Why Anchor Text is Important

What is Anchor Text?
Anchor text is the part of the hyperlink that seen by a visitor on a website (the clickable text).  For this example, the html code will be www.website.com and the anchor text will look like anchor text.

So this html code:

<a href="http://www.website.com">anchor text</a>

Will be seen as anchor text.

What Anchor Text Does

Google and other search engines count each link as a vote for the linked to website by the linked from site. Looking at all components of a link from a website will provide better insight about the vote being cast. Google basically uses anchor text as a vote for a webpage, but what is the vote for? Anchor text represent the actual vote. You’re saying that you’re voting for the site because the site embodies (what you put in your anchor text).

Are you using anchor text on your website and blog? Our SEO team at Insurance Website Builder can help you optimize your insurance websites as well as your blog section. Call us today at 1-800-383-3482 for more information.

Your Fun Friday Facts!

Be sure you check the rest of our blog entries to see how these SEO tools can be implemented on your own website.

Tips on How to Deal With Unhappy Facebook Fans

Every business can receive a bad comment on Facebook, even the best of the best need to know how to handle this type of situation to keep the good reputation of the brand. Some customers will have a simple complaint and some can be really offensive, but we have 4 tips on how to deal with unhappy Facebook Fans:

1. Respond to the complaint

It is very important that you respond to the complaint no matter what. Not responding to what the upset fan posted on your wall may create more anger and will increase the chance of getting more complaints from this fan in the future. Additionally, although this complaint may be from only one fan, if other fans see that you don’t reply to complaints it may appears as if you don’t pay attention to customers and don’t offer any customer support, which in turn harms the reputation of your brand. Do not try to delete the negative comment. Not everybody is going to have a good review of your product or service and if customers see only positive comments, they may think that you are deleting the bad ones.

2. Try to be understanding

Dealing with an upset fan is not always easy, but try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Don’t try to find who is at fault, apologize and find a solution.

3. Contact the customer directly

Trying to contact the customer directly can be more effective than just a reply to the wall post. Apologize, try to find a solution and be personable. If you decide to make a solution publicly, some other customers could try to create a problem to just get the special treatment so beware of your response. Consider asking the customer to remove the wall post. If you don’t feel comfortable asking this, or the customer doesn’t want to remove it even though the issue was resolved, try to express happiness in the resolution and thank them for their business directly on the post.

4. Last option

If the fan doesn’t respond after you have tried to contact them and it is evident that they are trying to just start arguments on your community wall, as a last resort you can always ban the user. Other fans in your community, along with your staff do not deserve the abuse and they always expect respect.

All customers are important and solving their issues can create more loyal fans on your Facebook Page. Our SEO team at Insurance Website Builder can help you optimize your insurance websites as well as your Facebook Page. Call us today at 1-800-383-3482 for more information.

White Hat SEO & Black Hat SEO

Search Engine Optimization can be divided into two categories: methods that search engines consider “best practices”, and practices that search engines frown upon. Search engines try to lessen the effects of black hat SEO. The search engine industry and the SEO community have classified these methods as white hat SEO and black hat SEO. White hat techniques typically produce long term results and black hat practitioners, in the back of their mind, know that their sites may be de-indexed from the search engines if they’re found out.

White Hat SEO
White hat methods follow the search engines’ guidelines and do not try to trick the internet visitor or the search engine. White hat is not only about following guidelines, it’s about making sure the search engine content matches what the user will see. White hat recommendations include creating content for users, not for the search engines, and then making the content easily accessible to the search engine spiders, rather than to try to deceive the search engines.

Black Hat SEO
Black hat SEO tries to improve rankings in ways that are not approved by the search engines. One black hat technique is to use text that is the same color as the background. Another technique is to take the user to a different page than the one that was requested, a technique called cloaking.

Search engines may penalize sites they find using black hat methods. Punishments include reducing their rankings or removing the website from their index. These penalties can be implemented automatically through search engines’ algorithms or manually by review.

