• Penguin 2.0- The New Version of Penguin- Google is really very much worried about black hat web spam. It’s new Penguin update which is named as Penguin2.0 is designed to deal with black hat even more seriously. It will be much more capable than the older version and will work more efficiently.
• Advertorials- Usually advertorials, also known as native advertising, disobey Google’s guidelines. Such advertorials follow PageRank unhesitatingly which is definitely not acceptable by the search engine at all. Google plans to deal with things like advertising and paid links masked as advertorials more seriously through its new firm policies. Google asserts that it doesn’t view advertorials as a problematic thing but they just want to make sure that they are not abused to cater to linking and PageRank needs. This giant search engine wants all the advertorials to make it obvious that they are paid advertisements.
• Problematic Searches- Google knows well that there are lots of problematic searches which need serious attention. So the search engine is preparing itself strongly to tackle such searches. But there’s a bad news for those who suffer from such a problem, the search engine hasn’t declared so far that how will it deal with the problem. All it says is that it will definitely do something. However, it will pay special attention to some specific areas like porn related searches which have always been more spammy.
• Upstream Linking- Like above stated problem, this part was also not well described by the search engine but it revealed that they will try to reduce the link buying as much as possible. It is thinking to employ a few new ideas to analyze the links perfectly to combat this link buying issues.
• Hacked Sites- The search engine wants it to me more robust in dealing with the hacking problems. They are looking for new ways which may make them able to identify such issues and inform webmasters about it. It wants itself to be competent enough to provide useful information to webmasters regarding whether they their site is infested with malware or hacking problems. It will also suggest the webmasters the ways to clean up these unwanted things.
• Authority- If you are an authority according to the Google’s algorithm, the search engine will try to ensure that these sites get better rank than other sites.
• Panda- This update of Panda will be more capable of tackling low quality sites and suggesting them the ways to enhance their quality. It will help those sites which were previously impacted by Panda.
• Cluster of Results from Same Website- If you have ever conducted a deep search on Google, you must have noticed that there are a few sites which appear on more than just a single page. They appear again and again on various pages. Google wants to make sure that once you have seen lots of results from just one site, they become less visible to you on the deeper pages. This initiative is taken by the search engine according to the user feedback.
• Information for Webmasters- The search engine wants to provide useful and valuable information to webmasters through webmaster tools. These pieces of information and advice will help the webmasters to diagnose the issues with their sites.

Google strongly believes that the proposed changes will help in improving the quality of the search results to a great extent. Moreover, the volume of spam will also be significantly reduced by them.

Observing the increasing volume of businesses and brands that want to build strong online reputation through social media sites, Pinterest has launched business accounts to cater to the needs. If you have been avoiding Pinterest for social marketing so far, you must give it a serious thought as the site is evolving very swiftly and is employing more resources to let the businesses reap maximum benefits from it. It’s very necessary to tell here that according to statistics around half of the online consumers of the United States go by the recommendations from this social networking site for their purchase. Let’s check out some easy ways to boost the presence on Pinterest.

• Build a Community- It’s an obvious thing to do, after all Pinterest is a social networking site. You can introduce new contests to encourage people to join the community. Sneak peek of your upcoming products may also make the people of your community feel special.

• Collaborate- You shouldn’t work within your community only, but also with the Pinterest community by following, sharing and repinning their images. Like, an electrical store can have a community of electrical contractors. Such communities can exchange images and be benefited by it. Engaging with other networks not just help in expanding your network but also to enhance your online visibility and thus creating new customer base.

• Create Specialized Boards- Don’t make it traditional by posting all images on a single board, i.e. the company’s board. Make specialized boards according to various themes, events and trends. The themes depend on the nature of the business. Like for a garment store, there may be separate boards for casuals, party wears, semi formals etc.

• Drive Traffic through Various Sites- In order to drive traffic towards your Pinterest page; you need to equip your website, blog, Twitter Account, Facebook page, ads etc. with Pin it buttons. It will make it convenient for your followers and fans to repin your images.

