Feb 22, 2009
How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website
One of the most effective ways of increasing visibility online is via social media websites yet it is a tricky venture to say the least. There are hundreds of social media sites out there, each with a particular type of audience. Rather than joining every single social media site and submitting content as a freshly new member, consider lurking for a while, joining in discussions, and adding value to the community.
Would you jump into the middle of a group of people and start promoting your business in real life? Probably not and it’s the same way in social media yet newbies seem to think that it’s okay to do that. First search for social media sites that you think are a good fit. Become a member and start interacting with others. Comment and vote on other stories and study what type of stories tend to be popular on each site you visit. Try to be an active member of a social media community for at least a few months before attempting to submit your own content and making it viral.
Some great ways to approach developing social media-friendly content include writing compelling stories, interviewing an industry expert, sparking a debate, or sharing your own knowledge to help others. Then there are the numbered lists, which are pretty much popular in any social media crowd.
When it comes to writing about stories, consider personal experiences that are very telling or powerful in some other way. After all, who doesn’t love a story teller in real life? The same principle applies online. Storytelling is a powerful tool in writing for social media sites and beyond because it allows you to make comparisons, build imagery, and capture the attention of your readers.
If you are new, it may be hard to interview an expert in your industry but start with who you know. Go through your friends lists on networking sites or go through friend’s contacts to see who could provide an interesting an angle for an interview. You’d be surprised at how many people you are acquainted with that could provide great fodder for an interview.
If you yourself are an expert in your field, one of the best ways to promote yourself is by providing free information online. You can write informative blog posts or offer free reports that are very helpful to people in your niche. You’d be surprised at the number of prospects you could turn into customers and the leads you could generate by providing free, helpful information. Plus, this helps you establish yourself as an authority in your market and build a strong reputation.
If you love controversy and don’t mind getting some comments challenging you, consider sparking a debate with your content. Articles that counter popular opinions are very popular on social media sites. In fact, you could even counter the argument of an expert. The idea is not only to get attention but to get some interesting discussions going on within the social media community. These discussions tend to attract new users and help to build a stronger network and community. Best of all, the discussions are archived so people can go back to them at any time.
Additionally, make sure to write catchy headlines and that your stories deliver. You don’t want to have a great headline and then write a story that doesn’t meet your readers’ expectations. Remember to include great images to go along with your article as well and make references or quote external sources to give your article more credibility.
In sum, make sure to get to know the social media community where you plan on submitting an article and become an active member first. That way you’ll know what works and what doesn’t work in that particular community. With the right amount of observation and persistence, you’ll have wildly popular content on social media sites in no time.
Would you jump into the middle of a group of people and start promoting your business in real life? Probably not and it’s the same way in social media yet newbies seem to think that it’s okay to do that. First search for social media sites that you think are a good fit. Become a member and start interacting with others. Comment and vote on other stories and study what type of stories tend to be popular on each site you visit. Try to be an active member of a social media community for at least a few months before attempting to submit your own content and making it viral.
Some great ways to approach developing social media-friendly content include writing compelling stories, interviewing an industry expert, sparking a debate, or sharing your own knowledge to help others. Then there are the numbered lists, which are pretty much popular in any social media crowd.
When it comes to writing about stories, consider personal experiences that are very telling or powerful in some other way. After all, who doesn’t love a story teller in real life? The same principle applies online. Storytelling is a powerful tool in writing for social media sites and beyond because it allows you to make comparisons, build imagery, and capture the attention of your readers.
If you are new, it may be hard to interview an expert in your industry but start with who you know. Go through your friends lists on networking sites or go through friend’s contacts to see who could provide an interesting an angle for an interview. You’d be surprised at how many people you are acquainted with that could provide great fodder for an interview.
If you yourself are an expert in your field, one of the best ways to promote yourself is by providing free information online. You can write informative blog posts or offer free reports that are very helpful to people in your niche. You’d be surprised at the number of prospects you could turn into customers and the leads you could generate by providing free, helpful information. Plus, this helps you establish yourself as an authority in your market and build a strong reputation.
If you love controversy and don’t mind getting some comments challenging you, consider sparking a debate with your content. Articles that counter popular opinions are very popular on social media sites. In fact, you could even counter the argument of an expert. The idea is not only to get attention but to get some interesting discussions going on within the social media community. These discussions tend to attract new users and help to build a stronger network and community. Best of all, the discussions are archived so people can go back to them at any time.
Additionally, make sure to write catchy headlines and that your stories deliver. You don’t want to have a great headline and then write a story that doesn’t meet your readers’ expectations. Remember to include great images to go along with your article as well and make references or quote external sources to give your article more credibility.
In sum, make sure to get to know the social media community where you plan on submitting an article and become an active member first. That way you’ll know what works and what doesn’t work in that particular community. With the right amount of observation and persistence, you’ll have wildly popular content on social media sites in no time.
Labels: link_building, seo_guide, seo_services, seo_tips, social_media
How to Create Killer PPC Ads on Google
Google PPC ads provide businesses with an unmatched opportunity for exposure. Unfortunately, most businesses totally screw up when they write PPC ads for Google. They don’t target the proper keywords, they write boring ads that don’t get clicked on, or they mislead people with their PPC ads hence have low conversion rates. When done correctly however, Google PPC ads can bring huge amounts of traffic to your website and convert prospects into customers at the click of a mouse.
To get started, write a long list of all the possible keywords people are searching for in your market. The more you have the better. Even consider misspelled keywords, which can give you an advantage over your competitors. However, don’t target each and every one of these keywords. Make sure the keywords you use are ones that are being searched for in your specific niche. For example, if you are selling used cars in Cleveland, you don’t want to target “car.” Not only is the rate high for this keyword, but you will end up having people click on your ad who most likely do not need the product you offer.
The position of your ad will get higher the more clicks it receives. To get more clicks, make sure your ad clearly states a benefit that the user can get from your product or service. You can also talk about why you are better than your competitors. If your service is less expensive than what is offered by your competitors, make sure your ad clearly states that.
To get more clicks, it’s also important to use your target keyword in the headline of your ad. You can also use keywords that your ad is not supposed to appear for. By using these “excluding keywords”, your ad will show up on searches and you won’t have to pay for the clicks they receive. Make sure to construct a separate ad for each keyword you are targeting and a landing page for each of those keywords. By doing so, you can make an offer specific to the keywords that were searched.
Make sure that your ads are clear so users know exactly what to expect when they click. This relevance is key in turning prospects into customers. Make sure to include as many keywords as possible in your ads without losing clarity. Also remember to track the results of each ad campaign so you know what is working and what is not. Many advertisers fail in this regard. There is always room for improvement and you can vastly increase sales by targeting the methods with the most success and improving upon them any chance you get.
Timely PPC ads are known to do well. Update your ads periodically depending on what season or holiday is coming up. For example, make your ads tailor to the Christmas holiday come November or December. This will dramatically improve click-through rates. Google ads are also displayed on partner sites but if you find that your advertisement is not doing well, consider removing the option that allows Google to place your ads on partner sites and only allow them to be placed on the search results.
In conclusion, many advertisers are not using Google Adwords to their full potential. By constructing your PPC ad campaigns on Google with care and caution, you will be able to create very successful ads that receive high click through and conversion. Keep these factors in mind to create ads that drive targeted traffic to your website. Make sure that your landing page delivers in terms of the promise you gave in your advertisement.
To get started, write a long list of all the possible keywords people are searching for in your market. The more you have the better. Even consider misspelled keywords, which can give you an advantage over your competitors. However, don’t target each and every one of these keywords. Make sure the keywords you use are ones that are being searched for in your specific niche. For example, if you are selling used cars in Cleveland, you don’t want to target “car.” Not only is the rate high for this keyword, but you will end up having people click on your ad who most likely do not need the product you offer.
The position of your ad will get higher the more clicks it receives. To get more clicks, make sure your ad clearly states a benefit that the user can get from your product or service. You can also talk about why you are better than your competitors. If your service is less expensive than what is offered by your competitors, make sure your ad clearly states that.
To get more clicks, it’s also important to use your target keyword in the headline of your ad. You can also use keywords that your ad is not supposed to appear for. By using these “excluding keywords”, your ad will show up on searches and you won’t have to pay for the clicks they receive. Make sure to construct a separate ad for each keyword you are targeting and a landing page for each of those keywords. By doing so, you can make an offer specific to the keywords that were searched.
