Intentions – good or otherwise?

Despite all the chatter about AI and big data a lot of the basis for success in online marketing comes down to sussing out your prospects’ intentions. This is a very human process.

People can be characterized into a number of personality types. There are a number of well-defined systems for analyzing these types. One is the DISC system.

This system is useful both for its simplicity and accuracy even when you have little observational data to work with.

Your online presence can satisfy the needs of all of the different personality types with the proper strategic planning. Carefully oversimplifying would mean: Be succinct and clear about benefits everywhere for D types. Be upbeat for I types. Cultivate your business on social media for S types. Provide information about your business with microscopic granularity buried on your website.

How do you gauge your prospects’ response to these items?

Website analytics: Look at the webpages your visitors visit, how long they stay on, and their activities. Patterns and trends can indicate your visitor’s goal. For example, pages with high bounce or exit rates may indicate a mismatch between content and visitor expectations.
Surveys and market research: Ask questions about customer preferences, needs, and motivations.
Customer interactions: Analyze customer service logs, call center recordings, and online chat sessions.
Visitor identification data: See who’s visiting your website and what they’re doing there.
Buying signals: For example, when prospects sign up for a free trial or complementary offerings, it’s a clear sign of their interest in the product.
Clicks a link in your email: Analytics of their behavior on where your link directed them to can show their buying intent. For example, if they click on a link like the content of your email but may want some time to do some research on their own before speaking with a sales rep, you can follow up with them relatively quickly while their attention is focused on you.

This is an overview of the process that we follow at sem[c].

December 5, 2023December 6, 2023

The Importance of Technical SEO for Business Growth

Technical SEO Overview

In today’s digital landscape, a business’s online presence is crucial for success. A well-optimized website can attract potential customers, increase brand awareness, and generate leads. However, without proper technical SEO, a website may struggle to achieve its full potential. Most frequently when we begin an SEO project at sem[c] we find that we are working with a slowly loading website. This is true regardless of what platform the site is built upon. Technical SEO focuses on whatever the underlying infrastructure of a website might be, ensuring that it is easy for search engines to crawl and index. One of the most critical aspects of technical SEO is site loading speed. A slow-loading website can lead to a higher bounce rate, reduced user engagement, and ultimately, lost revenue.

Five Benefits of Improved Technical SEO and Site Loading Speed

Improved Search Engine Rankings: Search engines prioritize websites that load quickly and provide a positive user experience. By optimizing site loading speed, businesses can improve their website’s rankings in search results, leading to increased organic traffic.
Enhanced User Experience: A fast-loading website provides a seamless user experience, keeping visitors engaged and reducing bounce rates. When users can access information quickly and easily, they are more likely to return to the website and make a purchase.
Increased Conversion Rates: A study by Google found that the probability of bounce increases 32% as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. In addition, a one-second delay in page load time can lead to a 7% decrease in conversions. By improving site loading speed, businesses can increase the likelihood of visitors converting into customers.
Reduced Bounce Rates: A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page. Slow loading times are a major contributor to high bounce rates. By optimizing site loading speed, businesses can reduce bounce rates and keep visitors engaged for longer.
Improved Mobile Friendliness: With the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, it is essential for websites to be mobile-friendly. Site loading speed is particularly important for mobile users, who may have slower internet connections. By optimizing site loading speed for mobile devices, businesses can ensure that their website provides a positive user experience for all visitors.

Optimizing Site Loading Speed for Technical SEO Success

There are several techniques that businesses can use to optimize site loading speed:

Image Optimization: Optimize images by reducing their file sizes without compromising quality. Use appropriate image formats and dimensions for the intended use.
Minify Code: Minify code to remove unnecessary whitespace, comments, and characters. This can significantly reduce page load times.
Leverage Browser Caching: Enable browser caching to store static content, such as images and CSS files, on the user’s device. This can reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded each time the page is visited.
Utilize a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN distributes website content across multiple servers worldwide, reducing latency and improving page load times for users across different geographic locations.
Choose a Reliable Hosting Provider: Select a reliable hosting provider that can handle the traffic demands of your website and provide adequate bandwidth and server resources.

Conclusion on the Importance of Technical SEO for Your Website

Technical SEO is essential for businesses that want to maximize their online presence and achieve their business goals. By optimizing site loading speed and addressing other technical SEO issues, businesses can improve their search engine rankings, enhance user experience, increase conversion rates, reduce bounce rates, and ensure that their website is mobile-friendly. In today’s competitive digital landscape, investing in technical SEO is a wise investment in the future of your business. Your best choice in improving your site’s technical SEO is sem[c] so contact us today.

September 13, 2023September 13, 2023

Google’s SGE – What is it and how will it affect SEO?

The Google search returns page has a new addition at the top as illustrated in the screenshot of its search return for “best delis in Manhattan” on this page. It is referred to as SGE for “Search Generative Experience.” In some cases it appears automatically, sometimes there is a prompt asking you if you would like to see it. This one of the most radical additions to the Google search returns page and is just rolling out. It won’t be fully deployed until 2024.

