Search Engine Marketing Spot

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So we are starting to see Google removing pages of some directories in it’s index.  I figured it would only be a matter of time before Google would look at some directories and penalize them in some way or another.  At SES San Jose a big debate was that of paid links and what Google was trying to do to stop them.  These directories seem to be nothing more then a paid link farm.  There are no free listings, each listing is paid either for a regular listing or the directories featured listing.  In my opinion this is the big reason why these directories are starting to see penalties in the Google index.  Three or four years ago we saw the emergence of the “link farms” where sites were all inter linked with one another and you either got a free or paid listing.  Google then penalized these websites and the general public put a “spam site” label on a link farm site and or network.  Now that search engine marketing has changed since then, the need for links is still very important for any marketing campaign.  The Google algo loves websites that have a lot of other authority sites linking back to you, this is where your backlinks play an important role when trying to rank for your keywords.  The emergence of paid links has hit an all time high and Google is now trying to fix what they created.  If the page rank bar was not made public and Google putting to much emphasis on backlinks then I bet the paid links debate would not be as big as it is today.

Now this past weekend Google has penalized some directories from there index and removing a lot of there pages.  No reason has been made public yet as of this posting, if there has been please post here as I could not find anything.  I believe however that Google has penalized these directories because they seem to be nothing more then a paid link farm.  Take elegantdirectory.com for example, there are only two ways to get your website listed on this directory and yes you guessed it, both are paid options only.

1. Sponsor Listing (5 Free Deep Links): Guaranted 12-24 hours review, Pay $79.95 Yearly Fee and get sponsored link page listed. Your site will be listed above all other Paid listings. Individual pages of domain and sub-domains are accepted. Sponsored Listings on Top Level Categories are allowed.
2. Paid Listing: Guaranted 12-24 hours review, individual pages of domain and sub-domains are accepted. Pay one time fee of only $39.95

Look at that, 5 free deep links with a $80 per year fee and your site will be listed above all other “paid listings”.  Now we have heard that Google is starting to penalize websites that sell text link ads on there website by devaluing the link juice of that website.  Some ways that Google is determining if it is a possible paid text link or not is by seeing what other links are on that website.  If there are links to gardening, marketing, sports, gambling, adult, and other links they have no relevance on that page can raise the Google red flag.  Also if you list your text links under a category of “paid listings”, “sponsored links”, “paid links”, etc. that to will also raise the red flag.  Now that we see these directories are nothing more then “Paid Listings” why wouldn’t that raise the red flag to Google.

Paid links has been debated by many in the SEM community for the past four or five months and we are now starting to see Google try and put there foot down.  They have publicly stated they are against paid text links, they want webmasters to use the no follow tag on those paid text links (yea I wonder how many links would be sold then).  I just wonder what other directories will get hit with a penalty and which will not.

1. Remove All Distractions

The viewer has come to your site from one of your ads and is looking for something specific that you are offering. Remove any item and or text that is not related to what you are talking about or that could confuse the viewer. Good was to convert that viewer into a sale or lead is by not confusing them.

2. No Navigation Menus

Get rid of them, you want to convert that viewer into a sale or to lead so why give them the option to leave and browse around? Now if you have a custom navigation for the conversions process then yes keep it. However some people will use a navigation system to show the viewer more information or to give them contact information. If need be, put your contact information on the bottom of your landing page. You want to convert the viewer, not give them reasons to leave your landing page.

3. Short Text and Simple Graphics

To have the maximum conversion rate try and keep your text to a minimal. Give the viewer enough information that will make them want more information or still be interested in buying what it is you are selling. Using graphics is a must for any landing page, people are more visual and want there answers fast. Do not make off the wall crazy graphics that can distract or cause the viewer to leave. There are those E-book landing pages that read just like a book, I am not sure how well those do in today’s market buy they sure were LONG.

4. Landing Page Is Not Your Home Page

As simple as this sounds, it is still over looked by people and even companies running an online marketing campaign. Yes your homepage is the face of your company and what you are about. It is not however the face of the marketing campaign you are running. You want to convert the traffic you are getting, having them go to your home page gives them too many choices and reasons not to fill out your form.