Make sure that your ads are clear so users know exactly what to expect when they click. This relevance is key in turning prospects into customers. Make sure to include as many keywords as possible in your ads without losing clarity. Also remember to track the results of each ad campaign so you know what is working and what is not. Many advertisers fail in this regard. There is always room for improvement and you can vastly increase sales by targeting the methods with the most success and improving upon them any chance you get.
Timely PPC ads are known to do well. Update your ads periodically depending on what season or holiday is coming up. For example, make your ads tailor to the Christmas holiday come November or December. This will dramatically improve click-through rates. Google ads are also displayed on partner sites but if you find that your advertisement is not doing well, consider removing the option that allows Google to place your ads on partner sites and only allow them to be placed on the search results.
In conclusion, many advertisers are not using Google Adwords to their full potential. By constructing your PPC ad campaigns on Google with care and caution, you will be able to create very successful ads that receive high click through and conversion. Keep these factors in mind to create ads that drive targeted traffic to your website. Make sure that your landing page delivers in terms of the promise you gave in your advertisement.
Labels: google, search_engines
Feb 20, 2009
Tips for Article Marketing Success
There’s no better way to build links to your website than through article marketing, aka bum marketing. Article marketing is totally free. All that’s required of you is some time to write and submit articles to article directories like Buzzle and Ezine Articles.
With article marketing, you will build links to your website, drive traffic, and increase leads. Furthermore, you will position yourself as an expert in your niche. Some people hire writers to write their article marketing articles for them but you don’t even have to be a talented writer to do article marketing. Follow these tips and you’re bound to have success, regardless of your writing skills.
1. Keep it short and sweet. People who are looking for information online will click away if they see a giant blob of writing. Keep your paragraphs short and try to be concise. Give your readers the information they need without using too many words.
2. Provide valuable information. Article marketing is not just about filling a page with words. You need to make sure that your words are helpful and informational. Not only will search engines value your articles more but your readers will appreciate your advice and be able to seek more of it from where it came from: you! Articles providing tips that are numbered or bulleted are very popular.
3. Write an enticing title. When people are searching online for information and your article shows up in the search results, they are bound to take far more interest and click through if the title is catchy. Rather than a title such as, “A Guide to Making Money Online,” grab the reader’s attention with a title like, “How to go from $0 to $250 a day in 30 Days Online.” Also make sure to include your target keyword(s) in your title.
4. Include target keywords in your writing. Remember to do some keyword research to find keywords in your target market and add them to your article. Try not to use keywords too excessively however because the search engines will devalue your article if you do so. Think 1% to 3% keyword density, tops.
5. Make sure it’s clear what the benefit your business provides is in your articles. In fact, try to make your title list the benefit. Readers only care about themselves. They are looking for information to help themselves so make sure your articles list the benefits you business has for them right off the bat.
6. Don’t talk about yourself in your resource box. The resource box is the small box at the end of the article where you are allowed to talk about your business or yourself and embed links to your website. Writing a good resource box is an essential aspect of getting people to click through to your website. While this may go against the grain, it’s not a good idea to talk about yourself in your resource box. Instead, go straight to talking about the benefit that can be reaped from your service or product and encourage the reader to take action, i.e. click through to your site.
Article marketing can get you serious results. The results will come gradually but you’re bound to reap benefit because of the power that links in article directories have. With the right keyword density and content, your articles could end up in the top page of search engine results for a number of competitive keywords.
Use article marketing to boost your online presence, increase leads, and drive traffic to your site, all at no cost to you. All it takes is an hour each day to whip up a simple article using these tips and then submitting it to an article directory.
With article marketing, you will build links to your website, drive traffic, and increase leads. Furthermore, you will position yourself as an expert in your niche. Some people hire writers to write their article marketing articles for them but you don’t even have to be a talented writer to do article marketing. Follow these tips and you’re bound to have success, regardless of your writing skills.
1. Keep it short and sweet. People who are looking for information online will click away if they see a giant blob of writing. Keep your paragraphs short and try to be concise. Give your readers the information they need without using too many words.
2. Provide valuable information. Article marketing is not just about filling a page with words. You need to make sure that your words are helpful and informational. Not only will search engines value your articles more but your readers will appreciate your advice and be able to seek more of it from where it came from: you! Articles providing tips that are numbered or bulleted are very popular.
3. Write an enticing title. When people are searching online for information and your article shows up in the search results, they are bound to take far more interest and click through if the title is catchy. Rather than a title such as, “A Guide to Making Money Online,” grab the reader’s attention with a title like, “How to go from $0 to $250 a day in 30 Days Online.” Also make sure to include your target keyword(s) in your title.
4. Include target keywords in your writing. Remember to do some keyword research to find keywords in your target market and add them to your article. Try not to use keywords too excessively however because the search engines will devalue your article if you do so. Think 1% to 3% keyword density, tops.
5. Make sure it’s clear what the benefit your business provides is in your articles. In fact, try to make your title list the benefit. Readers only care about themselves. They are looking for information to help themselves so make sure your articles list the benefits you business has for them right off the bat.
6. Don’t talk about yourself in your resource box. The resource box is the small box at the end of the article where you are allowed to talk about your business or yourself and embed links to your website. Writing a good resource box is an essential aspect of getting people to click through to your website. While this may go against the grain, it’s not a good idea to talk about yourself in your resource box. Instead, go straight to talking about the benefit that can be reaped from your service or product and encourage the reader to take action, i.e. click through to your site.
Article marketing can get you serious results. The results will come gradually but you’re bound to reap benefit because of the power that links in article directories have. With the right keyword density and content, your articles could end up in the top page of search engine results for a number of competitive keywords.
Use article marketing to boost your online presence, increase leads, and drive traffic to your site, all at no cost to you. All it takes is an hour each day to whip up a simple article using these tips and then submitting it to an article directory.
Labels: seo_guide, seo_services
Feb 19, 2009
Tapping into the US Hispanic and Latin America Market with SEO
The Hispanic population in the US is growing at a fast pace and anyone who’s anyone in the search marketing world knows that in order to boost business online, it’s essential to target this market. In addition to US Latinos, targeting Latin Americans is also a good idea. There are over 500 million people in Latin America and certain online markets there are already booming.
The Hispanic population in the US and Latin America are incredibly diverse culturally and linguistically so it’s important to understand what works on a larger scale. Some words can offend people in one country and be flattering in others. The key is to know your market well.
Popular Search Niches in Latin America and the US Hispanic Market
Google has 72% of the search traffic in Latin America so if you are targeting Latin America specifically make sure your SEO tactics are meant for Google. The most popular and lucrative markets for SEO in Latin America are travel, local classifieds, finance, retail, and automotive.
While Latin America and the US Hispanic market trail behind other groups in terms of online population, they are growing fast and a larger percentage of them use search engines. Furthermore, Latin Americans tend to spend more time online than the average person and in the US, 89% of Latinos use the search engines.
Marketing research for the US Hispanic market shows that Hispanic people are turning to the internet to find information and answers to a number of questions they have. Hispanic internet users like personalized, engaging content. When trying to target the Hispanic market in SEO, it’s helpful to target certain geographical locations or groups because of the vast cultural differences amongst Hispanics. What works for Mexicans in Virginia probably won’t for Puerto Ricans in New York.
User generated content is very popular amongst both US Hispanics and Latin Americans so it’s helpful to tap into this market. For example, Yahoo! Answers is a very popular website where Hispanics search for answers to their questions to common questions generated by other users.
Mobile phones are very popular amongst both US Hispanics and Latin Americans. In the US, 61% of the Hispanic population uses mobile phones and there are 250 million mobile phone users in Latin America. More and more Latinos are accessing the web via their mobile phones thus mobile-specific applications and advertisements are a great way to increase leads amongst Latin Americans and US Hispanics. Try to use very general language and keywords if you are targeting a diverse group of Hispanics, avoiding colloquialisms.
With the Hispanic market it is particularly important to tie your offline and online presence together. Companies with a heavy offline presence and ad campaign who tie that to their online presence are typically very successful with Hispanics. Hispanics tend to search for and buy products that they hear about offline.
Keep these tips in mind when planning an SEO campaign targeted at the Hispanic market. Online advertising for the Latino market is expected to grow tremendously in the next few years. Expand your business by targeting this growing niche, with which simple, engaging advertising and dynamic keywords can go a long way.
