Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Community-Pages-and-Good-Landing-Pages.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Community-Pages-and-Good-Landing-Pages.html Assuming a company is actually selling products and/or services and not just monetizing a blog, we treat "landing pages" as the places to induce action (and give the most vital information to further the chain of events leading to action. While blogs are wonderful and we endorse the use of them, chances are it's safe to say you didn't start a company just as an excuse to blog. When a person looking for (x) services lands on the company blog, they will most likely scour through a few posts and not see the information they need to know (pricing, etc) and back out. A blog unquestionably adds value but it generally will not produce the kind of information to immediately induce a successful outcome from a new visitor looking specifically for your services NOW. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/PayPerClick-Advertising-How-long-should-a-campaign-last.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/PayPerClick-Advertising-How-long-should-a-campaign-last.html Ideally, most SEOs will say running PPC campaigns is a great short-term strategy with the long-term goal being high organic search rankings. That said, there's no "sure" answer; certain hyper-competitive industries pose a long climb up the organic search ranks, and a successfully researched and targeted PPC campaign can produce exceptional ROI. Either way, a PPC campaign should be performed along with an SEO and greater online marketing effort, as there are many ways to drive willing customers to your website. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Are-Your-SEO-Efforts-In-Line-With-Your-Marketing-Strategies.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Are-Your-SEO-Efforts-In-Line-With-Your-Marketing-Strategies.html While many companies see the value and importance in SEO, a great number still treat it as essentially a separate entity from their greater marketing efforts, and the two "never speak to each other" This approach is potentially dangerous considering SEO is meant to attract the right kind of customers online, and it's effectiveness can be decreased if it's not pointed in the right direction. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Open-Comments-for-Business-Blogs--Yea-or-Nay.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Open-Comments-for-Business-Blogs--Yea-or-Nay.html Depending on the level of readership you attract, and perhaps the topics you're willing to take on, your ability to take part and even moderate if need be is important. In the end, if you are routinely providing valuable information in a compelling fashion, you will build a following who can only add value by their mere presence. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/What-Makes-Your-Business-Stand-Out.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/What-Makes-Your-Business-Stand-Out.html When a visitor lands on your website, you have only a matter of seconds for your site to convey (a) what your site is about, and (b) give a compelling reason to stay and find out more, otherwise people leave. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Empowering-the-Customer.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Empowering-the-Customer.html Explaining your services, and why they are needed, is as important as the product you are offering. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Marketing-In-A-Poor-Economy.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Marketing-In-A-Poor-Economy.html Don't stop spending on advertising and marketing; this is a death sentence as sales are tied directly to advertising. Be creative - use Twitter, initiate special campaigns, revamp your website, make a You Tube video. Talk to your customers and find out what you can do for them that they need right now. Be able to adjust to market trends but stick to what you know. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/10-Power-Settings-to-Supercharge-Your-Website.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/10-Power-Settings-to-Supercharge-Your-Website.html Pages visited on your website, bounce rate, source of your traffic - these are just a few power settings that will supercharge your website. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Is-Infodumping-killing-your-conversions.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Is-Infodumping-killing-your-conversions.html Keeping the content on your website simple & specific. http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Spreading-yourself-too-thin-in-Social-Media.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/SEO/3995/Spreading-yourself-too-thin-in-Social-Media.html Many DIY's have utilized social networking sites and other forms of social media to broadcast their message and communicate with others; however you can fall into the trap of starting to use many different sites to the point you can't update each one nearly frequent enough. The social media world is littered with "dead" blogs, dead profile pages, etc. Every instance you appear online will lead to a perception drawn from the visitor; a poorly maintained Facebook page or perhaps a blog not updated in several months can lead to a perhaps false conclusion your company is out of business, or struggling. Being visible online in many different places is really only beneficial if you have the manpower to update and continually communicate on each site.