Re: New to group

Chad McBride wrote:

Hi folks,

I just registered with the news group, I'll admit I'm a newby.
Does anyone have some pointers to good threads to start out with?
I have a website that I want to start moving traffic to. I have
signed up for AdWords and AdSence. With AdWords I can get traffic
but it costs an arm and a leg. Any suggestions or pointers to
threads. Thanks in advance.

Welcome. When i was new here, someone named Steve posted a
list of SEO tips and i took them to heart -- which meant
that in three months i had raised my site's pagerank to 6
and got into the top 5 for all my keywords. If you want
specific help, post your URL and folks will actually visit
it and give you advice. In the meantime, here's the document
that i learned from. Some of it is a bit out of date, due to
google's shifting algorithm, but it still is good advice:

Hope you find it useful!

-- cat yronwode, Lucky Mojo Curio Co.

From: "Steve" <widgit1981 (AT) btinternet (DOT) com> Newsgroups:
alt.internet.search-engines Subject: Re: Where to start... over.
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 13:25:46 +0000 (UTC)

Here's an excellent guide supplied by one of the top seo's @
webmasterworld -- follow it and you're bound for success!

A) Prep work and begin building content:

Long before the domain name is settled on, start putting together
notes to build at least a 100 page site.

That's just for openers. That's 100 pages of real content, as
opposed to link pages, resource pages, about/copyright/tos...etc
eg: fluff pages.

B) Domain name:

Easily brandable. You want "google.com" and not "mykeyword.com".
Keyword domains are out - branding and name recognition are
in -
big time in. The value of keywords in a domain name have never
been less to se's. Learn the lesson of "goto.com" becomes
"Overture.com" and why they did it. It's one of the most powerful
gut check calls I've ever seen on the internet. That took serious
resolve and nerve to blow away several years of branding. (that
is a whole 'nother article, but learn the lesson as it
applies to
all of us).

C) Site Design:

The simpler the better. Rule of thumb: text content should out
weight the html content. The pages should validate and be usable
in everything from Lynx to leading edge browsers. eg: keep it
close to html 3.2 if you can. Spiders are not to the point they
really like eating html 4.0 and the mess that it can bring. Stay
away from heavy: flash, dom, java, java script. Go external with
scripting languages if you must have them - there is little
reason to have them that I can see - they will rarely help a site
and stand to hurt it greatly due to many factors most people
don't appreciate (search engines distaste for js is just one of
them).

Arrange the site in a logical manner with directory names hitting
the top keywords you wish to hit.

You can also go the other route and just throw everything in root
(this is rather controversial, but it's been producing good long
term results across many engines). [This is what i did and it
works for me -- cat]

Don't clutter and don't spam your site with frivolous links like
"best viewed" or other counter-like junk. Keep it clean and
professional to the best of your ability.

Learn the lesson of Google itself - simple is retro cool - simple
is what surfers want.

Speed isn't everything, it's almost the only thing. Your site
should respond almost instantly to a request. If you get into
even 3-4 seconds delay until "something happens" in the browser,
you are in long term trouble. That 3-4 seconds response time may
vary for site destined to live in other countries than your
native one. The site should respond locally within 3-4 seconds
(max) to any request. Longer than that, and you'll lose 10% of
your audience for every second. That 10% could be the difference
between success and not.

D) Page Size:

The smaller the better. Keep it under 15k if you can. The smaller
the better. Keep it under 12k if you can. The smaller the better.
Keep it under 10k if you can - I trust you are getting the idea
here. Over 5k and under 10k. Ya - that bites - it's tough to do,
but it works. It works for search engines, and it works for
surfers. Remember, 80% of your surfers will be at 56k or even
less.

E) Content:

Build one page of content and put online per day at 200-500
words. If you aren't sure what you need for content, start with
the Overture keyword suggester and find the core set of keywords
for your topic area. Those are your subject starters.

F) Keyword Density and Position:

Use the keyword once in title, once in description tag, once
in a
heading, once in the url, once in bold, once in italic, once high
on the page, and hit the density between 5 and 20% (don't fret
about it). Use good sentences and speel check it ;-) Spell
checking is becoming important as se's are moving to auto
correction during searches. There is no longer a reason to look
like you can't spell (unless you really are phonetically
challenged).

G) Outbound Links:

(Outbound links in this context are links to ANOTHER domain-named
site.)

