In this video, Matt discusses the following:

• Google’s ranking and evaluation process
• The crawling and analysis of a site
• Crawling timelines, frequencies and priorities

Check out the video here:

And now that you are educated… if you want to watch some more, Google has released a ton of videos about SEO.

In fact, they have a whole Youtube channel dedicated to them. Visit the Youtube channel here.

Google’s no dummy, y’all.

And this just reinforces the fact that, whether you like it or not, content is king.

So if you are guilty of using “bad SEO,” you’re basically just red-flagging your own site, and your attempts at high rankings will backfire.

Google will penalize things like:

• spammy page titles, where no branding is used;
• overusing internal links;
• cramming your footers with links;
• chunks of spammy content; and
• multiple pages that target the same keywords.

There are always things you can do to make your site even more Google-friendly. We’re here and happy to help!

Consumers don’t want to see only a good product or service with competitive prices. They’ve heard the claim of “excellent customer service” a million times. Actions speak louder than words. Putting a friendly face with the name boosts your credibility and shows a human side to your company. We are regular people, just like you, and we want to help you. 

Website Muscle has personally experienced the benefits of good photography. Oh – that reminds me – the key word here is GOOD. No photos, not good. Bad photos, also not good. Good photos = good!

Recently we hired Jon Haverstick to take some company photos for us, and boy was it worth it! One of his specialties is photography for businesses and business professionals, so this was right up his alley. Jon really encapsulated our company and our personalities, and we can’t tell you how many positive responses we’ve gotten from clients who can now see more than just a logo on our website (a lot!).

Photography is another great and easy way to connect with your audience. Invest in a good photographer who knows what they’re doing, and let your customers see your friendly smile and great personality. Trust us – they’ll appreciate it!

(We would be remiss if we didn’t put a plug in here for Jon C. Haverstick Photography – Jon is incredibly talented, extremely nice, and we had a blast during our photo shoot with him. Thanks again, Jon!) 

What’s one thing small business owners lack? TIME. Your time is very important to you – we get it. And if you’re like most small business owners we know, customer relationships rank pretty high too.

Well, here’s one very important (and easy!) way you can save time and simultaneously build trust in your customers: An FAQ page.

An FAQ page is not for homeless, miscellaneous information. ALL your website content should be well-crafted, providing a clear and succinct message about your company – and the FAQ page is no exception. It serves as an online customer service center, cutting down on repetitive inquiries and saving you and your customers valuable time (and money).

Who needs one?

Not every site needs a FAQ page. But if you’re selling something, providing a service, or doling out complex information, you might want to consider it. Website Muscle has benefited greatly from our FAQ page. We can direct potential clients to it to find out more about us. Having information on our website about our design process, payment and terms, and other technical stuff puts people at ease because they can learn about us without pressure, and what they see is what everyone else who visits our site sees; we’re not talking out of both sides of our mouth, so to speak.

Here are some guidelines for preparing a FAQ page:

• Think about it. These should be genuine questions and concerns your customers have expressed. Don’t make up a list of questions you think your customers should ask, like “Why are we so awesome? Glad you asked!” Rather, take some time to think about actual commonly asked questions.
• Organize it. We recommend splitting up your FAQs into clearly labeled categories so your customers can easily find what they’re looking for.
• Make it easy to read! Answers should be brief, succinct, clear and direct – yet personable. Think of this not only as a time-saver, but as another way to connect with your customers. If it’s done correctly, your FAQ page can position your company not just as a [insert whatever you do] but as a source of reliable information.
• Don’t be afraid to address the tough questions. This is one exception to having only actually-asked questions. Let’s say you’re selling a product that’s a little on the pricey side. You can strategically address this issue by asking a question such as, “How do you price your products?” and respond with, “Our products may be slightly higher than our competition, but here’s why.”

Not all websites are created equal – just because you have one doesn’t mean people are seeing it.

Don’t let your business be one of the many casualties of invisibility.

Website Muscle builds ALL our clients’ websites to be Google-friendly. (That means we know websites, we know coding, and we understand how Google really works.) In constructing a powerful website, we do everything on our end to ensure Google will like – and therefore rank – your site. But did you know that a lot of your visibility is in YOUR hands? Website Muscle can do the legwork, but you have to make the choice!

Here are 4 things you can do to increase your visibility:

1. Email Marketing. Email marketing is alive and well! But there is a balance to be found – too many or too long is annoying, and too few – or the wrong kind – is ineffective…and possibly still annoying. We can help you strike that perfect balance. Brief, succinct emails with the right content and a specific call to action can add value to your clients.