5. Make Your Call To Action Clear

Click here for more information, fill out the form below for more information, click here to purchase now. Whatever your call to action is, make sure it stands out and is easy to find. Do not make it the focal point of your landing page, but at the same time to not keep it in the same size font or color that you are using for the rest of the text.

6. Keep Your Forms Short

When people see a long form to fill out, quite a few will leave the site. Those long forms have a way of scaring people away from your page, so keep them short and to the point. Only ask the most essential questions that you need to know. Do not ask for a second phone number, work number, cell number, zip code (if you already asked for city/state), middle name, apt. number, etc.

7. Testimonials Work

Give the viewer something more positive to read about what it is you are offering. What is more positive to them then reading a testimonial from a happy customer? If you do not have any testimonials you can always make up your own. Some will argue that it is not ethical, but you want to make money and convert your traffic so do what you must.  

8. Important Information Above The Fold

Above the fold is the part of the website that the viewer can see without having to scroll down. You want to convey your message above this line so the viewer can see it right then and there. Making them have to scroll down to read what your selling message can be the difference between a conversion and them leaving the page.

9. Spelling

You have to make sure that every word is spelled correctly on your landing page. Viewers will catch the misspelled words and this can be a turn off to them. Why should they request more information or purchase something when they cannot even spell correctly?

10. Testing

Do not use just one landing page, create several of them and test to see which one converts the best for you. Using just one landing page in your marketing campaign is a detrimental practice that many people still do. Just because you have spent the time or paid to get it done professionally does not mean it will produce the best results. Test, test, test, test and test some more. After this you will see which landing pages had the highest conversion rates and can only use them in the future.

 

I know some out there will disagree with me about making a false testimonial to put on your landing pages. Seriously though, how many websites out there do the same thing? I bet if they were to admit to it, even large companies have testimonials posted that were written by someone in house or there marketing company. You want to convert your traffic to the best of your ability, using a false testimonial might make the difference to some of your viewers making the call to action or leaving your site. Some might call this “blackhat marketing” but I consider this just another marketing tactic to use in your aresenol of weapons.

Exampes of a testimonial you could use for a lead generation landing page:

Mary Smith: I filled out the form and was contacted with 24 hours with great customer support to help me out.

Now if you were selling something like a rain coat. You could put down:

Mark Smith: This is a great rain coat at such a good price, I take it almost every time I go camping or to a outdoor event.

If you know your rain coat is good and you are selling it for a good price then that is fine. I am not saying go out and say the worlds greatest product, or so an so bought this and is now making $5,000 a month. Use common sense, adding a positive testimonial will help.

So you want to be a successful search engine marketer, show your clients or put on your resume of having a certification for SEM or SEO. There are websites out there that do offer certifications you can purchase and take courses online, which I will list at the end of this article for you to look more into. If you have the money to waste and time to invest then by all means go out and get a certification if you want one that bad. Currently there is not one certification that is required by any company to have and no accredited certification that the general public will know about and actually understand. The only one that might stand out is the Google Adwords Qualification because most people know the Google name.

If you want to prove yourself worthy to potential clients or to a company for a possible job position then try and build a nice portfolio showing the work you have done in the past. That portfolio will go a longer way then any certification will because it proves the work you have done gets results. By having just a certification that does not prove anything, that just shows you paid some money, took a few tests and that is about it. That certification does not prove to anyone that your work will produce results, it just shows you have knowledge in an every changing industry. Put that certification up against a decent portfolio and I bet the portfolio gets the client or job offer before any certification.

These certifications are currently a waste in my opinion if you are just starting out in this business, as often as this industry changes that certification and what you learned does not go very far. If you got that certification a year ago, chances are what you were taught is either of no use now or not as relevant as it was 12 months ago. Now if you have experience already in the industry, have a decent portfolio displaying your work then getting a certification is just an extra bonus to add the “wow” factor for any potential new client. If you going for that new job opening then the company might look at it in two ways. One being you wasted your time and money getting that certification, but since your portfolio is good and proves your work produces results, they will still hire you. Or two they will see that certification and portfolio and be in total amazement and hire you on for even more money now because of that certification (although I highly doubt it).

