MKT 348: Success with SEO

"SEO (search engine optimization) is a term used by web professionals to describe the art/science of making a web page appear in a search engine's results in a search for an appropriate and relevant term. For example, if the website is about sailboats, it should appear in the results when someone searches for "sailboats," hopefully near the top of page one.

Personal SEO is the art/science of having a person's name appear in search engine results for a relevant search, like a name, job title or professional skill, again, hopefully on the top of the first page. Personal SEO also applies to searches done on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and other relevant/searchable sites.

People search to expand their networks, find new potential business partners, customers and/or employers and also reconnect with people from their past"

MKT 348: SEO Tactics That Still Work

It used to be easier to game the search rankings by stuffing web pages full of keywords you wanted to rank for. The resulting pages were easy for bots to crawl, but ugly for people to look at.

Meaningful Relationships

It’s still true that getting links from other websites improves your site’s keyword rankings, both for the specific pages that are linked to and site-wide.

Local Search

It’s always been valuable to rank highly when people are searching for businesses in their local area. Now, you just have many more options for how to look good in these searches. (Consider local listings the athleisure of SEO.)

Getting The Accessories Right

When people think about SEO, they tend to think about their search engine presence. But nowadays, your business is present in a lot more places than that — whether you like it or not.

MKT 348: SEO is For Now

People must gain enough knowledge on the different areas of SEO. Many companies consider SEO to be a 'black box'. They are not certain where things will lead.

"Entrepreneurs want to achieve results quickly and the SEO as a channel requires a steady build up over time to be successful. Businesses would be more willing to invest the time if there was a degree of certainty about results which unfortunately has been traditionally absent."

MKT 348: Analytics and SEO

"I find that spending some time just poking around my analytics tends to reenergize me, and reminds me why I ever cared about SEO in the first place. This is particularly true when looking at my conversion rates. There's nothing like seeing a drop in conversion rates to remind me why SEO matters."

"If spending time with your analytics doesn't help (or makes your burnout even worse), it may be time to take a short break from anything related to SEO. This means no obsessing over traffic, no reading up on the latest Google updates and no re-optimizing old content in a desperate attempt to rank."

"Since most SEO tasks are completed online or at least on a computer, I recommend taking some time to do something offline that you enjoy. Jogging (or strolling), going out for dinner, playing with your cat (I'd choose my dog, but you get the idea) - it doesn't matter. Just make sure it's something you love (and bonus points (we must track everything) if it's a guilty pleasure)."

"I find it's often when I'm doing something I enjoy that I get new insights about my business, website or SEO strategy. This then gives me the motivation to get back at it and make things happen."

MKT 348: Tips for SEO beginners

As SEO becomes a fundamental part in many companies success, we must be able to correctly run SEO tactics. One part in succeedings while doing this is to completely understand how SEO should work, and what beginning users should be doing.

The following are five tips that should be considered when beginners are using SEO.

1. Grouping your keywords
• "Keyword grouping refers to the organization of keywords into clusters for a variety of purposes — to inform your site’s information architecture, to optimize landing pages, to identify potential areas of content development opportunity and more."
2. Page change monitoring
• "Monitoring page changes is a new tactic for me, but I find it’s absolutely crucial to SEO. With page change monitoring tools, you can receive alerts about any changes on the pages you are optimizing."
3. Competitor SEO research
• "Staying smart on the competitive landscape is critical for SEOs and marketers. Inform yourself by keeping track of your competitors’ marketing activities, starting from search rankings down to new content and links."
4.  Long-tail keywords
• "Embracing long-tail keywords is vital for online businesses that want to get high rankings in organic Google searches. Long-tail keywords are often neglected because they initially get less traffic, but by cultivating those who search for these terms, you will get better results in the long run."
5. Mobile Rank Tracking

• "It’s impossible to ignore the incredible impact mobile devices are having in everyone’s daily lives, so mobile metrics are growing increasingly important."

MKT 348: Employers and SEO

While I finish my senior year at Benedictine University, it is important for me to find a career that will allow me to utilize the work that I have put in to receive my marketing degree. Employers are also searching for some of the best candidates that are coming out of college, especially with little experience they are looking for students that took the right types of classes that can make them great performers in the workplace.

As I look for current employment opportunities, I study different possible questions that different employers can ask about my knowledge that I have gained in school and in job experiences. With the booming processes of SEO, candidates must be ready to answer several questions that employers can ask, and employers can use these four questions to better understand which candidates are ready to take on their jobs.

• How would you define search engine optimization?
• By asking this question, you are able to understand what knowledge the candidate has about the SEO processes.
• How did you learn about search engine optimization?
• This question can allow them to explain their different certifications, and elaborate on the different experiences they have had by implementing SEO, if any.
• How would you implement and design a successful SEO campaign?
• This can be similar to the first question, but this will ensure that the employee has had some experience with SEO. Answers can go beyond using the top search engine rankings.
• What are the most important search engines to utilize SEO, and why would you rank these as the most important?

• This is the chance for the candidate to express that they know more than just Google and Bing, but if MSN or Yahoo are brought up, they can be immediately disqualified..

MKT 348 Tips to Remember when Blogging with SEO

As a blogger and a marketing student, it is important for me to make sure I am getting enough readers that follow my posts and understand my learning. Yet, it is also important for me to understand how to improve SEO while also blogging. These two can run hand in hand, both blogging and SEO can boost any business. In the case of McDonald's, upper management wanted to run a blog page to allow users to see what goes on behind the scenes at their corporate locations. This allowed a boost in sales as consumers were able to gain insight on those who run the business.

                While you blog, there are definitely some tips to remember in order to improve and increase your SEO. These four tips should allow you to be a better competitor in today’s world, while increasing your search engine rankings!

• Keep an eye on your readers
• These readers will be the key to success for your blog, get to know your audience. Communicate with your readers and see what they would like, and keep them hooked
• Create your image
• The blog that you run is a portrayal of your image and character. It can be the first pieces of writing a future employer views from you, or even potential consumers.
• Emphasize both quality and quantity
• Blogs should be a portal that allows users to communicate and share their current information and knowledge. Posting frequently, and posting quality work will allow you to drive more consumers to your blog.
• Remember SEO

• In order to see the highest success with your blog, it is important to remember that SEO should be utilized to gain higher rankings when someone searches keywords to find your blog.