How to Choose the Best Keyword for On-Page Optimization

Means to find good keywords:

"Keywords" are the words that your potential customer associates with your product or service. You should know what the reader is likely to type into the search engine. You can even try this by typing your keywords the way your site viewers would. Choosing keywords for on-page optimization need not be complex. You just need to take a few things into consideration.

1) Significance: Keywords must be relevant to the business.
2) Magnitude: How important is this core term in relation to the other yet-to-be-optimized keywords
3) Addressee's objective: Will this bring in exactly the aimed-at traffic in comparison to the other keywords?
4) Exploration volume: Will this bring in solid amount of traffic in relation to the other keywords?

The keyword formula:

Keywords for evaluation are usually the keywords that work best for search engine optimization. The number of search results on Google for your keywords are calculated with KEI (Keyword Effectiveness Index) for each keyword. The KEI compares the number of searches for a keyword with the number of search results in which keywords are most effective for your operation.

Finding the best keywords:

The best use of keywords in on-page optimization is best defined by the ratio between relevance, popularity and competition. The keyword which is most related to your business having the largest number of searches and the smallest competition is the best. If you do well in local search, you can easily overcome all the competition and show up in the search engine results for the given keyword.

What you should do:

List the keywords that people use to find your business.

Note how many people use the keywords you have selected.

Classify your competition and make sure the keywords you have chosen are relevant.

Breaking keywords into pages:

Keyword optimization has to be cent-percent related to the content of the page. Choose the best few keywords for the home page and spread the rest on the other pages. Choose one or two keywords that you can use throughout the pages that will act as your main keywords.

Suggestions:

Here are some useful tips for finding the best keywords for on-page optimization.

1) Words you feel people would type in to find the website, its products/services, etc.
2) FAQs that your clients ask you will contain important keywords.
3) What actions do your viewers try to accomplish with your website?
4) Industry glossaries and reference materials
5) Thesauri, taxonomies and anthologies
6) Contents of websites listed in related classes of the directory
7) Geographical dependence on search expressions

The points you learned here should be enough to jump-start you on keyword optimization. Of course, like any other research methodology it requires skill, time and effort. If you feel that your time is best spent on your business then seek the help of a good SEO company. They are experienced in these criteria and will help you on your way to online success!

Content Syndication: Myths busted

Before we dive into content syndication, let’s learn all about what content is.

What Is Content?

Today, everybody talks of having good content in their website. But what is good content? What does it mean? Content is simply the stuff that you have on your site, and good content is the useful information or tool that a visitor to your website might find. Good content entirely depends on the purpose of your site.

Content can be presented in the form of text, audio, video, or applications. In the textual form it could be news articles, blogs, political and cultural commentaries, reviews of TV, music, books, and other forms of media, travel pieces, sports scores and stories, stock quotes and analysis, and even full-length songs or movies. The above list makes it clear that some useful information is provided in various forms to the visitor to make his visit meaningful. It would be a pleasure for the user to navigate such a site.

What Is Content Syndication?

Syndication means distribution and content syndication is distributing or sharing the content available in one website with multiple other sites.

How Does Content Syndication Help You?

When you share the content of your website with multiple other sites it adds great depth and provides the latest information on the web pages of the receiving website thereby making it more attractive to the visitors. In today’s scenario websites need to look fresh and new at all times and content syndication provides a constant source of new material to be published on your website.

On the other hand, it is also a benefit to your website as it gives an exposure to your website across numerous online platforms. The website’s name gains free publicity which leads to more traffic, more contacts, more business, and more profit. This is a free and easy form of advertisement to your website.

What Is the Myth about Content Syndication

The myth is that content syndication may not be of much help as Google dislikes duplicate content and it is best to reduce the amount of content you syndicate (distribute) on the web.

Myth Busted

This is a misunderstanding. Content can be distributed without having an adverse effect on your website. If you have the original content on your website, you can rewrite, reorganize or restructure the original with minor changes and then submit it to various sites. This helps to improve ranks, visits, and sales.

Google being intelligent always tries to look for the site from where the content originated and gives the website “search engine credit” and higher ranking in the organic results listing. It does not matter if your website is not the one where the content originated. You are sure to find a place close to the original website which is going to be of tremendous help to you to increase traffic to your website.

Duplicate content is discouraged by Google only if there is duplication of the content in the same domain. It does not discourage syndication in other websites through article directories, press releases, etc.

Google will consider your pages as duplicates if the page titles and meta descriptions are one and the same. So it is essential that each web page has unique relevant tags and keywords.

If you understand the power of your content and how to syndicate it the right way you will accelerate your way to success.

How to Identify Black Hat SEO?

