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This infographic shows information on the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 covers the owners of websites and their liability when another person uses their website to slander someone else’s company. The infographic traces the development of this legislation and what it means to employers and companies who may be harmed by someone else’s use of their websites.

Section 230 of the CDA states that ISPs and websites are not responsible for third-party content.  This section relieves website owners of the burden of liability from posted third-party items that may be slanderous or in some way illegal.

While this portion of the act helps to protect website owners, it also places victims at a disadvantage.  Because victims of slander do not have legal recourse against the owner of a website, an unidentified third party’s actions may go unpunished.

The courts have also been unkind to ISP managers and search engine providers who attempt to curb illegal Internet conduct.  In March of 2009, Google began flagging in appropriate content and labeling certain companies or websites as fraudulent, scams or rip-offs.  In 2010, a court in France ruled against Google in a suit regarding a negative label, and in 2011, an Italian court ruled that Google must remove such labels.

However, victims are not without recourse when they can identify their attackers.  One woman won an $11.3 million defamation suit against someone who attacked her reputation online.  Unfortunately, these types of awards are rare.

Many people are worried about their online reputation.  44 percent of adults say that they have used the Internet to search for information on a company with which they intended to do business, and 70 percent of young adults have adjusted their privacy settings, including removing their names from pictures in which they were tagged, in an effort to control their online image.

Online reputation management is not a new field.  Since 2006, companies have been founded that specialize in online reputation management.  Many companies hire these experts to remove negative information about them, to push out positive content, or both.  Reputation management has become a growing area in which SEO experts and others can specialize in order to help companies build a strong and positive online presence.

This worry over online reputation is a valid one.  Negative reviews or postings can severely harm your business.  Most customers rely at least in part on reviews when making buying decisions.  However, the bigger fear is that a poor online presence may cause visitors to avoid your site altogether so that you never get the chance to correct a poor first impression made by negative publicity.  It is important to deal with this so that you can attract visitors to your site and use your other SEO techniques to convince them to buy from you or use your services.

If you need help with your online reputation management, please contact Orange County SEO today.  We can help you manage your reputation and build customer loyalty.

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A landing page is where your customers “land” when they head over to your web page.  Landing pages are usually arrived at by one of two methods:  a customer searches for keywords on a search engine and the results indicate your page, or they are led there by clicking on a link from another page.  It is vital that the first things a potential customer sees convince him or her to stay on the page and eventually buy something or sign up for a service.  A good landing page can lead visitors to do this.

This infographic shows you the structure of the ideal landing page.  A landing page is the first thing your potential clients see, so it must engage them and keep them following through to the rest of your website.  A good landing page consists of the following components:

• A clear and concise headline that leaves no doubt about the purpose of your page.  Headlines are the first, and sometimes the only, information potential customers see, so it is important to give them an immediate picture of your company and your purpose.
• A secondary headline that clarifies your primary headline.  A secondary headline can explain a pithy primary headline and expand on the information.  Used correctly, a good secondary headline continues to draw readers in and keep them browsing on your pages.
• Easy access to registration that takes only a moment.  Users will not stay on a page that pushes them through dozens of registration steps.  Streamline your registration process to retain reader interest and generate instant mailing or contact lists for future sales campaigns.
• Testimonials.  Good words from satisfied customers should always be easy to find on your page.  People believe others who have had good experiences with your company.  Video testimonials are an ideal way to add believability to your testimonial library; people tend to trust video descriptions rather than written ones, especially those by “anonymous” customers.
• Product descriptions.  Your visitors should never be in doubt as to which product they are viewing or the important information about it.  Furthermore, links to products should take your customers directly to the correct page and should make it easy for them to buy.
• Function.  If a visitor cannot determine what the product does or is used for or the specifics about it, he or she is not likely to stay on the page.  Function pages must always be easy to understand and answer FAQs about a product simply and concisely.  If necessary, customers can be given tabs to break down information such as “Specs” or “Further Information.”

Good landing pages are the key to conversion—turning browsers into buyers.  Orange County SEO can help you fine-tune your landing pages so that your customers always have a great user experience with your website and are eager to purchase your products.  Contact us today to find out how we can help you design the perfect landing page for all of your important products or services.

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This infographicillustrates a three-part lesson in landing page construction.

First, many landing pages are unnecessarily complex. The formula for success is relatively simple, after all: take in more than you pay out.

Many companies have forgotten this basic business formula, especially those that deal in internet marketing. If you are not focusing on ROI, you have lost the purpose of your advertising campaign.

A landing page is a document where your customers “land.” The simple question is, “what do your customers do when they get there?” If the answer is not “buy” or “enroll,” something is not right. That is all you really need to know about landing pages from a business perspective.

When creating a landing page, your goal is to get the information your customer wants to him or her as quickly as possible. No matter how many neat links, videos, and infographics you put up, if your customers leave without buying, your web page is essentially worthless.  This process is known as “conversion”—converting browsers into paying customers, and it is the lifeblood of any ad campaign, website relaunch or other SEO tactics you may use in promoting your business.

