Image Courtesy of Konoozi.com.

NASHVILLE, TN — For smaller businesses with limited funds, checking off some basic SEO starting points can be done for free with a little research and know-how. Here are some small things you can do that will increase the value of your website. We’ve touched on each of these points in detail in previous posts that we’ll link to below as they come up, but combined, these tips are just what you need to jump-start your SEO efforts today.

Help Search Engines Help You

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: don’t wait for Google to find your site through their crawling spiders. Instead, add your website to Google’s index and then submit your unique Sitemap. You can access these settings through Google’s Webmaster Tools, which you can read about on a recent Master Google post, here.

Learn the Importance of Creatively Getting Links

You know you need links, now take it one step further: increase the links pointing to your website, and get creative in how you go about it. You could write a guest post on a related blog or feature a post from a guest blogger on your website. You could even sponsor a product giveaway on one of your favorite websites or blogs. We talked about blog trackbacks and pingbacks in a previous post, and recommend it for extra credit reading.

Be Critical of Your Blog

Adding keywords and updating content frequently can help you move up in search engine rankings. Content is king, after all. Offer relevant information to your potential clients. What have you learned about your field that you want to share? If you choose to start a blog, it’s important to provide good, quality content. Don’t start a blog just to be redundant. Providing fresh topics and insight in your field will make your site a welcomed destination for viewers. You can even allow comments to spark thoughtful conversation.

Review Your Content Critically

Analyze your website’s content carefully. First, make sure your page titles clearly and concisely state what your viewer will find on each page. If you’re familiar with HTML, check to see if your meta tags beneath your page titles are being used properly. In that space, write a concise but descriptive blurb about what each page offers.

Next, imagine you’re searching for your own product or company. What words would you type into a search engine, assuming you weren’t familiar with your company’s name? Google’s Webmaster Guidelines states this well: “Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.”

It may seem like common sense, but giving your content a close reading will help. Ask a spouse or close friend to describe your website. Do the keywords they used match the ones in your featured content?

Saturation of other mediums, including videos and images, can help your site rank higher if done correctly. Title your image with relevant phrases, as we discussed in a recent post about image SEO, so that if a potential client is searching key terms in the images section, your content is easily available. After all, adding other media to your website can increase functionality for your users. An easy way to see your pages similarly to how the Googlebot sees them is to view your website in Lynx, a text-based browser.

If you embed a video on your website, consider adding text as a transcript or a detailed summary of the video to enhance the crawling and indexing of your website.

By implementing these small steps, you can get started, but SEO is not a part-time job. To get to a top spot with Google, you need to hire a team that can give its full effort and range of expertise to your business. After all, hiring an SEO expert like our CEO, Ali Husayni, could take your business to the next level.

“You may not have the budget for a full-scale SEO campaign if you’re just starting out, but some time with an SEO consultant to get you started may be within your budget and well worth the expense,” says Husayni. “Call the office for a free consultation to find out.” Click here to contact us about our services.

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SANTA MONICA, CA — At Master Google, we always appreciate comments that let us know what we can do to answer your questions pertaining to SEO. Of course, the best way to get advice that is specifically tailored for your business is to fill out a contact us form, but we are always happy to share our general expertise.

A recent commenter posed this question: “Do Trackbacks and Pingbacks matter when it comes to SEO?” The short answer is yes, they most certainly do matter, to varying degrees. The long answer includes an explanation of what Trackbacks and Pingbacks are, and their overall place in your SEO efforts.

Let’s start with trackbacks. A trackback is simply an automated notifier sent to someone else’s blog any time you reference their blog in a post. By sending a trackback, you are creating a link back to your blog, which takes a very small amount of time to do when considering the benefits of it.

Image Courtesy of ITinfoOz.com

While displayed quite humorously in the image above from a recent post by ITinfoOz.com, the subject of trackbacks is a serious one, because the opportunity for generating traffic is there, and is being underutilized, according to entrepreneur Matthew Bredel. Bredel has seen the results of using trackbacks as part of his overall search engine optimization and social media marketing efforts on his blog.

