What Are The SEO Tips to Improve Your Website Traffic?

By: BUNNY1

There are many ways that you can improve traffic to your website. The best way to do this is through organic traffic from the web. This means that people will find your website through a search engine naturally; hence it appears in the search results without sponsorship.

For years savvy business owners have attempted to use the power of PPC (pay per click) advertising, such as Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter, to harness the power of search engine traffic. Unfortunately, in doing so, the average cost per click has increased dramatically. This substantial increase has wrecked havoc on the ROI of most advertising campaigns causing business owners to search for other means of reaching their targeted audience. Hence, SEO is now more than a coveted service for the few, it is a main stream tactic used by the masses.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is through SEO that you will be able to improve the traffic to your website. There are ways that you can use SEO to increase the ranking of your website on the search engines and we will highlight some introductory methods in this article.

Tip One

To succeed, you need to choose the right keywords to focus on. Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into a search engine to find information on a topic. The better you align the keywords that relate to your product or service, the more targeted the traffic will be. Time and research should be spent in researching keywords that correspond with your website, this is an important first step and like any foundation, it should be thorough.

Tip Two

One of the ways to garner great SEO is to post keyword rich content onto your website. This is content that contains a 3% to 5% keyword density. Keyword density is an important term to know when you are using SEO to increase traffic to your website. This means that the keywords that you are focusing on should show up in your article 3% to 5% of the time.

Tip Three

Content is king! Keyword rich content is important when speaking to the search engines. However, it is equally important to speak to your audience. Ensure that your articles contain valuable information for the reader, and that you post fresh content to your website with regularity.

Tip Four

Select the highest ranked keyword for your website and use it in your URL. This is another trick to help search engines increase your page ranking. It is important to use the main keywords for your website in as many places as you can to help your SEO. You can use your keywords in the tags for your photos and articles to help search engines to find you.

Many website owners see SEO as a strange and often changing beast. Search engine optimization is the best way to increase traffic to your web site. This is the easiest way to get significant traffic and keep it coming to you.

Search engine optimization is not an exact science. What the search engines are looking for can vary from month to month. The one constant that all remains the same is that they are looking for valuable content with good strong keyword density. So get researching and increase the traffic to your website today.

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Top 10 List of the Best Affiliate Networks

Titus Hoskins

First, if you’re new to affiliate marketing, some preliminary explanations may prove helpful in your quest for becoming a part-time or full-time affiliate marketer.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is quite simple to explain:

you promote and market a product or company in return for a commission if a sale or lead is made from your marketing efforts. With online affiliate marketing you simply place your affiliate ID embedded links on your web pages and if a customer clicks your link and proceeds to that designated company’s site and makes a purchase or signs up for a service, you earn a commission.

Affiliate marketing, if done right, can prove to be a very lucrative venture. Commissions can run anywhere from a few pennies to thousands of dollars for just one click or sale. Professional marketers develop affiliate relationships with hundreds of companies and build sites to promote these companies and products.  Needless to say, the advent of the Internet has been a golden opportunity for affiliate marketers to really expand their promotions and marketing. As more as more customers choose to buy online, advertising and purchases keep increasing at a maddening pace.

To accommodate all this online ecommerce we have seen the birth of large affiliate networks, operated by large corporations. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is big business, accounting for billions in sales and commissions.

What is an Affiliate Network?

An affiliate network is a third party facilitator which brings affiliates and companies together.  It connects Advertisers (companies with products or services to sell) together with Publishers (those who display and promote these products or services) so they can do business. The affiliate network does all the tracking, accounting and payment of commissions.  The following Top 10 list of the best Affiliate Networks is compiled by an actual full-time affiliate marketer who has worked these programs for over five years. This list is subjective and based on first-hand experience.  It should be seen in this light and every marketer probably will have a different list or have these in a different picking order depending on the type and nature of their marketing.

But this list of the 10 Best Affiliate Networks will give you a general rundown on these affiliate networks and how they operate.

1.         Commission Junction (www.cj.com)

Now owned by ValueClick, Commission Junction was one of the first affiliate networks. It is also one of the most important with many of the Top Fortune 500 companies listed here.

CJ is an international network with excellent stats and tracking (some of the best you will find), along with regular monthly payments makes this the obvious first choice for anyone wishing to try affiliate marketing.  For those new or old at affiliate marketing, CJ also holds regular seminars and training sessions.

Most merchants offer pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale, one of the best features is the performance bonuses and incentives. As most experienced marketers will know, selling 50k to 100k each month for merchants will bring in the big incentives or bonuses.

Commissions run as high as 50% but most are in 3% to 15% range. You have the option of direct deposit for your payments. One major plus, CJ will tell you which merchants and ads are earning the most revenue for affiliates so you can easily choose which merchants are worth promoting.

2.         ClickBank (www.clickbank.com)

ClickBank is another professional affiliate network with excellent stats and tracking. Easy to use and pays every two weeks.

ClickBank is slightly different from the other networks in that it deals mainly with digital download products.  The commissions from ClickBank are usually much higher than the other networks, around 40% to 50% or more.  ClickBank has over 10,000 products but keep in mind, info-marketing products will have stiff competition from all the savvy and well established Internet marketers promoting these same products. Consider youself warned!  The most successful marketing tactic here is to first dominate your targeted niche with your blogs and sites, then find affiliate products to match your content or niche subject matter, whether it be gardening equipment, gaming laptops or Mediterranean cruises!.

