Name: Attraction Website Design
Address: 2630 Crossgates Dr, Wilmington, DE, 19808
Telephone: (302) 633-1482

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Keywords

November 22, 2014 by Ray

Website content and invisible tips for better rankings.

Build your website for both humans and search engine ‘spiders’ or ‘robots’. Play by the rules and you can enjoy higher placement than your competitors who have not taken the additional time for proper SEO techniques.

People are searching online for your products or services. Make it easy for them to find you! Webmaster Ray is an expert at on-page SEO. Call or email with any questions or click link at right for “off-page” SEO help.

Top 20 SEO Tips

Domain Name (URL) or website name should use “search terms”.
Samples: AcademicConnectionsTutoring.com BestNetworkMarketingMLM.com

Page titles appear on browser bar. Brief, keyword heavy descriptions (4-8 words). Each page should highlight different “terms”.
No “Welcome to my website” or other superfluous headings!

Invite Robots! META tag Some engines use robots to “crawl” the web and through your entire website periodically to check for updates.

Page Description META tag Accurate description of page contents and goals, including major keywords. (10-20 words)

Keywords META tag List major keywords that are included in content. (not as important as description or title tags)

Stylesheets (CSS) Text and background defaults for entire site or individual pages – help reduce page file size and site editing.

ALT tags provide text descriptions for images, adding content to your page (use keywords) and assisting visually impaired visitors.

Broken Links penalize you in some search engines and show visitors that your site is out-of-date.

Proper Code Incorrect or outdated HTML, PHP, ASP, Javascript, etc code can also penalize you in search engines. Code Validators are available.

Sitemap helps search engines find all pages

Visitor Statistics can help you improve site by showing how many people visit, how long they stay, where they are referred from and other information. StatCounter

Inbound Links from high ranking websites are valuable, especially if they appear on content pages that visitors actually read. Request links from partner sites for quality traffic.

Internal Links show that there is varied information within the site, instead of just a few basic pages.

Keyword Stuffing – Avoid going too far with use of keywords in title and content of pages. Optimal amount of keyword use is 3-7% with more than that possibly penalizing you.

From Wikipedia.org: Not all sites have identical goals for search optimization. Some sites are seeking any and all traffic, and may be optimized to rank highly for common search phrases. A broad search optimization strategy can work for a site that has broad interest, such as a periodical, a directory, or site that displays advertising with a CPM revenue model. In contrast, many businesses try to optimize their sites for large numbers of highly specific keywords that indicate readiness to buy. Overly broad search optimization can hinder marketing strategy by generating a large volume of low-quality inquiries that cost money to handle, yet result in little business. Focusing on desirable traffic generates better quality sales leads, resulting in more sales. Search engine optimization can be very effective when used as part of a smart niche marketing strategy.

From Wikipedia.org: Editing web pages to replace vague wording with specific terminology
relevant to the subject of the page, and that the audiences that the site was developed for will expect to see on the pages, and will search with to find the page.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is available, to be part of “paid listings” or “sponsored listings” on Google or Yahoo. Overture is an example.

From SEO-guy.com:
Anchors are used to reference specific locations on a page from other locations on that same page.
These “on page links” are yet another place to get your main keywords in and boost that “on page” density.
An example is “back to the top” at the end of a page. Except as smart optimizers, we use our keywords instead of phrases like “back to top”. Here is an example:
At top of page I place my anchor: a name=”seo”
Here I put SEO (instead of “TOP”)
I’ve now created a same page link containing my keyword and thus increased my density as well as received added weight by virtue of it being an anchor.

Google Simple SEO Tips

SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Domain Registration, inexpensive Hosting, multiple email accounts, traffic analysis, and more hits on your site can all be provided in addition to web design and development.

Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington DE, Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Denver, St. Louis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and everywhere in between!
The Webmaster will see you now! (302) 633-1482 (8am-5pm ET)

Reciprocal links and link exchange

February 27, 2013 by Ray

Any inbound link is a good one, but there is a wide difference in their quality. One link from a respected, popular website may be worth more than ten links from low-ranking or poor quality sites.