“A trackback is a super comment. The way that a trackback works, is instead of a going to a blog and posting a comment on someone else’s blog, you post a reply on your own website and post a trackback comment. Unless they don’t allow follows, but you still establish authority,” Bredel says.

While trackbacks certainly are more limited with most blogs not allowing follows, Bredel is correct that doing so does help to establish your authority. Blogs also appreciate your interaction.

Now, on to Pingbacks. Pingbacks have more to do with author control and authenticity, as explained well by an SEO news reporter for Beanstalk-Inc.com in a recent blog post. Pingbacks were originally the response to trackbacks lacking authenticity. Pingbacks make it easy to notify a blog of your use of it just by posting its permalink in your blog post. Of course, there is some controversy over which is really better: pingbacks or trackbacks.

“Some feel that trackbacks are superior because the readers of Person A’s blog can at least see some of what Person B has to say before deciding if they want to read more and follow the link to the orginal blog source,” Beanstalk-Inc.com’s SEO News Reporter says. “Others feel that pingbacks are superior as they create a verifiable connection between posts. Pingbacks are akin to having remote comments.”

Whether using both trackback and pingback methods, or not having tried either one on a conscious level yet, our CEO, Ali Husayni, has advice for the business owner who isn’t yet using Master Google’s services for their SEO efforts. Husayni recommends his book, Google SEO Secrets revealed, as a good starting point for your entire website, including your blog. Still, Husanyni recommends professional help.

“Engaging in all of these techniques requires months of hard labor, a complete understanding of SEO and, of course, cash. Nevertheless, we’ve been able to transform local, small businesses into large-international ones in a matter of a few months by practicing what we preach,” Husayni says. “Oftentimes, smart business people who have substantial financial backing will delegate important tasks to professionals, instead of spending years mastering what someone else already knows and taking away the focus from their business.”

Fill out our form and we’ll gladly look at your site to see if it qualifies for our Top of Google program.

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SANTA MONICA, CA – Here at Master Google, we are not afraid to admit it: SEO is a lot of work. White hat techniques require real effort. After all, the things that white hat SEO requires are all big commitments (which is why a team of specialists is key).

Let’s take a look at a few of the basics of white hat content: quality content, site optimization, link baiting, guest blogging, internal linking, and semantic markup. The differences between white, gray and black hat marketing efforts are described to perfection in the form of a clever picture titled SEO Wars: What Color is Your Lightsaber, featured in a recent article by Angie Schottmuller of Search Engine Watch.

The definitions of gray and black hat seo practices are also made more clear by this picture. The gray hat area of SEO techniques include: spinning/rewriting articles, reciprocal links, buying old/expired domains, and Google bombing/washing. Black hat techniques include: keyword stuffing, link farms, hidden text, cloaking, scraping, doorway pages, comment spam, and paid links/content+.

Keep in mind that both gray hat and black hat areas will hurt you in the long run, according to Ali Husayni, the CEO of the SEO service company, Master Google. Heed the warning of Google’s anti-spam strategy: they can distinguish between black hat and white hat SEO techniques, and your rank will rise and fall accordingly.

“The only thing not changing with SEO is that it’s always changing,” Husayni says. “Be diligent in keeping up with those changes as [you handle your] site’s SEO, or partner with a qualified SEO provider to handle that task.”

After all, the battle lines between white hat, gray hat, and black hat techniques are drawn quite clearly, so pick an SEO practice and stick with it, urges Schottmuller, using Star Wars as an analogy.

“Will you uphold the righteous values of quality content and serve as a SEO Light Jedi, or do you long to be a master of deception as a SEO Sith Lord?” Schottmuller says. “Perhaps you’re a SEO Dark Jedi – once believing in white hat tactics and now thirsting for the dark side. Or perhaps you’re a SEO Jedi Fashionista – knowledgeable of both sides, but discreet in practices to keep up appearances.”

