web hosting

Search Engine Optimization – XML Site Maps

In the never ending battle of increasing traffic to web sites, one of the more crucial elements needed to ensure success is the site map.  Exactly what is an XML site map?  How does one create an XML site map?  Answering these questions will enable us to create an XLM site map that search engines will be able to index properly.

What is a site map?

A site map is the listing of all the pages held within a web site.  It is created with the intent of easily informing search engines about pages that are on a web site and available for crawling or indexing.  The listing starts at the home or base page and then branches out accordingly.  This listing can be done in several different formats – XML, text file or a syndication feed (RSS).  One or all formats can be chosen but in order to be effective, the site map(s) created must be in a format that allows search engine spiders to properly index all the listed pages.  As XML is a standard by  most search engines, XML is the best formatting choice.

A bit about protocol

To be truly effective, an XML site map should follow the standard site map protocol.  It must begin with the opening tag <urlset> and end with the closing tag </urlset>.  Within the <urlset> tag the proper namespace should be declared – in most cases this would be “http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9″.  The numbering at the end of this url indicates the latest site map schema version as indicated by the sitemaps.org site (the official site for site map protocols and more).  Within the <urlset> beginning and closing tags, each page within the web site is listed.  This listing begins with the <url> tag and ends with the </url> closing tag.  The <url> set then contains all the vital information regarding the specific page.  This includes the actual url, the last date the page was modified, how often the page changes and a priority numbering.  At a minimum, each <url> set must contain the url of the page or <loc>.  The remaining information is optional.  More information on protocols and the proper creation of a site map can be viewed at http://www.sitemaps.org.

How to create one

The creation of a site map is quite easy.  If your web site is only a few pages, you can create an XML site map manually.  However, if your web site is rather extended, the best option would be to use one of many different programs available on the web.

There are many programs you can download and use on your computer to create your site map.  Alternatively you can use an online site map creator.  One such online option is available at XML-Sitemaps.  This site offers a straightforward four step operation – you type in your base url, select how often your site is changed, indicate the last modification date, select the priority number and click start.  Once your site maps is created, you simply download it to your main site folder.  This site creates XML site maps that work perfectly with Google and will enable you to use the Google webmaster tools to enhance your SEO efforts further.  One thing to keep in mind with XML-Sitemaps is the online version will only index up to 500 pages.  If your site is much larger than this, you would be better off downloading a piece of software that will index larger sites.

Conclusion

Creating an XML site map for your site is just one step in the SEO process.  It is simple to do either manually or with some online help.  A properly created XML site map will ensure your site is thoroughly indexed by search engines and will contribute to your SEO efforts.

Nine Must-Have SEO Tools

Keyword implementation, optimal page design, link building and other SEO aspects can result in a lot of hard work.  Thankfully, there are many tools available to help you simplify the process.  Here are nine we consider must-have:

1) Thumbshots Rankings

Thumbshots Ranking offers an informative, yet fun way to make yourself familiar with search engines and learn how to optimize your site for better ranking.  Proper use of this tool can go a long way in generating the quality traffic you seek.

2.) SEOBench

This particular SEO tool analyzes results from Google and Yahoo, identifies what they have in common, and them provides a graphical display of the results in both engines.  SEOBench gives you a nice illustration which reveals that while optimizing your site for both Google and Yahoo is not necessarily an easy task, it is not impossible either.

3.) Link Appeal

Link Appeal is a very effective tool that calculates the efficiency rating of having a link on a given URL.  It relies on factors such as the number of outbound links, its page rank and the overall percentage of links to HTML.  Link Appeal can serve as a great tool for helping you decide whether to request a link on a particular web page or not.

4.) Link Popularity Checker

The Link Popularity Checker is pretty self explanatory as it informs you on how many sites are linked to your own.  We think you will find this tool quite valuable being that link popularity is such an integral part of the entire optimization process.  The more popular your site becomes, the better it will rank in the SERPs.

5.) SEO Checker

SEO Checker is an ideal tool for checking up on search engine saturation, which simply describes the number of pages a search engine indexes for a given website.  While every search engine does not report this information, a fair share of them do, and this is enough to establish a few meaningful benchmarks for your SEM campaign.

6.) Google PageRank Report

Google PageRank Report is something you can use to automatically check the ranking value for any URL you specify in the provided form.  To get the best results, simple add “www” in front of the domain in question.

7.) Link Value

This easy to use link calculator calculates the link value of your website on a monthly basis.  The value is calculated based on many essential factors specific to most of the major search engines.

8.) Keyword Research

Keyword Research is a tool that can be used to research your targeted keywords and phrases, helping you determine which as best suited to implement into your web pages.  All if you have to do is enter a given term or phrase, and the tool automatically makes additional suggestions regarding other words and phrases you should think about targeting.

9.) Google Keyword Suggestions – This handy Google orientated tool will aid you in the process of selecting popular and relevant terms that are related to your desired keyword.  Simply enter a word, and the tool queries data from a number of Google searches, which it then uses to determine the most relevant terms used by websites in that particular niche.

Leveraging the Press Release as an SEO Tool

A large number of webmasters and site promoters neglect to implement press releases into their SEO campaigns.  This is primarily because most associate them with some sort of news related publishing piece.  While that holds true from a traditional aspect, press releases are quiet effective in print media and the world of online marketing as well.  If you have not considered using them to promote your website, this article will give you all the reason to leverage the old press release for SEO purposes.

Generating Traffic with Press Releases

Press releases are not limited to introducing a new product or service.  However, link popularity and all the most popular keywords on the web will not aid your efforts if traffic is not coming to your site.  With a good press release, you can reel in traffic from the following sources:

Direct Traffic – In the ideal environment, your published press release will be syndicated across a network of related sites.  If you are able to snag readers with an intriguing headline, people will check out the piece and follow up by paying your site a visit.

Subscribers - By signing up with a reputable press release service, you can have your publication submitted to leading news wire sites like, EIN News, Google News, Topix and several more.  These sites maintain an existing database of subscribers so when publishing a press release, they will be able to view your piece in their news readers.  If they like what you have to say, they will visit your site to find out what else you have to offer.  This is certainly an avenue you want to consider because these sites combine to offer the potential of millions of visitors every month.

Search Engines – The most valuable traffic source that can be obtained is generated directly from the search engines.  This could turn out to be a long term source because your press release will remain online for as long as your site is up and running.  Should the traffic from the news wire sites start to diminish, you can always rely on the search engines for that consistent stream needed to keep up your exposure.

Organic Search Engine Rankings - Since publishing a press release is merely another aspect of SEO, your search engine rankings will naturally improve, thus resulting in more organic traffic.  When following this up with quality backlinks, you can boost your traffic numbers considerably very fast.

Tips for Press Release Writing

If you want to write a press release to improve your SEO efforts, keep the following tips in mind:

- Right your press release in the third person.

- Compose an intriguing headline to entice readers.

- Emphasis facts and benefits; avoid fluff.

- Make sure your press release is not too short or too long.  500 or so words should do the trick.

- Remember to insert your primary keywords into the press release.  Do not go overboard with keywords as you want your piece to flow as naturally as possible.

Top Five Reasons In-House SEM Programs Fail

With the growing prevalence of search engine marketing, several organizations are electing to run their SEM programs in-house instead of outsourcing to a professional firm.  While there are numerous tools and resources available to help companies incorporate these programs internally, most are rather basic and overlook many of the vital aspects that make up a truly effective SEM campaign.  Before you go to set up shop, get to know the five main reasons in-house SEM programs falter.

1.) SEM is Time Intensive – Unlike traditional media, SEM is not something you can simply do once and forget about.  These campaigns often consists of thousands of keywords that must be thoroughly researched as well as landing pages that must be carefully crafted in a way that appeals to search engines and visitors alike.  All of this needs to be done regularly to make sure you are getting the most out of your marketing dollars.  Although some possess the skills, most in-house teams simply do not have the time to commit to an SEM program that will give them the best results.

