We spend a lot of time here at SEO-e thinking about web copywriting and website content development without ever mentioning grammar…well this post is intended to make up for lost time.
As a professional web copywriter, I often find minor mistakes when editing a piece. No big deal – in the rush of trying to prepare a magnificent article or blog post, I’m often in a race to get my thoughts down before my brain turns to other things.
You may be thinking that grammar in the online environment isn’t too important. After all, there are little grammar rules here and there, like beginning a sentence with “and” that we can ignore. Sometimes bending the rules makes our copy flow much better than it would otherwise.
But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to completely ignore grammar rules.
The first reason should be obvious – bad grammar makes you look unprofessional. Many readers probably have a basic understanding of English grammar. Using “there” when you should use “their” is a common mistake that’s easy to pick up on.
Most of us probably haven’t been in an English class in many years. Especially writing professionally, it’s easy to forget about good grammar. After all, I don’t exactly think about why a comma should go somewhere, I just know it does.
Nevertheless, it can be helpful to take a few minutes to review basic English grammar. DON’T RELY ON SPELLCHECK AND GRAMMAR SUGGESTIONS IN MICROSOFT WORD OR OTHER WORD PROCESSORS. For one, they are often wrong and it’s better to know yourself anyway.
One resource I have found to be very user-friendly and easy to understand is The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation from Jane Straus. Her site has some great tips and sample quizzes you can take to assess your skills. And you can even sign-up to have her newsletter delivered right to your inbox.
Another resource we use to ensure proper grammar, etc. is the Chicago Manual of Style, which is by far the most extensive resource. If you’re mainly focusing on press releases, the Associated Press Stylebook is a great resource to ensure your press releases are correctly formatted.
Pay attention to your formatting and grammar. While one or two minor mistakes isn’t anything to get worried about, you need to ensure that content you put on your site is by and large grammatically correct.
When thinking about duplicate content, we generally only consider written content. Is what you are posting on your website original? Simply copying and pasting something from somewhere else is a big mistake- that much is obvious.
But something you may not consider to be duplicate content may be considered such by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. You see, they’re trying to return diverse content to their users …they have a vested interest in ensuring what they display on page 1 is helpful and diverse for their users.
That is what you have to consider – what do search engines consider duplicate? Not doing so could spell disaster for your site’s rankings. Site penalties can occur if a site is simply structured the same way for instance.
Continue reading for 6 not so obvious types of duplicate content to ensure you are not penalized for such an infraction.
1. Two websites share the same structure and content
Two websites having the same structure (i.e. same three column template) and the same content on a single page or site wide with the same linking scheme is prone to trouble. This is by far the most extreme example of duplicate content but the easiest to identify.
2. Identical structure with paraphrased content
Another scenario where two sites have an identical structure but the content is not 100% identical. Copywriters and content developers may see this as a grey area. But Google has a zero tolerance policy on this issue…content from one site simply cannot be a rehashed version of the same thing from another site.
3. Identical structure with similar content
In structural terms, it’s pretty clear two sites are identical. In this situation, the content on each site still has too close a resemblance. If it appears the content is managed in a similar fashion and presented in the same scope, the site(s) may be penalized.
4. Partially identical structure with similar content
While it may seem like splitting hairs, Google is very meticulous. Site A and Site B may only have a few pages that are identical but if the content between the two sites is sufficiently similar, they may take action and not index one of the sites.
5. Identical structure with reminiscent content
In this scenario, both sites have a similar structure and linking scheme while the content is relatively similar. Some content developers may think simply using a Thesaurus to change a few words may avoid detection but the search engines can spot this kind of move.
6. Unique structure with pieced together content
Two sites may have their own unique site structure and linking scheme but their content is simply scraped together from different sources the writer found. Search engines will flag this as duplicate content and act accordingly.
Image, videos and other document formats are sometimes ignored by the search engines since most don’t have the capability to spot duplicate forms of these types of content. They sometimes attempt to remove duplications based on file size, image size and file name however. Therefore in the future, it will be important you think about this as technology continues to evolve.
It should be obvious that simply copying and pasting content to your site is not only dishonest, it is robbing the original creator of that piece without due credit and compensation. But these other scenarios where search engines may flag your site are just as important. While you may not think your site is a duplication of another, what the search engines see is really what matters.
As far as propelling your website to the top of the search engines, they don’t. While Meta tags have no significant impact on actual search engine rankings, they do provide value in how your website appears on a search engine results page (SERP).
Meta tags are basically text included in the source code of an HTML document that’s intended to describe the page to a search engine for the purpose of cataloging its content. There are two types of Meta tags – description and keyword
So do Meta tags matter?
Yes they do as the description found within the tag indicates what you want someone to see on a search engine results page. They help a searcher easily determine whether or not your page is relevant to their needs. Without it, many people will simply move on and think your site doesn’t offer them any value.
If you do not include a Meta tag in your source code, the search engine will glean your page and cherry-pick words it thinks best describes your page. This doesn’t work too well however and can result in terrible descriptions being displayed on a SERP.
You should be very careful in how you use a Meta tag though. Many SEOs have abused these tags in the past thinking it would garner them a competitive advantage. To avoid any potential problems, avoid repeating keywords and use only those words relevant to your site’s theme. Beware of any trademark infringements and check with legal counsel before using another company’s trademarked terms anywhere in your source code.
Typically, the character limit for both description and keyword Meta tags is 250, which includes spaces and commas. Anything past the 250 mark is generally ignored by the search engines.
Just be careful – improper use of a Meta tag could result in your site being penalized by the search engines.
Communicating information using charts and graphics provides a useful and fun way to learn about new things.
Search engine marketers now have a handy resource they can use to maximize search engine rankings and online conversions. These easy and fun charts from ProspectMX provide an easy-to-use reference for creating great websites.
Their original chart, “Link Building 101,” has some great insights into how you can get other sites to link to you. Examples of link bait, how to find good sites to link to and the most beneficial social media/news sites are just a few of the things you will find here – all presented in a fun environment that’s sure to pique your interest.
Prospect’s newest chart, “Universal Search Optimization,” gives some great tips on mastering the web’s newest way of ranking web sites, etc. Learn about ‘local search’, image/video optimization, press releases and more. Going forward, search results will increasingly include photos, videos and news, not just individual websites.
Take a look at Prospect’s charts today…print one out and post it on your wall!
