Pittsburgh SEO – SEM – SEA | Internet Marketing and Website Design | Blackball Online

Pittsburgh SEO Your Twitter Tweets

Pittsburgh, PA - SEO is our passion. Because of this we make every effort to maximize your site and business to its fullest. The same goes for Twitter Tweets. The following is our analysis of the most effective way to Tweet on Twitter based on our experience to date.

Our use of Twitter is to contribute and be involved in the community, raise awareness of how our services and Website / Blog can potentially help small businesses, garner and learn from your feedback and pass on things that we’ve learned (and are still learning) through trail-and-error. Fundamentally, we use Twitter to meet and share experience with all sorts of business folks out on Twitter. We also use Twitter to spread the word, or advertise for our clients.

The anatomy of a Twitter Tweet is simple. You get 140 characters to state your case. You can add links using the hxxp://longurl format or you can use a url shortener (an algorithm that makes your url very short, thus using fewer characters). We prefer Bit.ly.

Getting down to it, normal marketing rules need not apply. Pushy Tweets or advertising don’t work on Twitter. Good quality information in as few characters as possible is the ideal Tweet formula (using effective keywords of course). Remember this is a micro blogging platform. Blog posts in miniature.

In addition to these points we must add the fact that should someone want to ReTweet or RT(send your message out again giving you credit) your Tweets should be limited to 100 or so characters. The task sounds daunting but it isn’t.

Eliminate all fluff. Promote a topic or have a call to action immediately followed by your shortened url. That’s it. Some sample Tweets we use to promote Blackball Online – Pittsburgh SEO include:

#Pittsburgh #SEO #SEM #SEA http://www.blackballonline.com

Internet Marketing for Small Business; Take Your Best Shot - http://bit.ly/GUpcd

#Twitter and the 2000 Follow Limit rule http://bit.ly/v8S99

Choose an SEO that does the research? http://bit.ly/3H3zJu

CMS Tools friend or foe? http://bit.ly/zIoyF

Some of these links are blog posts on the Blackball Online Newsblog , and we did leave the full URL for Blackball Online on the first Tweet. Other information about these Tweets – the # or hashtag as it is called, designates a topic or locale. When we use #Pittsburgh anyone who belongs to the #Pittsburgh group will get our Tweet, even if they are not following us.

We have also written some posts designed for new and experienced Twitterers. The links are here:

New to #Twitter? Get started with these Twitter tools. http://bit.ly/42iIq

Not so new to #twitter - Our 2nd installment of #Twitter Tools. http://bit.ly/5QNeW

Below are some very good posts on the same or similar topics and are worth the read;

http://mashable.com/2009/06/25/twitter-seo-tips/

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/01/15/twitter-seo/

Internet Marketing for Small Business; Take Your Best Shot.

Pittsburgh, PA - Yankee Ingenuity, only Americans can claim that term, that state of mind – nobody else. One of the things that makes America unique and standout from all other countries is that only in America do you have the inborn right and opportunity to take your best shot. The caveat – nobody is going to make it easy.

So what does that have to do with Online Marketing or Search Engine Optimization? Well…plenty. Not that far back, small businesses had to come up with all kind of creative ways to say “hey, I’m over here” without the marketing and advertising resources of the “bigger boys.”

Then along came the Internet. Next the World Wide Web, and you pretty much know the rest. Now just about any small business can get a Website at real good price and it goes without saying it’s an obvious business must-have. But you still have the “hey, I’m over here” dilemma.

Enter Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online or Internet Marketing, whatever you want to call it and ta-da; you now have the tools to shout as loud as the big players without the big price tag. With some creativity (Yankee Ingenuity), help from a qualified SEO, and commitment, you can beat the bigger players in the “hey, I’m over here” department and do more business. We’re seeing and being part of it first hand. So, take your best shot.

Contact Blackball Online at (412)377-7280 or visit our Pittsburgh SEO website for a free consultation. We specialize in Internet Marketing for small business.

Pittsburgh SEO for Small Business (Part 1) – Choose an SEO that Researches your Industry

Pittsburgh, PA - We have seen the rise of the SEO. A lot of old school marketing and advertising companies are now professing to be Search Engine Optimizers. I speak with clients in the Pittsburgh area who have been approached by SEO companies who never even ask what the company does. We believe that Industry research for your target market is essential to your SEO initiative.

If you have a pre-existing website, an introductory review must be completed to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. How else would an SEO know what course of action to proceed with? A review of your site’s content and structure for search engine ranking factors such as keyword research, links, proper use of Meta information, and a number of other factors should be included.

The next step is to analyze the market itself. Is this a niche market with little competition or is the field so competitive that a diversified approach is required? Are there many players? This is something that is impossible to determine without the proper background and Internet Marketing Research.

Your SEO, we believe, should not be guarded about answering any and all questions about technical procedures. This affects your company and your rankings dramatically. Advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript and robots files all fall under the category of SEO Consulting and we feel these are valid questions and open for discussion. If your prospective or current SEO is secretive about these items it raises a red flag. It is possible that your SEO could be harming more than helping.

