SRPI

The local business scene will get together again, have lunch and gloat about some of the most successful young companies in Utah.

On July 8, the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum will host its 21st annual Top 25 Under 5 Awards luncheon. The awards recognize the fastest growing companies in Utah less than 5 years old. The companies are chosen based on profit, job creation, job quality and growth.

The UVEF uses the Top 25 Under 5 to promote companies that may become region, state and global leaders in their industries. Some of the past award winners include ZAGG, Agel Enterprises, Interbank FX, Seastone, Altiris, Omniture, and Xango.

UVEF promises that this year’s event will feature exciting new companies and David Bradford of Fusion-io will be the emcee. And if last year was any indication, the food will be great, too.

Last year, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert addressed the crowd and talked about the strength of entrepreneurship in the state and the positive affect it has on the entire economy. SEO.com ranked #17 a year ago, and we are pulling for a higher spot come July.

The event is on Thursday, July 8 at Novell building A. Noon to 1:30. UVEF members get in for free, non-members are $25 (including lunch).

To RSVP, go to: http://uvef.net/events/rsvp/

For more information, visit: http://uvef.net/2010/uvef-presents-top-25-under-five/

About UVEF
UVEF is a volunteer non-profit support group linking entrepreneurs to Money, Markets, and Mentors. Celebrating 20 years of new business success, UVEF empowers current and future business leaders to thrive in today’s competitive market. The organization provides real-world, practical educational and valuable resources on how to access needed capital, attract new customers and tap into industry experts. For information on upcoming meetings, speakers, and membership, visit www.uvef.net.

Continued here:
UVEF’s Top 25 Under Five is Back Again

Creating and publishing infographics has become the new fad for attracting linkbait and traffic. In the last year, we’ve watched the craze for infographics skyrocket as can be seen by this screenshot from Google trends below for the keywords ‘infographic’ and ‘infographics.’

Not only have social media marketers taken up the infographic craze, but SEOs as well. Infographics, done well, can build a large portfolio of quality links. I’ve since noticed many SEO companies who are developing infographics for their clients and pushing them in the social media sphere.

When I discovered that so many SEO infographics already exist, I decided to rate them. David McCandless, at informationisbeautiful.net, revealed four criteria when evaluating information design:

1. Interestingness - Is the content relevant and original, such that the viewer sees value in it?
2. Integrity - Can I trust the content?
3. Form - Is it pleasing to the eye?
4. Function - Is this information useful and useable?

Take a look at his infographic about infographics:

Below, you’ll see some of the best infographics I could find about online marketing. I’ve rated them by giving pluses (+) for each category discussed above.  On a scale of 1-5 (1- being poor, 5- being fantastic) based on the four categories above.

SEO Infographics

Elliance has, by far, the most search marketing infographics. The infographics cover everything from PDF Optimization to Keyword Clustering. I found most of the infographics contained quality graphics and interesting ideas, but they slightly lacked in functionality — meaning, most of the concepts presented are low-level, basic concepts that most SEOs should already know.

SEO Factors

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: +

Long Tail SEO

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: ++

Link Juice

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity:
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Google PageRank Explained

I found this infographic very beneficial in visualizing the Internet in terms of PageRank. PageRank is valued exponentially. While it’s easy to increase PageRank by 1 at the bottom of the mountain (e.g., from 2 to 3), it becomes much harder to increase by 1 (e.g., from 6 to 7) as you move up the mountain.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: +++

Wired Magazine published an interactive infographic about the life of a blog post. With a flash-based, interactive spin, Wired has covered all the avenues of blogging as it moves around the Web, being picked up by search engines, data miners, and social bookmarks. If you haven’t seen it I suggest you check it out.

The Life Cycle of a Blog Post

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Similar to Wired’s infographic above, The Social Media Effect by Infographicworld.com, shows the travels of content as it makes it’s way through the social media world. My favorite part of this particular infographic is how all the arrows, eventually, point to a Google search engine result for that story. It’s a nice way of showing that great content will bring in lots of quality links.

The Social Media Effect

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Rank Fishkin, from SEOMoz.org, created some pretty creative infographics. Although they are not the most visually appealing, they share some really creative insights about SEO. Great job, Rand.

Professions at the Intersection of Technology, Marketing & Statistics

This is true that SEOs need to wear many hats.

