Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata.

In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, and can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or another combination of public and private domains. The allowed people can usually view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or via a search engine.

Most social bookmark services encourage users to organize their bookmarks with informal tags instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although some services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags. They also enable viewing bookmarks associated with a chosen tag, and include information about the number of users who have bookmarked them. Some social bookmarking services also draw inferences from the relationship of tags to create clusters of tags or bookmarks.

Many social bookmarking services provide web feeds for their lists of bookmarks, including lists organized by tags. This allows subscribers to become aware of new bookmarks as they are saved, shared, and tagged by other users.

As these services have matured and grown more popular, they have added extra features such as ratings and comments on bookmarks, the ability to import and export bookmarks from browsers, emailing of bookmarks, web annotation, and groups or other social network features.

Advantages

With regard to creating a high-quality search engine, a social bookmarking system has several advantages over traditional automated resource location and classification software, such as search engine spiders. All tag-based classification of Internet resources (such as web sites) is done by human beings, who understand the content of the resource, as opposed to software, which algorithmically attempts to determine the meaning of a resource. Also, people tend to find and bookmark web pages that have not yet been noticed or indexed by web spiders. Additionally, a social bookmarking system can rank a resource based on how many times it has been bookmarked by users, which may be a more useful metric for end users than systems that rank resources based on the number of external links pointing to it.

For users, social bookmarking can be useful as a way to access a consolidated set of bookmarks from various computers, organize large numbers of bookmarks, and share bookmarks with contacts. Libraries have found social bookmarking to be useful as an easy way to provide lists of informative links to patrons.

Disadvantages

From the point of view of search data, there are drawbacks to such tag-based systems: no standard set of keywords (a lack of a controlled vocabulary), no standard for the structure of such tags (e.g., singular vs. plural, capitalization, etc.), mistagging due to spelling errors, tags that can have more than one meaning, unclear tags due to synonym/antonym confusion, unorthodox and personalized tag schemata from some users, and no mechanism for users to indicate hierarchical relationships between tags (e.g., a site might be labeled as both cheese and cheddar, with no mechanism that might indicate that cheddar is a refinement or sub-class of cheese).

Social bookmarking can also be susceptible to corruption and collusion. Due to its popularity, some users have started considering it as a tool to use along with search engine optimization to make their website more visible. The more often a web page is submitted and tagged, the better chance it has of being found. Spammers have started bookmarking the same web page multiple times and/or tagging each page of their web site using a lot of popular tags, obliging developers to constantly adjust their security system to overcome abuses.Some social bookmarking websites added CAPTCHA protection to fight spam, but this can prevent blind users from registering for those services if accessible CAPTCHAs are not provided.

List Of Social Bookmarking Sites :

• Balatarin
• BookmarkSync
• Delicious
• CiteULike
• Connotea
• Digg
• Diigo
• Faves
• Furl
• GiveALink.org
• Linkwad
• Ma.gnolia
• My Web
• Mister Wong
• Mixx
• Newsvine
• oneview
• Propeller.com
• Reddit
• Simpy
• SiteBar
• StumbleUpon
• Windows Live Favorites

Google PageRank

Google's PageRank is but one factor Google uses to determine its search results.Learn what PageRank is and where you can find more information about it.

1. What Is Google's PageRank?

PageRank is part of Google's method of ranking web pages. Google explains it best at their web site:

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important.""

It is important to remember that PageRank is but one factor Google uses to determine the rank of a web page in the search results. This is why you can find pages with a lower PageRank listed above pages with a higher PageRank. Google also factors in the content of the page and the pages linking to it.

Don't become overly concerned about your PageRank. Focus instead on properly building a high quality site with loads of great content that serves your visitors well. If you do this, improved PageRank will follow naturally.

2. How Do I Find The PageRank of a Web Page?

One way to get a general idea of your PageRank is to download the Google toolbar. This is a search tool bar that works with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 or later browsers. Included with the search tool is a small graphic display that shows Google's ranking of a page on a 0 to 10 scale - 10 being the best.

3.How Important Is Google PageRank?

As Google continues to reign as the top search engine referral source, we all continue to check our PageRank.
SEOs and webmasters scramble to increase their PageRank to a respectable score, anything above a 5, as we continue to analyze the workings of Google's PageRank calculation and its weight within the ranking algorithm. It is not a mystery that PageRank has a fairly large role in Google's ranking, but how much weight? Are there other variables that outweigh PageRank? Below we will discuss how much weight is given to PageRank, if PageRank alone is enough to rank, and more.

The Google algorithm takes many things into account when ranking web pages. Some of the variables for ranking in Google are:

• Page Title
• Link text
• PageRank
• Heading Tags
• ALT Tags
• Domain names
• Filenames
• Directory names
• Link popularity
• Keyword density

The weight that PageRank is assigned within Google's algorithm has always been debated, and will continue to be as the algorithm changes from month to month. Google does not stick with one algorithm like other search engines. Instead, Google switches between a few different algorithms from month to month.

