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While search engine optimization (SEO) is increasing in popularity, for many website managers, it’s simply something they’ve heard of but really don’t know much about. They may realize that achieving a higher rank for their websites is important, but that’s about it. They don’t really understand the basic fundamentals of SEO and how to properly execute an SEO campaign to achieve top rankings on the major search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing).

Need Good SEO Tips?

SEO.cc knows the ins and outs of SEO from the basic fundamentals all the way up to advanced SEO theories and strategies. Working with an unqualified SEO source will leave you unsatisfied; it won’t produce a worthwhile return on your investment. In fact, a poorly executed organic SEO campaign may do more than just produce an unsatisfying position on a search engine’s rankings; it may actually result in negative consequences for your site’s overall rank if less-than-reputable tactics are utilized.

What really sets Search Engine Operator apart is our revolutionary system designed to keep you consistently “in the loop”. Once an agreement between yourself and SEO.cc is established, you will receive a User ID and Password for our online system labeled Reporting SEO.  With your User ID and Password, you are afforded 24/7 access to the Reporting SEO system. You have a consistently available medium for offering feedback, asking questions, and providing additional information.

From within Reporting SEO, you will have access to current project details and associated timelines.  You will also receive monthly rankings updates on all of your keywords from our Ranking Report module.  The Ranking Report module gives you access to your keyword list so you can see exactly what we are targeting.  These keywords are broken up into logical campaigns for easy viewing of keywords that are similar to one another. Additionally, you will be notified of new ranking reports via email on a monthly basis.  While viewing the reports, you are presented with easy-to-understand symbols that show you how your rankings have improved over the previous month’s ranking report.

SEO.cc also provides full disclosure site analytics reports.  We put together a custom dashboard for your website’s analytics and send you a PDF version of the data on a monthly basis.  From within this PDF, you will be able to see things like overall traffic, keywords that visitors searched, how many visitors came from search engines; you’ll even have access to view a visitor’s state or city of origin.

This report isn’t just a sly way for us to show off how well your SEO campaign is going; the data within the report is very important to us.  We go deep into the analytics profile to make sure that we’re targeting the right keywords based on a visitor’s activity once they’re on your site. The goal of SEO.cc is to maximize your internet presence and develop your brand in keeping with the direction and guidelines you’ve provided.

You won’t know how much revenue you stand to generate with an optimized website unless you take the first step! Give us a call and get started today!

Running an online business presents a unique problem in terms of advertising. Typical local marketing strategies won’t reach users who do not live in your geographical area; nation-wide campaigns are costly and even then cannot promise results. Since the world of ecommerce did not exist 20 years ago, why would you launch a marketing campaign using 20-year old strategies? You wouldn’t!

The advertising techniques prior to the birth of the internet were focused on informing potential customers of the existence of a given product. The lack of an informational medium made this kind of marketing necessary and effective. Basically, if you didn’t go out and tell people about your product, they wouldn’t know what it was or where to buy it.

Unfortunately, those same principles when applied to online commerce may have the opposite effect, if they have any effect at all. In fact, you may even be breaking the law! Flashy banner ads and pop-up windows are so common that most people either tailor their internet usage to avoid sites with these kinds of ads or they simply ignore them. These kinds of product promotions are known as Interruption Advertising and generally do very little to generate business. Today’s consumer is typically internet savvy and is highly aware of the many products available to them. They generally already know what they’re looking for and so hitting them with the same pop-up ad again and again will likely do nothing but annoy them.

The solution to your quandary lies in effective SEO. Instead of adding to the confusion of an already heavily over-saturated marketplace, your site will be easily accessible to users searching for your product or service. Increasing and maintaining site visibility requires a wide range of behind-the-scenes maneuvers based on an understanding of how major search engines operate.

Why is Article Marketing Superior to Interruption Marketing?

• Allows users to easily find your products/services when they need them
• Focuses your marketing efforts on quality leads
• More cost-effective

Niche article syndication is an important tool for effectual search engine optimization. By producing specific quality content which links back to your company’s site, you are accomplishing a number of things. Firstly, you are providing information for a user who has sought you out and is already interested in your product; these users are more likely to click your link and purchase directly from your site. Secondly, consistent publication of quality articles will boost your brand’s credibility, not to mention consumer awareness. Lastly, steady implementation of relevant material incrementally featuring your product-related keywords will boost the rank of your niche article exponentially.

