How Search Engines Work

How Search Engines Work

Before the understanding how search engine work, we shall  require understanding of all other algorithm factor and  search ranking factors. There are three way in which  search spider work.

• Spiders
• User
• Algorithm

Working Mechanism of Spiders.

Spiders are also called robot, crawler. These crawler crawl the web. In simple words these are software that are used to fine and crawl the web.Spiders collect date from different web pages and store those date into the database of information called search engine index. Spider index different kind of document like html, php , css . Simply search spider index these document.

Working Mechanism of Users.

Users have variety of keyword search. Many users are looking for different kind of keyword search. Almost many user come to search engine for expecting their relevant search.  Some user are searching their content from desktop and some from mobile devices. Approximately 49 % user search their content from desktop and about 46 % are from mobile devices. Make sure that yours website  is Mobil and desktop friendly. If yours website is not a Mobil friendly, i recommend you simply install plugin that will keep yours website live to android  devices such as iPhone , Galaxy , Notepad . Many user are searching their content from Google search engine. Google has almost 80 % of market share and  has over five Billion query per day. Some query are never been search before has five million new query per day. They are long tail and short tail keyword search queries. As long tail queries are most searchable. I prefer to recommend long tail keyword search for SEO perspective. The user search keyword in different area of intent. These intent may be informative, navigational and transactional search.Only 10% are transactional and 10 % are navigational search while 80 % are informative search.

1. Informative search queries
2. Navigational search queries
3. Transactional search queries

when user type the word like ” what is SEO ” in search query, these kind of query are informative queries and its has a huge volume of 80 % search queries. Therefor many SEO expert prefer to  recommended long tail keyword. On the other hand Navigation queries are  those queries when user is looking for specific kind of website like www.google.com in search engine query box, The third and last search query is Transactional query.When user want to intent complete transection for example user having a mood of buying online and write a specific keyword of laptop or looking for download any kind of software, these are transactional search queries.

Algorithms Return Query Results.

Algorithms simply return search results to users.Whenever users perform their queries on search engine,google and other crawler response to that kind of query in real time.Algorithms show result base on keyword relevant and qualities of website, such as domain authority , page authority , original content, keyword density and many other factor. In simple words algorithms are computer programs that looks for clue to give you search result which you want.

What is the difference between a .com, .net and .org in a domain name?

Practically speaking, there is really no difference these days. Search engines don’t discriminate between a .COM address and a .NET address. The only thing you might consider is that people tend to type in .COM automatically since it was the first publicly known domain extension. So when registering a domain name, I would go for the .COM first and if it was taken, I would then try for any of the others. (.net, .org, .tv, etc. …)
You probably guessed; a .COM address is not the same domain name of the same name with a different extension. So for example:
www.killersites.com is not the same place as www.killersites.net
As such, each of the addresses can be registered separately.
- See more at: http://www.how-to-build-websites.com/basic-concepts/part2.php#sthash.WRwxyx9l.dpuf

 Practically speaking, there is really no difference these days. Search engines don’t discriminate between a .COM address and a .NET address. The only thing you might consider is that people tend to type in .COM automatically since it was the first publicly known domain extension. So when registering a domain name, I would go for the .COM first and if it was taken, I would then try for any of the others. (.net, .org, .tv, etc. …)

You probably guessed; a .COM address is not the same domain name of the same name with a different extension. So for example:

www.stardesign.com is not the same place as www.stardesign.net

As such, each of the addresses can be registered separately.

.com is what most people choose because it is the standard for business

Most non profits use .org

.net is derived from network and originally applied to organizations involved with networking technology

If I buy a website name, I buy the .org, .net, and sometimes .biz and direct them all to the .com

As to website addresses being taken, try to be creative. Think of names that utilize the benefits of your product or service. Try not to misspell anything though...people will have an awful time finding you.

One other thing: spam filters. If you go with .net or .biz, you will sometimes be blocked when sending email and when posting your web address in an email...something to consider.

Website Domain & Hosting Basics

An introduction to domain names, web servers, and website hosting

I assume that you know nothing about the inner workings of the Internet; maybe you’re not even sure how people actually get to web sites, where the web sites are actually sitting, what the web is in the first place….

In this article I am going to give you the minimum you need to get your ‘feet wet’ so that we can quickly get into building web sites. I won’t go into painful micro-details that would put all but true nerds to sleep, again there is just enough so that you have a basic understanding of what’s going on.