3.         LinkShare (www.linkshare.com)

LinkShare is another excellent affiliate network. It is one of the oldest affiliate networks on the web.  LinkShare was recently acquired by the Japanese Portal Rakuten, with a price tag of $425 million.  Very good stats and reporting with their Synergy Analytics system. Many Top Fortune 500 companies are presented here so you will no trouble finding products and services to promote.  LinkShare pays commissions as they receive them from merchants - monthly checks.

4.         Affiliate Window (www.affiliatewindow.com)

Affiliate Window is an UK based affiliate network which offers top brand companies and good commission rates.  Pays once a month and has excellent stats.  Savvy affiliate marketers know promoting in other countries can be much easier than promoting in the American market place. Mainly because these other countries haven’t become saturated with online marketers, little competition means more sales.

5.         Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Amazon is another excellent affiliate network to join if you want to sell products from your site or blog.  Amazon has excellent stats and the links are very easy to create and place on your web pages.  You also have the option of creating your own store with Amazon aStores. Amazon also now has context link ads and Widgets!

Commission rates are somewhat lower than the other networks but making sales thru Amazon is much, much easier. You will make more sales mainly because Amazon is a well known and trusted online company. Amazon now pays monthly.

6.         Shareasale (www.shareasale.com)

Shareasale is yet another easy system to work with good stats and simple to create links. With 1,700+ merchants to choose from, Shareasale is another good affiliate network to promote.

The control panel is easy to use and the reporting is very good. Usually pays the month following your sales.

7.         Google (www.google.com/adsense/)

Many won’t think of Google as an Affiliate network but it does run affiliate products thru its Adsense program.  Very few products but like everything from Google it is professionally run and top caliber all the way.  Please note, top marketers know affiliate links/products on their content pages will return 10 times what Google Adsense will give them. However, these marketers will also know using Google Adsense on less targeted pages throughout your sites or blogs will give you a healthy return.  Besides receiving that monthly check from a multi-billion dollar company like Google will put a smile on your face every time.

8.         LinkConnector (www.linkconnector.com)

LinkConnector is a relatively new affiliate network which launched in 2004. It has Pay Per Click, Pay Per Sale and Pay Per Lead. Good stats and reporting.  Worth checking out for their different types of new affiliate technology such as Direct Linking which passes pagerank along to the merchant’s site.

9.         CPA Empire (www.cpaempire.com)

Great CPA (Cost Per Action) network especially if you do a lot of email marketing and promotions. Geared towards acquiring leads and sign-ups but does offer other merchants as well. Good stats and reporting.

10.      Independents

Individual affiliate deals with different companies which may or may not be listed with the major networks above.  Your independent affiliate deals will be some of your most lucrative since you can sometimes work out separate private commission rates and bonuses. Aim for residual income here.  Don’t ignore this aspect of affiliate marketing as it will pay the highest dividends.

Keep in mind, all the above affiliate networks are middlemen, they come between you and the merchant you’re promoting.  For affiliates with a proven track record, who have shown they can deliver the customers and sales, a private deal cutting out the middleman/fees can prove very beneficial for both parties. If you’re fortunate enough to become known as a super affiliate, these private deals will become more common and more profitable.

Professional affiliate marketers will use all of the above networks to create multiple income streams from their marketing efforts. In the process, they will build a healthy monthly income for themselves and their families. There is no reason why you can’t do the same.

The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools Or why not try these excellent free training manuals and videos:  Free Marketing Courses

Three Essential Skills to Make Use of Home Computer Business Opportunities

Home computer business opportunities are easy to come by but making use of them is slightly more difficult. Having a fairly recent computer model and speedy Internet connection would be a start but if you want your future business to be profitable, you'll need more than hardware to achieve success.

What You Need

A person needs certain skills before he can make full use of any home computer business opportunity that comes his way. To help you get started, here are several essential skills you need to learn and practice as early as you can.

Internet Research

Contrary to popular opinion, surfing the Internet is not just a simple find-and-click procedure. Indeed, net surfing can be considered an art as it takes talent and experience to find your way to the exact type of information you need in the shortest time possible.

Home computer business opportunities are just what they say they are: opportunities. They offer you a chance to make money, but you need to know what to do with them to make chance turn into profit.

Internet research will help you in your goal. You need quick and effective Internet research skills if you want to be updated with your target market and stay a step ahead of your competition at the same time. Effective Internet research will let you pioneer online marketing trends rather than blindly following them.

HTML

Knowing your way around the Web is just the first step. The next thing you need to focus on is learning how to create your own space in the Internet, and that's when HTML knowledge becomes desirable.

While you certainly have no need to memorize HTML tags - what are wizard options and free ready-made templates for if not that - you do need to understand which tags are appropriate to use to make your presence felt in the Internet.

Although HTML is inferior to other computer languages like CSS and ASP in many ways, it is, however, still the preferred language of search engine spiders and when you've spent enough time managing your online business, you'll understand that what search engine spiders think matters the most.

Most website-making tools available online offer ready-made HTML templates to their users. You are also permitted to change them, and change them you have to but you can only do that with basic HTML know-how. Learning HTML is easy and even free at certain times. If you're good with self-learning, there are a lot of free articles and tutorials available online. You can, however, choose to enroll in online crash courses and learn from the pros.

Search Engine Optimization

Internet research skills let you understand what's going on with your competition and the target market. HTML gives you the means of communicating with search engine spiders. Search engine optimization, however, teaches you the right things to "say" to spiders and make your website #1 in your category.

Search engine optimization is probably the most difficult of all three skills to learn simply because it's dynamic and comprehensive. It touches almost every aspect there is to e-commerce and what you know now may be considered obsolete next week. Without SEO, even the most promising home computer business opportunities will come to nothing.

