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Brad Lombardo of Yesup talks with John Mulligan of SEO-PR at SES Toronto 2008.

Client: Perspective Marketing
Client Website: www.canadianuniversityguide.ca
Program Start Date: December 3, 2007

Program Description
Market Research & Target Market Identification; Keywords Research; Keywords Traffic Analysis; Competition and On Page Optimization Analysis; Web Analytics; On Page Optimization; Off Page Optimization; Monthly Reporting; Web Traffic Analysis; Suggestions on other internet advertising & online marketing options

Keywords for which site current ranks or has recently ranked on page 1 of Google.ca & Yahoo.ca

Applying for University
Applying to Universities in Canada
Best Canadian University
Canada’s top academic Universities
Canada’s top Universities 2008
Canada’s top Universities
Canada University ranking
Canada University rankings
Canadian Universities academic ranking
Canadian Universities ranking
Canadian University academic program
Canadian University degree
Canadian University guide
Canadian University ranking
Canadian University rankings 2008
Macleans Canadian university ranking
Ontario University guide
Part time Canadian University degree
Top Canadian Universities
Top Canadian Universities 2008
Top Canadian University
Top Universities
Top Universities Canada 2008
Top Universities in Canada
Top Universities in Ontario
Top Universities 2008
Top University 2008
University guide
University guide 2008
University ranking
2008 list of top Universities in Canada

Client: Perspective Marketing
Client Website: www.canadiancollegeguide.ca
Program Start Date: December 3, 2007

Program Description
Market Research & Target Market Identification; Keywords Research; Keywords Traffic Analysis; Competition and On Page Optimization Analysis; Web Analytics; On Page Optimization; Off Page Optimization; Monthly Reporting; Web Traffic Analysis; Suggestions on other internet advertising & online marketing options

Keywords for which site currently ranks or has recently ranked on Page 1 of Google.com:
Best Canadian colleges
Best College in Canada
Canada’s College physical education guide
Canada’s best Colleges 2008
Canada’s College
Canada’s top Colleges
Canadian career training
Canadian College guide
Canadian College ranking
Canadian College rankings
Canadian College ratings
Canadian Colleges ranking
Canadian top College list
Canadian University guide 2008
Guide of Canadian Colleges
Top Canadian colleges
Top Colleges in Canada

Many companies looking to optimize their site(s) have already decided to out-source their SEO services. These companies need to consider several factors when selecting an SEO company appropriate to their particular needs: the size and scope of the company, the type of SEO and Web Analytics services offered, the company’s reputation and how long it has been providing SEO, and other details pertinent to service, price and location.

One way to effectively narrow down the selection process is to request that any potential SEO providers prepare a comprehensive SEO Analysis Report for you. An Analysis Report will give you a better idea of the abilities of the company you are looking to out-source your SEO to. It will also bring you up to speed on certain aspects of SEO you might not be familiar with, and provide a brief but informative overview of the SEO work which lies ahead. SEO Firms usually charge upwards of $200 to furnish such a report, which makes sense considering that lots of time and effort has gone into producing it. There are firms which may even prepare the report at no charge, if they are confident that significant business is on the other end of it.

Some SEO providers do not start off by providing you with an Analysis Report, but initiate the process differently, actually conducting an on-site analysis of client capabilities with a Needs Assessment Report (NAR). This type of report helps an SEO provider to more accurately ascertain the knowledge-transfer, tools and/or resources your company requires for successful optimization. If you request an Analysis Report, it helps to know what you are looking for. This is by no means a definitive list, but here is some information which a good report should feature:

1. Basic Overview. This can be one-page in length., precede the body of the report and include information on the following:

- Domain (Age of Domain, Website Speed, DMOZ Listing)
- Ranking (Current PageRank, Predicted PageRank, Alexa Ranking)
- Links (Number of pages linking to website, Total listings on Google Search, Yahoo Search and MSN Search)

2. General information, including Keywords or Key Phrase, Number of Words and Number of Characters. In table format, this information tells you about the descriptive information available on your site, and whether or not it is comprehensive enough. Areas to be considered here include the following:

