search engine optimization for newbies

How your blog can make money

2009-08-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

There's a strong possibility you have mixed thoughts about using your blog to make money, if you think it may be immoral, unethical or even uncool or anything like that then the answer is simply don't commercialise it.

But if monetizing your blog doesn't offend your sensibilities then go for it or if you think otherwise and you consider it evil, that's fine too.

But you have to be absolutely clear in your mind that you want to do it before you even begin because trying to make money from your blog is challenging and difficult as it is without having to deal with some form of self-sabotage holding you back.

You ought to feel great about generating income this way, there really is nothing wrong with having an urge to succeed.

If you feel that your blog has genuine value to it then you fully deserve to make some money from it.

You can't be timid about the whole thing though, if you want to put in some ads, then really put those ads in there it's the same with requesting donations, you can't be too obvious with these things.

There are always some who will complain when you commercialise a free site, they always do.

But is it possible to make a proper living online? Undoubtedly, although if you have a day job it could take a little longer but the opportunity exists.

How to get your site noticed

2009-05-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

It does not matter what your website is for, be it business or pleasure, a definite must have is traffic.

With the Internet being as big as it is, you will be just a small fish in a gigantic sea.

Ways to increase your existence online.

Before you can set about increasing the traffic to your site, you will need to plan your marketing campaign.

Learn about your potential visitors

There are certain programs that can generate you masses amount of traffic. Wonderful you may think, but they are no good to you unless they are targeted visitors.

If for instance, you had a antiques website, what are the chances someone who found your site through a teenage social site link are going to buy your products? Not very high.

You get my point? You need to target your potential customers and make sure they know your there.

SEO - search engine optimization

Seo can be a bit tricky, especially if you are new to Internet marketing.

Seo consists of a series of on site and off site optimization. Do not let anyone tell you its easy, it is not. It takes time, lots of it.

For all those who want to start learning seo here is a simple seo guide. For those who would rather leave it to an seo expert, it will leave your time free to do what you do best.

Pay per click - PPC

Pay per click is advertising your site and paying for each click (visitor) this can be very expensive if not done correctly. Make sure you research or seek advice.

Get traffic from social networking

You can use blogs, message boards and forums to get more traffic. Links on social pages are valuable.

Whatever methods you use, the most important task you should be doing is research. Without a campaign and proper research you will not see an improvement.

I hope you have found the above useful.

10 seo mistakes that will damage your search engine ranking

2009-04-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

When your website has high search engine ranking, you will see many benefits. Although seo can be a little hard to get the hang of, there are simple seo mistakes you should avoid.

1. Chasing the wrong keywords

Keyword research is the starting point for your seo campaign. Get this wrong and it is over before you have begun. Make sure the keywords you target are used by searchers and are relevant to your niche.

2. Missing title tags

A common mistake is to forget to use individual title tags for each page of your website. Titles tell searches and Google what your page is about.

3. Over the top flash

Flash cannot be read by googles bots. If you are going to use flash, it is essential that you also use the html mark-up for it.

4. Link farms

A mistake even those claiming to be the best are making. SEO changes all the time, link farms are not liked by google. You need to spend your time getting one way links from high pr websites.

5. Overdoing the keywords

Your content must make sense. If you try and over do the keywords you will get penalized by Google quickly. What you write must flow.

6. Keyword density too high. Keep it below 5%

7. Duplicate content. Google loves fresh, unique content. Google bots are very clever at spotting content that is used elsewhere.

8. Inadequate navigation

Your website must have clean navigation and no broken links. It is essential that both visitors and search engine bots can access all your pages.

9. Using images for headers

Headers are what Google bots read first. Make sure you include your important keywords in your headers not just images.

10. Using unreliable hosting. Cheap may be good for your bank but having servers going down and pages not loading will lose you visitors and stop Google being able to properly access your site and give it high search engine ranking.

Seo v Adwords

2009-04-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

In my last post we looked at search engine optimization or seo for short.

Which is best for your Internet marketing campaign? Seo or AdWords?

The answer is simply.......... BOTH.

What is AdWords?

It is a pay per click advertising program.

1. Open a free AdWords account.

2. Enter your settings such as your daily budget.

3. Build your keywords list

4. Create your adverts and your ready to go.

Why use seo and AdWords

Search engine optimization will bring you free organic traffic.

Google AdWords will generate fast targeted traffic for your website.

By using both seo and AdWords you get the best of both worlds.

Doesn't google AdWords cost allot of money?

To the majority of beginners, AdWords is an expensive learning curve. However, if you use it correctly, the ROI is significant.

I wont go into AdWords too much in this post. But one thing i will say is that seo can lower the price you pay for AdWords!

If you are a beginner to the Internet marketing world and did not know which to use, AdWords or seo? Then take my advice...do both.

In my next post, i will dedicate it to all those beginners baffled by google AdWords.

What is seo

2009-04-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

search engine optimization (seo) is basically making your website search engine friendly.

If you have an online business then you will benefit greatly from having a seo friendly website.

Even if you already have a good system that brings in traffic, organic search engine traffic is a bonus.

If your website ranks high for certain keywords then you will get FREE quality targeted traffic.

How to search engine optimize your website

1. Choose your keywords

You need to do a bit of research here and decide the keywords you want to get high ranking with. Remember to include some long tail keywords too.

2. Your URL

There is debate as to whether this matters with seo. It does and it doesn't. It is not vital but in my opinion it is better to include keywords in your URL if you are not going for a branding approach.

3. Content

You may of heard some say that "content is king". Although it is important, it is not the only thing search engines look at when deciding your rank.

The content that is on your website has to appeal to both your viewers and search engines.

Include your keywords, ensuring your sentences make sense. Keyword density should be below 5% to avoid being seen as spam.

4. Links

The best links are the ones that are one way and keyword anchored.

If you can get an anchored one way link to your website from a high pr website, .......BRILLIANT.

They are the main seo tasks you need to implement on your website.

Contact me If you would like a free seo report performed on your website.

10 simple seo tips for beginners

2009-04-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

1. Keyword Research

Choosing the right keywords is the first and most important seo tip to get high search engine ranking.

Research is very important, target the wrong keywords and your off to a non starter. Make sure people are using the keywords to search in the first place.

2. Your competitors

You have to beat your competitors to the top spots. Type in your keywords in the search bar and analyze the top 10. See what they are doing.

3. Web pages title

Two tips here for you. Make sure the page title is different on every page. Google will penalize you for duplicate title tags.

The second tip is to make sure your main keyword is included in the title. Don't keyword spam, the title has to flow and make sense.

4. Meta tags

You should only use keyword meta tags if you fully understand them. If you get it wrong you could harm your ranking.

5. Use h2 and h1 headers

The keywords that are included in the headers, tell googles bots that they are important.

6. Content must always be fresh. Duplicate content is a big no no.

7. One way links are a big seo boost. Try and get a link from a high pr website. Remember to have your keyword included in the link.

8. Having a site map will help to get more of your pages indexed.

9. Make sure your title and alt tags have a description.

10. Update your website often. Google loves fresh content, don't let your website become stale.

Seo is very rewarding for your website but it can also be difficult. I have written lots of articles on seo for beginners. Always start with the simple things and take it from there.

What is search engine optimization?

2009-04-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is for all you newbies who have heard the phrase seo and wondering what on earth it is all about.

Seo is the short term used for search engine optimization.

This is a process that is used to make a site optimized for search engines like google.

Why do you need to use seo?

One thing any site needs, regardless of it's purpose, is traffic. You need people to visit your website.

There are many ways you can get traffic and they are all equally effective but the best things in life are free and if you learn seo and implement it, your traffic will be free.

Organic ranking is when you naturally rank high on search engines for your keywords.

This is a biggy you want to be concentrating on.

It is a fact that the majority of searches who use google, only click on listings that appear above the fold. With this in mind your goal should be to appear in the top 3 search results.

Where should a beginner start?

In this blog i am going to write articles just for beginners, i wont baffle you with big terms and i will take it slow.

At first glance, seo may seem like rocket science, but it is not. It just takes some hard work and dedication.

One thing i will start by saying is to stick with it.

What you need to begin

Website to have a fiddle with

Patience

Bags of coffee lol

Right, that's the basic run down on what seo is. Shall we get you onto the next bit on how to get high search engine ranking.