Gervais Group, LLC – Internet Marketing & SEO Company

As search engines increasingly focus on user experience and their ability to deliver exactly what people are looking for, searchers have become quicker to react when they don’t see immediate relevance for their search terms. This reaction quickness now means that each landing page must clearly and immediately present itself as being relevant and valuable to visitors to keep them on that page and then entice them further into the site. The resulting fact is that well written content that compels visitors toward conversion has never been more important to the success of a site. Follow this check list to ensure that you are delivering what your visitors are looking for:
* Provide consistently fresh content – New content which conveys relevant information to visitors will differentiate your site from your competitors and keep visitors returning to keep abreast of what you’re presenting. Away from the site, fresh content can be instrumental in improving page rankings at the search engines.
* Placing relevant content where it needs to be – Content on the various landing pages of the site must be clearly related to the search terms that brought the visitor there in the first place. Be sure the page content is relevant to what your visitors are searching for or the “back” button will be clicked post haste.
* Time Sensitive Content – Time sensitive content verifies its freshness while providing the opportunity to tie current events to your products and services. This can enhance both credibility and relevance of your site, its products, and its services.
* Laser Targeted Content – Creating content directed only at your target market may seem narrow but the targeted visitors that arrive will find your content to be way more valuable than watered down, generic fluff. Don’t hesitate to offer highly specific and/or technical content as follow-on information after visitors hit the landing page. Conveying expertise in niche areas requires thorough knowledge which will build both credibility and trust. These, in turn, lead to conversions.
* Directional content – On top of everything else, content should guide visitors through the conversion process in as simple a manner as possible. Having calls to action and clearly defined navigation are both mandatory in order to move visitors toward and through the conversion process.
The importance of written content on your site has never been higher and can be the sole difference between a website’s success and failure. Provide quality content and you’ll have enthusiastic new and return visitors that convert at higher than normal ratios. Ignore it, and the time and money spent driving visitors to your site will be wasted. The Gervais Group specializes in providing relevant and targeted content for websites that generates consistently optimal results. For more information, visit www.GervaisGroupLLC.com or call (770) 529 2262.

It doesn’t matter what kind of whiz-bang special effects you have on your site if traffic isn’t arriving or, if it is, they’re not staying around long enough to convert. There is an infinite amount of ways for websites to either underperform or simply do nothing but avoiding these five mistakes can go a long way toward pushing your website higher in search engine rankings and converting the traffic that arrives from them.
* A “build it and they will come” mentality – Having a great, functional site is only half battle in terms of maximizing its performance. The site needs to be search engine marketed as well. Starting with keyword research to determine the most cost effective keywords and phrases to focus on, developing a search engine marketing strategy is absolutely mandatory in order to get this targeted traffic.
* Landing pages that aren’t relevant to the keywords which drive traffic – First time visitors typically take between three and seven seconds to decide whether to stay on the a site or leave because they haven’t found what they’re looking for. Putting relevant content on a the landing page so that it’s the first thing a visitor sees greatly increases the chances that the visitor will stay because the site is going to provide information that he or she is trying to find.
* Ecommerce sites that have an unclear path to conversion – Potential consumers can get scared off a purchase if the process is too confusing. The highest conversion ratios are found on sites with a clear call to action and a process of making a purchase which is clear and easy to follow.
* Using keywords and keyphrases that are too broad – High traffic numbers which are bouncing off of the site quickly can be an indication that a search engine marketing campaign needs to be re-focused to narrower and perhaps longer keyphrases to deliver specifically targeted traffic. This issue can usually be resolved during the keyword research phase.
* Building a site that doesn’t build trust – A high bounce rate out of a site’s shopping cart can indicate that purchasers are changing their minds due to the perceived danger of providing their financial information in order to make a purchase. Consider adding a secure socket layer (SSL) which encrypts the consumer’s information.
The Gervais Group builds and markets websites that get visitors and converts them. For more information, visit www.GervaisGroupLLC.com or call (770) 529 2262.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are quickly replacing traditional means of communication, including email, as the favored way for people to stay in contact with each other. The sites allow for community building efforts in a multiple of ways but the common theme which runs between them is that of implied trust which encourages sharing of opinions, reviews, commentary and the like. The “word of mouth” aspect of this communication is extremely powerful and can be instrumental for a business in its marketing efforts as long as it’s done in a manner that fits in with the “spirit” of the social media sites.

