Abhishek Bakshi

Tag: seo

  • An Introduction Primer to SEO

    Summary
    The Internet provides the best place to market your business, ideas, services and products, provided your web page is optimized to be search engine friendly and geared towards attracting traffic. Websites compete with millions of other sites to gain a good ranking position with search engines and if your site is not Search Engine Optimized (SEO), you may just as well give up the domain.

    What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

    It can be defined as the process by which a siteís rankings in the search engines are increased for the keywords it is optimized for. Good SEO keeps both the user and the search engine in mind. Things that look beautiful on your site may have a negative influence on your siteís ranking. Good content ensures return visits. Keyword enriched content ensures that people will find your site.

    How many people do you know who actually look at the fourth or tenth page of a search engineís results page? Most people only look at the first ten to twenty search results. SEO can get your site ranked in the first bundle of results.

    Aspects of SEO: Content

    The web is indexed with keywords. The user types in a keyword string, exact phrase or a single keyword to find a relevant page. Information specialists make use of advanced searching techniques to find deep web content such as information imbedded in databases or dictionaries, but the average user thinks of the first thing associated with his query and types it in. That is why broad keywords on your site will not generate enough traffic because many thousands of pages have that exact keyword. You need specific keywords and keyword phrases.

    There must be enough content on the page. Too little information guarantees that the keywords cannot be repeated enough without keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing is where there are too many of the same keyword on a page. Search engines will rank your page lower if they see your page as stuffed.

    Keyword density must be balanced with their relation to the rest of the page. This means that your main keywords must appear in certain areas of the page. They must preferably stand out from the rest of the text. There are a number of ways to do this but it is a new topic.

    SEO: Meta Tags

    There cannot be enough emphasis on Meta tags. Meta tags are in the invisible part of your page. It forms part of the source code. This is where the Title, Description, and Keywords, are placed for the search engines. Most engines will not be able to find your site if a Meta Tag is not present. This area is very important because this is where you place your main keywords and the description of your site. Once again, the relation to the title, description and content becomes important. Donít stuff this area with long descriptions since the search engines will throw your page out if the description is too long, or the keywords repeated three or more times. Keep a balance.

    You must write a robot.txt file for the spiders to exclude certain parts of your page. The reason is that most of them cannot read Java, and CGI scripts. There are a number of extensions to pages that will lead to exclusion from search engines.

    Other SEO factors that also influence the way your page will indexed:

    – ALT, TITLE, and AUTHOR tags.

    – Number and quality of links to your site.

    – Links from your site.

    – Sitemap for search engines.

    – Names of links to your other pages.

    – Color and total number of links

    These are just a few of the online and offline factors that influence your ranking. SEO is needed to make your page visible on the Internet where you have to compete with other sites.

  • Avoiding The Carriage Before The Horse

    Summary
    A lot of businesses have pumped a lot of time and money into search engine marketing efforts (SEO) only to find them useless. One main cause of this is “putting the carriage before the horse.”In other words, you attempt to get high search engine rankings before you have a solid, sound web site.

    Marketing your practice on search engines is attractive to a lot of coaches. The traffic can be used to grow your subscriber list, sell products and get more clients. It can be a great way to grow your practice.

    <b>But it can also be a big disappointing nightmare. </b>

    A lot of businesses have pumped a lot of time and money into search engine marketing efforts (SEO) only to find them useless.

    One main cause of this is “putting the carriage before the horse.”In other words, you attempt to get high search engine rankings before you have a solid, sound web site.

    What often happens?

    <b>Your web site can get rejected or even banned from search engines</b> if it is created by a web designer who is not aware of search engine technicalities.
    You can waste your money when you try to register with search engines.

    Some charge a non-refundable fee for submitting your web site and it does NOT guarantee you will be included. If your site isn’t well done, you get rejected lose your money.

    Your pages become invisible. If your site isn’t coded the right way, then a lot of your content won’t get into the search engine for people to find or they are listed on page 1,334,203 … which virtually no one will visit.

    On a more content-based level, if your site is not interesting and valuable, others will be hesitant to link to it. Good links are vital to getting good rankings.

    If your site isn’t effective at converting traffic, you won’t sell as many products or attract as many clients. You won’t get as many newsletter subscribers.

