Digital Marketing Course Review by Prakhar Tyagi | Digital Vidya

Advantages of Doing Digital Marketing Course from Digital Vidya

SEO Statergy Before Going For Website Design

It’s a tragedy.

A beautifully designed website sits alone on the Internet with no one to admire it.  No traffic.  No love from the search engines.

It’s a tragedy because the vast majority of clients do not want a fresh look or a beautiful design.  They want more sales, leads, referrals and donations.

A website redesign may be what they order, but increased commerce is usually the goal.  A clean and professional website that represents the branding of the company and communicates the right message to the customer will go a long way.

But it is dangerous to dismiss the power of SEO.  Search Engines like Google are not to be ignored and clients are increasingly making SEO a prerequisite to signing off on a design project.

The trouble with SEO and website design is that it is terribly difficult to keep it organized.  It’s easier to build the site first and apply SEO later, if at all.

This document solves that problem.

A single document that changes everything

Before going live.  Before comps and even before wire frames, the information architecture of the website should be determined.

Developing the information architecture is the “this page with this information belongs here” exercise that is done to determine the site map.

A silo document is a way to organize the information architecture in a coherent way. Proper organization of information is not only good for your site visitors, it is also good for search engines.  Bruce Clay, whom some would say is the Father of SEO, explains the importance of siloing or themeing information on a website  here.

But the silo is so much more than a way to organize site information into themes.

The silo is a living, breathing document that is used before, during and after the design of the new website.  It is a spreadsheet that contains a plan that is updated as the attributes for a web page change.

An example silo document

The silo document pictured below is a real document used for the redesign of an accounting firm website that had ~150 pages of content.

This is an abbreviated version with just four fields, additional fields are discussed later in this article:

Here is a short explanation of each field in this abbreviated document:

ID -  The ID creates an easy way for all stakeholders in the design process to refer to a page.  The ID immediately communicates the location of the page in the information hierarchy.  In the example above, the 0 page is the home page.  The 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 pages are 1st level pages.  1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 are all sub-pages of the 1.0 page.  Not shown here is 1.1.1 which would be a sub-page of the 1.1 page.

Page Name – The Page Name is what will be used in the navigation elements of the site.

Keyword 1 -This is the primary SEO keyword that will be targeted on this page.

Keyword 2 – This is the secondary SEO keyword that will be targeted on this page.

As you can see, this is a plan, an SEO plan.

This document becomes the go-to document for the client, designer, SEO specialist, developer and copywriter on the project.

Other fields to include in the silo

Because this document allows you to record attributes at the page level, there is no limit to the amount of data you can keep in it.

Here are some other fields to include in the document:

Title Tag – The title tag containing the primary keyword, secondary keyword and any branding elements such as the name of the business.  Try to keep the title tag to around 75 characters.  The title tag for the 1.0 page above might be:  ABC Accounting | Tax Consulting | Tax Compliance Services.

URL – The URL has a surprisingly positive effect on SEO.  Create files that incorporate the primary keyword.  The file for the 1.0 page above might be: /tax-consulting.htm

Meta Description – If you are comfortable writing paragraphs into a spreadsheet, the meta description can be held in the silo document as well.  Try to incorporate both the primary and secondary keywords into the meta description.

Headings – You can create fields such as h1, h2, h3, etc and populate these fields with the headings and subheadings.  This gives direction for the copywriter and the developer that will be incorporating the content into the design.  A heading tag on the 1.0 page above might be:  Providing Tax Consulting Since 1965.

Image File Name(s) – Google Images uses the file name of the image to determine what the image is about.  For websites that would benefit from Google Images traffic, optimizing the image file names is time well spent.  An image file name for the 1.0 page above might be: tax-consulting.jpg

Image Alt Attributes – The image alt attribute is another on-page SEO component that gives a slight SEO advantage to those who take advantage.  Specify the image alt in the silo so that the developer can add the optimized attribute as the images are uploaded to the new site.  The alt attribute on the image for the 1.0 page above would be: Tax Consulting.

One document to rule them all

All members of the web design team including the client can view the silo document as a blue print for better SEO.

The client will use it to better understand how their site should be organized.  It will force them to organize the information on their site and give the pages clear names.  Discussion of the site contents and the SEO elements on those pages will uncover issues in the site redesign early.  Issues such as gaping holes in the content on the site, semantic issues with the names of their products and services and other issues will be uncovered during the building of the silo document.

The designer will use the silo to create navigation elements and gain a better understanding of the design elements that will be needed on each page to communicate the correct message.  Developers will use it when incorporating page-level attributes such as title tags, heading tags, image alts and meta descriptions.

The copywriter will use it to incorporate SEO elements into the copy.

