Posted by Pixelhead
One of my goals for 2012 is to build Onlinelegaldirectory.com into something of an authority in the niche of Law Firm SEO. That is to say I want it to become a resource that any SEO company that specializes in Law Firm SEO will need to use in their client campaigns.
Creating Law Firm SEO Authority
- redesign/rebuild the legal niche directory.
- establish a regular schedule of submission reviews.
- build the law firm social media network.
- engage others to be involved in the goal.
- Increase revenue for the site that has a decade old domain.
- Develop an associated law firm review blog.
Why invest in this Niche Legal Directory?
As I stated in a previous post, I intend to sell the legal directory, but as it stands it is pretty stagnate. Lets take an inventory.
- It does have a Fanpage and twitter.
- 849 cached pages in Google.
- 264 backlinks found
- 454 listings
What Activities We Do
Within the last year, I did create the Twitter profile and Fanpage. I have been trying to make an effort to find a legal resource that has at least a Twitter profile, to add to the directory. I would then send out a tweet that notifies the site that they have gotten a free 1 year listing to the directory.
Tweeting the links does two things. One it lets the owner know about their listing, and two it helps to get the link cached in Google.
Additionally, if there is an associated blog or Fanpage, I will like them and leave appropriate comments.
What Other activity Can I do?
Do you have any suggestions for activities that I can do to increase the authority of the site?
Written by Pixelhead on February 8th, 2012 with no comments.
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How to choose a reliable SEO consultancy?
business card printing
Posted by Biljana Dimovska
SEO and PPC are now the 2 hot new ways to market businesses and companies as googling has become the most popular way to find out information. However with the vast amount of popularity in digital marketing this has also caused a flood of new companies claiming to be ‘the best SEO consultancy’ or a ‘PPC agency guaranteed to give you fast results’. When choosing a consultancy or agency to provide SEO or PPC services how do you know who to trust? Should you go for a cheaper company or one with more experience? Choice is great but with SEO and PPC agencies it can be very confusing and you want to get the best for your money.
However frustrated you might get when trying to choose a company do bear in mind you are doing the right thing. Companies who manage their own SEO or PPC often don’t have the extensive amount of knowledge a professional company do and by spending money on a quality service you free up time to spend on other aspects of your business. Nevertheless it is good to clue yourself up on how SEO and PPC works as this is the first step in preventing you going with a fraudulent or inefficient SEO consultancy.
One of the phrases you should never trust when it comes to choosing a PPC agency or SEO consultancy is: ‘we promise number 1 ranking on Google’. No company no matter how professional or experienced they are can guarantee a number 1 ranking on Google. If a company does state anything like this on their advertising take it as a red warning sign because the mystery of Google’s rankings is not fully understood by anyone but Google themselves so there can’t be a guarantee like this.
Like with all things a good way of finding a reputable site is by word of mouth and the new hot spot for SEO is Reading. Lots of digital marketing companies have been flocking to the area and the location is getting a name for being a powerful hub for tech companies. ‘SEO Reading’ may not be the glamorous London offices you perhaps would have associated with the rise of this new industry but if you want expertise and reliability it is best to go to the source. Just like Persia is known for its rugs, Berkshire is getting known to be the home of digital marketing.
Once you think you have decided on a company you can then also do a few things to check their creditability. First of all use SEO to check them out- Google the company and see whether there has been good reviews or negative feedback from customers. You can then also see how the company market themselves online- if they haven’t done a good job on their own website then this probably means they’re not going to for your company either. Before committing to a company you could also get a couple of examples of SEO content they have done for other companies or give them a test article and see if you like what they come up with.
Written by Biljana Dimovska on January 25th, 2012 with 33 comments.
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Home Page Versus Landing PageBuilding Law Firm SEO Authority
Posted by Biljana Dimovska
The new PPC algorithm change from Google has thrown up some interesting challenges for the PPC Agency community; not least, which is king, a website’s home page, or its landing page?
The best way for a PPC Agency to think about this issue, is to consider their target audience.
Now, the PPC algorithm change basically means that those running a campaign will receive a better weighting, if they have strong and relevant landing pages ready for the website user.
Okay, arguably, the Home Page is the mother of all landing pages, because that is where traffic is directed as a matter of course. But, the problem with a Home Page is that it’s almost a contents page and can be very vague at that.
Many modern websites are vast emporiums of information and landing on a page means that the user is facing a bewildering array of facts and information.
How often have we all clicked on a search result on Google, or Bing, and then discovered the resulting page has nothing to do with what we’re after? Or, we have come through to a home page which is so crowded with information, that you also cannot see what you are after.
