Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » SEO expert http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:48:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How Anchor Text is Used in Search Engine Optimizationhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/11/09/how-anchor-text-is-used-in-search-engine-optimization/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/11/09/how-anchor-text-is-used-in-search-engine-optimization/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:00:58 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1212 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.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/11/09/how-anchor-text-is-used-in-search-engine-optimization/feed/ 0 SEO and Web Hosting – The Connectionhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/02/seo-and-web-hosting-%e2%80%93-the-connection/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/02/seo-and-web-hosting-%e2%80%93-the-connection/#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:11:38 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1092 Search engine optimization is the best way to get consistent traffic to your web site without having to continuously invest money in advertising and other forms of marketing and promotion. By optimizing your web sites properly you can bring in a steady flow of traffic and forget about marketing and other annoying and repetitive aspects of online business. In fact, many webmasters spend the majority of their time trying to find more ways to increase their search engine ranking and traffic. Unfortunately, many webmasters don’t realize they’ve already hurt their chances of being as successful online by choosing the wrong web hosting plan. Contrary to popular belief, there is a solid connection between web hosting and search engine optimization.

IP Addresses and SEO

For the advanced SEO expert that routinely does link building through various web 2.0 properties, the most obvious aspect of a web hosting plan that has an impact on SEO is the amount of IP addresses given to each webmaster. When search engines index web pages they do so with automated crawlers that index every aspect of the page and site, including the web site’s IP address. If you own a network of web sites and you would like to build a link network using these sites, then you will need to have a separate IP address for each web site. Fortunately, IP addresses are not a major factor for webmasters that don’t own a lot of web sites that are interlinking in the same niche.

Hosting Reliability and Features

Most people don’t realize that an unreliable hosting network can have a negative impact on a web site’s search engine ranking and site indexing. When your web site is down (as it often may be with unreliable web hosting) search engine robots will be unable to index your new pages. This may have a very negative impact on the amount of pages that are indexed for your site, and how often updated pages are indexed in the search engine results.

A powerful hosting plan will also be able to handle more software installations and tasks, which can be especially useful if you are using automated software for link building or to perform  other mundane tasks involved with SEO.

Robots.txt

The robots.txt file is another overlooked connection between your web hosting plan and your SEO efforts. The robots.txt file is a file that is located on your web server, which dictates how robots (particularly search engine bots) interact with your web site. If the robot.txt file is set to dis-allow all robots then your site will not be able to get ranked by any search engine, leaving you without any form of SEO traffic. Most hosting companies leave this file blank or do not include, so it is important to verify whether or not the robots.txt file is present in the web server that hosts your web site.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/02/seo-and-web-hosting-%e2%80%93-the-connection/feed/ 0 Selecting an SEO-Oriented Web Hosting Planhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/02/24/selecting-an-seo-oriented-web-hosting-plan/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/02/24/selecting-an-seo-oriented-web-hosting-plan/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:07:21 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=768 Search engine optimization is perhaps the most important aspect of marketing your site and building a substantial visitor base which converts to sales in the long run. All other traffic generation pales in comparison to search engine optimization, as the results of successful SEO tactics can be seen years later. Properly creating a website with search engine optimization in mind is a very difficult process that involves many different practices. In fact, many people even hire SEO experts to assist them in creating a website that is guaranteed to rank well in the search engines. Even after spending thousands of dollars on search engine optimization techniques, many business owners find that their efforts were in vain.

How SEO Efforts Fail

The main cause of most failed SEO attempts is the lack of continual SEO. In other words, SEO requires patience, and it can take months before you see the results of your work. Therefore it is crucial to maintain a certain set of strategies for a prolonged period of time to see if they actually work or not. Simply executing a few strategies and then switching to a different strategy the next day is not going to help you determine what works and what doesn’t. Instead of placing all of this burden on themselves, many website owners rely upon tools to facilitate the search engine optimization process. Perhaps the most fundamental tool needed for a proper SEO is a competent web hosting plan. The following information will help you select a hosing plan that will improve your sites search engine optimization.

Web Hosting SEO

When selecting a web hosting package it is important to look for plans that offer control panels and other tools that have specific features geared towards continual SEO. These services are designed to improve the page rank of your website by formatting the coding of your website in a search engine friendly manner. These services often include open source control panels and content management systems that allow for instant expandability with web applications that are designed to enhance the SEO efforts of the website owner. An example of the SEO-oriented features of such automatically place SEO-friendly title tags and meta tags on each page.

Web Applications

Another way you can use your web hosting plan for search engine optimization is through the endless selection of web applications that can be used to extend the capabilities of your hosting control panel. There are literally thousands of these applications, designed specifically to increase the search engine optimization efforts of your website quickly and easily. An example of such an application would be one that automatically retrieves backlinks for your site by posting all of your site posts to various social bookmarking sites simultaneously. As your site gains more exposure from these social bookmarking sites, people will begin linking back to your site, which will eventually improve the search engine ranking of your site. This is just one example of the many web applications that can be added to your web hosting control panel to improve your SEO efforts.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/02/24/selecting-an-seo-oriented-web-hosting-plan/feed/ 0 Locate the Perfect SEO Experthttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/11/19/locate-the-perfect-seo-expert/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/11/19/locate-the-perfect-seo-expert/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:42:30 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=627 Having a fantastic web site available on the web will do nothing for one’s business if no one can find it.  Once built, an essential part of having a web site is optimizing it so that search engines can easily locate it.  This requires a bit of expertise with regard to keywords and phrases, good content copy that reflects the chosen keywords and even knowing which page URLs will work or not with search engine spidering.

