Archive for October, 2009

SEO Basics – How Search Engines Work

Search engines work with a number of different algorithms that can be referred to as “spiders” that search or “crawl” the web for sites that are relevant to specified keywords users input. While these algorithms become quite complicated and look at a number of different aspects of websites there are a few key components that search engine spiders look for in their searches. Some of the important factors for search engines are:

* Links
* Content
* On-Page Factors

Links

When one site links to another on the web this could be seen by a search engine spider as a vote for that website. In short, if site A links to site B, that is essentially a vote by site A for site B. The more links that come in to a site the more the site is seen as valuable content that may benefit a user. The larger power the site has that casts the initial vote (site A in my example) the more value the incoming link has overall.

Content

Content also plays an important factor for websites. Websites that have content that matches closely to specified search terms allows customers of search engines to have better user experiences. Search engines consider sites with high quality content to have more authority on a topic, just as individual consumers would go to the most experienced or knowledgeable professional for advice or quality service. The more authority a site has, the more relevant it is considered to be to a customer’s search query to satisfy the customer’s needs for the search.

On-Page Factors

There are a number of on-page factors that play important roles in search engine ranking of sites. Sites with good page titles and headers that relate to specified search terms, for example, tend to carry more weight than pages where titles and headers are unrelated to search terms yet their content is. Proper usage of H1, H2 and even H3 headers that relate to targeted search terms in web pages can help bolster web page ranking than those who simply describe the subject in their content.

Complex Algorithms to Combat Spam

In each of these areas search engines are constantly waging a war against link spammers that post links on a wide range of sites attempting to increase their relevancy to particular terms. Some website developers use this to their advantage to gather ranking in search engines and drive more traffic. To counter these rubbish links search engines are regularly developing more and more complex algorithms (with thousands of factors that affect search engine results) to search the web, ignoring or eliminating these shady websites.

Internet Marketing and SEO Techniques

How is search engine marketing (SEM) different than search engine optimization (SEO)?

Search engine marketing refers to optimization practices that take place off the website. Whereas SEO organizes the pages on the website for both the search engine spiders and the visitors to the site, SEM refers to all activities utilized to generate incoming traffic which is a vital element of moving site pages higher in search engine results pages. (SERPS) Common strategies and tactics include search engine and directory submission and back link development from blogs, ezines, forums, social media sites, and online news media.

If I my site has been search engine optimized do I need search engine marketing?

SEM is an active process of driving traffic to a website and improving search engine page rankings. Without it, a website would much like a bricks and mortar store that doesn’t advertise. Random passersby may find it but not in the kind of numbers required to make a business successful. Search engine marketing is the most cost-effective, fastest growing, and popular new marketing channels available, especially when compared to print and other traditional media outlets

Does SEM work for every kind of site?

Almost any site trying to generate revenues can benefit from a properly run SEM campaign. By raising awareness and driving traffic to your site the chances of purchases and or other forms of conversions increase. If you are in business, you need people to find your site and purchase from you. That is the core objective of SEM. The one instance where results could fall short would be where the cost of an SEM campaign would outweigh what could be expected from generated revenues.

Can I be successful running an SEM campaign on my own?
Running a typical SEM campaign can consume around one hundred hours per month at the outset and, because of that, is normally outsourced to SEO companies. While the do it yourself aspect might be tempting, re-dedicating a hundred hours to an employee or yourself is not going to be the best allocation of labor, especially there isn’t anyone in-house with SEM experience.

How do I know if SEM is working?

Contrary to advertising via traditional media, internet related activity is highly measurable. You will be able to track visits, click throughs, conversion rates, and a host of other metrics. Tracking is normally summarized by SEO companies on a monthly basis. Additionally, you can always check the keywords and phrases that are being optimized to see where your web pages are ranked on the search engines. One word of caution, any SEM campaign will take some time to show results so don’t be frustrated if you’re not on page one after two weeks. The timeline for significant results can vary widely depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are optimizing and your monthly budget.

How do I go about choosing an SEO company?

