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2007-05-26

Do Search Engines ...

Do Search Engines Pay Attention To Your Keywords?

Who wants to know and why?

In a pay-per-click business model you have three core elements - keywords, ads and bids. This is a monetary concept that supposedly pays you back for your efforts. For the majority of users, it has turned out to be a name gatherer for the most part. In respect to keywords counting, it becomes obvious that keywords play a major role in where your ads will appear.

In natural or organic search engine optimization traffic gathering, you have Google guidelines to appease. Then you have supposedly SEO smart users telling you keywords do not matter that much and are seldom taken into account when used in meta tags.

For webmasters wishing to optimize their pages in order to attract hungry search engine spiders, keywords, keyword phrases, long tail keyword phrases all play a roll in where you end up listed in the search engines. If they didn't count then why the bother to bold them, link them, put them in titles and descriptions and more?

So you tell me, do search engines pay attention to your keywords?

Of course it is not as simple as just stating this is or is not so. There are variations on the methodology but assuredly, keywords do count. Search engine bots or spiders as many call them, sort through your page with a discerning eye to content based on a series of algorithms deciding if you meet their criteria.

Using your Main KeyWords In Your Title

Using keywords in your title is one place to test this theory. Choose a search engine and begin your test by using ONE keyword in the title. Make sure that keyword is listed FIRST in your meta tags and is your main copy keyword choice.

Check to see where you ended up ranked in your search engine of choice. Check your alexa ranking out in Google, MSN and Yahoo for results.

Then expand this test and use TWO keywords in your title. Again check to see where you end up ranked in the search engines.

Finally, use THREE keywords in your title and again check to see where you end up ranked in the search engines.

In all cases, make sure the keywords chosen are listed accordingly in your meta tags. Also make sure they are the main keywords in respect to your content.

The Conclusion Of Your Testing

The conclusion of your testing will also depend on the number of times your chosen keywords are used in the body of your text. Keyword density is the key here to proper rankings.

Overdo it and you will be sandboxed or charged with stuffing. The conclusion will be self evident doing this. NO ranking at all.

Pay attention to the number of words in your article and you should see that using TWO KEYWORDS in your title should give you a higher ranking every time over one or three or more keywords listed in your title.

In order to reach this conclusion, you will have to decide on short or long copy and to what degree either will give you the ranking for the keywords you are testing for.

Is short copy better than long copy? Run your tests and send me your feedback. While I can give you the outline of what to do and what to expect, the results of whether search engines pay attention to your choice of keywords is up to your testing.

Do not plan on acquiring a SERPS for doing this test. At best, it will reflect in your Alexa ranking if it brings in more traffic to your site, though stranger things have happened.

Do keywords count? Do your research and you tell me.

Fran Klasinski
SEO Basics

June is just around the corner. The next SWARM Project class is coming up. Do you have your name in for it? There are qualifications you MUST meet. Check it out.

Posted at 04:03:28 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

2007-05-16

Are You Involved In Profitable Niche Marketing?

Are You Involved In Profitable Niche Marketing?

Throwing up fast niche marketing websites, not worried about making mistakes, and looking for adsense ads to create daily passive income is a pretty easy way to go.

However, finding the right niches to create profitable niche marketing is a totally different matter.

How to Serve Up the Wrong Business Niches

Go for the gusto. Whatever turns you on, creates an interest for you, may not work when it comes to making income.

Using membership sites that offer 'red hot' niches every month. How long are they red hot when everyone is suddenly throwing them out there?

Failing to do your research homework on what niche marketing is.

Example:

Baseball would be a general niche .. too wide for niche income creation. Digging into that marketing niche would be sub niches like:

softball
hardball
little league
seniors league
house league
equipment styles

The list can be added to by your experience and from that list you can readily see, some of the niches would not be income producing. Thus you need to see if something like equipment might be popular and with the right site selling or providing information on where to buy the best equipment, could be a possible profitable niche.

Again, you need to be careful about attacking the same niche everyone else may be already using.

The same goes for very popular niche ideas. When too many people begin to use a niche you may already have on the go, get rid of it. What are your chances of making sufficient niche profits when everyone else is doing the same thing?

Depending on keyword search tools to find popular niche choices. They will only tell you the number of times searched for and that is not a good rule of thumb for finding a profitable niche.

Instead, you want to find a profitable niche that is not too big - over searched for on search engines, or too small - not enough searches to make it worth your while to consider marketing.

Finding any profitable niche is a work in progress of searching and testing and dumping until the right one comes along.

Meantime, think hard about the easy way of listening to marketers talking about profitable niches you just have to get into. IF they are telling you and hundreds of others on their lists then those so-called profitable niche or niches are just about over the top for profit potential and niches you need to forget about.

Fran Klasinski
SEO Basics

Posted at 05:31:30 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

2007-05-13

Another Copycat SWARM Project Tester Misses The Mark

Another Copycat SWARM Project Tester Misses The Mark

I saw it again today and my heart stopped in my mouth. Someone had tried their hand at search engine optimization in their blog entry. It was easy to spot with all those underlined, linked keywords.

FIVE keyword phrases repeated over and over again in a 276 wordentry.

TWENTY-TWO times these keyword phrases appeared and each timeI read them my heart sank for this writer who thought they were following solid based information on search engine optimization. Was it just another copycat SWARM Project tester that missed the mark?

Did they pick up their concept from "old" material that is not only outdated but no longer correct for proper page optimization? The "old" way was no more than 3% keyword inclusion based on 300 words minimum. Today, if your page is themed, then the inclusion can be 2-5% preferably closer to 2% keyword inclusion for best optimization and again, no more than THREE relative keyword phrases maximum.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword Stuffing involves the repeated use of a word or phrase in an attempt to increase a page's relevancy. This is considered spamming by the search engines.

Keyword saturation within the allowed boundaries is a must unless you wish to face keyword stuffing penalties. For the uninformed or copycat SWARM Project testers, the first thing you would discover in our teachings, is that keyword stuffing, linking of all the chosen keywords to the same or only a couple of links is considered paramount to overkill and opening your page and even your whole site to the proverbial Google slap.

Since search engines would never publish the exact numbers for maximally allowed keyword frequency or keyword prominence, all we can do is just study top pages in SERPs and make more or less informed guesses. Nevertheless, for the uninformed to take such license by guesswork or something they read somewhere is not the way to earn the favored ear of any search engine let alone build the hope o fnatural search engine traffic.

The SWARM Project teaches the boundaries of search engine algorithms and can put you on the top three pages immediately. Your work will earn you that position and your upgrades will increase the likelihood of your staying on top.

Anyone can gray hat, black hat or use by-guess-and-by-golly attempts to thwart the rules and get an instant ranking .. but it won't last once the spiders get a chance to check you out. The worse part is that one offense, singular, by accident or design can cost you ONE WHOLE YEAR before you will be spidered again. Is it worth it to guess?

The SWARM Project is a six-week intensive course that moves with you.

Your commitment to your own success means you win from day one. NO penalties and NO waiting to be recognized. As you learn and do your ranking moves UP not backwards into oblivion.

Increase Web Traffic or Increase Web Sales?

Your web site goals fall into one of two categories: 1) You want to increase targeted web traffic. 2) You want to take web traffic and convert more sales.

In either case, you get to decide .. one year banned or red flagged for taking a chance, or a 6 week intensive course on search engine optimization that will at the very least save you from cutting your own throat by making accidental bad decisions or being down right too lazy to learn.

Fran Klasinski
SEO Basics

Posted at 09:48:25 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

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