The Hispanic population in the US and Latin America are incredibly diverse culturally and linguistically so it’s important to understand what works on a larger scale. Some words can offend people in one country and be flattering in others. The key is to know your market well.
Popular Search Niches in Latin America and the US Hispanic Market
Google has 72% of the search traffic in Latin America so if you are targeting Latin America specifically make sure your SEO tactics are meant for Google. The most popular and lucrative markets for SEO in Latin America are travel, local classifieds, finance, retail, and automotive.
While Latin America and the US Hispanic market trail behind other groups in terms of online population, they are growing fast and a larger percentage of them use search engines. Furthermore, Latin Americans tend to spend more time online than the average person and in the US, 89% of Latinos use the search engines.
Marketing research for the US Hispanic market shows that Hispanic people are turning to the internet to find information and answers to a number of questions they have. Hispanic internet users like personalized, engaging content. When trying to target the Hispanic market in SEO, it’s helpful to target certain geographical locations or groups because of the vast cultural differences amongst Hispanics. What works for Mexicans in Virginia probably won’t for Puerto Ricans in New York.
User generated content is very popular amongst both US Hispanics and Latin Americans so it’s helpful to tap into this market. For example, Yahoo! Answers is a very popular website where Hispanics search for answers to their questions to common questions generated by other users.
Mobile phones are very popular amongst both US Hispanics and Latin Americans. In the US, 61% of the Hispanic population uses mobile phones and there are 250 million mobile phone users in Latin America. More and more Latinos are accessing the web via their mobile phones thus mobile-specific applications and advertisements are a great way to increase leads amongst Latin Americans and US Hispanics. Try to use very general language and keywords if you are targeting a diverse group of Hispanics, avoiding colloquialisms.
With the Hispanic market it is particularly important to tie your offline and online presence together. Companies with a heavy offline presence and ad campaign who tie that to their online presence are typically very successful with Hispanics. Hispanics tend to search for and buy products that they hear about offline.
Keep these tips in mind when planning an SEO campaign targeted at the Hispanic market. Online advertising for the Latino market is expected to grow tremendously in the next few years. Expand your business by targeting this growing niche, with which simple, engaging advertising and dynamic keywords can go a long way.
Labels: seo_guide, seo_services
5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Writing SEO Press Releases
In order to attract both online and offline attention, press releases are an excellent tool. When you publish newsworthy information about your business online, it’ll be seen both by search engine users and journalists who are scouring PR sites for material to write about.
In order to make the most out of submitting press releases online however, it’s essential to apply SEO tactics. Here are some of the biggest blunders made by people submitting SEO press releases. Learn from these mistakes and make sure your press release achieves a respectable ranking and gets seen by the right people!
1. Being too Promotional and Not Having Any News. Don’t be overly promotional in your press releases and avoid saying “you.” This will make your press release sound too much like a sales-pitch. After all, don’t forget that press releases are supposed to be news. If you are promoting your business overtly in your press release, some PR sites may not accept it. Remember that a press release must announce a new product or service or announce a limited-time promotion or sale.
2. Not Using Any Photos. The beauty of SEO press releases is that you can include images related to your announcement or your company logo. Internet users have a short attention span and photos can capture their attention better than anything else on the page. Give your SEO press releases a boost with photos and images.
3. Using a Boring Title. Most people submit press releases that never end up getting seen. Why? They use titles that put people to sleep. If you want to attract attention and get people to click through to your press release, you need to write an enticing title. Give your announcement some urgency. And don’t forget to include your target keywords in the title. Make sure the title is very descriptive and no more than 80 characters long. Avoid using jargon and instead keep your tone conversational and inviting.
4. Not Embedding Links and Not Putting the First Link Early in the Press Release. Online press release submission sites give you the opportunity to embed links in your press release… so you use it! Embedding links in your website is an excellent way to drive traffic and it is also a helpful link-building strategy, which is essential in SEO. For your links to have more power, place the first link as early in the press release as you can. Make sure the anchor text of your links contain your target keywords.
5. Not Making Use of Quotes. Quotes give your press release credibility. Make sure to include at least one quote in your press release from a happy customer or the boss of your company. You are allowed to include quotes from people who are blatantly promoting your company so use this chance to your advantage. Make sure to use enticing quotes because they are often pulled from articles and enlarged as a way to attract readers.
So there you have it. SEO press releases are gaining traction because many business owners are starting realize how much potential they have. By creating enticing press releases optimized for the search engines, you can rank for a number of different keywords in your market, build links, drive traffic to your site, and possibly attract offline attention. In sum, SEO press releases are a marketer’s paradise. Use them to your advantage by avoiding these common blunders and you’re bound to dramatically improve business.
In order to make the most out of submitting press releases online however, it’s essential to apply SEO tactics. Here are some of the biggest blunders made by people submitting SEO press releases. Learn from these mistakes and make sure your press release achieves a respectable ranking and gets seen by the right people!
1. Being too Promotional and Not Having Any News. Don’t be overly promotional in your press releases and avoid saying “you.” This will make your press release sound too much like a sales-pitch. After all, don’t forget that press releases are supposed to be news. If you are promoting your business overtly in your press release, some PR sites may not accept it. Remember that a press release must announce a new product or service or announce a limited-time promotion or sale.
2. Not Using Any Photos. The beauty of SEO press releases is that you can include images related to your announcement or your company logo. Internet users have a short attention span and photos can capture their attention better than anything else on the page. Give your SEO press releases a boost with photos and images.
3. Using a Boring Title. Most people submit press releases that never end up getting seen. Why? They use titles that put people to sleep. If you want to attract attention and get people to click through to your press release, you need to write an enticing title. Give your announcement some urgency. And don’t forget to include your target keywords in the title. Make sure the title is very descriptive and no more than 80 characters long. Avoid using jargon and instead keep your tone conversational and inviting.
4. Not Embedding Links and Not Putting the First Link Early in the Press Release. Online press release submission sites give you the opportunity to embed links in your press release… so you use it! Embedding links in your website is an excellent way to drive traffic and it is also a helpful link-building strategy, which is essential in SEO. For your links to have more power, place the first link as early in the press release as you can. Make sure the anchor text of your links contain your target keywords.
5. Not Making Use of Quotes. Quotes give your press release credibility. Make sure to include at least one quote in your press release from a happy customer or the boss of your company. You are allowed to include quotes from people who are blatantly promoting your company so use this chance to your advantage. Make sure to use enticing quotes because they are often pulled from articles and enlarged as a way to attract readers.
So there you have it. SEO press releases are gaining traction because many business owners are starting realize how much potential they have. By creating enticing press releases optimized for the search engines, you can rank for a number of different keywords in your market, build links, drive traffic to your site, and possibly attract offline attention. In sum, SEO press releases are a marketer’s paradise. Use them to your advantage by avoiding these common blunders and you’re bound to dramatically improve business.
Labels: seo_guide
Feb 16, 2009
5 Tips for Outsourcing Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is hotter than ever. If you want your online business to amount to anything these days, you have to utilize SEO techniques since most search engine users do not move beyond the first page of search results. However, not all SEO firms are created equal so when outsourcing SEO services, you need to take many factors into consideration. Here are 5 essential tips to keep in mind when outsourcing SEO services.
1. Put together a list of qualified SEO firms. Don’t settle for the first ones you find. Ask colleagues for recommendations and talk to previous customers at each firm to determine how proficient and experienced they are. Some important questions you should ask potential SEO firms include:
*How long have you been in business?
*Do you specialize in any specific industries/niches?
*What kind of rankings have you achieved for your past clients?
*Can I contact your previous clients?
*How long will it take to see results?
2. Put together a Request for Proposal (RFP) that outlines your goals and expectations. Contact the firms you are interested in by sending out this RFP. In your RFP, make sure to provide detailed information about your company, business goals, and competitors. Also request references, a payment schedule, and a detailed breakdown of costs. Include terms and agreements in the RFP as well.
3. Make sure that the SEO firm you hire provides a detailed plan about how they are going to optimize your site. Three important factors the plan should address are the searching habits of your target audience, the functionality and design of your website, and the algorithms used by the search engine to index websites. Ask each SEO firm how they plan to customize their approach based on your website’s unique needs.
