Adwords, Adsense, SEO, Keyword

Why should one use Search Engine Optimization

2009-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Why should one use Search Engine Optimization

It's morning and John wakes up, same as he does everyday. He starts the computer and begins checking his email and reviewing his website's stats. " $15 in Adsense and 1 sale .. good, good... but still I'd wish those were $500 and 10 sales ". He closes the stats and goes to work in order to get the payment that helps him live a good life.

Mark is also waking up, making a cup of coffee and then sitting comfortably at his laptop. He opens his website's stats and his heart starts beating a bit faster while he reads on the screen " $399 in Adsense and 5 sales last night... good, but I WANT IT BETTER" ". He closes the stats, eats a quick breakfast and then sits back again at his laptop and starts working on his websites in order to improve the stats. He doesn't need to go to work as his websites bring enough income to help him live very well.

Now the question is simple: who would you prefer to be? John or Mark? Do you like to go and work for your boss and help him make money so you can earn your living ? Or do you want to be your own boss and have your own business? Because yes, these days, having a good site IS a business. If your answer is "John" then you'd better stop reading this article and get to more serious things. But if instead you would prefer to be Mark then it may be useful to continue reading. Ok, ok but what does "having a good site" mean? I have a great design, I have great online support, great products and offers, great site functionality... but still I don't get the expected income? If you ask yourself this than take 2 minutes to think about: "Who am I receiving money from? The design? The functionality of the site? No, what really brings the money is, in fact, the traffic, the people who visit the site and order the services/products or who simply click on the Google ads."

Now that we found out that the traffic is what makes the webmaster happy, we should ask ourselves how we can get this traffic to our sites. Well, there are several methods of doing this, but nowadays, search engine optimization (SEO) is the method that brings the best targeted traffic. If you want to build a strong business which could provide you more than a decent income, than you should use SEO.

To succeed with a SEO campaign, one must follow three major steps: keywords analysis, on page SEO and off page SEO. The keywords analysis part has to be done in order to assure that you have picked the best keywords ( the ones that will get you the highest number of visitors in the shortest time ).

On page SEO is the step where changes are done directly on your site by modifying it's files. You have to sort out the titles, metatags, images, text, page structure, internal linking, proper tags and much more things related to your site. In all this process you will use the keywords you found during the keywords analysis part. This will ensure you'll have a well optimized site focused on those keywords.

Last but not least, off page SEO - considered by all the great SEO specialists out there the most important part of a SEO campaign - related to the external links you can point toward your site. As each link toward your site is considered "a vote" the more votes you have the more "powerful" your site will become.

If you do all these correctly then your site will end up in the tops of the search engines and start getting the best-targeted organic traffic that exists at the moment. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and start doing SEO... . Because SEO it's the future.

Author Bio

Razvan Marian Jr is a SEO specialist with more years of experience in the field. He is also the leading manager of http://www.cheapsubmissions.eu/ , developing services such as cheap web site submissions and cheap articles submissions.

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

If You're Not Linking You're Losing Money

2009-02-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

If You're Not Linking You're Losing Money

By: Robin Henry

If you have a web site and you're not actively linking to other relevant sites, you're losing a great opportunity to improve your link popularity, get targeted traffic and increase your income. Read on to find out why.

Why Link?

There are only a few ways you can generate traffic to your site. You can pay someone to generate leads, but you have no way of knowing whether your visitors are interested in your product, service or message. Some organisations that promise thousands of visits to your site deliver the goods, but the problem is, the people who visit aren't targeted to match your product, service or message.

You can advertise on or offline to generate leads, you can wait and watch and hope someone finds your site among the many millions, or you can actively generate traffic yourself.

If you create links to other sites with high traffic, some of the people who visit those sites will click on links and visit your site. Let's face it, if no-one visits your site, the chances of selling something or getting your message read, are minimal. So, creating targeted visitors should be one of your key priorities. By targeted visitors I mean people who have bought a similar product or service to yours, or who are predisposed to do so. Consider this example. I sell an ebook titled, "Winning That Government Job" which, as the title suggests, helps job seekers to understand the government recruitment and selection process so they can be competitive when applying.

If I advertise in the employment pages of the Saturday morning newspaper in Sydney (the most populous Australian city) it will cost me $200 for one edition. I usually generate several dozen sales, but as soon as I stop advertising, the sales drop off.

If I link with another organisation having something to do with job seekers, numbers of their visitors visit my site and buy my publication. It costs much less than successive $200 adverts. Imagine what happens when I link to a dozen similar sites? I think you can see the benefit of linking.

Making Links

When I began linking I would place a keyword in a search engine and then look for sites that were suitable to exchange links. I'd find several sites, email them and occasionally get a response. I tried to find link partners for whom my products and services were complementary - so they could add value for their clients while doing me a good turn.

The process worked, but I had to spend an inordinate amount of time doing it, so I looked for a better way and couldn't believe my luck when I found a software program designed specifically for this type of activity. The program automates much of the process so, one evening per week for about two or three hours, I work with it to find and contact potential link partners.

Measuring Progress

At the end of every month I measure my site popularity, links, traffic volume, sales, expenses to sales ratio, pay-for-click search engine placements etc and compare statistics with the previous month. Slowly, but surely, my site is getting a higher position in search engines and I'm getting more referred traffic from sites with which I have exchanged links.

Link management is a huge topic. If you'd like to read more and download a free software program that will find out within minutes how many sites are linked to yours, visit this page www.dwave.com.au/link-management.html

Author Bio

Robin Henry is a HR specialist who helps businesses improve performance through implementing smart technology and processes. Find him here www.dwave.com.au

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

How to Raise Your Rankings in Search Engines - Basic SEO

2009-01-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

How to Raise Your Rankings in Search Engines - Basic SEO

By: Duane Jacobson

I don't know how many times I've been asked. "Many People ask How do I get traffic to my website?"

To best discuss this topic I should break this down into categories

1. Title Tags

The title Should contain keywords and keyword phrases that is important to your site. Our recommended maximum number of characters for this tag is 60.

Also when counting your characters remember that spaces are considered as well.

Titles should appeal to the reader otherwise even a top position will lose a lot of clicks.

For example, "shoes,nike shoes,best shoes,review shoes," is unlikely to induce a click. What may induce a click would be like:

Shoes - Find out the latest styles on name brand shoes.

2. Description

The maximum number of characters I recommend for this Tag is 150. Any longer than this and it will only be cut off and may count against your site being listed high in the search engines. Try to repeat your keywords that you used in your title in a proper sentence and in 3rd party. Advoid I, Me, Myself etc

3. Keywords

keywords My recommended maximum number of characters for this tag is 250. Any more than that may be considered spamming. Keep your keywords focused upon what your site is about.

Don't think that if I use an assortment of different keywords that your site will be a seller. Targeted marketing is associated with your keywords.

4. Keyword Nesting

Description: A term used in searching to indicate the sequence in which operations are to be performed

Enclosing words in parentheses identifies a group or "nest." Groups can be within other groups.

The operations will be performed from the innermost nest to the outmost, and then from left to right.

keyword nesting is nesting your top 5 most important keywords in the html page that the public will see. I would recommend using the keywords that you've used in your title, description.

5. Head Tags not to be confused with (head) tags def.

HEAD or HEADER (of HTML document)

The top portion of the HTML source code behind Web pages, beginning with and ending with . It contains the Title, Description, Keywords fields and others that web page authors may use to describe the page. The title appears in the title bar of most browsers, but the other fields cannot be seen as part of the body of the page. To view the portion of web pages in your browser, click VIEW, Page Source. In Internet Explorer, click VIEW, Source. Some search engines will retrieve based on text in these fields.

Head Tags should be a repeat of your title tag. Most webmasters put their head tag right after the body tag. A head tag will look like this (h1) (/h1) with the ( and ) being replaced with < >

6. Anchor Links

Anchor Links is one of the most important html tags that your site needs to gain search engine page rank

especially in google and msn.

Author Bio

For more information please goto: http://www.newworldproducts.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

How Search Engines Work

2009-01-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

How Search Engines Work

By: David Tang

A search engine operates, in the following order: 1) Crawling; 2) Deep Crawling Depth-first search (DFS); 3) Fresh Crawling Breadth-first search (BFS); 4) Indexing; 5) Searching.

Web search engines work by storing information about a large number of web pages, which they retrieve from the WWW itself. These pages are retrieved by a web crawler (also known as a spider) - an automated web browser which follows every link it sees, exclusions can be made by the use of robots.txt. The contents of each page are then analyzed to determine how it should be indexed. Data about web pages is stored in an index database for use in later queries. Some search engines, such as Google, store all or part of the source page (referred to as a cache) as well as information about the web pages, whereas some store every word of every page it finds, such as AltaVista. This cached page always holds the actual search text since it is the one that was actually indexed, so it can be very useful when the content of the current page has been updated and the search terms are no longer in it. This problem might be considered to be a mild form of linkrot, and Google's handling of it increases usability by satisfying user expectations that the search terms will be on the returned web page. This satisfies the principle of least astonishment since the user normally expects the search terms to be on the returned pages. Increased search relevance makes these cached pages very useful, even beyond the fact that they may contain data that may no longer be available elsewhere.

When a user comes to the search engine and makes a query, typically by giving keywords, the engine looks up the index and provides a listing of best-matching web pages according to its criteria, usually with a short summary containing the document's title and sometimes parts of the text. Most search engines support the use of the boolean terms AND, OR and NOT to further specify the search query. An advanced feature is proximity search, which allows you to define the distance between keywords.

The usefulness of a search engine depends on the relevance of the results it gives back. While there may be millions of Web pages that include a particular word or phrase, some pages may be more relevant, popular, or authoritative than others. Most search engines employ methods to rank the results to provide the "best" results first. How a search engine decides which pages are the best matches, and what order the results should be shown in, varies widely from one engine to another. The methods also change over time as Internet usage changes and new techniques evolve.

Most web search engines are commercial ventures supported by advertising revenue and, as a result, some employ the controversial practice of allowing advertisers to pay money to have their listings ranked higher in search results.

The vast majority of search engines are run by private companies using proprietary algorithms and closed databases, the most popular currently being Google, MSN Search, and Yahoo! Search. However, Open source search engine technology does exist, such as Dig, Nutch, Senas, Egothor, OpenFTS, DataparkSearch and many others.

Author Bio

David is the leader of a software development team, who developed many types of automation software. One of them is www.ArticlePostRobot.com, the software which can post articles to hundreds of article sites and mail lists automatically. Demo is available upon request at help(at)articlepostrobot.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

Write & Optimize Press Release

2009-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

Complete Guidance to Write & Optimize Press Release

By: Allen Brown

Publicity is essential for a business, whether it is located at the market centre or on internet. When a business has small or even no promotion budget, "Press Release" is the optimum method to lure people.

Online press release can provide considerable platform to reach huge online community. This article will provide complete guidance to make out well optimize and well written press release for PR distribution through the press release network. A well prepared press release would attract journalists and is also well optimized for distribution to targeted audience.

Proper keywords:
Selecting key word is the most important part of press release optimization. Be very careful while deciding on a keyword phrase that is pertinent to the product or service you are offering. The best recommended tool to search keywords is wordtracker.com.

Keyword or phrase position:
Place key phrase into the headline and the title of your press release. Try to repeat it nearly 2-3 times in the content of the release.

Starting should be solid:
Remember to make your title and initial lines cover that you want to express. The remaining part of your press release should depict the detailed information.

Use product name repetitively:
Repeat placements of the name of your service or product to make it eminent. For example, write "Search Engine Optimization" instead of writing "SEO", this would make your product name much popular.

Draft it for Journalists/Media agencies:
The media agencies and journalists would grab your press release and publish it in their publications; they may slightly edit your press release.

Consider viewer's interest:
You should consider to whom you are targeting your press release, and what is their interest. Think, if you were a part of audience, would you like to read the press release you have written.

Make your press release appear practical:
Point out real facts of your company/organization, as readers are already so scholar enough to find out 'what's true and what not'?

Make your story that includes real facts:
Avoid untrue examples and add-ons. If you find the content using much added extras, make it natural and real. Your press release should be in active voice, not passive. Verbs in the active voice makes your press release live.

Use only sufficient and essential words:
Avoid using superfluous adjectives, extravagant language, or unnecessary expressions like "The most powerful". Tell your story with lesser words, as verbosity distracts from your content.

Avoid usage of terminology:
However, a limited use of terminology would be allowed if required, if you aim to optimize news release for internet search engines. The finest technique to communicate your press release is to speak neatly, using regular language.

Keep away from too many exclamations:
Too much usage of exclamation point (!) may harm your press release. But, if you have to use an exclamation point, use only one.

Get company permission:
Companies are very self-protective about their recognition and credibility. So, get written permission before putting in any information or quotes about the company.

Company Information:
The press release should include a short description of company, which depicts your company, products, service and a brief history of company.

Pick precise PR distribution network:
Deciding on press release distribution network is also an important. There are hundreds of free press release distribution networks exist so it is critical to select on whether to go for paid services or free.

Propose RSS feeds:
Assist journalists by offering RSS feeds so that they haul to your website. Through this interested parties will know that you have relevant releases on the topic for and which they are searching for.

Publish releases often:
Try to publish press releases frequently to be recognized as a news source for news agencies such as Yahoo news and Google news.

Author Bio

Allen Brown is a freelance writer for http://www.1888pressrelease.com/, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. He also freelances for www.1888Articles.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com/

Generate Traffic from Search Engines

2009-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Basic Techniques to Generate Traffic from Search Engines

By: Wayne Robinson

Traffic -- And lots of it! It is the dream of every netrepreneur. After all, without steady stream of visitors -- or should I say "potential customers" to your web site, how will you earn your e-fortune?

The first place most e-business start-ups go when they need a quick traffic fix is the search engines. And rightfully so! After all, a top ranking position in one of the major search engines is an effective way to increase the traffic to your web site without spending your hard-earned advertising dollars!

Statistics have repeatedly shown that anywhere from 20% to 80% of your visitors will find your web site via a search engine. However, you should also know that statistics show that most web surfers never search beyond the top 30 results they receive. With that in mind, it is clear that a top position a top position should be the goal of any savvy site owner.

But top spots are no longer achieved by crossing your fingers and blindly submitting your web site to 900+ search engines and directories using a free submission service. Competition for top spots is getting fierce, so it is important that you learn the "right" techniques if you want to ensure that your web site is well ranked... and it is very important that you do so while this great advertising medium is still FREE!

As I said before; for high traffic generation to your website, it is very important that your web site ranks in top spots in search engines. You may ask "What are the search engine looking for when they rank my web site?" Well, although each search engine uses different set of algorithms to rank web sites, but generally speaking, however, here are some of the main factors currently being considered by the search engines.

1. Link Popularity

Alta Vista, Excite, Lycos, and the web pages search promotion of Yahoo! use a ranking system that involves measuring and ranking the number of links that are directed towards a particular web site. This is an extremely powerful traffic generation tools because:

Reason # 1

Building a well thought-out linking strategy is a powerful way to attract large volumes of high targeted traffic! By putting your web site on every major web "intersection" where your target market meets, you will ensure that your web site receives a steady flow of qualified potential customers.

Reason # 2

Links are equivalent to recommendations! They established credibility even before the visitor reaches your web site, dramatically increasing the likelihood that they will buy.

Think about it... David arrives at his favorite web site and notices that they have posted a link to your web site. He knows and trusts his favorite web site and therefore assumes that, because they have a linked to you, your business must be credible too. He clicks through the link to your web site and is immediately open to offers you present him with. Why? Because your credibility was established before he even arrived at your homepage!

Reason # 3

Since many search engines now factor link popularity into their ranking decisions, your linking strategies are all that much more important! If you want to be ranked as high as possible in search engines, you now need a factor in your link popularity - and, as you already know, earnings a top spot in the major search engines is key to increasing your web site traffic.

Obviously, developing a linking strategy that generates a high volume of targeted traffic to your web site is not an overnight process. It will take you anywhere from two weeks to six months to secure quality links you need. However, I promise you that it is worth the effort! Once you have done the initial footwork, the links that are established will remain on these web sites for years to come. Your perseverance will pay big dividends in the form of a continuous flow of targeted traffic generation.

2. Your Domain Name

A domain name plays a vital role in traffic generation to any web site. Domain names rich in keywords will rank higher in search engines because search engines love URL's that are saturated with keywords! Brainstorm keywords and key phrases for your web site and then use them to create a catchy URL... or load the domain name with your best keywords to get ranked higher in the search engines.

