A blog is a place you can go to share your thoughts, teach others how to do things, and even rant about your latest pet peeve.  The hope is that people will find your blog interesting and bookmark it or pass it on by tweeting it, etc.

Here are the steps I usually take when writing a blog.

1.  Write from your gut.  When you start writing a blog, just write how you feel. Put down what your thinking. Don’t worry about perfection at this point, this is meant to be a rough draft.

2. Review your post.  Once you have your rough draft, go through the blog and clean it up and add keywords where appropriate.  Example… I have a Buffalo SEO Company.  My goal is to capture the attention of people who may be looking for my services. So I want to try to incorporate that keyword into various blog posts I write.

3. Link your keywords. Once you have incorporated the keywords into your blog, you want to link them to the page on your website the deals with your focus.  Example, if I am referring to my Buffalo SEO Company, I will link this to my SEO page, which focuses on how our company can help with SEO services.  My advice, however, is to be consistent.  If you start linking a specific keyword to one page, don’t then start linking that same keyword to a different page.  This could make things confusing for the search engines and could effect your rankings.

4. Tags and Categories. You are going to want to post your tags and select your categories.  Choose the category that reflects the overall feel of the blog post.  Example, this post is not only about learning how to post a blog, but I also reference my Buffalo SEO Company.  So, my categories will be both Buffalo SEO Company and Blogging Tips.  Tags should reflect those keywords that you believe are important.  I will choose buffalo seo company, posting a blog, blogging tips, writing a blog, etc.  These keywords can be found in the content of this blog post.

Finally, once you publish your blog, spread the news.  Share your blog post on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for starters.  I’ll get to bookmarking another time.

Blogging is fun.  It allows you to share your knowledge, emotions, experiences and more with others.  Oh…and did I mention that WordPress is FREE!

Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone.  Be safe and have fun.

As a Buffalo SEO company, we understand many small business owners are hesitant and unsure about SEO and internet marketing.

When we are asked to provide our small business clients with SEO and internet marketing services, we often suggest they take babysteps. You don’t have to dive into everything all at once.

Here’s what you could do.

• Have your website optimized and monitor it’s success/failures. A good Buffalo SEO company will sit down with you and make sure they understand what your goals are.
• Once you are happy with the work your SEO company has provided and are seeing results, take the next step. Start a blog or begin a social media campaign.

It’s basically up to you how you would like to progress. They key is hiring a good Buffalo SEO Company that will continue to move you in the right direction.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to get things rockin right away, that’s great.  Our concern, however, is that you are confident and secure with where your hard earned money is going.  If you are going to spend money to get more business, then before moving forward, make sure you are seeing a return on your investment.

Over the years I have been approached by many companies who, in one way or another, claim to be the “Magic Fairy”.  They claim if you come on board with them, they will guarantee you number one organic placement for a specific keyword in Google.

Really?  My reply is usually, “No thanks, but feel free to tell the Magic Fairy to pay me a visit when she has a chance.”

I cannot stress enough that SEO is not a magic trick.  You know that, right?  The Magic Fairy is not going to suddenly make your SEO world perfect and move your listing to the top of Google.

Often times a salesman will take it a step further and stress that they are different than other companies, which is fine. I’m here to tell you that anyone who comes to you and guarantees organic rankings is just blowing smoke up your rear-end.

So, what are a couple of things to watch out for?

• Unreasonable pressure. Anyone who pressures you to give them an answer or the deal will not be there in the morning is full of bologna.  If the deal is there today, then it will be there tomorrow.  If for some reason it’s not, then they are not the company for you. Their deadline isn’t your deadline.
• Misleading traffic reports.  Ask them to provide you with proof of their success.  This can be in the form of how their rankings have increased other clients sales/leads.  I would caution that if they only provide you with the number of visitors, this can be misleading.  Example, say they give you stats that say when they started with Company X, they were getting 1,000 visitors a month and now they are getting 3,000.  That’s great, but where are they coming from and are they staying or bouncing off right away. There is much more to it than that.

Bottom line, follow your gut.  If it sounds too good to be true it usually is.  If you are uncertain, err on the side of caution and wait.  You’ve worked hard for your money.  Waiting a couple of days and doing a little research is well worth it.

Remember..there is no SEO Magic Fairy.

Is your SEO company leading the way, or are you trying to play catch up by following the crowd?

To be a leading seo company, you need to understand what your clients want.  What are their goals?  What is their reputation?  Do they need a new image?   Are they looking for leads or sales?  There are so many questions to ask and the key is to listen to the answers and draft out a game plan.

By leading the way, an SEO Company will research their client’s competition, analyze data and then put together a plan for success.  It’s not just about optimizing a website.  It’s about the big picture. It’s not about copying what your competition is doing, its about analyzing it and then incorporating the right moves into your clients plan.

Being a true leader in the seo arena means being honest and having integrity. No SEO company likes it when their client’s rankings aren’t as high as they’d like them to be, or that they haven’t received the number of leads they had hoped for. The worst thing any SEO company could do is lie to your clients about it.  Be honest, always.  Work with your clients to make things better.

SEO is not an exact science and there is no guarantee. If, however, you do things the “right way”, it will all come together in time and your clients will appreciate you and they will be clients for years to come.

As a Buffalo SEO Company, I feel we not only have the obligation to provide exceptional service to our clients, but we need to share our knowledge along the way.

