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

Google’s Move To Goggles – A Shift Towards Mobile Search

Out with the maps and in with the Goggles. Google has eliminated the Maps listings for Online Marketing categories such as Pittsburgh SEO, Pittsburgh Online Marketing, Pittsburgh Internet Marketing, and some other search phrases related to Internet Marketing. Is this the first of many categories to be removed? We see this as a possible emerging trend or shift in Google’s Map endeavors. Is Google making an attempt to scrap the often spammed Maps listings? Let’s look further…

Google has introduced Goggles, formerly titled Google Visual Search in the development phase. We see this as a possible replacement for Maps altogether. It aligns itself perfectly with Google’s move towards mobile computing in a big way. First, the Android Operating System, and recently the Nexus phone release all seem to be aimed at Google’s strategy towards focusing on Mobile Search Technology. Add to this Google’s Cloud computing initiative and the signals become stronger. (Pun intended)

As previously mentioned, this may be the beginning of Google's attempt to curb the rampant spam problem that plagues their maps. Bing has a more stringent verification requirement and their maps algorithm is less spammy because of that. Sometimes being first to market has its drawbacks as companies submitted multiple bogus listings in an effort to be found. Bing learned from this and only allows for Direct Mail registration as opposed to Google’s phone verification option which allows businesses to register from anywhere.

Pittsburgh is the home of Blackball Online Marketing so I can only speak to this issue from our point of view. As a small Pittsburgh Online Marketing Company we cater to Pittsburgh businesses only. It would be nice to have a very pretty maps listing for Pittsburgh SEO again. It would also be nice for Google to share its decisions and be transparent about this selective omission. But Google is Google and that's that.

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.

Twitter Help Resources - The Twitter Help Files

Pittsburgh, PA - As our previous posts on Twitter mention at the Blackball Online Newsblog, the Twitter community has been very kind to us. We would like to return the favor by providing some Twitter resources that may be overlooked.

When we started our Twitter experience, like most, we didn’t read the instructions. (i.e. the Help Files) Help files are a very valuable resource. The same holds true for Twitter. No-one could have predicted all the scenarios or uses for Twitter that have been encountered to date with such a diverse user group.

We thought we would share some very valuable Twitter Help File links to common problems and save you some time:

The Twitter Main Help Page - http://help.twitter.com/portal

Twitter has developed this area with resources to aid in Getting Started, Finding People, Official Twitter Text Commands, and Frequently Asked Questions.

The sidebar of the main help page is a wealth of information. It contains this:

Help Resources

Getting Started (25)

Find answers to common questions!

Using Twitter with your phone (10)

Tweet by text: find help using your phone with Twitter!

Trouble Shooting (17)

Having problems? Check out some of our most common issues and what to do about them

Known Issues (22)

Find updates about open bugs and currently known issues. Click the 'subscribe' link to receive email updates when a new topic is posted by Twitter Support.

Impersonation, Trademark, and Terms of Service policies (13)

Find out how to report common Terms of Service or Rules violations, such as impersonation, copyright, trademark, user name squatting and more.

Some roadblocks we have faced and where we went to solve them:

Follow Limits - http://help.twitter.com/forums/10713/entries/14959

Contacting Twitter

More information about Twitter
*@spam: follow our spam profile and report Twitter spam via direct message
*Status Blog: check Twitter's current system status.
*Twitter Blog: what's new with Twitter
*Developer Blog: a technical blog from the Twitter engineering team
*Developer Group: if you're a developer, join our mailing list

A pleasant experience is what we all want from Twitter; we hope we have armed you with some suggestions to help your Twitter experience in the event you experience any roadblocks along the way. Using Help files when they are available is always good practice. Technical Support personnel are always very busy so if you can solve the problem yourself your time can be better spent Tweeting. If you cannot solve the problem or find the solution yourself, you’ll be armed with the information to assist the technicians in fixing your problem and get faster results.

Other helpful Twitter Resources:

This post is fabulous      à http://wiredpen.com/resources/twitter-resources/

Another Great Post       à http://online-social-networking.com/tons-of-great-twitter-resources

This post compiled by Pittsburgh SEO by Blackball Online. Happy Tweeting.

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 Social Media Marketing and Twitter Tools 2

Pittsburgh, PA - After joining Twitter (see previous post) and becoming familiar with the landscape, we’ve started to branch out to our community, both locally and across the globe. This has been thoroughly enjoyable. Connecting with people and their businesses is wonderful and rewarding. Thanks to all of you who follow @blackballonline and to all of you who hopefully will after this post. We follow all of the users who follow us. This is one way we can repay you for all the gracious help and information you have given us.

Now to the business at hand, after joining Twitter, we were alerted to the unbelievable amount of add-ons and applications for this tool. We will list the ones that we have employed as of this post. If you are aware of some glaring omissions please comment or email us at our Pittsburgh SEO website or Tweet at @blackballonline.

Our previous post of this same name (version 1 as of that point) listed some initial applications we used like Wefollow – http://wefollow.com, Tweetdeck – http://tweetdeck.com, Twellow - http://www.twellow.com, and Twitalyzer – http://www.twitalyzer.com

We have been testing and implementing some new Twitter tools and we’ll start with a very handy little tool that works well with our desire to analyze the response to our Tweets, Bit.ly.

1.)        (http://bit.ly/) this application provides real-time link tracking and history for all our shortened URLs. In addition it offers the option to store all our Twitter preferences.

2.)        (http://justtweetit.com/) Directory of Twitter users listed in categories. This directory allows you to add your own links and list your business out there.

3.)        (http://www.twitbacks.com/) Twitter Template Designer - Add Social Networks and Links - Brand Your Twitter Background - Promote Your Twitter Profile all in one application.

4.)        (http://friendorfollow.com/) who are you following that's not following you back? Who's following you that you're not following back? Find out! This Twitter application is very important for breaking the Twitter 2000 following rule.

5.)        (http://www.twibs.com/) Very quick and functional business listing. Browse 15,625 (as of this post) twitter businesses on twibs.com.

If you have further Twitter resources that are excellent, please let me know via comment to this post. We found another list of Twitter applications sorted by function here: http://www.twitter-resources.com/.

All these tools were very easy to implement and very intuitive. If you have problems just tweet us and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction. As mentioned above, you can follow us on Twitter @blackballonline, sign up and comment to this and other posts on our Pittsburgh SEO Blog, or email us via our Pittsburgh SEO Contact Page. While your there, please subscribe to our RSS or email feed(s) to keep up with folks here at Blackball Online.