One of the worst things a self-respecting SEO can do is feel out of control. “It doesn’t matter what I do, Google will decide how my site ranks in the end.” That’s dangerous talk, for sure. There are plenty of straight-forward tasks that every site owner can perform to take control of their SEO destiny (or rankings if you prefer). Of those tasks, the creation and correct implementation of a robots.txt file is of extreme importance.

What …

Even when colleagues and competitors are taking advantage of the benefits of SEO, some companies still haven’t even considered making room in the budget. But why? Well, many businesses are discouraged by the common misconception that if you don’t sell online, you won’t see a benefit from building your presence and visibility online. The reason for this myth is a basic misunderstanding of online shopping—searchers are not all focused on the transaction!

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SEO is continuing to gain a lot of interest.  However, this interest is generating more and more people trying to cash in on the interest and pose as SEO experts.  A lot of people come out and advertise ways to beat the system and rank higher using secrets contained in a pricey e-book.  Last week was really annoying in talking with these “experts.”  Within a couple days, I was accosted by posers (to borrow a term from the …

First things first, what are meta keywords? Meta keywords are keywords that SEO advertisers use  in the code of their site to drive traffic and increase their site rankings organically. Don’t get meta keywords confused with meta titles, aka page titles or meta description. These are two different aspects of SEO that are important and should be included in your SEO strategy.

Why you shouldn’t bother using meta keywords? A quick answer, the search engines don’t put as much weight on …

If you’re like me, addicted to internet marketing, I find I can never get enough information.  I’m always looking for the next cool trick, something someone else did that worked that I might be able to try too or just a juicy tidbit of info about a new start-up in the industry.  I’m always on the hunt!

Despite the topic I’m searching for, ultimately I’m searching for great content.  Sure I use Google Reader to organize the blogs and websites I …

• Planning for an SEO campaign is a complex process.  Thankfully, SEOs like Matt McGee break down that process into more easily digested steps.  I particularly agree with Matt’s first step:  SET GOALs.  Hard to get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going!
• This list from Search Engine People puts together the top 25 most powerful directories.  Excluded from the list are the “expensive” directories like Yahoo! or BOTW, which means this list will give you more bang for …
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‘Tis the season to go shopping online! By mid-November, many ecommerce marketers are looking at the downhill ride of the year—and no, I promise I don’t mean sales declines. You’ve prepped, planned and plotted all year for this. All your planning is about to be put into action and now is the time that many ecommerce marketers sit back and watch what happens. Certainly nothing is dismissed or ignored, but you’ve done most everything that can be done and now …

A big part of building a site for On-Page SEO is the utilization of keywords.  Finding the right niche for your services and exploiting the right keyword competition rewards you in dominating the ranks better, but how long will the keywords overall perform?

Enter Google Trends.

Google Trends shows you how often certain search terms have been searched on Google over the past few years. Measuring the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) alongside a good trend can give you more confidence in ranking higher and more consistently because the …

It’s time to get ranked for the keywords that are relevant to your business.  While this can seem like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be when you follow these simple steps!

Making a list of the keywords you should rank for is the first step.  Take the “work” out of  it by just sitting down and brainstorming with your team.  If you have a sales team, bring them in on the action too.  Find out …

Have you ever been to a store and had just awful service? A sales person ignores you, or worse, is outright rude? Maybe you had to send back your meal at a restaurant three times because your food was cold? It’s happened to all of us at some point and, if you’re like me, ten minutes after you’ve left the store or paid the check at the restaurant, you’ve come up with …