Five Things That Can Ruin Your Rankings and What You Can Do About It

If your site isn’t getting traffic you not only lose out on potential customers, you will fall behind your competitors and risk having Google downgrade your rating. And, if you continue to make the same mistakes with your site, your SEO rankings will suffer. Fortunately, this is easy to fix — but only if you know what to look for.

Being aware of the following five frequent missteps will help keep you on the right path.

Poor Content

After Google’s Panda updates, Web content as we know it was shaken up. While content farms used to reach a higher ranking than businesses like yours, their style of keyword-stuffed writing no longer ranks well in the search engines. The trick is for you to make your writing seem natural while, at the same time, driving visitors to your site.

Higher Quality Content = Higher Rankings

For effective Wweb content, avoid using only keywords to build your article. Keywords that have nothing to do with your content or even with your site will damage your rankings. If Google finds that this is the case, your site will be marked as spam and your search engine ratings will fall. Keep your content fresh, relevant and sincere.

Google LOVES fresh and unique content

Own Your Content

• Nobody wants their content plagiarized. When another site has content that is eerily similar to your own or downright word-for-word, you must be vigilant in claiming your copy written material. If you are not indexed before a website that has copied your content, then Google will assume you will have copied the content; this can be dangerous for your rankings. Luckily, there is a way to deal with content theft.
• If you find that another site has plagiarized your work, then the first thing to do is politely request they take it down. If they ignore you or refuse, then go to the website Who Is Hosting This to find out which hosting service the site is using. You should then contact the hosting service and explain the problem you are having. You can even issue a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice: this is something that both the hosting service and Google will take very seriously.
• Constantly check that your content isn’t being copied by running searches with your content in quotation marks. If you’re the only site that pops up, you’re good to go. Don’t lose out on rankings when it is something that is within your control.

Keep Your Website Functioning

• If Google visits your site and finds it’s down, that’s a red flag. The first time might be ignored, but each subsequent time tells Google that something is wrong, and your ranking will suffer. To fix this problem, check that your site is up regularly. Consider hiring outside testers to check.
• You could also see if the problem is registering at Free Web Monitoring. If you are receiving negative feedback fairly frequently, it might be wise to switch hosts. It may even be worth paying a little bit more each month just to ensure your site doesn’t continuously crash.
• Be sure to make sure your pages are working; sites often go through changes over the years. If you’ve added pages or updated pages, then go through the rest of your site and decide if older pages and information are still relevant. Otherwise, Google could see your site as just another spam site. Again, this is another problem that can be easily fixed by continually checking your site.

Spammy Backlinking

If your content links back to dead sites, your ratings will plummet because they will not be considered a good site by Google. Google sees dead links as evidence of a dead site. Maintain your site and constantly check for links that are functional. As always, it’s a good rule of thumb to have someone checking your site and testing it out. Assign this to an in-house Web guru or hire an outside party.

Google HATES spammy links

Along with spammy links comes too much backlinking. The last thing you want is for Google to downgrade your rating because you have too many backlinks; that’s exactly what will happen if you stuff your site with links to poor quality sites. Google is looking to see if the links included are relevant and of a decent quality — they don’t want to see irrelevant links to poor quality sites because this doesn’t offer readers any extra value.

Poor Spammy Links = Lower Rankings

Consider Your Hosting

• Back when you were first starting out with your Web presence, it might have seemed like a perfect idea to go with a free web hosting service. Google is smarter now and can weed through sites that are on free hosting platforms. Reconsider whether you want to keep your site at a free hosting service.
• When the time comes to make the switch, make sure you do your research on which hosting service to use. It might even be that your free host has the ability to transfer your content to one of their paid domains without a switch in content. Always keep in mind that you don’t want your site to look cheap, so only do this if the host eliminates the extra buttons and banners that advertise their hosting and can make your overall design look cheap.

So many mistakes in SEO can be easily avoided and remedied if you know how to tackle problems with your rankings. Sometimes the hardest thing can be to stop looking at your site subjectively and instead put on the eyes of an outside visitor. Constantly ask yourself: would you stay on this site or would you click away? If the answer to that question is no, it may be time to overhaul your website.

