The Process of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

24 May 2011 at 09:41

Damien Viero

Search Engine Optimisation, Web Design

No Comments

There is a lot to SEO when looked from a professional perspective. Plenty of web-owners think that creating content and commenting here and there is enough. Well, the best way to get links is to create compelling content, but that is just one part of the job. Process of SEO implementation is huge, but there are several top level processes that need to be accomplished in order to create a successful SEO campaign.

Initial Website Analysis

The first step is to analyze the website you are working on. Performing the technical analysis of the website is crucial as you need to determine if there are any problems, if new content needs to be created and of course what would the best landing pages be. Landing pages can already be there just need to be worked on, so for starters looking at the positions in the SERP is essential to get a clue of what needs to be done. Of course in the initial stage there is also the competitor research. Finding true competitors is essential for forming the right strategy.

Setting Your Goals

After you have completed the initial SEO analysis you need to set your goals. If you are working for a client it is very important to get their input, their wishes, their vision of success in order to create a working SEO strategy. In this part we set targets and our goals. After this the hard work begins.

Keyword Research

An existing website already has ranking keywords, but that doesn’t mean that they are the right keywords to go for. It is an SEO’s job to do proper research and compile a list of the best keywords to try and rank for with the appropriate pages. Once you have created your final list of keywords to work on you need to modify the content in order to have the maximum relevancy between keywords and your landing pages, this is an important part before you start the link building process.

Onsite Correction

The last part before you start with promotion and link building is making all the onsite factors function properly. This is for most the toughest part, even experienced SEO’s have a trouble with large sites as there can simply be too many errors or problems, which is why it is very important to focus on implementing everything right, from the navigation and URL structure to titles, redirects and proper inner linking.

Link Building

In some terms link building is the most important part of SEO, but without the previous steps even the most quality link building won’t have the desired effect. Link building is a special story; it can be divided into many subcategories. But the most important part is to know which key phrases you are targeting and for which pages. After that you can identify the right linking opportunities and engage them via email, social networks, or using slow approach like commenting on their blog and gaining their attention. But don’t forget to do link consolidation of your existing backlinks. You will be surprised how effective link consolidation can be for your rankings.

Reassessment

After a few months or a given period you need to reassess your work and your results. In the beginning everything may look simple and you think you can achieve a certain rank with ease, or believe impossible to do something in a short amount of time. But after a few months you will have a clearer picture of where you stand and your goals can be scaled to be more realistic. This will also give you input on which parts to focus more and how to proceed.

Following standard process of SEO implementation is crucial for any website’s success. Not a single part should be skipped if you want to maximize your results and achieve the goals you have set for your website.

Author bio:
Alex Petrovic, Advanced SEO strategist – Dejan SEO company
More information: SEO services
Personal twitter account: http://twitter.com/Alex_DejanSEO
Company twitter account: http://twitter.com/dejanseo

The Importance of having a Website

19 Aug 2010 at 13:37

Damien Viero

Web Design, Web Hosting

2 Comments

As unlikely as it may sound, there are still a number of businesses and sole proprietors in the world today who currently do not have a good commercial website. The reasons for this are numerous and varied. They include such arguments as websites are expensive, websites are a trouble to keep updated and there is simply too much competition between websites. Smaller businesses might like to have a website but simply do not know where to begin. In the increasingly technological world of today, it is critically important not only to have a company website, but to have a good commercial website. The reasons for this include the fact that good websites are more cost effective than competing forms of advertising. They are like a salesperson who works twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Remember that they are typically the first impression of a business which potential clients will notice.

Having a website is less costly than other competing forms of advertising. Any business man, or woman, who spends money on advertising, will agree that traditional forms of advertising are almost always very expensive. The more effective such advertising proves to be, the more it costs. Yellow Pages ads, billboard advertising and even magazine and newspaper ads can be ruinously expensive and they still do not guarantee the amounts of traffic and customers that any business needs to survive. With a web site, the costs are limited to a couple hundred dollars of upfront expenses to have a professional and effective website designed and then search engine optimized for maximum search engine placement results. The monthly costs for having web hosting are negligible, typically just a few dollars a month. Contrast this with thousands of dollars in upfront costs for Yellow Pages ads or billboards, and with many hundreds of dollars for even a single run of advertising in a magazine or a newspaper.

Having an entity who works literally twenty four hours a day and seven days a week should be one of the main reasons for everyone to have their own website. The importance of this cannot be overestimated and is the reason why we mention it twice. If someone told a business man or woman that there was a means of garnering sales even while the business was closed and when the owner was sleeping or on vacation, then most people would agree that such a business person would be a fool not to be interested in it. A website is exactly this— an entity working on the business owner’s behalf. It does not simply work 24/7, but also 365 days a year. This is an often forgotten selling point in the argument of having effective web sites; they do not take off for Christmas or two weeks’ vacation.