What is the web?

In a nutshell, the web is a whole bunch of interconnected computers talking to one another. The computers (on the web) are typically connected by phone lines, digital satellite signals, cables, and other types of data-transfer mechanisms. A ‘data-transfer mechanism’ is a nerd’s way of saying: a way to move information from point A to point B to point C and so on.

The computers that make up the web can be connected all the time (24/7), or they can be connected only periodically. The computers that are connected all the time are typically called a ‘server’. Servers are computers just like the one you’re using now to read this article, with one major difference, they have a special software installed called ‘server’ software.

What is the function of server software / programs?

Server software is created to ‘serve’ web pages and web sites. Basically, the server computer has a bunch of web sites loaded on it and it just waits for people (via web browsers) to request or ask for a particular page. When the browser requests a page the server sends it out.

How does the web surfer find a web site?

The short answer is: by typing in the URL, or in other words, the web site address. So for example, if you wanted to find the web site www.killersites.com, you would type in the address into your web browser’s address bar or maybe use your ‘favorites’ or ‘bookmarks’ link to Killersites.

There are other ways to find web sites (like search engines,) but behind the scenes web sites are all being found by going to the web site’s official address. That brings us our last nerd detail: how does a website get an official address so that the rest of the web can find it?

Registering your domain name

If you ever wondered what the heck registering a domain was all about … you probably figured it out by now! But just in case – registering a domain name gets you an official address for your web site on the World Wide Web. With this ‘official’ address, the rest of the web can find you.

Like your home address is unique in the real world, there also can’t be any duplicate addresses on the Internet, otherwise no one would know where to go! In other words, domain names are unique addresses on the web.

Why does registering a domain name cost money?

If you want to have your own unique address on the web, your own domain name, it will cost a few bucks for each year you want to ‘own’ the name. The cost of registering a domain name ranges from less than $10 USD to about $30 USD per year. You can register a domain from 1 to 10 years.

The reason for the cost is that the central ‘address book’ of all the world’s domain names needs to be updated – somebody’s got to pay for that! You may have noticed that I just snuck in a little extra piece of information: the giant ‘web address book’ of domains.

That leads us to our last bit of nerd information: when you type in a website’s domain name or click on a link that takes you to that domain name, your browser starts asking servers where that particular domain name is sitting (on the web) and the servers are then able to tell the browser where to go by referring to the giant address book I mentioned above.

An introduction to domain names, web servers, and website hosting

I assume that you know nothing about the inner workings of the Internet; maybe you’re not even sure how people actually get to web sites, where the web sites are actually sitting, what the web is in the first place….
In this article I am going to give you the minimum you need to get your ‘feet wet’ so that we can quickly get into building web sites. I won’t go into painful micro-details that would put all but true nerds to sleep, again there is just enough so that you have a basic understanding of what’s going on.
- See more at: http://www.how-to-build-websites.com/basic-concepts/part1.php#sthash.zUvrEi5m.dpuf

Improve your SEO ranking

It takes more than that to start ranking on Google. Luckily, there ARE things you can do to improve your spot. Here is the simplest strategy that you can do to get your website to rank high on the Google search rankings:

Understand Google’s best-kept secret.

Are you ready for it? Content Quality Score. If you have an MSP website that gets the same blog content as everyone else, your content score is probably pretty low. Google actually pays attention to the kind of content that’s on your site, not just the SEO keywords.

How is content scored?

Know one really knows the secret (except of course for the people with a need to know at Google). I’ll touch on some of our techniques for producing quality content in other article, but for now, let’s focus on one of the most important factors: regular updates. 

Websites that are updated regularly and have compelling content ALWAYS score higher. We see it immediately on how fast Google spiders hit the website after new content is published. Some of Ulistic’s best performing MSP websites have Google visiting almost instantly after the publish button is pushed. So regularly producing new content (and it needs to be new, not just a rehash of something you’ve touched on before) is key. But make sure that new content has a purpose.

The best MSP websites always focus on their purpose. Google has provided a detailed list on possible purposes for a website. Some include:

• Sharing information about a topic
• Sharing personal or social information
• Sharing pictures, videos and other forms of media
• Expressing an opinion or view
• Entertainment
• Selling of products or services
• Interaction with website visitors (forums)
• Sharing of files and downloading of software

Most MSP websites will focus on the first and the sixth bullets, but you’ve got to actually do a good job with the first to truly show the quality of your content. Make your information valuable to the reader and easily shared.

