Getting Inbound Links is as Easy as 1-2-3

Your success on the internet is directly related to how many other sites are linking back to yours. The goal of every webmaster is to get more inbound links. I have listed three simple steps below to automate and multiply the process. Once the process is started you will be getting inbound links while you sleep.

Number One:

Write Articles. It is hard work to write a quality article but you will find it to be a long term strategy for building inbound links that will pay off for years to come in both link popularity and traffic to your website. You may not consider yourself an expert on a particular subject, but if you have a website I'll bet you are an expert on the subject you have chosen for that website. Write an article on the theme of your website and submit it to the various article directories on the internet. Believe it or not, you are an expert. You just haven't realize it yet.

You may experience a feeding frenzy on your article. Why? Simply because webmasters are constantly looking for content. Webmasters are busy designing sites and are able to save time by using expert content from other people. They often create websites with thousands of pages and are in need of content for those sites. And they know where the directories are that will contain your article. Every time your article is picked up by a webmaster, it will result in a link back to your site. In the first few days after I submitted my first article it got pick up and posted 400 times! I was shocked. You will be too!

Number Two:

Signup at a link exchange coop. A link exchange coop can give you more backlinks in a few minutes work than you could ever generate by yourself. You are utilizing a network of thousands of other websites. And thats what the internet is, a huge network. Take advantage of the power of networking. There are many link exchanges. One well known link exchange coop is: . Depending on the size and pagerank of your site, you could earn 1000 inbound links or more my adding a few lines of code to your website. Do some research and find the one that will bring the greatest benefit to your site.

Number Three:

Automate the reciprocal linking process by utilizing reciprocal linking software. Do not spend hours upon hours emailing webmasters and posting reciprocal links to your site. Simple buy a reciprocal link script, set it up at your website and it will process the links, add them to your website and then it will monitor to make sure each webmaster has posted your link to his/her website. This will free up your time to do something more important like writing articles. To find inexpensive software to automate the reciprocal linking process, simply go to eBay and type in the search phrase "reciprocal linking popularity software".

Rather than doing things the same old way, try these three steps. They will save you countless hours. By using these time savers you will be much more efficient in getting backlinks and you will also get hundreds, maybe even thousands more than you ever thought possible.

Getting Visitors To Stay Through Web Based Marketing

9/10 times your web site visitors won't stay for more than 15 seconds. This is how you get them to stay, or should I say, get them to come back!

For most of you, your web site is a great brochure. It probably outlines your services very well. There's nothing wrong with that what-so-ever!

but...

There are creative marketing strategies that you can implement so that you don't entirely loose your clients, you just need to keep them in the loop for when the time comes for them to buy.

"Marketing Online - Is about creative patience"

Being creative with your web marketing ventures is crucial but it doesn't necessarily react like print magazine ads or like newspaper press releases. No, it takes time for something to kick into full force.

This is why you should always keep on top of creating something new because, just like regular marketing, if you don't have another campaign ready to go when your done this one, you'll start to loose prospects on the way and create a slow period for your business.

You want your world online to consistently grow. Don't grow too quickly, just grow and keep growing with all your marketing efforts.

Here are some of the marketing strategies you can implement:

Create an online newsletters
Give something away for free
Create online questionaires
Engage yourself into discussion groups
Write helpful tips
Create local resources for others
Have a section of tips from others in your field
Create a forum on your site
As you can see, these are all marketing strategies that ingage people in some way. The key is to create emotion through your visitors. Once you've engaged someone from your site, your site will be imprinted on their mind. It may take them a year to buy something from you but once in a while, maybe even weekly, they will keep coming back to your site.

The important thing to remember is that, eventually, we loose all of our visitors, even more important is to find marketing ventures that keep them coming back from time to time.

Just because someone saw your service today, doesn't mean that he/she is ready to buy what you are ofering. Many people "Shop For Tomorrow". They like to browse around, see the options out there before they dig into their wallet.

I hope this article will spawn off some ideas for you!

11 High Powered Ways To Increase Your Traffic

1. Trade links with other web sites. They should be related to the subject of your web site. Instead of trading links, you could also trade banner ads, half page ads, classified ads, etc.

2. Start an e-zine for your web site. When people read each issue they'll be reminded to revisit your web site. They'll see your product ad more than just once which will increase your orders.

3. Form an online community. It could be an online message board, e-mail discussion list or chat room. When people get involved in your community they will regularly return to communicate with others.

4. Write articles and submit them to e-zines, web sites and magazines that accept article submissions. Include your business information and web address at the end of the article.

5. Give away an electronic freebie with your ad on it. Allow your visitors to also give the freebie away. This'll increase your ad exposure and attract people to your web site at the same time.

6. Combine your products or services into one big package deal with other businesses offerings. You could share a web site and advertise the package deal; which means double the traffic.

7. Submit your freebie to the online directories that list your particular item or service for free. If you're offering a free e-zine, submit it to all the free e-zine directories on the internet.

8. Participate on message boards. Post answers to other people's questions, ask questions and post appropriate information. Include your signature file at the end of all your postings.

9. Exchange classified or sponsor ads with other free e-zine publishers. If there is a huge subscriber difference between e-zines, one can run more ads to make up for it.

10. Post your ad on free advertising areas on the internet. You can post it on free classified ad sites, free for all links sites, newsgroups that allow ads, free yellow page directories, etc.

11. You could also Increase Traffic By Offering A Free Course in html, autoresponder, and ebook format.

HTML- Your course could be right on your web site. On one web page, create a title page and table of contents. Use clickable chapter links so they can go to the sections easily were they need the most help.

You could increase your traffic by allowing people to give away the course to their web site visitors. Just have them link to your web site.

Do You Build Or Buy? (Tips On Leadgeneration)

Every marketer needs leads, they are the lifeblood of your online business. However not every marketer knows how to effectively "work" their leads.

Your mailinglist can be a goldmine if you know how to do that!

Here are a couple of tips that will help you build, manage and "work" your list to its fullest potential.

