Top Search Engine Rankings in 5 Steps

Posted on October 31st, 2007

Search engine rankings are important for getting more targeted visitors to your website. When I say targeted, I mean those who are looking for what you offer. You and/or your website manager should be working towards higher search engine rankings to build your customer base. Getting high ranks in search engines is a mystery to many people, simply because they consider the process to be too complicated.

Fortunately, getting higher search engine rankings is not rocket science. It does however, take time and effort. You should set aside some time each day to work on the areas listed below. Taking them one at a time will help you understand the process and get a feel for doing it yourself, without paying someone inflated fees.

Step One: Select right keyword for web SEO Optimization.
You must choose your keywords carefully. This is the most important step of the SEO. Using the wrong or ineffective keywords can mean invalid keyword optimization. You should find popular keywords and phrases related to your business, then know search popularity and competition number of every keywords. The keywords with more popularity and less competition will be your targeted keyword phrases.

Resources:
Best Promotion Keywords (free trial software)
Google AdWords Search

Step Two: Optimize Your Website Ranking Factors.

Once you have finished keyword analysis and selected specified keywords, you should optimize your web site to improve search engine position. The important ranking factors include website title tags, heading text, link URL, link text, image alt, comment and web page body text, especially the first and last paragraphs. The description tags and meta keyword tags are optional, but have a part in the overall strategies especially with the smaller search engines and on pages where the content is limited.

Keyword frequency (how often it appears), weight (bold or normal), size (font size), prominence (header tags or normal size text) and proximity (placement on the page) all affect the ranking. You should optimize all these factors carefully. Looking at the top 10 ranking websites for content with your keywords and key phrases will give your more help to see how it is done.

The content should always be unique so there is no duplicate content. However, there is a way to get that content and make it yours, without having to write every word. When you see a related site that expresses a view as well or better than you can, take part of it, change it to your own words and use that section. Do not use it as-is. You could be penalized not only with duplicate content, but in some cases, copyright infringement.
Step 3: Use Targeted Keywords In Your Copy

Use the list of keywords in Step 1 within your website copy, especially in the title,
headline, first and last paragraphs. The important thing is to make them flow smoothly within
the context of the copy so it does not look like you are writing for the search engines, but for your visitors. Next, build up the content with relevant topics containing your keywords. Don’t worry, here are some ways to get instant content:

To help you find content for your website, you can either do all the manual searching yourself, or use Instant Article Wizard to streamline your search. Yes, it works for website content just as well as it does for writing articles.

Another method of getting suitable content that contains your keywords can be from article directories such as: E-zine Articles, Go Articles, Web Pro News, Article Emporium

Step Four: Acquire Targeted Back Links

This is the second most important (some say it is the first) factor to note after targeted and relevant content.

Get as many good quality incoming links from other sites as you can. This will make a huge difference to your rankings. Link popularity is the total number of websites that link to your website and is an extremely important method of improving the relevance and position of your site. Both the quantity and quality of link popularity is important. The best links are “relevant” links from web pages related to your keyword or topic.

- Participate in discussion forums, related groups, social networking sites and Yahoo! Answers
- Post newsletter issues in an archive online, if you write any.
- Do reviews and commentaries on related products and services in your market as content .

Step Five: Monitoring and Re-Optimizing

Check the search engine position of your website for your targeted keywords every week. If you are not satisfied with the results, you should do more of the above to achieve higher a search engine ranking position.

When you want to learn more, check our live webinar training schedule. Each week we focus on a different topic, many of which are introduced on Affiliate Referral Sources.

__________
Jim Hutchinson is the Project Manager for Website Managers, home of the Power of 7 Website hosting Plan. He has studied Internet Marketing from some of the most influential leaders. Many of those resources are available on Affiliate Referral Sources.
__________
Copyright © 2007 Website Managers, LLC. You may reprint this article providing that this copyright notice and resource links all remain intact.

