Once upon a time, onsite optimization was the most crucial factor in search engine ranking. Webmasters and SEO experts spent ample time ensuring keywords were used in all relevant tags, and that the keyword concentration on each page was just right (usually 5-7%). Then came all the spamming and keyword stuffing, as webmasters and SEO experts fought viciously to usurp one another in the ranks. Search engines took notice, and adjusted their scoring algorithms accordingly. Onsite optimization lost its footing.
Nowadays, onsite optimization is becoming less and less significant, overshadowed by the all powerful offsite optimization. Where keyword concentration was once god, now links have become the mighty ruler of the search engines. The fact of the matter is, onsite optimization counts for almost nothing these days (I did say "almost"). So why are webmasters and SEO experts still spewing all this nonsense about the importance of building great content. I really wish it were about building great content. The sad truth, however, is it is all about the links.
Search engines want you to believe that ranking well is all about building a great website with great content. Build a site for your users, keep your users happy, and you will do just fine in their eyes. After all, is not this the main principle behind organic search results; let us keep it real, honest, and user-friendly. Boy, I wish that were so. What I do not understand is why all these so-called experts and webmasters are spouting the same foolish nonsense all over the Internet. Perhaps it is because they do not want us to work on improving our own rankings as their ridiculous articles are improving theirs.
It is almost like these experts and webmasters are afraid that if they tell it like it is, somehow Google will find out what they are saying and drop their site a few points. Gee, but I thought the results on the left side were purely organic. Besides, if it were that easy, I would just start posting all kinds of articles and claim they were written by my competition. Sure there are some "must haves" for onsite optimization, but any web owner could learn these in an afternoon. The reality, however, is that all the great content and onsite optimization in the world will only get you to the starting line. Links is how you run the race.
The best way to acquire these necessary links, the experts say, is to once again build great content. It is the old "if you build it they will come (and link to it)" line. This is nearly ludicrous. First of all, how would people even find your "great content" if you are on page 50? Because no matter how great your content is, and no matter how much onsite SEO you do, you will never get closer than page 50 without back links (unless you are vying for a top position with a keyword or phrase that gets searched less than 100 times a month). Now even if a few people do find your site, what makes you think that these people have their own websites? Most Internet users do not have their own websites, and even if they do, they probably do not know enough html to properly add a link in their own code. They especially would not know that they are supposed to use your "keywords" in the anchor text (many webmasters do not even know to do this).
Now, let us pretend that a few knowledgeable webmasters do find your site and really enjoy the content. This does not mean they are going to go through the trouble of creating a link on their site to yours. This takes time, effort and energy. Why would they do this unless they have some incentive (but if you give them incentive, does not that undermine its organic nature)?
Nevertheless, if you do everything right, eventually people will link to your site. This is true. However, it will likely take you about 2 years to acquire enough relevant, high PR back links with proper keyword anchor text to move you up just one point in the PR scale. That will possibly move you to page 49 in the search results. Congratulations, only a few dozen more years to go. (The only alternative you have now is to pay for results on the right side of the screen, and that my friend gets expensive.)
The fact is, you could hire a SEO company and pay them millions for onsite optimization of your PR 2 site. Then, you could spend months creating unique and user-friendly content that perfectly integrates all your keywords and phrases in a symphony of optimized perfection. Then, when you are nearly on top for some obscure keyword phrase, along comes some PR 5 website that just coincidently adds an extra page to their site that just happens to have your key phrase spliced throughout the title tag. You just got beat. Even though they have not done one thing to optimize their site or page for these keywords, and even though there is zero "quality content" on this add-on URL, it just usurped you in the ranks.
If acquiring links is so incredibly important, then why do not I just spend my time doing this? Well, this is easier said then done. I have just recently been told that reciprocal link exchanges, directory listings, and 3way link exchanges no longer account for very much in the eyes of the search engine gods (although this is still up for debate). Writing letters to relevant high PR sites is almost a ludicrous task, in that only maybe 1 in ten ever even responds to your pathetic, though eloquently written e-mails. The ones who do usually have some wonderful explanation of why you should look into paid advertising on their site instead. And of course, paid links and link farms will possibly get you banned completely from the search engines (which is about the worst thing that could ever possibly happen), though I am not sure how they distinguish between an add and paid link, a directory and a link farm. Nevertheless, it is enough to keep your head spinning.
This, after all, is the million-dollar question. If you can succeed at the link game, you will be rich beyond your wildest imaginations. Just look at Plentyoffish.com, and other sites that rank in the top five for well sought after keywords. I for one would not mind finding myself in their position.
Source From SitePro News
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Crawlers
There is a lot to learn when it comes to online or internet marketing and search engine optimization. That is why a lot of people hire SEO consultants to worry about their internet marketing for them. However, if you do not want to have to pay SEO experts to help you with the marketing of your website, then you may want to think about doing it yourself! It is not that hard, it just takes some reading on the Internet from trusted sources. Really, most of the SEO services that are provided online are built around one thing, and that is search engine crawlers.
Today we are going to talk more about search engine crawlers, and what they do. Soon you will find out that pretty much everything that you do, as far as search engine optimization goes, is to make these little crawlers happy. It is no longer as easy as a quick search engine submission and your website becomes
As you may be able to guess by the name, these search engine crawlers are little bots that roam around the Internet looking for new websites and ranking them based on an algorithm. When they come across a new website, they rank it in different ways, taking many things in to consideration. These ranks help to determine where the site is going to end up in a search done on a search engine.
