THE SEASONS OF WEB CONTENT

June 15, 2009 by · Comments 

Autumn leaves

When searching for information, via written content on the web, one must learn to create their own ideas from what they absorb and give their best effort at remaining objective  to the content being read.  Unlike encyclopedias or dictionaries, web content  is not regulated nor weeded through for accuracy.  On the internet, anyone can post anything, any time of the day.  The answer to your question on the internet’s great world wide web, is, most conveniently, whatever you want it to be.  You might say the internet is starving for accurate information; fact based statements on subjects that can be supported by either scientific evidence, experimental trials or some other means of credible measurement.  Something we can rely on to tell us not just a viewpoint, but something concrete, sparing the “I thinks, or most likely’s or In my opinion’s.”  While this type of written content becomes more scarce it naturally becomes more important in the eyes of the only “regulators’ of content currently existing - search engines, namely google.  As google strives to be revered as a legitimate  deliverer of  quality content,  it will favor those sites whose data is more of the objective nature.  Content Writing that is opinionated or subjective in nature will likely fall in a category below that, regardless of  SEO, keywords and other tactics once used to gain popularity in organic search.  Ranking will have more to do with quality and reliability of information than it will amount of backlinks from high page rank sites. 

Isn’t this what the internet needs? Maybe so, but what does this mean for SEO professionals and many others, who have clearly, or rather unclearly created what I like to call Gray Hat SEO, a hybrid nickname I coined from the popular Black Hat vs White Hat oppossing technique types.  Referring to anything that is SEO related as black and white seems out of character, even humorous considering the amount of unknown associated with its very practice.  I am not sure what color you get from your web investigations.  I most often get grey, which appears to be the area of vast majority! 

What affect will this demand for straight forward provable content have on the internet as a whole?  Will it stifle the many brilliant minds that although offer mainly subjective content,  have a gift of initiating action or provoking thought and ideas in groups of people?  The limited intelligence of the sub human search engine will most certainly lack the ability to spare such a crop. Will they be lumped in with the other conversationlists found on every corner?  Probably not, when considering their daily flow of worthwhile ideas that change to the tune of algorithims,  we will most likely find them gracefully chaired when the music stops. 

If you’ve done any research on the internet,  you’ve likely heard oppossing data on your topic of choice no matter what the topic might be, especially if you were thorough in your research.  Did you come to a conclusion about your topic?  Were your questions answered most definetely?  The reality is, probably not!  For every yes there is almost always a no.  You get the idea!  And that’s really all you’ll get.  It’s up to you to form your own answer.  How do you see the future of web content?

THE PREFERRED RANKING #1 OR 2?

April 9, 2009 by · Comments 

When people think SEO most of them immediately think about search engine placement, and keywords. Ranking number 1 in Google’s search results whether implied as a campaign strategy or not is most always a goal in an SEO campaign and typically search engine placement as the number one spot is weighted most heavily because from that superior ranking we assume sales for the customers, or exposure, or popularity. Whatever goals the customer may have for their website can and will be achieved in googles first spot!

If even 40% of individuals habitually pick the 2nd or 3rd result in Google or Yahoo, or MSN, this will bring up a very interesting question about search engine placement. Is the first spot in Google the best one? I actually pick that result last after not finding what I am looking for with the other results on that page.

A close friend was also quick to retort of her same habits and in fact was also fully aware of why she did it. She stated that usually the first result is not what she is looking for. I think she probably has the same affliction as I, obtained as a shortcut from inferior search engines and possibly inexperienced web marketing efforts. The first result today listed in Google I am confident would fit your search term most accurately most of the time as would the second or third. So what search engine placement, gets the most clicks? We need a program that collects those results in case anyone is looking for a project?

SMALL BUSINESS SEO PROPOSALS

March 22, 2009 by · Comments 

iStock_000007833569XSmall Presenting proposals to clients for SEO projects can be a hectic and stressful process especially for the small business client whose expenditures are almost always on a tight budget. Some feel like they might be throwing money at a losing battle…their business, and at this point are unsure it being worthy of success at all. After having done an initial analysis on their competition and current web presence you conclude that with a strong back linking campaign and onsite seo/copywriting they could turn their business around and take a strong position in the search results for their keyword. Naturally you have already shared this exciting news with them but somehow at the moment when you present the proposal, it seems forgotten; the excitement lost in dollar signs. What can be done to make this proposal process less stressful for both the client and the SEO professional? Here are a few things I have come up with for a win win proposal:
Upon introduction discuss:
A) What is their budget? Or, how much do they want to spend on a marketing campaign and SEO for their website
B) Ask them questions that quantify the value they place on ranking well in search results or driving traffic to their website. Let’s face it. Getting noticed online can bring endless value to the customer in hard revenue. It is important however to help them make that connection when you are selling something intangible like services.
C) Ask them if they have ever paid for SEO services/copywriting before, and if they haven’t, get them familiar with cost immediately. That way they can do their own math along the way and thus no surprises. Many people are unfamiliar with the process, therefore unfamiliar with its cost.
D) When presenting the proposal, include the estimated final result of the services being recommended i.e, what this will do for the customer, is it better ranking in search results, driving traffic through a pay per click campaign, increase conversions, etc. That way the cost and value can offset each other yet again for the customer.
E) Make sure your pricing is clear cut and if you offer an hourly rate only, try to estimate how long each process will take or give maximums (not to exceed x amount of hours). Small business owners are much more comfortable knowing in advance how much they are spending.
F) And as always deliver what you promise in the time frames outlined. It is always better to under promise and over deliver and because SEO and online marketing are not exact sciences, don’t promise the number one spot in google’s search results, instead promise the top 3 but only if your totally confident it can be done!