Articles: Search Engine Optimization
Pick the right keywords to describe your business and you can improve your rankings on Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines. Learn how to make your traffic — and your profits — rise.
How Can I Improve My Business Web Site's Ranking on Google?
Search engine ranking is vital to small businesses looking to attract new customers. If your business doesn't appear in the first three pages of search results, the chances of customers finding your site
Search engine ranking is vital to small businesses looking to attract new customers. If your business doesn't appear in the first three pages of search results, the chances of customers finding your site is remote. Luckily, there are steps you can take to improve your site's ranking on Google and maybe even appear on the coveted first page of results. Collectively, these techniques are known as search engine optimization.
Google uses a number of criteria to rank Web pages and return search results. Instead of optimizing your site with just one of these techniques, it's important to utilize all of them to ensure that your ranking improves.
Keywords
Adding keywords to your site’s content is one of the best ways to improve your ranking at Google. By strategically placing keywords throughout your content, the Google spidering process will recognize these words and index your site appropriately.
Keyword density is the ratio of a keyword to the rest of the words on a page. Google is looking for keyword density of between 2 and 5 percent. For example, if you have 500 words on one page of your site, the keyword in question would need to appear 10 times to achieve a 2 percent keyword density.
Links to your site
The next method of increasing your ranking involves getting other sites to link back to your site. If links to your site appear on numerous other sites, Google's spidering software recognizes this and ranks your site higher than sites that lack links leading back to them.
But it's not just the number of links that matter — it's also the quality. Links from high-traffic sites weigh more heavily than links from sites with little or no traffic.
Page titles and file names
Another way to increase your Google ranking is by using keyword or keyword phrases in your page titles and file names. Page titles are the words that appear in the topmost bar of a user's browser, and file names are the URLs themselves. Adding keywords to both of these may work in your favor.
Meta tags and keywords in the header of your Web pages can also improve your ranking. Even though users won't see these keywords, Google's spidering software recognizes them and adds them to the index.
AdWords
If all else fails, you can try the Google AdWords program to get your site listed in the sponsored areas of search results. For many companies having trouble optimizing their site, this has been a good alternative.
Don't forget the user
In your zeal to optimize your site, don't neglect the user experience. If a prospective customer does happen to get to your site, and it's just a mishmash of keywords and gibberish, they're likely to leave and not come back. Remember: search engine optimization is a means to an end — not an end in itself.
The future
Google is constantly changing and refining its search technology. Optimization techniques that work today may be useless tomorrow, so stay informed.
Also, as your business evolves, check your keywords to make sure they're still relevant. If you've launched new product lines, brought on new brands, or changed the focus of your business, make sure these changes are reflected in your keywords. Optimization is an ongoing process.
how can I Improve My Business Web Site's Ranking on Yahoo?
Since Yahoo is still one of the most popular search engines, it's in every business's best interest to improve its placement in Yahoo search results. There are several methods you can employ to optimize
Since Yahoo is still one of the most popular search engines, it's in every business's best interest to improve its placement in Yahoo search results. There are several methods you can employ to optimize your site to appear higher up in Yahoo's search results.
Meta tags
To begin optimizing your site for Yahoo, start with your meta tags. Yahoo’s spidering process analyzes these tags and uses them to determine rankings. Make sure your meta tags include popular keywords that are relevant to your site’s content.
Page titles
Changing your site’s page titles may also be effective. The title of your page is the text that appears in the top bar of a user's browser when they view one of your Web pages. But search engines also use page title information to index Web pages.
Instead of using your company name on all of the pages, try adding your company name as well as a description of what that particular page contains. For example – My Company Name – Popular Books at Great Prices.
ALT text
Adding ALT tags to the images on your site can make your content friendlier to Yahoo's indexing process, too. Since a computer can't "see" your images, you can use ALT text to describe the images on your Web pages. ALT tags are HTML tags that describe the images on your site. You can also use keywords to describe your images in the ALT tag to take full advantage of this method. If your page uses images to display content, and you aren't using ALT tags, it may be glossed over during indexing.
Yahoo also uses the number of links that point to your site to determine your page ranking. Increasing the number of sites that link back to you can improve your ranking, but not all links are equal.
The more popular a site is, the more weight is given to links from that site. So a link on microsoft.com, for instance, would count far more than a link on someone's personal home page. For precisely this reason, it won't do much good to add your link to “link farms” or other mass-linking pages that don't provide any content.
However, if you can exchange legitimate links with other sites, by all means, do so. This is a great way to move your site up higher in search results.
