Update Your Website Every 3 Months

Google likes to see websites that are updated every once in a while. They will rank its SEO higher if it thinks it is an active website. So every 3 months or so update your website even if it's only minor text changes.

But better yet, add new content. Adding new information to your website will always help your SEO. And don't forget about adding photos and videos too.

And get listed. Here's a free service:
getlisted.org

by Joe Seidler
www.internetmarketingsanfran.com

Website Page Download Speed

This topic may sound too technical to deal with, but ignore it at your website's SEO peril. 

Google measures how long it takes for a website page to download and be visible, and they lower your SEO keyword rankings if it takes a long time. In general, you want your website pages to download in less than 3 seconds. Here are steps you can take to measure and improve your website's download speed:

First, you can see how long your website pages take to download on this site:
http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/
Just enter one of your website page's URL and watch the counter.

If you want to see how Google ranks your website's download speed, check out this site (and enter one of your website page's URL). In general, you want a rating of better than 75 (out of 100). This site also shows the high priority fixes you can do to improve your website's download speed:
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SPEED UP DOWNLOADS?
If your website is a WordPress site, make sure you have a "cache" plugin. A good one is "W3 Total Cache":

    "W3 Total Cache" plugin settings to check -
          1. General Settings:
               - Browser cache enabled
               - Page cache enabled
          2. Browser Cache:
               - Enable HTTP

If you need some advice on any of this, please leave a comment and I will reply quickly.

Here's to speed…

by Joe Seidler

www.internetmarketingsanfran.com

Google+ Example

Google+ is social media, and as such it can be a good way to communicate with your current customers and potential future ones. But you might say, isn't Facebook just as good for this? Well, not quite…

Facebook is great when you want to follow all of your friends and send a post to everyone. But what if you only want to follow a sub-set of all of your friends, and sometimes want to send out a message only to some of them? This is where Google+ shines. It was created to cater to business people who want to follow and communicate with different groups of people; and do it often.

My previous blog post said Google+ can help your business. So let's try out an example. Say you are a professional makeup artist who mostly works with brides the day of their wedding, but sometimes you get a client who needs your help for a special occasion, but not a wedding. What would you do with Google+?

First you would create a Google+ account using your name (not your company name). You would include your address, email, phone number, a link to your website (and blog if you have one), a tag line briefly describing your business, and an introduction to you and your business. 

Next you would create a few "circles". Perhaps you might call them:

1. Wedding clients

2. Non-wedding clients

3. Potential clients

4. Other Makeup Artists

And likely also create a few non-professional circles like:

5. Family

6. Local Friends

7. International Friends

Step 3 is adding people to your circles. Within Google+ it's easy to enter a person's name and see if they already have a Google+ account. If they do, you just add them to the appropriate circle. If you can't find them, you might send them an email asking if they plan to get a Google+ account because you would like to include them in your circle. People like to know you are interested in them. When someone is in one of your circles, you can see what they post (but they don't see what you post unless they add you to one of their circles).

You might wonder why I suggested a circle called "Other Makeup Artists." The reason is that you might learn from them. If you check out the posts in this circle from time to time, you can read what other professionals in your business are thinking and doing. So find them on Google+ and add them to this circle. 

But how can you get the names of potential clients. Often a happy existing client tells her friends how great you were. Her friends may, on their own, find you on Google+ and add you to their circle. When you get the notification, you can add them to your Potential Client circle. But a more direct way would be to ask existing clients from time to time if they have any friends who are planning a wedding, and then add their friends to your Potential Client circle.

So what's Step 4? This is the fun part… and the useful one for your business. You get to check out the posts from each of your circles whenever you want. And you only have to view the posts from people in a particular circle. So if you're tired of reading about your family and friends, you can just see what your existing wedding clients are saying. Perhaps they might talk about an upcoming wedding of a friend which you can comment on and ask if they might need some help with their makeup. 

And you also get to post. It would be useful to send out a post from time to time talking about what you're doing. For instance, you might want to post a wedding tip to people in your Wedding Clients and Potential Clients circles. Your existing wedding clients may then share your post with their friends, and voila, you are beginning to be exposed to more potential clients.

When people read one of your posts, if they are interested, they can also see your profile which includes a link to your website and some description of your service. So create a big "circle" on the web: connect your website to your Google+ account and vice versa.

Good luck!

by Joe Seidler
www.internetmarketingsanfran.com

Google+ & Google Places - Can They Help My Business?

Can Google+ and Google Places generate more visitors to my business website? Yes.

GOOGLE PLACES:
This is the easiest to understand for a small business. When people search on Google for a local product or service (that is, they include a city name in the search), the results page usually shows a list of special listings along with a map with pins. These listings are Google Places entries. They typically are near the top of the Google search results page, often even above the normal organic website listings. So your Google Places listing can often be more important than website SEO in generating visitors to your website. And when you do create your Google Places account, follow the rules on this page:
support.google.com/places/answer/107528?hl=en

GOOGLE+:
People often think Google+ is just a competitor to Facebook and they don't want another Social Media "thing" to worry about. But that's too narrow a view of Google+. Since Google owns the most powerful and used search engine service in the world, they have amazing influence. So to be frank, Google+ can improve your chances of being found on the web... and that translates into more business.

So what should you do if you have a small business that serves customers mostly in and around a city?
1. Create a Google Places business listing immediately. You may want to get the advice of a consultant to ensure you get the most benefit from this effort. The Google Places account is free.
2. Create a personal Google+ account using your own name. You will be able to include a link to your business website. Here again, it might be helpful to get some advice how to best use your Google+ account.

By Joe Seidler
www.internetmarketingsanfran.com