Understanding Google's PageRank Technology

Written by maychaell on 8:25 PM

In the world of Search Engine Optimization, Ranking plays such a vital part, that it is crucial to understand how it works if you want to achieve the highest rankings for your own websites.

There are many different facets to ranking, and it is important to remember that different search engines use different ranking methods, however, lets just focus our attention on Google's page ranking system.

Google's PageRank technology is in fact the very heart of the Google algorithm, and because it determines page ranking based on popularity, it can be likened to a giant electronic voting system. Using that terminology, It stands to reason that the page with the most votes achieves the highest PageRank on a scale of 0-10.

However, it is not just about attaining the most votes. Notice how Google explains PageRank voting:

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B..."

"Google looks at considerably more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; for example, it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." Using these and other factors, Google provides its views on pages' relative importance."

It appears then, that not all "votes" are viewed in the same way. A page that already has many votes will carry more weight than one that only has a few.

So PageRank is determined not just by link quantity, but also by link source importance. So in order to increase your PageRank, you need to get as many links as possible from other websites into yours, especially sites with the higher PageRanks, as they can have an amazing impact on your rank. For example, just one link from a PR10 page would normally be enough to increase your websites rank to PR8, but to get to that same rank from a PR3 page would probably require somewhere in the region of about 350,000 links.

The way PageRank functions across the entire web is by means of a logarithmic pattern, where there are very few pages with a PR10 (PageRank 10, the highest you can get), but hundreds of thousands with a PR0 (the lowest). In order for the average to stay at 1, any increase in the PR of one page is offset by a very small reduction in the PR of every other page.

However, there other factors involved as well, such as the location of keywords on your web page. Now you may wonder what the relevance is regarding where your keywords are placed, does it really matter? With Google's PageRank, it does.

It would appear that the higher the particular keyword appears on the page, the higher the ranking, and this applies to your title tag as well. For example, if you had a website that sells laptops, which would be one of your keywords, but you didn't use the word "laptops" in your title tag, then your ranking would be lower than a website that did. This is because keyword placement is a fundamental aspect to search engine optimization and is something that Google's PageRank analyzes.

The frequency of keywords also plays a factor in PageRank. A page about laptops which uses that word 5 or 6 times, may receive a higher ranking than if you used that word only 2 or 3 times. Of course one must be carefully not to overdo it as that could be viewed as keyword stuffing, resulting in your ranking dropping like a tank falling from the sky, or worse, being banned altogether.

One thing is clear. Page ranking is a very precise science. We have only scratched the surface here as there is much more to understand when it comes to understanding Google's PageRank technology, and as an owner of MyInternetBusiness, I have spent allot of time studying this subject so that I can impart some helpful information to my readers.

How You Can Optimize Your Website For Search Engines?

Written by maychaell on 3:52 PM

What is SEO? It stands for Search Engine Optimization. What is Search Engine Optimization? How does it work? How can we optimize Search Engines?

Let us start with defining the concept of SEO. Are you aware of browser optimization? That is clearing all temporary Internet files stored into the browser's virtual memory to make it function normally as it should.

What is a browser? Browser is a program - a tool you use to go online. If you want to visit a website you open a browser. That browser is part of the Operating System you have with your computer. Common examples of a browser are as follows: Internet Explorer (with several versions), Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, and Safari.

Now that you are already aware of how browser optimization works, let us proceed with knowing what a search engine optimization is. As the term implies, Search Engine, meaning a program or a tool used to search for particular information on the web. Each program functions the way it's designed to perform. Users input an entry or any information they want to know from the Internet. This is using keywords. Search Engine processes the request, send it to the web and gives out matching information from the web. Most popular search engines include: Yahoo Search, Google Search and MSN Search.

Thus, we can come up with an understanding that Search Engine Optimization is simply a process of improving the functionality of the search engine. Just like optimizing browsers, we tend to optimize search engines for them to work properly and even to improve its functionality. Optimizing search engines is just similar with optimizing the website. There are so many ways to optimize you website's search engine but the first thing you need to do to know your website and to double check it's content. Once you found out that your website contains useful information, then for sure you will be able to optimize a powerful search engine.

