General
Suggestions for
Google
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What's New
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| December 28, 2005 - Google encourages relevance in AdWords advertisements: another reason to optimize your landing page.
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| December 28, 2005 - Google's Jagger Update may have affected your site ranking.
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| December 26, 2005 - The Relevance of Alt Tags: How important are they for search engine optimization (SEO)? |
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| November 28, 2005 - The Smart Marketer's Guide to...Evaluating the Quality of a Link. |
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| September 20, 2005 - Wordtracker has developed a new keyword research guide. |
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| September 19, 2005 - Google AdWords Rolls Out Keyword Status Changes. |
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Keyword Selection
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| Google now uses word stemming technology, meaning that it will search for your search Keywords as well as any variants of one or more of those Keywords. One way to take advantage of this is to search for your Keyword phrase in both the singular and plural versions in Google. If the results match, use Wordtracker to determine which version has the greatest potential for traffic with the least amount of competition. Choose that version of your Keyword phrase to optimize your page for. If Google is not matching the versions, then make sure to use both versions in your Web page content to achieve the best results.
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| Your website content is one of the singlemost important apsects of SEO. it must be well thought out and structured well throughout your site. You will want to be sure you focus on how your product or service sovles a problem or pain for the customer. This almost sounds too simple to work, but focusing on what you have to offer and how it solves the customes problem will pay substantial benefits for for the long term. |
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| Choosing the right Keywords to target is of paramount importanceto your success in search engine marketing. |
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Many online consumers know exactly what they are willing to spend when searching for retail products. Have you tried optimizing for products based on best value?
Example: "bridesmaid gifts under $20"
Example: "cars under $2000"
Example: "timeshare resale under $1000"
The above examples have low competition factors, so really think about how your target audience may be searching and optimize accordingly. |
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More online consumers know exactly what they're searching for when it comes to retail products. Have you tried optimizing for products by part or model number?
Example: nokia 8910 cell phone
Example: hp deskjet 5550 printer
Also, try adding "" quotes around your product and model number within the <title> tag. For example, <title>Looking for a "nokia 8910 cell phone?"</title>
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Relevancy Tips
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| Why does the Page Critic sometimes recommend changes to a page already ranking well? Read the answer here.
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| Validate your HTML - Learn why it's important.
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| Here are some tips that may help to get your PDF files indexed by search engines: 1) Make sure your PDF contains text. 2) Link to the PDF from several places on your site. 3) Decrease its file size as much as possible since PDFs often load much slower than regular HTML. Consider converting your PDFs to HTML to avoid losing impatient visitors. 4) Name the PDF after your Keyword phrase.
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| Google now uses stemming technology. Learn what this means and what you should do about it. |
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| Does your site contain image maps (i.e., a type of graphical menu system) or drop down menus? If so, then be aware of the hidden dangers. More... |
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| Don't forget the SEO "basics" when optimizing your pages! |
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| Google does not consider the content of META Keyword tags when indexing page content. However, Google may use the Meta Description tag to index page content, so it is important to create a captivating Meta Description tag and use your Keyword phrase in the tag.
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| Obtaining a domain name with your Keyword in it may significantly affect your score on Google. Including the Keyword in a sub-directory name or page name can also help, although not as much. Separate multiple words by dashes, underscores, or slashes in the case of sub-directories. Consider purchasing a secondary domain name for this purpose if ranking well on Google is important to you.
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| Google indexes many document types beyond HTML files such as Word
(.doc) and Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) files.
It's believed most Web marketers do not bother to optimize these file
types. Since many of these 'relatively' uncommon file types tend to rank
well in Google, we suspect that Google may be giving non-HTML file types a
rankings boost. Since most machines can now read PDF files from a browser,
you might try creating some PDF files designed to achieve top rankings.
