Web Design & SEO Strategies

As someone in the website design and search engine strategy marketplace, I am always curious when I get certain emails that come my way. Today I received one that made me laugh.

The title:
Free Website Analysis worth $399

Ok, so contrary to my own advice, I opened it. (There were no attachments!) The text of the email spoke of how ranking high in the search engines can be beneficial and how they could provide a free anaylsis of my website to make sure got good search engine rankings. At the bottom was the name of their website, so I went to check them out…

Here is what I got when I visited the website:

Under Construction

The site you are trying to view does not currently have a default page. It may be in the process of being upgraded and configured.

Please try this site again later. If you still experience the problem, try contacting the Web site administrator.

What? And you are going to help me get ranked on Google? How about finishing your pages!

Quite frankly, this is not surprising. There are a number of “SEO experts” out there that will offer you the sun and the stars, but with no validation at all. I mean if you can’t even get a simple website up and running, how are you going to offer me Search Engine Optimization?

I just found this amusing. What do you think? Should they at least have a website up first?

Google Top Ten in Under 10

As many of you know, I also operate a mortgage website ( www.EdNailor.com) which is a left over from my “prior life.” I still maintain my mortgage license and work with a select group of agents in helping them get their loans closed. However, that is more of a part time thing.

Even though it is a part time, I still maintain my website. Since I have done the right work using the right techniques, it is very easy to maintain the top rankings! But today I wanted to test the power of my own system.

In my prospecting, I ran across a search in Google for “Alaska Home Loans.” I decided to use this search term for a case study. The goal was to take my personal mortgage website which has been focused on the Charlotte, NC mortgage market and see if I could get it ranked on the first couple pages of the “Alaska Home Loans” search.

At 12.57pm, I posted a quick article about Alaska Home Loans (click on the link to see the article). I did not employ every single technique I teach, so this was a quick “rough draft”, if you will. However, just using the simple article on a super-charged website, at 1.08pm I found that my “Charlotte NC Mortgage Website” was now ranked on page 1 of Google for the same “Alaska Home Loans” search in the 8th position in under 10 minutes!

click the image for screenshot

Now, if you happen to view this article months down the road, I guarantee you I will no longer be ranked. I will not continue to focus on this keyphrase with my Charlotte mortgage website. But I do guarantee you that if I chose to, I could dominate that market!

This is the power of the Found By Design system. It’s more than just a website. While others are hocking “websites” we are helping you create a true online presence.. one that you have control over!

Can your current site do this? Email Us now or Call 877-376-7736 to harness this power for yourself!

Years ago before I knew what HTML even was, I knew I needed a website to have a viable presence. I called several website companies to see what it would take to get a great website up and running. The ones with quality sites wanted anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 or more before they would even talk to me. The ones that were affordable looked so simple I knew I could do better… and I did.

Many years later, having learned more than the basics and gaining a lot of knowledge and understanding, I now create websites that do more than just sit there. Employing the right strategy can make your website dominate the search engine results and truly create an online presence that gets you business, no matter what that business is!

I took my own mortgage website from nothing to owning the search results in under 90 days! The same can be done for my clients! And what’s more, it’s affordable!

If you are interested in having your website domainate the search engine results, submit your website now for a free website evaluation. We will review your current site and let you know how we can help. This is not an automated review… we actually sit down and look at the core items that make or break your online presence!

Recently I spoke to a webmaster that saw his good search engine rankings tanked and he wondered what happened. After all, for quite some time his website had enjoyed top rankings in the search engines, but all of the sudden his website was nowhere to be found. What could have happened?

First off, this webmaster had a niche website. The information presented was very unique and did not have much competition. This alone allowed his website to rise in the search engine rankings. Since he did not change his website much at all and there was no real competition for this business, he continued to stay there.

However, as business began to get more competitive, the webmaster began looking for new ways to set himself apart. He began working on a Viral Marketing peice that he intended to mass distribute from his website. In an effort to remain at the top of the search engines, he quickly added a variety of keywords and phrases at the bottom of his website to help his website be identified with his business. With the new increase in traffic, Google took notice and came back to visit… and then POOF! His website went away in the rankings. He got a Google Penalty!