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resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/08/13/five-things-that-can-ruin-your-rankings-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

Search Ranking Solutions for Disgruntled Website Owners

Regardless of what the “experts” say, the obsession for top organic rankings in search results continues to proliferate among every client I represent. Everyone is incensed at their loss of top placement whether their websites were tainted by “black hat” practices or not. Most of those with the biggest drop in SERPS claim innocence in that regard but in working with them and examining their Google Webmaster Tools’ and Analytics’ accounts, I have reason to believe otherwise.

Of course, most of my clients are too busy with their own jobs to have tinkered themselves with anything that may have affected their placements. Instead, they hired outside contractors who promised stellar rankings and charged them dearly in the process. Unknowingly, some of these clients had made a deal with the devil and are now suffering the consequences. These include an unfathomable number of disreputable links; blatantly keyword-overstuffed page text; and numerous examples of “duplicate content,” as it is sometimes referred to euphemistically, but otherwise more accurately known as plagiarism.

One Solution to The New Ranking Dilemma

While they resent their demotion from top-ranked listings and are willing to go to any lengths to recapture that honor, they would rather pay someone like me to tidy up their web presence than to invest in a Google Adword campaign which would essentially solve their problem. I am not shy about suggesting that remedy to them but for reasons beyond my comprehension, they would rather gamble on my unproven strategies than invest in Google.

Of course, I work very hard to improve their websites in every way I can. I edit and when necessary (which is quite often) rewrite their page content; implement design upgrades; add frequent graphically-attractive, interesting posts to their social sites; correct their SEO coding; and compose intelligent metatags. Sometimes I wonder whether the bots appreciate the creativity and inspiration required to describe each page as uniquely as I do, with sophisticated sentence structure and proper syntax.

What all of these clients are convinced of is that the latest secret to pleasing Google is quality, quality, quality. Yet, my services have always been about quality, not as the latest fad but as the essence of what makes a business successful. The quality which I have always espoused happened long before the Internet even existed. It is the basis of marketing strength, the backbone of business reliability and the quintessence of excellence. No wonder Google favors it so strongly. It is everything they strive to represent and want to be identified with.

Why An Obvious Solution Stymies Most Website Owners

Of course, one of the reasons many of my clients are hesitant to embark on a Google ad campaign is fear of expense. One lawyer I work with cites per-click fees in his area of concentration that are admittedly prohibitive. However, having set up and managed a Google Adword campaign for a landscaping client who targets a large portion of our Metro New York area, I know it is possible to experience outstanding success without an exorbitant cost. As a result of his $50-per-day maximum per-click budget, he receives about five to ten clicks each day for which he is charged an average of $5 per click in a highly competitive industry. Not all of these clicks pan out but between his exposures in search results which include his phone number (for which he pays nothing) and those who click through to view his website, he has managed to completely book this entire season and is working on booking dates for next season.

We cannot give credit to Google alone for all of this business, however. This client and I began working together last winter at which time I designed and wrote a very comprehensive and beautiful website for which I also orchestrated extremely effective SEO. Since a soured relationship with a previous contractor necessitated that he start over with a brand new domain name, thereby erasing his entire online history, we were surprised by his immediate top-of-search-result rankings. But with so many search term possibilities, he agreed that the addition of an adword campaign would guarantee his visibility when organic results wavered. He also asked me to design and produce a large, classy brochure as well as matching business cards; direct mail postcards; print and online advertising; door hangers; and yard signs. Without interfering in the creative process at all, this client gave me full rein to say and show whatever I thought most important and basically changed nothing upon review of proofs. That put an enormous onus on me should his fledgling career fail as a result of all my decisions and consultation. Early on, while awaiting delivery of his postcards to targeted recipients’ mailboxes, tensions ran high and worry consumed me, considering the tentative nature of our present economy and the size of his total marketing investment. Now, six months later, I am feeling consummate relief in having fulfilled his highest hopes. It seems the economy hasn’t affected those who can afford to enhance their quality of life at home.

