Our SEO and Website Marketing Articles
We’ll try to only give you really useful information… and maybe a few opinions about this stuff.
HyperLink Buffalo + theBREWROOM
theBREWROOM is proud to be one of the first agencies to join the Hyperlink Buffalo initiative powered by AT&T.
Supporting Local Businesses
It's not exactly NEWS that you should support your local businesses. But, we just wanted to put a little message out there to tell you how and what we think about this topic. Because it's important. We work with a lot of local businesses, as well as companies around...
FAQ Pages: Should you create one?
Lately, I’ve been talking with a lot of clients about adding Frequently Asked Questions to their site in a few different ways. Here are lots of good examples!
Closer to Home: The Key Benefits of Local Search Marketing
Today you can market to the world, but your target market may be right on your doorstep. Read on to learn some of the key benefits of local search marketing.
Good web experience is a ranking factor
We aren’t in the tree planting business, we are in the SEO business. The best time to start optimizing your website has passed. The second best time is NOW.
Stop Fighting Yourself
Long gone are the days of posting a bunch of similarly titled and almost-exactly-the-same content! Seriously, if you’re still doing that, stop. Here’s why.
Big Change in Requirement for Google Ads
BREAKING: you’re going to need to verify your identity with Google in order to run Google Ad campaigns.
Losing website traffic to your competition? Nope! It’s Google!
You probably think that you’re just losing traffic to your competitors. It’s not your competitor that’s stealing your website traffic. It’s Google!
How To Solve 5 of the Toughest SEO Issues
We didn’t write the article that we are linking to below, but we think that the author did a really good job of describing 5 of the top SEO issues on websites, and how to fix them.
Beware of “SEO Experts”
I sometimes get introduced as an “SEO Expert” in meetings, events, kiddie play-dates, etc… I cringe every time I hear it. Here’s why.
Make sure your website designer or SEO guy has a face
Post by Roger Firestien of the International Center for Studies in Creativity at the State University of New York- Buffalo State. Earlier this year I decided to update my website. It had gotten pretty stale. Because my old website was dated and because I wasn’t...
Don’t do these 4 things when sending marketing emails
I don't know about you, but I am on more email marketing lists than I remember signing up for. If I find the guy that sold his list... anyway! I wanted to just drop a quick few notes of advice when it comes to sending out emails on behalf of your organization. Don't...
3 components of marketing compelling campaigns
As a marketer, you want to create campaigns that draw attention and engagement. As a marketer, you want to make noise. However, small businesses often struggle with finding the time and tools to create these campaigns. Often times, it's hard to know where to start and...
Transforming content from good to great
There's a big difference between good content and great content. You know great content when you see it; you're immediately interested in consuming it and are inspired to share it. However, creating great content isn't so simple. It takes practice. And while there are...
Shuffle Off to Buffalo
Well, it's been some time since I have posted anything here on the blog. I am always telling my clients that they really need to be creating good, quality content that people will want to read, on a consistent basis. This sometimes means multiple times a week. I have...
It’s About the Content
We have a process here at theBREWROOM. Whether we are redesigning an existing website, designing a new website, or reviewing a website and coming up with SEO recommendations, it always, Always, ALWAYS comes down to the content. No matter what your website is about, or...
Let’s Keep Talking About Search Marketing
Last night, we had the pleasure in taking part in the SEMPO Pittsburgh Meetup at LunaMetrics. It was a great turnout, with Search Marketing Pros from several agencies as well as in-house marketers in attendance. Let's try to keep the conversation going, and work on...
Social Media Etiquette for Everyone
This is a brief post about some things that you really shouldn't do on Social Media. It applies to companies as well as individuals. What NOT to do on Facebook: One of the things that bothers me the most is when people announce major life events of their friends on...
Networking: Top 10 Tips
Networking has never played a bigger role in the job market than it does today. With thousands of unemployed (but qualified) professionals in the market, competition for jobs is fiercer than ever. It's not enough to have a college degree. Heck, not even a masters...
Three Things For Social Success
The new year is a great time to review your social advertising strategies. As a companion to “7 Things To Remember When Posting For Your Business,” I created a list of the top three things I believe you need in order to have social success. If you aren’t doing any...
5 Tips for New Bloggers
1. Learn how to write. There is no doubt that rising technological innovations have changed how we communicate, but it is still true that good, solid writing with use of real words and proper sentence structure communicates most effectively to readers. Write active,...
