Archive for the ‘Web Strategy’ Category
By Kyle McCabe | November 17, 2011
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Common sense isn’t.” I find this to be true more often than not.
In the case of SEO and keywords, many times it seems “common sense” needs to be ignored or thrown out the window entirely. Every person has their own perspective and their own ways of doing things. Search is no different. Ask 10 people to find a single product online, you’ll probably get 7 different keyword searches.
In fact, according to Google’s internal data at the time of this post, 16% of searches each day have never been submitted before.
So where is the “common” here? We all want to optimize our websites for search engines – that’s how we get found these days. Hell, I have clients telling me this now, so I’d say it’s probably common sense. But what does it mean?
What is optimization?
“Optimization” seems to have a reputation for being some magical voodoo concoction we apply to the web server, or a wand we can wave at our screens and Inquisio Optimus! Heh. Not likely, Potter.
Search engine optimization is a very focused, data-driven effort. Like a thin-beam flashlight in a dark room, you can’t focus everywhere at once. You need to find the most relevant area (keywords) to focus on, and then put them on your website in a way that makes sense.
But you can optimize for only so many keywords before you’ve diversified your website’s subject matter into search obscurity. But how do we know what keywords to focus on? It’s actually very simple.
How to Choose Keywords
There are two main figures to focus on here.
Traffic: we need to determine as best we can how much daily traffic a keyword gets. By this I mean to ask how many searches per day, on average, occur for this particular word or phrase?
Competition: we also need to find out how many other websites are indexed for this phrase. This is our competition.
Google has all this data, and they’ve generously shared it with us. Competition is easy, as you just type the term into the search field and see how many total results are returned. That’s your total competition.
To get an idea of average traffic, we use Google’s Keyword Tool (sign in for best results). So let’s say I do woodworking and I want to sell items on my website. I need people to find my website for woodworking related terms. So let’s see what Google has to say.
Local monthly average / 30
Woodworking gets a monthly average of 823,000 searches, so a daily average of about 27000. This is fantastic! So let’s look at the competition: 53,300,000. Oh. Alright, so our chances of being ranked well for this keyword…pretty much zero, unless we have millions to spend.
But I don’t just do “woodworking,” do I? How about “custom woodworking?” Google says 403 average daily searches and about 1,820,000 competitors. That’s pretty good search traffic, but the competition is still really stiff. But I don’t do all kinds of woodworking, I specialize in furniture.
For “custom wood furniture” we have 146 average daily searches with 173,000 competitors. Ah, here we are – this is a good keyword phrase. Decent daily traffic that will be relevant, and not too much competition. I have a good chance of being ranked well for this term, given the right effort and enough time.
But this is just one keyphrase – I’ll need a small list of different keywords and phrases for my site. Better get researching!
Onward, upward
So you see the “common sense” approach doesn’t always work. Just guessing about keywords and optimizing for “woodworking,” would disappoint. A strategy based on research, however, will eliminate the guesswork and afford a much better chance at success. Of course there are more factors than just traffic and competition, but this is the starting point.
So let’s get started.
By Molly Albrecht | July 21, 2011
Places
Did you know one in five Google searches is for local information? People of all ages now go online to look for details about local businesses and organizations. That’s why it’s so important for business owners to make sure they manage their web presence – one place to start is your Google Places listing. Are you listed? Have you “claimed” your listing? Updated it with correct phone numbers, addresses, websites, business hours, special deals and promotions, photographs and even videos?
Google creates basic Places pages for many businesses automatically, but the business owner has to “claim” and update it with complete information. Check if you already have a Places page by searching for your business name under Google maps, and clicking on your link when it shows up on the left. If there isn’t a listing for your business, you can create one. If one exists, you’ll have the option to claim it.
When claiming a business, you’ll need to choose a way to verify your listing. Google will either send you …Read more »
By Allan Emerson | May 26, 2011
website optimization...yes, it's just like this
To a web developer, website optimization* is a worthy goal all by itself. There’s a certain pride in managing to create a site with the fewest lines of code possible, only the most essential element ids and classes, a robust CSS file and nary an unnecessary <img> tag to be found. But this isn’t just web geeks trying to earn more points on our geek cards. There are also some practical advantages to website optimization, and choosing a good web designer will make sure you benefit from them.
Website optimization: Page Load Speed
Do you like waiting for a page to load? Does anybody? Several factors can add to page load times, from extra communication with the web server and lots of user-side scripting to plain ‘ol bloated code. But clean code reduces page load speed because the web browser simply has less to construct before showing you the page. If your web developer isn’t concerned with website optimization, they’re slowing this process down unnecessarily.
Furthermore, search engines know …Read more »
By Tony Dodd | May 25, 2011
The RSA web development team has been hard at work creating highly optimized, effective websites. We have many exciting sites we’re currently working on:
- City of Huron
- Scotchman Metal Fabricating Solutions
- Dawes County Tourism
- Kelly’s Frozen Yogurt
- CD Hopkins Financial
- Bridges to Buttes By-Way
- Murphy’s Pub and Grill
- Knecht Home Center and Mead Lumber
- RCS Storage
- Lehman Trikes
- Casey Peterson and Associates
- Waste Connections of Denver
- Faith Veterinary Clinic
- Sioux Empire Fair
- Wyoming State Fair
Also, coming very soon to the web, fresh from our team’s creative fingers:
- South Dakota Farmers Union
- Powderhouse Lodge
- Radiant Systems
- International Metals
We are also excited to announce our newest service offering: mobile websites! We’ve been creating mobile sites since early 2010, and would now like to offer it as a standard service. RSA can produce the mobile version of your website, which usually contains fewer graphics and more text, quickly and inexpensively.