One of the main reasons that the weight assigned to PageRank is debated is because it is not uncommon to see a website with a lower PageRank outranking a website with a higher PageRank. When we see this, it means three things:

1) PageRank is not the most important factor in Google's rankings algorithm.

2) A properly optimized website with an average PageRank can outrank a non-optimized website with a high PageRank.

3) On-page variables play a larger role in Google ranking than most tend to think.

We have seen evidence of web pages with a PageRank of 4 and 5 ranking higher than web pages with a PageRank of 8. The website with the PageRank of 5 was highly optimized and utilized all of the variables that Google takes into account when calculating rank. The website with a PageRank of 8, although carrying some of the SEO basics, was not highly optimized.

This is what happens to many corporate websites. The website ends up being awarded a high PageRank as a result of the high amount of websites linking to them, but they end up being outranked as a result of the lack of search engine optimization. When a website has a PageRank of 8 or above, it will not take a high level of optimization to obtain top rankings within Google.

PageRank is not the end-all-be-all of ranking within Google. One of the reasons is that PageRank is easily manipulated. For example, recently we are seeing companies selling links from websites with high PageRank. For this reason and others we realize that the PageRank calculation is not perfect. Therefore, Google cannot rely on a flawed concept for their algorithm - having a website's score play a role in its ranking is fine, but the score should not be the basis of this calculation.

If you design or optimize your website properly, remembering all of the on-page variables and criteria, you can set yourself up for success. Once you have completed this task and your site has entered the ranks, you will realize if you need to increase your PageRank to battle in Google's search engine results pages.

Link Popularity

Link popularity is a major factor when it comes to ranking well in search engines and drawing traffic to your site. Learn how to increase the number of links to your site, how to get quality sites to link to yours, and the overall effect link popularity has on your rankings.

1. What Is Link Popularity?

Link popularity is the number of incoming links that you have to your site from other sites. These links can be from directories, articles, or web sites. The more links you have pointing to your site, the better.

The number and quality of links that you have pointing to your site are a factor that many search engines consider when determining the rank or your site and individual pages of your site. Also, the more incoming links you have, the greater the traffic to your site.

2. Getting Links To Your Site

The most important factor in getting others to link to your site is having a site worthy of a link. In other words, have a site or page that a directory editor or site owner thinks would be of benefit to their audience.

The best way to do this is by having great content. Great content will draw people to your site. Great content will make people want to stay at your site. Great content will cause people to tell others about your site by linking to it.

It doesn't matter if your site is an information source or is selling something, you can provide great content with articles, reviews, etc.

After you've created a site worthy of a link, start by submitting to the directories. Hit the major directories, regional directories, and thematic directories.

Next, look for quality sites that would be complimentary to your audience and exchange links with them. For example, if you sell patio furniture, look for sites that sell gardening supplies and contact them about exchanging links.

The best way to contact a potential link partner is by visiting a site and looking for ways the site owner could naturally include a link to your site in their content. Then look for ways to naturally incorporate a link to that site from yours. After you've done this, email the potential link partner with your idea. Don't use a form letter. Just send a short, personal note explaining what you have in mind.

When looking for potential link partners, always think in terms of how your site would be beneficial to the visitors of your partner site and theirs to yours. If you are selling patio furniture, trying to exchange links with a site selling medical supplies is not a good use of your time.

Another way to get links to your site is by writing articles about the topic of your site and allowing other sites to carry the articles for free provided they include a link to your site at the end.

3. Checking Your Link Popularity

Marketleap provides a very handy tool called Link Popularity Check. It is a great way to periodically check the number of incoming links to your site.

4. What Not To Do.

Don't use automated programs that send out form letters asking for links. If you use this type of program, only use it for locating sites that may be worth contacting. Then, visit the site and send a short, personal message in the manner described above.

Don't expect everyone to want to exchange links.

Don't expect a reply. If you don't get a response, you may want to try again in a couple of months.

Don't be impatient. Just because you don't receive a reply, it doesn't mean you won't get the link eventually. Many site owners will file link requests and come back to review them when time allows.

Don't set up a big page of links to just any site, and don't exchange links with sites that do the same.

A link building campaign includes 4 actions:

1) Reciprocal links:

Exchange reciprocal links with websites relevant to your industry.

2) One-way-links through Directory Submission:

There are virtually 1000s of directories accepting free new listings everyday. In most cases, website marketers boycott such “secondary directories” thinking that no traffic would result from being listed on them.... We agree! This is not what will bring traffic! However, inclusion in directories creates a strong one-way-link factor. In other terms, submitting your website to 100s of “at-first-sight-insignificant” directories will greatly enhance your link popularity factor. Of course, submissions should be addressed to directories featuring a decent PR.
Please note: Only manual submissions work for directory submission - Beware of those companies offering to submit your website to thousands of directories for a few dollars only since they always perform the work with softwares which are not SEO friendly – submitting to a directory requires individual registration in all cases and it is a labor intense process which can only be fulfilled manually.