Our strong suggestion: do your search engine optimization efforts justice by sticking with white hat techniques.

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ORANGE, CA — Every small business knows that search engine optimization is an indispensable tool for online visibility, yet many businesses continue to neglect one of the most important aspects of increasing SEO: videos.

But it’s time to face the facts: with over two billion videos watched on YouTube each day, video SEO is a subject that can no longer be ignored. Increasingly, SEO experts agree that a focus on online videos does wonders to increase site traffic.

“A video result in position 4 or 5 may get a better CTR [click-through rate] than a non-video result in position 2 or 3,” claims Dave Holland, co-founder of Smart Video, a SEO provider specializing in video optimization. A thumbnail of the video next to your Google search result instantly draws the eye of the viewer, enticing them to make that ‘click.’

And is it any wonder that, in today’s YouTube age, people are eager for video results? Every inquiry, from how to make chocolate cake, to how to turn your furnace pilot light on, has been converted to short, easy-to-read snippets. For literally every type of business, there are relevant video companions that can be embedded into your website. Are you a local veterinarian? Try featuring an adorable pet video on your site. After all, nothing draws an online crowd quicker than cute cats.

But do not just rely on linking to someone’s work. The best way to maximize your social media marketing and video SEO is to produce original content. Create a YouTube page and start uploading! Check out YouTube’s tips on how to make a great first impression for your channel. Video searches will increase YouTube page hits, which will then lead viewers straight to your homepage.

Though building a YouTube business channel is relatively simple, not everyone has the time or know-how to operate the site themselves—let alone actually produce the videos. This is why companies that specialize in SMM and SEO are vital assets to small business success. Along with Twitter, Facebook and the usual social media suspects, a user-friendly, informative YouTube channel creates the exposure necessary to remain on the surface-level amidst a sea of Google search results, instead of drowning on page 100.

With that extra online marketing money your company has saved up, you can follow the example of Best Buy, T-Mobile and Hot Wheels, who hired video content professionals to make their YouTube videos for them. Think hip, clever viral video meets online commercial, funneling thousands of viewers to company sites—successful Internet marketing in the hands of experts for less than the price of a billboard!

Perhaps the greatest advantage to creating original videos is the opportunity to go viral and all the fame that comes along with it. You may not recognize the name Tom Dickson, but if you’ve ever wondered whether that iPad you’re holding will blend, he is the only guy in the world to ask.

Going viral is rare, but you don’t need 20 million hits to be successful; video content always helps brand recognition and business credibility. Consistently uploading videos, acquiring a loyal fan base and placing expert talent at the helm will increase the traffic, integrity and ultimately the bottom line of any business.

© 2011 Master Google. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Master Google is credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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TAMPA, FLORIDA – Search engine optimization is all about figuring out what search engines want most and implementing those strategies on a website, which is precisely what Ali Husayni and his SEO team are doing with Master Google.

One thing Google loves most is fresh textual content, according to Saeed Khosravi, the company’s operational manager. The SEO marketing service uses WordPress blogs to get and keep their clients on the first page of the search engine results (SERs).

Husayni and his SEO team are always monitoring updates to Google algorithms so they can adjust their strategies and stay on the cutting edge of SEO. Right now, Husayni says WordPress blogs are an important part of SEO techniques.

“By incorporating a blog into a website and posting unique content on a regular basis, you will feed Google with what it likes most and will convince the search engine to crawl your site more often,” says Khosravi, an expert in organic SEO.

The sub-directory setup, or embedded option, is what gives the most benefit for search engine optimization. An embedded blog helps the ranking of the associated site, whereas blogs set up on a sub-domain do not because they are treated as a separate domain by Google and other search engines.

An embedded blog URL looks like this: www.mastergoogle.com/blog. Any other format, for example blog.mastergoogle.com, means the blog is setup as a sub-domain.

