Online Marketing

01/19/2012

SOPA, PIPA and Your Website

Categories: Online Marketing     SOPA, PIPA and Your Website

The Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives could change the way the Internet operates. The goal of the legislation is to protect media companies against theft of their material. It ostensibly targets Websites hosted outside of the United States that infringe copyrighted material. The acts would force US Internet providers to block offending domain names. It also aims to cut off funding to infringing Websites by forcing advertiser and payment services to stop doing b …

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01/09/2012

Three Search Engine Marketing Resolutions For 2012

Categories: Online Marketing     Three Search Engine Marketing Resolutions For 2012

While you may be thinking that your New Year’s resolution should be to start working out, spend more time with your family, or take up a new hobby, you shouldn’t forget about your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) when making resolutions. Even if you’ve had a great 2011, here are three areas you can focus on to make sure you have an even better 2012 when it comes to your Internet Marketing efforts. 1. Create New, Quality, Optimized Content A stagnant site is not going to climb the search engine result pages (SERPs) for the keywords you are trying to rank for. Search engines lik …

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12/09/2011

Search Engine Optimization: What is "Quality" Content?

Categories: Online Marketing     Search Engine Optimization: What is

One of the first things a Search Engine Optimizer will talk about when formulating an ongoing SEO plan is content generation. They will explain that search engines are looking for Websites that are continuously growing and published with content that is fresh and relevant to the rest of your site. Search engines are also putting more emphasis on the quality of the content, measuring this metric through the time spent on the page, whether they visit more pages on your website and whether or not they are sharing this content with their friends. So what qualifies as quality content? When it com …

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11/14/2011

Search Engine Optimization: The Ever Changing World

Categories: Online Marketing     Search Engine Optimization: The Ever Changing World

In the world of technology everything is evolving. Rest on your past success and you will be left in the dust. This is just as true for Search Engines as it is for TVs, computers, and smart phones. In effort to always bring better results to their billions of searchers, Search Engines are constantly updating their algorithms, forcing search engine optimizers (SEOs) to adapt. Let me take a step back and explain how search engines work for anyone who is thinking, “Wait, what algorithms?” The goal of a search engine is to bring people the most relevant results. Search Engines send ou …

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10/27/2011

Facebook Advertising, Online Reviews Lead 2011 Holiday Marketing Strategies for Retail

Categories: Marketing Trends Online Marketing Social Marketing     Facebook Advertising, Online Reviews Lead 2011 Holiday Marketing Strategies for Retail

According to recent studies by BIA/Kelsey and ConStat, 97 percent of all purchases have an Internet component. 90 percent of all purchases are researched, at some level, on search engines. The average American uses 7.9 media sources to research a purchase…and most purchase at a local business. Combine those facts with the growing use of social media, especially Facebook, among demographics with purchasing power and the time for retailers to push social media to the marketing fore is right now. Online Advertising is Effective for Driving Offline Sales •    Online a …

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10/14/2011

Search Engine Optimization: Tracking Your Progress

Categories: Online Marketing     Search Engine Optimization: Tracking Your Progress

Gone are the days of guessing what return your marketing investments will bring in. If you have a website and are using internet marketing, you can now track how many visitors are visiting your website, how they found it, what they are viewing, how long they stayed, and whether or not they converted (filled out a form, bought a product, signed up for the newsletter, etc.) Here are some important metrics to look at beyond the number of visitors and how you can use the information to maximize results. One of the most telling metrics for your online marketing and search engine optimization effor …

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06/28/2011

The Impact of Quality Websites on SEO

Categories: Effective Design & Usability Online Marketing     The Impact of Quality Websites on SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has always been a balancing act between writing for search engines and writing for users. In the early days, stuffing keywords into your content and across your site was rewarded with top rankings in the search engines. As Google and other search engines strive to bring people the best results in the top positions, the push has been towards high quality Websites and content. Have you ever clicked on a search result and seen something like this (forgive my shameless keyword stuffing; it’s in the name of science!): “Webolutions is a Denver search eng …

