joom's Blog

Developing a website can be quit an easy job with all those WYSIWUG (What You See Is What You Get) website development tools. But one thing they don't do, is making your code optimized for search engines, search engines demands, not only meta data on you website, but also you may want to think about things like content (word density, internal linking etc.), here I will try to give you an brief
overview, of some of the important things to have in mind, when optimizing your website.
also I can refere to my site where all SEO online and offline tools are free to use and download.

1. Optimize Your Title Tag.
Always important to remember your keywords, also in your titel tag, do never write your company name or something like that, instead use a descriptive text containing as many keywords relevant to your site subject as possible. (note: keep your titel about 60 characters).

2. Creating good content.
Eventhough your main product is to sell pictures from your website, google and other search engines can't 'see' them, so you need som descriptive text content, search engines has a very complex way of reading a website for content and to find out what your site is about, so remember to use alot of good relevent keywords in your text content, (but remember to spread them naturaly).

3. What confuses search engines?
Well, this is and have been a very big discussion topic for a long time now, some of the factors that can confuse search engines is javascript, using frames on pages, dynamic pages (eg. asp.net etc). Almost forgot to say that if you are using flash elements, eventhough there are text in it, search engines can't read it, so not recommented.

4. META tags.
META tags are a way to describe your site for search engines, its text that is not shown on the pages. (Some people claim that google does nothing with these tags anymore, but we don't know, and I know that other sites uses them, so why not just write them anyway).

META name='description' content='a well optimized short description of your page'>



5. Robots text file
The Robots.txt is a file you have on your site, not for visitors, but for search engines when they look at your site they looks after a robots file, and if it exists it is easier for search engines to index all your sites. You can generate a robot file with this software for free.



6. The thing about images
I mentioned before that search engines can't read images, thats not completly true, images has an ALT tag, that makes it possible for your to put in a descriptiv text to the images, some says that google sees that, so here is the code.


img src='my_image.jpg' width='50' height='60'
ALT='A descriptive text in here.'


7. Text sizes.
Some people also says that search engines look at text that is emphasized (eg. h1). so my
theory is, if you are doing as I have done for years, just writting text and then set up the visual part in a seperate css file, then google can't se that the text is a header1 or header2 text.
So what to do could be, in your website page, make the text h1 and in a css file define the h1 tag to look different.

H1 { color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px }



8. Remember filenaming.
Another thing to look at is your filename, your first page may be named default.html, but if you go to google and search for something, like 'Free SEO Tools' you can see that google also looks at sub-directorys and filenames, like. www.seo.dd-soft.com/SEO-tools-free-download-internal.aspx,
this says more than just download.aspx.

9. Internal linking
Always remember to link your site together, your need search engines to find more then just your front page.


10. Some personale words before you go on making a website.
This last tip is not really a tip, just some words from me personally to you, I have read a lot of litteratur about SEO, and other marketing techniques, so just do not forget, depending on what your site content is, there may be other ways to market your product, it could even be done cheap or for free, be creative.

Don’t want your direct mail to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? Studies show an effective direct mail campaign should draw a .5 to 1 percent response. These 10 tips will help you get the results you want:

1. A clear, bold headline. On the envelope or front of the mailer there should be one central message. The best way to achieve that is with a bold, clear headline that’s not cluttered up with other text. A good guideline is to have the headline fill up at least 15% of the front of the mailer.

2. A graphic that supports the message. The graphic should be easy to understand and add to the message the headline is trying to convey. For instance, if you are trying to get people to list their home you would want to show a home with a SOLD sign clearly visible out front. That graphic reinforces the message more than a simple picture of a home.

3. Color that pops. Make the headline and other text stand out by using a color that stands out from the background color. When you look at the card, ask yourself, "What do I see first?" If your answer isn't the headline, you might want to tweak the colors.

4. Subheads that lead into text. If you have a couple of paragraphs of text with no lead in, there’s nothing to entice people to actually read the copy. A subhead will give people a place to start reading. If you have only a 100 words or so you may be able to get away with it, but if the text gets any longer than that the average reader will want to have some guideposts along the way.

5. Benefits, benefits, benefits. One of the biggest errors people make in advertising is stating features, rather than benefits. For example, never assume recipients know what benefit can be derived from a lower interest rate on their mortgage. Let them know how their monthly payments will go down.

6. The offer. An offer is always a good idea and should represent a specific reason to call now, such as “Limited supply” or “Interest rates are climbing.”

7. Your company name and logo. Although this needs to be on the mailer, it shouldn’t overshadow the offer. Customers care most about what you can do for them.

8. Call to action. Tell prospects exactly what you want them to do. “Call today for more information” or “See us online” are two of the most common desired actions.

9. Contact information. Provide your name, phone number, and Web address directly following the call to action. Whatever you ask prospects to do, give them the means to do it easily.

10. Return address. A return address ensures you’ll get returned mail from the post office and sends a message that you’re an established professional. People feel better knowing the company they’re dealing with has an actual location (and not just a mystery box somewhere).

"I only know how to surf the internet and do emails. I know nothing about computers. I shouldn't even be thinking about opening an e-Shop."

"I only have basic computing knowledge and I have no business background or experience. How would I possibly run an e-Shop?"

"I've been a housewife for years. I am good at a lot of things, but I know nothing about doing business, nor would I have the time to."

"In the coming weeks, I'm going to start winding down my business. It's such a hassle trying to get rid of my remaining stock. If they can't be sold, I'll have to pay for warehouse rental. Gosh, I don't even want to think about starting another business."