Site map
If you have noticed that Yahoo hasn't indexed all of your pages, it may be time to add a site map to your site. A site map will help Yahoo find pages that may otherwise be buried within your site. This can be as simple as a plain HTML document that contains links to every single page on your site. A map is usually organized by topic or page location.
Sponsored listings
If you still can't improve your Yahoo ranking, consider their sponsored listing program. This is a paid advertisement for your company that will appear before other sites in your listing category for your business.
how do I improve my site's Google page rank?
One of the best ways to drive traffic and attract customers to your Web site is to improve your Google page rank. While a search engine optimization strategy won't ensure top billing for your site, it
One of the best ways to drive traffic and attract customers to your Web site is to improve your Google page rank. While a search engine optimization strategy won't ensure top billing for your site, it will increase the likelihood of higher exposure.
Google uses automated programs known as "spiders" or "webcrawlers" that scan the Web regularly and rank Web sites according to a number of factors. Although much of the process is veiled in secrecy, here are some of the things that factor into your site's page rank.
Links from other sites. Google spiders move from site to site across the Internet by following hyperlinks. The company's proprietary PageRank algorithm tallies "votes" for sites by counting the number of links a site has pointing to it from unrelated sites. Therefore, increasing the number of links to your site should elevate your ranking. All votes are not equal, however. Google gives heavier weight to votes from sites it deems as more important, so make sure to register your site with directories such as Yahoo and the Open Directory Project.
Internal links. Make sure your site is well-organized and easy to navigate. A site map will help visitors — and Google spiders — navigate your site. Google recommends that if any of your pages, including the site map, have more than 100 links, you should break your pages into more digestible portions. Also, make sure you don't have any broken links. Spiders don't like dead ends.
Meta tags. Meta tags are hidden HTML directions for Web browsers or search engines. They include such important items as the title of each page, relevant keywords describing site content, and the description of the site that shows up when a search engine returns a search. Make sure your meta tags accurately describe your content.
Keywords. Consider likely words or phrases that users might type into search engines to find your site. Make sure your content contains those words or phrases and include them in your meta tag information. Simply blanketing a page with one key phrase, however, will not work. Google robots are smart. They can determine whether or not you're using a key phrase in context or in an attempt to sneak your way up the Google ranking charts.
Search engine optimizers (SEOs): Businesses often enlist the help of SEOs, companies that specialize in improving the visibility of their clients' sites. Among other things, they'll register your site with major search engines, list it in the appropriate directory, write optimized content for the site, and recommend changes to your site architecture. Do your homework when choosing a company, however, and avoid those who promise the world.
Optimizing your site according to these guidelines should help your page ranks. Google claims, however, that its uses more than 100 factors to determine page ranking. Its Web site has a lot of important tips that will give you insight into their process. It also includes some essential advice on tactics to avoid popular SEO scams.
In your eagerness to improve your Google page ranking, it's easy to lose sight of your customer. Don't sacrifice the user experience by focusing on luring spiders. Remember, the goal is to draw users to your site and keep them coming back.
Be patient once you have optimized your site. It may take up to eight weeks for you to see any meaningful progress.
How Do I Submit My Business Web Site to Search Engines?
Once you have optimized your business Web site for indexing, you are ready to begin submitting your site to search engines. This process can be as easy or as complicated as you make it, depending on the
Once you have optimized your business Web site for indexing, you are ready to begin submitting your site to search engines. This process can be as easy or as complicated as you make it, depending on the options you use and what results you want.
There are many services that promise to submit your site to thousands of search engines or guarantee placement with different engines. These services may not be necessary to your site’s success, and your money may be better spent in other areas. But if you don't have the time to submit your site on your own, this option may work for your company.
But be careful before you write a check to a submission company. Some search engines have accused submission companies of spamming, so do your homework and make sure the service is legitimate.
Although it's been estimated that there are upwards of 3,500 search engines out there, the top four search engines — Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL — garner the vast majority of traffic. That's a big relief if you plan to submit your site yourself. These four big players are the obvious place to start.
To submit your site to Google, click here and enter your site’s URL and some carefully chosen keywords. Although Google has a powerful spidering technique that covers most of the Internet, it's a good idea to submit your site for inclusion with your keywords, just in case.
Yahoo's submission process is simple, but it requires you to have a Yahoo account. Once you're registered and signed in, visit their submission page and select the directory where you would like your listing to appear. Inclusion can take a long time, and there's no guarantee that your site will be listed after you have submitted your link. It's all up to the discretion of the people at Yahoo who review your site.
