When it comes to doing business online, you will soon discover that it’s all about the traffic. Traffic, or the number of internet users you’d be able to generate for your website, is and will always be the lifeblood of any online venture. After all, what good is a website when there’s no one there to see its pages? How successful will your digital products be if no one would be able to know about them? Who will avail of your services when no one will get exposed to their existence?
Contrary to what many people believe, generating traffic for your website does not start once you pages are published and have gone live. Traffic generation strategies start at the very moment you are conceptualizing an idea for the website itself.
This is what on page search engine optimization (SEO) is all about. It is concerned with techniques that you could implement on your web pages themselves to ensure a good volume of traffic for your website. 80% of your traffic would come from the many search engines in the World Wide Web. If each and every web page you have is optimized for these search engines, then your website would be in a good position to have a high rank for the results of every relevant query.
• Keyword selection. Choosing the right keywords is essential for the success of your website. Keywords are the popular search terms that people use to gather information from the search engines. If your web pages are populated by the right density of the correct keywords, then you’ll have better chances of winning the attention of the search engine spiders. To determine the appropriate keywords for the subject that your website will be servicing, use the free tools that can be found at http://www.nichebot.com .
• Keyword placement in content. Content is the king of the internet. But even royalty needs support. Populate your content with the proper amount of keywords. A density level of at least 2% should be sought. This means that the right keywords should be mentioned at least twice for every 100 words of text.
• META tags. META tags are HTML codes that do not have a bearing on the physical appearance of your web pages, but they do inform the search engine spiders that such web pages are appropriate for a particular query. Always include the following META tags on the top portion of your source code. You could copy-paste them from the list below, but do change the indicated fields. Also, make sure that you include your keywords as much as you could on your META tags.
• ALT tags. ALT tags refer to the text that would appear every time the mouse cursor would pass through an image. Your ALT tags should include your keywords.
• Page titles. Page titles are the captions that appear at the very top of your web page. Make sure that each web page in your website would have a different title that will include the appropriate keywords.
• Focus. Remember, search engines will crawl through your website per page. Each page is a different project altogether. Focus is the key. Ensure that each web page of yours would focus on a particular keyword or key phrase. If there is an article in that page, make sure that the article will only discuss and include one keyword or key phrase from the list you have made. Also, it would greatly help if you would name the page file in a manner that would include the keyword or key phrase it is focused on. For example, http://www.thisisyourwebsite.com/thisisyourkeyword.html is a good page filename that would help boost your SEO efforts.
Following these guidelines would help you a lot in securing a favorable position in search engine results pages. This in turn would guarantee for you a sustainable and sufficient volume of traffic that would make your website a genuine success.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/All-About-On-Page-SEO/349423
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Seo Fundamentals
Introduction:
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to view my SEO hints and tips e-book on the often forgotten aspects of SEO. This book was written from the collective knowledge and information gathered by Chris Diprose, owner and manager of Kanga Internet. Kanga Internet are located in Melbourne, Australia and they focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web Development for the Joomla Content Management System (CMS).
With Search Engine Optimization there are lots of unknowns, educated guesses and knowledge gained from personal and associative experience. Google, Yahoo and MSN keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to revealing how their ranking systems actually work. They tell the community trickles of information on what things can affect search engine results, how they can be improved and what to do in certain situations, but mostly knowing what to do to achieve good results is achieved by studying and hard work. Much alike other SEO consultants I have gathered information from various sources and worked constantly on improving results for customers. I am always looking for new intelligent ways to improve search engine results. I believe in "White Hat" (or more appropriately, "Grey Hat") principles.
Edition 1 of this e-book is intended for people looking to improve their websites from the ground up. I address SEO design fundamentals; the things you need to consider before embarking on any text and keyword analysis. I hope you find these hints and tips useful.
Enjoy the readings herein.
- Chris Diprose
The Website Revelation – What owning a website actually means.
As a Web Developer and SEO consultant I deal with many existing website owners who are looking to modify or improve their website. I also deal with many people who are looking to start their web presence with a new website. Through both of these interactions there is often a common theme; a misunderstanding or an attitude. I call this a misconception of reality, as often the reality of what the Internet can actually do for the persons business and what they think it can do differ massively.
Often it is presumed that by simply owning a domain and having a website built and published on the Internet, thousands of people will magically find the website, visit it and buy their products. "If you build it, they will come" should be removed from the vocabulary as soon as possible if you are to adjust attitudes to the underlying search technology. As a businessman in the real World, it is obvious that it would not happen outside of the Internet ether, so what is so different online? Maybe it was the Technology boom 10 years ago that caused a rift in understanding or maybe the buzz that caused the meteoric rise in the stock prices of Tech Companies, I can hear the thoughts of the small businessman, "surely this can be replicated for my business" – in answer I would say, "well, it is unlikely, but you should be able to achieve some results over time".
It is most important when taking on a project like Search Engine Optimization for a website, to know that it is important to be committed for the long haul. It is no small task and sufficient funds need to be allocated to the project. Delivery deadlines need to be correctly scoped against required changes, in order to meet client expectations. The key points of responsibility to the SEO project are in knowing that there are big changes near the start and during setup but the changes do not stop after setup, there are a continuous ongoing refinements to the design and system over time. In this regard I find it important to manage expectations and set realistic long term goals on what a website can be expected to achieve and in what time frames those goals hope to be met.
