Search Engine Submission Tips: T2Designs.com

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How do you optimize your web site to get the best search results? What search engine submission strategies should you follow? While there are many options for driving traffic to your site, here are four essential steps for making your site search-strong!

Step 1: Create a site that encourages returns.

Sure, there are plenty of gimmicks and tricks for getting even lousy sites listed high in a search result, but they are short-term (and short-sighted) solutions. If your site doesn't offer a good reason for people to stay and return, then your great search engine positioning will be a flash in the pan. Besides, most of the reputable search engines are getting picky about the way sites get listed and sneaky methods that once could shoot your site to the top of the list are now likely to shoot you in the foot.

The long-term solution is to have a site that encourages people to come back... to refer your site to others... to link to it from their own sites. In time, this will be a huge pay-off and search engines reward that kind of popularity.

Step 2: Optimize your site.

Everyone and their pet monkey is offering search engine optimizing services these days. For some, that simply means sticking in meta-tags that include the most popular key words. They're wrong. There's so much more to it. Besides, there is usually a tremendous amount of competition among sites using the most popular key words, so you're much more likely to get lost in the shuffle.

Do these things:

Find out what appropriate key phrases (as opposed to key words) are used in searches but not built into as many sites. An online tool like WordTracker (www.wordtracker.com) can help you figure this out. Pay for the service; it's worth it.
Make all the searchable pages on your site "search friendly" (making sure they have a title and short description), but only truly optimize those pages that best present a unique idea, product or service you're offering. Optimize each of these pages differently, focusing on the 1 strongest aspect of that page and building your search strategy around it.
Make sure your page title, description, keywords (phrases), headings, text content, and image alt tags ALL work together to support the focus of that page's optimization. Your top 1-3 key phrases should be repeated using all these elements.
If they're not already part of your site's design, consider creating new pages that focus in on 1 particular service or product or event that you want to promote. That page can be optimized for a much narrower search focus and get better results!
Generally, what you want to focus on is creating a web site that users want to use. Search engines try to present quality results, so work to create a quality site!

Step 3: Build up the number of links to your site.

Get your site listed on other sites or directories. Links on quality sites that point back to your site will boost your position on the search engines. How do you do this?

Offer to trade links with another site (as long as it doesn't compete with yours). As you make work to establish reciprocal links, follow these guidelines:

Avoid the "link factories." Services that promise to get you hundered or thousands of links are probably worthless. In fact, too many links from long link lists on other sites may actually hurt you.
Links from popular, well established sites carry more weight, but actively pursue links from any web site that you recognize as good and useful.
Text links are usually better than image links.
Links that are within the context of information that relates to your site may carry more weight. For example, a link to your site within an article that talks about the kinds of services or products you offer is likely better than a link that appears in a reference listing along with many other links.
If possible, request that the text used to link to your page be the keyword or keyphrase emphasized on that page. For example, if your home page has been optimized for the keyword "shiny buttons" then it would be better if the link to your site appeared as shiny buttons rather than www.lotsofbuttons.com.

Step 4: Pay to bring more visitors to your site.

If you do it right, pay-per-click services can generate a much higher volume of legitimate traffic to your site. Notice... I said legitimate traffic -- qualified leads. If you're not careful, you can spend money for traffic that just honks as it passes you by, never converting into the kind of sales or contacts that you need.

Pay-per-click basically works this way: You bid on certain key words or key phrases. The higher your bid (and, in some cases, the better job you've done at writing copy for your listing), the higher your position will be in the results of searches for that particular word or phrase. (The particular search engines that are involved in the program vary from service to service.) The cool thing is -- you only pay if someone actually clicks through to your site! Depending on the popularity of the keyword, each click may cost as little as a few cents to a few dollars.

It may take a little time to learn how to do it right, but it can be worth the effort. I would recommend these three pay-per-click services:

Google's AdWords (adwords.google.com)
The most popular search engine makes it possible for your "ads" to show up in search results. Bidding can be high on popular keywords.
Yahoo Search Marketing (searchmarketing.yahoo.com/)
Formerly known as Overture, it is the oldest service and very well done. Bidding can get quite high on popular keywords.
MIVA (www.miva.com)
Good for starting out. Less expensive, but less traffic, too.

Remember, it's a process that takes time. Even if you follow all these steps, you may not see any significant change in your positioning for weeks or months. But be patient and keep tweaking.. you'll be happy with the results. Tim Tedder

T2Designs | www.t2designs.com | 765-233-4890