Provide quality primary AND supplementary content

What does that mean? Primary content on a page is the main body text and images – the focal point of each individual page on a site. This is where the meat should be, and where you need to hammer home the purpose of the content. If you’re talking about, say, a vertical you provide services for, make sure you’re actually providing useful information about the services that the industry will appreciate.

Supplemental content includes navigation (header or footer), social media buttons, other related articles, comment sections, ratings, calculators, product ads, and much more. Basically, anything that surrounds the main content of a page is considered supplemental, and you need to keep this content in mind too when you’re shooting for quality. Do you engage your website visitors with supplemental content?

Again, I’ll touch on what can make or break the quality of your content in another article, but just remember: it’s not a static process. You can’t just fling a website up onto the web and think you’re done. Stay engaged with your audience, keep your site updated, and focus on your purpose. The rest will follow.

5 Tools to Help You With Content Ideas

Creating a content strategy and sticking to it can be a challenge for any business owner or marketer. You're inevitably going to run into a case of writer's block, get bored with your writing, or simply fall into a rut.
The key is being willing to experiment with how you find inspiration, craft content, and explore different workflows and optimization strategies. If you're feeling stuck and creating content has become a chore, try some of these suggestions. These 5 tools take some of the pain out of the process.

 1. Google Keyword Planner

Google's Keyword Planner is a highly effective tool for writers struggling with content development. If you've already got a topic in mind, you can use the Keyword Planner to research keywords and concepts related to your core idea.

For example, if you know you want to write a blog post on mobile marketing, you can do a quick search using the Keyword Planner. Google will generate a list several pages long of keyword ideas such as mobile apps, text marketing, mobile ads, etc., and provide you with additional data, such as how many people are searching for that term on a monthly basis, and the level of competition for each keyword.

You can use the data you uncover from Google Keyword Planner to help brainstorm titles for upcoming pieces and optimize your content for search. Good old-fashioned keyword research provides you with a seed list of terms.

Pay special attention to long-tail keyword terms (for example, instead of "semantic indexing" you might look for "what is semantic indexing" or "how to apply semantic indexing to my blog") to give you more fully fleshed ideas that reveal searcher intent. If you can link your content to your reader's intent, it's likely to make a stronger connection.

2. Google Trends

Are you writing content that isn't resonating with your audience because it's not topical enough? Finding a news hook for your pieces could be the solution. If you want to grab your audience's attention and get them talking, take a look at trending topics online to see what people are talking about right now.

Google Trends is a helpful tool that lets you see what current events, celebrity names, and cultural memes have captured the world's attention. You can search for a particular keyword or term, or simply select a category that's interesting to you. Users can also track what's trending in a particular region or what was hot during a specific time period.

For instance, maybe you'd like to know which topics were trending in business and industry over the past seven days. To do this, you'd select region, time frame, and category from the drop down lists provided. Google Trends then comes up with a graph illustrating search interest over time, as well as a list of topics that are popular search terms.

If you're interested shaking things up a little to get out of your writing rut, looking at what's trending could help you find a timely angle to position your posts.

3. Google Webmaster Tools

One of the easiest ways to map out a plan for your writing is to check out which keywords are driving the most traffic to your website and use that data to develop your content strategy.

You can also use Google Webmaster Tools to find out what content is resonating the most with your audience, and help you create more of the same.

4. Quora

Question and answer sites like Quora can give you immediate insight into your audience's most pressing problems. This tool lets you review popular questions related to topics you're interested in.

To get started, simply create an account, select categories of interest, and choose subtopics under your preferred categories.

Q&A sites are great because they connect you to intent: users cared enough about solving this problem or finding this data to go and seek expert help. If there's a reasonable volume of questions and answers, you might have a hot niche on your hands.

If you've never used Quora, let's assume that you're an entrepreneur who's interested in SEO. You start by choosing "marketing" as a main category of interest, and then Quora will give you the option to choose from a range of subtopics such as search engine optimization and web marketing.

Once you've selected your categories and subcategories, you will then be directed to a page where you can review thousands of questions and answers about topics of interest, as well as recent blog posts from other Quora users.

