The New Approach to SEO: Traffic Instead of Rankings

As the rules of SEO change yet again, you need to consider new ways of determining how your site is performing.


Whenever Google releases a new algorithm or an update to an algorithm, as it did last month, people everywhere begin to worry and speculate that current SEO practices may become obsolete. Fortunately for Internet marketers, this isn't the case.

Many SEO methods continue to apply. However, they must be employed with a different intent. For example, instead of striving for higher search engine rankings, webmasters, business owners and marketers have shifted their focus to increasing website traffic from organic search.

The State of the SEO Industry

How many times have you heard that “SEO is dead"? If Internet marketers had a nickel for every time they heard this declaration over the past two years, they could fund the world’s greatest marketing campaign.

The prediction that SEO is dying has been a favorite topic of the SEO industry for years now. Supposedly, SEO died in the summer of 2013. It also died in April 2012. It's died at least a dozen other deaths, too, according to nervous marketers uncomfortable with change.

In the spring of this year, Internet bloggers posed the perennial question: Is Google Hummingbird going to kill SEO? Predictions claimed that everything SEO specialists had spent years working for—link building, keyword rankings and the like—would become irrelevant. Months later, and on the heels of October's Google Penguin 3.0 release and Google’s recent announcement that Google PageRank will cease to be updated, the industry is more alive than ever.

Yet once again, bloggers are calling for a funeral march. How founded in reality are these claims?
The Death of PageRank

As Google’s John Mueller put it in a recent Google Webmaster Hangout video, “We are probably not going to be updating [PageRank] going forward, at least in the Toolbar PageRank.” While the popular viewpoint following the release of this statement consisted of a mixture of confusion, curiosity and fear of the unknown, it wasn’t a total surprise—PageRank hasn't been updated since December 2013, and Matt Cutts, the head of Google's Webspam team, had already announced it was on its way out months before.

After the idea that PageRank would officially shut down sank in, most realistic SEO professionals and Internet marketers realized that in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter. That's because the reality is, SEO isn't dying at all; it’s simply transitioning and evolving.

The death of PageRank is only worrisome to those with an improper understanding of how SEO really works. While PageRank certainly plays a part in ranking success, it’s not everything, and it’s misguided to place all your focus on rankings instead of traffic. Honestly, rankings are only numbers, while traffic represents actual value. You can have the greatest PageRank, but unless you’re getting traffic, it really doesn’t matter.

Industry expert Jonathan Long offers a clear example in a recent article. He tells readers to compare two very different sites. One has a No. 1 keyword ranking and gets 50 visitors each month, while the second has a keyword ranking of No. 6 and attracts 900 visitors each month. Long then directs readers to the obvious conclusion: “Traffic numbers are much more valuable than rankings alone.”

“Your SEO efforts should be focused on driving quality traffic to your website, " says Tim Kelsey, director of client marketing services at Pronto, a digital marketing agency for small businesses. "After all, it’s traffic that drives new leads and sales.”

 Quality Control

So is SEO changing? Certainly. Is it dying? Absolutely not. A better terms for it would be "transitioning" or "changing." The “new SEO” places the emphasis where it deserves to be—on high-quality content.

As PageRank disappears, a natural cleansing process will take place in Google’s search engine. Black-hat SEO professionals who thrive on link farming, keyword stuffing and other manipulative, frowned-upon practices will see their pages disappear from search results, along with their PageRanks.

Meanwhile, those who follow Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and have worked hard to develop high-quality content that answers questions and sparks valuable conversation will see their pages rise in the rankings. That’s why some SEO professionals are excited about all the recent changes within the industry.

So instead of frowning over the loss of PageRank, start learning how to analyze better metrics, such as:
   

• Organic search traffic. Google isn’t keeping secret the fact that search engines are moving toward a local focus. Take a look at your organic search numbers in your Google analytics account, and identify where the traffic is coming from.
      
• Average time on site. You’ll also find the average-time-on-site metric valuable. Once visitors arrive, you need to determine how long they're staying and why they're leaving.
     
•  Goal conversions. If you have a high average time on site, odds are pretty good you’re getting some goal conversions. Since traffic is designed to drive new leads and sales, you need to make sure conversions are following.

In a world where SEO practices and Internet marketing techniques are constantly changing, are you prepared to shift your focus to new challenges? If so, it's time to start looking at traffic, not rankings.

6 Reasons Why Your Website Should Have a Blog

Should you create a blog for your small business? It may be worth the time and effort if you want to increase leads and customer engagement.

As a busy small-business owner, you’re probably wondering if it's worth the time and effort to maintain a blog on your website. Considering a 2014-2015 study by HubSpot found that companies which blog are 13 times more likely to generate a positive marketing ROI, the short answer is yes.

If you want to increase the visibility and credibility of your company to consumers, you should consider regularly posting quality content on your website that will be interesting and useful to them. A blog is where this content should be housed, whether or not you call this section of your website a blog. On many sites, the “blog” has a different label, such as News, Press or Articles

Here are six reasons why your small business website should have a blog.

