Kamis, 07 April 2011

Database Driven Sites and Search Engine Optimisation

In modern days, most of the sites built are database driven. That means that your site is actually an application which retrieves data from a database managementsystem, parses the data and shows the result to the user. With the evolution ofthese database driven sites a niche market for database internet marketingprofessionals has evolved. 18 months ago I was a person looking for a SEOprofessional for a database driven site I owned. Many professionals told me that it was impossible to do! My results show a different story, 6 months later my newdatabase driven site is now ranking exceptionally well for its keywords (at the top ofSERP’s for over 75 keywords).

The key to search engine optimizing a database driven site is in building splashpages which link into the database. These splash pages should have titles, h1 tags,content and inbound links relevant to the database result the page is linking to. For example if linking to a page about accommodation the splash page should haveaccommodation in the title, h1 tag, anchor text of links and in the content of the page. Then this splash page should link into the database results with the anchortext ‘accommodation’. This way both the splash page and the results page are listed in Google, MSN and Yahoo!

The mod rewrite code is also a great way of making database results more friendly to the search engines. It is a great way of getting keywords into the URL of the pageand is also human friendly as well. A little time spent in implementing this code canresult in improved search engine results. I tested this on two of my sites, 1 with thecode and one without. The results: Both sites ended up getting the database resultspage indexed and page ranked but the mod rewrite site got there quicker!

In short there is no need to higher a specialist SEO professional to work on your database driven site you just need to be creative in showcasing the results to your potential visitors

Rabu, 06 April 2011

Importance of SEO

Up-to-date Content

Keep your site very content rich. Have a lot of pages.Update the site even twice a day if you have the time. Content is a golden word in SEO. If your content is Original then its a big plus. High ranking websites in google,yahoo and msn have a plethora of content.You can gain much on a poorly updated site.

No Spam and No Duplicates

Updating your site does not mean that you copy paste content from other sites.That will only push your rankings further down. Don't have any duplicate content. At the same time ,dont spam multiple content across the same website.

Clean URLs

Clean Search Engine Friendly URLs have always been known to help.
urls like domain.com/articles.php?id=344 are not bad.
But domain.com/articles/name-of-article/344.html is a great option.

Have the Web User in Mind

Build your website having the general layman who spends time on your website in mind. Having a site with good accessibility always has a good future.

No to excessive out bound links

Dont have too many links on a single page. Instead split your content into sections/categories. Too many outbound links are not good for SE rankings as well as visitors. It may look like a link farm or directory.

Never link to illegal sites

Linking to sites that are not doing lawfull stuff may get your site blacklisted.Stay away from such sites even though you might loose some bucks.

No spyware / adware

Never make your site a home for spyware and adware. Try to keep your site clean and easy to use.

No cloaking text/keyword stuffing

Never ever try to hide text in a webpage to a user, and show it to search engines.Search Engines are smart these days and are not text only anymore. They even give importanct to the graphical information on the site.

Reliable Web Host

Get a webhost which has more than 99.5% uptime. Its a total waste if you have a fantastic website but its not online

Visit us:
http://www.halfvalue.com/top-articles/seo-resources.html

Selasa, 05 April 2011

“Do-It-Yourself”

Ranking high in Google’s search results can have a phenomenal impact on the success of your business.
You can either engage the expertise of a Search Engine Optimisation company, or if you have the time, there are some changes you can make to your website yourself.


<b>Step 1: Keyword Research</b>
What keywords do you think your customers would type in to search for your products or services? A keyword can be one word (e.g. “optimisation”), but multiple keywords or keyword phrases are usually preferred, because they are more specific and more likely to be what your customers are looking for (eg. “<a href= http://www.cleverclicks.com.au/search-engine-services.php> Search Engine Optimisation Australia</a>”).


Write down as many as you can think of. Brainstorm with your team. Think of alternative words. Consider geographical phrases if they are important to your customer (e.g. “house cleaning Hornsby”). Also, get some ideas from your competitors’ websites. Try to make a list of 20-30 keyword phrases.


Choose the two keyword phrases you think would be searched for the most. But also remember, the more competition there is for a keyword, the harder it is to achieve top rankings.  If you want to rank high in Google for the keyword “insurance”, you have a very long journey ahead. So try your best to select two keyword phrases that are the most relevant to you business but that are not vague nor competitive. It’s a good idea to have 2 or 3 words in each phrase (e.g. “wedding catering services”)


Once you’ve selected your two best keyword phrases the next step shows you how to make some improvements to your home page.