Q&A sites give you a good sense of what people are interested in reading and learning about that's related to your field. It gives you an inside look at the way that they describe their problems, how these issues impact their lives, and the overall emotions behind the desire to solve the issue. All these factors will help you develop long lists of content ideas, and infuse what you write with insight and ideas that connect with readers.

5. InboundWriter

If your primary goal is more traffic to your site, InboundWriter is a tool worth considering. This tool is valuable for a few reasons:

•  It helps you create SEO-friendly content. As you're developing a piece in InboundWriter, the tool actually provides keyword suggestions and rates how well your writing is optimized for search.
•  The platform keeps all your content organized in one place.
•  It lets you analyze how your content performed with your readers.

Color Theory for websites

It is important to understand the fundamental science behind color theory. It’s a popular topic with a vast spread of information to retain and digest. Not only does this topic focus on arts and design, it also involve jist of optics science.

Beginnings of Color Theory

When starting off into the pool of colors, we should base ourselves in square one.
After breaking through all the mixes we are left with only 3 primary colors.
These are red, blue, and yellow, and they are the root ingredients from which all other colors manifest.

These primary colors may be combined together in a mixing process to create other color scheme. These are known as secondary colors and will always contain a mix of 2 primaries. These three secondary colors are orange, violet, and green. This color scheme is based off the sample default style. When you start designing for web and print it may be required to switch between different color models. These include RGB and CMYK which are notoriously utilized in digital and print design, respectively.

Tertiary Color Pallet

Once we have our color wheel started we can use these resources to create tertiary colors. This group holds a 2nd layer beneath primary/secondary which is created when mixing between all six original colors. With this we are now able to create six brand new colors (2 from each primary). This will give out a blend of 12 colors in total. At this stage we are able to design a full pallet and fill in a 12-sided color wheel. This is often used within Adobe Illustrator to create color swatches and patterns.

Monochromatic Colors

Monochromatic color schemes are the raw colors as they only refer to a single hue. This can be green, blue, orange, aqua, or whatever fits best into your design. These are commonly seen with branding and background patterns to fit into an existing pallet.
In this reference colors are usually created by dimming opacity between each color (or hue) and a background. The most common example is creating an alpha channel and adding more white/black into a selected hue at varying degrees. Through this method you are able to design a useful monochromatic color scheme to blend into simple digital graphics.

Analogous Scheme

These are 3-part schemes also known as a base triad. You may combine two analogous schemes together to create a hybrid set. Often analogous sets are found naturally and promote a pleasing sight to the eyes.
Between the 3 colors it’s generally common to assign roles in a design piece. One of the three is used as a base to hold the project together. The second is an accompanied color and the third is referenced as an accent. This effect can be used to create contrast and vibrant edges or shadows.

Complementary Themes

Colors residing in opposing positions on the color wheel are known as complementary. They naturally complement each other and provide an equal level of energy to a piece of art. Examples of these include red and green, purple and yellow, or blue and orange. These color schemes will create a high level of contrast between elements. are great when used in illustrations to highlight a piece of scenery or cartoon character. Often we’ll see this used on an article of clothing or wardrobe attire. The matches can become very overpowering so, do use them sparingly.

Triad Color Sets

The triadic color scheme is one of the most popular amongst designers, and this is especially the case for digital artists. This scheme uses 3 colors which are equal distance from each other on the color wheel. As common examples we could include red, blue, and yellow or orange, purple, and green. We derive this by picking our base color (red) and moving 3 equal paces over to the right. Once we hit this (blue) move 3 more units clockwise to hit yellow, with just three more placements separating between red.

Good Layout of a Website

So Many Choices for Layout Designs

Here are some questions that are running through the head of every designer as we sit down to plan and sketch the layout of a website.

• Will the layout be fixed or responsive?
• How many columns will you have in the website?
• Will the navigation be horizontal or vertical?

This is where drawing at least 2-3 wireframes of different layouts comes in to play. You will never find the best layout until you actually start sketching out the website to get an idea for how it will look and feel.

Ultimately your layout choice must be determined by referring to your website requirements, the content, and your user’s needs.

It’s All about Your Users.

Get inside your user’s heads and think about what would be the easiest, most logical, intuitive way to organize your website’s content.
Now I know some of you may be up in arms thinking that we’ve just thrown all creativity out the window. But really, just think about it; Apple’s devices have some of the best design and creativity on the market, and yet they are so easy to use your grandma could figure it out!

