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SEO Expert Guide - Sitewide Optimization (part 4/10)
In parts 1 and 2 you learnt how to develop your online business proposition and how to generate a list of key word ingredients for your site optimization activity. You were also introduced to our mythical Doug (who sells antique doors, door handles, knockers, door bells or pulls and fitting services) in Windsor in the UK.
Now it is time to start your optimization activities and I am going to start with a hard message. If you already have a site and this is the first time you have seriously looked at SEO, then I would recommend starting again from scratch! Build a new site from the top-down and - when you are done - migrate across from your old site to the new. Don't worry about losing custom or links from other sites - there are ways to avoid that I will show you in the (final) part 10.
(a) Domain name Optimization
A newsflash for you. By far the most effective way to optimize keywords is to have them in the full URL for your page. The highest value part of that URL is the domain name itself.
I know what you are thinking. All the good domain names have gone by now. Well, you might be surpised (as you will soon see with Doug). Your second concern might be that you would prefer to use your business name as your URL. We will deal with both these concerns (in reverse order).
Try typing "search" into Google and you might expect to see Google put themselves first in the results, or Yahoo. It is search.com that ranks highest however! I rest my case. Domain names matter (whatever nonsense you might read on SEO forums).
Try http://www.laserpointers.co.uk and see what you find. If you dig about a bit, you'll find that the company behind this site (and several others) is Blue Sky Marketing.
At http://www.blueskymarketing.co.uk you will find their company website, but guess which of the two sites gets a top five ranking at Google UK for a search on "laser pointers"?
The bottom line is that (after you have done every other piece of optimization right) your domain name selection is perhaps the only area where you can further differentiate yourself from your competitors. As such, it may be your only realisatic chance (in this every more mature market) to achieve a top 10 ranking for some of your key search terms and - believe me - the traffic (and business) impact this has is literally amazing.
Now for the "all the good domain names have gone" issue. Doug makes a visit (as should you) to the excellent Keyword Domain Name Search Tool and, although plurals are out (pity), he finds the following two options are both still available for his top-selling product and biggest possible traffic draw:
http://www.antiquedoorknocker.com; and
http://www.antique-door-knocker.com
If you use your top three keywords as a combination, you too are likely to find a decent available domain (unless you are operating in a highly competitive area like real estate).
So which of these two should Doug choose? To hyphenate domain name or not? There is more disagreement on this amongst web masters than almost any other issue in SEO. In practice, this means that there is evidence supporting both options.. and, as such, you choice isn't critical. However, on balance (and without boring you with the details), I would suggest you do hyphenate in the domain name if you have a choice (if only to help with your page titles; more on this later).
(b) URL name Optimization
You'll remember I suggested a separate page for each product, service or key piece of information. Well, I would also have a seperate directory for each product or service category (limiting the directory name to two, hyphenated key words). As such, Doug settles on three directories, covering his three main categories:
http://www.antique-door-knocker.com/door-hardware/
http://www.antique-door-knocker.com/antique-doors/
http://www.antique-door-knocker.com/door-fitting/
I wouldn't go down to sub-dirctories below this unless you have a particularly large number of products in your catalogue (and therefore recognisable sub-categories). Too many key words will reduce the overall density of any one word within the whole URL.
(c) File extension Optimization
For your (page) file name, I would use up to three key words, again hyphenated. For the file extension I would always opt for static .html file extensions where possible. Dynamiclly generated file extensions (that include "?" or "%" in the query string) have been shown to confuse search engines.
Extending Doug's example, he comes up with 45 different pages under hardware, of which the following five are examples:
../door-hardware/brass-door-knobs.html
../door-hardware/iron-door-knobs.html
../door-hardware/door-bell-pulls.html
../door-hardware/door-bell-chimes.html
../door-hardware/brass-door-knockers.html
In some cases, he has duplicate products on different pages. For example, everything on the door chimes page also appears on the door pull page. Doug disdcovered during his key word analysis phase that Americans tended to search on chimes, whilst brits used pulls. Thus he needs both covered at this level.
