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If you haven’t heard, Google is expected to rollout its latest search engine algorithm, Caffeine, just after the holidays. Google hopes the new algorithm will provide better, more accurate and relevant search results for users. But for many of us (website owners and search engine optimization providers) this can be scary stuff.

What’s New with Caffeine

Based on testing done by some other people, rumor has it you can expect Google Caffeine to be:

• Faster - Google nearly doubled the speed in which its search results are generated
• More Accurate – The new search seems to put more emphasis on keywords
• Timely – Search results seem to change faster with new articles
• Bigger – Larger index, turning up more results for each search

So what does this mean for your site?

From an SEO stand point there may be a few things you can do to make sure Caffeine doesn’t take off with out you.

• Keywords – Since more emphasis seems to be placed on keywords, get your title tags, description tags and copy chop full of them and make sure you’re using the right ones to accurately describe your products of services.
• Load Time – Reduce your site’s and pages’ load times. People get frustrated when they have to wait for a page to load with will often click back or close out of the search all together. It is believed that the new “faster” Google will rank faster loading pages higher than ones with long load times.
• Content – Update you site regularly with new, original content. Google wants to be accurate and up to date so sites with fresh and relevant content are likely to be ranked higher than sites that haven’t been updated in a long time.
• Quality Links – Link building will still be important, but the emphasis will be on high quality links that are also relevant to your site. Any old high quality link will no longer do. This goes for both inbound and outbound links.

All these changes are really just to improve search results. And isn’t that what everyone really wants – faster, more accurate and relevant results? So don’t be afraid - grab a cup o’ joe and get ready for some Caffeine!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 keyword phrases per page of SEO. For best results use keywords that have a high search volume and little competition. Google has a free and easy to use keyword tool that may help you pick your keywords.

Directions:

1. Add keyword phrases, separated by vertical line or dash, as your page title
2. Place keyword phrases into description tag. Try to keep total word count for your description tag under 30.
3. Stir in keyword phrases to keyword tag, being sure to mix up the word order well.
4. Add your keywords to the image descriptions (alt tags) for all images on the page.
5. Use H1 tags for all headers and mix in your keywords.
6. Sprinkle your keywords lightly throughout the content of the page, using each keyword phrase at least one or two times, more depending on the amount of copy.
7. For added seasoning, bold the keywords in the copy and / or use them as links to other pages in your site.
8. Upload your SEO and let bake for 2 to 4 weeks or until Google re-indexes your site.

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving - Increased web visibility and traffic through organic search results.

Have a great holiday everyone!

When looking to build a new website, choosing the right domain can make all the difference. Picking something short and catchy can leave you with a real marketing gem. If you can get your hands on good one, it can be extremely easy to brand, easy for people to remember and easy to create a viral following. Just think of how well it worked for Twitter, YouTube, Google and EBay.

Unfortunately, a lot of the single word domains are already in use or purchased by someone looking to make a hefty profit. So unless you have an established brand or business name that will be easy to market online and easy for your consumers to remember, you may want to consider a domain name that has your keywords in it instead.

Keyword Rich Domain Names

Not only do search engines, like Google and Yahoo, give preference to domains with keywords, but so do people when their choosing which link in the results to click on. Both search engines and people searching tend to assume that if the keywords are in the domain name, it must be relevant.

It can also help with off-site search engine optimization. One of the most important factors search engines use in determining which sites rank high for which keywords is incoming links. If your keywords are your domain name, then whether people link to you with anchor text or just your web address, your keywords are still showing up in the link, giving you a nice rankings boost.

If you decide to use a keyword rich domain name, here are a few tips for picking a good one that search engines will like and people will remember.

• Try not to pick anything that’s too long
• It’s best if it’s all one word (no hyphens or dashes)

But if you do separate out your keywords…

• Use only one hyphen at most! Any more than one and you run the risk of being flagged as spam by search engines. It’s also a lot harder to remember and verbally pass on to other people.
• Also, don’t use underscores; they are hard to see and don’t always show_up_if_you_underline_words (which is common practice for links).

Before you get your heart set on a particular domain name or keyword phrase, check out a site like Whois,  Web Hosting Search or even Go Daddy and make sure it’s available. These will also let you lookup registration data for them, search by keyword and through previously registered domains that are now available. So good luck and hopefully you’ll find a good one!

Keyword Search

Identify the keywords that you believe your target audience would use to search for your product or service.

