Pimp My Keywords

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 73

Don't worry about who is ranked No. 1 in Google on your targeted keyword, especially if your website is ranked lower than No. 10.

Concentrate on just being a little bit better than the listing above you.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an ongoing process.

It takes time.

It takes hard work.

It takes patience.

However, if you focus on your website; your content; your link building campaign and work to be a little bit better than the listing above yours, you'll see improvement.

Free SEO Answers

If you have search engine optimization (SEO) questions, we have answers.

No charge.

No sales pitch.

You may ask your question or comment through our blog and we'll answer you via e-mail.

You may also visit our website and contact us via our Search Engine Optimization Analysis (which is also free).

Or, if you prefer, you may call me at (513) 885-5000.

Other free and helpful tools on our website include SEO podcasts, a monthly newsletter, a monthly webinar, SEO white papers and articles.

Ask away. We'll help.

Separate Yourself From The Herd

We have hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to earn more business, more clients, more trust, more friends and more possibilities of creating better relationships on the internet.

Twitter allows us to leave 140-characters posts which answer the question "what are you doing now?"

Facebook allows us to re-connect with friends and make new ones.

LinkedIn offers similar features but perhaps on a more "starchy shirt" level (still good).

...and other platforms as well.

Be smart. Use the tools wisely.

Quit following the herd of sheep that are starting to go off a cliff.

In other words, use the tools to separate yourself and your business from those who are using social media tools to cause harm or pat themselves on the back until their arm is broken.

It is time for you to grow up, "buck up" and start shaping yourself as a professional and an expert in your field.

• Quit the herd mentality of spreading gossip and putting down others in a social media forum.
• Quit the herd mentality of "I'll compliment you, if you'll compliment me."
• Quit the herd mentality of shameless self-promotion. 
• Quit the herd mentality of whining. No one wants to hear you whine.
• Quit the herd mentality of claiming someone's blog, tweet, event, etc. as your own original content.

It's time for you to separate yourself from the herd.

• Be informative, accurate, helpful and professional.
• Share positive information about your industry.
• Be supportive of others. Thank them. Congratulate them. Promote their events. "Retweet" them.

Think about what you post in Facebook, Twitter, etc. Your employer, your clients, your prospects, your friends and your family are reading what you post every day.

Social media tools are as only good as those are who use them wisely.

Social Media Is Worth Your Time

Read an interesting article this morning about social media and whether or not your time was worth the effort.

To make a long story short, the answer is "yes" for many reasons:

• Social media is free.
• The payback can be great.
• You'll get out of it what you put into it.
• An opportunity to "socialize" and exchange conversations, ideas, etc., with friends, colleagues, strategic partners, clients and prospects.

The drawback, of course, is the weak excuse of not being able to find time. Overcome this obstacle by:

• Getting up 15 minutes early each morning and write something in your blog or Facebook page.
• Using some Twitter tools to schedule Tweets at a later time in Twitter.
• Using your cell phone.
• Getting your staff involved.
• Hiring a freelance writer or intern to help.

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 72

Of all the things to stress about - and spend time on - in your search engine optimization campaigns, the least of your worries is the keyword meta tag.

You know what I'm talking about: stuffing all your keywords into the

code section in your website's html, php, content management system, etc., etc.

Don't fret my friend. Check out the Google webmaster tools article on Meta Tags.

Some will opt to continue to use the code, but at least you know you don't have to. Use the time saved to work on content and link building.

True SEO Never Ends

Search Engine Optimization is not a one-time event.

Too many times, I have heard from business owners that they have "optimized their websites" and that they are "good for Google."

Really? How come I can't find your website when I do a Google search for your products or services?

Search engine optimization is not a "one and done" task. You don't sprinkle in some meta tag codes and call it a day. Heaven forbid you went out of bounds and hid some keywords in the background of your web pages.

SEO takes time, hard work and patience. The Number 1 reason why SEO projects fail is because people give up.

This is a journey that never ends. Your road map should include all the elements of a good SEO plan: targeted keywords; strong content and meta tag codes; fresh content and an ongoing link building program to earn one-way links back to your website.

You should always strive to make your website rank higher in Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines.

Once you are ranked in the Top 10, you may find yourself working harder to stay there.

Don't stop.

Where Is Your SEO Firm?

Everyone is hanging out a shingle these days and calling themselves a Search Engine Optimization firm.

Here's the con:

The "firms" are either aggressive salespeople working for commission for an over-priced SEO firm in New York (or in some other far-off location in which you'll never have the opportunity to meet them face-to-face).

Or...they are affiliate programs in which they are also re-selling SEO services.

In my opinion, never trust an SEO salesperson. They're lying. They don't know SEO. They only know how to sell SEO. Salespeople - especially SEO salespeople - always puke the perfect answer that you want to hear. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

(Note: I am not a salesperson. I am the President and founder of Purple Trout, LLC. I answer questions and help prospects and clients with their SEO needs. I'll point you in the right direction and our website will help educate you on search engine optimization topics. We host a free monthly webinar; broadcast two monthly SEO podcasts, and publish a monthly SEO newsletter. We also offer a FREE SEO Analysis to help answer some of your questions.).

If SEO sales people promise you top rankings in Google, you better run. Google warns of such promises. Better yet, what keywords are they holding the No. 1 position in search engines? (Hint: It better not be the name of the company or something ridiculous like "SEO Cincinnati when the Cincinnati Reds are playing the Chicago Cubs").

Ask the "salesperson" a few simple questions:

• Who is doing the work and can you meet them for coffee to discuss strategy?
• Can you call local references and see their case studies, ranking reports, etc.?
• Is the work sub-contracted to another office; another vendor and/or to someone in another country?
• Call at least two other SEO firms. Ask the same questions. Compare answers. 

