How do I get better rankings on Google?
Well the easy answer to “How do I get better rankings on Google / search engines) is hire someone who knows what they’re doing to get it done for you, but since you’re reading this I’m guessing you don’t fit into that category (for whatever reason!). Therefore I’ll try helping you with a bit of direction.
There are two major categories when it comes to ‘optimisation’; onpage and offpage optimisation…
Onpage search engine optimization (structure)
This is fairly basic and comes down to structure. Google was written by a human so think how you would analyze what a page is about and simply do the same. Headings, titles, words in bold or italics are all important!
OffPage optimisation (external linking strategy)
This becomes a little more difficult to do without the necessary knowledge and knowhow.
In simple terms Google sees incoming links into a website as ‘votes’ for that web page. It makes sense; why else would I place a link on my website to your website unless I valued the content on your site? Thus Google sees these as valuable. As to just how valuable the various links are that could be another entire blog post worth but for now just think of them as ‘votes’.
The link must be placed on keyword terms, this way Google knows that the linking page values your page for “X” information.
Internal linking strategy
The links within your website are also noted by Google and these can also lend weight to a certain keyword strategy.
Find me on Twitter: Ian_Ximungwe
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: enquiries@wsims.co.za
Social media – Internet marketing
“Social Media” is currently making its way into the list of ‘buzz words’ people like to use when talking about the Internet in general and Internet marketing in particular. A number of people aren’t really sure what social media is though. I’ll give you my definition.
My Definition:
Social media is all the different programs or platforms that allow people to communicate on a social level on the Internet today. Some are more popular than others and others not even worth talking about at the moment. Some are huge in other area’s but most of us haven’t heard of them (eg. Qzone, China, it has more people on it than Facebook). Lets concentrate on the ones we know. Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogs, Twitter and the like.
Social media, interact with your audience
Social media marketing is a mystery to most as it is a very subtle means of creating brand and product awareness, the same way you would in an social situation. Purely by engaging and being interesting, creating a ‘bond’ and if the person is interested they might ask what you do! Social media is the ‘word of mouth’ section of Internet marketing. Its about interacting and advising Just as you would in any other social environment. Its not about selling, please understand this. Social media is not a sales tool and will not work for you if you try to use it as one! You can create a very effective network with which you can communicate and inform, but please don’t sell everything you can think of to them!
Social media as a ‘sounding board’
Social media can be a very good sounding board for concepts and idea’s. You can also gauge the public’s opinion and pick up on sentiments quite easily and in these area’s it can be hugely useful.
Find me on Twitter: Ian_Ximungwe
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: enquiries@wsims.co.za
Internet Marketing – Organic Optimisation
I choose to use the term ‘organic optimisation’ for a specific reason, in this context it is a little bit of an oxy-moron, but so be it!
“Organic” because it’s the supposed ‘natural’ search and I suppose when you compare it to “Pay-Per-Click” optimisation it is. It is however manipulate able, if you know what you’re doing and how Google works out why page X ranks before page Y and how come.
Lay out your page logically
Once you have this knowledge you can apply it to your website and thus gain ranking positions, its that simple really. Google is a programme written by a person so think about how you would work out what a page is about and apply that to the page you’re writing. Lay it out properly and you’re half way there already!
Anyone can do that so that’s not all it can be about can it….
Well no. Quality incoming links are also vital! Google sees any incoming link as a vote for your website. Why else would I link my website to yours unless I valued the content on your website? It makes sense. Therefore the more votes (read: links) you’ve got coming into your page the higher it will rank on Google.
Incoming links
Now a link coming from (for example) cnn.com is obviously more valuable than one coming from a random blog. The esiest way to get a handle on this is to look at the page rank of the page containing the incomg link. The higher the rank the more valuable the link, to put it simply.
The context of the link is also important, an incoming link from an Internet Marketing site to this article will help more than a link from say a starwars website. They’ll both help but the relevance of the Internet Marketing page counts for more in Google’s eyes.
Post by: Ian Thomas
PPC – Pay Per Click marketing.