Reciprocal Links: friends and associates
Trade links with business associates and anyone else you know with a website. Contact fellow members of associations, your chamber of commerce, social organizations, or any group you’re part of. Place links to each others’ sites since you already know and trust them. Maybe you’ll be allowed a longer description or preferred page placement because of your relationship.

It’s more helpful if the site content is related, but even being located in the same geographical area lends a degree of “relevance”. If people aren’t capable of adding links, they should contact Attraction Web Design for help [nice shameless plug].

Reciprocal Links: the open market
Trading links has always been a popular way to increase the number of inbound links. Exchanging links allows both sites to benefit, so everyone is happy (including the hungry S.E. tiger!!). This can be a time-consuming measure, so there is software that can be bought and there are online services to automate the process. One worthwhile service with both free and fee options is http://www.LinkPartners.com.

Links are more valuable from highly ranked sites with good traffic, so a link from Microsoft gives you more credit than one from Joe’s Computers.
Avoid FFA Link Farms – A FFA (Free For All) website enables any website owner to place their link on a web page. These are worthless, since search engines despise this practice and won’t give you credit.
Ensure that your link is actually posted on the other site and that it is not just a bogus “Link Farm” itself, meaning there is no site content.
Fewer links on a page means more “link juice” to be divided among them, so if your link is on a page with over 100 others, it may be virtually worthless.

Link Building – creating inbound links

February 14, 2013 by Ray

To link or not to link, that is the question! In general, the more the merrier, however some links can harm your site’s “reputation” if they are in a bad neighborhood.

Avoid questionable link building strategies
Be careful! If you see a link building opportunity that appears suspicious, ignore it. You could be wasting your time or even risk having your site penalized for significant periods of time by search engines. It’s up to you to verify legitimacy and value of any agreements.

“White Hat” SEO practices refer to safe, honest and trustworthy methods of obtaining links. “Black Hat” practices are unscrupulous site design or link-building methods with the purpose of cheating or tricking search engines. Examples of these “bad guys” are excessive use of keywords on a page or sites designed purely to list links.

Post links everywhere you can think of
Include your web address in any online information about yourself. Your fraternal organization, church, college alumni association, civic association, sports or activity club, networking group, support circle, may allow you to post a personal profile where you can add a link or even brief advertisement. Ask friends to link from their MySpace page!

Submit yourself to awards sites
Find sites that offer to post your link as a “site of the day” or any other reason. One place to start is http://CoolSiteoftheDay.com, which ranks highly in search engines.

Use affiliate programs to get linked
If you have a product, start your own affiliate program and email related sites who’d like to add another stream of income. Not only might you earn cash yourself, but each affiliate gladly provides another inbound link to help you climb higher in Google and Yahoo! http://Clickbank.com is an easy way to use a system already in place (for digitally delivered products only). Join for $50 and affiliates post a banner or text link to automatically receive credit for customers who purchase through their links.

Publish in other people’s newsletters
Offer to write articles for eZines or email newsletters of associates (and even competitors) in your industry. Anyone publishing regular materials needs content, so your “payment” may be a link to your site, along with a one-sentence description.

Internal page links
Even internal links (within your site) can help. This includes anchor links within a page to jump from one area to another.

From SEO-guy.com: “Anchors are used to reference specific locations on a page from other locations on that same page. These “on page links” are yet another place to get your main keywords in and boost that “on page” density.

An example is “back to the top” at the end of a page. Except as smart optimizers, we use our keywords instead of phrases like “back to top”. Here is an example:
At top of page I place my anchor: a name=”seo”
Farther down, I put SEO (instead of “TOP”)
I’ve now created a same page link containing my keyword and thus increased my density as well as received added weight by virtue of it being an anchor.”

Relative value of links
As with the entire “Google formula” for calculating rankings, the value of links has it’s own complicated formula. Anchor text, relevancy of the other site, page rank of the other site, number of links per page and the other factors play a role. Even the words [or search terms] in text surrounding a link affects it’s quality in the eyes of Google.
Just remember that all links are not created equal!

Submit links to directories and search engines

January 20, 2013 by Ray

Link building is a important for achieving greater page rank in search engines. Along with quality content, search engines view inbound links as proof that your site is valuable to visitors. In other words, if lots of sites link to yours, your site must have worthwhile information, since in affect, they are citing you as an authority or a reference.

