Experts tell you that SEO is the way to go and it is. Search engine optimization is how you get your website noticed by your target customer audience. You can fall back to paid advertising, but it does not have the impact that well-designed content will have on your long-term business growth.

The problem is many people do not know the intricacies of SEO. And there are a few things that, if you do not know them, can hurt your business.

Here are six things you need to know to avoid making mistakes that can seriously harm your business online:

• Ranking in the top three is no longer optional. It is mandatory. People are used to finding what they want when they want it. When they do a search, they are going to look through the first two or thee sites on the list. If your site is not in that top tier, you have a much lower chance of getting someone to visit your website. Work to get to that top level. Your first goal may be to get into the first page, then to those top three spots.
  
  
• Long tail keywords vs. short tail keywords. Many people think that short keywords are the best option when it comes to keyword strategy. The fact is that many shorter keywords are highly competitive and making the top tier of sites is almost impossible. Longer keywords are often less competitive but still have plenty of traffic hitting them. You will have a better chance of making that top three sweet spot with long-tail keywords than with competitive short ones.
  
  
• Highly competitive keywords are out of reach, unless you spend big money to pursue them. Think about how much traffic a keyword like "weight loss" or "diet" gets. Thousands of companies are vying for the top positions for that keyword. Millions of people use that keyword so demand is very high. Unless you have a ton of money to spend on SEO campaigns, it is better to find keywords with plenty of traffic but not that much competition.
  
  
• Bad SEO strategy can actually hurt your company and its search engine rankings. What is bad SEO strategy? These are practices for which search engines actually penalize your site. A great example of this is keyword stuffing. This practice involves stuffing as many keywords as you can into a single page. Some use the same keyword over and over again. Others just give a list of every keyword they can think of. Either practice will get Google and other search engines to penalize your site. That puts you low in the ranks or not anywhere to be found.
  
  
• Comments, likes, and re-tweets are important for SEO. External links to your website content counts for up to 75 percent of your search engine ranking with major search engines. The more comments, likes, and re-tweets you get the more it counts to your search engine ranking. This shows that people see your site as an authority.
  
  
• Quality content rules, not quantity. Search engines are becoming smarter about content. They want to rank quality content over poorly written content. They measure this by how many visitors a page sees, how many external links it gets, and by a few other factors. Quantity is not going to rule the day. Quality will.

Keep these items in mind when you are working on your SEO strategy. By avoiding these mistakes, you will put your company and your online presence for success. Knowing SEO means knowing the pitfalls that can cause problems. Learn what you need to know to have SEO success.

Online marketing is what you make of it. Unfortunately, without the right information and techniques, people will struggle. Some people will have more trouble than others.

The Good - Thousands of people have a successful company backed up by solid online marketing. Plus, more and more people are joining their ranks every day. This is true anywhere around the world.

The Bad - Many more thousands of people are struggling with their online marketing. They may have some success, but not anywhere near where they want to be. They may try for years with little success.

The Ugly - After trying for months or years, companies fold. Their owners have given up on using online marketing and decided to let go of it all.

How can you move your company out of the Bad and Ugly to the Good?

• Invest in an online marketing strategy. Do not start any marketing activities without a written, cohesive strategy with clear goals and objectives. This is a major omission made by companies large and small. Your marketing strategy needs a blue print or your efforts will be scattered and unfocused. Every marketing effort you undertake needs to tie back into the plan and towards meeting a particular goal.
  
  
• Educate yourself in what online marketing is, what it means to your company, and what makes sense to you. In the end, consistency is key. Learn as much as you can about Internet marketing. Think about how you can integrate it into your company. It needs to meet a particular goal (generating leads, lead nurturing, etc.) Take what makes sense to you and make it part of your marketing plan. There are many techniques out there. Use what will work naturally with your company. Once you adopt your plan, keep it consistent.
  
  
• Hire a good team to get your online marketing job done. You can use an internal or external team. It's your choice. You need a competent team that understands your business model and how online marketing works with it. Unless you have the time and wish to become an online marketing guru, bring in someone who knows how to do it. You can bring someone in as an employee or hire a contractor to do it. That will free you up to run the rest of the company.
  
  
• Give yourself time. Your online marketing strategy should have 12, 24, and 36-month time frames. Many people want to see results in a couple of weeks. Internet marketing can show some results in that time, but for long-term results you will need a few months. Make goals for the year. Make goals for the next two years. Make goals for the next three years. Adjust as you go along. You may make more progress in a short time frame. Or, you may need to make adjustments just to make goal by end of year.

Remember that planning first is essential. Even before that point though, you need to educate yourself on what online marketing is and what works. If you are struggling with your online marketing, put together a competent team and let them do the work. You can go inside or outside your company. And give yourself time to get on the right path and to see the results you deserve.

Is now the time to make your website mobile responsive?

The answer to that question is an emphatic "Yes." Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

There is no better time. If you are planning a corporate website redesign, you need to make mobile responsive design one of the project's top priorities. The investment will pay-off quickly with increased traffic and lead generation. It will open up a whole new audience for your website.

What exactly is mobile responsive design? 
This type of design uses the size of the browsing window to rearrange elements on the screen for easier browsing. On a large desktop screen, the website will appear one way, while it will look completely different on a tablet or Smartphone. It is the same website though. It uses the same theme elements and graphics, just in a different layout and size. [watch "what's the deal with mobile responsive websites?"]

Why?

Here are three reasons for making it part of your corporate website redesign:

• Mobile Leads the Way

The fastest growing population of tech tools are tablets and mobile devices. By the end of 2014, the number of people around the world using mobile devices for browsing will outstrip those using a laptop or desktop for browsing. In the U.S. today, a full half of all local searches happen on mobile devices. That means if you do not have a mobile friendly website, you are going to miss out on a good number of visitors.

Mobile users of the past were used to websites that were not mobile friendly. That is rapidly changing as more users are using mobile devices and more websites are becoming mobile friendly. Even past visitors to your website will become fed up and look elsewhere if you do not make the switch to a mobile responsive design. At this point, the potential for lost business makes a mobile responsive design the only real option for a modern website.

• Google Says So

In December 2012, Google updated its recommendations for handling mobile devices. One of their guidelines basically says web designers need to use industry best practices in responsive web design. The website should use the same HTML for all devices and use CSS media queries to guide how the website renders on different devices. 

Google is still the industry leader among search engines. When looking for the latest standards in regards to search engines, web designers almost always look to Google. All other search engines will follow any changes Google makes. If Google thinks mobile responsive design is the way to go, your website needs to go in that direction.

• You Can Afford It

A few years ago, creating a mobile responsive design was expensive and cost prohibitive for most companies. It required custom coding and the skills of several expert web designers. The custom coding made maintenance an ongoing and expensive issue. That made mobile friendly a luxury many companies decided to do without.

Today, mobile responsive design is definitely more affordable. The tools available for this type of design have advanced quickly, as have the website design standards. More web designers have the skills to build mobile friendly sites. Many designers, in fact, have made it a standard offering.

Make your corporate website redesign count. Make sure it has mobile responsive design. With tablets and mobile devices in the hands of so many people, you want your website available to them. Google recognizes the importance of the shift going on and so should you. Industry standards have emerged, more web designers have the knowledge, so the cost of mobile responsive design is affordable.

There is no excuse. Your corporate website redesign must include mobile responsive design.

Corporate blogging is a powerful marketing tool. However, many companies do not use blogging in a way that maximizes its potential.

When going through a corporate website redesign, that is the time to reboot your company blog and start using it for focused marketing purposes. A critical part of creating a successful company blog is a good content plan.

Blog Types
Before creating a plan, it is important to understand the four types of blogs you can have:

• Helpful (The Problem Solver)
  This type of blog helps people solve problems. The content provides helpful information, tips, and tricks to visitors while emphasizing the company's area of expertise.
  
  
• Case Studies (Before and After)
  To showcase the impact of a product or service, a blog can present case studies. They show the before situation and what happened after the product or service came into the picture.
  
  
• Personal Insights
  This blog comes from an expert point of view. The expert can be the company president, the lead researcher, or other company icon. It is a place where the expert answer questions or provides insights to the industry.
  
  
• Newsworthy
  This blog offers news from around the industry, particularly those dealing with the company. It also analyzes trends presented in the news.

Now, you may say you know of blogs which mix these different types together, and you are right. However, most blogs emphasize one of these types over the other. You need to decide the type of blog you want and keep 75 to 80 percent of the posts to that type.

For example, a service company can help people with common problems related to its industry. A plumber could give plumbing tips. A dentist can provide dental care tips for adults and kids. A small part of the blog would mention company news bits, personal insights, and even case studies.

Creating a Blog Content Plan
Five critical components go into creating a blog content plan. You want all these in place before you launch your corporate website redesign project:

1. Pick your target keywords for the quarter 
   You want three to five at the maximum per quarter. All blog posts created during the quarter must use one of those keywords. Your keywords should draw from a highly researched list of keywords focused on your industry and niche.
   
   
2. Brainstorm on the blog titles with a team
   You will focus on content later. Blog titles should emphasize the keyword of choice and match the type of blog. Create a list of titles for the quarter.
   
   
3. Generate four to five bullets for each blog
   Each bullet will highlight critical content. Take the blog title and link four or five critical components to it. You can link posts together with common themes.
   
   
4. Create a calendar of blog posts and stick to it
   Most blogs have regular posts one to three times per week. Make a plan for your blog and keep your posts on schedule. Most blog management tools allow scheduling of posts.
   
   
5. Delegate writing the blog to a professional writer
   Unless you are a professional writer, you want someone else doing the writing. Your blog needs to give your company a professional voice.

With a content plan in place, you can start leveraging the power of your company blog. Knowing the type of blog you want allows you to focus your content. You can figure out your keywords and brainstorm blog titles.

Each post should have four or five critical components shown as bullet points. Create a calendar for blog posts and do not vary from that schedule. Give the writing to a professional for the best results. That is how you maximize your company blog and your corporate website redesign.

When you are ready to redesign your company website, you need to realize the website needs more than a cosmetic update. Online marketing is continually changing and advancing.

For your company to take advantage of those changes, you need to make critical decisions for your corporate website redesign. Making the wrong choices will cut the value you can get from the entire redesign process. Learn from the mistakes others make all the time.

Here are five of the biggest web redesign mistakes you need to avoid:

Mistake #1 - Placing a Bigger Emphasis on Design Rather than Content
Actually, this is a mistake that happens when doing the first design as well as a redesign. Design is important for your visitor's experience. However, search engines have little to no opinion on a website's design. Search engines want to see quality content. In order for your website to land on the search engine radar, it needs quality content. Good content will also attract interested people to your website. Without quality content, neither people nor search engines will come.

Mistake #2 - Trusting a Friend to Do the Design Rather than a Pro
An amateur design is not the image you want visitors to have when they first see your website. It presents your company's first impression. It shows a lack of professionalism and will drive many visitors away. Put the money into a professional design and you will see the difference. A sharp, professional design will give your website visitors the impression that your company is professional and on the move. It is worth the investment.

Mistake #3 - Delegating Content Creation to Your Secretary
You might think that content is just some words on a page. Anyone with decent writing skills can do it, right? In reality, you need a professional writing your content. Content serves many purposes on your website. It conveys your marketing message to customers. It provides value to customers wanting more information. It gives search engines something to check and rank your website with. It is part of the impression you make on visitors. All of this adds up to content quality requiring a professional hand.

Mistake #4 - Having No Clear Strategy Around the Calls-to-Action
When you ask someone to give you his or her name and email, why do you want that information? Some might say for lead generation purposes. Other would not know. Without a comprehensive lead generation and nurturing plan in place, your calls-to-action have no clear strategy around them. Some companies collect information from visitors for no real reason. Do not become one of those companies. Have a reason for everything your website does.

Mistake #5 - Thinking that You'll Deal with SEO Down the Road
SEO is something that many website owners know about, but think is less important than just getting the website up and running. However, search engine optimization must be integrated into the entire design process. Every page must count towards the search engines finding your website and loving it. That means content must integrate keywords and SEO best practices. 

Give your company the boost it deserves. Make the right choices during your redesign. You will see a boost in traffic, higher lead generation, and lead nurturing will become easier.

All of this can happen when you make the right choices during your corporate website redesign.