3) One-way-links through Blogs & Forums:

Participate in blogs and forum discussions. Post comments & questions and always have your URL listed in your signature. It is always advisable to address blogs and forums within your line of industry as a priority, but not necessarily... In fact, as an example, you could be a manufacturer visiting a marketing forum, and you could post a simple statement such as “Thank you for the tip!” in response to someone giving good information. The name of the game is to interact with online communities through blogs and forums to have a valid excuse to list your URL as many times as possible, thus increasing your link popularity through one-way-links.
Link enhancement through Blogs & Forums is also a labor intense process which cannot be implemented through software. In order to post a comment, each blog/forum requires registration. There is an art to “navigate” through blogs & forums, but it is well worth the time invested since Google values greatly this type of one-way-link!

4) One-way-links through Article Submission & Press Release:

Article submission & online press release have become industry standards in the world of SEO - Thousands of eZine publishers are looking for new articles and press release material on an ongoing basis. In most cases, you should not expect to receive traffic from such articles after they get published... In fact, chances are that your articles & press releases will never be found nor read, but their purpose is once again to increase your link popularity through one-way-links.

Search Engine Submission

Learn to submit your site to directories such as Yahoo! and getting your site spidered by search engines such as Google.

1. How Will The Search Engines Find My Site?

There are basically three ways to get your site listed in a search engine:

• Submit your site directly to the search engine using a free submit form.

• Let the search engine find your site through links to your site from other sites such as directories.

• Pay the search engine to index your site.

2. Submit Your Site Using A Free Submit Form

Some of the major search engines and most of the smaller search engines will provide a form that you can use to submit your site for free. With the smaller or thematic search engines, this is a good method to use.

For each search engine you'll just need to locate the submit URL form and submit your home page. There is no need to submit anything else. And, you don't need to keep submitting your site month after month. Re-submitting your site over and over after it has been indexed does nothing but waste your time. It will not improve your rank in any way.

Don't be surprised when you find that not all of the major search engines even provide a free submission form any more. Don't worry though. With the major search engines, submitting your site isn't even necessary. This is because the major search engines will find your site through links to your site from other sites. This is why it is very important to begin getting incoming links to your site as soon as possible. You should start by getting your site listed in the major directories.

3. Submitting To Directories - Help the search engines find your site.

For the major search engines, if you get incoming links to your site from other quality sites, your site will be found. The best way to be sure your site is found is by submitting to the major directories that are crawled by the search engines. This is a good approach for the search engines to take because sites listed in directories have already been reviewed by an editor and been considered to be worth a listing.

So, in addition to the traffic that the directories can send to your site directly, getting listed in the major directories is also important for getting your site found by the major search engines.

To get started, be sure to get your site listed in the following directories that are crawled by the search engines:

• Open Directory Project - Also known as ODP or DMOZ.
• Skaffe.com
• Sporge
• WoW Directory
• GoGuides.Org
• JoeAnt.com
• Best of the Web Directory

When you are submitting to directories, be sure to take the time to find the best category for your site and read the submission guidelines provided by each directory. By following their guidelines, you will improve your chances of being listed and decrease the amount of time it takes to get listed.

Obviously, there are many more directories where you can submit your site. These three are provided to get you started. After you've submitted to these directories, then you can begin submitting to other directories. Don't forget to find local or thematic directories that are relevant to the topic of your site. You will be able to find many in our list of search engines and directories.

It will take time for the search engines to index your site after it has been listed in the major directories. So, be patient and expect to wait at least a couple more months before your site starts appearing in the index of the major search engines.

4. Pay the Search Engines to Index Your Site

Paid inclusion is the process of paying search engines to index pages from your site. The primary benefit is not having to wait for the search engine to find and index the pages of your site on its own.

The topic of paying to be indexed is covered in our Paid Inclusion section.

5. Services To Avoid

There are hundreds of "companies" that make claims about submitting your site to thousands of search engines. You've probably received an email message from one of these companies that had a pitch along the lines of...

We Will Submit Your Site to 500,000 Search Engines for Just $29.95!!

Don't fall for this scam - it is a complete waste of money.

First, there aren't 500,000 search engines.

Second, even if they claim to submit to just a few thousand, there aren't that many that will accept your listing because the search engines they submit to are thematic search engines. For example, if your site is about real estate, you won't be listed in a search engine or directory that is focused on sports.

Third, they will submit your site to Free For All links pages that no one will ever use. Plus, these free for all sites are notorious for harvesting email addresses so they can send you spam.

I could go on and on with the reasons why these services are a terrible waste of money. If you are contacted by one of these companies in any way, don't fall for their sales pitch, just ignore them.

6. Services That Can Help

With the warnings about the submission services we've discussed, it is important to point out that there are some services that can help. They won't arbitrarily try to submit your site just anywhere. They will develop a linking strategy specifically suited to your site. If you hire a professional search engine optimization company, this will be part of the services offered.

A professionally developed linking and submission strategy won't be cheap. It takes a good deal of time and research to do this properly.