SEO Techniques

Written by maychaell on 1:20 PM

These are some of the techniques to be the first in any search engines results:

Domain name. You must consider this in the first place. This is your site where in you will input all your good articles. Your domain must be relevant to the content of your webpage.

Keywords. Always use keywords that are being sought for over the Internet. Keywords play a really big deal in all SEO articles and web sites. Also, use synonyms of the keyword you are using. Entitle your page using your keyword phrase. If you were to put a hyperlink or anchor in your page, be sure to include your keywords. Keyword density is also important. Never use too many keywords in a paragraph or article because your article will be marked as spam if there are so many keywords used.

Quality Content. This is what others will say about your article. It should catch more readers. Thus, creates more traffic to your site. Readers who could read your article must be impressed by the thought you are imparting to them. Write or select article that could best describe your site or your article. Input as many information as possible in your article because that's what readers are looking for.

If your site and your article contain even just these three components, you can expect a lot of traffic to your site and a good ranking of your article in most of the search engines. That will provide you a good career in writing in cyber world industry. So, what are you waiting for? Look for a good topic now, and write the best you can.

Why the Need For Search Engine Optimization?

Written by maychaell on 12:28 PM

With all those professional looking easy to install website graphics available why is there the need for search engine optimization? Doesn't the appearance of a website alone make that site more attractive to search engines? In a word, NO.

SEO makes sites more compliant with the rules and policies that govern the internet search engines. The appearance of your site matters very little when people are searching the internet for certain topics or information. You see, if your site does not contain content related to what is being promoted the search engines will not show your site in the search ranking results.

The use of SEO tools is an absolute must if you expect to attract search engine traffic. This type of traffic can be quite considerable in volume over time. When people use search engines they enter in keywords to tell the search engines the type of results they would like to see. If a site does not contain content that's consistent with its title, keywords, or description, search engines will rate the site poorly. A weak rating will get poor exposure in any search results. Poor exposure means little traffic.

The better a site is optimized the higher it will be rated. Obviously this should equate out to more traffic to your site.

Just how exactly do you optimize a website for the search engines?
Well there are many ways to enhance your site in the 'eyes' of the search engines.
Let's quickly review 4 fundamental optimization techniques that should get you results.

Keywords

The proper use of keywords within the content of your site is a must with search engines. Determine those popular words and phrases that can be used to describe what your site is all about and use them conservatively throughout the content. Do not overuse these words or phrases since search engines will recognize this as a flagrant attempt to attract traffic and rank your site poorly. Your content should flow in a natural conversational manner and this would be difficult with the obvious overuse of certain words or phrases.

Site Description

Be sure your description uses a key phrase or word within it. Also insure your description accurately conveys the site content.

Site Title

Again as with the description be sure if possible to use a key phrase or word in the title to reinforce the correlation between the content and the title itself.

Associate with similar sites

By associating with sites that have similar content or themes such as yours you can participate in links exchanges and page transfers. Search engines love the inbound and outbound traffic affiliated with various websites sharing info, references, and of course visitors. This further validates a site resulting in a higher search ranking.

Realizing now the need for search engine optimization, there's no reason why you shouldn't take the simple but required action to maximize your online results. Here's to your online success!

10 Common SEO Mistakes

Written by maychaell on 9:17 AM

There's a huge amount of advice out there about how to optimize your site for search engines. However, despite this the same mistakes keep on cropping up again and again.

Here's a list of the 10 most common search engine optimization (SEO) mistakes:

1) Overuse of Flash. Google recently announced that they can now index flash websites but it's still not advisable to design whole websites or the main navigation in flash.

2) Ignoring Title Tags. Title Tags are possibly the most important element used by search engines to determine the topic of a certain web page. Ignoring title tags or simply inserting your company name as the title will ensure that you won't rank highly for any competitive keywords. Similarly, ensure that each web page of your site has a unique title tag.

