Submitawebsite SEO Blog

Google's New Rate Up / Rate Down - Personalized Search

2008-07-23T11:44:00.008-07:00

I was looking into one of my Personalized Search accounts today and saw a fascinating new release from Google, which features "editable search results pages." Notably this tool allows you to manually increase and decrease website rankings at the keyword-level. They also let view everyone's edits. You can add comments, remove listings entirely, etc.

Check out this video for more of what I saw.

The 2 "How To" Top 10 Lists for Optimizing Pictures and Videos

2008-06-02T10:45:00.004-07:00

As the iconic Dorothy Gale once said, “Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” The days of SERPs (search engine results pages) filled with web pages discussing your query’s topic are over. Google, along with a bevy of web 2.0 sites, are serving up a smorgasbord of information. Universal search is ushering in results that include videos, images, news, maps, books and websites. Social networking sites, such as Flikr and Facebook, are making it easier to share photos. You Tube has sky rocketed online videos to another level. If your site offers up visuals, then you need to optimize them. Who wants to miss out on the opportunity to rank more and drive additional traffic? To get you started, we have assembled 2 “How To” top 10 lists to help you capitalize on your website’s pictures and videos.

Optimizing for Image Search

1. Give the file a name that clearly represents what the image is. This will help communicate what keywords you are optimizing for with the search engines. Ex. Your picture is of a vacation home on the beach. Name it “vacation beach house.” This is a much better option than a filename like IMG 12345.
2. For the image description tag you will want to use a long description. In the world of SEO, it may be referred to as a “long-tail keyword.” Ex. “3 bedroom vacation beach house in New York.”
3. When you “tag” the photo, make sure your tags/keywords match exactly what the product is or image is representing.
4. Apply short descriptions to ALT tags. Ex. “beach house at Jones Beach.”
5. Save your photos as JPG files.
6. Try making the image path as uncomplicated and short as possible. An example of a good path would be www.examplesite.com/vacation-house. An example of a bad path would be www.examplesite.com/pictures/houses/vacation-house.
7. Be sure the file folder that stores your images is not blocked by the robots.txt file.
8. Page content surrounding the image is a must!
9. Do not add “click to see larger image” within the JavaScript link. This limits what the search engines can access and is a common mistake.
10. Experiment by re-uploading the picture. Image freshness is a clue for the search engines and may affect relevancy.

Use a photo sharing site to get your photos out there and exposed. Want to share your pics? Check out these social media sites that are for photo sharing:

· Flickr
· MySpace
· Facebook
· Webshots
· Fotki

Optimizing for Video

1. Think of the terms users are likely to be searching for.
2. Surround the video with on-page relevant text. Be sure the video and the content on the page go hand in hand.
3. For videos directly on your site, be sure you put them right off of your root folder.
4. Add a video search on your site.
5. Create a video sitemap. You can create a video sitemap here.
6. Be sure to use keywords when “tagging” the video.
7. Use SEO best practices; use keywords in the title for the video and in the filename for the video.
8. Evaluate other pages on your website where content may be relevant to your video. Create a hyperlink from that page to the page where the video is.
9. Create brand awareness and visibility by embedding and imprinting your brand logo into the video.
10. Be sure to have a social book marking tool on the page the video is placed on. This will help facilitate the distribution of the video.

A few other pieces of information to consider:

· Search engines will block videos that load via a popup.
· If applicable, create “how-to” videos. Submit these videos to social media video sites. These types of informative videos are perfect for viral distribution and can be a great luring tactic that will drive traffic into your site.
· Create an informative and entertaining video experience that will leave your users craving more.

Want to get your videos out there? Here is a list of popular video sharing sites for you to distribute your videos to:

· YouTube
· Yahoo! Video
· Liveleak
· Google Video
· Vimeo

There you have it! Nothing can replace fundamental SEO strategies, but applying these best practices to your images and videos will give you an extra boost. Go ahead, guide traffic down the “yellow brick road” (paved with optimization) to your website.

Tracking Ranking Progress for Huge Websites

2008-05-13T12:49:00.009-07:00

Measuring rankings and traffic for large websites can be a daunting task. Ecommerce and content management-based sites can have hundreds of thousands to millions of pages, products and keywords. Understanding the behaviors of search engines and how to sample and measure search engine data will lay the groundwork for effective rankings management and tracking.

Determining Rankings and Base-lining Analytics

A large ecommerce site can easily be targeting thousands to millions of keyword phrases. However, it is not realistically possible to run a ranking report with this many keywords. Search engines will not allow it and the report would be indecipherable. To make tracking progress across this many terms manageable, it is necessary to establish a structured process incorporating rankings, trends and reporting.

Step 1: Setting up ranking categories

The primary goal here is to determine your keyword rankings and their baseline information as well as your search engine traffic and its baseline information. The first step of this process is to set up ranking categories or levels. Whether you have an ecommerce site or a content management system, there are generally levels of pages on your website. We will use Amazon.com as an example. An ecommerce site like Amazon.com typically has four levels:

Level 1: The home page
Level 2: Category pages
Level 3: Subcategory pages
Level 4: Product pages

Get The Full Story
To get the full story make sure to pick up the most recent issue of "Search Marketing Standard."

This post was edited to comply with Terms of Service of Search Marketing Standard.

Google Wants You to Optimize!

2008-04-21T09:17:00.001-07:00

Google wants more relevant, search engine friendly content on websites, Udi Manber VP of Search Quality for Google clearly stated last week.

Glenn Derene of Popular Mechanics posed this question, “Do you find that the content on the Web is evolving to be more search-engine friendly?”

This was Manber’s answer, “It’s hard to say. It’s definitely still lacking. I wish people would put more effort into thinking about how other people will find them and putting the right keywords onto their pages.”

The benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are lauded in this statement. Properly selected keyword phrases, well-written content and web pages focused on specific topics assist the dominant search engine in indexing websites and providing salient SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Google recognizes they need SEOs like politicians need journalists. Optimized websites ensure Google is serving up relevant, quality results. Their reputation is based on the information they provide and SEOs help website’s define their message, products and services.

This statement may be one small step for Google and one giant leap for SEO-kind. It validates the need for websites to optimize. The admission also demonstrates the search engine is aware of the product they need to provide in order to remain relevant themselves. SEOs make Google look good.

Top 10 2007 SEO Changes as Published by Visibility Magazine

2008-02-21T09:47:00.001-07:00

Originally Authored by Joe Griffin

2007 has drawn to a close and so the time has come to take a look back at the seminal moments in the SEO industry. These are my thoughts on the developments I feel most impacted our business and our clients rankings.

