SEO Tips Blog

Advanced Link Building Process

2010-12-14T01:10:00.001-08:00

Link building requires dedication and consistent effort. It is the most difficult, time-consuming and important task an SEO performs to get a website ranked well. Certain strategies are well known to SEOs, while others are in the realm of the experts or forward-thinkers who puzzle them out. I have attempted to list here many of the link building tactics used by the SEO community.

Directories

Although it may seem an obvious and tired way to build links, directory use is still valuable and valid. I have compiled an exhaustive list of directories including PR, pages that have been spidered, and submission requirements for directories - see List of SEO Directories. When submitting to directories, make sure to vary anchor text and try to use your keywords in the description and title fields as naturally as possible. A good SEO should be able to obtain between 75-150 unique backlinks just from directories.
Top Competition

This tactic can help you generate the most visitors to your site. Search Yahoo, Google, MSN and the other search engines for each of your important keyword phrases and make a point of attempting to get a link from each page. Oftentimes a direct phone call to site owners or a very tactful email can go a long way. I've even used handwritten letters to attempt to cajole site owners into giving me a link. Use whatever resources you have help persuade - links from other sites you own, money (if you have it), free SEO services, contributions of articles or content, etc.

When I use this technique, I'll typically make a spreadsheet listing all of the sites I have a shot at getting a link from (i.e. excluding direct, obvious competitors). I then get as much contact information as I can about each one and run down the list. This can be very time-consuming, but also exceptionally worthwhile. Even if your site doesn't get ranked much higher, each link from a site that ranks in the top 20 will bring direct, targeted traffic.
Link Searches

This old technique has been honed to a science by many SEOs, but there is always room to improve. The goal is to use Google/Yahoo to search for pages that let you add a link (reciprocal, paid, etc.) that already have your keyword or some closely related content on them. Often these searches turn up smalltime site operators with reciprocal link directories managed by 3rd party software. Don't overlook these, and make sure you submit. But the real prize is pages that give free links or offer paid links to sites they feel are important - many of the highest PR links can be obtained through this method, especially if you conduct the search at SEOChat's PR Search Tool.

The following searches are worthy of being tried, but feel free to experiment:

intitle:add+url "keyword phrase"
intitle:submit+site "keyword phrase"
intitle:submit+url "keyword phrase"
intitle:add+site "keyword phrase"
intitle:add+your+site "keyword phrase"
intitle:directory "keyword phrase"
intitle:list "keyword phrase"
intitle:sites "keyword phrase"

All of the above searches can be used without the intitle to give even more results. As with other link building processes, these are tedious and time-consuming, but it is critical to stay focused on finding quality, relevant links. When using this method, make sure you note to which other sites the page is linking and what text content is listed. If it fits well with your content, don't worry if the page is PR0.

Usurping Competitors' Links

Although this may sound unseemly, it is one of the most effective ways to build links, and is commonly practiced. The goal is to find as many domains and pages as possible that link to your competitors' sites and get those sites to link to you as well. This is often easier than it sounds, because the site is already linking out to people in your industry. Money, services, links or simple requests are all used to get the job done.

The most effective ways to find your competitors' links are listed below:

At Yahoo! type linkdomain:url.com -site:url.com
At MSN's techpreview type link:url.com -site:url.com
At Yahoo! type link:http://www.url.com
At Google type "url.com" -site:url.com

These are typically the most reliable way to find the sites and pages that link to your competitors and, incidentally, those sites which link to you. Remember to be as courteous, direct and friendly as possible. Don't forget how effective non-electronic methods of communication can be - phone, letters, etc.

Article Writing & Submission

Writing unique, valuable content about your subject matter for your own site is the most critical piece of on-site SEO. But it can also be a fantastic way to generate quality links from other sites. Many existing websites are designed around hosting the content of others and providing links back to them. I have listed some of the biggest 3rd-party article hosting sites below.

General Articles - These cover a wide range of subjects and will accept submission on many topics:

Idea Marketers - http://www.ideamarketers.com/writers.cfm
Buzzle.com - http://www.buzzle.com/secure/become-editor.asp
EBooksnBytes - http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/articles/submit.shtml
Article Central - http://thewhir.com/find/articlecentral/suggest.asp
Go Articles - http://www.goarticles.com/ulogin.html
EzineArticles - http://ezinearticles.com/submit/
AMAzines - http://amazines.com/
Article City - http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml
BPubs.com - http://www.bpubs.com/cgi/add.cgi
Business Know-How - businessknowhow.com/newsletter/articleguidelines.htm
WWIO - http://www.certificate.net/wwio/ideas.shtml
About.com - http://sbinformation.about.com/library/blsubmission.htm (note, this is just of many places on the site where you can submit articles - choose the subject that best matches your site)
NetterWeb.com - http://www.netterweb.com/articles/
Simply Search 4it - http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/addart.php
Vector Central Marketing - http://www.vectorcentral.com/articles-form.html
Learning Folder - http://www.learningfolder.com/SubmitArticle.aspx
Knowledge Bed - http://www.knowledgebed.com/submission.html
Article Insider - http://www.articleinsider.com/start.php
Articles that Sell - http://www.articlesthatsell.com/submityourarticle.htm
Smart Ads - http://www.smartads.info/articles/
Writing Career - http://www.writingcareer.com/freearticles-submit.html

These are just some of the thousands of sites that offer the ability to spread your content around the web. Additional sites on your specific topics can be found using the search engines. Especially prevalent are sites offering content in website marketing & technology - there are hundreds of sites that deal in content on these issues.

Forums & Online Communities

Generating links through forums is often considered spam, but forums are valuable tools for link builders as long as the proper methods are employed. The forum signature of a member is certainly a fair place to promote your site, and while doing so may not provide a worthy backlink in the search engines' eyes, it does offer visitors on the forum a chance to see your site.

The primary goal of joining a forum should be to contribute and learn from the community, but promotion certainly isn't out of place, as long as it remains on-topic. In SEO forums, people constantly plug their new directories, tools, articles, etc. These are all appropriate as long as they are subtle, relevant and not overdone.

When a specific page, tool or link would provide a great resource or answer to a question in a community, don't hesitate to provide it. Much of the information used to write this article and the SEO Survey tool was provided in forums through links. Just remember to carefully read the terms of use for the forums you post in - many are harsh if they feel someone is there to spam or advertise.
Blogging & Comments

Blogging is a very effective way to get natural inbound links, and by having a personal blog at your site, you can more easily make commentary at other sites that link back to you. DO NOT spam blog comments with advertisements; your goal is to create an online reputation you can be proud of. Blog owners and visitors will not take kindly to blog spam. The key to effective blogging for links is to make sure you comment relevantly & intelligently about the specific subject in the blog. A well thought-out response to a relevant blog or article can bring not only search engines, but more importantly other readers of the blog to your site through the link. If your content proves interesting, you could build much more than just a single link through your comments.

Another important thing to remember is that your link in blog comments may not count at all in the search engines. Many blogs prevent access to these comments or don't provide direct, spiderable links for blog visitors. This, combined with the fact that these comments are buried at least 2-3 links deep from the main page means that you should keep your focus on the visitors you might generate, rather than the search engine optimization you might get.

However, you should still be as SE friendly as possible. If the subject matter deals directly with your keyword phrases, you're in fine shape, but if they are on related subjects, it can't hurt to use your keyword phrase(s) once or twice in a longer comment/entry. You should also try to make your 'name' - which is typically the anchor text for your link contain at least one of your kw phrases, but remember to keep it varied and never let it overtake the importance of getting visitors, i.e. if your site is about Orange County T-Shirts, having a 'name' of OC-Tshirt-Man can't hurt you, but Orange-County-T-Shirts is probably not as wise.
Renting Pages from Authority Sites

This tactic is not often mentioned, but can be extremely valuable. The premise is to rent, for a monthly fee, a page hosted on a larger or more authoritative site in your industry. You then add content & links on the page to your own site(s) with the anchor text you choose and in the format you select. These are almost like 'advertorials' in magazines, where you provide content that the site links to (hopefully not more than 2 links from the homepage) and then link back to your own site.

The fundamental difference between this tactic and simple article hosting is that you approach a site or company that doesn't normally host other people's content about having your information. Although rejection is often likely, the benefits can be phenomenal, as the page itself may rank well for your search terms very quickly.
Purchasing Online Advertising

Link building through advertising is exceptionally expensive, but it can bring in good returns if properly managed. Make sure as you buy links that you get the click-through rate from the seller for the past 6 months. You should get a lot of other statistics to review as well - make sure to avoid advertising in places where the seller doesn't have good information on click-through rates, visitors, etc. You'll also have to work around re-direct scripts, links sent through ad networks (like DoubleClick), etc. As long as you are up front and friendly, you'll be able to have some success in this arena as long as you have the funding.
Text Link Brokers

Although initial thoughts about link brokers can give a bad impression, this new industry can actually have a positive value on your link building efforts. I recommend against purchasing sitewide links unless your only goal is to build PR (i.e. directories or SEO related sites, etc.). Sitewide links have come to be associated with "manipulation" of the SERPs by search engines and should be largely avoided. However, purchasing text links on specific, related sites surrounded by the content of your choice can be beneficial, if difficult to find.

The key to a successful text link is that all the components of natural SEO are there:

Is the page closely related to your site's topic?
Is the link placed in a strategic position - i.e. not in an obvious advertising space or footer?
Is the site related to the topic of your site and the topic of the page?
Is the site spidered frequently by the search engines and do the pages have visible PR?

If the link meets these criteria, it could be very worthwhile. However, be careful to avoid paying high prices for a particular page or site, simply because of its PR. It is more likely that multiple low PR (3,4 & 5) pages are worth more to you than a single PR7 or 8.

Several lists of text links sellers are available online:

Link Sellers - List of Text Link Ad Sellers
Text Link Brokers - Discussion and some links at SearchEngineWatch Forums

Be wary and always do some search research and asking at the major SEO forums prior to buying from text link brokers. The industry is, sadly, rife with scammers & companies that don't deliver as promised.

Unique Tools & Services

By offering specific, relevant free Internet tools/services at your site, you can generate naturally built links. My recommendation is to find a tool or service that isn't currently offered or that you believe you can improve upon. For some industries, this will be much harder than others, but creativity is your best tool. Imagine what automated web service, list of resources or submission-type tool would best benefit you and then build it and offer it on your site.

Some excellent examples are listed below (these come straight from my imagination):

For a site about animals, a tool that visually diagrams the phylum/genus/species relationships
For a site about travel, a tool that creates a pre-planned itinerary based on a selection of interests
For a site about real estate, a tool that estimates property value or gives a % chance of selling for a based on time, region & price.

The possibilities are endless, and there is little doubt that the web can automate and make easier hundreds of tasks in any industry. The key, after you have built your tool, is to promote it with industry leaders - send it to bloggers who discuss your subject matter, ask people to use and evaluate it on forums, etc. You can even try to promote it by writing an article about your findings, rapidshare downloads, development or the simple existence of the tool and submitting it across the newswires.

Automated Link Building Programs

Many SEOs feel that automated link building is a surefire way to get banned/penalized by the search engines. If you are caught practicing this tactic, I would certainly agree. However, for those willing to take risks, the rewards can be substantial. Well-built and well hidden link networks often bring higher rankings in a short amount of time. The key is to select a provider who will offer the following:

A vastly distributed network that is not interlinked and doesn't share any C-Block IP addresses
Linking pages that contain some relevant content that has been well-linked through a sitemap system
Pages that are as close to naturally-designed and built as possible
A company that can speak at an expert level about SEO and the tactics they use to avoid detection - call them and talk to them first; their knowledge and competence should be instantly apparent.
Someone you trust and have researched thoroughly - I DO NOT recommend posting on forums about these companies, as you could damage your chances for success. Just ask for recommendations from trusted members of the SEO community.
Pages that link not only to your site(s) but to other relevant, related sites as well - even if they are your competition. That way, if you get penalized, at least your competition is suffering as well.

