What is SEO?

Posted on July 30, 2011 by mike

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a method designed to improve the flow of visitors to a website by achieving a higher ranking within search engine result pages (SERPs). In reality, the majority of Internet users rarely search further than the first few pages of results. Considering that traffic is the lifeblood of any website, low visibility within leading search engines can spell disaster for webmasters.

Since users perceive the top ranking websites as trustworthy authorities within their niches, those sites tend to generate a significantly larger stream of traffic. For this reason, obtaining powerful positioning is an integral part of a successful and sustainable SEO strategy. In fact, the implementation of organic SEO techniques yields remarkable benefits.

Organic techniques direct traffic to a website naturally, with long-term effects. It is no secret that search engines crave relevancy, which is why it is so important to maintain your website with content relevant to profitable search terms your target audience use. When you maintain relevancy, you effectively give search engines the food they need to keep your website on top. In addition, relevant content attracts quality backlinks, which help preserve your strong positioning.

Continuously creating, and sharing relevant, engaging, and valuable content is commonly known as content marketing. The unique content you publish and distribute serves several purposes. Besides attracting backlinks that increase your web presence, content marketing can help you increase direct sales, generate leads, cultivate brand loyalty, retain the attention of your readers, boost customer retention, maintain long-term positioning, and improve website accessibility.

Likewise, local SEO offers similar results. As Internet users refine their search criteria to include geographical locations, it has become crystal clear that local search marketing is crucial to the survival of many small to medium size businesses. It is no longer effective to target purely on a global level when many Internet users are searching for specific types of businesses within their local communities.

Local search engine optimization employs useful tools such as Google Places, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps, and business directories to create an online presence. Your target audience will have access to your company’s details within seconds of conducting a search. With local SEO you not only attract targeted prospects, but the right keywords will deliver traffic actively searching for your services, and products right to your website. This technique allows you to make valuable connections with prospects online, who might buy offline.

Ultimately, content marketing and local search marketing amplify the effectiveness of your SEO campaign. If done correctly, it provides you with a competitive advantage that outlasts that of your competitors. These optimization techniques work constantly, which means your business benefits 24/7.

If gaining a decent search engine ranking is a constant struggle, and you are failing to attract qualified and organic traffic, let the industry experts at smbSEO.com help you achieve the results you deserve. Now you can make the most of your marketing dollars and take control of your search engine rankings with solutions that work by signing up today!

Its a Dog Eat Dog World Managing Online Reputations

Posted on February 26, 2011 by mike

Every business runs off its convenience, having a lower price, or building a better mousetrap in the beginning. After a few months or so any successful growing company then has to rely on its reputation to keep it on the top of the public lists of what is good. Company names that have been around for several generations have one thing in common; they all have great reputations. This is harder to maintain in the current modern era of Internet, global television and world wide media coverage. If a company sells one bad hamburger the entire world knows before they close on that day. It is a tough world to live in.

The competition is fierce. The expression ‘its a dog eat dog world’ is truer today than ever before. When a flailing company sees another of similarity doing well they will spread underhanded rumors to discredit them so the public will have no choice but to come to them. And then how do you make that bad publicity go away.

Hiring a Dallas Online Reputation Service is one of the best ways to do just that. These are groups of folks who monitor your site, all the traffic that rushes through the web and finds the unsavory items about you. If left unchecked these bits of information, true or not, will have a devastating effect on the entire business you are in. Therefore the firm you are working with find ways to drown the bad media in the back of search engine results so it is not seen by as many people.

The requirement of a reputation management company is to understand the best SEO practices and use them to make your reputation better. These talented and skilled employees carefully watch blogs, search engines, social media sites and more watching for anything that comes up about your company that is going to effect you in a negative manner. Then they work some verbal magic and make it go away.

What does it take to drive negative results off the first page of Google? Content and lots of it. SMB SEO’s content writers get to work creating content that replaces the bad with good.

A good strategy will be developed to help bury bad press. Because the Internet is such a fast working machine these people have very little time to get hold of the problems and stomp them out. This is a skill that good reputation writers are good at. They base their entire life on being able to build good relationships between the public and their products and services.

There are software programs that you can buy that once installed does the work of these services. Some are created and promoted by the very company you are using to develop a better reputation through. They are good but not always as effective as a real person. Plus, once you have had a professional dig into your reputation, they can reccommend things that a disk cannot.