Don't forget to include your Web site Url and other contact information in
the document. Put important Keywords in the document name, Title, and
headings. Logically, the words in larger font sizes in a PDF document may
be considered more important by Google. If you experiment with this, let us know how it works for you! |
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| According to a representative at Google, they will give more weight to Keywords that appear in bold print or larger print on the page. Therefore, be sure to bold your important Keywords and/or put them in a larger font. Creating headings containing your important Keywords would be one way to do this. |
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| It's not enough to achieve top positions. If you have a high
ranking and few people click on your listing, then what good is it? Learn
to increase your clicks by creating 'Killer Title Tags.' |
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| Including Keywords in the H1 Heading tag can improve your rank on many search engines. Learn how to use the H1 tag while controlling its appearance on your page. |
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| Along with using your Keyword at the top of the page, you might consider using your Keyword at least once near the bottom of your page in the Body area. This can help convey an overall "theme" to the page and may improve your score. Click here to learn why. Only make this change if it doesn't conflict with the current recommended prominence suggestion. |
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| Google powers AOL Web Sites, providing both its regular search results and its paid listings. The paid listings are provided through Google AdWords. Directory listings on AOL come from Open Directory. If you want more visibility in AOL Search, work hard on your Google rankings; consider purchasing Google AdWords; make sure your site is listed in the ODP; and work hard on building a solid link popularity for your Web site. For an impressive chart showing which engines and directories 'power' or provide results to other engines and directories, take a look at Bruce Clay's Search Engine Relationship Chart.
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| Read our Top 5 Tips and Mistakes of Search Engine Marketers for a great overview of what you should do and not do to promote your site. |
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| Advanced tip: Improve rankings via Server Side Includes (SSI) and
keep your content fresh. |
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| Recognized SEO Expert Stephan Mahaney gives his Top 5 Strategies for SEO. |
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Link Popularity
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Link Popularity and Page Rank
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| Advanced Tip: Read Page Rank Explained (a new version by Phil Craven) for a very
detailed description on how Google's PageRank formula works. If you're new
to SEO, you may skip this article. However, if you're looking for advanced
technical insights into Google's PageRank algorithm, this article and his
free PageRank
calculator tool is worth a look. |
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IMPORTANT: Improve your link popularity! Your ranking is influenced by the link "popularity" of your site. This is determined by how many OTHER Web sites link to your own. Read past MarketPosition articles on how to improve your link popularity (very important). The more sites that you can get to link to you, the better! See our free LinkPopularityCheck.com service for many link checking options.
[View Main Page Popularity] |
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| A link to your page from another page that includes your Keyword in the Title or Heading tag will improve your link popularity with Google more so than a page without the Keyword in the Title or headings. |
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| Be aware that the more outbound links on a page that link to you,
the less that page will increase your link popularity rating on Google.
For example, a page that has only one link on it which happens to point to
your Web site will increase your ranking significantly more than a page
that has 50 links pointing to you and a variety of other Web sites. |
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| Google looks for other pages that link to your page that use the Keyword in the hyperlink going to your page. Although its better if these links come from other domain names (which also have high link popularity preferrably), Google has stated that even links from pages on the same domain to another page will improve that page's link popularity. Therefore, link to your optimized page from as many other pages in your site as possible and then make sure Google indexes them. Be sure to use your important Keywords in the hyperlinks to maximize your results! |
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| Google stated in an in-depth MarketPosition interview that you must have at least one link to your Web site from another domain name. If you do not, they will most likely ignore your submission and refuse to index your site. See our link popularity article to achieve links to your site. |
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| If you have time, try to establish a "theme" to your Web Site to improve your rankings. Whenever possible, link to your optimized pages from other pages and domains with your important Keywords in the linking text. For more information on cross-linking, themes, and the advantages/disadvantages of multiple domains take a look at "Power of
Cross-Linking" and "Benefits of Organizing Your Content Into Separate Domains". |
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| Learn the
Do's and Don't's of link popularity. |
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| Purchasing and setting up multiple domains can be a great way to increase your visibility on the Web and if you cross-link your domains, you can improve your link popularity for each site. This can also enhance your "theme" rating. However, it's best if you host the cross linked domains at separate Web hosts so that the first 3 blocks of the site's IP address (xxx.xxx.xxx) are different. Some
engines may ignore link popularity if the IP addresses of the sites are too close together numerically. Warning: Make sure each new domain has unique content to avoid spamming! |
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Submission and Getting Indexed
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Tips for getting listed in UK search engines:
- Use a UK-based server, as IP is important to UK search engines.
