Moe Tamani's Internet Marketing and SEO Blog, Articles and Search Engine Optimization Tips » SEO Tips

Getting One-Way Links: 2 Strategies to Avoid

Seomul Evans — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:45:55 +0000

Getting One-Way Links: 2 Strategies to Avoid

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

SEO experts know that the most important way to get to the top of the search engines, particularly Google, is to build high-quality, relevant links. While good links can get you noticed by Google, bad links can work against you and can even result in Google banning your site. So it’s important that you use legitimate, quality strategies for building your links. Here are two temptations to avoid in the process of link building.

•Link Farms

Links farms are websites containing tons of links. Their sole purpose is to get spiders to index pages, and they are of absolutely no use at all.

If you think you’ve come across a link farm, note whether it contains more links than a typical website. See if there’s an explanation of the site’s purpose. Link farm URLs are often very long and contain lots of hyphens. Of course, there are plenty of legitimate sites with URLs that have lots of hyphens, but make sure you research them thoroughly before adding a link. Also note if the extension is .info or .biz. Many link farms use these extensions.

Next, determine whether the potential link farm looks like other links farms, meaning that it looks like a generic template without any alterations or personalization. Does the website look like someone takes care of it and updates it frequently? Is there a way to contact the site owner via e-mail? Beware of any site that doesn’t provide contact information.

Last of all, are there more links crammed on the page than really makes sense?

A good rule of thumb is to avoid at all costs any site that gives the appearance of being a link farm. You’re better off missing a good link that linking to a link farm and risking adverse consequences for your search engine rankings.

•Irrelevant Links

Every site that you link to should have something to do with your product or service. Online business owners who link to pages that are not relevant to their own market niche do so to either increase page rank or to get a website indexed. Even if another site is a legitimate one, don’t link to it unless has something to do with your product or service. The same is true for asking another person to link to you. A link to your site from one that is completely unrelated to your field does no good either for you or for the person who is linking to you.

Thoroughly research any site to which you link or links to you. Make sure it’s relevant. Furthermore, if you choose to submit your site to directories, or if you’re submitting articles you’ve written to article directories, send your information to the most pertinent sections and topic headings.

Remember that you can be identified as a link spammer even if you had no intention of collecting links in a shady way. Listen to your gut as you’re trying to decide who to link to and who to ask to link to you. If you have any doubts, stay away. It’s hard work, but the only way you’re going to get high-quality, relevant links is to do lots of work.

Many online business owners choose to do the hard work of obtaining inbound links on their own. If you feel that you have the time and energy to do this without neglecting other crucial aspects of your business then you’ll find that it’s interesting and rewarding work. If you don’t have the time to put into collecting inbound links for your site, or if you’re just not interested in doing it yourself, you may want to consider contacting an internet marketing company or SEO expert. These professionals have years of experience getting good inbound links for their customers. They have more strategies than you can ever imagine, and they can get the job done for you at a reasonable price.

4 Keys to Link-Building for SEO

Seomul Evans — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:38:54 +0000

4 Keys to Link-Building for SEO

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Any SEO expert will tell you that there are a number of ways to build inbound links to your website, an activity known in the SEO world as “link-building.” Some are more effective and efficient than others, however. Here are four.

1.Article Marketing. Article marketing is not only a great SEO tool for getting inbound links, but it also serves other purposes as well. First, it helps you create great content for your website. Second, it helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field. But for the purpose of inbound links, article marketing is exceptionally effective. When you write an article and submit it to an article directory, you have the opportunity to fill out what is known as a “resource box.” Within the resource box is a place to enter your business website. And since the search engines reward inbound links from well-established, well-respected websites with higher results, you increase your ranking simply by submitting your article.

