Keyword Prominence

Keyword prominence is a term that is used in search engine optimization circles to describe the ‘importance’ of a keyword when analyzing a particular area of a page.  The closer the keyword or keyphrase is to the beginning of that area, the more ‘prominent’ and important that keyword or phrase is assumed to be.

A title for instance, might contain multiple words and/or phrases.  However, the phrase at the beginning of the title is considered more important than the other words listed.  In this case, whatever that very first phrase or keyword is, is considered 100% keyword prominent (for that particular title).

The concept of keyword prominence is actually calculated seperately for each important page area….consider titles, headings, or any visible text on the page.  Think in terms of a keyword or keyphrase target as more prominent when it’s the first phrase in a title, the beginning of a sentence, the top of the page, the beginning of a paragraph, etc.

This of course, doesn’t mean that we neglect to mention keyphrases in the middle or the end of our pages.  Search engines are actually checking your pages for placement in all areas including the bottom of the page.  BUT, importance is certainly noted when a phrase is 100% prominent vs 50% (in the middle of an analyzed area).

Imagine that you are trying to target the key phrase “Dog Collars” for a pet store site.  Consider the following two title variations for the same page:

1. Your leader In Pet Store Supplies Including Dog Supplies And Dog Collars
2. Dog Collars : ABC Pet Supplies

The second title will definitely do better for “Dog Collars” since the prominence of our key phrase is 100% (this word combination goes from the very beginning), while in the first example it’s only around 40%.

In fact, if you were to search on Google right now for ‘dog collars’, you might be surprised to find just how keword prominence plays out in the titles of almost all the results in the top 10 results!  There are of course, many, many other reasons that sites without 100% keyword prominence in their titles might be in the top 10, but the concept itself is an important one to keep in mind.

2009
12/20
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Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
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Find Best Keywords

Find Best Keywords

Find Best Keywords

Many times, when a small business owner begins the process of promoting a website with no prior experience in doing so,  information about what keywords to use for attracting the right kind of traffic can be tough to find.

Best keywords for your site? I always start with the most generic phrases, maybe one to two words max, and start pulling the big fish site who rank organically for the top 10-20 spots on Google.

Pull out a spreadsheet and organize results…..then examine the HTML source for each home page (or page in your ranking results for each site). By looking at the ‘meta’ tags, both keywords and description tags, you’ll easily begin to form a common base of phrases with which to work with.

Notice that I did say ‘work with’ for now as it’s not necessarily THESE words and phrases you want to use! These initial phrases are generally too competitive for a small site just getting started with organic promotion. You are still simply trying to get ideas, but this is an easy way to brain storm your way into finding the right targets.

How do we get ideas?  We have to put some ‘research’ time in before we do anything further.  Make a list of those phrases, then head to Google research tools and start to whip up a list that should grow wildly before you have selected your final list.

Let’s say for instance, that your small business makes unique, one of a kind fruit baskets.  Let’s also say that you’re beginning to build your web site with the assumption that people will look for you on Google by typing the words ‘fruit basket’ or ‘fruit baskets’.  You proceed to optimize your pages for ‘fruit basket’ as common sense would dictate.

Again, look at Google’s free keyword research tool and get ready to ’spreadsheet’ before you type the first title tag on your site or optimize any copy.

The Fruit Basket Company (no, the UNIQUE Fruit Basket Company!)

Find Best Keywords

Find Best Keywords

Looking at Google’s numbers, we can see that, yes, there were number of searches for ‘fruit basket’ and ‘fruit baskets’ last month….in the 60-70 THOUSAND range actually…..for the month!

So, why wouldn’t we focus on this phrase?  It’s still way too generic!  In other words, we might be ‘well optimized’ for this phrase, but so are a lot of other larger, older (important to Google) sites that have LOTS of links pointing to them….you won’t be in the playing field for this generic keyword anytime soon!

