Google still holds the crown as the king of the online search engines.

According to data recently published by a renowned Internet data tracking firm, Google continued to lead the United States core web search rankings in the month of July.

According to the report, Internet users in the United States conducted approximately 16.6 billion total queries in July, which was a 1% increase from the previous month and Google sites led the charge with 10.3 billion searches. Google was followed by Yahoo! sites with 3.4 billion searches and Microsoft’s search engine newcomer, Bing, had a total of 2.1 billion searches.

All the hype about Yahoo and Bing is not unwarranted, however. Yahoo! sites experienced a 1.2% growth in core searches, with 20.1% of total core search share compared to 18.9% in the previous month. Microsoft sites’ share of the total core searches, on the other hand, fell to 12.6% in July from 12.7% in June, but both Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing maintained their number two and three positions, respectively.

For those of us in the industry that count on Google’s dominance, the new report is a major relief. However, he notes that Bing has made good progress since its implementation, but is still no match for Google.

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In the early days of search engine optimization, a website could get links from any website and reap the benefits. This Wild West approach to SEO led to the creation of "gateway" pages and all sorts of dirty tactics that so-called SEO experts used to underhandedly get their websites to the top of the search engines. As time went on, however, search engines caught on to these black hat tactics and refined their requirements regarding backlinks.

These requirements shaped the way major search engines rank websites through backlinks and they include the requirement that the backlinks come from websites that have some authority and are relevant to the linked website’s niche. For example, search engines don’t look favorably on a gaming website that has a backlink from a plumbing supply website. Major search engines find such links to be irrelevant when ranking a site.

While some in our industry still argue that a link is a link, raising the quality vs. quantity debate. For the purpose of targeted search engine optimization, we at dzine it always lean toward quality.

One way to build an ongoing link-building campaign is for businesses to get active in online communities. We always tell our clients to join active, well ranked forums that are relevant to their business niche. When building a profile, the business should place its link in the "signature" section and whenever it contributes to the forum, backlinks are built.

Of course, forum participation must be genuine and relevant, or else the business will actually lose authority, not just among search engines, but among readers and potential clients as well.

A business owner should never go into an industry forum and market themselves, their product, or service. Instead, a business owner would be wise to get in on the discussion about industry topics, let his or her knowledge speak for itself, and let their signature do the dirty work.

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When it comes to Search Engine Optimization, a leading New York website development and SEO expert says that there are three essential components to optimizing a business webpage for better search engine placement.

According to Peter Crisafi, Vice President of dzine it, Inc., a leading New York website development and website design firm boasting countless clients throughout the United States, there are three simple changes that a business can make to its website to improve search engine placement.

“The first way to improve search engine placement is to ensure that the website features good title tags,” explains Crisafi. “In the whole scheme of things, this would be the most complex task necessary for better search engine placement, which is why good title tags are often lacking on business websites.”

Crisafi says that although creating good title tags is one of the tougher on-page search engine optimization (SEO) jobs, it is one of the most important and should not be overlooked. Next, Crisafi says that fresh and relevant content is a must for on-page SEO. Read the full story at dzine it

The virtual ease of blogging has turned the Web into a soapbox, but in order for a blog to be a success, its needs to entice readers, not bombard them with marketing material.

The best way to develop a loyal online following is through the creation of useful content that readers will want to consume and share with others. When blogging, most business owners make the mistake of talking about themselves or what their business has to offer, which is a big mistake.

Content that is too self-promotional is not likely to spread via social media and the blog will not gain a significant targeted audience.

When crafting blog content, the key is to create content that people will want to read and spread. Rather than reading about the business itself, visitors want to learn more about the industry as a whole.

Before starting a blog, the business should determine the purpose of the blog and stick with it.

The best way to begin is by defining what readers the blog should serve and then building a strategy to reach them. It is important to remember, however, that if a blog isn't useful or worth sharing, it won't produce much value for the reader or the business that the blog represents.

Finally, business blogs must feature content is search engine-friendly.

Businesses must be smart about search engine optimization. They must identify keywords related to the blog’s subject matter and think about the best way to incorporate those terms into the title and body of the post.

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For anyone just starting out as an ecommerce entrepreneur, using proper search engine optimization (SEO) techniques will be critical to the success or failure of the business. SEO is crucial to online success because if the search engines are unable to find the ecommerce web site, visitors won’t be able to find it either. Without visitors there can be no sales.

It is crucial for online businesses, particularly ecommerce websites, to start off on the right foot when it comes to SEO.

