Catching Conversions with PPC

If you’ve been following our apple analogy, you know that SEO is the juicy story for 2009. But don’t be fooled. Good marketing is holistic, and thoughtful PPC advertising can complement your SEO efforts in a targeted, immediate way.

Whether you’re new to PPC or just reinventing your marketing strategy, check out our tips for creating benefit-driven ads that will improve your conversions—and increase your profits.

Communicate your core attributes.

Take an in-depth look at your products and services to determine why Joe-consumer should choose your business over a growing sea of competitors. Is it your cheap deals? Your lightning fast shipping? Premium product offerings? Articulate these distinguishing features in each of your ads.

Write to your keywords.

After you’ve done the research to determine which search phrases convert, it’s time to turn that research into tightly written, keyword-dense copy. And remember to be specific. Consider expanding “Web Design” to “Funky Web Design” when you’re trying to reach that off-beat audience segment.

Craft an arresting headline.

Content is king, and that goes double for your headlines. Pique your audience’s interest. Ask them a compelling question. Wow them with your benefits, but don’t forget the keywords. With a 25-character max, you have very little space to appease both users and the search engines.

Lure users with instant, tangible benefits.

You’re probably saying, “Duh,” but you’d be surprised how many advertisers don’t include promotions, discounts or other enticing offers in their PPCs.

Follow through with your stated benefits.

The easiest way to do this is to create a landing page that’s specific to your ad. Taking this step won’t help your CTR, but it will build valuable rapport with your users. If your ad promises 50 percent off and the landing page doesn’t elaborate, users will run for the “back” button and conversions will plummet.

Test the waters.

It’s unlikely you’ll strike paydirt with your first round of PPC copy. As you update keyword research and narrow down your audience needs, it’s important to try different headline, ad copy, anchor text and call-to-action iterations. Tracking your ad success will help justify your investment—and apply what you’ve learned to future ad groups.

Contact us today to get a free PPC analysis of your website! We provide you with a detailed report for your business with a complete budget forecast.

eye9 Design is a Colorado website design company, specializing in web and graphic design, web development, and seo optimization. Denver, CO.

Buy an apple or plant an apple tree: why SEO is the best investment for 2009

If you want the crispy juiciness of a good apple, you can head to your local supermarket and satisfy your craving. On the other hand, if you plant an apple tree you will have a harvest of apples every year for years to come.

Traditional marketing is like purchasing an apple. Good for the quick hit, but when you stop paying for the direct mail, billboard, or call center, that marketing effort ceases to exist.

With search engine optimization, you gain rankings that produce fruit for years to come. When your SEO campaign ends, your rankings are still there. Not only that, but you product a harvest of work that far exceeds your initial investment. Here is what one of our Denver SEO clients had to say:

We’ve noticed more phone traffic via web inquiries. Keep up the great work! I am happy to be working with you all, I think this investment is paying for itself.

One of the pillars eye9 has built our entire business around is SEO. It is not just an add-on, it is a central marketing strategy. Look at just a few of the 40 rankings we’ve achieved in the TOP 5 at Google!

2009 is great opportunity to gain market share, contact us today about an SEO campaign for your website and you will reap the benefits for years to come!

Easy keyword research with Google Search-based Keyword Tool

In this video podcast, Brian covers:

Why keyword research is foundational to SEO (search engine optimization)
How the free Google Search-based Keyword Tool can be used in keyword research

Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our SEO optimization philosophy: proven, tested techniques

There is, unfortunately, alot of snake oil in search engine optimization (SEO). We only use proven, tested techniques. Effective SEO requires both on-page and off-page optimization. Search engines look for keyword dense content and tags (on-page), but even more so to how many sites are linking to yours (off-page).

A consortium of the two dozen leading SEO professionals ranked the 10 most important Google ranking factors . Here they are, with on-page factors in bold , and off-page factors in italics.

Keyword Use in Title Tag
Anchor Text of Inbound Link
Global Link Popularity of Site
Age of Site (neither on-page or off-page)
Link Popularity within the Site’s Internal Link Structure
Topical Relevance of Inbound Links to site
Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
Keyword Use in Body Text
Global Link Popularity of Linking Page
Topical Relationship of Linking Page

We address all of these factors thoroughly with our complete seo optimization packages . Contact us today about search engine optimization for your website.

eye9 Design is a leading Colorado SEO company providing effective seo optimization services.

Does SEO Optimization work?

