Pay Per Click Advertising works pretty much they way it sounds: an advertiser pays  only when a viewer clicks on their ad.  But you may be thinking that it really cannot be that simple.

 
Although Pay Per Click Advertising is now a staple of internet marketing and SEO plans, it is only about ten years old. This kind of target marketing allows you to draw in consumers who demonstrate tangible interest in your products and services.

 
Here is one example of how Pay Per Click advertising could work:

 
-An internet user types in a search term,  let’s say someone types in “football jerseys.”
Then when they get their search results, they also see sponsored links or sponsored ads on that same page. Since the user typed in “football jerseys,” the sponsored ads of links they see will likely relate to the sport of football, to jerseys for various sports, and to actual football jerseys.

 
-(The people selling footballs may hope to attract this person’s attention since they are interested in jerseys for that sport. And the people who sell hockey jerseys may be hoping that internet users who want football jerseys are fans of hockey too.)

 
-Since you sell football jerseys, and have opted to use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, your ad is one of the internet user’s options.

 
-When that person clicks on your ad, you will have to pay the PPC provider a fee.

 
This type of advertising is certainly not one-size-fits-all and is priced accordingly. More popular search terms on cost more and the providers who can guarantee the most visitors can charge more.

 
Although Pay Per Click Advertising can boost your web traffic rather quickly (sometimes even in a little as a few days), Increase Visibility recommends sticking with it for a few months if you don’t see results right way. So if for some reason you don’t see the spike you were hoping for in the first few days, do not give up.
And as always, we work with you to get you to where you really want to be. So if after a few months, you do not feel that Pay Per Click Advertising has been a real benefit to your business we are more than happy to re-evaluate the program with you.

On Monday, we discussed how the word “blog” was derived from nautical terminology. Blog came from “web log” which in turn came from log, a record that a ship’s captain kept about the ship’s dealings at sea.

Another term with nautical roots that has great significance for organic search placement is anchor text. When it comes to making your website more and more visible, you need to make sure that your website is making good use of anchor text. Good content can do a lot for you, but not if no one can find you.

Words, phrases, and even sentences that appear underlined and often highlighted in a different color on a website are anchor text. Just as an anchor was very necessary to keep a ship from drifting, anchor text is a key element in keeping search engines from drifting past your website in favor of the competition. When you connect certain words to the URLs for pages in your website, you are anchoring those words. A search engine will notice that your website has been pinned down to these words and will inform internet users that your website has some connection to the words you chose.

With that in mind, it is very important to choose anchor text wisely. There was a time when websites all over the internet, simply connected a hyperlink to the words “Click here.” After all, we have been told to use verbs and suggest action to customer, right?

Well, the days of using “click here” as effective anchor words are over. This tells search engines that your business is related to “click” and “here.” Unless those two words represent your key products and services, you do not want to use them. An internet user is very unlikely to type in those two words to find your business.

What you want to do is choose anchor text that highlights the kinds of words and phrases that your customers will use when they are looking for your business online. Increase Visibility can help you determine proper keyword terms to promote for organic listings. You may think that you know how potential customers are looking for you, but it is entirely possible that they are using search terms that you never even considered. Our SEO plans include expert keyword analysis. Once, Increased Visibility zeroes  in on the search terms that people use to find you, we can help you optimize your website to that these keywords are being used effectively on your website.

It is interesting just how many of the terms we use in everyday life were originally nautical terms. Many of us have spent little time on the seas and probably could not steer a ship if we had to, however we do know something about navigating the uncertain and unchartered waters of running a business. When it comes to weathering the storms that come up in running a business, we would do well to understand how nautical terminology relates to running a business.

For example, you know that a blog is a useful tool for gaining better placement with search engines, but did you know that blog is a shortened version of the phrase “web log?” And that “web log” is a modern variation of log, as in the captain’s log that was used by a ship’s captain to record important data? Even after a ship’s captain was no longer in charge of a certain ship, the log was a record of what happened aboard ship.

In some ways, a blog functions that way too. You hear a lot of people speak in worried tones about how things on the internet do not really disappear. If you have high quality content on your website and blog this can be a good thing. You never know when a blog you wrote that addressed a very specific topic will come up in a search someone is doing down the road. Sometimes an issue or industry is thrust into the spotlight because of current events. If you have covered a related topic in your blog or on your website, people will be able to find your content and are likely to seek you out for your expertise.