Building your list:

Nowadays you can buy leads by the thousands if not millions on the internet. Lead company's telling you their leads are optin and unique. Well my friend nothing could be further from the truth!

The majority of these companies "cycle" their leads, as they call it. This means that your leads will be used by other people as well, making your chances of success slim.

Besides this point, sending a bulkmaling to huge quantities of so called optin leads will eventually result in complaints and in the worst case you will be shutdown by your isp.

There is a better way to build your list. You can generate your own leads easily by using a simple form on your website or popup/under inviting people to join your list/newsletter.

The leads you generate this way will be very targetted and of very high quality. You may not generate over a million leads but its better to have a thousand high quality leads then a million low quality leads wich only cause complaints.

"Working" your list:

Now that you are starting to generate your own leads lets have a go of "working" them. This basically means following up on them periodically with a newslettter and/or information about your offer.

I recommend using an autoresponder for this task as it will put your business on autopilot and saves you a lot of work.

Over time you will notice that people will send you emails asking more information about your offer. When you reply to these people be as personal as possible. Put yourself in their positition, what would you want for an answer to a specific question etc. You may want to offer them additional help of some sort, this creates trust and trust is very important in doing business online

Google PageRank Explained

Google PageRank has always been a controvertial issue among us webmasters. There seems to be many questions floating around with suggests that many people are not familier with how PageRank works. Here, I will attempt to answer some of the common questions and discard the rumors.

1. What is PageRank?

Here is what Google says:

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."

Click here for more...

In other words, PageRank is simply a mechanical algorithm by Google that attempts to evaluate the importance of your website larged based on the amount and quality of backlinks your website have. For the more intellectual crowds out there, check out The PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web .

2. How do I check the PR of a webpage?

If you use Internet Explorer, download and install the Google Toolbar. There will be a green indicator on the toolbar that tells the PR of a particular page. Hovering your mouse over the ind icator will give you a numeric value of the PR. In addition, there are numerous tools out there that will check the PR of a page without the toolbar. If you use Mozilla Firefox, you can install the PageRank Checker extention.

3. Why do I want a higher PR?

It used to be believed that a higher PR value will give you a higher position in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). However, this is no longer the case. As any experienced webmaster, and even Google themselves, would tell you, there are hundreds of factors that determine where your page is displayed in the results.

Google states that they do not recommend webmasters exchange links to increase their PR. They see it as trying to "game" their search engine. Lastly, many people believe that a higher PR causes Googlebot to crawl through a page more often.

4. Is it a good idea to buy links for a higher PR?

Websites with higher PR (6, 7, 8) often make money by selling links to sites with lower PR. As Google states, if they are aware that sites are selling PR instead of just advertising space (how they can differ the two I can't say or if, ind eed, they can), both the buyer and seller may be penalized. The penalty may take the form of a lower position in SERPs and/or a downgrade of PR. Thus, we recommend that you do not buy links simply for a higher PR.

5. But I still would like to improve the PR of my site. What should I do?

First of all, sites don't have PR, pages do. (hence the name Page Rank) Therefore, it is possible for an internal page to have a higher PR than the homepage. In order to get PR, the only way is to get links to it. Incoming backlink from a page with a higher PR is more valuable than incoming a backlink from a page with a lower PR. In addition, the PageRank that a link "gives" is spread out between the number of links on the page. For example, a backlink from a PR4 page with only two links on the page can be more valuable than a backlink from a PR7 page with fifty links on the page.

6. How many links would I need to get my homepage to PR7?

The answer to this question varies greatly between different sites. Sometimes a couple links from other PR7 or PR8 pages will do. On the other hand, you may need hundreds of backlinks from PR3 or PR4 pages.

7. I've acquired many backlinks to my site. Why isn't my PR improving?

There are many reasons why you may not be seeing the results. First of all, if you see PR5 for a page, the real PR may be PR5.0000 to PR5.9999. You have no way of knowing the exact PR of your site. Thus, you are simply not seeing the results. Secondly, Google might have done a PR algorithm update. Lastly, the PR of the pages that are giving you incoming backlinks might have changes, thus changing your PR as well.

8. How often do PR change?

Results may vary (a week to six mont hs).

9. Why is my PR in the Google Directory different than my toolbar PR?

Google uses a different scale for measuring PageRank in the Google Directory.

10. Why is it so much harder to go from PR6 to PR7 than from PR5 to PR6?

Google Pa geRank value goes up logarithmically. (i.e. going from PR9 to PR10 may look like the same as going from PR1 to PR2, but is actually 1000 times more difficult). The exact logarithmic scale is unknown, but there has been speculation that it may be around 5. (i.e. going from PR2 to PR3 is 5 times more difficult than going from PR1 to PR2)

11. I just lost all my PR!

How to Create Sizzling Sales online

Have you heard of this phrase before? It has been widely regarded as principle number one of salesmanship as far back as 1936.

What does this phrase mean? Selling the sizzle means making it possible for the prospect to salivate for your product or steak. If you are really selling the sizzle to the steak, you will be connecting with your prospect with his/her sense of smell, sight and sound. He or she will be catching the whiff of the steak cooking on the barbeque pit, see the steak oozing in juice and hear the sizzle on the pit!

This concept makes perfect sense if you want to experience fantastic sales. So if you are an internet marketer, how do you write your online ad copy or sales letter such that you can connect with your prospects senses? Here is a buffet of 10 tips on how you can sell the sizzle:

1. Let your enthusiasm show.

Be enthusiastic and positive in your sales copy. People are attracted to a sales letter that is upbeat and captivating.

2. Show your expert status.

Spell out to your prospects about how their problems can be solved through your expert advice. You should offer great value and make the customer feel that he is well taken care of, in your charge

3. Your attitude determines your altitude.

Have a good attitude by encouraging feedback and questions and answering your emails as quickly as you can. People generally want to know how much you care before they start doing business with you.

4. Have A Killer Headline.

Use killer headlines to tease and to attract your prospect to read your entire sales copy. An example of a great headline How I made a $15,886 mistake as it creates curiosity about the story that you are about to reveal.