Quick and easy reference materials like these are great to have when you’re stuck trying to get your website to the top.
Other sites linking to yours are one way search engines evaluate your site to determine where it should be displayed in a search engine results page. The more incoming links a site has, the more important the search engines see it.
But it depends on the type of links too – simply having a bunch of links pointing to your site isn’t going to pass muster.
It’s possible to go out and pay lots of money and do other nefarious things to get links to your site. Search engines like Google and Bing can see this, as they can differentiate between sites that have natural links to it versus ones that have artificial links.
So what’s the difference between the two?
First, the anchor-text, or the keywords that contain a link, is very diverse with natural links. One link to a site may contain “search engine optimization firm” and another may be “online marketing experts” for example. Artificial links though will have more uniform anchor-text…all of the links pointing to a site will only have one or two terms for its anchor-text.
This is one red flag to the search engines that you have an artificial link structure which in turn, causes your site to lose the rankings battle.
Another difference between natural and artificial links is the rate at which links appear. Sites with a natural link structure will see consistent increases in their link count while sites with an artificial link structure will see sudden and dramatic increases then a lull in activity.
Sites designed around a natural link structure do not have reciprocal links. Meaning, the site linking to them did it voluntarily and does not expect a link back in return. Almost all links in an artificial environment are reciprocal.
And finally, natural links point to resources that can be of further use to the reader. Artificial links mainly point to link farms and other places that serve no purpose in making the site more useful for its visitors.
Remember these differences when thinking about your site’s link structure. You should strive to create the most natural looking link structure as possible. From a search engine’s point of view, the best links are those that are unrequested…search engines reward those pages and sites that get voluntarily links for great content.
Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! find your website through other sites linking to it. A site with a large number of quality sites linking to it signifies a certain importance to the search engines, boosting your rankings in the process.
There are many ways you can acquire links to your site. They can be purchased from a link farm, or you can get people to link to you through social networks like Facebook, StumbleUpon and Digg. In the end, the highest quality links come from sites in a similar industry whose audience will find your content appealing and useful.
Allowing the structure of links to your site to become too homogenous can cause many negative consequences for your site and its rankings. Links coming from only one type of site, or only to your homepage or links that all have the same anchor text links are all red flags to the search engines that your site has an unnatural link structure.
As a result, search engines will penalize your site, perhaps even de-listing it from the search engines.
To avoid trouble like this, you should attempt a general 80/20 link balancing act, which means:
80% of your links should come from sites that are topically relevant to yours with the remaining 20% coming from unrelated or marginally related sites
80% of incoming links should go to your homepage with the remaining 20% (at minimum) going to sub-pages within your site
80% of links should have your keywords in the anchor text while the remaining 20% having a less optimized link, like “click here” or your URL as the anchor text
80% of your links should be one-way and the remaining 20% reciprocal
Of course, these are just general guidelines but a good rule of thumb to avoid any problems with the search engines. You don’t want your site to appear over-optimized to the search engines so you need to balance your link ratios to avoid this red flag.
Building a blog for your business is a great way to build search engine rankings and develop a following online. All leading online marketing experts agree that providing consistent, relevant and interesting information about your niche through a blog goes a long way to building trust with prospective customers.
But at one time, we were new at something and probably made mistakes along the way. Blogging is no different on that score.
So if you’re just beginning or interested in starting a blog for your small business, here are 7 common mistakes you must avoid if your goal is to turn your blog into a traffic generator and revenue source.
1. Never launching it
Perhaps the most common mistake people make. You write your first post or two while killing some time. They’re great, informative and focused…but they never make it online. You have to get started to finish, and it’s not a blog until you actually publish something online.
2. Using a sub-domain (ex. myblog.wordpress.com)
Another common mistake is simply going to a blogging platform like WordPress and TypePad and opening an account. These are great utilities for posting and managing your blog but if you’re going to the trouble of starting a blog in the first place, it’s worth your time and money to invest in your own domain that you control from the beginning. It’s very difficult to change later on.
3. Spending too much time on design
Many blogs never get launched because the owner spends the majority of their blogging time worrying about design. Looks are great, but the core purpose of a blog is relevant content. Besides, you can easily change the design later on so focus on creating great content instead.
4. Not telling anyone about it
In a blog’s infancy, no one knows about it. There are no links to it and search engines are not ranking you, perhaps not even indexing it. Therefore, the only way to get traffic to it is through direct contact. Tell your friends online and in the flesh of your new blog and utilize social networks to spread the word.
5. Getting discouraged too early
Blogging is no different than most things in one regard – it takes time to build up to success. Give yourself at least six months and maybe even a year before suspending the blog for lack of traffic. It’s hard to get some momentum but once you do, good things start to happen.
6. Too many plugins and “blidgets”
Many bloggers make the mistake of loading their blog up with a bunch of bells and whistles without paying much attention to their content. Resist the temptation to do this and invest your time in content, comments and categories instead.
7. Monetizing too early
Search engines like Google make it pretty easy to throw some ads on your blog. If you’re serious, you need to focus on building an audience first and worry about monetization later. Posting ads for revenue too early will discourage people from looking at your blog long before you have built the critical mass needed to make any real money with it.
Blogging can be fun and rewarding but it takes time, as any real success does. Don’t be discouraged, keep working at it and your efforts will pay off in the long run.
*Subject for this post courtesy of HubSpot’s Blogging Team. Subscribe to their email listserv at http://www.hubspot.com/.
Often dubbed “the new YellowPages” by techies and SEO professionals, local search through Google Maps is one form of online marketing that’s slated to see astronomical growth in the next few years…it’s even perhaps a revolution of sorts in waiting with the casualty being the fabled phone book and YellowPages.
Think about it…how often do you search for local businesses using your phonebook anymore?
But going forward, people won’t be using their computers to search for local businesses online. No, they’ll be using their SmartPhone – Blackberry, IPhone and more. And 2010 will see a plethora of new SmartPhones sweeping the market from all major service providers.
What’s the consequence of this? For any local business that relies on YellowPages to advertise their business, it means a shift in how people find them. If their listing doesn’t appear in Google Maps and online, they will be missing out on a lot of opportunities.
To illustrate, a recent training course at Planet Ocean witnessed a demo of the power and ease of Google Maps’ smartphone utility. A 35-year old attendee used his phone to access Google Maps and search for orthodontist in the area he was located – all possible because most smartphones come equipped with a GPS tracking device.
