Almost weekly, I get emails from blog or web site owners that go something like this:

I am in the process of developing a more substantial online presence.  I noticed your blog and that it receives a lot of traffic, and am wondering whether you would be interested in a reciprocal link arrangement whereby we link to your blog and website and, in return, you link to our website on your blog.  Our site is at _____.   We will be adding a "Resources" page that will include links and brief descriptions of useful sites for bankruptcy information, and would include a reference to your blog on that page.

Here is how I read this message:   "Hello, you do not know me but I see you have an established blog that has been around for 5 years, appears regularly in the organic search results and has a high Google PageRank.  I have a new website that has a few pages of content and has not yet been indexed by Google, Yahoo or Bing.  I want you to give me a site wide blogroll link from your site to help put my site on the map.  In exchange, I'll put you on a "links" page on my site, when I get around to adding such a page.  I sincerely hope you don't know that "links" pages are ignored by the search engines, meaning that a link from a "links" page is totally worthless."

Not surprisingly, asking for a link from an established site when you have nothing to trade is a waste of your time and it is a waste of your potential link partners' as well.

Similarly, if your site still contains a "links" or "resources" page, you are shouting to the world that you do not know what you are doing and/or that your linking tactics are vintage 1990.   With very few exceptions, "links" pages have no search engine value.  Next time you see one, look at the PageRank indicator on your Google Toolbar (or at PageRankLookup) you can check for yourself.

So what should you do if you have a new site?  Here are a few suggestions that would work for me:

1. if you have another, more established site, offer a link from that site
2. offer to write an article for your target site – but make sure that your article has some relevant, meaty content.  If you really want to impress your target's editor, offer to write a second article that you will include on your site that contains a link back to your target's site
3. if you have friends or colleagues who have established blogs, ask if they will accept a post (written by you or by your target) that contains a link back to the target
4. offer to write an article for the benefit of your target for EzineArticles.com or another major article directory.  Even better, offer to write several articles for multiple article directories
5. offer to bookmark several of your target's blog posts on one or more social bookmarking sites.
6. offer to write reviews for Google local, Kudzu, Avvo if applicable
7. offer to pay for the link back to your new site
8. offer to distribute video content on behalf of your target on TubeMogul
9. offer to record and produce a screen capture video for your target
10. offer to translate (or have translated) one or more pages of your target's site into Spanish or another language
11. offer to write and set up an autoresponder series for your target on AWeber or Constant Contact
12. offer to buy 50 stock photo credits at iStockPhoto or another stock photo site
13. offer to locate 5 or 10 badges for your target's blog – badges are seals that look like awards that may help a blog's credibility
14. offer to record an interview with your target and to provide target publisher with the audio file

Generally, put yourself in the shoes of a busy blogger – what can you do to help your target blog publisher save time?  Any other ideas about what a new site owner can offer an established site owner to justify a valuable link?

These are some of the most effective strategies to get the best results with search engines:

1) Speak Your Audience’s Language – This means use the exact words and phrases that your visitors would type into search engines. Don’t use scientific or unfamiliar jargon when writing about your products or services on your site. Make your phrases simple and use common words to describe your product or service. When people use a search engine, they most commonly describe what they’re trying to achieve, or what problem they are attempting to solve rather than your specific product or service, which may not be popular yet.

2) Make Search Engines Happy – Once you speak your audience’s language, it’s important to appear high on the search engine results page to increase your visitors. Certain information can be used in your site to appeal to the search engine spiders, which will be determining your rank. Search engine spiders like keywords that are relevant, valuable, descriptive, and informative.

Spiders look at your title tag first to figure out what your site is about, and because it also appears in the actual search engine results, it’s important that your title tag appeal to both potential visitors and the search engines. Include your most important keywords in your headlines and use them again in your content to show search engines that your site’s content is all related and relevant.