The first thing that you have to do for these crawlers is to get noticed by them, and that is the hardest part of SEO, or at least that is what SEO consultants want you to think! The truth of the matter is, you can get your website noticed by simply visiting different popular search engines and adding your URL to their submission forms. You also must get links from other web sites pointing to your web site to obtain link popularity and credibility with the search engines. This way the crawlers will know where your site is at, and find it a lot quicker. They will also consider it a relevant source of information if other sites link to you.
After that, it is all about marketing your web site on the Internet through search engine optimization techniques. These little crawlers are programmed to look for certain things on your web site; these are things that SEO experts study and have an understanding for. Using the services of SEO Consultants to help in your marketing, however they can be very costly, so you should hire a service provider that is talented and can provide a portfolio to ensure you get quality work.
Before hiring someone to work on your web site you should make sure they use ethical search optimization and marketing tactics and also make sure that they can provide results. The first thing that crawlers look for is, of course, keywords.
Keywords in your web sites content and keywords in the links pointing to your site. When it comes to search engine optimization, use keywords wisely. Do not over-saturate your web site with keywords because you can get docked as a spammer. These keywords have to be worked into the web page and not just listed there. You should integrate them in to your content, page titles, Meta tags and URL. Also, it will help the marketing of your web site if you work them into the titles of your web page as well.
Also make sure that your main page headings are bigger than that of your normal font so the crawlers can easily pick out what the main focus of your page is.
SEO consultants also worry about how many links there are out there that point back to your website. The more links, the better. However they must also be quality links from popular sites that are credible with the search engines. That is why SEO experts are always looking for different places where they can post links to your website. While crawlers are looking around, if they come across links to your website, then that helps to boost your ranking online.
As you can see, SEO services are very helpful, but if you can learn how to do online marketing by yourself, you do not need to hire anyone.
Source From Entireweb Newsletter
Today we are going to talk more about search engine crawlers, and what they do. Soon you will find out that pretty much everything that you do, as far as search engine optimization goes, is to make these little crawlers happy. It is no longer as easy as a quick search engine submission and your website becomes
As you may be able to guess by the name, these search engine crawlers are little bots that roam around the Internet looking for new websites and ranking them based on an algorithm. When they come across a new website, they rank it in different ways, taking many things in to consideration. These ranks help to determine where the site is going to end up in a search done on a search engine.
The first thing that you have to do for these crawlers is to get noticed by them, and that is the hardest part of SEO, or at least that is what SEO consultants want you to think! The truth of the matter is, you can get your website noticed by simply visiting different popular search engines and adding your URL to their submission forms. You also must get links from other web sites pointing to your web site to obtain link popularity and credibility with the search engines. This way the crawlers will know where your site is at, and find it a lot quicker. They will also consider it a relevant source of information if other sites link to you.
After that, it is all about marketing your web site on the Internet through search engine optimization techniques. These little crawlers are programmed to look for certain things on your web site; these are things that SEO experts study and have an understanding for. Using the services of SEO Consultants to help in your marketing, however they can be very costly, so you should hire a service provider that is talented and can provide a portfolio to ensure you get quality work.
Before hiring someone to work on your web site you should make sure they use ethical search optimization and marketing tactics and also make sure that they can provide results. The first thing that crawlers look for is, of course, keywords.
Keywords in your web sites content and keywords in the links pointing to your site. When it comes to search engine optimization, use keywords wisely. Do not over-saturate your web site with keywords because you can get docked as a spammer. These keywords have to be worked into the web page and not just listed there. You should integrate them in to your content, page titles, Meta tags and URL. Also, it will help the marketing of your web site if you work them into the titles of your web page as well.
Also make sure that your main page headings are bigger than that of your normal font so the crawlers can easily pick out what the main focus of your page is.
SEO consultants also worry about how many links there are out there that point back to your website. The more links, the better. However they must also be quality links from popular sites that are credible with the search engines. That is why SEO experts are always looking for different places where they can post links to your website. While crawlers are looking around, if they come across links to your website, then that helps to boost your ranking online.
As you can see, SEO services are very helpful, but if you can learn how to do online marketing by yourself, you do not need to hire anyone.
Source From Entireweb Newsletter
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Pathway Landscape & The Seasonal Weather in Scottsdale, Arizona
This is the post about the Pathway Landscape Design & Maintenance. It is all about the landscape designs that inspired by the beauty and diversity of Arizona's natural terrain.
Most people hear Arizona and they think of a hot, empty, boring landscape. But in fact, Scottsdale, Arizona happens to be one of the top vacation spots with a beautiful natural setting, wide array of activities, enjoyable climate and so on.
In term of the temperatures, in Arizona is now at 80 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, and this will be the perfect weather for enjoying all your favorite outdoor activities such like fishing, golfing, dinning, shopping and so on.
Besides the whether, Pathway Landscape also concern about landscape design in Scottsdale AZ and maintenance for those who will use and enjoy these gardens and how they integrate with the architecture of their homes and their lives.
Most people hear Arizona and they think of a hot, empty, boring landscape. But in fact, Scottsdale, Arizona happens to be one of the top vacation spots with a beautiful natural setting, wide array of activities, enjoyable climate and so on.
In term of the temperatures, in Arizona is now at 80 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale, and this will be the perfect weather for enjoying all your favorite outdoor activities such like fishing, golfing, dinning, shopping and so on.
Besides the whether, Pathway Landscape also concern about landscape design in Scottsdale AZ and maintenance for those who will use and enjoy these gardens and how they integrate with the architecture of their homes and their lives.
Protecting Your Search Engine Rankings
Your website's ranking on search engines is a vital element of your overall marketing campaign, and there are ways to improve your link popularity through legitimate methods. Unfortunately, the Internet is populated by bands of dishonest webmasters seeking to improve their link popularity by faking out search engines.
The good news is that search engines have figured this out, and are now on guard for "spam" pages and sites that have increased their rankings by artificial methods. When a search engine tracks down such a site, that site is demoted in ranking or completely removed from the search engine's index.
The bad news is that some high quality, completely above-board sites are being mistaken for these web page criminals. Your page may be in danger of being caught up in the "spam" net and tossed from a search engine's index, even though you have done nothing to deserve such harsh treatment. But there are things you can do - and things you should be sure NOT to do - which will prevent this kind of mis perception.
Link popularity is mostly based on the quality of sites you are linked to. Google pioneered these criteria for assigning website ranking, and virtually all search engines on the Internet now use it. There are legitimate ways to go about increasing your link popularity, but at the same time, you must be scrupulously careful about which sites you choose to link to. Google frequently imposes penalties on sites that have linked to other sites solely for the purpose of artificially boosting their link popularity. They have actually labeled these links "bad neighborhoods."
You can raise a toast to the fact that you cannot be penalized when a bad neighborhood links to your site; penalty happens only when you are the one sending out the link to a bad neighborhood. But you must check, and double-check; all the links that are active on your links page to make sure you have not linked to a bad neighborhood.
The first thing to check out is whether or not the pages you have linked to have been penalized. The most direct way to do this is to download the Google toolbar at http://toolbar.google.com. You will then see that most pages are given a "Pagerank" which is represented by a sliding green scale on the Google toolbar. Do not link to any site that shows no green at all on the scale. This is especially important when the scale is completely gray. It is more than likely that these pages have been penalized. If you are linked to these pages, you may catch their penalty, and like the flu, it may be difficult to recover from the infection.
There is no need to be afraid of linking to sites whose scale shows only a tiny sliver of green on their scale. These sites have not been penalized, and their links may grow in value and popularity. However, do make sure that you closely monitor these kinds of links to ascertain that at some point they do not sustain a penalty once you have linked to them from your links page.
Another evil trick that illicit webmasters use to artificially boost their link popularity is the use of hidden text. Search engines usually use the words on web pages as a factor in determining their rankings, which means that if the text on your page contains your keywords, you have more of an opportunity to increase your search engine ranking than a page that does not contain text inclusive of keywords. Some webmasters have gotten around this formula by hiding their keywords in such a way so that they are invisible to any visitors to their site. For example, they have used the keywords but made them the same color as the background color of the page, such as a plethora of white keywords on a white background. You cannot see these words with the human eye - but the eye of a search engine spider can spot them easily! A spider is the program search engines use to index web pages, and when it sees these invisible words, it goes back and boosts that page's link ranking.
Webmasters may be brilliant and sometimes devious, but search engines have figured these tricks out. As soon as a search engine perceives the use of hidden text! - The page is penalized. The downside of this is that sometimes the spider is a bit overzealous and will penalize a page by mistake. For example, if the background color of your page is gray, and you have placed gray text inside a black box, the spider will only take note of the gray text and assume you are employing hidden text. To avoid any risk of false penalty, simply direct your webmaster not to assign the same color to text as the background color of the page.
Another potential problem that can result in a penalty is called "keyword stuffing." It is important to have your keywords appear in the text on your page, but sometimes you can go a little overboard in your enthusiasm to please those spiders. A search engine uses what is called "Key phrase Density" to determine if a site is trying to artificially boost their ranking. This is the ratio of keywords to the rest of the words on the page. Search engines assign a limit to the number of times you can use a keyword before it decides you have overdone it and penalizes your site. This ratio is quite high, so it is difficult to surpass without sounding as if you are stuttering - unless your keyword is part of your company name. If this is the case, it is easy for keyword density to soar. So, if your keyword is "renters insurance," be sure you do not use this phrase in every sentence. Carefully edit the text on your site so that the copy flows naturally and the keyword is not repeated incessantly. A good rule of thumb is your keyword should never appear in more than half the sentences on the page.
The final potential risk factor is known as "cloaking." To those of you who are diligent Trekkies, this concept should be easy to understand. For the rest of you - cloaking is when the server directs a visitor to one page and a search engine spider to a different page. The page the spider sees is "cloaked" because it is invisible to regular traffic, and deliberately set-up to raise the site's search engine ranking. A cloaked page tries to feed the spider everything it needs to rocket that page's ranking to the top of the list. It is natural that search engines have responded to this act of deception with extreme enmity, imposing steep penalties on these sites. The problem on your end is that sometimes pages are cloaked for legitimate reasons, such as prevention against the theft of code, often referred to as "page jacking." This kind of shielding is unnecessary these days due to the use of "off page" elements, such as link popularity, that cannot be stolen.
To be on the safe side, be sure that your webmaster is aware that absolutely no cloaking is acceptable. Make sure the webmaster understands that cloaking of any kind will put your website at great risk.
Just as you must be diligent in increasing your link popularity and your ranking, you must be equally diligent to avoid being unfairly penalized. So be sure to monitor your site closely and avoid any appearance of artificially boosting your rankings.
Source From SEO News
The good news is that search engines have figured this out, and are now on guard for "spam" pages and sites that have increased their rankings by artificial methods. When a search engine tracks down such a site, that site is demoted in ranking or completely removed from the search engine's index.
The bad news is that some high quality, completely above-board sites are being mistaken for these web page criminals. Your page may be in danger of being caught up in the "spam" net and tossed from a search engine's index, even though you have done nothing to deserve such harsh treatment. But there are things you can do - and things you should be sure NOT to do - which will prevent this kind of mis perception.
Link popularity is mostly based on the quality of sites you are linked to. Google pioneered these criteria for assigning website ranking, and virtually all search engines on the Internet now use it. There are legitimate ways to go about increasing your link popularity, but at the same time, you must be scrupulously careful about which sites you choose to link to. Google frequently imposes penalties on sites that have linked to other sites solely for the purpose of artificially boosting their link popularity. They have actually labeled these links "bad neighborhoods."
You can raise a toast to the fact that you cannot be penalized when a bad neighborhood links to your site; penalty happens only when you are the one sending out the link to a bad neighborhood. But you must check, and double-check; all the links that are active on your links page to make sure you have not linked to a bad neighborhood.
The first thing to check out is whether or not the pages you have linked to have been penalized. The most direct way to do this is to download the Google toolbar at http://toolbar.google.com. You will then see that most pages are given a "Pagerank" which is represented by a sliding green scale on the Google toolbar. Do not link to any site that shows no green at all on the scale. This is especially important when the scale is completely gray. It is more than likely that these pages have been penalized. If you are linked to these pages, you may catch their penalty, and like the flu, it may be difficult to recover from the infection.
There is no need to be afraid of linking to sites whose scale shows only a tiny sliver of green on their scale. These sites have not been penalized, and their links may grow in value and popularity. However, do make sure that you closely monitor these kinds of links to ascertain that at some point they do not sustain a penalty once you have linked to them from your links page.
Another evil trick that illicit webmasters use to artificially boost their link popularity is the use of hidden text. Search engines usually use the words on web pages as a factor in determining their rankings, which means that if the text on your page contains your keywords, you have more of an opportunity to increase your search engine ranking than a page that does not contain text inclusive of keywords. Some webmasters have gotten around this formula by hiding their keywords in such a way so that they are invisible to any visitors to their site. For example, they have used the keywords but made them the same color as the background color of the page, such as a plethora of white keywords on a white background. You cannot see these words with the human eye - but the eye of a search engine spider can spot them easily! A spider is the program search engines use to index web pages, and when it sees these invisible words, it goes back and boosts that page's link ranking.
Webmasters may be brilliant and sometimes devious, but search engines have figured these tricks out. As soon as a search engine perceives the use of hidden text! - The page is penalized. The downside of this is that sometimes the spider is a bit overzealous and will penalize a page by mistake. For example, if the background color of your page is gray, and you have placed gray text inside a black box, the spider will only take note of the gray text and assume you are employing hidden text. To avoid any risk of false penalty, simply direct your webmaster not to assign the same color to text as the background color of the page.
Another potential problem that can result in a penalty is called "keyword stuffing." It is important to have your keywords appear in the text on your page, but sometimes you can go a little overboard in your enthusiasm to please those spiders. A search engine uses what is called "Key phrase Density" to determine if a site is trying to artificially boost their ranking. This is the ratio of keywords to the rest of the words on the page. Search engines assign a limit to the number of times you can use a keyword before it decides you have overdone it and penalizes your site. This ratio is quite high, so it is difficult to surpass without sounding as if you are stuttering - unless your keyword is part of your company name. If this is the case, it is easy for keyword density to soar. So, if your keyword is "renters insurance," be sure you do not use this phrase in every sentence. Carefully edit the text on your site so that the copy flows naturally and the keyword is not repeated incessantly. A good rule of thumb is your keyword should never appear in more than half the sentences on the page.
The final potential risk factor is known as "cloaking." To those of you who are diligent Trekkies, this concept should be easy to understand. For the rest of you - cloaking is when the server directs a visitor to one page and a search engine spider to a different page. The page the spider sees is "cloaked" because it is invisible to regular traffic, and deliberately set-up to raise the site's search engine ranking. A cloaked page tries to feed the spider everything it needs to rocket that page's ranking to the top of the list. It is natural that search engines have responded to this act of deception with extreme enmity, imposing steep penalties on these sites. The problem on your end is that sometimes pages are cloaked for legitimate reasons, such as prevention against the theft of code, often referred to as "page jacking." This kind of shielding is unnecessary these days due to the use of "off page" elements, such as link popularity, that cannot be stolen.
To be on the safe side, be sure that your webmaster is aware that absolutely no cloaking is acceptable. Make sure the webmaster understands that cloaking of any kind will put your website at great risk.
Just as you must be diligent in increasing your link popularity and your ranking, you must be equally diligent to avoid being unfairly penalized. So be sure to monitor your site closely and avoid any appearance of artificially boosting your rankings.
Source From SEO News
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What Personalized Search Means for SEO and Your Website
Looking back over the 15 or so years that SEO has been researched, discussed and practiced, it is difficult to find any significant period of time when it was not changing.
Before Google came onto the search scene around the turn of the millennium, the search engines at the time were ranking websites based primarily on the sheer volume and density of keywords on the page. So ranking for "blue widgets" meant little more than finding ways to stuff those two words into every inch of your page possible while still maintaining at least the semblance of a user experience. The result was a plethora of webmasters who found creative ways to stuff keywords into every corner of their sites. Then Google changed the game.
With PageRank, Google introduced a new way of evaluating the relative authority of a website or page - links. PageRank, to put it in simple terms, provided a link map of the web. The more links pointing to a site or page, the more power or authority that page took on. And the anchor text of a link, the words that occur as clickable text, offered a clue as to what the linked-to page was all about. As Google garnered more market share, links became more valuable on the web. A whole new form of web spam was born - free-for-all links and link selling schemes. Google has yet to find an effective way to completely crack down on these tactics, but in the 3rd quarter of 2007 they took some significant steps including directly penalizing specific websites which were believed to be selling links for SEO benefits and relieving "free-for-all" directories of their power to pass PageRank altogether.
There should be no question that more big changes are coming in SEO - only a question of "what next - and how do I prepare for it?" Here is what is next: Personalized Search. In fact, it is already here - more likely than not you are already seeing personalized results when you search in Google.
Google has continually added to their impressive list of free services. To name a handful:
So What does Personalized Search Mean for You and Your Website?
1. You can no longer assume that rankings as you see them are global. Anyone logged in while they search is potentially seeing a different set of results for the same keyword. You can log out of your Google account to search or turn off personalized results, but it will not do much good since every other user is potentially searching with personalization.
2. If Google is incorporating usage data from other sources such as the Google Toolbar, Google Chrome and Google Analytics, it means that the user experience is going to play a heavier role in SEO. Keep this in mind: for Google, the user experience is everything. Does not it then make sense for them to incorporate available usage data when ranking websites?
3. With these new data sources, Google could potentially be scaling back the emphasis on inbound links in their ranking algorithm. Links to this point have been central for Google rankings. With their market share continually improving and the unparalleled usage data that affords them we can reasonably expect that they will be putting more emphasis on these metrics in the future.
4. Expected traffic estimates based on rankings just became difficult if not impossible to achieve. In the past, traffic could be reasonably estimated by multiplying the available search usage for a given keyword by the known traffic percentage of a given position. The 1st position, for example, received some 48% of traffic for a keyword according to leaked AOL data from a few years back. For a keyword receiving 100 searches per month, you could reasonably estimate 48 visits per month based on a #1 ranking for that keyword. SEO companies used that data to take some of the guesswork out of their campaigns. With personalized search these estimates are going to become far less accurate if not completely unreliable.
5. Overall, this means you need to keep your eyes OFF the search engine rankings to a large degree. Does a #1 position for your Google account mean you could be somewhere back on page 5 for someone else? Probably not. But the point is, from here on out we can not be sure without extensive testing. Rankings have not ever meant much – they have always been a means to an end, the end being quality traffic and ultimately more sales, attention or whatever your website goal may be. Now, more than ever, high-quality traffic should be your focus. Personalized search is not exactly a new concept – it is been discussed for at least a couple of years now. But we are seeing it receive heavier emphasis lately, and the buzz is on that Google is going to change the game again soon. Like it or not, we are likely going to have to let go of rankings as a metric for success.
Source From SitePro News
Before Google came onto the search scene around the turn of the millennium, the search engines at the time were ranking websites based primarily on the sheer volume and density of keywords on the page. So ranking for "blue widgets" meant little more than finding ways to stuff those two words into every inch of your page possible while still maintaining at least the semblance of a user experience. The result was a plethora of webmasters who found creative ways to stuff keywords into every corner of their sites. Then Google changed the game.
With PageRank, Google introduced a new way of evaluating the relative authority of a website or page - links. PageRank, to put it in simple terms, provided a link map of the web. The more links pointing to a site or page, the more power or authority that page took on. And the anchor text of a link, the words that occur as clickable text, offered a clue as to what the linked-to page was all about. As Google garnered more market share, links became more valuable on the web. A whole new form of web spam was born - free-for-all links and link selling schemes. Google has yet to find an effective way to completely crack down on these tactics, but in the 3rd quarter of 2007 they took some significant steps including directly penalizing specific websites which were believed to be selling links for SEO benefits and relieving "free-for-all" directories of their power to pass PageRank altogether.
There should be no question that more big changes are coming in SEO - only a question of "what next - and how do I prepare for it?" Here is what is next: Personalized Search. In fact, it is already here - more likely than not you are already seeing personalized results when you search in Google.
Google has continually added to their impressive list of free services. To name a handful:
- GMail
- Google Analytics
- Google Reader
- FeedBurner
- Google Desktop
- Google Chrome
- Google Toolbar
- etc.
So What does Personalized Search Mean for You and Your Website?
1. You can no longer assume that rankings as you see them are global. Anyone logged in while they search is potentially seeing a different set of results for the same keyword. You can log out of your Google account to search or turn off personalized results, but it will not do much good since every other user is potentially searching with personalization.
2. If Google is incorporating usage data from other sources such as the Google Toolbar, Google Chrome and Google Analytics, it means that the user experience is going to play a heavier role in SEO. Keep this in mind: for Google, the user experience is everything. Does not it then make sense for them to incorporate available usage data when ranking websites?
3. With these new data sources, Google could potentially be scaling back the emphasis on inbound links in their ranking algorithm. Links to this point have been central for Google rankings. With their market share continually improving and the unparalleled usage data that affords them we can reasonably expect that they will be putting more emphasis on these metrics in the future.
4. Expected traffic estimates based on rankings just became difficult if not impossible to achieve. In the past, traffic could be reasonably estimated by multiplying the available search usage for a given keyword by the known traffic percentage of a given position. The 1st position, for example, received some 48% of traffic for a keyword according to leaked AOL data from a few years back. For a keyword receiving 100 searches per month, you could reasonably estimate 48 visits per month based on a #1 ranking for that keyword. SEO companies used that data to take some of the guesswork out of their campaigns. With personalized search these estimates are going to become far less accurate if not completely unreliable.
