{seo agency}May
07
2012
{On April 24, 2012, Google released the Penguin update. As a NJ SEO agency, CMDS knew the update was on its way, but we did not worry. The penguin update was meant to detect web spam and black hat SEO techniques. As a white hat SEO agency, we knew the updates would probably help rather than hinder us. Sure enough, now over a week later, we have observed our sites and our clients’ sites, and not only are they okay, but they are actually benefiting from the update!
Were you or your clients affected by the update?
As a NJ SEO Agency, we stay ahead in the industry and have been reading the industry blogs and news on the aftermath of the update, and we found that many websites took a serious hit from Penguin. One person said their traffic was down 50% since the update, and another said their site went from being ranked in the top 10 for over 30 of their targeted keywords to being in the top 10 for only 1 of the keywords and being ranked 35 and over for the rest. Other SEOs said that their clients’ sites were down in both traffic and keyword ranking. There were many more complaints and instances of these kinds of cases, but the update only hit sites like this for specific reasons.
Why CMDS Clients Were Helped Rather Than Hindered By Penguin
The Penguin update targeted “webspam” consisting of:
- keyword stuffing
- link schemes
- cloaking (sneaky redirects and doorway pages)
- duplicate content
The above “webspam” practices are black hat techniques that we never endorse, and we never use these techniques for our clients. This is why our clients were not hurt by the update. The reason that our clients started ranking better after the update is that some of the higher-ranking websites must have been using instances of the above techniques. We have even seen that some of our clients’ competitors that were ranking very high before the update are now ranking lower than our clients, and even ranking lower than some of their other competitors.
We always avoid keyword stuffing and duplicate content. We do this by constantly producing fresh, high-quality content, and we let our keywords go throughout the content naturally while making sure they are not overused. We never use sneaky redirects and doorway pages because we aim at ranking for the actual relevant pages. We never use link schemes; instead we build high-quality links for clients ourselves.
The Penguin Update Moving Forward
The Penguin update is great for a white hat SEO agency like ours because our clients will only do better from our work as we move forward. We are looking forward to seeing even more improvement after this update as we move through the month of May. Honestly, even though many people are complaining about the update, we welcome the update and further updates that help white hat SEO agencies and hinder black hat SEO agencies. We will continue to do what we do, and we are happy that the update was beneficial for us and for our clients.
If you would like to contact CMDS to find out more about our services, call us at 732.706.5555 or visit our website.
Aug
24
2010When launching or re-launching a website, you often think about things like usability, great copywriting and overall design. You'll talk to your website designers about brand colors and identity, while you'll talk to your copywriters about tone and personality.
Read More»Aug
19
2010SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and online marketing today go hand in hand. When a company decides to dive into these areas as a way to improve their market reach, it is a smart idea to have an SEO agency that has a history of success.
Expertise of an SEO Agency
When a company first decides to work with an SEO agency to have their message heard online, a major first step is to review the content currently on the company's website. Is it focused? Does it include important keywords that are often searched? Is there a linking strategy in place? It is also a good idea to complete a competitive analysis to compare the search results of the competition. This will help the SEO agency develop a keyword ranking strategy for the company's website.
A keyword ranking strategy is an important part of developing a SEO marketing plan that will focus on organic (also called “natural ” ) search results. If the company is looking for a “jump start ” then that information will also prove valuable if the company would like to have a corresponding pay-per-click (also known as “PPC ” ) campaign.
Implementation and Testing by an SEO Agency
Once a keyword ranking strategy is in place, it is important that the site content reflects that strategy. After that is in place, the SEO agency can track and analyze the analytics and statistics that are gathered after the site is online with the new optimized content. This information can provide valuable insight into how people are finding the company's site and what keywords they are using in their searches. Once armed with that data, the SEO agency can tweak the program as needed.
SEO and online marketing is not a “set it and forget it ” type of program. It requires constant analysis and care. By a company enlisting the assistance of an expert SEO marketing firm NJ NY, they can be assured that the firm will give the campaign the attention it requires for success.
Aug
18
2010When a business is ready to take the next step in improving their online presence, they may consider an agency that can provide SEO. But what can really be gained from an SEO agency?
What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving the overall visibility of a website in search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, via natural (also called organic), unpaid search results. There are many facets of SEO, including data search, local search, video search and vertical search for specific markets.
SEO considers how people search for information and what best practices can be utilized to improve a company's website in search engine results. These best practices can include proper site coding, developing optimized site content, inter-page linking, developing a keyword ranking strategy and legitimate inbound linking, to name a few Developing a strong SEO campaign is an important part of improving a website's presence in organic search. It should not be overlooked or considered inconsequential.
How Can an SEO Agency Help a Business?
