Abstract: The latest frontier in search engine technology is social search. Born out of the social networking boom, social search will attempt to humanize search results thereby providing users with consumer driven answers to their queries. Considering that 50% of queries go unanswered, social search could be the biggest breakthrough since page ranking. As search giants, Google, Yahoo and MSN continue their fierce battle to become king of the search engines, internet marketers are faced with increasing challenges to dominate in the rankings. As algorithms and methodologies change, savvy entrepreneurs and Madison Avenue continue their heated battle for a coveted Top 10 spot in search engine rankings.
Social search is not officially here but the debut is not far off. Yahoo, MSN and Google are all purportedly working on methodologies to converge search and user generated content all while walking the tightrope known as “privacy.” Yahoo has been beta-testing Yahoo Answers since December 2005 and has hired powerhouse, Raghu Ramakrishnan, the co-author of Database Management Systems and co-founder of QUIQ. Mircosoft is in talks with Eurekster.com, a company specializing in social search and Google is experimenting with Google Base Beta. Why are these internet behemoths investing so much in social search? Social networks such as MySpace and Friendster are threatening the domination of established search giants
Social networks are pulling in a significant and increasing share of web traffic.
Social network sites are actively working to improve their internal search capabilities and provide an even richer experience for their members. Search giants such as Google, Yahoo and MSN must accelerate their social search efforts or they may be left out of the search game that they now dominate. Search giants must step it up or they will get left behind. It is hard to believe that in the early days of the net, there was an underlying assumption that technology would replace or hinder human interaction. There were those that believed users would prefer getting their information from a computer rather than a person. Social networking is really something old made new by bringing it online. It turns out we humans still rely on other humans and technology simply allows us to expand the boundaries of our social networks. Studies have proven what we already knew intuitively, we pay attention to recommendations from real people. Social search, viral marketing and social networking are not at all new concepts. Social search is really the technology derivative of asking friends and colleagues for recommendations. In the long ago, dark ages before we “googled”, if you needed a mechanic you asked your neighbor, your colleagues and your friends for a recommendation. We now google for mechanics and visit websites to gain information that will help us in our decision. Social search will enable users to combine the two for a robust result that combines user driven content or the human element with the power of technology. Pretty heady stuff, when you contemplate the impact of this new era of search.
What does all of this mean to the internet marketer?
The internet marketer’s goals remain the same - drive traffic and convert that traffic to profitable sales. Social search will not change the foundation of marketing but it will change the way in which you present your information to generate leads. In other words, you will still need to apply good old fashioned Public Relations and Marketing tactics to the new fangled Social Search Medium, fondly dubbed SMM by some.
Drive traffic to your site from social search and search engine optimization
To take advantage of social search, the first step is to develop a plan. Who is your ideal customer? Contrary to popular belief, the world is not your customer. Do you merely want 200,000 hits per day or do you want 200,000 hits from people that have a problem your product or service can solve? Often the focus is on pure traffic results, but none of that matters if you’re not hitting your sales goals. So, what does your ideal customer look like? What complementary products or services do they buy? How often do they make purchases? Take the time to identify your target market before you launch a marketing plan. Make sure to include complimentary offerings through popular email courses, as in our SEO Email Course
Now that you have identified your niche, you’ll have a much easier time capturing them using SMM. Marketing whether online or off is all about relevancy, visibility, and credibility. As an internet marketer you want to dominate your niche market by establishing yourself as the expert in your area, delivering content to your potential customer that is relevant to their needs and preferences and have greater visibility than your competitors.
Steps that you can take to achieve expertness with SMM:
1. Become an expert source of information.
Use the bookmarks and article submission features of sites such as Digg to establish yourself as a credible and recognizable source of information.
2. Hitchhike on a blog.
Post relevant and informative content on high profile blogs in your industry. Contributing to a blog on relevant subject matter will increase your visibility and credibility with your target market.
3. Share, share, share.
Create a Squidoo lens, write and publish articles to online article banks (i.e. ezinearticles.com), contribute to wikipedia. Issue quarterly press releases through PR Web. Providing content will establish familiarity with your name (the “haven’t I heard of you?” effect) and enable you to cement your expertise with your audience. You will then drive pre-qualified users to your site, who has already established interest in what you have to sell.
4. Create your own friendly network.
Link sharing with complementary products and services is still a great way to expand your social network, and hence your visibility.
5. Build on your existing foundation.
The technical aspect of search will not be eliminated with the dawn of social search. Rather social search will augment technical search. Thus, it is important to continue utilizing the tools and resources that drive technical search including optimization techniques and paid inclusion.
6. Apply innovation directly to your site.
Here's an example: Microsaw Social Search that we are using, and it's a free service.
Summary: Social search will not entirely replace the traditional technical driven search but does open up yet another avenue for internet marketers. One of the more exciting aspects is that smaller businesses are better positioned to make the most gains from the social frontier. We have seen the power of the “regular Joe” community in driving site popularity and outpacing Madison Avenue marketing efforts. YouTube, MySpace and Facebook owe their growth to the power of viral marketing. Big Business has not yet mastered the art of getting up close and personal with its users providing savvy entrepreneurs with the opportunity of a lifetime. By using the simple techniques outlined in this article you will be well poised to take advantage of that opportunity.
Social Marketing Resources: Digg, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Flickr, StumbleUpon, Newsvine, LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, MySpace, Ma.gnolia, Yahoo Answers, Reddit, Technorati, Squidoo, Shoutwire, 43 Things, YourElevatorPitch, Ning, Yahoo 360, BlinkList, Shadows, Wetpaint, Jotspot
Article Banks: Ezinearticles, GoArticles, SubmitYourArticles (fee required), Buzzle, Articlealley
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Fact: It will become impossible to get search engine site placement by 2008. PPC may be your only option. What about SEO?
Search engine optimization is a complex topic of discussion. Not only for you, the potential online marketer, but even Google themselves!
It is a bit like the secret sauce of Coca-Cola; nobody really knows it - it's locked away in a safe somewhere. (Ed note: Eric Schmidt at Google does not know it, and allegedly only 2 people at Google know the secret algo).
Since this is the case, what can you do about it - and more importantly, where do you start? Not only does online marketing need to be part of your web business strategy, but you need to start today and do not make any mistakes, or you risk de-listing, assuming for a moment that you got there ("your site in the top 10 results") that is.
Read on, or you may miss out on the biggest opportunity to create a strong business presence in the entire time-span of the Internet age.
Why act now and what they're not saying
There are many resources on the Internet on the topic of SEO. We have included a few, free SEO tools access in another article . If you are looking for anything in specific on the topic, we have a large database of free search engine articles and resources via our newsletter, which is sent out monthly. I'm sure you have spoken to, or read about the so-called SEO experts.
They tell you that they can guarantee search engine listings, and that they can get you listed on the first page. This is not difficult, but the more challenging areas is the true SEO endeavors. Anybody can get you listed on the first page in any major search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask). This is called PPC and is a category in 'Search Engine Marketing'.
However, to get listed in the natural, or organic search engine results (SERPS), you will find that it takes anywhere from 2-4 months, and as much as possibly 2 years to get listed in the top 10 for your respective keywords and phrases. The natural search engine results pages are the MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS of all search query outputs, and considered the holy grail of site placement.
What SEO means to you
The field of search is very fast-paced, and is growing with at least 20% every month (traffic), and domain names are being plucked up by the millions. It's a crowded space, as well - this is the important part. If you do not act now, the only way for you to get placement in the future will be PPC, and it will become extremely competitive and expensive. MSN Adcenter is already introducing and running demographics search, this will completely change the playing field.
Being affiliated with companies that only create and execute ethical, foundational search engine optimization strategies is the best option. For example, companies that freely share information on topic of search marketing, SEO can help you.
Online marketing has never been more important, and search marketing is a crucial part of your online traffic strategy. Think quality search results and clicks - not quantity. Quality traffic is the most important business you can get.
GEMAYA sounds scary
So, I leave you with this: Last year, a writer at fortune.com coined the term GEMAYA, an acronym representing a futuristic super-conglomerate consisting of Google, eBay, MSN, Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL.
Without becoming a prophet here, the big question to ask yourself is - do you want these behemoths to have your URL and your good company name included?
Search Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Solutions are extremely important, both strategically and tactically as you move forward this year, and into 2007. Start today!
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
It is a bit like the secret sauce of Coca-Cola; nobody really knows it - it's locked away in a safe somewhere. (Ed note: Eric Schmidt at Google does not know it, and allegedly only 2 people at Google know the secret algo).
Since this is the case, what can you do about it - and more importantly, where do you start? Not only does online marketing need to be part of your web business strategy, but you need to start today and do not make any mistakes, or you risk de-listing, assuming for a moment that you got there ("your site in the top 10 results") that is.
Read on, or you may miss out on the biggest opportunity to create a strong business presence in the entire time-span of the Internet age.
Why act now and what they're not saying
There are many resources on the Internet on the topic of SEO. We have included a few, free SEO tools access in another article . If you are looking for anything in specific on the topic, we have a large database of free search engine articles and resources via our newsletter, which is sent out monthly. I'm sure you have spoken to, or read about the so-called SEO experts.
They tell you that they can guarantee search engine listings, and that they can get you listed on the first page. This is not difficult, but the more challenging areas is the true SEO endeavors. Anybody can get you listed on the first page in any major search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask). This is called PPC and is a category in 'Search Engine Marketing'.
However, to get listed in the natural, or organic search engine results (SERPS), you will find that it takes anywhere from 2-4 months, and as much as possibly 2 years to get listed in the top 10 for your respective keywords and phrases. The natural search engine results pages are the MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS of all search query outputs, and considered the holy grail of site placement.
What SEO means to you
The field of search is very fast-paced, and is growing with at least 20% every month (traffic), and domain names are being plucked up by the millions. It's a crowded space, as well - this is the important part. If you do not act now, the only way for you to get placement in the future will be PPC, and it will become extremely competitive and expensive. MSN Adcenter is already introducing and running demographics search, this will completely change the playing field.
Being affiliated with companies that only create and execute ethical, foundational search engine optimization strategies is the best option. For example, companies that freely share information on topic of search marketing, SEO can help you.
Online marketing has never been more important, and search marketing is a crucial part of your online traffic strategy. Think quality search results and clicks - not quantity. Quality traffic is the most important business you can get.
GEMAYA sounds scary
So, I leave you with this: Last year, a writer at fortune.com coined the term GEMAYA, an acronym representing a futuristic super-conglomerate consisting of Google, eBay, MSN, Amazon, Yahoo!, and AOL.
Without becoming a prophet here, the big question to ask yourself is - do you want these behemoths to have your URL and your good company name included?
Search Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Solutions are extremely important, both strategically and tactically as you move forward this year, and into 2007. Start today!
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
11 Must-Have SEO Tools (that the professionals use)
SEO Tools have sprouted up from engineers, hackers, wanna-be SEO's and legimate Search Engine Optimization companies. Many are free, and very good.
But, the fact is - you don't have to be an engineer to run them. Our compiled list below is used daily by professionals and newbies alike.
Start putting these tools to use and see how they impact your own online business. Of course, you need to know what they are used for. (Ed note: Article coming soon!)
#1 - Ranking Analysis
This tool can unveil extremely valuable information on how you can break into the top 10 search engine positions. Check it out at this url http://www.webuildpages.com/cool-seo-tool/
#2 - Sitemaps
xml-sitemaps.com, they have created a sitemap generator that enables you to create a xml sitemap for Google and a text-based sitemap for Yahoo. In addition, the generator can also create an optional HTML sitemap for human visitors. Go to http://www.xml-sitemaps.com for step-by-step instructions on how to get started.
We also like www.sitemapdoc.com - a little buggy though. Make sure to create an account in Google and Yahoo, and get the Sitemap into those administration control systems.
#3 - Keywords Analysis
For a keyword tool that has it all, go to http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword/
#4 - Keyword Rankings
This tool allows you to track numerous keyword rankings like # backlinks, #pagerank and #daily, weekly and monthly changes in your rankings. Take control of your search engine rankings at http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/
#5 - Link Harvesting
Link Harvester is open source, so web masters are free to share it and developers are free to improve upon it. Do your own link analysis at http://www.linkhounds.com/link-harvester/
#6 - PPC, Reports, Link Partners & More
* perform keyword mining * use Web site analysis to improve your rankings
* create link popularity reports * quickly and easily find potential link partners
* use automated, semi automated, and guided submission to search engines and directories * manage your PPC campaigns * analyze your search engine rankings.
This is the grand-daddy of all tools. Free SEO Tool download (desktop).
#7 - Page Strength
Relative importance of pagestrength http://www.seomoz.org/tools/page-strength.php
#8 - Link Popularity
We like www.urltrends.com
#9 - Alexa Rank
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/alexa-rank-comparison/
#10 - Keywords Density Analysis
http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
#11 (bonus) - SEO tool or not?
