Don't Scratch My Back. I'll Leave Yours Alone, Too.

Why Reciprocal Linking Isn't Always Chummy

By Web Works Copywriter & SEO Specialist, K. McMahon

The SE's don't necessarily support the old adage you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours (leave it to the Search Engine's to challenge everything your mother taught you). While inbound links and outbound links are often necessary for link building and ranking success, your landscaping company is not going to benefit from mutual links to and from your cousin's wine store. SEO Book defines reciprocal linking as "Nepotistic link exchanges where websites try to build false authority by trading links, using three way link trades, or other low quality link schemes." Thus, hysterical, incestuous linking will impair your ranking and ultimately confuse visitors.

As you may have learned, links aren’t to be strewn willy-nilly throughout your site. We applaud careful, premeditated linking that gently builds your credibility while sticking to the subject at hand. Landscaping companies can link to the nurseries they use. Requesting an inbound link from your township will solidify your integrity if you're looking to rank well locally. The long and short of it is to avoid link hungry binges and employ portion control. Just like research paper citations, your links need to support your subject and strengthen your point. Linking is a wonderful thing when intelligently implemented. Ann Smarty of the Search Engine Journal fearlessly dives into Reciprocal Linking & Interlinking here: http://is.gd/3FHJb. Just to drop a relevant link.

Online Reputation Management

This post is the first in a short series on online reputation management. We're writing about ORM for a couple of reasons. First off, we want to simply explain what it is, why it's important, and how it works. There is so much information out there on the topic that it becomes difficult to aggregate and understand in its entirety. Second, there are plenty of business owners and heads of organizations that view ORM as a bottomless money pit and a time suck because its ROI is difficult to document. While it's true that returns on investments made towards ORM are not easily or clearly documented, one must keep in mind that social media marketing involves more than just money made; it has an effect on your overall marketing strategy and brand position. For a more in depth look on the topic of social media ROI, see the this post from the Marketing Mystic blog and this post from the MetricsMan blog. So what is ORM? Online reputation management (aka online brand management) involves a dedicated monitoring of your organization across the web universe. An ORM campaign serves to: Stifle a sudden storm of negativity surrounding your brand, whether it’s a defective product or terrible customer service. Whatever the fiasco, the flames must be smothered as soon as possible. News travels fast. Prevent the above from occurring. Increase brand awareness and consumer loyalty. Better understand your target audience(s). Managing your online reputation is an all-encompassing examination and engagement of your brand across the Internet, from social networking sites to online shops. Stay tuned for the next installment on the Web Works ORM series, when we'll specify the ways in which brands can be managed online.

The ABC's of SEO

Making Sense of SEO Jargon

Written by Web Works Coordinator, Kristin McMahon

Stacked with acronyms, hybrid words, and technical terms, the SEO lexicon is overwhelming for newcomers. Even professionals have a hard time keeping up with the rapid growth of SEO terminology. Fortunately, for every befuddling phrase SEO & SEM introduce, there's an optimized definition perched atop the SERPS. I've found one of the more useful SEO dictionaries to be www.seo-dictionary.com. With an extensive database, clear, concise definitions, and new additions daily, seo-dictionary.com is one of the best. And, in a results driven industry, it's safe to say that the dictionary ranking 1st for "SEO Dictionary", is practicing what they preach. SEO Book also includes a thorough, well-mapped SEO glossary at www.seobook.com/glossary. SEO Book is one of the most reputable sources for SEO information available. Still, you're only granted complete access to the site after joining and paying dues. Thus, SEO Book isn't ideal for casual perusing and research. So, if you're interested in adding to your SEO vocabulary, hit the books and brush up on some good, new-fashioned terminology.

Friday Web Design Feature

Website Design by Web Works Staff Designer, Evan Miller Rodgers Landscape Services, Inc.

Hump Day Website Design Feature

Website Design by Web Works staff designer, Steve. S. Brittania Electric Inc. Interested in seeing more of our work? Check out the Website Redesign page!

