The SEO Scout

Use Social Media to Manage a Brand

HERE are 4 great start up tips for using social networks to brand your company!

1. Choosing an avatar – This is like a social “face” for your company. Don’t use anything to playful if you have a serious business. Use something classy and professional that reflects the nature of your brand.
2. Use consistent profile images – Be consistent with the profile picture, logo or avatar image that you implement. You want to be recognizable.
3. Be topical and timely – Keep an eye on the social market and what your industry buzz is. You want to be topical and relevant at all times with your post or status updates.
4. Have a mission – Don’t be a wanderer! Before you begin your social marketing or branding campaign, you should have a clearly defined mission and message you are trying to convey. 

Implement these basic steps and you’ll have a more effective and productive social marketing campaign. But remember that consistency is everything. If you don’t put the time in to nurture your social profiles and accounts, they will not be followed.

The SEO Scout

EverDream Web is a Denver SEO Company

How to Research Keywords for SEO.

I find that when I consult with clients a big part of the conversation assumes they know two really important things.

1. that they know where to go to research keywords to optimize on their site. 
2. that they know what to research

I might say something like, “Just look into that keyword and see if it gets many searches or has a lot of competition.” And then go on my merry way in the conversation.

I’m going to explain those two things today in a bit more detail.

WHERE TO RESEARCH KEYWORDS

If you do not have a Google account, go to this link to access Google’s amazing keyword research tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Type in the keyword or phrase that you would like to optimize. Or, for practice, type in “dog collars”. Enter the captcha code and hit “search”. Search results will appear that tell you three very important things:

1. The competition the keyword or phrase has. This shows you how many people are optimizing the word basically. The higher the competition for a keyword or phrase, the harder it’s going to be to get on the first page of Google’s search results with that phrase.
2. Global Monthly Searches: The average monthly searches over a period of 12 months for a keyword entered from anywhere in the world but on the google.co.uk website
3. Local monthly searches: The average monthly searches over a period of 12 months for a keyword entered on google.co.uk for the countries specified within the adword campaign settings

To Change the “Local” monthly search results, you can open the “Advanced Options and Filters” located just below the “Find Keywords” box. It will allow you to change the Location or languages you are researching. 

(Source: howtoresearchkeywords)

Top 3 Keyword Factors to Know When Making A Web Page

1. Keywords should be researched in Google’s keyword tool. This way you know whether or not people are searching for the keywords. Often, a keyword phrase we think would be good, is actually not. And when we look into it we see that people just aren’t searching for it like we thought. The good thing about Google’s Keyword tool is that it will recommend similar words that you can use and tell you how many searches are being done for it. Example:

I did a keyword tool search on “Screw driver kit”. It sounds like a good keyword to optimize if I sell sets of screw drivers. When researched, we see that it gets 3,600 searches a month globally.

Google Keywords recommended “screwdriver set” which gets over 33,000 searches. Not only was I using “kit” when I should have used “set”, but I was separating the word “screwdriver” into two words “screw driver”… which was hurting the results.  

Based on my findings in Google’s Keyword Tool, I will Optimize “screwdriver set”. Exactly as it appears in the results… any variations will change the keyword and therefore affect the results of my seo. So, I won’t do “sets” plural or anything like that.

2. On-page placement in the code. 

This is the web person’s job, but if you want to supervise them I’ll tell you what they should do. The keywords should go in the following places at the very least:

1. The title tags <title>Keywords here</title>
2. The Description meta tags. The keywords should be at the beginning of the description and the description should be kept to only one or two reasonably sized sentences.
3. The Keywords meta tags. Again, put the most important keywords at the beginning. Don’t try to put too many keywords in these meta tags. Keep it to under 10 keywords or keyword phrases if you can.
4. The Alt tags inside of an images code.

3. On-page placement in the content.

1. Header tags. These look like this <h1>Keywords here</h1> and are usually at the beginning of each section of the page. There are also<h2>, <h3> and so on. Don’t use the keyword phrase you are optimizing in all of them. Just one or two of the headings will do.
2. In about 2% of the content. So, for every 100 words, two should be the keyword phrase (assuming the keyword phrase consist of two words…)
3. At the footer of the page, after everything else, put the keyword on the page one last time to really drive home to the search engine that the page is really about the what the keyword is.
4. Somewhere in the content where you have worked your keyword phrase in, make it bold! Just once, and try not to make anything else bold if you can. This is super minor, but it could be the little thing that pushes you ahead of a competitor.

