Using Web Analytics

If you operate a business website but have no idea how to access your website's analytics, you are operating under a severe handicap.

What Is Web Analytics?
Web analytics is a web marketing term with broad use and applications. Basically, it boils down to this. A website analytics program can give you information about your website visitors. They give you the ability to monitor the activity of your site visitors. Obviously, this data can be very useful to your Internet marketing efforts!

Even if you don't have a web analytics program installed on your website, your site log should offer basic information such as number of visitors per day, leading traffic sources, etc. But if you really want to know what's happening on your website, you should install a web analytics program.

Web Analytics Programs
If you'd like to take the no-cost route (which is always popular), you could use Google Analytics. This used to be called Urchin, until Google bought and renamed it. Google Analytics will give you such information as:

• Number of visitors per day
• Number of page views per day
  
• Location of your visitors
• Key search phrases that people used to find you
• Top sources of traffic
• Top entry page
• Top exit page
• And more

Google Analytics gives you plenty of raw data, but it also "dresses" it up in various charts and graphs, as illustrated below.





These images represent a small slice of what Google Analytics provides. Obviously, I can't show everything here on the blog.

This data provided by Google Analytics is enough for most small to medium-sized businesses. And the price can't be beat. But if you want to get more advanced (and you have the budget to do so), you might look into a company / product like WebTrends or WebSideStory.

Learn More

• What is Web Analytics?
• Understanding Web Analytics
• Web Analytics Demystified

~Brandon

Austin SEO Firms - 5 Key Qualities

I put together a list of qualities I feel are important in an SEO firm. Whether you choose to do business with me, or another search engine optimization firm in Austin, this list will help you ask all the right questions before signing any contracts.

The 5 Key Qualities:

1. Full disclosure of techniques
2. Copywriting skills
3. Big-picture thinking
4. A marketing mindset
5. Results and reporting

Read the full article here:
Austin Search Engine Optimization Firms: 5 Key Qualities

Hope you find this list useful. And remember, this is a bare minimum of the qualities you should seek in an SEO company. You can probably add a few of your own criteria to my list.

~Brandon

Get a Business Website in Two Days

Many businesses in Austin think they have to spend thousands of dollars and weeks of development time to have a functional website for their business. But this is an outdated way to think about web design.

These days, there are a variety of content-management tools available to simplify website creation and management. WordPress is one of those tools. Yes, WordPress, the blogging system. Did you know you can also use WordPress as a full-featured website? It's true. You can have a highly functional, easy-to-manage website using only WordPress (and a bit of help).

• And you can have it in a matter of days, instead of weeks.
• And your costs could range from $50 to $500, instead of thousands.

A Business Website in Two Days
Not convinced? Need evidence? I understand. For the longest time, businesses have been told that web development takes a long time and requires a lot of money. A lot of Austin web design firms make their bread and butter off this notion, and they are cursing me right now for writing this article.

But I'm a big fan of giving people options, so I want you to know that this web design option exists.

Here's a step-by-step approach I have used many times for clients, to create a business website from scratch in only two days time.

Step 1 - Register Domain Name and Get Web Hosting
Using a company like GoDaddy, this can be done in about one hour. The domain registry costs $10 per year, and the hosting costs about $7 per year. Total cost for web domain and web hosting for one year = $94.

Step 2 - Install a MySQL Database on Web Host
This sounds complicated, but it's a five-minute operation on GoDaddy (one of many reasons I use them). I would go into the database section of the hosting control panel, select "create database," and then give it a name and password. Total time spent: 10 minutes.

Step 3 - Install WordPress on Web Host
WordPress is free, so there's no cost involved with this step. I would simply open a configuration file, insert the database name and password I created in the last step, and then upload the entire WordPress program onto the web host. Total time spent: 12 minutes (mostly waiting for files to upload).

Step 4 - Launch and Configure WordPress
When all the WordPress files are uploaded to the web host, I'm ready to run the installation process. This takes about 12 seconds, so we won't even count it on our time tally. I would then change the URL / linking structure to make it more search engine-friendly (1 minute), add some categories (2 minutes) and other minor tweaks (5 minutes). Total time spent: 8 minutes.

