Strategies for Top 10 rankings on Bing

There’s no denying that the launch of Bing.com has definitely improved Microsoft’s position in terms of search market share.

So now the big question remains - “How do I rank higher on Bing.com and drive more qualified traffic to my website?”

While the jury is still out on any definitive strategies there are some growing trends and support for the tactics detailed below:

• Backlinks: While still used in the Bing algorithm, backlinks counts for top 10 sites are lower than on Google possibly suggesting less importance.
• Anchor Text: Get your anchor text right because it appears that Bing focuses more heavily on links with relevant anchor text.
• On-page Optimization: A lot of SEO experts suggest that Bing weighs more heavily towards on-page optimization than off-page optimization. I’m not totally convinced this is true or if it is, will remain the case but if it is keywords, title tags and internal link anchor text will add significant benefits.
• Age & Authority: It appears that Bing places a higher weighting on site/domain age and authority than Google. Again a factor that is surely not sustainable given the importance of social media and blogs in terms of relevant results.

For more information on achieving front page rankings on the major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing contact the Search Engine Optimization experts of Houston, Texas at (281) 362-9855 today!

How to Analyze a Competitor’s Website

If analyzed properly your competitors' websites can give you all sorts of information that you can use to increase the traffic and the search engine rankings of your site.

Identifying the Leaders

First, start off by identifying your major competitors. A good place to do this is in the Yahoo directory. It is also a good idea to review the websites of major players in similar industries in order to get a better view of your website as it is perceived by others. Be sure to check some of the larger corporations and identify any innovative approaches and new products they may have to offer.

Sites like Quantcast can tell you which companies get the most traffic, and you can get relative traffic stats using Alexa which gives you a rough idea of where your competitors are in the ranking order.

The next step is to research your top 5 or 10 competitors very closely. There is a lot that you can learn by looking at their websites and analyzing them.

These are the things that you should look for:

1. Check out their products or services and note anything that’s different from what you offer.

2. Look for gaps that you could fill.

3. Think about the look, feel and functionality of their websites compared to yours.

4. Check the advertising campaigns and offers they run.

5. Look at their strengths and weaknesses, from the customer’s point of view. 6. See if you can figure out the strategy they are using.

For more information on competitor analysis or local SEO & Internet Marketing call (281) 362-9855 or contact the Houston SEO experts at Magnetiks Search Marketing today!

SEO Tips – Link building: a treasure chest of SEO Gold

If you’re looking for a great SEO tip that will help you attract targeted traffic to your website then you definitely want to invest into an on-going link building in order to increase your website ranking.

What are SEO backlinks?

Backlinks are links that point to your website and originate from other websites. They can be in the form of your complete URL (e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com/link-to-you.html), or a more SEO friendlier method such as an anchor text link (e.g. Search Engine Optimization Houston, Texas).

Backlinks are important but why?

The number of backlinks, or inbound links your website has is factored in to the equation search engines use to assess and rank your website. The more inbound links you have, the greater the reputation your site is considered to possess. This can lead to an increase in your search engine rankings as well as your Google Page Rank.

Ok, now I know why but how do I get other sites to link to mine?

There are any number of different ways to acquire inbound links for your website, a few examples include:

1.    Forums - Most forums provide their users with a signature box, this signature box allows you attach links and/or images to everything you post. You can also place links in your comments. Some forums require you to make a certain number of posts before you can place anchor links or links in general in your signature box and/ or comments. However, Do not spam the forum, you will get kicked off by the administrators.

2.    Article marketing – most article submission sites allow the author to place a link or two in the article body.

3.    Social media - On all social media sites you can put at least 1 url on your profile, Some allow you to put as many as you want. Again don’t over do it or you’ll be seen as a spammer. The content which you produce within social media also has areas where you can put your links.

There are many more ways to get your inbound links including blog posting and commenting, etc.

Tip: Google loves it when you place your links in content that is relevant to the page your link leads to. For example if you are blogging about Local SEO Internet Marketing it would benefit you more if your link was to point to a part of your site which was also about Local SEO Internet Marketing. This isn’t essential but it does help.

Looking for more information on inbound links? Call (281) 362-9855 and ask the SEO Houston experts at Magnetiks Search Marketing.

Using Internet marketing strategies to achieve branding goals

Internet marketing is all about measurable results, not generic branding concepts. With that being said, if you have a branding goal in mind there is an effective Internet marketing strategy you can pursue.

Branding refers to the notion of creating an identity for your product or name brand with consumers. The classic example, of course, is Coca Cola. Being first on the market, they have created such a strong brand name that many people use the word “coke” instead of soda even when they prefer a different brand. In the world of traditional marketing, everyone respects the marketing team that can accomplish this level of branding.

The Internet, however, is a different media and a similar strategy would fail miserably if followed on the Internet.