A higher rank for your website increases the likelihood of potential customers using your content as a jumping-off point for their product research…which means they’re more likely to make their final purchase from their newly-discovered, most-credible source: You.

When the NFL lockdown was in effect, the impact on advertising revenue was surprisingly small. Networks found that even the threat of a shortened season did little to deter advertisers (resulting, perhaps, from the overwhelmingly high ratings of televised NFL games). As the NBA struggles to come to an agreement between its players and owners, it seems unlikely that it will be able to make up for lost revenue as effectively as the NFL.

For starters, the NBA has already canceled its early season games which were slated for October. While this gives the two sides more time to try to iron out their differences, it does not do much for the confidence of potential advertisers who stand to lose money if more games are canceled. True, the NBA earns most of its advertising revenue during the late season games, but even so.

In the meantime, the NFL is enjoying one of its most lucrative seasons yet and the season has only just begun. NBC, which is carrying the NFL programming this year, would not comment on their Superbowl sales, but did say that they have sold about 85% of their Sunday Night Football advertising space. As usual, the automotive industry leads the pack in supplying ad revenue for the network, with the insurance industry and beer promotions following closely behind.

It’s not only the football games themselves that are attracting advertisers. Cable networks like ESPN receive a percentage of ad revenue because advertisers are so eager to invest in all things NFL. But will this eagerness extend to the NBA? So far, it doesn’t look like it. Disney and Time Warner, owners of ABC and TNT ( respectively), air the NBA games and are already preparing for the pinch. Additionally, local advertising revenue is in jeopardy due to cable and satellite providers’ inability to sell spots for games that aren’t being played.

The point of contention between NBA players and owners has come down to about a three percent swing in the way revenue is divided between the two. Ironically, the owners stand to lose much more than three percent should the game cancelations continue. A federal mediator has joined the fray and a sit-down is scheduled to take place today; though resolution at this point is doubtful.

Adidas leads the pack in terms of revenue loss due to the NBA lockout. Their newly launched sneaker campaign features a signature shoe for NBA player, Derrick Rose; additionally, Adidas provides a large portion of the players’ gear including jerseys. Even if the lockout were to be resolved today, the damage to the launch of their Run with Rose campaign can’t be undone.

The rumor mill continues to churn out what scheduling changes may be made in the face of an NBA lockdown resolution. Sources are predicting any number of reductions to the traditionally 82-game season. Either way, the news is not good for advertisers.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to the traditional marketing tactics that have left NBA advertisers licking their wounds. Give us a call to discuss how you can reach a larger internet population and take your business to the next level!

Buying and selling URLs is not a new practice. People have been using it as a way to make a little extra money (or a lot of extra money in some cases) for decades. Now with political campaigning in full swing for the next presidential election, this long-standing tactic could be a glimpse into the future of political campaign strategy.

The idea that knocking on doors and kissing babies is the best way to get a message across and win votes could be naïve. The way people find and digest their information has changed drastically over the last several years with search engines being the most popular venue for research. This has proved true whether you are researching a new car or a new presidential candidate.

The Romney, Ron Paul and Obama campaigns have been purchasing domains lately- whether the approach is purchasing negative URLs proactively as way of reputation management (ensuring opposing camps do not have access to said URLs) or buying positive URLs for online image enhancement, candidates have started to acknowledge the power of the internet and the way search engine results can influence people.

If the buying of domain names with political connections is going to be the next step toward internet based campaigning, regulating this practice could be very difficult. Unlike the more common practice of television commercials, the internet is a much more secretive place; making it easy to hide behind link brokers and Private Registration companies. We’ll soon see what each respective candidate intends to do with the URLs they’ve purchased.

If you watch streaming video online, you’ve probably become frustrated with the ads that break into what you’re watching every 20 minutes or so. Because there seem to be only one or two sponsors for an online video, you’ll likely see the same commercial again and again and again. Additionally, unless what you’re watching generally airs on network television, the commercial breaks weren’t anticipated and so they’ll interrupt at odd times.

No matter how you cut it, the internet is just not the same as television. Even if you’re streaming a TV show, traditional commercial breaks can be maddening. Savvy marketers are picking up on this and realizing that the internet has created a whole new playing-field for the world of advertising. Put simply, Interruption Marketing is out and SEO is in.

