domain name

We talk about content, optimization, and SEO tactics all the time, but your domain name continues to be an important factor in how visible your site becomes.

How you chose your domain and the way that it impacts your business is significant, and therefore it is right to brainstorm many options and consider a variety of ingredients when choosing how to name your domain.

For a long time many SEO companies recommended using keywords in your domain name.

Buying multiple domain names that highlighted the exact keyword you were targeting was common. This made a lot of sense since keywords in domain names were a factor in Google’s algorithm, and often when you received a backlink, the keyword phrase was a part of the anchor text.

While keywords in domain names are still helpful, recent Google updates have indicated that they no longer are as important a factor for page ranking as they previously were. Recent studies have shown that the EMD ranking and correlation have slipped significantly over the last few years for sites with keywords in the domain name.

That being said, if you have a domain name that describes your product, it is still much easier to find than a generic name. Furthermore, even if you use a specific domain name like drangiepeterson.com, it is not as effective as something more broad and descriptive like cosmeticsurgeons.com.

Perhaps the ideological change taking place is the need to recognize that a brandable name is just as important a keyword in your domain.

Using a memorable name is a great way to bring people in and have them come back to your site. Having a name that means something and says who you are gets to the point quickly and attracts the target audience. Your domain should not only be easy to remember, but simple to spell. If you can come off as confident and competent, it is excellent to seem like an authority on a topic. A site with just one or two words is best for users logging on using mobile devices, and again it makes the URL easier to remember. Finally, setting yourself apart from your competition by building a brand around a unique name, feel and vibe goes a long way towards marketing yourself as someone and somewhere people want to gravitate towards and engage with.

It is really easy to jump head first into search engine optimization, content generation, and making your mark. However, taking extra time and resources to pick the perfect domain is the SEO jump start that can benefit your business today, tomorrow, and into the distant lucrative future.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization.

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Sports SEO

Over the last couple of weeks I attended the Final Four and the Masters. They are in stark contrast when comparing the experience for an average fan. In Atlanta basketball fans sat a very long distance from the court, paid incredibly expensive concession prices, and if they dared drive to the stadium, a new home loan to pay for parking was practically essential. At Augusta National tickets are nearly impossible to obtain. However, if you can get in the door, parking is free, food is cheap, and patrons get an amazing view of the greatest golfers in the world. These two experiences reminded me about the importance of catering to your customer.

An SEO company is providing a service.

Making that service easy, memorable and effective is not simple. However, good service and a smile on the customer’s face at the end of the day is very good news for repeat business and referrals.

Unlike the NCAA Tournament or the Masters, one of a kind events, your business likely has competition. The more options a customer has the more important it is to provide quality service at competitive prices.

For an SEO company it is important to be able to show what you do, how you do it, and what results it yields.

It is easy to talk in buzzwords that the average customer might not understand. Terms like increased visibility, and URL structure could mean something to one person and have a different meaning to a second person. If you provide SEO services there are three steps that can be taken to explain what you do and why it works to potential clients.

An SEO company should explain what search engine optimization is. This can be done concisely. SEO is a way to help your potential customers find you through search engines.

Go into a little more detail about the tactic you use and why they are effective. Also show examples of each step along the way. Explain the way a title tag works, show it to customers, explain the algorithms search engines use, and do the same thing for other strategies that you use. Finally, use evidence to make your argument. Have your customers improved their business? Has traffic on their site increased? Have testimonials and give numbers to show that what you are doing works.

One of the best ways to illustrate your effectiveness is to show examples.

Show potential clients what an optimized site looks like, how it appears in Google, and the number of users that are finding and interacting with it. Show a site that is not SEO and mobile friendly. See if you can find it in search engines, and what is the traffic on that site?

If your family has fun attending baseball games and you are treated well without breaking the bank it is likely you will return. If your kids are bored, the prices are too high, or the seats are so far away that you can’t see well it is unlikely you’ll be back for more.

An SEO company is a lot like a sporting event. What are you offering, at what price, and how does it compare to my other options?

Promote what you do well and illustrate it in a way that is easy to understand. Potential clients might not want to become experts in the field but they do need assurances that they are doing the right thing and have reason to believe it is an investment that will make their business grow.

Dave Friedman broadcasts basketball games at Winthrop University and has covered games in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Final Four. 

