5 Search Engine Ranking Factors:

Top 5 Search Engine Ranking Factors: Pay Attention!!!

By Michael Fleischner

As someone who makes a living improving search engine rankings, I can tell you that there is a lot of bad information out there about SEO. What if I were to tell you that the road map for achieving top rankings was within your grasp? The holy grail of rankings is not imaginary. As is true with any major success, it leaves clues.

By working with literally hundreds of small and medium sized websites, I have found that top ranked sites have a number of factors in common. What are they? I'm about to share these factors with you and explain what separates those in the top Google positions and those that are never found on page one of search results.

The first search engine ranking factor has to do with the anchor text of all inbound links to your website. Google and other search engines use the anchor text from other sites linking in to determine what your site is about and what it should rank well for. If websites link in only using a URL, and not your keywords in the anchor text, email them and ask them to update your link. The link should always appear with your most important keywords.

The second most important ranking factor is using keywords in your title tag and other meta tags. Meta tags still have an impact on your search rankings. Although the weight of meta tags may be minimal, they are effective in categorizing your page and identifying what search engines should expect to find when they spider web site pages. Make sure your tags are constructed properly and include you keywords.

The third ranking factor to consider for your web site is link popularity. This phrase has been talked about in search engine circles for a while but can be equated with Page Rank. The concept of Page rank or link popularity for that matter take a number of factors into consideration to identify the quality of web pages from an external perspective. The largest factor that influences search engine rankings is the number and quality of links that are pointing to a web site or web page.

The fourth ranking factor is the diversity of domains that link to your web site. For many search engines, it's not only what links you have to your site but making sure they are from different domains. This represents more popularity associated with you web site and therefore is judged to be a better search result. When link building, try to focus on generating inbound links from different websites.

The final ranking factor is keyword use in root domain. Although it's possible to use subdomain or dedicated pages to get your keywords in a URL, nothing beats having them in your root domain.

All of these factors are important for top search rankings. Don't overlook any of them if trying to improve your search rankings for particular keywords or keyword phrases.

Also, be sure to continually read up on the subject or consider any one of a number of SEO training programs, or even San Diego advertising agencies, that can show you how to have more impact with your optimization efforts.

Michael Fleischner is an SEO consultant and author of SEO Made Simple, revealing strategies guaranteed to improve search engine rankings. Learn more SEO at the Internet Marketing Forum, and learn about SEO training at MarketingScoop.com or contact him via the Marketing Blog at http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com.

©2009 - 2011 MarketingScoop.

 

How to Use Article Marketing to Drive Traffic to Your Website

If you want to increase traffic to your website, article marketing is the key.

Are you trying to get more traffic to your website? Article marketing is a powerful way to generate significant traffic to your website. In this article, I’ll provide some details on how to use article marketing in a very specific way to generate a steady stream of qualified prospects to your site.

The first step is to develop an article that is clearly written, provides value, and builds credibility. A clearly written article ensures that readers do more than skim your article. It also provides an “easy read” resulting in a high level of engagement.

To keep your reader’s attention, your article must provide something of value. This is a basic principle of article marketing. An example might be an SEO related article that shows readers how to write an effective “Title” tag for their webpage. A valuable article would first explain the concept then follow with examples – giving readers something tangible to represent each concept.

A result of a clearly written article that provides valuable information is that of credibility. The concept of credibility can be subtle but is very important if you wish to drive the most traffic to your site or affiliate products. Some suggestions for building credibility through article marketing include: injecting your experience into each article, providing references to findings from recent studies, offering facts, providing quotes from industry experts, and so on.

Once you’ve written a compelling article, you can weave a mention of your sites products and services into the text. However, be sure to do it in modest way if you want your article marketing to take hold. Some examples are:

• “I’ve used a number of products that weren’t any good… but I did have some success with the [insert product name here].”

• “I’ve used [product 1], [product 2], and [product 3], but found [insert product name here] to be the cheapest and the best.”

• “Personally I use [insert product name here], but any [product descriptor] will do.”

• “I’m not an expert on [product descriptor] but know that [insert product name here] is quite popular.”

Too often I see individuals using article marketing with a hard sell. This doesn’t work. People don’t like to be told what to do, what products they must use, or rely on the opinions of those they do not trust. So your best bet is to begin with a clearly written article, provide something of value, and use your newfound credibility to generate referrals/sales.

Now that you’ve written your article, here are some tips for “on-page” optimization. This will ensure that once your article is posted, it can be seen by the major search engines and is easily crawled.
Tip #1 Place your keywords in the title of the article. For example, if you’re promoting email software, let’s call it, “Email Management Software” then work it into your title. Here’s and example…

How to Use Email Management Software to Improve Results.