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05/26/2011

Pay Per Click Marketing: How to Create a Successful PPC Campaign

Categories: Online Marketing     Pay Per Click Marketing: How to Create a Successful PPC Campaign

It should go without saying that the easier you make it for your Website visitors to become customers, the higher percentage that will convert (buy a product, fill out a form, sign up for a newsletter, etc.) Unfortunately, that simple logic is easily forgotten if you are overwhelmed setting up your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign. Having a clear, consistent message throughout your campaign will help you maximize your conversion percentage and minimize your cost per conversion. There are three areas you need to be aware of with regards to your messaging: your keywords, your ads, and your Website. …

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03/29/2011

Online Marketing: Optimizing for Local Search

Categories: Online Marketing     Online Marketing: Optimizing for Local Search

Google’s local and organic search results are now combined. This elevates the importance of local search for location-based businesses to be on par with organic Denver SEO. The Fundamentals Haven't Changed. Effective online marketing remains anchored by your Website, which should be designed for conversion and optimized, structurally and content-wise, around a Keyword Strategy. The importance and coherence of your efforts outside of your site are increasingly important. As usual, we look at content and architecture. Content: Clear Market Positioning with Information Consistency …

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01/10/2011

Pay Per Click Marketing Basics, Focused Keywords

Categories: Online Marketing     Pay Per Click Marketing Basics, Focused Keywords

The most important aspect of your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign is always getting conversions whether they are direct sales, leads, or even views of a key page. Without properly focused keywords you are probably throwing a lot of money away. Here are some tips to help you start your campaign with a clear keyword list and continue to refine it into a well-oiled machine. Your initial keyword research should revolve closely around your products and services, the more focused the keyword is the more likely it will lead to a conversion. Lets say you are an animal shelter with puppies for adoption b …

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11/26/2010

Marketing Trends 2011: 3 Factors to consider for Email Marketing Tools

Categories: Marketing Trends Online Marketing Social Marketing     Marketing Trends 2011: 3 Factors to consider for Email Marketing Tools

I was recently part of an online discussion in a LinkedIn group about Email marketing  tools. Recommendations and insights were sought to aid the comparison of ExactTarget, Constant Contact and MailChimp. (Disclosure: Webolutions uses ExactTarget. We also manage client accounts on ExactTarget and Constant Contact.) All of the responses were thoughtful and each endorsed a service based on ease of use and design options. Choosing an Email Marketing Tool Especially if you're doing it yourself, ease of use is essential. We wouldn't be much of a design company if we didn't stress the i …

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11/23/2010

Denver SEO Resources: A few of our favorite blogs

Categories: Online Marketing     Denver SEO Resources: A few of our favorite blogs

Following on from the tenet posted in a previous post that we want our clients and partners to be savvy, here's a quick list of some of the resources we use to stay on our game: SEO Blogs These are our favorite Internet resources to stay on top of the constantly shifting landscape of Search Engine Optimization: Search Engine Land Search Engine Watch  Broader Topics These sites have a larger scope than SEO--Social media, Internet advertising, mobile marketing, programming development and more. We recommend them for everyone from neophite to geek: Hubspot SEO, Bl …

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11/16/2010

Internet Marketing Trends: Will new Google popups change Web design?

Categories: Effective Design & Usability Online Marketing     Internet Marketing Trends: Will new Google popups change Web design?

(Or: Google changes aren't permanent; but change is.) Must be a day with a "y" in it. Google changed something. And once again, they didn't call first to ask if it was okay. Harumph. A few weeks ago, most users started noticing the merge of local and organic. Notice how, on the picture, the map thumbtacks accompany the organic listing. That's pretty cool. All that much more important now to have a Google Places page for your business. Where's the big map, you ask? It's on the right column, hidden behind the popup window showcasing the Website. See what I did there? So, now, …

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11/12/2010

Denver Internet Marketing: 3 Critieria for Choosing an SEO partner

Categories: Online Marketing     Denver Internet Marketing: 3 Critieria for Choosing an SEO partner