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The post Sports has Fans Like an SEO Company has Customers appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

Golf SEO

One week a year the nation focuses its eyes on Augusta, GA. The Masters is unlike any other sporting event. While most events allow for wall-to-wall coverage, the premier golf tournament of the year restricts the amount of television coverage it allows. It has fewer commercials during its broadcast than any other sporting event, and does not cram in every last body that they can sell a ticket to. Being a private club gives Augusta National Golf Club the chance to outline whatever policies they want. It also focuses attention on the sport of golf.

An SEO company should recognize the opportunity that golf presents. Golf SEO is a legitimate strategy for companies to consider.

While you gaze at perfectly manicured azalea’s this week, and watch in awe as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy make a difficult course look easy, consider the commercial possibilities not only at Augusta National, but throughout the golf world.

Golfers represent a great customer base. They are an educated, affluent group of people with discretionary income.

Most are successful. All enjoy chasing around a little white ball on a perfectly sunny afternoon. Given a chance to learn how SEO works, golfers are likely to recognize the way golf SEO can benefit them.

Educated and affluent people look for ways to better themselves and their businesses. Search engine optimization is all about increasing visibility. An SEO company knows many easy ways to showcase a business and drive customers to their site.

Whether your industry is directly related to golf or not, finding clients among golfers is realistic. An SEO golf company is just like search engine optimization for any sector of business.

Obviously if you sell golf equipment or paraphernalia you want to target golfers. However, if you are a car company, a bank, or a fine dining establishment, golfer’s are likely to indulge in those luxuries too. Furthermore, golfers made their cash somewhere. An SEO company can be a partner with a golfer as opposed to somebody selling goods or services to the customer. It is also important to make sure that golf SEO is fully setup as the weather gets warm and players hit the course at the start of summer.

If you offer SEO services, and have an interest in golf, being a member of a club can pay dividends. Business is conducted on the course. Just like a networking seminar, or a lead that a colleague passes on to you, those who you interact with at the club become familiar with you and may partner with you. Whether a golfer is in high finance, owns businesses, or sells real estate, all of those sectors can benefit from SEO. Search engine optimization for golf takes the same marketing skills as attracting business with any company.

To make a long story short, don’t eliminate where and when you may find business partners. Making cold calls and following leads may lead to increased sales. Having a relationship with the club pro at your golf course, or getting to know the management at any local establishment can lead to friendship, working together, referrals, and financial health. Putting yourself in situations to succeed is half the battle when it comes to finding new clients.

Dave Friedman broadcasts basketball games at Winthrop University and has covered games in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Final Four. 

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Facebook News Feed

Last month Facebook redesigned its News Feed.

It sectioned off friends, photos, and music like a “personalized newspaper.” The idea is to get more people to interact with the News Feed on a frequent basis. By better sorting your friends, close friends, music, photos, and games, Facebook is able to personalize individual menus so that the sections you most frequently access are ordered as such. Facebook believes this update grabs the attention of more people across a range of devices. However, not everyone agrees that the intentions are so pure.

CNET thinks that a major motivation behind the Facebook News Feed changes is the ability to give advertisers immediate results.

While Facebook didn’t need the redesigned News Feed to make the change, the timing was sensible, and the technology is better suited to go directly from advertisers to users.

The argument made by Jennifer Van Grove is that by opening up its News Feed to targeted ads that members can’t miss, Facebook is looking after advertisers first, and users second. Using cookies advertisers can offer up products consumers have shown an interest in. Facebook previously allowed advertisers to pitch members with these types of ads in the right-hand sidebar. Now, as a part of the News Feed, there is no ignoring the ads. Furthermore, the ads are now much larger thanks to the redesign.

The New York Times has uncovered a different yet related issue with Facebook. When sharing stories on Facebook it appears that those who are paying Facebook to promote their writing using the company’s sponsored advertising tool are getting significantly more traction. This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that originally you didn’t have to buy a service to put together a long subscriber list that was interested in your work. Now, using the same list that you worked hard to build up, it seems Facebook has decided to prioritize those buying space on their News Feed over content that users are signing up for.

While it is easy to complain about changes, the average business needs to adjust and deal with the new reality. Business 2 Community looks at the Facebook News Feed redesign and points out some helpful tips. Thoughts include how to maximize exposure with the larger photos, the way more choices on the type of feeds you request is a lot like Google+, and how this can create more work or allow you to share with more people, and how visualizing everything you do will gain more traction.

