Although significant website traffic to your site can seem to be an uphill battle, once again the pen is the clear winner. Other than free search engine traffic, publishing articles remains as one of the few truly effective ways to get targeted traffic to your site.
If you haven't already tried your hand at writing an article, it may seem like a pretty daunting task, especially if you don't think you have the necessary skills. Anyone can write and submit an effective article and it's easier than you may think.
There is a certain art to writing an article, however, but it doesn't really require any special skills. You don't need a degree to write an article and you don't need to be a programmer to submit your articles to ezines, blogs or any other article distributor to have your article published.
The art of writing an article is in the plan.
If you expect to achieve any amount of success in anything you do, you need to have a well thought out plan and writing an article for publication is no exception. Fortunately, after you have developed your plan, the hard part will be done.
Here are some of the basic elements you should include in your plan to write an effective article:
The first step is to decide what you want to write about but, more importantly, decide what it is you know about your topic that the majority of your readers don't already know. If you think you don't know enough about your topic to write an article, do some research.
Albert Einstein once said that he didn't clutter his mind with information he didn't need but he knew where to find it if he needed it. There's a wealth of information available and with a little homework, you'll have more than enough information for your article in no time.
The next step is to make a list of the main points of your topic. Pick one you want to expand and focus your article around that point. It's easy to get carried away and to try to pack too much information into a single article. Save the other main points of your topic for other articles.
The next step is to establish the sub-points, if any, of the main point you would like to convey to your readers. How can you further explain the point of your article? For example, what do you feel is important for your readers to know and what pitfalls should they avoid? Point out vulnerabilities and solutions.
The next step is to determine what you want your readers to get out of your article. Simply offering information will read like a text book and won't be very interesting. Challenge your readers to think about what you're saying and how they can put it to use in a way they haven't thought of before - peak their interest.
The next step to decide the 'color' of your article. By 'color' I mean the style you would like your article to have. For example, your article could be formal, informal, humorous, serious, casual, general, personal - you get the idea.
Now that we've gone over the steps to create an article, now let's put them in order and fill in the blanks.
#1) Decide what the main topic of your article will be.
#2) Establish the sub-points, if any, of your main topic.
#3) Determine what you want your readers to get out of your article.
#4) Pick a 'color' for your article -- the style you would like to use.
#5) Create a rough draft of your article.
#6) Edit your article. (have someone read your article and offer suggestions)
#7) Check your grammar and spelling.
#8) Create a title for your article. (keep it simple and catchy)
#9) Create a 'teaser' for your article. (a 'teaser' is a short, 2 or 3 sentence description of the contents of your article)
#10) Create a 'bio'. (a 'bio' is a short, 2 or 3 sentence description of who your are and your qualifications. Remember to put a link to your website in your 'bio')
#11) List 4 or 5 of the keywords that relate to your article. (some article distributors require them)
#12) Submit your article to article distributors. (that's a topic for another article)
The hardest part of writing articles is actually writing and submitting your first one. The more articles you write, the easier and more enjoyable it gets.
So, go ahead - start writing and submitting articles and watch your website traffic skyrocket!
August 10, 2010
SEO India : Website Traffic Is Not The Key To Success
Website traffic is deemed the single most important factor when it comes to the success of a website but that statement needs to be qualified. Although it's true that a constant stream of traffic is the lifeblood of a website, the quality of the traffic is far more important than the quantity.
Of course, any amount of website traffic is better than no traffic at all but even if you have the most perfect website, your site is doomed to fail if you are not getting visitors that are looking for the products or information you have available on your site.
It's easy to get caught up in a numbers game. It's exciting to see the number of visitors to your site climb from a few a day to a few hundred a day. On the surface, this looks like exactly what you want but if your visitors are looking for something other than what you are offering, for the most part, your website traffic is wasted.
You could have a great website design, compelling copy, the lowest prices and fantastic specials but all your efforts will be useless unless your website is drawing traffic that is interested in what you are providing or promoting.
What you need are visitors specifically interested in your product or service -- you need 'targeted traffic'.
Don't think of targeted traffic as a sub-category of website traffic because they really are two separate entities. If you're marketing plan is designed to drive as much website traffic as possible to your site, no matter what kind of traffic it is, then you're not making effective use of your time and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
The web is a very different venue than a shopping mall. A shopping mall relies on unfocused traffic, wondering from store to store, not looking for anything in particular but willing to spend it's money on an impulse.
Believe it or not, people surfing the web will leave a website after viewing it for only about 2 seconds. They're looking for specific items or information and if they don't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, they'll click out of your site and go to one of the other millions of sites on the web.
That's why most of the successful websites are tightly focused on their 'niche' and their marketing plan is focused on driving people to their site that are looking for what they offer - they understand the importance of 'targeted traffic'.
Of course, targeted traffic and a website focused on a particular 'niche' go hand and hand. Think about your website. Does it really lend itself to a specific product or service, or is it so broad that it tends to confuse potential customers?
Here are a few tips to help you prepare your website for targeted traffic:
Design your website to promote one particular product or service as your main item.
Determine the type of people that will be interested in your product or service and adjust your website to be attractive to them.
Establish the items or services that are 'closely' related to what you're promoting on your website. If you think that they would be interesting to your visitors, offer those items on your website as well.
Keep a constant flow of free content, that your visitors will find useful, on your website and add new content and information often. Invite your visitors back to your site to see the new material you're constantly adding.
Keep in mind, a website that's focused on a particular 'niche' item or service lends itself to targeted traffic simply because there is something specific to target and the more targeted traffic your site receives, the more productive your site will be.
