SEO Articles
Red Flag Warnings to Look For When Hiring an SEO Company
The growing influence of organic search rank on business success has correlated with a growth in SEO companies. There’s certainly no shortage of them. Unfortunately, the industry isn’t regulated. Anyone can essentially call themselves an SEO professional, which is why if you’re working with an...
The First 3 Steps of an SEO Campaign
For those new to SEO, it can be a little daunting. There’s a lot involved: keyword research, on-site optimization, link building, content marketing, social media, etc. Where do you start? What’s the best approach: all at once or start with one thing and build to the next? Different SEO firms wil...
Social Signals Do Impact SEO
When we take on a full service SEO client and come up with a strategy for them, social media is always part of the mix. We've known for a while that social signals do impact SEO, but it's important to understand exactly how that happens. Back in 2014, Matt Cutts, who at the time was the head of Goog...
Do These Things Regularly for SEO Success
The key to achieving SEO success and maintaining SEO success is to keep at it regularly. It’s not the sort of campaign that you can turn off and turn back on, expecting to be right where you left off. If you take any time off from SEO work it will likely coincide with a gradual dip in organic traf...
Scam Alert: Negative SEO Extortion Emails
Spammy SEO firm emails are certainly nothing new and we’ve covered this topic before in the blog. Still, these emails are still prevalent as poorly run and spammy firms try to suck unknowing potential clients in by using negative, fear based tactics. Here's a look at what these emails look like an...
4 Ways to Supplement an SEO Campaign
Probably the most frustrating thing about SEO is that it takes time for a campaign to have a positive impact. It can take months, or in some cases, years, for a website to be rewarded with a ranking boost in the search engines after on-site optimization, posting great content, and building high-qual...
Find a Balanced Working Relationship with Your SEO Firm
Signing on to work with an SEO firm is a big step for any company. It’s an attractive option for SMBs that don’t necessarily have the budget to hire an SEO professional to work in-house, but understand how critical the work is. Outsourcing to a trusted firm is the next best option. Yet, the clie...
Website Mistakes that Harm SEO
We might not know everything about Google’s search algorithm that determines where websites should rank for keyword searches, but Google has given us enough hints over the years about what’s important. At the top of the list: quality. Google wants to rank sites that fulfill the needs of searcher...
You Can’t Predict or Forecast SEO Results
When you implement an SEO program, it's only natural that you want to find a way to predict results. In fact, people ask me this very thing all the time. They wonder if they can not only forecast their SEO results, but also their website visitor growth and the ROI of their overall SEO program. While...
Moving from Local SEO to National SEO
Generally speaking, there are two different types of SEO campaigns, local SEO and national SEO. With all of our b2b full service SEO clients, we carefully consider whether it’s best to focus on local SEO or national SEO when developing our strategy. In most cases, we incorporate a combination ...
The Various Types of Searches
When a user plugs their query into a search engine, they usually have a certain motive driving the search. Their reason for searching ties in with the actions they take once they get to your site. In some cases, as is the case with "questions" searches, it can even impact how google displays the sea...
When Business is Slow Don’t Give Up on SEO
One thing that I am constantly stressing to my clients is that they can’t let month-to-month fluctuations (visitors to site, ranking in SERPs and so forth) shake their faith in their SEO campaign. Too often, site owners panic during a slow month and decide that SEO isn’t working for them and the...
SEO: A 5 Step Program
Sometimes it seems like almost anything can be done in “5 easy steps” these days. Losing weight, building a business, earning extra income, getting over an ex, and the list goes on and on. SEO can also be categorized as a 5 step program, but it certainly isn’t easy. In order to find SEO succes...
Don’t Take a Cookie Cutter SEO Approach
If you’re in the market for an SEO service provider, it’s important to do your research and check with references before making an informed decision. Depending on the industry you are in, you might find that there are SEO companies that specialize in it. At first glance this might seem like the ...
Social Media Doesn’t Impact SEO? Not Quite
Google has come out multiple times saying that social media (or social signals) are not used for ranking. Matt Cutts, former head of web spam at Google, came out with this information in a 2014 video and Googlers are still referencing this video now when they’re asked about it. So, does that mean ...
How Bounce Rate Relates to SEO
Bounce rate is defined as the percentage of visitors that enter a site and leave without viewing other pages on the site. It is thought that when the bounce rate improves, this could also improve search engine rankings. In this article, we'll examine how bounce rate relates to SEO and also what to d...