Step 5 - Customization and Appearance
I want this website to look professional and unique, so I would create a custom logo for it, arrange its layout for usability and readability, tweak the colors, etc. Granted, this step requires some graphical knowledge (for logo) and web coding skills (to arrange the site's layout), but it still only takes half a day. I could handle this step for you, and the cost would be measured in hundreds instead of thousands. Total time spent: 5 hours.

Step 6 - It's Time for Content
Now comes the most important part. I need to create some initial content for my website. I say "initial" because I plan to add new content on a weekly basis on behalf of my client (the WordPress system makes this easy to do, by the way). I want to start with a few pages of content about my services, some content for the home page, etc. Total time spent: 1 day.

So let's recap. I've just created a multi-page business website (with a blog built in), I've created some initial content to get me started, and I have a content-management system that allows me to add new pages and blog posts as easily as I would type an email.

• Total time spent: 2 days
• Total cost for me: $94 (because I did the work myself)
• Total cost for you: less than $1,000 (if I did the work for you)
  

In the end, you'll pay a lot less than you would pay for a traditional, programming-heavy ("bulky") website. And you'll have your website in a matter of days, instead of weeks or months. Best of all, you'll be able to manage certain aspects of it, because the content-management tool is built right in.

Some Austin web design firms will tell you it can't be done, that it takes weeks to build a website. But I've just shown you it can, haven't I?

Learn more on this subject

~Brandon

3 Things Search Engine Optimization Can't Do

You might think I'm crazy for making a list of things search engine optimization can't do. After all, search engine optimization (SEO) is a big part of what I do for a living.

But I'm also a sucker for the truth, and I like to be absolutely frank with my clients (and my blog readers) about all things SEO. While search engine optimization can certainly help you grow your business, there are certain things it cannot do. It's important to realize that SEO is one ingredient in your web marketing success. But there are many other ingredients you need to consider.

Despite what other SEO companies might promise you, here are three things SEO cannot do:

1. Motivate People to Act
Search engine optimization can help people find your website. No doubt about that. I combine copywriting, SEO and PR to drive a lot of traffic to my clients' websites. But SEO has little to no effect on how people react once they reach your site. Your website's professionalism, usability, content and marketing capability can motivate people to respond, but SEO cannot. Search engine optimization can deliver traffic ... but you still have to convert it into business.

2. Build Your Reputation
A company that ranks high in search engines is not always the best company within its industry. Search engine position is determined by a website's age, link popularity and other search engine ranking factors. It's not determined by customer satisfaction. So while SEO will make people aware of your website, it will not convince them of your quality, dependability, professionalism, etc. You'll have to do that yourself.

3. Generate Leads and Sales
This is an offshoot of item #1, but it's worth reiterating. Day after day, I see SEO companies sing the praises of search engine optimization from a sales standpoint. Generate leads and sales with search engine optimization. Let me be the first to tell you that SEO is not a sales tool. It never has been, and it never will be. SEO is a traffic generator. If you triple the traffic to a website with no lead-generation tactics in place, you will have three times the amount of unconverted web traffic. Or to put it more simply:

• SEO + good lead generation = leads
• SEO + poor lead generation = no leads

This is why I take a "big picture" approach to search engine optimization. I handle the SEO side of things for my clients, but I also advice them on such critical things as lead generation, website conversion, product positioning, content development, etc.

If this is the kind of advisor you'd like in your camp, please feel free to give me a call.

What's an SEO Consultant?

I've added a new article to the SEO learning center to explain what an SEO consultant is. Or more accurately ... what an SEO consultant should be.

Why would I bother? Because you wouldn't believe the kinds of people who refer to themselves as professional SEO consultants these days. I take search engine optimization seriously, and I expect others in this industry to do the same. But, alas, some of them don't.

So the best thing I can do is teach companies about the skills and qualities an SEO consultant should have. That way, they'll be better equipped to spot the phonies!

Anyhoo, here's the article. I hope you find it helpful.

~Brandon

Who Wants a Blog Site?

First, let's answer the obvious question, "What's a blog site?"

A blog site is a combination blog and website, all wrapped up in one content-management system (CMS) In this case, the CMS I'm referring to is the powerful WordPress blog program.

Some people don't know this, but WordPress can be used as a full-featured website, in addition to a blog. WordPress is primarily a blogging tool, but the latest version allows you to create pages (in addition to blog posts), designate a home page, and much more.

So the blog site concept is ideal for any company who wants a website in addition to a blog, but with a single admin area to manage both.

