Keyword research, a targeted web page and the easy part (for Catherine) - happy customers - all contribute to this great result.
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Page One in Google for the best Mortgage Broker in Sydney
Urszula Richards - Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Congratulations to Catherine Dodd, whose online marketing efforts are paying off.
Keyword research, a targeted web page and the easy part (for Catherine) - happy customers - all contribute to this great result.
Keyword research, a targeted web page and the easy part (for Catherine) - happy customers - all contribute to this great result.
Page One in Google for the best Mortgage Broker in Sydney
Read More | 25 May 2011 by Urszula Richards
3 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Building Your Website
Urszula Richards - Saturday, February 19, 2011
If you are thinking about building a website, you can save yourself
some money and grief by avoiding some common mistakes. Here are 3
which come up regularly..
1. Purchasing a Domain name without doing your keyword & market research.
VERY guilty of this myself. You get a bright idea for a business
or domain name and before you know it - you have registered the name.
Domain names are not that expensive (if you have made the wrong
decision and need to purchase another one), so this is not a total
tragedy.
But be aware: your domain name is one of the key factors for ranking in search engines
(Google, Bing, Yahoo). Having a clever name, while funky, will not
help you get found online. If you already have good brand awareness
then certainly you need to secure your brand domain name and of course
you should claim your business domain name so you are in control of it.
However if you also intend to get business through people searching for
your services online, you may also need to purchase other names, more
targeted for those specific search terms.
How to work out what domain name to purchase? Invest in learning about keyword research (or talk to us).
2. Setting up accounts for online payments (such as a Merchant account or Payment Gateway) before talking to your web developer.
If you plan to sell anything online, you will need to think about
how you will accept payments. Most website platforms have their own
list of preferred or eCommerce integrations. If you go ahead and
arrange this before you know which platform your site will be built on,
you may have to spend this money all over again.
On the other hand, if it is essential for you to use a particular
Payment Gateway/Merchant, then you need to make this very clear to your
developer, so the platform they use is compatible.
3. Approving a website design before sitting with it for awhile.
When you first get your website concepts back and work with your
designer to come up with what you are happy with, you may be absolutely
anxious for the website build to start. However, sit with the design for a little while
- I recommend a week. During this time, make sure you look at it
daily, compare it to other sites, look at all the links and pages, all
the functions and make sure everything you want is there.
While it may cost a little more to create some revisions or
additions at this stage, you can be certain that this will be far less
costly then making changes any point after when the site build begins.
Additionally, changes after a site build has started, can delay your
site live date, as the additional work may need to be scheduled around
other projects.
What do you wish you had known before you started to build your website?
Market Samurai - the all in one tool for online businesses
Urszula Richards - Sunday, January 24, 2010
One of the things which I love most about the 30 Day Challenge and the 30 Day Challenge Plus, is that I have someone else actively sourcing and testing the best tools on the market, and only when they have passed the test do they get recommended.
One such tool is Market Samurai. An Australian based product which has stood the test of time - it continues to come highly recommended.
Its most common use is for an extremely efficient way of doing Keyword Research, however its capacity goes way beyond this. It is excellent at finding micro niches, it provides a comprehensive competitor analysis and it can also tell you whether your concept transfers into money.
Its only drawback was that it had so many features it was difficult to know where to start. But now, the Market Samurai team have provided excellent training, which steps you through everything you need to know. Both video explanations and transcripts are provided.
You can sign up for the Market Samurai free download here - try it out and see what you think.
This video shows for example how easy it is to do Keyword Research.
One such tool is Market Samurai. An Australian based product which has stood the test of time - it continues to come highly recommended.Its most common use is for an extremely efficient way of doing Keyword Research, however its capacity goes way beyond this. It is excellent at finding micro niches, it provides a comprehensive competitor analysis and it can also tell you whether your concept transfers into money.
Its only drawback was that it had so many features it was difficult to know where to start. But now, the Market Samurai team have provided excellent training, which steps you through everything you need to know. Both video explanations and transcripts are provided.
You can sign up for the Market Samurai free download here - try it out and see what you think.
