SEO Sorts 'Em Out - Part I


Now that we have spent the better part of the past few months talking about the shortcuts to page one of Google, I think it’s time we start talking about the pig-in-a-rut proposition known as Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO.  Back when I first started getting paid to help companies online in 1995, one of the first businesses I ran was a little site called Topslot.com, which was an SEO business. Back then we guaranteed not only that we could get client’s sites to page one in their choice of keyphrase, we could do it in a matter of 24-48 hours.  Well, that was then and this is now.  Today, even the best SEO experts will you that it is going to take months of work to achieve a page 1 result on Google using SEO.  Why?  Two reasons:
1.      The way that SEO works today is not based upon a simple algorithm.  It is based on such things as content, backlinks, and a number of other variables that take time to compile in order to gain the upper hand over an opponent.
           2.      The rules of the game are subject to change with little or no notice by the casino owner.  In other  words, you could be on page one today and if Google, or Bing, or Yahoo makes a sudden alteration in their ranking algorithms, you could find yourself on page 101 the following day.
This being said, there are a number of trends that are unlikely to change any time in the near future. Therefore, if you want to roll with the punches with the least amount of anxiety, here are the elements that you need to continue to work:
Content is King
            No one is ever going to find fault with outstanding content.  That being said, if you will look at many websites, you will find that they are spending far too much time and effort on graphics and far too little on such things as video,blogging and social networking.  Yes Virginia, the googlebots do search for such things.  So if you've got them, you need to link them to your site.  More importantly, you need to feed them at least once per week if you want your webiste to be regarded favorably.  (One of the ways that I increase page count is by also creating a page that corresponds to my blogpost.  This means that I am adding more than fifty pages of content to my sitemap every year as well.)
          Speaking of sitemaps, adding one couldn't be easier since there are a number of free sitemap generators online, such as http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/  As long as you know how to use ftp, all you need to do is transfer the code that the site provides to your root directory and you're in business.
          And business is what generating page 1 results is all about online.  Next week, I'll show you how to generate backlinks and read your opponent's battle plan in realtime using another free online facility.   Until then, keep working the web.

Carl Weiss is president of Access-JAX.com an online marketing firm.  If you don't have the time to work the web to win on your own, Carl offers a FREE WEB PRESENCE ANALYSIS that's guaranteed to show you how you stack up against the competition on the Internet.  Did I mention that it's FREE? Go to his site to find out more.

No comments:

Post a Comment