What Are the Benefits of Pay Per Click Advertising?

"Pay per click advertising is intimidating to some. They do not completely understand what PPC is and they fail to see the benefits of using something like this for their own business. Pay for click is a great way to grow a business online and to increase the return on investment. PPC is simple, once you really get an understanding for...." Continue reading here.

This article is about pay per click advertising. Many are not up-to-date with PPC ads and are unsure whether it is cost-effective for their business. PPC can be a great addition to search engine optimization for organic search results. Taking advantage of PPC advertising for your "keywords" as well as optimizing your site for organic searches allows your website to show up in the two places that users look.

I hope this post helps settle some confusion about PPC.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

SEO Advice: Writing useful articles that readers will love

"My advice is not to start with an article about porn/pills/casinos/mortgages–it’s better to start with a smaller niche. If you become known as an expert on (say) configuring Linux or hacking gadgets, you could build that out with things like forums to create even more useful content. Look for a progression of niches so that...." Continue reading here.

This article is from mattcutts.com and is a very practical outline for writing articles related to your business. At its center, this article proves that niche writing is the most noticeable and useful for both your business and your readers. Read on!

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

Google Merges Search and Google+ Into Social Media Juggernaut

"Now we know Google’s master-plan for integrating Google+ ever more deeply into the Google ecosystem: Pour the whole thing into Google search. Starting today, Google+ members, and to a lesser extent others who are signed into Google, will be able to search against both the broader web and their own Google+ social graph. That’s right; Google+ circles, photos, posts and more will be integrated into search in ways other social platforms can only dream about." Read more here.

This article is relevant to Google's policy changes for 2012 on searches. Including Google Plus information to help provide users with more accurate search results emphasizes the importance of social media management. Including social media information, including demographic information, to searches makes local keywords a more relevant topic. For example, a Chicago restaurant should pursue keyword marketing for "Chicago restaurant." Users with a Google Plus account will be directed more accurately to local results.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

What's an Entrepreneur? The Best Answer Ever

"This classic 25-word definition pares entrepreneurship to its essence and explains why it's so hard. And so addictive." -- Inc Article

This article can do one of two things:

a) Explain what an entrepreneur is, how he/she works, and why he/she does it.

b) Help you understand yourself--why and how you became an entrepreneur without even knowing the definition of "entrepreneur."

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

Mark Cuban's 12 Rules for Startups

"Anyone who has started a business has his or her own rules and guidelines, so I thought I would add to the memo with my own..." Read more here.

This article is helpful to see a simple breakdown of essential tips to starting your own business. Remember: practicality beats aesthetics.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

RSS – Blog Directories (long list)

This a list of the submission urls for RSS and blog directories that you can submit your blog or RSS feed to. This is very helpful for search engine optimization (SEO.) When over forty websites are willing to link to yours with the simple investment of your time, it is worth it. HikeMySite.com did a list of bog submissions for its blog. These submissions gave Google a "better impression" of my blog and rated it higher for related keywords. When more websites are linking to your website or blog, Google sees your website as more important and ultimately relevant.

What this means for your website? If you're a do-it-yourselfer, start submitting your blog to the hundreds of directories. If you don't feel like doing this yourself, contact us. We can talk about optimization and blog contracts.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

Tips On Making Money With Search Engine Optimization

To give SEO a great boost, whenever possible use off-site links to quality content. This is a very important part of linking. Relevant links to other websites are more valuable from a SEO perspective than the links that interlink your website. In order to make your rank higher, you should...(continue reading here.)

This article gives good advice on creating backlinks. It also emphasizes the importance of linking to good content throughout your articles/posts. These tips will help ensure great content on your blog/website!

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

What Everyone Needs To Know About SEO

Search engine optimization takes time and you might be slow to see results. It’s human nature to look for immediate gratification for the hard work you put into something. Creating and maintaining a successful website requires a true commitment of your time and devotion. Even when things don’t seem to be happening fast enough, it’s important you stay on track. Eventually, your hard work will net dividends and you will...(continue reading here.)

This article shares some time-reveled secrets about search engine optimization. Some insights are only learned with experience, such as not seeing immediate results. Keep this article in mind if you are a do-it-yourselfer and are trying to undertake your own SEO. If you have any questions please contact me at jahines.uh@gmail.com.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

This Is Why You Were Friended or Unfriended

While some Internet interactions are online-only relationships, the most common reason we add friends on Facebook is because we know people in real life.

According to recent research from NM Incite, for 82% of Facebook users, knowing someone offline is....(read more here.)

This article helps us understand why people reach out to others on Facebook. These statistics are helpful if you are devoted to social media management or if you are just a common user.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

SEO – How Do You Get People To You Website?

You should center your articles around keywords and phrases to improve search engine rankings. Putting the right keywords in your articles will make search engines respond positively to them. Therefore, it’s easier for readers who may be trying to locate your articles. The keyword you want to focus on should...(continue reading here.)

This article is very useful for web design and search engine optimization do-it-youselfers!

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012

This article by the Harvard Business Review suggests a list of things to add to your "ignore-list" in 2012. The article has efficiency and sanity in mind to create a burden-breaking year. This article is relevant for any business owner.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design

Branding: How It Works in the Social Media Age

This article is an infographic describing how branding works in the "Social Media Age." This article is helpful in understanding how companies target customers and B2B sales.

If you aren't exactly sure what branding means, read on. Branding is also a way to build an important company asset, which is a good reputation. Whether a company has no reputation, or a less than stellar reputation, branding can help change that. -- Brick

Branding is important to keep in mind when dealing with Kankakee Web Design and Kankakee Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With a growing service based company, it is essential to associate your work exclusively with your brand.

Jacob Hines — HikeMySite.com

Online, Local Exposure for Small Businesses — SEO, Web Design