The following are typical Questions most people need to ask regarding higher rankings on Google and other search engines.  Your product or service may depend on which search engine you focus on, however, Google traditionally garners close to 80% of the market, so if you rank high on Google, the rest come easier, but take different stategies.  Over the coming weeks and months we will examine these questions and more…and answer them as best we can.  If you have further questions/comments feel free to contact us anytime.

1. My Website is Not Getting Much Traffic.  Why?

2. How Can I Understand All of This Website Marketing Stuff?

3. How Technical Do I Need to Be To Edit My Website?

4. If People Come to My Website, How Do I Get Them To Call?

5. My Business Is Different Than Everyone Else’s, I Don’t Think The Web Will Help Me….

6. Do I Really Need a Blog?  What Would I Write About?  I Hate Writing…..

7. Can I Really Make Money On The Internet?

8. How Do I Get To The First Page of Google?

Obtain Inbound Links

Inbound links are links from someone else’s site to your web site. Inbound links become a sort of popularity contest — the more inbound links you have from relevant sites, the higher your page rankings. When your inbound links are from highly ranked pages, your pages are ranked more highly. By finding sites that are on the same subjects as yours and trading links with their owners, you can help yourself and them.

Be Audience Oriented

The best thing you can do for your visitors and your web site is to build a content-rich site. Search engines want people to find what they are looking for. By creating a web site that is intuitive to use and contains good, relevant information, you will have repeat visitors who will tell others about your site through their web sites and blogs — and that means inbound links as well.

It’s what search engines do to figure out what to list and in what order when someone does a search.

What do search engines look for?

Search engines rank web pages. Most people think they rank web sites, but that is not true. They crawl each page individually, looking for relevancy to the keyword.

For example, if you are looking for information on training your dog not to bark and you use “stop dog barking” as your keyword, you will be taken to web pages specifically telling you how to help your dog stop barking and not to the home pages of those web sites.

What are the elements of a page that a search engine looks at?

• Page Title: This is the title that appears in the bar at the top of your browser. Every page needs its own unique title and that title should carry any keywords being used for the page.
• Metadata: These are also known as metatags and need to include all the page’s main keywords.
• URL: The URL, or web address, must include two or three relevant keywords. When the title, metadata, and URL all contain the same keywords, the relevancy is greatly enhanced.
• Text: This is the main text of the page and must be relevant to the topic in the title, metadata, and URL. It needs to mention the keywords in the first sentence or two and again two or three times on the page.

Notice that keyword density and keyword patterns are not as important as in the past.

The best thing to do is be sure to set up the entire site properly with each page titled and tagged correctly. Coordinate the URLs with the titles and metatags. And make sure the content is useful as well as containing keywords.

The “Cajuns” of Southern Louisiana originally obtained their name from their ancestors, a group of French peasants that settled in the “Acadian” region of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia around 1604.  By 1755 they had grown to a population around 15,000, and like most people in like regions lived on standard crops, garden variety vegetables and whatever livestock they could raise, wild game they could kill, and fishing.
Ultimately they were forced out of Nova Scotia by the British, and originally sent south to Maryland, some shipped off to France, and ultimately to Louisiana since it was predominately French owned at the time.  The name “Acadian” was shortened to “Cajun” by the English people living in Louisiana at the time, and predominately treated as a unique ethnic group since they were primarily transplants and not locals.
The government in the area was Spanish at the time, and they opted to relocate the transplanted immigrants outside the populated areas more into the countryside.  However, the Acadians had issues trying to grow the same crops in the river bottoms and heat of Louisiana.  These settlers rapidly grew into a dual class system.  The upper class being crop planters growing cotton and sugar, then rice.  The lower class became more like small farmers.  The upper class of “Creaoles” adopted slavery to maintain their large properties of farm land.
As the upper class became more prosperous, they squeezed the poorer Acadians out and forced them into the less desirable swamps of Louisiana.  It was much more difficult to make a living and grow crops and livestock in these muddy lands and murky waters.  But these waters held an abundance of wild game, and everything from Alligators to turtles, fish, crawfish, deer, squirrel and wild pigs were easy to harvest for sustenance.  Since the Cajun kitchens were simple, most had a large pot that held a continuous storage of contributions that the family members and neighbors caught or killed in the course of a day that would simply be added to the pot.  The addition of vegetables such as corn, beans, and rice when available were a welcome addition to any pot.
Eventually flour was introduced to the menu which allowed the introduction of a “Roux” to the mix.  And since these people were far from central areas and townships, gatherings  would often include dancing, drink, and the occasional brawl.   Cajun food was a simple version of Creole.  It was spicier as peppers were added to enhance the flavor of the wild meats and vegetables, and lack of natural spices were not available.  Creole foods introduced some of the richer foods such as Shrimp Creole and Crawfish Etoufee.  However, crawfish was really not introduced into the diet until sometime in the 1940’s.  Prior to that time, it was primarily used as bait.  As people discovered the richness of the meat, they began to labor to harvest it and add to the menu.

