Monthly Archives: October 2013

How to Make Google Your Best Friend – SEO Tips for Entrepreneurs

You have an eCommerce store but it is not yielding profits? Thinking why? The answer is simple, if people cannot find you, where will the revenue come from. Ranking higher than your competitors is necessary. It is understood that you’re missing out on sales and revenues if the traffic footfalls are lesser.

If you are looking out for useful tactics to improve the visibility and traffic of your eCommerce site, here are some crucial SEO tips for entrepreneurs straight from SEO Institute:

Do not rely on PPC alone: Many eCommerce entrepreneurs fall back on PPC strategy alone for visibility. However, remember with time the PPC cost continues to increase and once you stop paying for advertisements, your online presence is affected. Thus, it is very important to implement organic SEO practices like information rich content, human-friendly URLs and rich media simultaneously to maintain ranking. Too much of a tall order? Don’t sweat it. Consider hiring employees with SEO training under their belt to provide the support you’ll need.
Say no to duplicate content: Most eCommerce stores are penalized because they have duplicate content in terms of product descriptions and lists. As a best practice, never use the product description given on the manufacturer’s site. One of the best ways is to use the rel=”canonical” tag to avoid duplication problem.
Audience centric content strategy: It is very important to be geared with a content strategy that is focused on targeted audience. Establish your users and create concrete content that will interest them. To engage your audience offer interesting content like contest, e-book or webinar on all major social media platforms.
Carefully optimize product images: Recently image search has become very important and many users rely on it to find products. Thus, eCommerce websites should focus on image optimization. Use vibrant and specific descriptions, optimize the ALT tags, strategize the product angles and image dimensions and handle the thumbnails carefully. Also , test the number of product images per page as loading time is a major issue.
Make use of anchor text: Anchor text sparingly as if you over use this strategy, Google will be suspicious. Place the internal links naturally. Never add too many links with the same anchor text as Google tracks the anchor text for inbound links.
Structure the store: The structure of the store also affects the SEO. Make sure there are number of landing pages that are brand or product specific. This will give you a chance to optimize multiple pages and keyword groups to increase the visibility of the site.

If you have used any other techniques, you would like to share, feel free to give us a shout. We look forward to hearing from you!

Crucial Factors for SEO Success in 2013

2013 was a rough patch for SEO experts because of radical changes in Google’s algorithm including the Panda & Penguin updates. While inbound links and content quality still continue to rule the organic ranking scenario, significant changes have been made. In the increasing competition it is important to employ strategic practices in pragmatic approach to reach the top of the search engine ranking page.Crucial factors for SEO success in 2013 as per SEO Institute focus on creating the value for readers. Read below to know more about them:

1. On-page SEO: To get SEO success it is very important to keep a track of latest SEO trends and Penguin. Focused users must ensure that below mentioned factors are used to influence search engine ranking:

I. Page title: This is the first attribute that shows up in the search results for the website. Make sure it is unique for every page. Two things to remember are that you must focus on two keywords and it should be maximum of 70 characters.

II. Meta description: It is an actual sentence that describes the topic to both the users and search engines. A good description contains maximum of 160 characters and must focus on two keywords.

III. Meta Keywords: These are unique keywords assigned to particular page of the website. These words must be included in the website content. Here is one little tip, include maximum of five words without spaces.

IV. ALT text: It provides an alternative text to an image when the mage can’ be displayed. It is important to place ALT text on every page and match the primary keywords of destination.

2. Keyword research and analysis: The most crucial part in online marketing and SEO is to do keyword research and analysis. To make this tedious task simple, just follow these simple steps:

I. Ask yourself: It is very important to ask is the keyword really relevant to the content. Will the searchers be able to find what they are really looking for? Will these keywords result in financial rewards?

II. Search for keyword terms or phrases in major engines: It is very important to understand which websites are already ranked for the keywords give you a valuable insight into the competition and also how difficult it is to rank them for the given terms. You also need to find out if there are PPC campaigns running for the keywords.