Organic Ranking Secrets Learned in Working With Google Adwords

In the process of working with Google, though, there is much I have learned which affects organic SEO for every client I work with. Part of what controls what price you pay in per-click fees is your Google-controlled “quality score.” This is determined by a formula Google uses to rate the user’s experience in reading and reacting to your adwords. Once searchers click through to your website, the score is based on how effective your keywords were in matching searchers initially with adword content thereafter substantiated by website content; how many web pages were visited; the length of time spent and any ensuing revisits. Google cannot know whether such visitors put in a phone call but probably record any email activity based on clicks from the site’s contact page. All of these factors suggest to Google that my client’s website is fulfilling to visitors who click on his adwords, giving them a satisfying experience. This leads them to regard Google adwords as a worthwhile and trustworthy source of information. For this positive outcome, Google can give you a 10/10 quality score for your keyword/adword/website combination, which is the best possible grade. And as a reward for this achievement, Google will charge you a lower per-click fee.

Now taking this back to the organic level, Google’s bots rank your website in much the same way, by number of visitors, number of pages visited, how long they spend, etc. If your visitors seem to have a satisfying experience, without a high bounce rate, then your organic ranking will reflect that fact. Google is concerned with searchers’ opinions of whether sites which appear at the tops of their lists deserve such ranking based on excellence of user experience. Once you understand this, then you may be able to grasp why Google is so obsessed with improving its ability to criticize your website. And, as a result, you may be able to address what can make your website a fulfilling experience.

A Final Word to the Wise

But there’s more to be aware of. In setting up adword keywords which act as a magnet for searchers’ pursuits, Google advises being generous in your selection of terms as opposed to limiting your keywords to a single unit. As an example, it is better to include a number of qualifying terms like “professional landscape services” or “backyard patio designers” rather than the sparse “landscaper.” By doing so, your adwords which should match in content will serve to provide more specific information leading the searchers to seek even more elaboration on your website.

The same holds true in organic ranking of your website. While “keywords” as a metatag no longer function in the way they originally did, and hold far less importance (if any) in attracting searches, keywords used within your page content should reflect the subject matter of the page and offer enough information so the searcher can feel satisfied with what he learned. In fact, “keywords” within your page content should really just be terms you are using to represent and describe what you and your website are offering. Keywords should not be a way to “trick” searchers into visiting your website only to leave them in a state of confusion, disappointment or annoyance with a lack of meaningful further explanation.

One additional caveat: When searching for information, it is likewise urged that your search terms be more descriptive and specific to what you are looking for, rather than using a single term which can bring up too generic a range of results. This rule applies both to the general public who may be seeking information, as well as to those with websites who are trying to ascertain their current search rankings. The use of more search terms may bring you a better, more fulfilling outcome whatever your goal.
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resource : http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/08/08/search-ranking-solutions-for-disgruntled-website-owners/

10 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Marketing Strategy

Now that 80% of the world’s population own a mobile phone and four out of five consumers shop using their smartphone, jumping on the mobile marketing bandwagon sooner rather than later is a strategy webmasters cannot ignore. Mobile marketing is not just trundling along – it’s going at breakneck speeds and is only going to get faster!

Mobile Marketing is the Future

With the way mobile technology is advancing, consumers will become more reliant on their handheld devices to do their shopping. Indeed, mobile marketing is the fastest growing industry EVER! According to Monetate Ecommerce quarterly, the growth of consumers using their mobiles to shop is steadily growing each quarter and has almost doubled from Q1 in 2012 to Q1 in 2013. Analysts estimate that mobile marketing will outstrip fixed internet access next year.

The simple fact of the matter is that the world is going SoLoMo – consumers are shopping socially, searching locally and using mobile devices to do it. Larry Page, chief executive of Google, said: “With more devices, more information, and more activity online than ever, the potential to improve people’s lives even more is immense.”

Only 17% of Online Businesses can Effectively be Viewed on a Mobile Device

Given the statistics above, it may surprise you to find that only 17% of websites actually work properly on a handheld device. There is definitely room for improvement. At the moment consumers are being patient, but once more website owners get on-board with mobile marketing, consumers will not tolerate websites they have to scroll through to see. Make sure you are one of the first to get on-board. Mobile marketing is an emerging market and to take advantage you have to get in there early.

