Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Powerful Website Optimization Tips

1. Switch To Wordpress

One of the easiest ways to make sure your site is loved by Google: Switch

to blog format. Specifically, a Wordpress blog.

Not only will maintaining your site in Wordpress format give you your own

easy cut-and-paste content management system, you can add plugs in like

All In One SEO that automatically set your site up for Search Engine

success.

You can go two ways, when switching to Wordpress: You can make your

blog mimic a static site – using "Pages" instead of "Posts", and making a few

other minor alterations; or you can add information in real-time, as a true

blog.


 

2. Don't Ignore Your Title Tags

Title tags are the same text links you see on search engine pages, in

response to your query using a key phrase – so why do so many people

ignore them?

On your HTML page, they look like this:

To clear up a common cause of confusion, the Title tags are not the headers

that appear on your browser display screens.They control what appears at

the very top of your browser, like this:

They add significantly to the search engine value attached to your page –

yet people make a number of common Title tag mistakes, over and over

again.

  • Change the Title Tag for each page of your site (each page

should have its own unique title)

  • Don't overdo the keywords – while it's good to use a keyword as

your title, make sure it's a relevant one, and don't repeat it too

many times elsewhere on the page.


 

3. The Loves – And Hates – Of Search Bots And Spiders

Fortunately you don't have to be a genius, to quickly learn what Search

Bots love and hate. Their main purpose is to determine the theme of your

website.

Search Bots LOVE Search Bots HATE

Favicons Flash

Metatags and Doc Type declarations Flash

Properly validated code with no

mistakes

Flash

Keyword Phrase in Title Tag Did we mention "Flash"?

Graphics that have ALT tags filled in Graphics with no ALT tags

Unique, original content Plagiarism or Duplication of content

Primary Keyword in Title and First

Paragraph

Keyword "stuffing" all through the

page

How much do Search Bots really hate Flash? Most of them will bounce

straight out of the site without indexing it, if they come across a Flash

intro.

4. Submit Your Site To Website Directories

This is a step many people omit – and it's an important one. It's like

submitting articles to Article Directories; only in this case, you're submitting

sites to Site Search Engine Directories.

The most important one every site should be submitted to (once): DMOZ.

It takes a while for DMOZ to index you, but it's well worth it. DMOZ ranks

highly in Google's graces – and each site is checked out by "hand" – that is,

a real, live editor reviews it and either accepts or rejects your site.

You should also submit your site to directories specific to your website's

slant: For example, you might want to submit an Art website to an Art

Website Directory.

Just make sure that your site has been validated, has no mistakes, and is

properly optimized and complete first. (DMOZ particularly hates those

"Under Construction" signs.)

5. Create Quality Backlinks

The best way to do this is "as naturally as possible". Do not go for those

"1000 links for only X dollars!" deals – this will only result in your site

getting banned.

The best way to create backlinks quickly is not to post comments in forums

(though that does have a strong and valid place) but to submit quality 350-

700 word articles relevant to your niche to Article Directories like

EzineArticles.

As in your website content, put your primary Keyword Phrase for the article

in the Title and the First paragraph. That's all – nowhere else, unless it

would be really odd not to include it.

Make sure there are no links in the body of your articles – but do include a

Resource Box that contains a backlink to your website.

If you do post comments on blogs, make sure they are highly relevant and

contribute to the "discussion" – comments like "Nice site" are virtually

useless.

6. Use Correctly Worded Anchor Text In Your Links

"Anchor Text" are the words you insert between link tags. For example:

The text that you actually see (underlined) on the page as a link – the words

between the Teal text – is your "Anchor Text."

The best idea is to use your keyword phrase as your anchor text. If you

want to put your actual Domain Name in as the anchor text, this brings us to

our next powerful tip…

7. Make Your Domain Name Your Primary Keyword

This is one of the best ways to rank highly in Google's search engine!

So instead of calling your site something delightfully creative, like "Purple

Dragon Flagons", do some careful keyword research. Check in Wordtracker,

to see what people are searching for – you'd enter the word "flagons" to

have relevant phrases suggested. Look in the Google Adwords tool to

make sure there is some competition (a phrase with full competition is

usually too hard to beat; and a phrase with no competition is usually not

worth your while.)

You might end up with something like: "stoneware-flagons-oregon.com" as

your domain name – even if your Title (and the large header on your page)

still read as Purple Dragon Flagons. (The only exception to this practice

occurs when you are on a focused campaign to "brand" your domain name.)

<a href="mysiteisgreat.com">My Great

Site</a>

8. Track Your Website

Do use tracking tools like Google Analytics (and checking the stats in your

cPanel) to see where your traffic is coming from and what pages are bringing

in the most traffic. This will help you know what to discard, and what to

refine and include even more.

9. Avoid SEO Scams

If you are ever tempted to hire an SEO company, never use the ones who

appear suddenly in your email inbox, saying things like, "We noticed your

site is not doing well. Contact us for a…" This is pure, unsolicited spamming,

and reputable companies won't do that.

If you are considering letting an SEO professional or company handle your

optimization and backlink campaign, choose one that does spectacularly

itself in the search engines.

Ask for references and testimonials. Check them out thoroughly.

Don't work with any SEO company that tries to talk you into questionable

practices.

10. Be Creative With Your Keywords

Search Engine bots don't recognize punctuation. This is good for you, if

you have an awkward and unnatural-sounding keyword phrase you want to

use on a page.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Classified ads, Forum, and Directory Submission List

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