Why Need Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (Search engine Positioning) is something that no company that keeps an online presence can afford to ignore. The internet is difficult, if not entirely impossible to navigate without the use of a search engine like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. and when you think about all the traffic that filters through Google on a daily basis, its obvious that search engine optimization can serve as an enormous benefit to business that draw some or all of their customers through their web pages.

Through search engine optimization, you will take advantage of the people who are coming through search engines like Google. The goal of search engine optimization is to ensure that the link to your site is as close to the top of the list of natural search results as possible when words relating to their business are searched. Because more than fifty percent of all purchases online are preceded by the use of a search engine and because people seldom tend to look below the first two or three pages of results of their search, it can be seen that search engine optimization is an important part of getting the web traffic that you need.

It is true that algorithm changes of search engines sometimes results of a website loses it’s position in the search engine ranking, but it can be corrected usually with tweaking of the web site. Just as you service your cars or other equipments, from time to time your web pages have to be serviced and tweaked. If your site is building on sound principles and offers useful content, then it should be able to weather the changes in search engine algorithms.

If your website is an important part of your business plan, then you should take a look at your visitors statistics of your website, take a look at your competitor and do whatever you can to improve your website so that it achieves higher rankings in search engine queries for your most important keywords and keyword phrases. If this is going to cost you some money to do, then do not worry about it, you will get that money back from the new customers who will find you when your site become more visible in the search engines Through your important keywords and key phrases.

Search Engine Marketing and Blogging Techniques

Search engines are the web’s most used means of driving traffic to websites, and knowledge of search engine marketing is essential to anybody wanting to succeed online. However knowledge of blogging techniques is also instrumental in gaining you a high position in the search engine listings fore your chosen keyword.

Sure, you can promote your site in many ways and there are more ways than a top listing on a search engine to drive traffic to your website, but there is nothing to beat a top ten listing on Google or one of the other major search engines such as Ask, Yahoo or MSN to provide you with consistent sustained traffic day after day after day.

It is not difficult to get listed in a search engine, but it not so easy to be listed in that all-important top 20 position. The top 10 is the ideal, but if you are listed on one of the first two pages of a major search engine, then the traffic will come to you. That is guaranteed. Naturally, the higher you are listed the better, and you will do an awful lot better on the first page than on the second, but if the best you can do is page three then you are going to need a lot more than search engines to help you attract business.

So what are the main essentials of search engine marketing? You have two objectives, the first being to get listed and the second to reach the top 20. It is easy, as I stated earlier, to get listed on a search engine. Many design their site, submit it to Google and then wait for the Google Dance, when Google carries out its World Wide Web search for websites.

Forget that: do not submit your site to Google or any of the other search engines because that can delay your listing. Instead do one of two things. The best is to write a few articles on the topic of your website and submit them to the top article directories. If you can’t write, or if English is not your main language, then use an article ghostwriter. There are plenty people online offering article services at good rates.

Google and the rest frequently visit the higher ranked article directories and will pick up on the link to your website in your ‘author’s resource’, or bio. When they find your site, you get listed, and that can happen in less than 24 hours. That is the main way, but the other is blogs. Add a blog to your site, and it will soon be listed. Google, especially, likes blogs, particularly if it is a Blogger blog, since Blogger is owned by Google. You are virtually guaranteed a listing. If you are not too keen on Blogger, you can switch once your site has been listed. Wordpress is arguably the most versatile blogging software available at the moment, especially if you are running it from your own web space.

Once you are listed, you can improve your position by optimizing each website page for the topic of that page. Don’t forget that search engines list each page separately, and so each page should be optimized separately. However, you should initially focus on your index page, since it is that page which almost invariable gets listed highest. Once your site does have a reasonable high listing, it is possible that another page could get listed higher than your index page, although this is not generally the case.

You can then post a blog on the topic of the page, and add new postings on a regular basis. You should also include a link to your blog from your web pages and a link on your blog sidebar to your website. This will enhance the probability of your home web page being listed, as it also will your blog, since your blog can also be listed on Google and other search engines.