2.Social Media. Believe it or not, social media sites are a great resource for inbound links. If you are interested in using social media in this way, simply add the AddThis Bookmark to your website. It’s an easy way to notify your readers that you’d like them bookmark your content on the social media sites. This means that your readers are essentially building your inbound links on your behalf, and it doesn’t get much easier than that. Even if you’re not an avid user of social media sites, and you should be if you’re serious about SEO, this is a pretty painless social media tool that can net big results.

3.Google Alerts. Figure out which keywords you’re promoting in your SEO efforts and then sign up to get Google Alerts for each of those keywords. Every time a new page or site is created that has the keywords that you’re optimizing for, go to that page or site and leave a comment with a link back to your own page. The obvious caveat is that you should never do this unless you can appropriately contribute your voice to the conversation. If you act overeager, you’ll turn off the very people you’re hoping to attract. The whole point of using Google Alerts for building inbound links is that you want to find a way to become part of a larger community that’s talking about your product or service. The more you can naturally become part of that community by offering good advice and by listening to what others have to say, the more visitors you’ll attract to your own site. People will be intrigued by your offerings and will want to know more about you. And that’s good for business.

4.Press Releases. Press Releases certainly aren’t the cheapest way to get inbound links, but they certainly are effective. The advantage of press releases for SEO and link-building is that you can put your links in body of the release using keyword-rich anchor text. When other sites pick up your release, you’re automatically receiving inbound links from authoritative, relevant sources, and this is richly rewarded by the search engines.

Link-building is an invaluable SEO tool, and one with which you should familiarize yourself if you haven’t already. Search engines give higher rankings to website that contain both good content as well as inbound links from relevant sites. There are a number of ways to go about getting inbound links, but there are several that stand out as being particularly effective. Spend some time learning more about press releases, Google Alerts, social media, and article marketing, and learn what those activities can do to bolster your SEO efforts and drive more traffic to your site. An SEO expert or internet marketing professional can also help you in your link-building efforts, so don’t hesitate to take advantage of their expertise!

Search Engine Optimization and Keyword Research: 5 Steps to Get You Started

Seomul Evans — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:24:45 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and Keyword Research: 5 Steps to Get You Started

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization, but if you’re new to SEO then you may not even know where to start to figure out which words you should optimize your pages for. Here are 5 steps to get you started in keyword research.

1. Use the Right Tools. There are plenty of free keyword research tools available; so many, in fact, that you’ll likely not have to pay any money to do your research. Many search engine optimization experts and internet marketers use Google’s Adwords tool to research keywords. But don’t completely write off the option of paying some money for keyword research. An advanced tool that might actually cost money can give you really helpful information that a free tool can’t, such as how many other websites in your niche are optimizing for the same keywords you’ve chosen.

2. Specificity is Key. Let’s say that you sell unicycles in Modesto, CA. Instead of trying to rank for the word “unicycles,” use the word “unicycles” as well as your specific location. Remember that the search engines reward websites that provide the most relevant information possible, so if you have a potential customer in Modesto looking for unicycles, and if she uses those search terms, she’s more likely to find you if she can find you by product and by location.

3. Attainable Goals. If you’re just starting out or if your industry is competitive, avoid the temptation to try to rank for keywords that are popular with searchers and those for which everyone else is trying to rank. Rather, you should try to rank for less popular keywords and those that not everyone is trying to rank for. It may seem counterintuitive but it works if you keep at it long enough. Also remember that many users will misspell keywords so try to rank for common misspellings of your keywords too.

4. Use PPC to Test. Once you’ve chosen keywords, make a landing page optimized for those keywords and create a PPC campaign. This will tell you how many people came to your page and which search terms they used to get there. You can also find out how long they stayed on your page and if there were any conversions. This information can help you choose only the most effective keywords before you actually complete your total search engine optimization campaign.

5. Latent Semantic Indexing. Latent Semantic Indexing, or LSI, tools can help you find keywords related to the keywords you’d like to rank for. Search engines will see not only that your website is optimized for your chosen keywords, but that you also include terms and phrases that are related to your chosen keywords. This increases your website’s relevance in the eyes of the search engine and increases the likelihood of higher rankings and increased traffic to your website.