3) Using Images as Headings. Keywords are still very important when wishing to rank highly for keywords and inserting your headings as images will result in search engines being unable to read the title and therefore determine what it says. This is an important opportunity lost as titles frequently contain your target keywords.

4) Ignoring URL structure. Including keywords within your URL structure will help to give your web page a boost in search engines. Also, don't use dynamic URLs which contain many elements such as equal signs or question marks. Static URLs are much easier for Google to crawl.

5) Internal Linking. This is one of the most frequent mistakes, yet internal linking is one of the best ways to improve the rankings of the different pages within your site. Make sure that each web page isn't further than two or three clicks from your home page. Also, always link to pages with your target keywords rather than 'click here'.

6) Poor Keyword Placement. An added emphasis is placed by search engines on the first 100 words of a web page. Ensure that you place your target keywords and keyword phrases within this content.

7) Same Meta Description and Keywords. Although search engines tend to ignore the meta description and keywords when it comes to ranking sites, they do still consider them when determining what pages contain duplicate content. Using the same meta description and keywords across multiple pages increases the likelihood that some of your pages will be filtered out by search engines.

8) Duplicate pages. Make sure that search engines only index one version of your website, otherwise you can end up receiving a duplicate content penalty. For example, don't have your website appearing on two different URLs - redirect one to the other.

9) Using incorrect redirects. Sometimes a web page moves location and its previous URL must be redirected to its new location. Always use a 301 redirect to do this. 302 redirects are used for temporary redirection and can result in a Google penalty.

10) Buried Content. Over time many websites and blogs create a huge amount of content which simply ends up being buried within the site. Use internal linking and a clear navigational structure to keep all the content within your site a maximum of three clicks away from your homepage.

Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery - How Do They Compare?

Written by maychaell on 9:55 AM

I have often been asked by readers for more in-depth information on what I think of Keyword Discovery compared to Wordtracker. As you know, I have mainly focused on sharing my expertise in Keyword Forensics and have written two e-books on how to make the best use of Wordtracker for researching behaviors. One of the reasons I have not talked more about Keyword Discovery is because it is a rather completely different system, with different KEI values and frankly, I have not wanted to mix the two. But in fairness to our readers, I think it is an honest question and it deserves to be addressed.

No tool is perfect. While I have personally leaned on Wordtracker for years from the beginning because of it's behavioral research aspects, each keyword research tool has it's own strengths. As a starting point, before I get into any further in depth on any teaching, I think the best thing to do is give you some strengths and weaknesses of both and that will help you make your own informed decisions.

Here is a simple comparison that identifies the strengths of each program. This is based on my own personal experience and primarily where search engine optimization is involved.

Wordtracker - Keyword Forensics - WT has the ability to tap into hidden evidence of user search to find the phrases that "tell a story." Fascinating and very powerful way to quickly mine great data.

Keyword Discovery - Keyword Discovery does not have the same advantage with respect to this type of research. You can find great data, but not the same behaviorally related detail that without doing some digging.

Wordtracker: KEI effectiveness - Keyword effectiveness index indicates the probable effectiveness of a phrase based on a unit of measurement. Higher the number the better.

Keyword Discovery: KEI effectiveness - Keyword effectiveness index in KD works fine as well but is based on a completely different scale of 1 to 10. Don't confuse the two.

Wordtracker: Offers Reports for Purchase - Wordtracker sells a variety of other reports starting from 10,000 keywords for $69.00 to a report of the top 20 million most searched phrases for about $54,000US.

Wordtracker offers reports in quantities of:
* 10,000
* 20,000
* 100,000
* 500,000
* 1 million, 5 million and 20 million in size.

Keyword Discovery: Reports for Purchase - Keyword Discovery also offers Top Keyword Search Term reports of 10,000 for $99.95 which is a little more money. But the benefit you have with Keyword Discovery is that you can also order their Top term reports based on:

* Historical data
* News data
* Premium data
* E-bay data
* or based on shopping data

Keyword Discovery also will sell you very focused lists that they call "Exhaustive Lists of keywords."