Organization is also very important to search engines. Trying to trick search engines by including words that are not relevant but may increase your ranks will not work and will only anger the spiders. Make sure all your information and content is clear, relevant, and easy to navigate. In short, the more clearly you indicate what your site is through use of quality keywords, the better your chances are of getting higher rankings.

3) Continue to Update – It’s inevitable that search engine optimization strategies will change and search engine spiders will continue to get smarter and develop new ways to determine rankings. You must constantly keep an eye on your keywords and be flexible to making changes to make sure your site keeps its ranking.

Another good way of staying up to date is by adding a blog to your website. This is easily achieved and can have extraordinary effects on driving traffic to your site.

If you have any further questions about any of the above-mentioned techniques, please contact Rent-My-Brain or leave a comment on the blog.

1) Algorithm

An algorithm is a fancy word for “formula.” In this case, an algorithm is used by search engines to rank your site, by determining how relevant your site is for the people using the search engine. Factors including your web site’s content, keywords, and links pointing towards your site (aka inbound links or backlinks) are all used in the algorithm to calculate your location on the results page of the search. The more relevant the algorithm determines your site to be, the higher your site will be placed on the results page.

2) Page Rank

The value of your site is a calculation made by Google known as Page Rank. To calculate your Page Rank, which is measured on a scale of 0 to 10 with the average being 3 or 4, several factors are used. One of the most important factors in your Page Rank is the amount of one-way links (again, aka inbound links or backlinks) pointing to your site. A high number of links shows that other sites consider your web site to be a quality, relevant resource, and therefore Google should too. You can download the Google Toolbar to see your Page Rank by clicking on the link.

3) Link Popularity

It is not very well known that some types of links can help your search engine placement while others may actually hurt it. For example, a “reciprocal link,” which is when you link to a site and that site links back to you, is frowned upon by search engines. This is because people used to try and cheat the system by adding as many links as possible to improve their ranking. Search engines have become more intelligent, and their algorithms are able to ignore reciprocal links. The best kind of link today is the “one-way link” that I covered above under the Page Rank subheading.

4) Keyword Phrase

You could say “keyword phrases” are the new “keywords.” Because the internet has been around for awhile, most single word “keywords” have been used so much that they lose value. For example, if I wanted to learn how to poach an egg, I would search for the keyword phrase “how to poach an egg” rather than just the keyword “egg.” Searching for “egg” would produce thousands of irrelevant results. By using keyword phrases you can be much more specific about what your pages are about and cater to specific audiences. For more on choosing relevant keywords for your website, please click on the link to see my most recent post.

5) Site Structure

The way your website is organized, such as how the pages are linked together and the way your menu works, is referred to as site structure. Good site structure helps visitors move freely and easily through the pages and effortlessly find relevant and related content. The better your site structure, the higher your search engine ranking.

A few extra comments on Site Structure

Before I build a website, I typically try to outline the site structure. This involves determining what topics will be covered and how, whether there will be subtopics, how my readers will be able to access/view these topics, and what it will all look like upon first glance at my site.

For example, let’s say I want to build a site promoting a rock band. I may want to have a “home" page (or landing page), an “about" page featuring the band’s members, an “upcoming shows” page, a “downloads" page, and perhaps a “contact us” page. These pages may or may not have subheadings, and that is what I try to think about before I actually start working on the site. Then I think about whether the individual pages will link to each other and whether the individual pages will look different than one another. Adding a "blog" page may be another consideration. These are just examples of things to think about when thinking about site structure. After all, getting people to your site using the methods mentioned above is one thing, but getting them to stay is another. You want to make the visiting experience as intuitive as possible if you want great results.

While search engines no longer care as much about keyword meta tags, it is still important to make yours are well-written and relevant – or your site could get penalized. Keyword meta tags are used to quickly and easily identify the relevance of your site. These days, Google's algorithm, which is used to figure out where to rank pages on the search results, is much more complex due to years of dealing with people trying to cheat the system. Google’s algorithm will not respond to outdated tricks such as typing keywords multiple times or using “invisible” keywords (white text on a white background). If you attempt these tricks, your site will not only be frowned upon, but may get banned from Google altogether.