Free Directory Submissions
Directories are the logical place to start your link building campaign. They are happy to post your site to build their list or relevant results. Submit your site to as many web directories as you can. You can later refresh your information by re-submitting it, especially if content has changed. Free directories can take weeks, or even months to include your site. It is only necessary to submit your home (index) page.
Start with Google, Yahoo, MSN and the Open Directory.

Specialized Directories
Besides general category directories, you should submit to industry and geographically specific directories. These will help your search engine ranking and they can also drive targeted traffíc to your site. If you are a member of an association, the association website may include a list of members.

The state, county, region or city you live in may have a directory of sites for that particular area. Many will offer a basic listing for free with the option of an enhanced listing for a fee. http://www.Craigslist.org allows free advertising as long as you follow their guidelines.

Paid Directory Submissions
Annual subscriptions can be purchased for directories such as Yahoo, BOTW, and http://www.Business.com. They will add your profile more quickly than their free counterparts and are more likely to allow you to choose the title of your link. This gives you the opportunity to build your links according to your targeted keywords instead of simply the site name.

For example if your site is ‘ABC Lawn Co.’, a better ‘title’ in a directory or any other website would be “Grass and Lawn Mowing Service” since it directly includes several applicable terms. Paid directories may also allow deep linking to individual pages of your website so that particular search terms will automatically lead visitors to pertinent information.

Internal and external page links

September 17, 2012 by Ray

Abide by ‘best practices’ for linking within a website and to other internet resources. Use appropriate colors, underlining, Anchor text and code to receive the most value.

Links must be obvious
Make internal and external links apparent (blue, underlined) and stand out from the rest of the text on page. If links are bold, make them a different color than other bold text. Roll-over effects such as lighting up are very helpful. It’s wise to include internal links within page text in addition to those in the navigation menu. It facilitates visitors finding the specific details they seek.

Avoid underlining words that are not links
If links are underlined, don’t underline regular text. Visitors may become aggravated when they click on words that aren’t active links, since underlining is a conventional way to present them.

Include keywords in Anchor Text of links
Describe what you’re linking to, both internally and externally. You’ll get more credit by using search terms in the text of links. For example, let’s say you’re linking to a page about circus animals. “Click Here” doesn’t use terms people may search for, but “See circus animals” contains the exact phrase and will help give your circus animals page higher rank.

Text links are more valuable than buttons
Since buttons are basically images, even though they’re attractive, they don’t quite pull as much weight as standard text links, so if much of your navigation is based on clicking buttons or other images, at least include an additional set of text links (possibly at the bottom of the page). This keeps the tigers well fed and is also helpful to human visitors who find themselves at the bottom of long pages.

Add more internal links
Besides regular navigation links, include links within the text of pages to guide readers toward important (income-producing) areas.

• For long scrolling pages, links within text prevent people from having to go to top or bottom of page to move on.

• Contextual links make it easy for people to continue to the next step of the process as soon as they’re sufficiently excited. So you may want to include it in several places. Some people will want to read the whole page, but others will be happy to save time by continuing where they are being directed.

Ensure that all links function correctly
Remove dead or “broken” external links and test to be sure that all links function properly. Bad links annoy visitors and penalize you in search engines.

Tell search engine spiders which links to ignore
This is a little technical, but important. All links on a page share the total value of “link juice” that search engines assign. If there’s one link, it gets full credit. Three links would mean each gets one third of the credit and so on. More links mean less value per link. If there are certain pages on your site that don’t require high search engine position (such as privacy policy or contact forms or other administrative pages), you can tell the spiders to ignore those links, thereby keeping higher credit among the more important internal and external links. We use the “nofollow tag“:
<a ref=”privacy.html” rel=”nofollow”>Privacy Policy</a>

Treat external links the same way. If a third-party website may have helpful information to visitors, add it. But include the “nofollow” tag if their search engine rank is not as important as other external links, such as a second website you may have yourself!

Find out more about best linking practices and over 200 additional web design tips in my Boost Your Website’s Profitability eBook.