This is why you need expert help to come up with a strategy for shaping your online content. Content that is created with a goal in mind can help you gain new customers, encourage current customers to return, and position you as an industry leader. When you have good blog content people and search engines are drawn to you. Still, they may not always find you right away. That is where Increase Visibility comes in: as part of the services we offer, we can link you with other websites that will complement your products and services. These related websites will be industry specific and non-competitive.

Come back on Wednesday to read more about how you can make sure that people are able to find your high quality content.

One thing to remember about organic search placement and SEO is that great results do not happen in an instant. You have to put in the time and energy that it takes to really grow your place in the search engine world. And if you find that you do not have the time to do this yourself, then you need to hire a reputable and responsible firm like Increase Visibility to take care of this task for you. Just as you cannot plant seeds and get a bumper crop overnight and you cannot throw your website into directories and search engines and get high ranking in a week.

Good organic search placement begins with research and lots of it. Even if you start out with a heavily researched SEO plan, you need to continue that research. Search engines change their algorithms on a continual basis, so you need ongoing research and analysis to keep up with search engine changes. Even if you consider yourself to be quite resourceful, you may not have all of the expertise required to keep pace with ever-changing search engines. Unless you are dedicated to working on search engine optimization and following the trends, you may not realize when the techniques you are using become old news. In about six months, some of the SEO tips and tricks you will read about this week will become ineffective because search engines will have switched gears.

At the same time, you have to keep in mind that while you are going all out to get noticed by customers, your website has to be customer-friendly enough to get them to stay (and keep coming back). Often a company will follow tips they have come across the emphasize using a lot of keywords, without realizing that overloading in a primary keyword can hurt their ranking much more than it helps. A search engine may see the constant repetition of certain words and conclude that a website is spam. Then that site gets penalized with a lower search engine ranking because it has been deemed less than legitimate.

You certainly do not want this to happen to you. After all the hard work you do, you want to make sure that it is recognized. Increase Visibility can help you go beyond basic SEO tips to get the search engine ranking you want without sacrificing readability on your site. It takes a special balance of creativity and the tactical employment of SEO techniques to achieve successful search engine optimization.

Call Increase Visibility at 877-SEO ADVICE (877-736-2384) or send an e-mail to info@increasevisibility.com with your questions.

Sometimes when we have invested a lot of time, money and effort into something, we really want to see it through. And that strategy works, in some cases. However, there are times when you have to cut your losses.

Starting all over again does not have to be all that difficult, especially if you start with the right firm. And Increase Visibility is just the firm to help if you have been frustrated with your past efforts to get your website noticed the way you want.

If you have put a lot into your business, and want it to succeed, then you need to make sure that you are doing all you can to promote and market your products and services. This means that if you have already invested in someone who said that they could get you top search engine placement and they have not, then it is time to look elsewhere. You are only throwing more and more of your hard-earned money away if you continue to use the services of a firm that cannot deliver. And it is quite possible that someone who had promised you “pie in the sky” results only did so to lure you in and now you find it hard to walk away because you think you have put too much in to start all over again.

Successful Search Engine Placement Takes Time
Increased Visibility takes the time to understand your business, your goals and your customer base. A company that promises to get you SEO by using an approach where they try to blanket search engines and directories with your website is playing a numbers game and these games often do not work. We take the time to submit your web pages manually and that makes all the difference. Search engines know spam when they see it.

Do you know the question?
What you need is a natural approach to search engine optimization. We start by learning about what your key clients are looking for an analyzing how they search the web when they want to find an organization such as yours. We know you want to be the answer that your target audience seeks, but you have to find out what questions they are asking. Then we can help you craft your web pages as answers to the search terms they pose.

When you type in a word or question in the search box, you get a list of matches that respond to your query. Sometimes potential responses run into the thousands, even hundreds of thousands. How do search engines decide which responses to show first and which to place at the end of the queue?

