Clearing Up The Issue Of Negative SEO

There are a fair number of success driven business people and webmasters who’ll go to extraordinary lengths in order to dominate the online sphere. This may mean devoting large chunks of time to the development of high quality content and establishment of valuable links. It might also involve the adoption of black hat techniques, such as the integration of hidden content and keyword stuffing. There are even some unscrupulous webmasters who use the types of negative SEO strategies outlined in this article.

What Is Negative SEO?

Before we move on to consider specific examples it is important to define Negative SEO. Quite simply this is the practice of demoting a web page or entire site in the search engine rankings. It may be performed as a means of downgrading rival sites in a particularly competitive niche. This strategy is also used to devalue content which may be of detriment to the image of a certain brand. For example, a hotel company could target a review website featuring bad comments made by disgruntled customers.

How Is Negative SEO Carried Out?

By now you are probably wondering about different methods which fall under the category of negative SEO. Well, it’s quite possible for unethical webmasters to purchase poor quality links and point them at competitor websites. There have also been instances of websites being hacked and infiltrated with malicious content. And there have been particularly frightening reports of DMCA removal requests being made in order to ensure the removal of high quality links.

It is worth pointing out that Google have changed their tune with regards to negative SEO in recent times. They originally stated that ‘There’s almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index.’ Later on this declaration was changed to ‘Google works hard to prevent other webmasters from being able to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index.’ The problem is real and it’s gaining greater recognition!

What Can You Do About Negative SEO?

So the issue has been identified and outlined. Now you’ll want to know how to make sure your website isn’t affected. Thankfully there are a number of preventative steps that you can take. It would be a very good idea to carry out regular inspections of your backlink profile. You should also resist the temptation to overly optimise your website. Finally it is worth taking the time to establish strong and highly positive brand signals via social networking websites and other platforms.

If you believe that your website has been violated then it is important to contact Google via Webmaster Central. You should also give Fusewave a call on 01212851049. We have the necessary expertise to aid your recovery and ensure the optimisation of your online profile!

How To Ethically Monopolise The Google Listings

No matter whether you’re an experienced SEO practitioner or a brand new webmaster, you’ll undoubtedly know that Google is the number one search engine. Indeed, a recent study by Statcounter revealed that 90.5% of online queries in the UK are made via Google. It is also worth pointing out that the world of online users conduct over 200 million Google searches per day. The majority of these users click on results on the first page of Google. And it’s possible to dominate this space by adopting the techniques outlined in this article.

 Developing SEO & PPC Campaigns

If you want to reap the greatest online rewards then it will be necessary to develop and deploy a targeted SEO campaign. This will entail a great deal of research, content generation and social interaction. Unfortunately such tactics will not result in overnight success. However, those of you looking for a short term traffic boost do have the option of PPC advertising. You may even be interested in the comprehensive PPC services offered by Fusewave. We have the skills and experience to create advertisements that lead to conversions. We’ll even integrate sitelinks and social extensions to ensure that your advertisement stands out.

Using Google + To Your Advantage

You might be aware that Google have are pay a great amount of attention to social signals from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. So it would definitely be a good idea to create profiles and start engaging in conversation with the social networking community. Those of you who are really keen to develop a social presence should also register for Google + accounts. It will then be possible to feature the Google + 1 button alongside any content that you upload to your website. Google will take account of +1 clicks when assigning your rankings.

It is quite likely that you’ll be keen on generating good quality content, as a means of gaining online exposure. If you’re really keen to be seen then you should also claim Google + authorship. This will mean that you can feature a picture alongside your posts. It will also give you a greater chance of being noticed as one of the influential figures in your business sphere.

Other Strategies & Guidance From Fusewave

You may want to further enhance your Google presence by optimising any website images for inclusion in the extensive Google database. This will entail the integration of your keywords and phrases within the image file names and alt tags. You might even be interested in including an image of your company logo beside your search engine listing. And don’t forget that every business has a right to register for a listing on Google Places. This will improve your chances of showing up for local search terms.

If you’d like more information about the techniques highlighted in this article then please go ahead and give Fusewave a call on 0121 2851049. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and outline the benefits of our search engine optimisation services!

