Saturday, June 7, 2008

Search Engine Optimization Ideas that Work

Ensuring your web site is SEO friendly is paramount to its success. There are many ways to achieve this, some cost little money and some cost a lot. With a few simple techniques you can see your site raise in the search results without spending a fortune.

THINGS TO DO

After selecting your keywords, tags, description, etc. what else can you do to optimize your web site? Try these search engine optimization ideas for effective results.

(1) Do a search for sites similar to yours using some site related keywords. Select a few of the top results in the search. Analyze their keywords and tags by selecting view in the drop down menu of your browser and then click on source. There you will see what theyve done to get such good placement.

(2) Using a keyword tool to see how your products or services are searched for and use those terms to describe what you sell. If done correctly, matching popular search terms with your goods or services will get you great search engine placement.

(3) Check all your links to make sure they work. Dead links are bad news for both search engines and converting traffic into sales. This is an often overlooked search optimization technique.

(4) Submit to directories like DMOZ, Yahoo Business Directory, etc. Some charge a fee but their inclusion is a key factor in getting search engines to list you. Visit strongestlinks.com for a comprehensive list of good directories.

(5) Create a sitemap and submit it to the search engines. This ensures that no pages of your site will be missed when they crawl your site. There are free programs that can create the sitemap for you. This is a free but high effective search optimization technique.

(6) If you write articles, be sure to publish them on your own site. Their keyword rich content increases your chances of being in their search engine results. You will also enjoy a better PR rating.

(7) Educate yourself through trade specific newsletters that discuss proper and effective SEO. They are an invaluable source for new ideas on search engine optimization.

THINGS TO AVOID

(1) Dont use words like of, the, etc. in your keywords. Those are called stop words and not considered search engine friendly.

(2) Avoid using tables within your site whenever possible. While pleasing to the eye, search engines cant always read them and they wont follow the text links or recognize the content.

(3) Make your content keyword rich, but dont go too far. Keyword stuffing can easily be detected and youll loose valuable search engine placement or even be excluded.

(4) Linking campaigns are important. One way links are best but reciprocal links are acceptable as long as they are with similar sites. Try to link to sites with a page rank of 3 or better. Avoid 3 way links, web rings and links to sites that have nothing in common with yours.

Proper search engine optimization techniques are a large part of any web sites success. There are many companies available to do this for you but if you are on a small budget, using these search engine optimization ideas will reap big benefits.

Brenda Prevost is owner and founder of http://www.allholidaytreasures.com which sells decorations, lights and costumes for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, St. Patrick's Day and other special occasions. She uses her 20 years of marketing experience to promote her website to its continuing success.

Write Articles to Promote Your Online Business

Business owners employ all kinds of strategies to get desired results in the highly-competitive world of online marketing. The key is to drive in targeted traffic to your website and then get the visitors converted into customers. For this to happen, you need an appealing website along with competent brand promotion strategies.

Most businesses today are aiming at optimising their websites for encouraging search engine optimisation results. Paid advertising, affiliate marketing and email marketing are some of the other most commonly used techniques by marketers. However, it is imperative to note here that most of these techniques involve the use of money in some or the other way.

Here lies the importance of article writing as a means of promoting a site. Highly effective, inexpensive and easily manageable, this strategy can truly take your business to new heights. The greatest advantage of writing articles is that you get to reach out to a targeted segment that comprises your potential buyers.

Produce good write-ups and then share or post them on online platforms like article directories and e-zines. By doing so, you ensure that your website is well-exposed in the online marketplace. You can get a link back from the directory where you submit your articles, or else, give information about your company in the resource box. Since link exchange strengthens off-page SEO, this tactic will do a world of good for your site.

More than anything else, these articles are free advertising tools for your website. If you write relevant and informative stuff, you are bound to get noticed, and that too by targeted customers who are looking for related topics. However, a writer has to ensure that his write-ups do not have a marketing touch, because many directories refuse to accept such articles.

One of the most effective means of website promotion is marketing through search engines. Writing articles can help you in this regard. Incorporate important keywords and write search engine friendly articles so as to attract search engine spiders and get your site crawled.

Once you have posted articles and shared them on online forums, you will start getting comments, references and testimonials from web users and webmasters. This will stand your site and business in good stead and further get you high-value traffic.

Lalita negi is currently working in epurplemedia an Internet Advertising & Marketing Company specialize in a wide variety of marketing services. It delivers effective solution in Website Promotion, PPC, web site development, email marketing etc to boost traffic to your business.

Internet Marketing Training Program - How to Choose the Right Program

Are you one of those who aspire to earn money online on a consistent basis? Internet marketing provides huge opportunities to earn income online and many people have been eager to jump on this money-making bandwagon. However, not many people realize that to be successful in making money online requires proper learning and business planning. Many aspiring internet marketers have been taken in by the countless online promotions and advertisements that promise quick money in the quickest time possible. However, they also fail to realize that they are quickly losing their money in purchasing and investing in many over-hype products that sorely under-deliver. With so many over-hyped and under-performing products online, how then do you choose the right internet marketing training program and start making that first elusive dollar online?

