So You Want To Boost Your Google Ranking
Want to know how to get your website found in a vast sea of websites? Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are your tickets to getting your website into the first 3 pages of a Google search. SEO and SEM are part science, part art. There are definite rules to follow, but you'll also want to experiment to separate your site from the pack.
The best way to boost your Google ranking is to mix yourself an SEO/SEM cocktail. The necessary ingredients are listed below!
The best way to boost your Google ranking is to mix yourself an SEO/SEM cocktail. The necessary ingredients are listed below!
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Lemme Take a Second to Describe SEM vs. SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is getting your site to pull up organically in search results. This is done through creating effective meta tags, content, headers, keywords, etc. (or cheating and hiding keywords in your code, but if Google catches wind they will nix your site). You also need to have as many incoming links to your site as possible. Also, putting fresh/constantly updated content on your site boosts its SEO, as the webcrawlers will visit your site more frequently. A good way to have constantly updated content is to implement a blog or similarly interactive system. There are lots of good articles about SEO so you can learn the basics, but the best way in my opinion is to use a free web service that will analyze your site's SEO (see websitegrader.com link below).Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is how you market your product or service online. Most common form is pay-per-click advertising (i.e. Google ads). There are lots of different methods and strategies for getting your ads to convert (choosing keywords, target market, ad variations, etc.) But SEM also applies to your site itself. Is your site conducive to selling? Is it easy to use, have attractive headlines and color schemes, detail the benefits of your service, etc.? There are tons of articles about this as well-- just type in "SEM article" into Google and you'll have a million. It seems overwhelming at first, but once you read enough of them, you realize a lot of the information is the same, and it gets drilled into your brain.
SEO Sites and Resources
Remember that SEO is a lot about quantity-- every inbound link helps, so take the time to hit all your options. However, quality is still important-- inbound links coming from .edu or .gov web addresses carry more weight and give credibility. Warning: some sites will attempt to sell you on a linking service. These sites are known to Google and may adversely affect your page ranking.
- SEO - Search Engine Optimization | Read SEOmoz, Rank Better
- SEOmoz is a hub for the search marketing industry, providing an SEO Services Marketplace, a popular SEO Blog, SEO Tools and premium content.
- 18 Questions Your CEO Forgot to Ask When Building Your Website | Stuntdubl Internet Marketing Consulting
- Gettin' hit by traffic...not cars. Information on internet marketing tools, search marketing news. Commentary, tips and tutorials on pay-per-click, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and recent industry events with a little bit of humor and sarcasm.
- Technorati: Front Page
- Blog search, breaking news, photos, and videos, on the latest headlines, business, entertainment, lifestyle, politics, sports, and technology. See what and who is most popular in the blogosphere.
- Squidoo Homepage
- Squidoo. Fast, free and easy way to build a page on a topic you're passionate about. Earn money for charity or yourself, get traffic. More than 325,000 pages built so far.
- Squoogle Article Link Directory
- Make a web directory with ease.
- Google Webmaster Tools
- Shows how Google webcrawler views your site.
- Search Engine Marketing Specialist -- Direct Horizon Business Development Group Inc.
- Direct Horizon is a search engine marketing firm that assists businesses in growing their online market share via proven search-engine marketing techniques, including pay per click management, search-engine optimization, link building, and conversation marketing.
- Lensroll Networking / Popular Lenses
- Social bookmarking for Squidoo lens masters to share relevant content. Build links, increase traffic, make money for yourself.
- Website Grader
- Does an entire site SEO evaluation (checks out your meta tags, incoming links, etc.)
- Digg - All News, Videos, & Images
- Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users
- StumbleUpon
- StumbleUpon discovers web sites based on your interests, learns what you like and brings you more. Discover your web with StumbleUpon.
- ODP - Open Directory Project
- Help build the most comprehensive human-reviewed directory of the web
- Live Search URL Submission
- Add your website to another directory.
- Directorix.net|Free Website Directory|SEO Tips
- Directorix.net is a free directory for your small business, personal, weblog, or Internet business website. Increase your position on the search engines with articles, links, and tips.
- LinkedIn: Relationships Matter
- LinkedIn strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts. LinkedIn is a networking tool that helps you discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners.
- SubmitExpress
- Meta tag analyzer
- Submit Corner - Guides - META Tag Guide - Author Tag
- A comprehensive review of the Author META Tag, how to effectively use them, sample code, usage and a meta tag generator to automatically create META Tags of the fly.
- Submit Corner - Tools - Meta Tag Generator
- Complete guides, web tools, news and techniques to optimize and improve your search rankings, META Tags, and positioning in search engines. Includes meta tag guide, improvement tips, suggestions and optimization techniques from industry experts.
- ZoomInfo
- Another social networking site.
- Yet another social networking site (you can never have too many!)
- Google Local Business Center
- Google Local Business Center - Put your company on a map and add coupons for your services
SEM Sites and Resources
Remember that these services typically come at a price, but you get what you pay for! SEM gives you more traffic faster.
- The New Pink :: Web Marketing
- The New Pink is your Full-Service Solution to a Marketing Funk. Whether your company needs an advertising nip/tuck or a complete campaign overhaul, our state-of-the-art technologies and marketing innovation provide you with significant, measurable results.
- Niche Inspector - Niche Finding Software
- Software to help you find a marketing niche
- Traffic Geyser: Get Top Search Engine Listings in Google, Yahoo and MSN Within Hours
- "I got 30,000 visits and $12,000 in new business—just in the first 13 days." - Len Foley. Our Users Are Getting FRONT PAGE Google Listings...in Just a Few Hours. In fact, would you like to see exactly how million-dollar copywriter Frank Kern achieved a number 3 Google list
- 50 Ways Your Web Site is Discouraging Conversions & How To Fix It
- A good SEM checklist
- AdWords Learning Center
- If you're an AdWords advertiser, Google Advertising Professional, or just interested in learning more about AdWords, you can use our free training to sharpen your AdWords knowledge.
SEO & SEM Take Patience, But The Results Are Well Worth It!
eNewsletters
Scouring the internet for information takes a lot of time. Get relevant info sent right to your inbox every day when you subscribe to an e-newsletter. I personally subscribe to the eNewsletters listed below, and best of all, they're FREE!
- eMarketer
- Everything you need to know about online marketing.
- About.com
- About.com has many e-newsletter topics, but I chose the following: Small Business Info, Online Business, Home Business, Entrepreneurs
- AdBrew
- AdBrew is Denver's hottest online marketing mixer of the movers and shakers in the industry! -- Not from Denver? Find a similar group in your city for up-and-coming movers-n-shakers.
Books To Further Your Learning
It helps to get detailed tips from the experts, but don't forget to experiment with your own ideas.
Get to the Top on Google: Tips and Techniques to Get Your Site to the Top of the Search Engine Rankings -- and Stay There
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 11/11/2009) 
Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics
Amazon Price: $25.19 (as of 11/11/2009)
SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible
Amazon Price: $29.19 (as of 11/11/2009)
Website Optimization
Amazon Price: $26.39 (as of 11/11/2009)
Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site
Amazon Price: $37.11 (as of 11/11/2009)
Did I Miss Something?
Tell me your favorite SEO/SEM resources and articles!
Thanks very much for the great lens. There are definitely some great tools that I will be using for me SEO! Take a look at my lens Basic SEO Tips
Posted September 02, 2008
Rich007 wrote...
Hello, your lens is full of good information and i like it. Keep up the good work and thanks again for this lens.
Posted August 26, 2008
amelia12 wrote...
Like it or not, the Internet is changing, and it is changing fast. This change, however, is in our favor. In favor, that is, of individuals, small businesses, authors, and small presses. Web 2.0 and Social Media are here to stay, and are likely the beginning infrastructure of a fresh, new Internet. So, if you are not using these tools and technologies yet, you may want to ask yourself why.
Posted August 04, 2008
Lensmaster
TBot wrote
Yeah, pretty much, it rocks.
Posted July 24, 2008
jvendryes wrote...
WOW! Nice collection of information! Definitely helpful for the new guys...
Posted July 24, 2008
by The_New_Pink
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