Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » keywords

The Dummies’ Guide To SEO

Art — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:24:43 +0000

Search engine optimization (or SEO) is an absolute jungle. Just like chocolate, cancer, and pregnancy, the rules for effective SEO management seem to change just about every other day, leaving most of us bewildered, slightly disgruntled, and all the way confused. Thankfully, there are a few trends you can be sure to capitalize on. Even more graciously, we’ve compiled them all here. Starting with the top, Pilgrim, enjoy your Dummies’ Guide to SEO Management!

Repeat After Us: “Keywords Are My Mates”

Seriously, though, keywords are just about the most important part of search engine optimization. If you haven’t got them, it’s like eating a BLT with nothing but chicken underneath the hood: You need a different foundation.

Keywords are what the major search engines look for when they spider your site. If you have the right density, those engines will start to favor your content over other articles that also feature the same keywords. The proper keyword density should be about 3 per-cent. This means that, if your article is about web hosting, the words “web hosting”—or some derivative thereof—should be included across 3 per-cent of all your total words. Any more, and Google might think your site is spam. Any less, and Bing might not know what your article is about.

Also: “Titles Need Keywords, Too”

Don’t forget to be snazzy with your webpage titles. If your page is about buttery spreads, and your keyword is some isotope of “buttery spreads,” then include the phrase in the title and perma-link of your page. Not only does this give Google some idea what to expect from your content, but it also helps clue in your readers, as well. The proper density for your title is somewhere between 30 to 70%. Just keep in mind that creativity is good, but only if the core keywords are there.

Finally: “Links Are More Or Less My Mates, Too”

Search engines like to see links, because links to other related pieces of content make it easier to form topic-based associations between sites. With this in mind, include as many appropriate links to other sites (yours or not) as you can. If your article is still about butter, include some links to buttery recipes, or the health of effects of butter. Try to keep to links that include your keywords, or are closely related.

However, don’t over do it: Many search engines are trained to ignore sites with too many links, so just be sensible. What would you like to see when booting a site for the first time?

Common Advice in Search Engine Optimization

Art — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:39:15 +0000

Getting advice on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can sometimes seem like trying to get advice on, say, the stock market. Everybody is trying to leapfrog ahead of everyone else, and as a result you wonder if, in the end, anyone actually knows what they’re talking about.

This is a fair objection. The truth, though, is that there are some fundamental principles that most experts agree on. The reason that they work is simply that not everyone tries to make their pages more easily findable by Google. Some web site owners simply assume that all they have to do is put their page up, and Google will automatically pick it up.

This much is accurate: they will. If you don’t want to be on page 17 of their listings, however, then you need to do a few things to put you ahead of the people who are making no effort at all. These are basic rules that anyone can easily follow.

Keywords are your best friend

There is a larger truth about search engines that is so obvious that is seems unfathomable that more people don’t intuitively realize it: search engines can only search through text. This means that you need the text on your web site as relevant as possible.

Take care, therefore, to make sure that key phrases that you think people who would want to come to your site would search for are somewhere in the text of your web pages, word for word. These are known as “keywords.” For example, if you are selling “Victorian wall ornaments,” those are your keywords, and you need them used on your site in multiple places, especially your front page.

A warning, though: don’t go crazy. In the past people created pages that had thousands of words consisting of nothing but keywords in invisible text. Search engines are now trained to filter out these pages. Use your keywords only in the appropriate context, but don’t be afraid to use it multiple times. Make sure as well that you throw in a few synonym phrases (“Victorian ornaments”, “Victorian decorations”, etc.)

Links are your next best friend

Search engines catalog links as much as they do basic text. Make sure that there are plenty of links on your site, optimally ones that contain in their URLs the terms that people are searching for. Other good ways of adding links that users might find are by setting up external sites that link to yours, as well as getting into link exchange programs with the appropriate types of partners.

Don’t forget social networking

Most common social networking websites are business-friendly. Be sure to setup an account on each of these, and optimally, keep them at least moderately updated. This is one more route by which users can find you, and one more potential entry in a search engine’s top 10 results.

Keep up with the trends

Finally, don’t stop here. Since everyone is trying to game search engine results, search engines themselves constantly revamp their formula. Keep an ear to the ground on the latest trends, and remember that Google isn’t the only search engine out there. Search engine optimization is a job that never quite ends, but one that the dedicated web users can easily keep up with, and are well-served by the effort.