1. Drive Traffic to Your Website

In addition to the ROI a website with a blog can generate, websites with blogs may be able to get more traffic than websites without blogs. So how do blogs drive all this additional traffic?

Good SEO results are largely driven by new content and relevant keywords, so not only do you need fresh content, you also need a place to house it. Blogs provide you with the platform to do just that: adding fresh content to your website gets it placed higher in search engine results than other websites, which makes it more likely to get clicked.

2. Convert Traffic Into Leads

Now that your website is getting more traffic, you have the opportunity to convert that traffic into leads. Each new piece of content gives you the opportunity to generate leads, and the way to do that may be by adding a call-to-action to each blog post. Try offering something that consumers will give up their contact information for, such as a free e-book, free webinar, free consultation or quote. Once you have their contact information, your sales team can follow up with those leads.

3. Become an Authority in Your Industry

The best small-business blogs can answer potential customers' common questions and discuss industry trends. If potential customers view your blog as one that can provide helpful information about relevant topics, they may be more likely to do business with you than with your competitors. Interesting and unique content can also give you the opportunity to drive traffic to your website through inbound links. In fact, the Hubspot report found that websites with blogs have 434 percent more indexed pages than websites without blogs.

4. Build Relationships With Potential Customers

The comments section on your blog is the place on a website where you can have a two-way discussion with consumers. Encouraging engagement on your blog can be as simple as asking questions at the end of a post to get the conversation going, waiting for readers to leave comments and then interacting with those readers. By responding to your readers’ comments, you have the opportunity to build trust and gain insight into what your customers are looking for.

5. Give Your Social Media Efforts an Added Boost

Blog content can be perfect for sharing on social media. When you create original content that's valuable, interesting and entertaining to your target demographic, you can be more likely to get social shares. An added benefit: Unlike posting curated content on your social channels, content that's shared from your blog will point directly back to your website.

You can also add social sharing buttons to your blog so visitors can easily share your content—turning your readers into your own grassroots marketing team.

6. Drive Long-Term Results

So you write a post on your blog, promote it on your social channels and hopefully get some shares. After that initial flurry of activity, the traffic driven by that post will slow to a trickle. And that’s the end of that, right?

Not by a long shot. That page is now ranked in search engines. Just like the rest of the static pages on your website, this blog may continue to be visited as long as it's on the Web. In fact, a website with a substantial amount of blog content can continue to boost total traffic from old blog posts, providing the potential of a pretty substantial return on the few hours you invested in writing a post.

From a practical standpoint, adding a blog to your small-business website may just make sense. With minimal expense and effort, you can boost search engine rankings, build credibility, increase website traffic and foster relationships with customers. This, in turn, can make your readers more likely to hire you or purchase products from your company, in addition to recommending your business to others.

Seth Rand (@sethrand) is the founder and CEO of Rand Internet Marketing. He is an Internet marketing speaker and author and consultant specializing in Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing. He is also a member of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC).

20 Ways To Drive More Traffic To Your Blog

Increasing readership of your blog is both art and science. Take a look at these 20 quick ways you can drive traffic and attract the audience you want.


Every business owner who's ever hosted a blog has experienced the frustration of trying to gain readership. Though we’d all like it if readers just magically came to us, the reality is, it takes some work to build an audience.

It’s easy to get frustrated and just give up on blogging, but once you experience the benefits, you'll understand that your blog can have a tremendous impact on your business by attracting traffic to your site, helping you build a social media audience and making an impression on prospects and clients alike.

Following are 20 proven strategies that can help you boost readership and increase traffic to your blog.

Contributors will also share with their networks and may ask you to write for them, opening up new readership avenues for you.

1. Write more. Studies show that the more often you update your blog, the more traffic it will receive. Google gives higher priority to websites with fresh content, so if you want to get more attention from the search engines, update your blog at least twice a week.

2. Promote with social media. Share each new blog post across your social media networks, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest. If you spend time cultivating your networks and share great content, social media sites can become some of your top traffic sources.

3. Write better titles. The titles for your blog posts are almost more important than the content itself. That's because titles help potential readers decide whether they should click and read more. Pay attention to the article titles you see on magazine covers. They entice readers with promises and solutions. When you do the same, your readership will increase.

4. Know your niche. While you may be interested in sea life, exotic travel destinations, Little League baseball and weight loss, you'll confuse your audience if your content doesn’t follow a clear theme. Decide who your target audience is, what they want to read and what specific messages you want to convey.

5. Include photos. Studies have shown that photos in blog posts boost readership. Not only does a photo make the post more visually appealing, but you can also include keywords in the Alt Image tag on the photo, boosting search engine optimization (SEO) for your site. Keep in mind that you can’t just pull any photo from Google because you risk violating copyright laws. Instead, locate royalty-free images from a site like Clipart.com.

6. Incorporate keywords. Speaking of SEO, keywords are at the heart of SEO. One of the easiest ways to generate more traffic to your website is to ensure that every page on your site has a keyword strategy. So for each blog post you write, choose one key phrase that you believe readers would use to find that post. Next, incorporate that phrase into the title of the post, the headline on the page, within the content on the page at least two times, in a featured image on the page and also as part of the page link. Keyword concentration helps Google understand what that page is about, which can ultimately lead to more traffic from the search engines.

