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7 Search Engine Tips for Non Webmasters
by Jinger Jarrett
http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com
With all of the changes to the search
engines these days, you can drive
yourself crazy trying to get your site submitted. Unless you are
willing to
commit yourself to doing it full time, or you are a search engine
expert, you
won't rank at the top of the engines. However, this doesn't mean
that you
should neglect this important means of getting traffic to your site.
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Unlike most of the methods for promoting
your business, which came from
the offline world, this method is different. It's unique, and it
is changing and
growing at a rapid pace. By at least informing yourself of the basics,
you can
make this a more effective method for driving traffic to your site.
Below are seven tips you can implement to get started:
1. Understand the Relationships of
the Various Search Engines. Before you
can know where to submit, you need to understand how all of the various
search
engines are related so that you don't duplicate your work, or worse,
get banned
from submission.
Now, mind you, I am no search engine
expert. However, I have been watching
closely what is happening, and here is what I have seen so far:
Recently, Yahoo, a directory, acquired
All the Web, Altavista, Inktomi and
Overture. Yahoo is no longer going to be using search results from
Google as
its backend.
Although it remains to be seen what
role All The Web and Altavista will play,
Inktomi will only provide limited offerings in Yahoo because Yahoo
announced
that Inktomi's paid inclusions would not be included in its results.
Overture, the number one pay per
click search engine, provides paid results to
80 per cent of the major search engines and will continue to do so.
It will also
be providing backend results to Yahoo. Overture provides results
to major sites
like HotBot and MSN.
Yahoo is adding its own search
engine & will continue to offer
its paid directory
at $299 a year.
Currently, MSN and Yahoo, the number
two and number one sites respectively on Alexa, are battling for
supremacy. Bill Gates is also working on a new model
for his search engine, but it remains to be seen what that will be.
Eventhough Google will no longer
be providing backend results to Yahoo,
Google is still a major player. It is also the number one search
engine in the
world. Google gets some of its results from the Open Directory Project,
a
volunteer effort to create a directory of the best sites on the Internet.
Looksmart is still out there, but
it appears to have changed its model to a pay
per click. You can get started for free, but you'll have to pay for
each click.
(NOTE: I found this site hard to navigate to answer the most simple
questions.
Maybe that's why it's the least relevant of the options available.)
Finally, you have Alexa, which is
in a class all its own. You definitely want to
get your site submitted here because it's a great way to find out
who is linking
to you, where you rank, and other statistics about your site. Back
end results
for Alexa are provided by Google.
The easiest way to track your site
using Alexa, is to download a copy of the
toolbar. You can get it here:
http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/htmlfiles/alexa.html
2. Prepare Your Site for Submission.
Now that you know where to submit your
site, you want to prepare your site so that it gets accepted.
The best tool to help you is Good
Keywords: http://www.goodkeywords.com This free utility will let
you search for the best keywords to use on your site.
Key words, however, are only part of the equation.
You will also want to create a good
title and description. Take your time when
you create these. You want each to be key word rich, and the right
length.
Once you've written your title, keywords,
and description, then all you need to
do is to create the metatags for your web site. You'll find all the
tools you need
at Evrsoft - http://www.evrsoft.com/, including a link popularity
checker,
submission to over 100 search engines, search engine analyzer, and
a metatag
generator.
Once you have used the metatag generator
to create your metatags, then all
you have to do is paste it into the header of your web page.You will
want to
check your metatags first to make sure they aren't too long and are
search
engine friendly. You'll find a metatag analyzer here:
http://www.scrubtheweb.com/abs/meta-check.html
This one is stricter than the one I use, but it works very well.
Let me emphasize
here that this step is absolutely crucial to getting your site accepted.
You would
be amazed at how many professionally done web sites skip this step.
3. Submit Your Site. Now that you
have your site ready, you want to start
submitting. You will use your title, keywords, and description again
here.
Here is your submission list:
Free
Alexa - http://pages.alexa.com/help/webmasters/index.html#crawl_site
Google - http://www.google.com/addurl.html
Open Directory Project - http://dmoz.org/add.html
Fast Submit - http://www.evrsoft.com/fastsubmit/ - Submission to
100 of the
top search engines. (Caution here: some of these sites may ignore
or ban you
if you are a business site).
Paid
Google Ad Words: http://services.google.com/marketing/links/ads_us/adwords/
Pay Per Click
Inktomi - http://www.inktomi.com - Yearly Fee Per Url
LookSmart - http://www.looksmart.com - Pay Per Click
Overture - http://www.overture.com - Pay Per Click
4. Check to make sure you are listed.
After about a month, you want to go
back and make sure that your site is listed in the appropriate search
engine.
The way to do this is to go to the search engine and type in your
domain name.
You don't have to include the http://www to do this.
If you are not listed, then go to the next step:
5. Resubmit if Necessary. If your
site is not in the search engine you have
selected to search, then resubmit your information for inclusion.
It's important
to remember that unless you are using paid inclusions, it is up to
the discretion
of the search engine whether or not your site is listed. Your chances
of success will increase if you include some quality content on your
site that is dense in your key words. You also want to have as many
quality links as possible. You can build your links by contacting
other webmasters who have sites that complement yours.
6. Reevaluate. If your search engine
strategy isn't working, it's time for a
change. However, you need to consider that submitting to the search
engines
is a very long term strategy, and it isn't something that will occur
over night.
Only if you are using pay per clicks can you see an increase in traffic
almost
immediately.For your free inclusions, you just want to make sure
that you are
included. Quality content and quality links can help here in raising
your
rankings. For paid inclusions, you want to make sure that you are
getting the
click thrus you need. Unlike free inclusions, you should see results
immediately. If you aren't getting enough traffic, consider changing
your key
words. Good Keywords will help you here.
7. Stay Informed. If you want to
continue to use this strategy in your business,
then you need to stay abreast of industry happenings because things
change so
quickly. The best place to get information on this constantly changing
industry
is here: http://searchenginewatch.com/ They offer three different
newsletters to
cover the industry. At a minimum you should be reading the daily
newsletter.
Although this is only one of the many strategies I use to promote
my business, it can be very effective when done correctly. Take your
time, be patient, and learn what you need to do before you use this
strategy. It will become an effective tool in your marketing arsenal.
Jinger Jarrett may be contacted
at http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com jingerjarrett@smallbusinesshowto.com.
Jinger Jarrett is a former news reporter and public relations specialist.
She specializes in helping others start their own businesses using
proven techniques for small business start up success. You can
download her free ebook, "How
to REALLY Start Your Business in 30 Days" from her site.
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