Let’s face it, your brand is your baby. It is your lively hood. Your pride and joy. However, when someone searches for you on Google, what branded search results do they see? Chances are that your domain ranks first, but what else shows up? Other web properties you control? Perhaps some competitors are trying to move in and steal organic branded real estate from you? For your brand, there is no reason you can not “own” the first page organic results. Below, I will explain 10 easy ways you can dominate your branded search results.

1. Your Website

Chances are that 99% of you have this one covered, but I needed to bring it up for those who are in the 1%. There should be little issue getting your domain to rank for your brand provided it is a legitimate brand and not some generic keyword phrase. For example, if you search for the brand “Directv” you will see their branded site ranking first. Please note that this an actual brand and not something generic like “satellite tv” which could be anyone. If you can’t or are not ranking first for your brand with your URL, chances are that you may have incurred a penalty of some sort. Possibly you have been hit by a duplicate content penalty from the Google Panda update. Should you be penalized, it is very important you utilize the other tactics listed below to dominate your brand for search. Read more »

September 5, 2012 Chris Makara SEO 2 comments

One of my Twitter followers recently asked an excellent question which I felt could not be answered in 140 characters. Actually, it has been something I have been meaning to blog about, but I just have not got around to writing it. So here is the question:

@ChrisMakara What’s your #1 #Twitter tip for companies to grow there following? #TwitterSmallBiz

— Farhana Cannon (@iMediaExposure) March 19, 2012

While there are many things that can and should be done to increase the Twitter following of a company, I feel this one is the quickest, easiest, and most often over looked best tip missed by the majority of businesses.

The Money is IN the List!

If you have been around the web long enough, chances are that you have heard the phrase “The money is in the list”. Often, this is referring to the reasoning behind having a lead capture form on your website to stay connected via email with current and potential customers. Aside from using this list for emailing, did you know that you could use it to connect with your customers who are already on Twitter? Read more »

March 20, 2012 Chris Makara Social Media 2 comments

If you are anything like me, you can’t help to notice after awhile that you start to see the same cheesy stock images being used across various websites you visit. You know, the ones with four or five people huddled around a conference table acting like they are really busy but have enough time to turn and pose for a picture? Yeah, those images.

A common problem (well maybe not a problem, but OCD?) I have is knowing that I have seen a particular image before on another site, but not being able to recall where I have seen it before. After looking at so many sites, especially ones that rely heavily on stock imagery, they all start to look the same. Occasionally, I find it interesting to know how many other sites use the same stock image.

So how do I find out answers to these burning questions?

Using Google Image Search To Find Where a Stock Photo is Used

Sure, I could try to type in different phrases related to the image and hope to get lucky with my search results showing the site I previously saw the image on or even browse through my browser history. Or I could do this: Read more »

February 15, 2012 Chris Makara Design No comments