SEO 101 : Focusing on Backlinks

Art — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:31:56 +0000

When devising a strategy for SEO, many webmasters place a huge emphasis on the website itself. They are typically concerned with Meta tags, keyword density, titles and headings. While these aspects of SEO are important (especially with regards to content), they are insignificant when compared with links. SEO practitioners spend their time obsessing over link building while site owners ignore them completely.

Creating an Equilibrium

This is due to the fact that a website is a tangible object that can be seen many millions of visitors. On the other hand, links are a vague concept that does not have associated tools. Therefore, building backlinks is usually secondary. Luckily there are several tools that will create equilibrium of website design and SEO.

Google Webmaster Tools

The first key point to consider is not use search operators to check your links. This method will produce inaccurate results and is commonly regarded as being used for entertainment purposes. Instead, utilize Google Webmaster Tools which provide a wealth of information about what exactly Google knows about your website, how it performs in the search engine rankings and, recently added, +1 statistics.

Independent Tools

There are two additional competing independent tools outside of Google Webmaster Tools, SEOmoz’s Open Site Explorer (OSE) and Majestic SEO’s Site Explorer. If your run your website through both programs you will find that they conflict with one another. Ironically, neither agrees with Google Webmaster Tools either.

The Collection Process

Although all three programs work by crawling the web, they are programmed differently and discover different links. Each then filters the collected links and remove those they see as spamming or lack relevance. Unfortunately, the three programs follow different criteria to make a judgment. You will also notice the two independent tools provide limited functionality for the free versions.

Viewing Trends

In the free versions of all three programs you are given two numbers for your sites that will usually differ. Always keep in mind that none of these figures is the absolute number, which would be extremely difficult to determine. Instead these figures should be viewed as representing exactly how other sites link to you. When viewing trends over a long period of time the numbers will begin to paint a picture of how your site is doing.

These three webmaster tools were developed to be more of a guide for focusing on backlinking than a concrete answer. A great way to use these tools is generate a report from each on a monthly basis and chart their change over time. If you see the numbers are increasing then you are on your way to success.

Optimizing your Website for Mobile Devices

Art — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:34:52 +0000

The newest trend among SEO professionals is optimizing websites for mobile searches. Since searching on mobile device browsers is continuing to grow as the technology improves, it is important for websites to continue to be on the first page of Google. Therefore, mobile web SEO experts are hired to optimize mobile web pages for searchability. The mobile market is lucrative so strategies and design must be adjusted accordingly.

Unfortunately, the mobile market has a completely different set of rules and requirements. Therefore, if you do not wish to miss out on mobile searchers, you must adapt to these rules and requirements. The following are some of the most important rules to consider when optimizing your website for a mobile search:

Shorter keywords
Local searches
Data rules
Top 10 equals top 3
Promotional techniques
Mobile standards

Since mobile devices are primarily used for being on-the-go, it is important utilize shorter keywords since users typically do not have time or the resources to type long phrases. Even mobile devices featuring QWERTY keyboards can be difficult to type long phrases and sentences which are the reason mobile searchers use short queries.

Also, mobile users are typically searching for local products or services. Therefore, local keyphrases must be targeted. This makes sense because a mobile searcher is more likely to be standing on a street corner looking for a place to dine than searching for products to purchase.

The most popular mobile search categories include, news, weather, sports, restaurants and financial information. Although the main topics in each niche are limited, they continue to revolve around timing and location. Therefore if your site is within one of these categories and not optimized for mobile searches, it is likely you are losing visitors.

Pages with top 10 search results fit on a desktop screen. However, on a mobile device, the top 10 results are unlikely to appear on the screen at once, therefore it is more like a top 4 or 5 search than 10. Therefore, the top 5 positions are the most critical during a mobile web search and have the greatest chance of attracting the user’s attention.

Optimizing for mobile devices is becoming increasingly important as technology improves. Users on the go do not have time to search long keywords, are usually only searching locally and within a specific category and will select the best of three to five options that appear on their screen.

Two Basic Steps to Search Engine Optimization

Art — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:00:54 +0000

Search engine optimization is ever evolving but with a little patient and effort a site can be quickly indexed in the major search engines. The following is a list of two steps to get you started with SEO and your site.