III. Long-tail keywords: With changing trends you must realize that long tail keywords convert better as they are able to attract searchers in the conversion cycle. Including long-tail keywords like, ‘best price on Acer laptop” are people who have their wallet out already.

3. Content: Google has very explicitly announced that good quality content is the key to website ranking. Content quality refers to the uniqueness and resourcefulness of the information. The web rate on search engines depend basically on the content on the web or blog. The original and creative the content, the higher is the Google rate.

The above are some of the crucial SEO trends that play a key role in SEO for 2013.

Best Practices For Maximizing Your Local Search Engine Optimization

Local SEO was never as prominent in the online world as it is right now. Given the changes in algorithms by Google and the importance it has been giving to local search results, in addition to the natural way in which searches have evolved to incorporate more local results, now is the time for pushing aggressive strategy.Of course, like everything else in the online marketing world, in order to succeed with local search engine optimization, one needs to follow certain processes and proven methodologies that can provide the best ROI. Whether it’s exploring local SEO packages on offer by agencies or biting the bullet on your own, here are some tips on how to go about it all:

-Be in the know: Your local SEO strategy quite literally has to start from the word go. The moment you have your website development plan in place, you need to figure out a search engine optimization strategy that will enhance your local SEO efforts. Do your research and look for what is trending as well as what people are looking for in terms of keyword searches.

- Advertise your location aggressively: Local SEO is all about geographical location and you need to make sure that you put yours out there aggressively. Profiles on Google places and Bing, listing on online directories, your company and brand name, address, contact details all filled out, these are the things that you need to address immediately. People need to know where you are in order to be able to find you.

-Content with a local context: The fact that fresh, consistent content is extremely important is something you’ve heard enough. In terms of local SEO though, you need to give your content a local spin. Writing about stuff that pertains to your services but is also somehow linked to your geographical location will bring you favor with search engines, both in terms of relevance and information.

-Feedback and reviews: Cherish and value these with all your might. Online reviews are a tremendous asset. They increase your credibility in the eyes of first time visitors. Of course the goal should be to garner as many positive reviews as possible and gibe your audience a chance to say what they want about you. This also promotes your authority in your field and gives you greater visibility.

-Social media: There cannot be a successful SEO strategy without a successful SMO plan. Both of these need to be integrated, profiles created on all possible platforms and then used for interaction and building a network and a positive community. Getting local with your social media is the key as descriptions get indexed and so does select content from your feed.

Local SEO does not have to be rocket science. While there might be challenges but following a structured method will help you overcome them and attain the positive results that you desire.

Contact Techmagnate to know more about Local SEO Packages.

Google’s Hummingbird Algorithm

Produced by : Techmagnate SEO Company India

Best Ways to Build an Audience Through Trust

As a writer you know that your content is good and with experience you have mastered the art of putting the words together. But remember only half of the battle is won. To establish yourself as a writer you need to have a vibrant audience. To win the audience it is important to build the “know, like and trust” factors.

Gaining “Street Cred”
High-quality content undoubtedly attracts the attention of the readers and helps in building your reputation and the quality of content ties in directly with the growth of your audience.Below are a few of the ways you can begin to gain an audience and its trust when you start putting out content.
1. Understand Your Readers: Before you start writing be clear on who you want to talk to. Talking to everybody is not a good idea because you’re very likely to see higher success rates if you answer questions people have instead of shoving pointless writing down their throats.

2. Position yourself as an authority: Which, in other words, means that you need to read, research and always stay on top of any developments and changes in your field. Don’t force yourself to write about healthcare if your niche is writing skills or even human resources.

3. Create content for your audience: Crowdsourcing works. But in this age of social media, join the communities people talk the most on and don’t be afraid to just listen. You’ll find a lot of questions that need to be answered that way.

To Get Likes Online
Having great content alone is not enough. It is very important to build relationships, which eventually begins to lead into engagement and content shares and branding for your company. And here’s a few ways you can make that happen:

1. Be real and authentic: To be liked it is very important to express with passion. Share your stories and get personal in your writing. But remember to not be fake and not to overwhelm your readers with updates that don’t really make sense.

