| 6: The hidden benefits to having the right links. | | | | search engine owned by Amazon. This toolbar goes |
| Every site online has an index or default file as its | | | | into even more detail about a site you visit. You can |
| home page file. But outside of that rule you can name | | | | check its ranking, who's linking to it and even go back |
| the other pages whatever you like. So why not cram | | | | in time and view the site as it was years ago. There's |
| the names with keywords and/or keyphrases relevant | | | | also a search feature for Alexa and Google, and a |
| to that page and your site? We've just scored again | | | | search feature for Amazon built in, so you can search |
| ;-)Eg exercise-equipment-reviews.htm is our reviews | | | | any of them from any site. Handy for ordering those |
| page.Note the hyphen again always try to avoid using | | | | books, CD's and DVD's.The other benefit of these |
| spaces when naming your files or pages. You will get | | | | toolbars is that they track sites that you visit. Not in an |
| a horrible looking 20% appearing, which is something | | | | intrusive way and totally anonymously. What this |
| the browsers throw in there to represent a space.If | | | | means is that if you visit your own site regularly just by |
| we then name the link to this page from our other | | | | having the toolbars installed you will boost its rankings. |
| pages 'exercise equipment reviews' and also make | | | | ;-)I recommend you install both these tools. They install |
| the link bold we'll score a whole bunch of points on the | | | | across the top of Internet Explorer underneath the |
| SE's. If you then use the other techniques described on | | | | address bar. It only takes a minute or two for |
| this page to optimize the page | | | | installation and its done without any need to download |
| exercise-equipment-reviews.htm around the phrase | | | | software. Once installed you can always right click |
| 'exercise equipment reviews'. You'll be well on your | | | | them and close them if they get in the way. Very |
| way to getting a top listing in the engines. ;-)Keywords | | | | handy little things.To check a sites link popularity try this |
| and keyphrases in a link and the name of a page file | | | | handy online tool10: Search Engines and Submissions. |
| are very important boosters.Anyone would be a fool | | | | To round off this article and tie things up I'm going to |
| not to optimize them to the hilt. But this is often | | | | say a little bit about which search engines to submit to |
| overlooked and simply not known about.7: Name your | | | | and why, how to go about it and why you need not |
| Images properly and utilise their Alt tags. | | | | pay anything to get into the major SE's.Google is king |
| Each image file displayed on a site is linked to with a | | | | of the search engines producing the most accurate |
| line of code containing the path to the image. So along | | | | and relevant results for any search and up until |
| the lines of our link strategy above lets utilise that link | | | | recently it 'crawled/spidered' the web once every six |
| and fill it with keywords.Eg We have an image on our | | | | weeks or so, doing what was called the 'Google |
| home page of a piece of exercise equipment. Lets | | | | dance'. So called because as their database was |
| name that image exercise-equipment.jpg. Most sites | | | | updated ranking of sites could shift dramatically for a |
| store their images in a folder named images, logical, but | | | | few days before settling back down. This has now |
| there's a missed opportunity there. Lets call our image | | | | stopped as of Q2 2003.Google now crawls constantly |
| folder exercise-equipment.So what we have as a link | | | | and there is no longer any major shift in listings. Entry |
| to our image is src="exercise-equipment/ | | | | into Google is free and can be very quick, probably the |
| exercise-equipment.jpg" | | | | quickest outside paid listing. A site should appear in |
| Very nice.But there's more, all images should have an | | | | Google within six weeks of submitting the URL. This is |
| Alt tag this tag controls the text that appears when | | | | still a long time to wait, but it works out quite well if you |
| you role over an image, the little yellow box that | | | | use the next little tactic I'll explain after the next two |
| appears with a description? | | | | paragraphs.Relationships between the SE's have |
| Hmmm ... what should we do with that ;-) You | | | | changed dramatically yet again over the last 12 |
| guessed it stick our key words in there.Is that it for | | | | months.(For a very useful and informative illustration of |
| images ? not quite there's one more trick I'll let out of | | | | the current Major SE relationships take a look at this |
| the bag here. Its very simple but effective, add a link to | | | | chart. If your new to SE optimising you'll probably find |
| your image to a relevant page or if you don't want it to | | | | this a real eye opener)Google has been supplying |
| lead anywhere link it back to the page its on. Either | | | | search results for AOL and Yahoo amongst others. |
| way you'll score again for the keywords in the link as | | | | Yahoo has bought out the major SE Overture for |
| mentioned above. ;-)So you should have something like | | | | millions of dollars and a few months later bought out |
| this - | | | | another less well known but significant SE, inktomi, who |
| a href="exercise-equipment-review.htm" | | | | actually supply listings to MSN, Overture, HotBot, BBC, |
| img src=" exercise-equipment/exercise-equipment.jpg | | | | again for millions of dollars.Yahoo is now basically |
| " alt="exercise equipment" width="113" height="123" | | | | consolidating these engines and will I'm sure restructure |
| border="0"Just look at all those juicy keywords. This | | | | its own sites search algorithms to bring these engines |
