26.05.2009
Search Engine Optimization
So while I was busy lining up topics to cope with the long absence of blog posts and coming up with both offline and online marketing strategies for client sites, I stumbled on a blog post by Tom Gara, Is SEO our Friend? Enemy? Frenemy? Well it really got my attention when he said:
SEO is the bad guy here. It is the reason that you can rarely find what you want on “commercial” google searches.
What you really want when you type “computer stores in Dubai” is to find a great blog post or newspaper article, written by somebody who knows and cares, listing the city’s best computer stores. Sure, someone like CompuMe or Jumbo Electronics could spend more money on getting to the front page, but then, so can anyone, including some random page of googlebait whose entire business model is to get clicks from google searches and surround useless information with ads. “
Google rocks when it comes to factual information (finding a company website or wikipedia entry or whatever), but type in “boutique hotel in Hong Kong” or “cheapest flights from Dubai to London” and you will get page after page of spam – spam that has been well optimised to make it to the front page of google search results.
Of course, I had to leave a comment to somehow defend my profession but I felt like that wasn’t enough. So here’s my take on Tom’s article. Continue Reading Good Morning Dubai & UAE! It’s A Great Day for SEO
26.04.2009
Online Marketing
While purchasing Gatorade, at our nearest supermarket, to sober up on a Friday morning, I saw this headline on the newspaper stand: “UAE laws translated into English, online soon“
I knew TheNational has its wonderful website and so I found the article online.
That’s great! Isn’t it. The government is setting a firm foundation on transparency and what better way than to do it online. Even better, Mr. Abdulla al Majid, Adviser of Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Justice has stated:
“The best feature about this is the search engine which allows you to find even one word amid a sea of legal documents. That changes the face of research for academics, lawyers, judges, businesses and the public. You can imagine the kind of impact this will have on the overall justice system.“
So the government not only knows the importance of online presence but also has embraced the power of search in information. Two thumbs up I have to say. Continue Reading Everything Boils Down to Online
24.04.2009
Search Engine Optimization
A couple of days ago it’s as if a request out my mind just got granted. Seth Godin, America’s Greatest Marketer (according to American Way Magazine) and author of bestselling marketing books, including Permission Marketing, just wrote a post titled “How to Make Money with SEO“.
Even that alone just got me hyped up. Surprisingly, Rand Fishkin just pimped out a post of his own in addition to Seth’s article – “There’s Way More Than 2 Ways to Make Money with SEO“
I wish I could add some more intelligent factors but these 2 gentlemen just laid out the best principles in milking the Benjamins out of the profession.
Here are some points which struck the home run for me: Continue Reading SEOmoz & Seth Godin’s Ways to Make Money With SEO
12.04.2009
Online Marketing
Before I came into this metropolitan bedazzling city of Dubai, I wanted to have an outlook of the online media in the Middle East particularly of search industry. Yes, there were notable companies and individuals who have demonstrated great skills & knowledge in SEO and SEM. I knew for a fact that the Middle East had a talent pool of experts, the technology with all its resources, and a growing market.
But I somehow felt there was not much awareness of SEO, SEM, or even Social Media in the region, or was I expecting too much? But Husam Jandal seems to have sustained my observation. Husam is an internet business consultant with WSI Internet Consulting.
In an article in TheNational.Ae – Searching for an online solution, Husam Jandal said:
“In general they [Middle East] are very ignorant about the fact that their potential clients and existing clients are using the internet, while they are not [doing so themselves].
I think we’re still behind when it comes to the business community recognising the importance of being in front of their potential clients.
With more than 90 per cent of all traffic generated on the internet coming from search engines, it is important for the local business community to identify various ways of utilising these internet tools to achieve the desired visibility for their businesses”
I couldn’t agree with him more. Well there are a lot of reasons to consider though in the Middle East market. I won’t dwell on them for now. But let me help in pointing you to the right direction as to why online media, particularly SEO, SEM and even Social Media will be a vital tool for Middle East businesses:
Continue Reading The Importance of Online Marketing (Particularly SEO, SEM, and Social Media) in the Middle East
30.03.2009
Search Engine Optimization
About 3 months ago, while planning for topics in the launch of Click-Dubai.Com, I conducted a survey to get to know the top search engines used within the UAE and Middle East regions.
In today’s settings it would have been wise to have channeled that poll through Twitter but back then I tried my LinkedIn network through their useful Answers section. Fortunately, my connections were generous enough to share their insights.
Oh before we go to the results, one thing I forgot is to set the parameters of the poll like naming only the top 3. But instead I laid down a generic question that prompted the participants to provide as many search engine names they think are popular within the region (I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it did arrive to a certain conclusion nevertheless). Continue Reading Top Search Engines / Content Portals in the Middle East Regions?