META TAGS SEO ARTICLE

Meta Keywords Advice

Do not use the meta keywords tag. Many people still think of this as a quick fix for SEO. It's not. Google no longer uses it. Yahoo is perhaps the only search engine that still uses the meta keywords tag but places very little weight on it. By placing this tag on a web page, the primary beneficiary is your competition. How so? The meta keywords tag gives your competitors a nicely formatted list of your important keywords. Don't believe me? Try the free keyword research tool at the end of this article.

Search engines used to rely heavily on the meta keywords tag to guess which keywords were relevant on a web page. Now search engines are sophisticated enough to examine the actual keywords in the body of a web page. Major search engines place little, if any, value in the meta keywords tag. There is more risk than reward in using the meta keywords tag because your competitors can view the meta keywords tag and can steal your keywords. What do I mean by "steal" your keywords? By placing the meta keywords tag on a page, you are, in effect, giving your competitors a list of your important keywords. They can then use these keywords and buy PPC ads or optimize their own site for your important keywords. Why give them this sort of business intelligence? Having invested time and money on exhaustive keyword research to identify the important keyword phrases to use for your own SEO and PPC efforts, why on earth would you make a list of your high value keywords public?

Here is our meta keywords advice: do not use the meta keywords tag. Instead, make sure the title of your web page has your important keywords and that those keywords are repeated in the body of your web page. If you want to, create a meta description tag. The search engines do use that meta tag, but it's not essential for SEO. Creating good content is essential. Each page should have useful content and include your important keywords. Don't try to stuff all of your important keywords onto a single page. Create pages around a theme, a small collection of keyword phrases. For instance, target 1-3 keyword phrases per page. Write a title that incorporates those keyword phrases. If the title seems awkward from the point of view of your audience (site visitors not the search engines), scale back the number of phrases and try again. If you choose to write a meta description tag, it should reinforce the keywords already in the title tag. The body of the page should then include those important keyword phrases. Again, though, the content of the page should be written for your site visitors and not seem awkward.

Since many web sites do still use the meta keywords tag, we have developed a free keyword research tool that will analyze the meta keywords of your competition. Use the tool to see what keywords your competitors are embedding in their meta keywords tags and then research these keywords using other freely available tools. When I begin work for a new client, I ask them for a list of their competitors' web sites. I plug those into the tool and it gives me an instant list of keywords. That's only the beginning, a starting point for further keyword research. As time goes on, I expect online businesses to become a bit more savvy regarding meta tags and this tool will no longer provide a quick start. In the meantime, use the free keyword tool and crush your competition!

Original by Richard Ball

Visit : http://www.apogee-web-consulting.com/tools/keyword_tool.php

Why Use CSS-Based Design

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allow for the designer to separate the content from the design. A CSS-based design allows the designer to create a site with much less code than a site with an identical look that has been designed with tables. While tables are appropriate in some situations, a design that primarily uses CSS to control the layout has several advantages:

1. The decreased amount of code allows for faster downloads.
2. The decreased amount of code allows search engines to easily access the true content of a page, ideally resulting in higher search engine rankings. Search engines rank pages based on their content. With table-based design the page will contain substantial coding that does not relate to the content. CSS-based pages will have minimal extra markup which makes it easier for the search engines to find the content. If excessive coding prevents the search engines from finding the content, the pages ranking will suffer. In addition, CSS-based design allows the website designer to position the most valuable content ahead of less meaningful content, whereas tables present content in the order that it is displayed on the page. Content higher in the code will generally have more influence on search engine rankings.
3. CSS-based design is easier to modify than table-based design. If a designer wants to make significant changes to the layout of a page designed with tables, starting over may be the only option. CSS makes it easier to perform routine updates as well as significant layout changes.
4. CSS-based design allows a website to be more accessible across various browsers, as well as to those with disabilities using screenreaders and other devices.

Sitemaps, Their Purpose, and Some Helpful Resources to Create Your Own

Sitemaps are a great tool for both web designers and visitors. Of course, there are two different types of sitemaps,

1) XML sitemaps (also known as Google sitemaps)

2) HTML sitemaps. Each type serves its own purpose.

An HTML sitemap can be used effectively to increase the usability of a website by providing a page that links out to every page on the site (or at least to the major pages, depending on the size of the site). Navigation is of course one of the most important aspects to creating a user-friendly site, and when visitors aren’t able to easily find what they are looking for, many will turn to a sitemap. As a result, the HTML sitemap can help to keep visitors on your site by showing them where to find specific information. Additionally, because the sitemap links to all of the other pages on the website, they can be helpful to search engine spiders as they are crawling through the site.

XML sitemaps are created especially for search engines, and they’re not useful to human visitors like an HTML sitemap would be. Most of the major search engines are now using XML sitemaps to find and index all of the appropriate pages on a website that provides an XML sitemap. For website owners that want to be sure that Google is aware of all of their pages, this is the best option. A number of the tools that we’ll look at below can help you to easily create an XML sitemap automatically, and some of them will even update the sitemap as new pages are added to the site.

Sitemap Tools and Resources

Sitemaps.org - If you’re still looking for more information on XML sitemaps, check here.

