Search Engine Optimization & Marketing

What is SEO?

and why it's so important!

SEO is the active practice of optimizing a website by improving internal and external aspects in order to increase the traffic the site receives from search engines. Optimizing a web site for search engines can require looking at many unique elements in the broad field of website optimization. This is done by using advanced and unique "white hat" SEO techniques (white hat means web ethical or legal so web authorities (Google and others) won't penalize or ban your site; making placement virtually impossible, oh yea they can do that.)

There are certain practices of sloppy coding and search engine manipulation that can quickly make a site invisible to search engines or compromise the lasting placement of your site, and there are certain practices that make it easy to be seen such as keyword/meta data research and unique content and link placement, we focus on the later from day one:)

Some company's will tell you that you need to pay to rank, and yes sometimes as with any advertising you'll get a healthy return on investment, just know paying for placement is not the only way to reach people and isn't always right for every company.

Why your company's website needs SEO

The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines; Google, Yahoo!, MSN, among others. If your site can't be found by search engines or your content can't be put into their databases, you miss out on the incredible opportunities available to website's provided via people searching for and who want what you have on your site.

This is where Supercore graphics steps in to research your customers searching patterns, competitors sites and what works and doesn't work in your market.

Certain times we'll use broad generalized keywords and sometimes the instinctual keywords can be speed bumps to what would otherwise be a successful website so we'll use more unique keywords to separate you from the pack. The key is to research your competition with software developed to get this info. It's important that a sites architecture contain unique and relevant content and it's hierarchy be optimized to make sure your site is built to maximize it's organic potential. Whether your website provides information, services, or products, search engines are the primary method of navigation for almost all Internet users. Targeting visitors to a website can provide publicity, revenue and exposure like no other form of advertising.

Search queries, the words that users type into the search box which contain terms and phrases best suited to your site; carry extraordinary value. Experience has shown that search engine traffic can make (or break) an organization's success. Investing in SEO, whether through time or finances, can have an exceptional rate of return-ROR also known as return on investment-ROI. Supercore Graphics is proud to offer this service with everyone of it's websites.

how long does it take to start ranking?

It usually takes about a month . The more saturated your market is the longer it takes organically, but you never know because not all web-designers are as thorough as we are, and there's a good chance the search engines will react favorably to our site:) Although we can't guarantee placement, we've had sites go to #2 in their town in 2 months time, which is not the norm but exceptional and worth mentioning. Remember the movie Field of Dreams? Well, "if your build it (correctly), they will come."

Everyone knows the story of the tortoise and the hair? Well the hair is throwing money at the computer right out of the gate trying to place, not worrying about doing things right. Sure he ranks immediately, but when the tortoise is crossing the finish line, accepting the trophy, or in your case the customer clicks, the hair is tired of spending twice the money in PPC for less return on investment. Although I regret having a tortoise in the analogy, because I build sites pretty fast, and they operate nice and fast but you get the point.

What is SEM?

Paid Placement and Secondary Sources in the Results

The practice of optimization for the paid search results is called SEM or Search Engine Marketing. The search engine results pages (or SERP'S for short) contain listings of documents found to be relevant to the user's query, but they also include paid advertisements and secondary source results. Supercore finds SEM works especially well in combination with good site optimization and keyword and content management. The sites & pages ranking in the "organic" search results receive the lion's share of searcher eyeballs and clicks - between 60-70% depending on factors such as the prominence of ads, relevance of secondary content, competition, etc. We recommend SEM to the company who's are serious about having their website seen by hundreds and thousands of viewers each month. Any business knows the law of averages can be a powerful tool for gaining sales, a search engine Marketing campaign or AdWords ad can significantly increase this average along with a company's volume and profits if proactively monitored and adjusted. Google, for example, offers advertising with its successful AdWords program as well as secondary content from its local search, product searches and image and local maps search results, most search engines have similar services. While all of these practices are a valuable part of any online marketing campaign, the best path to success with search marketing involves a comprehensive strategy. We can help you achieve your goals and look forward to talking about taking the next step when your ready.

Supercore Graphics SEO Services

a solid foundation with every site.

When we say "built from the search up" it means as we design and implement your site to the web, we make sure we are making the site as friendly to the search engines and your audience as we can. Although the search engines are important, we never compromise your viewers experience. With that being said, this portion is about SEO and not style. At times the two overlap on their path to a similar goal of course they are two different sides on the same coin that is SEO.

There are many ingredients that make a site rank well including the keywords, paragraph phrasing, headings, link placement, content hierarchy, validated coding, sitemap utilization are some of the most important. The actual content of your site matters. Not only must your website be concise for your viewing audience it must communicate well with the search engine spiders that are crawling and bouncing around the internet, looking for quality content which will determine who places where in the serps.

There are many local search engines and Linking service that make it easier to get a natural ranking and we utilize as many as possible by multiple submissions. After we build your site we make sure we submit your site to all the necessary search engines, including the DMOZ. The DMOZ is the mother ship for the internet search engines. Comprised of actual human editors that check the validity, accuracy of your site.

There are both general and local categories that we submit your site to in the DMOZ alone. Then we also submit your site to Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, MSN, AOL, Dogpile, and any local and mapping resources that those engines offer. The local engines are known as geo-targeting sites and are a commonly under utilized service for Search Engine Optimization. Patience is a virtue and ranking organically takes time, but good organic placement is lasting and expensive to imitate.

