Archive for April, 2011

What Are Search Engines?

Monday, April 18th, 2011

There are four basic types of search engines:

Automatic: These search engines are based on information that is collected, sorted and analyzed by software programs, commonly referred to as “robots”, “spiders”, or “crawlers”. These spiders crawl through web pages collecting information which is then analyzed and categorized into an “index”. When you conduct a search using one of these search engines, you are really searching the index. The results of the search will depend on the contents of that index and its relevancy to your query.

Directories: A directory is a searchable subject guide of Web sites that have been reviewed and compiled by human editors. These editors decide which sites to list, and, in which categories.

Meta: Meta search engines use automated technology to gather information from a spider and then deliver a summary of that information as the results of a search to the end user.

Pay-per-click (PPC): A search engine that determines ranking according to the pound amount you pay for each click from that search engine to your site. Examples of PPC search engines are Overture.com and FindWhat.com. The highest ranking goes to the highest bidder.

There are a few downfalls you should know about using PPCs:

  1. The use of PPC search engines as part of your search engine optimization process will not improve your search engine positioning in the regular editorial search results. Instead, they will most always appear in a “Sponsored” or “Featured” area located at the top or side of the regular search page results. Even though your paid listing will appear at the top of the search page, many users will not click on paid listings because they look at it as an advertisement. In the past, people used to always click on banner ads, but now they are seen more of as a nuisance. Similarly, the same thing is happening with PPC listings. Also, PPC listings are not always as relevant to a query as the editorial search results.
  2. If your site is not effectively search engine optimized before you begin to submit it to a PPC, it will still be poorly advertised afterwards. The optimization of your Web site is critical to the success of your rankings.
  3. When you stop paying for a PPC submission, your listing disappears and so does the traffic.

PPCs can be an effective short-term solution for gaining exposure and driving immediate traffic to your Web site while you wait for full indexing, but it can become expensive if you use it as a long-term solution.

How Do Search Engines Work?:

Search engines compile their databases with the aid of spiders (a.k.a. robots). These search engine spiders crawl the Internet from link to link, identifying Web pages. Once search engine spiders find a Web site, they index the content on those pages, making the URLs available to Internet users. In turn, owners of Web sites submit their URLs to search engines for crawling and, ultimately, inclusion in their databases. This is known as search engine submission.

When you use search engines to find something on the Internet, you’re basically asking the search engine to scan its database and match your keywords and phrases with the content of the URLs they have on file at that time. Spiders regularly return to the URLs they index to look for changes. When changes occur, the index is updated to reflect the new information.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Search Engines?

Pro: With the vast wealth of information available on the Internet, search engines are the most effective and efficient way to find information based on your specific search requests.

Con: Because search engines index mass quantities of data, you are likely to get irrelevant responses to your search requests.

Are Search Engines All The Same?

Search results vary from search engine to search engine in terms of size, speed and content. The results will also vary based on the ranking criteria the search engines use. If you aren’t getting the results you need, try a different search engine. While the results may not be wildly different, you may get a few search results from one search engine that you didn’t from another.

How Do Search Engines Rank Web Pages?

When ranking Web pages, search engines follow specific criteria, which may vary from one search engine to another. Naturally, they want to generate the most popular (or relevant) pages at the top of their list. Search engines will look at keywords and phrases, content, HTML meta tags and link popularity — just to name a few — to determine the value of the Web page.

 

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Search Engine Optimisation

Monday, April 11th, 2011

SEO services make fantastic use of a dominant system that is currently in place – the existence of Google and the other major search engines ensures that the web is organised in a specific way. When someone wants to find something online then they head over to a search engine and look for what it is they need that way. Of course these search engines need to be organised in some way and they need to decide what they show in some way – and indeed they are, using various (similar) algorithms and ‘spiders’ to trawl the net and to find categorise what they find in a relevant manner so that when someone searches for specific content they can give them a list of the closest matches.

What SEO services then do is to look at these algorithms and this software and to help make your site conducive to that. Your website then becomes designed in such a way that it is attractive to the search engines – so that when someone searches for something, it will be more likely to bring up your website as one of the top results.

This takes advantage of the system that is in place though, and for the time being an SEO company can take your website from something no one’s heard of, to something that is searched for and found daily by thousands of visitors. This of course can make you a lot of money, but it is nevertheless in some ways a concern – this system is founded on something changeable and not something concrete – if that system is to change, then the SEO services you’ve employed won’t any longer pay off. And the system could change – every now and then Google change their algorithms slightly to ensure that they are more accurate in finding the best and most relevant websites. At the same time it’s of course entirely conceivable that Google could be entirely replaced by a completely different system – something based on ratings, or that uses something more akin to a spider-diagram.

Thus, the very best SEO services will not only make sure that your website is number one for the related key words you want to ‘rank’ for – but it will make sure that it would stay their in the changeable tempest of the internet. The best way to do this? To provide your website with lots of good content and to make sure you have a lot of links in bound.