Understanding new algorithms and changes that companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Twitter make is vital because you need to know how they effect you and your ability to interact with users.

The Facebook News Feed changes don’t mean life or death. However, being aware allows you to adjust your strategies, understand what your potential customers are seeing, and plan for the future.

Being on top of new information can help you to get an edge on the competition, whether that means taking advantage of a change, or simply having knowledge that might sneak up on others.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization.

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The post Facebook News Feed Redesign: Reactions and Strategies appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

Dental SEO

In a lot of ways SEO is a buzzword. In a business where a web presence is a secondary thought, the idea of having strong SEO, whatever that is, seems like a good idea or concept, but details are murky.

If you are a dentist, orthodontist, periodontist, or other dental professional, attracting new patients is important. Dental SEO could be a factor that sets your practice apart from your competition.

There is no doubt referrals are a big part of business. Having patients come back regularly is also essential to a successful office. However, SEO is a way to find new patients that otherwise would not know that you exist. The further society gets from the yellow pages, and the more frequently people change jobs and move, the greater the need is to not only have a web presence, but be active on the internet.

Search engine optimization for dentists, orthodontists, and all other oral care is an emerging and becoming more popular.

An SEO company knows all of the important tactics to get your website seen. Many dental offices have websites with essential information like their address, phone number, and a brief biography of the people working there. Some sites may include information about what insurance they take, or a history of the office. This is useful data and is a start to improving your dental SEO. However, you must combine the basic information with other dental company SEO techniques like using directories, focusing on keywords, and having correct image tags and page names.

In a society where everything is done quickly, and digitally, not having an active and significant web presence may hurt you business. People look for real estate online, do their shopping on the internet, search for recipes, learn how to help their kids with homework, and find doctors and dental professionals by using Google or other websites that cater to people needing instant information on a particular subject.

Dental SEO, Orthodontal SEO, and search engine optimization for oral care are ways to draw attention to your practice.

Making your site stand out using a host of SEO strategies including frequently updating and adding new information, using keywords, proper heading, image and title tags, and creating backlinks are important. So too is getting involved with directories. If you search “dentist” sites like 1800dentist.com, mylocaldentist.com, dentistdirectory.com, and dentistry.com appear. Those sites wouldn’t be there if people didn’t use them, and if they were not SEO friendly. Those are companies you might want to become involved with, or at least look into.

It is difficult to tell a professional that recruiting and marketing are important when they spend all day catering to patients and trying to improve peoples lives. However, you can not assist others if they chose a different dental professional. While your business might be altruistic, there is always competition, and what amounts to a very little bit of dental SEO work can be the difference between future business finding its way to you or your competition.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization.

Receive a free SEO Report and Evaluation on your website.

Do you know what sort of content your site needs to grow? Follow socigen on twitter.

The post Dental SEO Can Set Apart your Practice appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

Business of Sports

When it costs millions of dollars to advertise on the Super Bowl, or TV networks bid just shy of a billion dollars a year to have the rights to the NCAA Tournament, it is clear that sports and business are one in the same.

An SEO company caters to businesses of all sizes. Sports are a business.

That’s why teams, leagues, and even individual players are now focused on marketing. If you run a company, keep your eye open for sports entities as potential clients.

Almost every athlete of significance has his own social media business. Even if they don’t look at it as a business, somebody, the athlete or an employee of the star, is running their Facebook, Twitter, and personal website. The same is true for not only professional sports leagues, but youth sports organizations, local high schools and colleges, rec league teams, and all of the businesses that cater to athletes like sporting good stores, equipment companies, and those that sell paraphernalia. These are potential clients.

The local sporting goods store is probably very good at creating beer league softball uniforms, making sure you get the right size shoes, and having inventory for whatever sport you might be playing. The chances that they have an expert on SEO, graphics, or social media are unlikely. The same is true for the local youth league. They do a great job of providing kids a safe environment to learn sports. They are adept at providing qualified coaches and umpires that allow kids to have fun and be exposed to a new hobby. However, they likely are not marketing professionals.

The sporting goods store only succeeds if customers show up. The youth league prospers when kids sign up. If nobody knows that they exist, it is difficult to thrive. Whether it be SEO, social media, or traditional advertising, these businesses can benefit from the same tools that many companies are using.