Therefore, all he had to do was enter the keyword into the search and the device automatically displayed locations of orthodontists closest to his current location – along with directions on how to get there!
And these listings come equipped with customer reviews and other relevant information for making a buying decision!
The moral of the story is this – smartphones are in actuality mobile computer devices jam-packed with features one would normally not associate with a “phone”. Could this be the newest “gold rush” to hit the U.S.? In the real gold rush in Alaska in the late 19th century, real fortunes were made not in gold, but selling the tools to mine for gold.
So if you’re in search of opportunities in online marketing and SEO, it would behoove you to consider local search and how your business must be able to harness it or lose out to more prepared competitors.
Optimizing press releases for the search engines can give your website a big boost in traffic and profits – if it’s formatted and presented correctly.
Press releases don’t need to be exclusively about big news events at your company only but rather serve as a vehicle to notify the public of recent developments at your company like a product launch or change in staffing.
Continue reading for 7 steps you can employ to generate a surge in traffic for your website with a press release optimized for the search engines.
1. Keep it short
Keep your press release short and to the point, generally between 400 and 500 words. Most news sites will not accept a press release that’s long winded. Press releases should serve as a brief synopsis of the topic at hand that includes a link to where the reader can learn more.
2. Write it yourself
If you feel comfortable writing and English is your first language, you can write it yourself without much difficulty. Just follow some successful examples as a guide on formatting, etc. Reading tips about structure and format can help but it won’t match what looking at one in the flesh will do. If you’re not comfortable writing it yourself, consider hiring a firm that specializes in online copywriting or a freelancer.
3. Write a headline that grabs attention
Headlines serve as a preview for the reader, foreshadowing what the press release is about. Therefore, it’s important the headline grabs the reader’s interest so they will continue reading. After all, it’s well known in the copywriting world that many people do not actually read things online word for word.
Titles are also a great opportunity to place strong keywords that will draw the attention of search engines.
4. Get the reader hooked in the first sentence(s)
You have a narrow window of opportunity to draw the reader into reading the rest of your press release. Keep it simple in the beginning by simply stating what you’re going to talk about and why it should be important to them. But beware of using too many adjectives and adopting a sales tone as press releases are actually news stories. Editors and news services will ignore your press release and it will receive no exposure if it is too sales-y.
And strategically place keywords throughout the body of your press release to garner more attention from the search engines.
5. Be accurate with your statements
Be sure that information you include in your press release is factual and verifiable. Erroneous information will harm your credibility, perhaps permanently damaging your credibility. Therefore, facts should be presented in a clear and concise manner and be easily verifiable by the reader.
6. Make your press release stand out from the rest
Press releases don’t have to be completely boring. There are ways you can format it to appeal to more readers and the search engines. Finding a hook to make the reader desire more information will accelerate the progress of your press release.
7. Distribute your press release to different outlets
There are many outlets to distribute your press release besides posting it on your website. To get the most traffic and profits from your PR, you need to spread it around. There’s no telling how far a press release can go once it’s viral. Check out our articles on free and paid press release distribution in our search engine optimization knowledge center for more.
Social networking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg and Twitter are great ways to let the world know about your company’s news. Link to the PR or post it on these kinds of sites too for additional traffic.
A constant stream of well prepared, optimized press releases can be a boon to your site’s rankings and traffic. Harnessing these steps when you’re preparing a press release will help you maximize your online marketing potential.
We’ve probably made scant mention of it here before but it’s an important concept to understand on its own, and that is proper keyword density.
In 2003, Google did a major update to its ranking algorithms. SEOs refer to this as the “Florida update,” as it marks the day when search engine optimization became difficult. Before November ’03, SEOs would simply say you should liberally use keyword phrases on your pages. The Florida update changed all of this.
Now, web pages that use keywords too aggressively are filtered out of search results altogether (Matt Cutts explains a little more in the video below)
“Over-optimization” describes over-use of keywords in your site’s copy. Not only does excessive keyword use get your site filtered out of search results, it makes your copy look unprofessional to readers. Most people who see a web page with the same phrase in every sentence won’t take it too seriously.
Instead, modify keywords and use variations of your main phrase in your site’s copy. Four ways you could accomplish this include: singular vs. plural forms of keywords, use synonyms, add relevant modifiers and change the order of the words.
There are tools available to help you find different variations of the same keyword phrase. Take advantage of these tools from Quintura, Google and/or Bing to research different ways you can phrase keywords.
There’s also a very easy way to locate extra keyword phrases and that is when you are typing your main phrase into Google, search suggestions appear below the input bar. You can diversify your keyword phrases with these suggestions for a quick solution.
Either way, do not over-optimize, that is use the same keyword phrase on a page too many times. Your readers will pick up on it and your site will get in trouble with the search engines. While we can’t tell you a magic number, read your copy as if you’re an outsider. You should be able to tell pretty easily what’s too much and what isn’t.
I’m pretty sure I’ve used the phrase “best practices” here on the search engine optimization e-blog a time or two and now feel like kicking myself for doing so.
Intuitively, best practices don’t make any sense in the SEO profession.
Best practices grew out of organizational management techniques that became popular in the mid-to-late ‘90s. The idea was that certain groups who achieve “best practices” could then teach those practices to the entire organization.
From a practical point of view that makes sense…but in order for “best practices” to work in a strategic sense, the environment must be relatively static and homogenous…two characteristics online marketing & SEO don’t have at all.
Something that works today may be obsolete by the middle of next week in this business.
Instead of working under a static rule set that’s worked in the past for something (old) and has been popularized (is average), which is what best practices essentially are, use metrics to experiment with what works and what doesn’t.
It’s appealing to think there’s a magic formula of best practices you can employ and then just sit back and watch the sales come in.
But the Internet, you and your competitors are constantly changing.
In the end, “best practices” can offer the value of a good starting point to begin experimentation but nothing more. Establishing a good feedback loop and basing your decisions on results of your experimentation means you will go much farther than just re-hashing someone else’s “best practices” plan.
Focus on your business and be ready to constantly modify what works and what doesn’t.
One question that those of us in the search engine optimization profession constantly wrestle with is whether to provide prospective clients with a ranking guarantee. Many firms will not budge without that guarantee, which makes a SEOs life even that much more problematic.
Forum discussion at Crea8site illustrates the dilemma.