Look for words and phrases that are the most relevant to your product or service versus how much potential traffic they bring.  For example, the keyword phrase “minnesota lawyers” may be too generic for a Minneapolis law firm that only specializes in criminal law.  A better search engine phrase may be “criminal lawyers Minneapolis,” because it’s more descriptive and relevant to its target audience.

Focus on finding two to three keyword phrases per page of your website’s content.

Below are the most agreed upon approaches by SEO experts to help improve your rankings. Use the keyword phrases you’ve selected as you write your meta tags and website copy.

Meta Tags

• Title Tag- The most critical tag in your website code that tells the search engine what the website/page is about. This is the text that search engine visitors ultimately click on to view your website.  Limit your title tag to 8 words or less.

• Description Meta Tag-  Found underneath your search engine listing and thus people will read or skim it before clicking on your search listing.  This tag is not required by most search engines; however it does improve the likelihood that a potential visitor will click on your listing.  Limit your description to 190 characters and try to repeat your keywords.

Web Copy

• H1 Headers- The top text header before a paragraph of content.  Header tags are typically labeled in the order of hierarchy they are presented in the website.  Therefore a second header in a page is usually labeled as H2, H3, etc.  Use your keywords in the headers.

• Keyword Density- Refers to how frequently the keyword presents itself in a page.  As in the example of the criminal lawyer, consider using the keyword “Minneapolis criminal lawyer” in the web page copy for every hundred words of text.

URL

• URL Structure- Refers to the actual URL address that the web page / website reside.  Purchasing a domain name that has keywords embedded in it like “criminallawyersminneapolismn.com.” may help improve your rankings.   If you wish to keep your company name or domain, you can change your internal URL to reflect your keywords such as: www.mycompanysite.com/minneapolis-criminal-lawyers.html.

Link Popularity

Increasing your website’s link popularity is the second component to the search engine optimization campaign.  I’ve attached the two links below to provide more detail.

Places To Promote Your Website for Free - Part 1

Places To Promote Your Website for Free Part 2

If you are unsure how to deploy these optimization techniques, you may prefer to outsource these services to a firm that specializes in search engine optimization.  As you may have gathered, small changes in optimization strategy can greatly influence the results.  As such, it’s important to find a supplier that upholds the most current optimizing techniques.  To find a highly ethical and reputable provider of SEO, the Better Business Bureau and the SEO Consultants Directory provide easy look-up options.  For more information regarding search engine optimization techniques or best practices, be sure to check out other posts on our online marketing blog.

Setting up a website isn’t nearly as difficult or expensive as it was just a few years ago.  According to a 2008 study by Barlow Research, it’s estimated that roughly 49% of small businesses already have a website, with another 13% planning to launch a site within the next 12 months.  With so many businesses having websites and more on the way, you might want to raise the question of how yours will stand out from your competitors’ and meet your business objectives.

The mere act of “having a website,” doesn’t guarantee success.  But make no mistake about it; the Internet is here to stay; which means that you need to plan your website’s future.

What is Search Engine Fuel?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or search engine fuel is the continual practice of making your website easily found by the search engines and your target audience.

As an online marketing consultant, I’m often asked, “What would I do?”

It’s important to note that your website should never follow what someone else does.  Your personal brand, reach, customer demographic, etc. is unique and therefore your marketing strategy should never be cookie cut.

Marketing your company on the Internet should be viewed no differently than how you have marketed using traditional media.  The only component that has changed is the medium.  For that reason, I’ve found that success with your website can be attributed to two things:

• Sending The Right Message- Clearly communicate, with words and design, how your company will meet your target audience’s needs.  Overall, your site should be equal to or better than your competitors’.
• Receiving The Right Traffic- Use your website to attract qualified sales leads so that your marketing objectives can be met.

Crafting the Message

Features and benefits mean nothing, unless they address the greatest “pain point” of your target audience.  The important thing is to address your target market’s emotional buying motive.  Customers will judge your brand and your company’s strengths and weaknesses from the way it is presented on your website. Here are just a few questions to help focus your efforts:
• How does your company compete?  Better services or products, best price, etc.
• How do you define your target market?  Are they young, middle aged, or senior citizens?
• Do they exhibit similar behavioral traits?
• What should your brand look like to potential buyers?

Driving in the Right Traffic

How do you to get potential customers to visit your website and help you meet your business objectives?  The answer:  A strategic search engine optimized campaign.

There are two components to the campaign:
• A properly search engine optimized website and
• Link popularity (getting related websites to link to your site).

In my next post I’ll discuss these two components in more detail.