5. Use the Power of Bullets.

Your sales copy should not just be a laundry list of features. Use as many bulleted points as you can to show the long list of benefits that your prospect can derive by buying your product or service.

6. Use the feel, felt, found method.

Handle objections with this method. It works! First, show empathy on how your prospect feels. Then, say how you or your other customers felt the same way. And then, how you or your customers found the answer to their problems by buying your product or service.

7. A picture speaks a thousand words.

Use images that help your prospect visualize about what you are selling. Sell the sizzle! A simple example to illustrate this point is to create stunning covers for your information product. The cover of my newsletter Mapping You to Success viewed at http://www.e-BizMap.com certainly looks yummy and easy to digest!

8. Testimonials sell!

Get testimonials from credible sources. Wouldnt a prospect feel more tempted if your product or service is also used by some top names or gurus?

9. Go big on bonuses.

Use bonuses that have high perceived value. Value is created when the bonus is relevant to the needs of the prospect. To create the impression of high perceived value, spend some time explaining and telling your prospects what each bonus is, its worth and the succulent benefits they can derive.

10. Give a lifetime guarantee.

Give a guarantee that lasts forever! Make your offer as risk free as possible.

Now how do you beat the buffet of tips given above? Perfect your recipe for writing great copy and see your sales sizzle to the top!

I Want To Be A Freelancer

So you have decided that you want to do freelance work. You have done your homework and have developed your skills in HTML, PHP, CMS, and a slew of other applications. Now you are ready to start your new career. So how do you get started? Without clients your business is non existent. So how exactly do you build your business and find clients. Below are just a few key elements to help you get started.

Develop a website portfolio

In order for your potential clients to see what you offer, and get a feel for you, it is necessary to have your own website. The purpose of your website should act as a portfolio for potential clients. Show completed projects in the form of gif, or jpegs. When people can see your work, they will be more apt to use your services.

Develop your website as a total package to your clients. Don't just present your portfolio and leave it at that. Offer tutorials, articles, support forums etc. These additional services not only provide additional content for you clients, but if developed correctly will bring additional traffic to your site which will potentially lead to more sales.

Word of Mouth

In the freelance industry, word of mouth is probably your biggest asset. If you do a good job for one client, ideally he will tell someone of the service you provided and recommend you. Of course this works both ways. If you do a job for a client that was sub par, that will poorly reflect on your business and result in a loss of potential clients. In the field of freelance work viral marketing is essential.

Forums

Forums are an amazing resource for your new business. The idea is, you post in forums that are relevant to your services. Have your website name and description in your signature. If people see that you do know what you are talking about, they will be more likely to visit your site. Forums are ideal for the needed exposure you need to build a strong client base.

Forums are also great place to learn and gain feedback and experience on your work. Go to web design communities such as New York F reelancers and get reviews on your work. Remember, criticism is essential in order for you to grow and learn.

To be a successful freelancer, you have to develop a business plan which works from all angels. If you can develop you business with has a professional looking portfolio, use forums are a source for potential clients, and develop a positive relationship with each client, your chance at success will be high. Of course there are many other factors to consider as well, but if you can master these simple points, you will have an excellent start.

The Google Sandbox

What once many people thought they had a penalty, is now being called the Sandbox Effect and is causing new web sites not to rank very well in the search results of Google, not even for the least competitive phrases. Meaning that a filter is being placed on new web sites and cannot rank very high for most words or phrases for a certain amount of time.

This does not mean it's punishment for anything the webmaster did with their site, such as using Spam or anything like that. The probation likely don't apply to the web site, but instead to backlinks. After the link stays on the web site for a certain amount of time it will no longer be on probation and fully counted as a backlink to your web site. Even if your site is better than your competitors it will still be in the Sandbox.

There is a lot of debate as to why Google uses the sandbox filter. However, It is believed that this is attempt by Google to discourage web site owners that use SEO Spam techniques to rank high fast and make a quick buck before Google discovers they are using Spam. This is largely because Google uses link popularity so much to rank web sites in it's search engine.

There is no way to know for sure if a new web site is in the Sandbox, but the best way to determine if you are in the Sandbox is if your web site has a good amount of quality backlinks, quality content and a good ranking in other search engines, such as Yahoo!, MSN and Ask Jeeves, but still no where in Google's search engine results for your keywords.

It has been suggested by some that it can take up to 9 months before a new web site can get a high ranking in Google's search engine results and out of the Sandbox, but this does vary from web site to web site. This Also depends on how competitive your new web site's market and keywords are.

There is no known way of speeding up the amount time a new web site is in the Sandbox. Before you fully put up your web site you could get a few backlinks to it before you fully put it up, even though you will still be in the Sandbox this way, you won't waste much time. You could also buy a domain that's already being used, so you never have to be in the Sandbox.

Do You Submit Your Website To All The Search Engines?

There is really only one search engine to worry about submitting too and that is Google and you should only submit one page your main once and maybe a sitemap a week later but never more than once a week. If you have a link coming to your new site from a site that is currently listed in Google then Google will find you quicker.

Most importantly search engines that have any bearing will find you if Google has you listed. Not that there are not any other worth while search engines. There are just many that look to Google. If you have a non comercial website you will want to look into DMOZ for a seperate submission.

So don't pay for directory submission many directories will bring you no traffic at all.

Here is the #1 tip to getting into Google. Get people to link to your site. In particular links form site that are in Google already.

Important Note: The more links that you have going out from your site will effect your page rank with Google negatively. The more links coming in will help your page rank. If you have the highest page rank for a particular key word you win.

Guidelines for Web Page Optimization

Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can take to optimize your web pages. By following these, you will improve your chances of increasing your rankings:

1) Target one word for each page: A huge mistake that many beginners make is cramming numerous keywords onto every page. Instead of doing this, you should focus on one specific keyword for each page. That way, you can make sure that the page is focusing on that one word without any distractions. If you want to target multiple keywords then it is necessary to create a separate page for each.

2) List your major keywords in the links back to your site: Many search engines, Google being the most famous, have started to take into account the words that are mentioned in the title tag of the links that point to your site. So, a great way to improve your rankings for your keywords is to place it in the title tag.

3) Make your first 100 words on the page keyword rich: Another mistake that most webmasters make is to have a menu on the left-hand side of a website. Since search engines primarily focus on the first 100 words of a website, a left side menu is a misuse of valuable space.

Instead of doing this, you should have your title, description and web copy within the first 100 words of your site. An easy way to do this is to have your menu on the right instead of the standard left-hand side.

But, since the left-handed menu is now commonplace, you can also choose to put your first 100 words above the left-handed menu, so this text will be the first thing read on your website.

4) Insert the keyword into your title tag: In the source code of most pages are "header tags" (also known as Meta tags), which help search engines understand the content of the page.

To fully optimize your website, you can tweak the source code of the page. The first step is to insert the keyword in the title tag. (This is what is shown in the results of a search engine when your site is listed)

5) Insert your keywords in the description tag: The description Meta tag is almost as valuable as the title tag. The information in this tag is listed directly below the title tag in search engine results. As a result, a good description can make your website stand out from other listings. To get the prospect to click on your site, it is important to write a snappy description while using your keyword.

6) Insert them into your keywords tag: Like the title and description tags, keyword tags are used to help search engines understand the content of your web page. Although this Meta tag has become less popular, it doesnt hurt to put your keywords here.

7) Place your keyword in the header: When writing the actual text of your site, the first part should be the headline. Whenever a search engine scans your site, it rates all words in the headline as being more important then the rest of the web copy. To take advantage of this, you should have your keyword in the page headline. But, since the header tag (h1) is quite large, you should format it so that it is smaller.

8) Write your keyword enriched web copy: Now that you have set up the structure of your page, you can write your web copy. While creating the text, you want to include the majority of the keywords at the top and the bottom of the page. In addition, the keyword should be included a few times in the middle. Basically, the common saying is that the keyword density should resemble an hour glass shape.

The total web copy of your page should be about 300-500 words. Also, the keyword should be included about 5-12% of the total words of the page. The percentage varies according to each search engine, so you might want to play around till you find the best results.

If you follow all these steps, you will definitely see an improvement in the search engine rankings for your keywords unless they are extremely competitive.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Is Critical To The Success Of Your Website

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to the success of your website, Drive Visitors To Your Website And Increase Your Market Share.

SEO is the key to unlocking your website's full potential. Google handles over 200 million internet search requests each day, and people who search for information clearly express what they want. Imagine capturing a relevant stream of such web traffic. It's therefore important to optimize your web pages to improve search engine rankings using the most appropriate keywords describing the content of your site.

The search engine optimization process begins before you start building your website, when you decide on the domain name to register. The process then continues on as long as your website remains online.

Please note that optimizing your web pages to get high rankings takes time. Your rankings may start out low and slowly improve. Link popularity, i.e. the quantity and quality of external links to your web pages, greatly influences your rankings, and it takes time for your website to become popular in its niche.

Every time you improve your site, you need to allow time for the full effect to show in search engine results. Don't tweak your web pages too frequently. The time and effort is better spent on adding high-quality contents to your site and building inbound links.

Search Engines have computers and programs called "Spiders" that collect information about your web pages in an attempt to "figure out" what your pages are about. These spiders gather information from your pages and use these in factoring which sites get ranked higher than others. Search Engines analyze over 100 On-Page Factors when analyzing your web pages.

Surviving Googles Aging Delay

Google has always been the search industry's innovator and that's just what Google's aging delay symbolizes, the evolution of search innovation... yet another significant step forward for Google.
Google's success as a search engine can undeniably be attributed to its ability to consistently return the most relevant search engine results. That's what kept the search giant on top of the pack and leading the multi-billion dollar search industry & that's what's going to keep them there!

Now that said, is it any wonder why Google incorporated the infamous aging delay into their ranking criterion? The simple truth is, Google's aging delay is a full frontal assault on artificial link inflation.

With the induction of multiple clever off-page reciprocal-linking strategies engineered to artificially inflate link popularity and PageRank?, Googles aging delay wasn't only necessary and long overdue; it was the next logical step in the evolution of search.

The confusion and misunderstanding of the aging delay among site owners is nothing short of amazing. Many of my clients are confounded because their new sites are well positioned in Yahoo, MSN & the other large search engines while their sites are no where to be found in Google's search engine results pages (SERPs)... except for perhaps on the most obscure search terms.

Current and unconfirmed speculation has been misplacing the blame on Google's 'sandbox' effect. While this is a possibility I believe it's also highly improbable.

The sandbox holding period is typically anywhere between 90 to 120 days, the aging delay appears to be much longer. I've seen new sites delayed for up to 6-8 months.

The premise of the sandbox delay theory suggests that new sites are being penalized for gaining too many links too fast. To date I haven't seen a scrap of evidence to support that claim.

The sandbox theory is further disproved by the fact that newer sites engaged in procuring relevant links experience the same delay in climbing Google's SERPs as other new sites utilizing scores of purchased text links. This lends credibility to my thought that new sites are not being penalized on the premise of acquisition or quantity of inbound links and; supports my theory that it's the reciprocated links that are being delayed by an aging filter.

It just doesn't seem 'reasonable' for Google to penalize sites for acquiring legitimate directory listings & building an optimized reciprocal link based network. In my opinion, mainstream SEOs are confusing the existing sandbox effect, with Google's new 'aging filter' that arrived on the search scene earlier this year.

It seems more likely that Google's aging filter is weighing the 'maturity' of inbound links and not the new site itself. Meaning that in addition to the traditional ranking criterion, the age of a sites inbound links are also now considered.

My own theory is that newly acquired inbound links are placed on a 'probationary' status until they've 'matured' before they're considered. For example, a new and relevant inbound PR 6 link would not be given the same weight or consideration as a 'grandfathered' PR 6 link until the aging delay expired.