So what should your goal be when you are delving into SEO for your website? Well, everyone’s goal is exactly the same; improve page rankings, improve page visits and hits and finally gain more sales through the website.
When it comes to SEO and achieving these goals you have to have principles and my main principle is, "Good websites get good ratings and bad websites get bad ratings or none at all." As time goes on with the improvement of search engine technology and the refinement of search engine results this statement becomes truer and truer. I believe in results through "white hat"(reads; "Grey Hat") principles and methodologies.
What are "white hat" principles? I guess I would compare it to doing things the honest way and the right way without risk. So develop a good site, promote good linking, have good informative content and keep working on it and then you are on the road to good rankings through "White Hat" principles.
So, why should you do things the "white hat" way? Well, search engines do have some kind of understanding, an artificial intelligence. They soon catch on to websites spamming or linking to websites with no relevance and bad cross linking. It’s about being smart, in for the long term and wanting your business to grow organically, naturally.
So how do I go about improving my site and making it optimized for search engines naturally? Well, that’s why you’re here! So let’s run through few of the things you should be doing in your websites from a fundamental level.
Domain names:
When choosing a domain name, choose one that is relevant to the product or service you are going to provide and that is as simple as possible. There are considerations of branding and product/service provided that should go into this choice. Involvement of marketing personal and product understanding is required but also consultation with your SEO professional is advantageous. In this step I would say, take some time and choose wisely. Keep it simple and easy to remember, often saying it out loud will make it clear whether it can be understood by a simple man.
It is a strongly held belief by many SEO professionals that buying a domain which is older, and that has been around for a while, means it will not be sand boxed by Google. What’s the sandbox effect? Well, it refers to what Google does to a website or domain that is new or is relatively unknown by Google. In many instances Google’s Sandbox effect relegates the new domain to sub-optimal inclusion in search results. Regardless of the sites optimization it lowers the websites relevance and ranking to the term searched upon. If you can use your old business domain name, then consider this very important.
If, however, you are buying a new domain name then keep it relevant to the product or service being sold or offered on the website. Keep it close, relevant and simple. Relevance is primary.
Location specific domain or international domain ( .com or com.au)? Personally I think dot com’s are better, mainly because they appeal Internationally but if you want to you can keep it location specific and to your region then consider purchasing all similar higher level domains, yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com.au, if you can.
Choosing a Host:
Fast, reliable and gives you all you that you need and want. Preferably gives a unique IP. Again some SEO professionals believe this can also have a detrimental affect in Google rankings but from my experience it sometimes does and it sometimes doesn’t. I have had some sites come in with high PR rankings on shared IP’s and others when I shifted to a new IP the PR of the site jumped, so this is still a bit of a mystery when it comes to Google rankings. I guess a consideration
Traffic considerations: When choosing your host ensure the plan you are on can be expanded so that any new increases in traffic can be accommodated accordingly.
Site Design:
There are several fundamental things to consider when you are modifying or designing a website.
Flash:
Flash is has been popular for a few years now and I truly believe it has its place. It is a great way of showing many products or services in a small area, has great visual impact if done properly and can set a good friendly tone to the website visitor. Having said that, I also hate flash; it can be an absolute nightmare when it comes to search engine optimization.
What you should know about flash; it cannot be read by a search engine as the search engine cannot read the text or the images contained within it nor can it interpret what is in the pictures being shown.
When it comes to flash I would suggest, not making your whole website flash. If you are designing a new website and you want to use flash then use it in high impact areas to capture the attention of your intended audience but use it sparingly. It is important to ensure that as much text content(to a maximum discussed in my next book, generally 300-500 characters) is available on the webpage and in simple HTML.
Frames:
Many older websites were designed with frames. Frames are where the main home page is actually a frameset page that includes several other pages into it. This makes the page hard to index in search engines and should be avoided. While Google do now index framed sites, it is important to note that most of the other top search engines still cannot follow frame links. They only see the frameset page and ignore the rest of the inner frames. This presents an SEO problem to us because it is highly likely those inner pages contain our content keywords.
Nowadays this is not really a huge issue as it is so uncommon for a designer to actually use frames but the easiest way to resolve the issue would be to enforce a no use policy on frames.
Page Layout:
According to research the Googlebot trawls web pages from left to right and top to bottom. So given this little tidbit of information it is clear that you should be putting our most valuable keywords and information on the left and near the top. Of course this is a blanket statement and does not take into account design principles and beautification. Just keep it in mind during design of page layout. Position your move relevant keywords to the left of the page and near the top.
Good HTML Coding:
A lot of HTML generator programs out there bloat HTML to the point it is 3-4 times larger than what it would be if you hand coded it. Keep it simple, use a text editor, edit your HTML the old school way; until there is a HTML generator tool worthy of use. If you can’t code HTML then do a search on the Internet and find a decent, free, e-book and learn how to do it.
Javascript:
This is very popular among many web development professionals for menu’s, popups, scollers etc etc. It would be my suggestion to use simple plain HTML menu’s or as little Javascript as possible in web pages. There are many small JavaScript menu’s out there that are slim on JavaScript code to reduce this issue and make it almost negligible. Don’t over clutter your site with JavaScript as it increases page size, page load times and the search engines won’t understand it.
Image Sizes:
Keep them small and use only what you need to. This is essential for decreasing page loading times and getting information onto the users screen as soon as possible.