All roads in search engine optimization lead to the one and only one destination: “higher search engine ranking”. There are several ways of achieving this goal. You could choose the ethical route or the unethical one. If you tread the unethical route then mind you, you have indulged in Black hat SEO. Unethical routes might help you attain your goal fast but will never help you to sustain your success.

Well you might ask me which is an unethical route and how you could identify Black hat SEO.

Activities that do not follow the Search Engine’s rules and regulations and break them are Black hat techniques.

Activities that compromise on quality and provide the user with a poor user experience are again Black hat techniques.

Activities that unethically present content visibly or invisibly to search engine spiders and search engine users are Black hat techniques.

Over-enthusiastic people go overboard with normal ethical activities and turn the entire activity into an unethical one. Here are some tips to identify Black hat SEO techniques.

We all know that the number of times keywords are used really makes a difference. If you find in a website that keywords are repeated several times with no logic behind and provide a very poor experience to the user then you have identified a Black hat SEO. Usually the keyword density (the number of times the keyword is repeated in the content) should be between 4% and 7%. Sometimes, people knowingly increase the keyword density above that limit to make the bots take that word or phrase as an important keyword. This is called keyword stuffing. This is the most common Black hat SEO technique used.

Going a step further, just because they do not want the user to know that they are doing such keyword stuffing but want to present it to the search engine spider to increase rankings, the letters are made to blend with the color of the background. It would look like a plain background and you would never know that the keywords are hidden in it. This is another Black hat SEO technique to be avoided. Search Engines are capable of identifying such cheating.

There could be a doorway page which has no content but is entirely fabricated to suit the requirements of the bots and thereby increase the ranking of the website. This practice is frowned upon and the site may be banned or penalized for such action.

Empty meaningless links from one website to another website is also created.

Sometimes you will find the same web pages repeated in a domain. Search engines are intelligent and can identify such duplication within a domain

These sort of techniques could help you achieve your goal for a short while, but will definitely not help you retain your success. If identified, your website will be banned and penalized by search engines, thereby putting an end to all your online marketing dreams. Just remember that Search Engines are constantly improvised and made more and more intelligent. These short-term successes are best avoided. Aim for long-term success and benefit through White Hat Techniques. White Hat Techniques definitely lead you on the route to long-term success.

Remember, in business it is not enough if you succeed, how you succeed also counts.

Lessons Learnt from Bad SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complicated process and is dynamic. Bad SEO techniques are techniques that spammers use to keep up with the pace. Search Engines have complicated algorithms and hundreds of factors to rank a web page. The idea behind such fast changing and complicated algorithms is to keep ahead of the competition and ensure that web spammers do not get the rankings they are not worthy of. So it is best to bear in mind that what works out for search engine optimization today may not work out tomorrow.

Here are a few lessons learnt from bad SEO.

Lesson 1

Do not rely on keyword metatags as now the search engines rely on the text that is visible to rank your site. Keyword metatags which are not visible have lost their significance as spammers have abused them. So just take the keywords and place them as per the context in the site.
Concentrate on the title metatag as it is visible and can influence ranking. Similarly concentrate on the description metatag as some search engines use it.

Lesson 2

Do not stuff keywords in visible or invisible text as it can get your site banned. Do not ever write text in the same color as the background.

Lesson 3

Do not purchase links as search engines want to curb this practice and are improvising their algorithms to detect purchased links. Algorithms look out for patterns, presence of words like “advertisers” or sponsors”. There are teams doing this analysis. If detected they will flag your site and it will not contribute towards your page ranking.

Lesson 4

Page rank is a very small factor in ranking these days. Have links to pages and sites that are more relevant to you. More importantly, establish and reinforce site relevance as it has a major role to play in ranking.

Lesson 5

Do not swap links to build page ranks. Build relevance in such a way that visitors to your website benefit due to it. Swap links with sites that are highly relevant to your business. It would be great if you could get links to your website without you linking back to them.

Lesson 6

Do not duplicate content as search engines want to rank the same content only once. So avoid having multiple URLs on one site with the same content, as one of these is just a waste of the search engine's time and you will be "leaking page rank" – your own precious page rank is sent to pages that will never rank. "Doorway sites" you could also land you in trouble as it is considered to be spamming. Your site could get banned.

Lesson 7

Do not show different content to the crawlers and some other different content to the user. This is one favorite technique called cloaking used by the spammers and search engines are against it. Crawlers are sent out to detect cloaking and if detected they ban the website. All that you need to do is to learn how to communicate to the search engine what your site is about. Build your site in such a way that search engines can easily determine the unique value of your website.

