Denver SEO Blog: Web Development, SEO & Marketing

Denver SEO Meetup and the Colorado working group of SEMPO have seen tremendous growth in the last year. In the ever developing world of search marketing, the meetups have become excellent resources for search marketing professionals looking to network – as well as the professional development opportunities provided by SEMPO’s excellent speakers.

Last week, our president Jim Kreinbrink spoke about “Driving traffic to your blog with SEO techniques”. It was a technical presentation that gave away many great tidbits. The audience was full of experienced search marketers, and we hoped to show the value of collaboration and community.

The previous month, two excellent PPC case studies were presented by Alex Porter from Location 3 Media. Seeing the approaches Location 3 took for two PPC campaigns, and the results attained, were very exciting.

Search marketing is growing in a recession, so expect a packed house. The focus on measurable, trackable results makes it particularly appealing to agencies and advertisers alike. All this means that the Denver search marketing coomunity will continue to grow and flourish.

Tags: website development, seo, denver web design, search engine optimization, denver web development, website design

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Hyper Dog Media is presenting a day long Search Marketing Presentation in Las Animas, Colorado on February 6, 2009. Three sessions will cover the basics of Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, and a revolutionary “Solutions Clinic” – providing quick fixes to attendees’ websites in real time.

The first session, Search Engine Optimization, addresses increasing web site rankings in Google, Yahoo, and more. SEO is all about helping the search engines see and understand the content of your website. Search engines want to be successful in directing visitors to quality destinations, and SEO should be focused on connecting with the right visitors.

The second session focuses on targeting potential customers with PPC (Pay Per Click) and other advertising. It’s possible to waste enormous amounts of money on Pay Per Click advertising networks like Google AdWords. this session will show how to make your limited budget work most efficiently for your business.

The third session builds on the first two. The Solution Clinic is for businesses that already have a web site and want real time evaluation and solutions for their site. Bring your hosting information, and we might just be able to fix it on the spot!

The training is sponsored by Southeast Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction. For more information or to register, call the SEBREA office at 719-336-1523.

Tags: seo, website design, denver web development, search engine optimization, website development, denver web design

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Denver SEMPO is hosting an excellent panel discussion The Denver SEMPO Meetup is hosting a panel discussion of In-House Search Marketing vs. Search Marketing Agencies this month. For all you interested in SEO / SEM, this program will have some valuable information and experiences shared. The panelists are among some of the best SEOs from both sides of the isle. As a top Denver SEO Agency, Hyper Dog Media is also a sponsor of the program.

It’s going to be at the Tivoli Center on the Auraria campus. You can see details below and on our Denver SEMPO Meet Up page. There is also a charge of $25 for the program. It will be a good very informative meeting. We’d love to see you there.

Date: October 23 — 5:30-7:30

Go to Denver SEMPO Meet Up page: Denver SEMPO Meetup Group

InHouse vs. Agency – Search Engine Marketing Insights Panel
> Is there a difference between an internet marketing campaign created by an In-House Marketer vs. an Agency Marketer?
> Are the challenges different?
> Which is more likely to be successful?

Learn the perspectives from both sides of the fence!

Instead of the normal Denver SEMPO Meet Up we are going to have a panel discussion concerning the difference between in-house search marketers and those from agencies. Your paid RSVP gives you access to an evening of great networking opportunities with likeminded SEM’ers, light refreshments and the chance to “pick the brains” of some of the top people in our profession.

The following search marketing professionals will be taking questions from attendees and sharing their professional knowledge and experience in establishing, growing and maintaining their search marketing campaigns:

In-House Search Engine Marketers:
* Everett Sizemore – Gaiam
* Jim Brown – Quark (SEMPO)
* Joe Gira – Regis University

Agency Search Engine Marketers:
* Steve Riegel – Faction Media (SEMPO)
* Jason Lehman – Hyper Dog Media (SEMPO)
* Nicholas Yorchak – Lee Ready (SEMPO)

The evening is certain to be worth your while.

Save the date and spread the word.

To Register: Denver SEMPO Panel Discussion Registration

Tags: website design, denver web development, website development, denver web design, seo, search engine optimization

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What is an SEO or PPC campaign without the right keywords? Great keyword targets have a good amount of traffic, and a hopefully small amount of competition. Before you can even start measuring such things, however, you must create a broad list of keywords. Here’s where to start:

1. Keyword research  / suggestion services
Services like WordTracker, KeywordDiscovery and even Google Suggest can give a great idea of the traffic surrounding certain keywords, as well as the variations of keywords a site should target.

2. Analytics / Statistics
If you currently have analytics or web visitor statistics on your website, it is very helpful to look at how existing customers have found your site. If you haven’t loaded Google Analytics, it is quite easy – and free!

3. Brainstorming / Asking customers
Great keywords can also be found, just be interviewing current customers with “How did you find us?” Even a quick glance at your business plan can lead you to a few new ideas on how prospective customers might find you.

4. Competitors
Competitor websites can be a treasure trove of keywords. Scan their source code for a keywords metatag, if present. Also look at the keywords in their page titles by searching google for:
site:competitor.com

These four methods should lead you to plenty of keywords for your next campaign.