This is one of the riskiest strategies that can be pursued in link building and I recommend it only with extreme caution. You are breaking the search engine's printed rules by "intentionally manipulating the search results" and you should have a contingency plan in the event of disaster.

Donations & Charity

Many high PR websites are run by charity organizations, open-source technology groups & the like. Contributions of time, money or resources in exchange for links are commonplace and very worthwhile. For this type of link building, relevancy is still important, but you may not be able to find any link partners in this segment if you focus solely on topic-sensitive sites & pages. It may be very worthwhile to donate regardless and see if the links from PR7 & 8 pages can help to boost your importance.

In order to find sites like these, I use the PR Search tool at SEOChat to search for terms/phrases like donate, contribute, give, etc. Appending your broadest search terms to these types of words can help you find the sites most likely to pass you a good link. Remember that even if non-profits, charities, etc. don't have a link program in place, they may be more than happy to provide a special link for you if you request it when contributing. If nothing else, these links and the time/money you spend getting them are a great way to sleep better at night.
Press Releases

Press releases written by an SEO firm can contain a carefully worded title, well placed keywords and a link to the site that is the subject of the article. SEOs have been using press release services for some time, and as with many other things, the more you spend, the better distribution is. Press releases can also rank well on their own, particularly in the first few days/weeks of release as they receive the 'fresh content' boost in the SERPs. A particularly interesting or well-written press release may even garner the attention of some larger players in the new market, and if your article is picked up by one or several good sources, it can serve as a great boon to traffic and exposure.

Success relies on the careful crafting of the article itself - providing excellent, factual information in a way that is interesting to read and relevant to the industry. Hiring a journalism student for $100-$200 an article or a more experienced professional for more may well be worth the money. In any case, the press release needs to be sent through a distribution site. The following are popular in the SEO industry because they offer links, serve to a large variety of sites and provide enough flexibility to let an SEO perform well.

The top two sites listed are the largest, with the greatest distribution networks, but each site offers its own unique benefits and some are less expensive than others. It is worthwhile, especially if you have the money and are in a competitive arena, to opt for the maximum spend at PRWeb - somewhere around $250 per article. The distribution that is achieved will determine the value of the links and the article. It's also important to keep in mind that duplicate content penalties may hurt you - DO NOT re-publish the press release on your own site.

Natural Link Building

Although undoubtedly a difficult and time consuming method, as well as one of the more unreliable ones, natural link building is what powers most of the top sites on the Internet. This method involves developing the most useful, relevant content that provides the best resources, tools, services, prices, etc. in the industry. By offering the web community the best possible site, you can gain natural links through the power of having others on the web link to you.

Sadly, this tactic is somewhat usurped by the search engines, as newer sites often fair exceptionally poorly in the search results, especially for popular terms. In order to build natural links, people must be exposed to your site. At one time natural link building was the very best method to get traffic and links, but in the current state of search and traffic, it is more of a boost that you use to help convert some of the webmasters & bloggers who might visit your site into link builders.

Building valuable content is no easy task, and building an industry-leading resource is even more challenging. However, the long-term benefits can be spectacular, assuming you have the money and time to maintain your resource without proportional income. Remember to ask yourself what someone who comes to your site might want and try to provide the absolute best service/information in your industry in the cleanest, most usable site possible

Some Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist

2010-12-09T00:23:00.000-08:00

1. Positive ON-Page SEO Factors.
a. Keyword in URL.
b. Keyword in Domain name.
c. Keyword in Title Tag.
d. Keyword in H1, H2 and H3.

2. Negative ON-Page SEO Factors.
a. Text presented in graphics form only
No ACTUAL body text on the page

b. Affiliate site: The Florida update went after affiliates with a vengeance - flower and travel affiliates were hit hard - cookie-cutter sites with massive inter-linking, but little unique content. Subsequent updates have also targeted affiliates.

c. Over optimization penalty (OOP): Penalty for over-compliance with well-established, accepted web optimization practices. Too high keyword repetition (keyword stuffing) may get you the OOP. Overuse of H1 tags has been mentioned. Meta-tag stuffing.

d. Poison words: The word "Links" in a title tag has been suggested to be a bad idea. Here is my list of Poison Words for Adsense. This penalty has been loosened - many of these words now appear in normal context, with no problems. But watch your step.

e. Excessive cross-linking: within the same C block (IP=xxx.xxx.CCC.xxx)
If you have many sites (>10, author's guess) with the same web host, prolific cross-linking can indicate more of a single entity, and less of democratic web voting. Easy to spot, easy to penalize.
"This does not apply to a small number of sites" .. (this author guesses the number 10, JAWG) . . . "Hosted on a local server". . Matt Cutts July 2006.

f. Keyword stuffing threshold: In body, meta tags, alt text, etc. = demotion

3. Positive OFF-Page SEO Factors.

a. Page Rank: Based on the Number and Quality of links to you. Google link reporting continues to display just a SMALL fraction of your actual back links, and they are NOT just greater than PR4 - they are mixed.
b. Anchor text of inbound link to you.
c. Link from "Expert" site. Google patent - Big time boost (Hilltop Algorithm).Recently reported to give a big boost!
d. Site listed in Yahoo Directory: Big boost - You can get in by paying $299 each year. Many swear it is worth it - many swear it isn't.
e. Site Age - Old shows stability.

4. Negative OFF-Page SEO Factors.
a. Zero links to you: You MUST have at least 1 (one) incoming link (back link) from some website somewhere, that Google is aware of, to REMAIN in the index.
b. Link-buying. (Very good IF you don't get caught, but don't do it -when caught, the penalty isn't worth it.)
c. Cloaking: Google promises to Ban! (Presenting one webpage to the search engine spider, and another webpage to everybody else.)
d. Penalties - resulting from. Domain Hijacking(work with Google to fix).

Facebook and Twitter Slam the Door on Would-Be WikiLeaks Avengers

2010-12-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

Facebook and Twitter Slam the Door on Would-Be WikiLeaks Avengers

Top SEO Mistakes

2010-11-30T10:00:00.001-08:00

· Targeting the wrong keywords

This is a mistake many people make and what is worse – even experienced SEO experts make it. People choose keywords that in their mind are descriptive of their website but the average users just may not search them. For instance, if you have a relationship site, you might discover that “relationship guide” does not work for you, even though it has the “relationship” keyword, while “dating advice” works like a charm. Choosing the right keywords can make or break your SEO campaign. Even if you are very resourceful, you can't think on your own of all the great keywords but a good keyword suggestion tool, for instance, the Website Keyword Suggestion tool will help you find keywords that are good for your site.

· Ignoring the Title tag

Leaving the tag empty is also very common. This is one of the most important places to have a keyword, because not only does it help you in optimization but the text in your tag shows in the search results as your page title.

· A Flash website without a html alternative

Flash might be attractive but not to search engines and users. If you really insist that your site is Flash-based and you want search engines to love it, provide an html version. Here are some more tips for optimizing Flash sites. Search engines don't like Flash sites for a reason – a spider can't read Flash content and therefore can't index it.

· JavaScript Menus

Using JavaScript for navigation is not bad as long as you understand that search engines do not read JavaScript and build your web pages accordingly. So if you have JavaScript menus you can't do without, you should consider build a sitemap (or putting the links in a noscript tag) so that all your links will be crawlable.

· Lack of consistency and maintenance

Our friend Rob from Blackwood Productions often encounters clients, who believe that once you optimize a site, it is done foreve. If you want to be successful, you need to permanently optimize your site, keep an eye on the competition and – changes in the ranking algorithms of search engines.

· Concentrating too much on meta tags

A lot of people seem to think SEO is about getting your meta keywords and description correct! In fact, meta tags are becoming (if not already) a thing of the past. You can create your meta keywords and descriptions but don't except to rank well only because of this.

· Using only Images for Headings

Many people think that an image looks better than text for headings and menus. Yes, an image can make your site look more distinctive but in terms of SEO images for headings and menus are a big mistake because h2, h2, etc. tags and menu links are important SEO items. If you are afraid that your h1 h2, etc. tags look horrible, try modifying them in a stylesheet or consider this approach: http://www.stopdesign.com/articles/replace_text.

· Ignoring URLs

Many people underestimate how important a good URL is. Dynamic page names are still very frequent and no keywords in the URL is more a rule than an exception. Yes, it is possible to rank high even without keywords in the URL but all being equal, if you have keywords in the URL (the domain itself, or file names, which are part of the URL), this gives you additional advantage over your competitors. Keywords in URLs are more important for MSN and Yahoo! but even with Google their relative weight is high, so there is no excuse for having keywordless URLs.

· Backlink spamming

It is a common delusion that it more backlinks are ALWAYS better and because of this web masters resort to link farms, forum/newgroup spam etc., which ultimately could lead to getting their site banned. In fact, what you need are quality backlinks. Here are some more information on The Importance of Backlinks

· Lack of keywords in the content

Once you focus on your keywords, modify your content and put the keywords wherever it makes sense. It is even better to make them bold or highlight them.

Gets Traffic using Facebook and Twitter

2010-11-30T09:54:00.001-08:00

Facebook:

Facebook is not the first social network but it is the most popular one. There have been many other social networks before Facebook and while some of them were popular at some point in time, none could reach the popularity of Facebook. In addition to keeping in touch with your friends, Facebook can be (and is) used for business. You can use it to promote your products and services, to acquire new clients, or to get traffic to your site.

Benefits:

Your profile is your major weapon:

As with Twitter and any other social network, if you don't make your profile interesting, you will hardly become popular. Give enough background information for you and don't forget to make your profile public because this way even people, who don't know you, when they encounter your profile, they might become interested in you and become a supporter of yours.

Build your network
Post regularly
Be active
Arrange your page
Check what Facebook apps are available
Use Facebook Social Ads
Start a group
Write your own Facebook extensions
Use separate profiles

Twitter:

Twitter is simple to use and this is what made it so popular. Twitter is fashionable right now, so enjoy the moment. Even the creators of Twitter admit that as with MySpace and other Web 2.0 sensations, Twitter will inevitably go out of fashion some day, so hurry up and get some traffic for free now, when it is still all the rage of the season.

Benefits:

Make your Twitter profile interesting
Pick a niche-targeted username
Put your site/blog URL in your profile
Search for Twitter users with similar interests
Socialize on Twitter as much as you can
Tweet regularly
Don't spam
Take advantage of Twitterfeed
Make Twitter Search love you
Add Twitter gadgets to your site

Get Traffic for Free in your website using SEO

2010-11-30T09:35:00.001-08:00

Getting traffic is one of the most important tasks for any web master. What is more, you can't get traffic once and then just reap the benefits. Getting traffic is an ongoing task and you must be constantly doing it, if you want to get traffic and keep it. Here are some of the ways to get traffic for free:

1. Optimize your site for search engines.

Search engines have always been a major way to get traffic for free. That is why you need to do your homework and optimize your site so that it ranks well for the keywords you target. SEO is still the most powerful way to get traffic for free and you really need to invest some time and efforts in the optimization of your site. SEO is not that difficult and if you want to get familiar with it in a nutshell, check our SEO Tutorial. If you are too busy for that, you can start with the 15 Minute SEO article.

2. Frequently update the contents of your site. .

If you expected some shocking secrets revealed, you might be a bit disappointed. One of the first steps in getting traffic for free is trivial but vital – get great content and frequently update it. In terms of SEO, content is king. If your content is good and frequently updated you will not only build a loyal audience of recurring visitors, who will often come to see what is new, but search engines will also love your site.