SEO improves the quality of a blog, website, or any online tool to match the requirements of search engines and consequently generate more traffic. There are two types of techniques used in SEO: white hat and black hat SEO. White hat is all that's good and harmless while SEO black hat techniques are considered unethical by many.

Keywords are an essential part of all SEO techniques. Key words or key phrases are words that best describe the website being promoted. Generally speaking, using keywords often will increase the website's chances of getting a higher page ranking from search engines.

White hat SEO techniques will strategically include keywords in the main and secondary titles, the first and last paragraph, as well as any other instance its use will be merited. Black hat SEO techniques, however, will use any means possible to use the keywords, regardless of how it can cause quality to deteriorate or the need for deceiving readers about their purpose.

Invest your time, money, and effort in learning these three essential skills and you'll have the ultimate means of making of the Home Computer Business Opportunities that you may want to consider. For more information, do research online, and ask your friends for advice. Soon, you will be making the money that you want and need, and you will have the Online Marketing Business Opportunity of your dreams.

Sam Schneider is an expert in home based businesses and internet marketing. He owns several successful on-line businesses and helps other entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams through coaching and mentoring. His sites are full of great ideas about earning a decent living online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Schneider

10 Most Useful Free Google Marketing Tools

By Titus Hoskins

Google is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Happy Birthday Google!

One way Google is celebrating this event is through funding 10 million dollars for the idea that can help the most people. An idea that could have the most impact on our world.

It's an ingenious way to celebrate Google and what it stands for... a birthday gift to everyone.

You can find out more about Google Impact Project here: 10 to the 100

Google Has Already Impacted Many People

Like a lot of webmasters and marketers out there, I am very grateful to Google. Mainly because Google has been very good to me and has made my online livelihood possible with organic rankings, Adsense revenue, Adwords...

Maybe I could have done it without Google, but it would have been a much more difficult job. And it's very hard to imagine a world without Google.

It's also hard to believe Google has only been around for 10 years... it has made all the difference to my onlíne marketing. I have used Google and Google Tools every day for the last six or seven years.

And it seems Google is only getting stronger and better. The new Google Chrome browser will only add to the long líst of Google's helpful offerings to the public.

With this thought in mind, here is my (biased) líst of the most 10 useful marketing tools Google has produced.

10 Most Valuable Free Google Marketing Tools

Google has become the dominant search engine on the Internet. It would be hard to imagine a web without Google. For that matter, it would now be hard to imagine a world without Google. As frightening as that may seem to many people, it is none the less true.

For better or worse, Google has permeated into almost every aspect of our everyday life. Being Googled is now a common expression and an act carried out by millions of users around the world each day. New Google products and services are coming on stream at a staggering pace, further increasing Google's impact on our lives.

Despite this dominating presence, many people still don't realize Google offers some excellent free marketing tools for marketers and webmasters. Marketing tools which can prove extremely valuable to any webmaster or marketer trying to promote their sites or products online. Useful tools that will make your promotions easier and much more profitable.

Don't be fooled by the 'free' label, these marketing tools might be free but they are also valuable. One even wonders why Google would be giving away these tools and services for free? It probably makes good business sense in the long run. By providing these free tools Google is fostering a lot of company good-will and building up the Google brand name in the process. Good PR is good business.

Every marketer and webmaster should be taking advantage of Google's good-will and snapping up these professionally run services and marketing tools. Here's a quick run-down of the 10 most valuable free Google Internet marketing tools:

1. Google Analytics

Perhaps the premier marketing tool offered by Google. It will prove helpful to both the marketer and the webmaster. Google Analytics gives you a daily snapshot of your web site. Google Analytics analyzes your traffic, where it comes from and what it does once it enters your site. You can monitor up to three sites for free.

Google Analytics is extremely valuable in analyzing your marketing funnel. It tracks all the steps leading up to your sales or checkout page. Vital information for raising your conversion rate and ROI.

You may be placed on a waiting líst for this highly in demand service from Google.

2. Google Sitemaps

Webmasters can use Google Sitemaps to almost instantly place newly created pages on their site into the Google Search Index. This is a XML file that is uploaded to Google as new pages are added on your site. Needless to say this can be a valuable service for any webmaster or marketer who wants to get their information on the web quickly.

3. Google Alerts

Be notified when someone or another site lists your site or mentions your name. Great way to keep track of all your online activities. Great way to monitor all your online business interests and products.

4. Google Froogle

Froogle is Google's price directory! It simply lists all the cheapest prices for different products on the web. For marketers and webmasters who are promoting products, it should be studied and analyzed. Optimizing your site's content for Froogle may prove to be very beneficial.

Follow Froogle or Google directions exactly on how to líst or display products on your site. Froogle will spider your site and display your prices and products to thousands of targeted customers. That, as they say, is priceless.

5. Google Checkout

Not exactly free but for those marketers who use AdWords - for every $1 spent on AdWords you can process $10 for free. You can also place the shopping cart logo on your AdWords ad and take advantage of the prestige and trust the Google brand name has built up.

Over time marketers may find this tool to be very effective and valuable.

6. Google eBlogger

Blogging has become vitally important to the health and functioning of your web site. No site should be without at least one blog and RSS feed. Creating a blog (online journal) on the topic of your web site or product will bring in extra traffic and targeted customers. eBlogger is a simple free blogging service that even lets you publish or post your blog files to your web site server. Keep in mind, each blog has that all important Google Blog Search bar.

