Tag Archive for seo services

24 Mar 2011
business tips • seo • small business

Dare To Be Just A Bit Different


Many, many years ago I was an Occupational Therapist and I did some teaching and research for that field. That’s where I learned about the Internet and I became fascinated by how I could connect to so many people from my little room!

These days, connecting with the planet is easy, and not so intriguing, but what I do find intriguing is the creativity that so many people have. It’s just amazing! I think for any of us in business, it’s very easy to lose some of that “excitement” that comes from creativity – simply because we’re so tied down to the business end of things. But I encourage you to try your best to step back and look at what you’re doing for a living with a bit more creativity. How can you spice it up?

What prompted this post? A fellow web designer sent me this video which showcases this particular company’s creative side! I loved it! Hope you do too.


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , ,
30 Jul 2009
internet marketing • seo • small business

Your SEO Firm Is Your Partner


Many business / website owners seem to forget that the SEO firm they’ve hired or the SEO person that they’ve hired is actually a partner in their business.  If a business hires a secretary, they take the time to train that secretary to work within the company.  That secretary can talk negatively or positively about that company.  She is (as are all employees) essentially a partner in that company.

Everyone has a stake in making a business a success or a failure.  So why not ensure that anyone you use to work with you or for you is a success?

Your SEO webmaster need to know what is happening at the company.  Without this knowledge, that SEO webmaster is basically flying blind.  Here’s what I mean of some of the things that an SEO webmaster should be kept in the loop on…

1) Any specials, coupons, deals, etc. that are going on or will be going on.
2) Any upcoming changes to policies or procedures, especially if it applies to customers.
3) Any new contact information such as phones, emails, new employees, etc.
4) Results of promotional campaigns such as the winner of a contest.

The point is that when you, the business owner, gather your in house team, whether it be daily, weekly or monthly, you need to make sure that the information is also passed on to your SEO webmaster.  Of course, this is much easier if you have an in-house SEO webmaster but I’ve spoken with several companies who neglect to include even their in-house SEO experts.

Why?  – My theory is that businesses still have a difficult time understanding that their websites are really a part of their business.  They still think of websites as a brochure, something that’s out there advertising who they are but isn’t really a part of who they are.

I’ve been providing SEO services for small businesses for 10 years now and I can tell you without reservation or hesitation that companies who USE their websites as a part of their changing and growing business do much, much better on the Internet than those who don’t.  The reasons are…

1) The website continuously changes and gets updated and upgraded – just as the company grows, so does the website.  This is great not only for the search engines but for visitors as well.

2) As the company responds to the needs of their customers, the website will do the same.  If your customers are looking for more information on your product or service, you need to add that to your website.  Example: Let’s say you run a company that makes and sells Name Badges.  What if you had 50 calls last month all asking for Bugs Bunny name tags – if you didn’t sell Bugs Bunny name tags – after a few of those calls I’m positive that you would look into getting some to sell.  What business owner wouldn’t try to give his/her customers what they want?  Websites are the same!!

So, the next time you gather a meeting with your staff remember to either include your SEO webmaster and/or provide them with the minutes from the meeting!


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , ,
25 Jul 2009
internet marketing • seo

The Hidden World of SEO


As I sit at my desk for an average of 12 hours a day – I have to wonder if my clients have any idea of what goes on behind the scenes for their seo services?  I imagine most of them think that there’s just a program that I log into, click a few buttons and “ta da” their website is optimized and on the first page of Google!

Yeah, right!

But it does bring up the matter that most SEO clients do not know what really goes on in the process of not only the initial optimization of the website but in the monthly ongoing process of SEO.  So, thought I’d shed some light on what it takes to keep up the monthly process for 1 website.

1) Keeping Up
Anyone who even reads a “little” bit about SEO knows that the industry is constantly changing.  There are always new tools and new information to keep up with.  This is just part of being in this industry.  If you don’t keep up, your website marketing suffers.

Average amount of time spent: 1 hour per day (yes, every day!)

2) Traffic Analysis
How are visitors moving through the website?  How many visitors are moving through?  Is it more or less than last month?  If it’s less, why?  If it’s more, why?  Where is the traffic coming from (geographically) and if it’s not coming from where you want it to come from, why not?  What keyword phrases are bringing in traffic and which ones aren’t?  What pages on the website are working and which ones aren’t?

