One important search engine optimization mistake made by novice web creators is hyperlinks on generic or unimportant content like “click here” or “see more”. Hyperlinks are special content, according to search engines, and should be considered carefully.

Content with hyper links, or even content that is bold or in italics, will get more consideration from a search engine when determining relevance of your page or for a particular search term or topic.

Listed below are the types of “emphasis” content search engines consider more important than other content on a page:

• content that is linked to another page on your website;
• content that is linked to an external page (though this could reduce your page rank if you have too many);
• content that is italicized;
• content that is bold;
• words that are included in any heading or subheading block.

To get the most out of a search engine crawl you must carefully analyze the content on your page and Read the rest of this entry »

One simple way of getting your products and services “out there” is to let people know about them in a very informal way. The best way to do this is to find forums, or bulletin boards, discussing things relevant to your business or expertise area. When you join one of these forums there is an area for you to customize what is called a “signature”. Just like with e-mails, the signature will show up at the bottom of each and every post you create on that board.

Register for the forum and start participating in the discussions. Once you have several threads of discussion under your belt, contact the forum’s administrators and see if you could help moderate the board. Moderating isn’t necessary to help improve your traffic, however.

This technique is especially useful for service providers.  One of the best ways to earn trust from potential Read the rest of this entry »

You probably already know that today’s Internet market is very competitive. Everyone and their uncle (and aunt) seems to have a website online. You wonder to yourself, “How in the world can I possibly compete?” So, what does it take to make it to the top of the Internet success ladder? Maybe not quite what you think; read on to find out more.

Over the years I’ve learned the hard way that design is not the most important consideration in developing a good website. Today’s competitive market requires a business strategy much like the type of strategy one might create for a brick-and-mortar business. The following five strategies, however, should get you going Read the rest of this entry »