Not. But, it is very useful in determining the geographic location of an IP address using a bit of AJAX and Google Maps. http://www.seomoz.org/ip2loc/ip2loc.php
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
But, the fact is - you don't have to be an engineer to run them. Our compiled list below is used daily by professionals and newbies alike.
Start putting these tools to use and see how they impact your own online business. Of course, you need to know what they are used for. (Ed note: Article coming soon!)
#1 - Ranking Analysis
This tool can unveil extremely valuable information on how you can break into the top 10 search engine positions. Check it out at this url http://www.webuildpages.com/cool-seo-tool/
#2 - Sitemaps
xml-sitemaps.com, they have created a sitemap generator that enables you to create a xml sitemap for Google and a text-based sitemap for Yahoo. In addition, the generator can also create an optional HTML sitemap for human visitors. Go to http://www.xml-sitemaps.com for step-by-step instructions on how to get started.
We also like www.sitemapdoc.com - a little buggy though. Make sure to create an account in Google and Yahoo, and get the Sitemap into those administration control systems.
#3 - Keywords Analysis
For a keyword tool that has it all, go to http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword/
#4 - Keyword Rankings
This tool allows you to track numerous keyword rankings like # backlinks, #pagerank and #daily, weekly and monthly changes in your rankings. Take control of your search engine rankings at http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/
#5 - Link Harvesting
Link Harvester is open source, so web masters are free to share it and developers are free to improve upon it. Do your own link analysis at http://www.linkhounds.com/link-harvester/
#6 - PPC, Reports, Link Partners & More
* perform keyword mining * use Web site analysis to improve your rankings
* create link popularity reports * quickly and easily find potential link partners
* use automated, semi automated, and guided submission to search engines and directories * manage your PPC campaigns * analyze your search engine rankings.
This is the grand-daddy of all tools. Free SEO Tool download (desktop).
#7 - Page Strength
Relative importance of pagestrength http://www.seomoz.org/tools/page-strength.php
#8 - Link Popularity
We like www.urltrends.com
#9 - Alexa Rank
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/alexa-rank-comparison/
#10 - Keywords Density Analysis
http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
#11 (bonus) - SEO tool or not?
Not. But, it is very useful in determining the geographic location of an IP address using a bit of AJAX and Google Maps. http://www.seomoz.org/ip2loc/ip2loc.php
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
How To Use Search Engine Optimization to Destroy Your Competition in 3 Easy Steps... Possible?
Abstract: So you're tired of the poor rankings of your website - even after many months of 'proper' search engine optimization? You are even more frustrated to see your dollars disappear into the Internet money vacuum, and still stubborn enough to spend more? Not so fast. A varied array of options exist. Read below to find something that works for you. Additionally, the free 5-day email course on PPC may be just what you need for your search engine marketing (SEM) projects and we hope you are open to try our free SEO tools.
Before You Begin
First, compare prices, every estimate and background check any of the top 10 SEM/SEO companies. Next, take our free SEO email course and find out how much you know about the SEO techniques, and compare the results. Once you have decided on course of action, download our complimentary SEO whitepaper for a fast track to Search Engine Optimization success.
For readers that go beyond the interest in just savings, terminology, company comparisons and search engine ranking factors, read our additional SEO articles where we really spell out how to get better search engine placement and more. All this without spending an arm-and-a-leg and soon seeing a return on your investment. Your goal is to be in the "top 10" SERPS (search engine results pages) for your keywords and phrases. Our free guides, tools and SEO articles can get you there..
Competition Defined.
Competition is described as "one that competes", "a rival", "selling or buying goods or sevices in the same market as another", and even down to the biological level - "an organism that lives in competition with another".
SEO & Web - Competitive Landscape.
Increasingly, web surfers are using search engines to find companies, services and goods. Big and smaller companies, are using search engine optimization and search engine marketing techniques to beat their competitors. On the Internet, we are dealing with virtual entities - and we all compete in increasingly tougher and user-aware market places. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing focuses on building traffic and allowing you to leverage your websites, services and products. Through competitive research, optimal keyword strategies, quality content, link-back neighborhoods and educating yourself on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), you should be well positioned to beat the competition -- over time. .
Create an 'edge'.
Create an edge and be smart - with SEO and SEM.
Today, you must have a service or product in a niche marketplace to create success on the Internet. You need to understand that niche marketplaces is how you get there, along with sound search engine optimization and search engine marketing principles, quality content, backlinks, advertisting programs and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) processes.
On and off-page optimization.
First of all you need to create a web site that is a related to a niche marketplace. (You already know who your customer is, right!?) It is very important that you do your keyword research first. In fact, competitive research as an action step is missed by over 98% of the online marketplace. There are many great keyword tools and many are free. Keep in mind that Google 'owns' over 50% of the search marketplace. (Yahoo receives about 30% and MSN about 20%). Google is a very important search engine for you to focus on, and I suggest you start with it (even though MSN and Yahoo are great resources - especially the newly launched MSN Adcenter).
Competitive SEO Research:
Try the following on yahoo and google (make sure syntax is correct): site: www.competitor.com. (replace 'competitor' with real name). It will show you how many pages that each search engine has indexed from the competitor’s site. Depending on the site, many results could be returned. Look to see if each page has a title and description associated with them. You will then be able to determine whether each page within your competitor site has been individually optimized.
When you start researching keywords do not start with the most common keyword. For example, if you are selling Canon products, do no start researching or optimizing for the word 'Canon'. You need to break it down - for example - to 'Canon power shot'. Even better -'Canon power shot SD400 memory sticks'. This way, you have created a niche keyword structure (many permutations from these keywords) within a larger category, and you will able to better optimize keywords for this area. With this in mind, go to Google and start typing in specific keywords and phrases to see where the competition is. As you are doing this, you should understand the page rank algorithm. It is Google's way of giving specific value to how popular are popular your web site is. It's essentially based on the number of votes of other web sites that have cast votes up for your web site. Votes are generated when another web site places a link on their web site that is pointing to your web site. The more votes you get, the better your chances are for good ranking. Try SEO tools and give yourself a kick-start.
To view the page rank, install the Google toolbar (toolbar.google.com). As you look at the competition, recognize that we talk about on-page and off- page optimization. On-page optimization are things like proper use of H1 header tags, using main keywords in the title tags, keywords and phrases are bolded underlined or italicized, using image tags and placing correct keywords within that tag. Many place keywords at the very beginning of the text, and once at the very end of the copy, with other sprinkled throughout the company. It's an "hour glass" type of a concept. Keywords at the top, less in the middle and again repeated at the end. Do the things that the competition is doing just do it a little bit better - this is one way to get one step ahead of them. The "least imperfect" site wins.
Cool Tool: Curious to see what SEO/M users search for? Click: SEO Search
Tags are important.
In our example, when we open the Canon landing page you need to start with the page title for your web site. The page title should only include the main keywords. (Do not ever say welcome to our web site!) Try to combine the keywords in your title. Make sure you use the H1 header tag early in your body text. Also, when Google reads the web page it uses the text from the top left-hand side of the page to the bottom right hand side of the page.
Next, you would need to create H2 header tags. You can think of that as the sub heading for a web page. This is a very common used tag, so it's best to place the primary keyword in your H1 tags and your secondary keywords into your H2 tags.
Now you need to actually create the content for the page. When you try to write the contents, sprinkle your main keywords throughout the copy. But don't overdo it, just make it a natural effort. Once you have written the copy you should then go back and bold underline or italicize some of the keywords. Only one time each, maximum. There are many HTML site building tools out there that use the Bold (B) tag for bolding keywords, and has been overused. Google doesn't penalize you for it, but in fact, by using the tag STRONG it provides higher quality content for search engines. You can also add some images for your users, and when you do this you need to properly include the keyworded image tags. So for example, if we have an image on our web page called 'oneshot.jpg' you would include code that adds that ALT tag and text about that specific memory stick (from our Sony example).
Also, Google views your web page from top left to bottom right. Well, in general they do. However, you want to make sure that you code your HTML to compliment or support this, specially if you have non-related navigational elements to the left of page. There are techniques to do this, which is explained in a email series, try the Free SEO 5-day Email Course.
Off page SEO - Competition Goodbye!
You have come up with your niche marketplace and associated keywords and phrases into your page. You will have completed proper approach to tagging from titles through the body content, including H1's, H2's and ALT tags. You are then ready to get your site indexed. Your first rule, is to never use the Google submission form. There are better and faster ways.
The first approach
You need to know how a search engine finds you in the first place. They will visit one web site that is already in their index and if they follow the link to that new site, it could be yours. For example, if you have a new site and you have a partner in this 'Canon' business space, and he puts a link to your page and he's already visible on the Internet at Google, they'll crawl to that site and find your link and get you into the index. Now what if you don't have a partner in this space in your are brand new, you still can get into the index. There are article directories that you can submit to, places like PRWeb.com. Others are - goarticles.com, buzz article.com, article fever.com and many more. These are excellent sites for you to write something about your services or products. The engines will pick you out, and Google will find you.
The second approach (and to quickly get listed in the Google index)
Go see your competition. Type in the search terms you are competing with and find web sites that have a page rank of five or six or higher that you will notice in the green bar from the Google toolbar (above). Find six or 10 of these sites and locate their contact information. We have found that e-mail works - of course - but picking up the phone and commenting on their site and how discussing how a link partnership could benefit each others, rates higher. Top ranking sites may ignore you, and it's certainly tougher persuade somebody to add your link to their web sites. You must give them a good reason to do this. Contact sites that are related to you and are complimentary - those are the best. Find good and great link neighborhoods within your topics. And always think of a way that you can give them something that they would benefit from. Think of this as an emotional bank account. You make deposits, and you (later) may make withdrawals. If you can manage to get at least one PR 6 web site to link your web site, you'll be off and running. You should be indexed in under three days. If you get a PR 7 web site link to you - in most cases you'll be there in 24 hours.
The third approach (and why you must be careful here!!)
Purchase links from high Page Rank websites. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to visit one of the many link purchasing websites. Here are a few of the better ones: a) http://www.linkadage.com, b) c) http://www.textlinkbrokers.com, d) http://www.text-link-ads.com. (NOTE: Only buy one/month, or you may get seriously penalized). Many times you can purchase 1 PR7 link for a 1 month time period for, say, $150. After the month is up, there is no need to renew because you are already in Google's index. Paying $150, and you can be indexed by Google quickly and with little to no work on your part.
Immediate SEO Techniques Applied.
Tip #1:
Add a Google sitemap (XML). You can easily do this with free tools or directly via a Google account. You should also check the competitor sites for http://URLname/sitemap.xml. It's the default for Google, and if the competition has it (it will load in your browser or reader) - you can be assured they are pretty agressive and informed about Search Engine Optimization techniques.
Tip #2:
Discover how many pages the competition has online. You can use free tools again, and the Xenu's Link Sleuth is free - and fast - a good tool to keep close. The 'Stats for Managers' at the bottom of page is the important data for statistics.
Tip #3:
Use the 'link: sitename.com' syntax in Google to locate number of backlinks within a competitor site. Google and Yahoo have different estimates here, but it's vital information from both. (Yahoo use 'linkdomain: sitename.com').
Much is written on the blogs' approach to SEO rankings. We believe it has its place, but in moderation and always pertinent to your business. Blog spamming can get you penalized as well. The Microsaw Web 2.0 blogs are here, and recently a new service was launched at PayPerPost, written up in Business Week.
SEO, revenue increased & more.
A) Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are two fantastic ways in which you can get visibility on the Internet as we've mentioned. Additionally, you can and must include email marketing strategies, with complete CRM and backoffice processes. You can increase visibility and competitive edge many, many times over. Great content with an intelligent link strategy is vital.
B) Affiliate Marketing Programs. Join and promote these (Mr. Jeff Bezos at Amazon is famous for this). Create one for your company - with potentially exciting and lucrative results. (The merchants, or you - offer affiliates commissions for sales activity generated by the affiliate's web sites).
C) Adsense. A sophisticated affiliate online advertising program from Google. Complimentary Adsense Training Videos are worth a look. However, without search engine marketing and search engine optimization, you are missing out on other huge opportunities for smashing the competition and making large sums online.
D) Adwords. A break-through ad ('sponsored advertising') system from Google that can bring traffic (quality) to your site within 1/2 hour! The complimentary adwords email courses show ways to beat the system, and lessen the frustration on your part. It can get expensive fast.
Continue the search engine optimization and search engine marketing work, and expand your strategy to include email marketing, affiliate, on / off-page optimization, along with traditional means for online marketing (keyword) dominance (print/media). Always provide great content, but that alone will not do it. Off-page strategies are very important, but may work too well. For example, check out the top result on Google for the search term miserable failure. It is not in position one because that web page had been optimized for that search term. The web site is in position one because huge amounts of web sites link to it with the text miserable failure in the link text. Can you guess which site it is?
