SEO Checklist for your website (part two)

Once the basic tasks of setting up a formidable SEO strategy has been accomplished, your SEO services specialist may suggest you to add a few more to your checklist before you can launch your website. We look at some more of these tasks to pay heed to.

Conduct a keyword research

Performing a comprehensive keyword research is one of the most important steps to undertake. List out all the products and services you offer. Create as many combinations of words and phrases for representing these products and services as possible. Once you have a comprehensive list of options, you need to use the Google Keyword Planner for checking on their performance. Shortlist ones that register highest response rates and use them in your content.

Your SEO consultant will be able to assist you in arriving at a performance based list of expressions that will click for your website.

The URL, the Page Title and the Meta Description

Creating a friendly URL structure helps in ensuring higher search engine results. Having a suitable URL ensures higher ranking. You need to include the more important keywords in your URL and make them more meaningful. Using hyphens and underscores are equally important as well. Dynamic URLS should be avoided as well.

The title tag represents the Webpage. The title must be uncommon and must include keywords sparingly. However, the keywords should not be stuffed in the description. It should be readable and meaningful and the important keywords should be used first.

The Meta description is a short summary of the web page. It should not be above 160 characters in length. It should be a compelling statement that can.

Creating unique content that is suited to a target audience

The content you create should be unique and has to be targeted to your choice of audience. Use keywords and key phrases judiciously.

These are the basic steps to undertake for ensuring a robust SEO strategy. You can continue to build on the same as you go.

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SEO Checklist for Your Website

Setting the ball rolling in a start-up may not be an easy feat. Regardless of the nature of company in question, there would be plenty of work to do. Be it, financing, staffing, resource planning, testing or paperwork; they would all need an equal amount of attention. And there is also a SEO strategy to devise and implement. Your SEO expert will provide a basic SEO checklist that can help. Here is an SEO checklist for your website.

Begin by installing Google Analytics

Google analytics is the best analytics tool that is available in the market and it is free. When measuring the success of your SEO strategy, the most common metric that comes up is the keyword ranking. However, if you choose to focus on the SERP positioning of the website alone, you will be missing out on the bigger picture. This is why a comprehensive analytics tool is important in order to have a clear understanding of how the organic traffic is being converted. Even the most basic SEO training course will help you learn how to use this analytics tool.

Use the Google Search Console

The Search Console is a free tool that is provided to those who manage websites, by Google. It was previously called Webmaster tools and is used for getting data about the status of the website and its organic performance in the search engine. You can use this very handy tool to check if your website has duplicate content and can also keep a tab on the search engine rankings. It also helps you check how many people visiting your website and the click-through rate of your web pages.

Watch out for errors and broken links

Search engines reach out to your websites through these links. Therefore, if there are crawl errors or broken links, the search engines may not be able to find your website content and hence may not be able to perform the indexing and push traffic into it.

These complete the basic SEO checklist for your website. We will be looking at more such important points in the second part of the checklist.

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3 More Steps to Perform a Competitor Analysis for SEO

Have you ever felt that no matter how much effort you take, your SEO strategy never becomes as successful as you want it to? As your SEO services specialist will explain, you need to perform a detailed competitor analysis. You need to know what your competitors are doing right that you are not. We look at 3 more steps for performing an in-depth competitor analysis.

1. Take time out to study the competitor website

Most of the time, we are obsessed with keywords or Meta tags or back-links. However, one of the simplest things to do is simply study the websites of your competitors. You should check how the site has been designed, the quality of content that have used, whether they have static URLs or dynamic ones and so on. A simple study can give you complete view of the how their web presence is and where you need to improve.

2. Check on the seemingly unimportant SEO factors

Keywords and back-links done, now it is time to look at some other seemingly unimportant SEO factors which are actually very useful. Check the SEO ranking of your competitors on Google. Check how they are performing on other popular search engines like Bing and Yahoo. Find out how many indexed pages your competitor sites have with the more popular search engines.

3. Check the social media presence of your competitors

Your SEO consultant is likely to advise you to check on the nature of social media presence enjoyed by your competitors. Social media is responsible for driving traffic. However, this study may not be a simple one. You can start with social bookmarking. Look through some of the better known bookmarking sites. Check for competitor posts and how popular they are. Browse through Facebook and Twitter to check if your competitors have profiles that are publicly available.

Performing a competitor analysis for SEO is not an easy job. You need a specific set of tools and templates provided by your SEO services assistant in order to complete your analysis.

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First 3 Steps to Perform a Competitor Analysis for SEO

One of the key steps to undertake right at the beginning of formulating an SEO strategy is a comprehensive competitor analysis. As your SEO expert will tell you, mapping your competitors helps in a fair understanding of where your own position in the market is and what you should do to climb up the ladder. Here are 3 steps to begin with.

Step 1: Identify your competitors

Begin by identifying at least four competitors you wish to map. This could seem confusing since the rankings would be based on online searches and local business competitors. What you need to do is combine both and arrive a concise list containing not more than four entities. There are some specific tools available for help. Opt for a SEO training course that guides you on the same.

Step 2: Perform a keyword research

Once your competitors have been identified, perform a keyword research. You need to know which keywords are being used by your competitors and how successful they are proving to be. Here again, there are some special tools to be used for carrying out a keyword research. You can ask your SEO expert to assist you.

Step 3: Perform an analysis of back-link gaps

Analyzing back-link gaps will tell us which of the websites are establishing links with our competitors but not building links with us. This analysis is critical because this helps us to close the gaps with their back-link profiles and boosts our search engine rankings by fetching the links that are attached to the competitors. Here again, there are tools available for your help and assistance. Your SEO guide can share the same with you.

A competitor analysis incorporates a few more steps. We will look at them in the following article for a more comprehensive guidance.

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4 Rules for writing SEO Headlines that Work

Headlines are the real focus point of any content. A hungry headline can attract the attention of the readers and help you tell your story to more people than you could possible imagine. Search engines have their own ways to check whether the promise you made in your headline has been kept in the actual content. As your SEO services specialist will tell you, getting the heading right improves your search rankings substantially. We look at 4 rules that help in creating the best headings.

1. Write descriptive and not illusive headlines

Very short illusive headlines may work for the print media but they aren’t befitting for the online space at all. In order to grab more eyeballs, the heading needs to be concise yet descriptive. In short, it should tell you what the following article is all about. Refrain from being sketchy.

2. Use more of proper names for matching search engine queries

A majority of searches are performed with proper names. It could be the name of a country, city, town or area. Street names are also used in searches. Therefore, including proper names alongside other words can help in matching more queries. Choose the names judiciously.

