Are you planning on hiring an SEO but have no idea of how to properly choose one? Here is a proposed Scope of Work that will allow you to engage them in intelligent questions to understand what they will do for your website.

SEO GOALS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF SCOPE OF WORK:

1. Improve website visibility on major search engines to improve traffic
2. Improve website optimization
3. Improve conversions to their website
4. To appear in Top 10 rankings on Top 3 search engines in their new market (Google, Yahoo and MSN)
5. Generate leads from natural search traffic
6. Drive an increased volume of visitors
7. Build sustainable long term natural search rankings
8. Maximize natural search brand visibility
9. Improve Social Marketing Optimization

CHALLENGES TO EXPECT SEO TO ADDRESS AND ANSWER:

1. Am I in a niche market or a highly competitive market and what that means
2. Competitiveness of keywords and real expectations of getting top/first page results
3. Lack of rankings on search engines, where you are at and where can you go
4. Un-optimized page titles, tags and copy, what is your current SEO situation
5. Low link popularity, no page rank, how to build back links
6. Site Design
7. Technical issues surrounding website coding, excessive use of java or frames, lack of CSS and use of tables
8. Mobile Web compatibility and Social Marketing Optimization

SOLUTIONS YOU SHOULD EXPECT TO BE DONE:

1. Perform an initial site audit to understand the issues the site is facing
2. Perform a competitive website study and work out a unique search engine optimization and placement strategy to achieve top rankings for the web site
3. Extensively research keyword phrases, and identify and analyze popular keywords for your website that are most relevant to your specific market demographics that could drive targeted traffic
4. Review the site’s pages and decided which ones are best for SEO
5. Work with you to choose which keyword phrases belong on which pages of your site based upon what you know about your product, service or brand
6. Make site architecture recommendations to ensure that the most important pages of the site would receive the internal link popularity they deserved
7. Optimize the content of your website in a manner that make it keyword rich as well as easy-to-understand – descriptive language that speaks to your target audience
8. Optimize each page’s Title and Meta description, Header tags for your targeted keyword phrases, each page will be different specific to the keywords targeted.
9. Set up Google Analytics and started tracking traffic and conversions on your website

A discussion of how the amount of bandwidth and disk space on your site can affect your SEO efforts and how to calculate how much you need.

One important aspect of search engine optimization is functionality and of course that means that your site must always be up and running. This means choosing a host that will provide you with all of the web space that you will need to keep all of the features that you have on your site running twenty four hours a day and seven days a week.

The best web hosting services will offer at least 20-80GB of disk space for a regular account and more for premium or advanced accounts. You know you are dealing with a lousy web hosting company if they offer less disk space than that as it is an obvious ploy to cheat you. In fact there are also many companies offering just 1GB for the same price you would pay for a site with 80GB. The best way to avoid being fooled like this is to check the comparison charts that are so often a part of these sites. If you don’t compare the features before buying a web hosting service, you could get ripped off (as well as end up with a site that may be down.)

When looking for a good web host keep in mind the bandwidth size you will need as well. To find the perfect bandwidth for you need to multiply the size of each page that your site will need (an estimation will do) times the number of page views you are expecting to get a month. This way you calculate the actual bandwidth that will be consumed by your online business and make the correct choice when it comes to purchasing a website.

Never underestimate the importance of these two features as they become crucial factors in keeping your website available to your customers, especially if you become a success and your website becomes very busy!

Undoubtedly, Joomla is an award-winning and highly appreciated free and open-source Content Management System or CMS, which has plenty of extensions to use. More than 20 million websites are based on this CMS because of its SEO-friendly nature and outstanding features.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a collection of techniques, which are used to increase the ranking of a website. Extensions offered by Joomla are one of the easiest ways to design and develop an SEO-friendly site. Here is a list of top 5 Joomla SEO extensions that you should try to rank higher on Google or any other search engine.

Xmap: Without any doubt, a website that contains sitemap has a higher ranking than any other site on different search engines. Xmap a well-known Joomla extension will help you to generate a sitemap automatically based on your site’s menu. This extension is a must for almost every website owner who wants to increase the ranking of their website because it is an ideal option for heavy traffic sites.

Smart SEO: Another important Joomla SEO extension, which is loved by millions of developers is Smart SEO. It is specially designed for the newly developed sites or for the sites which just start the optimization process. It offers a broad range of functionalities and gives you the results, which are more than your expectations.

Joomla SEF: It is a significant extension, which helps to construct SEO-friendly URLs for your website. It is a must for every single person, who has a website based on this award-winning CMS. It is absolutely free to download and have plenty of features to offer, which actually make your development and optimization process simple for you.

SEO Simple: It is widely known for its feature of converting a section of beginning text into a Meta description, which saves your lot of time. It is highly recommended and mostly used by the countless developers around the world.

