July 2014 | The Web Authority

July 31, 2014July 26, 2014

It’s Time to Put Your Website on a Diet

Well what I really mean is to put your website on a content diet. In months and years past, it was a great idea, and SEO strategy, to build some really great content to help build site authority. This was a winning strategy when Google was counting links and in counting inbound traffic.

Now however, Google is watching relevancy and that means click through rate and bounce rate of your website. Content that was informational in nature that gave your site a 75% and higher bounce rate is now a liability for organic placement.

As an example, before my own cleanup due to some of the content I was carrying, my bounce rate was around 75%. After my cleanup, my bounce rate is now 39.07%. I simply redesigned my site, revamped my content and actually dropped pages that were just built to be informational, instructional or to build authority.

As you make site changes you should at least shoot for the overall global average bounce rate of 46.9%. What used to be great to fluff up traffic and boot organic placement may now be dropping you in the SERPs!

If you would like more in-depth information I suggest this article that mirrors my own recommended strategy for websites in today’s world for Google.

July 29, 2014July 26, 2014

Google My Business Explained

Cover of my own Google My Business Page.

If you have been using Google Places or Google+, Google has a new property call Google My Business that you need to be looking at and migrating to.

First notice that even if you have been posting on Google+ pages you may not have a Google My Business site. For that matter if you’ve had a Google Places or Google Maps page, you may still need to re-verify to migrate that page to Google My Business.

Here’s what I’ve found out. I have a number of Google+ pages that I routinely post to as well as a personal Google+ page. I even had one Google Places page. When I set up my own Google My Business page, it was a different URL than any of them. Sigh… that means I had to start all over in building a fan base as any of my existing pages did not migrate into the new Google My Business page.

The Google My Business pages even look different. You’ll know you have one if over the cover image you see things like your office hours, your address, and website URL. You can see the cover image of my own in this post and view my site online.

Google is really pushing the Google My Business pages. My Google AdWords account rep even told me this past week that Google AdWords will be doing away with the ability to add business addresses manually in AdWords and using only the Google My Business page for locations in the near future. This means that it is time to get going on embracing this new Google product.

Personally I hate that the migration did not allow me to pick up one of my existing pages about my business that had a nice number of followers, but this is Google, it is their way all the way.

So, better get prepared for the future, as it is clear that Google will want to only deliver Google Maps and Google organic results pointing to a verified Google My Business page in the very near future.

July 24, 2014July 19, 2014

Social Media Services

Social Media Addressed in a Smart Way by McCord Web Services.

Social Media has now become an important part of every business’ overall marketing program. Search engines and site visitors consider social media activity important and are site visitors are using the ability to share content with others using these platforms; making participation in social networks more meaningful for businesses. As a result to keep up with current trends, our social media programs are being improved to serve your needs better.

We have hired special social media specialists to curate the content that is used for social media and have employed specialized content writers to write your updates. When you work with us, we think that you will find that the content for your social media networks is improved to is more meaningful and targeted for your own audience. For Facebook, our content is standardized to show around 50 to 60 words in each update.

We’ve listened carefully to what our clients want and need when it comes to social media. Here’s what our clients tell us.

1. I understand social media and its value to my business. I want regular updates and I have the budget to spend to support quality writing and a cohesive strategy across all my properties including blogging. (Consider our Gold and Silver Plans.)

2. I need to not spend more money, in fact I need to spend less when it comes to social media. Although I have not seen leads from social media, I know I’ve read that it is important and I want to make sure I am doing a little there but don’t really want to spend a chunk of change on it. (Consider our Bronze Plan.)

3. Although I don’t see business from social media, I have the icons on my website and do not want to be embarrassed by client’s clicking these links and seeing that I have not updated that platform since December 2013. I just want a little bit of work to keep my toe in and make sure I appear up-to-date. (Consider our Mini Plan or our Minimalist Plan.)

For each special customer, we now have programs that cater to your specific needs and budget constraints. You’ll find that we provide a range of services with quality writing that will target social media in a smart way without breaking your budget. Visit our social media page to find out more.