SEO

Barnacle SEO – A key to a winning SEO marketing

If you are an SEO marketer, this phrase, ‘A key to a winning SEO strategy’, must have spontaneously reminded you of keyword marketing, website restructuring, URL structuring, link building, back-linking and the like. In fact, SEO is a mixture of analytical and creative practices and each of these is important to get the benefits of SEO. The importance of each of the SEO practices, be it keyword research or link-building, depends significantly on the algorithm of the search engine you select for marketing. So, a good SEO strategy is implementation of SEO practices according to their relevance. It’s just like a master-chef cooking that perfect recipe using the right ingredients in the right proportions. There are some SEO practices which have not received their due importance from search engine marketers. One of them is Barnacle SEO. If you are a marketer who emphasizes on local search marketing then Barnacle SEO is an important aspect that cannot be overseen. You might be wondering what this Barnacle SEO is all about. What is Barnacle SEO? Barnacle SEO is inspired by the nature of barnacles. A barnacle is a marine creature with a hard shell which sticks permanently to rocks or other huge marine animals like whales. So the motive of a Barnacle SEO is – “attaching oneself to a large fixed object and waiting for the customers to float by in the current”. Barnacle SEO leverages on earning reviews and listings in a high ranking directory or review site. Essentials of Barnacle SEO implementation: Select and prioritize your review sites: First, use the right keywords and track all the top-ranking review sites and directories in the result page. For instance, if your business is about Eco Resorts, then type keywords such as Eco Resorts or Eco Tourism, or Eco Resort in Bangkok considering if your Resort is in Bangkok. Your Search Engine Result page will give you a number of reputed review sites like Tripadvisor and Expedia. You must prioritize reputed sites to get reviews. In fact, a listing in a standard review site will earn you more clicks than an individual website. Build good profiles in reputed sites: Make your profile as attractive as possible in the directory or the review site. Include all basic information details sought by searchers like your business name, address, phone number, website and e-mail. Also include pictures of your business in review sites. Link Building: In order to rank well in a SERP, earn links to your reviews and listings. Link it from your own website as well as other locally oriented websites like charities, Chambers of Commerce and the like. Advantages of Barnacle SEO: Some of the advantages of Barnacle SEO are Brand Equity building: Just imagine you are looking for a family restaurant in your town. You will obviously be interested in a restaurant with a 5 star rating over another with a 3 star rating. Customer ratings are also an important factor considered by Google algorithms for determining a Google rank. Moreover, potential customers are more likely to take reviews published on a reputed site more seriously. Right answer to right audience: Just Getting listed in reputed local directories like Yellow Pages will connect with the right audiences looking for your service or product. This bridges the usual disconnect between the information on your website and your searchers. Mobile friendly experience: Barnacle SEO emphasizes on listings and reviews in reputed sites. The loading time of such sites is much faster than regular websites. These sites are friendly for information extraction and browsing. Reviews are not the only factors for getting better ranking. The recent updates in Google algorithm are increasingly emphasizing on quality and quantity of reviews. The extent of influence of reviews also depends on the industry of your business. Some industries are more influenced by reviews. For instance, the tourism industry and the entertainment industry are more likely to be influenced by user reviews because people seek peer recommendations before opting for these services and products. Barnacle SEO is often a time consuming task. Its takes a lot of effort to find reputed sites and create good content to be listed. Some of these activities related to Barnacle SEO are better outsourced to a SEO expert assistant. It is inexpensive as well as more efficient.

Barnacle SEO – A key to a winning SEO marketing Read More »

