Seo Companies In Houston Tx - Archive - SEO Houston Experts & Search Engine Optimization Consultants

Outbound Linking & Houston SEO Marketing

February 16, 2018 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Understanding How Outbound Links Affect SEO

If you have a website, do you include outbound links when you write a new post? If not, you should. There is a common misconception that the only types of links that are valuable from an SEO standpoint are incoming links. As it turns out, however, outbound links can also positively impact your website when they are used correctly.

Based on our experience, adding outbound links is an important part of optimizing a website. That is why we encourage all of our customers to add these types of links to their content.

Houston SEO for Everybody

At this point, you are probably curious why we are so adamant about asking you to link to other sites from your own. As it turns out, there are quite a few different reasons. Linking to other sites that are related to your own helps create connections that search engines can use to better understand your content. When sites that are similar to one another link to each other, it helps make it easier for visitors to find relevant content. It also helps the search engines grasp what your posts are about, giving them a better idea of how they relate to other content on the Internet.

We are strong believers in the concept of SEO for Everyone. When websites support one another, they all perform better in the search engines. This enables smaller websites that have excellent content to rank higher in the search engines. As a result, the Internet becomes more diverse and the information that is available tends to be more helpful. Instead of being dominated by a few large companies, the search results provide a mixture of different types of content from a variety of sources, creating a better user experience.

Understanding How Outbound Links Impact SEO in Houston

There is a definite link between outbound links and SEO. The way that these types of links benefit your site is quite subtle. In essence, they provide your users with a better overall experience. This can encourage them to stay longer on your site and to visit more of your pages. Search engines reward content that users find engaging, meaning that you can get a boost in your search ranking by keeping your visitors happy.

If you are interested in Houston Internet marketing services, contact us or call today. We will get back to you right away to talk about any questions or concerns that you may have. You can also ask us questions directly through the comment form below this post. If you want to learn more about how our services can benefit your business, be sure to visit our testimonials page. We are excited about working with you to expand your company’s online reach.

When It Comes To Houston SEO & Outbound Linking: Here’s How

February 16, 2018 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Houston Content Marketing: Information On Linking Entities To Content

Entities have become a major positive for search engines. What are entities? These can vary and are often spotted in the “Knowledge Graph” as being concepts, things, places, ideas, or people. However, there is more to it with search engines because each search term can be a unique entity. A good example would be the word “Apple” because it can be the fruit or the largest tech company in Silicon Valley. Both are separate entities but share the same search term. Therefore, it is the context that plays an important role in what the search engine puts in front of its users once the search is made. This is where linking entities becomes vital.

Semantics

Defining or applying “context” to each word is what semantics involves. For example, one could write about Apple and never once bring up the word. Even if the word isn’t present, a reader can still understand what it is talking about and that’s where the context matters. It can often be seen with commonly used words. Continuing with the example of Apple as an entity, we can assess the semantics of a search.

Let’s assume you pop into Google and search “Apple,” what is the first thing you are going to see? You are going to see the tech company pop up. However, why is that happening? Why does the tech company show up and not the actual fruit? What about other things that are listed as “Apple” including candies? Why are they not at the top of the rankings? It has to do with Google using your search history to determine what is best suited for your search. If you are searching tech topics and companies all the time, it’s a good guess to assume you were searching the tech company named Apple. Google can even start to look at co-occurring synonyms/phrases/keywords as a means to filter out pages you aren’t looking for.

What are Co-occurring Phrases?

These are phrases that are often seen being used to describe a specific entity. For example, Apple (tech company) might have phrases involving keywords such as tech, macs, computers, hardware. While co-occurring terms or phrases for apple (the fruit) would include things such as pies, farms, farmers, supermarkets, and recipes. Of course, this can be expanded with more and more terms that Google can pick up on.

All of these words can pop up under the label of “co-occurring phrases.” The goal is to semantically link up these entities with the content that is showing up even if the main keyword isn’t present (i.e. Apple). It is more finding synonyms and linking them to the main keyword but about related terms that would be used in the same sentence based on the context you’re using it in. If done right, this will ensure the right page is being indexed every single time a search is made. Search engines will use spiders/bots to go through these related terms to figure out what you could be searching.