Put your time to good use. Stop thinking of bad SEO practices and spend your time to provide good content in your website and make the user’s visit to your website a pleasure.

Can You Manage Your Own SEO?

When you hear the fact that “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)” could do wonders to your business, you might wonder how. Search Engine Optimization helps you to achieve good ranking in search results when the net community looks out for information through search engines on the Internet. Every website owner wants his site to be known, searched, visited, and contacted. If you are on the 9^th or 10^th page of a search result, the chances of being clicked are very meager. You must get a higher ranking and find a place in the first page. Achieve this by doing search engine optimization for your company’s website by yourself or through a SEO provider.

Here are some tips and tricks of the trade.

Learn the ABCs: Search Engine Optimization is the formula that gets your website ranked higher on search engines. A search on the net will tell you how. If you are techno-savvy do the entire process yourself. All you need is time and constant updating of knowledge as this is a fast moving field and search engines keep changing their search logic to avoid fraudulent practices. Even if you are not techno-savvy, there are a few processes (off-page optimization) that you can do by yourself or you can always seek the services of a SEO company that has perfected this fine art as search engines constantly keep changing their modus operandi to ensure fair play, best results to the searchers, and minimization of fraud.

Understand the art and science of SEO: By now you must have realized that the science is the algorithms and techniques that rate the websites on the search engines, while the art is the way that expertise is used creatively to ensure that your website gets the optimal rating.

Judge how techno-savvy you are: Now take a critical view of your technical skills. Add to your technical skill the finesse of writing the right keyword at the right spot, linking to and from the most appropriate web pages and websites, and highlighting the content where it gets maximum attention. Do a self-analysis and assess how far you will be able to manage.

Analyze your road fitness: Managing your own website could save you money in the short run, but ensure that it meets your purpose in the long run. Strictly ensure that you do not indulge in any malpractices as your site might be totally banned by search engines if detected. Managing the website, updating it regularly but not losing the targeted keywords, keeping track of competition, linking with other websites to get maximum coverage, writing content, bookmarking and getting bookmarked, submitting articles and press releases, social networking, etc. are some of the requisite processes. If you have the time and the expertise do it yourself or else seek the services of a SEO service provider.

Keep a contingency plan ready: Many people manage their websites effectively and successfully, but there are times when you hit a roadblock either due to lack of resources or you are busy managing your other business affairs. At those times you could outsource it.

The ultimate purpose is to promote your business. You can do your own Search Engine Optimization if you have the time and expertise or get it done for you through a service provider if you have more fruitful endeavors to undertake for your business.

Forum Promotion - Is That Right For Your Company?

People from different backgrounds and regions with numerous skills and expertise join together to share their knowledge on a regular basis through the online platform called Forum Promotion. You can get links back from the posting made. This has a major role to play in SEO and hence has become a popular search engine optimization technique. Moreover people of similar thoughts are brought together and any information you wish to pass them can easily be done through the forum. It also reflects the changes in interests and trends of your customers and other people of similar interest. This will help you to keep abreast of your competitors.

What Are the Reasons To Do Forum Promotion?

To Build Trust

If you succeed and establish a reliable and effective online platform, then Forum Promotion will help you to reach out to your customers.

Your forum should

• Store detailed reliable information

• Provide web search facilities

• Motivate conversation and discussion groups on Hot Topics

• Be very active (high frequency of discussions)

• Send out reminders, e-mails, and newsletter

• Invite experts to join in the discussions

• Create space to talk, joke, and stabilize friendship

• Welcome new members

• Not miss out on discussions on the latest events

All the above mentioned points will help your forum to become popular and attract more visitors and build trust in your forum. Remember trust is the pivot around which the entire business operates.

To Build Forum Loyalty

Internet marketing forum, an SEO technique, paves the way for online community building. If you share your knowledge through this platform, answer user requests for advice, introduce them to more forums, and make the user feel that your forum is a know-all, then your forum will be the first place the user will turn to for any information and will consider you with high esteem as an abyss of information. People get addicted to forums if they enjoy the discussions and visit to the forum. They normally do not stray away from the forum and also help to increase the number of forum users

To Increase Traffic to Your Website

If your forum is easy to access, navigate, and retrieve information and if a user can easily get his questions answered, the users will not only make extensive use but also recommend it to their friends. Friendliness goes a long way in attracting the users and you will find yourself in top priority in their recommendation list. The best form of advertisement is still the age old technique of word of mouth. It is advertisement for your forum and guarantee of quality to the user. The higher the participation and the interest to learn and gain, the more will be the traffic to your forum with busy ongoing discussions that provide high quality links and of course better ranking in search results and you can enjoy the benefits of Search Engine Optimization.

