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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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Title: 5 Fast Tricks for Keywords & Traffic

Author: Teena Hughes

Article:
It seems as though every [wo]man and his/her dog either has a
website, wants a website, or is talking about websites.

One of the most frequent questions I get is, *How do I use
keywords?*.

Good question.

* * * * * * * * *

[I bet others of you are asking,

*What's a keyword?*. A keyword

or keyword phrase is what people

type into a search engine

to find websites.]

* * * * * * * * *

But let me first ask another ... how many people in the known
universe [who have a website] might use the same keywords as you?

Ten? A hundred? A thousand? More?

OK - let's assume it's a hundred other websites, all vying for
the same keywords as yours. When you do a search on a search
engine [for example google.com] you get *ten* results on page
one.

That's right. Ten. Out of a hundred possible competitor pages.

Last time YOU did a search for anything, how many search engine
Results pages did you laboriously flick through? One? Two? Five?

Yeah, that's right ... boring if the answer isn't on page one,
isn't it?

* * * * * * * * *

So what's my point??

* * * * * * * * *

Well, instead of trying to appear in the first 10 results for
one specific keyword or phrase [which is already overpopulated
with competitors], why not choose another phrase?

Instead of the *exact* phrase you think is the most important,
you might be surprised to discover you could choose a different
phrase, which is searched just as often, but which you hadn't
thought of targetting.

Think outside the box - if you're selling *monkey shoes*, and
goodness knows there might be a lot of competitors for that :o>,
narrow it down and add some focus. Where are your customers? Are
they looking for you in your town, or State? If yes, add the
name of your town or State to the keyword phrase you use in your
webpages. Or is there something else *unique* about *monkey
shoes*? If yes, use that in the keyword phrase.

I just searched for: monkey shoes

and discovered there are 3,300,000 results. Phew! Over 3
million!!

What would your potential customer type in that search box to
narrow down *their* search? What about: monkey climbing shoes,
or shoes for one-legged monkeys

That narrows it down considerably.

OK - so you're not selling *monkey shoes*, but you are trying to
get people to your website. Here are a few things you can do to
set up your keywords in your webpage, and to bring visitors from
unexpected sources ...

* * * * * * * * *

On your webpage/s

* * * * * * * * *

1. Put the keyword phrase on your page four times.

You don't want to overdo it, it must read well.

2. Put the phrase in the two of the metatags.

Use the TITLE, KEYWORDS or DESCRIPTION metatags.

3. Put an image at the top of your page. In the ALT tag for your
image, add the keyword phrase at the beginning, like a
description. For example:

4. Use you main phrase as the first heading at the top of your
page, in the H1 tag.

5. Write an article related to your *phrase* and post on at
least 5 f-r-e-e article banks.

You can find a list of those here:

<a href="http://tinyurl.com/8otfd">http://tinyurl.com/8otfd</a>

* * * * * * * * *

That's a few small steps towards optimising your pages for
search engines, so do this for each of your web pages, and
you're well on your way!

Writing the articles is a fantastic way to bring web traffic to
your site but only write about things you know or are familiar
with, otherwise the words won't flow, and it won't be enjoyable
to read.

If you're lucky, your article might be picked up by more article
banks and other websites, who want to have it in their own list
of articles. Remember to put a Resource Box at the bottom with
your contact details.

I wrote an article called *17 Tips to Plan a Website*. Within a
month it had been snapped up by 800+ websites - wow! The power
of the internet! This one article brings traffic to my site
24/7. Now do you feel like writing an article or two? It is
certainly worth the effort - my article is proof of that!

* * * * * * * * *

Enjoy your website tweaking and your article writing, I look
forward to seeing you in print real soon! Let me know how much
your traffic improves over the next month.

