In order that someone finds your website and buys your
product on the Internet it is essential to make it known
to the world. So the first thing you do is to submit to
search engines.
But a search engine listing alone does not assure you
will receive any new visitors to your Website until
and unless you appear among the high rankers. Your Website
must achieve higher search engine rankings in order
that your customers are able to find your site promptly.
You will reach higher rankings if you follow the easy
steps to optimise your website which I’ve compiled below:
1. Research Your Keywords!
This is the single most important aspect of search
engine optimisation, so there simply is no way out.
If you don't know how your visitors search for your
product or service, then you are only guessing.
And can you imagine a hunter who doesn’t know where
to send his bullet? I bet you don’t. Don't just assume
you know how people are going to try and find you.
Visit your competition and look at the terms they use
in the keyword tags and throughout their pages and compile
a list of keywords.
You’ll spend a good bit of time on this because it
will payoff big later. Once you have your list, rank
the phrases in order of importance starting with the
most important keyword phrase.
2. Give Your Keywords Focus!
Now it is time to start getting the text for your pages
ready. When doing so, you will want each of your pages
to focus on one of the keyword phrases from your list.
Your homepage should focus on your most important phrase
and each subsequent subpage should focus on another
keyword phrase.
Ideally, you should never focus on more than one or
two keyword phrases per page. Trying to focus on more
than this will dilute the theme of the page and could
have a negative effect on your rankings.
3. Optimise Your Title Tag!
The title tag is one of the most important elements
of your page. Search engines put more weight on the
title tag than any other single element of your page.
Your title tag should ALWAYS contain the keyword phrase
you have chosen to target for that page.
Keep the tag short, no more than about 6 words generally,
but make it appealing. Make the title irresistible to
your visitors but keep it also short enough that you
don't take away from the importance of your keyword
phrase.
4. K.I.S.S. - Keep Your Pages as Simple as Possible!
Avoid overloading your page with things such as frames,
excessive javascript, flash, too many graphics or image
maps. This can have a negative affect on your search
engine rankings.
A good rule of thumb is that the simpler the page,
the better it will generally rank. Even tables, when
used too much can break up the flow of the text on a
page and hurt your chances at a top ranking.
5. Create Good Content!
For sure you will find top ranking sites with very
little content, but you will have a much better time
getting and keeping a top ranking with good content.
This not only gives the engines more to index, but it
gives your visitors something worth to read and absorb.
Your customers will thank you and they will be more
likely to return in the future to do business. Don’t
just compile large lists of links – it’s not very attractive
to your customers.
You should make it to your personal rule to offer only
high quality – no matter what target group you are trying
to appeal.
6. Think Big!
What does this mean? Quite simply, it means that a
site of 30 or more pages has, at least, 6 times the
chances to get a top ranking as a site of 5 pages.
The more pages your site has with good, solid, quality
content, the more keyword phrases you can target and
the more chances you have of achieving a top ranking.
7. Create a System of Internal Linking!
You should be able to get to just about any page on
your site within no more than 3 clicks. Consider creating
a site map with links to all of the pages within your
site. This will assist the engines in properly indexing
your site.
When creating your internal links try to use the actual
keyword phrase that you will be targeting on the page
you are linking to as the link text. Many engines look
at the visible text of a hyperlink as a description
of the target page. If the visible text matches the
focus of that page, it will help to give that page a
boost in the rankings.
8. Build External Link Popularity!
Even if this might appear to be a long and arduous
task, but it is crucial to your success. All of the
top engines use link popularity quite heavily when ranking
sites. It is important to note that it is not only the
quantity of links that is important but also the quality
of those links.
One link from a site such as Yahoo is worth as much
or more than 100 links from unknown sites. Also remember,
it is also important that you link to other sites. When
linking to other sites, or attempting to get them to
link to you, always shoot for sites that are of a similar
theme as your site.
9. Monitor Your Rankings!
This is best accomplished through a program like Rank
Me, WebPosition Gold, or other similar programs. If
you see your position starting to slide, look at your
competitors sites that have overtaken you and see if
you can determine a pattern. This will tell you what
you need to do to regain your position.
10. Keep Going!
Now that your're at this step keep at it, don’t quit.
This is just the beginning. If you don't get a top ranking
right from the scratch don't get discouraged. Therefore
be consistent and patient in your efforts.
This will establish a basis for building a successful
business online for years to come. Heck, how did your
first attempt at rideing a bike turn out?
Give yourself some time to get accustomed to this new
field. Keep tracking your progress, analyse your competition,
and making adjustments, and in no time at all, you will
find yourself sitting among the high rankers.
About The Author
Marcus Schroefel is an Author, Publisher and Success
Coach. Visit: http://www.mindclicking.com. You can get
more proven traffic generating tips delivered to your
e-mail box just 5 minutes away --- for FREE by sending
a blank e-mail to: trafficgenerator@robotreply.com.
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ENGINE INFORMATION RELEASED JULY 2005