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +
• Function: ++

How SEOs Spend Their Time

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +++! Those of you working directly with clients know how true this infographic is
• Form: +
• Function: +

Scatterplot of SEO Tactics

This is one of my favorite infographics as it is really helpful for SEOs to know how to spend their time.

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +
• Function: ++

The Size of the Mobile Market

We’ve seen the mobile market skyrocket in the last few years. Astonishingly, there are only 1.4 billion internet users compared with 4 billion mobile phone users. Any business would do well to understand how to tap into the mobile market. With the influx of smart phones, we’re making sure our clients show up on mobile searches.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Individuals and Their Online Identities

Flowtown created an interesting infographic about how people utilize the Internet to manage their personal identities. Interesting quote: “Search engines and social media sites now play a central role in building one’s identity online.”

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Google Facts and Figures

Although Pingdom’s infographic about Google doesn’t entirely pertain to SEO, I thought it was a great visualization of numbers. It is interesting to note how Google’s innovative search technology has made it the leader among search engines.

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: ++
• Form: ++
• Function: ++

DIYSEO has, by far, some of the most visually creative SEO infographics out there. Most of the infographics show how SEO is a must-have in Internet marketing. While I’m only showing three here, DIYSEO has lots more. Go over to the site to check them out.

The Case of Disappearing Ink

Interesting visual graph displaying search methods by demographic:

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Value of SEO v. PPC

This quote emphasizes the importance of SEO: “When buying, PPC links produce 25% less conversion than SEO.”

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

SEO ROI is King

It’s nice to know that SEO holds the largest ROI.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

SEO FAQs – A Guide

Datadial.net created the most comprehensive SEO infographic. While it doesn’t offer much original material, it covers everything from keyword research to SEO tactics. It’s a nice way to sum up the basics of SEO in one graphic.

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: ++

Well, there you have it — a semi-complete list of the best SEO infographics out there.

Original post:
Visualize More Links and Traffic — Ranking the Best SEO Infographics

Creating and publishing infographics has become the new fad for attracting linkbait and traffic. In the last year, we’ve watched the craze for infographics skyrocket as can be seen by this screenshot from Google trends below for the keywords ‘infographic’ and ‘infographics.’

Not only have social media marketers taken up the infographic craze, but SEOs as well. Infographics, done well, can build a large portfolio of quality links. I’ve since noticed many SEO companies who are developing infographics for their clients and pushing them in the social media sphere.

When I discovered that so many SEO infographics already exist, I decided to rate them. David McCandless, at informationisbeautiful.net, revealed four criteria when evaluating information design:

1. Interestingness - Is the content relevant and original, such that the viewer sees value in it?
2. Integrity - Can I trust the content?
3. Form - Is it pleasing to the eye?
4. Function - Is this information useful and useable?

Take a look at his infographic about infographics:

Below, you’ll see some of the best infographics I could find about online marketing. I’ve rated them by giving pluses (+) for each category discussed above.  On a scale of 1-5 (1- being poor, 5- being fantastic) based on the four categories above.

SEO Infographics

Elliance has, by far, the most search marketing infographics. The infographics cover everything from PDF Optimization to Keyword Clustering. I found most of the infographics contained quality graphics and interesting ideas, but they slightly lacked in functionality — meaning, most of the concepts presented are low-level, basic concepts that most SEOs should already know.

SEO Factors

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: +

Long Tail SEO

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: ++

Link Juice

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity:
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Google PageRank Explained

I found this infographic very beneficial in visualizing the Internet in terms of PageRank. PageRank is valued exponentially. While it’s easy to increase PageRank by 1 at the bottom of the mountain (e.g., from 2 to 3), it becomes much harder to increase by 1 (e.g., from 6 to 7) as you move up the mountain.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: +++

Wired Magazine published an interactive infographic about the life of a blog post. With a flash-based, interactive spin, Wired has covered all the avenues of blogging as it moves around the Web, being picked up by search engines, data miners, and social bookmarks. If you haven’t seen it I suggest you check it out.

The Life Cycle of a Blog Post

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Similar to Wired’s infographic above, The Social Media Effect by Infographicworld.com, shows the travels of content as it makes it’s way through the social media world. My favorite part of this particular infographic is how all the arrows, eventually, point to a Google search engine result for that story. It’s a nice way of showing that great content will bring in lots of quality links.

