The Magic Formula of Great SEO

Traffic Source Overview

This weekend I looked back at SEO related statistics for a B2B website I launched in November of 2009. A full year has passed and I wanted to see the progress this company made over a twelve-month period. After launching the new WordPress website, the client retained me to work on their internet marketing efforts. It helped free up time for the client, it gave their internet marketing a cohesiveness it would not have had otherwise, and it gave me time to nurture my new baby. I believe it was a good year for SEO and Google Analytics agrees with me. The Data Doesn’t Lie I decided to Read more

What’s Your Threshold of SEO Pain?

SEO Pain

My husband and I are finishing our basement and attempting to make it the cool place for our kids and their friends. Whenever we make a major purchase, the decision always boils down to my financial pain threshold. I don’t know the competitive market price for granite or quartz, but I know my budget and what I can afford. My list of wants end up being scaled back to what my bank account will allow. As we discuss a custom bar and bamboo flooring (I’m a bit high maintenance I’m told), it reminds me of my SEO clients. Like myself, they themselves have a pain threshold. While we both Read more

Successful Internet Marketing Begin With Goals

Internet Marketing Keyword Cloud

When a potential client approaches me about launching an internet marketing campaign, SEO project, or even requests a quote for website design, the first word out of my mouth is usually “goals”. Before I can even begin to contemplate your project, formulate requirements in my head, or provide a quote, I need to understand your business goals. That means you need to do too. Why does it really matter?  For me, I only want to engage with you if I can help you and help make your project a success. To determine if that is possible, I have to obtain an idea of what success means to you. Read more

Local Search Will Become the Golden Child in 2011

Local Search Directory Logos

There’s been a lot of talk about local search recently. A lot of SEO experts, including myself, feel local search is still in its infancy stage and as it matures, it will have a major impact on search engine optimization and internet marketing. Many of us feel 2011 is the year in which local search will come of age. Not only come of age, but also become an important part of the internet marketer’s bag of tricks. Remember when most people had no idea what social media was, what it meant, or why it mattered? Well that time has past and now social media’s little brother, local search, is Read more

Migrating a Website Owner Through the Five Stages of Grief

Stages of Grief

In college I was a Psychology major until I realized I’d have to reach a PhD level education to obtain a job with any real earning potential. That meant staying in college and thousands more in student loans. With much sadness I switched career paths and moved into a world of technology. Flash forward twenty years and I now claim to be an Internet marketer who spends many hours as a WordPress designer and an SEO expert. I love what I do, yet still miss my first love of Psychology. Recently my two loves collided as I remembered Swiss-born psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and her book Read more

Fifteen Questions to Ask Your Future Website Designer

What Should You Ask Your Future Website Designer

Recently my sister decided to launch a website and blog. With my encouragement she selected WordPress as her platform of choice and then set out to locate a WordPress consultant. Why didn’t she come to me you ask? Well honestly, I didn’t want to work with family and I could not begin to meet her list of needs. Sisterhood aside, we both knew we were not an ideal fit for each other. She wanted a cute blog with minimal website functionality and that isn’t my strength. I’m a B2B or B2C girl who likes to work with small businesses and not so much individual bloggers. I wasn’t a Read more

Twenty Tips for Creating the Perfect Blog Post

When I said I blogged five years ago, people looked at me as if I was crazy.  Well I was, but blogging didn't drive me to insanity.  Today it is a bit more mainstream and bloggers are everywhere. I actually like blogging.  I enjoy it and it has been a huge help to me professionally.  Last weekend I attended WordCamp Detroit and I was surrounded by bloggers.  I wasn't prepared for that one, as I use WordPress for website design and I guess I assume everyone in the room would too.  Was I wrong.  There were bloggers everywhere.  Many who had day jobs and blogged at night about their Read more

WordCamp Detroit: My Top Ten List

WordPress

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending WordCamp Detroit. What the heck is WordCamp Detroit you ask? It is a local WordPress conference designed to share and promote all that is good within the WordPress community. While I referred to it on Facebook as “chicken soup for the geek girl’s soul”, my husband defined it as geekfest. Regardless, I enjoyed my time and I truly loved seeing a sold out venue for the conference. When I was younger (aka pre-kids), I would send out a top ten list on Monday morning that would highlight my weekend’s journey with my friends. These days Read more

Ten Steps to Quality Link Building and Strong Organic SEO

Whenever I create a new website for a client, I always tell them the website is only the core foundation of strong SEO. Strong SEO requires a solid, well planned, and long-term link building campaign. Interestingly enough, as I prepare for a live Q&A sessions for my friends over at JuJuQ on the subject, I found myself an email to a client nagging him about building inbound links for a brand new website we launched last Wednesday. Inbound links are a huge part of SEO and since I’m an organic SEO girl, I cannot help but talk about creating inbound links. Read more

A Good Blog Title is Like Wrapping Paper on a Present

I always loved Christmas as a child and love it today as an adult. It is filled with family, great food, and presents. As a child I liked the family and presents; as an adult I love all three. The difference is as a child I liked to receive presents and as an adult I like to give them. While I probably didn’t care much about the wrapping paper as a child, I do as an adult. I think the wrapping paper and presentation should be as good as the present itself. Gifts for adults need perfect corners, while gifts for children need lots of ribbon and a piece of candy on top to peak interest Read more