The silo document is a single document that keeps all that are involved in a site redesign on the same page.  It allows you to easily organize your SEO and build it into the website redesign process.

Download this SEO Planning template here.

Do you use a template like this to for SEO planning on a website design?  Do you use a similar document?  Please share in the comments!

Source: http://blog.crazyegg.com/2012/01/11/seo-planning-template/

How to use Google Adwords Keywords Match Types

In my previous posts a have mentioned many things like how to do keyword research and keyword suggestion tools and many more things like this. In this post I am mentioning in how many types you use your keywords after doing keyword research according to your campaign to get more results.

Keyword matching is an Adwords helps you control the distribution of your ads. It makes your keywords more targeted, so that you can easily manage who sees your ads. This is significant due to the fact that you have to pay for every click in your ads, and the more targeted your ads there would be higher chances of turning visitors into a paying customer.

We can use five different kinds of keyword settings. For using keyword matching options, you just need to add appropriate punctuation to your keywords while adding to the keyword list according to your campaign needs. You need to add all variations of keywords. Following are the types we can use:-  

1. Broad Match: keyword

It allows your ad to show on similar phrases and on relevant variations. Broad Match is the default option for all your keywords and therefore does not require punctuation to be added to the keyword.

Example: If your keyword is ‘Designer Handbag’ then your ad can be eligible to appear when someone searches for either or both of the words 'designer' and 'handbag' in any order. The search query might also include other terms like your ads could be shown for plural forms like 'handbags', synonyms, and other variations.

2. Phrase Match: "keyword"

Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase. You can due this by putting your keywords into quotation marks i.e. inverted commas.

Example: By putting your keyword into quotation marks or say inverted commas, the keyword "Designer Handbags" would only be eligible to appear when a user searches for these three words in that exact order. It can also appear for searches that contain other terms as long as it includes the exact phrase you've specified i.e. when someone searches for 'stylish designer handbags' your ad would also be eligible to appear.

3. Exact Match: [keyword]

Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively. surround your keywords in brackets.

Example: By surrounding your keywords in square brackets, the keyword [Designer Handbags] would only be eligible to appear when a user searches for that exact phrase, in that exact order and without any other text before or after.

4. Negative Match: - keyword

Ensures your ad doesn't show for any search that includes that term.

Example: By putting a minus symbol in front of your keyword, '-cheap' would mean that your ad would not appear for any searches that contained the word 'cheap'. This works really well when you consider your broad match keywords.

5. Broad Match modifier: +keyword +keyword

Allows a mix of both broad match and exact match. It allows keywords to have the versatility of broad match (match search queries in any order, misspellings, singular/plural form, abbreviations and acronyms, and stemmings, but also keeps them confined, so synonyms and related searches won't trigger your ads. To get more information on Broad match modifier read this http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=175280.

For getting keyword matches you can also use tools like Permutator or you can easily edit it in Adwords editor.

How to Improve your Landing Page Quality Score?

Some site-building guidelines better serve users, advertisers and publishers. If advertisers of adwords program reflect these guidelines on their website, two important things happen:

1. It will help visitors to turn into paying customers. 

2. Users develop a trust in your website provided after clicking on AdWords ads (and this may turn in to additional targeted leads for you).

3. In addition, it will help improve your landing page quality score. As a part of your keywords overall Quality Scores, a high landing page quality score can affect your AdWords account in three ways:
 

a. Decrease cost-per-click (CPC) of your keywords.

b. Increase your ads position on the content network.

c. Improve the chances that your placement-targeted ads will win a position on your targeted placements.

There are three main components of a quality website: i.) Relevant and Original content, ii.) Transparency and iii.) Navigability.

Relevant and Original Content

Relevance and originality are two factors to define high-quality site content. Here are some tips on how to create content that meets these standards:

Relevance:

Visitors should be easily able to find what your ad promises. Link to that page on your website that provides the most useful information about the product or service in your ad. For example, direct users to that page where they can buy the advertised product instead of page which has description of several products.

Originality:

Unique content should be featured on your website which can’t be found on another website. This guideline is particularly applicable to dealers whose websites are identical or highly similar to other dealers or the parent company websites, and to affiliates that use the following types of pages:

Bridge pages: Ads for web pages that act as an intermediary, whose main purpose is to link or redirect traffic to the website of parent company.

Mirror pages: A mirror website is simply a copy of your parent website. It's usually your main page but it doesn't have to be. A mirror website looks exactly like the original website. Your site should not be mirror to your parent company's website or any other advertiser's website.

Provide essential information. If your ad does link to a page consisting mostly of ads or general search results (such as a directory or catalog page) provide additional unique content or information on your landing page. It's especially important to feature original content due to the fact that AdWords won't show multiple ads directing to identical or similar landing pages at the same time.