3. Take advantage of social bookmarking sites.

Social bookmarking sites (especially the most popular among them) are another powerful way to get traffic for free. If you want to learn how to do it, check the How to get Traffic from Social Bookmarking sites article, where we have explained what to do if you want to get free traffic from sites such as Digg, Delicious, etc.

4. Use your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Social networks are also a way to get traffic for free. If you are popular on networks, such as Twitter or Facebook, the traffic you get from there can easily surpass the traffic from Google and the other search engines. It is true that building a large network of targeted followers on Twitter and supporters on Facebook takes a lot of time and effort but generally the result is worth.

5. Get links with other sites in your niche.

Another way to get traffic for free is from other sites in your niche. Getting links with other sites in your niche is also good for SEO, especially if you manage to get links without the famous nofollow attribute. But even if the links are nofollow (i.e. they are useless for SEO), they still help to get traffic to your site. If you manage to put your link in a visible place on a site with high volumes of traffic, you can get thousands of hits from this link alone. If you need list of sites within your niche where you could get backlinks from, check the Backlink Builder tool. However, be careful if you exchange links because linking to bad neighbors can do you a lot of harm.

6. Use any chance to promote your site for free.

Free promotion is always welcome, so don't neglect it. There are many ways to promote your site for free and some of the most popular ones include free classified ads, submissions to directories, inclusion in various listings, etc. It is true that not all free ways to promote your site work well but if you select the right places to promote your site for free, this can also result in tons of traffic.

7. Create a free product or service.

Content drives most traffic when you offer something useful. There are many types of useful content you can create and they largely depend on the niche of your site. You can have articles with tons of advice, or short tips but one of the most powerful ways to get traffic is to create a free product or service. When this product or service gets popular and people start visiting your site, chances are that they will visit the other sections of the site as well.

8. Use viral content.

Free products and services are great for getting free traffic to your site and one of the best varieties in this aspect is viral content. Viral content is called so because it distributes like a virus – i.e. when users like your content, they send it to their friends, post it on various sites, and promote it for free in many different ways. Viral content distributes on its own and your only task is to create it and submit it to a couple of popular sites. After that users pick it and distribute it for you. Viral content can be a hot video or a presentation but it can also be a good old article or an image.

9. Use offline promotion.

Offline promotion is frequently forgotten but it is also a way to get traffic for free. Yes, computers are everywhere and many people spend more time online than offline but still life hasn't moved completely on the Web. Offline promotion is also very powerful and if you know how to use it, this can also bring you many visitors. Some of the traditional offline ways to promote your site include printing its URL on your company's business cards and souvenirs or sticking it on your company vehicles. You can also start selling T-shirts and other merchandise with your logo and this way make your brand more popular.

10. Include your URL in your signature.

URLs in forum signatures are also a way to get traffic for free. There are forums, which get millions of visitors a day and if you are a popular user on such a forum, you can use this to get traffic to your site. When you post on forums and people like your posts, they tend to click the link to your site on your signature to learn more about you. In rare cases you might be able to post a deep link (i.e. a link to an internal page of the site) rather than a link to your homepage and this is also a way to focus attention to a particular page. Unfortunately, deep links are rarely allowed.

Getting traffic for free is a vast topic and it is not possible to list all the ways to do it. However, if you know the most important ways – i.e. the ways we discussed in this article and you apply them properly, it is guaranteed that you will be able to get lots of traffic for free.

History of PPC

2010-11-06T10:19:00.001-07:00

What is PPC?

Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on websites, where advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.

What is CPC?

Cost per click (CPC) is the sum paid by an advertiser to search engines and other Internet publishers for a single click on their advertisement which directs one visitor to the advertiser's website.

Type of PPC….

Flat-rate PPC

In the flat-rate model, the advertiser and publisher agree upon a fixed amount that will be paid for each click. In many cases the publisher has a rate card that lists the CPC within different areas of their website or network. These various amounts are often related to the content on pages, with content that generally attracts more valuable visitors having a higher CPC than content that attracts less valuable visitors. However, in many cases advertisers can negotiate lower rates, especially when committing to a long-term or high-value contract.

Bid-based PPC

In the bid-based model, the advertiser signs a contract that allows them to compete against other advertisers in a private auction hosted by a publisher or, more commonly, an advertising network. Each advertiser informs the host of the maximum amount that he or she is willing to pay for a given ad spot (often based on a keyword), usually using online tools to do so. The auction plays out in an automated fashion every time a visitor triggers the ad spot.

Cost per action

Cost Per Action or CPA (sometimes known as Pay Per Action or PPA) is an online advertising pricing model, where the advertiser pays for each specified action (a purchase, a form submission, and so on) linked to the advertisement.

CPA

CPA is sometimes referred to as "Cost Per Acquisition", which has to do with the fact that most CPA offers by advertisers are about acquiring something (typically new customers by making sales). Using the term "Cost Per Acquisition" instead of "Cost Per Action" is not incorrect in such cases, but not all "Cost Per Action" offers can be referred to as "Cost Per Acquisition".

Differences between CPA and CPL advertising

In CPL campaigns, advertisers pay for an interested lead (hence, Cost Per Lead) — i.e. the contact information of a person interested in the advertiser's product or service. CPL campaigns are suitable for brand marketers and direct response marketers looking to engage consumers at multiple touchpoints — by building a newsletter list, community site, reward program or member acquisition program.

In CPA campaigns, the advertiser typically pays for a completed sale involving a credit card transaction.

There are other important differentiators:

CPL campaigns are advertiser-centric. The advertiser remains in control of their brand, selecting trusted and contextually relevant publishers to run their offers. On the other hand, CPA and affiliate marketing campaigns are publisher-centric. Advertisers cede control over where their brand will appear, as publishers browse offers and pick which to run on their websites. Advertisers generally do not know where their offer is running.
CPL campaigns are usually high volume and light-weight. In CPL campaigns, consumers submit only basic contact information. The transaction can be as simple as an email address. On the other hand, CPA campaigns are usually low volume and complex. Typically, consumer has to submit credit card and other detailed information.

Details Information about SAP

2010-10-29T23:41:00.001-07:00

Who and / or what is SAP? How popular is it? Wow!

SAP the company was founded in Germany in 1972 by five ex-IBM engineers. In case you're ever asked, SAP stands for Systeme, Andwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung which – translated to English – means Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing. So now you know! Being incorporated in Germany, the full name of the parent company is SAP AG. It is located in Walldorf, Germany which is close to the beautiful town of Heidelberg. SAP has subsidiaries in over 50 countries around the world from Argentina to Venezuela (and pretty much everything in between). SAP America (with responsibility for North America, South America and Australia – go figure!) is located just outside Philadelphia, PA.

The original five founders have been so successful that they have multiplied many times over such that SAP AG is now the third largest software maker in the world, with over 17,500 customers (including more than half of the world's 500 top companies). SAP employs over 27,000 people worldwide today, and had revenues of $7.34 billion and Net Income of $581 million in FY01. SAP is listed in Germany (where it is one of the 30 stocks which make up the DAX) and on the NYSE (ticker: SAP).

There are now 44,500 installations of SAP, in 120 countries, with more then 10 million users!

So what made this company so successful? Back in 1979 SAP released SAP R/2 (which runs on mainframes) into the German market. SAP R/2 was the first integrated, enterprise wide package and was an immediate success. For years SAP stayed within the German borders until it had penetrated practically every large German company. Looking for more growth, SAP expanded into the remainder of Europe during the 80′s. Towards the end of the 80′s, client-server architecture became popular and SAP responded with the release of SAP R/3 (in 1992). This turned out to be a killer app for SAP, especially in the North American region into which SAP expanded in 1988.

The success of SAP R/3 in North America has been nothing short of stunning. Within a 5 year period, the North American market went from virtually zero to 44% of total SAP worldwide sales. SAP America alone employs more than 3,000 people and has added the names of many of the Fortune 500 to it's customer list (8 of the top 10 semiconductor companies, 7 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies etc). SAP today is available in 46 country-specific versions, incorporating 28 languages including Kanji and other double-byte character languages. SAP also comes in 21 industry-specific versions.

SAP R/3 is delivered to a customer with selected standard process turned on, and many many other optional processes and features turned off. At the heart of SAP R/3 are about 10,000 tables which control the way the processes are executed. Configuration is the process of adjusting the settings of these tables to get SAP to run the way you want it to. Think of a radio with 10,000 dials to tune and you'll get the picture. Functionality included is truly enterprise wide including: Financial Accounting (e.g. general ledger, accounts receivable etc), Management Accounting (e.g. cost centers, profitability analysis etc), Sales, Distribution, Manufacturing, Production Planning, Purchasing, Human Resources, Payroll etc etc etc. For a full description of the modules included in SAP, see the related articles. All of these modules are tightly integrated which – as you will find out – is a huge blessing … but brings with it special challenges.

SAP are maintaining and increasing their dominance over their competitors through a combination of

- embracing the internet with mySAP.com (a confusing name we believe) to head off i2 etc

- extending their solutions with CRM to head off Siebel

- adding functionality to their industry solutions

Who is it made for? Why might I need it?

We have all heard about the large (and very large) companies who have implemented (or are still busy implementing) SAP R/3. But SAP is gaining acceptance by smaller companies too.

There are many reasons a company selects and implements SAP – some are good and some are bad. The good ones include replacing an out-dated and inefficient IT Architecture (including the CIO's nemesis … the burning platform), enabling business process change, and to gain competitive advantage. The bad ones are too numerous to go into here but would include the "why are we the only semiconductor company without SAP" question. More on the good reasons follows:

Replacing an out-dated and inefficient IT Architecture:
In the beginning, computer systems were developed by individual departments to satisfy the requirements of that particular department. When someone finally realized that benefits could be had by linking these systems together, interface heaven was born. There are some companies today with literally thousands of interfaces, each of which needs to be maintained (assuming of course that there is someone around who understands how they work!). Sweeping them away and replacing them with an integrated system such as SAP can save much money in support. Of course, if you have a burning platform as well the question becomes even easier.

2. Enabling business process change – From the start, SAP was built on a foundation of process best practices. Although it sounds absurd, it is probably easier (and less expensive) to change your companies processes to adapt to SAP than the other way around. Many companies have reported good success from combining a SAP implementation with a BPR project.

3. Competitive advantage – The CFO types around have heard this old saying from the CIO types for many years now. The question still has to be asked … can you gain competitive advantage from implementing SAP? The answer, of course, depends on the company. It seems to us, however, that:

• being able to accurately provide delivery promise dates for manufactured products (and meet them) doesn't hurt … and

• being able to consolidate purchase decisions from around the globe and use that leverage when negotiating with vendors has gotta help … and

• being able to place kiosks in stores where individual customers can enter their product specifications and then feed this data directly into it's production planning process is pretty neat

• etc etc

How much does it cost? What will it take to implement it? Wow!

There is a defining moment in the journey of all companies on the road to SAP nirvana. This moment comes just after the company has concluded that it wants' SAP, it needs SAP, it's gotta have SAP … then comes the question 'so what does it take to implement it'?

Before being accused of being too negative, let me remind you that at the heart of every good business decision lies a cost benefit analysis. If this cannot be complete with a positive outcome, the initiative (whatever it is) should probably not be launched. Same goes for a SAP implementation.

Implementing SAP is expensive. No doubt about it. But the potential rewards can dwarf the costs (and have for many existing customers already). One customer reportedly made enough savings on the procurement of a single raw material to pay for the entire enterprise-wide SAP implementation! Of course these are hard to substantiate, but visit SAP's website and take a look at the customer testimonials.