We’re currently working on mobile sites for the Ramada Tropics Resort, Des Moines, and Ramada Sioux Falls, having just completed our own mobile website.
We’re always developing new, effective solutions in our creative and interactive departments, and our business is always growing and evolving. We have our clients to thank for that. Keep up the good work, everyone, and thanks for your business!
- Tony
By Laura Baldwin | April 20, 2011
When the E*TRADE baby made his first appearance (Superbowl 2008), no one imagined he would become one of the most popular figures in advertising to date. Currently, he has over 30,000 Facebook fans and nearly 12,000 Twitter followers (not to mention Youtube views). Etrade.com even devotes an entire page just to display all 25 of the little guy’s commercials.
These days embedding video in websites is commonplace – so why aren’t you doing it? Here are 5 reasons you should.
1. Video is entertaining.
We love video. Look at how much time the average person spends watching TV and movies. Consider that a lot of people who surf the internet instead are watching video there! We love he movement, the activity, seeing and hearing other people. Video is engaging and can be a lot of fun, adding a lot of energy to otherwise still and silent websites. …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | August 31, 2010
Search Engine Marketing... it's not voodoo
There’s still a lot of confusion out there about what a search engine marketing firm does – and doesn’t do – and I think this confusion is holding businesses back or causing people to waste a lot of money on false expectations.
Put simply, search engine marketing (SEM) is just what it says it is: marketing. It’s not search engine sales, or search engine lead generation, or search engine voodoo…it’s just marketing; bringing your products and services to market.
I can bring your product to someone …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | August 19, 2010
Lego Ninja is serious about content strategy.
In the late ’90s content management systems (CMS) were rare. Those that did exist were either underdeveloped, by today’s standards, or just slightly customizable template systems (RIP Geocities).
Back then we hand-coded websites, for the most part, and clients had very little access to make updates to those websites. The internet gods looked upon this and saw that it was good. So, of course, they changed it.
Enter the CMS
These days you can’t throw a cat without hitting someone who wants full access to change their websites. It’s now common for clients to ask for a CMS-based website, and I can’t blame them. …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | May 27, 2010
...since sliced bread.
Q: I get a lot of clients asking me a number of variations of this question: “What’s the Next Big Thing?”
This is good! They’re interested, they’re anxious – they observed the boom of social media and they want to get in on the ground floor of whatever new craze comes along.
A: So here is the answer: it doesn’t matter. The corollary is that no one really knows for sure. Yes, you can speculate all day long – and people have – but the reality is no one knew Twitter was the Next Big Thing until it was.
Well I can tell you the Next Big Thing is data and communication implants, but it’s nothing more than wild speculation. Also, scary.
Among people who are reluctant to get involved in the web, social media, SEM, and mobile marketing, I get the sense they think they’ve already missed the boat, and so they ignore it. They’re waiting around for the Next Big Thing, instead.
Well yeah, you’re missing the boat. But guess what: Das Boot is a ferry – there’s always another chance to hop on and join the party on the other side. Stop waiting around for the Next Big Thing, because if you’re not already involved in This Big Thing, chances are you’ll completely miss the next one.
–
Photo courtesy of cogdog
By Tarah Heupel | April 29, 2010
Me, in a bad dream last week: “So, tell me why you want to be on Facebook/Twitter/YouTube?”
The phantom client: “Because everyone else is.”
Still not using a plan? Time to wake up and smell the bacon.
Me: (Shuddering)
To be fair, we spend a lot of time talking about how important it is for businesses to have a social media presence, and a lot of people are ready to get on board, which makes us really happy. However, when we see a business with a lackluster fan page or a silent Twitter feed, it makes us sad.
Social media is seductive – it’s new, exciting, and a relatively cheap initial investment (in both dollars and manpower), requiring only that you choose a clever screen name and upload the perfect photo.
But then what?
Like everything else on the web, social media is a twisting, turning, ever-transforming thing, and you have to be prepared. It’s like having a baby, but with (hopefully) fewer dirty diapers: you need to nurture it, respond to any messes, and eventually …Read more »
By Tarah Heupel | April 27, 2010
The MacGyver of marketing.
As first-time home buyers, my fiancé and I have discovered that we are woefully unprepared for jobs that require a certain level of handiness. While I have a small (pink) toolkit that has been deemed unfit for manly use, his tools are limited to 1) a hammer, and 2) a Swiss Army knife. Apparently, that little knife is a miracle worker.
In the world of interactive marketing, we have our own pocket-size tool complete with screwdriver and bottle opener, à la social media. Social platforms are serious workhorses that give businesses an opportunity to connect with specific people who might be interested in products or services, learn about them, listen to feedback, stay informed, build the brand, and more.
While a lot of businesses have fully embraced the new frontier, there are still a few hold-outs who want to see concrete proof …Read more »