Another big mistake is including keywords that are irrelevant to your site to attract more traffic. By including a hot-topic article on your website that is irrelevant to your subject matter, you will loose your credibility and your audience. Once a visitor to your site realizes your trick; they’ll leave immediately. Why would anyone bother visiting your site if it is filled with incohesive, random content?

Since navigating the internet for quality information is already difficult, it’s important to stand out from the sites that are created for no other reason than to get better rankings. You can do this by providing useful content and keep from making typical mistakes such as trying to trick search engines via the methods mentioned above.

Tips on choosing relevant keywords

So you have determined what your site’s content will be about but now you are at a loss as to what keywords to choose and begin using. A good place to start is Google’s keyword tool. There, you can simply type in the keyword (or search term) that you think the people who you want to visit your site would theoretically be searching for. Then, this useful tool will tell you how many searches people make per month on that particular keyword, what the competition is for that keyword, and will even provide similar keywords which may be more effective and that you hadn’t thought of. For example, say you are trying to make a website all about old outlaw ballads. Well, according to the Google Keyword tool, people rarely search for the keyword “outlaw ballads.” However, it will tell you that the keywords “outlaw songs” and “outlaw music” are far more popular and will show roughly how many others are trying to use those same keywords to market their sites.

For more on how to use the Google keyword tool, I recommend checking out this handy video on how to use articles to build SEO found at IdeaMarketers.com. There is a section of this 20-minute video devoted to the topic of using Google’s keyword tool – I recommend you check it out for more tips on using it and finding the right keywords for your site.

In my consulting practice I regularly work with lawyers, although I see the same issues in many businesses.  Law firms usually contain the name of the partners, i.e. Engulf, Devour, Cheatham & Howe.  A firm like this is likely to choose a URL that reads something like this:  www.edch-law.com.

In my view, a URL like edch-law.com is a poor choice.  Firstly, it is not something that most people will remember and given the many images and impressions foisted upon each of us every day, it is certainly better to choose an easy to remember name.   I have a bankruptcy domain name called "moneylawyer.com" – wouldn't you agree that moneylawyer is much easier to remember and spell than some random series of letters with a dash.

Secondly, I think that it makes sense to include a high traffic keyword phrase in your domain name.   For example, I use the domain name GeorgiaSocialSecurityDisabilityAttorney for one of my Social Security disability law sites and ChildSupportandSocialSecurityDisability for a narrowly focused Social Security disability blog.  It has been my experience that a URL with a keywork in the domain name will more quickly rank higher for that search term than a domain name with random letters.

What should you do if all of the "good" dot com domains are taken?  Here, you have a couple of choices.  You can register a dot net, a dot org or even a dot us.  These top level domains are well enough known that most people will recognize what they are.  Another option is to include dashes or numbers in the domain name, like I did with Atlanta-Bankruptcy-Attorney.com and 4SocialSecurityDisability.net.  Search engine spiders do not "see" dashes or numbers and from a purely search engine perspective, 4divorcelaw.com is the same as divorcelaw.com.

Finally, realize that if someone is searching for you using your name or firm's name in the search query, your site will most likely come up first anyway, especially if you feature your name prominently on the site or if you have a robust "about us" page.

The bottom line: a well researched and selected domain name can help you get to the top of the search engines for a desired keyword phrase faster than a random series of letters.

Frequently, the email solicitation will state that your link has already been posted on the other web site, with a link that looks something like www.abcwebsite.com/links_2.html.  If you should happen to visit that page, your link will be there along with a few dozen other links that may or may not be in your business category.

My advice is to ignore these requests for link exchanges.

