We were reading SEOmoz’s 6 Keyword Research Mistakes post this morning, and since we love visual cues when it comes to Search Engine Optimization, we thought we should show off this Keyword Matrix from Skyrocket.
SEOmoz identifies the keyword categories in their post:
Question marks – these are keywords in areas where growth is likely but at present you’re not getting the performance you’d expect. These are very often untapped keyword opportunities and you should plan how you are going to improve performance on these kinds of keywords.
Stars – high-performance keywords and loads of room for growth – find ways to capitalise on growth. My advice is to focus your resources of gaining results in these areas for maximum ROI in a short period of time.
Dogs – the poor performing keywords with little or no chance of growth – bin these in favour of other keywords, reallocate any resources to other areas.
Cash cows – the high performing keywords that show little opportunity for growth – look for ways to enhance and maintain performance whilst identifying patterns and translating this learning to other areas or verticals
We found this little matrix helpful in determining which keywords to optimize, pairing it with Google’s Keyword Research tool. For more on how to generate great keywords, check out our post on choosing better keywords. Keywords play a large role in search engine optimization, and are a key factor in social media marketing. Having the right combination of keywords will generate hits, increase traffic and drive sales.
In trying to keep visitors on your site, knowing your bounce rate is half the battle. It can be difficult to determine how your bounce rate is calculated and which factors affect your bounce rate. We found this cool infographic from KissMetrics that shows which factors you can work on to retain visitors, and it even shows the industry standard for your industry. Check it out!
Keywords play a large role in search engine optimization, and are a key factor in social media marketing. Having the right combination of keywords will generate hits, increase traffic and drive sales; however, it’s not always easy to determine which keywords are right for you, and where your keywords aren’t packing a punch. At Rory Martin, we specialize in helping business come up with relevant keywords that drive traffic to their site. We do the research so businesses don’t have to.
- Ask yourself: What would my customers search for?
This seems relatively easy enough. If a customer would find your services by searching “freelance writer Los Angeles”, put that on your list. Your keywords might be words your competitors use or words that are industry specific. Think up simple terms and phrases that specifically target your site or business, but know that using one word is going to decrease the likelihood that your site will stand out in a crowd.
You will get higher search engine ranking by choosing a mix of specific longer phrases, and general targeted keywords. Look at the breakdown of search terms as they show up on Google:
Number of Google Matches
Term
11,600,000
writer
1,200,000
real estate writer
48,000
freelance real estate writer
9,000
freelance real estate writer los angeles
Source: WebsiteHelpers.com
You’re going to have an easier time getting click throughs if you narrow it down a little – by adding your location, but be cautious about being too specific. For example using “Neon Helmet Tacoma WA” won’t drive people to your site. Phrases that are just too specific may offer you the #1 slot on Google, but still won’t deliver the clicks you’re looking for, because they’re not keywords that people would search for. Ranking #1 on terms that nobody is searching for is just as bad as ranking #300 for terms that everybody is searching for. You can’t get the traffic if people aren’t using your search terms, no matter how well you’re ranked.
When you have a list of possible keywords, check out tools like Google’s Keyword Tool, that will help you determine whether or not people are actually searching for those keywords, by populating a list of terms related to the keyword you entered. Look for targeted keywords, and specific phrases that are relevant to your business and your industry.
Search Engine Optimization through keyword analysis is one of the most effective ways to increase targeted traffic to your web site. At RoryMartin.com, we put our Seattle Search Engine Optimization experts to work to research your target audience, determine what keywords they are searching on, and then make sure, through proven search engine optimization tactics, that your web site is the one they find.
Navigating the new marketing landscape means knowing which marketing tactics are effective, and which tactics are outdated. Improving the visibility of your website has become a marketing priority, yet it can be frustrating since competition for rankings is intense. As many businesses lack the time or cashflow to continuously monitor, report and adjust their strategy, the results of many social media marketing campaigns are often poor. If you’re struggling to boost your page rank, you may need to adapt your SEO and social media strategy to reflect the new trends in social media marketing and search engine optimization.
If you’re not embracing social media as a business, you’re missing out on one of the biggest marketing tools available. Using tools like Facebook and Twitter actually boost your search engine rankings, making your website more visible to search engines like Google. Consider how much content is shared on Facebook each day – users spend approximately 22% of their Internet time in social media, making social media a priority for any company that wants to be visible.