<b>Step 2: Web Copy </b>
Web copy refers to all the words or text on your website. Because content is king in the world of search engines, your keyword phrases need to be placed strategically on your webpage to convince Google that your content is highly relevant to those keywords.  The more prominent they are, the better. (Keep in mind that as important as search engines are, customers come first, so make sure your copy also reads well.)
   

Here’s how you can increase each keyword’s prominence:

•    Place your keywords in headings, preferably at the beginning of the heading;

•    Include keywords towards the top of the page;

•    Bold or italicise keywords where appropriate;

•    Instead of having a link to another page that says "Click here to read more ", reword it to include your keywords, e.g. "Read more about our <a href= http://www.cleverclicks.com.au/web-copywriting-sales-copywriting-services.php>seo copywriting Services</a>".


An important tip is to also include these keywords in your HTML “title tag”. Use your content management system to make these changes yourself, or perhaps ask your web developer to do it if you’re unsure how.


Once you have fine-tuned your home page, consider adding new content, such as detailed descriptions of what you offer, FAQs and informative articles about your products and services. (If you don’t want to write these yourself, they can be located for free on the internet - do a search for “articles directory”).


It’s also good to bear in mind that search engines can only read text, not pictures. Often web developers embed words in images to look better for website visitors or use Flash for animation, but this is a major impediment to search engines.


<b>Step 3: Linking</b>
Each link from another website to your website (not from your website) is considered by search engines as a vote of popularity for your business and will improve your rankings.


But it is the quality, not quantity, of the links that is crucial. The other websites should be relevant to your industry, and preferably highly regarded themselves. Ten quality links count far more than 500 links from arbitrary websites. In the same way your personal business network can have a significant impact on the success of your business, so too the online network you build on the internet.


Brainstorm all the relevant websites that could link to you, such as non-competing companies, and industry bodies and organisations. Write a friendly email to each describing the benefit their visitors would get in knowing about your business, and request them to create a link to your website. Most people will not respond first time round, so a follow-up phone call is usually required.


How do I monitor my results?
Monitor your rankings in Google over the next few months by typing your chosen keywords into the search box, and recording your ranking. Also look at your hosting reports to understand what search terms your visitors are using to find your website.


The above process can be also be repeated for each page of your website. Remember to keep updating your content, and continually increase the number of links to your website.


As you see your rankings climb you should see a corresponding increase in web traffic and a substantial increase in sales enquiries. Be sure to record the source of your customer enquiries, so you can measure the success of your marketing efforts.


Remember, if you measure it, you can improve it.

Senin, 04 April 2011

1 - Blogging: Let's Get You Started!

Copyright 2006 Chonticha Marijne

So what is blogging really all about? First off, let me tell you that it's a lucrative business to blog and that blogs are easy to set up and manage. Imagine getting paid to write about subjects that interest you, whenever you want, wherever you are! The flexibility involved allows you to maintain your blog at your own pace, and with Internet cafés easily accessible all over the globe, even your vacation won't get in the way of your blogging... Or should I say: even your blogging won't get in the way of your vacation?

In this article, let's take a look at the profitability of a blog and set up one of our own, free of charge! Interested? Read on!

First, you need to get yourself a blog. There are several options – host a blog on your own domain or get a free one. For starters, let’s talk about the free blogs. You can obtain one at http://www.blogger.com or the newer (and better!) http://www.wordpress.com. WordPress is a free blog engine that is robust and infinitely expandable.

Blogger is actually owned by Google, so it will be detected by Google’s radar faster and you will be indexed more quickly. WordPress.com, however, is a relatively new option so I have no comparison on the speed of getting indexed by search engines. However, WordPress is better in the sense that it has more advanced features such as Trackbacks and Categories. You can also manage your sidebar links more efficiently (more about this later).

Get a free blog at either Blogger or WordPress. Then, familiarize yourself by publishing your first post on your blog and tinkering around with the options and templates.

Here are some words to start expanding your blogging vocabulary:

Permalink – Permalink stands for permanent link, which is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that leads to an individual post that you make in your blog.

Trackback – When you post about someone else’s blog post elsewhere, your post will show up in their “trackback” section. This feature, however, is not available with a Blogger account.

Pinging – Blogging seems to be paired with pinging almost every time either one is mentioned nowadays. Pinging is actually the action where a certain aggregator is notified whenever your blog is updated, so that the aggregator may show the newest post of your blog on their website. This is a useful way to gain traffic, which I'll discuss in a future article.

