Monday, January 08, 2007

The Future of Search Engine Rankings

How do you plan for future changes in search engine rankings?

It would be great to have a crystal ball, prying into the plans of the search engines and how they may change weights of algorithms and the like.

For those of little SE understanding, algorithms are formulas or rules set up by SE's to determine ranking. Each rule then has a different weight or percentage of importance assigned to it. A good example of this is currently Google's high weighting of linking over all other factors or rules.

So knowing this how do we get ahead of the game?

Do we simply keep up with the Jones (Google) in current time and not worry about future changes? Or do we allow for future changes in algorithms so we don't have to go changing thousands of pages later on?

For me I will take the later.... and this is how it's done...

We simply build in all factors that the SE's currently rank sites on, a few they may use into the future and concentrate on ones that are the most sensible.... here is a list

domain name >> the name itself, length of registration past and future
domain hosting >> good hosting network. different ip range for mininets/virtual real estate
meta tags >> title, keywords, description
on page >> keyword density, headers, alt tags, outbound links, outbound link text, site map, less graphics, no flash or frames
visitor usability >> fast loading, good content, good navigation, search equipped, site map
html >> w3c compliant
directories >> dmoz & yahoo, local, industry specific, large generic
linking >> inbound links, reciprocal links, domain & text linking (spread), same/similar industries (semantic latent indexing), no linking for bad neighborhoods or sites, quantity & quality of links, where links are placed on the page, link density, ip class/range

I'm sure there are a few others that I could add to this list however on the whole currently this is it.

If you include all of these items into building your next web page and sites, no matter how the SE's decide to change their algorithms by giving one factor a higher importance over another, you will be in good stead to keeping up top rankings.

Like anything else, high search engine ranking is not rocket science! You just have to know the rules and then do the work.

Start with one keyword or phrase, do the research, implement a plan, do the work, get the high ranking and then move onto the next keyword or phrase.....

And if you want a huge head start, there's some great info out on fast SEO ranking.

Happy rankings....

About The Author:
For fast, higher rankings of your website visit SEO Training / SEO Cources
Chris Taylor - author, internet marketer and SEO specialist - Copyright (c) Catdynamics 2006
Article Source: http://www.articles411.com

Friday, January 05, 2007

Site Owners with SEO: DOs and DON'Ts

As a search engine optimizer, I've had a great opportunity to work with many site owners for website submission and optimization services and had some working experiences to share with you in this article. Site owners come from different categories: e-commerce sites, services or personal pages. Some of them have the expertise in Computers and Internet but most of them are the neophytes in the search engine optimization (SEO) religion. So, the purpose of this article is providing novice site owners with some useful rules of behaviors (DOs and DON'Ts) to come along with their SEO campaigns.

* SEO firms DON'T help you out. DO help yourself - Search Engine Optimization process is more and more manipulated and it is becoming the big market nowadays. Many websites are offering SEO service with different costs. They promise that customers' sites will be on top of search engines. If so, who will be kicked out of the list? No one? So if you are a site owner with a small budget and modest knowledge of SEO, lean on SEO firm as just an advisor. They cannot do all the things for you. To help you out in SEO, do it yourself. In most cases, the site owners will play an important role in the success of SEO campaigns.

* DON'T submit your sites to thousands of search engines and directories - Simply, in reality, there are not even thousands of "engines" to submit to. There are, however, hundreds of search directories, hybrid search engines, free-for-all (FFA) pages and classified ad sites. They are simply a list of unorganized links to the last fifty or so URLs that were submitted to the service. The primary purpose of these sites is to gather email addresses from Web marketers so they can be sent offers for other products and services. By submitting, you are unknowingly giving your consent for them to email you. Some major search engines (e.g.: Google) are not fond of such link farms and may actively ban this type of site.