SEO is About More that Just On-Page Optimization
SEO has changed a lot since the early days, and most of it has to do with how much more sophisticated things have become. The queries that search engine users make have change a lot, and so have the search engines. With all the algorithm advancements made after the past few years, the search engine...
Why SEO and PR Should Work Together
In the past, it was possible to work on an SEO strategy independently from the rest of the marketing departments. However, over the past decade or so, search engines have changed greatly through several algorithm updates, such as Penguin, Panda, and the newest implementation of Google's machine lea...
Top Reasons Why SEO is Slow
One of the most important points that we try to make to prospective full service SEO clients is that SEO is a slow and sometime very long process. It’s not the kind of marketing tactic that’s going to have immediate results or a quick ROI. The complete opposite is true. In fact, it can take ma...
It’s Impossible to Put a Timeline on SEO Success
When a potential client is interested in getting started with an SEO campaign one of the first questions that they ask is, “how long will it take for this to work?” Unfortunately, it’s a question that’s nearly impossible to answer, especially since a successful SEO campaign looks different t...
SEO Program Elements That Won’t Go Out of Style
While most website owners know that SEO work is crucial today in order to improve their search engine presence and drive organic traffic, many are still hesitant to get involved too deeply. The SEO industry is known for its changing rules and best practices that generally coincide with search engine...
Brand Strength Correlates with SEO Results
It's true that brand strength correlates with SEO results. You’ll often hear SEO professionals talk about branded keywords vs. non-branded keywords. It’s all fairly straightforward. Branded keywords include the brand, company name, branded products or services, etc. as part of the search term. ...
Local Search: Optimizing for “Near Me” Searches
There’s no question that search behavior has changed drastically since the advent of mobile search. People can now search whenever and wherever they might be. On the go searches have resulted in the “near me” search phenomenon and Google launching mobile-first indexing. For local businesses, i...
Use Keyword Data to Make On Page Improvements
Despite what you might believe, keyword ranking data isn’t the “be all, end all” SEO metric to track. That’s because rankings fluctuate and vary depending on the device being used to search and the location and search history of the person searching. While overall organic traffic growth (and...
Search Engine Algorithm Proof SEO Tactics
As website owners, it’s true that much of our business success really is at the mercy of the search engines. Traditional marketing certainly still has its place in the marketing mix, but more often than not people are turning to the search engines when they are in need of a product or service. It...
3 Easy Ways to Enhance Your SEO Content
The word is out: content is king. We’ve been hearing it for years but it’s clear that website owners are finally getting behind the statement. Essentially, everyone is creating content. The problem is, a lot of this content is sub-par, at best, which means that there’s still opportunity for yo...
Are You Building an SEO Pyramid or House of Cards?
Back in the early days of SEO the SEO hierarchy of needs (based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) went something like this: Content–> Keyword Research–> Onsite Optimization–> Link Building Website owners would create their website content, conduct keyword research using a keywor...
How Your Competitors Can Help Your SEO Campaign
The best SEO campaigns are the ones built on research. The first step is to thoroughly research SEO best practice. You want to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing before embarking on a campaign. Once you have a handle on this, it’s a good idea to see what your competitors are doing. Not ...
Sometimes It’s OK to Ignore SEO Plugins (And Other SEO Tools)
Here at Brick Marketing, we’re really into WordPress. We use it on all of our sites and always recommend it to clients going through a re-design. At the very least, we recommend it for blogging since it’s very user-friendly. To assist with SEO efforts, it’s advisable to use an SEO plugin. Our ...
How a PPC Campaign Complements an SEO Campaign
Everyone today knows how the search engines work and that there are two sections on the search results page: paid listings and non-paid listings (PPC and organic). So as a business and website owner – where should you dedicate your time and resources? Obviously, we’re an SEO firm so we’ll stro...
Technical SEO Best Practice Checklist
The SEO best practices that you probably hear about the most include posting fresh, optimized content on your website regularly, looking for relevant linking opportunities, and sharing content in social media. What you might not hear about as often are technical SEO factors. No matter how great your...
Using SEO to Improve Branded Search
While it is true that the primary goal of an SEO campaign is to improve traffic from the search engines from visitors using non branded keywords that are targeted in the SEO campaign, you can’t discount the importance of branded keyword search terms and how SEO affects these kinds of searches, as ...
Don’t Focus on Rank to Measure SEO Success
So many potential SEO clients have one thing on their mind. They want their website to rank number one in the major search engines for their priority keywords. What they don’t realize is that ranking can never be guaranteed, and any SEO company that does guarantee a number one spot is full of it. ...
