SEO Guidelines Search Engine Marketing

SEO guidelines also known as Search Engine Optimization set the rules used by major search engines like GOOGLE, Yahoo, and MSN, etc. to judge whether or not to include a website in their search engine results. Believe it or not , having your website included in Google results is not part of the Bill of Rights under the constitution. There are Search Engine Marketing guidelines that govern which websites are included and those excluded from their results.

SEO Guidelines Thou Shall

Write your pages for people, not for search engines. It seems obvious, doesn't it? We have all gone to web pages with garbage content written to deceive search engines for top rankings. When discovered (and they will be discovered), these websites are banned. Other SEO guidelines prohibit offering different content to search engines than your visitors. Called ""cloaking", it's unethical and another trick to avoid for high search engine rankings. Instead, focus on providing useful content your visitors are seeking and update your site frequently with fresh content.

SEO guidelines - Thou Shall Not...

Here are some important search engine optimization methods to avoid when using SEO methods on your website. These are unethical techniques that may lead to having your websites removed from the Google index. OUCH!!! That hurts! Once banned, your site will not appear in GOOGLE results or partner sites.

SEO guidelines clearly ban link farms that create multiple links to your site to raise your page rank by unethical means. Sooner or later your site will be caught and penalized for breaking SEO guidelines. In particular, avoid links to web spammers and software that auto submits your pages to search engines.

SEO guidelines Search Engine Optimization

Create web pages free of hidden texts and links seen only by the search engines. Instead, use search engine marketing strategies without redirects to other sites. Instead of garbage content, search engine optimization promotes useful reader content. Do you like to read the same thing again read the same thing again read the same thing again neither does the search engine. After all, search engines are people too!

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SEO Tools Of The Trade

Before you start optimizing your site for search engines, there are some tools that you should arm yourself with. These tools can become your best friends when it comes to SEO, especially when youre just starting out. The first and most important step in any search engine position campaign is recognizing which keywords you should optimize your site for, and there are several pieces of software that are useful for this, including Wordtracker, Optilink, Zeus, and Agent Web Ranking.

WordTracker's keyword research service is the only one on the Internet that provides a comprehensive database of the most popular keywords in a particular industry. It can help you recognize associated keywords that you may have never thought of. One of the differences between WordTracker and other tools is that it can spot subtle differences, for example singular and plural keywords, or often-misspelled ones, and tell you which versions are more popular.

Optilink has become very popular in a short period of time because of the power it gives you over search engines. Every site that links to you boosts your ranking, especially if its content is relevant to yours. Optilink helps you to come up with strategies to improve your link structure and get a better ranking. Here are some of the things it does:

1. Analyzes the link structures of your top-ranking competitors.

2. Tells you why your competitors rank well, so you can try to copy what theyre doing.

3. Tells you what kind of rankings you can expect if you adopt similar linking strategies.

4. Helps to monitor sites youve exchanged links with, to ensure that theyre still linking to you.

Zeus has an excellent way of increasing the link popularity of your site -- by exchanging with other sites that are related to yours, giving you a head start on your SEO. Zeus does the work for you, identifying sites that it thinks you should try to exchange links with. If you look for the sites yourself youll often find its not worth the time, but an SEO tool like Zeus lets you do it instantly. Once youve got links, you can manage and maintain them automatically.

Agent Web Ranking helps you to check your sites rankings this is good to see how your SEO efforts are working. Many people just optimize and submit, thinking the work is done, but theyre wrong. You need to continuously check your site's rankings, and Agent Web Ranking is a reliable and quick tool for doing this.

The only real problem you might have with any of this software is that search engines can change the way they display their results, breaking the tools until their authors update them. This means that most position reporting software gets outdated very quickly. Its not that much of an issue, though, as most software is provided on a subscription basis with updates included, rather than bought only once.

If you really want to stay ahead in the SEO industry, you should try as many different tools as you can. By paying attention to what tools others are using and learning how they work, you will have the edge in the SEO market. So get out there, and download these SEO tools of the trade!

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SEO Why Site Width Matters

Many search engine optimization efforts are focused on pushing the home page of a site. This is a fundamental mistake that can result in the site missing out on a lot of traffic.

Go Wide, Young Man

In nearly every case, a site should be designed to draw traffic through both the home page and various internal pages. Home pages, obviously, can be tailored to the primary keyword phrases you are seeking, but dont forget the minor pages.