4. There are four categories of SEO services and they are website and competitors analysis, on page SEO, offsite SEO, and monthly reports. Learn what services each firm offers and figure out which ones are most necessary for your SEO campaign. Some important services that may or may not be offered depending on the SEO company in question include one way backlinks and content creation services. You may have to outsource these services separately or take care of them yourself.
5. SEO is complex so before you decide who to outsource to, find out what kind of customer support each firm offers. It’s important to learn what customer support services are included in your package and which ones are charged as extra. Sometimes SEO companies may have a limit to the number of hours you can speak with a customer service representative on the telephone or the number of emails you can send. It’s essential to have access to qualified technicians who are informed about your particular project and thus can answer any specific questions you may have.
Now that you are armed with this information, use plenty of care and caution when outsourcing SEO work. There are plenty of reputable SEO companies out there but you need to shop around before you make a decision. Choose a company that will accommodate your specific needs and customize a plan based on very careful considerations. Most importantly, talk to previous customers to be sure that the company you choose is reputable and worthwhile.
1. Put together a list of qualified SEO firms. Don’t settle for the first ones you find. Ask colleagues for recommendations and talk to previous customers at each firm to determine how proficient and experienced they are. Some important questions you should ask potential SEO firms include:
*How long have you been in business?
*Do you specialize in any specific industries/niches?
*What kind of rankings have you achieved for your past clients?
*Can I contact your previous clients?
*How long will it take to see results?
2. Put together a Request for Proposal (RFP) that outlines your goals and expectations. Contact the firms you are interested in by sending out this RFP. In your RFP, make sure to provide detailed information about your company, business goals, and competitors. Also request references, a payment schedule, and a detailed breakdown of costs. Include terms and agreements in the RFP as well.
3. Make sure that the SEO firm you hire provides a detailed plan about how they are going to optimize your site. Three important factors the plan should address are the searching habits of your target audience, the functionality and design of your website, and the algorithms used by the search engine to index websites. Ask each SEO firm how they plan to customize their approach based on your website’s unique needs.
4. There are four categories of SEO services and they are website and competitors analysis, on page SEO, offsite SEO, and monthly reports. Learn what services each firm offers and figure out which ones are most necessary for your SEO campaign. Some important services that may or may not be offered depending on the SEO company in question include one way backlinks and content creation services. You may have to outsource these services separately or take care of them yourself.
5. SEO is complex so before you decide who to outsource to, find out what kind of customer support each firm offers. It’s important to learn what customer support services are included in your package and which ones are charged as extra. Sometimes SEO companies may have a limit to the number of hours you can speak with a customer service representative on the telephone or the number of emails you can send. It’s essential to have access to qualified technicians who are informed about your particular project and thus can answer any specific questions you may have.
Now that you are armed with this information, use plenty of care and caution when outsourcing SEO work. There are plenty of reputable SEO companies out there but you need to shop around before you make a decision. Choose a company that will accommodate your specific needs and customize a plan based on very careful considerations. Most importantly, talk to previous customers to be sure that the company you choose is reputable and worthwhile.
Labels: seo_services
Successful SEO for Adult Website
While adult websites are touted as being an easy way to make money online, they pose unique challenges on the SEO front. Adult websites can indeed be money-makers but achieving good search engine rankings is difficult to say the least.
Google reportedly puts a cap on the number of page rankings for adult websites. Furthermore, many key terms in the adult niche are fiercely competitive, making it difficult to achieve rankings particularly since so few slots are available for adult websites in general.
Another factor that makes ranking adult sites challenging is the fact that they contain little text and lots of images. Content is king on the web and adult websites are certainly lacking in this regard. Despite the fact that the text on adult websites is minimal, it’s important that what little there is has been written with SEO in mind. Many newcomers to the online adult industry don’t realize this fact. Optimizing images on adult websites is also essential. To optimize images for Google image search, it’s effective to place dashes in between the keywords in the image titles.
Link building, another important SEO factor, can be challenging for newcomers in the adult website industry. Newbies would have the best results by building links through networking. While this might sound obvious, there are many website owners in the adult niche who don’t seem to have a clue about SEO. That being said, there are also many experts behind the scenes. It’s advisable to take precautions when linking into certain adult neighborhoods because some are very unscrupulous and could cause your site to be banned from search engine listings altogether.
For example, some adult websites do not provide warnings for underage viewers or otherwise break their country’s legal requirements, meaning that they are potentially blacklisted. Make sure that you don’t link to any blacklisted sites by checking a blacklist directory such as http://bl.usefulscripts.com/blocked/ when making decisions about what websites you are going to swap links with. If you want to build immediate yet temporary traffic to your website, posting to thumbnail galleries is an excellent way to do this. However, this tactic is not effective for long-term link building.
Webmasters of adult websites rarely post reciprocal links and quality, one-way inbound links are hard to acquire since link farms and other unethical methods abound in the adult website industry. Webmasters who do post reciprocal links often use no index meta-tags so the pages with outbound links get excluded from indexing by search engine bots.
Blackhat SEO techniques are a common game for webmasters in the adult industry but if you want to maintain long-term results, your best bet is to keep it ethical. In addition to avoiding unscrupulous SEO methods, it’s also important to ensure that you stick with legal subject matter. Some adult websites such as those of the “barely legal” variety are trailing on the borderline of unlawful, making them a risky venture in SEO and beyond.
Thorough research and networking are keys to success in SEO for adult websites. You have to know your game but you also have to know other people in your niche. The competition is fierce in the adult industry but with the right amount of dedication and effort, ranking for competitive adult key words is possible. Dive in prepared however because there are very sharp SEO experts operating in this highly lucrative niche.
Google reportedly puts a cap on the number of page rankings for adult websites. Furthermore, many key terms in the adult niche are fiercely competitive, making it difficult to achieve rankings particularly since so few slots are available for adult websites in general.
Another factor that makes ranking adult sites challenging is the fact that they contain little text and lots of images. Content is king on the web and adult websites are certainly lacking in this regard. Despite the fact that the text on adult websites is minimal, it’s important that what little there is has been written with SEO in mind. Many newcomers to the online adult industry don’t realize this fact. Optimizing images on adult websites is also essential. To optimize images for Google image search, it’s effective to place dashes in between the keywords in the image titles.
Link building, another important SEO factor, can be challenging for newcomers in the adult website industry. Newbies would have the best results by building links through networking. While this might sound obvious, there are many website owners in the adult niche who don’t seem to have a clue about SEO. That being said, there are also many experts behind the scenes. It’s advisable to take precautions when linking into certain adult neighborhoods because some are very unscrupulous and could cause your site to be banned from search engine listings altogether.
For example, some adult websites do not provide warnings for underage viewers or otherwise break their country’s legal requirements, meaning that they are potentially blacklisted. Make sure that you don’t link to any blacklisted sites by checking a blacklist directory such as http://bl.usefulscripts.com/blocked/ when making decisions about what websites you are going to swap links with. If you want to build immediate yet temporary traffic to your website, posting to thumbnail galleries is an excellent way to do this. However, this tactic is not effective for long-term link building.
Webmasters of adult websites rarely post reciprocal links and quality, one-way inbound links are hard to acquire since link farms and other unethical methods abound in the adult website industry. Webmasters who do post reciprocal links often use no index meta-tags so the pages with outbound links get excluded from indexing by search engine bots.
Blackhat SEO techniques are a common game for webmasters in the adult industry but if you want to maintain long-term results, your best bet is to keep it ethical. In addition to avoiding unscrupulous SEO methods, it’s also important to ensure that you stick with legal subject matter. Some adult websites such as those of the “barely legal” variety are trailing on the borderline of unlawful, making them a risky venture in SEO and beyond.
Thorough research and networking are keys to success in SEO for adult websites. You have to know your game but you also have to know other people in your niche. The competition is fierce in the adult industry but with the right amount of dedication and effort, ranking for competitive adult key words is possible. Dive in prepared however because there are very sharp SEO experts operating in this highly lucrative niche.
Labels: seo_guide, seo_services
Feb 11, 2009
SEO Search Engine Optimization Success in the Gambling Industry
If you can succeed in optimizing a website in the gambling industry, you can reap huge rewards. Unfortunately, online gambling is one of the toughest niches in search marketing but if you take the right approach and follow some tried and true tactics, you are bound to increase traffic to your site. Here are 5 surefire ways to achieve SEO success in the gaming industry.
