Search engines are a fantastic resource to get visitors to your website. Unfortunately, helping search engines find and rank your website for inclusion in it’s listings is somewhat challenging. Like many online strategies, there are tricks and tasks that you can use to improve your results. However, similar to social media marketing, you can spend an inordinate amount of time on search engine optimization. Here are 11 do it yourself tips on how to get your website noticed in search engines legitimately, without spending to much time.

1. ONE TOPIC PER PAGE –
You can certainly have a page that lists all your products and services, but you also need a website page for each topic.

2. BASIC PAGE OPTIMIZATION –
The purpose of the given website page should be directly stated in all of the following areas using the keyword you’re targeting:

◦ Content
◦ URL
◦ Word Count – 500+ words of focused content on a page
◦ Image Name & ALT Text

3. OUTBOUND LINKS –
It’s not just who links to you that’s important, but where you link to. This can affect both relevance and trust by Google. If you’re linking out to on-topic sites from your content that’s a good indication that the content is relevant to the terms in question. Also, linking out to low quality websites will send a negative signal to Google.

4. INTERNAL LINKS –
Is a type of hyperlink on a website page to another page or resource on the same website or domain. A lack of internal links can seriously hamper a page’s ability to get crawled by Google and ranked.

5. ANCHOR TEXT –
The anchor text, link label, link text, or link title is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. The words contained in the anchor text can determine the ranking that the website page will receive on Google.

6. UPLOADS PER MONTH (UPM) –
You don’t have to begin posting content every day – I understand it’s unrealistic for many website owners. But I recommend that you upload your own content regularly. Remember, content does not need to be text. For example, a photographer could add a new portfolio images with short textual descriptions.

7. LOCAL DIRECTORIES –
A local business listing is an online entry that contains your business Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP) along with other details. There are a lot of directories and websites like Yelp, Foursquare and Yellow Pages where local businesses can create free local business listings.

8. NAP –
Stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. NAP is critical for businesses wishing to rank well in the local organic search results, because search engines like Google take the data into account when determining which companies to show for geo-targeted searches.

9. GOOGLE VERIFIED BUSINESS –
A Google My Business listing is an absolute essential for local search. It’s free to set up, it’s one of the best things you can do to improve local SEO visibility.

10. GOOGLE REVIEWS –
Business reviews from clients and customers can be seen as one of the most powerful ways of promoting trust and confidence in your business in the eyes of Google.

11. Get GOOGLED! –
Create curiosity and create a reason for people to search your business name on Google.

Do you need help with your SEO in Toronto? or SEO in New York City? Don’t hesitate to contact us at nerd@anerdsworld.com today!

Thank you,

Chris A. Hughes
Founder of A Nerd’s World

The post DIY SEO: 11 Simple Steps to Ranking on Google first appeared on A Nerd's World.

SEO : My 7 Steps to SEO Success

1. Keyword Research: Target specific Google keywords and review actual statistics.
2. Review Top 3 Websites: Organic websites only, excluding directories such as Yelp.
3. Create a Spread Sheet: Word count, number of photos & videos, page URL and page title.
4. Search & Find: The Number of times the keyword is used on this website page.
5. Competitor Link Building Strategies: Directories, associations, press releases and all backlinks.
6. Compare # of Google Reviews: Reviews are becoming increasingly more important in local SEO rankings.
7. Create a Strategy: Each keyword requires it’s own strategy, original content and a unique website page.

Do you need help with your SEO in Toronto? or SEO in New York City? Don’t hesitate to contact us at nerd@anerdsworld.com today!

Thank you,

Chris A. Hughes
Founder of A Nerd’s World

The post How to Rank #1 on Google first appeared on A Nerd's World.

There are few things that I am more passionate about than sales. For those who aren’t familiar, sales, simplified are transactions where there is an exchange of a product or service, for money. You might not realize it, but as Canadians (or Americans, for viewers in the U.S.), we’re constantly buying things–whether we need them or not. Our culture is heavily influenced by consumerism and the way we see it, “The more, the better”.