Optimization of Phrase-Based Indexing

Google has taken a liking to phrase-based indexing over time and continues to apply for new patents as a way to enhance its present systems. The goal is to look at the value of co-occurrence and make sure it is applied the right way. This makes it easier to manage the plethora of topics that use the same search terms or phrases. Phrase-based indexing is reliant on making sure the retrieval of information is spot on and can be organized rapidly. As the context is assessed, the phrases can be indexed along with the entity as they related to each other. This helps Google recognize what the content has to offer and which entity it is connecting back to. Yes, it is one of the more complicated systems Google has been working on but the goal is to optimize everything. Most websites will be optimizing their content along these lines anyway (i.e. researching keywords and building content around them).

For those who write their content, you will often take the keyword and build content around it.The goal should always be to write content with purpose and make sure it is as relevant as possible. This is how the search engine will know what is being written about as soon as possible. It ensures there is no doubt about the content and what it is saying.

For example, if you are still talking about Apple (tech company), you want to make sure you are assessing various sources such as the Knowledge Graph, Wikipedia, and other relevant sources. You want to start looking for those co-occurring phrases or keywords that are going to work well with your content and its main keyword. You want to make sure the context is apparent. The best way to do this is to run a search of the term you want to rank for and look at the words they have used in their content. This is how you can start to link to the entity.

No LSI Keywords

Don’t look for LSI keywords because they don’t work out well with Google’s algorithm. You are not going to b providing context by using them. This has never worked and never will be based on the direction Google is going in. It doesn’t play a role in SEO.

With the help of a good Internet marketing company Houston has to offer, it’s possible to rank well and link entities properly.

Call or contact SEO Houston Pros today for further information. Visit our blog for more tricks and tips for Houston SEO!

A Closer Look At Blog SEO & How It Benefits Your Houston Business

January 11, 2018 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Blogging SEO for Houston Businesses: Longtail Keywords

If you are looking for a great way to add some SEO to your blog, don’t overlook the longtail. This is a keyword strategy that can work well for driving traffic to your website over time and it also helps to keep your website in focus. In this article, we are going to talk about SEO for blogs and the importance of becoming friends with the longtail keyword.

Taking a Closer Look at Longtail Keywords

Chris Anderson is the author responsible for the term longtail keywords which has become so popular today. The book itself is “The Longtail” and Mr. Anderson does an excellent job of showing how it is possible to target any market with these types of phrases. The thing the most people don’t understand, however, is the fact that many of those markets are extremely small.

It is the overall size of the Internet that makes the niche product and the related post on your blog profitable. Since longtail keywords tend to be more specific and less frequently used than other keywords, they provide more of a focus on any niche. This post will talk more about SEO copywriting and the use of longtail keywords to your benefit.

A Primary Theme with Many Tails

The majority of blogs tend to focus on the primary topic, usually referred to as a head term or a primary keyword. For example, if you have a food about blogs, you may talk about restaurants, eating or recipes. Many family bloggers may talk about their life and children. This blog, on the other hand, is about search engine optimization and that is why it is an SEO blog. Every blog post that you see on this website is going to be about Houston SEO or a topic that is associated with optimization. It is our primary goal to rank for that keyword.

Although the main topic of your blog should be the focus, you need to ensure that more people are able to find you. Imagine that you had a blog that was fully dedicated to making Mexican food. Quite obviously, you would want to rank for the keyword “make your own Mexican food” and that is your primary focus.

At the same time, you would not want to continually focus every one of your blog posts on that same search term. Doing so would be redundant and could cause a wide variety of problems. It is a much better idea to consider all of the longtail possibilities that may be associated with your primary term and to write posts that are focused in that direction. You may talk about everything from tacos to enchiladas and burritos but all of them point back to your main category.

You might even want to consider using long tails even more. Perhaps you could write about some homemade soft tacos that your family absolutely loves or how to make the perfect salsa for your homemade corn chips. The sky is really the limit when it comes to keywords but you do need to do your research.

The Tail Links to the Head

If you are using a variety of longtail phrases, then you can use those pages to link to the primary category pages. This really gives a lot of additional weight to the best pages on your website which really form the cornerstone of your blog. Keep in mind, you always want to link properly from the tail to the head. It gives structure to your website and helps Google to follow that structure to the ultimate conclusion.