Here are some quick tips which you can use to help you choose an internet marketing training program that delivers. The key thing here is to do a proper research.

1) Read up reviews online and see what people are saying. Look for balanced reviews and comments. Bear in mind that some reviews are written in such a way that blatantly promotes certain products. It is always good to read multiple reviews to have an informed and balanced perspective.

2) Check out internet marketing forums. These are one of the best places to read candid comments about the online purchases people have made. Forum members usually have bought and used certain products, and thus are in a good position to tell you how good or lousy these are.

3) If a website promises overnight riches, chances are, it will under-deliver and you will be sorely disappointed if you choose to purchase the product.

4) Look for a membership program that provides you with well-grounded instructions and continuing support for your online marketing efforts. It is important to know that having the proper knowledge, in addition to the desire to succeed, is crucial to making money online successfully. If a program offers one-on-one coaching and support, that will be a true gem. Many programs on the market promise that you will make money online, but never provide the help and support when you need it most.

5) Tools and resources are critical to an internet marketer's arsenal. Examine what the product has to offer. For example, a website builder, website hosting, keyword research and analytic tools, all provided in an integrated portal, will be extremely useful in building up an online marketing campaign. A well-supported members-only forum, if it is part of the package, will be a truly valuable resource to share ideas and obtain advice from members.

Forget about websites that promise you fast money with minimal effort. Invest your time and effort in an internet marketing training program that delivers, by following the above tips. If you get your online marketing basics right, you will be well on your way to lifetime financial success. Imagine what this could do to your financial security and independence.

Wealthy Affiliate is my recommended online resource to speed up your learning curve in internet marketing. Visit my website at http://www.isache-biz.com/wealthyaffiliate and learn how with Wealthy Affiliate, you can earn your first dollar online. Thousands are already earning money online with Wealthy Affiliate. Why wait? Get inspired by Wealthy Affiliate and start earning online now.

Purchase Keyword Elite - Before You Do, Stop And Find Out What You're Getting

If you are reading this, then I assume you may want to purchase keyword elite. In this article I'm going to explain what the application is about and whether you really need it or not. Ultimately the decision will be down to you.

On first glance, it would seem that keyword elite is just an application for suggesting keyword phrases, this is something that can be done in less expensive or even free resources already so why the extra cost. Well, the reason for this is keyword elite is actually 5 applications in one performing various tasks to help you with Internet Marketing.

As the software's author Brad Callen will tell you, you could perform all the tasks manually that Keyword Elite can do but when you read his full explanations of how to do it, you soon realize just what a mammoth task it would be. The main purpose of the application is to save you hours a day of research.

One of the features that catches everybody's attention straight away is the way it can sneakily show what people are bidding for their keyword phrases to be advertised in Google. This means you can quickly see which phrases are profitable around which you could build your website. As people click on your adverts, you then get paid a percentage for every click.

The tool itself for suggesting the keywords is very easy to use and very powerful. You can type a very broad keyword and it will suggest phrases around that word on which you can look up the search stats and bidding prices. It can spit out literally 1000s of keyword phrases you would never have thought of yourself.

One thing though that can happen to a person who starts using the application, is they rely too heavily on the keywords it produces and forgets about the person who is actually performing the searches on the Internet. Yeah, I know it sounds shocking but there are actually real live people at the other end typing these keywords into Google. Therefore, think to yourself, if you were to search for a product or piece of information, what would you type in yourself. Then, enter this into Keyword Elite and it will give you toms of variations.

So, if you do purchase keyword elite, you will find it will vastly improve your prospects, but please don't forget to use one of the best and free keyword generators as well... your brain!

Let me tell you my story, why the question whether to purchase keyword elite fast was a no brainer after paying for itself after two months. Or you may want to click here to receive my FREE Course on how to get a head start with the application. Quickly, time is money!

Why Optimize For Not Competitive Keywords

Why should you optimize your website for not so competitive keywords as a rookie webmaster? Most new webmasters start optimizing for very high competitive keywords, because they want to hit the jackpot.

Nevertheless they will not rank at all for any little competitive keyword, because there website is new and it probably it has no trust at all. I have some beginner and advanced webmaster seo tricks, which you can use to gain some traffic when launching your new website, and to start making some money of your website.

When you starting a new website or weblog, no one knows about it. So you can do a lot of work, with link exchange, submit your blog to directories and submit your rss feed to any website. But there are better ways to make a stable traffic source, like optimize your website for not competitive keywords. Most skilled webmasters tells everyone do not start with not competitive keywords, because the traffic they gain is very minimal, and gives no profit on the long run.

I did a lot of testing and my experience is that when you start with competitive keywords, it takes months before first visitors come trough google and will rank your website for some strange keyword phrases.

Because you have no trust rank or enough backlinks, and because nobody knows your website or blog, and they will not link to you page.

