Do’s and Don’ts of search engine marketing

Here are some things to avoid if you are to boost your search engine marketing. Let’s start with your text. Your text should be relevant to your page. On frames. In an article about your website being search engine friendly, theydiscouraged the use of frames. Why? Search engines find it difficult to go past them. Your prospects then wouldn’t find you because the one who’s supposed to uncover wasn’t able to do just that. Be an original. Don’t be justa replica of a site that impressed you. Next graphics. Searchers are on the look out for information and a website that will give them just that. Besides being unfriendly to the search engine, it can also slow down speed of your connection.Have you ever been to a site where you were redirected to get the information you need, and Justas you click that be redirected again to yet another page? Didn’t that just tick you off? Minimize your redirecting. It can kill your ranking because the search engine my not see the connection between your pages due to the redsirect code’s blocking of their path.A lengthy URL can also be a culprit. Not only is it difficult to remember, but it also could be applicable to other database. Thus, the searcher may be led to somewhere else (not to mention that site whose url is contained within your url)Once upon a time the search engines purpose was primarily to serve the searcher. They were geared towards capturing as much of the web into their database so that they can provide quick and relevant results. Later on however, there came website owners who found a way around the system of being searched quickly by being "search engine friendly". That became the beginning of search engine optimization and the like. Today, despite this strategy, the old school is still the most reliable source of information. Just like any other shortcuts, search engine optimization alone wouldn’t stand the test of time….in this case, the searchers and the search engine (for getting caught spamming).How important is meta tag? A meta tag is the title of your web page. What it is, how it is written and it’s length will tell the searcher about your web page even before they visit it. So how exactly do you come up with your meta tags?If there were a lot of sites relevant to a particular search, are they the ones that stand out ? are your keywords and phrases connected at all to your site’s content? Or is it substantial to what your site stands for? Is it brief and concise?Last piece of advise. Although links can lead to higher chances of being spidered, they are not that appealing to searchers, in this case…humans. After all, if you get too much of these linking, you can also be penalized by search engines when you are labeled a link spammer. Moderation in everything is still the way to go. Make your site a balance of being search engine and searcher (human) friendly.

How to be spidered…

I remember reading an article about optimizing your web page in generally two ways… 1st through the old school (that is making your site relevant to your keywords etc. in other words keywording) and the other one through paid sites who claim to submit your page to different search engines. Although both ways aren’t hoaxes, there is yet another way of getting your site noticed and up in ranking. This is through linking. If you link your site to the "big" ones, the "spiders" can get to you faster. The logic is, search engines rank higher sites more frequently, therefore, they will find you much faster if you get linked to a traffic dense website. If they find you faster, they’ll come back faster, and rank it at no cost at all!So link some meta tags that are enhanced to your site. When you do this though, make sure that your keywords are a plenty so that your page can be ranked higher for its relevance (like title to its content in a composition). It is always wise to remember that your site like it or not will be identified for its content. The meta tags and keywords that you use will always be referred back to your blog, or website’s actual content. Meaning, how often they appear, and how they’re placed.The next question now is, will these higly ranked sites allow you to be linked to theirs? It depends. Ther are some who will allow you to do that for free, others will let you submit articles, be given a resource box that will then give you website link to theirs. And there are yet others who wouldn’t let you unless you’re exceptional in terms of certain qualifications or have a high ranking page like theirs. But, here is yet another way, if you have free services or products, you can offer free downloads. All you have to do is place a link that’ll direct them to your site for their free download. Just think, don’t you (more often than not) get attracted to free stuff whatever they are? Especially in te net. Not all free stuff are useless. (I use avg free for an anti virus). How do you find these sites? Searchj for "free content directory" in google. The thing with the net and increasing your ranking or traffic is to constantly find ways to do so. There are a lot of them waiting to be found. You just have to be abrest with them by constantly "being there" on the net and looking for answers. You don’t even have to spent a huge amount to do it. It takes creativity (with your keywords), diligence (in looking for these free link to high ranking sites) and patience (with the answers that you get and whatever negative feedback you receive.) So what are you waiting for? Start searching for that keyword and link!

Increase your Google ranking …free!