Overall page size and loading:
The overall page size is an important factor. It should load quickly and be easily trawled. If you have followed the HTML hand coding, used minimal javascript, used simple table layouts and good image sizing then you should be fine. There is much evidence that supports the fact that Google and probably the other search engines also, do not like to scan huge files, so keeping your overall HTML page size below 25k is my suggestion.
Dynamic URL’s & page/file names:
Dynamic pages are roadblocks to high search engine positioning. Especially those that end in "?" or "&". In a dynamic site, variables are passed to the URL and the page is generated dynamically, often from information stored in a database as is the case with many e-commerce sites. Normal .html pages are static - they are hard-coded, their information does not change, and there are no "?" or "&" characters in the URL.
Pages with dynamic URLs are present in several engines, notably Google and AltaVista, even though publicly AltaVista claims their spider does not crawl dynamic URLs. To a spider a "?" represents a sea of endless possibilities - some pages can automatically generate a potentially massive number of URLs, trapping the spider in a virtually infinite loop.
As a general rule, search engines will not properly index documents that:
• contain a "?" or "&"
• End in the following document types: .cfm, .asp, .shtml, .php, .stm, .jsp, .cgi, .pl
• Could potentially generate a large number of URLs.
To avoid complications, consider creating static pages whenever possible, perhaps using the database to update the pages, not to generate them on the fly.
Slightly Off Topic Thoughts:
The topics covered here are not considered completely SEO topics but in terms of overall objective – increasing sales, this section is very important. Take these things on board, consider them, consult with your designer and marketing team. Make educated and informed choices on these topics when considering your audience and what your website objectives are.
Screen Size:
Over 65% of all screens in the World are set to run at the 1024x768 resolution. Of the remaining percentage, 13% are running at 800x600, 20% running at larger sizes and 2% are unknown. So this affects the way you design. It would be my suggestion to always design for the smallest user to visit your site, but often I find 800x600 restrictive so I tend to design for slightly larger. Not large enough to make an 800x600 user angry but large enough to make it look good on larger screens also. I weigh up my target users, my intended amount of content and find some happy medium. I generally design for 1000x620 as this is the perfect amount of real estate for a 1024x768 user when they have the browser top bar and status bar and Windows taskbar.
colors and themes:
One important aspect of marketing - selling - is the use of color. Meanings are attached to colors in the same way meanings are attached to words.
• Gold is the color of wealth and prosperity.
• White is the color of pure innocence and cleanliness.
• Pink is the color of femininity and softness.
• Green is the color of natural things and freshness.
• Red is the color of danger and stress.
• Blue is the color the calmness, intelligence. The majority of the World selects blue as a favorite color. It often represents "trust"
Use of color to establish an image or a brand is common in the marketing community, yet when you visit the websites of many search engine optimization professional’s, it's obvious that color significance plays no part in their own web optimization. Some of the colors I found on SEO websites:
• Baby Blue, a color which implies weakness.
• Red, a color which implies risk, or danger.
• Orange a color which implies a cheerful "levity". Orange is one of Americans’ least favorite colors.
Although color selection is off topic for SEO I would consider it a very important factor in what SEO is trying to achieve, in the end, for your website – selling more product, creating loyalty to your brand and customer impact. color research is something you should seriously consider. In summary of color choices I would suggest studying and learning more about your customers, researching color choices and their relevance to your underlying products and making informed choices on these in collaboration. If in doubt then I suggest sticking to safe and trusted colors within safe eye pleasing designs.
Gifs for logos & jpgs for pictures:
Ensure you are using gifs for logos and background placements and jpgs for photos on your website. This helps reduce size and improve clarity of the web site overall.
Browser:
It is vitally important to ensure your web page works in both IE, Firefox and Opera. Testing other browsers is also an advantage but these are the main three in use nowadays (2007). I think quoting stats on the browser breakdown are irrelevant as you need it work in all browsers. W3C cross browser compliance is great for this.
So, this brings us to the end of Volume 1: Fundamentals of SEO Web Design. There are many things to consider when designing a website or modifying a web site to make it more SEO friendly. Clearly I have a few more volumes left in SEO for websites.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/SEO-Fundamentals/349593
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to view my SEO hints and tips e-book on the often forgotten aspects of SEO. This book was written from the collective knowledge and information gathered by Chris Diprose, owner and manager of Kanga Internet. Kanga Internet are located in Melbourne, Australia and they focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web Development for the Joomla Content Management System (CMS).
With Search Engine Optimization there are lots of unknowns, educated guesses and knowledge gained from personal and associative experience. Google, Yahoo and MSN keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to revealing how their ranking systems actually work. They tell the community trickles of information on what things can affect search engine results, how they can be improved and what to do in certain situations, but mostly knowing what to do to achieve good results is achieved by studying and hard work. Much alike other SEO consultants I have gathered information from various sources and worked constantly on improving results for customers. I am always looking for new intelligent ways to improve search engine results. I believe in "White Hat" (or more appropriately, "Grey Hat") principles.
Edition 1 of this e-book is intended for people looking to improve their websites from the ground up. I address SEO design fundamentals; the things you need to consider before embarking on any text and keyword analysis. I hope you find these hints and tips useful.
Enjoy the readings herein.
- Chris Diprose
The Website Revelation – What owning a website actually means.
As a Web Developer and SEO consultant I deal with many existing website owners who are looking to modify or improve their website. I also deal with many people who are looking to start their web presence with a new website. Through both of these interactions there is often a common theme; a misunderstanding or an attitude. I call this a misconception of reality, as often the reality of what the Internet can actually do for the persons business and what they think it can do differ massively.