What do do?  Well, scroll to the bottom of the list…..just before we cross into the ‘not enough data’ results.  I notice that there are about 140 searches for the phrase ‘unique fruit baskets’ last month, which is what we specialize in anyway!  There were also about 110 searches for ‘fruit and gourmet baskets’ last month…..if you company does these, you are in luck!

If you build and optimize two pages for your baskets instead of one, you might get top 30 rankings for BOTH of these phrases….a total of 250 searches last month that you might be in the top results for in the next few months.  I’d rather have 10 pages that have top rankings for 10 different niche phrases appropriate to my business, than ONE product page that is NOT found for the most competitive phrase on the planet, absolutely!

2009
12/11
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Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
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Improve Organic Search

There are probably many things about your site that you’d love to improve.  Organic search, I’m guessing, is at the top of the list if you are like most every other site owner on the planet!

Here is a quick tip….hope this helps YOU improve organic search results for your site.

Improve Organic Search

Improve Organic Search

Number of Meta Keywords

In each page on your site, there is a section in the html, at the top of the page called the ‘meta’ information, or meta tags.  This area used to be a gem for search engines because the description and keyword tags are optimal for describing the content on your page and in your site.  Search engines could use this information to quickly get an idea about your site’s content and it would help them to rank your site.

Then, like so many other things in life, people started abusing the practiceuntil people started ’stuffing’ these sections with WAY too many keywords, to the point that the areas started to render the sections useless in many cases.  They no longer described the pages in an accurate way, so many engines don’t weigh keywords as heavily as they used to.

That certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have them on your pages though.  In fact, they are STILL important to get right.  However, using way too many keywords is just diluting the effect of your most important ones.

How many to use?  Good question.

I’d suggest 5-10 at the most, and in many cases, even less!  Your page should really only cover 1-3 topics at any given time anyway, if you are truly considering the effect on search engines….why confuse them?

In other words, if you are going to write about a topic X, then write about topic X, and make SURE the search engines know that topic X is what your page is about so that they can rank your page as a laser focused result when people are looking for topic X (or service X, or product X, you get the idea).

To improve organic search, you just need to focus on basic ideas….keeping your page topics focused as well as the way you describe those topics is a big one!

2009
12/11
CATEGORY
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
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Find Google Keywords

Ok, I’ll admit, this is an easy one.  If you’d like to find Google keywords that are being searched month in and month out, just go to the following link:  https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Find Google Keywords

Find Google Keywords

What you’ll find here, is a free tool that Google provides for their sponsored search customers.  In order for them to sell sponsored space, they kind of have to let you customers know why certain keywords and key phrases are more expensive than others, right?

This is supply and demand at its finest really.  The more searches in the latest month and in the latest twelve month rolling average, the more ‘demand’ for a keyword or key phrase.

Google is also nice enough to show you how many advertisers have already bought ’space’ in the sponsored search sections for that keyword or key phrase.

For instance, the screen shot to the left shows a search for the term ‘Tiger Woods’, who has been in the news round the clock recently.  However, these numbers show 246,000 searches for the phrase ‘Tiger Woods’ in October alone.

The green bar is completely full and filled in, meaning that advertiser competition is extremely high.  I think I’ll be bidding on another phrase for now ;)

In addition, notice the brackets in the results.  This is a simple way of showing that this is the EXACT phrase that people used as opposed to a BROAD (selected by default) phrase result set whereby people might search for ‘Woods, Tiger’ or some other combination of keywords to mimic the general phrase.  I always use ‘exact’ searches personally, but I’m sure everyone has personal preferences here.

In any case, if you want to find Google keywords, especially the ones that everyone is searching at any given time on Google, this is the place to start!

2009
12/08
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Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
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Define Organic Search

In our quest to define organic search, we should start with the basic makeup of a results page.

When we search for something in Google (or most any other search engine), there are two basic sets of search results listed on the results page: sponsored and organic (natural).

Define Organic Search

Define Organic Search

Look at the red circles in the image to the left.  These are the sponsored search results for the term you are searching for.  Sponsored results areas list all of the people and/or companies who are willing to PAY the search engines to be in one of those areas, either at the top of the page or in the right column of the page.

