SEO battles are typically fought on equal ground. No matter how high the quality of your back links, your competition can always always get back links of equal value. All they have to do is analyze your site, see what links are pointing to it and then copy or out do your work. Same goes for article writing and pretty much all aspects of SEO, you can replicate the lot!

So when you discover an aspect of Search Engine Optimization that is totally unbalanced – and so effective that it can swing the battle in your favor even against the sites of multi-million dollar companies – it’s well worth knowing exactly how to use this to your benefit!

How to identify the advantage:

I use a really cool piece of software called Market Samurai which has the ability to analyze websites on a series of criteria that influence search engine optimization ranking. The example is a screen shot from Market Samurai that shows the top ten ranking sites for the keyword phrase “credit cards”

Do you notice anything out of the ordinary? This might be something you have seen even in your own niche?

The 10 results shown above reveal an important story about one of Google’s great bias’.

If we start by looking at 2nd result…….Visa, MasterCard, American Express – all massive names, synonymous with the phrase “credit cards”.

In terms of search engine relevance – these sites (synonymous with the term “credit cards” itself) have to be some of the most relevant credit card sites online.

Below those, there are some credit card comparison services, and smaller credit card providers such as Discover Card, Citi and Chase – this is typical of the mix of sites that you would expect to find on a search engine results page… The sites are all relevant but with a decreasing amount of authority as you move down the results.

…But take a look at the first result!
This is where things become very interesting indeed….

The first result on the page is www.creditcards.com

It sits ahead of the industries big players Visa, MasterCard, and American Express – all multi-billion dollar companies with advertising budgets that probably exceed the GDP of most small countries. Their names are synonymous with the words “credit cards”…

They have tons of high PageRank links, see the column BLP (Back Link Pages) and BLD (back Links to the Domain) and thousands more than their smaller rivals lower down in the rankings.…And yet they’ve been beaten to top spot – buy a far smaller rival – www.creditcards.com

This is one of Googles last known bias’ – smaller sites with keyword-optimized domain names are seeing their SEO efforts multiplied over time – giving them an unfair advantage that has them outranking competitors who boast better content, more links to higher Page Rank sites etc etc

Let’s dig a bit deeper by using Market Samurai’s SEO Competition module.

The first placed site www.creditcards.com has lowest PageRank (PR) and fewer Backlinks to the Page (BLP) and fewer Backlinks to the Domain (BLD) than most of its competitors. The age of the domain is roughly similar and in some cases younger than the lower ranking sites.

However, it has one distinct advantage over the competition – it has the keyword “credit cards” in the domain name. This example shows just how valuable it is to have a keyword-optimized domain name.

A good domain name will leverage or magnify your SEO efforts – as your keyword will inherently be contained in each post you create, in each link that you create – you can put in less work than your competition and still get better results. This gives you a strong advantage over your opponents and gives you the time to devote your energy to improving your site in other ways.
Using keyword optimized domains is one of the few killer SEO techniques that still remain effective, allowing you to use the search engines’ heavy bias towards keyword optimized domains to your advantage.

So what should you do now?

My four key action steps:

1. Go download your FREE trial version of Market Samurai - I can’t stress how amazing this tool is for uncovering SEO advantages. It now has a tool to identify keyword dense domain names too. Download your FREE trial copy of Market Samurai here.

2. Use Keyword Domains for SEO – Obviously if you’re setting up a new site, and you aim to invest in SEO to attract visitors, get a keyword optimized domain.

3. Consider Moving to a Keyword Domain – If you’ve only recently set up a site, consider moving to a keyword optimized domain. If you have an older site, the decision might be so clear cut as to the eyes of a search engine it will be like starting from scratch again.

4. Block Out Your Competition – Search for high-value keyword domains in your market. Remember however well you optimize your site using other factors you can always be outdone by a competitor using a keyword.com website. Do yourself a favor and register any keyword.com domains in your niche even if you just hold on to them until you have time to do something with them. Market Samurai which can be downloaded from clicking the link above has an excellent new feature that identifies keyword optimize domains in you market at the click of a mouse.