Embrace learning and pay it forward.  By attending webinars and reading as much as you can online, you not only make yourself more valuable, but you make your clients more valuable as well.

People want to learn, and if you take the time to share with them the best practices for them to be successful, they will appreciate it, and in turn, they will embrace learning.

The better educated my clients are, the more successful they will become.  In addition, they will take an active role in their internet marketing and seo practices. Pretty cool.

Fuel the Web is not only a Buffalo SEO Company, but we are a Buffalo Web Design Company as well. We believe in doing things the right way and are excited with each knock on our door. If you need a new website or your website optimized, we are here to help you.

Many people in the Buffalo community are just learning the jargon surrounding internet marketing.  I’m sure this is the case in other cities as well. I am often asked, “what exactly is an internet marketing specialist?” Well I’m here to help you understand the difference between someone who claims to be one and someone who actually is an internet marketing specialist.

I have attended meetings as both an observer and internet marketing consultant and I can tell you that there are some companies out there that are so full of bologna, they should own a deli. As soon as I start asking questions, it is unbelievable how quiet a room can get. It’s pretty cool actually.

A true internet marketing specialist will sit down with you to discuss what your current game plan is and will discuss what is and is not working.  They will discuss with you the traffic reports (analytics) connected with your website, online phone book traffic, and other directories you may pay to be listed with.  Please note, analytics is the key to knowing whether a marketing strategy is or is not working. If your present internet marketing company isn’t sharing that information with you, I would question them and get your traffic reports as soon as possible.

Finally, after analyzing all the data, doing some competitive research and listening to your needs, the internet marketing company or person you have selected will sit down with you and discuss your options.

As a Buffalo SEO and internet marketing specialist, I believe 100% in being honest with my clients.  I explain to my clients that search engine optimization (“SEO”) is a process which takes some time. Search marketing includes blogging, social media, press releases, SEO, PPC and more.  An good internet marketing specialist will help you understand these various avenues and help you develop a presence in each or a portion depending on your needs.

A few red flags to look for:

1. If a company is trying to convince you to begin a pay per click (“PPC”) campaign, but not willing or unable to provide you with the keyword research surrounding the keywords they are recommending.

2. If the company doesn’t explain to you what the pros and cons of content marketing are. Content marketing places your ads on various websites across the web and the cost can ad up quickly. Often times, the clicks result in people bouncing off immediately, which isn’t going to help you.  It may not be in your best interest to use content marketing.

3. If a company is trying to get you to list in their directory, but is either unwilling or unable to provide you with the traffic reports and various information related to the importance of that page or category.

4. If a company says to you that they can get you ranked number 1 in the organic listings on various search engines. Don’t buy into it.  It takes time and effort to increase your rankings across the web.  There is no guarantee you will be number 1.

Hope this helps some of you who are interested in learning what an internet marketing specialist is and how we can help you.

Well I was pleasantly surprised to see that for the keyword buffalo seo company, this morning our blog is now ranked #1 in Google. I then checked seo company buffalo and we are now ranked # 4.  We weren’t even on the 1st page before.

It looks like my test worked. I hope this shows how important fresh content and keyword specific content is to your seo efforts.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July Holiday.

Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.

Update.  Since my last blog (June 27, 2009), I checked to see how we were doing for buffalo seo company.

We moved up a spot to #9 in Google and we are listed 1 and 2 for buffalo seo company in the locat results.

This is fun.  I’ll check back in a few days to see if this post has fueled any movement.

Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.

Well simply, the answer is yes and no.

Fresh content is critical to your long-term life on the search engines.  However, if you just fill your pages with content and don’t take the time to properly research your keywords and optimize your pages, then you could be wasting  your time.

In checking out the various search engines, I obviously don’t know the algorithms and wouldn’t know what to do with them if I did.  I do know, however, Google likes when you do the right thing.  Meaning keyword specific pages, good links, good site structure, etc.  Google also loves blogs, which means they loves fresh content.  ding ding ding.

Yahoo seems to love fresh content, as well. Some tests I have done showed a significant jump in my rankings. Anytime I was on the move and made significant content changes or added new pages, it got Yahoo’s attention and thus affected my rankings.

Now with Bing, well it’s too early to tell, but my initial reaction is that they put a lot of weight on the url.  I’m not saying it’s exactly that because I simply don’t know, but many of the tests I have done gave a ton of weight to companies with one of the keywords in their url.

I’m certain that Bing, as well as the other search engines are hungry to be fed, so feed them. If you don’t have the time or manpower to continue to add to your website, then a blog is your answer.  Add content as often as you can. Twitter is also a simple way to tell the world what’s up and link it back to your blog, thus creating traffic and links.

Listen, I understand as well as anyone how tough it is to find time for anything nowadays. I work full time, am a wife, mother of 3 active children and am trying to get a new business off the ground.  It’s not always easy to find the time to get your website the way you want it, but a blog can really make a difference. So once you get your site up and running, I would focus my attention on my blog.

Let’s do a content test for the fun of it.  Our blog is currently listed 10th on Google under buffalo seo company.  Once I publish this blog, over time, I will go back and check it out to see if I was able to get it to move.  It’s not magic people it won’t happen immediately and may not happen at all, but let’s see.  I’ll let you know in my next blog how we did and how long it took to increase our results (if I was able to do so).

Fuel the Web – Buffalo SEO Company – Fueling business on the web one site at a time.