SEO -- Ranking & Link Building

15/15

• "Generic Links" - are bland phrases that avoid using keywords that search engines use to determine the context of what you are trying link to. 
• Examples: "Visit Website," "read more," useful site," and "click here."
• Google's SEO Starter Guide discourages from using those generic links. 
• They encourage a more descriptive text and avoiding off topic or no relation to the content of the page linked to and also using the page's URL as the anchor text (in most cases).
• Bill Slawski, author of 10 Most Important SEO Patents, Part 5: says;  
• 1. relate text and co-ooccurrence links. 
• 2. Use Synonyms through Google's tilde (~) operator. It tells Google to "search for pages that are synonyms or similar to the term that follows.
• 3.Partial match - variation for the reader. A partial match anchor uses at least one of your main keywords, WITHOUT using the whole phrase entered.
• 4. Use company and branded names in links. 
• 5. Get personal with names. Use your CEO's name. And create an about and profile pages for your company. Dan says, "People like to link to people."
• 6. URL's are NOT ideal anchor texts unless describing a changing website address. 
• 7. Link for the most important person - THE READER. Dan says, "the #1 priority of good content is not trying to outsmart the search engines but creating usefulness and usability."

Google Analytics

15/15

According to Google Analytics - 

• Executives can learn: which marketing initiatives are most effective, accurate website traffic patterns/trends, which customer and customer segments are most valuable.
• Marketing Professionals can learn: where visitors come from and what do they do on the site, how can the website convert more visitors into customers, which keywords resonate with prospects and lead to conversions, which online ad or creative is the most effective.
• Content & Developers can learn: where people leave the site, which pages retain visitors the longest, what search terms people use to find the site. 

• Google has tried to make it as simple as possible by letting customers see their analytics data from their AdWords account. 

• You are able to track multiple websites and view individuals reports for specific domains. 
• It can track a business Facebook pages, MySpace, and WordPress. 
• You can run Google Analytics along with other internal solution. 
• Link for How to set up the web tracking code: https://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1008080&topic=1008079&parent=1726910&rd=1
• Support: http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1008015&topic=1727146&ctx=topic

I have had a hard time trying to decide what I need to do for my business since my business is not even close to opening. 

Basic SEO

15/15

• According to Wikipedia, SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engines "natural" or un-paid search results. 

• Some of the top ingredients to good SEO are; words (they check every word on the website), titles (page titles are really looked at (it may be the title within the code)), links (meaning links between websites - if a website links to another website they assume it is a recommendation telling readers this website has good information), words in links and reputation (sites will good/increasing viewers are valued and moved up on the search engine web page).
• Because people connect faulty links to their page, they give more creditability to good websites.
• Google says: Many SEOs and other agencies and consultants provide useful services for website owners, including:
• Review of your site content or structure
• Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
• Content development
• Management of online business development campaigns
• Keyword research
• SEO training
• Expertise in specific markets and geographies.
• There were many, many guidelines do design and content/technical; here are a few:
• Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link.
• Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map has an extremely large number of links, you may want to break the site map into multiple pages.
• Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
• Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
• Make sure that your <title> elements and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
• If you decide to use dynamic pages (i.e., the URL contains a "?" character), be aware that not every search engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.
• Use a text browser such as Lynx to examine your site, because most search engine spiders see your site much as Lynx would. If fancy features such as JavaScript, cookies, session IDs, frames, or Flash keep you from seeing all of your site in a text browser, then search engine spiders may have trouble crawling your site.
• If your company buys a content management system, make sure that the system creates pages and links that search engines can crawl.
• Use robots.txt to prevent crawling of search results pages or other auto-generated pages that don't add much value for users coming from search engines.
• Test your site to make sure that it appears correctly in different browsers. 
• I love that the algorithm catches people/websites trying to sneak up to the top of search engine site. 
• I love that they give solid advice on what to focus on so that your website can be as high on the list as possible. 