3. Key Word Density

Keywords definitely refer to the number of times your keyword appears throughout your site. Your keyword density is a factor that is heavily weighted by search engines, so it's very important to make strategic use of your keywords.

So, these are the golden facts and tactics through which you can drive high traffic to your web site. I should also mention that you do not expect to enter a couple of your top keywords into the search engines and instantly start making money through your web site, that is very rare. But yes, you can really make high traffic through search engines without crossing the line into "keyword stuffing" and with a little time.

Author Bio

Wayne Robinson is a senior marketing consultant with 7 years of experience and presently writing for eByro. If you want to take benefit of his experience and learn more marketing tactics visit eByro; the Vertical Portal for Internet Entrepreneurs at: www.ebyro.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

Best SEO Firm: Your Guide To Online Success

2009-01-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

Best SEO Firm: Your Guide To Online Success

By: stevewaganer

These days, everyone seems to have an opinion or the other in the SEO field. Well, it will not serve any of your purpose if you keep on listening to everybody and implementing everything that you come across. If you are very serious about your online business venture, your best bet would be to hire the services of the best SEO firm in your city to do the work for you. No one needs to be told that SEO means search engine optimization, but what they need to be told is what are the proper methods of doing SEO.

Basically, SEO is nothing but publicity methods of a site on the web. Publicity rules and you must make sure that you have the best advertising methods in place for announcing your presence on the web. Competition is immense and you have to risen yourself in this competition to be successful in online business. Search engine marketing is one of the fastest growing industries. To be successful on the web, it is important to do search engine optimization.

For doing successful online business, it is important that your site must be available and accessible to all online visitors at all times of the day. If visitors come to visit your site and sees that your site is not functioning properly, then he will not come back again to the site. The net is a very good source for you to learn about the basics of SEO. However if you want to make use of SEO methods for popularizing your site, hiring SEO services from the best SEO firm is the perfect as well as the safest bet for you.

Sure you will let the best SEO firm handle the job for you, but it pays in the long run if you have a proper knowledge about this. The first and foremost thing that you should do is find out and determine who the target audience of your product is. It would be rather stupid on your part if you are targeting the wrong audience for advertising your product. All your money, time and other resources will simply go waste without yielding any visible results. Your business will just go to a downwards spiral. So take a hold of your online business before it is too late to amend the damage.

Work towards getting targeted traffic to your site. On any given day, your site can have thousands of visitors, but what purpose will this serve if their visit is not monitorized. Making commanding landing pages on your site is a great way of going about attracting the right kind of visitors to your site. Visitors on clicking the link of your site must be immediately transferred to the page that they want to see. This will ensure that visitors do not face any difficulty in finding out what they are looking for.

Hiring the services of the best SEO firm in your city is an excellent source for you to do successful online business. SEO firms are experienced and know what they need to do to make your site successful on the web. There are many aspects that need to be dealt with and taken care of popularizing for your site on the web. Just make sure that you find out the best SEO firm to do the work for your site.

Author Bio

Steve Waganer has specialization in Web Marketing. He is expert in Search engine optimization, Affiliated Marketing, Affordable search engine marketing and Organic search engine optimization.To get services of Best SEO Firm for your website to get high rank and top position in major search engines visit www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

AdWords Tips: All About Keywords

2009-01-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

AdWords Tips: All About Keywords

By: Ryan Cole

As you probably know, Google AdWords is a pay-per-click marketing system, which is a great way to get traffic to your site. But if you don't know the ins and outs, it can end up costing you a lot of money and not making you any.

So, what's the key to success with AdWords? Well, I wish I could tell you there were one or two simple tricks, but the fact is, the best way to ensure success with AdWords is to be familiar with every aspect of the system. This will likely take weeks or months of research, plus a few bucks spent testing out a real AdWords account. However, you can greatly increase your chances by following this bit of advice: don't skimp on the keyword research!

Maybe you had it in your head that you could go through your site, grab 20 or 30 words or phrases, load them into an ad group, and you'd be watching the traffic and sales pour in. This is simply not the case. Keyword research should be the most time-consuming part of setting up any campaign; not only that, but you should be doing it all the time. That's right - never stop building your keyword list. Okay, now let me explain a few things:

First, you need to understand how Google uses your keywords to show your ads. You place a bid that determines your maximum cost per click (CPC) for each keyword. This can be different for every single keyword, if you wish. This bid does not represent the amount you'll pay for each click (like on Overture); this is just the maximum you'll ever pay for any single click. For example, if you have a max CPC of $0.50 set for a keyword, you'll only have to pay the full amount if someone else bids $0.49. If that person decides to lower his bid to $0.30, you'll only pay $0.31. This is because Google's bid discounter only charges you one cent more than the next highest bidder, no matter what your max CPC is. Theoretically, then, you could bid $10 or even $100 and still only pay $0.31 for a click.

But that's not all! As you start getting impressions (i.e., your ad shows up in the search results) and clicks, you'll have a click-through rate (CTR). This represents the number of clicks you receive per 100 impressions. Here's the really beautiful thing about AdWords: the higher your CTR, the lower your click cost. Because Google values relevance, you'll receive a bonus for having a relevant ad, and CTR is the primary indicator of how relevant your ad is. So, let's say you're competing with someone for ad position No. 3 on the search results page for a particular keyword. Your max bid is $0.50 and his is $1. He should be way above you, right? Not necessarily. Suppose you have a CTR of 5%, and his is only 1%. Google factors in CTR when calculating ad positions, so you end up with this: max CPC ื CTR = (what we'll call) ranking factor. In this case, your ranking factor is 0.025, while your competitor's is only 0.01. Which means your ad shows above his for $0.50, even though he's willing to pay up to $1!

Okay, so now you know the basics of how keywords work in AdWords and how Google charges you for clicks. What's next? Keyword research. The best way to go about this is to use WordTracker. I won't get really specific about how WordTracker works, because they've got a ton of information right there on the site - just go do some reading there when you finish this article. Basically, though, WordTracker will help you find the best keywords to use in your AdWords campaign. You type in any word, and you'll get up to 300 related terms, which you can then click on to find a few hundred variations of that term. The terms you'll get are all terms from WordTracker's search query database, which uses metacrawlers to compile information (again, they explain it on their site if you're really interested). So you know that all the words you find there are real terms that people are actually searching for. Even better, you get a prediction of how many searches to expect per day for any keyword, how many times it shows up in their database, and a KEI value to determine your best words (KEI stands for Keyword Effectiveness Index, which you can also read about on the site). You can get a free trial, or you can sign up for a single day to test it out with all the features included (a day's membership is just a few bucks).

There are some free keyword research tools you can use, but I recommend these only for absolute newcomers who have no budget to start out with. Overture's Keyword Inventory is a good, free resource, but there's a catch: it shows results only for searches done through www.yahoo.com. If you're marketing with Google AdWords, you should know that Google accounts for at least twice as many searches as Yahoo!, in some cases three or four times as many. (Though reports vary, Google usually receives credit for about 50-60% of all searches, while Yahoo! gets about 20-30% - but this is based on all searches, and results for individual searches may vary widely.) You may find other "free" tools or downloadable programs that claim to help you with keyword research, but I say don't bother with them. You get what you pay for. Most of them just pull their results directly from other free online tools, and they don't offer anything in the way of features unless you buy the "full version." If you're out to get one for free, just use Overture. (Google's own traffic estimator is decent, but it doesn't give you an exact count for searches within a given period; you just get status bars, which are hard to interpret. Google's bid and position estimates are also usually way off.)

But third-party tools, even if they're very good, won't do your keyword research for you. You'll have to pick through your web site (or your affiliate's sales letter) for words and phrases that you can use. Then, using those words, see if you can think of similar words or concepts that people might be searching for. There's no real trick to this; you've just got to do a lot of brainstorming. Once you've got a good core list, take that over to WordTracker to beef it up. (Hint: If you see any words that don't directly relate to your product, service, or niche, add them as negative matches.)

Now you should have a lean but healthy keyword list. This is your first step to beating out your competition on Google AdWords.

Author Bio

Ryan Cole runs The Internet Marketing Blog, a free resource for those who need help with Google AdWords, affiliate marketing, SEO, PPC, or any other online marketing topics. Visit for more info on keywords, WordTracker, and Google AdWords.

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

A Guide to successful pay per click marketing

2009-01-07T20:45:00.000-08:00

A Guide to successful pay per click marketing

By: stevewaganer

Pay per click, as the term itself suggests, is a form of advertising that makes use of keywords for popularizing your business on the web. To make a success of your pay per click marketing you need to find the keywords that will best describe about your business. Pay per click marketing is used these days on a large scale, as this is the best way to reach out to online visitors. A study found out that more than seventy five percent of online visitors could be reached through pay per click marketing.

Yes, pay per click marketing is the best source to attract the attention of online visitors, but you must also realize that you need to know all you can before you actually start the process for your business. Nothing can be more frustrating then being caught in a situation where you are not aware of what you are doing and what is happening to your business. So make sure that you know in detail all the nitty gritty about pay per click marketing before using pay per click marketing for your business.

Finding out and identifying the proper keywords is the first task for undertaking pay per click marketing. What you need to do is find out what words will be used by online visitors for searching information or the products that are being sold through your business. There are various tools that can be used for finding out the correct and appropriate keywords for any particular business. Overture, word tracker and digital point are some of the tools that are capable of finding out appropriate keyword for any site in the web.

Sit and plan out carefully what amount of money you are willing to spend on your pay per click marketing campaign. For pay per click marketing, you will have to bid a certain sum of money on keywords that describe your business. Those particular keywords will be used for advertising your goods in major search engines. Whenever a visitor clicks on your site a pre determined amount will be reduced from your bid amount. It is inevitable that you will get many visitors who will click on your site just because your site happens to be listed at the top of sponsored finds in search engines. This cannot be avoided.

There is very little time to grab the attention of visitors. What you can do to grab visitor attention is to making very compelling landing pages. It is very possible that people will not buy goods from you for the first time they visit, but design the page in such a way that at least the visitor leaves behind his email address so that you can contact them in future and tell them about your products. Your landing page must appeal emotionally to the visitor. If you manage to gather the email address you can create a strong database and send out emails through auto responder.

Competition is something that is inevitable and you cannot avoid this in any field. So any marketing strategy including your pay per click marketing strategy must be made and implemented in such a way that you always stay miles ahead of them. Being successful in business is all about beating the competition and no matter how tough the competition, you will have to beat this at all cost.

Author Bio

Steve Waganer has specialization in Web Marketing .He is expert in Search engine optimization, Affiliated Marketing,Pay per click marketing and Organic search engine optimization.To get his expert advice for your website to get high rank and top position in major search engines visit www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

A guide to good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tips

2009-01-07T05:04:00.001-08:00

A guide to good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tips

By: Craig Bucknall

Getting your website listed in Search Engines (SE) can sometime be a monumental task in itself, here are my top ten tips to get you started.

1. Page Title

Forget using 'Welcome to my website' as your page title, if you really want to attract target media specify your keywords and list your product keywords separated by an (hold Shift + backslash key) symbol (eg: Digital Cameras Video Cameras) will boost the strength of your chosen keywords, in this case Digital and Video Cameras.

2. Page Filenames

Still naming your page filenames as products.htm or aboutus.php, why not add some weight to your website and help the SE distinguish from the multitude of pages with generic names and again utilise your keywords into your filenames (eg: paper_back_novels.htm) for a Book selling site with this link to the list of Paper Back Novels.

3. ALT Tags

Again keywords play a huge part in the design of your site and another area to include these words is in your image 'ALT" tags.

4. Header Tags

Getting back to your Page Title, there is no point in making the heading text "Welcome to my Website" especially if you are selling Garden Tools. Using , and tags to emphasize your Products and Services in order of importance, lets the SE's.

5. Bold Text

Got something to say?, say it in Bold Text, this tells the SE that this text is important and relates strongly to your content and keywords and should be taken notice of.

6. Keywords

Some say they aren't that important anymore to getting results in the SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages) but using them correctly can add to your sites overall effectiveness. Concentrate on 3 - 4 keyword phrases (eg: "custom website design" or "web site design" for web site designers) and make sure they are used in the first and last paragraphs of your home page content.

7. Google Toolbar

Not only a search tool the Google Toolbar displays each sites Page Rank according to Google on it popularity and web presence.

8. Alexa Toolbar

Download the Alexa Toolbar from Amazon and sign up to their affiliate program, the toolbar is an essential tool in gauging the popularity and hit results of how your website ranks in the www..

9. RSS Feeds

Want to increase traffic? well consider starting a RSS Feed on your website with important news items relating to your business and your chosen profession then link these to your articles.

10. Article Writing

Article writing is another way to cross promote your site with helpful information for others and with links back to your site.

In conclusion

There are many facets to Search Engine Optimisation of websites and these 10 tips are merely just a few and a good starting point to get your website promoted in the www.

Author Bio

Craig Bucknall is the owner and Managing Director of the Sydney based Website Design studio Bullie Graphics. You can view his website at http://www.bulliegraphics.com.au/.

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

Free SEO keyword analyzer tool

2009-01-06T06:43:00.000-08:00

Free SEO keyword analyzer tool!

By: steve bis

This article is about a free website which has a great text analysis tool, that is very useful for anyone in the internet marketing game or who optimizes their website for search engine rankings. The sites address is www.textalyser.net this tool really does the job when it comes to analyzing either all the text on a website or just a certain portion of your choice. Giving you all sorts of great information about the keywords used in the site.

When you first enter the site you can either paste in a certain portion of text into the designated area, or you just type in the URL of the whole website you would like to have analyzed. Then you can choose as to what analysis options you would like to perform. Such as the minimum characters per word, whether you would like it to ignore numbers, and a few more. After you chose your options then you simply click analyze the text, thus returning you a complete very detailed analysis.

At the very top of your analysis it shows some basic text information like the total word count, number of different words used, sentence count, a readability index ranging from easy to hard. That little function comes in handy, because you definitely want the text of your page to be easy for the viewer to read.

The next and perhaps most important feature, shows you the occurrences and frequency at which the top keywords for your page show up. It ranks them from the number one word to whichever number you would like it to stop at. That is set at the options you chose before you analyzed the text. This particular feature is very nice to SEO's, seeing as that it lists the top words on a site and the density/frequency of which they appear. So an example of how this might help would be if you were targeting to have a certain keyword density for a particular keyword on your site. Thus enabling you to figure out whether to add more or less of that word to meet the density at which is required for the search engines to list you for that keyword.

Not only does this tell you your top ranking keywords it tell you the top word phrases, ranging from 2 word to 5 word phrases. It gives the count of how many times that phrase was used and also shows the frequency compared to the rest of the text on the page.

Anyone who is in the internet marketing field especially marketers who optimize their websites for search engine traffic can make great use of this free tool. I personally find great use in this tool for the process of my keyword research, which is essential for any search engine optimization campaign.

Author Bio

Search engine specialist Steve Bis, is the author of the free search secrets newsletter and owns a unique web search tool that will help you find anything on the internet in 60 seconds, eliminating your search frustrations.

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com/

What Is Page Rank?

2009-01-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

What Is Page Rank?

By: Kimberly Bodane

Page ranks are defined numerically, from 1 through 10 - 10, being the highest. Very few pages have a page rank of 10, and anything above a 6 is considered very good. There are many factors that determine a page's rank, but the main variable seems to be based on how many websites link to your page. The higher page ranked sites that link to your site, the better. In other words, 10 links to your page from high ranking sites like CNN.com, Yahoo.com, etc, will easily outweigh five times that amount of links from unknown sites with low page ranks. And, just to make it trickier, the amount of "credit" your site gets from incoming links, is also divided by the amount of sites you link OUT to.

Equally important, is your site's actual content. It needs to be information that people can use and take active interest in. Having content that matches your keywords should also go without saying.

Why Is This Important?

Page rank is extremely important, in that it determines how high you get on search engine results. And just as it's helpful to have your incoming links be from reputable, trusted, relevant sites, your outbound links will also be more valuable to those pages you do link out to. This is important when negotiating for link exchanges with other sites. The higher your page ranking, the more desirable a link from your page will be to others - Including those willing to pay for said link.

Are There Ways To Generate Better Page Rank At No Cost?

Absolutely! To follow are some of the simplest steps you can take.

Build more pages: The more pages your site has, the more content it is generally considered to have. If your site only has 3 pages, the maximum page rank would be a 3. Make sure to have at least 8 relevant pages including the main page, in order to have a healthy amount of content.

Avoid Dead-end Links: Let's say you've worked real hard to get 8 good pages. Your page rank ideally has the potential to be a page rank of 8. However, if half those pages are not leading anywhere, you've got a problem. When the search engines "crawl" your site, they want to go from one page to the next. You can have a really great page, but if it has no other link on it to go somewhere new, it will be considered by the spider to be a dead-end page, which will hurt your site's page rank. Make sure every page has a door out, other than a back button (which to the bots, will generate the equivalent of a good old "Nothing more to see here" type statement). Combat this by making sure you at least have a link back to the index - or better yet, a site navigator at the base of each page with choices between the main pages of your site (ie. FAQ, About Us, Contact Us, etc). Again, these are pages that add convenience to your human visitors as well.

Create Internal Links: Remember to make links to yourself whenever relevant. For example, on your About Us page, don't just mention your online ordering system - hyperlink to the page where your visitor would need to go in order to begin an order. Not only are you creating another link for the crawler, you're also making it convenient for your guest to find that page right then and there, if they so desire.

Utilize Free Directory Listings: They may not always be big high ranking sites, but they are an easy way to get your name out there. You never know when someone might end up using one, and thus find you in the most unexpected of ways!

How To Generate More At Cost: Getting a high ranking site to link to you isn't always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes it is necessary to buy that privilege via ads. There are literally 100's of different options to choose from, however the most effective method these days is by purchasing text based links to your site. For the largest comprehensive list of quality paid link directories along with page rank statistical information visit: http://www.helpmyhits.com/paid-web-directories.php Some tips to stretch you advertising dollar as far as it will go would be linking to different pages of your website (not just the index) and also using different keywords in those links.

As you can see, page rank is a very real and vital aspect of web development that should always be kept in mind. Without it, your chances of being found easily on search engines is compromised. With it, you'll be on your way to a highly successful website.

Author Bio

Kimberly Bodane - www.helpmyhits.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com

Get Key word Density Just Right

2009-01-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

SEO Optimization -Get Key word Density Just Right

By: Aaron Brooks

It has always been about being noticed. People dress well or do something bizarre in order to be noticed or make a statement. To get ahead in life or business one needs to be at the top, first in line. Now more often than not, the World Wide Web to functions along the same principles.

With tough competition between websites, articles, and e-commerce sites what makes one more successful than others is the position a site gets on search engines. The higher the ranking the larger the number of hits or traffic to the site. To achieve a higher position websites use the strategy of SEO optimization and content is written such that it is key word dense.

It is not as simple as using words repeatedly you need to know which keywords are relevant to your website and pages. Once you have a master list ensure that :

• Match keyword tag with content. Ensure that the keyword meta tag has around 900 characters or 25 words.

• Ensure that the keyword density in between 3-10% . And, avoid using the same word more than once in a sentence. Check keyword validators to determine the exact density percentage.

• Try and maximize use in the top half of the page. Many search engine spiders do not go beyond 25-50%.

• Be smart and spell your keywords with variations and also include plurals.

Go one step ahead and make use of a keyword density checker. This is an automated system that will comb through your web content and highlight words used in higher density. The system will enable you to perfect your pages and provide what search engines or spiders want.

A Keyword Density Cloud see http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php can be used effectively to crawl selected URLs, analyze word density, and remove common stop words. The tool can be added to your website and fulfil a vital role in SEO optimization.

It is all about knowing how to gather your audience or customers and the keyword density checker or cloud can help you through several stumbling blocks. The golden rules of SEO are: keyword density, keyword frequency, keyword prominence, and keyword proximity.

The basic rule of thumb is to know "what are the keywords your potential customers are likely to use." Key words must not be random but relevant to your line of business. The trick is to strike a balance neither too many nor too little. Too many can get your site banned and too little means you get lower rankings and your wonderful site goes unnoticed.

So, while sticking to your marketing plan and focus take a moment to take care of web content and its many nuances. Make content meaningful and relevant, find out the most important words that will be used to find what your site has to offer (put yourself in the user's shoes). And construct content using all the golden rules and keys mentioned above.

If you tread the right path success in the World Wide Web will be yours.

Author Bio

Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for http://www.1888seoservices.com/, the premier website to find Seo consulting, link buildings and professionals seo training, online marketing tips, seo tools and more. He also freelances for Submit Free Press Release site http://www.1888pressrelease.com

Article Source: http://www.articlegeek.com/

10 Costly Search Engine Mistakes to Avoid

2007-07-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

10 Costly Search Engine Mistakes to Avoid

If you have a website then you already know the importance of traffic. Traffic is to Internet marketing as location is to real estate. It's the only thing that really matters. If you cannot generate targeted visitors to your site, you will not make any sales.

Usually the owner or designer of the website is the person designated to drive traffic to the site. The chief ingredient in generating traffic is the search engine. Of coarse, you can use advertising, but it's going to cost you. Using the search engines to generate targeted (interested in your product) traffic is the least expensive method known.

Unfortunately, many website owners do not understand the importance of search engine visibility, which leads to traffic. They place more importance on producing a "pretty" website. Not that this is bad, but it is really secondary to search engine placement. Hopefully, the following list of common mistakes, made by many website owners, will help you generate more targeted traffic to your site...after all, isn't that what you want.

1. Not using keywords effectively.

This is probably one of the most critical area of site design. Choose the right keywords and potential customers will find your site. Use the wrong ones and your site will see little, if any, traffic.

2. Repeating the same keywords.

When you use the same keywords over and over again (called keyword stacking) the search engines may downgrade (or skip) the page or site.

3. Robbing pages from other websites.

How many times have you heard or read that "this is the Internet and it's ok" to steal icons and text from websites to use on your site. Don't do it. Its one thing to learn from others who have been there and another to outright copy their work. The search engines are very smart and usually detect page duplication. They may even prevent you from ever being listed by them.

4. Using keywords that are not related to your website.

Many unethical website owners try to gain search engine visibility by using keywords that have nothing at all to do with their website. They place unrelated keywords in a page (such as "sex", the name of a known celebrity, the hot search topic of the day, etc.) inside a meta tag for a page. The keyword doesn't have anything to do with the page topic. However, since the keyword is popular, they think this will boost their visibility. This technique is considered spam by the search engines and may cause the page (or sometimes the whole site) to be removed from the search engine listing.

5. Keyword stuffing.

Somewhat like keyword stacking listed above, this means to assign multiple keywords to the description of a graphic or layer that appears on your website by using the "alt=" HTML parameter. If the search engines find that this text does not really describe the graphic or layer it will be considered spam.

6. Relying on hidden text.

You might be inclined to think that if you cannot see it, it doesn't hurt. Wrong.... Do not try to hide your keywords or keyword phrases by making them invisible. For example, some unethical designers my set the keywords to the same color as the background of the web page; thereby, making it invisible.

7. Relying on tiny text.

This is another version of the item above (relying on hidden text). Do not try to hide your keywords or keyword phrases by making them tiny. Setting the text size of the keywords so small that it can barely be seen does this.

8. Assuming all search engines are the same.

Many people assume that each search engine plays by the same rules. This is not so. Each has their own rule base and is subject to change anytime they so desire. Make it a point to learn what each major search engine requires for high visibility.

9. Using free web hosting.

Do not use free web hosting if you are really serious about increasing site traffic via search engine visibility. Many times the search engines will eliminate content from these free hosts.

10. Forgetting to check for missing web page elements.

Make sure to check every page in your website for completeness, like missing links, graphics, etc. There are sites on the web that will do this for free.

This is just a few of the methods and techniques that you should avoid. Do not give in to the temptation that these methods will work for you. They will do more harm than good for your website.

Not only will you spend weeks of wasted effort, you may have your site banned from the search engines forever. Invest a little time to learn the proper techniques for increasing search engine visibility and your net traffic will increase.

Jeff Casmer is a Top Internet Marketing Consultant who will help you setup your very own money making website today that's 100% ready to take orders and pull in MASSIVE PROFITS for you right now...GUARANTEED! Plus, you'll get your own pre-written ezine-in-a-box customized and setup for you absolutely free WITHIN 24 HOURS!! Get started immediately at: http://www.24hourwealth.com

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

Double listings at Google

2007-05-21T13:07:00.001-07:00

Double listings at Google

By David Leonhardt

Have you ever searched for something on Google and noticed that a website has a double listing – a main listing and a second listing indented – and wondered "Why?" And then wondered, "How?"

Google lists up to two pages from a domain for any given search. Most likely, you already have two pages listed for your major search terms. Your pages might be listed at #14 and #456, in which case they don't show up together.

When two pages from the same domain show up on the same SERP (search engine results page), Google groups them together. If your two pages are listed at #11 and #18, they will be grouped on the second SERP...assuming Google's default of 10 results per page.

However, you can change your default number of results in the advanced search preferences: http://www.google.com/advanced_search .

Or you can make a one-time change by simply adding "num=17&" or "num=7&" (without quotation marks) after "search?" in the SERP URL. Here is an example of how a 9-result page URL looks: http://www.google.com/search?num=9&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=SEO+tips&btnG=Search&meta=

One of my client sites ( http://www.dotcom-monitor.com ) delivers web site and network monitoring. As I write, it is ranked #3 at Google for "web site monitoring". One page ( http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/web-site-monitoring.asp ) specifically about web site monitoring is ranked #4 for that term.

Actually, using the technique above, I learn that the second page is really ranked #7. How? I set num=7& and see a double listing. I set num=6& and the double listing goes away, bumped to the second page.

Why does your competition merit a double listing at the top of Google's rankings and you don't?

Google wants to deliver results that are important and relevant. In a search for "apples", your site on baking might have a very relevant page and it might even be an important page (and hopefully a tasty one, too!). But your overall site is not as relevant to apples as some others. In a search for "baking", however, you probably have dozens of highly relevant pages, giving Google lots to choose from.

I should note in the example above that most of my client's site is about web site monitoring, so it makes sense that two or more pages would rank very highly for such a term (except that Google will list only the top two).

Google gives my own happiness site (http://www.thehappyguy.com ) a double listing for "happiness". The second listing is my free "daily happiness" ezine ( http://www.thehappyguy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.htm ). Google could have chosen any of a few dozen pages that are highly relevant to a search for "happiness", but it chose the two that other webmasters link to most often.

Both examples above are for major search terms around which a site is built. I have a page ranked #1 for "hairdresser", but don't expect Google to give my site a double listing. My site is not about hairdressers, it is about happiness.

What should you do if you want a double listing for your website?

1. Make sure your website is about a specific topic. "Things" is too broad, unless you want people searching for "things" to find you (And quite a few people actually do search for "things"!).

2. You might have been told to optimize each page of your site for different search terms. That is good advice. Each page should be optimized for exactly what the page is about. But if your website as a whole is about a certain topic, make sure that most of it is optimized for that topic, too. Both your visitors and the search engines will better understand what you are about. Make sure you have plenty of pages of content related to your main site theme.

3. Seek inbound links to several pages. Most webmasters make the mistake of seeking links only to their home page and maybe to their newsletter sign-up page. I sell four ebooks and give away a free ebook. I have two newsletters and an online class. I have many topical articles and a couple funny photos. I seek links to anything I think people might enjoy, and that tells search engines my site has depth.

4. Notice a common thread in the advice above. Content is king. If you have plenty good content, developed around a major theme, and webmasters want to link to it, double listings are very possible.

5. Don't over-expect. Google will give double listings only for major themes, not for all 1,476 search terms your site is listed for.

Why does Google give double listings? Who knows, but as a searcher I find it handy to see both the home page and a highly-relevant deep link.

How long will Google keep giving double listings? Who knows, so this is just a caveat that they could change their policy the day after this article is published.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Leonhardt is an SEO specialist and a freelance writer: Contact him at:

mailto:info@thehappyguy.com

He is author of Don't Get Banned by the Search Engines:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/SEO.html

and Get In The News:

http://www.thehappyguy.com/publicity-self-promotion-report.html

as well as owner of a liquid vitamins store:

http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

Ego Searches and RSS

2007-05-21T13:06:00.001-07:00

Ego Searches and RSS

By S. Housley

Ego searches are free and simple searches designed to monitor blogs and news portals for mentions of your company, product, competitors or other specific keywords. Conducting ego searches not only allows you to stay informed, but also allows you to maintain a strategic advantage over competing companies.

A number of new Internet services are freely available that make these 'ego searches' painless and easy. Dynamically created keyword based RSS feeds, update in your RSS reader or news aggregators, each time new information containing the keyword appears in the searched resources. The dynamic feeds match requests against new information, as it comes online in real time.

The following free services allow for RSS feed ego searches.

Google News - Simply conduct a keyword search of Google News and then click the text that says "RSS" then save the url of the RSS feed into your news reader. Every time a new article with that keyword appears in Google News the feed in your RSS reader will automatically update.

http://news.google.com/news

BlogPulse - Find out what is being said about your products, company or your industry in the blogosphere. Conduct a keyword or url search on BlogPulse. Click the orange RSS icon above the search results and save the feed in your reader. Each time the keyword appears in a blog indexed by BlogPulse you will receive a new item in your feed reader. Another feature of BlogPulse is it will graph the keyword occurrences, providing a picture representation so that trends can be easily visualized. Hovering over the lines of the graph will provide details of actual blog mentions.

http://www.blogpulse.com

PubSub - Search on a keyword, then save and add the feed to your RSS reader using the icons provided. Optionally with PubSub you can direct your search to only alert you of posts in specific areas of interest including Press Releases, SEC/EDGAR Filings, Newsgroup Posts, or Weblog Entries

http://www.pubsub.com

Technorati - Create watch lists, by entering the search term add item to the watch list and then scroll to the bottom click the blue RSS icon to obtain the url of the RSS feed that can be added to your reader. Technorati is a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere. In order to setup a watchlist you will have to create a Technorati account.

http://www.technorati.com

Ice Rocket - Simply search Ice Rocket then click the RSS 2.0 button to obtain the url of the RSS feed that contains your search term. Add the url to your RSS reader or newsaggregator.

http://www.icerocket.com

Find Articles - Traditional media channels can even be monitored using RSS. FindArticles routinely scans magazines and publications for keyword mentions. Conduct a search then click "RSS Alert" to obtain the url to the RSS feed. Add the feed to your reader to receive instant notification of new articles.

http://www.findarticles.com

NewsTrove - NewsTrove indexes millions of news articles from a myriad of sources. Build an RSS feed on any topic imaginable. Enter your search words in the search box. Click 'Search' click the orange XML icon on the right side of the search results page and save the feed to your news reader.

http://www.newstrove.com

BlogDigger - BlogDigger monitors the blogosphere and generally what is said daily in the blogs. Conduct a search on Blogdigger and click the orange XML icon to retrieve the url of the search feed. The feed should then be added to your RSS reader.

http://www.blogdigger.com

DayPop - Conduct a search and click the icon on the right that says XML, save the feed to your RSS aggregator. Only the most recent search results will appear.

http://www.daypop.com

Yahoo News - Conduct a search then click "view as RSS" in the right column save the feed in your aggregator. The feed will check Yahoo news for mentions.

http://news.yahoo.com

Overall, ego searches are an excellent way to stay informed and maintain a strategic advantage over competitors. Knowing exactly what your online competitors are doing provides a competitive edge that can be used to your advantage. Keyword RSS feeds can be used to monitor key phrases for trademark abuses or monitoring the effectiveness of a specific press promotion. Although they sound daunting ego searches are simply good business sense.

About the Author:

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for FeedForDev http://www.feedfordev.com an RSS component for developers.

Permissions:

Permissions and notification of use not required.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

A view on Google’s Patent

2007-05-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Google doesn’t stop innovating their search engine, and there where others try to follow, Google is not just 1 step ahead, but 10 steps ahead. Their latest innovation, which actually may already be in place for a year or longer, can be found in the patent: “Information Retrieval Based on Historical Data.”

The abstract of the patent is: “A system identifies a document and obtains one or more types of history data associated with the document. The system may generate a score for the document based, at least in part, on the one or more types of history data“.

This article has the goal to give a implified representation of this patent + contains recommendations as to what would be the best SEO techniques to obtain high rankings, with a specific focus on links. This article is the opinion of the writer and following recommendation in this article is done at your own risk.

Google’s search results have been increasingly difficult to explain and many theories have been developed on what is going on. Most popular is the “sand box” theory, which says that a new site is put in a virtual sand box and has to wait until it has aged before obtaining high rankings. This patent has some excellent information that can explain this phenomenon.

Information Retrieval

The information that this invention of Google is claimed to retrieve based on the historical data are:

1) Age/Time

2) Change

3) Trends

A score is calculated based on the above 3 factors which can then, at least partially, be used to rank the selected pages.