• Use Attractive and Eye Catching Images- Make sure that you use magnificent images. The images shouldn’t be pixilated and its size should be appropriate. Moreover, you should use images obtained from original sources, not from search engines.

• Write Passionately- Usually, people take description for the images for granted but the descriptions hold utmost importance. It should be describing the image in a very attractive manner. You should write it as it’s a question of your survival. Good images with poor descriptions usually remain unpinned.

• Post Good Videos- Some people think that posting videos on Pinterest is not a good idea but actually it rocks. But if you want to maintain and share a video library, you need to very selective. Your cover image and thumbnails should also be very fascinating. The titles and descriptions should be very catchy. And as obvious, avoid lengthy videos.

• Measure Your Performance- just making a Pinterest page and updating it is not sufficient. You need to track its performance on a regular basis. But it’s not very easy to do; you need to hire a Pinterest analytics company for it. Google Analytics may also be of great help here.

SEO?!?!?!! Seems like every website owner at one points hears about the need for it but, if you are a business owner and not in the Internet Marketing space, how would you lnow how much to pay for an SEO companies services?

There are many SEO payment models. Some are from Individuals and others from organizations. We will help you decide on the best model for your business and how to pay.

Lets get started…

Monthly Retainers- In monthly retainer model, the client has to pay a fixed amount every month for stipulated range of services. It’s the most common form of payment model due to its high ROI. The amount to be paid in this model depends on the size of the business and the array of SEO services selected. It may cost from $75 to $5000.

Contract Services at Fixed Price- This service is taken by companies to test the results of SEO efforts of the SEO agency. Usually all those who opt for monthly retainers go for this model first and try to figure out where does the agency stands in terms of efficiency. Usually, SEO service providers post all the services offered by them on their own sites along with price codes. These services generally include SEO copy writing (ranging from $0.15 to $0.50 per word), social media site setup (ranging from $500 to $3,000), link profile audit (ranging from $500 to $7,500) and site content audit (ranging from $500 to $7,500).

Project Based Pricing- This model is very much similar to the contract services model. As obvious by the name, in this payment model, custom projects are created specifically for each client individually. In this model, the prices of the services depend significantly on the projects. Due to variations in the projects, a huge difference in the SEO costs may be seen. It may range from $1,000 to $30,000.

Hourly Consulting- As suggested by the name, in this model one has to pay the agency as per the number of hours worked. It features hourly fee for SEO services and information. The best thing is that you don’t have to contact an SEO company for it; this service is paid by individual SEO professionals as well. Its price ranges from $100 to $300.

Instagram continues to explode in popularity with now over 100 million active users. Instagram users deliver over 40 million photos per day, 8500 likes per second, and 1000 comments per second as well. The user engagement is extremely easy, usability of the app is simplistic, and users get lost in the seemingly endless news feed of photos. There is no Facebook clutter, no private message spam, and no advertising either (at least not yet…).

Third party developers have also joined the exciting trend of the app by engineering ground breaking analytics tools providing insightful data for social users and businesses alike seeking to monetize their growing Instagram networks.  Its relatively progressive API allows for easy integration and data mining from the app. Companies like Statigr.am have developed tools for growth monitoring, community insights, account history, and optimization tips.

Major brands such as Mercedes Benz and Coca-Cola have used Instagram to effectively drive mobile marketing campaigns to their user’s handsets. It’s a simple tool that when used correctly can be VERY powerful.

Just like other social networks that came before it, using Instagram as a part of your online marketing initiatives can help you showcase new products, before and after shots, photo contests based on hashtags and more. You can build a sense of a community in seconds and gain online exposure via sharing without much effort.

