With SEO Don’t Lose Sight of the Big Picture

With SEO Dont Lose Sight of the Big Picture

The algorithms search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo use to create search engine results pages (SERPs) are highly complicated and top-secret. They also are constantly being updated, improved, and modified.

 

A lot of web page managers will spend endless hours trying to outsmart these algorithms, constantly scanning the web for anything that will give them an edge over the competition. In some instances, companies will pay thousands of dollars and devote weeks of resources to move up just a few spots on the SERP for their specific keywords.

 

Given today’s highly competitive online environment, it’s easy to get caught up in this web-based arms race. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to lose sight of the big picture.

 

Web Page Basics

 

Inserting a keyword here or moving an image there may marginally improve your page rankings. But if you really want to attract more people to your web pages all you really need to do is to provide high-quality content that people can actually use.

 

That’s what search engines value most. And it makes sense.

 

From Google’s perspective, they want web users to use their search engine more than any other because then they can sell more space to advertisers and make more money. And the best way to attract the highest number of web users is to give the best possible search engine experience.

 

With SEO Don’t Lose Sight of the Big Picture – Give Them What They Want

 

If people go to Google to find information or products they want to buy and instead discover links to low-quality websites that are only marginally related to what they are searching for, they are going to go somewhere else.

 

The same holds true for your web pages. If you don’t provide your customers or clients with what they want, they will keep searching until they find what they are looking for.

 

Google understands this. And you should, too.

With Today’s Web Design, Content Is King

With Todays Web Design Content Is King 1

In order for your web pages to be popular, they have to strike a delicate balance between search engine optimization (SEO) and giving visitors what they want. In effect, web designers have been serving two masters: The giant search engine algorithms like Google, Bing!, Yahoo, and others, and the people who actually visit their web pages.

 

Now, all that is changing. Google and others are realizing that the pages that score the best in their algorithmic equations aren’t always the pages people really want to see. So now they are changing their criteria to favor high-value web pages that provide users with genuinely usable content that looks and feels good.

 

Web Design – Content Is King – Give the People What They Want

 

Like any emerging industry, the internet is getting smarter as it gets older.

 

Consider the auto industry. Birthed in the first decades of the 20th Century, car makers built vehicles that were utilitarian but had few frills. As production became bigger and cheaper, however, auto companies started building cars people wanted, rather than simply stripped down cars they could use.

 

 Web Design – If You Build It, They Will Come

 

The internet is following the same path. Search engine optimization used to be highly formulaic: If you included these keywords, put them in these places, and added a few other SEO tricks, you could be assured of getting a high page ranking on Google.

 

Now that formula doesn’t work. A better plan is to create web pages that include useful content people actually want. Not only will you attract more visitors, but you will make the search engine algorithm gods happy as well and be rewarded with top rankings.

 

The web hasn’t stopped evolving. In fact, we are still in its infancy. But adapting to the changing times will help get your web pages ranked higher.

Search Engines Are Measuring and Weighing Your Website

Miami SEO Agency

When you post a business website on the internet, your aim is for customers to find it easily and quickly. But in order for people to find your website, it has to be appealing to search engines.

 

Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines are what connect customers with your website. So if your website doesn’t provide search engines with what they want, it won’t be ranked high on search engine results pages. And if that happens, people are going to have a hard time finding your business website.

 

Search Engines Are Measuring and Weighing Your Website – SEO Florida – Search Engines

 

Like your business, the goal of search engines is to give their customers what they want. So when they scan through the internet looking for new websites, what they are really looking for are those websites that provide the most relevance for their users.

 

When the come across your business website, search engines use an algorithm to scan through it to measure and weigh its relevance to their users and then assign a rating, or ranking, based on what they find.

 

Essentially, search engine algorithms are looking for content that their users can genuinely use. But they also are looking at your website’s performance, such as how fast it works and if it is easy to use.

 

Search Engines Are Measuring and Weighing Your Website – Authority and User Experience

 

Search engines also want to make sure your website is authoritative. In other words, would people likely to go to your website to seek answers for the questions they have related to your content? If so, or if your website is linked to authoritative sites that do provide answers, it will be ranked higher.

 

Finally, search engines consider the overall user experience when people land on your website. If your site attractive? Is it easy to navigate around your web pages? Does it look trustworthy? If the answer is “yes” to all these questions, your business website is more likely to rank high on the search engine results pages for people looking for businesses like yours.

Why Does SEO Matter So Much, Anyway?!

Lytron 1 1

Small businesses with an online presence have to think about SEO all the time. Why?

 

It’s because Search Engine Optimization, techniques that boost your business website’s online profile, are how most consumers find your business today. Without constant vigilance on SEO, those customers are going to go to competitors.

 

Rising to the Top

 

SEO techniques include things like insert keywords into your web content, posting photos and videos that attract more click-throughs and generally doing everything you can to make your web pages more appealing.

