The world of internet marketing lies at the ruthless hands of the frighteningly powerful search engine giants.  You know who they are- Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, MSN, Alta Vista… and the list goes on.  These ever-evolving, ever-improving man-eating machines possess the power of a fearsome deity when it comes to determining whether your site will be found in a search or whether anyone will ever even see it.   As these search engines continue to redefine themselves, strengthen their content standards, and intensify their criteria, there are some very important laws to follow that will land you in good graces in the world of SEO.

1. Create desirable content that people will want to pass on

2. Design a site that is aesthetically appealing and easy to figure out

3. Be certain that spiders can parse all of the info contained within your site

4. Limit all actions on your site to as few clicks as possible (the simpler the better)

5. Use keywords cautiously and effectively

If you allow these five essential rules to be your guidelines for site development, your results will be effective SEO.  Now that you know what to do… ready, set, optimize!

Posted August 24th 2010 to SEO,Uncategorized • Comments (6)

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Last week we briefly mentioned the power of free online marketing tools; this week we will focus on one in particular- Blogging!

Once you have brilliantly arrived at the actualization that the best way to drive traffic to your site is by blogging, you must consider who you are trying to reach.  Who is the ideal audience that will be visiting your blog?  What interests them?  What are their concerns in relation to your site’s content?

Once you have determined who these people are, figure out what they want.  Then, cater your site’s verbiage to appeal to your target audience’s interests, wants, and needs.  This verbiage should be based solely on a group of keywords.The keywords you use to develop your content should be obscure yet specific.  Focus on words that would answer questions posed by your readers.  If you utilize these keywords effectively (i.e. often and appropriately) you will improve your chances of landing top spots in search engine results.

When you sit down to write your blog be sure to be educational and informative.  Provide potential visitor’s with answers to their questions before they even arise.  Build their trust, and you will maintain their readership.  Be consistent and do not go MIA! If you want people to keep coming back you must be reliant.  Nobody wants or trusts a fair-weathered blogger!

Posted August 09th 2010 to Blogging,Uncategorized • Comments (1)

The effectiveness of marketing tools of the past was highly based on how much money you spent.  The more ads you purchased, the more highways you cluttered with billboards, the more trees you killed with print, ultimately resulted in higher brand recognition.  Today’s marketing world has evolved quite drastically and has turned into a world not of out-spending, but rather out-smarting.

There are so many resources on the web that will aid in the implementation of cheap yet effective marketing campaigns.  Do not overlook the following tools:

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace)

Blogs

Forums

Wikis

Ad Sites (Craigslist, Angie’s List)

Webinars

Photosharing

White Pages

Analytics

All of the aforementioned tools are both easy to use and even better- THEY ARE FREE!!!  The key to success through the use of these tools is to be innovative; use brain power, not dollar power.  Save yourself some money, and put your brain to work by utilizing these web-based tools.

Posted August 03rd 2010 to Uncategorized • Comments (1)