If you’re unsure about keyword research or feel like you need some professional help when it comes to this endeavor, consider finding a local search engine optimization expert to help you out. Not only can he or she guide your keyword research, but he or she can also point you to the best tools and help you become as specific as possible as you come up with your keywords. An SEO professional can help you test your keywords and help you use other analytics that will help your overall search engine optimization efforts. So if you’re new to SEO or just feel like you need some expert guidance, contact other businesses in your area for recommendations of local SEO experts or internet marketers. Their help can make a huge difference in the success of your business and you ultimately can’t afford to make a go of it without them.

Search Engine Optimization and Broken Links: Tools You Need to Know About

Seomul Evans — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:33:33 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and Broken Links: Tools You Need to Know About

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

One of the keys to search engine optimization is creating an effective website. An effective website is esthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. It should be intuitive so that visitors know where to find exactly what they want. And it should be compelling.

he information you provide about your product or service should persuade your visitors to purchase whatever it is that your selling, or to take whatever next step you wish, such as leaving an email address or signing up for a newsletter. One surefire way to ensure that visitors to your website will leave as quickly as they showed up is to have broken links on your site. Broken links are the equivalent of a house with a collapsed porch and weeds growing in front of the windows. Both make it appear as though no one cares about the place. And if your visitors perceive that you don’t care about your website, then they may conclude that you won’t really care about them either. Here are some tools to help you check for broken links on your website.

•Google Webmaster Tools: If you haven’t been taking advantage of Google Webmaster Tools then now is a great time to start. The dashboard allows you to determine if there were any errors experienced by the crawlers when you logged on. Not only can you tell if your redirects don’t resolve, but you can also get a listing of all of your site errors in an Excel spreadsheet. With that in hand you can get busy redirecting to the correct pages or fixing your code. Google Webmaster Tools also analyzes your content and tells you which pages are considered duplicate pages by the search engines.

•Link Sleuth by Xenu: All you have to do is download Link Sleuth, unzip it, and let it do its job. Link Sleuth will quickly check out your link structure and tell you what’s gone awry. This particular tool is quite helpful if you’ve begun using a content management system, which increases the likelihood that something has gone wrong with your links.

Broken links typically occur when you make large changes to the architecture of your website. While it may seem like a simple annoyance, the truth is that enough broken links can result in your website being deindexed or possibly penalized by the search engines. As a result, all the search engine optimization in the world won’t make a huge difference for your website if the search engines can’t get around it efficiently enough to index it.

If you’re new to search engine optimization or to creating a website, or if you’ve just made a substantial change to your site architecture, consider consulting with a search engine optimization professional who can help you identify all the places where things could—or have already—gone wrong. If you’re not comfortable using the tools listed above, or aren’t sure what to do once you have the information that they provide, a search engine optimization expert may also be useful. He or she can help you analyze the information provided by the tools and then determine your next steps. He or she can also take a look at your website as a whole and help you identify places where you can improve your navigation and suggest others ways to make it more user friendly. In short, anytime you make large-scale changes to your website, or build a website from scratch, it’s always a good idea to consult with an SEO professional to help you avoid any issues that could affect your business.

Search Engine Optimization and Content: Make it Available to Everyone

Seomul Evans — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:29:48 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and Content: Make it Available to Everyone

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

If you’re serious about your search engine optimization efforts then you should be writing content on a regular basis. Search engines place a premium on content that readers find helpful and informative because the primary aim of search engines is to point users to websites that are closely related to the keywords that they enter into the search engines. The more helpful your information is, the more readers find it valuable, and the more likely they are to use the search engine that pointed them to that information again. It would be great if all of your target audience just wanted to come to your website everyday to read your latest insights, but chances are that your readers prefer varied media. Here are 7 ways to leverage for content for a diverse audience.

1.Write Articles. Turn some of your content into articles to be submitted to article directories. When you submit your article, be sure to include all pertinent information in the resource box. This will tell readers how to find you. Not only will they know where to go for more information, but they will be compelled to go to your website because your articles have helped you establish yourself as an expert in your field.
2.Write a Newsletter. Use the very same articles you submitted to article directories by putting them in your newsletter. You might need to alter them slightly to ensure that they include the personal touch that your newsletter subscribers probably expect from you, but you can also use them without alterations if you wish.

3.Blog. Articles make great blog posts if you divide them up into smaller, more digestible pieces.

4.Podcasts. Take the same article written for the article directory and record yourself reading it. Then turn it into a podcast or video. Many of your readers will find your articles more accessible if they can listen to them at the gym or in the car. And others will be interested in seeing what you look like. iTunes is a great place to share podcasts and YouTube is a great place to share videos.

5.Write a Book. If you find that you’ve written several articles on the same subject, consider turning them into an ebook. Make each article a separate chapter and then write some transitional material to make it all flow better.

6.Create a Course. Instead of turning each article into a chapter of a book, turn each article into a lesson for a course. You may want to enhance your articles by including worksheets or other material, and you’ll probably again find yourself needing to include transitional material. Each lesson can be sent out to your subscribers in an email.

7.Create a Membership Site. You may have already created a membership site where visitors pay a fee in order to see your content. If so, simply include your articles in that content. If you don’t have a membership site you may want to consider creating one. It’s yet another way to increase traffic to your website. The more people value your content, the more likely they are to come back again and to tell their friends about you.

If you’re going to spend the time creating good content for search engine optimization, then you might as well get as much mileage out of it as possible. There’s no substitute for good content, after all, and if you aren’t already writing then you should start right away. Contact an internet marketing professional to guide you through the process of writing optimized content that both human visitors and search engines will value. If you’re unfamiliar with any of the other strategies mentioned above such as blogging or writing a newsletter, an internet marketer or search engine optimization professional may be helpful as well in getting you up to speed.

Search Engine Optimization and New Websites: 10 Things to Remember

Seomul Evans — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:18:02 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and New Websites: 10 Things to Remember

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Creating a new website can be exciting and fun. Just remember that it can also be challenging as it takes time for your search engine optimization efforts to get results. Here are ten things to remember as you promote your website.

1.Keywords. Make sure your keywords are in all the appropriate places on your website. This means that they’re included in your content and in your meta tags. Along with keywords, ensure that your site architecture is search engine friendly as well. If you don’t have a site map then add one right away and make sure search engines are blocked from indexing your site by Flash or by navigation that uses only images.

2.Press Releases. One great way to get the word out about your website is sending press releases. There are several aggregators to which you can send your release, one of which is PRWeb. Your press release should include a link to your website, and your target phrase should also be hyperlinked.

3.Submit to Search Engines. Search engines have evolved enormously since the days when submitting your website to a search engine made a difference in the amount of time it took a search engine to find your website. If it gives you some peace of mind then by all means submit your site to the search engine, but only do it once. What you should submit, however, is an XML sitemap. If you’re not sure how to create an XML sitemap, there are plenty of tools available online.

4.Submit to Directories. The key to submitting to directories is to ensure that you only submit to the most relevant categories. The idea behind submitting to a directory is that the search engines will give you credit for a backlink to your website, and the way to really add value to the backlink is to make sure it comes from a site that the search engine consider authoritative. DMOZ is still considered authoritative by many search engines.

5.Build Links. Backlinks are among the most valuable search engine optimization tools. Search engines view inbound links to your website as ‘votes’ for your site. The more votes you have, the more value the search engines assign to your website. There are multiple ways to building links to your site so do a little research and start building.

6.Market Your Articles. Article marketing is a great way to promote your business and get inbound links all at the same time. Article marketing allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your niche market and you get credit for an inbound link each time another person posts your article on his or her site.

