I just finished reading a recap about the Ad Age Small Agency Conference held in New Orleans recently. One of the discussions that permeated the conference was “how to replace the term small.” Everyone seemed in agreement that the word small gave the connotation that the agency did not have the ability to provide the client with all the services needed to do a first class job of communication. In some cases this might be true, but in many cases, the “small” agency is faster, more creative, more affordable, and just as darn good as the mega-agencies at providing services for clients.
Imagery is small. We are also what we term “virtual.” We don’t have fancy offices that increase our overhead. We can provide all the marketing services needed by clients – research, strategic planning, all the advertising and public relations services including creative and media, web and social media services, and a few other things that our larger competitors don’t touch, like custom training programs, meeting facilitation and custom secret shopper programs. The client has access to what she or he needs, when she or he needs it, without having to pay for the overhead of "all those people under the same roof."
How can we do it? We have a network of exceptional professionals that we bring in when the client needs the services.
Are we free? No. Are we cheap? No. We’re cost effective. Let’s face it, folks, no one gives her time and talent away. Do we get results? Yes. And we have clients that will tell you that.
Our clients are small to medium sized businesses and non-profits. The small business and non-profit clients used to think they couldn't afford an agency. We convinced them that they could and been partners in their growth.
We might be small in numbers "under the same roof," but we’re mighty in creativity, experience, skills, and abilities, and we know how to get the job done excellently. Small can be a good thing, even in the agency business.
Showing posts with label web site. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web site. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, September 4, 2009
A 60-Second Introduction to SEO
Hello. I am Ernie Schwarcz, and I am very proud of having been invited by Pat to be a guest phlogger and to occasionally share some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) insights and experiences with you.
Before I start, here are a few remarks (since we don’t know each other yet). First, I will assume that you have at least some basic SEO knowledge. If you are a total beginner (don’t worry, at one point we all were!), you’re welcome to refer to my introductory SEO articles on my own website. Here’s the link: www.seotrump.com/seo_articles.php
Second, I’ll try to keep my content professional but the style lighthearted. After all, SEO is great if it works, but can be quite technical on the bumpy road to success. Therefore, I’ll try to cite simple yet vivid examples and real-life comparisons.
Finally, you are welcome and encouraged to comment or criticize. The give and take of a discussion makes these topics even more interesting.
Let’s get started. First, a very simplified overview you can consider a 49-line (I counted!) crash course:
We all know that On-Page ( = Organic) SEO is the science of structuring, writing and programming a website in such a way that search engines will place the site high in their search results (for the desired keywords). This is my definition; Wikipedia’s you can find here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization. To this end, the search engines (to simplify matters, let’s take Google) frequently “crawl” millions of websites in order to register their content, HTML and other site “makeup”. Then Google files some of what it found. After every new crawl, that information usually gets updated in its databases.
When a web user searches for a given keyword or search term, such as “Montreal SEO Services” (I wonder where I got this example from …), Google compares this search term with all the information it has collected and pre-sorted from all similar and comparable sites. Then it very quickly sorts the information and displays on its search results thousands of websites most important in relation to “Montreal SEO Services” – most relevant websites first. Of course, every website wants to be first because first ranked, first clicked, first to get the opportunity.
For easier understanding, here is an example from real life. Let’s assume Jane Doe walks into her local library looking for books. The librarian will retrieve books for her based on the subject she chooses, but if Jane’s subject is too general, she’ll be asked for clarification. In other words, she’ll have to narrow down her topic. Initially, Jane is inexplicably shy. But eventually she tells the librarian that she is looking for books on bad marriages, good poison, and outstanding criminal lawyers. Now we are talking, and a successful search can be done within minutes.
A search engine is not a librarian and has no idea what you really want when you type in a general expression. But what a search engine will do is compare the search query to the information in their databases, find the contents which most closely match the requested information, and then rank them in order of importance, or relevance, whereby the most relevant contents are displayed first.
