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Get Higher Rankings with Keyword-Rich Headings

2007-12-13T07:39:00.000+07:00

Get Higher Rankings with Keyword-Rich Headings and Subheadings

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, author of Guide to Search Engine Optimization (3rd Edition), of which this article is an excerpt.
Oct 2, 2007, 13:45

Getting your webpages ranked higher requires a number of strategies -- carefully written titles, description meta tags, keyword-rich body text, and lots of incoming links. One important, but often neglected, element is the use of keywords in your headings. The most important heading on a page is the name of the article or page. This isn't the same as the Title Tag which shows up on search engines. Headings are the large font headlines that tell what's on a webpage -- the main headline as well as subheadings.

Headings

Headings offer important clues to the search engines -- H1, H2, H3 in HTML-ese. Since headlines often contain important hints to the content of the webpage, search engines take note of any keywords found here. Begin with the main headline of the webpage (typically article title or product name), usually found between H1 or H2 tags, and work down.

The Lone Ranger Fan Club. My Hero! (Sigh)

I've found that writing with subheadings helps me organize my work and gives clues to the search engines. Each of my subheadings (H3 in my case) is likely to contain an important keyword for that section of the document.

Faithful Native American Scout Tonto

Writing with subheadings also makes it easy for readers to scan the document for meaning.

H1, H2 and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

One warning. This may seem a bit technical, but it's important. These days most website designers don't use FONT tags within the webpage to indicate the typeface. Instead they create "classes" that are defined in detail in a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). All the sizes, indenting, typefaces, colors, etc. are determined by the CSS. So far, so good.

However, it's common for website designers to invent their own classes for the page heading and subheadings (like "HeadlineMain" or "SubHead1") rather than use the HTML standard H1, H2, H3, etc. Since search engines don't read CSS, they can't tell that a heading is a heading unless it is designated by H1, H2, H3.

Important clues to your webpage can be lost unless your website designer uses H1, H2, and H3 tags for headings and subheadings. Each can be tweaked in the CSS to please your designer. But don't accept from your designer, "It isn't important to use H1 tags anymore." If he says this, he is ignorant and just doesn't want to redo his work. Unfortunately, many website designers are trained only in design and HTML, not in creating websites that obtain higher search engine rankings.

Insist that the headings and subheadings on your site are keyword rich using the H1, H2, H3 standard. This won't skyrocket you to the top of Google, perhaps, but it's one important strategy on your way up the rankings ladder.

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson is Editor of Web Marketing Today and author of the recently-revised Guide to Search Engine Optimization (Third Edition, 97 pages), available in both e-book and spiral-bound printed versions. www.wilsonweb.com/ebooks/seo.htm

iKobo as a Payment Processor

2007-12-13T07:31:00.000+07:00

iKobo as a Payment Processor
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Wilson Internet Rocklin, CA
Dec 1, 2004, 14:25

"You mentioned iKobo.com on your website. I've joined iKobo.com, but still worry about using it as a payment processor. The reason I joined it was because I can't use PayPal since they don't support my country. I've read pros and cons in several forums about Ikobo.com. What do you think about it? Is iKobo.com trustable and reliable? Why do some people say it is a scam?" -- Mohamad Zaki Hussein, Indonesia

I don't believe iKobo (www.ikobo.com) is a scam. Since money transfer services such as iKobo are subject to fraud attempts, when the system detects activity in an account that might be fraudulent, it freezes withdrawals from the account immediately until it clears up the matter, which might be in just a day or two. Some may be objecting to that.

PayPal differs from iKobo, in that PayPal develops relationships with banking systems in various countries and allows merchants in those countries to withdraw money from PayPal to their bank accounts. While US merchants no longer require customers to join PayPal, that still is a requirement for merchants outside the US. PayPal currently allows merchants to sell in 45 countries in their choice of currencies -- US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, British Pounds Sterling, and Japanese Yen.

iKobo, on the other hand, allows merchants in any of 170 countries to receive credit card payments at discount rates similar to PayPal's -- 2.99% plus a 29¢ transaction fee. Merchants can withdraw money from their accounts using an i-Kard (a debit card) via a Visa Plus ATM terminal in nearly any country in the world. There is no set-up fee for merchants, but they must apply for and receive an i-Kard in order to begin to take credit cards. The company has just added a 99¢ per month charge for i-Kard holders. Customers do not need to join iKobo and have an i-Kard in order to engage in a credit card transaction. Credit card payments are made to merchants in US dollars only.

iKobo is currently used for emigrants to transfer money to family in their home countries, though it is attractive to merchants in Africa, Indonesia, and other countries where PayPal is unavailable and merchant accounts are prohibitively expensive.

