Content is truly king and even more so with the recent Google Hummingbird algorithm revolution. Google’s ingenuity became even more evident in the simplicity of the approach-provide valuable, engaging, timely content and you will rank well. Just a few years ago, Google could not afford the luxury of humanizing content analysis due to the lack of computing power, but with the advance of technology and the decrease in hardware prices, Google can now afford to analyze content deeper and build logical, intelligent connections between various web elements. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing. Content marketing is simply an ongoing effort to promote HKGSEO and syndicate your content via various publishing channels. Of course, the content-value and industry-relevance principles apply here more than ever. One way to promote your content is by publishing articles, blog posts, and news releases on relevant websites. Some are free, and some are paid. We have had great experience with PR Web, MyPRGenie, Social media Today, and Ezine Articles, all of which have stellar DAs. If you manage to make it on these sites, the SEO-juice quality is truly supreme. Another way to do this is via social media. This is more of a challenge because you will have to build a sizable following on multiple social media channels; however, it has huge marketing benefits well beyond just SEO. It is not clear how much SEO juice you will receive from social media though. Google has been shifting its emphasis to Google+, and now even that is in flux. We left social media out of this SEO guide because we believe it stands on its own and should not be used primarily as an SEO tool.
Placing your listings on web directories should be used to help local clients find your business on the web, not to advance your SEO agenda. These directories are usually organized geographically, by sector and by theme. Make sure you list your business correctly. We prefer to work with relevant directories that have a DA above 50. With most quality directories, you may have to wait for months. There is a simple reason for this: competition. Everyone else wants to be there for free. Some directories provide the option to pay for an expedited review process. When we say the word “pay, ” we don’t mean paying for placement; we mean paying for a quick review, which is usually two to three business days. Your listing still might be rejected after you pay. Avoid directories that guarantee your placement for a fee. We also highly recommend you focus on the directories specializing in your industry first, as Google will assign these links a higher value. Paid directories range anywhere from $25 to $300 per year. Most offer an annual and a permanent option, with the permanent option being significantly more expensive. Some offer placing several deep links in addition to your main domain. Here is the list of directories offering free and expedited (paid) listings, along with their respective DA scores:
There are many ways you can bring more traffic to your website but search engine optimization or SEO is by far the best approach. SEO in layman’s term is the implementation of different strategies to please the search engines and in return, rank higher on their search results. Traffic from the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing is considered gold by online entrepreneurs because of the potential profit that can be made out of it. It is considered valuable because it’s highly targeted and has a high conversion rate. Therefore, if you are running a business online, it’s imperative and strategic that you include SEO in your online marketing plan. Unfortunately, SEO is time-consuming and requires some technical skills to be effective at it. While it is no rocket science and can be learned from resources available online, the learning curve is steep and the training resources are oftentimes misleading. Remember that there’s a proper and ethical way of doing SEO. If you implement unethical SEO strategies that you have acquired from unreliable sources, you put your website at risk of being banned in the search results – the nightmare of every online entrepreneur!
If you don’t have time and you don’t want to risk your website from potential penalties, outsourcing SEO is a viable solution. Here are some good reasons why outsourcing SEO leads to better results and higher productivity: You should choose an SEO company that is both knowledgeable and experienced in search engine optimization. The company should be able to discuss to you in detail the strategies that they use in running a campaign. More importantly, they should be able to answer your questions without using jargons. They should also be able to provide you with sample projects that they have managed successfully. If they are a reputable SEO company, they won’t have no problem providing you with references.
Stay away from SEO companies that guarantee results. The truth is, no SEO company can guarantee top ranking and the specific timeframe it takes to achieve it. Google’s algorithm is top-secret and unknown to all SEO practitioners. It’s constantly evolving, which makes guaranteeing results even more impossible. Chances are that you are dealing with an SEO company that uses unethical SEO strategies if they guarantee immediate success. While it’s possible to achieve top rankings in a few days using shady SEO techniques, it’s most likely going to be short-lived. Your website could be banned in the search engines, which is the worst thing that can happen.