The Basic techniques in search engine optimization

SEO for Adsense - If you've been using Google's AdSense on your pages you obviously feel the need to somehow generate even more traffic for your website, which in turn would translate to more AdSense click and a higher income.

But who do you do this? Well, the major way you'll get visitors to see your website (other then using AdWords, which is encouraged as well) is to use some techniques to have search engines send more and more users towards your page, by ranking high in search results for your topics of interest.

Believe it or not this is a technique, better known as search-engine optimization or simply SEO. So here are a bunch of tips that come handy under every amateur or professional optimizer's belt.

The first thing you need to take care of is the actual source code and layout of your page. This has to be kept as simple as possible. The problem comes when AdSense and the search engines themselves begin to have troubles in extracting the most relevant keywords on your site because of a too complex layout.

Secondly, try to have each one of your pages target only one specific topic. This way it is a lot easier for them to get indexed properly and for the AdSense ads to be consistent with the content of the site itself.

Also, try not to include too many hyperlinks in your page as well. This also means you should try not to use too many AdSense ads on your page either.

If there are certain keywords you wish to target, make sure the word you wish to target is present in the title, in the first paragraphs as well as in the name of the file. While you're at it you might want to ensure the word springs up in the page's last paragraphs.

And of course, it's very important for your content to have original and compelling content. How do you do this? Well the easiest way to do it is to find something you're really passionate about. That way, providing you give it a lot of effort you're bound to have a great page quite fast.

If the content you use in your site is in the public domain (which is highly discouraged) make sure that you at least give it an original title, and add an opening and a closing paragraph of your own.

This takes a little while, but if, after waiting, you still can't find your page near the top, you should try rewriting your title and your first and last paragraphs. It doesn't take much, often just changing a few words will give you the right results.

And of, course there's the use of keyword tools that may aid you in finding some good keywords to include on your page that will drive visitors to your site more and more.

So those are about the basic techniques in search engine optimization. You can find a lot of computer tools to aid you in doing this, and of course, Google is a great place to search for this.

In the end, you'll find that SEO is a complex topic, and entire books have been written on the topic as well. You might find that you have a lot of optimization you need to do in order to get more and more visitors to your site and clicking those precious AdSense banners.

READ MORE - The Basic techniques in search engine optimization

The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign

The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign - Everyday, the Search Engines average 300 MILLION searches. In a recent Forrester Research report 81% of consumers on the Internet find products and services by using the Search Engines. Search Engine Optimization allows you to achieve top search engine placement and a tap into a new source of qualified visitors who are actively searching for products and services on the Internet. 

Unfortunately, only 7% of all websites are visible by the search engines according to a recent StatMarket.com study. The reason for this phenomenon is because most web sites are not properly optimized and promoted to achieve high search engine rankings. 

The Top 3 Components Of Optimizing Your Web Site for Top Search Engine Rankings: 

To achieve the best overall, long-term search engine positioning, three components must be present on your web site: 
  1. Content component (Your web page text.) 
  2. Link component (How you link your pages together.) 
  3. Link Popularity component (The in-bound links to your site.) 
1) The Content Component 

The most important part of the content component (of a search engine algorithm) is keyword selection and where you place keywords on your web pages. In order for your target audience to find your site on the search engines, your web pages must contain keyword phrases that match the phrases your target audience is typing into search queries. Finding these keywords that your target audience uses to find your product is accomplished by conducting keyword research. 

2) The Link Component - Internal Linking 

The strategy of placing keyword-rich text on your web pages is useless if the search engine spiders have no way of finding that text. The way your web pages are linked to each other has huge impact on your site's search engine positioning. Be sure to link your pages together with your keywords within your links. 

3) The Link Popularity Component - Acquiring In-Bound Links 

The "Link Popularity" or Google "Page Rank" (PR) component of a search engine algorithm analyzes how many web sites link to your website. 

95% of the battle of getting high rankings at the search engine is acquiring quality and relevant links pointing to your web site. Ever since Google entered the search engine market, all the major Search Engines have started using links as the primary way they rank web sites. This is known as your web site's "Link Popularity" or in Google's case it's called "PageRank" or "PR." 

For example, the heart of Google's algorithm is PageRank, a system for ranking web pages developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. Here is what Google says about their "PageRank" web site ranking algorithm at their web site http://www.google.com/technology/... 

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." 

As Google explains, Links and PageRank are critical to ranking high in the search engines. In fact, inbound links and the text within those inbound links account for 95% of effective search engine optimization. 