7.Social Media. Social media is widely accepted as a great way to market online businesses even thought it is still very new as a marketing tool. Pick two or three popular social networking sites and create profiles. You could use Facebook to build a community of people interested in your product or service, or you could use YouTube to upload videos about what you have to offer. Not only do you get backlinks to your site from these profiles, but you also help get the word out about you and your business. Social media can seem daunting because it is more subjective than directory submission or keyword research, but it’s a great way to benefit from the online communities that are available.

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to promote your website, or if you need help creating an overall internet marketing strategy for your business, consult with an internet marketer or search engine optimization professional. They can help you promote your website and create a marketing plan that will get your name in front of your target audience, increase your search engine ranking, and drive traffic to your website.

Search Engine Optimization and Social Media: 5 Keys to Good Content

Seomul Evans — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:09:33 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and Social Media: 5 Keys to Good Content

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

A quality search engine optimization campaign these days must include social media. Social media is becoming more and more mainstream and is becoming a more and more popular place for individuals to get information as they make decisions about a variety of issues. So if you’re not using social media as a search engine optimization tool already, you should consider making it part of your SEO campaign as soon as possible. But before you jump right in, remember that you would never walk right up to a group of people you don’t know and just butt in to their conversation. Likewise, you would never join a social media site and start talking about your product or service to a group of people who have already built relationships with one another and have no idea who you are. So start slowly. Lurk for awhile and then introduce yourself. Add relevant and helpful comments that have nothing to do with your product or service. Once your community trusts you, it’s time to start adding some content. But what kind of content, you ask? Here are 5 keys to good content for social media sites.

1.Personal stories. Personal stories are great because they make you seem more human and therefore more trustworthy. And people are more likely to purchase a product or service from someone they know than from a complete stranger. Just make sure the storytelling you do is appropriate. Don’t share too much personal information that may make others feel uncomfortable, and don’t tell stores that are nothing more than bragging. Tell stories that are relevant, interesting, and useful.
2.Interviews. Interviews are great tools for social media sites. Interview an expert in your field, someone whose advice your community would value. If you’re new to your industry and don’t have anyone to interview, consider someone with whom you already have a relationship who could offer valuable information regardless of whether or not he or she is well-known. Good information is good information, no matter where it comes from.

3.Expert Advice. If you yourself have good information or tips to share, turn that into content. You’ve probably learned some good lessons or gleaned valuable wisdom during your years in business, so share what you’ve learned. Again, be careful when touting yourself as the expert. Your online community doesn’t want to hear about you incessantly, so make sure that you offer expert advice, not information that centers on you and your brilliance or success.

4.Controversy. If you have thick skin and don’t mind making waves, consider creating content that will get your community debating. This should never be personal, nor should you ever encourage personal attacks. The point is simply to bring up something potentially controversial, take a side, and invite the input of others regarding that topic. Controversy for the sake of controversy isn’t necessarily helpful, but good controversy can make everyone in the online community consider their positions and think critically about alternative ideas. And that strengthens each individual as well as the community as a whole.

Other keys to good content include giving your content an attention-grabbing headline, and then making sure your content delivers on whatever your headline has promise. Good images help break up the text and make your content more visually appealing to your visitors. And if you’ve taken the time to include good images, you give your community more reason to think that you’ve spent some time preparing your content instead of just throwing it together at the last minute. Give your content more credibility by quoting outside sources and citing your references.

If search engine optimization is important to you, be sure that you’re using social media sites to their fullest potential to increase your search engine ranking and drive traffic to your website.

Search Engine Optimization and Viral Content: 3 Ways to Make it Work for You

Seomul Evans — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:40:36 +0000

Search Engine Optimization and Viral Content: 3 Ways to Make it Work for You

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

The whole point of search engine optimization is to drive traffic to your website. One of the best ways to do this is to create viral content, content that is sure to make news and travel fast. The key to viral content is to make sure it doesn’t appear that you contrived it simply to drive traffic to your site. It must always be legitimate content that your visitors perceive to be helpful and informative. Here are 3 ways to make viral content work for you.