The first order of business when starting out is to do keyword research. Ecommerce entrepreneurs must identify the best, most targeted keywords and incorporate them into their SEO campaign.

Next, the website must provide visitors with fresh, updated content on a frequent basis for optimal search engine placement.

It doesn’t stop there though. Having a blog for an online business is also a must because it is one of the best ways to furnish the search engines with fresh, relevant content about the business.

In addition, keywords should be used in all ALT tags for images on the website.

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It is vital that a business that is looking to boost its online presence work with a professional SEO company.

The SEO firm that a business chooses to work with is one of the most important decisions a business can make and that decision must be made very carefully. There are many varied Internet marketing services available and the quality of these services can vary dramatically, which is why businesses must take their time and conduct research before making a choice.

Hiring an ethical, respectable and competent SEO company is vital to achieving SEO success. When exploring a business’s options, there are certain things that an SEO company may offer that sound good, but in reality should throw up a red flag.

First, never hire a company that says that they can get your website to the top of Google’s search results within just a few days. Although high rankings play a significant role in search engine optimization, no company can follow through on such promises.

Guarantees of this kind should not be given at all and if they are, the company is likely untrustworthy. An SEO campaign can improve your rankings, but cannot assure you a top spot and a respectable SEO company will explain this up front.

Secondly, any company that says that certain black hat SEO methods can benefit a business should also be avoided. Search engines are cracking down on unethical SEO methods, and using them will result in penalties from the search engines and a damaged reputation.

These are just a couple of ways that businesses can separate a quality SEO firm from one that will ultimately be a waste of time and money.

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A blog can help a business gain exposure; develop brand interest and direct relevant traffic to the
business’s website.

For a business blog to work effectively, it has to attract readers. There are a number of proven ways in
which this can be achieved.

If a blog is updated with new content on a regular basis, the content will likely rank higher in search
engine results.

Major search engines, such as Google, strive to provide their users with the most up-to-date information
available. If a business’s blog content is fresh, the search engines will respond by directing a large amount
of traffic its way.

Another great way to drive traffic to a business blog is through the use of articles as part of an SEO
campaign.

If a business regularly creates relevant and well-written articles and distributes them appropriately online,
it will attract interest from potential new clients. If the content is valuable and relevant, that interest may
convert into sales of products or services.

Social networking websites are another great tool for driving traffic to a business blog.

Like social networking, participation in online forums is also a good way to drive traffic. If a business
regularly researches forums relevant to its industry and offers advice and opinions when appropriate, it is
possible to establish the business as an authority.

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Regardless of the size of a company or the products and services they offer, the integration of social media and search means that social media marketing should be an essential part of every business marketing plan.

Real-time social media search results pull information from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs and more to give web surfers instant access to what others are saying about any given topic.

When a business strategically feeds social networking sites with relevant key words, they have the opportunity to increase traffic through live Twitter feeds and Google’s real-time search results. This can have a profound positive effect on a business.

A recent study of corporate social media goals found that many businesses and marketers themselves are unaware of the close tie between social media and search. As a result, they rarely consider the benefits of the integration of the two.

In order for success, companies who operate social media campaigns must have clearly defined objectives. Like search engine optimization and any other business marketing effort, social media initiatives should have a strategy and an execution plan.

A business may use social media for various reasons including branding, promotion and visibility. When putting together a social media strategy, there are a number of variables that must be defined including the company’s goals, target audience, key messages, social media management decisions and social media monitoring plans.

Calling in professional help to develop and execute a social media game plan is the best course of action for businesses, both large and small. This will ensure a chance at real-time search success.

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Manhattan SEO and website marketing company, offering SEO training classes, shares its keyword research tips.

According to Peter Crisafi, Vice President of dzine it, Inc., (www.dzineit.net), a leading New York search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing firm that offers press release writing classes through its popular ExpressoSEO (www.expressoseo.com) program, keyword research is an essential component of any SEO campaign and it can make or break a company’s web marketing strategy.

“Without conducting proper keyword research before embarking on an Internet marketing campaign, a business is simple flying blind,” says Crisafi. “Businesses that don’t do their keyword homework ahead of time may as well not embark on a search engine optimization campaign at all.”

According to Crisafi, there are a number of steps necessary for effective keyword research, with the most important step being the value of a particular keyword.

“There are several ways to evaluate a keyword and understand how valuable it might be when it comes to search engine rank and the traffic that rank produces,” explains Crisafi. “For instance, keywords that return both pay-per-click ads along with organic search results are considered highly valuable. Keywords that are a match to Google AdWords campaigns are also valuable.”