Benefits of the blog site approach:

• Affordability and ease of use
• Search engine visibility
• Easy way to create a web presence
• Versatility and efficiency

How can you use a blog site?

• An all-in-one web presence for the small business
• A secondary web presence for large companies
• An educational tool for extending your brand
• A search engine visibility / web traffic booster
• Anything else you can imagine

You can learn more about the blog site approach on my Austin web design page. Or just contact me and I'll explain it in more detail.

~Brandon

7 Things I Love About Austin

I thought I would take a break from search engine optimization and Internet marketing topics (gasp!) to share my fondness for Austin, Texas.

Having spent eight years in the Navy, I've lived all over the country. But so far, Austin is my favorite city. Technically, I live in Round Rock ... just to get that out of the way.

So what do I like about Austin? Here's a breakdown in no particular order:

1. The Bats
I'm the kind of guy that gets devoured by mosquitoes, even while others go untouched an arm's distance away. So the fact that Austin's bat population (and the McNeil bridge bats up near my house) devour millions of skeeters every night sits nicely with me!

2. The Snakes, Scorpions, Fire Ants...
As a kid, I had insects for playmates and reptiles for pets. So imagine my joy when I found a place that had reptiles, scorpions and fire ants, all within a stone's throw. After it rains, and when the fire ants are rebuilding their massive mounds, you can find me around my neighborhood poking sticks in mounds and shouting, "Man, look at those suckers pour outta there!" Did you know we even have a fire ant lab?

3. The Winters
I don't care what anybody says about the winters here. Forty degrees is not "brutally cold." Growing up on the East Coast, I recall entire months when the temperature never got above zero.

4. The Summers
You know when the temp hovers around 100 for days on end in August? I live for those times. Mainly because I like to count the number of people who say "Hot enough for ya?" in a single day. I once got up to 15.

5. The Wildflowers
I've never seen wildflowers quite like the ones here in Texas. Just yesterday, I saw the year's first Blue Bonnets sprouting up along the highway. I can't wait until the Indian paintbrushes start throwing their reds and oranges into the mix.

6. Y'all
I grew up in Virginia, where the phrase y'all was a integral part of the local dialect. Then, after living in New England briefly (and being gawked at for using the phrase), I lost my "y'all" without even realizing it. It's nice to live in a place with "y'all" again.

7. People, Places, Things
The thing I like most about Austin are all those places to go, things to do, and people to see. Friends from out of town will ask me, "What is there to do in Austin?" And I say nothing ... unless you like swimming, hiking, jogging, biking, lounging, partying, lobbying, shopping, dining, chilling, barbecuing, or watching the bats at sunset. Aside from that, not much.

Honorable Mentions
The new toll roads. Rudy's Barbecue. The County Line (mmmm, brisket). Esther's Follies. The eclectic mix of hippies, yuppies and politicians downtown. Leslie, Willie and Kinky.

~Brandon

Search Marketing with Google AdWords

Google AdWords can be an effective tool in search engine marketing. It can literally put you at the top of Google search results tomorrow -- provided you have the budget to do so.

But what is Google AdWords, and how does search engine marketing with Google AdWords work? Here's a primer for you:

Search Marketing with Google AdWords
Let's start out with a basic definition. Google AdWords is a pay-per-click marketing program that allows webmasters to create their own ads and choose their own keywords. Google AdWords is a "sponsored search" program, meaning your ad will show up under the "Sponsored Links" section of the Google results page (see below).



In the image above, the green shaded area shows Google AdWords (sponsored ads), while the pink shaded area shows natural (organic) search results.

Benefits of Google AdWords Marketing
As mentioned, one of the primary benefits of search engine marketing with Google AdWords is that you can get your ad in front of people quickly. If you were to set up a Google AdWords program today, you could literally be on the first page of Google for your chosen keywords by tomorrow. Of course, it will cost you (see "drawbacks" section below).

The various reporting features built into the AdWords system provide another big benefit to using AdWords for marketing. You can track every aspect of your Google AdWords marketing campaign, from the number of ad displays to the number of clicks and conversions. You can track people from the click-through through the landing page, and all the way to the conversion page you've identified (such as a "thank you" page for purchase or subscription).