I always find it odd when people ask which keyword phrase they should try to optimize for on their site. They become a bit flummoxed when I tell them to optimize for all of them. The only question is which keywords should appear on which pages.

For example, the site NomadJournals.com sells writing journals for outdoor activities such as fly fishing, traveling, hiking, bird watching and so on. So, which of these subjects should be used as the keyword phrase for the home page? None! Instead, the generic term writing journals was chosen. But what about the specific journal subjects?

The individual pages on the site promoting each journal are optimized for the specific product. The fly fishing journal page is optimized for fly fishing keywords, the travel page for travel keywords and so on. The end result of this is the home page is appearing high in writing journals search results, while each of the internal journal pages are also appearing high.

This can often lead to an interesting visitor situation. As you review your server stats, you may start noting a majority of your traffic is coming in through internal site pages, not the home page. In the above Nomad Journals scenario, the travel journal page far outdraws the home page, which makes for a nice revenue increase.

The home page of a site is critical in a search engine optimization campaign. Just keep in mind it isnt the only page that can draw free traffic and revenues to your site.

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SEO The History Of Optimization

Virtually every good thing comes to an end. Strategies that were once standard in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ultimately came to an end when individuals with less scruples than a box of corn flakes manipulated the system to their advantage.

Some of the earliest optimization methods were a simple alphabetical list much like a phone directory, but by 1996 web site programmers tried their luck at placing specific keywords in parts of the programming and they began to learn theyre manipulations had some influence in site rankings.

A variety of algorithms were utilized in 1997 that allowed programmers to crack the SEO code at Excite. These programmers were able to produce # 1 results for their clients at will.

What began as client-based assistance ultimately led to nefarious systems that sought a corner on site rankings to the exclusion of any competitor.

It wasnt long before most search engines began using Yahoo as a means of checking site rankings. Most programmers learned that by 1997 their clients needed to be included in Yahoo and they needed to perform well in that arena if they wanted similar results elsewhere.

By late 1997 Infoseek offered anyone the opportunity to optimize a website and made the role of programmers less prominent. Angry programmers strike back by essentially creating a mirror site of top ranked sites and diminishing the effectiveness of the rankings.

In the next two years search engines develop complex, multi-level algorithms that were difficult to decode and made little sense. However, these systems would serve as a foundation for filtering spam and punishing offenders with banned sites.

By the late 1990s algorithm decoding essentially ceased. It was getting too hard to try to fool the new systems that were developing and many of the original ideas for SEO assistance were now considered Black Hat SEO.

As the Y2K doom reports fade into memory a fresh realization hits programmers. The roller coaster ride that had been SEO now fell to one search engine for acceptance. If you could not make it with this search engine you would find little acceptance elsewhere.

Today Google is the gold standard for SEO. This search engine provides details on acceptable ways to promote your site through optimization.

Now that a comprehensive standard has developed programmers are back in the fray seeking to serve customers by attempting to gain respectable rankings.

Interestingly there are some SEO firms that must remember the old days of SEO because they continue to insist on using methods that could ultimately cause a site to be banned from search engines.

Learn what you can about SEO strategies. With this knowledge you can begin to personally implement strategies that help your site rankings in the long run.

Above all keep up to date on SEO strategies because this is an area that has a long history of being refined.

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SEO Anchor Text And Headings

There has been a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy that has been largely ignored. It may even be considered a minor element in the scheme of SEO techniques.

Most if us have visited websites with anchor text (hyper links) to third-party sites with more information. In the world of HTML you can hide the website address and include descriptive words to assist visitors in making a determination about the value of visiting the anchor text link.

In many cases you will find the common strategy that is used has no SEO function.

NEGATIVE EXAMPLE

To find out more CLICK HERE.

In this scenario the link is on the words CLICK HERE. While this might make sense to the reader it does absolutely nothing for search engines that are interested in the keywords associated with the anchor text link.

POSITIVE EXAMPLE

IMPORTED MOTHBALLS are making a comeback.

The reason this is better is that most Internet users understand that colored or underlined text is an anchor text link. While this is important to note, a better reason would be that search engines now have the capability of indexing the key phrase IMPORTED MOTHBALLS.