- Document Title
- Meta Keywords
- Meta Description
- H1, H2, H3 and H4 Headline Texts
- All Link URLs
- Outbound Link URLs
- Outbound Link Texts
- IMG Alt Attributes
- HTML Comment Tags
- HTML Comment Tags

3. Main on-the-page factors influencing your ranking

- Head Area (Title Tag, Meta Keywords)
- Body Area (Visible Text, First Heading on the Page – H1 to H6,
- Text in links including ALTS, ALT Image Attributes)

4. Main off-the-page factors influencing your ranking

- Link Popularity
- Theme
- Open Directory Project Listing (dmoz.org)
- Yahoo! Directory Lisitng
- Rank Details (Google PageRank, Alexa Traffic Rank)
- Backlinks Theme

5. Density Analysis Results. In table format, this information includes details on phrase (1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-words), quantity and density).

- Document Title
- Meta Keywords
- Meta Description

6. Sample of backlinks to website. In table format, this sample includes the following details:

- Backlink URL
- PR (PageRank of backlink giving URL)
- OBL (Outbank Links, or total external links found on backlink giving webpage)

7. Analysis Summary. This can be one-page in length, follow the Table of Contents Page, and precede the Basic Overview and Body of the Report. It should include a re-cap of the following information available in the body:

- Main on-the-page factors influencing your ranking (Website Interface, Keywords & Meta Tags)
- Main off-the-page factors influencing your ranking (Link Building & Page Ranking)

Most companies generating significant business from their website(s) have probably heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if they are not already doing it. How do you know whether or not your own company could really benefit from hiring an SEO firm? To better answer this question, let us consider what a good SEO can provide your company. Then, we will identify the type of companies which do not really need SEO and those which should consider doing SEO in-house.

Good SEO service can provide the following value-added to your company:

1. Detailed knowledge. Staying abreast of the SEO information curve takes lots of time. SEO vendors are immered optimization and are well-acquainted with evens such as fluctuations within the engines and indexing cycles. Even if you are considering to develop that expertise in-house, you can shorten your learning curve by investing in an SEO provider’s services. Also, it is difficult to find good SEO people for direct hire, since there is currently so much marketplace competition.

2. Sophisticated tools of the trade. There’s no real set of shared tools or processes used in this industry, and each SEO firm has developed its own tools and processes through trial and error. Some marketers may think, “Well, I’ll just hire away an employee from an SEO firm. The difficulty with this approach is that you aren’t hiring the proprietary tools as well.

3. Relationships with the search engines. Picture this. You’re in the middle of a domain transfer and the search engines are now ignoring your new site. Many vendors have developed relationships (note, these are not to be confused with partnerships) with the engines, where a staffer can call up an internal contact at the search engine and ask them to take a look at the site and see why it isn’t being picked up. An individual marketer is less likely to get a response

The picture isn’t entirely one-sided. One of the drawbacks in outsourcing is the time it takes to get a vendor up to speed in understanding your business objectives. And, in a sense, outsourcing means you’re giving up control over what can be a key part of your business.

There are several notable companies running successful in-house SEO operations, such as The New York Times. For many marketers, however, the benefits of outsourcing far outweigh the drawbacks. Keep in mind that this isn’t an either/or situation, though. In the past couple of years, we’ve begun seeing a burgeoning industry of SEO consultants. Going outside your company for SEO services doesn’t necessarily mean turning over the entire project to a vendor. You may decide to do some of the work internally and outsource the rest. Once you have decided you need outside SEO help, how can you determine which approach makes the best sense for you? In order to answer that question well, first you need to better understand which types of companies do not need outside SEO, which should do it in-house and which do need outside SEO.