 

Appealing to who? Customers, but also search engines like Google, Bing!, Yahoo, and others. These are the primary tools that people use today to find the products, services, and businesses they want.

 

The Evolution of  SEO 

 

Forty years ago, people used the phone book to look for things like plumbers, car mechanics, florists, and more. But beginning about 20 years ago, people started using computers in their home.

 

Soon, these were replaced with laptops. Then came smartphones. Then tablets.

 

Today, most people use all of these devices to not only search for but also to buy things they want and need. That makes SEO an essential factor for any business that wants to attract customers online. In other words, any business!

 

Getting the Help You Need

 

By this point, most business owners understand the importance of their online profile and web reputation. It’s hard to think of a business that doesn’t benefit from trying to attract customers via their portable devices. It’s simply how business is done today.

 

But not every business owner understands the importance of getting help with their SEO. Managing your online reputation is too complicated to try and do on your own. Instead, you need the help of professional SEO experts, such as “Lytron Lead Generation“.

 

We can help you boost your business’s SEO and attract more customers both online and in the real world. Web-based SEO marketing is simply a fact of life in today’s business environment. Get on board with “Lytron Lead Generation”.

 

Split Testing Measures Success of SEO Efforts

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Split testing is a technique used by online marketers to measure the effectiveness of specific changes to such things as SEO keywords, marketing campaigns, and even the images used on websites.

 

In essence, split testing is based on the approach scientists use to test a theory by using clinical trials. An experiment is set up into two groups: One control group and one test group.

 

For example, pharmaceutical researchers might give one group a new drug they are testing and a second group a placebo. The use of this “control group” structure allows them to keep everything else the same to see the precise effects of the drug they want to test.

 

Split Testing Measures Success of SEO Efforts – Measurable Results

 

Website designers, online marketers, and internet-based businesses often use the same approach. But instead of using human test subjects, they split testing to measure the effects of small changes to their web content.

 

For example, a business with an established website might want to see how well a new marketing campaign works. So they could use split testing to see if it encourages customers to spend more or less than they spend using the business’s existing marketing effort.

 

Two versions of the business’s website are set up: One with then new marketing program and one with the existing campaign. Some customers are directed to one page while others are sent to the other.

 

Split Testing Measures Success of SEO Efforts – Achieving Results Faster

 

Then the business measures the average amount spent per customer for each of the two pages. If the new marketing campaign earns the business more money, it can replace the old program. But if it earns less, it’s back to the drawing board.

 

Split testing can be used to measure the effects of any type of change to a website. It can be something as big as a new marketing campaign to something as small as the wording on a headline or which of two pictures gets a better response.

 

By using split testing, web page designers can optimize the content of pages in order to achieve the results they want faster.

Cross-Marketing on Your Website Can Boost Sales, Reputation

LYTRON Mizner Mockup

The objective of most business websites is to promote the product and services that the company offers, as well as reinforcing the brand the organization wants to establish.

 

But should you consider promoting other people’s businesses or other organizations on your website? Maybe.

 

Cross-Marketing on Your Website Can Boost Sales – Reciprocal Marketing

 

Reciprocal marketing is when you promote another person’s business or products on your website in exchange for their promoting yours on their web pages.

 

It simply requires entering into an agreement with another business in order to promote both businesses for the benefit of each other.

 

Obviously, you probably wouldn’t enter into an agreement with a direct competitor. But there may be products or services that complement yours that could be a perfect fit for reciprocal marketing.

 

For example, if you own a health spa you might enter a reciprocal agreement with a company that offers relaxing lotions or aromatic candles. That company would then promote your spa on their website.

 

Both businesses benefit because consumers who are interested in one type of product probably also would be interested in the other.

 

Cross-Marketing on Your Website Can Boost Sales – Community Outreach

 

Another related type of cross promotion on your website is community outreach. This is when you use your website to pledge your support for a local charity or cause you are passionate about.

 

For example, if your website promotes your local business, you might include a badge that supports a local charity such as the Ronald McDonald House. Or you could include a pink ribbon that signifies breast cancer awareness.

 

Community outreach has the dual benefit of supporting an important cause or charity while affiliating your business with doing good in your community.

 

Both cross promotion and community outreach don’t cost you anything more to do, but can bring additional sales and more customers to your business, as well as enhancing its reputation within the community.

SEO Basics That You Need to Know

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Now that digital marketing has been around for more than a decade, most people are familiar with the term “search engine optimization”, or SEO. Even if they don’t fully understand what it means.

 

SEO is critical to the success of your business website. Without SEO, it’s practically impossible to get your web pages ranked high on the most popular search engines.

 

And if your customers can’t find you, they can’t spend their money on the products and services you offer.

 

On-Page and Off-Page

 

Here’s something you probably didn’t know about SEO: There are actually two different types, on-page and off-page SEO.

 

On-page SEO includes the things you do within the content of your web page to improve its rankings. It includes things like including keywords in the optimal places.