Enjoyed this article? Then, Digg Competitive SEO.
We don't apply reciprocal links, but content trackbacks. See Microsaw Links Page.
http://www.microsaw.com/articles/seo-to-destroy-competition.htm
Before You Begin
First, compare prices, every estimate and background check any of the top 10 SEM/SEO companies. Next, take our free SEO email course and find out how much you know about the SEO techniques, and compare the results. Once you have decided on course of action, download our complimentary SEO whitepaper for a fast track to Search Engine Optimization success.
For readers that go beyond the interest in just savings, terminology, company comparisons and search engine ranking factors, read our additional SEO articles where we really spell out how to get better search engine placement and more. All this without spending an arm-and-a-leg and soon seeing a return on your investment. Your goal is to be in the "top 10" SERPS (search engine results pages) for your keywords and phrases. Our free guides, tools and SEO articles can get you there..
Competition Defined.
Competition is described as "one that competes", "a rival", "selling or buying goods or sevices in the same market as another", and even down to the biological level - "an organism that lives in competition with another".
SEO & Web - Competitive Landscape.
Increasingly, web surfers are using search engines to find companies, services and goods. Big and smaller companies, are using search engine optimization and search engine marketing techniques to beat their competitors. On the Internet, we are dealing with virtual entities - and we all compete in increasingly tougher and user-aware market places. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing focuses on building traffic and allowing you to leverage your websites, services and products. Through competitive research, optimal keyword strategies, quality content, link-back neighborhoods and educating yourself on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), you should be well positioned to beat the competition -- over time. .
Create an 'edge'.
Create an edge and be smart - with SEO and SEM.
Today, you must have a service or product in a niche marketplace to create success on the Internet. You need to understand that niche marketplaces is how you get there, along with sound search engine optimization and search engine marketing principles, quality content, backlinks, advertisting programs and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) processes.
On and off-page optimization.
First of all you need to create a web site that is a related to a niche marketplace. (You already know who your customer is, right!?) It is very important that you do your keyword research first. In fact, competitive research as an action step is missed by over 98% of the online marketplace. There are many great keyword tools and many are free. Keep in mind that Google 'owns' over 50% of the search marketplace. (Yahoo receives about 30% and MSN about 20%). Google is a very important search engine for you to focus on, and I suggest you start with it (even though MSN and Yahoo are great resources - especially the newly launched MSN Adcenter).
Competitive SEO Research:
Try the following on yahoo and google (make sure syntax is correct): site: www.competitor.com. (replace 'competitor' with real name). It will show you how many pages that each search engine has indexed from the competitor’s site. Depending on the site, many results could be returned. Look to see if each page has a title and description associated with them. You will then be able to determine whether each page within your competitor site has been individually optimized.
When you start researching keywords do not start with the most common keyword. For example, if you are selling Canon products, do no start researching or optimizing for the word 'Canon'. You need to break it down - for example - to 'Canon power shot'. Even better -'Canon power shot SD400 memory sticks'. This way, you have created a niche keyword structure (many permutations from these keywords) within a larger category, and you will able to better optimize keywords for this area. With this in mind, go to Google and start typing in specific keywords and phrases to see where the competition is. As you are doing this, you should understand the page rank algorithm. It is Google's way of giving specific value to how popular are popular your web site is. It's essentially based on the number of votes of other web sites that have cast votes up for your web site. Votes are generated when another web site places a link on their web site that is pointing to your web site. The more votes you get, the better your chances are for good ranking. Try SEO tools and give yourself a kick-start.
To view the page rank, install the Google toolbar (toolbar.google.com). As you look at the competition, recognize that we talk about on-page and off- page optimization. On-page optimization are things like proper use of H1 header tags, using main keywords in the title tags, keywords and phrases are bolded underlined or italicized, using image tags and placing correct keywords within that tag. Many place keywords at the very beginning of the text, and once at the very end of the copy, with other sprinkled throughout the company. It's an "hour glass" type of a concept. Keywords at the top, less in the middle and again repeated at the end. Do the things that the competition is doing just do it a little bit better - this is one way to get one step ahead of them. The "least imperfect" site wins.
Cool Tool: Curious to see what SEO/M users search for? Click: SEO Search
Tags are important.
In our example, when we open the Canon landing page you need to start with the page title for your web site. The page title should only include the main keywords. (Do not ever say welcome to our web site!) Try to combine the keywords in your title. Make sure you use the H1 header tag early in your body text. Also, when Google reads the web page it uses the text from the top left-hand side of the page to the bottom right hand side of the page.
Next, you would need to create H2 header tags. You can think of that as the sub heading for a web page. This is a very common used tag, so it's best to place the primary keyword in your H1 tags and your secondary keywords into your H2 tags.
Now you need to actually create the content for the page. When you try to write the contents, sprinkle your main keywords throughout the copy. But don't overdo it, just make it a natural effort. Once you have written the copy you should then go back and bold underline or italicize some of the keywords. Only one time each, maximum. There are many HTML site building tools out there that use the Bold (B) tag for bolding keywords, and has been overused. Google doesn't penalize you for it, but in fact, by using the tag STRONG it provides higher quality content for search engines. You can also add some images for your users, and when you do this you need to properly include the keyworded image tags. So for example, if we have an image on our web page called 'oneshot.jpg' you would include code that adds that ALT tag and text about that specific memory stick (from our Sony example).
Also, Google views your web page from top left to bottom right. Well, in general they do. However, you want to make sure that you code your HTML to compliment or support this, specially if you have non-related navigational elements to the left of page. There are techniques to do this, which is explained in a email series, try the Free SEO 5-day Email Course.
Off page SEO - Competition Goodbye!
You have come up with your niche marketplace and associated keywords and phrases into your page. You will have completed proper approach to tagging from titles through the body content, including H1's, H2's and ALT tags. You are then ready to get your site indexed. Your first rule, is to never use the Google submission form. There are better and faster ways.
The first approach
You need to know how a search engine finds you in the first place. They will visit one web site that is already in their index and if they follow the link to that new site, it could be yours. For example, if you have a new site and you have a partner in this 'Canon' business space, and he puts a link to your page and he's already visible on the Internet at Google, they'll crawl to that site and find your link and get you into the index. Now what if you don't have a partner in this space in your are brand new, you still can get into the index. There are article directories that you can submit to, places like PRWeb.com. Others are - goarticles.com, buzz article.com, article fever.com and many more. These are excellent sites for you to write something about your services or products. The engines will pick you out, and Google will find you.