Step 1: Choose The Right Words

Not all words are the same. First, make sure the words you are trying to target for searches are relevant to the content on your site. If you run a site about dog treats, it’s probably not a good idea to target lcd televisions as a keyword. Second, take a look at the amount of results already present for the words you decide on. In all likelihood, the larger the result set, the harder it is to place well on the results of a search. Third, don’t target too many words. It goes without saying; you should never have more words you are targeting than content pages on your site. Fourth, choose words that are searched often enough that they are worth targeting. A good place to check out the relevance, competition and search frequency of words is Google Adwords. Use the tool to identify potential words and find out what words you have decided to target look like. You might also find some good alternative words this way as well. Once you choose a desired set of keywords, it’s time to start optimizing your site for these words.

Step 2: Keyword Related Content and Density

In the optimization community density is the same as frequency. So, a sites keyword density is simply the frequency it appears throughout a page and a site. Search engines rate the relevancy of your site to a keyword based on the frequency it appears at in your site. So at first glance, most people think a higher density or higher frequency in the site or pages is a good thing. While, there’s nothing definitive on what the optimal density is, there is a general understanding that anything over 5% is treated as spam by most search engines. So, how do you check the density you have? Take a count of all the words in the text on the page. Then count all the occurrences of a keyword in that text and divide that by the total words and you get your density for the page. If you don’t want to go through this process, there are a couple of tools for basic keyword density analysis like live-keyword-analysis.com.

There is another, more used method for keyword density analysis that takes in to account all the text a potential viewer can’t see. Take for instance your Meta tags, image tags and hyper link anchors, these all have textual components as well, and in most cases they are only seen in the html portion of a site. More complex tools take in to account this text and keyword density, producing what is generally known as a more accurate projection.

How Anchor Text is Used in Search Engine Optimization

Art — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:00:58 +0000

Search engine optimization is perhaps one of the most complex ever-changing fields in internet technology, and is primarily responsible for the growth of the most successful web sites online. Although it may not be fun having to learn the extensive knowledge required to become a good SEO expert, the fact remains that good SEO is the best way to receive residual web traffic with as little effort as possible. Unfortunately, a lot of people are in the dark about even the simplest search engine optimization techniques. One of the most overlooked aspects of SEO in regards to keyword optimization and backlink building is the use of anchor text. The following information describes how anchor text is used in search engine optimization, and how it is vital towards any SEO campaign.

What is Anchor Text?

Anchor text is simply the text used to represent a hyperlink. Anchor text is used to make links more attractive and to make it easier for the search engine to index backlinks in relation to specific keywords. A hyperlink that contains an entire lengthy web address would be much less likely to be clicked then a simple word that pertains to a subject that the reader is interested in. Anchor text is created by the page author and is a basic aspect of web design. Studies have shown that readers are far more likely to click on a link that contains anchor text because the link is more aesthetically pleasing and appears to be less ‘spammy’. By using anchor text you’re not only making it convenient for your site visitors to find the information they need, you’re also making it easier for the search engines to index the pages that you’re linking to.

Effective Backlink Indexing

When a search engine spider, crawler or bot (whichever you prefer) indexes a web page it combs through all of the outgoing links on that page. Depending on the structure of the link, the search engine bot will then index the pages that the links lead to. Before following a link to a specific page the search engine bot will read the anchor text to see if it pertains to the content on the target web page. For example, a link that reads “ boat anchors” would indicate to the search engine that the following page is going to pertain to boat anchors. If the page does not pertain to the anchor text then it is likely that the page will receive a lower search engine ranking. The proper use of anchor text ensures that search engines are indexing your pages and ranking them highly for your targeted keywords.

Anchor Text Tips

Because of the aforementioned reasons it is best to use anchor text to lead visitors to pages that are relevant to the chosen text. Every link that points back to your site is backlink, and if it contains relevant anchor text then it is much more likely to have a positive effect on your search engine ranking. If you want a specific page to rank highly for a particular keyword then you need to build as many backlinks as you can that contain anchor text with the chosen keywords included.

When is PPC Advertising Ideal?

Art — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:45:42 +0000

PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising is perhaps one of the most popular advertising models on the internet, currently utilized by Fortune 500 companies and small business alike. Google AdWords is the most famous and most popular PPC advertising program available, and if you’ve ever clicked on a link in sidebar of a site then you have probably clicked on an ad that was created within the AdWords program. The concept is simple – you pay the advertiser (Google in this example) every time they send someone to your site.

Using PPC advertising can give you highly targeted traffic because it simulates having a top ranked site for the keywords of your choice. Companies and website owners bid on keywords, and the more they pay, the more their link appears in the search results. While being at the top of Google for the keyword of your choice may seem appealing, PPC advertising can quickly diminish your advertising budget if you’re not careful. The following information reveals when PPC advertising is friend or foe.

