May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and it is great time to look at the kind of shape you are in. Not just you as an individual, but also your company and your website. Many of us would rather not exercise, but we do it anyway because we know it is beneficial to us.

It is the same with your website—it would be nice if you could just put a website up on the web and leave it there, letting it update and improve itself as needed. However, we all know that the reality is that things do not work that way. Your website needs time and attention if it is going to be an asset for your business.

Do you have unneeded pages on your website that are just sort of languishing? Are some of the pages on your website outdated and no longer relevant? You may or may not be aware of the kinds of changes that you could make to trim the fat and get your website in prime condition if you are used to looking at it as it is.

This is where you need some outside assistance from a search engine optimization service like Increase Visibility. We recently made TopTenReviews.com’s #1 position for top online marketing service .

We offer a free website analysis [http://www.increasevisibility.com/website-analysis.php], where we determine what needs to be done to improve the success and top positions of your website.

When you sign on for one of our SEO Plans, we can perform a keyword analysis to let you know what keywords are the most relevant. When you are aware of the words and phrases people use to find you, you can incorporate them into your online content.

We can act as a trainer, helping you keep your website on an SEO regimen that will benefit your online presence and your financial outlook.

At SEO firm Increase Visibility our mission is part of our name: we really do want to help you increase your online visibility which translates into more business for you.

While some SEO firms will promise to get you high search engine rankings, what are you really getting? Even if they manage to raise your ranking with search engines, they may not help you to implement practices that will allow you to continually reach out to new and existing customers.

Some companies know how to play the game well enough to get you the promised results, but they do very little help you maintain those results.

Besides, you need a comprehensive approach for Your Site search engine optimization; not just a one time fix or boost in your search engine ranking. Just so you know, our client retention rate is 96%. This means that 24 out of every 25 companies that hire us continue to use our services.

An ongoing relationship with the company that works to increase your online visibility means that company really gets to know you, your business and has a deep knowledge of the kind of web traffic you generate.

We can assist you with search engine optimization, setting up a pay per click advertising program, writing press releases and increasing link popularity.

Increase Visibility has SEO plans and while all of our search marketing programs include full website optimization, we are happy to work with you to tailor a plan to suit your needs.

There was a time, back when the internet was young, when just having a website meant you were cutting edge. The existence of a page on the internet that was just dedicated to your organization was impressive. There were a lot fewer people using the internet then, so a good number of your customers would not have seen your web page anyway.

Then more and more people had web pages and they kind of became standard. Still, the page did not have to do a whole lot or contain tons of information. As long as it told who you were, listed a phone number and address, maybe with a button to click so people could contact you, you were doing alright.

Fast-forward to today and you know that it is not enough just to have a web page—you need a website. And your website can’t just sit there; it needs to be interactive and informative. And it is not enough to simply create an interactive and informative website—you also have to make sure that people know that it is there. As we noted earlier, a website is not an option anymore, it is a must-have to stay competitive. This holds true for commercial enterprises and non-profits alike.

And that is where  SEO firm Increase Visibility comes into the picture. We know that you have a lot of work to do just running your business, so we want to help you maximize your website so it can get the word out about the great things you do.

We take the time to learn about what you do and the goals you have for your internet marketing campaign. So, although we have SEO plans that we offer, we can still tailor our efforts to boost your site search engine positioning  so that we can really help you increase your visibility online.

On Tuesday, we talked about how sometimes you can find yourself disappointed with the results of an advertising campaign (If Advertising Hasn’t Worked, Try SEO). The rise of our internet culture put the power of choice into consumers’ hands. Really, the choice to buy or not to buy always rested with consumers, but some companies mistakenly believed that they could lead or sway consumers by blanketing the world with advertising.

The fragmentation of the media means that people are not watching one of three news channels during dinner at 6pm or deciding between a few major magazines. Now, everybody is looking for messages and products that are tailored specifically for them. And although it sounds chaotic, this is actually a good thing. Your next paying customer is not expecting you to knock on his or her door. They are actively seeking you. It is up to you to make sure that this person can find you.

People still tend to go with the recommendations of friends, relatives and sometimes even strangers. While search engines are not something people would call “a trusted friend,” they still pay a lot of attention to what search engines have to say about the companies in a certain field. A search engine basically makes recommendations based on the information that it has gathered after combing the internet. It takes the search terms that internet users type in and compares them to what it has found on various websites, looking for the closest match. Search engines also take into account how many other internet users have looked at various sites too. While this is a very simple breakdown of what search engines do, you can see how they act to recommend websites and why you need to get their attention.

Increase Visibility can analyze your website to see if you are using the kind of keywords that will lead eager customers to your site through the various search engines. If you are the best in the world, but they cannot find you, this does you no good. You want to make sure that customers can find you based on common themes.

At Increase Visibility we work to get you in place to be seen by those searching eyes. And to reach those human eyes, you first have to get the attention of search engines. We will determine the keywords that will get you noticed, implement these keywords as part of an SEO plan and report back to you with the results.

