Archive for January, 2008

09 Jan

What you can do to improve your blog

The following is a list things you should try doing with your web pages. These are general “do’s” for the major search engines.

Creating Doorway Pages

Doorway pages are designed to optimize and get a high ranking on search engines for specific keyword(s) and/or keyword phrases(s). They utilize all the “tricks” and they are meant for search engines, not for humans. That’s why these pages will act as “doorways” to the real Web page on your site containing content specific for that keyword, product or service.

Title Of Your Page

The title of your Web page is probably the most important information needed to achieve top ranking on all search engines and directories. Make sure you utilize your <TITLE> tags by inserting them right after your <HEAD> tag and before your <META> tags.

<HEAD>
<TITLE>Your title goes here. Make sure it contains keywords.</TITLE>
</HEAD>

Insert META Tags

Make sure you have META description and META keyword tags on all your Web pages. META tags provide information for search engine’s spiders/robots with the description of your site and the keywords relevant to that page.

If you don’t have these tags, then some of the search engine robots will simply choose the first 25 words on your page as the description (some won’t even do that!). Make sure your META tags are in your <HEAD> tags, right after your <TITLE> tag, like this:

<HEAD>
<TITLE>eBooksone Online marketing library.</TITLE>
<META name=”description
” content=”Describe your site here. Throw in one or two keywords.>
<
META name=”keywords” content=”List your keywords here, separated by commas and repeat them 1-3 times only.>
</HEAD>

Use <H1>Header</H6> Tags

Make sure you insert keywords in your <H1> through <H6> header tags. Most search engines assign higher relevancy points to words inside header tags, so take advantage of it. Remember, <H1> gets more relevancy points than <H6>.

Keep Keywords At The Top

Most search engines look at the first 100-150 words on a page when indexing. So make sure you insert your most important keywords at the top of your page, the first 25 words being the most important!

URL Keywords

Try to insert keywords in your URL. For example:

www.yourcompany.com/keyword1/keyword2/keyword3.html

Keyword Links

Hyperlink keywords within your page… preferable to URL keywords. For example:

<A href=”http://www.yourcompany.com/keyword.htm”>Keyword1 and Keyword2 are linked.</A>

Use ALT Tags

ALT tags are used to describe images on a page for people who browse the web with their graphics turned off. But, you can take advantage of these tags by inserting your keywords in them. For example:

<IMG src=”picture.gif” ALT=”keywords go here, repeated 1-3 times only.>

Use <!– Comment –> Tags

Comment tags are HTML code that webmasters make to themselves, when designing Web pages. They can only be seen in your source HTML codes and NOT on your Web page. But, you can take advantage of this by inserting some keywords in your comment tags and make sure you keep them at the top of your page for best results.

<HEAD>
<TITLE>Page Title.</TITLE>
<META name=”description” content=”Describe your site here. Throw in one or two keywords.”>
<META name=”keywords” content=”List your keywords here, separated by commas and repeat them 1-3 times only.”>
</HEAD>

<!– comment tags go here with keywords repeated 1-3 times only –>

Submit Maximum Of Ten A Day

When submitting your pages to the search engines, submit no more than 10 pages a day (I prefer 5 only). Make sure you submit your most important pages first and never submit the same page twice within a 24-hour period!

Submit Often

There are thousands of new Web sites added daily to the search engines. Due to this huge influx of sites, your ranking will drop dramatically and sometimes your site will disappear all together! Because of this, I’d suggest you re-submit your Web pages about once a month.

Again, submit no more that 5-10 pages a day and only re-submit your most important pages (doorway pages are a must).


07 Jan

Knowing the different Search engines


So, it’s your first time on the Internet and you’d like some information on “cars”. Where do you go? There are so many search engines and directories, which one do you start with?… Which one is best? Which of the many search engines really matter?

Well, the best search engines are usually the most popular and most used ones. This will be true for both the Web site owner as well as the Web searcher/consumer.

Here’s the reason: More often than not, the well-known/popular search engines tend to promote themselves very well and have strong relations and strategic alliances with other Internet powers (AOL and Netscape immediately come to mind). This alone will bring in lots of traffic, especially when compared to the lesser-known search engines.