Getting the answers to all these questions is step one, taking action on what needs fixing is step two.  Let’s see if we can break it down.

a) How are visitors moving through the website?
Find the pages that visitors are coming in on and see how they’re moving through the site.  If someone comes to the about us page, where do you want them to go?  Do you want them to go to the contact us page and fill out the form?  Are they doing that?  If not, maybe you need a larger button on the about us page, a larger call to action!

b) How many visitors are moving through?  Is it more or less than last month?  If it’s less, why?  If it’s more, why?

All businesses run in cycles, it’s not always prudent to look at the numbers monthly, sometimes you have to look at it yearly.  So, are the numbers higher or lower than last year?  Is the industry being affected by the general economy?  How do these numbers compare to the online competitors?  Maybe the numbers are lower because the website is targeting a more specific audience (thanks to keyword research).  Numbers of visitors only tells a small piece of the story, the real story is the conversion and sales.  This information is important to tailoring the success or failure of the website marketing campaign.

Average amount of time spent: 2 hours per month

c) Where is the traffic coming from (geographically) and if it’s not coming from where you want it to come from, why not?

A South Florida Family Law Attorney’s website wouldn’t benefit from traffic coming to the site from Colorado.  He also wouldn’t benefit from traffic coming to the site from Miami if he was located in Boca Raton.  If traffic wasn’t coming from the desired geographical location, then that means that more emphasis needs to be placed on the geographical location.  That means adding more information on the website about the geography, adding the website to more local directories and getting reviews from clients within those local areas.

Average amount of time spent: 1 hour per month

d) What keyword phrases are bringing in traffic and which ones aren’t?

Choosing the best keyword phrases for a website marketing campaign is not so easy.  It’s important to find the phrase that has the right combination of competition and popularity but also will bring in the sales.  That doesn’t happen and there is no “program” to show you which phrases to use.  So, it’s mostly trial and error.  When keyword phrases aren’t working, it’s time to switch them, modify them or re-optimize the website page to emphasis them more.

Average amount of time spent: 1 hour per month

e) What pages on the website are working and which ones aren’t?

If 70% of the incoming traffic to your website comes to your Services page, but only 20% of that traffic go on to other pages on your website, then something is wrong.  That means that the majority of people coming to that website page either aren’t finding what they’re looking for or they’re picking up the phone and calling you.  Which one is it?  If they’re not finding what they need then either the keyword phrase is incorrect, or the information on the page is not enough or something is wrong.  Competitor websites’ are analyzed, review of the page and of course, input from the website owner is always helpful in page analysis.  The actions required sometimes include adding pages to “beef up” a section or altering pages or even altering the architectural structure of the website itself.  (Yeah, I know, sounds fancy – basically I mean creating directories in the website and moving the pages into those directories).

Average amount of time spent: 2 hours per month

3) Submissions and Exposure

I’m always surprised at how many SEO firms still advertise that they will submit your website to the major search engines.  The truth is, no one ever has to submit their website to the major search engines.  But, you do have to submit your site to the smaller and more local directories and engines.  But which ones?

The answer is – to as many as are relevant.  I wouldn’t submit a Dentist’s website to a directory about Entertainers!  How can you find these directories and engines?  Two ways.

One – search for them on the Internet.  There are literally dozens and dozens of new engines and directories being introduced onto the Internet every day.

Two – look at a backlink check on your competitor’s websites – you’ll find lots in there.

Average amount of time spent: 2 hours per month

4) Link Exchanges, Press Releases and Article Marketing

The purpose of adding websites to search engines and directories (the small ones I mean) is for the purpose of getting anchor text rich incoming links.  The same holds true for link exchanges, press releases and article marketing.  It’s not a matter of getting thousands of incoming links to the website, the point is to get “relevant” + “anchor text rich” incoming links to the website.  And, just in case you didn’t know, you can’t just go out and buy 10,000 links to your website and call it a day.  The engines view this as spam.  You need to build it up little by little.