Relevant Links: 
But, attaining optimal link popularity is not as easy as simply obtaining as many links as possible to your website. The quality and relevancy of the sites linking to your site holds more "weight" than the quantity of sites linking to your site. Since Yahoo is the most frequently visited site on the web, a link from Yahoo to your website carries far more "weight" than a link from a smaller, less visited site. 

Here's what Google Developer Matt Cutts has to say about links... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
"Thematic incoming links from authority sites carry more weight than on-page optimization." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Top 4 Strategies for Acquiring Links to Your Web Site: 

Below are the four critical steps for achieving high rankings by acquiring text links to your web site... 

1) Get a higher Google PageRank score than your competition For any given keyword, there is a minimum PageRank required to rank at Google. In order to see what this minimum PageRank number is, search Google for your keyword and look at the PageRank of your competition's web sites that are ranked in the top 10 of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). An easy way to view the PageRank scores of your competition is to use Google Toolbar http://toolbar.google.com or the SEOChat PageRank Search tool. http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/pagerank-search/ 
2) Get more relevant links than your competition All links are not created equal. The best links are "relevant" links from web pages related to your keyword. 
3) Get more links on more different web sites than your competition Getting links on a variety of different web sites on different networks is crucial for high rankings. 
4) Use the keywords you want to high rankings in the search engines as the anchor text of your in-bound links. "Anchor text" is the visible text within a hyperlink. Text links and anchor text are the two most important criteria for how Google and other top Search Engines rank web sites. 
Here is an example of a link containing the keyword phrase "ERP Software" within the anchor text... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
F*R*E*E [ERP Software] white paper shows how to increase profitability and reduce inventory. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Relevant Links and PageRank are critical to achieving high search engine rankings. Want proof? Do a search at Google for the highly competitive keyword "computers" and you'll find Apple and Dell computers rank numbers 1 and 2 in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Now, click through to the Apple and Dell web pages and look for the word "computers" in their web page text. What did you find? Neither www.apple.com or www.dell.com have the word "computers" in their text, yet they're ranking #1 and #2 at Google. 

Relevant Links and PageRank Win! 

The sites with the most relevant links and highest Google PageRank win every time and rank the highest at the top search engines. There are many methods you can use to acquire text links including buying links from a broker, Internet directories, reciprocal linking, Internet publicity, and others.

READ MORE - The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign

Spider ANY Website And Find Out The Rank Of Each Page On That Site In MERE Seconds!

Spider ANY Website And Find Out The Rank Of Each Page On That Site In MERE Seconds! - Now you can quickly and easily get the number of pages on the server, the number of pages indexed by Google, Link Popularity, and Alexa Rank, PLUS a Summary Report with page rank statistics! 

It's crazy... 

You've got all this "background" work to do and SO little time to do it. 

You KNOW what I'm talking about. Getting the rank and rank statistics of your own web pages is key to operating at peak search engine and marketing efficiency. And it certainly doesn't hurt to know the rank of your competitors' sites as well. 

The trouble is... gathering this type of crucial information can eat up hours and hours of your valuable time. And I'm certain we can both agree that time is one of (if not THE) most important assets we webmasters have. 

So how do you keep up with page ranks -- yours AND the competition -- without having to invest even more hours of your precious time? NO problem! 

I'm amazed that Jeff can keep coming up with great products like SEO Spider. I already own two other wonderful products Jeff created - Ad Word Analyzer and Traffic Equalizer. 

With the click of a button, not only can I find out how my own sites rank on Google, but I can also find out how my competition ranks. 

Plus I can see all of their page info instantly, which gives me inside knowledge of their sites. And now I know exactly what I must do to beat them. 

I only hope my competitors don't find out about this tremendous piece of software! 

Jeff, you are a lifesaver! I've tried keeping track of all my site's rankings manually and it literally would take me hours. 

Thanks to SEO spider, I've been able to spend more time on building traffic and less on measuring results. 

Not only that, SEO spider helps me to analyze my competition without tipping them off or getting me in trouble. It's paying off big time... 

As of today, RudlReport.com is #6 on Google! 

I've been sitting at my computer for several hours, gathering the rank and rank statistics of hundreds of pages on dozens of websites. It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm not even close to being finished. 

I'm tired... I'm frustrated... and I'm thinking there's GOT to be a better way. I mean, I can't be the ONLY person who needs a program to do this kind of work for me. So... 

