There are many free tools available for you, both online and for you to download, that will help you with managing your website and with your website’s SEO.

1. Keyword Suggestion Tool
   When writing your website copy, keep in mind that you should be including your keywords in your content several times. You should do your keyword research before your ever begin adding content or even building your website.
   Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion
2. Analytics
   Monitor such things as number of visitors, keywords used to find your site, geographical information, and so much more.
   Google Analytics
3. Webmaster Tools
   Sitemaps, robots.txt file, internal and external links and more.
   Google Webmaster Tools
4. Broken Link Checker
   It’s important to make sure that your website does not have any broken links. These are bad for both search engine crawlers and website visitors.
   W3 Link Validation
5. Search Engine Saturation
   Your website cannot be at the top if it’s not even indexed yet! Check to see which of your pages are indexed in the search engine.
   (Ex: Type “site:yourdomain.com” into the Google, Yahoo or Bing search bar)
6. Backlinks
   Check to see what site’s, if any, are linking back to your website. The more the better!
   (Ex: Type “links:yourdomain.com” into the Google, Yahoo, or Bing search bar)

There are so many more pieces of the SEO puzzle but with these tools you’ll be well on your way to success! Contact us today to learn about SEO Monitoring and SEO Optimization.

A recent study by Internet Retailer shows that 2/3 of Ecommerce retail shops have plans to redesign their shop’s sites at some point this year. The number one reason for doing so would seem to be to increase their optimization.

Search engine optimization it the key to success in the Ecommerce world. With so much competition out there, if you’re not on page one and maybe two you are not likely to see much traffic from the search engines.

Most of these Ecommerce business owners said that completing a website redesign would generate a higher sales conversion and attract new customers. While a redesign will usually attract more customers to staying on your site once they have reached it, search engine optimization is not guaranteed to increase sales because the goal of SEO is to increase traffic. I’ve seen sites with website traffic at 300+ visitors per day and zero sales.

When considering a website redesign, make sure that you’re also getting someone to look at conversion optimization as well as search engine optimization. Your redesign should make your site attractive, but it should also streamline the sales process, funneling visitors through their shopping cart to checkout.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization focuses upon organic (free) search engine results. These are the ten results you see on each results page. I don’t know how many times I’m asked, “How much does Google charge to be in the first spot of their search results,” and each time I’m as dumbfounded as the first time I heard this. Search engine optimization is the process of in-site, on-page, and off-site techniques being properly placed and developed. The only person you might have to pay for this is your search engine optimization specialist.

Pay Per Click

Pay per click is exactly what the name says, each time someone clicks on your ad you have to pay Google, Yahoo or whomever your buying ad space from. With pay per click you create campaigns and within each campaign you create ads. Each ad will be different and will be selected to displayed when people search for certain keywords. You bid on the different keywords by selecting how much you will pay-per-click. Pay per click, when done correctly can increase your ROI by 40% or more and when done incorrectly you can see very significant losses.

I’m not trying to discourage your from choosing to do a pay per click campaign, you should just be aware that you should do thorough research before selecting a pay per click manager. A good conversion optimization and ppc company that we recommend is Bach Marketing Group, www.bachmarketinggroup.com.

This study also validates the idea that people are not just using a single keyword to search for something, but may use upwards of 6 keywords.

This study also validates the already widely known fact that the search engine giant, Google, is the public’s primary used search engine, and when comparing the big three (Google, Yahoo!, Bing) Google brought in 59% of the traffic while Bing carried 23.8% and Yahoo! with only 19.3%.

So, page one really is the key!

Every website owner out there has heard of SEO. Maybe you didn’t know the technical term, maybe it was just “that Google thing” but you knew it was good to be at the top of the search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to every business that is online, whether you sell online or you just get leads online. If the search engines in all of their automated computer power can’t find you, your potential customers are really going to struggle.

So, every business with an online presence needs SEO… ok, so what exactly falls within SEO?

I’m so glad you asked! There are a couple huge pieces of SEO that are the necessary first steps of every long-term SEOist to business owner relationship.