Yes, there are programs like Back Link Watch that we use to help us gather the sites we target for link exchanges and where to place press releases and articles but we still have to run the report and manually check each link on that report.  There is no program that just gives us a list of where to go and automatically notifies them.

Average amount of time spent: 2 hours per month (the reason this is so low is because the majority of clients don’t take advantage of press releases and article writing – mostly we just work on link exchanges for them)

5) Reporting

Once all this data is gathered and analyzed and acted on, the information has to be placed on reports for each client so they can see what’s been happening, what’s going on and how their website is doing.  These reports are how the SEO webmaster communicates with the clients.  It would be wonderful to get on the phone every day and talk to clients but the amount of time that would take is simply prohibitive.  I’m sure any business owner can understand that.

And no, there is no “program” that can be used to just generate this information.  (I wish!)

Average amount of time spent: 2 hours per month

So, without counting the “keeping up” time – that’s 12 hours per month on SEO services for 1 client!  Whew, I think I need to raise my prices!


eckweb | 3 comments | Tags: , , ,
20 Jun 2009
internet marketing • seo • small business

Go Ahead – Talk About Yourself!


I speak to many small business owners every week and one thing that strikes me is how many of them rely on others to promote them.  When I talk to these business owners about writing blogs or tweeting on Twitter or any type of self promotion the usual answer I get back is “Well, I don’t have time for that.”

What?

I know when I first started Eckweb I attended every single networking group within a 20 mile radius for 3 years.  I wrote as many blogs and articles as I could, I searched for every available type of self promotion that I could find.  I mean, it took time, yes but it also helped me to find the words that I needed to give my presentation.  It gave me the opportunity to see how others saw the SEO services industry.  This insight was my education on how to speak to my potential audience.

So, it’s no wonder that when I speak to small business owners about adding content to their websites – they don’t know how.  They don’t know what to say.  They can speak the language of their industry, but they can’t speak the language their customers are speaking.  In my humble opinion, you can’t sell if you don’t know what you’re selling and if you don’t know what your customers are looking for.

So, the next time you’re given the opportunity to take advantage of some self promotion, go for it!  It will pay off in the long run!!


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , ,
15 Jun 2009
internet marketing • seo • small business

7 Minute SEO Guide


I found this great article at http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/7-minute-seo-guide and it’s perfect for small business owners who want to try and understand what exactly is involved in the SEO process.  If you’re in the SEO business, you’ve probably heard a million times something like, “Can’t you just market my website?  Why do we have to change it?”

If I got paid a dollar everytime I’ve heard that, I’d be retired now!

Anyway, the author of this article breaks down the SEO process into 3 major steps…

1. Structure – the web language used, navigation, and rich media all have an impact on whether the search engines are able to crawl and understand the theme of your web site.

2. Content – search engine spiders are really quite dumb. Your web content needs to match-up with the user’s query or your site won’t be found.

3. Links – the search engines look at the quantity, quality, and relevance of the links pointing to a web site.

He then breaks down each step into the smaller components of what needs to be done in order to get each step corrected.  It’s really a great article, give it a read!

But to just interject my own personal thoughts on this article…

I think it’s important that website owners understand that there is no program that does all of this for anyone.  It’s not as if an SEO webmaster can enter in the website address of your company’s website into a program and then magically the website is corrected and links are coming in and keywords are found and placed.  All these factors are done manually, by a person (or persons) and they take time.  It’s not unusual to spend 5-10 hours on keyword research.  It’s not unusual to spend 30-40 hours on re-creating a website structure and it’s not unusual to spend 1 hour per day on link exchanges.

SEO is not brain surgery, it’s not difficult.  But it is time consuming and that is the reason many businesses give up on performing the SEO themselves.  It simply takes up too much of their time.  After all, they have a business to run!  But make no mistake, the ROI from SEO services is very, very, very good!  So, the next time you talk to an SEO professional think about the time that’s involved in the process of the job you’re asking them to do.  This may help you when they give you their price.


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , ,
03 Jun 2009
internet marketing • seo • small business

SEO Isn’t A One Time Service


So often I’m asked, “Why do I have to pay monthly for SEO?”  – “Can’t you just fix the site and make it rank high?”

