In the early days of the World Wide Web, when things were just getting started many geek speak terms were jockeying for position to be the standards for years to come. I used to drive by a California-based company every day that had named itself YKK and think, “What a pity.”
Add comment June 9th, 2006
How to Approach Potential Link Exchange Partners
by: Mark Hochhaus
Exchanging links can be a great way to build relations with other sites and boost your ranking at the same time. You never know how many friends you can make and what you can learn from them. So let’s get started.
First, you need to create a links page. This links page needs to look and feel the same as the rest of your site and should include instructions on how to link to your site and an example of the description you want. If you use buttons for links, make sure you include a text link somewhere so search engines can find your links page easily.
Now that you have your links page ready, it’s time to start looking for link partners. When searching for link partners, start by searching for your keywords in Google and choose 10 to 20 sites that have content that is related to or can compliment your site. Then, add a text link with a brief description of thier site on your links page.
Now it’s time to send off an email to each site and ask if they will exchange links with you. I have a basic form letter I use for this (form letter at end of article). However, I add something personal about their site, a compliment about something I liked. This lets them know that I’m not a bot sending spam, but a real person interested in exchanging links that has actually took the time to review their site.
If you have not heard from them in 5 to 7 days, go ahead and send another request but not the same one, change this one. You might mention that you have not heard back from them and that you feel your visitors could benefit from their content. You may also want to see if they have a phone number listed and give them a call. I know, as a seasoned webmaster, I enjoy the phone calls I get. Don’t be afraid to make several contact attempts. Following up on your link requests is essential. However, don’t bombard their email with requests. Always send one last email letting them know you’re removing their link and that maybe you can exchange links another time. Always end on a positive note. The idea is to build business relationships, not upset people.
When you get a response that your request has been accepted, go and verify your link is accurate and that the description is to your liking. Don’t be afraid to ask for an edit if you’re unhappy with the link.
Having a link on a site with a high page rank in Google is better than a page with no or low page rank. Although, until you gain page rank of your own, you may have to settle for links that have low rank. This does not mean you can’t request links from high ranking sites. Just be prepared that they may not accept you until you have high page rank. Save these contacts for a latter campaign.
Next week, we will look into some software that can help you with your reciprocal linking campaign and review some websites designed to help you exchange links.
Form letter example for approaching link partners.
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Dear John Doe,
My name is Your Name, I am the webmaster for yoursite.com. I have visited your site, sitename.com, and I think that the content could be of interest to our web site visitors.
I have already placed a link to your site along with a description at www.yourstie.com/link.html If you want anything modified or if you have any other cross-promotion ideas, let me know.
I would appreciate if you placed a link back to our site. As soon as I am aware that you have done so, I will move your link to the top of the list in your category. If you put our link on your main page, I will also do the same for you. If you have a banner you’d rather use, let me know.
You can find our linking code at: www.yourstie.com/suggest-link.html.
Sincerely,
Sign Here
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About The Author
Mark Hochhaus owns and operates InHisServiceProductions ( http://www.inhisserviceproductions.com ), a web site design firm based in Washington State and publishes weekly articles in an RSS enabled blog titled The Optimizer ( http://www.increased-online-traffic.com/seo-news.asp ).
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Add comment June 9th, 2006
The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign
by: Matt Hockin
Everyday, the Search Engines average 300 MILLION searches. In a recent Forrester Research report 81% of consumers on the Internet find products and services by using the Search Engines. Search Engine Optimization allows you to achieve top search engine placement and a tap into a new source of qualified visitors who are actively searching for products and services on the Internet.
Unfortunately, only 7% of all websites are visible by the search engines according to a recent StatMarket.com study. The reason for this phenomenon is because most web sites are not properly optimized and promoted to achieve high search engine rankings.
The Top 3 Components Of Optimizing Your Web Site for Top Search Engine Rankings:
To achieve the best overall, long-term search engine positioning, three components must be present on your web site:
1) The Content Component
The most important part of the content component (of a search engine algorithm) is keyword selection and where you place keywords on your web pages. In order for your target audience to find your site on the search engines, your web pages must contain keyword phrases that match the phrases your target audience is typing into search queries. Finding these keywords that your target audience uses to find your product is accomplished by conducting keyword research.
2) The Link Component - Internal Linking
The strategy of placing keyword-rich text on your web pages is useless if the search engine spiders have no way of finding that text. The way your web pages are linked to each other has huge impact on your site’s search engine positioning. Be sure to link your pages together with your keywords within your links.
3) The Link Popularity Component - Acquiring In-Bound Links
The “Link Popularity” or Google “Page Rank” (PR) component of a search engine algorithm analyzes how many web sites link to your website.
95% of the battle of getting high rankings at the search engine is acquiring quality and relevant links pointing to your web site. Ever since Google entered the search engine market, all the major Search Engines have started using links as the primary way they rank web sites. This is known as your web site’s “Link Popularity” or in Google’s case it’s called “PageRank” or “PR.”
For example, the heart of Google’s algorithm is PageRank, a system for ranking web pages developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. Here is what Google says about their “PageRank” web site ranking algorithm at their web site http://www.google.com/technology/… “PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”
As Google explains, Links and PageRank are critical to ranking high in the search engines. In fact, inbound links and the text within those inbound links account for 95% of effective search engine optimization.
