There are two choices when you are doing small business SEO, do you want traffic or you want rankings? Most small business owners want both, but in reality websites that are just starting with no links need a strong link base and the rankings. So in that case a PA small business owner should look to building links on relevant sites with high traffic keywords. By following this practice your site will begin to see some traffic as well as help with organic SEO rankings.

Now if you want sheer traffic then there is another route to go. Usually a Scranton small business owner will request traffic when they have a solid diversified link profile and have had some history built up in analytics. You can think of it as giving your car a shot of jet fuel. This can be done through various social media sites like Myspace and Facebook as well as submitting your site to various social bookmaking sites. Never underestimate the power of the social media sites. You can even go after the media side of the internet with sites like YouTube. Developing video shorts about your products or your company could bring you a lot of traffic.

The bottom line before developing seo for small business website is to make sure you know the life stage that your website is in. If you site is just starting out then you need to develop its link profile through link building. If you site has been around for awhile then you might need to look into developing lines of traffic through social sites and video sites.

Over the past couple of months I have met several small business owners in the Scranton, PA area who have had the same questions about web design and search engine marketing, so I figured I would take a moment to share them with you. I will also provide the answers so you can become a little more knowledgeable in small business web design and online marketing.

Question #1: How come there are no sales happening at my online store?

Well that is a common myth that if you build it they will come mentality does not work in the online e-commerce world. You have to make sure your small business website is optimized with proper meta-tags and then you have to market your site online through paid and organic efforts among others.

Question #2: What is Web 2.0 and do I need it?

Web 2.0 is a term that was created to explain the next evolution or step in how we as a society use the World Wide Web. This current phase can help Scranton web designers as well as online marketers bring new customers to their clients by using social media networks and video. So yes embracing web 2.0 into your marketing plan is essential for small business online marketing success.

Question #4: What is the difference between paid and organic search?

The main difference is time. With paid search you can pay to be on the top of the search engine results by way of ads and it would be a matter of hours before you see your ads running along your competition. With organic, it might take several months to see results of link building efforts with in your small business SEO service. Either way time is what you need to be aware of when considering the right route to go.

Question #5: How big of a website do I need and do I need all that flashy intro stuff?

Google and the other search engines do take into account the size of your site when calculating rankings, but size is not everything. A well optimized small business website with only a couple of page could out rank a larger site if it had a solid number of backlinks. Being a Scranton web designer and a small business SEO professional, having a fancy intro is not great for rankings. Sure it makes the site exciting, but it all depends on the type of computer the visitor has on whether the movie plays right or hangs up the browser. You are better of with a site full of embedded videos and pictures then a flash intro.

I have to say that Scranton small business owners have come along way in understanding the internet and how it can benefit them and their business. These are only a few of the questions that I get asked on a daily basis. If you have any questions feel free to contact me through the contact form and I will be happy to help.

Well, calm your fears and worries because a website properly optimized for Web 2.0 can and will make money. The concept behind Web 2.0 is simple enough. The internet is entering a period of increased interactivity. Small business website design is now built and optimized around users taking an active role in building, defining, and even moderating the content and direction of the site.

The short, short version is basically this: All of those people who visit the internet everyday now add their own feedback, content, and videos to the majority of the most popular sites online.

Taking a step back for a second, you realize that this isn’t exactly a ground breaking idea. After all, blogs, forums, and networking sites have been around since the beginning of the internet and their reputation of interaction and user contribution has long been known.

What makes Web 2.0 different now than before is the shift in focus rather than in actual technology. Popular websites like MySpace and Facebook brought this concept of social Web interactivity to forefront of daily internet users, instead of just dating sites and focused discussion groups, no offense WOW fans. The average user now has their very own voice and face, hence the idea of a new focus in website design and small business search engine marketing.

So the last thing you, as a savvy small business owner looking to get involved in ecommerce, should do is allow yourself to be intimidated by all the hype of Web 2.0. It doesn’t take any expensive new software or programs. Nor do you need to completely overhaul your marketing mentality to find success in the midst of this new social media optimization movement.

What you need to go is jump in and get involved. Your customers, the ones you communicate and do business with over the internet, expect greater access to your business and increased input in how your marketing plan is run, so it’s only natural that your business incorporates this Web 2.0 interactivity into its daily activities.