Remember, good design is invisible – it doesn’t get in your way.

Navigation – Vertical vs. Horizontal

One of the first things that everyone notices about your website is how well your navigation is designed. That means your first big layout decision is going to be designing how users will navigate through your website.
You need to start thinking about the different sections and pages you have in your website. How can you make it super intuitive for people to find the different parts of your website?

• Will a drop-down work well?
• Do you have a lot of content per page? Is so, will fixed navigation work well?
• How many top-level pages or sections do you have?

Deciding between using vertical and horizontal navigation can be simplified by sketching out a quick wireframe of both navigation styles.  This will give you a better idea of which is easier to use, and flows better with your overall design.

Number of Columns in the Design

Another big layout decision you will need to make is how many columns to break your content into.
This decision is greatly simplified after you have gathered your content and given it importance rankings.  You want the most important content to be placed in the middle of the page, with the items of lesser importance placed to the sides and farther down the page.

 Don’t get stuck with thinking that you must have a certain number of columns for your design to work properly. If you are designing a responsive website, it will almost certainly have to be re-arranged for smaller devices.

Fixed vs. Responsive Layout

With the rise of mobile and tablet devices being used for web browsing, you need to take a hard look at fixed layouts and whether or not they still have a place in modern web layouts.

On a smartphone, a fixed website layout designed for a desktop will be totally unreadable and useable unless you zoom in to see everything. Most users will simply go elsewhere to meet their needs.

Responsive layouts are a much better choice, because your website will work properly on many different sized devices. Your main job as a designer is simply to decide where different column and sizing breakpoints will occur and adjust your content according.

 Just because a website design is several years old, doesn’t mean it has to be ugly and unusable. However, because of how rapidly technology is changing, it is very likely that your website will need to be refreshed and updated at least every 3-4 years.

A Waste of Time you Say?

By now you are probably feeling overwhelmed with how much planning and thought goes into the layout of a website.

However, without effective planning your website will never reach a level of excellence and standout from the competition.

Here are three reasons that planning is vital to a success of a web project:

1. Planning saves time in the long run
2. Planning breaks down the huge task of designing a website into manageable steps.
3. Planning breaks “Designers Block” by forcing you to create something.

Are you trying to just slap together a website, or actually build something that is professional, aesthetically pleasing, and is easy to navigate – not to mention converting your users to action!

*****

Website Design Easy Guidelines

Much like fashion, web design is constantly changing with trends and fads coming and going. When it comes to creating a website that will make a professional impression, you will always do well to keep everything up to date and on trend.

Simplify your design by taking small steps. Such as putting the focus only on the essential elements of your website, getting rid of the unnecessary, reducing the number of pages your site has, getting more content above the fold, and limiting the number of colors you use. You can always fine-tune and improve your simple design, but the important thing here is to get started.

1. Keep it clean and clutter-free

 

The world around us has become quite cluttered and the web is no exception. Ads, banners, icons, badges, signs, pop-ups, buttons, and so on – sometimes it can all get a bit heavy. So why not give your site visitors a break from all the noise and clutter? Embracing things like flat design and white space (you can read more about both these terms here) can do wonders for your site visitor’s experience. Try to keep everything simplistic or even minimal with only your most important content spotlighted. Sometimes less really is more.

2. Do some web design recon

 

If you’re reading this blog, you’re already on the right path. But you can take your research a step further and start looking at websites with a specific purpose: to figure out what you like about them and what you don’t. Make some mental or actual notes on what you would like to emulate on your own site. Do you think a long scrolling page would work well with your site? Maybe you really admire someone elses approach to their contact page. It can be something as small as imitating a use of an arrow icon that points to an important message. Whatever it is you find appealing, think about how you can make it happen in your own website’s design scheme.

3. Put visual hierarchy to use

 

Visual hierarchy, what’s that again? It’s a term that basically means our eyes pay attention to web space in a certain pattern – a pattern that can help you optimize important content on your site. For example, if you create a ‘sign up now’ button, you likely want as many people as possible to click it and follow-through with the sign-up process. Visual hierarchy tells us that the eyes move top to bottom, left to right. This means you’ll get the most eyes on your button in the top left corner of your site, and those eyes could very well mean more clicks. Remember, only put your most important content in these coveted spaces – if you put too much in one spot your visitor will be overwhelmed and you won’t get the result you’re aiming for.

