With that in mind, here are some current design trends and their impact on your SEO.

Parallax is a single scrolling page web design that has become increase popular in recent years.  The pros are the improved visual interface and less clicking and navigating as all content is on a single page.  The cons are graphic rich designs which can be slow to load and users may get lost with all the scrolling.  There is also a negative effect on SEO, as all the content is on one page and does not allow for links to multiple URLs.

Responsive design sites are built to allow visitors to have the same user experience regardless of which device they use to connect.  As today’s users could be looking at your site on their phone in the morning, laptop midday and tablet in the evening, you want to have a site that easily works regardless of how someone connects.   Separate sites for different devices may trigger a message to user’s that the site is not designed for their mobile device and consistently updating duplicate content could be problematic.  A single site for all content is a definite advantage when it comes to SEO.  

Fixed navigation makes it easy from a user perspective, as they can easily click to navigate back to any part of the website.  There is no real drawback from an SEO perspective, but fixed navigation may have issues with some mobile devices.  On the other end of the spectrum is off-screen navigation which uses a symbol (three horizontal lines) to represent the navigation menu. Again, there is no negative SEO consequences, but if users don’t know this is how to access the navigation menu, they may get frustrated and move on to another site.  

Keeping your customers in mind when designing a site and creating the user experience is where you should focus your efforts.  Within this framework, you can then figure out how to best implement SEO, along with the other elements that create online success, such as social media, marketing and good old fashion client engagement.

Just where did this spam fighting algorithm come from and why so many updates? Let’s briefly go over when the releases happened and what was the impact of each.

Google’s overall search algorithm is monitored by Penguin. If you are in a situation where you have noticed a drop in traffic, then it’s time to take a look at your site. Bad links and poor quality sites are going to be red flagged, therefore you will have to improve your site. Until Penguin sees the content is removed, you are going to have a problem. The best way to avoid this problem is to check your content and links.

Here are ten tips that will give you a boost on your SEO without having to do anything too complicated.

These ten tips are going to help you on your way to Youtube success, but also SEO as well.  Google has identified that people love videos, so what better way that to take your business and get it on Youtube.

Before implementing a new SEO campaign, there are essential elements that need to be reviewed.  These important elements will help with creating the best SEO strategies for an E-commerce site.  Here are a few helpful pointers that will improve your next SEO campaign.

Whatever budget your E-commerce site has to work with, it’s always a good idea to follow what is working for your site and keep your site’s content at the best quality.  This information has been provided by www.websitemagazine.com.

The challenges of a fast growing E-Commerce market where companies are going to face obstacles and opportunities to develop even better is rapid approaching. Social media is being analyzed for a method to “crack the code” so to speak that will leverage social media into driving more traffic. Social media plays a huge fact in E-Commerce traffic, but at what cost will test the loyalty of the major brands?

Once you make a few changes, you will be able to start keeping track of your search traffic. Be sure to take notes to see what is working, and what might still need alterations.

In the past surveys were the ultimate resources for businesses to use to examine where they stand in the market. However, social media has brought to light a speedier, more honest form of commentary. Tweets, picture uploads, statuses, etc. are proving to give great real-time feedback. Whether positive or negative, these short, straightforward consumer rants have proved time and time again to give honest reviews to employers and consumers alike about a given business or product. In 2013 we are bound to see businesses rely more heavily on these media to help monitor how companies are functioning from a consumer standpoint. Social media will also play a large role in the management of local franchises. Because employers now have the ability to search various trending topics and locations they will be better able to focus on a given branch’s current standing with the public.

You’re probably seeing this and thinking, “what does this have to do with social media?” However, we’ve found that workers performance is more steadily becoming affected by the ever-growing social media world. This is because whereas in the past consumers usually had to seek out a manager or call a hotline to complain about a given employee, now a simple tweet or Instagram (or many of the other social media outlets) can spread the word of poor service to millions in a matter of seconds. On the contrary, this can also work to an employee’s advantage as praise can just as quickly spread.

​In today’s social media driven market it’s imperative that employers hire individuals who are social media savvy. Positions solely designed to manage and operate social media platforms are becoming more and more of a necessity for businesses around the world. Thus, unlike in the past, experience in social media will help a candidate get ahead in the race for employment.

• Write down your ideas the moment you get them- If you’re anything like us you’ll have days where you can’t stop thinking of ideas and sometimes you’ll have days where you can’t think of a single topic. Write down your ideas no matter what time of day they come to mind and keep a “just in case” list handy for when your writer’s block strikes.
• Always have a list of at least 10 interesting, relevant topics- One of the toughest parts about blogging is that you have to keep up with the latest topics and trends. Thus, sit down at least once a week and ensure that you have at least ten relevant, interesting topics on hand to write about. Once you write about one of them cross it off your list and immediately replace it with another relevant topic. This will help ensure that you never run out of ideas.
• Before writing your blog make a bulleted content outline- Sometimes it’s easier to come up with a blog title than it is to develop interesting content. We suggest taking ten minutes to sit down with every topic you plan on writing about to outline the best points to emphasize in your blog. This will help keep your blog organized and make it easier to write (not to mention save you time).