For more Google search engine optimization strategies – CLICK HERE

Search Engine Optimizing – How To Out Muscle Your Competition With Keyword Dense Domain Names Learn more here from the: WebsitePromotionServicesExpert.com

Two guys are in the jungle when they see a lion running towards them. Frantically, one of the men starts putting on his running shoes.
Surprised, the other man says “What are you thinking, you can’t outrun a lion!!!”
“I don’t have to outrun the lion,” said the man, “I just have to outrun you.”

This story is told by the good guys at Noble Samurai, the creators of the formidable SEO software, Market Samurai and has huge relevance to SEO strategy.

You see, it’s not always necessary to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest in the jungle – you don’t have to even outrun the lion – you just have to a little bit better than your competitors. This concept is probably one of the most important considerations of SEO strategy.

As I tell my clients, there is no such thing as a perfectly optimized website or a faultless SEO strategy – there is always something more you can do to improve your web site’s search engine optimization; get more back links, make more posts, add more media etc. So the goal for your SEO strategy should just be to do a bit better than your competitors. Taking this approach should mean you achieve better results without wasting any effort!

Look at this way….

When you do a Google search you get 10 results on the page. The second result listed on this page can be expected to get 21% of clicks, which sounds pretty high doesn’t it?

…well you would thinks so..BUT listen to this….The first result can be expected to get 42% of clicks…

This is a massive difference– the first search result gets double the amount of organic traffic than the the second.
So what’s the difference between the two web sites? Has the first ranking result been optimized twice as well as the second ranking site?

No way has it!

In honesty, the site that appears second in the ranking might be equal in almost every single aspect to the site in first place:
•    It may have the same PageRank
•    It’s domain might be of the same age
•    It may have the same on page optimization factors such as having keywords in the page title and meta tags

The difference between the 2 sites might merely be something as small as one backlink on the number 1 site being of better quality than one on the number 2 site. For example that link goes to a relevant PR3 website as opposed to a a slightly less relevant PR 2 website. You see all it could be is just one link…yet it gets twice the amount of traffic!

This is why it’s so important to remember the theme of competition…
…Just one back link could mean the difference between 42% of traffic and 21% of traffic…and twice (or half) as many customers for your product or service.

With 21% of search engine traffic potentially hinging on something as small as a tiny little back link, you can make your approach to web site search engine optimization far more focused.

To  put this critical SEO strategy in to play you first need to find out how fast your competitors are running – remember you don’t need to outrun the lion, you just need to out run your competition.

Step 1: Examine your competition closely. Look at the specifics of their web site and ask yourself two questions:
1.    How much effort, time and money will it take for me to match the success of my opponent? And then secondly…
2.    How can I exceed their results?

In the example above we have seen that tiny differences can cause create totally different amounts of traffic, and therefore change drastically the potential revenue your site will yield.

Unfortunately though the hard truth is not just as simple as building one stronger back link than the opposition. If you can build more strong links, don’t you think your competitors can too? Put it this way, if you are watching their every move, the chances are they are watching your every move too. What ends up happening is you both commit massive resources to out doing each other and a huge back link war ensues…there can only ever be two losers in this type of war…and you are both going to lose out!

So, what is the correct strategy to play? Well you need to find yourself an unfair advantage that will seriously tip the playing field in your favor.  It could be that you are able to produce better quality content, anchor off your relationships in your niche, or your ability to magnify your Search Engine Optimization efforts using a highly leveraged SEO strategy.

In an upcoming post I will discuss one of the strategies you can use to out muscle your bigger stronger competitors. This strategy works great will small businesses who want to out hustle the opposition in a competitive market.

Until then, just remember that you don’t need to out run the lion, you just need to outrun your competitors.

