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We are all a little guilty of over-using social networking sites. When this is for pleasure, there is no real harm. After all, you are not really hurting anyone if you are chatting on Facebook rather than cooking dinner (except your stomach perhaps). However, when using Facebook for professional purposes, you could end up destroying your business by relying too much on Facebook and not enough on other marketing tools.

Facebook Fever

While there is no denying that Facebook is a hot marketing tool right now, there is still a lot of danger in putting too much effort into making Facebook the center of your marketing campaign. Facebook is easy to use and it seems like almost everyone and their dog have a page now. This means you can reach a wider audience with one simple marketing tool. Furthermore, Facebook is actually fun and addictive to use. Even so, it is important to spread out and see what’s out there. Relying too heavily on Facebook could result in complications and controversy down the road.

Facebook should most certainly be used in your marketing strategies; however, it should be the only thing that you focus on. Why? Because, essentially, you are giving control of your business to someone else. When you allow your pages to be re-directed to another site, such as Facebook, you are giving the power to another Web 2.0 company. You are under their control, their guidance, their regulations and their terms of service. This means that if Facebook suddenly closes its cyber doors, you are left with nothing.

Facebook is getting bigger and bigger by the day. However, eventually, it will all come crashing down. There are already a number of rumors suggesting that Facebook will shut down, that people will need to pay for its services and that Facebook will be governed more strictly. Furthermore, Facebook could soon be competing directly with Google which could not end well for Facebook. In fact, you may have heard about the recent de-activation of several high profile Google engineers Facebook account. This was no accident. Both Google and Facebook want to rule the World Wide Web, and, unfortunately, this is one war that Facebook cannot win.

Stepping outside the Facebook Circle

Instead of putting all your marketing efforts into Facebook, it is a good idea to take a number of publishing paths and tailor your content to a few different websites. That way, if Facebook does take a turn for the worse, you still have a number of other marketing tools to fall back on. The reality is you cannot control the fate of Facebook so don’t let Facebook control the fate of your business.

Interested in establishing your web presence outside of your Facebook page? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Any website, regardless of the content and the purpose, can benefit from backlinks. Backlinks are found on other websites that link back to your site. With a backlink you are reaching a greater audience and ensuring a better search engine ranking. But this does not mean you need to resort to link begging to find those ever-elusive backlinks.

What is Link Begging?

First of all, let’s define link begging. Link begging is the process of identifying link prospects, usually through competitor backlink analysis, and then contacting each one of those sites and begging for a link. Not only is this needy practice time consuming but it usually only ends in failure. Instead of tarnishing your personal and professional reputation by resorting to link begging, try the following methods to build up your networks and find worthwhile linking partners.

It all begins with good content. You’ve most likely heard it a dozen times already but this is only because it’s true – good content sells. Good content makes friends. Good content brings in excellent backlinks. Once you have established your web site, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty.

Link Building Strategies

The first thing you need to do is research. Make a list of the best blog posts, articles, PDF’s, videos, discussion threads, forums, twitter feeds, Facebook accounts, news sites, conferences and any other social networking sites that are in your niche. Organize them into different groups that will work with your niche. Once you have made the list, you need to sit down and compose a number of emails to the owners of these sites. Explain your site and ask them if they think it’s a good idea to share the audience.

Next, once you start getting responses, ask your prospects to participate in a group interview which will contain several group interview questions. After you get the answers back, reach out to the participants to let them know their interview is live. It’s a good idea to ask them to mention it to their readers and Twitter followers as well. You can also do solo interviews with prospective linkers. If you are attempting the solo interview, make sure that you’re asking new questions that probe into genuine areas of passion for your experts. Do not create a universal interview sheet and expect excellent results. You need to put a lot of attention and care into every single interview.

The main thing to remember when it comes to link building is that you need to form a relationship with your linkers. It is all about networking and finding personal connections with other sites that will benefit everyone in the end. There is no need to resort to link begging – there are a number of creative ways to find links without tarnishing your name.