7. Incorporate links. When you mention another company’s product or service in a blog post, include a link to that company’s page. Not only does Google like to see outbound links on your site, the company you mention may also notice your post and link back to you. Plus, readers appreciate it when you provide resources to make it easier for them to find the things they're looking for.

8. Add social sharing buttons. At the top and bottom of your blog posts, make sure you include social sharing buttons for Twitter, LinkedIn and the other major social networks. Make it easy for readers to spread the word.

9. Retweet past content. We aren’t all looking at Twitter at the same time, so when you share a new blog post link, the majority of your fan base won’t see it the first time. Repeat your tweets, and don’t be afraid to share past content. Readers don’t care when it was written as long as it’s still relevant.

10. Invite guest contributors. When others write for your blog, you add more content that you didn’t have to write yourself. As a bonus, those contributors will also share with their networks and may ask you to write for them, opening up new readership avenues for you.

11. Add video. Google owns YouTube, which is one of the many reasons that videos can drive more traffic to your site. Supplement the written content on your blog with short videos that are informative and entertaining.

12. Invest in promotion. If you believe your audience is spending time on Facebook, occasionally invest in sponsored posts. For as little as $10, you can “Boost” a post and increase its reach significantly.

13. Conduct give-away events. Create fun theme days such as “Free Book Fridays” where your readers can win a prize by submitting a comment or sharing your link via social media. You can provide prizes yourself or invite companies to donate or sponsor these promotions.

14. Write guest posts. Locate other blogs that reach your target audience, and offer to contribute guest blog posts. If the site has a substantial audience, you can bet that readers will in turn want to engage with more of your content.

15. Cross-promote to your mailing list. Instead of writing all new content for your electronic newsletter, share the first paragraph from several recent blog posts and include a link to continue reading on the site. Not everyone is taking the time to read your blog each week, so this will help get your subscribers invested in your blog.

In addition to the tips above, the following smart strategies will also help increase readership:

16. Make your content easy to read by using plenty of subheads, bullets and numbered lists.

17. Promote your blog in your email signature and your bio in any online profiles.

18. Make it easy for blog visitors to subscribe to your RSS feed.

19. Invite readers to leave a comment, then respond and let them know you’re engaged.

20. Finally, have fun with your blog. If it feels like drudgery, your readers will notice. But if you enjoy producing the content, that will come across and have a tremendous impact on your success.

Should You Start a Blog for Your Business?

Starting a blog can be one of the most beneficial things you do for your business. But just because you have a blog doesn't mean you have a good blog. And therein lies the problem: Your blog should exist to improve your business, not detract from it.

Is a Blog Right for You?

The main reason to start a blog is because you want to move your business ahead. Blogs can be excellent vehicles for driving search traffic, expanding your market reach and establishing your authority in your industry.

Blogs are also great for adding complementary content to your online business. Often, business websites don’t allow for content that isn’t absolutely critical to the bottom line. Blogs are a good bridge between core site content and content that's more loosely related to your business or industry.

A blog is also a good way to showcase your authority; building authority in your industry can give you an edge on your competition. One way to find content that showcases your authority is to repurpose content you’ve created elsewhere, such as presentations, videos, tutorials and so on, all of which can help you position your brand as the authority in your niche.

Starting a blog can be one of the most beneficial things you do for your business. 

But just because you have a blog doesn't mean you have a good blog. And therein lies the problem.

Next step is to ask yourself if you can properly commit to it. Successful blogs usually take money, manpower and time. Without that, then nobody wins—not the readers or your business—and your best move may be to look into other avenues to grow your business.
Building a Great Business Blog

If you’ve decided you can commit to building and maintaining a blog, try to create the kind of blog you’d subscribe to yourself.

Here are a few examples of great company blogs so you can see how successful blogs contribute to their businesses through the use of great content and design:

MailChimp. MailChimp’s blog is not only a fantastic example of seamless branding (the blog's design mimics MailChimp's website perfectly), it employs excellent writing and design. These aren’t copied-and-pasted press releases. They're well thought out, in-depth articles aimed at the company's target market.

Groove. Groove is a startup that grew to more than $100,000 in monthly revenue the first year, and the company attributes a large portion of that success to its blog. Its posts are honest and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions the company's founders have made, the successes and the failures in starting an online help desk software company.

Patagonia. Patagonia is an excellent example of a retailer blog with The Cleanest Line, which highlights the company’s values without talking about the company itself. The blog covers such themes as adventure, travel, exploration and environmental activism—with a bit of company news sprinkled in here and there. The articles complement the Patagonia brand without overtly selling the company or its products.

This approach generates a lot of engagement, rarely fewer than 150 Facebook shares, per post. Since the blog only covers the company a fraction of the time, when it does talk about the business, those posts are shared just as much as the others. This is a great example of how a company has built a brand that people want to champion.

Essentially, the blogs are driven by businesses that have a plan and execute it as if it were a core part of your business and don’t skimp on resources. The good news is, if you can commit, blogging can be a powerful tool for your business.