MSN is premiering a new search utility, and you can easily submit your site for consideration. Go to their submission page and enter your URL.
AOL's search is powered by the Open Directory Project, the largest human-edited directory on the Web. If you're not listed in the Open Directory, you may be missing out on tons of traffic. Click here to learn how to submit your site so you appear in AOL search results.
From there, you can drill down to the second-tier engines, such as AskJeeves, Lycos, Excite, and others. One way to get listed on many of these sites is through Overture. For a fee, this Yahoo-owned company can list your site on a variety or search portals, including MSN and, of course, Yahoo.
There may be other, smaller search engines in your industry. Adding your company to these industry-specific search engines can be invaluable. While their traffic won't approach that of any of the major players, the people who use them are already looking for the kinds of goods and services you have. And a few targeted leads can be worth more than a boatload of untargeted searchers.
Once you have submitted your site, do check back regularly to make sure you're appearing near the top of the results in the appropriate search categories. Don't resubmit your site every week. Most search engines will view this is as search spamming, and they may even remove your listing.
If your site does not appear in the first few search results, or even worse, doesn't appear at all, you've got some optimization work to do. Visit AllBusiness.com's Internet Marketing area for the latest information on search engine optimization.
How Does Google Determine Its Search Rankings?
Unfortunately there's no simple answer to this question. Google uses a variety of different proprietary methods to determine its search rankings. Google's computers are constantly "crawling" the Internet
Unfortunately there's no simple answer to this question. Google uses a variety of different proprietary methods to determine its search rankings.
Google's computers are constantly "crawling" the Internet to return accurate search results. Once the data is collected, it's sorted using a number of different criteria. If your site conforms to the majority of these criteria, your ranking will improve. With thousands of businesses selling similar items, this is an essential way to beat the competition and attract new business.
The details of how Google compiles its rankings are shrouded in mystery, but here are a few of the ways Google prioritizes its search.
Keywords
Google's spidering process scans Web pages for keywords and indexes sites accordingly. They use keyword density to determine what keywords to associate with each site.
As the name suggests, keyword density is the ratio of a keyword to the rest of the words on a page. Google looks for keyword density of between 2 and 5 percent. For example, if there are 500 words on a Web page, the keyword in question would need to appear 10 times to achieve a 2 percent keyword density. Words that appear less than 2 percent of the time generally won't be indexed as keywords.
Page titles and file names
Google also looks for keywords and keyword phrases in your page titles and file names. Page titles are the words that appear in the topmost bar of a user's browser, and file names are the URLs themselves.
Meta tags
Meta tags are keywords or phrases hidden in the header of a Web page. This is invisible to the user of a site, but Google's spidering software recognizes them and adds them to the index.
Inbound links
Next, Google's spidering software looks for the quality — and quantity — of links pointing back to as site. Its proprietary PageRank technology counts the number of links pointing to a site, but gives more weight to "important" sites. So a link on microsoft.com, for instance, would count far more than a link on someone's personal home page.
The future
Google is constantly changing and refining its search technology. Optimization techniques that work today may be useless tomorrow, so stay informed.
Search Engine Optimization for RSS
RSS, or really simple syndication, is an increasingly popular way of distributing information on the Web. And just like traditional HTML, RSS feeds can benefit from search engine optimization
RSS, or really simple syndication, is an increasingly popular way of distributing information on the Web. And just like traditional HTML, RSS feeds can benefit from search engine optimization. Here are 12 tips to make sure your RSS feeds are optimized and are generating all the traffic you deserve.
1. Use keywords in your titles. The titles of your feeds should emphasize keywords about its content. Try to craft titles that entice the reader to read on without misleading them
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2. Display your feeds. Most webmasters display their feeds as content on their sites. You will need to display your feed in PHP, ASP, or HTML so search engines will spider the contents of your feed. If you are using a template to display feeds, use header tags to define the appearance of the Channel Title and Item Titles. Many search engines give more weight to header tags.
3. Render links properly. Always use the full path of any links, as other sites may syndicate the contents of the RSS feed. Links that are not local to the site should launch in a new browser window. This will help keep visitors on your site.
4. Use keywords in your link text. Text used for incoming links helps contextually define the keywords for which the site appears in search engines. Using relevant keywords in link text that points back to your site can improve your search-results ranking.
