A common mistake those building links to . . . → Read More: Increase Search Engine Rankings with Deep Linking]]> While most people know that getting links to their websites is critical if they want higher rankings with the search engines, they are often unaware of how to link properly. Those who want to get the most out of links to their websites need to be aware of deep linking.

A common mistake those building links to their sites make is to concentrate too much, or exclusively, on links to the top page of their domain. While this is the single most important page to build links to for many sites, it is not the only page that needs linking.

The algorithms search engines use when determining how to rank sites look for natural linking patterns. In other words, those sites that show signs of receiving links because users find their content interesting and valuable will do the best. Since the content that people naturally want to link to on websites is often on pages deeper in the site and not on the top page, good sites that are getting links naturally because of their content will have direct links to pages deeper in their sites.

Therefore, anyone building links to their sites needs to make sure to not only to link to their top pages. By building links to pages deeper in a site, a technique known as deep linking, the linking will look more natural and count for more with the search engines.

Deep linking is also a way to bring more traffic to the more interesting pages of a website and target more keywords. Most sites are targeting a number of keywords. Create well-written articles that contain those words. Then, include those keywords in the anchor text that links to the page with the article. This will bring in more targeted visitors and help the site rank for those keywords in the search engines. Often, these deeper pages are more interesting than the top pages of sites and will impress visitors more.

Article directories are one of the best ways to build links and are a good way to get deep links. Most directories offer two or more links to the site that is being promoted in exchange for posting the article. A common tactic is to place one link to the top page of a site targeting the main keywords and use all the other links allowed for deep linking and alternate keywords.

How many links should go to the top page and how many should be devoted to deep linking will vary greatly with the site. It is always a good idea to look at how a site is ranking with traffic and keywords when deciding. If the site is doing well with the main keywords, it is probably time to devote more linking to the deeper pages and other keywords. Look for and target pages that have the most potential.

Remember that some deep linking can be done within the site itself. Having keywords in anchor text is good for SEO even when it is within the site. Internal linking also helps visitors with navigation. Internal linking should be kept organized and should only occur between parts of the site that are within the same category.

Deep linking makes link building more natural while offering great SEO and other benefits. Any webmaster building links should include it in their program.

Reasons . . . → Read More: Writing for Website Building Success]]> Making a successful website usually requires writing a lot of content. Be it for the site itself or for SEO (search engine optimization), no webmaster can ever have too many articles. This makes starting an article writing campaign a great way to get a crowd of visitors and the highest rankings possible with the search engines.

Reasons so many articles are needed.
Internet use often centers around reading. People are looking for information, and the written word if often the quickest way to present it to them. Furthermore, the algorithms search engines use to decide what the site is about and how to rank it rely on a lot on written content. Furthermore, links to a site from articles, be it those posted on article directories or other websites, are seen as votes for that site in the eyes of the search engines. All of this makes creating good, relevant articles for a site so important.

Start creating articles
With such a need for articles, where is one to begin? Here are some ways to get started on writing content that will make any website popular.

Pretend to be a visitor
Stop and think about what any visitor to the website being built would want to know. Make a list and then start writing about each topic on it. Those who get stuck on one topic should set it aside and go back to it later.

Get over self doubts and ideas about perfection
While having good, quality content with proper grammar and flow is important, keep in mind that one can spend forever trying to make writing perfect. Minor mistakes that are tough for the writer to find will probably not be noticed by the reader. Remember that most sites are not created by professionals and have flaws as all people do. Self-doubt must not get in the way of creating the content needed.

Stay motivated
Remember that the articles will furnish visitors to the site with valuable information or will be providing links that will bring visitors to the site. Once they are online, they will be working for the webmaster even when he or she is not!

Get going with free writing
For most writers, it is best to start by free writing. First, get as many sentences and ideas down as quickly possible without worrying about form or mistakes. Once this is done, go through what has been written to organize the sentences, improve quality and correct errors.

A little time every day
It has been said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Just devote part of every day to writing articles. With organization and experience, a lot can get done over time even with less than an hour a day.

Keep an eye open for topics
Some good ways to get articles ideas include:

• Look at other sites in the same niche. While one should never copy, there is nothing wrong with using others’ ideas to write articles
• Go to article directories and look up popular articles on the niche. This is a great way to find out what people most want to read.
• Visit forums on the niche and find out what people are interested in. Threads that have a lot of comments are a great place to start.
• If there are news stories that relate to a niche, the topic of the story is likely a good idea for an article.

