Thursday, July 20, 2006

For Search Engine Promotion, there is no shortcut to success

You have recently launched a website and wondering why it is countering a random success. This is a situation to not to feel panicky or frustrated, you just need a strategy to promote your site to search engines and to visitors. By following five action oriented steps, which are also the most important considerations, you can give your site a boost.

Understanding the site's objectives

What do you expect from your website?
The answer is-clearer your objectives are the more you will be able to focus on the site’s selling points. In the case of commercial sites, the broader objective should be clear-cut. Here the broader objectives are inclusive of educating, motivating, persuading and informing the online customers. Once the objectives of your site are determined give them their due importance during the entire development of an SE promo strategy. Make sure the objectives are clear to search engines and they spider your site in their first crawl.


Making your sales demography - Market Analytics

It is very important to determine who you are trying to reach through your site. Is it a particular community or global audience? What are the requirements of the members of your demography and what influences their purchasing decisions. To know your market is the third most important promotion strategy after designing and implementing. The best you can do to enhance your promo strategy is to know how your competitors perform. Google can tell you accurately and ethically how the successful sites perform. As a matter of fact the development of multi-dimensional metrics is useful in every step of the design, development and SE optimization phases because they provide the raw data, number of hits, average number of pages viewed, and ratio of visitors to buyers.


On-page Factors

An accomplished site is not one day job. Its accurate execution is planned where organic SEO, CSS, and other On-Page factors play a dominant role. The search engine spiders may vary in their algorithm but regardless of their dissimilarity what they look for is a simpler and clearer site. Simpler and cleaner coding assures that your site will be assessed and ranked properly. Simultaneously beware of black hat tactics. They are not only inept but also costly and may get you banned from SEs altogether

Incorporating these on-page factors come into existence when a site is designed. They also play a crucial role in the development and testing phases and after the site's launch. During the site’s further refinement, optimization, and content updates On-page factors again play an important role


Interpretation of the Home Page

Once the technical aspects have been taken care of, next comes your presentation also known as your home page. The clarity of your presentation can make or break a site irrespective of how well you have designed your website technically or aesthetically. Simple navigation, user-friendly site, buttons and links clearly labeled, uncluttered presentation, spider-friendly site map etc are some of the important requisites of an accomplishing website. Color combinations, type font and size, header placement, number of headers, type placement and the tone of the content are other important factors. A successful search engine promotion also depends on keyword density and other SE search parameters.

Promotion and Optimization

Once your site is launched, this is just the beginning- the beginning of a cutthroat competition. Here you just need to be promising and ethical. Your efforts to promote your site to search engines and to potential buyers will depend on your strategies. If you do not know about SEO services, the professionals can cater to your needs; help you develop useful metrics and strategies for improved site performance; help you optimize the sites to enhance your conversion rates.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

SEO FOR GOOGLE

It has become apparent that Google is the king of search engines with the most elusive network of unprecedented algorithm. Building a site that is organically comprehended by Google is like hitting a jackpot. To optimize and rank highly on Google, as with any of the major engines it is mandatory to build a robust site with lots of quality content and easy navigation. A sure shot way of ranking high in Google is to optimize your keyword densities and attain quality links to your site. Also addressing the specific areas like backlinks, age, content, how the site fares in the results are crucial to a site.

Back links: Having a good list of back links is a golden key to attain top rankings on Google. Moreover, Google has its own unique way to reckon the weight of backlinks. That was the time when acquiring backlinks was a game of numbers. The more the links the higher the rankings were. But when webmasters literally exploited its potential Google changed its algorithm. The game of numbers converted into the game of acquiring quality links. Even the quality of links is determined by the age of links, the location of the link, the anchor text and formatting, link’s relevancy, and links Page Rank. The longer your links have been on a web page the higher their value. It shows your efforts that you have been doing since you started acquiring the links relevant to your site. Remember a link that is located within content holds more weight than a link in a typical link-page or directory format with a title and description.