When you start with 3 phrase keywords with weird synonyms or something, you can rank easily on these 3 phrase keywords. Because no one wants to rank on them, they just start off with high competitive keywords. Do not forget to use not competitive keywords in your title tags because with this seo trick you can hit the number one spot easily.

So your great new website can rank on number one easily on these keyword phrases and start to gain some traffic. Don't expect much traffic, but a website without traffic in any months is NOT fun to make or update. That's why most people quit there website or blog within 3 months because they are not motivated to go further if no one reads there content.

Now you are on the number one spot (maybe 2,3 or 4) but you gain traffic, and a small amount of people know your website. Maybe some webmasters will start linking your website, and your website will growing with backlinks and trust.

After a few months you still gaining traffic and when your website or blog got enough trust of google, it will climb up the results on very competitive keywords. Then all your old content and articles are going to rank on synonyms of your synonyms :) When you used a synonym of a very highly competitive keyword and it starts ranking on the original keyword you will be a very happy webmaster, with still a lot of motivation.

For more information check http://www.masterweblog.com

Your sincerely,

Chris

Online Marketing Hierarchy and Definitions

Here is a short list of common terms with my version of their definitions and in their hierarchical structure.

Online (or Web Site) Marketing: I think a case can be made that online marketing and website marketing are two different functions, but only slightly. However with the advent of pay-per-call it will be entirely possible to market your online without even having a website. Not sure if that would be advantageous or not, but possible. I place a distinction here between online marketing and search engine marketing because the functions of online marketing , while including search engine marketing, may bypass the search engines altogether.

Examples: email marketing, link buying, renting or exchanging (when done for exposure, not search engine relevance), online ad placement, website design, usability, conversions, etc.

> Search Engine Marketing: SEM is the primary subset of online marketing and focuses its marketing efforts primarily to gain additional web-site exposure via the search engines.

Examples: SEO, Pay-per-click, press release distribution, link building (all forms), keyword research, traffic analysis, etc.

> > Search Engine Optimization: SEO is the act of manipulating a websites on and off-page factors causing the search engines to recognize the site as relevant for specific keyword phrases. The primary function of search engine optimization is get a website ranked, drawing new traffic to the website. What happens once they get there is, by the strictest definition (and one employed by most SEO companies) is not under the purview of the SEO company. Usability and conversions are both functions higher up the chain.

Examples: code and text optimization, keyword research, link building, ranking reports, etc.

Many of the jobs that need to be performed can cross each into other categories. For example, keyword research is the function of SEO and SEM, same with link building. It is important, however, to recognize the distinctions in each of these categories. While everything an SEO does is considered a function of online marketing, if you hire an SEO or purchase an SEO only service, dont expect to receive search engine marketing or online marketing service with that. And if you do want those services included, be ready to pay substantially more for the service.

Stoney deGeyter is president of Pole Position Marketing (http://www.PolePositionMarketing.com), a search optimization marketing firm providing SEO and website marketing services since 1998. Stoney is also a part-time instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College, as well as a moderator in the Small Business Ideas Forum. He is the author of his E-Marketing Performance eBook and contributes daily to the E-Marketing Performance marketing blog. (ea)

Writing Marketing Articles Isn't a Job for Marketers

Internet marketing is big businessand growing daily.

According to internetworldstats.com, 69% of United States residents now have Internet access, with 17% being the worldwide average. Thats over a billion Internet users, and a reasonable estimate would be that close to half use the Internet for shopping.

It gets better. More Internet users are also acquiring broadband connections, which makes online shopping easier. Compounding those figures, online shoppers are spending more per purchase as companies improve their online offerings.

Men, generally considered unenthusiastic shoppers, have taken to Internet shopping; women like it for research and comparison purposes. And kids? Those too young to drive have found a way to get stuff from the right stores.

These trends should only continueperhaps at steeper rates than ever.

If youre an Internet marketer, you have a lot on your plate. You need to learn technical and creative as well as marketing skills. Many Internet marketers are technologically proficient, and often their technical skills carry over (adequately enough) into computer-aided design. Unfortunately, many Internet marketers mistakenly think that once they have an Internet presence, the work is done.

But a job that may be underestimated in importance is good, solid writing of the old-fashioned variety. Thats a bad thing, because it is words that send traffic to those websites. Whether it be pay-per-click ads, press releases, or concise, informative, interesting, syndicated articles, skillfully crafted words drive the entire sales process.

Thats where a professional article writer can make the difference between success and failure for an Internet marketer.

For best results, look for a writer with a love of writing, a broad portfolio, a top-notch command of the English language, extensive research experience, attention to detail, and basic understanding of Internet marketing. Insist upon guaranteed original-content articles using the keywords you provide and the keyword density you specify.

A boring, confusing, or heavily recycled private label article wont help you sell your products, because people wont finish reading and click the link to your site. They wont pass it along to other readers or post it on their own sites.

E-mail me today to get started driving traffic to your site with quality original articles.

Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer and Platinum Quality Author. Please visit http://www.lisawritesarticles.com or contact her at lisa.justrightcopy@gmail.com