Basic Elements for Website Success

When someone decides to sell their products or services on the internet, the first thing they usually do is set up a website. After that first step many people feel lost as to what to do next.

There’s pay per click, affiliate programs, social networking, search engine optimization, blogging and so much more.

How do you decide what to do first?

It might seem like the first thing to do is start bringing a steady stream of traffic to your website so you can start making those sales. Before you do that, the best thing to do is make sure your site is really ready to get traffic coming through the door.

If your website isn’t ready to sell, there’s no point in bringing a single visitor to it because they’ll just come and go without doing a thing for your business.

Here are four things you must make sure you have taken care of before you send anyone to your website:

1. Keyword Research – If you’re not doing keyword research then you are blindly guessing what people want. You need to find out what people are looking for and give it to them.

This is a very important step and it’s often overlooked. I can tell you for the longest time I thought keyword research was boring and not that important, so I ignored it. I spent a lot of time building websites that very few people came to visit.

Once I decided to actually research what people wanted and then used those keywords to optimize my site, I began to see traffic growing because people were searching for those terms.

Doing your keyword research doesn’t have to be hard. One of the best sites to find very targeted keywords is Wordtracker.

2. Copywriting – You don’t have to be a copywriting wizard to have great copy on your website. The words you use on your site determine what happens when those visitors stop by. Make sure you KNOW what you want them to do so you can tell them to do it.

Every page on your website should have a purpose.

There are really only two basic actions you want your visitors to take when they come to your product or service website:

– They can buy from you.

– They can look for more information.

If you keep these two actions in mind then everything you write can have a purpose. Of course you want to keep a good balance and not try to sell all the time, or not give away free information all the time.

3. Tracking – Once you start getting visitors, you’re going to want to know where they came from. If you know where your visitors are coming from then you can go ahead and do the same things to bring more traffic to your site.

Some hosting programs come with a statistics program, but not all of them give you the information you need.

Google offers a great program called Google Analytics that you can use to create very detailed reports and track details of where people come from and what they do on your site.

Here are some things you’ll want to track:

– what sites people visit from

– what pages they visit

– how long they stay

– what keywords they search to find you

4. Newsletter or Mailing List – The majority of people that come to your site won’t buy at first. So, you want them to take that second action of looking for more information.

You don’t have to do a big newsletter each week if you don’t have the time. Another option is to have a quick tips list each week. It’s just a quick way to keep in touch, give people some valuable information, and make an offer every now and then.

If you make sure you have these four things in place before you start looking for website traffic then you’ll be setting your site up for success!

What is Business Process and Why is it Important?

Starting a new business is exciting; but it can also be hectic and at times even a bit frustrating.  If you
can master five basic process management, systems and organization tools, it will make things a lot easier for you.  Remember that investing time and energy into developing and maintaining sustainable business processes and systems that keep your day-to-day activities organized sets you up for success.

Start by developing your Business Operations Manual.  Make a comprehensive list of your administrative and operational procedures; and then outline what is required to carry out each procedure.  Include tasks and information on topics such as client intake, marketing strategy (both traditional and social media activity), networking, billing, time keeping, systems,
backup (detail on this to follow), vendors and suppliers.  Ideally if you were to hand the manual to someone, he or she could select any process and carry it out from start to finish based on your documentation, so don’t leave anything out.

Once you have your systems and procedures documented, you need to formulate business documents and templates to support them.  For example, contracts/agreements, invoices, and time tracking forms should be ready before you have your first client
interaction.  As you take on clients, your documents should also include step-by-step guides for the support services
you provide those clients.  Having documented steps and templates to reference when it comes time to work on a task will ensure you don’t miss anything, which not only saves time but can help you to avoid errors.

Business resources are just as important as business documents.  Create and maintain a database to track your system access, memberships, affiliate programs and passwords.  Be sure to include the name of the system/organization, URL, login, password, costs and expiration date.  For security reasons it is a good idea to password protect this file.

Your business documents and templates are essential for managing your business; therefore you need to ensure that you back them up regularly.  The system for this does not need to be complicated – a disc with everything on it is an easy solution, but
does require you to set a schedule and hold yourself accountable for getting it done.  You also might want to look into
automatic backup software or cloud storage.  Regardless of what solution works best for you, just remember that
losing your important data means losing billable time for clients as you recreate those critical documents.

Lastly, be sure to re-visit and update your systems and processes regularly.  In the beginning, quarterly reviews are recommended but once your business is up and running smoothly, yearly reviews are sufficient.  Set a
reminder on your calendar if you need to.  With any luck you will create systems and processes from
the beginning that can sustain growth and only need tweaking as your business grows.

One final thought.  We all get caught up working “in” our business rather than working “on” it, but developing
tools to keep your business organized will not only eliminate some of that tendency, but serve as a skill to attract new clients.   Creating systems and processes that are easily repeatable and sustainable as business increases should become a top priority and a best practice.

Are you a virtual assistant needing to set up your business processes so your day-to-day operations are efficient and not overly time-consuming?  The VA Resource (http://www.thevaresource.com) is where you can find Professional, Customizable, and of course Affordable business templates, documents and tools that are exactly what you need in order
to dedicate your time to prospecting and managing billable client projects.  The clock is ticking so don’t
lose another minute!

4 Local SEO Predictions for 2016

There is never a shortage of articles about predictions for the new year, and the same holds true where SEO is concerned.

Here is my list of predictions for 2016 — four in all — that will affect local SEO. Review them and start making plans to address the upcoming changes.

1. Mobile Usage Will Continue to Grow

2015 saw the urgency that Google created around its move to a separate mobile algorithm, commonly referred to as “Mobilegeddon,” which let us know we had to make sure our websites were mobile-friendly.

Actually, we didn’t see any significant changes regarding traffic, so it was as if Google cried wolf. The mobile sky didn’t fall, and I didn’t hear any horror stories about websites losing tremendous amounts of traffic, including sites that weren’t completely mobile-friendly.

Even though Mobilegeddon didn’t affect a lot of websites, it did create awareness around the fact that consumers are using their mobile devices more and more, for almost everything, including looking up local business information such as the name, address, phone number, and hours of operation. That means, if yours is a local business, showing up in the mobile search results is critical and will become even more so in 2016.

What can you do now? Perform an audit of your business listings. It’s pretty simple to do and takes just a few minutes. My article, “N, A, P.: The Most Important Letters in Local Search,” provides details on how to conduct such an audit.

2. Google’s Organic Rankings Will Rely on Social Media

In 2009, Google instituted a 10-year plan — which it only admitted to publicly in 2012 — to integrate social media data into its organic search engine algorithm.

    As the inclusion of social media continues to grow, it is imperative that you integrate social into your marketing plans if you have not already done so.

We have three more years left until the plan is complete, so I estimate that Google relies on social media about 70 percent now. As the inclusion of social media continues to grow, it is imperative that you integrate social into your marketing plans if you have not already done so.

While, as a local business, you don’t have to spend all day on social media or hire a full-time social media marketing employee, you should post updates regularly and respond to those who contact you via social channels promptly. (Google considers activities such as social engagement, comments, and website visits to be ranking factors.)

3. Google’s Local Listings Will Become Paid Listings

This is probably the first time you’ve heard this prediction so it may sound very bold: During 2016, Google’s local listings — the Google My Business listings — will become a pay-to-play offering.

I’m not sure how Google will implement this or even if it will continue offering free listings, but I fully expect it will start monetizing Google My Business listings this year.

What can you do now? Start budgeting for this. Put some extra money into a “rainy-day fund” so that when it does happen you’ll be prepared and not lose traffic coming from your local listings.

4. Google Will Update Its Link Algorithm

I predict that Google will update the Google Penguin algorithm, which deals mainly with low quality, unnatural links from other websites to your site, during the first Quarter of 2016. (It’s been at least a year since we saw a major link update from Google.)

Previously, Google had to “turn a switch” to start the update manually. It has been a one-time process and either your links were deemed unnatural and low quality and your website’s rankings suffered, or you weren’t affected. This time, it will be different.

    Ideally, Google will turn the new Penguin link update into a “rolling update,” integrated into its main algorithm.

Ideally, Google will turn the new Penguin link update into a “rolling update,” integrated into its main algorithm. If that happens, you will be able to get any unnatural and low-quality links that point to your site updated or removed and then only have to wait a short while until Google reflects those changes.

What can you do now? Review all of the links to your website and decide if each is natural and of high quality, and then remove or disavow those that are not.

SEO: Do You Need More Than One Domain Name?

I recently spoke with a business owner who had purchased every possible version of his company’s domain name (including the “typos”) to protect his brand.

In fact, he bought the .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz version of the company name and all of the names for each of the products he sold — more than 350 domain names in total!

Which begs the question: For search engine optimization or brand protection purposes, how many domain names is enough? Do you need more than one?
Multiple Domain Names: Asset and Liability

If yours is a local business, owning domain names that include your primary search keywords can be an asset, both from an SEO standpoint and the fact that you’ll be keeping them out of competitors’ hands.

But multiple domain names can also be a liability, for three reasons:

High cost. Owning multiple domain names could become rather expensive. On the cheap, domain names sell for about $10 a year, although some registrars charge as much at $35. Add in the cost of the new gTLD domain names and you may end up spending thousands per year in annually-renewable fees.

Low-quality links. Another reason owning multiple domains can be a liability is if they have low quality, unnatural spam links pointing to them from other websites. (Low-quality links happen to all websites, and you’ll get them just for registering the domain name.)

    Redirecting one domain name to another passes any links associated with it over to the domain name to which it’s redirected.

As a result, redirecting such domains could hurt your primary domain name’s search engine rankings. The reason: Redirecting one domain name to another passes any links associated with it over to the domain name to which it’s redirected.

To be safe, before redirecting, use tools such as Google Search Console or Majestic to manually review all links to any domain name you own, to ensure it’s “clean” of link spam. Generally speaking, if a domain name has no links from low-quality sites pointing to it, then it should be okay to redirect.