# 10: Wikipedia and Yellow Page Directories Infiltrate the Natural SERP’s

Yellow Page directories like Magic Yellow, City Search and Super Pages have dominated natural search results for years. These directories possessed the majority of the highly coveted, top ten natural search results for many local professional and trade service key words in 2007 (example: “Washington DC plumber”). This relegated local businesses to lower SERP’s when they would typically enjoy higher rankings. It drastically affected websites and businesses across the country.

Wikipedia also had a significant impact. It is now a major industry player after maintaining a strong presence for the past few years. Currently, Wikipedia is the best ranking website on the Internet. It continues to not only preserve, but accrue number one positions for extremely competitive keywords.

#9: Matt Cutts’ Communication

Google’s Matt Cutts has become increasingly vocal over the years. He maintains a popular blog, participates at most major conferences and has begun posting videos on YouTube (find them on YouTube or Google video). He addresses hot button issues such as paid linking, alt tags and on page SEO. His engagement validates SEO and allows the industry to hear from the horse’s mouth.

#8: Google Backlinks Displayed in Webmaster Tools

For as long as I can remember, Google has displayed a partial snapshot of a website’s full backlink portfolio. This applies to every website on the Internet. Several months ago Google allowed unfettered access to backlinks in the Google Webmaster Tools. Anyone possessing these tools can see every backlink Google gives them credit for. This is a boon for SEO and is still underutilized within the industry.

#7: Google - DoubleClick Merger

The FTC has given Google the green light to buy Double Click. DoubleClick is arguably the largest ad serving company in the world. It also owns Preformics, a full service SEM/SEO company. Translation? Google has officially purchased an SEO company. This merger has significant implications for the industry down the road. Even though the jury is still out regarding the precise consequences, I consider it a banner move worthy of ranking in the 2007 Top 10.

#6: Google and Yahoo! Filters Get Public

Search engines have instituted spam protection since 1995. This protection became increasingly sophisticated around the late nineties and into early 2000. Filters represent one aspect of this progression and they are more public in 2007 than ever before. For example, Yahoo! will assess 50,100 and 500 point penalties. Google will assess everything from 5 or 6 point penalties to 20, 30 or 100 point penalties. There is also the famous 950 filter, a 950 point penalty. The visibility of these filters, what they mean and how to avoid them are popular topics for discussion amongst industry insiders.

#5: SMO not Always Great for SEO (except when you’re in the SEO business)

A year or two ago social media’s popularity was rapidly building. It reached its pinnacle in 2007 when the industry latched onto the medium, and its marketing potential, with strategies like link bait. As tempting as it is, not every business will benefit from these endeavors. Speaking on behalf of an agency that manages over 250 customers, in various industries, we have found that Social Media Marketing definitely has its place. Many businesses do not fit the mold and that puts a kink in the link bait idea. Link bait applies to less than 50% of businesses and potentially less than 25%. Major social sites (including Wikipedia, MySpace, Facebook, del.icio.us and Digg ) have assigned the “no-follow” to all outbound links. The “no-follow” is an attribute on hyperlinks ensuring links get no credit when search engines rank websites in their search results. It is essentially a non-vote so spammers will not take advantage of public areas. In essence, these social networks do not pass link juice. It is critical to note the lack of impact these popular sites have on most marketing efforts. That said, in many circumstances these networks can be used to positively impact search results, but only through third party notice originating from these networks, but not directly from the networks.

#4: Paid Directories get Squashed

Paid directories have always been an ace in the hole for SEOs as they are a useful resource for acquiring paid links. We maintained a list of approximately 110 paid directories we considered valuable. Google recently took action and filtered around 50 paid directories leaving only 60 valid options available. This is a significant percentage and eliminated 50 guaranteed links. It affected rankings and strategies across the industry for individual search engine optimizers and companies alike.

#3: BlogReviews Hits it Big in 2007

Blogging has been popular for several years, but 2007 was its banner year. Blogging as well as paid reviews (what we call BlogReviews) took off and are strong contenders for relevant link acquisition. The industry embraced this trend. Consequently, it meaningfully impacted rankings.

#2: Universal Search Jumps into the Scene

This year Google rolled out universal search. The service includes Google Local, Google Maps, Google Video, Google News plus more. Google has conducted extensive experiments with the application as well as the industry. They tested the click through rates for video, local etc. by positioning them in different locations in the SERP’s i.e. top, middle, bottom. They even tried displaying 3 local results and 7 natural results. Thankfully, they are back to 3 local results and 10 natural results. All SEO companies have had to address universal search and assess the entire search mix. This includes video and news which also entail press releases. Universal search’s impact and implications rank it number 2 in the Top 10.

#1: Text Link Advertising gets Dinged

Google takes a fierce stance against text link advertising. Many major Google webmaster blogs discuss this subject and naturally Matt Cutts is the main spokesperson. Google has trained a magnifying glass on paid links. They are manually filtering out websites and will pass penalties to sites that buy links, when it is done in a non-favorable way. If sites buy too many links, use too much of the same anchor text, buy on non-relevant sites or buy on sites that are known links sellers, they are in the danger zone. In essence, links must be purchased with the utmost care and consideration. That being said, text link advertising is still a healthy industry, but the model has entirely changed in 2007. Information on this issue saturates the Internet and the industry has yet to see its ultimate effect.

This wraps up the Top 10 SEO changes in 2007. The industry has its gaze fixed on the horizon and the dawning of a new year filled with an array of possibilities, advances and modifications.

Keyword Generation and Research

2008-02-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Keyword Research Theory

Keyword research serves as the foundation for any SEO campaign. The Keywords and keyword phrases found in that research are used to target highly specific visitors who will be interested in your website. If the research is conducted incorrectly, or does not have the global objective in mind, the outcome of the SEO campaign can be affected negatively due to poorly qualified traffic that is not interested in what the site has to offer.

What Are Keywords?

Generally speaking, a keyword is any term or phrase that can be associated with your website. However, there are often terms that relate to your website but may not be valuable because the user searching for such a keyword does not find your site of value to him or her.

For example, a custom motorcycle builder has a website that advertises “Custom Choppers”, an obvious keyword such as “choppers” would not be as highly valued as a more specific keyword phrase. The term “choppers” can be associated with many sectors other than motorcycles. For instance, a website about helicopters, wood chippers, salad choppers, etc. can also be associated with that term.

This idea introduces the long-tail and short-tail theories of keyword research.

Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail

A short-tail keyword is a term that gives a broad and general sense of what the website is about but is also loosely related. In the example above, “motorcycles” or “choppers” would be considered a short-tail keyword. These two keywords can have hundreds of uses that don’t always relate to the targeted audience.