To be seen as a trusted member of these communities, it is imperative that marketing efforts focus on adding value, over the impulse to sell, sell, sell.  Adding value can be done in numerous ways, including the providing of research, engaging in conversation, and responding to questions or requests for more information. As opposed to the methodologies of traditional marketing/advertising campaigns, blatant and unrelenting selling is seen as a huge annoyance in these communities and is generally considered as pure spam.

Participation in social media also presents the opportunity for brand building, again, in a different manner than typically thought of prior to the emergence of these social communities. The opportunity for direct contact with community members allows for a more intimate interface, and can provide a foundation which fosters trust, credibility, and familiarity with a company and its products, all important aspects of brand building. This direct communication can come in the form of providing content, guiding conversation, and the building or protecting brand perception.

One of the largest benefits of successful participation in these social media circles is that marketing, advertising, and brand building can now be done with great cost effectiveness on relatively large scale. The viral nature of these applications enables word to spread far beyond its initial dissemination at never before seen speed. The issue for companies in this arena is that community interface and all other aspects of participation must be done properly, or that viral benefit can quickly become a large and growing problem. For that reason, it’s extremely important to have an experienced social media marketing company on your side. For a free analysis on where your social media efforts should be focused, call The Gervais Group today at (770) 529 2262.

The field of search engine optimization is can be divided into three categories; the professional SEO companies, the newcomers, and the do it yourselfers. Each of the levels of expertise can be categorized by skill levels, resources, and experience which translate directly into how successful the end result of an SEO effort will be. Unless directed at a completely un-served micro-niche, any SEO effort will require a defined process, resources, and the skill to see it through to a successful finish. Here’s look at the three categories and the likely results from each:

* Do it yourselfers – This category is populated with two types of search engine optimization people; those that are on their own for budgetary reasons and those that assume that SEO can be accomplished using their existing skill set. In many cases, those who are operating with limited budgets get better results than the existing skill set group simply because they need to maximize the results for each dollar spent. This group will often use grass roots campaigns to begin developing revenues and then direct some of that income toward outsourcing the work to an SEO company due to affordability and the time commitment required for SEO campaigns.
* Newcomers – The field of search engine optimization draws new people looking to “put out a shingle” on a daily basis. These newcomers are usually small (1 to three employees) operations with skill sets which can vary widely. There are a handful of potential problems in dealing with a newcomer including the lack of any track record, determining their level of expertise, and their daily work load. Regardless of skill level and track record, if a two man operation starts getting busy, current clients will suffer in terms of level of service and SEO activities due to the fact that the company is now spread thin with limited resources and not enough time in the day to do everything. It’s common in these situations for a newcomer to take on a new, high paying customer who requires putting everything else on the back burner or outsourcing the work of existing clients to an unknown entity.
* Professional SEO companies – Dealing with a reputable SEO company is, by far the best way to ensure a positive outcome for your search engine optimization efforts. These companies always have track records, satisfied clients, and a set protocol for developing SEO strategies, regardless of the type of business. This protocol always starts with keyword research, a step neglected by a high percentage of do it yourselfers and newcomers. The primary goal of the research is to define the keywords which will provide the best return on investment. On and off-site optimization practices are then determined from the results of the initial keyword research and the strategy is put into motion. With keywords in place, the work then revolves around the labor, time, and resource requirements of implementing a successful strategy. A professional SEO company will always be able to describe the process in detail with realistic goals and objectives. Of the three options, working with a reputable SEO company is usually the most expensive choice, but the ultimate outcome in terms of return on investment, targeted traffic, and conversion ratios are typically much higher.

Dealing with a reputable search engine optimization company can literally make the difference between success and failure. SEO companies, like the Gervais Group, which can provide past client successes and present search engine results are much more likely to deliver optimal outcomes than those new to the field. For more information, visit www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.