It significantly changes the was search results are displayed and, consequently, will have an effect on SEO.

Google’s use of its Search Generative Experience (SGE) will affect SEO in a number of ways.

It will place more emphasis on user experience and engagement. SGE will be designed to provide users with the most relevant and helpful information, even if it is not from a traditional search result. This means that websites that focus on providing high-quality, engaging content will be more likely to be featured in SGE snippets.
It will require a more holistic approach to SEO. Traditional SEO techniques, such as keyword research and link building, will still be important, but they will not be enough to guarantee success. SEO professionals will need to focus on creating content that is both informative and engaging, and that provides a good user experience.
It will make it more difficult to rank for competitive keywords. SGE snippets will often be the first thing that users see when they search for a particular keyword. This means that it will be more difficult to rank for those keywords, as users are less likely to click through to the actual website.
It will create new opportunities for businesses. SGE can be used to promote businesses in a number of ways. For example, businesses can create content that is targeted to specific SGE snippets, or they can use SGE to generate leads and sales.

Overall, Google’s use of SGE will have a significant impact on SEO. Businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve will need to adapt their SEO strategies to focus on user experience, engagement, and creating high-quality content.

Here are some specific things that businesses can do to optimize their websites for SGE:
- Create content that is informative, engaging, and well-written.
- Use keywords throughout your content, but don’t overdo it.
- Promote your content on social media and other channels.
- Build links to your content from other high-quality websites.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
- Track your results and make adjustments as needed.

It is still early days for SGE, and Google is constantly evolving the technology. However, by following these tips, businesses can position themselves to take advantage of this new search feature.

Search Engine Marketing Chicago is working with SGE every day and developing procedures to be ready for Google’s full deployment of the technology. Contact us with any questions about the future of SEO.

June 9, 2023September 6, 2023

What’s the difference between SEO and SEM?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a service that helps businesses improve their online visibility and ranking on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a paid method of driving traffic, such as buying ads against target keyword searches.

SEM is a great way to get quick results and drive traffic to your website. However, it can be expensive and requires ongoing investment. SEO is a more long-term strategy that focuses on optimizing your website to rank higher in organic search results.

SEM can be used in conjunction with SEO to maximize your online visibility. By using both methods together, you can drive more traffic to your website and increase your chances of converting visitors into customers.

When it comes to choosing between SEO and SEM, it’s important to consider your business goals and budget. If you’re looking for quick results and have the budget for it, SEM may be the way to go. However, if you’re looking for a more long-term strategy that will help you build your online presence over time, SEO is the better choice.

At sem[c] we offer a range of digital marketing services including SEO and SEM. Our SEO services include keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and content creation. Our SEM services include paid search advertising, display advertising, and social media advertising.

February 6, 2023February 6, 2023

Latent semantic indexing and your business’ SEO

Latent semantic indexing, also known as LSI, is a technique that helps search engines understand the context and meaning of the content on your business’ website. If you’re looking to improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site, incorporating LSI keywords into your content is an SEO crucial step.

First, let’s define what LSI keywords are. These are words or phrases that are semantically related to your primary keyword. For example, if your primary keyword is “dog food,” LSI keywords might include “pet nutrition,” “canine diet,” and “best dog food brands.” By including LSI keywords in your content, you’re giving search engines additional context and information about your business.

Your business’ brand is your company name and what it is. You can think of LSI keywords as your company’s “non-brand” which is to say what your company offers its clients in the words that they think of when thinking about what your business does.

Now, why is this important for SEO? Search engines use LSI keywords to determine the meaning and relevance of your content. If you have a page about “dog food” but only mention that keyword a few times, search engines might have a hard time understanding the topic of your page and ranking it for relevant searches. However, if you include LSI keywords that are related to “dog food,” search engines will have a better understanding of the content and be able to match it with relevant searches.

So, how can you incorporate LSI keywords into your content? There are several ways to do this:

Use synonyms: Instead of repeating your primary keyword over and over, try using synonyms that are related to the topic.
Use related phrases: Write about topics that are related to your primary keyword. For example, if your primary keyword is “dog food,” you could write about “dog nutrition,” “best dog food,” and “dog food brands.”
Use related questions: Answer questions that are related to your primary keyword. For example, if your primary keyword is “dog food,” you could answer questions like “What is the best dog food?” and “What are the ingredients in dog food?”

By incorporating LSI keywords into your content, you’re helping search engines understand the context and meaning of your content. This, in turn, can improve your organic search engine rankings and drive more relevant traffic to your site.

Another of the many benefit of working with sem[c] is because we do this really well, you don’t have to. Contact us for more info.

January 19, 2023January 19, 2023

Why all business owners should be using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to promote their business

If you’re a business owner, using SEO can greatly benefit your online presence.

Firstly, SEO can increase your website traffic by making it more visible on search engine results pages. This can lead to more customers finding your website and potentially making a purchase.

Additionally, SEO is a cost-effective way to drive qualified traffic to your website. Instead of paying for each user that clicks on your website (PPC), you only pay for the efforts to improve your website’s ranking in search results.

SEO also helps establish your business as a credible and trustworthy source. When your website appears high in search results, users will likely trust your business more and consider making a purchase.

SEO also provides long-term results, by improving the user experience and making your website more user-friendly, which can lead to higher search rankings and more organic traffic over time.

Lastly, if you are a local business, SEO can help promote your products and services to local customers at the exact time they are looking for them. This can be especially useful for small businesses that want to attract customers in their local area. By optimizing your website for local search, you can improve your chances of being found by customers who are searching for businesses like yours in their local area.

Overall, SEO can greatly benefit your business by increasing visibility, driving qualified traffic, establishing credibility, and providing long-term results.

sem[c] has extensively experience in optimization for B2C and B2B businesses. Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

December 30, 2022December 31, 2022

SEO – Five benefits to the website’s owner

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. SEO is important because it helps to improve the user experience by making it easier for people to find the information they are looking for on the internet.

Here are five benefits to any website offered by effective SEO:

Increased traffic: By ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), you can increase the number of visitors to your website.
Cost-effective: SEO is a cost-effective way to drive traffic to your website compared to other forms of online advertising. Comprehensive SEO as we deliver to all sem[c] clients also reduced the cost of PPC campaigns like those in Google Ads.
Increased credibility: Ranking high in search results helps to build credibility and trust with your audience.
Better user experience: SEO helps to improve the user experience by making it easier for users to find the information they are looking for on your website.
Long-term results: The effects of SEO are long-lasting, as opposed to paid advertising, which stops as soon as you stop paying for it.

Overall, SEO is an important part of any online marketing strategy as it helps to improve the visibility and credibility of your website, which can lead to increased traffic and sales.

June 21, 2018December 6, 2018

Great SEO vs. Really Bad Design

Bad design trumps everything, even great SEO

Huge problems arose the first day of sem[c]’s engagement. The previous SEO provider had also served as the web developer (Developer #1). He had been tasked to move the WordPress site into Visual Composer but instead used a little-known page builder from the UK without notifying the client. He also hadn’t mentioned that the page builder was reliant on the developer’s paid subscription. The result wasn’t pretty. The site instantly slowed to a crawl but sem[c] was able to replace most of the proprietary and paid plugins with free alternatives and restored performance by putting in many hours within one day of switchover.

There’s nothing that even great SEO (as done by sem[c]) can do to remedy a really bad design. Good business results depend on an effective team effort. Without that no amount of increased search traffic with get those results, as this tale of woe shows.

There remained problems in support and backup because there was no evidence available that a backup had ever been performed. Even if it had, the developer hadn’t been able to demonstrate a restore from backup. He only provided techno-babble excuses. He was unable to provide access to a development environment. The only thing he had delivered competently was the graphic design.

Working with a new developer (Developer #2), sem[c] recommended that a very inexpensive support subscription be purchased and that a working development environment be deployed retaining the graphic design. Before that could happen Developer #2 was fired. The next developer (Developer #3), had a condescending attitude that was worsened by his complete ignorance of SEO backed with very strong but wrong opinions. He was released within two days after his engagement for insulting the client. Not quite soon enough.

The next developer (Developer #4), was gung-ho for doing a complete (expensive) redesign and, consequently, was adamantly against spending $50 for the support option. The redesign was unnecessary and sem[c] continued to recommend retaining and improving the then-current design. This recommendation was ignored by the client. Nothing happened for the next four months except that sem[c] doubled search traffic to the old website. There was little evidence that any SEO had been done previously. There was no indication why the redesign was taking so long.

Without notification the new design launched badly. The front page took nearly 20 seconds to load. There were no calls to action. Functionality was spotty. Page URLs were changed without any need to do so. The new graphic design relied on the technique of cognitive dissonance. However, rather than using the technique correctly, Developer #4 never mentioned or illustrated what the client actually did. Nothing about the business’ expertise or benefits that a visitor might expect were mentioned. At all. On the technical side, there was still no relevant development environment. All in all it was awful.

This nonsense had a devastating effect on search performance. The site dropped from the first page for critical search terms to the third page. This forced sem[c] to completely redo everything that it had done over the previous five months.

After several more months of half-hearted attempts by this incompetent supplier to improve the horrible site performance a talented web developer (Developer #5) was brought in to assist sem[c] in correcting the mess made by Developer #4.

Unfortunately, the self-referential and client-adverse graphic design of the site itself remained. The Bounce Rate had skyrocketed due to the miserable site performance and, if that weren’t bad enough, the design had little to offer anyone to stay. They didn’t. Nearly 95% of visitors left after viewing just one page. It took months for all the corrections that were necessary to lower the Bounce Rate “down” to 80%.

SEO is not sales. There’s nothing that SEO, even when done by sem[c], can do to remedy really bad graphic and technical design. Good business results depend on an effective team effort. Without that unity of purpose no amount of increased search traffic with get the results that every business needs.