SEO doesn't have to be complex and by following these simple on-page optimization techniques you can give your SEO campaign the perfect start.
Keyword Research
Before you begin penning content and writing title and meta tags you first need to research the keywords you will use on each of your pages. Using the wrong keywords can negatively impact your entire campaign, causing you to lose untold hours and days of work and eventually forcing you to concede that you made the wrong decision and start all over again.
The most appropriate and most beneficial keywords are popular enough that they will enjoy regular searches but without being prohibitively competitive or overly generic. A number of keyword research tools exist and your competitors' websites are a good place to start your early research. Ensure keywords are targeted specifically to the type of content you will provide as well as the service or product you will be selling. More targeted keywords will result in more targeted visitors and targeted visitors mean greater conversion rates and an improved return on your efforts.
Niche And Semantically Related Keywords
A good strategy is to incorporate a reasonable list of competitive keywords with less competitive ones. The more niche keywords will serve you well during the early days of your website and over time you should be able to start competing for the more challenging of the keywords you use. Also incorporate semantically or topically related keywords into your keyword list because the search engines are placing more and more emphasis on those pages that use related keywords as well as primary keywords.
Accessibility And Standards
Site accessibility is an integral part of good website design but it should also be considered an important factor in any SEO strategy. Using standards based code for your website will help to ensure that anybody that wishes to access and view your website will be able to do so. It will also mean that the spiders used by search engines will be able to access and index your pages effectively ensuring that you get the full credit for your site.
Navigation And Intra-Linking
Your navigation menu and internal links should be prominently placed, easy to see, and easy to follow for the spiders. It is good practice to include a text link from the home page to a compliant sitemap on your site, alleviating any potential problems that might arise from broken links or the use of graphical or flash based navigation menus. You can also consider adding links into the main body of your content, although too many will make the page difficult to read and therefore diminish the overall effectiveness so don't get too carried away.
Title And Meta Tags
While search engines do not specifically use the meta tags to help assess the value of a page like they once did, meta tags are still critical to good SEO performance. The title and description tags that you add at the top of a page are used in various ways including in the compiling and display of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). This is the first thing a potential site visitor will see from your site so this mini listing needs to be as effective as any paid advert or PPC ad. Poorly written titles and descriptions can put many readers off viewing your pages so a little time and effort here can have a very positive effect.
Using your keywords in the title and the description is good practice because these will be highlighted in the search results if they were used in the search query itself. This will make your result more prominent and instantly identify your page as being relevant to the user. Don't needlessly use keywords, however, and don't throw extra keywords into the description at the cost of a well written, short ad.
Other Formatting Tags
On-page content should always be written with the visitor in mind, although obviously it can still be optimized for search engines. As such, proper page structure is important to your reader as well as to the engines. H1 and H2 tags are an effective way of breaking up page content, and give readers the chance to skim through a page and determine its relevance.
A page should only contain a single H1 tag at the top of the content but can include multiple H2 and H3 tags. Alt tags on images should also be included and these as well as the actual file path to the image itself can include important keywords (but do make sure that they actually make sense and are more than just a keyword thrown in for the sake of SEO).
Page Content Optimization
Finally, we get to the heart of the page - the content itself. Use the keywords you researched for a page including semantically related keywords. Write as naturally and appealingly as possible while keeping those keywords in mind and don't get carried away stuffing or cramming them into the body of the text. Not only is this unappealing to readers but is seriously frowned upon by the search engines.
The reader really is the most important aspect of your content. If the majority of your visitors are coming from the search engines remember that they arrived using specific keywords. This means that they are searching for equally specific information relating to those keywords - make sure you deliver on the promise that you made in your title and description tags.
Source
Showing posts with label keywords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keywords. Show all posts
June 7, 2009
Five Crucial Components of Web Design
Professional website developers know the importance of web design and the role it plays in making a website successful.
Designing a successful website is no easy task, especially for someone who is new to the world of web development. With the help of web development applications many people can and do create decent websites. But decent in most cases is not good enough to make a site successful from a traffic or financial standpoint.
There are five crucial components of web design that you must focus on in order to make a site valuable to its visitors and successful for you.