You’re going after results and the firm you go with should be able to deliver them. The best way to determine that is to check out how their existing clients are doing, i.e. how they rank, increases in traffic, conversion numbers, etc. If all other things are equal, lean toward a larger rather than a smaller one to ensure continuity should there be some turnover in personnel. Again, this is about results. You’ll have your choice of firms so be ruthless about demanding proof that each company can live up to its own billing.

Importance of SEO Copywriting Services

SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. The need of copywriting arises in search engine optimization to prepare the text that appears on the pages of the website. This technique of SEO copywriting focuses on providing content that the users can search easily and can easily relate to. The content that needs to be added should include some specific keywords so that when the users search for those specific keywords, they can find the website on the top of the search engine lists. SEO copywriting maximizes or optimizes all the elements on the page.

Most of the companies that go for SEO copywriting services do this in order to get some genuine content for the websites. The search engine optimization techniques used by the companies have a great impact on the rankings of the website, but if a company opts for SEO content writing, the impact generated would be no less. People who have been in the business of SEO copywriting consider a minimum of 250 words that should be put in a page along with some uniquely placed search items.

SEO copywriting services are best used for those websites that have specific search items to be found. It is possible that a page does well in one search engine and in the other, it does not. SEO copywriting will help do some of your work by giving your website a good place in the search engines. Even if the search engines go through some changes in their algorithms, the websites that go for SEO content writing maintain the rankings. This is not seen in the case of other search engine optimization methods. Every business wants that the customers it gets should be loyal and should stick to the brand. This can be ensured through various types of copywriting that generate direct response.

If you opt for a professional company that specializes in providing the SEO copywriting services, this would benefit you more than anything else. The freshly written pages of your website will match the image of your brand as well. There are some important tips that every SEO copywriter should know before he prepares the text for the websites. The keyword knowledge is important. Understanding the keyword is of utmost importance. The keywords need to be used all over the text and not in firs one or two paragraphs.

The number of key phrases and the density is also important in SEO Content Writing. Most of the times, the keyword density should be around 3%. You do not have to clutter up the pages by forcing the keywords into it. The keywords and the copywriting is for a particular website and before you start writing, know what your client is selling or promoting. This will help you know the target audience that you have to focus upon and in-turn write to the best of your ability.

Keep in mind that the home page is the most important page of the website and you need to write the best text for it. Keep the word limit around 250-500. The home page has to contain the most important relevant keywords from the whole website. This will help the search engines read them and this way your website will get higher rankings as well. Keep all these points in mind so that you get the best of the copywritten content for your website.

Different from Conventional Advertising

How different from Internet Marketing-Advertising

Forms of Internet marketing and publicity are very different from conventional advertising since the agency involved in active online business promotion needs to understand things beyond basic creative concepts, market research and translation of consumer interest topics into web content. It also needs to be aware of the various languages used in creating a website that is easy to access and browse through for the average web-user and have sufficient knowledge of web standards compliance.

Knowing about factors like web standards compliance, web languages and their scope, SEO and SEM, Browser compatibility and site maintenance is very essential in successful development and continuation of an online business. This is what makes online advertising different from conventional advertising since the importance paid to a web standard compliant site needs to also be displayed correctly in all standards compliant browsers. Adjusting the site to suit a less helpful browser like Internet Explorer is much easier with CSS than with tables. This saves enormous amounts of time for a web designer and makes it easier for proper site maintenance as well.

Easier site maintenance is one of the key criterions that make Internet marketing different form conventional advertising since it works on the principle of separating content and styling with XHTML and CSS; thus, it is much easier to edit any of those, because they are located in different files. If a web designer/developer needs to adjust the look of the main page heading, all that needs to be done is to change a line or two in a style sheet to change the appearance of all headings on the website. This makes the job of editing content much simpler too since there is no styling and formatting required to make out that the web content is available in clean and semantically correct code markup.

