Sunday, September 5, 2010

Search Engine Optimization Tips and Tricks

Search Engine Optimization Tips and Tricks
By Junaid Ashraf Mianoor


Search Engine Optimization, popularly known as SEO these days, is the process of improving your website so that it achieves a higher ranking in a search engine search result.  It is one of the most practical and effective marketing strategies now. Knowing the tips and tricks of this aspect of internet technology can help you and your business succeed. The following are some useful tips.



Place navigational links in all web pages. You should allow a search engine to locate all your pages. Search engines look for html link tags. Therefore you should refrain from placing flash or JavaScript navigation links or images on your site.



Provide relevant content. Put as many appropriate and relevant contents as you can in order to have a higher chance at ranking better. People who search for products on a website do price comparisons and research first. So therefore you should include features and contents that will attract the searcher. Once the searcher is impressed, he/she will stick to your website and eventually buy your product.



Place keywords in your text. To improve your web site, you should employ keywords that are related to your field in all your text contents. This will enable search engine spiders to detect them thus giving your website a good chance at ranking higher. However you must not place excessive keywords. Doing so will just be a waste. What's important therefore is consistency and balance in using keywords.



Employ related words and phrases in Meta tags, titles, and headers. This will result in an extensive and consistent range of keywords in your website. More than any other aspect in your website, search engines give a lot of weight on page titles, text, and header meta tags.



Maintain a consistent order or sequence of your keywords. Shifting to another order or sequence of a term or phrase may affect the consistency and balance of your website and may lower your rank in a search engine.


Employ keywords in your file names. Always remember that this is a vital key also in achieving a higher rank in the search results. Use underscore between keywords. This will have a better chance of being detected by search engines. The keywords should best describe the contents of your webpage.
Use keywords in your links. In placing links in your website, use keywords that best describe the webpage link. This will enable the advanced search engines to detect the content of the link.



Submit your website to relevant and widely used sources. Yahoo.com, Zeal.com, and DMOZ.org are some of the most popular manually edited internet directories and are frequently used by widely known search engines such as AltaVista, LookSmart, Google, and Yahoo. Remember also to follow the submission rules of these internet directories to avoid being rejected.



Search engine optimization is the new trend in sales and marketing these days. Following the tricks and tips mentioned will make your website a top business or product site. Gone are the days when we had to spend big amounts on marketing and promoting our products.


Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com Search Engine Optimization Tips and Tricks

Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition

Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition
By Eric G.




There are several markets that are becoming found online more frequently, in all areas of the country. This is something that is unique in each locale. Search engine optimization becomes a matter of knowing how to tell how much competition is in your market. Here are some tips on how to do basic research on the competition for your online industry.



Choose your primary keywords. The research to determine this should always be the first step in search engine optimization. You may include the name of your city as part of your keyword phrase, especially if you intend to attract people looking for your business within the city.


Check the number of results. This is a basic technique, but by looking through the number of listings that show up in the search engine results, you can know how many competitors you have online quite quickly. Type in your primary keyword phrases into the main search engines (at least into Google and Yahoo). Look and see how many total results show up. Now to find the number of true competitors you have, take this same keyword phrase and surround it in double quotes. Doing this will show only pages that have that exact keyword phrase present.


Check the number of qualified results. Now you already have a good idea how many people are competing for your keyword phrase (or phrases). However, in many cases the keywords are not placed prominently on the web pages that show in the results. Your main competition is in people who know at least some basic search engine optimization. To find these competitors, you will want to search in Google using a specialized option: "allintitle". Simply type in "allintitle" (without the quotes) followed by a colon, and then type in your keyword phrase. This will produce only results that have all the keywords inside the title tag, which is one of the primary elements of solid search engine optimization.


Now you should have a good idea of what level of competition you will be facing when doing your local search engine optimization. Considering the fact that this year, nationally 74.1% of the population is estimated to use the internet (according to Nielsen ratings) -- making sure you are properly targeting your market online as well as offline is important for improving local business.



Article Source:  Local Search Engine Optimization Tips to Know Your Competition

Affordable Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization Tips

Affordable Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization Tips
By Kathy McGraw

If you're an internet marketing newbie, search engine optimization may seem like a big convoluted mess to you and you may be thinking that there is no way that you can understand it at all. Nothing could be farther from the truth and, in fact, search engine optimization is an extremely affordable internet marketing solution. This article will explain why.



Search engine optimization has two parts. The first part is all about content: if your site is constantly updated with fresh and useful content, Google (or MSN, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) will pick it up. The second part involves making it easier for thesearch engines to find your site through simple coding and website design.



The first part will take some time to develop as you need to create the content and keep updating your site to keep it relevant to users. The second part you can do at any time and this will help users find your content more easily via Google, etc.



So how do you make it easier for search engines to find you? You optimize your site's content by using relevant keywords in strategic places where the crawlers (robots, or bits of code that are sent out regularly by the search engines looking for content) are known to look. Those places are your site's meta tags, your site's title, and your site's heading.

Meta tags: When search engines crawl a site, they will often read the meta tags first. Meta tags are located in the head of an html document and inserting relevant keywords here help search engine crawlers find your site much more easily.



Title: Your website's title is another place that the crawlers will check. Having your best keywords as part of the title of your site is another way to ensure that you get found. This helps the human looking at the search results catch your site within the listings as well. For example, let's say you have a site about grooming cocker spaniels. It would make sense for your title to be something like "Tips For Grooming Cocker Spaniels." This not only tells the search engine crawler, "hey, here's a page about grooming cocker spaniels," it will tell that searcher looking for information about grooming cocker spaniels that this is a site with the information they're looking for.

Headings: Again crawlers scan through your site looking for relevant words in order to return results to hungry websurfers. Having keywords in your headings helps in this regard. This is another area that will help with the human quotient as well.



I'd like to insert a word of caution here: there is a tactic known as "keyword stuffing" that is used by unscrupulous webmasters, and you should definitely not do this if you want to remain indexed by the search engines. Keyword stuffing involves using the same keywords all over your site, over and over again, as well as using keywords that are irrelevant to the subject matter of your site, but popular among searchers. You don't want to do this because, 1: repeating the same keywords over and over again makes your site content read very poorly and people will just click off without bothering to read such garbage, and 2: the search engines have built-in checks to see how relevant the keywords you are using are to your site content. If you are using keywords that are completely unrelated, your site will be removed from the listings.




Search engine optimization is not some mystical, mysterious endeavor that only the most savvy of webmasters are privy to. Search engine optimization is an easy task that almost anyone with a little knowledge on the basics can do to improve his standing in the search engines, and is an extremely affordable internet marketing strategy, since it costs you nothing to implement.


Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com Affordable Internet Marketing - Search Engine Optimization Tips

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Search Engine Optimization Certification Considerations

By Christopher J Enders

Search engine optimization certification confirms that search
engine optimization providers have actually received industry
training in regard to search engine optimization strategies.

Some search engine optimization providers display a certification
seal on their websites while others will simply state that they
have been certified in search engine optimization.

While certification may be preferred due to the level of difficulty and the expertise required to effectively optimize a website for the search engines, certification doesn't necessarily make one provider better than the next.

Skill comes with experience and a successful search engine optimization provider should be able to give you references including the names and contact information of satisfied customers and information about their keywords and website ranking so you can see for yourself whether or not the specialist is truly capable of results-producing search engine optimization.