Of course, just hiring an intern may not do the trick. While social media can be a valuable marketing campaign tool, it’s often a commitment. Hiring a professional will ensure that you get the best results from your brand’s digital communications. You want someone who can represent your brand and company, not just the message behind your brand. Social media has become an avenue for customer service, sales inquiries and ongoing questions – you want someone who understands your audience, and can think out of the box in a way that is both specific and familiar to your client base.
Hiring a professional will ensure that your message, and your core product do not get lost in a sea of irrelevant information. Anyone who’s been on the web knows just how much junk the web holds – having a true professional on your team will ensure that your relevant keywords and terms drive traffic to your page. A professional can tell you which information to include and which information is irrelevant. They can help you streamline your content, showing off your product’s benefits in a straightforward way. A social media professional can also help you determine terms that are broad and wide reaching, and help you optimize key words and phrases so that your site gets a good SEO ranking.
Content is still key on the web, and having someone who knows your brand, your clients and your company will ensure that users come to your website because you are an authority. Social media is all about providing something of value to your customers. You need interesting and relevant content, you need high-quality inbound and outbound links. You need customer interaction that is fun and info-rich. Monitoring industry key words and phrases will continually provide feedback on what your customer or audience is interested in, making a tailored social media strategy easier to attain.
RoryMartin.com is that secret weapon that will revolutionize the way you engage with your clients and end-users. We offer a comprehensive set of services from website design and web development to search engine optimization and search engine marketing and social media marketing. If you need creative ideas, easy implementation, and a limited investment into your social media campaign, RoryMartin.com has experts available to assess your needs, provide excellent customer service and innovative marketing tactics before you’ve even signed a contract.
There are a lot of tips out there on how to create effective copy for your website – especially for businesses who maintain a blog, regarding their services. Of course, these guides may be incomplete and often overly general. Fortunately, we’ve written down our favorite tips for generating effective copy that will drive traffic to your site, showing your business’s authority in your industry.
- Make sure your content is easy to read.
Keyword stuffing, technical jargon, and long-winded posts are often indicators of poor copy. These problems will make your website’s copy hard to read, especially since most web users scan web pages rather than read them word for word. To make your content easy to read, try using fewer words, simple terms, highlighted keywords, and bulleted lists. Another tip – try writing in inverted pyramid style, like you’d find in a newspaper. Try writing your conclusion first, then back it up with the details.
- Your copy should reflect your audience.
Be familiar with your audience – is there a common tone or style of writing that your audience expects to see? Think about how you’d tell someone about your product in a conversational way – you’re giving your reader tips (tips from Me to YOU). Highlight the benefits (not the features) of using your product. Include answers about what the product does. Write for how people will search for your page, using words your target audience would use to look for your services. Offer solutions, be entertaining and informative, grab your readers’ attention, use bold (but not cheesy) headings and brief explanations. And don’t just rely on keywords – use words that elicit emotion and action from potential customers.
- Avoid dense copy with no breaks.
Smaller chunks surrounded by white space are visually easier to digest. The use of effective headings is one great way to break content into chunks, using boldface type for emphasis. When using headings remember a few things: keep them to eight words or less; include important keywords; avoid the use of adjectives and prepositions (and, a, the, of); be clear and concise, avoiding wordy, wishy-washy phrases. Headings are great because you can place them on your homepage as a link to content, or use them in title tags around your links.
- Don’t let your website become a dead end.
Offer links to other information in your industry, and build relationships so that other sites link to you. Often, search engines like Google are based on their ability to find you from links on other sites. The web is all about being inter-linked.
- If you’re stuck, hire a professional.
RoryMartin.com has a team of Seattle Search Engine Optimization and keyword experts who can help you draft engaging copy that reaches out to your audience. We help clients educate their markets and build brand awareness while winning and retaining customers with engaging and impactful websites and web marketing.
We found something cool today – from the folks over at SearchEngineLand, who say:
Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals.
They put together the Periodic Table of SEO to help readers get a visual idea of what goes into producing the right ranking factors that make your website shine. At Rory Martin, we take all the factors into consideration when we’re building a strategy forSEO, online marketing and social media management. Since we often talk about how important SEO and Keywords are to your website’s value, we figured you (our readers) would be interested in this graphic too! (Click the image for a larger view)
There is a common misconception among business owners as to the value of business blogging. Many believe that they do not have time to effectively implement a Social Media Marketing campaign or that there is little return on investment. RoryMartin.com a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing can help you build a marketing strategy that reflects your unique brand and meets your business goals.