Like every other occasion when I'm hoping for a time-saving, work-reducing solution, I start searching the 'net. And as usual, I come up empty-handed. 

Oh sure, there are various programs and services out there, but nothing that does the exact job I want and NEED it to. So yet again, there's only one thing left for me to do... I'll have to create my OWN software program! 

And you know what? That's precisely what I did! And the name of this little fellow? SEO Spider. But don't think he's just some insignificant "bug". This guy is WAY powerful. 

Incredible! Just when I thought Jeff couldn't possibly outdo himself, he goes and does it with SEO Spider! 

As if Ad Word Analyzer and Traffic Equalizer weren't enough, we've now got the perfect "complimentary" program. 

Leave it to Jeff to come up with the best solution for gathering page rank information. What used to take hours can now be accomplished in only minutes. 

I'm telling you, I'm starting to think Jeff really IS the great and powerful SEO wizard! 

When I used SEO Spider for the first time, I had thought it will show me the search engine spider view of a web site, for which there are umpteen tools available already. 

But, I was amazed at the amount of information it revealed about a site. 

These are all key information about the site that we need to monitor regularly and to get all of them at one place is pure joy! 

You have a cool software, Jeff. I'll recommend this to many people. 

The whole point of creating SEO Spider was to reduce the time and work involved in yet another important webmaster task. That's why I'm not about to waste your time now rambling on and on about how great this software program is. 

spider ANY website and build a list of URL's -- along with the titles -- for each page on that server 

quickly and easily query Google to find out how many pages are indexed and what the rank is for each of those listed pages 

powerful phrase matching search option gives you the most targeted rank results for every page indexed by Google 

check individual pages or use the convenient "Check All" features to analyze the entire list 

if you don't wish to use the default page title during the query, it allows you to make changes just by clicking on the title 

discover how well your website performs over time and know at-a-glance if you're improving your results 

easily analyze any and all competitors' websites and discover all of their TOP performing pages 

"smart" technology ensures that disallowed pages such as robots.txt files won't get indexed/listed 

features 100% customizable search engine and website courtesy levels for maximum safety 

searches whois records uncovering contact and domain registration information for any webmaster 

compare any two websites to find out which has more indexed pages, better link popularity and a lower Alexa rank 

reports the number of pages on the server, the number of pages indexed by Google, link popularity, and Alexa rank 

delivers a concise Summary Report with page rank statistics -- you can view the report, save, or even email it 

gives you the option of saving all the results, saving only the selected results, printing, and/or exporting to CSV 

know whether or not Google is updating their index with our handy Google Dance Tool

READ MORE - Spider ANY Website And Find Out The Rank Of Each Page On That Site In MERE Seconds!

The Basics of SEO

The Basics of SEO - Some FAQs - Search engine optimization (SEO) is a foreign field to a lot of people. Rarely does a day go by when I don't get asked a few questions on the subject. So I've decided to post this FAQ article in the hopes that it will help people understand the basics, and make them a little more comfortable with the whole domain. 

Q: Why are search engines important to me? 

A: 85% of all website traffic is driven by search engines. The only online activity more popular than search is email. 79.2% of US users don't go to page 2 of search results. 42% of users click on the no.1 result. For the under-40 age-group, the Internet will become the most used media in the next 2-3 years. 

Q: How do search engines decide on their rankings? 

A: IMPORTANT: You cannot pay a search engine in return for a high ranking in the natural results. You can only get a high ranking if your content is seen as relevant by the search engines.
Search engines identify relevant content for their search results by sending out spiders or robots which craw (analyze) your site and index (record) its details. Complex algorithms are then employed to determine whether your site is useful and should be included in the search engine's search results. 

Q: Can't I just pay for a high ranking? 

A: No. The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google and Yahoo is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a short-lived search engine. 

Most search engines these days return two types of results whenever you click Search: 
  • Natural/Organic The search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are. 
  • Paid Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are normally labeled Sponsored Links¡¨, and normally take up a smaller portion of the window. 
Q: How do I get a high ranking? 

A: There are four main steps: 
Step 1 - Use the right words on your website
Step 2 - Get lots of relevant sites to link to yours
Step 3 - Use the right words in those links
Step 4 - Have lots of content on your site & add more regularly 
Q: What is search engine optimization (SEO)? 

A: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of creating a website which is search engine-friendly. This means: 

  • using the right words in your copy
  • using the right words in your HTML code
  • structuring your site properly
  • designing your site properly 
Many people use SEO to also describe the other ingredient in a high ranking, 'Link Popularity'. 