If you are an SEO marketer, this phrase, ‘A key to a winning SEO strategy’, must have spontaneously reminded you of keyword marketing, website restructuring, URL structuring, link building, back-linking and the like. In fact, SEO is a mixture of analytical and creative practices and each of these is important to get the benefits of SEO. The importance of each of the SEO practices, be it keyword research or link-building, depends significantly on the algorithm of the search engine you select for marketing. So, a good SEO strategy is implementation of SEO practices according to their relevance. It’s just like a master-chef cooking that perfect recipe using the right ingredients in the right proportions. There are some SEO practices which have not received their due importance from search engine marketers. One of them is Barnacle SEO. If you are a marketer who emphasizes on local search marketing then Barnacle SEO is an important aspect that cannot be overseen. You might be wondering what this Barnacle SEO is all about. What is Barnacle SEO? Barnacle SEO is inspired by the nature of barnacles. A barnacle is a marine creature with a hard shell which sticks permanently to rocks or other huge marine animals like whales. So the motive of a Barnacle SEO is – “attaching oneself to a large fixed object and waiting for the customers to float by in the current”. Barnacle SEO leverages on earning reviews and listings in a high ranking directory or review site. Essentials of Barnacle SEO implementation: Select and prioritize your review sites: First, use the right keywords and track all the top-ranking review sites and directories in the result page. For instance, if your business is about Eco Resorts, then type keywords such as Eco Resorts or Eco Tourism, or Eco Resort in Bangkok considering if your Resort is in Bangkok. Your Search Engine Result page will give you a number of reputed review sites like Tripadvisor and Expedia. You must prioritize reputed sites to get reviews. In fact, a listing in a standard review site will earn you more clicks than an individual website. Build good profiles in reputed sites: Make your profile as attractive as possible in the directory or the review site. Include all basic information details sought by searchers like your business name, address, phone number, website and e-mail. Also include pictures of your business in review sites. Link Building: In order to rank well in a SERP, earn links to your reviews and listings. Link it from your own website as well as other locally oriented websites like charities, Chambers of Commerce and the like. Advantages of Barnacle SEO: Some of the advantages of Barnacle SEO are Brand Equity building: Just imagine you are looking for a family restaurant in your town. You will obviously be interested in a restaurant with a 5 star rating over another with a 3 star rating. Customer ratings are also an important factor considered by Google algorithms for determining a Google rank. Moreover, potential customers are more likely to take reviews published on a reputed site more seriously. Right answer to right audience: Just Getting listed in reputed local directories like Yellow Pages will connect with the right audiences looking for your service or product. This bridges the usual disconnect between the information on your website and your searchers. Mobile friendly experience: Barnacle SEO emphasizes on listings and reviews in reputed sites. The loading time of such sites is much faster than regular websites. These sites are friendly for information extraction and browsing. Reviews are not the only factors for getting better ranking. The recent updates in Google algorithm are increasingly emphasizing on quality and quantity of reviews. The extent of influence of reviews also depends on the industry of your business. Some industries are more influenced by reviews. For instance, the tourism industry and the entertainment industry are more likely to be influenced by user reviews because people seek peer recommendations before opting for these services and products. Barnacle SEO is often a time consuming task. Its takes a lot of effort to find reputed sites and create good content to be listed. Some of these activities related to Barnacle SEO are better outsourced to a SEO expert assistant. It is inexpensive as well as more efficient.

Six Things You MUST outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Focus is one of the biggest secrets to success. So, start focusing on the core tasks of your business. But, what if you have a long, boring list of trivial tasks to handle before you can even begin to focus on the core tasks? What if you are too confused and can’t figure out what you should be focusing on? Aren’t these questions becoming barriers to your business growth? Today, many start-ups and small business owners suffer from the ‘superhero syndrome’ -a condition where business owners believe they can take on anything and everything on their own! While taking responsibility for your business is good, juggling too many hats at the same time, could eventually lead to your downfall, as you slowly begin to lose focus on the core tasks and what you should ideally be concentrating on as a business owner. You start dissipating your valuable resources across trivial tasks which can be better taken care of by someone else. This is where the need for a convenient solution arises. If you are seriously looking at business growth or a balanced, personal life, you must think of hiring a Virtual Assistant. Now, before you get all excited and make a hasty decision of hiring a Virtual Assistant, ask yourself if there are aspects of your life that you need a break from and if there is a long list of other activities that you need to focus on. Once you have filtered out the activities that are best handled by a third party provider like an outsourcing company, you can then finally get down to hiring a Virtual Assistant.If you are new to outsourcing and don’t know where to tread yet, let us take a look at some of the tasks that you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant. Managing e-mails Managing e-mails can be a whale of a job. Sifting through junk and responding to countless e-mails can eat into a good chunk of your productive time. Consider outsourcing e-mail management to a reliable virtual assistant. It will free up a lot more of your time than you would have imagined. Trust us! Bookkeeping We all know how monotonous bookkeeping can get. It involves the time-consuming process of recording bills, invoices, payments etc. Imagine how much you can achieve in your business or personal life with the free time you get after outsourcing bookkeeping tasks to your virtual assistant! Numbers can get harrowing and with a Virtual Assistant in the picture, you won’t have to worry about one more complicated entry or computation. Online Research     Online research is another important task that many individuals and businesses carry out in their day to day lives. It also consumes a good fraction of your precious time. Online research, if outsourced, can earn you that much-needed time to focus on the activities that matter the most to you and that are crucial to your business. Travel and trip arrangement We all know how much effort goes into planning a journey. One may face a lot of hurdles along the way when it comes to booking a hotel to suit the budget, hiring a taxi, booking cheap flight tickets and the like. With the help of a virtual assistant, focus on the destination and let your Virtual Assistant take care of all the nitty-gritties of making your journey a comfortable one. Setting Reminders/Calendar management A well-managed calendar can help you sail smoothly through the month. Setting reminders is also an integral part of a well-maintained schedule. Outsource your calendar management activities to a Virtual Assistant and rest assured you will never miss another important deadline or family event! Data Entry Data entry is a simple task but can be monotonous and tiresome. Consider outsourcing data entry to a Virtual Assistant. It will give you a lot more time to do the things you love.