Historical Data

The patent describes a huge amount of historical data. The following is an overview of most items for which historical data can be measured:

• Pages/sites

• Links

• Anchor Texts

• Content

• Query

• Traffic

• Ranking

• User

• Domain

Ranking Based On Information Retrieved From Historical Data

The patent describes in quite a lot of detail how selected pages are ranked based on the information retrieved from historical data. This chapter will describe the basic logic applied.

Age/Time

Of all historical data a date of inception is used to determine 4 important values:

• Age

• Average Age

• Date

• Average Date

These factors can be determined for pages, links, anchor text, content, topics, queries, etc. Comparing the age or date of a page to the average of the site for example tells the search engine if this information is relatively new or old.

Comparing the average age or date of a page to the average age or date of all pages selected for a query (keyword phrase) tells the search engine if the page is relatively new or old. This information can be used to rank the selected pages.

Comparing to an average has the advantage that there is no preset base of rules that determine the rankings of a page. For one query 6 months may be considered new (product descriptions for example) while for another page 6 days may be considered old (news items for example). It all depends on the average age.

This same logic applies to links. In order to determine how popular a page or site is, the average age of all back links tells the search engine if the popularity of the page is recent or not. It makes sense that if most back links have been obtained 4 years ago and that hardly anybody has been interested to link to this page/site since then, that the page is not as popular as the existing back links would suggest.

The patent goes even as far as determining age factors for anchor texts of links.

Change

Information changes over time. Opinions change, knowledge changes, popularity changes, etc. Like mentioned

before, a page that was popular 4 years ago, may be totally forgotten now, but still have most of its backlinks that

were obtained when the page actually was popular. However, if this page all the sudden becomes popular again, and

new back links start showing up, the average age of the backlinks will remain high. This will prevent the page of

ranking high.

Detecting changes is crucial to give old information the chance to rank high again. Consequently, the lack of change

can be a reason to lower the rank of a page.

Trends

Even though comparing to averages is a great way to get information about freshness, it fails to recognize smaller

events like a sudden increase in popularity of a page. Though detecting changes do help to recognize smaller events,

more information can be obtained by detecting trends.

Sudden increases of popularity can be caused by seasonal events like Christmas or the Super Bowl. For this reason

the search engine will try to determine trends within pages links, anchor text, content, topics, queries, etc.

Detecting trends makes it possible to rank pages higher that would not be ranked high with the standard ranking

methods or with comparing to average ages or dates. Google has recognized here a very important fact of

information: Relevance and importance of information is (con)temporary.

Detecting Spam Using Historical Data

Having all kinds of historical data available can be used to detect search engine spam. Unexpected events that

happen to a site can be an indication of spam. Obviously a strong improvement of 1 single factor would not be a

direct indication of spam, generally multiple factors are showing strange behavior when a site is using spam to

increase rankings. It would not be in Google’s interest to penalize a site for advertising. However, excessive

advertising in sites/pages that are totally unrelated will not do your site any good.

Recommendations

Nothing changed in regards to links. This patent pretty much confirms what we at www.textlinkbrokers.com already

knew and have been explaining to our customers as well. The following recommendations can be helpful:

Keep links related

Related links matter, unrelated links can be considered spam.

Build links on a continuous moderate bases

As the patent describes, the average age of your backlinks should not be too high. It is therefore wise to continue

adding backlinks to secure a reasonable average age of all your backlinks. How many you need to add over time

depends on your market.

Be better than the average

Very important is to be better than the average, but don’t overdo it. It would be expensive and unnecessary.

Focus on seasonal events

A good way to increase the success of your website is to set up text link campaigns for seasonal events. Start your

advertising campaign 2 to 3 months before the actual event to give Google the time to find the links and update your site’s information with it. After the event you can let these links go again.

Spread links over multiple sites (unique backlinks)

A very important factor is the number of unique websites in your backlinks. Google seems to put a strong emphasis on this factor.

About the author:

Peter Faber is an Internet marketing consultant working for http://www.textlinkbrokers.com, an SEO company

specialized in link building. He has his own personal blog at http://www.seo-works.com

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

5 Super Easy Secrets To A Winning Domain Name

2007-05-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

Are you having sleepless nights thinking of the
right domain name for your online business?

Well, everyone and everyone's grandmother knows
by now why having your own domain is so important.
To sum it up, here're the main advantages :

- It shows You are serious about your business
- It creates instant credibility for your business
- It creates a branding for your business
- It builds your online identity and is easily remembered
- It can be an excellent marketing tool when used correctly
- It is an investment and intellectual property owned by YOU

Needless to say - having your own domain is an absolute
NECCESSITY if you're serious about doing business online!

But aren't all the good domain names gone you say?

It's true that most short or one-word or generic names
are taken up, BUT you can still win at the domain
name game by following the simple steps

Here are the 5 super easy secrets to a winning
domain name anytime!

== BRANDING ==

Every business needs to be branded, and that
does not exclude your online business!

Now what's branding in simple terms?

It's an identity that you want your customers to
remember you by, and the best way to do that
online is by your domain name!

For instance, your business branding may be
"Best Quality Service", so why not use that as
your domain name, BestQualityService.com
if it's still available for registration?

This is a great way of creating a CONSISTENT
branding and identity!

== PHRASING ==

How about using familiar or unique phrases
as your domain name? This can help differentiate
your site and heighten the recall factor

You can think up many catch-phrases for domain
branding, how about "CowJumpsOverTheMoon",
"MakeLoveNotWar", "SaleOfTheCentury", etc?

But it's important that the phrases you use is
aligned to your business, you wouldn't want to
use a domain like CheapAndGood.com when
you're selling high end premium products,
it just doesn't gel!

== KEYWORDING ==

An important and smart approach to selecting
domain names used by many marketers is to
create the domain based on rich keywords
relating to their businesses. The reason behind
this lies in the fact that it helps enhance search
engine rankings, especially pay-per-click listings
which is essentially a bidding on top keywords.

As an example, if your site deals with golf
improvement, you may want to identify your
main keywords and come up with a domain
like "improve-golf-lower-scores.com"?

My personal example is my ezine site at
http://www.Marketing-Make-Money.com
which utilised the keywords 'Marketing' and
'Make Money'

== EXPIRED AND EXPIRING ==

A wonderful method of grabbing quality
domain names is by registering domains that
had expired or will be expiring!

Thousands upon thousands of domains are
expiring every other day and getting a good
one is real possible

Try this site http://www.DeletedDomains.com
to source for such domains, I grabbed
http://www.UltimateEbooks.com from their list
the last time I did a search

== BUYING ==

This option is a little more costly and risky but
you'll have a better chance at finding a domain
that you really want.

There're three main ways to go about this :

1. Email the webmaster of the existing domain
about your interest and intention

2. Bidding and buying at domain auction,
sale sites like http://www.Afternic.com; or

3. Typing in the name you need and you may
land on a 'for sale' page

Here are also Three domain registrars that charge
less than $10 for each domain name registered
through them (no hidden charges).

I've personally used and tested them with my
own domain names and they've proven themselves
to be reliable and provide quality services.

Why spend more when you can save more?!

http://www.Namebargain.com
( a division of Register.com)
http://www.GoDaddy.com
http://www.GKG.net

Can you STILL Win the domain name game?

You bet You can!

About the Author

Ewen Chia is the author of "Amazing Free Traffic Formula!"
which shows you HOW to get free targeted traffic fast!
http://www.FreeTargetedTraffic.com. He is also the editor
of "Money Making Marketing Report". Subscribe at
http://www.Marketing-Make-Money.com
or send blank email to mailto:mmm@followup101.com

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

10 Easy Ways to Get More Targeted Traffic

2007-05-12T02:51:00.000-07:00

This article will show you 10 easy ways to get more targeted
traffic to your website. Use as many of these techniques as
possible to improve your website traffic. And be sure to
track all of your different traffic campaigns so you’ll know
which ones are working the best. Then you can concentrate
most of your efforts on the ones that make you the most
money. So let’s get started.

1) ‘Pay Per Click Search Engines’ - This is one of the
fastest ways to get targeted traffic. Just set up an
account with some of the top PPC search engines and start
bidding on keywords related to your product. Use the
keyword suggestion tools that the search engines provide to
make it easy to build your keyword list. Make a long list
of targeted keywords so you can take advantage of the least
expensive ones. Then write a killer ad with an attention
grabbing headline and start driving traffic to your website.

2) ‘Search Engines’ - To get the free traffic from the
search engines you will want to get ranked as high as
possible. So here are a few tips that should be helpful:
Have lots of links to other sites, use the best keywords for
your targeted market on your website/sales page and choose
your domain name wisely.

3) ‘Write Articles’ - Do you want to get a ton of free
traffic to your website? Just start writing articles and
submit them to related ezines. Always make sure your
articles are filled with quality content. And you can
include your bylines at the bottom of all articles. Then
whenever someone reads your article they will be exposed to
a link to your website.

4) ‘Solo Ads in Ezines’ - Solo ads should also be a good
way to send traffic to your site. Find ezines that are
related to your market and place ads with them. A solo ad
is someone sending your ad to their list without any other
ads. And the people reading your ad will feel it comes
recommended from the ezine owner. To search for ezines in
your related market just use your favorite search engine and
enter: “ezines ________”. Fill in the blank with your
related market. Plus you can do a search for the top rated
websites in your related market and then contact them to see
if they accept solo ads in their ezines.

5) ‘Classified Ads in Ezines’ - Now this will be very
similar to solo ads but should be a lot cheaper because of
the smaller ad space. And classified ads will be sent out
with other ads and other content. But use the same
strategies as described in solo ads to generate traffic.
The secret here is to have a good ad with a great headline
to make readers click on your link. The better your ad is
then the more money you’ll make. Another thing to mention
is if your ads are making you money then keep running them.
But you will also want to run split test to try to improve
your ads.

6) ‘Ads to AOL Customers’ - You could send ads to the 20
million people using AOL to collect even more traffic. Just
use the same techniques as in ‘Classified Ads in Ezines’.
Again for best results try to create irresistible ads. Here
is the link to start placing AOL classified ads:
http://www.classifieds.aol.com

7) ‘Banner Ads’ - You may want to invest in some banner ads
for even more traffic. If you use a word banner ad, then it
can be written similar to a classified ad. Some banner ads
are cost per impression and others are cost per click. With
the cost per click banner ad you only pay when someone
visits your site, which may be better. 500 impressions
don’t really mean anything if no one visits your website.
But 500 clicks on your banner ad mean 500 people to your
site.

8) ‘Linking to Websites’ - Another way to get targeted
traffic to your website is by linking to other sites. Only
link to reputable sites that you would want to recommend to
your good customers. Search for high traffic websites that
are related to yours and then try to get them to link to
your site. Collect information about these sites so you can
send them an email later. In your email compliment them on
their site and explain how linking to your site will benefit
them. Tell them their customers will be interested in the
information on your website. If they don’t agree to link to
your site then try exchanging links with them. Also start
an affiliate program it’s the ultimate linking system.

9) ‘Viral Marketing’ - You can also create lots of website
traffic using viral marketing. Create or buy a product that
is valuable and has permanent links back to your websites.
Then sell or give this product away and then let your
customers sell it or give it away. You will have a viral
product that can spread all over the internet like a virus
and all those links will keep sending prospects back to your
websites.

10) ‘Joint Ventures’ - Joint ventures are a great way to
get target traffic fast. When you do a JV with someone you
can promote each other’s product to your lists. Both JVs
will make sales and increase their customer lists almost
overnight. Once you start developing JVs you can use the
results from the first one to promote the next one. And the
more JVs you have the more sales you’ll make.

Remember don’t forget to test everything you do to find out
what works the best for your products.

Copyright ฉ Duane Marx

=====================
Duane Marx
For other free marketing tips
please visit: www.internet-checklist.com
=====================

You have permission to publish this article
electronically or in print, free of charge, as
long as the bylines are included.

About the Author

Duane Marx
For other free marketing tips
please visit: www.internet-checklist.com

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

"How to draw steady web site traffic with freebies!"

2007-05-12T02:49:00.000-07:00

"How to draw steady web site traffic with freebies!"

"How to draw steady web site traffic with freebies!"

(C) Copyright 1999, Britt S. Phillips, All rights reserved.

Getting massive amounts of steady, and very consistent web site traffic

is the number one goal (aside from making money of course) on the mind

of every owner of a web site. What can you do to make this happen?

You have to offer something and make it very worth while to generate an

interest and in turn motivate people to visit your web site. Once you get

them to your site, you had better make sure you have enough practical

data listed to keep their attention. If not, they will immediately leave.

The number one question every single web site visitor asks themselves is

"what's in it for me?" People are tired of going to web sites with little to

no solid informational content. Taking the time to include good information

will not only draw more traffic, but will also get many repeat visitors.

One very smart and creative way, to provide both informational content,

as well as a great incentive, to draw massive amounts of traffic, is by adding

items of great general interest that any web surfer can review for free. The

only challenge, and it's not a very hard one, is to decide what free content to

add to your site that will draw a wide range of web visitors.

There are all sorts of places on the Internet to get free content that you can

use. Our site for example caters to business and promotional type visitors.

We wanted to add free content that would intersest those types of visitors.

Here's a few examples to get you creatively thinking.

We put together an article content page which lists cutting edge tips,

secrets, strategies and overall on-line and offline marketing items. The

articles are about real everyday things facing eveyrone in business. The

results on this have been incredible. This is one article from that are on our

site. Thousands read the articles every day and also are allowed to copy

them for use on their web sites as long as they include a small resource

box listing the author and copyright information as well as our web site.

Go to http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/content.htm to review articles.

News is an excellent traffic generator. We created a page which allows you

to visit 24 hours per day. It has many live, up to the minute news tickers from

around the world. Anyone can easily see what is happening in the news,

get sports scores, entertainment information, and much more. In fact, we

have been contacted by many who say they have book marked the page

and use it as their default browser page just to keep up with events.

Free drawings and contests are very popular and work well. We hold a free,

random drawing each Saturday from our web site visitor entries. We give

away a web site submission to 500 places which include search engines,

links pages, FFA sites, directories, and news groups that accept

commercial postings. You can't win if you don't enter. Visit us today!

Go to http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/freebies.htm

Many of our web visitors are looking for ways to promote their business.

We also include a free listing which reveals how anyone can place ads in

thousands of classifed newspapers for as little as .50 each! This is very

popular and draws many free web visitors. Are you starting to see how a

similar free item listed at your web site could draw massive traffic for you?

Go to http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/freebies.htm to get the secret!

We provide a free resouce which allows anyone to submit as many ads as

they like. They can post links in many differen't categories to generate web

site traffic. We get thousands every day that post ads on our free page.

Go to http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/links/links.htm to post an ad.

We put together a best of the best listing of the Internet's top 500 ezine and

newsletters. They are grouped all on one easy to use page. You can easily

subscribe to as many as you like and learn many of the best kept secrets.

Go to http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/ezines.htm to get the list.

Another free promotional resource we added is the ability for anyone to post

their ad(s) to 2,000 places right from our web site. This draws lots of visits

and is one more great way you can boost your own web traffic considerably.

Use your creative imagination and ask yourself what lots of people would

like to see, and how you can offer something at no cost to get them to visit.

Once they are at your site, try to come up with interesting things to keep up

that interest and help them to discover your paid items along the way.

One last suggestion that is crucial to your success. Always make sure you

incorporate the benefit of these new free resources into your advertising.

When you come up with a creative free resource, let others know about it.

For example, take a look at the following two ads, tell me which would

be far more likley to attract more web site visitors...

Visit www.WorldwideAdNetwork.com it's a great web site.

or

For many valuable marketing resources,

cutting edge tips, secrets, strategies

and lots of Internet freebies, visit us at

www.WorldwideAdNetwork.com

The choice is a pretty simple one isn't it? The same way you can easily see

it, so can thousands of others when a similar ad is listed in the right places.

The attention compelling interest will always be very powerful when you offer

very valuable content and you include free incentives to get people to visit.

ฉ Article by Britt Phillips of Worldwide Ad Network. You may have seen Britt on the

nationally televised "Making Money" infomercial with Don Lapre! For that incredible story,

plus FREE "how-to" publicity tips, cutting edge business opportunities, web services, free

software, and more visit http://www.WorldwideAdNetwork.com and join the millions who are

making serious money! Do you publish an Ezine, Newsletter, or Web Site and would like

to add valuable content?