The Social Media Effect

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Rank Fishkin, from SEOMoz.org, created some pretty creative infographics. Although they are not the most visually appealing, they share some really creative insights about SEO. Great job, Rand.

Professions at the Intersection of Technology, Marketing & Statistics

This is true that SEOs need to wear many hats.

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +
• Function: ++

How SEOs Spend Their Time

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +++! Those of you working directly with clients know how true this infographic is
• Form: +
• Function: +

Scatterplot of SEO Tactics

This is one of my favorite infographics as it is really helpful for SEOs to know how to spend their time.

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +
• Function: ++

The Size of the Mobile Market

We’ve seen the mobile market skyrocket in the last few years. Astonishingly, there are only 1.4 billion internet users compared with 4 billion mobile phone users. Any business would do well to understand how to tap into the mobile market. With the influx of smart phones, we’re making sure our clients show up on mobile searches.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: +
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Individuals and Their Online Identities

Flowtown created an interesting infographic about how people utilize the Internet to manage their personal identities. Interesting quote: “Search engines and social media sites now play a central role in building one’s identity online.”

• Interestingness: +++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: ++
• Function: +

Google Facts and Figures

Although Pingdom’s infographic about Google doesn’t entirely pertain to SEO, I thought it was a great visualization of numbers. It is interesting to note how Google’s innovative search technology has made it the leader among search engines.

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: ++
• Form: ++
• Function: ++

DIYSEO has, by far, some of the most visually creative SEO infographics out there. Most of the infographics show how SEO is a must-have in Internet marketing. While I’m only showing three here, DIYSEO has lots more. Go over to the site to check them out.

The Case of Disappearing Ink

Interesting visual graph displaying search methods by demographic:

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

Value of SEO v. PPC

This quote emphasizes the importance of SEO: “When buying, PPC links produce 25% less conversion than SEO.”

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

SEO ROI is King

It’s nice to know that SEO holds the largest ROI.

• Interestingness: ++
• Integrity: ++
• Form: +++
• Function: +

SEO FAQs – A Guide

Datadial.net created the most comprehensive SEO infographic. While it doesn’t offer much original material, it covers everything from keyword research to SEO tactics. It’s a nice way to sum up the basics of SEO in one graphic.

• Interestingness: +
• Integrity: +
• Form: +
• Function: ++

Well, there you have it — a semi-complete list of the best SEO infographics out there.

Read the original:
Visualize More Links and Traffic — Ranking the Best SEO Infographics

One question I frequently get from people is, “how much traffic can we expect if we are in the #1 one position vs positions 2, 3, and so on?”

Is the amount of traffic you will get in the #1 position really worth the effort and cost?

The answer to this question is yes, it is generally worth the effort and cost to get in the #1 position. The stipulation, however, is that the amount of traffic return you will receive depends on your industry. Some keywords are able to bring in traffic percentages close to that top position, according to this study done on traffic percentage differences when they reach positions 1, 2, and 3 in Google. Unfortunately, some are not even close.

To sum up, the study suggests:

• Position one gets 34% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
• Position two gets 17% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
• Position three gets 11% of the projected traffic for the selected term.

How to Compare Your Industry to the Study

To know how your industry compares to the above projected percentages, do the following:

1. Dive into your analytics and gather historical data that shows how much traffic you were averaging each month when you were in positions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on.
2. Go to the Google Adword Keyword tool (or some other reliable keyword traffic estimator) and get the estimated number of searches for that single term in exact match.
3. Do a little Algebra.

For example:

This example is from an actual client. Let’s take one of their terms that is projected to bring in 33,100 visitors a month in exact match. If we are to assume that this keyword is in the same industry as the study above, they would get roughly 11,254 visitors a month from that one term alone (if they are number 1).

But, it is not in the same industry. It is actually a completely different industry. So, from their historical analytics data I gathered, when they were in position 6 they were getting 1,006 visits per month from that term (3% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 6 should be getting 5.05%. When they were in position 3 they were getting 1,728 visits per month (5% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 3 should be getting 11%.

Now the Algebra:

To solve for x in position 2, I simply took 5, multiplied it by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2) and divided that number by 11 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 3). This equaled 7.7%. To solve for position 1, I took 7.7, multiplied it by 34 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position one) and divided that number by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2). This equaled 15.4%.