What further makes Internet marketing and advertising different from conventional advertising is that it needs to appeal to a much broader target audience than say, a decade ago when broadband penetration was not so high. So while Internet marketing tools and software are now providing web developers with easier and more advanced ways of designing and maintaining a site, the requirements for compliance to web standards is being used on computers as well as PDAs, phones and other devices. This makes it simpler for website designers and promoters to adhere to the web standards that are either displayed correctly without edition or require very little work to be able to display correctly on a platform; easy availability making company site easily accessible for a wider range of potential customers. This in turn, spells greater chances of increased online business success as well for the client and is a measure of effective Internet marketing, so completely different from conventional advertising.

The most important characteristics that impact any website and its prospects are those that determine how to maximize the site?s potential and includes factors that can be tailored in the strategies of Internet marketing; completely different from conventional advertising that is not based on either convenience, information, evaluation, guidance, contact or entertainment in a short time span.

SEM and SEO Expert Formula

The Secret to Higher Search Engine Ranking?

In SEO and Search Engine Marketing, could there actually be a formula? It is possible to combine expert theories on the subject of search engine marketing and find a formula that works, for today that is. In search engine optimizations, there are no secrets. To reach higher search engine ranking and drive quality traffic to your site and ultimately profit, you will spend some time marketing your online product. Search engine marketing formulas used by the SEO and SEM Experts work if you are willing to work.  It is that simple.  Work the following SEO and SEM Expert Formula and you will get ranked with the search engines, drive quality business to your company and be able to manage your company’s reputation in the process.

This formula is used by others online, who are successful because they are willing to work. These SEM and SEO Experts achieve higher search engine ranking, drive quality business, manage corporate public relations efforts and online reputation, and profit online. Simply put: these internet marketing professionals make money online.

So, you have a quality website, which effectively communicates your product or service offering. How do you get ranked with the search engines? You have read the many ads, blogs, and posts about the SEO consulting companies who claim that they will list you in the directories, with search engines, etc. You can pay to have that done, it doesn’t cost much and it shouldn’t because that is not what will get your website ranked with the search engines. Search engines look for value of a website to rank it. Website value is directly reflective of the content your site is associated with online. The various Web 2.0 applications and social media provide a good start to your search engine marketing campaign. Search engine value also comes with the number of links back to your website, driven by other websites which find your content valuable.  Ranking comes from hard work in both building an online product, the strategy behind the business, and what it has to provide its consumer. So, the first step to your SEM and SEO Formula is to build an effective blog which drives quality traffic to your website through links, and write an article to both link to your website and your blog.

How do you drive quality business to your site? The secret to search engine ranking is directly reflective of the value of your online product, right? You know the secret to qualified traffic is to find the people interested in exactly what you have to offer. So how do you reach those people? Provide a quality website, with quality websites linking to it and you will benefit from increased ranking with the search engines. High ranking provides you the most qualified traffic. Recent study of search engine traffic shows that over 42% of Google search users who click on search result links, are clicking on the first link presented. Over 89% are clicking on a link on the first page. To reach the most quality traffic, you must rank on the first page in the search engines and work hard to rank number one. Keyword search is a very good way to find quality business and consumer buyers online. Add a way to track traffic from your website, which has originated from keyword search in the search engines. Google Analytics is free and it will show you what keywords others have typed in to find your website.

Profit online. Why work hard to release a good product or service if you are not going to be profitable online? If you are paying more for keyword advertising than you are making, why drive the traffic to your site? Many search engine marketers pay market value for keyword placement when the market value drives them right to a negative margin. Do not pay more for keyword search than you can afford. In fact, I would say that if you use this search engine marketing formula to search engine optimization, you will not be paying much for keyword advertising at all. The fact is that there are categories within the search engines which you have to pay for. They are too competitive. However, if you look at the actual keywords users are typing in to get to your site, you will probably be within a category that you do not have to pay for. Why pay for keyword advertising when you can profit online with organic search engine ranking?

SEM has become a crucial part of the public relations effort. This SEO and SEM Formula to rank higher in search engines is driven by social marketing, web 2.0, and because social media is part of the equation, you can effectively manage your company’s reputation and drive public relations to areas you would like the consumer to focus on.

The debate on what the actual formula includes continues in many SEM and SEO expert forums, which you can gain a great deal of knowledge from. The secret to search engine ranking is…. drum roll please…hard work and providing quality for the search engines and those seeking search results. In the end, we are all looking for profit. Using tools like you find from these search engine marketing professionals will put you on the road to online profit. Take time to apply these techniques and you will benefit.

