Search Engine Optimisation and Marketing Blog

You are about to release a hot new product or service for your site and think that you may as well use this opportunity for a full site redesign, complete with new functionality, cool flash files, new pictures and a fresh new colour scheme. Currently, your site has good rankings across the major search engines and you know that when you update your site your customers will be desperate to purchase your awesome new products.

This all sounds great, but there is so much that can go wrong during a website redesign. You launch your new site, your rankings fall, your customers disappear and after 6 months waiting for your rankings to “bounce back” you have realised you spent a lot of money on a redesign that meant your customers could no longer find you.

This is a worst case scenario, but even if you have had search engine optimisation (SEO) done on your site before and your content is perfectly crafted to target popular keywords, there is a lot that can go wrong. Here are a few reasons why you should consider getting SEO help as you update your site:

1. Using new design technologies to display the information on your site can impede a search engine spider’s ability to read the content on your site.

The use of Flash and Ajax in your site can hide content in places that search engine spiders cannot find it. Proper SEO advice can either provide alternate ways to display the content without using Flash and Ajax, or provide work around solutions that allow search engine spiders to view the content while showing Flash or Ajax functionality to your site visitors.

2. Moving the content around on your site can mean that pages that previously had a high page rank will drop in the search engine results pages.

When redesigning sites there are countless reasons why your URLs will have to be changed – whether your new site is coded in php instead of html, or your site’s structure has completely changed. Changing a URL for a page that is currently ranked well in search engine results pages will mean that this page will see a drop in its rankings. There are ways that you can manage this change to minimise the fall in rankings.

3. You may have had site accessibility issues with your site that can be fixed with proper advice as you implement your website changes.

When an SEO audit is complete we often find major problems with site navigation structure and layout that cannot be fixed without a major site redesign. During a site redesign is the perfect time to fix any major issues that had existed in your old site, and stop new issues from being implemented in your new site. SEO experts can partner with you and your developers during a redesign or redevelopment to ensure that major problems like these are avoided, and to make sure that your site has the best chance to get great search engine rankings. Working with SEO professionals is the safest and smartest option in a site redesign.

It is now October, and Christmas is fast upon us. Now is the time for you to start your Christmas AdWords campaign.

Christmas is the time for giving, which means that your website should see a natural increase in traffic and purchases as millions of people around the world search for the perfect gift for their loved ones. In order to best capitalise on this increase you should think about creating an AdWords campaign for your company during this Christmas push.

Pay per click marketing (using AdWords) allows you to bid on a keyword and have your ad visible to consumers immediately.

While the major increase in traffic occurs in November and December, starting your campaign now has a twofold benefit

1. You catch early Christmas traffic before your competitors have started their campaign
2. At this stage, bids for high traffic keywords should be lower as the real race for Christmas traffic has not yet begun.

While it is easy to see the benefits of starting a Christmas push campaign in Google AdWords, it is important to set your budget before you start bidding on keywords. Because Christmas is a key time for all advertisers, bid prices will double or triple across most product areas. Going in to Christmas with a small budget, and little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the prospects and bid higher than you should on keywords that don’t drive relevant traffic to your site. Knowing how much to bid and what keywords to bid on will ensure a successful Christmas campaign.

You may have heard some rumblings in the search world about recent changes to the Google quality score algorithm. We have attempted to sort this out for you.

What does this mean for you?

Anytime Google changes an algorithm it sends the search world into panic. What does this mean for my ads? What does this mean for my rankings? We’ve worked with the new quality score algorithm for the last few weeks and are here to tell you that it is going to be alright.

There is no reason to be scared about your traffic; if you produce good quality ads for a good quality product the changes to the quality score algorithm should positively affect your campaigns. These changes are designed to send highly relevant traffic to you. Ideally, the changes to the quality score algorithm are made to make your ad appear for search queries where it is likely to perform better.

There is one catch: It is best to keep in mind that with the new conditions it is harder to achieve a ‘great’ quality score.

What is Google Quality Score, and what changes have been made?

Google Quality Score is a system that assigns a number to your keywords based on how relevant they appear to be to the keywords used in a search term. Traditionally, Google looked at your keywords, the ad text, and the text on the landing page to decide whether a keyword you are bidding on is relevant to your site or not. Quality Score was invented to stop people bidding on keywords that were not relevant to their product, for example: a car manufacturer bidding on “motorbike” related keywords.

Recently Google has made some changes to their quality score algorithm. The major change is that quality score is now assigned to your keywords in real time. This means that your keyword relevancy is judged as a user types in a search query. There have been some changes to what Google looks at when assigning quality score it now looks at: relevancy of ad text, relevancy of landing page, landing page load time and relevancy to search phrase. It seems much of this is defined by user behavior.