However, looking at the image to the left again, everything that is NOT in the right column or in the top yellow/orange section (with a red circle around it) is called organic or natural search.  This is the place to be IF you can get there.

The reason you want your site in the organic section over the long haul, is that once  people find you there, they know you are there because the search engines find your site ‘worthy’ of natural rankings…..it takes time, lots of time for competitive search phrases, but time nonetheless well spent to get your site in the organic/natural area of the page (at least on the first page).  Anyone with enough of a daily budget however, willing to pay more than other participants for a spot in the sponsored search areas (red circles again) can get there within a few minutes!

2009
12/04
CATEGORY
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
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Link Popularity Improvement

Recently we launched a new website for Atlanta DUI Attorney Mark Hansford, and in the quest to rise to the top of the rankings for some various common (and very competitive) phrases I was asked to explain why the site was not in the top 30 organic rankings after a month or so. It’s a fair question from a client who does not have the pleasure of navigating the constant mysteries of search engine optimization. Though I felt I’d done a good job with the optimization of the pages themselves, there were two glaring issues with the site that I tried to explain.

Link Popularity Improvement

Aside from the fact that the domain was brand new, as well as the site itself, I tried to explain that not a single external website was pointing to his site…..he had no ‘link popularity‘. I told him that it was something that he would have to build over time, and that it would have to be done in a certain way so see any link popularity improvement. Starting from zero links, this seems like quite a daunting task. However, consistent action over time will yield positive results, absolutely.

So, I want to discuss link popularity improvement, and link popularity in general. As mentioned previously, link popularity is the number of links from other website pages to your page (that search engines are aware of). So, the more links that point to your page, the better your page will rank.

The fun doesn’t stop there however, because it’s not just the NUMBER of links, but the ‘quality’ of those links that is really the important factor. If no one is linking to Site A, and Site B picks up a link from Site A, Site B has really gained no link popularity improvement. On top of that, ‘theme-based’ search engines will not be as impressed by a landscaping site linking to a hair salon site…..the two aren’t remotely relevant in the search engine’s ‘mind’.

So, in short, contact sites that are close in ‘theme’ to yours (theme, being subject matter). In addition, link from a relevant site (theme-wise) with a link containing your magic key phrase, and you may be well on your way to some major link popularity improvement!

2009
12/01
CATEGORY
Search Engine Marketing
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Organic Search Optimization

Organic search optimization is something that we discuss time and time again with our web design clients before we begin designing a web site.  We are often asked what they must do so that people might find them using Google and other search engines.

Organic Search OptimizationWhen you search for some product, service, or information in Google, a number of sites are returned to you depending on the particular search phrase you chose to enter.

The resulting page (the search results page) is going to list three basic ’sections.  The first section on the page is a header region at the top of the page.  This section is populated by people and/or companies who pay Google to be there. 

The right hand section of the page is the same as the top…..both are populated by ‘the highest bidder’ so to speak.  These sections are called ’sponsored’ results, because to be listed here, you simply have to be willing to pay ‘more than your competitors’.  If you are the highest bidder, you will be listed first, in the most visible spot on the page for the search phrase in question.  As soon as your site’s potential visitor clicks on your site’s link, you will be charged by Google – you will PAY per CLICK (PPC).

Since most of our clients don’t want to pay for each and every click, we suggest that they focus on the organic search optimization.  This means that with a few steps up front, plus some attention to their site each month, they can start to watch their site climb in the ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ (two ways to describe the same thing) section of the search engine results page.

What is the organic search section of the search results page?  It’s the largest section of the page….the coveted ‘free’ section of the page because once you get there, you don’t have to pay for clicks…..and, it’s typcially the first place most searchers start clicking…this is the place to be!  Optimizing and promoting your site ‘organically’ is way we suggest long term internet sucess.

THIS is what organic search optimization is all about.

2009
11/26
CATEGORY
Search Engine Optimization
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Web Traffic Analysis

Web Traffic AnalysisBuild it and they will come…..yes, I REALLY did watch Field Of Dreams recently.