3. Use keywords wisely

Keywords are words and expressions that describe the content. However, it is important to understand that you are not creating your headlines for search engines alone. SEO consultants always advise against stuffing headlines with keywords. In fact, search engines tend to discard content with meaningless usage of keywords.

4. Avoid click-baits and hyperboles

Refrain from going over the top and promising the moon to your users. Never use headlines that refer to utopian concepts or sound too good to be true. Steer clear of hyperboles and click-baits. Keep it real and grounded, as much as possible.

Always engage an experienced SEO services specialist who keeps track of changing search engine algorithms. Only then can his advice be of help.

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3 Common Local SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Believe it or not, 46 percent of the total number of Google searches is local! The importance of local SEO can hardly be undermined therefore. As your SEO expert will tell you, here are some of the gravest SEO mistakes to avoid.

1. Inaccurate, inconsistent NAP information

NAP is the acronym representing Name, Address and Phone Number. It is one of the basic metrics that search engines use for ranking local businesses in their results. Simply providing the information prominently on your webpage is not enough. The information needs to be consistent. Prominent sources state that all prominent search engines have a practice of checking contact information across sites like Yelp, Yellow Pages and other directories. Therefore, it is important to check the details before putting it up on the website. Make sure it is clearly visible as well.

2. More than one URL to the same page

Check whether one or more URLs are leading to a single page on your website. Your SEO expert will always advise you against such a practice. This leads to failing in canonical checks. Also, when you have multiple URLs or inbound links to a page, it splits equity among the links and this hurts the links, affecting your SEO performance overall. In case, such links have been mistakenly created, you should consider removing them completely.

3. Not giving due importance to local reviews

Reviews have a huge impact on your local SEO ratings. The more high quality and diverse reviews you get, the better your local SEO ratings are likely to be. As any SEO training course will tell you, the quantity of reviews you get is also important. It is always a good idea to invite your potential customers to post reviews. You can provide them incentives for posting reviews.

Local SEO ratings can make or break your business. Due importance should be given to it.

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3 More Steps for Developing an Effective SEO Strategy

In the previous post, we looked at 3 basic introductory steps for developing a winning SEO strategy. As you try to perfect your SEO with the help of an SEO expert, here are some more steps that will keep you on track.

1. Perform a competitor analysis

As you’ve started visiting the competitor websites to spot their preferred keywords, use this opportunity for a comprehensive competitor analysis. Apart from the keywords, study the URLs, the titles, descriptions, widgets and plug-ins, mobile-friendliness of the portal, speed of loading and so on. It is also important to read through the pages for a fair understanding of the content structure.

2. Create content judiciously

High-quality content always helps boost your online presence and reputation. In fact, every SEO training course will have a module that provides guidelines for content creation. You need to keep it crisp and informative. Refrain from stuffing your Meta tags or descriptions with keywords, which is a common mistake people do in an attempt to achieve higher rankings. Try and implement ideas picked up from your competitor analysis. Your SEO expert can also provide the required assistance.

3. Measure and track your SEO progress

Once you have implemented some of the strategies regarding content creation, keyword research, page optimization and so on, it is time to measure and track your progress. There are several metrics and web analytic tools available for tracking the progress of your SEO campaign. It is important to engage a few of these and check on the progress so that changes can be made before it’s too late!

In addition, staying updated with SEO news and trends is also important. Read up on current developments and how search engines are changing their algorithms, so that you can make necessary changes in your strategy, well in time.

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First 3 Steps to Developing an Effective SEO Strategy

An effective SEO strategy can go a long way in assuring business success for your company. The question is, how do you go about formulating an effective strategy that suits your business? Surely, your SEO services specialist would help, but knowing a few basics of SEO would help you understand whether your SEO consultant is giving you the right advice. Here are some steps to take for developing a winning strategy.

1. Define your target audience

Before jumping on the SEO bandwagon, it is prudent to specify your target audience. Your target audience would be the people who you wish to influence by your marketing strategies. A proper analysis is required with respect to their age, gender, location and so on. As any SEO consultant would reiterate, defining your prospective clients and understanding what they want will go a long way in formulating a robust SEO strategy.

2. Spot the right keywords

It is important to do some keyword research when developing your SEO strategy. You need to know which words your prospective customers are likely to use when searching for the type of products you sell. Finding this out is simple. Pretend to be a customer yourself. Which search words would you use? Use these as search words. You will be directed to the websites of your competitors. Study the keywords used by them and arrive at a list of options. Your SEO expert will guide you towards the right choices.

3. Make a list of web pages you want to optimize first

All said and done, SEO implementation can be an expensive affair. In order to optimize costs, it is important to prioritize the pages you wish to optimize. Choose the ones that provide the more relevant bits of information about your products and services. Improving the ranks of some of your key pages can easily do the trick for you.
Choosing your SEO consultant wisely is as important. He or she should have the required practical knowledge and experience to guide you successfully through this digital marketplace.

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Top 4 Tips for Content Distribution

Gone are the days when only high quality content would do the trick for marketers in the online space. As any experienced SEO expert will tell you, alongside creating great content it is also about getting the content distribution right for being able to grab eyeballs. Here are four practical tips and measures to undertake for building a robust content distribution strategy.

1. Using the right distribution goals

One of the most fundamental things taught in any SEO training course is how to determine the distribution goals for an SEO campaign. To that end, you first need to identify your audience. What do you care about? Are you looking for brand awareness, social shares or conversions? Different distribution channels are suitable for different goals. So you should do enough research before deciding on your distribution goals.

2. Reaching out to influencers

If done right, this could be one of the best ideas for making your content visible to a large audience. You need to identify key influencers in your industry, show them the content you have created and ask them to share it through their social media pages. This works well because when your content is shared through them, their followers are more likely to take note.

3. Co-occurrence as a tool

It is important to understand that Google’s algorithms also work when there is no hyperlinking. Co-occurrence, a term used for placement, frequency and proximity of keywords which are related to the topic but not identically similar to it, can be built for making the content more visible across search engines.

4. Utilize Emails

Emails are still the most reliable means of content distribution. It is highly unlikely that your visitors will make time to read your blog post every day. However, if you send them an email with a link and a short excerpt of your content, the chances of them clicking on the link and visiting your blog, would be more. Similarly, sending weekly newsletters may also help.

Finally, it is always a good idea to seek professional help for content distribution from an experienced SEO expert.

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3 more link building tips for SMBs

In a previous article, we touched upon the importance of having a strong link profile and the three proven ways you can easily earn links. But, that’s not all. There are several other link-building strategies that work for SMBs. Knowing about those techniques would help boost your knowledge of SEO best practices for link building. This also helps you understand whether or not your SEO consultant is building links the right way. So here are three more link building tips for SMBs.