The search engine optimization industry is not regulated and doesn't have set professional standards like some professional industries do.

Thus, search engine optimization certification that is provided by one company for $50 may be compared to professional search engine optimization certification programs that charge closer to $3,000.

Some certification issuers provide one to three day seminars, some provide internet based training, some provide coaching services, and some actually provide very little training at all.


For that reason, I don't place a lot of weight on certification when evaluating search engine optimization providers unless I can confirm not only the certification, but also the credentials and certification standards of the company who issued the certification.

There are several organizations that seem to be working toward standardizing search engine optimization certification.

Perhaps some day the search engine certification will be as valuable as Microsoft certifications, but at this point in time,
with a lack of industry standards and designated certification requirements, it really just isn't.

Now that is not to say that a certified search engine optimization provider isn't experienced or isn't capable of
achieving good search engine rankings.

Some very well may be.  One thing that a valid certification does verify is that the provider has completed some type of search engine optimization training and has apparently met someone's standards in order to receive the certification.

In that light, you may view certified providers as more desirable than non-certified providers as a matter of personal preference.


My personal preference is to see a proven track record in regard to achieving desirable search engine rankings.

I place experience and results a lot higher on the priority list than search engine optimization certification.

Whether you choose a certified search engine optimization specialist or not is a matter of choice.  I do not make a recommendation one way or the other.

Rather, I emphasize the need to find a search engine optimization specialist who has a solid record for achieving results through their search engine optimization efforts.

Search engine optimization is challenging and it isn't usually easy to get good ranking in the search engines.

Some website owners opt to do their own optimization while others hire professionals.

If you hire a professional to optimize your website, it is only logical to review their credentials to ensure that they are capable of providing you with the best possible results.

It might not be possible for them to achieve top search engine ranking.  That depends on your industry and the level of competition you are up against.

However, if they employ sound search engine optimization strategies that are based on experience, they should definitely be able to boost your search engine rankings and obtain a desirable position in the search engines.

Experience and perseverance is the key to getting a good search engine ranking that will increase your traffic and revenues.


Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com] Search Engine Optimization Certification Considerations

Search Engine Optimization and Design

Search Engine Optimization and Design
By Karl Bennion

Building an attractive even beautiful is the goal of most website designers. In the process, sometimes the effectiveness of the website is diminished. We need to keep in mind that our goal is not only to have a beautiful website that will make people want to stay and look around and enjoy, but also a website that will be helpful to the engines in determining what our website is about or what it is relevant to.


Udi Manber, Google vice president overseeing search quality, in response to a question about webpage content evolving to be more search engine friendly explained,  "It's  definitely still lacking. I wish people would put more effort into thinking about how other people will find them and putting the right  keywords onto their pages." Popular Mechanics - April 16, 2008


Search engine optimization or SEO is arguably the most essential way to drive targeted traffic to your website because it leads to improved search engine placement. Optimizing the benefits of a well-designed web site will result in much more traffic coming to the website thereby generating income for the company publishing the website. With this fact in mind however, optimizing your website might cost you thousands of dollars if you are not skilled in this area. Good search engine optimization that leads to improved search engine placement will, on the other hand, bring you a much higher return on the investment of either time or money you put into it.


My goal in this article is to give you the basics of search engine optimization so that you can understand it and incorporate it to help you accomplish your task. This will help you to improve your relevancy and search engines rankings for the best results possible through proven search engine optimization techniques.


What are the major mistakes in design


First is is important to remember that search engines are machines and read words they don't see images or pictures. The most common mistakes form a search engine optimization standpoint are:


Making a website totally in Flash(TM)
   
   
    Images without alt tags
   
   
    Minimal or nonexistent meta title or title tag


Flash(TM) to the search engines is just like an image it is invisible although the Flash(TM) may capture the intrigue of the viewer it won't help the search engine to know what your website is about. While the text display as a part of the Flash(TM) my be rich in keywords and information it will be lost completely to the search engines and you will go unnoticed. Flash(TM) and pictures can be used to enhance a website but the site must have text in order to build relevance for the search engines.



In the same sense images are also invisible, however we can include alt tags that will give the search engines an idea of what the viewer will see. In fact the alt tags can be very helpful since the search engines will place a little more emphasis on the text in alt tags. Don't go overboard using keyword phrases in the alt tags but use some to help where appropriate.


The title tag as well discuss later is an important place to tell the search engines what your webpage is all about.


Where do we start?


Why is search engine optimization (SEO) so important? SEO is important because this will make your website relevant to your keywords during the search engine ranking process and will lead to improved search engine ranking. This is the reason why some businesses hire an SEO company to do this task.


You can get information on low cost related services anywhere on the internet. However, few are really showing you how to work out an inexpensive plan for improved search engine placement. Some companies will even use antiquated techniques that may slow the process down. Good search engine optimization should help you to start improving the search engine ranking of your website and start driving traffic to it in a matter of days or weeks with expensive processes.


Search engine optimization begins optimally on your website, as you plan and build it. If it was not done at first you are not too late, you can do it after you have it built and go back and revise it to improve the exposure to the search engines and still lead to improved search engine placement. It consists of the following elements referred to as "onsite optimization".



Keyword Research - choosing the primary and secondary keywords you will use on your website or webpage
   
   
    Implementing the keywords naturally into important elements in the website header and body.

Keyword Research and Usage

Let's start first with keyword research. Why is keyword research important? The keyword research helps us to find the keywords that connect us with our targeted audience. They are the words that we want to use on our website in a variety of ways to build relevancy on our webpage so when search engines find our website and view / crawl our pages, they will then index us for those keywords. Once that happens, then when those keywords are typed into the search engine by potential customers, the search engine will then display our site in the search results, which is how they tie us to our targeted audience.


Ideally you will use a reverse search tool that will enable you to type in words you think are keywords people would search for and which will tell you the number of times those keywords were searched for over a given period of time. Depending on the tool you are using and the databases and the search engines they have access to for their search results you will get different numbers in your reverse search results. Your search engine optimization professional will know and have access to these tools and which ones are appropriate for specific uses. These tools can significantly speed up the process of onsite optimization lead to quicker improved search engine placement.


One tool you can use for manual research is   rel=nofollow http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html Keyword Discovery's Free Search Term Suggestion Tool. It will limit your results to 100 keywords for any given search. Another manual search tool is   rel=nofollow http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword SEOBook.com's Suggestion tool. Both of these manual reverse search tools will allow you to find the keywords that people type into the search engines and how many times they were searched for. Remember keywords are how we connect with our targeted audience.


How Do I Use My Keywords  Once we have identified the keywords, next we need to know where and how to use them for improved search engine placement. The first and arguably the most important place to use our keywords would be the title tag for your website. The title tag appears in the header of the page and is the first opportunity we have to tell the search engine what our page is about.


The title tag should be 60 - 80 characters in length and use one or two of the most important and/or relevant keywords for that page and possibly your website domain name, especially if your domain name includes keywords in it. The title tag information appears in the blue header bar at the top of the window and is also used as the title of your listing when your website is displayed in the natural or organic search results.


The meta description should be about 2 - 3 sentences or up to about 200 characters that describe for the customer and the search engine what the webpage is about. In the natural or organic search engine results, this description will be the first choice for the text the search engine displays beneath the title. This description does not appear on the website page when the website is displayed for the visitor but is readable by the search engine and used in the search results primarily.


