Website Expansion – Plan and Flourish

A website is the greatest prerequisite for a businessman interested in promoting his product/service online. Websites are like grasslands - they start off with one twig of grass and end up engulfing massive areas under their green cover.

The online marketplace is dynamic, and therefore, the onus of evolving with it, lies on you. When it comes to promotion of your site, keep your mind open to different marketing platforms like search engine optimisation, directories, social networks, et al. Your main objective is to make people notice your site and visit it for trading purposes.

When you set about developing a site for your company, it is wise to remember that it will have to grow along with the business itself. It is advisable to create a comprehensive base structure for your site in the beginning itself. It should ideally contain well-defined folders, sub-folders and files that clearly indicate the references and data therein. This structure will help you visually plan and categorise the development of your site.

And, if you believe you can handle this expansion phase when you actually reach it, you cannot be more mistaken. Unplanned expansion, addition or deletion of pages can result in broken hyperlinks or image holders, creating confusion for webmasters, search engines and users.

When deciding on a basic structure for your site, give due importance to names and locations of files and directories that are presently available or will be added later. The root directory should have one file that'll include the homepage and all files/pages that are subsequently published online.

The name of such a file can be either index.htm, or default.htm, depending on the programming language you use. The use of this convention allows web servers to serve particular documents by default. Whenever someone types the name of your site, the server will automatically hunt for files that are named 'index' or 'default', and eventually display your homepage.

Even though you can have a distinct URL for your homepage, this convention is widely regarded as the safest bet. It ensures that your users do not need to include words like 'index' or 'homepage' when looking for your website's main landing page. Moreover, even if you change web hosts in the future, this file name will not give you any problems whatsoever.

Above all, the file names and URLs of each page on your site should be relevant to the content of the page. This not just fosters better search engine promotion, but also gives clarity and easy identifiability to your site.

Even though naming of files sounds a petty task, it can have a huge impact on your campaign. As a web developer, you should take care of the minutest issues and get them sorted out at nascent stages of your website development. When it comes to flourishing in the online market, this move will stand you and your business in good stead.

Attain SEO Success through Reciprocal Link Building

Link exchange is one of the most important concepts in the domain of search engine optimisation. A part of the off-page optimisation services, it involves obtaining links from other websites in exchange for a link to theirs. This process is also known as reciprocal linking.

A link exchange programme can take place only if your website has a page on 'Related Links/Resources' to indicate pages that deal in content that is more or less related to yours. This page can include both one-way and two-way links to provide additional information to visitors. And, for webmasters, you should have a page that says 'Link to Us', so that they can get into an exchange by copying the HTML link code to their website through that page. By doing so, you can determine the anchor text of links that point to your site.

The Related Links Page

When you place a link here, always ensure that the website in question is related to your products/services. Do not give outgoing links to link farms or banned sites – you stand the chance of being penalised by search engines if caught doing so. Do not clutter up this page with unwanted and unprofitable links.

When you create this page, put some content matter along with the scores of links thereon. Experts advise that you should give a brief intro about the site in question along with every link that you present. Try to place all your outgoing links in a single 'links' page. This will help in keeping their PageRank intact.

The 'Link to Us' Code

This code should tell other websites about the most important keywords of your site. Use keywords in the link text as well as the description that follows it. Place this code in your 'related links' page so that other webmasters can copy the HTML code mentioned thereon to get into a link exchange with your site.

The Process of Reciprocal Link Building

The Internet has a number of software tools that allow you to establish link exchange programmes with other websites. The process of managing this programme is simple, and can be undertaken manually if you know the right steps.

i) Research on the most competitive keywords for your business and then use them in your link campaign.

ii) Find out about the sites that link to you, and the ones that link to your closest competitors. This will help you determine the kind of websites you want establish links with.

iii) Compile email addresses of each and every website owner you link to. This can be done either by writing to them directly, or by picking their address from the 'Contact Us' page of their website.

iv) Create an email account specially dedicated to the link exchange programme. This id can be used by webmasters wanting to exchange links with your site.

v) Specify templates that can be used to correspond with webmasters of your linked sites. These templates are in the form of a letter that can be sent as a link exchange request. A number of email clients like Outlook provide a wide range of options for these templates.

vi) Provide your linking partners with a sample link code in your email template so that they can copy and use them.

vii) You can easily send the same email to scores of webmasters without even revealing the their names to one another. Use the 'BCC' option available in your email account to keep their identities anonymous.

viii) Include all your outgoing links in the 'Related Links' page of your website. This will help users and other webmasters in tracking down extra information on your site.

ix) As with all other SEO techniques, link building services are continuous processes that demand constant analysis and improvisation. Go through the new link partnerships established on your site and work towards generating more reciprocal links.