The second approach (and to quickly get listed in the Google index)
Go see your competition. Type in the search terms you are competing with and find web sites that have a page rank of five or six or higher that you will notice in the green bar from the Google toolbar (above). Find six or 10 of these sites and locate their contact information. We have found that e-mail works - of course - but picking up the phone and commenting on their site and how discussing how a link partnership could benefit each others, rates higher. Top ranking sites may ignore you, and it's certainly tougher persuade somebody to add your link to their web sites. You must give them a good reason to do this. Contact sites that are related to you and are complimentary - those are the best. Find good and great link neighborhoods within your topics. And always think of a way that you can give them something that they would benefit from. Think of this as an emotional bank account. You make deposits, and you (later) may make withdrawals. If you can manage to get at least one PR 6 web site to link your web site, you'll be off and running. You should be indexed in under three days. If you get a PR 7 web site link to you - in most cases you'll be there in 24 hours.
The third approach (and why you must be careful here!!)
Purchase links from high Page Rank websites. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to visit one of the many link purchasing websites. Here are a few of the better ones: a) http://www.linkadage.com, b) c) http://www.textlinkbrokers.com, d) http://www.text-link-ads.com. (NOTE: Only buy one/month, or you may get seriously penalized). Many times you can purchase 1 PR7 link for a 1 month time period for, say, $150. After the month is up, there is no need to renew because you are already in Google's index. Paying $150, and you can be indexed by Google quickly and with little to no work on your part.
Immediate SEO Techniques Applied.
Tip #1:
Add a Google sitemap (XML). You can easily do this with free tools or directly via a Google account. You should also check the competitor sites for http://URLname/sitemap.xml. It's the default for Google, and if the competition has it (it will load in your browser or reader) - you can be assured they are pretty agressive and informed about Search Engine Optimization techniques.
Tip #2:
Discover how many pages the competition has online. You can use free tools again, and the Xenu's Link Sleuth is free - and fast - a good tool to keep close. The 'Stats for Managers' at the bottom of page is the important data for statistics.
Tip #3:
Use the 'link: sitename.com' syntax in Google to locate number of backlinks within a competitor site. Google and Yahoo have different estimates here, but it's vital information from both. (Yahoo use 'linkdomain: sitename.com').
Much is written on the blogs' approach to SEO rankings. We believe it has its place, but in moderation and always pertinent to your business. Blog spamming can get you penalized as well. The Microsaw Web 2.0 blogs are here, and recently a new service was launched at PayPerPost, written up in Business Week.
SEO, revenue increased & more.
A) Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are two fantastic ways in which you can get visibility on the Internet as we've mentioned. Additionally, you can and must include email marketing strategies, with complete CRM and backoffice processes. You can increase visibility and competitive edge many, many times over. Great content with an intelligent link strategy is vital.
B) Affiliate Marketing Programs. Join and promote these (Mr. Jeff Bezos at Amazon is famous for this). Create one for your company - with potentially exciting and lucrative results. (The merchants, or you - offer affiliates commissions for sales activity generated by the affiliate's web sites).
C) Adsense. A sophisticated affiliate online advertising program from Google. Complimentary Adsense Training Videos are worth a look. However, without search engine marketing and search engine optimization, you are missing out on other huge opportunities for smashing the competition and making large sums online.
D) Adwords. A break-through ad ('sponsored advertising') system from Google that can bring traffic (quality) to your site within 1/2 hour! The complimentary adwords email courses show ways to beat the system, and lessen the frustration on your part. It can get expensive fast.
Continue the search engine optimization and search engine marketing work, and expand your strategy to include email marketing, affiliate, on / off-page optimization, along with traditional means for online marketing (keyword) dominance (print/media). Always provide great content, but that alone will not do it. Off-page strategies are very important, but may work too well. For example, check out the top result on Google for the search term miserable failure. It is not in position one because that web page had been optimized for that search term. The web site is in position one because huge amounts of web sites link to it with the text miserable failure in the link text. Can you guess which site it is?
Enjoyed this article? Then, Digg Competitive SEO.
We don't apply reciprocal links, but content trackbacks. See Microsaw Links Page.
http://www.microsaw.com/articles/seo-to-destroy-competition.htm
How to optimize 1,000 pages with Javascript or Flash (that will get indexed quickly)...
As you know, many search engines ignore JavaScript, and therefore won't follow the links at your site. If you use flash or images for site maps and links you will have the same problem. The use of NOSCRIPT can be applied, but used with care.
Sitemap Programs with Google
Here's what to do:
* Create a text site map that lists all the web pages. Place a plain text link to the site map on the index page.
* Search engines check the beginning of a page for sitemaps. A site map won't be found if it's at the end of a long page. Place the site map link at the top of the index page.
* Since you have more than the baseline 30+ pages, use Google's site maps tool. This allows you to submit a list of all URLs to the Google search engine.
* Create and account here https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login and get started. Google's webmaster tools provide you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google friendly.
* Scan your site with this free tool and build your sitemap.xml file: http://www.auditmypc.com/free-sitemap-generator.asp. Place that file in the root of your site. (ex: mysite.com/sitemap.xml)
Thousands of Pages
Since you may have thousands of pages, and only see a few pages indexed, a site map program will definitely be worthwhile. Some companies spend a lot of money on PPC campaigns, realizing that SEO solutions can help them immensely. You should build a search engine friendly crawling environment by building a keyword rich site map. You would allow the major search engines to quickly find and index the pages, thus increasing the index counts at Google and other search engines.
Time to Ramp up
Initially, this will take a long time. You may see your conversions increase weekly, albeit slowly. Then, after a period of time, several months likely, you should see conversions increase to hundreds or thousands per week on a sizable web site. If your site is fairly new, Google places it in what they call the Google sandbox. It is done to make sure you do not spam and it is a valid site. For new web sites you won't rank high for many months - from two to five months. You will still gain from providing a clean site navigation with good content and backlinks. Tip: Make sure when you register a domain to apply with at least 5 years exclusivity. It shows you are serious (to the search engines).
Next Steps
Natural SEO and link building is still very valid - and building incoming links is always critical, especially when the engines have not yet indexed your page. You should go out soliciting high quality inbound links with the combination of deep interior links from niche sites and top-level links from directories. Additionally you may consider looking at URL and filenames page titles and metadata set ups. The site map configuration, the on page content and internal site linking. Google uses the site maps program and Yahoo has recently launched the site Explorer program at: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
http://www.microsaw.com/articles/javascript-flash-seo.htm
Sitemap Programs with Google
Here's what to do:
* Create a text site map that lists all the web pages. Place a plain text link to the site map on the index page.
