Are you asking the correct question? Your clients are. Google SEO

Are you asking the correct question? Your clients are.

To get to the front page of Google or any search engine you need to make sure that when people find you  it is because they were looking for you and not  something else (this is obvious) but  sometime you will think that the keywords you are using and the phrasing that you understand as a expert in your industry is the same language that everyone else is using.

Unfortunately this is not the case. Your customers are speaking your language but what about the people who are not your customers, are they speaking your language?

If they are not your customer then not. This is very important for internet marketing and effective SEO keyword research.

To get to the correct keyword research there are a couple of key questions that you need to ask yourself and the client.

First make sure that when you create your sales pitch it is not filled with the same jargon that you currently have on your site as this defeats the point of finding new customers.

Then look into other industries that offer similar products and services but you don’t consider to be Competition. This will give you some insight into areas that you have not considered  and you can then add some keywords to your research.

Remember  you need to align your Keyword research with this year’s goals of the company.

If you are focused on short term gains you will need to focus on PPC if you are looking to increase please and revenue overall then SEO will work better.

Attend our free Google SEO workshop and learn how to make the most of the ipco Business site builder on Google.

Is a page 1 better than position 1?

Is a page 1 better than position 1?

If you have been following SEO or looking at how search engines are adjusting their results you will notice that your search you have typed in is rephrased and given back to you as a suggestion. (did you mean)

This is great for anyone who is paying attention, to get more traffic and rankings you can now focus on “long tail “ searches and based on the intent of what you are searching for, the search engine presents this information back to you in a format it might think is more suitable to find what you are looking for.

The objective of this exercise it to reduce the amount of time you refine your search when looking for something.

You may be looking for a restaurant and want to get to the official website  and not the menu. Or you may want to get to the menu or you may want to get a review on the restaurant.

These are all multiplies search for the same item. If the search engine can ascertain your intent it will then give you what you are looking for. By using the predictive or suggest function, this is what the search engines are looking to achieve. What this also means to a SEO person is that using the suggest button in combination with the intent you can reduce your keyword research time but also open up a lot of other areas that potential clients can find you  as opposed to focusing on 1 keyword in position 1.

Smart marketing can generate more qualified leads than expensive marketing focus on pure traffic.

At the end of the day you need people to walk into your shop and buys your service or product and not just browse. Always remember the interest is a place that people are using more and more to assist with making decisions. So ensure that you have good information and fresh content and contact details.

If you want more information please feel free to attend our Free Google Workshop .

How do I get onto Google? SEO question 1

How do I get onto Google? SEO question 1

A common question I am faced with is how do I get onto Google? While this may sound like an elementary question there are a few quick check points to go through before this question can be answered.

People often assume that when they say on Google they actually mean they want to see their company with a website.

The other common misconception when they speak of being found on Google ,they are actually saying that when they type there name into the Google search bar

If this is what you mean then you need to have the following:

• ·         A website built on a CMS (content management system )
• ·         A url or www.yourcompany.co.za address
• ·         Your title of the product and service in title tag.

Once you have these items you are now on the web.

The next set is to get found on Google to accomplish this in short order you would need to then do the following:

• ·         Open a G-mail account
• ·         Open a webmaster tools and verify that you are the owner of the website
• ·         Submit your sitemap to Google

·         Open a analytics account so that you can see who is coming into your shop.

Once you have done the above items you will then need to wait for about 90 days to get your site on Google. It may take less time if you do SEO and blog and a couple of back links from High ranking website.

If you need more clarity please attend our free Google SEOworkshop in all major business centres.

FREE SEO TIP Got a great website but no traffic

FREE SEO TIP Got a great website but no traffic?

Sound like a problem you have?

Chances are you are not ranking because you have not asked the correct question of your web guys so they gave you what you asked for.

To be fair, you run a normal business and are not a techno geek so why should you know different.

SEO is a term that you probably are hearing now for the first time in marketing circles and need to know what this means without looking like a fool when you ask the question “what is SEO”

Well first SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization and this is used to improve the place you appear on a Google search when someone looks for your service or product.

In the past couple of blogs I have spoken about what is SEO and mistake people make.

There are a couple of tools like SEOBOOK.com that will help you to see if SEO has been done correctly on your site.

What you need to look for is a thing called the title and if you have H1 tags. In plain English that means you need to see if you have headings on your website and if they have been labelled correctly and also if the titles and heading match. If this is not taking place you will not get found under the areas you are hoping to be found.

This is assuming you have done keyword research and are using the keywords.

Remember we offer a free Google workshop on How to do SEO and understand it from a marketing and business owner aspect.

Free SEO tips: Common Mistake Number 2

Free SEO tips: Common Mistake Number 2

So you have gotten over the fact that you are not famous and are realizing how this SEO thing works.

Quick recap on what is SEO? SEO or search engineoptimisation is the term used to get a high ranking on a search engine in the natural or organic section of the search. This is not for paid advertising.

Remember that Google is a librarian and that the web ,with its trillion websites is the world’s biggest library.

So the indexing needs to be done correctly. If you are looking for a detailed document on how to do SEO for Mobile and your website you can go to Google and look for the www.google.com/.../search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

If the above link is too complicated try coming to our free Google workshop and it will make  more sense.