There are some simple things that you can do to make your index page more attractive to the search engines. Bear in mind that your listing is for one search term only, as used by someone seeking information related to the topic of your page. You can receive another listing for another search term (or keyword) on a different index. So, what you must do is to determine the best keyword for which to optimize your index page.

Once you have decided that, include it in the title of your page and place the title in ‘title’ tags. Try to make the title a bit longer than your keyword, so if your keyword is, say, ‘lock design’, make the title ‘The History of Lock Design’, for example. The main heading for the page need not be the same, but should also contain your keyword. A good heading, for example, would be ‘Lock Design from the 18th Century’. Place that in H1 tags to tell the search engine algorithm that the heading contains important text relating to your web page.

In order to accentuate the fact the ‘lock design’ is an important term in your web page, use it in the first 100 characters and again in the last paragraph of the page. You can also use it once for every 300 words if you want, but don’t overuse it. Use plenty of words that relate to the term, in order that the algorithm used to determine the relevance of your page can decide what the actual subject is. Hence, in the example used, it is still not clear if the locks referred to are canal locks or security locks. You should make that clear in the syntax of the page.

For example, your title could be changed to ‘Canal Lock Design from the 18th Century’, and you could make lots of reference to canals, barges, longboats, plan, construction, locks and design. These words will make it clear to the statistical mathematical formula that makes up the LSI (latent semantic indexing) algorithm that determines the meaning of the words used on your page, and determines that the page is about canal locks and not locks and keys.

There are many other ways in which you can optimize your web page to make it more relevant to the search term, and the more relevant the search engine deems it, then the higher the listing in the index for that specific keyword. Blogging can enhance the effect of your SEO, and not only improve your listing position, but also be listed itself, thus providing even more traffic to your website.

Search engine marketing involves a good knowledge of search engines and how they work, but if you get it right then the rewards can be very high in terms of traffic highly targeted to your product. The problem is, unless you know how, or have the right advice from people who know what they are talking about rather than trying to sell you a service, then it takes a long time to learn.

Google AdWords and Google Analytics

Google provides a quick, effective and hassle-free way for merchants to advertise their products and services in the Internet through Google AdSense, a cost-per click and cost-per impression advertising service, where ads are displayed along search and content sites and search results done in the Google network. Merchants will be charged when online users click on the ads that are shown. Keywords are chosen in which the ads will appear, and the merchants will specify on how much they are willing to shell out for each click.

There are various benefits that advertisers can get from utilizing Google AdWords. Unlike other online advertising channels, AdWords enables the advertiser to do away with deadlines and contracts. Google’s kind of advertising does not ask prepayment and packages. It is by this method that merchants can manage their advertising campaigns with their preferred performance metrics.

The service gives maximum exposure for advertisers due to the sheer number of visitors acquired by the various sites included in the Google network. Advertisements are displayed along search and content sites and products in audience comprising about 80% Internet users in the U.S. Ads appear beside search results or occupying a space in a results page a user navigates through to get to a site directory.

Google’s own electronic mail service, Gmail, also features the ads.

To make the service more advantageous for advertisers, AdWords has integrated with Google Analytics. Google Analytics informs advertisers information such as the channels to which online visitors located their ads and the manner they react and interact with the site. The service enables merchants gain more visitors to their pages. Google Analytics also monitors the activities of merchants that are not related to AdWords, without any charge at all. With Analytics, one can create marketing campaigns that are target-centered and ROI-driven.

The initial announcement that Google is offering this service alongside AdWords has caused a considerable buzz among users. Advertisers have been on their toes deciding whether or not to avail of the new product. A lot of users have started to investigate what sets Google Analytics apart from other analytics companies such as WebTrends and Coremetrics. The tool got so in demand that Google has to temporarily stop interested parties from registering. By the time they decided to do so, over 200,000 accounts have been created.

The service is free for those sites that attract 5 million or less page views. For those sites that garner more views, it is necessary to register for a Google AdWords account. Registration is fast, it takes about only seven minutes to do so (less if the advertiser already has a Gmail email account.) The Help option is functional enough, and the system is available in multiple languages. Plus, Google placed importance in protecting the corporate data of each account, knowing that data regarding web analytics is extremely delicate.

