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How to Write Like an SEO Pro

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As professionals, we highlight our strengths to further our careers. Owning and operating a business is a classroom unlike any other. But there is always more to learn. Internet marketing is an integral part to furthering your businesses success. Like and skill, effective internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) takes knowledge and practice. This article will hopefully teach you a new skill by highlighting the basics of writing content which can be used for SEO purposes. Writing for SEO Writing for SEO serves a purpose and the purpose of SEO is to improve your business. Thinking of “seo writing” as a style will help you to produce more effective content that Google notices. In the old days of SEO, keywords reigned supreme. Previously, in order to write a strong SEO article one simply had to jot down a bunch of keyword heavy sentence and then call it a day. But the rules have changed. Google’s algorithim is becoming increasingly more sophisticated and the emphasis o
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Why Business Professionals Should Tweet

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With all of the interest in Twitter, still, many business professionals admit they don't have an account – deeming Twitter as irrelevant to their practice. Irrelevant? Not So Fast… The Twitter 140 Character Limit Many Twitter users have discussions on Twitter – long conversations drawn-out due to the 140 character limit. However, businesses on Twitter in social media marketing campaigns and use it to advertise and broadcast their brand or service. Fortunately, you can include a link with a tad-bit of information or a tease if your will. When you look at your Twitter timeline — the tweets you see of the people you follow – you'll notice that the majority of them will include a link of some kind. These links take you to the full story of the advert or broadcast — using the tweet to entice the reader or follower to click the link for more information. There are sites on the web that will let you shorten the URL link as well; sites such as tinyurl.com and others allow you
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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What Social Networks Mean To You As A Business Owner

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In recent months, we have seen a rush by various social networks to monetize their user base, and though we understand that they can hardly provide their services for free, we are seeing a rather disturbing trend evolve. For example, YouTube will now play pre-roll videos before the sports clips that they host, and Facebook created the Edgerank algorithm, which monitors what is offered, displayed and placed on your News Feed. On top of that, Twitter has started to add content to your timelines, content that has nothing to do with you. On their own, these things are not necessarily alarming, but the issue is that with this clutter showing up on our social networks, we are seeing a decrease in the presence of original content. Now it needs to fight with the ads that the social networks really want to show. So how can you get your content, carefully created, curated and designed to bring people to you, out there? The answer comes from the late Jim Henson, who famously said, "If
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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The Case for Case Studies

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Standing the test of time is a naturally human trait. Ever since Keats conceptualized the ongoing quest for a semblance of immortality in Ozymandius we have ever been working toward the same goal in a different form. With technology, the field has changed from monumental sandstone structures to evergreen website content that generates traffic no matter the year. While it certainly is a longer process to produce articles that can stand such a desire, there is content that automatically lends itself to such a design. Case studies are the reflexive go-to when faced with the desire to immortalize work that will stand the test of internet aging by still appearing relevant in 6 months' time. The Creation In and of itself, the case study is a very simple creature. To make one, simply describe a problem, offer solutions, test these out and then present the results and your conclusion. It’s very much like a watered down scientific method, but Instead of requiring years of study in a
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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Combining Social Media Marketing with SEO

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In today’s society SEO and Social Media Marketing have become extremely important for organizations to take part in. Due to this, it is only logical that organizations are starting to talk and think of ways to align these two. Back in 2013, Eric Schemidt, Google chairman, stated that, “within search results, information tied to verify online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification… The true cost of remaining anonymous might be irrelevance.” Recently, Google actually decided to remove Authorship tags. However, they believe that this isn't really what matters. This is only changing the strategy not the actual algorithm.  The majority of the larger brands have come to the realization that they need both of these marketing services, and they have come to create cross functioning teams that are strictly designed to deploy this alignment objective. However for small to medium businesses, this alignment can be complicated. Often times these businesses ac
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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Messaging Your Brand

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Every brand begins with establishing a consistent voice. The message that you send with your voice should revolve around a firm's value, the reason why it is useful to others. You also want your voice to demonstrate the values, or beliefs, of a brand. Brands must articulate a promise and stir up consumer desire to use the service. Sum up everything your brand values into one united front. Your message must lead the charge to success. The Many Forms of Messaging The message that you use is going to be found on your website and in other marketing material. Make sure that your tagline, slogans and headlines promote your values and value. Create a persuasive message by providing brief and essential information. Simplify every aspect of your brand for quick perusal. Oversimplification is a GOOD thing Beyond oversimplifying your message, you also want to be remembered. You want your audience to want your product. The world already offers a jumble of communication, and creating a
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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Maintaining a Healthy Relationship with Google

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As the internet becomes more of a vital part of the functioning of any good marketing campaign, the importance of Google cannot be overstated. Marketers spend much of their time essentially pandering to Google, looking for new means by which they can utilize this powerful tool to leverage a bigger audience for their clients. This often entails a lot of time and a lot of money, as the algorithms that Google uses to determine where a page will appear in it's search results (and thus, how "visible" it is) are incredibly complicated and Google is not exactly forthcoming with information and details. As we recently saw, Google can also change the whole proverbial landscape with one simple change. Authorship, or the authority of the author or proprietor of the content, has been a key part of how high a site ranks in search engine results for quite some time. In fact, it was a key element, which led many to target marketing campaigns and design their websites and content w
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Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
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