Archive for May, 2010
SEO Myths #3- Effective On-Page Optimization
May 24th, 2010
Posted in SEO
In my last post, I discussed the importance of links, and how there is a trend towards focusing on them nearly to the exclusion of everything else. While links are crucial to a successful SEO campaign, they are far from the only thing. Effective on-page optimization can make the difference between a #1 ranking- and page 2.
With that #1 rank goal in mind, how can you optimize your site to help you achieve it?
Have a plan: If you’ve heard that before, you may have read previous posts. But it applies to to every aspect of SEO. Develop a strong keyword strategy. Know what keywords and phrases apply to you that people are searching for. Be aggressive. Have a strong, well written landing page optimized for each of your phrases. Make sure the page is between 200 and 600 words long, and your keywords account for at least 3% of the total word count- try to stay below 10%, though- be wary of keyword spam (there are plenty of tools around to help with this).
Start early: The reason a lot of people are gun-shy about spending time on-page is that they do not address it early enough. If you write solid, optimized content while developing the site, it’ll save you time after the site is launched- which allows you to spend time on things like link building.
Watch the competition: Odds are you’re not #1 right now, but you want to be. So take some time and look at who is there right now. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong?
In the case of the former, do it better than them. For the latter, do it right! This obviously is broader than just on-page, but if your competition has great links but shoddy content, they’re neglecting a large part of their SEO, not to mention conversions. If they’re going to leave that open, take advantage of it!
Stay ahead: SEO is an ongoing process, and the competitors you pass on your way to #1 aren’t going to be content to slip- just as you weren’t. For most, looking at ways to improve off-page is standard, as it should be. But few examine their on-page to see where they can improve. Remember: your competitors are probably looking at your site in order to figure out ways to beat you- Don’t let them! If you find think chinks in your armor first, you’ll maintain your ranking. It’s often surprising the opportunities a simple on-page analysis will reveal.
Stay fresh: Offer something new? A new product or service? Time for a new landing page! Don’t cram it onto existing ones- this will water down the strength of your current landing pages. Maintain a blog, and update it regularly- at least once a week. Search engines are always watching for new content- give it to them! A blog is a great way to do that, not to mention it is awesome for conversions, and much more (which I may have mentioned once or twice).
That covers the basics of on-page optimization, and hopefully dispels the myth that you shouldn’t spend time on it. Tomorrow, I’ll address some methods for using your on-page optimization in conjunction with link building to seriously improve your SEO.
SEO Myth Part 2- The Importance of Links
May 19th, 2010
Posted in SEO
I think this should be a regular feature! There are a ton of myths out there, and if followed, they can be seriously detrimental to your SEO- and possibly your business. In this post, I am only going to tackle one, because it’s big enough- and important enough- to get its own post. There are a lot of opinions floating around about how important links are, versus on-page optimization, to the point that some don’t even feel on-page is important if you have enough links. But what it the truth about links?
Oftentimes, people will try to put percentages on the various aspects of SEO- “Links are 80% of your SEO”. That ignores the good- or at the very least minimizes- any on-page optimization. The truth is that there is no hard and fast rule or percentage for what part of SEO does what amount of good- because it all works together. If you had great links and horrible content, you won’t rank #1. And if you have great on-page and tens of thousands of Page Rank 1 or 2 links, you won’t rank #1 either. But if you have good on-page optimization, good links and it is well presented, you can rank #1. Please note two things in that sentence: 1: I say good, not great. You should aim for great, but when you finish, you should always look at your SEO and say “it can be better”- SEO is ongoing. And 2: I say you can rank #1, not that you will. I try not to make promises I can’t keep, so whether or not you rank #1 is up to you (or Roadside if you hire us…). So what constitutes a good link?
If you don’t have it already, get the Page Rank tool for your Google toolbar. Page Rank simply ranks a website, based on a variety of factors, on a scale of 1-10. In short, it measures how trustworthy a site is, and therefore how much importance to attach to links from it. The New York Times, SEOmoz (who have an awesome SEO toolbar) and Smashing Magazine are a few examples of high (9, 8 & 7 respectively) Page Rank sites, and therefore sites that a link from would be great for SEO (hint, hint to anyone from those sites reading this). In turn, Page Rank 1, 2 and sometimes 3 sites should be avoided. Case in point as to why: I am not even bothering to find PR 1,2 & 3 sites, and I came up with 3 high PR sites off the top of my head. Google is simply putting that kind of recognition and trust into a number. Incidentally, Roadside Multimedia currently resides at 4, which I hope to see go up as we get more links from sites like those mentioned above and we improve the on-page of our new site (coming soon!).