Often it is presumed that by simply owning a domain and having a website built and published on the Internet, thousands of people will magically find the website, visit it and buy their products. "If you build it, they will come" should be removed from the vocabulary as soon as possible if you are to adjust attitudes to the underlying search technology. As a businessman in the real World, it is obvious that it would not happen outside of the Internet ether, so what is so different online? Maybe it was the Technology boom 10 years ago that caused a rift in understanding or maybe the buzz that caused the meteoric rise in the stock prices of Tech Companies, I can hear the thoughts of the small businessman, "surely this can be replicated for my business" – in answer I would say, "well, it is unlikely, but you should be able to achieve some results over time".
It is most important when taking on a project like Search Engine Optimization for a website, to know that it is important to be committed for the long haul. It is no small task and sufficient funds need to be allocated to the project. Delivery deadlines need to be correctly scoped against required changes, in order to meet client expectations. The key points of responsibility to the SEO project are in knowing that there are big changes near the start and during setup but the changes do not stop after setup, there are a continuous ongoing refinements to the design and system over time. In this regard I find it important to manage expectations and set realistic long term goals on what a website can be expected to achieve and in what time frames those goals hope to be met.
So what should your goal be when you are delving into SEO for your website? Well, everyone’s goal is exactly the same; improve page rankings, improve page visits and hits and finally gain more sales through the website.
When it comes to SEO and achieving these goals you have to have principles and my main principle is, "Good websites get good ratings and bad websites get bad ratings or none at all." As time goes on with the improvement of search engine technology and the refinement of search engine results this statement becomes truer and truer. I believe in results through "white hat"(reads; "Grey Hat") principles and methodologies.
What are "white hat" principles? I guess I would compare it to doing things the honest way and the right way without risk. So develop a good site, promote good linking, have good informative content and keep working on it and then you are on the road to good rankings through "White Hat" principles.
So, why should you do things the "white hat" way? Well, search engines do have some kind of understanding, an artificial intelligence. They soon catch on to websites spamming or linking to websites with no relevance and bad cross linking. It’s about being smart, in for the long term and wanting your business to grow organically, naturally.
So how do I go about improving my site and making it optimized for search engines naturally? Well, that’s why you’re here! So let’s run through few of the things you should be doing in your websites from a fundamental level.
Domain names:
When choosing a domain name, choose one that is relevant to the product or service you are going to provide and that is as simple as possible. There are considerations of branding and product/service provided that should go into this choice. Involvement of marketing personal and product understanding is required but also consultation with your SEO professional is advantageous. In this step I would say, take some time and choose wisely. Keep it simple and easy to remember, often saying it out loud will make it clear whether it can be understood by a simple man.
It is a strongly held belief by many SEO professionals that buying a domain which is older, and that has been around for a while, means it will not be sand boxed by Google. What’s the sandbox effect? Well, it refers to what Google does to a website or domain that is new or is relatively unknown by Google. In many instances Google’s Sandbox effect relegates the new domain to sub-optimal inclusion in search results. Regardless of the sites optimization it lowers the websites relevance and ranking to the term searched upon. If you can use your old business domain name, then consider this very important.
If, however, you are buying a new domain name then keep it relevant to the product or service being sold or offered on the website. Keep it close, relevant and simple. Relevance is primary.
Location specific domain or international domain ( .com or com.au)? Personally I think dot com’s are better, mainly because they appeal Internationally but if you want to you can keep it location specific and to your region then consider purchasing all similar higher level domains, yourdomain.com and yourdomain.com.au, if you can.
Choosing a Host:
Fast, reliable and gives you all you that you need and want. Preferably gives a unique IP. Again some SEO professionals believe this can also have a detrimental affect in Google rankings but from my experience it sometimes does and it sometimes doesn’t. I have had some sites come in with high PR rankings on shared IP’s and others when I shifted to a new IP the PR of the site jumped, so this is still a bit of a mystery when it comes to Google rankings. I guess a consideration
Traffic considerations: When choosing your host ensure the plan you are on can be expanded so that any new increases in traffic can be accommodated accordingly.
Site Design:
There are several fundamental things to consider when you are modifying or designing a website.
Flash:
Flash is has been popular for a few years now and I truly believe it has its place. It is a great way of showing many products or services in a small area, has great visual impact if done properly and can set a good friendly tone to the website visitor. Having said that, I also hate flash; it can be an absolute nightmare when it comes to search engine optimization.
What you should know about flash; it cannot be read by a search engine as the search engine cannot read the text or the images contained within it nor can it interpret what is in the pictures being shown.
When it comes to flash I would suggest, not making your whole website flash. If you are designing a new website and you want to use flash then use it in high impact areas to capture the attention of your intended audience but use it sparingly. It is important to ensure that as much text content(to a maximum discussed in my next book, generally 300-500 characters) is available on the webpage and in simple HTML.
Frames:
Many older websites were designed with frames. Frames are where the main home page is actually a frameset page that includes several other pages into it. This makes the page hard to index in search engines and should be avoided. While Google do now index framed sites, it is important to note that most of the other top search engines still cannot follow frame links. They only see the frameset page and ignore the rest of the inner frames. This presents an SEO problem to us because it is highly likely those inner pages contain our content keywords.