E-Commerce in India

2007-12-13T06:46:00.000+07:00

E-Commerce in India

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Wilson Internet, Rocklin, CA
Jul 5, 2006, 16:01

How can a merchant in India conduct e-commerce? There are several approaches.

A merchant account through a major bank is best for larger companies but a bit pricey for small businesses. PaySeal (www.payseal.com) is the payment gateway for ICICI Bank. Citibank India (www.citibank.com/india/) and HDFC Bank (www.hdfcbank.com/wholesale/sme/Payment_Gateway_Services.htm) also offer a payment gateway and merchant account, but details aren't on their websites.

A second approach is to use third parties that take credit cards for your sales. CCAvenue (www.ccavenue.com/indianrupees.jsp), an Indian company, provides direct debiting for customers in India with accounts at: HDFC, Citibank, ICICI, IDBI, UTI, Global Trust Bank, Centurion Bank, and the Federal Bank Ltd. In addition, credit cards can be received from customers outside India. Typical costs are a Rs. 7,500/- set-up fee, Rs. 1,200/- annual fee, and 7% to receive credit cards, 4% for net banking transfers. Transecute (www.transecute.com) includes fraud detection and risk mitigation. They charge a Rs. 30,000/- set-up fee and 5% per transaction. Also consider companies mentioned in "E-Commerce When You Can't Get a Merchant Account," Web Marketing Today, Feb 15, 2006. (www.wilsonweb.com/art/ecomm/3rd-world-ecomm.htm)

A third approach is to set up a PayPal account (available to residents of India) and use PayPal's merchant tools to accept credit cards and sell online. The downside is that you can't directly withdraw PayPal funds to a bank in India (though you can request a check). But you can transfer US dollars in a PayPal account to Remit2India (www.remit2india.com), a service of the Times of India. They convert it into Indian Rupees and deliver it to your designated recipient. Costs are the PayPal recipient fee of 2.95% plus 3% to 5% fees for Remit2India. See details in their FAQ. (www.timesofmoney.com/remittance/jsp/toi_faq.jsp?uiId=TOI&partnerId=TOML&faq=paypal)

As with many online transaction companies, most of the companies mentioned above have received some complaints that can be found by searching on the Internet. Let the buyer beware!

From http://www.wilsonweb.com

Aren't Google AdSense Ads a Diversion?

2007-12-13T06:44:00.000+07:00

Aren't Google AdSense Ads a Diversion?

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Wilson Internet Rocklin, CA
Jan 18, 2006, 18:19

"[Site name] reveals an amateur approach to their business by allowing Google ads on their pages. Considering all the effort it takes to get visitors to one's web site, what are they thinking? Or are they thinking at all? Yes, I know you do it on your own website -- and I respectfully suggest that such diversions are counterproductive if the purpose of the site is to sell your own product or service." -- Joe Harkins, www.BuildingHosting.Com

On some sites Google ads are a diversion. But let me explain my philosophy that applies to my particular site only. The core purpose of my site is not to sell my own products and services, but to earn a living by helping people learn how to market their businesses on the Internet.

Perhaps 1% of visitors will make a purchase while they are on the site -- most are not there to buy but to gather free information. Perhaps 2% to 3% will click on a Google ad. That leaves 97% to 98% still on my site to buy my products -- if they will. So I haven't lost much.

What I have gained, however, is a way to diversify my income so it comes from various sources. That way, if one revenue source is less productive, others can still provide revenue. It was this philosophy that allowed me to survive the Dot-com-bust in 2000. I was receiving lots of advertising revenue in 1999 and 2000, but it suddenly dried up in August 2000. I was just fine, however, since other sources of revenue continued. One of the keys to a resilient online business is multiple sources of revenue.

From http://www.wilsonweb.com

Google Advertising Tools

2007-12-13T06:32:00.000+07:00

Google Advertising Tools
by Harold Davis
O'Reilly 2006
Paperback, 353 pages
ISBN 0596101082

Google Advertising Tools is a computer programmer's introduction to earning money online, with focus on advertising with Google, carrying Google AdSense ads on one's website, and using Google APIs.

Harold Davis begins with an introductory section: "Part 1: Making Money with Your Website" -- a crash course on creating a content-based website and optimizing it for best search engine placement. He explains how to monetize a site using affiliate programs and CPC advertising, and succeeds in compressing a great deal of information into the first third of the book.

"Part 2: Getting the Most from AdSense" explains the nuts and bolts of putting AdSense ads on a content-rich site. Most of this information is available from Google, but Davis explains it clearly.