The only certification I would say is a great tool to have is the Google Adwords Qualification. As stated before most people know the Google name and by having that on your website and portfolio adds more credibility to your work. It is not that hard to obtain, it currently only takes 3 months of managing an account of $1,000 or more and passing the test. Google has a great help section setup that has videos and practice quizzes for each section. Taking the time and going through these you will probably learn new things about Google Adwords and PPC in general.

Currently there are no colleges that offer SEM or SEO on there course roster, if there are please let me know so I may list them. If you would like to get a certification in SEM or SEO then you can do some more reading on the following websites. Details, pricing and contact information should all be here for you as well. If you do decide that a certification is in your best interest then I wish you the best of luck, and no I am not being sarcastic.

 

SEOCertification.org

SEMPO.org

Expertrating.com

Alzains.com

 

 

 

With the success stories all over the internet, everyone is in a rush to copy someone’s success and riches for there own.  I am not against anyone trying to do that, in business sometimes the best ideas are not thought of but instead borrowed (some say stolen).  One very important thing that a lot of people do not seem to grasp is that the individuals who have made there good fortune on the internet did it with a lot of hard work, time commitment, and good preparation.  They did not try and take any short cuts to save time because they just did not feel like doing something.  The successful people you read about are not lazy; in order to make a living you cannot be lazy and try to cut corners.  Stay focused, dedicated, committed to your end goal and keeps the passion alive and you will succeed.  Here are some common things that internet marketers tend to be lazy on in order to try and make there money faster.

Drive and Determination – You have a new product, great idea, new financial outlook on life and ready to go.  Great now you just have to follow through with that concept.  Being lazy and not driving forward and keeping your determination to succeed is a sure bet for failure?  Stay focused and determined with your website, keep the drive going forward to success.  When you get lazy on this step, then your idea is basically dead in the water.  If you are thinking to yourself right now “Man I wish I would have done…” well guess what, GET OUT THERE AND DO IT TODAY! If you have already started, then I want you to continue to have that same drive and determination you had when you first started your marketing campaign.  You lose this and you will lose your grasp on the end goal of making money for yourself.

Keyword Research – With there search engine marketing campaign either people do not even take this step into consideration or they do and are just lazy about doing so.  Instead of spending the time seeing what keywords or phrases are actually a realistic approach, some people just go for the broad range of keywords to get started right away.  This can end up costing you a lot money in a very short amount of time.  You need take the time and research what keywords would best fit your marketing campaign.  Keep in mind that your budget is part of your marketing campaign if you’re using PPC.  Going over your budget limit because you are too lazy to spend the day or two researching your keywords is a sure bet for failure.  Negative keyword research is a must for any PPC campaign, not using this in your keyword selection is just more money wasted.  If your product is clothing and you do not sell baby cloths then some negative keywords you will want to use are:  

-baby cloths

-baby clothing

This way when someone uses the term “baby cloths” your website will not show up thus saving you some money from potential clicks. 

Spelling and Grammar Errors – This is a very important step when marketing your product or services.  If you have obvious errors that can be unattractive to your viewers which can result in loss of sales and or leads.  I did this myself last week with a post I made, 45 FREE Blog Directory and RSS Submission Sites I was in such a hurry I forgot to check the spelling and posted it anyhow.  Before I even noticed the error it was too late.

Horrible Landing Pages – You want your site to generate money and become rich by next week, yet your landing page is weak. You spend very little time planning and designing your landing page or you pay a graphic artist without giving him/her feedback to design it for you.  Notice I said graphic artist and not internet marketer, how does a graphic artist know where to position things on the landing page?  In most cases they don’t know and only care about the look of the page, which is what they are suppose to care about because it is there job.  They are not a marketer, do your homework and see what color’s work best, where to position your punch line, buy or click buttons, amount of text to use, what words not to use etc. 

Short and/or Bad Content – Some people might disagree with me on this one since they feel the viewers do not read the site entirely.  Well there are people out there who do read everything before making a decision, so why not target them as well?  Having content on your site is one thing, but having it be one paragraph or just down right horrible is another.  You need to sound enthusiastic about what you are trying to sell, be informative, and make your points known to the viewer.  Having just a few sentences will hinder your sales and income potential, especially if it sounds like crap.