Wordtracker: Historical Research Data - Not yet

Keyword Discovery: Historical Research Data - Yes it is available

Wordtracker: Languages Available - English US data, English UK data

Keyword Discovery: Languages Available - English plus Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and several other languages.

Wordtracker: Database Size - Wordtracker has a database of approximately 300 to 350 million queries within the last 100 days. Wordtracker Data comes from the Metacrawlers.

Keyword Discovery: Database Size - Keyword Discovery collects search term data from close to different 200 search engines world wide. Their historical global Keyword database contains over 36 billion searches.

Wordtracker: Seasonally Related Data - Not available yet

Keyword Discovery: Seasonally Related Data - Keyword Discovery search data can be displayed in a graphical format to help identify seasonal search trends over the previous 12 months.

Wordtracker: Industry Keywords Tool - Nothing comparable yet

Keyword Discovery: Industry Keywords - Industry Keywords is a tool that tracks the most popular search terms that drive actual traffic to sites in any selected industry. This data enables you to compare the keywords you are currently getting traffic for, with that of your industry competitors.

The purpose of this article is not to say one is better than the other. But depending on your specific needs, you should be aware of all of the available options there are out there and choose what works best for you. I highly recommend both of these tools and services to all SEO professionals and Webmasters who want access to great data. I will share more information on these subjects in the future.

Search Engine Optimization - How it Helps

Written by maychaell on 10:11 AM

Search Engine optimization (SEO) is the concept of altering a website to make it user friendly and increase the probability of it being read by the search engine bots and achieving the desired position in the Search Engine Result Pages.Just launching a website and placing it on a few search engines is not enough to expect that visitors will flock to your site.

The main aim of search engine optimization is to increase the visibility of a web site, push it to be among the high ranking sites, and increase the conversion rates, which means converting the surfers who click on the web sites into actual buyers.You should have all the information about your prospective buyers. You should know whether your prospective buyers are just clicking on your site and not buying anything, whether they are subscribing or downloading, or whether they are just surfing and moving onto next site.

To change all these passive actions into active ones, your company will require Search engine optimization (SEO) services.

These services should be dynamic and client specific. If the conversion rate is not healthy, you are bound to lose your prospective customers and that too to your rival site.Search engine optimization (SEO) increases traffic to your site and create new business and vigorous market for your products. Main search engines deal with around 400 million web searches everyday, day after day and an effective SEO can help you get some piece of this sweet pie.

Search engine optimization provides better returns on money invested than other conventional forms of internet marketing such as banner campaigns and email marketing. SEO can be seen as a long term investment because after a website has been optimized for different search engines, it can remain at the top in the rankings for longer period of time.

So, to popularize your website, the first logical step is to make it content-rich. Using keywords that are better than the number one ranking site is the second key to increasing ranking of your site. You should accept the fact that there are no sure-shot secrets of obtaining high rankings for your site. You should know what keywords have helped the leader to be the top ranking site and then constantly monitor them and rework information.

Use Brand Building and SEO in Tandem

Written by maychaell on 8:57 AM

While smaller companies will always struggle to justify a large marketing budget, it is possible to make what is available work twice as hard by doubling up on objectives and results. Never more so than in the complimentary areas of brand building and search engine optimisation.

Being a start-up is no excuse for poor marketing. With the social media explosion and proliferation of online opportunities, it's both easy and inexpensive to take your marketing viral and use search engine optimisation to steal your rivals' thunder.

So what if you can't afford a full page ad in the Times? Does it matter that you won't ever see your brand splashed wantonly across the monthly glossies? Online marketing via creative SEO is actually a much more powerful tool. After all, what percentage of your target market buys every edition of the print media? If they're reading on the Tube or listening to competitor ads on the radio while stuck in traffic, are these people whose eyes and ears you are paying for truly in a position to actually dial your number or log on to place an order at that second anyway?