This webmaster made the carnal sin of Keyword Stuffing. Keyword stuffing is the practice of placing a large amount of keyword text on a webpage for the sole purpose of getting ranked. Google does not like this practice and will “black ball” websites that try to use this technique (this is commonly referred to as the Google Penalty.)

Good SEO is built around the right keywords and phrases. However, the content of your pages should be more than just keywords. What happened to this webmaster was that a high percentage of his text was repetitive keywords. You should limit your keywords to fit within the context of your page’s text. If you are discussing “purple car widgets”, don’t just drop a ton of references about “purple car widgets” over and over.

A rule of thumb… you should be able to read your text fairly normally and it actually make sense!

Another thing to avoid in your quest for search engine rankings is “hidden keywords.” In other words, don’t add a bunch of keywords and make them the same color as the background. This is considered deceptive and will get you banned as well.

Have you been Google Banned?

Well, there is still hope. First off, correct the error. If this is a first offense and a rare occurence you may well be able to overcome it. However, if your ranking is of any importance to you, it would probably serve you best to contact a good SEO expert to help you out!

SEO is not difficult, if you know what you are doing. Trial and error will teach you, but can also cost you. You can study online for hours on end and you can learn it that way… but this takes a lot of time. A good website design and SEO strategy can help prevent these issues and allows you to focus on the more important aspects of your website!

Is Pay Per Click better than SEO?

Many people use Pay Per Click for their main internet based presence. With a PPC strategy you are almost guaranteed to be on the first page of the search results for any keyphrase you want. But that comes at a price.

For example, using Google Adwords Traffic Estimator, the following term for a mortgage related website would cost the following:

“refinance mortgage loans”  would average $19.82 - $29.73 everytime someone clicked on the ad. Google estimates that you would get roughly 12 - 20 costing you $240 - $590 per day! On a 30 day cycle that can easily top $10,000!

In my humble opinion that is CRAZY!

Sure, a PPC campaign can provide opportunities, but so can a carefully crafted and executed SEO strategy for “Organic” results. In other words, with the right strategy and technique, you can make Google fall in love with your website and be ranked at the top of the search results for your industry! All of that at a small fraction (sliver even) of $10,000!

So which is better? How much money do you have? My money is on the SEO strategy. We can offer suggestions and advice on a specific PPC campaign to help you maximize your returns, but nothing beats the power and strength of a solid Website Strategy designed with solid SEO techniques! Those that rely solely on PPC campaigns simply are not ranked high enough organically.

(If you know one of these people, offer to refer them to a solid solution like Found By Design.. they may give you a fee for helping them save so much money!)

Here at Found By Design, we talk a lot about a “ Web Presence.” With all that talk, you might ask yourself, what is a Web Presence? Let’s take a look at that.

A website alone does not give you a Web Presence. As a matter of fact, a website is only part of a Web Presence. The total internet strategy employed that makes your website and your service or business top the results is what takes you to a Web Presence.

Google is a strong example of a Web Presence. Google is everywhere. Not only is the Google home page one of the most widely used and visited, but no matter where you go it seems you will find Google. You see “Google Ads” and “Search powered by Google” almost everywhere. When it comes to internet search engines, Google is the best known website. That is called a Web Presence.

Sure, your website isn’t Google. As a matter of fact, your website and service is probably more specialized and regional than that. But even if you are a real estate agent, a tax advisor or a baby sitting service, you can have a Web Presence that makes your service the tops when searched online.

Take EdNailor.com for example. This website is a mortgage loan officer’s website. The area served is North and South Carolina, with a primary market of Charlotte, NC. If you were to do a search for “Charlotte Home Loans” or “Charlotte FHA Mortgage” in Google, you will see EdNailor.com ranked in the top of Google. (You will also see another website with Ed Nailor listed within the top 10.) As a matter of fact, there are approximately 14 phrases that are commonly searched by when someone in Charlotte NC is considering a mortgage. For these phrases, you will see EdNailor.com listed in the top of Google consistently.

That too is a Web Presence. Of course, if you did a simple search for say “mortgage” you will find different results. But that is ok. The EdNailor.com website was not geared to reach potential mortgage applicants in Billings, Montana. What about you? If you are a Realtor, what searches are you found under? “Realtors” in Google would most likely never find you. But how about your home town? Where do you rank? Would you like to have a Web Presence?

Contact Found By Design Now, or submit for a Free Website Evaluation.