1. Create a local resource page

One effective local link building strategy would be to create a local guide or resource page. For instance, if you running a medicine store, list down all popular pharmaceutical companies in your locality and provide ample information about them, including their contact details, reputation, etc. That way, you can have other businesses in your niche link to your local guide page. You can also create a local maps page or a local events calendar.

2. Provide reviews and testimonials

Find out trusted review sites for the type of products or services you sell. Now post reviews of your business or products in those sites. This is a great way to drive more relevant links to your website from acclaimed review sites. You can also submit testimonials to other websites. At the end of each testimonial, provide a link back to your website. If you are not sure how to use testimonials for link building, consider seeking professional help from a company that specializes in SEO service.

3. Find out business mentions

Some websites or web directories may already have a mention of your business, but you don’t know about it. Search for any business mentions using tools, such as, Google Alerts and BrandMentions. Once you found business mentions, contact the website owner and request them to provide a link back to your website.

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Top 3 Link Building Tips for Small Business

Link building continues to remain an effective tool to improve a website’s search ranking. Make sure, however, that you earn every link the right way with hard work and creativity. Stay away from so-called SEO experts who use black hat techniques for link building. If you think it would help, you can even join a SEO training course to learn the white hat techniques of link building. Here are three link building strategies for small business.

1. Partner with local companies

Look for SMBs in your locality and try to convince them to put a link back to your website. Make sure it’s a win-win for both parties. For instance, you may want to sponsor one of their upcoming events. In exchange, they may want to place a link on their event page back to your website.

2. Contribute to influencer sites in your niche

Find out websites or blogs that regularly post relevant content for your target audience. Now try to build a partnership with these sites. You can contribute blog posts to those sites on a weekly or monthly basis. This gives you a chance to put a link of your website on the influencer site. That way, you can drive more traffic to your website and earn quality links in the process.

3. Leverage the Skyscraper technique

This link building technique was discovered by Brian Dean from Backlinko. In this technique, you first need to find out the top performing content in your niche. Then you need to create an improved version of the top performing content. Finally, you need to contact an influencer website in your niche and request them to feature and promote your content on their site. This process may be a little time-consuming, but the results are worth your time and effort. You can seek professional help from an SEO expert for the job.

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How SMBs can Compete with Big Players in SEO

As a small business owner, you may feel bogged down seeing the level of competition in the online space. There are many big players that are already selling what you are planning to sell. They, of course, have some advantages in SEO as well. From domain authority to link diversity and credibility, they seem to have the upper hand in every department.

Thankfully, SEO no longer focuses only on how long you’ve been in the business, your content volumes and how many inbound links you have. The focus has shifted to whether or not your website is useful and relevant to the users. This gives everyone a level playing field – no matter the size of their business. You can join an SEO training course to know more about this. Here are some useful tips on how a small business can compete with the giant players in SEO.

Focus on a niche

It is easier to improve your website ranking when your focus on a particular niche. The idea is to present your business as an expert in the niche. For instance, if your business provides interior design services, you may want to focus on office renovation or home renovation. By directing your SEO efforts towards a certain niche, you’ll be able to strengthen your online visibility faster.

Use hyper-focused keywords

Another good idea would be to choose keywords that big players probably would never choose. For instance, large businesses usually focus more on generic keywords and less on specific, hyper-focused keywords. This is because more people search with generic keywords, but the competition level is also high. This is why SEO experts often recommend using more specific, long tail keywords.

Target local audience

Some people always prefer buying from a local vendor. Even when they are searching online, they may look for a service provider in their city or town. You can capitalize on this opportunity by targeting your SEO efforts towards the local audience.

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How to Plan a Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing is a proven way to boost a website’s search ranking, but the best practices for content marketing keep changing to fall in line with the ever-changing search engine algorithm. To get the best results from your content marketing efforts, you should have a strategy. Your SEO consultant can help you in this. But before you hire SEO services, it would be a good idea to learn a few tips on how to build an effective content marketing strategy.

Set goals

First things first, consider why you want to do content marketing. For instance, you may want to increase signups or improve your brand reputation. Setting your goal will help you plan accordingly. Some other examples of concrete goals could be earning more back links, increasing customer retention or customer loyalty.

Define your audience

The importance of knowing your audience cannot be stressed enough. You should do everything possible to know how your target audience behaves when they search for a product or service online. To that end, you can keep a watch on their social networking habit, what content they read or share, what they like, dislike, tweet or re-tweet.

Decide on content types

What types of content you should create, depend on your goals and target audience. For instance, if your goal is to improve brand reputation, you should create useful blogs, case studies, tutorials and testimonials. When you are trying to earn back links, you should create guest posts and email newsletters.

Create a content execution plan

You should also plan how frequently you want to post new content and how you want to create the content. For instance, if you are blogging, decide whether you want to post a new blog daily, weekly or monthly. Do you want to write the posts yourself or engage an experienced writer for the job?

Finally, you should have the right tools to measure the effectiveness of your content marketing campaigns.

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3 Types of Keywords you should Use for SEO Success

The importance of choosing the right keywords for your SEO campaign cannot be stressed enough. After all, the entire search algorithm revolves around keywords or key phrases. When you hire an SEO service, the first thing they do is keyword research.

At its core, keywords are nothing but words and phrases that users use to search for a product or service online. There are many different types of keywords, but SEO consultants usually stress on using mainly three types. Here’s a look at the three most important types of keywords for SEO success.

1. Generic keyword

This type of keyword targets a broad category of products or services. Examples of generic keywords could be ‘men’s t-shirts’ and ‘SEO services’. These terms do not mention specific details. For instance, the keyword ‘men’s t-shirt’ covers all types of men’s t-shirts, including printed shirts, cotton shirts and designer shirts. Owing to the broad area that they cover, ranking for a generic keyword could be really difficult. However, if you can rank with generic keywords, you are likely to drive heavy traffic to your website from the search results.

2. Broad match keyword

These keywords are more specific and are much less competitive than generic keywords. Visitors who find your website through these keywords are more likely to buy from you, because they know what exactly they are looking for. Examples of broad match keywords are ‘Blue t-shirts for men’ and ‘SEO services in Singapore’.

3. Long tail keywords

This type of keyword phrases use the exact sentence that someone types when searching for a product or service online. For instance, one can write, ‘What are the different types of blue t-shirts available for men?’ Now this whole sentence can be used as a long-tail keyword.

For best results, you should use a combination of the three types of keywords mentioned above.

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SEO Tips for B2B companies

Every business, irrespective of their size and target audience, needs a strong online presence. However, SEO for B2B needs a different approach than SEO for B2C requires. This is mainly because B2B firms often have multiple decision makers and their products or services are usually more expensive than B2C products or services. As a marketer, you can expect a longer sales cycle in B2B. Also, B2B customers require more convincing. If you have no idea how to optimize your B2B business for search engines, you can seek professional help from an SEO expert. Alternatively, you can join an SEO training course and do your own SEO. Here are some useful tips for B2B SEO.

Use Google My Business listing

When you search for a particular company online, you may find its details, including name of business, address, map, and operating hours on the right hand side of your search results page. This means that the company you’re looking for is listed in Google My Business. You too can list the details of your company in the Google My Business page. This not only helps your customers find you online, but also helps improve your search ranking.

Add a FAQ page

The FAQ page of your company website is a chance for you to answer the frequently asked questions about your business. More importantly, you can insert long tail keyword phrases naturally into this page, which would help improve your SEO.

Use responsive designs

Most B2B customers today make online searches on their mobile devices. You should make your website mobile-friendly, so that they can easily browse your products and services online.

Provide useful content

In addition to how-to articles and top lists, you can consider posting white papers and case studies on your website. Allow interested readers to download the content from your site. This is a great way keep your B2B prospects engaged.

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4 SEO Secrets Every Business should Know

If you are planning to seek professional help for SEO, you are not alone. Businesses of every size need a strong online presence today, and most of them are turning to SEO for best results. Unfortunately, not all of them get the desired results despite spending a lot of time and money on SEO services. The reason why only a few people get success with SEO is because only a few actually know the secret sauce to SEO success. In this article, we are going to reveal some of the secrets that no SEO consultant will tell you.

1. Post updated content

Most search engines, including Google, prefer updated content. You should keep updating your content frequently. In other words, make sure you’re providing the latest information to your readers. Neither your human readers not search bots prefer outdated content.

2. Quality content is not enough

Great content cannot help improve your search ranking until you take the necessary steps to make the content visible in the online space. For instance, you should post your content to the top publication channels and use the top networks to promote them.

3. Do your best and leave the rest

SEO is a vast subject. No one knows it inside out. Google’s algorithm changes almost every day, with no announcements made for most of the changes. So it is nearly impossible for an SEO consultant to know everything about how search engines rank websites. All you can do is to keep yourself updated. Do the best you can do and leave the rest. Results are never guaranteed.

4. Link building is not dead

Contrary to a popular misconception, link building still works. And links are still an important ranking factor. While experts recommend focusing more on naturally earning links, you may sometimes deliberately try to attract links from quality sites, bloggers and marketers. Generating quality content for the purpose of link building could be an effective SEO strategy.

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Online Marketing Tips for Small Business

More than 80 percent of the consumers research online before making a purchase, according to a recent report by Forbes Magazine. Clearly, businesses of every size need to take the necessary steps for boosting their online presence. Still, some small business owners are reluctant to invest in online marketing, because they think the cost would be high. But the fact is; internet marketing could be more affordable than traditional marketing. To get the best benefits of online marketing, however, you should keep updated with the ever changing search engine algorithm and trends. If you are new to this field, you can hire an SEO expert or join an SEO training course. Here are some useful online marketing tips for small businesses.

Blogging

When the purpose is to improve your online presence, there is no alternative to blogging. The more you post useful blog articles, the better would be your chance of getting noticed. However, for best results, you should ensure both frequency and quality of content. If you want to write your blog articles yourself, consider following SEO best practices for blog writing. Otherwise, you can hire an experienced copywriter for the job. In either case, your focus should be on creating informative content that the readers find very useful. You can try creating simple how-to articles, top 10 lists, and tips on interesting topics in your industry. Make sure you identify and use the right keywords in each blog post.

Social media marketing

Using social media to engage with your existing and prospective customers is a proven way to boost your online ranking. Almost every business use this technique nowadays. However, not all businesses know how to use this marketing tool effectively. Instead of using the routine techniques social media advertising, try something new. Consider adding a personal touch to your social media messages. For instance, when responding to a question on your Facebook or Twitter account, you can mention the name of the customer. You can also send personalized marketing messages to CEOs of companies you want to do business with, for more effective B2B marketing.

Email marketing

Another very effective online marketing channel is email marketing. If used wisely, this marketing tool can get you more business than you could even think of. For best results, consider targeting a niche audience, with highly useful content. For instance, if you are targeting shipping industry professionals, consider sending newsletters, shipping news, and blogs written by shipping industry experts. Also, do not include a sales pitch in every email.

Ideally, your first few emails should not have any sales pitch at all. You first need to earn the trust of your readers. Once they are convinced that you’re trying to help them, without expecting anything in return – you can then gradually introduce your brand and use a call to action.

Finally, you should not ignore the importance of search engine optimization. An SEO expert can help optimize your website with the right keywords. They use a range of techniques, including keyword research and link building to help boost your overall search ranking.

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Interesting Facts to Know about Google’s Algorithm

When someone conducts a search on Google, they get hundreds of search results almost instantly. Have you ever wondered how this mechanism works? Actually, Google has its own algorithm to determine what pages should appear in the first page of search results. It’s okay if you do not want to dig deeper into the technicalities, but there’s no harm in knowing some interesting facts about Google’s algorithm. Whether you are an SEO expert or simply pursuing a SEO training course, here are 5 interesting things to know about the search giant and its algorithm.

1. Google Dance is not actually a dance form

In the early last decade, Google used to make sudden changes in its search rankings every month. These sudden changes had a name – Google Dance. If you thought Google Dance is a kind of dance, now you know it’s not. Back then, the search engine would often name the sudden changes by location as well, for instance, Florida Dance and Boston Dance. However, Google has stopped making such sudden updates (read Google Dance) every month since 2003.

2. PageRank got its name from Larry Page

You thought PageRank is a way of determining the quality and relevance of a website. You are right, but it has nothing to do with its naming. In fact PageRank was named after one of Google’s co-founder – Larry Page.

3. The original name of Google’s algorithm has never changed since 2013

Yes, you read it right! Hummingbird is the official name of Google’s algorithm since 2013. Meanwhile, the search giant has made several major updates by the names – Penguin updates, Panda updates, and Pigeon updates. But, make no mistake; they are just the names of the updates – not the original name. Hummingbird continues to remain the original name of Google algorithm, even today. Some experts say Hummingbird is a perfect name for Google’s algorithm, because it is a combination of numerous ingredients to make searching on Google faster and more accurate like the bird itself.

4. Google updates its algorithm 500-600 times a year

Surprising but true! Google is very quick to respond to any changes in the way people search online. In order to adjust to the ever-changing search behavior of people, the search engine now makes up to 600 updates every year. However, most of these updates are so minor that even SEO experts would not know about them. It is true that the frequency of Google updates has increased considerably over the past few years. One of the major reasons for this is that more and more people now are searching on mobile devices. Also, the number of users is growing fast.

5. There is no story behind every name

Names of Google algorithm updates do not always have a story behind them. Some were named after famous engineers or Google employees, while others have no specific reason for naming as such. However, most of the names of Google algorithm updates, including Panda updates and Caffeine, were named by Google itself.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/interesting-facts-to-know-about-googles-algorithm/
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Tips for Optimizing Videos for YouTube

As ranking with text-based content getting competitive, many marketers today are trying to market with videos. For most of them, YouTube is the place to upload their videos. However, ranking your videos on YouTube is no longer a walk in the park. With more than 100 hours of video content being uploaded every minute, YouTube now is the second largest search engine in the world, after Google. Just creating and uploading a video on YouTube is not going to help you get noticed. You can hire an SEO consultant to boost your YouTube SEO. If, however, you do not want to hire SEO service at the moment, you can follow the below tips to optimize your videos for YouTube.

Use the right keyword

When someone searches for a video on YouTube, they still have to use a keyword or key phrase. There is no other way. That means keywords are important. You should find the right keyword and optimize your video with it. One rule of thumb is to look for keywords that provide top video results not only on YouTube but also on Google. For instance, if your key phrase is ‘how to make pancakes’, check whether you get video results when you search Google with that key phrase. That way, you are using a keyword that will provide you traffic from Google search as well. Also, use Google Keyword Planner to check whether the keyword provides at least 500 monthly searches.

Add effective title and tags

The right title and tags make your content more easily searchable. Make sure that you use your keyword once in the title. Ideally, your title should have five words. It is always a good idea to put the keyword at the beginning of your title, if possible. When it comes to tags, consider using all related tags, so that your video not only ranks higher on YouTube searches, but also shows up more often in YouTube’s sidebar suggestions.

Write an SEO-optimized description

This is another very important tool to boost your YouTube SEO. The description is basically an introduction to your video. You should write what the video is about. Try to be specific and use bullet pointers, if possible. Keep the length about 250 words and do not forget to include keywords, ideally twice in the content. It is always a good idea to include a keyword once in the first paragraph and once anywhere in the rest of the text. It is also important to include a call-to-action at the end of your description.

Make a great video

Just optimizing your video of YouTube is not enough. You should focus on the quality of your video content. The content should be useful for the viewers. You can seek professional help for video creation, if required. This is important because YouTube puts a lot of value of the ‘watch time’. If your video has a lot of views, but poor watch time – it may still fail to impress the search engine. Views are how many times people visited your page, while watch-time is whether a visitor has actually watched your video till the end.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/tips-for-optimizing-videos-for-youtube/
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5 Ingredients of Good SEO Copy

The days of writing content for search bots are over. Now you need to post original content for human readers, even when your real intention is to boost your SEO. If you are planning to create content for SEO, you should keep yourself updated with the latest SEO rules. Often, when people hire SEO services, they depend on them for everything related to SEO, including SEO copywriting. The problem is; not all SEO agencies have a dedicated team for creating good content. Before hiring an SEO consultant or agency, check whether they have expertise in writing SEO copy. One good idea would be to read some of the content on their website. If you are not sure what makes a copy SEO-friendly, read here about the five elements of good SEO copy.

1. Originality of content

Search engines penalize websites that post copied or duplicate content. And if you think original content is anything that passes the Copyscape, think again! It is not only about copying words. If you steal an idea, it is still considered as plagiarism. Even rephrased content may be considered as copied content. All you need is original ideas expressed in simple, easy-to-read sentences.

2. Strong headlines

The main headline of your copy should have something to capture the attention of your audience. Studies show that a strong headline helps attract more readers to you content. If possible, use keywords in your headline so that the search bots can easily find them for relevant audience. Another good idea would be use sub headings in your post. It not only helps make your post readable, but boosts your SEO.

3. Effective titles and descriptions

Many people, even some experts, do not know the importance of creating great meta titles and descriptions. Often, these descriptions encourage readers to click on a search result. There are different character limits for titles and descriptions. You should follow that. Try to make full use of the space provided. You can even insert keywords in your title and description. One common mistake people make is that they provide a lame description of the post.

Instead, you should try and attract the attention of your prospects with something interesting. For instance, you can start with a question or state a problem and then say how the below page can help resolve the problem – all within the space provided.

4. Content that adds value

Even though you are writing for SEO, you should make your content useful for human readers. If the copy does not add value to your readers, they’ll reject it right away, no matter whether your website ranks higher in search results. So your focus should be on creating useful content.

5. Storytelling

Stirring a little emotion to your content helps make your readers think the way you want them to think. It is also called persuasive writing. You are not just presenting facts, but telling a story. And what better way to connect with someone emotionally than by telling a story? If your copy tells a story, it will easily engage your readers and encourage them to take actions. You can add a call to action at the end. It works well to turn your readers to your subscribers or your prospects to your customers.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/5-ingredients-of-good-seo-copy/
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4 Things Every Small Business Owner should know about SEO in 2017

Most SMBs today understand the importance of having a strong online presence. They know they need to use SEO as a tool to improve their online reputation. But, most of them are not sure whether they should hire an SEO expert or go for DIY SEO. As a small business owner, you may not have the time to keep yourself updated with the ever-changing Google algorithms. That’s why seeking professional help is always a good idea. That does not mean, however, that you should not even try to know the basics. You can join an SEO training course to quickly know about the SEO best practices. Here are four things to know about SEO in 2017.

1. Mobile websites are a must-have

With more and more users searching on their mobile devices, it is important for SMBs to have a mobile-friendly website. Your search ranking will depend on whether you have a mobile site and how it performs. Make sure your mobile website has a fast loading time. Consider using HTML5 instead of Flash for a more responsive design. Also, make sure that your mobile website includes all important information about your company. Use short title and description for best results.

2. Ensure strong social presence

Just doing onsite SEO is not enough. Search engines now judge your online reputation on the basis of other factors, such your social media presence. You should use multiple social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Some of your social media content may not be indexed by search engines, but they still help give a strong SEO boost. If you are not sure how to use social media to strengthen your online presence, you can ask your SEO expert or join an SEO training course in Singapore.

3. Avoid using pop-up ads on your mobile site

Users do not like to be interrupted by pop-ups. Hence, Google recently advised against using pop-ups, especially on mobile sites. If you continue to use mobile pop-ups, you may end up seeing your search ranking plummet. The search engine clearly specifies the types of pop-ups one should not use and the types you can use. For instance, you should not use a pop-up that appears when someone visits your website or a pop-up ad that must be closed to be able to access the main content. However, you can use pop-ups for legal reasons or accepting online payment.