4. Make your text easy to read

 

Text is important. It’s there to provide information and answer questions even before they’ve been asked. With that said – don’t make your readers squint to read it. There are a few simple rules you can adhere to that will keep you and your text in the clear.

• Make sure your colors work together. For example: putting cream colored text on a white background will either leave your site visitors with a headache or make them give up and move on. Neither of these outcomes are desirable – so make sure you double check all your text for it’s ease of readability.
• Don’t use uber-tiny font size. While it might look cute, it’s just not practical. Make sure your readers won’t need a magnifying glass to figure out your message.
• Stand by your fonts. Create a theme and even carve out a brand where your site sticks to no more than three fonts – two might even be better. For extra points, make sure the fonts you choose are reader-friendly and don’t leave your visitors wondering if they’re reading Sanskrit.

 

 5. Get the most out of the mobile version of your site

 

Mobile web browsing is expected to turn into the next major Internet platform. It is now easy to browse the net from nearly anywhere utilizing mobile devices that fit in a hand because of technology. Being short in good usability implementation in mobile web design makes it difficult browsing your way around various popular mobile websites. Designing for mobile devices needs to be simpler than its standard website and more task-based to get the job done because users look for something specific and urgent.

Do it yourself SEO

You don't have to be an SEO expert to boost your website's search engine cred. The SEO community shares tips on how individuals and organizations without SEO expertise can increase their sites' search engine rankings.

We've grouped the following invaluable DIY tips from SEO experts into four categories: Keywords, Links, Blogging and Social Media, and Strategies. 

Keywords

1. Find the keywords Google attributes to your site

This should be the first step for any SEO campaign, according to Achalu Narayanan, vice president, Internet Marketing, Egnyte. Narayanan recommends the free Google Keyword Planner tool, which can be used to input your website’s home page URL and review the keyword ideas Google provides. You should also do the same for two or three competitive sites, he says.

2. Optimize content for relevant, long-tail keywords

A long-tail keyword phrase is one with more than two or three words, such as triathlon training for women in SF Bay Area. “The shorter keywords are usually a lot more competitive, which means that other businesses are spending a lot of time, effort and money getting them to rank as they compete,” says Michael Lazar, TrueShip Shipping Software's "growth hacker." Long-tail keywords “are easier to rank for and can drive just as much traffic,” he says.

Lazar says Hit Tail ($10 per month and up) can help you find ideas for long-tail keywords because “it tells you what your best long-tail keywords are and how to write articles, website content or blogs using them to get them ranked.”

For additional keyword research, Debbie Carkner, VP of ecommerce strategy at SMITH, says the following tools (in addition to the Google Keyword Planner) are "industry favorites": WordStream, Wordtracker, SEMRush, Search Engine Genie, SEOBook and KeywordSpy.

3. Get keyword ideas from customers

 “Only optimize your site for the keywords that matter to your business,” says Adam Barker, director of demand generation, Continuum Managed IT Services. “Understand which words your customers use to describe your product by asking them face to face, on a website form, or in a survey. Once you learn this, structure your Web content around it. Use the same lingo they use on your site, because those are the words and phrases that they use to search for you.”

4. Do basic on-page optimization

“Once you’ve identified your target keywords, make sure they’re included in the title of your page, the body copy of your page, and if possible, the URL,” says Takeshi Young, SEO team lead, EntirelyPets.com. “Google is getting smarter about figuring out what a page is about, but it still helps to make it really clear your page is about a specific keyword.”

Egnyte's Narayanan offers these optimization recommendations:

•     A Web page’s title tag is still “the most important attribute from an SEO perspective,” he says. “Use the main keyword phrase in the beginning of the page title tag. The first 64 characters of the title tag are shown as the click-though link in a Google search result. Every page of the website should have a unique page title tag.” 
• Meta description tags help attract visitors from the search results page. Include one or two keyword phrases that describe the page’s content, and keep meta descriptions under 160 characters.
• The H1 tag is the header of the page. “Have only one H1 tag per page. This header needs to appeal to the page visitor and describe the page.”
•  Use the page’s designated keyword phrase “at least once near the beginning of the content, and also anywhere it makes sense. Don’t use the keyword phrase, its variation or a synonym more than 4-5 times per page.”
• Alt tags are the floating descriptions that show up when you mouse over an image. It's usually best practice to use keywords and their variations in the alt text of an image, and also in the image filename.