A third meta tag is the keywords meta tag which is also not displayed to the visitor of the website. The keywords meta tag is a hold over from early methods of search engine optimization, but because it was abused by website developers, it is seldom use by search engines. We still use the keywords meta tag, but most search engines ignore it due to those previous abuses. Some search engines may still evaluate it and you never know when search engines may start to use it again. The Keywords meta tag is simply a list of up to 12 keyword phrases separated by commas.

 The example below exclude the angle brackets due to this article being written in HTML but the angle brackets are the less than and greater than signs.


Your keywords used in the title, description and keywords tags now need to be used on the page to validate to the search engine that your page is actually about what you told the search engine that your page is relevant to. If the search engine doesn't see any of the keywords on your page, then it can only assume that your page is not relevant to the words you used in the title, description and keywords tags in the header area of the web site.


Now that we know that we need text on the page how can we use that text to help emphasize the relevancy of the keywords on the page? Mechanisms such as header tags for headings using keywords will give more emphasis to keywords. Hyperlinks where the anchor text is a keyword phrase will add relevance to the keyword phrase and since the anchor text and the associated hyperlink reference are indexed by the search engines, using a keyword phrase as the anchor text both on the website and in offsite marketing will increase your ranking for that keyword phrase.

Bolding and italics also draw some attention to the keywords for the search engine. Each page needs to have enough text on it to allow that page to demonstrate the relevance of the keywords it displays in the header of the page to the search engine, if true search engine optimization is to be achieved.


Lets take a look at some of the other tags mentioned in the previous paragraph. Header tags alert the search engine to more important text on the page, much like the headline on the page of newspaper does to the reader. A header tag is a tag that contain a "H" and a number between 1 and 7. The lower the number the larger the text and the more important it is to the search engine. H1 tags can be formatted using font tags to control the size or .css files to control the formatting.


Hyperlinks consist of at least two components. The first component is the link destination represented by the term "href" referring to the hyperlink reference and the anchor text located between the beginning and ending anchor tags. An anchor tag is an "a" in angle brackets and ending with "/a" in angle brackets. The beginning tag also include the destination reference. Remember that you you could use a keyword phrase in place of the word home to designate your home page. That keyword phrase would be a link and would help to build relevance for your website for that keyword phrase.


As we use these structures in combination in a natural way we then are able to help the search engine to know what our page is about and also create a page that is functional for the user.


To optimize your website well for the search engines you should use unique meta tags on each page on your website. The keywords should be used in:


The title tag - big three
   
   
    Meta description
   
   
    Meta keywords
   
   
    Header tag - big three
   
   
    Opening paragraph - about 4% density
   
   
    Alt tags on all images and using keywords on about 3 images per page
   
   
    Link / anchor text or hyperlinks - big three
   
   
    Body of the page - about 4% density (visible text)
   
   
   
    Closing paragraph - about 4% density


They should be used in such a way as to feel natural on the page. If the page feels awkward, then look for ways to reword the information on the page and make sure you are not forcing the keywords in too many times. This in combination with other activities to build your page rank are the best ways to get your page listed on page one of the search engines.

These strategies are what we call onsite page optimization. Each page needs to have its own unique page optimization for the content on that page. Don't make the mistake of using the same title, description and keywords meta tags for every page on your site.


Using these strategies in conjunction with the design of your website will vastly improve your search engine placement.


Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com] Search Engine Optimization and Design

Search Engine Optimization Tips - Super Easy Search Engine Optimization Tips

By Matt Canei

Search Engine Optimization is a lengthy process that requires a lot of patience and a lot of time. Once it is done properly the rewards of being on the first page of Google are unparalleled. Below is an assortment of SEO tips that will aid in raising your website or blog up the search engine ranks.


-    Make the most use of the HTML header in your web pages. Make sure the main keyword phrase that you are targeting is present in full in your title, the first entry of your keyword meta tag, and in the first part of your site's description.


-    Do proper keyword research and after doing so do not target keywords that are too competitive or the sites on the first page have authority status or high page ranks. I believe authority status is defined by PR5 sites or above.

-    Build backlinks through submissions to link directories. Also run a link query (link:URL) of the first few sites on page one for your main keyword and see what sites they have backlinks on. Get links on those same sites then get more and beat them!


-    Try to write at least 5 articles startup when you launch your site in addition with a press release, then write no less than one article a day that is completely original and unique even if it is on the same topic as prior articles try to write it from scratch. Include your site's link in the author bio as it will build both backlinks and credibility as readers become aware of your expertise.


-    Submit your website and articles to social bookmarking sites like digg.com and del.icio.us for a viral effect. This will build backlinks on these high PR social networks.


-    Make sure your content is unique and original and is not copied from elsewhere or duplicated from already written articles. If you want to use the articles you submitted to directories then rewrite 30-40% of the article so search engines pick it up as unique content. Search engines penalize for duplicate content so make it unique. Unique content is king!


-    Include your targeted keywords within your website's content, the normal rate of keyword density is 3-5% of your content is keywords you are targeting, and definitely include your primary keyword phrase. However, do not spam your content with keywords all over the place or search engines will DQ them.


Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com

10 Search Engine Optimization Tips and Secrets













10 Search Engine Optimization Tips and Secrets
By Dave Morrison

A recent research has proved that a huge number of people generally click at the top search results whenever they type in a keyword or they will simply go to another search engine for results. With that in mind each and every business is fighting its way to the top listings as they increase the chances of getting better traffic which is the main aim of search engine optimization. Getting your website listed at the top, doesn't only get you customers but will make your customers trust you as they believe that better ranked sites are the most relevant ones.


With that said, one thing you just can't overlook is the number of sites that are likely to appear each time a related keyword is clicked. To make matters worse, search engines are constantly changing the logarithms they use to rank the websites but the nice thing is that with the follow up of the top tips and secrets, you can take your website to the top list without even employing SEO companies. So, here is a list of the ten secrets and tips that will help you optimize your pages for better ranking;

1.    Keywords you use should be those that you have thoroughly researched on, don't make the mistake of using a keyword because your competitors are using them too. Do make use of such tools like wordtracker; they are great in helping you get the best keywords.



2.    Poor quality content wont keep your visitors, so make it appoint that you only add quality content to your website, make your website interesting while not running away from your keywords.


3.    While getting better ranks is important, far more important is the relevancy tom the keyword, you can get better ranked with vague keywords but that won't keep your visitors coming back.


 4.    Search engines don't need any sites to be submitted, so never get cheated by SEO firms that will promise to submit your site.


 5.    Link farms are just not the way to go, avoid them as they risk your website being banned, other sites might have gotten away with it, but what guarantee do you have that you too might do that? Tom make things worse, search engines have toughened the screening.


6.    Getting multiple backlinks is great but what counts more is the quality of those backlinks, make it a point that when you do hunt for backlinks, get only those that are closely related to your industry and are well known.


7.    Understand that you just can't be on the top list of each and every search engine; they use different logarithms to assign ranks. So, aim at least at the top one and Google is generally the gold standard, it's the first choice of your potential visitors, so rather aim being on their top list.


8.    Use text rather than images as search engines read texts only.


9.    They also can't read flash index which is why you need to go with inert HTML text.


10.    Getting to the top takes time, follow the legal terms and avoid trying to get a quick fix, you might regret it later.

