Showing up on search engines is one of the most critical ways increase website traffic and expose your content, product or service to people who might be interested in what you have to offer. Most of the major search engines utilize an algorithm to determine where a website ranks. The search engines have set up specific criteria that a website must meet to get to the top of the list. The criteria are different for every engine, but all engines share several commonalities. It all boils down to the type and amount of content provided on a given website, the level of optimization done on the site, and the popularity of the website (link popularity/PageRank). Tailoring your website for improved search engine rankings is also known widely as search engine optimization, or SEO.
Steps
Research the keywords. Decide what search queries you want to show up for. Do some research on how many people are actually searching for your site. Many times it is best to consult a "natural search engine optimization" professional during this process. There are several tools available from Google, Overture, and third party software developers that can make the keyword research process easier.
Think outside of the box. Don't just focus on your main keywords. The first thing to realize when targeting keywords is that it is not all about ranking for the most popular keyword. The most successful search engine marketing and optimization campaigns target the most relevant keywords. For example, if you are a realtor in a particular area, don’t just optimize your site for “real estate." Optimize your site for dentist, florist, movie theaters, etc. You would be amazed how many unique visitors will come through to your site when "outside of the box" thinking occurs.
Focus on the end user. If you spend too much time trying to please the Search Engine Spiders, you may forget about the end user. Think about what your target market needs to accomplish their goals, and then put it on your site so that they can find it. The phrase "content is king" was born about 6 years ago, and it still holds true today. If you want to be relevant for specific keywords, than you need superior or at least highly competitive content. Write about 225-300 words of copy for each keyword and plant it on your site each day. Grow, grow, and grow. On average, one can target between 3-5 like keyword phrases per page. Make it as natural as possible and the Search Engines will reward you with a first-page ranking.
Make sure that all the pages of the site have custom titles and descriptions. If your site is using the same tags for all the pages, you are not helping search engines figure out the subject or relevance of your individual pages. Regarding Meta Tags, there are 2 very important fields:
Title Tag - arguably the most important SEO tag for any website. Google supports approx. 60 characters in the title, while Yahoo allows for up to 110 characters in the title. It is important to target the most critical keywords in the Title. Every page should have a unique Title.
META Description Tag - also very important for every page on the site. Some engines do display the description defined, while others do not. All search engines do read the description tag, and do utilize the content found within in the ranking process. A good rule of thumb is to create descriptions that do not exceed 200-250 characters. The META keyword Tag is essentially useless in today's SEO market, but is oftentimes good to utilize as a placeholder for the keywords targeted.
Keep the structure, navigation and URL structure of your site simple enough for search engines to follow. Remember that search engines cannot parse your navigation if it's using flash or javascript. So try to stay close to standard HTML when it comes to Navigation. URLs with dynamic parameters (?, &, SIDs) usually do not perform when it comes to search engine rankings.
Create a site map that tells people where everything is on your site. You will get about a 1% click through rate to your site map. However, it will do wonders for those who know what site maps do, and the Search Engines will like it as well.
Build up your popularity. So now you have determined the right keywords on the right pages, you've created all of the necessary content, and you've optimized all of the content to the best of your capabilities. Congratulations - you're now in the top 80th percentile (from an optimization standpoint) of the websites listed for the keywords you're trying to target. So how do you get a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd page listing? The answer is quite simple: You have to be the most popular, too. That's right, it's a popularity contest. In other words, how many other websites know you (link to you), and how popular are they? This is typically referred to as link popularity, or called PageRank by Google. The more sites that link to your site the better, and the more popular the site linking to you the more value you will receive for your link popularity. The best types of "link building" are directory registration, text link advertising, and press release distribution. Try to offer valuable information or tools so that other people are motivated to link to your site. Well-linked sites (that don't use spamming) do better in search engines.
Tips
Search engine algorithms assess the relevance of your page to any particular keyword by the content on your pages. For instance if you are selling "widgety widgets" on your site and you do not mention "widgety widgets" on your page text, search engines have very little to work with. Also make sure that you are not spamming search engines by using the same keyword over and over.
Although not as important as they used to be, reciprocal links do still matter with Google. Reciprocate with similar websites and include keywords near the links on your site.