SAP sells it's R/3 product on a 'price per user basis'. The actual price is negotiated between SAP and the customer and therefore depends on numerous factors which include number of users and modules (and other factors which are present in any negotiation). You should check with SAP, but for a ballpark planning number you could do worse than starting with $4000 per user. There is also an annual support cost of about 10% which includes periodic upgrades. Again, check with SAP.

Then there is the implementation cost. Yowser. It is about now that you need to get the business case out again and remind yourself why you need to do this. The major drivers of the total implementation cost are the Timeframe, Resource Requirements and Hardware.

Timeframe – The absolute quickest implementation we have ever heard of is 45 days … but this was for a tiny company with very few users and no changes to the delivered SAP processes. At the other end of the scale you get the multi-nationals who are implementing SAP over 5 to 10 years. These are not necessarily failures … many of them are planned as successive global deployments (which seem to roll around the globe forever). Of course the really expensive ones are those we don't hear about! For the most part, you should be able to get your (single instance) project completed in a 9 to 18 month period.

People – The smallest of SAP implementations can get done on a part-time basis without outside help. The largest swallow up hundreds of people (sometimes over a thousand) and include whole armies of consultants. This adds up fast. Again, get that business case out. The types of people you will need run the range from heavy duty techies to project managers.

Hardware – The smallest of SAP implementations probably use only three instances (boxes) … one for the production system, one for test, and one for development. The largest implementations have well over 100 instances, especially if they involve multiple parallel projects (otherwise known as a program).

Adding all this up, your SAP project can run anywhere from $400,000 to hundreds of millions of $'s. As you can see, SAP can be all things to all companies … so it's best to talk to them (or your consulting firm) about your specific requirements.

Is there any help out there? What should I do next? Help From SAP AG

There is a ton of help available out there – depending on your companies budget and culture – to help you along your journey beginning with your strategy and ending up when you reach that hallowed (and sometimes distant) ground of post-implementation. This article concentrates on the help available from SAP AG. Article 5 discusses other sources of help.

SAP AG employs around 22,000 people. Although they re-organize as often as most other companies, you can think of them as being organized into the following four areas: Pre-Sales, Consulting, Training and Developers.

• Pre-Sales. These are people with heavy-duty functional knowledge of one or more SAP modules and one or more industries. They give really excellent system demonstrations on particular areas of the system which – while thick with pre-sales features – are an extremely valuable source of information about SAP. I'm sure they have many other responsibilities as well, but if you can, get a demo from them. For an even more useful demo, ask if you can provide them with business process scenarios that are pertinent to your business or industry prior to the demo.

• Consulting. While also knowledgeable in SAP (of course), these are mostly consulting types like those that can be found in the major consulting firms. Often a team will consist of consultants from SAP and a partner consulting firm and you will not know the difference. Expect them to have business process and/or industry knowledge in addition to detailed SAP knowledge. They are not readily available to non-customers as they are usually assigned to one or more customers. A good list of consulting partners is available in the links section of this website.

• Training. In 1999 SAP opened up their training programs to non-customers and non-partners. This opens up a whole world of top-rate training programs at SAP's facilities around the globe. These can be expensive, however, and up to three weeks are usually required to gain a sufficiently deep understanding of a particular module or subject. If you have lots of time and money, you could register for one of SAP's 'academies' which are five-week crash courses (emphasis on crash … as in burn) in one of the following areas: FI/CO, MM/SD, and HR/ABAP. These end with an examination and 'certification' in your chosen area. More information on SAP training courses can be found on SAP's website.

• Developers. These heavy-duty techies are off limits to non-customers. Customers can sometimes get a message to them via the OSS system – which is an automated trouble ticket type system. If you ever actually see one, or have one on the phone, ask all the questions you can think of, as you may never have the chance again!

Is there any help out there? What should I do next? Help From Other Sources

Here we will cover the help that is available from other sources, including: Consulting Companies, SAPPHIRE and other SAP Events, ASUG, and this website.

1. Consulting Companies

One of SAP's key strategies has been to develop partnerships with the Consulting Companies. This has contributed enormously to the widespread adoption of SAP due to the fact that there are literally thousands of consultants (SAP estimate 55,000) ready to help with all aspects of your SAP implementation … from strategy to completion. There are two types of consulting partners:

Global consulting partners (13 of these at last count) are the largest of the consulting firms who are able to provide global assistance to global companies, and
National consulting partners who are accredited by country

Your need of a consulting partner depends on your project scope and complexity, your project budget, company culture, and prior SAP implementation experience in your company. Suffice to say that without heavy prior SAP experience in your company, all but the simplest SAP implementations would benefit from the involvement of experienced individuals who have done it before. Rates depend on your negotiations with the consulting company, of course, but you could do worse than use an estimate of $200 per person per hour. Consulting styles differ from firm to firm, so make sure your company culture is compatible with the typical approach of your chosen consulting partner. In addition, spend some time on their websites to get an idea of their approach, experience and capabilities.

2. SAPPHIRE and other SAP events

SAPPHIRE is the name given to SAP's annual user conference. Multiple SAPPHIRE's can be found around the globe each year, and are usually sold out in advance. North American SAPPHIRE's are typically held in hot cities (off season) and attract upwards of 14,000 prospects, customers and partners. Read up on SAPPHIRE'99 here. SAPPHIRE is a great place to go explore, but is quite expensive at around $2,200 for three days (food, lodging, travel etc is at your own expense). Even so, it is well worth the time and expense.

Note: SAP holds other events throughout the year (TechEd, for example, is aimed at the more technical users) see their website for additional details.

3. ASUG (America's SAP User Group)

As the name suggests, ASUG is a forum for users of SAP. Non-users (prospects and consultants) and not usually found lurking here. ASUG actually comprises of multiple sub-ASUG's – each focusing on a particular area of SAP, for example there is an ASUG for High Tech companies, and an ASUG for companies using ALE etc. Leadership of these sub-ASUG's (for lack of a better description) usually rotates between members of the user community. ASUG provides opportunities for networking, learning and influencing SAP (for example joining forces with other users to convince SAP to include a particular modification in their standard software). In addition to meetings within the sub-ASUG's, there is an annual conference (which attracted nearly 6,000 users and vendors in 1999). More details on ASUG can be found at www.asug.com.

SAP AG Corporate Overview (Updated August 2004)

3rd – SAP is the 3rd largest software company in the world

30,000 – Total number of people employed by SAP

5,400 – Number of programmers employed by SAP

$7.024 billion – FY03 Revenue

$1.077 million – FY03 Net Income

12,000 – Number of companies using SAP

79,800 – Number of SAP installations

12,000,000 – Number of people using SAP

120,000,000 – Total number of people in the 12,000 companies who are using SAP

28 – Number of languages supported by SAP

46 – Number of country-specific versions of SAP

22 – Number of industry-specific versions of SAP

1,000 – Number of pre-defined best practices contained in the SAP system

10,000 – Number of tables requiring configuration in a full SAP implementation

55,000 – Number of SAP experienced consultants worldwide

28 – Number of years ago SAP was started

5 – Number of people who started SAP

SAP Modules and Solutions Overview

SAP now are moving away from describing their system as a set of modules, and now are using the term 'solutions', which is much better. If you visit SAP's website (as we urge you to do) you will find that they have structured their Solutions tab as follows:

1. Financials

2. Human Resources

3. Customer Relationship Management

4. Supplier Relationship Management

5. Product Lifecycle Management

6. Supply Chain Management

7. Business Intelligence

If you're still looking for that list of modules, here they are:

FI (Financial Accounting) – essentially your regulatory 'books of record', including

1. General ledger

2. Book close

3. Tax

4. Accounts receivable

5. Accounts payable

6. Consolidation

7. Special ledgers

CO (Controlling) – basically your internal cost/management accounting, including

1. Cost elements

2. Cost centres

3. Profit centres

4. Internal orders

5. Activity based costing

6. Product costing

AM (Asset Management) – track, value and depreciate your assets, including

1. Purchase

2. Sale

3. Depreciation

4. Tracking

PS (Project Systems) – manage your projects, large and small, including

1. Make to order

2. Plant shut downs (as a project)

3. Third party billing (on the back of a project)

HR (Human Resources) – ah yes, people, including

1. Employment history

2. Payroll

3. Training

4. Career management

5. Succession planning

PM (Plant Maintenance) – maintain your equipment (e.g. a machine, an oil rig, an aircraft etc), including

1. Labour

2. Material

3. Down time and outages

MM (Materials Management) – underpins the supply chain, including

1. Requisitions

2. Purchase orders

3. Goods receipts

4. Accounts payable

5. Inventory management

6. BOM's

7. Master raw materials, finished goods etc

QM (Quality Management) – improve the quality of your goods, including

1. Planning

2. Execution

3. Inspections

4. Certificates

PP (Production Planning) – manages your production process, including

1. Capacity planning

2. Master production scheduling

3. Material requirements planning

4. Shop floor

SD (Sales and Distribution) – from order to delivery, including

1. RFQ

2. Sales orders

3. Pricing

4. Picking (and other warehouse processes)

5. Packing

6. Shipping

CA (Cross Application) – these lie on top of the individual modules, and include

1. WF – workflow

2. BW – business information warehouse

3. Office – for email

4. Workplace

5. Industry solutions

6. New Dimension products such as CRM, PLM, SRM, APO etc

Common Mistake by SEO

2010-10-27T23:56:00.001-07:00

Meta

Problem:

You've not only put all the possible combination of keywords that describe your site, but you're halfway through all the keywords that you've ever heard of.

Solution:

The maximum number of keywords a site is allowed is 10. Sites with more than 10 meta keywords can be penalized and pushed to the bottom of the search results. Make sure you site has no more than 10. Even if it's just one over, it's like having thirty over. 10 is the absolute limit. For meta descriptions, the maximum allowance is 150 characters. This really is enough space to give visitors an idea of what a site is about. However, having no meta information is a big killer.

Title

Problem:

Your site title is 230 characters long, and you're on your way to the third run-on sentence describing your site.

Solution:

The page title should be no more than 70 characters long. Some people may think that this doesn't allow enough space for their marketing genius. But to be honest, even 70 characters is too long. You don't have to write a book to save that for your content.

A Word or Color?

Problem:

Everything on your site is HTML. You love HTML and can't get enough of it.

The solution:

If your site design is in HTML, you're commit a cardinal SEO sin. What year is this – 1997 ? Site designs should be written in CSS. Otherwise search engines can't differentiate what is design and what is content.

Everyone Can See My Photos except Google

The problem:

No "alt tags on your images."

The solution:

Add "alt tags" to each of your images. By doing this, you're telling what the image is. You don't have to describe the entire picture, but at least put something descriptive there. Everyone likes to know what's in a photo, even if they can't see it. Many people do not have the time to input alt tags for every single little icon or part of the design. It isn't really necessary to have alt tags on ALL images, just the important ones. The alt tag argument is becoming more and more controversial, but it doesn't hurt to add them and personally. I've noticed a different since adding them.

Domain Age and Register Period

Problem:

You have 210 days until your domain expires.

Solution:

Search engines like Google put more faith in a site that's going to be sticking around. That being said, domains that are registered for more than a year do much, much better with SEO than sites that will expire in less than a year. Personally, I register sites for two years, but I've registered my most important sites for up to 10 years. The domain expiration mistake is quite common as many people are baffled by the fact that search engines actually consider this as a factor in measuring the importance of a site. But, I guess if you register a site for something like 10 years, then it's important to you and if it's important to you, then it's slightly more important to Google. I mean, anyone willing to put more than just $10 down per year on a domain must REALLY be interested in it, right ?

Incoming Links

Problem:

Your site has no back links.