What Target Teaches You About Advertising
I am not afraid to admit that I love Target. It combines so many wonderful things in one clean, bright space. I know, this is the suburban equivalent of hanging out at Wal-Mart, but bear with me. Inspired by a post I wrote for myself at syntaxxerrorr.com, I’m...
Keyword Not Provided in Google Analytics
So the big news in the SEO world these days is Google's decision to no longer supply keyword data from user searches that land on your site. This means that when someone searches using Google, and clicks on your link in the search results, Google will no longer pass...
SEO Workshop in Buffalo NY
Do you live in Western New York (or nearby)? Are you interested in learning about Search Engine Optimization? Do you have specific questions about how things work when it comes to optimizing your website for Google, Bing & Yahoo? Well, we have the event for...
SEO is NOT an Afterthought
SEO Tip #3 This article is less of a lesson about Search Engine Optimization, but more of a reminder. If you don't realize it already, then you should know that SEO is not an afterthought when it comes to redoing or building your website. It should not be something...
Optimization is so much more…
Optimizing your website is so much more than optimizing for Google. Optimizing your website isn't just about optimizing it for Google. It's much more than that. If you think about it, Google isn't your audience. They most certainly are not your client (for most of...
Do The Right Thing
If there is one thing that we learned from everything that happened this week, it is this: Do The Right Thing This applies to so much more than running a business, or any individual professional transaction. It applies to anything and everything. It applies to holding...
Social Media Needs to be Social
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that social media is, in fact, social. Every time that certain car commercial comes on (you know, with the rep reading tweets and their hashtags), someone in the room with me asks, “What’s a hashtag?” It’s a link to all the tweets in...
Most Effective Way to Advertise
There are so many different ways to advertise your business today. Just from sitting here in front of my computer, I can: send out email blasts, start ads in Google AdWords, Yahoo/Bing Ads, Yelp, Yellowpages.com, Citysearch, Facebook Ads, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any...
Define, Focus and Execute
Define Your Goal Focus on Strategy Execute the Tactics This really applies to any project or activity that you want to do. This is not just for web projects. If you think about these easy and clear steps to take, you can help give yourself the best change at being...
A Good Website Isn’t Just Pretty
Pretty Website != Good Website ( != means "does not equal" ) If someone comes to your site, but can't find the information that they are looking for, then your website has failed that user. If someone comes to your website, and has to wait for some flashy presentation...
Put the Cart Behind the Horse
So many times, I get asked questions about how we're going to accomplish a specific tactic or task. So many times, that tactic or task does not have a business need or strategy behind it. Put the cart behind the horse and first figure out what you want to accomplish...
Why You Might Be Losing Rankings
Rand from Moz.com has some good reason why you might be doing stuff right, but losing ranking to Pages with Fewer Links, Worse Targeting, and Poor Content Do you feel like this is happening to your company's site? Why do you think it is happening to you?
Small Business SEO Tip #2
This is the second in a series of posts about Search Engine Optimization for In case you missed the first post, you can find it here: Small Business SEO Tip #1. Tip #2 - Use a Content Management System What is a Content Management System? A content management system...
Happy Independence Day!
Nothing here about SEO, Web Design or Development. This is just a short post to say Happy Independence Day. We hope that you do something fun, something safe, and something to remember. We will actually be closed on the afternoon of the 3rd until Monday, July 8th....
Should Your Business Use Facebook Hashtags?
The internet is a-twitter (get it?) with talk about Facebook #hashtags. I personally plant myself firmly in the “Hashtags are for Twitter” camp; however, there are great benefits for businesses using hashtags on Facebook. So far, Facebook hashtags are relatively new...
Penguins, Artificial Intelligence and King Content
If you follow Information Technology news, you'll hardly miss the numerous articles about Google exploring and developing artificial intelligence. This research includes 'neural networks', 'deep learning', 'Google Now' and similar programs and they all point towards...
Small Business SEO Tip #1
Today, we are going to start a short series of SEO Tips for Small Businesses. These tips are aimed to educate and help small businesses make the improvements that are needed in order to improve their rankings. Tip #1 - Improve User Experience Let's start off with a...
Not Showing Up In Google Search?