(d) Navigation, Internal Links and Site Map Optimization
It may be a shock to some (particularly those who focus on Page Rank too much), but your home - or "index" - page has very little SEO value. A well ranking root index page is the exception rather than the rule. My advice is to treat the homepage as a pretty site map - pretty becuase it should impress human directory reviewers and a site map so that it directs search engine robots quickly to your sub content.
For opimizing the site map, imagine a droopy banana sat at the top of your page (drooping down the left hand side). This banana zone is where both human eyeballs and search engines will look most. Make sure your links use key words only for anchor text and link directly to your second and third levels. A truncated example version (for Doug) would sit in the top left corner of his home page - and look like this:
Door Hardwares Brass Door Knobs Iron Door Knobs Door Bell Pulls Door Bell Chimes Brass Door Knockers Antique Doors Edwardian Doors Victorian Doors Door Fitting Surrey Door Fitters Middlesex Door Fitters
More value is ascribed to internal links (with good anchor text) than many people seem to realize. I am often surprised at how many people spend ages trying to secure inbound links from other sites (more on this later) but have no decent, keyword-rich navigation within their own site (where, after all, everything is under their own control).
Search engines uses the anchor text on inbound links to determine the relevance of the target page. In fact Google even has a special operator: 'allinanchor:keyword', which picks up text only from within the anchor text of indexed pages. Try comparing any straight search in Google with it's allinanchor equivalent. For example, "swimming pools" versus "allinanchor:swimming pools".
You'll probably notice that the top-ranked straight search site is invariably the top-ranked allinanchor site (whilst others further down the list may vary substantially). Don't neglect to focus on this area in your SEO strategy!
Next we turn our attention to page optmization...
Navigate the guide
Previous : SEO Expert Guide - Keyword Analysis (part 3/10)
Next: SEO Expert Guide - Page Optimization (part 5/10)
About the author:David Viney (david@viney.com) is the author of the Intranet Portal Guide; 31 pages of advice, tools and downloads covering the period before, during and after an Intranet Portal implementation.
Read the guide at http://www.viney.com/DFV/intranet_portal_guide or the Intranet Watch Blog at http://www.viney.com/intranet_watch.
How To Get Listed In Google For Free
Google does not accept payment for inclusion in their main index ? so anyone that's at the top is there through hard work and perseverance, or through paying a company such as NikkiPilkington.com to do the hard work for you. Below I show you 7 great ways to increase your chances of a Google ranking.
Adding City Names At The End Of Your Keywords Can Bring You More Profits
In recent times, I have been closely studying keywords that have famous city names at the end of them and what I have discovered is nothing short of amazing. My research started off with pay-per-click ads. With Google Adsense the same keyword with only a city inserted at the end can attract substantially higher paying adsense ads to your site. That really surprised me and I went further and researched the kind of traffic the same keywords get for different well know American cities. Again I was in for a shock. Some cities have very high traffic for a certain keyword when you compare them to others for the same keyword.
All about SEO or SFO?
First let's start with definitions:
Developing A List Of Keywords For Marketing
Keywords aren't just some words that allow search engines, like Google, to find your web site. They are also key elements for creating attractive language to use in your marketing or advertising material. For instance places such as: brochures, business cards, flyers, and ads. Keywords can also fit well into speaking engagements scripts or audiotapes scripts as well as audience handouts.
Beyond Search Engines
Some webmasters report that search engines account for 75% or more of their total website traffic. However, it's important not to become too dependent on search engines for new business. Achieving a top listing from a major search engine is becoming more and more difficult over time. The competition for top spots is intense and it's getting harder every day to get listed at all. Also more and more search engines are moving to a pay-per-click model, and paying for top listings may not be in your budget.
LSI and Link Popularity
When Paypal's official Web site no longer ranked #1 in Google on a search for "paypal," it was obvious that Google had become more aggressive in penalizing sites with "unnatural" backlink anchor text. Although the high-profile Paypal example has since been rectified, thousands of webmasters are suffering the consequences of not ranking for even their official company name, let alone their top keywords. It is important for search engine optimizers to understand both how anchor text penalties are being applied and how LSI ensures that anchor text variance will not dilute a link popularity building campaign.