And most people, when faced with that occurrence, simply click away from the site, frustrated at not only the wasted time, but also annoyed at the ‘brand’ for causing you to waste that time.
This is why landing pages have become so important. A good landing page deals with the specific enquiry that has brought a user onto that page and this is what Google is trying to reward with a heavier weighting within the PPC campaigns.
But, you can see the problem. Landing pages should be specifically tied into the search request and not offer vague information, or feedback. But they are unsuitable for those people who are after the more general information offered by the Home Page after all.
So, the way around this problem is to create properly defined pages to strict search criteria. Let’s say a car company wants to not only bang on about a new model it launched some time ago (and sales are flagging), but would also like to catch people who are interested in all of their brands.
The solution? Two PPC campaigns on different search criteria. It’s the only way. So one campaign which focuses on the company’s brand, the other on the company’s make of car which needs a boost. So two ‘ads’ go online – together with the appropriate key wording – one which goes to the Home Page (corporate) and the other, to a specific landing page which targets the actual model of car.
This then avoids any confusion as to what message the company is trying to get across in corporate and individual model terms.
Written by Biljana Dimovska on January 16th, 2012 with 28 comments.
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Google+ – Connect with Me on Google PlusHow to choose a reliable SEO consultancy?
Posted by Pixelhead
If you have a Google+ profile, please feel free to connect with Baldydog on Google+ and me Adam Donkus.
I have been using Google plus off and on for several months. It does seem to be a decent way to connect with people that have very similar interests. I also like it because, well its a Google property.
Be sure to create both a personal page and a page for your company as well. Be sure to add the Google+1 badge in addition to creating your company page, to insure that your site is included in the Google+ directory( that is the directory that is used when someone does a search while logged in to Google+
. Additionally, there are some Google+ directories poping up that are not affiliated with Google+. I am not sure how beneficial getting listed in the non-Google affiliated Google+ directories is, but hey you never know. Here is a link to once such Google+ directory that accepts free submissions.
Much like Facebook, be sure to add some pictures at the top of your Google+ profile.
I have not used Google+ much, so I don’t have a ton of advice. Got any Google+ advice or blog posts to share?
Google+ Resources
Written by Pixelhead on January 9th, 2012 with 35 comments.
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SEO for Rotary ClubsHome Page Versus Landing Page
Posted by Pixelhead
I just got back from attending my second Rotary Leadership Institute class. As an officer of the Boyertown Rotary, I feel it is my duty to learn as much about Rotary International as possible.
Note: Many of the tips in this Search Engine Optimization (SEO) post could apply to any non-profit or company site.
What is Rotary?
Rotary International is a non-profit service organization. There are clubs all over the world, and there is probably one or more Rotary Clubs near you. Many towns have multiple Rotary clubs.
Each Rotary Club operates a little differently, although most meetings have many of the same elements such as sharing info, doing service projects, and networking.
Service projects vary from doing local community projects like student mentoring, park development, or projects that are unique and needed in each clubs town.
In my town, one of the service projects done by the Rotary was a “playground for everyone” which is a playground that is handicapped accessible.
But Rotary is much more than service..if you are lucky enough to be asked to join, check it out, you’ll be glad you did.
Why do Rotary Club Websites Need SEO?
When I search for a town’s Rotary, I expect it to come up. Often times, I am looking for a town’s Rotary to see when and where it meets, and I can not find the chapter or any info about it. Or even worse, I find an out of date site that is from 2005.
Additionally, I think the Rotary Websites should be optimized so that when someone searches for the club’s town name, the club should be on the search engine results page right at the top of the list. So if I was to optimize my club site fully, it would show up for terms like “Boyertown, PA” ‘Boyertown Service organization” in addition to “Boyertown Rotary”.
Lastly, if the site were to truly become an authority in the town, it would make selling advertising to reputable businesses with the town so much easier. What club wouldn’t love to bring in some extra revenue for service projects?
How Can Rotary Clubs Optimize their Sites?
First, they can use content management systems that are SEO friendly and which can be updated easily and regularly. ClubRunner, the system we currently use is not SEO friendly, but it does have a ton of features that make it good for Rotary clubs and it is pretty easily updated. I am thinking about doing a blog post that compares different platforms for Rotary Clubs. I believe providing platforms for Rotary Club websites is a huge niche that a web development company could do well in. My small club pays maybe $35 a month for the site. There is a club in almost every small town, and in some towns there are multiple Rotary Clubs. Additionally, Clubrunner charges more if your club has more members. But I digress…
The second thing that Rotary Clubs can do to optimize their sites, is to integrate their sites with Social Media. Having social media widgets for your Social Media profiles does affect search rankings.