5. Overall, this means you need to keep your eyes OFF the search engine rankings to a large degree. Does a #1 position for your Google account mean you could be somewhere back on page 5 for someone else? Probably not. But the point is, from here on out we can not be sure without extensive testing. Rankings have not ever meant much – they have always been a means to an end, the end being quality traffic and ultimately more sales, attention or whatever your website goal may be. Now, more than ever, high-quality traffic should be your focus. Personalized search is not exactly a new concept – it is been discussed for at least a couple of years now. But we are seeing it receive heavier emphasis lately, and the buzz is on that Google is going to change the game again soon. Like it or not, we are likely going to have to let go of rankings as a metric for success.
Source From SitePro News
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Upgrading Your Company Website
Dealing with website development issues can be an overwhelming task. There are many things your marketing team must consider, in fact, there are so many things to bear in mind that many of the most important ones never get dealt with, or are buried under competing interests.
To avoid project paralysis you should focus on certain key areas of concern from which all other issues flow. Whether upgrading your existing website or developing a new web media initiative from scratch, consider these four vital questions that need to be answered:
1. What content should be included?
2. How should content be delivered?
3. How is your website going to be marketed?
4. What will visitors remember?
What Content Should Be Included?
Content is a function of purpose. Unfortunately many websites do not have a clearly thought-out realistic purpose; and orders alone, is not an adequate website objective. Obviously every company needs sales, that is a given, but sales are a result of all the marketing elements you put in place, and the degree to which your presentation distinguishes you from your competition.
There is a prevailing view that traffic translates into sales; this viewpoint may be valid for websites whose economic model is commodity or advertising-based, but businesses that do not compete on price alone, or are more than an excuse to deliver advertising, must be structured around a purpose that is more meaningful, and far more compelling than 'give me an order or do not bother me.'
An over-emphasis on search engine friendly site design ignores the fact that when someone does a search for what you do, they will not only find you, they will also find many of your competitors as well. And even if you appear first in the search, nothing will stop potential clients from clicking on any of the other organic or advertised listings, or even the numerous Adword links on the side of the page.
The biggest website design problem companies have is not the amount of traffic generated from search engines, but rather how visitors react to your content. Are visitors engaged, enlightened, and entertained so that they stay on your site long enough to get your marketing message, and is that message compelling enough for them to remember it?
There are many misconceptions about advertising content, one of the biggest is that people hate it, but the truth is, what people hate is bad ad content; qualified clients actually look forward to good advertising because it presents a relevant problem, and provides a believable solution, in a distinctive memorable presentation.
If your content does not engage your audience with a persuasive, memorable presentation then you will never achieve whatever website marketing goals you have set.
How Should Content Be Delivered?
We know the vast majority of people do not like to read text on a computer screen, so they scan for relevant information concentrating on bulleted points, captions, and headlines, but does that truncated information really get your message across? Website text is really designed for search engine spiders, which are fine, but how about paying a little attention to people and how they absorb and remember information?
We also know people are impatient and are ready to abandon your website with the click of mouse, often in mid sentence before they ever get to the point you are trying to make. Your clients are sophisticated media consumers raised on video games and television, and are used to making quick decisions on limited information; this kind of leap-of-logic protocol demands a clever focused presentation.
Your audience will be gone in seconds no matter how convincing you think your content is, if it is not presented in a media-savvy manner that holds viewer attention, otherwise your website is nothing more than a glorified Yellow Page ad.
Audio and video has the potential to deliver information in a form and format that attracts and holds viewer interest while it makes a memorable impression. But even audio and video will fail if it is badly conceived, poorly written, and amateurishly performed.
How Is Your Website Going To Be Marketed?
Everyone is concerned with traffic and how to drive it to their websites. Search engine optimization is only one marketing technique, and it is one that ignores the impact of content on your audience in favor of attracting the attention of search engine robots. By all means, build search engine friendly elements into your site but do not ignore people-friendly elements as well.
Having text-based articles on your site is an excellent way to provide search friendly information, but presenting that same information as a professionally produced audio option, or a lively video presentation is certainly more memorable.
An entertaining web media presentation makes a lasting impression that viewers are more likely to recommend to colleagues, thereby increasing your traffic and reputation. Word-of-mouth is the best way to generate qualified traffic, and the best way to generate interest in your site is to make your site's presentation a rewarding experience.
What Will Visitors Remember?
In a brick-and-mortar environment, visitors are more likely to make a decision to purchase on the spot, simply to avoid driving halfway across town to save a few dollars, but on the Web jumping from New York to California is as easy as the click of a mouse. People are just more likely to shop-around because it is so easy.
Of course what people think they want is the lowest price, but providing the lowest price only attracts the least profitable buyers and ignores the biggest obstacle website businesses need to overcome, and that is credibility. Who are you, and can you be trusted? And after visiting ten different websites all selling the same thing, can they even remember who you are?
Your presentation has to be memorable and establish credibility so that when all the searching and browsing is finished, your site is the one they remember and go back to; your site must be the one visitor can trust to deliver what is promised.
How to Hire a Web Video Firm
The ability to produce an effective video or audio presentation requires more than the possession of some cool hardware and software. Owning an expensive camera does not make you a producer, and even the technical ability to edit does not qualify you as a commercial marketing expert. When the time comes to hire someone to add video and/or audio to your website what should you be looking for?
Below are eight things you should consider when hiring someone to create web media.
1. Can the web media provider deliver a turnkey solution from concept to implementation, or do you have to act as a producer yourself hiring different people with different skills complicating the project and creating both technical and conceptual implementation problems?
2. Can the web media provider produce everything from scripts to custom music in-house, or do they have to farm-out some of the work increasing costs?
3. Does the web media provider understand how to use verbal and visual performance to create a convincing, memorable presentation, or do they substitute expensive production techniques for cost-effective psychological persuasion?
