First impressions are the most important. It’s all too unfortunate, therefore, that most sites earn little favor with web-crawlers - simply because their homepages haven’t been optimized.

Sites succeed based on how crawlers perceive them and, while all content is intended for consumers, it’s the hidden text that most defines how data is ultimately judged. Meta tags, title descriptions and more all combine to entice engines; and properly optimizing a homepage helps to ensure success.

Create A Page Title

Choose a title that reflects both your business and your services. Be concise.

Build A Meta Description

Include a meta description. This snippet (which is up to 150 characters long) should provide keyword-rich details about your company. Do not exceed the character limit. That will negatively impact how it’s ranked by web-crawlers.

Anchor Links

Web-crawlers feast on links. It’s important, therefore, to add them to the homepage. Use internal pages that support the text and try to highlight keywords whenever possible.

Simplify Coding

Keep all HTML coding streamlined on your homepage. An excess of special characters will confuse crawlers and lower rankings.

An optimized homepage is an engine-friendly homepage. Learn more about how to improve the overall quality and appearance of your site (as well as how to make a strong first impression) by contacting Webstager today.

SEO demands simplicity. Content should be consumer-friendly; layouts should be responsive; and links should never redirect.

That last point often proves the most difficult to achieve.

Redirection is the process of forwarding a web page to another URL. It typically occurs when links are broken (whether by new codes, changed domain names or accidental duplications). Many companies suffer from this problem, but few spare the time to fix it.

This is a mistake.

Redirects negatively impact SERP rankings, undoing even the best SEO efforts. As web-crawlers scan a site’s internal coding, they eventually stumble upon the broken links. This causes confusion, with the crawlers unable to determine the proper locations of specific pages. Thinking this could be a black-hat technique, they flag the links and deliver a warning.

If that warning is ignored - or if the redirected pages remain - penalties can often be issued, resulting in lowered SERPs and weakened credibility.

It’s imperative, therefore, that companies maintain their URLs. Avoid redirects whenever possible and regularly test all links. Don’t let one awkward code create a bevy of problems.

To learn more about redirection and its impact on SEO contact Webstager.

Webstager has often praised cross-channel marketing. We’ve detailed its many advantages and we’ve embraced its many benefits. Despite our best efforts, however, some of our Vancouver clients remain unconvinced, shackled to their single-source SEO strategies and afraid of dynamic platforms.

A new study may change that.

According to Marin Software, an online advertisement analyst, cross-channel marketing drastically improves the organic click rates and overall presence of websites. Consider these statistics:

In April 2014 companies that targeted traffic through multiple sources received 0.18% of click rates, while those only favoring websites earned 0.07%.

In May 2014 those using cross-channel marketing generated 0.19% of click rates, while those with single strategies remained stagnant at 0.07%.

In June 2014 cross-channel marketing increased to 0.20% of all click rates, while website-only efforts saw no change.

This three-month study showcases significant differences between cross-channel promotion and its singular counterpart. Those relying only on their sites saw no growth, limiting their sales and undermining their SEO efforts.

There’s no value in that.

Utilize multiple marketing options. Contact Webstager today to learn more about redefining your SEO tactics.

Media marketing rests on a simple foundation: appeal to the consumer. Provide content that engages, informs and delights. This will translate to high sales and strong SEO. 

On Pinterest, however, it will also translate to steady re-pins.

Marketers, take heed: no SEO strategy is complete without a Pinterest account and no Pinterest account can survive without re-pins. When customers share content they help to define both the brand and its social presence. This generates organic search results, which have long-lasting impacts on SERPs and success.

Understanding which photos inspire the most re-pins is, therefore, essential - and Webstager recommends that every marketer pay attention to these Pinterest trends (as discovered by Curalate, an analytics firm):

Images with portrait styles are more likely to be re-pinned than those with landscapes.

Images with multi-color designs more likely to be re-pinned than single-color options.

Images with lower saturation levels are more likely to be re-pinned than those with higher levels.

Images with less than 30% empty background space are most often re-pinned.

Images with smooth textures are most often re-pinned.

This data helps companies bolster their marketing campaigns, allowing them to choose photos that are more aesthetically pleasing. This will ensure re-pins, which will then provide greater site exposure and sales.

Create compositions that impress on Pinterest. Contact Webstager to learn more.

Optimization is the process of energizing a website’s online presence. Every page is embedded with relevant content; every layout is shaped to responsive design; and every link is carefully inserted. The intention is to improve SERPs and gain recognition.

Without a multi-social strategy, however, that intention will fail.

Companies must embrace a multi-social strategy. Confining content to websites is a mistake, with consumers forced to seek out one specific page to find one specific product. This drastically reduces overall visibility and limits traffic. More channels are needed to ensure success.

Consider these alternatives:

Social Media Networks
Local Directories
Blogs
Newsletters
Press Releases
Video Streams
Image Directories
News Feeds
Email Lists

By using multiple sources for content companies can better reach their target audiences. The information gains traction, leaping from one link to the next. Traffic is increased and overall SERP performance is bolstered, ensuring success for the future.

Gain page rankings through a multi-faceted strategy. Learn more about this process by contacting Webstager today.

Every site-creator has one dream: to reach the first page of Google, leaping past competitors and earning a coveted SERP. Turning that dream into a reality once only required local SEO techniques. A few backlinks and some database entries could ensure high results.

Now, however, times have changed - and HTTPS reigns supreme. Secure servers deliver strong SERPs on Google.

During the 2014 Search Marketing Expo (an annual event that examines analytic trends and SEO strategies) Google made a shocking announcement: 30% of its top ranked sites contained at least one HTTPS protocol. These sites were generating high traffic and consistent sales.

Why? It was explained that the Penguin algorithm was automatically detecting this formatting style. It chose to reward sites that emphasized security over keyword stuffing, and the page positions were changed accordingly (despite the fact that this was never an intended part of the program and Google never actively sought HTTPS signals).

This proves the effectiveness of Penguin, showcasing how its web crawlers instinctively seek out page quality over page quantity - and this promises a positive future for SEO. Adhering to the HTTPS trend will force site-creators to provide readers with safe and effective content.

And this is always a good thing.

To learn more about HTTPS and its impact on SERPs contact Webstager. Ask us also how to better adapt sites to the new Penguin formula.

A picture is worth a thousand words - but, on Pinterest, a caption is worth a higher SERP.

Since 2010 Pinterest has served as an image hub, providing users with shareable content and striking visuals. It has also become a favored marketing option, with most SEO strategists taking advantage of its easy interfacing and quick results.

Those wishing to use the site to its full advantage, however, must do more than upload photos. They must also upload descriptions.

Create concise, relevant descriptions for every image. Don’t rely exclusively on hashtags (these have less impact on external search rankings and won’t raise overall visibility. They’re more trendy than helpful). Instead provide spider-friendly text, filled with both short-tail and long-tail keywords. This will ensure higher SERPs, with engines able to better recognize the content and index it accordingly.

It will also improve an account’s rankings within the Pinterest site itself. Descriptions provide easier filtering through internal searches. This allows users to quickly find the information they need, generating higher traffic and better brand awareness.

Captions promise successful SEO - and this should never be ignored.

Contact Webstager to learn more about Pinterest marketing.

Anonymity defines the online world. Identities are shielded, content is tucked behind IP scramblers, and HTTPS lines secure every communication. Users can disguise themselves with proxy-masks and hidden URLs.

Companies wishing to connect with their consumers, however, must be willing to abandon those disguises and verify their sites - especially on hubs like Pinterest. This is the only way to fully optimize brands and ensure stronger social SEO.

When creating an account on Pinterest companies must verify their websites. Though this process is considered tedious (requiring a series of HTML tags and code injections), it serves two important functions:

One: it proves that the account user is indeed a representative of the company. This helps to build consumer trust, which then translates to greater engagement. Target audiences are more likely to communicate with verified accounts, creating a series of pins, posts and comments.

Two: it increases overall visibility, with verified boards more easily indexed in external engines and given preferential treatment within the Pinterest site itself (internal searches are more likely to focus on these accounts, rather than those that remain unverified. Expect higher rankings and consistent traffic).

These are advantages that can’t be denied… or ignored. Verified websites strengthen the Pinterest experience, making it a more viable marketing option and a greater weapon in the SEO arsenal.

And that is always worth pursing.

Contact Webstager to learn more about Pinterest and the verification process.

Your site is a perpetual work in progress: a collection of new content and applications, layouts and image scales. Every day sparks another inspiration.

Unfortunately, you sometimes forget to delete those inspirations - and the result may be an unintentional indexing and a series of stiff penalties.

Test pages are not immune to indexing. Web-crawlers see no difference between content that’s still being tweaked and content that has instead been perfected. They will instead scan - and rank - both options, leading to potential SEO problems.

Test pages resemble duplicate content and duplicate content is, of course, often penalized. It suggests black-hat techniques (using the same links and information to spam the system and gain higher SERPs). Engines will respond immediately to this issue, flagging the domain and lowering its ranking. This causes an instant decline in traffic and consumer trust.

And you’ll find it difficult to gain either back.

It’s essential, therefore, to delete any unnecessary test pages from your site. Avoid duplicate URLs and remove identical content. Keep your system as streamlined as possible to ensure easy indexing.

This will help your site remain optimized and penalty-free.

Contact Webstager to learn more.

Twice isn’t always nice.

An unfortunate SEO trend has developed. Companies are now creating original content... and then launching it across the Internet. Optimized phrases are posted in blogs and affiliate forums. Product descriptions are plastered across FAQ pages and network hubs. Every word is published again and again. It’s an epidemic of repetition.

And it’s weakening SERPs.

Creating a reader-worthy page is essential. Using that page multiple times, however, is not. Search engines now penalize users for duplicated content, accusing them of trying to manipulate SERPs by filling the index with key-phrases and backlinks. The overall quality of the site is questioned (with web crawlers analyzing every word for potential black-hat practices) and this undoes even the best SEO strategies.

It’s imperative, therefore, to create singular content. Don’t continually use the same information, linking it to several sources (such as media profiles, blogs or directories). Make each page instead unique to ensure strong results.

Contact Webstager to learn more about the dangers of duplicate content.