Posts Tagged ‘Search Engines’

Outsourcing to an SEO company for online advertising needs does not mean a company and its employees are left sitting all day waiting for results. A client still needs to participate up to a certain extent with an SEOs work so that the latter may produce more effective results. However, some actions on part of the client may do more harm than good to an SEO’s efforts of bringing in more traffic to a website. Understanding how SEOs work and how it yields benefits for a client should give the latter an idea about which practices they should refrain from that can decrease the efficiency of SEO.

So your company has decided to embark on an online campaign to boost sales. With so much marketing clatter filling up the Internet these days, you decide to hire someone who can bring your business to the forefront from search engine wrangling, the services of an SEO expert.

At this point, you will surely be faced with a dilemma, whether to outsource your SEO needs or establish a new segment within your company, or to go for an in-house SEO department. Such problem has been argued over and addressed by many experts either in the more ideal academic perspective or pragmatic business-management approach, each espousing outsourcing SEO needs is the better choice or otherwise. All technical arguments aside, experience has proved that outsourcing your SEO needs with a proven expert is the better choice.
Despite what almost everyone says, not just anyone can be an SEO expert. It is core competency and requires certain talent and skill, namely creativity, analysis, knowledge of the target market, to name a few. Granted, talent is innate; this does not mean someone whom you hire who has that as the in-house SEO ‘expert’ can produce the increased revenue your company desires. The above-mentioned skills are required and those can only be developed over time.

If your company is embarking on that online campaign with the expectation of immediate results, you definitely do not have the time to wait for that newly hired talent to blossom into the SEO expert you require. SEO firms, however, already have within their arsenal people who can be rightfully called SEO experts.

These are people have both the talent and experience required by firms that rely on SEO to suit their business needs. Firms which offer SEO services to companies seeking to outsource their needs have made it their business to develop the people who possess the right skill set so that they may deliver definite results. Most companies fail to comprehend the dent to their finances which could be caused by the establishment of an In House SEO. This is most unfortunate since most companies establish in house SEO segments precisely as a cost-cutting measure. The cost of hiring the services of a seasoned SEO firm could be ten times more than the cost of hiring a newbie as an in house SEO employee.

It bears stressing, however, that quality SEO services can be done in a “one-time-big-time” fashion. SEO expert comes in, does his work, and you have a site which ranks top in all search engines. Choosing the right SEO firm is, of course, an integral choice for your company so that you can be assured of the quality of the work. This is in stark contrast to hiring in house SEO employees, you have to spend time and money for training and not be assured of the quality of his work. It has already been stressed that not everyone can be an SEO expert.

In any case, the costs of establishing an in house SEO segment are heavier for the company in the long run. It is likewise prudent for companies to withhold disbelief when they choose to outsource their SEO needs. SEO is not some kind of magical pill which suddenly increases online revenues to 200%. Advocates for in-house SEO services attribute this to the fact outsourced services lack the personal understanding of both the company and its product hence the lack of stellar results. However, it is necessary to remember how SEO are supposed to help companies. What SEO does is to put your company ahead of rivals if a potential customer searches for your product, it does not make him click the ‘buy’ button on your site. If after hiring the services of an SEO, the volume of online sales do not pick up, evaluate your product and site as a whole before you blame the poor SEO service provider. See if your site’s content is user and reader friendly and if your product is something a customer would actually want. There are so many things proponents of in house SEO services can say to you, but in the end, you only need to ask yourself this “Does my company need to have specialized in SEO services?” Chances are your answer is in the negative.

You’re selling products, not SEO services. Moreover, having an in house SEO employee is not necessary as the work could be done in a one-time fashion and you’re not really assured of the quality of his work, unless you pirate an experienced SEO expert as a permanent employee which would then lead back to the argument that SEO work is primarily a one-time thing. Really, the better choice is to outsource your SEO needs, unless of course, you actually want to become an SEO firm.

Directories should play a major role in your search engine optimization efforts (well, at least the big and important ones) for the following reasons:

As with most good things in life (and search engine optimization), you need to make efforts to get into quality directories. Although detailed instructions on how to submit your web sites are always provided by the directories, there are certain aspects to consider before you start hunting for directories and submit your web sites:

You will probably come across many directories with paid inclusions: use your common sense to appreciate if it’s worth it or not. A good criteria is to check their Google Page Rank: if it’s at least 3 levels higher than your site’s Page Rank, it’s probably worth spending the money for the inclusion fee. However, do look for directories with a flat, one-time fee rather than recurring monthly or annual fees: you’ll end up spending less money!

In the end, remember a simple rule in search engine optimization: if it’s too easy to get into a directory, it’s probably not worth the effort to get into it!

