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  • Why Google Algorithms are a Waste of Time

    In 2014, all that matters is that you know what you are talking about

    Small business owners probably got headaches when their SEO firm said things like Penguin or Hummingbird, as most owners have no desire to keep up with Google’s search algorithm updates. The SEO firms would sell that they know they would magically know the secrets to Google’s madness like they are the cure for cancer. Kudos to them for being persistent, but its mostly a scam.

    To clear the air, your SEO firm should be bringing you value with their direction. What to topics to blog about during the week. What static content to have on your site. What topics and information you are lacking. What your competitors are doing. Maybe they also write some content and your blogs for you or create infographics and images for your blog posts. They help you manage your social networks, material for your various communication campaigns. They bring awareness to your business outside of just your websites. Its a lot of work.

    What they shouldn’t be telling you  is that you need to adapt to Google algorithms and their constantly moving target. That isn’t a stable marketing plan. A good SEO company will undoubtedly follow Google’s moves, but they must understand why the algorithm changes, not so much the how the formula works. What the end game is. The goal, has always been the same, do you have the information that someone is looking for.

    Google is looking at your website, reading your content, and determining what you are an expert in. Your content is all that wonderful knowledge that you have in your head. Google is categorizing that info, grabbing similar information from your competitors and putting them all in a file cabinet. The ones at the front, have the best info for that topic.

    What is the Google Algorithm trying to do?

    Google isn’t 100% there yet, but that is ultimately where they are heading. That is the basic function of a search engine. It’s very simple. Someone asks a question on Google, and whoever has the best answer or information, is displayed first. No fancy coding. No fancy SEO gimmicks and front page unrealistic expectations. Do you have the best information, and nothing else.

  • The Importance of Mobile

    Mobile phones are everywhere. People are on them while they jog, at the office, at a stop light in their car (please dont text and drive). Literally everywhere. What are they looking at? Well, chances are its facebook or checking their emails, and that is whole different conversation. Users, and more importantly – your customers, are replacing their heat spacer shaped desktop computers and chunky leg burning laptops, with smart phones and tablets.

    With entire households going to a mobile form factor for their web surfing, web pages have adapted their appearance to be able to be optimally displayed on mobile phones and tablets. But it is 2014 and responsive web design and / or mobile themes are already becoming the standard, most small businesses are already late to the game without it.

    But the importance of mobile goes beyond just a page design. A mobile friendly website gives the information to you quickly. Just like a boss who looks at a stack of resumes for roughly 5 seconds each, a potential customer is going to hit their back button if they arrive at a website where it is either too cluttered for their mobile device, or the pinch and zoom scrolling is not worth the effort.

    So what happens? Well, lets timeline this mobile search scenario. Your small business page wasn’t mobile friendly, so lets see the downstream effects. This reminds me of one of those dish networks commercials (Don’t get your father punched in the stomach!):

    You run a Mexican food restaurant, and your potential client is craving a couple of tacos. Your websites isn’t mobile friendly, so your client has a hard time reading your menu. They zoom in and the page awkwardly resizes but its not worth the trouble. They leave and have a great time at Taco Cabana. They tag themselves while having a taco and a margarita and all their social media peers like their check-in. These same peers, don’t know about your restaurant. Since your potential client didn’t go to your restaurant, their peers continue to not be aware of your great restaurant’s existence. You don’t get a review written for you, since your client went and had 2 tacos, a beer and a small margarita from Taco Cabana. So the next guy craving Mexican food looks on Yelp, and guess what, you aren’t there. Why? Because your web page looked awful on a potential clients smart phone, so instead they had 2 tacos, 4 beers and a pitcher of margaritas at Taco Cabana which lead them to just go home instead of writing a positive review of your restaurant. Maybe they will go to your restaurant next time, or maybe they will just go back to Taco Cabana, since it worked out well this time.

    In this “Taco Cabana Wins” scenario, I am ignoring that the restaurant owner isn’t tackling other mobile aspects. This is what we mean when we say that a mobile friendly online presence is more than just a mobile aware website. The customer who just wanted some tacos, they may have been driving around and searched “Mexican food” on their google maps. A Google places listing greatly benefits this use case of mobile search.

