enet tech blog

Search Engine Positioning Services - Getting You to the Top of the List

2010-06-10T15:15:00.002-05:00

Search engine positioning services can help any number of people with a website. Even web pages created for the most casual of reasons could benefit from a higher search engine ranking. However, for people wanting to attract paying clients, either to their brick-and-mortar store or their internet-only store, it is all the more important. Without your site being optimized for the most popular search engines it will be difficult to find, both for those who know exactly what they are looking for as well as those who might be interested in your site but do not yet know that it exists.

Interestingly, a main component of a website's success often lies in traffic from those who were not doing an exact search for your page. Sometimes this comes from referrals through other web pages or else through online advertisements but most often, it is the result of a routine web search in which someone ends up stumbling upon your site. Oftentimes, we are looking for something general but do not know which avenue to turn down. After doing a web search we are then pointed in a certain direction and end up visiting that site and, in the case of a business, often end up becoming a customer. By enlisting the help of search engine positioning services, you can ensure that interested parties are guided towards your site before any other.

With the fast-paced nature of the internet, it is a hard truth that most people do not look beyond the first few sites listed on the results page of a web search. People want information and they want it quickly. They are not going to waste time going through page after page of websites. Instead, they look at one or two and then immediately move on or abandon ship altogether and are onto the next search. Luckily, search engine positioning services can put their wealth of experience to knowledge to good use and will get your website front and center on all related web searches.

There are many little, yet highly effective, tricks of the trade when it comes to trying to improve your search engine ranking. Without the proper knowledge and know-how, trying to gain traffic and visibility on the web can seem virtually impossible. However, you can still get great results even without having to learn every little detail about search engine optimization. Instead, choosing to use search engine positioning services will start increasing your ranking and amount of traffic with very little time and effort.

5 Deadly Search Engine Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

2010-03-22T11:02:00.004-05:00

The Internet is now the place 74% of consumers and 81% of businesses go when they are looking to buy; and the search engines are the number one place where they look. As business owners and managers, we have a moral obligation to our companies to make certain they place well in the search engine results. Optimizing your website to perform well in the search engines can yield a wide range of benefits. A properly optimized website will:

• Attract RELEVANT, high-quality traffic that’s easier to convert into customers

• Generate leads or sales for your company

• Promote your company and Increase brand awareness 24/7 for relatively low cost.

The benefits could go on, but you get the point. Simply put, and search engine marketing is essential for any company that wants to be successful online. But with so much conflicting information out there about how to optimize your website for maximum performance, you could be making costly mistakes without even knowing it.

Here are the 5 most common search engine marketing mistakes to avoid:

1. Choosing the wrong keywords—The keywords you choose are the backbone of your search engine marketing campaign. If you choose the right keywords, you’ll attract quality traffic that consists of eager customers looking to buy your products and services. With the wrong keywords, you’ll get low-grade traffic that just doesn’t convert. Make sure your keywords are well-researched and relevant to the products and services you offer.

2. Not having enough content- There is a direct correlation between the amount of text in your website and the number of keywords your website can target. Too often, companies have a page with 2 or 3 paragraphs of text that they try to target to 5 or 6 keywords. If those keywords are competitive (and if they’re not, why are you targeting them?) it won’t work. The soft rule is that you need one page of text (300 to 500 words) to support each major keyword phase you want to target. The most competitive terms can require even more.

3. Writing only for visitors or only for the search engines—SEO copywriting involves targeting specific keywords in your website copy so that it will turn up in the search results when people search the keyword. Unfortunately, typical copywriters write only to the visitor and ignore good SEO techniques. Conversely, too many SEO copywriters get carried away with keyword targeting, and they overlook how humans read and interact with the content. You need a balance of both interesting and effective copy for the visitor and proper content optimization for the engines. Great SEO copywriting both pleases the search engines and converts human visitors into customers.

4. Not adding fresh content on a regular basis—The search engines love new, fresh content on your website. It shows them that your business is still kicking and doing well…separating your website from those here today, gone tomorrow spam websites. Consider adding a blog to your website; it is an easy way to provide fresh content on a regular basis.

5. Improper Naming of Page URLs—An SEO-friendly URL structure is essential for ranking well for the targeted keyword. For example, let’s suppose you have a page on your website selling Gibson electric guitars. Your URL should look something like this:

www.yourwebsite.com/gibson-electric-guitars

It should NOT look like this:

www.yourwebsite.com/123?adt79

Incorporate the main keywords into your URLs for a more search engine-friendly website.

Take a moment to grade your website. Look at it through the eyes of a potential customer. Would you buy from this website if you were a customer? If not, go back to the drawing board to correct your mistakes.

If you can avoid making these mistakes, you’ll get much more out of your search engine marketing efforts.

Don't Fall for AdWords Advertising Gimmicks

2010-03-17T12:09:00.004-05:00

by Rick Mark

Recently a client of ours contacted me stating she had gotten an offer from a company that promised her top placement of her website in Google’s sponsored listings for a flat rate.