Here is the client’s projected percentage of traffic for positions 1, 2, and 3:

This is great! According to this calculation, although we are not getting the same percentages of traffic as in the study, the client’s traffic will still double from position 2 to position 1. However, because their traffic numbers from when they  were in position 6 differ from the study less than their position 3 numbers differed, I had to do this calculation again based on their position 6 numbers and then take the average of the two calculations.

Take a breath (if you’re still reading this)…

Average the two for positions 1,2, and 3:

Because this is an actual case, I already know the results and how they compare to these calculations. When this client started with us they were in position 6 for this term. As of yesterday they are in position 1 and I will be able to compare the accuracy of my number 1 position estimations after a month of occupying that top spot.

When they were in position 3, they got about 1,728 visits from that one term alone, about 5% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 5.7%. Last month they were number 2 and they received about 2,200 visits from that one term alone, about 7% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 8.9%. So I’m a little off, but it’s safe to assume that over this next month (since they are number 1), their traffic should almost double for that one term.

It’s hard to project exact numbers for ranking positions, there are so many factors at play. Just as I’ve done here, you can kind of get a feel for what to expect when you reach number 1. I have a rank-checking tool that is funny. After showing that you are ranked number 234 it says, “Keep trying, you can beat Google one day!”

View post:
Number One is Money — How to Prove It

One question I frequently get from people is, “how much traffic can we expect if we are in the #1 one position vs positions 2, 3, and so on?”

Is the amount of traffic you will get in the #1 position really worth the effort and cost?

The answer to this question is yes, it is generally worth the effort and cost to get in the #1 position. The stipulation, however, is that the amount of traffic return you will receive depends on your industry. Some keywords are able to bring in traffic percentages close to that top position, according to this study done on traffic percentage differences when they reach positions 1, 2, and 3 in Google. Unfortunately, some are not even close.

To sum up, the study suggests:

• Position one gets 34% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
• Position two gets 17% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
• Position three gets 11% of the projected traffic for the selected term.

How to Compare Your Industry to the Study

To know how your industry compares to the above projected percentages, do the following:

1. Dive into your analytics and gather historical data that shows how much traffic you were averaging each month when you were in positions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on.
2. Go to the Google Adword Keyword tool (or some other reliable keyword traffic estimator) and get the estimated number of searches for that single term in exact match.
3. Do a little Algebra.

For example:

This example is from an actual client. Let’s take one of their terms that is projected to bring in 33,100 visitors a month in exact match. If we are to assume that this keyword is in the same industry as the study above, they would get roughly 11,254 visitors a month from that one term alone (if they are number 1).

But, it is not in the same industry. It is actually a completely different industry. So, from their historical analytics data I gathered, when they were in position 6 they were getting 1,006 visits per month from that term (3% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 6 should be getting 5.05%. When they were in position 3 they were getting 1,728 visits per month (5% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 3 should be getting 11%.

Now the Algebra:

To solve for x in position 2, I simply took 5, multiplied it by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2) and divided that number by 11 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 3). This equaled 7.7%. To solve for position 1, I took 7.7, multiplied it by 34 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position one) and divided that number by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2). This equaled 15.4%.

Here is the client’s projected percentage of traffic for positions 1, 2, and 3:

This is great! According to this calculation, although we are not getting the same percentages of traffic as in the study, the client’s traffic will still double from position 2 to position 1. However, because their traffic numbers from when they  were in position 6 differ from the study less than their position 3 numbers differed, I had to do this calculation again based on their position 6 numbers and then take the average of the two calculations.

Take a breath (if you’re still reading this)…

Average the two for positions 1,2, and 3:

Because this is an actual case, I already know the results and how they compare to these calculations. When this client started with us they were in position 6 for this term. As of yesterday they are in position 1 and I will be able to compare the accuracy of my number 1 position estimations after a month of occupying that top spot.

When they were in position 3, they got about 1,728 visits from that one term alone, about 5% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 5.7%. Last month they were number 2 and they received about 2,200 visits from that one term alone, about 7% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 8.9%. So I’m a little off, but it’s safe to assume that over this next month (since they are number 1), their traffic should almost double for that one term.

It’s hard to project exact numbers for ranking positions, there are so many factors at play. Just as I’ve done here, you can kind of get a feel for what to expect when you reach number 1. I have a rank-checking tool that is funny. After showing that you are ranked number 234 it says, “Keep trying, you can beat Google one day!”

