Consistency is King

September 5, 2017 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Hi there! Steve coming at you from Old City Web Services; I lead the SEO efforts for our fine company.

In my first addition to the "Tips For Success" series, I'd like to share an important aspect of digital marketing that every business owner or operator can leverage - "NAP consistency." NAP is an SEO term that represents name, address and phone number. In order to show up effectively in search engines (especially the maps area), you will want to make sure that your name, address and phone number are listed EXACTLY the same, with the same details and format across the web. In other words, if the address you have listed on your website says "suite 4" and the address you on Google Business and Yelp says "ste 4" - this is bad, and it will keep you from reaching your full ranking potential.

Want to learn more about how our team can help improve your search engine rankings?

Need help updating your Google Business, Yelp, Yahoo and more?

How to use Google Analytics

August 12, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website's traffic and traffic sources and measures conversions and sales. Basically, it generates valuable reports that become helpful in developing an online marketing strategy.

To sign-up for Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytic Homepage. If you already have a Google account (e.g. Gmail or Google+), just simply sign-in. If not, you must first create one. To link Google Analytics to your site, a tracking code will need to be generated. You must copy (Ctrl+c) the code and paste (Ctrl+v) to the end of the Head tag. Not sure what an Head tag is? Contact Old City Web Services and for a small fee, we'll set it all up for you!

3 Things to Pay Attention to in Google Analytics

1. Traffic Sources

Go to Acquisition > Overview

The Traffic Source Report tells you the number of visitors (both new and returning) and where they are coming from. Pay close attention to your search traffic percent-- this tells you the percentage of people finding you from search results.

2. Organic Search Traffic

Go to Acquisition > Keywords > Organic

This report shows you what keywords visitors used to find your website. Pay close attention to the non-branded keywords-- these are the services, products, or offers that you provide to your customers. If most of your keywords are branded (the actual name of your company), then you may want to consider investing in an organic SEO strategy.

3. Bounce Rate

Go to Audience > Overview

The bounce rate is one of the most overlooked analytic. Most people look at the total number of visitors that came to their site, however the bounce rate shows how many of those visitors went to one page of your website then immediately left. Having a high bounce rate can tell you that there might be something wrong with the design, layout, or content on your site.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s message. Want to learn more about Google Analytics and ways to improve the number of people finding and engaging with you online? Call on us for your web and marketing needs: 904-867-4112 or Email Us.

5 Things You Need to Know About Google

October 7, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Learn how Google relates to your business.

1. Google doesn’t automatically know what your website is about.

In order for Google to catalog your website in their search database, you need to have text on your site that explains what your website is about. This can appear in both the content that visitors see and in the metadata that only Google will see.

2. Google doesn’t have feelings.

If Google favors one website over another, it’s not because it likes one site’s owner better or thinks that one site has better pictures. Google’s organic rankings are based strictly on a mathematical algorithm. That equation filters the information in Google’s database and provides the search results you see on the web. If you’re not happy with your ranking, you have to analyze your website in terms of the criteria used in Google’s algorithm, not what a human might think about your website versus someone else’s.

3. Google is by far the most popular search engine on the web.

From September 2010 to September 2011, Google had 90.7% of web usersover Yahoo! (3.76%) and Bing (3.7%). Although our optimization services still cover all three, it’s obvious that Google is the preferred search engine around the globe.

4. Google gets it wrong sometimes.

Even though Google works very hard to make their results more accurate, every once in a while Google does something wrong. Sometimes it returns a result for a website that’s not there anymore, or a result with false information. Most of the time this will clear up with time as Google updates its database, but if it doesn’t you can visit the Google Webmaster tools and (after creating a free Google account if you don’t already have one) you can report a bad site.

5. Google hates scammers and spammers alike.

You know the old expression “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is”? That’s the case with a lot of SEO companies who promise you specific rankings, especially the coveted top spot. Some of those scammers might be able to get you to #1 on Google, but not for long. Google is constantly updating its algorithm to keep out the spam because it hates to be manipulated. Good, honest SEO uses the right combination of keyword rich content, good navigation and site structure.

Send the surf your way with optimization.

July 18, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

What kind of relevant search engine traffic is your website getting?

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), it’s a common misconception that all traffic to your website is good. In fact, one of the most important components of SEO is finding the most relevant traffic to bring to your website. What do we mean by that? Here’s an example…

Wally is St. Augustine’s premier postage stamp collector. He has an inventory of every postage stamp ever made in the history of postage stamps. To get more traffic to his online retail store, Wally optimized his site so that he comes up #1 on Google for “stamps”.

The problem with Wally’s plan, however, is that of the people who search for “stamps” online are either looking for rubber stamps (which Wally does not sell) or current mailing stamps from the U.S. Post Office (which Wally also does not sell). So while Wally’s getting tons of visitors to his website from his high Google ranking, none of them are purchasing his productsbecause they are searching for a different kind of stamps.

Understanding what people are looking for when they search for something on the Internet is a critical part of the SEO process. That’s why it’s sometimes better to optimize your site for more specific terms (like in Wally’s case, “collectible stamps” or “American stamp collections”) rather than the more open ended, general terms.