Crisafi says that businesses can test keywords through a sample Google AdWords campaign by selecting the “exact match” option and measuring the traffic to their website, as well as conversion rates. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool, he explains, gives comprehensive information for competition within a particular industry, the estimated cost per click (CPC) for each keyword and historical data on the number of searches for particular keywords over the past few months.

“The next order of business is to target a business’s audience,” explains Crisafi. “When it comes to web marketing efforts that lack the element of personal contact, it is very important for a business to know its audience and convey the right message The best way to do that is to use the keywords that people are most likely to enter into the search engines when looking for products or services relevant to the business.”

Finally, Crisafi says that businesses should not be afraid to use other keyword research tools, in addition to Google, and also suggests that business owners use their own insight and knowledge to brainstorm keywords.

ExpressoSEO, a division of dzine it, Inc, New York’s leading website development and search engine optimization (SEO) firm, offers organic web marketing classes that teach professional website optimization techniques. ExpressoSEO teaches on-site optimization techniques including the proper use of meta tags, copy writing and editing skills, keyword placement, proper navigation structure, site map creation, headline and content placement, and more. ExpressoSEO also trains students in off-site optimization including proper linking, Google webmaster tools, MSN webmaster tools, how to submit site maps, press release distribution, video marketing, and more. For more information, call 212.989.0813 or visit www.expressoseo.com.

How your site is organized, designed, and built will affect its search-engine ranking, according to Andy Robson, managing director of the website marketing firm dzine it. Organize content into themed categories, what Clay calls silos. "By lining up your content by the way people search, you define to the search engine what you're about," Clay says. You can either group similar pages together into separate directories of folders and subfolders, or you can create "virtual silos" by using links that guide a user from one page to the next.

Other strategies are more technical, so you may need to rely on a Web developer for assistance. The site must be hosted on a fast server. The page code should be free of bugs and fully comply with the standards for website structure set by the World Wide Web Consortium. (You can test this at validator.w3.org.) Include in the site's code a special protocol known as Sitemap, which makes it easier for visiting search engines to scan the site. Sitemaps can be submitted directly to the search engines.

Press releases can be very beneficial for businesses that are looking to gain online exposure and direct relevant traffic to their website. Most businesses use press releases as part of their search engine optimization and Internet marketing campaigns and, when written properly, those press releases result in increased traffic and better returns.

Any business interested in using online press releases as part of their marketing campaign should work with an SEO specialist to ensure success.

A good search engine marketer knows how to identify press release topics, offer advice on writing the press release and how to get those press releases distributed appropriately. Creating a press release campaign for SEO purposes is not as easy as most people think, but they are highly effective.

One of the major mistakes that businesses make when writing online press release is going overboard on keywords.

If a press release is keyword heavy, the content will not read properly and will be worthless. It is easy to spot a press release based on keywords rather than genuine content.

Another mistake that businesses make is that they become too aggressive with their sales pitch. When creating an online press release, businesses should pay more attention to forming a release that communicates with its target audience and shares information about their company. It is important to do so without bombarding the reader with promotional information.

Finally, businesses must take the time to proofread a press release because simple spelling mistakes and basic grammatical errors will make a business seem unprofessional. Press releases can really boost a company’s online presence, but the only way to ensure avoiding some of these common mistakes is by working with an experienced SEO professional.

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There is no real secret to proper SEO regardless of what your current web developer tells you.

Sure, search engine optimization is an art and a true professional can help you boost your search engine ranking quicker than the average Joe, but for those who self publish, or even those who want to keep tabs on the web development company that is managing their site, there a few time-tested techniques that will certainly make a difference.

I offer the following advice:

Proper Search Engine Optimization is the Key to Successful Web Development

While many web development firms will try and convince you that pay-per-click advertising and banner campaigns are the way to go when it comes to increasing your online presence among popular search engines. Although these methods help, proper search engine optimization for your website, from the very early stages of your web development project, is the key to success.

A Good Website Design Should Be More than Just a Pretty Picture

As I noted above, proper professional SEO work begins during the initial phases of web development which is why it is imperative that you know the keywords and phrases that you wish to target before your site gets off the ground. In doing so, you or your website developer can develop your website around your key phrases.

Many business owners are making large investments in SEO services without first learning the basic housecleaning rules of SEO.

There are many simple techniques that can be used to get a business website ready for proper search engine optimization and help garner better natural search results at no cost and in just a short amount of time.