Age: The age of the domain is equally important to Google. The older your domain is the more legitimate it is in the eyes of Google and thus the more likely they are to rank it. Also domains that are registered for longer periods of time are also looked upon as legitimate by Google.

Content: Google is a very choosy search engine when determining the relevancy of content. The relevancy of content can’t be underestimated. The more relevant content you have on your site the more likely someone is to find what you are offering when they get there. The more appealing the content will be, the more attention will it grab. The more attention will it grab the more likely Google is to believe your credibility. A blog, press releases are good options for the easy addition of relevant content. It gives Google an insight of your authenticity and expertise in your industry. Keyword densities in content should be analyzed from time to time to make the content suitable for search engine spiders to index.

How it fares in the results: It is important to maintain a webmetrics of your website. Keeping a track how your website fares in the results will help you know the popularity of your site. A growing factor will also indicate that in the coming time your site will gain more importance. If your website is appearing in the result for a specific phrase yet it has not generated any traffic it is an alarming sign that soon you will be dropped out of the rankings. The worse that can happen to your site is that, if your website is clicked after a few seconds Google detects that the searcher has returned to the results to find a new site your site will drop. That’s why it is necessary to write the title of a site that is search engine friendly and generates traffic.

www.segnant.com

Protect your site from a Google PageRank fall

Howsoever expert you are in your field; you can’t always follow your preconceived notions of following your own style and use techniques designed to make fool of search engines. It is in your own benefit that you keep on reviewing Google’s guidelines from time to time and stay updated what Google looks for in your website. Following the obvious suggestions like not using frames, not employing cloaking techniques, creating keyword rich navigation and search-engine friendly site map etc. has become a custom, but a revision of the guidelines can help a cocky bunch of webmasters to make out the best of their expertise and the sources available.

Search engine optimizers who have a set method of designing and/or promoting web sites can even become obnoxious in their field or lag behind if they do not follow the pace by which search engines are updating their algorithm. Experts you may be, but it is never a bad idea to go through the basics. It will only add something to your knowledge.

Following may be the considerations that you may be overlooking, though unintentionally, that may cost you your Page Rank or Traffic.

1. Maintaining less than 100 outgoing links per page is not difficult. As a matter of fact, less is more. If you have crossed the limit of 100 your linking practice requires a re-evaluation. Compiling a list of more than 100 outgoing links is qualitative only if the resources are significant for the customers.

2. Dynamically-generated content can confuse the search engines with characters like “?”, “=”, “%” etc. These session URLs denote that there could be an endless loop of possibilities existing for that page and search engine spiders can ignore these pages all together. If the search engines try to spider the page, it can cause a “spider trap" resulting in a huge load on the engine's server. To avoid this kind of javascript spamming check your settings to ensure that search engine spiders are not getting forced on your part to index these dynamic pages and begin a new session each time they visit your site.

3. Some web designers to emphasize the curb appeal of the website use images to display headings or other crucial areas of text. But the branding of a website dominantly depends on its clarity. In addition different fonts may look fascinating to the eyes but it can have a negative impact on readability. The more content deciphered by the search engine spiders the better for your website. Cascading Style Sheets is also a good way of giving your website a look you want give while simultaneously maintaining a clean coding and increasing its readability by the search-engines.

4. Most webmasters consider that by incorporating keywords in the page title and alt tags relevant to the page's topic makes these tags all-inclusive. As a matter of fact Google doesn’t consider the keywords but also sees how descriptive and accurate they are. Google may interpret your page titles as inaccurate if it does not show in the main body of the page as well. You are not free to follow your own sweet will and embed any keyword in page title and title that you feel will look nice on the page.

5. If you have redirected your web page to some other URL, Google guidelines says that using 301 redirects is the best way to let your visitors know that your site has been redirected. Many webmasters are still using the "meta refresh" command, but Google now considers it obsolete because in the past it had a notorious record of being utilized for unethical purposes.

