Category: SEO

How to Choose the Right SEO Expert for Your Company

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

 

Getting top rankings on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) were quite easy in the past. But now, the terms and policies are changing. You have to be aware of a number of criteria to show up in results. The Google Page Rank system determines the most applicable websites for every keyword. An SEO expert or a professional digital marketing agency can help your page show up higher in SERPs.

An online marketing agency will guide you on the right path. The trick here is to find the one that is worth investing in. You can find hundreds of SEO agencies who claim to be experts. But only the best can help you achieve the results you expect. Trusting someone with your whole website and online image is a risky task. As such, it must be done with utmost care.

Read Also: Ways Digital Marketing Will Change In 2016

Choose the Right SEO Expert

Here are a few points you need to keep in mind while choosing an SEO expert for your firm:

  • Search Intelligently

On checking out Google, you will find a large number of SEO companies. The top ranked companies may be the best, but they even charge too high. Here, the question you need to ask yourself is”Will it be worth it?” A small business will not require a huge and mighty firm for business.

The best way to search will be to ask your vendors and peers. People in the same field will be able to give you honest and reliable suggestions. Stay away from spammers and hire only trustworthy employers for your job.

Finding an SEO firm in your own locality is a good idea as it helps develop interpersonal relations as well. Find out the history of the company and their market record also before you commit to a deal.

  • Budget

You need to have a basic idea about how much is your budget and how much you can afford to spend on online marketing. This should be the basis of your interactions with any Digital Marketing Agency. Fees will keep varying, so you must keep a clear cut idea.

There are some freelancers that charge really low, making it a viable method rather than approaching large firms. But, you must never go for cheap labour, as it may affect the quality of the output as well.

The payment may be hourly, project-wise, or by the web page. Different companies have different policies. One more thing you need to keep in mind is that SEO will be required even after the changes are done. Maintenance is also an important task. You must confirm the rates for maintenance as well.

  • Effective Communication and Reporting

Once the rates are decided, you need to make clear about the Return on Investment, and how you could expect to track it. Regular updates and reports must be provided for you to understand the progress. If not, then you may be in for great trouble!

You need to discuss the techniques the online marketing agency plans to implement. Stay clear of all black hat techniques, or else your website could even be banned. Have a clear communication plan in mind before moving forward.

  • Background Check

It is important to have an idea about the past background of the company. First-hand information from previous customers would be really helpful. You could ask them for at least three names from whom you could get an honest opinion.

These clients will be able to tell you how long it took for them to see positive changes, how it impacted their business, how the firm was able to keep up to their commitments, their satisfaction level, and so on.

On Googling the name of the firm, you may even hit on reviews and experiences by customers. Not all companies have their own website, so you may not have much luck in that route.

Recommended Read: Website Localization – The Future of Digital Marketing?

  • Strategy

A good SEO company must be able to put forward an intelligent strategy in front of you. Page rank, keyword optimization, and linking strategy are most important. Give them a chance to demonstrate their capabilities and give you a basic idea about their style of work to understand them better. Moreover, they must also be able to cater to your website irrespective of the size.

For your business to succeed and reach the top ranks, it is essential to make full use of the online marketing opportunities in front of you. An apt online marketing agency will be able to offer you all the results you expect and even more. So, stay alert, be on your guard, and choose wisely. The future of your firm depends on your decision. You cannot afford to make mistakes.

Role of SEO in Brand Awareness

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

Establishing a brand is difficult, but creating brand awareness and retaining it is even more difficult. With websites popping in everyday, there is a lot of competition and it becomes necessary to hold your ground, or else you will end up being one of those one-day wonder websites. Brand recognition plays a vital role when it comes to ranking.  When people recognize your website by name and search your website for niche products, then you gain advantage in search engine rankings. Higher the search engine rankings, the more credible you are in the eyes of the customers.

So, how do you go about making your presence felt? The answer would be – SEO.  Yes! SEO is the right way to take your brand to the height of online success. The common notion about SEO is that it is just about ranking keywords. But no, it is also about making your website easy for both search engine bots and users to understand.

Related: 5 SEO Factors That Are More Important Than Keywords

So, what is it that makes SEO an important method of creating brand awareness? Search engine robots are very sophisticated; however they do not decipher and understand a webpage as humans do. SEO steps in and helps the search engines understand what the web page is all about. So, you can use SEO to your advantage and boost your brands’ worth. SEO practices have evolved over the years along with the continuous change to search algorithms from Google. You have to keep updating and constantly improvising your SEO practices based on the preferences of online users. Here are a few SEO tips that you can work on to improve your brands’ visibility on search engines.

