Search engine optimisation may become less focused on keywords in the future, if the comments of one Google executive are anything to go by.
According to Marissa Mayer, vice-president of search products and user experience at Google, the search engine is looking at the possibility of returning results based on user questions rather than keywords.
She told .net magazine that this is one development that may become increasingly important over time, as will making web-based data easy to access from mobile phones.
Ms Mayer also pointed to the opportunities posed by utilising a user's friend list to return highly relevant results.
"We really need to harness people's friends better to understand which news to direct them to, which local events to direct them to ... These are all things that we think are intriguing," she commented.
Last year, Google experimented with a new feature in its Google News service allowing users to create a local news section for their own city or zip code.
Read More...
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
How to Get Your Site Listed in Google in 24 Hours or Less
Wouldn't it be nice to start seeing your site in Google's search engine results in 24 hours or less? It should be first noted that if a site is crawled but not yet indexed, the results aren't visible to search users. For example, if you enter the full domain of your site with the "http://www." and your site hasn't been listed yet, it won't show up in Google's results. When your site does get indexed, if you enter the full URL, you'll see your site listed. This listing contains the URL, the title of your website, and a description.
To get your site indexed quickly, you won't use Google's submission form (google.com/addurl.html). Using this method may take 2–6 weeks to get your site indexed.
So, what do you need to do to get your website indexed in 24 hours or less? The first step is to visit Google and enter a broad, generic keyword that's relevant to your site. This is the rare time that the broader the keyword, the better. Don't worry about trying to go for niche markets with this step, because you're going to want to have access to sites with the highest level of traffic. Once you enter the keyword, you see the Google listings. Use the "Page Rank" indicator on the Google toolbar to see what the page rank is (or you could use SEO Elite or linkVendor, but doing it right from the browser is faster).
To refresh your memory, the higher your page rank, the more websites that are linking to you. Keep an eye out for sites that have a page rank of 5 or higher (with the higher ranking being the better one). Visit each of these sites to see if they offer a link exchange. Remember, if they do they'll advertise it in the same way you did yours, through a "link to Us" web page or something similar. Look for the contact information if it's listed. If it's not listed, use the Whois utility found through domain name services or SEO Elite to find their e-mail address. Use the same methods of e-mail etiquette you learned about before and send them an e-mail asking if they're interested in a link exchange. Remember to post their links on your site first before you send out the e-mail. And don't forget that you can still purchase advertising on the resources given throughout this book.
Just make sure the site you choose has a page rank of over 5. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 5, your site will get indexed in three days or less. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 6, you can get your site indexed in less than 24 hours.
Read MOre..
To get your site indexed quickly, you won't use Google's submission form (google.com/addurl.html). Using this method may take 2–6 weeks to get your site indexed.
So, what do you need to do to get your website indexed in 24 hours or less? The first step is to visit Google and enter a broad, generic keyword that's relevant to your site. This is the rare time that the broader the keyword, the better. Don't worry about trying to go for niche markets with this step, because you're going to want to have access to sites with the highest level of traffic. Once you enter the keyword, you see the Google listings. Use the "Page Rank" indicator on the Google toolbar to see what the page rank is (or you could use SEO Elite or linkVendor, but doing it right from the browser is faster).
To refresh your memory, the higher your page rank, the more websites that are linking to you. Keep an eye out for sites that have a page rank of 5 or higher (with the higher ranking being the better one). Visit each of these sites to see if they offer a link exchange. Remember, if they do they'll advertise it in the same way you did yours, through a "link to Us" web page or something similar. Look for the contact information if it's listed. If it's not listed, use the Whois utility found through domain name services or SEO Elite to find their e-mail address. Use the same methods of e-mail etiquette you learned about before and send them an e-mail asking if they're interested in a link exchange. Remember to post their links on your site first before you send out the e-mail. And don't forget that you can still purchase advertising on the resources given throughout this book.
Just make sure the site you choose has a page rank of over 5. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 5, your site will get indexed in three days or less. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 6, you can get your site indexed in less than 24 hours.
Read MOre..
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
New SEO and email marketing blog launched
A new blog featuring expert guidance and advice about email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), social networking and Web 2.0 strategies has been launched.
Dr. Scott's Cool Marketing and Business Blog is the brainchild of Philadelphia marketing professor Dr Scott Testa who is hoping he can use his 20 years of experience and the knowledge of a number of guest writers to help educate people about the internet marketing sector.
Predicting what the next 12 months could have in store for the industry, he remarked: "I am really looking forward to 2009.
