Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Local SEO Tips


Beat Your Local Competition with These SEO Tips!

by Alyssa Ast

To beat your local competition, it's essential you optimize your website correctly to build your local online presence. Because search engines are taking more factors into consideration when they provide search results, such as location, search habits and social media presences, your task of reaching a local audience is easier, but only if you utilize local SEO tips.

Localize Your Keywords
When conducting your keyword research, you want to use keywords that have a local approach. This means, the words and phrases you use should include your location. For example, if your keyword is "pet sitting" you need to include your location to make your phrase "name of your town pet sitting." Don't forget to include your localized keywords on your social media profiles, such as "Honest Pet Sitting-- City, State"

Contact
If you're targeting a local audience, you want to ensure you're easy to find. Include your contact and location information on every page of your website. Also, as people are always on the go, make your website friendly to mobile devices. This will allow people to find your business even while on the road.

Localizing your keywords dramatically increases your local online appearance. To maximize your success, don't forget to submit your website to local online directories and create local profiles.

How do you beat your local competition? What's your best SEO tips for ranking locally?

Don't forget to follow the Fundamentals of SEO on Facebook!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Website Ranking and Google's Panda Aftermath


by Alyssa Ast

Now that the initial wave of panic has subsided after Google unleashed their Panda program, many websites are still feeling the sting. Google's Panda was a complete game changer for the world of search engine optimization. Keywords and URL's are no longer the key component for top search engine ranking. With Google's Panda, more factors matter now, such as your website's design and function.

If your website is struggling to rank, but you're using all of the right keywords, then you need to take a look at your website's design. It doesn't matter if you're a small business or a large organization. No one is immune to Google's Panda, whether you're a start up review site or one of the top websites for medical practices. Do yourself a favor, and take a second look at your website's design to ensure it isn't harming your SERP ranking.

Google's Panda Aftermath
Search engine optimization became more difficult after Google's Panda, but ideal SERP ranking isn't impossible. Google Panda's aftermath caused many website owners to seek out processional services to help ensure their site didn't plummet from the top SERP ranking. However, this isn't really necessary. You can achieve the results you desire on your own by learning what matters the most with Panda's web design requirements.

No matter what type of website you have, the requirements are the same, despite if web design for pediatrics is your focus or if pet care is your focus. Basically, the new requirements take the human factor into consideration when ranking your website. Google wants to ensure Internet browsers are finding what they are looking for with ease.

Appearance
Appearance plays a large role in ranking now. Not just what your site looks like, such as pretty colors and fonts, but the entire appearance. You need to look at the ads you use-- how many, where they are placed, what kind of ads are they? Your ranking will suffer if your website is consumed by big, flashy ads that detour a reader from the content on the website.

Function
The function of your website is equally as important. Is it easy to navigate? Do the page tabs accurately describe where they are directing a reader? Does your site load quickly? Your website needs to be user friendly. Users need to be able to navigate your site easily without any confusion. If a website loads slowly and is confusing, it loses it's appeal.

Traffic
Google's Panda also looks at a website's traffic. What is the bounce rate? How long does a reader spend on the site? Which web pages are visited the most? What are the conversion rates and response times? To keep a relevant and steady flow of traffic to and from your site, you must ensure your site is engaging to the reader, which will boost your SERP ranking.

When you add all of these components together, you'll ensure your website ranks well on search engines. A appealing and easy to navigate website will ensure a consistent traffic flow- thus, increasing your ranking. Don't forget to include quality content and relevant links. When optimizing your site, keep your ideal keyword density. These are the key ingredients you need to survive the Google Panda aftermath.

Bottom line, remember that less is more-- less flash, less bling, less ads and less bad content!