Directories should play a major role in your search engine optimization efforts (well, at least the big and important ones) for the following reasons:

As with most good things in life (and search engine optimization), you need to make efforts to get into quality directories. Although detailed instructions on how to submit your web sites are always provided by the directories, there are certain aspects to consider before you start hunting for directories and submit your web sites:

You will probably come across many directories with paid inclusions: use your common sense to appreciate if it’s worth it or not. A good criteria is to check their Google Page Rank: if it’s at least 3 levels higher than your site’s Page Rank, it’s probably worth spending the money for the inclusion fee. However, do look for directories with a flat, one-time fee rather than recurring monthly or annual fees: you’ll end up spending less money!

In the end, remember a simple rule in search engine optimization: if it’s too easy to get into a directory, it’s probably not worth the effort to get into it!

1. What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. A search engine is a tool used by Internet users to find website that are relevant to their needs. While there are literally hundreds of search engines available on the Internet today, the three biggest ones are Google, Yahoo and MSN. Search engines work by dispatching spiders to crawl through the World Wide Web and gather information. When a person is looking for specific information, and your website has that information, then the spiders will find it and place it in their search results.

The tricky part is understanding what search engines are looking for and being able to put it in the right place on your website. That’s where the optimization part comes in. Search engines are looking for specific keywords amongst all the content on your website and in your html coding. Search engines also take into consideration the number of incoming links you have to your website.

2. Is SEO important?

Having strong SEO could make the difference between having a few visitors stumble upon your website every now and again, to having hundreds of visitors go to your website with the direct intention of getting more information or making a purchase. Yeah, it’s important. With more and more people using the Internet to shop online, getting on the first page or two of the search engine results can mean the difference between a failed entrepreneur to becoming a wildly successful businessman.

3. What are text links?

Text links are links that contain only text, and are one of the many tools you can use to boost your website’s optimization. The more quality links you have, the better your search engine ranking will be. You want links that will take readers from yours or someone else’s article, ebook or web copy to your website. An excellent tool to generate incoming links is to write copy for online audiences like article directories or blogs, and insert text links in the copy. When you allow free reprints of your copy, provided the links are maintained, you are encouraging links to your website.

4. What are link farms and link exchanges?

Search engines don’t accept any type of link. It has to be from a relevant and quality company. That means you don’t want to participate in link farming. If a search engine suspects your links to be lacking, they’ll actually penalize you. Like farming or link exchanging is essentially the process of exchanging reciprocal links with website in order to increase your search engine ranking. A link farm is a webpage that is nothing more than a page of links to other sites. Stay away from link farms. When you generate a link from another site, it has to be relevant and come from a real website.

5. What is duplicate content?

When you have more than one web page on your website that contains essentially the same content then you have what’s called duplicate content. Search engines will penalize you for this. You can avoid this easily enough by not publishing the same content in a ton of different locations. If you need help rewriting your content, there are tools online that can help you make it 30%, 40%, even 60% different.

6. How do I find the right keywords?

A good place to start would be to make a list of words that you think best describe your products. Customers will use these to find your website. You can also research the supply and demand for those keywords to see how popular they are. Supply means how many other websites are using those same keywords, and demand is how many customers are looking for those keywords. The goal is to find keywords with high demand and relatively low supply. There are many effective and useful keyword tools to help you find this information, and also to generate keyword ideas.

7. How do I optimize my web pages?

Put your keywords in the headings, subheadings, domain name, and title of your website. Search engines will look there first. They also look in the content of your web page and generally focus on the first paragraph. Try to get a domain name with your primary keyword included. When you include your keyword in your URL, it tells the search engine spiders immediately what your site is about.

A title tag is the line of text that appears on search engine results pages that acts as a link to your site. Put your keyword in the title tag, as it is a crucial element that describes to customers what your page is about. Keeping your title tag brief, descriptive and up to date will help increase the relevance of your site by search engine standards, as well as give your potential visitors a good idea of what they can expect from your website.

8. Do I need to submit your site to the search engines?

Nope. Search engine spiders are working 24/7 to collect information from new and old websites alike. Every time you update your website, add content, or change your keywords, the search engines capture the information and record it.

9. What are spiders?

Search engine spiders are basically automated programs that scan websites to provide information to search engines for the purpose of indexing or ranking them.

10. How does content help my SEO?

Content is one of the best tools to improve your search engine ranking. It’s a great place to emphasize keywords, encourage linking to your site, and increase traffic. The key to content is to make sure you’re offering quality content and you’re updating your website and your content frequently. Content can be provided in many different forms including: blogs, forums and chat rooms, articles, reviews, case studies, reports, tutorials, ebooks and much more.

