Business from home

Title: The Basics of SEO - Some FAQs
Date: Wednesday, November 23 @ 07:18:38
Topic Link Popularity

Title: The Basics of SEO - Some FAQs

Author: Glenn Murray

Article:

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a foreign field to a lot of
people. Rarely does a day go by when I don't get asked a few
questions on the subject. So I've decided to post this FAQ
article in the hopes that it will help people understand the
basics, and make them a little more comfortable with the whole
domain.

Q: Why are search engines important to me?

A: 85% of all website traffic is driven by search
engines. The only online activity more popular than search is
email. 79.2% of US users don't go to page 2 of search results.
42% of users click on the no.1 result. For the under-40
age-group, the Internet will become the most used media in the
next 2-3 years.

Q: How do search engines decide on their rankings?

A: IMPORTANT: You cannot pay a search engine in return
for a high ranking in the natural results. You can only get a
high ranking if your content is seen as relevant by the search
engines. Search engines identify relevant content for their
search results by sending out 'spiders' or 'robots' which
'crawl' (analyze) your site and 'index' (record) its details.
Complex algorithms are then employed to determine whether your
site is useful and should be included in the search engine's
search results.

Q: Can't I just pay for a high ranking?

A: No. The biggest concern for search engine companies
like Google and Yahoo is finding content that will bring them
more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other
words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes
for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a
short-lived search engine.

Most search engines these days return two types of results
whenever you click Search:

* Natural/Organic - The 'real' search results. The
results that most users are looking for and which take up most
of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a
long list of links to sites with content which is related to the
word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how
relevant and important they are.

* Paid - Pure advertising. This is how the search engines
make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display
their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related
to their product or service. These ads look similar to the
natural search results, but are normally labeled "Sponsored
Links", and normally take up a smaller portion of the window.

Q: How do I get a high ranking?

A: There are four main steps:

Step 1 - Use the right words on your website

Step 2 - Get lots of relevant sites to link to yours

Step 3 - Use the right words in those links

Step 4 - Have lots of content on your site & add more
regularly

Q: What is search engine optimization (SEO)?

A: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of
creating a website which is search engine-friendly. This means:

* using the right words in your copy

* using the right words in your HTML code

* structuring your site properly

* designing your site properly

For more information on these 4 elements, download our free href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seosecrets.htm"
target="_blank">'SEO Secrets' eBook.

Many people use SEO to also describe the other ingredient in a
high ranking, 'Link Popularity'.

Q: What is link popularity?

A: Think of the search engines as a big election. All
the websites in the world are candidates. The links to your
website are votes. The more votes (links) a candidate (website)
has, the more important it is, and the higher its ranking. Link
popularity is all about how many links you have, and how you can
get more.

Links to your site tell the search engines how important your
site is. They assume that if it's important enough for a lot of
other sites to link to, it's important enough for them to
display at the top of the rankings. Links are the single most
important factor in ranking. Generally speaking, the more links
you have to your site from other sites, the better your ranking.

Q: Are some links better than others?

A: Yes! The ideal kind of links are those that:

* come from relevant sites (sites which use the same keywords);

* come from important sites (have a high ranking);

* include your keyword as part of the visible link text;

* include varying link text (not the same link text each time);
and

* come from a page that links to few other sites.

When a search engine sees a link which satisfies most or all of
these conditions, it says, "Hey, this site must be credible and
important, because others in the same industry are pointing to
it."

Q: How do I get lots of links back to my site?

A: There are many possible ways to generate links. Some
are dubious (like auto-generation software, and sites set up by
webmasters simply to host links to their other sites) and I
won't be discussing them here. Others, like those discussed
below, are legitimate.
* Add your site to DMOZ & Yahoo Directories (and other free
directories)

* Check where your competitors' links are coming from

* Article PR - Write and submit articles for Internet publication

* Swap links

* Partner websites

* Pay for links

For more information on these methods, download our free href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seosecrets.htm"
target="_blank">'SEO Secrets' eBook.

Q: What do you think is the best way to get lots of links?