Get a free SEO evaluation from Old City Web Services.

If you’d like to find out more about your current page rankings and how we might be able to optimize your site to get more traffic, please call (904) 829-2772 or send an email to us at letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

For more information on SEO, read some of our previous blogs on the subject:

· – What is Search Engine Optimization?: http://bit.ly/qN2BBJ

· – Under the Umbrella of SEO: http://bit.ly/gBn2qn

Under the Umbrella of SEO

April 7, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

5 Things You Need to Know about Search Engine Optimization

If it seems like we talk about search engine optimization (SEO) a lot, it’s because it has quickly become a key factor in creating a successful marketing campaign. Odds are that by now you’ve heard of SEO and have an idea of what it is, but there are still some questions on your mind. We want to provide you with a little bit more information about how you can put the search engines to work for your business, with a little help from Old City Web Services.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is NOT the same as Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Consider the difference between SEO and SEM as the same difference between having the newspaper write an article about your business versus paying for an advertisement in the same newspaper. Both methods will reach the same audience, but people will perceive them differently.

2. Search engines are changing constantly.

The algorithms that each of the three major search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo!) use to determine search results are constantly being updated. Why? Because some websites “spam” the search engines by flooding them with massive amounts of content and keywords to give themselves top ranking even though they don’t provide any relevant information

3. Inbound links act as votes in your favor.

Websites that offer a link to your website from theirs act as “votes” for your business in the eyes of a search engine. But beware, not all “voters” were created equal. So-called “link farms” that offer to add you to their list of links are seen as “spam” in the eyes of the search engines. Stay clear of those and look instead for legitimate businesses that already have excellent rankings and offer traffic that would be relevant to your website.

4. Extra domain names can help if you have extra content.

Your domain name carries a lot of weight with the search engines. However, having multiple domains that “point” to your website do not offer an added advantage. The search engines will only catalog the content of your website with its permanent domain. If you want to put extra domains to good use, create a single page (called a “splash” page) with unique content (slightly different from what is on your website) and provide a link to your main domain. This will put the extra pages into the search engine databases while also acting as a traffic funnel to your website.

5. Specific titles can make your pictures and videos count.

Search engine databases can only process text information. So in order to make sure that the pictures and videos on your website are picked up by the search engine crawlers, make sure that you title the picture or video files with a unique description (like “st augustine sunset”) instead of generic letters and numbers (like “DSC2939383”). Where possible, add captions as well to provide additional content.

Start increasing your search engine traffic right now.

Old City Web Services can offer search engine advice and assistance tailored to meet your business’ needs. Our staff includes a dedicated SEO Specialist who keeps up with all the latest search trends so that your business can stay on top of the competition. Call or e-mail us today to schedule a free consultation.

– Old City Web Services

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

October 11, 2010 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

If you’re a little confused when it comes to SEO, you’re not alone. The evolution of the Internet has left many people scrambling to keep up with new terms and capabilities on the web.

Search engine optimization is a new internet marketing tool that combines knowledge of how search engines work with research into what keywords and phrases people use when searching online.

For example, if you were to go on Google and search for a roofing company in St. Augustine, you might type in “St. Augustine roofers” while someone else would type “Saint Augustine roofers” and another person would type “St. Johns County Roofing Contractors.” Skilled SEO professionals can sift through all of these terms and find out exactly how many people each month search for what specific terms.

Shh! Don’t tell Google.

So if people search for tons of different variations of the same keywords, then you’re thinking you should just optimize your website for all of those, right? Wrong. Search engines don’t like being taken advantage of. They want their results to be totally organic, a genuine index of what the Internet has to offer on any particular subject. If you try to incorporate too many keywords into your copy, the search engines think of it as “keyword stuffing” and will punish your site’s rankings accordingly.

Generally, it’s best to keep your keywords to maybe five or six, depending on how large your website is. Larger sites with more content have more room to add keywords, which is why we recommend that all of our clients have at least 300 – 400 words of text on their home page.

Where do the keywords go on my website?

After you’ve selected your important keywords and phrases, they have to be incorporated throughout your website in various places. A few of the search engines consider criteria in certain areas to be more important than others—for example, they might consider what’s written on the home page to be more important than what’s written on a sub-page.

A little bit of art, a little bit of science.

Professional search engine optimization has many layers. There is an art in making keywords and phrases so subtle that anyone reading your content won’t notice awkward sentences or redundancies. But it also takes extensive research and a constant effort to keep up with the changing trends of the industry. While some individuals have the time to devote to optimization themselves, for many of our clients their time is better spent practicing the skills that run their business. That’s why we’re here to help.

I’m interested, but need more help.

If you’d like to find out more about optimizing your website, you can get started today with a free SEO evaluation by calling us at 904-867-4112 or send us an email at letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

Can Google Find Your Website?

August 4, 2010 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

If it can’t then you are missing out on a huge amount of traffic that should be coming to your site. The way to get Google to see you is through Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO. To understand the value of SEO it is important to understand how Google works. May we suggest that you watch the video below? It’s straight from Google.