How to Evangelize on the Web

 Misc., Search Engine Optimization  No Responses »
Sep 262009
 

One passion I have, (after my Savior, Jesus Christ) is for search engine optimization. (SEO involves optimizing web pages for placement in search engine results.) As a Christian, I see the need for ministries to use SEO on their websites. But oddly enough, it is not widely seen! Do you know how to evangelize on the web? I ask you. Where do you find people? How about people searching for information? On the street corner or on Google? If you don’t know, there are literally millions of people typing words in search engines looking for answers! So why don’t Christians take note of this and implement these tactics to share the love of Jesus through Christian internet marketing? I don’t know.  :(

Time and time again, I go to Christian websites and look to see what type of internet marketing is utilized. Social Media is growing in businesses and a person can witness to the lost this way. But, I still come back to search engines.  Sometimes people type words such as “who created this world” or “who is God” or “life is rotten.” Doesn’t it make sense to apply SEO skills to give people answers they are searching for? Think about it. How often do you search for something in a search engine? Google is the most popular search engine and there are many others!

If you are a church, ministry or just an individual who wants to stand up and share the gospel with the world, think about the limitless ways that can be done on the web. If you are a quiet person or introvert, as I can be, it is easier to type on a blog or social media then get in front of a group. So what are you waiting for? The Bible tells Christians to share the good news of Jesus Christ in The Great Commission.  There is no better time! :) What have you done to evangelize to the millions of people on the world-wide web?

10 Top Video Sites

 Social Media, Videos  2 Responses »
Sep 252009
 

If you are posting video, where should you put it? This is a list of the top 10 video sites from April 2009. Note that Facebook is #10. Always make sure to add video to your Facebook business page. And what is #1? Google, of course! Don’t forget to get SEO (search engine optimization) done with your videos and web pages.

Top 10 Video Sites

Top 10 Video Sites

Google and Keyword Meta Tags

 Search Engine Optimization  2 Responses »
Sep 222009
 

In recent conversations with people discussing meta tags and search engine optimization,  I’ve stated that keywords are not important to Google.  Several people didn’t agree with me.  It is important to remember that meta title tags and meta description tags are always important for ranking in search engines.

Google has finally come out with a statement from Matt Cutts.  I decided to post the video for future reference and conversations! You can also read the post on Matt Cutts blog.  :-D

Tracking ROI from Social Media

 Social Media  2 Responses »
Sep 192009
 

Has your company asked you to show ROI (return on investment) for Social Media? Most companies are looking for quick and simple reports,  that can be viewed in a graph, that will prove if they should add Social Media to their equation. Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer in Social Media or Search Engine Optimization.

There are a number of combined metrics to track ROI from Social Media. To calculate the ROI, you need to include the following factors:

  1. Traffic - (unique page views and regular page views)
  2. Stickiness - (RSS as well as direct return visitors)
  3. Visibility - (links and search ranking in search engines)
  4. Viralness - (brand awareness)
  5. Engagement - (comments, polls and surveys )
  6. Income - (advertising, sales, and conversions)

The answer is not simple nor is it a quick ROI that a company prefers to invest in. Ultimately, a company who acquires the skills to build relationships and develop trust and credibility will result in customers who will support your company and share their reviews with family and friends!!

Key Factors of SEO

 Basic SEO, Search Engine Optimization  1 Response »
Sep 172009
 

What are some of the key factors of SEO?

1) On page optimization – Tags (title description, keyword, headings, body copy) along with a clear subject matter focus

2) Hyperlinks - Inbound links, outbound links, internal links. (gives page rank)

3) Content- Clear subject matter focus built with sentence structure and good keywords

4) Video/Audio – Added to site and to social sites; adding meta tags

5) Marketing – Adding blogs, news press, articles, etc. to other sites to market your own site with hyperlinks

6) Spidering – Crawlable html and xml sitemaps

Google has over 200 variables in the algorithm.  Take advantage of the opportunities and optimize as much as possible!

Does Your Website Have Duplicate Content?

 Misc., Search Engine Optimization  No Responses »
Sep 152009
 

Most people who have websites know that “content is king.” We strive to add content to our website so that search engines, like Google, will come back and index our pages. In the midst of trying to achieve this task, we can cross a great divide. “What is that?” you ask.

When two domains have the same exact content, Google sees this as duplicate content. This means plagiarism to search engines. As a result, Google will lessen the ranking of one or both sites and possibly kick them out of their search engine!

So, what is the solution?

1. Don’t copy text from any site, including your own website!

2. You might want to consider occasionally using  “do not come” robot.txt file to tell spiderbots not to index the page.

3. Write copy that is original. (Isn’t that a clever new approach? :) )

Make sure when creating a page you use these essentials on the web page to help with search engine optimization:

**Good Keywords
**Meta Tags
**Good, Relevant Content

Content is King! But everything does have guidelines and rules. And this is no exception! Don’t you want your website to be a site of authority and value?

Do Links Matter?

 Backlinks  1 Response »
Sep 122009
 

Do you notice that people add links to blogs, articles and other websites? Do you ever see a comment that has a link to a topic that is irrelevant? Why is that? Do links matter? Today I have an answer for you!

People add links (hyperlinks) all the time to blogs, comments and other places on the internet. The reason? Sometimes to share information and other times it’s related to internet marketing. Google values and looks at the links connected to your website!

One problem I see all the time is that people are trying to add a link to this blog but it is totally irrelevant to my posting. And I usually delete it! From a internet marketing perspective, search engines are looking for relevant links. In other words, if your website is selling car parts and you have links to jewelry, the two are not connected. Not good! The web site with car parts should be linked to another car website. Something such as car repair, car washes, car paint jobs, etc. You get the picture!

I wrote this post to encourage those of you who know the importance of linking (and try to link to this blog) to go to: Links Do Matter.

When you add a link to a blog, article, or website, try to use keywords in your anchor text.  Good anchor text is always beneficial. Sometimes a website will not give you the ability to do this.  If you are unable, you should still add the link.

We put together linksdomatter.com to help those trying to build PageRank for their sites.  All you have to do is add a comment on the site explaining what type of backlink you are looking for and what you have to offer. When others with a relevant site see your comment, you can email each other and work out the link strategy. You can also request to post a link on this site if there is no other significant website that will help you out.  So check it out today…links do matter!

3 Reasons to Implement Social Media Into Your Business

 Social Media  No Responses »
Sep 102009
 

There are three reasons for implementing social media into any business.

1. Build relationships – Here is an opportunity to interact with persons who might not otherwise support your business. These persons like the business, but are typically not purchasing your products. Interacting with these people builds trust and creditability.

2. Internet marketing – Include a backlink to our own website to take advantage of search engines and internet marketing. It should be deeper linking to help build the importance of individual web pages.

3. Branding - Your business name or whatever is easy-to-grasp from your business should always be in the title and incorporated with each video and channel.