Content

Next, let's look at the type of content that's suitable for your blog in order to make it profitable. You need to understand that there is no fixed scope that your blog should have, which means you can write about whatever you’re interested in. Mind you, the difference between a profitable blog and a non-profitable one is the way you write. What would you prefer: reading your university professor’s lecture notes or the latest novel by your favorite author? People prefer to read "light" items most of the time. When they check out your blog, they are not only looking for information, but they are also looking for information that they can access easily.

So, to attract more visitors as well as to keep your current readers coming back for more, it's very important to add a personal touch to your blog posts. This can be done by simply imagining that you’re talking with your personal friend. An extra bonus for your readers would be a great sense of humor, so try to add funny comments in your articles where relevant.

Another important point is to avoid addressing your reader as a plural unit. Don't write as if you’re preparing a speech. Instead, write as if you’re having a conversation with a single person, an equal friend, because this will make your reader relate to you more easily.

Besides that, it's also very useful to establish your own personality through your words. We're very curious creatures, so naturally your visitors would want to know as much about you as the information you’re offering them.

Having a distinctive personality in your blog will make a world of difference between your blog about gadgets and all the other blogs about gadgets out there. This is a lot like creating your own brand name, where people immediately remember your blog’s name when they need information about gadgets, just like how people immediately think of McDonald’s for fastfood or Nike for sportswear.

There will be more on the subject of content the next time.

When word gets around about your command of blogging, others who need to know about blogging will start to actively seek you out!

Minggu, 03 April 2011

Do You Really Understand the Blog Animal And How He Can Help You?

The growth and popularity of blogs in general has been phenomenal within a very short period of time. Blogs or web logs as they were previously called is where all the action on the World Wide Web is, right now.

It is amazing how quickly web sites have been relegated to the back seat. Actually the role of web sites is rapidly being re-defined but it is clear blogs will be the place where all the traffic will be congregating for a long time to come. What some thought was a passing fad is clearly here to stay and is a permanent development that has already had far reaching effects on communications and the way we transmit and receive information.

Yet most entrepreneurs who have quickly jumped onto the blog bandwagon do not seem to fully understand and appreciate what blogs are really all about. Worse still, many of those who have remained away have no idea what all the fuss is about.

A clearer understanding of blogs is bound to benefit any e-commerce business owner or online entrepreneur.

Everybody can be a publisher or media owner
Probably the most significant impact of blogs is the fact that it is rapidly changing mass media, as we have known it since the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Powerful media companies have been in the hands of a few people who have carefully controlled what we see in our media. Sometimes deliberately to achieve their corporate goals and objectives. Blogs are effectively transferring that power back to the people and away from the hands of a few.

This era of blogs means that anybody can be a publisher or media owner and effectively transmit whatever information they want and push whatever cause is dear to their hearts. The impact of blogs in politics for example has been a clear demonstration of the power of blogging. We have some blogs covering politics that have a couple hundred thousand visitors on a daily basis.

This may be a scary development to many folks including media owners but it presents a number of excellent opportunities for entrepreneurs to reach huge audiences with their messages at a tiny fraction of what their budgets used to be in the days when blogs did not exist.

Breaking news, courtesy of the blog community
Further power of blogs to handle breaking news in real time, complete with photographs and video clips, has clearly been evident in retimes. For example during the Tsunami tragedy last December. Footage of the damage being caused by the giant waves was seen in blogs long before the traditional media channels got wind of what was going on.

This opens up a whole range of new opportunities that can be tried out in the years to come. Not many entrepreneurs have realized this yet.

Anybody who didn't have a site can own a successful blog
Blogs are so easy to set up, maintain and run that a new breed of online entrepreneurs is on the rise. It consists of many individuals who for one reason or another were unable to set up and maintain heir web sites.

We are now in an era where an online entrepreneur needs little else other than lots of creativity, there is actually so much that he or she can do without a single cent in capital.

Distinct advantages of having a blog
Blogs tend to get lots of traffic. Lots more than websites do. Besides search engines seem to love them. Blogs are also able to build up links much more easily than web sites. Thus it is no longer surprising for a nobody-novice to suddenly shoot up in stardom and recognition.

No entrepreneur can afford to be left behind
The benefits of a business having in it's stable a blog or two that is capable of attracting huge traffic, is very important and can be extremely useful in helping a business to achieve its' marketing goals and objectives.

Any entrepreneur whether online or offline who does not have a blog to help promote their business is making a very serious mistake that they will definitely live to deeply regret. In fact even playing catch-up with a blog that already exists will continue to be more and more difficult.