This video shows for example how easy it is to do Keyword Research.
Market Samurai - the all in one tool for online businesses
Read More | 24 Jan 2010 by Urszula Richards
How to Be Bullet Proof - despite Google Rankings Rules changing daily
Urszula Richards - Sunday, November 08, 2009
Reading articles such as this one Google Makes Two Ranking Changes per Day can make any would be newbie worry about ever having a chance of ranking well in organic search results (that is, unpaid, natural search result listings). You may wonder how on earth you have a chance of keeping up with having a well optimised site when the rules change so frequently.
While it is important to keep up with the overall direction of changes, you do not need to worry if you follow the absolute fundamentals. The whole reason for Google's incessant tweaking, is to provide the most relevant results for people searching for information.
So - be authentic, have genuine and useful content, be who you say you are (including in your Meta Descriptions - ie. the descriptions given to search engines about each of your pages), use logical structured layout and formatting (such as headings, use of emphasis and boldness appropriately, and linking clearly to relevant content) and you will be well on your way to having unshakable fundamentals which won't change.
There are of course lots of other ways to further help yourself along, however when you delve into these - you will see that these are just activities which further authenticate you as being genuine. Here are some other frequently recommended actions, and how these relate back to showing you are real.
1. Frequently updating content and blogging - this shows an ongoing activity and commitment to your particular area. It shows you continually have more value and current information. It is natural that this should out-rank those who rarely update their content.
2. Use of video - this shows a desire to provide content and information in a visual way - and shows a willingness to provide people what they want - given that people are increasingly using video search to find information (via YouTube and others)
3. Use of interaction - blog comments, forums - again shows an understanding of people's need to interact and connect about issues and interests common to them.
In fact, if you look at any search engine optimisation manuals and guidelines, you will find everything tracks back to the one thing - validation of your authenticity and usefulness to the 'searcher'.
So rather than racking your brains about what Google will decide to do next, set your mind to how you can serve your site visitors better, how you can offer them the best experience and information and how you can best meet their needs.
Flickr: jonsson
While it is important to keep up with the overall direction of changes, you do not need to worry if you follow the absolute fundamentals. The whole reason for Google's incessant tweaking, is to provide the most relevant results for people searching for information.
So - be authentic, have genuine and useful content, be who you say you are (including in your Meta Descriptions - ie. the descriptions given to search engines about each of your pages), use logical structured layout and formatting (such as headings, use of emphasis and boldness appropriately, and linking clearly to relevant content) and you will be well on your way to having unshakable fundamentals which won't change.
There are of course lots of other ways to further help yourself along, however when you delve into these - you will see that these are just activities which further authenticate you as being genuine. Here are some other frequently recommended actions, and how these relate back to showing you are real.
1. Frequently updating content and blogging - this shows an ongoing activity and commitment to your particular area. It shows you continually have more value and current information. It is natural that this should out-rank those who rarely update their content.
2. Use of video - this shows a desire to provide content and information in a visual way - and shows a willingness to provide people what they want - given that people are increasingly using video search to find information (via YouTube and others)
3. Use of interaction - blog comments, forums - again shows an understanding of people's need to interact and connect about issues and interests common to them.
In fact, if you look at any search engine optimisation manuals and guidelines, you will find everything tracks back to the one thing - validation of your authenticity and usefulness to the 'searcher'.
So rather than racking your brains about what Google will decide to do next, set your mind to how you can serve your site visitors better, how you can offer them the best experience and information and how you can best meet their needs.
Flickr: jonsson
How to Be Bullet Proof - despite Google Rankings Rules changing daily
Read More | 08 Nov 2009 by Urszula Richards
Getting over Sales Phobia...from a recovering SalesPhobe
Urszula Richards - Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Are you bad at selling yourself? Me too.
Learn from my story...
I started my own web development company after being in the web industry for many years and simply loving the medium. Live and breathe it, and I assume most people running their own business feel pretty much the same about what they do.
So why do I cringe inside when I think about approaching someone for work?
It is to do with just that attitude ... that I am approaching them for work. That I want something from them. It almost feels like I am asking them for a favour!