1. Run an SEO Audit on Your Website: Errors like 404 pages, broken links, redirects or sitemap errors can make your website lose its credibility. Therefore it is imperative to conduct regular SEO audits to fix such errors that might affect search engine rankings. You can make use of tools like Google Webmaster or just do manual investigation on your website to enhance the user interface.

2. Minor Changes Make a Major Difference:  You have to constantly keep updating the information on your website, or else it might be deemed as outdated and old. For instance, the year on the copyright notice on your website footer might seem like an inconsequential thing. It appears in the footer of every single page of your website. And most often, many do not update the year in the copyright notice; which in turn lets search engines think that your site is old and out of date. So, the simplest of SEO change can make a huge difference.

3. Switch to Mobile-Friendly:  With more and more people relying on mobile devices for online experiences, it becomes imperative to take your website or blog mobile-friendly. If your website is friendly to mobile users, Google will indicate your site to be mobile-friendly in the search results, giving you an upper hand.

4. Focused Content: With the online market exploding with tons of information, you have to rise above the clutter to capture your customers’ interest. The best way to do this is to make your content credible. Reliable references or outbound links are a great way to give credibility to your content. When you are passing juicy links to relevant and ranking sites, you are indirectly giving signals to search engines that your site is relevant to them. This increases your SEO value.

5. Give Importance to Images: Engaging content doesn’t mean just text. Relevant and engaging images play a vital role too. Make sure any image you use on your webpage or blog page is complete with the right title tags, meta descriptions and ALT texts. Such relevant images will not only make your page interesting to view and read, but will also decrease the bounce rate.

6. Approach Keywords Differently: Instead of just being a robot and sticking to exact keyword matches, think of meaningful words that will still convey the same meaning. Use long-tail keywords; keywords that are geographical location oriented or those that describe the current period of time. These tactics will help you reach your target audiences with ease.

Read: Two Secret Ingredients for SEO Success

Two Secret Ingredients for SEO Success

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is one of the best known methods to create visibility and attract visitors to your website. In today’s fast paced world, where everyone is hard pressed for time, it comes as no surprise that people visiting search engines do not go past the first page of search results. So, it is extremely important to ensure that your site is properly optimized to appear on top positions in the search results. If your site isn’t equipped to do so, you might end up losing countless opportunities and potential customers. So, what is that will make your SEO campaign a success?  Read on, to know the two secret ingredients that are sure to make your SEO campaign a success.

Internal Linking:

Probably the most underrated, a good internal linking structure is also one of the most important SEO measures. Wondering why internal link building is so important? Well! It is because of the way search engines derive their results from. Search engines do not consider websites as a whole. Rather, they rank and index individual pages that are part of the entire web structure.

So it essentially means that when someone searches for a particular keyword, your homepage will not be listed, but the particular page where the keyword occurs will be ranked. This is where internal linking comes in. You have to consider every page of your website, every blog post or article as a landing page for visitors. And you have to make sure that each of these pages has links to your website. Without these links you will end up locking your customers to that particular page and will lose traffic and rankings as well.  Therefore, it becomes extremely important to think of internal linking as an essential SEO tactic.

Internal linking is a sure shot way to encourage your customers to visit your other pages or to showcase other products that you have to offer. So, to rank more consistently on search engines, make sure all your landing pages are properly equipped with both internal and external links. If you are keen on promoting a particular product or an event, then make sure you push the links to the landing page on social platforms, create content like blogs and articles with internal links that will feed back to the landing page. All these internal linking will boost your page to rank in search engine results.

Blogging:

Another secret ingredient that works wonders is blogging. Whether you are looking at driving traffic to your website or improving your SEO campaign, a blog is a necessity for SEO success. If you already have a component for blog on your website, then you job is half done. But, if you don’t have one, then it’s time to start one. While having a blog is one thing, maintaining it with regular and relevant posts is another. A blog that is active and updated on a regular basis reaps the maximum SEO benefits. As stated earlier, internal links are a major ranking factor for SEO. Naturally appearing links or those created by third parties are favoured by search engines. Inbound links that you create to divert back to your website do more harm than good. So, blogging is the best way to earn consistent natural inbound links.

Not only do blog posts ensure SEO friendly inbound links, but they also generate steady traffic over a period of time. One thing you have to ensure for this to happen is to make your content evergreen. Whenever you publish a blog and promote it through social media or other platforms, you will see a sharp increase in the traffic. This trend will gradually decrease and may not reach that peak point again. However, it doesn’t mean the end of all for the blog. It will still continue to generate traffic at smaller spurts. So, as long as your blog is properly optimized with up-to-date content, you can expect it to generate traffic from related search terms.

In this constantly changing SEO world, these are the two secret ingredients you can rely on to taste success.