Relevance and Quality Score

15/15

• Quality Score is an estimate of how relevant ads, keywords and website are to the person seeing the ad. 
• Having a high Quality Score means that Googles system thinks your ad, keywords and website are all relevant and useful to those people seeing the ad. 
• Quality Score plays a role in how high on the list your ad will be and on how much the business pays per click. 
• The higher the Quality Score the better your position on Google and the less you will be per click. 

• How Google calculates Quality Score

  Every time someone does a search that triggers your ad, Google calculates a Quality Score. 
• keyword's past clickthrough rate (CTR): How often that keyword led to clicks on your ad
• display URL's past CTR: How often you received clicks with your display URL
• account history: The overall CTR of all the ads and keywords in your account
• the quality of your landing page: How relevant, transparent, and easy-to-navigate your page is
• keyword/ad relevance: How relevant your keyword is to your ads
• keyword/search relevance: How relevant your keyword is to what a customer searches for
• geographic performance: How successful your account has been in the region you're targeting
• ad's performance on a site: How well your ad's been doing on this and similar sites (if you're targeting the Display Network)
• targeted devices: How well your ads have been performing on different types of devices, like desktops/laptops, mobile devices, and tablets – you get different Quality Scores for different types of devices
• I love that Google gives a deal(discount) when businesses work at improving their ads. 
• I love that Google provides a keyword tool to help insure better keywords. 
• I will use the keyword tool to increase my quality score. 

Ads and Ad Groups

15/15

• In an enhanced campaign, you can show different ads to your customers, depending on what device they're using or when they're searching for you. You just change the device preference to "mobile." Easy enough!
• Standard text ad promoting your your online shop
• Mobile-optimized text ad promoting your storefront
• Standard image ad showcasing your products
• It is a good idea to focus on the headline within your ad. That is most likely the line that will capture a customers attention.
• They also say it is a good idea to display your companies URL or the location they will be taken to if they click on your ad. 
• The final lines of the text within the ad are where you describe the product or service you're advertising. Space is limited, so it is important to carefully select the words you choose. Google will show up to 35 characters for each description line.
• Tips for creating a successful ad: highlight what makes your product or offer unique, make sure prices and promotions are included,tell your customers what they should do (call today!, order, browse, etc), make sure to include at least one of your keywords within the text of your ad, and make sure it is mobile working. 
• I love that you don't pay unless your ad is clicked on. 
• I love that you can put a limit (budget) on your account. 
• I love that the website is very organized and understandable. 
• I am going to try to get some ad money for free since my business isn't up and running completely. 

Keyword Basics

15/15

• Keywords are words or phrases you choose to match your ads with corresponding user search terms and relevant web content within Google. 
• It is important to select good and relevant keywords for your advertising so that it cane help reach out to the customers that are truly interested in what you have to offer. 
• It works by selected words that people searching may use. When they type in a word you have chosen, your ad will pop up. 
• The more relevant and user friendly the words are, the more likely your ad will be seen. 
• 3 tips for choosing the right words: use keywords that are 2-3 words long, add negative keywords, and use the keyword tool box. 
• When choosing keywords it is important to think like the customer searching, figure out whether it is right for your business to use more general or specific keywords, group similar ideas into themes, pick the right number of keywords for your business (5-20), use the keyword tool for find new keyword ideas, use negative keywords (meaning words your business does not pop up when typed in), and use the search term results so you better understand what customers are searching for. 
• In my efforts to not waste my Adwords budget money; words I will add to my negative list are: tutorials, free, wedding, birthday, web, for hire, blog, photo, photos, pictures, graphic, graphics, etsy, blogger, creative, etc.  

Google Adwords

15/15

• Google Adwords is Google's online advertising platform and drags customers to your website.
• You choose which search result you want your website/company to show up with and in which order you wish it to be on the page. 
• Adwords gives your business visibility at the top of the Google search so customers don't have to look very far.
• Google Adwords also lets you pick the time and days in which you want your ad to show up within a Google search.
• It also allows you to advertise on websites that are similar to what you might be selling. (Ex: selling workout equipment - your add would show up on fitness sites, healthy living sites, etc.)
• Mobile device option is available because more and more customers are using their smartphones to get in touch with a company. 
• It helps you manage the money spent on advertising. 
• I love that it allows you to put in the max amount of money willing to spend and you wont go over that. 
• I love that you only pay when potential customers click on your ad and go to your website.
• I love that it is a company everyone trusts. 
• I love that you can guarantee you will get traffic because Google is so widely used.
• I have set up my Google Adwords account. This will help get the word out about my business. 

Credit Card Payments

15/15

• It seems relatively easy to start using Google Checkout. Just adding a few statements of code into the website HTML page can insert the checkout option right to your website. 
• The charges are as follows: 
• Monthly Sales through Google Checkout - Less than $3,00 costs 2.9% + $0.30
• $3,000 - $9,999.99 costs 2.5% + $0.30
• $10,000 - $99,999.99 costs 2.2% + $0.30
• $100,000 - or more costs 1.9% + $0.30
• An additional 1% fee will be added when products purchased are different from sellers billing country. 
• More help from Google: Google Adwords (advertisement), and Google Wallet (help with buyers who leave their checkout cart without buying). 
• PayPal: Customers don't need a PayPal account, it is an easy set up, with no programming skills required, and no setup or monthly charges. 
• Fees for PayPal: depending on monthly sales - PayPal charges between 2.4%(higher number of sales) and 3.1% (lower number of sales) + $0.30. Slightly higher prices than Google Checkout. I might go with PayPal though because I have heard of more people using PayPal and they all really speak highly of it. 
• PayPal allows you to create a nice button to add to your website that says "Add to Cart." 
• I love that the fees are relatively cheap. 
• I love that both are pretty simple ways of adding the credit card option to a website (PayPal seems easier since you don't have to dig into the HTML document.
• I love that both are large companies that most everyone trusts. 

Pinterest

15/15

• Pinterest is a way of collecting and organizing things online that you love and want to remember. 
• One of the best ways to promote your business is to pin a lot of image onto your boards. It then will be reposted by followers and hopefully become viral and spread all over the web.
• Studies show that images that are taller - are reposted more. 
• It is important to create images that be elongated that either combine several images or stretch images. 
• Add images to every post on your website/blog so that it stands out and can more easily be reposted. 
• Make sure that at least one image on each post is able to be posted on pinterest.
• I love that it is free.
• I love that followers of my business can also follow my personal boards.
• I love that pinterest is so popular especially with the products I will be selling. 
• I already have a personal account that I have created a board called "D5 Designs". That is where I will re-pin all of my posts in hopes that my followers will re-pin my pins. 

Text & LinkedIn

15/15

• Able to send a text message to many phones from the internet, email, and API (not sure what that is.)
• Text messages are not guaranteed to get delivered. Up to 5% are not delivered.
• There are costs that go into sending mass text messages to subscribers. It doesn’t seem like a lot but thinking about paying the fee every month seems like it could add up quickly.
• LinkedIn has a special feature to endorse companies. It adds credibility and shows expertise for a business.
• It can help with relationships because you endorse a business, then they endorse you. It builds connections and gets the businesses name out there.
• I love that these are both good ways to get the business name out there.
• I love that LinkedIn is free and seems like it helps build relationships with followers.
• I loved that sending text messages is relatively easy. 
• I don’t love the price of the text messages (although, I understand they cannot be free.)
• I don’t think I will use either of these things for my business. They don’t seem like they would do me any good for my business.  Text messages would just cost me extra money I don’t feel is necessary.

You Tube & Google+

15/15

• A simple point and shoot video can reach a wide range of audience. It can get a name or business out there quickly if it goes viral. 
• You Tube is the second largest search engine and it is free to use. 
• Ads can be created through You Tube. 
• No real down side. The worst that could happen is no one watches the video created.
• The video should be useful and entertaining.
• Google+ allows the user to share publicly and build followers as people discover and re-share the businesses posts with others around the world. 
• I love that both are free (excepts ads).
• I love the option of live video feed.
• I love that both social networking sites get many, many hits a day. Therefore, having access to tons of people.
• The things I read and watched will help me create interaction with the people following my business. 

Twitter

15/15

• The user does not have to tweet at all to get access to all the information out there. 
• Twitter has the ability to connect businesses with customers in real time.
• Businesses can use Twitter to quickly share information with people interested in their products and services, get feedback, and build relationships with customers.
• Twitter is used by nearly every country in the world so the audience the business can reach is huge. 
• It is easily accessible with the use of smart phones. 
• Users are now able to post a header/picture at the top of their page. It helps people understand what your business is all about. 
• When customers choose to follow certain businesses, the business can use it as an opportunity to "inform, educate, and endear."
• Twitter says that it has become a place for people to complain about products and businesses. They say if that business isn't available to reply back, it can really hurt that business. 
• Mark Schaefer says it is not a good idea sell, sell, sell. People will tune you out. His advice is to be patient and be consistent in building an engaged audience that’s interested in you. So when you have an event, they won’t be surprised and will support you. If you naturally interact and inform, then people will be attracted to you.
• I love that it seems really easy to use. 
• I love that you don't have to tweet yourself to stay connected with those who interest you.
• I love that it is easily accessible on my iphone. 
• This will help business because if people get to know me as the business owner and have a genuine interest in what is going on with the business and with my life, they will want to support my business. 

Instagram

15/15

- The video talked about how there are over 40 million instagram users world wide. 

- Instagram can help support a business by showing followers your products, showing how your product is made, going behind the scene and making followers feel included and important, show what your products can do, give sneak peeks of future products or exciting news, show them personal office space so again they feel like they know you as a business owner on a more personal level, and introduce employees, etc. 

- Instagram is now on the web so it doesn't require a smart phone to access. Which makes it more available. 

- Instagram can help the business reach a new audience, get the followers to care and engaged in your business, in return for following you can reward them with promo codes and deals which makes them want to come back for more, and create more interest in your business. 

- I love that there is an endless amount of people the business can try to connect with. 

- I love that it is free. It is free advertisement and interaction with customers/followers.  

- I love that it is accessible on the web rather than just smart phones. 

- I love that it is simple and easy to use. 

I already have a personal instagram and never really thought this would be a good thing for a business but these websites have given really good new ideas on how to use instagram for a business. I plan on setting one up for my business.      

 

 

Social Media Engagement – Facebook

15/15

• It is important to make the Facebook page have a nice presence with regular updates.
• It is important to create fan engagement. Regular comments from readers a good indicator of a successful page.
• It is important to get personal with your followers (family photos, etc).
• It is important to involve fans and value their opinions and input.  
• It is a good idea to be very visual. The website said to always post a photo with each status update.  
• It is always a good idea to measure results of how many sales are coming from each social media site so that you as the owner know what to focus on and work on.
• To keep readers interested, keep status updates short (about 100 words max.).
• Post at ideal times for readers (data shows between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm is best).
• It is a good idea to ask followers questions to get to know them and understand what they are interested in most.

I loved the data that shows the best time for status updates.
I loved idea of posting personal photos and (some) info. so that readers can learn more about you. (It seemed scary to me to post that kind of info.)

• These websites gave really good information that seem like they will help create a successful business facebook page.   

Forms, Fee's & Applications

15/15

I completed the business wizard as best I could. It told me that for my business the only things required would be a sales tax permit and that I should check with local authorities to see if I need a local license or permit. I then looked on the sales tax website and since I don't have an actual physical address, I should not be required to collect sales tax for sales in that state (Idaho). 

1. I loved that I only have one application to fill out. 

2. I loved that as far as I saw, there was no fee's needing to be paid.

3. I love that it seems like creating my business will be simple. And that's exactly how I want it. 

These things I read and filled out will of course help in making sure this business is created legally. Since I have my dad to talk to I should pretty well have my bases covered but these websites are really helpful.