Compare that scenario with this - you get a positive review on a third party site (think Amazon, Kelkoo or Yelp), that prompts clients past and present to comment. A potential purchaser happens across the discussion while researching their upcoming buy and they log on to your site fully briefed by their peers on your brand integrity. Surely this is a much more productive way of wooing your client base?

With upwards of 200-million users registered with at least one social networking site, this grassroots approach can be used to drive targeted traffic and build online brand buzz. Using these bookmarking sites, forums, blogs, press distribution channels and the like strays into search engine optimisation territory. That's what is so fabulous about online brand building. Not only can it be done on a fraction of the budget but the upshot is increased search engine placement.

The two main considerations for SEO are on-page content and off page referrals (link backs). Coincidently, both of these play a significant role in online brand building. Keyword rich press releases and articles get across important promotional messages, reinforcing core brand values and aiding brand penetration. They are also an essential element of any modern optimisation campaign. Distributed online via pr channels, RSS feeds and e-zines they generate valuable links, helping to increase visibility by pushing the site through search engine result pages.

With a good press release or article, the average company has a veritable arsenal of SEO and brand building opportunities. There's also a huge scope to get creative and beat the big budgets at their own game. A lack of money to spend on advertising does not drain creativity. In fact, the best digital marketing initiatives have been fuelled by a penny pinching borne of necessity.

After adding the content to the web site in question, the PR item can be used as a starting point for creative blogging and bookmarking activities. These actions create the links needed for optimisation success while building a grass roots community and facilitating client interaction with the brand. A quirky piece will start a flurry of bookmarking and online commentary, driving quality traffic and raising profile. And, with this traffic, links and profile follow - as does a better position in search results.

Smart SEO Strategies For Quick Link Building

Written by maychaell on 9:23 AM

The better the number of backlinks you have the greater your website has a chance of ranking in search engines. This stands true even today but its not just links rather quality backlinks which can earn you first page placements in major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. All this will depend upon the smart SEO strategy which you adopt and besides some good links you could also earn some Google Juice which will enable your website to get some wonderful page ranks which could go a long way towards improving the marketability of your website.

Let me tell you inbound links have more importance as compared to outbound links so just follow some of my SEO tips for building links and your website could top the charts of search engines and attract visitors to your website.

Given below are some of my personal SEO strategies which I adopt for creating backlinks for my website.

Directory Submission

This is an old age SEO technique for gaining backlinks which seems to have lost some sheen in today's scenario but you can bank upon it for gaining some harmless links. Though free links can take a few months to get accepted but believe me it will worth the wait.

Article Submission

Another good SEO technique for building links which could get cached within a short period of time as compared to directories. Just opt for some good article directories and you could end up with around three links per article. Please refrain from self promotional articles or your efforts could go down the drain. Thumb rule is to write general articles and you could end up gaining some valuable links for your website.

Blog comments

Once in a while you can post some intelligent comments on high PR blogs which can earn you some page rank juice besides links also. If implemented smartly this SEO strategy can get you some high page rank by the next update.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking sites are another way to increase your link count but don't overdo it or you might end up with their wrath. Over a period of time several spam sites have used social bookmarking websites as a dumping ground for their links but if you act within restraint you could use them as a way to give a push to your link count. Another smart SEO strategy but please don't overdo it or you could get penalized.

Link Exchange

This SEO technique can also be used but it should not be overdone and you should only end up exchanging links with websites having a PR same as your website or higher than it as only then it will prove beneficial for your website.

Trade Links

Though search engines don't approve of such technique and label it under black hat SEO technique but one or two links purchased from websites of repute could do well for the ranking and PR of your website.

Just follow some of my link building tips and experience a change in the positioning and traffic statistics of your website within a short period of time.

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Here I'll share my knowledge, discovery and experience related to my hobby and work. Most articles on this site are related to SEO, tips and make money online.

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