A. Companies that should not invest in outside SEO:

1. Tiny budgets: Let’s face it – SEO costs money. It may not cost as much as other forms of search marketing (i.e. paid search advertising), but it’s still an investment. SEO work is time intensive. If you can’t buy a minimum number of hours from a practitioner, then it’s not worth investing your money in outside services that won’t get the job done. We’re reluctant to put a hard number on this because SEO needs vary by company, but as a very rough guideline if you’re anyone other than a one- or two-people company and you can’t afford to spend a baseline amount of $5,000 to $10,000 per year, you’ll likely have to do it in-house.

2. No metrics: If your site doesn’t feature any measurable way to help convert a typical customer in your field into a buyer either online or offline, you’re not a candidate for SEO services yet. You should have something in place – printable coupons, sign-up forms, toll-free phone number with an offer, newsletter offer, FRP questionnaire, ecommerce, interactive bulletin boards, white papers, etc. – that visitors can use to either learn more about your offerings or to purchase them.

Plus, you’ll need some metrics or surveying software or services to be able to determine whether the traffic you are receiving from SEO tactics is actually converting. If you don’t have the budget or the time to install and track metrics or surveys, and you don’t plan on asking the SEO firm to help you as part of its engagement, then don’t invest in SEO. You’ll never know if your money is wasted or which terms you should invest in more.

3. Lack of internal buy-in: If your IT department, or whoever runs your Web site internally, is not ready, willing and able to work with the SEO firm you hire and implement changes quickly, don’t invest in an outside company. Get your internal politics done first. You don’t want to spend money on optimized site pages if no one is prepared to load them.

The same goes for corporate politics. In larger organizations especially, the person who does the shopping (you) isn’t necessarily the same person who will approve the overall budget for search marketing. Or, if your company has to be very careful about what you print on your site, you’re going to need buy-in from the legal department. You don’t want to go out, hire an SEO firm and then not have the power to implement or continue implementing recommended strategies.

B. Companies that should do SEO in-house:

1. Small, static site in a fairly non-competitive niche: If you have a static site with a limited number of pages to optimize…and you are in a field that can be described by a fairly limited number of search terms (such as a very local niche company)…and your competitors are not currently investing in SEO and you have an in-house staffer who is longing to do SEO for you …then you may be able to do it yourself.

2. Large companies with the necessary infrastructure: Just as large companies often rely on an internal legal department, large companies that are willing to hire, train and support a team of SEO experts can handle things in-house.

Keep in mind that if you fall into this category, you’ll probably want to keep a sophisticated SEO firm or consultant on retainer to assist you with training, paid inclusion feeds, major site updates or other aspects of SEO management. And, be forewarned. The pool of qualified SEO staffers is limited. (Even vendors are undergoing a shortage of qualified employees.) There are a lot more attorneys in the world than SEO experts. You may need to hire someone who is less experienced and invest significantly in their training.

And, you can’t just hire a technician and leave that person in a cube in the corner working away to optimize your site. You’ll need to hire an SEO expert who is able to train, coordinate and influence the work done by everyone from your Web designers, IT staff, customer service department, copywriting crew, investor relations department, etc. Inshort, everyone who has a hand in touching your Web site. For example, you may have a copywriter on staff who is completely familiar with writing for the search engines. But if your site designer is unfamiliar with how to design a crawler-friendly site, all your keyword-rich prose will never be discovered by the search engines. Your in-house SEO staff will need the authority and ability to train and coordinate both teams.

C. Companies that should invest in outside SEO

If your site has some interactive or conversion elements to its design, and you have at least a rudimentary measurement system in place (or you plan to hire an SEO firm that provides this), and you strongly suspect enough of your sales prospects are searching for services like yours, we recommend that you hire an SEO firm.

If you have concluded that your company falls into this last category, then you should try to get onto the SEO horse sooner rather than later. To help answer your follow-up question – how to determine which approach makes the best sense for you – please refer to two other informative articles available in the Yesup SEO information centre.

1. How to hire the right SEO firm for your company

2. When hiring an SEO firm, consider this…

Companies that are serious about site optimization and have decided to outsource this work have to decide early on if they want to have it done by an ad agency or web design firm or by an actual SEO firm. There are some aforementioned companies which do SEO work, but it is hard for such non-specialists to keep up with the contanstly changing demands of web design and engine optimization.