Relevant Links: But, attaining optimal link popularity is not as easy as simply obtaining as many links as possible to your website. The quality and relevancy of the sites linking to your site holds more “weight” than the quantity of sites linking to your site. Since Yahoo is the most frequently visited site on the web, a link from Yahoo to your website carries far more “weight” than a link from a smaller, less visited site.
Here’s what Google Developer Matt Cutts has to say about links…
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“Thematic incoming links from authority sites
carry more weight than on-page optimization.”
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The Top 4 Strategies for Acquiring Links to Your Web Site:
Below are the four critical steps for achieving high rankings by acquiring text links to your web site…
1) Get a higher Google PageRank score than your competition For any given keyword, there is a minimum PageRank required to rank at Google. In order to see what this minimum PageRank number is, search Google for your keyword and look at the PageRank of your competition’s web sites that are ranked in the top 10 of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). An easy way to view the PageRank scores of your competition is to use Google Toolbar http://toolbar.google.com or the SEOChat PageRank Search tool.
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/pagerank-search/
2) Get more relevant links than your competition All links are not created equal. The best links are “relevant” links from web pages related to your keyword.
3) Get more links on more different web sites than your competition Getting links on a variety of different web sites on different networks is crucial for high rankings.
4) Use the keywords you want to high rankings in the search engines as the anchor text of your in-bound links. “Anchor text” is the visible text within a hyperlink. Text links and anchor text are the two most important criteria for how Google and other top Search Engines rank web sites.
Here is an example of a link containing the keyword phrase “ERP Software” within the anchor text…
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F*R*E*E [ERP Software] white paper shows how
to increase profitability and reduce inventory.
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Relevant Links and PageRank are critical to achieving high search engine rankings. Want proof? Do a search at Google for the highly competitive keyword “computers” and you’ll find Apple and Dell computers rank numbers 1 and 2 in the
Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Now, click through to the Apple and Dell web pages and look for the word “computers” in their web page text. What did you find? Neither www.apple.com or www.dell.com have the word “computers” in their text, yet they’re ranking #1 and #2 at Google.
Relevant Links and PageRank Win!
The sites with the most relevant links and highest Google PageRank win every time and rank the highest at the top search engines. There are many methods you can use to acquire text links including buying links from a broker, Internet directories, reciprocal linking, Internet publicity, and others.
By Matt Hockin
http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com
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About The Author
Matt Hockin is President of Interactive Marketing, Inc., an Internet marketing consulting company providing web site optimization and search engine marketing services that “tune up” web sites for increased conversion rates, traffic, qualified leads, and profitability. For more information, visit http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com
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Add comment June 9th, 2006
Westerners believe opposites flow in a natural cycle always replacing the other. They tend to look at things as black or white, right or wrong, up or down, giving a separation and unrelated-ness in their perspective.
Chinese view opposites as evolving and cycling. There is neither right nor wrong, but rather there is balance, transformation, interaction and a dependent opposition. Think of it as a duality that cannot exist without both parts.
Add comment June 9th, 2006
Search Engine Optimization is emerging as the most powerful form of Internet Marketing in the recent years, and is bound to increase in the coming few years. Many companies have now emerged from countries like UK,CANADA, and India providing cost effective Search Engine Optimization Services.
Internet Marketing in the form of Search Engine Optimization has helped to build several successful business portals online. Many successful Software Firms,Travel agencies, Business services are becoming aware of the power of Search Engine Optimization.
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“The Internet Gold Rush is under way” Bill Gates, chairman Microsoft Corporation.
Early settlers understood if you are going to build a community, build it near a permanent, abundant source of fresh water. And that’s why in all countries around the world, communities were built around streams, rivers and lakes. That’s good common sense.
Now let’s apply that same wisdom to developing a business.
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Why, you ask? Mainly, because search engines want to provide their users with good content. How do they find it? By surfing the web for it. However, search engines don’t view websites with human eyes, instead they use “spiders” (also known as crawlers, or robots), a “spider” is an automated program used to browse the web in a methodical manner.
Add comment June 9th, 2006
Does it seem to you that when you view "openings" within your statistics, that fewer recipients seem to be opening your campaigns?…
Where: There are 3 places your email can go once you have hit ’send’ on your latest e-marketing campaign:
1. The Inbox. Safely delivered (and hopefully read!)
2. Junk Mail Box. This has negative implications on:
a: Brand image
b: Decreased profile
c: Inaccurate campaign reporting
3. Undelivered. (?or are they?)
Add comment June 9th, 2006
Remember that leaders spend more money on learning and growing, but they do their homework and work hard to make money.
Sheep follow the herd blindly with their wallets open hoping someone else will will do their work for them. Jumping into the newest multi-level marketing program will drain your wallet and your faith in humanity.
Add comment June 9th, 2006
Think about it, how many emails do you send out every day? How many of these forwarded jokes, pictures, stories etc do you receive every week?
Why not put your email to work for you?! Add a link or two to your signature file. Mine looks something like this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susanne
I am a Work at Home Mom Wannabe
http://www.wahmwannabe.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add comment June 9th, 2006
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