Every webmaster’s goal is to get into the top rankings, why? Simple. You created the website for whatever product or service for people to notice you. But guess what? It isn’t that easy because "it is such a big world out there". So if you’re low on budget, how exactly do you find out which rank you’re in or if you’re ranked at all. You don’t have to go through searching for your keyword, do a sub search to find that out. Although I had to admit that before I came across this website http://www.googlerankings.com/index.php I did just that. This website of google’s will give you your site’s as you type in your keywords and your url. For quicker results though you may want to limit your search. As the saying goes, "knowing is half the battle". If you find yourself in the top 1000, then with a little modification on your content and keyword will definitely get you there.After knowing where you stand, you should at least anticipate how much traffic or "clicks" you can expect to get. http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/. This is a tool you that can come in handy, so you’ll know the results of your search from overture and wordtracker, help you determine which of the phrases (how keywords could be arranged according to the most frequent word order) are most often searched for. When you get to this service, you’ll be asked to key in a phrase and presto! You’ll get the statistics of that phrase plus suggestions for other similar keywords.Once you find out what key words you’ll use, you can check out yet another website to keep track of your progress in the ranking. The same site’s tracking tool for keyword positioning can help you do that. They will do that "dirty job" for you.Now that you know the basics, you might think of submitting your site to google. No matter how tempting, don’t do that. Instead, let google find you because it will largely affect the rank of your page. Google’s system takes some time to index the sites but if you do not submit the site it could trim the work down by six weeks. Therefore, in 4 days, your site (if optimized) can appear in as little as 4 days. Next, the importance of links. Whatever site is linked to you also has something to do with your google ranking. It may not be that weighty but it still has a bearing. If you still aren’t found, patience. Let the "spider" come back as you modify your site. In other words , keep trying.

If you want to be located, help the search engine find you!

Not because you have done your homework in optimizing your site will get you noticed. Did you know that there are many websites that do not get their target market despite their search engine optimization efforts. One of the main reasons for this is that it’s just not very easy for the search engine to "read" the codes in your website. In other words, you have too complicated (for the search engine, not necessarily the user) a web page design.Here are some quick tips on helping the search engine find you….. When you design your website, you of course consider its requirements but equally important is to consider search engines’ requirements. They are first of all "unconcerned about the looks" , to them attractive means easy to read codes. This however, does not mean that you do not need to put graphics or any enhancements. All I’m saying is that you have to balance it to be both attractive to both the user and the search engine. Placing relevant graphics after the main content, avoid the use of frames and to use smaller scripts (for java) are just some ways to make them morefriendly for the search engine.Keywording is still the most important factor to look into when you design your web page. Check out www.wordtracker.com for help in pin pointing keywords that’ll give you the edge. Choose only the 1st 10 to 15 keywords that you can find in your website. Do not list keywords that aren’t there! Also too much keyword and separating them only by a comma in your website can get you penalized for spamming!The content of the website is just as important as the keyword itself. If you want your site to be known for certain keywords (or topics) then put contents there that are relevant, meaning, you don’t just find it in the content once or twice but it should be dealt with substantially for your site to be identified with the keywords that you have chosen. Place your keywords at the beginning of your site’s page, beginning of your sentence, as beginning tag, typed in bold and hyperlinked.The title of your page undeniably is the most critical element of your website. Don’t forget to insert your keyword in there, keeping in mind that it is vital to being identified as the site’s main theme or content. Don’t make it lengthy. Just remember to be concise but catchy. Consider the "easy readability" of it to the search engine as well. Your web page description or META Tag is the one shown to users when they are presented with search results. Think of it as your label, or giving the users an idea of what is in your web page. It’s supposed to read like "pick me!" among the other tags they will see along with yours in that particular results page. And last but not least, site map and linking to your site and others will increase traffic. Ergo, get the search engine to notice your webpage.

How do you get noticed in the WORLD WIDE web?

How do you get noticed in the WORLD WIDE web? What chances does your site have of getting noticed out of the thousands and even millions of other websites in the web? It’s like trying to win in the lottery. Unlike the lottery though, it does not depend on luck. You have as much control when you know the hows of search engine marketing or making your site more desirable for search engines to find. So what is a search engine? A search engine as the term connotes is a medium through which searches can be conducted. If you’re in yahoo, there is that part of the page where there’s an empty box (on top) and just beside it says search. You simply key in the information you are looking for and it will come up with several websites relevant to the topic you want to know more about. There are more search engines than you now know. The thing is, the less popular they are, then less people use them, therefore, the less chance you have to get noticed. So here are a few quick tips for getting your site noticed by search engines. First, you have to put your site into the directory. Just like having your number publicly listed. There are free and those that require at least a one time registration fee. I prefer the ones you pay for because they usually do a better review of your site. They check out your website and sort of find out what it is mainly about. Second, is through search engine optimization. What? Search engine optimization, meaning you take the steps necessary to get the search engine find you. So how do you do that? There are two ways to do it: page factor (which is done by using keywords at the right place, sort of like the theme of your website and what it is known for) and the other having your site linked or tied up or shown in another website or search results page. They can be in the form of banner ads or being listed in an affiliate site. This you can also do either for free and there are of course others which you need to pay for. While there are those you can pay for, getting the search engine to notice you "from scratch" is still the best way to attract quality traffic. There’s only one way to do it. Create a quality website with relevant content and keyword. There are no guarantees, but there can be one substantial reward…not being removed by virtue of being identified as "spam".All these being said, there is yet another way to get noticed. Having done everything, it’s not going to hurt to ask for an expert’s advice. Not just any expert who deliver results quickly but will give better results long term through a team or a group of staff working on it on an ongoing management basis.

