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.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
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.
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.
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