As much as I want to delve into economics, I’m going to tell you what inspired me to create this vlog.

It’s my sixth day here in Medellin, and this morning, while walking through town, I stopped on a street where vendors would often set up shop and hustle whatever their hustle is that day. Today, I saw three men, all selling the same product — bottled water. Their styles, however, were very different. The first had a microphone and would gain the attention of people using a microphone and loudspeaker. The second vendor was flamboyant, with a pitch (obviously in Spanish) that mimicked an auctioneer. Finally, the third of the hustlers would draw attention to himself using a television. Today was the first day I saw them, but I knew they had plenty of sales experience. It was clear that they weren’t hurting nor were they pleading for people to buy their products; in fact, they probably did well enough to provide for their family and buy more water to sell the following day.

I admired these men because I saw myself in them. By nature, I am a salesman and have been selling/hustling as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid, I would buy baseball cards, and when they increased in value or if I had a card that someone wanted, or was in “demand” I would resell the card to turn a profit. Once I realized that I could make money just by being a good salesman, I was hooked. I started selling services by the time I was 10 years old, knocking on my neighbours’ doors asking if they wanted their lawn mowed, or depending on the season, their driveway shoveled.

As the years passed, I changed up my products. From toy cars to t-shirts to shoes, you name it; I’d sell it. By the time I was a teenager, I was a well-seasoned salesman that could sell pretty much anything. When I got my first apartment, it doubled as a shop and soon enough I was selling custom t-shirts and shoes, clearing a thousand dollars a day. Nothing could stop me, and I couldn’t wrap my head around people who weren’t trying to make money by selling things. It was then I realized that selling is actually an art, and not everyone was good at it.

Many people think that success falls in my lap, but it doesn’t. I continue to work hard every day and still youtube motivational videos on Youtube, so I can find ways to improve my sales strategy. If you are reading this because you want to get better at sales and think I am someone you can learn from, I am flattered, but I want more from you — I want you to follow people who are smarter than you, watch people who are richer than you. Take notes, research your target audience and make sure that not only are you using the right sales strategy, but you’re selling the right product too.

And don’t give up. Some sales cycles are longer than others. Did you know goods or services priced over $1000 usually take at least eight client follow-ups before the sale is actually completed? I know from experience because I am that guy who will pick up the phone, and follow up with customers I didn’t close. I love closing, and if I don’t, I won’t stop selling until I do. And then I upsell. I turn you into a repeat customer. I make you get referrals and send your family and friends to me. I am that guy.

Stop to consider this; although I appear to be on vacation, I am still hustling. This video WILL convert some of you into buyers, and it took time to shoot and edit. So before you make another excuse as to why you aren’t selling, think about the three water slinging hustlers in downtown Medellin — if they can inspire me to improve my sales, they should inspire you to start making some.

Chris A. Hughes

The post THE ART OF SALES first appeared on A Nerd's World.

I’d like to start off by asking you two questions: How old were you when you first started a business and made some profit off of it? The second and equally important question is: Are you an entrepreneur?

I was just 12 years old when I started my first business. The idea came to me during grade 6 when my grandparents introduced me to sports cards. Being a huge hockey fan, I instantly realized that these sports cards could take off with hockey fans and I could make some money.

STEP 1 – Brainstorming

My idea was to buy the cards in bulk rather than individually, since the cost was dramatically lower. So when it came to executing my plan, I had to beg my grandma to help me buy 2 boxes worth of cards. With the boxes in hand, I set out to package each one in its own clear plastic sleeve. My thinking was that this feature added extra perceived value to my customers. It later turned out that I was right!

All of this had given me new motivation to go to school. Rather than focusing on the books like a lot of other 12 year old kids, my mission was to take special card requests from other students. I would also charge a little bit extra for rare cards such as Wayne Gretzky’s. Keep in mind that at this time, smart phones weren’t around, so I had a notepad that I’d carry around and make notes on.

