seo: Search Engine Optimization Basics [SEO] - 08/03/12 01:33 AM
SEO or getting your website to rank in Google is a mysterious topic for many people.If you own your own business, you or your staff are likely getting a call a day or more from India or elsewhere in the US pitching you on SEO services at huge cost.I've put together a free 12 part mini course that covers SEO Basics. It will help you to understand what SEO is, Why it's important and what you can do yourself to get more clients by ranking better in the Search Engines. http://microbusinessspecialist.com/SEO/FreeCourse/index.htm
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seo: Should you use geographical references in article marketing? - 07/19/10 04:27 AM
I recently noticed that a number of home stagers were using what I call geographical long tail keywords in some of the articles they wrote and posted in article directories.
I have long encouraged people to market their businesses via article writing and I have similarly advocated the use of geogrpahical long tail keywords. However I'm not sure they belong in the title of your article.
I posted about this on my Homestaging Business Tips blog.
At the end of the blog post I also offer a special discount price for an analysis of your web site and a consultation on … (4 comments)

seo: Two Benefits of Using Squidoo - 07/07/10 08:19 AM
My long time readers of my Home Staging Business Tips Blog know that I like to use Squidoo as a tool in my internet marketing. I have often suggested it to others as well.
Why? For two reasons mainly, in addition to it's being a free service. First Squidoo is relatively simple to do. Once you know your way around you can get a "Lens" or Squidoo page up in about 10 minutes, even if you have no technical expertise. And it only takes a little while to learn the basics to know your way around.
This makes it easy for … (3 comments)

seo: After You Get Your On Page SEO - What's Next? - 07/30/09 08:43 AM
You've made major progress when you take care of your on page SEO issues.
Your page factors again are your title tags, keywords and description in the hidden meta tag area, and use of H1 tag, and appropriate keyword usage on your page and at least 425 or more words of text on you landing page.
For some people that will by itself be enough to get your site to the first page.
For others, in more competitive markets it won't be enough all by itself. For example one of my most recent clients Ann Alderson from Tampa is trying to … (3 comments)

seo: My Advisors tell me I blew it. What do you think? - 06/30/09 03:01 PM
Hello Active Rain,
I've been working on a project for several months now.
And now my closest advisers are telling me to go back to the drawing board.
I'm wondering what you think. As you probably know I call myself the Micro Business Specialist. My objective in that role is to help ma and pa and larger businesses learn how to effectively use the internet. Most don't do it too well.
My newest effort has been to share ways they could do a better job of getting to the top of the search engines. I just produced a 37 page report … (6 comments)

seo: Black Hat and Gray Hat - 06/27/09 05:34 AM
Black Hat and Gray Hat There are a lot of businesses that have developed around helping people get to the top of the search engines. For popular mass market products and high margin items the competition to gain top billing in organic search has lead to intense competition. This has resulted in constant innovation, and many efforts to out smart Google and the other search engines. At one time, just getting your meta tags right was enough. Then keyword stuffing came into vogue with some Viagra sites repeating their selected keyword hundreds of times. That's why you now want to use … (3 comments)

seo: Distilling Fine Articles from the Fruits of Your Mind - 06/19/09 09:28 AM
Internet Article Marketing Distilling Fine Articles from the Fruits of Your Mind  
[Please see note at end of this post]
 
You have decided to use the power of internet article marketing to draw eyes and back links to your web site. Good idea. Article marketing can be a very effective tool to accomplish both objectives. But where do you start?
 
Good Question.
 
Just as a distillery needs to first gather grapes and then run them though a series of steps before turning them into a fine brandy, you must first gather your ideas, before you write your … (1 comments)

seo: Do Your Internet Marketing Articles Meet this 5 Question Test? - 06/18/09 08:51 AM
Do Your Internet Marketing Articles Meet this 5 Question Test?
 
If you ignore the five essentials to effective internet marketing article writing, you may as well not waste your time. Article writing is a powerful tool. When done well, it will attract a lot of eyes and back links to your web site. Do it poorly, and your results will be meager.
 
1. Does your title attract the right reader’s attention?
 
Ideally, it should let the “right” readers know the information in the article is for them, and it should intrigue them to at least take a look. … (2 comments)

seo: Beyond Squidoo: Get Hub Pages Juice Too. Build Your Page Rank - 06/10/09 04:39 AM
Get More Link Juice Via Hub Pages In my last posting, I spent some time describing Squidoo.com and how useful it can be as a source of quality backlinks to your site. Squidoo offers you the opportunity to create your own backlinks that you can custom design. By that I am referring to your ability to use anchor text that uses precisely the keyword phrase you want to rank for, and the ability to direct that link to a specific page on your web site. Since Squidoo is free to use, there is no reason why you can’t create multiple Lens, … (0 comments)

seo: Squidoo – Who ever came up with this name? - 06/04/09 08:56 AM
Getting to the Top of the Search Engines XI Squidoo – Who ever came up with this name? We have established that to advance up the search engines your site needs to be set up properly in terms of on page factors, and also needs to get Back Links from other sites to boost your credibility. Ideally these backlinks should be in the form of anchor texts that highlight the specific keyword you want your page to rank for. For most locally based businesses, it also makes sense to have these keywords and anchor texts include your specific geography such as … (1 comments)