In the decade or so since the search engine was first invented, the field of Search Engine Optimization has evolved. Some obsolete information and old wives’ tales still persist, and these can damage your standings.
The myths and obsolete techniques fall into a few broad categories:
- Keyword density: There are many number of magic formulas touted on the internet, claiming that if you reach the perfect number of keyword instances per page, your rankings will go up. While you do need to have the keyword somewhere in your text in order to have your stated keywords considered relevant, artificially inflating the number of instances is a bad plan. First, it simply decreases the quality of your content. Second, the search engines may begin classifying your site as too spammy, and actually downgrade your rating.
- Tags and META: Loading keywords into your page headers and the meta data of your site is also an old trick that’s now likely to get you classified as spammy. Only keywords that are relevant to your content and specific to what your users are searching for should be included.
- Links: Some fraudulent SEO services, and some outdated pieces of advice, will associate your website with link exchange systems and link farms. Since the search engines keep track of these farms and exchanges, and using them is considered trickery, being part of them can actually significantly downgrade your rating.
- Submission to search engines: Once upon a time, submitting your site to search engines was a long and arduous process, which was nonetheless necessary to get a good place in the rankings. These days, search engine submission is generally not needed at all, since the engines automatically search for new sites. If they don’t find yours quickly, manual submission is quite easy and there are a few top search engines that have most of the market share.
Conversely, there are a few relevant and current strategies for climbing the ranks of search results. (It should come as no surprise that these are broader and more difficult or time-consuming to implement than the myths would suggest.)
- Unique content: Consistently offering high quality content that is valuable to your users, unique on the web, and from original sources is by far the best way to attract users – and search engines – to your site. If your site consists of copy, providing a unique value in information filtering, commentary and analysis, or other user-friendly services.
- Voice of authority: Along with unique content, offering an authoritative voice is a good way to increase your links and therefore your page ranking. Either become an authority yourself or offer interviews, quotes, or guest content by noted authorities in your field. If well-respected people and organizations recommend or reference your site, your popularity will rise.
- Professional networking for link sharing: As a web master, blogger, marketer, or business owner, professional contacts matter for a wide range of activities. Additionally, you may ask these people to link their sites with yours, or to provide expert and authoritative content for your site.
- Crawler files: Having a robots.txt file that is updated, accurate, and properly configured can make your site easier to catalogue correctly. Building the site’s architecture in a crawler-friendly manner can give your site a slight edge that may be worth pursuing. Do remember that search engine developers are concerned with their users and serving them appropriate content. They’re smart enough to outwit most technical tricks.

Everyone wants their websites to be search engine optimized, or SEO-friendly. However, there are some common errors that people make when they’re doing SEO work on their site, and these errors can actually cost them that highly coveted top ten ranking that everyone wants. Here are some things to avoid when doing SEO work on your website.
Remember the ALT tags! Almost every image on your website (not including the background and any images that serve as buttons and the like) needs to have ALT text. This is the text that shows up if the image doesn’t load. More importantly, however, it’s the text that tells search engines what the image is since the programs can’t actually see the picture. A good ALT tag will include two or three of your keywords, and it’s a great place to stick in extra keywords that the viewer will (hopefully, unless your image is missing) never see.
Don’t use the same title tag on every page of your site. While it may be easy to simply write one title for your homepage and then leave it on every page, this is another place where you’re losing out on a place to stick keywords. Vary the title for each page so that search engines will notice the difference, and try to include different keywords for different pages.
Avoid scripts! While Flash and the like are becoming more compatible with search engines, it’s still difficult for more search engines to see inside Flash objects. This means you’re losing places to put meta tags, ALT tags, and more.
Don’t just write for robots. While writing articles with a high keyword density might get your page ranked higher by the search engine, it’s going to send actual human readers away. They don’t want to read anything redundant or clumsy. “Our furniture store in London provides great furniture for London residents looking for furniture designed specifically for London” is going to either annoy readers or make them laugh at the horrible writing. Be sure your SEO phrases and such can be integrated into the text seamlessly so they don’t stand out and don’t over-use them.
Also, actually write your website text yourself (or hire someone to write it). Don’t plagiarize – don’t copy and paste text off of one website and put it on yours without making it clear where the text came from. Too much duplicate text on your page will be flagged by search engines.
Likewise, avoid any bad SEO practices like hidden text or keyword stuffing. Hidden text refers to adding a ton of keywords at the bottom of a website and then making them the same color as the background, effectively hiding them from viewers. Search engines still see them, however. In the past, this was a technique that did actually make search engines rank sites higher, but today’s robots are smart enough to recognize this technique and ignore it. Likewise, keyword stuffing, or making a webpage that’s almost nothing but keywords, raises a number of flags in search engine robots and may actually get your pages ranked lower.
Finally, make certain all of your links describe where they’re going. No one likes to click links that aren’t clearly described by the surrounding text or give a good idea of their target. Plus, links are another factor a search engine uses to determine site relevancy, so not clearly marking them is detrimental in several ways.