5. Subscribe to your feeds to MyYahoo and MyMSN. This is surprisingly simple to do but often overlooked. The fastest way to have an RSS feed spidered by Yahoo or MSN is to include the feed on a personal MyYahoo or MyMSN page. Simply create accounts with each service and customize it to include your RSS feed. Typically your feed will be spidered and indexed within 48 hours.
6. Group feeds by topic. Grouping your feeds logically by topic helps users and syndicators find and distribute your content.
7. Submit your feeds to appropriate directories. The following directories allow submissions of specific kinds of RSS feeds. RSS Specifications has a comprehensive list of sites that aggregate RSS feeds. Be sure to follow the guidelines of each site and choose categories wisely.
8. Write compelling feed descriptions. RSS feed descriptions are generally summaries or introductions to other content. Often, feed creators will provide additional information on an HTML site, enticing the reader to click through for the full information if it is a topic that is of interest to them. Provide enough teaser copy that readers can easily discern if the contents are something that is important to them.
9. Subscribe to your own feeds. Unless you subscribe to your own feeds, you won't see what your customers see -- or be able to diagnose problems when they arise.
10. Include your logo. Create a brand and enforce that brand by including your logo in your RSS feeds.
11. Vie for alphabetical rank. Many feed reader applications list feeds alphabetically, so feed channels that begin with "A" will appear at or near the top of the list. If you want to appear near the top, keep this in mind when naming your feeds.
12. Use anchor links. Don't make your readers search. Each post should have a unique URL so users can quickly find the information they are looking for. Anchor tags are a simple way to let users find, share, or bookmark any post.
Submitting Your Small Business Web Site to Search Engines
Can I submit my own site to a search engine or directory? Do I have to hire a special service? The submission process for directories such as Yahoo and Excite is fairly straightforward: There are instructions
Can I submit my own site to a search engine or directory? Do I have to hire a special service?
The submission process for directories such as Yahoo and Excite is fairly straightforward: There are instructions for submission on the directory site, and you generally need to fill out and submit a comprehensive form. Getting listed in a directory is a manual process that can take a number of months.
Submitting to search engines such as Hotbot and Google is not quite as simple. Search engines have automated robots and spiders that comb the Web looking for new sites. So chances are they'll find you and add you to their database. You can also submit to search engines, but the process is not consistent from engine to engine. You'll need to contact each one individually or consult an up-to-the minute reference to find out the exact submission details.
You're free to submit to search engines yourself, or you may opt to use a service to automate the process. You can also go with a combination approach by submitting yourself to specific search engines and then automating the rest by using Web-positioning software or one of the many Web-site promotion services available online.
If you do it yourself, there are several things you should keep in mind when submitting to search engines:
Don't Spam. Once you submit your main URL, submit other important pages in weekly intervals and in very small batches. Be sure you don't submit more than 10 pages per day. Search engines are notoriously sensitive to spamming.
Test. Once you've submitted your site to a search engine, check back to see how it ranks your listing.
Resubmit. Each time you make substantial changes to a page, resubmit it to the search engines. It's also a good idea to resubmit your entire site every three months or so.
Monitor. Monitor your Web-site listings regularly. Sometimes your listings can disappear, or some kind of error will cause links to become bad. When you find a problem, resubmit the page.
Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Mistakes
Search engine optimization is a means of better using the power of the Internet. It brings your business up higher on the listings of the key search engines. To succeed at such optimization you need to
Search engine optimization is a means of better using the power of the Internet. It brings your business up higher on the listings of the key search engines. To succeed at such optimization you need to avoid several of the following common mistakes.
1. Not taking the time to submit manually. Using automatic search engine submission tools or going through some service that offers to send your site to 1,000 search engines is usually a big mistake. Being listed on the major search engines (and there are about a dozen used by 90 percent of Web visitors) is very important, and you should handle it manually. If done correctly, it's worth taking the time.
2. Trying too hard to incorporate keywords. Packing keywords into meta tags no longer works very well, and invisible text or cloaking pages can get you banned from search engines forever. Incorporate the keywords into your text. Search engines are now looking to optimize based on what people see and read.
3. Overusing keywords. Search engines have caught on to the scheme to overuse keywords. If your company sells shoes and you include the word shoes or pumps nine times in three sentences they will catch on. Yes, you do want to use keywords a few times throughout the text, but it's a mistake to overdo it.