4. Does the web media provider just shoot video, or do they have the ability to analyze your offering and purpose, and focus it into a consistent, meaningful, branded presentation?
5. Does the web media provider have the ability to think strategically as well as tactically? Can they implement and repurpose your investment into your existing website, create a targeted mini campaign site, and provide alternative versions ready for ad implementation?
6. Does the web media provider have the ability to create lasting campaigns that can be rolled out and built upon, or are they just interested in making a quick buck from a one-off effort? Are they willing and able to be your ongoing web media marketing advisor?
7. Does the web media provider have the ability to turn advertising into content, and content into an experience, or can they only produce nondescript infomercials?
8. Does the web media provider understand business, marketing, branding, and what can and can not be achieved so that you have appropriate achievable expectations?
Commercial presentation production requires a multitude of skills and talents. Big companies solve the problem by hiring advertising agencies that drive the cost of production beyond what most businesses can afford. By understanding what is needed to create an effective web media presentation, you can look for a firm that possesses all the necessary talents in-house; an approach that keeps costs down, while producing an exciting Web video campaign that achieves corporate marketing objectives.
Source From SitePro News
To avoid project paralysis you should focus on certain key areas of concern from which all other issues flow. Whether upgrading your existing website or developing a new web media initiative from scratch, consider these four vital questions that need to be answered:
1. What content should be included?
2. How should content be delivered?
3. How is your website going to be marketed?
4. What will visitors remember?
What Content Should Be Included?
Content is a function of purpose. Unfortunately many websites do not have a clearly thought-out realistic purpose; and orders alone, is not an adequate website objective. Obviously every company needs sales, that is a given, but sales are a result of all the marketing elements you put in place, and the degree to which your presentation distinguishes you from your competition.
There is a prevailing view that traffic translates into sales; this viewpoint may be valid for websites whose economic model is commodity or advertising-based, but businesses that do not compete on price alone, or are more than an excuse to deliver advertising, must be structured around a purpose that is more meaningful, and far more compelling than 'give me an order or do not bother me.'
An over-emphasis on search engine friendly site design ignores the fact that when someone does a search for what you do, they will not only find you, they will also find many of your competitors as well. And even if you appear first in the search, nothing will stop potential clients from clicking on any of the other organic or advertised listings, or even the numerous Adword links on the side of the page.
The biggest website design problem companies have is not the amount of traffic generated from search engines, but rather how visitors react to your content. Are visitors engaged, enlightened, and entertained so that they stay on your site long enough to get your marketing message, and is that message compelling enough for them to remember it?
There are many misconceptions about advertising content, one of the biggest is that people hate it, but the truth is, what people hate is bad ad content; qualified clients actually look forward to good advertising because it presents a relevant problem, and provides a believable solution, in a distinctive memorable presentation.
If your content does not engage your audience with a persuasive, memorable presentation then you will never achieve whatever website marketing goals you have set.
How Should Content Be Delivered?
We know the vast majority of people do not like to read text on a computer screen, so they scan for relevant information concentrating on bulleted points, captions, and headlines, but does that truncated information really get your message across? Website text is really designed for search engine spiders, which are fine, but how about paying a little attention to people and how they absorb and remember information?
We also know people are impatient and are ready to abandon your website with the click of mouse, often in mid sentence before they ever get to the point you are trying to make. Your clients are sophisticated media consumers raised on video games and television, and are used to making quick decisions on limited information; this kind of leap-of-logic protocol demands a clever focused presentation.
Your audience will be gone in seconds no matter how convincing you think your content is, if it is not presented in a media-savvy manner that holds viewer attention, otherwise your website is nothing more than a glorified Yellow Page ad.
Audio and video has the potential to deliver information in a form and format that attracts and holds viewer interest while it makes a memorable impression. But even audio and video will fail if it is badly conceived, poorly written, and amateurishly performed.
How Is Your Website Going To Be Marketed?
Everyone is concerned with traffic and how to drive it to their websites. Search engine optimization is only one marketing technique, and it is one that ignores the impact of content on your audience in favor of attracting the attention of search engine robots. By all means, build search engine friendly elements into your site but do not ignore people-friendly elements as well.
Having text-based articles on your site is an excellent way to provide search friendly information, but presenting that same information as a professionally produced audio option, or a lively video presentation is certainly more memorable.
An entertaining web media presentation makes a lasting impression that viewers are more likely to recommend to colleagues, thereby increasing your traffic and reputation. Word-of-mouth is the best way to generate qualified traffic, and the best way to generate interest in your site is to make your site's presentation a rewarding experience.
What Will Visitors Remember?
In a brick-and-mortar environment, visitors are more likely to make a decision to purchase on the spot, simply to avoid driving halfway across town to save a few dollars, but on the Web jumping from New York to California is as easy as the click of a mouse. People are just more likely to shop-around because it is so easy.
Of course what people think they want is the lowest price, but providing the lowest price only attracts the least profitable buyers and ignores the biggest obstacle website businesses need to overcome, and that is credibility. Who are you, and can you be trusted? And after visiting ten different websites all selling the same thing, can they even remember who you are?
Your presentation has to be memorable and establish credibility so that when all the searching and browsing is finished, your site is the one they remember and go back to; your site must be the one visitor can trust to deliver what is promised.
How to Hire a Web Video Firm
The ability to produce an effective video or audio presentation requires more than the possession of some cool hardware and software. Owning an expensive camera does not make you a producer, and even the technical ability to edit does not qualify you as a commercial marketing expert. When the time comes to hire someone to add video and/or audio to your website what should you be looking for?
Below are eight things you should consider when hiring someone to create web media.
1. Can the web media provider deliver a turnkey solution from concept to implementation, or do you have to act as a producer yourself hiring different people with different skills complicating the project and creating both technical and conceptual implementation problems?
2. Can the web media provider produce everything from scripts to custom music in-house, or do they have to farm-out some of the work increasing costs?
3. Does the web media provider understand how to use verbal and visual performance to create a convincing, memorable presentation, or do they substitute expensive production techniques for cost-effective psychological persuasion?
4. Does the web media provider just shoot video, or do they have the ability to analyze your offering and purpose, and focus it into a consistent, meaningful, branded presentation?
5. Does the web media provider have the ability to think strategically as well as tactically? Can they implement and repurpose your investment into your existing website, create a targeted mini campaign site, and provide alternative versions ready for ad implementation?
6. Does the web media provider have the ability to create lasting campaigns that can be rolled out and built upon, or are they just interested in making a quick buck from a one-off effort? Are they willing and able to be your ongoing web media marketing advisor?
7. Does the web media provider have the ability to turn advertising into content, and content into an experience, or can they only produce nondescript infomercials?
8. Does the web media provider understand business, marketing, branding, and what can and can not be achieved so that you have appropriate achievable expectations?
Commercial presentation production requires a multitude of skills and talents. Big companies solve the problem by hiring advertising agencies that drive the cost of production beyond what most businesses can afford. By understanding what is needed to create an effective web media presentation, you can look for a firm that possesses all the necessary talents in-house; an approach that keeps costs down, while producing an exciting Web video campaign that achieves corporate marketing objectives.
Source From SitePro News
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Secrets to Keywords - Expanding Your List
The Primary objective of a business website is to attract potential buyers and convert them into paying customers. Relevant keywords allow you to fulfill this primary objective. They help you attract relevant traffic that want to buy the types of products you have to offer, however, the more relevant keywords that you rank well for, the more business you will do. By effectively expanding your keyword lists, you expand the potential market for your business.
There are two fundamental ways of expanding your keyword lists:
1. Long tail keywords that give you depth and allow you to dominate a particular market - so, moving from 'chocolate' to 'chocolate gifts' to 'corporate chocolate gifts'. These long tailed keywords tend to have a smaller advertiser competition, therefore you get a better PPC price and also, you dominate that specific niche market.
2. Related keywords that allow you to broaden the range of market sectors that you can target. So, if you are selling gourmet chocolate, you may find opportunities in related keywords such as 'truffles', 'fudge' or 'luxury foods'. Related keywords can make you aware of markets that you might now have considered. So in building your online business, you need to make sure you have an effective sales process in place. You will have real benefit from expanding your keyword lists.
You need to convert people who arrive at your website into paying customers. If you do not do that, then it does not matter how extensive you keyword research is, or how effective your optimization efforts are in drawing new visitors to your website. If you can not convert a visitor into a customer then your efforts will be doomed to failure.
Only when you have got an effective sales process can you get the real benefit from expanding your keyword lists. And when you have that sales process in place, like any business you will want to expand. You could add new product lines, associated products and other ways to expand your potential income from each of the customers you attract.
However, before you embark on the path of product development you need to be sure that you are getting maximum return from what you have already. Let us suppose you have got a website that performs well - you get 100,000 unique visitors per month and you have a conversion rate of 3%. That equates to 3,000 paying customers per month. Not a bad business situation to be in.
Now look at your log files. From these you see that 30% of your traffic comes from search engines. Dig a little deeper and you find that 80% of this comes from around 20 good keywords. Here is a quick calculation of what this means:
Source From Entireweb Newsletter
There are two fundamental ways of expanding your keyword lists:
1. Long tail keywords that give you depth and allow you to dominate a particular market - so, moving from 'chocolate' to 'chocolate gifts' to 'corporate chocolate gifts'. These long tailed keywords tend to have a smaller advertiser competition, therefore you get a better PPC price and also, you dominate that specific niche market.
2. Related keywords that allow you to broaden the range of market sectors that you can target. So, if you are selling gourmet chocolate, you may find opportunities in related keywords such as 'truffles', 'fudge' or 'luxury foods'. Related keywords can make you aware of markets that you might now have considered. So in building your online business, you need to make sure you have an effective sales process in place. You will have real benefit from expanding your keyword lists.
You need to convert people who arrive at your website into paying customers. If you do not do that, then it does not matter how extensive you keyword research is, or how effective your optimization efforts are in drawing new visitors to your website. If you can not convert a visitor into a customer then your efforts will be doomed to failure.
Only when you have got an effective sales process can you get the real benefit from expanding your keyword lists. And when you have that sales process in place, like any business you will want to expand. You could add new product lines, associated products and other ways to expand your potential income from each of the customers you attract.
However, before you embark on the path of product development you need to be sure that you are getting maximum return from what you have already. Let us suppose you have got a website that performs well - you get 100,000 unique visitors per month and you have a conversion rate of 3%. That equates to 3,000 paying customers per month. Not a bad business situation to be in.
Now look at your log files. From these you see that 30% of your traffic comes from search engines. Dig a little deeper and you find that 80% of this comes from around 20 good keywords. Here is a quick calculation of what this means:
- 30% of your traffic comes from search engines so that is 30,000 unique visitors per month. 80% of these come from your top 20 keywords – that is 24,000 per month.
- With a conversion rate of 3%, those 20 keywords bring you 720 paying customers every month. Now, if you could find another 20 keywords that perform just as well, then you could add another 720 customers, giving you a total of 3,720 customers per month - an increase of 24%.
Source From Entireweb Newsletter
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