Adopt Orphaned URLs (a.k.a. Dead Links)

From Senior Web Works Copywriter & SEO Specialist, Anne Feher After recently redesigning and writing a website for a mid-sized information technology firm, I Googled their business name. The new site had been up for a couple months, but the only organic results showing up were, to my horror, orphaned links. Sure, they were in the number one and two spots of results, but that means nothing when they pull up a 404 error. Luckily, I found an article with an appropriate and logical solution: Linking Mistakes To Avoid (Part 2): Removing Orphaned URLs There's not an easy way of telling Google that those links are no longer a good result for any search. Eventually, one hopes, Google will notice their irrelevance and stop indexing them. But instead of just letting the orphaned URLs turn to web-dust, Eric Ward's advice is to take those little suckers back. As all SEOers know, any indexed URL is a beautiful thing. So make use of them! In the long run, they can only do your website some good.

Friday Web Works Website Design Feature

Website Design by Web Works Staff Designer, Evan Miller Dimensional Construction

Getting the Most Out of Your Site

Why Google & Yahoo Reviews Pay Off

From Web Works Copywriter & SEO Specialist, K. McMahon

Once your site has been properly optimized by an SEO professional, there are several measures you can take to ensure your site is maximizing its web presence. Foremost, you need to create company reviews on your Google Maps and Yahoo! Local listings. Providing such reviews will increase your website's credibility in the eyes of the Search Engines as well as potential clients. An important thing to remember is you must write your reviews from computers other than your own and under different accounts. The Search Engines will immediately become suspicious of reviews coming from repeat reviewers. Thus, request reviews from happy clients, or simply make sure you use different computers and write under different accounts.

You want your reviews to be genuine. This is why it's best to have satisfied clients do the reviewing. However, strategically placing a couple relevant keywords can further the success of your ranking. For example, instead of saying, "Anne's store is my favorite! I'm so happy they're in my neighborhood!" try "Anne's Wine Shop carries the best red wine! I love that there's such a wonderful wine store in downtown Elgin!"

To get started, simply type the name of your company and your location into your preferred Search Engine. When you see your listing to the right of the map, give it a click. You will see the "write a review" option at this point. Go for it.

See what other SEO tips Web Works provides its customers by clicking here.

Web Design: What to Do, What Not to Do, & Where to Go for Help

From Web Works Senior Designer and Team Manager B. Barry

There are so many poorly designed websites out there! With so many different variations of building and designing websites, it is easy to get caught up in the process and forget about standard practices for Web Design. Web Works designers have an ingrained sense of "What to do" and "What not to do" on the Web, but if there's ever a time we're not sure how to resolve an issue, we reference articles like this:

Design Tech: 8 Web Usability and Best Practices for Beginners

Basic Tutorials for Web Designers

From Web Works Staff Designer Steve S.

Designers have the challenge of coming up with new solutions every day. Here is a great site that Web Works design staff use as a resource on those days when we are finding it hard to be creative. They have basic tutorials for a variety of programs, some free elements you can use on your website, web design tips and resources, as well as just some good design ideas.

http://www.entheosweb.com/free_resources.asp

Coming Soon from the Web Works Blog

More news from the Web Works Design Team!

Because Web Works Corp. provides a total website design, writing and SEO package, we'll soon be including posts straight from the designers, concerning web design practices and offering up some helpful links.

Why Engaging Content Will Always Reign Supreme

Search Engines Respect Your Colorful Content

by Web Works Copywriter and SEO Specialist, K. McMahon

When introduced to the concept of Search Engine Optimization, far too many people go into zombie mode and muck up the implications of keyword rich content. While keyword rich content is, indeed, vital to the success of your website, redundant, robotically stationed keywords will undoubtedly disturb search engines. Furthermore, you can't forget that websites are for the people. Although spiders crawl your site and determine your ranking based on search engine algorithms, human beings read your website. And, naturally, having a website means you have something to share with fellow humans. Thus, it is absolutely essential that your website communicates to both people and spiders.

The debate over active, compelling website copy vs. keyword excessive content is alive and well. Heather of Success Works: Powerful SEO Copywriting makes the case for engaging copy. Because you have something to share, something to discuss, something to sell, you'll never realize the potential of your purpose without a little authorial persuasion.

There's a common ground that must be gently established in the content of your site. Fortunately, the search engines honor unique, unduplicated content. It will be obvious to the search engines if your keywords have been recklessly stuffed into every page of your site. Make sure your keywords are present and robust, but not carelessly littered throughout your site. Ultimately, if you are engaged in the subject matter, well-crafted copy will naturally flow with the keywords that correspond to your topic. So, first and foremost, write with voice, write with character, be persuasive and communicate to your living, breathing audience.