2. Engage and interact the audience: It is a great idea to interact with the audience. Get into two-way conversation with them and do your best to keep the conversation going. Ask people to leave comments on your blog and questions and then reply them satisfactorily.

To Build Trust
Building trust with people is all about transparency and inviting people to come sit at your table. Sure, there are marketing tactics involved here, but let’s not forget that people like to be treated like people, not a demographic blob.

1. Offer unique freebies: Almost everybody offers freebies, if you want to stand out, make sure your freebies are also unique like your content. You must offer something unique.

2. Never break a promise: Credibility matters a lot! If you say you will post an article every day, post it without a fail or if you say you will send free e-books to those who subscribe to the blog, honor your commitment.

3. Include testimonials: There is nothing better than third party vouching for you. Include testimonials where people share their experiences in their own words. There is nothing better that will demonstrate how you deliver a satisfying experience.

By combining these elements to the quality content, your authority as an established author is sure to be established. But remember, this will take time so don’t give up in content writing.

5 Techniques for Effective PPC Campaign Management

Strategic jargon, spreadsheets and heaps of statistics, often results in loss of clarity while providing vital information to your clients and supervisor regarding your PPC campaign. Understanding a PPC campaign is not easy for every executive. So, it is the responsibility of SEM managers to provide collective data from various sources in the form which showcases the campaign procedure unambiguously.

Always remember, clear communication is vital for PPC Managers. The reports and all the other forms of communication should be brief and crisp clear. Wondering how you can master the PPC communication skills? Follow the below mentioned 5 techniques for effective PPC communication:

Controlled Description/Narrative: Irrespective of the trends, whether positive or negative, you should provide a reference frame to all your statistics, graphs, charts, trends, etc. The reports should convey information and at the same time leave scope for interpretation.
Detailed Strategy:Understand what level of strategy details your client/supervisor is looking for in your reports. If they need the complete and thorough scenario, then provide them with the extensive narratives regarding your strategy. This will make them feel confident. Or, in case they are looking for only high-level details, then be sure to provide them with short and concise summaries.
Raise word of caution:Things might go wrong sometime. It may be due to external factors like a seasonal shift, change in competitive landscape or internal factors like change in bids that did not go as expected. But, no one wishes to hear bad news. Hence, this is when your communication skills should be best in action. A considerable cushion can be provided to the blow, if the news is delivered in a proper manner. Be prepared with the details about what went wrong, your plan to fix it and the time required to do so.
Highlight your Big-wins:Judiciously declare and boast your success. Whenever a milestone related directly to your PPC goals is reached, make sure that it receives due attention and does not go un-noticed. As a best practice, don’t overdo it!
Sell Yourself: Every interaction is an opportunity to re-sell you and your services.A short and simple email is also enough to reinforce the clients feelings that the PPC agency is right for their project. Never miss on this opportunity.

To master the effective PPC communication techniques proper guidance and training is required. There are many PPC training institutes in Delhi that elaborate on all the nuances of PPC including campaign management, communication, results and tests. Before you choose the PPC training institutes don’t forget to check for its credibility, experience and reputation. Take the experience and skills of the instructors in consideration before making any decision.

5 Reasons Entrepreneurs Must Learn Online Marketing to Survive

According to business analysts, the Internet is the premier medium that consumers use to carry out price and product research. Many people also use the Internet to assess the reliability and credibility of choosing one particular business over the other. With such an increased dependence on the Internet, is it surprising that Internet marketing is one of the prolifically used methods by companies to reach the masses.

We are long past the time where we need to debate the benefits of the Internet to get a cutting edge over your competitors. Still, we often come across entrepreneurs who don’t calculate the impact of a strong web presence for their business plan, which in the current day and age, is quite surprising. It is highly recommended for entrepreneurs to learn online marketing to survive because of the following reasons:

1. Social Media: Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are not used to merely “keep in touch” or upload photos. Many people use social media sites to make consumer-related decisions. As a business owner, you can use this to your benefit by first acquiring some social media training. Then you can incorporate social networking technicalities into your own online marketing campaigns.