5 SEO Factors That Are More Important Than Keywords

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

Keywords are gradually losing its position as the top SEO factor that determines search engine rankings of sites.

Days were gone, where keywords were the top SEO strategy to achieve better rankings. All websites had to do use relevant keywords in their content and URLs to be rewarded and ranked.Though keyword selection still plays a major part in the SEO process, search engines algorithms and guidelines have changed. So what are the other factors that dominate keywords?

Content still matters: Incredible content that people will want to share can earn links and improve web traffic. Make sure to create content that not only answers a reader’s questions, but is informative.  Include blogs, and web pages that get deeper into the topic and present the reader with information that they may not already know. Images and infographics can also enrich the viewing experience. Social sharing buttons on each page of the site will make it easier for users to share your content throughout social networks, which is sure to influence your site’s SEO. Professional digital marketing agencies will provide services from skilled content writers experienced in writing all types of content.

Responsive designs: Google reports that in the USA, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones.With Google’s latest “mobile-friendly” algorithm, responsive web designs are becoming mandatory for any website. Following Google, Bing has also recently announced its launch of a mobile-friendly algorithm in the coming months.Digital marketing agencies are also focusing on providing their clients with quality responsive designs that help them rank them better for search engines.

Site structure and navigation: Easily navigable sites are what users prefer. Ensure that your site’s navigation is cleanly organized. The better navigation your site has, the better are its chances to rank higher on SERPs (search engine result pages).  The site should include sub-menus and a sitemap, as well as traditional standby pages like Contact, About Us, and Services pages.

Focus on loading time and security: Site speed and security are important factors that search engines notice with increasing competition.Users will not be patient enough to wait till your site load. Remembers they have diverse option to leave your site and choose one of your competitors. Both Google and Bing use page loading speed as a ranking factor. By implementing a clean caching system, you can maximize the site loading speed. Also reduce the image size and remove unnecessary clutter in your back end. Site security can be improved with SSL encryption. For instance, while using ecommerce sites, user should feel sure to enter their credit card number or to enter other banking details.

Semantic search: Released as part of the Hummingbird update back in 2013, semantic search is now indispensable feature for any user trying to find an answer to a specific question. With semantic search, users need not have to provide the exact search terms to get the information they search for. Rather this search delivers results based on a range of factors including context, location, what the user is really trying to find, and why they are trying to find it. This advanced search option can take account of synonyms, related concepts and whether the query is specialized or generalized. It also allows users to search for information or content using natural language. Bing and Google are also developing capabilities where users can type a question in their own language, and get back relevant, personalized and accurate answers to that question.

For instance, imagine you are searching for “cheap car washing service in NY”. Instead of looking for any site with the words like “cheap”, “NY” and “car washing” ,semantic search interprets the meaning behind the search query that the user is likely looking for an inexpensive car washing service in New York and then searches for companies that might fit that description.

In their busy schedule, most online businesses will not be able to optimize their website with the latest algorithms. Choosing a reliable digital marketing agency is the right option for them. Such agencies will provide their team with quality training on how to use the latest algorithmic updates.

How To Get The Best Results Out Of Keyword Research?

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

When it comes to online marketing strategy, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an integral part of the equation. SEO includes a diverse set of techniques that are used to not only increase the targeted traffic, but also create brand awareness. While there are several SEO techniques, one of the time tested method that has proven results is the usage of keywords. In fact a majority of SEO strategies are built around the keywords chosen.

Usually the results displayed on the top of the search engine page get the maximum impressions and clicks. This can actually result in significant increase of traffic to your website. Relevant keywords in title tags, meta tags and throughout the site help your pages to show up on top. Keyword optimized descriptions and tags are a must if you want to see a considerable rise in your click through rates.

Common Mistakes

Once marketers decide to concentrate on SEO marketing, they rush off and end up making more mistakes than they care to admit.

  • Keyword Stuffing: Most common mistake of all is keyword stuffing. Imagine reading a copy that is repeated over and over? This is a shady tactic and will do more harm than good. By stuffing your web page full of keywords, you won’t boost your ranking but will end up with Google kicking you down the result pages.
  • Misinterpreting Volume Estimates: Although Google adwords tool is very advantageous, many of the marketers often end up misinterpreting the results. When using this tool, it is very important to take all 3 match types into account, rather than relying solely on broad match.
  • Same Keyword Targeted Repeatedly: You have done your research and finalized on keywords that match criterion. And what do you do? You are on a spree to use these keywords in everything you create. And the end result, you compete against yourself and kill your own pages ability to draw new traffic.