An SEO agency has the expertise to develop a SEO strategy for a business, based on their needs and then implement it for maximum success. The algorithms of search engines and best practices for SEO are constantly evolving. As a result, it can prove difficult for a business to keep up to date on this constantly changing information as well as continuously improve upon their skill set to make sure they are getting the most out of their SEO campaign. An SEO agency can take care of managing the SEO campaign for a business and keep their customer up to date on everything that being done, what is proving successful and what requires adjustment for improved success.
SEO can be a complicated and time-consuming process that requires a high-level of knowledge in a variety of areas, including website coding, optimized content development, developing a keyword ranking strategy and working up a linking plan. When a business decides to work with one of the experienced SEO agencies, chances of success are greatly increased.
Aug
16
2010Search engine optimization is a complicated and time consuming process. Often, businesses do not have the time, knowledge or internal resources to manage this type of work, which is why it makes sense to get help from an SEO agency to develop a plan that makes sense for that specific business.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine optimization (also known as SEO) is a series of best practices that help promote a business' website so it returns higher in search results. When a business returns in a high position in search results, there is obviously a better chance an individual will click-through to the website and become a customer. This type of work requires much analysis and time. It is also important to note that there is a specific structure and process to SEO. If this type of work for a business' website is done incorrectly, it can hurt the website with the search engines and either damage the website's search engine ranking, or even worse, the site winds up banned from search engines all together. This is why it is smart a business utilize an SEO agency to both develop and implement a smart SEO program that follows all the industry's best practices (also known as “white hat ” ).
What an SEO Agency can do for a Business
A SEO agency can provide a thorough analysis of a company's website, develop a keyword ranking strategy that makes sense for the type of industry the company is in and, most importantly, a project time line that will not raise questions with the search engines or be classified as “black hat ” (unscrupulous practices) with search engines. The search engine optimization firm in NJ can utilize a variety of different analytics tools to review the results of the SEO campaign on a regular basis to identify what is working well and what requires adjustment. Over time, patterns for site visitors from search engine traffic will develop so the search engine optimization firm in NJ can continue to make adjustments that will help ensure success.
Dec
22
2009How important is Social Networking? Our SEO company says astonishingly important!
The job of an SEO agency just got even more difficult. With Google’s Universal Search Model implementation and their constant updating of features, it makes the job of an seo company increasingly harder. The most recent plans are to release Real-Time Search. Real-Time Search takes feeds from multiple communities online and displays them at the top of google’s search results page. It displays relevant results that were found within popular social networking communities.
Google states, “Our Real-Time Search features are based on more than a dozen new search technologies that enable us to monitor more than a billion documents and process hundreds of millions of real-time changes each day. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our new partners that we’re announcing today: Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed, Jaiku and Identi.ca ‚Äî along with Twitter, which we announced a few weeks ago.”
See Real Time Search in action!
Companies that are not embracing Real-Time Search technology will find it harder to place on search results pages as google will start to rank sites that participate in social networking higher.
To learn about how this SEO agency can help you leverage Real-Time Search, please call 732-706-5555 or contact us online.
Dec
08
2009Whenever I think of Matt Cutts, I think of the old E.F. Hutton television commercials (during the 1970′s and 1980′s)… “When E.F. Hutton Speaks, People Listen.”
A young professional would be sitting in a crowded room, and he would say something to the effect of, “My broker is E.F. Hutton, and he said…” The chatter is the room would drop into silence, and everyone in the room would listen intently for the words that E.F. Hutton had said. It was a very effective commercial letting the public know that E.F. Hutton was a brokerage firm that offered excellent financial advice.
Founded in 1904, by Edward Francis Hutton, E.F. Hutton grew to be the second largest brokerage house in the United States, (hold your breath…) until it was bought out for $1 Billion in 1988… by Lehman Brothers.
The only remaining element of the original E.F. Hutton still in existence today is one of its sub-companies that is now owned by Citigroup.
So back to our original story. When Matt Cutts speaks, people really do listen… They listen for what is said, and they try to read between the lines as to what was not said…
If you do not know who Matt Cutts is, then you have not been playing the “how to get ranked in Google game” for very long. He is the head of the Google spam department, and it is his job to search the Google results looking for spam, and then to devise ways in which to improve Google’s algorithms to filter that spam from its search results.
I hate to admit it, but some of us get a little bit obsessed with what Matt Cutts says and doesn’t say.
In March of 2007, Matt Cutts said that Google was going to aggressively target paid links that are designed to manipulate Google’s search results. From the response that engendered, you would have thought that Cutts set off a nuke in the middle of Times’ Square at rush hour. Oh my… You could sense the aneurysms ready to explode!