I wish!!!

I think it’s extremely difficult for many people to understand that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not like printing a brochure or creating and putting up a billboard advertisement.  Websites are dynamic, constantly changing, and it’s for this reason that SEO has to also be dynamic and evolve with the website.

If it was so easy to just “fix” a website so that it ranks high in the engines and then just walk away, many, many, many people would be able to do optimization on a website.  But the truth is, it takes continuous updates, monitoring and just plain hard work.

1) As the seasons throughout the year change, so do your services, so do the needs of your clients and so should your website.  SEO will help you to capture the audience that are searching for new services.

2) What sells in July doesn’t necessarily sell in December.  SEO can help you determine when to begin the marketing for the services that will bring in the most income to your business.

3) Are you targeting a specific area of the country or the world?  Are you getting through to that target audience?  How do you know?  SEO can tell you!

So, the next time you read that you only need your site “fixed”, continue reading because I guarantee that you’ll find more SEO professionals out there giving you the opposite advice.  It’s not for the purpose of lining our pockets.  It’s for YOUR benefit.  After all, an SEO is only as good as their work.  If their work doesn’t produce excellent results for the clients, then they won’t get other clients, believe me, it’s as simple as that!


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , , ,
25 May 2009
internet marketing • seo

Getting Your Money’s Worth With SEO


I got an email yesterday from a website designer I know. He listens to lots of podcasts and he participated in one by asking a question, “What types of SEO reports should one expect from a monthly SEO marketing campaign?” (I paraphrased here). The question was to Webmaster Radio and the response was 30 minutes long!

They began the answer with the “you get what you pay for” concept. One of the hosts said that his SEO firm cost him $3400.00 per month and he really didn’t get much for that. He was very vague, just said that the reports he did get gave him suggestions of what needed to be done but they were up to him to do them. His implication was that he paid $3400.00 a month and didn’t get much so that means he needs to pay more.

The second host didn’t understand why anyone would need a monthly marketing campaign at all!

I found the podcast a bit ridiculous. Here were two supposed experts in their field and they acted and sounded like novices. Let me explain why I say that…

1) $3400.00 per month and not even a report on conversion rates? I say if a company can get someone to pay that much money then more power to them.

2) Just because this $3400.00/month company didn’t issue out good reports or didn’t provide the proper SEO tactics that needed to be done on the website does not mean that paying more will get you that. Instead, a smart consumer would check out what other SEO firms are doing and for what amount.

3) Why would a good SEO campaign need to be maintained monthly? Well, there is always testing to be done. Testing of landing pages, keyword phrases, call to action, etc. Search engines also love new and fresh content so that information needs to be added and optimized regularly. Also, there are holidays, events, seasonal products, services, etc. that should be added to the website. Websites are not brochures. They’re meant to be interactive.

Also, I am consistently amazed at the concept that is continuously put out there “you get what you pay for” when it comes to SEO. The truth is, the great majority of SEO firms cater to mid and large size companies. You know, the ones that can easily pay $3000.00 per month and more. But for small and home based business websites, these fees are ridiculous. I provide affordable SEO services and just because they’re affordable doesn’t mean they are not of high quality. My clients are in the top 10 for their keyword phrases and continue to grow each and every month. There are SEO firms out there that cater to small and home based businesses and don’t let anyone tell you (even the “experts”) that it can’t be done!


eckweb | One comment | Tags: , , ,
05 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Affordable SEO Management Services


Many Internet marketing firms will promise you affordable Seo management services. But, examine what they’re truly offering before you sign that contract! Let’s break the term down.

1) Affordable – what does the SEO firm REALLY mean by the word “affordable”? At Eckweb, we charge $135.00/month for our basic seo package and an additional $130.00/month for our social media package. We receive emails and phone calls from potential clients every day and some of these folks are already involved with another SEO firm. What are they paying? Anywhere from $800.00 to $3000.00 a month for their SEO management services. Now, how many small businesses can afford that, really?

2) SEO – what does the Internet marketing firm include in their SEO package? What do they consider SEO? You and I know that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about organic listings, incoming links, website architecture, website content and keyword research. Those are the very basics of SEO services. But, listen carefully to the Internet marketing firm and ask them directly, “What do you consider to be SEO?” You may be surprised to hear everything from PPC to article writing and nothing about keyword research!