Six Things You MUST outsource to a Virtual Assistant Read More »

Focus is one of the biggest secrets to success. So, start focusing on the core tasks of your business. But, what if you have a long, boring list of trivial tasks to handle before you can even begin to focus on the core tasks? What if you are too confused and can’t figure out what you should be focusing on? Aren’t these questions becoming barriers to your business growth? Today, many start-ups and small business owners suffer from the ‘superhero syndrome’ -a condition where business owners believe they can take on anything and everything on their own! While taking responsibility for your business is good, juggling too many hats at the same time, could eventually lead to your downfall, as you slowly begin to lose focus on the core tasks and what you should ideally be concentrating on as a business owner. You start dissipating your valuable resources across trivial tasks which can be better taken care of by someone else. This is where the need for a convenient solution arises. If you are seriously looking at business growth or a balanced, personal life, you must think of hiring a Virtual Assistant. Now, before you get all excited and make a hasty decision of hiring a Virtual Assistant, ask yourself if there are aspects of your life that you need a break from and if there is a long list of other activities that you need to focus on. Once you have filtered out the activities that are best handled by a third party provider like an outsourcing company, you can then finally get down to hiring a Virtual Assistant.If you are new to outsourcing and don’t know where to tread yet, let us take a look at some of the tasks that you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant. Managing e-mails Managing e-mails can be a whale of a job. Sifting through junk and responding to countless e-mails can eat into a good chunk of your productive time. Consider outsourcing e-mail management to a reliable virtual assistant. It will free up a lot more of your time than you would have imagined. Trust us! Bookkeeping We all know how monotonous bookkeeping can get. It involves the time-consuming process of recording bills, invoices, payments etc. Imagine how much you can achieve in your business or personal life with the free time you get after outsourcing bookkeeping tasks to your virtual assistant! Numbers can get harrowing and with a Virtual Assistant in the picture, you won’t have to worry about one more complicated entry or computation. Online Research     Online research is another important task that many individuals and businesses carry out in their day to day lives. It also consumes a good fraction of your precious time. Online research, if outsourced, can earn you that much-needed time to focus on the activities that matter the most to you and that are crucial to your business. Travel and trip arrangement We all know how much effort goes into planning a journey. One may face a lot of hurdles along the way when it comes to booking a hotel to suit the budget, hiring a taxi, booking cheap flight tickets and the like. With the help of a virtual assistant, focus on the destination and let your Virtual Assistant take care of all the nitty-gritties of making your journey a comfortable one. Setting Reminders/Calendar management A well-managed calendar can help you sail smoothly through the month. Setting reminders is also an integral part of a well-maintained schedule. Outsource your calendar management activities to a Virtual Assistant and rest assured you will never miss another important deadline or family event! Data Entry Data entry is a simple task but can be monotonous and tiresome. Consider outsourcing data entry to a Virtual Assistant. It will give you a lot more time to do the things you love.

Short Tail Key Word

Step Up Your Vacation Rentals ‘Marketing’ Before It’s Too Late!