“If clients already have a blog, we optimize it to meet their SEO needs, but if they don’t, we will set up their blog as part of our SEO services,” says Husayni, who is a leading resource for businesses seeking SEO outsourcing services.

Master Google uses the clients’ blogs to continuously update the site and provide readers with quality content, which increases online recognition and establishes their sites as a main source of information in their respective markets.

Each new post gives another opportunity to add keywords to the URL, title, description and keywords. This is a recent post about ranking on Google places by Husayni on the Master Google blog as an example.

URL: http://www.mastergoogle.com/blog/google-places-is-where-you-need-to-be.php

WordPress has features and functions built in that are automatically set up for SEO. The blog will guide spiders through the posts, pages and categories, quickly and easily gathering information about what to include in the search engine’s index, according to Husayni.

Setting up a WordPress blog does not have to be time consuming, but Khosravi stresses the importance of the blog looking the same as the site to maintain a cohesive aesthetic. There is a famous five-minute WordPress installation with step-by-step instructions on the company’s site.

Some web hosting providers set up WordPress for their clients for no charge. There are also many tutorials and videos online explaining how to set up a WordPress blog. Google has a starter guide that includes explanation, how-to and best practices for basic SEO techniques.

“For those with limited budget, my suggestion is to install a WordPress blog, use a free theme and just focus time and energy on writing quality posts,” says Khosravi.

Because WordPress is essentially a content management system, it is also a great option for people who do not have a website but want to get one and start search engine optimization right away with WordPress. The company or business can use the blog as their website. Khosravi says there is no drawback from a SEO perspective to running an entire site on WordPress.

Husayni’s e-book, “Google SEO Secrets Revealed,” helps small business owners determined to bring their business to the top of Google search results with more than a hundred tips about SEO that they can implement themselves.

“At the end of the day, a website with high quality content of any kind and strong back-links is the winner of the Google game,”   Khosravi says. “But having an active WordPress blog can make things a lot easier and in some competitive markets having a blog is a crucial and determining factor.”

Learn More
To learn more about Master Google’s business SEO services, visit: www.mastergoogle.com. Alternatively, you can call the company’s toll free phone support service at 1-877-932-6559 or call internationally at +1-303-932-6559 with any questions or to schedule a free consultation with Ali Husayni.

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BOULDER, COLORADO – SEO company Master Google is in the process of filming some of its clients as they describe their experience with the company’s services. The resulting videos will be posted on Master Google’s testimonials page, as well as YouTube.

“We have a lot of clients for our SEO services who have been very pleased with the results we’ve gotten for them,” says Ali Husayni, SEO expert and CEO of Master Google. “We want to get the word out and there’s no better way than straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Clients who will be filmed include: Chris Metcalfe from Mavenlive.com, a site providing services for physical therapists; Peter and Dr. Jennifer Eisenhuth from Doctorjennifer.com, the website for her orthodontic practice in Minneapolis; and Robin Bingeman from Cryoserver, an email archiving software provider.

The clients will discuss how they discovered Master Google, what services the SEO Google company has provided, how the company has optimized their websites, and what they like best about the company.

“The videos will showcase some of the work we’ve done for our clients recently,” says Husayni, “and it will demonstrate to prospective clients what we’re capable of.”

The SEO company’s clients have found Master Google’s Google ranking services to be extremely valuable in promoting their business. Many of the clients have seen a huge jump in their website’s ranking on Google – and have been able to acquire a significant amount of new business.

Master Google is famous for its “Top of Google Guaranteed” package, which promises that the search engine optimization company will get a client’s website among the top five sites listed on Google when a user searches using that business’s main keywords. If Master Google cannot get the client’s site within the top five after a few months, the client’s fees will be refunded.

© 2011 Master Google. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Master Google are credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this document is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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Google recently upgraded the Page Rank for our Web site from a 4 to a 6. This accomplishment is a result of our skill with SEO and hard work – and demonstrates how our clients can benefit by signing up for our SEO services.

