Are You Losing The Battle For Search Engine Traffic?
Search engine traffic should be a priority for any online business and some level of optimization is apart of every effective marketing strategy.
On the plus side, search engine traffic is the cream of the crop. There is very low cost involved and the conversion rates are typically quite high. The people that are clicking on your link are searching specifically for what you have to offer.
On the negative side, actually achieving a high rank on the top search engines AND maintaining a high rank is close to impossible for the majority of webmasters. You could spend thousands of dollars and weeks of your life just trying to compete. And in the end, this will undoubtedly lead to frustration and wasted time.
The best option for the majority of webmasters is to not become obsessed with your fluctuating results, but simply to focus on the basics with long term success in mind.
1. Basic search engine optimization.
This is the first step and really quite simple. I read recently that close to 90% of all websites are not search engine friendly. That truly amazed me, because the process is rather simple and takes barely any time at all.
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You should make sure that all of your site pages are search engine friendly. Not just your homepage, although it is most important. A search engine friendly webpage contains a keyword-rich Title, Description and Keywords.
Your Title should contain your best keywords or keyphrases. It should describe exactly what your website is all about, and it should not exceed 80 characters, about 5 to 7 words is best.
Your Description should also contain some of your best keywords or keyphrases. It should be one or two sentences that expands on the description of your company and website.
Your Keywords should be separated by a comma and a space, and should not exceed 70 words. Keep it simple and do not double up on the same word. Many search engines do not place any relevancy on your keywords anymore so do not waste too much time here.
When deciding what words to use, think like the person that is doing the search. What words would they put into a search, to find what you have to offer? Make a list of these words and then go try them out to see what you get! You may also want to think about key phrases. These would be a few words used together that someone may enter to find what you have.
You can analyze your Meta Tags at these websites
In addition to these three basics, you should also try to include your keywords and phrases within the body of your page. Ideally you want a 3% ratio of keywords to total words.
You can use your keywords in your page link names in your navigation bar. Also, any links throughout the content of your page should also be keywords.
2. Search Engine Submissions
Right off the bat I will say don’t waste your time and money with all those websites that advertise submissions to a million search engines. Honestly, there aren’t that many search engines, and only a handful are worth your time anyways. Your focus should be on the primary search engines and directories, specifically Google, Yahoo, MSN,
Associated Websites
and a few others. Make sure to go to these directories and submit by hand.
3. Reciprocal Links
Reciprocal Linking should be one of your major strategies for search engine placement and generating traffic. You need highly ranked relevant websites to link to your site to gain top positions on search engines. You should focus on quality and relevancy. It is much more beneficial for you to have 100 links from highly ranked relevant websites, rather than 1000 links from any and all websites.
You can search the internet for relevant websites and then simply send them an email with a request to swap links. This strategy can be quite tedious but is sometimes necessary when starting out.
You should setup a Link Directory using something like Reciprocal Manager or Links Manager. I would recommend doing this right from the beginning. This will allow your site visitors to quickly and easily add their own links, and automate the whole process for you.
4. Content
There is no substitute for a website with quality content. The internet is founded on information. If you can provide, relevant, substantial, quality content on your website you will have a much greater potential for getting lots of links and lots of traffic.
The benefits of writing your own articles are tremendous. Not only do you separate yourself as an expert in your field, you will garner higher search engine rankings through content as well as links. You can share your articles, submit them to directories and give them to webmasters to fill their content. At the bottom of each article you include a small resource box with a link back to your site and there you have lots of high quality content and links.
Write one article every week and in a year from now you will have 52 content rich pages on your site, and 52 articles floating around the World Wide Web proclaiming you as an expert.
In conclusion, by following these four proven steps you will generate an endless stream of free, quality traffic to your website. Yes, they actually take effort and work on your part, and guess what, so does any real business. Look at the top internet marketers online today and you will see that they live by these four principles. Start working on one of these strategies everyday. The key here is continual, persistent work. I wish you the best of success with your business!
Author: Norbert Orlewicz
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