Social media allows you to reach out to the targeted audience on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+. As an entrepreneur you must remember that social media is not where people research about products or services; instead, it is a platform where people come to form and share their opinion. So, make sure you have active profiles and make relevant updates.

2. Personalization: As a business owner, you can decide how you want to boost traffic to your website. This will require you to take either PPC (Pay-Per-Click) or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) training. The former will enable you to generate traffic quickly to your website and perhaps increase revenue rather quickly. The only drawback is that PPC strategies require a larger budget. SEO is easier to implement on a small budget and the actual optimizing aspect involves editing the content, HTML coding, and indexing.

3. Reach: Marketing on the Internet enables you to overcome the barriers that distance creates. You can sell your merchandise all around world, without setting up local stores, thereby widening your market. Before you make your products available internationally, make sure your products comply with local business laws. Also, Internet marketing provides a platform to research about the opinion of the audience about the product.

4. Building Relationships: When a customer purchases a product from your online establishment, it gives you an opportunity to build positive relationships. For instance, you can send a follow-up email thanking them for their purchase, solicit feedback request about the product they purchased, and even a special gift or coupon for them to use on their next purchase. You can also request product reviews from your customers, which can be featured on your web site.

5. Here to stay: Internet marketing is not going to be outdated; on the contrary, it will continue to evolve and expand, and often times, simultaneously! This makes it important for entrepreneurs to learn online marketing to survive. There are many aspects of it and as an entrepreneur try to learn as much as possible.

Online marketing is one of the most influential ways of generating revenue and expanding your business. It may require some training, especially PPC training, Social Media training, or SEO training. But the fruits of your efforts will all be worthwhile!

Tips for Creating Sliders with Sliding Backgrounds

Sliders with sliding backgrounds are a great feature that adds visual appeal to websites. In this case not only does the image move but the background images also slides when the screen moves. It will not be wrong to say that old screen is replaced with new screen. Interesting? Do you also want to incorporate this in your website? Here are tips to create slier with sliding backgrounds. Also, many wordpress website designers rely on this:HTML.
Three components of slider are:

1. Container that keep everything in shape
2. Sliding container whose width is same as slider in a row
3. Individual side container

HTML: Adding Navigation
It is suggested to add links to change the slides instead of relying on scrollbar. But anchor links that link to the IDs of the individual slides is important.

Slide 0
Slide 1
Slide 2

CSS
It is important that the size of the slider and slides is the same. The code that you need to use is:

.slider { width: 300px; height: 500px; overflow-x: scroll; } .slide { float: left; width: 300px; height: 500px; }

To float the slides leftwards will not line them up in single row as the main element of the slide is not wide enough. Therefore, it is important to have holder element. To fit three slides it must be 300 percent wide that is number of slides multiplied by 100%.

.holder { width: 300%; }

Each slide has unique ID as it is important to create anchor links. These links the IDs and slider jump to the slides. IDs make it possible to drop in the background picture.

#slide-0 { background-image: url(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7347/8731666710_34d07e709e_z.jpg); } #slide-1 { background-image: url(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/8730654121_05bca33388_z.jpg); } #slide-2 { background-image: url(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/8732044638_9337082fc6_z.jpg); }

If your text is in white, to make sure it is visible, fade out the photograph subtly to black at the bottom. Pseudo element is sure to work well.

.slide:before { content: ""; position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 40%; background: linear-gradient(transparent, black); }
There is an active class on the navigational links to use in CSS to indicate that slide is active. This can be handled by removing the “Active” status from the links and later adding back to the particular one that is clicked.

JavaScript
To get the perfect hide and reveal effect it is advisable to use JavaScript. On the basis of scrolling, adjust the position of the background. The numbers can be any on the basis of images that you use and the size. Here in the code below, 6 and -100 are used.