Want to learn more about the process of link building? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

SEO’s are a dime a dozen these days and, like car salesman and mechanics, it can be hard to know who to trust and who to stay away from. Which SEO’s are promising the world and actually coming up with something and which are guaranteeing you results with nothing to show for it? When you are looking for a SEO, consider the following five questions that can help you decipher the SEO slime balls from the SEO successors.

1) Does your SEO guarantee results – if so, then you might be let down. No matter how skilled a SEO is, it is impossible to 100 percent guarantee something. If a SEO has promised you a certain amount of visitors or a certain amount of money in a time frame, then be weary. Look for a SEO who explains exactly what he is able to do and what his track record has been in the past. Look for a SEO who is willing to set expectations and work within your goals rather than promising the world. In the end, you will only be disappointed.

2) Does your SEO educate you on the process or leave you in the dark? You may not want an eight-week lesson on search engine optimization but it is always a good idea to be informed on how things are going and what is happening. Look for a SEO who is willing to educate you and demonstrate his level of competence in the subject.

3) Is your SEO constantly updating the process? This is a good thing. It may seem like your SEO is a little scatterbrained but the truth of the matter is, the world of search engine algorithms are constantly changing which means a good SEO has to adapt with these changes. Look for a SEO is that up to date on the recent trends and is willing to be flexible with his plans. If your SEO admits that he is not familiar with something in the field, do not automatically fire him. The important thing is that he is willing to learn and push the limits to get results.

4) Does your SEO have references? Make sure you ask for them. The best way to determine if a SEO is worth your business is what his previous clients have thought. Check websites, make phone calls and uncover the truth behind those promises.

5) Finally, does your provide you with a timeframe? The truth of the matter is, search engine optimization is not something you can simply do, forget about and still see results. You need to constantly tweak your design and stay current on the trends. Your SEO should explain what can be done within different time frames – five weeks, five months, five years, etc. so that you understand exactly what you can expect.

Our company have years of experience in SEO and web design. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

SEO is not something that you will learn overnight. Furthermore, you will not see the results of a successful web site right away. It will take time to see the results. However, below are some of the sure-fire ways to turn your website into a SEO success story:

URL Tips

Let’s start with your URL’s. Make sure they are correctly formatted and that they are actually about what your page is about.

For example: www.carsalesguide.com/article_344445_page_index/

is not as effective as

www.carsalesguide.com/all-about-insurance/

for letting the readers know what the article is all about.

You should also look into removing any stop words from your URL’s. These are words such as “I”, “it”, “the” and “what.” They are stop words because Google tends to completely ignore them. When it comes to choosing a URL, think simple.

Meta Descriptions , Page Titles and Headings

Moving on to your Meta descriptions, make sure you are writing concise and focused meta descriptions. This is the tag that goes in the head section of your webpage and relies information about the page that may not be in the title. Meta descriptions are still used by most search engines to describe the content of your page. Stick to concise and accurate meta descriptions for the search engine results.

When it comes to your Headings Tags, you want to follow the three golden rules: 1) don’t skip heading levels. 2) try to have the H1 heading be the first on your page. And 3) use the main keyword on your H1 heading.

You should also always optimize your page titles. What this means is that your important keywords always occur within the first 60 characters of your page title. Make your page titles fresh and interesting, taking into consideration the emotions of your readers.

Images and Sitemaps for Success

Two more things to consider – images and site mapping: When it comes to your page images, make sure you always use the Alt and Title attributes. Alt tages will describe the content of the image to the search engine so your image will actually be found during a search.

As for site mapping, make sure you have one. XML sitemaps are the best as they provide an easy way to inform search engines about new pages on your site and are fairly easy to construct.

Social Media and Backlinks

And finally, never underestimate the power of social media and backlinks. These are incredibly important for your page ranking. Write a blog, join Twitter (and tweet regularly), post comments on other relevant blogs and network your site out there.

One final note – your website is not just about SEO. The most important aspect of any site is the content. You need to ensure that what you are actually saying is worthwhile reading. Be fresh, informative and entertaining to attract a loyal following.