• SEO -
Getting free traffic to your site.
• Usability -
Ease of navigating around the site and finding desired information quickly.
• Aesthetics -
Visual appeal.
• Content -
Valid, up-to-date, relevant information.
• Graphics -
Eye candy that relays relevant visual information to the visitor.
SEO
Before you ever lay down a byte of HTML code for a site, you have to know and understand at least the basics of SEO and how it fits into the design. SEO is the art of designing a site in a fashion that gives the site an advantage for obtaining free and abundant traffic.
The number one aspect of SEO is selecting keywords relevant to your site. The keywords you select should be based on high usage, low competition and relevancy to your topic. Once you select keywords you can then begin the development of your site. Keep in mind keywords are a critical aspect of the design. The keywords you choose will be applied within the design in strategic fashion to benefit the flow of traffic to your site. To understand more on how to implement SEO you should read and learn more about this important subject. If you don't, your website success will be difficult to achieve.
Usability
Your website must be easy to navigate and designed in a way that makes it easy to find information. Visitors will not stay long if it takes more than one or two clicks to get the information they want or if it takes brain power to figure out how to get the information they want. One of the goals of your site design is to keep usability easy, and simple. To do this, apply the following three fundamentals of usability.
• Provide a site search tool.
A visitor in a hurry can quickly find the info they desire then move on to the action they desire.
• Provide simple, intuitive and consistent site navigation.
This provides visitors the tool they need to leisurely explore their way through your site.
• Provide logical and simple to follow content.
The message of a site should start off in a simple and basic fashion with well defined links pointing the way to more detailed information or explanation as needed.
In the cases above, the goal is to make it easy for your visitor to find the information they want without frustration or difficulty. Doing this well will have a positive effect on increasing the return of your visitors.
Aesthetics
A website has to look clean, uncomplicated and strike a balance in layout that is pleasant to the visitor. Pleasing aesthetics come about when the colors of a site complement each other, the graphics blend and lend continuation of the theme and the layout brings unity and openness to the page.
Often overlooked by novice designers is the color palette of the site. While you can select color in a willy-nilly fashion and still provide a visually appealing site, a better idea for color selection should be based on an understanding of the color wheel and proven color strategies.
Many web designers often view a web page as an opportunity to blast a visitor with lots of information in hopes this will convince the visitor to take action. Usually this results in a quick exit due to the overwhelming visual effect and complicated look. A better approach is to provide less content and open space (referred to as white space) to allow visitors eyes to scan and explore with ease.
Content
An important feature of any website is the quality of the text content. Visitors come to a site expecting to find answers to their questions, solutions to their problems or for entertainment value. The content offered at your site must be well-written and without grammatical or spelling errors. It also has to be relevant to the theme of your site, with valid, up-to- date information for your visitors. Content is King!
Graphics
You can have a functional and usable website without graphic elements. However, if there are similar sites to yours that employ graphics, guess which site will get the most traffic. The necessary companions to any well-designed site are the images and illustrations that grace its pages. The images can't be any willy-nilly graphic that you might think is cool. Graphic imagery has to support your branding, and communicate the message you are trying to convey. Before you incorporate graphic elements into your site, take some time to look around the web. Notice what looks good and how elements are laid out. These same layouts techniques can be used as models for your site.
The Internet is a highly competitive business arena. To be successful with a commercial website, you have to keep these five crucial web design elements in mind. Contrary to what many will tell you, it is rarely possible to have commercial success without the benefit of a professional website. This is not to say that you must hire a professional, however you must implement professional design elements to improve your chances for success.
source
Designing a successful website is no easy task, especially for someone who is new to the world of web development. With the help of web development applications many people can and do create decent websites. But decent in most cases is not good enough to make a site successful from a traffic or financial standpoint.
There are five crucial components of web design that you must focus on in order to make a site valuable to its visitors and successful for you.
• SEO -
Getting free traffic to your site.
• Usability -
Ease of navigating around the site and finding desired information quickly.
• Aesthetics -
Visual appeal.
• Content -
Valid, up-to-date, relevant information.
• Graphics -
Eye candy that relays relevant visual information to the visitor.