Copied Content – This one is pretty popular these days, because people are just do **** lazy to write there own content.  Copying someone else’s content is the lazy approach to adding text to your website.  For SEO purposes you do not want to have duplicate content on your site because the search engines will see that and penalize you for the copied content.  For a PPC campaign point of view having copied content could result in loss of income because the viewer could have read it someone else and or you could be violating copyright laws. 

Incomplete Website – This is another common occurrence, people want to start making money right away so they fire up there PPC campaign or start submitting there site to directories, RSS feeds, friends, family etc.  Why try and market a website that is not even done yet?  That is like trying to sell only half of something.  Get your self out of easy mode, get the drive back into yourself and get the website done.  When the site is complete then start moving forward with your marketing plan.  Money will come in better if the site is complete.  If you have a half ass website, then your marketing campaign will be half ass.  Don’t be lazy and just get it done!

I understand you want to be successful like some others on the internet, but once again they did this by hard work and not being lazy.  Take these above steps along with the fact that making money online does not happen over night.  If it was that easy to do, then you would see a lot more people talking about there success.  Stay focused and determined on your end goals, if you are lazy with these steps then you are sure to fail out of the starting gate.  As with any marketer out there, I wish you to take these steps into consideration and good luck with your projects.

Google is currently the only search engine who will try and penalize websites that sell paid link advertising or try and penalize websites who buy the links. Currently the only way a website gets penalized for buying them is Google will take the paid link that they found or that was reported to them and devalue it. In other words it will not carry hardly any weight what so ever for the website that bough the link. It will not pass for PR and basically becomes a no follow link. They will not do anything with your current spot on the SERP’s for buying text links like they do for keyword stuffing, cloaking, etc. In the long run if they found hundreds of links that you bought from high PR sites then that could have an effect on your overall ranking since we all know that one way links are currently a very big factor in achieving higher rankings with Google.

In the past buying banner space was very popular for driving traffic to your website in hopes of increased sales and conversions. This can still hold true depending on where you are buying the banner space from and Google does not care that you buy banner space to advertise your website with. The reason why they are trying so hard to stop or shall I say slow down the text link buying is the simple fact that they were dumb enough to make it such a big deal in there algorithm and how it truly does effect your ranking on the SERP’s. John Chow had achieved the number one spot on Google for the term “make money online”. He did this with his link back campaign where anyone who had reviewed his blog was asked to use terms similar to that one to see where he would rank. Well low and behold he go the number one spot and made it public. Google then banned him not only for that keyword, but also for his own name.

That is not buying text links, that is finding a flaw with the Google algorithm and exploiting it to the fullest to prove a point. Of course you would get banned for something like that because it was on a large scale and then you bragged about it. Well to this day one way links with your keywords as the anchor text hold a lot of value with Google. If you were buying banner space, Google adwords or other forms of online marketing you have to spend money. Well it holds true for text links, you have to spend the money if you want your link to get out on the internet faster. In today’s business world company’s want to see there profits go up faster then you could imagine. You tell some companies to start writing good content for a blog that they do not even really need and in 3-6 months you should start to see the results. Those results being more links to there website by people talking about the article and so fourth. Or you could tell them spend this much a month and you will have your links over this many websites by the next few days as well as paid directory listings. Yep, the check will be written and the link buying will begin. In today’s market they want results and they want them now, not in 6 months. Yes I understand that search engine marketing takes time and patience, however if you could buy up links to boost your link count, having great one way links and drive some more traffic to the site then why not.

Buying a text link from a website that is no where near in the industry as you or that will have Viagra, porn, gambling links is a sure way to get caught by the Google radar. Buy links from sites that are in the same or relative to your industry and that do not support the crap links from the above listed niches and you will be fine. If the website title’s the spot as “paid links” or “advertiser links” then you might want to refrain from buying that link as Google could possibly see this and detect it as a paid link even if it is an image. Google is not stupid we all know this by now.