4. Lack of creativity in keywords and phrases. If you are a small business selling toys in Boise, Idaho you will include the word "toys" as a keyword. However, that will lump you with Toys R Us and all of the other major toy stores and manufacturers who will still come up ahead of you in search results. Therefore, you need to be creative and think of words and/or phrases that might get you to come up more readily for your target customers. Perhaps "Boise Toys" since local shoppers will seek local businesses. Keep thinking and be creative.
5. Over-using graphics instead of text. Most search engines are not programmed to read graphics but instead look for text. Therefore, if you are too graphics-rich, you may be bypassed by the search engines.
6. Not following submission procedures. Each search engine will have their own guidelines. Although they are similar, you need to pay attention. If you submit your site but are not accepted, you can submit again.
7. Tailoring pages for search engines. You can try to create different pages for different search engines, but you will usually end up wasting valuable time and resources, plus you will have too many Web pages. Also, you could get banned from a search engine.
8. Neglecting your title tag. A common mistake is overlooking the importance of the title tag. More significant than the name of your business is what your business is all about. Since search engines give more credence to what is at the start of the title tags, put your prominent information at the beginning.
9. Neglecting a site map. If you want to know your way around a place, you'll use a map. The same holds true for some of the most significant search engines.
10. Believing too-good-to-be-true offers. Anyplace that guarantees you thousands of hits, numerous customers, or anything of that nature is likely a scam. There are scammers that will put you onto adware, pop-ups, or other services that redirect traffic to places where visitors do not want to go. Avoid these places.
Determining Keywords for Your Web Site
By S. Housley Selecting and utilizing appropriate keywords is a critical step in Web design. If you’re Web site and Meta tags do not contain related keywords, web surfers will be unable to find you through
Search engine optimization is a means of better using the power of the Internet. It brings your business up higher on the listings of the key search engines. To succeed at such optimization you need to avoid several of the following common mistakes.
1. Not taking the time to submit manually. Using automatic search engine submission tools or going through some service that offers to send your site to 1,000 search engines is usually a big mistake. Being listed on the major search engines (and there are about a dozen used by 90 percent of Web visitors) is very important, and you should handle it manually. If done correctly, it's worth taking the time.
2. Trying too hard to incorporate keywords. Packing keywords into meta tags no longer works very well, and invisible text or cloaking pages can get you banned from search engines forever. Incorporate the keywords into your text. Search engines are now looking to optimize based on what people see and read.
3. Overusing keywords. Search engines have caught on to the scheme to overuse keywords. If your company sells shoes and you include the word shoes or pumps nine times in three sentences they will catch on. Yes, you do want to use keywords a few times throughout the text, but it's a mistake to overdo it.
4. Lack of creativity in keywords and phrases. If you are a small business selling toys in Boise, Idaho you will include the word "toys" as a keyword. However, that will lump you with Toys R Us and all of the other major toy stores and manufacturers who will still come up ahead of you in search results. Therefore, you need to be creative and think of words and/or phrases that might get you to come up more readily for your target customers. Perhaps "Boise Toys" since local shoppers will seek local businesses. Keep thinking and be creative.
5. Over-using graphics instead of text. Most search engines are not programmed to read graphics but instead look for text. Therefore, if you are too graphics-rich, you may be bypassed by the search engines.
6. Not following submission procedures. Each search engine will have their own guidelines. Although they are similar, you need to pay attention. If you submit your site but are not accepted, you can submit again.
7. Tailoring pages for search engines. You can try to create different pages for different search engines, but you will usually end up wasting valuable time and resources, plus you will have too many Web pages. Also, you could get banned from a search engine.
8. Neglecting your title tag. A common mistake is overlooking the importance of the title tag. More significant than the name of your business is what your business is all about. Since search engines give more credence to what is at the start of the title tags, put your prominent information at the beginning.
9. Neglecting a site map. If you want to know your way around a place, you'll use a map. The same holds true for some of the most significant search engines.
10. Believing too-good-to-be-true offers. Anyplace that guarantees you thousands of hits, numerous customers, or anything of that nature is likely a scam. There are scammers that will put you onto adware, pop-ups, or other services that redirect traffic to places where visitors do not want to go. Avoid these places.
Benefit of Blogs Part 1
By S. Housley Selecting and utilizing appropriate keywords is a critical step in Web design. If you’re Web site and Meta tags do not contain related keywords, web surfers will be unable to find you through
You have probably heard much discussion about the new phenomenon of weblogs, more popularly referred to as blogs. Long dismissed by serious webmasters and business people, blogs were thought to be the sole province of angst ridden teenagers, and a few self indulgent navel gazing writers. That is not the case any longer.
