Matt Cutts shared some tips on how to get the big G to find your site and give you a good platform to rise up the rankings to the top positions for good keywords.
In Short
1. Spotlight your search term on the page.
2. Fill in your “tags.”
3. Get other sites to “link” back to you.
4. Create a blog and post often.
5. Register for free tools.
Don’t overdo it
Good tips for 1, 2 and 3. All those can be easily done (3 with some boredom!), but how many sites are actually investing time and money for 4 and 5?
Warning though, tips like these are just scratching the surface. No business can be ranked top few by just doing 1 to 5 unless the competition is really crappy at web optimization.
Its the content and the presentation!
June 28, 2008
I simply have no idea why do people insist strongly on getting their god damn horrible websites to the top of search engines. I had a few inquiries from some individuals who want me to do Search Engine Optimization magic as if I am the Larry Page or Jerry Yang and turned a deaf ear to such simple stuffs such as meta tags management, good content production and internet marketing.
Their sites have neither a clear and simple navigation structure nor any organized content and are usually not optimized not backlinked. Sites which look like the aftermath of a dog tearing up the Webster dictionary and pooing on it should not be on the first page of Google and thankfully they usually are not. If they are, they are there simply by default (e.g the best of a bad bunch).
Search Engine Marketing (including SEO) main purpose is not about over promising or doing magic, getting more clicks or being in top position (although it is desirable). It is simply helping clients creating better value traffic for the website and company and converting them to customers and loyal customers.
Blogging at Channel News Asia
June 28, 2008
It might be interesting to note that Channel News Asia recently started a few blogs for their staff especially those at the newsdesk using WordPress no less.
Some of the blog entries are quality staff and I quite enjoyed their candidness. Breaking out of the mold of being blend and gray? Seems like it. A few more feed on my RSS reader for them.
7 Banners is back
June 28, 2008
I am back. The past few days have been tremendously hectic. Ad Tec came to Singapore and I was part of the exhibitor manning one of the booth. The experience had been very useful to me and good luck to me trying to manage my contact list.
This Ad tech was not as big as the Ad Techs in US or Europe but some really important players are in town. The usual assortment of Yahoo and Google (Where was MSN?), Local Powerhouses like Singapore Press Holdings (erm, that’s it?), media agencies like Acronym and DMG and social network companies like Friendster which still have a fragile lead in daily traffic over Facebook (Facebook was not in the room).
In Singapore, online ad revenues are also expected to triple from US$91 million in 2004, to US$256 million in 2009. (Source) Its going to be big business and whatever developments will be covered in 7 Banners (along with other IT and media aspects of today’s world)
Say 100 visitors a day, 2 conversion to sales. Most businesses would assume the way to increase sales is to increase exposure, if 100 were to be 200, that would result in 4 sales right?
Maybe…
Except that the cost of acquiring the additional 100 would be pretty costly. You can go on to SEM which might help to a certain degree since Google Adwords and Yahoo sponsored search is based on a pay as customer click model. You might even want to consider additional advertising and marketing if the customer reach is not optimal.
Or
You can increase the user experience of your homepage and get the most out of 100 people who visit your website everyday.
1. Make Navigation easier – You know the drill, 3 clicks to a selection, no more. Customers are not that patient
2. Include a internal search box – This is for the really impatient customer. Key in what they want, press search and viola!
3. Make the information above the line as clear as possible – No advertisements, irrelevant links or pictures on the top 800 mega pixels. A simple Nav link at the side, promotions at the centre and highlights at the side. Its that simple.
4. Speed, Speed, Speed. The searcher should not have to wait, the whole purpose of going online is to get information sweet and fast. Google assigns a quality score for speed of loading too. Clearly the big G knows its staff.
5. Is there any roadblocks along the way to purchase? E.g Register and Log in, excessive surveys, etc.
Last but not least
6. Are you selling good stuffs?
Dreams of the future
June 19, 2008
One day in the not too distant future, I want to be an expert on cool stuff like Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. Not just that, I love to be involving in data crunching on Excel, Databases and SAP. Dreams…
Build your Brand Loyalty
June 19, 2008
Yes, build your brand loyalty. Daily and relentlessly. Things which helped a business rise to the top might not be a factor in the future. When the golden goose stop laying golden eggs what will you do?
Why?
Top Positions in Google and Yahoo might never last
If you can predict with certainly that your keywords in the main search engines will remain top for the next decade, I will kidnap you, tie you up and interrogate you personally. It is important that you keep your loyal customers in case the big G decides that your website isn’t worth its ranking.
Hey, I have a merry band of loyal customers!
Says who? Customer loyalty will only last as long as the good provides exceptional value to them relative to other products. It is important to create brand loyalty by constantly upgrade your products and services to add value your customers’ purchase AND be ahead of the competition.
But wait a minute! My product is very niche, I have a few key accounts
You are saying that the survival of your company depends on the whims of a few customers. What if Google decides to release another free products to rival yours? What if your competition bagged your customers? Unless you have exclusive rights to the whaling area for the next hundred years, even if you fail to catch any whales, you can still release the fishing boats quickly into sea. No fishing boats?… that’s a big problem.
How?
Essential
1. Research and Development should always be top priority. Keep adding value to your product. This is essential.
2. Service the account regularly
Good to have
3. Roll out a road map to your customers. Give them the trust they deserve.
4. Constantly demonstrate how your product is better than the competition, least they be seduced by other vendors behind your back.
5. Watch out for warning signs of potential defections
6. Organize your customer into a community of backslappers (via social networks) and get them to evangelize others too. Make them feel good about being your customers, give them memberships.
I don’t believe this
7. Always remember who your loyal customers are…nah. There is no such things as loyal customers despite what Coke went through when they switched from vintage coke to a more modern coke and alienate others. That was in a different era before the Internet.
Customers will always be loyal to you as long as you provide an outstanding level of satisfaction to their purchasing decisions
Mozilla Firefox 3
June 18, 2008
I am an Opera Browser fanatic and an occasional Flock user. However I have downloaded Firefox so they can set the download record.
Those browsers are far better alternatives than Internet Explorer which has limited features and frequently targeted by hackers and viruses.
Immediate Aims
June 17, 2008
By this Christmas, I want to say I fully understand Web Analytics, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing (E-mail, PR, viral marketing, etc).
By 2009 Christmas, I want to say I am well versed in Enterprise Business Intelligence and Website Deployment.
High Hopes, but hopes always comes first before success.
Another Victim of the flash con
June 16, 2008
Today, a business I proposed my services to changed their website from a decent website needing some work and content mix to the abomination we called the 100% flash landing page. And the sub directories are all in flash as well. The whole thing is just one big flash file masquerading as a website.
Geez, unless they are going all out and putting their advertisements everywhere and on the face of the moon, how are they going to be found when people search for their product? How are they going to change content easily?
Surely someone convinced them to spend a fair amount of grands on a flash design and guarantee them brand recognition. He must be laughing his way to the bank.
