Search engine optimisation (SEO) professionals need to ensure they are picking the right keywords by conducting thorough research, according to advice offered by one expert.
Jason Rothbart of GroupSwim advised marketers to "climb into the brain of your customer" to discover the most relevant keywords - ideally those that the consumer uses when searching for that company's goods and services.
He wrote in his post on the ReadWriteWeb blog that it may be a good idea to view SEO keyword research in the same light as research for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
"For example, our company often refers to itself as a SaaS company. However, potential customers might first think of the words 'online' or 'hosted', instead of SaaS," Mr Rothbart stated.
The Search-based Keyword Tool from Google - which was launched in November last year - allows both SEO and PPC executives to discover which searches consumers use the most when looking for information related to the content on their websites.... read full details »
Businesses should consider setting up a social media marketing strategy as it can offer benefits in terms of search engine optimisation.
This is according to Chris Lake, editor-in-chief at Econsultancy, who noted that social media sites tend to rank particularly highly in search engine results.
He said that those with a universal search strategy will already know that news stories, images and videos can be a good tactic for increasing first-page presence and marketers should add social media profiles to this list.
Mr Lake gave the example of the search query 'diet coke' yielding links to four social media websites - Wikipedia, YouTube, Google Video and VideoJug - on the first page of Google.
"It proves that these sites can play a big part in capturing attention and if you own or have influence over these pages then you should sleep more soundly at night," he remarked.
A recent HubSpot study revealed that small businesses spend 14 per cent of their lead generation budgets on blogs and social media.... read full details »
Tips on how hoteliers can improve their link-building efforts to boost both online buzz and search engine optimisation (SEO) have been offered.
According to Lodging Interactive, a good place to start is ensuring that the hotel's website links out to other sites, as this is likely to encourage those website owners to link back.
Writing guest blogs and columns for article directories can also be a good idea, the company suggested, as can networking with others via email to gain attention and show off the value of the website in question.
The final tactic suggested by Lodging Interactive was that of making use of social media sites like Digg and Delicious to drive traffic, although marketers should first be aware of the different audiences each site has, the company said.
"Gear your headline to these audiences after studying the hottest headlines on these sites. Tweak your content for the right audience, just like any other method of marketing," it advised.
According to a recent Search Engine Watch column by Carrie Hill of Blizzard Internet Marketing, businesses should also consider internal linking techniques and the number of pages they have on their sites with unique content when assessing their SEO strategies.... read full details »
A new poll has revealed that 40 per cent of top-level airline executives view search engine optimisation (SEO) as being very important for their organisations.
The Airline Business Marketing Survey 2009 also revealed that 35 per cent rate SEO as important to their online marketing efforts.
Speaking to Airline Business magazine, Joel Brandon-Bravo of travel content provider Frommer's said SEO has evolved from a "nice to have" marketing element to a necessary tactic in the eyes of many travel firms.
"Investment in keeping content up to date is considerable, but we are seeing airlines investing because Google is a battleground for customers," he remarked.
One airline that appears to have noticed the value of SEO is Icelandair, with chief executive Birkir Holm Gudnason stating that SEO "works best" for his organisation when compared with other tactics such as social media marketing.
A survey conducted by Frommer's last year found that 67 per cent of travel marketers intended to invest more in SEO in the near future.... read full details »
... 
... 
... 
... 