A long-tail keyword is a term that gives a specific description of what will be found on the website and is directly related to the sites content. Using the same example, “handmade custom V-twin choppers” would be a long-tail keyword. This term is very specific as to what the site is oriented towards and therefore when the “Custom Choppers” website is returned as a search engine result to the user, the subject matter is more likely to be of interest to them.

Now that we know the different types of keywords, how do we know what combinations of either are most valued?

Researching & Selecting Keywords

Submitawebsite uses a number of online tools in generating and selecting valuable keywords. With keyword generating programs we are able to scour the Google database for the most searched and relevant keywords to any given industry. The data returned by the keyword program displays several valuable metrics used in deciding what keywords will send qualified traffic to the website.

The two most important metrics used in the selection of keywords are search volume and advertiser competition.

Search volume relates to the number of searches that a given keyword receives on average. A higher search volume indicates that the term is popular amongst search engine users and is therefore a valuable term. However, in selecting terms with high search volume, the logic of relevance must be used to sort out ambiguous keywords such as the aforementioned “choppers”.

Advertiser competition relates to the popularity of a term in the paid search category. A keyword that returns a high advertiser competition indicates that this keyword is heavily bid upon in the paid search network. By this we can deduct that this keyword is a valuable and tested term by competitors that returns quality traffic interested in the sites content.

Conclusion

Keyword research and generation is a process in which search engine trends and user tendencies are observed to capture the largest audience. However, a large audience is not valuable unless they are interested in what the website has to offer. In conjunction with Submitawebsite’s years of top SEO experience, we use a process of reason and logic to ensure the selection of relevant and valuable keywords for your SEO campaign.

SEO Marketing and Advertising: Quips from a Convert

2008-02-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am new to SEO.

I hail from the brick and mortar homebuilding industry where “brick and mortar” not only applied to the business, but to its advertising. 25k newspaper ads were a regular occurrence and chopping down a forest to send flyers was the status quo.

After two years in this economically foundational industry, I left with a solid understanding of off-line advertising and marketing.

Enter Submitawebsite.

I am two months in and the experience has been illuminating. While I knew about pay-per-click campaigns, organic rankings and analytics, my comprehension was rudimentary at best. I was used to making investments in one-time ad placements and short-lived marketing campaigns, not investing in evolving strategies.

Now don’t get me wrong…

Off-line marketing and advertising is important, but without the support of online tactics it is as useless as “trying to pick a lock with a wet herring*” (*reference Shakespeare in Love).

Think “peas and carrots,” “peanut butter and jelly”, “rum and coke….” I think you catch my drift.

I was inspired by a blog post written by SEOmoz’s Jane Copland (click here for more). Copland discusses an entertaining ad she saw on a city bus. When she reached her office she could not remember the url and instead searched for the ad content on the web. Her efforts were in vain. There was no marriage between off-line and online marketing. Therefore, she found no results until she rode the bus again and memorized the url.

This allegory relates an important truth. People tend to search online for products or services they see advertised in more traditional arenas i.e. television, print or billboard. The key to these offline mediums lies in their online application. There is no doubt a business will see the effects in their bottom line if a person reaches a dead-end when searching for their merchandise on the web. I concede there are exceptions to the rules, but keeping your offline ad’s keywords and phrases prominent on your website is a must.

It is also essential to consider price. I am not saying SEO is not expensive, but if you are going to spend 25k on one-time ad placement why would you hesitate to invest 25k in an SEO strategy? Similarly, if you are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a product launch or grand opening, why not include SEO in that budget?

I hate to say it “brick and mortar” advertisers; there is a new reality. I used to be one of you, but I have been converted. Harness the Internet’s untapped potential (or at least tug at it). Don’t tack-on online strategies as an after thought. Incorporate them from the beginning. Let them feed and nurture your glossy magazine ads, entertaining bus wraps and witty commercials. I promise you will sleep better and enjoy your work more as you see the traffic and conversions start rolling in.

Search Engine Penalties and Filters - 2008 Guide

2008-01-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

There are two words that are guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of any website proprietor: penalties and filters. They damage rankings and ultimately may result in banishment from the search engines. However, before panic sets in, let us guide you through the basics of penalties and filters.

A penalty is caused by significant violations of a search engine's website guidelines, such as:

Cloaking (showing one version of a site to search engines and another version to human visitors).
Hidden text (text not easily read by search engines that can be used to inflate a website’s keywords).
Linking out to "bad neighborhoods" (i.e. Pills, Porn or Casinos).
Consistent and abusive negative link building.

Penalties can be issued after a person reviews a website or after it has been crawled and processed by search engines. They result in a website being heavily held back in the rankings, or removed from the search engine's index entirely. A penalty is called a ban when a website is completely removed from a search engine.

To remove a penalty, a site needs to first correct the problem that caused it, then contact the search engine and request a reinclusion. It is important to note penalties are not common for business websites, particularly in Google.

In Google, this is done through a Webmaster Tools account, which can be set up for free.
MSN has just created a Webmaster Tools system like Google's.
Yahoo does not have a defined reinclusion process.
A filter is caused by passing a search engine's threshold setting for one or more optimization/link building elements, such as:

Too many keyword mentions on a page's body content (over-optimization).
Too much keyword blurring between a site's pages.
Too many links with the same anchor text.
Too much keyword-rich internal linking (can cause 950 filter).
Too much link building in a short period of time.
Too much link building using the same anchor text.
Link building in bad neighborhoods.

Filters are common. They are issued automatically after the site is crawled and processed by search engines and result in a site being held back in the rankings.

Filters can be keyword-based or site-based.
Filters can be mild (held back a few positions) or heavy (held back hundreds of positions).
Filters can have a time element (like the normal Google Sandbox process, where a site is initially held back many positions and over time gets held back less and less until eventually it ranks near its allinanchor rankings).

In general, to remove a filter a site needs to first correct the problem that caused it, then wait for the search engine (s) to crawl the site again and find the corrections. The next time the search engine updates its rankings with the corrected data, the filter will be lifted automatically.

In some cases, like the Google Sandbox, you can simply outwait a filter. Websites commonly spend anywhere between a few months and a year or so in the Google Sandbox. The time websites spend in the Sandbox has significantly decreased over the last few years.
In some cases, you can remove a filter on a site by doing things that search engines like (such as getting quality links to the site from other respected websites in the same sector) to outweigh the things about the site or optimization they don't like.

Filters are common, especially in Google.