    What about mobile apps? Mobile apps tend to have your friends involved…where they ate, shopped, etc. Is your business setup so clients can check in on Facebook? Four Square? It is only a few degrees of separation between the client who left your restaurant and the next one to walk in, and mobile is what makes you connect the dots. Friends like to go try the food at where their friends ate at.

    Your email campaign, even has mobile ties. Did you email coupons out for a free appetizer? Thats a great campaign, because Taco Cabana sure doesn’t have appetizers. Well, your clients may have forgotten the coupon at home. UNLESS…tada  they have their smart phone with your email, coupon attached.

    Mobile touches all points of a good online presence. A great, mobile aware design gives your business credibility, even against Taco Cabana’s large scale taco pumping business model. Mobile apps involve your clients peers, expanding your customer base. Email campaigns take advantage of everyone’s obsession with checking emails every 5 seconds, gets them in a store with your perk, and then they order 4 beers and a pitcher of margarita on top of that.

    Mobile is going to keep evolving and incorporate your customers interaction with your small business. A mobile device in a clients hands shrinks the distance between your business and your customers. There is direct communication, and customers are giving you infinite chances to find you every time they check their phone, their email, their text, their facebook…the list is endless.

  • How Google Maps Helps Small Businesses

    Google Places Helps Level the Playing Field for Small Businesses

    Austin is very well known for its local businesses, including restaurants. Today I want to show how a small restaurant owner in Austin can benefit from utilizing Google Places to maximize its online presence. This goes to what we are always saying at Austin Webpages – Your small business is ALREADY ONLINE. Having a website and managing the various online tools should be in the short term goals of your online marketing strategy.

    Google also can make any small business look just as great an option as a big business or chain. In our restaurant example, lets say that a hungry person is near the South I-35 area, when they bring up their mobile device and look at their Google Maps app. Let’s also pretend they are looking for Mexican Food.

    Disclaimer: both of these places are great and I am not advocating for either of them in terms of quality of food or services. 

    How Google Maps helps small businesses

    Our example on the left is of a local Mexican food restaurant, while our restaurant on the right is one of many restaurant chain locations. The example on the left is a typical result of a small business that has not taken advantage of the various tools out there to help small businesses, in this case Google Places. The example on the right is more or less the goal of what each small business can easily become with some online marketing management. Let’s look at a handful that are easy to see from the side by side comparison.

    1. Custom Description

    The example on the left shows a generic description  “Mexican Restaurant”. On the right, you can see that this restaurant has chosen “Large menu of Tex-Mex staples & faves”. Not only do you get to customize the description, but with so many eyes looking at these apps and tools, you want your small business to stand out. The custom description can be part of a marketing campaign or simply your company’s tagline.

    2. Business Hours

    Pretty self explanatory – you want your customers to know when and where they can find you. Both of these examples have the store hours listed, although the example on the right had a chance to review it for accuracy since they are controlling their Google Places account.

    3. Photos

    Let’s face it – why read when you can just look at pictures! Photo’s of menu selections helps the chain stand out. From an online marketing point of view, it gives the restaurant chain more credibility. They are showing their customers what they can look forward to eating. Fast Food commercials show giant burgers as their visual for a reason!

    4. Small Business Website

    As we always tell our Austin clients – a website gives your business more legitimacy. A website allows your business to run 24/7 and expand your customer base. It also gives a central point of information about your small business, no matter if customers found you via google maps, twitter or were handed a flyer. . Now, they can go to your small business website and get more information and start interacting with your product and services. A restaurant could use a website to show even more pictures of their location, information about private events or book a reservation.

    5. Menu

    A great perk that Google Places offers small businesses like restaurants is being able to list direct access to your menu. A restaurant’s menu is something that customers are going to be interested about right away, so it gives you quick access. The example on the right has both their website listed and then a direct link to their menu – whereas the example on the left has neither. Customers looking for a specific plate are going to have to call the restaurant, be possibly put on hold, just to ask about menu choices.

    6. Reviews of Your Small Business

    Reviews are a huge part of the online world today. With the rise in online shopping, people are depending on each other for advice of where to spend their money. Google Places allows anyone on the internet to have reviews about a place of business. Managing your online profiles should include being aware of your reviews. A bad review is going to stick out, but the example on the right has the ability to respond to a review. They can address any issues, in front of all readers and hungry Mexican food lovers, showing that their customers come first.

