Tagged: seo

SEO? SEM? Which Is Best For My Business

Posted on December 13, 2016 by - Search Engine Optimization

SEO Toronto - Insiteful Solutions

Businesses in every industry can benefit from Search Engine Optimization; also known as SEO and Search Engine Marketing; also known as SEM, PPC or paid search marketing. You are missing out on a lot of targeted traffic if you aren’t optimizing your website.

If your not sure what the difference is or what the best route to take in your industry? Here are some answers to help you make the right choice for your business.

What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and how can it help your business?

Its paid search engine marketing such as Google Adwords or Bing Ads and it’s an easy way to get website visitors. If you go this route and decide to advertise your website through SEM, you will pay the search engines to list your website for certain keywords of your choice and to have them display the ad you have written (linking to your website). When a person searches for that keyword, the search engine will show your ad. You only pay when someone clicks your ad, the amount of times your ad shows up in the search results will depend on your budget for the day.  You can set a maximum budget for the day and a maximum budget for the actual cost per click.

SEM is a great way to ensure you have a search engine listing for the keywords or keyword phrases you have chosen, as long as you have a big enough budget to have your ads displayed often. There is a big disadvantage if you choose to do Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and that is the cost can get outrageous if you are paying for the wrong keyword and isn’t driving targeted traffic to your website, you will lose a lot of money.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how can it help your business?

Search Engine Optimization is a process of over 200 different elements performed to improve your website or web page rankings on the organic or unpaid search engine result listings.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) includes two main elements.  The first is on-page optimization (optimizing the contents of the pages on your website so they are relevant to the keywords or keyword  phrases) and off-site optimization (creating and optimizing the inbound links that link to a specific page of your website).

Proper Search Engine Optimization (SEO) makes sure that search engines can understand the content of your website. If search engines think that your website is relevant to a specific keyword search, they will show a page from your website as a search result. If your page is more relevant (and properly optimized) than your competition the search engines will display your result above your competitors.

The main reason you would want to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is that you don’t pay for any clicks. The regular or organic search listings typically get many more visitors and clicks than the paid ads (SEM). The difference or disadvantage of SEO is that it takes longer to get listed in the organic search results. It can take months before your web pages rank well on the search engines, but once they do you will reap the benefits.

How to get the biggest bang for your buck! 

Many companies do both Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization, this approach will help you get your website in front of your target market. The idea is to combine both methods of optimizaton:

  1. Start with Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to test and find the keywords that deliver the best return on your investment (ROI).

Pay per click or Search Engine Marketing can be a great way to find the right keywords that work best for your industry. It allows you to see which keywords you should eliminate (and save you money) so you can concentrate on the proper more targeted keywords that will deliver new clients to your website.

  1. Once you have determined the best performing keywords you can optimize your web pages for these high-performing keywords

When you know the keywords that work best for your company, use Seach Engine Optimization (SEO) to optimize your web pages for these keywords. When your website is listed in the organic results, you will get many more visitors for a fraction of the cost.

Search engine optimization is essential to any business. There are many different elements involved.  It is best to leave it to the experts to guide you through the ongoing process.  Contact Insiteful Solutions today for more information at 905-947-8235 or by email at info@insitefulweb.com

 

Adding SSL Certification to Provide Better Security and Improved Search Results

Posted on December 12, 2016 by - Search Engine Optimization, Web Design

SSL Certification

Google recently announced that having an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate on your site will help boost your SEO ranking. The search engine giant has been trying to raise awareness about website security for a couple of years and this most recent update is the next logical step to accomplishing this goal.

SSL Certification adds an extra layer of security to a website by establishing an additional encrypted link between a web server and a browser. Basically, a properly installed SSL Certificate will ensure that data transmitted online stays private and secure. Users will notice a domain with HTTPS at the start as opposed to the typical HTTP (htttps://domain.com vs http://domain.com). It’s important to seek the assistance of a professional when making this switch. They will install the certificate properly and ensure that all redirects and 404 pages have been dealt with properly.

Google plans to boost rankings to any website with an SSL certificate, regardless if they collect personal information. That means even if your website doesn’t collect information for online payments, logins, or any other personal information you will still benefit from having the Certification on your website.

The goal is to make the Internet more secure for everyone. What better way to encourage people to spend the money and time to make a switch to SSL Certification than offering an SEO boost.

In order to implement SSL Certification, you will need to work with your web hosting company or your Markham website vendor. There will typically be both a setup fee and an annual subscription fee. The cost will prove to be worthwhile over time and will open the door to more data collection options on your website. Technically speaking, many smaller websites do not actually need the extra security that comes with an SSL Certificate, but installing one may be the difference between appearing at the top of search or falling to the bottom.

With the increase in websites moving towards SSL Certification, more and more average Internet users will begin to understand the importance of online security. Adding an SSL Certificate will tell your users that you care about their information, not having one may make your website appear less professional. Research shows that people feel more confident using a website with a security seal anywhere on the website. A trusted SSL Certification vendor will provide a security seal graphic which many people choose to place in the footer of their site and on any page where people are asked to enter personal information.