1.Simplicity. Viral content should be interesting to a wide variety of people, not just your niche. Make your writing simple to understand and avoid using any jargon. Overall, your content should attract a general audience.

2.Encourage Sharing. One great way to encourage your readers to share your content is to add social media site buttons to the bottom of the page. These make it simple for your readers to bookmark your content and thus share it with others quickly and easily. Another strategy is to use an email form that lets your readers email your content to other who would be interested. You can also use HTML code that allows your readers to embed your audio or video into their own websites.

3.Keep Up. Pop culture is a great topic for viral content. Make sure your content is timely so that people will read it. Yesterday’s news does not make for good content.

4.Request Contact Information. Anytime you use viral content, you should always request that your visitors opt in to something, whether it be a newsletter or a regular email update about your business. Even after your content is no loner fresh in their minds, you can still keep up with them and tell them what’s going on with your business if you have their email addresses. When you keep your name always before your potential customers, you increase the chances that they will think of you when it comes time to purchase a product or service that you offer.

5.Images. These are great for viral content because they appeal to large audiences regardless of language or location. People who are turned off by large amounts of content are typically lured to images because they’re simply interesting to look at for whatever reason.

This talk of viral content begs the question, then, about how to get your visitors to notice your products or services once they have found your website as a result of your viral content. One option is to feature your products in the sidebar. Another option is to include a link to another piece of content so that your visitors are compelling to remain on your website even longer The longer a visitor stays on your website, even if he was initially attracted by viral content, the more he will learn about you and what you have to offer. When that happens, the chances that he will purchase your products and services will increase, as will the likelihood that he will tell others about you too.

Internet marketers are great resources if you want to learn more about how to make viral content work for your business. They can tell you exactly how to use it, and how to convert customers who arrive at your website as a result of viral content. They can give you pointers on the best times to use it and how to use it most effectively. So consider the opportunities provided by viral content and see how it can enhance your overall search engine optimization strategy. You’ll be glad you did when you see your increased search engine ranking and the additional traffic being driven to your site.

SEO: 5 Tools for Analyzing Your Website

Seomul Evans — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:39:25 +0000

SEO: 5 Tools for Analyzing Your Website

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

You may have performed every SEO trick in the book, but if you’re website isn’t converting then all of your SEO efforts are for naught. Fortunately, there are some really great tools available that will help you analyze your website and make it perform for you. Here are five:

1.SEO Analyzer: This is a free tool that provides a lot of helpful information. All you have to do is enter your URL and wait a few seconds for the tool to give you all the information you need to improve your site’s optimization. And at the end you get an overall score on a 100-point scale. Not only this, but it gives you a report on every aspect of your website, including inline styles, obsolete HTML, and download time. There are certainly some more comprehensive tools available, but few are as good as this one for the money! It also uses different languages, making it helpful for businesses all over the world.

2.Website Grader: This is another free tool that works in much the same way as SEO Analyzer. It provides a great deal of detail in a short amount of time, although it takes a little longer than SEO Analyzer, and tells you all you need to know about optimizing your site, making your SEO efforts easier and less time-consuming. In addition to the information provided by SEO Analyzer, this tool tells you how many del.ici.ous bookmarks you have, as well as grading both on-site and off-site SEO. In the end you get a badge to post on your website that will tell your visitors what grade you were awarded.

3.AWStats: This is more of a log analyzer than an analytics tool, but it still provides valuable information…and it’s free. Like SEO Analyzer, it is available in multiple languages. It’s primarily helpful if you’re wondering who’s visiting, what search engines your visitors use, and when your visitors are showing up to your site.

