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Search Engine Optimization Services This is the first search engine optimization course I purchased back in 1997!
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Googles Trap, DMOZs Nap, And Yahoo!s Crap
On November 16th, 2003, Google commenced an update (the Florida update) which had a catastrophic effect for a very large number of websites and, in the process, turned search engine optimization upside down. It is common to give alphabetical names to Google's updates in the very same way that names are given to hurricanes, and this one became known as "Florida".
In a nutshell, a vast number of pages, many of which had ranked at or near the top of the results for a very long time, suddenly disappeared from the results altogether.
To so many on the Internet, Google has become the omnipotent "hand of God" and it's sickening! Why are so many people falling into the trap of optimizing their website's to cater to Google's ever-changing algorithms? I refuse to play that game! I personally could care less about my search engine rankings. I never have. My search engine rankings go up and down like a yo-yo! They have for years. Yet, I'm still able to comfortably support myself and my family.
If you only remember one thing from this article, remember this: DO NOT DEPEND SOLELY ON SEARCH ENGINES FOR YOUR TRAFFIC! Find alternative ways to attract traffic to your website. If you're fortunate enough to achieve a high search engine ranking, consider it a bonus. But DO NOT MAKE THE SEARCH ENGINES A PRIORITY!
Why? Because when you stop to consider that Google, DMOZ and Yahoo! has millions and millions of pages in their directories, you'd really have a better chance of winning the lottery, than getting high enough in the results pages where it's going to make a significant difference in your traffic.
In fact, I receive a very tiny percentage of my traffic from the search engines.
So, where's my traffic coming from? Well, the vast majority of it comes from the dozens of articles I've written that have been picked up and published on popular websites. I also get traffic via word of mouth, newsletters that my articles are published in, and a few other secret methods that I use.
Yes, like Colonel Sanders, I too have a secret recipe!
And if all of the search engines disappeared tomorrow, I'd be just fine, because I'm a marketing man. I know how to market myself and my service. I was lucky enough to be born a "baby boomer." That means I had the honor and privilege of personally seeing first-hand, some of the greatest copywriting in history. I took lots of notes and learned my lessons well.
Back then, mailorder was the Internet of its time, and boy was there marketing talent everywhere! You should really do yourself a favor sometime and go to the library and read the old mailorder books. Some great titles to look for include, "How To Get Rich In Mail Order," by Melvin Powers, "Money In Your MailBox," by L. Perry Wilbur, "How To Make A Fortune In Mail Order," by Al Stern and "Building A Mail Order Business," by William A. Cohen .
You'll come away a lot smarter and you'll discover some ingenious ways to market your website, besides the search engines.
Will somebody wake up DMOZ? I hear they're sleeping on the job. DMOZ (The Open Directory Project) is another prime example of why you shouldn't depend on search engines or directories. I've heard and read countless horror stories about DMOZ taking 9 months to a year or more to add new sites to their directory, and in many cases not adding perfectly qualified sites at all. I've also heard their directory is not kept up to date, because the editors can't keep up with the workload.
In addition, it's been widely reported that they don't respond to e-mails, don't inform you if and when you're site is rejected, and that some of the editors are rude and arrogant.
Who cares how much weight Google places on being listed in DMOZ? You don't have to put up with that nonsense! Find alternative ways to attract traffic to your website.
Yahooooooooooooooooo! I want you to read what it says on the info page for submitting to Yahoo! Express:
"We established Yahoo! Express as part of a suite of services that Yahoo! has created to service small business needs. Through Yahoo! Express, we can ensure that sites suggested by merchants such as yourself are viewed and evaluated in a timely manner by Yahoo!'s editorial staff.
Your payment and participation in Yahoo! Express guarantees that within seven business days a member of Yahoo!'s editorial staff will look at your site and consider it for inclusion in the Yahoo! directory.
Please keep in mind that payment does not automatically guarantee inclusion in the directory, site placement, or site commentary. As with all sites suggested to us, final judgement remains solely with Yahoo! editors. Yahoo! Express Guarantees All Yahoo! Express submissions will be evaluated within seven business days. You will receive an email response within seven business days, stating whether your entry is accepted or declined. (If your entry is denied, you will be told why.) The Cost of Yahoo! Express Yahoo! Express requires a US $299.00 non-refundable, recurring annual fee per submission, or US $600.00 non-refundable, recurring annual fee for submissions offering adult content and/or services. Yahoo! Express does not guarantee a listing in the Yahoo! directory, nor does it guarantee the type of placement or description that your site will receive if accepted. Please read our Yahoo! Express Terms of Service to review the terms and conditions of Yahoo! Express."
Are you kidding me? What a bunch of crap! Why, why, why would anyone want to just hand over their money to Yahoo! that way, without any type of guarantee?
I've just given you shining examples of the arrogance and total lack of respect Google, DMOZ and Yahoo! has for the very people they depend on to keep them in business.
I say we show them the same kind of respect they show us. Get out of the Google trap, let DMOZ nap, and don't accept Yahoo's crap!
Remember: DO NOT DEPEND SOLELY ON SEARCH ENGINES FOR YOUR TRAFFIC! Find alternative ways to attract traffic to your website. If you're fortunate enough to achieve a high search engine ranking, consider it a bonus. But DO NOT MAKE THE SEARCH ENGINES A PRIORITY!
About The Author
Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net.
Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net
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Site-Digest 7 Simple Steps To Place Your Site Map On Steroids
The Site Map is a too often overlooked piece of the Search engine Optimization Puzzle. Here is a Simple Step 7 step approach to create a Super Charged Site Digest on Steroids that will get your web pages indexed faster and more often.