    With all the information and hype out there it can be easy to get wrapped up in the dream of high traffic leading to tons of business. I’ve seen others make this mistake. I’ve blundered myself.

    <b>So, how do you saddle-up your horse and oil the buggy to get the most from your search engine marketing?</b>

    There is a lot of information on developing a good web site. Be sure to focus special attention on the “marketing”of a good web site. Here are some main points to guide you.

    ï Make sure your site works “without search engines.”That is, make sure the traffic you are sending to it now, such as people from networking, are doing what you want on your site.
    ï Make sure your site is “search engine friendly.”This means to make sure that the code was designed to enable search engines to access the information on your site. This means getting a technically savvy search engine expert on hand during the creation of your site.
    ï Make sure you have a target audience. This is a good idea in general for your business, but it’s also critical that it’s expressed on your web site. Make sure your site is appealing to that target audience.
    ï Make sure your site answers basic usability questions such as, “What is this site about?””Where do I begin?”and “Why should I be here and not somewhere else?”Answers to these questions will get your visitors moving through your web site.
    ï Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Sit down with at least one person who is in your target audience and watch them use your site. Seeing people do everything other than what you intended is often an eye-opening experience … even for the most advanced web designers.
    ï Make sure your site will capture your target audience in different “buy states.”Some visitors will be ready to buy into subscribing to your newsletter. Some will be ready to buy an ebook. Some will want to buy your one-on-one service.

    Search engines are great. They can take your business to higher levels. But without solid horse and buggy combo, you may be in for a bumpy ride.

  • Improve Your Online Business With Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    Summary:
    So youíve got that wonderful work-at-home online business up and running. Youíve got a dynamite website with easy to use navigation, a slew of well written, entertaining and pertinent articles, and more revenue-generating links than you can handle. But for some reason, the hits just arenít coming and your business isnít making as much money as you deserve. How do you turn a struggling online business into a profitable online business?

    The first thing you have to ask yourse…

    So youíve got that wonderful work-at-home online business up and running. Youíve got a dynamite website with easy to use navigation, a slew of well written, entertaining and pertinent articles, and more revenue-generating links than you can handle. But for some reason, the hits just arenít coming and your business isnít making as much money as you deserve. How do you turn a struggling online business into a profitable online business?

    The first thing you have to ask yourself is, ëHow are people hearing about my site?í In an Internet dominated by search engines like Google and Yahoo, high search engine ranking is a must. Why? Most search engines show ten results per page, ranked in order, and most users never make it past the first page. That means that if your website is going to be found, it needs to be top 10. But how? How!? Take a look at the title of this article. Thatís right. Through search engine optimization. SEO is a simple concept. Use the words that people will probably enter into search engines strategically in the content of your website. This article is using a couple of SEO keywords, like Online Business or Search Engine Optimization, the very subjects people might search for if looking for an article like this. See how easy it is? Two more keywords without interrupting the flow of the article!

    Using search engine optimization effectively may mean redesigning most of the content on your website. When youíre doing that try to keep in mind these Six Commandments of SEO.

    THOU SHALT KNOW THINE ENEMIES

    Knowing what keywords to use is the most important part of SEO. This means research. Lots of research. Start off by trying to find your site on various search engines. Chances are you wonít, at least not on the first page. Write down the top 10 results you do get. These sites are your competition. Try a few different combinations of search terms. Are there any sites that appear more than once? Check those out. What keywords or phrases are used over and over? What are the titles of pages? What is the content about? What is the web address? These are potential keywords Record them. These will be the basis for your own search engine optimization.

    THOU SHALT NOT USE KEYWORDS WANTONLY

    Keywords should be thought of as compliments; the more you give, the less meaning they have. By the same token, not giving enough wonít get you noticed. Use them wisely. Find that happy ratio of keywords to normal. A general rule of thumb in search engine optimization is 2.5-4% of your content should be keywords; no more, no less.

    THOU SHALT MAKE SURE ALL CONTENT IS SENSIBLE

    Donít fall SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION into the tempting ONLINE BUSINESS trap of SEARCH ENGINES using keywords randomly SEO in order to increase your search engine rank. Tough to read, wasnít it? Kinda made you want to scream and tear your hair out? Content above keywords. If your articles are so keyword rich that they donít make sense, users wonít return and youíll lose repeat revenue. All the search engine optimization in the world is useless if your users donít stay on the site long enough to put cash in your pocket. Search engines pick up on this tricks anyway. Besides, itís just plain dirty fighting.

