Because successful search engine optimization needs a search engine-friendly Web site filled with quality content.

What if you have a search-friendly Web site and strong content, yet search visibility is still elusive?

Then you need to remember that SEO is not a commodity. SEO is not something that works right out of the box. It's a process, not a product. That means multiple steps need to be taken while progress is made over time.

From my perspective, the vast majority of companies and individuals who claim they can do SEO cannot do it effectively. That is because they either use some form of automated out of the box system or are not expert at the process.

Let me tell you a story.

Recently E-Power Marketing lost a client whom we have supported for the last two years.

E-Power Marketing established first-page Google search positions for the client's most frequently searched and relevant phrases. This took some doing as the market is quite competitive. Traffic and sales were excellent.

In February the client informed us that it was going to launch a new Web site in four days. The client did not tell us it had a site in development. Had we been involved in the development process, E-Power probably could have prevented the disaster.

The new site had critical search-friendliness problems. It did not include the quality content that we used to establish the top search positions on the old site. The Web developer claimed the search-friendliness issues could not be fixed and the content could not be added.

The new site launched, despite our warnings. Search positions and traffic soon dropped. Three months later, the client terminated us and the Web developer.

The client hired a new Web developer who claimed SEO expertise. The developer promptly fixed the search-friendliness issues and attempted to follow our content recommendations. However the developer poorly implemented the content for SEO. Consequently search positions and traffic dropped even further.

By choosing the second Web developer to do the SEO, the client lost more money in sales than had they paid E-Power Marketing to regain the lost search visibility.

Don't forget that SEO is not a commodity. Thoroughly educate yourself about SEO when you are seeking to hire a partner so you can judge whether whom you are considering can get the job done. Those who do not implement SEO every day are easy to eliminate from consideration.

Foremost, successful search engine optimization requires a partnership between you and your agency.

Also see:

What's good for Humans is good for Google

Why Different Types of Search Engine Optimization Do Not Work"

"Gaming" Search Engines to Win Ranking assures You Lose

Free SEO Information is Inadequate and Often Wrong

Why Your Web Developer Should Not Implement Your SEO

Labels: Organic SEO

Within the past couple months Google has offered up a slew of new reporting features via Custom Reports. One new feature segments Google AdWords activities by time of day. I have been griping about not being able to track hourly traffic for some time. The feature is finally available, albeit it not within Google AdWords as I would have liked, but within Google Analytics.

This Custom Reporting feature within Google Analytics allows you to segment marketing campaigns by time of day, allowing you to assess your AdWords budget (or any other campaign for that matter) by conversions, spend and hour of day. This makes the day parting (ad scheduling) feature from AdWords that much better. Not only can you pick what time of day and set costs by time of day, but you can now analyze your conversion by time of day! This custom report can also be setup to analyze your PPC campaigns for Yahoo Search Marketing, MSN AdCenter and any other online advertising tool that lets you use day parting.

Below is a screenshot of one way to set up this custom report, allowing you to see conversion by time of day.


How will this help my search marketing program?

Since Google AdWords hourly reports are not available for conversion tracking, this new Analytics custom report allows you to refine your budget based on actual measurable ROI.

For example, if you are converting more during a certain time period then you could utilize advanced ad scheduling to raise bids during only this time period. The opposite is also true, performing poorly during a certain time period, then lower your bids with advanced ad scheduling. You can use advanced ad scheduling to set up to six separate bids throughout the day.

Labels: Google Analytics, PPC Advertising

As suggested in the previous blog post "Target Keywords Your Market Searches - Not What You Think They Search", putting yourself in your audiences' shoes is necessary to accurately identify which phrases are best to target. In most cases the proper key phrases include targeting both industry-specific jargon and simplistic, everyday lingo that can differ from region to region. To fully optimize a site and gain the greatest search results, knowledge of different spellings and uses of words will only help companies that do business outside of their local area.

As a quick demonstration of why it's crucial to make the effort to identify word variants, take a company that sells its products exclusively in the U.S. The company has a team of proactive online marketers who have created, maintained and updated a list of targeted keywords which have generated great search results.

The business now wants to expand across the pond into the U.K. They know the demand for their products is there, but after some time search results have not gained a foothold. Why the difference? Both are English-speaking countries so the language barrier shouldn't be an issue. The problem: chosen keywords may not be search-friendly because of a difference in spelling or use.