While a high percentage of websites need never to worry about these outcomes, there those that should. The developments that usually put a website into this kind of predicament typically run along similar themes:
1) The website owner decides that a presence on the search engines will be both necessary and profitable.
2) SEO shopping begins with bids coming in from a handful of reputable search engine optimization companies. Another bid comes in from an unknown company promising the same results as the other bidders, but at a fraction of the cost.
3) The website owners signs up with the lowball bidder.
From that point forward, many websites are put in the position where they run the risk of problems with the search engines, whether they knew about the black hat techniques employed on their website or not. Here’s a list of what to look for if the previously mentioned developments sound familiar:
* Keyword stuffing – This practice is one of the easiest to detect because all a website owner has to do is read the content on the site. Watch for keywords being used multiple times in a single sentence or in consecutive sentences. While this practice is unlikely to result in drastic measures by itself, it is a signal that other dangerous practices may also be in play on the site. However, the choppy and unprofessional content does carry the price of turning off any visitors who arrive at the site.
* Bad neighborhood links – This is another practice that signals trouble. Outbound links to adult sites, gambling sites, and link farms will eventually put the site on the search engine’s bad guy radar.
* Multiple title tags – Stacking titles allows for higher usage of keywords which can improve rankings. This is a relatively easy trick for search engines to discover and they don’t like one bit when they do.
Here’s where it starts getting serious. If any of the first three tricks are detected, it might be time to bring in one of the reputable SEO companies that weren’t chosen originally to look for:
* Invisible links – Invisible links are not intended for human use, they are there to fool the search engine spiders.
* Cloaking – Upon discovery by the search engines, a website employing cloaking practices will get banned. The practice involves setting up a page with two sets of content; one for the spiders and one for the visitors. The content for the spiders is then crammed with keywords for a higher ranking.
* Doorways and redirects – These are typically set up for relevant keywords but, when clicked, take the visitor to either unrelated content or a sales page for something else.
* Invisible text – Similar to cloaking, this practice puts text in the same color as the pages’ background to allow for keyword stuffing without sacrificing user experience.
Much like seeing a cockroach, seeing one of these practices is a likely indicator that there is a lot more going on than you know about. In this kind of situation, the best solution is to immediately find a reputable SEO company like the Gervais Group to undo the damage before the search engines take action against your site. For more information visit www.gervaisgroup.com or call (770) 529 2262

Getting traffic to your site is wonderful but visitors who don’t convert into consumers will come and go, leaving nothing behind. For a results-based website, just getting traffic simply isn’t good enough. In fact, a search engine optimization strategy which drives visitors instead of consumers is, at best, delivering a half measure. The key to operating a successful business on the web is the development of an SEO campaign which consistently delivers targeted traffic which, once on the site, converts from visitors to consumers. Here are five keys to getting targeted visitors/consumers to your site.
1) Keyword research – It may sound a little mundane, especially when you’re ready to charge ahead, but finding keywords and phrases that will drive targeted traffic to your site in a cost effective manner will be the foundation on which the rest of your search engine optimization strategy will be built. The determination of “low hanging fruit” keywords versus those which are highly competitive can mean the difference between success and failure of an SEO campaign. This research can be time consuming and may be better executed by an experienced SEO company. Whether you do it yourself or hire out, keyword research must be your first priority when setting the course for your search engine optimization strategy.
2) On-Site Content – The content on your site must first capture visitors to keep them from leaving to continue their search elsewhere. This capture must happen quickly as visitors typically make the decision to stay or go within seven to eight seconds. In this, your content’s relevance to the keywords your visitor used to find you is of utmost importance. Whether they are being sent to a landing page or somewhere else on your site, visitors must be immediately assured that they have found what they are looking for. For example, if one of your search engine optimized keyword is work boots, the page your visitor lands on should have content relevant to work boots placed where it can be seen immediately. A common mistake here is to optimize for work boots and then place the relevant content “below the fold”, out of the sight of visitors unless they scroll down to see it. Many won’t bother, clicking the “back” button never to be seen again. An SEO company will engage in additional on site techniques such as optimizing meta tags and making the site search engine friendly.
3) Off-Site Content – This type of content can come in many forms including articles, blogs, and press releases. Off-site content should always be written with your targeted keywords and phrases in mind. As this content can often be the first impression of your business, it should also be engaging, well-written and informative. A high percentage of off-site content should be created with the objective of driving targeted visitors from the article/blog/release back to the site, specifically to a page which is highly relevant to the subject and keywords used in the originating content.
4) Link Building – One way links from both relevant and high page rank sites are considered to be the most important aspect of getting to the front pages of the search engines. Acting as a quasi third party endorsement, these links are heavily weighted in determining a site’s importance and relevance to its associated keywords. Your own off-site content, as mentioned, should created with one way links back to your site as a means of getting these desired traffic drivers but, in competitive situations a link building strategy must also be employed. Link building (ask any SEO company), is highly labor and time intensive. Unless you have endless hours available, outsourcing this activity to an SEO company will definitely yield the best results.
5) Capturing Visitor Information – While not as exciting as capturing a visitor purchase, capturing their contact information and building your own data base will allow for direct communication with those which have been to your site. A great way to encourage visitors to leave their contact information is offer something for free, such as a mini e-book, white paper, or newsletter. With visitor and consumer contact information in hand; you can stay in regular contact with them to build rapport, trust, and credibility. Consistent contact which encourages repeat visits to your site will ultimately result in conversions, usually at a much higher rate than that for new visitors.
The Gervais Group implements successful search engine optimization strategies for companies of all types and sizes. For more information, visit them at www.GervaisGroupLLC.com or call (770) 529 2262.

