Search Engines are Brand Blind

By marketing your services or goods via the Web, Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo do not care if you’re GE or Joe’s Electrical Service on the corner of Main Street, USA. What matters to the Search Engines is whose site has the best content tailored to their particular target market. The Search Engines see the content and text you’ve provided for your particular offerings, not the brand name, or how big you are.

Let me pass on to you a story: Mr. Patrick Cray has a small electrical contracting and HVAC business, South Hills Electric Heating and Cooling. He built his business on being trustworthy and quality workmanship. He wants to keep the ball rolling but doesn’t have the ad budget to spend on billboards, TV spots, etc like his bigger competitors.

This dilemma was solved by successfully delving into something unknown to him at the time which was Search Engine Optimization or SEO. For Mr. Cray, this was something he was a bit skeptical of in the beginning, but the cost for marketing his business using SEO to compete was well within his comfort range and worth a shot. SEO is now and continues to be the main driver of his business. He’s found a successful recipe for promoting his business that’s very cost-effective, flexible, and puts him in complete control.

Mr. Cray has also integrated Social Media into his SEO strategy to build on his current SEO success.

So, if you’re looking for an electrician or a heating and cooling specialist  Online in the Pittsburgh area or in your particular part of the city and surrounding area there’s a real good chance Mr. Cray’s South Hills Electric Heating and Cooling company will be consistently on the first page, if not on top – and it’s been that way for the past year or so for him.

When they say the Internet has leveled the playing field for the small to very small businesses they were not kidding.  Mr. Cray is now a believer; he’s got the calls for service to prove it – courtesy of a well executed SEO strategy made just for him.

If you have some questions you’d like to bounce off us about how SEO can help your business just drop us a line. We’re Blackball Online Marketing and SEO and we’re on the Internet.

Pittsburgh Online Marketing Technologists - How To Choose One

Pittsburgh businesses are fortunate in the fact that there are many talented Internet Marketing companies locally. As the Internet marketplace becomes more diverse it is important to choose an SEO consultant or SEO Search company that best fits your needs and budget.

We have been writing for some time about the need for businesses operating in the Pittsburgh Internet Marketing field to handle many aspects of Online Website Promotion. Many factors weigh into your choice for an Internet Marketing Engineer. Here are a few questions to ask of your Pittsburgh Online Marketing candidate.

Factors To Consider When Choosing an Online Marketing Pro:

First things first. Ask if the Internet Marketing Company or consultant you interview has any experience with your industry. This can eliminate a lot of research and you should be able to communicate freely with industry specific terms. Do they ask about the scope of your project and budget? These are good questions to begin with as they allow for the conversation to define your needs and expectations.

You should be able to tell whether the internet promotions specialist is resourceful by the questions they ask you as well. Are they merely reading a script? Or are they asking questions which relate to the current topic in your conversation?

Do they understand the fundamentals of On Page SEO?

Is there a clearly defined procedure they follow or do they evaluate your site or blog to determine the best course of action for your business? Both methods can be correct for certain situations. The key is to know which method to use and when.

Do they ask about the importance of keywords and how they relate to your business and overall online marketing strategy? Keywords drive what you want to rank for; they are the lifeblood of your site; and your business’ success or failure in the digital world.

Do they understand the fundamentals of Off Page SEO?

We define Off Page SEO as encompassing all forms of listing your business throughout the Internet not directly related to your website.  Off Page Search Engine Optimization includes preparing relevant Press releases to promote your new venture or publicize your current online marketing efforts. If you are in an established industry this question and strategy can easily be answered by some online recon on your competition. Sites linking back to yours with relevant keyphrases are called Backlinks and they are very important as well.

Traditional Media could also be termed as Off Page SEO or Branding. A comprehensive marketing plan will allow you to reach potential customers in other areas. Why limit yourself to just one form of advertising?

Do they understand the fundamentals of Social Media and its value?