Google Webmaster Tools Sitemap Generator - Google Webmaster Tools can help you to generate your XML sitemap, and then you’ll want to verify the sitemap through Webmaster Tools so Google knows it exists.

XML-Sitemaps.com - Probably the easiest way to get your own XML sitemap (and it’s free). With this tool all you need to do is enter your URL and wait for a few moments. You’ll then have an XML file that you can upload to your server. This tool even gives you the option of how frequently you want the sitemap to be updated. I have used this one myself on a few occasions.

AutoSitemap - This tool is similar to XML-Sitemaps.com. With AutoSitemap you can create an XML sitemap for very large sites (up to 50,000 pages). This a free version and a paid version that offers a few more features.

Sitemaps-Builder.com - This is a simple (and free) online tool for quickly creating an XML sitemap.

XMLSitemap.com - Another free online sitemap generator. This one also lets you set a frequency for it to be updated.

Google Sitemap Validator - Smart IT Consulting offers a free validator for XML sitemaps. Simply enter the URL of your sitemap and give it a minute to process.

Sitemapgen - SourceForge has a downloadable sitemap generator. I haven’t personally used this tool because of the other online options that don’t require a download.

SitemapDoc - At this site you can create both an XML sitemap and an HTML sitemap.

WriteMaps - Create, edit, and share your sitemaps online.

Simple Map - A free tool for creating XML or HTML sitemaps.

Online Sitemap Creator - This tool will create an HTML sitemap. I tried it and it did a pretty good job for the static part of the website, but not for the blog.

AutoMapIt.com - This website will create XML and HTML sitemaps, and it has a few other tools as well. To use the tools you’ll have to create an account and link back to them.

WordPress Sitemap Tools

Google (XML) Sitemaps Generator - A simple plugin that will create an XML sitemap and update it with your new posts.

Sitemap Generator Plugin - This plugin from Dagon Design will create a nice HTML sitemap that includes links to all of your posts and pages.

Drupal

XML Sitemap - An easy way for Drupal users to create an XML sitemap.

Free Keyword Tools

Free Keyword Tools

Keyword Density
Cost: Free
Type in a URL and you’ll see what phrases are used most commonly throughout the page. You have the choice of including meta tags, alt tags, and the title, as well as the choice of 1, 2, or 3 word phrases.

Keyword Research Tool from Apogee Web Consulting
Cost: Free
This tool allows you to see what words and phrases are used in your competitor’s keyword meta tag.

SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool
Cost: Free
One of the more useful and unique free tools, SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool not only gives you related words and phrases, but it also shows the search volume and provides links to the results from other keyword tools like Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery. The links help you to save time by not needing to visit a lot of different sites and perform repeated searches.

SEO Book’s ,Keyword List Generator
Cost: Free
Are you having trouble coming up with a list of keywords for a PPC campaign? Type in your URL and a few keywords and this tool will generate a list for you.

SEO Book’s Keyword Misspelling Generator
Cost: Free
Sometimes searchers will spell words incorrectly. You can benefit from knowing common misspellings and using them in your PPC campaigns. This tool eliminates the need for you to figure out possible misspellings. Type in a word or phrase and you will get a list of possible mistakes.

Yooter Keyword Suggestion Tool
Cost: Free
Find search volume and related phrases with this free tool. It also allows you to export the results into a spreadsheet program (like Excel) via a .CSV file. Requires registration.

McDar Keyword Analysis Tool
Cost: Free
When you enter your URL and a keyword or phrase this tool will provide information on your page and compare it to the top 10 ranked sites by Google for the word or phrase that was entered. The data includes total pages indexed, links and PageRank.

iBusiness Promoter
Cost: Free
IBP is a free tool that shows you search volume and the level of competition for keywords. It also shows you which keywords your competitors are using. Requires download.

Overture’s Keyword Selector Tool
Cost: Free
One of the most frequently used free keyword tools. Enter a word or phrase and Overture will show you related phrases and search volume for each.

Google’s Keywords Tool
Cost: Free
A fairly simple and valuable tool that shows related keywords, search volume, and levels of competition. Provides a large number of suggestions based on pages that are ranking well in Google for the phrase that is entered.

Keyword Suggestion Tool from Wordtracker
Cost: Free
Enter a keyword of phrase and get up to 100 suggestions as well as an estimate of their daily search volume.

Bookmarklet from SEOproToolz
Cost: Free
With the bookmarklet you will drag a link to your browser’s toolbar and the tool will be usable. It will analyze any page that you are visiting to generate related keywords with prices for Google AdWords.

Meta Tag and Keyword Analyzer from Submit Express
Cost: Free
Enter a URL and the tool will show you the meta tags of the page, keyword density, load time, file size, and links found on the page.

Good Keywords
Cost: Free
Includes keyword suggestions, misspelling suggestions, phrase builder and more. One of the more simple programs that still includes multiple tools. Requires download.

Keyword Research Tool from Webmaster Toolkit
Cost: Free
A simple free tool that will help you to find related keywords to a specific word or phrase. It will analyze top-ranked pages in a search engine that you select and report on words and phrases used by those sites.

