Rob Emmerson’s SEO Blog

The main objective of every website is to rank top on the search engines. This is possible when the people search for your website with the related keywords. Basically you should know the factors, which influences the search engine ranking, so that you can focus your efforts on them.

There are two main factors that influence your website in search engine rankings. They are on-page factors and off-page factors. The on-page factor influences directly on your website and are hosted on server such as, content, Meta tags and header tags. While the off-page factors encompasses things that affects outside the website and influences your rankings such as, link popularity.

Things you can do to improve search engines rankings
Good content, Page titles and Meta tags are the three major factors to increase your website ranking on search engine results pages. Beside these 3 things there are few other things that can improve your rankings. They are:

• Use Target Keywords in the Content: Find the keywords that users frequently type in the search engines to find their sites. Get these target keywords in the content of your pages, in titles, in tag descriptions and at all the places where they make sense in real sentences.

• Get High Value Links: The efficient way to determine High Value Links is to install Google Toolbar and use the Google’s Page Rank to determine link value. This is because if there is more High Value Links it can lead to better search engine popularity. It is better to have few high quality linking than the than many irrelevant links.

• Relevant Value Added Content: Append the appropriate value added content for your website. This includes articles, blogs, news, and relevant tools to your business or industry. If your site has 100 pages of good quality content then there is a possibility of ranking top, than the site that has only Read the rest of this entry »

If you are confused about terms like "search engine optimization" or having a "search engine friendly" site, then listen up! I am here to help.

Depending on how long you have had, or considered having, a website online, you have heard terms thrown around like the above or even worse, acronyms! SEO comes to mind.

Really there is not that much to fear even if you have no idea right now what is really meant by having a search engine friendly site.

Here is what search engines like to have in their results when people type in keywords:

1. A site with lots of content.

2. A site with UNIQUE content (Original - meaning you wrote it or you paid someone to write it for you.)

3. Sites that are well organized link-wise (meaning simple navigation from the main page of your site to every other page of your site.)

4. Sites that have links pointing to them from other popular, relevant sites. (sites that are similar in content to yours but that are not in direct competition with yours in content)

5. Sites that change regularly (not static but always growing with new content on a regular basis)

6. Sites they can read. (search engine robots cannot read javascript for instance and therefore you get no credit for whatever content is in that application on your site)

7. Tightly themed sites. It is easier for an engine to rank your site properly (where you want it to be) if you are not all over the map in content.

Exception: Portal sites or directories. But this is an item for another article all together

What About The Complicated Stuff?

There really isn’t anything complicated about what the search engines want. But if you have stumbled into a search engine forum you were likely blown away with comments and tips that were completely over your head.

There is a difference between basic, standard optimization and the stuff they talk about in those forums. While visting SEO forums is good to keep up on new things as you go along, many people get confused and the forums are the breeding grounds for confusion when you are a beginner.

Try to learn advanced SEO from noted experts in the field rather than taking anything in chats or forums as gospel. A lot more people THINK they know what they are doing than actually do.

Remember that anything someone is willing to give away for free which, if it works, could be worth tens of thousands of dollars in high rankings resulting in high sales, is probably Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever been intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet marketing for small businesses available on the Net? What exactly is search engine optimization anyway, and can I do it myself?

The answer is: Yes, you can! The basics of search engine optimisation are simple. It’s all to do with the keyword content of your text copy, and can be summarised in seven points.

1. Register a good domain name which reflects what your site is about. Even if you are an established business, don’t register www.FredJones.com if you make widgets. Rather, you want to register something like www.BestWidgets.com because that would inspire

confidence in people looking for quality widgets who would not necessarily have heard of Fred Jones the widget-maker.

2. Name your page URLs based on reasons similar to the above, except now you can be more specific. Search engines like to know what your page is about. Name a page after a product (BigYellowWidgets.htm) or a service or action (Buy-Widgets-by-Post.htm) on one of the sales pages.

3. The text in the title tag is crucial in letting search engines know what each page is about. Put your important keywords in your title tags, using both the singular and plural versions (people will search for both) and make these tags different and specific for each page. For example, “Widgets and After Sales Widget Services”. Whatever you do, don’t call the home page “Index”, but treat it almost as a mini-description.