Not too long ago, a marketing guru came to speak at a rather prestigious venue in town and boldly declared that the press release as we know it was dead. Making this rather surprising announcement of course produced its desired effect: it threw the room into a tizzy. The blogger in the back of the room of was blogging and twittering the event of course sent out that information immediately. Within a few seconds the speaker had a whole roomful of people and possibly untold numbers of internet users buzzing about his latest prediction.

What he had done, in essence, was use a verbal press release to create instant buzz. So really the press release is not dead, but it may appear in different forms. And this was essentially what this marketing guru went on to say after he grabbed everyone’s attention with that opening headline.
And really, the press release is not dead because people still use them and continue to expect companies to produce press releases outlining news and developments.

The writers at Increased Visibility have more than fifteen years of experience with creating attention-getting press releases. When you combine this with our firm’s knowledge of how to optimize a press release foe the web, you will get results. The press release has evolved over the years. There was a time when people would mail press releases. Then they would fax them. Now press releases go out over the web with relevant, quality reciprocal links.

These days press releases put out on the web serve a dual purpose: They inform readers about your latest news and give them an overview of your organization while at the same time they serve to better your ranking with search engines. Having an optimized press release on a newswire service that includes links that lead back to your website serves will do wonders for your search engine optimization. An optimized press release can further help a business’s search engine ranking when they are placed on the business’s website thereby increasing the website’s size and content. For a search engine, the bigger the site, the better it is.

Increase Visibility offers different levels of press release services. Call 1-877 SEO ADVICE (1-877-736-2384) to learn more about how we can help you to expand your reach through press releases.

What is happening on the SEO landscape for the coming year? You may have heard it before, but it bears repeating: if you are in business, you need to increase your visibility. So if you have heard over and over about how important it is to do what you can to optimize your presence on the web, you will hear continue to hear this…only it will become even more crucial that you pay attention and take action.

Online reputation management will be more vital and not less. When we mention “reputation management” what comes to mind? For some it may mean being able to respond to criticism and that is part of it. But online reputation management is also making sure that searches for your company name and for your industry show you in a positive light. Well, first you have to actually show up when people search for you online, that is the first step. If you have no web presence, then you don’t have to worry about your reputation taking any hits…but this means that you do have to worry that you are losing out on the opportunities to reach new customers. When it comes to making sales, there are few people spontaneously crashing the party. Would-be customers need an invite or something to convince them to stop by and look around. Your online “store front” needs to be just as attractive as your brick-and-mortar store front.

Test it out for yourself. When you search online for your company name, what do you see? When you do a search and type in the name of your field, does your company name appear high on the first page? What happens when you do a search for one of your main competitors? Look at how your competition appears in online searches. Do they appear in a very positive light? If so, you should take a cue from them. And when you run a search for your product or industry, do your competitors rank above you?

You want to be at the top of the list on search engines and you want people to read positive things that will draw people to you. And to do this you need a plan. Let Increase Visibility help you come up with a marketing plan that is tailor-made for your business.

We can help you reach your Internet marketing goals this year and for many years to come. Call us today at 877 SEO ADVICE (877 736 2384).

When we talk about doing all you can to reach as many customers as possible, we are talking about marketing and the efforts that you make to reach out to people. You have to have good, quality content on your website and blog and make sure that your Twitter updates are giving out a good mix of information as well. However, there is another way that you can increase your visibility online that involves not giving, but receiving–and that is through inbound links.

Here is how they work: An inbound link describes one kind of hyperlink that can be inbound or outbound, depending on whether you are the giver or recipient. If you are the recipient of a link (in other words, someone links to your site), then it is an inbound link. On the other hand, if you are the person linking to someone else’s website, then you are the giver and the link is outbound. When someone else links to your site, then are possible sending people away from their own site, so in a way an inbound link is a gift.

There was a time when links were one of the few ways that people could find their way around the internet. When there were no search engines to accept even the most specific queries, it was very necessary that other websites point internet users your way.

You definitely want inbound links from reputable sites coming into your website. Some will say that these links are not as important as they used to be, but this is really not the case. True, we do not rely on inbound links the way we did before there were search engines, but they are still vital to a successful internet marketing campaign. Now inbound links work two ways: they (of course) bring more web users to your site and at the same time they that this is happening, your search engine rankings improve. So as you can see, quality inbound links are a win-win.

It takes A LOT of inbound links to really get your website noticed, but this is only one tactic that you can use. Still, you probably do not have the time to forge relationships that ensure that your site has a steady flow of inbound links. That is okay because that is why Increase Visibility is here. Let us do that work for you. Call us today at 877 SEO ADVICE (877-736-2384).

And come back on Thursday to read more about inbound links and how to get them.

On Monday we talked about how SEO and organic search placement can be compared to two different decision-making processes: one where a person makes a quick decision using instincts and one where someone takes their time to talk over the advantages and disadvantages of the choices at hand. When it comes to deciding how a website ranks in search results, search engines use a more than a few criteria (in fact Google looks at more than 150!).

