Sitemap promotion: White hat methods for promoting your sitemap/website

Using a sitemap generator to make a sitemap for your website is a great decision. With a sitemap generator it makes the task of establishing fully functional and useful sitemap a breeze. What’s more with a sitemap generator, any changes to your website is usually updated without you doing it manually. This is a huge time saver and eliminates the tedium of doing this task manually. However, even if you have the best sitemap in the world it is not worth anything unless you religiously promote your sitemap and/or website. There are many ways to promote your website/sitemap and it ranges from the typical to the illegal. Of course, as a conscientious web master or business owner, only so-called white hat methods are in your arsenal of sitemap promotion tools and tactics. Below are some white hat methods that you can also incorporate in your own promotions plans: Visit online forums – You can use signature links or refer to your website whenever appropriate when you post replies in any forum. Of course, this should not be seen as an opportunity to spam online forums. Don’t construct replies that look like ads because it turns off forum members and may be used as a reason for you to get banned. Reply within context of the subject. Post comments in blogs – again, do not use the comments capabilities of a blog to spam people. Make real comments on the blogs and again reply within the context of the blog entry or previously posted comments and then introduce your website within reason. Establish a relationship with website owners – this method requires a lot of subtlety and careful handling. You can email the webmasters of websites you are interested in and maybe ask questions about their site. You can even ask where they acquired the information in the website. The idea here is quite simple – establish a relationship with the website owners/webmasters of websites that would benefit your own website. The ultimate goal here is to get some links Distribute content to industry portals – This is a great way of establishing your reputation as well as your website’s reputation as authorities in the field or sector in which you have dedicated your website. Join award programs and submit your website for consideration – By joining award programs, you will get links to your sites from their sites. There are some sites that even demand that you link to them. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to build up your reciprocal links. Submit the website to industry directories – submitting your website for inclusion in online directories especially those that cater to niche markets is a great way of promoting your website. Listing in directories is also a wonderful method for making the content on your website more easily reached and discovered by people. Post physical ads – by promoting your website through traditional means (billboards, flyers, and even merchandise) you get to reach audiences that may not frequent the internet that often but may be interested in what your website may be offering.

3 Things Search Engines Want To See - Using Links The Engines Will Like

Search engine companies are constantly changing their algorithms to keep their results up-to-date. Optimization used to be the primary factor search engines used to determine a website’s ranking. However, it currently makes up only about 10% of their total algorithms. What carries the most weight with search engines now is linking. Linking is the process of connecting to other sites that are relevant to your target market and that are highly ranked, and of getting them to connect to you. Google has, by far, the largest percentage of the search engine market, and they’re link-driven. The other search engines tend to follow Google’s lead, so the market is moving faster in that direction. 3 Tips for Building Smart LinksM When choosing which sites you want to link to, keep in mind what the search engines want to see: • Search engines are looking for organic results. According to Bruce Chapman of http://Linkateer.com, the number one search engine positioning firm on the web, “One of the things we try to do is make sure every single one of our links is pertinent to that particular type of business.” If your website sells makeup, a natural link would be to a site that gives makeup application techniques. An unnatural link would be to an actor’s fan club site. Says Chapman, “If it’s not natural, it’s going to be a problem.” • Search engines are looking for consistent results. More links aren’t necessarily better. In fact, getting too many links at once, such as by joining a link farm, can actually hurt your rankings. Gaining 20,000 links this month and 13 links next month is going to trip their filters and, for all your work, you’re going to find yourself dropping in the rankings. With links, the search engines are more concerned with quality than quantity. • Search engines are looking for one-way links. Reciprocal links are often just people exchanging links to mutually increase their link counts. The search engines have grown wise to this practice and adapted their algorithms. Says Chapman, “When one website wants to link to another website, that’s showing that the second website has got something of value… The one-way link is probably worth 20 times as much as a reciprocal link.” Achieving Natural Results It takes time to achieve good positioning in the search engines, especially with the more competitive keywords. Any attempts to trick the engines may work for a while; but they’re getting more and more sophisticated, and they’ll eventually catch up with you. Not only will your trick no longer work, but you may get blackballed or be penalized in your rankings. The best way to achieve high rankings is to give the search engines what they’re looking for—good fresh content and relevant links.