Are you part of one of the FAR TOO MANY businesses that are not showing up in Google searches? Have you tried Bing and Yahoo with the same lack of results? Well, guess what? Chances are, there is something wrong with your site that is causing the issue. What can be...
Should Your Business Use Google+?
With all the buzz about the Google+ redesign, I’m sure you’ve heard that it’s more important than ever for businesses to use this tool. From grouping users in circles to having a Hangout, there’s a lot of potential for one-on-one conversations with users. So, should...
Good Content = Good SEO
If you read a lot of SEO blogs, or even some copywriting blogs, you will see tons of posts about how great content should be your top priority for your website, if you want your website to rank well. This post is basically just going to beat it into your brains! Why...
Should Your Business Use Pinterest?
Second in the series of "Should Your Business Use..." If you missed last week, catch up on my recommendations about Tumblr! Pinterest is a virtual world of visual stimulation where users can upload and bookmark, or “pin,” in a very public, very organic way. Since...
Why I Love LinkedIn (And Why You Should, Too)
Facebook and I are off and on. Twitter and I hit some rough patches in the beginning. Google+ and I just sometimes don’t see eye to eye. But when it comes to LinkedIn, I have nothing but affection. Earlier this year while working at a startup technology company, I got...
Should Your Business Use Tumblr?
What happened to Tumblr? It has a couple hundred (million) users, but even then, it seems like it was almost a flash in the pan. According to WSJ, Tumblr was recently purchased by Yahoo to bring a social networking presence to the company that is mostly used by an...
Google Penguin 2.0 and What To Expect
Google has announced that it will be rolling out the latest round of Penguin updates to Google's Search Results. Google's Head of Web Spam - Matt Cutts offers some information on what to expect from Google in the coming months. Here's a quick synopsis of what...
Small Business SEO
There is one main reason why I am posting this message today. The reason is this: There are not enough small businesses that are paying enough attention to their search engine rankings. This really doesn't JUST apply to small businesses here in Buffalo, where we are...
7 Things To Remember When Posting For Your Business
Inspired by a list published on AdAge.com by Simon Dumenco, "9 Media Things That Should Be Immediately Regulated," I hereby give you my list of 7 Things That Should Be Regulated When Posting For Your Small Business (or any sized business for that matter) on social...
Using Twitter for Small Business Crisis Management
Recently, Twitter has been the bearer of bad world news. It can also be the bearer of bad news for your business. More often, people are turning to social media to vent their displeasure towards products, businesses, and people (#JustinBieberSlams). It's important...
Hashtag Twitter Takeover
The lines between virtual and reality are constantly being blurred. It seems as if the only thing separating these two entities is a finely-erased line. Every TV show has a badge in some corner of the screen with the proper "hashtag" to use while "live tweeting"...
You’re Ruining Your Stats!
If you're familiar with Google Analytics, you know that it tracks each time someone visits your site. It tracks where they came from, what search terms they may have used, how long they were on your site, what pages they visited, and A LOT MORE!!! Well, if you are...
Becoming a Local: Using Apps to Discover Your City
Once upon a time, if you were a new resident in a city and wanted to find out the best place to catch an off-Broadway show or grab a slice, you had limited options. You asked friends, family and neighbors. You looked in city guides. And then this amazing thing called...
WordPress Backup with Dropbox
First of all, you should be backing up your WordPress database and files regularly. It depends on how often you are updating your site, but you should back up your site at least once a week. You never know when disaster will strike, and you don't want to rely on your...
Why Small Business Websites Fail
Why do most small business websites fail? Well, first, what do I mean by "fail"? Here are some ways that a site can fail: People can't find your website when they search for the company's services The site makes it difficult for the user to find what they are looking...
We’re Looking for Guest Bloggers!
Wanted: Guest Bloggers Are you a blogger who is passionate about your area of focus? Do you enjoy keeping up-to-date on the latest social, search and web development trends? Do you like to talk about what is happening in your home town when it comes to technology? Do...
Google+ Profile Image Changes
For those of you that are on Google+, you may have noticed that when you visit your Company Page's profile, it asks you if you would like to update your Cover photo to the new, larger format. Yes, it's huge! But that's a nice big canvas on which you can show off your...
Project: Shadyside Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
theBrewRoom recently launched a new website for the Shadyside Chamber of Commerce. This new site is responsive (it changes to fit to the size of the device that you're using) and is also optimized for search engines. You'll find that if you search for just about...