"We usually start these conversations with a lesson on how your Website is not up to our SEO standards." That's the modus operandi of a national firm with whom Webolutions is considering establishing a strategic partnership. With our site, they didn't have anywhere to go, but that's not the point. Here's the point: Just because a Website has "Internetmarketing" in its URL does not mean they are your best choice for an Internet marketing partner. Water cooler talk in this office is loaded with comments like, "It's surprising that greater standardization doesn't ex …

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11/10/2010

Internet Marketing Example: The Dallas Cowboys and the Importance of Domain Renewal

Categories: Online Marketing     Internet Marketing Example: The Dallas Cowboys and the Importance of Domain Renewal

At the risk of piling on or hitting after the whistle...how 'bout them Cowboys? The story so far: The 2010 NFL season began with extroverted owner Jerry Jones, Sr., boasting that the team he owns, the Dallas Cowboys, expect to be the first team to play a home game in the Super Bowl. (For those of you who are late to the party, the Cowboys are one of the more storied and popular franchises in all of American sports.) That same team started the season one and six, losing their star quarterback to injury in the seventh game. Fans, followers, sportswriters, radio and TV pundits, blogg …

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10/12/2010

Denver SEO - Three Tips to Choosing Your Keywords

Categories: Online Marketing     Denver SEO - Three Tips to Choosing Your Keywords

Things to Keep In Mind When Choosing Your Keywords While it can be easy to overlook something as simple as choosing keywords, it is one of the biggest blunders you can make in an internet marketing campaign. Ranking for the wrong keywords doesn’t do any good.  They may bring you traffic, but if they are not relevant you will be increasing your bounce rate instead of your conversion rate. Here are some basic things to keep in mind when choosing your keywords. Relevancy - While it isn’t rocket science, choosing relevant keywords seems to be a difficult task for people to …

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07/15/2010

Denver SEO: Explaining SEO Through Analogies – Weight Loss

Categories: Online Marketing     Denver SEO: Explaining SEO Through Analogies – Weight Loss

Search engine optimization is a great way to place your company in front of your target market and increase your business. SEO can place you at the top of the search results for the keywords that your target market is using to find your services. What a lot of companies don’t like to tell potential clients is that getting to the top of the search results takes time and work. In this blog post I am going to compare SEO to weight loss in hopes that the analogy will help you better understand SEO without boring you to tears. Now, I’m not saying you are out of shape but for the sake …

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07/12/2010

Denver SEO - The Web 2.0 Convergence of Tools and Tactics

Categories: Online Marketing     Denver SEO - The Web 2.0 Convergence of Tools and Tactics

 Web 2.0 meets SEO In 2007, Google announced its Universal Search capabilities.  It changed the way search results are displayed when doing a query. Universal search integrated images, videos, and results from other search verticals directly into the web search results. This has proven to be a huge driver of traffic to sites because their images, videos, news, local search information are displayed and easily accessible to the searcher. Now, with the incorporation of indexable content from Twitter and Facebook, online marketing has become even more important. Users are looking to c …

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03/30/2010

Create a Blog and Post Often

Categories: Online Marketing     Create a Blog and Post Often

Recently, Webolutions had a blog post about the 7 Benefits to a Business Blog. To follow it up, we wanted to emphasize the importance of creating a blog and posting often. Most people know the more back links your site has, the higher you'll go in the search results page. Technically, the quality of the links is more important than the actual quantity. If authoritative sites link to you, Google determines that you must be important. One of the easiest ways to generate links to your site is to start a blog.  A blog is a great way to keep your site full of fresh content and attract users …

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03/05/2010

Webolutions Top 10 Link Building Strategies

Categories: Online Marketing     Webolutions Top 10 Link Building Strategies

  How can I create a powerful link? Unless you know the search engine algorithms or you are an engineer at Google, the solution to this question may be difficult to answer. Here at Webolutions, we like to focus on these 10 factors when we develop a linking strategy. Here is our guide of the 10 things to look for in a link-building campaign: It occurs naturally, or at least appears that way. It is one-way (non reciprocal). It uses the main keyword(s) for the page that it links to. It is from a site that is related and not off-topic. It comes from a Website wi …