"Unique and inexpensive marketing techniques are going to be at the forefront."
As well as containing more than four dozen educational articles, the blog also acts as a hub for several other websites and blogs, linking to over 20 in total.
Email marketing, SEO and paid search should be at the heart of any online marketing strategy, according to Straight Up Search.
Read More..
Dr. Scott's Cool Marketing and Business Blog is the brainchild of Philadelphia marketing professor Dr Scott Testa who is hoping he can use his 20 years of experience and the knowledge of a number of guest writers to help educate people about the internet marketing sector.
Predicting what the next 12 months could have in store for the industry, he remarked: "I am really looking forward to 2009.
"Unique and inexpensive marketing techniques are going to be at the forefront."
As well as containing more than four dozen educational articles, the blog also acts as a hub for several other websites and blogs, linking to over 20 in total.
Email marketing, SEO and paid search should be at the heart of any online marketing strategy, according to Straight Up Search.
Read More..
'Do not underestimate the value of keywords in SEO'
Businesses using search engine optimisation (SEO) to improve their websites should ensure they do not overlook keywords that seem to be less used by consumers.
This is according to Gary Reid of .net magazine, who said that marketers should consider every step of consumers' journeys from the initial search to the final transaction.
He gave the example of a website where most traffic appears to come from searches for the company's name - while this suggests that the firm's name is the main keyword to focus on, customers are likely to have conducted informational searches involving other keywords a short while previously.
"The key to SEO success is to ensure you have visibility at each point of the user's journey, so understanding the sections of the journey is essential," Mr Reid explained.
"Blindly optimising for a set of keywords you think is appropriate is a quick way to waste time and money."
According to a Search Engine Watch column by Carrie Hill of marketing firm Blizzard, small businesses should consider using keyword research tools such as Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery to pinpoint the most relevant key terms.
Read More..
This is according to Gary Reid of .net magazine, who said that marketers should consider every step of consumers' journeys from the initial search to the final transaction.
He gave the example of a website where most traffic appears to come from searches for the company's name - while this suggests that the firm's name is the main keyword to focus on, customers are likely to have conducted informational searches involving other keywords a short while previously.
"The key to SEO success is to ensure you have visibility at each point of the user's journey, so understanding the sections of the journey is essential," Mr Reid explained.
"Blindly optimising for a set of keywords you think is appropriate is a quick way to waste time and money."
According to a Search Engine Watch column by Carrie Hill of marketing firm Blizzard, small businesses should consider using keyword research tools such as Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery to pinpoint the most relevant key terms.
Read More..
Search Shifts and Predictions for 2009
Google has seen a significant drop in its stock price; Yahoo continues to tread water and await a buyer to save them; MSN continues to plod along at 5 percent market share with the industry questioning why Microsoft is even playing in the space; and Cuil, well, let's just hope they get to see 2010.
Consolidation:
Speaking of Yahoo, my first prediction isn't much of a stretch. There will be consolidation within the search engine market space in 2009. The jury's still out on who's buying who, but if you've followed the news over the past six months, it's a good bet that someone will buy Yahoo.
Yahoo's not the only acquisition target. Ask.com may not have the market share, but the floundering search engine offers a good product line that could enhance someone's capabilities portfolio. Perhaps there's a buyer out there that's looking to build an application backline to challenge Google. Ask.com could prove a huge asset in that case.
Recession Boost:
"Free" gets the attention of many people, including marketers. With the cost of paid search terms going up, the organic search folks may see a lot more attention in 2009.
Although organic search traffic is often touted as "free traffic," it truly isn't. Developing rankings for key terms in an industry requires an investment in all the elements that go into building a Web site: content, coding, design, and strategy. Though the traffic isn't free, the ROI tends to be better.
Organic search marketing just might become the bread winner as cash-strapped client become wary of increased media costs in traditional space and an up-turn in bid competition in paid search.
ROI on the Prize for SEO:
It's about time! ROI will no longer be a "nice to have" for those who practice SEO in 2009.
Again, the economy will dictate scrutiny of every marketing dollar spent, and clients are going to want to know ahead of time what they can expect from their SEO programs. ROI models, all with their own flaws, will control the landscape of organic search programs as search marketers hope to woo marketing dollars away from less successful or measurable competing tactics.
As part of a global agency, I welcome a shift to focusing on client returns. This may help the SEO profession gain acceptance and operate at a higher standard.
Local All Over Globe:
In the coming year, if you own brick-and-mortar locations you better get familiar with local search and put a program in place. Local search will be the big thing in 2009 for search.
