Blog Archives

Web Design Melbourne - New Client Website Launched!

25/7/2016

Website Design Melbourne

SEO North Sydney are extremely happy to launch a new web design in Melbourne, Victoria, for shippingcontainersmelbourne, a local container company that specialises in the sales and hire of shipping containers across Victoria. A clean, measured design was the order of the day for this web build, blending the client's light blue logo with a lot of white space in order to offer visitors an effortless experience where website navigation and usability are prioritised above the more flashy websites favoured by some of their competitors.

SEO Copywriting Melbourne | SEO Melbourne

SEO North Sydney built the website, wrote all copy therein, and were hire to run the client's local Melbourne SEO campaign.

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Running a Small Business is Like Fighting a Medieval Crusade - Motivational Quote

22/7/2016

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Small Business Motivational Quote

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Website Design Brisbane - New Client Website Launched!

20/7/2016

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Web Design Brisbane

SEO North Sydney are proud to announce the launch of a new website in Brisbane for ShippingContainersBrisbane.com.au, a respected local Brisbane shipping container company! A slick and stylish design, utilising a dark colour pallet to emphasise their stylish branding, this new website delivers on both functionality and style.

SEO Copywriting Brisbane | SEO Brisbane

SEO North Sydney not only designed the site, but were hired to write every single word of copy on the site and run the client's on-going local Brisbane SEO campaign.

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Keywords and Why You Need to Go Cold Turkey From Them Once and for All

8/7/2016

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Keywords - More is Better, Right?

'Keywords'. Even seeing that written down evokes the art of search engine optimisation in your mind, doesn't it? Come on now, admit it. Despite the murmurings in the Force you've heard to the contrary; deep down you still think keywords are where the action’s at.

Oh sure you're nothing if not a diligent small business owner, so you've done some research on the subject of search engine optimisation. And yes, okay, you've heard about that thing called 'Panda'. You've read about that 'Hummingbird' algo-whatsit. And you're vaguely aware that a 'Penguin' is apparently one of the scariest animals in the Google zoo. But really, when it boils down to it, that's all just smoke and mirrors isn't it? A recherché selection of technobabble that is needlessly esoteric and deliberately designed to obfuscate the subject matter from nerdling neophytes. Right?

“Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over with wrongability.”
Arnold J. Rimmer, RED DWARF

Search Engine Optimisation – How to Make it a Fair Fight

If we were having this discussion in 1996 - or heck, even 2006 - I'd hold up my hands and agree with you that keywords are ubur important to ranking your website. In fact I’d likely buy you the first round at the pub, for bringing the subject up. But we're not in the mid-90s or the mid-naughties, we're in 2016. And in 2016 focusing your SEO strategy purely on keywords, is like using strong language to win a fight against a guy who’s carrying a M16A4 assault rifle whilst standing on the deck of the USS Iowa.

Not exactly a fair fight now is it?

The SEO Industry’s Biggest Grift

Naturally I don’t blame the small business owners who call SEO North Sydney for bringing up the subject of keywords. Because the vast majority of them have been (unbeknownst to them) on the receiving end of the SEO industry’s most popular scam: charging per keyword.

“This SEO package comes with 10 keywords!”, says the shady SEO sales guy. “And this SEO package comes with 25 keywords! So which package do you think is a better fit with your website’s needs?”

“Err…um…well,” mumbles the small business owner by way of reply. “I guess more keywords sound better?”

“Of course they do! More keywords means more phone calls. And more phone calls means more money for you, Mr. Small Business Owner!”

“Well then, um. Okay. Yeah, sure. That makes sense. I guess. So I’ll go for the SEO package with the more keywords then. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay! It’s better than okay, actually. It’s perfect, because it’ll cost you twice the price…”

*KER-CHING, KER-CHING*

And so the scam goes. With yet another small business owner getting suckered by the well-oiled sales-patter of an online mountebank.

Keywords Drive Strategy – Not Results

Google search has evolved well beyond the primitive keyword stuffing strategies of yore. SEO types know this all too well. But they don’t want you to know it. Much better for them to up-sell you based on the ‘more must be better’ logic of search engine shenanigans.

Luckily for you though, that’s not the way SEO North Sydney operates. Because at SEO North Sydney, all clients, be they large or small, get UNLIMITED KEYWORDS. Because keywords are a component of the content of a particular page, not the other way around.

Think of it this way:

Imagine you have a page on your website with one headline, one picture and 50 words of text. Now insert 25 keywords into that page.

If you did this, it would naturally be B.A.D on so many levels. Human beings reading it would cringe, and click away (as it would be so obviously ‘written for Google’ as to put them off). And Google’s all important Panda algorithm would penalise the page due to the quality (or lack thereof) of the content therein.

However if you have a page on your website with one headline, one picture and 5,000 words of text, how would 25 keywords look on that page? Would they look ‘forced’ or ‘out of place’? Or rather would they just effortlessly blend into the pastiche of the narrative?