Purchasing advertising space has been around the internet before Google was even born out of that garage. You can still go out and buy up all the directory listings you want and they will not count them as paid links since the directories have to actually read, review and then post each submission. Directories claim you are paying for the “review” of your submission, yea and once again what a load of crap.  Seriously though, how many directories out there will deny a listing as long as it is not related to the typical viagra/porn/gambling spam and not stuffed with keywords. You can buy up hundreds of these paid directory listings and be just fine, it will boost your link count and in return your website reputation and PR. Directories to me are nothing more then paid links, they just come with a short description and are on a website that nobody will ever really look on. For Google, it was there screw up in having one way links be such a strong influence on there algorithm and where we rank for our keywords. I know they want websites to use the nofollow tag on the paid links, but then who would really spend that much money on those links since they will carry very little weight with Google? They messed up and are now trying to stop the wave of paid text links that websites are buying to improve there rankings. Ok my rant is over, what is your take on this matter?

 

 

In part 1 of this article series I listed 7 things that you need to ask yourself and make sure you can do. This article is a continuation of the last four items listed. You could add to the list, however I am only listing these seven for now. If you have not read the first part of this article then you may read it here, Is The SEM/SEO Business For You? (Part 1). If you would like to add to the list, then please do so by adding it to your comments.

Knowledge – To succeed in this industry you need to know more then just SEO techniques. You need to know marketing strategies, techniques, analytics/tracking, placements, and concepts. I believe that a lot of people read a book or two, chat on forums and then think they are an expert in the industry and are ready to start a business. When you ask if you should start an SEO company or get into the industry you have already failed. SEM (Search Engine Marketing for those that don’t know) is the industry, SEO is nothing but a piece of the puzzle. It is more then simple on page techniques that you utilize. It’s the off page optimization that can make or break a marketing campaign. I will write about on and off page optimization later this week for those that do not fully understand what the difference is. Keep in mind that in our industry things can change overnight, keeping on top of the newest methods, techniques, trends is a must. However more importantly is testing out your own theories and ideas to not only educate yourself on what works, but to help the industry as well. Education and knowledge should be an on going process for you and your co-workers. The internet doesn’t stop, so why should you stop learning about how to rank better on it?

Experimentation – To succeed in this industry you need to step outside of the box and experiment on your own. You probably have read about techniques that worked in the past, what if you tweaked it, would it work with today’s search engine algorithm’s? What if you took two concepts, adapted them slightly and combined them together? Best one though is to brainstorm and come up with an idea that has never been tried and see if you can get it to work. Marketing and optimization techniques you read about on forums, conferences, and blogs are not the only things that work. There are techniques out there that people use that we do not hear about. Those people experiment with websites to see if there technique or combination of techniques worked for the search engines to achieve better rankings. Most of the time you will not even know about those techniques until either everyone else already knows about it or the search engines ban the technique or change there algorithm to adjust for it. In most cases that is the order in which it happens. Never stop thinking of new ways for search engine marketing and do not be afraid to test them out. With out experimentation, they will just remain theories you have written down or typed up and saved to a word document on your computer.

Patience – To succeed in this business you need to have patience and understand that good results to not happen overnight. You also need to educate your clients that search engine marketing takes time. If you are targeting a high volume keyword, in most cases it will take longer to rank well then for a lower volume keyword. Without patience you will end up making so many changes that you will have no idea what changes were beneficial or detrimental to your search engine marketing campaign.

Time – To succeed in this business you have to apply the above six things together and realize it will take time. If you think that by buying that search engine software that it will do all the work for you then you are wrong. Yes there is software out there that will give you advice on what to change on the page, but how do you know if the software is correct? They might make suggestions that will take your marketing strategy and do a 180. Also loading the URL, keywords, description, etc. and hitting the GO button is not SEO. A successful search engine marketing campaign takes time, time to do and time to see good results. If you are not willing to spend hours a day, and realize that even planning out a marketing campaign for your client can take a week then SEO/SEM is not for you. Planning out a search engine marketing campaign is the most important thing you do. The research involved can take day’s, putting it all together and forming a proposal for your client can take another day. If they do not like the direction of the marketing proposal or want to alter it a little bit then guess what, that is more TIME. You want to succeed then you need realize a lot of us out here have put in the time and continue to do so to this day, are you willing to commit to it?

Write down or print out these things listed above so you do not forget. It is easy to read something and agree with it, however in some cases people forget about it. Even by looking at it once a week, once a month or whenever you will keep yourself focused on the end result and that being a successful search engine marketing company.