And try to limit your title to about 7 main words. This is how you optimize your article marketing efforts for a given article or page. Now we’ll talk about some other ways to increase your on-page optimization factors.

Tip #2 Use your key word term or phrase in most of your paragraphs. You certainly don’t have to use the phrase in every paragraph of your article, but it helps to use it frequently. Many engines count the number of times the keyword or keyword phrase is used. However, you do not want to over do it. This will turn off many of your readers and negatively affect your credibility. Find a good balance between using your keyword phrase and an appropriate amount of content.

Tip #3 Bold your keyword phrase at least once within the article. It doesn’t matter where you bold your keyword phrase when using article marketing, just be sure to bold it at some point in your article and/or when you post your article online. This provides emphasis and shows the search engines that it’s important to the content on the page.

Tip #4 Italicize your keyword or keyword phrase once in the body of your article. Again, providing a treatment to the text signals its importance and value to the rest of the content on your page.

Tip #5 Use your keyword phrase in the first 25 words of the page and last 25 words of the page. This is essential for on-page optimization and again signals the search engines that your phrase is relevant to all of the content on a given page.

Now that you’ve written your article, what are you going to do with it? When considering the options available for article marketing, consider distribution of your article through online article directories. I personally use those directories that have a high Google PR. If the article directories are favored by other popular sites, they will most often have a good deal of traffic. Article Directories with the highest Google PR (that are any good) include:

Article Central - PR7
About.com - PR6
EasyArticles - PR6
Go Articles - PR6
EzineArticles.com - PR6
ArticleAlley - PR5

A number of these directories are also favored by major search engines like Yahoo! Some allow affiliate links and others do not. Be sure to read the submission policies carefully before submitting your article.

For some directories, you may have to include your website or affiliate link in the “About the Author” section. This is one of the most important aspects of article marketing. Be sure to write your bio very carefully. The added benefit of inserting a link to your product or site in this section is that other webmasters, who repurpose articles from article directories, will include these links – giving you the benefit of viral marketing.

Article marketing is a great way to promote your website or products. By writing an article that delivers value and offers a subtle mention of your website or product, you’re well on your way to getting the proper exposure you’re looking for. Add the on-page optimization factors we talked about, and you’re sure to get noticed. Give article marketing a try and you’ll be glad you did!

Building Back Links

Building backlinks to your pages is an essential part of SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) for two reasons. The first reason is that it helps your pages get indexed faster, which is very important because you want the search engines to find them as soon as possible and crawl them regularly. The second reason is that it helps your pages get higher search engine rankings for the keywords of your choice. The more backlinks you have, the better. Period.

However, building backlinks can be a time-consuming, boring process. You can outsource the process to an agency and pay a lot of money... Or you can do it yourself with SocialMonkee! SocialMonkee is an instant backlink builder allowing you to build 25 unique backlinks, every day, FREE! All links are on unique C-Class IP addresses and domains. Imagine being able to create 25 unique backlinks every day, with the click of a button, FREE! Well, you can stop imagining...

So, 25 unique backlinks every day... That's a total of 175 backlinks every week, 750 every month. If you upgrade, you will be able to build 100 uniques backlinks, 3 times a day! That's a total of 2,100 backlinks every week, 9,000 every month! The good news is... you can get a Premium Account, FREE! All you need to do is to refer 12 members, and your account will automatically be upgraded. If you're not really into referral marketing, you may upgrade right now for a low one-time fee.

Submitting a page to SocialMonkee via the members area takes under two minutes, but there's an even faster way! They created a Firefox plugin that allows you to submit your page to up to 100 sites in just a few clicks, using nothing else than Firefox! If you have a Premium Account you will also get access to link reports and RSS feeds, which are great to keep track of your backlinks and get them indexed fast. Submitting your RSS feeds to RSS submitters is actually a very important step in link building.

So what are you waiting for? Join SocialMonkee now while it's still free!

http://www.socialmonkee.com/index.php?af=44311

Advanced Selling For Dummies

Advanced Selling For Dummies(R) is a terrific resource that can energize your business performance and boost your bottom line. An excellent guide for both seasoned salespeople who want to take their productivity to the next level and small- and large-business entrepreneurs who are missing the advanced selling strategies that they really need to generate business and revenue.

This book is packed with practical advice on how to boost sales, productivity and profits through the full-court-press approach to marketing and sales. Unlike other books that claim to reveal the "secret" to selling, "Advanced Selling For Dummies" is based on the premise that no single secret exists. You need a positive attitude, a strong work ethic, a creative mind, and the "sticktoitism" to survive and thrive in today's competitive marketplace.