Is an effective and easy sector of Internet marketing, one where a layman can actually manage a bit of DIY. That being said please be careful there are numerous pitfalls and it can end up costing you a lot more than the services of an Internet marketing consultant. This is available on most search engines and appears in the slightly coloured section called ‘sponsored links’. This is effectively a bidding system. It is important to note that you only pay the bid once your ad is physically clicked on; this sends the visitor to your page. Thus you are paying for the click, or visit.
What can it cost?
This, if used correctly can be a very quick and very efficient way of marketing your web page. If done incorrectly it can cost a lot of money. Let’s not forget that Google, although trying to serve the client, wants to make money and this is one of Google’s primary sources of revenue! So if you’re going to be making mistakes don’t expect Google not to capitalise on that. There are also keywords that are competitive and therefore costly most experts should be able to find other alternatives that aren’t that expensive that allow you to compete on both fronts.
Use the correct keywords:
Amateurs often, because they don’t know and understand Google’s guidelines, end up paying too much for certain keywords and often choose the wrong keywords, certain keywords will be used during a research phase, these don’t lead to sales and strictly speaking shouldn’t be used in Pay-per-click as they won’t produce revenue. Typically I only like to use ‘buying phase’ keywords for PPC. These are highly specific and targeted, as an individual will use once completing their search and now wanting to buy.
Landing Pages:
The use of specific conversion orientated landing pages for PPC advertising is highly recommended. These pages should cover all relevant details in a succinct manner and give the potential client every means possible to contact you. Minimise distracting links taking your client away from the page and causing interference in the contacting / buying process. Make it as easy as possible.
Pay per click marketing can be a very effective form of driving traffic to your website. It is relatively easy to set up but please be careful any carelessness can result in you spending and usually wasting a lot of money. I’ve got a friend who’s now a ‘client’ as well who did a relatively good job of setting up a PPC campaign for himself. I was able to have his cost per click and double his click through rate. This has resulted in a doubling of revenue from the campaign.
By Ian Thomas
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WSIMS – We Simplify Internet Marketing Solutions
As the name very subtly hints at we are an “Internet Marketing Solutions” provider. There is a lot of confusion in the market place about what exactly “Internet Marketing” is, so here goes the definition as my experience defines it.
I will talk about Google as it is the main source of traffic, the algorithm Google uses to come out with which websites are going to appear in which order is very similar to the other search engines. As a result if you’re ranking 2 on Google you may rank at 3 on Yahoo and 1 on MSN ( or variations there on) but there isn’t a material difference between them. As a result I will talk about Google but please take it to mean all the other surrounding search engines as well.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing:
These are the sponsored links occurring above and to the right on the Google page. They are like taking out an advertisement in a newspaper but you only pay if someone reads it, on Google you only pay if someone actually clicks on your ad which will take them to your website.
Organic Marketing:
This is the natural or ‘main’ search segment. This is for planned strategy and takes some time to get in place. It is however by far the most rewarding once it is right.
This also comprises two parts. “On page” optimisation and “Off page” optimisation.
Social Media Marketing:
These are marketing efforts taking place through places like blogs, twitter, youTube, linkedIn, Facebook and the like. Anywhere your target market is spending time. This is a fast growing and surprisingly effective method of communicating. It’s the ‘word of mouth’ section of Internet marketing.
Email Marketing:
This is done to known clients and is the most effective form of driving return traffic to your website. Everything is tracked and recorded for later analysis and segmentation. This data is also very useful for targeted offline marketing efforts.
All of these will be discussed individually in later posts so come back to see the details.
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: info@wsims.co.za
Social media… what’s all the fuss about?
Internet Marketing isn’t dead; it isn’t dying in fact its growing faster than ever before!
What are people saying about you?
I respectfully suggest that what you or your agency says about your brand matters less than what your clients and the public says about your brand. We’re moving into an age where communication is king and transparency is vital. Opting out of this kind of communication isn’t going to take any business down just yet but opting in might just make your business…
Social media is here to stay and like it or not people are talking about you:
Social Media isn’t a fad or a ‘hot topic’ it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate make no mistake it isn’t going away! Social media is at its essence ‘word of mouth’ on steroids, or as I like to call it ‘world of mouth’ no longer is communication hampered by time, distance or any other form of interference. As a result your customers and clients have an unparalleled ability to communicate with each other, do you like what they’re saying about your brand… or do you like what they’re saying about you better??? Either way its best you engage in social media and join the conversation!
