Google’s seismic shift on dynamic URL’s

In this weeks installment of “why you need a SEO company in your corner,” Google overturns a half decade of conventional wisdom. In the debate of dynamic URL’s versus static URL’s , SEO professionals believed that static URL’s were superior for several reasons:

Search engines can index them easier without all the odd characters: & ? =
They are easier to read in Google’s search engine results pages, and keywords from the users search terms are made bold
Static URL’s are easier to use in marketing materials
They are simpler to give out when obtaining backlinks

Number one was by far the most important factor, as it was assumed that static URL’s improved your rankings. The other factors, while still relevant, related to appearance only.

However, Google has now turned all this on its head, releasing an official blog post that they prefer dynamic URL’s. In that article, they say

While static URLs might have a slight advantage in terms of clickthrough rates because users can easily read the urls, the decision to use database-driven websites does not imply a significant disadvantage in terms of indexing and ranking. Providing search engines with dynamic URLs should be favored over hiding parameters to make them look static.

Google regularly makes changes to how it ranks websites, though they are usually not this dramatic and far-reaching. This illustrates the importance of having a SEO optimization firm in your corner that can help keep you up to date with these important developments!

Focusing on Google still the best bet for SEO

Google continues to gain market share and widen its lead against other search engines, as reported in PC World .

Google was used 63 percent of the time in August, compared to 61.9 percent in July, according to figures released Friday by comScore , which tracks online trends.

Yahoo came in second in August at 19.6 percent, down .9 percent from July. Microsoft garnered 8.3 percent of traffic in August, down .6 percent from a month prior.

With our seo optimization process we focus on getting your website ranked in Google’s search results. These techniques will still allow you to gain rankings in the other search engines as well. However, Google’s dominance makes it clear that they are still the best bet.

Google Analytics 101 – Setting Goals and User Tips – Part 4 of 4

Use your Google Goal conversion effectively, and other user tips. In this episode, we discuss setting and tracking goal conversion, and other user tips including traffic filtering.

Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Google Analytics 101 – Who are your Visitors? – Part 2 of 4

Use your Google Analytics Visitors report effectively. In this episode, we discuss visitors vs. visits, pageviews, the map overlay, and more.

Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 .

Take Control of your Website Tools with Adobe Contribute

Imagine yourself at your local cell phone store, considering an upgrade to the latest mobile sensation. You cradle it in your hand, noticing its seductive styling. Within minutes however, you find yourself overwhelmed by complex menus and confusing buttons. “Isn’t it something,” says the salesman hovering over your shoulder. You mutter assent, determined to confirm that you are “hip” by being able to figure out the complicated device.

Cell phones are a tool designed to increase your productivity. However, this particular device is accomplishing much the opposite!

As a leading Denver website designer, we have clients who come to us every week having had experiences similar to the story above. Except in this case, the cause of frustration is their website. Instead of giving them an online marketing tool that allows them to be more productive, it is far too complicated and has become a hindrance. In the end, they find themselves paying their web designer to make simple changes they would much rather be making themselves.

We use a variety of Content Management Systems (CMS), including Joomla and DotNetNuke. For those of our clients who simply need an informational “brochure website,” we use Adobe Contribute. We have implemented this CMS dozens of times for clients in virtually every industry.

Contribute allows you to add new pages, change text, insert pictures, add audio/video, build PayPal buttons, and more. However, the biggest benefit for our clients is not the features…it is the ease of use. If you know how to use word processing software like Microsoft Word, you can use Contribute.

So take control of your website tools with Adobe Contribute!

Brian Rants
President
eye9 Design

eye9 Design is a Colorado web design company, providing graphic design, web development, and SEO optimization.

Four Design Myths

Tall tales. Urban myths. In this article we tackle four design myths we occasionally encounter.

If you have space…use it
>>> !!! *** Be catchy *** !!! <<<
Web content and printed content are the same
It pays to be different

Myth #1: If you have space…use it

You paid your designer to create an effective marketing piece for you and they returned a comp that is 1/2 a blank page! Why is your designer wasting costly marketing “real estate?”

This “blank” area is termed negative space, whereas an image or graphic would be considered positive space. To a designer, negative space is just another tool at his/her disposal. Often negative space can be used to emphasize composition, create visual paths, direct the focus of the viewer, and increase the dramatic effect of the overall piece.

Great design is often strikingly simple.

Myth #2: >>> !!! *** Be catchy *** !!! <<<

Some people hold the sentiment that crazy shapes, bright colors and seductive ’starbursts’ are always helpful in attracting attention. Florescent pink anyone? The fact is, just because something catches the eye does not necessarily mean the viewer will be interested enough to open, click, or otherwise respond.

A good example of effective advertising is Apple. Their marketing campaigns are quite minimalist in appearance: black and white, vast amounts of empty space, and a subtle use of color. Their collateral is elegant and reflects an attention to detail. Apple users will attest that even opening the product box is an experience in itself. People buy into the (expensive) Mac lifestyle because its aesthetics tell you this is a quality “must have” product, not because their designers resorted to cheap, flashy design tricks.