Cheers Teena!

http://www.BuildAWebsiteTonight.com

* * * * * * * * *

Psst! To keep track of your websites, pop over to my website
and download the f-r-e-e *Domain Tracking Register* document:

<a href="http://tinyurl.com/cogqr">http://tinyurl.com/cogqr</a>

About the author:
* * * * * * * * * Resource Box * * * * * * *

2005 ©Teena Hughes Teena Hughes is a webpreneur who provides an
online automated website builder, provides website hosting &
domains, and small biz services. Author of many ebooks and
articles, chat with Teena on the Forum at <a
href="http://www.BuildAWebsiteTonight.com/forum/">http://www.Buil
dAWebsiteTonight.com</a>. Get the free not-quite-monthly
newsletter.

================================================================
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Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: Eight Simple Steps For Enhancing Your Website

Author: Alden Smith

Article:
To be successful with your online business, whether you are
selling your own product, services or are selling for other
merchants as an affiliate, you need a Web site that focuses on
that subject alone. The site must be easy to build,
maintenance-free, low cost, credible, and a powerful
traffic-builder and customer-converter.

Having the right tools or product alone will not insure the
success of your website. There are many factors to be considered
when designing your site. And unfortunately, most of these are
usually ignored by Internet business owners. Here are eight
simple steps to enhance your site and make it profitable.

1. Build It for Speed There is no denying that in this day and
age that people are in a hurry. You have between 10 and 30
seconds to capture your potential customer's attention. To
minimize your load time, keep graphics small. Compress them
where possible. Use flashy technology (JavaScript, Flash,
Streaming Audio/Video, animation) sparingly and only if it is
imperative to your presentation.

2. Target your Market Know who your market is and make certain
that your site caters to their needs. It is critical that your
site reflect the values of your potential customers. Is your
market mostly business professionals? If so, the site must be
clean and professional. Is your product aimed at teenagers and
young adults? Then your site could be more informal and relaxed.
The key is to know your market and build the site to their
preferences.

3. Focus the Site Make certain your web site is focused on the
goal of selling your product or service. If your business offers
many products, dedicate a unique page for each instead of trying
to sell them all from one page. This can easily be accomplished
through the utilization of subdomains.

4. Build Credibility The most professionally designed site won't
sell if your customers don't believe in you. Become an authority
in your chosen niche. The internet is all about information, not
just marketing. People go to the internet to find information on
a particular subject. Providing clear concise articles focused
on the subject of your site makes you an expert in your field.
Providing a clear privacy statement is also away to build your
credibility. Provide a prominent link to your privacy statement
from every page on the site as well as from any location that
you are asking your visitors for personal information. Provide
legitimate contact information on line, including your mailing
address and phone number. Don't hide behind a computer!

5. Keep navigation simple Make site navigation easy and
intuitive. Simple and smooth navigation adds to the convenience
of the visitors. Add powerful search and catalog features. Many
times a lot of visitors do not have the patience to navigate
through the whole website to find what they are looking for.

6. Keep it consistent Make sure the site is consistent in look,
feel and design. Nothing is more jarring and disturbing to a
customer than feeling as if they have just gone to another site.
Keep colors and themes constant throughout the site.

7. Make your site interactive and personalized Make your website
interactive. Add feedback forms as well as email forms that
allow your prospective customers to ask you any questions they
might have pertaining to a product. Personalization of your
website is another key element that can lead to customer delight
and can increase your sales. Personalization technology provides
you the analytic tools to facilitate cross-selling and
up-selling when the customer is buying online. It would give you
an idea of what products to cross-sell and up-sell. For example,
when a person buys a CD player, a disc cleaner can also be
offered.

8. Content is King Good content sells a product. Ask yourself
the following questions. Does your copy convey the message you
wish to get across to your visitors? Is it compelling? Does it
lead your visitor through the sales process? Have others review,
critique and edit your copy to insure it is delivering the
intended message. Always double check your spelling and grammar.

These eight, simple rules will go a long way toward the
improvement of your website and most importantly, turn visitors
into customers.

About the author:
Alden Smith is an award winning author who has been marketing on
the internet for over 7 years. His site,
http://www.for-the-record.biz, is loaded with articles and
information for the beginning blogger and internet marketer.
Articles are posted daily, addressing everything from CSS to
blogging for the beginning marketer.

Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: The importance of having a feedback form in your e-commerce
website

Author: Ajay R

Article:
Internet marketing is a different ball game altogether when
compared to traditional marketing. A brick and mortar store
employs salespersons to guide and advise its customers. No such
equivalent of a salesperson exists for an online store. This
could be one of the reasons why people shy away from online
stores.

Given these circumstances, it is of vital importance that your
web store should be as interactive as possible. An interactive
website makes your visitors feel more comfortable and increases
your chances of making a sale. A well designed website is the
first step to make your visitor comfortable. Enough has already
been said about not choosing flashy colours or having excessive
graphics. I will now elaborate on the importance of having a
feedback form in your website.

Every site will invariably contain a "Contact Us" section.
Information usually present in this section includes the
business name, e-mail address, physical address, telephone
numbers etc. But what is missing in many websites is a feedback
form. Consider a scenario where your visitor has a query and
wishes to contact you. If you don't have a feedback form, your
visitor will most likely choose to e-mail you. There are
numerous intervening steps that your visitor has to perform
before he can e-mail. Such steps like opening his/her e-mail
program, logging in etc. are distractions and your visitor's
attention is easily diminished. Moreover if your potential
client is on a public computer he/she may not have access to
his/her e-mail and it is extremely unlikely that he will
remember and contact you once he/she gets back to his/her
computer.

All this can be avoided by having a simple feedback form in the
"Contact Us" section of your website. Your visitor won't even be
leaving your site when he/she fills up your form. The very
nature of forms makes it easy for you to collect information
from your visitor. For example, if your visitor requires more
information about a particular product that you are selling,
he/she can choose it from a drop-down box listing all your
products and then type his/her query. Consider the alternative:
if you didn't have a feedback form in your website, your visitor
would have to type your product name in the e-mail and then type
the query - more pain to your user.

The very fact that feedback forms have so many advantages may
lead you to believe that they are very hard to implement. You
would be surprised to know that they are one of the simplest
things to have. Forms consist of very simple HTML and there are
numerous tutorials available on the web for creating them. You
also need a program/script to process the form and a simple
query in your favourite search engine would find many such
scripts. A simpler method would be to sign up for a remotely
hosted form processing service so that all your form processing
needs can be outsourced. You will find that the entire process
takes about 10-15 minutes or lesser and you can have a feedback
form up and running!

Now that I have shown you that it is so simple to have a
feedback form and there are numerous advantages associated with
it, there is no reason for you not to have one!

About the author:
Ajay R is a vastly experienced web-designer and developer. He is
also the webmaster of <a
href="http://www.formbuddy.com/">FormBuddy.com</a>, a free
remotely hosted form processing service that allows you to
easily create and process feedback forms without the requirement
of knowing any programming language.

Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: How To Make Sure Your Visitors Read What You Write!

Author: Lindsay du Plessis

Article:
How To Make Sure Your Visitors Read What You Write!

- A Lesson From Journalism 101

When most people open a newspaper, they look for the most
interesting, bold and colourful images on the page. There is no
time to read a whole newspaper from cover to cover, just as
there is no time to read every single word on a web page,
especially if it is really full of text.

Readers today are generally referred to as "scanners" because
that is what they do. They scan the page looking for the most
interesting item on the page, which often makes the contents
obsolete.

This is a great difficulty for people in the content industry
because it means that we have to write sensational, catchy and
often clichéd stories. This is where the design of a page
becomes crucial, both in the print and Internet industries.

More is not always better .

HOW PEOPLE READ:

Mario Garcia, a pioneer in newspaper design in the USA,
developed a format called EYETRAC, which shows howa reader looks
at a page, also known as page navigation.

We start at the top in most cases, or at a strong visual point
of entry, and then move around the page. This is why most well
designed newspapers and web pages will put a photograph or
graphic at the top of the page, near to the main headline or
line of type.

A reader generally looks at the page in the following order:
Photo, headline, caption, and text. Text is last, and unless he
previous elements convince them that there is something to read,
they will turn the page or scroll down.

For this reason, it is vital to put different information
relating to the subject in each element. Don't repeat the same
information in the picture and in the headline and then explain
exactly what the picture is. For example, if Bob Jones is
holding a 50 kilogram fish, don't say, "This is Bob Jones with
his 50 kilogram catch," when your headline is "Bob Jones lands
50 kg monster!"

YOUR FIRST PARAGRAPH:

It is also important to make the first 25 words of your text
captivating and interesting so that the reader will be hooked
into the page.

It is also useful to make that first paragraph a bit bolder so
that it attracts attention, but not too much so that it
unbalances the page.

Keep in mind that people on the Net make their decisions about
web sites based on what loads first, and what loads quickly -
normally what they see in the first screen view.

Make your first screen count!

BTW. the same also applies to emails you send out.

GRAPHICS AND FONTS:

It is important not to clutter the page with too much fancy
animation or complicated fonts. This confuses the eye,
especially on a computer screen, and puts the reader off from
the beginning.

Simpler is better because it makes it easier to navigate
thepage. Simple fonts are also easier to pick up on all servers
and computers, where as complicated or unusual fonts aren't as
accessible. The kind of font you use also creates an impression.

You should think of your page as a person and try to design it
with that image in mind. For example, the Wall Street Journal is
a formal and educated elderly man because of its design and
content. Serif fonts are more formal and should be used
sparingly if you want to attract younger readers.

Sans serif fonts are less formal and are easier to read on a
computer screen. Fonts like verdana and arial are especially
good for this purpose because they create white space and gives
the page air.

WHITE SPACE AND BALANCE:

White space is a very important design tool and can helpmake a
page accessible and easy to navigate. Correctly used to balance
a page or highlight an image or paragraph, white space is very
effective.

One must also remember that irregular shapes draw the eye first,
so unless you want people to start reading at the bottom of the
page, don't put an irregular shape there, especially if it is in
colour. This unbalances the page and confuses the navigation
process, which should be as simple as possible. It is also
important not to overlap text and images.

KEEP IT MODULAR:

A page should be as modular as possible. In other words,things
that are related should be together and be able to be closed up
into a box on the page.

BACKGROUNDS AND COLOURS:

It is also important not to make the background on you web page
very complicated because it clashes with the text.A simple
colour or design works best, both for readability and for server
usage.

This is especially true of a blue background, as it causes the
images and text to vibrate on the screen and makes it impossible
to read.

You should also keep colours in mind when creating a page,
because colours have subconscious connotations for readers. When
choosing a colour, keep your "pageperson" in mind and try to
think of all the connections people will make with the colour.

And remember, more colour is not necessarily better. Use it for
effect or to draw the reader's attention to a subject. People
will rather look at a colour photo before a black and white one,
so keep that in mind.

CONCLUSION:

These ideas and tips are taught to journalists in journalism
school and you would be well advised to keep them in mind when
you design your web pages to make your pages
more"user-friendly".

The easier-to-read and more enticing they are, the more people
will read them and the more success you will have.

About the author:
Lindsay du Plessis is a free-lance journalist based in South
Africa. She has been published on the Net and in newspapers in
Enland and South Africa. Visit her web site at
http://www.thetraveljournalist.com

Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: Web Development Terminology - or How to Know What Your Design
Team is Talking About

Author: Sherry Holub

Article:
Hosting and Domain: Most people do know about web hosting and
domain names are these days, but every now and then some
confusion might arise as to whether they are independent or one
in the same. Basically, your web hosting is the space you "rent"
on the internet to place your website. Your domain name, also
called your URL is www.your_website.com. Some hosting companies
will offer the purchase of your domain name at the same time you
purchase your hosting account. Often times however, you purchase
a domain name separately from a company such as Register.com or
GoDaddy.com.

FTP or Login Info: When you are asked for this information, this
refers to the host name, user name, and password needed to
access your hosting account. This will come from your hosting
company when you sign up.

Site Map: A site map is exactly what it sounds like - a flow
chart or outline of all the pages on your website. This is
created to help organize the way your website is put together.

Menu or Navigation: Often times before creating a concept (see
below) for your site, a designer will ask you what Menu items or
Navigation you would like. These are simply the "buttons" within
your page design that help a visitor get around to the other
pages. For instance: About Us, Our Services, Our Products, and
Contact Us could all be menu items.