Keyword Tools with a One-Time Cost

Rapid Keyword
Cost: $69.99 (one-time payment)
Rapid Keyword helps you to find the right keywords by showing results from both Google and Overture’s suggestion tools, as well as by providing possible misspellings. You can analyze the competition by seeing how many competitors are on the major PPC programs for particular words or phrases. Several keyword management tools are included. Offers a one-day free trial and a 60-day money back guarantee.

The Permutator
Cost: $49.99 (one-time payment)
The Permutator includes a keyword suggestions tool as well as various tools to help create and manage lists of keywords. It also includes a typo tool and an ROI calculator. A trial version is available.

Keywords Analyzer
Cost: $97
One of the more popular keyword tools, it will help you find search phrases that have low levels of competition for PPC ad campaigns. Keywords Analyzer also helps you to analyze your competition and manage PPC campaigns.

Web CEO
Cost: There is a free version as well as $189 and $389 versions.
Web CEO is SEO software that includes a keyword tool. The keyword tool provides keyword suggestions, search volume, competing sites, and much more. Requires download.

The Dowser
Cost: There are several tools that range from free to $297
You can research and manage keywords with the free tool, or purchase tools for keyword harvesting, misspellings, and more.

Keyword Elite
Cost: $167
With Keyword Elite you will be able to see the keywords that your competitors are bidding on. You’ll also be able to do keyword list generation and management.

Keyword Cruncher
Cost: $37
A keyword analysis tool that works with Wordtracker. With Keyword Cruncher you can import data from Wordtracker and manipulate and analyze the data. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Keyword Tools with On-Going Costs

Wordtracker
Cost: $299 for a 1-year subscription (weekly and monthly options also available)
One of the leader keyword tools, Wordtracker will help you to find the right keywords and other phrases in which they are commonly used. There is an option for a free trial.

Marketo
Cost: Standard version is $49 per user (the first user per organization is free) plus 7.9% of the amount spent on ads managed by Marketo
Marketo is a complete PPC management program. It features keyword tools, bid management and optimization, and testing tools. There is an option for a 30-day free trial.

Keyword Discovery
Cost: $599
Compiles statistics from over 180 search engines. Features include keyword research, suggestions, misspellings, seasonal search trends, and more.

Adgooroo
Cost: Starts at $99 per month
Adgooroo will show you the search phrases that are generating most of the traffic for your competitors. It’s tools help you to identify more specific phrases that will bring more traffic. There is an option for a 10-day free trial.

NicheBot
Cost: $9.97 - $19.97 per month
NicheBot provides a variety of keyword research tools as well as keyword list management tools. It also includes an affiliate product finder.

SEOmoz Keyword Difficulty Tool
Cost: The tool is limited to premium members, which currently costs $49.00 per month
This tool is used to analyze the competitive landscape that exists for particular search phrases. It is intended to show how difficult it will be to achieve high rankings for specific terms.

HitTail
Cost: Basic version is free, HitTail Plus is $9.95 per month
HitTail shows you real time statistics on what keywords visitors are using to find your website. Widgets are available for Blogger, TypePad, SquareSpace and WordPress.

Wordze
Cost: $35 per month
Wordze offers tools such as keyword research, historical keyword data, analysis of competitors, importing keywords, managing projects and more.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimization

Today, many website owners dream of to have website with top search engine ranking. To get your website on the top one requires the perfect search engine optimization solution. Therefore SEO solution plays a crucial role to your online marketing strategy; let your business be small or large.

Search engine optimization is the process of developing or modifying the on and off-page elements of a website. Search engines are the highly effective marketing tools to make the website on top. The art of SEO process requires different skills to give customers what they want and crawlers what they want. Search engine optimization process involves a series of steps including-

• Mapping out keyword strategy
• Optimizing the website structure
• Develop and optimize web pages with keyword rich content
• Code optimization
• Valuable link building and promotion
• Measure results and resources
• Refine strategy and tactics

Search engine optimization gives your website a real competitive advantage. Quality optimization solution offers web site promotion, which helps the website to attract both search engines and potential site visitors. Thus improving relevant traffic to the websites is likely to offer you with an excellent return rate on investment. Thereby helps the online business to increase sales and lead generation. So traffic is considered to be the most obvious benefit of SEO.

Finding your website on top of the searches will improve your competitive edge, which in turn helps to retain the customers and add new visitors to the website. Promoting your business or service with the support of optimization will save your time and money spend on traditional advertising solution. It is more effective than banner ads. Beside this, SEO offers content that is relevant and easily accessible to increase your brand recognition and identity. Thus helps you to reach the market and fulfill your goals and objectives.

Whether you develop a new site or need to improve the existing site, just optimize the website to achieve maximum results. For this, get the search engine optimization services from the provider offering quality at affordable price tag.

5 Tips to Get a Page 1 Ranking on Google

Getting on the first page of Google is every Internet Marketers dream. Let’s face it, page one equals more visitors which could convert into more sales.

The good news is that you do not need a PhD in Search Engine Optimization to get on page one. All you need to do is follow these 5 simple tips.

