SEO Archives - Minnesota Design Studio

Analyze Your Competition with SEMRush

November 23, 2012February 15, 2013

SEMRush is a competitive research tool that allows you to easily determine the top keywords that your competitors rank for organically on Google. SEMRush offers two options for accessing competitor keywords. Nonregistered users are allowed up to ten free domain searches per hour, and registered users are provided up to tem domain searches per hour. Another benefit of registration is a funtion called site-wide search. The site-wide search function allows you to search for the top 20 rankings for every single page of a website, as opposed to just searching the home page rankings. Registration is free and only requires verifying your e-mail address.

What is the Google Toolbar? Should I install it?

November 1, 2012February 15, 2013

The Google Toolbar is an add-on for both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox Web browsers. The Google Toolbar includes several features that should be useful during the various stages of SEO. These features include the Google PageRank of a Web page, a tool to highlight a given keyword within a page, and an AutoFill option to cut down on the time spent typing the same information over and over again. The Google Toolbar displays the Google PageRank of any Web site you visit. Google PageRank is a numerical value ranging from 1 to 10 that acts as an indicator of the general importance Google has assigned to the individual web page. Generally speaking, when you are looking for linking partners, higher PageRank sites are more attractive targets. The Google Toolbar allows you to highlight any keyword on a Web page. You can insert a keyword into the Google Toolbar to quickly see where and how the keyword is used throughout the web page. The toolbar highlights the keyword whenever… Read More »What is the Google Toolbar? Should I install it?

Mankato Insurance Company – Alliance Insurance Agency

November 1, 2012January 29, 2013

Alliance Insurance Agency – www.aiamankato.com Does this sound like you? “I just need to protect what’s mine!” We can identify with that! We work hard for what we have, just like you do! No frills here, just a focus on helping you reduce risk whenever possible. Tell us what your concerns are about your property, health insurance coverage (talk about a changing landscape!) or coverage for your business; and let’s see if we can improve your situation without adding a pile of paperwork and hassle to your day. Recent Testimonials Thank you amazing folks! After dealing with My previous insurance company and their rude staff I was extremely delighted to find a welcoming attitude and knowledgeable staff to help me with my insurance needs you really went far and beyond my expectations matter a fact I don’t believe I’ve ever done business with a company so courteous as yours as a customer I really felt my business was valued and appreciated. Thank you so much!” ~Aaron Ebbenga “Chris has been fantastic!… Read More »Mankato Insurance Company – Alliance Insurance Agency

Why Do You Need A Sitemap?

October 20, 2012

You can create a sitemap to function as an outline or index of your entire website. You should structure it using the same hierarchy that you used when you created you website structure. Start of with your home page and build out from there with all the pages linking to it. Name it sitemap.html or sitemap.php. Such names help the search engines to recognize that the file is indeed a sitemap. Automatic sitemap generators like the one at www.xml-sitemaps.com help automate this process. A benefit of having a sitemap is that it gives visitors a place to potentially find what they are looking for without getting lost in the navigation of your website. A sitemap can help your visitors understand the website layout, and give them a quick access tool for all the pages within the website. As you add new pages to your website, make sure to add them to your sitemap. Search engines tend to reward websites with fresh and up to date content. A sitemap enables search… Read More »Why Do You Need A Sitemap?

Building Quality Back Links

October 19, 2012January 29, 2013

Save yourself a tremendous amount of time and effort by acquiring a few high-quality, authoritative links versus a large quantity of low-quality links that are not related to your web site. You can easily build a huge quantity of links back to your page by either manually submitting or purchasing software that mass-submits your web page to thousands of online guest books, forums, blogs, directories, and other link sources. However, this type of activity is often detected as span by search engines and therefore should be avoided. Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable of detecting the difference between natural, relevant links, and unnatural, irrelevant links such as those typically submitted by software. Just one or two high-quality links can provide the same if not greater search-engine-optimization benefit than hundreds of low-quality links. All the major search engines, particularly Google, embrace this approach to link building.

Planning A Pay Per Click Campaign

October 2, 2012January 29, 2013

As with any other online marketing technique, you will need to set goals and objectives for your Pay Per Click Campaign. Are you interested in introducing your site or branding it? Are you competing for sales on specific goods? Are you trying to capture the interest of prospects researching major purchases so that they visit your store? How does a Pay Per Click Campaign fit into your overall marketing plan? A Pay Per Click campaign is a matter of trial and error. You should produce and test multiple versions of your ads until you find the combination of ad content and search terms that produces the best results. A Pay Per Click Campaign requires a time commitment to set up and monitor, especially in the early stages. Pause your campaign occasionally and narrow your geographic reach, rather than run it evenly over time and place. In most cases, you will gain better visibility and more click-throughs from qualified prospects if you spend more money over a shorter period than if you… Read More »Planning A Pay Per Click Campaign