Permission is granted to reprint and distribute this article as long as it

remains unedited and includes both the resource box above and this

authorization.

------------------- Article End -------------------

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

"How to choose the right web hosting deal"

2007-05-12T02:38:00.001-07:00

"How to choose the right web hosting deal"

"How to choose the right web hosting deal"

(C) Copyright 1999, Britt S. Phillips, All rights reserved.

Chosing a web host is one of the most important decisions facing every

person who wishes to have their own web site for personal or business use.

You need to look at price, dependability, features, speed, support, etc.

When putting up a web site (in addition to the site of course) you need two

things. First is your own domain name. The other is a reliable web host.

By going to our web site (www.worldwideadnetwork.com/content.htm) you

can read a very detailed article about setting up your on domain name and

why it is absolutely crucial to your Internet success!

There are thousands of companies on the Internet each offering what at first

glance, may appear to be a great web hosting deal. This article will explain

how it all works in plain english, and what to look for when choosing a host.

Simply put, a web host is someone you pay a fee to and in return they allow

you so much space on their server in which to store the files that make up

your web site. You want to make sure you go with a web host that provides

enough server space for you to grow your business. You will really be

surprised at just how fast your web site will accumulate pages, graphics,

and many other things that will eat up space. The wise move is to get the

space you need up front. If not, you will pay much more for it later!

Most look at price as the first consideration when searching for a web host.

Price is important but as you will discover a little further on in this article, it

will not be an issue for you if you make a very wise decision.

All web hosting companies package their deals according to the following:

Amount of web space, amount of traffic your web site gets, number of email

addresses you require, Real Audio, Real Video, auto responders etc. There

other items as well but these are the biggest determining factors.

Here's where web hosting companies differ. One might charge a monthly

fee of $100.00 and give you 30 megs of server space, one email account,

one auto responder, and place a small limit on the amount of traffic you get.

This is not a good deal for you for many reasons that you will soon discover.

Let's look at another deal. You get 75 megs of server space, four email

accounts, two auto responders (additional ones are just $5.00 monthly in

addition to your regular hosting fee) and you also get no limit on traffic.

The monthly fee for this deal is just $29.95. Is this deal better than the one

above? Sure, but is it the best deal you can find on the internet? No way!

The last example is better cause it's cheaper and you get more for features

for your money but that's about it. There are companies that charge all kinds

of monthly fees and do creative things to make it appear as you are getting

an unbelivable deal and value for your money. Always look at the fine print!

The problem most have when first starting out is they do not know enough

about web design and how much they will learn to depend on their web host.

They soon discover these things over time but by then they have already put

many hours of design time and do not want to bother with the aggravation of

switching to another web host that would give them a much better deal.

The web hosting companies know this and that's one reason why they all do

things the way they do. They try to catch you while you aren't educated.

One of the biggest mistakes most people make when picking a web host is

they agree to pay an ongoing monthly fee for web hosting services. Every

month you must pay the web hosting company. No matter if your web site

gets one single visitor or you do any business of any kind. This repeats

every month. More and more money you have to pay out. It never ends!

The other mistake is, most people sign for for web hosting with a company

that doesn't have a built in resellers program. a resellers program pays you

every time someone visits your site, or answers an ad which points them to

more information about your web hosting company. This is very important as

each day 67,000 new people log on to the Internet for the very first time.

Most of these people will be searching very soon for a web host and from

reading above, you already now know exactly what they will be facing. You

will soon discover how you can offer them the best web hosting deal!

The good news is you do not have to waste your valuable time searching for

the best web hosting deal. Just like AOL and other services went to a flat

rate for service, you can pay a one time, low flat rate and never pay a fee

every month to yoru web host! Not only do you pay a one time flat fee, you

also get many more features than the other web hosting companies offer!

Knowing what you have just discovered by reading this article, if I were to

tell you it were possible to get 200 megs of web space, pop email account,

secure ordering server, unlimited email redirects, subscribable mailing lists,

unlimited auto responders, unlimited email aliases, unlimited cgi bin access

to include your own scripts, shopping cart, Anonymous FTP, Front Page

extensions, ability to password protect directories, counters, chat, unlimited

montly web site traffic, online web wizard, cgi scripts for guest book, FFA

links page, bulletin board, web site search engine, domain name

registration, form cgi, 24/7 FTP & Telnet access, WUSAGE 4.0 Online

Traffic Stats, Online Users Manual, support for Java, PERL, C++, TCL,

and Python, and Microsoft Front Page, 24 hr. Free Tech Support and more,

would I have your attention? If not, check for a pulse!!! By the way you also

get a full 30 day money back guarantee to completely test services!

If you aren't at all sure what most of what's included means in the above

paragraph, don't worry. Just keep in mind they are things you will need in

order to get the very best out of your web site to generate traffic and orders.

ฉ Article by Britt Phillips of Worldwide Ad Network. You may have seen Britt on the

nationally televised "Making Money" infomercial with Don Lapre! For that incredible story,

plus FREE "how-to" publicity tips, cutting edge business opportunities, web services, free

software, and more visit http://www.WorldwideAdNetwork.com and join the millions who are

making serious money!

Permission is granted to reprint and distribute this article as long as it

remains unedited and includes both the resource box above and this

authorization.

------------------- Article End -------------------

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

Competing with the Big Names

2007-05-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

Competing with the Big Names

If you have ever been in an industry with long established, big name companies then you know it is hard to beat them in the search engine rankings. So you go to their pages to see how they are ranking so high, but they are not using the techniques you were told to use. Furthermore, they only have the word you searched for displayed once in their body text, not in their title tag, heading or meta tags. This can't be right! However, it is. The only possible way to compete with the big names is with links, frequently updated content and name recognition.

The long established sites have received so many links over the years they don't have to plaster their pages with certain keywords for high rankings.

Links can be hard to come by, especially if your site is new. There are countless ways to get them, but here are a few that will get you high quality links:

* Writing articles

* Reciprocal linking to relevant sites

* Participating in forums

* Frequently updating content

* Creating free tools

* Submitting to directories

* Buying text links

Frequently updated content will generate a large number of one-way links, if people know about it. For people to find your compelling content, you have to get your site name out there. If no one knows about your content, how will you get links? To get you name out there you have to:

* Become the leader in your industry

* Write press releases, articles and free ebooks

* Use paid advertising

* Start a newsletter/e-zine and a blog.

* Target the right keywords

Beating the leading names may be difficult, but it is achievable. Gaining links and getting your name out there will be key in competing with these powerful sites. You will get to the top of the rankings in the search engines with time and hard work.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

Blogs and Search Engines

2007-05-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

Blogs and Search Engines

If you are concerned that the ability of blogs to rank well in search engines may be some kind of fad, read on.

1) Both Google and Yahoo have invested in building blog search engines

Google's: http://google.com/blogsearch (in beta)

Yahoo will be launching something soon

Blogs already rank well in Google and Yahoo's regular search results, but both companies are investing in separate blog searches because they see growing demand for them. One of the major benefits of a blog search is that the search index is updated constantly while the regular search results are relatively static. For example, if Microsoft announced an acquisition right now, you could go to Google's blog search almost immediately and find tons of news, information, and analysis that you would not get through the regular search engine.

2) Blogs rank very well in search engines but they don't rely on search engines exclusively for traffic

For example, much of our blog traffic comes from sources other than the search engines. We have a variety of traffic sources that result from the design of blog and the format of our postings:

When we do a post to our blog, our entry is immediately syndicated to over 200 sources (including blog search engines like Technorati). Much of our traffic comes from those sources.

When you reference another blog in your posting, you often get a link back from that blog which can send you traffic. As an example, we commented on a post from Google's company blog (google.blogspot.com). We were immediately (and automatically) given a "trackback" link from that particular page. Bottom line, we got hundreds of clicks to our website over a few days simply because we found a topic that was getting a lot of attention on their blog and linked to it. We also linked to a BusinessWeek article and got a lot of traffic back from that. Wefve used this technique a lot.

It may seem that a successful blog must contain completely unique ideas and must build a loyal reader base. But are not the only ways to go about it. In terms of building traffic, we've found that "blogging" about issues that are both popular in the media and relevant to the blog is very effective because it puts us in a position to feed off of the interest in daily news stories.

Every Monday we send an email out to our mailing list that has a recap of all of the important postings on our blog in the previous week. This way, we're able to use the blog content to stay in contact with clients by email. It keeps our name out there. For you, it could lead to traffic (and repeat sales) from your existing customers.

3) There is no reason Ifve found to expect that blogs will start getting blacklisted by the search engines, or fall off within a year.

If anything, blogs are great for search engines like Google. Blogs offer timely, relevant content. That's what keeps companies like Google in business. In my opinion, there's more of a risk that an e-commerce site will face hard times in search engine results than blogs. Arguably, blogs are a threat to traditional e-commerce sites. Many new blogs are launched every day, and since blogs have more content than standard websites, they may start jeopardizing the placements of e-commerce sites.

Blogs are websites that are easy to maintain and syndicate, but unlike websites, the goal of a blog would not be to get top 5 placements on a single term. The goal of a blog is to get placement on many terms over time. Our blog has hundreds of posts, and as a result, the numbers game is kicking in and we are getting traffic for a variety of search terms. Once your blog has thousands of posts, and hence thousands of pages, it will become a true force.

Businesses that assume the risk of financing a blog now and do it right will find that they have a substantial asset further down the road.

About the Author

Scott Smigler has been an evangelist for a serious, ROI-based focus on the online channel since he founded Exclusive Concepts (www.exclusiveconcepts.com) in 1997. Exclusive Concepts provides integrated online marketing strategies, Internet brand consulting, search engine marketing campaigns and results-oriented web sites for hundreds of clients that range in size from small ecommerce firms to public companies.

BT

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

7 Free Search Engine Optimization and Writing Tools

2007-05-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

7 Free Search Engine Optimization and Writing Tools

Traffic. Everyone wants free traffic, and what better way to get it than optimizing your site?

There are some very simple things that you can do to optimize your site. If you want to get more from your website, then implement these strategies, use these tools, and make your website spider food for the search engines.

Below are some of the best sites I have found for optimizing my sites.

1. Check your site.

Before you start tweaking your site, you need to make sure that it's either in Google or not banned by Google.

The truth is, you want to optimize your site for Google, which is now the number one search engine in the world.

It won't do you any good to optimize your site if Google won't accept it.

Use this tool to check your site.

Google Banned - http://www.googlebanned.com

2. Toolkits

If you can find the tools you need in a collection, this will save you a lot of time, as well as frustration because you will know exactly what you need to do to properly optimize your site.

You'll want to check different aspects of your site like page rank, metatag information, and links. Nothing will drive your potential customers away faster than broken links.

This site, in addition to offering a forum on search engine optimization, also offers a nice collection of tools for helping you optimize your site.

SEO Chat - http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools

These two sites also offer search engine optimization tools. It's really a matter of preference, as well as what tools you need to optimize your site.

Add Me - http://www.addme.com

Evrsoft - http://www.evrsoft.com

3. SEO Software

You can also use software to help you optimize your site. Where software will help you the most is to actually help you optimize your site for the keywords you are trying to target. It's a waste of time to optimize your site if you haven't optimized for the right keywords.

This is the software I use, and it's free. It works for both MAC and PC, and it has some of the best documentation I've ever seen on search engine optimization because it's written for the average person. It also includes a basic search engine optimization training course, a 50 page manual, and excellent, step by step directions for preparing your website for the search engines.

Web CEO - http://www.webceo.com

4. ROR Generator/Robots Text Generator

A what?

ROR is similar to a robots.txt file in that it gives information about your site. The difference is that an ROR file is in XML format.

You can use this generator to create an ROR file for your site, and then paste a button to the main page of your website. When the search engines spider your site, they'll spider this file and have a better description of what your site is about.

I would also recommend that you create a robots.txt file because this will tell the search engines what not to spider on your site. If you own a members' area, or you sell anything, you don't want the search engines spidering your download pages.

ROR Generator - http://www.rorweb.com/rorgenerator.php

Robots Text Generator - http://www.searchenginepromotionhelp.com/m/robots-text-creator/simple-robots-creator.php

5. Site Map

A site map is not only a great tool for letting your customers know where everything is located on your site, it can also help you with the search engines.

By creating a site map, you will have an index of all the pages on your website. When the search engines spider your site, they'll find all of the pages. This will help you with your rankings.

Creating a site map, especially if you have hundreds, or even thousands of pages on your site, can be very time consuming. This generator will speed up the process.

Spider Map Creator - http://www.searchenginepromotionhelp.com/m/spider-map/creator.php

6. XML Site Generator

Google is now offering webmasters a chance to submit an XML site map.

An XML sitemap is a search engine friendly sitemap of your site. This isn't written for your visitors though. It's written for the search engines so that they can find all of the pages on your website.

Even if you include a sitemap on your site for your visitors, I would still recommend that you use an XML sitemap. This can speed the process of getting your site indexed by Google. This is an easy way to make sure that all of your pages get indexed.

Creating a sitemap is easy. You can use the generator listed below. Once you've created your sitemap, submit it to Google.

XML Site Maps - http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/index.php

Submit your sitemap to Google - https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login

7. Linking

There's been a lot of talk about linking because linking is one of the most important strategies for getting high ranking in the search engines.

The more links you have pointing back to your site, the higher the page rank you will get, as well as creating a way for others to find you. You can use this strategy to get referrals from other sites, which is free traffic. It's targeted, and you are being recommended by another site.

Before building your linking strategy though, you should check your popularity. See who you are linked to first.

Link Popularity Checker - http://www.marketleap.com/siteindex/default.htm

Once you have checked your link popularity, begin by building links back to your site. Below are two sites that offer directories you can submit your site to.

Directory Manager - http://www.123promotion.co.uk/directorymanager/

Free directories that don't require a link back - http://www.directoriezsubmission.com/free-web-directories.htm

Linking can drive a lot of traffic to your site. The more backlinks you have pointing back to your site, the more popular it will be. You'll also get a lot more traffic.

Before you start to market, complete your site. Optimize it for the search engines, and use these tools to help you get higher rankings.

Jinger Jarrett will show you how to use the most effective "White Hat" search engine optimization strategies to build traffic and sales to your site. You can get her free ebook, "Search Engine Secrets", when you visit http://www.jingerjarrett.com

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

A Ten Minute Search Engine Optimization

2007-05-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

A Ten Minute Search Engine Optimization

Many small businesses simply do not have the resources to hire a search engine optimization (SEO) company to promote their web site. There are countless resources online for do-it-yourself (DIY) optimizers where professional SEO’s offer general recommendations and advice. This article is my opportunity to offer more of my SEO experience in the form of a 10-minute optimization process.

This process will be effective for any page designed in HTML with at least 1 paragraph of html text but for the purposes of this article, I will concentrate on the all-important home page.

Setting the Stage

Before I begin, there are a few things that you must know before proceeding and you should spend more than 10 minutes considering:

Determine Your Target/s

99% of you know who your target market is, now you need to choose the keywords that you believe they will search for. There is no use obtaining top search engine placements under terms that are not being searched. This step, alone, requires extensive explanation but there are a few simple tips to keep in mind. For one, you will want to check your current traffic statistics and note what traffic you are already receiving and under what keywords. Now, visit the site of a competitor who you know is doing well online (either through conversation or news articles). Look at their titles on individual pages and try to determine a pattern in the keywords that they have chosen. Also look at the source of their pages (Internet Explorer: click “View” then “Source”) and copy their META tags into a notepad on your computer. Between the titles and the META tags you should be able to determine with reasonable accuracy which keywords are most important for rankings.

It is important to note that professional SEO’s have many more resources at hand to determine such information with higher accuracy.

Design – Is Your Page Marketable?

This topic can be touchy to bring up but the simple fact is that traffic will have less impact if your web page is unmarketable. Now this covers a lot of different aspects of design, however, a few basic rules should be followed.

1/ Avoid using strange color combinations

12 Things You Really Should Know About SEO

2007-05-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

12 Things You Really Should Know About SEO

From the very beginning of the Internet, the number one challenge which all of us have faced is how to attract qualified visitors to our websites. Throughout the boom years, one of the most popular solutions was to get massive funding, relatively easy to get in those days, and "buy" traffic, by various means.

As an iconoclastic young developer, with ambitions of beating the "big boys" at their own game, more time than money or the connections to get it, I sought a less capital intensive methodology to achieve the same results. Years of study and rapt attention to the pertinent forums, trying everything that even seemed to make sense (making many mistakes along the way, and learning much from each one), then carefully monitoring the results, has lead to many highly workable tools in our SEO bag of tricks. The outcome of these trial and error methods, (lots of both) lays the foundation of our SEO services and the basis for the ongoing growth of traffic to your website and ours.