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02/08/2010

Twitter & Social Marketing - SEO Forces to be Reckoned With

Categories: Online Marketing Social Marketing     Twitter & Social Marketing - SEO Forces to be Reckoned With

Twitter now part of Google, Bing and Yahoo Search Results As of recent, search results are showing real-time Twitter results in the organic search results.  Google and Yahoo made the announcement on the same day, paying Twitter $15 million and $10 million respectively, to index Twitter’s tweets.  Twitter’s search results display the most recent five tweets for your search query, and it will always match the language in which you are searching (i.e. – If you are in Italy, only Italian tweets will show.)  Currently, Twitter results are included only for the most …

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12/22/2009

Website Redesign SEO - What You Need to Know!

Categories: Online Marketing     Website Redesign SEO - What You Need to Know!

If you are considering the redesign of your Website, it is critical to consider the impacts this could have on your existing and future search engine positions. In many cases your business will have an established Website with some decent search engine positions. In order to update your site to a new or fresher look and to include more functionality, you may be considering investing in a Website upgrade. This will usually be a more expensive Website redesign and functional upgrade which includes a CMS, maybe a blog, some sort of Social Marketing and other substantial functionality upgrades …

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11/09/2009

Online Search Reverse Engineering for Success

Categories: Online Marketing     Online Search Reverse Engineering for Success

The successful Online Marketing of a Website requires a very different approach than the conventional marketing techniques used to market most other products and services.  Historically products were made, perhaps based on some level of market research, and then they were taken to the marketplace and mass-marketed. To successfully plan, develop and market a Website to the search engines requires a completely different approach. Many factors play a role in where your Website shows up on the search engines. This positioning is critical to most businesses’ success or failure. W …

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09/14/2009

Call Tracking Services Improve ROI Measurement

Categories: Online Marketing     Call Tracking Services Improve ROI Measurement

Most Onlin Marketing initiatives include some sort of Web analytics. However, many people overlook the critical measurement of the telephone calls received as a result of these efforts. Webolutions’ call tracking solution allows businesses to add a new dimension to their online and offline campaign ROI measurement.  Some of this service’s features include: Unique campaign-by-campaign call tracking numbers Dynamic population of tracking numbers throughout your Website, based on the originating campaign Call recording for the monitoring of call conversion quali …

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08/05/2009

Web Analytic Software - Only Useful if Actionable

Categories: Online Marketing    

The key to successfully using Web analytics is ensuring that whatever you are tracking is actionable. It is easy to get bogged down in a huge amount of information provided by these tools.  As well, all this information can be manipulated dozens of different ways.  Without a plan, it is not uncommon to sit down in a meeting to review your Website analytics information and have everyone heading off in different directions, based on the numbers they relate to in the report.  This is complete waste of time. The only informat …

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05/22/2009

Local Search Optimization Strategies

Categories: Online Marketing    

Local search results have become prime real estate on the search engine results page. These results are displayed under the sponsored advertisements, pushing the universal search results down. To most business owners’ ranking in the local results, such as Google Maps, is imperative to their company’s online success. Why should local search be a part of your online marketing strategy? Not only does Google Maps prominently showcase local businesses at the top of their search results page, but provides customer reviews about an organization’s products and services. Searchers …

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04/08/2009

Common Misconceptions about Organic Search Marketing

Categories: Online Marketing    

Time and time again people come to Webolutions with false expectations created by reading substandard blog posts or receive guidance from less than reputable online marketing firms. It is time to clear up the misconceptions and set the record straight: Internet Marketing Takes NO Effort: False - Internet Marketing is time-consuming. I am sure you have all seen the advertisements or spam emails saying, “Make money from home by working on the Internet.” Well, not only are some of them scams, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. When it comes to search engine optimization and sea …

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