Once the decision has been made to use search engine marketing to raise the ranking and visibility of a site, the next question asked is, “What are the best and fastest ways get results?” Considering that search engine results pages are essentially divided into two parts, organic results and paid advertising, it usually makes sense to employ both for optimal results. In fact, paid advertising has two options in itself, presenting a total of three options to market a website. These options are:
* Search Engine Optimization – Aimed at achieving high rankings in the organic search section of the results pages, SEO is an online and on-site marketing strategy made up of several different elements. These elements include keyword research, the creation of off-site content such as blogs, press releases, and articles, on-site optimization, and link building. This process, unless a site is operating in a micro-niche with little in the way of competition, yields optimal results when left to an experienced SEO company due to the time, expertise, and labor required to execute a successful strategy. In the view of many, the biggest drawback of search engine optimization strategies is the length of time it takes to see results. As opposed to the immediate gratification offered by on and off-line paid advertising, getting to the front pages of organic search rankings can take weeks or even months. That being said, organic search (specifically on the front pages of the search engines) is where a growing majority of consumers go to research, find, and buy products and services. This makes the rewards of a successful search engine optimization strategy well worth the wait. For those looking for more immediate results while the search engine optimization work takes effect, the following paid advertising solutions can achieve the aforementioned instant gratification.
* Pay per Click – Found on the right hand column of the search engine results pages, Pay per Click (PPC) advertising can be combined with an SEO campaign to buy “real estate” on the front pages of the search engine results pages. Buying this real estate is done by determining the bid prices for PPC ads and making a bid which is high enough to reach the front page for the keyword or phrase selected. Once the bid has been selected and a short (about ten words) ad is created, searchers are able to see the ad on the front page for the relevant keyword or phrase as long as higher bidders for PPC spots don’t come along. From that point forward, a charge will occur each time someone clicks the ad in order to be directed to the associated website. Bid prices can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords selected. This is another area where keyword research by a search engine optimization company can make a huge difference, providing a basis for avoiding expensive and competitive keywords with high bid prices, instead allowing for alternate keywords that can generate traffic without a high price tag.
* Sponsored Advertising – Search Engine Placement (SEP) is a relatively new approach to Search Engine Marketing which can actually guarantee fixed placement in the top three sponsored spots on the first page for your selected keywords. These fixed placements are found in the sponsored links/results/sites in the shaded area at the top of the search engine results pages. Unlike pay-per-click, the fixed payment guarantees a spot in the top three sponsored positions for as long as it is maintained. The fixed price eliminates issues such as exorbitant click-through fees, being out-bid, and/or being removed from an ad spot when the budget is exhausted.
While an organic search engine optimization campaign cannot be expected to deliver immediate results, adding pay-per-click and search engine placement ads can provide a front page presence while the SEO campaign gains traction. The Gervais Group is an experienced SEO company that specializes in balancing these three activities for maximum returns. For more information, visit them at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.

Business owners usually succeed by playing to their strengths while delegating work outside their areas of expertise to others who are either more capable and/or less costly in terms of handling specific tasks. When considerations are being made as to whether search engine optimization should be executed by in-house personnel or out-sourced to a professional SEO company, three issues must be taken into account. They are:
1) Time – For many people running small and medium sized businesses, there aren’t enough hours in the day already, even without taking on additional responsibilities. From its outset, a search engine optimization strategy will take time to develop and execute. Estimates of the time required to mount an effective SEO campaign can vary widely depending on a host of factors including competition, the number of keywords to be optimized, and the amount of necessary content, for starters. Add ongoing testing, measuring, and analysis of the campaign and suddenly the size of the time commitment can start to look overwhelming. In fact, the average time requirement of one hundred hours per month to start a campaign is often enough by itself to convince business owners to go with an outside search engine optimization company.
2) Labor – All of work requiring a time commitment also requires labor to conduct it. Staffing up for an SEO campaign, in addition to the time it takes for things like seeking applicants, interviewing, and then hiring them, often turns out to be a very expensive option. Most of this expense comes from the cost of the associated infrastructure such as office space, computers, phone lines, etc., as well as the ongoing cost of the labor itself. This expense can harm a company in several ways; stretching a possibly tight operating budget as well as reducing the potential return on investment, even if the SEO campaign is successful from the beginning. The distraction of resources attached to the implementation the in-house initiative would add to the cost as well.
3) Skill Sets – Without the appropriate skills, neither time nor labor will be able to deliver anything close to the results required to cover the costs incurred. As a combination of art and science, search engine optimization requires constant attention, creativity, and experience. Starting with keyword research, successful results for any SEO campaign require getting it right and getting things done in a cost effective manner. Additional requirements include quality on-site content for optimization purposes, link building, and the creation of blogs, articles, and press releases. Integrating these activities into a workable and successful strategy takes a level of skill and experience which is normally found only at professional SEO companies.
Search engine optimization which results in front page rankings on the search engines can deliver huge returns on investment by driving branding efforts, company recognition, and revenues. With increasing competition for consumer dollars, the importance of running successful SEO campaigns has never been greater. For that reason small and medium sized business must seriously and realistically take into consideration whether they have the wherewithal to succeed on their own where so many have failed before them. Professional SEO companies, like the Gervais Group can deliver SEO solutions which are long lasting, cost effective, and, most importantly, successful. For more information, visit the Gervais Group at www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.

For some of those not working with a search engine optimization company, keyword research is a simple process of either choosing search terms with the highest traffic counts or writing down a list of terms assumed to be relevant to the associated website. An example of the first method would be for a website that sells snowboarding travel packages to select a keyword like “snowboarding”. Granted, in terms of traffic volume “snowboard” is an extremely popular search term within the category. Going with a broad keyword, however, presents a couple of different issues:
* The term is so generic that the competition for the keyword ranks near the top of the category. For even the most seasoned search engine optimization company the optimization process, at least one with any hopes of success,  would take months or years of work and an enormous budget.
* Even if, against all odds, a successful search engine marketing campaign managed to get a high ranking with the search engines for the term, the resulting traffic would be so untargeted that a majority of visitors that clicked through to the site would depart quickly because they were looking for something else related to “snowboarding”.
* Search engine users are becoming savvier and are now employing more detailed search terms (aka keyphrases) to find what they are looking for. It’s very likely that the people this website would love to target would be using a keyphrase like “snowboarding travel packages Aspen” and skipping the generic term “snowboarding” altogether.
The process of making assumptions and/or guessing on the best keywords has its pitfalls as well. Using the previous example, a list of keywords and keyphrases formed around “snowboarding travel packages” might actually contain terms that could be optimized successfully. The issue is that, without analysis, choice of the terms which would provide the greatest returns would be based totally on guesswork. For example, the assumed list could contain among its entries “snowboarding travel packages Aspen” and “snowboarding travel packages Big Sky Montana”. While Aspen is an internationally known destination, Big Sky might prove to be the better location to optimize for because they get traffic but there is less competition. Without keyword research the best keyphrase of the two would remain unknown to our theoretical company. Instead of guessing, keyword research done by an SEO company would define the answer to this issue, rank the other keyphrases by opportunity, and add many other cost effective keyphrases as well. This analysis is based on:
* Keyword and keyphrase relevance – Any terms which are going to be optimized must hold relevance at the site for the search terms. In this case, a person searching “snowboard travel packages” should immediately see that the page they have landed on is about “snowboard travel packages”.
* Potential visitor traffic – Optimizing for non-existent traffic is basically a fool’s errand. Getting to the top of a search engine results page with a term that doesn’t have any searches may be fun to look up on occasion but will do nothing in terms of getting visitors to the site.
* The level of competition for each search term – At the other end of the traffic spectrum lies high traffic/highly competitive search terms. These should normally be avoided as well in favor of terms that carry less competition but which can still deliver targeted visitors.
Keyword research is unfortunately one of the most neglected aspects of search engine marketing when website owners go it alone. The fact is, having the research done by an experienced SEO company can provide a massive return on investment by providing faster and more cost effective results while delivering targeted traffic which is much more likely to turn into customers that buy products and/or services. For a complete keyword research report for your website visit http://www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.