Best Techniques:

When you get into SEO, you primary goal should be to use keyword research effectively. In fact, it should be one of the most essential skills of any digital marketer. It is just not enough to create a good list of SEO keywords for promotion. It is the job of the marketer to get the best results out of keyword research. So, how do you go about doing it?

  • Get Inside the Head of the Searcher: It is the most important step of keyword research. Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers; try to think how they will. Understand their preferences, have a look at your blog posts, comments etc to get ideas. Create a seed list of keyword ideas that will cover all aspects of products and solutions that you offer to the customer. User interviews or surveys though length procedures, often give valuable information.
  • Brainstorm Keyword Ideas: Most overlooked method, but totally effective – manually brainstorming keyword ideas. Brainstorm and create a list as big as you can. And later in the process analyse your brainstorm list and refine it using some keyword research tool.
  • Proper Keyword Research: Keyword research is a vast area and should be tackled carefully to generate leads and get conversions. Take two different approaches to keyword research: content centric and keyword centric. Pick keywords based on the existing content on your website, at the same time identify potential search terms and build your keywords around them. Using Google’s Auto suggest is a great idea. Make use of the suggested keywords for the keyword phrase that you entered.
  • Keyword Research Tool: For your keywords to be most effective, you have to first find the right keyword research tool. This tool will not only give you the most efficient keywords, but will also be less time-consuming. Don’t rely on just one single tool. Take the help of different tools as each tool has a different medium to generate results from. Some of the popular keyword tools include SERP Checker, Keyword Spy and Google Keyword Planner.
  • Competitive Analysis: Analysing your competitors is a very important part of keyword research. Start by learning what the competitors in your circle are doing, what kind of keywords they are using. Scan your competitors’ site pages to get an idea of the targeted keywords they are using. You can also check the search results to see which websites already rank for your targeted keywords. This will give you an idea of how difficult it will be to rank for the particular keyword.

5 SEO Best Practices Trending in 2015

Posted on by NextJSjointviews

“Content is king. But marketing is queen and runs the household”– Gary Vaynerchuk

Jay has just started learning about the scopes of digital marketing and following the advice of one of his friends, had spend money on creating a business website and writing blog posts, making videos and images and all content of the sort for the website. He waited for few weeks after creating a beautiful website to boost his business but, nothing happened! He was worried and of course, frustrated thinking what could have gone wrong?

What really happened?

May be due to his lack of knowledge or in the hurry to achieve a result, Jay forgot to add a main ingredient to his digital marketing strategy-SEO!

No matter how good the content of your website is, your marketing skills are of no use until your business grabs attention among customers. You need to have all elements to pull customers towards your brand and therefore, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a significant role.

“The best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of Google search results”

Google is the most used search engine in the Internet. Internet users are always impatient and while searching online, they tend to check only the websites in the first page of the search results. Therefore, it is important for your business website to be there in the first page of search results for customers to find out about it.

SEO helps in improving your page ranking and in increasing web traffic through various techniques. Therefore, for every business, it is necessary to have a SEO specialist. If you don’t have one, you can go for a SEO specialist or hire a digital marketing agency like Jointviews that can satisfy all your marketing needs.

The SEO techniques applied vary over years and they are still in the path of evolution. If you are into marketing your business online, it is necessary for you to be up to date with the latest trends in SEO.

Here are 5 SEO best practices that are trending in 2015 that you can utilize to improve your page ranking and to help your business reach the right audience in the coming months:

1. Content is king

Content has great value in digital marketing. A good quality and informative content has the power to influence people and convert them into permanent customers.  Any content that you add to your website must be related to your business and should contain relevant keywords. This trend seems to continue even in 2015.

2. Conversations given more priority than keywords

Before, a matching keyword would have brought your website to the first page of search results. But now, things have changed. Search engine looks specifically for the meaning, context and intent of the word typed in the search query.  Therefore, you should focus on putting efforts towards a key word phrase in order to engage in a conversation with your customers.

3. Visual-based SEO

2014 was the year of visual content when websites that topped search engine results had high quality videos and images as content. The trend remains the same in 2015. The Search Engine Results Pages are choosing websites with text and visual elements in them over those websites with just text as content.  Also, video marketing in YouTube can help you build website traffic by sharing the video in social media sites.

4. Mobile-friendly SEO

No one bothers to carry a laptop around these days. Internet is easily available in mobile phones and that is what the people prefer. According to the statistics, mobile Internet usage has surpassed desktop Internet. According to the estimates, there will be at least 50 billion local searches via mobile Internet and therefore, mobile-friendly SEO is the need of the hour.

5. Online security is a priority in rankings

If your website deals with online transactions and contains sensitive information, make sure that you are using proper security measures to guard the information.  Online security certificates and use of https instead of http is going to decide your website rankings in 2015.