Learning to please Google is the name of the game when it comes to SEO, and in spite of the fact that SEO is a rapidly changing world that can feel difficult to keep abreast of, Google actually want us to do the right things online and they have tools that can help us to optimize our content and our webpages. Webmaster Tools is a free Google platform that absolutely anybody who has a website or is concerned with SEO should be aware of. Through this platform, you can learn a great deal about your site, where you are going wrong with it, and how you can improve it to impress Google and boost your Page Rank.
Logging in to Webmaster Tools is easy. You simply log in with your Google account, which you will invariably have already. You then just enter your website URL and you will find yourself with access to lots of incredibly valuable information. If you have never used this tool before, the first thing that you should do is ensure that Google is crawling your site. This basically means that you need to let Google know that your website is online, that you are regularly updating content, and that you demand to be followed. To do this, click on Sitemaps under Optimization and add a Sitemap. Job done – you have taken a really simple step that could dramatically boost your SEO efforts.
Something that Google really hates page errors on your site, and because Google people are a smart bunch, they can tell when your site is showing up with 404 errors. Google hates this because it diminishes the user experience on a website, and if your website shows page errors, your site will be penalized. By using the Google Webmasters tool, you can scan your entire site to look for errors. The process is quick, accurate, and will give you the information that you need to fix the errors and better your site.
We all know that back-linking is an important part of the SEO process, but creating links from just any source will not give you SEO power. In fact, if there are a lot of poor, spammy links Google will penalize your site for linking to. With Webmaster tools, you can detect and disavow “bad links” that are connected to your website and then try to create an improved back-linking profile.
When you need professional help there are plenty of service providers that deliver improved site performance, usability and remove ongoing issues or SQL viruses. Once your website is tested for usability, your conversion rates for Ecommerce and lead-generation website marketers will enjoy steady increases in conversion percentages and stabilize your spend.
If you manage multiple AdWords accounts you may find yourself pressed for time with some large accounts taking several hours to optimize. Here are some I take to ensure “quick wins” on my client paid search account.
- Make sure your conversion tracking is set up correctly – If initial results look too good to be true or your not seeing your campaign conversions, 1st thing to do is to see if conversion code is being applied properly.
If you’re currently not using conversions tracking its important that you do so, to add conversion tracking to your campaign; go to tools—à conversions.
If your statuses appear as unverified in Tracking Status or no conversions reported within 30 days, your conversion code may be missing on the page.
If you see an unusual conversion rate increase -50% or more- it could be a sign your conversion code is on the landing page instead of the “thank you” page after a customer sale or lead form has been completed.
- Run keyword reporting – If conversion tracking is placed properly and your seeing clicks but no conversions go to your “keywords” tab –à details à search terms –à All, this will show the search terms your ads are showing for.
When you’re bidding for “broad match terms” this is critical since your ads could be showing for unrelated terms. Google listing unrelated products or services is common and can easily be eliminated by clicking on the “add as a negative keyword button”.
When the keyword is not relevant to the entire campaign, you can add it as a “campaign negative keyword”.
If the keyword could work for some ad groups but not others, you can just add it as a negative keyword for that ad group.
Check to make sure your campaign is not opted into the display network – By default AdWords auto-selects search networks with display select, so make sure to update it to just search network only.
Check for broken links and make sure all links on your ads and ad extensions are current and functioning. There is nothing worse than losing money and potential clients due to a slip up like broken links.
Look at your “Dimensions tab” – Set your time frame for the last 4 months and look at the dimensions report to review how your campaign is performing during certain times of the month and day. You can then take this information and use it to set a custom schedule with bid adjustments by hour day or month, changing bids up or down depending on performance.
Look at keyword performance – Go to your keywords tab and select a time frame of at least 3 months and look over keyword performance, you may notice keywords that have obtained conversions at a lower cost per conversion. Try increasing bids by $1-$2 on these keywords and monitor their performance over the next few weeks for any changes. If other keywords maintain a sub-$100 cost over a 3-month period, increase bids for these keywords and monitor as well. If a keyword has spent over $300 in the past 3 months without conversions, pause and research keywords further.
For more information on web design, usability or search engine marketing in Planview, Amarillo, Lubbock or surrounding areas contact us for more information today.
Jennifer Yaniz Internet Marketing Consultant 