Links - Understand the Facts

Yes! You can get more customers,

more sales and build a powerful business contact network

through Reciprocal linking
But first....
You should know the facts

It's no secret that Google relies heavily on the number of links

and their anchor texts to determine the ranking of a web site.

However, Google's recently filed patent indicates that Google

might also use historical information to determine the value of links.

The patent specification indicates that Google might record the

discovery date of a link and its anchor text and the link changes

over time. Google might also record the life span of a link and

the speed at which a new web site gets links.

Google also seems to monitor the rate at which new links to

a web page appear and disappear. They also monitor the

growth rates of links as well as the link growth of similar

documents.

So what does this mean to you?

Google doesn't expect that new web sites have a large

number of links. If a new web site gets many new links,

this will be tolerated if some of the links are from

authoritative sites.

Google's patent specification indicates that it is better if

link growth remains constant and slow. You should vary

your anchor texts as much as possible to make sure that

your links look natural. Burst link growth may be a strong

indicator of search engine spam for Google.

OK, so how do you build links to your web site without

getting penalized?

Not all links are created equal! Not only are the number

of links to your web site important, it's also the quality

of your links. Don't fall for services that offer 'thousands

of instant links to your site'. These links won't have any

positive effect on your site. Only the right links will.

You shouldn't go for one-shot solutions when building

links either. If you participate in quick link exchange

schemes or buy links to your web site so that you get

many links at once, chances are Google will consider

this spamming.

When you exchange links with other web sites, do it

slowly and constantly.

Focus on your web site visitors. Search engines try to

find web sites that are useful for web site visitors.

If the linking structure of your web site indicates

that it is a useful site, your site will get great search

engine rankings as well as targeted traffic from your

link partners

Invest some time every week in building the links to

your site. Make sure that the links contain keywords

that are related to your site and vary the link texts.

Use Quality Tools
Using the right reciprocal link exchange tools can help

tremendously, and because link building can be a long

and tedious task it helps to use tools that not only create

your links correctly but makes it easier on you.

One of the best tools around that will do just that is

Axandra's top-rated linking tool 'Arelis' .

Axandra's Arelis is a reciprocal link exchange software

program that can help you build those quality links the

right way.

Arelis will:
• get highly targeted visitors to your web site

• get more customers, meaning more sales for you

• help you benefit from new business contacts

• help your web site get a higher ranking on search engines

• help your web site get higher link popularity

Only high quality links are preferred by the search engines

and ARELIS helps you to build the links that the search

engines are looking for.

Don't take anyone's word for it. See for yourself by

downloading the Arelis free trial version.

For anyone wanting to get highly targeted visitors which

ultimately means more sales for you, then there's no reason

not to investigate this highly respected and utilized tool that

has worked for thousands.

Good Keyword Optimization

The most important thing you can do for your business and
your website is develop relevant keywords that are not too
competitive yet generate targeted traffic to your website.
It's called keyword optimization.

Why is it important?

Because Keywords and keyword phrases do a couple
of things for you:

- With the right keywords, you will attract the viewers
most interested in the items or services on your site.

- You will rank higher in the search engines for your chosen
keywords, saving you thousands of dollars in advertising.
It all starts, however, with the best keywords that pertain
to your product or services.

When selecting keywords you should select 1 perhaps 2 of the
most relevant keywords for each page of your site. I suggest
using no more than two keywords per page, preferably one.

Why?

Because search engines strive to deliver the most relevant
pages for the search term entered. The more focused your
page is for the search term, the more relevant the search
engines will find your page. The more keywords you use,
the less focused your page becomes.

How do you find keywords that your target audience will use?

- Think like your readers. Take yourself outside your site for
a minute and think about how you would find the products
or services you are selling.

- Use Overture's Keyword Selector Tool
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
Type in your most basic keyword and it will show you the
variations of the search term and also the count of how many
times that term was entered in the search engine.

- Think of phrases as opposed to one single word. If you sell clay
pots, think of keywords such as painted clay pots, or clay flower
pots, large clay pots, buy clay pots. Use descriptive words when
brainstorming phrases.

- Ask your relatives, kids and friends what they would type in
to find your products. You would be amazed at the great ideas
that can be generated. For example, I asked a teenager once
what he would type in to find shoes online and he said 'nice kicks'.
As of this writing, Overture's keyword selector tool showed a
count of 12130. Hmmm, never would have thought of it on my own.

- Use a thesaurus or Webster’s dictionary to find similar words
to your chosen keywords. Consider all forms of the word.
For example, for the term supply there is supply, supplies,
supplier, supplying. Thinking of all forms of the word help a
great deal in brainstorming keyword ideas.

- If you have a website already, place a search engine on your site.
This would be a search engine that you put on your site that
searches only your site such ashttp://www.freefind.com/ .
This will help you collect data on what keywords users are typing
in. Once you've collected a good list of search terms you can use
this to help you determine the best keywords.

Along this same line, you can also use your website server logs
to gather information on the keywords used to find yoursite.
Once you've made a list of the best keywords and keyword
phrases, you will need to determine which ones are the best.

Your challenge is to find keywords that have a high usage count
but appear on the least amount of competing web pages.
Wordtracker.com is an excellent tool for helping you achieve this.
Wordtracker's 'Keyword Effectiveness Index' (KEI) will provide
you with the number of times a keyword is used along with the
number of competing web pages. The higher the KEI, the more
popular yourkeywords are, and the less competition. This means
a better chance for you in getting to the top of the search engines.

Finding the best keywords and keyword phrases is an important
part of your marketing mix. Find the correct keywords and build
your content around them.

Corey Rudl's Passing - Very Sad News

It saddens me deeply to have learned the passing of Corey Rudl yesterday at the
young age of 34. Corey has been a huge inspiration to the internet marketing world
and has helped many folks realize their internet dreams.

He will be sadly missed and will be in my prayers and thoughts for many days to
come.

Optimal Website Design

Optimal Website Design
By Elizabeth McGee

Optimal website design offers your viewers a logical
flow while making your website interesting and easy
to understand. It will lead your viewers to the starting
point and then direct them through your site without
confusing them.

Here are some excellent tips that can help you develop
a user friendly site and please your visitors senses.
Give your site a chance.

1. Use lots of white space.
Don't feel that because you have a whole screen you need
to fill it up with stuff. Your page should follow a clean outline.
Include your site name at the very top. Below that, list the
subject of your page and below that, expand on your topic.
Leave adequate space between each section.

Don't cram a lot of pictures and ads on your site.
If you have an ad keep it off to the side or subtly intersperse
it between your text. The idea is not to overwhelm your
reader.

2. Don't use animation and flashing objects.
As advertisers we feel the need to get our viewers attention.
This is important but we need to do it gracefully. Flashing
objects and scrolling images distract your visitor and take
away from the content. If your product is better demonstrated
with animation or some other multi-media, allow your viewer to
select the option. Don't force it on them.

3. Every page of your site should contain an 'about' link.
The internet can be a rather cold and quiet environment. If
someone can come to your site and find out about who you are
and what you are about, they can feel a little better about
doing business with you or taking advice from you. Always
include your business address and phone number and email
address as well. This lets viewers know that you are serious
about your business and that you welcome contact.

4. Include a 'Privacy' Link
Viewers like the reassurance that you have a policy that
ollows privacy guidelines. They want to know that you will
not sell or give away their information. In these days of
rampant spam, your privacy policy needs to be prominently
displayed. Many viewers and business partners won't do
business with you unless you have it.

5. Always keep your links in blue.
Why does that matter you might say? It's an expectation that
viewers have along with the links being underlined. There's
certainly no law that says they need to be as such but people
spend a lot of time on the internet and it's good practice to
keep your navigation consistent and recognizable. If it's not
you may lose out on clicks.

6. Keep navigation consistent
What you do on your index page should be done the same
way on the rest of your site's pages. Keep the colors consistent.
Don't force your viewers to relearn each page of your site. Keep
your navigation bars and links the same for each page.

7. Understandable buttons and links.
Title your links appropriately. Don't use cute or misleading
names. For example, if you have a link to sports equipment
don't label the link 'Great Outdoors', call it 'Sports Equipment'.
If you have a link to 'cameras' don't label the link 'hotshots',
label it 'Cameras'. Your viewers don't want to waste time
figuring out what things are. Be clear with your labeling.

8. Focus on the 'YOU', not the 'ME'.
Make it obviously clear to your readers that you are there
for them. What can you do for your reader? What benefits
are there for your viewer? How can you make their life or
business more profitable? Request feedback on their success.
Find out what they want to know and offer it to them.

9. Make sure your page loads fast.
If viewers have to wait for a page to load they will click
elsewhere. Here's a site that will help you determine how
well your page loads. If a page doesn't load in 8 seconds
you lose 1/3 of your visitors. Here's a great free tool to
help you check your website's load time:
http://www.1-hit.com/all-in-one/tool.loading-time-checker.html

10. Use a site map.
A site map will give visitors a "guide" on viewing your site
and also eliminate confusion, especially with larger sites.
It's a road map for your visitors to follow while they are
on your site. Sitemaps will also increase rankings and
placement within the Search Engines.

About the Author:
Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry.She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales.

You can visit Elizabeth at her websites at:
http://www.pro-marketing-online.com/http://www.homenotion.com/
Copyright © 2003-2004 Adlite Enterprises
http://www.pro-marketing-online.com/ All Rights Reserved.

Welcome!

Dear Friends,

Finding the right internet marketing tools for your business can be a frustrating task. There are So many to choose from, and if you choose the wrong ones -- YOU'VE JUST WASTED YOUR MONEY!

If you're like me, you don't want to spend a fortune on marketing. The good news is -- compared to offline marketing, the internet can be a bargain, but it's not a bargain if you use the wrong tools or get scammed by untrustworthy marketers.

My name is Elizabeth and I've spend years researching and using many of the products on this site. I've made tons of mistakes and spent lots of money, however you don't have to make the mistakes I did, but -- you do need knowledge and the right tools.

http://www.pro-marketing-online.com can help you find the tools and products you need for you home business. Our tips, information and strategies are just what you need to keep your business on top.

Best of Success to you,
Elizabeth
http://www.pro-marketing-online.com