From every page, link to one or two high ranking sites under that
particular keyword. Use your keyword in the link text. [This has
become controversial; many believe that google now penalizes
"dependent sites" and rewards "destination sites" and that
outbound links make your site a "dependent" and not a
"destination." -- cat]

H) In-site Cross links:

(Cross links in this context are links WITHIN the same site.)

Link to on-topic quality content across your site. If a page is
about food, then make sure it links it to the apples and veggies
page. Specifically with Google, on topic cross linking is very
important for sharing your google page rank value across your
site.

You do NOT want an "all star" page that out performs the
rest of
your site. You want 50 pages that produce 1 referral each a day
and do NOT want 1 page that produces 50 referrals a day. If you
do find one page that drastically out-produces the rest of the
site with Google, off load some of that page rank value to other
pages by cross linking heavily. It's the old share the wealth
thing.

I) Put it Online:

Don't go with virtual hosting - go with a stand alone ip.

Make sure the site is "crawlable" by a spider. All pages should
be linked to more than one other page on your site, and not more
than 2 levels deep from root. Link the topic vertically as much
as possible back to root. A menu that is present on every page
should link to your site's main "topic index" pages (the doorways
and logical navigation system down into real content).

Don't put it online before you have a quality site to put online.
It's worse to put a "nothing" site online, than no site at all.
You want it flushed out from the start.

Go for a listing in the ODP/DMOZ. If you have the budget, then
submit to Looksmart and Yahoo. If you don't have the budget, then
try for a freebie on Yahoo (don't hold your breath).

J) Submit:

Submit the root to: Google, Fast, Altavista, WiseNut, DMOZ,
DirectHit, and Hotbot. Now comes the hard part - forget about
submissions for the next six months. That's right - submit and
forget.

K) Logging and Tracking:

Get a quality logger/tracker that can do justice to inbound
referrals based on log files (don't use a lame graphic
counter -
you need the real deal). If your host doesn't support referrers,
then back up and get a new host. You can't run a modern site
without full referrals available 24x7x365 in real time.

L) Spiderlings:

Watch for spiders from se's. Make sure those that are crawling
the full site, can do so easily. If not, double check your
linking system (use standard hrefs) to make sure the spider found
its way throughout the site.

Don't fret if it takes two spiderings to get your whole site done
by Google or Fast. Other se's are pot luck and doubtful that you
will be added at all if not within 6 months.

M) Topic directories:

Almost every keyword sector has an authority hub on its
topic. Go
submit within the guidelines.

N) Swapped Links:

Look around your keyword sector in Google's version of the ODP.
(This is best done AFTER getting an ODP listing - or two). Find
sites that have links pages or freely exchange links. Simply
request a swap. Put a page of on topic, in context links up your
self as a collection spot.

Don't freak if you can't get people to swap links - move on. Try
to swap links with one fresh site a day. A simple personal email
is enough. Stay low key about it and don't worry if site Z won't
link with you - they will - eventually they will.

[Again, the link-swap idea is good in theory, but some people
think that it will not raise your page rank as fast as only
arranging for INBOUND links from other sites, and that those
inbound links should use your keywords within a few words of the
link itself. -- cat]

O) Content:

One page of quality content per day. Timely, topical
articles are
always the best. Try to stay away from to much "bloggin" type
personal stuff and look more for "article" topics that a general
audience will like. Hone your writing skills and read up on the
right style of "web speak" that tends to work with the fast and
furious web crowd.

Lots of text breaks - short sentences - lots of dashes -
something that reads quickly.

Most web users don't actually read, they scan. This is why
it is
so important to keep low key pages today. People see a huge
overblown page by random, and a portion of them will hit the back
button before trying to decipher it. They've got better
things to
do that waste 15 seconds (a stretch) at understanding your whiz
bang flash menu system. Because some big support site can run
flashed out motorhead pages, that is no indication that you can.
You don't have the pull factor they do.

Use headers, and bold standout text liberally on your pages as
logical separators. I call them scanner stoppers where the eye
will logically come to rest on the page.

P) Gimmicks:

Stay far away from any "fades of the day" or anything that
appears spammy, unethical, or tricky. Plant yourself firmly on
the high ground in the middle of the road.

