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How To Design Your Web Page For Top Search Engine Rankings
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When you begin and SEO campaign, start by focusing on your on-page optimization. The practice of on-page optimization is all about what you do on your web page to help search engines understand your content and what your site is focused on. Even though off-page optimization is an important factor in the rankings equation, on page optimization builds a strong foundation for all SEO efforts.
Below are a few helpful search engine optimization strategies you can use right now to make your web site more accessible to search engines and as a result, improve your search engine rankings.
Optimize Your Website Name. If you have not yet picked a URL for your website then consider purchasing one that includes your keyword but is broad enough to represent your business. Additionally, try to find a website name that is memorable. This helps with word of mouth and repeat visitors. Include your main broad keyword into your URL.
Optimize Your Page Title and Header Tags Including H1 and H2. Develop a title that is relevant to your website content and which has no more that sixty characters. The reason you want to keep your title to a fixed width is because longer titles wont display fully on search engine results listings. The title is important because it gives you an opportunity to display your keywords and entice browsers to click on your link.
The first headline that appears on your page should include your keywords and be in the form of an H1 tag. The sub text should be presented as an H2 or H3 header. This reinforces the importance of your keywords and indicates prominence oriented around the specific content included on your web page.
Optimize Your Meta Tags. Search engine optimization experts debate the value of meta tags for search engine ranking enhancement. I can tell you that meta tags include a variety of tags including title, description, and keywords. Even though meta tags are less important that it was many years ago, it still plays an important role in optimization.
Meta tags are used as a starting point and reference for search engines seeking to rank your website. Your meta tags need to be aligned to web site content and include your most important keywords. I suggest limiting your keywords to twelve and limiting your description to about 150 words. By doing so you eliminate the chance that a search engine considers your content as questionable.
Optimize your keyword density. Keyword density is an important factor in search engine rankings. Your keyword density should be no more than 5 percent on any given page. Instead of focusing on keyword density alone, you are better off focusing on the placement of your keywords and treatment of your keywords. Focus on H1 and H2 tags and place keywords through out your web page. You should have an instance of each keyword phrase in bold, italics, and underlined to complete your on-page optimization effort.
Varying Your Keyword Phrase. Each time you list your keyword phrase, change it up a bit. Rather than stuffing your site with the same keyword phrases again and again, use keyword variety. One way to do this is to add a word or two before your keyword phrase and after it. Creating variety is critical because it shows each search engine that your site is really about the core content you are promoting.
The most important part of any SEO effort is to make your website appear natural and have a good flow. You want to make sure that your site presents valuable content and follows on-page optimization best practices. Use these suggestions as a guide, you will be on your way to a fully optimized website.
Michael Fleischner is a marketing professional and can share Tips to improve search engine ranking. Learn more about his proven strategies at the Good marketing tip blog. Michael has been featured on the TODAY Show and other major talk shows.
Web Site Submission Services: Do They Really Work?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you looking for a fast and easy way to achieve top rankings for your website? Many people are in search of the quickest means to ranking well on search engines. Not to long ago I was working with a client on applying some SEO techniques. I started with a focus on on-page optimization and then migrated towards off page optimization in an effort to generated inbound links to their website.
Building your web site’s popularity is essential for improving your search engine rankings. Major search engines like Google apply an algorithm to define the value of your web site or web page. This in turn drives your search engine ranking for specific keywords. One way to think about the process of web site ranking is like a voting machine. The more votes you get the better your site ranks.
The first step was to make sure that the site had all of the necessary characteristics that would make it easily accessible by search engine spiders. After applying the proper navigation, meta tags, and keyword application we evaluated the site for size and loading time. After this optimization was complete, we identified a few key link building strategies.
A popular strategy that is used by many SEO professionals is found in directory submissions. The proper directories can provide one way links that can have a significantly positive impact on the search engine rankings for any web site or blog. For the web site I was recently working on I decided to find a submission service that would take the process of manual submission off the table. I believed that the auto submission would be as effective but require much less effort.
In as little as forty eight hours of the website being submitted through an automated submission service, rankings for particular keywords were negatively impacted and significantly. We lost anywhere from ten to thirty spots on search engine rankings. One might be able to argue that the auto submission was not detectable and therefore could not have had this effect. I disagree as there were no other factors related to SEO that we were working on at the time.
During this time period, my team was not focused on any other type of link building effort. Because the impact on search engine rankings was so immediate and so detrimental, I can only conclude that it was directly caused by the directory submission activity. I suppose there really are no shortcuts to SEO success.
If you are familiar with search engine optimization and building links to improve your search engine ranking, be cautious of automatic submission services. Whether it be for search engine submission or directory submission, you can damage your current rankings. Major search engines seem to be catching on to automatic submission sites and are having an impact on results. I still encourage you to submit your website to a small number of choice directories but do it one site at a time.
