12Apr 2021 by Jed Stewart
Uh, oh! Here Google Goes Again

Uh, oh! Here Google Goes Again

Search Engine Optimization, Search Engines, Visitor Engagement
It's been a while since the last major algorithm change in Google Search, so now the time is upon us. This time around there will be a new ranking factor - Page Experience. If there was ever a question in anyone's mind about the importance of UI / UX (user interface / user experience), this should settle it once and for all. User experience is all about how your website and its visitors interact. UX/UI has been a growing segment of the website/app industry, and now Google is confirming its importance to the world. Coincidentally, Stewart SEO has been focusing on what we call Visitor Engagement Optimization (VEO) for years. Check our past blog articles to see it. Our emphasis on visitor engagement is based on great page experience. So…
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28Jan 2017 by Jed Stewart
Digital Billboards – You Are Probably Wrong About Them

Digital Billboards – You Are Probably Wrong About Them

Search Engine Optimization
The Parable of the Billboard Ad Manager & the Business Owner A billboard ad manager has made an offer to you, a business owner. You pay the normal billboard fee for a few months, maybe six or so, then afterwards a small monthly maintenance fee, but you get to keep your ad on the billboard for an indefinite amount of time, possibly even years. You get your ad in front of visitors, every day, for months, even years, for a minor monthly payment. Sounds great, doesn't it? You scoff and turn down the offer. Why? For some reason, you think your ad is already on the billboard, and you have not seen any great increase in business. It's as if you are the only one who sees the billboard. So…
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09Dec 2016 by Jed Stewart

How Do You Pick Your SEO Firm?

Search Engine Optimization
SEO is such a nebulous acronym for an equally nebulous profession, but if your business has a website, you need it, like it or not. The disturbing ambiguity that makes up search engine optimization gives business owners an uneasiness about SEO experts, prompting many business owners to just forego the expense and accept that his company's website is and always will be firmly entrenched on page three of Google searches. It's true that there are as many approaches to SEO as there are practitioners, none of them being exactly right. That being said, there is a 'more correct' method of SEO, as well as  a 'less correct' method. So how do you go about finding and picking the right company or individual to handle the SEO aspect of your business'…
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05Jul 2016 by Jed Stewart

Have a Slow Sales Week? Google Didn’t

Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization
Small business sales are cyclical - there's no doubt about it. Some weeks are hot, others cold. It's just the nature of the beast when percentage variances can make huge swings in revenue for a small business. Take for instance a pool builder in a medium size city. Getting three queries from potential customers in a day may be huge, considering that a pool might cost $8,000 to $30,000, depending on configuration. On the other hand, since his potential client base is relatively small, he may not get a customer call for a week. So the call difference between having seven great sales days and seven bad days might be about 20 calls. It doesn't sound like much, but to a small business owner, it can be the difference between success and failure. If there…
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11Feb 2016 by Jed Stewart

What’s the Cure For “Ad Blindness”?

Search Engine Optimization
Everyone has "ad blindness", but it's the business owners who suffer. What exactly is "ad blindness"? It's the conditioned response of potential customers to subconsciously block out ads on a webpage (or magazine or newspaper, etc). This phenomenon prevents readers from seeing advertisements that are right in front of their face. Because we as a society are so bombarded with ads all day long, every day, we build up an immunity, so to speak, to ads. Although we see them, our brain tells us to just pass over them. As a result, ads must always push the envelope to catch the reader's eye. Even on a Google search results page, there are advertisements. Some of them are listed down the right hand side of the page, while others are at…
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