The Internet is such a large entity that branding can be expensive and difficult unless you are the first major player in a niche. For example, EBay and Amazon were the first major players in their fields and to this day that has given them a huge advantage over competitors that followed after them. Unless you are coming to a field with a lot of money and no current dominant competitors, your branding goal is going to be met with limited success at best.

However, if you plan to stick with your branding goal, the most cost effective and ultimately successful Internet marketing strategy at your disposal is a search engine optimization or organic SEO campaign.

Search engine optimization is simply a dedicated effort to get the pages on your website ranked in the top 10 listings on the major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing for the keyword phrases your prospects use to find the services or products you provide in your business area.

To meet your branding goal, you first need to identify all the phrases your potential customers use to find the services or products you provide, then create optimized web pages for each of these phrases and get those pages ranked in the search results.

This strategy has two benefits:

•    It will produce free traffic to your site.

•    Your branding goal is met because the site appears in all the top 10 rankings for your selected keyword phrases. This creates both brand recognition and credibility.

For more information on how our Internet marketing strategy can help you meet the branding goals for your Houston, Texas business call Magnetiks Search Marketing today at (281) 362-9855 today!

Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI)

One of the keys to achieving high placement in the organic search engine results is the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) of the keywords you are trying to rank for. Calculating KEI values provides a system for evaluating the effectiveness of keyword phrases. Keywords and keyword phrases with a high KEI increase the probability of obtaining high rankings.
 
What does all of this mean?
 
Keyword phrases with KEI values above 400 are worth their weight in gold. Phrases with a KEI of 4 isn’t bad but we recommend that sufficient KEI research be done to achieve a list of long- keyword phrases with a KEI value above of 20 or greater..
 
The larger task is one of implementation.
 
After completing KEI research and arming yourself with quality keyword phrases the question with existing sites is how many pages will be edited? At a minimum I recommend the home page and all pages that link from it. If all of the 11 tags and attributes to which Google pays the most attention to need to be edited then this could easily average an hour if not two hours per page. At what point does that become too expensive?
 
Implementing best practice Search Engine Optimization or SEO on a new page or as the website is developed only requires only 20-30 minutes per page. Obviously, it's more cost effective to implement KEI research during the initial site build rather than having to retrofit later, especially if the tags and attributes weren't included with the initial page build.

Magnetiks Search Marketing effectively implements KEI research into the Internet Marketing Strategy of our clients, for more information, contact the SEO experts of Houston, Texas at (281) 362-9855 today!

Simple SEO Tips for Twitter

We have compiled these Twitter SEO tips that will help you to drive more traffic to your website and increase your website’s search engine visibility.

1. Username: one of the most important aspects of Twitter is branding your username. Choose the user name wisely and avoid using numbers and “_” to avoid looking non-web savvy. Also, since people search using keywords, inserting them into your user name is always a good idea.

2. Biography: If you will be using this Twitter account for business, avoid putting too much personal information on your bio page. While your potential customers will want to know a little about your reputation they will be more interested in what do you do than who you are. Make every word count.

3. Website Address: Do not forget to fill in your company’s website URL. People might want to visit your website based on what you tweet about your products and services.

4. Keyword Tweets: Providing well thought out keyword rich tweets is highly recommended. Google and Bing display tweets in their search results and publishing keyword rich tweets will not only boost your rankings but you might even receive some traffic via twitter.

5. Tweet, tweet and re-tweet: Re-tweeting another person’s tweets helps you to create a new relationship. However there is no guarantee that the people whose tweets you re-tweeted will return the favor.

6. Follow others and get others to follow you: Having a targeted group who follow you and a group that you follow helps you to keep in touch with the needs of your target market and up to date on the latest trends in your industry. It will also help you to cultivate a better public image for your company.

For more information on Twitter and Social Media Marketing in Houston, Texas contact Magnetiks Search Marketing or call (281) 362-9855 today!

3 Quick Web Design Development steps to creating a really great site

Step #1: Have a Compelling Service or Product to Sell
Even though you can start up a website for less money than you could several years ago it is a good idea to spend some time considering the service or product you plan to sell online. If you’re trying to sell or market junk then you’re going to have a much harder time being successful.

Step #2: Start Blogging
Blogs are currently one of the best and easiest ways to build links, engage in conversation. It also is a great way to build your company’s public reputation as an authority in your industry.

Step #3: Market the Smart Way
Smart marketing involves ethical SEO, it takes time but the ends justify the means. You definitely want to make sure your website is easy to crawl but you don’t want to leave out the other aspect of marketing which is having something interesting to say.

For more information on how we can assist you with your Web Design & Development projects in Houston, Texas contact or call Magnetiks Search Marketing at (281) 362-9855 today and we’ll be more than happy to discuss any aspect of our Internet Marketing Strategy with you.