Don’t Put Your SEO and Social Media on Hold!
Are you thinking of putting your SEO and social media on hold? Over the years, we have seen clients come and go for various reasons. However, no matter why they decide to walk away from our partnership, they need to remember one important fact - that SEO and social media are both ongoing and should ...
SEO Data to Look at Regularly
When it comes to SEO reporting, the most obvious data point to report on is organic traffic growth. Unfortunately, as we know, this can be slow to build. It’s easy to get frustrated after a few months if it doesn’t seem to be increasing. This is when some website owners scale back on their SEO e...
How to Make Social Media Work for SEO
When someone tells you that social media doesn’t impact SEO, they’re only half right. It’s true that there aren’t any direct ties to your follower count, number of likes and shares, and links that you share in the search engine algorithms. Yet, that doesn’t mean that social media doesn’t...
SEO Content Should Be Original
Content is a huge component of a search engine optimization campaign today. Gone are the days of tricking the search engines by simply buying a bunch of links and incorporating lots of anchor text keywords in order to get a website to rank. The search engines have become a lot more sophisticated and...
URL Writing Best Practice for SEO
Is your URL structure SEO-friendly? On the surface, it may not seem as if such a small detail would matter. However, an effective URL structure helps increase usability to your website, which could increase traffic and also give you an advantage over your competition. When creating your website, it ...
Everyone in Your Organization Should Learn SEO
Most people delegate SEO to the marketing department without giving it much thought. If the marketing department isn’t equipped to handle it, they outsource it to a specialty firm. No matter which scenario your company embraces – outsourcing or doing it in house – it’s important for everyone...
5 Things to Do as You Start an SEO Campaign
The most important thing to understand about SEO is that it is a long-term online marketing tactic. It can take months or even years to begin to see traction and even longer in very competitive niches. That’s why it’s in your best interest to lay the best possible foundation for the campaign to ...
Why You Still Can’t Beat Your Search Competition
SEO is a long term process. You aren’t going to see results quickly, but within six months to a year of an SEO campaign you should start to see some improvement in your search ranking. What if you’ve been working at it for a year and don’t see any significant change? What if you just can’t s...
Top Local SEO Priorities
While there might be a few people out there who still use the Yellow Pages to find a local business, these thick booklets are more likely to be used as a doorstop, or tossed in the recycling bin. That’s because the majority of people looking for a local business are turning to their computers, tab...
Have Realistic Expectations for SEO Success
It's true that when you're involved with SEO, you need to make sure that the expectations are realistic. Part of being an SEO agency means educating our clients and making sure that they understand the rules of SEO, see the big picture of what SEO actually entails AND ensure they understand that SEO...
Analyze Page Load Time As Part of Your SEO Audit
Like any service provider, the search engines want to create a service that will keep customers happy. This means that they want to rank the best possible pages that are relevant to keyword search terms. If the websites that the search engines suggest to users aren’t relevant or are poorly develo...
SEO Software Won’t Do the Work for You
SEO isn’t just something that’s needed for big websites or large corporations. Every website that exists needs to be optimized in order to increase its online visibility and build brand awareness. Think about how many websites there are out there. Without an optimized site, it’s easy to get lo...
Your SEO Firm is Your Partner
There's an art to choosing the best SEO firm for your business but once you do, it's important to make the most of it. What you really need, though, is a firm that treats you like a partner and not just a client. However, it does work both ways. If you treat them as "hired help" and not like a true...
Understanding User Search Patterns for Effective SEO
Every SEO strategy begins with keyword research and in many ways, information gathered during the research phase will set the tone for the entire campaign. Every good keyword list will incorporate hard data gathered from keyword and analytical tools with manual tactics, such as creating lists of rel...
Make Sure Your SEO Strategy Helps with Branding
Over the years, it has become clear that Google favors business websites that show a strong brand presence in addition to creating a website that users will find valuable. Back in 2008, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, said that, "Brands are the solution, not the problem," and that they give us ...
How to Set Yourself Up for SEO Success
How do you know if your SEO program is up to par? How effective your SEO program is depends largely on how you prepare. In other words, there is a right way to do things and then there's a wrong way. There is also a bit of an in-between where your actions could be effective, but your SEO program cou...
How to Measure Organic SEO Traffic
In my opinion, one of the best ways to measure to overall success of your SEO campaign is to look at your organic SEO traffic. Rank just isn’t a good SEO metric for a variety of reasons including the increased personalization of search, the impact of social signals on the search results, the effec...