By looking at all this information, Google can see how your keywords do on different search phrases and different geographic locations. Google will then display your ad in markets where your ad has a high probability of getting relevant traffic.

What can you do to increase the quality score for your AdWords campaign?

Similarly to the old Google quality score, make sure you choose relevant keywords to bid on for your product, write high quality ad text and make sure the ads point to relevant landing pages. Alternatively, you can hire a  search marketing professional to look after your campaigns.

Why is search engine marketing the best ROI advertising?

Making use of the power of search engines to promote your website and generate traffic is the heart and soul of search engine marketing. Search engine marketing is skyrocketing in popularity in part because it is very cost-effective. Many consider it the best return on investment (ROI) of any form of advertising.

For starters, many search engine marketing techniques are free. Most of the top search engines do not charge website owners for submitting their site. It also costs nothing to write articles and submit them to online directories. Writing articles can build links as well as solidify your reputation as an expert in your industry. A published article is an ongoing source of advertisement.

In fact, link building in general is free. Link popularity is an important component of the algorithm used by search engines to rank websites. Building quality links by using social networking sites, contributing to online forums and offering informative content are all free.

While pay per click advertising does carry a small cost, it is still another reason why search engine marketing offers an amazing ROI. The clicks generated by your PPC listing can cost mere pennies. Plus, you only pay when someone clicks on the ad. If the ad isn’t getting you traffic, then you pay nothing.

Yet another reason why search engine marketing ROI is so strong is that the effects of a solid SEO campaign are long-lasting. Once your site has earned a high search engine ranking, it has the potential to stay for periods of time. A radio or television ad only lasts for 30 seconds. Search engines, on the other hand, are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your site is always on display if it is search engine optimised and ranks well.

Most importantly of all, search engine marketing drives targeted, motivated traffic to your site. The people visiting your site are specifically seeking out what you have to offer. You’ve caught their attention while they’re in “buying mode.”

Is it best to do search marketing myself or hire professionals?

Once a website owner has decided to embark on a search engine marketing campaign, they have a big decision to make: do it yourself or hire a professional?

Some aspects of search engine marketing can be handled on your own. You can write and submit articles yourself, and you can network with fellow website owners in order to get inbound links. Spending time connecting with business prospects on social networking sites is also something you can do yourself, but doing so takes lots of time and effort.

One argument in favor of the DIY approach is that it won’t cost you anything. The counterargument, however, is to consider the value of your time. Search engine marketing is a time-consuming process. Hiring a professional allows you to spend your time and energy on your revenue-producing activities. You can focus on what you do best, and leave the marketing to the specialists.

Also keep in mind that search engine marketing companies are professionals at what they do. It is their job to know what search engines look for. There’s a lot of how-to information on the web about search engine optimisation, and it would certainly be possible to teach yourself the basics.

However, search engine marketing is a changing landscape. Search engine marketing professionals keep themselves up to date on the latest trends and any changes to search engine algorithms. Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional could help determine how good your ROI turns out to be.

The importance of getting links for a website

A website’s keyword density is only one factor in the algorithm that search engines use to determine rankings. Another significant factor is the number of inbound links that a website has.

An inbound link is a link that points to your website from somewhere else on the Internet. These are also sometimes referred to as “backlinks.” Typically you get inbound links when fellow website owners link to your site because they feel it is a high-quality site with valuable content.

The number of websites linking to yours helps search engines determine the quality and importance of your site. It’s known as your “link popularity.” When a person links to your site, it is like they are providing you with an endorsement. Tallying up those endorsements is one way that search engines are able to figure out which sites are most important.

The process of getting those inbound links is known as link building. While the sheer number of links you have is part of the equation, the quality of those links is even more important. One link located on a relevant, highly ranked website is worth more in terms of SEO than a dozen links located on mediocre, unrelated sites.

Although link building is most closely associated with SEO techniques, search engine optimization is not the only reason website owners should build links. Inbound links can boost your website traffic in a more direct way. Anyone who comes across a link to your site while browsing online is a potential visitor. Depending on the nature of the site where the inbound link is located, that link could become a considerable source of traffic.