Our SEO team at Insurance Website Builder only uses white hat methods that will ensure your insurance websites will remain indexed in the search engines and highly ranked.

How to Choose a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name is an important part of Search Engine Optimization. Not as important as having an optimized title, description and homepage content, but important nonetheless. An optimized domain name will help the search engines to find your website easier and therefore rank it higher. Here are some things to consider when choosing a domain name:

• The domain must include at least one keyword, e.g. insurance, coverage, quote, geo-target
• It should not be too long or hard to spell
• It must be brand-worthy. Does it roll off the tongue, is it easy to remember, can you tell your friends about it without having to repeat yourself or spell it out for them?
• Don't forget that using an older domain is more advantageous than buying a keyword-optimized new domain. Search engines like older domains.
• If you decide to go with your agency name as a domain, then you can still use keywords by customizing the web address.

Additional Resources

• How To Choose Domain Names For SEO
• 12 Rules for Choosing the Right Domain Name
• Choose the Right Domain Name
• AboutUsBotGoneBad - See what happens when Bots seemingly have a twisted sense of humor.

SEO: The Layered Strategy Approach?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very complex concept.  However, it is important to realize that in spite of this fact, it should be considered as being a very important aspect of an overall interactive marketing initiative. Why? Quite simply because your prospective clients trust the search engine service providers like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

As a busy agent you may not be aware of the unprecedented paradigm shift that has been occurring in your industry. This paradigm shift is the ever growing transition of traditional marketing expenditures moved over to interactive marketing expenditures.

One dynamic of interactive marketing is SEO. A prudent surface level approach to SEO strategy needs to communicate the often complex dynamics in a way that provides clarity. One way to achieve this is by what I call the "Layered Approach".

So how does the Layered Approach work? Well the approach is broken down into logical dynamics that when put together are very easy to understand. Here is the approach:

Layer #1: Achieve maximum exposure. This means a goal of getting to the first page of the search engines. This is critical because if your listing is not on the first page you do not have the very best chance of being discovered. Research tells us that less than15% of searchers go past the 2nd page of results (source: Georgia Institute of Technology).  Therefore, getting to the 1st page is imperative.

Layer #2: Make your listing stand out. Now once you have achieved that coveted 1st page ranking, what is it about your snippet or listing that is likely to compel someone to click on yours instead of another listing? The answer lies in just exactly how well your title tag and meta tag has been designed. If your listing does not have a "call to action" and/or some sort of "hook", it is less likely to be chosen. Take time to really think about what it is that you bring to the table in terms of a unique value proposition in your market. Be sure to make it clear and concise. You only get a limited amount of space in this listing so make sure you are achieving the highest level of efficiency possible.

Layer #3: Provide an easy to acclimate environment. Now that your visitor has arrived, what is it that is going to make them stay a while and check out what you have to offer? This is difficult to control but there are some things you can do to raise your chances of keeping the visitor's attention and preventing a high bounce rate metric. Here are some questions to consider:

• Does your site offer a clear "call to action"?
• Is it professional?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• Does it provide "click efficiency"
• Does it effectively communicate your value proposition?
• Does it provide a logical navigation menu?
• Is the content practical and have the potential to satisfy your visitors "pain points"?
• How fast do your pages load?
• Does it provide dynamic up to date content?

The "Layered Approach" strategy enables you to be able to grasp the initiative in a way you can understand. If you are looking for just the right SEO marketing strategy for your agency, please feel free to call Mark Goldsberry for a FREE consultation at 1-800-383-3482 x-160.