When you contact webmasters with link exchange requests, it if imperative that you adhere to certain etiquettes. Since you are asking them for a favour, you should link to their site first and then request for a reciprocal link. Be very specific and give your request mail a personalised touch. Also, remember not to unnecessarily bug them with link exchange requests. The key is to be polite and still persuasive enough to get your work done with minimum hassles.

Optimise your Blog to acquire high Search Engine Rankings

The world is blogging away to glory... literally! Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a personal blog nowadays, and is using it to give a vent to his emotions and thoughts about whatever is held dear. Web business owners have also caught up with this trend, and as the online marketplace widens its horizons, they are using blogs as a means of acquiring high rankings on search engines.

Search engine optimisation services are in huge demand by web businesses all over the world. The use of astute on-page and off-page techniques have seen many a website spiral to top rankings on search engine result pages (SERPs). Just as websites, blogs are also being optimised for increased visibility on the World Wide Web.

Here, one needs to remember that there is no sure-shot way to be successful with this process. It all depends on the algorithm of the search engine in question. However, there are a few tactics that can get your blog good rankings and high-value traffic. A few of them are listed below:

1. Keywords – Just like web content or articles, blogs should also incorporate the most important keywords for your business. As per SEO experts, the density of keyword usage depends on your requirements based on the search engine guidelines you adhere to. However, it is imperative that your main objective – blog optimisation – is not evidenced in its content. Keywords should be amalgamated naturally in blog content, so that comprehension and optimisation are both dealt with appropriately.
2. Links - Work on the promotion of your blog on networks, forums, et al. This will help you generate back links, and thus set up a strong platform for search engine crawling of your blog. The quantity and quality of websites pointing to your blog will go a long way in determining its PageRank and actual rankings on SERPs.
3. Images - Image tags are often ignored by bloggers, who usually believe that these are inconsequential elements that are not considered in the process of search engine optimisation. Contrary to this popular notion, images do get you targeted traffic because a search engine crawls the code of your blog along with its content. You can incorporate important keywords in image tags and bolster your rankings.
   

The next time you sit down to write a blog for your Internet business, do ponder about its marketability. Optimise it to get good rankings and generate high-value traffic for your business

Search Engine Marketing – Tame the Search

Search engines are ruling the roost, as far as online marketing is concerned. Web businesses all over the world are vying for top spots in rankings of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and the likes. Whether it is organic (SEO) or inorganic (PPC), they are ready to shed out huge amounts of money in order to improve their visibility and generate high traffic from the Internet.

As a marketer, you have to be aware of the nuances of SEM services. Keywords, meta tags, content, feeds, links, etc are some of the most crucial factors that determine the optimisation success of a web page. And, if you go for paid advertising on search engines, keywords and landing pages have to be extremely effective.

All these efforts will ensure that your website is search-engine friendly. Take cue from the following checklist in order to create a site that brings in traffic and eventually peps up sales figures for your business:

• First and foremost, undertake research to find out the keywords that are best suited to your business. Use any of the free keyword tracking tools online to generate your own list. And then, incorporate those words or phrases into your write-ups. This will ensure that your pages are considered for indexing whenever a user types in a search query on those particular keywords.
• Your web pages should not be laden with just images, or attractive design elements; they should also have relevant and informative content matter. Without the written word, you can never expect to extract good results out of your search engine marketing campaign.
• Each one of your web pages has an identity of its own. Therefore, it is imperative that you optimise them separately, using the best keywords and meta tags relevant to the content on that page.
• The internal linking of your website has to be well structured and easily navigable. Experts insist that every page on your site should be linked to the homepage and sitemap page.
• Directory submission, an important feature of off-page optimisation, can help in improving your site's visibility on the World Wide Web. Submit your site to popular directories like DMOZ, Yahoo, GoGuides, etc and better your chances of being indexed by search engine crawlers, the ultimate objective of search engine marketing.
  