If you want to optimize well for your city, state etc., make sure to sprinkle geographic search terms throughout. Include it in text as well as set apart. Search engines do not know where you are unless you tell them.
Bold and italics can make your keywords stand out more with the search engines.
Interior links within your site will improve SEO; Sitemaps are a great way to generate internal links and make your website better too!
Correct broken links, search engines do not like dead ends.
If you have over 30 keywords that mean business to you, then you might want to hire a Professional Search Engine Copywriting firm or outsource it to freelancers.
Anyone who can go to google and type in "keyword research" will find very many tools that mixed with common sense should suffice quite well.
Now when digging deeper to understand the traffic patterns of certain keywords use Wordtracker’s GTrends Tool. You can get an idea on the amount of competition on Google compared to the amount of searches. Now these numbers are far from accurate, BUTTT if you can kind of step back and take a broader look at things, don’t worry so much about the numbers but compare the trends since it shows the past history. See if its steady traffic, traffic that is going extinct, or traffic just starting to peak. By using this tool, you can many times find some golden opportunities.
It really comes down to just using common sense. Just sit down and think, "What would other people search to find this? What would I search for to find this?" Try phrases in your keyword research tool to get new ideas and find the higher trafficked most targeted phrases. DO NOT look at the numbers spat back out at you by these programs as accurate numbers, they rarely are. You can still use these tools to get ideas on new keywords, search patterns of users, and many other things, that mixed with the information of trends in that area, can really help you.
Warnings
If you are going to use freelancers, beware of duplicate content. Always make sure to check the content that you get by searching for the content on Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
Never have hyperlinks like "click here", hyperlinks should always be keywords, long hyperlinks with multiple keywords are even better.
Don't hide content.
Don't create duplicate websites.
Remember that if you use black-hat SEO techniques, you run the risk of getting penalized by the search engines and having your web site permanently removed from their index.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
start making money online with seo:how to tailor content for seo
Content still reigns as the king in the world of Search Engine Optimization. Some websites get on top of SERPs because of high-powered link building campaigns, but when you talk about visitor loyalty and traffic retention (and yes, public consumption), it will always require that good ol’ optimized content
1. Readers first, then keywords. In the previous years, SEOs follow this trend: “keywords first, then content”. Now that Google has become more sophisticated, and integrated more complex numerical linguistic methods into its algorithm, webmasters found out that it ain’t just the keywords that matter, but the related terms that revolve around your content. That means you can’t just repeat the word, “cheap cars for sale” twenty times in your paragraphs. It needs more substance (and related words) than that. It’s almost like writing for your readers alone, and not the search engines. But of course, it’ll be Google and the others who will determine your rankings.
2. Diversify Anchor Text Links there has to be some variations in the text when one creates those blue-highlighted anchor text links. The links on a page are what the search engine spiders follow in determining your website structure. Most likely, the text used in the links are being considered in figuring out what a page is all about. You may also set some keyphrases in bold letters. That tells the spiders which terms you’re trying to emphasize, just don’t overdo it.
3. Take note of word count Although it’s been a classic rule that “readers online do not read”, it simply doesn’t mean that one has to deprive the online users of good, meaty content. Stick to at least 250 words a page. SEOs know that writing down for an appropriate length of text means being more able to include more related terms for the target keywords.
4. Social Bookmarking If the content is real good (i.e. controversial, substantial, significant to a great part of the crowd), then it’s best to digg it, make people reddit, and tag people at delicious. News items are great at Netscape.com. How to’s and tips are perfect in [Wikihow].
5. Social Networking Share your blog announcements, latest promos, or any significant tidbit of a fact at your bulletin and Group posts at MySpace, and any other social networks you find helpful in bringing traffic to your site. Just a tip: Make it short and sweet in your bulletin posts since a bulletin is supposed to be quick.
6. Content Submissions Good quality traffic from reputable websites like ezinearticles, goarticles, and isnare will help out in traffic and visibility. It might hurt your rankings though, because these sites are deemed “authorities” or of great value by Google.
7. Blogging does a good job at sharing and syndicating content. If you have a website, and a separate blog (checkout: Link Building with your Blog), it’ll ease out the load in gaining visitors.