Nowadays this is not really a huge issue as it is so uncommon for a designer to actually use frames but the easiest way to resolve the issue would be to enforce a no use policy on frames.
Page Layout:
According to research the Googlebot trawls web pages from left to right and top to bottom. So given this little tidbit of information it is clear that you should be putting our most valuable keywords and information on the left and near the top. Of course this is a blanket statement and does not take into account design principles and beautification. Just keep it in mind during design of page layout. Position your move relevant keywords to the left of the page and near the top.
Good HTML Coding:
A lot of HTML generator programs out there bloat HTML to the point it is 3-4 times larger than what it would be if you hand coded it. Keep it simple, use a text editor, edit your HTML the old school way; until there is a HTML generator tool worthy of use. If you can’t code HTML then do a search on the Internet and find a decent, free, e-book and learn how to do it.
Javascript:
This is very popular among many web development professionals for menu’s, popups, scollers etc etc. It would be my suggestion to use simple plain HTML menu’s or as little Javascript as possible in web pages. There are many small JavaScript menu’s out there that are slim on JavaScript code to reduce this issue and make it almost negligible. Don’t over clutter your site with JavaScript as it increases page size, page load times and the search engines won’t understand it.
Image Sizes:
Keep them small and use only what you need to. This is essential for decreasing page loading times and getting information onto the users screen as soon as possible.
Overall page size and loading:
The overall page size is an important factor. It should load quickly and be easily trawled. If you have followed the HTML hand coding, used minimal javascript, used simple table layouts and good image sizing then you should be fine. There is much evidence that supports the fact that Google and probably the other search engines also, do not like to scan huge files, so keeping your overall HTML page size below 25k is my suggestion.
Dynamic URL’s & page/file names:
Dynamic pages are roadblocks to high search engine positioning. Especially those that end in "?" or "&". In a dynamic site, variables are passed to the URL and the page is generated dynamically, often from information stored in a database as is the case with many e-commerce sites. Normal .html pages are static - they are hard-coded, their information does not change, and there are no "?" or "&" characters in the URL.
Pages with dynamic URLs are present in several engines, notably Google and AltaVista, even though publicly AltaVista claims their spider does not crawl dynamic URLs. To a spider a "?" represents a sea of endless possibilities - some pages can automatically generate a potentially massive number of URLs, trapping the spider in a virtually infinite loop.
As a general rule, search engines will not properly index documents that:
• contain a "?" or "&"
• End in the following document types: .cfm, .asp, .shtml, .php, .stm, .jsp, .cgi, .pl
• Could potentially generate a large number of URLs.
To avoid complications, consider creating static pages whenever possible, perhaps using the database to update the pages, not to generate them on the fly.
Slightly Off Topic Thoughts:
The topics covered here are not considered completely SEO topics but in terms of overall objective – increasing sales, this section is very important. Take these things on board, consider them, consult with your designer and marketing team. Make educated and informed choices on these topics when considering your audience and what your website objectives are.
Screen Size:
Over 65% of all screens in the World are set to run at the 1024x768 resolution. Of the remaining percentage, 13% are running at 800x600, 20% running at larger sizes and 2% are unknown. So this affects the way you design. It would be my suggestion to always design for the smallest user to visit your site, but often I find 800x600 restrictive so I tend to design for slightly larger. Not large enough to make an 800x600 user angry but large enough to make it look good on larger screens also. I weigh up my target users, my intended amount of content and find some happy medium. I generally design for 1000x620 as this is the perfect amount of real estate for a 1024x768 user when they have the browser top bar and status bar and Windows taskbar.
colors and themes:
One important aspect of marketing - selling - is the use of color. Meanings are attached to colors in the same way meanings are attached to words.
• Gold is the color of wealth and prosperity.
• White is the color of pure innocence and cleanliness.
• Pink is the color of femininity and softness.
• Green is the color of natural things and freshness.
• Red is the color of danger and stress.
• Blue is the color the calmness, intelligence. The majority of the World selects blue as a favorite color. It often represents "trust"
Use of color to establish an image or a brand is common in the marketing community, yet when you visit the websites of many search engine optimization professional’s, it's obvious that color significance plays no part in their own web optimization. Some of the colors I found on SEO websites:
• Baby Blue, a color which implies weakness.
• Red, a color which implies risk, or danger.
• Orange a color which implies a cheerful "levity". Orange is one of Americans’ least favorite colors.
Although color selection is off topic for SEO I would consider it a very important factor in what SEO is trying to achieve, in the end, for your website – selling more product, creating loyalty to your brand and customer impact. color research is something you should seriously consider. In summary of color choices I would suggest studying and learning more about your customers, researching color choices and their relevance to your underlying products and making informed choices on these in collaboration. If in doubt then I suggest sticking to safe and trusted colors within safe eye pleasing designs.
Gifs for logos & jpgs for pictures:
Ensure you are using gifs for logos and background placements and jpgs for photos on your website. This helps reduce size and improve clarity of the web site overall.
Browser:
It is vitally important to ensure your web page works in both IE, Firefox and Opera. Testing other browsers is also an advantage but these are the main three in use nowadays (2007). I think quoting stats on the browser breakdown are irrelevant as you need it work in all browsers. W3C cross browser compliance is great for this.
So, this brings us to the end of Volume 1: Fundamentals of SEO Web Design. There are many things to consider when designing a website or modifying a web site to make it more SEO friendly. Clearly I have a few more volumes left in SEO for websites.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/SEO-Fundamentals/349593
Newbies -- Critical Work You Have To Do When Starting A Home Based Internet Business
Attention all Newbies! Critical work you have to do when starting a home based Internet business...