You may call me if you wish (513) 885-5000. Questions and answers are always free - and the coffee's pretty good, too. I live here and work here, and our employees do too.

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 71

Everyone in the search world is stressed out or worried about Caffeine (sorry, not the kind you consume). You see, Google's Caffeine is an update a "retooled" search engine which is said to be faster, with better results, etc.

How will that effect your search engine rankings?

See the reason why some are pushing the panic button?

Don't worry. Read more about here in PC Magazine. Updates to come.

Start-up Goes Beyond Google, Yahoo & Bing For Deeper Searches On The Web

You're not alone if you’re equally impressed by how quickly traditional search engines can find factual information as you are frustrated by their inability to be smart and helpful for deeper, more comprehensive information from the Internet.

That’s why Sundar Kadayam, a Cincinnati-based search expert and entrepreneur, has launched a beta release of Zakta.com (http://zakta.com), a personal and social search engine that goes beyond search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing to deliver a “people-powered,” edit-able search engine that supports deeper searches on the Web.

“Zakta.com is the closest thing to the next big thing in search I’ve seen,” says Jason Falls, a top blogger and author of the popular blog at SocialMediaExplorer.com. “Innovation in search these days is generally limited to Google and some other guy down the hall at Google. The main reason is that if you’re a start-up trying to take on Google, Yahoo or Bing/MSN, well … you’re nuts. Sundar Kadayam, then, by definition, is nuts. But he might just be the right nut to do it.”

Zakta meshes enhanced search technologies with automatic categorization of results for millions of topics, personalization tools, social media tools and social networks to deliver a new kind of Web search engine, intent on relieving the pain that users face with deeper Web searches.

“Zakta is really the first search engine that puts you – not the information or the data – at the heart of the entire search process,” says Founder and CEO Kadayam, who specialized in search technologies, text-mining, social media analysis and computer networking at former companies that have included Attachmate, Intelliseek Inc. and The Nielsen Company. “Zakta helps the process of searching for information by letting you edit, save and share your results and then invite your community for feedback and insights.”

Case in point: Current search engines deliver impressive results for people who are looking for factual information about a company – name, URL, history, home page, address, phone number, map, driving, stock price, news and press releases. But searching turns frustrating quickly for users seeking deeper information, about, say, a disease, college financial aid or a new technology. Faced with millions of “hits” on any topic, users are left visiting link after link, page after page, to find results that are solid, relevant and worth keeping.

“One of my biggest frustrations has been that after spending hours searching on the Web, I had nothing to show, reuse or benefit anyone else, including myself in the future,” Kadayam says. So he posed a series of important questions about Internet searches as he guided the development of Zakta, whose name is derived from the word “exactly.”

Why aren’t search results meaningfully organized to make it easier for users to find what they need? Why can’t users control the results by deleting those that are unnecessary and re-ordering those that are valuable? Why do searches – even those on the same topic – have to start from scratch, time after time? Why can’t users connect with other Internet searchers who have looked into the same topic before, and benefit from what they know? If users find something really great, why can’t they save and share it easily, and then collaborate with trusted friends, colleagues or coworkers interested in the same topic?

Zakta addresses all these issues. Among the site’s key features:

1. Organized search results. When users hit “find,” Zakta automatically presents results in logical categories: web sites, books, reference materials and subcategories relevant to the user’s query.

2. Related topics and subtopics. Zakta suggests related or additional topics and subtopics to search.
   
3. Fully editable search results. Zakta’s search results are completely editable and under the user’s control.Delete results that aren’t relevant. Drag-and-drop results to rearrange them. Add tags and annotations to any result.
   
4. Automatically saved searches. All of the changes users make to their search results are all saved automatically into their Zakta account. Users will automatically get their “personal search results” the next time they search the same topic.
   
5. Easy knowledge sharing. Zakta enables users to publish their findings or knowledge in the form of Zakta Guides. Searching on Zakta also delivers among its first results relevant Zakta Guides published by others.
   
6. Trusted collaboration. Zakta users can invite other people they trust – such as colleagues, friends, or family members – to find information together and use a Zakta Guide s a living, collaborative document.
   
   
7. Topical recommendations. Zakta can help users stay informed on topics of interest through recommendations from people they trust on those topics.

Zakta is ideally suited for anyone who needs an online search tool where information can be researched, saved, collaborated on and shared easily, whether they are researchers or authors, bloggers or businesses, consultants or students, librarians or travelers, hobbyists or educators.

About Zakta

Zakta's mission is to deliver Web search for YOU and people YOU trust. Zakta makes searching more purposeful by helping you find information faster, keep what you find and collaborate with others. Zakta was founded by search expert, Sundar Kadayam in 2007.  Zakta is backed by Vora Ventures, with veteran entrepreneur Mahendra Vora as Chairman of Zakta. Seasoned technologist Mark Reed is CTO of Zakta.  Zakta LLC (www.zakta.com) is a small, privately held start-up in Cincinnati, Ohio.

SEO Tactics, Tips & Helpful Advice - No. 70

While working on your search engine optimization strategy, process, etc., don't forget:

• Google owns 70% of the search engine market. Although you should consider other SEO efforts, Google is still the big dog.
• Definitely consider Bing. Learn it. Use it. Apply the tools available.
• Consider Bing for your Pay Per Click efforts.
• Google is the No. 1 search engine. YouTube is No. 2. If you have a video, put it there. If you don't have a video, create one.
• Write articles for your website.
• Write articles for other websites.
• Write for your blog. If you don't have a blog, create one. Now. Today.
• Update your website's content. I bet it's old. Really old.
• How about those Page Titles? Do they say things like "Home" and "About Us" or do they just contain the name of your business?