Top 5 most common mistakes with do-it-yourself SEO

I look at a lot of sites on a daily basis. There are a lot of common problems I see on sites. Some people may have tags set-up improperly or use tags that have no real purpose. I have compiled a list of the 5 top do-it-yourself SEO errors. It's safe to say that many do-it-yourselfers may have at least one of these errors on their sites. These should help you omit these often costly mistakes and pull you up in the ranks. 1) Keyword tag – A keyword tag is for keywords, but not for any keywords. You can’t just stuff this tag with keywords that your entire site is related to. The tags should reflect keywords only on that particular page; not the entire site and not every keyword you think your site might be searched on. Also, you should have no more then 20 words in the tag. You should not repeat any word more than 3 times. If you sell tickets, for example, don't write: Broadway tickets, circus tickets, hockey tickets, boxing tickets and so on. Do use Broadway, circus, hockey, boxing, tickets and so on. 2) Abstract tag – It is sometimes used as a replacement for or combined with a description tag. However, more and more people are using these to stuff keywords. Search engines like Google are interested in what is on the page. More specifically, what visitors can view. In my opinion, the abstract tag has no place on a site. 3) Description Tag – The whole point behind this tag is to describe what the “page” is about. Keywords related to the page should be implemented as well. The limit on words should be 20 – 25. I see many website owners stuffing this tag with keywords, or having a description that is entirely too lengthy. Stay within these guidelines and you will be fine. 4) Title tag – This, to me, is the most important tag. This is the first tag the search engine reads. It tells the search engine what the” page” is about. Don't put your web address here. Do not add your company name in the beginning of this tag either. It should not exceed 60 characters. 5) Content- If you notice, I have been commenting on relevancy to the “page”, not your overall site. Each page has it’s own keywords. Tag the title tag, description and keyword tags. All of these keywords should be the same. Add them to your content as well. Now your page should be fairly well optimized. Why do sites fall short? Simple, content is not optimized. Search engines are, for the most part, pretty basic. You type in a search term and it retrieves sites containing those terms while also taking a few other factors into account. So, if your site doesn’t have these terms, how will you be found? You won’t. Over do it with keywords and you will experience the same result, but for different reasons. Sometimes reading everything about SEO can be bad. Trying too many tricks, tips or methods is like too many cooks spoiling the soup. In the end they can do more bad than good. These are very basic rules that should be followed by all. In, doubt? Always consult or hire an SEO professional.

Google Ranking WITHOUT submitting to Google

A while back, I read an article that explained how to get a good google rating without ever submitting your site to their submission forms. Like you, I was kind of shocked by this statement so I decided to give it a try. In the beginning, I used to submit my site all the time to Google but soon realized the magnitude of my failure. Of course, it's a known fact that Google relies solely on your link popularity and content. Link Popularity? What that means is the amount of links (yousite.com) listed on other sites that are related to yours! The more sites that link to you, the greater your popularity! So again, Google depends on your link popularity! If you don't have a google rating (In other words, is your link found on google?) some sites WILL NOT link to yours. There are many sites that have a great google rating and have specific regulations to whom they will accept within their resource sections. They will specify that your site must be listed within Google and if they type in your site in the google search bar, your site should be listed within the top 5 sites. Here's The Theory: Of course you want all sites to link to you, especially the ones who already have a great google rating because that means that your site will be picked up by google. Some people only try to get links from those sites but just remember, we all had to start somewhere. My suggestion is to do as many link exchanges as possible and especially make sure that each site is specifically categorized by their content. You will get penalized for having one page full of links to sites that do not relate to each other. Another little "Timbit", try to keep your pages to 1-20 links within each page. Once you have 20 links, add a button to a (PAGE 2) and continue your resources that way. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's an example of our "Resource Section" http://www.smartads.info/resources You'll notice how each category has specific sites that get listed within them. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, so I went a little off topic with respect to this article but you'll see how everything is connected together. Once google starts ranking your site, you don't want to leave any stone left un-turned. So back to getting a google rank without submitting your site. Once you start performing link exchanges with other sites, just keep on going and going and I promise that eventually, Google will start picking up some of your links on other sites. Once this starts to happen you're google rank will rise. So just keep doing what you're doing and let Google do it's own thing. When your ready and you're link popularity grows, then you can submit your site to Google and reap the rewards. So many companies do this process backwards and wonder why they don't get listed in Google. Or like what happened to me, Google lists your site right away but then in a couple of weeks, presto, your site is gone from their listing and your left confused as to why!

How do I get SSL Certificates for my website?

How can we process transactions securely on the web? Any safe transaction should happen between the customer and the web site in a manner that no one can read or intercept the transaction details. To enable this fast transaction SSL, other wise called as secure sockets layer is very useful. This program works through the encryption routines and programs that are found on the web host and browser. Many might ask “I am designing a website and how can I get SSL for my website?’ Once you know the basic meaning and facts related to SSL activate the SSL option and provide necessary information there like country/state and organization. Do not fill in anything in the tab SSL request or SSL certificate. Then go the action tab and choose create certification and click save. When you visit the SSL tab again you will find the certificate signing request (CSR) under SSL request. Using this CSR apply for an SSL certificate with companies like VeriSign, Geotrust, SSLGenie etc. Some companies might offer trial versions and always follow the instructions provided with the company’s web site. After getting the certificate copy it into the SSL certificate and then choose save under the actions tab. Now that one knows how to include the SSL in their website they should also know which form of SSL is best. Whether 128-bit SSL or 40-bit SSL? So what are they and which is the best SSL? When a transaction takes place between the customer and the website the level of encryption is decided by the browser, the customers OS and the SSL certificate? When a site uses low level encryption like 40 or 56 bits then any hacker using his brains and tools can break the security of the website. Thus the 128 bit SSL is preferred as it is a high level encryption. Hackers find it difficult to crack the code and enter the security zone with this high level encryption. Thus this 128 bit SSL is the best for an enhanced and secured transaction. Nowadays 128 bit encryption with an SGC (server-gated cryptography) enabled SSL certification is considered to the best fool proof SSL. It is unique as it protects the private keys and ensures anyone visiting the site irrespective of their OS have a fair and secured transaction. If the website deals with payments, collects personal data like tax ID, emails, birthdays etc or other bank or credit card details then a high level 128 bit or even more should be maintained to gain good will and trust among customers. They will feel safe and comfortable to have transaction with you and will be also feel safe about the details they have shared. Many have a doubt as to whether their browser is capable of using SSL certificates. Well as far as VeriSign, SSLGenie, Thawte is considered they work with almost all browsers. Thus 128 bit or more with SGC enabled SSL certificate is what can be safe and can be used for the website.

