10 Critical SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Launching an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaign is not that hard a task these days, but avoiding the common mistakes and misconceptions involved in the process of developing a campaign is a tricky trap that could be avoided through the guidelines mentioned below.

Nothing is perfect, and the same applies to SEO campaigns, therefore no one can be 100% sure of the perfect keyword or phrase that has to be used at the right moment as a target.

Some of the mistakes could be totally avoided when specified and realized in advance and others could be corrected, therefore, their damage to the campaign minimized.

1. Underestimating the Efforts/Energy Involved in an SEO Process

Optimizing a website is not a one-round adventure or project. The more time and effort put into the project, the higher the success prospects and the probability the site gets to maintain its exposure figures, as regular updates and adjustments are done to the site keep the clients and those interested hooked to the site.

2. Addiction to Multi-Tactics

Taking things at their pace with an SEO campaign is the best road to a successful one. Trying too many tactics at the same time will diffuse any solid result to be felt through using any one strategy on its own, and therefore a vague result will be the product of any SEO campaign based on multi-tactics.

3. Locked in a Box

Sometimes the corporate interest of any company takes over the simplest elements in an SEO campaign: the title. The title is one of the most effective spaces on a webpage. The power in the title tag is significant enough to either draw a potential customer deeper into the site or repel them through the unnecessary placement of the company’s name/brand in it. If the name overshadows the main listing on a search engine, then the ranking is definitely not at its best, which is more of a priority than the corporate name.

4. Blind Faith in the SEO Specialists

While there are guidelines to any missions/tasks undertaken by a firm when it handles a client, there is a limit to how much is expected out of this venture, all depending on the circumstances, the skills involved and where the influence of these skills extends. SEO professionals should be given all the space needed to flex their skills in all directions, marketing initiatives, PR efforts, design, writing… But overloading them will strain on a certain aspect of the process.

5. Choosing the Wrong Keywords

No building could stay erect without supporting pillars from the inside, and the same applies to websites. Websites with issues are those with little content in them and even fewer links. First step should be about bulking up the content through more keywords to elevate the main ones. Proper ranking could hardly happen depending on the other aspects if the content and its architecture are not highlighted.

6. The Link Vs. the Brochure

A decade and so into this field and most sites are still played out as plain brochures, with minimal interaction/attraction. Building a healthy structure of links is not easy but it is the right path to avoid having a boring website acting as a simple brochure or a plate of data. The link strategy should have its roots in the content, any demos, guides, videos, tools, samples, interactive use of a product that could interest a visitor will definitely move him to the potential client category.

7. Sharing is Succeeding

Avoid singular work modes and use all data that could be found with your colleagues. The goal is shared by all and working solo in separate cells will not enforce the task in any positive manner. Use the group input and discussions to enhance any ideas, new tactics, innovative elements, and use of new elements to come closer to the achieving the task.

8. Beyond Returns on Investment (ROI)

The success of a search engine specialist lies in the management of keywords and achieving the most exposure/attraction for a website through them. The traffic is the scale to measure success and any savvy businessman should understand their value and help enforce them through nurturing an ROI strategy into maturation. Check the website, is it effective? Are the colors proper and befitting? Is the right text in the right location? Is the navigation smooth or too crammed? Does it look like a top-notch operation? Include a phone number and contact info properly and do not fixate your website on one color or image…

9. Rankings: The Awful Truth

his is a fertile field for committing mistakes. Do the polls show that you’re #3 on Google? Don’t pop the champagne just yet, because do you know what search term you targeted? Check the traffic and its equivalence. Rankings are awesome if they build up a flow of traffic into your site to be converted into profit.

And what if 2 pages rank differently for the same search term? Does the one at #6 appeal more than the one at #16? Which one would you work on enhancing?

Three Points to Follow:

  • What webpage of the site has more conversion material?
  • Which webpage do you think has the potential to move up higher in ranking?
  • Which webpage would you think can serve another search term even better?

10. Limited Content Crimes

It is never wise to think that you’ll be able to get things working with little content. It is NOT going to work. While you might think you’re simplifying the process for the visitor, you are not. Do not fear endangering the usability of a page, instead, add useful content besides data, more links, summaries of bigger articles on the site that might save the visitor’s time and keep him/her interested. FAQ sections and testimonials give the site a further interactive depth that makes the reader feel as if the owners of this site or company have an idea of what he/she is thinking. According to the type of product, allow downloads, and samples to further drive the visitor’s interest.

SEO campaigning is a wide field of great potential for marketing, profit, and exposure. But it’s also a minefield ripe with traps and small loopholes that could hinder the final result. Your site’s potential could be increased and used to the maximal levels if properly handled using SEO as one of the main keys.

Eastline Marketing has a long record of highly successful SEO campaigns that have not only expanded its clients’ business, traffic, and internet exposure, but also elevated the firm’s reputation among the top firms making it a sure win for any client/firm that decides to employ our skills.

Source: Click here

Monetary Value of a Facebook Fan

After putting the effort in building Facebook communities of fans, brands have been wondering about the monetary value of these fans. Virtue, a firm specialized in social media, has conducted a study to estimate the value of facebook fan at $3.60 per fan.