And these contents (as mentioned, they regularly are collected by the search engines) are simply what web designers or webmasters have written into their web sites, either explicitly in the copy, the HTML code, or - implicitly - as a set of logical connections, by way of internal and external links to the individual web pages.
So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the better designed and written a web site, the more relevant its content will be for the search engines for certain keywords or search terms. Increased relevance will, in turn, rank the site higher on the search engines' results pages for those terms.
How does Google determine what is “relevant”? Great question. The answer is: it has its own set of hundreds of very complex mathematical and logical rules, aka algorithms. Of course, we would all love to know these rules as they would guarantee top Search Engine Results Positions (SERPs) at all times. Alas, no-one knows for sure since Google guards its algorithms like the vaults of Fort Knox (and, to boot, often modifies and even changes them to keep us on our toes).
Well, not quite. The general principles are more or less known, and Google itself publishes some general guidelines. What is not known is the exact weight Google attaches to each of those rules and in which precise combination they are most effective. Add to this the fact that Yahoo and Bing have different criteria and algorithms, and you can imagine how difficult it is to optimize a website to satisfy all the Search Engines’ criteria.
Welcome to the complex world of SEO!
This was a lengthy introduction and future phlogs will be much shorter (promise!), but once you’ve read the above, future tips and pointers (to follow, unless Pat ejects me) will suddenly become quite common-sense and logical.
Ernie Schwarcz is President of SEO Trump Consultant Company in Montreal, Canada. SEO Trump Consulting is a Web Design & SEO Services Company specializing in high-quality yet affordable Web & SEO Services. Services are offered to US, Canadian and International clients in a a number of languages, including English, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Hungarian.
Before I start, here are a few remarks (since we don’t know each other yet). First, I will assume that you have at least some basic SEO knowledge. If you are a total beginner (don’t worry, at one point we all were!), you’re welcome to refer to my introductory SEO articles on my own website. Here’s the link: www.seotrump.com/seo_articles.php
Second, I’ll try to keep my content professional but the style lighthearted. After all, SEO is great if it works, but can be quite technical on the bumpy road to success. Therefore, I’ll try to cite simple yet vivid examples and real-life comparisons.
Finally, you are welcome and encouraged to comment or criticize. The give and take of a discussion makes these topics even more interesting.
Let’s get started. First, a very simplified overview you can consider a 49-line (I counted!) crash course:
We all know that On-Page ( = Organic) SEO is the science of structuring, writing and programming a website in such a way that search engines will place the site high in their search results (for the desired keywords). This is my definition; Wikipedia’s you can find here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization. To this end, the search engines (to simplify matters, let’s take Google) frequently “crawl” millions of websites in order to register their content, HTML and other site “makeup”. Then Google files some of what it found. After every new crawl, that information usually gets updated in its databases.
When a web user searches for a given keyword or search term, such as “Montreal SEO Services” (I wonder where I got this example from …), Google compares this search term with all the information it has collected and pre-sorted from all similar and comparable sites. Then it very quickly sorts the information and displays on its search results thousands of websites most important in relation to “Montreal SEO Services” – most relevant websites first. Of course, every website wants to be first because first ranked, first clicked, first to get the opportunity.
For easier understanding, here is an example from real life. Let’s assume Jane Doe walks into her local library looking for books. The librarian will retrieve books for her based on the subject she chooses, but if Jane’s subject is too general, she’ll be asked for clarification. In other words, she’ll have to narrow down her topic. Initially, Jane is inexplicably shy. But eventually she tells the librarian that she is looking for books on bad marriages, good poison, and outstanding criminal lawyers. Now we are talking, and a successful search can be done within minutes.
A search engine is not a librarian and has no idea what you really want when you type in a general expression. But what a search engine will do is compare the search query to the information in their databases, find the contents which most closely match the requested information, and then rank them in order of importance, or relevance, whereby the most relevant contents are displayed first.
And these contents (as mentioned, they regularly are collected by the search engines) are simply what web designers or webmasters have written into their web sites, either explicitly in the copy, the HTML code, or - implicitly - as a set of logical connections, by way of internal and external links to the individual web pages.