Solution:

A site's on-page SEO really helps, but off-page SEO is what's going to bring it to the top. Web sites need back links. In fact, the most important part of SEO is back links. It's important to also put your keywords in your back-links.It's important for back-links to be natural… or at least appear natural, so webmasters must take care in not creating too many back-links right away. This looks fishy and sites have been known to be penalized for this. Take it slow. Add a new back-link here and there. Taking it slow allows you a lot of space to dabble a little – to see what works and what doesn't without a major investment of time or money.

I'm Going to Be Rich Someday.

Problem:

You've picked a great keyword, but you have 50,387 back links and still don't rank for the keyword.

Solution:

You've picked some bad keywords. It's too bad, just do some keyword research with this tool. Every niche has those extremely competitive keywords, but those with a creative mind can come up with some good keywords – ones that people search for often, but are allow the webmaster the ability to rank for those keywords.

Black Hat SEO Techniques

2010-10-25T22:37:00.001-07:00

Black hat SEO is both a myth and a reality we have to face sooner or later as SEO practitioners. While I abide by probably one of the strictest SEO codes of ethics around and SEO optimize is a clean white hat SEO company itself we still can't deny that there is black hat SEO.

Here some technique of Black hat SEO:

 Hidden text – Create modern CSS based websites with JQuery effects. They often hide large portions of text in layers to display them on click or mouse over for usability reasons. Example: CSS pagination.


IP delivery – Offer the proper localized content to those coming from a country specific IP address. Offer the user a choice though. Shopping.com does a great job here.


301 redirects – Redirect outdated pages to the newer versions or your homepage. When moving to a new domain use them of course as well.


Throw Away Domains – Create exact match micro sites for short term popular keywords and abandon them when the trend subsides. Something like tigerwoodssexrehab.com


Cloaking – Hide the heavy Flash animations from Google, show the text-only version optimized for accessibility and findability.


Paid links – Donate for charity, software developers etc. Many of them display links to those who donate.


Keyword stuffing – Tags and folksonomy. Keyword stuff but adding several tags or let your users do the dirty work via UGC tagging (folksonomy) every major social site does that.


Automatically generated keyword pages – Some shopping search engines create pages from each Google search query and assign the appropriate products to each query. You can do that as well if you have enough content.


Mispsellings – Define, correct the misspelled term and/or redirect to the correct version.


Scraping – Create mirrors for popular sites. Offer them to the respective webmasters. Most will be glad to pay less.


Ad only pages – Create all page ads (interstitials) and show them before users see content like many old media do.


Blog spam – Don't spam yourself! Get spammed! Install a WordPress blog without Akismet spam protection. Then create a few posts about Mesothelioma for example, a very profitable keyword. Then let spammers comment spam it or even add posts (via TDO Mini Forms). Last but not least parse the comments for your keyword and outgoing links. If they contain the keyword publish them and remove the outgoing links of course. Bot user generated content so to say.


Duplicate content on multiple domains – Offer your content under a creative Commons License with attribution.


Domain grabbing – Buy old authority domains that failed and revive them instead of putting them on sale.


Fake news – Create real news on official looking sites for real events. You can even do it in print. Works great for all kinds of activism related topics.


Link farm – Create a legit blog network of flagship blogs. A full time pro blogger can manage 3 to 5 high quality blogs by her or himself.


New exploits – Find them and report them, blog about them. You break story and thus you get all the attention and links. Dave Naylor is excellent at it.


Brand jacking – Write a bad review for a brand that has disappointed you or destroys the planet or set up a brand x sucks page and let consumers voice their concerns.


Rogue bots – Spider websites and make their webmasters aware of broken links and other issues. Some people may be thankful enough to link to you.


Hidden affiliate links – In fact hiding affiliate links is good for usability and can be even more ethical than showing them. example.com/ref?id=87233683 is far worse than than just example.com. Also unsuspecting Web users will copy your ad to forums etc. which might break their TOS. The only thing you have to do is disclose the affiliate as such. I prefer to use [ad] (on Twitter for example) or [partner-link] elsewhere. This way you can strip the annoying "ref" ids and achieve full disclosure at the same time.


Doorway pages – Effectively doorway pages could also be called landing pages. The only difference is that doorway pages are worthless crap while landing pages are streamlined to suffice on their own. Common for both is that they are highly optimized for organic search traffic. So instead of making your doorway pages just a place to get skipped optimize them as landing pages and make the users convert right there.


Multiple subdomains – Multiple subdomains for one domain can serve an ethical purpose. Just think blogspot.co or wordpress.com – they create multiple subdomains by UGC. This way they can rank several times for a query. You can offer subdomains to your users as well.


Twitter automation – There is nothing wrong with Twitter automation as long as you don't overdo it. Scheduling and repeating tweets, even automatically tweeting RSS feeds from your or other blogs is perfectly OK as long as the Twitter account has a real person attending it who tweets "manually" as well. Bot accounts can be ethical as well in case they are useful no only for yourself. A bot collecting news about Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake would be perfectly legit if you ask me.


Deceptive headlines – Tabloids use them all the time, black hat SEO also do. There are ethical use cases for deceptive headlines though. Satire is one of course and humor simply as well. For instance I could end this list with 24 items and declare this post to a list of 30 items anyways. That would be a good laugh. I've done that in the past but in a more humorous post.


Google Bowling – The bad thing about Google bowling is that you hurt sites you don't like. You could reverse that: Reverse Google bowling would mean that you push sites of competitors you like to make those you dislike disappear below. In a way we do that all the time linking out to the competition, the good guys of SEO who then outrank the ugly sites we like a lot less.


Invisible links – You'd never used invisible links on your sites did you? You liar! You have. Most free web counters and statistic tools use them. Statcounter is a good example. So when you embed them on your site you use invisible links.


Different content for search engines than users – Do you use WordPress? Then you have the nofollow attribute added to your comment links. this way the search engine gets different content than the user. He sees and clicks a link. A search bot sees a no trespass sign instead. In white hat SEO it's often called PageRank sculpting. Most social media add ons do that by default.


Hacking sites – While crackers hack sites security experts warn site owners that they vulnerabilities. Both discover the same issues. Recently I got an email by someone who warned me to update my WordPress installation. That was a grand idea I thought.


Slander linkbait – Pulling a Calacanis like "SEO is bullshit" is quite common these days. Why don't do it the other way around? The anti SEO thing doesn't work that good anymore unless you are as famous as Robert Scoble. In contrast a post dealing with "100 Reasons to Love SEO Experts" might strike a chord by now.


Map spam – Instead of faking multiple addresses all over the place just to appear on Google Maps and Local why don't you simply create an affiliate network of real life small business owners with shops and offices who, for a small amount of money, are your representatives there? All they need to do is to collect your mail from Google and potential clients.

Increase Website Speed

2010-10-17T07:30:00.001-07:00

Remove everything unnecessary:
This tip may sound dumb, but please look at your website once again: do you really need this background sound (most people find them annoying anyways). Is that huge GIF animation with jumping bunny really that cool ? And do you really need this crappy JavaScript code for the flying clock ? Remember, all this stuff needs time and bandwidth to be loaded with every page view and don't forget the most important thing: People are visiting your website to get information - just give them what they want!
Avoid nested tables:
Don't place tables inside another table - the browsers need much longer to parse this.
Use CSS where possible:

By using a linked Cascading Style Sheet, which is basically just a set of instructions of how to represent elements your source code will be a lot lighter, therefore load faster. For example, you could replace this code:

<div align="right"><font face="Arial, Verdana, Sans Serif" color="#008000" size="3"><b>Here is some text</b></font></div>

to something like this:

<div class="style1">Here is some text</div>

See the difference? There are many good internet sources where you can learn some CSS basics. Invest some time in it - it's worth it!
Optimize your images:
Images are the most heavy part of many websites. Try to reduce the amount of images as much as you can. Remove all the fancy GIF animations and replace them with static images.

Always define the width and height of an image by setting the image tag attributes. That way, the browser will already know how the things will look like and will load the rest of the page. Otherwise, it loads the image first and then the rest of the page.

Consider using smaller clickable thumbnails instead of big images where possible.

Reduce the filesize of your images - there are a lot of free tools out there. For example, GIFCruncher for GIFs and JPEG Wizard for JPEGs.

Use GIFs instead of JPEGs. JPEGS are only good for fine images like photos, for all other web graphics GIF is usually a better choice.
Clean up your code :
Many WYSIWYG HTML editors leave a lot of unnecessary code like empty tags (like <font> </font>) and comments in your source code. remove them with a simple text editor for a faster website loading.
Remove whitespaces:
Every unnecessary space between your tags and new line characters are increasing your page size. You can remove them easily with our free HTML Optimizer

SEO Plan Lunch a new website

2010-10-06T01:57:00.001-07:00

When an online researcher build up his career to SEO at first he want gather plenty of knowledge about all kind of website. Like social marketing, social media, social networking, social bookmarking and more.

There are two types of SEO in the online marketing like on site, off site. Here the details as follows:

ON SITE OPTIMIZE:

The first phase is where we make SEO recommendations and changes to optimize your website to target better the audiences that you are looking to target for your business and throughout your website.

Search Engine Optimization Strategy – We will review the history of your website, your online competition and will conduct an analysis of the customized specific approach we will take to optimize your website.
SEO Keyword Research – Extensive research of your industry and recommendations on which keywords and phrases will be most beneficial to optimize and naturally incorporate on each page of your website.
SEO Keyword Selection – We will hand pick the most relevant keyword phrases for each page of your website, based on the content on each page.
Content SEO Recommendations – A thorough review of the existing content of your site and we will naturally incorporate the selected keywords within the existing content throughout each page of your website.
Meta Tags Copywriting – We will write visitor focused Meta Tags for your website that will include the following for each page: Title Tag, Meta Tag Description, H1 Tags and Image Tags for each page of your site.
Additional On Site Optimization Changes - If needed we will create a new XML sitemap and will re-write and analyze the URL structure of your website.
Implementation of SEO Changes – We can work with your website designer to install all of the search engine optimization recommendations or let our expert web developer implement the changes directly to your website.

OFF SITE OPTIMIZE

The second phase is just as important for every website in every industry. The first phase above which is the onsite SEO will only get you so far. To really do well long term, every website MUST build relevant incoming links from many different sources to their website to help build their business online. Our SEO link building approach will help: increase visitors, improve your brand online and will help develop a level of "search engine trust" over time.

Online Publicity: Writing and online distribution of newsworthy press releases.
Social Networking: Creation of relevant social networking profiles for your business.
Article Marketing: Writing and online distribution of relevant topics that relate to your business.
Local Search Engine Submission: Creation of business listings in the top local search engine directories.
Directory Submission: Manually select and submit the highest quality relevant directories available.
Blog Commenting: Well crafted comments on relevant industry blogs.
Video Marketing: Submission of videos to top video portals.
Industry Associations and Industry Websites: We will look for locate highly relevant
Other Link Bait SEO Campaigns: We can take a more advanced link building approach as needed.

Monthly Ongoing SEO Reporting – We will look at your visitor and website conversion growth generated from our SEO efforts by looking at your website analytics. You will have a scheduled meeting with one of our seasoned SEO experts each month to review the monthly link building activities and to review the reports and discuss any additional ongoing SEO recommendations that might be needed for your website.

Web speed Test Information

2010-10-04T02:29:00.001-07:00

Many Factors affecting website performance

Amateur website design

An unprofessional design will drive professional business people away. Some businesses have not redesigned their website for years. It's obvious from the appearance they have not kept up with new design technologies. Make sure your web site has a clear navigation menu, the colors are coordinated on the page and there is plenty of white space between all the elements.

Slow loading web pages

A web page should load within a few seconds with a high speed connection. Many sites have a flash introduction but visitors must wait for it to load before it is displayed. Large images (or too many of them on one page), JavaScript and Video are just some of the elements that will slow the loading of web pages.

Place CSS and Javascript in external files

Instead of including the full cascading style sheet (CSS) or Javascript within your page code place it in an external file. This speeds up load times and keeps your code mean and clean.

Cross browser compatibility

Your website may look fine in your own browser but may look terrible in other browsers. Test how your website displays in the major browsers e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

Screen resolution

Computer users these days use various monitor sizes. Most of them have a width over 1000 pixels so design your site between 900-1000 pixels. A small width of 800 pixels means there'll be a lot of white space on both sides of your web pages when viewed with a large monitor. If the width is over 1000 (e.g. 1500 pixels) a person with a small screen size will have to scroll horizontally to view your web pages.

Validate html code

Code errors prevent your pages from rendering correctly on all browsers and slows the indexing of your web pages by the search engines. Google "html validator" to find the website that will validate your pages then repair the code errors.

Web copy

Content is what keeps visitors on your website. Your header graphic, titles, subtitles, paragraphs, bullets, images and navigation should work together to easily and quickly provide the information visitors are seeking. The first paragraph should clearly outline the purpose of your website followed by paragraphs explaining the main benefits. The navigation menu should link to deeper information. Don't try to cram too much information on the home page.

How to decrease your website loading time:

Check for HTML errors

Run your web pages through an HTML validator to find code errors. HTML errors often cause web pages to render incorrectly in the major browsers and increase their loading time. Having clean code makes it easier to return to the original document should you add a design element that causes errors.

Reduce the size of your images

Large images will increase the weight of your pages. Instead create thumbnails that link to the larger image. Don't include too many images on one web page because it will increase the overall file size of that page and slow down its loading time.

Limit the use of flash or video

Flash and video files are much larger than image files. Often a visitor needs to wait a while before these files load and appear on the web page. Keep in mind showing videos on your website can use large amounts of bandwidth. If your video gets downloaded by hundreds of people at the same time it may shut down the server so your website will o longer be accessible.

Place CSS and JavaScript in external files

Many websites use JavaScript to create dynamic navigation menus. All the JavaScript code is often included within the web page causing it to load slowly. To speed up the loading time place your JavaScript in an external file and reference the file code within the HTML.

Instead of placing all the CSS code within your web page place it in an external style sheet and attach it to your web page by coding the file into your HTML. This will reduce the file size of your web page and increase its loading speed.

Use cascading style sheets (CSS) for design

Limit the use of tables for the design of your web pages. It takes longer for browsers to read through them. CSS creates less code than tables thus increasing site speed. You can also control the order of the items that appear on the screen. For example you can code the content to appear before any large images that may load slowly.

What is Social Bookmarking and Media

2010-09-27T11:18:00.001-07:00

Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them.

"Social bookmarking" allows you to save
and
share links to your favorite stories, tools, blogs
and communities on iVillage, like creating a "Favorites" menu that you can access from anywhere, and that you can allow friends to see.

What is social bookmarking? It is tagging a website and saving it for later. Instead of saving them to your web browser, you are saving them to the web. And, because your bookmarks are online, you can easily share them with friends.

What Can Social Bookmarking Do For Me? :

Not only can you save your favorite websites and send them to your friends, but you can also look at what other people have found interesting enough to tag. Most social bookmarking sites allow you to browse through the items based on most popular, recently added, or belonging to a certain category like shopping, technology, politics, blogging, news, sports, etc.

Social Media

The best way to define social media is to break it down. Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.

In Web 2.0 terms, this would be a website that doesn't just give you information, but interacts with you while giving you that information. This interaction can be as simple as asking for your comments or letting you vote on an article, or it can be as complex as Flixster recommending movies to you based on the ratings of other people with similar interests.

Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very limited ability to give your thoughts on the matter.

Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate too.

What is Social Bookmarking and Media

2010-09-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

What Can Social Bookmarking Do For Me? :

Social Media

The best way to define social media is to break it down. Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.

Think of regular media as a one-way street where you can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, but you have very limited ability to give your thoughts on the matter.

Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way street that gives you the ability to communicate too.

Affiliate Marketing

2010-09-24T04:35:00.001-07:00

One of the most crucial steps in any affiliate marketing business is finding and promoting the best affiliate marketing programs and products.

In an affiliate marketing program, a publisher receives a commission for generating a transaction, such as a lead or sale, for an advertiser that the publisher is promoting. The advertiser provides its ads to publishers and assigns a commission for each action it wants to accomplish.

Publishers place the tracking code for these ads on their Web sites, in their email campaigns, or in search listings. Whenever a visitor uses these links to generate an action on the advertiser site, that transaction is tracked online. If a product or service is purchased, the customer pays the advertiser directly, and the publisher is paid a commission for that transaction.

Provide the affiliate program site as follows:

1. Clickbank

Clickbank is our first choice simply because of its great marketplace with thousands of attractive information products and commissions up to 75%. It has great tracking, commissions are paid every 2 weeks and you can easily see which products sell the most.

2. MarketHealth

MarketHealth, established in 1998, is now the world's largest integrated online marketing company in the health and beauty industry. It has been our experience that most of MarketHealth's products are in very high demand and we are continually earning great commissions with them. MarketHealth.Com has all the great feature an affiliate program of its size should have and they have thousands of happy affiliates to prove it.

3. SellHealth

Right next to MarketHealth, SellHealth.Com has amazing offers and products that convert extremely well. Their commissions are very generous and there are even contests and bonus cash for high achievers. We recommend them to anyone looking to promote products related to health, weight loss and beauty.

4. Commission Junction

According to Wikipedia, Commission Junction is the largest affiliate network in North America, powering 53% of the top 500 web retailers affiliate marketing programs and operates worldwide. We have had good experiences with CJ and we recommend it, but we suggest new marketers to stick with ClickBank or PayDotCom

5. PayDotCom

PayDotCom has a great marketplace with a lot of quality products to promote and is heavily integrated with PayPal. Commission go as high up as 80%.

We will be updating this list with more programs, but for now we would like to recommend only these 5 programs as they have been tested and proven to convert and earn commissions.

Earn Money Your Website

2010-09-24T04:20:00.001-07:00

Using Website Earn Money

PPC Advertising Networks :
Google Ad Sense is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and paste some code snippets on your website. The network will then serve contextual ads (either text or images) relevant to your website, and you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.

List of popular CPC advertising networks:

CPM Advertising Networks
CPM advertising networks behave pretty much as PPC networks, except that you get paid according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the ads displayed on your site will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions.

List of popular CPM advertising networks:

3. Direct Banner Advertising

Related links:

4. Text Link Ads

Text link marketplaces and networks:

5. Affiliate Marketing

List of popular affiliate marketplaces and networks:

6. Monetization Widgets

List of companies that provide monetization widgets:

7. Sponsored Reviews

List of sponsored reviews and paid blogging networks:

8. RSS Feed Ads

Related links:

9. Sponsors for Single Columns or Events

Mashable

Problogger

10.Premium Content

Some websites and blogs give away part of their content for free, and charge for access to the premium content and exclusive tools.

SEOMoz is a good example. They have a very popular blog that gives advice and information on wide range of SEO related topics. On top of that visitors can decide to become premium members. It costs $48 monthly and it grants them access to guides, tools and other exclusive material.

11. Private Forums

SEO Blackhat

Performancing

List of popular forum software:

12. Job Boards

All the popular blogs are trying to leverage job boards to make some extra income. Guy Kawasaki, ReadWriteWeb, Problogger… you name it.

Needless to say that in order to create an active and profitable job board you need first to have a blog focused on a specific niche, and a decent amount traffic.

The advantage of this method is that it is passive. Once you have the structure in place, the job listings will come naturally, and you can charge anywhere from $10 up to $100 for each.

List of popular job board software:

13. Marketplaces

Sitepoint is the online marketplace by excellence. Some websites and blogs, however, are trying to replicate that model on a smaller scale.

Depending on your niche, a market place that allows your visitors to buy, sell and trade products could work well. Over the time you could start charging a small fee for new product listings.

The problem with this method is that there are no standard software on the web, so you would need to hire a coder to get a marketplace integrated into your website.

You can see an example of a marketplaces being used on EasyWordpress and on Mashable.

14. Paid Surveys and Polls

There are services that will pay you money to run a small survey or poll on your website. The most popular one is called Vizu Answers.

Basically you need to sign up with them, and select the kind of polls that you want to run your site. Most of these services operate under a CPM model.

15. Selling or Renting Internal Pages

Million Dollar Wiki made this concept popular, but it was being used on the web for a long time around (check Pagerank10.co.uk for instance).

These websites sell for a single fee or rent for a recurring fee internal pages on their domain. Usually they have either high Pagerak or high traffic, so that people purchasing a page will be able to benefit in some way.

Implementing this method on a small blog would be difficult, but the concept is interesting and could be explored further.

16. Highlighted Posts from Sponsors

Techmeme probably pioneered this idea, but somehow it has not spread to other websites. The tech news aggregator displays editorial posts on the left column, and on the sidebar they have a section titled "Techmeme Sponsor Posts."

On that section posts from the blog of the advertisers get highlighted, sending qualified traffic their way. Considering that the monthly cost for one spot is $5000 and that they have around 6 sponsors at any given time, it must be working well.

17. Donations

Placing a "Donate" link or button on a website can be an efficient way to earn money, especially if your blog is on a niche where readers learn and gain value from your content.

Personal development and productivity blogs, for instance, tend to perform well with donation based systems (one good example being Steve Pavlina).

A small variation of this method appeared sometime ago with the Buy Me a Beer plugin. This WordPress plugin enables you to insert a customized message at the bottom of each article, asking the readers to chip in for a beer or coffee.

18. In-text Adverting

In-text adverting networks like Kontera and Vibrant Media will place sponsored links inside your text. These links come with a double underline to differentiate them from normal links, and once the user rolls the mouse over the link the advertising will pop. Should the user click on it the site owner will make some money.

Some people make good money with this method, but others refrain from using it due to its intrusiveness. It is also interesting to note that very few mainstream websites have experimented with in-text advertising.

19. Pop-ups and Pop-unders

Pop-ups are a common yet annoying form of advertising on the Internet. If you are just trying to make a much money as possible from your website, you could experiment with them.

If you are trying to grow the traffic and generate loyal visitors, however, you probably should stay away from them. Just consider the hundreds of pop-up blockers out there: there is a reason why they are so popular.

Ad networks that use pop-ups:

20. Audio Ads

Also called PPP (Pay Per Play), this advertising method was introduce by Net Audio Ads. the concept is pretty simple: play a small audio advertising (usually 5 seconds) every time a visitor enters into your website. The user should not be able to stop it, creating a 100% conversion rate based on unique visitors.

The company is still rolling tests, but some users are reporting to get from a $4 to a $6 CPM. Regardless of the pay rate, though, this is a very intrusive form of advertising, so think twice before using it.

21. Selling the Website

Selling your website could be your last resource, but it has the potential to generate a big sum of money in a short period of time.

Market places on online forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint are always active with website buyers and sellers. Keep in mind that they most used parameter to determine the value of a website is the monthly revenue that it generates, multiplied by a certain number (the multiplier can be anything from 5 to 30, depending on the expectations of the seller, on the quality of the site, on the niche and other factors).

Some people also make money trading and flipping websites. They either create them from scratch or buy existing ones, and after some revamping they sell them for a profit.

Related links:

Indirect Methods

22. Selling an Ebook

Perhaps one of the oldest money making strategies on the web, using a website to promote a related ebook is a very efficient way to generate revenue.

You could either structure the website around the book itself, like SEOBook.com, or launch the ebook based on the success of the website, like FreelanceSwitch did we the book How to be a Rockstar Freelancer.