If you redirect a domain name that has a mix of high- and low-quality links, identify the culprits and “disavow” them using tools contained in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Google and Bing have tools that allow you to disavow low-quality links.

Google and Bing have tools that allow you to disavow low-quality links.

Disavowing links require that you make a text file with the list of links or domain names and upload it to the search engines. This list tells search engines which ones to ignore when calculating your rankings.

(Read my article “2 Ways to Clean Up Low-quality Website Links” to learn more about how to deal with low-quality links.)

Redirecting multiple domains. If you own many domain names — let’s say 50, for the sake of example — redirecting all of them could be considered an attempt to spam the search engines, which could result in a ranking penalty.
Consolidate All Domains into One, for SEO

For search engine purposes, you don’t need more than one domain. It’s better to consolidate multiple domain names and associated websites and focus on building one strong domain name with a single site. Consolidation will make your primary domain name and website more powerful, allowing it to rank better in the search results.

    It’s better to consolidate multiple domain names and associated websites and focus on building one strong domain name with a single site.

To consolidate domains, you will need to set up 301 Permanent Redirects from the other domain names and point them to the principal domain. If you have a website associated with another domain name, you’ll want to redirect the old pages to the appropriate, corresponding page on the main site.

Most likely, your domain registrar has a way to redirect domain names. If not, then your webmaster or an SEO specialist will need to take care of this for you.

Suffice it to say, consolidating multiple websites and multiple domain names isn’t an easy task and should be done very strategically so that it doesn’t hurt your search engine rankings.

Why Purpose Matters

The day you start your business, you should place "Purpose" at its forefront. This is a critical issue that fails to get enough attention. Many business owners that are asked, "What is the purpose of your business?" will answer "to make money" (or something similar). You might be thinking, "Isn't that the purpose of being in a for-profit business?" I can confidently say "no." By serving a purpose well and doing it in a profitable manner, you will "make money." The greater, the more needed and more desired the purpose you choose to serve, the more money you can make.

If I met you at a party and asked you to tell me about your business, where would you start? Most people tell me about their role, title, function, or product or service. For example, one person might tell me they are the Managing Partner in an accounting firm, or a tax accountant, or an auditor. A CEO might tell me he owns a company that manufactures retail skincare products. However, if that is what they view as their purpose they are in trouble. If you look at the marketplace, there is an oversupply of just about every product and service you can name. Think about it. When was the last time you thought, "There isn't a tax accountant or auditor to be found anywhere?" When was the last time you heard someone say "I wish I had more choices of skincare products because there are just not enough of them?" It just isn't going to happen. Because there is oversupply, services and products are available everywhere you go, as well as online and over the phone, and can be delivered in 24 hours.

Now imagine those same people had a different view of what their purpose is. For example, I have an accounting firm client whose purpose is to increase the wealth of the firm's clients. They have built a set of practice areas in tax, audit, technology, wealth management, etc. For each client they create a team that uses the strengths of each team member to devise the best strategy each year to help maximize their clients' wealth. While you might point out that every sizable firm has the same practice areas, this firm's view of what they are doing and why they exist is the difference-maker. My client's view causes them forge a nontraditional client relationship structure. They build specialized tool kits, hire specialized resources, and act in a way towards their client that has specific intention. I can assure you that not every accounting firm is creating the kind of relationship with their clients that would allow for such positive outcomes to occur and thus they are failing to help their clients reach their fullest potential as a result.
Only after you have established your purpose are you in the position to answer the following questions:

1. What problem(s) does our business solve for our client?
2. What should our business do to achieve that purpose
3. What types of clients do we want to have, and what will our relationships look like?

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Home Business Success Review - How To Avoid The Top Reasons Home Businesses Fail

A large portion of new businesses fail, and home-based party and direct sales businesses are especially susceptible to failure. It is because salespeople typically have to pay for their own products and might not have experience running a business. They may not even treat their businesses like money-making endeavors. While no single method can guarantee business achievement, a strong commitment to gaining new clients and managing your finances can increase your likelihood of succeeding.

Selling a Lifestyle

Home-based businesses such as Mary Kay encourage consultants to earn more money by recruiting new experts. Whether you need to recruit new salespeople or simply move some product, you need to sell a lifestyle, not just a product. If you're marketing organic makeup, for example, you can focus on being an ethical plan and consumer a party dedicated to instructing people about the environment. Concentrate on a romantic, sexually charged way of life by encouraging people to dress yourself in their sexiest attire for your party, if you're selling lingerie.

Not Just for Friends

When you start your business, you might depend on family and friends to buy your product, but you'll quickly exhaust your customer base if you only use individuals you know. Marketing is essential to a successful business. Start a social networking fan page and post regular updates. Search engine marketing and ads material in nearby newspapers, and magazines can also help attract customers. A website can help customers in distant locales make purchases without even leaving their homes.

Handling Your Finances

When you begin selling products, you might feel like you're making lots of money. But many home-based businesses require consultants to buy their own products, so you'll need to keep careful track of your expenditures and profits. Mileage to and from customers' homes, party supplies, marketing and other business expenses are tax-deductible, so keep meticulous track of them. Avoid buying new products before you sell the ones you have, and consider using a catalog rather than keeping all products in stock.