The simple fact of the matter is this: Expertise in any other form of writing in no way qualifies one for the type of writing required to optimize a website for the Internet. There are many sites which have less than correct punctuation, grammar, and even spelling which rank #1 in their optimized search phrases. This is not to say that I don't think these things are important, only that to be found in the search engines, they are not the most important consideration.

The flip side of this argument is equally true. Just because someone knows all the ins and outs of all of the search engines, can write algorithms in their sleep, has lunches with Dr. Eric Schmidt and is on a first name basis with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, does not, in any way, make them a writer. All of the writing on this site was done as a collaborative venture between Susan K. Thompson, a professional writer with strong academic credentials and real world experience, in both business and marketing, and myself. Was there a lot of editing and re-write? Yes. Were there disagreements? You bet! Was it worth it? Look at the record.

Emerald Coast Entrepreneur was launched on May 1, 2005 with most site optimization in place and submission to the directories just beginning. With a total monetary investment of less than $100.00, and a time investment, I'd rather not think about, but which approached 300 hours, the site was given a PR5 ranking by Google on it's first update, less than 2 months after our launch.

Studies show that over 90% of all online users use search engines to find what they are looking for, whether products/services, or just plain old information.

The following twelve points will, I hope, summarize a philosophy, approach and methodology to the SEO question which is both sound and effective, along with giving some helpful insight into the industry itself.

1. Content. Content. Content.

Effective, professional, optimized Copywriting is the single, most important factor in any SEO campaign. Search engines index websites based on the content found on each page of the site. With a thorough understanding of the language and grammatical conventions combined with intensive research, to find and exploit the market focus, one can move a website to the upper echelon of the "SERP's" (Search Engine Results Page) in a methodical as well as ethical manner.

2. Analyze Web Logs.

Measure everything, at least twice, and then check again. While I would be the first to say that many of the procedures that make up website optimization are more art than science, one needs to take a very scientific approach to the results of the effort. This is done by methodically keeping a record of, and making an analysis of the sites web logs. There are a number of specialized software which make the job easier but at the bare minimum, one needs to keep a close eye on the site visitors and their activity while on the site. No matter how well planned the strategy, it is largely theoretical until proven by the results, which can only be measured by the logs, and a thorough analysis of their content.

3. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, or any other search engine.

Those who promise such feats will either optimize for such vague search term phrases (such as, "green stunted widgets with purple Polka-dots and icing") that no one will ever likely look for, or they are making a false claim, which they have no intention of keeping, or they have an inside edge at Google, something which they will loose, quickly, when the honest folks at Google find out about it. The other option, that they will take the money and run, is worth mentioning here but I'll be polite.

4. Some things are just plain silly.

You don't need to submit your site to 50,000 search engines. Businesses which offer this service are suspect, at best. 85% of the search results on the Internet come from one search engine, which, if you have one link from an established website, or better yet, a directory, will find your site just fine, on it's own. Four (4) search engines account for over 90% of the traffic on the web. As for any supposed benefit which may accrue from being listed in an obscure search engine in Botswana which specializes in safaris to the Kalahari Desert and receives 7 hits per day; well, you figure it out.

5. SEO is not Pay-per-Click.

While no one would argue the effectiveness of getting increased traffic and sales, through a well planned, pay-per-click campaign, the fact remains that the conversion rates are generally low and they cease the moment the "pay" stops. With a well planned and executed SEO campaign, while results may take a bit longer, they continue to produce, and in fact grow, long after the work is done and paid for. Quite often we have found that after a thorough optimization of a site, only minor adjustments are needed on an ongoing basis, primarily related to new content and/or new items of sale or service.

6. SEO is not witchcraft, Druidism, shamanism.

Neither does it require any special chants, ceremonial fires, or vestments, though some of us do like to howl at the full moon, on occasion. There are no "Top Secret" practices which a reputable SEO can not tell a client, a judge, or his mother, for that matter. The very nature of the Internet has always been cooperative and there is nothing about SEO that can't be learned, with a heavy dose of time and money. A reputable SEO firm will give you an item per item breakdown of just where the money goes. Be wary if you sense a secretive atmosphere or any unwillingness to answer questions. While there are technical points which might take some background to fully understand, if one has a solid overview of the entire situation, a simple explanation should be easy enough to come up with.

7. Do-it-yourself SEO.

Yes, you can execute your own SEO campaign and find a reputable SEO firm to help plan and organize it for you. About one half of my own clientele do some part of the actual work themselves, or have their in-house dedicated personnel do it, after discussion of the goals and aims of the business/website, a thorough website analysis, comprehensive search phrase research, and focused instruction on the ways and means of achieving high SERPs. These preliminaries are followed up with a detailed program of suggestions and methods which the client can then implement themselves or hire others to perform. Average savings; 30-40%.

8. Phased Implementation.

While many companies spend thousands of dollars per month on Search Engine Optimization, an alternative is available which will pay dividends to you in increased sales and leads without the high initial investment. The most important consideration is to have a reputable firm handle the initial evaluation and suggested optimization planning first. The trial and error method will cost much more, in the long run, with or without the desired result. After studying the plan and establishing a workable budget you may implement the plan as finances allow.

9. Remember the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Never was this more true than in the realm of SEO. While concrete and measurable gains will always come from a well thought out and executed optimization strategy, the Internet is a competitive media and we all want to be number one. Accept that a steady upward movement, over time, will place you worlds ahead of a flash followed by a crash.

10. A thought to ponder.

At stake, in the race for the top, is the very existence of your website, your business, and quite possibly your reputation. Beware of any "shortcuts" or less than ethical schemes that anyone might suggest to further your business goals. When it's all said and done it is you, the business owner, who bears the responsibility for any company or individual you hire. Insist on knowing exactly what the strategy is and what steps are being performed to implement it. If it seems, in the least, suspicious, ask for and get an explanation. In this case, not only is Ignorance not bliss, it could very well be the beginning of the end for your business.

11. All incoming links are not created equal.

Both the relevance to your line of business and website subject matter and the PR value of the incoming link determine how valuable they are to your own PR ranking. With Google starting the trend, nothing new there, and most of the others following close behind, the days of grabbing all the inbound links, in any way possible, are gone. Not only will low ranked and/or irrelevant inbound links not help, they will, in fact, cause a penalty. Link farms, free-for-all link schemes, automated link accumulation software, or any other fad that doesn't carefully screen the links and websites they are coming from will, in the long run, do more harm than good.

12. It's more than just facts and figures.

The relationship between an online business and SEO is, perhaps, one of the closest of business relationships. In order to be effective, a SEO must know not only the facts and figures pertaining to the endeavor, but s/he must know something of the dreams and aspirations of the business principals. Things which don't normally come out in a prospectus are often invaluable information when searching for the "right fit" into the complex world of the Internet. My own clients sometimes ask, due to the frequency of my calls and email in the early phases, "Am I your only client?" I usually laugh and say something to the effect that until I know your business almost as well as you do, yes, you are the only one that counts.

--------------------------------------------------

James 'Doc' Lewis spends much of his professional time as SEO for Emerald Coast Entrepreneur, http://www.emeraldcoastentrepreneur.com/ . Doc started practicing his magic long before the term SEO was even coined and continues to study and perfect methods of workable and cost effective SEO and SEM, devising unique solutions to diverse marketing challenges.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

SEO Trade Secrets - 8 Great Tools for Search Engine Optimization

2007-05-06T05:56:00.001-07:00

SEO Trade Secrets - 8 Great Tools for Search Engine Optimization

About 80% of website traffic comes through search engines. And research shows, if you’re not on the first 2 pages, most people won’t find you.

This article isn’t about how to achieve a high ranking. That topic has been done to death over the past few months. We all know the basics now… Submit your site to the major search engines, scatter a generous helping of the right keyword phrases throughout your site in real sentences, then get a lot of other relevant sites link to your site. That’s it.

This article is about what tools to use to make your job easier.

1) Choosing Keyword Phrases (costs approx USD$7.50 per day)

To decide what keyword phrases to use, subscribe to www.wordtracker.com for a day and do some analysis. Simply enter a keyword and WordTracker tells you how often people have searched for that keyword in the last month or two, how many competitor sites are using that keyword, and how many searches it expects in the next 24hrs.

2) Measuring Keyword Density (FREE)

To measure the density of the keyword phrases on your page, go to http://www.gorank.com/analyze.php and type in the domain and keyword phrase you want to analyse. It’ll give you a percentage for all the important parts of your page, including copy, title, meta keywords, meta description, etc. The higher the density the better.

3) Check How Search-Engine-Friendly Your Site Is (FREE)

Search engines send out spiders (or robots) to investigate your site. These tools allow you to see your site from the spider’s point of view.

- http://optimiser.123promotion.co.uk - enter your URL and a keyword phrase and it gives you a great summary of the things you could improve.

- http://www.1-hit.com/all-in-one/tool.search-engine-viewer.htm - enter your URL and it gives you a summary of the things you could improve.

- http://www.gritechnologies.com/tools/spider.go? - Poodle tells you how many links the spider will see and investigate.

4) Check How Many of Your Pages are Indexed (FREE)

Go to just about any search engine and type site:www.yourdomain.com. The search engine will then tell you how many of your pages it has indexed.

5) Monitor Your Position in Google (FREE)

No need to waste time clicking through hundreds of Google search results looking for your site. This tool allows you to enter a keyword and a domain name, and it searches Google to see where your domain is positioned. Go to http://www.cleverstat.com/google-monitor-query.htm to download the setup file. Then just install.

6) See How Important Sites Are (FREE)

The Google Toolbar is an indispensable tool. One of the things it can tell you is the “importance” of every site you visit (in Google’s eyes at least). You’ve probably heard a bit about PageRank or PR. PR is Google’s measure of the importance of a site. Basically, the higher your PR, the higher your ranking. This tool gives you a snapshot of the PR of every site you visit. Go to http://toolbar.google.com TIP: It’s good to get links from other sites with high PR – especially if they contain the same keywords as your site. WARNING: Apparently the Google Toolbar monitors your

internet usage. As yet, it’s unclear what it uses this information for.

7) Monitor What Sites are Linking to Yours (FREE)

Google News Alerts (http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en) and Google Web Alerts (http://www.google.com/webalerts) will tell you who’s linking to your site. Simply set up an alert to be notified when Google finds www.yourdomain.com.

8) Getting Help (FREE)

If you’re new to SEO, the first thing you should do is check out Google’s guide to SEO at http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html If you already know the basics, there are a number of forums you can subscribe to to post questions. These forums are free, and they’re frequented by countless SEO experts. And when I say “experts”, I mean EXPERTS! Some of these people do SEO all day, every day. And like many technical experts, they’re only too happy to help – for free. The best forum seems to be http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3, but http://searchengineforums.com/Forum28 is ok too. If all else fails, you can try sending Google an email. Go to http://www.google.com.au/contact/index.html, but don’t hold out much hope of help here. They’ll eventually answer, but there’s no guarantee on the quality of their response…

This is just a snapshot of the tools available out there, but these will certainly get you started.

Some additional resources: http://www.123promotion.co.uk/promotion/tools/website-promotion-tools.html Various Web Promotion Tools

Enjoy!

* Glenn Murray is an advertising copywriter and heads copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com for further details or more FREE articles.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

10 Sure Fire Tips for Choosing The Right SEO Company

2007-05-06T05:55:00.001-07:00

10 Sure Fire Tips for Choosing The Right SEO Company

10 Sure Fire Tips for Choosing The Right SEO Company

There is a lot of conflicting information out there when it comes to advice about choosing which SEO Company is right for you. After all, if you are like me, your Internet business is your livelihood; you can't afford to trust its success to just anyone! Additionally, as you may have already learned, time is not on your side. Every day that you struggle with optimizing your website is another day without sufficient income and another day that your competitors have a chance to get the jump on you.

To eliminate some of the confusion, below I have listed the top ten things that you should look for when choosing a SEO company. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to find an effective, efficient and affordable Search Engine Optimization Company!

1. Size. A good SEO company should include different price points for all business sizes. It should be able to effectively optimize websites with pages from 1 to 1000.

2. Page Rank. The company should specifically address ways of improving your website's Page Rank and Search Engine Positioning. Ideally, this will include a detailed site analysis.

3. Keyword Optimization. Your site's keyword optimization is an integral part of onpage optimization. The SEO Company that you are considering should be able to analyze and optimize your keywords, and suggest alternative ones, if necessary.

4. Linking Strategy. Any SEO company worth its salt will understand the importance placed on both one-way and reciprocal linking by the Search Engines. Therefore, they should offer and be able to perform an advanced analysis of your website's linking structure and offer to improve it.

5. Customer Care. You should have expert advice available to you within reasonable parameters. Do you want or like to wait for answers to your questions? I didn't think so! A company's philosophy on customer service is your indication as to how reliable they are as a company!

6. Time is of the Essence. If you can't save time using an SEO company, what is the point? They should be able to do their job professionally, without asking for continual guidance from you. You should be free to work on other, more pressing projects, such as developing another income stream!

7. Savings/Pricing. The company should be competitively priced. Always compare the value of their SEO services with price that you will be paying. The prices should be reasonable; this means not too cheap, but not too expensive either.

8. Communication. The company should ask for all of your contact information and offer all of theirs. You should be able to get regular updates as to your site's progress, at any time that you ask for it.

9. Value. Compare the price of the SEO service to that of traditional advertising (for example, PPC or classifieds). How does their price compare with other methods of advertising? Do they offer better results faster, with much less cost?

10. Reporting. A serious SEO company should provide detailed reports to you so you can see your website's performance. Do you like guesswork? I know I sure don't! It is much better to see results in print rather than "accepting" a verbal one. This way, you can be assured that the Search Engine Optimization Company is really doing what it said it would.

Choosing the right SEO Company is critical to the success of your online business. Use the guidelines above and you will be starting on the right path to making your business profitable.

About The Author:

Joe Borges makes it easy to get your website optimized and listed in all the major search engines. Optimize your Website for online business success by visiting: http://www.tekretail.com/seo_plans.html

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

The 7 Points of Do-It-Yourself SEO

2007-05-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

The 7 Points of Do-It-Yourself SEO

Ever felt intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet marketing for small businesses available on the Net? Ever been horrified by the huge fees the experts charge, putting search engine optimization beyond your own means? Ever thought: What exactly is search engine optimization anyway, and can I do it myself?

The answer is: Yes, you can! The basics of search engine optimisation in applied web marketing are simple. It's all to do with the keyword content of your text copy, and can be summarised in seven points.

1. Register a good domain name which reflects what your site is about. Even if you are an established business, don't register www.FredJones.com if you make widgets. Rather, you want to register something like www.BestWidgets.com because that would inspire confidence in people looking for quality widgets who would not necessarily have heard of Fred Jones the widget-maker.

2. Name your page URLs based on reasons similar to the above for your web promotion, except now you can be more specific. Search engines like to know what your page is about. Name a page after a product (BigYellowWidgets.htm) or a service or action (Buy-Widgets-by-Post.htm) on one of the sales pages.

3. The text in the title tag is crucial in letting search engines know what each page is about. Put your important keywords in your title tags, using both the singular and plural versions (people will search for both) and make these tags different and specific for each page. For example, "Widgets and After Sales Widget Services". Whatever you do, don't call the home page "Index", but treat it almost as a mini-description.

4. The other tags (at the top of the html page) between the two "HEAD" tags are not as important as the title tag, but the description tag is still used by some search engines in displaying what you would like web users to see when they scroll down a page of search results. Some search engines don't use the description tag at all; others, like Google, sometimes use part of it together with part of the main body text surrounding prominent keywords on your page. So you may as well treat the description tag seriously; make it brief (about 25 to 30 words) and as comprehensive as possible in the short space allowed. Make sure you have your popular keywords included within your description tag. The ALT tag is used for a very short description of an image or graphic file, and is what is displayed if you allow your mouse pointer to hover above a graphic. These days it is not considered important for search engines. The COMMENT tag is never displayed on the body page, and is used by coders and designers as an instruction or reminder to themselves about what that section of html coding should be doing; in the past, some webmasters in their quest for website promotion and search engine ranking used to stuff keywords in the comments tags, but now it is generally acknowledged that the main search engines pay little or no attention to these.