Blogs have stormed onto the internet, sporting strong Google Page Ranks, and often very large and intensely loyal readerships. The worlds of politics, sports, and business have seen an explosion in the number of blogs, over the past year. Blogs are everywhere on the internet. Along with providing a boost to your Google Page Rank, and to your search engine results pages (SERPs), blogs are a tremendous promotional tool for your website and your business as a whole. By adding a blog to your existing website, or as a cross linked stand alone site, a blog will pay heavy dividends to your business. By adding a human element and a sense of immediacy to your site, a blog will add not only potential new customers and clients to your business, but a healthy injection of goodwill as well. Blogs provide a powerful promotional vehicle both online and offline.
Perhaps it is about time to consider starting a blog.
Promotional benefits that blogs can provide
Blogs build regular readership traffic. Because of their frequent updates, often daily, readers will return very frequently to see the changes in your blog and returning visitors have a good effect to the traffic and also to the page rank of the website. A traditional static website has far fewer changes, and often requires coding and the assistance of a technical person. There is no such requirement for blogs.
Most blogging platforms allow for the transfer of fresh blog posts directly to a website, providing a continual supply of new material. Because of these regular additions of fresh keyword rich content to your site, you gain favor with the search engines because search engines give a lot of importance to updated content. The spiders will crawl your site more frequently and index your site more often. The new keyword laden content will create some pages that score highly in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Because at the end of the day it is the content of your page which will attract people to exchange links and there by increase the page rank.
The content of a business blog should not be blatantly promotional in nature. Instead, it should provide that benefit more indirectly. Posting regular blog entries about industry news in your business area, fair and unbiased product information and reviews, new product development information, and business advice for your readers will establish you as an expert in your field. As an expert, you will be called upon by the media for interviews and often as a speaker in your industry area. The promotional benefits of those activities are obvious. And if a web designing company is maintaining a blog then it is very easy for them to update their blog with latest content.
Other bloggers (people who write and maintain blogs) will also promote your blog, by linking to any blog posts that interest them and their readership. Bloggers are free and generous linkers of the blogs they read. Many bloggers are completely unaware of their Google PageRank and often of their blog's position in the search engine results. They freely link to blogs for the content alone. The search engines are, at best, a distant secondary concern.
You get free publicity and promotion for your blog from other bloggers. Since many of the other bloggers, who link to your blog columns, are in posting similar themed content on their own blogs, you get the benefit of any topic sensitive PageRank that may be implemented by Google. You also get some much needed link popularity and some PageRank boost that help your site in the search engines.
Benefit of Blogs Part 2
By S. Housley Selecting and utilizing appropriate keywords is a critical step in Web design. If you’re Web site and Meta tags do not contain related keywords, web surfers will be unable to find you through
Blogs bring a human element to your business
The very concept of adding a human element to your business, may seem a little obvious to many people. On the other hand, many business and website owners have overlooked the benefits of placing a personal stamp on their business. A blog can provide precisely that human element for you.
The first thing you will notice about a business blog is its frequent number of updates. Almost every day a new post or column is added to the blog. The posts are usually written in a conversational tone and often contain personal elements about the writer. Those personal elements are where the human face on the company appears.
As your readers return daily, and your blog is written in a manner that encourages repeat visitor traffic, your visitors get to know you as the author on a more personal level. The personal writing will include information about you as an individual, as well as information about your company.
Because your blog readers return at least several times per week to read your latest blog postings, you begin to develop a rapport with them. Over time, they become familiar with you and naturally become customers. It is generally agreed by marketing experts that people prefer to do business with people whom they know and trust. A blog helps to develop that trust in you and your products and services. Also they help the user to know what type of feedback the company get from their blog. Which can help in having a nice impression.
Promotion online with blogs
The online promotional benefits of a blog are numerous and powerful for your website. The immediacy of your blog can provide up to the minute information about your company to existing and potential customers and clients. Your blog will develop a loyal daily readership over time. The importance of that readership is its business potential. Every one of those regular visitors is a possible future customer or client. By visiting your blog every day, many of them will be interested in checking out your main business website. In that sense, a blog is a customer attractor for your company and its products and services.
By means of the ubiquitous comments systems found on most blogs, reader feedback can be almost instantaneous. Don't worry about the potential for comment spam or abusive comments. While a potential annoyance, they are minimal compared to the benefits of personal interaction with your visitor traffic.
There are spasm because once you blog gets some page rank there would be people who would be eager to have their link placed in you blog so that they can do seo with the help of your weblog. But that should not bother you much till your purpose is solved.