The basics of achieving high engine rankings have not really changed, but the actual search engine landscape is in a constant state of flux. Dedicated SEO consultants work hard to stay abreast of the curve, whereas a non-specialist might still be deciding what to put in your meta keyword tag. Also, ad agencies and web design firms which look at SEO as a secondary revenue stream might not accord it the same importance as other company services, meaning that their best expertise may not go there.

These firms may decide to outsource their own SEO work altogether, to dedicated SEO firms and specialists, which means that a third party may have access to your own company’s confidential data. In this case, you would also have to trust that your agency or web design firm has hired the right SEO people, since you did not bring them on yourself.

Large ad agencies are now starting to win more SEO contracts, however, so it is worthwhile to briefly consider some of the advantages they might offer:

1. A holistic campaign approach

A major advantage of going with a regular ad agency is that they can view your SEO campaign in a larger context, in terms of how it fits in with other campaign work, such as wireless or other online advertising. Experienced in various creative and targeted marketing techniques, these agencies can draw on their wide range of expertise and experience when devising search marketing strategies. Agency reports can also incorporate the metrics of an SEO campaign’s success into the larger picture.

2. Providing only the basic work needed

Ad agencies might be able to better ascertain how your search marketing objectives correlate with your larger objectives, and thus determine more approrpiate SEO costs and work for your company. SEO firms may not see your bigger picture as well, and as such may overestimate your SEO needs.

3. Providing a less expensive solution (maybe)

SEO firms overestimating your optimization needs will also overestimate your optimization costs. Larger SEO firms may pressure you to spend more on their services, since small projects may not be worth it for them.

There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, then, and the size of the firms being considered will be an important factor. Ad agencies and web design companies do not have the same level of experience and expertise in site optimization and search marketing that actual SEO firms have, however, and that may be the deciding factor. If you have real important SEO work to do, you might want to go with a real SEO company!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to those tactics employed to make a website and its pages more user-friendly, to increase site traffic and to as such organically achieve higher search engine rankings. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) encompasses a wider scope of activities, and features SEO as well as other tactics to realize higher engine rankings for a site. Such measures invariably involve the purchase of paid search engine ads and PPC (pay per click advertising).

Newcomers to SEO often hear about the “science” of optimization, and sometimes feel overwhelmed by terms such as relevant keywords research, algorithms, cost per click and web analytics. The SEO industry itself is relatively new, not really a decade old, so it is constantly changing and even SEO “veterans” are still on an information learning curve.

Algorithms and analytics aside, there is really no bag of magic tricks for practicing effective SEO. Strong, long-term SEO services are not about “tricking” the search engines to rank a site highly; they are about making sure that the site has original, relevant content and is a valuable source of information for its industry community. Strong SEO is about making sure that the site is also fine-tuned in other ways, so that it is more user-friendly and attracts more visitors. Making your site more “findable” for the specific keywords and phrases which will drive customers to your site is essential to this process. Strong SEO also involves ensuring that there are strong internal link structures and that quality, respected external website pages are linking to your site.

Good SEO really begins with extensive and intelligent keywords research, organization and selection. Always remember what the search engines really do – they organize all search results based on the words or phrases people actually type into the engine. Choosing the relevant keywords for your site is the ultimate goal here, and you can complement your research into the best keywords with audience surveys, keywords software and helpful websites (WordTracker.com, Yahoo Search Marketing).

Once chosen, managing those keywords is also important. Always examine data and statistics on the type and scope of traffic your site is receiving from specific keywords, and then identify the most valuable words as well as those bringing little or no traffic. You can complement your keywords management research with SEO software tool kits (i.e. Trellian) as well as surveys and helpful sites.

Strong website content, writing and design are also very important to good SEO, and improve your site’s ability to get engine-noticed. To help your site get better indexed, you should do the following: limit the size of each web page; avoid broken links; use correct HTML; make sure the server is always up; avoid duplication pages on your site; and employ user-friendly, text link navigation menus.