The order in which responses are shown is called ranking. Since your goal is to have your website ranked as close to the top of the response list as possible, it pays to understand how search engines rank sites. Search engines use complicated mathematical algorithms to select matches to a search query. Because search engines seek to display a diversified set of search results, they generally employ more than one algorithm to achieve the final search ranking displayed to the user.

There are a number of different types of ranking algorithms, including:

• Query-dependent (or dynamic) ranking algorithms rely on the user’s search terms to rank pages. Sites with greater relevance to the query terms are ranked higher in the response list. Query-dependent algorithms run when the user clicks “Go” to submit his search.
• Query-independent (or static) ranking algorithms look at site features other than the actual search terms, such as the number and importance of linked pages, to determine relevance to the query. Query-independent algorithms can be run before a search is launched and assign a quality score to each document on the web. Search engines use the quality score to determine ranking. PageRank is an example of a query-independent ranking algorithm.
• Content-based ranking algorithms use the words in each document to determine its ranking. Placing the precise search words at the beginning of a document, in the final 20 words of a document, in a bold font and in HTML elements are all ways to increase content-based rankings.
• Usage-based ranking algorithms score documents by how often they are viewed by Internet users. Data from web proxy logs and click-through rates are among the elements used to determine usage patterns.
• Link-based ranking algorithms assign scores to web pages based on the number and quality of hyperlinks between pages. Links that point to a particular page or endorse a page can help to improve link-based rankings.

The ranking of displayed query responses is dependent not only upon the results of individual search ranking algorithms, but on complex interrelationships between the various ranking algorithms. An effective search engine optimization program will take into account the parameters of both individual ranking algorithms and the manner in which they relate to and affect each other. It can be a complicated process that cannot rely solely on the hard data of science or rotely applied formulas. Manipulating the complex relationships between search engine ranking algorithms to build a highly effective search engine optimization marketing program requires the adroit finesse and intuitive insight of an experienced expert.

We are all trying to maximize our time and dollars, but there are instances where we need to consult experts and take our time to do things the right way. When it comes to SEO, Organic Search Placement, and driving more customers to your website, don’t fall prey to any “get ranked quick” schemes.

There are a number of search engine optimization firms that are promising a lot and delivering very little. And even what they do deliver can end up costing their customers more in the long run.

Jim Lisi, President of Increase Visibility states, “Website owners put their website at risk by unknowingly implementing link schemes and other unethical practices offered by the growing number of SEO companies that utilize ‘black hat’ practices and scams.”

Some firms claim that they can get you to the #1 spot in Google search rankings and they say that they can make this all happen very quickly for little money. What you don’t realize is that their main concern is getting your money before you realize that they do not have the expertise to really help you.

Increase Visibility knows how to help clients attract website visitors the right way, and became concerned after hearing a number of cases where people were scammed by less than scrupulous SEO firms. Through research, Increase Visibility has discovered a number of scams used by illegitimate SEO companies. 

Stay away if an SEO firm:

-Has an illegitimate or unprofessional looking website
-Offers to submit your website to a large number of search engines or directories for a small fee
-Promises you a #1 ranking for very long search term
-E-mails you promising that they can get you a #1 ranking on Google

In contrast to the scam artists out there, Increase Visibility really wants to help you grow your business using proven, ethical strategies. We do more than send out e-mail blasts; we work with you to tailor an SEO Optimization Plan to suit your needs and your business.

Increase Visibility has been rewarded with a #1 or #2 ranking for organic optimization during August - October 2008 by the prestigious TopSEO’s.com, an independent authority on search engine marketing services companies. TopSEO’s.com did not look at ranking alone; they also survey a firm’s customers to get first-hand accounts of that firm’s commitment to service.

Considering what they have achieved for themselves, you know that Increased Visibility (legitimate) business.  The unethical methods of other firms may seem to work on paper, but they will not bring you more customers.

While some of you may have businesses that have been up on the web for a while, we know that there are those among you who are new to the game. Maybe your business has had such a local focus that you really did not see the need for a website. Perhaps you knew your customers personally and few of them even used the internet, but now you find that the landscape has changed. Now you have come to realize that not only do you need a website, you need a plan to get it to the very top of the search engine go-to list.