More to come in part 3 of this article series.

 

With this article series I hope to educate some of you readers out there on what it really takes to be in this business and succeed at it. I do not claim to be an expert, a guru or anything like that. I am however a internet marketing entrepreunure that would like to share my experiences with you in the SEM/SEO industry for the past five years. You will read that I have been doing this since 1998, however that was not my full time job then. Some would claim to have 9 years experience, however to me the first four years was nothing more then a hobby. That hobby turned into a definite passion and obsession in 2002 when I took my first full time marketing job. These experiences and knowledge is what I want to convey out to anyone looking to get into the business.

I want to be an SEO, what do I need to do?

I have seen that question several times and I cannot believe that some think it is so easy. I do not think many people realize the amount of time that goes into marketing a website on the internet today. They think buying search engine submission software will be good enough to get started. They also think that SEO is the service they need to offer, however in today’s industry we are SEM’s rather then just SEO’s. On page optimization is no longer enough to achieve good results for your clients, the off page marketing strategies play a major role in getting good SERP’s. In the past it was easier because there was less competition, not many search engines, directories were far few and between. With all of this, it meant less work to be done when optimizing a website to market on the internet. I started out simply designing websites out of my college dorm room for small fee’s back in 1998. Optimizing those websites for the search engines was still a challenge back then, it just did not require as much time as it does in today’s internet marketing world.

I see quite a few people asking on forums if they should start an SEM/SEO business because they see how popular it is. Others inquire about it due to the fact they see some companies charging thousands of dollars for there search engine optimization and marketing services. I have even read on a few posts where the author was inquiring about what they can do to optimize there clients website to improve its rankings. The author of course offers SEM/SEO through there website, yet asking on the forums what they can do to optimize a website. So you have started your own SEO company and want us to do the work for you? I do not mind helping people out, new to the industry or old school I will try and answer any question I can. I am just at the point now to where everyone is offering there SEO service with almost no knowledge of what it takes. There are people out there who see the dollar signs of some of the well established companies and think they can open up shop and do the same thing the next week. This industry is an ever changing and evolving business that requires planning, dedication, commitment, knowledge, experimentation, patience, and time among a few others.

Planning – To succeed in this industry you need to walk slowly with this step and measure it from every angle. Do not think of what is at the end of the road and try to race there for the money. You will not get very far, and if you manage to get somewhere it will not be for very long. This is a very important step in your business practice and each time you sign up a new client. With SEM/SEO you need to not only find out what your client needs, but try and become part of there business so you can see what else there marketing campaign might need to help succeed even more. I love it when there are arguments about what is the most important thing about SEO. This is the one that that has never changed and probably never will change. The most important step to any successful SEM/SEO campaign is the planning. Without proper planning, you could be targeting all the wrong keywords for your client. I will go in more depth about keyword planning in a future article.

Dedication – To succeed in most things in life, you need to be dedicated to your goal or goals at hand. You cannot put fourth 50% effort and expect to get 100% results. There are no quick and easy techniques to achieving top rankings for your new clients, unless of course they already had a SEM/SEO campaign in the past where most of the leg work was already done. You want to succeed in this industry, put fourth the work like the rest of us and in due time you will be thank you did so. You do not achieve high levels of success overnight or in just a few months. Stay focused and dedicated and your business success will follow.

Commitment – To succeed in the SEM/SEO business you need to commit to your goals and stick to them. If you go off track, do yourself a favor and get back on that track so you can build that road to success in this business. By committing fully to your business, you will take that drive and apply it to your clients needs. Those needs should turn into goals, not only for them but your business as well. Follow through and deliver on those goals and it will lead to a happy client and a successful marketing campaign. Without committing fully to your own business model, how can you say you will commit fully to any of your clients?

 More to come in part 2 of this article series.

