by Darcy | May 29, 2014 | SEO Education |
Flickr Image by Regan Walsh In the beginning, the field of SEO was comprised of companies attempting to “rig” the way search engines display their listing in search results. Today, the SEO has evolved into a holistic strategy geared towards generating a positive user experience and robot trust. The former represents what is today called “Black Hat SEO,” and the latter “White Hat SEO.” The tactics that companies use to employ these alternative strategies differ drastically. Despite large efforts to render black hat techniques obsolete (largely in part by Google), their proponents linger to today. The differences are many, but here’s a quick chart to illustrate the main difference between the two. Differences At a Glance Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO Working Definition The tactics used to obtain higher search rankings are in conflict with general webmaster guidelines. Tactics transparently conform to current web guidelines and laws without being deceptive. Industry Status Penalized by search engines. Approved by search engines. Consequence Website is often de-indexed by search engines, or experiences diminished rankings. Website is enabled to receive full benefit from organic search traffic now and into the future. Common Techniques Keyword stuffing, cloaking, link farming, hidden text, spam, paid links, etc. Quality content, high user experience, relevant keywords, authentic online reputation, reviews, etc. Should You Use Black Hat Tactics? The short answer is no. Search engines are very upfront about what they are willing to accept and what they will penalize. The good news is that there is still enormous room to gain long-term search exposure using an entirely white-hat toolbox. The long answer is, maybe. The lines...
by Darcy | May 15, 2014 | SEO Tactics |
There is no cookie-cutter mold for SEO. Search engine marketing strategies are as diverse as the businesses that employ them. This is why small and medium-size businesses around the world are focusing on local search as their primary SEO focus. After all, local businesses are generally only interested in one thing – local business. Knowing this, businesses often ask: “What strategies should we focus on to unlock highly relevant local traffic to our website?” To get you started, here’s three simple areas to cover. #1 – Boost Your Search with Google Local It’s no secret – Google’s attempt to dominate the social media world with Google+ has been a rocky endeavor at best. Now that we know Google+ isn’t going to take over Facebook any time soon, what is it all for? Fortunately for Google, they are good at adapting. It seems their tactic is to merge their various Google+ products into mapping out a hierarchy of small, medium, and large-size businesses around the world. And they’re starting with Google Local. Google Local connects your business to Google Maps. This is a good thing for local businesses, as Google is increasingly serving Google Maps in SERPs. In 2010, Google reported the proportion of SERPs that show a map is 1 in 13. By claiming ownership of your company’s Google Local page, you will increase your chances of showing up in the “Map” and “Places” component of local search results. #2 – Keep Your Contact Info Consistent Google’s whole model is predicated on accurate and organized data. When users search for local services, Google needs to trust that the websites...
by Darcy | Apr 26, 2014 | SEO Strategy |
Flickr Image by Jakob Montrasio What is the objective of SEO? It’s an interesting question because I believe I would disagree with the majority of seo marketers out there. They would say, “The objective of seo is to increase organic search rankings, of course.” For me, they would have missed the point completely. After all, what good are rankings if no one is searching for the keywords? What good is website traffic if the users are not looking to buy what you’re selling? What good is a website if it can’t convert your traffic into sales/leads? Answer: not much. I believe the objective of SEO is to generate real sales and leads from monetized web assets. With this objective firmly in place, we can gauge the success of an SEO campaign much better. If traffic is way up and sales are steady, we’ve failed. This brings me to my central point: less traffic can be better, assuming it’s the right traffic. Given the choice, I’d send 100 users to a webpage rather than 200 if I knew the conversion rate for the 100 is more than twice as...
by Darcy | Mar 24, 2014 | SEO Education |
Flickr Image by FutUndBeidl By now, the question has crossed the mind of virtually every businesses owner on the planet: “Do I conduct my SEO efforts in-house or through an agency?” Although there are benefits to both, the truth is you’ll never know until you fully assess both alternatives. To help you on this venture, SEO Services Vancouver provides you with in-depth analysis of your current place within the world of organic search. See our process...