The above 10 search engine optimization tips and secrets will really give you an edge in SEO and help you rank above your competition in the search engines.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Search Engine Optimization Tips to Boost Your Ranking

Search Engine Optimization Tips to Boost Your Ranking
By Stephen Ng P

The Internet is filled with tons of Search Engine Optimization Tips. The importance in getting free web traffic through an organic search has caused immense interest on the subject Search Engine Optimization.

Website optimization is an on-going process since the search engine algorithm is subject to changes whenever bad practice SEO professionals are able to abuse it. However at this point in time, on-page and off-page optimization are the crux in getting a website ranked well with the search engines.

* Search Engine Optimization Tip - On-page Factors

These are criteria that are incorporated in the content of a web page. Web page optimization starts here and since it is subjected to human manipulation, off-page factors are deemed more important. However, that is not to say that on-page factors are not important at all. If you were to compare a web page that is not optimized at all as compared to another that has been optimized, the answer will be obvious!

On-page can be further separated into visible and those that are non-visible to an online visitor. The recent buzz on the Internet is that visible on-page factors are more important as compare to the latter since website is build for human consumption. What a human visitor can't see is deemed to be useless and might be subjected to search engine manipulation. Non-visible on-page factors are meta-tags, which are good breeding ground for Spam is getting less vote of confident from the search engines.

* Search Engine Optimization Tip - Off-page Factors

Off-page factors are back links and more back links! The idea might sound simple to you but the actual process of acquiring those links is a tedious and time-consuming process. With this problem on hand, many software have started to appear on the Internet to address this tedious process, which I am skeptical. However that does not stop my search for such powerful software.

The rate of acquiring these back links is important as well. Search engine is careful with website that acquire tons of back links over night and deem this action as link Spam. Therefore it is a good practice to implement a link strategy to obtain those precious back links at a steady and constant rate.

Back link is important since each and every back link is a vote of confidence on your website. Equally important is the source of that back link. If your site is on dog shampoo, a back link from a site that is selling watches will be deem of less important by the search engine.

Finally if the back links are from like minded nature of business, the more the merrier! The subject of link management is delicate subject and it might be a good idea if you could read a book on it.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

10 Reasons Why You Should Pay for Search Engine Optimization

By Ant Onaf

Most people who are internet savvy probably would assume it is much easier to do search engine optimization themselves without the need to hire any professional search engine optimization assistance.  In some cases this may work, but in most cases this is an absolute injustice for your web business.  Marketing is an important and viable aspect of any business and without the proper marketing attention a business can easily fail.  The following are 10 reasons why you should hire a professional search engine optimization consultant or SEO company.

Search Engine Optimization Takes Time, Effort, & Dedication
It takes an extreme amount of time, effort, and dedication to successfully complete a search engine optimization campaign.  Search engine optimization consultants and companies usually have dedicated time to work on your search engine optimization project, thus giving you a controlled and managed search engine optimization campaign.  Large companies as well as many small companies can provide your search engine optimization campaign the SEO effort and architecture it needs.  Attempting to dedicate your own time can sometimes be overwhelming and without strict self-discipline you can easily get sidetracked.  Additionally, progress for your search engine optimization campaign can take time to see any results, this fact can lessen your motivation to complete your own do-it-yourself search engine optimization campaign.

SEO Tools, SEO Strategy, & SEO Experience Goes a Long Way

The available SEO tools are ever-changing, but most skilled SEO's have a suite of SEO tools which they keep up with and use to execute reports and other processes, such as keyword research, keyword density reports, keyword competition reports, traffic reports, etc.  Like any profession you need the necessary tools and essentials to get the job done, the experienced use of SEO tools will aid in any SEO campaign.  Professional SEO consultants and companies create SEO strategies and roadmaps to successfully market client websites, this strategic roadmap outlines in detail the planned effort to market clients' websites.  SEO strategy is essential for any SEO campaign.  Having an experienced SEO professional on your side is always ideal.  Experienced SEO's stay up to date with the latest SEO trends and news.  By having an experienced SEO your website can impressively gain ranking within a short time and much more effectively, providing greater Return on Investment (ROI).

Search Engine Optimization Is Not Easy

Search engine optimization is not simple, it's not just starting a website and throwing around hundreds or thousands of links.  Those days of search engine optimization are gone.  It is now more about strategy, method, and architecture.  Search engine optimization is a form of engineering these days.  True search engine optimization engineers stay up to date with search engine algorithm and search marketing.  Knowing the trends is important, but that doesn't necessarily mean following trends, true search engine optimization engineers use experience, skill, historical methods, and best practices to successfully market websites.  Researching trends and not just following trends is very important, a good search engine optimization engineer uses good judgment, to know what methods work and what is borderline unethical or useless methods.

SEO Services Do Not Have to be Very Expensive

Most full SEO campaigns are expensive, but relatively affordable compared to other advertising avenues, such as: print advertising, broadcast advertising, etc.  Shop around for SEO Services which match your marketing budget and needs.  Do not settle for the first bidder, compare the first bidders' rate against other SEO companies and consultants rates.  Contact various SEO consultants and SEO companies to receive a free custom quote.  Negotiate the SEO rate and services until it fits your budget and needs.  Get yourself a fair and honest deal that you are satisfied with.

Search Engine Optimization Can Take Your Website to New Heights

It's no secret that having your site rank in the top 10 results on search engines is very rewarding and can provide you with herds of traffic, if you rank for the right keywords.  Search engine optimization can excel your website through the ranks and land your website in the top search results for virtually any keyword of your choosing.  It is important that the search engine optimization company or consultant you choose targets top search results for all 3 major search engines (Google, Yahoo, & MSN).  By having top search results in all 3 major search engines for a popular search term you are surely going to increase website sales and exposure.

Professional & Experienced SEO Services Can Be the Difference Between You and Your Competitors

Most online businesses and services invest in professional and experienced SEO services.  The top search results for popular keyword terms usually have professional and experienced SEO companies and consultants in their corner, leading their online marketing campaign.  By having professional and experienced SEO's working for you, your website will naturally outrank your competitors who use the do-it-yourself method of SEO services.  It is always imperative to stay one step ahead of your competition and it's more likely you will do so with the aid of professional and experienced SEO services. 

Search Engine Optimization Gets You the Best Bang for Your Buck

When you compare search engine optimization with other media advertising efforts such as print advertising, television commercial advertising, and radio broadcast advertising then search engine optimization gives the best bang for your buck.  While other advertising methods can cost hundreds of thousands for advertising, search engine optimization cost peanuts compared to these other advertising methods.  Let's say you spend $25,000 for a full search engine optimization campaign and you spend (let's say) $100,000 for a television commercial ad which runs for 1 full week at prime time (I know that ad is a whole lot more than that, but this is just an example).  The search engine optimization campaign is much cheaper and the return on investment is much greater for the search engine optimization campaign.  Why?  Because the search engine optimization campaign has a broader reach, it can reach anyone across the globe, while the TV commercial ad is specific for local or nation broadcasting within their network.  Secondly, the search engine optimization campaign is much more targeted and relevant to the customer needs, because the customer actually initiated the search and was looking for you, while the TV commercial ad is an interruption to the customers viewing program and the customer is more likely to ignore the commercial ad, especially if it does not entice them.

SEO Services Can Help Increase Business Sales Drastically

Increasing business sales have never been easier.  If you have a brick & mortar which sales goods, then it is advised that you also have an online store to sale your goods as well.  Having an online business while investing in professional and experienced SEO services will help your business expand and grow drastically.  Like any sound business decision, as a business owner you are always looking for new ways to monetize, expand, and stay ahead of competition, SEO services for your online business is the perfect solution for getting this done. 

