Craig Rentmeester's Blog

SEO Tip: URLs

To promote my free SEO e-book on on-page search engine optimization, called "We Have a Web site, Now What?", I am providing some SEO tips. This week's installment is  about URLs. (URL defined). Below are four things to keep in mind before and after setting up a Web site.

1. Domain names are important. If you want to rank well for a keyword, having it in the domain name provides a big advantage. If all other factors (content, page titles, links, etc.) were equal, the site with the keyword in the domain would rank better than a site with generic company name in the domain.


2. Search engines take into account the names of directories and files in each URL where there is content. Thus, keywords should appear in the directory names and file names for individual pages.
   
   • Try to have a dedicated page, permalink, for each word or phrase. This helps with on-page and off-page SEO. I will discuss this in greater detail in my second e-book to be released in April, 2008.


3. Static URLs rank better than dynamic URLs.


4. If you’re going to use multiple words when naming a file or directory, use a hyphen, not an underscore between the two words. Google tends to ignore underscores, but views hyphens as dividing two distinct words.

Remember, search engines try to link searchers to information that is directly related to the search query that is entered. Therefore, having keywords in the domain name and file name are important because it shows search engines that you're catering your content to that micro-audience of searchers.

Good video with B2B blogging advice

Here is a video with some good advice on B2B blogging from Andy Sernovitz, author of "Word of Mouth Marketing".

Here's a quote from the video that I really like. It's from Matt Dickman.

"A way for B2B companies to get involved is really to listen first...There's no need to create a blog the first day...Start listening...Where are your customers looking, where they're find information about you and go from there"

Thinker, Tinker or Tanker

Which one are you, a thinker, a tinker or a tanker?

A thinker develops theories, thinks about the "big picture" and strategy, but isn't a hands-on person. She doesn't like the trial and error method.

The tinker has many hobbies, likes trial and error, and she likes variety.

The tanker gets things done. The tanker takes out the garbage while cooking breakfast and gets the kids to school, in 45 minutes flat (33 minutes with no traffic). The tanker has processes they've built over time and they work, for her.

Does your view of yourself match up with your actions? Does your job match up with your style?

Happy Oscars

Tonight is Oscar night. It's party time for many.

I thought I'd pass along a link to an interesting Oscars article, title "Oscars by the Numbers".

Also, here's a link my post from the past about the PR value of winning an Oscar.

Creative Packaging and Product Ideas

Here are some unique and creative examples of product ideas and product packaging. Hopefully these images spark creativity for you.

(Click on the images for an enlarged view)

Beer bread in a bottle

Waistline Soup

Pie in a Bottle

These three products put the 'fun' in functional.

Misused Words

Confused about which word to use, avoid errors with this free resource.

Long-tail keywords

I read a few interesting articles with differing view points on whether or not you should target long-tail keywords.

Links
For targeting long-tail keywords by Jennifer Laycock.
Why you should target the most competitive keywords by Hamet Batista.

I really like Jennifer's description, image and examples of the search buying cycle.

 

My Take on Long-Tail Keyword Targeting
My take is that it depends on the type of site you have. If it's a blog that wants readers, go for generic keywords because that's where the big traffic is. If you have a used car web site, go for long-tail keywords that are easier to rank well for and will likely convert at a higher rate.

Does your site get more conversions (e-mail sign-ups, purchases, etc.) from long-tail keywords or generic keywords?

Let me know in the comments. Please note what market your company competes in as well.

Jigsaw Site Review

Recently I learned about, and started using, a great site called Jigsaw.

What is it?

Essentially Jigsaw is a shared database that you can use to find and retrieve contact information.

How it Works?

With Jigsaw, you can get people's contact information either by paying for it, by updating contact information for individuals or by adding your contacts to the database.  When you add or update contacts you get points that can be used to retrieve other contacts from the database.

For signing up they give you two free contacts.  You also get points for referring new members (see below).

Why Would You Use Jigsaw?

Jigsaw comes in handy for me when my company's CRM has out-of-date information for someone.

CRM Integration

Currently Jigsaw is intgerated with Salesforce.com, Oracle and Siebel.

Jim Fowler, CEO of Jigsaw, told me they're in talks with Act about integrating Jigsaw. He also said that Maximizer CRM systems is on Jigsaw's radar. 

(How cool is it that the CEO of Jigsaw monitors Technorati for blog coverage, comments to bloggers and responds to questions from bloggers within 24 hours?)