Tags: denver web development, website development, seo, denver web design, website design, search engine optimization

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Hyper Dog Media is providing Search Engine Optimization tips at the Association of Strategic Marketing’s upcoming seminar. The full agenda includes information from experts in PPC (Pay Per Click), Web Analytics, and more:
Proven Strategies for Improving Your Search Engine Marketing

Are you optimizing your greatest asset? Website content is an essential part of online success. Help search engines see the relevance of your pages, articles, press releases and more. Learn to identify and target ranking opportunities with titles, headings, bolding and additional techniques. Also, HTML can be used to communicate the relevance of your website and content to search engines. You don’t need to be an HTML whiz either!

Once you have the content, you must know how to maximize your search engine exposure. Find out how aggressive search engine submission may harm your ability to get into Google’s listings, as well as modern strategies on how to get your site indexed safely. Learn how to take an active role in getting pages indexed quickly in the major search engines as you add new content. Finally, links from other websites are an important source of traffic and search rankings. Several kinds of links will be discussed and you are sure to leave with new link building ideas!

5 reasons to attend!

• Translate the user experience to all online channels
• Learn about online measurement and analytics tools
• Use your SEM campaign to maximize your ROI
• Ensure you are paying for profitable clicks
• Discover 26 sources of links to target

BONUS! Free manual with registration

Hope to see you there!

Tags: seo, website development, denver web development, search engine optimization, denver web design, website design

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There was an excellent story in the San Francisco Gate in May about Lake Champlain Chocolates, and the lessons they’ve learned with Pay Per Click Advertising. The story title is “PAY-PER-CLICK PROBLEMS: Emeryville gourmet chocolate company has a rough go of it“, but the real value of the article is the PPC secrets it gives away. The article discusses two chocolate retailers: Lake Champlain Chocolates and Charles Chocolates. Lake Champlain Chocolates has experienced successful growth due to their PPC campaign, but Charles Chocolates did see any measurable growth from theirs.

1. Use negative keywords
In the article, words like “cheap” and “free” were used as negative keywords to avoid showing ads to less affluent searchers. Every time you show an ad it’s like holding out a dollar bill for your searcher to snatch away. Be sure to get a prospective customer in return!

2. Refrain from using the content network
Google AdWords users expect that the content network will show ads in all the right places. In a perfect world, new customers would see your ad and keep you in mind for their next purchase. But it isn’t a perfect world(Don’t even get me started!). Consider:

- Visitors probably will not click. Content ads are like billboard ads. How often do you see a billboard and pull off of the highway to make an immediate purchase? It’s highly unlikely. Like the company in the article learned, “The return was never there.”

- Visitors who click your ad won’t buy that day. They were reading, not shopping. At best, they will signup for your newsletter or bookmark your page. Is the landing page converting them into bookmarking or signing up? Probably not. Either fix that, or turn off the content network for now.

- Clickfraudsters will click your ad and keep half. Click fraud is a plague of the content network. Last June, Outsell estimated that click fraud could be as high as 14 percent. The real estimate is probably a little lower, but click fraud does exist.

3. Use large sets of focused keywords
The successful Lake Champlain Chocolate seller had a keyword set as high as 70k at one time, and now has it trimmed down to 30k. That’s  a big keyword set!

4. Use advanced keyword features
One of the issues Internet Marketing Consultant Lael Sturm found with the struggling Emerville Chocolate Retailer Charles Chocolates was that they “hadn’t modified the ad text to match each specific keyword.” Be sure to use the advanced keyword options that PPC engines like Google AdWords provide. In Google AdWords, the code is {keyword: your keyword}. This option shows the keyphrase your user was searching for in the text of your ad.

5. Measure and adjust
Is money being wasted in your campaign? You won’t know unless you are measuring. Lake Champlain saw they spent money attracting a searcher for “Chocolate covered scorpions,” something they didn’t sell, and decided not to let that happen again. Along with measuring what ads are the most effective, be sure to measure what you are paying for and remove/adjust the ads lacking good ROI.

6. Outsource your campaign to professionals to dramatically increase your sales
Even with Lake Champlain Chocolate’s success inhouse, they were able to DOUBLE their sales by outsourcing their PPC management to professionals. You just can’t beat having the right help. Get to your friendly neighborhood search marketing agency today!

Tags: seo, search engine optimization, website development, denver web design, denver web development, website design

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I’m still getting two copies of Search Marketing Standard magazine, but I’m not reporting it. First off, it’s so good that I don’t want to possibly miss an issue by having anyone mess with my subscription. With other magazines, I’ve found that fulfillment centers sometimes get confused, and it’s usually months before I realize a certain issue isn’t coming. I just can’t risk it. Every article is good.

Secondly, I’ll probably read through it twice. Might as well have a fresh crisp copy the second time. I wonder if I’ll even dog-ear the same pages?

Here are four excellent resources for anyone interested in SEO, internet marketing, ecommerce, and the affiliate scene:
1. Search Marketing Standard. If you’ve thought the SEO world moves too fast for print, think again.