Related links:

23. Selling a Hardcover Book

Many authors and journalists leverage their blogs or websites to sell copies of hardcover books. Examples include Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.

While most of these people were already renowned authors before they created their website, one could also follow the other way around. Lorelle VanFossen did exactly that with her Blogging Tips book. First she built her authority on the subject via her blog, and afterwards she published the book.

List of self publishing and publishing services:

24. Selling Templates or WordPress Themes

As more and more people decide to get an online presence, website templates and WordPress themes become hotter and hotter.

On this segment you have mainstream websites like TemplateMonster, as well as individual designers who decide to promote and sell their work independently.

Brian Gardner and Unique Blog Designs are two examples of websites that make money with the sales of premium and custom WordPress themes.

25. Offering Consulting and Related Services

Depending on your niche, you could make money by offering consulting and related services. If you are also the author of your blog, the articles and information that you will share will build your profile and possibly certify your expertise on that niche, making it easier to gain customers.

Chris Garrett used a similar strategy. First he created a highly influential blog on the blogging and new media niche, and afterwards he started offering consulting services to clients with related problems and needs.

26. Creating an Email List or Newsletter

Email lists and newsletters represent one of the most powerful marketing and money making tools on the Internet. They offer incredible conversion rates, and the possibility to call people to action in a very efficient way.

Creating a big list is a difficult task though, so if you have a popular website you could leverage it to increase the number of subscribers on your list.

Yaro Starak is a famous Internet marketer, and if you visit his blog you will notice that right on top he has a section encouraging visitors to subscribe to his email newsletter. Yaro generates five figures in revenues each month from his email newsletters, proving that this method works.

List of software to manage email newsletters:

27. Mentoring programs

People are willing to pay for someone or something that will teach them and give them knowledge (as opposed to mere information). Education is one of the biggest industries in the world, and the online landscape behaves in a similar way.

Creating a mentoring program related to the niche of your website could be very profitable if you manage to structure and promote it adequately. There is a wide range of media and tools that you can use to deliver the information, from text articles to audio and video lessons.

Brian Clark leveraged the success of Copyblogger to launch a mentoring program teaching people how to build membership and how to sell content online. The program is titled Teaching Sells, and it costs $97 monthly. Sounds expensive, but they have over 1,000 members.

28. Creating a conference around the website

If your website takes off and becomes an authority on its niche, you could create a conference around it. Depending on the size of your audience, the event could attract thousands of people, and you could make money directly from conference passes and sponsors.

Search Engine Land, for instance, created a series of conferences that visit several cities on the United States and on other countries as well. The conferences are called Search Marketing Expo, and the tickets and passes cost thousands of dollars

SEO concepts of Design

2010-09-24T03:55:00.001-07:00

Design Concepts of SEO

Rule One: Design It for Humans

Search engines are engineered to find information that humans want. This means the best way to make your website accessible is to design it for humans. Your mission as a web designer is not to make fancy or animated designs, but rather to find a solution to a problem. Your job is to provide users with a site that is easy to navigate and is chock full of information that they are looking for. If you can accomplish this, then the search engines will inevitably find you.

Rule Two: The Importance of Good Title Tags

Every page in your website should include a title with a description of what that page is about. A total of 60 characters work best. The title tag should contain some of your keywords. It is important to remember this tells the search engines what your site is about, and it is also used as the link that shows up in the search results on Google, so use a compelling title that gives users a clear reason to click on it.

Rule Three: Alt Text on Images Make a Difference

All images on your website should have alt tags or alternative text. Alt tags are used to describe the image when the server can not find the image for which it is looking. Text will display, thus giving you a description of the image. Also, Google will look to see that you have added the alt tags in your images so that blind visitors will still have access to your content. Google will rank your site higher for keeping it accessible to people with disabilities. Another side benefit is that alt tags can increase your keyword density.

Rule Four: Ignore Most Meta Tags

Back in the old days, meta tags were the key to SEO. All one had to do was put in a bunch of meta keywords and you would rank for the chosen keywords in no time. Nowadays Google does not give any relevance to meta keywords, however some smaller search engines do. The meta description is used to provide the text under the title link in search results by many search engines so you want to write a good meta description that accurately describes your site and uses some keywords. Make sure if you do decide to use meta keywords that you only use words that are actually represented on that page. If you do decide to use meta keywords that are not on the page; this could be viewed as spamming by the search engines!

Rule Five: Have a Site Map

You will want to have 2 different types of sites maps. One is an html page listing all the pages on your website. This serves as a type of "table of contents" for the user. This becomes increasingly important as your website becomes more elaborate. The second type of site map is an xml site map. The xml sitemap is an coded site map that makes it easier for the search engine spiders to index all the pages of your website. Go to Google Webmaster Tools to register your XML sitemap.

Rule Six: Use Relevant Keywords

Use a few different keywords and phrases that describe what your website is about. Use these and other related keywords, but only when it is natural to do so. Be careful not to over-do your keyword density or this could be viewed as spamming by Google. A good rule of thumb is to write the content like you are writing for human beings and not for search engines. For best optimization results use them in headlines, links and the general copy of the website.

Rule Seven: Focus on Content

Users searching the web aren't searching for design and graphics. They search for content and they are hungry for it. If your site does not have the content for which users are searching, then no one will look at it. Or if they do, they won't stay very long. Each page should begin with a relevant h1 tag as well as contain one of your keywords in the heading. The first paragraph should be a summary of the rest of the page and the first few sentences should also contain some of your keywords.

Rule Eight: Keep your Code Clean

It's best to code your sites in a text editor such as notepad and learn proper html or xhtml. Websites created by WSYWIG HTML programs (What you see is what you get) , produce an enormous amount of code, bloat and deprecated code. What this implies is that search engines may avoid these sites created by the WSYWIG HTML programs, depending on the amount of errors. It's best to use xhtml and CSS to determine the look and feel of the site. Use UL for untitled lists, p for paragraphs, h tags for heads and subhead, strong for bolded text and don't overuse div tags.

Rule Nine: Your Home Page is the Most Important Page

This is the most important page of your website and the key to your site being found in the search engines. Your home pages should easily summarize the rest of your website and be easy to understand. Studies have shown that you have about 10 seconds to grab the users attention and keep then on your site. Your home page should have keywords in the title, heading, first few sentences of the first paragraph if possible, and alt tags in images on the home pages. You should also continue to use keywords in the rest of the content on the home page whenever it is natural to do so.

Rule Ten: Relevant Links Have Meaning

Search engines pay much attention to the links on your site and the words that you use in them. You should not use words such as "click here" or "for more information". Instead, the link text should describe where the link will take the visitor. For example, if your site is about SEO in Houston you would use something like "Houston SEO" or "Houton search engine marketing". The more relevant the links on your page, the more findable your website will become in the search results. If your website is about CSS website design, a link explaining the concept of (Cascading Style Sheets), for example, will boost your search engine rankings, whereas a link to a picture of your dog will not.

Page Rank improving tips:

2010-09-24T03:45:00.001-07:00

Improving Your PageRank

Include useful high-quality information on your site.
Submit your site to various web directories and reference sites.
Publicize your site to everyone with whom you communicate.
Write a newsletter and send it out.
Provide a Rich Site Summary (RSS).
Ask other high-quality websites to link to your website.
Provide motivation for highly ranked websites to link to yours.
Check out a site before you link back.
Tell the press about your site.
Keep your website up.
Give away content.
Translate your website into foreign languages.
Search Google for your website.
Avoid devious tactics to improve your ranking.
And finally…

In addition to considering the number of links to your page and the ranking of the linking page, to compute a page's Page Rank, Google considers hundreds of factors including
how fast a site is gaining links
how long the links persist
when your site acquired the links
the click through rate (CTR) of Google's search results, cached pages, favorites on the Google Toolbar
the stickiness of your site (i.e., the effectiveness of your site in retaining individual users)

Google Ranking factors

2010-09-24T03:37:00.001-07:00

Some Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist

Positive ON-Page SEO Factors.
1. Keyword in URL.
2. Keyword in Domain name.
3. Keyword in Title Tag.
4. Keyword in H1, H2 and H3.
Negative ON-Page SEO Factors.
1. Text presented in graphics form only
  No ACTUAL body text on the page
2. Affiliate site: The Florida update went after affiliates with a vengeance - flower and travel affiliates were hit hard - cookie-cutter sites with massive inter-linking, but little unique content. Subsequent updates have also targeted affiliates.
1. Over optimization penalty (OOP): Penalty for over-compliance with well-established, accepted web optimization practices. Too high keyword repetition (keyword stuffing) may get you the OOP. Overuse of H1 tags has been mentioned. Meta-tag stuffing.
1. Poison words: The word "Links" in a title tag has been suggested to be a bad idea. Here is my list of Poison Words for Adsense. This penalty has been loosened - many of these words now appear in normal context, with no problems. But watch your step.
1. Excessive cross-linking: within the same C block (IP=xxx.xxx.CCC.xxx)
  If you have many sites (>10, author's guess) with the same web host, prolific cross-linking can indicate more of a single entity, and less of democratic web voting. Easy to spot, easy to penalize.
  "This does not apply to a small number of sites".. (this author guesses the number 10, JAWG) . . . "Hosted on a local server". . Matt Cutts July 2006.
1. Keyword stuffing threshold: In body, meta tags, alt text, etc. = demotion

Positive OFF-Page SEO Factors.
1. Page Rank: Based on the Number and Quality of links to you. Google link reporting continues to display just a SMALL fraction of your actual back links, and they are NOT just greater than PR4 - they are mixed.
2. Anchor text of inbound link to you.
3. Link from "Expert" site. Google patent - Big time boost (Hilltop Algorithm).Recently reported to give a big boost!
4. Site listed in Yahoo Directory: Big boost - You can get in by paying $299 each year. Many swear it is worth it - many swear it isn't.
5. Site Age - Old shows stability.

Negative OFF-Page SEO Factors.
1. Zero links to you: You MUST have at least 1 (one) incoming link (back link) from some website somewhere, that Google is aware of, to REMAIN in the index.
2. Link-buying. (Very good IF you don't get caught, but don't do it -when caught, the penalty isn't worth it.)
3. Cloaking: Google promises to Ban! (Presenting one webpage to the search engine spider, and another webpage to everybody else.)
4. Penalties - resulting from. Domain hijacking (work with Google to fix).

SEO Tools of all needed

2010-09-24T03:03:00.001-07:00







New SEO Tools

Google vs Yahoo Graph

Keyword Density Analyzer

Keyword Grouper

Keyword Tool

Multi DC PageRank Checker

Niche Finder

Retrieve SERPs

SEO Tools

Alexa Tools

Alexa Page Ranking

Alexa Rank Tool

Alexa Ranking

Alexa Related Rank Check

Backlink Tools

Backlink Check Tool

Code Validation

Atom & RSS Feed Validator

W3C Markup Validation Service

Combined Keyword Suggestion Tools

Combine Words

Combo Search Engine Ranking Tools

Search Engine Placement Check

Search Engine Position Checker

Search Engine Positioning

Search Engine Ranking Report

Compare Search Engine Ranking Tools

Dogpile Search Comparison

Google vs Yahoo Graph

Google-Yahoo-Ask Search

Myriad Search

Search Results Compared

Thumbshots Ranking

Yahoo vs Google

Yahoo-Google Search

Domain Tools

Bad Neighborhood Checker

Browser Screen Resolution Checker

C Class Backlink Analyzer Tool

Class C Checker

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How to Google PageRank Calculate:

2010-09-20T02:35:00.001-07:00

Google's PageRank (PR) is one of the most sought after, and yet misunderstood, web page attributes. PageRank, named after one of the founders of the Google search engine, Larry Page, was the innovative foundation that the Google search engine was built on.