Virtue determined that each post that is posted on a brand’s Facebook page yields 6 impressions through fans’ friends’s news feeds. For example, with an average CPM of $5, Starbucks‘ 6.5 million fans are worth $23.4 million in media annually; however, not all brands get the same value for their fans. Some brands receive more impressions than others because their posts get shared and intereracted with by more users.

What makes users share and interact with a brand’s post? Open-ended opinion-seeking status updates, interesting industry-related news and other quality fan-related content that targets your fans’ intersts are guaranteed to receive interaction from fans. On average, a Facebook fan’s monetary value is $3.60; yet, the quality of your posts is what determines how much your fans will actually be worth.

Love Letters to the Future Winner of Two Webby Awards

Beirut, Lebanon, May 11, 2010: EASTLINE MARKETING IS CONGRATULATED FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF THEIR ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGY LEADING TO THE SUCCESS OF LOVE LETTERS TO THE FUTURE, WINNER FOR BEST GREEN SITE AND THE WEBBY PEOPLE’S AWARDS IN THE 14th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS.

The 14th Annual Webby Awards today named Love Letters to the Future, as Best Green website of the year. The global Web community has also voted Love Letters to the Future as Best Green website of the year in the Webby People’s Voice Awards.

The site (www.loveletterstothefuture.com) was produced by Xenophile Media under the creative direction of Ralph Dfouni and marketed online by Eastline Marketing’s team of experts. Eastline Marketing deployed and managed various social networks to exploit their viral aspect, one-to-one contact methods to create a trustworthy and personalized environment, and paid online advertising to give the right push to the letter submissions.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy. The 14th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states.

About Eastline Marketing
With over 12 years of experience in the field of online marketing in Canada, and a proven track record of unparalleled strategic capabilities, since its establishment in the Middle East, Eastline Marketing is reputed for the conception and deployment of successful online strategies.

About Xenophile Media (www.xenophile.ca)
A two time Emmy Award winning production company, Toronto based Xenophile Media produces innovative cross platform television for broadcast clients from Disney to Cartoon Network, Jetix, Teletoon and BBC. Some of Xenophile’s recent work includes Emmy nominated Total Drama Island – Totally Interactive, with 7+ Million Players around the world, Emmy nominated and Rose D’Or winner MI High Whack the Mole, Alternate Reality Game for CBBC, Emmy nominated Inside Hana’s Suitcase and Rollbots Online. Flashpoint Interactive, Sanctuary Online, Empire of the Word and Love Letters to the Future are the newest Xenophile Productions.

Microfunding through Social Media

Instead of reaching out to companies for large donations, social media enables NGOs to reach bigger audiences and raise more donations. Recently, I came across an interesting project that has been leveraging the benefits of social media to raise awareness about several causes and gathering donations through microfunding.

Microfunding allows users to donate very small amounts ($10 for example), while working together towards larger goals. Although the donated amounts are bitty, the few donated dollars by each user sum up to make a difference in the lives of many others. The 12for12k Challenge has been able to reach a very large audience through Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other social media tools.

You might not give a lot with microfunding, but when you add up all of the people giving, you can reach significant fundraising goals to support your cause.

Geo-Targeted news updates: Evacuation of Times Square

The Wall Street Journal’s check-in to Times Square, last week, shifted the way location-based news services have been used up till then. After teaming up with Foursquare, the location-based news update service, the WSJ showed a new means of using the service, changing the perception of geo-targeted news.

WSJ Times Square evacuation news update on Foursquare

Foursquare, which has been known mostly for food-related and fashion reviews, offered the WSJ the infrastructure to dispatch news about the evacuation of Times Square to those who are mostly concerned – the people who happened to be in Times Square the moment the news broke out.

Previously, users who followed a certain branded place or location, subscribed to get location-related information without having to specifically check-into the location through Foursquare. Location happened to be incidental information in a piece of news. However, what Foursquare enabled the WSJ to do was to check-in to the Times Square and alarm people about the evacuation –  “Location” in this becomes the news. “Times Sqaure evacuation” is a noteworthy piece of news – no doubt; however, it was much more pertinent to those who are in Times Square rather than those who are not.

With twitter geo-tagging apps such as TrackinU and Facebook anticipated “places” feature, it will be interesting to see how the peer-to-peer location-based titan Foursquare takes the “location-based” news frenzy to the next level.

Chatroulette’s got some issues!

Recently, Chatroulette, the world’s biggest random video chatting social network, has been having some issues — nudity issues.

The website which was founded by 17-year-old Andrey Ternovskiy, has been flooded with users going naked on webcams, most of whom are men. Chatroulette enables quick switches between random chats coupled with seamless streaming webcam video to give users the full effect of the random chat experience which has boosted the site’s traffic to staggering numbers. Nonetheless, the increase in the amount of random nude men has decreased Chatroulette’s popularity and has Chatroulette’s chances of becoming a profitable, brand-advertising supported site.

A competition has been held to engage users in creating a solution for the problem. Some ideas like: auto-pixelating the image if no facial features are recognized and creating a sister website – Rawchatroulette.com are pretty brilliant; however, it would be intersting to see how the young Russian founder handles this issue.

Click here for more info on Andrey Ternovskiy’s future plans for chat roulette.