Google Analytics became so popular in its initial launch due to several reasons: First, the fact that Google, a cyberspace giant, is offering it for free. Costs only occurs when the page starts to attract more than 5 million page views. The service is highly functional and has good features, which are more advanced than other analytics tools. Operations like Javascript and Flash events, PDF downloads can be tracked. Though there are doubts that Google will gain advantage from their offer to monitor outside ventures of the merchants, the company stresses otherwise.

Admittedly, some problems came up for Google due to the immense popularity of the service. It took almost a whole day or more for some data to load into the interface of Google Analytics, in fact some data takes more. There are also some difficulties with support infrastructure.

For those who are considering availing of the service, there are some possible concerns that need to be considered, that stems from it being a live or tag-based reporting software. The main issue with tools such as Google Analytics is that downloaded data like audio and video files and PDF may not thoroughly monitored.

Google Analytics is one channel for Google to take care of their advertisers and any other marketer who wishes to make good quality material on the web. The service is capable of delivering high-end web analytics to advertisers, and its integration with AdWords provides time-saving benefits.

Google Adwords Keyword Tool Tricks

The Internet has brought on a lot of innovative ways to advertise a product or service. Since a lot of businesses nowadays have made the Internet as one of their major marketing channels, (if not the most important, they are always on the search for more effective ways to advertise their merchandise.

Google AdWords is a fast and hassle-free way to purchase highly favorable cost-per-click or cost-per-cost per impression kind of advertising, and it caters to all kinds of budgets. Advertisements sponsored by AdWords are shown prominently with search engine results on Google, and also on sites included in the diverse Google network, such as Blogger and Earthlink. Ads that are tied up with Google can reach a wide range of audience because of the huge amount of searches done on the Google network.

When one produces an AdWords advertisement, keywords will be chosen in which the ads will be shown, and a maximum amount for clicking the link will be assigned. One also has to specify the Google network sites in which the ad will appear. The operation saves businesses a lot of money since a merchant only pays when the ads are viewed, whether it gets clicked or not. Maximum payment is dispensed per thousand views. The ads made will appear immediately after the merchant submits the billing information required. The online account control center enables one to monitor the performance of the ads.

The ads are strategically placed in order to maximize exposure to online users. They can be located alongside or at the top of search results, or in a page that appears when a user navigates to find a site directory. Ads are also displayed on Gmail, Google’s own electronic mail service.

Advertisements that are keyword-targeted are ranked by determining the number of times they were clicked, and also by the quality score. The quality score, on the other hand, is known by its clickthrough rate and other relevant factors, such as the importance of the text of the ad and historical keyword performance. High-ranking ads will be placed at the top of other ads on the search results of Google.

The system determines the placement of the ads by studying the queries of searchers to know exactly what region they are searching for. The Internet Protocol address may also be used as a basis to know where the searcher is from. If AdWords fail to come up with the right targeting for the advertisements, national or global advertisements will be displayed in its place.

There aren’t much technical requirements for utilizing AdWords. It is advised to have the latest browser installed that is enabled with Javascript. For Microsoft Internet Explorer, at least the version 5.0 is recommended, and at least the version 6.0 for Netscape users. Editing of browser preferences may be necessary for those using an updated browser to enable Javascript and cookies.

It is possible to for AdWords ads to run on the individual web sites of merchants. There are two ways:

1. Google AdSense for Search
Websites that transacts at least 5 million searches per month can flash AdWords advertisements on their results pages.

2. Google AdSense for Content
Any web publisher can apply online. Premium service eligibility can be attained if a site receives more than 20 million views in a month.

What are the advantages of using Google AdWords? Contracts and deadlines can be a thing of the past by using AdSense. It does not ask packages and prepayment from users. There are no minimum spending and contract requirements.

When a Google AdWords account is created, a one-time activation fee is created, and an initial credit limit is established. The credit limit is increased everytime the account reaches is credit limit before 30 days has expired. Highest credit limit is $500.

Several payment options can be chosen from, the post-payment option and the pre-payment option. For the post-paying, payment is only dispensed for the clicks that the ad actually received.

