The AboutUs Blog

Facebook and You: How to have a better presence.

by Meg Hartley on 2 November 2011

Can you be found here?

I have been wondering how to improve the Facebook presence for one of my clients. I just watched a webinar on how to do that.

Facebook pages are a great place to engage your customers and future customers. But don’t neglect your website! Remember that most people will do business with you on your website. But creating a great Facebook presence can actually boost your site’s position in search rankings, as people talk about you both on Facebook and Twitter. Here are the best of the tips.

Create your company’s identity.

Create a vanity URL. Make your business memorable to your customers. Typically, using the name of your business is best, since that’s what people will be using in their search. If you choose to use keywords, make sure they accurately represent your brand and are easy to remember.

Create a customized landing page. Engage your customers with a personalized page that showcases your company’s unique identity and brand. Add interesting visuals and videos.

Complete your About box and Info tab. Every little bit helps toward increasing your rankings and visibility on Facebook. These sections of your profile provide opportunities for further customization of your profile and brand, and more opportunities for you to connect with customers.

Post regularly and have a plan.

Create a conversational calendar to plan what you will post and when. Make two: one for short term planning and one for long term.
Ask questions. Use your customer’s responses to determine what you will post and when.
Reward your readers. Special offers, exciting content, sneak peeks give readers a reason to shop and come back for more. Also, adding a welcome tab entices customers to become fans and gain access to your profile’s exciting and engaging content.

Expand your fan base.

Add Like tabs. Putting Like tabs on products allows fans to Like your page in multiple ways.
Give your clients the ability to check in at your location and publicize your profile further.
Partner with other companies who provide a similar product or service.
Build your off site links- such as to your website, other social networking sites, blog, and also encourage others to link to your page.

How to get backlinks, the #1 SEO ranking factor

by Kristina Weis on 1 November 2011

This article was originally one of our weekly SEO tip emails. Sign up to get those.

Links from other sites to yours – also called backlinks - continue to be the most important ranking factor that search engines look at when deciding where to rank a web page in search results. Also, links to a web page are the one and only factor contributing to the page’s PageRank (not to be confused with your web page’s rank in Google).

Backlinks are the most valuable – and perhaps least easy – way to improve your SEO. But seriously, they’re worth it.

You don’t have direct control over over your backlinks the way you do over your title tags or other website content. So how can you get backlinks to help your SEO?

First, create great content on your site that people would want to link to.
Ask. Contact site owners personally – don’t use an automated system or send the same email to everyone. Give people a good reason to link to you, like a blog post you think would help their visitors.
Keep an eye out for sites that mention you without a link, or use not-so-valuable anchor text (like “click here” or your website name). Then ask them nicely.
Include your keywords and links in press releases, and submit them to press release sites. They’ll be republished, complete with the links to your site.
Tip: Make sure links you get are DoFollow (not NoFollow) and anchor text.
If you haven’t already, build a nice page for your site on AboutUs.org and ask us to make its links to your site DoFollow.

For more details on getting valuable inbound links, check out these articles:

Things to avoid:

Paying for links or getting links from “iffy” sites. You could be penalized by Google.
Focusing on quantity over quality. A few good links from popular, relevant sites will help your SEO more than many links from random sites.
Link exchanges, link wheels, or other link schemes. These provide marginal value, and could hurt you.
Leaving generic or spammy comments on blogs. Links in blog comments are usually NoFollow anyway, so they won’t help your SEO. However, leaving meaningful comments is a good way to build your brand and get direct visitors.
Common website issues that can dilute or throw away your “link juice.” For more information, read Quick SEO Fixes for Links.

Questions? Comment below, email Help@AboutUs.org, or call 1.800.AboutUs or 1.503.488.5763 and press 3.

Want to get free weekly SEO tip emails? Sign up here.

Use SEO To Research Your Competition

by Aliza Earnshaw on 27 October 2011

You already know you can – and should – use search engine optimization (SEO) tactics and thinking to boost your own website above competitors in search results. But did you know you can use your knowledge of SEO to research the competition? Check out how they’re getting results, and steal those ideas! But make sure you avoid any bad SEO practices you uncover.

