Tuesday 19 May 2009

Why Link Building Is So Important In SEO

The process of link building is not just one of numerous SEO strategies that are employed on the World Wide Web today; in fact, it is crucial to the success of any website trying to compete in the technological age. Even if you have no other SEO methods in place, your site should at least work on building a reliable base of back links.

Why Are Back Links So Important To The Success Of A Website?

For starters, having relevant, reputable sites linking back to a site is one indication of the success and popularity of that site in the eyes of the general online public. And as long as these incoming links are from a quality source then the website’s page rank will improve, thus improving its location within online search results, as well.

What Defines A Quality Back Link?

There really is no true definition or standard to be used in determining whether or not a site can be considered high quality – you’ll just have to use your best judgment on this one, as well as a little bit of trial and error. The more popular and well-established sites will obviously be of the highest quality, though it can sometimes be difficult getting your link posted with them.

You’ll also want to consider the relevance of the websites that are providing you with back links, too. If these sites have content that is similar to yours then they are likely to be more beneficial when compared to some random, off-topic website.


Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

10 Tips To Increase Your Search Engine Rankings

The Basics of Optimization

Many online sellers get frustrated with search engines regularly changing algorithms. But there are basic principles that haven’t changed through the years. Apply these tips to increase your rankings:

Tip 1—Don’t be too quick to change domain names. Google has an aging delay for any new domain—it can take up to a year for your keywords to start showing in the searches.

Tip 2—Optimize your site for your target audience, not the search engines. Always think about what impression your site gives your users—you’ll create a better site the engines will like.

Tip 3—Do KEYWORD RESEARCH extensively. Everything else revolves around the keyword phrases you choose, so it’s critical you choose the best ones. http://WordTracker.com and http://KeywordDiscovery.com are two information databases that show you what words people are searching for and suggest words you can use.

Tip 4—Design and categorize your site architecture and navigation based on your keyword research. Jill Whalen, founder of http://www.highrankings.com, says, “Your homepage should be optimized for the more general phrases…Your inner pages should be optimized for the more specific [ones].” If possible, use keyword phrases as your navigation words.

Tip 5—Program your site to be “crawler” friendly. Search engines send out “crawlers” to gather information from your site so they understand how to rank it.

• Create your links using HTML, not javascript. Crawlers can’t follow javascript and won’t be able to read your information.

• Don’t design your site in Flash—there’s nothing for the crawlers to read. If they can’t interpret the information, they can’t classify your site.

• Make sure your copy is HTML, not a graphic of a text. It may look like copy. But if you have a text graphic, all the crawlers will see is a blank page.

Tip 6—Label your internal text links and clickable image ALT attributes as descriptively as possible. Within the text links in your site, use the phrase that describes the page you’re clicking to. For image links, make sure those phrases are contained in the image’s code.

Tip 7—Write compelling copy for key pages of your site based on your chosen keyword phrases. Choose a few keyword phrases that apply to the particular page you’re writing and work those phrases into the copy.

Tip 8—Incorporate your keyword phrases into each page’s unique title tag. Title tags are given significant weight with search engines. The title tag is the information that shows up in the search engine results so it’s crucial that it be enticing, not just crammed with keywords.

Tip 9—Make sure your site is link-worthy. Search engines judge a site’s popularity by the number of links pointing to it. To make sure people will want to link to your site, you have to offer something worth linking to. Beyond your product or service, you need something that puts you over the top: an information service, a superior presentation, or great variety.



Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/