What is Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results for targeted keywords.
Rankings
Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site. Search Engine Optimization can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, social search and industry-specific vertical search engines.
Search Engine Algorithms
As a marketing strategy for increasing a site's relevance, Search Engine Optimization considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. Search Engine Optimization efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site.
Content
More noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users.
Spamming
Another class of techniques, known as black hat Search Engine Optimization or spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that tend to harm search engine user experience. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques and may remove their URL from their index.
Search Engine Optimization Programmers
The acronym "Search Engine Optimization" can also refer to "Search Engine Optimization" who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform Search Engine Optimization services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer Search Engine Optimization as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign.
Website Design
Because effective Search Engine Optimization may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, Search Engine Optimization tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design.
Search Engine Friendly
The term "Search Engine Friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems, URLs, and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
What are back links?
Backlinks (or back-links ( UK )) are incoming links to a website or web page. In the search engine optimization (SEO) world, the number of backlinks is one indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page (though other measures, such as Page Rank, are likely to be more important). Backlinks are also known as incoming links , inbound links , inlinks , and inward links .
How can my website gain more back links?
In order to gain more inbound links, we need to do Link Building which involves directory submission, one way linking, reciprocal linking or three way linking.
What is a site map?
A site map (or sitemap) is a representation of the architecture of a web site. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for web design, or a web page that lists the pages on a web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion. This helps visitors and search engine bots find pages on the site.
What is a link farm?
A link farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other page in the group. Although some link farms can be created by hand, most are created through automated programs and services. A link farm is a form of spamming the index of a search engine (sometimes called spamdexing).
What is the Robots.txt file?
The robots.txt file is used to prevent cooperating web spiders from accessing all or part of a website which is otherwise publicly viewable. Web spiders are often used by search engines to categorize and archive web sites, or by webmasters to proofread source code.
What do the terms "white hat SEO" and "black hat SEO" mean?
SEO techniques are classified by some into two broad categories: techniques that search engines recommend as part of good design and those techniques that search engines do not approve of and attempt to minimize the effect of, referred to as spamdexing. Industry commentators have classified these methods, and the practitioners who employ them, as either white hat SEO, or black hat SEO. White hats tend to produce results that last a long time, whereas black hats anticipate that their sites may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.
What are RSS feeds? How do they help my website rankings?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a type of web feed . A web feed (or a news feed ) is a data format used for distributing frequently updated content to outside websites. Content distributors syndicate web feeds, thereby allowing other websites to subscribe to them.
RSS feeds help your ranking because they connect your website to other website that are interested in your website and want to stay updated on your content updates. When search engines see that your other websites are interested in what you offer, they assume that your content is valuable, so they raise your website ranking.
What is SMO?
Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a "Digg This" button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is related to search engine marketing, but differs in several ways, primarily the focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful SMO.
What is a directory?
A directory is similar to a search engine in the sense that it too indexes websites. Directories are divided into various categories and sub-categories. Some directories charge a fee for reviewing a website, while others charge a fee for the inclusion of the website.
Are all search engines same and equal?
Though the basic characteristic of all search engines remains the same, each is unique. Algorithms, robots may cause difference in the way a search engine works. From the user point of view, they are different because of the speed with which a search engine gets the result, the layout, the way a sponsored link is displayed and its placement on the page.
Why is SEO important and how can it help my business?
To start with the fact that you have a website means that you want to reach out to clients and prospective customers, thus, the visibility of your website is of prime importance. SEO is the process of identifying the ideal keywords for a website and optimizing it in order to ensure that the website achieves high rankings on search engines and directories for those specific search terms and phrases. This in turn will direct the target audience to the website and should translate into revenue for it.
How do I know that my SEO vendor is indulging in unethical SEO practices?
Some of the unethical SEO practices that one should steer clear of include the following:
Page cloaking is when the website shows keyword rich pages to a robot but displays pages that are useless to the Internet user.
Linkfarms are sites that have numerous links and are used to make a profit usually for an affiliate advertising program.
Duplicate content should be avoided as it may stop your website from being indexed.
Keyword stuffing: over usage of keywords in the content Spamming keywords in the title tag and meta tags.
Pagejacking: it means stealing content from other website and pasting it on one's own site.
One should ensure that the SEO vendor is not using such practices or any other black hat SEO practices for it might harm your search engine rankings.
Despite getting a lot of traffic to my website there isn't any change in online sales. Why?
You first need to study if the keywords from which your website is optimized is concurrent to your business and the products on sale. Next the website design and structure needs to be analyzed in order to ensure that the website is attractive and inspire confidence in the traffic. Other factors that need to be considered include easy navigation and the amount of time taken to load pages. Similarly, the contact details should be placed in a manner that they are easily noticed on any page.
