Posts Tagged ‘sem’

Many of us, including myself, have our collection of blogs that we read each day. I nearly feel sick if I don’t know what’s going on with my favorite “reads” each day. If you are reading this chances are you know that feeling all too well. As always, rapid growth invites innovation. Savvy entreprenuers continue to find ways to monetize this buzz industry. The folks at ReviewMe were the latest to catch my eye.

ReviewMe offers solutions for publishers to make an income off their creative blog posts and advertisers to find a new marketing source. New businesses attempting to build an online awareness of their products will find this especially useful. One other perk that comes to mind involves the continued decrease of ad click throughs. Web users are becoming more and more familiar with the look and feel of contextual advertising and avoiding it. ReviewMe helps advertisers place content contributed by unique publishers in the main body of websites.

Although the list of new, hip contextual advertisers is extensive, I imagine we will see ReviewMe around for some time. I’ve tried these guys out and only have good things to say about them and gladly give my endorement.

*Sponsored Post

For those of you into SEO you are all to familiar with the various perspectives on the subject. I’ve decided to start building a trusted list of SEO resources and would appreciate other takes.

• seomoz - This site is my personal favorite. These guys take a refreshing approach to the industry.
• Cre8asiteForums - A longtime favorite among many SEOs.
• SearchEngineWatch
• added 4/20/2006 - Matt Cutts - Whether planned or not, Matt has become an authority in the search industry. He was one of the first google employees and has a knack for “leaking” information on updates.

Each comment will be reviewed and potentially added to the list.

I picked up Web Analytics Demystified by Eric Peterson the other day. This book came highly recommended and although I have not yet completed it, I strongly advise it to anyone interested in the field. I believe web analytics is a field that is mistakenly overlooked by small and mid-sized companies. Many businesses pay big bucks for search engine marketing. However, they have no plan once a visitor has entered the site. MidScape has recenly added web analytics services and can improve your ROI success.

*More to come on web analytics as I come across topics of interest.

Tip - Make sure to take advantage of header tags by loading them with core keywords.
Ex. - Within my H1, H2, or H3 tags I attempt to always include “Alex McArthur” and other category keywords on this site.

Warning - Don’t use links within header tags. Matt Cutts, a google employee, warns against this practive.

Happy Turkey Day. Have a safe holiday.

Search engine marketing has continued to be a hot topic over the past few years and won’t be slowing anytime soon. I come across tips and discussions constantly on page rank, reciprocal links, and back link strategies. What does it all mean and what should be given precedence?

SEO Misunderstandings

1. I’ve improved my search engine results and now I can call it a day. Wrong. If you are committed to remaining at the top it is a never ending process. Internet marketing practices must be ever present in your plans for a successful online presence. This means monies should be allocated to your businesses budget and resources/employees assigned to the task.
2. I can work the system with unapproved techniques. Wrong again. Yes, I’ll admit there are some minds out there that are able to crack the system successfully. You, however, are not one of them. You may be bright. You may even know of a proven black hat technique, but is it really worth it? Your business ethics will reflect upon your continued success and scars are very difficult to remove. Also, the threat of being banned from search engines altogether is real. Just stay away from link farms, spamming, etc.

Practical SEO Techniques

1. What are the search engine results above you doing to stay ahead? Take a look at the source code of your competitors. Do they have specifice keywords spread more prevalently through their content? How many link backs do they have compared to your site? This research is extremely valuable as they are doing something more effectively than you.
2. Submit to every directory you come across.
3. Place your link on websites found in the same category of search engine directories.
4. Choose your domain name wisely. This actually does not pull as much weight as many think so don’t stress too heavily. Your content and back links are much more important.
5. Add fresh content frequently. This is key to your positioning. Update news on your industry or new clients. You get the idea.
6. Don’t give up. Your results will improve with your continued effort.

Contact MidScape in the Utah area if you are looking for professional SEM services. Sorry, I’m forced to solicit our services at any opportunity. The SiteManagement package includes search engine marketing management.