Local search is far more measurable than a traditional organic listing and, therefore, lends itself better to demonstrated ROI benefits. Additionally, the number of mobile searches will only increase as mobile phones become more sophisticated. Marketers must make sure they show up in these results.
A Paid Inclusion Rebound:
If there's one paid search service that can thrive on '09, it's paid inclusion. Yahoo offers a unique PPC program called Search Submit Pro, which provides marketers with the ability to feed results directly into the organic listings. As organic results become more important than ever, marketers will try to get into the listing by any means necessary.
So far Yahoo is the only engine to offer this service, but I predict that we'll see similar offerings as other engines look for new revenue streams in 2009. These may not be straight text search results, but I don't think we've seen the last of paid inclusion.
The Year of Monetization:
This year will be interesting for search engines. As factors from recession to emerging technologies convene, engines will have to create new revenue. Only time will tell whether that revenue comes from acquisition and increased market share or new programs like Yahoo's SSP.
Read More...
Consolidation:
Speaking of Yahoo, my first prediction isn't much of a stretch. There will be consolidation within the search engine market space in 2009. The jury's still out on who's buying who, but if you've followed the news over the past six months, it's a good bet that someone will buy Yahoo.
Yahoo's not the only acquisition target. Ask.com may not have the market share, but the floundering search engine offers a good product line that could enhance someone's capabilities portfolio. Perhaps there's a buyer out there that's looking to build an application backline to challenge Google. Ask.com could prove a huge asset in that case.
Recession Boost:
"Free" gets the attention of many people, including marketers. With the cost of paid search terms going up, the organic search folks may see a lot more attention in 2009.
Although organic search traffic is often touted as "free traffic," it truly isn't. Developing rankings for key terms in an industry requires an investment in all the elements that go into building a Web site: content, coding, design, and strategy. Though the traffic isn't free, the ROI tends to be better.
Organic search marketing just might become the bread winner as cash-strapped client become wary of increased media costs in traditional space and an up-turn in bid competition in paid search.
ROI on the Prize for SEO:
It's about time! ROI will no longer be a "nice to have" for those who practice SEO in 2009.
Again, the economy will dictate scrutiny of every marketing dollar spent, and clients are going to want to know ahead of time what they can expect from their SEO programs. ROI models, all with their own flaws, will control the landscape of organic search programs as search marketers hope to woo marketing dollars away from less successful or measurable competing tactics.
As part of a global agency, I welcome a shift to focusing on client returns. This may help the SEO profession gain acceptance and operate at a higher standard.
Local All Over Globe:
In the coming year, if you own brick-and-mortar locations you better get familiar with local search and put a program in place. Local search will be the big thing in 2009 for search.
Local search is far more measurable than a traditional organic listing and, therefore, lends itself better to demonstrated ROI benefits. Additionally, the number of mobile searches will only increase as mobile phones become more sophisticated. Marketers must make sure they show up in these results.
A Paid Inclusion Rebound:
If there's one paid search service that can thrive on '09, it's paid inclusion. Yahoo offers a unique PPC program called Search Submit Pro, which provides marketers with the ability to feed results directly into the organic listings. As organic results become more important than ever, marketers will try to get into the listing by any means necessary.
So far Yahoo is the only engine to offer this service, but I predict that we'll see similar offerings as other engines look for new revenue streams in 2009. These may not be straight text search results, but I don't think we've seen the last of paid inclusion.
The Year of Monetization:
This year will be interesting for search engines. As factors from recession to emerging technologies convene, engines will have to create new revenue. Only time will tell whether that revenue comes from acquisition and increased market share or new programs like Yahoo's SSP.
Read More...
Search engine marketing 'should target all e-commerce stages'
Marketers must ensure their company is present in search results at all stages of the buying process, an expert has indicated.
While data might point to one particular keyword as being the most used by consumers when visiting a company's website, the user could have started the process of searching for that company some time ago, using different keywords, according to .net magazine's Gary Reid.
Companies should therefore carry out the proper research and ensure their search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies use the most relevant keywords at each stage of the buying cycle, he said.
"Blindly optimising for a set of keywords you think is appropriate is a quick way to waste time and money," Mr Reid stated.
"You really need to work smart to get the best from your efforts."
Search marketing strategies such as SEO and pay-per-click accounts for half of all spending on internet advertising globally, according to MarketingSherpa.
Read More...
While data might point to one particular keyword as being the most used by consumers when visiting a company's website, the user could have started the process of searching for that company some time ago, using different keywords, according to .net magazine's Gary Reid.