The best way to attract customers online is to provide them with what they’re looking for; let consumers come to you! With the right SEO campaign, users will be exposed to your product because they want to be. They are looking for something specific that you provide. By carefully sowing the seeds of organic SEO, your business will be what users first see when they search for a product. Your site will be the one they use for comparison with other providers and, hopefully, your site will be the one they click through to and utilize for their needs. Doing things this way, you have a much greater chance of this customer turning to you specifically next time they need this item or service.

Interestingly enough, certain television advertisers seems to be thinking more along the SEO lines of advertising and taking their focus off interruption marketing. A recently launched ad campaign by JC Penney focuses on this trend. Their TV ads feature a spokesman who acknowledges men’s distaste for watching clothing commercials. What follows is 15 to 30 seconds of more “guy-friendly” footage on the bulk of the screen (one ad shows a boxing match; another ultimate fighting; one commercial even features a scene from the movie Sharktopuss) while men model the clothes being advertised on the far right-hand side. It’s clear that JC Penney is hoping to create a positive association between its brand its commercials; it’s telling men that JC Penney knows men don’t want to see clothes commercials, so JC Penney is providing men with something more, well, manly to watch.

The advertising tides are changing and you’ll be surprised at which brands get left out at sea. Your business’s ability to adapt its marketing strategy to this new technology can be what puts you ahead of the curve…or leaves your business far behind it.

Internet Marketing is a lot like dental work- it’s usually best left to the professionals. However, even professionals make mistakes.  That’s why it’s really important to choose an Internet Marketing agency that is both experienced and thorough.

As detailed below, a certain Internet Marketing Company (that shall remain nameless) produced a press release informing its customers that they will now be offering free life insurance quotes on their website. What does life insurance have to do with Internet Marketing? At SEO.cc, we had the exact same question.

The next day, said Internet Marketing Company released the exact same press release, only all mentions of “life insurance” had been removed; it was obvious they had made an error in the previous version. We were so curious about these two very confusing press releases that we decided to investigate further.

Upon visiting their website, we noticed that one of the clients they were showcasing in the banner of their website was an insurance company that recently added a feature to their website offering “free life insurance quotes.”Obviously, someone is not too great at find/replace. If they’re marketing themselves badly, how successful can they be at marketing their clients?

Once something is on the internet, it can be near impossible to take it down. Pictures, videos and even error-riddled press releases can be reproduced and live on in infamy. The way your company represents itself online can ultimately affect customers’ purchasing decisions. Negative portrayals can be just as harmful as inaccurate or missing information. Consumers rely heavily on the internet to research products and services prior to purchasing. If you were researching this Internet Marketing Company and you had found this error, how likely would you be to solicit their services?

When Google seemingly eliminated the tool which allows users to view the rank of a web page, it wasn’t long before panic ensued. Some users celebrated the presumed change as tweets began popping up expressing joy over no longer having to worry about an almost arbitrary-seeming number which dictated the importance of a given page. At the same time; however, most users became dismayed when they learned that the only provider into a glimpse of what Google places value on was dismantled.

Granted, Google Page Rank may not have been the most exact method for pinning down the value of one page over another; however, it provided a definitive framework from which organic SEO was grown. As more and more users become aware of the change, panic turned to outrage. A vast majority of those affected by the loss saw themselves scrambling to figure out a way to get around the forfeiture of the tool bar. And then there were those users who spoke positively of the tool bar’s absence, even as they lamented its disappearance; noting that the eradication resulted in a more level playing field.

In the midst of this chaos, a few auspicious PR users did some nosing around and made a crucial discovery: Google didn’t eliminate the tool bar PR (TBPR); they changed its URL. Google simply shifted its location and didn’t tell a soul.

While this helpful piece of information is slowly (very slowly) making its way through concerned techie circles, there remains a fair amount of skepticism regarding the serviceability of the TBPR from its new locale. A tidal wave of commentary has surfaced with most people questioning the continued value of the service. Will the new URL link provide the same information as was provided at its previous location? Assuredly, it does appear that that the program is continuing to generate equivalent statistics, but users are finding it difficult to believe that Google would arbitrarily change the URL and nothing else.

Regardless of your opinion on TBPR, it’s hard not to wonder what Google was thinking when they initiated the silent change. For a constantly expanding company like Google, it’s highly likely that logistical demands dictated there be an alternation to the URL; still, what could possibly be the reason for not sharing that information with the public? Is there something more in the works or are they just messing with us?