There are many conventional and many not so conventional ways to drive targeted traffic to your website but we'll explore them in other articles.
The purpose of this article is to point out the difference between website traffic and targeted traffic. More isn't always better and if you focus your marketing on 'targeted traffic' you'll quickly find that the hits your getting on your website aren't just empty numbers - they'll be potential customers and, more importantly, sales.
Of course, any amount of website traffic is better than no traffic at all but even if you have the most perfect website, your site is doomed to fail if you are not getting visitors that are looking for the products or information you have available on your site.
It's easy to get caught up in a numbers game. It's exciting to see the number of visitors to your site climb from a few a day to a few hundred a day. On the surface, this looks like exactly what you want but if your visitors are looking for something other than what you are offering, for the most part, your website traffic is wasted.
You could have a great website design, compelling copy, the lowest prices and fantastic specials but all your efforts will be useless unless your website is drawing traffic that is interested in what you are providing or promoting.
What you need are visitors specifically interested in your product or service -- you need 'targeted traffic'.
Don't think of targeted traffic as a sub-category of website traffic because they really are two separate entities. If you're marketing plan is designed to drive as much website traffic as possible to your site, no matter what kind of traffic it is, then you're not making effective use of your time and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.
The web is a very different venue than a shopping mall. A shopping mall relies on unfocused traffic, wondering from store to store, not looking for anything in particular but willing to spend it's money on an impulse.
Believe it or not, people surfing the web will leave a website after viewing it for only about 2 seconds. They're looking for specific items or information and if they don't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, they'll click out of your site and go to one of the other millions of sites on the web.
That's why most of the successful websites are tightly focused on their 'niche' and their marketing plan is focused on driving people to their site that are looking for what they offer - they understand the importance of 'targeted traffic'.
Of course, targeted traffic and a website focused on a particular 'niche' go hand and hand. Think about your website. Does it really lend itself to a specific product or service, or is it so broad that it tends to confuse potential customers?
Here are a few tips to help you prepare your website for targeted traffic:
Design your website to promote one particular product or service as your main item.
Determine the type of people that will be interested in your product or service and adjust your website to be attractive to them.
Establish the items or services that are 'closely' related to what you're promoting on your website. If you think that they would be interesting to your visitors, offer those items on your website as well.
Keep a constant flow of free content, that your visitors will find useful, on your website and add new content and information often. Invite your visitors back to your site to see the new material you're constantly adding.
Keep in mind, a website that's focused on a particular 'niche' item or service lends itself to targeted traffic simply because there is something specific to target and the more targeted traffic your site receives, the more productive your site will be.
There are many conventional and many not so conventional ways to drive targeted traffic to your website but we'll explore them in other articles.
The purpose of this article is to point out the difference between website traffic and targeted traffic. More isn't always better and if you focus your marketing on 'targeted traffic' you'll quickly find that the hits your getting on your website aren't just empty numbers - they'll be potential customers and, more importantly, sales.
SEO India : Classified Way to Drive Business to Your Website
There are more than 105 million of them in the United States. Worldwide, there could be at least 250 million of them. Them, according to statistics from the Nielsen/Net Ratings service, is the number of active Web surfers. 250 million in the whole world? The figure is more than the populations of Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and a few non-English speaking countries combined. That's a lot of them!
With so many active surfers around, you would think Webmasters and site owners have an easy time attracting them. Actually, they face an uphill battle to bring visitors and, more importantly, consumers to their Web sites. And a Web site without traffic is like a store built in the middle of the desert. You could have the greatest products and most attractive Web design around, but they're worthless if no one visits them.
There is one way, however, to turn your Web site into an oasis of business, a way to drive as much traffic to your site as your server can handle: a classified ad.
More on that later. First, all Web builders and site owners should know the basic and time-tested ways to attract traffic to their Web site. The key to all of these methods is to attract the right Web surfers. You want what experts call "targeted visitors," or people who are actually interested in what you're selling. To guarantee that this happens, you should follow this checklist of Web traffic golden rules:
Step 1: Optimize your Web pages.
Webmasters in the know take the time to set their meta tags. These tags, or codes, are hidden keywords in the Web page that tell search engines like Google and Yahoo exactly what your site is all about. A meta tag, for instance, could be "designer handbags," "sporting equipment," or whatever else you happen to be selling. These keywords tell the search engine to direct all handbag or sports shoppers to your site.
Step 2: List your site with every search engine out there.
For this step, you simply need to surf over to Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines. Click onto their customer service page, where they allow Web builders and site owners to manually submit their site addresses.
Step 3. Spice up your site with interactive features.
With articles, newsletters, offers, promotions, and discounts, you give your targeted visitors a reason to stay at your site once they find it. More importantly, you give them reasons to come back and tell their friends about the site. Word of mouth is one of the best, and cheapest, forms of advertising on the planet.
Step 4. Exchange banner ads with friends and with other companies that you do business with.
Banner ads are those eye-catching designs at the top and bottom of Web pages. They're like the billboards of the Internet superhighway. But with these online billboards, a simple click transports the Web surfer directly to your Web site.
Step 5. Exchange Web links with friends and business associates.
This, Webmasters and site owners, could be the most important way to drive Web traffic to your site. All of the major search engines rank sites by measuring how many links come to and leave from your Web site.
So links are a way to measure how worthwhile and how legitimate your site is. The better this measurement, the better chance your site will have to show up well in Web surfers' searches. In other words, these links could be the difference between your site being listed on page 20 of a Google search results, or on page 1.