If a family moves into a new community, and needs a sporting good store, they might search on Google “sporting goods store + Charlotte, NC.” If the family has children, and they are looking for a soccer league they might search “youth soccer + age 8-10 + Charlotte.” Companies that have invested in basic SEO are going to prosper under this very feasible scenario.

The business of sports is huge.

Trying to break into it at the major league level is not realistic. However, attracting local customers, who serve local clients, and improving their ability to attract people to their stores or leagues can pay dividends. Striking up relationships with people who are involved in sports can open the door to many opportunities.

Dave Friedman broadcasts basketball games at Winthrop University and has covered games in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Final Four. 

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The post The Business of Sports Could Be Good Business for You appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

Mobile SEO

If you think that the business world moves quickly, and it is important to constantly adjust or at least be aware of the latest trends, multiply the urgency by 10, and you arrive at the tempo things happen when people use the internet on their phone.

Mobile SEO is vital to your business. An SEO company knows that people act differently on their phone than they do at home. If your company can benefit from mobile users, having an SEO friendly site is essential.

Mobile users act quicker than those surfing the web at home or work. If you are going out to eat, from home you might look at restaurant reviews, call some friends, and dilly-dally before making a decision. If you are in your car, a quick google search for a local restaurant, and the next thing you know you are enjoying pasta primavera. The same is true for needing to ship something. From home, you consider your options. On the road the first post office, Fedex, or UPS Store to pop up is where a customer goes.

Many of the same search engine optimization tactics that you use for the home user are applicable for mobile SEO.

The idea of coming up first in web searches is the same. That means keywords, fresh content, proper url structure, and using tools like article submission and social bookmarking to improve visibility are useful.

The biggest difference between traditional and mobile SEO is speed.

Mobile users will not wait long for pages to load. This means limiting the size and number of images on a site. It is also important to stay away from java script, and flash because they frequently do not work well on phones.

It is also advisable to get to the point. Mobile users do not want to sift through information. They seek direct, straight forward answers to their questions. They also respond positively to focused data. Information that is particularly localized and personalized will resonate with someone making a quick decision.

Mobile SEO is about speed, details, a quick sell to someone already in the area, and avoiding anything that slows the process and therefore gives a user reason to move on. A location, a contact number, what the business offers, and a short, easily consumed pitch is all that the site needs. It is very important that at no point do things get bogged down. Mobile users are interested in now. Your site should cater to on-the-go consumers seeking basic information quickly.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization. 

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The post It’s 2013, Mobile SEO is Vital to Your Business appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

page names

People are inclined to do things that don’t take an abundance of effort. We want to accomplish tasks without taxing ourselves. When building your site assume users will gravitate towards things that are easy to find not something that takes digging. Reading Shakespeare can be difficult. You have to want to read Shakespeare in order to pick up one of his masterpieces. Few people are specifically looking for your site, in fact they will be just as happy going to a competitors page if it is easier to find and navigate. That’s why URL structure is so important.

Page names are an easy part of URL structure to change and can go a long way towards attracting users.

An SEO company knows that if your URL structure is sound, and page names are clear, users will quickly be able to find your site.

SEO friendly pages names should be concise, meaningful, and aware.

Much like anything else that is important in your life, you do not want to bog down the important information with an avalanche of other less vital information. Being clear about the what the page is about, using keywords, and being specific helps to communicate to search engines what each page is about, and allows users to quickly find information.

Being concise simply means that your pages names should be straightforward. There is no reason for the URL to be any more complicated or longer than it takes to describe what the page is about. Extra words or characters can confuse users and search engines. We all remember our friend from school Mary-Ellen Sue Todd-Wilson. What was her first name? What was her last name? Keep it simple to avoid problems.

A huge part of SEO is proving that you are an authority on a topic. Of course this requires content that backs up the claim you are an expert in the field. However, this should also be obvious in your page names. If your concentration is distance running in Memphis, use those keywords in all of your posts. It is clear, to the point, and keyword friendly to have pages named running.com/distance-running-memphis-triathlon, running.com/distance-running-memphis-ironman, and running.com/distance-running-memphis-training.

Once you have generated a lot of content, it is still important to create descriptive page names. While you may have multiple articles about triathlon’s, call each of them something slightly different. This not only avoids confusing users and search engines, but also makes it easier to find specific information. After running.com/distance-running-memphis-triathlon, try running.com/distance-running-memphis-triathlon-speed and running.com/distance-running-memphis-triathlon-strength.