Your Facebook Business Page Needs A Username

When first creating a Facebook Business Page, Facebook assigns a web address according to the city the business is located in the form www.facebook.com/pages/City-Name/Company-Name/999999999999. This is not ideal for a business trying to build a brand. There is, however, a fix. If your page has 25 or more fans (or likes), if you are the administrator of the page and you have a unique name in mind you can customize your Facebook Page web address. Bear in mind that you will not be able to change the username once you've chosen it, so make sure it is absolutely correct. Here's how to do it:

1. Log in to Facebook.
2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/username
3. Select Set a username for your Pages.
4. Facebook provides a drop-down menu of all the pages you administer. Select the appropriate page.
5. Type in the desired name. It should be the name of the company rather than your main kp, as keyword phrases can change but your company name will not. You will not be able to change the address once you've chosen it. Make sure it is spelled correctly.
6. Click Check Availability.
7. If available, do one last check of spelling and make doubly sure that this is the username you want. 
8. Click Confirm.

Your business page now has a customized web address.

Additional Resources:

• Read Facebook's Help Center if you are having issues with usernames.
• How to create a Facebook Business Page.
• Build your Presence on Facebook.
• How to Get the Most out of your Facebook page.
• Read how Facebook can Boost your Website's Rankings.
• Social Media and the Insurance Industry
• How to build fans on Facebook

Twitter for Businesses

With Twitter releasing their new business model "Promoted Tweets" more businesses may want to look at creating a Twitter account. Check out Twitter 101 - a Special Guide for Businesses thinking about tweeting.

http://business.twitter.com/

Learn how to automatically Tweet from your IWB website.

Learn about Social Media and the Insurance Industry.

How Facebook boosts Rankings

Facebook, and indeed all social networking sites form an integral part of SEO. One of the advantages of signing up for a Facebook profile is creating backlinks from a highly ranked website (PageRank 9/10), but also building a network among like-minded people.

These articles show how to get the most out of Facebook:

• 11 Business Benefits of Using Facebook Applications
• How to Get Maximum Benefits from Facebook Marketing
• 7 Simple Facebook Page Tricks
• How to build fans on Facebook

How to Create Effective Backlinks

Creating effective backlinks are essential to a successful SEO campaign.

A backlink is link from another website coming into your own website. Backlinks contribute to the PageRank (PR) of your website. A backlink must include your main keyword phrase (kp) in the anchor text. This means creating a link with the words of your main kp e.g. Dallas Car Insurance rather than using the web address as a link or even "Click Here" or "Visit Us".

Backlinks only help to boost rankings if they are from high ranking, high quality websites, in other words websites with a high PR. Ranked out of 10 websites with PR 4 and upwards are worthy sites. Websites with lower PRs are good but more backlinks from this type of websites are needed to equal a website with a high PR. You can check PR by downloading the Google Toolbar.

You can post a backlink in business directories, local directories, social networking sites and other blogs.

Here are some directories where you can post your link for free.

• Local Google
• Local Yahoo
• Local Bing
• Yellow Pages - PR 8/10
• Super Pages
• Local.com - PR 7/10

Make sure to add your website address and wherever possible with your main kp.

Read about inbound links straight from the horse's mouth (Google).

Read more about What PageRank Means for Your Website.

How to Choose a Main Keyword Phrase

A main keyword phrase (kp) is the most important part of your SEO campaign. This is the phrase you would like potential customers to use to find your website in the search engines. It is used as an anchor text to link back to your website. It must also appear "as is" without any variations, at least 3-5 times on your homepage.

A main kp normally consists of 3-4 words. Any more or less will dilute the effect your SEO campaign. A main kp can take two main forms:

1. Geo-target Line of Business e.g. Dallas car insurance
2. Line of Business in Geo-target e.g. Car insurance in Dallas

The geo-target can be a city, county or state. It can be the city your main offices are in, a place that you would like to attract a larger customer base from or a new area that you would like to break through to. If you cover multiple cities then the county that encompasses all of them or even your state will be beneficial.

Some things to consider when choosing a geo-target:

• A city is what most potential customers search by. If it is a common name, it may be necessary to add a qualifier, eg. the "TX" in Dallas TX Car Insurance.
• Consider the number of search results in your decision. Do a search in Google for the different geo-targets with the line of business, and see how many other companies/entities you are competing with. The larger the area, the more entities you are competing against e.g. State vs. City. If the results run in the millions then it may not make sense to pursue that keyword. Consider adding a qualifier or changing the geo-target altogether to reduce the number of results.
• Choosing a lesser known or smaller city will get you to the top of search engines faster as there are not many entities you are competing with. However, that may also mean that less people will consider using a smaller city to search by.
• Not many people search for insurance by county, however if you feel it most accurately describes your geo-target then go for it.
• Choosing a state as a geo-target will have the largest pool of competitors. You should think seriously about choosing a state, as this will take longer to show favorable results.