A corporate blog is a marketing asset and therefore, an asset to your business. Properly executed, a blog will continue to drive traffic and leads to your business over time and should be viewed just like Search Engine Optimization, a due diligence process that is not a short term experiment, but a long term investment.
There are many reasons to consider a business blog. By delivering fresh, compelling, keyword-rich, original content you will bring users back to your site on a regular basis, helping increase awareness for your brand and driving your site up in ranking. In addition to gaining search engine ranking and generating leads, blogs engage your current customers and place you in a position to provide thought leadership to your industry, strengthening your brand.
Optimizing a blog that engages customers and prospects while furthering your company’s mission and business objectives, is much like optimizing a website. By implementing search engine optimization, your blog can rank much higher than static website pages in the search engine results. Over time, this drives up the ranking of your company website.
In order to measure Social Media ROI you must define clear measurable goals. RoryMartin.com’s online marketing campaigns deliver both measurable revenue as well as ancillary brand building benefits for your company. It is important to understand the value of a visitor. Each visitor becomes one of three things; a browser, an influencer or a transacting customer. A transacting customer delivers immediate financial impact which can be measured as ROI. Browsers and influencers are measured as ancillary even though they directly affect your financial bottom line, just not in the immediate sense. Their value falls into the category of non-actualized potential.
Some of the most substantial benefits of a social media campaign will be difficult to measure directly. There is no concrete financial value that can be assigned to reputation management, branding and customer service. However, every business owners knows those values are indispensable.
Digital marketing is gaining traction in a number of industries, and business-to-business (B2B) marketers are in on that trend, too. Increased spending on online marketing is driving companies to try new and innovative means of getting the word out about their products and services — one area that’s getting a lot of buzz with B2B marketers is social media.
As a Seattle Web Design company that specializes in Seattle Search Engine Optimization and Seattle Social Media Marketing, we wanted to share some of the following case studies which lend insight into how B2B marketers can use social media to generate leads, improve SEO, become knowledge sources, and strengthen marketing campaigns.
Generate Leads
There are two types of marketing departments — those that are cost centers and those that bring in leads and sales. Generally, the better positioned marketing department is the one that can prove it’s bringing in money, not spending it without results. When adding social media into the mix, marketing departments must be able to prove success, and oftentimes lead generation and ROI are two measurements that upper management wants to see.
Regus, a global provider of workplace solutions, recently experimented with using social media for lead generation. While the brand has a strong presence throughout the world, there was a lack of awareness in the NYC area about the convenient services and business solutions that the company has to offer.
They integrated campaign that combined social media, online video, an online sweepstakes and in-person events. The team focused on creating communities for NYC professionals, which resulted in a @RegusNYC Twitter feed and a Facebook Page. Along with these social accounts, the “Win an Office” sweepstakes was a great source of leads, as well. Lastly, the team put together New York-specific commercials, which were uploaded to YouTube. The one embedded above, for example, currently has more than 33,000 views.
Overall, this highly integrated campaign was a success unlike any other Regus had seen. The campaign increased leads to Regus’ Manhattan locations by 30%, directly resulting in a 114% increase in revenue compared to the same time period in the previous year. Furthermore, there was a 33% percent conversion rate on leads generated through the New York landing page, compared to a 12% conversion rate on 2008. The success of the campaign also prompted Regus to have Affect implement similar campaigns in five additional markets in Q1 of 2010.
Improve SEO
During the past year, Delivra, an e-mail marketing service provider, has invested in B2B social media marketing, including presences on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a corporate blog, dubbed eMailChatr. Since implementing and maintaining these properties, the company has seen a 70% increase in inbound leads, as compared to the prior year, and its SEO rankings for major keywords have jumped over 20 pages in one year.
In this case, a blog full of useful and targeted content, enhanced by syndication across various social sites and subsequent interactions with its community, led to Delivra increasing SEO and growing a reputation for trusted e-mail marketing advice.
Carissa Newton, Delivra’s director of marketing, recommends that B2B marketers “Be realistic about your goals with social media and blogging — while these outlets can and will drive leads, there are other intangible benefits as well, like the SEO and brand awareness that make a tremendous difference.” She also stresses, “Make sure that whatever you do, it is not with the sole intention to push information out … [T]ake the time to respond and have meaningful conversations. That will increase your following tenfold. It’s just like e-mail marketing: Don’t be a blaster. Be a resource.”