7. Google Toolbar - Enterprise Version

Try the new enterprise version of the Google Toolbar for your company or business. Integrates countless features with all your employees or corporate network. These could include a common customer database, company calendar, financial news...

Keep in mind, Google also ranks every page it indexes on a scale of 0-10. While it is important to know the Page Rank of your pages, it is even more important to know the PR of your competitor's pages. You can use the toolbar to get the PR of each page you're visiting. Extremely helpful information for webmasters and marketers to know when forming online linking or business arrangements.

8. Google Groups

Every marketer knows the important of having a large contact líst of people with a similar interest. Social networking will play an ever increasing role in your success on the web. Just look at the growing popularity of sites like MySpace and LiveJournal.

Google groups is another form of social and business networking that every marketer should be aware of and pursuing.

9. Google Adsense

One simple way to monetize your web content is to use Google Adsense. Just place the Adsense code on your site and receive a check from Google each month. For webmasters who are not really into onlíne marketing (do such creatures exist?) Adsense can be a painless way to earn extra íncome from your site.

For professional marketers, using the Adsense system can supply a tremendous amount of marketing information on the keywords in their particular niche. It keeps the marketer informed on what keywords are being bid on and how much advertisers are willing to pay.

Adsense also has an excellent real-time tracking system you can use to keep track of all your important web pages.

10. Google Docs

A recent addition to Google's stable of free products. Google Docs (Writely.com) is a full featured online writing editor with spellcheck and great collaborating features. It also lets you publish your content directly to your blogs. One feature that may be of interest to marketers, is that it lets you save files in the popular download format of PDF.

Let's face it, until video takes over the web in four or five years time - the written word is still king on the net. It is the medium that markets, promotes and sells your content or products. Writely will help you write better.

Honorable Mention - Google Trends

This Google program will let you search popular trends, important for marketers searching for the latest hot product to promote. You can also break down these trends by different regions.

Final Note

Please take note that signing up for a Google account will usually help you in obtaining most of these free services or programs. Some of these programs may have to be applied for individually. But be assured, all these free Google marketing tools are well worth your time and effort. They will make your marketing easier and they will help any webmaster or marketer run their online business more efficiently.

About The Author
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: BizwareMagic.com . If you liked the SEO tips above, why not try this Free 7 Day Traffic Course .
2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

The new Google Chrome is my default browser.

Almost two weeks and I have found this Google Chrome even in it’s beta version  is so much user friendly. I have been using three browsers Internet Explorer IE 7, Firefox and Flock and Firefox is my default browser.

 Now I found the new Google Chrome is so fast to open compare the three browsers that I used previously. I have changed my mind and to make it to be my default browser now.

One of the many features I enjoyed is upon opening a new tab, Google Chrome gives me the option to choose between several of the most frequently visited web pages. It is a graphical "thumbnail" view and it looks nice too!.

The tab bar that allow me to create folders to  bookmark all my blogs/websites, affiliate programs, mails or search engines etc which make me easy to open the pages that I want to visit.

Also, there is an intuitive, or predictive text, auto complete feature when entering website addresses in the navigation bar. It can also simply type the word or phrase they want to search for and it displays on a Google (or your search engine of choice) results page.

Google Chrome is truly a very nice, advanced browsing software, and it's free. I would suggest you to download it and give it a try. I reckon you will not be sorry.

Google launched web browser Google Chrome

Google has launched Google Chrome, a new approach to the web browser that comes with a few features that can give you a better Gmail experience:

• A browser built for speed: Google Chrome features a new JavaScript engine, V8, that has been designed for performance from the ground up, so web applications like Gmail that use the browser to its fullest run lightning fast.
• More room for your stuff, less browser window: We've removed all the unnecessary clutter from the browser window to give you more room for your favorite applications and websites. If you use an application shortcut (below), you can launch Gmail in its own streamlined window that gives you as much working room as possible, without the URL box or browser toolbar.
  
  
  
  
• Application shortcuts: You can create an application shortcut to access Gmail straight from your desktop. Simply go to Gmail while you're using Google Chrome, click the page menu and select 'create application shortcuts.' When you double-click a shortcut icon, it opens in a streamlined window.

• Crash control: Every tab you use is run independently in Google Chrome, so if one tab crashes, it won't take the tab with your inbox down with it.

Ready to try it out? Download Google Chrome here.

(Chrome is currently available for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later and Windows Vista. Mac and Linux versions are being developed, so stay tuned.)

I have installed this new browser Google Chrome and I am now using it. At a glance,the new webs browser has a faster speed but I still don't see any good reasons to take away my favourite browser like FireFox and Flock. Definately there are some good features for me to explore. Until it prooved to be convincing and I won't change this Google Chrome to be my default browser at the moment. I am still exploring with this Google new product......

Google Reveals Ranking Process in Search Results

Google has launched a new feature in its search engine results pages that will give users never before shared insights into its ranking process.

New boxes will be displayed in the top right section of the results page (SERPs) sharing the reasoning behind the placement of listings for their search

.

The "search insight" boxes will highlight whether geography, recent searches or the users' web history have been used to determine the rankings.

"As we continue to refine our search algorithms to deliver more relevant results, we strive to be as open as possible about how we use data to improve your search experience," shared Rachel Garb, a Google product manager.

Given Google's deliberate attempts to be more transparent, this could be viewed as a significant move in the right direction. That said, Google aren't quite ready to disclose the 12 secret "herbs and spices" that control the core of their ranking algorithm.

Rachel Grab went on to say: "This new feature doesn't change anything at all about how you search on Google and the results you get, it just gives you more of a behind-the-scenes look at how we customize your search experience."