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Four out of every five calls SEO North Sydney receive are from small business owners who dwell on the subject of keywords because they’ve been ‘shaped’ by previous SEO companies to ask questions that the SEO companies know how to answer. But much like Pavlov’s dog continues to salivate, even though no food is on offer, so too SEO companies continue to sound the ‘Keywords’ bell, while offering little in the way of demonstrable returns on investment for the privilege.

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Marketing a Small Business is a Matter of Common Sense

6/7/2016

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Marketing a small business is a matter of common sense, it really is. But to paraphrase that famous Voltaire quote, ‘The trouble with common sense is that not many people have it’. This is perhaps never better demonstrated than when applied to how small business owners approach the Herculean task of promoting their business.

Being Good at What You do Doesn’t Mean You Know How to Market it

The issue at the crux of this matter is pretty straight forward: most business owners are NOT trained marketers. This isn’t a slight on small business owners. Far from it. We are all of us a hardy breed with entrepreneurial blood flowing through our veins. But most people who go into business for themselves, do so because they are experts at what they do. And therefore conclude (mistakenly) that their future business success is predicated on that particular skill-set. Maybe they’re a plumber, or someone who installs solar panels, or perhaps they’re an interior designer or an architect or a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture. Whatever their profession, how good they actually are at it, has little or nothing to do with knowing how to market that skill to the world.

A Small Business Owner Has to Be a Jack of All Trades

Small business owners, by necessity, have to be a jack of all trades. But as the old saying goes, to be a jack of all trades is to be a master of none. And when it comes to succeeding in business, you need to work out very early on, what you can successfully do yourself (to save money), and what you need to outsource. With the rule of thumb being:

“If it isn’t core business or within your own personal skill-set: outsource it to an expert.”

Where to Invest Your Advertising Dollars for Maximum Returns

There are lots of ways to spend your hard earned money when it comes to marketing and advertising. And the traditional ones are discussed here in this article on Print Advertising versus Online Advertising. But ultimately the best place to spend your money, is wherever you can get the maximum return for the minimum spend. And in 2016, the vast majority of people search online via the Google search engine.

Hiring an Online Marketing Expert is an Investment NOT an Expense

I mentioned at the start of this article that marketing a small business is a matter of common sense. Because if 99% of all people looking for what you do and where you do it, search on the internet (and they do). And the vast majority of those search using Google. Then it isn’t rocket science to work out where the bulk of your marketing dollars should go. Or why. But just having a website and being online doesn’t cut it. You can spend a fortune getting your small business website designed and online. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be found in Google search. Far from it in fact. The competition in every industry vertical (that’s worth being in), is fierce. And given that 92% of people don’t go past the first page of their Google search, how to get your small business website on page one of Google becomes the single most important marketing question you’ll ever have to answer.

A Little Knowledge Can be a Dangerous Thing

Of course even if you are fortunate enough to be trained in marketing (and thus understand the fundamentals of how marketing works across multiple channels), that doesn’t mean you are equipped to run your own SEO campaign. With over 200 ranking signals and over 10,000 sub-ranking signals powering Google search, and 500-600 algorithmic updates every year; understanding how Google search functions is a full time job (and then some!).

Having a marketing background is a real leg-up when it comes to growing a successful small business because you’ll innately ‘get’ what needs doing and why. But having a working knowledge of how (for an analogy) your BMW’s engine works is one thing. But would you really expect to be the one to service the engine before you drive you family across the Nullarbor in the dead of winter? Or do you think you’d be better served leaving your car in the hands of a trained mechanic?

Hiring a trained SEO professional is much the same thing.

Partner With a SEO Company You Can Trust

If getting on the first page of Google is a necessity for growing your small business in 2016 (and it is), then the only question small business owners need to ask themselves is: ‘Who can I trust to get my website on the first page?’.

And that’s where a company like SEO North Sydney comes in. With a SEO Consultant with 16 years’ experience at it's helm, SEO North Sydney have an unparalleled understanding of the constantly evolving search landscape, we are the perfect online partner to grow your small business or SME. At SEO North Sydney we don’t sweat the small stuff. We sweat the outcomes. And given we guarantee those outcomes in the contract, you can rest assured that your business growth is in good hands.

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Press Release Writing

5/7/2016

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Press Releases for SEO and Brand Awareness

Writing a great press release can be worth its weight in gold. Indeed, in a world saturated with so called 'news', a brilliantly written and well-structured press release is essential to getting your brand message across to its intended audience.

A well written press release is a valid part of any on-line marketing strategy. It informs the industry vertical you're operating in (and the journalists that work in that space) that you have a new product or service on the market. Done well it should pique their interest and make them want to know more.

A great press release is also an excellent addition to your SEO strategy. As the more places that post your press release online, the more websites you'll have linking back to your own site (as you'll naturally have hyperlinked your brand within the body copy of your press release, to drive traffic back to your main website).

