And what it means for your Dojo

So this is what Google does ... 

Search engines like Google have a pretty simple, main task and that’s to follow links. Like a chain, they follow these links from website to website. The way this is done is through three parts.

• Crawler
• Index
• Algorithm

If you get to this point, you’re ahead of most with how Google creates it’s majick.

The crawler does exactly what it says, it crawls the web around the clock recording the code of every website within it’s database called the index.

Each time Google passes your site and sees a new change, the index is updated. Simple, right?

This is where it gets important. The more engagement and traffic that is visiting your site, the more time people spend consuming your content - the more often Google’s bots drop by for an index visit.

But first, before all of this is possible - Google must know your site exists. So a link must exist somewhere so that the crawler can...

Want to know what the folks who try to sell you expensive local SEO programs are doing?

Kudos to them for seeing an opportunity and taking it, but really… screw them. In this article, I’m going to show you how a fellow martial arts business owner over-invests quite a bit in their web use, was missing over 50% of their potential traffic. Then, I’m going to share with you how to correct this mistake for yourself and completely dominate your local searches with about an hour’s worth of work.

First, let me be very clear that nothing is more valuable for your studio’s website than a cleanly structured framework.

There are a few simple solutions to getting this done, but one thing is for sure; if you don’t know what you’re doing, then leave it to a professional. Don’t think you can have some high school kid or karate mom run your site in exchange for free classes. That’s nonsense. Period.

For solid online visibility and indexing, you...

One on the elements of strong online studio is building sites that load fast and are on strong servers. This is something I’ve been focussing alot of my work on lately, trying to look into the future of server speed and it’s influence on how search engines view my content.

Not only does site speed effect search results, but it also has a major influence on user experience – especially when we are trying to teach physical movement through a training portal. Think about how many times you have tried to follow along with a video only to get discouraged at the video freezing every ten seconds.

So while the variable of speed is super important, there are thousands (if not tens-of-thousands) of other variables that search algorithms use to properly direct their customers to the most accurate result for a query or position the right content in front of them, at the right time.

The more of these variables you know, the easier it is for you to create a strategy to keep your...

Having your school found on search engines can be a dark, confusing place for most school owners. They know they need to be seen there and simply think that having a website up will do the trick. This is the most common mistake I see business owners make when they step into the web with the keys to their business in hand. Let me rephrase, thinking that putting a website online will make you visible to search engines - is dead wrong.

Second mistake, hands down - without question - is thinking that building a list of likes on Facebook somehow means something to your school's performance.

So it goes something like this.

Want to know what the bozos who try to sell you expensive local SEO programs are doing?

Kudos to them for seeing an opportunity and taking it, but really... screw them. In this article, I'm going to show you how a consulting client of mine in the next state over invests quite a bit in their web use, was missing over 50% of their potential traffic. Then, I'm going to share with you how to correct this mistake for yourself and completely dominate your local searches with about an hour's worth of work.

First, let me be very clear that nothing is more valuable for your school's website than a cleanly structured framework.

There are a few simple solutions to getting this done, but one thing is for sure; if you don't know what you're doing, then leave it to a professional. Don't think you can have some high school kid run your site in exchange for free classes. That's bullshit. Period.

Imagine one of your customer telling you they want to buy a book on your martial art, learn it there and...

One of the most important ingredients to building a strong web presence is know how the sites that present your content to your target audience work. What criteria works on your site to get search engines like Google and Bing to want to show you off. This article will introduce you to the simply complex (yes, it’s simple but often time made way too complex) world of search engine optimization (SEO).

Understanding SEO is necessary. Before I say anything else, just know that you must have the key elements in place in order for your online presence to have any value. So, let’s get started.

What is SEO and why is it important to you?

More than likely you’ve heard that acronym, SEO before. If you haven’t here’s the Wikipedia definition; SEO is “the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's unpaid results.”

OK, makes sense. But that leaves us with a number of questions to follow such as,

If you haven’t prepared your site for this, it’s too late.. well not really, but it was announced over two months ago and your developer should have known about the algorithm change Google made today, April 21. Their goal is to give more authority to websites that are responsive for mobile and downgrade sites that are not.

Even if you’re certain your site is mobile friendly, take a minute and check, especially if you’re a school owner who counts on their web presence. I’ve provided Google’s link below…

Google Developers Mobile Friendly Tool

Once there, type the domain of your URL and see if your site is mobile ready. If not, you must contact your developer and get this resolved immediately.

If you have any questions or need any help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly to get your site updated so that this update doesn’t put your business at risk.

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