Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category

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Website Usability and Accessibility for SEO – Top 10 Tips

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

Search engine optimization (SEO), website accessibility and usability go hand in hand. Accessibility refers to making a website approachable for a wider range of users including those with special needs. Whereas, website usability refers to making a website easy to browse for an improved User Experience (UX) and, hence, to increase engagement and conversion. A website which is easily accessible and relevant for users or searchers is also going to be more accessible and relevant for search engines as well and, therefore, is good from an SEO perspective.

Here are top 10 tips to improve the accessibility and usability of websites which affect SEO.

  1. Purpose, Keywords Selection and Contents: Make the purpose of the website clear; carefully select the keywords and build quality contents around those keywords in order to deliver a consistent message.
  2. Load Time:  Web pages should be able to load quickly. It becomes even more important with the increasing use of mobile devices for browsing purposes.
  3. Enough Text: Though there is no limit of minimum and maximum text on the page. But, every page should have at least couple of paragraphs of unique quality content.
  4. Appropriate Front to Background Color Contrast: The same font and background colour can create problems for SEO and users (especially for those with special needs).
  5. Limit the use of Nested Tables, Flash and Javascript: These types of technology/ methods can create problems in terms of accessibility of the website for users and search engines. If excessive use of these technologies is a ‘must’, also offer a text-only version of the website.
  6. Navigation: Use clear and consistent Navigation; Descriptive and User Friendly URLs; Suitable internal linking; Avoid unnecessary deep pages.
  7. Meta Data and Image Alt Tags: Intelligently use Meta description  and other metadata necessary for smooth and meaningful indexing of the website; Image alt tags are important from optimization as well as user experience purpose.
  8. Search, Headings and Keyboard Short-cuts: ‘Search’ option should be given for the website and be prominently displayed. Headings: Headings and sub-headings should be clear and descriptive for visually impaired persons (and for search engines). Appropriate keyboard-friendly shortcuts should be given.
  9. Error Handling: Both users and search engines simply hate page not found error message.  A sitemap or any other appropriate page (e.g. search page) can be shown in case this error occurs.
  10. Fewer Steps: Avoid trying to get detailed user data by offering detailed sign-up forms.

These are just ten tips, there can be many more usability and accessibility issues. A true SEO Specialist takes all accessibility and usability issues into account when recommending ‘on-page’ changes. In other words, he helps to make the site equally valuable not only for search engines but for users, as well.

See also: Top 10 Benefits of SEO for Businesses ;  Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ;  SEO Specialist’s Website ; Is SEO Dead?

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Will SEO be Dead in 2012? Or, Is SEO Already Dead?

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

‘SEO is Dead’ or ‘SEO will be dead soon’ these are the most common statements I have been hearing since first adopting SEO as a hobby and later on as a profession. I hear these phrases at a greater frequency at the start of a new year – not to mention many times within the year as well.

Is SEO really dead? Well it’s not and it will never be as long as there is a need to search. It is almost impossible to find results without the help of an ‘engine’ from the huge amount of information available online.

It is important to understand what really SEO is, otherwise SEO will be dead after every major change in the online world. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not Google optimization – though at the moment it is very much like this. Basically SEO is about optimizing your digital assets for any search engine. Therefore, even if Google is not the number one choice in the long run, there still will be search engines which consumers will have to use in order to dive through the huge amount of information available. SEO will only be dead, if one dares manually find all the sites!

Actually, the fact is that Google has matured so much over the last 15 years or so that it will not be easy to replace it totally. I can’t see Google going away for at least one more decade, if not longer. It is just unmatchable in speed, accuracy and relevancy when it comes to returning search results. It has huge database of web pages, secure data centers, very user friendly interface, support for variety of languages and geographical areas and is innovating all the time.  I feel pity for the people who try to compare Siri of iPhone with Google. Siri is just in the initial stages and is good in doing simple routine jobs. Not only just Siri, any tool which beats Google will have to go a long way.

Technology and online world is changing and every related field is evolving quite rapidly and SEO is no exception. It will evolve too – as it has evolved over the last fifteen years or so. To stay on top of technology and be successful in SEO world, one should take every change as opportunity. Obviously there are few basic elements which are and will always remain among the important elements of SEO such as quality and shareable contents, user-friendly web interface and understanding what people might type in to find you.

SEO is not dead. SEO has huge benefits for the businesses and is best ever pull marketing method. There are many skilful SEO specialists out there who can do magic with their knowledge and experience to bring huge ROI for the business. The only thing is to select the right knowledgeable SEO, otherwise SEO will very likely be dead for you!

See also: Top 10 Benefits of SEO for Businesses ;  Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ;  SEO Specialist’s Website

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How to be a Successful SEO Specialist – 10 Quick Tips

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Many people, particularly IT and Marketing graduates, often ask me about how to be a successful SEO specialist. Obviously,  there is no short cut solution to this, however, I have put together 10 quick tips to help them find an answer to their query. They are:

  1. Only join the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) field if you really have a passion and a personal interest in it – do not join it for money (yes, it is one of the best paying marketing domain!).
  2. Build a website or blog, experiment with various SEO techniques and try to get top ranking for some competitive keywords through it.
  3. Always keep learning. Even after you have established yourself at top level, try to learn at least one new thing every day regarding SEO. Never think you have learnt ‘all’ about SEO.
  4. Think critically and learn from mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes you learn more from mistakes rather than doing it right first time.  Remember, mistake is not really a mistake if you learn from it!
  5. Do not be afraid of changes, rather prepare for changes because you are in an industry related to the Internet– take every change in industry as an opportunity. If you are not prepared for a change, better leave SEO.
  6. Go to top SEO or related conferences and seminars. Also take interest in other related fields, such as, marketing and IT.
  7. Follow at least a couple of SEO industry top blogs for regular updates.
  8. Share knowledge with others through all online and offline channels, especially through social media.
  9. Get relevant education and certifications Only from internationally recognized resources. However, bear in mind that nothing is more important than proven track record in SEO industry!
  10. Have patience. Patience is the ‘keyword’ to many successful SEO projects! Love what you do!!