It reminded me of almost every web project and site I’ve ever worked on.   Basic and regular web traffic analysis of all my sites, and all my client sites would suggest something quite different.

Building your site is just the FIRST step….if you stop there, who is going to see it?

I know from personal experience with my own sites….once it is up and running, and you are pleased that you have a something that will truly represent your company, product, hobby, etc, that’s just the first step!

Working with my one of my web design clients in Atlanta recently, an analytics tool reminded me of this simple fact while I was checking traffic reports.  It presents a simple pie chart with three colors.  Given this snapshot of your traffic, it’s easy to identify the three main ‘buckets’.  People are going to land on your site pages in one of the three following methods:

  1. Direct Traffic
  2. Search Engine Traffic
  3. Referral Traffic
Given this logic, it’s going to mean that you start thinking about your site as just ONE of your many marketing tools, and not something you have just to ‘have’ as an industry standard.

Direct Traffic - This is the traditional form of traffic.  Assuming you do NOTHING more than push your new site to the web, most folks will initially find it by typing the name of the site (ex. www.yourgreatsite.com) DIRECTLY.  This could happen because you:

  1. Sent an email with the address and asked them to check it out
  2. Printed the site on your business card or some other stationary, letterhead, etc, and they decided to plug the address into their browser.
  3. Someone else gave them your site address and they typed the address into their browser
  4. Printed the site on some offline advertising materials (yellow pages, community newsletter, etc)
Search Engine Traffic - These are all the visitors who stumble across your site by going to Google, MSN, Yahoo, AskJeeves, a business specific directory that you’ve submitted to, or some other search engine, etc, and then clicking on a link to learn more about your business.  These types of click through could be the result of:
  1. A PAID campaign (Google AdWords for instance) that places your link on a search results page for varying keywords
  2. Your site was indexed/crawled and simply showed up for FREE in a random search (this is referred to as ‘Organic’ search results).

Referral Traffic - This is probably the most misunderstood and under-used piece of the traffic pie.  When you have a business site on the web, other business sites can link to you IF they are aware that you are online and that you have something of value to the customers who visit THEIR site.  This usually doesn’t happen by accident unless your site is well known and established.  That means you have to put on your sales hat and:

  1. ASK for referral links.  Call local businesses who have web sites.  Tell them you are ‘on the web’ and that you have a site that their visitors will find of value.  Most businesses are receptive to the idea of linking to ‘like’ sites (a Realtor site would link to a mortgage broker site or an insurance site for instance).  If your site is a link on another business site, and there is a compelling reason for their visitors to click on your link, you have just expanded your ‘territory’ on the web!  If the site is a HIGH TRAFFIC site, even better!  That doesn’t mean the folks are going to click the link to your site just because it’s there.  However, search engines will gobble this activity up (which is another reason to do this that I won’t go into detail here) and it will like help those ‘organic’ search results we were discussing earlier.
  2. Inform businesses that you are linking to them via email – Yeah, I know, why would they care?  This is a technique I’ve seen as the webmaster for various sites….an email arrives which says something to the effect of “We are linking to your site currently, and would love for you to link back to us from YOUR site.  If you add a link back to our site within 4 days (or some other deadline) then we will leave your link on our site.  Otherwise, we will remove it.  Hope to hear from you!” This can be an effective strategy and is worth a shot.  I’ve heard some site owners say they get about one out of ‘two or three’ requests back with a response and a link.  It just depends on several factors of course, but most businesses want and need as many channels as possible coming into their sites IF they understand the net effect.

With that – I leave you with the following.  It’s time to start thinking creatively when it comes to promoting your site.  The idea is that, a solid, informative site saves you time and money, even if it is a brochure type site.  It projects your brand, your image, and when you learn to use it (not just have it), you learn to promote your business while you are sleeping. When your potential customers DO call you (after finding , hopefully, it will simply be to fill an order or to secure a service rather than to ’sell’ over the phone or email.