Learn more website search engine optimization strategies – CLICK HERE

SEO Strategy – Why You Don’t Need To Out Run Lions! Learn more here from the: WebsitePromotionServicesExpert.com

Finding the best search engine optimization (SEO) consultant can be a daunting job, especially when you do not know your PPC from your SEO let alone what questions to ask them. The skills and know-how required of an SEO consultant are constantly changing, as are the behaviors of the Google Bot (AKA God). In a competitive market the things that got high rankings last month WILL NOT necessarily get high search engine rankings this month, as the cutting edge marketers get better and better, out doing each other with the latest SEO strategies. SEO consultants are constantly monitoring their results, testing their systems as they keep their eyes on the so known Google Dance.

So what should you look for in an SEO Consultant?

Qualifications

There are some consultants who have a technical background (such as HTML coding or xml or anyone off that other jargon I don’t really understand) and maybe some paper certificates or fancy university degrees too. You will find though that best SEO consultants are probably those that have little or no technical background, but an abundance of internet marketing expertise. The type of consultant you should be looking for are the ones who have, and continue to successfully market their own products on line. Look for “top of google”, not “top of class” qualifications.

Specialization

The internet marketing wants of a local florist shop differ dramatically from those of say, Amazon. It is important to find a consultant who is knowledgeable about the type of search engine optimization you need. Listed below are some totally different areas of specialization, though an effective SEO strategy consultant should be effective in all of these areas:

Organic Search Traffic

These are the search results that appear on the left hand side of most search engines. If you can capture lots of it, this is the most effective traffic due to its relevancy (matching the wants of browser to the content they are searching for) and economical (because its free)…other than the fees of a good SEO consultant! A good Search Engine Optimization Consultant will target a mix of traffic (free, paid and borrowed) but will generally focus mainly on free or organic traffic.

Paid Traffic

Pay-Per-Click, called so because the advertiser pays for each click his advert gets from the browser.  Adverts are placed on search engines outcomes (search network) and websites (content network). The advertiser pays for every click on, regardless of whether they’re prospects or not. The amount the advertiser pays is decided by means of a bidding process, with more competitive keyword phrases costing as much as $50 per click. Many keyword terms price for less than $1 per click but this depends entirely on how many people are bidding on that keyword. Finding a knowledgeable consultant who can set up your PPC campaign is a must, as in the wrong hands a PPC campaign can be both expensive and ineffective.

Industry

Some website promotion services experts concentrate on one, or just some industries such as lawyers or a particular niche, such as golf. Others might focus on a particular geographical area or type of customer such as small businesses or entrepreneurs. It is really a matter of finding someone who understands your requirements and proves that he/she can deliver…”show me the top ten rankings”

Technique

Strategies are typically divided into two areas, on-page search engine optimization and off-web page SEO. On-page search engine strategy (anything on the website) consists of page titles, descriptions, keywords, and key phrases amongst other things. In this instance the SEO consultant will be making sure your website is set up so that search engines can identify exactly what products or services you offer so that they can direct people to you who are actively looking for what. Off page SEO (which has most effect on your search engine ranking) is all about the number of relevant sites that your website is linked to. The greater the number of relevant links to your site, the greater authority the search engines will give your website. Some of the tactics the consultant might use are article submissions, hyperlinks, press releases, social media, blogs, video, social bookmarking, and more.

Communication

It goes to say that you should get along with your SEO consultant. Where as some people might tell you that you need an SEO consultant in your own geographical area, I would strongly disagree with this..you just need the best. With the wonders of Skype  and the age old technology called telephones your website promotion expert can really can be anywhere in the world. It is also important to say that regular communication is important. I would suggest asking for monthly reports to check the progress of your ranking….and if it is not climbing, sack the consultant!!

Results

If a search engine marketing company guarantees you the #1 spot on Google, search for another consultant. You cannot necessarily guarantee results like that, unless it is a very weak market. All markets are different. For example, you would find it far more challenging to rank for the word “golf” than you would do for “dolls house repairer, Sydney.” A search engine optimization marketing consultant just needs to do a little better than your opposition to send you up the search engine rankings.

So, good luck in your quest for a professional search engine optimization consultant.

Learn more from the Website Promotion Services Expert – CLICK HERE

What To Look For When Choosing a Search Engine Optimization Consultant Learn more here from the: WebsitePromotionServicesExpert.com