Travel Industry – At The Cusp Of Change The $144 billion vacation rental industry with over million listings, has taken the travel industry by storm. According to Vacation Rental Managers Association, 24% of leisure travelers are now choosing vacation rental homes over hotels and resorts. While this affords considerable opportunity to vacation home owners, not everyone is reaping the benefits of this industry. Vacation rental owners often grapple with questions related to receiving more customers/ guests. The answer seems to lie with smart marketing practices. We have listed a few basic ideas that vacation rental owners could use. Is Your Vacation Rental Lost In The Crowd? Getting found in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, is important. Your potential guests are looking for vacation rentals and if your website shows in the top 10 search results, you are bound to have a competitive edge over the others and it will also make it easier for people to find you. With your website on top of search results, there are higher chances of increases in bookings and boosts in occupancy. Three Reasons To Begin Marketing Your Vacation Rental Now 1)According to a Google post, it takes a mere 3 to 7 seconds for a shopper to decide on a buying a product/service. Known as the ZMOT, this is the most critical phase in the marketing cycle and is far more critical than the actual advertising itself. As vacation rental owners, you will need to understand how to capitalize on this period known as the ZMOT, correctly. 2)Google is the greatest source of traffic (70%) for websites and there are no two ways about it. Vacation rental owners need to understand how to a) be featured on top sites on Google, b) have all the SEO marketing done and in place in order to be traced by the search engine. 3)In the US alone, 87% of the population depended on the internet for majority of the travelling that took place through the year 2014. This information alone is vital for vacation rental owners, because in today’s time and age it is important to understand how to scale your online presence and market your services effectively in order to rank on Google or be chosen by customers. The 8 Stepping Stones To Vacation Rental Marketing Success 1. Keywords are Important: The most important step in optimising your website is to finalise the keywords you intend to target. You must decide on the keyword for which you want to be found. Opting for short tail and long tail keywords needs comprehensive research to filter out the best ones. Long tail keywords will give you an extra edge, making you more visible and will significantly boost your bookings. Gauge your competition thoroughly before you select your keywords because it is one of the most crucial steps. Here is an example just for your reference:- Short tail Keyword – Vacation Rental Long tail Keyword: Clearwater beach Vacation Rentals With the above example you can see the difference in search volume results. The advantage of the long tail keyword is that you have lesser search volume and your visibility in getting found for such keywords are high. It is better to be a big fish in a small pond rather being a little fish in a big pond. It is wise to choose the keywords that make you visible to your niche audience with specific needs. 2. Meta Data: Another key factor to build online presence is to optimise your Meta tags with proper keywords. This is important because your audience will identify you by these tags. Give an attractive two-liner to catch the eye of your potential guests and make sure that the keywords are inserted into the descriptions. Here is a snippet of what Meta tags will look like on a search engine result:- Capture the attention of viewers with an appealing story that describes the vacation rental aptly within 160 characters (as per Google’s meta data guidelines). 3. Website Design & Aesthetics A websites’ aesthetics also affects the bookings for your vacation. Keep a tab on the website design and both, the quality and quantity of pictures. For example, replacing low quality photographs with quality pictures was the first step towards success for AirBnb. Thus, more quality pictures mean higher the chances of conversions. Keeping a 360 view video of your vacation home also gives prospective clients real-time views of your location. All these factors in combination will definitely add more value to your vacation rental and will attract more customers. 4. Call to Action: Overall, the “call to action” buttons are meant to garner some action on your website. Highlight important buttons/tabs or position it in such a manner on the website that it attracts maximum attention. Some of the “call to action” buttons on your vacation rental website can be, – Toll-free numbers – “Book Now” button – “Check Calendar” to see the availability of the rentals – Chat options – Social media links to share/ like/post tweets on your page. GetFriday, the virtual assistance company in Bangalore, India, conducted an in-depth analysis on 3000 bookings for vacation rentals. The results revealed that checking “calendars” and dates were of top interest to potential guests. You can also see the Slideshare presentation for Vacation Rental Marketing by clicking on the picture given below. 5. Push for an Ad Campaign: Google says your potential clients decide in 3-7secs whether they want to buy a product or service. If your ads shoot up in Google, your chances of being chosen are high. Go for a display campaign with pictures of your beautiful vacation rental with appropriate “call to action” buttons and other relevant details. Alternatively try out Remarketing campaigns that are even more cost effective, this would remind your visitors about your rentals. By marketing your offers and deals in your ads, you have better chances of increasing ROI. 6. Rave reviews: Customers’ decisions are greatly influenced by reviews. Guests spend

Step Up Your Vacation Rentals ‘Marketing’ Before It’s Too Late! Read More »