    The example on the left even has a great review – but with no online profile…the small business will not be able to respond and thank that customer for their business.

    Let Great Products Speak for Itself!

    As in our previous blog posts, managing your online profiles requires a lot of time and some knowledge, that is why many small businesses do not do it or put it off for a long time. But taking advantage of these online tools levels the playing field. If the restaurant on the left managed their profile – their listing will look as great as the restaurant chain on the right. That is what small businesses want to do – level the playing field, so that their great products will speak for itself.

  • ¿Por qué deberías tener un blog para tu negocio?

    El blog ayuda a atraer a los clientes

    Como un dueño de una pequeña empresa en Austin, ¿cómo se puede destacar por tener un gran producto o servicio? Mostrar al cliente de que se es un experto en su producto es una forma de ganar la confianza de los clientes. Es por eso que el blogging es una gran manera de compartir tus conocimientos con tus clientes. El blog no sólo le permite crear una gran colección de contenido acerca de su producto o servicios. Como un beneficio adicional, los blogs, sin duda, contribuirá a que prevalecen en Google.

    El blog Enfoque

    Cada pequeña empresa en un sitio web generalmente tiene un puñado de secciones, la página de inicio, una manera de comunicarse con ellos y con páginas sobre sus negocios. Estas son páginas muy amplias de temas. Un blog debe ser sobre algo determinado y se puede entrar en más detalles. Usted debe escribir para los lectores de la misma manera que habla con ellos en persona. Recuerde, el objetivo es enseñar a sus lectores en primer lugar, por lo que tenemos de ser capaces de entender lo que usted está diciendo.

    Blogs siempre tendran muchos grandes resultados para su sitio web. Que muestre a sus clientes que sabe de lo que está hablando del blog a la vez. Antes de que usted espera, usted tendrá una pequeña biblioteca de información. Los lectores vendrán a usted si usted es capaz de explicar el tema de esa forma, que a menudo se denomina “alta calidad” en el mundo SEO. Puntos de Bonificación si nadie habla de lo que le está explicando en su blog.

    Google y el Blog

    Este mes la marca Google tiene su 15 aniversario en Austin, y si pequeñas empresas, quieren que sus clientes le encuentren su sitio web, se lo dire a continuación, el rendimiento de Google va a ser una de sus principales objetivos. La semana pasada hubo un anuncio importante acerca de Google, cambiara su algoritmo de búsqueda, y de hecho se había aplicado en silencio por un período de varias semanas, pero, ¿cómo va a afectar en Austin a pequeñas empresas?

    La verdad es que son clientes de Google, y su objetivo es crear el motor de búsqueda perfecta. Google quiere que sus usuarios al escribir lo que ellos están buscando y les muestre exactamente lo que estaban buscando, simple y llanamente. Independientemente de lo que cada uno le dice acerca de cómo se conocen los secretos de Google, la fórmula mágica, es una tontería. Esta versión de google, es un paso más para humanizar el proceso de búsqueda más y más. Ofrecer a los clientes lo que ellos necesitan saber, que es lo que Google quiere, eso es lo que desea.

    Su blog, escrito para que sus clientes lo comprendan, será lo que Google busca más. Tiene una pequeña biblioteca de conocimientos sobre su sitio web. Las personas en el mismo campo que se cita y el enlace a tu sitio web, blog de explicar temas. Este se basa sus backlinks y su credibilidad. Estos puntos son de vital importancia para alto ranking en Google. Y esa es la forma en la que los clientes lo encuentren.

  • Recent Google Changes Affect Small Businesses

    Google quietly changed their search algorithm and didn’t say anything for a month

    I believe that small business owners don’t have a website for two main reasons – either lack of time or lack of know how. As we mentioned in our previous blog, Google recently made a change in their formulas that handles the search results. This falls under both of the reasons why a small business owner hasn’t made the jump into employing a business website. The owner  has no time to keep up with these changes – obviously they have a business to run. On top of that they need to know how these changes affect their small business website and their marketing strategy.

    Quick History Lesson on Google

    Google changes affect small businesses and shows its direction - picture from google.comForget Panda, Penguin and other code named updates to Google’s algorithm. Instead lets look at the main ideas behind all of Google’s updates. In the early 2000’s, Google changed the game and stopped responding to keyword stuffing. An example of keyword stuffing is if “Google changed their algorithm” or some variation of that phrase, were repeated into every other line of this blog.

    A few years later, they got rid of the reciprocal links and began to address link farms. That mean’s that websites setup to show large amounts of similar category links made less of an impact on search rankings.

    Four years ago, Google started to incorporate social media. A couple of years ago social media was much more incorporated into search engine rankings when Google+ made its debut.

    A lot of this I am simplifying, and there were many more updates in addition to the ones I mentioned. Mainly I want to show small business owners the trend. Google used to be influenced by fancy code and loopholes. Today, Google is striving for a goal of being humanly compatible. It wants you to be able to ask it “Where do I pay my cable bill?” and instead of showing you your cable company’s home page, it will show you the exact page where you can pay your bill online. It wants you to ask “how do I cook a steak properly” and restaurants do not show up, but instead great articles showing you step by step instructions. Further, if you ask anything about location, it will take into consideration where you are, if you have set up Google to allow that. Such would be, if you were looking for a “website for your small business” and you were in the Austin area, you would (hopefully) arrive here. What is only going to matter, is if you truly match the intent and needs of the customer.

    The difference between today and back in the early 2000’s, is that more and more, the internet is much more of a level playing field. It’s not 100% there yet, but it is moving in that direction. If you are the right fit for the customer and you have the information, product and services, customers will find you.

    The Next Step

    Hummingbird, Google’s latest update, is also bringing in a slight curve ball. Don’t worry, it is still very much a part of the bigger picture that we believe Google is after. As mentioned earlier, location seems to be one of the bigger topics that Google is incorporating into its “knowledge graph”. The trend is showing that Google is going to continue to merge its social media via Google+ more and more to its search results. It won’t be long before you can ask Google “what do my friends want to eat tonight”, Google will check your friends and their likes on Google+, check their calendars and come back and give you a listing of local Chinese fast food restaurants.

    On the internet, it doesn’t matter if your business only has a few employees. Contact Austin Webpages today to get your Austin Small Business online. We know how Google changes affect small businesses. Call for your free quote and expand your customer base today!

  • Why Blogging is Good for Business

    Blogging helps business attract customers

    As an Austin small business owner, how do you stand out as having a great product or service? Showing your customer that you are an expert about your product is a way to gain your customers trust. That is why blogging is a great way to share your knowledge to your customers. Blogging not only allows you to grow a great collection of content about your product or services. As an added benefit, blogging will undoubtedly help you rank higher on Google.

    The Blogging Approach

    Every small business website usually has a handful of sections, their home page, a way to contact them and pages about their business. Those are very broad topic pages. A blog post should be about a specific and you can get into more details. You should write for your readers in a similar way you talk to them in person. Remember, the goal is to teach your readers first, so they have to be able to understand what you are saying.

    Blogging consistently will have many great results for your website. It will show your customers you know what you are talking about one blog post at a time. Before you know it, you will have a small library of information. Readers will come to you if you are able to explain your topic well, often referred to as “high quality” content in the SEO world. Bonus points if no one else is talking about what you are explaining in your blog post.

    Google and Your Blog

    This month marked Google’s 15th birthday, and Austin small businesses, if you want your customers to find you, then your website’s performance on Google is going to be among your main focuses. This past week there was a major announcement about Google changing their search algorithm, and actually had it quietly implemented for a few weeks, but how is this going to affect Austin small businesses?

    The truth is, you are Google’s customer, and their goal is to create the perfect search engine. Google wants its users to type in what they are looking for and show them exactly what they were searching for. Plain and simple. Whatever anyone tells you about how they know the secrets of Google’s magic formula, is baloney. This release from google, is one step closer to humanize the search process more and more. Give customers what they need to know, that is what Google wants, that is what you should want.

    Your blog, written for your customers understanding, will be what Google looks at the most. You have a small library of knowledge on your website. People in the same field will quote and link to your website’s blog explaining topics. This builds your backlinks and your credibility. Those points are vital to ranking high in Google. And that is how customers find you.

    Contact Austin Webpages today to get your blog setup and get direction on what to blog about. Contact us today for a free quote!

  • Role of the Business Owner

    Role of the business owner when creating a new small business website

    Website companies get caught up in what they are going to do for you and what technologies they are going to use. But what about what the business owner is going to do? The business owner hears search engine this and social media that…it may be all new them. It can be overwhelming. While I don’t think the technology matters as much as it used to, some companies insist on showing off their expertise of technologies and coding languages. So before you get caught up in technology word vomit, here is a short list of what you, the business owner, will be accountable for and what to expect.

    Be part of the decision

    If this is the first website for your small business, be ready to discuss with your marketing company what your website address will be. They should have some great suggestions for you, but once you get started using that address, all marketing efforts will be aimed at that one address, so it is an important discussion. Not only that, but your business has to live with that address, so make sure you feel comfortable with it.

    Do you have a webpage already?

    Maybe you hired a web page design company to redo your existing site. Not a problem, that is fairly common. Dig through your old emails and find y0ur domain name registration information and your host information. This will include: Which company they each are with, login names and passwords.

    You will need these for a couple of reasons. First, just so we are on the same page, a domain name registrar handles your .com name, such as austin-webpages.com.

    Without getting too complicated, your domain registrar knows who your host is. Your host is simply a computer that is housing all the files that make your webpage work. So when someone goes to your website, your domain finds your host, your hosts handles showing the webpage to your visitor. (There is a networking expert ready to kill me for simplifying it that much)

    Now…why would you need to dig this up? We have had clients who, in the past, used certain services, like godaddy’s website tonight, that allowed for quick, cookie cutter webpage to be setup. Which is fine, except the small business then outgrew these sorts of websites. The problem is, these kinds of hosting services don’t allow for full blown, professional websites, until you call them up and switch to a more traditional host plan. Not a big deal, but you might need your account number or login credentials when you are on the phone with the hosting company.

    Once your web designer has your log-in info, they should be able to handle most if not all configurations from that point forward.

    Ok, you got all my log-in info…now what?

    For brand new small business websites, you are still going to play the crucial role of subject matter expert. Depending on what arrangement you have with your marketing company (SEO or other sort), you may play this role indefinitely. One of the pillars of creating a great website is to keep it constantly growing, constantly providing information for its customers and audience. That may be through a blog, via a video or with social media. Large firms are able to hire professional writers who cover your market and can provide this constant fresh content for you, and your role may be reduced, possibly at a premium cost. But remember, whatever is published on your site is absorbed by your customers, so it is not a bad idea to work with your marketing / SEO firm to provide that expertise from actual experts.

    A few other things to be prepared for

    You will be asked about approving some graphical designs and other things to see that they are your liking. But that should be exciting as you can see your brand begin to take shape and have its own personality.

    The goal of your marketing campaign is to make your phone ring off the hook. A small business with a small staff needs to be prepared to (hopefully) handle the increase of inbound communication. It can possibly come through a medium that is not the norm for a company, such as email or social media. As a company, your customer communication should be a high priority, and this could be a great time to look for some business process improvements to handle the extra communication.

     

    Contact us today to get your small business online and expand your customer base.

  • Why Your Small Business Needs a Website

    Why Your Small Business Needs a Website – Strong Internet Presence

    In today’s economy, there are many answers as to why your small business needs a website. It goes beyond just advertising, a website isn’t just a digital billboard in the cloud. Having a website can shrink the level of competition between a small business with few employees and those mid range size companies. Unfortunately, owners must overcome a few barriers to get a small business website. These usually are a lack of time or lack of know how.

    Every small business is going to have a goal in common – to get more customers. Today we will cover four reasons why your small business needs a website.

    Central Information about Your Product

    Your small business will have blogs, general content, online reviews and many more tools all centered around your website. This gives potential customers everything they need in a one stop shop.

    Why your small business needs a website - major components of a webpage

    • General Content – Visitors can learn about your products and what solutions are offered
    • Portfolio & Reviews – Potential customers can see your prior work and feel confident by reading previous customers’ experiences
    • Product Knowledge – You can show off your expertise on a subject on your blog or by posting short videos. This will further gain your customers’ trust about your product.
    • Communication – You can provide various ways for future customers to get in contact with your business. There can be contact info listed with your operational hours, a map to your business and online forms for customers to send messages to you directly.
    • Social Media – Put your customers to work by having them share your great product for you. Social Media is a great way to get the virtual word of mouth going. Using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and all your social media accounts to drive future customers to your website

    These pillars are the core of a small business website. Your product will be known, communicated and searchable. And the best part yet… is that a website is affordable and very cost effective.

    Get More Customers

    A customer want to do business with people they can trust. How many times have you gone to amazon to buy a DVD player and sorted by most positive reviews? Businesses should already be monitoring product reviews that customers leave on their website or 3rd party websites like Yelp. But many small businesses stop there. Blogs, for example, are a way to grew trust with your customer base. Blogging shows off your product knowledge. Combining that with easy ways to contact  you will generate opportunities and leads. Your contact list will grow for use in newsletter and email campaigns. Remember, one of our goals is to get more customers.

    The technical side will also provide information about your customers. There are various internet analytic tools out there, such as Google Analytics. A customers interest in your products and services can be shown by the number of page views reported in the analytics tool on a specific page.  On the other hand, Google Analytics can also show you which specific pages are lacking visits or even being where customers exit your website.

    Expanding Your Services Online

    Once your business is online, your business is open 24 hours a day. People that were never exposed to your business due to location, time or any other barrier can now find you online. The goal is to get more customers by expanding the audience. Businesses that have been operating locally will expand their customer base to a larger area. More possible customers will lead to expanding your business.

    Customers can come to your website at any hour, read information about your products and services, engage in communication if need be, and finally get that order on the books. This is an affordable investment with little to no increase in staff and high ROI.

    Unique or niche markets benefit greatly from creating a website as they usually have low competition, so their benefits are multiplied.

    Credibility

    15 years ago, marketing a small business took a very different approach. Today, adding a website to a small business shows your small business has certain validity, establishment and the long term feel to it. Established businesses aren’t looking to take your money and run. A business webpage shows stability within the company and organization to maintain the page.

    A website for a small business shows that communicating to its customers is a priority. Being open to questions and feedback shows that the business has more interest that just getting the sale. These are all factors that build trust between the business and its customers, no matter if there is thousands of employees or a small handful. This is why your small business needs a website.

    Austin Webpages is a small Austin based company ready to take your small business online to maximize its marketing potential. Find a website you like the look and feel of, and contact us today!

  • Getting Links to Your Website

    Getting Links to Your Website – The Worlds Largest Poll, the Internet

    Something that all SEO geeks out there can agree on, is that getting links to your website is a great thing. In our last blog about the bad practices SEO companies partake in, we mentioned that the internet is a giant popularity contest. It is the equivalent to the age long saying ..it’s all about who you know. Getting links to your website from high profile websites, say a university and their valuable .edu domain extension, is a great example of the holy grail of backlinks – the links that other people/companies have on their website that point to your page. It is like a celebrity telling their friends that they know you personally…you would be a popular guest anywhere you go.

    I don’t have control of those pages….

    Getting links to your website is not an exact science, has its challenges, but as small business owner you should not get discouraged. Again, in our last blog post about SEO companies and if they are doing a good job, we said there is a bunch of initial work that your SEO company can do to get the ball rolling. Remember, advertising online is going to take time: months and years not days and weeks. Nevertheless there are things we usually recommend business owners to do. We cannot stress this enough, marketing a small business online is a partnership between the owner and your SEO company.

    What Business Owners can do to get website links

    Getting links to your website can be heavily influenced by the owner, especially at the local level. Your online reputation is just as important as your local business reputation or word of mouth. Remember, online, your business is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Thus, you do not need an SEO company to sett up your profiles on the various Yelp and Yellow Pages of the online world. That’s an easy few and each of those review sites will have step by step instructions.

    Google also allows you to setup your business so that it properly shows up on their popular maps webpage, it is easy to sign up for and they verify that you are the owner it by sending you a code in the mail. This is usually one of the first ones you should target.

    You should immediately contact your past customers once your review webpages are up and running and ask for a review of your service on these pages. You are most likely already following up with your past customers looking for possible repeat business or referrals. That is an opportunity for an owner to ask for a review and testimonial online, as it will make it easier to start getting links to your website. Your SEO company might ask for a really good review from one of your customers to glorify on your actual website, but the reputation is going to matter more on 3rd party sites like Yelp, and that is something you can do on your own.

    How can I Increase Website Traffic

    Getting links to your website isn’t the only thing a business owner can do on their own, but they can also start driving some website traffic in the exact manner most local business do today. If your business can accommodate for it, reach out to them and offer something for free. Start an email campaign (and nothing more than once a month) where if they bring a friend with a coupon, which you have to get from the website, you get half off a free meal at your restaurant. They could get a free upgrade, or a free our of service / consulting, you know your business and where there is margin. Post these same coupons on your Cragislist ad (you are posting to Craigslist, right?), that is a great way to start getting links to your website, or at the very least some more visitors.

    Austin Webpages can partner with your small business to increase your customer base in the Austin are. We will start getting links to your website and guiding you with the right direction to grow your website traffic. Find a website you like the look and feel of, and contact us today! Get your past customers contacts ready, and we will make your old business create new business.

    Updated on 9/22/2013

  • Is My SEO Company Doing Their Job

    Is My SEO Company Doing Their Job

    Is my SEO company doing their job? Signs to show if your SEO company is hard at work or just taking your money

    When it comes down to it, an Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company is doing their job when they annoy you constantly. You should hate when your phone rings and it is them on the other line. You should want to pretend to ignore their email that just came in with your weekly to-do list. Only when they stop getting on your nerves, and the emails stop, and the phones stop ringing, should you find a new SEO company. So is my SEO company doing their job? Just ask yourself…have they annoyed you? Annoying is good because it means they are working for the long term, successful search engine rankings result.

     Long Term is better than Short Term

    When you own a business, the owner expects an ROI, naturally. When you invest in some form of marketing, a small business owner can easily be attracted to someone who promises results in as little as a month or two. In the SEO world, promises of results should be a big red flag.

    First, a couple of easily agreed upon things in the SEO world is that content is king, and links to your site is important (commonly referred to as “backlinks”). Lets take the latter first. Think of the internet as a giant popularity contest. Every webpage owner has as many votes as they want. They vote by linking to a website on their own page, but they cannot vote for themselves.

    Content, the material that users read when visiting your website, is what an SEO company is going to want to constantly publish about your product. There is a reason that most websites today have some sort of blog and/or utilize social media.

    Is My SEO Company Doing their job? Stay Away from the Guaranteed Results sales pitch

    So what about the promises of high ranks in only 30 days? From a high level overview, many SEO companies are creating pages full of keywords, and then adding your link on that page. This is cancer for business owners who are lured into the promise of ranking high for their keywords…it may benefit them today, but it could kill them tomorrow. When google discovers these pages the SEO company has built to influence your rankings, you will be penalized to the point where it is hard to recover.

    Instead, an SEO company is going to want to pick your brain all the time about the next blog to be published. They are going to want to know what you did in the past week so they can post about it on facebook and twitter. Since the SEO company is good at doing SEO, they aren’t going to know about your business. So is my SEO company doing their job? Unless they are paying someone to write your entries for you, they should be coming to you as the subject matter expert.

    How do I know I am on the right path?

    Blogging, social media, building links to your site…takes time. Give your SEO company 6 months to a year before pulling the plug on them, but at the same time, ask what they are doing. There is a huge list of basics every SEO company should be doing, whether initially or on weekly/monthly basis. They aren’t discovering next week’s lotto numbers, they are doing work on your behalf, so there is nothing they should be hiding. Ask for reports, ask for what external links have been made to your website, ask what keywords you are doing well in and which ones make sense to attack.

    The 30 days promise is another cookie cutter method that can extremely backfire in the long run. So is my SEO company doing their job? No, they aren’t and it is unfortunate that small business owners can be penalized simply because a company they employ is maximizing their profits without their customers well being in mind.

    Contact us today to discuss your SEO possibilities for your small business…we won’t cut corners, but we will promise a long partnership with your business. And yes…we will constantly nag you for the next opportunity to naturally improve your search rankings.