Professional Search Engine Optimization Can Increase Your Search Ranking in a Shorter Time Period

Professional search engine optimization services can get your website ranked in a shorter time than trying to do it yourself.  With the aid of professional and experienced search engine optimization your website can rank within the search engines within weeks, maybe even days.  Finding the right professional with the skill level you need can be quite rewarding.

Treat Your Website Like a Business

If your website is going to be a part of your financial lifeblood then it is sensible to treat your website as a business and recruit professional search engine optimization services.  Good business sense is to outsource or employ others to complete day to day task and projects such as search engine optimization and search engine marketing, so you can have more time to concentrate on running a successful business.  Many businesses fail due to the do-it-yourself model.  Doing things yourself is 'okay' if the task you are performing is your profession or relates directly to your business service, but trying to do things yourself because its your hobby, interest, or saves you money can be damaging to your business, as you need to treat your website like a business and only seek professional and experienced assistance for your business needs.

I highly encourage that any true website owner who is interested in reaching top search results seriously consider professional and experienced SEO services for a full search engine optimization campaign.  SEO services may be an expensive advertising avenue, but as we discussed above it is much cheaper than its other advertising counterparts and the reward is much greater.  Search engine optimization has long been a mystery to many people and is foreign to some, but with the help and aid of professional and experienced SEO services you will easily increase website sales, traffic, and exposure.  If you employ the right search engine optimization company or consultant I can almost guarantee you will have a rewarding experience and will not regret it.

Ant Onaf is the owner & founder of AntOnaf.com ( http://www.antonaf.com), a provider of professional and quality   SEO services.  AntOnaf.com offers affordable   search engine optimization services as well as custom SEO packages to fit your marketing needs.  Ant Onaf ingenuity, dedication, and passion for internet marketing & technology has made him an monumental icon across the World Wide Web.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Pay-for-Search-Engine-Optimization&id=617802] 10 Reasons Why You Should Pay for Search Engine Optimization

Saturday, May 29, 2010

10 Reasons Why You Should Pay for Search Engine Optimization

By Ant Onaf

Most people who are internet savvy probably would assume it is much easier to do search engine optimization themselves without the need to hire any professional search engine optimization assistance.  In some cases this may work, but in most cases this is an absolute injustice for your web business.  Marketing is an important and viable aspect of any business and without the proper marketing attention a business can easily fail.  The following are 10 reasons why you should hire a professional search engine optimization consultant or SEO company.

Search Engine Optimization Takes Time, Effort, & Dedication

It takes an extreme amount of time, effort, and dedication to successfully complete a search engine optimization campaign.  Search engine optimization consultants and companies usually have dedicated time to work on your search engine optimization project, thus giving you a controlled and managed search engine optimization campaign.  Large companies as well as many small companies can provide your search engine optimization campaign the SEO effort and architecture it needs.  Attempting to dedicate your own time can sometimes be overwhelming and without strict self-discipline you can easily get sidetracked.  Additionally, progress for your search engine optimization campaign can take time to see any results, this fact can lessen your motivation to complete your own do-it-yourself search engine optimization campaign.


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SEO Tools, SEO Strategy, & SEO Experience Goes a Long Way

The available SEO tools are ever-changing, but most skilled SEO's have a suite of SEO tools which they keep up with and use to execute reports and other processes, such as keyword research, keyword density reports, keyword competition reports, traffic reports, etc.  Like any profession you need the necessary tools and essentials to get the job done, the experienced use of SEO tools will aid in any SEO campaign.  Professional SEO consultants and companies create SEO strategies and roadmaps to successfully market client websites, this strategic roadmap outlines in detail the planned effort to market clients' websites.  SEO strategy is essential for any SEO campaign.  Having an experienced SEO professional on your side is always ideal.  Experienced SEO's stay up to date with the latest SEO trends and news.  By having an experienced SEO your website can impressively gain ranking within a short time and much more effectively, providing greater Return on Investment (ROI).

Search Engine Optimization Is Not Easy

Search engine optimization is not simple, it's not just starting a website and throwing around hundreds or thousands of links.  Those days of search engine optimization are gone.  It is now more about strategy, method, and architecture.  Search engine optimization is a form of engineering these days.  True search engine optimization engineers stay up to date with search engine algorithm and search marketing.  Knowing the trends is important, but that doesn't necessarily mean following trends, true search engine optimization engineers use experience, skill, historical methods, and best practices to successfully market websites.  Researching trends and not just following trends is very important, a good search engine optimization engineer uses good judgment, to know what methods work and what is borderline unethical or useless methods.

SEO Services Do Not Have to be Very Expensive

Most full SEO campaigns are expensive, but relatively affordable compared to other advertising avenues, such as: print advertising, broadcast advertising, etc.  Shop around for SEO Services which match your marketing budget and needs.  Do not settle for the first bidder, compare the first bidders' rate against other SEO companies and consultants rates.  Contact various SEO consultants and SEO companies to receive a free custom quote.  Negotiate the SEO rate and services until it fits your budget and needs.  Get yourself a fair and honest deal that you are satisfied with.

Search Engine Optimization Can Take Your Website to New Heights

It's no secret that having your site rank in the top 10 results on search engines is very rewarding and can provide you with herds of traffic, if you rank for the right keywords.  Search engine optimization can excel your website through the ranks and land your website in the top search results for virtually any keyword of your choosing.  It is important that the search engine optimization company or consultant you choose targets top search results for all 3 major search engines (Google, Yahoo, & MSN).  By having top search results in all 3 major search engines for a popular search term you are surely going to increase website sales and exposure.

Professional & Experienced SEO Services Can Be the Difference Between You and Your Competitors

Most online businesses and services invest in professional and experienced SEO services.  The top search results for popular keyword terms usually have professional and experienced SEO companies and consultants in their corner, leading their online marketing campaign.  By having professional and experienced SEO's working for you, your website will naturally outrank your competitors who use the do-it-yourself method of SEO services.  It is always imperative to stay one step ahead of your competition and it's more likely you will do so with the aid of professional and experienced SEO services. 

Search Engine Optimization Gets You the Best Bang for Your Buck

When you compare search engine optimization with other media advertising efforts such as print advertising, television commercial advertising, and radio broadcast advertising then search engine optimization gives the best bang for your buck.  While other advertising methods can cost hundreds of thousands for advertising, search engine optimization cost peanuts compared to these other advertising methods.  Let's say you spend $25,000 for a full search engine optimization campaign and you spend (let's say) $100,000 for a television commercial ad which runs for 1 full week at prime time (I know that ad is a whole lot more than that, but this is just an example).  The search engine optimization campaign is much cheaper and the return on investment is much greater for the search engine optimization campaign.  Why?  Because the search engine optimization campaign has a broader reach, it can reach anyone across the globe, while the TV commercial ad is specific for local or nation broadcasting within their network.  Secondly, the search engine optimization campaign is much more targeted and relevant to the customer needs, because the customer actually initiated the search and was looking for you, while the TV commercial ad is an interruption to the customers viewing program and the customer is more likely to ignore the commercial ad, especially if it does not entice them.