Tips:-
A SEO-friendly content is no longer the restrictive, robotical-sounding content it used to be. Search engines, in their aim to continuously refine search are catering more to the online readers, the social aspect of the World Wide Web. Content comes out to be more human-centered, and ready for consumption
1. Readers first, then keywords. In the previous years, SEOs follow this trend: “keywords first, then content”. Now that Google has become more sophisticated, and integrated more complex numerical linguistic methods into its algorithm, webmasters found out that it ain’t just the keywords that matter, but the related terms that revolve around your content. That means you can’t just repeat the word, “cheap cars for sale” twenty times in your paragraphs. It needs more substance (and related words) than that. It’s almost like writing for your readers alone, and not the search engines. But of course, it’ll be Google and the others who will determine your rankings.
2. Diversify Anchor Text Links there has to be some variations in the text when one creates those blue-highlighted anchor text links. The links on a page are what the search engine spiders follow in determining your website structure. Most likely, the text used in the links are being considered in figuring out what a page is all about. You may also set some keyphrases in bold letters. That tells the spiders which terms you’re trying to emphasize, just don’t overdo it.
3. Take note of word count Although it’s been a classic rule that “readers online do not read”, it simply doesn’t mean that one has to deprive the online users of good, meaty content. Stick to at least 250 words a page. SEOs know that writing down for an appropriate length of text means being more able to include more related terms for the target keywords.
4. Social Bookmarking If the content is real good (i.e. controversial, substantial, significant to a great part of the crowd), then it’s best to digg it, make people reddit, and tag people at delicious. News items are great at Netscape.com. How to’s and tips are perfect in [Wikihow].
5. Social Networking Share your blog announcements, latest promos, or any significant tidbit of a fact at your bulletin and Group posts at MySpace, and any other social networks you find helpful in bringing traffic to your site. Just a tip: Make it short and sweet in your bulletin posts since a bulletin is supposed to be quick.
6. Content Submissions Good quality traffic from reputable websites like ezinearticles, goarticles, and isnare will help out in traffic and visibility. It might hurt your rankings though, because these sites are deemed “authorities” or of great value by Google.
7. Blogging does a good job at sharing and syndicating content. If you have a website, and a separate blog (checkout: Link Building with your Blog), it’ll ease out the load in gaining visitors.
Tips:-
A SEO-friendly content is no longer the restrictive, robotical-sounding content it used to be. Search engines, in their aim to continuously refine search are catering more to the online readers, the social aspect of the World Wide Web. Content comes out to be more human-centered, and ready for consumption
Start making money online with seo : business tips
How important is search engine optimization to small and midsize businesses?
Search is the second most common activity on the Internet after e-mail; 99.5% of Web users are searching. People are searching for things and will find your competitor. If I'm searching for pizza and your pizza parlor isn't there, I'll order from the other guy. Would you have a business without a sign out front? An unlisted number? A secret address?
But even without a Web site, your business can be found on the Internet. On the online Yellow Pages you can have a clear description of your business. You can have a map to your business. You can submit your business to relevant listing services. There are city guides and various directories--even without a Web site, you can make sure your business is included in all these vertical directories. Not having a Web site does not preclude an Internet presence. There are all kinds of ways of doing business on the Web without a domain name site--think of eBay.
But getting listed in the directories is contingent on search optimization because they all contain links and you want to maximize the search engine's ability to find your business. Search engines follow those links, and you want your business to be listed and linked from as many of those links to increase the odds of the search engines finding you.
How should small and midsize businesses get started with SEO?
One of the first steps is keyword research. What words are people going to use to find your business? Any basic analytics package, like Google's free Web analytics, has that information. If you have a Web-based business based on traffic, you can pay for a more expensive Web analytics tool, but anyone can benefit from Google's analytics tool. Analytics over time is the most valuable, so you can see history and usage patterns. You can also use paid search ad tools. You can open accounts on Yahoo! or Google for free and use their free keyword research tools--it's part of those products.