1. Don’t Lump Different Sub-Niches of the Gambling Industry Together. The biggest mistake internet marketers make in the gambling industry is lumping all of the sub-niches of gambling together in one big category. There are a vast number of product variations even within a particular gambling niche such as sportsbook. Make different pages target different audiences within your niche. Otherwise you will have less click-through because your content will lack specification and be diluted. Alter the architecture of your website so that each page targets a smaller group of keyword phrases and make sure your meta-tags are focused.
2. Link Popularity Always Beats On Page SEO. Optimizing your site’s content is important. However, you have thousands of competitors in the gambling niche and most likely each and every one is making the same SEO changes to their pages. Of the thousands of pages that exist in the gambling industry, only 10 can make it onto the first page of search engine results. Increasing link popularity is a more effective way improve search engine ranking in the highly competitive gambling industry. It’s always possible to increase the number of backlinks your website has in the face of competition while you can only do so much on page SEO.
3. Make Your Website Accessible to Users of Mobile Phones. The gambling industry has experienced wild success with mobile phone users. To tap into this market, it’s essential to make your site accessible to mobile phone users. In addition, make sure to target keywords in the mobile gaming niche. This is a niche that is growing exponentially.
4. Use PPC Campaigns to Increase Traffic to Your Site. Google, which accounts for a large chunk of the traffic to online gambling sites, does not allow PPC advertising for online gambling-related sites. However, PPC campaigns can still be lucrative on search engines like Yahoo and MSN, which still allow paid search campaigns for online gambling sites. The demographics are important in this case. You have to be 18 or older to use gambling sites and since MSN and Yahoo users tend to be older than Google users, the conversion rates are impressive.
5. Attract Return-Visitors with User Generated Content. There is a boatload of online gambling sites to compete with so the only way you are going to get your website to stand out from the rest is by providing user generated content, which is severely lacking in the online gambling industry. Create a sense of community for your website visitors by providing forums and blogs where users can interact and have discussions. As an added benefit, blogs and forums are great for your SEO linking strategy since users often link to them.
Make no mistake about it. SEO success in the online gambling industry is possible despite the hordes of competition you face. Use these tactics to improve your ranking and traffic and remember to always look to the future. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow so stay on top of your game just like any gambler would.
1. Don’t Lump Different Sub-Niches of the Gambling Industry Together. The biggest mistake internet marketers make in the gambling industry is lumping all of the sub-niches of gambling together in one big category. There are a vast number of product variations even within a particular gambling niche such as sportsbook. Make different pages target different audiences within your niche. Otherwise you will have less click-through because your content will lack specification and be diluted. Alter the architecture of your website so that each page targets a smaller group of keyword phrases and make sure your meta-tags are focused.
2. Link Popularity Always Beats On Page SEO. Optimizing your site’s content is important. However, you have thousands of competitors in the gambling niche and most likely each and every one is making the same SEO changes to their pages. Of the thousands of pages that exist in the gambling industry, only 10 can make it onto the first page of search engine results. Increasing link popularity is a more effective way improve search engine ranking in the highly competitive gambling industry. It’s always possible to increase the number of backlinks your website has in the face of competition while you can only do so much on page SEO.
3. Make Your Website Accessible to Users of Mobile Phones. The gambling industry has experienced wild success with mobile phone users. To tap into this market, it’s essential to make your site accessible to mobile phone users. In addition, make sure to target keywords in the mobile gaming niche. This is a niche that is growing exponentially.
4. Use PPC Campaigns to Increase Traffic to Your Site. Google, which accounts for a large chunk of the traffic to online gambling sites, does not allow PPC advertising for online gambling-related sites. However, PPC campaigns can still be lucrative on search engines like Yahoo and MSN, which still allow paid search campaigns for online gambling sites. The demographics are important in this case. You have to be 18 or older to use gambling sites and since MSN and Yahoo users tend to be older than Google users, the conversion rates are impressive.
5. Attract Return-Visitors with User Generated Content. There is a boatload of online gambling sites to compete with so the only way you are going to get your website to stand out from the rest is by providing user generated content, which is severely lacking in the online gambling industry. Create a sense of community for your website visitors by providing forums and blogs where users can interact and have discussions. As an added benefit, blogs and forums are great for your SEO linking strategy since users often link to them.
Make no mistake about it. SEO success in the online gambling industry is possible despite the hordes of competition you face. Use these tactics to improve your ranking and traffic and remember to always look to the future. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow so stay on top of your game just like any gambler would.
Labels: seo_guide, seo_services
Fundamental Differences between Search Engines and Web Directories
Often times the words “search engine” and “web directory” are used interchangeably but the fact is that they are quite different by nature. Search engines provide a quick and easy way to find information while web directories require browsing to find the type of listings you are searching for. Here are 3 fundamental differences between web directories and search engines.
1. Search engines like Google and Altavista use robots, crawlers, or spiders to build indices while web directories have human editors building their indices. Search engine robots function by locating web pages, reading their contents, and reporting the findings back to the indices.
Search engine indices are updated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Web directories such as Yahoo and Dmoz receive submissions that are reviewed by human editors. The manual submission and review process is time-consuming so web directory listings are inevitably less up-to-date than search engine listings.
2. For your site to appear in a web directory, you will typically be required to pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of having a human editor review your website. Directories typically only add sites that provide unique content and that are run by legitimate, verifiable companies. On the other hand, almost any website can be included in search engine results at no cost. However, it is highly competitive to rank well on search engines and it takes a substantial amount of time and effort.
Search engines will judge the value of your website based on each page’s titles and content so including relevant keywords in your text is necessary. The quantity of quality backlinks to your website is also an important factor in improving search engine rankings.
3. Search engine results tend to list web pages whereas web directories list websites as a whole. If you want to find a listing of websites that offer similar services, your best bet is to browse a web directory. Searching web directories is not recommended because it is more difficult to find websites that are highly relevant to your search query. Web directories often have to partner with search engines in order to produce more relevant, up-to-date search results.
If you need quick access to information, you are better off heading to a search engine, where you can find specific pages that contain information relevant to your search query. For instance, if you are looking for DIY plumbing information, you are going to want to enter your query in a search engine whereas if you need to find a plumber in your area, you are better off browsing a web directory to find the service are looking for.
In conclusion, when comparing the ability of web directories and search engines in driving relevant traffic to your website, a good search engine ranking certainly holds more weight. If you are a business owner and have a website, it wouldn’t hurt to pay the nominal fee to submit your URL to a web directory because it may generate leads. However, if you want to drive substantial traffic to your website your best bet is to focus on improving your website’s SEO strategies. In the long run, a good search engine ranking will deliver the most results.
1. Search engines like Google and Altavista use robots, crawlers, or spiders to build indices while web directories have human editors building their indices. Search engine robots function by locating web pages, reading their contents, and reporting the findings back to the indices.
Search engine indices are updated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Web directories such as Yahoo and Dmoz receive submissions that are reviewed by human editors. The manual submission and review process is time-consuming so web directory listings are inevitably less up-to-date than search engine listings.
2. For your site to appear in a web directory, you will typically be required to pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of having a human editor review your website. Directories typically only add sites that provide unique content and that are run by legitimate, verifiable companies. On the other hand, almost any website can be included in search engine results at no cost. However, it is highly competitive to rank well on search engines and it takes a substantial amount of time and effort.
Search engines will judge the value of your website based on each page’s titles and content so including relevant keywords in your text is necessary. The quantity of quality backlinks to your website is also an important factor in improving search engine rankings.
3. Search engine results tend to list web pages whereas web directories list websites as a whole. If you want to find a listing of websites that offer similar services, your best bet is to browse a web directory. Searching web directories is not recommended because it is more difficult to find websites that are highly relevant to your search query. Web directories often have to partner with search engines in order to produce more relevant, up-to-date search results.
If you need quick access to information, you are better off heading to a search engine, where you can find specific pages that contain information relevant to your search query. For instance, if you are looking for DIY plumbing information, you are going to want to enter your query in a search engine whereas if you need to find a plumber in your area, you are better off browsing a web directory to find the service are looking for.
In conclusion, when comparing the ability of web directories and search engines in driving relevant traffic to your website, a good search engine ranking certainly holds more weight. If you are a business owner and have a website, it wouldn’t hurt to pay the nominal fee to submit your URL to a web directory because it may generate leads. However, if you want to drive substantial traffic to your website your best bet is to focus on improving your website’s SEO strategies. In the long run, a good search engine ranking will deliver the most results.