The real results of Web 2.0 hype is improved customer relations, readily available market data, and new and exciting ways to promote your business’s products and services. This new era represents a leap in the human consciousness more than it does an advance in Internet technology and Mystic Liquid wants to be there to help you make that jump.

Contact us to get started with your very own small business search engine optimization and social media optimization campaign today.

]]> http://www.mysticliquid.com/seo/the-progress-of-web-20-and-your-business/feed/ 0 http://www.mysticliquid.com/seo/the-business-advantage-of-being-social/ http://www.mysticliquid.com/seo/the-business-advantage-of-being-social/#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 11:54:10 +0000 admin http://www.mysticliquid.com/?p=567 Managing a full service small business website company like Mystic Liquid is not an easy venture. One of the biggest opportunities to take advantage of is the process of convincing potential customers that using Myspace or another community based “profile” as a company website is not a good thing.

Before the Myspace and the other social community revolution started to ravage the Internet landscape, small business owners had to either hire a web designer or use a template website such as Bravenet to create a web presence. Back then those template websites were very economical, but lacked all the customizable features that a web designer could provide.

Even though Bravenet has gone by the wayside and Myspace has taken its place as a way for small businesses to get a piece of that online market, it is not the best long term solution for a small business that is looking to enter the online business market.

There are several steps that need to be taken if you are a small business owner that is looking to revamp or even create a web presence from scratch.

1) A domain name that represents your business name is worth its weight in gold.

a. Just like a logo, your domain name is very important. You want to choose a domain name a close to the name of your business. That way consumers and internet surfers will remember your online presence with ease.

2) Looks are everything!!!

a. Even though templates are easy to put together, it comes down to being unique and separate yourself from the pack. Spend the time to pick the colors and overall structure of your website before you go to a web design company.

3) Being social is good, but you need a home.

a. Having a Myspace or a Facebook account to represent your business is a good thing, but should not be the overall solution. Those social sites should be used as a compliment to your main small business website. Those social sites are a great way to dive traffic to your main site and will be a great way to interact with customers.

So if you are a small business owner looking to get a piece of the booming online business market, remember to use the social community sites a compliment to your main site and if you’re looking for help with this, we offer a social media optimization package. Remember there is no place like home when it comes to having your own website and domain.

PPC is an approach where a marketer bids on specific keywords that are tied to specific ads. These ads appear when any of the keywords are searched. You do not pay for this type of advertising unless an ad is clicked on. This approach allows businesses to bid against each other and compete for better ad position. SEO is the approach where improvements are actually made to improve the richness of web sites content in relation to specific keywords with the intention to improve its quality score in the eyes of search engine spiders.

So, which approach will best meet the needs of your businesses online marketing efforts?

Cost Effectiveness
Marketing efforts are an expense. That has to be taken into consideration when deciding which of these two strategies will yield the best return on investment. Many industry studies have found that SEO does indeed deliver a greater return on investment then PPC campaigns over long periods of time.

This is true because with SEO the cost is based on the maintenance efforts and not the cost per click biding structure. That is due to SEO being based on organic search listings. Most top search engines want to maintain their integrity and provide searchers with objective non-biased information related to the end users search. In other words the natural search will continue to be the search engines main objective and can only be reached through SEO because this section of real estate is not for sale.

Time Efficentency
In the modern business environment, performance is judged on a short term scale. Quarterly earning reports and projections can have drastic impact on a businesses stock price. When it comes to choosing an internet marketing strategy, PPC is far more time efficient than SEO.

PPC ads start to show on search engines instantly while the effects of SEO are more of a long term process. This allow a marketer to test and isolate what combination of keywords, landing pages, and ads perform best and focus on them while at the same time eliminating what is not working.

No matter if the purpose of the web site is to increase and capture sales or leads the benefits of PPC can be measured in almost real time from when the campaign is launched.

Best Of Both Worlds
The best strategy for an entrepreneur to consider when entering the world of internet marketing is to take advantage of what both PPC and SEO has to offer. By applying both strategies you can be assured that your target market will find you. This approach can also give you the needed upper hand in today’s ultra competitive market place.

Use both to gain more exposure on search engines and take up more valuable advertising real estate. The end result will be more traffic and ultimately more sales.