40% of Shoppers Consult Three or More Review Sites Before Making a Purchase

The internet has taken word-of-mouth marketing to another level. The ability to leave reviews enables consumers to go online and find out what other people are saying about a particular product. However, they do not settle for one site as one voice cannot be trusted so register your products and business with several consumer promotion sites. This type of behavior puts the emphasis for quality on manufacturers which in turn helps small businesses sell merchandise.

4 out of 5 Consumers use Smartphones to Shop

Access to the internet is very convenient for smartphone users and they are using their handhelds to check out prices and reviews of certain products while they are in your shop. You can use this to your advantage by offering discount coupons for customers to download straight to their mobile and use in your shop.

40% of Searches have Local Intent

A couple of years ago, Google identified that the larger percentage of searches were local. The same pattern is emerging using handheld technology and as mobile marketing continues to grow, this figure will grow with it. If you own a local business on high-street, it is imperative to make your website stand out on portable handsets.

Mobile Marketing is Predicted to Overtake Desktop Internet Usage

According to the digital analytics firm Comscore, there will be more people surfing the net on portable devices next year than there will be using desktop computers. The stats show that mobile use is growing 14 times faster than desktop devices. The increase is largely thanks to 3G and 4G technology becoming more widespread on smartphones and tablets – especially in emerging mobile phone markets such as China and India.

Young People use Their Phones More Than Their Mouths

Young people don’t talk anymore – they chat. Okay, that’s not strictly true, but they do use their mobile phones to communicate and share online content. A recent survey showed that 61% of young people refer to social media sites to decide where to go and what to buy. The same survey showed that 78% of small businesses attract around a quarter of their new customers through social media networking and nearly all teenagers that own a mobile phone use Facebook.

70% of Mobile Searches lead to Online Action within an Hour

Given that mobile users are on the go while they are browsing for bargains, it makes sense that conversion rates are a lot faster than someone searching on a laptop. That’s because people searching on desktop computers are usually at home and have time to ponder their purchase options and continue their searches. Mobile shoppers are ready to spend and will buy on impulse.

Mobile Communication helps Your Employees reach Your Customers More Easily

Moving away from consumers finding you – how about you finding consumers! A study conducted by SAP found that small to medium-sized businesses that implement mobile technologies can reach their customers more easily and enables employees to work from home or on the road – thus increasing productivity. Let’s not get into the telecommuting argument here, but managed correctly, if you equip your employees with smartphones, tablets or phablets, you can increase productivity and find an easier route to your customers.

Smartphones are More Convenient than Laptops

It goes without saying that you can’t carry a laptop with you everywhere you go. Smartphones on the other hand slip easily into a pocket or handbag and people carry them all the time. Thus, it makes sense that there is a greater likelihood that people will use their smartphones to look for information on the internet. Nightlife venues and restaurants benefit from this immensely. Some restaurants have reported a 90% conversion rate from people using their mobiles to look for a place to eat.

Conclusion

The case for mobile marketing is compelling given the attractive statistics – and the good news is it will only get better. However, with the industry growing at such a fast pace, it is imperative that enterprises, especially web owners with high street stores, make their businesses visible on portable devices. Mobile marketing is more likely to provide the key to online success moving forward if you employ strategies that make mobile users act on impulse.

resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/08/02/10-reasons-why-you-need-a-mobile-marketing-strategy/

How to Market Your Business With A Low Budget

No matter what size your business is, everyone knows the value of developing a web presence. But like most investments, online marketing can be risky and expensive, especially if you’re a small business with a tight advertising budget.

Investing in online marketing doesn’t have to be a gamble; there are plenty of marketing strategies that are cheaper than you think, and plenty of businesses have succeeded using inexpensive tactics.

Marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, either – in our digital age, there’s an abundance of tools to measure and focus your marketing efforts. It’s easier than ever to gather valuable information and quickly switch up your campaigns.

If you’re willing to be proactive and get involved in the industry, you don’t need a large advertising budget to market your business successfully online.