4. Enable HTTPS

URLs beginning with https are more secure that the ones beginning with http. You should enable https to your website to protect against hackers. In addition to making your website more safe and secure, https helps improve your site’s search ranking. Search engines like Google consider https enabled sites more reliable and thus rank them higher. Also, when visitors visit a website that is not https enabled, they get a warning that the site is not secure. This may end up increasing bounce rates on your website. And search engines like Google perceives higher bounce rates as a negative sign, which could eventually hamper your ranking.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/4-things-every-small-business-owner-should-know-about-seo-in-2017/
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Types of Content Your Local Business Website Must Have

If you are running a local business, you can benefit from online marketing and SEO services. However, developing content for your local business website entails a slightly different approach. Your SEO consultant can help you in this, but you may still want to know a few things. For instance, knowing the basics of Google’s Micro-Moments concept helps you understand that different people visit your website with different purposes. Some people want to know about your products, while others want to buy from you. Also, there are people who want to physically visit your store, while others may simply want to complete a task on your website.

To address the different needs of potential customers, your local business website must have different types of content. Here’s a look.

1. NAP

NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. You must provide this information on multiple pages of your website. Ideally, the contact page should include your NAP on the top right. In addition, put NAP in the header or footer of every page. Also, make sure that both human readers and search bots can easily read this information. It is also important to maintain NAP consistency. For instance, if your business is called XYZ Agency, you should not call it XYZ Company, XYZ Firm, or only XYZ. Use the same spelling everywhere. Look for typos and other errors in phone number and address as well.

2. Home Page

The home page of your website is often the starting point for your visitors. Some people look for quick information on the home page, while others may want to get more details. Your content for home page should have something for both types of customers. For instance, you can use bullet lists for those looking for quick info. At the same time, provide descriptive texts about your services or what makes you stand out from the crowd, so that visitors looking for more information are not disappointed. Another good idea would be to provide links to other pages in your website for more details. Also, consider changing the home page content every few months.

3. Contact Page

Your contact page should include your NAP, a map, detailed driving directions, information on closed days and hours, links to your social media pages and blog, payment gateway, and a call to action.

4. Customer service policy

You should also develop content on your customer service policy and distribute it among all your employees, especially your front office executives. A copy of the customer service policy may also be included on your website, so that interested customers can download and read it.

5. Reviews and testimonials

Most people today read online reviews before buying a product or service. So consider creating a page for reviews and testimonials. Have a clear policy for posting reviews and testimonials. Outline the terms and conditions for reviewers. For instance, you may choose not allow posting any reviews from unregistered visitors. That way, you can earn the trust of your customers and have more people take your reviews seriously.

In addition, you should also have a products/services page and a store locator page on your local business website.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/types-of-content-your-local-business-website-must-have/
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Top 4 Off-page SEO Techniques

If you think off-page SEO is only about link building, think again. You can perform a host of other activities outside of your website with a goal to enhance your brand reputation and search rankings. An experienced SEO consultant usually performs both on-page and off-page SEO activities simultaneously to help strengthen your online presence.

While on-page SEO focuses on title, meta descriptions, internal linking, and webpage content; off-site SEO is more concerned about social media marketing, link building, article submission, and blogging. The main aim of off-page SEO is to build a positive perception of your company or show your brand in good light to both human users and search engines. If you are planning to hire SEO services, make sure the company you are hiring uses the following off-page SEO techniques, for the best results.

1. Social media

With more and more people using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, businesses today not only should mark their presence in these sites, but they should also have an effective game plan for social media management. If possible, you can build a dedicated team for posting, tweeting, liking, re-tweeting, and responding to comments on your social media channels. Search engines like Google usually consider social media engagement as an important indication of what value a company provides and how users perceive the brand. You can also use social bookmarking as a means to strengthen your social presence.

2. Link Building

Link building is one of the most effective off-page SEO techniques you can use. It works by having other websites referring to your website. There are many ways to earn quality back links. For instance, you can get your links posted in yellow pages, customer forums, article directories, and blog directories. It is also possible to participate in link exchange schemes. However, search engine algorithms are being upgraded constantly. So some methods of link building that used to work well in the past may do more harm than good now. Hence, it is always a good idea to hire a seasoned SEO consultant for link building.

3. Guest blogging

Guest blogging has always been an effective off-page SEO technique. However, now you need to use this tool in a slightly different way to get the best results. Earlier, marketers used to do guest blogging with the only purpose to earn back links. Now that Google penalizes any attempt to build links in exchange of something, you should not use guest blogging the same way. Instead, you should see guest blogging as an opportunity to build rapport with quality sites in your niche. For instance, you can post comments to their blogs and leave a link of your website there.

4. Infographics Submission

Infographics, as the name suggests, is a combination of text and visual content. Users today find them very useful; because they help digest loads of information quickly. There are many sites where you can submit your infographics and put a reference link to your website or blog. That is a great way to drive more traffic to your website and improve your search ranking.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/top-4-off-page-seo-techniques/
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Signs Your Business Should Invest In SEO

Almost every business today has a website. But, having a website doesn’t mean your company has a strong online presence. Maybe your website is nicely designed and has quality content, but it may still fail to attract the right prospects and even worse have a very low conversion rate. If you think your website is underperforming, you should hire an experienced SEO consultant to help improve your website’s search ranking. However, before you taking any such steps, you should be absolutely sure you should invest in SEO services. Here are some telltale signs your business needs professional help for SEO.

Your website not showing up in search results even when you’re searching for your company name

Imagine someone searching for your company with the exact name, but still not finding your website in the first page of Google search results! Believe it or not, this happens. Try it and if you don’t find your company on Google, be alarmed. This means your website has very low online visibility. Maybe the name of your company is quite similar to other more popular search terms, such as, another company, a product, or a service. It could also be that your website is not showing up in search results because it has been blacklisted by Google. Whatever the reason, it is high time for you to contact an SEO consultant and sort out the problem as soon as possible.

You are spending too much on PPC, but still not getting the desired results

Contrary to what most marketers believe, SEO and PPC complement each other. Typically, pay-per-click delivers quicker results, but it is quite expensive. On the other hand, SEO takes some time to deliver results, but the results are long-standing. In addition running an SEO campaign does not burn as big a hole in your pocket as PPC does. If you have been spending a huge amount of money on PPC but still not getting the results, it is time to revise your online marketing strategy. Maybe it is time to try SEO services.