 

 

On recently on Digial Point, a post was made about the search engines being no more then huge online traffic monopolies.  When you sit back and think about it, one could easily say that they do have a monopoly on the overall internet traffic picture.  Yes there are other means of advertising on the internet without using the search engines.  Some of those methods are: 

• Link/Banner ads on other websites
• Directories
• Ebay/Craigs List
• Article writing & article submissions
• Blogging and guest blogging
• Forum Postings
• Email marketing
• Write for other people’s newsletters

 Now I understand that some of these methods do not bring hardly any traffic at all, in all seriousness how many of you look in directories for products or services?  Yea I thought so, you go to a search engine.  That brings to me to my answer really, yes the search engines are an online traffic monopoly.  Just about everyone knows how to search on them, the results are fast and in most cases are what the viewer was looking for.  In today’s day and age people want there answer and they want it now.  The faster they can get it, the happier they are.  That is why a lot of people turn to the search engines when looking for things, they are the champions of generating traffic on the internet. 

Your main goal for SEO is to increase SERP’s, bring quality traffic that makes you money. However a lot of people who are just starting out in the world of SEO fail to look at what I think the most important factor is, keyword research. I have read debates that state what is more important to improving your ranking with the search engines and most have made great points. However, they failed to mention something that is more important then any factors they had listed. Keyword research will determine the direction your SEO campaign will go before you even create the website. What you might think is a great keyword or key phrase, the actual searches being done each month are a lot lower then you expected. Imaging this scenario is heartbreaking for a lot of people because I bet it has happened. You spend a lot of hours optimizing your website for your keywords, your site ranks well for those keywords and yet your traffic has hardly moved. All that hard work, patience and perseverance for your keywords has resulted in low traffic and not many sales. Now you sit back and think to yourself everything you did worked because your rankings show for it. You just cannot figure out where the traffic is now that you have that good ranking.

Before you start any SEO campaign, you need to not just make a keyword or keyphrase list, you need to research them. When you research what you are trying to optimize for, almost every time you will come up with new keywords to use in your SEO campaign. You will find things that are searched for quite a bit that maybe your competition isn’t using. That is the main goal when researching, what can I use that is getting a good amount of searches each month that the competition really isn’t using yet? This way you can determine what keywords to optimize your website for ahead of time. If you would have done this from the start of your SEO campaign then all the hard work you put into it would not have to be corrected. Now you have to change the content wording, title tags, meta tags, alt tags, heading tags, contact all the sites you have links on to change the anchor text. All of this could have been avoided if you had researched your keywords ahead of time. I know you want your website to make you a lot of money, we all do, that is the point of being in business. Just remember though a little research can go a long way and save you a great deal of time in the end.

Here is a small list of tools you can use to research your keywords. You will notice that I did not list the Overture Keyword Tool. I feel it is no longer accurate to use since it is no longer being updated and the results are from January 2007.

Word Tracker

SEO Book Keyword Tool

Keyword Discovery 

 

You see it a lot on the internet weather on a blog or a forum post about, I get phone calls from potential clients and existing ones. There Alexa ranking and what needs to be done to increase it. In my opinion I do not focus that much on an Alexa ranking for any site, you put all your effort into that and you end up with crap content for your site. In a nutshell all the Alexa ranking does is takes the data from the Alexa toolbar that is installed on the viewers computer and sends the information back to Alexa. However if the viewer does not have the toolbar installed, then of course no data is sent back. The toolbar currently only works for Internet Explorer and only for Windows. I am a Firefox guy, and I would never install the toolbar anyhow.

 

So the rankings that Alexa show are from a very specific range of viewers. They all run Windows (As do A LOT of people), they all use Internet Explorer (A LOT of people again), and they have to have the Alexa toolbar installed. This is why I do not focus that much on the ranking reports that Alexa gives out. Your end result is you want the lowest number possible, however the system can be manipulated. It’s pretty straight forward, every time your website is viewed by the Alexa toolbar that counts towards your overall score.  This score will not help you with your results on the search engines, it is just a measure of how much traffic is coming to your website from viewers who have the toolbar installed.  Spend your time worrying about more important things besides your Alexa ranking.

 

There are services out there that will boost your score if you feel the need for it, price ranges between $300-$5,000 a month. I am sure an easy script could be written with whatever URL’s you are looking to boost your ranking. Load them in a script, set it to a random timer to open that URL in your browser window. With the random timer going it will visit a random page and random time intervals for you. I have yet to fully test this idea out, just a theory really but I will look more into it. What are your thoughts on the Alexa ranking system?