they have an understanding of where that writing will be placed and how to do it?  Talk with them about how they plan to distribute your material once it is written. Just placing it in a reputable article bank won’t cut it. A link to that article has to be placed into other locations that have a PR of five or better. Your written material will create a sphere of influence around the web that leads readers back to your web/blog pages.

Hope this helps to improve your website presence. If you want my Free SEO Guide, click here. Let me know if you have any questions.

SEO: 7 Simple & Effective Blogging Tips

Putting a blogging strategy into place is a proven method to enhancing your web reputation and your visibility. Even better, blogs are free to acquire and just require your energy and desire. All you need is some thoughts about about the qualities and features of your products and services, along with ideas to educate folks.

Blogs work better when they inform the reader. A blog used as a "sales pitch" is less appealing to readers and to search engines. In this post I will cover some effective, but simple techniques to SEO (search engine optimize) your blog posts.

Online marketing is a must have for any business who wants to stand out from the herd in the search engines. Be sure your content in informative, even Facebook is removing promotional sharing in its' new rules. People want to make their own choices, just help them understand the benefits of what you are offering without pitching it.

These techniques below will optimize your blog and blog posts for more search engine exposure.


Place Key Words In Several Places

When using blogger.com you will need to add the meta tags into the HTML code of your blog. In WordPres you can select a plug-in for SEO that allows you to edits the KeyWords meta tag. Be sure to include the key word(s) in the content of your post, as well as, putting them into the meta Tag.

#1 In Blogger: login to your blog and go to the main window where you can view posts or statistics or google+ settings, and the layout, template. Pick "template" from the menu on the left hand side of the page. On the new screen that displays, pick "Edit HTML" button at the top of the page. On the new screen that is displayed find the <head> tag. you want to place your meta tag info after the <head> tag an before the </head> tag.

The screen shot above is what your page will look like with meta tags inserted. When you are complete press the "Save Template" button.

Here are the meta tags to copy, edit, and paste into your HTML code. Replace the yellow highlighted text with your verbiage.

    <meta name="description" content="put your description here - short and sweet" />

    <meta name="keywords" content="one key word, two key word, another key word" />

    <meta name="author" content="this is your name or another tag you want to use" />

#2 Lastly, be sure to also place the key words that you use in your post into the "labels" section of your blog.


Post Titles In Your Blog

#3 Use a title that has at least one of your key words. Make it appealing. Make it informative.


Linking Content

#4 There are two kinda links: internal and external. An internal links to another blog post in your blog. An external link links to a page in another web site. It's important that you watch the ratio of links going in and out of your site.

#5 I suggest having at least one link to another post in your blog. With that, I suggest one link to an external site.  Both of those links should be composed of key words that we discussed above.

#6 And, be sure to use bold when on the key words that make the links.


Mobile Computing: Blogging To Mobile Users

•     90% of American adults have a cell phone
•     58% of American adults have a smartphone
•     32% of American adults own an e-reader
•     42% of American adults own a tablet computer

Those statistics are from PEW.  It is easy to see the potential readers on smart phone and tablets.

#7 Be sure your blog is friendly to mobile devices. In blogger.com, a phone version of your site is automatically published by Google (owner of blogger.com). In WordPress, the last time I checked, you want to get a plug-in for that. the default view can be seen on the phone, but it's not optimized for the phone - hence the plug-in.

67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating. (PEW)

44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night. (PEW)

Don't miss mobile users by not have a responsive version of your blog. Responsive is the technical jargon for fitting the content to the device, which is needed because screens on mobile devices are different sizes than computer screens.

My free SEO Guide  is available is you want to make more of your web site content and blog posts.