At WebitMD, we have put together our Top 5 Instagram secrets for marketing your business. Let’s get to them…

1. Building and Managing Contests

Building a contest is a sure way to build a solid follower foundation as a newbie to Instagram for business use. The key is to keep these followers engaged though in order to have a successful account.  The like of Justin Bieber does this well by offering giveaway to Bieber product and show tickets on his Instagram page. It keeps his following engaged and waiting to hear more. You may not be Justin Bieber but you can surely follow a contest model to build your own activity.

Use custom hashtags that is just for your company to allow people to also include that tag in their own postings. For example, if you are a fitness studio in Los Angeles giving away a FREE 1 Month membership use a hashtag like #1monthfreefitness when posting photos about the contest on your Instagram page. eConsultancy published a great post a few months back about some successful Instagram photo contests if you would like further examples/ideas.

2. Consistent Engagement via “Photo a Day or Week Calendar”

Not sure what we are talking about? Check out these photos…

Create a challenge for the day or week where users should post a photo related to a specific topic only. Keep that topic in a hastag and keep the comments rolling. The user engagement will be extremely high!

 3. Hashtags!!!

Seems like a given right? Yes they are but don’t just flood each one of your photos with 10+ hashtags. Instead use hashtags in reverse methodologies to search for a particular topic that you are trying to promote yourself.

For example, if you are a yoga apparel company seeking to promote your new pants use hashtags like #yoga, #yogi, #yogalife, etc..

Top-hashtags.com will show you the most popular trending topics on Instagram that can help you get a good idea of what’s trending.

 4.  Cross Promotion

We have seen countless Instagram business accounts where they are not linked to your other social profiles. Link them!! Place your company LinkedIn profile or CEO’s Facebook account (if his/her pictures are kosher…) and drive users from one platform to the other. Do not place your personal email address on your Instagram profile but rather have people contact you via social networks.

 5. Be Personal BUT be Careful

Instagram is a platform of photos only. As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, so be careful what you post and how personal you get. It’s great to relate to your followers on a personal level and it’s also great to humanize the individuals behind your brand but just be careful and post only what you don’t mind the world viewing. Be genuine and be sure to craft a strategy for your Instagram followers that is suitable for your audience and will build your relationship for the future.

This blog was written by Mattan Danino, Director of Business Development at WebitMD Inc.

WebitMD Inc. is an integrated Internet Marketing & Web/Mobile Development agency based in Los Angeles and Orange County. Their creative team for web and mobile development utilize the latest in technologies while our Internet Marketing teams are internationally recognized in SEO, PPC, and Conversion Optimization services delivered to our robust clientele. We take a systematic approach to marketing and drive all our strategies by proven internal methodologies. Our client’s feedback over the years in business has always been that we provide an enterprise level marketing solution with a boutique agency feel. We like to keep it that way!

Sometimes people wonder that even after running an enthusiastic SEO campaign, why aren’t they getting desired results. If they examine it carefully, you will come to know that they are committing some mistakes which are reducing the efficiency of their campaign. Let’s have a look at those common mistakes.

Making Your Site Inaccessible By Crawlers - The biggest mistake made while conducting an SEO operation will be to make your site which cannot be accessed by Google crawlers. Some people don’t even have proper domains. Google takes help of web crawlers to index web pages. Your top notch quality content is of no use if the crawlers are not able to find, index and rank your pages. In order to avoid this situation, you must surf your site regularly to make sure that your regular links are taking you to the relevant pages. It’s very imperative for your site to be accessible to the Crawlers.

Use Of Negative Keywords- Your pages must have those keywords which are searched by the internet users. In the absence of such words, the site won’t be visible to the users. For example, if your page is about garage door repairs, you can’t just put “garage door repairs” as keywords, you must think about other keywords like “fixing garage doors” or “garage door problems”.

Doing Excessive Link Building- Though reasonable link building is really helpful but focusing too much on it can be a harmful. Those who concentrate extremely on link building only lose their focus from the content and marketing of the site. Along with the link building, you must also concentrate on those things which make users to visit your site.