The third and most important thing that Rotary Clubs should do is to undergo a club link building campaign. This can be as simple as getting each club member to comment on one blog per month, and drop their club’s site url into the website field. Additionally, if the members have websites of their own, they can link to the club on their site. One way links are what it’s all about.
Easy Rotary SEO
These three tips are not a complete SEO strategy, but they are a start. If your club is in a competitive market like Las Vegas or New York, to show up at the top in the search engines, it may take a bit more work. If you need some help, let me know by dropping a comment with your contact info.
Rotarians: Drop your club or district’s url in to the web page field in the comments section to get a link to your site.
Written by Pixelhead on September 18th, 2011 with 40 comments.
Read more articles on Charitable Organizations and SEO and Uncategorized.
Guatemala Mission TripGoogle+ – Connect with Me on Google Plus
Posted by Pixelhead
We have been back from our Guatemala Mission Trip for several weeks now, so I better do a brief synopsis of our trip. (not as brief as I intended) I am doing a more detailed series on the trip on All-travel-sites.com. You can click on each picture below to see the full online version. Additionally, you can go down to the bottom of the page and visit the Fromhousestohomes.org Facebook Fan page to see all of my Guatemala Mission trip pics.
Volcan Agua seen from the Antigua Market
Overall, it was a great trip…I am blessed to have gone. Guatemala, from what I saw is a very beautiful, but poor country. Antigua, is an old city, with cobble stoned streets and lots of ruins for tourists to tour threw. We actually went through the ruins of one old church on our first full day.
We arrived in Guatemala on Thursday the 28th of July in the early afternoon. Our work week with Fromhousestohomes.org (FHTH)began on the following Monday. On Friday, we climbed Volcan Pacaya, one of Guatemala’s active volcanoes….well worth the trip. The next day we went to Lake Atitlan, which is the largest and deepest lake in Guatemala, and is also a must see for any one touring Guatemala. Sunday we went to a bi-lingual church for our Sunday service. Other than buying occasional hand crafted goods from the locals, this was the extent of our vacationing.
FromHousestoHomes.org Mission Trip
- Guatemala Mission Trip day 1 -August 1, 2011we arrived at the office at 830am every day and worked until 430pm with frequent breaks to play with the family kids and neighborhood kids through out the day. We also ate lunch at noon, and depending upon the afternoon rains, might have a lengthy lunch or just a half hour lunch. Today, our goal was to establish the boundaries of the house, dig a trench for the footer, poor the footer, and then the first layer of block for the walls. Additionally metal mesh wire and rebar were installed before putting in the footer. Oh, the cement for the footer, was mixed by hand, and then the bucket brigade of us volunteers poured the footer.
1st Day Progress
- Guatemala Mission Trip day 2 – August 2, 2011Today we did about 8 courses on the walls of the house. Much of the labor involved mixing mortar by hand, keeping the two skilled masons supplied with buckets of mortar and block, and filling in cracks with mortar. There was lots of time for taking breaks and playing with the neighborhood kids today as well.
Day 2 Mission Trip Progress
- Guatemala Mission Trip day3 -August 3, 2011Today we started out setting up scaffolding inside the walls of the house. Then the work involved again supplying the masons and with mortar and block. Also 4 volunteers were employed to fill in cracks with mortar. In the US, and else were masons typically do this at the same time they lay the blocks. They might have purposely not put mortar on the sides of block so the volunteers would have something to do today.
Volcan Agua
At about the 10 course, or about the middle of the wall, the blocks that were used had the middles hollowed out, so a trench was formed. The trench was then filled with cement and rebar. This layer of cement served to tighten up the house. The same process was then repeated at the end of the day for the final row of wall blocks. The back wall of the house was one layer higher than the front, so that the flat roof would have a slope for rain to drain off.
Day 3 Guatemala Mission Trip Progress
- Guatemala Mission Tripday 4 -August 4, 2011 Today was actually a very short work day. We started out the day by going to Escuela Kemna’oj de Santa Maria de Jesus, the Montessori elementary school in the town of Santa Maria De Jesus that is supported by FHTH and will be run by FHTH starting in November of 2011. This school serves to provide an education to many of the children in the poor town of Santa Maria De Jesus, which was the town were we built our house. FHTH has built over 150 homes in this small town alone.
Inside Escuela-Kemna’oj de Santa Maria de Jesus
Then after touring the school, our primary task today was to get the cement floor poured. So all the concrete had to be mixed by hand, and then bucket brigaded the cement into the house, where a mason poured it and floated a nice flat surface. All this was done before lunch. After lunch, we took the kids of the neighborhood out for ice cream at a local hacienda(store). After ice cream, the staff and volunteers were driven up to the top of the town to a field for a football(soccer) match. This was great fun. My team however did loose, but did manage to score two goals. A great day, with no injuries.