SEO
Before you ever lay down a byte of HTML code for a site, you have to know and understand at least the basics of SEO and how it fits into the design. SEO is the art of designing a site in a fashion that gives the site an advantage for obtaining free and abundant traffic.
The number one aspect of SEO is selecting keywords relevant to your site. The keywords you select should be based on high usage, low competition and relevancy to your topic. Once you select keywords you can then begin the development of your site. Keep in mind keywords are a critical aspect of the design. The keywords you choose will be applied within the design in strategic fashion to benefit the flow of traffic to your site. To understand more on how to implement SEO you should read and learn more about this important subject. If you don't, your website success will be difficult to achieve.
Usability
Your website must be easy to navigate and designed in a way that makes it easy to find information. Visitors will not stay long if it takes more than one or two clicks to get the information they want or if it takes brain power to figure out how to get the information they want. One of the goals of your site design is to keep usability easy, and simple. To do this, apply the following three fundamentals of usability.
• Provide a site search tool.
A visitor in a hurry can quickly find the info they desire then move on to the action they desire.
• Provide simple, intuitive and consistent site navigation.
This provides visitors the tool they need to leisurely explore their way through your site.
• Provide logical and simple to follow content.
The message of a site should start off in a simple and basic fashion with well defined links pointing the way to more detailed information or explanation as needed.
In the cases above, the goal is to make it easy for your visitor to find the information they want without frustration or difficulty. Doing this well will have a positive effect on increasing the return of your visitors.
Aesthetics
A website has to look clean, uncomplicated and strike a balance in layout that is pleasant to the visitor. Pleasing aesthetics come about when the colors of a site complement each other, the graphics blend and lend continuation of the theme and the layout brings unity and openness to the page.
Often overlooked by novice designers is the color palette of the site. While you can select color in a willy-nilly fashion and still provide a visually appealing site, a better idea for color selection should be based on an understanding of the color wheel and proven color strategies.
Many web designers often view a web page as an opportunity to blast a visitor with lots of information in hopes this will convince the visitor to take action. Usually this results in a quick exit due to the overwhelming visual effect and complicated look. A better approach is to provide less content and open space (referred to as white space) to allow visitors eyes to scan and explore with ease.
Content
An important feature of any website is the quality of the text content. Visitors come to a site expecting to find answers to their questions, solutions to their problems or for entertainment value. The content offered at your site must be well-written and without grammatical or spelling errors. It also has to be relevant to the theme of your site, with valid, up-to- date information for your visitors. Content is King!
Graphics
You can have a functional and usable website without graphic elements. However, if there are similar sites to yours that employ graphics, guess which site will get the most traffic. The necessary companions to any well-designed site are the images and illustrations that grace its pages. The images can't be any willy-nilly graphic that you might think is cool. Graphic imagery has to support your branding, and communicate the message you are trying to convey. Before you incorporate graphic elements into your site, take some time to look around the web. Notice what looks good and how elements are laid out. These same layouts techniques can be used as models for your site.
The Internet is a highly competitive business arena. To be successful with a commercial website, you have to keep these five crucial web design elements in mind. Contrary to what many will tell you, it is rarely possible to have commercial success without the benefit of a professional website. This is not to say that you must hire a professional, however you must implement professional design elements to improve your chances for success.
source
March 2, 2009
Make Money with Adsense
SEO, Keywords, Backlinks - It Works - The Proof
My first post on this blog was 2 weeks ago - February 13. The first post was entitled Make Money with Adsense . The goal of this blog is three fold; I want to rank this blog on page 1 in Google for the term (keyword) just mentioned, I want to use the authority gained with such a ranking to push my money site to the top of the serp’s by way of a link from this site and I want to prove to my readers that my system works.
So what have we accomplished in two weeks?
Two weeks ago my money site was ranked #6 on Google for the term “Make Money with Adsense”. Not bad but it didn’t produce a great deal of traffic in 6th spot.
Number 6 in Google
So… how does one push a site up the serp’s to top spot?
