Image Optimization Simplified

Danny Sullivan’s new website, Search Engine Land, is full of great information. Anyone serious about search engine marketing should check his website regularly for the latest news and techniques to leverage search results.

Several students in my classes at UCLA Extension ask about optimizing websites for photographers and graphic designers. These sites are comprised mostly of photos and graphics, and they typically don’t contain a great deal of indexable text. Search Engine Land’s, “Search Illustrated” column today shows just how easy it is to optimize for this type of website… “Six Simple Steps to Image Optimization“.

Search Engine Optimization for a Small Business

Small businesses often don’t have the resources to hire a search marketing firm to maximize their search traffic revenue. The alternative is to get smart and do it yourself! I’ve always tried to help people who are trying to help themselves. That’s one of the main reasons I teach my search marketing class at UCLA Extension (“Building Smart Websites That Get Results“). For those who live in the Los Angeles area, my class is being offered again this Fall. For those who aren’t local, read the article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, “Raising Your Profile: Beyond the Basics“. It’s a great “how to” primer on how to apply search engine optimization to your website FOR RESULTS!! If you follow these basic SEO principles, you will make a difference in your business… and these are things you can do yourself.

Maximizing Your Paid Search Program

I have been advising my clients to allocate most if not all of their search funds to Google Adwords for sometime now. It even makes more sense today. Why? Because it will give you the most “bang for the buck”. Google’s share of search continues to grow. As of April, according to ClickZ Network, June 19, 2007, Google controls a whooping 55.2% share of search. Leaving Yahoo with 21.9%, MSN 9.0%, AOL 5.4% and Ask with just 1.8%. With a limited marketing budget, it’s important to maximize its impact. Search share will of course vary, but it’s not likely to change significantly very soon. For more on this take a look at Kevin Gold’s article in Search Marketing Standard, “80/20 Principle Squanders Paid Search“.