Of course it is always best to keep from getting bad press in the first place. This is not always possible. Some people just cannot get satisfied with anything. Their disgruntled and menacing attitudes can cause a lot of damage. But this should not be an expensive problem if you keep your own eyes open for the possibilities. Once all these are in place for you, all that is left is to watch your business pick up and move past the issue you had.

Mike Stewart has said for years that 3% of those with a good experience will comment about your business online, and over 30% of those with a negative experience will do the same. It pays to invest in reputation management considering these facts and the likelyhood of someone researching about your company before making a purchase.

Give SMB SEO a call for your Dallas Online Reputation Management needs.

A Common Small Business SEO Short Story or something else?

Posted on May 24, 2010 by mike

Here is a short story I hear frequently when meeting local Dallas area small and medium-sized business owners:

A few years ago my small business purchased a website from some website developer who had a very attractive and cool looking website. They told us that they had issue making the site show up on Google (insert: they used my business name as the title of my site) and within a few months my site was up and looking good on the world wide web.

Well, years went buy and this so-called internet marketing firm, in Dallas by the way, failed to communicate with me about all the changes to search engines like Google and Yahoo, and about the new methods of marketing online socially called Social Media.

So one day I got a call. A call from the Yellow Pages sales guy who told me he could put my business on the top of Google search results. So with that sort of excitement, I signed a 12 month contract with them to do a local search engine marketing program. I paid huge fees for every click. It seemed like my business would only show up towards the end of the month, and they sent me very little of the so-called “advanced campaign reporting” that they told me in the “yellow pages internet sales pitch.” Not only did they over promise and under deliver, but I got very few phone calls. Meanwhile I watched my competitors rank at the top of Google.” What was even worse? Watching my bank account drop from the huge fees from them for management of my so-called SMLOCAL campaign. They must have 10 monkeys in a room and 100 accounts each to manage in order to cover the yellow pages CEO’s fat bonuses and death of the companies print products.

That was until I found SMB SEO. They kept me updated with the latest in Call Metrics, Website Analytics, Local Search, Video Optimization, Social Media, Blogging, Search Engine Optimization. SMB SEO was the first real small business search engine marketing agency in Dallas. An agency that has years of experience working with small businesses who want to rank at the top of the internet when my customers search the web for “what we do” and “where we do it.”

Amazing how much money a small business like mine can save by advertising on the internet the right way. I get new clients every single day!

I recommend all other Dallas area business owners call SMB SEO!

I called: 214-267-9553

I have heard this over and over…… time a few claim this frequent discussion! Collecting some testimonials for our site folks!

Thanks in advance,
Mike Stewart

Creator of SMB SEO

Affordable SEO, PPC & Website Design

Why use smbSEO?

We help you rank on search engines by creating great content.
Increase your ROI with well constructed and optimized paid search (PPC) campaigns
Internet Marketing that doesn’t break your company’s financials
An agency that doesn’t hold the work over your head or hostage. You pay Us for it, You own it!

Technical SEO is no longer enough to increase traffic to your site. A holistic and comprehensive search engine marketing solution is the only way for your business to be profitable online. The internet today requires an SEO Company that can keep up with the social, local, mobile, and personalized shifts in the World Wide Web. smbSEO has proven strategic and tactical SEO experience. We want understand the inner workings of your business from risk management, to marketing, creative problem solving and resource allocation.

If you are looking to generate more traffic to your website, you need to be on the 1st page of Google organically, locally, and in the paid search (ads) results. If you found your competitor above you on the list, it’s because they used a company like smbSEO to help them improve their ranking in the search engine listing results.

Small business owners should develop a comprehensive search marketing solutions to maximize search engine traffic. This is one of the most cost effective ways for small business owners to market themselves. However, simply generating traffic is not enough.That’s why we recommend working with us one-on-one to develop a thorough plan for your company. This plan is based on your resources, marketing objectives, competitive activity, goals, and category dynamics of your business.

By getting to know your business & marketing goals, this helps smbSEO to make sound recommendations.

If you’re looking for a Dallas SEO firm try smbSEO. Our team team experienced marketing professionals can serve your business needs.

What is the next step in getting started? Just call smbSEO at 214-267-9553. For a free web rankings report or visit our SMB SEO contact page.