SEO Hints and Tips and Free SEO Tools
Do you realize that if you manage your website, SEO tools, and pay-per-click tools, you can literally have as many leads as you want from your website? I assume that a website should convert approximately 5% of the viewers to doers, taking some kind of action that you want them to take. So, all we have to do is make sure the website does convert viewers to doers, and then we make sure we've got the right amount of traffic arriving at the website. All quite manageable. Today, we're mainly talking about how to get the traffic to your website through Search Engine Optimization, SEO.
5 Things to Keep an Eye on in the SEO World in 2005...
After the latest PR update at Google and MSN's beta search going live, there is one thing for certain in 2005: the world of search is in for some major changes. There has been growing speculation around the SEO world that reciprocal linking is a thing of the past. Rumors are abound that PR means less and less, if anything. Bill Gates came out of his cave to say that "Today's search is nothing" and that it won't be that way for long. There are quiet rumblings in the SEO back alleys of a new, state-of- the-art search engine currently indexing the internet. Websites are dropping off the face of the planet. And we're all left to sit here and put together the pieces. So what is in store for 2005?
Feed me - Satisfy the Search Engines and Your Sites Visitors With Keyword-Rich Content
Search engines love content. Graphics may make your site look great, but a nice picture does not attract a search engine. Or a searcher for that matter. Good, relevant content does.
Fresh Content Improves Search Engine Optimization
Many search engine optimization companies will sell you a search engine optimization package that addresses many of the major aspects of search engine optimization. These aspects include, but are not limited to, use of file names, alt tags, h1 tags, keyphrase density, meta tag optimization, link analysis and the like. These are all key aspects of a good search optimization.
Search Engine Strategies for Affiliate Websites
The major search engines are always on the lookout to improve their search results and to weed out websites with duplicate content. They are also weeding out websites that mainly contain affiliate links. This is going to affect quite a few businesses on the Internet that depend on affiliate links to generate revenue.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization, tips on successful page ranking
One of the key things to remember when developing your web-site presence is to always evaluate your competition. See what's working for them; how they market their products and services, and even evaluate their KEYWORD and DISCRIPTION tags.
SEO Expert Guide - Conclusions (part 10/10)
As you have seen throughout the guide, search engine optimization (SEO) is a multi-faceted activity. Likely to be time-consuming, it is important that you spend your time wisely. By way of conclusion, therefore, I would like to (i) summarise the time/spend/effort (=cost) and value trade-off for each area I have covered, (ii) highlight from that you top five areas of focus and (iii) give you some migration tips for how to cut-over to your new, optimized site.
Google Rank Cake
6 cups thick content mix 1 jar word of mouth, whipped 2 tablespoons meta tags 1 cup creativity
Beyond Search Engines
Some webmasters report that search engines account for 75% or more of their total website traffic. However, it's important not to become too dependent on search engines for new business. Achieving a top listing from a major search engine is becoming more and more difficult over time. The competition for top spots is intense and it's getting harder every day to get listed at all. Also more and more search engines are moving to a pay-per-click model, and paying for top listings may not be in your budget.
How To Become an SEO Expert - 5 Secrets That Will Allow You to Outperform 95% of All Webmasters
Becoming an SEO expert, or a search engine optimization expert, is something that is worth your while if you are interested in getting your web page noticed and increasing your traffic. It is not hard to become an SEO expert if you simply know what steps you need follow to take you there. As long as you follow these steps and are diligent, you will become the SEO expert you want to be. Read the following topics, then research them more to learn exactly what will put you above the majority of all webmasters.
Beat Google?s Dampening Link Filter with SEO Articles
Most Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts agree that links back to your site have a great impact on your ranking in the major search engines. Think of it like an election; your site is a candidate and every link to your site is a vote. Of course, it was never quite that simple (high ranking, relevant sites have more voting power) but now it may have gotten even more complicated.
King + Queen = Royal Success
Ever wonder how or why your competitor gets better search engine rankings than you do? Does he know something you don't? Well, maybe he actually does?And that's where I come in. I'm here to unveil the secret tricks of the trade that may be giving your competitor that much-needed edge in search engine rankings and to show you how you can reclaim your position without skipping a beat. Quite simply, I am going to give you the key to unlocking the secret chest of information that your competition is using to get better rankings.
Why Pay-Per-Inclusion Search Engines are Dying
A Pay-Per-Inclusion search engine is a service in which a search engine charges you a certain amount to spider and include your website in its database. For this fee, regular repeated spiderings are guaranteed, so you are sure to be indexed.
Crash Course in Getting a #1 Google Ranking
First, here's the rundown of some of the terminology I'm going to use ?
SEM - Research Measures Success
SEM - Research Measures Success
Google Traffic Report Card-Does Your Website Pass? Part 1
This is part 1 of a 7 part series that examines the 7 factors of incoming links that Google considers when choosing a spot for your website in it's SERP's.
Smartpages - Legitimate SEO Or Spam?
Smartpages are highly optimized pages which draw stampeded of search engine traffic to your website....or so the sales blurb goes. The fantasy is that smartpages are the push-button answer to online success. The reality is quite far removed from that.
Look Out MSN Search, Here Comes Gbrowser
It is official, the search engine wars are in full swing. On Tuesday, February 01, 2005 MSN officially rolled out its new search solution to all of its websites, including MSN.com. This comes on the heels of growing speculation that Google plans to launch its own browser, possibly in an attempt to attack Microsoft's greatest strength in Internet Explorer. Is it possible that MSN actually rolled out their search engine to prevent Google from doing the same thing they did to Yahoo! with the release of Gmail?
SEO Expert Guide - Proposition Development (part 2/10)
It is literally amazing how many people start their online business presence by buying a domain name (close to their business name) and building a brochure-ware page. Only later do they turn their mind to optimizing their site for (i) their audience and (ii) the way their audience find them. Fewer still take a long, hard look at what their competitors are doing first.