There are a number of advantages that blogs have which will continue to be extremely useful to entrepreneurs and webmasters. One of them is the fact that they easily allow for customer comment and anybody can be able to post a comment at your site. In a way this is a form of research and sampling because it enables the business to get feedback and thus be able to gauge the sort of response they will receive when they finally roll out their product or service into the market.

Start using your blog more carefully and watch your traffic and revenues steadily climb as a result.

Sabtu, 02 April 2011

How Blogging Markets Your Business...

Now that blogging has become so popular among everyone from the novice writer to the most experienced journalist, businesses are starting to take notice. A well-written and frequently updated blog can help market almost any type of business. Blogging can help target readers who are interested in a company’s product or service and businesses can keep track of what their readers are looking for through blogging. In addition, blogging can help link together companies that compliment each other very easily.

There is a lot of talk about blogging. Some feel that blogging is just a passing fad, but others feel it is just the beginning. Some business analysts feel that blogging does not significantly help a business market the company. Many businesses feel that this is not so. Blogging can be a beneficial way to mark a business, build an audience and help link in other companies together.

Blogging can help almost any business expose their readers to their services and products. Sometimes with new products, a blog can create interest in something new. Blogging is helpful because it can talk in depth about the product, and it can also give step-by-step instructions on how a certain product can be used. A reader, who is interested in the product after reading about it on a blog, will be more inclined to research similar products on the Internet. This can lead to a more informed consumer and can save a consumer time when shopping or researching a new product. In turn, a company may save time because customers who have read the blog are already informed about the product. These customers can also read reviews on these products and services, which can be helpful in the buying process.

Another great thing about companies using a blog for their products and services is that a blog enables the company and the customer to communicate effectively. A customer can read the blog and comment on it right away. This provides good feedback to the company and they can know what the customers want. Usually blogs will provide places for readers to leave their comments or send emails to the writer. This is a good marketing tool for businesses. People enjoy communicating about products and services that they have had good or bad experiences with and blogging provided the opportunity to do so.

Blogs can also help market a business because it will be included in search engines. When people enter certain keywords, blogs that contain those words will show up. When blogs are updated frequently, search engines can provide your company with a lot of hits. This can lead to many people looking at the company’s blog who might not otherwise have done so.

When companies use blogs, it also has the ability to create a sensation around a product and influence public opinion. This is an excellent tool for companies to use. Because of the huge popularity of blogging, this can be a more effective tool than some forms of advertising. Readers are more likely to share interesting blogs with their friends and this can help companies get the word out about their product.

Another way blogging can help market a business is that blogs often help a company position itself as a leader in a certain field. This means that those who blog can show their expertise about certain subjects and then updates this information on a regular basis. Blogging can help generate leads and send a positive message about your company without spending a lot of money for advertising. Readers can look at these blogs and know that they are dealing with a quality company.

Companies also use blogs to help network with other companies that compliment their business. This is beneficial because they can easily share their links and readers will see all of the blogs that relate to what they are searching for on the Internet. Link swapping is often used in blogging, especially with businesses.

Blogging is proving to be a beneficial marketing tool for businesses all over the world. While it’s a fairly new way for companies and customers to communicate with each other, blogging provides an immediate and unique form of advertising for the company. Customers are able to read and research products and services through blogging and companies can better understand what their customers want.

Jumat, 01 April 2011

Cultivate Your Website In Web Design

So to achieve success and to be on the top rank of the search engine results, work with the best web designing company Delhi with the help of its expertise and know how tools, you can definitely gain success. Web Design Delhi is the most important aspect of a company website. A visually appealing website is more likely to attract attention of a casual visitor than a scantily designed one. A good design may not always be heavy on graphics. It is more to do with the lay out and using the right color combinations. In fact, the color should be as per the theme of the website. Web site designing requires a lot of innovativeness and an artistic bend of mind. Some time one can accomplish much more by intelligently using certain effects like image rollover, image swapping, frames etc. A number of tools are now available to the designers and the list is ever increasing. There are specialized tools for creating various types of special effects. Web Design Delhi desigining has now become a self-sufficient industry in India. There are a number of organizations who just do website designs and prepare templates. Anyone can choose these templates and then get their own website designed as per that design. This saves a lot of time as well as effort. The templates are accessible based on the graphics content, purpose of the sites, animation etc.

Web Design Delhi is the most imperative portion of a company website. A visually alluring website is more likely to attract interest of a casual visitor than poorly designed one. A good design may not always be important on graphics. It is more to do with the lay out and using the right color combinations. In fact, the color should be as per the subject of the website.