Start Small

There are plenty of tools on the Internet that are free or less expensive than the big names – and they can help you make the most of your budget.

• Create profiles. Almost every social media site is free, and these are great tools to help you market your business and generate a following. Create company profiles on multiple social sites as well as professional business sites.
• Look for free trials. A lot of marketing tools will offer free trials, which can lead to profit before you spend a dime! Google Adwords often gives users a coupon to begin their paid search engine advertising campaign, if you know where to look.
• Advertise on specific sites. If your budget won’t allow you to have a large search engine marketing campaign, try running ad campaigns on specific sites. For instance, Facebook advertising is less expensive than a lot of other marketing campaigns, and it allows you to target specific locations, age groups, interests and more.

Be Social

When it comes to your website, one of the main ways to increase traffic inexpensively is to communicate with other blogs and websites.

• Comment on blogs. If you make detailed, insightful comments on a blog, people that read your comments will not only want to keep reading them, but they might want to learn more about you by checking out your website.
• Give advice. While message boards sound a bit outdated, there are still millions of them on the Internet, as well as other ways to interact with members of your industry. If you can give sound advice, or answer questions about your products and services, you can gain new customers and drive traffic to your website.
• Use video. Videos now appear in Google search results, and they also appeal to the many users who are attracted to multimedia. Leverage your YouTube account in creative ways to show the benefits of your products or services. This is an advertising tactic that could gain you more sales!

Become an Author

Content is one of the biggest forces in online marketing right now, and the good news is, it won’t cost you anything but time to write. Internet users are always looking for information, and if you can provide it, you’ll be more likely to gain customers and traffic.

• Write guest posts. Most blogs are open to the idea of guest authors, and if you can give them fresh content to post, it’ll help both of you. Being published on other sites will not only improve your traffic and branding, but it will help your search engine optimization because of links.
• Start your own blog. All businesses can profit from a blog, because content is what drives traffic and improves SEO efforts. Try not to sell your company in every post, but instead give valuable information to your readers. You’ll create a community of loyal followers, which you can reinforce by frequently responding back to their comments!
• Give thorough content away for free. We’ve all seen “beginner’s guides” like the infamous one by Moz, and the reason content like this is so successful is because it’s thorough and relevant to everyone. If you can create guides that help other readers, you’ll get links, traffic and recognition – three indispensable parts of your marketing campaign.

Care About Your Customers

Turning interested users into customers doesn't have to be expensive, either. Attracting users is an important part of Internet marketing, and if you’re creative, you can use your website to do this.

• Do giveaways and contests. All users want to feel part of a community, so if you can engage them, they’ll visit your site more frequently – and be more likely to become a customer and refer you to friends. Even if they’re small, contests and giveaways related to your business can help users remain interested in your site.
• Ask for testimonials. If you’re making your customers happy, you should have no problem finding individuals to star in video testimonials or to ask for referrals. This can be one of the most effective marketing strategies, since human beings naturally want to use a business or service if they see their friends excited about it.

If you’re a small, local business with a tight advertising budget, don’t be intimidated by companies paying a fortune for online marketing. The web provides endless ways to promote your business successfully and inexpensively.

Keep yourself informed with the online marketing industry, since it’s always changing. If you remain knowledgeable, you can use the Internet to create viral content, communicate with blogs, websites and companies in your industry, and build long-lasting relationships with your customers.

You can reach us for best business promotion at low cost. We provides affordable online business promotion services.

Resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/07/26/how-to-market-your-business-with-a-low-budget/

The New World of Page Ranking for any Site

Google, and search engines in general, used to act as a one-size-fits-all format. If person A and person B both searched for “best chocolate in the world,” it used to be both individuals would see the same list of rankings. Now we live in a world of customization, where Google’s results reflect not just the search terms and keywords used, but the complex personalization derived from a given user’s full interaction with the suite of Google products. Since Google, and search engines in general, are truly trying to give searchers exactly what they want, the process has seen a genesis of customization. One-size-fits-all no longer applies.
If your sole focus as a company investing in SEO is to see a high Google page rank, stop the obsession – now. High rankings don’t equate to a stellar business profile; revenues do. And now that page rankings are becoming varied, it’s much less reliable to equate a high ranking to full-scale success. So putting all your eggs in one proverbial basket is not only risky, it’s now completely illogical.
What should you focus on? Quality traffic, quality content, and a quality user experience. Yes, rankings factor in here, there’s no doubt about it, but it isn’t a means to an end. Quality is. That’s what will keep users returning, again and again. And since not all of your visitors are likely sent via a search engine, it’s time to consider the whole enchilada, and stop worrying about what Google might think.