Day 4 Guatemala Mission Trip Progress
- Guatemala Mission Trip day 5-August 5, 2011 Sadly, today was the last day of our official Guatemala Mission Trip. This days tasks consisted of painting the inside and outside of the house. Each family chooses the colors of their house, so each house is unique to each family. Our family’s house has a blue interior and an orange exterior. While the volunteers were painting the house, the masons were busy putting on the metal roof. For safety reasons, volunteers are not allowed to help with the roof. The family’s dad stayed home from the fields today to help with the final touches and to be available for the dedication ceremony which was when the volunteers gave the family the keys to the house and a plaque which is affixed to the house.The closing ceremony was marked with a lot of tears from both family and volunteers. To show their thanks to us the the family mother made us lunch which consisted of the most delicious Pollo Guisado (stewed chicken), cervesa(beer) and rum and cokes. Additionally, we also each given a hand made shoulder bag.
Inside the house,volunteers,crew and family
While we were in Guatemala, history was made. For the first time ever, Guatemala had a team in the World Cup and on Saturday night, they scored the first goal ever by a Guatemalan team, and beat Croatia 1:0. That night, there were fireworks all across Guatemala.
Tips for Traveling to Guatemala
- Take a bottle of Lysterine- gargle in shower to be sure you don’t drink any of the water.
- Ask for Agua Pure at meals..bottled water is the only safe water.
- Never eat roadside fruits..period..unless you want to be seriously ill.
- Only eat fruits that need to be pealed, like oranges, melons. If you eat apples or strawberry’s ask if they have been washed with pure water.
- Keep a record of all atm transactions, and check to make sure you have not been double billed. Be careful which atm machines you use. You may want to consider canceling your bank card upon return home.
- As with many countries, never exchange currency at the airport, unless you want to pay a poor exchange rate.
- Don’t just give money to beggars, but give them food. We always saved our left overs and gave them to homeless people.
- Be prepared to be swamped with goods to be bought by the locals. If you don’t want to buy anything be prepared to say ” No Gracias” frequently when out. Don’t get angry with locals if they are very persistent in trying to sell you their goods.
- Don’t flush Toilet Paper(eww), but put used TP in the bucket beside the toilet. Its gross to us int he US, but its what they do.
- Grilled food from roadside vendors is delicious.
- Spanish schools are really cheap, and immersion is a great way to learn a language.
- Visit by volunteering on a mission trip. Its a great way to get to know some locals, you are not just seen as a tourist, but as someone who wants to help.
- Don’t be afraid to barter with the locals for their goods, but don’t beat them up. Remember they need to make a living.
- At the time of my trip the rate of exchange was roughly 7.5 Quetzales(Q) to the dollar. I read on the FHTH site that teachers earn 1-10 Q per day..wow..for me, that would be really hard to live on.
- Don’t climb any volcanoes by yourself unless you want to get robbed.
- Ask around for a reputable tour guide, some are not to be trusted.
- Take a ride in a Tuk-Tuk (three wheeled taxi) its really fun.
- Be careful when crossing the roads, motorcycles are everywhere. Jokingly, I heard someone say, there are rules for driving in Guatemala, but no one follows them. But they do come to a crawl before speed bumps.
Additonal blog posts about my Guatemala Mission Trip can be read on all travel sites. The first post I did about my trip was Pre-Mission Trip Activities
You can see all my photos from the trip on the FHTH Facebook page.
Antigua View from the Cross
Final thoughts about Guatemala
Guatemala is a beautiful but poor country that really should not be missed in your travels. As I have seen on other web sites, it is known as the land of eternal spring. Not once did it get so hot that I thought I would die. Even during our hardest labor, the temp was not much higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Its a country that has a lot to do, a lot to explore.
Things I would like to do on my next trip to Guatemala
- Do a mountain bike tour with oxexpeditions.com. I stopped in and talked with them, and it sounds like they have a cool ride around 5 towns which is geared to all riding levels.
- Take a zip line through the rain forest. I believe there are quite a few companies that do this.
- Spend a night or two touring the towns around Lake Atitlan.
- Go to the beach, next time we are definitely going to check out the beach.
- Rent a house instead of staying in a hotel..HomeAway has tons of homes for rental, and I believe I would save money doing..
- Visit some Inca Ruins.
- Take Spanish lessons.
Written by Pixelhead on August 19th, 2011 with 48 comments.
Read more articles on Travel and Uncategorized.
7 Reasons to Use WordPress as Your CMSSEO for Rotary Clubs
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