2.) SEM is all About Dedication – Google Ad Words and other paid advertising campaigns demand maintenance on a daily basis in order to maintain the company budget and ensure the best results.  If other projects takes away the team’s ability to dedicate to the SEM campaign, you will have trouble identifying your most fierce competitors and ultimately, making your campaign more effective.

3.) SEM Can be Competitive and Expensive – Reputable SEM firms have a knack for analyzing a budget and preventing their clients from overspending.  At the same time, many in-house teams fail because they are not able to maintain the budgets they sat aside for the campaign.  A skilled professional can implement measures and polices to help maintain costs while ensuring that the budget is well managed and evenly allocated across the campaign.

4.) SEM Demands Accurate Tracking and Analysis of Performance - Try as they may, but a large number of in-house programs suffer from insufficient reporting.  The beauty of SEM itself is that it is a results-driven marketing tactic so therefore, the best way to gauge the performance of your campaign is through detailed reporting.  An expert firm can help you understand what part of your program is doing good as well as what areas need improvement.  This is done by analyzing critical data, setting benchmarks and optimizing the campaign itself.

5.) SEM Requires an Awareness of Search Engine Polices

Many organizations find themselves in undesirable predicaments once they are banned or penalized for engaging in SEM practices that do not fall in line with search engine policies.  These practices can bring forth damaging results as your site could end up banned by Google, Yahoo and other major search engines.  By outsourcing to a reputable SEM firm, you can get the assurance of a trained and certified team that knows the search engine policies and uses them to measure the overall effectiveness of your campaign.

Yahoo Maintains its Competitive Spirit

Last month, Microsoft and Yahoo finally struck a deal that will make these two internet super-powers a worthy competitor to Google.  However, it isn’t necessarily what Microsoft had hoped for.  Rather than a merger, the two have agreed to combine their search and advertising expertise to generate revenue through their respective search engines.  Despite the news, an announcement made in a Monday press conference proves that Yahoo is gearing up to do battle with its old rival Google, as well as its future partner, Microsoft.

While Microsoft’s Bing will power the search efforts for both companies, Yahoo will work independently on its search engine user interface.  According to internal sources, it plans to make this interface more efficient than the offerings of both Google and Microsoft.

Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior Vice President of Yahoo Labs and Search Strategy, said that the company is collaborating with Microsoft on the back-end, but will continue to complete on the front-end.  He noted that crawling and indexing are currently of less importance than enhancing the web experience via the user interface.  Raghavan and his colleagues emphasized that the company does not intend to abandon the field of search innovation entirely, making it clear that the Yahoo search engine will continue independent of Bing.

In late July, Microsoft and Yahoo agreed to a much anticipated partnership that will enable Microsoft Bing to power the Yahoo search site.  Per the agreement, Microsoft will maintain the pay-per-click search advertising models while Google will sell advertising services of both companies to premium subscribers.  Barring clearing from the United States Department of Justice, the agreement will equate to a 10-year partnership.  Executives for both companies have stated that the implementation process could take as long as two years to complete.  In the meantime, Yahoo is gauging the response of a new search results page.  The new page is randomly available to worldwide internet users, offering features that allow them to filter queries to more efficiently refine search results.  The company is also in the process of creating a more intelligent engine that automatically learns from previous searches and makes the according adjustments for the benefit of the user.

In addition the above enhancements, Yahoo is looking to feature more tools such as Search Assist, that allow users to refine their queries on the fly, as well as Search Pad, which helps users organize the information they find within search results.  It also desires to let its users perform more tasks within the search engine interface by incorporating more information into results.  One idea involves delivering this information through popular customer review sites like Yelp.

According to Larry Cornett, President of Yahoo Search Products and Design, all of these efforts and more are designed to create a Yahoo search engine that is more personally relevant than what has been seen in other search engines thus far.  More importantly, it shows that Yahoo is still moving forward independently in light of the likely future partnership with Microsoft.