Think Globally, Act Locally

In an increasingly complex technological world online marketing can seem daunting. Where does a business with a limited budget begin? Once you have a website, what is the best way to promote it?

The simplest, most effective way to begin is the same as it was in the days before the internet. Local directories provide listings for business targeted for local customers. Doesn't it make sense to advertise your business to local customers? You get exposure to customers most likely to patronize your business or services in a straightforward manner they will feel comfortable with. Both Google and Yahoo offer local directories and there is always YellowPages.com. The best part is that most local directories offer free listings.

As with any form of online marketing, the most important element is always keywords. Using the right keywords is the best way to ensure that your listing will attract your target market. The keywords associated with your business listing will be the keywords associated with your business.

Additionally, try to locate niche directories to list your business with. Remember, the more specific you can be with your listings, targeting your specific local area and your specific market, the more effective your listings will be.

In the end, isn't that the goal -- delivering your message and advertising your presence in a way that translates into dollars?

Where Is Your Website?

People go to great lengths to try and learn their own version of “SEO” in order to market their online presence. Many hours are spent trying to capture traffic but you cannot succeed stuck behind a desk trying to understand the strategies of search engine optimization.

There are many factors that effect a website. Usually most start with “On Page” factors to make a site successful. But they often forget that it is “Off Page” factors that give them the ability to move the website in the rankings for the potential online sale they’re striving for.

What are “Off Page” factors? Whether you heard of the term “Off Page” factors or not, the concepts are anything but new.

"Off Page" factors are the areas that you don’t think about because most people concentrate on the “On Page” factors to get better the visibility for a website. But with the “Off Page” factors, you monitor the website linking on the search engines for chances of reaching your online goals. Google, for one, considers “popularity” important and really considers how your site is relating to other sites already established in the search engines.

Another factor is the “Age of the Domain”. Usually Google does not index a site until it is 6 months old, but other leading engines such as Yahoo and MSN will index a site the moment it goes live. If you want instant visibility from Google, then you may want to invest in a pay-per-click advertisement. Once a site has been indexed, it is important at this stage to not change the domain -- unless you want to start over.

These days, Google is constantly changing its algorithms for site indexing. So, “Off Page” factors are starting to receive greater significance to Google.

Optimizing for the Big Three

Scott Jemison
Contributing Editor

Most SEO concentrates on achieving top search rankings for Google, but what about the other search engines? Is optimizing for Google equally effective for Yahoo and MSN? And what about other search engines such as Ask or Dogpile?

Well, the quick answer is Yes and No. All search engines have their own distinct algorithm which gives differing weight to differing factors. So optimizing for Google does not emphasize the same factors which are important to other search engines. And, beyond that, the algorithms the search engines employee to establish search rankings are constantly changing.

When choosing which search engine to optimize for the key factor is your target audience. Google is the established leader. Whereas, Yahoo is considered to primarily appeal to home users; a prime audience for retail. MSN is considered more highly business users. A good SEO will offer strategies which will target your audience but still provide for traffic from all search engines.

However, strong content and ease of navigation are universally important. By providing strong relevant content on your site and making the site easy to navigate, your website becomes valuable to users and, ultimately, well ranking with the search engines. Content is, cliched as it is, king.