How is PageRank calculated:

In simplest terms PR is calculated by the sharing of PR from all the IBL links to your page. This is not strictly accurate because Google also uses the internal links within a site in the calculation of PR. Each link to a page carries with it and passes PR value to the target page. The PR points or value passed depend on the PR value of the page they come from, and the total outbound links from the page. It is generally agreed that a page will only pass about 85% of its value to the page it links to. So a PR5 page with a single outbound link will pass 85% of the value of a PR5 page to the page it links to.
But virtually no page has only a single link -- remember internal links are also used in the total outbound link count -- so the value passed to any page is 85% of the PR, divided by the total number of outbound links.
The question now becomes what is the PR point value of the different PR levels. Most observers believe that the relationship between PR levels is logarithmic rather than linear. In other words PR5 is not worth 25% more than a PR4, but may be worth 4 to 6 times more.
It is also understood that a PR value is not a single number, but is in fact a range of values. So not all PR6s are equal. As the chart below shows a PR6 maybe just on the upper boundary of a PR5 or it maybe just short of the entry point for a PR7.
The chart that follows shows the range for each PR value. It also shows how much PR value or PR points a page with 50 outbound links will pass depending on of its own PR rank. From this I have calculated the number of links required from each value of PageRank necessary for a page to attain a desired page rank.
The assumptions and the mathematics:
For those who are interested I have used logarithmic values of base 5.5. In other words the value range for a PR1 lies between 5.5 to the power of 1 and 5.5 to the power of 1.99, and PR2 lies between the value of 5.5 to the power of 2 and 5.5 to the power of 2.99 etc. The rest of the chart is fairly straight forward. It assumes that there are 50 links per page and that 85% of the PR value is passed to the recipient page.
The number of links required to attain any ranking is based on the median value of the donor page and the entry threshold of the desired PR value. In other words to achieve a PR5 you need 5,033 points and the average points available from a PR6 page with 50 links is 1507.
The chart was calculated with an Excel spreadsheet and it can be downloaded if anyone wants to play with the calculations and assumptions. It might be interesting to work with a different base number for the logarithmic calculation. And it is also interesting to see the impact of more or less outbound links from a page.
Nobody knows for sure how Google calculates PR. I have shown this chart to a number of knowledgeable people and they have all agreed that my calculations look reasonable. One SEO guru from a major firm said the results were very similar to independent research that his firm had conducted.
So take it or leave it. It is probably a fair reflection of how PR is passed and accumulated.
The lesson that can be drawn from this explanation and chart is that if you want to increase your PR you need a few links from pages with equivalent or higher PR, or a great many links from sites with lower PR.

Social Networking and Social Bookmarking Web Address

2010-09-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

Top Most Popular Social Networking Websites:

1 Facebook
2 MySpace
3 Twitter
4 Linkedin
5 Ning
6 Tagged
7 Classmates
8 Hi5
9 Myyearbook
10 Meetup
11 Bebo
12 Mylife
13 Friendster
14 MyHeritage
15 Multiply
16 Orkut

Most Popular Social Bookmarking Websites

1 Twitter
2 Digg
3 Yahoo! Buzz
4 Reddit
5 StumbleUpon
6 Delicious
7 Tweetmeme
8 Mixx
9 FARK
10 Slashdot
11 Friendfeed
12 Clipmarks
13 Newsvine
14 Diigo
15 Propeller

SEO related Web Address

2010-09-19T23:20:00.001-07:00

1. http://www.iwebtool.com
2. http://www.london-it-support.net
3. http://www.jihoy.com
4. http://seoforums.org
5. http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/sitemanagement/urlrewriting.html
6. http://www.seomoz.org
7. http://seotoolscentral.com
8. http://webconfs.com
9. http://clickresponse.net
10. http://www.codeitwell.com
11. http://www.seo.com
12. http://www.seo-writer.com
13. http://www.olx.com.bd
14. http://fc2.com
15. http://www.searchengineguide.com
16. http://anhblog.net
17. http://www.webceo.com
18. http://www.sitemapdoc.com(auto sitemap generate)
19. http://socialspark.com
20. http://seoforums.org
21. http://www.submitawebsite.com
22. http://pr.efactory.de/e-pagerank-algorithm.shtml (Page Rank Algorithm)
23. http://www.seobook.com
24. http://searchengineland.com
25. http://www.searchenginewatch.com
26. http://www.searchenginejournal.com
27. http://www.seochat.com
28. http://www.mattcutts.com/blog
29. http://www.seroundtable.com
30. http://www.submitexpress.com/tools.html
31. http://www.selfseo.com
32. http://www.highrankings.com
33. http://www.seoblackhat.com
34. http://www.topseos.com
35. http://www.battellemedia.com

On Page SEO History

2010-09-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Defenition:
"On Page" SEO simply refers to the text and content on your web site pages. Basically editing your page and content so the Search Engine can find your webpage when a surfer is searching for your web sites particular topic.

History:
On Page Search Engine Optimization has been around the longest, since the beginning of search engines. Search engines used simpler less sophisticated technology a few years ago, and the World Wide Web was a lot smaller. At the time "ON Page" SEO Worked years ago, and it was basically an easy comparison. As the World Wide Web grew larger and larger it became more difficult for search engines to differentiate between your site and other sites. A search on "Autos" may return 100 million + pages that have the word "Auto" on it. So Off Page SEO began to take off as the World Wide Web and search engines grew in complexity.

On-Page Search Engine Optimization

1. Create unique, accurate Meta Tags specially page title
The page title is one of the most important on-page aspects of SEO! Every page of your site should have its very own unique title that includes main keywords for that page. Keeping mind the search engine guidelines we suggest you to keep the title description under 70 words. Make sure you description tag has its unique content and concise description is below 140 characters. Search engines might use the ‘description’ meta tag as part of your page in the search.

2. Make use of H1 –H3 tags Keywords:
For achieving good search engine optimisation results, these are of great importance for on-page SEO. It is advisable to place your keywords in the headings of your content in a priority fashion. H1 gets higher priority than H2. So make sure you write keyword rich headings in the order of priority in H1, H2 and H3 title tags. They are used by many crawlers to differentiate important content.

3. Improve the structure of your URLs:
For good search engine optimisation of your site, having search engine friendly URLs is highly recommended. According to Google guidelines, these bring better crawling. Try to include your targeted keywords in the URLs. Also, remember that all of your important pages should be short and static URLs.

4. Keyword Density should not exceed 2-5%
Although using keywords in the content of your site is very important, try not to repeat keywords just for search engine robots. Keep the keyword density between 2-5% percent, instead of repeating a keyword try to simply use alternative terms that describe the same concept. Exceeding keyword density might lead to your site being banned from search engines. Try not to focus on the keywords, rather work on the quality content!

5. Use Alt Text for Image Optimization:
Since Images are very important from a search engine optimisation perspective, they need to be optimised properly as well. If you want to know more tips on improving your images, read here.

6. Ordered and unordered lists:
This is an often overlooked technique to highlight certain keywords in a list format when it makes sense in your copy to do so. I typically use a list of bullet points in an unordered list to tell the reader (and the search engines) what the rest of the article is about. Then I copy each of those list items and turn them into h2 tags, elaborating upon each topic.
In this way, the organization of your article becomes easily navigable. You can even get some additional on-page SEO benefit by linking an anchor in each list item to the heading tags below where that bullet point is elaborated upon. This puts some valuable keywords into anchor text format within the page, which can help direct Google's attention to what the page is about. It also makes it much easier for humans to navigate.

7. Well-written and optimized copy:
Good SEO copywriting will do the heavy lifting in your competition to get to the top of the search engines. If humans like your content, they will bookmark it, giving you some off-page SEO benefit in the form of backlinks. But it all starts with on-page SEO in the form of well-written copy that is organized logically, navigates easily, and includes strategic use of your intended keywords or phrases where appropriate.

If you are not a writer, this is something that can be learned, but as with any discipline, time is money. If you want to shorten the time between concept and a high-ranking page on Google, it is well worth the investment to hire an experienced SEO copywriter to handle your on-page SEO.

8. URL optimization:
The URL has always been important for SEO, but it now plays a much larger role than it used to in SEO. I have anecdotal evidence that the domain alone is sometimes enough to obtain a page one ranking.
This was shocking to me, but it's true. Using a two-word domain with over 800,000 competing pages, a site I built got to #1 within two weeks of being online. And this was before the site was even officially launched!
The main criteria for the high Google ranking appeared to be the keyword based URL, the title tag, and potentially the meta description tag (although there is disagreement as to whether Google uses the meta description tag for ranking at all).
To make sure this wasn't a fluke, I tried the same process with several other keyword domains. Same result—page 1 of Google. My results so far:
• Page one on Google against 345,000 competing sites
• Page one on Google against 460,000 competing sites
On sites that have been around a bit longer, I obtained the following amazing results:
• #1 on Google against a formidable 3.4 million competing sites!
• #1 on Google against an even more astounding 11.8 million competing sites!
The conclusion from my experimentation was clear: The URL, including the domain, path, and filename, play hugely important roles in determining keyword relevance in Google's algorithms.
My advice to clients is to pick domains that are keyword relevant, invest in some good old fashioned SEO copywriting, link to it form a few trusted sites, and repeat as necessary. Once these sites rank well, they can be used to link back to a branded site to help it rank better without the advantage of the keywords in the domain. They can also be used for lead generation, opt-in email marketing, etc.

SEO Tips Blog

Advanced Link Building Process

Some Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist

Facebook and Twitter Slam the Door on Would-Be WikiLeaks Avengers

Top SEO Mistakes

· Targeting the wrong keywords

· Ignoring the Title tag

· A Flash website without a html alternative

· JavaScript Menus

· Lack of consistency and maintenance

· Concentrating too much on meta tags

· Using only Images for Headings

· Ignoring URLs

· Backlink spamming

· Lack of keywords in the content

Gets Traffic using Facebook and Twitter

Your profile is your major weapon:

Build your network

Post regularly

Be active

Arrange your page

Check what Facebook apps are available

Use Facebook Social Ads

Start a group

Write your own Facebook extensions

Use separate profiles

Benefits:

Make your Twitter profile interesting

Pick a niche-targeted username

Put your site/blog URL in your profile

Search for Twitter users with similar interests

Socialize on Twitter as much as you can

Tweet regularly

Don't spam

Take advantage of Twitterfeed

Make Twitter Search love you

Add Twitter gadgets to your site

Get Traffic for Free in your website using SEO

1. Optimize your site for search engines.

2. Frequently update the contents of your site. .

3. Take advantage of social bookmarking sites.

4. Use your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

5. Get links with other sites in your niche.

6. Use any chance to promote your site for free.

7. Create a free product or service.

8. Use viral content.

9. Use offline promotion.

10. Include your URL in your signature.

History of PPC

Cost per action

CPA

Differences between CPA and CPL advertising

Details Information about SAP

Common Mistake by SEO

Black Hat SEO Techniques

Increase Website Speed

SEO Plan Lunch a new website

Web speed Test Information

What is Social Bookmarking and Media

What is Social Bookmarking and Media

Affiliate Marketing

Earn Money Your Website

Indirect Methods

SEO concepts of Design

Page Rank improving tips:

Include useful high-quality information on your site.

Submit your site to various web directories and reference sites.

Publicize your site to everyone with whom you communicate.

Write a newsletter and send it out.

Provide a Rich Site Summary (RSS).

Ask other high-quality websites to link to your website.

Provide motivation for highly ranked websites to link to yours.

Check out a site before you link back.

Tell the press about your site.

Keep your website up.

Give away content.

Translate your website into foreign languages.

Search Google for your website.

Avoid devious tactics to improve your ranking.

And finally…