There are many crucial facets to excelling in the home based Internet business arena. What I want to do is show you how to come out of the gate strong and not waste valuable time and money while learning the ropes. Internet based business can be a tedious and tough gig, but if you apply a few simple principles from the outset, you will get a great feel and build links to gain visitors along the way.
First things first. You have started the home based business and now you need a plan to know what to do. You probably have a good training program, but the very first things you should apply are these which I am about to present to you. Not necessarily in this order, but they need to be done ASAP!
Start a blog. Start a blog. Start a blog. Blogs are crucial to search engines and once you learn to use them effectively, you can find your article at the top of the search engines for your keywords in no time at all. Search engines love new, original content. The more you post on your blog, the more your blog gains strength in the search engines. Your home based Internet business should be linked to every post that you write because it builds wonderful back links to your business site.
You can start a free blog at Blogger or Wordpress and both are easy to set-up if you follow the instructions. Both can be used as you do not have to choose one or the other. Many home based marketers use both in great harmony with their Internet based business. After you start the blog, try to post new content to it as much as you possibly can. This builds links, remember?
Next, join a forum. Many home based businesses have forums for Newbies to learn, but you have to interact and not just read. Forums give you the ability to put a "signature" into each post that you write and this is also crucial for back links to your home business site. This also adds more new original content to search engines. Forums are also very insightful and can be very fun.
This tip is critical! Learn how to use keywords effectively. This is probably the #1 mistake that Newbies make. It takes them months to utilize the shear power of keyword optimization. There are many, many free tutorials, tips, and tools that show you how to use keywords to greatly enhance your web presence. If you can learn this from the start, you can save months of frustration trying to break into the top pages of the search engines. Keywords, keywords, keywords. Drill that into your mind.
Also, learn how to optimize your website (if you have your own). There are also many great tools on how to learn basic html code. If you can make your site unique and stand apart from others, this attracts more than just the search engines. Visitors are soon to follow. You do not have to have a million dollar looking website, you just have to have the right content and keywords on there to make it effective in SE rankings.
Lastly, learn how to write articles. If you cannot write, then practice. Find tutorials or books that show you how to right good quality material. Then start adding what you learn with keyword optimization and you can start putting good, original content on your home based business blog and website. You can also post your articles to forums, article directories, and social sites.
These are the fastest ways to building links to your home based Internet business website. Start with these and you can get off to an amazing start with your home based business journey. Save yourself some time and trouble because being a Newbie in home business is tough enough.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Newbies----Critical-Work-You-Have-to-do-When-Starting-a-Home-Based-Internet-Business/349639
There are many crucial facets to excelling in the home based Internet business arena. What I want to do is show you how to come out of the gate strong and not waste valuable time and money while learning the ropes. Internet based business can be a tedious and tough gig, but if you apply a few simple principles from the outset, you will get a great feel and build links to gain visitors along the way.
First things first. You have started the home based business and now you need a plan to know what to do. You probably have a good training program, but the very first things you should apply are these which I am about to present to you. Not necessarily in this order, but they need to be done ASAP!
Start a blog. Start a blog. Start a blog. Blogs are crucial to search engines and once you learn to use them effectively, you can find your article at the top of the search engines for your keywords in no time at all. Search engines love new, original content. The more you post on your blog, the more your blog gains strength in the search engines. Your home based Internet business should be linked to every post that you write because it builds wonderful back links to your business site.
You can start a free blog at Blogger or Wordpress and both are easy to set-up if you follow the instructions. Both can be used as you do not have to choose one or the other. Many home based marketers use both in great harmony with their Internet based business. After you start the blog, try to post new content to it as much as you possibly can. This builds links, remember?
Next, join a forum. Many home based businesses have forums for Newbies to learn, but you have to interact and not just read. Forums give you the ability to put a "signature" into each post that you write and this is also crucial for back links to your home business site. This also adds more new original content to search engines. Forums are also very insightful and can be very fun.
This tip is critical! Learn how to use keywords effectively. This is probably the #1 mistake that Newbies make. It takes them months to utilize the shear power of keyword optimization. There are many, many free tutorials, tips, and tools that show you how to use keywords to greatly enhance your web presence. If you can learn this from the start, you can save months of frustration trying to break into the top pages of the search engines. Keywords, keywords, keywords. Drill that into your mind.
Also, learn how to optimize your website (if you have your own). There are also many great tools on how to learn basic html code. If you can make your site unique and stand apart from others, this attracts more than just the search engines. Visitors are soon to follow. You do not have to have a million dollar looking website, you just have to have the right content and keywords on there to make it effective in SE rankings.
Lastly, learn how to write articles. If you cannot write, then practice. Find tutorials or books that show you how to right good quality material. Then start adding what you learn with keyword optimization and you can start putting good, original content on your home based business blog and website. You can also post your articles to forums, article directories, and social sites.
These are the fastest ways to building links to your home based Internet business website. Start with these and you can get off to an amazing start with your home based business journey. Save yourself some time and trouble because being a Newbie in home business is tough enough.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Newbies----Critical-Work-You-Have-to-do-When-Starting-a-Home-Based-Internet-Business/349639
Google Blocks Pagerank Queries
Google’s war against PageRank continues. It appears that Google has now introduced a filter to limit the PageRank queries its data center’s receive.