Google Maps cannot locate your business

Thanks to an increasing popularity of local search, most consumers today search online for local vendors. If your business is not showing up in Google Maps, you are missing out prospects. More importantly, it is a telltale sign that your company needs to invest in SEO. Search engines spot your location and contact details from multiple online sources, such as your website, press releases, news, other sites, articles, blogs, and even YouTube videos.

If you have different names and contact numbers listed in different sources, Google may get confused and eventually refrain from listing your company in Google Maps. This means whether your website is listed in Google Maps is one of the critical factors that may affect your online reputation. Fortunately, you can correct this problem. Just ask your SEO consultant to rectify the names and contact details in all sources. Also, consider hiring a reliable SEO company that has years of experience in helping businesses improve their search rankings.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/signs-your-business-should-invest-in-seo/
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4 Basic Elements of an SEO Strategy

Isn’t it frustrating to see your competitor outranking your website? You even tend to lose your temper when you fail to understand how they are doing it. However, you must understand that SEO is changing and you have to change your online marketing strategy accordingly. If you don’t have time to keep updated with ever-changing search algorithms, it would be a good idea to hire an SEO consultant. Investing in SEO services helps you concentrate on your core business, while someone else is doing the SEO for you. However, as a smart marketer, you should at least know about the basic elements of SEO. Here’s a look.

1. Keyword research

The research for promising keywords is the first step to a successful SEO strategy. You need to learn the process of using Google AdWords Keyword Tool and for that, you can take the tutorial from YouTube. On the other hand, an experienced SEO consultant can also help you in generating relevant keywords for your site. If the keywords are not strong enough, your site will not acquire Google rank. Then your views will be affected. Remember, the longer the keyword, the less competition your site will confront with other websites for that phrase in the search engine. But this doesn’t mean you should use excessively long keywords. It could be a combination of few relevant words that users tend to search. Hence, you also need to understand the psychology of your target audience.

2. Meta Tags

Meta tag descriptions are another important element of any SEO strategy. It is important to include the most relevant keywords in your page titles and descriptions because search engines usually find relevant search results based on the keywords used in the meta tags. However, make sure you don’t overdo it. Or, it may be considered as an attempt to manipulate the search algorithm.

3. Content

The quality of your content plays a major role in improving your search ranking. Just posting more content to your website or article directories is not enough. You should focus more on posting quality content. Google now uses a number of criteria to determine whether the content is likely to help the real users. It is also important to include the right keywords in the content. Another important thing to consider is keyword density. Ideally, your text-based content should have the keyword density of two percent or even less. You can also consider inserting the keyword in the title and URL. Some people think that inserting keyword anywhere is okay. The strength of a keyword decreases once you push it from left to right in the title and top to bottom in the body. Hence, it’s better to start with your main keyword(s). Apart from this, ensure that you are using your primary keyword(s) once in the first two paragraphs at least. Also, always try to shorten your paragraphs. Ideally, a paragraph should not have more than 100 words.

4. Backlinks

Google ranks your website higher when you have quality backlinks in your site. Just having backlinks is not enough. You should try and earn quality links. As a means to that end, you can submit press releases or post articles in high-rank websites in your niche.

from Dynamic Marketing https://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/4-basic-elements-of-an-seo-strategy/
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Top Reasons to Enable HTTPS on Your Website

Businesses that care about user experience and security integrated HTTPS on their websites long ago. Search engines like Google take security on high priority, and that is one reason why HTTPS is a worthy investment. To the uninitiated, HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and is a feature that helps to secure communications between browsers and websites. Enabling HTTPS is as important as hiring a good SEO consultant. Read reasons on why this is so.

It helps guard against malware

The first and foremost reason why you should enable HTTPS is that it provides protection to the website. Intruders are constantly tampering with the communication between users’ browsers and your website. These intruders consist of intrusive businesses, malicious attackers, and ISPs and businesses injecting into pages.

Without HTTPS-enabling, these intruders can trick your customers into installing malware or providing sensitive information. Enabling HTTPS can help banish these security vulnerabilities and chinks that intruders can exploit.

It protects users’ security and privacy

It is a common misconception that HTTPS is required only when a website needs to handle sensitive communications. The truth is that unprotected HTTP requests can reveal information about your users’ behaviors and identities.

Intruders also observe the browsing trends of your users to obtain key insights into their online behavior, not to mention deanonymizing their identities. In short, HTTPS is to privacy, what SEO services are to better rankings in search results.

Accelerated Mobile Pages require HTTPS

AMP, which expands to Accelerated Mobile Pages, refers to a feature that helps web pages load faster on handheld devices. An unprecedented amount of web traffic is being generated via mobile devices now, which makes enabling HTTPS even more urgent. This is because loading speed is a primary criteria for ranking web pages in search results. This makes HTTPS-enabled sites better optimized for search engines.

It helps in SEO

As explained above, and as any SEO consultant would vouch, enabling HTTPS helps with SEO. While at the beginning, the boost will be marginal, it will soon grow larger and makes it a step that pays in the long-term. For large businesses, even a marginal SEO boost can result in a significant increase in the number of visitors. With regular testing, your company will soon realize the benefits of this step.

It will help your site get tagged secure

Chrome’s displaying of ‘secure/not secure’ tags for individual websites makes HTTPS more important than ever. If your site asks for credit card or login information and you don’t have HTTPS enabled, you are marked as ‘not secure’. In Chrome, such sites are marked with a broken padlock icon, far right in the browser bar. 97% of e-shoppers usually don’t input credit card information on sites with this ‘not secure’ icon. With search engines becoming even more vigilant, traffic to unsecure sites is set to diminish even further.

Creating a safe space and a smooth user experience is highly important for any company that wants to maximize its digital sales revenue. That is why hiring SEO services and enabling HTTPS on your websites is important.

from Dynamic Marketing http://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/digital-marketing/top-reasons-to-enable-https-on-your-website/
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Debunking 5 most Common SEO Myths

The world of SEO is riddled with myths and misconceptions. Despite there being a lot of information, organizations persist with rumors and lose out on the benefits of SEO services. While some companies believe that SEO is expensive, some go to the extent of believing they don’t need it. Organizations also fall for the instant benefits PPC and AdWords offer and overlook the much more valuable long-term benefits. Here is debunking 5 most common SEO myths.

1. Links should be earned, and not built

This myth was born after the punishing of certain sites that were into link-building by Google’s Penguin update. This led to widespread belief that earning links by creating rich content on sites, instead of building them, was the way to go. This was only half the truth, as the sites banned had been indulging in unethical link-building. The truth is that link-building is as relevant as ever. Use online resources to determine what kind of content is being shared by your users.