 

How To Optimise Your Youtube Videos

The internet is currently dominated by a select group of businesses and organisations. Google has a great deal of influence as the main search engine. Then there’s social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. However Youtube clearly leads the way when it comes to online video content. This web platform is used by millions of individuals and companies who upload advertisements, music and comedy sketches as a means of gaining public attention. If you fancy your own slice of the Youtube pie then it would be worth reading this article.

Keyword Research & Title Creation

To start off with it’s worth pointing out that Youtube takes account of the video title and description when assigning rankings. So it pays to incorporate the types of keywords that are searched for on a daily basis. Thankfully Youtube have developed a keyword research tool, which is available at https://ads.youtube.com/keyword_tool. You could use this in combination with other free keyword utilities provided by Google and Wordtracker.

It would be a very good idea to use your targeted list of keywords in the creation of an appealing video title. Remember that this important textual element should be kept to a maximum of 70 characters. You should also focus on the interests of your online audience and resist the temptation of making the title too complicated. Simple titles such as ‘The sneezing baby panda’ and ‘Very Angry Cat – Funny’ have proven to be particularly effective.

Descriptive Writing For SEO

The next step in the optimisation of your Youtube video is to create an interesting description. This should feature your most important keywords and a link back to your website. You are encouraged to continue striving for simplicity when developing this outline.

You may opt to continue the Youtube SEO process by incoporating closed caption text into your video. This will be an important step for those of you who upload movies featuring large chunks of dialogue or direct speech, as the Youtube crawlers scour the text before assigning rankings.

The Popularisation Of Youtube Content

Once you’ve taken care of optimisation on the Youtube website it would be a good idea to promote your videos via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This could be a simple case of posting a linked Tweet. Alternatively you could provide an incentive to the first people who view and leave comments about your video. You could even write a blog post all about the process of creating your movie.

If you are particularly eager for your Youtube video to go viral then it would be a good idea to think of a subject that will have people talking. You might inject a sense of humour or showcase a unique talent. And don’t forget that you can always give Fusewave a call on 0121 2851049 for expert advice on how to leverage the SEO potential of Youtube!

Assessing The Impact Of Penguin 2.0

If you haven’t had your head buried underneath a very large rock for the past couple of years then you will definitely have heard about the impact of the Google algorithm updates. You’ll know that the Google Panda was aimed at reducing the amount of content farms and poor quality websites. You’ll also recall that the Google Penguin algorithm was targeted at sites containing webspam. It is even possible that you’ve been struggling against the tide of subsequent updates. If that’s the case then you will probably be very concerned about the next generation of Penguin, which was released this week.

Mostly Harmless

After recovering from the initial shock you might have found the time to assess the impact that the new Penguin has had on your website. Thankfully there is a good chance that your rankings have either stayed the same or slightly improved. Matt Cutts has said that ‘About 2.3% of English-US queries are affected to the degree that a regular user might notice.’ He also pointed out that the update is intended to make the web a better place by combating the types of black hat spamming techniques employed by some unethical webmasters.

The SEO analysts at SearchMetrics have produced an interesting overview of sites which are known to have felt the brunt of Penguin 2.0. The two most shocking inclusions are salvationarmy.org and dish.com. As yet there has been no explanation regarding the decrease in rankings of these two popular websites. However, it is worth pointing out that most of the other sites on the SearchMetrics list specialise in gaming and porn.

Far From The End Of The Road

There may have been a collective sigh among relief among the webmasters who feared that Penguin 2.0 would wreak greater devastation. However, the SEO community can expect to hear more about the impact of this algorithm over the next few months. That’s because the Google engineers will be working hard on the development and integration of updates.

Webmasters who want to ensure that they aren’t caught out by future Penguin versions are advised to maintain the creation of high quality content and adoption of ethical SEO practices. They should resist the temptation to incorporate keywords into their weblinks for the sole purpose of search engine promotion. It would also be a good idea to remove any paid advertorials featuring ‘do-follow’ links.

Fusewave Are Here To Help

If you’d like further information or advice regarding recovery from Penguin 2.0 then it would be worth calling Fusewave on 0121 2851049. Our expert team will be happy to outline various strategies for your continued online success!