  

But back to the topic at hand, the number 2 common mistake aside from you thinking you’re famous and not having any SEO, is that you put too much on the title.

This is browser spamming. You don’t like spam nor do the search engines.  Select 2 or 3 items to sell on your site and make that the title, do not go over- board as PANDA will hunt you down. And based on what people are saying about the effects of the panda farmer updates you might not want to be caught in the cross-hairs.

This is a tough one—only selling 2 or 3 items per content page. Rather build more pages. Google will refer to a thin site as someone who only has 5 pages but in reality Google is looking for sites that have more than 200 pages of correctly indexed content.

So to recap:

You are not famous—put the service or product first separated by a pipe | (shift backslash) and then the name of your company.

Separate all the titles with a pipe and make sure that your headings and your titles are the same in English (Google is English)

Come back tomorrow for more on SEO tips and link building or get to one of our FREE SEO training and workshop sessions inGauteng and Cape Town.

First mistake of SEO. So you think your famous..:-)

First mistake of SEO, So you think your famous..

One of the most common mistakes made with SEO aside, from no SEO is that companies think they are famous.

Honestly, unless you are a major brand chances are you do not fall into this category. Yes you would like to think that your brand is world famous and what you sell is known throughout the world.

But you are not alone in the market, and other companies have come to the realisation that for SEO to work, their on page SEO needs to be correct, they only then come across the first basic mistake of the title.

If you are not to sure of what a title is in terms of a website, have a look at the top of your browser and you will see in the blue section right at the top the title of the website. This would normally say home or the name of the company.

If a website has some SEO it will have the service or product that you are selling as the title followed by the name of the company offering the service of product.

One of the first areas that search engines look at in the indexing process is the title of your page.

Remember that the internet is one big library and that search engines are basically highly skilled librarians who each have their own knack called a (read algorithm) for finding the books that you are after.

So the first thing that they will look at is the title of the book. Now if you consider that when you look for something you are doing research first and do not know the name of the company so you will start by looking for the service or product and then narrow your search or refine your search to the point of location.

If you have none of the above in the title of the page and the only thing is the name of your company then how will I find you. If I don’t know you  exist then I cannot do business with you. The whole point of the internet is to link people with knowledge or services that they are looking for.

So you are not famous and you need to make sure your title tells the search engines what it is that you offer as your first point of call in the SEO world.

For more help on SEO please attend one of our FREE SEOGOOGLE workshops and let’s see how we can help you.

Have you given up on traditional marketing? Most small to medium companies have, find out why?

Have you given up on traditional marketing? Most small to medium companies have, find out why?

In a recent survey conducted it was found that small businesses don’t have the budget for mainstream media and are now exhausting other avenues for creating an awareness of their existence.

This can be clearly seen by the fact the Google now owns 40% of the online global advertising market.

In a report by ZenithOptimedia you can see a clear trend and in 2014 internet advertising will eclipse newspaper advertising in spend. The only growth area in media other than TV is the internet. Realistically, small companies do not have the budget to compete in the TV media space. But SEO is a whole other ball game.

Big corporates are asking why they are losing market share when they have been doing business the same way for the last 30 years and yet their numbers are down. 

Major Telco’s are finding their markets are saturated and scrambling to find new way of making money. Take Vodacom who is now licensed to sell insurance. They are all looking for ways to commoditise there subscriber base, and why not.

The question that I am asking is why the change?

Based on what we are seeing, small companies have the ability now to take on the big corporate and beat them at their own game. SEO and the internet has made this possible.

That’s all well and good if you know what SEO is and how to use internet marketing. If on the other hand you are not well versed in the ways of the internet there is still a good chance that someone will lead you down the garden path. This is the reason IPCOWEB offers a free SEO and Google workshop with a marketing bias so that you can begin to understand what is out there and what the correct questions to ask are.

If you want to do research on SEO then start by looking at the Ipco SEO page and also start by asking yourself some very pertinent questions.

Are you famous—is your brand well known globally? ( this will dictate the title of your webpage)

What do you think you sell?—generally you will be to technical orientated for your market and you will then focus on the incorrect words (the web is all about the best usage of words)

What do your clients and potential clients think you sell?—Most companies will ask a client or potential client where they found them and the answer is normally on t he internet or the pages. A more beneficial question will be what were you looking for when you found us? ( this will be your focus ad this is what you are selling)

For more information on this and other SEO tips feel free to attend our FREE SEO GOOGLE workshops that will kick of at the end of Jan 2012 in Melrose Sandton and then we will then start the monthly workshops in CPT and DBN from the middle of Feb.

How can SEO and internet marketing save you money?

How can SEO and internet marketing save you money?

Good question how can marketing save you money. Marketing is all about spending money.

Marketing by definition is creating a perception of value in a potential customers mind and then letting them exchange cash for that value. The exchange cash is the oversimplified version of selling.

Before any creation of value can take place I need to know that you are in business and for me to know that you are in business I need to find you somewhere and somehow. Hence the need for a long term SEO strategy.