Achieve top search engine rankings with the help of our SEO training program. For helpful tools that can significantly improve your search engine rankings, read our Instant Article Wizard Pro Review and discover the fastest way to rank on #1 on any search engine.
Don’t Hire An SEO Consultant Unless You Do These 3 Things
Posted by: | CommentsWeb site’s and blogs can only succeed if they receive adequate traffic. Through online marketing and promotion, you can build traffic to your web site. The best traffic however is that which comes organically. To enhance search engine rankings consider using a search engine optimization consultant. Hiring a SEO consultant can be a rewarding experience if you follow these simple guidelines.
Starting an SEO program for your business is easier than you think. There are numerous SEO consultants and experts that can show you how to radically improve your rankings for much less than you might think. In fact, many search engine optimization consultants can save you significant dollars if managed properly.
Making the most from your SEO consultant requires a number of considerations. I have found that the most productive engagements around optimization and SEO all have these same criteria in common. By adhering to these principals, mutual expectations are set and each party has a clear understanding of what is being delivered and by when.
The first thing you want to consider is the need to find an experienced resource who can help you succeed. Be sure to ask for examples of his or her work from the past and do what you can to better understand what they’ve done for others in a similar situation as your business or web site. Doing your homework up front will pay dividends as you maintain your relationship with the consultant.
The second most important thing is to mutually agree upon whats being delivered. Most clients feel that by paying a search engine optimization consultant a sum of money that their site is going to instantly rank number one on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. I can tell you first hand that’s not the case. The purpose of a search engine optimization consultant is to help you construct an effective strategy for the long term optimization of your web site.
The third and final step is to assemble a team to work with the consultant and implement his findings. Seventy percent or so of the companies Ive worked with were very interested in learning how to optimize their websites but couldn’t or were not prepared to follow through on what it takes to succeed. Commit time and resources dedicated to implementing the consultants findings and you will see the true value of your investment.
Improving the rankings of your website or blog is an essential part of any online marketing program. To succeed, don’t waste time learning as you go. Rather, hire a search engine optimization consultant who can give you direction and show you specifically what you need to do to improve rankings. This saves time, money, and guarantees long term optimization. Find a credible consultant who has succeeded with other web sites and can meet your specific needs. Mutually agree on outcomes and you’re sure to get what you paid for.
Michael Fleischner is an author and SEO consultant. To learn how you can Improve search engine ranking, follow Michael on Twitter at @mfleischner or learn more about Michael’s SEO training program at MarketingScoop.com.
How PPC Can Improve Your Search Engine Optimization Campaigns
Posted by: | CommentsThe more I work with Internet marketing, the more I learn that all types of marketing are intertwined. In fact, many forms of marketing, like PPC can be critical to launching successful search engine optimization campaigns.
Collecting information from your PPC marketing can prove incredibly valuable to your search engine optimization. As you already know, pay-per-click marketing can give you a tremendous amount of information in a very short period of time. What’s even better is that this information can help to direct other marketing campaigns including search engine optimization.
Qualified visitors are those that have a higher degree of interest in your products or services and a greater likelihood of purchasing your products. I’ve often seen websites that have reduced their traffic while significantly improving conversion rates. The result is lower costs related to traffic acquisition and higher revenue. With more revenue and less expense, margins reach a new level of success.
Once you’ve done your homework and you know which keywords generate the greatest number of click-through and most importantly conversions, you are then in a position to use PPC to support SEO. More specifically, by finding the converting keywords, you can focus your SEO efforts around those terms that convert. These are the phrases that you want to appear in the number one organic position.
After you’ve done your research and you know which terms generate sales, then you’re ready to start your search engine optimization campaign. Focus your SEO on converting terms and achieving top rankings for them. By doing so, you can not only generate traffic through natural search results, you can generate sales. This lowers you costs and improves conversions.
One way to think about this is a company that’s selling widgets. If they use PPC, they probably know that the term, discount widget converts the highest of any keyword term. As a result, they should be focusing their organic campaigns around optimizing that particular keyword. Once the phrase appears at the top of the search results, one can reduce the amount spent via pay per click and enjoy the benefits of targeted traffic.
The last piece is to take your highest converting landing pages and build in some or all of the elements into your website. Once you’ve tracking and optimized landing pages via PPC, you can duplicate what you’ve learned from a conversion perspective organically. Consider applying the landing page elements that have generated the highest return for you on your pay-per-click advertising.
Use what you’ve learning through PPC advertising to truly target your search engine optimization campaigns. By doing so, you can improve the quality of traffic you’re attracting to your site and reduce your pay per click costs. Don’t waste time optimizing your site for terms that no one is searching on or that never lead to conversion.
Article Marketing Improve Search Engine Rankings
Posted by: | CommentsArticle marketing has gained a great deal momentum over the last two years. This is due to the fact that many websites, not to mention website rankings, are driven by quality content. As web site owners have learned more about search engine optimization and the value of quality content, they have gravitated towards article marketing.
If you have yet to jump on the article marketing bandwagon, then I suggest that you get started right away. Article marketing is here to stay. So you do not have to be all that concerned that others are using article marketing as well. In fact, article marketing works no matter how many people use it.
The reason that article marketing is effective is because you provide search engines and websites with quality content that references your website. In essence, you are producing keyword focused content that can drive browsers to your site or blog. If the article is created properly, you include links back to your website which serve as a powerful way to boost search engine rankings.
When you distribute your article to article websites or blogs your article content your content gets additional exposure. Over time, a Google PR is assigned to the page that your article is on, and if you have links to your website, the page rank is transferred resulting in a boost to your search engine rankings.
A common mistake that is made all too often is when individuals forget to include a link back to their website or worse yet place their link in the wrong way. The best way to develop in bound links is by using keyword rich links. This means your, usually within the about the author section, is displayed with your keyword not the usual world wide web designation.
If not sure about the best method to produce a keyword rich link, search Google for a tutorial or simply the html code you need to produce a link in the right way. There are many websites that can provide instructions for creating links that display your keywords in the link text. This is essential if you are going to get the full value of article marketing.
After writing your articles and including links using the proper format, the next step is to distribute them on sites that have a high Google PR and are popular for article aggregation and or distribution. I used to believe that the benefit of these article distribution sites were that they served as a resource for webmasters seeking content. The truth however is that it is the sites Google PR itself that provides the value.
A lot of article websites do not distribute content to any great extent. The number of webmasters who copy content and paste it into their website or blog in the right way is limited. You can improve your article marketing success by focusing on top article directories.
Create your articles and design them properly. Include links to your website in the author box. You can also try including links in the flow of text but this is sometimes not allowed by article websites. Keep in mind that your links should use keywords in the anchor text. Before you submit your articles, test all of your links to make sure they work properly. Then, you are off and running.
How To Create An Effective Marketing Plan
Posted by: | CommentsFor anyone interested in succeeding with a basic marketing plan needs to focus on some important elements of a plan that targets the most appropriate audience and produces a specific result. For your marketing to be truly effective, you should consider using multiple media forms.
There is so much competition today that the messages you use need to be incredibly focused. The effectiveness of any campaign is highly correlated to the quality of your list and the effectiveness of your offer.
Over the past twelve years I have discovered that marketing results are relatively consistent when sound marketing techniques are applied. These techniques can be effective in virtually any industry and with any type of campaign you have. Consider developing your marketing campaign using these strategies:
Set specific marketing goals. Before you start, think about what you want your marketing campaign to accomplish. Most marketers focus on conversion but you need to define what that means for you and your campaign. Some marketers are looking for a sale while others are looking for a download. Before you get started, consider what action you want your respondents or visitors to take and how you are going to measure the result.
Focus on segmentation. Do not attempt to market to everyone. Choose a specific segment and focus your energies there. If you do, your campaign will be more successful. You can increase your chances of success tremendously when you focus on a specific market or niche. Review your current customer and find others like them if you wish to generate a positive ROI.
Identify key messages points. What are the messages that resonate with your audience? Have you used headlines or email subject lines that have performed extremely well in the past? If so, use them to create a baseline and try to improve in later campaigns. You need to speak in the language that resonates with your customers if you are going to grab their attention and gain their trust.
Test multiple offers. The only way to run a productive marketing campaign is by testing various offers. Your offer is a critical component for improving marketing results. Your best bet is to test multiple offers and measuring the result. Once you find and offer that works, try to beat its results during the next campaign.
Use an integrated marketing approach. Dont settle for a single email, post card or ad. Rather, discover the media that your segment uses to get their information, do research, and buy their products. This will help you determine the best way to reach them. Once you develop a campaign, tie together as many of these media types to convey your message and offer.
I’ve discovered that using these marketing techniques are essential for producing a positive return on your marketing investment. In addition, be aware of campaign timing. Even if all of the above criteria are met, your campaign may still fall short if you havent exposed your audience segment to the right message at the right time. It all comes down to timing.
Review each of these steps before creating your next marketing campaign. Your marketing is only going to be successful if you set specific goals, segment your market, use key messages that resonate with your audience and create a compelling offer. I encourage you to experiment with different media to get your message across and deliver a winning campaign.