Labels: search_engines, seo_guide
Feb 10, 2009
How Google, Yahoo and MSN Differ
Google, Yahoo and MSN are the top search engines but each uses vastly different criteria to compute algorithms and relevancy. What you do to rank well on one of these search engines may lead you to lose your ranking on another. Important factors that you can use to compare and contrast how these top search engines will judge your site include content and query processing.
Which is King – Quality Content or Keywords?
Yahoo tends to lean towards commerce-related sites more so than informational sites and has a paid-inclusion program that allows even newer websites to appear at the top of search engine results. To rank well with Yahoo, it helps to have very descriptive and keyword-rich content and titles for each page. The same goes for MSN search, which places high value on descriptive content.
However, MSN search currently drives little traffic so any website owner’s goal should be to rank with Google and Yahoo first and foremost. To rank with Google, long-term efforts to improve organic ranking are your best bet while more aggressive SEO tactics fare better with Yahoo and MSN. Google is a bit trickier when it comes to ranking your website based on content. If your website is obviously targeting a particular keyword phrase, such as when that particular keyword phrase is used in internal links, inbound links, the page title, etc., Google may omit your website from search results for that particular keyword.
If you want to successfully rank on Google, you must make the content on your website appear as natural as possible. Avoid overuse of keyword phrases and make your content newsy and informational. Disperse semantically related text throughout the content on your website and be frugal with keywords if you want your website to have a better chance of ranking on Google.
Query Processing – Text vs. Concept
Yahoo places a lot of importance on the text of your website. If you search for a particular keyword phrase, you will notice that the top search engine rankings on Yahoo have the exact same phrase in the title. Even common words of lesser importance such as “how to” will show up in the text of the page titles. Yahoo values even such commonly used phrases, making them important to use in your page titles and text if you want to rank on Yahoo.
On the other hand, Google places little importance on common words and phrases and instead judges a page based on its educational value. In sum, Google values concept over text. If your website has a lot of informational content it is more likely to rank on Google, which judges content based on its meaning rather than merely taking it for its literal value. MSN is also better than Yahoo in this regard but it still pales in comparison to Google.
So there you have it. Query processing and content are just a couple of the important factors top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN judge when ranking websites. Keep these points in mind when creating content and titles for your website’s pages because your actions will have varying results from search engine to search engine. Decide which search engine you want to focus on ranking for and alter your approach based on that decision.
Which is King – Quality Content or Keywords?
Yahoo tends to lean towards commerce-related sites more so than informational sites and has a paid-inclusion program that allows even newer websites to appear at the top of search engine results. To rank well with Yahoo, it helps to have very descriptive and keyword-rich content and titles for each page. The same goes for MSN search, which places high value on descriptive content.
However, MSN search currently drives little traffic so any website owner’s goal should be to rank with Google and Yahoo first and foremost. To rank with Google, long-term efforts to improve organic ranking are your best bet while more aggressive SEO tactics fare better with Yahoo and MSN. Google is a bit trickier when it comes to ranking your website based on content. If your website is obviously targeting a particular keyword phrase, such as when that particular keyword phrase is used in internal links, inbound links, the page title, etc., Google may omit your website from search results for that particular keyword.
If you want to successfully rank on Google, you must make the content on your website appear as natural as possible. Avoid overuse of keyword phrases and make your content newsy and informational. Disperse semantically related text throughout the content on your website and be frugal with keywords if you want your website to have a better chance of ranking on Google.
Query Processing – Text vs. Concept
Yahoo places a lot of importance on the text of your website. If you search for a particular keyword phrase, you will notice that the top search engine rankings on Yahoo have the exact same phrase in the title. Even common words of lesser importance such as “how to” will show up in the text of the page titles. Yahoo values even such commonly used phrases, making them important to use in your page titles and text if you want to rank on Yahoo.
On the other hand, Google places little importance on common words and phrases and instead judges a page based on its educational value. In sum, Google values concept over text. If your website has a lot of informational content it is more likely to rank on Google, which judges content based on its meaning rather than merely taking it for its literal value. MSN is also better than Yahoo in this regard but it still pales in comparison to Google.
So there you have it. Query processing and content are just a couple of the important factors top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN judge when ranking websites. Keep these points in mind when creating content and titles for your website’s pages because your actions will have varying results from search engine to search engine. Decide which search engine you want to focus on ranking for and alter your approach based on that decision.
Labels: google, msn, search_engines, yahoo
Feb 9, 2009
Choosing a Platform for Your Blog
There are a number of things that should be taken into consideration when you are choosing a platform for your blog. Here we will cover some of the issues that must be considered when you are making this decision.
Some of the questions that arise when starting a blog are whether or not to choose a free blogging service or to use one that is hosted on your own domain. Users want to know which direction will best suit their needs. Should you start on a free blogging platform and then change to a hosted domain later as your blog expands?
There is no one good answer for many of these questions. A great many of these decisions will be arrived at according to the goals that you have for your blog. So, to find the best answer to these questions, it is important to ask yourself some questions first.
For many people the decision to start a blog is a big decision. With that in mind, you should expect to take some time with the decision on your platform. There are a number of platforms out there for you to choose from and that can complicate the situation. Of course, you are always free to upgrade later, but there are some important considerations with that decision as well. If you make a good decision now, you may avoid some of the costs associated as well as the impact on your search engine traffic when you make a transfer.
The first question that you should ask yourself is what your goals are regarding your blog. If you are just starting out, to fully answer this question, determine if you plan to be blogging for the long term. Also, ask yourself what the purpose of your blog will be and whether there are any professional aspirations with your blog. Many people blog as a hobby and that is perfectly fine, but your platform choice will be impacted by the answer to this question. Also, try to decide whether you will be putting advertisements on your blog in the future.
These are a good starting point for your blog decisions. There are some platforms on the market that will be great for a hobby blogger, but not well suited to a professional application of the blog.
There are also some blogging platforms that will not allow you to monetize your blog. This will impact your decision a great deal. Make sure that you check out the platform thoroughly before you make any decision about your professional blog. If your ultimate goal is to make money with your blog, you will want to be careful that you don't select a blogging platform that will inhibit your ability to run ads on the blog.
Your budget is another important consideration when you are choosing your blogging platform. With all of the platforms that are available to you on the market, there are some that are free and others that are more costly. Some of the things that you might have to pay for with your blog are the hosting, your domain name, and the blog platform itself. Different blog platforms will have different pricing arrangements. Determine how much you will want to spend on these items when you are choosing your blog platform.
Consider your cost to design the blog as well. You will most likely get a free template with your platform, but if you want something different, you will have to pay for it or design it yourself. Also, there are some tools that you might have to pay for to help your blogging. You might not know what you need in the beginning, but a little research will show you what you will need in the future.
Consider how technological oriented you are. There are some blog platforms that are very friendly to the non technical blogger and others will require you to have some technological knowledge to use. If you have never set up a blog or website before, you might have to hire someone to help you or learn the basics on your own.
When making the decision between a standalone blogging platform or a hosted one, the above questions should get you started thinking about your options. When choosing a hosted blog platform, you will find it much easier and cheaper to get started. Many of the popular hosted blog platforms are free to use. A hosted blog platform is one that is provided by a company that hosts your blog on their domain. Some pros to this type of platform are that it is easy to set up, free or cheap, simple to operate, and they are indexed in the search engines fairly quickly. Some of the cons for this platform are that they are limited in the design choices, less control and your URL is not your own.
With a standalone blog platform you will be hosting your blog under your own domain. Of course, there are some pros and cons of using this blog platform as well. The pros for using a standalone blog platform are a more control over the design of your blog. You will be able to use your own skills to design the blog that you want and not be limited by templates and design limitations in a hosted blog platform. The blogs are more adaptable and you will be able to take advantage of the plug-ins that are developed all the time. The cons for using a standalone platform are the difficulty in setting it up, the cost and the complication of updating your blog.
Some of the questions that arise when starting a blog are whether or not to choose a free blogging service or to use one that is hosted on your own domain. Users want to know which direction will best suit their needs. Should you start on a free blogging platform and then change to a hosted domain later as your blog expands?