As the new insights will be derived from users previous searches and web history, I'm fairly sure this new feature will be reserved for users who are logged into their Google accounts when searching.

I wonder if Google will permit users to change the search results by switching off filters and customization. If you're previous search history has no bearing on the current search, the new feature might create a less relevant search experience.

What do you think of the new search insights? Would you like to be able to switch the filters on and off to improve the relevance? share your thoughts via the comments below.

Top 3 SEO Tips of 2008

You have to read this article by by Scott Jason about the Top 3 SEO Tips of 2008 This will help you to get the best in this blogging world.

Since 1998 I've spent the first several months of each year looking for the very best search engine optimization (SEO) tips of the previous year's end. This year I've come across the best SEO tips yet.

SEO Tip #1: Make Google Alerts Your Personal Online Spy

Google Alerts is a great way to let the world's biggest search engine be your personal online spy. This takes search engine optimization insider info to whole new level. Here's an excerpt straight from Google....

"Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

* monitoring a developing news story
* keeping current on a competitor or industry
* getting the latest on a celebrity or event
* keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams"

As you probably guessed, it's the second one we care about most, "keeping current on a competitor or industry."

Here's how it works... Each time Google finds a reference to the query or topic you request you will be sent an email with the details. This is like having an online spy to make sure competitors are not using your protected keywords (trademarked names, company names, etc.) It's also an instant identifier to know when your site or product is mentioned in a news story or even when a topic is hot so you can take advantage of the situation. It's the easiest way in the world to stop competitors' dirty tricks and identify trends that you can take instant advantage of.

It's fast, free and works every minute of every day. Let Google Alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts) do your most time consuming legwork while you reap the rewards!

SEO Tip #2: Optimize Your 404 Page and Always Be Found

"Error 404: Page Not Found" is a blessing that most Webmasters curse. Why? Getting a visitor on any page of your site is fantastic! Don't blow the opportunity. Not only can you make your "404" page a valuable sales tool, you can use the following search engine optimization techniques to attract customers in droves.

A.) Use your main keyword in your title, add a "pipe" (usually above the Enter key) and then use your secondary keyword. Here's as example for an SEO site "SEO - Search Engine Optimization Tips"

B.) Add some keyword rich content using one to two keywords for the page. If you have less than 250 words on the page, just use one keyword and use it no more than three times total. Bold the first use and italicize the second or third use. Keep in mind this is an "inactive" page so simply tell the visitor what your site is about and whet their appetite with a good description. Something like this works well... "Thank you for visiting SEO (bold) Group, Inc. We are sorry you landed on a missing page but don't worry, if you're looking for the very best search engine optimizations tips (bold), you're at the right place..." This will go on for a couple paragraphs or as long as you'd like then end it with something to the effect of "Please Click Here (link) to visit our site map or click any link to the left."

C.) Add your site's standard navigation system (bar, column, etc.) as mentioned above.

D.) Make the look and feel of the customized 404 page match your main site as closely as possible with a template, matched palette, cascading style sheets, etc.

E.) Create a link to the site map page if available, and make the link easy to find. You want your visitor off the 404 page and into your main content as quickly as possible.

Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.

SEO Tip #3: Get (Even More) Serious About Linking

I saved the most important for last. If you want to do well on any search engine, especially Google, linking is THE single MOST important thing you can do. It's that simple.

Here are the five things you MUST do to make your site #1 on Google:

A.) Find the highest page rank sites linking to your site AND your competitors' sites.

B.) Run monthly link campaigns and snatch up the best of the above identified Web sites.

C.) Run regular checks on what pages are still linking back to your site. Alsomake sure they did not move you from a high page rank page to a lower one (don't get cheated!)

D.) Eliminate any penalized sites you link to; ASAP!

E.) Check your search engine ranking AND your competitor's for each of your keywords every week. Do this, at the minimum, for Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista.

Inside Tip: Keeping up can be a lot of work so a lot of SEO Consultants (myself included) use SEO Elite (http://www.SEOeliteWeb.com) to do all the most difficult and time consuming work.

One last thing to know is that Google was originally a college student's project created for the sole purpose of defining a Web site's value by the sites that link to it. Twelve years later this is still it's main job. Linking is EVERYTHING to Google.

These few SEO tips are the very best of the best so use them wisely. Best of luck!

About The Author

An original founder of one of the first internationally established SEO companies (DotCom Pirates); Scott Jason is a highly successful SEO Copywriter and renowned researcher and the founder of http://BestSEOCopywriting.com

New Breakthrough "Forced Money" System Just Released!

There's a "new" kind of website these days - one that "FORCES" money into your pocket!

The days are now over where you were left with just "chance" on your side when it came to making money on the Internet.

A brand new "technology" has been developed that makes websites pay you by "force!"

Short of putting a gun to people's heads and making them take their money out of their wallets and pay you without choice, this new technology might as well be the exact same thing.

This breakthrough was developed by a New York Virtual Marketing Firm, and is taking the Web by storm!

Already some pretty famous names are taking note of this new "money making invention" that "forces" money out of the Internet directly into your bank account!

A spokesperson for the NYC firm boasted proudly:

"Imagine the Worldwide-Web as an ocean of money ... our new technology merely makes a way for YOU to be able to dig a big trench from that 'cash-sea' directly into your backyard!"

And that's obviously a pretty amazing feat to say the very least!

People get a webpage that's NOT ordinary by any means!

The webpage "captures" a huge segment of the daily visitors it receives and winds up upselling them repeatedly with a predictable conversion each and every time!