Despite attempts to get keywords ranked, there have been no results. Why?
The website would need to be studied carefully to decide why keywords are not getting ranked. However a few points to consider include: If you have paid for submissions but are unable to see results then most probably the keywords and the website are not fitting the criteria set by the search engines.
If the website is new, wait for at least three months before you start making any major changes. After this period if keywords are still not ranked then you need to employ optimization techniques such as linking to quality text from other websites, taking on advertising partners, etc.
Is there any way by which I can get my website accepted faster into DMOZ?
A. The selection process employed by www.dmoz.org is fairly unclear though the guidelines are clear and simple. Here is what you can do to try and get accepted into DMOZ:
Ensure that editorial guidelines provided by DMOZ are followed
Select the correct sub-category
Submit a meaningful website
What is KEI and how is it useful?
KEI or Keyword Effectiveness Index is a system of ranking how popular a keyword is and the amount of competition it has on the Internet. With a high KEI your keywords will be more popular and will have less competition and thus will have a good chance to get a good ranking. A lower KEI indicates that the keywords are not as popular and have a lot of competition. Hence a high KEI means that the keywords on your website are more profitable.
What does PageRank mean?
PageRank is a Google ranking system that is based on links. PageRank is calculated by votes given to the links on a web page and the number of links pointing to that web page. Thus lesser number of links means more share of the vote is provided to each link. PageRank is given on a scale of 0-10. However, the importance of the link in that page content is also given due consideration. For e.g. a auto spare part manufacturing site having links to a site on writing will not be given importance by Google. Similarly, Google also gives importance to the site, which is giving the link. For e.g. if 'A' a well-known site provides a link to site 'B', this link will be given more importance than a link given by site 'C' which is a relatively unknown site.
What is TrustRank?
TrustRank is a system that helps identify reputable pages from those that considered as Spam. It uses both automation and human efforts. The algorithm chooses a seed set of pages that are then evaluated by humans. An inverse PageRank that selects websites that link to many sites identifies a seed set. The final set is created after eliminating sites that aren't listed on major directories and sites such as DMOZ clones. Once the seed set is analyzed by humans it is then rated by the algorithm on the basis of their connectivity with trusted seed pages. Thus the farer a page is from a trusted site the less chances of it being trusted. TrustRank can be used independently or along with other ranking systems such as PageRank.
What is Google Analytics and how is it useful?
Google Analytics is a free web-statistics solution that provides regular website statistics and also combines it with Google Adwords. Thus Google Analytics informs you of how visitors found your website and the manner in which they behave on it. The advantages of Google Analytics are that web statistics are accessible and this can be used to make the site more search engine friendly.
How will two websites with mirror content but different keywords and meta tags effect their rankings on a search engine?
Most major search engines are clear that they do not want sites with mirror content submitted. Submitting such websites may see them both being banned by search engines.
If a company does not take its website's SEO seriously how can it be convinced to think otherwise?
The fact that a company has a website means that it wants attention of the target audience. If it does not take its SEO seriously then the very purpose of the website is lost. In modern economy websites have become a necessity for companies to maintain visibility and focus in the market. Online marketing and sales is a major part of any business' revenue. A company that truly wants to be successful cannot neglect it. Without proper SEO for the website, your company would be losing out on opportunities and sales. Also a website allows you to cultivate a certain image that you want to associate your company with. It is important to recognize the vast opportunities that the Internet holds for your business and then master them. A look at how a rival is doing because of good rankings is also a good way to get the attention of the management of the company.
What leads to a lowering of ranking and how to avoid it?
A newly launched website or newly optimized website can lower the rankings of one's own site. Broken link, link farms, excessive usage of keywords are some of the other factors which can lower the rankings of a website.
What Cities does SEM Resource service?
SEM Resource's extensive network allows us to service major cities and metropolitan areas across the nation, from coast to coast, including New York, New York, Los Angeles, California, Chicago, Illinois, Houston, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, Texas, San Diego, California, Dallas, Texas, San Jose City, California, Detroit, Michigan, Jacksonville, Florida, Indianapolis, Indiana, San Francisco, California, Columbus, Ohio, Austin, Texas, Memphis, Tennessee, Fort Worth, Texas, Baltimore, Maryland, Charlotte, North Carolina, Boston, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Denver, Colorado, Louisville/Jefferson County, Frankfort, Kentucky, Las Vegas, Nevada, Nashville, Tennessee, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Portland, Oregon, Tucson, Arizona, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Atlanta, Georgia, Long Beach, California, Fresno, California, Sacramento, California, Mesa, Arizona, Kansas City, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Omaha, Nebraska, Miami, Florida, Oakland, California, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Honolulu, Hawaii, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Arlington, Texas and Wichita, Kansas.