Posts Tagged ‘lead generation’

Google Forum Search – important changes that will effect search rankings

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Aug 14 2009

Google’s recent ’show options’ addition to the SERP’s have provided additional search filters and I would like to continue this series of posts by looking at forums.

Online Forums and SEO

Online forums have been around for a number of years and were arguably the forerunner of social media and it’s many applications. Forums are basically online message boards, creating platforms for discussions around particular topics between people who share common interests – a place to connect with others online.

From an SEO point of view, forums represent relationship marketing opportunities as well as a chance to create and distribute valuable, topic specific content (and in some cases links).  Subject authority and online profile are additional benefits of forum participation and most market and interest categories are covered by the many that are widely used.

Google Forum Search Filter

It is not entirely clear as to what Google classifies as a forum within it’s SERP’s but indications are that not only large, specialised, dedicated forums that are listed but also forum pages that are included as part of a site, or are added as a sub domain or blog, associated with a site.

In any event, the development in the SERP’s indicate that many businesses and organisations should probably consider adding a forum in order to make full use of the this search filter option, especially ones that are particularly active in social media marketing.

As a direct result of this, posting to forums on other peoples sites is now even more important than ever.  While links within many forum posts may be subjected to the ‘nofollow’ attribute, the new filter makes the content of posts and thread more powerful and therefore a more effective traffic driver…

…What do you think?

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The Burning Question – ‘How do I drive web traffic to my website?’ Pt2

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Jul 24 2009

Part 2.0

Off Page SEO

Off Page SEO

In my last post I talked about the on page SEO factors that influence the levels and quality of traffic that your website gets.  So, you have optimised your site for the search phrases that you are targeting and can now wait for some leads and sales, right? – wrong!  When I started optimising websites for high search engine rankings, the on page stuff, if done correctly, would pretty much ensure that your site would rank well.  Yes, you had to ‘tell’ the engines that the site was there but most of the influential ranking factors occurred on page, not off page.

Off Page Search Engine Optimisation

Off page search engine optimisation is a strategy whereby you build/raise the profile of your website via other online channels.  Getting product/service related content links and listing information placed on third party (preferably topic related) websites builds an ‘online buzz’ about your business. 

The objective of this strategy is to build your website as:

  • an authority in relation to your market
  • highly relevant in relation to your market
  • a reliable and trusted source of information  in relation to your market
  • an online source that people will happily recommend

 

Most people associate off page optimisation with link building, a much used (and abused) form of generating online references and listing of websites.

Link Building or Link Popularity [a definition]

Off Page SEO - Link Building

Off Page SEO - Link Building

Link Popularity refers to the number of links pointing to your site from other sites on the web. There are other terms used for Link Popularity, such as Link Building, In-Bound Links, Back Links, etc. If other high ranking and reputable sites link to your site, search engines will consider your site to be important within its subject field. If your website is constructed correctly and carries well-written, relevant and informative content, its chances of ranking well increase.

There are two types of links you can establish on the web. One type is to trade links (Link Exchange), where you give a link from the links page on your site to the partner site. The second method is to establish only “incoming links” also called One-way Links or Non-Reciprocal Links. With non-reciprocal links, you do not need to link back to them. There are several ways of developing In-bound links.

Getting it Right

Link building can be very effective if done correctly. Over time link building has been abused with many sites using ‘link farms’ or link directories and auto submit applications in order to get high numbers of inbound links. By definition, many of these link directories hold no value with search engines as they see them for what they are. Ensure that your link building is natural and above all topical – contact and speak to people that you would like to link to/from, network with other likeminded people/businesses and associated site administrators. Remember it is quality not quantity!

Link building is the first step in off page optimisation and one that all site owners and SEO’s must address when marketing any business online. However as is the nature of the Internet – ever changing, many more off page optimisation opportunities exist and I will look at these in Part 3.0 – coming soon!

visit www.aviemorebusiness.co.uk for more information

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Google – important changes that will effect search rankings

SEO Scotland, Technology | Posted by Gavin
Jul 17 2009

google-searchWhenever you read or mention Google in relation to a question along the lines of – how does Google rank my site?, what SEO factors does Google consider the most important? or how do I get page 1 rankings in Google?, you will get a mutitude of answers from various sources both on and offline.