Before we go on, these tips are in no way a guarantee. In fact, if you are competing against millions of others chances are you won’t make it but to give yourself a fighting chance, do the following:

1.Keyword phrase in the “title” tags.
Google loves title tags. With your keyword phrase in between these tags your chances skyrocket. If you look at results for any search on Google, the highlighted text is the title tag of the website.

2. Keyword phrase in [h1] tags at the top of the page. Most webpages that occupy the first page for any given search will have their keyword phrase in between the [h1] tags.

3. Image tags. If you have graphics on your site it is imperative to utilize the [alt] and [title] tags in your images. Put your keyword phrase in both these tags with a slight modification for each.

4. Keyword density. Regardless of how much text is on your page, mention your phrase or variations of it only 4-5 times. Do it naturally. It is important to keep the text flowing and appear natural.

5. A Sitemap. Google loves them. Even if your website is purely built for Adsense, include the sitemap. I have even included a privacy statement page on a few of mine to let Google know it is a genuine, legitimate site.

That is 5 basic SEO tips that have worked for me. Try on your site today and monitor the results. You might not be a page one king but watch your site climb the rankings as a result.

Tushar

Google offers 'Insights for Search'

Google has taken its popular Google Trends and launched spin-off product called Google Insights for Search. Geared toward advertisers, it's a tool to track a particular search term's popularity across the Web and geographic regions of the world.

For Google, this can help boost advertiser confidence and potentially win its program some new converts who would've otherwise been skeptical regarding how effectively they could target an online ad campaign.

With Google Insights for Search, you can search for a term to track how much it's been googled over time, where on a "heat map" it's most popular, and what the top "related" and "rising" searches for the term are.

Results can also be filtered by geographic region, time frame, or category. Let's say you search for "spears," and most of the results on Google Insights for Search deal with some trashy pop star. But you happen to be the owner of a small business that creates replica medieval weapons, so that's not the sort of spears you're looking for. You can narrow your search down to a single field--"industries," say, or "recreation," and hope you see fewer instances of Britney and Jamie Lynn.

Here's another one: search for "spaghetti," and you'll get a lot of results about people seeking recipes. But narrow it down to the "lifestyles" category, and you'll see that most of the search results that Google Insights provides involve the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Originally posted at News - Digital Media

The Importance of Social Media Marketing: Why You Should Learn and Master it

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.

There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.

If you are selling products/services or just publishing content for ad revenue, social media marketing is a potent method that will make your site profitable over time.

Those who ignore the efficacy of social media usually fall into three categories; the ones who don’t know much or anything about social media, the ones who are interested but don’t know how to use it and those who don’t believe in the value that a social media strategy can bring to any site or business.

The Value of Marketing Through Social News Websites

For those who don’t understand or see the value of social media websites, let’s take a look at the benefits of creating viral content and effectively promoting them through social media channels.

Developing link baits and successfully getting it popular on various social media websites like Digg and StumbleUpon will lead to multiple benefits for any website:

• Primary and Secondary Traffic. Primary traffic is the large amount of visitors who come directly from social media websites. Secondary traffic is referral traffic from websites which link to and send you visitors, after they come across your content through the social sites.
• High Quality Links. Becoming popular on social news websites like Digg or Reddit will get you a large number of links, some of which may be topically relevant, some not. A good story can realistically acquire a large number of high quality editorial links, most of which cannot be easily bought.

Now let’s translate this into tangible benefits for your website:

1. Links = Better Search Engine Rankings.

When a website receives a large number of natural, permanent links from trusted domains, it develops authority. Search engines trust it. If you optimize your linkbait and website structure properly, you can easily start ranking for competitive keywords, which will in turn bring in search engine visitors.

Do this often enough and your search traffic will undoubtedly increase. In a sense, you are obtaining these quality links through borrowed trust. Many bloggers and webmaster still think that if an article is on the Digg or del.icio.us homepage, then it’s probably worth checking out and referencing through a citation link.

A new website may find it difficult to gain links from a critical mass that is not familiar with it but a trusted social news resource makes it easier for links to come in, because the community and buzz has somewhat ‘certified‘ the value of the site. Note that the actual strength of the article is still of utmost importance for all.

2. Primary + Secondary Traffic = Community/Supporters.

Some people claim that social news websites only send useless traffic, visitors that will often just view a specific webpage and click away. Yes, that’s usually the case. Sites like Digg are notorious for their poor bounce rates: many visitors drop in for the article and then leave after reading it. StumbleUpon is much better in this aspect.

But don’t mistake this with a lack of interest. Your subscriber figures will often take big jump up and then stabilize after a few days. If your entire site is relevant to the general interests of the social media website, there will always be a handful of social users who will start to track your site in order to submit future content.

Detractors also ignore the power of ultra targeted secondary traffic. General sites or blogs in the same niche will link to a story that’s popular on social sites, because it adds value for their readers or users. This is done naturally on a daily basis for many.

While primary traffic usually comes in a larger volume, I would argue that secondary traffic is more valuable. Why? Because links from other websites bring visitors who are very likely to be interested in your content. These citation links demonstrate recognition of your site in the eyes of others. It builds your brand.