Sign Up

If you want to become a member, use this Jigsaw referral link so I get some points. :)

On-page SEO Tip: Header Tags

To promote my e-book, I will be providing tips related to on-page search engine optimization from time to time.

Today's topic is header tags.

Here is an overview courtesy of HTML Code Tutorial.

Each header tag indicates the relative importance of each section it is heading: <H1 ...> is for the major sections of your document, or as the one header to the entire document.  <H2 ...> is for the secondary sections of your document, etc.

Basically, you can think of the header tag as being similar to a newspaper's headline.

 

To help optimize your pages using header tags, keep these three rules in mind:

• Each page should have unique header tags related to the content on that page.
• Header tags should contain important keywords, with the most important keyword(s) appearing the H1 tag and descending in importance from there on.
• Don't use more than one H1 tag.

  

The graphic on the right, courtesy of Net Mechanic, visually displays how header tags
function.
The source code for this graphic would be:

<h1>H1</h1>
<h2>H2</h2>

Download my free ebook about on-page SEO.

The Week of the Underdog?

Could this be the week of the underdog?

The Giants rallied past the Patriots.

Now, could Barack rally past Hilary?
Could McCain get the bid that was unforeseen only months ago?

Time, maybe even hours, will tell.

I think undecided Americans like rooting for the underdog.  It is a more compelling story than rooting for the favorite.

The question is, will they show up and support the underdog? A compelling story can get people talking. But, talk is one thing; action is another.

Here's an update on Super Tuesday's action.

Personal Branding Lessons from an Experienced Brand Builder

Personal Branding Magazine issue 3 is now available. For issue 3, I interviewed John Purdy of the Kendall Purdy Group.

The article tells his story of leaving the Ad Agency he'd worked at for over 20 years to become a one-man consulting firm.

My article, featured on PDF page 25/magazine page 19, is below.

Enjoy.

Personal Branding Advice from an Experienced Brand Builder

By Craig Rentmeester

Freelance consulting is considered to be the ultimate reward in personal branding by many professionals. It signifies you’ve reached a point in your career where people recognize your brand and value your opinions.

To gain perspective on consulting and personal branding I caught up with John Purdy. With over 30 years of marketing experience on both the agency and corporate side, Purdy is a thought leader when it comes to brand building. For the past nine years he has helped his clients grow their brands on a freelance basis through his consultancy, the Kendall Purdy Group.

Striking Out (on His Own)
The decision to go into freelance consulting brings both freedom and uncertainty. It allows professionals a chance to take on projects they’ll enjoy while setting their own work pace. However, it also brings an unstable income and less job security. When asked about the decision to go into this line of work Purdy responded,

“I started consulting when my agency client fired the agency in favor of an agency with a more extensive international network. As (it) often happens in the (advertising) agency world, my job was eliminated when the income from that large client ceased. The client who left the agency still valued my counsel in their business and contracted for a portion of my time if I chose to consult. That was sufficient incentive to establish a consultancy, with that client as a base.”

 
Choosing a Brand
The Kendall Purdy Group is a unique choice for a freelance consultant’s brand. When asked why he decided on that Purdy said, “…I developed a list of possible names that had probably 20 options to choose from. There were logical and descriptive names, benefit-focused names, fanciful names and others. I reviewed the list of names with friends and the clear winner was the Kendall Purdy Group. “

Purdy said it was the clear choice because, “It sounded as though I wasn't all by myself, which I was. It sounded dignified and professional, which it wasn’t particularly…and it was vague enough not to pigeonhole me in any one discipline or area of consulting.”

John Purdy had two things at this point; a client to stabilize his business, and a brand to manage and grow. But, the key to running to a successful business is a consistent customer base.

Getting Customers
When asked about how he normally gains business, Purdy said, “Ninety-five percent of my business comes from referrals -- from people I know in the business who either hire me themselves or recommend me to others…My network has been the only dependable source of business over the nine years of consulting.”

Tricky Situations
Purdy also went on to mention how he is put into peculiar situations. He mentioned how he sometimes competes against advertising agency’s he consulted for and consulting for two businesses that directly compete with one another.

“I always try to be upfront about the organizations I have worked with and (let clients know) that I cannot disclose anything that is considered proprietary information,“ says Purdy.

“Honesty is the best policy in consulting,” says Purdy.