Q: What is link popularity? 

A: Think of the search engines as a big election. All the websites in the world are candidates. The links to your website are votes. The more votes (links) a candidate (website) has, the more important it is, and the higher its ranking. Link popularity is all about how many links you have, and how you can get more.

Links to your site tell the search engines how important your site is. They assume that if it¡¦s important enough for a lot of other sites to link to, it¡¦s important enough for them to display at the top of the rankings. Links are the single most important factor in ranking. Generally speaking, the more links you have to your site from other sites, the better your ranking. 

Q: Are some links better than others? 

A: Yes! The ideal kind of links are those that: 

  • come from relevant sites (sites which use the same keywords);
  • come from important sites (have a high ranking);
  • include your keyword as part of the visible link text;
  • include varying link text (not the same link text each time); and
  • come from a page that links to few other sites. 
When a search engine sees a link which satisfies most or all of these conditions, it says, Hey, this site must be credible and important, because others in the same industry are pointing to it 

Q: How do I get lots of links back to my site? 

A: There are many possible ways to generate links. Some are dubious (like auto-generation software, and sites set up by webmasters simply to host links to their other sites) and I won be discussing them here. Others, like those discussed below, are legitimate. 

  • Add your site to DMOZ & Yahoo Directories (and other free directories)
  • Check where your competitors¡¦ links are coming from
  • Article PR - Write and submit articles for Internet publication
  • Swap links
  • Partner websites
  • Pay for links 
Q: What do you think is the best way to get lots of links? 

A: Article PR. Write helpful articles and let other webmasters publish them for free in exchange for a link in the byline. With article PR, you don't have to pay for the link, you determine the content of the page containing the link, you determine the link text, and the link is more or less permanent. A single article can be reprinted hundreds of times, and each time is another link back to your site! 
For more information, read divinewrite.com/seoarticles.htm or visit ArticlePR.com. 

Q: How do I write a good article PR piece? 

A: See divinewrite.com/seoarticles.htm. 

Q: How do I get a high ranking using free reprint content? 

A: See divinewrite.com/Top_Ranking_Free.htm. 

Q: How long does it take to get a high search engine ranking? 

A: A long time! It's impossible to say how much time you ll need to spend generating links, but you can be sure it ll be a while no matter which method of link generation you use. You just have to keep at it until you have achieved a high ranking. Even then, you ll still need to dedicate some ongoing time to the task, otherwise your ranking will drop. 

Q: What is the Google Sandbox, and is it real? 

A: The Google Sandbox theory suggest that whenever Google detects a new website, it withholds its rightful ranking for a period while it determines whether your site is a genuine, credible, long term site. It does this to discourage the creation of SPAM websites (sites which serve no useful purpose other than to boost the ranking of some other site). 

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting the theory, but there is also a lot discounting it. No one has categorically proven its existence. 

Q: What is the Google Dampening Link Filter, and is it real? 

A: The Google Dampening Link Filter theory suggests that if Google detects a sudden increase (i.e. many hundreds or thousands) in the number of links back to your site, it may sandbox them for a period (or in fact penalize you by lowering your ranking or blacklisting your site altogether). 

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting the theory, but there is also a lot discounting it. No one has categorically proven its existence. 

Q: What SEO companies should I be wary of? 

A: Be wary of SEO companies that promise or guarantee results in a given timeframe, especially if they won't expand on their methods for generating links back to your site. 

Q: What tools can you recommend? 

A: There are many very useful tools to help with your SEO. The following are just selection. All tools are free unless otherwise indicated. 

  • Backlink checker - http://www.webuildpages.com/neat-o/
  • Backlinks by IP address - http://www.webuildpages.com/cclass/index.php
  • Link Popularity Tool - http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/
  • Number of links required to rank - http://www.iblcheck.com/
  • Google Alert - http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en
  • Google Sitemaps - http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps
  • Google Sitemap Generator - http://johannesmueller.com/gs/
  • Google Toolbar - http://toolbar.google.com/
  • Indexed Pages - http://www.webuildpages.com/cache/cachetoolpublic.pl
  • Keyword Analysis (Nichebot) - http://www.nichebot.com/
  • Keyword Analysis (Overture) - http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
  • Keyword Analysis (WordTracker - Paid) - http://www.wordtracker.com/
  • Keyword Difficulty - http://www.seomoz.org/tools/keyword-difficulty-tool.php
  • Keyword Identifier - http://www.googlerankings.com/ultimate_seo_tool.php
  • Keyword Density Measurement (Simple) - http://www.live-keyword-analysis.com/
  • Keyword Density Measurement (Complex) - http://www.gorank.com/analyze.php
  • Plagiarized Copy Search - http://www.copyscape.com/
  • Traffic Rank - http://www.alexa.com/
  • Search Engine Rank - http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/
  • SEO Report - http://www.urltrends.com/
  • Top 10 sites for a keyword by no of backlinks and age - http://www.webuildpages.com/seo-tools/whoischeck-bykeys.pl
  • Top 10 sites for a keyword - http://www.webuildpages.com/cool-seo-tool/
  • Spider Simulator - http://tools.summitmedia.co.uk/spider/ 
Q: I'm confused about all the terms used in SEO, can you help? 