The more specific the term, the closer the searcher is to making a decision or a purchase. People are in research mode or in buying mode, and you want to optimize your site for terms those searchers use. Also, make sure it's the terms people use and not the terms the industry use. I went searching for handles for my cabinet, and I couldn't find anything because the industry calls them pulls. A bank might use the term "lender," but people are looking to borrow. Think from a searcher's perspective and what the words are that they would use.
Where can entrepreneurs educate themselves about searching?
Search Engine Watch, ClickZ and Search Engine Land all contain massive and massive amounts of free information on searching.
What about hiring a SEO consultant?
It's a tricky question: in-house SEO vs. outsourced SEO? You can hire a professional to develop an overall strategy and build a search map and then do it yourself. It depends upon your budget, your needs and on what proportion of your business comes in through your Web site. How important is your Web site to your business? How important do you want it to be?
How can you track the results of SEO efforts?
SEO is not an immediate fix. It's an ongoing process. I think of it as public relations. It's trying to influence. Just like a press release sent to the media, you can't guarantee what will happen. But you can continually refine your message and continually add fresh, new content to your site. This is why blogging has become so popular. It gives you an opportunity to continually update your site. You can also add new products, services, product descriptions, executive bios--it's endless!
Look at how consumer patterns are changing. SEO should ideally start before you build a Web site so meta-tags and keywords are all search engine friendly. But you need to keep at it. Don't forget, search engine algorithms are always changing, so you need to stay on top of it.
Search is the second most common activity on the Internet after e-mail; 99.5% of Web users are searching. People are searching for things and will find your competitor. If I'm searching for pizza and your pizza parlor isn't there, I'll order from the other guy. Would you have a business without a sign out front? An unlisted number? A secret address?
But even without a Web site, your business can be found on the Internet. On the online Yellow Pages you can have a clear description of your business. You can have a map to your business. You can submit your business to relevant listing services. There are city guides and various directories--even without a Web site, you can make sure your business is included in all these vertical directories. Not having a Web site does not preclude an Internet presence. There are all kinds of ways of doing business on the Web without a domain name site--think of eBay.
But getting listed in the directories is contingent on search optimization because they all contain links and you want to maximize the search engine's ability to find your business. Search engines follow those links, and you want your business to be listed and linked from as many of those links to increase the odds of the search engines finding you.
How should small and midsize businesses get started with SEO?
One of the first steps is keyword research. What words are people going to use to find your business? Any basic analytics package, like Google's free Web analytics, has that information. If you have a Web-based business based on traffic, you can pay for a more expensive Web analytics tool, but anyone can benefit from Google's analytics tool. Analytics over time is the most valuable, so you can see history and usage patterns. You can also use paid search ad tools. You can open accounts on Yahoo! or Google for free and use their free keyword research tools--it's part of those products.
The more specific the term, the closer the searcher is to making a decision or a purchase. People are in research mode or in buying mode, and you want to optimize your site for terms those searchers use. Also, make sure it's the terms people use and not the terms the industry use. I went searching for handles for my cabinet, and I couldn't find anything because the industry calls them pulls. A bank might use the term "lender," but people are looking to borrow. Think from a searcher's perspective and what the words are that they would use.
Where can entrepreneurs educate themselves about searching?
Search Engine Watch, ClickZ and Search Engine Land all contain massive and massive amounts of free information on searching.
What about hiring a SEO consultant?
It's a tricky question: in-house SEO vs. outsourced SEO? You can hire a professional to develop an overall strategy and build a search map and then do it yourself. It depends upon your budget, your needs and on what proportion of your business comes in through your Web site. How important is your Web site to your business? How important do you want it to be?
How can you track the results of SEO efforts?
SEO is not an immediate fix. It's an ongoing process. I think of it as public relations. It's trying to influence. Just like a press release sent to the media, you can't guarantee what will happen. But you can continually refine your message and continually add fresh, new content to your site. This is why blogging has become so popular. It gives you an opportunity to continually update your site. You can also add new products, services, product descriptions, executive bios--it's endless!
Look at how consumer patterns are changing. SEO should ideally start before you build a Web site so meta-tags and keywords are all search engine friendly. But you need to keep at it. Don't forget, search engine algorithms are always changing, so you need to stay on top of it.
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