So when it comes to links, throw the little fish back- PR 1-3, land several medium sized fish- PR 4-6, and definitely try to hook a marlin- PR 7+. But don’t build links at the expense of other aspects of SEO- neglect your on-page and you will fall in the rankings- I will talk about ways to optimize on-page tomorrow!
Building Social Media Marketing
May 17th, 2010
Posted in Blogging & Social Media
Last week I spoke with several of our dentists regarding their social media, and as I explained it, nearly all of them interrupted me and said “I’m a believer! I just need to know what to do!” Those words are music to my ears, and not only because it makes my job that much easier. In fact, it makes your job easier. Social media is kind of like Santa Claus- if you don’t believe in it, it doesn’t do you any good (maybe that’s a bad analogy, but you get the point). Hopefully if you’re reading this, you are a believer in social media marketing. If you’re not, that’s a subject for another post, but for the doubters: It works. This post, however, is for anyone who wants their social media marketing to work. Read on to find out how!
Bridging the Gap
May 12th, 2010
Posted in Blogging & Social Media
Recent studies show that nearly 80% of people trust word of mouth, while a mere 14% trust advertising. When people visit your site, they know they are being advertised to- and that’s OK. It’s why they were looking for you in the first place. But given the above odds, they don’t trust it, even if they were looking for your dental website.
So how do you bridge the gap, and take them from the doubting 86% to the trusting 80%? You and I know that you’re honest, trustworthy and provide the best care around – but how will they know?
SEO Myths
May 5th, 2010
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fairly new practice, and like all facets of the internet, is constantly evolving. Contributing to this is the pure and unabashed dominance of Google. Google has achieved this status atop the search engine (in fact, the internet) due to the fact that it is constantly refining itself to better serve us a human beings, instead of the other way around.
It is because of this that SEO exists. Simply put, SEO is determining what Google- and therefore- people are looking for, and making your site findable (sound familiar? That’s why we say that). But because it is fairly new, there are widely varying theories, and many of them, to put it bluntly, are wrong. This can be for a variety of reasons. The most common is being misinformed. What worked in the 1990′s (remember them? Dot-com boom and all that?) will not work today- link farms, keyword spam are things of the past thanks to the efficiency of Google. So along those lines, I will put to rest some of the outdated practices and myths we hear, and explain why they don’t work- and best of all, offer solutions that do get your ranking up. Read on!
It’s Not Easy Being Green
May 4th, 2010
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Online Marketing
But it is possible! As a dentist (or any other kind of business, really), there are many reasons for you to “go green”. Here are just a few:
You help the environment. It’s obvious, but it’s true. With more awareness than ever before about the environment and how it’s been abused, we can all do something to help. Even simple things like promoting recycling in the office or carpooling when possible helps.
It promotes ‘green living’ in others. As a dentist, people see you and your business frequently, and very often if you’re setting a good example, the community will follow it.
You can market it. It’s not wrong- in fact, it helps with the above point. People are aware of the environment and brands that are ‘green’ appeal to them. So write about what you’re doing on your blog, tweet about it, make sure people know you’re green- and they’ll respect that, imitate it and hopefully, buy it.
You can blog about it. You knew it was coming! It ties into marketing, but seriously! If you’re committed to being green, write about it! Get involved in the green community and your clients will love it.
The Seattle Umbrella is a great example of a local certification website for Seattle Businesses- there are many other sites like it around the country promoting green businesses. Find the ones in your area and get involved!
Also: Check out my guest blog for the Seattle Umbrella on Social Media for Local Business, and poke around their site. They do a great job of promoting local Seattle Business certification. You can also follow them at www.twitter.com/SeattleUmbrella
Dinner with Gold Dust Doctors
May 4th, 2010
Posted in Site News
While down at the AACD in Texas, we got to have a great dinner with Jen Robertson from Gold Dust Dental Lab, and some of the wonderful doctors that use Gold Dust!
Gold Dust does an awesome job of working with the clinician and the patient to create the highest quality restoration. To see some before and after photos and read testimonials from some of their satisfied doctors, check out their website.
Post-AACD pictures!
May 3rd, 2010
Posted in Site News
Here are a few more pics from the awesome AACD session in Grapevine, Texas:
Shannon with Dr. Timothy Johnston.