The Google Sandbox is technically a filter. Google closely examines new websites for over-optimization to try and minimize spammy websites filling its SERPS. As a result, newer websites often trip filters when they start an optimization campaign using traditional SEO (lots of keywords on the page, keyword-heavy titles and description, keyword heavy anchor text in incoming links). This pattern of new websites getting filtered and eventually getting released from the filter is called the Google Sandbox. Websites can speed up their release date from the Sandbox by getting quality internal links and not going overboard with on-site optimization.
New websites are not the only targets. Older websites can trip filters when they go overboard with over-optimization

Being aware of how search engines assess penalties and filters is essential to avoiding them. Do not try to cheat the system, over-optimize or trick search engines. They are savvy to these tactics and punish those who attempt to take advantage of them. What may help in the short term will only end up hurting in the long term.

Being competitive in the SERP’s is important, and sitting idly is not a good strategy. If you must build links or optimize your website try to stick to the guidelines and use common sense.

Submitawebsite Launches SEOJumpstart

2008-01-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

I chat daily with people visiting our website. Whether they currently have a Search Engine Optimization strategy or want to begin one, the first question is always the same: Cost.

Cost is at the forefront of many decisions we make in life from the groceries we buy for our dinner to the advertisements we buy to drive traffic. So it is no surprise that the innovators at Submitawebsite put themselves in your shoes. We came up with a streamlined program designed to guide you through the crucial, fundamental steps of SEO at a price that fits your budget.

Foundation and structure are essential. One supports while the other gives shape. If you think of building your search strategy like building a house, than SEOJumpstart is your concrete slab and frame. It lays the groundwork for your On-Page and Off-Page link building efforts. It also assembles your framework by building and optimizing your website’s content. Keywords, links, directory registration, BlogReviews and Press Releases are the building materials.

If you are launching your SEO efforts, SEOJumpstart is a blueprint containing key building blocks. If you have invested in SEO before, but have been unsuccessful, SEOJumpstart will rebuild your strategy with fundamental optimization activities.

So, if you haven’t guessed it by now, I used to work in the homebuilding industry. That may seem like a far cry from internet marketing, but building SEO is no different. Every project needs to be rooted by substance or else it is doomed to come crashing down. Submitawebsite has bundled the substance you need for successful SEO in an affordable package. And it starts at $1,500- flat.

Analytics 101 - Interpreting Rankings

2008-01-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ranking #1 on Google may seem like the proverbial Holy Grail, but it is only half the battle. Stellar rankings are irrelevant if they do not provide ROI. The goal is to interpret what keywords not only rank well, but drive quality traffic. This can only be accomplished by applying analytics to your rankings data.

Now we understand the word "analytics" can conjure up visions of pie charts, statistical labyrinths and dizzying mathematical patterns--but have no fear. We are here to supply a crash course in interpreting analytics.

First of all, there are a variety of analytics programs available that provide similar, or almost identical data sets (Google Analytics is a popular choice). The most notable differentiation being the amount of time spent to make the programs’ buttons and chart colors more eye popping than the next guy. These tools, in combination with tracking keyword ranking improvements, provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of hours and hours of hard work.

Essentially, there are 3 levels of analysis. Each level provides more detailed information. The goal is to identify which keywords are money makers and which keywords are all bark and no bite. For example, there may be a term that has mediocre rankings, but converts more traffic while a high performing term drives traffic to the site and falls short on conversion. If a keyword ranks on the first page of search engines, but does not lead to converted traffic, optimization efforts might be better spent elsewhere.

Level 1:
Begin the process by identifying well-ranking terms and cross-reference them with your analytics data. The analytics tool will show valuable information about these keywords such as average time on the site, percentage of new visitors, number of pages visited and bounce rate. See below for definitions:
Visits= the number of visitors a keyword has driven to the website
Pages per Visit= the number of pages viewed during each visit
Average Time on Site= the minutes a visitor spends navigating the website
Percentage of new Visits= the percent of visitors viewing the site for the first time
Bounce Rate= the percentage of visitors that leave the site from the landing page they
arrived on without visiting other pages.

Level 2:
The next step is determining whether these keywords are sending quality traffic by cross referencing them with the analytics. This will identify the behavior associated with them. Positive feedback will likely show the keyword averages two or more pages viewed per visit and a 50% or less Bounce Rate.

This research shows what keywords result in quality traffic i.e. traffic that is likely to purchase or fulfill whatever task it is that you are trying to achieve. It may also highlight keywords that perform well in spite of poor rankings in the SERPs. When keywords like this are discovered it presents the opportunity for refining optimization. When it is revealed big first page terms are not converting a site’s traffic (because they have bounce rates that look like the 2007 New England Patriots win percentage) pull some resources (i.e. links) away from them and place the emphasis on the 2nd and 3rd page terms that send just as much conversion traffic with only a fraction of the visitors.

Level 3:
The highest level of analysis is accomplished with Goal/Conversion Tracking. The process isolates the keywords that result in completed transactions. For example, most websites have forms that need to be completed and submitted to either complete a purchase or receive information (websites with shopping carts or request a quote functions are good examples). After a form is completed, a "Thank you for…." page pops up. Keywords that lead to "Thank you for….." pages denote a purchase or submission. Focus search engine optimization efforts on these keywords to further increase profits.

There are other helpful areas above and beyond the three basic levels. These include Funnels and the Overview or Dashboard view of the website’s traffic.

Funnels:
This strategy is used with Goal/Conversion Tracking and focuses on the pages within a website’s submission structure. Let’s say a registration or purchase form has five pages. Sometimes visitors will abandon the form in the midst of completion. Usually there is a pattern. Tracking can be set up to include all pages before conversion so the point of abandonment can be determined. This insightful information can be used to filter out any offensive, personal or invasive questions to encourage the completion of the purchase or submission.

Overview or Dashboard view of the website’s traffic:
This timeline highlights spikes in traffic and determines popular seasons. These seasons often present good opportunities for focused SEO efforts. If a business sells winter boots it will likely see a significant spike in traffic in the month December. Therefore, December would be a good target for increased marketing campaigns.

In a nut shell, converting traffic to profit means successful investment in search engine optimization. Traffic comes from the keywords associated with the product or website. Analytics highlight the patterns and relationships between keywords and buying behavior. Take rankings one step further and turn those first page placements into first rate ROI.

Elfed Up SEO Gurus Go Caroling

2007-12-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

Spread a little holiday cheer with your favorite SEO Masterminds.

Aaron Wall, Joe Griffin, Matt Cutts and Neil Patel:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1671884698

Brett Tabke, Rand Fishkin, Jim Boykin, and Danny Sullivan:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1670476736

Jim Boykin (again), Jeremy Shoemaker, Barry Schwartz, amd Michael Gray :
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1670750601

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
The Submitawebsite Team

Link Growth: The Sleeping Giant

2007-12-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

There's an old saying out there that "content is king", and I agree that good content is the primary foundation for every website. Everyone who's in the know understands that link popularity is far and away the primary driver of top search engine rankings.