Original post:
Number One is Money — How to Prove It

Conversion lessons learned from wimpy cups

I wanted a burger today at lunch. So I went to the king of burgers, a la Burger King.

</h3

I didn’t notice it until after I got back to the office, set the cup on my desk and pulled out the French fries.

Twilight characters were staring at me.

That Jacob guy (yes, I had to double check his name, I thought he was Edward) that all the girls swoon over, he was staring at me with dreamy eyes beneath my straw. And that girl on the movie, she was staring at me every time I grabbed a fry.

All I wanted was a manly burger and some fries to fuel me through the afternoon. That’s it. But now I had to be surrounded by the latest in the Twilight saga, too?

Come on!

Where are the A-Team cups when you need them?

My manliness was deflated by dreamy Edward. At least they could have given me the cup with the girl on it.

Then I did something unexpected. The cups and fry box had peel-off stickers to win instantly and play some game. I pulled both of them off and looked to see if I won anything. Nothing. With my manliness completely dead now, I threw them in the trash.

The King should be ashamed.

I don’t know the demographic of Burger King. But my guess is a lot of its customers are guys like me who would rather not hear about Twilight anything — guys who just want a burger, and maybe an extra dose of manliness.

Hey, Burger King, do you think Old Spice would ever do something with Twilight? Heck No.

Now, I like Burger King. But, I’m not going back until those Twilight cups are gone. This is all about a simple rule of website conversion: Give your visitors what they want. At Burger King, we don’t want Twilight cups. However, I did pull off a sticker. Maybe, regardless of anything else, the possibility of winning free stuff overrides any weaknesses. Which actually means a lot for websites.

What do you think? Did Burger King make a mistake? Or am I just an idiot to even care so much? And please comment if you like these Twilight cups. I might only slightly make fun of you.

Go here to read the rest:
Burger King Stole My Man Card With Lame Twilight Cup

Conversion lessons learned from wimpy cups

I wanted a burger today at lunch. So I went to the king of burgers, a la Burger King.

</h3

I didn’t notice it until after I got back to the office, set the cup on my desk and pulled out the French fries.

Twilight characters were staring at me.

That Jacob guy (yes, I had to double check his name, I thought he was Edward) that all the girls swoon over, he was staring at me with dreamy eyes beneath my straw. And that girl on the movie, she was staring at me every time I grabbed a fry.

All I wanted was a manly burger and some fries to fuel me through the afternoon. That’s it. But now I had to be surrounded by the latest in the Twilight saga, too?

Come on!

Where are the A-Team cups when you need them?

My manliness was deflated by dreamy Edward. At least they could have given me the cup with the girl on it.

Then I did something unexpected. The cups and fry box had peel-off stickers to win instantly and play some game. I pulled both of them off and looked to see if I won anything. Nothing. With my manliness completely dead now, I threw them in the trash.

The King should be ashamed.

I don’t know the demographic of Burger King. But my guess is a lot of its customers are guys like me who would rather not hear about Twilight anything — guys who just want a burger, and maybe an extra dose of manliness.

Hey, Burger King, do you think Old Spice would ever do something with Twilight? Heck No.

Now, I like Burger King. But, I’m not going back until those Twilight cups are gone. This is all about a simple rule of website conversion: Give your visitors what they want. At Burger King, we don’t want Twilight cups. However, I did pull off a sticker. Maybe, regardless of anything else, the possibility of winning free stuff overrides any weaknesses. Which actually means a lot for websites.

What do you think? Did Burger King make a mistake? Or am I just an idiot to even care so much? And please comment if you like these Twilight cups. I might only slightly make fun of you.

Read more here:
Burger King Stole My Man Card With Lame Twilight Cup

Now, before I start this post I admit that may be a bit biased. However, I live and breathe SEO and I have seen both sides of this topic. With that said, let’s get into it.

I saw a post on twitter the other day that essentially said, “Anyone can do SEO, but most do not”

Though I understood what the intent of the comment was (meaning people just never get around to doing the work) it  hit me like a ton of bricks. In the past, I might have wholeheartedly agreed with that statement, but I do not agree with it now.

That would be the same as saying “anyone can repair their own car, but most do not.” The reality is, physically someone may well be capable of doing it (just like they could in any profession), but the key ingredient is the knowledge. Without the know-how, trying to repair your own car will only get you a car that is more broken than when you started. The same could be said for the website rankings of someone who tried to implement DIY (do-it-yourself) SEO without sound SEO knowledge.

I have spent a lot of time learning how to do search engine optimization and then practiced it by implementing it on my own projects as well as that of the clients I have worked with. While to me much of it seems simple enough, I recognize that it is that way because of the years I have spent learning it. Continual learning is essential in this industry because things change so often and so frequently. Many principles of search engine optimization that I learned when I started are no longer best practices.

At one point I worked as a coach teaching people how to build their own Internet business. From that experience, after coaching thousands of clients, I learned there is some truth to the statement that “…most do not.”  Lack of time and dedication is always the culprit in failed DIY SEO.

That is not to say that everyone should rush out and get an SEO proposal from an SEO firm. DIY SEO can be the best solution for some cases. The question, is it the right choice for you? I will let you make that call, but here are some factors that I would consider when making that decision.

1.    How comfortable are you with your SEO knowledge? Have you ever done SEO successfully? Do you feel confident in your ability to get rankings?

2.    How tough is your competition? Even the best SEO minds recruit help to get all of the work done to get top rankings in those extremely competitive markets. If your competition is fierce, how many resources do you have to help you get everything done?

3.    How much time do you have? As much as business owners want to save money so they can make more money, many of them spread themselves too thin. SEO takes a lot of consistent time and attention. Very few business owners can really do that.

4.    Is it cost effective for you? Even when a business owner is comfortable with search engine optimization and their ability to get high rankings, it does not always make sense from a money standpoint. Each case is different and a business owner should do the math to make sure that the time they will spend doing SEO is the best financial use of their time.

5.    Have you received an SEO proposal before? Every case is different and some SEO companies will provide a customized proposal based on each circumstance. Simply put, do not assume because you know how much someone else is paying a company to do their SEO, that your proposal will be the same. Get the numbers to help you make your decision based on facts, not fiction.

See more here:
Do it Yourself or Hire an SEO Company?

Now, before I start this post I admit that may be a bit biased. However, I live and breathe SEO and I have seen both sides of this topic. With that said, let’s get into it.

I saw a post on twitter the other day that essentially said, “Anyone can do SEO, but most do not”

Though I understood what the intent of the comment was (meaning people just never get around to doing the work) it  hit me like a ton of bricks. In the past, I might have wholeheartedly agreed with that statement, but I do not agree with it now.

That would be the same as saying “anyone can repair their own car, but most do not.” The reality is, physically someone may well be capable of doing it (just like they could in any profession), but the key ingredient is the knowledge. Without the know-how, trying to repair your own car will only get you a car that is more broken than when you started. The same could be said for the website rankings of someone who tried to implement DIY (do-it-yourself) SEO without sound SEO knowledge.

I have spent a lot of time learning how to do search engine optimization and then practiced it by implementing it on my own projects as well as that of the clients I have worked with. While to me much of it seems simple enough, I recognize that it is that way because of the years I have spent learning it. Continual learning is essential in this industry because things change so often and so frequently. Many principles of search engine optimization that I learned when I started are no longer best practices.

At one point I worked as a coach teaching people how to build their own Internet business. From that experience, after coaching thousands of clients, I learned there is some truth to the statement that “…most do not.”  Lack of time and dedication is always the culprit in failed DIY SEO.

That is not to say that everyone should rush out and get an SEO proposal from an SEO firm. DIY SEO can be the best solution for some cases. The question, is it the right choice for you? I will let you make that call, but here are some factors that I would consider when making that decision.

1.    How comfortable are you with your SEO knowledge? Have you ever done SEO successfully? Do you feel confident in your ability to get rankings?

2.    How tough is your competition? Even the best SEO minds recruit help to get all of the work done to get top rankings in those extremely competitive markets. If your competition is fierce, how many resources do you have to help you get everything done?

3.    How much time do you have? As much as business owners want to save money so they can make more money, many of them spread themselves too thin. SEO takes a lot of consistent time and attention. Very few business owners can really do that.

4.    Is it cost effective for you? Even when a business owner is comfortable with search engine optimization and their ability to get high rankings, it does not always make sense from a money standpoint. Each case is different and a business owner should do the math to make sure that the time they will spend doing SEO is the best financial use of their time.