"Part 3: Working with AdWords" holds the reader's hand through the process of signing up for an AdWords account and developing an AdWords campaign. He covers writing ads, optimizing a campaign, click-through reporting, and conversion tracking. While Davis explains the technical details of AdWords advertising, he presents little in terms of campaign strategy. He's looking at advertising from a programmer's point-of-view, not really a marketer's.

"Part 4: Using the AdWords APIs" constitutes the unique contribution of this book. Davis describes how programmers can tap into Google AdWords databases to extract data that can be integrated into software enabling ad agencies to manage hundreds or thousands of AdWords campaigns for clients. While the book doesn't include code for whole applications, the PHP snippets the author does provide are basic building blocks on which client applications using the Google AdWords API might be based.

Google Advertising Tools isn't intended for the entrepreneur or marketer. Rather, this is the book to purchase for your programmer so he can comprehend, in a language he can relate to, just what in the world you're trying to accomplish online. The book is written by a programmer for programmers.

from

http://www.wilsonweb.com

Promoting Your Site

2007-12-13T06:26:00.000+07:00

Promoting Your Site to Rise above Web Clutter

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Founding Editor, Web Marketing Today, Rocklin, CA
Oct 30, 2007, 08:23

The bad news is that an October 2007 Netcraft.com web server survey found nearly 143 million websites, adding up to untold billions of webpages. The good news is that only a tiny percentage of these site owners actively promote their sites. The clutter, however, is ginormous.

If you want people to find your website for the first time amidst all that clutter, you must employ strategies to promote your site and draw traffic. There's no use reinventing the wheel. These are the primary tried and true approaches to site promotion. They vary in cost and effectiveness.

Search engine optimization (SEO). Your site rises in search engine rankings due to careful use of keywords in webpage titles, meta tags, headings, body text, in your webpages, as well as many incoming links to the site from directories, social bookmarks, complementary sites, etc. (See my Guide to Search Engine Optimization, 2007). Can be quite effective if you achieve page 1 or 2 rankings.	Time consuming, but relatively low cost, even when outsourced.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC) or paid search on Google, Yahoo, or MSN. Your text ads show up to the right of search results when searchers search on keywords. You pay only when someone clicks on your ad. Can be quite effective with careful keyword choice and tested landing pages.	Moderate to high cost, depending on the keywords.
Banner advertising. Your banner ads show up on ad networks. However, the click-through rate is probably less than 0.3%. Low effectiveness except where highly targeted.	Moderate cost.
Affiliate programs. You pay affiliates for showing your ads only when a customer clicks-through and makes a purchase from you. Can be effective, but good affiliates are difficult to find and motivate to create adequate volume.	Lower cost.
Advertising in e-mail newsletters. Your ad is displayed in an existing e-zine sent to people in your target group. Can be moderately effective.	Low to medium cost.
Solo e-mails using an existing list. Your e-mail promotion is sent to opt-in subscribers of a targeted e-zine list or rented list. Can be quite effective with well-written copy, a tested landing page, and the right list.	Relatively expensive, depending upon the list.
Networking in online communities. You become an active part of several online communities, forums, blogs, etc., participate in discussions, and promote your site passively through your "signature." Can be somewhat effective.	Low cost and targeted, but time intensive.
Viral marketing campaigns. You promote your site by creating a "creative" (video, text message, photo, animation, etc.) so compelling, interesting, bizarre, funny, or helpful, that people pass it on to their friends -- with your URL or marketing message. Wildly successful for the fortunate few who stumble upon a compelling creative.	Low cost.
Joint venture (JV) arrangements. Essentially this involves getting others sites and e-zines to carry your marketing message in exchange for either a sales commission or for a reciprocation on your part. Can be effective with the right partners.	Low cost.

Which of these is "best"? Wrong question. There is no "magic bullet" (no matter what anybody claims). Most successful online businesses employ several of these strategies simultaneously to create a successful marketing "mix." The higher cost of one approach is balanced out by the lower cost of another. Together they bring in a large enough volume of traffic at a low enough cost to allow an online business to make a profit.

How do you find the best mix for your organization? (1) Research each approach using the articles in our Web Marketing Today Research Room (www.wilsonweb.com/research/). (2) Try various approaches while carefully tracking the results. Then (3) do more of what is working. In the face of 143 million websites vying for attention, spending no time or budget on promotion is a sure recipe for a failed online effort. What will you try next to help your site rise through the clutter to see the light of day?

Free directory submission.

2007-12-12T21:59:00.000+07:00

Free directory submission.

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from http://www.manhattanservice.com