Article Marketing Tips

How to Combine Blogging and Article Marketing For Blazing Profits!

Article marketing is one of the key elements of search engine marketing (SEM). In fact, many SEM and SEO experts feel that article promotion without spamming can produce the desired result for websites. The best article marketing tips suggest several ways of marketing your articles and these options will not cost you a dime!

Of late, blogging has become one of the most popular modes of reaching out to a larger audience. But did you know that blogging is also considered to be one of the important elements of article promotion? Yes! More and more advertising professionals and search engine experts are recommending their client to start blogging and this is also considered as one of the most important article marketing tips. It is fairly easy to start and you can always open a blog on Google Blogs (eBlogger) or take a WordPress account.

You can start by writing blog posts related to your business, industry, product or service that you are offering, and general news. You can even upload images on your blog posts to support the content. The one thing that you need to lay special emphasis on is the content. The content for your blog should be fresh, informative, and interactive. If your audience is unable to find the information they are looking for then they will not come back to your blog post again.

One of the important article marketing tips is that you should ideally embed the URL of your website within the text of the blog post. This will help in bringing targeted traffic directly to your website and in a way promote link building.

If you’re a website owner, you most likely have been getting bombarded with information about how important it is to be at the top of the search engine results pages. Even if you haven’t, we’re here to tell you that it’s true. The only question is how do you go about taking on a daunting task such as this one? Well, according to the 30 Minute Backlinks course, they have all the information you’ll need to be successful.

They also claim that this can be done in as little as thirty minutes, hence the name 30 Minute Backlinks. Do we believe them? Not yet. However, because of the interesting notion and how beneficial this could be if it worked, we decided to see what else we could find regarding their SEO marketing course. The end result was intriguing to say the least.

Watching The Video Tutorials

As soon as you get to their sales page, be sure to watch the short video regarding their product. Even if you don’t get a true feeling of everything going on yet, you’ll still notice the quality of the tutorials that you’ll actually receive when you get involved with them. Once you look right below, you’ll even see a testimonial regarding how well they are formatted (even though they spelled “wondered” wrong).

The Benefits In Using This 30 Minute Backlinks System

One thing to realize is that these are all video tutorials. So you will get to see first hand what exactly to do in order to be successful in this area. There are five key points that you’ll benefit from when watching the 30 Minute Backlinks course. The first deals with learning how to submit your links to directories. According to their sales page, this will be done in a way where the directories are forced to link to you as well.

Second, you’ll be able to make as many of these as you wish, and as the sales page says, “compound your results.” The other three deal with having complete control over what you produce, an easy to use point-and-click system, and most importantly each one only takes about a half hour to make and submit. We imagine that once you’re comfortable with the system, it may take less time as more and more are done.

The Six Things You Won’t Need

While the benefits are important, the stuff you won’t need to do or get with this program. You won’t have to worry about reciprocal links, you won’t have to pay someone to write content and come up with article titles either.

If this isn’t enough, they also stress that you won’t have to know HTML or any other “techie” backgrounds in order to make this work. Plus you can rest assured that there isn’t any shady trickery going on and that this is completely legal.

Our Overall Analysis

Even though the 30 Minute Backlinks SEO Marketing Course has an upfront cost, it teaches how to get traffic to your website for free. We know hundreds, even thousands, possibly millions of people who are out there everyday looking around for free stuff. Michelle MacPhearson seems to have given this a lot of thought and has taken the time to make it easy for you. You’ll have to read the sales page for yourself to really understand what me mean. If this is what you’ve been looking for, then good luck.

Many search engine marketing people are obsessed about getting more traffic! Since you want more traffic, I will share this simple idea that can work for you. A straight forward and simple way to get more traffic is simply by increasing your chances of getting more clicks.

Showing Up

Someone once said that you must first show up in order to be successful. If you want to be twice as successful, you must show up more than once! The best way to get more clicks and more traffic to your website is simply to show up for both the paid and free search engine listings.