4.Crazy Egg: There are three different versions of Crazy Egg to choose from. The standard version costs nothing, while the other two do cost a little bit. Crazy Egg allows you to see what visitors do when they get to your site. It even has a heatmap to show you the exact mouse movements made by your visitors. The heatmap helps you see exactly where on your site your visitors make the most movements. This sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite simple and easy to use.

5.Mint: Mint is the only tool listed here that isn’t free, but $30 is money that you’ll recoup in increased traffic once you take advantage of the invaluable information that Mint can provide. Mint gives you great information like unique referrers, popular pages, and number of visits. Compared to the free tools available, $30 might seem a little steep, but the information provided by Mint is exceptionally helpful.

While analytic tools can potentially be very helpful, some business owners don’t feel that they understand enough about the tools to make the most of the information they have to offer. If you find yourself feeling this way, don’t hesitate to contact an SEO expert or internet marketing professional. These folks have a solid understanding of analytical tools and how to use them. They can tell you which tools will be most helpful for you, and they can help you make changes to your website based on the information provided by the tools. So don’t hesitate to get professional help. You simply can’t afford to maintain an under-performing website, especially when your competitors are doing everything they can to get traffic to their sites using the most innovative, cutting-edge tools available.

Search Engine Optimization: 4 Keys to Convincing Visitors That You’re “The One”

Seomul Evans — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:38:02 +0000

Search Engine Optimization: 4 Keys to Convincing Visitors That You’re “The One”

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

Article marketing is a key component of search engine optimization and one that business owners ignore to their detriment. Article marketing is important because it can result in multiple backlinks to your website, which increases your search engine ranking, and because it helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field and therefore someone that your potential customers will want to do business with. Newcomers to the concept of article marketing may find the prospect intimidating, however, and there are several reasons why. The first is that they may not know what to write about. The second is that they simply might not understand how critical article marketing can be to the success of their search engine optimization efforts. If you’re not sure what to write about or how to optimize the effectiveness of your articles, here are 3 tips to get you started.

1.Educate. If you’re already doing business selling a product or service, then there’s no doubt that you’re an expert in the field. One of the most valuable and helpful things that experts can do is to educate other people who want to know more. Write articles about topics related to your product or service, and make sure those articles pass along ample amounts of the knowledge that you’ve gained over the years of learning about and marketing your own product. “How to” articles are a great way to get started. Not only do they allow you to pass on valuable information, but they lend themselves toward formatting with bullets or numbers. This kind of formatting is optimal because it breaks your information into manageable bits that your readers can digest easily and quickly. They also help you establish your expertise in your field. The more readers feel they can trust your information, the more likely they are to purchase your products or services.

2.Utilize the resource box. Each time you submit an article you have the opportunity to complete a resource box that appears below your article. The resource box allows you to enter information about you and your company, as well as a link back to your website. This link is a powerful tool. Not only will search engines give you credit for that particular link, but you’ll get credit for links from every other site that posts your article as well. Make sure your resource box includes your name, a short biography, a compelling reason for your reader to visit your website, and your website address.

3.Consistency. The key to article marketing is consistency. You can’t make the most of article marketing simply by posting one article and then forgetting about it altogether. Create a plan to create and submit articles on a regular basis. Chances are that your efforts won’t pay off for up to four to 5 months, but if you are consistent you will eventually see the results. Search engines give credit for backlinks every few months, so even though you may be accumulating a number of backlinks to your website, the search engines may not be giving you credit for them. But when you do get credit for them, you’ll see a big difference in your ranking. Submitting a few articles won’t make a big difference, but submitting a few articles every few weeks may make the difference you’ve been looking for. Remember that slow and steady wins the race. Don’t give up just because you don’t get a big payoff right away.

Article marketing is a great search engine optimization tool, but only if you stick with it, use articles to establish your expertise and authority in your field, and utilize all the aspects of article directories to their fullest potential. So don’t wait any longer to make article marketing part of your SEO strategy.