SEO Services Can Help Increase Business Sales Drastically

Increasing business sales have never been easier.  If you have a brick & mortar which sales goods, then it is advised that you also have an online store to sale your goods as well.  Having an online business while investing in professional and experienced SEO services will help your business expand and grow drastically.  Like any sound business decision, as a business owner you are always looking for new ways to monetize, expand, and stay ahead of competition, SEO services for your online business is the perfect solution for getting this done. 

Professional Search Engine Optimization Can Increase Your Search Ranking in a Shorter Time Period

Professional search engine optimization services can get your website ranked in a shorter time than trying to do it yourself.  With the aid of professional and experienced search engine optimization your website can rank within the search engines within weeks, maybe even days.  Finding the right professional with the skill level you need can be quite rewarding.

Treat Your Website Like a Business

If your website is going to be a part of your financial lifeblood then it is sensible to treat your website as a business and recruit professional search engine optimization services.  Good business sense is to outsource or employ others to complete day to day task and projects such as search engine optimization and search engine marketing, so you can have more time to concentrate on running a successful business.  Many businesses fail due to the do-it-yourself model.  Doing things yourself is 'okay' if the task you are performing is your profession or relates directly to your business service, but trying to do things yourself because its your hobby, interest, or saves you money can be damaging to your business, as you need to treat your website like a business and only seek professional and experienced assistance for your business needs.

I highly encourage that any true website owner who is interested in reaching top search results seriously consider professional and experienced SEO services for a full search engine optimization campaign.  SEO services may be an expensive advertising avenue, but as we discussed above it is much cheaper than its other advertising counterparts and the reward is much greater.  Search engine optimization has long been a mystery to many people and is foreign to some, but with the help and aid of professional and experienced SEO services you will easily increase website sales, traffic, and exposure.  If you employ the right search engine optimization company or consultant I can almost guarantee you will have a rewarding experience and will not regret it.

Ant Onaf is the owner & founder of AntOnaf.com ( http://www.antonaf.com), a provider of professional and quality   SEO services.  AntOnaf.com offers affordable   search engine optimization services as well as custom SEO packages to fit your marketing needs.  Ant Onaf ingenuity, dedication, and passion for internet marketing & technology has made him an monumental icon across the World Wide Web.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

How To Choose A Search Engine Optimization Company

By Brian Ortiz

Search Engine Optimization Philosophy

This is arguably the most critical factor when deciding which company to work with to improve your online business or brand identity. Employing a search engine marketing or placement company that only utilizes ethical search engine optimization techniques or "white hat" methods will ensure that you minimize the potential risk of being dropped, removed, penalized, deleted, or banished from the search engines.  Nobody enjoys waking up glassy eyed to the unfortunate reality of being "Google sacked" for breaking or bending the search engines' implicit rules or explicit terms of service. 

Search Engine Optimization Methodology / Specific Expertise

Can your expert SEO Company only optimize static websites constructed in basic HTML? An upstanding SEO company will have experience working with websites in all the common programming languages and technologies, PHP, ASP, ASPX, HTML, Cold Fusion, Flash etc.

Does your SEO Company have experience optimizing both static and dynamic websites? Can your SEO Company optimize using various e-commerce packages and interfaces such as Monster Commerce, Yahoo Stores, OS Commerce, Storefront.net, Volusion?

Depth Of Optimization / Piecemeal Services

The most basic search engine optimization companies around don't actually perform search engine optimization at all- they are merely submission services which either manually or automatically submit your site to various search engines or directories. Submission companies are typically very inexpensive since no actual coding, linking, or content development takes place on your actual website. Typical pricing runs around $19.95 to $399 per month for these submission type services.

A mid level optimization company gets their hands more firmly on the marketing handle by editing code, analyzing keywords, building links, and adjusting / writing fresh content for your site. They also may do a pinch of off-site optimization, such as press releases, article submissions, and blog writing. Typically, firms of this middle level range charge between $399 and $850 per month. 

The highest level search engine placement firm performs the duties described for mid level optimization companies, but also is responsible for conversion tracking and analysis. The emphasis on off-site optimization is also much greater and time consuming. This means that high level optimization firms are essentially responsible for discovering what is working and what is not working throughout the entire customer experience - from initial search through conversion. More man hours per month also means a higher fee that search engine firms must charge to cover their costs. The usual pricing range for these firms' are $850.00 all the way up to $10,000 per month, but on average, you'll be looking at fees above the $1,000 a month range.

A piecemeal marketing company is one that treats various parts of an optimization campaign as separate entities. For example, an optimization company may charge distinct fees only for "linking" or "content construction." This piecemeal approach can be detrimental. Successful optimization is the synergy of multiple efforts on multiple fronts, sometimes simultaneous, and sometimes in succession. Piecing together different aspects of an optimization campaign typically reaps poorer results than a comprehensive strategy.

System Of Evaluation / Reporting

The majority of search engine optimization companies cringe at the thought of empowering their clients to evaluate their work. An ethical search engine optimization company does the opposite. There are four tools we recommend using in tandem to evaluate a search engine optimization company's work / performance.

1.    Real Time Statistics / Conversion Analysis Software

Being able to see traffic gains and conversions in real time can be a useful window in evaluating how your SEO Firm is performing.  Having the ability to see who is coming to your site, from what search engines they are coming from, and the exact keyword phrase used within the search query is an essential tool.

2.    Positioning or Visibility Reports

Being emailed bi-weekly positioning reports on the specific keywords that you are interested in ranking highly for can be incredibly useful.  A visibility percentage, which is the percentage of people that are finding you for keywords that are important for your business - on the Major Search Engines - Google, Yahoo, AOL, and MSN is also important. Make sure your firm doesn't overdue the automated search engine queries however, the search engines may consider this spamming their databases.   

3.    Alexa Rating:

You can download the Alexa Toolbar right now from alexa.com.  This gives you a solid summary of the general traffic trend over the last three months for your website when compared to other existing sites.  If you have a brand new website, odds are you will not even have an alexa rating or visible data at all. The alexa rating also shows you, in general terms, how your website stacks up- traffic wise- in comparison to your competitors or industry affiliates. The lower your alexa rating the more traffic your site is generating when compared to other sites in the alexa universe. Please note, if your site has an alexa rating of "1" this doesn't mean you are the most visited site on the internet- it most likely means you are operating a Yahoo Store- in such a case, it is identifying Yahoo's overall traffic, and not your individual site. A general tool like this can give you a quick overall impression of traffic growth and trends. Be careful though, the numbers are generalities (similar to the television Nielsen Ratings) and not absolute figures.

4.    Google PageRank

You can download the Google Toolbar right now by going to google.toolbar.com.  Click on the options tab and check off the "display PageRank" measure.  You will be able to see how Google is rating the importance of your site on a scale of 0-10.  As an optimization company proceeds with your campaign you can check periodically to see how the number is increasing.  The typical website might see a PageRank increase of one to two points over the course of an optimization campaign. Keep in mind that it is easier to increase your PageRank at the lower ends of the spectrum. As you approach higher PageRanks it becomes more difficult for your rating to balloon.

Due Diligence: Corporate Goals / Industry And Keyword Research

How does the SEO Company you are considering perform its up front legwork regarding your organization, industry and corporate goals?  Do they ask questions about:

What your corporate goals (both short and long term) are, your industry, your competition. What keywords are currently working for you? What PPC (Pay Per Click) words are currently effective? What PPC engines (Adwords, Overture, MSN/Live) are currently effective? How your site is designed? Is your site dynamic or static?