In the book, Ralph R. Roberts and a select group of the top sales people and trainers across the country give readers the necessary tools to become top-producers. Stressing the importance of focusing on your innate skill sets and creating a distinctive brand for yourself, "Advanced Selling For Dummies" teaches the tricks and habits that can benefit you both in your professional and personal life--things like:

- Believing in and motivating yourself

- Planning the work and then working the plan

- Techniques for honing your sales skills

- Hour of Power-100 phone calls, one hour a day

- Personal branding through shameless self-promotion

- Credibility building through websites, blogging, and social media

- Personal partnering for inspiration and accountability

- Tapping the un-served and under-served multicultural marketplace

- Embracing change and taking risks

- Implementing the latest productivity-boosting technologies

- Hiring an assistant so you can pursue your passions

- Tapping the power of R-Commerce (Relationship-Commerce

Roberts also tackles the process of running a sales operation, which requires deft maneuvering. Here, you'll learn to create solid partnerships with like-minded, talented people; set the right goals and reward yourself properly when you reach them; embrace change in your industry (and the world at large) to grow your business; create your own USP, a kind of personal resume and mission statement; "seed" your business cards; take a weekly "Hour of Power" to keep in touch with your contacts; and use the latest technology such as the Internet and blogs to grow sales.

Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing

Plan and launch your PPC campaign and keep track of its progress

If you want potential customers to form a traffic jam at your Web site, Pay Per Click just might do the trick. This book will help you decide It tells you all about Google AdWords and Yahoo Sponsored Search, targeting your customers, watching out for fraud, assessing the pros and cons of Pay Per Click, and making Pay Per Click work for you.

Discover how to Use the right keywords to trigger your ads Figure your breakeven point Write ads that reach your customers Calculate return on investment Use geo targeting Track your ad results

Top 20 Tips for Beginner Blogger

1. Choose a topic that you know, like, and are passionate about. This way you will never get bored and will keep your audience always interested and asking for more.
    
2. Pick a topic where there is not a lot of competition. If your topic is too common, try addressing it from a particular angle or focus on a specific niche. For example, there are many sites that talk about cars, but few that specialize in only one brand, and even fewer that focus on only one model. The key to be successful is to find a specific enough topic with a large enough audience.
    
3. Open a Blogger account. It is free and easy to use. That way, you won’t have to invest in costlier platforms like MovableType or TypePad before you have the chance of finding out if blogging is for you.
    
   
   
4. Use a minimalist template, preferably one with a white background. This format is easier to read and pleasant to the eye when you combine it with color pictures.
    
5. Use pictures to dress up your blog entries and give your blog a more professional appearance. You can find excellent pictures at a very low cost in istockphoto.com, or even free in Flickr (don’t forget to ask the owner of the picture for permission before you use it).
    
6. In one of your blog’s side columns, list six or seven links to authoritative sites related to your topic. When the search engine robots visit your blog, they will find these links and your blog will benefit by association.
    
7. Write in simple language, short paragraphs and using bullet points. These are essential guidelines for writing on the web, and will make your posts easier to read and understand.
    
8. Always link out to the sources you use to document your posts. This is not only good etiquette but also a way to promote your blog and get links: when the people you link to find out that they’ve been linked to, they will most likely link to your post from their site or blog.
    
9. Check your posts for spelling and grammatical errors. This will make your blog look more professional and will increase the probability of other people linking to it.
    
10. Use labels to categorize your posts and keep your blog neatly organized. Blogger recently modified its software to allow the use of labels.
     
11. Participate actively in forums and discussion groups related to your topic. Find what are the most common questions and provide the answers in your blog. Then, direct forum readers to your blog. Try to also direct forum readers to other resources, or  answer without necessarily linking to your blog, sometimes. If not, you may be perceived as self serving and only interested in promoting your blog.
     
12. Use HitTail to research topics to write about. HitTail gives you a list of the search terms used by those who came to your blog through a search engine. This search term list will give you ideas for future blog posts.
     
13. Allow your blog readers to email your posts to other people. Also, give them the option to bookmark your posts using del.icio.us, furl, or any other social bookmarking service. You can go to AddThis to download a smart button that makes it easy to bookmark your posts. You can find instructions on how to add the button to Blogger here. The easier you make it to share your blog posts, the more relevant traffic your blog will get.
     
14. Use Technorati tags at the end of your blog posts. Technorati tags are a way of classifying your blog posts by topic and have them added to Technorati’s index (Technorati is the most important search engine for blogs). Use this automatic Technorati tag generatorto avoid having to create the HTML code manually.
     
15. Syndicate your blog allowing your visitors to subscribe to your feeds through their favorite aggregator. This way, they will be automatically notified every time you update your blog. You can use this tool to generate attractive syndication buttons, which you can then place in a side column of your blog.
     
16. Post frequently. It is the only way to keep your audience interested and coming back. Two or three times a week is ideal. Once a week is the borderline minimum that I recommend to keep your audience engaged and maintain adequate visibility in the search engines.
     