Think of the social news site as a platform or a soapbox. As something that gives you a chance to be heard or read, even for a brief moment of a few hours. The people who are drawn to your message will visit your site and recommend it to others.

Four Reasons to Practice Social Media Marketing

Why bother exploring social media as a marketing channel for your website or business? After all, you could stick to link exchanges, search advertising or the purchase of banner and editorial ads on relevant sites.

Here are some reasons why you should consider using social media:

1. It’s natural. Not only do you get natural links without any discernible pattern, your website is exposed to large groups of people in a spontaneous fashion. This differs from paid advertising which has overt commercial overtones.
2. It’s defensible. Once successfully mastered, social communities can be a great source of web traffic on top of any traffic you are already receiving from search engines. While you can’t easily increase your search engine traffic, social media traffic can be very easily controlled through strategic marketing.
3. It’s low-cost/high returns. If done by yourself, costs are limited to only time and perhaps the expenses involved in hiring a freelance programmer/designer. The benefits will often exceed the cost. It would take you thousands of dollars to buy many links; social media has the ability to give you that for free.
4. It complements other efforts. Social media optimization and marketing is usually community-specific. It doesn’t interfere with any other methods of getting traffic to your website. It can and will fit perfectly with an advertising campaign targeting other websites or search engines.

So How Does Social Media Help Me to Make Money?

It doesn’t. At least not directly. Every site or business that wants to expand and become profitable, needs a core group of supporters who will be willing to make purchases or recommend the site to others. Your site needs to perpetuate itself.

The more supporters you have, the faster word spreads about your site. Social media marketing is an excellent way to get people to come into your site to take a look at at what you have to offer. You will grow when there are a group of loyal visitors ready to always act upon what you have to offer.

Because social media websites can be leveraged for links and better search rankings, they can greatly increase your site’s income potential. For example, you will be able to price ads higher or generate revenue from any paid business models.

Why Bloggers Should Learn How to Use Social Media

There are and many methods to promote your website. For example, you can start leaving comments regularly on many high traffic blogs in your niche or perhaps, consider guest posting on other bigger blogs.

My marketing strategy for blogs is very simple. I don’t comment actively, hold contests or write guest posts. I’ve never done any of that for any blog I’ve ever set up. Some people might enjoy doing it but its just a little too tedious for me.

What I do instead is strategic. I focus on creating just one excellent blog post, which I will then push through social media sites and . This is straightforward and I don’t have to run around many blogs putting up my URL and thinking of something insightful to say.

Think about it. Why write 50 guest posts for 50 different blogs when you can easily just write one article and get an equal amount of links and greater traffic through the use of social media? Guest posting builds relationships but I reckon there are many more powerful ways to network with others.

It isn’t just about creating articles and then promoting them on social sites as an afterthought. It’s about putting social media in the center of your marketing strategy, optimizing your site or content and making it an attention magnet.

Social Media and It’s Potential for Your Site: An Example

I recently launched a new blog a months ago and took around 20 hours to create a feature article. I subsequently promoted it on various social websites through my own . I also sent out emails to large sites in the same niche.

The article eventually got to the Digg, del.icio.us and Reddit frontpage and received over 140+ reviews on StumbleUpon. It accumulated well over 800 unique links, including some from very heavily trafficked websites. Some of them alone sent more traffic than the frontpage of del.icio.us.

The article is more than a month old and it is still receiving incoming links. Subscribers are up by over 800% and I received around 12K pageviews everyday for the first month. Bear in mind this is only a one month old site.

While not every article in every niche will receive the same amount of attention or success, this illustrates the great potential of social media. I’ve become a firm believer in having a solid social media strategy for every website I develop. It is important for success on every level, even for sites that are already popular.

Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing: An Article Series

Social media marketing is not difficult at all. It is something every one can do with some effort and knowledge. It isn’t some secret art form that only experts can master. Unlike other skills, social media has a remarkably low barrier of entry. Everyone is invited to the party. No one is excluded.

I know how social media works. I know what type of content/bait works for different websites. I know what type of marketing strategy to adopt for a high possibility of success. This knowledge is something you can acquire yourself too.

Now that I’ve illustrated the value of social media, a step by step introduction to social media websites and the appropriate marketing strategies to adopt is in order. I plan to start an article series on DIY social media marketing, to teach absolute beginners and bloggers/webmasters what they need to do for social media success.

Some of the advanced social media strategies I have in mind might not be appropriate for a large audience as they can be extremely intricate; unless you’re an active user of the site, it probably isn’t something you’ll appreciate reading about.

I might consider setting up some private newsletters or forums for these advanced tactics, so those who are serious about learning about them can opt-in and we can discuss them away from the public arena. More details later on.

I’m quite sure most of you will find this article series useful so if you have any specific topics you want to see addressed, feel free to drop your query in the comments.

If you haven’t already, consider so you can easily receive updates when new articles are published or announcements are made.

Career Networking

Remember, its not always what you know but who you know…

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