Spending Your SEO Budget Wisely

Here at Fusewave we are quite used to receiving questions from people who are unsure of how much to spend on SEO. Some people worry that they won’t have enough left for more traditional marketing methods if they invest heavily in online marketing. Others are unsure of whether to enlist expert assistance or attempt to make the long and challenging journey to the top of the search engine pages alone. This post will address these common concerns and provide an outline of the ways in which our services are priced.

SEO Designed To Meet Your Needs

We realise that each and every client is bound by different budgetery constraints. They also have different goals when it comes to search engine optimisation. Some are happy to feature highly for long tail keywords. Others are keen to gain a competitive edge by engaging in social media and having high quality blogs published on major websites. It’s for this reason that we offer a selection of stand alone services and monthly packages.

Business owners who are unsure of the effectiveness of SEO may be interested in starting off with some keyword rich blogs and articles. Alternatively they may be interested in a monthly trial of our local SEO package. This includes the optimisation of your meta tags, installation of Google Analytics, traffic analysis and much more besides.

If you’ve come to the conclusion that SEO is the key to maximising the growth of your business then it may be worth considering an upgrade to our Silver or Gold packages. These come with a range of additional benefits, including the creation of a range of bespoke links and a monthly commentary on the progression of your SEO campaign.

We Keep Our Promises

We have extreme confidence in the exceptional quality of every single one of our search engine optimisation services. It’s for this reason that we opt for a great deal of tranparancy and refuse to pull the wool over your eyes. Instead of guaranteeing rapid results we develop long term strategies for successful search engine dominance. We take an ethical approach and steer well clear of the black hat strategies which could result in costly penalties.

You may be rest assured to hear that we keep a close eye on all developments in the world of SEO. This means that we are able to prepare for changes made by search engines such as Google and Bing. We won’t be caught out by Penguins, Pandas, Parakeets or any other algorithm updates in the future. And we’ll keep a close check the SEO techniques practised by your competitors to ensure that you stay on top!

Contacting Fusewave

If you’d like to find out more about the reasonably priced SEO services offered by Fusewave then please give our friendly team a call on 0121 2851049. Go on, do it today!

Do You Have The Time For SEO?

As a business owner it is more than likely that you’ll want to see a rapid return on the money and time that is spent on SEO. You may well be keen to achieve the top rankings for specific keywords and maximise the amount of conversions that take place on your site. Unfortunately it may take a series of weeks and months until you reap any benefits in the competitive online world.

Setting Realistic Targets

It is important to note that sites which rank highly in your business niche have probably been the focus of sustained SEO campaigns. Your competitors may have spent considerable amounts of time creating shareable content and finding different ways of interacting with the online audience. It would be unrealistic to expect to crash their SEO party in the short term. You should set your sights a little lower during the earliest stages and see gradual progression as a positive.

Doing Your Research

Before taking the long march to SEO success it is very important that you take time to assess the battlefield. You will be required to thoroughly analyse the link profiles of rival websites that have a significant presence on Google and the other leading search engines. You will also have to research the types of long-tail keywords that you stand a reasonable chance of ranking for. It may not surprise you to hear that this research can take considerable amounts of time.

Creating Content

It is worth pointing out that every new website owner is behind the curve when it comes to the generation of good quality content. The major rivals may have spent a number of years building links from Youtube videos and guest blog posts. They may also have dedicated large amounts of time to engaging potential customers via the social networking websites. So if you’re new to the game then you can expect to have a tough time playing catch up.

Abusing The System

There are always going to be a number of eager online marketeers who are prepared to cut corners in a bid to shoot up the rankings. In previous years these webmasters have adopted black hat techniques, including the stuffing of meta tags with targeted keywords and the mass purchase of poor quality links. However, the leading search engines have become wise to such tactics and shown that they are prepared to impose considerable penalties.

Employing Expert Assistance

As a 21st century webmaster it is imperative that you play by the SEO rule book. If you don’t have the time to create exceptional blog posts and engage your target market then it would be advisable to use the top-notch services provided by Fusewave. We have the skills and knowledge to ensure ultimate success in the medium to long-term. So go ahead and give us a call on 0121 2851049 today!

Maximising The Popularity Of Your Blog

There has been a steady move away from traditional forms of media to modern blogs and online news platforms in recent years. A number of people have grasped the opportunity to share their thoughts about a diverse range of subjects. Many business owners have chosen to write posts about specific industry developments and their core products. Unfortunately there are so many articles and blogs in circulation that it is difficult to attract a large readership. That’s where this post should come in handy.