Building better Web links and search engine results-that's where classified sites come into play. Some of the most savvy classified sites on the market now offer Web links in their ads. These links lead right to your business' home page.
Not only are these links convenient one-click ways for more customers to reach your site. They also boost your search engine rankings.
Of course, for business owners, classified sites have so many other benefits, too.
* Unparalleled exposure. Classified sites are like online malls. Not only will you get exposure from shoppers coming specifically to find your goods. You get "spill over" attention from shoppers who came for another item but then start browsing through all of the other ads in the classified "mall."
* A new arsenal of Web sites. Having online classified ads is like setting up multiple new Web sites across the Internet. Unlike your own original site, these classified ads come with low-cost IT support, security, and advertising.
* Incredible growth opportunities. Businesses and individuals selling on online classified sites pull in more than $1.95 billion a year, according to the statistics firm Kelsey Group. That figure does not even include money from eBay.
* Money for nothing. As valuable as classified sites are, many of the best ones charge very little or absolutely nothing to set up your ads.
Add up all of these numbers-250 million active Web surfers in the world, $1.95 billion in classified sales, and $0 cost-and your Web business is sure to come out in the positive.
With so many active surfers around, you would think Webmasters and site owners have an easy time attracting them. Actually, they face an uphill battle to bring visitors and, more importantly, consumers to their Web sites. And a Web site without traffic is like a store built in the middle of the desert. You could have the greatest products and most attractive Web design around, but they're worthless if no one visits them.
There is one way, however, to turn your Web site into an oasis of business, a way to drive as much traffic to your site as your server can handle: a classified ad.
More on that later. First, all Web builders and site owners should know the basic and time-tested ways to attract traffic to their Web site. The key to all of these methods is to attract the right Web surfers. You want what experts call "targeted visitors," or people who are actually interested in what you're selling. To guarantee that this happens, you should follow this checklist of Web traffic golden rules:
Step 1: Optimize your Web pages.
Webmasters in the know take the time to set their meta tags. These tags, or codes, are hidden keywords in the Web page that tell search engines like Google and Yahoo exactly what your site is all about. A meta tag, for instance, could be "designer handbags," "sporting equipment," or whatever else you happen to be selling. These keywords tell the search engine to direct all handbag or sports shoppers to your site.
Step 2: List your site with every search engine out there.
For this step, you simply need to surf over to Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines. Click onto their customer service page, where they allow Web builders and site owners to manually submit their site addresses.
Step 3. Spice up your site with interactive features.
With articles, newsletters, offers, promotions, and discounts, you give your targeted visitors a reason to stay at your site once they find it. More importantly, you give them reasons to come back and tell their friends about the site. Word of mouth is one of the best, and cheapest, forms of advertising on the planet.
Step 4. Exchange banner ads with friends and with other companies that you do business with.
Banner ads are those eye-catching designs at the top and bottom of Web pages. They're like the billboards of the Internet superhighway. But with these online billboards, a simple click transports the Web surfer directly to your Web site.
Step 5. Exchange Web links with friends and business associates.
This, Webmasters and site owners, could be the most important way to drive Web traffic to your site. All of the major search engines rank sites by measuring how many links come to and leave from your Web site.
So links are a way to measure how worthwhile and how legitimate your site is. The better this measurement, the better chance your site will have to show up well in Web surfers' searches. In other words, these links could be the difference between your site being listed on page 20 of a Google search results, or on page 1.
Building better Web links and search engine results-that's where classified sites come into play. Some of the most savvy classified sites on the market now offer Web links in their ads. These links lead right to your business' home page.
Not only are these links convenient one-click ways for more customers to reach your site. They also boost your search engine rankings.
Of course, for business owners, classified sites have so many other benefits, too.
* Unparalleled exposure. Classified sites are like online malls. Not only will you get exposure from shoppers coming specifically to find your goods. You get "spill over" attention from shoppers who came for another item but then start browsing through all of the other ads in the classified "mall."
* A new arsenal of Web sites. Having online classified ads is like setting up multiple new Web sites across the Internet. Unlike your own original site, these classified ads come with low-cost IT support, security, and advertising.
* Incredible growth opportunities. Businesses and individuals selling on online classified sites pull in more than $1.95 billion a year, according to the statistics firm Kelsey Group. That figure does not even include money from eBay.
* Money for nothing. As valuable as classified sites are, many of the best ones charge very little or absolutely nothing to set up your ads.
Add up all of these numbers-250 million active Web surfers in the world, $1.95 billion in classified sales, and $0 cost-and your Web business is sure to come out in the positive.
SEO India :automated traffic something to consider
There are many, different services that offer some sort of traffic exchange. Some require you to click, and browse other people's web pages. As this is a requirement for everyone, your site will be seen by everyone using the same system.
Other programs - known as autosurfs - are based on the same idea, but instead of clicking links, the script does it for you. The good thing about it is; you do not have to browse, or even watch a single page to earn "page views". The downside is quite obvious; there is no guarantee your site will actually be seen, you are only getting automated page views.
Another way of exchanging traffic with other websites is thru, so called toplists. You simply send visitors to a toplist - the more you send, the higher your link will be placed - getting you more visitors back.
Yet another popular method is banner exchanges, borderline automated. Often it IS script based, with methods of earning credits much the same as traffic exchanges and autosurfs. But the big difference is in the quality of traffic received. Another big advantage is the free exposure you - and your trademark - will get from having your banner seen all over the web. It is no coincidence large companies spend top dollar on making their trademark(s) well known.
Is this traffic of any use?