If you are a Web site owner and your site gets listed high with one these well-known search engines, you’re guaranteed a ton of traffic to your site (a good thing, especially since it didn’t cost you any money!).

For the searcher/consumer, a well-known (hence, very wealthy and commercially backed) search engine will generally give more dependable and accurate results. These search engines will work faster, load quicker and are more likely to be well-maintained and upgraded regularly to keep up with the rapid growth of the Net!

Before getting into the specifics of each search engine, let’s first define the differences between the two primary types of search “services”.

Search Engines

Search engines use robots called “spiders” to index (categorize) your Web site. You submit your Web site and/or page to a particular search engine and the “spider” will index your submission.

Here’s how it works: A spider (which is also called a “crawler”) visits your Web site, reads your page… and then follows links to other pages within your site. This is what is meant when someone says your site has been “spidered” or “crawled”. The spider will also return to your site on a timed and regular basis (say once every couple months) to look for any new changes.

Once the spider has all your information, it goes back home to the search engine where it will begin to “index” what it has found. Most of the time, it can take a while for new pages (or changes that the spider finds) to be added to the index. Thus, your Web page may have been “spidered”, but not yet “indexed”!

Until your site has been indexed (added to the index/search engine listing), you are NOT yet available for search (you don’t exist yet as far as consumers are concerned).

Now, some promotional “gurus” say that you don’t have to actually “submit” your Web site/pages to these “deep” search engines because in theory, these robots are “spidering” new Web sites everyday and supposedly they will find and index your site (eventually).

But the reality is that unless you have links from other sites leading to yours, OR you have registered your site with one of these search engines, your Web site will NOT be indexed - hence, you will never exist!

[I’ll explain this in more detail later, but make sure that you submit all of your pages to the search engines. Don’t wait for them to spider you!]

Examples of some of the more popular search engines that use “spiders” are:

  • AltaVista
  • Excite
  • HotBot
  • Infoseek
  • Lycos
  • WebCrawler

Next come the…

Directories

Directories will NOT list your Web site and will never become aware of your existence unless you register with them. More often than not, they will only register your home page and not your sub-pages.

The main difference between directories and search engines is that directories will “categorize” Web sites. Hence, if your Web site has to do with cars, you will be indexed under the category of “automobiles” or “cars” or some other relevant topic.

This difference alone will usually make directories a more “relevant” search engine. Examples of some of the more popular directories are:

  • LinkStar
  • LookSmart
  • Snap
  • Starting Point
  • WWWYellowPages
  • Yahoo! (the most popular of the bunch)

Excerpt from one of the many eBooks that can be found in our library at eBooksone.net


06 Jan

Making your site user friendly

Part of your planning process should be deciding what you want to accomplish with your web site. Will you be using it for networking, obtaining new customers, for a local market, for a foreign market, public relations, advertising, and product support?      If you already have a client base, it is a good idea to make your web site beneficial to these people. These are people who have dealt with you in the past and are more likely to purchase or use your services again and again. It is always easier to keep an old customer than get a new one. You can place special discounts and coupons on-line for past customers to help entice them to communicate with you and your web site via the Internet. It is far less expensive to send newsletters via e-mail than it is to send them by postal mail. Driving free traffic to your site will make or break your business.

Your web site can include programs to help you communicate and send newsletters. You can invite old customers to participate in surveys, and have a general message area where they can communicate and help other customers solve their problems.

Take your mailing list and send a letter to all past customers informing them of your new web site, and perhaps a free gift just for visiting. This will help migrate them to your web site, and help you to save money on mailing offers.

Make sure to include your new URL on all your business cards, stationary, products and anything else that leaves your office. You wil find more tips inside our library of eBooks that are available.


05 Jan

How to use message boards to drive traffic

You will see how I use mine to network with like-minded people; folks that are interested in building a business using the Internet. Finding free traffic is very easy and you must be patient for the results. The theme of your message board could be anything that is related to your web site. They help attract an audience, and people visiting your site can actually SEE that you are indeed “tending shop”. How many times have you visited a web site and wondered if the information that was provided was current? How often is it updated? Does the owner of this site actually take an interest in their business?      All these question and more can be answered by adding a message board to your site. Visitors will be able to see how you interact with others and it will help establish credibility for you and your business. The number #1 reason, why people will not buy from you on the web is TRUST. Many simply refuse to trust on-line vendors.