The SEO Scout

SEO Company

Talking to Search Engines is Like Talking To A 3 Year Old

Website SEO is like talking to a 3 year old. A Quick Analogy.

Let’s use the example of teaching a three year old NOT to touch fire. But let’s do it in terms of SEO. 

THE THREE YEAR OLD:

When you are trying to convey a lesson to a three year old you have to be very, very clear. You have got to stay on topic and remember that too many words will only befuddle and irritate them.

You start with the most important message, “Don’t Touch!!!” Then you might explain that fire is hot. Then reiterate, “don’t touch”. blah blah blah… “don’t touch”. When it’s all said and done, you close strong with… “So don’t touch!”

OK, search engines are EXACTLY THE SAME!

SEARCH ENGINES:

When you are talking to search engines, you use Keywords to get traffic. You tell the search engines what you are about with them… “Coffee shop”. You have to be very clear about what your page is about and not get distracted by talking about too many other things.

So, you take those keywords, “coffee shop”, and put them throughout your site, just like the conversation with the three year old. You open with them, as a header for a section of your content… and then you use them frequently in the content itself.

You do this so that the search engines will see the keywords and know what you’re about. Search engines are easily confused, so be clear with them! And whatever you do, finish strong! “Coffee Shop”! Put it at the end of your content and even at the very bottom of the page. 

If you have a good SEO guy, he’ll do the same thing with your code that you have done with your content!

Ciao

The SEO Scout

(Source: everdreamweb.com)

A Website Name - Domain Names Explained In Detail

A Website Name Can Make or Break Your First Year On the Internet!

In this blog, I want to clarify something that I am always writing about and it has come to my attention that I’m glossing over a very important part of it.

OK, I always tout the importance of a Domain name. I truly think it can make or break a new businesses first year on the web. And when I mention it, I always say to use keywords in the domain name that will get searched by people that you want to find you.

I re-read some of the blogs and I see that from the point of view of a beginner to the web, this is loaded with “fuzzy math”. The advice just assumes that the reader knows what I mean by “searched” and “find you” and “keywords”. So today I’ll break down the concept. Here goes:

“KEYWORDS” in your Domain Name

When you open your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome… or something like them) to view the Internet, or to “go online”, it will take you to whatever home page it takes you to. Let’s say though, that today you didn’t open the browser and go online to read whatever home page you have. Today, you are going online to find a sweater for your dog! So, at the top of the browser somewhere is a “search” box where you can type in your searches. You click on the box and type in “Dog Sweaters”. Those two words will be used by a search engine to bring you back results that will list websites that may help you in your quest for a new dog sweater. They are called keywords because they are words that are “key” in helping a business get found on the Internet when people do searches like this.

The search engine only wants to give you website links that are relevant to your search. If they do a good job, and you find what you want real fast, you will always use their search engine when you are looking for stuff. And when people use their search engine, they make money!

The search engine puts up a list of results for me. Websites that it thinks will be the best for me to visit to learn about “dog sweaters”, and today at the top of the list is petsmart.com. That’s really no surprise, because the words “dog sweaters” are all over their site in certain places and they have a lot of other dog related content on their site. Plus… their site gets a great deal of traffic, telling the search engine that other people like the site a lot and find it useful, so you might also.

OK, so here’s the lesson! Petsmart.com does NOT have the words “dog sweaters” in their domain name. Their domain name is just Petsmart.com. So why are they number one in the search results? Because they have a massive site with a great deal of content related to dogs and the sweaters they wear AND they have a lot of traffic. It would take a lot to rank higher than petsmart.com when it comes to any keywords that are pet related. But… if you look down on page one near the bottom (at least on this day) there is a domain named chillydogsweaters.com. 

That site, chillydogsweaters.com, has NO business being on page one. It’s a modest site that looks like it was made by a business owner or on a shoestring budget at best. And it has no real SEO work that I can detect at first glance, yet it is on the first page of results given to me by Google when I searched “dog sweaters”. The ONLY reason this site is on page one is because the words “dog sweaters” are in the actual domain name. Google and the other search engines give a lot of weight to that. They figure that no one is more about dog sweaters than the people who actually bought a domain name with the words in it! And they are right 99% of the time. Really, why would anyone buy a domain name with those words in them unless they had at least something to do with dog sweaters.

