Michel Fortin, who I have been fortunate enough to have briefly studied under, has a great article on the importance of the choice of names for your company.

That importance can extend to your Website url. For instance, did you know that Google and other search engines will give some additional weight to a site if it's url happens to have a keyword or keyword phrase in it?

Not that doing so will rocket you to the top of the listings, but if you can incorporate a keyword into your url, it gives you another leg up on attracting attention.

Unfortunately, some people take this too far. That's why you end up with convoluted Websites with names like "get-my-cheap-mortgage-interest-rate.com." Thankfully, no such site exists, but you've probably seen those ridiculously long url names that are nothing more than an attempt to get some extra points from the search engine spiders.

You do need a memorable name. But being memorable also usually means being relatively short. Ten-to-twelve letters long, max.

"Zunch" is memorable, in part, because it is a unique name (I find new clients guessing at its origin and meaning all the time), but also because it is short and easy to recall.

Finding the right name for a new business is hard. Finding the right url can be even harder.

A few pointers--

• Alliteration helps recall
• Rhyming does the same
• Partiicularly with urls, avoid names having more than 10-12 characters
• Your surname may well be a good choice for a unqiue company name or url

If you are in the midst of trying to create a name for a new venture, or if you've decided you want to re-brand and change your name, I suggest you visit Michel's article for a quick lesson on the art of choosing a name.

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• Don't participate in consumer complaint blogs/forums
• Don't post as a supporter for your brand
• Don't beg for help on how to fix your brand in other forums

• Do press releases on the company
• Do beef up optimization on your company's about us page
• Do write nice long testimonials for your b2b partners using your company name as a satisfied customer

Contact us to learn about Zunch Brand Reputation Management.

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By Fellow Zuncher Jeff Martin

Link building is one of the most confusing aspects of SEO for most people. Many don't realize that links provide the most weight in rankings for Google with Yahoo having less emphasis and MSN have even less than that. This is one of the reasons why you will more likely first see ranking in MSN, then Yahoo and finally Google.

Link building is the longest and most difficult process of SEO. Creating content is the second hardest. Why? Because, for the most part, who links to you is the part of SEO that you control the least. That's why Google relies on it as much as they do - its the least likely spot to be gamed. It can be done but it usually requires a great amount of resources and/or money.

Links fall into four categories:

1. Reciprocal linking. You exchange a link to a site for a link from their site to yours. More than likely, even if the site is similarly related, there will be very little gained from this kind of link. There are exceptions to this rule covered below.

2. Directory links. There are two kinds of directories:
a. 'Free For All' directories where there is not much of an editorial process and where many of the existing listings are scraped from other sites. This like has about as much quality as the standard reciprocal link.

b. Established editorial directories link-The Open Directory Project (ODP or DMOZ) or Microsoft's bCentral that go through an established quality check. These are the best types of directory links. Note: The ODP is a unique directory in that Google pulls information directly from it. This may have an added bonus. A link from the ODP is highly desirable, but is by no means a silver bullet.

3. One way links. Links from relevant web sites to your own that you do not need to return are the standard link that most people seek out. Links from .edu domains and some established .org domains are more sought after than others.

4. Trusted site links. A 'trusted' site is one that Google recognizes as a special site which are usually well established and have a strict editorial process. For example, news publication sites often fit into this category. Why? For an article to be written a journalist has to research the story, talk to experts and witnesses and have their facts checked then have an editor approve the piece. Because of all of the quality check that happens that means that a link from a site of this nature is more likely to be the most legitimate.

Each of these types of links can and does play a role in most link programs. Trusted links however, are not normally achieved through a link building program but through an interactive public relations campaign. Often it takes public relations folks (or ex-journalists) to know how to pitch a site or a person for an article.

Out of the rest of link types, links from .edu and established .org domains are next on the list. They are usually difficult to get, which makes them carry more weight than standard links.

In addition to the type of links, the link text used will have a significant impact on rankings. Ideally you will want to change out your link text to focus on a diverse keyword list. If you sell shoes you may want to have different link text variations such as:

- Store X - Tennis Shoes, Walking Shoes, Cowboy Boots and Dress Shoes
- Reebok Shoes, Nike Running Shoes, New Balance Tennis Shoes from Store X
- Discount Brand Name Golf Shoes, Running Shoes and Bowling Shoes

To help the process along, link tools can be purchased to help find links, track submittals and track who links to you and who links to your competitors and not to you. Many can be found by doing simple searches in your favorite search engine.

In the end it will take time and persistence to obtain a solid link base. Zunch offers special link building programs that can make the difference in your rankings. Wether your domain is brand new or you have existed for years and are looking to secure your visibility Zunch can help, contact us today.

If you've missed any of Jeff Martin's past SEO 101 Refreshers-- check them out.

SEO 101 Refresher Part 1: Navigation

SEO 101 Refresher Part 2: Canonical Issues

SEO 101 Refresher Part 3: Dynamic URLs

SEO 101 Refresher Part 4: Link Architecture

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According to new data released by Nielsen//NetRatings, Web users conducted a record breaking 5.7 billion searches in January—a 39 percent increase from last January.

Search Rankings  
• Google- 48 percent
• Yahoo!- 22 percent
• MSN- 11 percent
• AOL- 6.5 percent

“Web Users are conducting more searches not because they can’t find what they’re looking for, but because search as a utility has become deeply ingrained into people’s everyday lives,” said Ken Cassar, chief analyst, Nielson//NetRatings.

He’s absolutely right.  That’s why it is imperative to have your Website submitted to search engines and directories if you want your business to be successful.  Here at Zunch, we apply proven search engine optimization techniques to place our client's Websites in the top positions of all the major search engines and directories. 

With search use at an all-time high---Is your business in good hands?

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