In SEO, Proper Linking Makes a World of Difference

All across the internet you will read articles on the importance of getting links coming to your website from other websites. This is known as “backlinking.” However, for SEO purposes, you need to know the proper way to format these links.

The idea is that the text of your hyperlink (known as Anchor Text) should in short “tell” the search engines what the website it points to is all about. Look at the example below:

Wrong Way:

When buying a home in the Charlotte area, there are many options to choose from. One should give serious consideration to the FHA mortgage loans in Charlotte. For more information visit www.EdNailor.com

Proper Way:

When buying a home in the Charlotte area, there are many options to choose from. One should give serious consideration to the FHA mortgage loans in Charlotte. For more information visit Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans

Did you notice the difference?

The first example pointed the reader (and search engine spider) to visit www.EdNailor.com. As far as the search engines know, the website you would land on there is about EdNailor, whatever that is. However, in the second example, the anchor text of the link says Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans, yet the link points to www.EdNailor.com. This actually tells the search engines that the web page it will land on is about FHA Motrtgages in Charlotte. This boost the effectiveness for this keyword phrase and helps boost the results to the top. (example: See Google Rank for this keyphrase Charlotte FHA Mortgage Loans)

So as you can see, the proper use of linking and anchor text can make a big difference in SEO results!

Blogging is a Powerful Tool

When I first heard about blogging, I really thought it was only for social web applications. I associated it to websites like Facebook and MySpace. Being in my mid 30’s I did not have a lot of desire to enter the MySpace world, so I ignored blogging.

Soon I began to notice that most of the top results in the search engines were related to blogs. After futher investigation, I noticed that blogs were for more than teens chatting to each other. Businesses could use “business blogging” to really connect with their clients. From that moment, I began a journey that has led me to establish Found By Design.

Blogging has tremendous power. You can connect to potential clients like never before, and since your website’s content is being updated constantly, the search engines keep coming back for more!

Of course, there are strategies that should be employed. You can begin blogging and some how luck up to get ranked, or you can follow steps to ensure your success. As much as you will personally invest with time, energy and passion in to your blogging, you might want to ensure its worthwhile with a well though out blog!

Thats where Found By Design comes in. We can help develop a stratgey to get you found online. Contact us today.

How often should I blog?

This is a common question. For each person I offer this same advice… As often as you can!

Not everyone is made for blogging. Some people seem to run into road blocks mentally and feel they have nothing to say.. Some just spout things out like they are some fountain of information. You are most likely in between.

The more you update your website with unique content, the more important your website becomes. The main websites out there in any industry are constantly changing. Those that change every few minutes will have the search engines scouring them all the time in order to provide searchers the most relevant information.

If you begin blogging, set up a schedule. Maybe the first 10 minutes of your day is dedicated to popping out a quick thought about your business or industry. Maybe you take one day and slam out 5-7 articles and post date them to hit one every day. Whatever your strategy, stick with it. Let Google and Yahoo get used to coming back to your site everyday for something new.

And if you get stuck and need inspriation, do a search for information related to your industry and see what others are writing about. Chances are someone either has it wrong or can inspire you to express your own take on a subject.

The bottom line is that frequent changes to your website prevent your website from becoming stale. With the right focus on blogging and SEO strategy, your website can stay at the top of Google and Yahoo all the time!

Can you be found online? What’s your Strategy?

There are few accidents in life. Rarely do things “just happen.” Normally it is the execution of a plan that leads to the results we get. Or as many website owners are realizing, its the execution of NO plan that leads to NO results!

So what is your strategy to get found online?

If you have a high dollar budget like major banks or entertainment companies, you can probably afford major marketing campaigns with resources like Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture. But if you are not careful, you can quickly spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars to get yourself “Paid to the Top” with limited results.

If you are on a more limited budget, you may market your website on your business cards and mailouts. While people may visit your website because of these efforts, you aren’t really gaining new business… after all, you’ve already touched them for them to find your website.

Found By Design takes a strategic approach to create an online web presence that catapults you into the top of the search results. We don’t promise overnight results as those are difficult at best to accomplish, regardless of the budget. However, what we do offer is a very powerful strategy that will get you online and at the top of the search engines… and KEEP YOU THERE!

So stop hoping someone might happen across your website… let us help you get Found By Design!