Want to Raise Your Rankings in the
Search Engines? Think Content
There are just about as many
strategies for raising your search
engine rankings as there are search
engines. Most methods are trendy and
come and go.
There are, however, two surefire
ways to raise your rankings in the
search engines that the search
engines actually like, and it will
keep you from being banned.
If you are looking for ways to
improve your search engine rankings,
as well as automate the process,
then try this:
1. Linking strategies
You can exchange links with other
sites to raise your rankings. The
more links that you have pointing to
your site, the higher your rankings
will be.
If you are trying to get into
Google, you really should search for
a site that complements yours and
contact the webmaster about linking.
Google ranks sites it finds on its
own higher than if you submit your
url directly to it.
The easiest way to set up this
strategy is to create a links
directory. There is a free script
you can use that will make the
process much easier. I installed
this script on my web site, and it
took about 10 minutes. Most of the
work was spent in customizing the
templates to make your directory
look like your site.
You can download a copy of this
script here:
http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/freeware/lma.zip
(Follow the instructions included in
the script and please observe the
copyright).
To see an example of this script,
you can click here:
http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/lma/directory
The key to getting the most from
this script is to require a
reciprocal link from the sites that
submit their links to your
directory.
Also, you want to customize your
categories based on the theme of
your site. You can use this tool to
help you find keywords for your
site, as well as help you find the
right keywords for both your site
and your directory: GoodKeywords,
http://www.goodkeywords.com.
2. Content
The easiest way to get content for
your web site that is keyword rich
is to use articles. You can add
these two ways that the search
engines like:
a. Create an article directory on
your site.
You can either add your articles
manually, use an article directory
script, or a content management
system.
If you add your articles manually,
there is a great little tool you can
use that will code your articles in
HTML for you, and then all you have
to do is cut and paste the code into
a page on your site.
It's called Text2HTML, and you'll
find it here:
http://www.cyber-matrix.com/txt2html.html
Ultimate Marketing Center,
http://www.ultimatemarketingcenter.com,
offers an article directory script
that creates search engine friendly
pages. This is included in their
hosting package, and this is the
script I use so that I don't have to
code the HTML.
You can see an example of this type
of article directory on one of the
developer's site here:
http://www.freezinesite.com
The third option is a content
management system. I use Post Nuke
for my membership and affiliate
sites because it has a graphical
editor, but there are many different
content management systems that you
can use to create content rich sites
without having to write HTML.
The best place to find content
management systems is Source Forge,
http://www.sourceforge.net.
Source Forge offers thousands of
scripts in open source. Open source
is code that is developed by
volunteers and can be used by
anyone. This type of code is used in
both the development of software and
scripts and allows the application
to evolve and be improved.
When choosing your content, stick to
formats that are search engine
friendly, like HTML and RSS.
Javascripts can display nicely on a
page, but aren't good for creating
search engine friendly pages.
Although many methods for gaining
search engine friendly high ranking
sites have been developed,
ultimately, you should stick with
strategies that work.
You can stay up to date by studying
the information at these three
sites:
http://www.jimworld.com/forums/
http://www.sitepronews.com/
http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
==================
About The Author
Jinger Jarrett is a former military
journalist and newspaper reporter
who teaches and consults on article
writing. You can get her latest
ebook, (it's free), "100+ Best FREE
and Paid Resources for Writers,
Internet Marketers, and Small
Business Owners", at
http://www.marketingforwriters.com/freebook.html.
(You can join her affiliate program
and make money giving it away).
jingerjarrett@smallbusinesshowto.com