The client in question offers voice over services and they were giving her the following keywords.

“commercial voice talent” Monthly charge $75.00
“Professional Voice Talent” Monthly charge $125.00

So basically they were telling her she could stay on top of Google for those two keywords for $200.00 per month.

Keep in mind, they were not telling her she would get X amount of clicks for that monthly fee, just that her ads would show, and she would be listed on the first page 24/7.

Now many of you are probably thinking "That doesn't sound bad, I can be on top of Google for a couple of keywords that are important to me for only $200.00".

Here is why it is not a good deal at all.

Looking at the term “commercial voice talent” Google shows that it is searched for (on average) 390 times a month. The average cost per click is $1.51 (as of Jan 2010). That means for your $75.00 they would have to get you about 49 clicks to make it worth the $75.00 they were charging.

The industry standard average Click Through Rate on ads is about 1% to 3%. Let’s go with the higher of the two. 3% of 390 searches is only 12 clicks, which would cost about $18.00 per month at $1.51 per click.

Looking at the term “Professional Voice Talent”, it averages 720 searches per month at an average click cost of $2.55 per click. 3% of 720 is 22 clicks which would cost $56.00 per month at $2.55 per click.

In order for it to be worth it they have to guarantee 49 clicks for “commercial voice talent” and 49 clicks for “professional voice talent” to justify the $200.00 a month they were charging.

Based on the number of searches Google shows for those terms and industry standard click through rates she would have been paying 3 times what she would pay for the same terms if she was to just run her own AdWords account.

Bottom line, don’t believe everything you hear or read. If it sounds like too good of a deal most likely it is.

If you would like expert help with Cost Per Click Advertising or other Internet Marketing services give Enet Technologies a call at 724-725-8000 or visit our website.

'Tis The Season - To Attract Online Shoppers

2009-11-03T15:42:00.004-06:00

by Julie Sims

The Holidays are quickly approaching and as the Friday after Thanksgiving kicks off the brick and mortar Holiday season - the unofficial start of the online buying season is Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving. A survey conducted on behalf of the National Retail Federation estimates that over 52 million people will shop online this Holiday Season. It is important for online merchants have a plan to make online holiday shopping more engaging and drive value to their customers. Merchants, make your list and check it twice! Here are some great tips to service your online shoppers this season.

Create a Holiday Theme

Most of us shopping for a holiday gift enjoy seeing some reflection on the website - and for repeat buyers it will offer a unique shopping experience. Google for example, changes their Logo for the holidays and this may be enough for your eStore. The idea is to let shoppers know that you are aware of the season and that they'll find Holiday specials inside.

Offer The Shopper Incentives

It is important to provide seasonal incentives to increase your sales. Some incentives are:

1. Free Shipping
2. Free Gift Wrapping
3. Blowout Pricing on Seasonal Items
4. Buy One - Get One Free
5. Onetime Seasonal Promotions
6. Bonus Items “Stocking Stuffers”

M ke Shopping Easy

Make it easy for shoppers to buy from you quickly. Create custom landing pages and categories that promote products and provide seasonal gift ideas. Don’t lose a sale because someone can't choose a gift. Offering Gift Cards provides a way for them to still do business with you, and is a viable option during the holidays. Lastly, it’s wise to offer alternative payment methods. Not everyone is comfortable using their credit card online. Alternative payment methods such as PayPal or eChecks could make or break the sale.

Will My Item Ship On time?

This is a great concern for online consumers so make sure to clearly post shipping timelines. You can use counters or cut off times to encourage purchase decisions and insure them that the products will arrive prior to the special day. Note: Make certain you can effectively check or anticipate shipping times or you are running a risk of having unhappy customers with late gifts.

Make Sure Consumers Can Find You

Keep in mind that most online shoppers are looking in the Search Engines. If you are already engaged in Search Engine Optimization you may consider new landing pages specific to the holidays. CPC advertising is another viable option, offering instant visibility to holiday shoppers.
Last but definitely not least, connect with your current customer base using promotional marketing campaigns. These customers are likely to purchase the same product again or browse your site for the perfect gift.

Contact Enet Technologies creative team for seasonal marketing ideas, website changes , holiday logos, CPC advertising, landing pages. Or whatever you may need.

We hope you find these tips helpful, and wish you a Prosperous Holiday Season!

Copywriting Tips - How To Make Every Word Count On Your Website

2009-10-06T14:33:00.004-05:00

by Gary Singer

Effective web copy must accomplish three objectives:

1. It must gain the reader’s attention
2. It must encourage readers to stay within the site
3. It must create a conversion – get the reader to contact you or make a purchase

This is NOT accomplished by telling the reader that your company is a phenomenon within the industry, without your company life as we know it would implode and that everyone in your employ is an organ donor.

You have 8-10 seconds to capture the attention of the reader. This cannot be accomplished with wordy self-praise. A website is not like a book, magazine or newspaper. With few exceptions, a website homepage exists for the purpose of momentarily halting a scan with an item of interest.

