Search Engine Optimization is an on going process. Search engines like Google are consistently changing their algorithms to ensure sites are fairly rated.  In fact, it was reported last year that Google changed their ranking algorithm 400 times. Small businesses are not the only group who requires Search Engine Optimization. Even Fortune 500 companies need to spend time working on SEO. According to a 2009 survey conducted by Conductor,...

Usually there is a huge gap in making a web site look good and making it optimized. To add animations and cool effects you either need to use Flash, which cannot be indexed by search engines, or you need to use JavaScript, which is extremely difficult and time consuming. But there’s good news on the horizon. CSS 3 is currently being drafted, and is providing some awesome animation and graphics tools to web designers. The best part? CSS...

Google has recently introduced a new pay feature to Google Places. This feature, known as tags, allows you to add extra information to your listing in Google maps and displays a small tag on the map, next to your business. This is useful for things like coupons and sales. It is a useful marketing tool in general, but the question is, is it worth the cost? Google tags costs $25 a month, kind of steep for a little yellow tag (see above.) The...

Often we are asked, should I use Adwords? The answer depends on your business model and cash flow. A successful local business model may fail when applied nationally. With AdWords, advertisers are willing to break even or lose money on the initial investment because the Internet users are looking for their products. If your company is conservative with your cash flow, you maybe losing money with Adwords. Advertisers must have the cash to go...

If you use images in your web pages, it is good practice to include Alt text for every image that a visitor to your site will see. ALT tags filled with keywords can also be used to boost your keyword frequency and help you achieve better rankings. Many businesses disregard image SEO or do it incorrectly. They are missing out on an easy opportunity for better rankings.. Images that have no text describing what they are cannot be read by...

When search engines were younger, it was easier to achieve high search engine rankings by using unethical SEO methods. Methods like keyword stuffing were used in the late 1990′s for unsophisticated search engines. It involved “stuffing” pages with keywords to achieve a higher ranking. Today stuffing pages with keywords has a negative impact. Google imposes penalties for unethical tactics like this one. Search marketers...

Once your site is live, you can still do a few things to improve the findability. Google’s Webmaster guidelines offer specific suggestions for new and existing sites. Among them include the following tips: Use a text browser, such as Lynx, to get a sense of how most search engine bots see your site. This exercise can help you determine where you may need to make changes for SEO. You can paste your URL in the Lynx viewer to find out...