Internet marketing services- Patience for Long Term Ranking Results

If you keep a check on the online world, you must have come across the very famous word, Internet marketing services or more popularly known as SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. Born in 1995, SEO has come a long way since then and now you can find numerous companies offering Internet marketing services in UK. If we go by the trend, UK is the hottest destination for Internet marketing. Maximum companies or websites across the globe are turning towards the UK for getting their website optimised and to enjoy higher search engine rankings. Search engine marketing in UK has witnessed radical changes and marvellous improvements. The top website marketing company in UK claims to fetch you higher search engine rankings within a few months.

Internet marketing is a slow yet interesting process. It involves patience, research, knowledge, and innovation. Website marketing is basically divided into two parts; those are Organic SEO and In-Organic SEO. It is widely known that Organic SEO usually takes time to come into effect. Whereas, In-Organic SEO shows results faster and swifter. The only difference between the two is cost and flow of process.

Any UK based company offering Internet marketing services, will tell you before hand about the actual timing of your search engine optimisation campaign. Also you can see results in the search engine listings. A long and planned Internet marketing service is completely based on search engine marketing and it takes time. In short, patience is the name of the game. Try to go for the competitive website marketing company in UK, as they are the ones who will not just guide you but take your online business to new heights by boosting your business and increasing traffic to your website. They will even guide you in selecting the best search engine marketing techniques like Paid Inclusion and/or PPC services, traditional SEO, bidding, and many more.

Before beginning with your Internet marketing campaign, try to figure out optimisation time frame. Your website marketing plan is blindly dependent on a number of factors. This will streamline your Internet marketing process and you can enjoy higher rankings and more profound business. Website marketing companies offering Internet marketing services in UK even encourage you to go for Paid Inclusion or PPC bidding. This is proved that PPC shows fast and sooner results than traditional SEO. But it too has got its own limitations. You have to shell out heavy cash on regular basis and there is no guarantee that visitors will come to you instantly.

Some of the popular search engine marketing companies in UK work and offer SEO services differently. The biggest reason to use organic SEO instead of in-organic SEO is that it is a low-cost method to promote your website. Thus, we can say that practice patience while going for your SEO campaign with the chosen website marketing company UK. It may take some time to show results but it will be worth the long term results you reap.
For more information about Search Engine Optimisation services, visit::
http://www.brickblue.co.uk

Getting Listed In Search Engines

What exactly is search engine optimization? Search engine optimization is designing, writing, and coding (in HTML) your entire web site so that there is a good chance that your web pages will appear at the top of search engine queries for your selected keywords and key phrases. The majority of the search engine optimization specialist's time should be spent targeting the search engines that will give you the most traffic. The following search engines and directories are: AltaVista AOL Search Business.com FAST Search Google HotBot LookSmart Lycos MSN Search Netscape Search Open Directory Overture Yahoo The best time to request search engine optimization is before you design your web site. As your web site designer creates page templates for you to approve, you can have a search engine optimization specialist take a look at them and tell you which layout is best for optimum indexing. Once you have selected the best layout for your web site, then the search engine optimization specialist can tell your designer when and where to place your keywords and key phrases within your HTML tags. How can you tell a quality search engine optimization specialist from a scam artist? A search engine optimization specialist should be able to get your site indexed well for Google, Inktomi, and Yahoo. The 2 search engines and 1 directory differ in the way they index sites. Google does not use meta-tag content for relevancy. Inktomi currently uses meta-tags. And Yahoo is a directory. Ask how your site will be designed and tagged for each of these. If you don't get 3 different answers, then you should move on to a more experienced search engine optimization professional. If your web site has already been designed, a professional search engine optimization specialist will often recommend layout and design changes. He/She is not telling you that you have a bad-looking web site. He/She is telling you that the site's layout will not get indexed well for your targeted keywords and key phrases. For example, a site that has a triple frameset (on the top and on the side) is extremely difficult to get indexed well on search engines, even with a gateway page. However, a simple frameset can get indexed well in search engines, with or without a gateway page. A search engine optimization specialist can design or tell your web site designer how to lay out a simple frameset to get the best results. Search engine optimization and other marketing strategies (banner advertising, web copywriting, being listed in Yahoo, posting to discussion groups, etc.) are not substitutes for a web site with solid content and great layout. Search engine optimization is not a substitute for customer service, a good sales pitch, or a great product/service. It is not a substitute for a well-planned online and offline marketing plan. Search engine optimization is a means of helping your potential customers find your web site. It is a highly specialized marketing tool.