One of the most
effective ways to promote your online business, especially if you use search
engine optimization to build traffic, is to connect.
However, as a
certified Web CEO professional, and someone who only uses the "white
hat" optimization strategy, I see people making a lot of mistakes when
using this technique.
Here are some
strategies that I use to make links more effective, and improve my ranking in
search engines.
1. Do your
homework first.
You might be
wondering what the "white hat" technique is.
The "White
hat" technique is a technique that will always work with search engines,
such as writing articles, blogs, and press releases, and optimizing each page
for search engines.
This is the main
technique I use other than to connect because they function.
Just ask Tinu
Abayomi-Paul, owner of http://www.freetraffictip.com. Tinu is an expert in
using search engines to build traffic to his site.
He wrote to me a
few days ago to thank me for "inspiring him". I am not sure exactly
what that means, but I know that he uses many of the same techniques that I did
to promote my site. He now has more than 90,000 relevant entries on Google, more
than the top "teachers" on the internet.
The fact that you are registered with a search engine, the more likely you are found.
Although writing
articles, blogs, press releases, and optimizing pages is sure to work, you
still have to do your homework. This means actually doing a search engine to
find out how the site gets up, which keywords they use, how their pages are
optimized, etc.
I use Alexa,
http://www.alexa.com, for this because it allows me to see traffic statistics,
and what sites are linked to each other.
To get started,
look for the keywords that you are targeting. Look at the sites above. The keywords,
titles, and descriptions they use in the header. Also read the text of the
page. It's not difficult to optimize your page. Just write search engine
friendly content that repeats your keywords. Make your content easy for readers
to read and understand.
Now this might
sound juvenile, but again, this works. Tools like Keyword Density Analyzer,
http://www.keyworddensityanalzyzer.com, and Web CEO,
http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/ht/search.html, can let you know if you are
on the right track.
You can also read
Linking Matters, http://www.linkingmatters.com. This short and free PDF ebook
will give you more tips for linking.
2. Links to
supplementary sites.
I get all the
time requests, and I have to reject about half of them. The reason why I will
not link to sites that have nothing to do with me.
I offer small
business, internet marketing, and search engine optimization and shipping
products and services. Links to quote sites, joke sites, and shoe sites don't
match this.
The key here is
to see the relevance of the link, but they also see the relevance of the link.
Sites that are
similar, or complementary to you, give you more credibility and higher page
rank than having many sites that show you back that have nothing to do with
your site.
Make the link
point back to your relevant site.
3. Choose
relevant low-competition keywords, highly sought after, for your anchor text.
This tip is
related to tip four. Before you start sending requests to other webmasters,
make sure you target the right keywords. Not only are there many relevant
links, but your keywords must be keywords that will give you traffic.
4. Change your
anchor text.
Google recently
decided that the link with the same text between your text {{a href =
""}} and {{/ a}} must be different. Too many links that lead back to
your site that have "similar" text like spam. This does not mean it
is spam, and sometimes, you do not have control over how other people link back
to your site.
However, if you
decide to exchange links with others, change your anchor text variations.
5. Try other
alternatives for software.
Although there
are many software programs out there that you can use to help you automate this
process, I remind you to be careful when using this kind of software. While it
might speed up for you, you might also end up with lots of links that show you
who have no relevance. Also, these programs really won't help you as much as
you think if you don't change the anchor text occasionally.
If you choose to
use software to automate the process, make sure you personalize your email.
Again, do your homework and make sure you actually send an email to the site
that complements your property. Nobody likes to receive emails that say
"Dear Webmaster".
Using directory
scripts on your site can help you because other people can visit your site and
add links. Make sure you check your directory occasionally to see who is
linking to you. Also, make sure that you make your script so that other people
must have a link that directs you before your script will accept their site.
Link Management
Assistant - http://www.dirfile.com/link_management_assistant.htm
You can also find
reciprocal link exchange sites such as the Metro Link,
http://www.linkmetro.com. Sites like this will allow you to choose your
partners, find new partners, and exchange links without being bombarded with
e-mails or general requests.
Regardless of how
you develop a linking strategy for your site, you need to develop it if you
want to rank high in the search engines.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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