Google Organic Search Results not so Organic anymore…

Google is constantly changing the way that they index information and present to you as the end user. The algorithms are constantly changing, different weight is being placed on different criteria and with the new Google+ and Google Web History. the organic search results just took a whole other twist.

Have you ever heard of Google Web History? Well this new little gadget from Google will actually effect Organic Search Results on your personal computer. By default Google turns on Web History and tailors your organic search results based on your browsing history.

Google+ is Google’s answer to Facebook. It incorporates a +1 (Similar to a Facebook Like) feature that will effect your searches not only in the Google+ section, but on Google.com.

These are both great introductions from Google, but unless you know they exist and how it effects your organic search results, it could be an SEO nightmare…

Lets say you work for Instill Solutions for a moment, a Boston SEO Company. Every morning when you get to the office you start your browser and you have www.instillsolutions.com set as your home page. You also have a Google+ Account and +1′d www.instillsolutions.com. Then you decide to see how Instill Solutions is performing for various organic search results. When you type in “Best Boston SEO Company” into Google, your search results will NOT be the same as everyone else.  Since you have been to www.instillsolutions.com many times and +1′d the page, you will see it a lot higher in the organic listings then someone who just started their search for a Boston SEO Company.

Knowing how Google displays results is very important. All too often we come across small to mid-size business owners that think their website is performing a lot better then it really is. So here is our challenge for all you business owners out there, see how your website is really performing.

The easiest way to do this is to install a new browser that you currently don’t use. Most of us use either Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. Pick one on this list that you currently don’t have and install it on your computer. Now that you have a new browser installed with no search history, cookies and temp files, do your search.  These are the search results your potential new customer will see starting out their internet search.

Now that you have this new browser on your computer, every time that you go to check your Organic Search Results, reset the browser. This will give you a clean slate and you can see what other potential customers are seeing. This is why we install a new browser that you normally won’t use, so you don’t lose all your search history, passwords and temp documents.

Good luck and lets hope you’re website is showing up as high as you thought!

Reputation Management

Online reputation management is one of the largest overlooked aspects of a business. Do you know what others are saying about your business? Is your online reputation driving you additional business or costing you potential clients? At Instill Solutions we can help.

When you do a search on Google and use your local demographic such as city or state, in addition to the organic listings, your search will yield Map Listings (Places Listings). With these listings Google will tie in your star rating. If you saw one listing with no reviews, one with three reviews and one with 25 reviews and a 5 star rating... which one would you click?

No matter what kind of business you have, we can help you manage your online reputation. No matter if it's Google, Yelp, Yahoo, Bing or any other review site we will monitor your reviews on a regular basis. In addition, we will help you gain additional reviews from your customers with our proven techniques. Check us out at www.instillsolutions.com and contact us for your free evaluation!

Search Engine Marketing, Pay Per Click (P.P.C.)

Today we're going to talk about Search Engine Marketing, also known as Pay Per Click (P.P.C.). Have you ever noticed that when you do a search on Google, you get a highlighted portion across the top with up to three search results and additional search results in the right hand column. If you look closely, you will also notice that it says "Ads - Why these ads?" in the top right corner.

This is your Pay Per Click results. You can actually pay Google to show up on top of the organic listings, the portion that is in white. To get started you simply sign up for a Google AdWords account, generate an ad, pick some keywords you want to buy, set up a budget and you're done! Well... unfortunately it's not that simple.

This is where we come in. The biggest misconception about Google AdWords is that if I pick a keyword and I'm willing to pay enough money to show up on top, I will. Unfortunately this is not the case. Just because you're willing to pay the most, doesn't mean you'll be on top. Google will actually take into account how relevant your website is to the keywords you are trying to buy. You need to have relevant content on your site for you ads to start showing up with proper Search Engine Optimization. If you want to learn more about S.E.O. be sure to check out our S.E.O. Post.

So let's assume you have a well built website, it's fully optimized and you're showing up on top in organic search results. You're ready to go after additional customers and want to build your AdWords Pay Per Click Campaign. The first thing you want to do is to figure out a budget, how much money are you willing to spend on driving traffic to your website? With Pay Per Click advertizing, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ads, not when you show up. You can spend as little or as much as you like.

Once you have your budget figured out, this is where the real work begins. Picking out keywords, linking them to proper pages, having proper display ads, not overpaying for keywords and picking your geographical area.  This not easy work and can be very time consuming.

Let's use a company that sells granite counter tops as one of our examples. The first thing you want to do is pick out your geographical area. Do you travel to your customers for a free estimate? Do they need to drive to you to pick out the granite slab? You need to know your demographic and where you want to target. Once you've picked out how far out you want to target, you need to design an ad that stands out from the rest.

You have control over what your ad says. You would want to have your company name, your promotions and the link to your website. Let me give you two examples below, and you tell me which one you would pick:

ABC Granite.
Great deals on granite.
www.abcgranite.com

OR

ABC Granite! $30/sq ft!
Granite Sale! Free On-Site Estimates!
www.abcgranite.com

I know I would pick the second one. What about you? You can also include links to some of your internal pages and create different ads for different keywords. This is where keyword selection comes in to play and is very important. Do you want the same ad to display for the keywords "Granite Counter Tops" and "Marble Tile Installer?" I wouldn't...

At Instill Solutions we can help you build a campaign that delivers results. Remember, it's not all about traffic, it's about quality and return on investment. We will do market research to see what keywords people are using to find businesses like yours. We will monitor your keywords, your display ads, your budget and give you advise every step of the way. You already have enough to worry about in your day-to-day business. Let us do all the heavy lifting for you and worry about the customers that are walking through your door! Give us a call or send us an e-mail by visiting www.instillsolutions.com.

Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.)

So you just spent a lot of money creating your website, it's functional, it looks great and it's exactly what you had in mind... so what now? You just sit back and wait for the traffic to come!

Well unfortunately it's not that simple. Just because you may have the best looking website doesn't mean anyone is going to see it. Did you know that as of March 10th, 2012 there are 101,781,010 registered .com domain names? So how is your website going to stand out from the rest and get on top of the search engines? We have the answer, search engine optimization!

There are several different ways people can get to your website: direct traffic, referrals and search engines. Direct traffic is when someone types your website directly into the browser. In other words, I would simply go into my browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, Chrome, etc.) and type in "www.instillsolutions.com" if I was looking for Instill Solutions. There is only one problem with this. Not only does this person already know about your business, but they also have to know your website address as well.

The second way to they can get to your website is by referrals. A referral is when someone gets to your website by clicking a link on another website. Let's say your business is listed on yellowpages.com, someone finds you and then clicks on your website link, this constitutes as a referral. Referrals are great but you have to get your link listed there first in order for you to get any clicks.

The last, and most common way, that someone can get to your website is by using a search engine. If I'm looking for a Dentist, Tax Accountant, Car Dealer or any other business, I simply go into my favorite search engine and do a search.

So now for the big question, how do I get the most traffic to my website and utilize all the ways that people can find me? For direct traffic, there is no easy way to generate traffic and you would have to heavily rely on conventional forms of advertising which can become very costly and don't have a great return on investment.

Referrals on the other hand can generate you a much better return. Getting listed on relevant websites can be time consuming, but will be worth the time and effort driving relevant traffic to your website. Let's say you are a Car Dealer in Boston, Massachusetts. You would want to get listed on as many relevant websites as possible. A good example would be a car research website such as Edmunds.com or KellyBlueBook.com. If someone is on those websites researching a vehicle, it would well worth your time, effort, or even a financial investment to get listed. These customers are already researching your product so wouldn't you want them to find your business as opposed to the competition if they are ready to buy?

This brings us to our final focus, search engines. When building a website your ultimate goal should be to get to the top of search engines for relevant keywords. Unfortunately a lot of business owners and even "website companies" overlook the relevant keywords part. Let's use a dental office for this example. If you're ABC Dentist located in Boston, most people will focus on the keywords "ABC Dentist" or "ABC Dentist, Boston". This brings us back to the issue with direct traffic, the customer already knows you exist, knows your business, and is already looking for your specific company.

At Instill Solutions we will help you go above and beyond your current customer base and get you listed for relevant keywords. What do we mean by this? Well if you're ABC Dentist in Boston, MA wouldn't you want to show up when someone searches "Dentist in Boston, MA?" Or how about "Dental Implants," "Family dentist in Boston," "Cosmetic Dentistry," "Implants for Teeth" or "Dentist in Brookline?" Think outside the box. The way to accomplish these results is by properly optimizing every page on your website. Having proper Title and Description lines for every page, link building and content are just some of the ways to gain rank with Google, Yahoo and Bing. Not only do you want people to find you by all your services, you would also want to focus on different demographics. Are people willing to travel to you for your services? Then why are you just focusing on your specific town?

Remember, no matter how great your website is, it doesn't matter unless someone is there to see it! Give us a call or send us an e-mail by visiting www.instillsolutions.com.

Web Design Basics

Does your business currently have a website or do you not have one at all? Most of us know that we should have some kind of online presence for our business, but have you ever asked yourself the question of why?

Did you know that Google handles over 1 billion searches per DAY? Did you also know that 78% of all Americans research a product online before making a purchase?

Here are some more interesting facts:

• Google's global search market share is 85%
• Google.com's worldwide ranking is number 1
• Google Analytics is used on 57% of the top 10,000 websites

Knowing this information, did your answer change at all? Having an online presence is no longer an option in today's business world, it's a necessity and having a website is your first step. Most people focus in on the aesthetics, hey if it looks good it must function great, right? Unfortunately this is not always the case, you always need to focus on how functional and user friendly your website is. All to often we come across websites that are very flashy, busy and hard to navigate. At Instill Solutions we can provide you with a website that not only looks great, but works.

Having a clean, chic and easy to navigate website should be your first priority. This will give you a professional business image and make people want to learn more about your business that will convert into contacts. From there it's up to you to turn those contacts into customers. This should be the ultimate goal. The reason why you should have a website is to generate customers and grow your business, not to simply have an online presence. This is your money maker!

The things you should always focus on is how easy is it for someone to engage your business. Can they easily find your contact information? How much effort is it going to take on your customer's part to find your products? You should always have your contact information easily accessible right from your home page. In addition, your products and contact forms should never be more then one click away. This will generate results. There is nothing more frustrating then after finding the company you are looking for, to have to spend more time trying to find a way to contact them.

Another important thing to remember when building your website, you can't track what you don't measure. If you already have a website, do you know how many visitors you had last month? Do you know how long they viewed your website? What pages did they go to? How did they find you? What keywords did they use to get to you? Where are they from? If you can't answer all these questions then your website is lacking the proper analytics. For every website that Instill Solutions builds and hosts, we provide you with a very powerful analytics tool and will give you all those answers. The best part is, you can view them all yourself any time. No waiting on any reports from your website provider, you can log in anytime and view these statistics real time.

At Instill Solutions we will work with you hand-in-hand to design a fully custom website that not only looks great, but also functions. We will focus on a design that will convert you customers and generate income. Located in Waltham, MA we service all of New England and beyond. We can provide you an on-site free website evaluation and work with any type of business in the Boston area. Give us a call or send us an e-mail by visiting www.instillsolutions.com.