Ensuring that each website page has an appropriate title tag is also important; these tags are one-sentence descriptions coded into the HTML and displayed at the top of the browser of each page.

Organizing your site in URLs (Universal Resource Locators) is another factor facilitating easier engine-indexing; these locators refer to the address system employed by the Internet to locate sites and other resources.

A strong internal linking mechanism helps to bring in those incoming links from other sources and to “bleed” the Google PageRank (“link juice”, if you will) to the other pages within the site. Thus you can better realize high search engine rankings not only for your index or home page, but also for the pages of secondary importance containing valuable information. Good internal links are also user-friendly, allowing for easier site navigation.

Employing descriptive internal links and strong text link navigation will enhance your site’s internal linking mechanisms. Adding an informative sitelink map to your text link menu, limiting incoming and outgoing links to site-relevant ones and having your pages indexed in Google and Yahoo will make your internal links even more potent!

Ensuring that there are quality external websites linking to your own is also very user- and engine-friendly. Both free and paid external links pointing to your site will help to attract viewers and engines, allow for easier site indexing (particularly if the link text actually contains one of your keywords) and leads to higher engine rankings.

Another viable SEO practice is linkbaiting, generally defined as the creation of great, original and relevant website content to essentially attract or “bait” links for search engine rankings.

Regular postings on your company website blog can also positively impact on your SEO campaign in several different ways:

* Creating original, relevant and keyword-rich content, thereby increasing the breadth and depth of your site information base
* Attracting search engine spiders to your site, thereby increasing your page rank standings
* Attracting users to your site, particularly those associated with your industry, thereby increasing site traffic
* Driving your company to better find its market niche in your industry

Regardless of whether you define SEO as an art or a science or both, it is important to remember that there is no quick fix, no simple solution. SEO requires lots of hard, honest work to ensure that your website is attracting both visitors and search engine spiders not only in the short-term, but also over the long haul. Those who practice short-sighted SEO, designed to trick the search engines and achieve higher rankings in the short-term, may be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat once in awhile. Long-term SEO strategies will pay dividends over time, however, whereas eventually short-term SEO providers will come up empty when they reach into their bag of tricks.

Just like the visible text copy on your site and the incoming links, having title tags on each site page is essential to realizing better engine rankings. This is because title tag words are precisely what you see on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs), so changing them will probably lead to more hits.

It’s really important to make sure the company name is included in the tag, even placed at the start of it, particularly if your company is relatively unknown. Descriptive phrases should also be added, which will help augment brand recognition and engine rankings (for those who have never heard of you but are interested in your products/services).

Companies looking to drive local search to their sites would do well to include the names of the cities and provinces and/or states where they are located. SEO experts suggest using about 10 to 12 words in your title tags, which means you can experiment with a couple of different ways of doing it. This is not a bad thing because, as mentioned, new combinations are likely to noticed by engines. Using hyphens to separate distinct phrases is a neat trick, as it can make these phrases more easily identifiable to spiders.

There is no perfect title tag, so be encouraged to experiment and try different word and/or phrase combinations. Test different ones and discover which ones are more engine-noticeable and which ones engender higher conversions. Some tags might not rank as well, but might convert better.

It is probably a good idea to hold off on devising your tags until after the page has been written and optimized, since knowing how the keyword phrases have been positioned in the text may influence them. Select the most relevant keywords that the text was rooted in, and create your tag!

Try not to copy verbatim exact sentences from the text copy onto your title tag, since original and insightful sentences and wording are more engine-noticeable. There are Content Management Systems (CMS) and blog software (WordPress) which cull title tags directly from site information, so be wary of that. WordPress may employ, for example, the exact same information for the headline, the page navigation link and the page URL, which dilutes your engine rankings. Content Management Systems and blog software have recently enabled users to customize their title tags – and that is a good thing!