Is Something Missing From Your Keywords Research? (Part 2)
In my previous article, I raised the issue that proper keyword research must take into account countries. The reason for that was that the demand for keywords can vary between countries. I gave examples of that fact using the Overture keyword tool.
Getting Honest With The Search Engines
Getting Honest With The Search Engines
Hiring An SEO Constultant - 10 Reasons Why You Should
It crosses every webmaster's mind anytime they see an ad or an email for search engine marketing. Many small business owners wonder what they're missing by not doing it. So should you hire a consultant? Search engine traffic make up at least 85% of all traffic to a website. So of course, search engine optimization is very important. But what, if any, will be the consequences of doing it yourself? Would it be beneficial to a website owner to hire a professional SEO consultant, or just plod along and hope that they are doing it right? This is a valid dilemma to face, and I will show you why it should be an easy decision. There are ten reasons why hiring them would be to your benefit.
Tools of the Trade, the SEO Must Have Utilities
Search Engine traffic accounts for nearly 80% of the Internet traffic. It is no wonder all website owners want their pages appear in the first 3 pages of the Search engine Results Pages ( SERPS). Getting there by itself is one tough job, and sustaining your place there is another day to day tussle. Unless most of the mundane tasks are automated the life of an SEO is going to be miserable. We constantly see new webmasters are clueless about the tools of the trade. Let's see a few main one's in this article.
Stay In The Know With Google SMS
The Short Messaging Service (SMS) from Google sends short, quick, text answers in response to your queries from an SMS-enabled mobile device, such as a cell phone. For example, you can look up phone numbers and addresses of local restaurants, do local phone book searches, compare prices from online merchants in Froogle to those you find in local stores, even look up definitions of words from the dictionary.
2 Powerful Ways To Capitalize on Your Search Engine Traffic
Many marketers know that search engine marketing is among one of the best methods to get visitors to their websites. It's a profitable way to reach new subscribers and new customers.
A Way for Search Engines to Improve
Wouldn't it be nice if the search engines could comprehend our impressions of search results and adjust their databases accordingly? Properly optimized web pages would show up well in contextual searches and be rewarded with favorable reviews and listings. Pages which were spam or which had content that did not properly match the query would get negative responses and be pushed down in the search results.
Why Search Engine Traffic Should be Your Top Priority
Most Internet marketing methods are risky and many will not have any affect on traffic to a web site. Some online marketers will sell you anything from banner impressions, to mass email campaigns (spam), to popup ads. All these marketing tools can work, but they are also extremely risky. Some people I know find pop-ups and spam so annoying that they will never purchase anything from a business that uses them. These plans are probably not the best customer acquisition strategies, and more likely they are a total waste of money. So why would anyone bother risking money on marketing strategies that probably will not increase traffic to your website? Why not concentrate on what does work? - The search engines.
DIY SEO - Part 2 Tags n Things
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Is This A ?DMOZ Killer? In The Making?
Is building a Human-Edited Fully "Democratic" Search Directory Possible?
Make Quality Content Your #1 Priority
It is by now a proven fact that content is the most important element for getting better pagerank and, consequently, more traffic.
8 ways to build a really bad web site for Search Engines
Some web sites receive hundreds or thousands of unique visitors a day, whilst others only get a handful or none. The reason is often because the web designers or Webmaster has built the site in one 'really bad way' or other. This can end up hindering the potential success of the web site. If you want to make sure your site is not a 'traffic flop' then here are some simple rules to follow.
Most Overlooked Search Engine Optimization Technique
Some of the basics when it comes to SEO and getting high ranking in search engines starts with using a keyword and then placing it strategically throughout the website in content, title, headline, etc. Using the keyword multiple times in your content is great, but lets look at something that a lot of websites completely overlook.
Hens Lay Eggs (HLE) by Silke Stahl
"HLE" is a bit of a joke term, (or possible tongue in cheek could be a better label) coined in my Network Marketing Group - it stands for "Hens Lay Eggs" and is a take on the exponential growth theory - recruit two people, who recruit two, etc, and in six weeks you'll have 50,000 people sending you $250,000 - the false promise of MLM.