Over recent years Google has come to dominate all things search and most things search related by providing us with ‘stuff’ that enhances our ‘user experience’ – these are key watchwords for the biggest success story in modern times, striving to improve the quality and relevancy of the information that we require, so that we continue to use Google as part of our everyday ‘online’ lives.

So I guess our answer to our questions above would be another question?!:

When I review my site and practices relating to SEO and online promotion, am I contributing or detracting from building a positive user experience? – and there is your answer

Google and the new Search Options

In line with Google’s whole ’user experience’  idea, they have added new features to the SERP’s, providing user driven options for filtering, adjusting and even expanding the search results that are displayed. Google have publicly stated that ‘a large portion’ of searches will be made using these options in the near future.

These new Show options … are displayed at the top left of most SERP’s and contain additional search filtering options such as:

  • Videos
  • Forums
  • Reviews

Further filter options enable you to display by relevancy, most recent and the option to display images from the pages.  Additionally and perhaps most importantly for SEO’s, there is Wonder Wheel and Timeline filter which has far reaching implications in relation to key phrase research & tageting.

So, what does all this mean and how can we ensure that ‘our house is in order’ so that as these options become more widely used, we know that we have acted and do not have to re-act?

… I will look at each option in more detail in coming posts on this blog 

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The Burning Question – ‘How do I drive web traffic to my website?’ Pt1

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Jul 13 2009

Part 1.0

How to drive traffic to your website

How to drive traffic to your website

So you have your new website and now you need to get visitors to it and generate sales.  Assuming that you have identified your online competitors and evaluated the phrases that you wish to target (see my recent article on keyword research), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the starting point for getting web traffic to your site.

SEO is the process by which a website is ‘made ready’ for both search engines and the human visitors alike.  

SEO for search engines

The subject of your site generally and site pages specifically must be clearly communicated, whilst focusing on your targeted key phrases – a search engine must be able to ‘read’ the different attributes of your pages clearly and concisely so that it may effectively index the site.

Some key SEO attributes

  • Meta tags
  • Text based navigation
  • Page/Content headings
  • Contextual linking
  • Text style attributes
  • Image naming/alt tagging

SEO for site visitors

The content of your website must be well constructed, engaging and relevant to your target user group(s), answering questions that they have in relation to the products and services that you are offering. Ensure that you give the user plenty of opportunity to contact you or find out more information – add some value to your content:

  • Run a special offer
  • Discount a product
  • Run an online competition
  • Always ensure that your content is up to date
  • Encourage feedback

Good, content will make people want to re-visit your site and create a platform of recommendation to others requiring the same type of products and services.

All the points covered in this brief article relate to what occurs on the pages of your site – I will begin to look at what influences traffic driven to your site by other websites, search and content networks in part 2.0 – coming soon!

visit www.aviemorebusiness.co.uk for more information

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Social Media lead generation can help with SEO in Scotland

Business News, SEO Scotland | Posted by Katie
Jul 10 2009

hubspot-logo-300x114Yesterday I watched a free webinar from Hubspot called Social Media Lead Generation.  It was a very down to earth and basic introduction into the world of social media and I cant say I learnt anything new, however, it is quite good to take 1/2 hour out sometimes and just refresh your knowledge.  We have been delving into the depths of social media and you can get a bit lost and very sidetracked so having someone just spell out the obvious every now and again is quite refreshing.  Hubspot has been a rare find for us and their webinars are always informative….. just remember the time difference if you are in the UK – it has been known in this household for expletives to be used when ‘we’ have realised that we missed the live event by a couple of hours.  Anyway, they always post the webinar after the event so you can view at your leisure and I would recommend you take a look.  When you have done that and you would like us to help you set up something for your own business then you know you just have to contact us and we will gladly talk Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with you!

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