In the near future, Google Chrome users will begin seeing an ‘x’ beside search results Google deems to be unsafe. It’s very likely that websites without an SSL Certification will receive a failing ‘x’. This update to Chrome is expected to begin happening in January 2017.

WordPress, one the most commonly used website building platforms recently announced that they too will be encouraging their users to install SSL Certificates. Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress recently announced that upcoming builds of the popular software package will require an SSL certificate.

There are various SSL security options on the market, each offers different security and installation options. You will want to find a certificate that provides a full verification of identity, this shows Google that you securing your customer information properly.

Like many updates to Google, this shift towards a more secure Internet will likely happen in multiple steps. The transition from HTTP to HTTPS is happening and Google wants to accelerate this movement  by rewarding websites with SSL Certification. Many high ranking websites have already made this shift to better security.

It’s clear that moving towards better online security will be a focus for many website owners in 2017. Want to learn more about how to rank better on Google and provide better security for your customers with an SSL Certificate? We’d love to help, please feel free to contact us and we’ll find an SSL solution that works for your business needs and budget for both today and tomorrow.

6 Search Engine Optimization Trends to Watch

Posted on April 26, 2016 by - Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization

The world of Search Engine Optimization is always changing. A trend that happens today may completely change the next. SEO continues to be an affordable way to send relevant traffic to a company website

Based in Markham, we’ve had the pleasure of providing SEO consultation services for clients throughout Toronto and surrounding areas. Big or small, our clients want to incorporate the latest SEO strategies into their online market mix.

In this blog post we decided to take a look at six emerging SEO trends that we’ve noticed so far in 2016. These strategies, along with established SEO practices will help get your website ranking in Google.

2016: The Year of Mobile

How often do you check your phone during the day? If you’re like most people, it’s probably hard to keep track. Mobile devices continue to be an essential part of an average Canadian’s day-to-day life.

Many of our clients are finding that people use phones to access their websites more than traditional desktops.

This is a trend that Toronto business owners need to pay attention to. During April last year, Google recently changed their entire algorithm to reward sites with ‘mobile friendly’ designs and penalize the sites that do not.

Your website should present the same content, regardless of the size of the reader’s display. We work with clients to ensure their websites look great on any device. It’s also important to make sure everything loads quickly and can be easily crawled by Google and other search engines.

People Are Asking Google Questions

Another big trend that’s happening is an increase in the amount of rich answers appearing in Google’s search engine results page (SERP). Basically, a rich answer is an attempt by Google to answer a question someone searched for without requiring a click to an external website. Locally, there’s been a huge increase in rich answer content appearing in Google over the last year.

Having your content appear in Google as a rich answer is an amazing way to generate some high quality online traffic.

The best way to have your site referenced to provide a rich answer is to regularly post detailed and informative online content. You need to establish your brand as the online source of information within your market. Focus your content on answering common questions. The more detailed information you post, the more likely it will be used for rich answers in Google.

Use Structured Data

Google can sometimes have a hard time reading HTML and other online code, structured data is the best way to solve this problem. Structured data clearly labels your website’s code so that Google can quickly read, understand and rank it.

We’re seeing more and more business achieving SEO success by incorporating structured data into their website’s code. It’s important to use structured data to clearly explain the meaning of a page’s content.

When They Ask Questions, Answer Them

As mentioned before, people are typing their questions into Google and expecting a quick and reliable answer. It’s important to pay attention to common questions your customer ask you (both off line and online) and use this information to write your content. Social media can be a great source of ideas. Focusing on answering common questions with your content will make you a hit with both your online audience and Google.

Remember, detail is your best friend. Be sure to include lots of it. In addition to ranking better you’ll establish your brand as a trusted source of information with your market.

Optimize Your Site for Your Own Backyard

Search Engine Optimization – Geo-targeting your website for your local area is a very important SEO strategy. People want local information and Google is working hard to provide it. They’ve done this by making their algorithm more geo-centric. It’s important to include localized information such as your city name and phone number in your site’s content, META tags, titles and even filenames. The more localized you can make your site, the better. People want to visit local websites, it allows them to identify with your brand much quicker.

Localized traffic tends to convert very well. We’ve found that a lot Toronto and area web traffic comes from mobile devices, so it’s important to have a clean mobile design with strong Call to Actions.

Data is Your Best Friend, Listen to It

Tools such Google Analytics allows you the ability to constantly view and make data driven marketing decisions. People are telling you every day what they think of your online marketing with the click of a mouse or the tap of a thumb, it’s important that you pay attention.

Google Analytics is only the beginning. There are a lot of excellent tools on the market that allow you the ability to collect and understand your marketing data. Some are free and some will come with a cost. It’s important to have access to as much data that’s relevant to your business. Combining analytics tools with your CRM data can really give you a marketing advantage and help you budget your marketing spend properly.

SEO is an ever-changing thing. Throughout our time providing SEO consulting services to businesses in Markham and Toronto, we’ve seen many changes first-hand.

At the end of the day, companies succeed at SEO when they provide a user-friendly online experience with noteworthy and interesting content. Staying on top on SEO trends allows your business to have a strong competitive advantage in your market.