Do not fear. Increase Visibility is here to help. If someone has told you that you need to give them a lot of money so that they can get you high ranking status overnight, be wary. Optimizing your website and getting noticed by search engines takes time. Before you optimize your website, you need to pick an optimal domain name.
So let’s start with the very basics:
What kind of domain name ending should you choose?

Domain name endings tell consumers and search engines what kind of organization you are. They are a few simple letters that give a lot of information.

.org
This is the domain name ending to use if your group is a non profit.

.com
This is for anyone and is most often used by businesses, be they a business with one person or 100,000 people.

.net
This is a domain name ending that is primarily used by telecommunications and internet firms.

.us
Businesses that are in the United States use this domain ending.

.biz
This is another domain name ending that is used by businesses.

.pro
This option for licensed professionals such as lawywers.

Sometimes you will find that you want to use the most common domain name ending (.com) and that someone else already has used that ending with the name you want. In that case you can change your domain name or opt for another domain name ending such as .biz or .pro using the domain name you want.

Also, some business owners will purchase the domain name that they want using multiple endings (like .com AND .net) to cover their bases.

You can visit the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number) website to get more information on choosing a domain name. And when you’re ready, give Increase Visibility a call at 877 SEO ADVICE (877 736 2384) to talk about how we can help you make sure you are growing your website and reaching more and more customers.

When it comes to SEO, Google rules the roost, and you should know that they take their work very seriously. They may not get it right every time, but a lot of work goes into making it possible for someone to type in words related to your industry and find you.

Like many other huge organizations, Google started with a great idea, but they do more than just think about search engines and queries. Google puts a lot of time and effort into make sure that when someone types in a query, that person is going to be satisfied with the search results.

While they can only examine a small sampling of all the queries that are typed into Google, the company evaluates the effectiveness of these searches using real, live humans and results generated by automated experiments. Human evaluators are not just people picked off of the street. They are trained to examine search results to ensure that they truly are useful.

According to Google, if asked, internet users would say that they wanted a search engine to provide relevant results. But the definition of what is relevant has become increasingly more complex. Internet users want up-to-the-minute results from reputable sources. They are also interested in related links that really tie into their original query. You want to make sure that your website goes to the top of the heap.

Like Google, our team at Increase Visibility works hard, too. We keep current on how search engines function. The techniques you employed last year to get a higher page ranking, may not be working anymore and we can explain why.  There is a lot you can do to get your website noticed and reach more customers, which will lead to higher profits.

We apply our in-depth knowledge of SEO to your specific business goals. Increase Visibility doesn’t just lecture you on SEO. We take the time to learn about you and your business, so we can customize our plans to fit your needs.

Call us today at 877 SEO ADVICE, 877 736 2384 or e-mail us at info@IncreaseVisibility.com.

We are happy to announce that for September of 2008 Increase Visibility has been ranked #1 for Organic Optimization and #1 for Reputation Management by the prestigious TopSEOs.com, an independent authority on internet marketing companies. TopSEOs.com contacted more than 50 of our clients while gathering information on our capabilities. To end up #1 in two prominent categories it’s safe to say are clients are very happy with the results we have achieved for them.

We like to be modest but we were pleased to receive the praises of Bill Peden, President of TopSEOs.com, “Our expectations of the agencies we recommend are very high and Increase Visibility has shown a consistent ability to achieve and sustain results for their customers. If you are looking to boost revenues, improve productivity, reduce expenses, or achieve other key business drivers - Increase Visibility can and will perform. We highly recommend them as a strong source for internet marketing initiatives.”

Internet companies often try to save money by attempting search engine optimization on their own. However, being able to a place a link to your website on the first page of Google and other search engines for your specific keywords really requires unique search engine optimization strategies. Typically these highly effective strategies are created by people who spend their days figuring out how to keep up with the changing algorithms of the search engines which determine the page rankings.

Having a website that is properly optimized goes a long way to attract visitors to your site. Websites that are insufficiently optimized for web content and keywords befuddle the search engine spiders and they will simply forget about your site and reward highly optimized websites with high rankings. If you’re looking to improve your rankings it’s best to ask for advice for search engine optimization and website optimizing from an expert who knows how to stimulate the search engine spiders to reward you with first page placements.