More Traffic

The reason why this works is because you have a higher chance of getting more clicks and more traffic when your website show up more than once for the same keywords. Sounds tricky? It is actually simpler than you think.

Paid Search

You must always track your paid search results so that you will know exactly which keywords are converting into leads or sales for you. You then take those keywords and you optimize them to rank well on the organic search engine listings.

Organic Search

You need to do some optimization on your pages then you get other sites to link back to your website consistently over time. Not too fast, just do it regularly over time. In this way you will rank well on the left side as well.

Summary

In short, take your best converting keywords from your paid search campaigns, then use them to optimize your pages to rank well on the left side of the search engines. When you show up on both the left and right side, you chances of getting more traffic goes up.

In the wake of economic crunch, global businesses have two main concerns- effective marketing avenues that can push sales and ways to minimize costs in various business processes. Outsourcing SEO needs is an answer to both these requirements.

Outsourcing has proven to be an effective way of getting business processes done at a lower cost. On the other hand, the web offers a great platform for marketing. In the light of growing use of the internet for a variety of purposes by people all over the world, marketing on the web can be seen as a good practice. Even during tough economic times, businesses who have used SEO and other internet marketing practices to sell have gained through it. E-commerce and E-business have also supported online sales. All this has facilitated success of online business representation and sales.

While the merit of online marketing is proven, it may be a costly and time consuming affair. In order to tackle these problems, many companies are outsourcing their SEO and SEM needs to offshore destinations. Indigenous search engine optimization companies are also sourcing out their projects to offshore destinations.

The labor charges in offshore service providers are very low. Hence, more labor can be hired to work at a cheaper cost. This way, the business goals through online marketing can be achieved faster. The labor force in overseas service providing companies has proved their caliber in handling software and other projects. Also, there are many professionals offshore who are skilled and experienced in handling internet marketing projects. By outsourcing the search engine optimization requirements, business goals of the company can be achieved faster and at lower price.

When it comes to the search engine, and getting results from it, the outcome is not always immediate. For that reason, and because too many of us want instant results, we may do some work but then cut it off when we don’t see our website in the #1 position on the first page of Google or other search engines, for our key word or phrase. Internet marketing search engine specialists know that it takes time and ongoing action in order to get results. They also know that the work that is done right now will have benefits a long time in the future.

This is how search engine marketing works. We establish valuable backlinks to our website that stay with the website. We post new and valuable content on the website on a consistent basis. That content stays live on the internet, working for us every day far into the future. We do social media and social marketing that can be very viral, spreading all over the internet and staying online for a long, long time. We write press releases and off-site articles and that content also stays on the web. All of this is done with the keywords we have researched and that are the words people are using on the internet.

Internet marketing search engine specialist activity is a very powerful way to market on the internet where finding products and services revolves around keywords. Think about the fact that you may be on a website where you see an ad or a banner, and both of them are connected to a keyword or phrase somehow. Plus, you landed on that website because it was in some way associated with a key phrase about something you are interested in learning more about. You being there has something to do with a keyword, either directly or indirectly. The internet revolves around keywords.

Before you can get any traffic from the search engines, they must know about the website. There are any number of ways to get your website on their radar. You can directly submit the website and wait for them to visit. You can link to other, already established, websites that are indexed by various search engines. You can buy pay per click ads with individual search engines. You can do off-site work such as write articles with a link to your website and submit them to article directories. You can start a blog and keep it full of current content that links to your main website.

Once the search engines visit your site, it should have all of the requirements they like in order to give your website a passing, and even favorable, grade. A title that includes your keywords or phrases, meta tags, valuable content, H1 tags, alt tags, reputable websites that you link out to, and back links to your site are all factors that will help your website get ranked high in the search engines. There are strategies to all of these and it is important to learn them or outsource them so that they are implemented successfully on your website.

You can be your own internet marketing search engine specialist, or you can delegate some or all of that work. The key is to optimize your website for the search engines with a plan that will accomplish the website reaching the top few spots on the first page of Google and staying there. This is the way that you will get traffic to your website, new visitors that you have the opportunity to show your product or service to on an every day basis.

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