To Build a Good Rapport with the User

Closely following the forum members' discussions will help us understand their needs and serve them better. A strong customer relationship is built by capturing values from our customers. Knowing the user will help us to update web content relevant to the business, thereby creating a powerful online weapon for our visitors to browse.

I think you now have enough reasons to say that Forum Promotion is just right for your company.

On-Page Optimization - Steps 4 & 5 - Link and Image Optimization

We have discussed on title, meta tag, and keyword optimization in my previous articles. In this article we are going to discuss on the last two steps of on-page optimization. Link optimization is the fourth step in on-page optimization and ensures that the linking structure is meaningful and correct. This increases the navigability of the website and makes it spider friendly. Image optimization ensures that the images on your website are displayed properly in all browsers. In case the browser cannot display the image, an alternate text is displayed without leaving the reader to wonder what could have been displayed there. Both these on-page optimization techniques increase the readability and navigability of the website and support search engine optimization (SEO).

Link Optimization

Any website will have both internal and external links. Internal link refers to links between the pages of the website and external link refers to links to other websites. It is extremely important that these links are properly set as it will affect the navigability of your website. A user will not be able to find the desired content from your website if these links are not correctly established.

Points to remember in link optimization

• Links should take the visitor to a site or page with useful information. Make sure that there is justification for having a link in that page and ensure that the link provides some useful information.
• The text that you provide on your page which indicates that there is an associated link is called the anchor text. Make sure that this anchor text is meaningful and instantly gives the user an idea of what he might expect to see if he visits the link
• Avoid unnecessary links and ensure that the structure is perfect in all aspects such as meaning, establishment of links, information, etc.
• Having your keywords/title on the link itself could be useful as the search engines attach some weight to it.

Image Optimization

Search Engines cannot read images and can only read text. So it is essential that you use some special tags and give them some meaning.

Points to remember in image optimization

• The text that describes your image is called Alt text or Alternate Text. This text should be short, descriptive, and meaningful. Keywords can also be used as alternate text. In case the browser is unable to display the image, then it will display this text.
• Give your images meaningful names relevant to the image. You can also make your alternate text or something similar the file name of the image.
• Use the Image Title tag and give your image a title. This title will be displayed when the user moves his mouse over the image.
• If you are providing a link to your image the link text or anchor text should be meaningful and relevant to the image.

Having read all my articles on on-page optimization you must now be having a clear idea on how to do on-page optimization. The major concern here is altering the content of the tags and placing the text in appropriate places. You can do it yourself if you have the knowledge, skill, aptitude, and time. If not, you can always seek the services of a search engine optimization company. But remember, search engine optimization is a must for every business as it can take your business to great heights.

On-Page Optimization - Step 3: Keyword Optimization

Search engine optimization can never succeed without the right choice of keywords. Keyword optimization should be considered from three angles: (1) It should be meaningful and representative of the content of your website. (2) It should be among the popular words a user would employ when he is looking for content relevant to your website. (3) Make sure the keywords have high search volume and comparatively low competition. And, (4) Strike a right balance in the placement and repetition of keywords to suit the requirements of the spider. Do not choose too many as the focus would be lost. The content is for the reader and the keywords are for the spider.

Points to remember in keyword optimization

• Decide on what the purpose of the website is and what its prime focus is on. Choose a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 20 keywords that are a direct hit on the content.
• Do a research on the keywords you propose to have on your website and find details of how many people have searched the net for these particular words, what are the other closely related set of words and what is their search statistics, what are the keywords of your competitor and what is their search statistics, etc. It is sure to take a lot of time, but it's worth it. A lot of tools are available on the net to do this analysis for you. Shortlist your keywords through this analysis.
• To ensure keyword optimization, do not choose too many as you will not be able to give them their due importance.
• Having decided on them, make sure that they appear in prominent places like the title tag, keyword tag, heading tags, and in the first page, especially the first paragraph of your website.
• It is essential to maintain a correct balance in keyword density. Keywords no doubt need to be repeated but at the same time never repeat without purpose as it will turn out to be keyword stuffing. If the density is moderate, the search engine will determine that your page is relevant to the keyword that you are targeting.
• To avoid high keyword density it would be better to replace them with synonyms. You can easily bring out the intended meaning with synonyms and the density will also be at the required level. The natural flow of content in the website will also not be hampered.
• The best keyword optimization strategy would be for your keywords to be a few words long as single words are generally not a good choice as millions of sites will show up for such a search. If the keywords are few words in length then it is easier to obtain a higher rank. But make sure that they are not too long. You can add words like best, cheap, top, etc. to avoid single words. The normal standard for the length of the keywords can be 2-3 words.