Most blog platforms contain a built-in comment feature. If your blog system doesn't include one, there are many good third party add-on commenters available. E-mail spam doesn't prevent a business from using e-mail. Comment spam shouldn't stop you from having a commenter added to your blog either.
A powerful feature of blogs is the use of an RSS feed. RSS stands for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Sydication. Take your pick, as both are correct. What an RSS feed does, is send a blog's highlights to recipients instantly upon publication.
Most blog programs have an RSS or Atom (or a combination) feature for enabling transmission of your blog to a wider audience of subscribers to your RSS feed. Many blogs have a sign-up feature right on the blog itself, making the addition of a feed easy for your visitors to read your blog as you update.
To read blogs, your visitors need to use what is called an aggregator. By attaching an aggregator , which is a blog collection and reading program to their web browser, customers can read your blog posts as they happen in real time. Some well known aggregators include Bloglines, Feedster, and Kinja. There are many more good RSS feed services available as well.
Importance of Blog
It's no secret that blogs are great for helping to boost your seo (search engine optimization) rankings. You can use a blog to get a new site ranked quickly and ahead of your main site
It's no secret that blogs are great for helping to boost your seo (search engine optimization) rankings. You can use a blog to get a new site ranked quickly and ahead of your main site if you are dedicated to posting on a frequent basis. And also you can post a lot of content on the blog which you think you cannot share on you main web site. While the main goal of your blog may be to express your thoughts, talk back to your customers or as a vehicle to promote your product or services, there is another critical element to blogging. Like a web designing company can post some useful tips on designing and tutorials on the blog about the latest trend in designing and also about the does and don’ts of the layouts.
Search Engine Optimization & Marketing.
Because of the frequency of active blogs (daily - or at least 5 times a week) the search engines have put high weight on blogs that are focused and tend to stay on topic. It's the freshness of content (in a perfect world) that a search engine is craving and rewarding to the blogs. The ideal situation is that the blog would provide for tiny snippets of information that over time build up to a greater whole. Also you can have multiple programs related to ads on you web site as an extra income because it does not look good to post ads on the main web site.
But the most overlooked element of a blog is that once you've established a frequent pattern of posting and you have the Googlebot coming to your site every few days, you can then use that to link to other sites, sub-domains or any deep links that you need to get crawled. While most blog postings may not have direct links to any sites in particular, you could always format your blog with some permanent links on the side. Like a company doing seo can really optimize the blog and then use it to optimize their client’s web site quickly. Like if the blog has a pr of 4 or 5 then a link on that page can mean a lot to the website. And also the company can improve the pr of individual pages with the help of their own blog if it has a high pr.
Another mistake made by the amateur blogger is that they don't realize that you can optimize your blog. True, most blogs only have a few areas, namely the "home" page and the "archive" page. But depending on the tool being used to post the blog, there are some places where you can take advantage seo-wise.
The title of your blog should be thought of as a headline - grab the reader's attention - but also be sure that your blog title is also what gets archived - that way your titles can become search queries as well.
While the main objective of a blog should be to get your message out, don't forget to take a little time for SEO and you should see your efforts payoff in the search engine results pages.
Promote Site
at some point in our lives, we all dreamt of creating incredible websites. The kind of pages that was unique, ready to be discovered, and full of information that visitors were desperate for. Unfortunately, as the explosion of the internet steadily grew, millions of people jumped on the website bandwagon
At some point in our lives, we all dreamt of creating incredible websites. The kind of pages that were unique, ready to be discovered, and full of information that visitors were desperate for. Unfortunately, as the explosion of the internet steadily grew, millions of people jumped on the website bandwagon. With a perpetual amount of webpage’s circulating the net, it was no surprise why webmasters were becoming frustrated with getting their name out there. After all, how is it possible to distinguish yourself when you are among the masses? Luckily, there are a sundry of ways to get the attention you deserve.
First and foremost, it is essential to connect with others. That’s right – other websites that have similar topics. Without networking with fellow webmasters, chances are likely that promotion benefits will be slim. For this reason, it is absolutely important to attract attention through connections. Are you trying to build a guitar tablature website? Try e-mailing fellow guitar websites and ask for their support. In most cases, they will not only give you a free plug on their own website, but they will agree to exchange website links. Link exchanges are vital when it comes to any type of website promotion. With a handful of back links, you will easily be able to take the search engines by storm. Moreover, you will attract attention from the right types of viewers, since they already are interested in your topic.