There is no one good answer for many of these questions. A great many of these decisions will be arrived at according to the goals that you have for your blog. So, to find the best answer to these questions, it is important to ask yourself some questions first.
For many people the decision to start a blog is a big decision. With that in mind, you should expect to take some time with the decision on your platform. There are a number of platforms out there for you to choose from and that can complicate the situation. Of course, you are always free to upgrade later, but there are some important considerations with that decision as well. If you make a good decision now, you may avoid some of the costs associated as well as the impact on your search engine traffic when you make a transfer.
The first question that you should ask yourself is what your goals are regarding your blog. If you are just starting out, to fully answer this question, determine if you plan to be blogging for the long term. Also, ask yourself what the purpose of your blog will be and whether there are any professional aspirations with your blog. Many people blog as a hobby and that is perfectly fine, but your platform choice will be impacted by the answer to this question. Also, try to decide whether you will be putting advertisements on your blog in the future.
These are a good starting point for your blog decisions. There are some platforms on the market that will be great for a hobby blogger, but not well suited to a professional application of the blog.
There are also some blogging platforms that will not allow you to monetize your blog. This will impact your decision a great deal. Make sure that you check out the platform thoroughly before you make any decision about your professional blog. If your ultimate goal is to make money with your blog, you will want to be careful that you don't select a blogging platform that will inhibit your ability to run ads on the blog.
Your budget is another important consideration when you are choosing your blogging platform. With all of the platforms that are available to you on the market, there are some that are free and others that are more costly. Some of the things that you might have to pay for with your blog are the hosting, your domain name, and the blog platform itself. Different blog platforms will have different pricing arrangements. Determine how much you will want to spend on these items when you are choosing your blog platform.
Consider your cost to design the blog as well. You will most likely get a free template with your platform, but if you want something different, you will have to pay for it or design it yourself. Also, there are some tools that you might have to pay for to help your blogging. You might not know what you need in the beginning, but a little research will show you what you will need in the future.
Consider how technological oriented you are. There are some blog platforms that are very friendly to the non technical blogger and others will require you to have some technological knowledge to use. If you have never set up a blog or website before, you might have to hire someone to help you or learn the basics on your own.
When making the decision between a standalone blogging platform or a hosted one, the above questions should get you started thinking about your options. When choosing a hosted blog platform, you will find it much easier and cheaper to get started. Many of the popular hosted blog platforms are free to use. A hosted blog platform is one that is provided by a company that hosts your blog on their domain. Some pros to this type of platform are that it is easy to set up, free or cheap, simple to operate, and they are indexed in the search engines fairly quickly. Some of the cons for this platform are that they are limited in the design choices, less control and your URL is not your own.
With a standalone blog platform you will be hosting your blog under your own domain. Of course, there are some pros and cons of using this blog platform as well. The pros for using a standalone blog platform are a more control over the design of your blog. You will be able to use your own skills to design the blog that you want and not be limited by templates and design limitations in a hosted blog platform. The blogs are more adaptable and you will be able to take advantage of the plug-ins that are developed all the time. The cons for using a standalone platform are the difficulty in setting it up, the cost and the complication of updating your blog.
Labels: blogging, on_site_seo, website_development
Three Things You Should Keep In Mind before Starting Your Blog
When you are working on your blog, one way to make sure that you gain and maintain momentum with it is to plan each step you will take carefully. Many people don't plan their blogs and they are not realizing as much success as they could if they planned out each step they should be taking with their blog.
There are some things that you can consider before you even begin blogging that will help you develop a plan. This will help you keep your momentum moving forward. Here are three of the factors that you should keep in mind before you begin your blog.
The scope of your topic is your first consideration. There is a fine line between choosing a topic that is too broad and one that is too narrow. When you choose a topic that is too broad, you will become overwhelmed with post choices that you might not be able to focus on your blog adequately. And if you choose one that is so narrow, you will run out of things to say on the topic fairly quickly.
Using the news is a good way to determine if there will be an ongoing supply of stories and posts for your topic. Check the search engines for breaking news stories to find out if there are plenty of new stories on the topic to keep you busy posting on your blog.
You can also try to come up with as many ideas for posts before you even begin. If you find yourself struggling to come up with some new ideas, you might want to consider broadening your topic a bit. Or you might have to consider finding another topic.
The next thing you should take into consideration is your own passion on the topic. If you plan to have your blog for a long time, you will have to consider if the topic will motivate you enough to keep on writing. You will find that if you choose a subject that does not stir a passion in you, your efforts to research and keep on going will start to fade. No matter how much you want the blog to succeed, if there is no interest on your part, there will be little interest on anyone else's. It will show in your writing rather quickly.
Be honest with yourself when you are choosing a topic. You might try to fool yourself into thinking that you have a passionate interest in the topic, but it will not pay off in the long run if you have no passion. Ask yourself if you can see yourself writing on the topic for years or whether you feel proud covering the topic. Also, do you want to be seen as an expert on this topic? If you answer yes, then you probably have the right amount of passion to be successful with this topic.
A blog could take a long time before it becomes successful. In fact, some blogs take about a year to see success. This is a great investment of time on your part with very little reward. That is why there is a need for passion and excitement on the topic for you to sustain yourself when you are not receiving a reward for your efforts.
You should also consider the amount of time that you have for your blog. There are some blogs that don't require a great deal of time and others that will require a lot of your free time. The time involved will depend on a few things.
The first thing is the choice of topic. There are some topics that will need to be updated frequently because it is constantly evolving and changing.
How long the blog has been around will also factor into the time required to maintain it. If a blog has begun to see some success and is becoming popular, it will begin to require more time to keep it updated. The older your blog is the more likely it is that it will require more work and time.
The style of posts that you write will also determine how much time is invested in the blog. If you write long posts that encourages a great deal of feedback, the blog will take up a great deal more of your time.
It is recommended that you only start one blog at a time. Assess the amount of time that you have in your life to devote to the blog and get it set up. In another month or so, assess your time again. Before you begin another blog, consider whether you have more time in your life to add another blog to your current blogging time investment. If you are not able to invest enough time to write a quality blog, consider holding off until you have the time to give it the attention that it needs.
There are some things that you can consider before you even begin blogging that will help you develop a plan. This will help you keep your momentum moving forward. Here are three of the factors that you should keep in mind before you begin your blog.
The scope of your topic is your first consideration. There is a fine line between choosing a topic that is too broad and one that is too narrow. When you choose a topic that is too broad, you will become overwhelmed with post choices that you might not be able to focus on your blog adequately. And if you choose one that is so narrow, you will run out of things to say on the topic fairly quickly.
Using the news is a good way to determine if there will be an ongoing supply of stories and posts for your topic. Check the search engines for breaking news stories to find out if there are plenty of new stories on the topic to keep you busy posting on your blog.
You can also try to come up with as many ideas for posts before you even begin. If you find yourself struggling to come up with some new ideas, you might want to consider broadening your topic a bit. Or you might have to consider finding another topic.
The next thing you should take into consideration is your own passion on the topic. If you plan to have your blog for a long time, you will have to consider if the topic will motivate you enough to keep on writing. You will find that if you choose a subject that does not stir a passion in you, your efforts to research and keep on going will start to fade. No matter how much you want the blog to succeed, if there is no interest on your part, there will be little interest on anyone else's. It will show in your writing rather quickly.
Be honest with yourself when you are choosing a topic. You might try to fool yourself into thinking that you have a passionate interest in the topic, but it will not pay off in the long run if you have no passion. Ask yourself if you can see yourself writing on the topic for years or whether you feel proud covering the topic. Also, do you want to be seen as an expert on this topic? If you answer yes, then you probably have the right amount of passion to be successful with this topic.
A blog could take a long time before it becomes successful. In fact, some blogs take about a year to see success. This is a great investment of time on your part with very little reward. That is why there is a need for passion and excitement on the topic for you to sustain yourself when you are not receiving a reward for your efforts.
You should also consider the amount of time that you have for your blog. There are some blogs that don't require a great deal of time and others that will require a lot of your free time. The time involved will depend on a few things.
The first thing is the choice of topic. There are some topics that will need to be updated frequently because it is constantly evolving and changing.
How long the blog has been around will also factor into the time required to maintain it. If a blog has begun to see some success and is becoming popular, it will begin to require more time to keep it updated. The older your blog is the more likely it is that it will require more work and time.