What tools does your SEO Firm employ to perform its keyword research?

How about Wordtracker, WebCEO, or Keyword Elite? What about the basic Overture keyword suggestion tool or the generic Google keyword suggestion tool supplied by Adwords. Do they utilize a combination of the basic tools? What about proprietary keyword analysis methodology? Do they have dedicated tools that have been developed in-house, or by a third party?

Client to Account Manager Ratio

Not many SEO companies like to publicize their client to account manager ratio. This is the ratio representing the number of clients that each account manager handles at any given time. The lower the amount of clients each account manager assists, odds are the better the service and the higher the level of personal attention. We recommend that a search engine optimization account manager supports less than thirty clients at any given time.

Man-Hours Per Month

The number of man hours per month your SEO production department actually dedicates to your business is crucial. It is more than smart to ask for a monthly time allotment estimate before beginning an optimization campaign. What you expect to receive and what is actually delivered should be right in line.

Company Structure and Size

Does your SEO Company consist of a laptop computer with your account manager working out of his basement sitting beside a salivating golden retriever? Is your SEO company a bureaucratic nightmare that forces you to fill out trouble tickets when you need help on the spot?

Your ethical search engine optimization company should be somewhere within the sweet spot of not too small and not too large. You want individual attention, but you would also like to know there is more than one mind, calculating your next business moves.

Management

Does your ethical search engine optimization company have a solid management team? Do they have a management team at all? Are the firms you are considering privately held or publicly traded? Is the owner of the optimization company an absentee landlord or an active member of the SEO community? It is not out of the question to ask for the curriculum vitae or resume of the powers that be, in fact, it makes perfect sense if you are entrusting this company with not only your business but your livelihood. After all, SEO practitioners have no board certification that you can rely upon to check their track record.

Reputation / Importance

Has your SEO Company received multiple complaints via the Better Business Bureau? Check the better business bureau reports and see if there are unresolved complaints. From time to time clients may file complaints, but we believe it is the timely handling of these inquiries which are even more important when considering an optimization company to work with.

Past Results / Company SEO Rankings

Every SEO Company should have detailed reports regarding past client successes. The reports should include specifics as to optimization goals and timelines. Reporting on past clients should also focus within and between multiple industries. You should always be aware of a base point - where a particular client started out prior to the optimization company commencing an SEO campaign. Is the SEO firm itself performing poorly in the search engines? A low Google PageRank (below a 5) may be an indication your SEO firm hasn't been around for as long as one might like.

References / Company Shelf Life

Every SEO company should have solid references across industries and fields in both business to consumer industries as well as business to business arenas. References should stem from not only the past six months, but should originate from years prior to your introduction with the company. If your SEO firm performs quality work, clients should be around for years to sing their praises.

Costs / Pricing Structure / Up front Fees

Costs should be consistent with the service that the company is offering- a la the "Consistent Value Proposition" taught at Yale School of Management. A $49.00 a month campaign run by a credit card company that does not specialize in search engine optimization might not be the optimal choice for an in depth or high level optimization campaign. An SEO company should also only offer costing after they have a clear understanding of your business, goals, and the work involved. Blanketed cost structures can lead to frustration, unrealized expectations, and ultimately failure. Also be concerned if your optimization firm demands a full six month payment up front in order to simply "get started."

The ideal optimization company charges an up front fee and monthly recurring fee which is commensurate with the services that are actually being performed. A high quality optimization firm that works on your site utilizing 30-60 man-hours per month cannot possibly charge a $49.00 every thirty days to perform its services.

Redundancy

A nasty case of the bird flu hits your unsuspecting account manager right where it counts! Does your optimization company have the ability to smoothly transition the current state of your campaign to another qualified optimization expert? Every SEO company should have a system in place where knowledge about existing accounts can be easily disseminated from one individual to the next. If there does happen to be a catastrophe regarding your account manager, you should feel comfortable that your business continues to prosper regardless of the circumstances.

Quality Control

Every SEO company should have someone overseeing your account manager to ensure that every last "i" is dotted and every last "t" is crossed. Your account manager should be responsible for the success of your campaign, but an extra set of eyes can occasionally be needed to add one more factor weighing in on your side of success.

Promises / Results Timeline

We've heard SEO companies promise first page listings in Google for competitive phrases within 48-Hours. If your SEO sales representative is overzealous and unrealistic, it should be a sign that this is most likely a company to steer away from. Gaining search engine listings can be a hard fought, time intensive battle that comes from both diligent work and intelligent planning.

Production Staff Quality

Production staff should be divided between account managers and specialized production technicians. Account managers are the hub of an optimization campaign direction and implementation. Account managers should be able to perform all of the actual coding, linking, and content construction for each client. As an optimization campaign progresses and increases in complexity, they should be able to call upon their support staff or production department to complete specialized work orders for each client. The more specialized each member of the production department, the more efficient they will be at completing their work (thank Henry Ford for this).

Location / Proximity

When you call your account manager or SEO company do you listen to a curious two beeps before being connected to an individual working without air conditioning overseas? Not a good sign.  It is imperative that you hire a search engine placement firm whose sales force works in tandem with its production department. There should be no disparity between what you were sold and what was actually delivered. The SEO guru working on your account should be able to understand your business, industry, and company goals quickly, without any overseas static jamming up communications.

Brian Ortiz is the CEO of [http://www.seomatrix.com/]SEOMatrix: Ethical Search Engine Optimization. He has been specializing in search engine marketing and most notably conversion analysis for both national and international clients for over five years. SEOMatrix is a Connecticut search engine optimization company. To receive a free optimization or conversion rate analysis for your website sign up for our [http://www.seomatrix.com/forms/seo-request.php]matrix report.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Questions to Ask Your Potential Search Engine Optimization Company - Part 2

By Scott Buresh

Last month, I went over questions that you should ask your potential search engine optimization company regarding its tactics.  That set of questions is critical, as before moving forward with any of the myriad of search engine optimization companies out there, you should always determine whether or not they will put your site at risk of penalization in the major search engines (leaving your website worse off than when your campaign started). Optimize Your Site Here!

However, many people researching search engine optimization companies are unaware that potential penalization is even an issue - they are primarily interested in the results that the search engine optimization company can achieve.  This installment of the three-part series will focus on questions to determine the competence of any search engine optimization company that you are considering.  To find out whether any particular company is worthy of your trust in terms of results, consider asking the following:

"Do you require that I make changes to my website content?"

Any search engine optimization companies that answer "no" to this question are either using shady tactics or are only scratching the surface of true search engine optimization.  Certainly, there are some elements that can be changed on a website that are largely transparent to the user, including title tags, meta tags, and alt tags.  While making changes to these elements can create a boost in rankings, it will not give you the search engine dominance over your competitors that you desire.  Remember, search engines are interested in matching content (what appears on your web pages) with search queries (the phrases that people are typing into search engines). 

The problem with a search engine optimization company only manipulating the largely unseen elements is that search engines recognize that these elements are determined by the owner of the website and may not actually reflect the real content that appears on the pages.  In order to perform well across the most popular engines, you must make certain that your search engine optimization company accurately addresses popular search queries within your pages. And this almost always requires changes to your content.

"Will you be adding additional pages to my website?"

If a search engine optimization company answers "no" to this question but answers "yes" to the question above, it likely means that it will be employing what I call the "shoehorn" approach to optimization.  This means that the firm will try to shoehorn keyphrases into existing pages on your website, rather than expanding your website to include new content.