* Repetitive submissions DON'T improve your rankings in search engines - Many site owners misunderstand between search engine submission and search engine optimization. So they just dig in finding as many as possible free submission services on the Internet and hope that someday their site will be on the top. Search engine submission is just the first step to quickly notify the search engines about the nascence of your site on the Internet. How your site grows or how your site is optimized is more important to search engines to place your site at the top of the search index. So repetitive submissions don't work in these cases. Take time to pay more attention to your site's content and link building.

* DON'T try to trick the search engines in any way - The search engines today are smarter than you have ever imagined. The techniques like most times keyword repeated in a row (keyword stuffing), same color text used as the background (hidden text), doorway pages.. are obsolete and they may be against you. Search engines don't like to get fooled and they may penalize your site for that. Moreover, be careful with the services like automatic link exchange or buying text links. You can use them on your own but take precautions.

* Your websites' exposures on search engines DON'T mean top rankings and web conversions - Some SEO firms guarantee that your sites will be included in search engines. It is so easy because when your site is indexed, it is included in search engines right away and you can see it there by some simple but useless keywords. No one will find you with that keywords or syntaxes. In addition, pay attention to for which search engines the SEO firms will be optimizing your site. It will be easier to get listed on some less-reputed search engines comparing to Google or Yahoo. On the other hand, distinguish between standard and sponsor listing. You must pay for sponsor listing but get less visitors and sales. So make sure you understand clearly what SEO firms are offering. A successful SEO campaign requires the acumen of site owners as well as a tight cooperation between site owners and optimizers. Before the campaign starts, they should discuss the price, the time for the campaign, keyword selection and the specific search engines for optimization....

* DO get familiar with SEO tools such as search engines, HTML, PageRank - Some site owners lean on the webmasters on every task related to their sites (e.g.: add a text link, change page title). In most cases, the site owners will play an important role in the success of SEO campaign by getting familiar with SEO tools like search engines, HTML, PageRank. Search engines and PageRank evaluation will help you search for competitors' sites, evaluate the keywords, check sites' link popularity (number of links to your sites) and link saturation (number of pages on your sites have been indexed). Besides, with HTML basic syntax, you can easily exchange links with other sites on your own and stop calling the webmasters all the time for modifying pages with links.

* DO start writing today - Site owners may be beginners in SEO but experts in their industries. And today, writing is a significant skill to do SEO. Start writing some articles about your business now and submit them with your backlinks (links to your website) to article directories to increase the popularity of your site. For instance, suppose you were a mother at home and managed an ecommerce site selling some strollers and baby accessories. That will be wonderful if your share your experiences in choosing and using the strollers with other mummies-to-be on some women forum and article directories. Not only are search engines notified but also some potential customers will be attracted to your site.

In this article, I've provided the site owners with some basic rules of behaviors to do SEO. They include but not limit to myths about Search Engines, SEO firms, importance of SEO tools and article writing skill. Learning them today to make friends with search engines and shove your competitors aside.

About the Author:
Article by Mike Pham of TopTrafficWholesaler.com, a leading company in Internet Advertising. Offers international online web site advertising in the form of various banner display advertisement and full web page ads categorized into highly targeted website traffic.
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Google SEO : Get Top Rankings in 14 days

How to Get to The Top of Google Natural Search Results Using Natural Search Engine Optimization in Just 14 Days

* Why is search engine optimization important to today's business person?

* What do I need to know about search engine optimization?

* How complicated is it? Is it expensive?

If you want to get high rankings on search engines, then the web page must be very relevant to a search term. If you put lots of keywords in your web page title, the meta tags and the body text of a web page then the web page will be somewhat relevant to many keywords.

natural search visibility is based on a variety of factors, including search friendly website design, developing relevant content, and leveraging your wider marketing activity.

Optimization for natural search is a strategically managed optimisation that establishes long-term website visibility, creating visits that convert into value. The methodology is also holistic, so that everything is designed to integrate into your marketing mix.