One of the most aggressively argued Matt Cutts quotes is the one about Duplicate Content. Some have interpreted Cutts’ words to mean that Google will penalize websites that host “duplicate content”. Others say that a Duplicate Content Penalty is just pure bunk.
Some knowledgeable SEO companies have lined up to say that any “Duplicate Content Penalty” is pure myth, including Jill Whalen of High Rankings and Aaron Wall of SEO Book.
In a recent interview with Web Pro News in June of 2009, Cutts was quoted saying, “Within one site, I wouldn’t worry as much about a duplicate content penalty. We’ll just try to pick the best page.”
He went on to say, “If you have the same content on 200 different sites… is it typical that we give a duplicate content penalty for that? No. Definitely not.”
You would think with those words, that the Duplicate Content Penalty would be put to rest… You would think… But people want to believe that they should only use original content for their websites.
Well, there is an advantage in original content. When there is only one place to go to get specific information, then there is only one place to go to get that information. When you are the host of information that is unique, and that content is good enough that others wish to share it with the world, then people have to link to your page to show their readers the information.
The advantage in original content is the fact that your site has the potential of becoming an authority website with more links pointing to it – when the unique information is also good information that people will be inclined to share with others.
Duplicate content can deliver value to your website, but original content can deliver more value to your website in the form of more link popularity.
I would suggest that to you that web sites that are comprised of only duplicated content rank lower in Google than sites that have original content… I would tell that… If it were true. But it is not. Some of the most linked websites in the world are sites that only produce reprint content. Therefore, in many cases, those sites have absolutely no original content on them, yet those sites can rank ahead of the sites with unique content on them.
Why? You may wonder…
It is simple really… If lots of people are linking to a website, then that website has lots of link popularity, and despite the absence of original content, that site will rank well in Google.
The reason you would want to create original content of good quality is so that you can attract links directly to your site, and perhaps so that your site could eventually become an authority website that the search engines trust better than the other sites in its listings.
Nov
20
2009Our SEO agency can help you make the most out of your company’s seo efforts
Google’s Universal Search Model has been with us now since 2007. Ordinary Google users may not even know it is there, but SEO agencies clearly acknowledge its existence in the search experience.
If you are one of those who are unaware of Google’s Universal Search, let me ask you a question: Have you ever noticed at the top of Google’s search results page the additional links:
* Web
* Images
* Videos
* Maps
* News
* Shopping
* Gmail
* more…
In essence, Google is giving you the option of reviewing your search terms in one of Google’s Alternate Search Tools.
These alternate search tools are called Vertical Search Engines – search engines that focus on a very specific topic. As you may well imagine, the Images link will let you search for pictures that represent your search query. The Videos link will let you review results from YouTube and other video websites.
Vertical Search Engines can be very useful in that they allow you to narrow your search results to the kinds of information that is more to your taste.
Google’s Universal Search Model introduced some of those Vertical results into its main search page.
A search in Google’s main search page for “Michael Jackson” will reveal 3 news stories at the top of its results. Next is two pages from MichaelJackson.com and then two pages from the Wikipedia. After the Wikipedia link, Google shows five pictures of Michael Jackson and five videos featuring Michael Jackson.
Google then presents a number of normal web pages about Michael Jackson, followed by three blog posts about Michael Jackson, and finally eight Related Search Suggestions.
Google is trying to represent information from many of the Vertical Search Engines that it owns. They are trying to give you a comprehensive analysis of the available information online, so that you can more easily find exactly what you are looking to find. Does your SEO agency even know this?
Each search vertical even offers a direct link to enable you to explore the vertical with more gusto. For example, the title “Blog posts about michael jackson”, if clicked, will show you nothing but Blog posts about Michael Jackson.
As someone looking to get ranked in Google, Universal Search is a blessing in disguise. It may be easier to rank for your target keywords in one of the verticals, and therefore, it is entirely possible to quickly and easily rank in a very competitive industry in the vertical and thus gain page one rankings in Google, with very little effort.
Contact CMDS and hire us as your SEO agency
Oct
27
2009Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies seem to be falling out of the woodwork. It almost seems that everywhere you go, you will find someone who claims a specialty in SEO, and they want your business.
The premise behind SEO is that the company will help you “optimize” your website, so that it can get good placement in the search engines. Most SEO companies promise specifically that they can get you good rankings in Google, because Google drives 80% of all search traffic.
A lot of business owners are really at a loss to determine if the company being considered is actually capable of doing what they promise to do.
As such, we thought it might be useful to share some tips with you about how to tell if a SEO agency actually knows what they are doing:
1. Ask for examples. If they tell you that they ranked someone for the name of the company, keep looking. Getting a company ranked for their own domain name is like the Special Olympics of the SEO industry. You only need to try, in order to win.