Businesses will never run out of options on how to advertise their products and services. In fact, the channels have become more and more creative and easier for those interested to market their wares. Merchants should choose the most suitable and cost-free means for advertising.

How to Make Money with Google Adwords

When talking about the Internet as a legitimate place for trade and commerce, one can’t help but speculate the costs a company runs in advertising campaigns in hopes of building a viable online market.

However, Google, Inc., the company behind the runaway success search engines, outdid itself when it launched its two-fold advertising programs, Google Adwords and Google Adsense. In essence, these two advertising programs allows for both advertisers and websites that host advertisements to make money with usage.

What is Google Adwords?

Google Adwords is the advertising program devised by Google on the basis of a Pay-Per-Click system. Under the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) system, an advertiser only pays for his or her ad placement when a searcher comes upon his or her ad and actually clicks on the link, regardless of sale or purchase. This means that the advertisement virtually runs continuously on various websites at the cost only of the number of people who visit their site! This removes the exorbitant fees other commercial websites would put upon an advertiser when he or she wishes to put up an ad there, even if he or she generates no traffic at all from that ad placement.

How does Google Adwords work?

What advertisers do when signing up for Google Adwords is also designing a textual advertisement of the product or service they are offering. They also submit a list of relevant keywords to the service or product they offer. These advertisements will appear on the right-hand side of a Google page.

However, one may have guessed that the huge volume of businesses under various categories may indeed end up with similar keywords in mind for submission in Google Adwords. In determining which company gets which keywords, Google Adwords devised a bidding system for keywords alongside a content relevancy system.

In the bidding system, advertisers bid and compete for advertisers. Auctioning off keywords usually start at around 5 cents, and it is through this system that various advertisers try to outbid their competition. However, owing to the fact that this may seem as though relevance and advertising placements are completely based on an advertiser buying his or her place, Google Adwords also takes into consideration through an automated computer system the relevance of the content of the website to the keywords submitted to the system.

How does Google Adwords look like after all this work?

The Google ad appears usually on the right-hand side of the page that’s signed up to host various Google Adwords advertisements. The company’s advertisement will appear only when the keywords under which it ad was listed was directly searched for by the web searcher. Again, payment for the advertisement placement only happens once the searcher clicks on the ad.

How can one minimize the costs of the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) system while maximizing profits from sales and purchases?

Google Adwords, unfortunately, is not a no-brainer earning system for a company advertising products or services. It requires a little bit more common sense; after all, it is of interest to minimize still the costs of the Pay-Per-Click system. If searchers keep clicking on ads without these clicks turning into tangible purchases, a company would end up paying more to Google than receiving profits from the traffic brought in to the website.

Simply put, minimizing PPC system costs will only happen if the more serious buyers are the ones clicking the advertisements put up on Google Adwords.

The first step into making this scenario happen is by not being in the top portion of the preferred keywords. While indeed, being on the top three of the most preferred links would generate more clicks than placing lower in the ranks, it would also mean inviting the clicks of a variety of searchers,the interested buyers, the curious searchers, the leisurely searchers not really looking for anything in particular, and the searchers completely clueless about what they are looking for and would keep on just clicking on to find out more.

Obviously, without targeting the people clicking on the advertisements, the PPC system costs will add up, without necessarily meaning purchases.

However, by being in the latter portion of the list, there is a greater propensity that the traffic being generated comprises those searchers who are seriously seeking to purchase a product or service. Even being on the second page of the search page may not be a bad thing; after all, these are the search pages found only by those who are seriously out to buy a product, and are those accessed by usually the more informed and intelligent buyers.

Moreover, sales will be greatly maximized by increasing relevance of content in the website and keeping all the links alive. By having more relevant and targeted content, a company avoids having its advertisements being clicked by people who get confused as to what the advertisement really is for. Live links keep assuring relevant traffic flows into the site, and even the continued featuring of the advertisement on other pages.