STEP 2 – Be Open-Minded With Your Ideas

As I was becoming more successful with my sports card business at school, I opened booths at card trading shows that were held at the convention center in Toronto. I made sure to dress in a suit and tie. I wanted to be different and standout from my competitors, who were much older than me. I kept my table in immaculate condition. The way that I operated the booth involved 2 people, myself and one other person. One of us would go hand out flyers while the other would walk around the convention, closing sales. Just like my current A Nerd’s World retail location at 986 Bathurst Street, Toronto, I had colourful balloons at my convention booths.

It’s kind of funny, a lot of what we’re doing today at A Nerd’s World, I did at 12 years old!

STEP 3 – Know Your Target Customer

Yorkgate mall is half the story of the third step. My idea was to go on the weekends and set up a booth somewhere in the mall. Instead of baseball cards, I would bring basketball ones since the demographics here were totally different. Teenagers around here weren’t into hockey at all. So this was a change involving different markets, different areas and different products.

The other half of the third step involved me trying to sell my cards on the streets of my neighbourhood. My home didn’t have a garage so with the help of my good friend Jeremy, I used his garage as a booth to sell cards. I worked out a deal with his mom to pay her $50 a week. The operation was sweet! It had balloons, pull-tabs, flyers and I was promoting via word of mouth. It was booming, however one day the police showed up and shut down the operation. I quickly learned that in the city of Toronto, you can legally have a garage sale twice a year. I later found out that complaints from disgruntled neighbours were the trigger source for the police.

STEP 4 – Never Quit!

At this point, I thought to myself “Now what?”

I was at a loss for ideas until I came up with collecting autographs for each of my cards and selling them for more profit! I would call hotels to find out where athletes and celebrities were staying, through carefully crafted conversation with concierges. I was so successful with this and I’d do it so often that celebrities started catching on. They would get to know me by first name and would start asking me if I was selling these cards.

I put their minds at ease by asking them to personalize the cards with my name, to prove that I wasn’t selling them. I, however, had other intentions. Little did the celebrities know that the sharpie I’d get them to use, was very easy to take off with cologne or an eraser. These tricks worked because the cards had a glossy coating.

So with having these cards in hand, I considered this a wow-factor, one that made me different verus my competition. I had a low-cost, high-value.l product in the form of autographed sports cards.

I like to be around like-minded people. If you’re in the toronto area and want to talk about any ideas, give me a shout and let’s talk!

Stop thinking, stop coming up with a “master plan”, just do it, call me at A Nerd’s World at (647) 726-2020.

Chris A. Hughes

The post MY FIRST BUSINESS AT 12 YEARS OLD first appeared on A Nerd's World.

If we go back to 5 or 6 years ago, you’d have to rent a helicopter, get permits and spend a lot of money to be able to go into the sky and get this kind of footage. You can do it today with us at a fraction of that cost and with 1 hour of notice! Using the latest DJI Phantom 4, we capture your footage in incredible 4k quality.

With the technology available in consumer drones today, it is amazing what’s achievable. Leading the industry benchmark with an almost half an hour flight time pre battery charge, the DJI Phantom 4 provides the perfect canvas for your artwork.

Instead of giving you a review about the Phantom 4, I’d like to tell you about my story with DJI so far. I initially purchased a DJI Phantom 3 Professional in 2015. It was very impressive and I made quite a few customers happy with it. Fast forward to one day earlier this summer, mid-flight, my Phantom 3 decided to abandon its family here at A Nerd’s World. It just took off at full throttle, into the sky. I was in shock and disappointment. I kept wondering about how it was possible that this happened to me. I had the unit firmware up to date at all times and yet it still happened. To make matters worse, here I was stuck with an extra 8 batteries for it.

Going 30 Days into the future after the incident, I’d mustered the courage to invest my time, money and faith back into DJI and try the Phantom 4. I bought it, along with extra batteries and a few other goodies and took it on a trip across the United States. I had an amazing experience at B&H Photo Video in Manhattan, New York. Not only were the staff extremely helpful, but the prices beat Canada by a long-shot. From there, I traveled to New Jersey, Philadelphia and finally to Washington DC, before coming back home. During this trip, I regained my confidence in DJI. The phantom has helped me capture outstanding footage, which I’ll give you a sneak peek of shortly.