As optimizing websites for the search engines becomes more complex and personalized search options from Google and Bing gain more popularity, viewing success through the prism of search engine rankings alone can be disastrous. The science of SEO has evolved way beyond simple keywords and listings.
Actual traffic and conversions are the important considerations but traffic is the only thing the SEO can realistically do. Without traffic and conversions, your clients will eventually become frustrated and stop investing in their website.
In order to make a SEO firm/client relationship work, each party needs to work in tandem on pricing, rankings, content, service, etc. to get maximum yield from their investment.
A big part of optimizing websites for the search engines involves content. Not only does keyword-rich content attract the attention of search engines, online readers and shoppers seek informative resources to aid in their purchasing decisions.
Therefore, online content is an invaluable part of both marketing online and search engine optimization. So what’s the difference between writing standard sales letters, essays and other items versus writing online?
First is the mindset – online readers skim pages looking for the information they need. Hard copy readers are generally more leisure in their reading, spending more time on each page. In a fundamental way, each type of reader interacts with the piece in much different ways.
Remember receiving direct mail pieces in your snail mail box? What the envelope said and who it was from was a big factor in determining whether you opened it up and read it.
Online copy on the other hand has other factors at work – like the title. First, readers look at a title and if it entices them enough, they’ll continue reading. Next, Google focuses on the first 65 characters looking for keywords. Therefore, online copy has to have both a title that draws a reader’s interest and contains keywords for Google to index.
Continuing into the body, online copywriters have to consider different elements than traditional sales letters and other hard copy mediums don’t. Keyword density and calls to action are just a couple. Also, online writers should consider shorter paragraphs, bullet points and other ways to format the document’s layout to make reading easy, especially for blogs.
And online copy is generally much shorter – a typical article is around 600-800 words, typical blog posts range anywhere from 200 to 500 words. So, a call to action including keywords (not too many keywords though as this is a red flag to search engines and readers) has to be done in a much smaller space.
Keep these things in mind when writing for online mediums…and remember it’s much different than hard copy mediums. Articles, blogs and even press releases have to factor in these kinds of issues in order for them to achieve maximum success.
Developing a strong presence on social networking and bookmarking sites doesn’t involve complex formulas or algorithms. Sure, sites like Digg and Reddit have algorithms but it would behoove you to focus on the 2 major pillars of success on these sites – great content and a network of users to promote it – rather than focusing on racing to the front page.
Building your network involves more than just adding users to your friends list. Participation is required and is how you get noticed. Voting for, spreading and commenting on other users’ content shows you’re willing to work hard and contribute to the community.
Keep reading for a basic outline of 9 do’s and don’ts of building your social bookmarking networks online.
1. DO friend, IMvite and follow power users but DON’T become a pest
The best place you can start building your social media presence is by making friends with power users. They have literally hundreds, if not thousands of friends and a vote on your content from them can often translate into additional votes from their followers.
But remember, people are busy. They don’t have time to digg, vote or retweet 100 links a day or have time for juvenile questions like “How many diggs does it take to hit page one?” Be sure you vote on their content and they will eventually take notice.
2. DO participate in the SOCIAL part of social bookmarking but DON’T be a troll
Commenting and participating in conversations on social networking sites isn’t so much about being social as much as it’s about being noticed and showing you take time to look at other’s submissions.
But don’t be too controversial and don’t reply to something just to disagree. You can be funny but not everyone shares your sense of humor so be careful.
3. DO embrace multiple social networks but DON’T spread yourself too thin
There are literally thousands of social media networks and instant messaging utilities out there. Joining multiple social bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit is a great way to expand your reach. Manage your time wisely though. Creating and maintaining a profile is a lot of work so don’t spread yourself too thin.
4. DO submit content from community favorite sites but DON’T submit commercial content
When you’re a part of a social bookmarking community like Digg or Reddit, it’s likely you will notice certain sites producing outstanding content on a regular basis since they’re always on the front page. Being the first to submit new content from these sites is a great way to get noticed.
On the other hand, submitting content that has no place in the community you’re in is one of the sure-fire ways to fail at social bookmarking. If you appear as a marketer, folks will vote your stuff down and remove you as a friend. Be sure what you’re promoting is worthy of votes!
5. DO submit content from a variety of sites but DON’T consistently submit content from a single site or short list of sites
This may seem obvious but a lot of people will only submit their own content and occasionally make comments on or vote on other stuff. This is a red flag that you’re only in it for the marketing, which is something you don’t want to look like.
The best way to avoid looking like a marketer is to submit articles, etc. from a wide variety of websites.
6. DO sign in, vote up, retweet and comment regularly. DON’T leave huge lapses of activity in your account(s)
One of the keys to successful marketing through social bookmarking sites is being a regular. Taking too much time away could mean all of your hard work going to waste. It’s not that you can’t take a well deserved vacation. But the more available you are to vote and spread submissions of others, the more influence you will have in pushing your own stuff.
7. DO perform favors for your friends but DON’T ask for too much without giving something back
Help your friends out and they’ll help you! Don’t wait to vote up or retweet your friend’s submissions. If you go out of your way for them, the more likely they’ll do the same for you.
Don’t ask too much without giving something in return and if you ask someone to vote or retweet something, be sure it’s top quality content. Eventually, people will avoid or ignore you altogether if it’s not.
8. DO act like a human being, DON’T act like a computer or robot
The purpose of social media is to be “social”, not just amass hundreds of friends in some desperate attempt to look important. If you’re trying to get content out to as many people as possible, you need to act like a real person. Be friendly and have conversations with others online from time to time.
9. DO keep at it and DON’T give up
Like anything, building a network for social bookmarking sites takes a lot of time and hard work. You don’t have to spend all day everyday on social media to be successful. But you need to find a routine you’re comfortable with and stick with. Persistence is the key to success.
In order for a spider to crawl your website and index it in the search engines effectively, the web address or URL for your webpages should be as simple as possible.
As we’ve discussed in the past, sites with static URLs that are simple are crawled and indexed much more efficiently than those containing dynamic characters and session Identifiers.
Session IDs are most common in ecommerce sites and are embedded in a URL so the website can track their customers from page to page and they are used keep track of items in a customer’s shopping cart. But these IDs cause problems for search engine spiders because they create a large number of links for the spider to crawl. This can create a situation where the search engine indexes essentially the same page over and over. Search engines like Google refer to it as a ‘spider trap’.