Search engine marketing, as a subset of search engine optimization, can be broken into a six step process. Whether website owners decide to take all six steps on their own or bring in a professional SEO company to assist on the project is usually a decision based on a multiple of factors including time, resources, and the level of expertise required. Whether done in-house or by an SEO company, the six steps are as follows:
1) Research your keywords – Keyword research is the foundation of all successful SEO endeavors. Defining keywords and keyphrases can determine where the opportunities exist, help to avoid overly competitive ones, and will go a long way toward the success of your search engine marketing plan. If you are unsure of how to do it yourself hire an SEO company to do it for you. It’s that important
2) Find a domain name that is search engine friendly and then register it – Having a domain name that utilizes the main keywords that will be on the site will drive targeted traffic and score relevance points with the search engines. A little creativity may be required to get what you want but it will be worth the effort. Also be sure to go with a domain that has the .com extension due to its status as the quasi default choice for websites. Once the name is decided, be sure to buy and register it.
3) Determine a marketing budget – Defining your marketing budget will determine the direction of your search engine marketing plan and how it will be executed. For example, if the marketing budget is going to require operating on a shoestring, marketing options might include setting up a presence on the social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Other activities could include the creation and submission of blogs, articles, and press releases. A larger budget might allow for outsourcing the work either in part or in total to a professional search engine optimization company.
4) Content creation – Created content serves three purposes; marketing the site, capturing visitors at the site, and converting them from visitors to consumers. This content must be of high quality across the board to have the best chance at driving and monetizing traffic. It should also be created on a consistent basis to keep visitors interested and to let the search engines know that the site is constantly growing. Content creation, submission, and optimization is often outsourced to SEO companies due to the time and skill required for its successful implementation.
5) Develop additional revenue streams for the site – Selling advertising or allowing for advertising to be placed on a site through program such as Google’s AdWords can add additional streams of income to your site. Other revenue generators might be affiliates programs which carry products and/or services related to those already being sold on the site. The advantage of affiliate programs is that billing, collecting payments, and shipping are all done through a third party. Setting up referral arrangements with other on and off-line businesses can generate substantial revenues as well.
6) Re-investing revenues back into additional marketing – Once the site begins generating revenues, be sure to make a commitment to re-investing a portion of them into expanding your marketing effort. The reinvestment amounts may be small at first, but adding and expanding successful marketing efforts will start to grow revenues at an increasingly faster rate.
These are the basic steps toward building successful search engine marketing campaigns. All search engine marketing strategies should be designed with an ultimate objective of driving targeted visitors who are likely to convert into consumers at the site. Unless the site is targeted toward driving micro-niche oriented visitors, the best results are most often achieved when professional SEO consultants like the Gervais Group handle the work load. For more information, visit www.GervaisGroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262