Valuable Internal Optimization Tips

As a Chicago Marketing Company we stress the value of Search Engine Optimization. If you want web traffic from search engines there are certain areas of your website that must be optimized.

Title Tags – Title tags are shown up as the title in search results and on browser windows. Our Chicago Marketing team has found that title tags are the most important place to insert your keywords on your website. A strong title tag should contain between 65-70 characters or less. It is important to choose keywords for your title tags that correspond with the content on the page.

H1 Tags – Search engines have been attracted to h1 tags for years. Our Chicago Marketing Company has found that some websites don’t even utilize H1 tags! Many search engine optimization experts have found that H1 tags are one of the most important factors of internal optimization. You are only hurting your website by not including H1 tags.

URL – The key to any web page is it’s URL. Within your website you will have different pages designated to separate web URL’s. Our web designers in Chicago always name particular page’s slug according to what the page and content is about. Example: http://www.integraphix.com/services/chicago_internet_marketing entails information regarding our Chicago Internet Marketing services.

Image Tags – Our creative agency has found that images are often ignored when it comes to search engine optimization. It is very important that all of your images on your website are saved according to your keywords to help increase web traffic. Make sure that all of your images on your website are given logical and readable names. An image saved as “logo.jpg”says nothing to search engines. Saving an image as “Chicago-web-design-company-logo.jpg” will help your website for search engine optimization purposes. Uploading images to your website saved as keywords will definitely help increase your rankings and ultimately increase your web traffic.

Content – When creating web content for your website, it is very important to include a variety of keywords. As a Chicago Marketing Company, we recommend you use at least 4-5 keywords on each of your pages. If your site is legitimate and you are targeting the right audience, your keywords should fall into the copy naturally. It is important to understand that the more content you put on your site, the better off you are in terms of search engine optimization.

Without a solid foundation of internal optimization on your website, you cannot grasp the full potential of search engine optimization. For a FREE Marketing Analysis of your website, contact Integraphix: 847-537-0067. Our Chicago Marketing Company consists of our creative team specialists that have the knowledge and experience on  how to increase interest with search engines.

Tips for Writing Better Content: The Before, During and After Phases

As an SEO firm in Chicago we’re always talking SEO and we’re always talking about the importance of content.  When it comes to search engine optimization, we’re always saying, “Content is king” and we mean it.  When it comes to creating an SEO strategy there is no better way to boost rankings then to put out great content.  If you’re not working with an SEO company and are trying to do search engine optimization yourself then you need to be prepared to put on your writer hat.  If you’re not the best writer then take note of our tips for writing better content:

Before you begin writing do the following:

1- Identify your goal beforehand: What is the goal of the content you are producing?  Identifying what you are looking for from your reader will help you be able to write better content.  Decide what is you want to say and what is you want your reader to know.  What are you looking to accomplish with your content?  Have your goal in mind beforehand and your content will instantly be more successful.

2- Consider your reader: Get in the mindset of your target audience and readers.  Consider what they know about your content’s topic and what they don’t know.  Break things down that may be confusing for them so you don’t lose them.  Explain things in a way that you are on their level rather than being above them.  Think about what they may want to know about your topic and how you can help them learn your topic better, after all you are writing for search engines AND readers.

3- What’s the hook?: Every and any piece of content you put out should have a hook, which is how you draw readers in. Your hook may be a news hook, an attack hook, a humor hook or an ego hook, but whatever kind of hook you choose needs to draw readers into your content. Your hook should be woven throughout your content or writing piece.  

While you are writing:

1- Create an outline:  In order to write better content (especially if you’re not a writer) consider making an outline first.  An outline will help you weed out material you need not include and will help you better organize your content and your thoughts.  Even seasoned writers will outline content from time to time.  Outlining should become your first step in the writing process.  Once you have a great outline, writing the rest of your content will become a breeze since you’ve outlined the points you need to hit with your content.  Just go down your outline and begin writing, the organization will be there.

2- Just write!:  If you find yourself constantly editing your thoughts as you write, stop immediately!  The writing and editing process are two entirely different parts of the content-creating process. As a rule, write first and edit later.  Get as much down as you can and leave all of your thoughts on the page until you get to the editing process. If you created your outline like we mentioned in tip #1, then you have probably already been able to weed out the useless, cluttered information and have organized your thoughts, so don’t be so critical of your writing.  Keep what you have and re-read it later.

3- Make it easy to read: Content built for web is different than any other type of content.  People reading online are typically scanning, rather than doing any type of deep reading, so you want your online content to convey your message quickly and concisely.  You want your reader to be able to scan your content and be able to take away the crux of your message very quickly. 

4- Be engaging: If you want people to read your content, then you must be engaging.  Make them want to read what you put out.  One of the best ways to be engaging as a writer is to use your own voice.  You have to give readers a little bit of you. Write like your content matters to you, as it should.  If you want people to care about what you write, you have to care about what you write, so let your personality shine through in your writing. 