So, I’d like to leave you with this. At A Nerd’s World, we are still the best drone service provider in Toronto.  Do you want to distinguish yourself from your competition? Instead of having a bland website like everyone else, why not add some life and realism to it with the power of video?

Be sure to catch a video our capabilities with the DJI Phantom 4 in Toronto, to better understand the type of quality that is achievable by this amazing drone.

We’re here for hire. Give us a call today at (647) 348-2020 to book drone services for your event!

Chris A. Hughes

The post Aerial Drone Photography in Toronto first appeared on A Nerd's World.

When it comes to search engine optimization, content is king. Producing original, targeted content on a regular basis is essential to the success of your website from an SEO standpoint. One question that clients often ask is how to produce website content that is SEO friendly. Here are my keys to writing SEO friendly content:

Write for People, Not Search Engines

Google and Microsoft (who own and operate Bing) are two of the most successful and innovative companies in the world. They can tell when you’re producing content that is targeted to rank highly on search engines. Instead of writing your content for the search engines, make sure that you’re writing it for people. What does that mean, exactly?

First of all, readability is extremely important. You shouldn’t sacrifice readability and proper grammar in order to stuff keywords into your page or blog post. If you’re writing for search engines, they’ll eventually figure you out and you’ll likely see a drop in rankings as a result. If you write content that people want to read and share with others on social media, then your website will reap the benefits.

Include Keywords Early and Often (but not too often)

Although your writing style should be targeted towards humans rather than search engine algorithms, it’s essential that the search engines know what your content is about. That’s why you should include keywords in your headers and in the body of the text itself. Make sure that you use the exact keywords in the text once or twice before you start using synonyms. To use A Nerd’s World as an example, if your keyword topic is “Toronto SEO”, make sure you use that exact keyword before you use synonyms like “SEO in Toronto”.

If you overuse keywords, the search engines will recognize and it will penalize you. It’s easy for users to recognize when content is keyword loaded, and it’s even easier for search engines.

Include Links and a Video or Image

Every page on your website, whether it’s a static page or blog post, should include links. If your page doesn’t have any outbound links, it’s viewed as a “dead end page”. Dead end pages don’t add much value for search engines or users, so they rarely rank well from an SEO standpoint.

My general rule is that every page or blog post should have at least four links–two internal links (links to another page or post within your site) and two external links (links to another relevant website).

In addition to links, every page or post should have at least one video or image. No one wants to stare at a huge block of text. User experience matters. If you’re creating your own video to add to the page or post, make sure you say the exact keyword once or twice in the video. Search engines can pick up on it like they do with text. I recommend using YouTube since it’s owned by Google.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

This isn’t specific to writing SEO friendly content, but it’s so important to remember. Make sure your content is free of spelling errors, especially within your keywords. Search engines like websites that are an authority within their field, and it’s hard to become an authority when your content is riddled with bad grammar. Remember, readability is essential.

Writing SEO friendly content is only the first step to SEO success. If you’d like to learn more about how you can optimize your website for search engines, we offer Toronto SEO tutorials starting at $120. Come work with the best SEO company in Toronto. Give us a call today at (647) 726-2020 to get started.

Charlie Ford

The post Writing SEO Friendly Content first appeared on A Nerd's World.

When speaking to SEO clients, there are many misconceptions or objections about SEO that frequently come up. In order to conduct a successful SEO campaign, it is essential that clients have the right expectations from the outset. Clarifying any misconceptions becomes an important first step towards the success of their SEO. Here are a few misconceptions or objections that frequently come up:

Misconception #1 – SEO is not required

For those uninitiated to the world of the wide web, the biggest faux pas made is putting little to no consideration into SEO. Without the important data provided by initial SEO analysis, it is possible for websites to completely miss the mark with their intended audience. I frequently see beautifully designed sites, that took great effort to create, that generate no organic traffic, create no new leads and otherwise miss the mark on their online objectives.

A beautifully crafted and optimized website has the power to generate new leads, increase brand awareness and can organically develop into a popular online hub of activity and traffic.