How To Avoid The Top Reasons Businesses Fail

Getting Help

You may need help to sponsor new sales associates, keep up with your Internet presence and take orders, as your business develops. Hiring an assistant can free you up to focus on the sales side of your business. Some home-based business companies encourage sales consultants to recruit new team members to help them sell products. When these team members market products, you'll get a discuss of the profits.

Learn the Most Innovative Way to Become Successful from Your Home and Avoid Failure, First Click Home Business Success Right Now, and Claim Your Free Report on the Secrets Most People Will Never Know

Marc Drouinaud is a trusted, professional home-business owner, and has participated in the generation of over $23 million dollars in the home business industry in the past 5 years alone.
 

Cheap Mattress Online Guide

If you want to know if you need a new bed mattress, you need to observe your mattress and asses if you are still satisfied with your sleep. You are the only one to tell if you really need a brand new bed mattress

Of course it’s easy to know if you need a new mattress when you see that your current mattress is already worn-out, but you do not wait for your mattress to look awful before you decide that you need a new one. Sleep is very important for health and personal well-being, especially when you work all day, so having a good night’s sleep is therefore very important.

The truth is that, oftentimes, the signs that you need in order to know if it’s time to change your mattress are not visible ones. In fact, your mattress can look in its best shape and condition, but the looks of the mattress is not a valid sign that it is still in good condition, especially if you are suffering from neck, shoulder and back pain in the morning after you wake up.

If you think it’s time to change your mattress because you are longer enjoying satisfactory sleep on your mattress, or you are suffering from aches, then you could start by looking for cheap mattress online You can find a good bed shop that sells mattresses online and has good prices too.

A good quality mattress should not put too much pressure on your neck, shoulder, back and hips as you sleep. It is important that you immediately change your bed mattress if it is no longer giving sufficient support to these critical areas of your body. If you really want to know if you need to replace your mattress you need to ask yourself these following questions:

•     Is your mattress already seven years old?
•     Do you usually wake up with back, neck, shoulder and hip pain?
•     Are you having a hard time sleeping?
•     Are you experiencing dead arms and legs as you wake up?
•     Is your mattress already looking worn out?
•     Have you noticed that beds in hotels are far more comfortable than your bed?

If the answer to all of these questions is yes, then it is clear that you really need to replace your mattress immediately because it is already causing you distress. The best option for you is to find a cheap mattress online. Aside from the comfort and durability that a new mattress can offer, it should also be eco-friendly and non-toxic which are features you will get from a mattress like a memory foam mattress. With the technology used to build this kind of bed mattressArticle Submission, you should experience a satisfying and invigorating good night’s sleep. It is also good for children and people with allergies and asthma because this type of bed mattress prevents the accumulation of allergens and irritants in the mattress.

How To Choose The Right Keyword

Choosing the right keyword is easy, you should ask yourself the following question:

If I were to do a search what would I type in to find or search for a website.

Getting a right keyword is very important to driving traffic to your website.

Choosing the right keyword is critical and writing keyword rich pages is called SEO keyword rich pages.

A top 10 position for the right keyword is really like having pure gold in your pocket.

Selecting the right keyword is very important for your site.



Thus choosing the keywords is of the utmost importance.

Putting the in the correct keyword is always an advantage even if it's in the content itself.

As in natural search engine optimization, the optimized keyword is critical to the success of your business and your entire campaign.

Finding the best keyword is the key to being able to sell boost your website to the next level.

If you are serious about driving traffic to your website, then you must be dedicated to finding the right keyword phrases.

The Internet is a powerful tool, but try finding the keyword or keyword phrase.

Finding the right keyword phrase is an extremely important part of search engine marketing.

Why are visitors not finding your website?

Finding the best keyword when writing your content is very important, you really need to think of what other people are looking for when searching.

There are tools on the web which assist in finding the right keyword, such as Word Tracker and Keyword Elite.

Finding the right types of keywords should probably be your first priority.

The most important part of search engine optimization is selecting the best keyword phrases or key phrases.

With any powerful tool, there is a right way and a few wrong ways to use them.

However, selecting the right keyword phrases can be a bit difficult and identifying popular keywords phrases is also a difficult feet.

Selecting and implementing it correctly is very time consuming and selecting the right words and phrases is very important.

However, what gives many site owners nightmares and great difficulties is figuring out what primary keyword to use.

So you can see that proceeding and doing it correctly can help you define your market better and enjoy prominence in it.

The right keywords are the fastest path to the relevant information you are after.

Do you have relevant content for prospects that are in the early research stages?

This is because search engines match each query with the most relevant page and not the site.

Experiments with LSI content will prove that lots of targeted content with the correct keyword densities improve rank dramatically.

The more relevant the keyword phrase the more relevant your traffic is.

Choosing the correct keyword in the list of keywordsArticle Submission, the conversions will start increasing. Choosing right keyword is essential.

The best way select a right keyword is to imagine what 'exact' phrase the author/webmaster might have used to describe your required information.

