• Focusing on their target audience during the web site design process
• Setting measurable goals up front
• Optimizing pages using search engine optimization (SEO) best practices
• Conducting an SEO competitive analysis
• Designing web sites that are easily found by the leading search engines
• Participating in online conversations
• Listing web sites in relevant directories

Typically a small business owner will hire a website designer based upon their portfolio or a recommendation.  The challenge comes when you later find out that your web site was developed in way that prevents search engines from finding your content.

In short when you pages are indexed in the leading search engines and you have designed a website and written copy for your target audience then you have established a great foundation to generate leads and sales.

During the web site design process, there are many factors that your design firm should consider. If you are a small business owner and you want to know more about how your web site can be constructed to generate leads and sales contact me at cw@vertronics.com.

So, you don’t own a GPS. No worries. MSN updated its Live Search 411 service by adding a real time traffic information service. To access the U.S. based free services just dial 1-800-CALL-411 or 1-800-225-5411 and say “traffic” to get real time traffic updates.

Originally launched in 2007, Live Search 411 also offers: turn by turn driving directions, business search, sports updates, stock quotes, weather reports, movie listings and show times, cheap fuel prices, and travel resources.

If you are looking for alternative driving directions or the latest sports news, just add MSN’s Live search to your speed dial. Live Search 411 is a free service; however, you are responsible for normal airtime minutes on a mobile phone.

Let Live Search 411 help you get the information you want.

Update:  This article was originally posted on April 30, 2009

Here is an actual email that I received from a search engine placement firm:

“Our company will now place any business with a qualified web site permanently at the top of the major search engines guaranteed never to move (ex: Google, Yahoo!, and  MSN). This type of promotion may produce limited traffic and is not going to last long.

When I clicked the link to view the offer, a web site did not come up. The domain used a .pe extension.

If you get an email offer from any search engine optimization firm, that promises first position placement, then you can be CERTAIN, their  SEO  methods will eventually get you banned from the major search engines.

Remember, all of the major search engines want to deliver relevant search results to their audience.

If you are seeking an on-going SEO program or even if you just want to tackle a specific aspect of search engine optimization, contact me at cw @vertronics.com.

Update: This article was originally posted on April 9, 2008

If you are like me, then you may have great intentions but occasionally, you miss the mark. How many times have you planned on being more consistent with social posting? Guess what happens? We catch up on email, read yet another eBook, put out a fire (literally), run errands, or watch TV (ouch). My true confession is I am guilty of all of the above.

When we don’t take the time to post comments online, we are simply missing opportunities to establish partnerships, generate leads, increase traffic, and share our knowledge.

Here’s the scoop; recently, I added a new social networking profile on http://www.blackatlanta.com/ I selected the user name seolady. In just a few days, my profile was indexed by Google. Just google the search term seolady or seolady Atlanta and you’ll find my profile page on the first page of Google. Overtime I’ll get a valuable back link to my SEO consulting web site.

Let’s keep it real. If you want to improve your web site’s visibility in search engines, then you’ll want to engage in link building. One way to build links to your site is to participate in social posting. Since my primary line of business is search engine optimization, I choose a user name that reflects my line of business.

Regardless of the size of your business, you can benefit by having back links. Contact me at cw @ vertronics to learn more about building links to your web site and increasing your visibility in search engines.

In the marketplace competition is natural.  As a buyer of goods and services, would you really want to buy a product or service that was only offered by one vendor? Consider this point, those exclusive opportunities and one of a kind products often equate to higher prices and limited support. Since the goal of search engine optimization is to get your pages to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPS), evaluating your online competitors is a given.  An SEO competitive analysis is an essential step that leads to market intelligence.

Here are five online tools that are readily available to acquire competitive data and market insight.

Compete.com uses survey data along with their massive database of U.S. internet users, to collect information on pages visited and online behavior. Having access to over 2,000,000 users enables compete.com to provide data on site metrics, rankings and more.

Quantcast collects and measures data from over 90K partner publishers and marketers. According to Quantcast, the data is anonymous and contains no personally-identifiable information. According to cruchbase.com, Quantcast uses what they call a Mass Inference algorithm to produce refined profiles that they believe accurately represent web audiences. Users can see estimates for gender, age, household income, and other demographic information.

