Month: May 2011

I recently took part in a webinar on increasing website traffic.

Here are my notes:

10. Engage socially

Engage and participate in online conversations in a pertinent and relevant way
Keep track how people respond
Track how many people reach the site via FB and Twitter
Tweak your message
Repeat

Rule of thumb regarding social media content:

Original thoughts 30%
Reposting 25%
Conversation 25%
Marketing 20%

Twitter and Facebook are the must-dos for social media

9. Offer significant call-to-actions

e.g. button in a different color and size

8. Get more links

Use Competitive Link Finder by SEOmoz to find where competitors are getting backlinks

Find linking partners

7. Fix the links you’ve got already

i.e. ask websites that are pointing to your website to update their links if the links are broken or not up-to-date

6. Use multivariate testing – A/B testing

Change one thing at a time and watch the results, i.e.

• Test
• See the effect
• Improve

Tools:
Google Website Optimizer
Visual Website Optimizer

5. Put the keyword on the page

Include the keywords in the

• Title tag
• URL
• Heading 1 and subheadings

Don’t overdo it. Write web pages for humans not search engines

Meta tags (description, keywords) are ignored by Google – no longer checked.

4. The secret of awesome web headlines

Work on your headings.

Cross-reference to http://www.copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/

• Who Else Wants [blank]?
• The Secret of [blank]
• Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of

3. Don’t make me think

We don’t read pages, we scan them

We don’t make optimal choices, we satisfice

We don’t figure out how things work, we muddle through

Design for Power Skimmers

2. Know your Google Analytics

1. Begin with an SEO Audit

(this is where the presenter added a sales pitch for their own services)

Tools recommended:
http://www.marketsamurai.com/full-version.php 149 US$
Google Adwords Keyword Tool – Google has largest base of data
Crazy Egg 19$ per month