After all, link popularity acts much like a "search engine credit score." When you first start out, you can have the best looking website in the world, with incredible content and an amazing business model, but until you've established some trust, tenure, and responsibility, you simply won't get any "credit" with the search engines. You've probably also heard about the very cliche "Google Sandbox." Google representatives themselves have admitted the synergies behind the Google Sandbox theory, and the actual algorithmic logic that runs the Google search results.

The Google Sandbox however isn't necessarily something that Google is intentionally inflicting upon new websites (Yahoo! has a similar policy). Understanding that Google and Yahoo! live and die on the relevancy of their search results, we must conclude that serving up websites with no established credibility, no tenure online, and zero trust would be a really bad idea.

So, I guess the question really becomes, "What is the best way to establish credibility with Google, Yahoo!, and MSN, and how can this be done in the fastest way possible?"

The answer to this question is simple and complex all at the same time. Essentially, building new inbound links to your website establishes credibility. The problem is that building these links properly needs to be addressed early on -- having a strong game plan is crucial for obtaining optimal results.

The three components of link building are:

Link Quality
Link Growth
Link Volume

The industry has adopted link quality and link volume as the primary ingredients for link building juice. The only problem is that link growth is still rarely addressed, and long term link growth strategies are scarcely mentioned in tight SEO circles, even among the most experienced.

Well, what do we know about link growth? Let's recap:

Link growth is not a new concept.

In May 2005, Google made public the contents of their United States Patent Application. Just search "May 2005 google patent" in Google to read up. Basically, this patent paints a picture that Google may be looking at a lot more than meets the eye. The patent discusses how they may be recording the date on which new inbound links are gained, the frequency with which new links are gained, the total number of days new links are maintained, and much more.
Link growth can act as a "sandbox" expeditor.

As previously mentioned, link growth is kind of like a natural credibility builder. Imagine link popularity like a high school popularity contest. If you can create new friends every single day, than you can exponentially better your reputation in a very short period of time.
Link growth is more powerful than fresh content.

People always talk about fresh content. Fresh content!?! Forget fresh content! A monkey can update an HTML page. Fresh content is great, but at the end of the day it plays a small role in the rankings process. Link growth cannibalized fresh content a long time ago. To be safe you should employ both strategies, but if you've got time on your hands invest it into getting new links first and foremost - assuming you've got at least decent content!
Link growth types matter.

There are a number of different classifications of link types. Links from bloggers can be classified as "social media links," while links from newspapers and online publications can be classified as "news links and article links." Links from top industry websites can be classified as "authority vertical links." Each link type is important, and each link type should be expanded upon all the time.
Link growth consistency - the primary driver of rankings in the future?

Link growth consistency is one of the tell-tail signs of top performing sites. Why do Amazon, Google, and eBay all have millions of backlinks? They built them feverishly day in and day out naturally over many years. This link growth consistency will forever mark them as the titans within their respective categories. Every category on the Internet is different, and making sure that you are building the best links all the time is the secret sauce to Search. Start now, as this will continue to be one of the primary drivers for top rankings over the next several years.

With all that said, I challenge the person who said "content is king." If content is king, than link growth is god. Without link growth, you can take your content and flush it down the toilet. Don't know how to get links? Consult an expert!

Google Knol - Douple Dips the Chip

2007-12-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

The newly unveiled Google "Knol" (derived from knowledge) tool is certainly a hot button topic. Industry experts, bloggers and everyone in between have been responding rapid fire since the soft announcement on December 13, 2007. Google created Knol, an unofficial hybrid of Wikipedia and Squidoo, to encourage authoritative authorship on the web. Users will create pages that provide a thorough overview of a topic. Ads may also be implemented. Google emphasizes the author will add to the significance of an article. For more information click here.

Knol pages will rank organically and feed Google's AdSense model. This issue is complicated by the fact the only ad structure supported by Knol is, you guessed it, AdSense. It seems as if this double dipping may lead to Google dominated SERP's.

So the real question is; does this present a conflict of interest? Examples of similar instances are readily available such as Microsoft packaging Internet Explorer as the default web browser or Apple packaging Safari. In the instance of Knol, Google is "providing" an ad service for the tool. The difference? At this time there is no alternative ad platform. Knol users wishing to include an ad in their page will share revenue. Result? Google will have an even more captive audience.

As it stands now, Knol is in test-mode and we have yet to see the final version. In light of this, the implementation of AdSense as the only supported ad model is still not finalized. However, this glimpse behind the curtain has fueled skepticism of Google's practices in relationship to their ranking system. Only time will tell, but I would keep an eye on Google around the chips and dip.

Think Again About Content

2007-12-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

With all the hubbub about links that's been written in the SEO world lately, I thought it would be a good idea to give some attention to that other critical element of SEO . . . content.

Take a step back and try to figure out what's going on with links you might realize that content is soon to be a very important element. Currently, Google has given a lot of weight to link popularity - more so than content. But we may be much closer to evening the scales. Google's working hard to define what a quality link is. As they try to find ways to refine their ability to index and qualify links it's not a leap to assume that they will soon re-evaluate how to identify quality content. After all, it's much easier to index and qualify good content rather than try to make sense of the world wide web's link network.

Having a website with good content is more than just important for search engines. Internet users (read customers) use and return to websites that are informative and helpful. Good content helps conversion rates. Informative text can reduce the need for a customer to pick up the phone and call customer service. Bottom line - content is good for a business.

And with a few changes to Google's algorithm, content could soon be very good business.

Stop Building Links?

2007-12-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

In the Search world it's all about innovation, and staying on top of the latest trends. Over the past few years the search engines have become much more vocal, and have clearly voiced to the webmaster and business community that artificially inflating your backlinks is a no-no.

They've also publicly announced the crutch of their algorithms, and we all know that link popularity and trust is the driving force of rankings in every category on the Internet.

Google/Yahoo would have you do nothing to get your website better rankigns. Basically, they want you to ignore the natural search listings and only worry about the Paid search listings.

Aaron Wall from SEOBook has a great viewpoint on the subject which I agree with wholeheartedly. To throw in the towel and let your competitors walk all over you for fear of getting penalized is simply not a good strategy - this is what Aaron has to say.

Search Engine Watch interview with Alex Vega

2007-12-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago, I read an article that talked about the shortage of “qualified” search engine marketing talent due to the lack of internships, mentorship and training programs at the university level. That article struck a personal cord with me so much that I commented in a brief email agreeing with the need for professionals in the search marketing industry to take responsibility in training new and upcoming talent.