At the end of the day, Google Adwords is a viable tool in order to increase traffic to one’s e-business if used in the most efficient way possible. By minimizing irrelevant clicks and instead targeting those who are truly looking to purchase a product or service, a company can best assure the profits they collect would be much greater than the costs they have to pay for each click on their Google Ad.

How to Maximize Adsense Earnings Per Click and CTR

You will have 3-4 ads on your page MAX. (NOT ad blocks. ADS). The fewer AdSense ads show on a page, the higher the average earnings per click for you.

If you place more ads on your page, they will show ads that rank lower on AdWords (and are cheaper). You don’t want people to click on ads that pay you $0.05. You want them to click on ads that pay you $0.50! AdWords are generally disproportionately expensive on the top positions. After a while, the bids “normalize” and you won’t get paid as much for showing that “AdSense” on your site.

Also keep in mind that many options confuse people. Give them few links to click on.

Don’t forget to create channels to track your ads. You can set up a new channel by following this path inside your AdSense account:

AdSense set up ==> Channels ==> Add new custom channels

Be descriptive in your channel name so you know what is going on and you don’t get confused. For example, if you have a page on golf clubs and you are testing a 250X250 square on the top left of the screen, use a name like: golfclub250X250left

Also make sure that you don’t use channels you have used in ads in previous different markets. I have found that this can confuse the system some times and your page can show ads for the OLD market you were in. This happens especially if there is not a lot of ad inventory in the new market you are in.

Many webmasters like the big rectangle. Why? Because it works! It gets very good CTR. However, I’m not sure that most people have actually tracked the profitability of their ads. Different markets can respond differently BUT, here are a few things to consider:

The 250X250 square, has almost the exact same look like the big rectangle. One ad below the other. But it shows three ads instead of four. What does that mean? It means that you give your visitors fewer options to choose from (but not too few) and they may decide to click more easily. Not only that but you now eliminated the 4th ad which would be, on average, the lowest paying of the four.

Can we push this even more? We can. We can create a similar block of ads with only two ads this time. Just create two 234X60 half banner ads and put one under the other. You now have a “mini rectangle” with only two ads. In many markets, two ads is the sweet spot not only as far as CTR but also as far as earnings per click go.

What about having only one ad then? This would definitely give you the highest earnings per click. But one ad usually doesn’t give people that much of an option. If it’s not compelling enough, they won’t click it. I would have at least two ads on my page.

Note: if you use the trick with the two half banners one on top of the other, make sure that you use different channels. I found that, if I use the same channel name, the exact same ad can show twice on my page! Use different channel names. It makes sense from a tracking standpoint anyway.

Make sure you disable the “advertise on this site” link that your AdSense ads show by default. This will make your ads look less like, well, ads - and more like helpful resources. Login to your AdSense account and click “My Account”. Scroll down where it says: Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up [edit]. Under that it should say: Subscription: You are not currently subscribed to Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up. If it says you are signed up, click the edit link and uncheck the box on the next page. All “advertise on this site” links on your ads should disappear in a few hours max…

How to Improve AdSense Quality Score

Most people have no idea that this even exists. Yes, there is a quality score for AdSense as well, not just for AdWords. If your site has a low AQS (AdSense Quality Score), then it will be “smartpriced” and you will get paid less for the clicks your site generates.

Since we are in the business of making more money, let’s see some of the things you can do to prevent this from happening…

You need to know that Google has some universal rules that they apply to pretty much everything they do.

If a page has certain qualities, it will rank higher on Google

If a page has certain qualities, it will get a higher quality score in AdWords

If a page has certain qualities, it will display AdSense ads that pay you more.

Here are some of the things you can do to improve your AdSense Quality Score:

- Add quality links to your pages
- Add related keywords to your main term: If you have a page about “seduce women” you may consider including some keywords like “pick up artist”, “dating” etc…
- Use Terms of service and privacy policy links on your page. Yes, this can result in a higher Adsense quality score. Do it.
- Try to make your site more interactive so that visitors will stay on it longer. Google thinks that, if someone spends more time on your site, it must be high quality. Adding comment forms, special reports, videos etc can make your visitors stay more on your aite.
- Tell your visitors to bookmark your site (Google considers this a good sign of high quality as well)