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Included below are some valuable resources
that have proven to be useful in understanding search engines, search
engine optimization and search engine marketing. Please feel free
to use them for your own research and inspiration.
Tips to Getting Ranked by the Search Engines:
* Have a clear hierarchy to your site and use text links - a
site index can help.
* Make sure that your site is full of informative text and that
the text uses common search terms.
* Use accurate page titles.
* Avoid pages with hundreds of links - this may penalize you.
* View your pages with a text browser to see your site like a search
engine.
* If you use dynamic content or a CMS, make sure that your content
can be crawled.
* Avoid hidden text or links.
* Avoid doorway pages, pages loaded with irrelevant words, or multiple
copies of the same page.
Choosing Keywords for Your SEM Campaign:
* When choosing keywords to target for your website, it's important
to put yourself in your target audiences' shoes. If possible, speak
to your customers, leads, vendors and employees about the terms
they use to find the product/service solution your business offers.
* Use alternate spellings and misspellings (e.g. calendar, calander).
* Include various brand names your site carries.
* Include 2-3 word keyword phrases people might search for.
* If you are interested in targeting a local or regional audience,
be sure to include keyword terms for your city, county and neighboring
cities. The words can appear before of after the keyword phrase,
such as "San Diego hat company" or "hat company in
San Diego".
* Be specific. If you sell hats, rather than trying to compete with
all the big hat companies out there, you'll have a better chance
of placing higher in the search engines by targeting a "niche"
market. For example try: novelty hats, straw hats, felt hats, etc.
* Test your keywords in the search engines. Do competing companies
or related materials come up for those keywords?
* Use a thesaurus to come up with alternative keywords. If you don't
have access to your MS Word thesaurus, use one online at Thesaurus.com
or Google's search term suggestion tool. Review the text and keywords
on your competitors' websites. Do those terms apply to your business?
* Make sure you expand on your keywords. Go beyond words that are
specific to your product or service. For example, if you were a
wedding planner, you would have to remember that people planning
weddings may be conducting keyword searches for things not directly
related to the actual wedding ceremony. They might be looking for:
bachelor parties, bridal veils, engagement rings, etc.
* Think about how these keywords will work together and be incorporated
into the text. Can you write a paragraph of 4 sentences using at
least 5 of these keyword phrases?
Pay-Per-Click Advertising:
PayPerClickSearchEngines.com-
Long-standing guide to paid placement search engines, along with
links to articles and resources about dealing with them. (Updated
Nov. 2002)
PayPerClickAnalyst.com-
Reviews of major pay-per-click search engines, along with news about
changes to them. (Updated Nov. 2002)
Miscellaneous Search Engine Marketing Resources:
SEM Blogs- The best
blogs on the net covering topics from marketing and advertising
to PR and search marketing.
Google Toolbar-
Free browser utility enables users to search from any page on the
web; new features include pop-up blocker, auto web form filler,
blogger button and calculator.
Search
Engine Tools- this site offers some great search engine tools
including the webpage size analyzer, search engines simulator, html
validator and keyword density analyzer.
ROI Calculator- calculate your return on investment with this
handy tool.
Top Yahoo
searches- learn the top searches performed on Yahoo.
DNS Stuff -
tools including Spam database lookup, reverse DNS lookups, IP routing
and more.
WHOIS Source-
IP address search, WHOIS records and alerts for use of related domain
names.
Keyword Research:
Google
search terms suggestions- Plug in your keyword terms and generate
some useful alternatives that your visitors may be using to find
you.
Thesaurus.com-
A simple thesaurus is useful in brain-storming alternative keyword
terms you may want to target for your search engine optimization
campaign.
Social Media/PR Tools:
Mighty
Brand - An easy solution to monitor your brand. See what people
are saying about your company across blogs, Twitter, Digg and much
more.
Trackur - Easily
monitor your brand and follow the buzz by having Trackur email you
automated reports and feeds.
Twitter Search
- See what's happening now by searching Twitter. Twitter features
millions of worldwide users posting links, thoughts and current
events. See
how these social media tools work.
Internet Analytics and Web Statistics:
Internet traffic, search
engine usage and online marketing statistics.
Glossary:
Learn about the search engine marketing
terminology and concepts here.
Search Engine News and Online Resources:
* Click Z
* SEMPO
* Webmaster
World
* Search
Engine Watch
Personal Links:
All
About Hybrid Cars - a non-biased ebook sharing the pros and
cons of hybrid cars. I recommend reading this before you consider
your next car purchase.
Aplus-College-Degrees-
I'm always on the scout for new opportunities to learn. This site
provides various business degrees and professions.
MySpaceDesigners.com
provides resources and matches to professional interior designers
and decorators- Get inspired, find your individual style, find
a decorator and create big designs with ideas, tips, resources and
design how-tos at Myspacedesigners.com.
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Get more questions answered:
> FAQs
> Statistics
> B Liner: eMarketing Newsletter
> Web Design Resource
Testimonial:
"Bline Marketing (Brooke) and her team are incredible
to work with. I have hired numerous (too many to list) companies
in the past for SEO and website design and I have paid a lot of
money with no real results. For the first time, I am working with
a company that actually delivers and on a very timely basis. I am
more than happy with Bline marketing and highly recommend them!"
- Lynn Dralle
Learn how
to sell on eBay with The Queen of Auctions.
Search Engine News:
Search engine research shows that the average number of pages searched
is 3 before the search is abandoned. If you're listings are hidden
somewhere below that, you are not likely to be found.
(SearchEngineWatch)
"Without a centralized unit for SEO that all departments report
to, Web sites for large organizations tend to suffer from a lack
of even basic SEO effectiveness, sometimes even putting them in
a worse position than had no SEO been done at all." (N.M. President
of SEO firm)
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