To my surprise, the writer, Matt Spiegel wrote me back, thanked me and asked if I would expand on my thoughts regarding this important issue for a follow up article on Search Engine Watch. Without hesitation I shared how I overcame personal and professional obstacles to eventually land a position as a Search Advertising Manager at Submitawebsite.

My success as a person and professional is due to personal and marketplace mentors starting in my mid-to late-20s. Today, I continue to receive and give mentorship to others and firmly believe people in the advertising/marketing industry will begin to do the same as a result of reading my story.

Alex Vega
PPC Specialist

Submitawebsite Launches New Website

2007-11-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Submitawebsite is excited to announce our new website. Our new site features our integrated blog, new tools, and updated case studies, and clients/partners page.

I'm a big fan of the DomainTrust and SEO Shortcut Widget tools, but all of the 8 tools are great.

We've also updated our management team page and blog.

Keep Your Site SEO-Friendly without Over-Optimizing

2007-10-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

When it comes to search engine optimization, many people can be overzealous in their attempts to improve a Web page’s ranking. Whether or not the over-optimization is an intentional effort of someone trying to take advantage of the search engines or just the efforts of someone still learning about SEO, it still typically results in the page being penalized. Keep the following tips in mind when making your page SEO friendly, and you’ll be able to build a strong ranking without having to worry about penalization.

1) Avoid stuffing the title with keywords.

Titles are still one of the most important aspects in a page’s search engine ranking, and including important keywords here is necessary. However, cramming as many keywords as possible into the title is not the best route to go when it comes to SEO. Search engines keep an eye out for over-optimization in the title, so it’s best to let it serve its purpose without going overboard. When writing the title tag, incorporate your main keyword at least one time but never more than two. Keeping it simple still effectively tells search engines what your page is about without getting your page marked as spam.

2) Use descriptions to pull visitors into your site.

While many people see descriptions as another area to include keywords, they really don’t play a role in improving a page’s ranking. However, since descriptions (along with title tags) are often the only details displayed to visitors on search engine results pages, they are meant to give Internet users a brief overview of a Web page and to create interest in that page. If the description is only used for keyword inclusion, it’s probably not going to read well for users. While it never hurts to lightly incorporate keywords in this section, keep the focus on making it reader-friendly. The goal is to get people to read the description then click on your page’s link. If the description fails to draw people to the page, it’s not doing its job.

3) Put keywords in your headers when it makes sense.

Headers are a good place to incorporate keywords, but improper use of keywords in headers often raises a red flag to search engines, warning them of possible over-optimization. When writing your headers, include keywords that accurately describe your page, but avoid using the same keywords that are in the title and description. If the keywords don’t fit into your title naturally, don’t include them. While keywords help improve site’s ranking, it’s not necessary to put them in the header if everything else is well optimized, and in fact, can hurt your website since search engines look at over-use of keywords as unnatural. If you include keywords in your header, make sure to surround them with other words, as well.

4) Distribute keywords evenly throughout your content.

When writing content, don’t focus on putting your main keywords in just the first few paragraphs. Search engines give more weight to keywords found in that section, but they’re also more sensitive to keywords there and can penalize you for over-use. In your page’s code, the first couple of paragraphs follow the title and descriptions. Having the same keywords repeatedly appear close together can trigger the search engine into questioning your page’s quality. Incorporate keywords into the content, but give them even distribution throughout the text. Search engines are sensitive to paragraphs stuffed with keywords, so too many in your first few paragraphs could actually be detrimental to your site rather than beneficial. You should never sacrifice the natural flow of sentence just to put in more keywords. Keep your content natural and use it to help visitors understand the purpose of your site, product, etc.

Whenever you’re working to increase a page’s ranking, keep in mind that the end result should still be directed towards enhancing the user’s experience. Gearing your website towards the user while keeping search engines in mind is always the best approach to take. Search engines want to give high rankings to websites that are focused on providing a positive user experience rather than un-ethically influencing search engine rankings, so avoiding over-optimization works our better in the long run.

Optimized Internal Linking: Pass Rank to Internal Pages

2007-09-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

Webmasters and website owners who are even vaguely familiar with search engine optimization may have heard something about the importance of internal linking, but the actual benefits and techniques are often confusing or unknown altogether. This confusion can easily be avoided when one applies the same basic theory used for inbound linking from external sites. The following facts, used in combination, create a clear strategy for optimized internal linking that can prove very valuable for internal pages:

1) A link counts as a favorable vote for the destination page.

Just as links from external sources can increase your pages’ rankings, linking internally passes value along to other pages within your site. Obviously links coming from outside sources weigh more heavily than links pointing to other pages on the same domain name. A vote from someone else is a better indicator of popularity than a vote for yourself, but this does not mean that linking among your own pages isn’t a powerful tool.

2) Each page’s maximum voting power (sway) is distributed among all of the outbound links the page contains.

Each link from your home page to an internal page passes a portion of the total voting power to the destination page, and the maximum possible sway is divided between the links from the home page. If there are three links pointing towards internal pages, each receives roughly 1/3 of the amount of sway that the home page can pass. If there are 100 links, each destination receives roughly 1/100 of the maximum sway possible. Clearly, the fewer links a page contains, the more valuable each link is.

3) Pages with higher value pass more value through links (they have a higher total sway).

A more trusted, more highly ranked page linking to one of your pages is more valuable than a new, lower ranking site linking to your website, and this same concept applies within the pages of a single site. Home pages tend to have higher rank than internal pages in search engines, and therefore have more sway than internal pages. A link from a product page that is 3, 4, or 5 links removed from the home page will usually pass significantly lower rank to any destination pages than a link directly from the home page. For better results in search engine rankings and a more effective internal linking strategy, your Web page hierarchy should allow the user to reach most internal pages following as few links from the home page as possible.

4) Keyword phrase anchor text assures search engines of the topic of the destination page, increasing the trust search engines assign to that page.

Using one of the destination page’s keyword phrases as anchor text is further clarification and reassurance to search engines of the topic of each page. Keyword optimized anchor text can increase a page’s ranking for relevant keyword phrases far more than generic link text, such as “click here” or other commonly used phrases.

Keeping the preceding four rules in mind, it becomes pretty clear that internal linking can be a powerful way to increase the rank of your internal pages, simply by sharing the trust your higher ranked pages already receive with other pages on your website.

Submitawebsite Ramps Up

2007-08-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

We're proud to announce that we have added an additional 25% staffing upgrade to our client service department. All employees go through a regimented 2-week training program. In addition, we have also successfully launched our new Client admin, which enables our clients to more effectively communicate with the project management team.

Cheers!

Google Webmaster Guidelines - Matt Cutts

2007-06-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Google Webmaster Guidelines from Matt Cutts
At the SMX conference in Seattle, Matt Cutts shares his thought on the Webmaster Guidelines.

In particular he talks about:

* Establishing best practices.
* Google will manually tweak results.

Again, here is the direct link to the Google Webmaster Guidelines:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769

Using the Link Colon

2007-05-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

It would probably be an understatement to say that links have an enormous impact on search engine optimization. Building and managing inlinks is a significant duty of a website owner or manager. Thankfully, there is a quick and easy method for checking links. It's called a link colon. In this post, I'll explain how we can check the backlinks for any site.

Let's use Submitawebsite.com as an example. A link colon search will check the total number of web pages that are currently linking to the domain www.submitawebsite.com. To perform a link colon, go to Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com/). In the search box, type in link:www.submitawebsite.com and hit enter (be sure there are no spaces after the colon). You'll find a listing in the top right that displays inlinks. When I conduct this search for http://www.submitawebsite.com/ I see Inlinks 1-50 of about 48,088. Notice that there is a drop down box above the results. In the drop down menu, select show inlinks Except from this domain. This will exclude any internal links of Submitawebsite. When I do this, the tally drops to 47,803. The result indicates the total number of web pages that have a link to Submitawebsite.com. You can check the backlinks for any site. Now try it for your own site. In Yahoo's search box type in link:www.yoursite.com.

The results near the top are the strongest links. That's great because stronger links have a large impact on search placement – and we need to know which links are the most important. Strong links tend to be from a page with a high Google Page Rank or from a very trusted and well respected domain. One very good link can be worth more than a hundred of weaker links.

Clicking on a result will take you to the page that is linking to your site. You many have to do a bit of searching before you find the actual link, but it is usually found fairly quickly (there is a chance that the link has been removed since it was discovered and indexed by Yahoo). It's also possible to do a link colon on Google and MSN, but those search engines don't reveal the majority of their links. For that matter, neither does Yahoo!, but they do reveal nearly all of their indexed links and far more than the other engines.

Now that you know how to check you backlinks you should begin to manage them. Keep track of your best and strongest links. Fortify the relationships you have with linking website to keep links intact. Links get stronger with age, so it's important that you maintain your oldest and best links. Also, you should be attempting to grow your links. Set monthly goals to increase the quantity and quality of your inlinks. Search engines want to see link growth, so try to show growth on a monthly basis. It's a good idea to set aside fifteen minutes a day for link farming. Find a relevant and informative site to your industry and email them with a request for a link. You may also find it helpful to do a link colon on your main competitors. You'll be able to judge their online strength relative to yours. It may help explain why you outrank them, or why they outrank you.

The link colon is perhaps the most useful tool when it comes to search engine optimization. Keep using it and keep building your links!

Think Like a Search Engine & Understand SEO

2007-05-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by clients is . . .

“Why does my competitor’s site outrank my site on Google”?

As a general rule, anytime you’re trying to understand search engine optimization, take the viewpoint of the search engine. You’ll find that logically, this type of marketing only makes sense if you think like a search engine.

In order for a search engine to stay in business they need a dedicated user base. To keep people searching on Google or Yahoo, the engines need to provide the best results possible. For example, if I do a search for “baseball bats”, and the first result is a site that sells “baseball hats”, the poor result means I’m not likely to use that search engine in the future. So how do the major search engines determine what sites are the most appropriate for any given search term?

Search engines analyze the content of a page to determine its topic. But even then there are thousands of pages that could be considered relevant for any given keyword (2,040,000 for baseball bats). How does Google determine which page is likely to be the most satisfying result that will keep their users happy?

They’re looking for a site that has demonstrated it is a useful online resource. To do this, a website must provide content that is unique, helpful and important. However, interpreting the written word is beyond the scope of a search engine. To determine if a website is useful, a search engine examines the sites that link to it.

In fact, search engines weigh inbound links very strongly. Each link that points to a website is a vote of confidence. The more votes a site gets, the more useful and popular it is seen by the engines. In order to demonstrate that a site is a useful resource, it has to show link growth. A site that is growing links is actively demonstrating its importance on the web – it’s proving that it is a useful resource. It also greatly helps if you mirror your link growth with content and page growth. If you implement a strategy that creates new links and new content, you will help establish your site as a powerful source in its field.

If your competitor is outranking you, it’s time you start demonstrating to the engines that your site is more useful than the competition. Add more content – and get more links. You’ll find that even small changes can make a significant difference to your search placement. In fact, with the right type of online growth, you should see your site begin to change it’s positioning in as little as 45 days.

Thinking like a search engine isn’t tricky at all. It’s the best way to naturally improve your search presence. And, hopefully, provide a better online resource for your customers.

WebSite Landing Page Guide

2006-11-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

By Michael Cordova (c) 2006

A landing page is a website page that is created for one purpose - to persuade the site visitor to convert into a customer by making a sale, completing a form (thereby becoming a qualified lead), signing up for a newsletter, etc.

We provide this landing page quick reference so you can pull it out every time you are creating a persuasive landing page. It is divided into 4 sections and is intended to be an all-inclusive tip sheet.

Most importantly, consider that you have 8 seconds or less to convince your visitor to act. If you haven't convincingly made your case in this time then your visitor will move on and will be lost, as the Internet has created the most fickle customer in sales history.

Page Layout

- Place your logo at the top left. Visitors expect it there so display your branding where it counts.

- If the visitor came from a search engine keyword search or a PPC ad, then place the keyword terms in bold at the top of the page. This reinforces to the visitor that they came to the right place.

- Always keep the Golden Triangle in mind. It is the most important and scanned part of the page. It is the area of the page that starts at the top left of the page moves to the top right side of the page then down diagonally to the bottom left of the page just above the fold. The fold is the area of a webpage that the visitor sees without scrolling vertically. You should never force a visitor to scroll horizontally. This means that your landing pages should be able to be seen completely on an 800 x 600 screen resolution. Place your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) in the middle of the Golden Triangle.

- Contrast your Calls to Action with respect to the rest of the page - use contrasting colors, round vs. rectangular, straight vs. slanted, warm color vs. cold color, big vs. little. Make sure you can spot the Call to Action from 6 feet away.

- Place assurances, testimonials and guarantees in the far-right column

- Place logos to appropriate associations or online companies at the bottom of the page to show credibility - Verisign, BBB Online Reliability, certified by..., Alexa rank (if good), powerseller, live support, credit cards supported, open 24hours a day, Hacker Safe, as seen in Entrepreneur Magazine, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

- Don't place external links on a landing page. Just allow them the option to proceed into completing the form and converting into a customer.