First, every SEO provider worth your money should ALWAYS do the following;

Keyword Research; this means that your SEO provider talks to you about your business. I know, go figure. They need to learn all they can about the services and products that your offer. They should then take this and dial down a list of 10-25 keywords that best represents what YOUR business offers your customers as well as being keywords that a customer might actually do a search for.

Website Modifications; this is usually pertaining to the way your site was developed. Websites are NOT always created equally… there is a good way and a bad way build websites just like with everything else. Unfortunately, it’s only very recently that most designers and developers have taken notice to these guidelines and have actually started used them. Most websites created even just a few years ago are poorly developed and should be updated.

This can mean just making minor modifications to your code or it could mean that your site needs to be completely re-developed. Maybe it’s time for a new design anyway? It’s unfortunate but it’s reality.

A good SEO provider should also either out source a copywriter or do it himself, but in most all cases that website copy will need to be modified as well.

Lastly, something every business owner should make sure they’re getting is…

SEO Keyword and Placement Reports; you need to track your SEO provider to make sure he or she is doing their job, just like with any employee. This should include where you’re ranking with at least the top three search engines (Google, Yahoo, & Bing) for the keywords that were chosen in the Keyword Research phase. You should see an upward trend over the course of a couple months.

Search engine optimization is not an overnight process; it does take a lot of time and effort, but at the very latest you should start to see results within 30 days.

When we have asked independent business owners how they get their clients they always say “Word of Mouth”.  Most of these people we ask do not have a website, but some just don’t have a website design that is working for them — search engine optimized website, placing them in front of their prospective clients.

When asked how they would get customers if the “Word of Mouth” method suddenly quit providing leads, they all came up blank…

Web Biz

It’s more important today than ever to be seen on the front page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

After a large hail storm earlier this year I was on the move to get a new roof. My first stop was the internet. I got on Google and did a search for “Roofers Oklahoma City” and came up with a short list of actual contractors. I even went as far as contacting two of these company’s and got bids from them.

The day I was going to call and schedule one of them to come out, a good friend of mine told me to call this one last guy. I did and to my astounding surprise he was almost $2000 cheaper than BOTH of the other guys. Well needless to say I did call him back and ended up giving him my business and my $5000.

When I went back online to find out why I overlooked this company in the first place I was floored. They were not only NOT in Google’s results… they didn’t even have a website!

That wonderful roofer almost lost valuable business because he didn’t have a website.  Not only did he almost lose mine, but he almost lost all of the business he’s gotten with all of my raving referrals.

The Little Guys

Construction contractors, physicians, lawyers… they need search engine optimized websites more than anyone. These three types of businesses especially need to advertise online for a few reasons;

1. Contractors and some lawyers don’t often have brick and mortar shops  for people to notice or see as they’re driving by,
2. Physicians often house in large medical facilities with numerous other doctors (competition) and they still do not have a sign to catch people’s eye as they’re driving by,
3. When looking the Yellowpages, people are often overwhelmed my the numbers of contractors, lawyers, or physicians available to them — online they can more easily search for exactly what they’re looking for.

Search engine optimization is the future of advertisement with so many people carrying iPhones or other comparable equivalents, laptops, WiFi, game consoles such as the Wii (with easy internet access and search-ability),  and all the future technology bring people closer to each other.

Be one of the first to join at the low discounted price of $100 per year.

Yes!  $100 Per Year!

All listed businesses must have an E-commerce online store selling product online.

SEO Benefits?

• Up to four categories to be listed under,
• One whole page dedicated to your business with;

1. A long description,
2. Contact information,
3. Four links to direct back to your site with any anchor text you wish,
4. GoogleMaps with directions (If your have a brick and mortar store)

Well, what is SEO? SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is defined as the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.

So what does that mean to you – the small business owner? That means that your business’ website will appear higher in the “free” search results, placing your website in front of your potential customers in the Google results. This means more traffic, and hopefully more purchases.

You have to remember that it is your job to sell your product or services; it is the SEO guru’s job to make your site appear in the high ranks. He or she cannot sell your products for you; he or she can only give you the tools and access you need to sell them for yourself.