Well, although Google uses a sizable number of criteria, it does not take forever to come to its conclusions. This is why you need the assistance of a firm like Increase Visibility, so that your website marketing program has all the correct components in place when Google stops by to check you out. You definitely want to be prepared. Search engines do check often…at first. But if it seems like your site has little new material to offer, they will space out their visits more and more until your website becomes an afterthought and you do not want this to happen.

Many of your customers may also make rather instantaneous decisions. Whether they see you in search engine rankings or see your company name in a list of press releases, they probably will not spend all day deciding which link to click to continue their online journey.

Again, you need to be primed and ready. You need to make certain that the prose they see is crisp and clean. You also need to have already worked on name recognition through your online marketing efforts. We all go for what is familiar–even when we do not realize that it is familiar. Returning customers know you already. However, the newer customers whose attention you want to grab may not be acquainted with you just yet, but if your name has been floating around the web on blogs, directories and social networking sites, they will click on a link leading to you because your name is familiar.

Let Increase Visibility help you make sure that your name is front and center in people’s minds when they think about your industry. One of our SEO marketing plans can put you at the top. With our Bundle 3 Plan, we will help you broaden your customer base with blog commenting, article marketing, video marketing, podcast marketing and social bookmarking—just to name a few of the services that we provide.

When you make a decision to choose one thing over another–be it a burger over a chicken sandwich or a blue sweater over a green, you are probably unaware of just how complex this transaction really is. Well, if you take a while to make decisions and spend time talking it out and going over the pros and cons for each option, then you might be aware of some of the complexities.

However, if you are the type of person who just picks something quickly based on instinct, then you may not really be aware of all that goes into choosing one item over another.

Ok, so how does all of this apply to organic search placement and search engine optimization, you ask? Which scenario–the instant decision or the talking-it-out decision–be compared to SEO?

 Well, the answer is that both scenarios can be applied to SEO. And here is how:

A Large Number of Factors Go Into Search Engine Placement

Did you know that Google uses more than 150 different criteria as they try to figure out where your website should  fall in search results? This means that like the person who talks over every aspect of a decision, Google has a lot on its mind when it is selecting which websites will rise to the top and which will sink to the bottom. And of course Google is not forthcoming about sharing exactly what these criteria are or how they may change. They are not going to reveal their recipe and have everyone else cooking up a monster search engine.

Increase Visibility Can Help

This should not scare you, however. It simply means that trying to get into the mysterious mind of Google is not a job you should tackle on your own.  Increase Visibility specializes in search engine optimization, but cannot promise to have all of the answers,  Be very wary of anyone who tells you that they have cracked the code and that they know all the secrets of the various search engines.

 Here at Increase Visibility we do not claim that we know every, single aspect of just how a search engine makes its selections, but our staff does have  long and solid relationships with many search properties  and we will put this to will put to work on your behalf. The search engine industry is constantly changing and with our continual vigilance in studying the latest trends, we can provide you with a competitive advantage.

Call us today at 877 SEO ADVICE, 877 736 2384 or email us at info@IncreaseVisibility.com with questions.

And check back on Wednesday for more on this topic.

One important thing to remember about increasing your visibility is that you have to meet people where they are. While it may seem logical for web users to use certain phrases to find you, they may not follow “logic.”
Even when the customer is wrong, they are still right. Your potential customers may not have found you yet because, to them, you are inaccessible. Now, you may have done all the “right” things, and yet you remain invisible to them.  How can that be?

 
Here is one example of this: It is quite possible that your website can get high rankings for a certain keyword or set of keywords…but if the consumers you seek do not use that keyword to find you, then what good is it? You may be getting all sorts of people to come to your website, but if they are not your target audience, then you  will have a great search engine ranking…but you still will not be connected to the people who really want to reach. Increase Visibility has been recognized for its work in organic optimization and reputation management.

 
There are SEO firms that will promise you great rankings, and they may help you improve your ranking for a while, but will you see results and growth in your customer base? Plastering keywords everywhere is not a strategy for long-term growth.  As we mentioned above, if you are getting lots and lots of hits from people who do not purchase your product and spend only a few seconds on your site, you may not have gained very much. Even the exposure to your site may not really pay off if they are not interested or spend so little time there that they don’t glean enough information to remember your company.

 
This is one reason to hire experts, like the team at Increase Visibility to analyze your website. Yes, you can get information on search engine rankings and page views on your own, but are you certain that you know how to interpret them. Do you have the time to really sit down and analyze your website stats AND take care of your day-to-day operations?

 
Increase Visibility has the expertise you need to figure out not only how many people visit your site, but how they use your site. Gaining information on user behavior is critical to understanding how to make you website “sticky.”

 
If you don’t know, when people in the web world refer to a site as “sticky,” this indicated that the site has pages that hold web users’ interest. When a website is “sticky,” web users are not quick to leave and they stick around to view other pages, getting to know the website and the organization behind it.