2009
11/23
CATEGORY
Website Analytics
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Finding Key Words

Finding key words…..kind of important?  You bet.  It’s also the first step to optimizing a site and should start BEFORE you even know what your site is going to look like.

Finding Key WordsOne of the most common requests (more so now than in the past these days) that new web design clients ask about in an initial consultation is the inclusion of a search engine strategy with their new or upgraded web site.  The conversation generally turns to a competitor who comes up with high rankings for certain keyword phrases, etc.  “How can we ‘be found’ like competitor XYZ for this search term or that search term?”  It starts with finding key words, absolutely.

Well, without realizing it, when we search for anything on the web, we use key words in our search engine.  Looking for piano lessons in Atlanta?  You won’t just type ‘piano’ in Google will you?  You’ll probably type something more specific to what/where you are looking for like ‘piano lessons atlanta’ or ‘piano lessons in atlanta’.

Your potential customer/client is going to do the SAME THING when looking for services your site offers, so finding key words to use on your site is kind of….ahem…..important.

Where do we start though?  We know what we do and where we do it, right?  Seems kind of easy….

However, a bit of ‘competitive analysis’ is actually a brilliant place to start with a new site SEO strategy.  Start with competitor sites, or with sites that rank highly for the key words you might type if you were your own customers!  We all do it look at competitor sites, with design, images, content….why would finding key words be any different?  We find a site we like, maybe a competitor, maybe not, but we find SOMETHING to base our projects on and go from there.

Step ONE: With SEO, finding the ideal site is not difficult.  I’ve said this before, but ‘think like your client would’.  Type the ideal key-phrase you want to rank for into both Google and Yahoo (Google is enough for some) and review the top 2 pages returned.  You really need to focus on sites for companies similar in size and purpose to yours if possible….trying to match amazon.com, ebay.com, or wikipedia.com for instance is a waste of time because they have SO much content and so many sites linking to them, etc. (all factors that will keep them at the top of many search phrases for good).

Step TWO: Choose 2-3 sites to ’study’ from an SEO perspective.  Review the sites and look for patterns with regard to text links (how many key-phrases are found within their links), title tags (check out the source code and look at meta tags as well) for each page, heading tags (are they using key-phrase-rich H1, H2, etc throughout the site?), and navigation (do their main navigation links contain key-phrases?).

There are too many potential tactics to list here, but you get the idea.

Step THREE: Even if you snag a few ideas for promoting key word rich content throughout the pages of your site…it’s a great start to hand to your webmaster or web design partner.  I will caution you….if a site is gaining high rankings using ‘black-hat techniques (trying to fool a browser with something other than great content meant for HUMAN consumption), stick with the great content.  That’s what the engines are after, and they’ll never punish you or remove you from their index for having great content!

2009
11/13
CATEGORY
Search Engine Optimization
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Marketing Using Email

Marketing using email? What do I mean by that?

Marketing Using Email!

More often than not, as a website design company owner, I run across new website design clients who have an email address which is different than the domain name of their small business web site.

This means, simply put, that they are not leveraging the good name of their business domain name in a day to day effort (far from any effort though).

For instance, let’s say a client’s name is John Doe.  Let’s say John’s business site is www.johndoeplumbing.com.  His email address is…..jdoe3422@aol.com.  Why?  Shouldn’t he be using something like john@johndoeplumbing.com?

It might seem obvious, but if you are trying to promote your business, using your company name in your everyday email address is just FREE MARKETING.

Think about the amount of emails that go out each day from your account if you are a small business owner……free advertising without a doubt!  I’ve seen it work, personally….time and time again with my own business, and so can you.

John Doe, if he really were a plumber, would see the effects the next time people from his bowling team (or knitting club?) need plumbing services.  They would likely contact him because they know he’s a local plumber.

How do they know?  They’ve seen his company name again, and again, and again….isn’t that exactly what marketing is all about?

Think about it….then change your email address!  It’s marketing using email!

2009
10/25
CATEGORY
Website Marketing
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