Companies should therefore carry out the proper research and ensure their search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies use the most relevant keywords at each stage of the buying cycle, he said.
"Blindly optimising for a set of keywords you think is appropriate is a quick way to waste time and money," Mr Reid stated.
"You really need to work smart to get the best from your efforts."
Search marketing strategies such as SEO and pay-per-click accounts for half of all spending on internet advertising globally, according to MarketingSherpa.
Read More...
Monday, January 5, 2009
Keyword Research Is A Great Seo Strategy
As you will see all over the internet and on many forums, keyword research is very important if you want your site to rank well and be successful. Keyword research is the key to identifying the needs of your prospects. Keyword research is the first task in optimizing your web site and pay-per-click campaign. One of the best places to perform keyword research is the search engines themselves.
Two of the best-known keyword research tools are Word tracker and Overture. Well, there are many tools on the internet that record the phrases that people are typing and these tools are available online. The best tools to use for keyword research is paid for tools, the free tools just don't have the features. Using free keyword tools are for those marketers that are just starting out and playing around with internet marketing. Use keyword tools that you pay for or the free keyword tool good keywords to do the keyword research.
Tools like word tracker will help you to find that how many times keywords have been searched and how much competition there is for that particular keyword phrases.
When choosing the keywords and keyword phrases you need to have tools that can help identifying the words you will need. Once you find the keywords you are going to target you need to start using these keywords on your pages and on your links that point back to your site.
To maximize the profitability of your online venture, it has become a must that you should concentrate on a particular niche. A niche is a specialized segment of the market that is often overlooked. Determining a niche should be the first step of a sound business plan. Fortunately, deciding on which keywords encompass the entire niche is relatively easy if you have done your keyword research. Advertiser is paying - the higher the cost per click the more lucrative that particular niche is likely to be. This will tell you if people are buying and whether the niche is likely to be profitable.
Try not to choose keywords that all the other sites are using, find keywords that are searched on in a limited fashion this way you will establish a niche. So, finding the right words are important. When doing keyword research make sure you keep a record of the keywords that you researched and those words that have less competition and high searches. Domain names by themselves are no longer the most valuable location on the internet keywords are. Thus choosing the keywords is of the utmost importance. It has been said again and again, you need to have content that is keyword rich on your site to help with the search engine rankings. Keywords are the search words that people use when searching for information on the internet.
The first thing you need to do before you start your keyword research is to choose the words you would like to research on. How do you identify the keyword? The first step is to understand what the theme of your site is going to be. If your site is about cars then all of your keywords should revolve around cars. Research these keywords and find out how many times they have searched on, what is the competition like of these words is there a high demand of people looking for the particular keyword.
Read More...
Two of the best-known keyword research tools are Word tracker and Overture. Well, there are many tools on the internet that record the phrases that people are typing and these tools are available online. The best tools to use for keyword research is paid for tools, the free tools just don't have the features. Using free keyword tools are for those marketers that are just starting out and playing around with internet marketing. Use keyword tools that you pay for or the free keyword tool good keywords to do the keyword research.
Tools like word tracker will help you to find that how many times keywords have been searched and how much competition there is for that particular keyword phrases.
When choosing the keywords and keyword phrases you need to have tools that can help identifying the words you will need. Once you find the keywords you are going to target you need to start using these keywords on your pages and on your links that point back to your site.
To maximize the profitability of your online venture, it has become a must that you should concentrate on a particular niche. A niche is a specialized segment of the market that is often overlooked. Determining a niche should be the first step of a sound business plan. Fortunately, deciding on which keywords encompass the entire niche is relatively easy if you have done your keyword research. Advertiser is paying - the higher the cost per click the more lucrative that particular niche is likely to be. This will tell you if people are buying and whether the niche is likely to be profitable.
Try not to choose keywords that all the other sites are using, find keywords that are searched on in a limited fashion this way you will establish a niche. So, finding the right words are important. When doing keyword research make sure you keep a record of the keywords that you researched and those words that have less competition and high searches. Domain names by themselves are no longer the most valuable location on the internet keywords are. Thus choosing the keywords is of the utmost importance. It has been said again and again, you need to have content that is keyword rich on your site to help with the search engine rankings. Keywords are the search words that people use when searching for information on the internet.
The first thing you need to do before you start your keyword research is to choose the words you would like to research on. How do you identify the keyword? The first step is to understand what the theme of your site is going to be. If your site is about cars then all of your keywords should revolve around cars. Research these keywords and find out how many times they have searched on, what is the competition like of these words is there a high demand of people looking for the particular keyword.
Read More...
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