Below are a couple of examples of how session IDs can give the appearance of an endless number of pages within a single site. A spider coming to your website may find a page with the following URL:
This is actually the same page as before, just with a different special session ID but the spider sees it as a brand new URL. Because of this confusion, search engine spiders are programmed to avoid pages containing these session IDs.
While Google and others are trying to improve their ability to crawl URLs with session IDs, it’s best to avoid them whenever possible. It’s best to avoid them until you absolutely must track what a customer is doing, like when they start adding items to their shopping cart.
It’s also possible to store session IDs in cookies rather than URLs. Changing this may require the expertise of a web programmer though.
The gist of the story is this – the more dynamic variables in a URL, the more difficult it will be for search engines to index your pages. To maximize your position in the search engines, use simple URLs that are easy to locate, crawl and index.
It’s a common building block of optimizing websites for the search engines – links to your site are an important part of a search engine’s algorithm and thus, where your site appears in a results page.
So suffice it to say that link building is an important part of optimizing a site for the search engines.
But how do you track sites that are linking to you?
Many webmasters and SEO professionals use different tools like Google Webmaster Tools, Yahoo! Site Explorer and others to track link building. Sadly, many of these tools are inaccurate and provide different results as expressed in this HighRankings Forum thread. The undependability of these tools is best stated by Rosemary, who says “one month Yahoo would show 10,000 inbound links and the next month only 300.”
Needless to say, it is difficult to rely on tools that you don’t know much about and have no control over fixing bugs and other malfunctions. And none of them are 100% accurate.
Especially if you do SEO work for other people, you need a way to track who and how many sites are linking to you…spreadsheets are one way to do this.
Many replies in the thread focused on spreadsheets and their usefulness in effectively communicating link building efforts to clients. Many SEOs, including us, use spreadsheets to track where and when someone links to a site we’re working on. Spreadsheets also provide accountability, which is impossible with online tools like Google Webmaster Tools.
One more thing to think about that was mentioned – one webmaster in the thread said they don’t focus much at all on link popularity but simply compare their site’s position to others in that niche. Perhaps this is a good way to think about link building since you’re shooting for high rankings in your niche keywords anyway.
Let us know your experiences with link building and tracking who’s linking to you and when.
It’s been fun and a pleasure contributing to SEO-e over the course of the year. I’ve certainly learned a lot researching and writing posts on optimizing websites for the search engines and online marketing in an all-encompassing manner.
Along with our search engine optimization library, SEO-e communicates news, tips and best practices in a range of areas – SEO, copywriting, site architecture, current events at Google affecting webmasters, social media and more. We take a lot of pride in bringing you important information to optimize your site for the search engines in an easy-to-understand fashion.
We look forward to bringing you the best in 2010…now on to what we’re all here for!
Naturally, we all look forward with anticipation to what next year will bring. Our industry is constantly evolving so it’s absolutely necessary we look forward and see where we’re headed. Certainly in any effort, being malleable in adjusting your strategy to changing circumstances is a critical component of success.
Our friends over at SEOMoz recently compiled their 8 Predictions for SEO in 2010 where they share their insights into where the industry is headed. Some things are out – like real-time search at Google and Bing. Since its hastened introduction last month, reaction to it has been mostly negative. SEOs are concerned about the quality of content searchers bring up for instance.
But other things like personalized search are here to stay. It’s not clear what affect this will have on optimizing your site for the search engines but we’ll be sure you know when we learn something new.
There’s other developments in the search engine business world that’s going to affect us in 2010 as well, especially if the feds approve Bing and Yahoo’s proposed merger. We just might be referring to it as “Binghoo” this time next year.
But take a look at the 8 predictions and see what’s expected for 2010. And of course, check with us into the New Year for the latest events and tips on optimizing your site for the search engines.
Choosing a domain name for your new website is the first step to developing your online brand and building rankings in the search engines.
But in addition to the domain name, you need to choose the domain extension as well – the .com, .net, .org, .biz or .info at the tail end of a web address.
In terms of ranking high in the search engines, .net or .org extensions are given equal weight. Plus, you are likely to find more domain names available with these extensions which can be purchased from their owners for a cheaper price than .com extension domain names.
.com extensions hold some advantages, mainly because of most web users’ familiarity with that domain extension. Not controlling the .com version of your domain means you could perhaps lose out on what’s called type-in traffic, or traffic that comes when a searcher types their query directly in their browser’s address bar.
Also, if someone else owns the .com version of your domain name, they can possibly bleed traffic from your site if people type in your domain with the .com extension. This is okay if your main goal is to rank high in the search engines but if you think this diversion of traffic will be a problem, be sure you can at least control the .com version of your name or choose another name altogether.
If you’re based or your target market is outside the United States, you can also consider country-specific domains like .co.uk (United Kingdom) or .co.in (India) for example. You will certainly garner an advantage in the search engines for people in the respective country performing search queries.
.info extensions are generally very cheap and abused by spammers, which is why they’re not recommended for building rankings in the search engines. The other domain extensions you’ve probably seen, .gov and .edu, are reserved exclusively for recognized educational institutions and agencies of the U.S. government.
Links from these sites though are extremely valuable.
As we know from here and our search engine optimization knowledge center articles, websites linking to you is a signal to the search engines that your site is important. The more links you have pointing to your site, especially from sites with higher PageRank, the higher your rankings in the search engines will be.
Creating great content for the purposes of getting links isn’t a new idea – search engine optimization experts have been talking about it for years but many small commercial sites still haven’t jumped on the bandwagon.
Why not? We could speculate all day long bit I imagine it probably has a lot to do with the fact that creating valuable content is a daunting task that requires a lot of research and time. But unless you offer a well known brand or have pics/videos that draw a lot of interest, you’re not going to get very far without it.
Fortunately, there are places on your website you can spruce up to get other sites linking to you. Four places you can reinvent on your site to get more links include:
Product pages
Product pages typically are not fertile link building grounds – most only contain prices, specs and not a lot of content. They’re usually contained on pages that have a dynamic URL – one factor that prevents search engines from even crawling the page!
Make product pages more linkable by focusing on 1 or 2 products at a time. Change them over to a static URL with unique content promoting your “featured product” of the month of something like this. Contact bloggers and other people in your niche market and ask them to write about your featured product and link to the page.