Do not get discouraged.
Everyone gets writer’s block at times and internet marketing takes time. Occasionally, one should take some time off to put the mind at ease. This helps get the creative juices flowing again.

While things move fast in the internet age, it still takes time for visitors to take notice of a site and for search engines to give it more priority. An online business often takes years to build just like an offline business.

Be it for building up a site or for building links to it, keep writing a steady supply of articles. It can also be fun and will increase the webmaster’s knowledge of the niche.

Impressions and Click . . . → Read More: PPC Advertising Tips]]> SEO (search engine optimization) takes time, and it is highly unlikely anyone can optimize their site for all the keywords they would like. In these situations, using PPC (pay per click) advertising is a good option. However, anyone using it should consider the following so that their advertising dollars go as far as possible:

Impressions and Click Through
The first goal of PPC adverting is for your ad impressions (how often your ads appear in search engines) to generate clicks. This is called the click through ratio (CTR). Test the appeal of your ads by rotating them (most PPC services offer advertisers the option of displaying more than one ad).

Conversion Ratio
For your PPC campaign to be cost effective, you must also consider your conversion ratio (the amount of clicks that actually lead to sales). Watch your conversion ratio to measure exactly what kind of return you are getting for your advertising dollar. Keep track of your CTR costs, conversion ratio profits and adjust your campaign accordingly.

Low Conversion Ratio
If your conversion ratio is low, you might consider adding more specific wording to your ads to weed out those who might not be interested in or able to purchase your product before they click. You can also set your ads to appear only in certain geographic regions or at times where you have found higher conversion ratios. Finally, it may be necessary to redesign your site or consider if your product is really practical to sell through PPC.

Ad Positioning
PPC campaigns work like auctions with advertisers bidding for top positions. The CTR is much higher for ads within the top three listings and drops dramatically after the first page. The second listing is considered best by many advertisers because the top spot often generates many impulsive clicks that have a poor conversion ratio.

Advertisers occasionally drop out and the price of tops bids can sometimes decrease. Periodically check your bids to ensure you are not paying any more than needed.

Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords are specific chains of keywords that people sometimes search for. For example, instead of software, a long tail keyword that people might use in searches could be “keyword finding software”. If you are selling software that does this, it would be wise to bid on a phrase like that instead of just “software” since you will likely get a lower price and more targeted customers. Target your most effective keywords with the most ad money.

Content Network
If you use the content network in your PPC campaign, your ads will also appear on other websites. These ads are generally less effective than ads that appear on search engine result pages and should have lower bids.

In Summary:

• Keep track of your bids to insure you are at the optimal position and price for your budget.
• Use long tail keywords for lower bids and more focused clicks.
• Try different ads for best CTR and target them to appear at the best times and geographic areas for your product.
• Use the conversion ratio to keep track of your sales and weigh the results against your costs.
• Ads with more specific wording may reduce your CTR but increase your sales/clicks ratio.
• Remember content network ads are generally less effective than those that appear in search engine results.
• Back the best keywords and ads with the most money.

What is social bookmarking? Almost everyone has bookmarked sites within their web browsers. . . . → Read More: Social Bookmarking and Social Buzz]]> Social bookmarking has exploded on the scene to become a valuable internet tool for people to use and a way to promote one’s online content. The following is a look at what it is and how to take advantage of it to generate web traffic.

What is social bookmarking?
Almost everyone has bookmarked sites within their web browsers. While this works fine in many situations, it has its disadvantages. The main problem with this type of bookmarking is that it is tied to one computer even though most people use many machines.

What social bookmarking offers
When using a social bookmarking service, bookmarks are stored online (although they can be downloaded). This gives users the ability to login, access and manage their bookmarks from anywhere.

Furthermore, with the bookmarks online, the user can choose to share them and offer comments about content. By using this information, people can network and find sites of interest to them. Naturally, this leads the use of using social bookmarking as a tool for marketing and SEO.

Bookmarking and SEO
Those using social bookmarking to promote websites need to first keep in mind that it is not a way to suddenly build many high-quality links. In fact, most links from social bookmarking sites are of relatively low quality since the search engines have caught on to people abusing social bookmarking for marketing. While the direct bookmarking will help generate traffic, the main benefit from social bookmarking comes when creating what is called a “social buzz.”