A lot of research is required in this area. If you have the time and the expertise, you can do it yourself. Or, get a SEO company to do it for you; they are more experienced with these criteria.

On-Page Optimization - Step 2: Meta Tag Optimization

On-page optimization enhances the content of your website. It is related directly to the content and structure of the website. Normally the web pages contain Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or other document formats that are indexed by search engines like, Microsoft Word or PDF formats. The main idea behind on-page optimization is to remove redundant HTML codes and to restructure the site in such a way so as to produce better linked and focused page content. These are very simple steps that anybody can learn and implement. Step 1, title optimization, was discussed in my previous article. Here, the topic chosen for discussion is Meta tag optimization.

We all know that the web pages are created through tags. Meta tags are very important from the SEO stand point because the spiders cannot see the webpage but can read the content of the tags. So, optimization of the Meta tags content has an important role to play in search engine optimization.

Meta Tags Optimization
Meta description contains a summary of your website and focuses on the products and services that your business is specialized in. If this description is appealing to the reader, then he/she is sure to go through the website in more detail. The way the description is written is important because if it is too monotonous or generic the reader will simply ignore and move away from the website. So a lot of time is spent in creating keyword and description Meta tags. Yahoo uses the description tag to provide a summary of the site in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). It is not used for ranking pages.

Google, Yahoo! and Bing use the text they find on the page as a description. So, take care to ensure that your first header and the sentences that follow describe the contents. The importance given by search engines to Meta tags is not very clear. It is always better to write the first few paragraphs very well as search engines give more prominence to the content at the top of the page and some consider only the first few paragraphs.

Points to remember when writing a Meta Description
• Give a crisp description about your website. It places you at an advantageous position in SERP.
• Keywords can be included as they give you some advantage in Google's relevancy algorithm.
• If you have not included you contact number in the title tag you can include it in the description tag.

Other HTML Tag Optimization

Apart from the title and the description, the content of the website should be divided into sections with appropriate headings and subheadings. Set the important headings as level 1 heading and the sub-headings as level 2 or 3 headings by using appropriate HTML tags. The text to be emphasized should be made bold, italic, etc. The spiders give a lot of importance for the text within the header tags. So make sure they include the important keywords.

Meta tag optimization makes sure that the content of the website is clearly understood by the reader and also ensures that the spider can easily assess what the website contains. Be sure to make use of the added advantage in your search engine optimization.

On Page Optimization - Step 1: Title Optimization

If you wish to materialize your dreams of obtaining a good ranking in search engine results, you must learn to comply with the intelligent techniques search engines use and get good rankings. On page optimization helps you to understand the requirements of the search engines and convert your website into one that is not only user friendly but also search engine friendly and thereby obtain a good ranking. Given below are some valuable tips on how title optimization can effectively lead to search engine optimization.

Title Optimization

Title is the name you give your website and you see it on the title bar on the top left corner of your web browser. The title is enclosed within the title tag in the HTML code of the web page. If you look into the source code of your web page you will find the title tag in the head section of the HTML code. This is a very important element in website on page optimization. Make your title short, but informative about your website. It should give the visitor an idea of what he might expect to find in your website. The title should be attractive and kindle the interest of the user to visit your site. An effective title helps achieve on-page optimization and makes SEO endeavors a success.

Points to remember in Title Optimization

• Your advertisement strategy may aim at popularizing your name or business name or site name. In that case, make sure that these names appear in the title. Consider the words a user might use to search for your website or for other websites offering similar products and services and include them in the page title.
• If your service is region specific, you would want potential customers in and around that region to find you in the local business search. If that is the case, including the county and state where your business is based will help a lot!
• If your aim is to get a good ranking for certain keywords, then include them in the title. In your enthusiasm to include all the important words in the title do not stuff it with too many keywords. Make it short and sweet yet, descriptive of the content.
• You can also include your contact phone number on the title tag. It instigates your visitors to call you immediately. It also makes your site look more professional and authentic. In case you do not wish to do so, you can always include the contact number details in the Meta description provided in the HTML code.
• Search engines give more weight to title tag and heading tags. So place the title tag as the first tag in the head section of the page. Structure the content of the web page with proper heading of different levels: H1, H2, H3, etc. Keywords can also be placed in these headings. Do not choose several keywords as the focus might be lost.

Thus, title optimization plays a vital role in your website's SEO. Now that you know about it, make the changes in your website and see the difference!

Benefits of Off-Page Optimization

First and foremost, your website must be an effective advertisement in itself, to market your product or service. Secondly, it should provide your visitors with overall information about your company so that they feel convinced and confidently move to the next level. i.e., buying your products or engaging your services. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration if we say Search engine optimization is the backbone of online marketing.