The style of posts that you write will also determine how much time is invested in the blog. If you write long posts that encourages a great deal of feedback, the blog will take up a great deal more of your time.
It is recommended that you only start one blog at a time. Assess the amount of time that you have in your life to devote to the blog and get it set up. In another month or so, assess your time again. Before you begin another blog, consider whether you have more time in your life to add another blog to your current blogging time investment. If you are not able to invest enough time to write a quality blog, consider holding off until you have the time to give it the attention that it needs.
Labels: blogging, on_site_seo, website_development
Feb 2, 2009
Google Algorithms
With the online world currently fixated on SEO methods to gain page rank, many of us are pulling our hair out trying to figure out the Google Algorithm. Here we will take a brief look at some of the core elements of how Google indexes web pages and what this means for you.
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) analyzes the relationships and structural placement of words. It is designed to sniff out naturally written text from forced keyword overloaded text. LSI goes so far as to consider the natural semantics of the English language. LSI will not only look at alternative versions of the article topic and main word but also related words that often pop up when discussing this topic. What this means for webmasters is simple. Write the website content naturally with a relatively low keyword density. High quality content is much better than forced content or content with a forced high keyword density. Think about having a keyword density of around 3-6% but never any more than this. Make sure you talk about the topic naturally and mention other relevant words and information that are associated with the topic.
Local Interactivity is also a major factor in the way your website is ranked on Google. The types of links you have can have a negative or positive affect on your page rank. If you have many links that are from reputable domains but your page rank is still not up to scratch then it could perhaps be the quality of your links that you need to improve upon. Having links from a higher page ranked website to yours will boost your website rankings. It may just be that you need to have links that are better than your competitor’s links in order to obtain a higher page ranking so even if your links are great they may not be quite up to scratch against others. The types of links you obtain can also be important such as community links without any of which would have a negative impact on your rankings.
There are a great many different areas that the Google algorithm looks at in order to rank your website. These include Keyword/non keyword domains, domain discovery date, changes made to the website and frequency of which, number of internal links, link anchor text, link discovery date and many more. Google will also pay special attention to a website that displays unusual or suspicious linking and will run additional programs to determine whether or not your website is spam or natural content.
TPSR (Topic Sensitive Page Rank) basis it’s results on the relationship between the topics of the data. This is determined by analyzing the user input, search history and the ODP. It even takes into account possible fraudulent ODP activity and link sales by matching this topic with relevant topical communities.
There are many other Google algorithm components like this one that analysis content, links and relevancy and the entire Google algorithm remains somewhat a mystery. Over the years Google has changed and adapted it’s algorithm to combat spam and poor quality websites.
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) analyzes the relationships and structural placement of words. It is designed to sniff out naturally written text from forced keyword overloaded text. LSI goes so far as to consider the natural semantics of the English language. LSI will not only look at alternative versions of the article topic and main word but also related words that often pop up when discussing this topic. What this means for webmasters is simple. Write the website content naturally with a relatively low keyword density. High quality content is much better than forced content or content with a forced high keyword density. Think about having a keyword density of around 3-6% but never any more than this. Make sure you talk about the topic naturally and mention other relevant words and information that are associated with the topic.
Local Interactivity is also a major factor in the way your website is ranked on Google. The types of links you have can have a negative or positive affect on your page rank. If you have many links that are from reputable domains but your page rank is still not up to scratch then it could perhaps be the quality of your links that you need to improve upon. Having links from a higher page ranked website to yours will boost your website rankings. It may just be that you need to have links that are better than your competitor’s links in order to obtain a higher page ranking so even if your links are great they may not be quite up to scratch against others. The types of links you obtain can also be important such as community links without any of which would have a negative impact on your rankings.
There are a great many different areas that the Google algorithm looks at in order to rank your website. These include Keyword/non keyword domains, domain discovery date, changes made to the website and frequency of which, number of internal links, link anchor text, link discovery date and many more. Google will also pay special attention to a website that displays unusual or suspicious linking and will run additional programs to determine whether or not your website is spam or natural content.
TPSR (Topic Sensitive Page Rank) basis it’s results on the relationship between the topics of the data. This is determined by analyzing the user input, search history and the ODP. It even takes into account possible fraudulent ODP activity and link sales by matching this topic with relevant topical communities.
There are many other Google algorithm components like this one that analysis content, links and relevancy and the entire Google algorithm remains somewhat a mystery. Over the years Google has changed and adapted it’s algorithm to combat spam and poor quality websites.
Labels: google, search_engines, seo_guide
How Google Determines Spam and the Affects
Web spam is useless or irrelevant content that has been utilized to trick search engines into placing high rankings on their websites to direct traffic to them. Spam is essentially the number one Google enemy as it prohibits Google from displaying accurate relevant search results to users performing a search. Once a page has been identified as spam it will be sent to the recycle bin. There are many different warning signs for Google to encounter in order to consider your page as spam. These are PPC pages, parked domains, thin affiliates, hidden text and hidden links, redirects, and a high keyword density. Some of these are more obvious than others such as keyword stuffing and hidden text and these are more likely to earn yourself a spam rating very quickly.
A PPC page is a web page that is disguised as search results. They have content but it is surrounded by a lot of PPC ads and because of this do not provide much value to the users browsing. These can include fake directories with PPC ads, fake blogs containing these PPC ads and fake message boards with all of these PPC ads. In fact if the content is not valuable, unique or is pre set up content (faked forums etc) and they are stuffed with PPC ads it is spam. The most popular method of PPC spam is scraping. This is where a website merely lifts content from other sites to try to steal their SEO content. Google are now very much experts at searching out duplicate content and even if the algorithm is unsure it will flag it for a manual review. If credit is ascribed to the original source, this can remove the spam label. An entirely scraped website will be flagged but if you use accredited content every so often you shouldn’t have any problems. It is easy to test your content online for originality, simply copy and paste your sentence into the Google search engine and check the results.
Thanks to the LSI aspect of the Google algorithm Google can also check for computer manufactured content by analyzing the natural flow of your content, synonyms, topical references and structure of the content and evaluating its relevancy and topical information. It is essential that your website provides unique and well written content to avoid being labeled as spam, and in the worst case scenario a banning from Google. There are many problematic article rewriting software and services that do nothing but pervert the text by replacing synonyms, taking content out of context, and failing to properly restructure the articles. Google can tell the difference between manufactured content and “hand written” content. You may be concerned about your content if your website has naturally duplicated content such as lyrics, poems, ring tone, quotes and proverbs but you do not need to be concerned about content like this. Google is clever enough to identify naturally duplicated content like this and does not penalize it. The one main key point to take home with you on this topic is that if you remove all duplicate content and there is nothing but ads your website will be considered spam.
A PPC page is a web page that is disguised as search results. They have content but it is surrounded by a lot of PPC ads and because of this do not provide much value to the users browsing. These can include fake directories with PPC ads, fake blogs containing these PPC ads and fake message boards with all of these PPC ads. In fact if the content is not valuable, unique or is pre set up content (faked forums etc) and they are stuffed with PPC ads it is spam. The most popular method of PPC spam is scraping. This is where a website merely lifts content from other sites to try to steal their SEO content. Google are now very much experts at searching out duplicate content and even if the algorithm is unsure it will flag it for a manual review. If credit is ascribed to the original source, this can remove the spam label. An entirely scraped website will be flagged but if you use accredited content every so often you shouldn’t have any problems. It is easy to test your content online for originality, simply copy and paste your sentence into the Google search engine and check the results.
Thanks to the LSI aspect of the Google algorithm Google can also check for computer manufactured content by analyzing the natural flow of your content, synonyms, topical references and structure of the content and evaluating its relevancy and topical information. It is essential that your website provides unique and well written content to avoid being labeled as spam, and in the worst case scenario a banning from Google. There are many problematic article rewriting software and services that do nothing but pervert the text by replacing synonyms, taking content out of context, and failing to properly restructure the articles. Google can tell the difference between manufactured content and “hand written” content. You may be concerned about your content if your website has naturally duplicated content such as lyrics, poems, ring tone, quotes and proverbs but you do not need to be concerned about content like this. Google is clever enough to identify naturally duplicated content like this and does not penalize it. The one main key point to take home with you on this topic is that if you remove all duplicate content and there is nothing but ads your website will be considered spam.
Labels: google, search_engines, seo_guide