Well, it might be. Depending on what your site is about, you can gain much from these programs. Advertising a product appealing to webmasters and site owners, will make it easier to attract new customers, since they are the only ones using these traffic programs.
If you have a site completely unrelated to the webmaster community, you might advertise your affiliate program, if you have one.
For those of you not running an affiliate program, and with no products appealing to webmasters, it's time to get creative.
If you use these "tools" to your advantage, it is possible to extract quality visitors - all though not in the same quantity - instead of merely site views and loss of bandwidth. Read more about converting hits into visitors at El Traffico
Are there any hazards?
Many contextual advertisers do not approve of automated traffic, some will even terminate your account if you repeatedly send automated traffic to pages with contextual advertising code on it. If you drive a lot of traffic to your site, see to it you only send it to pages without these ads. This is extremely important if you are getting paid per impression. No one wants to pay you for automated impressions.
Try to spread the traffic out a bit, not allocating all visitors at the same time. It can, and will be a huge amount of page views if you are using autosurfs to directly send traffic to your site. This can slow the site down if you point them to a "heavy page".
Other programs - known as autosurfs - are based on the same idea, but instead of clicking links, the script does it for you. The good thing about it is; you do not have to browse, or even watch a single page to earn "page views". The downside is quite obvious; there is no guarantee your site will actually be seen, you are only getting automated page views.
Another way of exchanging traffic with other websites is thru, so called toplists. You simply send visitors to a toplist - the more you send, the higher your link will be placed - getting you more visitors back.
Yet another popular method is banner exchanges, borderline automated. Often it IS script based, with methods of earning credits much the same as traffic exchanges and autosurfs. But the big difference is in the quality of traffic received. Another big advantage is the free exposure you - and your trademark - will get from having your banner seen all over the web. It is no coincidence large companies spend top dollar on making their trademark(s) well known.
Is this traffic of any use?
Well, it might be. Depending on what your site is about, you can gain much from these programs. Advertising a product appealing to webmasters and site owners, will make it easier to attract new customers, since they are the only ones using these traffic programs.
If you have a site completely unrelated to the webmaster community, you might advertise your affiliate program, if you have one.
For those of you not running an affiliate program, and with no products appealing to webmasters, it's time to get creative.
If you use these "tools" to your advantage, it is possible to extract quality visitors - all though not in the same quantity - instead of merely site views and loss of bandwidth. Read more about converting hits into visitors at El Traffico
Are there any hazards?
Many contextual advertisers do not approve of automated traffic, some will even terminate your account if you repeatedly send automated traffic to pages with contextual advertising code on it. If you drive a lot of traffic to your site, see to it you only send it to pages without these ads. This is extremely important if you are getting paid per impression. No one wants to pay you for automated impressions.
Try to spread the traffic out a bit, not allocating all visitors at the same time. It can, and will be a huge amount of page views if you are using autosurfs to directly send traffic to your site. This can slow the site down if you point them to a "heavy page".
SEO India : Submit Your Articles To Ezines Directory
Getting your product or service delivered to your targeted audience is one of the most important success factor in internet based business. There are many technique to deliver your content to your targeted audience. Submit good articles to high traffic ezine directory is one of the technique which is relatively simple and affordable for build up your online business. Below are lists the benefits.
1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.
2. You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.
3. Your article might also be placed on the publisher's home page. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure.
4. You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.
5. You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don't publish your articles.
6. You might get extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your income.
7. You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising could multiply all over the internet.
8. You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a free content directory on their web site. They'll allow their visitors to republish your article.
9. You'll gain people's trust. If they read your article and like it, they won't be as hesitant to buy your
product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.
10. You could get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It's a win/win situation.
The above list is a great start if you are thinking of starting a business on internet. It is relatively simple and very affordable.
1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.
2. You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.
3. Your article might also be placed on the publisher's home page. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure.
4. You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.
5. You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don't publish your articles.
6. You might get extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your income.
7. You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising could multiply all over the internet.
8. You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a free content directory on their web site. They'll allow their visitors to republish your article.
9. You'll gain people's trust. If they read your article and like it, they won't be as hesitant to buy your
product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.
10. You could get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It's a win/win situation.
The above list is a great start if you are thinking of starting a business on internet. It is relatively simple and very affordable.
SEO India : Improve Your Websites Performance
How well is your website performing? Are you satisfied with the amount of customers who view your website? Do you get enough business through your website? By reading this article you will be in a position to do something about all three questions.
It's all very well having a nicely designed and appealing website for your business but it's of no use if you don't get the customers to visit it. The number one term you will find associated with this is search engine optimisation. You will find endless sources on the Internet telling you to optimise this and optimise that but what does it all mean?
Search engine optimisation simply means making your website as friendly to search engines as possible. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN provide your business with the ability to reach a huge amount of customer's, they are by far the most successful method to boost sales for your business. If your website is nicely optimised then you will have a greater chance of appearing higher up on the search engines.
Most customers will type in a phrase into the search engine and view the first couple of websites that it finds, they will usually be successful in finding what they were looking for on the first page of results. Statistics show that customers very rarely look further than the first page (90% don't look past the first page) so what good is it if your website was on page 10? This is where search engine optimisation comes in, it will give your business a greater chance of being on that first golden page in the search engines.
There are many methods that all contribute to a higher ranking but some are more influential than others. The first factor is having a well built website. This is a standard feature that all website design companies should offer.
The second method is keywords. Keywords are the words that are associated with your business, the idea is to include these words in your website so when a customer types in a phrase in a search engine, your website is more likely to appear. Keywords should be chosen carefully to target the correct market for your business. It's no good targeting the word "Fruit" if your business sells website design.