One way is to create a new site targeting the keyword in question, round up some keyword anchored backlinks and get the new site ranking well for the same term. Once you accomplish that simply send the original money site a link using the targeted keyword in the anchor. How long this process takes will depend on you and your resources. In my case about two weeks. The point here is to show you that it works and you can speed things up a bit by using a free host such as Today.com. Yes - you could use a self-hosted site but then you wouldn’t have the advantage of the trust and authority already built up on the Today.com domain. As a subdomain you can leech off some of the authority which is faster than starting a new domain from scratch.
So what have we accomplished in two weeks?
Let’s start with this sites rankings - what keywords have I targeted and where do they now sit in the serp’s. (Btw - new readers can find descriptions for various SEO terms like “serp’s” on the SEO Terminology page)
Today.com provides a handy dandy recap of all the search terms that people have found my site for in the search engines. The keywords are shown below. (Click image and then use Magnifier to enlarge further)
Make Money with Adsense Keywords
Using this list I plunk the relevant terms into SEO Elite’s keyword rank checker and monitor the daily rankings in Google.
Like so…
SEO Elite’s Keyword Rankings on Google
I have highlighted the main terms I want to rank well for - these are the terms that I will concentrate my backlinking efforts on. As you can see - most of the main keywords are already on page 2 or better in Google’s search rankings. My primary term is in 5th spot although it is still subject to some daily bouncing back and forth in the serp’s. Overall - not bad for two weeks of work; a half dozen posts augmented with a couple of dozen backlinks. The key of course are the backlinks. Where did they come from and more importantly - what keywords are anchored in those backlinks?
Let’s look shall we…
Keyword Anchored Adsense Backlinks
As you can see it doesn’t take a lot of backlinks to rank #5 for a relatively competitive term if you have backlinks that use your primary keyword in the backlink.
In the first paragraph I said I had three objectives for this site.
I wanted it ranking on page 1 in the serp’s for “make money with Adsense”…
Serp ranking for today.com Adsense blog
Done.
I wanted to show you that my system works… Done.
I wanted to get my money site ranking number 1 in Google for the same term…
Make money with Adsense
Done.
And while we are at it - I mentioned that ranking for “How to” keywords is always a good idea as that is a term used by people searching for info - they are the people who click on Adsense ads.
In this case “How to Make Money with Adsense” and “How to Make Money Adsense“
How to make money with Adsense
Done.
How to make money Adsense
and Done!
Any questions?
To this point I have shown you what SEO is and how effective it is for targeting traffic. To make money with Adsense you first have to understand SEO . It is the process you must use to drive targeted search engine traffic to your site - no other traffic will produce the same results with Adsense.
I will now concentrate on showing you my methods for optimizing your site in order to achieve the best results using Adsense. SEO will deliver the traffic. Adsense will convert that traffic into dollars.
Published by Griz under SEO Edit This
My first post on this blog was 2 weeks ago - February 13. The first post was entitled Make Money with Adsense . The goal of this blog is three fold; I want to rank this blog on page 1 in Google for the term (keyword) just mentioned, I want to use the authority gained with such a ranking to push my money site to the top of the serp’s by way of a link from this site and I want to prove to my readers that my system works.
So what have we accomplished in two weeks?
Two weeks ago my money site was ranked #6 on Google for the term “Make Money with Adsense”. Not bad but it didn’t produce a great deal of traffic in 6th spot.
Number 6 in Google
So… how does one push a site up the serp’s to top spot?
One way is to create a new site targeting the keyword in question, round up some keyword anchored backlinks and get the new site ranking well for the same term. Once you accomplish that simply send the original money site a link using the targeted keyword in the anchor. How long this process takes will depend on you and your resources. In my case about two weeks. The point here is to show you that it works and you can speed things up a bit by using a free host such as Today.com. Yes - you could use a self-hosted site but then you wouldn’t have the advantage of the trust and authority already built up on the Today.com domain. As a subdomain you can leech off some of the authority which is faster than starting a new domain from scratch.
So what have we accomplished in two weeks?
Let’s start with this sites rankings - what keywords have I targeted and where do they now sit in the serp’s. (Btw - new readers can find descriptions for various SEO terms like “serp’s” on the SEO Terminology page)
Today.com provides a handy dandy recap of all the search terms that people have found my site for in the search engines. The keywords are shown below. (Click image and then use Magnifier to enlarge further)
Make Money with Adsense Keywords
Using this list I plunk the relevant terms into SEO Elite’s keyword rank checker and monitor the daily rankings in Google.
