What Is SEO – Are You Sure You Know What It Means?

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I sipped my red wine, as I listened to my two friends who had so much interest in SEO.

They were arguing about search engine optimization and what it takes to rank on Google first page.

Believe me; I was shocked when I realized they don’t even know what SEO means?

And I’m throwing the question open – what is SEO?

If you think SEO is that simple, why isn’t your blog page on Google #1? Listen, I’m going to share a few insights that could change your perspective about Google & ranking.

Knowing the meaning of a thing isn’t enough. You’ve to know the principles.

Principles of SEO

Aha, this is what you need to understand. How does SEO work and what can you do to get results without having to wait for months or years? See SEO 101 case study.

The first thing you need to realize is that Google is not concerned about your homepage, but your inner pages. This doesn’t mean you should neglect the index page of your blog, but it tells you to focus on the inner pages more.

Most especially, the archive posts. Bloggers make the mistake of neglecting the archive posts; those posts that were published months and years ago. They’re goldmines.

Keep everything fresh

Get this: In the eyes of Google spider, the old posts are particularly important. They dictate what the latest posts would be in terms of reach.

This was the reason why intelligent bloggers started revamping their posts when they got penalized by Panda and Penguin. Yes, you caught me red handed, I actually revamped 23 blog posts on my blog. Back in the day, I was scared of losing my Google #2 position.

The first principle of search engine optimization is to build a strong foundation for your future content. In order words, don’t just slap any type of content today, just to get started with your blog, with the hope of blogging smarter in the future. The future of blogging is today.

Most blogs are suffering organically because, the foundation of such blogs aren’t strong. And you know what happens when the wind blows hard upon a house not build on a solid foundation – it falls?

Bad Link Building Recovery After Google Penguin

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I have seen a lot of people with link problems during the course of this year. Some of these have been companies that have gone really deep with bad linking practices. Lots of article directories, lots of directories, lots of paid guest posts, really bad anchor text mix … well, lots of link building done for link building’s sake.

Then 2012 came and the piper came calling. The bill was due, and they were either heavily penalized, or outright flushed from the index. For some, they were hit by Penguin. Others were hit by unnatural links messages, and some of these were followed by penalties as well.

Many of these companies have real people working at them, many employees, and their whole business got turned upside down. It’s a shame really. Many of the impacted companies have good, genuine, people working for them, and they’ve been badly hurt.

Whether the participants were bad actors or not, Google is just acting to protect its business. For those who were penalized, the situation is dire.

ow the question is, can you recover?

The Recovery Process

Yes, you can recover. We have helped a few sites to get their penalty removed (not Penguin as yet, as there has not yet been an update to that algorithm).

Don’t get me wrong, it was a painful process. For reference, I have written about parts of the process in two recent articles here on Search Engine Watch:

  1. 2 Quick Ways to Perform Bad Link Archaeology
  2. Simplifying the Task of Pruning Links

Those two posts should give you an idea of the some of the basic mechanics. In addition, here are some other things you should plan on doing when you begin work on cleaning up a bad link profile:

10 Best Link Building Practices

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Link building is hardly something you learn overnight. It requires specialized insight and SEO knowledge in order for a plan to be implemented effectively. Adhering to the following ten best practices for effective link building will optimize your backlinks:

1. Alter Your Anchor Text

Search Engines still heavily weigh SERP’s towards the anchor text of links to your page. Anchor text should always reflect the content. By altering your anchor text, you will keep your site highly relevant and highly ranked.

2. Deep Links

Incorporate your link building strategy throughout your site, not simply to one or two pages. An average link pattern shows links to various destinations of the site. However, there is no average deep link ratio. Most sites behave differentially. For example, blogs tend to have more deep links than the average household name website.

3. Indirect Linking

Link building success can also be supported by utilizing an indirect link strategy. Instead of solely pointing links to your page, it’s also helpful if you boost sites that link to you.

4. Create NoFollow as do follow links

The no-follow attribute of a link has been designed to tell search engines that a particular link should not give any credit to the linked site. Even though no-follow links don’t pass any juice, it is important to create a balanced backlink structure to your site.