17. Keep a large number of posts in the main page of your blog. Search engine robots usually won’t crawl and index all your blog pages, however they will visit your main page frequently. The more content you keep in your main page, the bigger the chance of it popping up in the search engine results pages.
     
18. Use Google Adsense to monetize your blog. Blogger lets you add Google Adsense easily and seamlessly in several locations within a page. The best locations are within the content, and on top of the page simulating a navigation bar.
    
    
    
    
     
19. Don’t use Google Adsense excessively, at least at the beginning. Your initial focus should be not to monetize your blog, but to build your audience and establishing your blog's reputation as an authority within your topical community. A blog that is deep on content and lean on ads is more likely to attract the kind of links needed to become relevant to users and search engines.
     
20. Once your blog is established and generates abundant, relevant traffic, you can monetize more aggressively, not only with Adsense but also with affiliate links and, why not, maybe even by selling your own products.

You can see a real example of all these tips at work in my blog: http://www.shoestringbranding.com  

You can freely reprint this article provided that you include the following resource box:

Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net ), a growing collection of Internet marketing articles, tips and resources, and Shoestring Branding ( http://www.shoestringbranding.com ), an online resource for entrepreneurs who want to build strong small business brands.

Pay Per Click Search Engine Basics

Pay per click search engines let you set up an account with an initial deposit, and then bid for the top positions in the search results pages for keywords or key phrases that you are interested in. Your bid will typically be set in cents or dollars per click. When a prospect clicks on your link, you are charged the amount of that bid.

Naturally, the keyphrases that people search for the most will command the highest bids.
Some pay per click search engines operate their own brand of search engine. However, the bulk of the traffic to bidding web sites doesn't come directly from them but from partner sites, usually large portal sites like Yahoo!, MSN or AOL. Links to bidding web sites will appear at the top or at the side of the search results page, clearly marked as "sponsor results" or "sponsor links".
For example, Overture (formerly GoTo), by far the most popular pay per click search engine, provides sponsored listings to numerous partner sites, among them: America Online, Altavista, Direct Hit, Excite, HotBot, iWon, Lycos, Netscape, and Yahoo! The highest bidders will achieve the top position for their selected keywords.
With Lookssmart, you pay a flat fee per click ($0.15 at the time of this writing) and the pages with higher relevance rise to the top.  Looksmart provides sponsored search results to a high quality core of sites like MSN, Altavista, About.com, Netscape and CNN.
Another important Pay Per Click search engine is Kanoodle.   Kanoodle goes beyond offering traditional sponsored results in search engines, by offering their ContextTarget™ service.  ContextTarget™ puts your ads alongside editorial content instead of within search results. This allows you to reach potential consumers at the exact time they are engaged and reading relevant content on their favorite sites.   At the time of this writing, Kanoodle was offering new customers it's attractive $5 Kanoodle Free Trial.
Google, the king of search engines, has recently launched its own pay per click service, called Google Adwords. At the time of this writing, Google Adwords provided sponsored search results to America Online, AskJeeves, Earthlink, and to Google itself. Google operates a little differently than Overture and Looksmart, in the sense that the top positions are determined by a combination of high bids and high click through rates, so nobody can lock the top positions solely by bidding high.

  

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that usually only the top two or three bidders for a selected key phrase will be displayed in the search results page of the partner sites. This means that if your page is in fourth position or lower, your link will most likely not be displayed on the top partner sites, and your traffic will be significantly less. That explains the large difference in price between a top position and a lesser one.

Since bidding for the top positions is so expensive, you want to make your link text as specific as possible, to attract only the most qualified, targeted traffic. If you make your link text too generic and bid for a top position, you may end up receiving lots of clicks from people who are not really interested in your product, and who click on your link only out of curiosity. That is also the reason why you have to select very specific keywords.
To know how much to bid for a top position, you have to have an idea of your expected conversion rate and the gross profit margin of your product. Let say that you sell computer books at a gross profit of $4 per book, and your conversion rate is 3% (meaning that 3 out of 100 people who click on your link actually buy a book). Under this assumption, if 100 people clicked on your link, you would sell three books, making a total gross profit of $12. This means that, to break even, each click must be worth $0.12. If you bid less than $0.12 per click, you make money. If you bid more, you lose money.
Pay per click search engines provide you with real time reports that tell you how much are people bidding for specific keywords. They also provide you with Keyword Suggestion Tools to assist you in selecting the right keywords or keyphrases (to see an example, check Overture's Keyword Suggestion Tool). One of the most important functions of this tool is to show you alternative keyphrases, which may be cheaper to bid for than the ones you had originally selected.
In summary, using pay per click search engines is the quickest and easiest way to gain the top search positions in the major search engines. It can also be very costly, so it is important that it be handled properly.