By placing newly acquired links on a probationary period and delaying the ranking of newer sites Google has effectively offset the instant free ride to the top of their SERPs. Purchasing volumes of brokered links to that end is now a moot point. After all, your site will still be delayed regardless of the amount of links you purchase and you won't see any return on investment (ROI) for at least 6 - 8 months.

Existing Site owners interested in immediate (ROI) are now strongly motivated to build new pages or expand existing sites in order to avoid Googles lengthy aging delay. With the 'all-the-rage' mini-network strategy shifting to more of a long-term commitment, it seems likely that's exactly what will happen!

Whether by clever design or not, the only alternative to riding out the aging delay that produces immediate results in Google's SERPs is to advertise through Google's AdWords Program. So it seems that Google's solution vis-à-vis the aging delay has turned out to be an excellent vehicle to promote Google's own AdWords Program as well. Hmm...

How do you survive Google's aging delay? By taking pro-active action!

I haven't seen any new sites with new domains appear at the top of Google's (SERPs) since early to mid 2004. I've consulted with and tracked many of my clients' new sites and despite the fact they have hundreds of #1 positions in Yahoo, Alta Vista, AllTheWeb? & MSN for their keywords, I've yet to see any remarkable results in Google until the 6 - 8 month period.

The trend I've noticed suggests that new sites are initially indexed; ranked accordingly in Google's SERPs for a week or so and then literally vanish from the SERPs for several months. In most cases they can't even be found with the most obscure search terms... including their own name and address.

If you're launching a new site don't panic. Once you've registered your domain name and configured the hosting, you should set up a few temporary pages. Obtain links to them from other sites in Google's index to start the aging delay count down. I recommend launching a site immediately with enough content to set up and facilitate the requirements for directory listings to start. The sooner Google is aware of your domain the better. Just don't hold your breath waiting to see results... It could be as long as 6 - 8 months!

Gauge your optimization efforts by where your site ranks in the other search engines. Provided you're not engaged in unethical practices and followed Google's Webmaster's guidelines this should give you a ballpark indication of where Google will rank your site after the aging delay, just be patient.

To that end, don't keep tweaking and changing your pages source code and trying to manipulate your rankings until your site has been in Google's index for at least 6 - 8 months. In other words, there's no need to reinvent the wheel here because it doesn't seem to matter what you do, your site will still be delayed regardless.

Don't keep submitting your pages to Google either! It won't make any difference.

Check your server logs to confirm Googlebot's crawl and then forget about it. Googlebot will find your site again if you're actively reciprocating links so your time would be better served building an optimized reciprocal link network to get your site out there and linked to as early as possible.

If traffic from Google is crucial to your marketing and promotion plan, and I don't know anyone who would argue otherwise... budget to run an AdWords campaign for a few months until the site is indexed and positioned. You might even consider running an Overture campaign as well!

If you purchase non-directory links, reallocate that budget to Adwords advertising.

It's pointless to purchase links when you can invest in an AdWords or Overture campaign. Purchasing links is an investment you won't see a red cent ROI for at least 6 - 8 months while an Adwords campaign will drive targeted traffic to your site that can convert immediately. Keep in mind that Lycos, HotBot?, AOL, Ask Jeeves, Iwon, Netscape & Teoma also receive paid results from Google! MSN, AllTheWeb?, AltaVista? & Yahoo receives paid results from Overture.

Do other search engines have an aging delay?

Google provides primary search results to other search engines. It only seems reasonable to expect that your site may be delayed in Google's partner sites as well.

One-way you may be able to work around this, and I can't emphasize this enough; is to make sure you submit your site to DMOZ, the open source directory. Google, in addition to the other major engines, receives directory results directly from DMOZ.

Yahoo and its partner sites don't seem to be utilizing an aging delay, nor does MSN, so focusing your early efforts on these search engines might give you a competitive edge in the Yahoo network.

At the end of the day when it's all said and done surviving Google's aging delay is just a matter of time. The days of purchasing instant link popularity and PageRank? are over and in due course you will see Google give your site the recognition it deserves.

Link Building

A web directory is a internet web page consisting of categorized links to other web pages. They specialize in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links. Web directories often allow site owners to submit their site for inclusion. One such web directory is http://dir ectory.google.com/. Some sites may offer up to 30,000 different categories. Links provided may be pure HTML- no CGI or PHP. SEO (search engine optimization), friendly links are considered better then other links and help you increase the popularity of your page, in terms of the page rank. The most critical factor effecting the success or failure of a site is its link building. Most well known sites have an exhaustive list of categories and allow for the best category fit.

What these web sites follow is the most effective way of online marketing- Link Building. Link building is somewhat like word of mouth marketing. When a trusted site links itself to yours, it sure acts as a positive recommendation for your site. This is the way linking works. A well synchronized and linking strategy will surely bring in a regular stream of qualified prospects to your site. This not only raises your profile but also boosts your search engine ratings. Linking is another avenue in online marketing, capable of boosting your business without costing you a fortune. Linking can be started from any site, portal, blog etc, and all have a tremendous potential of driving your business to new heights. Though linking can be started through individual efforts, but those looking for sure results in real quick time for their business, they can help themselves by taking the services of professional link building. Linking is not only about having the maximum number of links on the World Wide Web, but rather about the maximum number of effective links, Links that shall bring in more business.

The following categories are the most common for any directory catering to people in general by means of providing links:

Arts (television, music, movies), Business (investing, real estate, employment), Computers (software, hardware n internet), Games (Video games, gambling, role-playing), Health (fitness, medicine, alternatives), Home (consumer information, Family, cooking), Kids and Teens (teen life, school time, arts), News(weather, newspaper, media) Recreation (humor outdoors, food, travel etc), Reference (libraries, maps, education) Regional (Europe, Canada, UK, US), Science (biology, physics psychology), Shopping (clothing, gifts, autos), Society (people, issues, religion, and spirituality etc), Sports (basketball, baseball, golf etc).