On November 8, 2007, a good number of PageRank (PR) followers began to notice their favorite PR tools were inoperative and/or returning erroneous results. Initially, there was some speculation that Google would be unleashing another round of penalties against link sellers. Others believed Google was running yet another toolbar export. Everyone was wrong.
Any IP address that queries PageRank from multiple data centers is being blocked after a number of queries. Some are speculating that the queries are capped at 1000 per hour, while my observations lead me to believe it is much lower. Fortunately for some, this filter appears to be only temporary. After a few hours, the temporary block is lifted. One can only speculate if this is the beginning of a more intense offensive against PageRank queries and those that use such tools to validate the sale of links.
The release of this filter is already beginning to ripple through the paid link economy. Link sellers and buyers typically use Online PR tools to verify rank at multiple data centers. Of these Online tools, some offer more advanced features to determine if the rank is authentic or being spoofed by a redirect.
Link sellers and the buyers seeking higher PageRank are not the only ones that benefit from multiple data center tools. There are a number of Websites that have built their visitor base because they provide these tools.
Over the last several months Google has stepped up its enforcement of link sales. Limiting access to its data centers is just another step in reigning in the sub-economy that was created with PageRank.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Google-Blocks-PageRank-Queries/349993
On November 8, 2007, a good number of PageRank (PR) followers began to notice their favorite PR tools were inoperative and/or returning erroneous results. Initially, there was some speculation that Google would be unleashing another round of penalties against link sellers. Others believed Google was running yet another toolbar export. Everyone was wrong.
Any IP address that queries PageRank from multiple data centers is being blocked after a number of queries. Some are speculating that the queries are capped at 1000 per hour, while my observations lead me to believe it is much lower. Fortunately for some, this filter appears to be only temporary. After a few hours, the temporary block is lifted. One can only speculate if this is the beginning of a more intense offensive against PageRank queries and those that use such tools to validate the sale of links.
The release of this filter is already beginning to ripple through the paid link economy. Link sellers and buyers typically use Online PR tools to verify rank at multiple data centers. Of these Online tools, some offer more advanced features to determine if the rank is authentic or being spoofed by a redirect.
Link sellers and the buyers seeking higher PageRank are not the only ones that benefit from multiple data center tools. There are a number of Websites that have built their visitor base because they provide these tools.
Over the last several months Google has stepped up its enforcement of link sales. Limiting access to its data centers is just another step in reigning in the sub-economy that was created with PageRank.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Google-Blocks-PageRank-Queries/349993
Article Marketing Conversion Method – How To Multiply Your Article Marketing For Maximum Profits! Part 1
Many marketers write articles without a back-end in mind. They lose a lot of time and money with their article marketing efforts to only make tiny profits.
Don't be one of them. Here is a powerful article conversion method that I learned from my first affiliate marketing and search engine optimization coach.
Follow these simple steps:
Pre-step: If you don't have an adsense account, get one today.
1) Step 1: Article Writing
Write a quality article on your topic. If you are in the martial arts niche, your title could be: “How To Win Any Fight In Less Than One Minute”...
Your title is very important, because it is the first element of your copy that your visitor will see.
You have less that five seconds to get your visitor attention. Write a powerful article title, and then, a great opening.
Tip: Whenever you write an article, think about your reader. Will he say “wow, thanks, this article helped me a lot”, or he will be disappointed?
Publish it on your website as an ezine (you can even assign a number).
2) Step 2: Create a web page on your site.
Add the article on this page, and copy and paste the adsense code as well.
Note: you can replace adsense with affiliate marketing programs if you wish. Don't forget to test to find out which one is the most profitable for you. This will depend on your niche.
If you don't have a site yet, don't worry, nothing can be easier when you get the design dashboard.
3) Step 3: Send an email to your list.
Send an email to your list (you can use the broadcasting feature or you can schedule it at a predefined date).
It's easy, here is what you need to do: you put the title in the subject line (a powerful title will force your subscriber to click).
In the body of the email, write a sentence or two about the article, and put a link to your web page.
Whenever someone opt in your list, he will receive your message, and read your article (a big percentage of your subscribers).
When they click on your adsense ads (or they buy something through your affiliate link), you earn money.
So what you need to do now?
1. Write an article
2. Add the article to your website
3. Add a related affiliate program (or simply adsense)
4. Add it to your autoresponder sequence
5. Repeat.
It's easy and highly profitable, so go back to work now.
EA -
Search Engine Optimization And Article Marketing Strategy!
If you write articles regularly to promote your websites, you don't want to distribute those articles and let them die on your hard rive.
Whether you are just a bum marketer or you only write articles for your own website, you need to use leverage to increase your search engine rankings.
I mean that you should profit again and again from something you've done only one time.
This is one the secret of Internet rich...
Whenever you write an article for your website, you need to research the keywords first. Because if you don't do this, nobody is going to find your site, and it will be hard to make any money.
In a second time, add the article to your auto responder. Like this, when someone subscribe to your list, he will see your article.
I remember reading an article from a marketer, and when I finished to read it (it was excellent), I found that the author wrote it in 2004...
Three years later, his article is still making him money. And this will continue (unless he drops this page!).
Add the article to your website (with your keywords), like this, the search engines will send more traffic your way.
Here is how it works: visitors come to your site from the search engines, and they subscribe to your newsletter.
Even if they don't read the article on your website, they will receive an email in their email inbox with a link to visit your website again.