Eat to Live...Food and Its Role in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

“You are what you eat” as the saying goes has been a proven fact. Much of the illnesses and diseases people suffer from are products of their lifestyle and diet. Here are some pointers of how food can work for and not against your health and well being.

Fiber. Dietary fiber are substances that the human dietary enzymes cannot break down but that the large enzyme bacteria can. The recommended intake is anywhere from 20 to 35 grams daily. What food contain fiber? Whole grains like wheat, fruits, seaweeds, legumes and vegetables are good sources of fiber. There are also fiber supplements in the market like fibrosine, and others. If you want to stick to the natural however, here’s a list of them and their possible effects in one’s health. Fruits like pineapple and chico, legumes such as nuts, oats, seaweeds, malunggay, saluyot and okra can lower blood cholesterol, slows down the transit of food (in the upper digestive tract), slows absorption of glucose, increase the bulk of stool, soften it, which can also be fermented to produce acids that are beneficial. Brown rice, wheat bran, rice, fruits and legumes, seeds, vegetables and whole grains regulate the movement of bowels, hasten transit time in the small intestine, soften the stool, reduce the risk of cancer in the colon, hemmorhoids and appendicitis. As with other food, it is important to observe the right amounts in your fiber intake because if not, they can cause drugs interactions, allergies, drowsiness, and other side effects.

So what are the benefits we get from fiber? Fiber regulates the body’s ability to handle glucose and the hormone insulin which is a major factor in the prevention of diabetes. It slows down the energy consumption, and thus help reduce the desire for sweet and calorie rich food intake…a vital step in weight control. When fiber is mixed with water, they absorb it and swell. Thus the person have a feeling of fullness and have less desire for food. For those suffering from appendicitis and other intestinal disorders, fiber aids in preventing constipation as it acts like a broom in the intestines. So remember…eat to live

Where is Starbucks? (Whatever happened to not just about the coffee but the experience?)

Where is Starbucks?
(Whatever happened to not just about the coffee but the experience)

Howard Schultz back in 1981 was working for a housewares company in New York City when he stumbled into Starbucks in Seattle, Washington. The store was narrow with a wooden counter with an array of coffee beans in another area. The experience was almost nostalgic…the aroma of coffee and the ambience altogether. He left New York and after a year was finally asked to do the marketing. After returning from Milan, Italy, he was certain that Starbucks should open espresso bars to bring the café concept in the United States. The Store founders were uncertain about the idea so Schultz left to start another company only to return with $3.8 million to buy Starbucks and turn it into the Café company he had in mind.

In 1992, they were open to the public with 140 stores. The man behing it believed in taking care nit just of the coffee beans but the employees as well. He insisted on health insurance for his workers…because as a child he’d seen how they struggled because of his dad’s broken ankle while working as a delivery truck driver.

Starbucks became a phenomenon and soon they had to adopt changes to be efficient and at the same time boost its sales. The espresso machines were introduced so they could make a drink faster thus moving the lines of customers with more speed. They continued to grow and profit and Mr. Schultz had become the Chairman of the Board.

Eventually though, the people started to wonder… “What happened to the coffee experience?” These weren’t jut sentiments of the employees but their customers as well. On January 7, 2008, a board member voted to reinstall Schultz as the CEO. With this the revival of the coffee experience was beginning to be revived. They went into risky moves like people with Starbucks card can get free upgrades and drip refills. Grinding of beans in stores have been restored, certification of where the coffee beans come from, clean their cluttered counters to focus on the coffee and much more innovations.

With the man back in his post, the nostalgia of the coffee experience is being revived. And as Howard Schultz puts it “We believe it’s worth it”.