If your site collects data from your site visitors and you do not have a privacy policy then you definitely want to read this post.

It doesn’t matter what the data is that you collect. If you simply have a basic form for a mailing list subscription, contact us form, forum, or a comprehensive shopping system, if you collect ANY data, be sure your privacy policy is fully up to date with FULL details about how you plan to use this data.

Here at StepForth Web Marketing we have suspected for a long time that having a valid privacy policy on your site can influence organic rankings, but now it is also a definite that it can influence if your paid ads are even able to run at all! Read more…

In parts 1 & 2 I have already discussed much of the onsite SEO factors, as well as some off site stuff such as inbound links and algorithmic updates. Here are some factors that are only slightly contributing today, but show a very strong probability of being major aspects tomorrow. If Google rankings are important to you, these are a few items you will want to consider seriously. Read more…

Well, its official. You can now add the Google Plus One button onto your website.

Back in March after rolling out the Plus one into Google Search Results, it was much anticipated that the functionality to add the same button directly onto your site would be added – and now it has.

Why should you pay any attention to this? Read more…

Are you seeing Google Analytics data that is all messed up and makes no sense? We are! The issue was reported briefly yesterday at the Google Analytics Blog, and Google is hard at work trying to resolve the issue.

As of yesterday, for the majority of April, zero visits are being reported when this is just not the case.

If you check your Analytics data, don’t panic! Google will (I assume) get this fixed soon.

What is happening?

If I check for statistics for the month of April, viewing “All Traffic” everything looks normal, nothing out of the ordinary…

But next, when I add an advanced segment to show “non-paid search traffic” separately, Google tells me there was zero non-paid traffic up until April 29, then a massive spike with the non-paid surpassing all traffic something that it is simply impossible; (“all traffic” by definition must include “non-paid traffic”).

Interestingly enough, setting the date rage to span anything by April only, seems to deliver completely different results, at least for April 29th. The first 28 days of April appear as zero traffic regardless.

I have checked the Analytics profiles for a number of clients and see this identical issue affecting 100% of them. This is definitely a very odd issue, but I am glad they are working to correct it. Hopefully accurate results are back up to normal soon!

In Part one of How To Optimize for Google, I discussed some of the fundamental on-site SEO aspects and how they have changed over the past few years. This article focuses on a few algorithmic updates as well as some updates in the inbound link landscape. Read more…

It has been nearly 3 years since I wrote my original 3 part series on “How to Optimize for Google”. Since writing that article some things have certainly changed, while others have remained exactly the same.

Here is a redux adjusted to follow some more recent changes over at Google. Note that this is by no means a full-out comprehensive list, That would take a book, not an article.

I Part 1, I will discuss the basic SEO & on-site elements. Parts 2 and 3 will talk about links, major algorithmic updates, and the impact of social media. Read more…

This news is a little dated now as Matt Cutts reported on it in mid-December, but I felt it was worth sharing for those who have not yet seen it.

It seems that now, it is official that Google does use Twitter and Facebook links as a ranking signal for organic results. Read more…

Well, this post is a little late for “Happy Holidays” but here at StepForth we hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Holiday Season!

Also, we would like to wish everyone a fantastic New Years! All the best for 2011. May the new year bring you much prosperity!

Most savvy site owners have either Google Analytics or some other advanced tracking solution installed on their sites. Google Analytics offers extensive data about your visitors behavior for free which helps explain its immense popularity.

One feature of Google Analytics that is often over looked is Event Tracking. Event Tracking allows webmasters to easily track things such as file downloads, the clicking of external links and video views. Things that was once difficult to track. While the setup can be a bit confusing, viewing the data within Google Analytics couldn’t be easier. Read more…

For most sites, increasing your inbound link counts is important. But one aspect of link building that is often overlooked is not actually link building, it is making the most of the links you already have.

Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at your links? Often times when we do site audits we find opportunities to significantly improve the value of links that are already in place. Improving the quality of your existing links usually takes some time, but not usually much money. Read more…