Our clients ask us a variety of search engine optimization questions:

What is this about search engine algorithms?
Are backlinks important?
What am I actually getting for my investment?

However, I believe the foremost question is: does seo optimization work to drive relevant traffic to my website?

For purposes of context, we have written a number of articles on this topic, such as: what you can do to increase your search engine rankings and why links are essential in SEO . These can help you understand the key tasks such as on-page and off-page optimization .

However, we thought it most effective to let the results do the talking:

For our own website , we have over 65 keywords in the top 20 of Google. Here are just those ranking currently from #1 to #10, notice we often have multiple pages for one term:

Here are several of our SEO clients:

www.mapleleaffarms.com

Duck meat online: #1
Duck farms: #2
Duck promotions: #3
Duck meat sales: #4
Duck food service: #6

www.mexp.biz

Underwater sunken treasures: #3
Underwater salvage companies: #5
Marine salvage company: #6
International marine salvage: #7 & 8
Lost treasures: #8

Prioritizing your search engine marketing budget

It is becoming widely acknowledged that to succeed in the highly competitive internet world, it is necessary to optimize your site for search engines.

In a previous post we discussed our two-pronged search engine optimization (SEO) strategy: on-page and off-page optimization . There is a third prong, under search engine marketing (SEM) , called “Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC).” These three prongs comprise a complete search engine marketing strategy.

However, if you have a limited budget, how should you prioritize? In this graph we demonstrate our recommendations for a campaign with a minimum timeline of 6 months. Why 6 months or above? Using an analogy…

Search engine optimization is like taking $100 and buying an apple tree seedling. You will need to spend time cultivating the tree so it will bear fruit. Once it does, you will have a constant and ever increasing supply of apples.
Search engine marketing is like taking $100 and buying apples. You can buy alot of apples, and begin eating them immediately. However, when they are gone…they are gone forever.

So how does this apply to search engine marketing? Doing on-page and off-page optimization (SEO) and pay per click advertising (SEM) allows you to experience the best of all worlds. Pay per click gives you an immediate and measurable traffic boost, while at the same time your on-page and off-page optimization is laying the foundation for long term success. In fact, once your rankings have improved through optimization, you may no longer need to use PPC.

Have further questions about SEO optimization? Ask a leading Colorado SEO Company , eye9 Design .

Links, links, links: why links are essential in SEO

Successful search engine optimization strategy has two prongs: on-page and off-page optimization. On-page optimization involves a competitive keyword analysis identifying which keywords your target audience is using, and which keywords you can best compete for. We then implement those keywords throughout your title tag, content, file names, and other meta tags.

Off-page optimization is gathering quality links to your website using those same keywords in the link (anchor) text. This step is often neglected by many clients we speak with. However, off-page optimization is as important as on-page, if not more so. The quality and quantity of links from external websites, called “inbound links,” is paramount. If you look at the SEO industry consensus, the half of the to 10 factors have to do with inbound links.

Here is practical advice on how to gather internal links

Send individually addressed emails to your colleagues, friends, vendors, and clients. Let them know about your newly optimized site, and ask them if they would link to your site.
Tell them what you would like the link to say. This is extremely important. Let’s say one of your top keywords is “Denver ski shop.” When you ask your friends to link to your site, say: “The words used in the link itself are important to search engines because indicates what my site is about. So please use the phrase ‘Denver ski shop’ as the link to my site http://www.example.com.”
As a general rule, avoid link farms and paid links. Natural links from colleagues and clients are more…well, natural. Search engines are always tweaking their results to reward real, natural, quality links.
Utilize our link building services: we provide link building services to our clients through our partnership with one of the top 10 link building companies in the world. Your links are obtained from the right partners based on a thorough research of your competitors and potential business market space. We also keep in mind these quality guidelines
- No Frame Sites
- No Java script pages
- No link farms
- No redirected sites
- No sub-domain sites
- Keywords in anchor text

This comprehensive, two-pronged approach has helped us get a variety of clients and keywords into the top ten of Google search engine results pages. Contact us today about optimizing your site for maximum search engine penetration.

eye9 Design is a leading Denver, Colorado SEO company providing affordable web site search engine optimization to clients across the nation.

Does the age of my site matter? How to fight the Google “Sandbox Effect”

As they say…”communication is the basis of every relationship.” Unfortunately in your site’s relationship with search engines, that communication is definitively one sided.