New Orleans has always been the capital of Creole and Cajun cooking, and had established a reputation as such by the early 19th century.  Antoine’s Restaurant opened in the French Quarter in 1840, and is still located in the French Quarter today.   There is also a great Cajun restaurant in Oklahoma City at 63rd and MacArthur called the Cajun King, check it out!

This brief history would not be complete without my own special offering recipe of Cajun Gumbo which I still make about twice a year.  Each time I make it, I try to keep it down to one 3 gallon pot, but invariably, it grows to at least a 5 gallon pot, sometimes two.

2 lbs. fresh skinned chicken breasts
1 lb. andouille sausage (cubed)
½ lb. catfish or redfish
½ lb. crawfish
1 lb. Crab legs
1 lb. shrimp (large)
6 cups okra
3 cups rice
1 cup beans
Tbs. Salt
Tbs. Pepper
Tbs. Tobasco
1 bag seafood seasoning (this is a bag of seasonings, that you insert into the pot during cooking time) I generally remove about ¾ through cooking so it doesn’t over flavor.
First of all, brown the chicken in a black skillet, using a lot of shortening (about 1 “)  remove chicken when browned, and set aside chicken to cut into bite sized chunks.
The fat used in roux should be shortening but you can use oil if trying to be healthy. Combine fat with an equal amount of flour, Melt the fat in a black skillet over low heat. When warm and fluid, sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring. Stir constantly until brown (this may take 20 to 30 minutes, and has taken me an hour at times)  immediately remove from heat or add ingredients your recipe calls for. If it burns even slightly, throw it out and start over again.  I have used store bought Roux, but it never tastes the same.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the roux and stir thoroughly.  Then put heat on slow simmer where it barely bubbles.  Then add the meats.  Hold off on the Shrimp and crab until an hour or so before serving, or you’ll over cook it.  Some people cook the rice separately and serve it on top of the Gumbo.  I prefer to cook it in the Gumbo, but be careful because it is easy to over use, and soaks up all of the juice.  I generally prepare the Gumbo the night before and let it simmer all night, but be VERY careful.  I have woke up the next day to an entire scorched pot of Gumbo, and had to start over….

PS.  Serve with large amounts of fresh bread and beer!

– manage search engine optimization
– help you define and develop inbound lead generation
– measure inbound traffic
– analyze your inbound traffic so you get results
– use our proven track record to help you be successful

We have the tools to analyze your site if you have one or to analyze it once we build you one. We can tell you where your traffic comes from or why you don’t have traffic. We can tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your website.

We have the experience to understand what it takes to promote, run and drive business to the front door. We have survived through tough economic times and understand how badly you need to stretch your dollars and reach more people more effectively.

Trust us to help you increase your business through website marketing!

There are a number of tips that we would like to share with our readers that will help them get to the top ranks in Google, Yahoo, and Bing along with the other lesser known, but still meaningful search engines.  Here are 10 SEO tips that will assist you in On-Page SEO.   And before you go hunting for new tricks to “beat” Google at their game, structure your website first for on-page SEO before you go after off page SEO, PPC, or SEM….

And while I have your attention for just a minute, let me tell you about a free service that we are involved in at the Belle Isle Library in Oklahoma City.  Once each month we come together with several other talented individuals to help them with their SEO efforts.  Go to this link and you’ll find our group.  The cost is free, but the contributions that are given during these 2 hour sessions are worth hundreds of dollars in free advice that you get from the participants.

SEO Oklahoma City

10.  Keyword use in your Title Tag carries a HIGH SEO IMPORTANCE.  (on a scale of 1-10, it is a 10).

If you are just starting a new business, I realize that this is a strong possibility if you have not settled on a business name.  But even if you have….for example.  Let’s say that you are thinking of opening a Dog Grooming Business and your name is Shelly.  Much of the time, Shelly may decide to name the business Shelly’s Poodle Parlor.  And Shelly may decide to build her website based on:  www.shelleyspoodleparlor.com   Now, if Shelly is specifically going after Poodle grooming (not an altogether bad idea if the market merit’s it) then her choice is not terrible.  However, I might encourage her to go for something a little more searchable such as:  www.okcdoggrooming.com,  or www.oklahomacitydoggrooming.com simply because the likelihood of someone searching for:  dog groomers in Oklahoma City garners a much larger audience than simply Poodle Groomers.  And there are a lot of other breed owners out there that you may be losing business on that you are qualified to serve.  But, if you are looking to serve a very small but targeted market niche strictly on Poodles, then by all means, cull out the other breeds  by zeroing in on a specific breed.  Also, the commercialization of the target market is critical, so do your research using tools such as Microsoft’s commercial intent tool to help you determine this.  And of course if it all becomes too overwhelming, feel free to reach out to an Oklahoma City SEO expert such as ourselves to guide you through the maze.