Page Rank is the result of Google’s search algorithm, which gives a number to every hyperlinked set of documents as a measure of its importance on the Web. The algorithm assigns each Web site a number from 0 to 10 representing that site’s value to Google. The 0 to 10 scale is logarithmic, like the Richter Scale, so that each number is exponentially harder to achieve than the previous number.

Google does not reveal all the factors that go into determining Page Rank, but the score does depend in part on the number of inbound links for a Web site as well as the quality of the pages providing inbound links. In other words, if site A links to site B, Google interprets that as a “vote” by site A for site B. The weight given to site A’s vote, however, depends on its Page Rank. If there are no links to a Web page, there is no support for that page. Another factor influencing Page Rank is how often the Web site is updated with fresh content.

“We are very pleased to have Master Google’s Page Rank increase so dramatically,” said Master Google CEO Ali Husayni. “Since each number on Google’s Page Rank scale is exponentially harder to achieve than the previous number, the fact that Master Google’s rank has increased so quickly to a 6 is a tribute to the hard work of our employees and the high quality of our Web site’s material. Most SEO Web sites never achieve a Page Rank of 6. So, we’re ranked right up there among the best SEO companies in the world.”

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Master Google, a leading Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company, began offering free Google SEO services –worth $500 – to qualified businesses in August 2009. Since then, the company has helped 390 businesses to improve their ranking on Google and other search engines.

In seven months, Master Google received 1,166 applicants – an average of 170 per month – for free SEO services. 390 applicants were qualified to receive the services and, of those, approximately 50% of the Web sites noticeably improved their Google ranking. Approximately 25% saw improvement in their ranking with other search engines. Such success rates for a free program have encouraged many businesses to give it a try.

“These days it can be hard for a small business to establish a Web presence,” said Ali Husayni, CEO of Master Google. “But we have the knowledge that can help them improve their ranking and become more prominent on the Internet.”

Each of Master Google’s free clients has been able to raise his or her Web site’s profile and improve traffic. In turn, Master Google has a chance to show potential future customers how the firm can help their business.

“I launched mjdrawings.com on Dec. 26 2009,” Nicole wrote. “I signed up for free SEO services a few days later. My site was selected and optimized by Master Google on Jan. 7, 2010. A week later today, all of my seven keywords rank in page 1 in Yahoo, with good improvement ranking in Google. Thank you so much Master Google, for your SEO service!”

The Free SEO Program offers the following services:

• Keyword Analysis – Identifying a Web site’s most important keywords.
• Home Page Optimization – Optimizing a Web site’s homepage for those keywords by updating the site’s tags and submitting it to Google for indexing.
• Ranking Reports – Master Google provides ranking reports to the clients for three months so they can see the improvement in their ranking.
• Google Analytics – The Web site is set up for Google Analytics

Master Google is still accepting applications for free SEO on its Web site.

Of those applicants who did not qualify for the program, the most common reason was providing the wrong File Transfer Protocol (FTP) data; without that information, Master Google’s staff cannot access a site.

© 2010 Master Google. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Sinai Marketing and Master Google are credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this press release is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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Google doubled its search market in 2009, compared with 2008 (so did the number of our clients and revenues). Growing this fast is not an unusual trend for the search engine giant. Yahoo! and Bing schlepped and screamed to “dent” Google’s popularity and yet, Google is no game loser. Its search strategy was as strong as ever. Read more…

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You’re not alone. I’ve heard this at least ten times in the past month. About 50% of our clients don’t believe we can actually deliver on our promise of getting their sites ranked at the top of Google search results. Some leave keeping their beliefs and some decide to let us prove them wrong.

If you honestly don’t believe this is possible, then read on; I may have you believe otherwise.

First, there is a difference between guaranteeing to rank your site at the top and guaranteeing to refund your money if your site is not ranked at the top. Read more…

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