Want to learn more about the tricks and trades of SEO? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Competitive analysis is an evaluation on your competition. This marketing tool is essential to success in any industry. By analyzing your indirect or direct competition you are able to get a clearer picture of what works and what doesn’t work. You can also avoid making the mistakes that your competition has made along the way.

One great thing about the widespread use of the World Wide Web is that you have direct access to your competitor’s information via their website. This creates a great opportunity for market analysis. It is important to identify your competition and what their strengths and weaknesses are. You can use their business ideas to your advantage by taking what they are doing and making it one step better. You may be able to find a unique selling proposition which your competition is not offering, thus giving you the advantage.

So how do you conduct a competitive analysis and find out what’s happening on the dark side? Below are ten great hints to help get you started:

1) Make use of Pay Per Click. Find out what your competitors are bidding on each search engine. If they are getting a good ROI, then perhaps it’s time to follow their lead.

2) Find out who your competition is working with – does he use outsourcing or partnerships with other websites to gain traffic? If so, consider doing the same.

3) Check out how your keywords are working in comparison to his. Use Google, Yahoo and other search engines to uncover who is ranking higher.

4) Check out Alexa, Compete and Ranking as well as other online tools to determine where your competition is ranking compared to your website. A little competition never hurt anyone – however, you can make it work to your advantage by always knowing where they stand.

5) Uncover how your competition is making money from the website by checking their revenue model.

6) Analyze your competitors PPC ads to determine if your PPC ads are doing you justice.

7) Check out their customer service by ordering a product or asking for their services. Be polite and see how your competition responds to a typical sales call.

Backlinks are critical to a web page’s ranking. Check out your competitors backlinks by using search engine analysis. You can look for any social media sites where they are getting their backlinks.

9) Check out any associations or business organizations that your competition belongs to. Associations can build up relationships and offer a validation on your credentials.

10) Find out if your competition is offering free mailing or newsletter subscriptions to members. This can be an effective marketing tool for the right niche.

Competitive analysis is only one of the many tools needed to discover your business strength and weaknesses and improve your ranking online. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

A backlink is a link that points back to your website from another site. The more backlinks you have, the better your search ranking is going to be, especially if your backlinks are included in heavy-ranking sites such as government or educational websites.

Backlink Basics

When it comes to using backlinks, you want to make the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. What this means is that you need target the right words when linking. Make sure you are linking to sites that are relevant to yours. Make a list of the different keywords that are relevant to your blog or web site and then look for links and sources that are similar to this. Finding the right backlinks for your web site is all about search engine optimization and keyword selection. For help with choosing relevant keywords, check out the Google Adword Keyword Tool.

You also need to remember that not all backlinks are created equal by Google. In general, if you have 100 backlinks to your page, you will be higher in the ranking than someone with only ten backlinks… unless these ten links are from extremely reputable sources. You want to not only consider the quantity of your backlink but also the quality. Some types of backlinks will provide much more value than others, especially those that target the right audience and come from reputable sources. Linking to authoritative sites is one of the best ways to pack more punch into your backlinks. BBC, CNN, Wikipedia, the Bureau of Labor Statistics are all great examples of the backlink heavyweights.

Furthermore, you want to use the proper phrasing in your links. Using the word “click here” is not the best way to represent your backlinks or internal links. Whenever you link to your website from other sites, try and incorporate your keyword phrase into the link text. Then underline the hyperlinked phrase to help readers connect to the other sites.

Where to Find Backlinks

Looking for quality backlinks? Keep in mind that choosing the right backlinks for your blog should not be a two-minute job. It is all about networking and finding the right sources – put yourself out there to build connections that will work in your favor. Check out these valuable resources for finding quality backlinks to help your blog:

• Online directories such as DMOZ or Yahoo! Directory
• Blog Comments
• Video sites
• .edu (educational) and .gov (government) links
• RSS Feeds such as Feedage.com and Feedagg.com
• Internal linking
• Social bookmarking links including Digg, Propeller and Delicious
• Web 2.0 Sites such as Hubpages and Scribd.
• Article directories such as ezinearticles

However, the most important thing when it comes to obtaining backlinks is to constantly write quality content. When you have excellent and informative content, others will want to link back to you.