Like so…
SEO Elite’s Keyword Rankings on Google
I have highlighted the main terms I want to rank well for - these are the terms that I will concentrate my backlinking efforts on. As you can see - most of the main keywords are already on page 2 or better in Google’s search rankings. My primary term is in 5th spot although it is still subject to some daily bouncing back and forth in the serp’s. Overall - not bad for two weeks of work; a half dozen posts augmented with a couple of dozen backlinks. The key of course are the backlinks. Where did they come from and more importantly - what keywords are anchored in those backlinks?
Let’s look shall we…
Keyword Anchored Adsense Backlinks
As you can see it doesn’t take a lot of backlinks to rank #5 for a relatively competitive term if you have backlinks that use your primary keyword in the backlink.
In the first paragraph I said I had three objectives for this site.
I wanted it ranking on page 1 in the serp’s for “make money with Adsense”…
Serp ranking for today.com Adsense blog
Done.
I wanted to show you that my system works… Done.
I wanted to get my money site ranking number 1 in Google for the same term…
Make money with Adsense
Done.
And while we are at it - I mentioned that ranking for “How to” keywords is always a good idea as that is a term used by people searching for info - they are the people who click on Adsense ads.
In this case “How to Make Money with Adsense” and “How to Make Money Adsense“
How to make money with Adsense
Done.
How to make money Adsense
and Done!
Any questions?
To this point I have shown you what SEO is and how effective it is for targeting traffic. To make money with Adsense you first have to understand SEO . It is the process you must use to drive targeted search engine traffic to your site - no other traffic will produce the same results with Adsense.
I will now concentrate on showing you my methods for optimizing your site in order to achieve the best results using Adsense. SEO will deliver the traffic. Adsense will convert that traffic into dollars.
Published by Griz under SEO Edit This
How to Make Money Online with Adsense for Beginners
Keywords and How to use them for Backlinks and for Post Content
Choosing a Niche
I look for niches that can provide me with enough keywords to target in order to drive as much traffic as possible to my site from the search engines.
How I do it.
I look for niches that allow “How to” to be used.
I look for niches that attract “Beginners”
Why?
Because people who are beginners have lots of questions “How to bake cookies”, “how to fly a plane” or “How to Make Money Online with Adsense for Beginners”
People who ask questions want an answer. If the answer appears in an Ad stuck right in front of their face they will click it - especially if you don’t provide the answer anywhere else and eliminate their options. Either click the ad or leave.
Oil Filters
How many keywords can you think of that people would use in the search query for info about “Oil Filters”?
Actually there are more than you think but very few that others would use in a query.
“How to change an oil filter”
“What type of oil filter do I need for a 1952 Corvette?”
“What Brands of Oil Filters are there?”
and a few others.
If none of those keywords can provide 1000 people a day or so (or a combination of them) then this probably isn’t a good niche.
Are there Ads that answer those questions? If so maybe it is a good niche.
What is the deciding factor?
The Traffic - if the keywords have the traffic then do it. No traffic - don’t waste your time.
How do I know if the traffic exists? I create blogger blogs targeted to my test keywords. Write long posts. Get targeted backlinks and wait. If a decent amount of long tail traffic shows up I pursue it more. If I am ranking well for a number of keywords and traffic doesn’t come - I move on.
How to make money with Adsense
How many keywords can you think of that people would use to find an answer for that phrase?
I can think of hundreds. Thousands even. Is there enough traffic for those keywords though? I don’t know - so…
I created a blog called “Make Money with Adsense ” to find out.
Like all my sites I will start out with what I think of as the “Super Keyword”
This is the keyword that contains all my keywords in the one phrase.
Like this one…
How to Make Money Online with Adsense for Beginners
This is a long tail that should be easy to rank for. It won’t get much traffic if anything at all. Doesn’t matter because the backlinks it will get to rank it number 1 for the phrase will also contain juice for other keywords I want to rank for.