You want those primary web pages to rank highly in Google. For example, you may have written an in-depth and high-quality webpage on the best way to make tacos. You want to pull as much traffic as possible into that single webpage to attract new blog readers. Your longtail keywords on other blog posts will then link to that head page on the blog.

The Importance of Longtail Keywords for Blog SEO

There tend to be 2 different reasons why a blogger would focus on longtail keywords. It has to do with high conversions and easy rankings.

1. Quite simply, it is much easier to rank for a longtail keyword than for a head keyword because you are dealing with a lot less competition. When the longtail keywords are specific and contain multiple words in the phrase, it becomes easier to rank them in Google. The Internet is a very large place so your audience is going to grow as the Internet grows. When you use longtail keywords to focus on many related terms, you will see an increase in traffic.

2. You also benefit by focusing on longtail keywords because a single visitor would be more likely to become a regular visitor. They may even take the next step of subscribing to your newsletter! When you focus on precise and long search terms, you will find it much easier to convert people into regular visitors. When they type those longer terms into Google, they know exactly what they are looking for. One may find the solution on your website, you will then have a regular visitor. In other words, longtail keywords tend to be used by a more focused audience that are motivated to find what they want. That is why longtail keywords are so profitable.

Keep Writing for the Longtail

Bloggers can profit by focusing on writing for longtail keyword phrases. When you do it properly and link to your head pages, it can boost your traffic and bring in a whole new type of audience.

Another benefit of using longtail keywords is that it helps you to find fresh ideas for blogging. As you likely know, it can be challenging to come up with new subjects for blog posts. When you have a list of longtail variations at your disposal, however, those ideas will keep flowing. The only thing that is left for you to do is to keep writing.

For more examples of appropriate blog SEO, take a look at ours. If you have any questions or would like to get started on your new or existing business’ marketing campaign, give us a call or contact us today!

SEM & SEO in Houston : What’s The Difference?

November 27, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

The Differences Between Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Houston

The terms search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are often used interchangeably when referring to digital marketing strategies involving search engines. Because of this, many business owners and marketers believe they are the same. While they share some similarities, however, SEM and SEO are two unique methodologies with different characteristics.

SEO Is A Part of SEM

SEM is a broad term that encompasses all forms of digital marketing in which the primary goal is to increase a website’s visibility in the search engines. That includes SEO, pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and other forms of digital promotion involving the search engines. SEO, on the other hand, refers specifically to the use of on-page and off-page processes with the goal of increasing a website’s ranking in the search results. So, SEO is a part of SEM.

Understanding SEO

The primary objective of SEO is to achieve a higher organic rank in the search engines for one or more keywords. The owner of a website that sells custom engagement rings, for instance, may want to rank for keywords such as “custom engagement rings,” “custom wedding rings” and “personalized wedding rings.” Anyone searching for these keywords will presumably be interested in buying a custom engagement ring from the owner’s site. Therefore, the owner optimizes his or her website to rank for these keywords. SEO is a tricky subject, however, because of the tight-lipped nature of search engines. While Google has revealed some of the factors it uses to determine where websites rank, it has not shown its exact algorithm. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. If Google disclosed its ranking algorithm, webmasters would know how to manipulate their search rankings. There are still ways to encourage higher search rankings, and that’s the basis of SEO. It involves building backlinks on relevant and authoritative websites, as well as publishing high-quality content and performing other on-page optimization processes.

Benefits of SEO

SEO offers several benefits, one of which is the simple fact that it’s free (or almost free). Unlike PPC channels like Google AdWords or Bing Ads, you don’t have to pay for traffic generated from SEO. Once your website begins to rank high, you’ll create targeted traffic that doesn’t cost a dime. That is in stark contrast to PPC traffic, which charges advertisers by the click. You’ll still have to pay for website hosting, domain registration, and other traditional website expenses, but the traffic generated from SEO is entirely free. Users also trust organic search listings more than paid listings. Any company can buy an ad placement for its website, but only those deemed worthy by the search engines will rank high organically.

Furthermore, users are more likely to click organic search listings than paid listings. According to Search Engine Land, organic listings receive 70% of all clicks, whereas paid listings earn just 30%. Again, this is probably attributable to the fact that users trust organic listings more than paid listings.