How to get inbound links

Cultivating quality inbound links is a process that takes time. The first step, though, is to just get started. Here are some free, but time consuming, ways you can start building inbound links for your website:

• Write articles and submit them to online directories. Include a link to your website in the author bio box.
• Start a blog. You can link to your site in relevant blog entries. Also, you can swap links with your readers in what is known as a “blogroll.”
• Contribute to online discussions in message boards and forums. Most forums and message boards allow you to include a link to your website as part of your signature line.
• Create profiles on social networking sites.
• Place a tasteful “link to our website” or “link to this article” request on your website.
• Implement an RSS feed to syndicate your articles and blog postings.
• Submit your site to online directories. The Open Directory Project is particularly well-respected.
• Reciprocal links are not as highly valued by Google as they once were, but they can still be beneficial. Just be sure that you are exchanging links with reputable sites with content that’s relevant to your site.

While these strategies are free and to do, they are also very time consuming and take many months of continuous link building efforts to achieve results. In this sense it is usually best to hire professional SEO firms to develop and implement the right linking strategy for your website.

Introduction

You perform a Google search for home buying advice. As you scan the results page, you come across a website that seems to offer exactly what you’re looking for. However, when you click on the link, you’re redirected to a page promoting online casinos and poker games. Unfortunately, you’ve just been the victim of black hat SEO. Learn why black hat SEO spells big trouble and why a reputable webmaster would never use it.

What is white hat SEO?

White hat SEO is a term used to describe search engine optimization techniques that are considered ethical because they benefit, rather than deceive, search engines and search engine users. The term is derived from old Western movies where the good cowboys wore white hats and the bad ones wore black ones.

With white hat SEO, sites are optimized by providing valuable content to site visitors, gathering legitimate inbound links and using proper meta tags. The optimization has been performed in accordance with search engine guidelines and terms of service. Basically, white hat means playing by the rules.

When a visitor clicks on a site ranked highly due to successful white hat SEO work, they will get the content they are expecting. The high ranking is an accurate reflection of the site’s quality and relevance.

What is black hat SEO?

Black hat SEO is the total opposite of white hat SEO. It involves using deceptive tactics to trick search engines into giving a non-deserving website a higher ranking. Though Google and other search engines severely penalize sites that use black hat SEO techniques, it would be impossible to catch them all.

Keyword stuffing is one black hat SEO method. Keyword stuffing means repeating keywords over and over on a page, sometimes even using invisible text to hide them. Webmasters can hide the keywords by using the same color font for both the text and the background or by using extremely small font. Site visitors can’t see the gibberish, but search engine spiders read the HTML code and are tricked into indexing the page.

Another technique is redirecting visitors to another page after they click on the initial link. The webmaster creates a “gateway” page stuffed with popular keywords in order to get a high search engine ranking. Once a person clicks on the link, a program included in the gateway page automatically redirects them to a different page. This new page usually has nothing to do with the original search terms.

Link farming is also considered black hat SEO. A link farm is a webpage filled with hundreds of links that are totally unrelated to one another. Website owners pay to have their site listed on the link farm in order to boost their search engine rankings. Reason being, the more inbound links a site has, the more important it looks to a search engine.

Why choose white hat over black hat?

Going the black hat route is tempting to some webmasters who think they can get quick, cheap results. In the end, however, these webmasters will face a steep price for their trickery.

If you’re caught using black hat SEO, your website could be entirely removed from a search engine’s index. That means your website will never again appear in that search engine’s result pages. By comparison, solid white hat SEO work yields long-lasting results and provides an excellent return on your investment.

Black hat SEO will also hurt your reputation. Visitors to your website will not appreciate having been deceived. By contrast, an easy-to-navigate site with top-notch content will boost your image as a professional and an expert in your industry.

While black hat SEO may get the visitors to your site initially, it won’t keep them there. White hat SEO, on the other hand, offers visitors useful content. You’re providing them with valuable and interesting information, so they’ll spend more time on your site. If they find your site helpful, they are likely to recommend it to others and perhaps even link to your site on their own website.

PRESS RELEASE

SinoTech Media and Switched on Media form Strategic Relationship

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 27th August 2008- SinoTech Group (www.sinotechgroup.com.cn) announced today that they have signed a strategic partnership with Australia based Switched on Media.
Sydney based, Switched on Media is a boutique search engine marketing agency that generates traffic for customers’ websites and sales for customers’ business through search engine marketing service. “This is an exciting strategic partnership.” said Dr. Mathew McDougall, the Group CEO and Executive Chairman for SinoTech Group, “SinoTech will benefit by providing products and services into Australia through this partnership. We will provide Switched on Media’s clients with access to the Asian markets and will conduct Agency Services, Search Marketing and creative services.”

“We are delighted to enter into a strategic partnership with SinoTech Group. Asia is a rapidly developing online market, particularly China”. Said Mr. Andy Jamieson, Director for Switched on Media. “We can expect that this partnership will extend our SEO and SMM solutions offering into Asia Pacific.”

