Google AMP Don’t Believe The Hype

Google AMP Google AMP is not all it’s cracked up to be and as a small/mid-sized business owner, its probably not something you will see a noticeable improvement in your rankings or traffic by implementing it.  We think it’s an additional tactic from Google to push small business even further out of the marketing game.  AdWords is expensive and time consuming to stay on top of.  Unless you have deep pockets or a dedicated resource (again..expensive) handling your AdWords campaign you are not going to win this game. We get it, Google is in the game to make money…we all are. Google “invented” AMP because they noticed users were utilizing Mobile Apps to access content way more than they were via the search engines.  AMP is Google trying to get people off of apps and back on to the search platform. Makes sense doesn’t it? Move the user off a platform where it is difficult to monetize and back onto a platform where they can increase their potential profit with Ad clicks etc.   The claim that AMP has to do with speed and webpage performance is entirely inaccurate. The same can be said for their claim of “optimizing the user […]

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SEO Trends for 2016 and 2017

SEO Tips in 2017 Yes, it’s that time of year again…the kids are back in school, Halloween is right around the corner, and the end of the year will be her in a few short months. And with the end of the year will be coming yet more changes from Google, or as they are now known, Alphabet. Regardless of the name change, it’s always the big “G” that we keep our eyes on. The reason being, some 80% of the world’s search engine traffic goes through their data centers. And when they make a change, we’re ready to pivot our strategies as well. The most successful SEO companies, like Kansas City SEO Group – make sure that they are always in the know about what’s going on. Great SEO starts with giving Google, Yahoo and Bing what they want. So with that in mind, here’s what we think will be relevant in the coming year. Keywords versus a user’s intent When the search engines were starting out, and processing power wasn’t what it is today, it was enough to have the right keywords sprinkled throughout your website to attract attention. If you ran a car wash for example, you’d […]

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5 tips for promoting your local business on Google and beyond

  Marketing Strategy A key component for any small business is their marketing strategy. Probably the most important part of this is how the business shows up in search engine results. So the first question that comes to mind is, is it possible to show up in the top of Google, Yahoo and Bing? Is it possible to be highly ranked with content that you control, or content that you’ve influenced? You might be surprised to know that the answer is a resounding “YES”! And not only is the answer yes, there are a multitude of simple and very effective methods to make your site visible to potential customers and reach people through various social media platforms, review sites, and media outlets. If you take a look at my 5 tips for promoting your local business on Google and beyond, plus are willing to take action on these items – you’re likely to see increased rankings and visibility for your business and company’s website. Tip # 1 – Optimize the information on your company’s website What’s the most valuable, most important asset online that your company or business owns? That’s right – it’s your website. If you don’t already have […]

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How To Build Backlinks In 2016

The guys from Red Stage Fulfillment share their thoughts on Backlinks. Thanks for the article! Beginner’s Guide To Building Quality Backlinks in 2016 In the last few years businesses have really started to understand the importance of search traffic. Search traffic are people who are looking for something online (i.e your business) to solve their need. Their need could be to fix a leaky shower, seek mortgage advice, avoid hunger, cure boredom or purchase a product to improve their quality of life. Unlike paid advertising which relies on by businesses pushing content in-front of their audience, search traffic works by users looking for you. In 2014, search traffic was the top performing marketing channel in the shopping industry: (Source)   Where does search traffic come from? Google, Bing, Yahoo and other major search engines. By targeting keywords search traffic are typing, you can place your business in front of their eyes when they are in need. To get search traffic on your website, you must rank your business using search engine optimization (SEO). There are over 200+ ranking factors that increase website visibility in search engines, everything from content creation, keyword research, web page structure to social media shares impact […]

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It’s All About the Presentation: How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile and Presence

Thanks to the folks at  http://ghergich.com for sharing this info graphic with us. Click the image to view it full size.  

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5 Things you can do to improve your About Us page

If you have been following us for any length of time, you know that here at the Kansas City SEO Group we are big fans of humanizing your brand. It’s the digital version of putting a name with a face. What’s the prime location on your website to do this? Your About Us page. There are a lot of companies that treat their About Us page as a necessary page and slap one up without giving much thought to it. Typically, it tends to read very much like a resume or a skillset dumping ground.  Your about us page offers a great opportunity for differentiation from your competitors. Here is our short and sweet list to tune up your page. 1) Focus on the customer. Rather than creating a laundry list of your qualifications, certifications and acronyms, address your customer.  Imagine you are a customer that has a gap in their business and they are looking for a solution.  Offer a brief summary of what you can do to benefit their business. 2) Show ‘em what makes you different. Your About Us page is a perfect spot to highlight what makes you different and stand out from the rest.  As […]

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The Art Of Link Building Correctly

The Art Of Link Building Correctly The goal of every website owner is to get as much traffic to their site as possible to increase sales. Consequently, link building is still just as important as it was years ago. However, due to many algorithm changes over the years, some of the old strategies just don’t work. In order to rank high with the major search engines, your site needs to prove it offers consistent value to readers. In essence, you must work to get high quality backlinks, which confirm to search engines why your site is worthy of more traffic. Therefore, it’s essential that you learn the art of link building. Backlinks From Edu Sites Typically, edu sites are some of the best backlinks you can hope to get. They are usually rich in content, and are authorities in their field. Also, Google favors their sites because of the value they provide to readers. In addition, most edu sites are high ranking, which means getting a backlink from these types of sites would help you to rank higher in SERPs. Look for edu sites that have a direct relationship to your website or business. Getting backlinks from a site that […]

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5 Reasons Why you shouldn’t use a free website builder

We had a client ask us “ With all of the free website builders out there, why can’t we just use one of those?”   The notion of using Wix, Weebly or Squarespace may initially seem like a good idea from a financial perspective because who doesn’t like free or almost free….right ?  At first glance it seems like a pretty good idea.  The interface is pretty intuitive, it has drag and drop functionality and you can build and publish a website in short order.  Let’s take a deeper dive and explore why you shouldn’t be using a free platform for your website.   1) SEO Limitations. Given what we do as a company, you kind of figured this would be our first talking point no?    The free builders typically have a section to “activate SEO”  or “enable SEO”  in their interface.   SEO is a complex space and involves much more than just typing a few keywords and off you go.   In order to succeed and make any traction in SEO you need to have the ability to custom craft keywords and target your niche on each of the individual pages of the site.  The one size fits all approach of the […]

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