If you are going to be building the site yourself, and are too overwhelmed to try to install a CGI program like this yourself, there are free ones you can use. All the free message board providers require you to carry their banner ad on your message board. You get free use of the board in exchange for them being able to advertise to all your visitors.

Your best choice is to have a developer install one for you on your web site. If you would rather use a free service, here is a list of places that will provide you with a message board you can use, and link to your site.


05 Jan

What to avoid when putting together your site

This is fine. They want it to look good on their computer. I doubt if this type of web site is going to make them much money though. Let’s break this down into different sections to see how this would work.

JAVASCRIPT:
Of the 700 or so browsers and versions of browsers being used to surf the web today, some of them support javascript. For security reasons, unfounded or not, many surf with Javascript turned off. The most popular browsers, Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer, each one since version 2.0 of Netscape, has supported Javascript differently. This means what will work in one, will not necessarily work in both. If you are relying on information included in your Javascript to help sell your products or navigate your site, depending on what version of Javascript you use, you have just reduced your potential customers to about one-third of the Internet.
FLASH
Although great for animation and special effects, typical small file sizes can easily exceed 1 megabyte. The download of the Shockwave plugin, and waiting for the file to load means a potential customer may have to wait between 10 minutes to an hour to see your information. Oh, yes. I know many people who are still using the 14.4K modem. Chances are they will not stick around to view your information. Even if they were successful at the download, there are good chances that this will use up all of their system resources and crash their computer.
DHTML:
This is based on the fusion of Javascript and Cascading Stylesheets interacting with the Document Object Model (DOM). The popular browsers support different levels of Javascript, different variations in their support for (CCS) stylesheets, and maintain different standards for the Document Object Models. If your sales information relies on the user’s browser to interpret DHTML, you may only have 1-2 of the 700 browsers able to view your information.
ANIMATION:
Not only do animated .gif images distract your reader from your sales copy, they also create longer download times and reduce resources on your readers computer. They are very annoying, so if you feel you have to use them, be careful how you use them. Make your site classy and do not clutter it with useless animation.
JAVA:
Once again, only a handful of browsers support Java, and many of these users elect to have it turned off. Early editions of Windows 95 had a memory leak and memory allotted to display Java on web pages could not be recaptured without re-setting the computer. Others feel Java presents a potential security hazard, and refuse to enable it.

When I think of successful models of business sites on the web, it brings to mind images of Yahoo and Amazon.com. Before you build or have your web site built, you should visit these sites and see just how much of these technologies are being used by them. The onus is on you to be knowledgeable about problems that could affect your profit potential on the Web.


04 Jan

10 Steps in building your website Part 1

    Your web site needs careful planning. It is a good idea to lay it all out on paper first. Take some time to do it. It does not have to be done in one brainstorming session. Write down notes, issues, facts, etc., as you think of them and file all this in one place where you have easy access to it. Decide what it is you wish to accomplish and think of things you could include that will help you achieve this goal. What could you provide on the Internet that would attract the audience you wish to be affiliated with?      Do a section layout, if you are going to have more than one section. Think about how your visitors will navigate through your information, and structure your content in a series of logical links including alternate choices.

How will your site be presented? Would you like all the links on the bottom, top, left or right hand side. It would be a good idea to visit competitors sits to see what they have done. If you will be serving the same market, you may wish to provide similar layout and navigation. This means visitors to your site will already be comfortable with the design, and will find it easier to move around and find the information you have provided.

Do some research about hiring developers and take a look at what you would have to learn if you decided to do it yourself. Once again, establish the success of your competitors web sites and try to emulate and incorporate their development ideas and concepts into your own. You don’t have to be overly innovative. It is quite simple really. What is working for them, will work for you.

Develop your content. Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire someone to do it, it is wise to be prepared with the information. Content can include articles, games, software, gifts, promotions, giveaways and anything else you can think of that will attract visitors. The number one question on every visitors mind before they “click on” your site is: “What’s in it for me?”