One of the first ways to ensure that a website is ready for the major search engines is to create an XML site map.

An XML site map is not the same as the site map that helps humans navigate a website. Instead, an XML site map is one that does the same job for search engines, helping them to better find their way around a site.

Similarly, a good optimized website should include instructions for robots, usually called a robots.txt file.

This simple text file gives search engine robots simple rules to follow on a website. Robots from the major search engines are coded to follow such files and the instructions can even tell robots not to index certain content.

Other SEO techniques include image tagging and descriptions, as well as descriptive internal links.

Before embarking on an SEO campaign, it is important to make sure that your original website is not a mess. An internal cleanup, coupled with these housecleaning tips, will yield better search results in the long run.

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Leading Manhattan website design and development expert says that businesses should regularly check their website code for errors

According to Peter Crisafi, Vice President of dzine it, Inc., a leading New York web development and website design firm with clients throughout the United States, errors in a website’s code can get in the way of good search engine placement.

“Efficient website coding is essential for good search engine optimization,” says Crisafi. “If a website cannot communicate effectively with the search engines, it cannot gain a strong online presence.”

According to Crisafi, code errors happen all the time and, although website developers and search engine optimization experts check their work for errors once a project is completed, most of the errors occur later.

“A website’s code will change whenever fresh content is added,” says Crisafi. “It is a good idea for businesses to get into the habit of running their code through a code checker, or involving a web developer on a regular basis.”

Crisafi compares regular code checks to having a car serviced regularly.

“When an automobile is not serviced regularly, small errors can develop into serious problems down the line,” explains Crisafi. “These problems can cause a car to break down and fixing it can cost a lot of money. Websites are no different.”

The effect of code errors can be subtle or drastic. If a website’s code contains errors, the search engines’ view of a website is obscured. Code errors can even affect how site users view a website when their browser is unable to display the page exactly as it was designed, he says.

“A simple code check doesn’t take very long, although correcting those errors may,” says Crisafi. “In the end, it is well worth spending a little bit of time looking under the hood of a website.”

Established in 2003, dzine it, inc. is a leader in Custom web development, programming and design solutions for small and large business, agencies. The company offers a wide range of business-centered visual communication solutions, including web-based content management, web design, graphic design, custom web software applications, ethical white hat search engine optimization (Organic SEO), Video Encoding, and print media solutions. For more information, call 718.336.2660 or visit www.dzineit.net.

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In today’s competitive market, businesses need the Internet in order to drive sales. Since Keywords are the defining element of SEO, it is imperative that the keywords a business chooses are geared toward serving both clients and search engines.

Keywords lead a business’s target audience to the product or service that it offers, which is why business websites must be properly optimized.

The best way to make use of a business’s keywords is to add a blog as part of that business’s marketing campaign. A blog allows a business to use its keywords time and again, bringing highly targeted traffic back to the business website.

A blog is one of the most efficient and simplest ways to have a website rank high with the search engines, regardless of how often the search engines change their algorithms.

Another great way to use keywords properly is to optimize a website’s images. Keyword-optimized images allow a website to be picked up by the search engines resulting in higher web traffic.

Businesses should used optimized images as part of a business blog as well.

Finally, adding video to a business website is also a great way to drive traffic. The most important part of adding online videos is to remember to have keywords embedded into the title of the video.

Adding a transcript to help search engines recognize the keywords in the media content will also direct traffic to the website.

Videos are also a great conversion tool that can personalize a business and its message, ultimately converting viewers into clients.

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The e-commerce platform a company chooses, the architecture of its website, its product marketing copy and meta data, all affect that company’s organic listings in search engines from day one.

As a business continues managing its website, it is constantly changing its search engine visibility. In order to get a grasp on the state of a business’s SEO campaign, it takes a combination of several quantitative measurements.

Quantitative factors include keyword ranking, natural search traffic and keyword exposure.

A business should measure the success of its SEO campaign by following the rank changes of the keywords it uses. If, for example, a business’s search engine listing has moved up as a result of a certain keyword, the use of that keyword or term was a success. Another way to measure success is to use an analytics tool to follow natural search traffic into the website. By comparing traffic trends to key campaign dates, a business can follow the success or failure of a particular aspect of its SEO campaign.

Another quantitative factor to consider is the total volume of unique natural search phrases driving traffic to a website, which is commonly known as keyword exposure.

The higher the volume, the better the campaign is capturing long-tail phrases and exposing the brand to a varied audience.