Q) Link-backs:

When YOU receive requests for links, check the site out before
linking back with them. Check them through Google and their pr
value. Look for directory listings. Don't link back to junk just
because they asked. Make sure it is a site similar to yours and
on topic.

R) Rounding out the offerings:

Use options such as Email-a-friend, forums, and mailing
lists to
round out your sites offerings. Hit the top forums in your market
and read, read, read until your eyes hurt you read so much. Stay
away from "affiliate fades" that insert content on to your site.

S) Beware of Flyer and Brochure Syndrome:

If you have an ecom site or online version of bricks and mortar,
be careful not to turn your site into a brochure. These don't
work at all. Think about what people want. They aren't
coming to
your site to view "your content", they are coming to your site
looking for "their content". Talk as little about your products
and yourself as possible in articles (raise eyebrows ...
yes, I
know).

T) Build one page of content per day:

Head back to the Overture suggestion tool to get ideas for fresh
pages.

U) Study those logs:

After 30-60 days you will start to see a few referrals from
places you've gotten listed. Look for the keywords people are
using. See any bizarre combinations? Why are people using those
to find your site? If there is something you have over looked,
then build a page around that topic. Retro engineer your
site to
feed the search engine what it wants.

If your site is about "oranges", but your referrals are all about
"orange citrus fruit", then you can get busy building articles
around "citrus" and "fruit" instead of the generic "oranges".

The search engines will tell you exactly what they want to
be fed
- listen closely, there is gold in referral logs, it's just a
matter of panning for it.

V) Timely Topics:

Nothing breeds success like success. Stay abreast of developments
in your keyword sector. If big site "Z" is coming out with
product "A" at the end of the year, then build a page and
have it
ready in October so that search engines get it by December. eg:
go look at all the Xbox and XP sites in Google right now - those
are sites that were on the ball last summer.

W) Friends and Family:

Networking is critical to the success of a site. This is where
all that time you spend in forums will pay off. pssst:
Here's the
catch-22 about forums: lurking is almost useless. The value
of a
forum is in the interaction with your fellow colleagues and
cohorts. You learn long term by the interaction - not by just
reading.

Networking will pay off in link-backs, tips, email
exchanges, and
it will put you "in the loop" of your keyword sector.

X) Notes, Notes, Notes:

If you build one page per day, you will find that brain storm
like inspiration will hit you in the head at some magic point.
Whether it is in the shower (dry off first), driving down the
road (please pull over), or just parked at your desk, write it
down! 10 minutes of work later, you will have forgotten all about
that great idea you just had. Write it down, and get detailed
about what you are thinking. When the inspirational juices
are no
longer flowing, come back to those content ideas. It sounds
simple, but it's a life saver when the ideas stop coming.

Y) Submission check at six months:

Walk back through your submissions and see if you got listed in
all the search engines you submitted to after six months. If not,
then resubmit and forget again. Try those freebie directories
again too.

Z) Build one page of quality content per day:

Starting to see a theme here? Google loves content, lots of
quality content. Broad based over a wide range of keywords. At
the end of a year's time, you should have around 400 pages of
content. That will get you good placement under a wide range of
keywords, generate reciprocal links, and overall position
your
site to stand on its own two feet.

Do those 26 things, and I guarantee you that in one year's time
you will call your site a success. It will be drawing
between 500
and 2000 referrals a day from search engines. If you build a good
site with an average of 4 to 5 pages per user, you should be in
the 10-15k page views per day range in one years time. What you
do with that traffic is up to you, but that is more than enough
to "do something" with.

Hope this helps.

catherine yronwode <cat (AT) luckymojo (DOT) com> wrote in news:3F332352.C924B2C1
@luckymojo.com:

Chad McBride wrote:
Does anyone have some pointers to good threads to start out with?

Welcome. When i was new here, someone named Steve posted a
list of SEO tips and i took them to heart -- which meant
that in three months i had raised my site's pagerank to 6
and got into the top 5 for all my keywords. If you want
specific help, post your URL and folks will actually visit
it and give you advice. In the meantime, here's the document
that i learned from. Some of it is a bit out of date, due to
google's shifting algorithm, but it still is good advice:

[snipped document contents and replaced with link below:]
....or read from the source:

26 steps to 15k a Day
http://www.searchengineworld.com/misc/guide.htm


--
Kayode Okeyode
http://www.kayodeok.btinternet.co.uk.../webdesign.htm