| little technique is little known and is another wasted | | | | online. Yahoo currently charges for a listing in its |
| opportunity.8: Site map and doorway pages. | | | | directory $299 last time I checked. But since they |
| A site map simply consists of links to all the pages on | | | | brought their new search engine seperate from their |
| your site. It may be that the way you have your site | | | | directory there's no need to pay to enter yahoo.By far |
| structured you will have some pages that don't link to | | | | the fastest and most cutting edge way to get your |
| each other. Having a site map linked to from every | | | | site crawled by the search engines is to use a tactic |
| page not only helps visitors navigate your site but also | | | | called Blog and Ping. This will call the main search |
| acts as a highway for the 'spiders' to crawl all of your | | | | engine spiders over to your site when you choose and |
| site quickly and easily. Plus think of all those juicy | | | | get you indexed within days. Keep this up and your |
| keyword and keyphrase links on the one page. | | | | whole site, all its pages, will be indexed before you |
| ;-)Doorway pages consist of the techniques mentioned | | | | know it. Click on the link above for more info from my |
| already on this page but taken that little bit further. | | | | friend Rick Butts.(One word of warning stay away |
| Essentially the pages focus heavily around a | | | | from the 'Submit your site to 1500 search engine' style |
| keyphrase and utilise the techniques mentioned here | | | | links you find all over the web these days, you'll just |
| sometimes to the detriment of grammar and | | | | end up with loads of spam emails. The majority of SE |
| readability. A doorway page exists to get a listing in | | | | traffic comes from the top six SE's.)Hand submission |
| the SE's for its keyphrase and when visited it simply | | | | or automated software? |
| has a link to the main site.If your site is pretty small | | | | Well neither really these days. You can have your |
| then it may be useful to have some keyphrase | | | | home page indexed simply by finding another site to |
| targeted doorway pages. If your sites a little larger | | | | exchange links with. Google actually states that they |
| there's no reason why you can't focus the existing | | | | prefer to find sites by crawling the web rather than |
| pages on a keyphrase properly as described here and | | | | through their submission service. This will work much |
| have them do the same job as a doorway page.9: | | | | faster than the submission service.If you do decide to |
| Link exchange. | | | | submit to the search engines then ordinarily I would |
| Over the last 2-3 years or so the links pointing to your | | | | recommend submitting by hand one at a time. I've |
| site have become extremely important.Following | | | | done this for the last five years. Simply because the |
| Googles lead the SE's have placed more emphasis on | | | | software available to submit a site wasn't up to the |
| the related and relevant links a site has. The better | | | | job. But finally there is a piece of software that is up to |
| these links are the better your sites ranking. It's | | | | the job and more than that it helps with the choice of |
| important to state that not just any old link will do | | | | keywords, checks the optimisation of your site pages, |
| although this will help a little a relevant link would be | | | | checks for broken links, reveals your link popularity, |
| much more beneficial.So back to our example site - | | | | tracks and reports visitors to yoursite and will report on |
| Our site sells and reviews exercise equipment that's | | | | your position in all the major engines for your chosen |
| all. That's a pretty big area by itself anyway. But what | | | | keywords.In the past there was a chance that a site |
| if we exchanged links with a site selling exercise | | | | could be blacklisted or not even listed if it was |
| clothing, One of our keywords is in there which is even | | | | submitted by software. This software gets around this |
| better. We add value to our site, adds value to their | | | | problem by simulating a browser whenever it deals |
| site our ranking is boosted in the SE's and the SE | | | | with the search engines, be it submitting your site or |
| provides better results. Everyone's a winner.It's not | | | | reporting on its ranking.I now use this for all my own |
| good enough just to find relevant sites. Ideally you | | | | and client sites. Finally I can save the time I used to |
| should be finding sites that get good results in the SE's | | | | spend on submitting by hand. You can download a |
| already. Linking to one of these sites will give your site | | | | free trial from If you would still prefer to go down the |
| a great boost.But how do you find out how well a site | | | | hand submission route - Here's a page with links to the |
| is ranked? | | | | submission pages of around 30 search |
| Try these two free tools -Google toolbar - I'm sure | | | | engines.Conclusion |
| Google needs no introduction. Other than to say once | | | | I hope you enjoyed reading what has turned out to be |
| you have it installed the little horizontal green bar in the | | | | a rather long article and found something new and |
| middle of the toolbar displays the Page ranking(PR) of | | | | useful within it.It goes without saying that you should |
| any site you visit. Other benefits of the toolbar include, | | | | apply the above techniques to the individual pages of |
| search Google from whichever site your on, a popup | | | | your site. Start with the important and most relevant |
| stopper and an autofill form feature, enter your details | | | | content based pages and work backwards from |
| once and whenever you need to fill a form in online | | | | there. Finally one more online tool to help you check |
| you can do it with one click.Alexa toolbar - Alexa is a | | | | your site for errors. |