Tagging the right keyword is very important while posting any pictures with the correct tags also helps.

When choosing the best keyword it is very important because to a webmaster if they are going to optimize their website and have there site successful on the search engines.

Make The Right Decisions With Respect To Flagpoles And Flags For The Residence

If you are looking for a replacement flagpole, you know the ropes already. Looking to install a flagpole for the first time would require careful planning.

Do local laws have any restrictions upon flying flags? We live in intensely political times and some care may be needed to avoid controversies. Living up to the spirit of the Stars and Stripes is absolutely American and something everybody should do. Yet we are aware of the large variety of flags that exist and their symbolic meanings, the materials and prices, all of which need to be considered. Protocol and etiquette do apply since each country and thousands of organisations have designed flags according to their principles, religion or ideology.

The best materials would last many years and be passed down to the new generation! Among Residential Home Flagpole Kits, would it be wall mounted or fixed on the ground that requires far more labor? Size considerations do matter too and that depends upon the building dimensions and open space available. Most flags fly from dawn to dusk though some fly day and night but need to be extremely weather resistant. In any case, the flagpole kit would include every little bit like the pulley ad the nylon rope for the hoisting and lowering process. Installation would cost extra unless it is a DIY job that is so much in vogue nowadays with lots of information available online.
   
Telescopic flagpoles would be the best bet for Residential Home Flagpole Kits since they can be neatly folded away when not in use. Transport would also be a breeze since each bit may be only a few feet long and would comfortably fit in the vehicle. Aluminium or fiber glass is the common choice and aluminium is heavier though. Fiber glass is everywhere and maybe that would be a better bet. 

When it comes to diameter and gauges, it would be best to opt for a heavy duty product that would be very stable amidst strong winds too. Do not forget that the flagpole and flag are exposed to the elements and thus a stronger choice would be best. Flags come in a great variety of materials too, flimsy stuff being best avoided and printed flags too that may lose the colors early.

Porch Mounted Flagpoles, on the deck or the dockFree Reprint Articles, are very much preferred to bring an official ambience to a residential setting that would inspire children and visitors on formal occasions. Fixed on a wall may have some disadvantages of visibility and ambience and the best option would be the installation of Porch Mounted Flagpoles where small meetings may be held on special national occasions.

PLR Articles: How to Choose a Good Service

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles are hot right now. The only problem is that many people have tried them and been very disappointed. I can’t say I blame them. I’ve been disappointed, too.

Oftentimes, the PLR services you may have tried are lacking in several areas. So, what makes a good PLR service and how can you make sure that you don’t waste you money on a bad one?

Here are some questions to ask yourself before investing any money into a PLR package or membership.

1. What topics are you getting?
I mean, seriously, if you are promised 100 articles each month, but you end up receiving a selection on Laser Hair Removal and Divorce, when all your websites are about cooking… You just wasted money.

2. What quality are you getting?
Say you’re lucky enough to get a series of articles on your topic. Take a minute to look at them. Are they pure fluff? I’ve paid for articles that had no original ideas, or worse, were written so poorly that there’s no possible way I’d put them on my website. Make sure your PLR package contains quality articles. Otherwise, you just wasted money.

3. How many other people are getting the exact same articles?
If 1000 other people signed up to get the same articles, are you really receiving any value? Perhaps, if you don’t mind reworking the articles. However, if you’d like more unique articles, then you may consider a more limited PLR service.

4. Does the PLR service give you any extras?
Are they offering training on ways to use their PLR articles? Do they provide you with ways to monetize the articles you’ve purchased? Some PLR sites will include recommended affiliate programs and training on how to use their articles to get the most benefits from their service.

Really assess the value you’re receiving when investing in any PLR package or service so that you don’t end up wasting your money. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.

PLR vs. Ghostwriting: Which is Better?

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles and ghostwritten articles are both options when you need web content. Each is unique in its qualities and each has its drawbacks.

So, when you need content, which should you choose? Let’s analyze both options to find out which option is right for you.

Ghostwritten Articles
Ghostwritten articles are written just for your use. You own the article and can do whatever you’d like to with it.

Pros:

1.  The article is unique to you and you do not share the content with anyone else.

Cons:

1.  Ghostwritten articles are quite a bit more expensive per article than PLR packages.
2.  You have the responsibility of finding a good writer.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You need to check your articles to make sure your ghostwriter isn’t stealing content. Unfortunately that does happen.

PLR Articles
PLR articles are pre-written articles that are sold in packages, or as part of a monthly membership.

Pros:

1.  PLR articles are much more affordable than ghostwritten ones.
2.  The content is ready, so you don’t have to wait for a ghostwriter to become available or find a ghostwriter who is available.

Cons:

1.  The content is not unique. You share the articles with the other people who purchased the package or membership.
2.  You can’t submit the PLR articles to article directories.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You have to find PLR packages in your niche – or hope that the membership you signed up for sends you ones that you can use.

How can you even the odds between the two? Find a quality PLR service that allows you choose your topics. If the articles are well written, and their distribution is limited, it’s almost as good as getting ghostwritten content just for you. That way, you get the best of both worlds – quality content at a great price.