Plus, the webpage has a "built-in" device that allows it to generate "free traffic" without end!

So considering the fact that you get free traffic, along with a predictable and steady stream of sales conversions, you get a guaranteed source of endless income!

Additionally, the webpage you get already contains a PROVEN digital product that no online marketer can live without, and one that is delivered where all your orders are filled automatically by another firm on behalf of you, the webpage owner! (And at no costs!)

Not only that, but the webpage contains a video that makes further an irresistible offer so that people must surrender their contact information, and which also becomes a VAST double-optin list!

This list is maintained by yet another separate online firm on your behalf, and that has the HIGHEST track record for getting over 98% deliverability for follow-up emailings (the same that convert another 378% more sales for you!)

So in a nutshell you get:

o An amazing website!
o A website that converts sales automatically!
o A website that puts "forced" money directly into your pocket!
o A website that's run by another firm for you (at NO charge!)
o A website that continues to promote for you over & over!
o A website that grows & cultivates a proven list!
o A website that functions automatically (so you never run it!)
o And a website that you get Free H0STING for!

So as you can easily see you get the whole "Sha-Bang!"

Here are just a few examples of the successes people are having using this "Forced Money" breakthrough system:

---> "Lisa C." Made $44,047 In Just 97 Days
---> "Jay R." Made $102,033 In Just 32 Days
---> "Cal W." Made $317,951 In Just 17 Days