4. The other tags (at the top of the html page) between the two “HEAD” tags are not as important as the title tag, but the description tag is still used by some search engines in displaying what you would like web users to see when they scroll down a page of search results. Some search engines don’t use the description tag at all; others, like Google, sometimes use part of it together with part of the main body text surrounding prominent keywords on your page. So you may as well treat the description tag seriously; make it brief (about 25 to 30 words) and as comprehensive as possible in the short space allowed. Make sure you have your popular keywords included within your description tag. The ALT tag is used for a very short description of an image or graphic file, and is what is displayed if you allow your mouse pointer to hover above a graphic. These days it is not considered important for search engines. The COMMENT tag is never displayed on the body page, and is used by coders and designers as an instruction or reminder to themselves about what that section of html coding should be doing; in the past, some webmasters in their quest for website promotion and search engine ranking used to stuff keywords Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us must have heard the saying ‘Plan your work and work your plan’, and that the one who actually believes and works on it succeeds in the rat race of proving his or her worth. This certainly stands true for the corporate world which is continuously upgrading itself with the latest technology and where every organization faces new competition in every aspect of the business world. Marketing is an integral part of all these aspects. No business enterprise can survive without marketing and promotion of its products and services. The main reason for this promotion is the fact that ‘out of sight is out of mind’. This is why, it is essential to maintain the visibility of the business enterprise in the eyes of the potential customers.

With the Internet coming up with new conveniences and benefits, both for customers and for business enterprises, it has become a perfect marketplace in the present-day scenario. Along with many benefits such as the potential to find customers worldwide, it also has many drawbacks to it. The challenge involved in online marketing is to combat the competitors from all over the world. The internet has meant that restrictions of geographical boundaries do not hold true anymore. This is where the visibility of the website comes into question. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process that rates the website based on various factors and delineates their rankings. Business organizations therefore have to recognize these factors that affect their rankings with search engines and make the required amendments in their websites accordingly. Once a website has achieved a higher ranking, one can say that the business organization is almost halfway through on the path of success. We can say that diverting traffic to a website by way of higher SEO ranking via search engine optimization is a key to reaching the zenith of success.

The better your research, the more improved your website’s ranking. The main aim of search engines is to satisfy Internet users by providing them the exact information that they were looking for. They want content that is not only relevant, but also upgraded according to the latest developments. This is the reason why search engine optimization is also known to be an ongoing process. That is to say, providing the relevant information and achieving a higher ranking once is not enough. The website has to be continuously updated to maintain that high position with the search engines.

The content of the website holds the most important position when it comes to improving search engine rankings. ‘Content is king’ is a phrase that each one of us, who is acquainted with the workings of SEO, must have heard. This is primarily because this is the basic requirement of the user. The content should always be relevant and easily comprehensible. Plagiarized content is not required at all. Ensure that you do not stray from the topic or repeat points. The keywords that will be used should fit in well with the flow of the text. Enlighten Internet users with your knowledge and impress them with your interesting writing style and do not bother about the consequences after that. It is necessary to make the content rich in keywords. Though one should also be cautious not to exceed the ideal keyword density, Read the rest of this entry »

An RSS campaign can be helpful to your Internet business. Through this article you are provided with an overview of four ways to generate RSS feeds. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to enhancing your overall business enterprise operations.

The first way to generate an RSS feed, is making certain that you have all of the resources necessary to launch an rss feed campaign. For example, you have to make sure that you have appropriate software applications - and that you understand and use the software applications.

The second way to generate rss feed is to consider engaging professionals to help you in the development of an RSS program. There are now some very talented and innovative individuals who can assist you in developing a generate rss feed program. If you are unfamiliar with RSS, you would be well served in engaging the services of a professional. While you will have to spend some money for this assistance, most people who have done so in the past and considered it a worthy investment.

The third step towards implementing RSS feeds is developing strategic partnerships with other individuals who might have similar interests to your own. Sometimes joined RSS strategies Read the rest of this entry »

Internet niche marketing allows you to focus on certain portions of the market. It aims to address a product or service that is not being met by mainstream providers. A niche market is also a narrowly defined group of potential customers. The internet niche market was created due to changes in society and peoples purchasing patterns. With the internet a new demand for services has resulted that has provided adequate support for niche marketing. Though smaller than the mainstream market place, it can be quite profitable due to the benefits of specialization and focus on small identifiable market segments.

The key to capitalizing on an internet niche market is to find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, which is growing at a fast pace, and is not owned by one established vendor already. Through the internet niche marketing allows one to seek out smaller segments of larger markets with the aid of web sites that can be developed and promoted quickly to specially serve a targeted and usually loyal customer base, giving the affiliate a small but regular income stream. This technique can then be repeated across several other niche websites until a desired income level is achieved.

Developing an internet niche marketing is quite an easy task and helps you to make constant income in no time at all. With the guide you will be provided all that you need to get started. The techniques, methods, and strategies you need will provided to you. You will also be shown how to promote top selling products and make as much as 100% on the sale; you will taught the top ways to make money using affiliate marketing. You can even learn how to create new Read the rest of this entry »

Who else wants more people to their web site? If you’re blogging, your income requires a constant flow of patrons and attracting as much as available. Now, how do you invite more readers to your site cheaply and quickly? How can you advance your search engine position on your website’s most sought topics and get readers to find your site?

