SEO TIPS

By: Gabriel Gervelis

What is a long tail Keyword?

When optimizing a web page for high SERP results an optimizer will (when necessary) pick main keywords and long tail keywords for a page. Main keywords can be found in a web pages Meta Tags. Long Tail Keywords are variables of the main keywords found in the content of the web page. In most cases a web page will have a high number of long tail keywords, so long tail keywords will not be found in the Meta Tags.
Example:

The Main Keywords for an example web page are Crayola Crayons, Discount Crayola Crayons, and Colorful Crayola Crayons. The Meta Tags and H1 tags for this web page will be optimized to fit the main keywords. In this case a list of long tail keywords might be:

the web page is not being directly optimized for the above 24 keywords. However, using the proper contnet, the web page can be indirectly optimized for the above 24 keywords.Other useful definitions of Long Tail Keywords and information
Internet Marketing Dictionary - Define long tail keywords
SEOMOZ information on Long Tail Keywords - Blog post on SEOMoz.org about long tail keywords.
SEOMOZ information on Long Tail Keywords- Blog post on SEOmoz.org explaining how long tail keywords can hurt your PPC campaign.

Good luck with your SEO ventures!

By: Gabriel Gervelis

Qualifying a service provider to outsource your needs to is always a tricky process. Business’s use many service providers and vendors to achieve their needs. Before one is selected Business owners usually interview many candidates, then choose the vendor that fits their needs the best. This holds true when shopping for a SEO company.

Knowing what to ask a service provider during the interview process is crucial. Understanding why you are asking the questions, and knowing what to look for in the answers is of equal importance.

This portion of the SEOTIPS.ORG SEO FAQ will cover what questions to ask a SEO company regarding keyword research.

Why ask this? Knowing how the SEO Company chooses what keywords to target is very important. You want to make sure that proper amount of time and thought is dedicated to the research of keywords for your campaign. Remember, who cares if your #1 on a SERP if no one is searching for that keyword.

What to look for in the answer? Effective SEO companies will target main keywords (1-3 word phrases) and long tail keywords (3-6 word phrases). SEO software programs like WordTracker, Keyword Elite, the Google AdWords Tools will be used to identify keyword search counts, and other relevant keywords to target. Also look for the cost per click for the companies recommended keywords, the Google Traffic Estimator is a good tool to find a keywords cost per click.

2) Can I choose the keywords to optimize for, or can I give keyword suggestions for you to base your research around?

Why ask this question? Marketing companies should always listen to their clients. In order to v product or service, a Marketing company needs to understand your business. This holds true with search engine marketing companies. The better we understand who your target market is, the nature of your products or services, and industry jargon that potential clients might be searching with is key to keyword research (no pun intended :0 )

What to look for in the answer? Effective SEO companies will never let the client pick out the targeted keywords. The competition levels and aggressiveness of a keyword will effect the success of a SEO campaign. For example: A client might sign up with an entry level SEO campaign and choose an aggressive keyword like gifts. Optimizing for the keyword, gifts will require an advanced campaign. A SEO company should work with their clients to identify proper and effective keywords that complement the size of the SEO campaign.

3) Do I have final Keyword Approval?

Why ask this? It is important to know if you have final keyword approval. If the SEO company sends you a list of keywords that you don’t agree with you need the ability to revise and edit the list until the keywords list makes sense to both parties.

What to look for in the answer. Effective SEO companies will have a keyword approval process in place. Sign off on the targeted keywords should be done before the SEO campaign moves to the next step.

4) How much traffic will the chosen keywords bring to my website?

Why ask this question? No SEO company can guarantee traffic to your website VIA organic rankings. One can’t force someone to click on your add. However, search counts can be gathered and using an estimated CTR (Click Through Rate) baisc traffic generation amounts can be estimated. This estimate can be used to calculate what type of ROI a keyword can generate for you.

What to look for in the answer? Effective SEO companies will provide ROI and traffic estimates with forms of advanced keyword research. Remember, the cost of the SEO campaign should be a direct relation to how much labor and expences are allowed in the campaign. More cost effective solutions will not include this advanced data.

Answer this question on your own. Example: A Targeted keyword is searched for (On Google) 5000 times monthly. Using a 8% CTR we can estimate that 400 visitors will enter your website. If your website can produce a 3% conversion rate (12 conversions) and your average conversion equals $25. It is a safe estimate that the keyword will generate $300 in monthly revenue.

Additional Free Keyword Research Tools

Overture Keyword Research - This tool queries Yahoo and will provide relevant keywords along with search counts. The information displayed from this tool is not in real time (should be a few months out of date). This tool is experiances high traffic volumes and may not load the first time you try to access it.

SEO Chat Keyword Difficulty - This tool uses an algorithm to determine how difficult it is to rank on a SERP for a given keyword.

Google Traffic Estimator - This tool lets you know the estimated cost per click for keywords. It also shows you estimated traffic amounts for keyword advertisers in the AdWords program.

Google Keyword Tool - This Tool shows you estimated search counts, estimated advertiser competition, past search amounts, and additional related relevant keywords. Note: This tool does not give numbers.

By: Gabriel Gervelis

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the art of ranking a website, or web page, high on a search engine result page (SERP).

I call this an art because the factors that search engines use to rank websites keep changing. Finding a balance in these factors, finding what factors need improvement in a targeted site, monitoring the success of the campaign through ranking reporting, and providing this service at a reasonable and affordable cost truly is an art form.

There is no step by step process to search engine optimization. I can’t map out a first do this, and then do this type of tutorial. Understanding how the search engine’s work and understanding what SEO method to use in an identified situation is key, for example.

Example:

A client enters our firm and declares “I want my website to rank #1 on Google for the term parade”. After some initial research (and small deposit) we determine that all of the main competitors for this term have over 200 pages within their site. Our client has a 5 page brochure website. Knowing that the target keyword market is very aggressive (advanced keyword research will be covered later) we know we need to expand our clients site so it has the ability to compete.

After further review of the top sites that are ranking for this term, we notice that 2 of the 10 sites have parade directories, listing of every major parade in the last 2 years. Each major parade has its own page with unique content. This gives the sites an awesome ability for internal linking (Internal linking will be covered later) and gives these sites a huge advantage.

In this example, we know we need to adopt a similar concept in our client’s site. We don’t need to copy our competitor directories word for word or page for page. But adapting our own unique way to produce relevant pages that hold industry unique content is a must.

Will adapting this concept to our clients site shoot there site to the top of the SERPs for the targeted word? No. Other SEO methods like Meta tag and content optimization need to be utilized as well.

Understanding your competitors sites, and how your competitors made it to the top will save you time and money in the future.