Transparency

In order to build trust in the eyes of visitor, the website would clearly be in three main areas: the nature of your business; how your website interacts with a user computer; and how you plan to use a visitor's personal information, if you request it. Here are tips on maximizing transparency of your website:

Your business information:
 

•  Company share information openly about their business. Clearly define       what your business is or does.

•  Honor the deals and offers you promote in your ad.

•  Provide products and services as promised

• Only charge users for the products and services that they order and successfully receive.

•  Distinguish sponsored links from the rest of your website content.

Your site's interaction with user computer:

Avoid user browser behavior change or settings without first getting their permission. If your website automatically installs software, be upfront about the installation and allow easy removal. See Google’s Software Principles for more guidelines.

Visitor’s personal information:

Unless it is necessary for the product or service you offer, do not ask for personal information. If you are requesting personal information, provide a privacy policy that discloses how the information will be used. Give options to limit the use of personal information to a user itself, such as the ability to choose out of receiving newsletters. Allow users to access content on your website without requiring them to register. Or give an example of what users will get by registering.

Navigability

It is the key to turning visitors into customers is making it easy for users to find what they seek. Here's how:
 

• Provide a short and easy way for users to purchase or receive the product or offer in your ad.

• Avoid excessive use of pop-ups, pop-unders, and other obtrusive elements throughout your website.

• Make sure that your page loads quickly. Learn ways to improve your load time. 

For more information you can also visit http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&guide=28439&topic=28440&page=guide.cs&answer=46675&from=47166&rd=1

Don’t forget to check Google's Webmaster Guidelines for more recommendations, which will improve your site's performance in Google's search results as well.

Seo Techniques for E-Commerce Websites

There few techniques to gain traffic and build quality links for e-commerce shopping websites. Here it is:-

1. Social News Submission

Social News websites are community websites that offer user generated contents. People love to share stuff. Social News helps in that. Social news websites work differently. Instead of submitting complete articles or content, you are only required to submit a link together with a title and description. Although the story links are subject to approval, a majority of them are accepted. It provides wide exposure and traffic to your website and helps you to gain relevant visitors, links as well as readers. It is powerful medium for viral marketing if the submission found interesting to your readers there is scope of being resubmitted on other social networking sites. You can also target general as well as topical communities also by selecting websites in your niche.

2. Forum Discussion

Forums are not only good for taking help and advice. People can ask questions in the forums. It helps to share ideas, opinions, socialize. It helps in driving traffic and getting back links to your bog or website. Many forums allow signature to your post in which you can place your description and a link to your website or blog. Your post is automatically followed by signature at the end which people are likely to visit your link if they are interested. Spend time in exploring the forum post, reading through the topics and try to participate as much as you can. By sharing your opinions, ideas and solving other problems, you can also establish a reputation. Reputation is very important if you want people you trust. People deal with whom they trust!

3. Create a Knol

Knol is a Google project that aims to include user-written articles on a range of topics. Google defines Knol as a unit of knowledge. In it you can share what you know and publish your expertise knowledge on any topic which you think you know best. “Knol makes it free and easy to create, collaborate on, and publish credible web content. Put your name behind your content; write a knol”. The authors have an option to allow their articles to be edited by the public, to make them editable only to co-authors or to make them closed entirely. Initially, it was promoted as forum for debate. You can also put links relevant to your content in this way you can gain quality backlinks and traffic by writing knols.

4. Blog Commenting

Blog commenting is very important and useful in Permanent Link Building and generating traffic to your website. But the most important things you should remember while making commenting is that you should try to engage in conversation, make comments that make sense don’t write anything randomly like thanks for information or useful post and never write about describing your own website services in a comment by doing so you will loss a trust of a administrator and might be your comments go in spam. Blog should be cached by google with in last 7 days. If a blog incorporates Do follow or CommentLuv or keyword Luv, its’ better. To get good results try to rotate your keywords No follow blogs are also a good source of traffic don’t always look for Do follow blogs.

5. Article Marketing

Article Marketing is a besy way to boost your online business. Article marketing works in a long run. Create a valuable content and submit it to article directories. Give a good biography in a author resource box with keyword optimized anchor text links to your websites. Don’t stuff your article and biography with too many keywords and links. Ideal keyword density should be 2-3% in article body. Always remember ‘Content is the King”. In resource box you can give 2-3 links on your keywords. Article marketing is one of the most effective ways to get backlinks & traffic to your website. If you don’t have time to write article or you can’t write just hire experienced content writer.

These are basic one follow these simple steps and see your graph growing up. :)