The Role of Customized Search Results
Let’s say I’m an employee at a place called Company SEO. It’s safe to say I’m probably visiting that company’s web site often, and using related search terms on a frequent basis. If I do so while logged in to my Gmail account, or any other Google tool, this correlation begins to become apparent. It’s therefore more likely that if I search for a keyword or term targeted by Company SEO, I will see its results rank higher, as Google has correctly determined I am interested in what that company/author has to say.
Google’s results cannot be quantified in any meaningful manner. We’re seeing fewer and fewer ranking reports as a result. The rankings you see in any given search are not just based on the keywords — Google also incorporates your location, service provider, previous search history, and various other personal factors. Since we can’t predict a given user’s customization, it’s crazy these days to fully focus on a high SEO ranking.
Anyone who has traveled recently can attest to this shift. Search for “best chocolate in the world” in San Francisco and you’ll see a different set of results than if you’re traveling in Sweden. The point is, you can’t control rankings in the way we’d all like to anymore, so it’s time to shift focus.

Make Traffic and Conversions Your Top Priorities
This is not a call for all to give up the SEO game. It’s just a matter of adjusting how you approach the goals. By moving your emphasis to quality and consistency, you’ll still be aiming for the highest rankings, but in a manner that will yield better results.
Traffic and conversion rates are your best SEO friends, because they make the most of whatever ranking you are currently achieving. The more you capitalize on your traffic, the more retention and loyalty you’ll achieve, and customers will keep coming back. For instance, a site with high page rankings won’t maintain that status for long if they develop a high bounce rate. You can send 10,000 visitors to your site per day via Google, but if you can’t convert those into revenue generating visits, the eyeballs are costing you cash, not the other way around.

Generate Quality Traffic
As with everything in this world, quality trumps quantity. What you’re after are targeted links and referrals full of visitors that are truly after what you offer. Your marketing strategy no doubt contains a myriad of efforts to generate these quality visits. To really be a player in SEO these days, these campaigns should involve the following:
Organic search
Paid search
External links, from articles, bloggers, news sites, etc.
Press releases and other PR efforts
Social signals from Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, etc.
Local map listings
Online advertising
Direct traffic via offline strategies
Yes, organic search still sits at the top of the list above, but if it’s your sole focus, you’ll definitely waste your efforts. Failure to consider the other factors means you’ll experience just a smidgen of your potential success.
Pay attention to your analytics so you can understand where your site is succeeding and failing with regards to visits and conversions. Ascertain where the bulk of your traffic truly comes from (here’s a clue: it’s not always from Google) and adjust the list above accordingly. It may be that local listings or even offline strategies trump search in terms of what works best for your specific needs.
The point is simple: in the last few years, page rankings have become the Holy Grail, and it’s time to stop obsessing over a top page ranking. You can’t begin to control rankings from a personalization perspective, so stop losing sleep over your own ranking ebbs and flows. Instead, focus on the data you can control – namely traffic and conversions. If you’re aces at converting high percentages of your site’s visitors, you’re on a winning streak. It’s not a matter of being #1 for a search term, but in making your customers and visitors happy.
How has the customization of search results affected your SEO strategies? If you have any advice to share with people making the shift in focus, please share!