A bookmarking social buzz
When content gets enough votes and bookmarks, the attention thus generated can start to snowball and bring in even more visitors. When these people start to vote it up further still, a social buzz is created. Note this can be done both with websites that have been bookmarked or news stories which have been syndicated on services like Mixx or Reddit. This effect sometimes gives content a lot of exposure with minimal effort bringing linking and other long-term benefits.

Creating a social buzz
To create a social buzz, one needs good content. It needs to be something that informs, amuses, surprises or has something else that makes it stand out above typical internet content. This can be anything from a good article or graph to an online book. Do careful research and be creative. Then, try to start buzzes with the best content.

How to create a social buzz
Even great content will likely not get noticed on its own so it is necessary to help it along. Software like Bookmarking Demon and Social Bot can help automate the submission process. For those willing to invest more, Synnd, a paid subscription service, allows those trying to create a social buzz to use the accounts of many users to give their content much greater visibility. As a cheaper alternative, one can create accounts under different names and vote up their own content to get a buzz started.

Also, free social bookmarking toolbars should also be installed on one’s sites to make it easier for those visiting the sites to bookmark and share.

Keep in mind that it needs to be natural. Just as people do not usually bookmark several pages of the same website; it is not a good idea to bookmark more than one page of a website on a single account. Use each social bookmarking account created as it was intended to be used.

Always remember that the real value in social bookmarking is to get a social buzz started. For this to happen, those with content to promote need to create the right conditions. It takes some work, but it is a great way to get visitors to a site, increase inbound links and reap the benefits of greater online prosperity.

Why links are needed There are many factors that determine which sites come . . . → Read More: Increase Rankings with Article Marketing]]> To do well in search engine rankings, websites need links. There are various ways to build them, but one of the most effective both in terms of costs and results is article marketing. This makes knowing the basics of article marketing crucial to every webmaster.

Why links are needed
There are many factors that determine which sites come up on the top page of Google, and which get buried way in the back. However, links are arguably the most important. Search engines look at links to a site as votes as to the quality of its content. Those sites with the most votes for certain keywords often win and reach the top of search engine results.

The basics article marketing
There are various websites out there that consist of almost entirely of articles written by people who are not connected to the site in any way. In exchange for the content, the article website will allow the writer to place at least one link back to a site of their choice with the article. This link can provide both SEO (search engine optimization) benefits and bring visitors directly to the site if they click on the link.

Dofollow and nofollow article directories
For a link to give any SEO benefits, it needs to be dofollow. If the link is nofollow, the link will not count as a vote in the eyes of search engines. Those who want more than just direct traffic from their articles need to check to see what kind of links the directory gives.

Writing for article directories
When writing for an article directory, one should give the articles as much care as they would do for articles on their own sites. Create articles that are informative and useful. By writing valuable content, the article will attract more attention and more visitors. In time, good articles will begin to rank higher in search engines and rise in search engine rankings. This will make the links from these articles count for more.

Length of articles
Articles need to be long enough to contain a lot of useful information but not so long that the writer spends too much time on them. Generally, articles should be 400 words or more (many directories will not accept articles shorter than that). However, articles going several hundred words past 400 risks wasting writing time and losing the attention of the reader.

Types of articles to write
Article directories cover just about every topic out there. For best results, the articles should be related as closely to the theme of the site as possible. Keep in mind that people scan articles much more quickly when reading on the internet than they would when reading from other sources. This makes it a good idea to divide the article into sections with subtitles, lists and the like for easy scanning and reference whenever possible.

Republishing
Another benefit of article directories is that others may republish the articles they like on their own sites. When this is done properly and the link is included, it provides additional links back to the site the article was written for.

Back links
Most directories will allow two or more back links. For best results, put the link within the article if the directory permits and always use anchor text that includes the targeted keywords.

Other writing tips
Remember that the article needs to attract attention quickly so a catchy title can really help. When practical, the article should lead the reader into clicking on the link.

Ezine Articles is rated the best directory by most. It is probably a good idea to use at least a few directories to get a variety of links from different sources. Article marketing is a great tool for SEO and traffic and should be used by every webmaster working to increase exposure to their sites.