About SinoTech Media
SinoTech Media is a Chinese interactive advertising company which helps online advertisers and publishers optimize revenues and maximize campaign effectiveness. We provide interactive marketing services, online advertising technologies and operate a performance based Ad Marketplace. We are uniquely positioned to assist our clients by using proven digital technologies and experienced industry experts. We deliver focused, measurable and effective marketing solutions that provide the critical edge for our clients. For further information on SinoTech Media, please visit the website: www.sinotechmedia.com.cn

About Switched on Media
Switched on Media is a boutique search engine marketing agency that generates high-value traffic for your website and sales for your business through search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) marketing and pioneering new channels such as social media marketing (SMM) and Facebook advertising. For further information on Switched on Media, please visit the website: www.switchedonmedia.com.au

For enquiries, please contact:

Switched on Media
Scot Ennis
Director
Tel +61 2 82485054
scot@switchedonmedia.com.au

SinoTech Media
Amy Dong
Marketing Director
Tel: +86 10 6561 5818 ext. 926
E-mail: amy.dong@sinotechgroup.com.cn

Introduction

Smart businesses are awaking to the realisation that social networks aren’t just for the younger crowds to gossip and post silly YouTube videos. As the social networking phenomenon grows, these sites are becoming powerful marketing machines. By simply joining and participating in a social network, you can build your brand, drive huge traffic to your website and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

What are social networks?

Social networks are online communities. Through a social networking website, such as MySpace, people meet, chat, share information and swap photos. Members create profiles where they share information about their hobbies, interests, education and more.

Some social networks are centered around a common interest, such as pets or politics. Others are general places for communicating through blogs, messaging, photo albums and comments. Membership in the majority of social networks is open to anyone.

Social networks started out primarily as a means of staying in touch with friends. However, social networks are becoming an increasingly popular advertising medium for businesses. Where people were once looking for old schoolmates, now they’re looking for prospective customers.

MySpace, mentioned above, is one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet. Facebook is another social networking site with a massive membership. What once seemed like an online teeny bopper hangout is now also populated with some of the biggest names in business.

For those looking to network with other professionals, Zaabiz is an excellent resource. Zaabiz is tied to the “Six degrees of Seperation” principle. By viewing the profiles of friends of your friends, you can network with new people with confidence in their professionalism and trustworthiness.

What are the benefits of marketing on social networks?

Establish yourself as an expert: Social networks provide you with an opportunity to create a blog and contribute to message board discussions. You can offer advice, engage in meaningful dialogue and write informative blog entries. Before long, you’ll develop a reputation as being an expert in your field or industry. Your expertise reflects positively on your business as a whole.
Get viral: No, we don’t want you to catch a cold. Viral marketing is the Internet version of word-of-mouth advertising. You create an ad, video, website or any other online media that people forward to their friends and family members – just because they want to. You can use your social network profile to post content that’s worthy of forwarding.
Show the human side of your business: By connecting with others through social networks, you show that there’s a real live person behind your business. Your openness, honesty and passion can make a lasting impression and set you apart from your faceless competitors.
Mass exposure for your new products: Introducing a new product or service? Starting up a new marketing campaign? Post it on a social network, and you’ll quickly generate buzz. Some social network sites have literally millions of members worldwide!
Reinforcing your brand: Social networks provide you with another avenue for reinforcing your brand. Your profile is a medium for putting out your message as well as displaying your logo and unique selling proposition. Never pass up an opportunity to build your brand, especially when it’s free.
To succeed in today’s world, businesses have to be open to new technology and the ever-changing nature of communication. Social networks are an easy, free and enjoyable way to market your business. Increasing your online presence should be one of your top priorities, and social networks can be a unique and effective component of your Internet marketing efforts. speak to a social network marketing expert today!

Introduction

Picture yourself sitting in front of your computer. You pull up your favorite search engine and type in “flat screen television.” When the results come up, you scan the first few listings. You check out the first page…maybe the second or third page if the first page doesn’t have what you want. Do you ever look much further than that?

If a website is sitting on page 10 of the results, chances are very few people will ever see it. Getting from page 10 to page 1 isn’t a matter of luck or bribing the folks over at Google with a nice “Jam of the Month Club” membership. It’s a matter of optimising your website for search engines.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation, referred to as SEO for short, is the process of boosting a website’s search engine rankings. Well-implemented SEO techniques improve both the quality and the quantity of your website traffic.

Search engine optimisation is about understanding both how search engines determine their rankings and what people are searching for. The use of keywords, clean page design, user-friendly navigation and proper HTML tagging are the components of search engine optimisation.