Company news page
Unless you’re a part of a big brand that’s unveiling a revolutionary product, most people don’t care what’s going on at your company. Stand to reason you’re not seeing much progress if you’re simply using your blog to write about internal company news. You need to engage your target audience!!
Use press releases and other avenues like blogs to announce company news that impacts people outside your company. Contests, awards the company is giving out, new products and services, etc. And don’t be shy – if you’re company has a good human interest story to tell, by all means do so.
Have a new job opening you’re trying to fill? Create a job openings page on your site and contact blogs, job sites and other social media networks to let them know.
Links page(s)
Most link pages you come across are simply thrown together…they welcome just about anybody to put a link there. Compiling a comprehensive list of useful resources for people or simply re-arranging what you already have can bring you hundreds of links.
Articles or Sales Pitches
If you have great content or articles purely for educational, reference or entertainment purposes, good for you!
But if you’ve never promoted it, then it’s still one step away from linkable. Share articles you’ve invested a lot of time in researching and writing. Research other sites in your niche and see what they’re putting up. Do you offer something new to the conversation?
If you don’t, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to re-write everything but maybe all you need to do is add a different perspective or an analogy to make a complex subject more understandable for laymen.
While it takes time and a lot of work to build links to your site, it can pay off with persistence. But taking your old site, dusting it off and adding some shine can take it from static to a useful, and linkable, resource that people will follow.
Knowing the demographics of your target market is one of the necessary steps in any marketing effort – social media marketing is no different.
Demographics is defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as “the demographic characteristics of a population, esp. as classified by age, sex, income, etc. for market research, sociological analysis, etc.” Other characteristics of people demographic researchers may consider are race, disabilities, mobility, education level, home ownership, employment status, location and whatever characteristic can be used to describe someone.
Understanding your demographic is critical to understanding your target market and thus, the social media outlets you use to market your products and services online. Are you targeting men or women? How old are they? What’s their class? (i.e. lower, middle, upper)
After you have determined your target demographics, you need to research social networks that cater to that group. Wikipedia has a great resource that lists major social networks and also provides each one’s description/focus, estimated number of registered users, registration requirements and also what’s called an Alexa page ranking.
There are other resources out there that detail social networks and their target audiences.
Let’s say you specialize in tutoring and study guides for college students. Looking at Wikipedia’s list, you can consider “Classmates.com”, “College Tonight”, “Facebook”, “Ning” and perhaps “Playboy U”. Combined, these networks can probably expose your products and services to nearly ½ billion people.
So the lesson here, social media marketing has striking similarities…you have to know your target audience’s demographics if you’re going to reach the maximum number of individuals that are conceivably interested in what you offer.
Thanks to Jake Walker for this contributed article featuring the link-building aspect of maintaining SEO on a monthly basis. Enjoy!
I’ve seen it a million times. It’s one of the most common mistakes made by webmasters and companies when it comes to SEO. They spend money on an aggressive 6 month link building campaign. Their site starts ranking, the traffic starts flooding in. The campaign expires, and everything appears fine. But then a few months later rank starts to drop. They’ve lost momentum.
Sometimes it takes months, sometimes years, but the fact of the matter is: If you don’t maintain your link building and SEO efforts on a monthly basis, sooner or later, some one will start to compete and take your rankings away.
Now this doesn’t mean you have to constantly spend thousands month in and month out on link building alone. Once rank has been achieved, in many cases you can scale back to maintenance level link building.
For most moderately competitive niches, a few smart moves here and there can help you hold your rank.
The Digg-able Post
Creating a post that is intended for the Digg crowd is a great way to get noticed. If you get noticed enough you’ll be featured in the “what’s hot upcoming section”, usually this is enough to gain some back-links and keep your site fresh in Google’s eyes.
The Information Is Endless
Use various keyword tools to help brainstorm new ideas for pages based on what people are searching for. If you keep adding information that people want, 2 things happen. First and foremost, you build subscribers and gain new readers. You also hold the attention of the SERPS. There is nothing Google loves more than a fresh website that updates frequently. If you couple that with some amateur keyword research for your titles, you will get traffic.
Blogging Works
Yes, using a free platform to maintain a blog does work. People read blogs. Encourage your employees or colleagues to start blogs and ask them for a back-link. Start your own free blog on one of the various free blogging platforms. Update it 3 times a week with fun relative content. Don’t forget to link back to your main site.
Stay Social, But Don’t Over Do It
Building Facebook and Twitter networks is a fantastic way to keep people coming back to your site. When you keep traffic up, you’ll hopefully be earning back-links. Don’t forget to update your social networks on any good news or fresh content.
A word of caution: Don’t overdo it! No one likes spammy messages cluttering up their social feed. So stay fun, relevant, and friendly.
When In Doubt, Reach Out
Contacting other webmasters in your vertical and participating on their blogs and forums is a great way to keep attention focused toward your site. Remember, offering insight and humor are 2 very easy ways to become a respected voice in any community.
The fact of the matter still remains. Back-links are crucial for search engine rankings. The best way to build proper back-links is by networking and interacting with people.
It’s a vicious cycle. The more people who visit your site, the greater your chances are for acquiring back-links. Once you’ve spent the time and money building your SERP rankings, and gaining momentum, it is crucial to keep up with monthly SEO maintenance.
Here’s a mantra for you: Stay involved, stay fresh, stay connected, and hold rank!
On the heels of a recent announcement from Google explaining their newest addition to the search algorithm, the search engine giant has now added a site speed feature to Webmaster Tools.
You can now access the new feature through the “Site performance” reports under the “Labs” section of the tool. It basically shows how fast your site loads in comparison to other sites and also includes a nice graph that shows your site’s speed over time.
It’s a small step in their larger effort to make the web faster for their users. Studies show that speeding up a site leads to higher user retention and activity, along with lowering costs and increasing revenue.
In addition to general site speed, Google also details specific pages and their load time. They give tips on how to improve speed on a per-page basis.
This new tool can be very helpful to ensuring your pages load as quickly as possible. While we don’t know how much significance will be placed on the new ranking factor, you can be sure that having fast loading web pages will be beneficial to your site. However, since they are adding this new feature to Webmaster Tools, it may be safe to assume that page speed will become an important ranking factor.
See a screen shot of one the site performance reports below.
You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with optimizing my website for the search engines?”
Well, nothing really – but we like to include things that are of general interest sometimes to keep things interesting. And this term, zeitgeist, caught my attention as it carries certain significance with me.
Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary defines the term zeitgeist as “the spirit of the age; trend of thought and feeling in a period.” Therefore, Google’s use of the term to outline the fastest rising Google searches and the most popular search terms is justifiable.
So what has captivated the curiosity of web surfers this year?
Well, searches of Michael Jackson (probably due to his untimely death) topped the Google’s global list of fastest growing search terms. He wasn’t the only entertainer to make the list – sensation Lady Gaga topped many regional lists and landed #9 on the global list.
2009’s online search zeitgeist also indicates social media is very much alive and well, a sweeping confirmation of its increasing importance. Facebook and Spanish social-networking site Tuenti appeared in the #2 and #3 fastest growing search term spot respectively. Twitter came in at #5 – the first time it has appeared on Google’s zeitgeist list.
Concerns about the swine flu epidemic also drove individuals looking for information to Google. In the U.S., it had more searches than another major event of the year – the inauguration of President Barack Obama!
And finally, the sour economy brought out the thrifty consciousness of many as evidenced by the rising popularity of do-it-yourself searches and searches for comfort food recipes to make at home. Chili was the most popular recipe searched for on Google in the U.S.
Check out Google’s Zeitgeist 2009 site for the U.S. for some interesting lists and charts on search trends for the year – it’s pretty interesting to see what the global trends are in terms of online search. Perhaps information like this can be helpful – but it’s definitely interesting nonetheless.
Since the holiday season is upon us, now is the time to think about your shopping cart…anytime is good for that matter.
It’s relatively easy to optimize a shopping cart – the buyer has already been persuaded as they are well into in the buying stage. You don’t need pages of persuasive content to get them to convert. Shopping carts are often where the low hanging fruit is so a small investment can pay off big.
Shopping cart optimization solutions span a wide-range from really simple to really custom and complex – this post is only intended to outline the pros and cons of 3rd party and custom shopping carts
3rd party shopping carts
Also known as “canned” shopping carts, pros of a third party shopping cart are lower cost, quicker marketing time and the convenience you get from having a shopping cart that comes with all the bells and whistles like payment gateway, fraud protection, SSL encryption and so on.
On the flip side of this, the cons include a lack of control over the look and feel, the user experience, and difficulty in testing and analyzing user data.
Custom shopping carts
They are just that, custom. So one of the pros of course is how a custom shopping cart can more easily integrate with the rest of your site. Also, you can analyze user data more easily, make changes much easier and integrate it with testing tool like Google Website Optimizer much easier than canned shopping carts.
But they do cost more, carry more operational overhead and it’s slower to market custom shopping carts than canned ones.
Which route you choose mainly depends on the financial and IT resources you have at your disposal. Even if you’re currently using one the most restrictive 3rd party shopping cart, you can optimize it and see a worthy return on your investment. Many who initially optimize their 3rd party carts move on to build a custom one in the future to tap into more opportunities.
The moral of this story – don’t think just because you’ve got a generic 3rd party canned shopping cart you can’t optimize it. Especially with the Christmas season fast approaching, the time to optimize is now.
Especially in a down economy like we’ve had for some time now, consumers are very cautious when shopping for products and services. They want all the information they can get before they buy so retailers who provide this information enjoy significant advantages over those who don’t.
One valuable source of information is a product’s description – investing the time and resources to generate your own unique product descriptions can yield higher conversions and differentiate you from the competition.
1. Unique product descriptions gain more visibility in the search engines
Products from your site appearing in organic search results like Google is a wonderful benefit of customizing your product descriptions. Organic search engine listings can bring valuable traffic directly to your product pages without the per-click cost of paid search.
Duplicate content is a red flag to a search engine – using a generic product description from the manufacturer like other retailers will mean your products will not appear when someone enters those keywords into a Google search.
2. Shoppers will be more likely to buy
As a web copywriter, I can tell you that most manufacturer product descriptions are pretty bland. Studies show that online shoppers are reluctant to buy from sites that don’t provide enough information to answer their questions. Unique product descriptions boost your site’s credibility – consumers are more likely to trust and do business with a site that includes well researched and thorough information about their products.
3. Create greater brand equity for your store
Using product descriptions provided by a variety of manufacturers whose products you sell can make your site’s copy seem inconsistent and incomplete. Investing in unique product descriptions means you can tailor the tone of those descriptions to your own store brand, providing a seamless voice for your customers wherever they may be on your site. (And building better rapport and loyalty at the same time)
While it takes a significant investment to write unique product descriptions, the long-term benefits well outweigh the costs through higher search engine visibility, conversions and brand equity. Online retailers who recognize this position themselves well to survive and thrive in today’s online marketplace.
Learn more about how writing unique product descriptions can greatly benefit your online business in this SEO knowledge center article today.
To people businesses and individuals not familiar with SEO, it seems to be a pretty mysterious concept. They often wonder if it’s a one-time thing they can setup and forget about or an ongoing process that requires diligence and hard work.
While it’s imperative you regularly monitor your rankings and adjust your tactics accordingly, there are many core SEO strategies that haven’t changed much over the years. Giving some attention to these fundamentals – along with some minor maintenance – can ensure your site’s optimization for the search engines keeps on working for you.
Below is a 10 minute video from our friends at SEOMoz outlining the three major areas of SEO strategy (i.e. technical, content and marketing) and how you can plan your SEO strategy for the long term.
Elements in these three areas that have remained pretty consistent over the last ten years include:
Techincal: Internal linking, sitemaps (XML/HTML), on-page targeting, clean URLs and canonicalization (no duplicate content)
Content: Uniqueness, value to the user, shareability and viral co-efficient
Marketing: Social web engagement, email marketing, conversion rate optimization, external link attraction, community participation and sales
Watch the video for more explanation of these elements and how their stability allows you the opportunity to future proof your SEO efforts.
A few weeks ago we reported on new guidelines emanating from the Federal Trade Commission regarding bloggers and testimonials – first, and regretfully, our reporting on the story wasn’t complete as the initial news reports we came across only addressed one part of the new rules from the FTC.
(Catch up on that part of the story on our SEO blog post from October 7th – we sincerely apologize for only including half the story at first.)
There’s been a lot of buzz around the blogosphere by search engine optimization and web copywriting pros as to the impact of the FTC’s new rules…suffice it to say that much of it has been over blown.
