Comment Marketing - Get Onto Those Blogs

Going through blogs to add comments is one task - actually doing it to engage, form networks and expand your business is another.

Check out our latest post Comment / Blog Marketing.

Comment marketing is more than just finding a few sweet links to point to your website for SEO purposes. Its about interacting with people and getting your Brand out there. By doing this you will gain traffic and leads from lots of different sources, reducing the pressure a little on those Google rankings.

So spread your risks and spread your brand. Don't just think links, think exposure and networking.

Our new Edinburgh page

Hello one and all,

Just a quick update, we have released a new, tidied up version of our Edinburgh page, take a look and let us know what you think.

Link Building - To build or not to build...

When it comes to the words "Link Building" you should instinctively say, that's not natural so that's not ethical SEO. Or should you?

It all depends how you do it. Its more brand exposure than link building these day. Telling people where you are and sharing content/media. By doing that you naturally gain links and its helps SEO. So maybe we should be calling it brand building?

Think about these different types of link building, if you do them ethically they are actually brand building;

1. Directories - have have a link with your company name to your website in niche, related directories. So if anyone if trying to find a company and hits that busy directory there is a chance they will find your brand and come to your website for a look.
2. Comment Marketing - going to blogs and interacting with posts about topics related to your website. You have a link with your name on that goes back to your website. So if anyone likes what you are saying they can find out more.
3. Guest blog posts - you are trying to capture the audience of another website and show them you know your stuff in your niche. There is a bio section that points back to your website for them to find out more

The list goes on but this should give you the picture I am trying to paint. When you build links think about your brand and by doing it you should have great results.

We have recently launched a new infogrphaic on link building, take a look I think its great. http://www.infaweb.com/link-building-2013.shtml. The 4 characters to avoid at all costs. Great stuff.

Link Building Done Correctly

Link building is never easy, in terms of time and effort. The tasks need to be properly laid out and executed correctly. Why? Because they are done badly you are in line for some Google penalties.

We have just uploaded a new infographic on this page, check it out http://www.infaweb.com/link-building-2013.shtml. It demonstrates some things you need to avoid.

The aim of link building is to get as many natural links to your website as possible, right? To do that you need to spend the time and money to do it properly.

Doing it correctly

• trying to make content go viral
• pushing your social media interaction
• speaking to people on blogs
• getting your brand name out onto the internet
• listing your website in appropriate places so people can find you

Doing it incorrectly

• submitting to every directory available online, even if they have no value
• putting comments on blogs that are unrelated and have no value
• using keywords in links at every opportunity
• doing social media just to get a link
• putting profiles up on unrelated websites
• not having a brand and pushing a keyword

The bottom line is there are some golden rules to link building and unless you follow them and take the time you will fail.

Seven Golden rules, nice and simple;

1. Keep it natural
2. Fresh is always best
3. It has to be interesting
4. Use multiple media methods (video, graphics, content etc)
5. Ensure quality is kept high
6. Don't worry about numbers, worry about exposing your brand and your offering
7. Make sure who ever is doing the work cares about your business

Above all else do it for the correct reasons. You want to promote your business not damage your reputation so keep it clean and tidy. Drive the business, don't drive links. By doing this watch you search results get better and better.

Ecommerce websites need Content

Like any other platform online content is key. Ecommerce is no different and possibly has the hardest job. 1000's of pages needing rich content.

this is our latest article on the topic, check it out and let us know what you think
http://www.infaweb.com/ecommerce-content-seo.shtml

PLA's and Google Shopping

Its all go, things moving and changing. Nothing is the same and its all very interesting.

Its interesting to watch at the moment, depending on browser and time depends on which version you get. Its odd to watch but very interesting to watch the testing that Google is doing.

This is a big switch over, as you will know if you are reading this. Search marketers are all scrambling for data and testing everything to improve on what they have.

One thing for sure is that PLA's are proving very popular and well worth the investment. Reports are suggesting that results are very good. This will be down to the PLA adverts being picture orientated and very focused I believe. People like pictures and if you see a PLA it's generally as you have asked for a specific product, which means you are well in to the buying cycle and ready to purchase.

It is very time consuming to optimise it fully though. Setting up individual ad groups for each product does not happen in 5 seconds. When you have 10 or 20 thousand products it takes a while. Work from the best products for the client and set goals. That's the best way.

Software is available to help, just pick wisely.

What are your thoughts on PLA's?

Content for 2013

Are you ahead of the game and already planned out what you are going to do in 2013 for content?

Content is what makes the world wide web tick to get it loaded into your plan and execute it.

Content is what you need. check this article out I have just released, it should give some insight. Let me know any useful thoughts.

It is at the heart of your online marketing, think about it every avenue needs content;

• SEO
• Social Media
• Blogs
• Adverts
• Press releases

That's a whole lot of typing, so get going or ask someone to help.

How do small businesses cope with SEO

Start up businesses need some SEO... http://www.infaweb.com/seo-start-ups.shtml

Its true they do but it has to be effective and cost efficient. Its easy to get carried away with marketing and trying to do everything but when it comes to it you need to decide which areas are going to be most effective for you.

When it comes to search engine optimisation your efforts defiantly get rewarded but it comes in time. You cannot start today and expect instant results. It takes time to build an effective website and you have to use the correct strategy to get results.

Infographics for Search Engine Optimisation

There are two big themes coming into 2013 for link building; infographics and guest blogging. They have been used for a while but they are becoming more main stream.

Why are they used so much and why do they give value? This is easy - it cuts out the spammer. A spammer does not want to spend more, they just want to make a quick bit of cash. So they wont go out of their way to get a nice graphic generate and spend the money on a designer or content writer.

http://www.infaweb.com/infographics-seo.shtml this is my article in infographics for SEO.

Link building is great if you do it properly and spend the money. website authority does not come free...

Don't forget keep your link profile mixed and don't just stick to one thing.

SEO Training

Small and medium sized businesses can often struggle with the monthly costs of effective search engine optimisation. So how do you get around that to make your website visible in Google? SEO Training is the answer.

This will allow you to attack some low competitive phrases to get some valuable traffic to your website for not much financial investment. The main thing is you have time every month to progress your website as if you don't then you wont have a successful campaign.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a progressive marketing technique used to improve the amount of traffic you get from Google to your website (from the organic (none paid) results). To do this you need to make your website more important and better than your competitors.

Do not underestimate the time it takes to do this and do not underestimate what happens if you become relaxed about it and take your foot of the pedal.

If you are looking to get your website ranking for some local keywords and have some knowledge of the Internet then this may be the solution for you. If you are looking at more competitive keywords or an ecommerce platform them look at getting an experienced consultant to do it for you.

The thing to think about with more competitive keywords is that it would probably take you 12 months or longer than a professional to get to where you want to be (if not longer) as you have to learn the ropes and fingers crossed not get burnt by any of Googles wonderful rules. In that time you could have made the money in sales to cover the SEO consultant bill and have a website that ranks really well. Also you would still have your own time to do what you need to with your business.

So SEO training is not the answer for everyone but it certainly can be for those local smaller businesses.