Measuring SEO results is more difficult than building a single graph. By taking a quantitative look at every aspect of an SEO campaign on an ongoing basis, a business can get a clear picture of its natural search health.

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New York SEO and Internet marketing firm, offering SEO training classes, says that it is important for businesses to know if their SEO campaign is on the right track.

Although Google currently dominates the Internet landscape and search engine optimization as a whole; that may soon change, according to a recent report from digital marketing firm Razorfish. The company’s report states that 45 percent of its clients' media budget was invested in search properties and, although Google currently leads the search category, spending trends show that Bing and Yahoo are set to dethrone the Internet giant.

In addition to the threat posed by Microsoft Bing and Yahoo, the Razorfish report also predicted trends for emerging media.

While social and mobile marketing are expected to continue increasing in importance, Razorfish predicts that four other emerging platforms will have an impact on marketing in 2010. These platforms include ad verification systems, local online advertising, in-game advertising, and digital out-of-home marketing.

If Razorfish’s predictions actually come true, it would shake up not only Google, but the Internet as a whole.

Although Bing has been steadily gaining influence in the search engine optimization industry, it really isn’t having an effect on Google’s market share. According to a separate report, Bing is actually stealing users from Yahoo. Currently, Google accounts for 64 percent of the American search engine market.

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When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) a business should always ensure that its website contains unique content on every page of that site.

When a website is developed, if any of its content is duplicated on another page it may be penalized by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Even if content is duplicated erroneously, major search engines will still penalize the website.

Duplicate content may not always be the fault of the business or its website developer, because not everyone plays fair on the web. Many developers like to take the easy route of stealing content without permission and using it on their website.

This is one of the most common ways that duplicate content appears on the web. Unfortunately, it negatively affects the good guys by no fault of their own.

One of the easiest ways for a business to discover whether someone has duplicated its website content is to copy a snippet of text from the business website and paste it into Google’s search field.

If the website you are checking is listed first, then there isn’t much of an issue, but if the page is outranked by another website, then that website has the most authority for your content.

For business owners that have had their website content stolen, ask the webmaster of the website in question to remove the stolen content. In some cases, however, the only way to address the situation is for business owners to change their own content in response.

Similarly, if there is duplicate content among pages of a business’s website, they should be made unique. This will avoid the site being penalized by the search engines.

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Google’s new design for its search results has been met with both criticism and praise from those in the SEO industry.

Some aspects of Google’s new layout seem to have had an adverse effect on SEO, while other aspects are being hailed as a new opportunity for businesses.

One of the negative effects of Google’s new layout and Caffeine algorithm change is the damage it has done to “long tail” phrases. “Long tail” refers to more specific searches rather than shorter generalized search phrases.

There are reports surfacing that the new Google actually hurts big sites with many long tail phrases. Sites that rely on thousands of searchers looking for complex search queries are discovering that long tail traffic is down by about 2/3.

On the positive side, those using social media as a way to promote their business like the new Google.

There is actually new opportunity in the social media realm looming in the new structure of Google search results, especially as some previously hidden aspects now show up as menu items. The addition of real time results, the more prominent position of blog results and the new discussions menu item for results from forums are all proving very useful to SEO experts.

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When a business considers hiring a search engine optimization, there are a lot of things to consider. The key to hiring the right SEO expert lies in asking the right questions and knowing the right answers.

A reputable search engine optimization firm or expert will be able to answer a few basic questions properly, without any hesitation or false promises. A company should first ask a potential SEO provider how long it will take to see results from an SEO campaign.

When an SEO campaign starts you can see results within a few days, but this is rare. Depending on the competitive nature of the target industry, the current standing of the website and the keywords themselves, good results usually surface within a few months. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being honest.

Next, website owners should have a clear understanding of exactly what it is that their SEO professional will be doing to their website. Although the question is reasonable, he explains that many SEO professionals will not reveal exactly what it is they plan to do as a way to optimize your website. What website owners should expect, he explains, is an SEO company to give general indications of what they’ll do for a client and how it will impact search engine rank.

Another important question to ask is whether or not an SEO company’s methods are considered ‘black hat’ and, therefore, shunned by Google. Many companies employ some black hat techniques, which means that while a business website may get rankings, they could eventually be penalized or even banned.

Lastly, business website owners should ask SEO companies what sort of guaranteed results can be expected.

One would think that an SEO company that guarantees results should be a first choice, but that would be wrong. Unlike almost any other industry, an SEO guarantee is something to be wary of.

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