The use of search engine friendly anchor text statements can be important to the overall site ranking for your specific business site. This strategy is just one of many that can help you make the greatest impact when marketing your site through SEO Strategies.

One more tip that might help you place more prominently in the site rankings has to do with headings and subheadings on your web pages.

Many search engines pay particular attention to the headings on the web page. You can find creative ways to incorporate primary keywords or phrases in the first three headings on a page. These are the headings search engines will evaluate for search engine rankings.

For the visitor you can make the site easier to scan using bullet points and headings. Many online visitors will not read every single word you place on your website, but they will look for visual clues as to how relevant the information might be.

For search engines headings will be key locations for evaluation. In this case what is good for the site visitor is also good for the search engine.

By taking the time to incorporate what may seem like small steps you may end up with improved site rankings. By making these tips a habit you can move on to other SEO strategies that can further help you make the most significant impact on the web.

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SEO A Do-It-Yourself Guide

Some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms can toss around a lot of important terms and promise unbelievable results, but often the results are short-lived and the SEO terms they use are convenient in intimidating the faint of heart into subscribing to their services. After all if you cant understand what they are saying how are you supposed to understand how to do it yourself?

While it is possible to develop a masterfully designed SEO strategy for use on your website by accessing the skills of others, the truth is paying a third party for work you can do yourself may not be the wisest use of company assets, although most SEO companies would likely dispute my claim since, of course, their livelihood largely depends on your ignorance.

Did you know the primary influence on SEO success is keyword rich content? The content you write and the way that you say it has a profound effect on the way search engines determine your site rankings.

If you take no other advice on SEO take this one and implement it yourself. The primary search engines work to rank sites based on predominant keywords or key phrases.

You will discover that online visitors and search engines agree, great content makes for a great online experience for potential consumers as well as a few good search engines looking for great websites.

Did you know that if you invite others to link to your site the chances of SEO success improve?

Search engines are very favorable to linking strategies. It tells them that others view your site as a worthwhile destination with adequate reason to associate themselves with you in an online environment.

Did you know that developing positive contacts improve site visitation? Did you also know that increased traffic results in improved site ranking?

Search engine companies make locating trusted websites their number one priority. If your website is designed to maximize one or more facets of your business the search engines will view your site as serious about reaching a very specific customer base.

The idea of networking is as important to those you network with as it is to you. This is a business-to-business strategy that cant really be duplicated by using most paid SEO firms. You have the best handle on whom you are most interested in forming connections with. In the development process there is often mutual back scratching that can ultimately serve to drive traffic to both sites.

Many SEO firms rely on extensive strategies that required their intervention and care. Some of these strategies do have value, but that value is minimized as search engines streamline some of the indicators of site rankings. For instance Meta tag information was once very important to SEO strategies, today many site owners can achieve positive success without significantly altering their meta tag details.

Dont get me wrong there are plenty of SEO strategies that can help, but content and connections are the two primary means of achieving improved site rankings and you can do that yourself.

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Seo Can Be Rocket Science

Over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion about the SEO is/isnt rocket science debate. Although this issue has been around for years, the spark that brought it back to life can be traced back to the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in Chicago. During the Search Engines Strategies Conference in Chicago, which took place from December 4th through the 6th, Jason Calcanis (the cofounder of Weblogs Inc) completely wrote search engine optimization off as a complete waste of money and resources. His philosophy is that if you build a clean page and great content, the traffic and rankings will follow naturally.

This statement caused quite a stir among not only the audience (which was primarily made up of a bunch of SEOs) but also the search engine optimization community as a whole. Angry blog posts were flying up left and right, and there was not a lack of great discussion on both sides of the issue.

At the beginning of January, Shoemoney made the statement on his radio show and blog that ninety-five percent of search engine optimization is super simple and the other five percent is what really matters in the world of SEO.

After all this various discussion, Todd Friesen (aka Oilman) decided to write an excellent blog post to address all of these various issues. Although he does not update his blog very often, the posts he does write are always well thought out. This particular post helped to give the SEO community some perspective on this issue. Even though ninety-five percent of search engine optimization may be extremely easy for someone who does it on a daily basis, it is still a complete mystery to ninety-nine percent of the population. The purpose of his post can be summed up by the idea that instead of spending time arguing within the SEO community, we need to realize that there is an entire world full of people who probably dont even know what the term SEO means.

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