I thought you said Pet's Mart?

In closing let me also mention that if you have already established a URL on your name, for example:  www.puppyparlor.com  that you have been using for years, do NOT rush out and pluck down 12 bucks with GoDaddy for another URL.  If you have a track record with this website, and it has been up for a period of time, with proper SEO strategies you can get this site to rank on the first page of Google anyway.  And some of those strategies will be shared in the following 9 postings of this blog.

Seriously, I just wear a hat!

In the next Post, we’ll cover #9 in the top 10 list….Keyword use as the First Word in a Title Tag.

When

And of course, there’s also the possibility that Google makes changes to thart the efforts of marketing people that are trying to get to the number one ranking so they don’t spend more money on PPC.  But that’s just a myth, right?

The bottom line is this, if you have found a good SEO expert that is getting you results, stick with them.  You are going to have some ups and downs, but long term, they are like a good stock broker, their experience will pay off for you in the long run.  And what ever you do, if you are getting results on a gradual basis, don’t go build a new website just for the sake of a new look.  Change what you have gradually so you don’t get punished.  Because the punishment is very difficult to overcome….

Search Engine Optimization in Oklahoma City

If we can consult with you, we are  in Oklahoma City , we work with local clients, as well as clients all over the U.S.   Just give us a call, we’ll be glad to guide you.

Originally inbound links were used as a primary means of web navigation. However, their significance is now in search engine optimization (SEO). The number of backlinks is one indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page.

Search engines such as Google interpret a link from page Y to page Z as a vote by page Y for page Z. Several factors determine the value of a backlink. Backlinks from authoritative sites on a given topic are highly valuable. If both sites have content geared toward the keyword topic, then the backlink is considered by the search engine to be relevant. The search engines grant it high ranking.

It is important that inbound links be quality. Let’s look at three examples:

• – Today I saw learned great marketing information for my website at oklahomawebsitemarketing.com
• – Go visit oklahomawebsitemarketing.com
• – Oklahomawebsitemarketing.com showcases great designs and ideas for your website

The first and third one are quality inbound links to oklahomawebsitemarketing.com, but the middle one is spammy. It is not good anchor text. It is not quality because it does not tell anything about the site it is sending you to view.

It is important to understand who your potential audience is. Then write for them. Explore other people who are writing for or marketing to this same audience. Learn from each other. Link to these web pages.

Conduct a link exchange campaign. Make sure to provide clear instructions on how to link to your pages including exact HTML code. Write to webmasters and ask for a link exchange. Keep track of which sites link to you and when and how many times and try to give them quality links as well.

If you have been in business for even a short amount of time, you probably have some idea as to what your typical customer should look like.  Chances are, you first came up with a product or service, and then ran it by a potential customer.  I was watching the Shark Tank the other night when two women that had started a business selling balls that you mail to other people in the mail that had a congratulatory comment on the ball.  These women knew exactly who their customers were; it was just producing the product that seemed to be the challenge in their case.  Of course once they got the production side of the business solved, reaching more clients would then become their largest obstacle.  The only way they could hope to achieve their goals would be via the internet.  Thus getting the word out via

inbound website traffic

should be their number one priority as a result of SEO efforts.  But first they should profile their clients, narrow down a target segment of the market so they could easily identify how they’re going to go after the target niche.   Determining the niche allows you to direct your efforts towards the business to business verses the business to consumer segment.  Keep in mind, the B2B niche is a much slower SEO success curve than B2C.  The Search Engine efforts may take 2 or 3 times as much time and effort, and the customers will require a deal more nurturing than consumers.  You may also want to weigh the balance between the two market segments prior to launch so you fully understand the ramifications of the market launch delay curve if you are going B2B.  Of course the advantage of the B2B niche may be bigger orders from a single source, or repeat orders if you can become a distribution channel.

If your service happens to be SEO consulting, you may want to take the same approach.  Too often we hope that we can become a since source deliverer, i.e.; we can do it all for everybody.  And unfortunately it is nearly impossible to convey the right message when you are trying to cover all bases.  Because the B2C arena is so huge, you may have to actually carve a niche out of the marketplace in order to satisfy your sales funnel.  So when thinking about your market, try to carve the niche by understanding who your customer really is.  Dale Carnegie said it best, “If you see Jim Jones through Jim Jones eyes, you’ll sell Jim Jones what Jim Jones buys.”