* Search engines check the beginning of a page for sitemaps. A site map won't be found if it's at the end of a long page. Place the site map link at the top of the index page.
* Since you have more than the baseline 30+ pages, use Google's site maps tool. This allows you to submit a list of all URLs to the Google search engine.
* Create and account here https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login and get started. Google's webmaster tools provide you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google friendly.
* Scan your site with this free tool and build your sitemap.xml file: http://www.auditmypc.com/free-sitemap-generator.asp. Place that file in the root of your site. (ex: mysite.com/sitemap.xml)
Thousands of Pages
Since you may have thousands of pages, and only see a few pages indexed, a site map program will definitely be worthwhile. Some companies spend a lot of money on PPC campaigns, realizing that SEO solutions can help them immensely. You should build a search engine friendly crawling environment by building a keyword rich site map. You would allow the major search engines to quickly find and index the pages, thus increasing the index counts at Google and other search engines.
Time to Ramp up
Initially, this will take a long time. You may see your conversions increase weekly, albeit slowly. Then, after a period of time, several months likely, you should see conversions increase to hundreds or thousands per week on a sizable web site. If your site is fairly new, Google places it in what they call the Google sandbox. It is done to make sure you do not spam and it is a valid site. For new web sites you won't rank high for many months - from two to five months. You will still gain from providing a clean site navigation with good content and backlinks. Tip: Make sure when you register a domain to apply with at least 5 years exclusivity. It shows you are serious (to the search engines).
Next Steps
Natural SEO and link building is still very valid - and building incoming links is always critical, especially when the engines have not yet indexed your page. You should go out soliciting high quality inbound links with the combination of deep interior links from niche sites and top-level links from directories. Additionally you may consider looking at URL and filenames page titles and metadata set ups. The site map configuration, the on page content and internal site linking. Google uses the site maps program and Yahoo has recently launched the site Explorer program at: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
http://www.microsaw.com/articles/javascript-flash-seo.htm
Best Practices: How blogs can break or make your SEO strategy...
Blogs are a great way to get started authoring content and sharing your knowledge and insights with other people. Plus, mix work and play - and you can get rich doing this.
You don't have to be an MBA-accredited author by any means. However, there are some rules to play by, and I'll break those out below. We will talk about the top blogs, practicalities around blogs and creative ways to get started, including how you could possibly ruin your good-standing ranking and having to change your Search Engine Optimization strategy.
Blogs - Structure and Layout
I work in the field of Search Engine Optimization. It has a wide range of options, from the technical to the more strategic. Tons of discussions are found on off-page and on-page factors, latent semantic analysis, content scope, quality, HTML/CSS development, site navigational structure, spamdexing, 301 redirects, plagiarism, link strategies, directories, blogs, search engine news, email marketing tips & online (internet) marketing. Most all of the top 10 SEO firms out there agree that blogs are a "must" for driving traffic and get established in the Internet community.
There is a right way, and a wrong way. We'll discuss these below.
Be warned - too many folks out there are thinking about "how to outbeat the search engines" and use the latest-and-greatest (blogs) to elevate their rankings, essentially via content and blog spam. Blogs are a powerful way to get seen by the search bots. Blogger (Google's own) is an important key to the puzzle, but there are many.
THE UN-OFFICIAL TOP 7
BLOGGING BEST PRACTICES FOR SEO
1. Start here, begin a quick review of the world's top blogs:
(the gorilla blog listings - updated daily)
(this guy makes 16,000 USD / monthly)
(web 2.0 blogs and news)
2. Get an account - it's free. log in - and - don't start! What? No, you must first continue by scanning the list above and get a sense for what people are writing about. This could be more generic at first, but start looking to yourself. What do you know? What do people come to you for? Anything that you specialize in? (Hint: don't think "how can I sell this" - but "how can I share this?") You'll also learn how to use trackback functions to allow other people to be notified. Permalinks are great for SEO and should be used where appropriate. So, now you learned something big: be yourself!
3. Think about an interesting headline. You don't need to be copywriter, but you should think about your headline and the topic at hand. More importantly, is it something that you are passionate about, or can contribute something to? It's ok to spend some time here, writer's block can come up. Think about other sites, can you re-write their UVP (unique value proposition)? How would you write yours (thinking theme here). What I've found to work is simply sit back and start talking as if you were discussing a (hot) topic with a friend, and then breaking it out into sub-groups from there.
4. Writing tips: casual, friendly and interesting (meaning you have something to write and you don't copy others) works well in blogs. Make sure you stay on topic and that you are truthful. Would you lie to your mother? Of course not - then think about this when you are writing online (and she will not come after you). Yahoo's blogging policy is a good one: "Be respectful of your colleagues, get your facts straight, provide context to your argument, and engage in private feedback." Also, make sure to include images (flickr) and video (youtube, google video) where you can. Make the images rich and colorful, don't worry about sizing too much.
5. Committment, persistence and disciplin. Sound like an extract from Jim Rohn or Anthony Robbins? Well, they probably are - but it applies to most of the things you do in life. So be it with blogging. Carve out 1/2-1 hour every day to nurture to your blog business. Think of it as your morning ritual - right after you have attended to your family and other duties. Plus, often you are not going to be in writing mode - but rather, maintenance mode - reviewing and responding to other blogger's input.
6. Search engines start picking up your blog, and traffic increases. Be prepared and if it gets out of hand, be able to manage that too. I'm not simply talking about traffic, but as others join and comment, you may need to defend your stance, including admitting mistakes if / when you make them. Folks appreciate other folks who are big enough to admit mistakes if it gets there. For example, you may have folks who don't like you - even if you're Bill Gates. This guy created a Corporate Weblog Manifesto that I found interesting.
7. Run and host your own blog service. More expensive, but this could have a large impact on your ability to control not only the content, but custom HTML layouts, code and information architecture that are important to search engines. You can offer this as a service to others in your niche market. http://businesslogs.com/ is a great resource to use for starting this process, and more hands-on development companies like http://www.leveltendesign.com/ can be an option for you. Keep in mind that the market has developed niche-companies, from real-estate to healthcare, and you should research those specifically.
If you have writer's block - make sure to read the next section, content is important for Search Engine Optimization - be on top of it.
How To Be Creative RE: Blogs (and SEO)
Here are some tips about being creative with blogs. Funny, but poignant.