Without wasting another moment of your time, why not go to the new site that shows you how you can get this site for yourself (if you'd like) for next to nothing? ...

~~~> click here "Forced Money" Website

*But I must warn you that they are only giving away a very limited number of these "forced money" websites that forcibly pour money into your pocket! - So please [for your sake] HURRY!

What Google Thinks Of Your Site?

How Google views your site does matter if you want to succeed online because Google has become the dominant search engine on the web. It now has over 60% of the U.S. search engine market. In other countries around the world that percentage rises to 80% or more. In addition, the Google Brand Name has solidly permeated the popular psyche and any top rankings within Google will bring much weight and prestige along with all that traffic.

If you're a webmaster, you will already know how vital Google is to the success of your site, especially if you rely upon organic keyword rankings for your traffic. This free organic traffic from Google is highly desired by webmasters because it is extremely targeted and delivers high conversion rates.

In trying to reach the highest rankings possible, I (like most webmasters) have to be constantly aware of what Google thinks of my site and content. As a webmaster and marketer I have always geared my onlíne marketing towards Google. I have spent years building my keyword rankings within Google; if you take out the fact that it has nearly driven me insane, it has mostly been a positive experience.

This experience has also shown me it is indeed important for anyone to know how Google views and rates your site or content. The more knowledge you have, the better able you will be to tackle any obstacles and challenges that will come your way.

SERPs Is The Only Opinion That Counts

And like most webmasters, I try to find out as much about Google as is humanly possible, but Google doesn't give up its secrets easily. In fact, many webmasters would argue the only true opinion Google has of your site is shown in their SERPs - if your keywords/pages are ranked in the number one spots in Google's "Search Engine Results Pages" then Google must think your site or content deserves to be there.

However, there are other ways of finding out how Google is viewing your content. Below are several Google webmaster tools and things you can do to discover just how Google views your site or pages. They will give you a better picture of what Google thinks about your site.

Checking Your Content/Keywords In Google

One handy tool that will show you what Google thinks your pages consist of is located here:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Just type in your URL and tick off website content and you will get a listing of the major keywords Google has for your content. If your targeted keyword or keywords are not listed, then you have to do some re-writing.

Checking Your Backlinks In Google

If you want to find out how many backlinks your site has in Google, just open up Google Search and type in:

link:yourURL

and it will show you the number of backlinks you have.

Since Google doesn't give you all your existing backlinks, many webmasters also use Yahoo! to find a more exact number of links your site has on the web.

Just open Yahoo! and type in: linkdomain:yourURL

Now whether Google is using or considering all these backlinks is the big question? Finding the exact number of backlinks you have in Google has always been a problem because Google is not giving you the exact number or at least this is the general opinion of most SEO experts.

Another way I monitor my links in Google is to place quotation marks around my site name or my name "bizwaremagic" or "titus hoskins" and do a search in Google. This gives me the pages containing references to me or my site. This is usually 50,000 to 100,000 pages, I have also noticed my online income usually correlates as this number goes up or down.

Checking Your Indexed Pages In Google

Obviously, it is very important for you to know what content the search engines have indexed from your site. You can also check to see how your links are displayed and to see if any titles or descriptions are missing from your pages.

You can see how many of your pages are indexed in Google by using the site command.

Just type into Google Search:

site:yourURL

A little while back, having your pages indexed in Google's Supplemental Index caused webmasters much stress as it seemed Google was judging these pages as "second class" pages. Since then, Google no longer uses the Supplementary Label in grading pages but that doesn't mean a supplementary index doesn't exist; just that Google has promised to crawl and consider these pages as well in any search query.

Checking Your Google Cache

You can also check to see the Google Cache of your site by using the cache command. You will also discover when it was last retrieved.

Just type into Google Search:

cache:yourURL

Checking Your PageRank Within Google

Another tricky issue is PageRank. This is supposed to be the heart of Google's ranking system created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin; each link is considered a "vote" for your page and the higher the number of "votes" you have, the higher the PR your page receives. However, again Google is using "smoke and mirrors" to conceal your true PageRank mainly to cut out abuse and manipulation of their results. Some experts say PageRank still counts, other say it doesn't.

You can check your Google PageRank here:

http://www.iwebtool.com/pagerank_checker

From my own experiences, I have receíved more traffic when my site was at PR4 than I receíved when it was at PR6. What's important is getting high rankings for your targeted keywords... if you get top spots, it doesn't matter if your main index page (site) is PR4 or PR6, you'll still get the same amount of traffic. In other words, don't become too fixated on PageRank because Google in many cases is not letting you see the true PR of a webpage.

I would like to add one point to the whole PageRank issue and that has to do with perception. If you're running an online business, then having a PR8 site does matter for it will bring in more business and customers (especially if you're in the SEO industry) mainly because of the "perceived value" of your site or business.

What Google thinks does matter!

In other words, what Google thinks of your site can play a major role in your success. Mainly because, like it or hate it, Google has become the supreme authority on the web and what they say, counts. Therefore, you should always be paying special attention to just what Google is saying about your site and acting upon that knowledge accordingly.

About The Author
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: Marketing Tools. Everyone is profiting from Google, find out how you can too! Clíck here: Google Cash File

Most Common SEO Mistakes

You've heard many people talk about search engine optimization and its importance in the visibility of your website. Well, it is vital to your website, but there are certain rules to follow and certain techniques that are important to avoid at all cost. Here we will discuss some of the most common mistakes made by so called SEO 'experts', companies claiming to specialize in SEO, and even your average web developer alike.

The first and probably the most common mistake is improper utilization of the title tag or ignoring it altogether. The title tag is the browser title that appears within your website. It is considered very important by search engines and is used to decipher the relevancy of your site. Therefore, ensure that you do have a title tag and also that it contains your most important keywords and not just a generalized term or your company name. If you want to include your company name, you may do so, but place it near the end of the title, giving your keywords more importance at the beginning. The search engines will decide the importance of each word in your title based on its placement near the beginning.

The second most common error is the misuse or lack of proper keywords. Many companies try to use the more sought after keywords in their meta tags and descriptions in attempt to generate more traffic to their site, but if your company has nothing to do with these keywords, this traffic will be meaningless and a waste of valuable resources. Try to focus on the main topics directly related to your business and your website and find keywords that reflect these, but at the same time, are not overused or too broad in their meaning. For example, if you renovate kitchens in New York City, do not put as your keyword, kitchen, because this is too broad a title and will result in too much competition. Narrow down your keywords so that the traffic generated will be searching for specifically what you have to offer in that area, if appl icable. There are also programs and websites that can help you determine good keywords for your site, (www.wordtracker.com).

Another common practice is known as 'black hat SEO'. This refers to frowned upon methods used by certain companies in order to push your site to the top of the search engines. These methods include doorway pages, cloaking, spamming, using link farms and linking schemes, as well as invisible text. Doorway pages are 'fake' pages built into the website that only the search engine spiders can see. A different page is seen by the human viewer. These 'fake' pages are usually filled with keywords and descriptions, trying to trick the spider into giving you a higher page ranking. Cloaking is a form of the doorway page technique, in that the content presented to the search engine is different from the content seen by the viewer. Spamming is when multiple keywords are placed in the content of the page and in the code, making it unreadable but geared towards the search engines. Link farms and linking schemes refer to different websites offering links and linking techniques whose primary goal is to try to control and manipulate the search engine rankings. They offer tons of links but no real, valuable content. Lastly, some SEO companies will place invisible text on your site that is visible to the search engines but not to the viewer, ie.white text on a white background. All of these 'black hat' techniques are highly discourages and can often lead to your site being banned from major search engines or black listed. Once this has occurred it is very hard to undo, therefore be very careful, and make sure that the person or company taking care of your SEO is not employing these methods.