Off-Page Optimization is a core technique in applying for Search engine optimization method, which is done outside of the website, the aim is to get the best positions for particular set of keywords and attract more visitors getting a permanent traffic out there. Off-Page Optimization targets at getting back links through various link building techniques for particular keywords.

On-Page Optimization factors like bolding text, adding a bulleted list, highlighting the keywords etc, they might not be as important as the off-page factors but they have a direct impact on your webpage making your website search engine friendly. Online optimization helps in identifying the requirements of your customer and thereby provides a customized service.

How Off-Page Optimization could help in SEO

Once you have completed optimizing the on page of your website, then you will be ready to move forward and begin the off-page stage of your Search engine optimization. Off-Page Optimization is the process by which you select and establish links with other web pages. There are a few key factors that you need to bear in mind when you undertake the linking process. They are as follows:

1. Firstly, you will need to identify suitable sites to which you want to establish links. In the process, due the availability of a large number of links your chances to be noticed by the search engine crawlers is high. The more this happens, the higher your search engine ranking will score.

2. Secondly, hyper linking from high ranking, high quality sites will further up your chances in the search rankings than links from poor quality, low ranked sites or sites with irrelevant information.

3. As you proceed with Off-Page Optimization, you may also wish to look at the number of outbound links existing on the web pages that are linking to you. These outbound links are nothing but as its name suggest, links from a web page or pages to other external, outbound sites.

4. Lastly, you should focus at the page titles of the sites that links are originating from. This is important as you may wish to contact the person running the site to negotiate reciprocal links. This is a much tried and tested method. Most people are open to this and they understand the benefit of good quality links.

Therefore, we understand that Off-Page Optimization is crucial to the success of your website and the optimization of your position in the search engine rankings. Developing quality links will play an important part in moving your site up the ranks in the search engines and will prove to be a rewarding experience.

Website Health Check: Keyword Blunders - Part 2

If you have read the first part of the article, you should by now be aware of the basics of keywords and the importance of Website Health Check. Keyword density is another important aspect of Search Engine Optimization and will be dealt with in this article. Some more blunders in keywords such as keyword stuffing, spelling errors, cloaking, etc. revealed by a Website Health Check report are mentioned here.

Blunder 1: Keyword that is not relevant to the content
Many people do this mistake in keyword research. The output of the keyword research should be that the final keywords should be 100 percent related to the website, with low competition and high search volume. But, most people on their attempt to balance competition and search volume lose sight of the relevancy of the keywords to the site. Irrelevant keywords will not help in Search Engine Optimization.

Blunder 2: Keyword density being too low
Another probable flaw found in websites through a Website Health Check is keyword density. Keyword density is the number of times a keyword repeats itself when compared to the rest of the content. If the keyword density is low, it won't create an impact for the search engines to register the word as an important element for the website. The standard should be around 4% - 7% of the entire webpage. But, if the keyword density is high, it results in "keyword stuffing" which we'll discuss next.

Blunder 3: Having a high keyword density (aka) keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing can be defined as "the technique by which a keyword(s) is overly repeated in the webpage content to get a higher page rank." This is considered to be an unethical SEO technique which may easily result in the website being penalized by search engines. This process is also considered to be a part of Spamdexing (again unethical!). This will probably result with your site being banned by the search engine.

Blunder 4: What's the spelling again?
The keyword research might provide you with a good set of keywords to use in your website. But, due to silly mistakes and typographical errors, people make the word plural or commit a spelling mistake. Search engines do not have the capacity to check for the misspellings and change them as necessary. In keywords, there is a sea of difference between "box" and "boxes".

Blunder 5: Having hidden text or keywords (aka) cloaking
Cloaking will reduce your page rank to as low as zero or the search engine could easily ban the site. Cloaking is an unethical procedure of adding invisible content in the website containing the keywords to get a higher position for queries in search engines based on the specific keywords. This could be done by making the font color of the content same as the background. Another form is by replacing the respective description used to describe missing images with keywords. This may be unintentional due to a technical error. You know it. But does the search engine know that it is unintentional?

You can use a vast array of tools on the Internet to find these blunders. Or, you can get a Website Health Check report for your site from any site providing SEO services.

Once you find that your website needs change, contact your website administrator to make the necessary changes. More preferably you could approach your SEO vendor if you have one because they are more trained in keywords and other optimization criteria. Some of these blunders may cause more harm than others. Even then, why leave it to chance? Start your Website Health Check today!