 

Off-page SEO means doing things on other people’s sites to attract visitors to your pages. This includes things like participating in forums and promoting your web pages on social media.

 

SEO Basics – Page Titles Are Primary

 

If you do nothing else to promote your page, make sure your page title includes the optimal keywords that best describe the content you offer.

 

Search engines will look at all of your content when assigning a page ranking. But the element they look at first and give the most weight to is your page title.

 

The page title can be found at the very top of your browser on the tab. It’s also what pops up on  Google when people search for sites like yours.

 

SEO Basics – Keep Meta Descriptions to 155 Characters

 

Like Twitter postings, meta descriptions for your web pages need to be limited to a certain number of characters, in this instance 155, including spaces.

 

Meta descriptions also need to be persuasive and compelling because these are what appear under your link on Google and other search engine results pages.

 

Use these SEO secrets to improve your page rankings and you should see an immediate improvement in your traffic flow.

Use the Web to Attract Customers to Your Florida Business

41 FLORIDA HEALTH AGENCY MOCKUP

While the internet connects people worldwide, many local businesses are still very much dependent on local customers.

 

Attracting people in your area to your local business requires a technique called “Local SEO”. Basically, local SEO involves using specific geographically specific keywords to send traffic to your business website.

 

How to Use Local SEO on Your Website

 

Basically, local SEO works like this: If somebody goes online searching for a business like yours, they probably are going to use specific keywords.

 

 

For example, let’s say you own a dry cleaning business in Tampa. People looking for a local dry cleaning business who type in the keywords “dry cleaners” into their search engine probably would get results that include dry cleaning businesses all over the US, or even the world..

 

But if these same prospective customers type in the keywords “dry cleaners in Tampa”, they will get results that include only local dry cleaning businesses in Tampa, Florida.

 

Optimizing with Local SEO

 

How does that happen? Google, Bing, and the other big search engines scan and rank websites for specific keywords. When they find a web page for a local Tampa dry cleaners, they will include this in their rankings for those specific keywords.

 

But search engines will rank near the top of the search results those sites with the exact keywords “Tampa dry cleaners” in their headlines, subheads, first 100 words of the text, last 100 words of the text, photo descriptions, and other places.

 

That’s what local SEO means. By including geographically specific keywords in specific places in your web pages, you can get your web page ranked at or near the top of the list anybody gets when they type those keywords into the most popular search engines.

 

And given the fact that most people use their mobile devices to search for local businesses, local SEO is only going to become more important as time goes on.

Google Ads Industry Benchmarks

3 Simple Steps To Attracting The Best Clients

As marketing analysts we’re constantly thinking about the most optimal way to target our potential customers. With so many metrics to keep tabs on, figuring out whether or not you’re getting it right is often easier said than done.

To help shed some light on the situation, the folks at WordStream released a detailed new study on Google Ads industry metrics. The study reveals a ton of helpful industry-specific benchmarks for both search and display ads, including average clickthrough rate (CTR), average cost-per-click (CPC), average conversion rate (CVR), and average cost-per-action (CPA).

 

Google Ads Industry Benchmarks – Average Conversion Rate

Conversion-Rate-By-Industry-Table

Conversion-Rate-By-Industry

Google Ads Industry Benchmarks – Average Click Through Rate

Ctr-By-Industry-Table Google Ads Industry Benchmarks

3 Types of Online Marketing You Need to Be Using Right Now

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Most business owners today understand that many of their customers have migrated to the Internet and use their smartphones and tablets to do most of their shopping.

 

Yet many continue to pour cash into traditional marketing platforms that yield lesser and lesser results. These include buying ads in newspapers, TV commercials, billboards, and other 20th Century platforms that don’t attract 21st Century consumers.

 

If you aren’t using online marketing to promote your business and products, you definitely should be. Here are three types of online marketing you need to know about — and invest in — right now.

 

Marketing  – SEO

 

Search engine optimization describes techniques used to boost your websites ranking on search engines like Google and all the others. One of the biggest benefits of SEO is that most of it is free to do, yet can yield you enormous results.

 

When the link to your website is listed at the top of the search results for the keywords that describe your business or products, you can expect an avalanche of new web-based customers.

 

Pay-per-Click

 

Pay-per-Click (PPC) are those little ads that appear in the margins of the websites and pages you visit online. The biggest benefit of this type of online marketing is that you only have to pay when somebody clicks through from the ad to your website.

 

That means you are already likely to make a sale which can help pay for the PPC ad: Win/win!

 

Marketing – Blogging 

 

Blogging isn’t marketing. It’s writing, right? Yes and no.

 

Posting blogs can help promote your business directly. But it also can help retain existing customers longer by providing them with useful content. People will come back to your blog over and over again if you keep them entertained and informed, building customer loyalty at the same time.

 

If you aren’t using these three types of online marketing — as well as others like social media, contextual marketing, and others — you should consider starting right away.