- Place privacy policies on the landing page. This instills confidence.

- Think of the Amazon.com website. Note their Call to Action is the hotspot at the top-right of all pages - add to cart, one click ordering, etc. This may also apply to you.

Writing Style and Content

- Spend time on your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and place it into the center of the Golden Triangle. A UVP is the core differentiation of a company's product or service from those of competitors. A complete UVP will describe the market and a company's competitors and the key difference between competitors and your own company.

- Ensure that you don't have big paragraphs. Visitors tend to scan pages instead of reading all of the text on them.

- Write using headers above paragraphs that summarize the following text.

- Use bullets where possible as visitors can quickly scan them. Search engines also prioritize bullets instead of long paragraph text.

- If you want to add a picture, ensure that it is going to reinforce your message. You can easily lose significant sales by having the wrong picture on the landing page.

- If the purpose of the landing page is to provide a whitepaper or article then create an image for the paper with enlarged text like the one below and place it on the page:

The Form

- Keep the number of fields on the form as small as possible. This is critical in getting them to complete the form.

- Add a Comments textbox asking for the visitor's input. It can be key to qualifying leads. Those that complete this form with the services they are looking for should be contacted immediately. Here are some requests you can use for this Comments box:

- What is biggest problem that you need to solve now?

- What is the purpose of your project?

- Please list your goals for this project.

- How can we help you?

- In case the visitor doesn't complete the Comments textbox on the first page, add a 2nd page with only a Comments textbox on it requesting the visitor’s comments again. Tell them that if they complete the Comments box now then they will receive an extra free white paper that is relevant to the same visitor. These visitor comments are important.

- Have the visitor check a box that says something like "YES! Send me the free white paper that will change my life." It is the psychological method of coercing them into completing the rest of the form.

- Prominently list the benefits of completing the form. It is major validation. Make sure to write the benefits in terms of the user's benefits instead of the features of your product or service.

- Ensure you save the form information into a database and send emails out as soon as the form is completed so you can immediately contact the visitor. The lead's effectiveness drops dramatically as time goes by. Contacting a lead within minutes is ideal.

Landing Page Mistakes to Avoid

- Graphics or text unrelated to the offer - limit copy to only the point of the landing page

- Long forms with unneeded fields - limit your form to what is absolutely essential

- Difficult to read fonts

- Navigation off of the landing page

- Placing important persuasive copy below the fold

=============================
Copyright © 2006 Jayde Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Submitted by Kay Frenzer, Senior Account Executive, Submitawebsite

Always Get New Links “AGNL” - 7 Tips For Success

2006-11-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

At this point we all know that Link Building is the latest and greatest with the search engines and that without link popularity it's nearly impossible to rank on the first page for competitive keyword phrases.

With that said, most companies fail to take advantage of some of the best link opportunities out there. Put on your link building thinking cap, and start getting links in everything you do. This works especially well for companies that spend money on traditional media.

Tip #1 - Get in Bed with your Partners…

Sounds pretty obvious right? All established businesses have partners. In our case we've partnered with firms like Text-Link-Ads, 352 Media Group, ClickTracks, and others. In our partnership discussions we made it a point to see that these firms linked to our website as part of the terms of the partnership. If you are going to help sell someone else's product, or engage in some type of joint venture, make sure you get a link out of it.

Tip #2 - Manufacturers, Dealers, and Distributors…

Do you run an eCommerce website? Or are you a service provider for a large manufacturer? If so, make sure you are listed in the dealer directory. If you have a good relationship with the manufacturer of your product make sure you are listed in the "Authorized Reseller" section of their website.

Now here's a great tip: often these dealer directories and authorized reseller sections are database driven, and frequently these inner "search" pages cannot be accessed by the search engines, which means you won't get link credit. Luckily, there is a way around that. On your partner's website, perform a search matching your listing's criteria. Once you've confirmed the search that pulls your site up on the page, simply copy/paste the URL of this search. Now, somewhere on your website give this URL a link (and no you can't hide the link!). Most likely the search engines will be able to spider the link on your website, follow it to the search result page on your partner's site, and shazam! you get link credit!

Tip #3 - Hold Traditional Media Renewal Contracts at Ransom - Force the Link

We have a large local real estate agent client that advertises massively on the radio, television, billboards, local magazines, etc. All of these advertising companies have websites, and many of them have a "clients" page. We helped our client come up with some solid renewal messaging, so that when the renewals for these programs came to term our client was able to negotiate free links on the local television station sites, magazines, and more. You can score excellent links from your traditional advertising programs.

Tip #4 - Be a Testimonial Freak…

I absolutely love giving testimonials to companies I work with. About 70% of them put my testimonial up on their website, and better yet over half of them link to my website. Is there really a better way to get free publicity for your website, help out your partners, and get link credit? It's a win-win!

Tip #5 - Get Savvy with your Banners…

The standard banner size is 468x60 (see a full list at http://www.iab.net/standards/adunits.asp). With that said, that gives you a 468 pixel width and 60 pixel height. Some websites that sell advertising space give you the option to provide them with a 468x60 with your own HTML code. This allows advertisers to control the flexibility of their banners, utilize their own tracking, etc. If this option is available I recommend using about 80% of the height of your banner for your creative "pitch," while allowing the bottom 20% of the banner to incorporate somewhere between 5-7 text links (see an example). You'll just want to make sure these are static HTML links.

With that said, don't be abusive about it. Use this though in moderation as part of your versatile arsenal of link building techniques.

Tip #6 - Pull the Network Marketing Trick…

Why is it that almost everyone gets hooked into Network Marketing at some point? Somehow these network marketers convince you to sign up your Father, Sister, Aunt Margie, Uncle Fred, flat-broke next door neighbor, and everyone else in your sphere of influence. So why should link building be any different? Got a landscaper? How about a real estate agent buddy? Convince them to link to your site - I don't know how you're going to do it - somehow you convinced them to buy your Mary Kay makeup - use the same techniques.

Tip #7 - Become a Social Networking Fruitcake…

I hate to list them but sign up for accounts with all of the social networking sites, i.e. Squidoo, 43 Things, Delicious (doesn't directly pass link credit), Yahoo! Answers, MSN Groups, and all relevant Industry forums. You can also score links from time to time with Wikipedia, Aboutus.org, and others. Operating a blog helps this process. Get involved in the web community. Drop your link when appropriate - again, you can't abuse this. Add value to the sites and you'll get links. These companies have already figured out ways to stop spam, so you'll have to actually put in the time to get credit here. Often this is a good project for the company copywriter, PR/Marketing person, or even webmaster. If you want to be successful though, you'll need someone that has something smart to say, otherwise don't waste your time.

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