We have previously talked about the importance of regular and relevant blogging to your company’s website SEO campaign. We mentioned how effective blogs can enable you to develop the breadth and depth of your site content and become a valuable industry information source. We also talked about how good blogs can bring in more inbound links, achieve higher engine rankings, and attract more eyes to your site. Strong, industry-relevant blogs can do all this for and more.

Blogs, of course, do not always have to be about business. Establishing and cultivating personal relationships with fellow industry folk should also be a blog priority. I do emphasize personal relationships, since it is common knowledge that business (and sales) can flow more easily if you are also acquainted with that business associate on a more personal level. Sometimes effective blogging does not have to involve business or industry talk; it could simply be informal chit-chat that allows you to connect with industry people on a personal level.

It might be helpful to once in awhile view blogging in the same light as an industry chat-room, where you can get together with a couple of associates who happen to work in the same industry as you. Then your associates and you can better connect on a personal level, sharing information about individual interests, including hobbies, favourite sports or t.v. shows, or even the weather.

The type of relationships which emanate from this “personal blogging” can be compared to dynamics created when you invite a business associate out to lunch or for a game of golf in the afternoon, and then you end up talking about everything but work! Talking shop should certainly remain the main focus on your company blog, of course, since the industry information shared there is valuable and users and spiders will always be attracted to that. Not talking shop can also be a valuable business-development tool, however, since the conversation will then turn to other areas. As your business associate and you discover more about each other on a personal level, it helps to solidify the personal relationship, thereby enhancing the prospects of a business connection.

Small talk can be a very valuable business development tool, whether you are on the golf course or blogging. There are times for promoting your company and yourself to that business associate you are looking to develop a professional relationship with, but there are also times when idle chit-chat is called for. Either way, personal blogging can be good for business!

Simply put, buying text links means that you are purchasing ads on an external website that links back to your own site. Buying the right text links could turn out to be an astute marketing move, since it could increase targeted site traffic, link popularity and, consequently, engine and page rankings. Advertising your site is smart, but promoting it on reputable, popular sites catering to your target market is even smarter. Search engines do not penalize your site for buying text link ads on ineffective sites, so you do not have to really worry about that; in that case, all you have to fret about is money badly spent.

For several years companies have searched for cost-effective ways to improve their site’s popularity, because having your ad on a “happening” site can really improve your link popularity and thus engine rankings. Many companies actually buy ads on sites not for the targeted audience they will attract, but to try to inflate site popularity.

Search engines know all about the practice of artificially “pumping” up a site’s popularity through linking, but that is not what they really envision when they think about links. Engines consider good links to be those leading to useful sites, which can contribute to the overall knowledge of a particular information community. For some time a link that really amounts to a trade between two sites has been frowned upon by engines, but until recently engines could not really tell the difference between those links that honestly referred a site and those that simply advertised it. To add to the dilemma, the engines could not tell people on which sites to advertise, and still can’t, since they also provide such services.

Web technology now allows search engines to better ascertain the actual intent of links, however, since text link ads and link-selling sites often leave decipherable “footprints” behind in the code. Engines can now more easily identify these ads and sites and can more accurately classify them as ads and not as honest site votes or referrals. These ads and sites are not being penalized; rather, they are simply not being allowed to count towards link popularity. A particular site’s engine rankings could really plummet if it depended somewhat on the link popularity of paid links. Google can now find and identify subsets of pages with similar paid link “footprints” and thus prohibit them from counting in the rankings, like they used to.

This discussion brings us back to the original question: should you be purchasing text links for your site? Given that search engines are moving quickly towards easier identification of paid text links, the short answer is: buyer beware! If you are obtaining paid links to truly increase site traffic or to give a short-term boost to your SEO campaign, then go ahead and good luck!

If you are purchasing them to improve link popularity, however, you should be warned that in the long-term paid links will not pay off. The wave of the future is that the engines will better ensure that paid links do not count towards link popularity, and those sites who now depend on this relationship will ultimately suffer. Other people who should watch out as well: link brokers whose bread and butter depends on selling text link ads!