2. Keywords are no longer important

Nothing could be further from the truth. Even though cramming keywords into content is still not advisable, they are still a fundamental element of search engine optimization. Discuss the possibility of using keyword variations, surrounding content, and themes with your SEO consultant. In addition, your aim should be to place keywords naturally in the following sections on each page:

• Page title
• Meta description
• Page content
• H1 header
• H2 headers
• Alt text for images

As always, make sure that the content on your site has a smooth flow and is grammatically correct.

3. SEO needs to be done only once

Hiring an SEO consultant on permanent basis allows you to keep adapting to updates and algorithms. A few reasons why companies need to keep up with their SEO link degradation, rivals’ persistent efforts to outdo you, and outdated content. Barring very few businesses with niche audiences, almost every organization needs round-the-year checks. Another matter for concern is the misconception that SEO can be automated.

4. AdWords helps improve organic search

This is another age-old myth that should be debunked now. The paid ads at the top of search results and Google AdWords are totally different from organic search results. Google doesn’t use AdWords listings data for its organic algorithm. However, AdWords is extremely advantageous when used with great SEO, since it can boost overall exposure by giving companies ads and organic results. The cost investment for AdWords, too, is greater when compared to SEO services.

5. Images and videos don’t count

Actually, images and videos help your site in two ways. First, they help to create a better user experience, since photos, infographics, illustrations, and images that make content easy to consume. The other benefit is an increased relevance with respect to keywords. Have your SEO consultant optimize your images using alt text, and it will open up an entirely new channel for traffic. This helps to rank well in the image search results. The final step is to review image optimization by auditing it on a platform like WooRank.

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Top SEO Tips for 2017

Search engines are fast coming up with fresh updates, and SEO techniques are rapidly changing. Businesses not only need to hire the best SEO services, but be in sync with the latest trends. Tricks and techniques that were relevant in 2016 aren’t merely ineffective; they can even hurt your rankings. Optimization of sites for handheld devices and quality content are as relevant as ever. Here are the top SEO tips for 2017, recommended by experts.

Optimize on the basis of user intent

2017 will be about answering actual search queries and not just using old on-page SEO techniques. Your headlines and meta-descriptions, too, should be focused. Google’s algorithm has evolved to include ‘rich results’ that provide the best answers at the top. Ask your SEO consultant to look at queries and not simply create keyword-rich content. Knowing your target audience helps to create quality content on a diverse range of topics.

Continue building quality back links

Back links will continue to help to attain good rankings even in 2017. The only caveat is that this year, the quality of links will matter a lot more. Paid links and blog comments not only don’t work, but they can negatively affect your site. Instead, focus on earning links through outreach, high-quality content, and influencer marketing. Guest blogging is another effective strategy to achieve quality backlinks.

Improve browsing experience

SEO services are focusing on facilitating better browsing experience in 2017. User experience actually begins even before someone visits the site. Improve it by testing the site link and fix any broken links, also keeping in mind smooth crawling and readability. Sites that are regular sites allow faster browsing. If your site is getting slow, it could be due to heavy images or unnecessary scripts. Experts also suggest that this year could be the time to start experimenting with AMP.

Format to improve readability

It is 2017, and a lot of sites have still not formatted the content on their sites. A study by Nielsen suggests using three ways to improve readability. The first is to use shorter paragraphs, with 3 sentences each, at the maximum. Another very important point is to keep sentences short. Since people scan content on the internet, make it easy by using ample sub-headers. Lastly, use bullet points to organize data.

Make the most of YouTube SEO

More than half of all Google keyword searches come up with at least one video. Further, 82% of these videos are from YouTube. YouTube records more than 3 billion video searches on a monthly basis, more than Yahoo and Bing combined. In 2017, one effective way to get on top of the first page is to ask your SEO consultant to focus on YouTube SEO. This will also help you receive traffic from YouTube.

Focus on reporting and analytics

Establishing an analytics platform will help track micro and macro events and improve marketing strategies. Start identifying parts of the site with the most UX issues and parts that appealed to the customers. You can use tools like Datastudio and Wayback Studio to get a comprehensive insight into how your marketing and content are performing.

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Tips for Improving Your Local Visibility Online

Search engines are constantly taking out new updates and websites are increasingly vying with each other to achieve local visibility. Optimizing your site for actual visitors and not just search engines is necessary. That is the reason why more businesses are using SEO services.

The reason is that half of all local searches on mobile convert within a day. Singapore ranked #1 worldwide in LTE speeds in 2016, which means more users are using their phones to check reviews of products online. Here are some tips on improving local visibility online.

Claim online company profiles

While improving local visibility, a lot of businesses miss the chance of capitalizing on online company profiles. This begins with securing one’s Google My Business Page, and updating it regularly. Optimizing the page will require updating it to mention the current location, contact details, and other relevant information. Also claim local listings on Bing Local, Yahoo Local, among other popular directories. Do not forget industry specific directories.

Invest in search engine optimization

Hiring SEO services or even a good SEO consultant can do the job for you. Perform research using local area specific, long tail keywords. Include keywords in page titles and include the name of the area in landing pages. It is also important to get a domain name with the local area name and ask your SEO consultant to optimize local directories. It is also worth spending time on creating quality content.

Focus on building quality links

Building quality links, not just random ones, is important. Linking to and from major websites is also good for SEO and the credibility of your company. You can even consider hosting/sponsoring local events and sharing event page links on your site. However, be warned against spammy links, and remember that ranking must be done naturally. Websites with good search engine optimization often get Wikipedia links, which is highly desirable. This is why hiring a good SEO services company is highly important.

Improve your social media profiles

Links from social media are equally important to boost local visibility, so create an effective social media strategy. However, trying to be active on every platform can backfire, so identify those that are conducive to your industry. Keep posting updates and messages to your target audience regularly. Another point is to engage customers, and interact with them on a regular basis.

Respond to reviews

Eight out of 10 customers trust online reviews when it comes to making a purchase. You want more and more of your satisfied clients to write positive reviews. Talk with these clients and encourage them to highlight the aspects of your products/service they liked the most. Inform your customers about different review sites as well. It is important to respond to both negative and positive reviews, as this reflects on your professionalism and commitment to improve.

Make your website mobile-friendly

Singapore is ranked first in Southeast Asia in both Smartphone penetration and mobile internet subscriptions. Websites that aren’t mobile phone friendly are at a disadvantage, since most searches are made using handheld devices these days. After hiring an SEO consultant, the most important businesses should ideally make is making their site navigable on mobiles.

from Dynamic Marketing http://www.dynamicmarketing.sg/seo/tips-for-improving-your-local-visibility-online/
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