$("#slider").on("scroll", function() { $(".slides").css({ "background-position": $(this).scrollLeft()/6-100+ "px 0" }); });

JavaScript: Impart Structure
JavaScript is incomplete without any structure. It is possible to make everything related to slider. Also group related elements in an area, bind the events and also write specific functions.

var slider = { el: { slider: $("#slider"), allSlides: $(".slide") }, init: function() { // manual scrolling this.el.slider.on("scroll", function(event) { slider.moveSlidePosition(event); }); }, moveSlidePosition: function(event) { // Magic Numbers this.el.allSlides.css({ "background-position": $(event.target).scrollLeft()/6-100+ "px 0" }); } }; slider.init();

JavaScript: Adding Navigation
Add some elements, event and also write functions to deal with the event. In this case the scroll must be animated for 300.

var slider = { el: { slider: $("#slider"), allSlides: $(".slide"), sliderNav: $(".slider-nav"), allNavButtons: $(".slider-nav > a") },


timing: 800,

slideWidth: 300, // could measure this
init: function() {

// You can either manually scroll...

this.el.slider.on("scroll", function(event) {

slider.moveSlidePosition(event);

});

// ... or click a thing

this.el.sliderNav.on("click", "a", function(event) {

slider.handleNavClick(event, this);

});

},
moveSlidePosition: function(event) {

// Magic Numbers

this.el.allSlides.css({

"background-position": $(event.target).scrollLeft()/6-100+ "px 0"

});

},
handleNavClick: function(event, el) {

// Don't change URL to a hash, remove if you want that

event.preventDefault();
// Get "1" from "#slide-1", for example

var position = $(el).attr("href").split("-").pop();
this.el.slider.animate({

scrollLeft: position * this.slideWidth

}, this.timing);
this.changeActiveNav(el);

},
changeActiveNav: function(el) {

// Remove active from all links

this.el.allNavButtons.removeClass("active");

// Add back to the one that was pressed

$(el).addClass("active");

}
};

slider.init();

Now that you know who to make slider with sliding background, add visual appeal to your ecommerce website and get the products on display. You can even take help from ecommerce web designers to get perfect slider that works.

How Does Social Media Affect Retail Businesses?

Social media is here to stay and that fact has already been established. The exponential growth that social media platforms have seen in recent years and the way that they affect the lives of individuals as well as the business market is something that needs no explanation.

Like everything else, retail businesses too haven’t remained untouched by the social media wave. Businesses are now actively employing social media marketing services in order to gain maximum leverage and absorb the potential benefits that social media platforms offer. This is a smart move as this can help enhance the digital marketing efforts as well as help implement productive ecommerce solutions in order to create a strong online presence.

Social media can be a highly valuable tool for retailers as it provides the businesses a ready-made platform for direct engagement with their customers. This by far, is the most tangible benefit of social media as this platform can be used by businesses to expand their network, their base as well as receive crucial feedback about their products and services.

With the advent of social media, something that is a given for all retail businesses now, the two-way communication between customers and themselves has increased by leaps and bounds. With more and more customers getting comfortable with and using social media to express themselves, businesses now have direct information with regards to what’s working and what is not. This is key to product development as well as driving sales.

By increasing direct engagement with their clients and adding interactive content to their platforms, businesses can fulfill the purpose of creating better relationships with their customers, something that can translate to brand loyalty.

Statistics have proven that a lot of customers’ buying choices are influenced by what their friends and family recommend on social media profiles. Keeping that in mind, strong positive reviews on social media by one customer can lead to positive image branding for the business.

Talking about branding, the business too can create and develop their brand profile by using the social media platform as a possible stage. Positive brand building by way of announcements as well as a structured campaign can help shape the overall image of the business in the eye of the consumer.

The transparency and the accessibility that social media provides to the customer allows them to feel more in touch with the business and creates the base for a possible dialogue if necessary. From the business point of view, having the option of direct contact with the customer and the ability to provide targeted communication, offers and promotions as well as products and sales announcement to them is a big plus.

Social media profiles provide businesses the opportunity of creating interpersonal relationship with individual customers. If managed and handled well, this opportunity can reap worthy rewards both in terms of the longevity of customer loyalty as well as converted sales. These reasons itself make the social media exercise and efforts worth their weight in gold.

Contact Techmagnate to know more about social media marketing services and Ecommerce solutions.