Because the good folks at Chillydogsweaters.com had the good sense to buy that domain name, they are on page 1 of the search results for the keyword phrase “dog sweaters”. Anytime anyone in the world searches for dog sweaters, they will see that link and might click on it. They are probably getting big numbers of visitors to their website because they are on page one of Googles search results for the keyword phrase “dog sweaters”! 

Now, you can apply this logic to literally anything. My friend is a motivational speaker and he has the words “motivational speaker” in his domain name! 

I hope this helps explain why it is so critical to think through the process of buying your domain name. If you have more questions, use the “Ask The SEO Scouts” button at the top of this page and shoot me the question. I’ll answer as best I can!

All the best,

The SEO Scout

Visit our sites to learn more about Domain Names, Website Hosting & Custom SEO Websites

How To Do A Website In A Day: A Numbered List

How to do a website! The question that has stumped millions and made web guys like me a living. Well, anymore, putting up a website does not require a degree in “thinkology” (is that what the Wizard called it when he gave the Scarecrow his diploma?). It just requires a checklist and a website to go to! Here’s your list:

1. Go to a domain registrar (some places to start are linked below)
2. Search for your domain name (www.yourdomainname.com), and buy a “.com” if you can. If you can’t get the name you want with the extension “.com”, get “.net”. Don’t get anything but one of those two extensions.
3. Enter your information, the information you enter is used in what is known as the “whois” (as in “who is”) database. This tells the Internet who owns the domain name. So you should use your real and accurate info, not an alias.
4. Choose how many years you want to buy. You save money when you order more than one year. A good place to start is with a 5 year purchase.
5. Then they want to sell you privacy and domain protection. You probably don’t need this, but it can be added later easily. Unless you KNOW you need it, skip this step for now.
6. Next is Email. It’s a GREAT idea to add email because this is the email that has your domain name on it. I.E. you@yourdomainname.com. That looks professional, so get email if you can, it’s inexpensive and important.
7. Just under the Email is Hosting. Buy a hosting account, it is where you will store the files that are your website. A domain name without a hosting account is like an address without a house. Get the economy unless you KNOW you need the deluxe.
8. Carts. Are you selling something? If you are, hooking up your site to a cart is a nightmare, so take advantage of the built in cart and ecommerce systems. If you are not selling something directly on your site, do not choose a cart.

That’s it. Time to checkout! You now have a domain name for 5 years, a hosting account and email and all for about $130. There are website building aids in your new account that will walk you through the process of making your own site. Most people can do this even with no web expertise at all. If you get this far and get stumped, the hosting provider can assist you with the set up. There’s 24/7 support and all you have to do is call! The call is free and you will be moving forward in no time ~

All of these services are here: everdreamsites.com 

If you want to add a marketing plan, go here and call the number on the screen: everdreamweb.com

The SEO Scout

A Website Name - How Important it is and How to Get It?

Your website name (domain name) may well be the single most important part of your pressence as a business on the Internet. If you don’t have a domain name already, you should look into getting one. Here are a few pointers on the subject:

Domain Names are the thing that tell a person surfing the web what the name of your company is, or what you are selling or providing. Therefore, while you are choosing a domain name it is NOT the time to be clever or funny, unless ‘clever’ or ‘funny’ is what you are selling or will help people find you. In most cases, a domain name needs to serve a higher purpose, it needs to GET YOU FOUND.

First and foremost, buy a domain name that contains the search terms people will use when trying to find you. With that in mind, here’s some tips:

1. If your company name is what you intend to brand on the internet, buy a domain that has your company name in it. For example, if your company is named Oliver Twist Dance Academy, a variation of that name would be a good domain. Maybe, “www.olivertwistdance.com”. I took off the “Academy” because it’s a lot to type in. You have to consider that. Don’t make your domain too long, the shorter the better. Caution, if people don’t know your company name, they won’t be searching for it! You’ll have to do some serious networking or SEO before the name gets out there.
2. If your services are how you’d like to be found, you should name your domain whatever people are searching for to find that service. For example, the Oliver Twist Dance Academy teaches people how to do the “twist”. So they might buy a domain like, “www.learntotwist.com”. Caution, do a little research and be sure people are really looking for that term “learn to twist”. Because if no one is looking for it, well… then no one will look for it. You might find something similar that is getting searched for and opt for that instead. Use a keyword research tool like Google’s Keyword Tool to do some research on what is and what isn’t getting searched for. If that just sounds to mind boggling to do, call an SEO company like everdreamweb.com to advise you or even do the research for you. If you know someone in the business, call them! Talking to someone you can trust is key when you are making big decisions like this that will have a long lasting impact on your business.
3. If you want to cast a bigger net, you might try buying a domain that contains general words that you just KNOW are getting searched, like “www.citydance.com”, replacing the word “city” with your city’s name. This is a great way to go, but there are two problems that could come up. One, the domain name might be taken because it has such popular words in it. Two, if the words are popular they will probably have a lot of competition on the Internet, so rising in the search engine rankings might be tough or require the assistance of an SEO company.

Yep. A website name can make or break you. So choose your domain name with care and consult a professional before you do it because it may be that they have some insight you can benefit from. I have personally seen businesses fail because of a bad domain name (really, really long) and then SEO work done to push the name of the website, not the services. All of that hard SEO work went to waste because no one was typing in the name of that company as a search term. A little good advice could have gone a really long way with them.

Have some fun looking up domain names at everdreamsites.com and if you have any questions, give us a hollar at info@everdreamweb.com or just click on the “Ask” link at the top of this page!

All the best

The SEO Scout

Making sense of Domains, Hosting and Websites

Making sense of Domains, Hosting and Websites

Internet Business 101

AN INTRODUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS TAKING A BUSINESS TO THE WEB

For some, getting a domain name and a hosting account for your website is easy. For others, it’s as mysterious and hard to understand as Ozzy Osbourne. It’s this second group which I would like to address today.

When I am describing the process of starting up a web business I like to use the analogy of a brick and mortar business that is being ran out of a real store front. Maybe a store front that is in a strip mall. That’s something we can all relate to and understand. And I like to point out that having an internet business is just the same as having a store in the real world. Here’s the analogy

1. EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS AN ADDRESS

A brick and mortar business

If you want to go to buy something, and it’s at a business you’ve never been to before, you are going to need to know where to go. For this, you will look up the address of the business. Let’s say that what you need is an organic widget and that the business that sells them is called Organic Widgets, Inc.

You do your homework and look up the location to learn that it’s located at 1234 Main St. Super! Now you know the name of the business and where it is! You can finally get that organic widget you’ve had your eyes on!!! You go there and a big sign over the building says “Organic Widgets”. Yes! You are in the right place.

An internet business

If you would like to go to a website and look for something, you will also need an address. An address on the Internet is called either a URL, or a Domain. And the domain name for that same widget company is WeSellOrganicWidgets.com. Now you know where to go.

You see, the brick and mortar store has somewhere to put all of there stuff (a building) and a big sign over the building that says their name. This way their customers can find them and come shop… a website is no different. But rather than keeping their stuff in a “building”, they keep it in a “website”. And instead of a big sign over the website, they have a domain name. One of the first things you should do is to purchase a domain name and a good rule is to name it something that is directly related to your product or service.

So, the store in the real world has a building. The store on the Internet has a website like the one to the right. It’s that simple.

You are going to want to hire a website design and development company that can design and “build” your website for you.

2. EVERY BUSINESS NEEDS TO “BE” SOMEWHERE

A brick and mortar business

When you are driving up to the Organic Widgets store you see that it is in a building. Well that’s no surprise, after all, they have to keep all of those wonderful widgets somewhere. So a piece of real estate was used to build the store on.

An Internet business

An Internet business does not need a plot of land since it is just a bunch of computer files, so it is kept in what is called a Hosting account. Think of a hosting account as a piece of virtual real estate. This hosting account is where the files are stored that will tell people’s computers what to show when the website is viewed on their computers. 

SUMMARY

I hope this helps to understand how companies are put on the Internet. Once you understand the general mechanics of having a website on the Internet, you can focus on the concept of marketing on the Internet so that people will FIND your site!

EverDream Sites is our NEW business site. We not only offer custom web design and SEO (search engine optimization) programs, but also Domain Names, Hosting Accounts, Carts, Email and everything else a company could ever need to build a successful business on the web!

The SEO Scouts