SEO Hosting Blog

Just when you think you’ve gotten a handle on search engine optimization, here comes another term: Digital Asset Management, or DAM, sometimes referred to as DAO, Digital Asset Optimization.  It’s possible that this will come to replace SEO as the lingo of choice, but SEO is pretty well-entrenched as a marketing strategy and term.  What will happen is that people will look towards DAM techniques before SEO because websites are changing so rapidly and becoming more media rich.

Simply put, Digital Asset Management is SEO for digital media.  SEO applies to text-based marketing, on the whole, whereas DAM applies to everything else: pictures, video, music files, and the like.  You may already be using DAM as part of your SEO strategy and have put a label on the process.  Still, it’s important to separate these optimization strategies out because text and multi-media needs to be optimized separately.
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When it comes to browsers, I don’t think you can find one that is more effective and functional than Firefox.  Although Google (who, ironically enough, has been a long-term partner with Firefox) recently made their entry into the browser market with Chrome, it will be a long time (if ever) before they can match the features and functionality that Firefox has to offer.

One of the most useful aspects of Firefox is its ability to support extensions.  Extensions can be created by any developer, and are used the enhance the functionality of Firefox.  From FireFTP to Flagfox, developers have created Firefox extensions that address or solve almost any issue or problem you may encounter while you are browsing the Internet.  Although it would take an entire e-book to discuss all of the useful Firefox extensions that are available, I want to use this post to talk about a specific group of Firefox extensions; those made specifically for SEOs.  By downloading and using these three Firefox extensions, you will be able to increase your productivity as a SEO:
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One of the mistakes that search engine marketers make is concentrating too much on the SEM aspects of web content and not enough on basic readability.  You can see this in the conversion rates of web content.  People are savvy to garbled, keyword-driven content.  And if your average web surfer does not yet know that those keywords are put there for a reason, web surfers are certainly getting more savvy…and more cynical.  So your best bet is to first craft your content with readability in mind, not just to trick search engines into ranking the content.  Search engines may be tricked, but real, live people won’t be.

Web content is a much different animal than other types of writing.  Personally, I don’t understand how anyone can read an entire novel on an e-book reader.  Believe me, I’m a person who spends an enormous amount of time, but reading on a computer can be tiring on the eyes and increase people’s short attention span.  This isn’t a small thing.  The Atlantic even had an article recently, titled “Is Google Making us Stupid?” I mean, there have been days where I’ve spent so much time online clicking around between sites that when I get out in the real world, I actually have the instinct to click things so I can get them instantly – you mean I actually have to drive in this traffic?  Can’t I just click a link and end up somewhere else?
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All you have to do is read a few online forums to hear people complaining about how they’ve tried SEO with no success. They’ve given up on the idea of SEO as an effective brand building tool. The question we have to ask is “Why did their SEO efforts fail?” It could have been unsuccessful for any number of reasons, but here are a few of the most common causes of an unsuccessful SEO strategy.

1. Wrong Keywords- One reason your SEO efforts might be falling short is the keywords you’re targeting aren’t the right ones. Keyword selection is a difficult process that requires a deep knowledge of SEO. If you choose a keyword that is too popular, you’ll be unable to compete with the others targeting the same phrase. On the other hand, if you target a keyword too obscure, no one will ever search for it. The key is to find long tail keywords with little competition but decent search volume.
2. Infrequent Updates- Search engines have a passion for fresh content. They crave fresh content because it keeps their results relevant. For this reason, it’s crucial that you give the search engines the new content they desire. Updating your website regularly shows both the search engines and your website visitors that your company is active and worth their trust.
3. No Inbound Links- Inbound links are an important measure of a website’s worth. The most trusted websites have high quality, inbound links pointed to their content. If no one is linking to your site, you’ll have a difficult time convincing the search engines you should rank well for your keywords. Learn some basic link building techniques to build authority for your website.
4. Lack of Patience- We’re an instant gratification country. We want results, and we want them now. Unfortunately, that’s not always the way SEO works. SEO is a process that requires your long term commitment. Think of it as the snowball effect: the longer you maintain your SEO plan, the greater the results will be.
5. Boring Content- Dry, keyword stuffed content might be the leading cause of failed SEO strategies. Too many website owners get so focused on writing for the search engines that they forget about the humans who will be reading their website. The bottom line is it doesn’t matter how well you rank if your content doesn’t resonate with your target audience. Make sure your SEO writing is targeting the right audience, and your SEO efforts will start to really pay off.

So many people are concerned with how well their sites and pages rank in the search engines. Time and time again, I get questions sent to me via email and instant message asking the same thing. “Garry, can you please take a look at my site and tell me if it is search engine friendly?” or, “Garry, how come my site doesn’t rank for the keywords I want?” or, “Garry, where do I start with learning more about search engine optimization?”

With the obvious demand for a better understanding of search engines, how to rank in them and how to market your content in them, here is a search engine checklist that I believe you’ll find helpful. It is a simple Yes/No checklist. The more questions that you can answer yes, the more you’re on your way to search engine traffic bliss! Drop a comment with your scores if you’d like. (more…)