The secret of Social Media is that it is "social. Wow, shocker right? The real value of social media when it comes to your business really depends on if your target audience uses it. Secondary to this is the brand reputation management piece. Direct selling on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Etc. is not near as effective as passive selling and information dissemination. Helping people is good business! It helps define your business as an authority on your marketing niche and allows for another great source of lead generation.

Does the SEO or Online Marketing Company have a Social Media component to their business? How many Twitter followers do they have? Do they know how to use them to further your Internet Marketing goals or are they Ttweeting for the sake of Tweeting? Can they communicate this to you and your customer? In short; are they making the most of their Social Media influence?

Are they short sighted when it comes to alternative methods other than Google?

Many businesses are unaware of the existence of Bing and Yahoo when it comes to comprehensive coverage in an overall online marketing strategy. Google still dominates the Search Engine Market but why exclude the other percentage of potential customers. We believe that failure to explore all avenues of revenue generation is like leaving dollars on the doorstep.

Do they have the ability and resources to combine all theses skills into a cohesive Online Marketing Plan?

Knowing how to perform all these tasks is meaningless unless your chosen Online Marketing Technologist can deliver. All these techniques require resources and time. A combined commitment from the business and the Online Marketing Technology Company are necessary.

Whether you ultimately choose Blackball Online Marketing or another Search firm or consultant, we would like the opportunity to speak with you regarding your business and its Online Marketing needs. Contact Blackball Online Marketing for your small business website promotion and speak directly with a Pittsburgh Online Marketing Technologist to assess your needs and give you a solid evaluation. Our initial consultation is always free.

Google Real Time Search Results – A Game Changer

Now more than ever the field of Pittsburgh Online Marketing has become hypercompetitive. With Google putting out a new product every month, life in the Internet Marketing field gets more dynamic daily; and more fun. The scope of the upcoming 2010 changes is vast. There are many new products and changes. One change is the way Google plans to implement real time search results in its search engine algorithm.

In addition to PPC (sponsored results on the top and sides of the search results pages) and Google Maps for some keyphrase searches, Google has added real time search results. This position, appearing on page 1 for trending topics, leaves even less room for the organic results that Google users are used to seeing.

Never has social media been more important to ranking high for search terms in Google. Position is everything on a search results page and when it comes to edging out your competition for business, the highest rank usually prevails. Our advice is to implement a social media marketing strategy now if you haven’t already. If you have a social media campaign in place, now is the time to revisit it and re-evaluate your business needs and your comprehensive brand message.

When in doubt hire professionals to do a complete analysis of your needs and targets. You could be leaving valuable dollars at your competitor’s doorstep. If you have little or no idea what this means but realize its importance and would like to establish a social media campaign to benefit your company, visit our contact page for a free Blackball Online Marketing – Pittsburgh Social Media Marketing Experts consultation.

Pittsburgh SEO and Your Web Hosting Company

The major Search Engines - Google - Yahoo - Bing

Pittsburgh, PA – If you want to rank well in the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing), planning is the key. Your web host can make or break your rankings. Researching you hosting provider can prove to be as important as your on-page SEO. This article explains a little about how search engines see your site and some criteria to get you started to finding the right Internet hosting company. We do not promote any hosting companies over any others. The research is up to you, unless of course you hire us.

First things first; Our article on picking the right name for your business to rank well in the search engines will help you to do just that. Next on the list is buying/registering your domain name or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This is the dot.com, dot.net, dot.org that your business will use to be found by your customers on the Internet, Blackball Online can be found at http://www.blackballonline.com.

You should already have the perfect business name after reading the previously mentioned post so try to get the exact match for a URL. The whois database website is a very valuable resource for this. Your website host can also walk you through all of this but it pays to be informed. Tip; register your site for as long as possible. 10 years is the maximum allowable domain name registration as of this writing. Our recommendation is to register for at least 3 years – the search engines look favorably on this.

Do a search on your favorite search engine for “web hosting” or “web hosting providers”. Make a list and rate them; it helps. For the actual research of these companies you can visit their websites or call them directly. We usually do both. We find that we can weed out certain companies by the products they offer and their price points for the levels of service they provide online. Then we call. Another tip; if your contact method of preference is to call and speak to a human like ours is, make sure you call them.

