Video on the internet is far from new, but most internet marketers have problems getting their videos to be noticed. Uploading videos on YouTube can be effective, especially because Google gives YouTube preferential treatment, but you can increase conversions by bypassing YouTube or other video sharing sites and have Google index your video directly. YouTube is designed to have to user stay on the site as long as possible, while you want the user to get on your site as quickly as possible. Just like a sitemap for a webpage,  Google video sitemaps tell Google exactly what and where the file is. Google uses that information to index videos for video search. The sitemap is just a text file that gives Google the information on how to classify and pull up your video in search.

Clicking on the video will take the user directly to your website. This gives the user one less click to have to go through to get to your site compared to going through Google search, to a video sharing website to your site. Creating a video marketing campaign through video sharing sites is still effective, but the point of this article is using Google as the index. Video marketing is a potentially very profitable enterprise because the competition in videos is much smaller than in websites in general.

The sitemap allows you to tell Googlebot the duration, title, and description that goes along with each video. It is much easier for Googlebot to read text and almost impossible for it to figure out what a video contains otherwise. Almost all types of video except live streaming video are supported. You will use text tags tell where your landing page is, post the video’s URL, specify a video player if necessary, give a thumbnail, and set the duration. The sitemap is added through Google Webmaster Tools and is limited to 50,000 videos. Most Denver internet marketing companies are not near the 50,000 limit yet, but having a large number of quality videos is a good idea, because then Google will start trusting you as an internet video producer.

Instead of a sitemap, you can also use an mRSS feed. RSS 2.0 allows for better video support and may be easier to make than a sitemap. mRSS is older so most browsers and software support this coding. Once your sitemap is uploaded, you can log onto Google Analytics and track the exposure of your video. Creating video costs more than other content so you will want to be able to see what works well and understand what your ROI is. A Denver SEO company would track this by setting up 301 redirects from a unique url within your site for the video you submitted to see which visitors came from where. Without the sitemap uploaded, it is impossible to see if searches came from Google organic or video search.

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can serve as the linchpin to your overall marketing plan for your business.  Gone are the days when all you needed was an ad in the local phone book.  The most efficient way to drive leads to your business is through Internet marketing.  You need more than just a website, though.

A website that has not been optimized for search engine results pages (SERPs) will only serve as a digital business card.  Nobody will find it unless they know about it and where to look.  Your competition will quickly surpass such an outmoded approach.  You need to hire a Denver SEO consultant to help get your website seen by those searching for the products and/or services that your business offers.

A competent SEO company will offer a full-service approach to Internet marketing, in order to ensure that your SEO campaign is in fact successful.  You will need to start out by looking for a Denver SEO company on the Internet.  Here’s a good tip: if you search for SEO company, SEO consultant, SEO, Internet marketing, etc. the company you end up choosing should appear near the top of the SERPs.  The reason:  if a particular Denver Internet marketing company can’t get their own site near the top of the SERPs, they probably can’t do it for you, either.

Once you have chosen a particular SEO company, carefully examine the SEO consultant with whom you are to be partnered.  Do they act in a professional manner?  How much experience with Internet marketing do they have?  Can they provide examples and references to demonstrate that they have a track record of success?  Do they have as many questions for you as you do for them?  A good SEO consultant will begin by trying to understand your business and the goals you have for it.  This will aid them in one of the early steps in SEO, keyword research.

Do not settle for a mediocre SEO company.  Don’t shop by price alone.  Remember, you get what you pay for.  The success of your business depends on you choosing the best Internet marketing company possible.

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Choosing an effective and reliable SEO company can be quite difficult, especially with the rise of its popularity and the vast amount of businesses offering SEO services in the past 2 years.  Search Engine Optimization is one of the biggest investments you will make into establishing your companies online presence which makes it even more imperative you make the right choice when hiring an SEO company.  It goes without saying that hiring the wrong SEO consultant will not only cost you a lot of money but it could also cost you your domain getting dropped or delisted by Google if the company breaks the rules and uses black hat tactics.

Here are some questions to ask to help you make the important decision of hiring the best SEO company for your company, business or website.  Each SEO company has something special to offer so finding the right fit will help ensure a successful and pleasant SEO campaign.

How long have they been established? Along with most things in life, the longer you have been doing something; normally the better you are at it.  When you try to market a website in the top search engines, you have to be able to adapt to the changes they are making in their algorithm and how they rank sites.  If a company has been doing SEO for more than a few years they have had to deal with the changes made and should be able to show you how they’ve adapted.

If possible, take into account how long the SEO company has been established, the chances are if its been around for a few years they will be well up to date with the latest strategies and have a decent history and background.

Can they provide testimonials & recommendations? Any good company, regardless of the industry, should be able to provide a handful of testimonials and recommendations from their previous projects.  Now remember they are going to give you their favorite customers if not friend’s phone numbers so it is important to ask these questions:

“How long did it take to see results on the search engines for your campaign”?  This will give you a good indication of how the time and effort the company operates at.  A good SEO company should be able to show results inside of the first 30 days.  They will not be dramatic results but any SEO consultant will tell you they have the ability to influence a websites ranking in a months time.

“Why did you hire this SEO company”?  Asking this will let you know if they hired because of a previous relationship, price or even their internet marketing strategies.

“Did they do more for you other than just get you to the top of SERPS?  A good SEO company will do more than just get you to the top of Google for “Denver Attorney”.  If the company knows anything about internet marketing they understand that today’s searchers are researching companies and individuals before they make decisions.  An SEO company should be working on video and article optimization to help build credibility for your company as well.

Do they make any “too good to be true” claims? Any SEO company that makes a guarantee is simply not worth working with.  As an SEO consultant, I personally know I cannot guarantee anything because I do not have direct control of a websites ranking.  Just like a weatherman gives an educated guess about the 7 day forecast, an SEO consultant will give you an educated guess as to where they can get you placed on the search engines.  The only guarantee most of us can offer is to work hard and within the rules.

“Do they enjoy your line of business”? This might seem like a silly question to ask but it actually can be a good indication whether the SEO company is right for you.  As an SEO consultant, I can say from tons of experience it is everything in the world to be passionate about an SEO campaign we are working on.  The amount of time and energy put into a campaign is enough to drive you crazy if you do not like talking or writing about a particular industry.  Make sure to find someone who is at least interested in the services you provide or products you offer, it might help make the SEO campaign be more effective.

Although these are just a few questions to ask, it should help give you an idea if the SEO company is a good fit for you and your business.  If you have any other questions about hiring an SEO company, please don’t hesitate to email me at nick@thisisiniquitous.com or give me a call (303) 999-7963.  I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

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