5.    Have you received an SEO proposal before? Every case is different and some SEO companies will provide a customized proposal based on each circumstance. Simply put, do not assume because you know how much someone else is paying a company to do their SEO, that your proposal will be the same. Get the numbers to help you make your decision based on facts, not fiction.

Excerpt from:
Do it Yourself or Hire an SEO Company?

In his recent post “A Turning Point in the Field of SEO”, Adam Audette talked about creating the best user experience, and applying SEO to that experience.

In my mind, part of giving the user the best experience is to help them to find what they are looking for. Many sites show up great in the search results, but once the visitor clicks on their site, the visitor has no idea what they are supposed to do. And so the site gets a visitor, but the visitor takes no action. By combining website conversion principles with SEO, we can create a better user experience and help improve a site’s bottom line.

Standard SEO KPIs Don’t Go Far Enough

Traditionally, most of the KPIs (key performance indicators) for SEO focus on increasing rankings and just getting more traffic to a site. Some of the more common KPIs for SEO that are frequently discussed in the industry include the following:

• Number of first page rankings
• Number of keywords driving traffic to the site
• Number of pages getting traffic
• Increase in number of visitors/pageviews over time
• Decrease in bounce rate
• Increase in search engine crawl rate
• Etc.

All of these are important metrics to see if your SEO campaign is successful in gaining more visibility in the search engines. You have to measure these metrics to know if your efforts in site optimization and link building are working to get more traffic to the site.

The problem is that too many SEOs stop there; they are just concerned with increasing rankings and getting traffic. Eventually you have to move on to the metric that your client really cares about the most: how is your SEO campaign affecting your client’s bottom line?

The Most Important KPI

In the end, the only thing that a client cares about is how your SEO efforts are affecting their bottom line. ROI is the most important KPI. The client just wants their $2.

You can make all the excuses you want, but in the end if the client doesn’t get their $2 from your efforts, you won’t have them as a client for long.

This is why it is so important to understand that conversion has to be a factor in our SEO efforts. All the traffic in the world doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t convert. When you look at things this way, it changes the way you approach keyword research, recommendations on how you change a site or page, and more.

Applying Conversion to SEO

When you mix SEO and conversion, you are really adding conversion principles to the entire site, rather than just a landing page like you would with PPC. The whole site then becomes optimized in a way that not only gets traffic, but leads the visitor on to the next step in the conversion process. Below are some steps you can take to optimize a site not only for SEO, but also for conversion.

1. Define Each Page’s Conversion Goal

   Each page on a site should lead to some kind of a conversion or micro-conversion. The kind of conversion you choose will depend on the type of keywords that drive traffic to any given page.

   For example, if most of the keywords that drive traffic to a page are informational in nature, you can focus your conversion goal on things like a Newsletter Signup or White Paper Download, since these actions help the visitor to reach their goal: to get more information.

2. Create Appropriate Calls to Action

   This is where you really start using conversion principles. Once you’ve identified the kind of goal that is appropriate for the page, you need to make sure that the page has a way to convert.

   For example: If you’ve decided that the best goal is a white paper download, make sure that you have the calls to action positioned in a way that will likely lead to a conversion.

3. Set Up Goal Tracking

   In order for you to know what’s working, you have to have proper tracking in place. In Google Analytics, and any other quality Web statistics software, you can set goals to track what is working and what isn’t. Set up a goal for every possible action that someone can take on the site, and test this frequently to make sure it is working. If you have an eCommerce site, make sure you have eCommerce tracking in place so you can see the kind of revenue different keywords are generating for your site.

4. Take Action on the Data

   As time goes on and you gather data, you’ll be able to see which keywords and groups of keywords are actually generating good results. You should then adjust your SEO strategy to focus on those groups that are not just bringing the most traffic, but are generating the most conversions.

   It is important to note here that you should also look beyond just tracking individual keywords. Instead, take the time to consider keywords in groups. This will help you to take the long tail into account so you can decide if you need to expand your keyword reach in an area that is working particularly well.

   You should also take what you learn from your PPC efforts and use that knowledge on the rest of your site as well. By using PPC you can get a quick feel for what kinds of keyword groups are working, what conversion tactics are working, and more.

By combining these conversion ideas with your SEO efforts you’ll find that you are able to do more than just deliver traffic to your clients -– you’ll be able to help them get results that actually help their business grow. In other words, they’ll get their $2.

Read the original here:
‘I Want My $2!’ — The Power of SEO with Conversion