What are your needs? Is this site a one time thing? Is this your flagship website? Do you have 30 other websites that you need a host for? Are you running a forum, blog, or online store? All these questions should be considered as they all require different technical capabilities. Do you know what language or CMS you are going to use to build your site or blog? Once again, planning and research are very important. When you pick a web hosting company keep in mind these questions:

1.) Service: Do they offer 24/7 technical support? Do they charge extra for it? Is it by email only? Are they pleasant? (Knowing this beforehand can save you time, money, and aggravation)

2.) Can they handle your business? (i.e are they technically capable? Do their products meet your specifications mentioned above for your CMS or databases? This is why it pays to be prepared and informed.)

3.) How is their track record? Research the hosting company by checking the search engines for complaints or rants. A pattern of complaints can be a giant red flag; steer clear.

4.) Do they offer up-time reliability guarantees? Your site is no good to you if the server is down. The search engine crawlers will pass you by and penalize you if they try to crawl your site and it’s not there. This is a sign of instability.

5.) Price: We mention price last because it really should be your final concern. Service, Capabilities, Reputation, and Reliability are all priorities over price.

We have many other criteria we check at Blackball Online but these should get you started in the right direction. You get out what you put in. Search engine rankings and SEO starts before you ever code a line. Why sabotage your efforts before they begin? Our job is to make sure you get the maximum out of your site/blog. Blackball Online has the capability to host client sites as well.

Pittsburgh SEO by Blackball Online has all the necessary skills and contacts to meet all your Web Hosting and Online Consulting needs. Just call (412)377-7280 or contact us through our website.

Pittsburgh Internet Marketing – Who is Blackball Online?

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Pittsburgh, PA - Building an Online presence takes time, effort and money. Time, effort, and finances are also what most small businesses lack most. Many small business owners have explored using a website or blog to promote their business but found the cost was too high. No longer is this the case. Blackball Online – Pittsburgh Internet Marketing provides companies who could previously not afford a professionally marketed Website or Blog the ability to tap this ever increasing bounty of customers.

Blackball Online was founded to provide the Pittsburgh small business owner an opportunity to compete with the bigger players in their markets by providing cost effective, tiered Internet Marketing services. What this means is we work with you to build your digital business exposure in increments you can afford. No website, no problem, we can do that too.

Your Online presence says a lot about who you are as a business. Done correctly, you can attract new customers that are searching for your products and services and keep them coming back. Blackball Online can Register, Build, Host, Optimize, Promote, and Maintain your site for you, all at a cost that is surprisingly affordable. How affordable? See our Pittsburgh Internet Marketing Services page.

When we ask small business owners if they have ever heard the terms SEO, SEM, SMO, they often say, “NO”. We aim to change that, one customer at a time.

We offer:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – technically promoting your company and services to the search engines.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – a broader term given to all website promotion activities.

Social Media Optimization (SMO) – building a brand and a following for your business through personal contact with your customers using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Other terms that may be used to describe what we do:

• Website / Blog Design promotion
• Internet Marketing
• Online Marketing
• Business Consulting
• Internet Business Consulting
• Internet Promotion
• Link Building
• Directory Submission
• Paid Directory Listing
• Blog Advertising Service
• Forum Posting
• Social Bookmaking Services
• Article Writing and Distribution
• Press Release Distribution
• PPC Management
• Social Media Optimization
• SEO Content Writing

Each business has its own needs for Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Optimization, Website Design, and Internet Consulting. Blackball Online provides custom services in these areas for small business professionals in Pittsburgh, PA at an affordable cost; that’s what we do.

Our skills comprise a seasoned blend of Information Technology / Computer Science, Advertising, Marketing and Graphic Design with a combined 60 years experience working for Fortune 1000 corporations. Pittsburgh SEO, SEM, SMO, and Website Design for the small business looking for that big Internet presence without the big Internet price tag.

Visit our Pittsburgh Internet Marketing website or email info@blackballonline.com to get started. If you prefer, you can also call us at (412)377-7280.