Understanding SEM

The primary goal of SEM is to achieve greater visibility in the search engines. That typically involves SEO as well as PPC. All of the major search engines offer PPC advertising, including Google, Bing, and Yahoo. One way to get your website listed in the search engines is to optimize it using SEO. An alternative method, however, is to create a PPC ad. Using AdWords or Bing Ads, you can create text ads for your website that appear in the search results and choose the keywords to trigger these ads. The only time you’ll be charged is when someone clicks one of your ads. Because it involves PPC, SEM requires a more substantial monetary investment than SEO. That is why some online entrepreneurs stick with SEO. If you have the resources, though, investing in SEM can prove far more lucrative and beneficial than using only SEO.

Benefits of SEM

SEM is a versatile, robust digital marketing strategy that allows businesses to strengthen their presence in the search engines. Combining PPC and SEO will enable you to display your website in multiple locations. In addition to an organic listing, you’ll also have a paid listing. If your site sells physical products, you can create three listings for the same keyword by creating an AdWords Shopping campaign as well. By consuming more digital estate, SEM can offset some of the costs associated with PPC. Depending on the competition, PPC advertising typically costs S1 to $3 per click. If you generate 500 clicks, you’ll have to pay $500 to $1,500. If you get 5oo clicks from PPC and 5oo from SEO, however, you are essentially getting twice the traffic for the same price.

SEM also delivers fast results. It can take over a year to achieve a high, stable search ranking through SEO. In comparison, PPC ads are almost instant. After you’ve created a PPC ad, Google will review it to ensure it doesn’t violate its guidelines. Assuming it looks good, your ad will go live. This entire process usually takes less than 24 hours.

Furthermore, SEM guarantees your website will appear for a specific keyword. You can spend countless hours optimizing your site for a keyword, only to discover little to no change in its search ranking. If Google believes other sites are more relevant and provide a better user experience, it will rank them higher than your website. Thankfully, this isn’t a problem with PPC. If you’re willing to bid high enough, you can display your site at the top of the search results for your target keywords.

The Bottom Line on SEM vs. SEO

So, should you use SEM or search engine optimization in Houston to promote your website? SEM is more potent than SEO, both for digital marketing strategy and to achieve more targeted traffic. With that said, not everyone has the about the budget or time for SEM. If you’re just getting your feet wet with digital marketing and not willing to invest any serious money into it, SEO can still help you achieve your goals.

Call or contact SEO Houston Pros to learn more about starting your SEM or SEO campaign.

The Many Reasons To Hire A Houston TX SEO Company

October 24, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Why You Should Consider Bringing An SEO Company in Houston Into The Mix

Are you wanting to have a bigger presence online? If you’re saying yes to this, you are going to find what you need here. If you want to be on top of the search results on all of the search giants’ websites, you need a good Houston TX SEO company’s help.

A good SEO company is going to need to have a team that is dedicated to making sure a company is found when people search for certain terms or words.

We are going to share some SEO tips with our audience here and you can use the tips to make your site have a higher ranking than ever before. What does SERP mean? SERP is what search engine results pages stand for.

It is a page that a person finds when they search for certain phrases on a search engine. People doing searches generally look for a specific keyword or phrase. When you want to be on the front page of a search engine, you can’t just expect to be able to do it overnight.

There are a lot of people that think they can get to the top of search engine results, but it takes time. You need someone to help you like an expert from a Houston TX SEO company if you want to show up high in search results.

Google is always changing the algorithm it uses to rank sites, so it’s harder to get your site up there. If you don’t optimize a site in the right way, SEO is not going to help and may actually lower the site’s ranking. That’s why it’s so important to hire a good Houston TX SEO company that knows what they are doing with the major search engine sites.

Do you need to know more about why you should hire the right Houston SEO company for your company’s needs?

1. You are a business leader in your niche, and so are we!

It’s not smart to optimize your website after you just read an article online. It’s better to hire a company that does SEO so you know that the job will be done by someone with a lot of experience. Studies have shown that most companies save a lot of time when they hire people to help with the SEO they need to do. That time is better spent on other aspects of your company.

2. It’s awesome to have an SEO expert on hand

A reliable SEO professional will be able to stick with practices that have been known to work and they will have experience with online marketing in general. Not all SEO companies, however, are going to be the best so you have to find the right one through research.

A good Houston TX SEO company is going to look at the website you have up and they will then research keywords that will work on your site so you can reach out to those that are searching for those terms.