Having great content is the most important part of your page. Once you have created the content make it easy to index, find, and, share.

Creating page names that are concise, descriptive and keyword heavy go a long way to improving your URL structure, and allow users to easily find your place on the web.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization.

Receive a free SEO Report and Evaluation on your website.

Do you know what sort of content your site needs to grow? Follow socigen on twitter.

The post Simple Page Names Are a Vital Part of Effective URL Structure appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

google+ local

A vital new tool has been introduced to the Google+ Local search algorithm.

An SEO company knows that in order to have the greatest visibility possible you must keep up-to-date with the way Google updates their dashboard.

Google Places is being eliminated, and business categories are now available for Google+ Local pages.

The categories are being integrated into the search algorithm, and therefore SEO services should be focused on updating their pages to take advantage of this opportunity to secure a better position among search results.

For a company looking to get noticed, recognizing and taking advantage of this change can increase visibility while gaining an edge on competitors who do not react as quickly to this development. You will need to have your user account verified to mange business listings, but that is an easy process that requires filling out a form and proving your business is legitimate.

Once you are verified, the process is simple to take advantage of the Google+ Local algorithm changes.

First, login to your Google+ account. Then click the pages tab on the left side of the screen (you may need to scroll over “more”). Use the “switch to this page” button which corresponds to your personal businesses Google+ page. Under the cover photo, use the “edit business information” button, scroll down, and click on the “category” section to allow editing. Finally, enter the categories from Google’s list that describe your business.

The whole process should take less than a half hour, and the result will be having your business appear higher in search results and particularly in targeted, relevant searches.

Keep an eye on how the algorithms change and particularly developments with Google+ Local. They are constantly changing and often are easy to adjust and take advantage of. Taking the time to update your page will increase visibility and provide a very high return on investment.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization. 

Receive a free SEO Report and Evaluation on your website.

Learn how to grow your SEO by using Article Submissions. Follow socigen on twitter.

The post Taking Advantage of Google+ Local Categories appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.

Lauren Rupar

As a graphic and web designer, I am a constant analyst of brands and company marketing. What you probably don’t know is: you are too. And more importantly: so are your (potential) clients.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all affected by the “look” of things. How your company, logo, colors, and products are presented — in ANY situation — is key to the success of your business.

When you go to the farmer’s market to purchase some fruit, how do you make your selection? Your eye scans the available produce and quickly analyzes which looks best. Then you pick one up, feel it, perhaps smell it, and check for bruises. Do you ever bother to pick up the one with the obvious bruise? Or the one with the worm hole on the side? Of course not. Your mind dismisses those options from the beginning.

The same is true of products and companies. Potential customers are more likely to “pick you up” if you look appealing at first glance.

Your colors, logo, and general branding are key to this success (or failure).

In some ways, how you brand your company doesn’t matter. The word “brand” literally means “identifying mark made by a hot iron,” as in the way cattle owners mark their herds. Every cattle owner has a unique symbol that is used to brand their cattle. They’re not fancy or creative — just unique and easy to identify.

While good branding does need to be aesthetically pleasing, in a certain sense it doesn’t really matter what your company logo looks like, as long as it is unique and easy to identify.

There’s nothing fancy about McDonald’s Golden Arches, and nothing about it says “buy a burger and fries here” but not a soul in the modern world doesn’t know what it means.

Often I hear people say: “So many companies have awful branding, or no branding at all and they are obviously succeeding.” To which I respond… but how much more could their business grow if they invested just a little (more) into their marketing? And, do you really know how much they’re succeeding? (From the outside they may seem successful, but who knows what the behind-the-scenes numbers might reveal.)

You cannot know how much business you’re truly missing out on when you’re missing good branding. Just a few hundred dollars invested into a good logo, a well-designed website and great product marketing can mean the difference between a semi-successful business that lasts a couple of years to a blow-out long-term business phenomenon.

Lauren Rupar established and runs J&L Studio.  Villanova educated, Lauren has been fascinated by digital creation for years. J&L Studio provides web design service and maintenance for individuals and small businesses

The post Why Your Company Needs a Brand – Business Branding Pays Off appeared first on SEO Company | Search Engine Optimization Company | Google+ Local SEO.