While Symantec and McAfeeare widely viewed as the best anti-virus solution for your small business network, they still do not offer a 100% guarantee that their software will stop every threat. Since you’re not guaranteed total security with any product, you may want to consider a free anti-virus alternative called Clamwin.
Read moreI am sure this is a common question for every SEO firm and it sometimes difficult for the perspective client to grasp when you tell them no. I wanted to have a lengthy blog post about why we don't guarantee rank, but then I ran across an article at SEOmoz called "Why Reputable SEO Firms Don't Promise Guaranteed Search Engine Rankings". Rand Fishkin, the author of said article, explains the subject so well I do not want to steal his thunder. His main points of the article are:
Read moreI know from personal experience that keeping your blog current with quality information that people want to read is difficult. Our days are filled with several things that make it difficult to make your way to your blog...unless your job is blogging of course. But, in an article on Search Engine Guide called "How to Kill a Blog in 10 Days" Jennifer Laycock discusses the importance of keeping up with your blog. Readers are anxious and can easily forget about you if you are not posting to your blog on a regular basis.
Read moreAn interesting discussion at Web Master World and SEO Roundtable mentions that large corporations are making AdWords unaffordable for the small business user. Do they do this on purpose or is it an accident? One contributor says that chances are these large corporations have fired their SEM firm and a large number of keywords are being bid on without the knowledge of the company. I am sure this happens in some instances...but my guess is that it is not the common practice. Another user mentions that ROI does not matter to these large companies...maybe that is true. I am sure that holds viable for some advertisers. "Just bring the traffic, it doesn't matter what it costs." Again, probably not the norm but it does happen.
Read moreWeb Marketing Today posted an interview Aaron Wall from SEO Book and Ralph Wilson. Aaron discusses strategies for getting free, quality links to your web site as well as the importance of keeping your blog on-site as opposed to using a free off-site blog such as blogspot or wordpress. Building quality links is an important part of improving rank within search engines, so the more free quality links the better!
Read moreIn my personal opinion a 100% answer is up in the air. I do believe they help to a point, but not to extreme measures. Two things I consider regarding alt tags are universal search results and usability. Adding an alt attribute can increase chances of having it listed within universal search results and also provide a short description of the picture for users. Well, Search Engine Roundtable conducted a survey asking SEO professionals whether or not alt tags improve search ranking and 80% of the respondents say 'yes' and 20% 'no'. I guess I am not surprised by the results, but would have thought the 80% would have been slightly higher. We can't agree on everything, right?
Read moreSo we are experiencing tough economic times. Everything must be losing money at this point right? Well according to eMarketer online ad spending will increase in 2009. Why would companies put more money into advertising if shoppers have less money to spend?
Read moreNobody wants to pay high PPC costs if they don't have to, right? There are certain circumstances out there where cost doesn't really matter, but for the most part we keep a close eye on our PPC budgets...especially when dealing with small business SEM. Diana Adams from Search Engine Guide has written several posts regarding strategies used to keep your PPC costs down. I hope the key takeaway for all of the readers was...drum roll...NEGATIVE KEYWORDS.
Read moreFor the first time since the release of OSX, Apple now recommends installing antivirus software on your computer. I am a Mac user in my personal life...and I for one had not yet installed any form of antivirus software on mine; why install the unnecessary? No that is not a shot at Windows...well maybe it is. After hearing the news that Apple now recommends installing it I went out and grabbed ClamXav and installed it right away. It is not the fastest program out there, but it is free and I am cheap. We all knew that the day was coming that our beloved Macs would be prone to viruses, so why hadn't we installed them before? There is still time to install just to be on the safe side. Check out the Apple recommendation here which also includes several options for an antivirus solutions.
Read moreDecember 1st will be a good day for the SEO/SEM world. SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization) will be ringing the bell at NASDAQ. Although I will not be attending, I am excited that someone representing the SEO/SEM field is going to be front and center for such a noteworthy event. The more opportunities we get in the spotlight, the more people will understand that our work is important and valid. I wonder when I will get to ring a bell at the stock market...I have high hopes that it will be soon!
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If you are executing digital marketing, congratulations! You are most likely already one step ahead of your competition, and making strides to meaningfully connect with prospects online. But, how do you know if you’re seeing continual success year over year, and improving your metrics?
Without the tools in place to analyze and benchmark your efforts, it is impossible to scale your online marketing and ensure continuous success.