Filed under SEO | 2 Comments »

3 Main Tips For Writing Articles

Posted on October 21st, 2007

Plus 3 Mini-Tips On Your Word Choices When Writing Articles

If you love to write and want to put those writing skills to good use, you could see your name published newspapers, magazines, e-zines or other forms of publication. Here are 3 tips to start off your writing projects.

3 Main Tips For Writing Articles: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1. Brainstorm

Once you have decided what your writing will be about, brainstorm. Think of a new angle for your article. For example: If you are writing for your local newspaper about an author, do not write only the obvious details. Is there something about this author that makes them unique? What is so great about the book they wrote? Can you tie it with a current news event and or holiday?

2. Removing the Fluff is a Must!

When writing a first draft, it is expected to have at least some fluff. Fluff is words, sentences, certain aspects of your article that do not necessarily add to the main content of your article. A good way to tell if you have fluff is to put your article away for a while. Why? Because when you leave your article for a bit, the next time you look over you will see aspects of your article popping out. Certain words, facts and excess information that could easily be removed for a smooth flowing article. 3 fast tips that also apply are:

Editing: Proof read your articles and remember to use your spell checker. Grammar and spelling mistakes can easily turn your editor away.
Simple Language Structuring: You may be an expert in your field, but for others reading about your topic for the first time, your content should be simple. Make sure your sentences are not run-ons. If you teaching something, break down aspects of your article into steps. This will ensure your readers understand your topic better.
Be careful of the word “the”: “The” is a common word that sometimes is repeated too many times in the article, causing your article to become repetitious.

3. Passion

Passion and excitement should be put into your article. The topic that you choose to write about should excite you. It should be something you enjoy, something you love. If it is a topic you are not truly interested in, it is going to show in your writing. Especially if it is an article that you put together in 10 minutes. Use descriptive words to “pump” up your article using actions and appeal to the senses. Have the reader become excited and motivated if it is a instruction article.

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How to Eliminate 404 File Not Found Errors

Posted on October 12th, 2007

Good keyword rich content drives people to our websites. What happens though when a page on your site is not found? I am sure you have seen those ugly error pages, 404 File Not Found. Those are caused by pages that either do not exist, are spelled wrong, have spaces in them, or are simply linked incorrectly.

Websites that still show those error pages are losing visitors and potential sales. You would most most likely not start editing the URL in your address bar to try locating another page on that site. Instead, you would either use your back button, a bookmark, or type a known URL into the address bar. If you do start searching for that page, you are one of the elite who just have to find it.

Chances are real high that once a visitor sees a 404 error page on your site, they will not be back. So what can you do to keep them there?

You could create a custom page that contains links to other pages in your site, or the sales page for your primary product. Your visitors are probably looking for it anyway.

Once the page is created and uploaded to your website, you have to tell the web server to use it when a 404 error is encountered. There are two ways to handle this: an easy way with cPanel and a hard way (for non-technical users) by editing a text file.

The cPanel method involves logging into your account, clicking the Error Pages icon and clicking the 404 page editor link. Once there you are presented with a text box. With your web page editor open, view the page source, highlight and copy all of it, then paste it into the 404 page editor box. Save your changes and the system will use it from then on.

The manual method involves editing any existing .htaccess file with a plain text editor such as Windows Notepad or NoteTab. Near the top of the file, enter this line:

ErrorDocument 404 LINK-TO-YOUR-PAGE

Replace LINK-TO-YOUR-PAGE with the actual link to your 404 page. Yes I know, for some that was obvious, but for others it was not. Now save that file and put it back online. If you have cPanel, the File Manager has a file editor built in. Otherwise, you will have to learn how to use an FTP program to transfer files.

Once that is online, you can be rest assured that anyone trying to reach a non-existing page will be kept on your site and see your offer. Congratulations! You just saved a sale.

If your web host does not offer cPanel or another domain manager, move your site to one that does have it. A domain manager is an essential tool for anyone with a website.

Filed under Marketing | 1 Comment »