A third important reason as to why every enterprise today must have an effective website lies in the fact that it is the first impression of a business which potential clients will notice and remember. A business person is always interested in ways to build good first impressions of his or her brand and business name. One of the best ways in accomplishing with this is of course in presenting potential and returning customers with an attractive, informative, and generally helpful website. More than just a corporate logo and a company motto, a website offers a wealth of information about the business person’s company, history, lines of business, and products or services which are featured, along with helpful functions like price lists, descriptions, and pictures. Perhaps most importantly, the website presents a visitor with the opportunity to order right away.

The importance for any serious business to possess an effective website these days should not be overlooked and neglected. In case the reasons mentioned above were not enough to convince the reader of how important it is to maintain such a virtual presence on the Internet, then perhaps this little tidbit of information will. Consider that for any business, whether or not the individual has a website up, he or she can be sure that his or her competition most assuredly will have one.

Written by Web Hosting Search

Above&Beyond has been awarded and recommended as a top rated web design and development company by WebHostingSearch

Your Business Card is Crap!

20 May 2010 at 19:49

Damien Viero

Fun & Games

No Comments

Something to make you laugh!

What is Email Forwarding?

18 May 2010 at 22:09

Damien Viero

Email

No Comments

Email forwarding involves passing email along from one address to another. It can also be used to pass groups of messages such as listservs.

Our Email forwarding service can automatically forward all mail received at one of your addresses to another address. This can be handy if you have a web based email alias but would rather not have to surf to the website each day to check your mail. Using a forwarding service, the mail received at the website would automatically be passed to your main email addess (or another address of your choice). This allows you the convenience of utilizing multiple email addresses while keeping your main email address private, and still collecting all of your mail in one place.

Mail forwarding services are also handy for people that change their ISP (and therefore main email address) often. With some forwarding services, you are simply give out our one address no matter what ISP you have; the address might look something like: yourname@forwarding-service-provider.com. Friends will always have a current address to send mail, and when your main address changes you only have to notify one party (the forwarding service) rather than dozens.

Email Forwarding can be used with any domain and costs just $29 per year

6 Guidelines for choosing a successful Domain Name

14 Mar 2010 at 19:48

Damien Viero

Domain Names

1 Comment

A professional or business site is one where the primary purpose of the site is to facilitate business transactions. You can sell items directly online or exclusively offline, but the result is the same. You want customers to buy products and/or service directly from you.

To create a domain name for this type of website here are a few guidelines:

1. Shorter is better

2. Make the name easy to pronounce

3. Think long term

4. Stick to Categories and Topics

5. Do a trademark search

6. Always have a tag line

Shorter is better

If you want to make real money online, try to keep your domain name as short as possible. In the online world, the choices of where to shop and get information is overwhelming. A shorter name will instantly be memorable. It is always easier to remember short words and phrases. A shorter name is good for word of mouth advertising online and offline. Customers can easily remember the the URL and therefore they’re more likely to pass it on and return to the website. The name will also stand out when it is printed on brochures, business cards and other business collateral. Liz, Dick, Kate, Feds are all examples of our incessant need to reduce every term in the English language to three syllables or less.

Easy to Pronounce

If you want a short name, you must be very creative. To be creative and strategic make sure that your domain name is easy to pronounce. It is perfectly acceptable to create a name from scratch, but it must sound like a real word when you try to say out loud. Any three or four syllable term will do a long as it easily rolls off the tongue. If you are at a loss for words, try writing a description of your product or service on paper.

This is a very easy way to come up with those little words that you can use without losing the meaning of what you’re trying to say. You can also use a dictionary and a thesaurus to come up with additional words. You can also choose a longer word but shorten it or use acronyms only. When you decide on a domain name, say it out loud a few times. If it doesn’t sound right, go back to the dictionary and try again.

Think long term

You want a domain name that will last a very long time. If you pick a name that is a slang term or too cutesy, you could find yourself looking for a new name in a year or two. This is not the best way to proceed. Once you build a certain level of online success, the traffic will follow the domain name. You don’t want to mess with your brand and your online reputation with redirects and ‘we have moved’ notices. Online customer will buy, but only if your site makes it convenient for them to do so. If you don’t see yourself using the same domain name three to four years from now, get a new name before you set up your website.

Trademark Searches

Do a trademark search. If you build up your online business and domain name, you don’t want to find a court order ordering you to give it up because it belongs to another company. Remember, the traffic and therefore your sales will follow the domain name to the new company.

To do a quick trademark search go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) for domestic searches and the International Trademark Association (http://www.inta.org) for international searches. If your name is cleared, then consider getting a trademark to protect your business.

Tag line

Tag lines are the work horses of the marketing industry. An interesting, professional tag line can bring you more word of mouth advertising than you can ever buy from a search engine company. It will bring your name into random conversations in newsgroups, newsletters and casual conversations. This can help you save money on paid advertising and create the ultimate viral marketing campaign without very little effort.

Keep these six tips handy to brand your domain name and bring in more site traffic