3) Management Services – every SEO firm provides different management services, call 10 SEO firms and you’ll get 10 different answers. So, don’t be afraid to ask, “What do you include in your management services? – Exactly?” Just to give you a baseline, I’ll list the SEO management services that we provide at Eckweb.com for the affordable rate of $135.00/month.

a) Manual submissions to smaller search engines and directories. Your website will be indexed by the larger search engines, some sooner than others, depending on a variety of optimization factors, but the point is, no website needs to be submitted to Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc. But, the smaller engines and directories, they don’t have the sophisticated programming that the larger ones do, so, in order to get listed in those smaller engines and directories, the website has to be submitted, manually. The benefit of being listed in these smaller engines and directories is the link BACK to the website. Anchor text links are important to the algorithms of the larger search engines so you want them. And one way to get them is to be included in smaller engines and directories.

b) Monthly review of website logs and statistics. A report is generated every month to all our clients giving them a synopsis of their logs. How many visitors, where is the traffic coming from, what pages are doing well, which ones are not? And more. Comparing the reports month after month gives the website owners a view of how the website marketing campaign is doing.

c) New keyword phrases. It’s all about the Keywords!! Get the right keywords on your website and you’ll get traffic. The more keyword phrases, the more traffic. In order to market more keyword phrases you need more pages. Get anchor text links towards those keyword phrases and your website will rock! Each month we provide our clients with 3 keyword phrases that their target audience is looking for, but the website is not marketing. The client has the option to create new pages, articles, blog posts, press releases, whatever they see fit with those keyword phrases. We even provide a copywriter if needed.

d) Competition report. Every business wants and needs to know what their competition is doing. Whether it’s the store down the street, or the website that’s ranking higher for the same keyword phrase their trying to market. Every month we review one online competitor and compare it to the clients’ website. This gives the client information so they can make an educated decision on how to move the Internet marketing campaign forward.

e) Tips, Suggestions and Ideas – all this information is great to have but what good is information if it doesn’t produce an act? Reviewing stats, checking out the competition, etc. will do nothing for you if all you do is read the information and put it to the side. We take it a step further. We provide you with recommendations on what you could, should do as the next step in your Internet marketing campaign all based on the data we’ve collected.

f) Search engine ranking report. I think every SEO marketing firm provides this, it’s just a review of where the website can be found for the keyword phrases being marketed. These are reports generated by a computer program and they’re not always accurate because, the truth is, rankings change hour to hour. So, these reports are really just a snapshot of where the website was found the moment that the program was run. But, it does give the website owner an idea of where the website can be found.

So, there you have it. Now, at least you can compare several companies and determine whether they truly are providing affordable seo management services that fit your needs.


eckweb | No comments | Tags: , , , ,
23 Jul 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Web Marketing Services For Small Businesses


Web marketing services for small businesses should include the following…

1) Manual submissions to directories

Many Internet Marketing Firms will tell you that they are going to submit your website to thousands of search engines. Well, the truth is that many search engines, the big ones at least, will find your website without you having to submit to them. BUT, many web directories will not. So make sure your SEO firm provides manual submissions to Internet directories.

2) Monthly marketing reports

If your SEO firm does not provide you with detailed marketing reports each month, then how do you know if your website is doing what it needs to be doing? Of course, you may receive more emails, phone calls, etc. but if you don’t have an idea of what your website is REALLY doing, you won’t be able to grow it, change it, accomodate it to your target audience. Web marketing services for small businesses requires more work than large company websites simply because the budget is smaller and it takes more creativity and “thinking out of the box” to get top search engine rankings.

3) Direction

If you own a small business website that is being marketed, your SEO firm should give you a constant flow of new information. They should provide you with suggestions, new keyword phrases, tips, services that you can sign up for. They should give you an idea of how your online competitors are doing so that you can compare your website to theirs. This gives you the tools you need to make the proper decisions of how much money to put into your online advertising.

If you have any questions about web marketing services for small businesses, contact Eckweb Designs, Inc. today. We’ll be happy to answer them.


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