Category: Search Engine Optimization

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Not Making Videos? Now’s the Time to Reconsider

It's easy to get started with videos.
It’s easy to get started with videos.

With organic results being pushed down below the fold, with the shrinking space on mobile screens leaving nearly no room after ads, how can you get your website to show for organic or unpaid searches?

It is simple, use videos posted on YouTube which Google will preferentially index and show over videos posted with Flash or other video applications embedded back on your website.

The key take away on this is that YouTube is a Google property. Google loves to promote and link to content in its own network as ads can be shown and therefore it pads its own pockets. Plus Google likes and understands that users want video and so shows them mixed in with the organic results very frequently. We are a visual world!

Your YouTube video that you do to explain, illustrate, or showcase a product may be the way that new customers will find your business and enter your website.

Videos you post to YouTube do not need to be works of art, but solve a problem, talk to a need, and do not even need to be long. Just grab your smartphone and start recording. You can receive value from 20 to 30 second videos or how to videos.

I like to post these types of videos to YouTube plus archive them via the embed code back on my own website, getting double duty of new fresh content and ways for clients to view – on my site or full screen over at YouTube.

I think that for businesses struggling to get organic placement in the new no-ad-sidebar Google world that video will play a strong part in getting future traffic.

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Google Gets Serious About Mobile in New Announcement

Smartphones are here to stay make sure your website is mobile friendly.
Smartphones are here to stay make sure your website is mobile-friendly.

Just this past week Google announced that it was ramping up its organic sorting algorithm to enhance placement for mobile-friendly websites. The flip side of that is that sites that are not mobile-friendly will be getting pushed down in the listings.

Google did not a big caveat… If the site that is not mobile-friendly is the most relevant to the search query , it, the not mobile-friendly site may still be preferentially shown.

In lay terms, this announcement means that Google is totally jacked up on mobile and it is big business for them based on search trends and user demographics. Google has simply stated that having a mobile-friendly website is now no longer an after thought, but the new way to do business on the web.

What I know is that when Google says something, you’ve just got to listen. With many of our clients having over 50% of their website traffic from smartphones and more than 50% of AdWords clicks coming in from mobile devices, you’ve got to embrace the mobile experience. It is here to stay.

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Domain Masking or 301 Redirect?

Hit the mark with a strategy for visibility.
Hit the mark with a strategy for visibility.

It’s important to know as a website owner for SEO purposes what is happening with your site and server set up.  Although you may want to trust your SEO consultant, there are a few things that you need to know just to keep them in check.

Domain Masking

If you have multiple website properties, I find it better to point domains versus setting up domain masking.  I think it is important to have a parent domain clearly defined by having your website files reside there.  Although others may love domain masking, I think it confuses visitors. I recommend keeping your brand clear to search engines and visitors.

301 Redirects

For some larger sites and those that are managed properties, multiple domains may be controlled with A Name Records and use 301 redirects. Before your SEO consultants starts recommending tactics, make sure that they are clear on how your site is set up. If you don’t know, ask them to call your tech support provider or review your web hosting control panel.

Although you as a business owner don’t want to or need to be bogged down in details. It is important to have at least a working knowledge of what will be done to your site in an effort to improve placement.

Looking for a savvy consultant to help position your site and boost online visibility? I invite you to visit our website to learn more about our services.

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Hacking Explained – Why You Are Targeted

You can recover from a hack.
You can recover from a hack.

It’s the worst case scenario, you get a note from Google saying it looks like you’ve been hacked. Your website now has a tag on Google that says “this site has been hacked”, your traffic has plummeted and sales are way off. Why you!

Not all hacking is about stealing credit card information. Sometimes a hack is about stealing your traffic and your SEO juice. Only sites that are well-placed and popular are targeted for this type of hack.

The hackers know that you are doing something right and have Google’s attention and they want a piece of that action for their own benefit. What hackers will typically do in this case is to sneak in via WordPress and then move directly into your website, installing snippets of code that create folders on your server and a brand new XML site map full of spammy links pointing to websites that they are wanting to improve the placement on with Google.

Try to just delete the folder and you’re fine, think again. These scripts are propagating. Delete a folder and it will be back tomorrow in a new location with a new name. Plus the hackers will be logging in to add more junk and update their benefiting site list. It is all done to bleed off your traffic and steal the SEO juice you have.

The only way to solve this type of problem is by brute force. You’ll need to take everything down, wipe it clean and then reload only clean files plus a full new fresh update of all WordPress files. You may even have to clean your WordPress database and manually review each and every website page you put back.

When you do, make sure you are hardening your security, updating passwords and deleting files you don’t need where code may be hiding. These are smart, tricky, and unscrupulous people. They are not targeting you but for any other reason that your website is well-placed and popular.