5. Build Links on High, Medium and Low PR websites

Remember Best Practice Rule #1, alter anchor text? The same notion applies to link building on a range of PR sites. Authority links are great, but a mix of high and low PR sites is the way to go.

6. Smooth Out Your Link Growth

Effective link building should be a marathon, not a race. It is important to balance the amount of links you acquire daily.

7. Diversify Your Links and Link Mentions
Strategic link building isn’t an all or nothing proposition. So why would you put all your proverbial eggs in one basket? Create links and spread your link mentions across the online landscape.

8. Use Various Tactics

Devise a strategic link building plan that ensures your goals are in line with reality. Consider a top ranking with a long-tail keyword combination. It could be way more profitable than trying to shoot for the stars.

9. Engage in the Conversation

For good rankings, industry relevancy is the key to success. Make sure that you and your site are heard from. Listen and engage in the online conversation.

10. Run, Don’t Walk From SEO Spam-Havens

Today, link farms and tons of link directories are mostly deemed worthless. Don’t seek success in spam-havens or link-exchange networks. When you’re ready to incorporate link building into your Organic Search initiative, you need to consult with experts who understand link building best practices.

How to Increase PPC Campaign Traffic and Maximize Conversions

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A pay per click campaign can be an extremely effective way to market your business. However, it’s easy to lose money if you don’t understand the fundamentals behind getting clicks and turning them into conversions. To make sure that you’re getting the most out of your PPC campaign, let’s go over some ways to increase your traffic numbers and convert that traffic into sales.

Check Out the Competition
One of the first things to do is analyze what your competitors are doing. This can be done by performing a search for a few targeted keywords that pertain to your niche and see what pops up at the top of displayed ads. In most cases, the ads with top positions are making money. Otherwise, your competitors probably wouldn’t be spending the money to bid on those keywords. Simply look at a few ads and see what kinds of keywords are being used and any other noticeable patterns. You can then use this information to tweak your existing ads or for creating new ones.

Choose Your Keywords Wisely
In order to get traffic, it starts by picking relevant keywords for your ads. After you have done some brainstorming, you should try to come up with some long tail keywords that use multiple words. For example, instead of using “sports equipment,” you might want to use something longer like “men’s athletic football equipment.” Doing so should give your ads a higher position while simultaneously reducing your bidding prices. It’s also beneficial because the more targeted your keywords are, the more likely people are to buy.

Be Descriptive in Your Ad Copy
Your goal when creating ads is to get the right people to click on them. This means that you want people with genuine interest who are ready to buy to click on your ads and not people with only a partial interest or who are only looking for information. To accomplish this, you should be very specific in your ad copy and make sure that visitors know exactly what they’re getting when they click on an ad.

Use a Call to Action
Sometimes all people need is a little encouragement to get them to do what you want them to do. One of the best ways to increase your click through rate in your Pay Per Click campaign is to use a call to action. For example, at the end of an ad you might say something like “click here to get your product now.” Another trick is to use words like “secret” or “inside information.” This is because people who think they’re getting a special deal are more likely to click on an ad.

Track the Results
One of the best parts of new technology like PPC campaigns is the fact that you can conveniently track and analyze your results. Consequently, you should keep track of which keywords are getting clicked and making conversions. Once you know what works, simply rinse and repeat. On the other hand, you should scrap the keywords that aren’t bringing you any money.

How to Create a Successful Global PPC Campaign

Many businesses have recognized the importance and value of localization.

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The Internet offers unparalleled opportunities to break into new markets, but traditional SEOthrough localization techniques can be slow to yield conversions.

Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns can offer a quick and cost-effective way to break into new markets and increase brand awareness at the same time.

Target Your Markets

Even if you consider your products or services to have truly global appeal, it can help to focus your efforts on one or two target markets to begin with. Don’t just go on a hunch, but research your target markets thoroughly. It’s important that your products have a genuine appeal within the markets you choose but other factors can be equally important.

  • Do you already offer shipping to the targeted country or area and is shipping cost-effective?
  • Are you familiar with tax rules and other financial regulations?
  • Are your products allowed to be exported into the target market in the first place?
  • Do you have support staff available to deal with queries and problems in the language of the target market?