Nathan Joynt,in-house SEO manager, Volusion, Inc., says you should optimize your top ten pages based on traffic and expand outward from there. 

Links

5. Produce great content

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“Many people have seen the benefit of having a healthy backlink profile, but many others have also experienced penalties or spent countless hours building links to no avail,” says Jonathan Gilde, account manager, BrightHaus. “While the importance of backlinks has certainly dropped, a high-quality link is still powerful. The link itself should not be the goal."

If you post great content, the links will follow, according to Gilde.

6. Reach out to bloggers in your field

“Google looks to see if your site has links from relevant sources in your field,” says Joe Auer, founder, Plasticity Health. “A great way to get these links is to reach out to bloggers in your space. See if they will write about you or review your products. If you’re able to do this, your rankings will increase and you may also get more traffic from those sites.”

Michael Pomposello, managing partner, Influencer Connect, says you should make a list of bloggers who talk to your target audiences. “Get the names of the sites, the author’s first name and their email address. Use this information to craft personal emails to each of the bloggers.”

7. Network with business partners

“Link building and social signals aren't about volume insomuch as they are about relationships,” notes Dave Davies, CEO, Beanstalk SEO Services. As search engines work harder to understand how people connect, and to assign authorities more weight, links and social signals are more about whom you're connecting with and how you're engaging than they are about pure link volumes. As a result, Davies recommends “building authority with the people in your industry who already have sway. Their links, and the links from people they associate with, will carry far more 'Klout' — bad pun intended.”

8. Offer a testimonial to a site or service you use

“People are always appreciative of an honest and well-thought-out testimonial, and in return you can earn a nice link back to your site, often from the homepage,” says Evan Pryce, head SEO, SUSO. “Just contact all your suppliers or business partners and ask if they’d like a testimonial for their site. If they say yes, then write the testimonial and send it over with a picture and an appropriate link back to your site so people reading it can see its real.”

9. Get links from sites that use your images

“If you have visual assets, look around the Web to see if anyone else is using them,” says Mark Runyon, president, Vandelay Web. “There’s a great Firefox add-on, Copyright Infringement Finder, that allows to you to track down any image on the Web in Google's image cache. Reach out to these people using your images and ask that they provide a reference back to your site.”

10. Set up Google Alerts to track mentions of your company

“When you come across a mention, reach out to the journalist or blogger in question to thank them for mentioning your company and to ask them to please consider linking to you in their article,” Runyon suggests. 

Blogging and Social Media

11. Get involved on social media sites

“Google doesn’t appreciate websites and owners who remain aloof from the rest of the social networking sites,” according to Pradeep Kumar, founder & CEO, Marketingaxle. “It tracks how well you’re interacting in the social space. The number of likes, comments, shares, +1s, replies is all being watched by Google.”

12. Use or switch to a WordPress website

WordPress is, in essence, a blogging platform. But many businesses use it as the content management system for a complete website.

WordPress is favored because it’s a free, open-source platform with many free plug-ins, according to Josh Meah, COO, JackMyRep.com. “If you’re doing your own SEO, starting with a WordPress site will save you lots of time, energy, and money, because you’ll benefit from the labor of the whole WordPress community.”

Yoast’s WordPress SEO Plugin (free) is a favorite among many SEO experts. “I recommend it to my clients because it allows the automation and easy integration of important SEO strategies,” says Gavin Rozzi, president, Gavin Rozzi Technology.

Drupal and Joomla are two worthy WordPress alternatives, Rozzi says. “These free, open-source content management systems come with an assortment of plug-ins that automate much of the SEO workload.”

13. Create a company blog and update it regularly

Many SEO experts recommend having a company blog. Google tends to favor sites with fresh content over static sites, and a blog is an ideal way to add new content to your site.

Approach a company blog strategically. “Creating content that folks in your industry will enjoy and share with their friends on social networks is a great way to get traffic, organic links and brand recognition,” according to Laura Hamilton, CEO and founder, Additive Analytics. "Include images, relevant links, quotes and data. Really try to make every article 'best in class.'"