Here are some simple examples. In America cars have four tires, but in Britain they run on tyres. When you want to see a movie in the states you go the theater. In London, you would visit a theatre. Does this product come in many different colors or colours?

Although miniscule in the grand scheme of things, these varying spellings can have a debilitating effect on search results generated from one location to another. This is where thorough research and professional copywriting come together for SEO. When researching keywords there will be different search frequencies for variations of one word, and these alternatives should not be overlooked because keywords are not always appropriate for all markets.

Maintaining awareness of how your customers use targeted phrases in all locations is important when drafting new copy for your pages. By putting yourself in your customers' shoes and finding the correct spellings and uses for target phrases, you're practicing top SEO behavior/behaviour.

Labels: Organic SEO

Recently, I came across an article that really got me thinking. The headline read: "iPhone Users Pick Mobile Web Over Newspapers" While this didn't really surprise me, it sparked my interest. What really got my attention though, was the chart within the article.



With over 30% using their mobile web more than television, over 40% using it more than their radio, and almost 60% using it more than newspapers, it's easy to see how important it is to be marketing online.

The original study from MediaPost states that a total of 7,302 iPhone users were surveyed for this report, with all results tested for statistically significant differences at the 95% confidence level. There are definitely more that 7,302 people out there logging onto the internet from their iPhones, and the iPhone is definitely not the only tool capable of accessing the mobile web. There is a large audience out there utilizing the Internet from their phones, and they are choosing it over other forms of information sources.

While this is certainly important for television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines, it's also pretty important stuff for any business. You can't rely solely on the more traditional forms of advertising anymore. They're just not keeping up with the Internet. What are you doing to remain competitive? What forms of marketing are you depending on? Are you going to be found online, or are you just going to sit back and fade away?

Labels: Organic SEO

LocalAdLink is generated less traffic in June 2009 compared with May. Compete estimates LocalAdLink had only 276,147 visits in June. This is the lowest total of visits since January. See
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/localadlink.com/

The drop in traffic is likely due to LocalAdLink not having money to pay third party sites to display its ads. LocalAdLink ads that once appeared can no longer be found. This is due to either the advertisers not using LocalAdLink any longer or LocalAdLink not supporting its advertisers with ads on sites besides those controlled by Beyond Commerce.

See From The Lips of the Master.

Also see

LocalAdLink - Is this unknown search directory worth advertising on?

LocalAdLink is for the Greedy to Take from the Gullible

LocalAdLink reps optimize for "LocalAdLink scam"

LocalAdLink Scam is Collapsing

Yes! E-Power Marketing is officially a Tween!

Back in July 1998 Google did not exist. Today it is head and shoulders above the others, and is by far the most important search engine.

Staying current with search marketing to maintain client satisfaction has never been easy. Today it continues to become more challenging.

Search marketing has grown incredibly complex. Though on-site search optimization has stabilized due to the no-nonsense algorithms of Google, off-page factors that influence search visibility are changing rapidly. Web directories had long been the cornerstone of in-bound linking. Today most free directories are ignored, viewed as not important by Google.

Instead links established by Web users have become important. This has made Social Media Marketing highly effective for improving natural search visibility, especially on Google.

Social Media Marketing is growing ever more complex with new social sites and applications. Twitter has become a powerful marketing tool. Facebook is great for interacting with friends - and to interact with your customers. LinkedIn provides terrific networking opportunities. MySpace, Digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon, Mixx and thousands of other Social sites provide platforms for effective promotion and marketing. Each has its own application in online marketing. Each requires its own strategy for successful implementation. Each creates pitfalls for businesses that do not use them properly.

The Web is more important than ever for both consumer and business-to-business marketing. Companies that have ignored search marketing, implemented ineffective or inconsistent search marketing are now in the position of serious catch-up if they are to remain competitive.

With search marketing growing ever more important to business competitiveness, demand is growing rapidly. This is attracting more companies claiming to offer search marketing. As search marketing is so complex and requires well-honed skills built through experience, few of these new "search marketers" are effective.

Search marketing scams have been common throughout the history of search marketing. As demand grows and few really understand the intricacies of search marketing, more scams backed with sophisticated marketing schemes but without substance are emerging. Watch out for Search Marketing scams to avoid.

I look forward to the growth of E-Power Marketing and online marketing for many years to come. The challenges offer limitless satisfaction.

And you can't beat a job where you sit all day surfing the Web.

Labels: E-Power News