Low Competition Keywords

Bidding on low competition keywords can have one of two effects – it may give you access to an untapped traffic source, or it could waste your money as their is simply not enough public interest in the keyword. Even if there if interest and you get plenty of clicks in a short amount of time, there is no telling how well this traffic will convert to sales. The goal of a PPC campaign is to gain more in sales than you spend on advertising, and in order to do this you’ll need to either perform extensive testing, or understand your conversion rates beforehand. Finding the right keyword to bid on is the name if the game in PPC advertising, and while it may be tempting to bid on a highly popular keyword that on the surface appears to be profitable, it is important to keep in mind that you’re competing with companies that have very ‘deep’ pockets.

After Conversion Rates Are Established

Perhaps the best way to get the most out of your PPC investment is to thoroughly establish what your conversion rates are for specific keywords before pouring money into a campaign. For example, if you know that for every 100 people that visit your site you get 10 sales, and your item costs $5, then you make approximately $50 for every 100 people that visit your site. Thus, you would not want to pay more than $0.25 per click ($25.00 per 100 clicks) because you would be exceeding a safe investment level. After you’ve established your conversion rates and you’re having success with a particular keyword then you can begin upscaling your PPC campaigns for even greater success.

Conclusion

If your site is relatively new and you’ve not yet established a reliable and consistent conversion rate then you should proceed with caution when attempting your first PPC campaign. Unfortunately, investing a small amount at a time will not give you a solid indication of a campaigns potential success, which is why most people wait until they’ve had conventional SEO success before moving into PPC advertising.

Using Web Hosting Tools for Search Engine Optimization

Art — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:46:22 +0000

Web hosting is a complex and extensive industry that encompasses nearly every aspect of site creation, management and organization. However most people overlook some of the tools and resources provided within their web hosting control panel. These tools can be sued to improve the design and functionality of your web sites, which will keep your visitors coming back routinely. If you have been struggling to find tools that can help you with search engine optimization then you may need to stop and survey your web hosting control panel for a moment.

Traffic Analysis Tools

One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is traffic monitoring. Without an accurate depiction of your site’s daily, weekly and monthly traffic levels it is impossible to see what is working and what is wasting time. By using web hosting tools such as AwStats you can view the tangible results of your search engine optimization efforts, which will give you a good idea of what you should focus on.

For example, if you make an adjustment to your site and begin targeting a new keyword, and shortly after your traffic levels begin to climb, then you know that you should begin adding more content to your site that pertains to that keyword. It is important to carry out one change at a time and monitor the traffic levels of your site over several days in order to receive an accurate and thorough analysis of the results of each change individually.

Cron Jobs for SEO

Another section of your web hosting account that can help you improve you search engine optimization efforts is the cron job section. Cron jobs are scheduled tasks that can be completed automatically based on a set command and a specified date and time. If you have been practicing search engine optimization for an extended period of time then you’re probably familiar with the tedious nature of the repetitive tasks that are often involved with keeping your site fully optimized.

For example, you can create a cron job that will automatically populate the site with content from RSS feeds, which can help you improve the keyword density and overall theme of your site. If you want to save time whilst enhancing your SEO skills then you should definitely research SEO and cron jobs.

CMS Scripts for SEO

Although most people recognize the benefits of a content management system for site organization management and creation, most people do not realize how powerful these tools are for SEO. Using your web hosting control panel to install a CMS like WordPress will give you access to a massive library of plugins that are specifically designed to help you receive more traffic and optimize your site.

Plugins like the Platinum SEO pack and PingCrawl can help your site reach the top of the search engines by giving you more control over meta tags, outward linking and much more. If you want to see the full potential of your site then you may want to consider using a CMS that is included with your web hosting account.

3 Steps to a Successful eCommerce Site

Art — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 05:53:45 +0000

As eCommerce continues to expand around the global, ordinary people everywhere are trying to find their gold nugget in the internet gold rush. Some domain names are currently worth more than prime time real estate, and in today’s digital age, web sites are the cyber alternative for real estate properties. If you want to be successful it eCommerce, the first step is choosing the right domain name. However, the domain name has to pertain to the topic of your chosen niche, which makes the crux of the first step niche selection. The second step is finding the right web hosting plan, as your hosting account will directly determine the capabilities and functionality of your web site. The third and final step is using the right tools and resources to build and market the site. All of these steps and more are elaborated on in the following paragraphs.