Well I have just had a big jolt which will hopefully jar me right out of that attitude.
Recently a new restaurant opened up in my local area, and I went there with a few friends to check it out.
We loved the atmosphere, the food, the wine, and had a thoroughly wonderful time. As we were leaving, the business owner was wishing us goodnight, and one of my friends whispered to me "Ask them if they have a website". My usual reaction prevailed.
Quite some time later, in the same restaurant, the same friend decided to ask the proprietor herself - pointing at me and saying 'Ursh is an excellent web developer'. I felt my stomach turn and tried not to glare at my friend. 'Thats a shame' she said - 'we have just employed someone to build one for us'. Ok, so I did kick myself and vow that I had to get better at 'getting out there'.
But today I had the final impetus. I was meeting friends at this restaurant for dinner and looked up their Facebook page in order to get the number. I noticed that their website had just been launched, so of course I had to go in and take a look. And wow, at first glance I was impressed. Beautiful graphics and photos which had captured the ambiance of the place. Good for them I thought, and 'let that be a lesson for me' as a side note to myself. Then, I noticed - it was all flash. Bad, bad, bad. This business obviously is interested in marketing itself, having such a successful Facebook page, but none of the content on its site can be read by Google! Every single page was flash. I also noticed a small mistake in a sentence, and realised that this it cannot be edited easily - only through the web developer.
Then I really got it. I am not selling, but rather helping my clients from my area of expertise to have the best website possible. Of course this is what I do, but somehow it gets lost in that sales phobia which I realize I need to exorcise.
I'm positive the web designer they used was working in the best way they knew, but I know that web design (the visual look of the site) is just one part of successful web development, and it is my silence which has resulted in one of my favourite local restaurants having a beautiful but less than functional website - one which can't be easily edited and completely limited for search engine optimization.
Learn from my story...
I started my own web development company after being in the web industry for many years and simply loving the medium. Live and breathe it, and I assume most people running their own business feel pretty much the same about what they do.
So why do I cringe inside when I think about approaching someone for work?
It is to do with just that attitude ... that I am approaching them for work. That I want something from them. It almost feels like I am asking them for a favour!
Well I have just had a big jolt which will hopefully jar me right out of that attitude.
Recently a new restaurant opened up in my local area, and I went there with a few friends to check it out.
We loved the atmosphere, the food, the wine, and had a thoroughly wonderful time. As we were leaving, the business owner was wishing us goodnight, and one of my friends whispered to me "Ask them if they have a website". My usual reaction prevailed.Quite some time later, in the same restaurant, the same friend decided to ask the proprietor herself - pointing at me and saying 'Ursh is an excellent web developer'. I felt my stomach turn and tried not to glare at my friend. 'Thats a shame' she said - 'we have just employed someone to build one for us'. Ok, so I did kick myself and vow that I had to get better at 'getting out there'.
But today I had the final impetus. I was meeting friends at this restaurant for dinner and looked up their Facebook page in order to get the number. I noticed that their website had just been launched, so of course I had to go in and take a look. And wow, at first glance I was impressed. Beautiful graphics and photos which had captured the ambiance of the place. Good for them I thought, and 'let that be a lesson for me' as a side note to myself. Then, I noticed - it was all flash. Bad, bad, bad. This business obviously is interested in marketing itself, having such a successful Facebook page, but none of the content on its site can be read by Google! Every single page was flash. I also noticed a small mistake in a sentence, and realised that this it cannot be edited easily - only through the web developer.
Then I really got it. I am not selling, but rather helping my clients from my area of expertise to have the best website possible. Of course this is what I do, but somehow it gets lost in that sales phobia which I realize I need to exorcise.
I'm positive the web designer they used was working in the best way they knew, but I know that web design (the visual look of the site) is just one part of successful web development, and it is my silence which has resulted in one of my favourite local restaurants having a beautiful but less than functional website - one which can't be easily edited and completely limited for search engine optimization.
Getting over Sales Phobia...from a recovering SalesPhobe
Read More | 27 Oct 2009 by Urszula Richards
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