Does your business need more exposure? If so, this article is meant for you. Organic Search Engine Optimization is one of the best ways to ensure that your website is well advertised in and beyond the traditional geographic boundaries. Coupled with a custom website design, this tool can be the greatest economically available launch pad for your business.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) makes it easy for a website to be picked up by search engines such as Google or Yahoo or MSN. Using keywords and key phrases with particular relevance to the business and demography will increasingly attract crawlers of search engines.
There are two strategies that can be employed for achieving the right amount of traffic to your website: Onsite Search Engine Optimization and Offsite Search Engine Optimization. Each involves a different set of techniques to be effective.
Onsite Search Engine Optimization
This form of search engine optimization involves making the website ‘search-engine friendly’. A great deal of customization on the website coding will have to be done to achieve onsite SEO. It is therefore best tackled while the website is being constructed.
To achieve onsite SEO, it is first necessary to assign a central theme to each web page. Once the theme is selected (e.g. website design), tools such as Google AdWords can be used to locate the most searched for keywords or phrases (e.g. flash website design, e-commerce website design) in connection with the theme. In addition to having the keywords repeated frequently on the website, it is also essential to maintain meta-tags, page titles (e.g. ‘Professional Website Design Services’) and links (e.g. www.wspgweb.com/website-design-services.php) that revolve around the central theme and the most widely used keywords.
Page ranking results change from week-to-week and therefore constant monitoring of the links and keywords is an essential part of Onsite Search Engine Optimization.
Offsite Search Engine Optimization
Offsite Search Engine Optimization is the essential counterpart of Onsite SEO. It works just like good publicity. In the world of glamour and fame, popularity comes from being constantly talked about, and from being talked about by the ‘right people’. In the same manner, Offsite Search Engine Optimization works on improving your websites ‘web image’ by getting other websites to refer and link to it. The greater the number of inbound links to your website, the higher the ranking will be.
There are several underlying factors that play a key part in the algorithms used by search engine’s for judging and determining page rank. The weight assigned to each contributing factor changes from time-to-time. Therefore there is no steadfast “formula” for achieving a high page rank. However, there is one factor that always remains important in an algorithm: the number of quality inbound links. It is therefore a sound strategy to attain as many inbound links as possible.
Certain inbound links are considered more advantageous than others due to the greater weight assigned to them by search engines. Some of the most sought-after and beneficial links are:
- from websites of a high Google Page Rank
- from websites of similar content
- from websites with .gov and .edu extensions
There are several popular ways to attain a high page ranking. Some of the methods that are used extensively are:
1.Directory Submissions
Directory Sites are of two kinds: free and paid. Both can be enlisted in a search engine optimization campaign depending on the type of budget involved. It is best to submit your website to a directory that relates to the theme of your website. People who are interested in the type of service you provide will be more likely to bookmark a directory that has that service as its central theme. This will increase the your chances of reaching your target audience.
It is important to understand that all directories do not have the potential to bring in the same quality of results. It is therefore necessary to investigate the directories before investing in them.
2.Article Directory Submissions
Submitting articles related to your services to article directories is another way to build inbound links. Such sites contain resource box’s that allow you to include a link back to your website and a short description to capture the reader’s attention.
Articles fare well only if the information contained in them is relevant, well-written and to-the-point. In addition to the benefit of getting inbound links through this method, traffic can also be guaranteed on account of the click-thru’s that come in. If the article is truly a good one, people will click through to your website and may then enlist your services.
3.Forums & Blogs
Another way to drive hard-core traffic to your website is to take advantage of the forums and blogs on the web. Most forums and blogs have a central theme to them. They key is to join blogs and forums that talk the most about topics relevant to your stream of service.
Again, it is very important to always provide useful information rather than spamming the forums or blogs with links to your website. Spamming reduces the credibility of your company and can result in your account with that blog or forum being closed. On the other hand, if you provide relevant information, forum frequenters will recognize you as an expert and will consequently click thru to your website.
4.Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is the most recent trend in search engine optimization, and a very powerful tool for building up inbound links. By allowing visitors to bookmark your website pages on top social bookmarking sites, you too can capitalize on this trend.
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