How to Choose Keyword Phrases
Posted by sracano83 in Search Engine Optimization on February 5th, 2010
How do I choose keyword phrases? I get this question from about every client that I work with it so I will answer it here, so no long conversation will ever be needed again. Whether you are choosing keywords for a brand new site or a one that has been around for a long time, not much is different about the process.
The first step, even before doing keyword research is to determine your target audience. Does your business cater only to individuals in a certain geographic area or are you looking for international traffic? The second thing that needs to be determined is exactly what your company is about, really think about what differentiates it and gives you a competitive advantage. This is one of the biggest keys in all forms of advertising and something I rarely seeing business owners thinking about. Got a good idea of what you are all about and who you want to target? Great! Let’s move on to step 2: keyword research.
I do most of my keyword research using Google tools. The reason is because that is where most people are searching, and I trust that their statistics will be the most accurate. Keyword research is about finding out what terms that are related to your business get high volumes of traffic. It’s that simple! If your site had a high PR then focusing on short term phrases will probably send the most traffic in your direction. If your site is brand new, the answer is simple; choose more long-tail phrases that include the high volume phrases. This way, your page structure and inbound linking strategies are always building upon those short high volume keyword phrases.
There is one other element that I haven’t discussed and that is competition. Competitive phrases are often difficult to rank with on a brand new site that has a low volume of traffic. Sometimes choosing a few keywords that are more descriptive and not as competitive may be a good option to gain additional traffic while you are working on the more competitive phrases. Having the supplemental traffic from these lower volume terms plus the long-tail phrases will increase your site’s traffic and in the long run put you in a good position for focusing more on the best phrases.
2010 SEO Update
Posted by sracano83 in An SEO Auto-Biography on February 2nd, 2010
As many of you already know, Google handed out some Page Rank at the very end of 2009. It seems that my organic methods and good site structure are beginning to pay off, at least with local searches. The Racano Media homepage has moved onto the first page, and in some cases position #1 for a few long tail local searches including “SEO Marlboro NJ” & “Web Design Marlboro NJ”. I have also noticed that for “Web Design NJ”, “SEO & Web Design NJ”, and “SEO NJ” are all moving rapidly through the ranks. The site that was started 2 years ago as a simple freelance project was not found in the first 1000 listings when the project began. Only 6 months ago, the site was performing in the mid-hundreds range for search results, and now even for high traffic keyword phrases can be found between position 60 and 130.
Looking at the big picture, it seems that my methods are working. Of course, I can and should be trying to speed up this process, and at this point I may have to in order to compete with the companies that hold the top positions. So what does this mean for this SEO start-up?
Simple, continue clean white hat SEO methods and increase blog productivity. In addition, new sites and clients must be added to the Racano Media portfolio to help build new links. The blog must produce only high quality content that will attract organic traffic. No silly free giveaways, empty promises, or dirty tricks out this site.
Twitter and Facebook Contests are the Future of Interactive Advertising
Posted by sracano83 in Interactive Marketing & Business on December 14th, 2009
Marketing professionals are seeking new ways to reach and interact with their audience. Traditional outbound efforts are slowly dissipating to make room for the future of advertising. Interactive campaigns have been all the rage, but many companies are failing to come up with creative campaigns that meet their objectives. It is time for banner ads and text ads to step aside and make room for full interactive marketing that stretches across multiple media connecting a target market. Though these efforts may take more creative initiative and timely human resources, they prove to be far more effective and cost efficient than traditional marketing.
As a popular commercial that many of us may remember from Wayne’s World 2 says, “they’ll tell two people, and they’ll tell two people.” This kind of viral marketing cannot be bought with traditional advertising means. One great example of this is the NJ Devils ‘Tweet your seat’ promotion in which they upgrade one persons seat each game to the first person that tweets their seat and hashtag after the announcement. Other companies are putting more of a focus on Facebook pages, trying to create interaction between Facebook users and their own brand.
Many other companies and organizations are looking to take advantage of the demographic advantages and virality of social media. The audience is looking for new ways to interact with their favorite companies, making new inbound marketing strategies far more effective than old traditional means.
Fundamentals of Medical Web Design & Online Marketing
Posted by sracano83 in Medical Industry on August 3rd, 2009
The market is flooded with flash and table based templates that may appear polished and professional on the surface but there are much better options available. The medical industry has had many IT improvements over the last decade making records available to patients and doctors alike. This article explores the fundamentals of developing and marketing a web site in the medical industry.
Key Web Development Issues
Do not be concerned with how much content but rather the quality and structure of the content. There are many medical sites on the web that provide a link to every page on their site from their homepage and have well over 20 pages. Keeping the site organized for visitors can also have benefits with search engine crawlers. Use a mix of dynamic and static programming languages to create an optimized site. For instance, a good example of a homepage would include a labeled flash header or other image, a neat html navigation that can be edited from a single location, some html content including headers, paragraph content and office locations, dynamic contact request, and RSS feed to recent articles if applicable. There is no recommended amount of pages but the navigation should be as simple as a textbook. Be sure to label each page title and create a sitemap file for search engine crawlers. Avoid homepages that take longer than 3 seconds to load.
Content should be written for patients or other parties that may visit the site such as other doctors and drug representatives. Focus on the credibility of the practice and what differentiates the services provided. It is not important to focus on keywords for search engines as it the best practice to stay involved, interact, update content, and organically grow the site.
The Value of Social Media & Networking
The most important aspect of marketing a medical practice is to develop credibility and referrals. Using web pages to showcase the most modern practices and sharing the benefits through social media and networking is almost required to stay competitive.
The industry consists of all areas of specialized medicine. Within each area, only the experts will know what their audience is looking for. Ask yourself, “What services and questions are my patients asking?” It is important to focus primarily on the benefits and solutions provided by your practice rather than on negative aspects of old or outdated techniques. Patients want to see results and how they are achieved. Using social media to help develop more credibility is a great way to help market a medical business but should not be looked at as the sole intent. Use technology as an advantage to connect the site with social media. Allow patients and other visitors to get to know you and your practice and referrals and traffic will develop naturally, the way it is intended.
Using Office Location to your Advantage
Some industries that provide services do not have the benefit of having a physical office location. Make sure that your business is located in important directories. Submitting to mass directories is not the way to take advantage of this aspect. Rather it is best to focus on selective directories and then monitor the amount of referrals received from each. Local directories like Google and Yahoo! are a must, as well as local listing on township business directory, and DMOZ.org. Other valuable directories are available and differ in locations. A little research into where competitors are listed may provide valuable insight in to which directories may drive traffic.
Interactive Business Systems
Posted by sracano83 in Search Engine Optimization on August 2nd, 2009
As information become easier to obtain, the perspective on current business models is rapidly changing. In the past companies have adopted to changes in the media trends and developing technology using combinations of Vertical and Horizontal business models. As the amount of services that one particular company can provide expands we have to use a new business model that covers a broader spectrum.
I call this model an Interactive Business System. Visually, it can be interpreted as a circle, rather than a path with two ends. Media companies should pride themselves in being the center of a network that helps both businesses and the communities in which they lie. By creating an interactive relationship between all parties consumers can be attracted through valuable promotions, incentives and information that will further the success of the business. In hard economic times an interactive business system provides solutions to all that participate in the social network. This is referred to as Hybrid Economics. Realizing the importance of these relationships and staying in constant contact with clients so they can effectively reach their consumers with everything they seek in return completing the system circle.
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