Using Poor Titles or Descriptions- You must make sure that all the titles and descriptions should be appropriate according to the content of the pages. A wrong or mismatching title can make people go through irrelevant content unnecessarily which can be very harmful to your online reputation. Moreover, the description should be attractive so that the users feel like opening the links. Besides, it should  provide a right idea that what is the page all about.

Not Using Webmaster Resources- A lot of resources are there which can enhance the visibility of your sites. Google doesn’t just provide Webmaster tools but some other valuable resources like articles, blogs, forums, videos etc. These resources must be utilized to enhance the results of SEO operations.

Remove the above stated mistakes from your SEO operations and witness a drastic enhancement of the results thereof. These mistakes can be easily identified and rectified.

Creating right tiltle & Description, Making Your Site Inaccessible By Crawlers,use of right Keywords , and making use of the free web sources are just five basic ways you can improve your SEO and user experience, according to Cutts.

Here’s the full video:

]]> http://www.webitmd.com/common-seo-mistakes-that-must-be-avoided/feed 0 http://www.webitmd.com/next-generation-website-architecture?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=next-generation-website-architecture http://www.webitmd.com/next-generation-website-architecture#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 16:22:25 +0000 admin http://www.webitmd.com/?p=1118 The biggest challenge for web developers is to design next generation site architecture that takes the visibility of sites to the maximum level. This concern has gained utmost importance after the extreme popularity of Smartphones and tablets. It’s not easy to create a site that caters to the needs of both the present and future world.

When you are planning your new digital presence, there are a plenty of things to be kept in mind. First of all, when we talk about digital realm architecture, we are not referring to a list of pages or just a site map. It’s also not a static information which doesn’t interact with the users. We are talking about real design of digital services over here. Let’s have a look at some of the things to be considered.

Social Authority- Building social authority supposes to be one of the foremost goals of any internet marketing campaign. Site architecture must be connected to some social networking sites in order to be benefited from social authority. Usually accounts verified by social media sites are a good source of information for people. This fact may be taken into account for social authority.

Fonts- For futuristic sites, the font should be selected very carefully. Web fonts can add to the beauty and attraction of your site. If you use the web fonts, you will not have to take the help of the images to make your text look better.

Images and Videos- You also need to follow the excellent practices when it comes to images and videos. The name of the file should be describing it. Also, the size should be kept in a small size so that it can work in all the devices. Same things hold true for videos.

Responsive Design- It means to use the same HTML and URL but different CSS. It can save resources for both the site and the crawlers. Though it takes much of time and money but if you receive a significant amount of traffic from mobile phones, it can reap many benefits.

Today we live in a multi device world where not just computers and laptops are to be covered, various devices like Smartphones and tablets are also there. In such a scenario, responsive design may be highly beneficial in designing next generation site architecture.

Social media is definitely a magnificent platform for businesses to establish their brands but when it comes to acquisition of new customers from small and medium businesses (SMB), it’s not that effective. Let’s see what makes searches a better option that social media marketing.

Search Takes SMBs to Those Customers Who Don’t Know Much About It- Not all the SMBs has enough resources to invest a great deal of money in brand establishment campaigns. Moreover, such campaigns take long time to pay back. The main purpose of SEO campaigns of any SMB is to acquire new customers. Search makes it possible. It takes the company or its brand to those who are currently not aware about the products and services offered by it.

Searchers Usually Convert into Customers- Obviously, social media is for socialization and searches are for finding something. Online searches are made by those who are looking for products and services offered by the company. So, it’s pretty obvious that people interested in the products are more likely to be turned into customers.

Searches Convey Contact Details- Search engines are very efficient platforms to convey the contact details of your business like phone number, address, email id etc. It will make proposed customers of your business to find your business and communicate with you easily. And as you know, interaction is the first step of any deal.