Six years after acquiring a website analytics system known as Urchin on Demand, Google has announced the creation of a new, more heavy-hitting analytics program called Google Analytics Premium. This comes after having turned Urchin on Demand into a free program we all know as Google Analytics that’s available to everyone on the Web. While the free Google Analytics software offers website owners the ability to track conversion data, identify elements of their website that may not be functioning optimally and analyze user traffic, there are some limitations; specifically, users without a Google AdWords account are restricted to 5 million page views per month, which may be limiting for some site managers.

Capabilities of Google Analytics Premium

The new Google Analytics Premium software promises to provide a myriad of services integral to the management of a large, heavily-trafficked website. Subscribers to the Analytics Premium software will have:

1. Access to their site data four hours after it’s recorded
2. Options to create up to 50 customizable variables
3. Attribution modeling
4. Dedicated processing power

Advanced Capabilities Come at a Cost

A Service Level Agreement comes with this software and is particularly desirable to large corporations. This agreement provides a guarantee of compensation if Google Analytics Premium fails to deliver on their promises regarding the ownership and reporting of data, as well as the collection and processing of that data. Additionally, the level of support available is much higher and training is included. All of these great new features do come with a pretty big investment: $150k per year. Because of the cost, it is expected that most current Google Analytics users will continue to utilize the free software, which we have been assured will remain free and available to all.

There are many hypotheses as to why Google would acquire software that users had to pay for, make it free and then six years later turn around and offer new premium software at a premium price. One theory is that free software in a cost-dominated market almost automatically seems subpar when compared to other paid analytics programs. For example, Adobe’s Omniture provides users with basically the same information as Google Analytics, but charges users a negotiable fee in exchange for its analytic services. It seems that Google has its eye on dominating the website analytics market and with corporate giants like Travelocity and Gucci already signed on for Google Analytics Premium, it would be very surprising if they fell short of their goal.

“Google has a team of first-class support people on call that have worked with us to customize our implementation and continue to help us to maximize our returns from Google Analytics.”

Ahbi Jahdav, Director of Site Optimization,Analytics and Shopping Cart – Travelocity.com

If you are still directing Pay-Per-Click traffic to your full website, your conversion rate may be suffering. With the introduction of streamlined, un-cluttered webpages with clear call to actions (called landing pages), some businesses are seeing higher conversion rates and lower bounce rates.

While a full webpage has its uses, landing pages are becoming more popular in paid search for both e-commerce and lead generation because they help to create a micro-environment in which the specific product or service that the potential customer seeks is presented to them already digested and simplified; requiring almost no additional action from them aside from either filling out a form or making a purchase.

The less steps required for the completion of a goal (whatever it may be), the better. Forms that contain a minimal amount of fields have a higher completion rate than forms that are longer and more detailed- thus generating more leads. With that same principal in mind, landing pages that present products with a simple purchasing mechanism can help to increase conversion rate.

Google is now taking landing pages into consideration when generating your Quality Score. A professionally conceptualized and designed landing page can boost your keyword Quality Score, in turn lowering your cost per click. When you combine a lower cost per click with a higher conversion rate, the benefits of landing pages start to add up.

There are some cardinal rules when it comes to landing pages. The most triumphant landing pages aim to simplify the goal completion process to boost the success rate, therefore it’s important that the page design be simple, non-distracting, have one clear goal or call to action, and be relevant to what the potential customer is looking for.

On Tuesday, popular Social Media website Twitter announced the release of their new tracking tool, Twitter Web Analytics. The basis of the new tool is to help website owners more accurately track the amount of traffic Twitter is sending to their website via their Twitter plug-ins. According to a screen shot on the Twitter developers blog, the data appears to be displayed in simple, color- coded graphs that get their message across without any of the frills of Google Analytics.

Christopher Golda of Twitter states: “ The product provides three key benefits: Understand how much your website content is being shared across the Twitter network, see the amount of traffic Twitter sends to your site and measure the effectiveness of your Tweet Button integration.” For those of you looking to integrate Twitter into your website, it will now be more useful than ever. The interface will tell you if the content you are producing is being re-Tweeted or shared and how many visitors are happening upon your site because of said re-Tweeting.

Different time frames will be available (Today, 7 day and 30 day are displayed in the screen shot) and while the tool is still in limited release, the idea sounds promising. Now social media marketing on Twitter can be developed into something that can increase your business’s exposure. Users can learn what content is most suited for an audience, how to retain and gain followers and what drives traffic. Social media marketing is an effective addition to an internet marketing plan when the content you want is reaching the people that want to read it. With this new development, Twitter will be helping to make that process more accurate.