Don’t do it yourself

Instead of attempting to do this on one’s own, it is prudent and recommended to seek out and hire an SEO consultant.  A professional SEO consultant will be able to determine which services are needed to make one’s business web site optimized for search engines and how to incorporate SEO marketing.

There are dozens of specific tasks and elements that go into good SEO and going the “do-it-yourself” route may end with one’s web site not showing at all in the major search engines.

Check their previous work

The first thing to ask for when looking for the perfect SEO expert is previous examples of SEO content as well as web sites they have helped optimize in the past.  Check the rankings of these web sites with the major search engines – Google and Yahoo are perfect examples – and use the Alexa web site to view overall rankings.  Alexa is a free web traffic metric analyzer that will give one a good overview of how well a web site or company is doing over time.

A good showing with increased rankings over time is an indication of how effective an SEO consultant can be.  Rankings that are dropping or maintaining an unchanged level would indicate locating another SEO expert would be in order.

Look at rates

Check the rates of the SEO consultants one is considering.  Very low rates can mean the person in question is just starting out and is trying to build up their portfolio.  Very high rates but with a less than stellar portfolio can also indicate a novice in the SEO field or one that isn’t terribly good at what they do.

Alternatively, as the world economy has taken a beating lately, many professionals have dropped their rates accordingly.  This is an important factor to keep in mind when researching rates.  Check to see if the SEO professional in question has recently dropped their hourly or project rates – one may get a bargain out of this.

Cheaper isn’t better

Don’t attempt to take the cheapest route.  While initially it may seem like a good idea and cost effective, a low rate SEO consultant can mean poor work produced for one’s business web site.  This, in turn, will mean ineffective search engine optimization, low rankings (if at all) within the major search engines and pretty much a loss of money overall.

Careful research should be done when looking to hire an SEO consultant.  Look at their previous results, experience and rates.  Remember that great search engine optimization can mean more customers and hiring a professional to do it correctly can only bring about a return on one’s investment.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/11/19/locate-the-perfect-seo-expert/feed/ 0 How Specialities Can Hinder the Overall Effective of an SEM Campaignhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/08/20/how-specialities-can-hinder-the-overall-effective-of-an-sem-campaign/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/08/20/how-specialities-can-hinder-the-overall-effective-of-an-sem-campaign/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:21:06 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=483 Several marketing companies are internally divided by specialties.  In today’s web-based world, many are segmented by fields such as web development, design, research and copy writing for example.  This holds true in both agency and in-house environments.  Due to such great diversities, these disciplines don’t always mix perfectly, but are often a necessity to get the job done.  When it comes to SEM however, the talents and skills needed to effectively perform certain processes may not be as unique as one assumes.  The professional who excels at search engine marketing can often handle SEO and PPC simultaneously without passing one of these tasks off to another party and disrupting the team.

When Specialties Get in the Way

Many larger enterprises establish specialized roles for their SEM team with the belief that it creates advantages and efficiencies for the organization.  While such methods have been effective in numerous industries and more traditional marketing schemes, applying them to the world of internet marketing is an entirely different story.  Today’s economy has seen the specialized teams of both interactive and traditional full service agencies fighting over budgets and seemingly trying to justify their sole existence.  It is very uncommon for such an environment to be able lead these teams towards one common goal.  This is especially truly in an ailing economic climate where layoffs have essentially become a regular occurrence.  Even with specialties teams that are focused with the company’s best interest in mind, the extra layer of communication that is required could actually get in the way and render management ineffective.

The Pride of Experts

There is an old saying that states when you have too many cooks in the kitchen, somebody just might get burned.  In regard to an SEM campaign, this could be the case with a company’s SEO or PPC specialists.  Although both offer exceptional value, SEO experts tend to look down on PPC professionals and vice versa.  When someone learns and becomes comfortable with a particular method of SEM, they generally become set in there ways and close minded to the suggestion of others.  Unfortunately, that lack of understanding with such vital  components could drastically hinder the performance of company’s marketing campaign.  For instance, a team member who specializes in SEO might conclude that a certain keyword is too competitive to obtain quality rankings, but lacks the knowledge or support to get around the problem.  Likewise, a PPC expert might determine that a specific keyword is to costly to target, but refuses to get the insight he or she needs from the SEO specialist.  When it comes to SEM in the specialized setting, the overall success of a campaign largely depends on upper management’s ability to facilitate proper strategy, communication and collaboration.

In order to integrate the elements of SEO and PPC in seamless fashion, a company must have a clear understanding of how all SEM tactics and strategies fit into the overall marketing mix.  If your SEM team is not thoroughly cross-trained and willingly to communicate with each, the efforts of your campaign just might come up short and result in nothing but utter frustration.

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