{Note: If you already know what niche your site is going to be in, skip to step 2.}

Step 1 – Niche Selection

This is an extremely intricate topic, considering all of the factors that must be considered when selecting the right niche. Sadly, most of the valuable niches are undiscovered, which means it will take some creativity if you want to find a true golden nugget. However, there are a lot of tools available that will help you find the most popular keywords that have the lowest amount of competing web sites in the search engines. Thus, the majority of your focus during niche selection should be aimed towards keyword research. If you want to be successful quickly with your eCommerce web site then you will need to stay away from heavily saturated niches and do some real brainstorming to find the perfect niche.

Step 2 – Find the Right Web Hosting Plan

The web server that you lease from your hosting provider will play an integral role in the continuity and reliability of your eCommerce site. If you want your site to perform like a professional online store, then you’ll need access to comprehensive server resources and the necessary tools and resources. eCommerce web hosting is specifically designed to aid webmasters of all skill levels in the construction and promotion of online storefronts. eCommerce hosting includes store building utilities, product catalog managers, payment processing functionality, integrated shopping carts, and free advertising credits for Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Bing. If you need an all-inclusive package for your upcoming eCommerce project then you should strongly consider an eCommerce hosting plan from a reputable hosting provider.

Step 3 – Building and Promoting the Site

Building the site is perhaps the most difficult aspect of creating a prosperous online business for the novice webmaster. Fortunately, it’s not nearly as difficult as it was in previous years, when everything had to be built manually. eCommerce hosting plans provide robust site building tools that let you design your own site using pre-made templates that can be adjusted according to your own preferences. eCommerce hosting plans also give you the tools and resources needed to begin advertising immediately using free advertising credit, and some hosting providers even offer SEO assistance for an additional fee.

Understanding Misspelled Domain Names

Art — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:46:16 +0000

The domain name industry is rapidly expanding, and every word and phrase in the English language is slowly but surely being used. Eventually, it will be nearly impossible to find a domain name that makes any kind of sense at all. Fortunately, those days are decades away, and contrary to popular belief there are still many amazing domain names available. However, for those that cannot come up with new and original domain names there is a solution – misspelled domain names.

Why Would I Want a Misspelled Domain Name?

In the domain name industry even a typographical error equals potential traffic. In essence, every term or phrase that is entered into the address bar of the a visitors web browser is an entrance to the internet, and a possible traffic gateway. If you can buy a domain name that is likely to be typed into the address bar of a user’s browser inadvertently, then you can access that traffic. In most cases,this traffic is targeted, because you know what they were looking for when they misspelled the domain name.

Stealing Traffic with Misspelled Domain Names

For example, if you buy a domain name entitled “godadfy.com” then there is a good chance that anyone visiting that site was actually looking for godaddy.com, which is a domain name registrar and hosting company. Based on this information you could drive this traffic to your own hosting web site that is similar to Go Daddy’s. Of course, Go Daddy has taken the necessary precautions to prevent such nefarious competitive action, but this is just one of example of the benefits of misspelled domain names.

How Do I Find The Best Misspellings?

It can be difficult to figure out what the most likely misspellings are when searching for a good misspelled domain name. Fortunately, there are tools available online that will give you long lists of misspelling, and you can even find traffic information about some commonly used misspellings within the Google keywords tool. In most cases, there is a large number of misspelled search engine queries issued after every major event. For example, during the Super Bowl it is not uncommon to see thousands of searches for misspelled team names and other items related to that sporting event. With the use of the aforementioned tools and a little creativity you can begin gaining traffic from misspelled phrases in no time.

Conclusion

If you are a web site owner that is trying to establish a brand and eliminate competition then it would be wise to purchase all possible misspellings of your business name, as this will prevent your competition from capitalizing on your success. However, if you act quickly and continually research possible misspellings you could see your traffic levels increase as you begin driving traffic from various misspelled domains that gain residual traffic based on simple human error. Regardless of your decision, it is best to stay on the right side of the misspelled domains controversy, and as usual that side is the one with the most web traffic!

Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » keywords

The Dummies’ Guide To SEO

Related posts:

Common Advice in Search Engine Optimization

Related posts:

SEO 101 : Focusing on Backlinks

Related posts:

Optimizing your Website for Mobile Devices

Related posts:

Two Basic Steps to Search Engine Optimization

Related posts:

How Anchor Text is Used in Search Engine Optimization

Related posts:

When is PPC Advertising Ideal?

Related posts:

Using Web Hosting Tools for Search Engine Optimization

Related posts:

3 Steps to a Successful eCommerce Site

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Understanding Misspelled Domain Names

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