So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the better designed and written a web site, the more relevant its content will be for the search engines for certain keywords or search terms. Increased relevance will, in turn, rank the site higher on the search engines' results pages for those terms.
How does Google determine what is “relevant”? Great question. The answer is: it has its own set of hundreds of very complex mathematical and logical rules, aka algorithms. Of course, we would all love to know these rules as they would guarantee top Search Engine Results Positions (SERPs) at all times. Alas, no-one knows for sure since Google guards its algorithms like the vaults of Fort Knox (and, to boot, often modifies and even changes them to keep us on our toes).
Well, not quite. The general principles are more or less known, and Google itself publishes some general guidelines. What is not known is the exact weight Google attaches to each of those rules and in which precise combination they are most effective. Add to this the fact that Yahoo and Bing have different criteria and algorithms, and you can imagine how difficult it is to optimize a website to satisfy all the Search Engines’ criteria.
Welcome to the complex world of SEO!
This was a lengthy introduction and future phlogs will be much shorter (promise!), but once you’ve read the above, future tips and pointers (to follow, unless Pat ejects me) will suddenly become quite common-sense and logical.
Ernie Schwarcz is President of SEO Trump Consultant Company in Montreal, Canada. SEO Trump Consulting is a Web Design & SEO Services Company specializing in high-quality yet affordable Web & SEO Services. Services are offered to US, Canadian and International clients in a a number of languages, including English, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Hungarian.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Search Engine Woes Part II
SEO, SEO…Don’t get me banned from Google, Mr. SEO!
On my last post, we looked at a couple of tricks that some underhanded SEO practitioners might use. And I promised you that in a future post, we would cover things that might get you banned on search engines. Well here we go...
Straight from the webcrawler's mouth, here are the ten "dirty SEO tricks" that will cause Google to ban your site:
1. Cloaking (This doesn't relate to a Romulan "bird of prey.")
2. Duplicate Content (Pretty much what it says...)
3. Have a Robot Write Your Web Site (Mr. Data isn't involved here, either.)
4. Add Keywords that Don't Relate to Your Content (What it says...)
5. Link to Bad Neighborhoods (They have those on the web? Believe it!)
6. Hide Text (Also called keyword stuffing or fontmatching.)
7. Title Stacking (Google calls this the "cousin" of keyword stuffing.)
8. Distribute Viruses, Trojans or Other Badware (Nasty, Nasty!)
9. Doorway Pages (Another sneaky redirect)
10. Automated Inquiries (Another Robot No No!)
And rather than "duplicate content" which might violate copyright (which to me is one of the BIG No Nos), I'm going to link you to the About.com page that explains the ten nasty tricks listed above. http://google.about.com/od/searchengineoptimization/tp/badseo.htm?p=1
On my last post, we looked at a couple of tricks that some underhanded SEO practitioners might use. And I promised you that in a future post, we would cover things that might get you banned on search engines. Well here we go...
Straight from the webcrawler's mouth, here are the ten "dirty SEO tricks" that will cause Google to ban your site:
1. Cloaking (This doesn't relate to a Romulan "bird of prey.")
2. Duplicate Content (Pretty much what it says...)
3. Have a Robot Write Your Web Site (Mr. Data isn't involved here, either.)
4. Add Keywords that Don't Relate to Your Content (What it says...)
5. Link to Bad Neighborhoods (They have those on the web? Believe it!)
6. Hide Text (Also called keyword stuffing or fontmatching.)
7. Title Stacking (Google calls this the "cousin" of keyword stuffing.)
8. Distribute Viruses, Trojans or Other Badware (Nasty, Nasty!)
9. Doorway Pages (Another sneaky redirect)
10. Automated Inquiries (Another Robot No No!)
And rather than "duplicate content" which might violate copyright (which to me is one of the BIG No Nos), I'm going to link you to the About.com page that explains the ten nasty tricks listed above. http://google.about.com/od/searchengineoptimization/tp/badseo.htm?p=1
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Search Engine Woes Part I
SEO, SEO… What the Heck is SEO?
