JEFF COTRUPE
I just launched a new site for my business. Same domain, http://marketpowerLLC.com, but anyone who saw the old site may not even recognize us as the same company today. In planning the launch I realized one of the first things I look for as a site visitor is a search capability. Not of the whole web; I can get to Google or Yahoo! via my own bookmarks, thank you, and I never understand companies who provide web search but no search of their own site. Or, as is still the case at a surprising number of sites: No search at all.…
H1 heading tags - use them!
SEO Tip: H1 tags
The H1 heading tag is an important component to your organic SEO agenda. Google assumes more important content resides in the H1 tag than body content.
For added optimization, include a popular and relevant search keyword. But make sure it is relevant to the content that is on the page. If the content on the page is about, say, diabetic supplies - the h1 tag better reflect that.
H1 tags are important for the reader as well - it gives them an idea of what the page is about on a quick scan. They should be…
Anchor text is your friend!
Anchor Text for Organic SEO
The use of anchor text is critical to your overall SEO plan. It is weighed heavily in search engine rankings. If your SEO copywriter doesn’t employ this technique - fire ‘em right now!
So what is anchor text? How can you improve it?
According to Wikipedia, anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. The hyperlinked text “According to Wikipedia” is an example of anchor text. It is descriptive text where you can learn more about the content of the page you’re linking to.
Improve your SEO and build relevant anchor text by using…
When was the last time you saw an online display ad you’d click on? Or, better put, when was the last time you clicked on an online display ad? I seriously never had unless I did once in 1994 or something. But I saw this ad and was intrigued enough, and entertained, that I’d click.
I had to write this post first, so I haven’t yet. It’s my next order of business. Good job Very Short List, whoever you are and whatever you’re selling!
(i.e., Why try to game the system when you can do just plain good work?!)
— Abigail
- - -…
Great thoughts about SEO sites, practices, community, etc., and do please read the comments. Very good peek. The latest post however makes this pretty poignant. To this post let me just add that I too am no-one in particular, and that’s an important attribute.
Social Media and Web 2-3.0 being what they are, should I use my graphic design skills to make a “No-one In Particular” logo we can use on our sites to celebrate good practices and humility within the biz? If there are YES comments I’ll do it! With enthusiasm!
— Abigail
- - - - -
Abigail Hamilton is a professional with over…
See? I got your attention with some words which a search engine wouldn’t know where to start with. Whether it’s on the light side (i.e., digestible by non-professional marketers/SEOs) at How Design, or more intense at Sphinn, I’m seeing a lot of good discussion out there about the importance of writing for people rather than [just] search engines. There are a million angles on why/how/when/where to make your writing work best, but the underlying point is tremendously important: people need to read — and be moved by — what you write for it to matter at all. So, brief and compelling.
- -…
Popular gossip Blogger Perez Hilton always like to push things to the limit; it’s true of his page title as well as of his journalism.
It’s common wisdom that anything after the first 10 words of a page title are ignored by search engines.
So, leave it to Perez to use 11. After all, he has been such a diligent self-promoter he doesn’t need a last name anymore!
- - - - -
Abigail Hamilton is a professional with over a decade of experience in small business, enterprise, and business-to-business design and marketing. She loves writing for the Web, creating and maintaining brand identities, and…
FordVehicles.com
Much like a Michael Bay film, FordVehicles.com is all flash and zero substance. An encyclopedia of information on each car, truck and SUV is easily accessible and superbly organized. The vehicle pages offer a 360 degree view of each product inside and out as well as detailed information on technology, design specs, safety features and environmental benefits. However, wading through this information is about as much fun as reading a stock prospectus under a magnifying glass. It’s almost as if each piece of information was designated a binary value of positive or negative - and any real world interaction between…
Years ago, I had the privilege of writing and producing broadcast campaigns for one of the biggest car companies on the planet. From a creative perspective, the experience was a nightmare more often than not…but it provided a nonstop education on the intricacies and contradictions inherent in automotive advertising. One memory strikes me as uniquely apropos for launching our Winner’s Circle series…I was cutting a commercial at a post-production house, waiting for my client to call with updated incentive numbers from corporate. My client, it turned out, wasn’t willing to make the decision himself until he knew for certain what…
Everyone pays lip service to winners. From competitive athletics to the cutthroat corporations of the Fortune 500 to high school music class where “first chair” is considered the laudable throne of achievement, the winner’s circle represents the pinnacle of achievement. We’re culturally programmed to want to win at any cost because, as one of many similar sayings go: to the winner go the spoils. Numerous books have been penned on the subject and psychology of winning - so what could I possibly hope to add to the existing body of knowledge in a single blog post? Nothing. Which is why…