Website Health Check: Keyword Blunders - Part 1

Website Health Check provides a report on the components of a website. Keyword is one of the most important components. Let's start with it. Keywords are the starting point of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). So, when you make a mistake with the keywords, your whole optimization process becomes a waste of time. So spend some time to do some keyword research. Here are some of the prominent blunders done in on-page optimization processes.

Blunder 1: Failing to do Keyword Research
People without Search Engine Optimization knowledge tend to do this mistake. Keyword research is the first lesson for a beginner in SEO. Keyword research, as the name suggests, is a research on probable words and helps you to weed out ones that wouldn't suit you in terms of high competition or low search volume (two factors to consider if you want a good position in the search results). If you have keywords without doing keyword research, it is possible that the words may not be useful in terms of SEO.

Blunder 2: Not Knowing if the Website has Keywords
The second blunder commonly found in many websites is that they do not add their keywords in the website. To find if a webpage in your website has any keywords, you can view the page source. To view the source, click on "View" button in the Menu bar and in the menu that pops up, click on "Page Source". In the new window, try to find the word "keywords" in the Meta tag. If you find it followed by a list of other words concerned with your website, then you have keywords in your website. If not, you should think about adding them. If your website does not have the keywords then it will not be properly listed by the search engines.

Blunder 3: Low Number of Keywords
OK, you have the keywords in the website. Is that it? The third most common blunder found is that the websites sometimes have low number of keywords for it to make any impact. For example, if you have a website based on shoes and you have a single keyword mentioned (shoes), then you will find thousands of competitors and millions of web pages that aim to get listed by search engines for the same keyword. The competition is simply too high. Hence, you have to have a minimum of four keywords that describe the website and its contents. So that even if you lose to your competition on one of the keywords, the other keywords might help you get a good position in the search pages. Do a keyword research and get more keywords.

Blunder 4: Too many keywords
If the search engines are fed many keywords, then the website will be listed under too many keywords and the focus will be thinned out. Hence, to focus your keyword research and related optimization processes, you'll have to have a maximum of 20. These will be taken by the search engines and the website indexed accordingly.

There are many sites that provide tools for finding these blunders in a website. Some sites even provide you with a whole Website Health Check where these and many other on-page elements are evaluated and suggestions are given.

If, in the Website Health Check, you come across any mistakes that you want to rectify, you can ask your website administrator to do the task. If you want a Search Engine Optimization approach to these criteria, get the assistance of an SEO company as they are more experienced in the optimization process.

Tips for a Lively Blog

Blogs are the fastest mushrooming (and dying!) Internet fad. The story is the same all over the world. Everyday thousands of blogs come into existence for reasons galore, but a few last more than a few months, some even less.

You may be a citizen journalist, an online “how-to” advice column writer from a field unimaginable, a social networker, or a businessperson … unless your blog is not first among equals with eyeball-catching content, attractive packaging, and constant updates, you will be as much wanted as last week’s newspaper. Five magical qualities are all what you need to make your blog the next blockbuster.

YOUnique Blog: Your blog can only be as original and innovative as you are. Water your blog with new ideas, fertilize it with persistently appealing thoughts, and weed out all the redundant information. Your content should always leave an element of anticipation for your followers.

Imaginative Blog: Why should I spend my time and bandwidth on your blog? What have you got buddy that should make me seek your page out of the billion others? Be as imaginative as maybe GOD. Let your blog be a canvas of what you do the best. Make it colorful, unpredictable, shocking, passionate, different … OK you get the picture:):):)

Blog Promotion: You don’t exist until you make people aware of your existence. All the usual rules of online advertising apply, except the power of word-of-mouth is supreme as far as blogosphere is concerned. A successful blog attracts some quality advertising, but beware – don’t make your website look like an ad-mag, for which you need to manage your advertisement placement wisely. Some additional features such as a facebook or a twitter account or a correctly placed advertisement in a niche magazine can go a long way in promoting your blog.

User-friendly Blog: I get extremely cross and frustrated with blogs where simple connectivity seems like rocket science, with pages and pages information required before I can even decide whether I want to join the bandwagon. Make your blog feel like home, where everything seems easy and within reach. Make your visitors feel instant connectivity with simple, easy-to-do instructions, simple tags, and uncomplicated instructions. A few comments or topics that generate discussions make regular followers feel acknowledged and accepted.

Regular: Public attention is very fickle. To hold on to you base, be regular in updating your blog. You may not renew every day, but at least keep regular days when people can expect to see something new from you. After a while, blogs can be as addictive as the morning newspaper, and a smart blogger will always perform for the next applause.

Rome was not built in a day, and your blog will need some careful nurturing before your efforts bear fruit. So if you mean business, get ready to rough it out. Do it yourself if you have the time or hire a blog management company to do it for you.