An article directory is a great site to demonstrate your wit, comedy, flair, and skill.

The article directory, aka free reprint directory, is a repository of articles that ezine editors may reprint at no expense. The only catch is that each author’s name and backlink to their site must remain attached to the article.

Since these are free reprints, how exactly does an article directory serve you? Article directories assist you by drawing traffic to your website. Webmasters reprint one of your articles to add vital content for their existing readers.Visitors to the website then click on your link and are taken back to your site.

As a result, article directories are a win-win situation - you increase your page views, and the editors using your articles increase their page views.

Articles of any size, purpose, or subject matter may be submitted to an article directory. The process is as effortless a mouse click. The article directory displays your name and site with your article, and everyone who downloads the article has to do likewise. You end up with more readers when people read your content at the free reprint directory, and again Read the rest of this entry »

Internet Marketing,the lazy man’s way to generating a massive income, in just weeks, with little or no efort, from the comfort of home. No getting ready for work, no boss,just get up, walk down the hall to your office or sit up in bed with your laptop.
I used an affiliate marketing program, which for me, was the best way for someone new, like myself, in internet marketing to start out with. Their virtually effortless, no selling, no inventory, no dealing with customers, and no phone calls. The system is totally automated for you.
There are many scams out there to watch out for. Finding the right work from home takes a little research. Six years ago I started out in internet marketing and fell for a “Get Rich Quick”scam. I lost allot of money, which made for a very unhappy wife. I gave up on my dream of working from home for fear of failing again, but learned a very important lesson…Research is a must. I spent the next few years burning myself out with over time and working odd jobs on the side, just to have a little bit of a savings. This made me more tried, stressed out and depressed.

In 2007, decide to give internet marketing another try. This time I was going to do some research. I had little personal savings on the side, that way I did not have to touch the family money. I made a short Do’s and Don’ts list, and at the top:
I wanted to avoid the “Get Rich Quick” campaigns,
I looked for a business that offered the most Read the rest of this entry »

You know you need inbound links to your site to succeed in SEO. What you may not know is, you don’t need to spend a dime to get them. In fact, I would advise you not to purchase links.

The recent Google shakeup is all about paid links. Stop paying for links now! Google is now “punishing” websites for having paid links, because they feel it’s cheating the algorithm. You might be upset by this, but they are doing it to improve the quality of their results. Here is how you can take advantage of it.

Google is moving towards algorithms that favor sites that are “naturally” linked to. What is “natural” linking? These are links that a webmaster put up because he or she wanted to, not because they were paid to. They saw something they liked, and put a link to it. This means all those shady SEOs who were buying links up by the hundreds can’t cheat good sites out of the rankings anymore. So how you do get natural links?

Focus on your subject.

There is a saying in marketing, if you market to everyone, you are marketing to no one. Maintain your focus, and keep your content within your niche. Don’t try to spread yourself too thin.

I personally have been guilty of this sin in the past. At one time JeremyMorgan.com had SEO articles, PHP scripts, Ford Mustang News and photoshop tutorials, and pictures of my family and locations back home. Needless to say I didn’t really dominate any of those niches. Focus your efforts, and try to stay on topic.

Give them something to link to.

Once you find your focus, provide content that others in your niche want to link to. It’s really that simple. Think to yourself, “are people going to want to link to this?”. As much as I think my speculations and opinions on industry trends are great, the reality is most people link to articles I write that actually tell you how to do something. If you really want to build links, give them something helpful or really interesting to link to.

Even pages that you cannot easily monetize. The more links you get, the better.

Join the community.

In 2008, they have a community for almost anything. Get involved in those communities, sign up for forums and comment on posts. Become an authority. Just by being helpful to others and bringing information to a community, people will link to your site out of respect, knowing that their audience will appreciate the link. Be honest, helpful, and maintain your integrity on the boards. Instead of making fun of that newbie, help them out.

Look for places with high quality links.

Don’t be afraid to ask to exchange Read the rest of this entry »

Learning the Basics of RSS

What is RSS?
You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.

What are the benefits of RSS?
RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.
1. It gives you the latest updates.
Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updates site learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.

2. It saves on surfing time.
Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user’s time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

3. It gives the power of subscription to the user.
Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.

4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox.
Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates.

5. It is spam free.
Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free.
Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing and then the user would be asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.

7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool.
Users who subscribe or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.

What are the drawbacks of RSS?
The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.
1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.
For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators

3. The identity of the source website can be confusing.
Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server.
Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.

6. Since it is a new Read the rest of this entry »