After you are finished writing:

1- Edit time: Now is the time to begin the editing process.  Do a thorough re-read and see if any sentences should be omitted or altered.  While outlining helps you get your thoughts organized, editing should help you double check that your writing is organized the way you want it to be.  Spell check, spell check and spell check again! 

2- Read it out loud: Read your writing out loud and see how it sounds to you.  If parts of your writing sound off, make a note of it and go back to it and figure out the issue.  It could be awkward phrasing or perhaps there is a better word you could be using to describing something.  Either way, reading out loud is another form of editing that every writer should utilize. 

3- Have a co-worker or friend read your content: If you want to make sure your content is sounding its best, consider having a co-worker or friend read your writing to proofread it and let you know what they think.  Be open to questions, comments, criticisms and opinions as all four will only make you a better writer.  

Questions or comments on writing better content for search engine optimization purposes?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.  

What to Expect When You Begin the SEO Process

You’ve began the process of search engine optimization in hopes that it will boost your search engine rankings and get you and your website in front of a larger audience.  What is to be reasonably expected when you begin the SEO process?  Here are a few things to expect when beginning the SEO process:

Rankings won’t happen over night

Often times people will post a blog or two, insert a few links and expect immediate results, but unfortunately SEO doesn’t work like that.  SEO results take time to appear.  Most SEO resources will tell you don’t expect to see any results until the 3 to 6 month mark and for the most part, that is somewhat accurate. 

As a Chicago SEO Firm, our search engine optimization specialists say that there are a lot of variables that will cause a website to rank or not rank highly for chosen keywords.  One variable would be the chosen keyword’s competition association.  If the words you have chosen are highly competitive words (meaning lots of people are using the same keyword) it will be a lot harder for you to rank on it.  It doesn’t mean you should discard the keyword, it just means it may take awhile for you to begin ranking on it.  The other variable that could really affect your ranking results is your industry competition.  If you are in an industry where lots of people are optimizing, then you should expect your own ranking results to take a little more time. 

It’s a time consuming process

Search engine optimization can be a very time consuming process for people and as an SEO firm, we completely understand.  Backlinking, blogging, social media postings, directory and article submissions, and all the other little external optimizing your doing can take up some serious time.  That is why there are lots of SEO companies out there.  If you’re going to pursue doing search engine optimization or really just internet marketing yourself, make sure you put aside enough time out of your day to be able to do it.  Doing the bare minimum isn’t going to get you those results you’re looking for.  If you find yourself with no time to do it (like so many people out there) consider looking for an SEO firm to do the work for you.  Typically, an SEO firm will charge you a set fee per month to perform SEO work.  That set fee will usually include a whole bunch of services determined necessary by both the client and SEO firm.  Working with an SEO company is a great way to get a professional's view on how to get the most out of your website.  An SEO company will help you map out a strategy that will get you rankings.

Stay on top of frequent algorithm changes

Every so often you can expect algorithm changes. In fact, SEOmoz reports that “Google will change its search algorithm up to 500-600 times.”  While most updates made are rather minor, it can still greatly effect your results.  Stay on top of the latest algorithm changes and do your SEO research as frequently as possible.  Another benefit to work with an SEO company is that their search engine optimization specialists stay up to date on the changes knowing exactly when they need to tweak your SEO plans to make sure you are getting the most of your chosen SEO package. 

Have comment or questions regarding beginning the SEO process?  Feel free to comment or contact us.  

Web Pages: Optimize Them All!

For those that don't truly understand SEO, optimizing the home page of a website is as far as they go. This demonstrates a lack of understanding in how Google indexes pages and how users come across content across the internet. Lesson 1: Google indexes Web-PAGES, not Web-SITES. Each pages is their own island, and each can have its own optimized content and purpose without compromising the overall optimization efforts.

For small website owners, this isn't a huge problem. For large e-commerce websites or elaborate websites, this can be a terrifying endeavor. Optimizing a website from top to bottom, all the way from the title tags to the tweaked javascript can take quite a while (keyword research, content writing, creating meta data, assigning title tags, naming images and alt tags, etc.). Those with a 5 page site (and shame on you) are in the clear. Those websites with 1000+ pages are going to have to implement changes over a longer period of time, but it IS worth the effort.

Here are a few tips to make sure your entire website and all its many pages gets optimized properly.

SEO Myths: Busted!

10 years ago, Search Engine Optimization was spam. People who knew very little about the practice could manipulate the search engines with very little effort and huge results. Nowadays, it's much more difficult and takes more than simple trickery to get results. The following myths, however prevalent in the current SEO scene, need some busting, by yours truly, Integraphix.

Myth One: Search Engines don't "see" Images
While this is correct that the actual image itself can't be seen by search engines, applying appropriate tags to the image can benefit your image search capabilities and on-page optimization efforts. While not a huge benefit, Alt Text and Image Filenames does make a difference and should be included in your SEO strategy.