And the take away: Never think SEO is dead. SEO is dead for those who are afraid of changes! Otherwise, SEO has a very bright future. It is one of the best ever pull marketing tools!

See also: Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; What is an SEO Specialist; SEO Specialist’s Website

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Who is NOT an SEO Specialist?

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Selection of a right SEO specialist is very important in the successful online branding of a business. While, it may be easy for anyone to learn the basics of SEO, but it takes a lot of commitment, hard work and of course a natural talent in order to become a successful SEO specialist and master SEO skills.

It is necessary to choose the right SEO specialist because a rightly run SEO project results in huge ROI whereas a poorly-run project results into a loss of money and a poor customer experience which, in turn, can hurt the brand. So it is important to consider who they are, before asking what and how they would do SEO.

Following are top ten common symptoms of a bad SEO specialist. Knowing these can help you avoid selecting the wrong SEO specialist or consultant.

  1. Has no proven track record or hardly any endorsement and is quite new to the business, and still claims that they have done many successful SEO projects.
  2. Their own website or blog is not ranked well for some competitive keyword on Google and other search engines.
  3. Lacks a vision and, thus, optimizes a website just for ‘today’ while ignoring tomorrow.
  4. Has no clear understanding about the timeframe and procedures and is not willing to share information regarding what they will do and may do spamy or black-hat SEO.
  5. Over-emphasizes on the importance of on-page SEO and ignores user experience and just make changes for search engines; considers SEO is more about technology and not marketing and believes that quantity is more important than quality.
  6. Does not believe in delivering results and best possible ROI, rather just promises to provide a useless 24/7 customer service.
  7. Lacks an understanding of the concepts, has not update knowledge and boasts about terminologies or jargons to impress.
  8. Has hardly any social media presence. Even if they have little presence, they just promote their business and hardly share knowledge through their blog etc.
  9. Believes what Matt Cutts of Google says is true forever and that is all they need to know.
  10. Disappoints customers as they progress with the communication and results.

See also: Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration ; What is an SEO Specialist; SEO Specialist’s Website

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SEO and Social Media Marketing Integration

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Since Social Media advent, SEO specialists have used social media for various different tasks for example conducting keyword research,  incorporate it into  website for updates, getting links and improving rankings, direct traffic to the website and distributing the contents.

Clients often ask me ‘what is the best integration of SEO and social media marketing?’ In reply, I quote Google, “Focus on the user and all else will follow.” According to a recent research on social media done by myself, in which some of the world leading social media experts participated, it was found out that customer experience was in the heart of social media interactions from a business point of view. Customer experience results in enhanced loyalty and customer satisfaction. This enhanced customer experience is very helpful in building communities and engaging them in conversations about the brand. Even though word of mouth is often not under the direct control of companies, they may still impact it by improving customer experience and using communities.

How can customer experience be managed from SEO point of view:

 

While real-time problem solving and customer service are of prime importance for enhancing customer experience from Social Media point of view, the following are the main elements from SEO point of view:

  • Targeting only relevant keywords
  • User friendly website design (Clear navigation and contents layout, lighter page size, FAQs, Clear and smooth check-out process, cross-browser compatibility etc.)
  • Creating well-optimized quality contents frequently

This will, in turn, result into more traffic and more time on site with less bounce rate while giving valuable backlinks to the site.

Online reputation management

Sometimes unwanted things may happen for various reasons, which can badly hurt online reputation of the firms. It is, therefore, important to have a risk management plan ready to deal with such an unwanted situation. This is where integration of SEO and social media becomes so important.

A good reputation is extremely necessary for increasing sales, making joint ventures, improving customer experience and helping with the recruitment and retention of talent. So companies should have a risk management plan regarding that.

SEO, Social Media and Online Reputation

When companies ignore customer experience and make them upset by not providing them with what they have been promised, they may express their anger by writing negative reviews over social media channels about the firms which ultimately are shown on top of search results for the brand related keywords. In such cases it becomes increasingly important to repair the reputation.

Consumers trust Google organic results and they know that Google ranks the trusted and well-reputed websites on top of search results. Hence, a positive presences on the first page of Google greatly increases the positive perception and reputation of a brand.

SEO and Social Media marketing integration

As it is almost impossible to delete negative press, firms can push any negative press deeper in the ranking by having well-optimized contents on variety of social media and other online platforms which best represent the business. It is also important to respond proactively to any negative press using all the social media channels. SEO is not just about optimizing the main website, it is about optimizing all digital assets. By knowing the customers and their keywords, by SEOing website, blogs and other social presences for those keywords by frequently generating quality contents, companies can secure many top positions over search engines which can push negative comments down in the ranking and can help with online reputation and hence building trust. Thus, a proactive self-defence by developing social and other web presences in a search engine friendly manner through SEO is another top way of integrating SEO and Social Media marketing.

Long-term SEO and Social Media marketing Integration

The long term integration requires the use of social media carefully in a well-optimized manner to stay on top in ‘semantic web’. I will write a separate blogpost about it later on.

See also: Top 10 Benefits of SEO for Businesses ; Top 10 Benefits of Social Media for Business ; SEO Specialist’s Website ; What are SEO and SEO Specialist? ; Should Facebook Have a Dislike Button?

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