Real content reigns supreme KING at the end of every day.

Google’s Search Cleanup Has Big Effect

By AMIR EFRATI

Google Inc.’s move last week to lower the search rankings of websites that the company said offer little useful information appears to be having a dramatic impact, according to firms that study search-engine data.

Many websites that previously ranked highly in searches for certain keywords on Google dropped sharply following the change in the company’s search algorithms, the firms found. Some of the sites that were hurt defended the quality of their content, arguing that they had been unfairly lumped with bad actors on the Internet.

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Top 18 Featured WordPress Sites

View Westward Strategy’s WordPress Client Showcase

1. Elect Ken Stover
www.Electstover.com

2. Contract Medical Billing
www.ContractMedicalBilling.com

3. Nevada Foodies
www.NevadaFoodies.com

4. Bartlett Architecture
www.ArchitectReno.com

5. Gary Cardinal Law Office
www.CardinalLawReno.com

6. 7Q10 (formerly Huffman & Carpenter)
www.7Q10.com

7. Bidart & Ross, Inc.
www.Bidart-Ross.com

8. Paramount Bedding
www.pbmattress.com

9. Recycled Furniture
www.recycledfurniturereno.com

10. Susan Hill PR
www.SusanHillPR.com

11. The Gold ‘N Silver Inn
www.GoldnSilverReno.com

12. Koonce Consulting
www.KoonceConsulting.com

13. Lyman PR
www.LymanPR.com

14. Reno Big Band
www.RenoBigBand.org

15. WETLAB – Western Environmental Testing Laboratory
www.Wetlaboratory.com

16. Westward Strategy & Design Group
www.WestwardStrategy.com

17. Kristy Crabtree
www.KristyCrabtree.com

18. Sports Attack (former client)
www.sportsAttack.com

19. Johnson-Perkins & Associates
(Coming Soon)

 20. American Housekeeping of Northern Nevada
(Coming Soon)

Westward Strategy, a Reno web design company, has the capability of customizing a web solution for you and your business … most importantly without loss of quality and with your budget in mind. Call Kristy for a solution that fits your needs (775) 626-8330.

The following 12 step optimization checklist will bring you one step closer to maximizing your revenues with smart web design.

1.) Choose a domain name, that is a URL, that is descriptive of what your website will represent:

• Your business name (ex. WestwardStrategy.com)
• Your first and last name (ex. KristyCrabtree.com) or
• Keyword specific phrase (ex. WestwardDesignGroup.com)

2.) Decide what keywords and/or phrase targets the visitors you are looking for, and that best describes what your business offers.

3.) Sub directory names using keywords or phrases should use hyphens in the url: http://url.com/descriptive-keyword/

4.) Title tags are the words that appear on site visitor’s browser tabs as they navigate through your site. Clearly define your title tags for each individual web page making sure that it is accurate and descriptive of the page’s content. Keep it 70 characters or less.

• (Example 1) Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name
• (Example 2) Brand Name | Primary Keyword and Secondary Keyword

5.) The meta description is the primary source of information search engines review, and this is also the information that appears along with your site name in the search engine results. Clearly define your meta descriptions for each individual web page making sure that it too is accurate and descriptive of the page’s content. Keep it 155 characters or less

EXAMPLE: Keyword/Phrase Search Results

6.) Develop keyword rich content on all pages including the keyword and/or phrase within the content

7.) Use descriptive words for your navigation when it makes sense

8.) Name all images on website with descriptive image names:

• (Example) chocolate-lab-running.jpg vs. img0893.jpg

9.) The title tags are the words that visitor’s click to reach the hyperlinks behind them. Add descriptive title tags to anchor links

• (Example) title=â€? Descriptive Title Tagâ€? vs. title=â€?Click Hereâ€?

10.) Setup Google Analytics and see who’s visiting your website and who’s giving you referral’s: http://www.google.com/analytics

11.) Create a sitemap and submit to Google Webmaster Tools and other search engines. The free tools give you a look under the hood at your website performance: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools

12.) Add new website to local free business listings and other free directory sites

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Contributed by Kristy Crabtree
Westward Strategy & Design Group

Use good anchor text that relates to the page you are linking to and if possible use text that is found within your title tag, description or page headlines. Of course this may mean rewriting some of these elements to be more optimized to your targeted key phrase.

See you next week for another Tidbit!

With this one simple line added to your robots.txt file you can avoid having your content management system (CMS) administration or login page indexed by the search engines.
Disallow: /admin/
Note: change “admin” to whatever directory or page has your CMS login on it. For example in WordPress this would be:
Disallow: /wp-login.php
For good measure you could also add this meta tag to the head of your login page or the index page in your login directory.
meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"

See you next week for another tidbit!

Daily Sparks Tribune
Business – May 21, 2009

By Jessica Garcia
Most Web users tend to ignore flashing display ads or the text ads on Google surrounding their desired search results.

But to Chris Gandolfo of Sparks-based Westward Strategy and Design Group, those blurbs hold a key to determining how well a company’s Web marketing strategy works.

He makes his living evaluating the effectiveness of text-based or visual ads for his clients through a process called “analytics,� in which he counts the number of clicks or tests keywords.