Marketing and setting a budget for search ads

How to know what to spend?

We prefer to use Google AdWords for their budget setting flexibility, versatile and powerful monitoring tools with broad audience reach. Before creating a paid placement in Google AdWords we make sure you know who your trying to reach and how to best spend your daily and monthly AdWords budgets. There are several different local and non local ad options including Google and Yahoo maps and mobile ad options that we can utilize.

Google AdWords is a great way to improve your visibility and directly target your customers with direct and efficient ad placements. This is all done in unison with organic SEO to get the most for your money. There are many companies who spend thousands a month on advertising.

How do you know where to put your money and what amount to spend? Google AdWords gives you complete control of your spending. There's no minimum spending requirement, so the amount you pay for AdWords is entirely up to you. You'll set your budget after we help you determine which keywords you should target and monitor your AdWords Success. For instance, you can set a daily budget of 20 dollars and a maximum cost of .45 cents for each click on your ad, or $200 a month, and have different costs per click for different keywords based on thier determined value. We start by researching your market and finding out who's spending what and using what keywords. Through research we can determine a course of action that doesn't always mean paying more than someone else. Sometimes it's keyword finesse than can really help put you ahead. Google also has plenty of online education resources available to everyone and we recommend taking a look at them yourself as well. Yahoo also has a marketing service, let us know what you think after checking them out, or call us to discuss starting and planning a course of action that's right for you.

In addition to third party software that Supercore uses, Google provides keyword traffic and cost estimates so we can make informed decisions about choosing keywords and maximize your budget. You're charged only if someone clicks your ad, not when your ad is displayed. Google also utilizes software to make sure that the clicks are coming from actual people not ill-intentioned competitors trying to make your keywords more expensive etc.

We charge a monthly fee of $100 to maintain your account, and We provide you with printed or emailed results with graphs explaining what's working, what's not and what we recommend. If your serious about targeting an audience and improving rank and sales, this kind of advertising can have a great return on investment.

Website strategies

Sorting through the hype of SEO, SEM and understanding website strategies.

and learning that patience is a virtue and necessity when dealing with SEO

Supercore Graphics focus is working with small to medium size businesses. I started this company with altruistic intentions, we want to help. Our training in We design and SEO can help on many levels and we're proud of that. When we talk about patience we mean...be educated. SEO isn't a lottery, it's a science, a practice, with proven and repeatable results based on sound calculations and actions. There are many ways to give your website a boost, paying for clicks and monitoring the returns are just one of many ways. Below are some definitions of some services we provide, what they mean and how they can help you.

1) Pre-Optimization Research

This means we get to know you and your company. We sit down and ask you some basic questions about your company and what your goals are and who your target audience is etc. If we are building your site then we can control this from the start. If you already have a site then we need to look at your existing site to see how we can improve it.

2) Website Analysis

There are many free and paid software tools at our disposal. Many of the best tools are free such as Google analytics and certain browser toolbars for monitoring website statistics. Some other tools include rank monitoring, robot.txt tools, link popularity tools, sitemap generators, back-link checkers,

3) Create a comprehensive keyword list

This is done by using unique and advanced software tools available to look at what people in your market both nationally and locally are doing and who is having the best success.

This process is increased when starting an adwords ad, as it's more important to monitor the success of the keywords your paying for.

4) On-Page Site Optimization

This means making sure not only your site's code is correct but making sure that your viewers can easily find what there looking for on your pages. There have been many studies done that we've read about where the eye's fall when looking at a page and we tend to stick to those areas for navigation and important information.

5) Site Map Optimization

Many search engines have protocols for webmasters that help those search engines see the content of your pages. It's knowing where to put this information and submitting it correctly so that the search engines can get the most from your page, making it easier for you to rank as high as possible organically.

6) Link Building

* External Link Building is not included with every package, please call to discuss if this is right for you. If you already have site's you need linked to we can add them to your site for no additional charge.

If your a larger company, it's even more important to have links to other company's, market authorities, blogs, and other sources to help the search engines realize the relevance of your site in regards to your market. We can put together a comprehensive strategy for your business that will help your website's including Article submission Forum submissions, Advanced Directory submission, Press releases, and other strategies.

For instance if you have a large company who operates through out the northeast and you want to attract semi-national or national attention, it's a good idea to have lot's of PR, blogs, links to companies that have high rankings and are authority's in your field. Networking can be a great tool and mutually beneficial for related companies.

7) Landing Page Layout and Design Guidance

A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a particular action or result. The home page is usually the landing page but it all depends on the site and what the desired customer reaction is. There should be a minimal amount of effort for the viewer to be able to take the desired course of action on a landing page, also referred to sometimes as a silo page.

Landing pages are commonly synced with a pay per click campaign (PPC) such as Google AdWords, but traffic can also be sent from blogs, emails or other means of linking. Traffic is sent to the optimized landing pages for the specific ads. Content can be altered and monitored to maximize the conversion rate of those viewers by monitoring and altering any number of elements on those particular pages. The process of making a successful landing page is sometimes referred to as SEO copy writing. Making sure there is the right amount of keyword density and relevance on a landing page in order to rank and then prompt the desired reaction. We use Google's Web Optimizer and Google Analytics monitor and adjust to improve your conversion rate and other key metrics.