Now, while blogging is a great asset to any website it’s equally, if not more, important to make sure that you are properly utilizing search engine optimization. SEO will help your blog gain popularity and have a widespread audience. What does SEO do exactly? It helps your blog appear more frequently in search engines, making it readily available to those searching for information on a given topic of interest. Below are just a few simple tips that will enable your blog to heighten its SEO.

• Refer to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines- For those new to SEO these guidelines are straightforward and easy to follow. Outlining the dos and don’ts of how you should be handling your site, these guidelines will help you reach a broader, larger audience.
• Use social media to your advantage- Social media and blogging have a strong relationship, often feeding off of one another and starting (or continuing) a given conversation. Use social media sites, such as Twitter, to your advantage to help share not only links to your most recent blogs but also start conversations about a given topic of interest. This will help you create a stronger relationship with your followers/readers and spread the word about your blog in general.
• Choose the correct search phrases in your blog- A great way to increase SEO is to include frequently searched phrases in your pieces. By developing your content around such phrases your site will be sure to appear more frequently in search engines. Use tools like www.wordtracker.com to help you better understand exactly what phrases and words your target audience is searching for on a regular basis.
• Make your blogs link worthy- A great way to appear more frequently in searches is to have your blogs be link worthy. What does this mean exactly? Make your content so interesting that other sites reference it throughout their sites and articles. The more your blog is linked the more frequently it will appear in searches and the more popular your blog will become.

• What tweet types lead to retweets?
• What tweet behaviors lead to replies?
• What actions lead to a growth in followers?

1. When sharing the tweets of others, retweeting the entire message via the retweet button tripled the resulting engagement from fellow tweeters. That’s 3 times as many subsequent retweets as opposed to those who merely quoted text.
2. Tweet what you know. Journalists who sent tweets in the genre of their typical coverage area had the highest level of engagement and the greatest growth in followers.
3. Share the love. Posting the content of others in addition to your own will garner a higher overall engagement with other tweeters.
4. Call on your Twitter neighbors using @mentions. As opposed to using URLs alone, the use of @mentions will grow both your followers and traffic at a higher rate. For example, instead of “Dan Pink,” use “@DanPink.”
5. Tweet LIVE! Journalists suspected they would lose followers by the overshadowing of Apple’s iPhone5 announcement; in actuality, those who performed live tweeting of the announcement boosted their follower growth by half.
6. Use hashtags, #but #be #careful #not #to #overuse #them. Using hashtags for live events makes them easily searchable, and can boost tweet interaction by 100% for journalists. Brands who use hashtags can experience a growth in engagement by 50%. Luckie used CBS Chicago’s use of the #drewpeterson hashtag during the Kathleen Savio murder trial coverage as a great example of this technique. He said, “They really ended up being the big authority for the trial by establishing the hashtag. Other news organizations started using it as well as people at and interested in the trial.”

Partnering with a company who has a strong reputation and experience with hosting and marketing business is a good idea.

When comparing features offered at each hosting company, look for high percentages of uptime and user-friendly customer support. Get information on the amount of disc space and bandwidth you’ll be given and allowed to manage. Are you planning to upload video or audio files? Check to see if this activity is allowable; some providers are non-negotiable in this area. Also, ask about information regarding your domain name registry. How will you be protected? What amount of email accounts come with the hosting plan? The answers to these questions will help you find the best plan for your needs.

If you’re not familiar with the phrase search engine optimization, or SEO, you need to do some research. For your website to experience success online, your site must be optimized. This means that you are using the right keywords in your content. Write content for your site visitors as well as for the larger search engines. The latter will get you higher rankings in a search, but the former will keep customers returning to your site once they find you.

Once you’ve gotten the keywords and content up to speed, focus your attention on link building. Your worth as a website is determined by your number of inbound links. Some sites attain higher rankings by participating in link exchange. To get started, browse around to some sites like yours that you enjoy and contact the Webmaster to see if he/she is interested in a link exchange. Easy, right?

Social Media is daily becoming a stronger and stronger force in marketing. What’s fun about it is that it’s highly personal. If you want to make friends, be a friend. If you want comments, give comments. Be neighborly. If someone friends, retweets, likes, pins, repins, stars, or takes some positive action to your benefit, thank them. Then, return the favor. Other tips? Keep the content on your site relevant and up-to-date. Also, make sure the platform for your campaign is user-friendly. This will make it easy to create and edit content.

If you are able to get your visitors involved in your website, you’re going a long way in building the relationships that are essential to a strong web presence. How do you do this? Check your writing style. Is it personal? Try leaving open- ended questions and ask for comments. Not only will you increase the opportunity for return visitors, but you’ll also get valuable feedback on your site, product, or service.

Is your site one in which you can hold a contest? Creativity is key here. A contest is a quick way to get people talking about your site. Don’t feel pressured to offer pricey rewards. Often the simplest thing will go a long way.

When you walk in someone’s home, the design tells you a lot about the person. Is the floor clean? Are the shelves orderly or cluttered? The same holds true in web design. By investing in a quality, clean design, you are communicating to your clients what you value as a business. A beautiful design will build trust between your business and its site visitors.

While you can build your own website, it’s safer to call on a website designer who can guide you through the array of design options available. Keep in mind that some browser settings prevent Flash animations, which means you may lose valuable visitors if you rely too heavily on Flash. A quality web designer will be well versed on the pros and cons of each choice, so you can make the best decision for your web needs.