5. Keyword density. Each search engine has its own preference as to how many times a keyword phrase appears on the page in order to signify the relevance of that keyword phrase (in other words, in order to help the search engine understand what the page is about). Around 5 to 8 per cent is a rough guide as to the optimal level. Don't overdo it, otherwise it will be seen as spam or keyword-stuffing. Also use your keywords in the headings tags H1 and H2. There is an H3 tag as well, but it is doubtful whether search engines bother with that, as it is perceived as less prominent on the page, therefore less relevant to what the page is about.

6. Don't forget good linking in your website marketing. Search engines will judge the importance of your web pages to some extent on the number and quality of incoming links from other sites. Ask other webmasters with sites on similar themes to yours for a link, in exchange for a link back. These sites should not be in competition with yours, but should be similarly themed. You may occasionally be asked by other webmasters if they can link to your site. If this is so then have a look at their site; make sure that their site is relevant, that it has at least some Page Rank, and that it just "feels" good, and has no nasty surprises like redirects or unexpected popups. You don't want to be associated with a "bad neighborhood"!

7. Make sure that important keywords are included in the anchor text within inbound links from other sites. This is crucial to search engines when they try to figure out the relevance and importance of your pages. The inbound link from the other site should take the form of something like this (I'm using normal brackets instead of angle brackets so as not to use compromising html): (A HREF="http://www.Yoursite.com") your important keywords included here(/A). You should definitely avoid something like (A HREF="http://www.Yoursite.com")click here(/A), which tells search engines nothing except that your site is about "click here". Be careful!

About The Author:

Gordon Goodfellow is an Internet marketing consultant and practitioner. He lives and Works in London, UK, and has helped companies in many industry sectors with clients worldwide. His main site is http://www.applied-web-marketing.com

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

The Basics Of SEO

2007-05-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

The Basics Of SEO

How Do SE's Work

im not going to go into a big technical story over this part im just going to basically describe how SE's work.

search engines such as google send out spiders to crawl your page ... they find you page by crawling other sites that link to you and they also crawl the links on your page so they find more site... periodically google will update its rankings and pagerank it used to be that google only updated its rankings every month but now they update every 1-2 weeks with a page rank update quarterly !

when the SE spiders crawl your page they look over all the text in your page and rank you in there results based on what your page is about.. now this is what seo is about.. you are trying to describe to the spider what your page is about. the easiest way to explain what your page is about is with lots of text ... try taking your keyword out of your page and see if you can understand what your page is about if you can you should do really well in the rankings if you cant then rethink what you are writing.

so se's are looking for lots of links to your site.. and lots of text on your site describing what your site is about ! yes thats right its that simple in theory .

The Point IN SE's

ok so you may be asking whats the point in trying to get hundreds of search engine traffic? why am i reading this.. well you are reading this because you want to tap into a market of traffic which you dont have and this traffic is golden. i usually convert around 1:20 - 1:150 with 95% of my sponsors SE traffic is filled with newbie surfers who just want to look at some porn so if youre top for those listings then you will get alot of money ! so your basically reading this to make money.

search engines allow the user to query a keyword and it returns results based on what they find to be the most relevant to that keyword. youre goal is probably to appear on the first page for big terms like "porn" and "sex" but that is very unlikely unless you have an old site (pre 2001) which has been listed in google and has been getting alot of natural linking to it.. sample of this kind of site are "the hun" .... "world sex" and so on you need big sites that have been around for a long time to get listed for that .... or a hell of a lot of money to buy hundreds of very important links. so throughout these articles i will teach you what kind of keyword you should be targetting to make the most money... ive been doing this full time for 2 years and in that time ive targetted hundreds if not thousands of keyword and the best converting ones are the ones that are targetted .. if your number one for porn sure youll get alot of traffic and make some sales but after all that effort you could have built 20 smaller sites targetting smaller keyword which would convert alot better and made more money !

for those of you with established sites that have been around for years .. ignore what i said above and go for the bigger terms because its available to you... i would however also suggest that you build other sites targetting those smaller terms !

Pagerank What Is It ?

Pagerank is a huge thing according to alot of people (it used to be a prime ranking feature in google) but nowadays it isnt as important its all about the links and on page seo nowadays which ill explain later.

dont worry to much about pagerank and dont swap links with people just because they have high page rank i cant stress that enough try to exchange link with sites that are relevant to yours basically forget about pagerank .. yes its nice to have a high number but its not important try to keep everything on your page relevant and your rank will be high anyway..... im not saying compltely forget about pagerank as it is a factor in ranking however it is not as big as everyone makes out to be.i know alot of sites with pagerank 7 that are not even in the top 100 for there desired keyword but i also know alot of sites with pagerank 1-3 that are in the top for there keywords.

Key Design Features.

okay so when your designing your site you have to have certain elements so that you will get listed in search engines the first thing you will need is alot of space for text you need to get as much text onto your site as possible because google cannot read images. you should also try to have your keyword in a header tag preferably this is because google knows that this text is important also try to use bold and italic on your keyword throughout your page (not all the time but here and there) so it knows its important.

try not to be overly graphical use text when you can ... make sure all your images have alt text make each one different . try to have a few pages on your site category pages or something along those lines google likes a big site also try to not use unnessacry out going links the more out going links you have the more like a linkfarm you will look.

also your title tag is extremely important try to have your keyword in there at least twice ! this is extremely important also with all your link backs try to have your keyword on the anchor text.

Choosing Keywords

this is one of the most important factors of the whole SEO process ... if you choose the wrong keyword the traffic wont convert ... you need to have the right keyword that is relevant to your site try to use 3-4 words in your keyword these tend to be a little less competitiveand alot more targetted example "fisting porn movie" but your page would have to be about fisting porn movies otherwise the person will just close the window and exit

i suggest you use http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/

and find the right keyword to use dont worry if its only saying this keyword only gets 100 searches a day those 100 a day will probably be about 3x that plus if its targetted it will easily make you one sale a day at the very least

Link Building

this is also another important part of your SE article.. this is because if you have no links to your site google will probably never ever find your site so there is no se traffic for you ... link building is an ongoing process and you should never stop even after youve hit number one (you can calm down a little but dont stop)

how to get the right links ?

well first off search google for the keyword your targetting and ask everyone one on the 1-2 page for a link to your site (using your keyword) this usually works extremely well.because your getting links from sites that google thinks are relevant to your site. also if your swapping hardlinks make sure not to do it just for PR do it because its relevant ... but also make sure the site your exchanging links with is indexed in google and isnt pulling any nasty tricks !

where to put the links ?

dont throw them all at the bottom of your page because google is starting to click on that these are just for SEO so try to spread them out .... or build a link page with links to these sites (push a little bit of traffic to the page so that each site is getting some traffic) and link it from your main page !

other links ?

you should submit your site to http://www.dmoz.org/because this a free high priority link also if your trading traffic trade with site with toplists and try to make it into there toplist this is another permenant link

try adding your site to toplists too ... also if you own a tgp that accepts submission put your keyword on your recip link and make sure everyone uses it !

be creative add the link to your own sites .... your galleries whatever you can !

this article is a little breif but its a basic article and is only here to teach you about the basics of SEO... if you would like to learn more contact me and arrange for another article

any questions etc ... dont worry we offer full support with every article so just hit me up and we will talk !

Introduction

Hello my name is lee iam going to be your mentor during this article if you have any questions please contact me using the information above... this is the written version of the article if you do not understand anything please do not hesitate to contact me we offer full support with all our written articles.. this is for the people who prefer to have thing written down so they can look back and practice more.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

When to Hire a Professional SEO Firm?

2007-05-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

When to Hire a Professional SEO Firm?

In efforts to increase sales and profitability, more and more companies are turning to online marketing initiatives – specifically, search engine optimization. Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) is the art and science of blending technical and marketing skills together into a finely tuned website that is both search engine-friendly, ranks well for specific keywords and phrases, and is tailored to your audience from a buyer and seller perspective.

According to a recent U.S. study, only 20% of all businesses outsource search engine optimization programs to professional SEO firms. The remaining 80% either do not conduct search engine optimization at all or they believe they have the resources and skills to do it in-house. Of this 80%, it is probable that 90% of these companies can’t be found on the web – they don’t exist. In order to generate any amount of significant web visibility, your website must typically rank within the top-30 results.

So, the question comes down to what is in your company’s best interests?

Conduct your SEO program in-house or out-source it. To answer this question, let’s first take a look at the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to implement and maintain a successful search engine optimization program.

SEO knowledge and skills required

1) Basic understanding of how search engines and directories work.

This may seem overly obvious, but you would be amazed how many people do not understand how they actually work. This knowledge provides the foundation for your SEO program.

2) Website design

Although SEO is not completely a technical marketing process, it does require a fair amount of technical knowledge of what constitutes search engine-friendly web design. Certain web design elements can either help your search engine rankings or hurt them. You simply have to know which is which.

3) SEO experience

This is the most important and most difficult knowledge to obtain. If you have never implemented a SEO program, then you are in for a big surprise. Search engine optimization programs require a lot of research and are extremely time consuming. Most importantly, they require actual SEO experience. This means knowing what SEO strategies and tactics work and which ones don’t.

In-house vs. out-sourced SEO programs

If your company is considering conducting your search engine optimization program in-house, here are some questions to consider.

• Who will be responsible for analyzing, developing, implementing and measuring the success of your SEO program?

• Is this considered the role of your IT department, Marketing department or some other individual(s) within your company?

• Do they have the time, knowledge, and resources to successfully implement and maintain your search engine optimization program? And do they really care if it works or not?

IT Department

Typically your IT department handles multiple daily tasks from trouble-shooting your company’s LAN or WAN to fixing the sales department’s laptops? Out of a busy IT person’s day, what priority and focus do you think he or she will commit to for your SEO program? And even if your IT department has some skills in web design or development, these skills make up only a small percentage of the knowledge required for a successful search engine optimization program.

Marketing Department

Typically, your marketing department juggles many marketing projects at once and faces strict completion deadlines. From handling new print collateral campaigns to getting ready for new product or service launches, marketing personnel’s time is spread very thin. In addition, how knowledgeable is your marketing department in the technical aspects of web design and search engine optimization? Do they have the time to become well-versed? Do they have sufficient internal resources? Often the answer to both questions is no, they do not.

Other individual(s) within your company

Ok, so the responsibility falls onto someone outside of your Marketing or IT department. Who will that be and why are they responsible for your SEO program? Providing these individuals with a new “project of the month,” will typically result in another check mark off of their monthly to-do list and frustration by top management of why their website is not producing any sales results.

Summary

From a business standpoint, it makes sense to try to leverage internal resources to maximize your company’s productivity and profitability – whenever possible. However, there must be a line drawn in the sand between knowing what your organization’s capabilities are and what they are not.

As you can see, there is more to search engine optimization than meets the eye. In order to implement and maintain a SEO program, you must acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources. This can be done by hiring a professional search engine optimization firm. Professional SEO firms have dedicated resources and experience to support your company’s web marketing initiatives. By leveraging their experience and know-how, your company can quickly and more efficiently implement a successful search engine optimization program.

Corey Wenger is owner of Key Position Web Marketing and is a professional Search Engine Optimizer and Consultant who has over three years of experience in helping companies increase sales and profitability through strategic web marketing programs. For more information, please visit http://www.key-position.com or email him at mailto:corey@key-position.com.

~ © 2004 Corey Wenger

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources

9 Ways to Keep Google Happy

2007-05-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

by Rick Hendershot, Marketing Bites

A recent Google patent application has the SEO community buzzing. At a bare minimum this document reveals the direction Google is taking its future search criteria. Changes in the way Google will be evaluating pages for search rankings are intended to address two major problems:

- Search engine spam, and
- Ensuring that "fresh" documents score higher than "stale" ones

Here is a summary of some of the general principles outlined in the document. Most SEO
specialists agree these are reasonable principles, and it is only a matter of time
before they are adopted.

1. Anchor text of links is still very important. Focus on your anchor text. It should contain your most important keyword.

2. Google expects that anchor texts will vary. A lot of identical anchor text suggests an "unnatural" linking pattern. Anchor texts should vary, but contain related phrases.

3. Google will record when specific links were first discovered, and watch how they change over time. Links with a long life span are considered more valuable than links with a short life span. This adds support to the link delay theory -- that links do not start "counting" until they have been in place for a few months. So get working on those links right now, but don't expect immediate gratification from Google.

4. If a new website gets a flood of new inbound links, this will be an indicator of possible spam activity. Links should be introduced gradually and according to a consistent pattern.

5. Google acknowledges that there may be link "spikes", and so an influx of new links will be interpreted as legitimate if some of the links are from "authoritative" sites. Go after links from authoritative sites.

6. If a stale webpage continues to receive new incoming links, it will be considered fresh. Keep adding links pointing to important pages.

7. Links from fresh pages will in some cases be more valuable than links from "stale" or old pages that have not been recently updated. Get links from pages that are active. If you have high value links from important sites, develop a strategy for keeping those links fresh.

8. Google places more value on a site where link growth remains constant and slow. Slow and steady wins the race. Keep getting those links.

9. Pages with many inbound links will require proportionately more new links in order to remain fresh. The assumption is that the more links a page has, the more it should be getting in the future. Otherwise it starts slipping into the "stale" category. Focus more attention on your most important pages.

Regardless of whether of not Google implements all of these criteria, the general direction is clear. More importantly, these points make good SEO sense, and provide a very good place to start when planning a link strategy.

About the Author

Rick Hendershot publishes the Linknet Network, a group of more than 35 websites and blogs offering advertising and link opportunities to web owners.

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

A Few Reminders on Key Words for SEO

2007-05-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

How can one whip up the rankings of their website without be rejected by search engines as fluff?

The rules of search engine optimization and key words seem like a never ending cycle of evolution. There are a few strategies for applying an even balance of relevant content and keyword density. For starters, the following ingredients are required for search engine friendly web copy:

100 percent original content
Well-researched – accurate information
A non-overused key word to propel search engine rankings
A relevant key word density ratio of three to four percent per 500 words

The ingredients appear rather simple to come by for writers and individuals who have a knack for communicating gripping information, online. Unfortunately, a prevalent mistake amongst webmasters or search engine optimization experts are in the compilation of plagiarized web copy or replicated content. Another common blunder is the use of inappropriate key words. (These rules do not apply when a web site offers a directory of articles authored by divergent writers).

Here are a few reminders to incorporate on your site’s key words for search engine optimization:

Use RankSense to help select the appropriate keywords to position your site
Try to use the specified keyword 1-2 times in the first two sentences of the text

In each paragraph, repeat keywords a minimum of twice

Mix keywords with synonymous popular search terms

Keywords should not be repeated within 13 words of each other

Avoid the temptation of overstuffing keywords spiders may penalize your site

In the realm of basic HTML, the regular text should be enclosed within the confines of the body tags, ) or even paragraph tags,

Paragraphs should not exceed six lines

Label images with keywords in the alt text. In example:

<*img src="url" alt="keyword in a phrase which identifies the jpeg or image file ">

In summation, informative copy writing will inevitably compel better search engine results. Not to mention, you will gain the loyalty of your visitor/target market through relevant articles as well as resources.

Don’t forget to whisk the key words until they are refined for search engine optimization.

About the Author

To learn more about achieving results with the right words, visit www.fruitionMedia.net or for more on search engine optimization visit www.ranksense.com. “A Few Reminders on Key words" fruitionMedia.net ฉ Copyright 2005 All rights reserved.

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

8 Essential SEO techniques

2007-05-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

1) Title Tag - The title tag is the most powerful on-site SEO technique you have, so use it creatively! What you place in the title tag should only be one thing, the exact keyword you used for the web page that you are trying to optimize. Every single web page should have it's own title tag.

2) ALT Tags - ALT tags were meant to be for text browsers because the images didn't show in text browsers and the ATL tags would tell the visitor what it's about. You should put your main keyword(s) in the ALT tags, but don't over do it because you could get dropped in the results or even worse banned for life!

3) Link Popularity - Link popularity is the most powerful SEO tool out of all them. Most search engines don't even consider web sites if there is not at least one or two links pointing to the web site. Having another site(s) link to your web site is important when it comes to getting your site a good ranking. Your keywords should be in the links you get and keep the keywords short. When you receive requests for a link exchange, check the site out before linking with them, check for spam (Repeat keywords, hidden text, etc.).

4) Keyword Density - This is also vital and should be used with research. You should use the keyword(s) once in the title tag, once in the heading tag, once in bold text, and get the density between 5% to 20% (Don't over do it!). Also use your keyword(s) both low and high on the web page, keyword(s) should be in the first sentence and in the last one.