- Use a co.uk domain name.
- Include UK-specific content; mention UK on the page; use UK in your address details.
- Get your site listed in UK-specific directory listings and guides.
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| Do you want Googlebot to visit your site more often? Then update your pages more often! It's a fact that Googlebot will spider pages that get changed more often, versus pages that rarely get changed. |
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| Google normally does an excellent job spidering a Web site. Therefore, if you submit your home page to Google and provide visible links to your other pages, Google should find and index them without submitting each page.
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| Search engines are unable to spider a broken link on your site not to mention you risk losing valuable sales. Since links can change at any time, it's important to schedule a regular link check of your site each night. . |
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| Many people try to make search engine optimization harder than it has to be. If you can keep things simple, you'll often find that it works greatly to your benefit. For example, the search engines like simple pages. They like text-based pages that are full of valuable content. They can't index Flash and can't see graphics. They also have a difficult time indexing framed sites unless they're done correctly. Guess what? Your users will appreciate simplicity too! They want to visit your site and easily find what they're looking for. They don't want to have to sit through a lengthy Flash movie. They want simple, HTML text links with clear navigation through your site. Provide information to the search engines and your users in the simplest way possible, and you'll more than likely be amazed at what a difference it will make from both a rankings and a conversion point of view. Give it a try! Page Builder is an excellent starting point for helping you create simple, text-based pages.
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| Search Engine Marketing 101: Learn What Search Engines See When They Visit Your Web Site. |
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| Having trouble getting listed with Google? According to an FAQ on their site,
submitting to Open Directory (DMOZ) and/or Yahoo will get you included in
Google because of partner agreements Google has with these companies. |
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| Before submitting to Google, be sure you submit to Open Directory,
and if possible to Yahoo. This will both improve your chances of being
indexed by Google and should improve your ranking. |
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| Google displays Open Directory Project links to Open
Directory categories for Web sites that have a listing in Open Directory.
Therefore, this is one more reason to gain a great listing in this popular
(and free) directory. Be sure to read our Open
Directory tips BEFORE submitting.
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Spam Warnings
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| Will using WebPosition get my site banned on Google? Separate fact from fiction. Read more...
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| Google is thought to have started a new campaign to ban sites when
it detects hidden links or text, including the 1-pixel GIF technique. Read
the Google
Dance article to learn more. |
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| Site banned or dropped? If you should ever find your site dropped
from Google for two or more months and you e-mail their support dept. to no
avail, there is a second option. If you advertise with Google, then
you can contact your advertising rep. Multiple sources have told us that
they were only able to get Google to re-list their site or correct a
problem after complaining to their advertising rep (who has a financial
reason to keep your business). The sales rep will often escalate the issue
to the proper person at Google for resolution.