According to Wikipedia:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.
The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization
So how do I get “SEOd”?
We are constantly being emailed about optimizing our site (which we have already done, and we do for all our clients). I had one “gentleman” tell me we had to hire his firm because no one could find our site on the search engines. I asked him how he found us. Obviously, he had been on our site, since he knew we existed, had my company email address and the company phone number. He couldn’t have found us in the Yellow Pages, since we’re not there.
Watch out for these companies that contact you by email and tell you that they can produce great results for you. These spam emails are about as useful as the emails that you get on “male enhancement” pills.
Your webmaster or mistress should understand keyword optimization and build it into your site in the design and development phase. If you have hired someone to build your site, ask them if they understand SEO before the process begins. And listen carefully. If they promise you the moon and stars, be skeptical.
If you already have a site, check with your provider and ask them if they have optimized your site. Ask them how they did it. If you don’t hear anything about keywords and site structure, then you may want to investigate companies that do search engine optimizing. But be careful. There are plenty of SEOs out there that do underhanded and unethical stuff that may get your site removed from the search engine indices (as stated above).
If you think you need SEO, check with people you trust to find out who they recommend. Talk to your ISP. Talk to Internet design firms. And be wary of the “SEO” song and dance. Don’t let anyone promise to put you at the top of the Google search. Nobody can promise that you’ll end up as number one on all the search engines.
Questions to ask:
* What experience do you have in my local area? Nationally? Internationally?
* What are your most important SEO techniques?
* How long have you been doing SEO? How long has your company been in business?
* Are you putting me in paid advertising or actually optimizing my site?
* How do we communicate? Will you provide me with detailed information about how you intend to optimize my site and the reasoning behind your plan? Will you provide me with a written plan and list of keywords?
If you don't have an Internet site design and maintenance firm, check us out. http://www.imagerymarketing.com
Next time – Avoiding practices that could get you banned from the search engine indices.
According to Wikipedia:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.
The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization
So how do I get “SEOd”?
We are constantly being emailed about optimizing our site (which we have already done, and we do for all our clients). I had one “gentleman” tell me we had to hire his firm because no one could find our site on the search engines. I asked him how he found us. Obviously, he had been on our site, since he knew we existed, had my company email address and the company phone number. He couldn’t have found us in the Yellow Pages, since we’re not there.
Watch out for these companies that contact you by email and tell you that they can produce great results for you. These spam emails are about as useful as the emails that you get on “male enhancement” pills.
Your webmaster or mistress should understand keyword optimization and build it into your site in the design and development phase. If you have hired someone to build your site, ask them if they understand SEO before the process begins. And listen carefully. If they promise you the moon and stars, be skeptical.
If you already have a site, check with your provider and ask them if they have optimized your site. Ask them how they did it. If you don’t hear anything about keywords and site structure, then you may want to investigate companies that do search engine optimizing. But be careful. There are plenty of SEOs out there that do underhanded and unethical stuff that may get your site removed from the search engine indices (as stated above).
If you think you need SEO, check with people you trust to find out who they recommend. Talk to your ISP. Talk to Internet design firms. And be wary of the “SEO” song and dance. Don’t let anyone promise to put you at the top of the Google search. Nobody can promise that you’ll end up as number one on all the search engines.
Questions to ask:
* What experience do you have in my local area? Nationally? Internationally?
* What are your most important SEO techniques?
* How long have you been doing SEO? How long has your company been in business?
* Are you putting me in paid advertising or actually optimizing my site?
* How do we communicate? Will you provide me with detailed information about how you intend to optimize my site and the reasoning behind your plan? Will you provide me with a written plan and list of keywords?
If you don't have an Internet site design and maintenance firm, check us out. http://www.imagerymarketing.com
Next time – Avoiding practices that could get you banned from the search engine indices.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Why should you have a website?