seo: Getting High Powered Backlinks - 06/02/09 10:35 AM
Getting to the top of the search engines X Getting High Powered Backlinks Once you have your on-page ducks in a row in terms of search engine optimization the next step is to get back links to your site. All back links matter. They can all deliver traffic and most will be tracked by Google and the other search engines. Some back links are considered to be more valuable by Google however. These are back links from relevant authority sites. There are two aspects to that. Relevance and authority. If you are a home stager and get a back link from … (2 comments)

seo: How Many Backlinks do you have? - 05/28/09 03:49 AM
Getting to the top of the Search Engines IX
How Many Backlinks do you have?
A bit of a detour today. I have had several people ask how they can find out how many backlinks they have to their web site. A good question and one I can answer.
First thing you want to do is go to Yahoo.com rather than Google or MSN and search for the term “linkdomain:” and then the web site you want to inquire about using the Yahoo search box. This will take you to Yahoo’s Site Explorer site.
When you do this for your site … (9 comments)

seo: What is a Backlink? - SEO Off Page III - Getting to the top of the Search Engines - 05/26/09 08:28 AM
SEO Off Page III
What is a backlink? I’ve already spent a couple articles talking at least in part about back links without specifically explaining what a backlink is.
According to Wikipedia, Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. In the search engine optimization (SEO) world, the number of backlinks is one indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page. In basic link terminology, a backlink is any link received by a web node (web page, directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node. Backlinks are also known as incoming links, inbound links, … (9 comments)

seo: Off Page Search Engine Optimization II - 05/21/09 06:47 AM
Getting to the top of the search engines VII In out last post we suggested that the key to getting ranked higher in the search engines was getting back links. Today, we will look at that a little closer, but first we are going to discuss my perceptions as to what Google is looking for when it ranks web sites. Now keep in mind that Google is just one of about 40 major search engines. And what applies for Google doesn’t always apply to all the others. But also keep in mind that Google has about 60% of the search market … (3 comments)

seo: Off Page Search Engine Optimization - 05/20/09 10:22 AM
Getting to the top of the Search Engines VI Over the past two weeks or so, we have focused on what I call “On Page” search engine optimization. We are now ready to move forward to discuss the “Off Page” factors that affect how Google and the other search engines rank your site. It was important to deal with the on page factors first. They are for the most part they are the easiest to change and or fix. You have complete control of the on page factors. Second, the off page factors require work. Now some of you may go … (1 comments)

seo: Getting to the Top of the Search Engines 5 - 05/14/09 03:27 AM
In our last discussion we talked about keyword density and the need to have your keywords appear on your page, frequently but not too frequently. The need to do so early on your page, and some suggestions on making sure you had enough words overall to appear substantive to the search engines and pointed out a need to have keywords that appear in your meta tags also appear on your page. These are all important factors visible on your page. Today we will talk about three more elements of on-page importance. Your URL, the originality of your content and finally internal … (2 comments)

seo: Getting to the Top of the Search Engines 4 - 05/12/09 03:26 AM
In our last article, we discussed the hidden or invisible “on-page” factors that can help or hinder your ability to rank high on the Search Engines. Today we will look at some on-page factors that matter as well. By on page I am talking about the text that people can read on your home page. From a search engine optimization standpoint, the key factor for any web site is your selection of keywords. These are important in both the visible and hidden portions of the page. They should be in your meta tag title tags, keyword list and description. They must … (1 comments)

seo: Getting to the Top of the Search Engines 3 - 05/07/09 03:37 PM
The hidden essentials to attract the search engine bots are your title tags, your keywords and your meta description.  In addition, your keyword should appear on your page in an <h1> tag. We will discuss each in this article.
First let’s talk about where to find your hidden code.  Go to a place on your website where there is text and not an image. Right click, and a box will appear with a number of options. Look for one that says View  Page or View Page Source, click on it. It should bring up the HTML code that is behind your … (5 comments)

seo: Getting to the Top of the Search Engines 2 - 05/06/09 01:32 AM
There are two main areas of attention when discussing how to move your website to the top of the search engines. The first are the on-page factors and the second are the off-page factors. The on-page factors are the easiest and quickest to deal with and are where we will start to focus our attention. They are critical but not the most important. The off-page factors will in the long run carry more weight. But that said, if your on-page factors aren’t set up properly you can and will lose much of the benefit your off-page efforts could supply. We will … (2 comments)

seo: Getting to the Top of the Search Engines - 05/03/09 09:10 AM
What’s a top listing on Google worth?
 
Whether you are a home stager in Philadelphia or a shoe store in Omaha, or a Dentist in Los Angeles, getting your business to the top of local search engine results can make a significant difference to your profitability.
 
How much more traffic does the top listing get, compared to the number two listing? I don’t know. It varies. But I have seen estimates that claim the top listing can expect from 1.5 to 3 times as many visitors compared to the number 2 listing. These same estimates suggest that the number … (5 comments)