During the initial stages of an SEO campaign, experienced SEO specialists will usually conduct a thorough analysis of their client’s online industry and competition, in order to source the best relevant keywords, phrases or questions that real clients are searching for online. They use this data to optimize the content of websites to align them with what is being searched – it’s the specialist’s job to make sure that connection is made. These connections do not occur on their own often and must be strategically implemented through researched and informed SEO.

Misconception #2 – SEO is not worth the cost

SEO is a digital marketing tool used to achieve very precise online objectives. Whether it is worth the cost depends on the business, industry or the online objective. The two major divisions of SEO are paid and organic. Paid SEO refers to the SEO that is achieved by paying for online ads with ad space providers like Google Adwords, Facebook for Business, Bing Ads and other providers. These paid ads are favourably positioned at the top results of targeted search queries – it’s about being immediately visible to your targeted audience. Paid SEO can be highly effective at generating immediate traffic, but is limited to the budget of the paid campaign. Once the budget is exhausted, the campaign ends and no long-term SEO benefits are gained.

Paid SEO is great for short term online objectives such as promoting a concert or a pop-up shop or to provide a temporary traffic boost during special promotions or campaigns. In these situations, Paid SEO can be highly cost-effective.

Organic SEO is a precise set of methods used to grow online traffic over time. The objective of Organic SEO is to get to the top rankings of search engine results for targeted keyword searches. The ideal position is to be within the Top 10 of Google search results. This is considered being on the first page – although first-page placement is ideal, some great results can still be achieved with placement on the second or third pages of Google search results (if the targeted keyword is broad enough). From first-hand experience working on organic SEO, it can be an extremely proactive and cost-effective way to reach a targeted audience directly. Once top rankings for keywords are achieved it can be akin to owning the top properties in the game of “Monopoly” and from there the possibilities to generate new business and revenue are endless.

Misconception #3 – Results are Immediate

Many clients have the misconception that organic search placement can be purchased, the reality is that it cannot. Google is one of the most powerful, wealthiest companies in the world. Their search engine algorithms cannot be hacked. Placement within the top rankings of Google’s search results must be earned the old fashion – through hard work. Google must believe that your content is the absolute best content they can present to their users for their online search. It is a failure on Google’s part to present to its users content that is irrelevant, inaccurate or unsafe.

Google attributes to each crawled page a page authority score, measured on a scale from 1 to 100. One hundred is for the most trusted and authoritative pages. These pages and domains took years and with lots of hard work contributing to their fields online to achieve their trusted status. New content from these trusted sources frequently gets the highest placement and search engines assess that this is what users are looking for. Websites like CNN, ESPN, Wikipedia, Craigslist, Kijiji and Ehow are considered authorities in their respective fields and their content are some of the most visible content online.

From the vantage point of a new website looking to build their online presence, it can seem like a daunting task to compete with these juggernauts. But if you start small and are consistent, results will quickly snowball and you’ll be rewarded by Google for your hard work. At the end of the day, Google is looking to reward specialists that contribute to their respective fields. That’s why in 2018 it’s important to have a blog, social media accounts and YouTube videos. You cannot buy trust, it must be earned over time and with hard work. That’s why results with SEO are not immediate, they can be strategically achieved over time with consistent SEO work.

Misconception #4 – You can rank for broad terms

Currently, A Nerd’s World ranks on the second-page results for the keyword “SEO” – this is out of a possible 237,000,000 results. Google believes out of all of these results our content is most relevant to present to its users. Imagine under every possible context that someone may have googled this grouping of letters and you can begin to see the gargantuan task Google undertakes to understand the intent of every possible search.

Without getting into politics all one has to do is Google images under the keyword “idiot” to see that the intent of searches can evolve and change over time. If your content is not immediately relevant or not what’s current Google will not rank your page. Broad keywords are rewarded to the most authoritative, relevant and respected sites. Ranking for very broad keywords is possible, but it happens with time and in stages.