Prepare Yourself… The Interview

You don’t want to hire the wrong guru. You need to be prepared to ask him or her several questions in order to find out who knows their stuff and who should hit the road.

Q: What is your process?
A: Re-construction (whether this is a whole new design structure or just simply making medications to the existing site) of the Website to allow for search engines to more easily crawl through and index all of their pages.
Now that the pages are indexed… Monitoring of the individual pages based on a set of keywords that the clients is wanting to be seen for is the next step.
Make modifications to pages and content as it shows to be necessary.
More monitoring…
More Tweaking…

SEO is a constant battle. Just because you reach page 1 or slot 1 doesn’t mean you can sit back and enjoy the benefits. You must expect that your competition is not sitting around just letting you take the lead. They’re out there trying to improve their SEO and over-throw you as soon as possible.

Q: What parts of a Web page need to be modified in order to be indexed by search engines?
A: This can change depending on your Web site, but the key elements for SEO of any Website are;

• Header Tags
• Good HTML Structure
• Keyword Placement
• Internal Linking
• Content (all that text you want people to read)

Q: What tools do you regularly use to monitor and track?
A: These should be Keyword Analysis tools, Keyword Ranking tools, Index checking, back-link checking, and many others.

Q: Do you have experience writing copy (website content)?
A: They should have at least some experience writing copy, or they may contract out to a copywriter. This should be written well with good grammar and spelling, as well as adhere to certain guidelines that are necessary for good SEO — they should know these guidelines.

Q: What aspect of a Web site do they think is the most critical for organically ranking a Web site?
A: Content! This is the biggest aspect of SEO, followed by internal linking. The content should be thorough and have your keywords strategically placed within it.

There are many other things you need to discuss with your SEO specialist, and doing your own research prior to making any calls is important.

Contact Merchant Metrix today for a free search engine optimization Consultation to review your current website and see what can be done to improve it in the results. Contact us at 405-329-8500 or on our website at www.merchantmetrix.com.

Our offices are located in Norman, OK, which one would think would be the results we would receive. As you’ll see below, that’s not the case.

ISP #1: AT&T

In our searches using AT&T, we discovered the results were for Oklahoma City, OK.

ISP #2: Cox Communications

In our searches using Cox Communications Internet Services, we discovered the results were for Norman, OK.

In an effort to assist the searcher Google does provide the ability to “Change Location” and acquire results based upon one’s postal code. Being able to change one’s postal code really helps one find the “most” local provider.

Sure, everyone knows you’re the best if you’re #1 on Google. Well, the majority of people can’t claim that fame. Ever wonder where people go after reading the top line? The people at Cornell University did.

An Eye Tracking study was done in order to gain better insight into how web users read and filter the information in front of them when doing a search on Google or any other search engine. They used a CCD (Charged Couple Device) for observing several key indicators of ocular behavior. The indicators used included eye fixations, saccades, scan paths, and pupil fixation.

Results of Eye Tracking Study

The study used a sample of Undergraduate students who were instructed to perform a series of Google search queries, 397 to be exact, on topics of movies, travel, music, politics, local, and trivia. The study produced the following results;

The first 5 results of a search query get about 88% of the traffic, and of that, the first 3 receive about 79% of traffic. Out of 10 results per page, results 8-10 are below what is known as the “Page Fold” (the area you have to scroll to see). #7 is clicked after scanning 1-6, and 8-10 are clicked after scanning 1-5.

So we can see that being on page one of the search results is one of the keys to success. Being placed in the top 5 is really good, and being placed in the top 3 is great!

What Can You Do?

Obviously not everyone will be #1, only one will be #1, and while that’s a good goal to strive for it takes time. SEO doesn’t happen overnight and you have to work for it and constantly work to keep it.. Here at Merchant Metrix we have the knowledge and capability to provide you with the Website SEO knowledge you will need to shoot for Google Gold! Or if you don’t want the knowledge, you just want someone to do it for you, well we can do that too. We’re here to help you’re business succeed any way we can.