6. Google also suggests you to submit your site in its competitor search engine, Yahoo. Since the websites included in Yahoo directory follow white hat or neutral hat SEO techniques, it becomes safe for Google to include those sites and increase the chances of giving them a good Page Rank. Moreover, when Google realizes that you have paid to be a part of the directory like Yahoo, it gives your site a preference. You can consider it to be a preliminary step for performing well in Google.

7. If you are availing the services of any search engine firm, do not heed to their advice or insistence of linking your site to theirs.

www.segnant.com

Points to remember when writing articles to promote your website

Writing articles and emailing them to publishers and webmasters is one of the best ways of giving a standing to your identity. Your expertise when reflected in your words helps you establish an authority in your field. It brings recognition for you and your services. Once acknowledged as a published author it becomes easy to gain a prospective client's trust. Additionally, educating your prospect from time-to-time makes them an even better prospect. It is all not about boasting of your services; the key is to guide them and tell how your services would benefit them.

By now you might have realized that sharing your knowledge establishes you as an expert in your field. It is a powerful way to make your online presence and credibility more emphatic. First, you write a considerate and educational article on a topic in your area of expertise. Then you submit your best articles publishers and e-zines to be distributed among general public and noticed by them and possibly re-published on other web sites. Since each article is spliced up with real, useful information on your area of expertise, many webmasters and ezine editors feel delighted to post the articles at their web sites and in their ezines.

This powerful promotion method doesn’t require you to be a terrific writer. You have to write what you know about your product, provided your knowledge is full-fledged and all-inclusive of your services. The best part of writing an article would be that you will hold a copyright on it. If you can't write still you haven’t lost the battle. There are many services online that will write an article for you on any subject you want. Once your power of words establishes you as an expert in your field, you can easily build relationships with your current and potential customers. Every individual customer will help you give a new angle of how you have to present your content. Some subjects will be easier to find angles for, others more complex, but with a thorough understanding everything can be written about.

But have you ever thought of what are the guidelines that constitute a good article? Let’s face them

• For reference going through somebody else’s material is ok, but incorporating the same language and tone it is not ok. It is against the copyright acts and if caught you stand the risk of getting prosecuted. Do not assume even that you can’t get hold of.
• The average web visitors give a fleeting look to any website. If they can’t find the information that solves their purpose they jump on to the next site. Remember the next site will belong to your competitor. Their gain can become your loss. Make your article attention-grabbing with proper formatting. Let the first two-three lines pull them in and make the rest of the article scannable. Use sub-headings and bullet lists. Keep paragraphs short and crisp with important words properly highlighted.
• It is not always to determine how much to write, but it would be good to give your reader all the necessary information. A list of uninteresting facts will only bore the readers.
• Write informative articles and not the advertisements. No body would be interested in your propagandas.
• By being subtle you become more emphatic towards your approach. Jargon is often not understood by the people. A colloquial language would rather appeal your buyers. Flowery words do not impress the readers. It is your knowledge and simplicity they are interested in.
• If you are having a small hunch even that your article is not up to your expectations do not distribute. Your errors will give your customers an impression that your article has been written just for the sake of writing and for the sole purpose of marketing.
• Proofread your content several times and every little mistake possible.
• Your experience and expertise is your resource, so make good use of it. Write a short informative piece at the end of the article that tells the reader more about you.
• Building credibility is not an overnight process. It takes time to build up a reputation as an expert. So be patient.

www.segnant.com

Monday, May 29, 2006

Importance of Leads

When a visitor leaves his/her names, addresses and/or other details and when the site gets credited, it is called leads. The leads can be fresh and stale. Normally people who recently become your customers or subscribers fall in the category of fresh leads, whereas people who haven’t responded to your e-mail newsletters that recently fall in the category of stale leads. There is also a possibility that people who had shown interest in the past might not be interested in your services any longer. Here the need of the time is to let the bygones be bygones and you concentrate on your fresh prospects who are also your fresh leads. There is no point in going out of the way and alluring the customers who no longer consider your services to be worthwhile. Generating leads is not that difficult. You can either find them or buy them from the organizations that share the same profile as yours. But both of these aspects have a flip side to it.

