Having difficulty obtaining fair ranking
in Yahoo? Are you puzzled by why you can't find your site
through a search on AOL? Whether you're a newbie to
marketing online or a seasoned veteran, these questions
may perplex you. It may not be a lack of effort or
intellect but a simple and easily corrected error in your
marketing approach.
Proper SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) is not open to interpretation
as fine art is, rather it is a function of the proper
application of rules and features. Just as in the world of
Mathematics, if you do not follow the rules to achieve an
answer, the answer that you do get will be wrong.
Search Engine Marketing
leaves little to be subjectively analyzed. The correct
answers are available to you, if you seek them, so please
read on and I'll share with you the three crucial steps in
properly executing your next SEM or SEO campaign.
I. APPLYING OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES
The order in which optimization techniques are applied
can be a crucial step in determining how quickly and how
well your website obtains positioning. There is a logical
process to applying such techniques and the following
steps may prove beneficial for you:
-
Determine your Keywords
-
Incorporate Keywords into page titles
-
Apply Keywords to text
-
Apply pertinent supportive alt tags
-
Design supportive Meta Tags
The steps noted above are fairly universal, however, there
are additions, exemptions and modifications that need to
be considered when submitting to various engines. A good
way to ensure general compatibility is to target specific
pages to specific engines. While ultimately the content of
your site will determine its ranking, Inktomi, AltaVista
and Google do emphasize various criteria when indexing. By
understanding these factors and optimizing accordingly,
you can achieve great ranking on multiple search engines.
II. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
Here is a multiple-choice question to get you thinking.
To achieve a ranking in AOL which of the following should
you do?
a) Send your site to AOL for review
b) Wait for a spider to visit your website
c) Submit to Google
Most already know that the answer is letter c) Submit
to Google, since Google provides results to AOL. Though
AOL claims their results are "enhanced by Google", the
first 10 search results are virtually identical between
AOL and Google Searches in almost all instances.
For many people, submitting to Google solved their
previous ranking woes within AOL while for others with
poor Google placement it was bad news. For the most part,
inter-search relationships like the one between Google and
AOL have been a boon for most websites.
A number of great articles have been published on
inter-search relationships so I will not comment on these
relationships other than to recommend that you do some
research on your own and then always begin your
optimization process with the end in mind.
If your ultimate positioning goals include AOL, Iwon,
Netscape and Yahoo, make sure that you closely adhere to
Google's established optimization guidelines. Compliance
with Google rules will ensure that your website is 99%
compatible with Google's search partners.
III. SUBMIT
Last, but certainly not least, there is the submission
aspect of your SEO. Too often I have heard the frustration
and confusion of those who say "Steve, I've already
submitted to all of these major search engines and I'm
still not listed. How is it that you can do this
differently?" Clearly, the Order of Operations was not
considered in their approach. Those who use submission as
their first strategy have little or no success.
Submission prior to
Optimization is much like entering a motorcycle race with
a bicycle. With all due respect to web designers, most
fall short as the first choice for your Internet
Marketing. Naturally their main focus is to conceptualize
and produce a website that meets the needs of their
client. SEO and SEM typically base their work on websites
that have already been built. Your SEO provider should be
proactive by working as a liaison between your company and
your web design firm to ensure that their design does
properly incorporate all of the proper techniques. This
works in a similar fashion to the relationship between the
architect and the builder. Both have distinctly separate
tasks but work in unison to create a pleasing result.
If at First You Don't Succeed...
As the saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed,
try, try again." If you choose to venture into the world
of SEM or SEO on your own, allow time and do not give up.
Just exercise patience, make small changes and allow time
for these changes to populate through the databases. And,
if you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to hire
a professional. A professional can help you avoid many
pitfalls and common mistakes which are often inadvertent
yet potentially dangerous.
So what about links? How Popular is your
site?
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