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Publish Press Releases for Effective Business Promotion

The fundamental purpose of Business Promotion is to GET NOTICED by your prospective customers. Companies spend hundreds and thousands on advertisements to get their attention. Whereas an Optimized Press Release is an easy way to get noticed more effectively and more credible to your audience.

A press release could be a written text that describes a news-like event on the products or services you wish to offer to your customers or could be some information about your company. If the story interests television networks, radio stations, magazines, newspapers as well as online resources then it will get published bringing with it all the glory of media publicity at no cost.

I was excited when I came to know that a press release could also do the following:

It is capable of increasing the traffic to your website

It helps to increase keyword rankings

It increases the back links to your website

It draws the attraction of the search engines to your website

It increases the brand name of the website

And, it can do all the above at no cost

You can just send out one press release and grab the attention of a wide audience including journalists and websites that are from the same or similar industry. You can gain instant publicity through press release as it will help you to get more prominent news rankings and flash the limelight on you in media stories and product reviews, and link the interested reader to your company’s website and hence ensure increased traffic to your website accompanied with sales.

Internet news channels such as Google news, Yahoo news, etc. index press releases. This means that all those who subscribe and read these news websites will come to know of the press release if it is indexed by the search engine. The publicity for your brand and website increases resulting in an increase in traffic to your website and thereby sales.

People love reading the news and are always on the lookout for good stories. If you can give the reader good, genuine stories through press release then you can definitely carve a niche for your company. So ensure that your story interests the reader and is not in the lines of an advertisement. If the reader senses an advertisement then the press release will lose its value.

Online press release distribution paves the way for search engine optimization. Search engines favor press release and the website’s ranking increases. It is every businessman’s dream to see his website at the top of search results.If you impress your customer with your press release then the credibility of your business increases. Your customers value your products and this goodwill will continue for all the products and services you offer in the future.

Having understood the benefits of writing a press release, why wait for a news to happen. Every small thing that happens in the course of your business could be turned into news like, for example, a discount sale, an award won, a fund-raising program, etc. I have picked up my pen to write a press release for my business, and why not you?

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How to Write an Effective Press Release for Lead Generation

If you are determined to take your company to great heights, then here is a tool for you - “Press Release”. This gives a big push to an effective Lead Generation and to grab the attention of your potential customers.

News is always hotly sought after by reporters, editors, and producers. If your press release could impress and inspire a journalist to publish your story in the media, then there you go with all the glory of a successful press release writer and incredible media publicity for your company. Here are few simple tips for you to write an effective press release:

Step 1: Choose Crisp Headlines

Choose an eye-catching, attention-grabbing, short, and crispy statement as your headline. Your headline is the bait to attract the reader. Short, active, descriptive headlines kindle the reader’s interest to read through your press release.

Step 2: Place the Most Important Information at the Beginning

The first two paragraphs should bring out your intent in writing this press release. Any reader would read at least two paragraphs to decide if the subject matter interests them. So put your best at display in the first two paragraphs. And always remember to answer the "5 W's and the H" –o, What, When, Where, Why and How.

Step 3: Provide Accurate Contact Information

You should always remember to give complete contact information in case the reader wishes to get in touch personally. The press release should be on your letterhead with complete details about your company.

Step 4: Provide only Facts and Accurate News

A press release is never meant to advertise any product or service. Write the press release with the intent to give correct and accurate information to the reader. Make it interesting but only stick to facts. The intention of sales can be easily smelt by the reader. Do not make any over-inflated statements; simply provide useful information.

Step 5: Make your Press Release Interesting

Your writing should inspire the reader and make him to think in your lines. The angle in which you present the subject matter is very important. Make it relevant to readers of all backgrounds. Fit your press release into the current scenario by writing with the current social issues and events in mind. Be specific and at the same time provide a detailed account of your purpose in writing this press release.

Step 6: Choose the Right Language

Write in the language of the reader as technical terms may not interest the reader. The content that you write might look simple to you but alien to the reader. So introduce concepts in simple English and avoid technical jargon. Slang and bad grammar put the credibility of the content of the press release into question. Extra fluff words carry the reader away from the true meaning of your press release. In case you are going to quote somebody or from a book, make sure you obtain the necessary permissions.

Step 7: Read, Re-read and Review

Read your press release several times and check for a smooth flow of thoughts. Ask a friend to read the press release, discuss and then make appropriate changes. Avoid spelling errors and grammatical mistakes.

Step 8: Make the Press Release Short

Lengthy content does not normally interest the reader. So express your thoughts in a page or two.

Follow these steps and take your business to great heights in Lead Generation.

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