While most Web marketing businesses do at least that much to find out how strong a business’ presence is on the Internet, Gandolfo has taken his four years of experience and put it to the test � literally. Gandolfo recently passed an exam and became, to Westward owner and marketing specialist Kristy Crabtree’s knowledge, the only local person to be certified as a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.

“The reason I did it is, one, I wanted the experience of working with my clientele; and, two, I wanted to continue to invest in my craft and develop my skill set,� said Gandolfo, 28.

According to Google, the certification requires four basic criteria.

• The user must sign up for the program and remain in good standing.
• They must manage at least one account in AdWords, a program through which webmasters can create their own display ads and select keywords for search engines.
• They have to build and maintain an account where they manage the campaigns of their clients, who must spend at least $1,000.
• Finally, they must pass the exam.

The exam is about 110 questions long and is taken online.

“It took every bit of my four years of experience to pass,â€Â? Gandolfo said. “It was not easy. … It covers aspect of platform analytics, campaign management, budget, how to write ads.â€Â?

For the company, it’s as if Gandolfo attained a Bachelor of Science degree but with experience instead of academics.

For the client who wants to market on the Web, the value of the certification can be equated to being a money manager, Crabtree said.

“It’s like you’re the professional who tells me where I should put the money and how to track it to get the best retail dollar,� she said. “It shows you invested time to make your business better.�

Being a qualified Google ad professional will equip Gandolfo to show his clients how they can improve their search engine optimization by targeting their traffic and rankings.

For example, with one client called PDUs Direct, which sells power distribution units, the Web site offers image-based advertisements, which works well because it’s a new business, Gandolfo said.

“With a brand new business, you want many eyes on it, as many as you can,� he said. “Right now, they’re averaging 12,000 to 15,000 impressions a day.�

An impression, he said, is one appearance of a rotating ad on a Web site. Many impressions is highly desirable when browsing a search engine like Google or Yahoo, which Crabtree said are the only two companies so far pushing for professional certification in Web marketing to help businesses attain the top-paid placements for ads. On Google, for example, those placements are the top few lines in a shaded box or are listed on the right-hand side of the page.

In an age in which many people go online to make purchases from home and in which 84 percent visit search engines for comparison shopping before making a purchase, companies would miss on advertising opportunities by not having their postings placed as close to the top as possible, Gandolfo said.

“(The postings) are based on the quality of the ad and quality of the landing page (the site to which the ad takes a user) and what you bid,� Gandolfo said.

Business has been slow for Westward as its clients reign in expenses, but Crabtree and her staff don’t have much time to notice.

“You have to do whatever you can to remain on the forefront,� Crabtree said. “You want to be the lead horse.�

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For more information about Westward Strategy & Design Group’s Search Engine Optimization services, sign up for a complimentary SEO Consultation. Westward Strategy & Design Group is a Reno Web Design and Marketing Agency specializing in Web Design , Web Development, Search Engine Optimization and Email Marketing.

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Photo by Debra Reid – Chris Gandolfo, marketing & design specialist for Westward Strategy & Design Group, helps companies increase their website traffic.

Cornerstone Blogs

For many businesses blogging has become the cornerstone of their web marketing efforts, a way to disseminate information and reach their target demographic/potential client base in a new way. It allows for dialogue with their clients, albeit still in a top down fashion. The business pushes content down and the masses respond. They could respond in many ways including comments, linkbacks or tweets and retweets. Many businesses use it as a test bed for customer service and/or marketing messages, but there is one overriding characteristic of these blogs. They all add value to the company’s brand image by being useful and providing quality information to their users.

At Westward Strategy we strive to add value every single time we post something. Sure, sometimes we post our own business successes, but more often than not we post the successes of our clients over our own successes. We do research and find supporting and/or opposing arguments to the topic we are writing on. We even publish articles that could be useful to anyone looking for search optimization or web design resources. And we do all of it with the readers/users of our site at the forefront of our minds. If you’re shopping around for a web design firm we hope you can use and/or educate yourself a little bit more with our “10 Questions You Should Ask a Prospective Web Design Company“. It does not matter if you choose to contact us about your project or not.

Now I know what you are saying…

“Chris, if a company uses a blog to publish quality content and that in turn garners more market share and value for the company, isn’t that self-serving?”

The answer – sure, in a way. The difference is cornerstone blogs focus on the customer first and the business second.

Self-serving Blogs

The other type of blog is the self-serving blog. The blog that gets added to an existing website and updated maybe once a month with posts that read something like this:

Reno Car Wash has the best reno car washes in Reno. We use only the best car wash soap and reno car wash equipment at Reno Car Wash. You should stop by Reno Car Wash and see our brand new car wash equipment and get a car wash from Reno Car Wash while you’re there!

Or even worse, they look like this with a bazillion links in them:

Reno Car Wash has the best reno car washes in Reno. We use only the best car wash soap and reno car wash equipment at Reno Car Wash. You should stop by Reno Car Wash and see our brand new car wash equipment and get a car wash from Reno Car Wash while you’re there!

Ok, that may be a little exaggerated, but trust me it’s not by much. It should be painfully obvious, like a frying pan to the skull cap, what the difference is between a cornerstone blog and self-serving blog. Sure the self-serving blog will manage to get information to the user that may be of some use, but really is that the way you talk to your customers? Is that the way you should talk to your customers? The answer to both is NO.

Self-serving blogs are like cheap furniture. They may have a nice wood veneer, but one scratch will reveal the shoddy construction and cheap materials underneath that thin cover. At that point it doesn’t matter what you put into the blog, you or your company will be seen in a not-so-friendly light.

So, the question is, why do you blog? Are you adding value for your clients, customers and website users? Are you helping educate them? Are you freely giving information and knowledge? Or are you posting for your own perceived benefit? Are you blogging to dominate the search results? (See SEO Myth: Blogging Means Top Rankings) Are you adding value or just creating white noise?

Why do you blog?

1 ) How long have you been in business?

Think about what type of company you are comfortable working with before you meet with them. If they give an answer outside of your comfort level tell them immediately. Some businesses don’t mind working with startups or individuals with lesser experience if the price is right. Everyone has to start somewhere, but if this is a risk you are not willing to take just tell the SEO company upfront. This is critical when you look at SEO because if the SEO company or consultant you hire makes a mistake it could cost you a lot in the long run in terms of sales, exposure on the web, and traffic.

2 ) Can I see examples of your work?

Most SEO companies will have some form of case study to explain what they did on a particular project and what the end result was.

3 ) Do you have testimonials from other clients?

Good companies will happily provide a list of satisfied clients, both past and present. We even make them publicly available on our website.

4 ) What is the experience level of your team?

While almost every company has a few noobs (pronounced newbies) there should be some senior members on the team. Again, this is a comfort level thing on your part. Don’t get caught up in sales pitches and listen to your instincts here. As explained above there are some risks with working with an unexperienced SEO consultant, but there could be great rewards as well. Someone who is hungry to prove their talents and earn that experience may be a better fit for your company, but they also may require more oversight on your part.

5 ) What techniques do you use to help my website perform better?

Notice I didn’t say, “what is your technique to achieve better rankings?” Rankings are just a means to an end. Yes, they can be a critical evaluation tool, but at the end of the day you want to know if those rankings are bringing in dollars to the bottom line. It doesn’t matter if your website ranks #1 for “buy blue widgets  in Monkeys Eyebrow, Kentucky” (yes, Monkeys Eyebrow is a real place). If that term does not bring you one new customer, then the SEO company hasn’t done their job. Don’t expect full disclosure of all aspects of all their techniques, but they should be able to explain in plain english what they plan to do.

6 ) What is your process for search engine optimization?

A well outlined plan or SEO process ensures you and your vendor know each other’s respective roles in the SEO process. It also will help you gauge their level of experience. Beware of companies that don’t have a plan! Don’t expect full disclosure of all aspects of their process, but they should be able to explain in plain english what they plan to do.

7 ) Will you make changes to my website?

If you get any answer other than yes, you can end the interview right there. I would question their practices if they plan to never make any changes to your site.

8 ) When will I see results?

Reputable SEO companies that are playing by the rules will be able to give you an answer to this question without a problem. SEO companies that are using questionable techniques may not be able to answer this question.

9 ) What other services can you provide?

Companies that only focus on SEO are becoming few and far between. Modern SEO requires a good understanding of user behavior performance, web design, and general marketing principles. Many SEO companies also offer PPC advertising management services for search engine marketing.

10) Who owns the work in the end?

There is only one acceptable answer here. No matter what, the client owns the website including all graphics and content. The only exception is if your website uses a content management system. Often the CMS is outlined in your contract with the vendor as belonging to the vendor as their intellectual property. If they say you will lose rankings immediately when you stop paying them, then I hate to say you’ve been duped into paying for placement by nothing more than a swindler. Remove their access to your site and go look for a reputable SEO company.

You can advertise in many ways, from web based to print to word of mouth, but how do you actually get customers and build a clientele? How are your marketing strategies working for you? Do you constantly have to followup to get clients?

Here are just some ways that Westward Strategy Builds Client Trust

1: Testimonials
Westward Strategy encourages all prospective clients to call our current and past clients for a testimonial of our work. You can ask questions that we may be impartial to answer. We also feature testimonials on our website and our brochures.

2: Knowledge
We continue to stay educated in all of our online marketing services. We also continue to only work with professional contractors who are proven in their field of expertise.

3: Examples of Our Web Design and Internet Marketing Work
We show all prospects our portfolio and are happy to show examples of our work or situations that we have been in to be sure to put the prospects mind at ease of what we have experienced.

4: Passion
We believe that passion plays a key part in client trust. We love what we do and believe that a client will feel more comfortable working with a business who has fun.

5: Telling the Truth
We always tell a prospective client the truth – maybe to often. If we can’t do the job, we don’t take it. We believe that it’s better to be able to deliver the BEST JOB rather than a subpar job.

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Contact Westward Strategy & Design Group, LLC.
If you are interested in the services we offer, please contact us at (775) 626-8330.