What is SEO?
SEO is the process of improving web pages so they rank
high in search engines for a specific keyword phrase. SEO is divided in two
categories :
On-page optimization and off-page optimization.
On-page optimization it refers to every method you use
that change the page code; off-page optimization equals link popularity (more
on this later)
Choosing the right keywords
The center of optimization are the keyword phrase(s) for
which you want a high ranking in search engines result pages (SERP’s). When you
choose you keyword phrase you must take in consideration primarily your market
(they must reflect what you sell) , the number of searches for it and the
competition for that particularly keyword phrase.
Let’s take an example: you provide penis enlargement
exercises. Using a keyword research tool you have these results:
- penis 70,388.0 /day
- penis enlargement 5,798.0 /day
- penis enlargement exercises 292.0 /day
- natural penis enlargement 141.0 /day
Many may try to optimize for “penis” due to its large
number of searches. The problem with this keyword (other then the competition
for it) is that is not targeted for your market, the people searching for this
keyword might look for penis health related sites. Even “penis enlargement”
isn’t going to bring the targeted traffic that “penis enlargement exercises” or
“natural penis enlargement” will. There are many other terms related to your
market and, once they are found, an analysis of the competition and the
searches for each term must be done in order to determine an optimal report
between how competitive a keyword phrase is and how hard is to attain a top 10
position for it in SERP’s. You must keep in mind that:
- Search engines consider web
pages not entire sites so optimization must be done for each page in
particular;
- The more targeted a keyword
phrase is the less traffic it gets, but that traffic will provide people
interested in your product or service so the conversion rate is higher. This
indicator is reflecting the percentage of people converted into buyers so the
higher the better.
- Decide on two or three highly
targeted phrases for each page of your site.
Keyword research tools
Best research keyword tool is WordTracker (www.wordtracker.com).
By entering a keyword related to your market is shows other related terms
(singular and plural) and it analyzes the competition for every one of them.
Useful keyword tools:
- WordTracker – most
popular online keyword research service, offers advanced keyword research and
suggestions.
- KeywordElite – is
desktop tool with many keyword research features. This tool will collect you
keywords from various places into numbers of thousands. It is used by most top
SEO and PPC marketers.
On-page SEO
Search engines are constantly improving their algorithm
so they can provide more relevant results. A relevant site is one that provides
quality content for its readers so after you have chosen your keyword phrases
build the content of your pages around those keywords.
On page SEO means the code page optimization so, in this
phase, you should pay special attention to the following :
1. Title Tag
The title tag is one of the most important factors in
achieving high rankings. A title tag is essentially an HTML code that creates
the words that appear in the top bar of your Web browser. Usually, the Title
Tag is the first element in the <Head> area of your site, followed by the
Meta Description and the Meta Keywords Tags. These are the general rules you
should follow when optimizing your title tag:
- Use in your title maximum 3
keyword phrases and 100 characters
- If possible , don’t use stop
words like “a, and, or”
- Avoid spam: don't repeat the
same keyword in your title more than twice; it's considered spam. Also, some
engines penalize for using all CAPS.
2. Meta Description tag
The META description tag describes your site's content,
giving search engines' spiders an accurate summary filled with multiple
keywords. The META description tag should contain multiple keywords organized
in a logical sentence.
- Place the keywords phrase at the
beginning of your description to achieve the best possible ranking
- Many SE's use this to describe
your site so make sure you not only repeat each of your keyword phrases (max 3)
at least once but make this a true representation of the page that the visitor
will be viewing, and try to keep it under 255 chars.
3. The Meta Keywords Tag
The meta keywords tag allows you to provide additional
text for crawler-based search engines to index along with your body copy. How
does this help you? Well, for most major crawlers, it doesn't. That's because
most crawlers now ignore the tag. The meta keywords tag is sometimes useful as
a way to reinforce the terms you think a page is important for on the few
crawlers that support it. For instance, if you had a page about penis pills --
AND you say the words penis pills at various places in your body copy -- then
mentioning the words "penis pills" in the meta keywords tag MIGHT
help boost your page a bit higher for those words.
The meta keyword tag is also sometimes useful as a way to
help your page come up for synonyms or unusual words that don't appear on the
page itself. For instance, let's say you had a page all about penis exercises.
You never actually say the word "enlargement" on this page. By having
the word in your meta keywords tag, then you may help increase the odds of
coming up if someone searched for "penis enlargement exercises" Of
course you would greater increase the odds if you just used the word
"enlargement" in the body copy of the page itself. You should include
up to 25 words or phrases, with each word or phrase separated by commas.
Here is an example of what a simple basic header should
look like :
<head> <title> Your page title
here</title>
<meta name="Description" content="Your
description here”>
<meta name="keywords" content="Only
permutations of your keywords goes here”>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>
There are some times when more code is necessary in your
header, for example ,when using JAVA scripts or CSS (cascade style sheet) ; in
this case it is best to use external files for java and css with extensions .js
and .css.
To call your JavaScript simply cut the JavaScript from
the header <script> to </script> and save in a file called java.js
and call it using this line of code :
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"
SRC="java.js"> </SCRIPT>
Similarly to call your css from and ext file use this
line of code :
<link href="css.css"
rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
Keep in mind that the header is the invisible part of
your page.
4. Body text
This is what your surfers will actually see when coming
to your site. There are many issues to consider when placing keywords in the
text of your pages. Most search engines index the full text of each page, so
it's vital to place keywords throughout your text. However, each search engine
uses different ranking algorithms.
These are general rules that everyone should follow :
1. Make sure your main page have your main keywords.
It has a higher chance of being indexed than your other pages, and it will be
the only page indexed by some engines. Some engines rank a page high if it has
at least 100 words, so make that your minimum. Directories include pages based
on the quality of their content, so make sure your pages aren't simply lists of
keywords.
2. The H1, H2...H6 tags are given special
relevancy weight, and you should plan to integrate your keywords into your
heading. You don't have to go extreme, just use one H1 for your most important
keyword and two H2's - one for each of your secondary keyword phrases.
3. Bolding and italicizing your keywords at least
once doesn’t hurt and actually gives you a very small boost (recommended, but
don’t go bolding every keyword on the page).
4. When creating your content pages, keep the
following four concepts in mind: Keyword prominence, proximity, density and
frequency.
5. Keyword prominence - the best place to place
keywords in the text is at the top of each page, preferably the main page. The
closer your keywords are to the start of the page or the start of a sentence,
the better. This concept is known as "keyword prominence." You'll
frequently see it used to describe search engines' algorithms. Some engines
also say the bottom of the page should contain keywords as well. Here is an
example how search engines see your page. You have a page with the following
links at top :
Home Services Contact
and this heading :
OUR DATING COMPANY IS OFERING THE BEST RATED DATING
SERVICES
Now, you think you did a best job with the keyword
“dating “at the top of your page. A search engine, however, sees your page this
way:
Home Services Contact OUR DATING COMPANY IS OFERING
THE BEST RATED DATING SERVICES
Now your keyword placement doesn't look as good as it did
before. Try to place keyword-rich text at the very top of your page. If you are
using images at the top of your page, make sure to include ALT tags, which are
basically images' descriptions. Always add ALT tags to your images to make sure
search engines recognize all the content on your site. ALT tags filled with
keywords can also be used to boost your keyword frequency and help you achieve
better rankings.
6. Keyword Proximity - some engines, such as
Google, use the concept of "keyword proximity" as part of their
ranking formulas. As suggested by the name, "keyword proximity" means
the how close keywords are to each other. Put your keywords as close together
as possible and make sure your sentences are clear.
Here's an example :
- We have been selling weight loss
products for over 3 years.
- We have been selling products
for weight loss for over 3 years.
In this case if someone should look for “weight loss
products”, the first sentence will rank higher because its keywords are closer
to each other.