Make Your Blogs As Varied As Possible

It is essential to remember that the primary purpose of your blogs is to keep the readers interested and engaged. It is therefore a good idea to write about a number of different subjects and integrate various forms of media. Perhaps you could produce a humorous Youtube video, showcasing the benefits of a brand new product. Alternatively you could incorporate fascinating facts and figures into an infographic. The possibilites are endless!

Use Google Authorship To Your Advantage

There are a number of ways in which web marketeers can leverage Google + to their advantage. It’s a particularly good idea to claim authorship for the blogs that you create. This will mean that your posts show up as rich snippets, complete with your picture and a fairly detailed description. It is even rumoured that Google will take account of Google authorship in the ranking of websites in the future.

Integrate Your Keywords

Although a blogger should focus on the interests of their readers, it also makes perfect sense to optimise different posts. You might opt to create blogs based around keywords that you know to be popular on Google. You may use these keywords in the meta titles, descriptions and body text. However, you should be careful not to create content that the search engines deem as being spammy.

Encourage The Readers To Share

If you want to ensure that your blogs have the best chance of going viral then it would be a good idea to produce prose that sparkles and images that immediately catch the eye. You might also consider targeting your posts at the types of people who are particularly active on social networks. And it won’t do any harm to ask for retweets and Facebook likes.

Use A Trusted Blogging Platform

There is a definite potential for the optimisation of blogs that you upload to Blogger and Tumblr. However, WordPress is the winner when it comes to SEO. You can use it to create permalinks, including your all important keywords. There is also the option of using an all-in-one SEO pack, which makes the addition of meta tags and descriptions a very easy task.

Ask Fusewave For Help

Whether you’re a business owners or a professional marketeer it is very likely that you realise the value of blogs. However, you may lack the time to create and promote such essential content. Not to worry. The Fusewave content specialists are here to help! So go ahead and give us a call on 01212851049 today!

Social Media Signals That Influence SEO Success!

It has become increasingly clear over the past few years that social media is absolutely essential when it comes to the rankings and potential conversion rates of websites. The emphasis that Google places on social engagement is reflected in the development and growth of Google + and authorship. The team at Bing have been busy making improvements to their social sidebar and working in partnership with Facebook to ensure that the search engine results are highly relevant. If you’d like to learn more about how to leverage social media for the maximum SEO benefit then it would be worth reading this post.

Online Reviews

It is well known that the search engines take account of the reviews left on websites such as Yelp and Google Local when assigning website rankings. One respected SEO expert has pointed out that ‘The three biggest factors in local listings appear to be the number of citations, the number of reviews, and how positive the reviews are overall.’ It is important to realise that the level of engagement between a business and it’s customers is likely to have a bearing on the reviews that are left. If you respond rapidly to customer comments and address core concerns then you’ll be seen as a caring company owner.

Authority On Social Networks

Social media users who take the time to share valuable content and build a community of loyal followers are treated with respect by the search engines. The links that the key influencers choose to incorporate into their Tweets and Facebook comments are given great SEO weight. Even the smaller fish in the great social media pond can expect to enjoy SEO benefits if their posts are shared by the key influencers in different industries. However, it is worth taking a softly softly approach if you want to get the major thought leaders on your side.

Spread Of Content

It is a rule of thumb that the search engines are more interested in content which is generated for the purpose of satisfying human readers than purely as a means of achieving rankings. If you keep to this principle then you can expect to have your articles and blogs shared on various social media platforms. It follows that the companies who are able to produce a steady stream of quality content will rank well in the search engines.

Utilisation Of Different Social Networks

As a keen online marketeer you probably realise the importance of using a range of keywords and having links from a variety of websites. Diversity is also the name of the game when it comes to social media engagement. The search engines will take more notice if you have links from posts on dedicated trade networks and Youtube videos than if you’ve done made exclusive use of Twitter as a means of self-promotion.

Expert Assistance

It is worth remembering that the Fusewave team have the necessary expertise to help you in the development of targeted social media campaigns. We can assist in the production of interesting articles and the placement of content on high quality websites. So go ahead and give us a call on 01212851049 today!

