Google Now 'Outs' Hacked Websites

Google has added notifications to its popular search results that alert users when they are in danger of traveling to a website that has been compromised.

When Google believes that a website has been hacked, a notification will appear under the search result which states, 'this site may be compromised.' Google also provides a similar warning that is meant to steer search engine users away from sites that have been infected with malware.

These warnings are a response, in part, to the challenges that Google faces as a result of black hat search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Black hat SEO is a term that refers to malicious actions, such as keyword stuffing and link farming, to drive traffic to a website. Using these tactics, attackers can abuse search engines to boost the search rankings of malicious pages.

According to a statement from Google representatives, the company has provided notices of malware for years, which involve a separate warning page before entering the website. Now, the company is expanding search results notifications to help people avoid sites that may have been compromised and altered by a third party.

Usually, this tactic is used for spamming. When a user visits a site, Google wants that visitor to be confident that the information on that site comes from the original publisher. That is why they have set up this new notification system.

When a user clicks on the alert, he or she can get more information about the notice. Users also have the option of clicking on the result, ignoring the warning, and going to the website instead.

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Email Marketing Should Be a Business's Next Big Campaign

As the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) market has become increasingly competitive and saturated, there is renewed pressure on business that wants to stand out from the crowd. However, when companies send regular broadcast emails to their entire mailing, they tend to lose their effectiveness.

Email campaigns are losing their power as customers become more frustrated by bad timing, irrelevant content, and a lack of personal touch. However, email campaigns with a targeted approach can deepen a company's relationship with its customers and to build brand loyalty.
Broadcast emails can be a quick and cheap solution for small businesses, but there is always the chance that these emails will remain unread or will be deleted. Companies have the misconception that if they send out enough emails, a percentage of these will lead to sales. Instead, these types of campaigns do more harm than good.

Research shows that, if done right, more relevant and targeted email campaigns can increase a business's net profits by an average of eighteen times more than using a broadcast mailing approach.

To optimize the potential of an email marketing campaign, it is important first to clearly identify and classify visitors by monitoring their behavior. Using the latest technology, a business can take a snapshot of the choices a visitor has made and store this data in an easy to utilize format.
In order to create an ongoing relationship with customers, it is vital that the right information is monitored and used correctly. It is also important to make unsubscribing or opting out of unwanted emails an easy process.

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The Rise of Social Media Will Shape How Businesses Market Themselves in 2011

The Internet landscape is constantly evolving and, as a result, the way that businesses market themselves online is changing in order to keep up. This has always been the way, but 2011 is going to see the biggest shift yet because of the rise of social networking.

In fact, as we embark on a new year, that the most important change for businesses to consider will be the influence of social media on their Internet marketing strategies, search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns and, of course, the continued development of their web presence.

Knowing exactly how much of an effect social media will have on a website's search engine ranking and its overall success is impossible to say at this point. However, if the recent shift to 'real-time' search engine results and the immense popularity of social networking is any indication, the effect will be earth shattering.

It is no surprise that Mark Zuckerberg, founder and creator of Facebook, was recently named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2010.

Because of this shift, businesses should focus all of their efforts, in 2011, toward building networks not only through Facebook, but on sites like Twitter and even through industry related forums and blogs.

The point is that as we move toward the future, less emphasis will be placed on traditional search engine optimization. Instead, SEO is going to play a more secondary role in the growing trend toward social networking strategies.

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How to Create a Google-Friendly Website

For starters, the best way to improve a small business website's visibility is by getting links from other websites, delivering the two-sided benefit of giving people new ways to find the business's content and improving the site's search engine ranking. Link sources may include social bookmarking websites, industry forums, blog comments, local business directories and news media websites.

Once the links have been built, it is important to create fresh and relevant website content and keep it fresh.

The website should contain relevant material at all times, because Google gives priority to unique and informative content. It is also a good idea to highlight key points within the content and keep the text concise, because many online users skim through what they read online.

It is important to remember that major search engines rank web pages, rather than entire sites. So, by focusing each page around a particular keyword or theme, the business has a greater chance of ranking well for that topic.

It is of the utmost importance, however, to keep everything as simple as possible. This includes the website design as well. Technology, for example, should be used to make the website work better. However, tools like Flash and JavaScript can make it hard for Google to find content, so it must be used sparingly.

Even a website's server location can impact Google rankings. It is a proven fact that the use of offshore servers can undermine the effectiveness of 'local' searches.

Finally, it is imperative that small businesses take advantage of social networking websites to promote their online presence. By building a following on Twitter and Facebook, a business can instantly alert people to website updates with a hyperlink to the new content.

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Why Small Businesses Should Consider Hiring an SEO Consultant

Small- to mid-sized businesses spend a lot of time wondering if they need to bring in a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant or if they can handle the task themselves. Before Google became hyper-local and hyper-fresh, if a business was small enough, they really didn’t need to hire a consultant. In today’s market, however, there are many important benefits that come with working with a professional SEO consultant.

One of the most obvious ways that a business can benefit from hiring an SEO consultant is that they can rest assured that Internet marketing tactics will be implemented properly.

For most small business owners, their SEO training comes from industry forums, blogs and articles. While this is certainly educational, most of these sources fall short of offering useful implementation techniques

An SEO expert can also offer more rounded link building techniques as well.

The trouble with link building is that it is difficult and time consuming, but we all know that links drive traffic and rankings. If a business does not have someone on its team that is both dedicated and skilled in the art of link building, it will miss out on lots of profitable link opportunities.

Of course, by using a professional SEO consultant, businesses will have access to the latest tactics which, in our industry, are always changing.

We live and breathe this stuff. So, those of us who make a living in the search engine optimization industry take pride in being up-to-date and skilled on the latest and greatest tactics.

As the Internet continues to evolve, search engine optimization is going to play an increasingly important role in marketing.

If a business does not have someone on their team that is dedicated to the task of SEO and has significant resources to back them up, the business website will be left in the dust. Although a business owner may know his business, when it comes to SEO, many business owners don’t realize how much they don’t know. That’s where an SEO expert can help.

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Good Graphic Design is Essential to Company Branding

Consumers are incredibly visual people. If something catches their eye, whether it is a great logo or the vibrant colors of a website, they are likely to be attracted to it.
When a consumer is met with something that is visually stimulating, whether it is online or in print, they are more likely to stick around. Their gaze will be held longer if the image or graphic is well-designed and appeals to their aesthetic sense.

A recent report from Yahoo, for example, recently noted that this is the case regardless of which medium a designer uses and it found that the theory extends from websites to brochures and everything in between. If it has a visual element, it is worth it for businesses to get it right and get it right the first time.
That is precisely why hiring a graphic designer to help create a consistent branding campaign is essential for small businesses.

The bottom line is, whether we are talking about a company brochure, letterhead, or even a website design, if customers feel at home, they're more likely to purchase products or services. Although this may seem obvious, it stresses the importance of knowing exactly who the firm's customers are when developing any sort of branding.

Small business entrepreneurs would be best to hire graphic designers in order to help ensure that their marketing materials are visually appealing. If business owners do go this route, it is vital that companies work closely with designers to ensure the materials reflect the nature of the company and its goals.

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