7. Keyword Frequency - is a measure of the number
of times keywords occur within a page's text. It's tied to the concept of
keyword density. Search engines want to see more than one repetition of a
keyword in your text to make sure it's not an isolated case. The recommended
repetition is 3-7 times.
8. Keyword Density - the final point on visible
text is keyword density. Simply stated, keyword density is the number of
occurrences of a keyword divided by the total word count. For this, I try to
keep my initial density to between 1-7%. However, this number may have to
change depending on the level of competition. Also, be warned that the text
used in anchors
<a href="page.html">this is your anchor
text </a>
affects your density. Don't worry if your initial density
is lower than that of your competitors as you will learn later in this article
that there are many ways to affect your keyword density other than placing your
keywords in your visible text.
9. Anchors and Links - anchor text is that portion
of a hyperlink that is viewed by a user on a webpage (The Clickable text).The
keywords in anchor text enhance the relevance of the target page pertaining to
the keywords used. While the relevance of the page containing the anchor text
is also enhanced to some degree (because of relevant keywords appearing on that
page), the real gainer is the target page URL.
Use this knowledge to build the relevance of each page of
your site, through optimized anchor text containing important keywords,
relevant to the theme of such pages, from other pages of your site. The
inclusion of important keywords in the anchor text can make a big difference in
the final ranking of your site pages.
All search engines that matter, give significant weight
to the anchor text on your pages.
For example, if your keywords phrase is “penis pills” and
you have a link with anchor text “Read all about penis pills here” on a page ,
pointing to another page about penis pills the tendency is to link
"here" to the anchor text content URL whereas the best way is to link
“penis pills”. You can also locate (or insert) important keyword phrases in
your page’s natural text and link it to relevant target pages of your site. The
target page’s name should include in it, if possible, your keywords. This is how
a hyperlink code looks like:
< a href=”target-page.html”>penis pills</a>
10. Frames , Java scripts, Flash
About frames: DON’T USE THEM;
they are not spiderable from the search engines. Regarding Java scripts and
Flash do not use them excessively. The reason for this is that spiders cannot
read JavaScript (or Flash) and thus any link or text created by such JavaScript
will not be counted in your indexing and will produce a lost opportunity.
11. Navigation
The navigation structure of your site is important
because it is through your navigation that the search engine spiders are able
to access all of your web site's content. For sites with a small number of
pages you should have every page of your site linked to every other page of
your site. This can be done by having a left/right side menu or by putting a
link to every other page on the bottom of your page. For sites with many pages
it is advisable to include in directories the pages that are content related.
For example, if you sell 10 different types of shoes and you also sell food and
clothes you're probably not going to link the sport shoes page and the leather
shoes page from the food page-but rather from the shoes page itself.
Off-page SEO (Link popularity)
Link popularity is the number of relevant quality inbound
links pointing to your website. Most major search engines use link popularity
as part of their algorithm which helps to determine the relevance of your
website. If you don't have inbound links, you won't rank well for competitive keywords.
Ways to build link popularity
Link exchange
There are some very important aspects you should consider
when exchanging links. The right way to exchange links is by finding quality,
relevant sites with which to exchange links. These are the links that search
engines care about. Convincing webmasters to exchange links with you isn’t
easy, this is a time consuming process.
This is how it works: You search for sites that are in
the same general topic area as yours (but not sites that compete directly).
After you find a list of suitable link exchange partners, you place a link to
their site on your site. Then you email the webmasters of the other sites and
ask for a link exchange. Do not send generic copies of the same email to each
webmaster however. Write a personalized email to the webmaster explaining what
you liked about the site (be specific) and why you think a link exchange would
benefit both parties.
Be sure to address the webmaster by name if at all
possible. Also, be sure to give him your link exchange information. This should
include the title of your site, a short description, and the URL that you want
his site to link to (this doesn't have to be the home page). And be sure to
include the URL of the page that already has his reciprocal link on it.