The working for the web directories is not very complex. Users are guided through a series of options pertaining to every option as given on the main page. For e.g.:

Business: News and media: Book Reviews if as a typical line of search you follow, you shall be taken to the sites short-listed sites, according to the preferences you have. The above e.g. shall give you results like the following

XYZ News Business Index - Business news and commentary articles.
123 Asset Management - Information about various asset management categories.
ABC Business - Information on setting up in business, managing your money, personal finances and making the right career move.
The above three results shall be links to the sites which the directory feels is most appropriate for you search. Thus similarly, other searches aid you in short listing or reaching the sites for your search.

Power Packed Linking Strategies - Part Two

The keyword marketing guide to a linking strategy that packs real punching power.

This is the second in a series of three articles showing you how to find a suitable linking strategy for your website and put it to work for you.

Link strategy number one: The Front Page Link Swap.

The most important page on your site is naturally the home page and as this is the page that is most often pointed to by internal and external links this is the page that carries the most linking power. This is more usually called page rank (Google) or Yahoo Web rank (Yahoo).

Important note: If you are promoting an e-book, guide, tutorial or you are using a similar marketing technique then you should make your links come back to the promotional page and not your home page. As this is the page that you will want to go out and compete for you in the search engines.

The way that linking algorithms is of course a closely guarded secret, however its known that the more links that you have on a page the less linking power is assigned to each link on the page. Thus a links page with 75 links on it is going to give little benefit in link boost and also a small amount of traffic, it is after all competing with 74 other links.

This is where the front page link swap is such a powerful strategy.

By swapping a link from your homepage with a link from another site of equal or greater linking power you are getting a far bigger return in terms of both the link value and traffic than you would for exchanging links on a buried links page.

The downside is that to find willing and co operative webmasters to do the exchange is very time consuming.

Just as you would in your regular business dealings you should make time to seek out potential front page link swap partners. The traffic rewards will really pay dividends.

Link strategy number two. The One Way Directory Link.

As the power of the link goes up as more and more search engines use it as a method of ranking sites so directories are cashing in on a charge to be listed. What was once a free resource has now become an expensive link gathering exercise.

Still the most important free directory entry is http://www .dmoz.org but these days the waiting list seems to be forever. Seek out directories and place your links at every opportunity. Industry portals are a great linking source.

Link strategy number three. The Strategic Article Link.

This type of link packs the biggest punch of all.

Writing an article on your favourite subject can give you many benefits not least in credibility and giving you recognition as an authority on your chosen subject. It is by far the best way of gaining links and traffic to your site.

The technique is to write an article of five to six hundred words on a subject that you are knowledgeable about. Get several of your trusted friends to proof read and contribute and then refine it into a readable style.

Remember that writing for the web is totally different than writing for other media types. Surfing is a solitary experience for most and its important that you capture your readers attention and imagination.

For this type of article dont worry about stuffing it with keywords in your page title and headings, you are not writing for search engines. The aim is to make a highly readable piece that will be distributed throughout all of the websites related to your subject matter in your industry.

So you cant write? Its well worth your while to hunt around and find a good copywriter that you can work with. The return on investment is 1000 times what you would ever get from advertising in your local rag.

How To Get Number 1 Spot In Google, Every Time, Guaranteed

Woaah! Wait a minute. Before I exclusively reveal these insider secrets can I ask you question? Well, actually, I want to ask you a series of questions.

Why do you want to get Number 1 in Google?

"Because it's good to be there isn't it? It means my website is the best out there."

Well, no, it doesn't. Why do you really want to be Number 1 in Google?

"Well, everyone wants to be Number 1 don't they? If I'm right at the top everyone will see my business and customers will come flooding to my website in their thousands."

They might. But it depends what you're top for. Have you thought what you would like to be top for in Google?

"My company, ABC Widgets Limited, comes top in Google when you type in 'ABC Widgets Limited'. That's pretty impressive isn't it?"

No, frankly, it is not. How many other websites do you think are competing for the phrase 'ABC Widgets Limited'? There won't be very many unless there are others out there who share your company name. Why is being top for your company name any use?

"Because people looking for us on Google will find our website".

Big deal. You need to be found by the thousands of people already out there looking for what you provide that don't know your company name. They don't know what you look like. They don't know where you're based. They don't even know you exist! What sorts of search phrases do you think they will be typing in on Google?

"Phrases like 'widget suppliers', 'widget sales online' and things like that?"

Yes - you've got it! But are you listed Number 1 on Google for phrases like that?

"No. We're nowhere to be seen Mike. I think I've been patient enough with you though now answering your questions. Please will you reveal the secrets of getting Number 1 on Google?"

No, I won't.

"Why not?!"

3 Reasons I'm Not Going To Reveal How To Get Number 1 Spot In Google, Every Time, Guaranteed

Reason 1 - There Are No Insider Secrets

Getting a high listing on Google, or any other search engine, is a combination of hard work, having the right phrases on your website, having lots of great content on your website, having lots of other highly-ranked websites linking to you and having your website built in the right way. There are no short-cuts, no magic bullets and no insider-secrets.

Reason 2 - Getting Number 1 on Google Is The Tip Of The Website-Marketing-Iceberg

If you focus on getting Number 1 on Google and nothing else it will never happen. You need to focus on all the other elements I mentioned above and especially on developing reciprocal links with other relevant websites. Remember - the top website marketing experts in the world (who do nothing else but market websites day-in, day-out) only attract around 15% of their website visitors from search engines. This is not because their websites don't have a high ranking in the search engines (because they do and many of them will have that elusive Number 1 spot!) - it's because they attract so much more traffic from other places such as directories, associates' websites, reciprocal links etc.

Reason 3 - It's Too Dangerous

When you were a child how many times did you hear the following phrase?

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket"

And yet day after day I hear people asking how they can get top on Google. There are websites dedicated to 'the art'. People become obsessive about it and many derive their entire livelihood from visitors they get from Google searches. The result? When Google makes a big change to how they rank the websites in their index (which they did in November last year and to a lesser extent in January this year) many of these Google-dependent businesses actually WENT UNDER. That's right - bankrupted because of an over-night change made by the powers that be at Google Towers.