"Mock Up" or Concept: When designers mention these terms they
are talking about the initial or concept designs for your
project. In the case of a website, the concept will most likely
be delivered to you via the web and be an example of how your
site will look. These concepts are created and revised to
achieve the final look of your website. Also note that designers
often use "dummy text" (see below) if you have not already
provided "content" (see below).

Royalty Free or Stock Photography: Royalty Free and Stock
Photography refers to photos and graphic images that you or your
designer purchases to use within your design or on your website
pages. These images can vary greatly in price, depending on the
company they are purchased from. A good designer will have their
own selection of images that were already purchased for you to
choose from. Even so, sometimes the "perfect" image(s) can not
be found so you must turn to other sources.

Screen Resolution: The resolution for images and graphics for
the web is 72 dpi (dots per inch). If you supply images to your
designer, they should be of this resolution or higher. If you
expect to do any printing (say, you want a brochure made to
match the look of your website), your images will have to be in
print resolution or 300 dpi.

Vector Graphic: Designers will sometimes ask if you have your
logo as a vector graphic. Vector graphics are shapes, lines,
text, even illustrations which have been created in Adobe
Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand. What makes a vector graphic
different from a regular graphic is it's ability to be resized
(especially larger) without distortion or loss of quality.

"Dummy" or Filler text: Designers (both web and graphic) often
use nonsense text in place of your real page text when first
creating your site. Do not be alarmed! This is just to show you
the areas where text will be placed. Once you provide your
actual text, the designer will place that in those spaces.

Content: Content refers to any text or special images which will
go on your website that you will need to provide to your
designer.

Meta or "Head" Tags and Keywords: The meta (often called the
head tags and keywords) of your page are special code to help
search engines find your page. If your designer ask you for
these you should provide the following: a description of your
company/site (this can be several sentences that include your
company name and a few keywords about what you do); page titles
(what you would like each page of your website to be titled -
this shows up in the browser window); keywords (these are single
words and short phrases that you believe your visitors might
type in a search engine in order to find your website).

CSS or Stylesheet: CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet. It is a
system of coding that helps control things like the font on your
page, link colors, page layout and many more.

Static HTML or Static Page: Most websites are created with the
language of HTML. Often times, a designer will call something
"static" to denote that it is 1) not Flash (see below), or 2)
not dynamically generated from a database. This is simply a
"regular" website page.

Flash: Flash is the software from Macromedia that designers use
to create motion and animation on your website. This can be in
the form of a presentation, moving graphics, or even a game. The
applications for Flash have grown along with high speed internet
connections such as DSL and Cable.

"Splash" Page: This is usually referred to as a page that loads
up before the main pages of your site. It can be your logo, or a
Flash animation. Most designers are trying to steer their
clients away from such a page as the attention span of the
average internet user is quite short these days!

Blog: Blog is short for Web Log and has fast become a very
popular feature on many websites. Basically, a blog is a way for
you to keep your site content fresh by posting articles and
other information on your site.

Online Marketing: A designer might mention Online Marketing to
you as something to consider to help promote your site. This can
include: affiliate programs, search engine optimization (see
below), banner advertising, placing your website link in
directories on the web, email advertising, newsletters, and
online press releases.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Although most designers do not
perform this type of Optimization, they might mention it if you
show an interest in ranking better in the search engines. SEO is
the process of manipulating your page content and Meta tags in
order to achieve better rankings.

mySQL or msSQL/SQL and Databases: Unless you have custom
programming or an ecommerce shopping cart on your website, your
designer most likely would not mention these things.
Nevertheless, sometimes they do come up if some of these things
might be happening at a later stage. mySQL is the type of
database that you would need to have set up if you are hosting
your website on a UNIX server whereas msSQL is the type that is
set up if your are hosted on a Microsoft Windows server.

About the author:
Sherry is the Creative Director and Senior Designer at
California studio, JV Media Design
(http://www.jvmediadesign.com).

Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: Web Design Essentials

Author: Stacy Hensley

Article:
Websites are created for many different purposes, such as,
selling products, offering services, or sharing information. The
one thing all websites have in common is the need to attract
visitors and keep them coming back on a regular basis. In order
to accomplish this you need to have a web design that is
pleasing to look at, easy to navigate, and offers good content.

The first thing any visitor to your website sees is the home
page. This should be your design starting point. You can expand
on it to create other pages, but you always want to keep the
design onsistent from page to page. In other words if your home
page is black and gold, you don't want to do your other pages in
red and green. Any graphics you use specifically for your site
should blend with the color choices you make. Pleasant colors
and graphics will help make your site memorable.

Easy Navigation is a must. Going from page to page needs to be
as easy as possible. Each page should have a link back to the
home page. Visitors want to know where they are and how to get
back to where they were without having to use the back button.
Nine times out of ten they will close the page rather than
continuously using the back button to try and find their way
back.

Content is the backbone of any website. Spelling and grammatical
errors do not look professional. Have someone proofread all
content before you add it. Offer content that is specific to the
theme of your site. If I do a search for jungle animals and find
your site, then I don't want to find content that mostly
pertains to the Solar System.

Web design is ninety-five percent common sense. You know what
you like to see on other websites. Be sure and use that same
criteria when creating a website.

About the author:
Stacy Hensley is a freelance writer for several sites online. To
read more of Stacy's articles visit http://www.stacyhensley.net

Your Requested GoArticles Article

Title: Website Optimisation

Author: Dean Cruddace

Article:
Website Optimisation

Website Optimisation is a technique of balancing the
overall theme and content of your web site,

Why would you design the "Home page" of your website for
"toothpaste products" only to optimise the rest of the web site
with expert tutorials in "playing poker"?

Every websites success is determined by several factors, having
a balanced related theme throughout your website will determine
where in the SERP`s (Search Engine Ranking Pages) your website
wiil appear, this is still only a partial chapter to the
story.

Balancing Website Content

As with <a
href="http://www.website-by-design.co.uk/optimisation/web-page-op
timisation.shtml" title="Web Page Optimisation">Web Page
Optimisation</a>, apply the same techniques outlined within
Search Engine Optimisation guidelines when considering Website
Optimisation for your "keyword(s) theme".

So how do you optimise a Website?

Applying a little lateral thinking to your content writing and
design. Take the "toothpaste product" metaphor for example, you
have just compiled a well optimised page for "toothpaste A" and
"toothpaste B", for arguments sake lets use this "well Optimised
page" as our Main or Index page, but wait your brain is
overflowing with more to write about the toothpaste industry and
the products you have to offer, so logically you will compile
seperate pages for "toothpaste A" and "toothpaste B". Now you
can see the relationship between your "index/main page" , the
"tooothpaste A" page and the "toothpaste B" page, if you
optimised these pages to the correct density (not stuffing them
with keywords) you will obviously have a naturally related theme
throughout you 3 page website.

Don`t stop there! there is an adage that is becoming the slogan
of designers and seo`s, I will reverberate that comment by
saying "Content is King", meaning if you can add more
related content, then you should add it.

Done that, Now What?

You would be right if you were thinking, "it must involve more
than that"?

Search Engine Optimisation

This is where SEO (search Engine Optimisation) comes into the
equation. The Big 3 as they are commonly referred to ie. Google,
Yahoo and MSN each have differing page ranking factors (not to
be confused with Googles PageRank) when deciding the best
results to display.

Google nowadays is placing more and more emphasis on related
links coming to your website which aids there PageRank
algorithm, MSN seems, at the moment anyway, to present websites
with keyword rich pages and Yahoo seems to display a mixture of
both when it can take time away from developing the latest user
interactive gadget.

<a href="http://www.website-by-design.co.uk/optimisation/"
title="Website optimisation">Read More about Website
Optimisation</a>

About the author:
Dean Cruddace is the founder and Lead Web Designer for <a
href="http://www.website-by-design.co.uk" title="Custom Website
Design Sunderland Newcastle and Middlesbrough">Website By
Design</a>