Be prepared for rejection for various reasons, this is
normal so don't be discouraged you will also receive email accepting your
proposal. Verify that your reciprocal link is in fact on their sites and then
send a "thank you" email. Here are some keyword phrases (KW) you can
type in Google for finding related sites :
"Add a link" + "your keyword"
"Add a site" + "your keyword"
"Add URL" + "your keyword"
"Add an URL" + "your keyword"
"Submit a link" + "your keyword"
"Submit a site" + "your keyword(s)"
"Submit URL" + "your keyword(s)"
"Submit an URL" + "your keyword(s)"
"Suggest a link" + "your keyword"
"Suggest a site" + "your keywords"
"Suggest URL" + "your keyword(s)"
"Suggest an URL" + "your keyword"
"your keywords" + "directory"
"your keywords" + "directories"
keyword reciprocal + directory
keyword exchange + directory
keyword add site + directory
keyword resources + directory
keyword links + directory
Building inbound links through reciprocal link exchanges
is very powerful website promotional tool. If done correctly, increasing your
linkage will :
- increase your traffic
significantly
- improve your visibility in the
search engines by raising your link popularity
- provide an added resource to
your website
- save you a lot of advertising
money
You can use Arelis or Optilink software to manage your
link exchange campaign.
Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web
site.
Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you
publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to
your e-zine.
Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic.
Give people the option of adding the directory to their
web site by linking to it. Put your business ad at the top of the directory's
home page.
Offer a free e-book to your web site visitors.
The ebook should be related to your target audience.
Allow them to give the e-book to their own web site visitors by linking
directly to your web site.
Exchange content with other web sites.
You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both
parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.
Join or create a web ring.
A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject
agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords "web
rings" into your search engine of choice.
Directory Submission
Directories are different from standard search engines in
that a search engine will query a database of indexed websites before it
produces results and a directory is a database of websites that have been
arranged by subject.
Search engines put weight on the links coming from
directories which is why is so important that you know how to submit you site.
Remember, that your site must be optimized before submitting and not in
different construction phases; otherwise it will be rejected from submission.
For a correct submission select the most appropriate category related to the
subject matter of the site and then submit, suggesting a title, description and
any other information the directory may require. Also make sure you read their
submission guidelines.
Here is a list of quality directories: Yahoo (299$
yearly fee), DMOZ (free), Jayde B2B Directory (free), GoGuides Directory
(free), JoeAnt Directory (free), Business.com (99$), BlueFind Directory (40$),
Zeal (free.
FFA pages and link exchange programs
DON’T USE THEM -
Most search engines, such as Google says that FFA sites are an artificial and
illegitimate way to increase link popularity. Google considers "link
farms" spam, and will ban your site for participating in an FFA or link
exchange program.
Affiliate Marketing Tools and Resources
Domain Registration
1&1 Domain Sales - Stop paying too much
for domains! 1&1 sells .com domains
PowWeb - for $6.99 instead off $8.99 FREE 2
Years Domain Registration when you purchase 2 years of hosting.
Hosting
BlueHost starts at $4.95 for Unlimited
Space, Unlimited Transfer and Unlimited Domains. A great solution if you're
always looking to expand your business.
WebHostingBuzz – use coupon code
"ICE" and get 50% off hosting RIGHT NOW!
Website Editors
XSitePro – great tool for creating little
review websites for marketers with no knowledge of design and HTML. This tool
can’t be used with free MoreNiche templates as it has limited layouts.
Photo Editing Software
Adobe PhotoShop – professional photo
editing software.
Keyword ResearchTools
KeywordElite – is desktop tool with many
keyword research features. This tool will collect you keywords from various
places into numbers of thousands. It is used by most top SEO and PPC marketers.
WordTracker – most popular online keyword
research service, offers advanced keyword
research and suggestions.
Search Engine Optimization
SeoElite – is one of most popular SEO tools
with multiple functions, from competition research down to automatic link
exchange approaches and more.
Email Marketing Tools
Aweber – one of the best email marketing
services – allows capturing emails, creating multiple campaigns, double opt-in
function, great partnership with major internet providers to ensure your emails
gets delivered and read.
If you liked this, please share. Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment