SEO4OURSITES

Friday, July 29, 2011

Top 5 most common mistakes with do-it-yourself SEO

by: Joe Balestrino

I look at a lot of sites on a daily basis. There are a lot of common problems I see on sites. Some people may have tags set-up improperly or use tags that have no real purpose. I have compiled a list of the 5 top do-it-yourself SEO errors. It's safe to say that many do-it-yourselfers may have at least one of these errors on their sites. These should help you omit these often costly mistakes and pull you up in the ranks.

The One Most Overlooked SEO Secret

by: Anik Singal

Most internet business owners know the basics when it comes to getting ranked well in search engines. Put the keyword in the title. Put the keyword in your headline, the text, etc...

Some get even more "slick" and they insert the keyword many times in the text. Then others get even more technical and begin an active linking strategy. By the way, an active linking strategy can be one of the best ways to get your search engine rankings high - but that's not what we're talking about today.

There Should Be More to your SEO Consultant Than Rankings

by: David Leonhardt

By David Leonhardt, SEO Consultant
Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions in SEO is that ranking at Google and Yahoo is all that counts in search engine optimization. Potential clients come to me with a single goal: "Get me a top-ten ranking at Google." Some will also mention MSN, and a few will rhyme off a list of search engines and want to rank well at the top 200 of them.
It is time to separate fact from fiction.
Yes, your SEO consultant can get you a top-ten placement at Google. But...

What to look for when shopping for a SEO specialist.

by: Joe Balestrino

When, shopping for a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company/specialist you need to be aware of a few things. If someone offers you fast results they may be pulling your leg. If you aren’t listed on search engines the average time to be index takes around 4 weeks. Someone offering submissions in less then that is coning you. Websites that are already listed and are just being updated will have a faster result.

When to Hire a Professional SEO Firm?

by: Corey Wenger

In efforts to increase sales and profitability, more and more companies are turning to online marketing initiatives – specifically, search engine optimization. Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) is the art and science of blending technical and marketing skills together into a finely tuned website that is both search engine-friendly, ranks well for specific keywords and phrases, and is tailored to your audience from a buyer and seller perspective.

PPC Advertising – The First Step In A SEO Marketing Campaign

by: Halstatt Pires

Often, sites view seo and PPC marketing as exclusive marketing techniques. Each marketing method has its advocates. In reality, both have a place in the Internet marketing process. If you intend to pursue a major seo effort, a PPC campaign is a critical early step.

On-Site SEO and Link Building

by: Peter Faber

A discussion between 2 SEO´s, Mr. Ethical and Mr. Links, about link building.
Mr. Ethical: There is no need for link building if you know how to optimize a website properly. It’s all on-site work and some basic submissions to some directories.
Mr. Links: Yeah that’s what it starts with, but you have to admit that once you’re done with on-site optimization and the results are not there yet, you need to do link building in order to increase the rankings.

An SEO Glossary - Common SEO Terms Defined

by: Glenn Murray

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become an essential weapon in the arsenal of every online business. Unfortunately, for most business owners and marketing managers (and even many webmasters), it's also somewhat of an enigma. This is partly due to the fact that it's such a new and rapidly changing field, and partly due to the fact that SEO practitioners tend to speak in a language all of their own which, without translation, is virtually impenetrable to the layperson. This glossary seeks to remedy that situation, explaining specialist SEO terms in plain English...

What are SEO Back Link?

by: daniel chow

Back links are an important part of most successful websites on the net and are almost essential in order to get reasonable listings on search engines. Back links are quite simply, links from other websites. As part of most search engines algorithms it is obvious to see they rely heavily largely upon the amount of quality incoming links your website has. I would like to reiterate, quality links, there are many unscrupulous link farms and link schemes that if you participate in, will get you banned from the major search engines. Search engines see links from other, usually established, websites as a mark of respect and that you probably have something to offer.

If you your website is just starting out or you are new to the world of SEO then you should know that back links are a crucial part to a website, almost as much as any content on it. With just one link to you from another indexed site you can usually get a few search engine bots visiting your site within hours instead of days, or even weeks through manual submission. Back links usually mean that you can achieve some reasonable key words in some search engines within weeks if you have a good quality site.

Armed with the above information it is easy to see how vital back links are, so now you are wondering where to get them. Well you are advised to stay away from disreputable sources like I previously mentioned but they rarely work any way, instead you should visit places like the Sitepoint Forums & WebHostingTalk where many professional webmasters can be found. It is recommended you aim to link swap with websites that have a better google page rank than yourself

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What are SEO back links?

The SEO Rip-Off

by: Joe Balestrino

I have decide to write this article as a result of numerous emails. It seems more and more people are falling victim to bad SEO. The main complaint is that they are paying entirely too much for little or no results. Additionally, many fall prey to bad SEO practices. If you plan to hire an SEO pro in the future, I suggest you use this article as a set of guidelines. Before going with any SEO firm or individual, do the following:

A) Find out how established and experienced an SEO firm is before you negotiate.
Do they have a sizeable client list under their belt?
Are they published?

B) Scrutinize their portfolio.
What kind of results have they achieved?
Contact a few of their clients. Were they satisfied with the work performed?

C) Consider and confirm their methods?
How will they optimize your site to reach your keywords?
Do they use organic methods? Some individuals or companies use doorway pages, hide text in the background, utilize re-directs and other blacklisted methods. Stay away from these.

D) Get a least three proposals from different SEO firms.
Look at each one carefully. Are there similarities? Proposals will help you see which companies are honest and which are trying to sell you something you don't need.
What is the cost? The cheapest isn't always the best, however, the highest price may not be attached to a comprehensive and viable course of action. Try to find find an individual or organization that will give you what you want within your SEO budget.

E) Contract, Contract, Contract.
Get everything in writing. Look over the document carefully. Be sure it covers everything you have discussed, including methods of achieving your desired results. Have the copies signed by both parties. If the job is a large one you may want to consult a lawyer.

F) Clearly state the terms of payment.
While most SEO firms will not do any work for free or agree to a results based pay scale, many competant SEO professionals will not shy away from a base plus performance incentive package. I am not a firm believer in prepaid contracts.. Most SEO professionals will abide by the 50% up front, 50% upon completion standard. Make sure all financial terms are as clearly defined in your contract as the actual scope of work. This will protect all parties involved in the event that expectations are not met.

All in all, try to do your best to educate yourself on SEO. Have a basic understanding of SEO terminology and SEO methodology. Anyone offering SEO services should not have a problem explaining how they intend to get you results. If they fail gain your confidence or raise a red flag for any reason whatsoever, keep searching. You will eventually find someone who will help you reach your goals for a fair price. Happy hunting.

The Basics of SEO - Some FAQs

by: Glenn Murray

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a foreign field to a lot of people. Rarely does a day go by when I don't get asked a few questions on the subject. So I've decided to post this FAQ article in the hopes that it will help people understand the basics, and make them a little more comfortable with the whole domain.

SEO Advertisting & Pay Per Click PPC

by: daniel chow

Advertising can be an easy way to break into the internet but there are many downsides to it. Unless you are running a community based site, have a site offering very unique content, a valuable service or product the traffic usually only comes as long as your paying for it. Of course ad campaigns can also be very expensive to run and maintain so you need to be sure your squeezing everything you can out of it. You should only proceed with a ad campaign if you are positive your site is the best it can be, otherwise you may just be pouring money away. There are thousands of companies on the internet who offer to provide you with ad campaigns, many of which never deliver, do not let any of these points put you off advertising.

If you want quality traffic with affordable prices you are recommended to stick with the major search engines and their partners. Google Adwords, Overture and MSN are all well respected companies which will deliver you the best traffic. All of the forementioned websites use pay per click systems which can be perfect as they drive traffic with keywords you specify directly at your site, these advertisers are all interlinked with the main search engines so you should expect to get the most widespread sections of the population from them. Because they have the traffic numbers to support ad campaigns there can sometimes be bidding wars on popular keywords, I advise you to stay away from popular keywords and do your research. Overture provides a free Keyword Selector Tool which can help you find out how much traffic similiar keywords recieve each month, these are usually a lot cheaper and still provide the same high quality traffic.

As I mentioned before advertising wont necessarily mean a good flow of traffic after you stop paying, other routes of advertising can mean you get listed in a search engines immediately for a set fee. Yahoo offers the ability to pay for a index within their search engine or directory, although your site still needs to abide by the same rules as other sites it gives you the opportunity to get indexed immediately within the search engine, a more subtle way of advertising power. Alternatively you can find quality sites that are related to yours on Sitepoint.com and WebHostingTalk.com who may be willing to put a one way link up for a nominal fee.

You may find websites on the internet offering "banner exchanges", "free traffic" and other such promises, I wouldent look at them twice unless you want to lose out. The traffic they send you is of the worst quality, many of these websites operate bots, own networks of link farms and even pay people to visit your site. This of course means that no one being referred from these sites are actually interested in your content or services, in worst case scenarios you may even end up being banned from search engines due to these malicious sites. Even if they are reputable companies it is hard to judge whether they will work for you, many of the smaller search engine companies simply do not get the traffic to give you value for money.

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copyright? www.SEOAssistance.com

SEO Success: Step Three is Creating Long-Term Popularity

by: Chesa Keane

Finally, after the hard-core efforts that are directly related to generating traffic to your website, you next step is to develop a strategy that creates follow-on, long-term traffic. Several methods exist for this Tier III strategy:

SEO Success: Step One is Good Web Design

by: Chesa Keane

Creating a well-designed website is the first step in your internet marketing strategy. Once the website has been created and optimized, there are further techniques to employ that will drive traffic to your website for successful, long-term results. You wouldn't consider opening a retail store in a major shopping mall without signage and you shouldn't consider having a nice looking website designed without expanding your web presence in order to be found on the internet. But unless the website is designed correctly to begin with, follow-on SEO efforts will have limited results at best. The following strategy overview is designed to bring about productive SEO results:

SEO - Natural Linking Strategies

by: Chet Holcomb

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be the difference between a small, barely profitable or visible website and a traffic magnet website. There are a lot of ways, both good and bad, to influence the search engines. Some search engines react to certain strategies better than others. Some even have conflicting strategies that they react to. To document all of these things would require a significant number of pages and research that goes beyond the scope of this article.

SEO Made Easy - Winning Tactics For Internet Business Success

by: Joe Borges

Search engines are very difficult to completely understand. There are no complete explanations of how their ranking algorithms work. But the very fact that the average person does not intuitively know how to crack the search engine algorithms leads to all sorts of the same questions, usually variations of: "How do I get my website to the top of the search engine results pile? "Search engine optimization is not magic or something equally difficult to understand. Instead, it is a step-by-step process and you should look at it that way. It can be summarized in the following points:

* An understanding of how search engines think.
* Knowing what search engines want
* Learning proven optimization techniques
* Applying your knowledge time and time again (experience - commonly known as trial and error!).

Of course, SEO is not completely explained by these four sentences. An automated software solution can give you the knowledge and tools to learn and implement SEO on your website with exceptional results. Success on the internet all boils down knowing how to implement Search Engine Optimization better than your competitors and getting it right the first time. If you do this, you will give your internet business that competitive edge.

However, if you have implemented SEO strategies correctly, and if you are still not seeing your website rank anywhere near where it should be on a particular keyword, then you may have one of the following problems:

* Your website may have been sandboxed (specific only to Google).
* Your website might be penalized or even removed from the index by a search engine for going against a stated guideline.
* A search engine might think that you are spamming them.

In the first case, you will have to "wait it out" with Google, while consolidating on your positions in the other search engines by continuously building links and adding content. You will not encounter the second case if you use and implement a very good automated SEO tool and understand exactly what the search engines will and won't permit.

However, like I said in the beginning, search engines are notoriously difficult to understand - their algorithms change by the second - and sometimes it is possible to all the right things and still not be ranked correctly. Search engines don't always get this part right. Called over-optimization by the major search engines, there is actually a lot of debate over this issue.

I know that optimizing your website and getting it listed is one of the hardest things to do. Believe me, I've been there. But now that you're armed with the information to get started, why not look for that automated SEO tool that will make your life easier and start you on the road to getting your site listed and ranked!

About the author:
Joe Borges makes it easy to get your website optimized and listed in all the major search engines. Learn the essential steps to online business success. Visit to get your free ebook.

Joe Borges is an experienced internet marketer with 10+years experience in website design, development and implementation. He specializes in Search Engine Optimization to help internet businesses increase their web presence, boost website traffic and drive more sales. To learn how to increase your internet business presence, web traffic and boost your income now, visit:

SEO Introduction

by: daniel

If your looking to increase your websites presense on the internet we will provide you with a detailed insight into the world of Search Engine Optimization, so let us begin with this broken down introduction to SEO. In the current age having your site online is only one step towards making your mark on the internet, it's incredibly easy to get online but once you get online you will probably encounter a common dilemma, where are the visitors? Undoubtedly you have joined the many millions of websites that fall into the abyss of the search engine's, if you are fortunate to get listed by them at all. You may not think search engine positioning affects you but if you own or operate a website, it does. If you any ambitions for your website then you have to cater for this increasingly important webmaster role.

Search engine optimization is more than making your site rank well in the major search engines, it's about integrating it seamlessly into your page design without your visitors even being aware exists. SEO is an on going task that all webmasters need to undertake in order to keep reasonable positioning within search engines and recieve the subsequent traffic it brings. A common mistake many people make is to optimize their site once and believe that they can hold a rank, this might be true for some obscure key words but there is so much information flowing around the internet that there will always be someone willing to take your site on for rankings.

It is important to remember the complex algorithms search engines use to determine your position calculate thousands of different factors, you cannot rely on one to keep ahead of the game. SEO Assistance will bring you an indepth view into the world of search engine positioning, we have broken it down into easily digestible sections so you can move your site up inch by inch. One downside to keeping your website in the public eye is that it requires a constant effort but if you are planning to sell a product or keep your website active, it is definitely worth it.