Fourthly, you often hear of companies advertising a fixed price to submit your site to hundreds of search engines as well as a promise to give you a top ten ranking and to resubmit your site whenever necessary. First of all, no company can promise you a ranking in the top ten. The search engines are constantly changing their criteria and algorithms used to decipher the rankings of each site and the only way that a company could even come close to being able to promise this is if they are using the 'black hat' techniques previously described. If this is the case, you may get lucky and appear in the top ten for a short while, but it will not last long, and you will quickly be bumped when the search engines realize what is happening. On top of which, you will permanently damage the image of your company on the web, so it is definitely not recommended. Another important factor to consider is that there are only about ten to twelve top search engines on the web, and most of the other search engines get their information from these top ten, therefore it is not necessary to have your site submitted to hundreds of search engines. Being listed in the top ten is more than enough. Lastly, when a company continually resubmits your site to the search engines, it is actually detrimental to your website, contrary to what many think. The search engines constantly update their information by going through your website every so often therefore it is not necessary to continually attempt to resubmit your information to them. Also, many search engines will ban you if you attempt to submit too often. The only time you ever need to resubmit to a search engine is if you have changed your url or if for some reason your website has been removed from the search engine. Otherwise, once you are there, you are there for good. For your reference, the top search engines on the web currently are: Google, Yahoo, MSN Search (top three), and then AltaVista, Direct Hit, Fast, Netscape, HotBot / AOL, Inktomi, Lycos, Ask Jeeves, and Open Directory. All of these will take time to index your site once you have submitted to them, so be patient, do not resubmit. The times vary from 1-10 weeks, depending. Google is usually 2-5 weeks and Yahoo 4-6 weeks.

Another common mistake is the overuse of images or flash content on your website. Of course, pictures and a flash intro look nice to the viewer, but they are not search engine friendly. Search engines are based on textual content and are not able to recognize flash or images and consequently will not use them when indexing your site. Therefore, try to minimize your use of images and flash, and try to ensure that the images you do have contain some text description in the form of alt tags.

In terms of site layout, you often see links from the home page leading to other pages in the site that are of relevance. One common mistake made in the development of the website is the usage of links that read "click here" instead of just underlining the actual title of the l ink. People are familiar enough with the web to know that an underlined title most often contains a link to the relevant page, therefore there is no need to place this type of link, and more importantly, search engines use your internal links in helping them decide your ranking, and having a link that says "click here" is completely useless to the search engine. Therefore, ensure that all your links have a clear and concise link title.

Finally, the biggest mistake that companies make in SEO is that they try to optimize their site for one specific search engine or focus more on the optimization itself than the actual content of the website. It is said that the best way to boost your rankings on the web, other than basic SEO, is to have good, original content that is constantly updated and user friendly. If your site is built in a way that it provides useful information to people searching the web, information that is not readily available on hundreds of other sites, and is easy to navigate, people will want to use your website and it will naturally go up in the rankings. Also, optimizing your site for one specific search engine is not recommended as each search engine has its own techniques for ranking websites, and optimizing your site for one search engine will not necessarily make it optimized for another.

In conclusion, SEO is necessary for your website, but due to the popularity of the web and the high competition, there are many unethical practices being used in order to boost website rankings. Refrain from using these 'black hat' methods, and stick to the basics, remembering that good, original content, and patience is imperative when it comes to success on the web. If you develop your site in a way that caters to the user in its content and usability, and you maintain it properly and update it regularly, you will obtain the desired results in due time.

About the Author:

Melanie Kanis http://www.synaxiom.com/ . I grew up in Montreal Quebec and became part of a growing web consulting firm called Synaxiom Media Group. This company gave me the opportunity to explore my talents and expand my knowledge. I have done a lot of research on the internet, common search engine optimization techniques and web design. I hope that my articles will be able to guide others when making educated decision on web projects.

A Perfect Link

By Sharon Housley

Webmasters are given the advice that they must attract links, but the key is not just to attract links... they need to attract good links. But what is the perfect link? The search for the perfect link need not be a quest in vain. Consider the following when attempting to attract links...

1. Related

The best links should come from related websites which contain similar and related content but not the same type of material or content. For example: A link for baby clothing would benefit from a link that discusses baby care.

2. Anchor

The anchor text (the "text" that is used in the link) should include keywords that relate to the topic covered on the web page that is being linked to. Anchor text should be varied; links that all have the same anchor text will appear manipulated and contrived to the search engines. Therefore, the text links should contain a variety of related words.

3. Deep Link

The links should direct visitors to a related page within the website. Do not make the mistake of directing all of the web links to a website's home page. Deep linking, and directing visitors to material that corresponds to content that is closely related to the text link is key. Deep linking appears more natural to search engines, whereas links directing all visitors to a single page or the home page seem unnatural, and could be interpreted as an effort to manipulate search engine ranking.

4. Domain And Page Authority

Search engines trust some websites more than others. Links from "authority" websites have more weight than links from lesser-known websites. Google is said to use PageRank as an indicator of authority. Keep in mind that PageRank is not the only factor used to determine a website's authority. Authority websites should still relate to the website it is pointing to.

5. Nix NoFollow

Links should not contain the NoFollow command. The NoFollow command directs search engines to not "follow" the link. If a link contains "NoFollow" there is no search engine benefit from the link; the only benefit to having the link is any organic traffic that results if the link is clicked. As a result, NoFollow links are nearly worthless.

6. Mix It Up

Links should come from a variety of sources. Fewer links from a larger number of websites will generally "weigh" more than a large number of links from a small number of websites.

7. Surrounding Text

Some search experts claim that the text surrounding a link can influence ranking. Whether this is true or not is difficult to determine. It is more likely that links containing surrounding text are more likely to be relevant, and as a result those links tend to be worth more.

8. Link Position

The location of the link on the page can also influence the value of the link. Some search experts claim that footer links carry less value than links which are integrated into the actual web page content.

9. Type of Link

There does not appear to be a difference between a "text" link's value and an "image" link's value, if the image link contains ALT text. The search engines use the image ALT text in the same way they use the anchor text of a text link.

10. Number Of Outbound Links

A page with fewer links is better than a page with a large number of links. This is because a webpage passes along what is referred to as "link juice". The more "link juice" passed along, the more valuable the link is. The link juice is divided up over all the links on a webpage, so popular websites with few outgoing links are more valuable than those with a large number of links.

11. Link Age

Search engine critics cannot seem to agree as to whether older links or newer links carry more value. When information is vague, it is best to garner both aged links and new links to websites.

12. Vintage Domain

The age of the domain is said to influence link power. More than likely the age of the domain simply contributes to the trustworthiness of the website, and links from trusted websites tend to have more value.

13. One Way Links

Links that are not reciprocal carry more weight than those which are simply link-for-link exchanges.

14. Page Content

A web page that is mostly just a líst of links has less value than a web page that contains a mixture of links and content.

15. Updated Pages

Web pages that are updated frequently will typically be spidered by search engines on a more frequent basis. The update will not influence the power of the link, but it will mean that the link will be picked up more quickly by the search engines.

16. Link Surges

Webmasters should be encouraged to gradually build links over time, rather than all at once. The gradual improvement is more natural and will have a stronger impact on organic search rankings.

The quest for the perfect link can be frustrating and elusive, but the fact is: the perfect link is logical, appears natural, and grows over time. Best of luck in your attempt to find the perfect link.

About The Author
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll