In an era where technology advances at lightning speed and pop culture icons come and go nearly as fast, it’s amazing how resolutions continue to focus on the same themes. The wish to improve in certain areas seems nearly universal.

To get a countdown of the top ten New Year’s resolutions for 2012, check out this cool presentation by Empowered Presentations.

Which of these appear on your New Year’s resolution list? What resolutions of yours don’t appear on the list – and might in fact be unique to you?

From the top ten New Year’s resolutions list for 2012, it’s number 8 that resonates with us at The Search Guru: helping others in their dreams.

According to this presentation, only 3% of people ever reach their goals . . . wow. That’s not enough!

WebMD has a great article on reaching goals – and it’s not limited to health-related goals. So, we recommend that you read that article for useful insight.

If your goals include increasing online visibility, site traffic, sales and conversions – then consider The Search Guru as your search engine optimization consultant.

Take a look at the testimonials found on the left side of the home page – and these are just some of the clients who we have helped to reach their goals.

So, in 2012:

• Dream big
• Commit yourself to achieving that dream
• Choose The Search Guru as your search engine optimization consultant

2011 has been an interesting year in search, to say the least. One of the most important lessons of 2011, thanks to Google’s Panda algorithm, is that a site’s content must be both unique and worth reading. Sites can no longer get by with low-value content, such as pages with lists of links. Duplicate content is a big no-no, whether repeated on other pages of a site or elsewhere on the web. Now, these types of low-value pages can drag down the quality of an entire site, even if there is worthwhile content on other pages of the site.

Effective SEO strategies for 2012: Value counts big time, so either beef up or get rid of your site’s weak pages to stay in Google’s good graces.

Mobile web optimization

Mobile usage is booming and yet studies show that only 33% of advertisers have a mobile optimized website. Although most smartphones today can render full-sized websites on a small phone screen, it is necessary to determine whether users can effectively navigate a full site on a phone, or whether a mobile-friendly version is needed. Either way, be sure to optimize the site for mobile keyphrases.

Mobile SEO strategies for 2012: Mobile is here and taking off fast. Take time to get your mobile web optimization strategy in place and reap the benefits of this fast-growing market.

Local search engine optimization

Local search goes hand in hand with mobile. Mobile users accessing local content has risen steadily since January 2010, according to the Local Search Association. Consistency and diligence are the keys to a successful local search strategy; ensure that your company’s NAP (name/address/phone) is consistent and that you claim all of your local business profiles at Google Places and other sites.

Local SEO strategies for 2012: It is now more important than ever to submit, claim and/or correct your business profile on local search sites. Get more tips for local search engine optimization here.

Marketing with social media

Social media continues to grow with no end in sight. Participation on social media sites is crucial for building brand awareness, loyalty and trust, in addition to boosting rankings and driving traffic to your site. eMarketer proclaims that 88% of U.S. companies with more than 100 employees will use social media for marketing by 2012.

Social SEO strategies for 2012: Get out there! Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube are just some of the sites you should be leveraging for marketing with social media in 2012. Read more information on social media management tools and social media best practices.

We wish you a joyous and prosperous holiday season! To celebrate, here are some of our favorite Happy Thanksgiving quotes, along with a free gift for you.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” (Thornton Wilder)

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” (Irv Kupcinet)

“Thanksgiving Day is one day that is purely American.” (O. Henry)

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” (William Arthur Ward)

“Some complain that roses have thorns – others rejoice that thorns have roses.” (Unknown)

“Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.” (W. J. Cameron)

“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.” (Gerald Good)

What are some of your favorite Happy Thanksgiving quotes?

As a free gift, to express how thankful we are for all of you, here is a whitepaper on effective SEO strategies for the short- and mid-term.

Get your copy of short- and mid-term effective SEO strategies today!

Too often, when businesses decide to tackle a website redesign, they don’t consider organic search engine optimization as an essential part of the redesign process. Sure, your new site may look appealing – and looks are an important “quality signal” in the post-Panda era – but it’s also got to have SEO mojo to perform and outrank your competitors.

Apply these organic search engine optimization tips to bake SEO into your website redesign.

• Conversion/Sales Goals What are the main conversion goals for the site? Online purchase? Phone call? Newsletter sign-up? Ensure that the paths to these are the first things that draw the eye.
• Title Tags and Meta Description Tags Add unique title and meta description tags to the home page and every page of the site; include a call to action, benefit statement and keyphrases in the tags.
• Content Include a minimum of 250 words, or ideally 300-400 words, of unique copy on the home page and every page of the site. Add one <h1> tag for a headline and at least two <h2> tags for sub-headlines on the home page and every page of the site. Include keyphrases in all header tags. Add links on keyphrases to internal pages within the body content. At the end of articles and blog posts, include links to related URLs to encourage people to remain on your site longer.
• Navigation Include keyphrases in navigation links whenever possible. Use HTML text or CSS for crawlable/indexable links; avoid JavaScript, Ajax and Flash navigation. Include a link to a site map page within the footer of every page.
• Usability Place important text and page elements above the fold (within the first screen length); studies have shown that users often do not scroll long pages. Does the new site have the “stickiness” factor to make visitors want to stay a while? A reduced bounce rate, along with increased page views, will help your site in the post-Panda era.
• URLs It is best not to change the URLs if the site is established and ranking well. If URLs must be revised – or if some current URLs are not yet indexed and so you’ve decided to optimize those URLs – be sure to add 301 redirects to the new URLs. Take advantage of the opportunity to add keyphrases to new URLs, as well.
• Code and Images Streamline the code so the search engine spiders can find and focus on the important information (hint: use CSS and keep it and any JavaScript in external files). If using Google Analytics, ensure the tracking code remains in place during any updates. Include descriptive <alt> tags with keyphrases on all images. Use images sparingly and optimize them for faster load time; page speed is now a Google ranking factor.
• Social Media/Buzz Make social media buttons prominent to encourage sharing. Don’t forget the Google +1 button!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this SEO checklist! Employ these search engine optimization tips to give your website redesign the boost it needs to rank highly in the search engines.

The Search Guru team is growing. We’re a full service SEM / SEO firm serving mid to large to enterprise level firms in North America, looking for candidates for the following positions to grow our firm. The positions below may be filled individually, or one person may cover more than one. This is a great opportunity for the right people. Please share with your network if you believe you know someone who would be a good fit. All part time unless the right candidate needs full time and can cover other areas of SEM. Note the right candidates need not be local – all positions are virtual / work remote – not limited to Cleveland or Ohio.

1. SEO Technical Consulting

Looking for a heavy tech here – someone who has experience in building, testing, optimizing and reverse engineering. The right person can figure out what the site owners have done to get themselves in trouble as well as reverse engineer competitors’ strategies. They are typically developing income generating sites on the side and may do some programming. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/eng/1666671695.html

2. PPC Manager

Need a 20 hour / week person who can contribute strategically and support / develop junior PPC staffers. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mar/1667212695.html

3. Social Media Services Strategist

This person will perform audits of clients’ Facebook pages, YouTube channels, etc. and support the link building team in generating linkbait ideas / programs for clients.

Qualified candidates may send their resumes, cover letters and salary
requirements to: Jobs@TheSearchGuru.com.

Here at The Search Guru, we’ve always been committed to reading the most up to date info about expert search engine optimization strategies, pay per click management, social media strategies, business blogging and whatever else is relevant to bringing our clients laser effective SEO/SEM services.

Recently, we’ve been approached about writing ebook reviews, the first of which was Blogging for Business by Chris Garrett – which sounded pretty interesting to us!

Here are things that we love about Blogging for Business:

• If you are brand new to business blogging, Garrett provides the information you need to bring you quickly up to speed about why blogging is important
• Although he provides baseline info for people new to blogging – or at least new to corporate blogs – he also includes plenty of tactical information that is useful to more seasoned bloggers
• He doesn’t rush new bloggers through the process; instead, he takes them strategically through the steps so that the corporate blogs they create are targeted to the best audiences possible for their companies
• Garrett includes action steps throughout the ebook so that you can ultimately create a blog that provides targeted sales leads for your company

Although Garrett includes SEO information in his ebook, he doesn’t focus heavily on search engine optimization tips.

Obviously, we believe that incorporating SEO techniques into your business blogging is essential – and Garrett doesn’t dispute its relevance; he simply says that the subject is too broad (and it is!) to be covered in any depth in his ebook.

He gives a brief overview of the top SEO concepts, and dedicates a page to the importance of linking – and another page to article marketing.

Blogging for Business is an excellent source of information and we recommend that you read this ebook and then supplement your knowledge of business blogging with search engine optimization techniques and strategies to create a truly outstanding master plan for your corporate blogs.

Stay tuned for more ebook reviews by The Search Guru!

Let’s say that you sell 20 products online, with each one falling into one of two categories: Product Type A and Product Type B. You’ve created a unique page for each of your products, which is terrific, but what’s the next step?

The next step is to create a landing page for Product Type A, with links to each of the ten products in this category, and a landing page for Product Type B, with links to each of the ten products in that category.

This internal linking strategy will accomplish two goals:

• make it easier for human site visitors to find the products they need
• make it easier for the search engine spiders to index the content and return these URLs in response to relevant search queries

The goals of SEO copywriting are to draw targeted traffic to your web site and to make it easy for site visitors to make their purchases.

So, when deciding how to create a landing page for your site – let’s say for the Product Type A page, as an example – consider this basic formula:

• Organic SEO tip # 1: Use strong, category-level keyphrases about type A products in your title tag, main headlines, and text in the opening and closing paragraphs of your landing page
• Organic SEO tip # 2: Provide a compelling overview of your relevant type A products in your opening paragraph, describing general benefits to the end users
• Organic SEO tip # 3: In the middle part of the page, link to each one of the relevant type A products, providing site visitors with a brief description of the benefits of these products
• Organic SEO tip # 4: End this page with a persuasive paragraph that summarizes why site visitors need type A products now

Here are some landing page examples from The Search Guru site and from our clients:

• SEO services
• Skateboard protective gear
• Cosmetic dentistry

Contact The Search Guru for your organic landing page SEO copywriting services today!

Or, talk to us about specialized SEO copywriting training so that you can discover more about how to create a landing page for your company’s web site – or you can order the e-book that’s jam packed with SEO tips and strategies, The Search Guru’s Practical Guide to Successful Organic Search Engine Marketing.

In a study sponsored by BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, the reliance upon blogs for information has increased significantly. Even more important to your business:

• 50% of blog readers say that blogs influence their purchasing decisions
• 31% of readers say that blogs are useful for technology purchases
• 56% of people who say that blogs are useful in purchasing decisions say that blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise are the most useful

Corporate blogs have the most influence at the end of a buying cycle.

The study asked people who found corporate blogs useful in making purchasing decisions when they believe business blogging has the most influence – and 52% said that business blogging played a role at the time they were ready to purchase a product or service. Corporate blogs have an influence on buyers at other points, as well:

• Decide on a product or service: 21%
• Refine choices: 19%
• Get support and answers: 19%
• Discover products and services: 17%
• Assure: 14%
• Inspire a purchase: 13%
• Execute a purchase: 7%

Are you wondering how SEO and blogs work together for great results?

This BuzzLogic study has supported the idea that well written corporate blogs can influence buyer decisions but, if no one can find your corporate blog, then the most persuasive business blogging text in the world won’t help your company. If you’d like more information about how SEO and blogs can work together to achieve greatly improved results in the search engine results pages and in positioning your company in front of prospective buyers, contact the expert SEO company, The Search Guru, today!

Google Has Declared War on Purchased Links

Google has declared very openly that if they find sites that are selling links, they will disregard the value of those links. It has come to light over the past few months that Google has 10,000 site reviewers worldwide actively looking at sites to determine their quality. This no doubt includes looking for evidence of paid links.

Many link brokers have a standard “stable” of websites that they broker links through. Since a link broker normally uses the same sites to purchase paid links, eventually these sites will be caught in Google’s net and will stop being able to pass PageRank (PR) through links. Essentially, the money you spend on links will eventually be thrown away.

Because there is no way to determine if a site has been tagged / no longer able to pass PR, there is no way to determine if the sites you are buying links from can pass PR. You could, in fact, be buying links from a site that from the very start can’t pass PR.

Not All Link Brokers Do Their Homework

Link brokers also rely heavily on the toolbar PR of a site to determine which sites they will broker with. The true PR of a site is now kept hidden from the public, so link buyers are making decisions based on information that is, at best, several months old and, at worst, absolutely inaccurate.

There is also the issue of link brokers looking at surface issues and not examining any more deeply. There many ways a site can manipulate toolbar PR, traffic and backlinks and many link brokers do not look any further than these few indicators as to the quality of a site. You could be overpaying for links from an unscrupulous site owner.

Many Link Brokers are Less Than Honest

There is also the issue that many link brokers are unscrupulous themselves. The unscrupulous link brokers may use a client’s lack of knowledge of how link building should best be done to overcharge for links or to provide low quality links.

Overall, the industry of link brokering is still in uncharted waters. Legitimate and thorough companies may exist but they are greatly outnumbered by those who are looking to take advantage of unknowing clients.

By now, you may be asking yourself, what is the difference between buying links and paying to be be included in a directory. Keep an eye on this blog to find out why directories are much better than link buying.