by Claude Pelanne at January 30, 2011.

Posts Tagged ‘ Search engine optimization ’

SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO – Part 4 – How to Use Keywords

How to Use Keywords

This video is part 2 of the review of Chapter 4 of the SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO.

I think Chapter 4 is one of the most important so you should spend some time getting through it and understanding the various elements in executing on page optimization.

It starts with Indexable Content which we covered in the previous video post and then introduces Keyword Usage and Targeting.

Keyword Usage and Targeting

Keywords are the building blocks for search. They are at the foundation of the language of search and are what we use when we are looking for something on the Internet.

They are the feed stock for the databases search engines use when they store a keyword and the associated meaning or searches tied to that keyword.

Keywords are used to correlate to a search. Where and how many times a keyword is used on a page is important.

One myth addressed in the Guide is that of keyword density. There is no correlation between a specific number of times a keyword is used on a page and relevance or page rank. The whole theory of keyword density is a myth according to the Guide.

On Page Optimization

The next part of the chapter goes into on page optimization and how to do it correctly.

Use your main keyword in the title tag. Put it as close to the beginning of the tag as you can.

In the body of the text use your keyword at least 3 times, more if it makes sense and goes with the flow. Bold the keyword at least once for emphasis; the search engines like that.

If you are using images, use the main keyword in the alt tag and of course you want to get the keyword in the URL. With WordPress that is easy if you set up your permalinks with the /%postname%/ attribute.

Get the keyword at least once in not twice in the meta description.

The Guide then goes on in detail to cover critical areas for Optimization:

Title Tags
Meta Tags
URL Structures
301 Redirects
Pingbacks

The video below goes into greater detail so take a look and see for yourself.

I think you will find Chapter 4 a very important resource for optimizing your sites and getting better results from your online efforts.

I hope you find the information helpful.

Stay with it, stay well and may your travels be prosperous.

SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO Part 2- How People Use Search

SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO Part 2 – How People Use Search

How do people use search. This part of the guide takes you through the process of how people use search to find information.

You get statistics on the volume of search and the trending upwards of the search volume. You’ll see how the three main engines perform.

You’ll find out what search engines CAN’T do. What content they do not see and how they focus on what people are typing in.

You have to learn what search engines see and how they understand what users are looking for.

Only an SEO expert can do that and that is why you need to learn Search Engine Optimization.

The video below takes you through Chapters 2 and 3. So have a look.

That’s it. Stay with it, stay well and may your travels be prosperous.

SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO – Review

This is part 1 of a video series about the SEOmoz Beginners Guide To Search Engine Optimization.

The video series reviews each chapter of the guide, sometimes breaking a chapter down to several parts to make it easier to follow the information.

It’s a great way to get otherwise dense material broken down into easy to understand parts.

How Search Engines Work

The first video takes you through Chapter one and how search engines work.

It lays down the foundation for some of the concepts, techniques and strategies that will follow it the Guide.

So have a look and see how search engines work; crawling and indexing, following links and the communication “roadways” the search engines use to find and store the content you are creating.

Relevance and importance are the name of the game. Sites linking to your site are critical. How the information is presented is also a big factor.

Lots of good information about what you have to know to succeed online.

So there you have.

Stay with it, stay well and talk to you soon.

Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide Review

Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

I did a video review of the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a document that outlines Google’s best practices surrounding a series of issues regarding Search Engine Optimization.

It tells you what Google wants you to do on your website to make it relevant, useful and important to the visitors who come to your website.

It’s the kind of information you need to know to compete online and it comes straight from the source. So you can read for yourself and think for yourself as you learn what to do.

I have read it over a number of time and have done a series of videos that cover the different parts of the document.

To give you an idea of the material covered here is the Table of Contents:

Table of Contents

SEO Basics

Create unique, accurate page titles 6 Make use of the “description” meta tag

Improving Site Structure

Improve the structure of your URLs 10 Make your site easier to navigate

Optimizing Content

Offer quality content and services 16 Write better anchor text 18 Optimize your use of images

Use heading tags appropriately Dealing with Crawlers

Make effective use of robots.txt 22 Be aware of rel=”nofollow” for links

SEO for Mobile Phones

Notify Google of mobile sites 26 Guide mobile users accurately

Promotions and Analysis

Promote your website in the right ways 30 Make use of free webmaster tools

Check out my YouTube Channel for videos covering the different sections of the guide.

If you want to get a general review below is my video review of the document.

That’s it. Stay with it, stay well and may your travels be prosperous.

PPC Classroom Live- Adrienne

: Image via CrunchBase

PPC Classroom Live – Adrienne Devita

Adrienne Devita is the head trainer for PPC Classroom and a real gem of a person. She is a go getter and get it done type of person. Work smart, use common sense and don’t spend a ton of money as you move up the learining curve. That can best summarize her philosophy for learning Internet Marketing.

She, like Shelby, builds SEO into everything she does in PPC advertising. Her webinars are all based on using free tools, along with tactics and strategies that cost no money. So for the beginner, she is exactly what you should be looking for in a teacher/mentor.

Her presentation was the very first one on the the very first day. It was designed for beginners but there was a lot of information for all levels of marketers.

The first step in her process is to check out what is hot on some key sites. Ebay, amazon, Buy.com, Dealcatcher,Dealcoupon are some of the sites that you can use to get ideas and see what’s hot.

The next step is to do some keyword research and find the “buying” keywords for your product or service. Get a sense of the cost and how competitive these words are. Buying keywords are very targeted and specific with action verbs,adjectives and adverbs that show real intent to buy. For example, new car is too general. Black,2007 BMW 750i low mileage and mint condition, is better. The more detailed and specific the term, the closer you are to finding buying keywords; words that are in the final cycle of the customer’s buying continuum.

But finding keywords is just the beginning of the process because you have to check out the competition and see what they are doing. You also have to see and check out the profile of your customer. Competitive information is done using Google’s search results on one hand, and then going to the Google Free Keyword tool, on the other. In the organic results you can see who is placing in the middle organic return and on the top and righthand side for the page, you can see who is advertising using PPC. That is where your competition is if you are going to use Pay Per Click advertising.

Google Insights and Google Trends are tools that will give you the geographic and time sensitive information regarding your niche. Tools like Quantcast and Alexa can give you the psychcographic and demographic information that you need to know about your customer.

Once you have done your market research and all your homework about your niche and your customer, then you are ready to find the product and service that fits tightly to your customer’s need.

You want to make sure that all along the way Search Engine Optimization is properly executed on your product landing page, your merchant’s landing page and any pages along the way. You want to make sure your merchant landing page is well designed to lead to the sale, with no click outs or phone numbers or anything that takes away from the sale. But you have to remember that SEO, is as important as pricing and keyword selection and all the pieces that go into designing a PPC campaign.

She also made clear the importance of developing an integrated business plan with several revenue streams. Consulting for business clients, teaching, article marketing, and any related activity you can charge for in order to have multiple streams of income. Putting all your eggs in one PPC basket is not the way to go.

So there you have it. The presentation was high energy and really brought home the idea that you have to go out and do it. Launching 5 or more campaigns a week was one suggestion she had. You have get the experience to move ahead and there is no shortcut to launching and learning as you go.

Implicit in all this is the notion that you need to pick a system and stick with it. It takes time to master Internet Marketing and jumping from one program to another before you have given yourself the time to learn the basics of your initial choice is not the way to go.

These were some of the bits of advice that came with the demos during her time onstage.

I hope this was helpful.

May Your Travels Be Prosperous.