SH404SEF: It is one of the most popular and highly recommended SEO extensions, which is hard to remember, but have the capability to support all Joomla versions. It is specially used for rewriting the URLs to make them in a friendly format, which is easy to read by the human or web spiders as well. The bloggers or businesses mostly use it. Moreover, it enables users to track their site’s social sharing, which helps to determine how their site is ranked.

Information on how to become a certified Google Authorized Website Optimizer, Adwords or Analytics Consultant

As the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) community expands more experts are required. Unfortunately, it seems that many people interested in acquiring training are confused when it comes to figuring out today’s various Google certifications. The following information should shed some light on the subject and hopefully eliminate some of the mysteries.

1. Google Adwords Certified Individual

Designed for professionals who want to deal with AdWords accounts, the Google Advertising Professionals program offers the perfect training to become a successful ad manager.

The Google Adwords Certified Individual program is the most widespread form of Google certification. It is the easiest to attain and, as per Google, only requires the following:

–  Enroll in the program successfully – online registration is available.

–  Be in good standing, accept the rules of use and not violate them.

–   For 90 days, manage at least one AdWords account (your own or someone else’s) in My Client Centre (MCC).

–   Spend at least US$1000 (or an equivalent of other currency) in My Client Centre during the 90-day period.

–   Pass the Google Advertising Professional Exam – need 75 %.

It is best to take the exam after you meet the above mentioned requirements and have studied the lessons, however, you can take the exam at any time.  The format consists of 100 questions which have to be answered in a 90 minute span. Taking the test costs $ 50 per try and when you succeed you will receive a funky badge signifying your certification.

2. Google Adwords Certified Company

To become a Google Adwords Certified Company is a bit more complex. The company will need a few certified individuals on staff and will also have to spend higher amounts in the MCC. Further requirements are:

–  Your billing and mailing address has to be in a country where company qualifications are available.

–  Have at least two employees with Qualified Individual certification. They have to be enrolled under the main ‘company-registered My Client Centre’ account and not their own.

–  Defined by their country, spend the minimum 90-day total for the company’s My Client Centre account. In the US and UK that amount is $ 100,000 over any 90-day period. This can be tricky if the client base is unstable or seasonal.

3. Google Analytics Authorized Consultant (GAAC)

Anyone trying to find their way through the challenging hoops of the Google Analytics Authorized Consultant program will need determination and insight in various fields. The reason for the know-how is that, the GAAC designation is not based on successful testing, but rather on a detailed submission explaining why you should be an authorized consultant. The document, which has to be emailed to Google should contain the following evidence:

– Detailed range of stand-alone Analytics services, including implementation, configuration, training and consulting experiences.

– Comprehensive case studies of 3 verifiable, paid, expertly deployed Google Analytics projects with at least 3 different clients. Google will verify these references.

– Proof of proficiency in web analytics. This can include experiences in blogging, speaking, white papers, management bios, ad campaigns, or successful marketing programs.

–  Have at least 2 people employed who have passed the GAIQ test (Google Analytics IQ test).

–  You must represent a business (individuals do not qualify) which is legally incorporated to do operate in your locality.

Once your foot is in the door, you will be confronted with further and ongoing criteria. These are:

–  At the end of each calendar quarter you will have to provide a detailed report of all GA projects you have worked on during that time. This statement has to include client names and achieved results.

– At your expense, register at least 1 employee to the yearly Google Analytics Authorized Consultant summit (held once a year in Mountain View, CA). This can be expensive for those not residing in the US.

Because of the intricate requirements there are less than 100 authorized companies in the world!

4. Google Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant (WOAC)

Anyone interested in getting a Google Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant badge will have to apply for this certification the same way GAAC applicants do; email a detailed submission document to Google. It should summarize the following:

– In-depth case studies of at least 3 verifiable and successful Website Optimizer experiments you designed and implemented. These 3 referred clients have to different and will be contacted for verification.

– Proven background in marketing, blogging, speaking, white papers, etc.

–  Evidence of Google Website Optimizer services. This can include setup, training, and consultation.

–  Committed to succeed in the Google Website Optimizer technical training sessions at a Google office in Mountain View, CA, USA.

–  Providing detailed product and market feedback on a quarterly basis and launch at least 3 Website Optimizer experiments per quarter.

What certification suits you best will in the end depend on how much time, effort and money you want to devote. The more invested in the program, the higher the benefits will be. Good luck!

Many people confuse these two terms and use them interchangeably but there is a difference between SEO and SEM. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a component of search engine marketing (SEM). It is the act of optimizing a website for organic or natural search engine listings. Search engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective functions of a search engine marketing campaign, but it is only one element of SEM.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the act of marketing a website via search engines, whether by improving rank in organic or natural listings, paid or sponsored listings or a combination of both.

A comprehensive search engine marketing campaign includes the following functions:

• Search engine optimization
• Search engine and directory submission management
• Paid inclusion and trusted feed programs
• Pay-for-placement management (includes pay-per-click)
• Link popularity / reputation development
• ROI and performance monitoring and reporting

Now that you know the difference, here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of SEO and SEM.

