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I recently came across something that I thought was really cool. It's called code refactoring and it's the best thing since tiger blood. Code refactoring is a disciplined technique for restructuring an existing body of code, altering its internal structure without changing its external behavior. Cool right? Well I thought so and that's why I'm creating my own code refactor. It's a new section here at Creative (ctrl). Any time I get the chance I'll be adding new code to the refactor for the world to criticize and improve. This will help me become a better programmer, and will provide new programmers with a giant library of highly efficient code. Check it out already!
What is keyword density? Is it still effective today? How can I use it to manipulate my SERP's position?
For those not familiar with keyword density, imagine this. You have a website. On this website there is a specific page that you want to rank well. This page consists of 100 words. If 25 of the words on your website are keywords, you have a keyword density of 25%.
Keyword density was one of the first defining factors for indexing your page. Pages with high keyword densities ranked well, while low keyword density pages did not. Now imagine how long it took for people to figure this out. As soon as people got wise of this, they began intentionally stuffing tons of keywords and phrases into the bottom of their websites to raise their keyword density. Search engines became wise of this and began taking measures to prevent manipulated results from reaching the top positions.
Search engines have been improving indexing algorithms for years thus making keyword density a much less important factor in ranking your web page. Is keyword density still important? Yes. I say that without a doubt. A page with a strong keyword density sends a clear message to search engines, “this keyword is without is absolutely the keyword I want to rank well for”. Define your keywords in your meta and description and you couldn't target your keyword any better with a laser.
So here's the low down on how to use keyword density efficiency. It's pretty obvious but I'll mention it anyways. Stick to one keyword or key phrase per page. You don't want to be ranking for ice picks and bicycles on the same page. That's pretty easy to understand right?
Keep your keyword density below 12%. Anything higher than that will look like you intentionally stuffed your page to rank better. I try to stick to about 10%. Also, avoid stuffing keywords into your page. I said avoid because sometimes it's necessary to stuff your page but it should be considered only as a last resort and you'd better do it right because search engines are smart and can pick this amateur attempt out pretty quick. Remember, the key is to do it right.
One of the first steps in developing your marketing strategy is to perform a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths or weaknesses. External factors are classified as either opportunities or threats. Performing a SWOT analysis will give you a clear understanding of marketing environment and landscape of the market as well as provide information that is helpful in matching your company's capabilities and resources to the environment in which it operates.
- (Internal Analysis)
Strengths are a firms resources and capabilities not shared with the competition, that are used to develop a competitive advantage. Examples include:
- (Internal Analysis)
The absence of certain strengths are viewed as weaknesses. In some cases a strength may also be considered a weakness. For example, a large manufacturing capacity may be considered a strength that competitors do not share, it may be considered a weakness if the large investment prevents your firm from reacting quickly to changes in your strategic environment.
- (External Analysis)
External environmental analysis may reveal new opportunities for profit and growth. Some examples include:
- (External Analysis)
External environmental changes may also present specific threats to your firm. Examples include:
Now that you understand the basics of the SWOT analysis, dig a little deeper and perform a SWOT analysis on your firm. Let us know how it goes in the comments ;)
What makes your company, product, or service unique? What special qualities separate you from the dozens of other options available to potential customers? Can you nail down a single sentence that sets your company, product, or service apart and use it to win customers time and time again? If not, you do not have a unique selling proposition.
A unique selling proposition or USP is a single statement that defines the unique aspects of your company, product, or service. Developing a well written USP will aid you in building your brand image and provide you with much greater market visibility. A successful USP will persuade customers to buy your product or service even when faced with direct competition. Developing a unique selling proposition for your company is one of the first steps to establishing a successful marketing strategy.
Here are 4 simple steps to developing a killer unique selling proposition:
Here are some examples of really successful USP's: