Website Development & Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Designing and building a website is only one aspect of bringing your business online. With billions of websites on the Internet, it’s just as important that you ensure people can find your website. And, since most website traffic still comes from search engines and directories – 98% of Internet users claim they use search

Beware of get rich quick schemes!

The Internet is not the “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” It takes time, dedication and skills to be successful online. Without a solid business model, the skill set to effectively market and sell your product or service online, and a carefully planned marketing strategy, you will have little chance of succeeding online. engines regularly – you may want to focus your initial web marketing efforts on search engine optimization. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo index billions of web pages and rank them according to complex algorithms that assess a page’s accessibility, its relevance based on specific search terms or keywords, and importance indicated by the number of sites that link to it. Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the work that is done to a website to ensure it gets noticed and ranked highly by search engines. Ideally, you want to strive for a top ten ranking, because studies have shown that most search engine users don’t scroll past the first page of results. Keep in mind, SEO is not an exact science, and as such, SEO specialists often use slightly different methods. That said, generally, SEO includes:

• Building a website using “search engine friendly” coding techniques that minimize the use of Flash and frames

• Researching appropriate search terms – called “keywords” or “keyword phrases” – that fit the target market

• Incorporating keyword-rich content into a website’s domain name, meta tags, title tags, alt tags, headings and overall content, and ensuring that content is updated regularly.

• Submitting the website address to search engines

• Developing a reciprocal linking strategy with other websites to grow quality inbound links to the site

Submitting your Site to Search Engines and Directories

The question is often asked: Do I have to submit my site to engines/directories for the search engines to find me? The answer is, yes and no. Some engines will find and list your site on their own, some require you to register, and others offer a combination of both. Further, some registration procedures are free and some require that you pay to be listed.

In short, there are two kinds of search engines out there.

1. Crawler-based search engines, like Google, are those that use automated, computer generated indexing systems. These engines use software to “crawl” your website, index relevant content and keywords, and follow links. The software will look for patterns or repetition in your content in order to determine the website’s purpose. These engines do not require you to do anything other than upload your “optimized” website to the Internet and wait for them to find it. Since it may take a few months for the engines to crawl your site naturally, however, they also offer you the opportunity to submit your URL (website address) in the hope of being ranked more quickly. Failing that, you can always purchase paid placement in some engines such as Google and Overture.

2. Human-powered directories, like Yahoo’s Directory, are those that use humans to index website listings. These engines are actually called directories and require you to submit your URL and wait for the directory editors to assess and index your site based on perceived relevancy.

Sometimes this procedure is free, and sometimes you have to pay a fee for the privilege of being reviewed.

Here is a list of the most popular search engines and directories you’ll want to

consider:

• Google – www.google.ca or www.google.com

• Yahoo – www.yahoo.ca or www.yahoo.com

• MSN – www.msn.com

• Teoma – www.teoma.com

• Overture – www.overture.com

• Open Directory – http://dmoz.org/

• AltaVista – www.altavista.com

• Inktomi – www.inktomi.com

Tip: SEO specialists claim that if you are listed with directories, then crawler based search engines are more likely to find your site and add it to their listings for free.

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Tags: Altavista, Crawler, Directories, flash, Google, inktomi, Internet, Keyword, Marketing Strategy, Meta, MSN, Overture, Rank, Schemes, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Tags, Teoma, Traffic, URL, Website Development, Yahoo