The list of scenarios is endless. How do we overcome these barriers? Let's take it just one step further. You're probably just one thought away from turning a life of ‘just getting by' or ‘being happy' into a life full of wealth, freedom, and happiness. Most importantly, you'll enjoy tremendous job satisfaction while making that wealth!

An internet marketing solutions provider offers search engine optimization, search engine marketing, internet startup consultation, web hosting, and domain name services. Their internet expertise can be applied to all types of individuals or businesses - Big or small! Visit regularly held Internet Business & Marketing Seminars to see how they can help you with business ideas!

Internet Marketing Training and Seminars give you the confidence to start, manage, and grow your online business. They'll talk about how internet marketing works. Things about email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), website construction with easy to use content management systems (CMS). Decision making about how to choose the right person to work for you. The criterias you need to be considered to select the true technical experts to work with you. The Strategies to develop your internet marketing network. The things that you can sell your product effectively online together with customer relationship management (CRM).

Internet Marketing Hands-On skills workshop On top of those consultation services, some of them serve their seminar participant a real website with content management system for trials. People joining the workshop session can have a try on the true operation of an e-commerce portal. Online helps are available to their members about the use of the SEO/SEM ready systems.

Cross promotions are not a new idea. They have been used by businesses for a very long time. For example, a real-estate company may promote a certain lawyer to close a sale, as the lawyer will promote that agency in his firm. The system is somewhat similar to the primitive barter system, where people traded items rather than using money. How can anything primitive fit into the online world of Internet marketing?

Very easily. Cross promotions are, simply stated, a trade of advertising space. Instead of paying for advertising space on a site, you would place their ad on your page and yours on theirs. There are many ways to use cross promotions in your internet business that can be an effective and cost efficient way to advertise.

One way is to use link exchanges. This is very effective when doing cross promotions with a company that is similar to yours, however you should be sure and never link to a page that is in direct competition with yours. One of the best things about link exchanges is that some search engines are factoring in hits from the sites that are linked to your page to when determining the ranking. Therefore linking to a more popular site, can not only increase your advertising, and traffic, but also increase your search engine ranking.

When customers or potential customers subscribe to your ezine you can use this as an opportunity to use cross promotions. On the same page that the customer
subscribes to your ezine, make available the opportunity to subscribe to another company's ezine. You can even exchange ad space in ezines, and provide recommendations for those whom you cross promote with. You might even want to exchange column space in one another's ezines.

Writing free articles that inform customers or potential customers with information that is useful and accurate can create a reputation for you and your business. Soon readers will come to know you as an expert on the subject. In these articles the author uses a byline to help promote his site. Bylines can be a way to use cross promotions as well. You can use part of the space in your byline to recommend another's product.

If you have been considering writing an ebook, a joint venture could mean increased profits for you and the person you are partnering with. Cross promotions through ebooks are an excellent way to allow for a wider topic and to promote both your business and your partner's business. The ebook should contain information that will benefit both businesses and still be helpful to the reader.

A good example of using cross promotions through an ebook is to a site selling used video games partnering with a site selling gaming devices. These are two subjects that would interest the same reader and most likely lead the reader to both sites.

You should keep in mind that the recommendations that you make are a direct reflection of you, so choose your cross promotional businesses carefully. Also keep in mind that it would be nice as a shopper to be able to link from one site to another as a way to "shop around." Since this is usually not beneficial to you, never link or recommend a site that is in direct competition with you. Instead, recommend those who are similar, such as health and life insurance.

The chief goal of any company is to get people to trust them. When I go into a store and buy something I’m trusting that they’re the best person for me to buy from. For some businesses this is easier to come by, because the kind of trust you need is different.

Retails stores usually require a low enough price or good enough service to get people placing their trust in them. If you advertise the lowest price around, that’s all people really need to see, and they’ll be willing to shop with you.

But for the service industry trust can become a very important aspect of selling yourself to people, and a lot of money is spent each year on commercial printing that has the sole focus of developing trust.

The nature of that commercial printing changes as well. Getting a postcard in the mail from a department store telling you about an upcoming sale is a great way for them to let people know they can get a good deal. A lawyer or doctor isn’t likely to have the same kind of success with the postcard format.

Instead you need to let people know what your experiences are and what services you can provide them. This is why brochures are often more commonly used with service industry jobs.

And testimonials are what go best with the brochure format. This is the end all best way to start developing trust in people. Showing them someone else who used your services and came away happy will be so much more effective than just hearing it from you, because let’s face it, you’re biased.

I know when I meet someone who suggests a good place to eat or a good plumber to use I’m likely to follow their advice. Even if I don’t know the person very well, just hearing that they’re satisfied is enough to alleviate many of my potential doubts. I now know that someone used them and liked the job they did, something a normal advertisement wouldn’t tell me.

Your job then becomes finding those customers and getting them to allow you to use their testimonial. A brochure filled with different testimonials will have a very noticeable impact. You can provide people with exactly what they’re looking for: proof that you know how to do your job and you’ll do the best job possible.

I’m sure the way you approach companies is exactly the same. Isn’t it just nice to have someone tell you that this particular person does a great job? This is what you’re providing to your future customers.

No promotional brochure should be without a testimonial. You’ll gain a degree of credibility it’s hard to get otherwise. Let your loyal customers speak up, and reap the benefits of your good service.