SEO Archives - Erin Sweeney Design

Power of the Boost

Recent changes to Facebook’s privacy policy and overall rule system are certainly making life difficult for entrepreneurs. The company’s policies around advertising one’s business on the social network has (once again) changed. If businesses don’t pay Facebook to boost their status, business pages will not be getting their message out. Previously, a business owner would boost a status to spread the word to more people. But, beginning in mid-January, the social network will intensify its efforts to filter out unpaid promotional material in user news feeds. Because of this new rule, even if the page has thousands of fans, a status may never be seen unless it has been boosted. Basically, any business who relies on free status marketing will suffer.

Revamp Your Marketing Budget

Facebook warned of this in early November 2014 when they explained that the practice of businesses posting free marketing pitches or reusing content from existing ads will suffer “a significant decrease in distribution” once the new policy rolled out. The average small business owner can not afford to pay thousands of dollars to promote their content each month, or, at the very least, will need to reevaluate their marketing budget to account for these changes. Considering that more than 80% of small companies who use social media to promote their businesses list Facebook as their top marketing tool, this new policy means a major shift in many social media marketing plans.

The Truth About Online Marketing Campaigns

Many business owners are going to need to look elsewhere for effective and affordable options. Facebook stands to lose a lot of small business entrepreneurs as doing business on the social network becomes more expensive. So why are they doing it? Facebook’s vice president of small business, Dan Levy, explained the reasoning behind this move. He claims Facebook’s paid-advertising options have become more effective over time. He suggests companies view Facebook as a tool to “help them grow their businesses, not a niche social solution to getting more reach or to make a post go viral.” Organic reach, Levy says, is only one of several reasons companies benefit from having a presence on Facebook. The network has over 1 billion hits per month. Just by being on the network, the likelihood that your business will be found increases. This makes sense, and many small-business owners say they accept that they will have to pay to market their businesses on Facebook. Any good marketing campaign costs money. When looking at an online marketing strategy, the use of free online marketing campaigns has not always resulted in positive responses. Todd Bairstow, partner at the online-marketing firm Keyword Connects, explains that the strategy of attracting fans and “likes” on Facebook using unpaid posts “ultimately failed for almost everyone we know.” Facebook may help “spread the word”, but using the network to market your business is not going to necessarily result in sales or new business.

What Are My Options?

This leaves small business owners with a decision to make. Do you restructure your marketing budget to include paid promotions on the network where you’ve built your brand and have a strong following? Or do you search for other options? Many are focusing their efforts and online marketing budgets now on boosting their Google rankings. This is a more complicated process, as well as more time consuming, but the overall results may be better for small business owners. For more information on how to best utilize search engine optimization, visit Google’s page dedicated to this topic by clicking How a Google Search Works. Some business owners may choose to leave Facebook altogether and focus their time and energy on other outlets. Google Plus is option. Not only has G+ grown to over 540 million active members, it has the power of the Google search engines behind it, resulting in posts showing up in a Google search. Also, it’s known to generate as much brand engagement as Facebook.

Whatever you decide, just make sure it’s something that you can afford and can commit to. There are many options out there. Now’s the time to make informed decisions for both yourself and your business. Good luck!

Working exclusively with small business owners, and as a small business owner myself, I know what a struggle (and expense!) it is to promote your business. Clients come to me wanting a website that not only represents their company and brand, but will also be seen by potential customers. This is where search engines come into play.

Search engines, such as Google, find your site. Every small business owner wants their website to show up at the top of search engine page results. How can that happen without having to pay for it? It all begins with the content of your site and the inclusion of keywords. In this article, I’ll explain how to use keywords, markup and document interlinking to optimize your site and make it SEO-friendly….your first steps to being found!

Keywords

Your website can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if search engines can’t find keywords in your content, many potential customers will never see it. Keywords are the words and phrases that users put into a search when looking for information online. How do you know what keywords or phrases will direct users to your website? This takes a bit of research. Sites such as Adwords External and Google Insights can assist you with keyword trends and help you to determine the keywords and phrases to use for your content.

Once you’ve established the keywords and phrases to use, follow these guidelines:

Make sure the keyword or phrase (or a variation of) appears in the page title. It is recommended that page titles be a minimum of 40 characters.
Identify 2-4 keyword phrases (2 or more words long) to be used on each page since single keywords tend to be more competitive. Consider that when a user is entering phrases that are 3 or more words long into a search engine, they are looking for very specific information. This is the customer that you want to find you. One who is doing a more focused search.
Place the keyword in the first paragraph of the copy. So the topic of the page is immediately clear.
Use keywords and phrases throughout your page content while writing in a natural style. Don’t overload the copy with keywords to the point that it appears artificial. Search engines can tell when the page is stuffed with extra keywords and will weed your page out. Also, it is recommended that you use a minimum of 300 words per page and write in short sentences using easily understood words for optimization.

Markup

The second issue to consider when optimizing your site content is the way the pages are organized.

Follow these tips for search-engine friendly ways to create your page:

Construct page titles carefully. Page titles are the most valuable real estate as far as search engines are concerned. Titles need to include primary keyword phrases and convey the key content of the page.
Only include one <H1> tag per page. Make sure it contains the primary keyword phrase and conveys the central message of the page (page titles use H1).
Include subheads that will utilize the <H2> tag. Keep them short and sweet. Use subheads to organize the page for SEO and readability. Also, when using subheads, limit them to no more than 4 levels of subheads, and avoid putting H1 and H2 headings adjacent to one another.
Make sure the content of the page is well organized. It is recommended to create an outline as you would do when writing a paper. The easier it is for the search engine to scan your page, the more likely it will be able to locate keywords.
Use top keyword phrase in the very first paragraph. Make it nice and easy for the search engine to locate it.
Use unique captions for each image. Another opportunity for keywords!
Create a unique meta description for each page. Meta descriptions are short phrases (up to 150 characters) that describe your site. It appears below the title of your document in search engine results. Make them factual, but also inviting so it will encourage readers to read the page (click on the link!)

Document Inter-Linking

Using hyperlinks on your page will help search engines locate appropriate information that a user is searching for. Link building is one of the most important factors for SEO. Interlinking your web pages and blog posts are a sure way to give your web presence a real boost. Again, this is all related to easy navigation on your site, both for humans and search engines.

Follow these guidelines for utilizing links:

Optimize anchor text. Avoid phrases such as “Read more here” or “Follow this link”. Instead, this is another opportunity to use keywords and phrases to direct users to your site. Doing this allows both search engines and readers to see your keyword as the linked text which will increase your rank.
Link to other pages on your site. Linking internally increases the keyword relevancy of all pages within your site.
Good (aka easy) navigation. Interlink your web pages in a way that makes it easy for people to go from one page to another. Link directly to a product description to the relevant product page, or link directly to a blog page. This allows users to easily find what they need and improves their overall experience.
Include breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs are navigation aids that help visitors see the path to their current location (i.e., Home page -> Category page -> Subcategory page). Each page is linked so that people can easily get back to the previous page, and the path is typically found near the top of a page.
Link your blog posts: Use tags, categories, archives, anything that will link your blog posts to your page content. Content interlinking is one of the best ways to provide your readers with tons of relevant content.

So, now that you have some work ahead of you, grab a pen, some paper and start figuring out those keywords. And remember, this is just a start. Showing up at the top of a search takes time. The more often your information is found by search engines on the web, the higher you’ll rank. Starting with some great, well-organized, easy to read content that is keyword rich will set you on the path to a strong web presence. Good luck!

Facebook Tells Small Business Owners to Pay Up