SEO is all about understanding your client so that you can understand there needs to create the value perception.

This is also referred to as SEM or search engine marketing but the main element is still marketing and the underlying engine is the world of search.

So to save money through SEO or search marketing you need to know a little about SEO. At IPCO we offer a free SEO workshop where these and other SEO trends are looked at in depth. But before you go there you will want to know a thing or two about SEO and marketing saving you money.

In a recent survey conduct on search engine land it was found that while money was being spent on PPC and social marketing the majority of good leads are coming from natural search.

The point is that you are spending money when you could be creating interesting articles and blogs that people can read and then having a link to your website that relevant to what you have just said. This is simple logic and requires a bit of time every day for you to get into the swing of blogging but after a while the search engines will look at your content as fresh and you will start to see your website climb the rankings.

I am by no means saying the PPC is bad quite the contrary it forms a integral part of your web marketing strategy. You need the PPC for the first 120 days to give you visibility and then after that your SEO efforts should be showing you returns and you will then be able to reduce your spend on PPC and thus your ROI will increase and your spend on marketing will reduce.

This is how you can save money using SEO to its full potential. But like all good strategies it takes time and though and a lot of effort. SEO is not to be undertaken by the faint hearted as you need to keep working at it for at least 6 months to see the improvement.

Please feel free to attend one of our free SEO workshops centered around marketing and see how this can save you money.

Free SEO Tips that normal people can use and 3 important rules

Free SEO Tips that normal people can use. 3 important rules

This is a blog for all the normal people who don’t speak geek or computer language.

So you run a small business and you know that you need people to shop on your site or you can’t pay the bills. If you can’t pay the bills you will go out of Business. So the question is how do you do it?

If you don't like reading then come to a free SEO Google 101 workshop and don't read any further.

It all comes back to understanding who are you selling your product to and what are the words that they are using to find the service that you think you offer.

There is a great tool called www.soovle.com you type in what you think the customer is searching for and it then tells you what words are being used in all the other search engines out there and there are a lot of search engines catering to different markets.

This is called key word research.

Before you go and spend a small fortune on a new web site-design make sure you know what you are selling.

Make sure you know what words your clients are using to look for you

And make sure your contact details are easy to find.

Then put yourself in the customers shoes and go shopping on your site, better still get your mother or parents to go shopping on your site and see if they have a pleasant user experience.

If not go back to the drawing board and start your word search all over.

Remember that as a potential surfer I am only going to spend 8 seconds reading your headlines and if they don’t grab me and I can find what I am looking for in 3 clicks I will be leaving your site.

So remember the 3 Rules

8 seconds to grab my attention

10 seconds to download the page

3 clicks to find what I am looking for

Don’t forget your telephone number people like to talk to people before the finally commit the money.

Or if this is still to much attend one of our free Google SEO workshops in your area. 

Free SEO TIPS and Workshop

Yes you have got no budget for Marketing-then SEO is the answer.

All small companies start out with the same problem, how do I tell the world that I am now in business for myself. The problem is that this question is answered by experts (well that’s what they say) And the experts in traditional advertising will always sell you the best solution that will cost the most money and if you don’t have the budget don’t come knocking cause they are not interested.

So you then do what we all did and turn to Google and the web and say how come I don’t just use the web like every one else.

Well the truth is that it is a lot of work to get yourself onto the front page of Google and most start ups don’t seem to be able to find the time to commit to a viable SEO strategy. This in itself is a pity as they are going for the quick win. Sometimes that quick win started 6 months ago with some real planning.

SEO requires persistence and real planning and knowing who your client is. And what are the y looking for, yes the internet ,market is huge and there is a lot of money to be made if you can get the correct feet into your store. Do you ever take the time to do your market research and ask the questions?

If you don’t know what your key words are then how will you know what your customers are looking for and how will you know that they way we shop has changed. Gone are the days of people shopping  the old way. Now all the research is done online and if you can’t provide the information why should I spend time on your site.

So if you want to get answers to these and other questions about unlocking the internet then get to our free Google SEO workshop and maybe you can retire tomorrow.

Free SEO Google workshop and Tips

Free SEO tips and workshop 2012

This is true we are inviting all who care to attend our freeweekly SEO tips workshop. All you need to do is book and you will then be taken through the basics of SEO and Google rankings from a marketing point of view. This free SEO workshop is for anyone who wants understand how to get a page 1ranking and then from their they need to understand how to get half decent click through and conversions.

If you don’t know what the panda or farmer update and what the impact it has had on your site then you need to attend this free SEO Google workshop.

So this all sounds like a sales pitch, well have a read of what we will cover in the workshop-

What is Google and how Google works with you and advertisers.

Do you know that Google looks at your Title to start the indexing process (the top part of your page in the blue section of the browser.) Do you know what the title is.

Do you know that your URL has a impact on your site rankings as well as the fact that if you have to many links to get to a page then you think it is unimportant and so will and other search engine.

If you follow this Blog and attend our free Google workshops this will all be explained and you will then be able to do it yourself or if you want you can use our service.

Or have a look at our page on what is SEO or come to the next free SEO Google workshop in either cape town dubs or Gauteng.