2. Do they provide examples on their website? This should not be taken as the Holy Grail, because it is not uncommon for an SEO agency to have “non-disclosure agreements” with their customers. Even though they may be unwilling or unable to share with you “case studies” from their client lists, they should be able to give you a few examples for their own website.
3. Are they willing to share with you the names of any of thier clients? If a company is able to at least share a company logo of their customers, this can add some depth to an understanding of the SEO agency‘s capabilities.
4. How many clients have you worked with? This is an easy answer that can be answered by anyone in the business. If the company is a one-man show, don’t be surprised if that number is under one dozen. I know one fellow who does good work and has been providing SEO services for years. His answer is 6 – even after eight years in operation. Why? He still has the same 6 clients he started with eight years ago.
5. What techniques do you utilize to build a client’s search rankings? This question should not seek any specific answers, but rather it should seek a broader understanding of the strategies used. The strategies that an SEO agency can use vary widely, and there is not any one right answer. But silence from the provider should tell more than a lengthy answer.
As the questions are being answered, keep in mind that there are actually two sides to SEO:
1. On-site optimization is the process of making edits to one’s website to improve the ability of the search engines to see what they need to see.
2. Off-site optimization is better defined as Search Engine Marketing (SEM), as it utilizes links from third-party websites to enhance the rankings of a company.
It is important for you to know what you are getting yourself into, before you get into it.
In most cases, you want to hire an SEO agency that brings a wide assortment of strategies to the process. There are no SEO techniques that can stand alone as “the only methodology necessary” to improve the rankings of a website in the search engines.
There are a lot of SEO agencies online, and many SEO specialists who have the ability to help a lot of people. Many of the SEO specialists operate as a one-man show. While that is fine, it is not always the best solution for every company online.
More than any other factor that we have been able to show you in this article, there are two types of SEO companies that you should strive to avoid:
1. The mass marketing company that calls you on the phone or sends you an email promising you the world, and sometimes promising you nothing at all. The best SEO companies may advertise, but they rarely need to “cold call” you to sell you their services.
2. The “lone gunman” who thought that SEO would be easy money, so he or she started advertising as a SEO provider. The “lone gunman” who actually knows what he is doing will be able to at least show you some evidence of his own online marketing successes.
When searching for a SEO agency to provide SEO services to you, the main thing you need to look for is competance and confidence. If either is lacking, you should keep searching.
Oct
06
2009Middletown, NJ (PRWEB) October 7, 2009 — SEO agency CMDS has been ranked among the world's top-tier search engine optimization firms, according to a new study conducted by independent judging firm TopSEOs.com.
CMDS, based in Middletown, NJ, placed among the top 30 firms ranked by TopSEOs for the month of October 2009.
Using an in-depth evaluation process, TopSEOs identifies organic optimization firms that excel in their performance and output, including how the firm works, the achievement of its stated objectives, and the success of its campaigns over a 12-month period.
The judging process includes detailed feedback from clients, not only on participating firms' technical knowledge, but also their overall responsiveness and implementation of best business practices.
CMDS clients were asked to evaluate the firm's performance in a broad array of areas, including:
- Conducting of a thorough needs analysis
- Customer service
- Anticipated ROI
- Total investment in the SEO project
- Rating of overall experience working with the firm
In addition, the evaluation requested the CMDS team provide detailed information on objectives, techniques used, and the results, such as:
- Ranking of competitive keywords and timeline for success
- Knowledge of the new Google Universal Search Model
- Depth of reporting capabilities offered to its clients
Christopher J. Mulvaney, creative director of SEO agency CMDS, says, “The thorough validation process used by TopSEOs to gauge success validates the methodology that CMDS has been refining over the past decade. Top SEOs recognizes that achieving a ranking at the top of a search engine’s results page requires a mix of strategic marketing knowledge, constant assessment of new search techniques, and a great deal of technical knowledge to achieve and maintain that level of success. ”
For more information, contact CMDS at (732) 706-5555 or visit www.cmdsonline.com.
About SEO Agency CMDS
SEO company CMDS is an award-winning online marketing agency, Web design company and SEO agency dedicated to generating leads for businesses. Services include website design, online advertising, marketing services and search engine optimization. To learn more, visit www.cmdsonline.com or call (732) 706-5555.
About TopSEOs.com
Since its introduction in 2002, TopSEOs has been identified as an independent authority on vendors who supply internet marketing products and services ranging from the best search engine optimization companies to the best pay per click management tools. The company reviews 3,000 firms from over 130 countries to create its monthly rankings. In addition, TopSEOs connects thousands of businesses each year that are looking for internet marketing services with those who provide it. For more information, visit TopSEOs.com.