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Month: May 2012

Social Media Benefits

May 25 2012

Social media has revolutionized the definition of online marketing, becoming a must-have for every SME, as well as individual. Even though some might criticize it as an invasion of privacy and a wastage of time, the bottom line is that of you are not a part of social media, you practically do not exist- at least for the millions of internet users logged in to these networks. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are some of the leading names in social networks/ media. Even if you look to promote your business locally in Austin or Dallas, social media can be of immense help. Here’s a look at how having an active presence on these networks can be beneficial to you:

  1. Online visibility– The biggest benefit of social media, from a businessman’s point of view, is the fact that it introduces your prospective clients to your business. It is almost like a free advertizement reaching out to millions.
  2. Customer feedback– The feedback that a customer will give you on your social media profile is likely to be a lot more casual and honest, then if say, you asked him to fill a feedback form. You can make the most of this, by listening to what your target users are saying, and making efforts to improve your business. Specially in closely knit local markets of Austin or Dallas, referencing can be of great benefit.
  3. Visual updates– The impact left by an eye-catching photograph is much more than that created by a block of text. Social media lets you bank on this fact, by serving as a platform where you can regularly update pictures of your latest products or services, and let your users know what’s on offer.
  4. Engaging customers via personal interaction– Once a prospective customer adds you to their social media profile, your battle’s half won. Now, all that you have to do is figure out a way to keep them engaged. This could be via an online poll, contest, or simply a discussion. By encouraging customers to interact on a personal level, you increase the chances of customer loyalty.
  5. Personal profile– Social media is also an immensely useful tool for “marketing oneself”. If you, as an individual, have any special skill that you would like to share with prospective employees, you could use social media as a platform to showcase your work, and reach out to them, which would have been very difficult else wise.

Overall, social media is a necessary evil, which can be as good or as bad as you make it to be. Use it smartly, ethically, and most importantly, regularly, and you’re on the highway to success!

We at Centex Technologies provide social media marketing services which include managing social media profiles and placing advertizements according to demographics of target users. For more information on our SEO, Internet Marketing, Web Development and Website Designing services call us at Killeen (254-213-4740) or Dallas (972-851-7878) Office.

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How To Prevent Web Spam And Avoid Being Penalized By Search Engines

May 18, 2012

Google’s updates to its organic search algorithm namely panda and penguin are an answer to the menace of web spam. It’s an effort by Google to improve the search results and attract more people to the search engine. Google generates a bulk of its revenue from its pay per click ads. These ads will be of use to it only if it able to fetch a good number of people on Google. Web spam destroys the credibility of a search engine by producing duplicate content on various websites.

Google’s penguin update focuses on removing web spam from the search engine. It specifically targets those websites which use Black Hat SEO techniques to rank high in search engines. Such techniques involve lots of keyword stuffing and using various softwares to promote a website. Penguin’s adverse effect on such sites is loss in rankings which affects the traffic directly. The direct impact of this will be on the users as they will end up getting good original content.

For those who want to avoid getting penalized and losing the ranking of their website, a few guidelines can help you retrieve your lost glory. To start with, take out some time to view Google’s Webmaster Quality Guidelines. Stop engaging in any form of software generated spam engines whatsoever. Steer clear of any unscrupulous shortcuts that intend to improve the search engine rankings. Focus on creating quality content for your website. Your pages should be for the users and not for the search engines. You need to create content that’s in the best interest of the people who view your website. It should help them do what they do better. By following these guidelines, you will be successful in adding value to the people who visit your website and you can avoid getting penalized.

Creating a top position for your website is an investment that greatly demands time, hard work and money. Good content and right strategy is all that matters when it comes to SEO. With each passing day, Google is getting smarter and better at identifying web spam and websites that have been trying to outsmart the system. To make sure you stay on top, you need to adjust your SEO strategy according to the latest updates. You can hire a SEO company that is familiar with the process and can manage your SEO campaign.

We at Centex Technologies, Dallas provide SEO solutions to our clients. To know more about our SEO plans, feel free to call us at Killeen (254-213-4740) or Dallas (972-851-7878) Office.