Monitor what is being said about you and your brand on the Internet
There are a number of free tools you can use to monitor what people are saying about you, your brand and even your competitors online. Google alerts and Yahoo pipes are two very useful tools. At least with this knowledge you can converse with these people and enhance your brand image. Some measurement says that dealing properly with a negative customer experience and rectifying it to create a positive experience is more memorable than a ‘normal’ experience and on this stage its available for the rest of the world to see! Great branding exercise or you can continue with your head in the sand like a lot of people are now.
Proof is in the pudding Top 500 companies now using Social media more!
Take a look at this article (http://bit.ly/4p4qU2 ) showing that the growth in companies using social media is phenomenal! No one needs to go on about the incredible growth of sites like Twitter but most pessimists ask, who’s doing it? Well now you have the answer, if the Top 500 companies are doing it then surely there’s a message there, even for the most stubborn of minds?
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: info@wsims.co.za
Ways business can use Twitter:
Twitters impact on the Internet is second only to email. Twitter allows others a peak into your environment what you’re thinking and what you’re doing. If used correctly this can be a great way to promote your business. By correctly I don’t mean complicated I simply mean interesting.
Listening:
“Listening” on twitter is a key skill. Using Twitter search you can keep a finger on the pulse about what is happening in your industry, Twitter can be used as a real time sentiment machine. By using the twitter advanced search (www.search.twitter.com/advanced) you can drill down even more precisely and even get geographic information as well which I find very useful when looking for trends in, for example internet marketing in South Africa. Using this feature you can also keep abreast of what people are saying about your competitors! You can even get email alters about certain search terms, thus allowing you to keep your finger on the pulse without having to log onto twitter incessantly!
Programs for twitter:
Lets face it the twitter website isn’t the most awesome piece of software in the world however there are a few third party programs that really can make life a lot easier. Programs like TweetDeck. This program allows you to group incoming messages. This can give you easy insight into exactly what you want to see in one easy page or even on your desktop!
Mobiles:
One of the major advantages of twitter is its mobility, even sending and receiving tweets on your phone. If you have an iPhone try Twitterific or Tweetie. If you have a blackberry try Twitterberry or TinyTwitter. Business tip: For business following peers and industry leaders can be invaluable. They will often point out good articles they’ve seen which can be very useful; you might even be able to make a connection with them!
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: info@wsims.co.za
Phone: +27 (0) 079 191 1911
Marketing in today’s environment:
Part 1: How buying behavior is changing and how to keep up with current marketing trends using the technology available.
Consumer buying behavior is changing and with it so are the rules of marketing. Mass marketing is dying a sad and lonely death as consumers become more circumspect and filter more out. The consumer is now driving the process and only looking at what they’re interested in, when they want to. Traditional “push marketing’” is a thing of the past. The consumers are in control now and there’s a whole new set of rules! Mass media and mass media marketing are being more and more clogged and less and less effective, personalized, intuitive, interactive one-on-one marketing is where we are going.
As the consumer gets more control so the process becomes more and more streamlined. I’m not declaring the end of push marketing, simply the coming of the newest trend in marketing. People like interacting with people and as this demand gets met more often it is expected more and more often. Mediums like the internet and more specifically internet marketing are offering this kind of shopping experience. Only 14% of consumers trust what advertisements say, yet 74% believe pier recommendations. Word of mouth has always been number 1, the consumer now has access to word of mouth all the time through social media… word of mouth is fast becoming world of mouth! Information spread is only becoming faster. Do you like what is being said about you and your brand?
Do you see how the old ‘put it out there’ marketing is becoming ‘old and boring’? Throwing a message out there and waiting for customers to flock is dying and it is not going to work going forward.
I’m not saying marketing is becoming complicated, as long as you’re cleaver, intuitive and in touch (as well as knowledgeable) it can be really simple!
Post by: Ian Thomas
Specialty: Internet marketing South Africa
Web: www.wsims.co.za
Email: info@wsims.co.za
Phone: +27 (0) 079 191 1911