    THOU SHALT VARY KEYWORD USAGE

    So youíve done your research and have a list of 25 keywords you want to use in your site. Each article has a primary keyword or two. Unfortunately, every article on the site is using the same two keywords. What about the other 23? Donít let yourself be tempted by the ease of using the same words over and over. Write articles about all 25 keywords. You spent all that time researching them, now use them! And just because one article is about one keyword doesnít mean you canít use other keywords in the article. Use the non-primary keywords like salt sprinkled over the entire site.

    THOU SHALT UPDATE

    Getting that number one search engine rank was hard. It took hours of work, and now that youíve reached the pinnacle itís time to sit back and reap the benefits. Right?

    WRONG!

    How long do you think that number one ranking will last? You know your competitors got mad when you beat them and are redesigning their sites right now. Right now, I say! Eventually theyíll pull ahead of you again, unless you manage to stay ahead in the game. Update your site constantly with new keyword rich content to make sure that youíre on the cutting edge and can keep that number one ranking.

    NEVER FORGET: THOU ART NOT ALONE

    Search engine optimization can seem like a daunting task at first, and maybe it is. But never forget that there are people out there willing and able to help you; it is, after all, how they make a living. Some writers specialize in SEO and there are websites available that do most of the research grunt work just waiting to hear from you. So no matter how daunting a task it may seem, donít ever give up on search engine optimization. In an internet where everything depends on page hits, your search engine rank can never be too high.

  • All Link Types and SEO

    Summary
    This article covers a much discussed topic in the SEO community. Also, clients and often site owners come up with questions about what links to get, and how to get them. Note that I will not consider reciprocal links here, because of better alternatives, and because their effectiveness only applies to a small number of sites, who use them under 10% of their overall link ratio. I will review the main types you want to get for your site.

    This article covers a much discussed topic in the SEO community. Also, clients and often site owners come up with questions about what links to get, and how to get them. Note that I will not consider reciprocal links here, because of better alternatives, and because their effectiveness only applies to a small number of sites, who use them under 10% of their overall link ratio. I will review the main types you want to get for your site.

    The natural one-way links.
    This one is solely based in good content and resources. This is the safest method of link building available as far as search engines, which look at the ìintentî of links. But it is also the slowest. If your site is new, then as part of its launch, submit it to niche web directories. Start with a few highly trusted directories, but do not have more than 10-15% of your overall links coming from them. Don’t overlook industry-specific directories that may be paid or unpaid. These usually send highly qualified traffic and can be a real bargain. Directories will get you site many natural one-way links, at a natural speed of growth. This combination of type and speed is very beneficial. Look for sites that would benefit from offering users your content.

    Linkbaiting, or link bait.
    This one is not easy, and involves creativity. But it is worth every effort. Linkbaiting refers to content, videos, images or anything on your site that is created with the intention of increasing links to it. It is highly effective in getting links, probably the cheapest too, based on the cost of the ìbaitî you use, has no negative effects from the search engines, at least not for the moment, since all links generated look natural. When complemented by social bookmarking, the networks associated with these links will add even more value to them.

    Paying for links, or paid links.
    These links can have great short-term search benefits. These are good mainly for sites that have tons of pages with content, and have been well established online for years. In addition, these sites also have tons of natural links to them, again because they had been well established online for years. These are not recommended for new sites. Look for sites that are highly on topic with yours, and in complementary niches. A very important factor in the evaluation of these links, like any other, is age. And the latest ìGoogle Slapî effect were sites fall pass the top 30 in the listings, is affecting primarily those which do heavy link buying.

    Bad links and their effects.
    Outbound links play a big role in the way search engines determine who your ìneighborhoodî is. Bad neighborhoods will affect your search engine rankings. Things like FFA (Free For All) link pages, links farms, etc, fall in this category. Note that this has nothing to do with your pages going into the supplemental index. That is not the kind of penalty these links cause for your site. And the amount of bad links considered is a big one. A small amount of them would not trigger a penalty, but make sure that your site is not related in any way to those link patterns.