Getting the click-through is only part of the process. You also have to be able to follow through and service a successful campaign.

Content Marketing Tips from Social Media Experts

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Here are ten content marketing tips from the social media experts here at Content Marketing World.

  1. If you run out of things to say, don’t say anything at all.
  2. Make customers the hero in your content. They saved the day, came up with solution, reaped the reward.
  3. Think like a business person blogging, not like a blogger blogging for business.
  4. You have to be brave.
  5. Some of your content should be written for the people who share your content.
  6. Ask yourself: Am I adding value or am I creating static and noise?
  7. Create “holy smokes!” content. — Jason Falls
  8. The chasm between privacy and personalization is immense. Speak to me, but don’t stalk me.
  9. Write in simple, consumable language, just as you’d speak—not like you’re writing a high school essay.
  10. Working on headlines is probably the best thing you can do as a writer.

Internet Marketing to your Web business

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Internet marketing for your web based business is critical. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to look at their businesses online for a lot of reasons. A few of the critical sides entrepreneurs consider their businesses on the internet is because they can reach a larger pool of customers. It is also less costly to possess your online business online. Many entrepreneurs are moving to the net but you’re forgetting one important element, online marketing. Even if you place up an internet site is not to mean you’re going to have plenty of clients buying on your part instantly. You need to figure out how to market your internet business. Online marketing is different than traditional marketing though the goal continues to be the same, taking your product or service before numerous people as you possibly can. Internet promotion can be much more effective and productive compared to the traditional means of marketing. In the following paragraphs Let me discuss a few of the ways you can advertise your services or products online. Some of these ways maybe be too expensive but will be extremely effective to help you advertise your services or products.

Internet ads are classified as the new craze. Many of the major companies are paying a high price to acquire their ads show up on high traffic websites. To possess your web ad displayed on a higher traffic website like Myspace for instance, will run you around Twenty to thirty grand a month. As an alternative if there is no need that sort of money to pay out for your internet ads, I know of a handful of cheaper solutions. Before I recieve to the cheaper solutions We’ve a concept for those of you trying to earn money online. If you can to produce a superior traffic website, companies will probably pay you a high price simply to have their ads on your own website. But anyways lets get back to the topic. Your next method of getting your ads out is Pay per click. Basically you get keywords highly relevant to your product or service and then you bid against other entrepreneurs with the word. In the event you win your bid you may have top placement along with your ad whenever anyone types inside keyword you decide on. And you also just pay whenever someone follows your ad. This is known as Pay-Per-Click advertising. One of the major problems you could see is the highly wanted keywords are highly competitive, meaning you could possibly find themselves paying a lot of cash to find the best placement. I’ve heard of companies paying up to 10 grand every thirty days to find the best keywords. The main element here will be to find high traffic keywords with low competition.

There are plenty of various other ways advertise your small business including finding cash for ads in ezines, writing e-books, and having top placement in search engines. Working out advertise your online businesses is going to take time but learning internet website marketing to your online business is the greatest approach to take.

Web Solutions Developer

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Essential Job Functions: Maintains, modifies and supports all Local Media Group interactive properties, including all iOS and Andriod variant applications, support and business applications created and managed by the Local Media Group Digital team. Creates and implements new application features, code maintenance, application releases, application builds, application quality assurance and technical support. Researches and diagnoses complex website production and efficiency issues. Provides applications support to the Technology Operations team as needed. Recommends and builds error handling and automation to create system efficiencies. Estimates and meets timelines for development releases. Develops and executes unit tests. Creates, maintains and reports status from project task lists. Interacts with business product managers to gather and maintain project requirements. Interacts with QA department to coordinate testing activities. Proactively participates in maintaining team standards and best practices. Other duties as assigned by management.

Minimum Qualifications: All must be met to be considered.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, a related field, or an equivalent training and/or experience.

Experience: Minimum of three years of website development or related technical experience. Past experience working with Content Management Systems; object oriented languages (specifically Perl, PHP, Java, C#,.NET, Objective C, SQL) and experience with XML, JavaScript, CGI::APPLICATION, HTML::TEMPLATE, jquery library, RSS, XHTML, and CSS is highly preferred. Enterprise web hosting experience using CentOS, Apache, NGINX, MySQL preferred. Must have experience diagnosing complex application issues and troubleshooting time-critical production problems. Past experience managing projects from conception to completion. Development, deployment, and support of IOS and Android applications a plus.

Specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Flexible and adaptable to meet changing priorities and deadlines. Self-directed with excellent time management skills. Excellent customer focused problem solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot problems and develop resolutions. Effective communicator, verbally and in writing. Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills. Organized and detail oriented. Results oriented and the ability to track progress, meet deadlines, and achieve operational goals

Finding the Cheap Hosting Provider that Fits Right With Your Project

Now that you understand a little bit about the different types of hosting that you can use for a blog or website, you need to know how to find a cheap provider for your hosting. It all starts by setting a budget, and then finding the right package that gives you all the different tools and features necessary for your unique project.

Take the time to figure out what will benefit you the most and make sure those features are included within your package. If you want to get the cheapest price for your hosting, commit to a yearly or multi-year plan. This can save you anywhere from 25% to 75% a year and most shared hosting packages will offer some type of yearly package.

One of the easiest ways to tell if you are getting hosting from a top company is to test the support of that company. They should offer 24/7 support through email, online chat and even over the phone. This support should respond to you within just a couple of minutes and should be very professional. If they are not, you need to move onto a different company for your cheap website hosting needs.

If you are unsure about the hosting company you should choose, try reading a few reviews and watching video reviews. There are a number of websites that feature reviews on top web hosting companies and they may also show some customer reviews you can read to get a sense of how good or bad the company is. By reading a few reviews, you will be able to figure out whether the company really offers what you need or not.

The most important thing to remember when searching for cheap web hosting, don’t just look at price. This is why we recommend you set your budget before starting your search. If you already know what your budget is, you will find it much easier to look for the right type of hosting from a top company with all the features you need.

The right hosting company is out there for you and you can get the hosting you need for an inexpensive price. Just take extra care when searching for hosting because this will provide the foundation for your website. You can get cheap web hosting and start your website or blog today, just make sure you feel 100% confident in your decision.

Our custom web design solutions will WOW your audience

Custom Business Website Design

Your business website is just as important as your storefront. Your prospective customers are searching for the products and services you provide and will make a decision to contact your business based on your company’s online presence. That’s why we work with you to learn about your industry, business and customers, so that we can create an attractive modern website that generates results.

Custom User Interface Design

User interface (UI) is the link between a user and your website’s content. It includes menus, tabs, buttons, sidebars, and other elements that help website visitors navigate through your website and find content they are looking for. Effective user interface design is vital to the success of your website. A clean UI design will make the system more efficient and enjoyable for the user. All the websites we design have an intuitive user-friendly UI, but if you already have a website that needs better navigation, we can fix that as well!

Custom Landing Page Design

A Landing page is a page (not necessarily connected to your website) where a user “lands” after clicking on a link. Landing pages are perfect for highlighting a certain product or service for visitors coming directly from pay-per-click ads, banner ads, social media ads and more. We create excellent landing page designs that capture visitors’ attention, encourage a specific action and increase conversions.

Our process

At PDR Web Solutions, we have our own way of doing things, which has proven effective over the years. On every step of the process, we collaborate with you, listen to your feedback and make sure you are satisfied with the outcome. Here’s how we do it:

  • Consultation: we meet with you to discuss your business, goals, target market and your design ideas. This helps us develop a website that aligns with your goals, effectively speaks to your audience and accurately represents your brand. If you already have a website, we evaluate it and look for areas that can be improved.
  • Proposal: after our meeting, we will send you a proposal outlining specific features, timeline, cost and our suggestions to help your website meet its goals.
  • Mock-up: our team will create a design mock-up to help you envision the new design and layout of your new website.
  • Development: we build your website based on the mock-up design. You receive a test link, which allows you to check on the development of your website at any moment.
  • Launch: we do a final check for errors, make necessary changes and, with your approval, publish your website!

Whether you’re located in Baltimore, Maryland, D.C., Virginia or anywhere in the U.S., contact ustoday to see how we can help you