July 12, 2010

Top Ten SEO Mistakes We See Connecticut Businesses Making

SEO is effective, but only when done properly. Avoid these top 10 mistakes to have the most success with your Search Engine Optimization:

Mistake #1: Targeting the wrong keywords. Make sure that you have keywords that users actually search for, not just ones that sound good.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Title tags. So many people leave their website title tag empty, which is NOT effective at all. It helps with optimization, but ultimately makes your page look complete with a title.

Mistake #3: Limiting accessibility. Having a Flash website is great. They’re fun, interactive, and they look pretty. However, not having an HTML alternative turns off search engines and visitors who have slower connections.

Mistake #4: Menus with JavaScript. Search engines don’t read JavaScript, so you should consider having links elsewhere or doing them in HTML so search engines can read them.

Mistake #5: Lack of maintenance. You can’t just put your site up and leave it forever. Just like a physical business, it needs to be updated, maintained, cleaned, and changed over time to be most effective.

Mistake #6: Meta tag overload. While meta tags are effective, spending too much focus on them will waste your time. They’re not as important as they once were, and will be much less critical than other parts of your site.

Mistake #7: Image-only headings. Images do make your site look good, but headlines will do much more for SEO than any graphic. Try putting images under headlines instead, to get the best of both worlds.

Mistake #8: Forgetting the URL. Your URL matters. You need to make sure that your URL speaks to your page content so that it can add to your SEO success. Consider something like www.dantheSEOprofessoinal.com instead of just www.danjenkins.com, for example.

Mistake #9: Spam via backlinks. So many people assume that more backlinks are better than less, but that spells trouble right away. Quality is far more important for your backlinks than quantity, and over-linking will rule you a spammer and get you kicked out of search engines.

Mistake #10: Lack of keywords. Just like having too many keywords, not having enough will kill your website’s SEO success. Focus on adding keywords wherever you can, with a standard of 1-2 keywords per 100 words. More will border on the line of spamming and less will not do your website justice.

These are the top 10 mistakes that we see Connecticut businesses—and indeed businesses throughout the U.S.—making when it comes to SEO. In order to keep yourself from making these mistakes, keep them in mind when doing your SEO for your or your client’s website.

To schedule a free consultation with Connecticut’s leading Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firm, please visit www.AllAccessUnlimited.com or call our Stamford, CT headquarters directly at: 203-276-9812

Filed under: SEO, Search Engine Optimization — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:05 am

October 27, 2009

Networking Will Increase Your Profits—But You Need To Do It The Right Way

We’ve been saying this for years: No matter who you are, learning to proactively network and impress others by expressing your interest in them will always take you far.

This lesson hit home for us yesterday. Some of us attended a one-day online marketing seminar down in Manhattan in New York City.

Topics covered were Website Design best practices, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Pay Per Click Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Email Marketing and Viral Marketing.
While at the seminar, we were rubbing elbows with other attendees. We noticed something pretty interesting. Most of the people we were meeting were from Fairfield County, Connecticut. And many were clearly trying to network.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s a great idea. Today’s friendly greeting and handshake may be tomorrow’s referral. But many were going about it in a backward kind of way.
Let me explain.
These Connecticut business owners kept introducing themselves and their companies—but they were doing it in such a way as if they truly believed that other people at the seminar cared about them.
One could even hear faint echoes of a one-size-fits-all elevator pitch when they spoke.
Do you do this? If so, then we think you’re networking incorrectly!
The reality is that people you meet at these kinds of events really don’t care about you; they care much more about themselves.
You see, when they meet you, they’re not really thinking or wondering to themselves, “Who is this person?” but rather, “What can this person do for ME?”
Generally, people hire or buy from people they know, like and trust. Also, people generally like people who are interested in them.
So, with this in mind, a much more effective way to network would be to focus on the person you meet, instead of focusing on yourself. For example, say things like:
What do YOU need?
Do YOU find yourself needing more x, y, and z?
I would like to hear more about*YOUR company and goals for the immediate future.
Your target market often complains of X, Y, Z. In order to address this, we can help you by….
Do you see the difference? Instead of coming across like, “Hi, do you need my services?” Begin your conversation with any one of the following, “What can I do for you? Who would you like to meet? What resources have you been looking for that you can’t find?”
Especially when you’re networking, be interested in other people this way, and they will surely start to find you interesting as well.
Remember, the number one factor in COMMUNICATING is LISTENING!
No matter who you are, learning to proactively network and impress others with your interest in them will always take you far.

Filed under: Networking — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:34 pm
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