The amount of content you provide can be based on past marketing practices. You have probably determined how many days a classified ad ran before you received any inquires. If your product(s) is guaranteed to be wanted by your target market, then obviously you will need less content. However, if the benefits are not immediate and you have found that people require more exposure than the initial acknowledgment, then you need to find a way to bring visitors back to your site. You can do this with content.You can have free traffic to your website or blog by simply going to Traffexone.com.

You will find this information and other eBook great secrets to build your business online at eBooksone.net.


02 Jan

Intro SEO and the Pros and Cons




When you first got on the Internet (way back when…), what method did you use to track down and find the information you were looking for on the World Wide Web?Chances are you used one of the many search engines/directories. Even though there are literally hundreds and thousands of search engines, you probably used one of the top 10 (like Yahoo!, AltaVista, AOL, HotBot, InfoSeek, etc., etc., etc.)

This is exactly how most people (over 90%) find information on the Net when they first get on. It’s not the most effective way, but it’s a start. As time goes on and you become more familiar (and comfortable) with the Net, you add in alternate ways of finding information… Through banner ads, affiliate and associate programs, newsletter/ezine ads, referral links, etc.

Just as there is no one “best” way of finding information or a Web site on the Net, there is also no best way of promoting your business, product or service either.

So, why is a good search engine ranking so important… if at all?

Well, the truth is that it is and it’s not. Let’s take quick look at the pros and cons of search engine promotion.

Pros

It’s free! It doesn’t cost you anything to get placed on the search engines. This is very important for the beginning entrepreneur when money is tight and you’re still learning the ropes of Internet marketing.

Lots of traffic! A good/high search engine ranking can bring in lots of traffic… targeted traffic! A potential customer types in a specific keyword search and if your site comes up, then it’s a direct hit. They will be coming to your site because they want to. They are not forced, tricked or persuaded by outside forces.

It levels out the playing field. The truth is that a big Fortune 500 company has no advantage over you, the smaller and sometimes “broke” home based business. You have just as much an opportunity to rank well, and above these big time spenders.
Results can sometimes be seen very quickly. This is a big bonus, especially if you are in desperate need of some initial traffic and sales.
Search engines are the first place most of the new Internet users go to when searching for information or a product/service (actually, this is true for even the veteran marketer). This is very important because new comers are very open to the Internet and your initial “sales pitch”. They are like kids in a candy store. Because of the high competition and vast amount of information available on the Net, if a “newbie” comes to your site, they will probably buy from you or at least listen to what you have to say. (The theory is that you came first, so “I will trust you first”. This is why Amazon.com or AOL.com have so many loyal customers… they were “first” on the Net!)

Cons

It’s not very reliable. Sometimes, you can do everything right and use every single search engine trick in the book… and still, some totally lame and untargeted Web site will rank much better than yours. This is a problem that no body can predict with the search engines.
It’s time consuming. It will take a lot of work to get to the top and stay there! Most search engines change their ranking criteria’s as often as you change your underwear! What works one day may not work the next. Also, each of the top search engines have their own set of rules, so it will take some time to get used to and juggle everyone’s “do’s and don’ts”.
It takes too long! Even though you may see results within a week on some of the search engines, on others… it can take up to 6-8 weeks before you are listed, let alone get traffic to your site. That’s a lot of time that is wasted that could be better used for other promotional tactics.

Secret search engine tactics are hidden! There are plenty of tried and proven ways of getting and keeping a good ranking on the search engines. In fact, there are 3 methods (maybe one or two more) that only a small handful of Internet marketers know of that can literally drive thousands of very targeted customers to your site… with very little effort or upkeep on your part… for pennies! But guess what, these “secret” tactics are just that - secret and well-guarded!

So, the problem is that most of the information that your read on the Net (at least 98% of it) is just a bunch of bull or it’s totally out dated. This, ironically will get you in very big trouble with some of the search engines and you may be booted of their directory forever! (this is because a lot of the search engine tactics on the Net are considered as “spam” to the search engines… and this is a big no-no!) You need to be very careful about where you get your search engine information… VERY careful!


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