Figuring out what the competition is up to can help you know what works, too. This will let you know what kind of content works and what you should be trying on your site when you create marketing strategies.

3. SEO businesses stay on top of search engine changes

It has been said that Google changes their algorithms related to searching a lot of times every day. There are a lot of changes that make it difficult for you to stay on top if you don’t have the help of an SEO professional. A good SEO firm is going to watch for changes and they will keep the website updated so it doesn’t fall behind in the rankings.

4. SEO professionals keep you from wasting money and resources

If you don’t know what you’re doing with your site, you are basically throwing away money and time when you work on it. SEO is not going to be a good idea to do on your own unless you have a lot of training.

SEO pros are out there that will work hard to get keywords ranked and they will optimize all of their customers’ pages. A good Houston TX SEO company will make you have a good looking reputation, too, when people look your company up.

5. Time costs you money

A lot of people have heard that time is money and may think the statement is overused. This statement, however, is very true when it comes to SEO. There are small errors that can be made if you’re not experienced with coding a website, and if you don’t do the work right then you’re going to have a hard time showing up in search engine results on sites like Yahoo or Google.

What if you use too many characters in your meta tags or don’t have enough content on your pages that lead to your site not making it far in search rankings? Mistakes are easy to make in the search engine optimization world and can lead to penalties where your site’s ranking goes down.

A mistake like stuffing too many keywords onto a page can lead to a very big decrease in how much search traffic you’re getting. That is why it’s always good to remember that small dips or large ones in your traffic are something you need to avoid.

If your site is not monitored properly, you won’t even know that something was wrong and will just notice a lowering of sales. You need to work with an SEO expert if you want to manage your site properly and become a leader in your niche in the online world.

Call SEO Houston Pros now or contact us today for more information on how SEO can benefit your Houston business!

Web Design Mistakes: What To Avoid As A Business Owner In Houston

October 5, 2017 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

The Importance Of Flawless Houston Web Design

Web design is always in flux. With new tools and technology coming out on a regular basis, you never know what to expect. However, no matter how much web design changes, there are a few core tenants that you can rely on. You can have all the best extras in the world, but your website could still be lacking. This is a problem because if your website comes up short, you could actually lose money. Use these tips to stay ahead.

Your Site Must Be Responsive

You’ve likely heard the term “responsive” before. However, not that many people actually know what the term means. Essentially, if you have a responsive website, it was created so that viewers across many different platforms (including mobile devices, laptops, and tablets) can access your pages and have a good experience.

People are often on the go. If your website only works when you access it from a laptop or computer, you are missing out on a large number of potential sales.

Free Isn’t Best

There are a lot of website builders out there that are very inexpensive (or that don’t cost anything at all). However, you are not very likely to move up in the ranks of website SEO Houston if you go this route.

In many cases, your website will load slowly if you utilize one of these builders. In addition, your pages may not be viewable across a variety of devices.

You Must Retain Details About Your Customers

Let’s assume your website looks great. You have incredible visuals and top-notch content as well. You are getting a lot of traffic to your page. However, have you thought about how to retain customer information.

If you have a form submission option, as well as a call to action, visitors to your site can maintain contact with you. If these options are not available, there is really no way for people to “talk” to you if they need to. Make sure you have easy to fill out contact forms and try to entice visitors to send you their information, perhaps by giving a coupon if they fill out the form.

Make Sure Your Links Work

As the search engines evaluate your website and figure out where you should be in the rankings, they are looking for a large number of things. One of them is broken links; if you have them, you aren’t going to be ranked as high. On-page optimization is also important.

If you have a link that is broken, you are not working that hard to keep your customers happy. Google does not respond favorably to that. On-page optimization is when the code is written correctly, pictures are compressed and the site as a whole is operational.

You Need Fresh Content For Internet Marketing In Houston

People are online constantly. If you don’t have fresh content on your website on a regular basis, people aren’t going to visit your pages. In addition, Google will not rank you very high if you don’t have new content. Furthermore, that content also has to relate to what people are looking for.

Years ago, you didn’t have to worry about maintaining your website. You just needed to get something up. However, times have changed, and you need to stay on top of what is happening.

Contact SEO Houston Pros or call us now for more information on the services we provide.