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5 SEO Tips To Improve Your YouTube Video Views

November 12, 2015/in seo blog /by Arsen Rabinovich

There is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, perhaps it is also true that a video is worth ten thousand, at least when it comes to online videos from sites such as YouTube. It is estimated that by 2017, 74 percent of all Internet traffic will be videos of some sort. Following this trend will become a virtual requirement for many small businesses, particularly ones situated in a highly competitive market. Once you take the time to produce and perfect your promotional YouTube video, there are steps you can take to help it become indexed on the search engines and thus viewed by more potential customers. Master them and you might just be the next up-and-coming business.

1. Do Your Keyword Homework

If you don’t know what people are looking for, you can’t provide it. That’s why you need to find out what keywords and phrases people are entering into the search engines that may be relevant to your video. The best way to figure this out is to do some experimenting. For example, if you own a dog grooming shop, think of phrases that Internet users might enter into Google such as “L.A. pet boutique,” “Los Angeles dog salon,” etc. Stick with the ones that net you the most results.

2. Put Some Thought Into Naming Your Video

Believe it or not, the name you put on your video can help you rise in the SEO rankings. For better results, be sure to include some keywords from your homework above. Before you upload the video, give it a moniker that describes it such as “DogGroomingLosAngeles.mpg.” The file will still have a more abstract computerized name, but that’s not what your customers will focus on.

3. Use Relevant Phrases to Tag Your Video

The tags you choose should be as descriptive as possible. Think of them as your chance to introduce yourself to the search engines. Therefore, use every opportunity you can to describe your grooming business. At the same time, keep your content and titles as readable as possible for users. If you get stuck for ideas, poll your friends and ask them what terms they would plug into a search engine that are related to what your business does.

4. Use “Close Captions”

It doesn’t take a lot of extra time to transcribe your video and write captions for it. Doing so can boost the amount of content that can be intercepted by search engines. What’s more, it gives your potential customers yet another way to interact with you and your business.

5. Categorize Your Video

Some search results are category-specific. If you want them to pick up your video and put it into your customers’ view, make sure you place your YouTube message in the proper compartment. Your dog grooming salon, for instance, would fit neatly into the “pets and animals” designation.

An estimated one billion people use YouTube, with 300 hours of video being uploaded every minute. With statistics like that, it’s a no-brainer that you want to get in on the Internet video craze. With a little careful planning and a small time investment, you can help raise the videos rankings in the SERP’s. After all, that’s what it’s all about.

How Customer Reviews Boost Your Local SEO

November 10, 2015/in seo blog /by Arsen Rabinovich

Owning a business located in a metro area can be a mixed blessing. While you have millions of potential customers nearby, they are spread out over a very large and diverse area. To reel them in, you need to attract their interest through multiple means. Of course, this involves traditional channels such as advertising via electronic media as well as signage and newspapers, but that’s just the beginning. You probably also already have a website and pages on major social media platforms. All of this is terrific, but there may still be a missing link. Have you encouraged your customers to leave positive reviews about your products and services?

Websites such as Yelp enable people to be the 21st-century equivalent of a town crier, spreading the good word about a great bargain or a service done right, or wrong. Studies suggest that online consumers look at two or three reviews before they make a purchase. In fact, research shows that if you have a Yelp account, you will earn an average of $8,000 extra in just one year. A whopping 90 percent of customers who read a Yelp review say their purchasing decisions were affected by it. Yet 87 percent of small businesses still don’t have a Yelp account.

Another way to cash in on your customers’ praise is to make your business known in your local area. If you sign up with Google Local and Yahoo Small Business, you will increase your chances of appearing on Google Maps and other third-party applications. Just be sure the sites you choose have a large number of active participants. It also can be to your advantage to publicize your Facebook page, offering incentives to customers who “like” your page or give you a positive review. Finally, don’t overlook the power of online video giant YouTube, a platform that allows people to both hear and see customer testimonials.

Once you start to generate some positive buzz about your business, don’t let it disappear into the cloud. Imbed links to these written and video testimonials on your website and in your blog pages. This may actually help to boost your search engine optimization (SEO) rankings and thus drive more customers to your website and your brick-and-mortar business.

In the huge and bustling melting pot of a big metropolitan city, it is easy to feel a bit lost and anonymous as a business owner. Fortunately, you don’t need to take on the task of becoming well known on your own. Let your customers help through their positive testimonials, Yelp interviews, social media shout-outs and YouTube videos. As they sing your praises and generate positive buzz, first there will be a ripple, then a cascade. Before you know it, your city won’t seem nearly as intimidating.

5 Things You Must Know When Making An SEO Content Strategy

November 6, 2015/in seo blog /by Arsen Rabinovich

When you are pulling out all the stops to get your business off the ground with the online community, you probably already know that there are two essential factors at play: well-written content and search engine optimization (SEO). They form an interdependent relationship that you need to understand if you are to succeed. Great writing without high rankings on the search engines will languish unappreciated in Google’s backwater. By the same token, potential customers who see a cryptic and confusing page, even if it is extremely highly ranked, will quickly lose interest and click elsewhere. There are too many fish in the sea to allow yourself to have either bad SEO strategies or poorly written content. Below, find five techniques that will enable you to create copy that customers want to read and that search engines will want to rank highly.

1. Create and Use a Calendar

When you are involved in e-commerce, planning is as important as breathing. A calendar is an indispensable tool that will help you lay out your upcoming writing projects for the next few months to a year. When everything is right in front of you, it is easier to see scheduling conflicts, identify periods when you need to find additional work and maintain publishing consistency. It’s also a great place to craft catchy, descriptive headlines that describe your work. Many of these can ultimately become SEO keywords.

2. Make Outlines

Your high school English teachers had it right: Outlines are a writer’s best friend. They help you save time by providing an organized format for your thoughts and the progression of your ideas. Whether you’re writing a blog post or an in-depth article, outlining it will enable you to make your content more readable and SEO-friendly. Your outline should include the following: a headline conducive to SEO, a hierarchy of subheadings loaded with keywords and the main ideas that you plan to put into your piece of writing.

3. Remember Your Audience

Although there is no doubt you want your content to be SEO-friendly, you are not writing for robots, computers and rankings; you are writing for the human beings who might, if all goes well, eventually become your customers. Write your articles with your readers in mind, adding SEO keywords later where it makes sense.

4. Use Keywords to Your Advantage

Of course, it should go without saying at this point that using keywords is crucial, but it goes beyond that. Take relevance, prominence and density into consideration. Make sure that you have included your main keyword in your heading and at least one subheading. Place it close to the beginning of the piece, and incorporate it into the natural flow of the rest of the document. Keep keyword density at a safe level, not too much or too little. As much as possible, you should strive for your piece to flow so clearly and naturally that the reader does not even recognize the intentional presence of keywords.

5. Add Images

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so liven up your content with images. Customers find it far easier to engage with a site that has eye-catching pictures and graphics. Just be sure they are of good quality. Well-optimized images can score you points with the search engines and help your rankings to rise. For best optimization results, make sure your file is as small as possible. Also, include your main keyword in the file name, and don’t forget to include alt text.

Considering all of the online and brick-and-mortar competition you are contending with in your area, it is incumbent on you to use any and all available strategies to stay one step ahead. Search engine optimization is an invaluable tool that will allow you to propel your business to the front of the line, making it one of the first local offerings that potential customers see. Marry a polished SEO strategy to gorgeously clear and precise content, and your business has an even better chance of succeeding.

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