Attention : SEO is Neither Dead nor Dying

In the past few weeks, the Internet has exploded yet again with the latest round of obituaries dedicated to search engine optimization. The same old questions pop up under a slightly different context. What is left for SEO when Google shoots down each new exploit and tactic? If every useful technique eventually becomes obsolete, what is the point of developing it to begin with?
These laments are heard every time the search engine wipes out another fraction of its search results. The most recent source of woe is Penguin 2.0, which cracked down on the spam backlinks that many still used despite repeated warnings from Google. Besides shuffling a small percentage of pages, Penguin sent a message: The Wild West days of the Internet are over. The law is coming with guns blazing.
It is true that SEO has changed dramatically from its earliest days. In that sense, the SEO of keyword stuffing and link farming is well and truly dead. Arguing that optimization no longer has a place in online marketing, however, is short-sighted and dangerous. There have been many setbacks, but SEO is here to stay.

The Many “Deaths” of SEO
In 2010, Google introduced its newest search feature: Google Instant. Rather than waiting for users to finish inputting a query, the search engine instead began throwing out suggestions while they typed, based in part on their browsing history. The decreased standardization of Web searches had some experts predicting the imminent demise of SEO.
Three years later, having survived both Panda, Penguin and social media, experts are still forecasting its doom. And that only covers the last few years; the gradual progression of SEO since Archie debuted in 1990 has seen many such panics, each as unfounded as the last.

Who Says SEO is Dead?
Although SEO is still a vital factor in Internet marketing, it no longer commands such prominence as in the past. Many still use it as a blanket term to cover more than on-site optimization and link-building, but succeeding online now requires a strong social media presence as well. The old methods no longer work, and in that sense SEO is caught up in a constant cycle of innovation and limitation.
Others making this argument are less nuanced. Some use it for a sensationalist headline, while others claim to have discovered the technique that will fill the gap left by SEO. As with all things in the marketing community, take everything you read with a grain of salt.

Why SEO is Still Going Strong 
As long as there are search engines, search engine optimization will be necessary to help worthy websites reach interested viewers. Given the incredible proliferation of websites and pages online, it is reasonable to assume that systems will always need a way to find information that users cannot. The methods, on the other hand, are sure to change, as well as the organizations setting the rules that govern them.
No matter what name it goes by, search engine optimization is simply a means of bringing publishers and companies to readers for mutual benefit. This practice predates the Internet and will outlast it, but until the last search engine shuts down, SEO will remain a vital piece of any website’s business strategy.

Modern SEO
The question, then, is what currently works in SEO? When a so-called expert cannot find an answer that he likes, he declares optimization dead. Those who wish to continue profiting from the remarkable opportunities of the Internet, however, must stop and take stock of what has been left behind.
Link building has not been eliminated. In fact, the need for high-quality inbound links has never been greater. Rather than paying for or spamming links, webmasters must now court recommendations from reputable websites and social media users. It demands effort, helpfulness and cooperation. The quick tricks are being picked off one by one, and real finesse is now needed to bring a page to the top of the rankings.

Adapting to the Future
In a few months, the outrage and despair of Penguin 2.0 will have faded into the background, only to be replaced by a new harbinger of doom. Through it all, Google will keep moving toward its vision for a strong search environment: one free of spam, exploitation and excessive commercialization. Anyone who pays attention to the rumblings of the giant’s press releases and mouthpieces like Matt Cutts should never be taken by surprise.
So, when everything is considered, it is not SEO that is dying, but rather the obvious black-hat methods that have flourished unregulated for so long. Google and its fellow search engines are ushering in a more civilized era in online marketing. Who will pull ahead and who will lag behind remains to be seen.
What are your views? Is there still a place for SEO or is Google systematically killing the SEO industry? Post your thoughts in the Comments section.
resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/07/19/seo-is-neither-dead-nor-dying/

7 Must-Have Online Tools for Businesses

Running a business, no matter how large or small, takes a tremendous amount of savvy organization skills. It takes a New York minute for your operation to go from clean to cluttered. From emails to receipts, project planning to social media, there’s a heck of a lot of things for any business owner to stay on top of. Thankfully, there are scads of smart developers out there creating tools that make everything from to do lists to invoice generation a digital snap.
If you haven’t had time to keep up on the latest and greatest organization tools, read on; we’ve done the homework for you.