There is an old story about a man in the desert who had been without water for several days. He came upon a spot on which there were two documents. The first was a 46-page water-use study, and the second was a piece of paper that said, “Water located six feet down. Start digging.” Which was the more useful to the man in the desert?

Offer thirsty customers water and they will drink. Offer them a treatise on why they should drink water and they will leave. It is really that simple.

A website landing page needs three basic parts. You can add more, but these three must always be present.

• One sentence that describes exactly what your product is or your service does. Be brief and precise and give important information that most people will want.  Make the sentence simple and eye-catching so that visitors will be led to explore more fully.  Remember, you only have a few seconds to convince customers to stay on your website.
• One call to action to tell visitors what to do. This should take visitors directly into the buying stage.  A good call to action is not preachy or salesy but encourages people to do what they already want to do:  buy something from your site.
• One item that adds credibility to your product and encourages buyers to buy. This could be as simple as a phone number to call for more information or a testimonial by a satisfied customer.Convincing customers that they are doing the right thing by buying from you is the goal of all sales techniques, and this is your chance to shine by showing customers that they are making a good decision with your product or service.

Get Your Business on Track today. Contact Orange County SEO for a free, no obligation consultation.

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Content marketing is an important field in the SEO world.  It allows you to use what is on your website to attract visitors who will hopefully become customers through a process known as “conversion.”  Conversion is what happens when a casual visitor to your site is intrigued and influenced to buy something or retain your services.  Conversion is not a magical, random thing; it happens because of good content marketing strategies that lead visitors into a purchasing situation and help them make the decision to buy.

If you are considering content marketing, this infographic gives you good, basic information on how creating good content happens. By answering basic questions, you can begin to think about the place of good content in your overall advertising strategy and how you will incorporate the right content into your website.

What is content? It is everything on the internet, including words, visual images such as pictures and infographics, videos, and audio files. Sharing content happens every second of the day, especially through social media outlets.

What is so important about content? It is not enough to simply put up a website. You have to have something on that website that attracts viewers and tells the search engines that your site is worthy of notice. The better your content, the better your chances that people will visit and re-visit your website and share it with their friends and family.  Good content also raises your value in the sight of search engine spiders that then give you a higher ranking.

How do you create effective content? Your own brain is the best source of original and quality content. Your ideas are original and other people want to see them. Observation as well as your own experiences give you a unique perspective that can be shared with others.

You can also borrow ideas from others, but be sure to write about them from your own point of view.  Original content is key to getting Google, Bing and other search engines to value your web pages highly.  Copied content sends a red flag to the search engines and will hurt your overall rankings.

But what happens if no one notices? Many people make the mistake of over promotion. This can take many forms, but it almost always causes people to move on from your content to something less “salesy.”

Continue to look for new sources of information and put them out in unique and interesting ways. Someone will notice if your content is high-quality!

Do what you are good at. If your strength is creating images, focus on images. If you are a good writer, write. If you create videos, put up new ones. There is a learning curve involved, so never be afraid to try something new. If it does not work, you can always do something different! The key to creating engaging content and building a following is to always be willing to try new things but to be true to yourself and your ideas.

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It is very easy to download apps. On Android devices, users receive a prompt to allow them to download the app immediately as well as one to allow future downloads. Clicking the second one may not be the best choice, however.

Many users simply do not understand what the app is asking in terms of permission and blindly accept, not realizing that they may be opening themselves to far more invasion than they think. For example, some applications may read your contact list and upload user information for the sponsor’s own purposes without your knowledge.

Apple App Store pre-screens apps before allowing them to appear on its list. However, Apple does not explicitly outline the permission each app is requesting. Google Play does not pre-screen apps in the same manner.

This infographic outlines some good tips about screening apps and permissions to determine if the app is right for you.  Here are some facts gleaned from the information on this graphic about how people use apps and how they may have their privacy invaded:

• 97 percent of users do not understand how to protect their privacy when using apps.
• 18.3 million users have looked up health-related information using an app.
• 32.5 million users have looked up financial or banking information using an app.
• 50 million users post status updates using apps.
• 97 million users text or take photos using apps.
• 218 million users access the Internet over their phones.
• Android apps are capable of asking for more than 124 types of permission; 42 percent of users do not even know what permissions are.
• 83 percent of users do not pay attention to permissions when installing an app.
• 33 percent of apps ask for unnecessary permissions.
• Some permissions enable an app to turn on a phone’s camera, monitor outgoing calls, record screen images including personal information, monitor and view texts or photos, and capture conversations even if there is no active call.

It is important for users to limit the permissions they approve on apps in order to protect their privacy.  Privacy protection is never more important than when discussing online reputation.  Everything that is posted on the web or send through an app can have an impact on your overall online presence.  In fact, an entire group of experts has emerged who focus on reputation management to work on fixing problems that arise due to online reputation issues.  One way for you to manage your own online reputation is to pay attention to the permission you give apps to access your information.  Not only will this protect you from scams and other problems, it will also help you keep your online reputation at its best.