Travel Industry – At The Cusp Of Change The $144 billion vacation rental industry with over million listings, has taken the travel industry by storm. According to Vacation Rental Managers Association, 24% of leisure travelers are now choosing vacation rental homes over hotels and resorts. While this affords considerable opportunity to vacation home owners, not everyone is reaping the benefits of this industry. Vacation rental owners often grapple with questions related to receiving more customers/ guests. The answer seems to lie with smart marketing practices. We have listed a few basic ideas that vacation rental owners could use. Is Your Vacation Rental Lost In The Crowd? Getting found in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, is important. Your potential guests are looking for vacation rentals and if your website shows in the top 10 search results, you are bound to have a competitive edge over the others and it will also make it easier for people to find you. With your website on top of search results, there are higher chances of increases in bookings and boosts in occupancy. Three Reasons To Begin Marketing Your Vacation Rental Now 1)According to a Google post, it takes a mere 3 to 7 seconds for a shopper to decide on a buying a product/service. Known as the ZMOT, this is the most critical phase in the marketing cycle and is far more critical than the actual advertising itself. As vacation rental owners, you will need to understand how to capitalize on this period known as the ZMOT, correctly. 2)Google is the greatest source of traffic (70%) for websites and there are no two ways about it. Vacation rental owners need to understand how to a) be featured on top sites on Google, b) have all the SEO marketing done and in place in order to be traced by the search engine. 3)In the US alone, 87% of the population depended on the internet for majority of the travelling that took place through the year 2014. This information alone is vital for vacation rental owners, because in today’s time and age it is important to understand how to scale your online presence and market your services effectively in order to rank on Google or be chosen by customers. The 8 Stepping Stones To Vacation Rental Marketing Success 1. Keywords are Important: The most important step in optimising your website is to finalise the keywords you intend to target. You must decide on the keyword for which you want to be found. Opting for short tail and long tail keywords needs comprehensive research to filter out the best ones. Long tail keywords will give you an extra edge, making you more visible and will significantly boost your bookings. Gauge your competition thoroughly before you select your keywords because it is one of the most crucial steps. Here is an example just for your reference:- Short tail Keyword – Vacation Rental Long tail Keyword: Clearwater beach Vacation Rentals With the above example you can see the difference in search volume results. The advantage of the long tail keyword is that you have lesser search volume and your visibility in getting found for such keywords are high. It is better to be a big fish in a small pond rather being a little fish in a big pond. It is wise to choose the keywords that make you visible to your niche audience with specific needs. 2. Meta Data: Another key factor to build online presence is to optimise your Meta tags with proper keywords. This is important because your audience will identify you by these tags. Give an attractive two-liner to catch the eye of your potential guests and make sure that the keywords are inserted into the descriptions. Here is a snippet of what Meta tags will look like on a search engine result:- Capture the attention of viewers with an appealing story that describes the vacation rental aptly within 160 characters (as per Google’s meta data guidelines). 3. Website Design & Aesthetics A websites’ aesthetics also affects the bookings for your vacation. Keep a tab on the website design and both, the quality and quantity of pictures. For example, replacing low quality photographs with quality pictures was the first step towards success for AirBnb. Thus, more quality pictures mean higher the chances of conversions. Keeping a 360 view video of your vacation home also gives prospective clients real-time views of your location. All these factors in combination will definitely add more value to your vacation rental and will attract more customers. 4. Call to Action: Overall, the “call to action” buttons are meant to garner some action on your website. Highlight important buttons/tabs or position it in such a manner on the website that it attracts maximum attention. Some of the “call to action” buttons on your vacation rental website can be, – Toll-free numbers – “Book Now” button – “Check Calendar” to see the availability of the rentals – Chat options – Social media links to share/ like/post tweets on your page. GetFriday, the virtual assistance company in Bangalore, India, conducted an in-depth analysis on 3000 bookings for vacation rentals. The results revealed that checking “calendars” and dates were of top interest to potential guests. You can also see the Slideshare presentation for Vacation Rental Marketing by clicking on the picture given below. 5. Push for an Ad Campaign: Google says your potential clients decide in 3-7secs whether they want to buy a product or service. If your ads shoot up in Google, your chances of being chosen are high. Go for a display campaign with pictures of your beautiful vacation rental with appropriate “call to action” buttons and other relevant details. Alternatively try out Remarketing campaigns that are even more cost effective, this would remind your visitors about your rentals. By marketing your offers and deals in your ads, you have better chances of increasing ROI. 6. Rave reviews: Customers’ decisions are greatly influenced by reviews. Guests spend

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