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.

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