But December 1st, the effective date for the new rules, is fast approaching so we need to try and understand what the FTC is doing and how we can deal with it. To my relief, veteran web copywriter Michel Fortin gives us some good guidance on what this means for your website copy and how it can actually be a net benefit in the long run – however, I need to briefly explain the new rules first.
Since 1980, advertisers could describe unusual results by simply including this simple quote in small print at the bottom – “results not typical”. However, advertisers featuring a testimonial from a consumer who conveys his/her experience as typical when that’s not the case will now have to disclose the results a consumer can generally expect.
Michel uses the example of a marketing program in his blog post.
Say someone purchases this program and immediately starts making $5000 per week. If they do a testimonial proclaiming this fact, they are not lying per se. It may be true they made that kind of money using this program. But a testimonial of that nature usually fails to include the circumstances, or unique situation, that made that kind of income possible.
This person may have been a veteran marketer who had a RolodexTM full of contacts and been in business for many years…a newbie will probably not, initially anyway, make that kind of money using this program. Beginning December 1st, the testimonial will have to ensure people know this from the onset.
We’ve all heard the saying “lying by omission” – well that’s the general principle in play here. In essence the FTC is trying to ensure people come away having reasonable and realistic expectations. To quote Michel, the “…truth is no longer good enough.”
Starting on 12/1 you will need to provide a clear understanding of how and under what circumstances results were achieved. Blanket disclaimers will no longer work.
So how can an SEO copywriter comply with these new rules?
How would it be possible to change all of my testimonials so they comply with the new rules? Michel suggests converting testimonials into case studies. And heck, it may prove to be more valuable to your bottom line in the end.
Case studies give a testimonial more meaning – you have more room to provide context of a particular consumer’s experience. Case studies allow a potential customer to consider all angles so they can realistically judge whether your product/service meets their needs and expectations.
And stay calm, there’s no need to freak out over all this. The FTC is being gracious enough to allow a warning for a first offense so if your stuff is not in compliance, you will have the opportunity to fix it without incurring a fine.
Read Michel’s post on the matter, but remember, what he offers and what we’re offering here isn’t legal advice. Consult with an Internet attorney to fully understand what the new laws and regulations mean. For a more legal perspective, read this handy guide from attorney Mike Young.
And the sample scenarios from the FTC can help you understand the new guidelines much easier than simply reading the guidelines themselves.
Check back soon with the SEO blog for more information regarding the other aspect of the FTC ruling we reported on earlier this month.
We’re always looking for new ways to find companies who need search engine marketing and optimization services. Twitter is one of those tools many online marketing professionals are turning to reach prospective customers. Many large retailers and manufacturers are using Twitter to market their products and services, especially those targeting younger more tech savvy consumers.
But it can work the other way too! Using Twitter for lead generation is another way many online marketers and SEO professionals are finding new clients in this tough environment.
Five ways sales people can use Twitter include:
1. Research prospective companies
Before you even call a prospective client, do some research about their company through their website and Twitter. Know what employees and customers are saying about the company so when you call, you can build a better rapport with them. Understanding the company and their needs will give you an edge when you make that call.
2. Stay abreast of industry news
Check into Twitter to find updates on things happening in your lead’s industry. Real time updates from Twitter mean you can learn about big news before it’s even published across the web.
3. Find the best time to call your lead
Twitter can also be a great way to find out when your lead will be in the office. Calling every day at 9:00 AM used to be the standard but with Twitter, you can find out when someone is out of the office or in a meeting. There’s no guarantee they will answer the phone if they’re at their desk but the chances of you talking to someone goes up nevertheless.
4. Get honest feedback on your pitch
After the call and pitch, logon to Twitter to see what your lead is saying about it to their friends and colleagues. This method allows you to learn in an unvarnished way where your pitch is strong and where it can be improved.
5. Stay in touch when customers change jobs
Phone and email may be the primary means to communicate with a prospective customer but they are useless when your prospect changes jobs. Twitter is a great way to stay in touch with contacts when they change jobs. And a new job for them could mean new and expanded opportunities for you!
Check out this post on HubSpot’s internet marketing blog for more tips on using Twitter along with an informative webinar Twitter for Marketing and PR.
Small business owners starting a blog often have a whole pile of questions. How do you set up a blog? What URL should it reside at? How do you find material to write about week after week? How can I promote my blog? Who would want to read it? Is blogging really a good use of my time? (If not, should I hire a ghostwriter?) And so on…
If you’re considering hiring an online marketing company to help you with your blog, you’ll be guided through the whole process.
But if you’re looking to set up your blog on your own, you’ll need to first do some homework. Marketing consultant Kelly Watson has pulled together a great resource that answers all the small business blogging questions you can think of and more. I know, because I reviewed her blogging ebook and SEO Advantage contributed its expertise in a few places.
At $29 and well over 60 pages PLUS tutorials to help you actually set up your small business blog, The Small Business Blogging Blueprint is a resource that will serve you well. In fact, author Kelly Watson is even including in that price all future updates, so you never have to worry about the info becoming outdated.
One of our partners, Channel Intelligence, is hosting a webinar tomorrow (Wed.) featuring new services and upcoming improvements by Google expected to help merchants with the 2009 holiday shopping season.
Scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT, the webinar will feature how to boost product sales through enriched product data feeds and other retailer-tested tips, as well as several new innovations merchants can draw on. Guest speakers from Google, Inc. will join CI to present upcoming Google enhancements that retailers can leverage for the 2009 holiday season.
Google offers merchants many tools to help drive shoppers to online and local stores, including a few new enhancements about to be introduced just in time for the holiday shopping season. Guest speakers Vivek Tata, Associate Product Marketing Manager, and Sarah Beritzhoff, Strategic Partner Manager, of Google, Inc., will join CI’s Larry Weeks, Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing Consulting, and Rob Streeter, Sr. Manager Partner Development, to discuss ways merchants can better leverage Google for a more profitable 2009 holiday shopping season.
CI will share tips with merchants on ways to maximize product performance and increase sales from various Google properties, as well as share success stories from current retailer customers.
A foundational element often overlooked when advertising on Google is the provision of content rich, high-quality data feeds, since Google’s powerful database leverages data feeds to render the merchants’ products to the right consumer at the right time. Attendees can expect to learn more about this essential element and its role in successful campaigns, as well as a host of other ways to improve sales performance.