The trouble with this approach is that your existing pages are unlikely to directly address the search query.  When search engine optimization companies shoehorn in keyphrases, they may achieve high rankings for you, but you probably won't have many long-term visitors.  For example, assume that your company makes widgets and you have an "about us" page on your site that gives a brief history of your company, as well as contact information and driving directions.  If your search engine optimization company optimizes this page for "custom widget pricing," and you subsequently achieve high rankings for the phrase, it does not necessarily mean that you will see much benefit.  One can deduce from the query that people are looking for actual pricing information, not information on where your company is located or when it was founded.  Another web page that directly addresses their search query is just a click of the back button away. href="http://e7f0bbxiqfscdp9jsdwhukr211.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top"> Optimize Your Site Here!

Adding new, informational pages to your website is a standard approach for the inclusion of quality search engine optimization phrases.  Think of it this way - your search engine optimization company should not be thinking, "Where can we shoehorn this phrase in?"  Search engine optimization companies should instead always be thinking, "How can we best address this query with a new page?"  The difference in results can be dramatic. 

"What will you be doing besides working on my site directly?"

If a prospective search engine optimization company tells you that it will only be making changes to your site itself, this means that it will not be spending any time working on your site's link popularity.  Link popularity plays a tremendous role in determining rankings in every major search engine.  Simply put, sites that have a good number of quality and relevant incoming links are held in a higher regard than sites that do not.  This is because a link from another site is considered a "vote" for your site - but all votes are not equal. 

Quality search engine optimization companies will spend a great deal of time looking for industry-specific directories and portals where a link to your site can be added.  They will also review all of your existing incoming links and make certain that the website owner has configured them in such a way as to give your site the highest chance for high search engine rankings.

"Will you be adding additional pages and targeting additional keyphrases over time?"

This is a very important question.  Even search engine optimization companies that have a reputation for providing quality initial results can fall short on this, but it is one of the most important aspects involved in improving your optimization results over time.  href="http://e7f0bbxiqfscdp9jsdwhukr211.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top"> Optimize Your Site Here!

When your campaign is kicked off, your search engine optimization company will target an initial list of phrases. Although good search engine optimization companies will rely on readily available software to determine which phrases are being searched on most often, and common sense to determine which of those phrases will bring buyers and not "tire-kickers," it is in all honesty an educated guess.

Forward-looking search engine optimization companies treat the initial keyphrases as the "testing" phase of the campaign.  They track these individual phrases and find which ones are working (bringing in the people that actually buy something or take the point of action on your site that leads to a sale).  Armed with this knowledge, such search engine optimization companies will regularly expand your campaign to include phrases similar to the ones that are working the best.  Without such expansions based on real data, you are merely relying on the best educated guesses from the initial campaign, and not the hard data that comes from true metrics as the campaign progresses.
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"Can you give me references and case studies?"

This one seems obvious, but there are search engine optimization companies out there who claim that their clients all wish to remain anonymous, so that it is impossible to provide any specifics.  This is usually a smokescreen designed to defer proof of concept.  Certainly, there are businesses that hire a search engine optimization company that wish to keep it a secret, but these are generally in the minority.  Forward-thinking companies generally enjoy showing off their success stories, so you should insist on seeing some real (not anonymous) case studies and talking with some references.  http://e7f0bbxiqfscdp9jsdwhukr211.hop.clickbank.net/

When dealing with references, find out how long they have been working with the search engine optimization company.  If all references are less than a year old, it may mean that the company has been unable to demonstrate value over the long term, which is certainly something to consider. After all, long-term value is what you should be trying to achieve from a search engine optimization company, and search engine optimization is not a one-time endeavor.  href="http://e7f0bbxiqfscdp9jsdwhukr211.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top"> Optimize Your Site Here!

Armed with these questions, you should be able to determine whether a certain search engine optimization company is worthy of both your time and your marketing money, or whether you instead will wind up with empty pockets and a useless site. Remember, high rankings don't always mean good leads, and great keyphrases are not helpful unless they are used properly on your site.

In the third and final part of this series, I will discuss the assurances that search engine optimization companies
offer - or fail to offer - from guarantees to exclusivity agreements.



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About the Author

Scott Buresh is the CEO of Medium Blue, a [http://www.mediumblue.com]search engine optimization company.  Scott has contributed content to many publications including Building Your Business with Google For Dummies (Wiley, 2004), MarketingProfs, ZDNet, WebProNews, Lockergnome, DarwinMag, SiteProNews, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide.  Medium Blue, which was recently named the number one search engine optimization company in the world by PromotionWorld, serves local and national clients, including Boston Scientific, Cirronet, and DS Waters. Visit MediumBlue.com to request a [http://www.mediumblue.com/seo-guarantee.html]custom SEO guarantee based on your goals and your data.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Search Engine Optimization Seo Tips Tricks Methods Techniques Internet Marketing Consultant Services

By Prabhat Kumar

What is Online Marketing, Internet Marketing?

Today every one wants to maximize their profit by getting leads and traffic for their business. There are number of advertisement ways to make your business products and services famous among the peoples such as Advertisement on TV, News paper, Radios, Magazines and Banner, Road shows etc but how one can get quality leads for their business.

It can be possible though online marketing or internet marketing which has become a major source for advertisement. But how one can get the valuable traffic leads for their business though search engine marketing. There are many internet marketing consultant internet marketing services and solution provider.


How online marketing works or what is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

For a better advertisement, first you should have a well designed web site as per the search engine guidelines and rules. Website should be content rich. It means there should be some valuable information for what a used click your site. You should provide the right solutions and services for user query and requirements. Second your site should be promoted by doing search engine optimization work such as Directory submission, Articles submission, RSS Feed Submission, Blogs creation, Link exchanges, Press Releases and by giving comments on the sites. These all are called off page site promotion techniques.

Apart it there are some on page optimization techniques like content rich, keyword density, inter linking, meta tagging, and page size. There are lots of rel=nofollow [http://searchengineoptimizationtricks.blogspot.com/]SEO tips techniques and methods, website promotion services, website promotion consultants.


How you get the traffic or lead for your business

When your site gets well ranked in Search engines than the chances of your website hit will be more and you will start to get leads from your website. Let's understand it by an example that how it works. If a person comes at search engines and search for "Software Solution". He would get 10 results on first page. It is sure that he would click one of the available links on that page in Google, Yahoo, MSN or any search engines.

In this way you will get business. But your site should be on first page and should show search information effectively so that used can get desired result. Now it depend upon you how you convert this query in profit generating lead. There are many Seo tips, Seo Tricks and Techniques available which are very effective in Search Engine Optimization.


Major Searched Engines and web site promotion services

Google is mostly searched by peoples in these days after that MSN and Yahoo comes. To get the top ranking you should hire web site promotion services providers, online business marketing services, online web site promotion, search engine optimization services solutions and website promotion services etc than you would be able to get traffic for your website There are some very important online rel=nofollow [http://searchengineoptimizationtricks.blogspot.com/]search engine optimization tricks and techniques that will bring your site among top 10 rankings.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Search-Engine-Optimization-Seo-Tips-Tricks-Methods-Techniques-Internet-Marketing-Consultant-Services&id=568917] Search Engine Optimization Seo Tips Tricks Methods Techniques Internet Marketing Consultant Services