MARKETING TIPS

by Paul Short as a service of:  Laurie Anderson, TheYellowPagesDotCom(tm) (c) Copyright 2000, TheYellowPagesDotCom
Optimizing your website for better search engine rankings requires some special knowlege and also takes a lot of time and hard work to be done effectively. This article outlines only the basic mechanics of website optimization. It is not meant to be taken as a total solution to getting your site listed higher in the search engine listings.
Keep in mind the following main points as they are the basis for the whole process.

  Focus: Your site should be focused on no more than three main
  keywords or keyword phrases for maximum results.

  Content: Your site should be set up as a valuable resource of
  information on one particular topic. This is how you'll
  generate your keywords and phrases.

  Uniqueness: Your site should offer something that no one else
  has. Concentrate on this as the theme of your site.

  Ok, let's jump right into the action.

  Optimizing Your Title
  ---------------------
The main purpose of the title is to accurately describe what your web page is all about. It tells in a few words why a visitor is either on your site right right now, or why they should click on your site in a search engine listing. You could also look at it as your sites "Headline", and write it as just
that, a headline.

  Pick 3 main keywords or 2 - 3 keyword phrases and use them in
  your title, but make sure the title still makes sense and also
  offers the viewer a reason to choose your site. Be creative but
  keep it relevant and stress your sites theme. Benefits sell.
  Show the potential viewer the benefits right in the title.

  How am I suppose to include all that in my sites title? you
  ask. Well, the most effective way is to do some research. Go to
  the major search engines and type in keywords and phrases that
  a potential viewer may enter if they were looking for the type
  of information your site is offering. Out of the top 10 or so
  sites that are listed, which has the most compelling title? In
  other words, what would make you want to click on their site?

  Do this with several keywords and phrases, log the results on
  on paper for use later and move on to the next section.

  Keyword selection
  -----------------
This seems to be the "Holy Grail" of search engine submission services and novices alike. The perfect keyword phrases. Although having the right mix of keywords is important, your goal is not only to get listed high in search results, but also to get the right type of people to click on your site.

  Prequalifying your sites viewers will bring quality traffic,
  people more likely to take advantage of what your site has to
  offer.

  With this in mind, write up a list of at least 25 keywords
  and/or phrases based on the info you gathered in the previous
  section on titles. Then take your list and cut and slash it
  down to no more than 3 keywords or phrases most accurately
  related to your sites content and purpose. These three keywords
  will be the basis for your whole optimization process.

  They'll be used in your title, your META tags, the description
  and body copy of your pages and even in the ALT text of your
  images.
 

  META Tags
  ---------

  The two main META tags used by most search engines are the:

  <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="your,keywords,here,">

  <META NAME="description" CONTENT="your description here">

  They are used by some, not all search engines along with your
  sites title to index and rate your site in their listings and
  also to provide the viewer with the text that appears when your
  site shows up in search results.

  META keywords:
  --------------

Use your keywords here with the most important ones first. Use different variations like capitalized and lowercase, commonly misspelled words etc. all followed by a comma with no space after the comma and do not go over 255 characters.

  META description:
  -----------------
Up to about 500 - 700 characters can be used here in the form of a short keyword loaded descriptive paragraph.

  I cannot stress enough the importance of a good description
  that accurately describes the benefits of your site, uses
  your main keywords and phrases and also gives a compelling
  reason for the potential viewer to click on your site in the
  search results.

  You see, your sites title is the headline, the keywords give
  the search engine spider the info on where to place your site
  in it's database and the description you provide is like the ad
  copy in a classified ad. Give the viewer a reason to click on
  your site, sell them on what your website has to offer.

          <Part 2 will be continued in the next Issue>

  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  For top search engine rankings, Email Paul at pauls99@sprint.ca
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  For more of Paul Short's articles on search engine optimization
  and other website traffic building techniques, visit
  http://bizwhiz.vr9.com and don't forget to subscribe to his
  weekly newsletter "The BizWhiz Herald" while you're there!
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 

  About This Newsletter
  ---------------------
  The Update designed to give you a quick summary, with pointers,
  to the the best tools and techniques we've found for promoting
  and improving your web site. We discover these resources from
  the thousands of web sites that we review every month, and from
  suggestions from subscribers. This newsletter is our way to
  pass this information on to you.

  Please, forward this newsletter to all your friends and
  associates who might be interested!

  Laurie Anderson
  Customer Service
  TheYellowPagesDotCom(tm)

(c) Copyright 2000, TheYellowPagesDotCom