If you are finding your own leads you need to catch an eye of the people you are targeting. You also need to advertise, create websites, write content and get more and more traffic. But if you are falling short of time and want leads instantaneously, spend few dollars and buy them. Once you will buy the leads, you will be able to focus on your site without any distractions. It would be good if you won’t depend completely on others opt-in list. But maintaining your own is far more productive.

For generating your own opt-in list
1. Launch you own website that has everything related to your business.
2. start your campaign by distributing your own newsletter
3. Do not depend only on the internet. Also use traditional mediums like magazines and radio to advertise
4. Your signature line is very crucial to the success of your website
5. Provide email course to your subscribers and that too free of cost, on your topic.
6. If your budget allows consider PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising to generate traffic for your website
7. Publish articles related to your industry
8. Interactive online postcards are also a nice way to inform people about your existence
9. From time-to-time organize online contests and set a small gift prize for the winner.

Leads are most crucial to any business online. Once a proper list is maintained be prompt in your actions and post a customized message to your lead. Auto response can solve half of your tensions in answering leads, particularly if the leads are in the form of emails. If you keep on delaying in responding to your leads; at the first place your customer will lose interest and turn up at your competitors’ site to avail the same service and secondly the more late you respond the more stale the lead becomes. In auto response the prospect lead receives an instant message containing your name, your contact address, telephone number and a message that you would contact them as soon as possible. Lead generating system has the flexibility that provides you a time gap and allows you to customize the content for the follow-up email.

www.segnant.com

E-Mail Marketing Guidelines

Staying ethical and fighting against spam is an effective way to make your direct marketing campaign via e-mails a successful one. Conceding the fact that e-mail marketing is incredibly effective, it is high time that you turn your focus from quantity to quality. Prior to its delivery, exercising a certain dexterity and resourcefulness in responding can make it a truly interactive process for your marketing campaign. To be more precise you can ask your individual customers exactly what they want from you and you can send them personalized email catering to their queries.

To stay on the right side and to make your email-marketing campaign a successful one, the following guidelines will help you out to be dexterous in your approach.

1. If you have maintained an opt-in list, ensure that every message forwarded should be straightforward and simple so that it generates subscriptions for your own e-mail marketing efforts. By paying 25 cents to 45 cents (U.S.) per message delivered to opt-in providers you ca more easily target your potential customers.

2. If you haven’t maintained a list of email addresses for your existing customers, maintain it making it your highest priority. The most responsive customers are those who are a subscriber of a company Web site to receive an e-mail newsletter.

3. Aim to build a growing and a well-qualified database of high-value, loyal customers. Learn about your individual customers' needs and interests, and provide them with a tailored (and profitable) offering catering to their needs.

4. Do not forget to provide a confirmation message whenever someone subscribes or unsubscribe. This is a gesture of courtesy.
To validate an email address you can also use a two-part sign-up process that requires subscribers to click on a link in the confirmation e-mail. Another purpose is to confirm whether the customer really wish to receive future messages.

5. Ask for an alternate e-mail address when users subscribe. If an e-mail bounces at the primary address an alternate e-mail will surely receive the mail.

6. The more personalized your email and content is, the better are your chances of becoming popular. You will hit the jackpot if you provide the customers with a personalized subject line and salutation.

7. A high or growing unsubscribing rate probably indicates that your efforts lack somewhere and your recipients are not receiving much value from your messages.

8. Respond quickly and courteously whenever you receive a complaint from a recipient. Incorporate an e-mail marketing provider or e-mail server software to keep a track of user's database. Complaints are often quickly resolved when users are reminded where and how they opted in to the e-mail program.

9. A privacy policy on your website safeguards your interests as well as your customers.

10. Despite of selling your e-mail lists to others, collaborate with other reputable organizations belonging to your own industry to provide your customers with valuable information.

11. Be clear-cut in your approach that why are you sending the message.

12. Do not make unsubscribe option cumbersome.

13. Do not shun away from providing your identity in the ‘From’ line.

www.segnant.com