So yes - search engines, and Google in particular, should be an important part of your online marketing mix. But nothing more than that - just one small part of the bigger whole. Especially with recent rumblings from the likes of Yahoo! and Microsoft, who are queuing up to topple Google's throne, you would be wise to set your sights on achieving a medium profile on hundreds of websites rather than a high profile on just one.

Get Traffic Using The Power Of Multilevel Marketing

Ever received one of those irritating chain letter scams where they asked you to place your name at the bottom of 10 names and remove the top one?Next you are supposed to send a buck to the top name?

Then you are supposed to forward the e-mail with your name at the bottom to 10 other friends who are supposed to do the same.The idea is that for a small investment of a buck, when your name rises to the top of the list, millions of people will be sending you a buck?

Pretty scammy, possibly might work (never tried it myself) but probably illegal in many countries!

Anyway, if we take out the money bit, it does seem to be a possible way to get your ad out to a lot of people. If instead of ten names, we have ten ads for web sites, the potential for getting some serious web site traffic is undeniable.

I'm experimenting with this technique and so far the results have been quite impressive. I've found a site that pretty much automates the process for us.

Check it out to see if it increases your web site traffic and help me promote HugeAffiliates.com at the same time.

Here is the link:
http://www .myviral.com/join.php?id=539

Black-Hat Myths About White-Hat SEO

At a recent Search Engine Strategies conference, many black-hat search engine optimizers (SEOs) stated some misconceptions about white-hat search optimization strategies. For those unfamiliar with the terms, a white-hat search engine marketing (SEM) firm, commonly known as an ethical SEM firm, follows all the guidelines, terms, and conditions set forth by the search engines. A black-hat SEM firm doesn't follow all the search engines' rules.

This column addresses some inaccurate comments made by black-hat SEOs about white-hat search optimization strategies.

Myth 1: White-hat SEOs don't (or can't) pursue competitive keyword phrases.

Just because a few white-hat SEOs may not go after competitive keywords or a single keyword ("software," for example) doesn't mean all white-hat SEOs are unable to compete or succeed at getting sites ranked for competitive keyword phrases. Many white-hat SEOs certainly do optimize sites for competitive keyword phrases -- and succeed. And they succeed without resorting to spam tactics.

The reason for not optimizing for competitive keyword phrases has nothing to do with a white-hat SEO's skill level. All too often, small to medium-sized businesses don't have the time or budget to participate in a full optimization campaign.

One corollary of this myth is white-hat SEOs won't optimize adult or gambling sites for the same reason; these industries' keyword phrases are too competitive. I find this statement like comparing apples and kumquats. Many white-hat, even black-hat, SEOs don't market gambling or adult sites for reasons that have nothing to do with skill or experience.

Do I believe a white-hat SEO can successfully optimize an adult or a gambling site? Absolutely. Will it take a generous budget, careful planning, and time? Absolutely. Will it be difficult to compete with adult and gambling sites that use black-hat SEO tactics to get search engine traffic? Sure. But it's no more difficult than competing for travel, software, and shopping phrases.

Don't confuse personal choice with lack of skill or experience. Many skilled, talented SEOs choose not to optimize adult or gambling sites for their own, personal reasons.

Myth 2: If you write Web page copy that doesn't sound like it came from your mouth, it's search engine manipulation.

White-hat SEOs make this statement almost as frequently as black-hat SEOs do. I have two issues with this statement.

First, "search engine manipulation" is wholly inaccurate. Neither black- nor white-hat SEOs can manipulate search results. SEOs and site owners control Web page content, but they don't control search engines. As I stated in a previous column, only one group has final control over what ranks and what doesn't: search engine software engineers. Each major search engine has some sort of disclaimer stating they ultimately decide which Web pages are included in the index.

The more accurate phrase is "content manipulation," as site owners ultimately decide what content (text, links, graphic images, etc.) goes on their Web pages. Make no mistake; no SEO controls search results.

Second, Web page content isn't a speech. I'll repeat this because it's not a concept many white- and black-hat SEOs comprehend or accept: Web page content is not a speech.

Different types of copywriting exist for different types of media. As a designer and developer, I never write Web page content the same way I write brochure content. I don't read Web page content aloud when I teach a class or give a presentation. Copywriters don't write content for a technical manual the same way they write content for a brochure.

Web copywriting is a form of technical writing. Copywriters repeat keyword phrases for usability reasons as well as for search reasons. Usability expert Jared Spool often talks about the need for pages to contain "trigger words." Sales and marketing professionals place call-to-action words ("add to cart," "enroll," submit," etc.) on a page to encourage visitors to take the desired call to action, often using keyword phrases. Using the word "search" on a page instead of "find" because I've determined my target audience responds better to "search" isn't "search engine manipulation."

Both white- and black-hat SEOs compare Web copy to a speech, a weak and inaccurate analogy. White-hat SEOs don't exploit the loopholes in the search engines' guidelines; black-hat SEOs do.

Myth 3: White-hat SEOs lack technical skills.

Surprisingly, I actually agree with this myth. I don't believe an SEO professional is truly qualified unless she has technical skills in the design/development arena. Reason?

As I stated previously, keyword phrases are useless if search engines and site visitors don't have easy access to the text. Therefore, design and site architecture are critical for an SEO campaign's success.

A qualified, professional SEO needs coding, scripting, and programming skills to troubleshoot all types of sites. Is the URL structure problematic? An ASP, PHP (define), or ColdFusion programmer can help you with a workaround. Is the cross linking and page layout problematic? An SEO who's also a Web developer or usability professional can help with any layout issues.

What I find very interesting about this myth is no black-hat SEO really defines technical skills. There's a vast array of technical skills when it comes to the Web.