(Taken from http://www.gapingvoid.com/)
* Ignore everybody.
* The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
* Put the hours in.
* If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
* You are responsible for your own experience.
* Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
* Keep your day job.
* Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
* Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
* The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
* Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
* If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
* Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
* Dying young is overrated.
* The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
* The world is changing.
* Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
* Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
* Sing in your own voice.
* The choice of media is irrelevant.
* Selling out is harder than it looks.
* Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
* Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
* Don?t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
* You have to find your own schtick.
* Write from the heart.
* The best way to get approval is not to need it.
* Power is never given. Power is taken.
* Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
* The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
* Remain frugal.
Voila - that's it, there you have it. Watch how the search engines will start picking up your content. You can run tools to see how you are ranking, how often you are showing up in the search engines. We like www.UrlTrends.com as a simple beginner starting point. However, it's not 100% accurate, other SEO tools can provide more detail.
Keep your content fresh, updates daily is preferred - and definitely once a week and your search engine marketing (which includes search engine optimization) will become more visible than it was just last week. Then, use http://pingomatic.com/ to alert search engines that you have made updates. It's a free service, and will help your visibility.
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
You don't have to be an MBA-accredited author by any means. However, there are some rules to play by, and I'll break those out below. We will talk about the top blogs, practicalities around blogs and creative ways to get started, including how you could possibly ruin your good-standing ranking and having to change your Search Engine Optimization strategy.
Blogs - Structure and Layout
I work in the field of Search Engine Optimization. It has a wide range of options, from the technical to the more strategic. Tons of discussions are found on off-page and on-page factors, latent semantic analysis, content scope, quality, HTML/CSS development, site navigational structure, spamdexing, 301 redirects, plagiarism, link strategies, directories, blogs, search engine news, email marketing tips & online (internet) marketing. Most all of the top 10 SEO firms out there agree that blogs are a "must" for driving traffic and get established in the Internet community.
There is a right way, and a wrong way. We'll discuss these below.
Be warned - too many folks out there are thinking about "how to outbeat the search engines" and use the latest-and-greatest (blogs) to elevate their rankings, essentially via content and blog spam. Blogs are a powerful way to get seen by the search bots. Blogger (Google's own) is an important key to the puzzle, but there are many.
THE UN-OFFICIAL TOP 7
BLOGGING BEST PRACTICES FOR SEO
1. Start here, begin a quick review of the world's top blogs:
(the gorilla blog listings - updated daily)
(this guy makes 16,000 USD / monthly)
(web 2.0 blogs and news)
2. Get an account - it's free. log in - and - don't start! What? No, you must first continue by scanning the list above and get a sense for what people are writing about. This could be more generic at first, but start looking to yourself. What do you know? What do people come to you for? Anything that you specialize in? (Hint: don't think "how can I sell this" - but "how can I share this?") You'll also learn how to use trackback functions to allow other people to be notified. Permalinks are great for SEO and should be used where appropriate. So, now you learned something big: be yourself!
3. Think about an interesting headline. You don't need to be copywriter, but you should think about your headline and the topic at hand. More importantly, is it something that you are passionate about, or can contribute something to? It's ok to spend some time here, writer's block can come up. Think about other sites, can you re-write their UVP (unique value proposition)? How would you write yours (thinking theme here). What I've found to work is simply sit back and start talking as if you were discussing a (hot) topic with a friend, and then breaking it out into sub-groups from there.
4. Writing tips: casual, friendly and interesting (meaning you have something to write and you don't copy others) works well in blogs. Make sure you stay on topic and that you are truthful. Would you lie to your mother? Of course not - then think about this when you are writing online (and she will not come after you). Yahoo's blogging policy is a good one: "Be respectful of your colleagues, get your facts straight, provide context to your argument, and engage in private feedback." Also, make sure to include images (flickr) and video (youtube, google video) where you can. Make the images rich and colorful, don't worry about sizing too much.
5. Committment, persistence and disciplin. Sound like an extract from Jim Rohn or Anthony Robbins? Well, they probably are - but it applies to most of the things you do in life. So be it with blogging. Carve out 1/2-1 hour every day to nurture to your blog business. Think of it as your morning ritual - right after you have attended to your family and other duties. Plus, often you are not going to be in writing mode - but rather, maintenance mode - reviewing and responding to other blogger's input.
6. Search engines start picking up your blog, and traffic increases. Be prepared and if it gets out of hand, be able to manage that too. I'm not simply talking about traffic, but as others join and comment, you may need to defend your stance, including admitting mistakes if / when you make them. Folks appreciate other folks who are big enough to admit mistakes if it gets there. For example, you may have folks who don't like you - even if you're Bill Gates. This guy created a Corporate Weblog Manifesto that I found interesting.
7. Run and host your own blog service. More expensive, but this could have a large impact on your ability to control not only the content, but custom HTML layouts, code and information architecture that are important to search engines. You can offer this as a service to others in your niche market. http://businesslogs.com/ is a great resource to use for starting this process, and more hands-on development companies like http://www.leveltendesign.com/ can be an option for you. Keep in mind that the market has developed niche-companies, from real-estate to healthcare, and you should research those specifically.
If you have writer's block - make sure to read the next section, content is important for Search Engine Optimization - be on top of it.
How To Be Creative RE: Blogs (and SEO)
Here are some tips about being creative with blogs. Funny, but poignant.
(Taken from http://www.gapingvoid.com/)
* Ignore everybody.
* The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
* Put the hours in.
* If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
* You are responsible for your own experience.
* Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
* Keep your day job.
* Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
* Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
* The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
* Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
* If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
* Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
* Dying young is overrated.
* The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
* The world is changing.
* Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
* Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
* Sing in your own voice.
* The choice of media is irrelevant.
* Selling out is harder than it looks.
* Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
* Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
* Don?t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
* You have to find your own schtick.
* Write from the heart.
* The best way to get approval is not to need it.
* Power is never given. Power is taken.
* Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
* The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
* Remain frugal.
Voila - that's it, there you have it. Watch how the search engines will start picking up your content. You can run tools to see how you are ranking, how often you are showing up in the search engines. We like www.UrlTrends.com as a simple beginner starting point. However, it's not 100% accurate, other SEO tools can provide more detail.
Keep your content fresh, updates daily is preferred - and definitely once a week and your search engine marketing (which includes search engine optimization) will become more visible than it was just last week. Then, use http://pingomatic.com/ to alert search engines that you have made updates. It's a free service, and will help your visibility.
About This Author
Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions at companies like Overture and Yahoo. His Web 2.0 site, Los Angeles Search Marketing, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.
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