The third factor that contributes to a high search engine ranking is back links. This simply means a link from someone else's website to yours. The more links you have to your website the better. Search engines view your back links as a sign of popularity and obviously the more popular you are the more successful you appear.
One of the best methods for this is to submit your website to online directories, not only will you get a back link but you are also likely to get a lot of customers coming to your website from that link. Make sure that you select trusted directories and one's that can relate to your business, there is a chance that you will get penalized by search engines if you sign up to link farms (websites that collect lot's of spam and poor quality links).
Finally, having a website that is constantly updated also gives you a boost in terms of search engines as they like to see fresh content. This is also likely to draw customers back to your website as they know they are likely to see something new. This in turn will boost the amount of traffic you get to your website which will also help in gaining a higher search engine rank.
These are just some of the methods in which you can improve your website performance, there are many other factors that contribute to a high search engine ranking. Most are an on-going process so it is very beneficial to your business to continually try to improve your performance as there is always someone competing against you for that top spot.
It's all very well having a nicely designed and appealing website for your business but it's of no use if you don't get the customers to visit it. The number one term you will find associated with this is search engine optimisation. You will find endless sources on the Internet telling you to optimise this and optimise that but what does it all mean?
Search engine optimisation simply means making your website as friendly to search engines as possible. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN provide your business with the ability to reach a huge amount of customer's, they are by far the most successful method to boost sales for your business. If your website is nicely optimised then you will have a greater chance of appearing higher up on the search engines.
Most customers will type in a phrase into the search engine and view the first couple of websites that it finds, they will usually be successful in finding what they were looking for on the first page of results. Statistics show that customers very rarely look further than the first page (90% don't look past the first page) so what good is it if your website was on page 10? This is where search engine optimisation comes in, it will give your business a greater chance of being on that first golden page in the search engines.
There are many methods that all contribute to a higher ranking but some are more influential than others. The first factor is having a well built website. This is a standard feature that all website design companies should offer.
The second method is keywords. Keywords are the words that are associated with your business, the idea is to include these words in your website so when a customer types in a phrase in a search engine, your website is more likely to appear. Keywords should be chosen carefully to target the correct market for your business. It's no good targeting the word "Fruit" if your business sells website design.
The third factor that contributes to a high search engine ranking is back links. This simply means a link from someone else's website to yours. The more links you have to your website the better. Search engines view your back links as a sign of popularity and obviously the more popular you are the more successful you appear.
One of the best methods for this is to submit your website to online directories, not only will you get a back link but you are also likely to get a lot of customers coming to your website from that link. Make sure that you select trusted directories and one's that can relate to your business, there is a chance that you will get penalized by search engines if you sign up to link farms (websites that collect lot's of spam and poor quality links).
Finally, having a website that is constantly updated also gives you a boost in terms of search engines as they like to see fresh content. This is also likely to draw customers back to your website as they know they are likely to see something new. This in turn will boost the amount of traffic you get to your website which will also help in gaining a higher search engine rank.
These are just some of the methods in which you can improve your website performance, there are many other factors that contribute to a high search engine ranking. Most are an on-going process so it is very beneficial to your business to continually try to improve your performance as there is always someone competing against you for that top spot.
SEO India : You Have A Website Now What?
You start with a great idea or product that you want to market. You have done the research and built the website but how do you drive people to your site? The internet can be a field of dreams; however, due to its sheer size even if you build it, they may not come.
If you have unlimited funds, you can definitely pay to get your website submitted to multiple search engines quickly. If you want to submit your website to search engines for free, it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks for the search engine to finally add you to their results. But you want traffic now.
There are a lot of submission programs being advertised on the internet. Some are legitimate programs and some will take your money and not deliver. It is hard to know who to trust. Here are some ideas to help assist you on the road to success.
1. Promote your website yourself.
This sounds like a very broad statement and just where do you start? Get creative. There are many avenues that you can take to advertise your product and/or website.
a. Add your website information to your signature line in your email account. Every time you send an email, you are also advertising your website.
b. Print up flyers about your product / website and post them around your community.
c. Take out classified ads in your local papers. Many of these you can do online and can do so rather cheaply.
d. There are multiple free classified sites that you can submit to. You may not get a large number of clicks through free classifieds but the goal is to get your information circulating.
e. Another good avenue I have found to drive traffic to your website without having to pay out large advertising dollars is by using Instant Buzz. Instant Buzz is the easiest way to drive targeted traffic to your website just by doing what you do anyway; surfing the web. You can install Instant Buzz in seconds, never do anything different ever again, and you'll still earn traffic every time you surf. It is free to use so you don't really have anything to lose and everything to gain. For more information you can visit http://www.InstantBuzz.com/r/?jpvh28
2. Pay-Per-Click
This form of advertising can get pricey pretty quickly but by using Google Adwords and Yahoo, you can set your own daily spending limit to ensure you don't go over budget. Both sites have keyword help to assist you in creating the keywords for your ads. A small word of advice, start small when using Pay-Per-Click. Allow yourself the opportunity to get the hang of it. If you choose keywords with low click price, you can receive more clicks before you reach your limit. There are a lot of great resources out there to learn about using Pay-Per-Clicks.
I have come across an eBook that has changed my way of thinking when it comes to Internet Marketing. It is called "Dotcomology. The Science of Making Money Online". This book contains information on how to use Pay-Per-Click search engines properly to drive traffic to your site; How to profit using Google Adwords; How to make your website attractive, engaging and interactive. This book has so many resources and insights, I am unable to list them all within this article. The best part of this eBook is that it is free. No gimmicks, no hype. Just a free resource for you to use.
If you have unlimited funds, you can definitely pay to get your website submitted to multiple search engines quickly. If you want to submit your website to search engines for free, it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks for the search engine to finally add you to their results. But you want traffic now.
There are a lot of submission programs being advertised on the internet. Some are legitimate programs and some will take your money and not deliver. It is hard to know who to trust. Here are some ideas to help assist you on the road to success.
1. Promote your website yourself.
This sounds like a very broad statement and just where do you start? Get creative. There are many avenues that you can take to advertise your product and/or website.
a. Add your website information to your signature line in your email account. Every time you send an email, you are also advertising your website.
b. Print up flyers about your product / website and post them around your community.
c. Take out classified ads in your local papers. Many of these you can do online and can do so rather cheaply.
d. There are multiple free classified sites that you can submit to. You may not get a large number of clicks through free classifieds but the goal is to get your information circulating.
e. Another good avenue I have found to drive traffic to your website without having to pay out large advertising dollars is by using Instant Buzz. Instant Buzz is the easiest way to drive targeted traffic to your website just by doing what you do anyway; surfing the web. You can install Instant Buzz in seconds, never do anything different ever again, and you'll still earn traffic every time you surf. It is free to use so you don't really have anything to lose and everything to gain. For more information you can visit http://www.InstantBuzz.com/r/?jpvh28
2. Pay-Per-Click
This form of advertising can get pricey pretty quickly but by using Google Adwords and Yahoo, you can set your own daily spending limit to ensure you don't go over budget. Both sites have keyword help to assist you in creating the keywords for your ads. A small word of advice, start small when using Pay-Per-Click. Allow yourself the opportunity to get the hang of it. If you choose keywords with low click price, you can receive more clicks before you reach your limit. There are a lot of great resources out there to learn about using Pay-Per-Clicks.
I have come across an eBook that has changed my way of thinking when it comes to Internet Marketing. It is called "Dotcomology. The Science of Making Money Online". This book contains information on how to use Pay-Per-Click search engines properly to drive traffic to your site; How to profit using Google Adwords; How to make your website attractive, engaging and interactive. This book has so many resources and insights, I am unable to list them all within this article. The best part of this eBook is that it is free. No gimmicks, no hype. Just a free resource for you to use.
SEO India : Google Marches On!
October 19, 2006-Wow!!! First Google reports another blowout quarter. Earlier the same day, Nielsen publishes search results for September 2006, and Google put the hammer to the competition there also. They garnered 50% search share which equates to 24% growth year over year (YOY). Talk about impressive numbers-the Google train obviously isn't slowing!
How does this impact the major search game? Does this sound the warning siren to Microsoft that maybe they ought to reconsider buying out Yahoo? It makes perfect sense given the fact that Microsoft's search results continue to fall (-12% YOY to a 9.23% share), and Yahoo isn't keeping Google within an eyeshot either although they still maintain a nice share of the search market (23.4%; up 12% YOY). The two of them combined would give Google a little competition, and we, the consumer, would benefit from greater services and advancements in software along with online options as the companies battle it out in the marketplace. If not, Google is going to run off and hide.
Perhaps Yahoo (with a lot of cash to spare) will buy some smaller niche companies to make themselves even more attractive to Microsoft, but I don't believe Microsoft will sit by idly while Yahoo postulates what to do next. It's Microsoft's move to make, and the time to act is now; not a year from now when their collective search share is even lower. Google is a formidable threat to Microsoft, and they aren't going to take a breather just because they've hung up yet another blow out quarter financially and in search. Yahoo has shown they can't keep pace on their own so they're going to need some help if they have any intention of ever catching Google. Google smells blood, and that signals the time to push harder; not back away. YouTube is likely just the beginning of an intriguing acquisition spree for the gang in Mountain View.
Microsoft would be wise to snatch up Yahoo right now after Yahoo posted a rather blah quarter earlier in the week which will shrink their market capitalization a little where Mr. Softy could acquire Yahoo at a "discount." They didn't like the idea of buying Yahoo at $29/share a couple months ago, but they should probably like it at $25.
Yahoo isn't "dead." It's not like they're stinking up the joint (they are still growing albeit much slower), and they do understand the search game which Microsoft hasn't quite yet figured out. It seems to make a logical marriage at this stage of the game.
Bottom line: this is shaping up rather nicely as a good ole fashion duel that may take some time to determine the ultimate winner, but we'll be anxiously monitoring the three "big dogs" as they ponder their next move in this high stakes search engine chess match. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
How does this impact the major search game? Does this sound the warning siren to Microsoft that maybe they ought to reconsider buying out Yahoo? It makes perfect sense given the fact that Microsoft's search results continue to fall (-12% YOY to a 9.23% share), and Yahoo isn't keeping Google within an eyeshot either although they still maintain a nice share of the search market (23.4%; up 12% YOY). The two of them combined would give Google a little competition, and we, the consumer, would benefit from greater services and advancements in software along with online options as the companies battle it out in the marketplace. If not, Google is going to run off and hide.
Perhaps Yahoo (with a lot of cash to spare) will buy some smaller niche companies to make themselves even more attractive to Microsoft, but I don't believe Microsoft will sit by idly while Yahoo postulates what to do next. It's Microsoft's move to make, and the time to act is now; not a year from now when their collective search share is even lower. Google is a formidable threat to Microsoft, and they aren't going to take a breather just because they've hung up yet another blow out quarter financially and in search. Yahoo has shown they can't keep pace on their own so they're going to need some help if they have any intention of ever catching Google. Google smells blood, and that signals the time to push harder; not back away. YouTube is likely just the beginning of an intriguing acquisition spree for the gang in Mountain View.
Microsoft would be wise to snatch up Yahoo right now after Yahoo posted a rather blah quarter earlier in the week which will shrink their market capitalization a little where Mr. Softy could acquire Yahoo at a "discount." They didn't like the idea of buying Yahoo at $29/share a couple months ago, but they should probably like it at $25.
Yahoo isn't "dead." It's not like they're stinking up the joint (they are still growing albeit much slower), and they do understand the search game which Microsoft hasn't quite yet figured out. It seems to make a logical marriage at this stage of the game.
Bottom line: this is shaping up rather nicely as a good ole fashion duel that may take some time to determine the ultimate winner, but we'll be anxiously monitoring the three "big dogs" as they ponder their next move in this high stakes search engine chess match. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
SEO India : Google AdSense and AdWords
Many websites include a section or two with the "Ads by Google" above it or below it. These are ads displayed via Google's AdSense. When you do a search on Google and see ads in the search results pages, they are generally AdSense ads.
AdSense - The Yin:
Google's AdSense is programming that "senses" the content of a page or search. It finds keywords on a web page or in a search phrase to determine the subject of the content. It does this by either "reading" the page, or taking a look at the search term that was typed into Google Search. It can "Sense" which ads in the system are relevant to the content or search and display them - thus: "AdSense."
Before ads on a page are displayed, AdSense searches its database of advertisers and finds ads that are associated with keywords on the page or in the search. Now AdSense needs to decide which of the thousands of ads vying for position are actually displayed. To make this decision, AsSense looks at the advertiser's bids for the relevant keywords. The advertisers that have a combination of the highest bid, keyword relevance and best click through get displayed first.
Google tracks clicks on ads and advertisers pay Google the bid price for each click. When the AdSense ad is on someone's web page, Google pays the website owner a portion of the payment for each click. The term "monetizing" your site refers to taking your existing site and placing ads like AdSense on it to make money (or finding other way to make money with websites). If you get 10,000 visitors and 10% of them click an ad that pays you, theoretically, $0.75 per click, you just made $750! Not bad for just copying some AdSense code (which Google provides) into your popular website's HTML (if your site is not popular, learn about SEO - Search Engine Optimization - from sites like AcmeWebResources).
AdWords - The Yang:
The other side to AdSense is AdWords. AdSense ads have lists of relevant keywords associated with them. Each keyword is bid on by the advertisers for placement in the results pages and on web sites around the world. The words that will prompt a display of an advertiser's ad are bid on by the advertiser. When an ad matches the words on a page, the ads are displayed; thus: AdWords. AdWords is the system in Google that is used to place ads that display in AdSense.
You can enroll in AdWords to pay for AdSense ads to drive traffic to your site. The first step is to sign up with Google. The next step is to associate keywords to associate with your site.
The idea is to drive traffic to your site through the use of relevant ads. The more relevant the ad to your content, the more targeted your traffic will be. Compose your articles around your list of keywords. Next, write an ad based on the keywords and assign keywords to the ad. You will bid on the keywords at the time you associate keywords with the ad. If one of your keywords is searched for or relevant to a site, and you have a good bid and relevant ad, your AdWord ad will be displayed. Only when someone clicks your ad are you charged by Google.
The more popular keywords are wanted by many competitors, so the prices per click can get pretty high. It is not uncommon for a click to cost $5 or even $10. If you have 10,000 ad clicks, after you account for your conversion rate (the rate that you convert visitors into buyers) you better be sure you are making more than the ad click costs! But it should never break your bank because you can set the bid limits and the monthly budget.
What if you can't afford $5.00 per click? Since the more popular keywords are so expensive, it is best to bid on less popular keywords because the cost per click is lower. Google presently has a minimum bid of $0.05 per click. If you can get those, you can reduce your advertising budget.
A popular site can make a lot of money, however, a lot of money and time can be wasted. To avoid waste, you have to learn as much as possible and get the right tools to do the research.
AdSense - The Yin:
Google's AdSense is programming that "senses" the content of a page or search. It finds keywords on a web page or in a search phrase to determine the subject of the content. It does this by either "reading" the page, or taking a look at the search term that was typed into Google Search. It can "Sense" which ads in the system are relevant to the content or search and display them - thus: "AdSense."
Before ads on a page are displayed, AdSense searches its database of advertisers and finds ads that are associated with keywords on the page or in the search. Now AdSense needs to decide which of the thousands of ads vying for position are actually displayed. To make this decision, AsSense looks at the advertiser's bids for the relevant keywords. The advertisers that have a combination of the highest bid, keyword relevance and best click through get displayed first.
Google tracks clicks on ads and advertisers pay Google the bid price for each click. When the AdSense ad is on someone's web page, Google pays the website owner a portion of the payment for each click. The term "monetizing" your site refers to taking your existing site and placing ads like AdSense on it to make money (or finding other way to make money with websites). If you get 10,000 visitors and 10% of them click an ad that pays you, theoretically, $0.75 per click, you just made $750! Not bad for just copying some AdSense code (which Google provides) into your popular website's HTML (if your site is not popular, learn about SEO - Search Engine Optimization - from sites like AcmeWebResources).
AdWords - The Yang:
The other side to AdSense is AdWords. AdSense ads have lists of relevant keywords associated with them. Each keyword is bid on by the advertisers for placement in the results pages and on web sites around the world. The words that will prompt a display of an advertiser's ad are bid on by the advertiser. When an ad matches the words on a page, the ads are displayed; thus: AdWords. AdWords is the system in Google that is used to place ads that display in AdSense.
You can enroll in AdWords to pay for AdSense ads to drive traffic to your site. The first step is to sign up with Google. The next step is to associate keywords to associate with your site.
The idea is to drive traffic to your site through the use of relevant ads. The more relevant the ad to your content, the more targeted your traffic will be. Compose your articles around your list of keywords. Next, write an ad based on the keywords and assign keywords to the ad. You will bid on the keywords at the time you associate keywords with the ad. If one of your keywords is searched for or relevant to a site, and you have a good bid and relevant ad, your AdWord ad will be displayed. Only when someone clicks your ad are you charged by Google.
The more popular keywords are wanted by many competitors, so the prices per click can get pretty high. It is not uncommon for a click to cost $5 or even $10. If you have 10,000 ad clicks, after you account for your conversion rate (the rate that you convert visitors into buyers) you better be sure you are making more than the ad click costs! But it should never break your bank because you can set the bid limits and the monthly budget.
What if you can't afford $5.00 per click? Since the more popular keywords are so expensive, it is best to bid on less popular keywords because the cost per click is lower. Google presently has a minimum bid of $0.05 per click. If you can get those, you can reduce your advertising budget.
A popular site can make a lot of money, however, a lot of money and time can be wasted. To avoid waste, you have to learn as much as possible and get the right tools to do the research.
SEO India : Write Title Tags for Your Web Pages
When it comes to search engine optimization, the single most important sentence that you will write for your website is the title tag of your main page. If you write it properly then you will have taken a big step towards getting your site well placed in search engine queries for your important keywords.
Before I give you a step-by-step guide to writing title tags, let's define what they actually are and see why they are important. When you look at a web page in your browser, the writing in the blue strip above browser's commands (file, edit, view, etc.) is the title tag. On your actual html document the title tag is in the head portion between the notation and .
The title tag is important because it "tells" the search engine what the page is about, and in the case of your main page, what your website is all about. I remember back in my school days that we used to take standardized examinations in which we had to read a story and then answer the question: "What would be the best title for this essay?" Choosing a title tag is something like answering this kind of question. You've got to pick out the gist of your enterprise and highlight it in a sentence. So, take a look at your web page and get ready to begin, following these steps:
So, take a look at your website's title tags, and see if you can improve them. The effort that you make will be well rewarded.
Before I give you a step-by-step guide to writing title tags, let's define what they actually are and see why they are important. When you look at a web page in your browser, the writing in the blue strip above browser's commands (file, edit, view, etc.) is the title tag. On your actual html document the title tag is in the head portion between the notation
The title tag is important because it "tells" the search engine what the page is about, and in the case of your main page, what your website is all about. I remember back in my school days that we used to take standardized examinations in which we had to read a story and then answer the question: "What would be the best title for this essay?" Choosing a title tag is something like answering this kind of question. You've got to pick out the gist of your enterprise and highlight it in a sentence. So, take a look at your web page and get ready to begin, following these steps:
| 1. | Make sure your three or four most important keywords or keyword phrases appear in the title tag. The most important words should appear near the beginning of the sentence, and they can be repeated within the sentence for added emphasis. For example, if I am offering low-cost web design, then my title tag might look like this: |
| 2. | Leave your branding and sales pitch for another part of the web page. Although it is a natural tendency to want to put your company name at the beginning of the title tag, you should remember that unless you are very famous like Coca Cola, people are not searching for you. So, put your most important keywords at the front of the title tag, and establish your brand name with your logo and other elements of the web page. If your company name includes your keywords, like our hypothetical Acme Web Design Company, then put it in the title tag, but not necessarily at the beginning. Similarly, the title tag is no place for your sales pitch, so keep out flowery or extraneous adjectives, unless they are actual terms used in searches for your product or service. |
| 3. | Place your geographical or niche-defining term in your title tag. If you are trying for a top ten or top twenty position for a term such as "web design," then you are really in for a difficult struggle. However, suppose the Acme Web Design Company is located in Columbus, Ohio. Then instead of attempting the almost impossible task of getting the top rankings for the term "web design," it would be far better to get a high ranking in the geographical niche using a title tag such "Web Design, Columbus, Ohio: Low Cost Web Design in Columbus, Ohio by The Acme Web Design Company" |
| 4. | The title tag can be longer than you think. Some guidelines say that the title tag should be no longer than 70 characters. It is true that only the first 70 characters will show in the top bar of the browser, but search engine robots will read the rest of the tag and the search engines will not penalize you for going over the 70 character mark. Take a look at highly ranked sites in heavily competitive categories and you will see examples of long title tags. Write the tag according to your need to get your important words and phrases included in a sentence that best describes what your product or service is about. |
| 5. | Vary the title tags on the inner pages of your website. Even with a long title tag, it is not possible to highlight all the possible terms which someone might use to find your website. This is not a problem if you make use of the other pages of your website. Instead of simply having a title tag that says "services" our web design firm could highlight "low cost, web design services" on that page. The "contact" page could be used to emphasize the geographical location once again, and so on. Many websites make the mistake of repeating the same title tag on each of the inner pages of the site. Avoid this and use each of your page's titles to target important keywords and keyword phrases. |
So, take a look at your website's title tags, and see if you can improve them. The effort that you make will be well rewarded.
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