Some of the most popular websites online offer videos and photos – does yours?  Now that Google has announced the Universal Search Model, you SEO job just got a lot broader.  With the Universal search model, Google will search through all types of media – not just text – to find related entries.  But how do you search engine optimize video?

Blinkx has created a whitepaper that discusses the ins and outs of video optimization.  The whitepaper covers:

• Cleaning and conversion of metadata
• Optimizing titles, description and filenames
• Leveraging sitemaps
• Utilizing Media RSS
• Content Management
• Where to submit
• What to Avoid

Something to think about over the weekend…. What types of video do you have and how can you use them to leverage your SEO strategy?  If you don’t have video, what can you create? 

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Many people have never heard of Google Base – and if they have, aren’t really sure what it does.  This tool, found by logging into your Google profile and clicking on “Base”, allows you to upload all of your content directly into a Google information database. 

Google Base gives you full control over your content with its WYSIWYG editor.  Unlike many other places where you can distribute content, Google Base allows for unlimited use of anchor text, images, formatting, and even offers stats. 

Still, the impact of Google Base is elusive… I’m experimenting with it by posting some articles and press releases on it – mostly for the anchor text, but also to see if Base drives any traffic.  There have been a few hits on the content, but nothing to get excited about. 

I think where Base will really shine is for home shopping or car shopping or types of shopping where products have lots of attributes.  For example, you could use Google to find all 4 bedroom houses with a pool and a 3 car garage in San Diego – rather than going just to one site’s MLS listing.  Same with cars – search for all 2004 blue BMW 325i’s within 100 miles of your house instead of going to one site and viewing their listings. 

This is a hunch – anyone else have any personal experiences or theories about the direction of Base?  Leave a comment and share!

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Not every company can afford an SEO team right now. And chances are good that if your running on a tight budget, you’re also running on a limited amount of time. For you, we’ve compiled a list of 5 fast and simple things you can do to optimize your website:

#1: Break up long pages of text into multiple shorter pages.

Not only do search engines tend to favor shorter pages and smaller file sizes, but shorter chunks of content are also more user-friendly. By breaking up your longer pages of content into multiple shorter pages, you’ll bulk up your website with more pages of related content.

#2: Use keywords in H tags.

Instead of bolding text and increasing font size for your page headings and subheadings, use your Heading tags (H1, H2, etc). When you use keywords in your H tags you are telling the search engines that these are key terms for this page and worthy of a prominent ranking in the search results.

#3: Add a Sitemap:

From an SEO perspective, the goal of a sitemap is to ensure that every page on the site can be easily indexed by search engine spiders. Because spiders “crawl” websites, they need to be able to reach each page of the site from any one page. A good sitemap ensures that this is possible.

#4: Add content frequently:

When you add new content, you are essentially inviting spiders to come back and visit more often. Even if you’re busy, find the time to write at least 250 to 300 words of relevant content to add to your site on a weekly basis. Just think, if you did this every week, your site would have 52 new pages by the end of next year!

#5: Optimize title tags:

Title tags are such a simple thing but can be very effective in terms of SEO. The title tag for each page should be unique. Make sure your title tags include the specifics keyword or keywords you are targeting on the page.

A full scale website optimization project can take months of work by an entire team of software developers, copywriters, link building specialists, and a project manager with an extensive knowledge of SEO to oversee the entire project. More than likely, the competitors holding the top spots for your target keywords employ an SEO team.

We hope however that these simple SEO friendly adjustments will give you a rankings a boost and jumpstart your online success. We wish you the best in your online business building!

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Have you ever wondered how phenomenally fantastic most of online companies are: #1!, leading!, premiere!, fastest!, greatest!, smartest!, most dynamic!… simply the best :). Are you one of those companies? Or is this a mega trend that promotes self-centered approach and exaggeration? No matter how you call it, it’s about to extinct.

Today’s customers demand greater transparency and authenticity. It’s the new standard you have to live with. They want to know how your business can bring them satisfaction in one or another way.

Web users got bored with dubious words of praise. They seek the REAL deal. “What is in it for me?” they ask. Pronouns such as “I,” “we,” “our,”  and your company name  as well as  customer-focused words such as “you” and “your” are key indicators of your focus.

There’s a handy free online analysis tool which tells how customer centered your web copy is. It’s called We-We Calculator developed by Futurenowinc.

You simply type in the url of your website. The tool calculates the instances of customer centered  and self-centered words. Then It gives you the percentage including  original length of Page (including all HTML) , content length after stripping HTML, and a total word count. It is nothing more than a handy, but rough guide that will help you focus on something important. There are lots of variables and also remember there are no shortcuts to writing great copy.

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