Like these…
How to Make Money
How to make money online
How to make money online with Adsense
How to make money online with Adsense for beginners
Money
Make money
Make money online
Make money with Adsense
Make money with Adsense for beginners
Adsense
Adsense for beginners
How to use Adsense
Making money
Making money online
Making money online with Adsense
Making money online with Adsense for beginners
etc…
Do you see why?
The “super” keyword has all those terms in it or variations.
You get juice for any keywords a backlink has in it. Not just for the phrase as a whole.
Every time I get a backlink using that whole phrase I will also get votes for all those other phrases.
I don’t want a whole bunch of backlinks using that phrase though - only a few. And a few using all the other phrases listed.
A backlink like “making money with Adsense” will give me juice for “money”, “making money”, “Adsense” and “make money”. My post that the backlink is pointed at (or the home page) will gain serp ranking for all those terms from the same backlink.
A niche like this is ideal because it has so many keywords that can be used in your backlinks. This allows your links to have a huge variety (important for looking natural) while still sending juice for multiple terms at the same time.
Source: By Grizzly
Choosing a Niche
I look for niches that can provide me with enough keywords to target in order to drive as much traffic as possible to my site from the search engines.
How I do it.
I look for niches that allow “How to” to be used.
I look for niches that attract “Beginners”
Why?
Because people who are beginners have lots of questions “How to bake cookies”, “how to fly a plane” or “How to Make Money Online with Adsense for Beginners”
People who ask questions want an answer. If the answer appears in an Ad stuck right in front of their face they will click it - especially if you don’t provide the answer anywhere else and eliminate their options. Either click the ad or leave.
Oil Filters
How many keywords can you think of that people would use in the search query for info about “Oil Filters”?
Actually there are more than you think but very few that others would use in a query.
“How to change an oil filter”
“What type of oil filter do I need for a 1952 Corvette?”
“What Brands of Oil Filters are there?”
and a few others.
If none of those keywords can provide 1000 people a day or so (or a combination of them) then this probably isn’t a good niche.
Are there Ads that answer those questions? If so maybe it is a good niche.
What is the deciding factor?
The Traffic - if the keywords have the traffic then do it. No traffic - don’t waste your time.
How do I know if the traffic exists? I create blogger blogs targeted to my test keywords. Write long posts. Get targeted backlinks and wait. If a decent amount of long tail traffic shows up I pursue it more. If I am ranking well for a number of keywords and traffic doesn’t come - I move on.
How to make money with Adsense
How many keywords can you think of that people would use to find an answer for that phrase?
I can think of hundreds. Thousands even. Is there enough traffic for those keywords though? I don’t know - so…
I created a blog called “Make Money with Adsense ” to find out.
Like all my sites I will start out with what I think of as the “Super Keyword”
This is the keyword that contains all my keywords in the one phrase.
Like this one…
How to Make Money Online with Adsense for Beginners
This is a long tail that should be easy to rank for. It won’t get much traffic if anything at all. Doesn’t matter because the backlinks it will get to rank it number 1 for the phrase will also contain juice for other keywords I want to rank for.
Like these…
How to Make Money
How to make money online
How to make money online with Adsense
How to make money online with Adsense for beginners
Money
Make money
Make money online
Make money with Adsense
Make money with Adsense for beginners
Adsense
Adsense for beginners
How to use Adsense
Making money
Making money online
Making money online with Adsense
Making money online with Adsense for beginners
etc…
Do you see why?
The “super” keyword has all those terms in it or variations.
You get juice for any keywords a backlink has in it. Not just for the phrase as a whole.
Every time I get a backlink using that whole phrase I will also get votes for all those other phrases.
I don’t want a whole bunch of backlinks using that phrase though - only a few. And a few using all the other phrases listed.
A backlink like “making money with Adsense” will give me juice for “money”, “making money”, “Adsense” and “make money”. My post that the backlink is pointed at (or the home page) will gain serp ranking for all those terms from the same backlink.
A niche like this is ideal because it has so many keywords that can be used in your backlinks. This allows your links to have a huge variety (important for looking natural) while still sending juice for multiple terms at the same time.
Source: By Grizzly
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