1. Teuxdeux – To Do Lists for the Modern Age
No matter how digital our lives become, to do lists still remain integral to our day-to-day activities. Whether you’re an old-fashioned pen and paper person or an online task guru, TeuxDeux makes life volumes easier. TeuxDeux lives in a tab on your computer, housing lists from simple to highly complex. The interface is uber-simple, clean, intuitive, and very useful. The best part; it’s completely free.

2. Shoeboxed – Organize the Little Things
Receipts: They’re tiny, plentiful, and can clutter up a happy desk faster than a turbo train. They seem to be everywhere but where you need them most, come tax time. Shoeboxed aims to remedy this mini-nightmare by digitally housing all your important receipts, bills, and business cards. The how is up to you. Either send all your goodies in a pre-paid envelope and let them do the dirty work, or you can purchase an online desktop uploader. Your easiest option: use their handy dandy mobile apps. With minimum setup and reasonable monthly fees (the apps themselves are free, as is the DIY account), your business or nonprofit will reap the organizational benefits from word one.

3. Trello – Easy Project Management
Trello is a project management tool for businesses or departments that need a simple interface and notification system. It’s ideal for tasks that are too complicated for traditional to-do lists, but not complicated enough to warrant a Basecamp style uber-software solution. Trello is free, and super flexible. Create cards and categories for each of your tasks, and assign them to any user, complete with real-time notifications. Customer support for Trello rocks, and you’ll notice frequent upgrades and improvements too.

4. The Invoice Machine – Get Paid and Stay Organized
If you run a business that invoices clients but doesn’t require hardcore invoicing software (that can costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars), The Invoice Machine is an ideal middle of the road option. Basic features like invoice generation are free, as long as you don’t create more than three in a given month. Inexpensive paid plans are perfect for those who send more frequent invoices, and The Invoice Machine will of course keep track of everything you send, and remind you when invoices are still outstanding. Each invoice looks polished and professional, and this tool truly simplifies the process of getting paid.

5. Sanebox- Make Sense of Your Inbox
One of the most demanding tasks of any business professional is keeping up with the mighty email inbox. It doesn’t take long for to suddenly feel like way too much time is spent parsing through stacks and stacks of unread messages. Enter Sanebox. This nifty tool determines how important each received message is to you, and it filters less critical emails into subsequent folders. Sanebox also summarizes emails and information in your less important folders, and appropriately highlights those it knows you need to read now. You can also set-up reminders to follow-up with individuals as needed, and you can ask that Sanebox put designated emails back into your inbox in any given timeframe. There are several paid plans to choose from, depending on the size of your inbox and your overall needs.

6. Hootsuite – Social Media Magic
Just about every business is getting in on the social action these days, and those that aren’t are delaying the inevitable out of intimidation. Hootsuite aims to assist you in wading through the madness and keeping things organized and simple.
Connect all your social media accounts to Hootsuite (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. – note that Google+ doesn’t yet allow connectivity), then send and schedule tweets and status updates to your heart’s content. Hootsuite allows Social Media Professionals to plan out a bundle of blasts in advance, supporting big picture planning and saving you tons of time. It will also let you set-up a column with keyword searches, then display tweets that feature your selections. This allows you to track your business’s social signals, and see all your past, present, and future social updates; all in one handy interface. Basic features are free; utilizing all the bells and whistles will require a paid plan.

7. Yast – A Different Kind of Time Tracking
Sometimes we’re so busy each day, it’s hard to know how much time we spend doing each of our critical tasks. If time management is key to your success, let Yast demystify your world. Yast runs in the background throughout your day’s activities, tracking how much time you spend on specific tasks. Each day, it compiles the info into a timeline, visually showcasing where you spent your time and attention each day, week, month, and year. You’re able to chunk out projects into specific tasks too, and see how they each measure up. There are three different kinds of pricing plans, and the Personal option is completely free. Business plans allow for multiple users and shared projects, and there’s a free trial to truly assess if the tool is right for you.
As business owners, we can never be too organized. Got an organizational tool you can’t live without that didn’t make the list? Leave us a comment and enlighten us!
resource: http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/07/18/7-must-have-online-tools-for-businesses/