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Engaging Your Online Customers For Better Sales

May 11, 2012

It is becoming increasingly important for businesses to engage their customers online. Blatant online advertizing is not likely to work as well as interacting with the online community of your customers. Enlisted below are some of the most effective ways to take your marketing strategies to the next level by using your prospective and existing customers as a marketing tool.

  • Social networking-It goes without saying that social networking is the single most effective way of engaging your customers. The three top social networking sites with the most active user bases are Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Make sure that you have an active profile on each of these sites, and keep posting pictures and updates that would appeal to your target audience. Creating a profile on these sites and making no effort to keep it going does not make a lot of sense, and will do nothing for your business.
  • Encourage user-generated content on your website- Create a blog that is relevant to what you sell, and allow users to submit their own articles to be posted on it. This will create a feeling of belongingness, and is a great way to keep them coming back to your website.
  • Create a forum for your users- Having a forum on your website, where users can discuss your products and services is a great way to create an online community, and encourage inter-customer relationships, which will translate into increased customer loyalty.
  • Send personalized mails- Shooting across a duplicate promotional mail to all your customers is not going to work, considering that just a fraction of these mails get opened, thanks to increased consumer awareness. A better idea would be to send a personalized mail that starts with Dear (Customer’s name), and actually conveys something that the customer would be interested in. It definitely is worth the effort.
  • Reward your customers- Sending out special offers and discounts that are only applicable for existing customers is a fantastic way of telling them how much you value them. Go that extra mile by devising thoughtful rewards that the customers will truly value.
  • Lastly, remember that the first person who needs to believe in your strategies is you! These words by New York sales trainer Wendy Weiss, author of Cold Calling for Women say it best- “Fear of rejection is the biggest thing that holds people back but you have to take it out of the realm of the personal.”

For effective Online Marketing, SEO, Web Development Services in Austin, Dallas and Killeen Texas. Call us at Killeen (254-213-4740) or Dallas (972-851-7878) Office.

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Google Penguin Update- What It Is All About?

May 4, 2012

‘Google penguin update’ is a term that anyone who is into website optimization, or even works with a website for that matter, is sure to be familiar with. But what exactly does this term imply, and how can you safeguard your website from its effects?
Well, the Google Penguin is a recent update, which is the next level of the famous Panda update. The Google Panda and Penguin can be considered as advanced levels of countering web spam through automated and human effort.

The panda update was a major change that was introduced in Google’s search engine ranking mechanism in February, 2011. Prior to its introduction, websites were ranked purely by artificial intelligence, which used predefined algorithms to decide which sites were most relevant to the user’s search. Search Engine Optimization, better known as SEO, came into play, with webmasters finding an easy way of hoodwinking Google, simply by stuffing keywords into spam content.

While this worked for a while, Google found a smart way to tackle it, with the introduction of the panda update. This mechanism incorporated advanced algorithm into the website ranking process, by using factors like authenticity, relevance, and usability. It was judged that whether user’s would return to the website again for information and penalized copy-pasted content. The Artificial Intelligence then mimicked these criterions, leading to a ranking system that favored sites with fresh and meaningful content over spam sites.
This change affected a whopping 12 percent of search results. Just when webmasters had found a way to tackle the Panda, Google has hit the online world with another update- The Penguin. The Google penguin went live on April 27, Friday, and takes Google’s attempts to eliminate spam to the next level. The websites that are most likely to suffer with this update are those that place optimization above usability.

Here are the 5 top don’ts if you wish to stay unfazed by this update-

  • Stuffing keywords meaninglessly into content.
  • Hiding text with keywords against a white background to tackle search engines, but not users.
  • Showing a different IP address to users, and a different one to search engines, to cloak the actual country in which the website is based.
  • Paying people to link users to your website.
  • Using duplicate content on your website.

Even though Google has announced that this update is likely to affect only 3% of the queries, it in no way means that you should take it lightly.

We at Centex Technologies work on natural and manual SEO processes to rank websites on Top Search Engine Ranks. For more information on our SEO packages, feel free to call us at feel free to call us at Killeen (254-213-4740) or Dallas (972-851-7878) Office.

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