Obviously, if you stop here, this article is not going to make you any money. That's why you need to monetize it....
You have many options to monetize an article: adsense, private label rights, your own products, affiliate programs, cost per leads offer, ebay auction... The list can go on.
Once you do this, you have a powerful article technique in place because many people will visit your article and click on your links.
If you monetize with adsense, every single click will make you money. If you choose affiliate programs, you will earn a profit when the visitor buy at the merchant site.
If you choose a cost per lead, you will earn when your reader fills in his name and email address for more information, etc...
This article marketing technique is easy to implement. It will take you only twenty or thirty minutes of your time, so don't delay, write your article, add any of the programs listed above to monetize your web page, and then add it to your autoresponder.
-----------------------------
-- Blog
How To Leverage Your Article Marketing Efforts...
If you already heard about the bum marketing method, I hope you are not only submitting articles and linking to the merchant's site.
If you do this, you are leaving a considerable amount of money on the table.
Why? Because if you do this, you will not profit from all the backlinks in the long run.
Here is what you need to do whenever you write an article...
1. Write an article
2. Add it to your website
3. Monetize it with affiliate programs (cpa, cps, cpc)
3. Add it to your autoresponder series.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Article-Marketing-Conversion-Method---How-To-Multiply-Your-Article-Marketing-For-Maximum-Profits--Part-1/350298
Don't be one of them. Here is a powerful article conversion method that I learned from my first affiliate marketing and search engine optimization coach.
Follow these simple steps:
Pre-step: If you don't have an adsense account, get one today.
1) Step 1: Article Writing
Write a quality article on your topic. If you are in the martial arts niche, your title could be: “How To Win Any Fight In Less Than One Minute”...
Your title is very important, because it is the first element of your copy that your visitor will see.
You have less that five seconds to get your visitor attention. Write a powerful article title, and then, a great opening.
Tip: Whenever you write an article, think about your reader. Will he say “wow, thanks, this article helped me a lot”, or he will be disappointed?
Publish it on your website as an ezine (you can even assign a number).
2) Step 2: Create a web page on your site.
Add the article on this page, and copy and paste the adsense code as well.
Note: you can replace adsense with affiliate marketing programs if you wish. Don't forget to test to find out which one is the most profitable for you. This will depend on your niche.
If you don't have a site yet, don't worry, nothing can be easier when you get the design dashboard.
3) Step 3: Send an email to your list.
Send an email to your list (you can use the broadcasting feature or you can schedule it at a predefined date).
It's easy, here is what you need to do: you put the title in the subject line (a powerful title will force your subscriber to click).
In the body of the email, write a sentence or two about the article, and put a link to your web page.
Whenever someone opt in your list, he will receive your message, and read your article (a big percentage of your subscribers).
When they click on your adsense ads (or they buy something through your affiliate link), you earn money.
So what you need to do now?
1. Write an article
2. Add the article to your website
3. Add a related affiliate program (or simply adsense)
4. Add it to your autoresponder sequence
5. Repeat.
It's easy and highly profitable, so go back to work now.
EA -
Search Engine Optimization And Article Marketing Strategy!
If you write articles regularly to promote your websites, you don't want to distribute those articles and let them die on your hard rive.
Whether you are just a bum marketer or you only write articles for your own website, you need to use leverage to increase your search engine rankings.
I mean that you should profit again and again from something you've done only one time.
This is one the secret of Internet rich...
Whenever you write an article for your website, you need to research the keywords first. Because if you don't do this, nobody is going to find your site, and it will be hard to make any money.
In a second time, add the article to your auto responder. Like this, when someone subscribe to your list, he will see your article.
I remember reading an article from a marketer, and when I finished to read it (it was excellent), I found that the author wrote it in 2004...
Three years later, his article is still making him money. And this will continue (unless he drops this page!).
Add the article to your website (with your keywords), like this, the search engines will send more traffic your way.
Here is how it works: visitors come to your site from the search engines, and they subscribe to your newsletter.
Even if they don't read the article on your website, they will receive an email in their email inbox with a link to visit your website again.
Obviously, if you stop here, this article is not going to make you any money. That's why you need to monetize it....
You have many options to monetize an article: adsense, private label rights, your own products, affiliate programs, cost per leads offer, ebay auction... The list can go on.
Once you do this, you have a powerful article technique in place because many people will visit your article and click on your links.
If you monetize with adsense, every single click will make you money. If you choose affiliate programs, you will earn a profit when the visitor buy at the merchant site.
If you choose a cost per lead, you will earn when your reader fills in his name and email address for more information, etc...
This article marketing technique is easy to implement. It will take you only twenty or thirty minutes of your time, so don't delay, write your article, add any of the programs listed above to monetize your web page, and then add it to your autoresponder.
-----------------------------
-- Blog
How To Leverage Your Article Marketing Efforts...
If you already heard about the bum marketing method, I hope you are not only submitting articles and linking to the merchant's site.
If you do this, you are leaving a considerable amount of money on the table.
Why? Because if you do this, you will not profit from all the backlinks in the long run.
Here is what you need to do whenever you write an article...
1. Write an article
2. Add it to your website
3. Monetize it with affiliate programs (cpa, cps, cpc)
3. Add it to your autoresponder series.
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Article-Marketing-Conversion-Method---How-To-Multiply-Your-Article-Marketing-For-Maximum-Profits--Part-1/350298
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