Studies have consistently demonstrated that the reader begins at the top left of a page, moves to the headline and then to the content below. That headline must deliver with brevity and impact. The paragraphs must be short and you should:

• Use bullets

• To feature your main points

• They stop the eyes

Other ways to freeze the scanning eye is to create emphasis with BOLD UPPER CASE PHRASES, highlighted words, and italics. The trick is to use these items sparingly. The impact is quickly diluted when every other sentence has one or more of these features.

Also use paragraphs with only 3 to 5 sentences. As evidenced by the decline in lengthy, in-depth journalistic pieces in the media, we have become conditioned to reject that style of writing in favor of more abbreviated writing.

In short, keep it short! Make every word count…

Does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Really Work?

2009-09-16T10:11:00.003-05:00

by George Bogle

You bet it does! Why? Because consumers use the Internet 71% of the time (more than any other single source) whenever they want to buy, and businesses consult the internet 84% of the time whenever they seek new vendors, products or services.

As owners and managers we have a moral obligation to our companies to see that our websites rank well in the search engines for relevant keywords to our businesses. Doing so means revenue - real revenue and steady revenue. Not doing so means you aren’t even in the game as far as most buyers are concerned.

As a marketer with 33 years experience, I am amazed at how the Internet has changed the way people buy. I made a career of training salespeople how to prospect by knocking doors, making phone calls or sending letters. Today, we don’t do any of that. We rely solely on the Internet and referrals for our new clients. My salespeople don’t even know how to prospect (which is almost scary) as we supply them all their leads through our website. They spend their time talking to prospects that sought us out instead of the other way around.

So, how do you get started?

The first step is good keyword selection; namely “Relevant Keywords”. It still tickles me to see businesses try to shotgun a long list of keywords that have limited relevancy to their business, simply because they believe they are popular search terms.

It won’t work for two reasons:

1. If customers are truly looking for one thing and your website appears in the search results, but you offer another thing; most will never click on you or leave your website immediately even if they do.

2. The number of Keyword Phrases any website can target is limited. A soft rule of thumb is you can target one keyword phrase per primary page of your website. The biggest mistake companies make is to try to fit 4 and 5 keywords into 2 or 3 brief paragraphs of text. It will not work if those are competitive keywords. You need a full page of content and for extremely competitive keywords, perhaps 2 or 3 pages of content on your website to support that keyword if your objective is to be a top contender on the first page of search results.

Obviously, there are other steps…but I’m out of time for today. Keep studying or better yet, hire ENet Technologies to handle this for you so you can focus on what you do best…which is run your business!

Did You Hear What They Said About You?

2009-09-09T11:14:00.007-05:00

People are talking. And millions of people are talking on the web. Because we are so connected, chances are those conversations could eventually involve you or your business - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Like it or not, web chatter can either boost your credibility or shatter your reputation. So, how good are you at monitoring those conversations?

Since you can't possibly monitor the web 24/7, there are some tools available to help out. And many are free. Here are just a few:

TweetBeep

One such service is TweetBeep. This service helps you track conversations that mention you, your competitors, your company, your product names - anything you like - with updates on the hour. You can use this for reputation management, your @replies, finding jobs - the possibilities are practically limitless.

RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a type of web feed format that allows you to publish work that is frequently updated - such as blogs. RSS allows you to easily stay informed by pulling the latest content from the sites you're interested in. RSS feeds save you time in that you don't have to visit the sites individually.

Feeding to Twitter or Facebook will allow you post remotely (without having to actually visit the site); thus enjoying an ongoing web-wide product presence.

Google Alerts

Enter keywords you want to monitor, and Google Alerts does the legwork for you. This service monitors the web 24/7 sniffing out content that's of interest to you. For example, if you want to know every time "moon rocks" is mentioned, you'll get an email from Google that includes links to articles containing those keywords.

And there's more...

HowSociable? - Provides an easy way for you to measure your brand’s visibility on the social web.

BoardTracker - Tracks words in forum discussions

Twit(url)y - Helps you listen in on twitter buzz

MediaHound - For advertising and event tracking

These are just a few examples of social media tools at your disposal to help you stay on top of the internet chatter about people, products, services or events.

They can be powerful weapons in your social media arsenal and can help you respond quickly when people are talking about you.

Acrodunk's Got Talent

2009-07-09T21:06:00.004-05:00

They're slam-dunkin, acrobatic, high-jumpin marvels. And they were the star attraction this week on NBC's America's Got Talent! Enet welcomes its newest client - acrodunk.com

It's On - Like Donkey Kong!

2009-07-07T23:10:00.009-05:00

Drumroll please....

Here it is - the official Enet Tech company blog. This is where you come to get the scoop on what goes on behind the scenes at Enet.

We're including "real-time" system status Tweets, tips & tricks to help you achieve a successful online presence, and some behind-the-scenes scoop on goings on here at the big ET.

So drop in - often. And tell your friends. It's on - like Donkey Kong!