Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category
Recent Work: Odd Staunton
- Image by catchesthelight via Flickr
My friends at Deena Warner Design have hired me for an interesting, albeit, “odd” project: being the voice of their pet project, “Odd Staunton” – the “Officially Unofficial Guide to Staunton, Virginia.”
Matt and Deena started the blog as a hobby when they moved to Staunton from Northern Virginia in 2005. They are quirky, creative types (my highest compliments) and their view on the city reflects that. In fact, finding the “Odd Staunton” blog is how we met and became friends.
I’ll be writing a regular feature for “Odd Staunton” that highlights weird and wonderful things in the area. (I mean, what other cities greet you with a large watering can sculpture, seen here?) The first is a profile on Montgomery Hall Park.
Strategy-wise, this project has several objectives:
- showcasing the city’s unique personality
- using seo techniques to build on existing web traffic
- highlighting cool things, people, and events around the city
I think the Warners’ project provides a great community service, and, has already resulted in convincing another set of friends to relocate to the area.
I’m happy to be a part of it.
UPDATE:
More posts for “Odd Staunton”…
Cannon You Believe It?
Swannanoa Palace, or, Why You Cannot Die!
What is Natural Search Optimization? (NSO)
Lawsy—you thought you knew web lingo. But then you heard the term “NSO”. What’s NSO? How can it help you?
NSO is lingo for “Natural Search Optimization”. It’s similar to SEO, “Search Engine Optimization”. Both are the collection of techniques used to get your website noticed by search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo.
Why bother? Easy enough: the number one way Internet users find web sites is through search engines. Achieving a top search ranking helps you get people in the door 24/7/365. Think of NSO as the “organic” method for doing so.
Here are some tips to get your NSO a go-go:
Fresh Content. Search engines are hungry for fresh content. Your human visitors like updates, too. Update relevant content on a regular basis. If you can’t write up the material regularly, hire it out.
Avoid Flash. Flash animation is great for certain applications. But search engines can’t “see” the text on your site. And text (key words) are the keys to opening up large gains in search results.
Key words. Speaking of words, how do you find the best words to drive traffic to your site? In SEO you typically pay for them. With NSO, you do some digging and get them for free. Then you add them to your site and wait for the engines to notice.
For example, I automatically include code in my client websites so that clients can monitor the words and phrases that bring traffic to their site. Often, there are words and phrases the client might not have considered. Using these words and phrases in your fresh content updates effortlessly results in inclusion in more search results.
Other tips: if you know HTML, review your code to include the appropriate meta-titles and meta-tags. And a good site map helps, too. Don’t stuff your site with popular [pornographic!] search terms that have no bearing on your site’s content. Doing so will risk getting yourself demoted in the search engines. Plus, it’s just sooo 1998.
How soon can adding NSO techniques pay off? It takes some time to naturally build. Anyone who tells you differently or guarantees certain rankings should be viewed with some suspicion. But regular application of specific and unique terms to your site will help your site float to the top. Ask your web designer or developer. Do it, and think of it as a long-term investment.
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