The key word here is VALUE – people DO NOT want sales pitches (do you?). The purpose is to add value to your customers. Email marketing is about making relationships, not sales.

2. Google+. Google+ has essentially the same functionality as Facebook, but (and this is a BIG but) the content on Google+ is being indexed by the Google search engine. And, in case you didn’t know, Google is by far the most dominant search engine in the world, so trust us when we say it behooves you to deposit as much [good] content with them as possible.

If you’re already using Facebook, great! Now just copy and paste that content into Google+.

3. YouTube. YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine to Google. Google owns YouTube and wants to show videos in their search results, so naturally they are going to index YouTube videos. Plus, people love videos! Many of your potential customers will choose watching a video over reading content any day.

4. Blogs. Blogs are useful for two reasons. One, to personalize your company and two, GOOGLE LOVES BLOGS. Google indexes fresh, new content. When comparing your site to your competitors’ site, the one that’s being updated regularly wins. You can outrank your competition because Google knows your site isn’t dead.

The key to blogging is current, value-added content such as business news, industry news, and ideas or tips for your clients. You can even showcase your company’s charity work – anything to make your business more personal. Just remember – keep it separate from your personal life. Your business blog is not an appropriate venue to share your political musings.

Seem overwhelming? No worries! Website Muscle can help you with any and all of these visibility-boosting techniques. Just give us a call and we’ll be happy to answer all your questions! (949) 244-1700

WordPress 101 provides professional, high-quality tutorial videos that easily show you how to take full advantage of all the features WordPress has to offer, thereby increasing the value you get from a WordPress powered website. We are confident that at least 95% of your WordPress questions will be answered by WP101.

And it’s not just a one-time thing, either. We will INSTALL WP101 into your site’s back end so you have a ready resource any time you need it!

And, Never Fear! We are not using WP101 to replace Website Muscle’s amazing customer service. We will STILL provide our customary in-person or over-the-phone WordPress training to all our clients! WP101 will simply serve as your 2nd resource to have on hand whenever you need it. Website Muscle will still be standing by, ready to answer your questions whenever you call.

We believe in the value of these videos, and we are confident you’ll love them too!

A Very Generous Donation from Patty Jordan at Travel Dreams!

The Christmas Season is a time for being with the ones you love, and of course, GIVING. If you haven’t given to those less fortunate during the holidays, you’re really missing out.

We’ll make it easy for you – if you want a GREAT cause to give to this holiday season, Orangewood Children’s Foundation is accepting donations for foster children, former foster youth, and at-risk families in Orange County. Please consider joining us by agreeing to purchase a much-needed item for these deserving kids.

Orangewood has indicated to us that the #1 requested (and needed) items are gift cards (Target, Wal-Mart, Ross, etc.) and iPods/MP3 players for teenagers and emancipated former foster kids. Most of us get pretty excited to buy toys for the small children, but the result is that the teenagers often get overlooked. I’d hate to see a teenager watching his or her little siblings opening gifts while they have none.

PLEASE, make a kid feel special this year.

Orangewood is accepting donations until December 23rd.  We will gladly take your new, unwrapped items or monetary donations and will deliver them to Orangewood. Please check out Orangewood’s Holiday Wish List for ideas.

Call us at (949) 244-1700 to let us know you wish to donate. Website Muscle and Orangewood thank you!!

It’s a simple JavaScript addition – we will upload just one file and a few lines of code, and voilà! Your site is snowing!

All you need to do is donate at least one item to our Holiday charity, Orangewood Children’s Foundation. Check out their Wish List for some much-needed (new, unwrapped) items. Let us know you intend to give, and we will install your snow for FREE!

We sure won’t get any snow here in So-Cal, but give us a call at (949) 244-1700 and your website can LET IT SNOW!

We are collecting donations until Sunday, December 11 and will deliver them to Orangewood. If you wish to donate, please check out their Wish List. Items must be new and unwrapped.

Just give us a call at (949) 244-1700 or send us a message and we will arrange to collect your donations. We thank you for your generosity – and we are certain a lot of kids will too! Help us give these wonderful children and families some happy memories this holiday season!

Before you watch the video… quiz yourself. Do you know the difference? And if so, which browser do you use?

(And if you answered Google or Yahoo, you better watch the video! )