We have talked a lot about what improves your search engine rankings and how to help your website succeed.  But, there are a few things you should be aware of that can cause problems. 

1.  Link Farms – Be careful to not use these.  Get your own links the “old fashioned” way: request a link directly.  Link farming is seen as a negative because it is considered as a type of spam.  You want unique links that are from sites similar to yours – not just links that don’t have any relevance to your site.  Link farms are generally automated – avoid these.  Search engines like Google know what you are up to and it is not a good thing.  Resist the urge.

2.  Keyword Stuffing – There is a happy place in keyword usage where you walk the line between “stuffing” and under usage.  You need to find this happy place.  Most of the time, this is where someone who specializes in search engine optimization can help you.  While you want great content, you also want to make sure you get the keywords in your articles so that the search engines find you.  Using too much of the same wording is frowned upon in the search engine world.  The “spiders” that analyze sites will know what you have done and you will lose credibility.  This makes perfect sense because we have all seen those sites that just list the same words over and over thinking they are doing themselves a favor when we can’t wait to click out of their site. 

3.  Article Spinning – This is where content can get you into trouble if you don’t know what you are doing.  You need fresh and unique content that is well written but that is relevant and informative.  You don’t want a bunch of nonsense on your site just to get some wording in there.  This is just a case of doing good business.  If you wouldn’t want to find it and read it – don’t put it on your website.  We all truly appreciate well written articles that do not waste our time.  The bottom line is that when you are writing you need to keep your customers in mind.  Yes, search engine optimization is great but there is no use in being on top of the search engine list if your visitors can’t stand to be on your website.  It will be a waste of everyone’s time.

The bottom line is that you can get great search engine placement and good Page Rank by looking out for your customers as far as your content goes.  You also need those backlinks but do the work and get them yourself, not through an automated system.  And beware of companies that charge you for these links – back links should not have to cost you.

article spinning, back links, keyword stuffing, keywords, link farms, search engine optimization, seo, unique website content

In prior articles, we have discussed how important fresh, new and unique content is to your search engine optimization.  What sometimes get overlooked is how important backlinks are for your search engine optimization success. 

This is where the internet turns into a sort of popularity contest.  You don’t want just anyone linking to you.  You want quality links.  This means that you want great sites with a good Google Page Rank to link to your site.  When search engines analyze your site they are looking for quality backlinks as well as updated content and keywords.

By quality, we don’t just mean those with high page rank all the time.  You need to keep the backlinks relevent.  You don’t want to have a real estate site and have people linking to you who talk about saving whales.  Sure, this would be great if it were just one link but for the most part you want to be linked to by people who have something to do with your topic or industry in some way.

Because of certain webmasters and their tactics, it has gotten very tough to please the search engines and to get better placement.  This does not need to scare you but rather, it should motivate you.  If you are getting true backlinks from great sites then you have nothing to worry about.  And no, you cannot have too many backlinks!

On top of building your Google Page Rank and increasing your search engine optimization, these backlinks will increase your traffic and visibility.  That is always a good thing!  While you may think that offering a backlink to another site is a good way to “negotiate” getting a backlink to you – be careful.  The search engines can find this as a red flag.  While it is impossible to stay away from all reciprocal backlinking you may want to keep it minimal.

If you are serious about increasing traffic and search engine optimization on the web then you need to make backlinks a major priority.  Put some time and effort into it and you won’t be sorry.

backlinks, search engine optimization

Keywords, Check…Description, Check…Backlinks, Check…Reality, Check….Search Engine Optimization!

Increase your Local VISIBILITY!

As time goes by the science of search engine optimization has changed drastically.  It is far different today than it was just a few years ago.  Not only has the number of websites gone sky high so that there are more listings overall but even the most simpleton website builder knows some basic tools for search engine optimization.  This means the competition is astounding.

Because of the ever changing dynamics of what the search engine spiders are looking for when indexing sites, it is important for sites to always be updated and fresh.  You constantly need to be looking at trends, what keywords are being searched for and putting them into your content so that you rank as high as possible.  Even when doing this it can take years for a site to reach a good placement in search engine listings.  The key is to be realistic in your goals and BE PATIENT!

Search engine optimization is a great tool and we all know that when we search for something on Google we probably won’t be looking at page 20 of the listings to get what we want.  However, search engine rankings aren’t all that matter.  Yes, they are key but you also want to think about getting to your target audience.  You want to hone in on your true customers for your industry.  Websites are not just about rankings now, they need to be about converting your traffic into sales and leads.  One way of doing this is on your “contact us” page.  Make sure you have a box that will ask your customer about themselves and their specific needs that you can fulfill.  Not only will you then have key information on what your visitors are looking for but you will serve them better.

SEO is as important as ever.  We all want to rank #1 in the search engines and yes it will help your traffic but you also need to focus on what you will do with the traffic once you get it.  It is also important to be afraid of SEO companies or “specialists” who promise you the moon.  If the promises sound too good to be true or like a quick fix, you are not going to have success.  Many companies will tell you what they think you want to hear and why not?  We would all love someone to tell us that we would rank #1 in one month but it just won’t happen. 

Be patient, be very careful when choosing an SEO company or individual and always keep your target audience in mind.  Your customers are what gives your site purpose.

search engine optimization, seo, seo goals