Optimize Images for WordPress
Do you have a WordPress website that has a good amount of images on it? If so, there's a good chance that it takes a little bit longer to load than you would prefer. Web page load speed is an important SEO factor! If that's the case, there is a Free WordPress Plugin...
SEO for WordPress
Some people still think that WordPress is only for blogging. It is so much more! We use it for a lot of our projects, and our customers love it. One of the keys to why theBrewRoom prefers to use WordPress is because it makes the life of people who Search Engine...
Site Health and SEO: Use Google Webmaster Tools
Just a quick bit of advice today. As most SEO's know, your site's "health" is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to search engine optimization. There are many aspects of your site's health that can affect your natural search engine rankings: Broken Links...
Brands Posts in Your Facebook Feed
UPDATE: Facebook has recently denied that they are showing posts less frequently. It's a known fact that the more engagement you have with your fans, the more often your posts will show up in their feeds. So, ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE! You may have noticed that posts...
Top Questions About SEO
I thought that it would be a good time to ask you a question: What questions do you have about Search Engine Optimization? Is there something that you've heard but haven't confirmed about what helps, or hurts? Wondering if Meta Keywords are still relevant? Wondering...
Relaunching a Website Without Losing your SEO!
I have often thought about writing an article about how and why you should consider your current Search Engine Rankings and status when you're working on redesigning and redeveloping your website... or making a major change to your existing site. Well, someone went...
AMA Pittsburgh Fall Digital Summit 2012
We wanted to let you know that Sam Insalaco from theBrewRoom will be a panelist at this year's Fall Digital Summit, presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Marketing Association. The topic of the panel will be "The Difference Between SEO and SEM and How to...
If You Build It, They Will Come
No, I’m not talking about a baseball field that was created out of a corn field. Although, that was a pretty good baseball movie, and I love baseball. What I am talking about, is a high-quality, informative, clean, user friendly website that provides value and useful...
Facebook Changed Your Email Address!
So, did you notice that Facebook just changed your email address under the ABOUT section of your profile? Oh, no, you didn’t? That’s because they’re sneaky! They want to sneak you into using their @facebook.com email address, not the one that you set your profile up...
Our Latest Work: D’s Six Pax & Dogz
Not only is D’s Six Pax & Dogz one of our favorite places to eat, drink and be merry, they are also our latest website that we launched. We couldn’t have asked for a better client! How awesome does theBrewRoom go with D’s????? I know right?! D’s wanted a...
Google Places Pages Become Google+ Local Pages
In Google’s article entitled “Helping people discover and share local businesses with Google+“, they explain this latest release as a change “to improve the way people discover new businesses, rediscover places they love, and share them with their friends across the...
SEO: Content = King
As it should be, content is once again crowned King as the top way to optimize your site and your pages for search engines. Marketing Sherpa just put out a nice graphic the shows the most effective tactics employed by over 1,500 search marketers. Are you paying enough...
Higher-Quality Sites in Google Search Results
On Tuesday, April 24th, Google announced that they will be releasing a Panda update with the goal of “returning higher-quality sites in search results”. Their blog post: Another step to reward high-quality sites explains the update, but basically they will be further...
Why You Need Cloud Storage
I decided to write this brief post to explain why you need to have personal cloud storage. I recently heard from a client that lost ALL of the data on her hard drive because the hard drive failed. She lost everything that she had on the computer. What is the Cloud?...
SEO Basics – A guide to optimizing for Google, Bing and Yahoo!
There are lots of good resources out there for learning how to do some basic optimization of your website for search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. These search engines have their own formulas for how they rank websites and ultimately present their Search...
Resources for Small Businesses
There are really a lot of resources out there that you can turn to for advice, guidance and support when it comes to starting or running a small business. We have found SCORE to be one of the most valuable ones out there. Have you checked them out yet? If not, I would...
The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors
I have been asked a lot of questions lately about what someone can do to get their site ranked higher in user searches. It's never a short answer, as there are many factors that come into play when it comes to SEO. Search Engine Land created a pretty cool table of...
Why theBrewRoom?
What’s with the name of this site you ask? I bet that you thought that we were going to say that we like beer, so that’s why we named it theBrewRoom. Well, while that may be true, that’s not exactly what we were thinking. Well, we want to find ways and brew up ideas...