Another aspect of Google AdWords marketing that I really enjoy is the real-time ad testing. For example, if I create a search ad focusing on the phrase "Austin Internet marketing services," I could create two different versions of my ad. Then I could run those ads for a week and see which one had the best click-through rate. I would keep the champion ad, remove the weaker ad, and repeat the process with a new "challenger" ad. In this way, you can constantly optimize your Google AdWords marketing program by tweaking and testing your ads, over and over again.

Drawbacks of Google AdWords Marketing
Google AdWords differs from natural SEO in that you are paying for placement. With natural (or "organic") search engine optimization, you achieve your search engine ranking naturally through your content's relevancy and popularity. Through pay-per-click programs like Google AdWords, you achieve your ranking based on the amount you bid per click and the number of click-throughs you get. In other words, the top rankings in Google AdWords are dominated by search ads that either (A) pay the most per click, (B) have the best click-through rates, or (C) a combination of the two.

Resources for Google AdWords Marketing
This is by no means a complete education on search engine marketing with Google AdWords. Entire books have been written on the subject. I am simply trying to provide an overview into the world of Google AdWords marketing. If you'd like to learn more on this subject, you'll find the resources that I've gathered below very helpful:

• Google AdWords Tutorial
• Using Google AdWords
• Google AdWords Guide
• Using Google AdWords for Effective Online Marketing
• Avoiding Common AdWords Mistakes

Our PPC Services
If you would like to learn more about launching a pay-per-click campaign for your business, using Google AdWords, please contact us. We can evaluate your market and audience to determine if PPC search marketing might be a good idea, and we can help you create a campaign. Our services include campaign management, writing your ad copy, testing your ads, creating a landing page, and more. Please contact us for details.


~Brandon

Austin Internet Marketing Services - An Overview

I've put up a new page to offer an overview of my Austin Internet marketing services.

After a website review, I realized that the various services and training I provide are in various locations. They are where they are for good reason, but it still helps to have an all-inclusive page listing everything I provide.

Go there now

If you have a question about any of my Austin Internet marketing services, or if you need something that's not listed on the page, please contact me.

~Brandon

Real Estate Search Engines - A Review

I try to cover all things search here on the SEO blog, and that includes vertical search, such as real estate search engines.

I thought you might enjoy this review of modern real estate search engines. It covers everything from Yahoo Real Estate to the newer search engines like Trulia.

As you've probably noticed, real estate search engines have exploded in popularity in recent years. These tools empower consumers, which means real estate agents need to start rethinking their approach to (A) marketing, (B) web presence, and (C) search engine optimization.

~Brandon

Three Reasons I Love WordPress for Blogging

If you operate a blog as part of your Internet marketing program, but you don't currently use WordPress, you owe it to yourself to check it out. I actually use Blogger for the Austin SEO blog, but I use WordPress for two of my other blogs.

What do I like about WordPress?

1. Quick Setup - Once you know your way around the admin area of WordPress, you can setup and customize a new blog in just a few hours. In fact, just last week I launched an information blog about real estate, and it took me all of 4 hours to get it set up how I wanted.

2. Collaboration Tools - Most blog applications have some way to assign multiple authors with varying levels of permission. But I don't think any of them do it as well as WordPress. You can create a sign-up page to allow authors to create their own user name. The system generates their password, and stands by for your approval. What could be easier?

3. Search Engine Visible - I won't go into the technical details of WordPress configuration (although I'd be happy to chat with you about over the phone). But suffice it to say that WordPress blogs are built in a way that makes them much easier to drive up the search engine rankings. Of course, you have to supply the quality content. But the blog sure pulls its weight!

Do You Want a Custom WordPress Blog?
Blog setup and training is one of the Austin internet marketing services I offer. So if you'd like to get up and running with your own custom-branded, search-engine-friendly and user-friendly WordPress blog ... just give me a shout!

~Brandon

Optimized Press Releases - Featured Service

What's an Optimized Press Release?
An optimized press release is simply a press release that has been enhanced for online visibility. The press release is then distributed online through a service like PRWeb.com. By incorporating keyword-rich hyperlinks into the press release, you are also growing your link popularity.

People can find the press release online by searching relevant phrases. That's the first benefit. But the optimized press release also helps you generate inbound links as it gets republished / syndicated online. That's the second benefit.