To understand the SEO process, it’s useful to also understand a bit about how search engines work. Search engines use programs known as “spiders.” Fortunately, there aren’t actually hairy arachnids creeping all over your PC! What these programs do is “crawl” the pages of your website, indexing the information those pages contain. This indexing is a major part of what determines how high and for what keywords your site is listed.
Note that SEO improves your “organic” search results. Organic search results are the ranked list returned solely by a search engine’s use of its algorithm. These results are separate and distinct from the paid ads (pay per click) you see at the very top or sidebar of a search results page.

How can SEO help me?

The benefits of search engine optimisation are numerous. Here are a just a few of the ways that SEO can help you and your website.

Targeted traffic: The number one benefit of SEO is that it brings targeted traffic to your website. Targeted traffic means that the people who are visiting your website are there because they’re interested in what you have to offer – increasing the chances that the visit to your website will convert into a sale.

24/7 marketing and promotion: Unlike a television spot or newspaper ad, SEO is driving traffic to your website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even while you’re asleep that high search engine ranking is marketing your business and bringing you visitors.

Cost effectiveness: SEO is widely considered to offer just about the highest return on your investment of any advertising technique, online or offline. It costs absolutely nothing to have your web pages indexed by a search engine, and SEO is a long-term strategy with long-term results.

Increased user-friendliness: The techniques that boost search engine rankings also lead to a cleaner, more user-friendly website. Visitors are more likely to surf your site if it’s easy to navigate. On a similar note, your website will be more compatible with cell phones and PDA devices, which are becoming increasingly popular methods of accessing the Internet.

Credibility: Internet users have a tendency to place higher stock in websites with high search engine result rankings.

Search engine optimisation can bring many benefits as outlined above. If you have a website, or are launching a website, contact an SEO firm to get ahead of your competition.

Introduction

When you log onto the Internet what are you most likely to do? Studies have shown that fifty-seven percent of Internet users utilize a search engine every single day, topped only by checking email as the most common online activity.

Those stats make it clear that you’ve got to have a strong presence on search engines in order to reach customers. One of the most speedy and affordable ways to get your website on the search engines is PPC marketing.

What is PPC Marketing?

PPC stands for “pay per click.” Pay per click is a type of advertising done through search engines. You select the keywords, and when a search is performed for those keywords, your website shows up in the results list located on the top or right hand side of the page. Typically this side bar is labeled “Sponsored Links” or something similar.

Getting started with PPC is quite simple and takes only a few minutes. You begin by bidding on the keywords and keyword phrases you want your website to appear for when a search is performed. The higher you bid, the higher up in the results list your site will appear.

You pay a set, specific amount each time a person clicks on your ad. You have the ability to set a cap on the amount of money you are willing to spend each month. In this way, PPC gives you complete control of your advertising dollars.

Google AdWords is arguably the most popular PPC program. Google’s popularity and virtual dominance of the search engine arena is undeniable. Yahoo! Search Marketing is the other largest PPC system. Microsoft adCenter is a third PPC system, not as large as Yahoo! or Google’s programs, but still an important player.

How can PPC help my website?

Business owners like pay per click marketing because it offers immediate results and maximum control. PPC should be a part of every business owner’s overall marketing plan. Here’s why:

Immediate results: Your PPC listings can start generating traffic in a matter of minutes. SEO is critical for the success of your website, but it takes time to see results. PPC is instant gratification.

Quick boost: Similarly, PPC marketing can create an instant buzz about a brand new website that would otherwise takes months to come to the attention of the general public.

Motivated visitors: PPC advertising sends you targeted traffic. A person who clicks on your ad has already demonstrated their interest in exactly what you have to offer. Targeted traffic means a higher conversion rate and a greater return on your investment.

Not-so-natural keyword phrases: Sometimes the most often searched for keyword phrases would be nearly impossible to optimise for. Instead of losing out on those visitors, you can incorporate those keyword phrases into your PPC campaign. For more specific examples, check out some PPC case studies

Experimentation: Bidding on a variety of keywords for your PPC listings allows you to experiment with different marketing approaches. You can make adjustments until you land on a combination that works. That way, you know which keywords are worth the investment of your time and money when doing search engine optimisation.

Affordable: PPC is one of the most cost effective ways to market your website. You pay solely for results. That is, you’re only charged when someone actually clicks on your ad.

If you’re looking to do PPC marketing for your website, than hiring a firm that specialises in running PPC campaigns is the best way to go. PPC marketing has a lot to offer businesses, both big and small.