A major Google algorithm change may have bigger economic impact than rising oil prices!

New Google Algorithm Shakes Up The Web

They even tell you up front, "Hey! We're constantly changing!"

Written by Resources for Entrepreneurs Staff
Published: 2/24/2011
Reposted by Grace Rizza
Website Marketing Chicago
Forget rising oil prices. A new Google algorithm may have a bigger impact on the economic fortunes of many companies.
Google announced today that it has rolled out what it calls a pretty big algorithmic improvement, designed to improve its search results.

The company blog notes that the "update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites -- sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites -- sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on."
Given the number of companies that depend on Google for organic search traffic, a major algorithm change like this arguably impacts the global economy as much as other large economic trends, such as the rising cost of oil due to tensions in the Middle East. Winners can quickly become losers, and losers can quickly become winners.
According to the official blogpost, 11.8% of search queries have been "noticeably" updated. Google-powered traffic at our own site, gaebler.com, dropped 40% after the latest algorithm change, suggesting that we add less value to the world than we had hoped, at least in the eyes of Google.
The new Google algorithm update follows weeks of industry news about Google's dislike for so-called "content farms" -- arguably defined as sites that copy content from other sites and/or sites with low levels of original content. In response to a Google user uprising against content farms, Google provided protesters with Personal Blocklist, a new extension for its Chrome browser that allows users to block certain domains from appearing in their Google search results.
In its announcement today, Google noted that this update does not utilize the new data they are getting from Personal Blocklist. They did, however, indicate that they are "very pleased" to report that 84% of the top domains requested to be blocked by Personal Blocklist are also impacted by the algorithm change.
For small business owners who regularly visit our site and rely on us for small business news, we recommend that you closely watch your search traffic in the days to come to see if you have been negatively impacted by the new Google search engine algorithm.
If your rankings are lowered, you are either a "false positive" casualty of the new algorithm – a site that is undeservedly adversely affected by Google algorithm changes – or you may need to take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself whether your site consists largely of shallow content that is not truly original and valuable to your site visitors.
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Official Google Blog: Finding more high-quality sites in search

Official Google Blog: Finding more high-quality sites in search

Google Shakes "IT" up!

A shake-up in Google search. In the midst of an antitrust investigation for favoring its own businesses and advertisers in search results, Google has announced a substantial change to its search algorithm.  The company is responding to complaints from users who've been frustrated with the low-quality sites they've gotten from search results. "Google said Thursday that it had made a major change to its algorithm in an effort to improve the rankings of high-quality Web sites in its search results—and to reduce the visibility of low-quality sites," The New York Times reports.  "While the company did not say so explicitly, the change appears to be directed in part at so-called content farms like eHow and Answerbag, that generate articles based on popular search queries so they will rise to the top of the rankings and attract clicks."

Search Engine Marketing Firm Chicago

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(630) 432-4519

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SEO Caution: Avoid The Blacklist!

http://www.searchenginemarketingfirmchicago.com

Blacklisting is Google's way of penalizing websites that abuse SEO tactics.  If you are subscribing to SEO and your site one day drops out of the rankings, it may have been blacklisted.  Choosing and internet marketing company that is familiar with ethical SEO and knows how to avoid blacklisting is very important.  The following SEO practices can knock your site out of the race for ranking first on Google.

1.  Cloaking: Cloaking is the process of hiding content on a webpage.  Having relevant keywords on your site can contribute to your SEO, but hiding content to increase your keyword count can get you on the blacklist!

2.  Keyword Stuffing:  Listing the same keyword multiple times on your page isn't going to help it.  Firstly, it'll be confusing for your potential clients.  Secondly, if Google crawlers detect more than 10% of your content are your keywords, your site may be penalized and added to the blacklist! Strategically choosing and placing a keyword only a couple times can be more effective than keyword stuffing anyways.

3. Links:  Links to your website or backlinks can increase your ranking on google search results.  However, multiple links from one site or page can lead to blacklisting.  Attaining irrelevant links can also hurt more than help.  They key is variety and timing.  Attaining a variety of types of links, as well as quality links over a period of time is better than getting hundreds at once from the same source.

If you suspect your SEO company may not be practicing to the highest standards, please feel free to contact us for a free evaluation of your online presence.  We'll be able to tell you where your SEO dollars are going and discuss a way to make your campaign more efficient.

Grace Rizza
SEO Specialist
Chicago SEO Company
Chicago Internet Marketing
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QR Codes & Their Marketing Functions and Uses - Chicago Online Marketing & Mobile Marketing Chicago

What are QR codes and how can they contribute to your marketing and business goals? Read on!


Quick Response codes (QR codes) and other similar codes are on the rise! QR codes allow consumers immediate access to product, service, and business information.

QR Codes- The Basics

If you’re not yet familiar with them, QR codes are similar to barcodes used in stores to track merchandise.

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(QR code to Bob Rizza, Addison Realtor's Website)

Unlike traditional barcodes, QR Codes are two-dimensional (2D) and can hold thousands of characters of information. Their ability to hold information paired with their ease of use makes them ideal for small businesses.

You scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone. you can link your clients to your website, your phone number or email address, you can link them to an instant message! And it takes less than 5 minutes to set up!

The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike.


The uses for QR codes are virtually endless.  Attention Restaurant Owners! Do you want to populate your Facebook page?  Link your QR code to your menu and allow your customers instant access!  Want to share an EBook with professionals in your industry? Link it up!  Hey Realtors! Would you like potential buyers to have instant access to a virtual tour of your listed home? LINK.IT.UP.  Give me an industry, and I'll think of a way for a QR code to boost your sales.  Let's not forget what an impression you'll make while staying ahead of the technological curve!

Chicago Internet Marketing & SEO Specialist Offers Free Website Marketing Consulting

In March of 2011, Chicago internet marketing expert, Grace Rizza, is offering a free internet marketing consultation at no charge for local businesses.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Press Release) – Feb 07, 2011 – In March of 2011, Chicago internet marketing expert, Grace Rizza, is offering a free internet marketing consultation at no charge for local businesses.

February 8, 2011 --
To qualify for this free offer, send an email to graceknowsseo@gmail.com. Grace will visit your website and conduct a competitive analysis for your business. She will provide you with a suggestion for the most affordable and effective online marketing strategy at no cost to you.

This offer will expire April 1st, 2011. This is a way for Grace to get her name and company information out to the community and help local businesses in the Chicago area improve business.

Grace has experience in internal marketing strategies, public and community relations, networking, dental patient communications, staff sales training, phone scripting and training, advertising, internet/web presence, SEO (search engine optimization chicago), direct mail programs, email newsletters, and much more.

She works closely with a group of marketing professionals, each of specializing in a different branches of marketing, to serve all of your marketing needs.

Grace is offering her proven dental marketing strategies to Chicago business owners. It’s her mission to share her passion for marketing as well as increase the profits of ethical business owners.

For more information contact Grace at graceknowsseo@gmail.com, visit identitydental.com or visit searchenginemarketingfirmchicago.com.

# # #

Grace Rizza is an internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) specialist in Chicago. She has diverse marketing experience and looks to save her clients money by creating the most strategic internet marketing plans.

The Different Kinds of Internet Marketing

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
This term is inclusive of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click) Marketing.  It involves the results when your clients/potential clients search for your business or services online.

The search results above are the result of effective SEO.  The search results to the right are PPC results.

  












PPC (Pay Per Click) 
Pay-per-click internet marketing is a form of search engine marketing. These ads show up on the top and right side of the search results and are usually captioned with the words, "sponsored links".  When setting up a PPC campaign, your marketing professional should determine keywords based on research, and set relevant geographic bounds.  PPC ads are also more effective if they include and offer and have an element that will stand out from competing sponsored links.  Like SEO, the cost of PPC varies depending on your level of competition. It's important to discuss a budget and come up with a plan for your PPC campaign, and unless you understand the research involved, I'd recommend hiring an internet marketing company for guidance.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is the marketing efforts involved in getting a website to rank highly for a given search term.  Effecitve SEO campaigns include research, a budget, and a time line. Unlike pay per click advertising, search engine optimization is the process to get your website to show up in the natural search results section, not the sponsored links section.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Methods
Video Marketing
Social Networking
Social Bookmarking
Article Marketing
Press Release Marketing
Link Building/Link Sharing
Maps Optimization
Review Posting
Directory posts
Photo Tagging
Internal SEO (website tags and headlines)
Traffic

Since search engines like Google change their SEO algorithms daily, the most effective SEO methods are constantly changing.  This means when looking for and SEO firm to optimize your account, make sure to choose an internet marketing company that is very considerate of online marketing and industry trends!

ROI of SEO

People can be shocked at the prices of SEO in Chicago.  What they don't ever understand is the ROI of it.

Search Engine Marketing, when done correctly, can bring a boost of leads and it continues to pay for itself over and over again. 

It may cost a little more initially, but after you are ranked, you should be able to drop it to a maintenance level (depending on what your competition is doing). 

Compared to direct mail and other forms of advertising, search engine optimization is trusted more by clients--which means that it converts more! 

Ask me for a free SEO quote!

SEO Strategy

Determining your keyword strategy is the first step of any successful internet marketing campaign.

When optimizing your site, you need to choose which "keywords" or search terms you'd like to be highly ranked for.

For instance, if you are a real estate agent, you may want your website to come up first whenever someone searches "real estate agent."  But hiring an SEO agency to make you come up first for "real estate agent" may cost tens of thousands of dollars per month.  Why?  Because the competition for this phrase is off the charts!

A more practical and affordable SEO approach may be to focus your optimization efforts on the phrase "real estate agent in (your town)".  This approach may cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars per month to a couple thousand per month depending on your level of competition and the chosen SEO agency.

I personalize each campaign to optimize the budget I'm working with.  For instace, if you want to spend between $200-$300 per month on SEO and get the best return possible.  I may recommend optimization for 2 key phrases.  I'll be able to estimate the amount of traffic the chosen keywords will drive to your website and provide monthly reports to show results.

Unfortunately NO ONE who does SEO can guarantee results, since your competition could be paying for SEO as well.  However, I have been very successful at estimating a timeline and expected results for a variety of clients based on my research.

For a consultation or free competitive analysis, call me (Grace) at 630-432-4519.

Cost of SEO

As I previously mentioned, subscribing to an SEO (Search Engine Optimization Chicago) plan that disappears once you stop paying will cost you more in the long run.

Once your site is ranking highly, you should not STOP your campaign, but depending on your level of competition, you may be able to subscribe to a more affordable maintenance SEO package.

Our SEO prices are based largely on the amount of effort necessary to get your site to out rank your competition. For instance, if your competitors SEO is very strong, and we'll need to spend 3 hours a day for 4 months on your optimization, it's going to cost more than if your competition isn't even paying for SEO.

SEO takes time. To see any results at all, you have to wait at the very least a month! It takes this long for search engines to find the relationships your website has made on the internet. We can usually show dramatic results in about 3 months--which is more quickly than most.

When you pair SEO and PPC, you can see results immediately, while investing in the long term success of your internet marketing plan. (See image above--borrowed from Elliance).

The key to a successful SEO campaign is strategy... which I'll explain next.