It Starts with the Message
As with any press release, you need something newsworthy to say before you do anything else. Sure, you can send a press release per week if you want to, and you'll get some visibility out of it. But to get the most from this technique, you should start with a strong message ... which is usually the result of a strong product or service.

Optimized Press Release Services
I offer two types of optimized press release services -- training and execution. With the SEO training option, I can show you how to use this press release strategy for yourself. With my optimized press release services, I will actually do all of the legwork for you, from writing to distribution.

Want to learn more about this or any other SEO service I provide? Please contact me at your convenience.

~Brandon

In-house SEO Training in Austin

I personally know several Austin companies who want to pursue some form of search engine optimization, but are stopped by one of three things:

1. They don't understand the process or know how to begin.
2. They think they don't have the budget for professional help.
3. They don't have the in-house staff to get it done themselves.

I have the answer to all three of these concerns ... in-house SEO training! With this program, I bring my Austin search engine optimization services to your location, and at your convenience. What could be better?

Here's how it works:

After signing up for a half-day training session, I will work with you to learn your web marketing goals, your in-house capabilities (writing, developing, etc.), and other factors. I'll use this information to create a custom SEO training session based on your unique situation. This is not a canned presentation -- I will tailor it to meet your needs.

Once I've got my presentation ready for you, I'll show up on your chosen time and date to start training you and/or your staff. I'll also provide a follow-up report covering items we talked about.

But don't let the convenience of this SEO training option fool you. It is a high-value business resource, because you'll be learning necessary web-marketing skills from a leading expert on the subject. You'll learn how to increase your website's search engine ranking, visibility and traffic levels, thereby increasing your website's overall profitability.

Want to learn more or sign up for an SEO training session? Just shoot me an email or give me a call. Here's my contact info.

I look forward to bringing my Austin search engine optimization services to your place!

~Brandon

SearchWarp.com - No More SEO Value from Links

If, like me, you publish articles online to support your SEO program (in addition to other benefits), you might be interested in my recent discovery...

When you publish an article at SearchWarp.com, there is no longer any SEO value in the text links from their site to yours. Why? Because Search Warp has begun to use the "nofollow" tag on their outbound links.

If you know anything about this tag, you'll know it prevents search engines from passing along any trust to the website on the other end of that link. In other words, it removes any and all SEO value from the text link.

Here's a snippet about the "nofollow" tag from Search Engine Watch:

What Nofollow Means

Below I'll cover what Google says it does, if it sees a link with the nofollow attributed associated with it. Yahoo and MSN are likely to react in a similar fashion, though I haven't yet spoken with them to get exact details since news of their support only just emerged.

If Google sees nofollow as part of a link, it will:

1. NOT follow through to that page.

2. NOT count the link in calculating PageRank link popularity scores.

3. NOT count the anchor text in determining what terms the page being linked to is relevant for.

Sure, your article may still be republished on other websites. And those websites may keep your link intact. But here's the kicker. If the person republishing your article copies it from SearchWarp and pastes it into a content management system (like a blog), they have brought the "nofollow" tag along with it. So you wouldn't get any SEO value out of the republication.

If you ask me, this is selfish on the part of SearchWarp.com. In fact, I told them this a few months ago, when they first started talking about using the "nofollow" tag. I told them their authors give them a business model, allowing them to make money from Google ads and the like. In the past, SearchWarp reciprocated this by allowing standard hyperlinks on all articles. This gave their authors SEO benefits in exchange for the articles they submitted.

But now, SearchWarp.com still takes as much as they always have ... they just give less back in return.

Just thought you might want to know.

~Brandon

New Blogging Guide Available

You want to increase your search engine ranking in order to expand your business online. My new blogging guide can help you do just that!


I'm pleased to announce a new blogging guide that can help you improve your search engine visibility ... dramatically. In this book, I reveal a simple but effective publishing strategy that was years in the making.

The new blogging guide is called The Triangle System: Blogging Your Way Up the Search Engines. And it's different from any other book about blogging.


There are plenty of general blogging books out there, and they certainly have their roles to fill. But this blogging guide is more of a training manual than a reference piece. It will teach you how to increase your search engine ranking with a three-part publishing system that's simple enough for anyone to use. That's what sets it apart.

Best of all, it's in e-book format. So you can literally download it today and start applying the strategy tomorrow. Unless, of course, you're satisfied with your current search engine placement?

~Brandon