Want to learn more about backlinks? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Does it seem like every man, woman and dog has a blog out these days? It’s true – blogging is slowly taking over the World Wide Web which is why it is so important to make sure your blog gets noticed and stands out from the crowd. The ultimate goal of any blog is to bring people who are interested in the type of content you offer. So how do you do that? Below are ten simple yet effective tips to maximize the traffic to your blog:

1. Post regularly – we can’t stress this enough. Make time every day (or every second day) to update your blog and stick to the schedule. The more often you update your blog, the more often your pages are indexed by search engines and seen by potential viewers. Although it can be tempting to set up a blog and forget about it, stick with it and you’ll see results!

2. Set up a Posting Alert – every time you post a blog, let the world know through a number of social networking sites. You can set up alerts or ‘pings’ so that every time you publish an article, the search engines are alerted.

3. Make friends with Links – linking is essential for any blogger success. Make sure you link to reputable sources and build up inbound links from another blog or website that will point readers to you. You may need to do some networking to find similar and helpful blogs for inbound links but this is definitely worth your while.

4. Make use of SEO – SEO or search engine optimization is a blogger’s best friend. Choose keywords that are relevant to your content to ensure that your blog ranks high in the search engine rankings. Check out the Google Adword Keyword Tool to find keywords that are relevant as well as popular with search engines.

5. Write descriptive post titles – when you are thinking about to name your blogs, consider this: what would you type into Google to find your post? Whatever phrase or keyword you decide on, make sure you include it in your title.

6. Use Image titles –another excellent way to bring people to your blog is to include title images with one or more words from your post title. This will increase the relevance of your post.

7. Submit your URL – take advantage of the ‘submit blog’ tool in Google, Yahoo or any of the other search engines. You will be directed to a page that will let you submit the URL for indexing which will ensure more people see your blog when searching for particular keywords.

8. Make sure you stay up to date on the current trends. See what works for other and check out the various developments in search engine technology to stay one step ahead of the crowd.

Keep in mind that the above tips are only a few of the different ways you can generate traffic to your blog. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Generating traffic to your web site is one of the most important ways to ensure its success. Unfortunately, however, obtaining traffic is not something that you will do once and forget about it – it’s an ongoing thing. However, once you have mastered the art of generating free traffic, the rest will fall into place.

First and foremost, you need to factor in SEO, or search engine optimization. You need to do your homework and determine which keywords will help with your SEO. Check with Google Adwords Keywords Tool to see what words are searched the most and go from there.

Second of all, you need to constantly add and update the content on your site. Content is key when it comes to generating free traffic. If you have something interesting to say on your site, then viewers and readers will come. Excellent content is the key to a loyal audience and following.

Linking is the third most important part of successful web site traffic. You need to not only include internal links (those to pages on your site), but also need to factor in backlinks, or links that come from other sites.

Another great place to find free traffic is through social networking sites as well as Twitter and Google Buzz. Facebook is a great place to start. Build a profile and start updating frequently, always linking to your site. Social bookmarking sites, such a Digg and Delicious also offer a free way to generate traffic. You can also submit to article directories, which is another great way to promote your site for free.

Another sure-fire way to get viewers to your site is to offer a free product or service. You do not have to give away a DVD to the one-millionth viewer but you can offer something that is useful – this could be a free guidebook or manual on something pertaining to your site. You could also include a free video or presentation for the more visual viewers.

Finally, consider using viral content, which, like a virus, will help spread your site around. When users like your content, they send it to their friends, post it on various sites, and promote it for free in many different ways. Viral content distributes on its own and your only task is to create it and submit it to a couple of popular sites.

Finally, take advantages of other blogs and forums. If you have something useful to say that relates back to your site, say it. Then include a link for more information. However, do not simply add your link and “great post” to every forum that pertains to your site. This will only annoy visitors and most likely annoy the search engines as well. If you are going to comment, make sure you have something useful and informative to say.

Keep in mind that the above tips are only a few of the different ways you can generate traffic to your site for free. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.