A: Article PR. Write helpful articles and let other
webmasters publish them for free in exchange for a link in the
byline. With article PR, you don't have to pay for the link, you
determine the content of the page containing the link, you
determine the link text, and the link is more or less permanent.
A single article can be reprinted hundreds of times, and each
time is another link back to your site!

For more information, read href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seoarticles.htm"
target="_blank">How to Top Google with Article PR or visittarget="_blank">www.ArticlePR.com.

Q: How do I write a good article PR piece?

A: See href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seoarticles.htm"
target="_blank">How to Top Google with Article PR

Q: How do I get a high ranking using free reprint content?

A: See href="http://www.divinewrite.com/Top_Ranking_Free.htm"
target="_blank">Get a top 10 ranking without paying a
cent.

Q: How long does it take to get a high search engine ranking?

A: A long time! It's impossible to say how much time
you'll need to spend generating links, but you can be sure it'll
be a while no matter which method of link generation you use.
You just have to keep at it until you have achieved a high
ranking. Even then, you'll still need to dedicate some ongoing
time to the task, otherwise your ranking will drop.

Q: What is the Google Sandbox, and is it real?

A: The Google Sandbox theory suggest that whenever
Google detects a new website, it withholds its rightful ranking
for a period while it determines whether your site is a genuine,
credible, long term site. It does this to discourage the
creation of SPAM websites (sites which serve no useful purpose
other than to boost the ranking of some other site).

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting the theory, but
there is also a lot discounting it. No one has categorically
proven its existence.

Q: What is the Google Dampening Link Filter, and is it real?

A: The Google Dampening Link Filter theory suggests that
if Google detects a sudden increase (i.e. many hundreds or
thousands) in the number of links back to your site, it may
sandbox them for a period (or in fact penalize you by lowering
your ranking or blacklisting your site altogether).

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting the theory, but
there is also a lot discounting it. No one has categorically
proven its existence.

Q: What SEO companies should I be wary of?

src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">< /script>

A: Be wary of SEO companies that promise or guarantee
results in a given timeframe, especially if they won't expand on
their methods for generating links back to your site.

Q: What tools can you recommend?

A: There are many very useful tools to help with your
SEO. The following are just selection. All tools are free unless
otherwise indicated.

A: See our href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seo_glossary.htm"
target="_blank">SEO Glossary.

Q: What is keyword analysis?

A: The first thing you need to do when you begin chasing
a good search engine ranking is decide which words you want to
rank well for. This is called performing a keyword analysis.
Keyword analysis involves a bit of research and a good knowledge
of your business and the benefits you offer your customers.

For more information, download our free href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seosecrets.htm"
target="_blank">'SEO Secrets' eBook.

Q: Do I need to submit my site to the search engines?

A: Theoretically, no. But I wouldn't risk not doing it -
especially as it's free. As soon as you register your domain
name, submit it to Google! Even if you haven't built your site,
or thought about your content, submit your domain name to
Google. In fact, even if you haven't fully articulated your
business plan and marketing plan, submit your domain name to
Google.
For more information, download our free href="http://www.divinewrite.com/seosecrets.htm"
target="_blank">'SEO Secrets' eBook.

Q: Should I submit my site to the search engines more than
once?

A: No need. Although some of the search engines allow
you to do this, there's really no need.

Q: What are directories and should I submit my site to them?

A: Directories are websites (or web pages) which simply
list lots of website and give a quick description of the
website. Some are free and some require you to pay for a
listing. Free directories are useful because you get a free
link. However, the links aren't worth that much. Paid
directories can be good if they're relevant, but they can cost a
lot in the long term, so choose wisely.

One essential directories for any website is the href="http://www.dmoz.com/add.html" target="_blank">DMOZ Open
Directory Project.

About the author:
* Glenn Murray is an target="_blank">SEO copywriter and href="http://www.ArticlePR.com" target="_blank">article
submission specialist. He is a director of article PR
company target="_blank">Article PR and also of href="http://www.divinewrite.com">copywriting studio Divine
Write.

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