Yahoo! Site Explorer is a tool set which lets marketers access the information about a site’s online presence. You can see which sites and inside pages are indexed by Yahoo! Also, you can see a list of inbound links. Yahoo Site Explorer can be used for a rapid high level competitor evaluation.

Alexa Site Information can be used to learn about related sites, site overviews and traffic details; Alexa has developed a database of information about sites. The information can be easily accessed by visiting Alexa.com

Google Page Rank is used to identity the importance of a page based upon Google measurements. The PageRank is determined by t he number of inbound links on the page as well as the PageRank of the referring pages. SEO experts agree, the PageRank is controversial and is not always the best indicator of the importance of a page.

Yes, there is competitor in the marketplace, but with some elbow grease and good tools you can use competitors data to you advantage. It’s never too late to identify and evaluate your competitors.

As an Atlanta based Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Company, I’d like to first give you a definition of SEO.  Search Engine Optimization is the process of using on-page and off-page methodologies to improve the visibility of a web page with in the leading search engines.

Why is SEO Important?

When your web pages appear within the top of the search engine results pages (SERPS), then you will receive targeted traffic to your web site.

What steps are involved with SEO?

Some of the common SEO methodologies include:

• Identifying your competition online and offline
• Conducting keyword research
• Selecting relevant keyword search phrases
• Creating relevant descriptions
• Selecting the most relevant categories
• Submitting your site to leading directories and indexes
• Creating meaningful and relevant H1 and H2 tags
• Writing web copy that’s directed to your target audience
• Implementing images with alt tags

SEO is more about long term rather than short term results.

An intentional web site optimization program can work in your favor. Before you start an SEO program, be certain to check out Gooogle’s Webmasters tips page.

Why not ask request a FREE consultation? I’d like to speak to you about how my web site optimization services can work for you. I may be reached by e-mail cw @ vertronics.com.

Here’s a common question among new website owners. Why can’t I find my website? This article attempts to shed some light on why your website may be lost in the myriad of search engine listings.

Now that your web site has been launched, the next most important step is your site must get indexed by the leading search engines. Since search engines love content, each search  engine automatically spiders the web looking for new and updated pages. If your site is found during this process, then your site will be indexed (it’s been added to the search engine database). 

Has My Site Been Indexed?

Here’s one simple way to find out if your home page has been indexed. Simply copy and paste the following text into the search engine box:

“mydomainname.com”

Be sure to use the double quotes around your domain name. If your home page has been indexed,  then you will see your website address listed in the search results.

If your website has not been indexed, then you should:

• Create an XML site map and notify Google, Bing and Yahoo!
• Write an article that includes a link back to your home page. Be sure to submit the article using www.ezinearticles.com
• Submit your site to several leading directories
• Make blog post that includes a link back to your home page (watch out for no follow attributes)
• Add your link to a website that gets spidered on a regular basis

Why can’t I find my site using my company name?

The short answer is that your favorite search engine does not know enough about your web site yet. The long answer is your company name is competing with other pages that use the same keywords. When you enter your company name into a search box, you are simply entering a keyword phrase. So, the keyword phrase Bill’s Lawn Care Service, has to compete against any page that contains the term bill, lawn,  care and service. As you can imagine, there could be over 400,000 competing pages.

With so many competing pages, you’ll want to increase your visibility within the search engines. There are several strategies that you may use to increase your search presence. You may want to generate inbound links to your web site, submit your home page to relevant directories and indexes or start posting to blogs and social networks. These are simple tactics that anyone can you can use.

Don’t get overwhelmed, an online marketing plan can help to keep you on track.

So you have learned that getting a site indexed is only the beginning. If your website is lost in the maze of search engine results, then you can use a few of the above suggestions to find your web site.

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Cheryl Wilson has been creating search engine friendly websites and providing online marketing services to small business since 1997. Learn how you can have a website that produces leads and sales online by visiting Vertronics Media at http://www.vertronics.com/