More than anything else, marketers have to keep a constant tab on the results and effectiveness of their campaign. Monitor your site's rankings on important keywords and make changes whenever need be.

Does your SEO Company Follow the Tacit Code of Ethics?

The online marketplace has witnessed the rise and fall of millions of websites in a span of 15 years. With the passage of time, search engines have earned a special place in Internet business operations. You are not considered successful until your website ranks amongst the top ten in Google, Yahoo or MSN. In short, website optimisation is the key to long-term success on the web.

Webmasters are vying for those top ranks, ready to do anything and everything to get their sites recognised. This has led to an upsurge in the number of unethical activities on the web. Optimisers do not pay heed to preset guidelines or protocols, and often end up getting their sites blacklisted or banned from search engine networks.

It is imperative that search engine optimisation companies providing services for web businesses adhere to certain tacit code of ethics. Although the online marketplace is still wanting in terms of a written code of this kind, but, certain work ethics are implied or understood. Listed below are a few of such ethical issues that should be taken into consideration by service providers or individual optimisers:

1. Do not violate cyber laws. Each and every country has its own set of laws meant for all sorts of web entities. It is in your best interest to stay away from copyright or trademark infringement in your marketing campaign. Spamming is something that can get you in big trouble – do not invade users' mail boxes with spam messages.
2. As an optimiser, you should not mislead the end user – your potential buyer – by stating facts incorrectly, so as to make a mark on search engines. Do not optimise your site on keywords that are not related to your business. Landing pages of sites should be relevant and informative for visitors who land therein from external sources.
3. Do not bring in disrepute or harm to your client's business by getting into negative tactics or Black-hat SEO. Stay within the bounds of search engine guidelines and use available resources for optimisation.
4. Be original in whatever you present. Do not try to copy content or images from others' websites for the sake of convenience. Search engines will be able to gauge the different sooner or later. So, try to stay away from such kind of trouble.
5. As an SEO company, you should present yourself as what you are, and what you can do. Do not create false impressions about yourself in lure of getting more clients. Your certifications, experience, work standards, etc. should be clearly defined in the documentation process. Do not fake names of clients in order to impress others of your competence or popularity.
   

More than anything else, a service provider should follow the rule of confidentiality. You simply cannot divulge client data, even if you do not work for them anymore. Programme codes, content matter, server info, documents, budgeting, etc. are issues that need to be taken care of. Respect for a client's anonymity and privacy is, undoubtedly, of utmost importance

Increase Return Traffic to Strengthen SEO Services

When businesses get into search engine marketing, their main objective is driving new visitors to their website. Almost all optimisation strategies devised by webmasters are centered around the same objective, and this is possibly the greatest mistake they can make. It is true that new visitors pep up the traffic influx of a website; but is it wise to neglect the importance of old visitors?

Apart from catering to new users, webmasters have to formulate strategies to bring back old users in the form of return traffic. All web users have certain favourite websites, that they access frequently for daily doses of information and entertainment related to their fields of interest. If webmasters can get their sites to this level, it'll definitely spell success for their SEO campaigns.

Web analytics is one service that can be extremely useful in driving return users to your site. It'll help you analyse prevalent online trends and customer behaviour. The log files of your website will also provide a good insight into visitor reactions, thus helping you identify pages that are retaining or repelling users.

People who bookmark your pages are quite likely to come back once in a while. Buyers - prospective or otherwise – will, in all likelihood, visit your site more than once. Return traffic also fosters viral marketing - when users buy something from you, they talk about it to their family, friends and peers, thus publicising your business by word of mouth.

Retaining users is not as easy a task as it sounds to be. Your website should have appealing content matter; something that users have not read elsewhere, something that interests them enough to make a return visit, and above all, something that benefits them. You also need to upgrade your site constantly, catering to latest SEO service guidelines and design techniques. By doing so, you can ensure that users will not find your site boring or static.

It is also imperative that you do away with elements that irk visitors. Things like drop-down menus, scrollers, dragable objects, colours, fonts, etc. have to be dealt with smartly. Review the content of your site periodically. This will help you rectify errors related to spellings, facts and language. Make sure there are no broken links and do away with redirects as much as possible.

When people come back to your website, they would definitely not like to see the same mistakes on your pages. Let your users feel refreshed after every visit to your site. This return traffic will ultimately go on to benefit your campaign in a major way. Use it to your advantage!