How to Improve Search Engine Rankings
This
article provides a quick list of improper search engine optimization
practices. You can use it as a checklist if you perform search
engine optimization yourself.
You finally got your web site listed in the major search
engines, however it is buried amongst millions of others and
you
still have not seen an increase in traffic to your web site.
Why
not? You need to improve your search engine rankings.
Here are the steps to increase your search engine rankings:
1. Check your listings
If you are going to see an increase in traffic to your web
site, you need to be listed in the top 20-30 sites. If you are not listed
in them, you should at least submit your site to the major
search engines. If you are already in the top 10, then keep
monitoring your site's search engine rankings to maintain
your search engine position. If you are not in the top 30
position, continue with the next step.
2. Select the right keywords and phrases
Go to Word
Tracker or the overture suggestion tool to find the most
popular words and phrases that suit the theme of your web
site.
Weave these words and phrases into your meta tags (title,
description and keyword tags), web copy (particularly the
first
200 words of your web page) and links (i.e. if your site is
called camping.com and you have a page for camping tools,
name
the link www.camping.com/campingtools.htm, instead of
www.camping.com/generic.htm).
Optimize each web page with different keywords. Visitors
can
then enter your site from different pages, depending on what
keyword they entered in the search engines.
3. Exchange reciprocal links
Search for other sites that compliment your own site and
ask for a reciprocal link back to your site. Ideally the site
should have the same keyword phrases as yours and already
have a high search engine ranking. These are quality links.
Having many sites linked to yours, will increase the popularity
of your site in the search engines, resulting in a higher
ranking.
If you are very busy or want to build a useful link directory,
you can use reciprocal
link exchange management script which can generate search
engine friendly webpages.
4. Write articles
Choose your best keywords and weave them into the theme of
your articles. Include a link to your web site in the resource
box at the end of your articles. Submit your articles to ezine
publishers and article announcement lists. This gives your
article the potential to be read by thousands of ezine subscribers.
Your article will become linked to many web sites, resulting
in higher rankings.
5. Participate in forums
Find a forum that is related to the theme of your web site.
People visit these forums to look for content that answers
their questions. Once you have provided helpful information,
you can leave a link to your site in your signature file.
If this is a highly trafficked forum, leaving your link there,
will increase your site's popularity.
In addition, a link in those forums can increase your website
visitors.
6. Monitor your search engine rankings
The best way to check how your site is doing in the search
engines is to check your web site statistics. A high quality
web hosting service will show you which pages receive the
most traffic (hits and visits) and where it is coming from
(which search engines).
Software like WebPosition
Gold 3 allows you to check search engine rankings and
offer advice to improve search engine placements. Why not
download a free trial copy?
7. Exercise patience Search engines
Typically search engines take one day to three months to
spider your web site, so your changes will not be seen immediately.
Think of the steps outlined above, as a long-term marketing
strategy for your web site.
Tip
Generating a massive amount of traffic to your web site,
doesn't guarantee sales. Here is a short list of factors that
will also help convert your visitors into sales:
Professional site design
Well-written web copy
Fast loading times
Simple navigation
No broken links
Optimizing for different screen resolutions
Optimizing for the main browsers
As you can see, improving search engine rankings that result
in sales means the continuous monitoring and refinement of
your web site. Since 85% of your sites traffic (this is very
targeted traffic) comes from the search engines, it is well
worth the investment.
**************************************************
Herman Drost is a Certified Web Site Designer, owner and author
of iSiteBuild.com Affordable Site Design, Hosting and Promotion
Packages http://www.isitebuild.com
Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for
more original articles. mailto:subscribe@isitebuild.com. Read
more of his in-depth articles at: www.isitebuild.com/articles
**************************************************
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