It is a given that you want Google to rank your site well. Unfortunately, Google at best only hints about what it wants from your site in order to rank it high in the SERPs (search engine results pages). That is why SEO (search engine optimization) community has closely studied different techniques to identify those that produce higher rankings.

So what about the age of your site? Does it matter?

Absolutely.

As a matter of fact, a consortium of leading SEO professionals ranked it the #4 overall factor affecting your position in the SERPs. Some SEO’s have even developed theories about the existence of a “Google Sandbox” which acts a bit like a probation period for new domains.

If you have a domain that is several years old, this should come as good news. Working with an aged domain makes our work as an seo optimization firm easier. However, if you are starting a new website, this is far from a death knoll. As a matter of fact, it emphasizes the need for effective search engine optimization.

In this article I will address in detail the following questions

What is the Google Sandbox, and does it exist?
How can I get out of the Google Sandbox?

If this level of detail is beyond what you are interested in pursuing, here is the bottom line: the age of your site does matter. Since the age of your site is basically beyond your control, it is even more important to address those factors you can control. We help you strategically select a set of target keywords through a database analysis, implement those keywords throughout your meta tags and content, and gain links from other websites. If you optimize a newer site, as the domain aging process takes care of itself you will have positioned yourself for success and maximum return on investment.

For those of you who desire more information…read on!

What is the Google Sandbox, and does it exist?

To start things off, here is a good definition from webpronews.com

Some programmers have viewed Google as uncomfortable to rank newer websites until they have proven their viability to exist for more than a period of “x” months. Thus the term “Sandbox Effect” applies to the idea that all new websites have their ratings placed in a holding tank until such time is deemed appropriate before a ranking can commence.

Why would Google depress the rankings of a new site in the SERPs? SoftwareMarketingResource.com provides a very plausible explanation (condensed here).

As the SEO community figured out the basic elements of Google’s ranking algorithm, inbound links, original content rich with keywords, and the proper use of anchor text, search engine spammers began to take advantage of these elements. Search engine spammers would setup websites that were in clear violation of Google’s policies with the knowledge that eventually their website would be banned from the listings…The idea for spammers was a simple one. Capitalize off of Google’s traffic for as long as they can (before they get banned), then do it all over again with a new website. The method was extremely effective and easy to implement…

To solve this problem, Google determined that it would compromise…All new websites that were launched would be put on probation. As time passed, and as the sites continued to pass any spam filters they ran, the website will not be held back from performing well in the rankings. Eventually, after quite a bit of time had passed, a site would be allowed to “leave” the sandbox and join the rest of the established websites.

This is a very logical explanation for why Google would want to use a sandbox effect, but it certainly does not prove that they do! Depending on who you read, Google has debunked or basically confirmed the existence of the sandbox effect. So what should we make of all this?

Age matters. This has strong consensus among leading SEO professionals (“…not the date of original registration of the domain, but rather the launch of indexable content seen by the search engines”)
Many SEO professionals have observed, especially in competitive niches, that it can take 3-6 months or more to see real progress in the rankings. Whether this is due to a sandbox effect, or simply that newer domains key factors like lack aged backlinks…you be the judge.

How can I get out of the Google Sandbox?

The same principles apply whether you are in a probationary period (if it exists) or if you have a finely aged 10 year old domain. We help you strategically select keywords and implement them in the essential areas. This is the foundation of our seo optimization process.

Here is how it works

You submit a list of keywords related to your website/services/products
We run these keywords and related variants through our database of data from all the major search engines
This analysis tells us two important things about your keywords and related variants: the amount of traffic and the level of competition
Based on this data, and the relevance of the keywords to your site, you select a set of keywords
From these keywords, we optimize the following tags: title, description, keywords, and alt
We have you or your copywriter create SEO rich paragraphs for inclusion on your index page and/or landing pages
Links…links…and more links: it is essential that you obtain links to your site from other sites (called “linkbuilding,” we are available to assist you with this)

Conclusion

So there you have it. Google will always play “hard to get” when it comes to the specifics of how domain age or any other factor affects your rankings in the SERPs. However, by following tested and proven seo optimization techniques we help position your website for success. Maximize your return on your website investment and optimize your site for search engines today!

eye9 Design is an seo optimization firm based in Denver, Colorado.

Catching Conversions with PPC

Communicate your core attributes.

Write to your keywords.

Craft an arresting headline.

Lure users with instant, tangible benefits.

Follow through with your stated benefits.

Test the waters.