Link building is one of several SEO services and this will ensure your site is constantly visible – not only because it will be visible to the search engines as a result, but because it will be visible to the visitors when they reach those other sites – thus lots of people will find your site even when the structure of the internet changes.

And by having lots of content your site will always be visible because no matter what algorithms Google use it will always be looking for words – the more you have the more there is to find and the wider range of topics your pages will be relevant to. And if Google’s main aim is to become better and better at finding the content people want. So if you make your content good and make people want it, then any changes will be in your favour.

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SEO copywriting

Monday, April 4th, 2011

When you type the words “SEO copywriting” into Google, thousands of articles and provider websites come up. But how many of them are truly useful? Is SEO-friendly copywriting the standard? Are all copywriters now SEO-savvy? In truth, if you are looking for a professional SEO copywriter, you’re going to need to shop around.

There are thousands of SEO optimization firms that masquerade as copywriters – which can put them in the lead as far as search engine saturation and rankings. SEO optimization indisputably brings in the traffic to your website. Without it, you’d be lost in the never ending ocean of websites. It’s tempting to hire an SEO firm to simply set up your key worded content, submit your website, and let it go. This is a sad mistake for online businesses to make – once the traffic is delivered, they lose sales. A healthy dose of marketing awareness is the true goldmine when it comes to SEO-savvy copywriting services.

Look at the work of some of the top SEO optimization firms. Do it now. Google ‘SEO optimization’.

SEO firms tend to be rather wordy – they’re pressing the limits of search engine ratios. They know that as an SEO firm, their goal is to get a website into the top of the search engine results. Once they’ve done that, they’ve completed their job. They aren’t there to write sales copy or think of a catchy, brand-building slogan. They are there to help you feed machines – not brains. Unfortunately, an SEO firm just doesn’t have the marketing savvy to create website content that draws in the essential components of marketing: emotional draw, a compelling message, and an irresistible offer.

Would you ask an SEO optimization firm to write your print brochure? Help you plan a script for your TV commercial? Would you ask them to compile a media kit for potential investors? Of course not – that’s not what they specialize in. SEO optimization companies specialize in communicating with search engines – not people.

If you are looking for the “sell factor” – that’s where good copywriting comes in. A techie that knows how to blanket a website in keywords doesn’t specialize in creativity and ingenuity. That’s bad for you because those are the things that make your products stand out, increase your response rate, and drive sales. SEO optimization firms rely on keyword saturation – an often complicated algorithm that checks to see how many of your keywords are being read by Google. Keyword saturation is a great tool to tinker with search engine results – but it’s not necessarily the tool you want to exploit when you’re trying to persuade consumers to truly connect with what you’re offering. (And connect with them in such a way that they come back for more.)

So, what do true SEO copywriting services do for my website? SEO copywriters focus first on the message, then the translation to Google. They are expert translators that make a smooth transition from search engine language to customer-centric language. They write your copy with SEO keywords in mind (a 2-7% keyword ratio, which is the standard) but they still add style and voice to what you’re selling.

A good SEO copywriter steers clear of cookie-cutter product descriptions but still manages to slip your keywords in there for Google and Yahoo to read. They know how to build your brand and your company image using professionally written, believable copy. They are the essential component of a true search engine marketing campaign – they give your company a voice that stands a cut above the rest.

Your website has a voice, and SEO copywriting services should build a clear message

The voice of your company is the language on your website – all of the words, product descriptions, link hover text, and Meta data that the search engines pick up and deliver – and humans end up reading. A SEO copywriter will strike a balance between using keywords and promotional words effectively. They don’t sacrifice quality for the sake of a higher saturation rate. They want copy that is exciting to read – and pulls sales. They want to keywords to simply be integrated into high-pulling content.

A good SEO copywriter will know that headings and titles are just as important to the search engines as the people that visit. They know the importance of bold and bullets to make reading easier on the eyes for your computer-weary customers. They also know that Google finds it easier to read as well.

An SEO copywriter is a hybrid of both creative ingenuity and tech-savvy – satisfying both search engines and the curiosity of your prospects. They want results that convert into high search engine results, as well as higher sales volume.

Evaluating SEO copywriting services – is your copywriter an SEO firm in disguise?
So, how do you know if you are truly working with an SEO-savvy copywriting service? The easiest way to find out is to read their website. Many SEO firms rely heavily on search engine statistics – even in their website copy – but don’t let this alone scare you off. Statistics are how many SEO firms see their end of the bargain – the results. Look at their portfolio. (If they don’t have a portfolio or links to online work, run!) Read their website text to see if sounds like a person took time writing it – is there promotional language? A call to action? A clear list of benefits? Is the content persuasive? Are their articles useful and worth reading – or do they seem to grind out information in monotone?

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