At the end of last year, about 153 million people were online in the United States and about 10 million are expected to adopt the Net this year. (eMarketer)
More and more people are looking for services and products on-line than every before. Peoples' habits are changing. People move to a new area and very often rely solely on the Internet to learn about the new area, research and find out who to go to for what. Many people research and find their homes and jobs over the Internet. Most people are coming to expect that any professionally run business will have a web site. With a well-designed site your small business becomes a real player both on and off the net.
Add your Web Address to your stationary; business cards, other advertisements and you'll have visitors knowing exactly where to go for answers to their questions and where to send their friends to for great service.
The more people know about you and your company the greater the chances you have for attracting new customers. More is generally a good thing when running a business, unless you're talking about expenses!
Why should you have a website?
1. With a website, your business is open to the public all day, every day. Limited office hours and different time zones won’t hinder your customers’ ability to visit your business through your website. You can reach those people at any time of the day or night.
2. It’s a marketing piece that you can change instantly. A website can be like an online brochure or catalog to promote your business. But, unlike printed materials, you can change your website anytime to reflect new developments, featured service or product offerings, or just give your business a new look.
3. A website presents a professional image. A professional-looking website can help instill confidence in your customers and give the impression that a small business is a larger one. A website is a necessity by today’s standards – your customers expect you to have one, and they expect your web presence to reflect the kind of company you are.
4. Give your customers instant gratification. Customers and clients don’t always have the time to wait for more information – they want to get answers right away. With a website, they can find out the basics about your business, but you can also offer them even more – like downloads, samples, photo galleries, videos, news stories, links, or other content that will give them more information and keep them interested in you.
5. Promote your business and make yourself known to your customers. A website can help give your business more awareness among your customer base, locally, nationally and even globally. More and more consumers use the Internet as a research tool when searching for the best product or service. Without a website, you miss an opportunity to promote yourself and let your customers know who you are, what you do, and why you’re the best choice for them.
Imagery Marketing & Research Consultants designs and maintains websites for small businesses and non-profit ogranizaationsat affordable rates. Contact us today if you need our services!
(Resources: ClearTech and Jireh Communications)
More and more people are looking for services and products on-line than every before. Peoples' habits are changing. People move to a new area and very often rely solely on the Internet to learn about the new area, research and find out who to go to for what. Many people research and find their homes and jobs over the Internet. Most people are coming to expect that any professionally run business will have a web site. With a well-designed site your small business becomes a real player both on and off the net.
Add your Web Address to your stationary; business cards, other advertisements and you'll have visitors knowing exactly where to go for answers to their questions and where to send their friends to for great service.
The more people know about you and your company the greater the chances you have for attracting new customers. More is generally a good thing when running a business, unless you're talking about expenses!
Why should you have a website?
1. With a website, your business is open to the public all day, every day. Limited office hours and different time zones won’t hinder your customers’ ability to visit your business through your website. You can reach those people at any time of the day or night.
2. It’s a marketing piece that you can change instantly. A website can be like an online brochure or catalog to promote your business. But, unlike printed materials, you can change your website anytime to reflect new developments, featured service or product offerings, or just give your business a new look.
3. A website presents a professional image. A professional-looking website can help instill confidence in your customers and give the impression that a small business is a larger one. A website is a necessity by today’s standards – your customers expect you to have one, and they expect your web presence to reflect the kind of company you are.
4. Give your customers instant gratification. Customers and clients don’t always have the time to wait for more information – they want to get answers right away. With a website, they can find out the basics about your business, but you can also offer them even more – like downloads, samples, photo galleries, videos, news stories, links, or other content that will give them more information and keep them interested in you.
5. Promote your business and make yourself known to your customers. A website can help give your business more awareness among your customer base, locally, nationally and even globally. More and more consumers use the Internet as a research tool when searching for the best product or service. Without a website, you miss an opportunity to promote yourself and let your customers know who you are, what you do, and why you’re the best choice for them.
Imagery Marketing & Research Consultants designs and maintains websites for small businesses and non-profit ogranizaationsat affordable rates. Contact us today if you need our services!
(Resources: ClearTech and Jireh Communications)
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