Journalists are Busy People so Help Them Help You

Journalists are exceptionally busy people, and are often overwhelmed with folks wanting their attention. Therefor having your press release professionally written is a must for three reasons:

Because a bland or badly written press release will largely be ignored by journalists.
Because, post Panda, Google will largely ignore a press release that has thin, duplicate or badly written content.
Because a well written press release will not only be read by journalists, but will be USED by journalists.

This third point is particularly important for small businesses looking to get their message out into the market, because journalists are slammed with deadlines and desperate to have something to write about all at the same time. But let's face facts, the journos probably don't know your company very well. And they certainly won't know anything about your new product or service. So for them to write about it, they're going to have to study whatever widgets you're selling, then stare at a blank page and W.R.I.T.E something about it from scratch. All of which takes time. And time is the very thing journalists can't spare.

However if you've got a brilliantly written press release, then journalists can (and often do) cut and paste VERBATIM from that press release, into a short news article for their website or blog. Why would they make up words to describe your product or service, when they can just use what's in front of them in your press release? So if you give them a compelling bit of copywriting, some punchy headlines and some snappy quotes, they are far more likely to choose to write an article about whatever your press release is talking about, than the other 500 press releases vying for their attention that day. Sure, what you're selling or promoting needs to be relevant to the journalist that's reading it. That's a given. But nothing gets a journalist onside more than a press release that MAKES THEIR JOB EASIER.

Get a Professional Press Release Written

SEO North Sydney is headed up by Brian M Logan, a man with over a decade and a half experience in getting companies on the first page of Google, and over twenty years' experience as a professional writer. A Marketing Graduate, and an AWARD and Masterclass copywriting graduate (Australia's leading advertising colleges), Brian is also a professional screenwriter and novelist repped out of Hollywood by William Morris Endeavor (one of the world's 'Big 4' agencies), and managed out of Hollywood by Circle of Confusion (who rep folks like the directors of the Matrix among many others). All of which means that when it comes to authoring brilliantly written press releases for your small business or SME, then you're in very good hands indeed.

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SEO Marketing Blog for Small Business and for SMEs.

Web Design Melbourne - New Client Website Launched!

Website Design Melbourne

SEO Copywriting Melbourne | SEO Melbourne

Running a Small Business is Like Fighting a Medieval Crusade - Motivational Quote

Website Design Brisbane - New Client Website Launched!

Web Design Brisbane

SEO Copywriting Brisbane | SEO Brisbane

Keywords and Why You Need to Go Cold Turkey From Them Once and for All

Keywords - More is Better, Right?

Search Engine Optimisation – How to Make it a Fair Fight

The SEO Industry’s Biggest Grift

Keywords Drive Strategy – Not Results

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Marketing a Small Business is a Matter of Common Sense

Being Good at What You do Doesn’t Mean You Know How to Market it

A Small Business Owner Has to Be a Jack of All Trades

Where to Invest Your Advertising Dollars for Maximum Returns

Hiring an Online Marketing Expert is an Investment NOT an Expense

A Little Knowledge Can be a Dangerous Thing

Partner With a SEO Company You Can Trust

Press Release Writing

Press Releases for SEO and Brand Awareness

Journalists are Busy People so Help Them Help You

Get a Professional Press Release Written

Author

Archives

Categories

SEO Marketing Blog for Small Business and for SMEs.

Web Design Melbourne - New Client Website Launched!

Website Design Melbourne

SEO Copywriting Melbourne | SEO Melbourne

Running a Small Business is Like Fighting a Medieval Crusade - Motivational Quote

Website Design Brisbane - New Client Website Launched!

Web Design Brisbane

SEO Copywriting Brisbane | SEO Brisbane

Keywords and Why You Need to Go Cold Turkey From Them Once and for All

​Keywords - More is Better, Right?

Search Engine Optimisation – How to Make it a Fair Fight

The SEO Industry’s Biggest Grift

Keywords Drive Strategy – Not Results

The Numbers Don’t Lie

﻿Marketing a Small Business is a Matter of Common Sense﻿

Being Good at What You do Doesn’t Mean You Know How to Market it

​​A Small Business Owner Has to Be a Jack of All Trades

​Where to Invest Your Advertising Dollars for Maximum Returns

​Hiring an Online Marketing Expert is an Investment NOT an Expense

​A Little Knowledge Can be a Dangerous Thing

​Partner With a SEO Company You Can Trust

Press Release Writing

Press Releases for SEO and Brand Awareness

Journalists are Busy People so Help Them Help You

Get a Professional Press Release Written

Author

Archives

Categories

Keywords - More is Better, Right?

Marketing a Small Business is a Matter of Common Sense

A Small Business Owner Has to Be a Jack of All Trades

Where to Invest Your Advertising Dollars for Maximum Returns

Hiring an Online Marketing Expert is an Investment NOT an Expense

A Little Knowledge Can be a Dangerous Thing

Partner With a SEO Company You Can Trust