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!

Leveraging the power of your Blog

To search engines, Blogs are like daily snippets of information that are updated on a frequent basis and therefore get a lot of preference in the search results. So from this, how do you leverage the power of your blog?

Blogs aren't too much different than websites in that they increase the Search Engine Optimization, or Organic SEO efforts of a website. A Blog’s power comes from the frequency of the postings. If the search engine spiders see a pattern of frequent or regular postings, they will be more active on indexing that site. Since blogs are typically a few pages long, you only need to establish a few rules that will be applied site wide:

• Utilize a title that grabs the users attention – This is also known as link baiting - your title should entice the user into reading more
• Try to use keywords for your blog in the title - while it may be hard to do this all the time, by keeping the title and topic related your blog will always be relevant
• Make use of H1 tags - All blog editors allow the use of custom templates, so make sure you stylize your blog title in H1 tags
• Link to other blogs - Find other relevant blogs that your readers may find interesting and ask for a reciprocal link in return

• Remember your archives - You may end up posting a topic that’s not hot at the moment, but if it comes up later you need to make sure your readers can find that posting

As I’ve already stated, frequent postings are vital to the success of a blog. A couple paragraphs and a few resource links is enough, you don’t have to write up an article every time. To learn more about blogs or to utilize Magnetiks Search Marketing for all of your blogging needs, contact us or call (281) 362-9855

What to Look for in an SEO Firm

With Search Engine Optimization becoming the new buzz word in the world of online business there seems to be a new SEO firm at every corner you turn on the World Wide Web. With so many people out there competing for such a small piece of cyber pie, how do you know which firm is going to put your needs first?

This is a good question. The best way to answer that is to see what the SEO firm in question has to offer you. Keep the following key components in mind when looking for the firm that will best represent your interests when it comes to SEO and all should be well.

Experience

There is no substitute in the real world or cyber space for experience. It is true that SEO is constantly changing. This doesn't exactly give the new guys an advantage as some people would have you believe. Experience, and the ability to know which trends are going to be around for a while and which are temporary solutions, is what marks a true competitor in the world of SEO from those who may contend for a round or two but will be down for the count before too long.

Quality

You need to see samples of the work that has been done. You know your business and should be able to spot a quality product and/or operation when you see it. The SEO firm you select to represent your business needs to be of superior quality. In other words, it needs to be a one stop shop that can meet all of your SEO needs.

Personality

While you want your SEO firm to be professional, you also want them to have personality. You want that to show in their efforts at SEO. You do not want someone representing your company that isn't the least bit memorable. SEO, after all, is about making the search engines remember who you are.

Results

The final indicator of a good SEO firm is that they will have several successful campaigns on the market. The coveted top spots in major search engines is nothing to ignore. It's an accomplishment, in most cases, to be anywhere near the top. An accomplishment that takes knowledge, skill, time, and talent. Check out past campaigns and see how they are weathering the search engine maelstrom.

There are no absolutes when it comes to selecting the SEO firm that will best represent your business needs. Sometimes it's something as simple as going with the firm you seem to fit with best. Magnetiks has much to offer as an SEO firm and as a partner for building and enhancing your online presence. See what we can do for you today.

Who Needs the Services of a Professional SEO Company?

You may be reading this with a preconceived idea as to whether or not a professional SEO company can help your business. Regardless of current opinion, you should read with an open and objective mind. Find out how or if your business might be one of many that would benefit from professional search engine optimization efforts.

What Kind of Businesses Benefit from Professional SEO?

1. Small businesses seeking to create an online presence can't afford to pass up on professional search engine optimization efforts. Creating a presence online, even for a small local market requires a significant amount of search engine optimization skills and effort. Gone are the days of “if you build it; they will come.” You must optimize your website or the people who are looking for you will never find you.

2. Businesses struggling to rank well in the search engines are prime candidates for the services offered by a professional SEO company. If your business doesn't rank well for specific keywords, then visitors are unlikely to find you. Professional SEO efforts will ensure that your business ranks higher on the search engines pages so that potential customers can find you.

3. Small or mid-size businesses interested in expanding beyond a small or local market could also benefit from the services offered by a professional SEO firm. Take your business up a notch, or two by creating a definable and highly visible Internet presence. A professional SEO company will be able to point you in the right direction and take you to the top of the search engine rankings.

Who Will Not Benefit From a Professional SEO Company?

If you are a business that currently ranks at the top of the search engine for every keyword you feel is appropriate to your business, have the qualified staff to dedicate to full time SEO efforts, or simply aren't interested in growth or expansion beyond a small local market for your business then you may not need professional SEO services. Otherwise, it might be a great idea to see how much of a difference this valuable service can make for your bottom line.

Essentially, any business that wants more business can benefit from professional search engine optimization. Unless you are in a position to hire a full time staff dedicated to improving your search engine rankings you will be better off concentrating on the things you do best while leaving your search engine optimization efforts to the experts at a professional SEO company.

Four Reasons it Pays to Have Professional SEO

If you are doing business online or seeking to create an online presence for your brick and mortar business chances are good that you could benefit from professional SEO (search engine optimization). Without creating a website that is designed to get the attention of the big search engines the likelihood that you will be found through generic web searches is extremely small. This is not a business of “if you build it; they will come.” This is where SEO comes into play and can benefit your business more than you may ever realize. But, why pay professionals instead of trying to do it yourself?

1. Knowledge. There is a wide learning curve that is continuously evolving when it comes to proper search engine optimization. When you hire a professional SEO service you will be getting the knowledge of past and present practices that promise high rankings for your website in search engine results.

2. Time. It takes time to get impressive results for your search engine optimization efforts—even from the results. You have a business to run and it is quite likely that your time would be better spent running your business rather than staying on top of the latest professional SEO tricks and techniques. Save the time you would spend trying to learn and execute a proper SEO campaign and dedicate that time to the part of your business you do best.

3. Experience. There is no substitute for experience when it comes to SEO. Leverage the knowledge of others in the field of SEO and avoid wasting precious time and money on ineffective campaigns that will do little to improve your overall search engine rankings.

4. Quality. Chances are that your initial efforts will lack the polish and quality of a professional SEO company. They have often spent years learning various techniques for getting those important search engine rankings and are constantly learning the latest tools for this constantly changing process.

Whatever reason you choose to seek professional SEO services, it pays to go with a name in the business you can trust.