6 Of The Most Outdated SEO Strategies

The online world has changed a great deal over the last few years. Leading search engines such as Google and Bing have made a series of algorithm updates, which the majority of webmasters have adapted to. However, there are still a number of website owners who are lagging behind and employing the kinds of SEO strategies outlined in this article.

Submitting Blogs & Articles To Online Directories

In previous years webmasters were able to reap some SEO benefit by submitting linked articles and blogs to EzineArticles and other directories. However, the search engines have subsequently made it clear that they see these mass submissions as attempts to abuse the system. They are far more interested in links which are incorporated into high quality guest blogs and posted on relevant sites.

Submitting Your Website To The Search Engines

A number of webmasters have fallen into the trap of paying to have their websites submitted to different search engines over the years. Unfortunately they have subsequently realised that a miniscule amount of traffic comes from the minor search engines and that good quality sites rank regardless of whether they’ve been submitted. Those of you who do want to ensure that your sites are properly indexed are best advised to create site maps and internal links.

Focussing On H1 Tags

You may well be aware that the search engines pay particular attention to header tags when calculating the rankings of different websites. So it pays to spend time over the optimisation of these online elements. However, there is very little evidence to show that H1tags are given a greater weighting than those under the categories of H2, H3 or H4.

Building Social Media Profiles

If you have a look at the websites of your nearest rivals then you’ll probably notice that they generally feature links to social media profiles. If you want to gain a competitive edge then it will be necessary to take the next step and actually engage with the users of the different networks. You should share valuable content and let your customers have a say in the directions that your business takes.

Paying Exclusive Attention To Rankings

As a business owner you may well be happy in the knowledge that your website ranks highly for terms such as ‘blue stockings’ or ‘cheap bus tickets’. However, there’s little point in the achievement of high rankings unless a good proportion of your site visitors are being converted into paying customers. Don’t forget the importance of bounce rates, visitor locations, and time spent in individual pages when assessing the effectiveness of your site.

Creating Content Primarily For The Search Engines

As a success-driven webmaster it is very easy to get carried away with the optimisation of your website. However, it’s absolutely no good creating webpages that fit in with the demands of the search engines but do little to inspire your site visitors. If find yourself bogged down by the nitty gritty of SEO then it would be worth giving Fusewave a call on 0121 2851049.

Creating Effective Landing Pages

Landing pages are often created by website owners as a means of promoting certain products or services to defined target markets. They are typically written in accordance with the overall brand message, in a style and language that potential customers can relate to. If you’re keen on developing effective landing pages then it would be worth following the tips in this article.

Technically Optimise Your Landing Pages

It is absolutely necessary to ensure that any landing pages you create are properly optimised. This means that search engine listings should point directly to the relevant page. Any meta-tags that you create should contain the right keywords and provide a good overview of the landing page. And don’t forget to check compatibility with various devices and browsers.

Use Persuasive Language

It is more than likely that the primary purpose of your landing page is to persuade people to invest in your products or services. You should therefore focus on the core desires of your target audience and outline the major benefits of your offerings. It is important to include the major details about your company and the sales message above the fold of the landing page. This is the area that prospective customers will see after the initial click-through.

Include An Effective Call To Action

If you’re keen on maximising the conversion rate of your landing page then it is essential to develop and feature a clear call to action. This may invite the potential customers to sign up for a newsletter or leave their contact details. A particularly effective call to action will create a sense of urgency and feature persuasive verbs such as discover or buy.

Create Visually Attractive Landing Pages

Research has revealed that landing pages featuring images stand a higher likelihood of engaging web users. So you should make sure that images of your products or happy customers are included. You might even consider the incorporation of videos highlighting the benefits of your products. Just make sure that visual elements do not distract your site visitors from the core message of the landing page.

Test Your Landing Pages

As a success driven online marketeer you should be constantly striving to improve the appeal of your landing pages. You should try out various calls to action and themes as a means of discovering what works and what doesn’t. If you want to simplify the process of split testing then it would be worth using online tools such as Optimisely and Unbounce.

Enlist Professional Support

If you need help with the general optimisation or design of your landing pages then please contact Fusewave on 0121 2851049. Our expert team have many years of experience with regards to the development and deployment of effective online content.