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| IMPORTANT: Avoid spamming a search engine and having your pages dropped in rank or banned! Read "Thou Shalt Not Spam: The 12 Commandments of Search Engine Marketing." |
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| Ask your host for a unique IP address for your Web site to avoid the chance
of sharing a "tainted" IP address with a company that spams. Search
engines will often ban or penalize an IP address when a Web site is caught
spamming. This could inadvertently penalize your web site if you share the
same IP address. |
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| Google has stated a policy that they do not like any type of automated program
to query their service. In rare cases, they have been known to ban IP's or
sites caught conducting automated queries. However, they went on to say that if
you run automated searches on Google, that you do so during non-peak hours
(late at night, US Pacific Standard Time). Therefore, in respect to Google's
wishes, we suggest that when using the Reporter, that you take advantage of the
Scheduler program to schedule your Reporter missions to run during off peak
hours whenever possible. You should also consider spreading your missions out
during the month rather than running a large group of missions or queries
during a short time period. Lastly, consider using the 'slow search' option in
WebPosition's Option tab. |
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| Google has gone on record that they now consider "link farms" to be a form of spam and may ban sites that participate in such programs. Link farms are those services that generically link to your site if you agree to link to everyone else's site that participates in the link exchange service. This does not mean Google does not want you to exchange links with other sites (quite the opposite). However, services designed to do nothing but generate large lists of random sites in an automated fashion are considered to be spam by Google. To learn about safer methods to improve your link popularity on Google, read our MarketPosition article on this topic. |
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| All major engines claim to prefer Web sites with high-quality content. In addition to improving your rankings, enhancing the quality of your Web site will also help convert more visitors to SALES. Don't fall into the trap of creating dozens of "cookie-cutter" pages that are devoid of valuable content or are lacking in aesthetics. See our article on creating high-quality pages to make your Web site the very best it can be. |
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| If your Web site does not have a unique IP (most don't) then you
could end up banned if someone else spams on your IP. More... |
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Marketing Strategies
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| When creating Web site copy, make sure to divide the copy up with bulleted or numbered lists, mini headings and sections, testimonials, etc. Visitors are very busy, and they don't have time to read through lengthy paragraphs without breaks. Bold the most important points, so that a visitor can virtually read the entire page just by reading the Heading and bold copy. Then, before putting the page online, read it out loud. Make sure it reads smoothly, and that it focuses on the customer rather than on your company. |
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| While search engine optimization is important, don't forget about the importance of other online marketing strategies such as effective followup, communication, copyrighting, and Web site design. Read "Marketing Your Site Before You Submit" and discover how to give your site a complete make-over for as little as $39. |
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Other Information
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| View the latest statistics about the search engines. |
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| USA Today reports business that nets "millions" with top Google
ranking. |
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| Google adds 1 billion pages to index. Read more... |
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| Yahoo Makes the Big Change and Dropped Google. Read more... |
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| Google AdWords now offers an auto-optimization feature that will automatically monitor the click-through rate of each ad in an AdGroup and show the better performing ads more often than ads with lower click-through rates. This feature can be shut on or off through your account area. For more information, visit: https://adwords.google.com/select/news/dec03.html#features. |
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| Check out Google's product and pricing search called Froogle. |
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| Google is now arguably the most important engine on the Web. Its
search results are now displayed prominently on AOL, EarthLink,
and other major sites. If the engine says "powered by Google" then a top
ranking on Google.com is likely to gain you a top ranking on that partner
site. Therefore, be sure to spend extra effort in creating Google-friendly
pages. Top rankings in this engine will bring more targeted traffic than any
other. |
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| Learn about 10
ways to gain more SEO clients using WebPosition. |
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| If you have a printed catalog of products, be sure to submit
it to Google's new print catalog
directory. Google will scan your catalog so that it can be browsed by
potentially millions of Google users. All the contact information in your
catalog will remain intact so prospects can read your catalog online and
then order from you. |
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| Make sure your pages, particularly your home page
loads quickly to prevent people from clicking away. Try to keep the page size
plus all the images to no more than 50K to 75K. You can use free services like
Spinwave's Image Cruncher
to compress your image files. |
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| Google offers a free toolbar browser plug-in on their site to make
searching Google more convenient. It also reports the PageRank of a page
which can be useful to determine how valuable or relevant Google considers
your page to be in relation to other pages. Unfortunately, Webmasters have
reported that this toolbar records a cookie on your hard drive that can be
used to track your surfing activities and could be used to associate you to
the IP address you use, even if you have a dynamic IP. At least in one
instance, its been reported that Google used this cookie feature to track
down the author of a program that reported PageRank without needing to run
the toolbar program. Google demanded that the author remove the program
from his site. Therefore, although the toolbar can be useful, you should
be extremely cautious about using it. Google could use it to track your
activities or associate such activities to other things you do such as
submissions. If you wish to play it safe, consider avoiding the use of the
Google toolbar. |
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| Tip: When viewing the source code of competing pages on Google, be sure to click on the Cached link in the Google results. This will show the exact page Google used when it indexed the page even if the Webmaster has changed their page's content since then. |
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| For additional help in improving your rankings, click here, or see the Page Analysis. |
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| If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions about the above advice, e-mail us at help@webposition.com. |