There are a variety of ways to attract the eye of the visitor, and your industry and target audience always guide these. What is effective for a used car sale advertisement may not work for a software company website.

Myth #3: Web content and printed content are the same

In most cases, your website content should be different than the content from your printed marketing collateral. All your copy should focus on your target audience and be guided by your overall marketing strategy. However, website content is unique in several ways:

Keep it concise: website visitors have, shall we say, very short attention spans! If your visitor gets the impression that finding the content she desires will be like finding a needle in a haystack, you can be sure she will leave and likely not return.
Click here for more info: while brevity is essential, you also want your site to be an effective online resource about your services/products. Towards that end, you can allow visitors who want to know more to dig deeper. If you have 5 reasons your product is superior to your competitor’s product, provide them in synopsis form on your products page. Each reason can conclude with “click here for more info” which guides the interested visitor to a more in-depth discussion of the topic.
Internal Linking: one of the benefits of the web is internal, contextual linking. By using hyperlinks, you can direct users in one section of your website to another relevant section with a simple click. Make the attempt to have at least a half dozen links in the content of every page that allow the visitor to move with ease throughout your site.

Myth #4: It always pays to be different

In business, we are always looking to distinguish ourselves from our competition. Companies can do this by emphasizing a unique philosophy, an improved formula, and better customer service.

Distinctive is also good when it comes to web design. It is important that your website is distinctive, from the look and feel of the site to the marketing message it carries. We accomplish this by having you fill out a web design questionnaire that (among other things) asks how you distinguish yourselves from the competition. Our design can then highlight your unique approach and benefit to your clients.

However, occasionally clients want to take this to an extreme, and end up with marketing collateral that is completely dissimilar from others in their industry. The famous Sesame Street song said, “one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” So while it is beneficial at times to buck the system, it is always a good idea to make sure your collateral is in line with the marketing best practices of your industry.

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

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.

What you can do to increase your SEO rankings

Did you know you have an essential role to play in your search engine rankings?

The tips below apply whether you just had your site optimized for search engines and want some “next steps,” or you simply want some “DIY” SEO optimization ideas.

There are two essential things for you to do to ensure your website climbs its way up the search engine rankings and stays there.

Links, Links, Links: We have taken care of the “on-page” factors by optimizing your meta tags and content. The other half of the equation is having websites linking to yours! Without both, you will have limited success. Here are some tips for getting 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.
Content, Content, Content: Create a page for each of your top few SEO terms. If “green car widgets” is one of your important terms, create a new page with an article all about your widgets. Be sure to put “green car widgets” at the beginning of the page title (the words that appear at the top of the browser). Also, mix your other related SEO keywords into the content of the page! After you have created the article, link to it from different places where the term “green car widgets” appears: the sitemap, content text, and SEO text. For an example on how to create and link to internal content, go to www.eye9design.com.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

It usually takes time for Search Engines to move you up in their rankings, especially if you have a new site and few links from other sites. In the mean time, consider using Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing from Google, Yahoo, or MSN (the ads that appear on the right hand side of the page). While your goal is eventually to have your listings in the organic results (the main content area), strategic PPC campaigns with well written ads can drive relevant traffic to your website.

eye9 Design is a Colorado SEO company providing SEO optimization services to our clients in Denver, Colorado and around the world.

CMS – the freedom to manage your own website

Over the past several years, we have observed a strong trend towards using content management systems in website design and ecommerce development. Increasingly, clients ask for the ability to manage their own website.

First of all, what is a CMS?

CMS stands for Content Management System. As the name indicates, it is a back end tool (invisible to the website visitor) that allows you to update text, pictures, and links without any knowledge of HTML. Some CMS systems even allow you to add audio, video, and PayPal buttons.

Why use a CMS?

If you frequently update your site with news, product information, product pricing, pictures, or other information, a CMS makes sense. It also makes “cents!” Having a CMS allows you to update your content, and focus your budget towards filling holes in your web strategy. For example, have you considered how much potential business you are losing by not having a search engine optimized site? Or, for ecommerce websites, adding expanded product profiles and user interface improvements (like picture zoom in/out) can increase your sales.

Can a CMS work with any website?

There is a CMS for every major website language.

HTML: we recommend Contribute, Adobe’s (formerly Macromedia) best selling editor. It is simple for us to integrate with any HTML website, and is unmatched in ease of use. Features include the ability to include PDF’s in your web pages, add audio/video files, include PayPal buttons, and more.
- Example of Contribute in use: Zahr & Associates
PHP and PHP eCommerce: we recommend Mambo, an open source CMS. It is widely used and widely documented, which allows us to adapt it for just about any need. Mambo is our CMS of choice for eCommerce web site design.
- Example of Mambo in use: Billygoose.com

Implementing a CMS

Whether you already have a website, or are just about to get going, a CMS is an important tool to consider. It gives you freedom in managing your own website, and allows you to redirect budget dollars towards essential improvements of your website.