Years ago, the major search engines gave some credit to links on "link directory" pages on a web site.  Back in 2000 or 2001, a "reciprocal link exchange" might have some value to both parties.  Unfortunately, those days are over.  Search engines generally do not give any authority credit to a link that exists in a link directory – at least that has been my experience.

Link directories that exist solely to pass "page rank" or site authority defeat the purpose of a good search result – to indentify authority sites that provide topical and relevant information.  This bias against link bartering is why some search engines are punishing links sold by link brokers.  Take a look at an article by bodybuilder Mark McManus entitled "Google Slashes MuscleHack's PageRank."   Mark earned $18.95 by selling space on his blog to a text link ad company, only to see his ranking in Google plummet.   Mark happens to have a legitimate blog that contains fresh, original content that is frequently updated, yet he got slapped.  Take heed.

If you are going to "exchange" links with another web site, ask the other site's editor if he/she add an article that you have written to his/her web site.  The article you write should be topical and relevant and it should contain a relevant link text phrase back to one or more pages on your site.  You would never want to use "link here" as your link text.

At this point it does appear that the major search engines are still giving authority credit to "blogroll links" on blogs.  In theory blogroll links don't differ much from link directory pages on web sites, but obviously Google and Yahoo must see some reason to still consider blogroll links.  Don't be surprised if this linking tactics disappears at some point.

I'll post about some of the link building tactics that I use in a future post.  For now, however, don't waste your time or your site's credibility exchanging links with link builders who are using 10 year old tactics and putting links on link directory pages.

This past week alone, I discussed SEO with two friends – one is a lawyer who lives in my neighborhood and the other is the promoter of a non-profit charitable organization.  Both could benefit from improved search engine positioning and both asked me early in the conversation "what is this going to cost me?"

Asking an SEO consultant how much his services cost is like asking a travel agent how much a business trip will cost.  The travel agent will respond "where do you want to go and what is the purpose and length of your trip?" which is exactly what I would ask.   Generally search engine optimization involves modifying or creating web site pages so that they will appear in the top five to ten search results for one or more desired search phrases.  Search engine optimization is not a "thing" – instead it is a process that includes among other things:

• site topic market evaluation
• search phrase (key word) research
• site structure outline creation
• content creation and planned release of new content
• existing content modification
• on-page optimization (adding title tags, header tags, page description tags, etc.)
• Yahoo search monkey codes (new technology)
• quality link building
• site conversion analysis
• adding analytic software and setting up conversion funnels and tracking reports
• sitemap creation and submission
• content rewriting services for article marketing and press release marketing
• blog development
• creation of audio and/or video segments for web site

A web site in a minimally competitive niche may only require a few of these techniques and a minimal investment of time.  A more competitive niche may require many months to fully implement the SEO strategy.

The cost will also be a function of who generates new content.  If you can provide the content and/or the underlying research material, your cost will be less than if I have to write or outsource the content creation.

Generally the optimization process will take a minimum of three to six months to produce noticeable effects, although this could be longer in more competitive niches or for more competitive search phrases.   Once the initial optimization is done, most clients will benefit from a maintenance program that keeps your web site in the top 10 or higher for specific search phrases, and that expands your exposure for additional search phrases.

Examples of SEO projects in which I have been involved:

• local law firm looking to increase search engine visibility in one small geographic market for less than 10 search phrases – I have worked with this lawyer for close to 18 months, added video to his site, created a blog and provided new content for the blog ongoing – the initial cost was $1,500, the video components were $750 and the blog maintenance works out to $50 per month
• local medical practice with three web sites looking to increase patient numbers – I have generated multiple pages of new content and worked to incorporate existing video into the various web sites.  This project started 6 months ago and the cost to this client so far has been $2,500.
• national home remodeling contractor looking to expand into a new (large) city.  I was retained to set up a pay per click campaign and to create topics for new content – my fee for this project totaled $750
• regional law firm with multiple offices retained me to create new web sites for their new markets and blogs for their new markets.  My job also involves writing the content, rewriting the content on existing sites, adding analytics, and many of the other elements identified above.  I personally visited this client's new office in another city and recorded multiple video clips.  This client now has #1 position on the major search engines in five large cities and we are generating dozens of potential clients weekly.  This client pays me a signficant monthly retainer for on-going services
• local jewelry store with two web sites looking to improve search engine positioning for less than 10 search phrases – I took over the SEO from another vendor who was using "black hat" techniques.  The annual cost to this client will be around $2,000.

The starting point for any SEO project is for you to take a few minutes and brainstorm about what you want your site to do for your business, and what you expect from your site as a marketing tool – in three months, in six months, in a year, in 2 years.

When I practiced law on a daily basis, I learned early on that you can't possibly convince a judge or jury about the merits of your case if you don't have a working theory of your case and a defined goal for that case.  You need similiar goals for your web site.  I can certainly help you firm up your vision of where you want to go, while my main task is to identify the techniques that will help you fulfil your strategy in the least amount of time with the lowest possible cost.

In my view, the Internet functions as a research tool.  This is especially true if you are offering professional services.  People go to Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. to learn about a particular topic, not necessarily to choose a vendor or to buy that service right now.

Contrast this to the visitor dynamic in the yellow pages.  Yellow page browsers are not researchers.  They know that they will not find extensive information about a topic.  Yellow page buyers tend to be visual people who will respond to large, dramatic ads.  This is why in the lawyer market, yellow page ads work well for practice areas like personal injury, DUI, uncontested divorce and bankruptcy.  A significant percentage of buyers for these services are looking for any reason to make a buying decision – price, location, immediacy, social proof.

Internet browsers generally look for more detail.  I have had a great deal of success with my bankruptcy sites because I offer extensive information.  The people that respond to my bankruptcy web sites tend to be better educated, have more complex situations, and are less price conscious.   I have had much less success with personal injury web sites because most people involved in soft tissue auto accidents are looking for quick settlements and they do not perceive that there is much difference between Lawyer A and Lawyer B.

Therefore, before I will agree to work with a lawyer, I have a long discussion with him/her about his market – are his clients people who are looking to research?  If so, I will give those clients more information than any other competitor in the market, and my client will dominate this "researcher" part of his market.  I use blogs, podcasts, web sites, wikis, forums – whatever makes sense for the particular market.

Fortunately, the search engines also like extensive, relevant content.  So, in the ideal scenario, I can map out a multi-site approach that will please both the search engines and the client/researcher and, as a result, keep my client extremely busy with new business.

For those not familiar with the concept, a wiki is a web site that may be edited by anyone.  The most well known wiki on the Internet is Wikipedia, but there are numerous other wikis using the same type of technology.

Because Wikipedia is so big and pervasive, it is very hard to edit.  In addition, Wikipedia editors frown on any text that appears self-serving in any way.  Wikipedia bills itself as the world's largest encylopedia and its focus remains on providing extensive information.

AboutUs.org encourages web site owners to describe and promote their web sites.  While it is too early to tell whether AboutUs will have any marketing value, it is a good place to learn how to use a wiki and it may very well provide a good promotional outlet for your web site.

[tags] Wikipedia, AboutUs, wiki, web site promotion [/tags]

For those not familiar with the concept, a wiki is a web site that may be edited by anyone.  The most well known wiki on the Internet is Wikipedia, but there are numerous other wikis using the same type of technology.

Because Wikipedia is so big and pervasive, it is very hard to edit.  In addition, Wikipedia editors frown on any text that appears self-serving in any way.  Wikipedia bills itself as the world's largest encylopedia and its focus remains on providing extensive information.

AboutUs.org encourages web site owners to describe and promote their web sites.  While it is too early to tell whether AboutUs will have any marketing value, it is a good place to learn how to use a wiki and it may very well provide a good promotional outlet for your web site.

[tags] Wikipedia, AboutUs, wiki, web site promotion [/tags]