While connections are always important in any type of business relationship, submitting your website to search engines and directories is just as vital. Currently, the top search engine kings are Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Though it is extremely difficult to get their attention, it is possible with submissions and link exchanges. Still feel like you aren’t ahead of the game? There are many other alternatives to submitting your website to search engines. Directories, for example, are just as significant in the promotion chain. With upcoming web directories such as Warpdirectory.com and DMOZ, it is no surprise why many new webmasters are trying their hands at this form of marketing. Warp Directory is a wonderful tool that not only allows you to add any type of website (regardless of the subject), but it additionally moves you up the search engine ranks. Featured links, which only cost a mere $12.00, will provide you with ultimate exposure and a real boost. Regular links, on the other hand, are only $4.00 and still work just as well for any beginner. Nevertheless, Warp Directory brings in new traffic for your website with its new found popularity. That alone should have webmasters knocking down the doors.
Despite the fact that many webmasters stick to the traditional route, there are supplementary ways to promote your website. Some people enjoy writing articles or blogs about their website’s prime topic, while mentioning their website and its address. Meanwhile, others create a newsletter on their topic and reach out to visitor’s who are looking for more information. Surprisingly, webmasters also create bumper stickers with their website addresses and t-shirts to promote even when they are on their days off. This is the perfect way to go above and beyond when promoting. Regardless of what you choose to do, being creative when trying to promote your website is key.
In a world filled with conformity, identical website content, and lazy webmasters only in it for a buck – promotional strategies can be tough. We all want to gain recognition and respect, even if it means screaming at the top of our lungs for attention. Unfortunately, the real ways to getting this type of fame is through creativity. It is important to submit your website to www.WarpDirectory.com and DMOZ, but it is even more imperative to be yourself. Creating your own identity while still submitting to directories is crucial, especially when you are trying to find an audience. Without that uniqueness and individual spirit, chances are your website will just be another site added to the pile of trash.
Search Engine Optimization Tips - from the Experts
Eight Simple Search Engine Optimization - SEO Tips for Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Eight Simple Search Engine Optimization - SEO Tips for Google, Yahoo and MSN
Over 3/4 of all internet searches are done by the big three. Getting listed as close to the top of the search results is the process of Search Engine Optimization also known as SEO.
By using optimization strategies like the domain name, keywords, Meta tags, indexed pages, internal and external links, SEO can significantly help your website search rankings for all pages. Remember crawling each and every page of your site is very important. It is so because you have different requirement and contents in different pages of your site. So, when you optimized your site do it for all pages so that all of them get listed with nice page rank.
Web Address
The domain name is for your website, e.g., “your-site.com” is the URL and “your-site” is the domain name. The URL should contain your best keyword to boost your search engine ranking.
Keywords and Phrases
While keywords are another piece of search engine optimization you will need for Google, Yahoo and MSN you will also need to look at the placement and frequency of keywords within your web pages’ text. The right balance and location make all the difference. You should balance good content with keywords. Research your keyword selection for competition on and how often they are used. Repeated keywords can have an adverse effect especially for Google crawlers. Try to have different and unique keywords.
Meta Tags
Meta tags are another great way for search engines learn about your web site. You should use Meta tags with care, do not repeat keywords, include words that are not in your pages and prepare a good title –description.
Search Engines - Index
Search engine spiders travel around the internet by crawling hyperlinks and text. Search results are the product of indexed pages in the cache. You should optimize your homepage and then optimize all other pages of your website. Then you can begin to submit or resubmit your site and sitemap.
Internal - External Linking
The anchor text and quality of inbound and outbound links can help your site’s search engine rankings more than any one fix. Quality inbound links help your site to significantly increase its search engine ranking.
Internal link structure should be clear and make sense. External linking can provide significant opportunity but having too many outbound links or the wrong site can decrease your sites ranking. You should also check
IP for negative factors “banned”.
Page Rank Google (PR)
Page Rank is a measurement of how important your site is to Google. Page Rank also determines the number of inbound links to your website and the quality of the sites providing links. High quality sites receive a higher Page Rank based on visitors and traffic to your site. Page Rank is a “vote” by all the other web sites. Your structure of internal links is a very helpful way of SEO for web pages. Most websites make their homepage to have the biggest Page Rank and highest SERPs. To achieve this, your homepage should be the center of your website’s link structure and network. As the trend towards assigning a higher value to links continues, internal linking structure should be designed around user navigation as well as search engine optimization.
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