You will benefit from;

* Increased customer visits - By creating and maintaining Natural Search visibility throughout your customers' buying cycle

* Brand visibility - Creating a direct route for your customers to find you, bypassing brand noise, spammers, and intermediaries

Read my report "How to GetTop Listings in Google Using Natural Search Engine Optimization" now http://www.seogoogle.biz/ono/SEO-Software.htm

SEO Optimizing your website

There are many factors that Google uses to rank pages in the Google search results (SERPs) but taking the following steps can help considerably to ensure your success:

* SEO Optimizing your website

* Incomming Links

* Optimized Press Releases

* Article Syndication

* Google Sitemap

* Social Bookmarking

Do you want a complete step by step blueprint on How to get to your website top 10 rankings in Google natural search results? read my report "How to GetTop Listings in Google Using Natural Search Engine Optimization" you get three free ebooks when you visit. SEO Predictions 2006, Email Marketing 2006 & Product Launch Strategies get my report now http://www.seogoogle.biz/ono/SEO-Software.htm

About the Author:
Rod Gardner is an established SEO consultant and Google specialist in natural search ( http://www.seogoogle.biz ) a subsidiary of whitestar Web Promotion http://www.whitestar-web-promotion.com London based providing complete turn key internet marketing solutions to small business.
Submitted: 2006-10-19
Article Source: GoArticles

Monday, January 01, 2007

Good And Bad SEO Practices

Search Engine Optimizing is a set of practices developed to help you get a high traffic and PageRank, while simultaneously building a useful and functional website that will respond to the needs of your potential users. While some website owners are getting their site indexed by following and enhancing these guidelines, others are looking for a way to sneak in and crawl up search engines by developing various strategies to cheat spiders.

Most search engines have their specific rules on which SEO practices are legitimate and which are not. While they disagree on some borderline issues, they do have a set of basic principles in common.

Good SEO Practices

• creating logically-structured pages
• logical paragraph use
• including a site map
• providing clear links to each page
• using descriptive and not too long meta-tags
• validating you code
• providing information-rich content that visitors would find useful
• creating your website content based on the users' needs as if search engines didn't exist
• using spell-check
• avoiding duplicate content

Bad SEO Practices

• using invisible text and links to create false keyword density
• using non-compliant HTML to manipulate relevancy (e.g.: a title that doesn't have anything to do with the page content)
• using CSS to manipulate relevancy (e.g.: using hidden elements by executing code to reveal them)
• sending automated requests to search engines
• using doorway pages created just for search engines
• using machine generated code to produce keyword-rich content
• cloaking - presenting a different content to users than to search engine spiders
• linking to spammers and other bad websites
• participating in linking schemes to increase PageRank
• creating pages that install viruses and other badware
• using unauthorized software to submit pages, check ranking etc.
• re-submitting the website without any reason

Borderline Issues

• inserting comments in the HTML code
• using invisible form elements to hold keyword values
• using HTML elements for keyword stacking (e.g.: image alts)
• using machine generated code for usability reasons (e.g.: in order to check for browser versions)

These borderline issues are controverted and ambiguous techniques. Most of the time it is very difficult to say whether these techniques were used to trick the spiders or only for usability purposes. The search engine is the one who has to make the ultimate decision.

Major search engines are constantly fighting against illicit techniques to get your website indexed and increase your PageRank and developing new and improved automated solutions to detect them. They even encourage users to report any website that is trying to abuse SEO guidelines. Thus using illegitimate ways to crawl up search engines may result in your website being banned. Once it's been removed from the search engine index, it will no longer appear in search results.

Google, as well as other search engines, are trying to develop a pro-active attitude among website owners and convince them it's more efficient to make use of legitimate SEO practices. One thing you should always ask yourself when building new features and writing content is whether you would be doing it even if search engines weren't there at all. This is the best way to drive traffic to your website and get better ranking.

Copyright © 2006 Andreas Obermueller

About the Author:
Andreas Obermueller is webmaster of Hit4Biz.com - Marketing Related Information
and recommends Marble Host as reliable Web Host
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com