We encourage our customers to be involved in every step of the SEO initiative. Content development is a major area. After all nobody knows your business like you do. An SEO can gain valuable insight and information about your company and market complexities by asking some basic questions.

Management of online business development campaigns and advertising is all dependent upon the research previously mentioned. Why spend valuable dollars and assets with someone who doesn’t have a plan of attack, a course of action, and the verifiable means to achieve your goals? Our business is to get you business.

We try to educate our customers about the SEO process if they want to be involved. An educated customer can be one of our most valuable resources. We are available to aid in SEO training to help in this process. At the same time, we want to learn about your business and market to better do our job. By doing this we can gain expertise in your specific markets and geographies and use it to drive business to your site/s.

It takes a lot more than adding a bunch of keywords to your site to be a good SEO. SEO requires Research, and a lot of it. Contact Us at Blackball Online for a free initial consultation and we’d be happy to discuss you business goals and objectives.

Marketing your Small Business on the Internet (Part 4) Consistency and Innovation

Pittsburgh, PA – If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. Beware of any SEO company that guarantees you No #1 rankings right away (unless it’s a Pay Per Click ad). Often these companies use procedures that are deemed unscrupulous by the Search Engines. In a never ending war on spam sites, search engines can and do penalize for such tactics. Google has a pretty nice rundown of what an SEO company should and should not be at: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291

Internet Marketing is not a Science, it’s an Art. Despite the tools we use to measure results, Web Analytics are measured through research, trial and error, and experience as well as facts and figures. Many factors drive results, not the least of which is the economy. In my opinion there is no bad time to start or build on your online reputation. Solid fundamentals and consistent additions to your content will win over the “set it and forget it” method every time.

SEO is a powerful and effective way to increase your site's traffic - but most serious SEO efforts can take at least several weeks to take effect. If you are committed and willing to manage your Website's SEO continually, you should see your results increase steadily over time. As a general rule, the more dedicated and persistent you are with on and off site optimization, the better your results will be.

In addition to following Google Webmaster Guidelines for your site, there are always new and exciting ways to market your specific business. We have experimented with marketing mixes in the online arena and have found successful formulas that work very well. As we mention in Part 3 of this series, starting a blogging initiative, to complement your organic search results, consider starting a blog for your site. This is just one way to add content and reach new and existing customers.

Internet Marketing Services take on many forms. A sound business consultation and experience in the field are some traits you should certainly look for in any SEO company. Ask questions to sound out the company. After all the SEO firm will represent your business. Research and due diligence are your responsibility as a business owner. Any sound SEO should provide you with all the background information you need.

Knowing your market trends, your target audience, and your target demographic helps immensely in the way you advertise. In our experience, offering sound business advice as well as a robust marketing plan to include all forms of advertising for your business provides the best long term results. Ask yourself what kind of results you expect to see, and how long you are committed to working towards these goals. Provide for that going into a campaign and it makes it a lot easier to reach those goals. Sometimes it helps to envision the result and work backward toward it using the SEO techniques described above.

Contact Us at Blackball Online for an evaluation of your Internet Marketing and overall business needs.

Marketing your Small Business on the Internet (Part 1) Picking a Name for your Business

Pittsburgh, PA - If you have not formally picked a name for your business, or are thinking of changing your business name, this article is for you. Planning is often the most overlooked step in forming a business. Don’t get caught backtracking and fixing problems that are a result of oversight.

Using the Where, What, and Who Method for choosing a business name and ranking with it. (The How and the Why is up to you):

Your business name should reflect directly where your service or product is sold, what it is, and finally but not necessarily who you are. Ideally it should at least promote your service or product for you all by itself. (i.e. Figs by Johnny) Better still, your business should define where your geographical target market is or where you produce or distribute your product. (i.e. Pittsburgh Figs by Johnny) With any work at all, you should attain top rankings for figs in Pittsburgh using this name, after you outrank this post of course.

So why not Johnny’s Figs in Pittsburgh or Johnny’s Pittsburgh Figs? Many businesses get caught up in this. The Pittsburgh fig consumer doesn’t much care that the figs are by Johnny. They just want figs in Pittsburgh. Until Pittsburgh Figs by Johnny is a brand unto itself, Johnny is incidental (sorry Johnny wherever you are) to the ranking of this product for Online Marketing purposes. In fact I would omit Johnny altogether and name this business Pittsburgh Figs or perhaps Figs Pittsburgh.

If this market was very tight, the location of the keywords in the name could make all the difference. Check this out for yourself with any Search Engine for a product and place. See what I mean. I give you proof positive of what I’m saying here to be true. Try typing “figs California” into a Google search box. This example is so strong that if you type figs all by itself the CaliforniaFigs.com site appears at number 1.

This business name (Pittsburgh Figs) was invented for a company that does not exist and it makes for a good example. Marketers in highly competitive segments should carefully think out their proposed business name and research it thoroughly. The time it takes to rank for a particular product or service will vary. Unrealistic expectations of results should be avoided. As with any Marketing campaign, this takes time. With a soundly thought out business name, you have a solid head start.

Call Blackball Online at (412)377-7280 for all you Internet Consulting and Marketing needs. We would be happy to assist you in picking that perfect business name.