Misconception #5 – You can get results with a very small budget 

This one may be a little controversial and may rub some the wrong way, but it is, unfortunately, the sobering reality of SEO. If SEO was a sport it would be a combat sport – not unlike the UFC. In other words, it is a highly competitive environment. Imagine an untrained fighter who may have trained for one day and who may have watched a few videos online, trying to challenge the current UFC champ – who has been mercilessly training since they were 5 years old. The untrained fighter would be severely outclassed.

The job of an SEO Specialist isn’t unlike the role of a trainer. The trainer’s role is to train the fighter and to recommend fights that would be appropriate to the current level of that fighter. Over time that fighter may get fit enough to challenge for the title, but that does not happen overnight. Organic SEO must be approached as a long-term investment and significant resources must be allocated – the results will be worth it. With enough hard work, you may one day end up as the SEO champ!

Ming Joanis
SEO Specialist @anerdsworld

The post Top 5 SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Misconceptions first appeared on A Nerd's World.

In today’s digital age, how would you feel as a small business if you found out that 90% of customers say that their buying decisions are influenced by online Google reviews?

I’d imagine that you’d perk up and either pat yourself on the back if your business already has a strategy in place for acquiring reviews and managing your online reputation, or you’d scratch your head and think ‘snap, I better get on this.’

Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, online reviews are important for a number of reasons, and have major implications through their ability to affect:

• Your Search Engine Rankings (SERPS)
• Which search results actually gets clicked on
• Consumers purchasing your product or service

For the majority of businesses, the first point of contact between them and a customer is a Google review. People will choose to be a customer of a business based on positive reviews, and decide to avoid a company altogether because of negative ones. Today, the vast majority of people get their information from the internet, and as a result rely on services such as Google Reviews and Yelp as a way to decide where to take their business. For small companies, it has never been more important to have positive reviews on these services than ever before.

At A Nerd’s World we put an emphasis on customer satisfaction and are proud of our rating on Google reviews. It brings me a feeling of accomplishment to see that a customer is happy with our work.  We always make an effort to do the best work possible, and it is incredibly meaningful when a customer makes a note of this and recommends someone else to use our service.

As a small business owner, if you haven’t already, I would strongly recommend that you register your business on Google’s ‘My Business’. This will allow you to put your location, hours-of-operation, and contact information. It is incredibly important for you to focus on the way your business is viewed in the public eye. If someone were to search for your business on Google, the first thing they would see is reviews. One way you can improve your online review presence is incentives for patrons of your business to review you online. If you are a coffee shop, perhaps you should offer a free latte for anyone who leaves you a review. You should set goals for yourself every week and try to achieve them, two reviews a week may be a reasonable goal for your business.

There is complete anonymity in online reviews, that means there is a real possibility that competitors will leave fake reviews to try to hurt your business. It is definitely frustrating to have someone post a fake review, lying about your company, but it is an unfortunate result of the high level of accessibility. No-one is immune from this — Even we’ve had a fake review, but it is just as important to respond to the good reviews as it is to respond to the bad ones. There is not much that can be done other than responding to the claims the person wrote, but in most cases the damage has already been done to your rating. My advice to businesses who’ve received fake reviews would be to continue to get more reviews to reduce the effect of the fake review has on your average rating and not to spend too much time worrying about it.

Since the word is out that we’ve helped hundreds of businesses achieve high-levels of Toronto SEO success, our referrals are higher than ever in 2016. We choose the clients we work with carefully based on a reasonable criteria for selection. We only work with a limited amount of clients at any given time to ensure maximum attention to detail and your company’s ultimate success.

If you would like to speak with me personally about the incredible results we can get for you, then call (647) 726-2020 or email nerd@anerdsworld.com today!

Chris A. Hughes

The post Are Google Reviews Important? first appeared on A Nerd's World.

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SEO, the most talked about yet incredibly misunderstood term floating about the internet today. The concept is easy – optimize your website using specific words & terms, reap the rewards of boosted traffic! Seems easy enough right? Well, not quite. The truth is that Search Engine Optimization is an ever growing and changing beast that needs almost constant love and affection.

The post Free SEO Consultation first appeared on A Nerd's World.