5) Page Size - Your web page's speed is important to your visitors and the search engines. Why? Because the robots will be able to spider your web page faster and easier. Try your best to keep your web page over 5k and under 15k in size.

6) Rich Theme - Search engines are looking at themes more and more. Build content (Articles, FAQ, tips, etc.) much as possible and keep the web pages around 200 to 500 words. Create content that's related to your market and link them out to other related content on your site. Try to get 200 web pages or more.

7) Web Site Design - This is also important, if you want to get indexed! Text content should out weigh the HTML content. The pages should validate and be usable in all of today's leading edge browsers. Stay away from flash and Java Script, search engines dislike them both a lot.

8) Insite Cross Linking - This will help you get all of your web pages indexed by the search engines. Your web pages should be no more than three clicks away from the home page. Link to topic related quality content across your site. This will also help build you a better theme through out your web site. On every page you should link back to your home page and your main service(s).

Matt Colyer is the owner of the Marhen.com Network which includes www.linkexchangeit.com and is a part-time SEO. He also is a php, CGI and ASP developer. You can read more articles like this at www.marhen.com/articles/index.php.

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

5 Ways How I Boosted My Google AdSense Earnings By 700%

2007-05-06T00:32:00.000-07:00

Google AdSense is a great way for webmasters to monetize
their websites. While many webmasters are struggling hard
to earn $3 - $10 per day, some 'genius' webmasters have
already enjoyed $30, $100, and even $300 a day from AdSense
ads on their websites. How are these 'genius' webmasters
differ from their counterparts? They think different! They
think out of the box!

Let me share with you some tips which has been responsible
in boosting my AdSense profits by 700%. Here are 5 of them,
and if you follow these steps, I'm sure you'll see a
difference in your AdSense income.

Here are the tips:

1- I concentrate on 1 format of AdSense ad, which is the
Large Rectangle (336x280). This format has been proven to
work with me in resulting high click-through rates (CTR).
Why this format? Because the ads look like normal web
links, and people are trained to click on these types of
links.

2- I create custom palette for my ads. I choose white as
the color for the border and background. This is because,
all of my pages have white background. The idea is to make
the AdSense ads look like they are a part of my web pages.

3- Previously, I put all my AdSense ads at the bottom of my
pages. One day, I moved those ads to the top of the page.
The result surprised me. My earning increased! Since then,
I don't hide my AdSense ads anymore!

4- I maintain some links to other relevant websites, and I
put my AdSense ads at the top of the links, so that my
visitors see them first.

5- I automate the insertion of AdSense code into my
webpages using SSI (server side included). You'll need to
ask your web administrator whether your server supports SSI
or not. Here's how to do it. You just put the AdSense code
in a text file, save it as 'adsense.txt', and upload it to
the root directory of your web server. Next, call the code
on other pages using SSI.

This trick is really a time saver especially for those who
use automatic page generators to generate pages on their
website.

Here's a tool I use to generate thousands of pages on my
website within seconds:
http://www.adsense-insider-secrets.com/page-generator.htm

Try these tips today, and I guarantee your AdSense earnings
will improve. For more tips, you can visit my site at:
http://www.adsense-insider-secrets.com

About the Author

Mohd Fairuz maintains a website called AdSense Insider
Secrets. On his site, he shares with his visitors free tips,
secrets & strategies how he managed to boost his Google
AdSense earnings by 700%. Go to his website, and get the
tips, free of charge at:
http://www.adsense-insider-secrets.com

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

Google adsense

2007-05-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

Google adsense

When your content changes, so do your ads.

Google AdSense technology goes beyond simple keyword or category matching. We work hard to understand your content and deliver ads that are precisely targeted to specific pages, automatically, no matter how many thousands of pages your site may have, or how specialized or broad your content. As your content changes, Google's ads change to match. And since our ads are also targeted by country, global businesses can display local advertising with no additional effort.

Track your earnings with online reports.

With AdSense, you can monitor your ad performance with customizable online reports that offer details like the number of page impressions, clicks and click-through rate. You can track the performance of specific ad formats, colors and pages, and spot trends quickly and easily. Our flexible reporting tools let you group your pages however you want, so you can gain insight into your earnings by viewing results by URL, domain, ad type, category and more.

And best of all, of course, you can check your earnings anytime.

Getting started is fast and easy.

Getting started as a Google AdSense publisher is easy. It only takes a few moments to apply online for both content and search ads. Once you're approved, simply log in to your account, copy a block of HTML code and paste it into your existing ad server or any of your web pages. And that's it—you’re done. Contextually targeted ads start to appear on your web pages, and your earnings start to add up.

To learn more and to apply, go to www.google.com/adsense.

About the Author

Bobby is a webmaster for

Adsense Tips And Tricks!

Check out that website to learn how to make more money!
Check this out also.

Get PAID to search GOOGLE!

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

A Guide to AdSense

2007-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

If you’re a regular internet user, you have undoubtedly used Google recently. And why wouldn’t you? It’s a great service. It’ll find what you’re looking for faster and more accurately than anyone else. Of course, Google is a publicly traded company that needs to make a profit and in the process of commercializing their technology, the company has created one of the most consistent revenue streams for webmasters today, AdSense.

(This article geared towards content publishers, advertisers see AdWords)

AdSense is a pay per click program in which ads are targeted to search results and website content with advertisers paying for each click received. In contrast to other types of affiliate programs, AdSense can be more profitable to publishers because it requires no spending on the customer’s part. Advertisers are paying for the interested traffic.

Part of the reason the program is so successful is that the ads are unobtrusive text that can actually be useful to visitors. By matching the ads to the content, the message is relevant, and therefore advertisers can convert more clicks into sales.

Once you have a site running, and if the content does not go against Google’s terms (gambling and adult sites are not allowed, for example), you can join the program. After applying, your site will be reviewed to make sure it does not contain objectionable material. This should only take a few days, then you’re in. There are no other requirements, such as the traffic levels that other advertising networks require. You will now have access to the code to add to your website.

However, there is more to profiting from your content than just joining the program and pasting ads randomly on the page. For one, the content of your page must be useful to readers (to keep them coming back) and at the same time valuable to advertisers. Website hosting, for example, is a consistently profitable phrase. Of course, that field has become crowded now. The key remains to find an untapped niche.

Also, sites are limited to three units on a page so as to not overwhelm readers. Positioning is crucial. Studies show that the most viewed area of a page is toward the top and left (think of where you normally start reading). Placing ads right after the content or embedding them in the articles are also effective techniques. Google has examples of placement to guide you once you join AdSense.

Last, but just as important, is the appearance of the AdSense units. The program allows their colors to be customized to match the look of your site. Use this ability to make the ads look like the rest of the links on your site and be sure to match the background color as well. Visitors will respond better as they see will give the text a chance instead of unconsciously rejecting them as advertisements.

There is a lot more to explore and experiment with, but by now you should have a general idea of how AdSense works. Good luck!

About the Author

This is an introductory article to AdSense, visit ClickForDeals.net to learn more about making money through pay per click and affiliate programs.

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

$1,458,92 in 18 days with AdSense?

2007-05-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to interview a regular guy
(not a well-known 'Guru') who claims making more
than $200 a day with Google AdSense Program.

Here's an excerpt from the interview I did for my
upcoming eBook - 'AdSense Confessions' - read it and
try to apply what you learn iniside, it should make a
difference in your AdSense income and profits.

---
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
---

My name is John Tulus. I was born in October of 1966
in C๓rdoba, Argentina, South America.

---
How did you get started to make money on the Internet?
---

I started with small projects like web sites for friends.

After some time of developing web sites for others, I knew
it was time to start to work on the ideas for developing my
own site, my own online company. I put all my ideas
together, combined them with the experience I had achieved
developing web sites for others, and put in motion the
creation of my site. Once the site was up and running, all
I had to do was start generating traffic and wait for the
money to roll in. I remember the first cheque I received...
what a rush!! $29. That motivated me to keep on with the
project of the life that I desired.

---
Do you prefer AdSense over Affiliate Programs promotion?
---

Yes, I prefer Google Adsense over any other affiliate
program because it has Google guarantee. Thousands of
websites are now applying Adsense to their sites. Not only
do you have the Google guarantee, but visitors to your web
site may also see it as having the Google "seal of
confidence". In a certain way, having Adsense on your site
shows visitors that your site has been approved by Google.

Nevertheless, having Adsense on your site doesnดt mean that
you canดt have other affiliate programs combined with it.
You can actually have as many programs as you want, but I
prefer Adsense specially because the conversion rate to
money is much faster with Adsense.

No other affiliate program converts clicks to money as fast
as Google Adsense.

With Google Adsense I may need just 10 optimized clicks to
earn $20. By optimized, I mean clicks on a page that has
keywords that pay the most in Adsense. With other affiliate
programs I need at least 200 visits to an optimized site
with related content and optimized traffic to earn the same
amount of money.

---
What is the 'SECRET' formula for bringing quality traffic
to your Site?
---

In WMXP.COM I apply all my experience acquired during all
these years of investigation, using the best tools, the
best reports, the best products, to offer my visitors the
best of the best so that they have good reasons to return
and recommend the site.

Free tools for webmasters such as ...

Check Pagerank (http://www.wmxp.com/tools/pagerank.php)
Search Engine Ranking Popularity
(http://www.wmxp.com/tools/serp.php)
Search Engine Saturation
(http://www.wmxp.com/tools/index.php)
Popularity (http://www.wmxp.com/popular.php)
Overture Keywords (http://www.wmxp.com/overture)
a complete directory full of free and non-free scripts
(http://scripts.wmxp.com) a classified ads system
(www.adsbe.com) a directory full of products of one of the
most important affiliate systems on the net (FREE CLICKBANK
STOREFRONT - http://cbmall.wmxp.com) ... make of
www.WMXP.COM a site sufficiently interesting for
navigators that really work in the Internet.

---
How do you go about converting your Site traffic into more
Adsense Income?
---

If your Adsense is performing poorly, I have three tips
for you:

1. Decrease the number of Adsense blocks that you are
displaying on a page. I don't know how others have
experienced this, but my income seemed to be less if I had
more than one block of Adsense ads displayed at once - and
your CTR is definitely less if you have more than one ad
impression at a time.

2. Change your link colour to blue. While I cannot disclose
my CTR I can tell you that this one little change more than
doubled my CTR. I know that there are others out there who
advocate that your link colour should be the same as the
other links on your site, but try it out for yourself for a
day or two. I think you will be highly surprised!

3. Set the URL colour to the same colour as the ad's text.
This makes the URL ''melt" in and makes the link colour
stand out more, definitely making it more "clickable".

---
What final words of wisdom would you like to pass on to
everyone who is reading this eBook?
---

To trust your abilities, to trust the project, to develop
your ideas fully and that in the end your efforts will be
rewarded.

About the Author

Codrut Turcanu is putting his final touch on 'AdSense Confessions' - an info-packed eBook containing 3 in-depth interviews with regular Guys (not 'Gurus') making TONS of Cash with AdSense. To be notified of this release visit: http://www.AdSenseConfessions.com

Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

5 Ways To Automate Your Site

2007-05-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

Automating your online business is one of the most importantsteps you can take to insure your success on the internet.
If you have been on the internet for any time at all, you knowthat there are just too many tasks to do each day to be reallyefficient and productive with them all.
Learning to delegate some of those routine, daily activitiesis one way to insure your site's success and to give you muchmore time in the day for the most important task which is thatof promotion and marketing your site.
HERE ARE 5 SIMPLE WAYS TO AUTOMATE TODAY:
1) USE AUTO-RESPONDERS:
Probably one of the best-known and popular ways to handleroutine messages to inquirers is the use of auto-responders.
It is simple and easy to set up your messages which usually involve several follow-up messages to remind your visitors what you are offering and how to find your site again.
Here are some free ones:
http://www.freeautobot.com/ (ad free also.)http://www.getresponse.com/http://www.sendfree.com/http://www.sendthisfree.com/
2) MAILING LIST MANAGEMENT:
If you are trying to run your own newsletter, handling the processby yourself can eat up a lot of valuable time.
In the beginning this may be possible, but as your list grows andthe tasks involved keep multiplying, your time demands will increasealso.
There are lots of ways to manage a mailing list including installingyour own scripts and purchasing your own software.
Weigh the pros and cons, but be sure and check out the possibilityof *farming out* the responsibility to a mailing list service.
Here are some to consider:
http://www.ezinedirector.com/ (free and paid versions)http://www.mail-list.com/http://www.zinester.com/ (free and paid versions)
Free ones include:
http://groups.yahoo.com/http://www.topica.com/
3) USE SOFTWARE:
There are many software options available depending upon yourwork online.
Here are some possible software applications available. Justdo a search online.
~Creating links to your site and others.~HTML editors~Ad swaps~Promotion~Subscription management~Survey forms
4) PAYMENT SYSTEMS:
Well, this is just a no-brainer. It is just too simple not to do this one.
Having an automated payment system that allows you to acceptcredit card payments for your products or services and is somethingthat everyone has to have to be successful online.
Here are a couple of third-party ones that I use and recommend:
ClickBank-- http://www.ClickBank.com/ PayPal-- http://www.PayPal.com/
5) AD TRACKING SYSTEM:
If you are going to advertise your products and/or services online,then it is critical that you track your results.
Knowing how many hits you got to your site is nice, but it won't take care of your questions like, "Where did my traffic and salescome from?"
Here are some ad tracking systems. (Some offer free versions.)
http://www.BusiToolz.com/ http://www.hypertracker.com/http://www.adminder.com/
Implementing these five time-saving helpers is a very importantbenchmark in moving your business into a phase that will free upsome time to insure your success online.
Best of luck with your promotional efforts.
Larry Johnson, author
This article may be published in your newsletter or on your websiteby simply including the resource box below.
Get this article by auto-responder: mailto:automateit@freeautobot.com
=============================================
GET A QUICK START with this free, How-to-do-it e-zine.Biz Site Biz E-zine will help you with powerful tips, greatresources and original articles.Come on down and join us as we discover better ways to dobusiness online. http://www.bizsitebiz.com/Subscribe: Mailto:subscribe-956607103@ezinedirector.net
Or personalize your delivery by using this form:http://www.BizSiteBiz.com/Subscribeform.html
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Larry is a webmaster and ezine publisher for more than eight years working on the internet.
Get Free Content at ContentMart.com

Adwords, Adsense, SEO – Common Denominator, Keywords

2007-04-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Adwords, Adsense, SEO – Common Denominator, Keywords

If you have just put up a website, you probably all ready have heard words like: keywords, Google Adwords, GoogleAdsense, SEO. Adwords, Adsense, SEO have one thing in common – Keywords. How important are keywords? Very Important.

Google Adwords

Adwords, be it through Google, Miva, or any pay-per-click search engines, you need keywords. With Adwords, you create a three-line ad – 25 word title, with two 35 word lines of ad copy – then you create your keywords. To get the hits, you have to brainstorm for different keywords, that are different but relevant to your target audience. Sound easy? It’s not. It takes time, patience, constant tweaking, and hoping that the product you are selling is not already saturated -- to much competition, makes it a little more difficult for the novice to make a profit.

Google Adsense

Google Adsense is an advertising program created by Google, and which is beginning to be explored by other search engines, such as Yahoo and MSN – that allows you to put targeted ads on your website. If someone clicks on the ad, you earn a small amount of money. These ads are keyword driven and are relevant to your webpage or website.

Sounds simple? Well, not really. There is more too it than just putting an ad on your website and expecting someone to click on it. What’s involved? Let’s see – color, position, style, to name just a few.

SEO

Search engine optimization – this for me has been a time-consuming process – since I am still learning.

SEO is keyword driven – the search engines pull the keywords from your web copy – not, to my surprise, from the meta keywords tag. Granted, I still use the meta keywords tag, but maybe in the near future, I will slowly eliminate the tag from my webpages…

The search engines do, however, pull information from Meta Description, Meta Title, and the content of your webpages. Thus, content does reign supreme. Since content reigns supreme, each page should contain useful content and most importantly, your most relevant keywords that you want to emphasize.

Secondly, it is best to try and base your keywords around a central theme. I have found that when the keywords diverts away from the main theme – that sends a red flag to search engines. So, if you want to look at your keywords and the density of the keywords on your webpage or webpages – You can get a quick rundown at:

http://www.ranks.nl/tools/spider.html . It’s a free tool, and very helpful.

To conclude, keywords is one of the main ingredients that leads people to your website, product, service and/or ad. …AND, keywords based around your quality content will help with your positioning on your website.

More Small Business & Home Business Articles and Resources