Having greatly benefited from my relationship with Google within the past several years, I thought I would take the opportunity to dedicate this article to the search engine superstar.
I have to be brutally honest and relay that our friendship hasnt always been rosy. I got to know her several years back, when she was just a small fish in a big pond. I started to analyze her every move and realized that she is a fickle, clever and extremely mysterious being. Regardless of her ways, I decided to get more acquainted. Here are a few things I learned along the way:
When it comes to logic, she is the queen
In other words, avoid participating in anything that may blacklist you from this search engine, including keyword stuffing, link farms, and hosting 50 sister sites on the same server. Keyword stuffing doesnt simply refer to the content of your site, but also within the alt tags, headers, URLs and any additional areas of your web site.
She likes to stay focused
When optimizing the individual pages of your web site, try to hone in on 1-2 relevant keywords per web page. Analyze each page and identify which keyword would be most suitable. If you decide to optimize for 2 keywords per page, make sure that they are similar in context. For example, if you are optimizing for the key phrase insurance leads, you may also consider optimizing for insurance sales leads within the same page.
She loves to travel
It is commonly known that google loves links, whether they are inbound or outbound. Lots of research has focused on inbound links, but little has focused on the number of links on an actual page. Although this theory has not been published in the academic papers by google, it appears that google favors sites that have several internal and outbound links over pages without links. If you have any doubts about this theory, simply do a search on any high volume keyword or phrase within this search engine and analyze the first few sites that come up. Notice how the majority of them have numerous internal links on the main pages of their web site.
Shes in popular demand and expects the same from you
The more popular your site is across the Web, the more google will favor you. Obviously, having several high quality inbound links to your site is key in achieving higher rankings. When identifying web sites for inbound links, target the ones that are highly relevant to your site. For example, if you run a jewelry site, look for websites that are purely informational on the topic of jewelry or gemstones. Also, make sure that the sites you decide to partner with have a good PageRank (at least a 5) and online presence.
To save yourself a lot of hassle, conduct a keyword search relevant to your business and target the web sites that show up on the 1st and 2nd pages (weeding out the competition) of google. Contact the webmasters of those sites and tell them about your company and find useful ways to compensate them for adding your company’s information on their site. If you have an affiliate program, dont be shy to pitch it. If you have an online advertising budget, offer them a Pay Per Click deal or monthly advertising fee for promoting your web site. Please note that partnering with these sites or purchasing ads should complement your overall marketing & business development strategy and not be merely used for the purpose of getting link value.
She gets bored easily
Regardless of whether your site is informational, e-commerce or just a sophisticated version of a business card, having quality content is crucial. Adding to that factor is how often you update your sites content.
If you run a site that has new content added on a daily basis then eventually the google freshbot will start visiting your site on a daily basis and indexing your new content into the database (hence the popularity of blogs). The more content you update the more she visits your site and indexes it quicker.
If you havent already noticed, keeping pace with google is not an easy undertaking. It takes a certain level of knowledge, skill and creativity to truly benefit from this relationship. The rest is up to the stars.
About the author:
Dali Singh is the managing director for Blueliner Marketing (www.bluelinermarketing.com), a full service marketing and Internet consultancy specializing in internet marketing and web site promotion strategies, public relations, and corporate branding.
What You Need to Know About CRMFrank DazertonCustomer Relationship Management (abbreviated CRM) is a very hot topic among businesses. CRM is such a hot topic because it is a way for businesses to connect with their customers, increase profits, and have better customer service. There are several things that you need to know about CRM.
1. Its all about the customer. Some companies focus too much on expensive CRM programs and elaborate IT departments and not enough on what is at the core of CRM. CRM programs need to be designed to appeal to the business customers. The best Call Centers are the ones which customers find easy to navigate. The best CRM vendors have the customer satisfaction in mind when designing their CRM applications.
2. On-demand is the way to go. Many vendors offer traditional CRM programs and service. I believe, however, that On-demand CRM is the way to go. On-demand CRM is different from traditional methods in that instead of requiring companies to hire new IT people, and use extensive resources to implement elaborate CRM programs, the software comes with support. On-demand CRM is no longer the bring your own IT department approach. Many vendors like Salesforce.com, Siebel, and NetSuite offer On-demand solutions that are great for businesses just getting into the CRM market.
3. Customer Relationship Management is not just software. Some businesses would like it to be simply software, but it will never be as simple as that. Customer Relationship Management is an ongoing learning process. The business must learn from the customer and change accordingly. The closer a business gets to its customer, the better. CRM applications and strategies are the methods through which the business can access, analyze, and learn from customer Data. Knowing what CRM applications are actually for is a very important step in understanding how to be successful when implementing CRM practices.
4. It is important to understand that there are hundreds of CRM vendors out there. Many of the vendors claim to be number one, but if you look closely, they may be number one in only one category. Other companies say that they are number one in CRM, but there is no basis for their statement. It is important for companies to choose the right vendor that will attend to all of their CRM needs. This may not always be the most expensive, number one company. On the contrary, some simple companies offer CRM solutions that are highly effective. Some of the major CRM providers are Siebel, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP.
5. The best CRM technology can be very helpful for any business. Some CRM applications can now be accessed via BlackBerry devices. Major vendors are constantly updating their software and improving their service. It is a good idea to stay as current as possible in terms of CRM technology. However, always remember to balance technology with customer service. There is no substitute for old-fashioned customer service, the most basic of all CRM ideals.
Customer Relationship Management can be very beneficial for a business if it is carried out properly. It is important to keep the customer in mind at all times when you are implementing CRM practices into your business. Remember that there are quite a few CRM vendors out there, and it is important to choose the vendor that is best for your company. Customer Relationship Management seems like a very daunting idea for
someone who has never used it before, but if you follow these steps, you will surely see the benefits of successful CRM.
About the author:
Frank Dazerton enjoys writing about a variety of Custromer Relationship Management topics. In addition to writing CRM articles, he writes for CRM Lowdown ( http://www.crmlowdown.com).