To make the most of SEO-based research, read SEO for Competitive Analysis by AboutUs author Michelle Knight. It’s a great guide, and you don’t even need to be an SEO expert to use the tips and advice you’ll find there. Michelle is a professional software tester, and she understands how to make technical information clear for the rest of us. For example, she tells you how to research the keywords your competitors rank for, and get ideas for outranking your competitors in ways you never thought about before.

Did you know you can use the AboutUs Site Report to track how well you rank in Google for your 20 most important keywords? You can also track how your competitors are doing on those same keywords. The Site Report also points out which elements of your website can be improved to help you rank higher in Google, and tells you how to fix those issues.

You can learn more about SEO, and many different areas of Web marketing, by browsing through the Learn section of AboutUs.org. We’ve published more than 100 articles on all kinds of topics that are important to small business owners. All our articles are written in clear language that any business owner can understand. The Learn section is free, just like most services we offer to website owners on AboutUs.org.

Video Helps You Reach Customers

by Aliza Earnshaw on 24 October 2011

Courtesy of MBTrama at Flickr.com

You don’t need me to tell you: Video is big. Whether it’s on YouTube, Vimeo or other video hosting sites, people are sharing video about all kinds of things, from cooking techniques to car repair to search marketing. Heck, AboutUs has its very own search engine optimization (SEO) videos available on YouTube.

Why are so many people marketing with video? There are a few reasons:

Most people read very little on the Web (though you’d never guess that from the sheer amount of content most companies produce). People scan articles and blog posts very quickly, missing out on a lot of information. But many people actively enjoy watching video, so they’ll stick with a clip that’s a few minutes long….if it’s reasonably interesting.
Video is easy to share, and it does get shared. A good video has the potential to spread quickly from one friend or colleague to a huge group…and beyond. (Notice I said a “good” video.)
Search engines notice videos, and notice which ones are searched for and clicked on. YouTube is now the second-largest search engine in the world, after Google (which owns YouTube, by the way), and its search data is used not just by Google, but probably by other search engines to help determine what’s popular. Remember, links and clicks on those links are like votes for a website. So videos linking back to your site are potentially powerful drivers of both traffic and improvement in your search rankings.

This morning I found a few useful articles about video for business owners I thought I’d share:

Anum Hussain of HubSpot points out the nine video marketing mistakes we should avoid. My two favorites: forgetting a call to action (why did you post this video, anyway?) and making videos that are too long.
ReelSEO published a guest article by Neil Davidson in which he challenges five marketers to come up with a business that wouldn’t benefit from online video. For the record, they couldn’t….Neil tells you how each business, however unlikely it may seem, could promote itself effectively through video.
And, backing into some useful tips, Cindy Ratzlaff of Business Insider offers the Top 10 Reasons Not To Include Video in Brand Marketing. Sure, it’s tongue-in-cheek, and you’ll find a few good tips here to get you going with your own videos.

AboutUs has published a few articles about video marketing as well, all of them targeted to small business:

Video Marketing 101 - Eleven tips (just because 5 or 10 or whatever seems awfully random to me) for making videos efficiently, and making sure they’re useful to people.
Planning Your Small Business Video – Things to think about if the very idea of making a video is just too daunting, by videomaker Amy Dubin.
How To Add Your Logo to Your Video – Practical help from Scott Olson, a veteran marketer and entrepreneur.
Record Video Interviews with Skype – More practical help from Scott, who’s built a business out of video interviews at FounderBuzz.com.

You’ll find plenty of clearly written, helpful articles about SEO and search marketing for small business and entrepreneurs in the Learn section of AboutUs.org. Looking for help with something we haven’t covered yet? Write to us: Editor@AboutUs.org.

Social media helps your SEO

by Meg Hartley on 18 October 2011

As a freelance writer and blogger, I want my articles and blogs to be read. If people are going to read my articles, they have to find them first. So, I spent some time this morning reading about search engine optimization (SEO) and its connection to social media.

I discovered that SEO and social media are inextricably linked. Up until now, I subscribed to the mindset that social media is a waste of time, but I suspended my disbelief and dug further. I’m a visual person, so finding this fabulous graphic from Lee Odden helped me put together the pieces of the big, complex SEO puzzle- and fit in the social media piece.

Diagram of SEO and Social Media courtesy of Lee Odden at Top Rank Online Marketing

Let’s start with the first step in Odden’s model. “How do I create and promote optimized assets?” I found Foqrul Islam’s article on how to make social media content interesting, and learned the most important thing is creating content that is catchy and caters to your users’ opinions. Of course, it’s a good idea to add visual interest and write a catchy title. [click to continue…]

AboutUs is growing, looking for a great developer

by Kristina Weis on 13 October 2011

Are you a software developer who’s got the skills to pay the bills? Or do you know one?

Here at AboutUs we’re entering a period of growth, and expanding our team of builders to meet the demands of this new chapter in our company’s history.

AboutUs is a small, growing, venture-backed and profitable company based in Portland, Oregon. Our office is open, our culture is entrepreneurial, and our people are skilled, creative and driven. We launched AboutUs.org in 2006 and it’s now one of the most visited places on the Internet. Now we’re tackling the Saas space with our SEO and website analysis tool, and we’re gaining traction. [click to continue…]

Social Media: Small Biz Can Use It To Rank Higher in Google

by Aliza Earnshaw on 12 October 2011

Last night’s talk by social media expert Ian Lurie at SEMpdx’s monthly meeting confirmed what many have suspected for a long time: Social media likes, retweets, followers, friends and favorites can boost even a small website into top search results.

That’s welcome news for any small business owner who wants to attract more site visitors, and has limited time to work on Web visibility. Until social media sites like Twitter and Facebook became so prominent, it was well understood that one of the most important ranking factors for Google and other search engines was inbound links – that is, links from other (reputable!) websites back to your own site.

[click to continue…]

Calling All Portland Entrepreneurs! OEN Wants You!

by Aliza Earnshaw on 7 October 2011

Want to pitch to hundreds of investors?

Here at AboutUs, we’re great fans of Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. We love the support and help that OEN offers entrepreneurs who are building Oregon’s next great companies.

In that spirit, we want to let all Portland entrepreneurs know that next Friday, 14 October, is the deadline for applying to Round 2 of OEN’s Seed Oregon PubTalk. It’s an opportunity to get your pitch in front of active investors and receive candid and valuable feedback.

The Seed Oregon PubTalks are also a chance to win a slot at OEN’s Angel Oregon, the state’s biggest angel investing conference. That’s where entrepreneurs get to pitch their startups to hundreds of investors. Entrepreneurs chosen to participate in Angel Oregon get professional coaching from experienced investors who know what other investors are looking for, not to mention the chance to meet people who want to invest in your idea.

So get on it! Fly on over to OEN to learn more about Seed Oregon and how to apply.

WordPress: The non-coder’s best friend

by Meg Hartley on 6 October 2011

Wordpress.org logo

Odds are that you don’t know HTML code. Still, you really want a high-ranking website that’s easy for customers to use.

WordPress to the rescue! Imagine search engines as spiders that crawl over code and eat it up. They find WordPress sites very tasty for a number of reasons; familiar code, a keyword rich URL, a single text-based navigation menu.

Why is this important to you? It means better search rankings. Want to easily add new content, sign your customers up for an RSS feed or write a blog all on a quick loading site? No problem, WordPress has you covered. Read WordPress: Built for SEO to learn more.

It can’t be said enough! Title tags are key to SEO.

by Meg Hartley on 5 October 2011

Image depicting title tags in Google search

Title tags are one of the easiest ways to improve your website’s SEO and bring in new customers. They tell search engines and people what your website is about.

When creating your title tag, make sure to do the following:

-Keep it 70 characters or less – Google will cut it short, otherwise.

-Be honest! If you’re trying to sell something let people know – they’ll appreciate it.

-Give each page its own title tag. Tells search engines that there’s unique content and tells people what each page is about.

-Accurately the page content, so that once your customer has clicked, they will stay.

-Last but not least, make it compelling-grab your customer’s attention!

Want to learn more? Go to Improve SEO and Clicks with Great Title Tags.

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