Some things to consider when choosing a line of business:

• Choose a line of business that you want to attract the most new customers with.
• Choose a line of business that you can guarantee will get most the new customers and then entice them with another line of business once you have them.
• Consider the number and kind of competitors for that line of business; if you have numerous competitors in your area who concentrate on auto insurance, then it may be viable to focus on something else like home insurance which may get you to the top of search engines faster.

Bear in mind that the main kp you choose is not the be all and end all of your SEO campaign. With this type of “natural” SEO, it can take up to a month or two to see favorable results. However if you find after two or three months, this main kp is not working for you, then change it to another geo-target or line of business.

You can also create secondary and tertiary kps. These are normally in the form of the same geo-target but with different lines of business. You can add these to the page keywords or anywhere else it is necessary.

As with all SEO, no guarantees can be made with regards to results. Consult your SEO Coordinator to determine what is best for your agency.

Read more about how and when to use your main kp for On-site Optimization and Off-site Optimization.

Off-site Optimization

One of the two main components of SEO is off-site optimization. Off-site optimization involves putting links on other websites to your own website, otherwise known as backlinking or inbound links. The other is on-site optimization.

• Social networking sites. You can create Twitter, Facebook and Linked In profiles or any other type that is popular, and then link those back to your homepage.
• Commenting on blogs. You can comment on other insurance blogs, or blogs in general and put your web address in the comment.
• Google likes fresh content. One way to do that is to blog on your website. You can find this in the Admin Console under Communication Settings. You can have links that link to other pages in your website. You can blog about interesting news articles, community news, financial news, any promotions your business is holding. Watch a video on how to blog on your IWB website.

On-Site Optimization

One of the two main components of SEO is on-site optimization.  This involves optimizing your site by using keyword phrases both in the source code and the content of your website. It is crucial to have unique, keyword-rich, relevant content on your homepage. Google puts heavy emphasis on website content and this is one of the easier requirements to meet. 

• Choosing a main keyword phrase (kp) and sticking to it. This phrase must have a geo-target and a line of business associated with it, e.g. Dallas car insurance, cheap Dallas home insurance, Dallas TX business insurance.
• Optimize SEO Settings on your website. Your page title, page description and the first phrase in the page keywords section in the Admin Console should all contain your main kp.
• Embolden important keywords. This will alert the visitor and Google what is most important on your page. 
• Make sure all words in your meta keywords appear somewhere in the homepage. Navigation links and footers can include the phrases.
• The kp must appear in at least 3 places. Your main kp must appear on your homepage 3-5 times. This can be as a heading, in the footer and the body of the content.
• Add an H1 heading tag containing your main kp. In the Admin Console, under Site Content Editor, select Home Page from the drop down menu. In the HTML side type your heading like this:  <h1> Dallas Auto Insurance </h1>
  The main kp is closer to the top of the page and Google will read that first. Google reads text from top to bottom, so it is crucial to have your most important information close to the top of the page. Alt tags for images are also very important (contact your webmaster or IWB Support for help on this).
• Add your main kp in the footer. For the footer go to www.reliableins.net to see an example. In the Admin Console, under Site Content Editor select Site Footer. Type in your main kp, Dallas Auto Insurance. To make it a link do the following:
• Click the chain link icon on the toolbar within the content editor to open the Hyperlink Manager.
• In the URL textbox type in the URL.
• In the Link Text textbox type in the link's description.
• Select New Window in the Target drop down box. 
• Once completed, click the Ok button.
  

The other main component is off-site optimization. This involves creating inbound links to your website.