2. Practical Ecommerce. Not just for ecommerce store owners. Every web developer creating ecommerce websites should be in tune with the industry.

3. Revenue. Great for affiliate marketers, ecommerce merchants, or any company creating PPC(Pay Per Click) campaigns on Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing.
4. Internet Retailer. Especially important if you are helping larger companies with their SEO, SEM, PPC, and ROI! This publication is best at industry trends influencing larger retailers and online merchants.

It is essential that web designers and web site developers start paying attention to the many facets that can make or break an online business. These publications can help get you serve your clients!

Tags: denver web design, website design, search engine optimization, website development, seo, denver web development

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Website visitors have never been more impatient, and I’m the worst. Just today, I was looking up the lyrics to a song. I clicked on the site in #1 position(Like 90% of the rest of the world), but it was too slow. Before I even left the Google SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages), I clicked on the link in position 2. I’m going to bet I’m not the only impatient soul looking for lyrics… or even more important things(as if!).

Lucky, mother Google(our gentle overlord) is paying attention. One of the items mentioned in seomoz’s recent survey of perceived ranking factors is the availability of the server hosting a site. In this case lyricbarn, or whatever they were called, lost a visitor and a potential adsense click or two(Ads are fun to click).

Web Designers – Yeah, you – Reduce your page load times and keep visitors!

Tags: website design, seo, denver web development, search engine optimization, denver web design, website development

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Many view the worlds of Pay Per Click Advertising and Search Engine Optimization as opposites. While they are certainly very different, the goals are similar: bring eyeballs(with wallets) to your site and make it easy for them to buy.  Here are 5 tips to improve your SEO based on lessons from PPC.
1. Converting keywords
Some keywords convert into sales better than others. Use your analytics to discover which keywords are bringing you sales, then target them with your SEO campaign. PPC(Pay-Per-Click) ads are a wonderful testbed to discover those converting keywords if you are pressed for time.
2. Your title and metadescription are your ad
When composing your titles and metadescriptions, remember they will be shown in the search engine result pages. It’s like having an advertisement to click, but without Google’s AdWords rules. Always remember you are competing against the other pages in the SERPS(Search Engine Result Pages) – who will get the click?

3. Landing pages
It’s great to optimize for your homepage, but setup some (even more relevant) landing pages and be sure they get some of the inbound links you are building.

4. Optimize landing pages for different steps in the buying process
As visitors reach your site, think about what step they might be at in their buying process? Are they conducting preliminary research?  Give them links to bookmark your content, send it to a friend, or signup for your newsletter.  Is their search so specific that they are probably ready to buy? Now is the time to wave the free shipping!

5. Split Test
Internet marketing is measurable. Why not setup split tests when you design your web pages? Create a couple of similar pages(avoid duplicate content) and use your analytics to measure performance. When your sample size tells you which one is better, adjust the worst of the two and measure again. Or create a third page. Hey, why not? HMTL is still free.

Tags: denver web development, website design, search engine optimization, seo, website development, denver web design

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For those of you not currently signed up with MSN adCenter, you may want to give it a look(starting tomorrow).

On April 26, 2007, we’re upgrading Microsoft adCenter with the improved navigation, reporting, and campaign management features from our beta site…

While I currently like some of the MSN adCenter demographic targeting and PPC keyword bargains, I think they have room for improvement. Will this be MSN’s “Panama” upgrade that catches it up to Google? We’ll know soon enough!
Also from the email:

Additional feature upgrades will also occur on April 28, 2007. During this upgrade, adCenter will be unavailable for up to 24 hours starting at 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time. Your ads will continue to run as scheduled during both adCenter upgrades.

With these upgrades, you’ll experience new features that will allow you to:

• Search within your campaigns. Use full text search to easily find ads, keywords, ad groups, campaigns, and accounts. Please note that orders are now called ad groups.
• Save important items in Favorites. Tag your campaign items for follow-up using Favorites.
• Quickly navigate your accounts. Use the improved navigation to quickly navigate to any campaign or ad group in your account.
• Easily access help content. Hover over the green question mark icons for pop-up help tips.¹
• Manage keywords faster. Bulk edit keyword settings and delete low-performing keywords.
• Save time importing campaigns. Directly import your campaigns from other search advertising programs.
• One click downloads. Download your datasets into Excel with one click.
• And more! View our blog and watch the webinar for tips and training on these new features.

If you have any questions, please contact our adCenter support team.

Sincerely,

The Microsoft adCenter Team

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you upgrading Microsoft adCenter?

Over the past few months, we’ve been running improvements on the adCenter beta site, which has been available to customers in our U.S. Content Ads pilot. Now, it is time to share these new and improved features with all advertisers.

Will my campaigns be affected?

Your campaigns will continue to run as scheduled. With this upgrade, using adCenter is now easier and more efficient. The updates provide you with improved campaign management, navigation, and reporting.

Where can I learn more about the most recent updates to adCenter?

Our webinar, walks you through the features that will be included in this upgrade, and additional information can be found on our adCenter blog.

¹ This feature will be available after the April 28, 2007 upgrade.

Tags: website design, seo, search engine optimization, denver web design, website development, denver web development

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