Server maintenance is one skill. Site design/layout is another. Usability analysis and application is another. Would you trust your Web server maintenance to a usability professional? Probably not. Some Web professionals have multiple talents. It wouldn't surprise me to met a usability professional with Web server skills.

I suspect when black-hat SEOs refer to limited or a lack of technical skills, they're referring to:

Server maintenance

Cloaking (IP delivery)

XHTML coding

Scripting

Programming
Black-hat SEOs often have different technical skills than white-hat SEOs. Some white-hat SEOs are actually Web developers (like myself). We create database-driven sites, write our own code and scripts, and have usability training and experience (for better sales conversions).

On the flip side, many black-hat SEOs have server maintenance, cloaking, and coding skills. Would you want a person with these skills to design a Web site? No, because this group probably lacks the artistic/design skills to make the best color selections and page layouts. Programmers tend to think like programmers, not like your target audience, meaning many black-hat SEOs have limited sales, marketing, and usability skills.

Though some white-hat SEOs have little or no technical skills, plenty of them have exceptional technical skills. Black-hat SEOs shouldn't make blanket statements about the skill levels of white-hat SEOs, and vice versa.

Conclusion

In the world of SEM, you encounter professionals with a wide variety of skills: design, development, copywriting, usability, programming, and so forth. Successful search engine optimization requires many skills. Make sure you hire a firm whose staff has all these skills. You never know what type of service your site will need.

BY Shari Thurow

Here are ten tips to SEO success!

Start out slowly. If possible, begin with a new site that has never been submitted to the search engines or directories. Choose a domain name that best fits your brand, and start out by optimizing just the home page. (Many SEOs recommend purchasing a keyword-rich domain name; however, I've been optimizing sites successfully since 1995 without using them.)


Learn basic HTML. A lot of search engine optimization techniques involve editing the behind-the-scenes HTML code. Your high rankings can depend on knowing which codes are necessary, and which aren't. Minimally, you should be able to view the source code of any page and understand what it all means, as well as be able to slightly edit it as necessary.


Choose keyword phrases wisely. The phrases you think might be perfect for your site may not be what people are actually searching for. To find the optimal words for your site, use a research tool such as Wordtracker. Decide on two or three highly targeted phrases for each page of your site. Never shoot for general keywords such as "travel" or "vacation" as they are rarely (if ever) indicative of what your site is really about.


Write approximately 200-250 words of visible text copy based on your chosen keywords. This is a crucial component to high rankings and a successful Web site. The search engines need to "read" keyword-rich copy on your pages so they can understand how to classify your site. Write the copy based on your keyword phrases, and not the other way around. Don't be afraid to use your phrases as many times as it makes sense to do so. The optimal number of instances will vary by search engine, the number of words on your page, and also by how well the copy actually reads to a person. Simply sticking keyword phrases at the top of the page or only in headlines probably won't cut it. (Purchase and read my "Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines" handbook for exact tips on how to do this.)


Create a killer Title tag. Title tags are critical because they're given a lot of weight with all of the search engines. You must put your keyword phrases into this tag and not waste space with extra words. Do not use the Title tag to display only your company name, or to simply say "Home Page." Think of this tag more as a "Title Keyword Tag" and create it accordingly. It should reflect exactly what your page is about, using the keyword phrases people might be using at a search engine to find your company.


Make sure your site is "link-worthy." Other sites linking to yours is a critical component of a successful search engine optimization campaign, as all of the major search engines place a good deal of emphasis on your site's overall link popularity. You can go out and request hundreds or thousands of links, but if your site sucks, why would anyone want to link to it? On the other hand, if your site is full of wonderful, useful information -- other sites will naturally link to it without your even asking. It's fine to trade links; just make sure you are providing your site visitors with only the highest quality of related sites. When you link to lousy sites, keep in mind what this says to your site visitors as well as to the search engines.


Create meaty Meta tags. Meta tags have some value, but they are not a magic bullet. Create a Meta Description tag that uses your keywords and also describes your site. The information in this tag often appears under your Title in the search engine results pages, especially if the keyword phrase that was searched upon in the engine appears in your tag. The Meta Keyword tag isn't quite as important as the Meta Description tag. Contrary to what many people believe, what you place in the keyword tag will have very little (if any) bearing on what keywords your site is actually found under, and it's not given any consideration whatsoever by Google. Feel free to use this tag for technical synonyms or common misspellings if you want to, but do NOT obsess over it; it definitely won't make or break your rankings.


Be careful when submitting to directories such as Yahoo, DMOZ, JoeAnt, Gimpsy and the like. Having directory listings are a key component to getting your site spidered and listed by Google and the other search engines. Therefore it's important to read each directory's FAQ and follow it precisely. Making mistakes in the submission process could cost you dearly as directory listings are difficult to change later in the game. Be cognizant of the fact that you will be dealing with human editors, and always think about how you can make their job easier when it comes to listing your site.


Don't expect quick results. Getting high rankings takes time; there's no getting around that fact (even with paid-inclusion). Once your site is added to a search engine its rankings may start out low and then slowly work its way up the ladder. All search engines measure link popularity, and it takes time to really and truly become one of the most popular sites in your niche. Be patient and give your site time to mature.


Don't constantly "tweak" your site for better results. It's best not to make changes to your on-the-page optimization for at least three months after you optimize it. You certainly don't need to sit on your hands or twiddle your thumbs during this period, however. You should constantly work on adding new stuff to your site to make it better and better, plus you should always be on the lookout for other sites that might be interested in making your site available to their site visitors.
If you've followed these tips and still can't find your site in the engines, the first place to "tweak" would be your page copy. If you added less than 250 words of visible text on your pages, this could be your culprit. Also, double-check your keyword density, and make sure that you only targeted two or three phrases per page.

Eventually, you'll see the fruits of your labor with many top-ten rankings in Google and the rest of the search engines!

by Jill Whalen

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Be sure to sign up for Jill's weekly High Rankings Advisor search engine marketing newsletter for free, up-to-date SEO/SEM information.

Contact Jill Whalen by e-mail at web@highrankings.com.


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