Social Media Marketing isn’t Everyone’s Cup of Tea- Most people think that social media marketing is very easy and low-cost but actually it isn’t. A good campaign of this type requires utmost concentration. It becomes even more difficult when you have to acquire new customers. A company which uses Twitter to tell its follower about the new year celebration at the office, no new customers are going to be impressed by that.

Search is the Most Effective Tool for Customer Acquisition- It’s been proven that searches are way more effective in creating new customer bases. Popularity of laptops, tablets and Smartphones has enhanced its effectiveness to a much broader extent. So it should be the foremost thing to be focused by SMBs. Usually these businesses don’t have much funds for marketing, in such a situation it would be better to invest in a proven tool.

Any SMB which is planning an SEO campaign must consider the above points! Don’t be left behind with an outdated strategy.

There are two ways which can be employed by users to search for your app, i.e. app stores or search engines. Luckily, there are no different methods for SEO optimization of mobile apps than websites. SEO operations for sites mainly comprise content optimization, building links and social media interaction. All these tactics can be employed for SEO of mobile apps also. Let’s see various SEO techniques-

Local Market- Users are more comfortable with the apps which are in their local language. Online marketers have understood its importance. Big app giants like Apple have recognized its prospects and are concentrating on developing local apps. This process is known as localization.

App Store- While submitting an app to the app store, you need to make the descriptive content as impressive as you can. The URL of the web page on which the app is hosted, should be having name of the app. The app should be submitted in the right category. Moreover, the keywords used for SEO optimization should be selected very carefully.

Mobile App Website Page- There should be a page on your business website for the app. The best thing will be to create a link between the website and the app stores. It makes the app look authentic to the users. And as they say, “Content is king”. Keep on updating the site with informative and useful content is the main part of any SEO campaign.

As stated in the beginning, SEO efforts for apps are almost similar to the websites. So if you want to boost your campaign, you can have good help from above suggestions.

Here are a few tips that can help you reap the most benefits from the popular CMS:

Remove Some Defaults- There are many a things like “Hello World” and “Sample Page” which need to be removed before the site is hosted. These things are fine while the site is in the development phase as they help in checking typography and layout but when it’s time to host the site for public, these things should be removed positively. You can delete them permanently in order to facilitate management of your database.

Set Permalinks- The default WordPress setting for Permalinks doesn’t seem to be the most efficient URL structure. Changing this setting to Post Name is the best thing to do. Though there are a few other options also but Post Name is the most used one among them.

Add Update Services- Indexing of the new pages by search engines may take some time. This duration usually depends on the crawl rate of the site. You can speed this process up by adding some update services to the general setting page of the CMS.

Customize Media Settings- There is a default setting in WordPress which deals with the presentation of image thumbnails. But these settings can be customized easily. You can set dimensions for all the image sizes, i.e. thumbnail, medium and large. Moreover, the images which retain their proportion on being re sized look more attractive.

Considering the above points while using WordPress can bring new vigor to the SEO efforts. If you are also running an SEO campaign for your site, be benefited from them.

Look of Your Site- The appearance of a business website should always be official. It’s a business site and should look like one. If you provide contact details like email id, phone number, address etc. on the site; people will find your site reliable and start to visit it frequently. It definitely will increase your conversion rate.

Provide Information- Don’t use your site just as a sales point or a promotional platform. It’s not always that visitors visit the site for shopping only. Sometimes they visit it to get some important piece of information. And even if they visit it for shopping, maybe they want to get some details before starting with the purchase. You must keep a section for FAQs on your site.

Avoid Selling Too Many Products or Service of Similar Types- Too many similar products confuse customers. It makes it hard for the customers to decide that which one should they buy and which one should they leave. Make your pages as simple as they can. Sometimes when users don’t come to decide what they want to buy, they just quit the shopping.

Performance of the Site- There are many a things that make your site perfect for users. It should be having good speed. Users don’t want to wait for long to get the online purchase complete. Also ensure that all the links are working perfectly. Making the site user friendly can make it favorite of the users which definitely will help you in fast conversion.