SEO – PROS

• Organic listings are a trusted source of information, believed to be unbiased and indexed solely by the automated methods of an objective third-party
• Natural search traffic provides a steady stream of traffic over time
• Costs are frontloaded; once pages are optimized for organic search, low ongoing maintenance fees make it cost-efficient for marketers on a limited budget

SEO – CONS

• Organic results can be unfocused in their content and occasionally misconstrued through automation
• There’s little control over which terms your pages will be linked with or how well they get ranked
• Relatively low control over your listing copy – automated technology decides what’s displayed
• Organic listings have to be optimized well in advance of the intended pay-off and require great insight to production efforts down the road
• Engine requirements can be at odds with site design and architecture; it is often difficult to present information that is both accessible to search spiders and carefully designed to influence consumer behavior

For these reasons, it becomes important to actively monitor organic listings and brand rankings within. There is no substitute for a proper SEO program and the natural traffic it provides.

SEM – PROS

• Paid traffic comes with a measure of predictability, allowing marketers to forecast both volume and cost-efficiency for relevant metrics
• The free-market bidding system offers full access to a target audience and the opportunity to scale campaigns and pursue them aggressively, creating synergies with sales promotions
• Paid traffic can provide a boost to site volume when most needed
• Creative is completely customizable, to further the user’s search intent and strategically position a brand within that search engine dialogue
• Paid listings are manually generated, and constructed with more awareness to the environment and a consumer’s true intent
• Sponsored ads are known to drive more sales than ordinary search links, converting at higher rates

SEM – CONS

• Paid listings can get very expensive across competitive keywords, where market forces can quickly inflate cost-per-clicks (CPC)
• A certain portion of the customer base is wary of paid listings.

In conclusion, search engine optimization is simply a component of search engine marketing. They are both important for managing and improving your website. We hope this has cleared up any SEO and SEM confusion.

Continuing on our series on SEO for beginners, we will discuss Meta tags. Hypertext Markup Language or HTML lets author of a webpage specify more details about the document rather than the document content itself using Meta data.

The information that is in the Meta data is used by search engines like Google to update their database. Search Engines figure out that a webpage is related to some keywords and when someone searches for a particular keyword, s/he will be able to find this page in SERPs. The Meta tags are generally located near the top of the HTML document inside the Header tag.

According to W3C, “Each META element specifies a property/value pair. The name attribute identifies the property and the content attribute specifies the property’s value.”

There are many types of Meta tags. But the two most crucial Meta tag for search engine indexing are the keywords and the description Meta tags. The Meta tag – “keywords” lists the keywords or key phrases that best describe the contents of the webpage in question.

In context of Google the dominant search engine, “Description” Meta tag is even more important and relevant. A webpage’s “description” Meta tag provides Google and other search engines a summary of what the webpage is all about. Unlike a page’s title which should ideally consist of few words, a description Meta tag can be a sentence or even short paragraph. The reason the Description Meta tag is important is because Google may decide to use it as a snippet for your pages when showing your site’s listing on search results. In case, Google search engine notices that your page text content is more relevant to the user’s query then Google may show that snippet from the webpage’s text content. So it’s advisable that webmasters and SEO consultants make the best use of this tag. A well written Meta tag can also make a difference to page rankings.
Also, when a user searches for a keyword in Google search engine, the results show description tag with keywords in bold. This immediately gives searcher clues if the result has the matching keywords and if it is relevant. A proper Meta tag may also results in higher click through and hence more traffic.

Few points should be kept I mind while creating meta tag description. Describe the page accurately in the description tag. Description Meta tag helps both search engines and user alike so it should match your site’s content and title. Avoid generic or default description provided by WYSIWYG editors. Never add unrelated description, this is spamming and Search Engines may not take it lightly. Also, always create unique description Meta tags for all pages of the website.

To check if your description Meta tags conform to Google’s guidelines, Google provides Webmaster Tools provides a content analysis section that analyses and points out if any description Meta tags is too short, long, or duplicated too many times across the website.

Author: Aniruddha Badola

These days, search engine optimization is the most effective and popular marketing strategy for your website to improve your website’s organic search engine ranking and drive more targeted visitors. As a result, SEO marketing strategy is important for any Internet company to become successful in online business. It is a complex process, which involves long term planning.

SEO Strategy

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• Content research and creation
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• Developing link popularity campaign
• Submitting to search engines and directories
• Site design
• Website ranking report
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Grow Your Business – Keep Ahead of the Competition

Implementing appropriate search engine optimization and marketing strategies, you can get higher search engine positions in Google, Yahoo, Altavista, MSN, Sina, Ask.com, NexTag, AOL, Microsoft Live and AT&T Worldnet. Moreover, it helps your online business to improve your business results such as
• Generate highly qualified website traffic
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SEO Marketing Strategy Experts

If you want to build a professional website with an excellent marketing strategy, get the support from a leading search engine optimization service provider. These providers have experienced SEO experts and specialists with excellent knowledge and research capacity to deliver the most professional SEO strategy services.