14. Find out which blog post topics provide the best traffic

Buzzsumo is an ideal site for getting blog topic ideas because it shows you how existing posts and stories have been shared on social media, according to Dan Castro, a digital marketer. Castro says you should find articles on a topic that were frequently shared on social sites and then write your version of the story — to put your own spin on it. If you simply rewrite what’s already been written, you’re not adding value to the conversation, which means you’re unlikely to get social media shares, links or other benefits that come with posting great content.

SEO Strategies

15. Understand that branding and SEO aren’t the same

“You may not consider yourself a phone company; you may think you’re a VoIP company,” says John Politsky, president, JDMK Consulting. “Guess what? Customers will never search for what you want them to search for. Focus on what your potential customers are searching for, not what you want them to search for.”

16. Think like target customers

“How would [your target customers] find you? What
search terms would they enter? It probably won't be your brand name,” says Sarah Cornwell, director of marketing, Appbackr. “Start
a list of search terms and Google each one. Do you show up on the first page? If
not, then assign someone to write a blog post focusing on those words. The
post should not be a sales pitch. Keep growing the list and assign an hour every month to review your
rankings for each.”

17. Answer customer questions with online content

If you’re a dentist, your clients are probably searching for things like, How much does invisalign cost? or Are invisalign braces painful?, says Salman Aslam, CMO, Omnicore. “By answering these questions with Web content, you’re projecting yourself as an authority, which can have a direct impact on your bottom line.”

Aslam cites Marcus Sheridan, owner of River Pools, who was profiled by The New York Times in March 2013. Sheridan claimed that a single online article he wrote to answer the question, 'How much does a fiberglass pool cost?,' can be linked to at least $1.7 million of his company's sales.

18. Use Google’s free tools

Many SEO experts suggest using the free Google Analytics and Google Webmasters tools for your site.These tools cantell you how much traffic you get from Google, which keywords are driving the most traffic, and what traffic is leading to the most conversions.

19. Create local listings on Yelp, Google and Facebook

“If your business has multiple locations, create a listing for each one,” says Hamilton. “Build out the listing with rich content — photos, videos and links to your website. Google is increasingly focusing on returning local results, so it's critically important to have your local online presence properly mapped out.”

“Most people with local businesses don't know that Google has a page dedicated to their business,” adds Joshua Mackens, owner, Tutelary Marketing. Mackens recommends going to Google My Business to find your business and verify it. “Fill out the form completely and exhaust the categories [listing the services you provide]. Most local businesses don't rank well because they haven't taken this small but vastly important step.”

20. Get reviewed on Google

Mackens also touts the importance of user reviews on your Google business page. “The more reviews you get on Google, the better. This has a dual effect of raising your ranking and also making people call you over your competitors. It's a big win-win,” he says.

21. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly

You should ensure that your website is built on “responsive design,” meaning it automatically adapts for optimal display on smartphones and tablets, as well as computers. This may be out of your skill set, but it’s important to find someone who can help.

“Google has begun to favor sites that expand and contract to the varying and ever-growing screen sizes of mobile devices,” explains Ken Wisnefski, founder and CEO, WebiMax. “If your site is responsive and engages users, they’ll stay on the site more, which can lower your bounce rate.” (Bounce rate is the percentage of site visitors who leave after viewing just one page.)

22. Study your competitors

“One of the easiest ways companies can improve their SEO strategy is by researching competitors and looking at their marketing for strengths and weaknesses,” says BrightHaus's Gilde. “Get a feel for what onsite and offsite SEO strategies they’re using and for their social media strategy.”

23. Think of your site holistically

“All your site’s content should be relevant and closely associated with other content throughout the site and in line with what your brand represents,” says Robert Browne, SEO specialist, HalloweenCostumes.com. “Keep it simple and relevant. If content isn't engaging to visitors from a search engine results page, they’ll leave. Lower bounce rates on individual blog posts can have a positive impact on the SEO value they add to the entire site.”

24. Don’t forget the second largest search engine“While most SEO efforts are focused on optimizing webpages for Google, you might also think about YouTube, which is the number two search engine on the Web,” says Jamie Grenney, vice president of marketing, Infer. “Before investing in content, the first step is to identify the keywords you want to go after. Google Trends lets you filter for YouTube to understand the search volume of different terms.” (After entering a term in Google Trends, click "Web Search" at the top of the results page and then select "YouTube Search.")

Videos often get the greatest visibility in Google rankings compared to other forms of content, according to Andrew Anderson of Strategic Web Blueprint.

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