A: See divinewrite.com/seo_glossary.htm. 

Q: What is keyword analysis? 

A: The first thing you need to do when you begin chasing a good search engine ranking is decide which words you want to rank well for. This is called performing a keyword analysis. Keyword analysis involves a bit of research and a good knowledge of your business and the benefits you offer your customers. 

Q: Do I need to submit my site to the search engines? 

A: Theoretically, no. But I wouldn't risk not doing it - especially as it's free. As soon as you register your domain name, submit it to Google! Even if you haven¡¦t built your site, or thought about your content, submit your domain name to Google. In fact, even if you haven¡¦t fully articulated your business plan and marketing plan, submit your domain name to Google. 

Q: Should I submit my site to the search engines more than once? 

A: No need. Although some of the search engines allow you to do this, there's really no need. 

Q: What are directories and should I submit my site to them? 

A: Directories are websites (or web pages) which simply list lots of website and give a quick description of the website. Some are free and some require you to pay for a listing. Free directories are useful because you get a free link. However, the links aren't worth that much. Paid directories can be good if they're relevant, but they can cost a lot in the long term, so choose wisely. 

One essential directories for any website is the DMOZ Open Directory Project.

READ MORE - The Basics of SEO

Step Three is Creating Long-Term Popularity

Step Three is Creating Long-Term Popularity - Finally, after the hard-core efforts that are directly related to generating traffic to your website, you next step is to develop a strategy that creates follow-on, long-term traffic. Several methods exist for this Tier III strategy: 
  • Taking the large list of ancillary keywords that relate directly or indirectly to your website, begin purchasing keyword related domain names that will be used to create traffic driving websites that point to your money site. 
  • Setup satellite pages using the keyword domain names with the idea of capturing traffic geared toward those specific keywords, developing niche market traffic. As you develop niche markets for those new customers, you are going to be able to capitalize on those customers for the other products and/or services that your company offers when these sites link back to your money site as a result of informing and attracting these new customers through the niche sites. 
  • Create links, backlinks and cross-links between the satellite pages and your money site, improving your link popularity for all websites, especially your money site. 
  • Display articles or e-books related to your industry and place these articles on your websites being aware of the best location based on keyword dominance. 
  • For long-term, viral marketing results, create articles or e-books that you will either sell on your website or offer to public domain websites where your link information must be retained for use by anyone else on the internet; these articles will create links that go back to your money site or your niche sites. 
  • Follow the same steps in Tier I and II for all the niche sites as you did for your original money site; that is, design a SEO-optimized website and follow Tier II strategy to create the necessary link popularity to drive traffic to these sites. 
Monitoring 

In order to determine if the SEO efforts are successful, you must monitor results of for number and quality of backlinks, PR and web trend statistics. There are many sources for generating this data as well as programs that will assist in these analyses. Whatever method you choose, whether it is using specific programs or setting up a spreadsheet for entry of data, be consistent in tracking the data. There will be fluctuations from day-to-day that you should expect. You are looking for general, overall upward trends, not short-term blips. Upward progress followed by maintenance of a strong position with slow, steady growth would indicate a successful SEO campaign. 

This 3-Tiered approach to SEO Strategy is very effective when implemented with the patience it takes for long-term results. Short-term "fixes" and "tricks" may have an effect in the short-run, but as the search engines change and adapt their algorithms -- as they doing almost monthly -- what worked today for quick results may actually get you banned tomorrow. This strategy is based on search engine directives: Well-designed websites, free of bad code, offering information, services or products of interest to the internet community will create their own base of popularity -- for which you will be rewarded by strong, growing traffic. When you are in it for the long haul, your strategy must utilize long-term efforts.

READ MORE - Step Three is Creating Long-Term Popularity