SEO Volacci

How Google Instant Will Help Your SEO and PPC

seovolacci — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:23:23 +0000

Ever since Google Instant slipped into your browser overnight, it seems everybody is freaking out about it. Some experts are saying that, with Google Instant, “SEO is dead”, while other crystal ballers predict that Instant will make SEO irrelevant overtime, much like Brandon Fraser’s acting career after The Mummy. Furthermore, there are the folks on the complete other side of the teeter-tooter that are waving it off as nonsense. “I like your style, dude.”

It’s been one week, the world hasn’t ended, Brandon Frasier is currently working on The Mummy 4: Rise of the Aztec (maybe we should be worried), and our clients are still ranking strong for all their keywords. While Google Instant is polarizing people’s opinions, Volacci has taken a “calmer than you” approach to assessing the Instant-SEO situation.

How to Fix the Problems with Drupal’s Default Robots.txt File

seovolacci — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:21:16 +0000

No one is perfect. And neither is Drupal’s default robots.txt file. In fact, there are several problems with the file. If you test out your default robots.txt file line by line using Google Webmaster Tools’ robots.txt testing utility, you will find that a lot of paths which look like they are being blocked will actually be crawled.

The reason is that Drupal does not require the trailing slash ( / ) after the path to show you the content. Because of the way robots.txt files are parsed, Googlebot will avoid the page with the slash but crawl the page without the slash.

Five Steps to Mobile Advertising Success

seovolacci — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:56:40 +0000

Don’t look now, but everyone is going mobile. In fact, most technology leaders–Apple, Google, Microsoft–are locked in a tight race to be your mobile provider. It is the latest and most personal communications format invented to date, and the newest channel to conquer for strategic advertising campaigns. You can pinpoint your target audience and put your brand in their hand when they are most influential to messages.

Being the new “kid” on the block means there is still a little of the unknown upon entry, but early mobile advertisers are finding that you can bank from mobile messaging and rankings.

SEO – Volacci is committed to becoming the world leader in marketing profitable websites by turning customers into raving fans for ourselves and our clients.

10 Tips for Landing Page Optimization

seovolacci — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:54:00 +0000

More websites than care to admit have lackluster landing pages. Some even surpass lackluster and border on horrendous. But more times than not, its your own fault. By sticking to the basics of landing page optimization (LPO), you can take your landing pages from ‘hideous’ to ‘heeeeeeello!’ in no time.

Apply these 10 tips to your landing pages passionately and your website will be converting visitors into customers before you know it.

18 Essential Drupal Modules for SEO and How to Install Them

seovolacci — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:48:37 +0000

One of the many reasons why Drupal rocks is the hundreds of modules you can plugin to enhance its core installation and functionality. Modules are created by the community–another Drupal strength–to help improve the overall user experience and functionality of the popular open source publishing platform. While some of the more seasoned and beneficial modules have made their way into the core installation, there are still plenty of great modules that are just waiting to be downloaded, installed, and configured for your benefit.

When it comes to search engine optimizing a Drupal website, many of the best modules aren’t included in the core installation. So it is beneficial for your online marketing success to know about all the modules that can help your site surge to the top of the rankings. From XML sitemaps to better page titles, modules are crucial to search engine optimization for any Drupal site.

SEO – Volacci is committed to becoming the world leader in marketing profitable websites by turning customers into raving fans for ourselves and our clients.

The Content Strategy Process – Phases III – V

seovolacci — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:22:47 +0000

Thank you for joining me for Part Two of my Content Strategy Process blog post. Last week I discussed The Content Strategy Process – Phases I-II, where we reviewed a few definitions of “content strategy” and walked through an overview of the first two phases of a typical content strategy project.

The first phase, Research, walks you through the beginning of the project and discusses some of the mandatory and optional deliverables for a client or company. In Phase II: Analysis, you start mentally digesting all the research and align your thoughts and ideas with business goals, tactics, requirements and restrictions, project objectives, assumptions, identified risks, and the overall communication ecosystem. At the end of Phase II, you will submit an existing Content Analysis Report, accompanied by some additional reports, an editorial calendar, and a readiness analysis.

Thank you for reading my weekly blog post on Volacci.com! I am Luke Stenis, the Creative Content Manager for Volacci. Every Wednesday I cover the fascinating and tantalizing topics of Content SEO, Strategy and Information Architecture.

If you’ve been following along with last week’s post, you have reached the point in your project where you can turn research and analysis into strategy with Phase III.

SEO vs. Search Engine Advertising – Which Service Is Right For Me?

seovolacci — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:20:49 +0000

When you are ready to launch a search marketing campaign, there are two distinct, results-driven channels to consider: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Advertising, also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC).

Both marketing channels have their own unique competitive advantages. However, depending upon your online goals, it is recommended that you understand the differences between the two channels before committing to a campaign. Some companies prefer one channel over the other, while others like to have a balance between the two offerings. Read on to learn about the differences between SEO and Search Engine Advertising.

How Mobile Advertising Works

seovolacci — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:19:19 +0000

Are you intrigued by mobile advertising but not quite sure how it works? No worries, you aren’t the only person that is confused. While mobile advertising has become the latest “it” channel to advertise through, it comes with some risks (as early adopters of iAd can attest). With so many variables – ad size, units, types of phone operating systems, etc.– the technology starts to resemble a Ray Bradbury novel, not an ad campaign. But that is why you leave it in the capable hands of emerging experts, who can turn the confusion into an opportunity for your business.

Mobile advertising provides an opportunity to engage with your target audience on a one-to-one basis, through a personal device that has become more important to their lives than any other type of technology created to date. According to a recent study by CTIA Media, 91% of the U.S. population uses wireless devices, as of December 2009. With the amount of smart phones on the market, this number shouldn’t quite surprise you. There are drastically differing phone platforms that offer a host of new technologies that can leverage your mobile presence: applications, SMS, rich media, video, geo-location services, and interactive ads via iAds, the opportunities are endless, but not fool-proof.

How to Configure the Meta tags Module for Drupal SEO

seovolacci — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:17:21 +0000

Depending upon the level of technical terminology you have learned, you understand the concept of meta tags. Meta tags are pieces of text in the header of your website that tell search engine spiders about your site. They are not visible to your website visitors, which make them handy places to communicate details about your site that visitors just don’t care about. (Don’t worry, we care)

The Meta tags module is very important to your site because it tells the search engines what the content you have is all about. That is right, it’s pretty much data about data. And while this seems redundant, it is incredibly important for the overall optimization of your site.

SEO – Volacci is committed to becoming the world leader in marketing profitable websites by turning customers into raving fans for ourselves and our clients.

PPC, It’s Easy As 1, 2, 3

seovolacci — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:11:29 +0000

PPC, or Search Engine Advertising, is a quick and easy way to test your brand’s savvy in online search markets. With Google Instant, users are learning how to refine their search queries using shorter and more specific keywords – meaning paid search advertisers need to be sharper with identifying and targeting their keywords.

You might be thinking, “does that mean my paid search campaign isn’t as relevant?!” No, quite the opposite. This presents a very unique opportunity to revisit paid search as a very profitable option for driving valuable search traffic to your site. If your paid search ad targets the right keyword terms, Google Instant will give your ad instant exposure to people who are more focused on the conversion in mind.