Be a Knowledge Source
A global, mid-size market research and consulting firm, uses social media to increase its reach within the market research community, demonstrate thought leadership, and increase the likelihood of being found via the Internet .
“In the past nine months alone we have seen huge successes through the combination of blogging, Twitter, Facebook, online press releases, downloadable reports/case studies and Linkedin,” he explained. “The efforts have resulted in huge increases to traffic on our website (142%) and blog (308%) resulting in over 1,400 leads coming in to our sales team.”
Consistency in providing a source of useful resources has been key for the company. “Consistently creating relevant content to your blog, Twitter followers, [and] Facebook fans will help to grow your following,” he says, “but this takes time and commitment. Don’t go it alone. Build a team of regular contributors to contribute on a consistent basis.”
Search is a natural starting point for discovering the world’s information, and we strive to bring you the freshest, most comprehensive and relevant search results over an ever expanding universe of content on the multitude of devices you use to access it.
That’s why today, at the Computer History Museum, we’re excited to share a few new innovations in the areas of real-time, mobile and social search that we feel are important steps in the evolution of information access.
First, we’re introducing new features that bring your search results to life with a dynamic stream of real-time content from across the web. Now, immediately after conducting a search, you can see live updates from people on popular sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as headlines from news and blog posts published just seconds before. When they are relevant, we’ll rank these latest results to show the freshest information right on the search results page.
Try searching for your favorite TV show, sporting event or the latest development on a recent government bill. Whether it’s an eyewitness tweet, a breaking news story or a fresh blog post, you can find it on Google right after it’s published on the web.
Here’s how it looks:
Our real-time search enables you to discover breaking news the moment it’s happening, even if it’s not the popular news of the day, and even if you didn’t know about it beforehand. For example, in the screen shot, the big story was about GM’s stabilizing car sales, which shows under “News results.” Nonetheless, thanks to our powerful real-time algorithms, the “Latest results” feature surfaces another important story breaking just seconds before: GM’s CEO stepped down.
Click on “Latest results” or select “Latest” from the search options menu to view a full page of live tweets, blogs, news and other web content scrolling right on Google. You can also filter your results to see only “Updates” from micro-blogs like Twitter, FriendFeed, Jaiku and others. Latest results and the new search options are also designed for iPhone and Android devices when you need them on the go, be it a quick glance at changing information like ski conditions or opening night chatter about a new movie — right when you’re in line to buy tickets.
And, as part of our launch of real-time on Google search, we’ve added “hot topics” to Google Trends to show the most common topics people are publishing to the web in real-time. With this improvement and a series of other interface enhancements, Google Trends is graduating from Labs.
Our real-time search features are based on more than a dozen new search technologies that enable us to monitor more than a billion documents and process hundreds of millions of real-time changes each day. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our new partners that we’re announcing today: Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed, Jaiku and Identi.ca — along with Twitter, which we announced a few weeks ago.
The new features will be rolling out in the next few days and will be available globally in English. You can try them out today by visiting Google Trends and clicking on a “hot topic,” which in most cases will bring you to a search results page with the new real-time feature.
Here’s a first look at our real-time search:
We have also made some new strides with mobile search. Today’s sensor-rich smartphones are redefining what “query” means. Beyond text, you can now search by a number of new modes including voice, location and sight — all from a mobile device. So we’ve been working to improve technology that takes advantage of these capabilities.
Starting today, we’re extending our voice search capabilities on Android devices to recognize Japanese. In addition, we’re using the location of your mobile phone to launch some helpful features, like showing you “what’s nearby.” Finally, at our event this morning, we demonstrated Google Goggles, a visual search application that lets you search for objects using images rather than words, using your camera phone. For more information on these mobile innovations, check out the Google Mobile Blog.
As we’ve written before, search is still an unsolved problem and we’re committed to making it faster and easier for people to access a greater diversity of information, delivered in real-time, from across the web. I’m tremendously excited about these significant new real-time search features.
During the past year, Delivra, an e-mail marketing service provider, has invested in B2B social media marketing, including presences on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a corporate blog, dubbed eMailChatr. Since implementing and maintaining these properties, the company has seen a 70% increase in inbound leads, as compared to the prior year, and its SEO rankings for major keywords have jumped over 20 pages in one year.
