Guest post by Rianne Hunter
Since the advent of the Internet, a growing number of entrepreneurs have come out of the woodwork to claim their piece of the virtual pie.
However, most fail, because they do not take the steps necessary to achieve sufficient search engine optimization.
By following a few simple steps, anyone with the drive can achieve success in getting more attention on the web, through being found on the first page of Google.
1. Hire a Local Celebrity
So, this idea is a little out of the box, and probably not what you were expecting. Large companies have the capacity and capital to hire celebrities to endorse their products and services.
Unfortunately, new start-ups likely don’t have that capability. However, a great way to gain SEO success is to contact a local celebrity such as a news anchor to endorse you.
They bring with them a large local fan-base that can provide you with numerous hits to your site that will alert the search engines.
2. Keyword Identification
When writing content for your website, you cannot just write whatever comes to mind, especially in the title, which is the first thing Google looks at.
Most of your hits will come from people searching for your product or service on search engines, and they will type in specific words or phrases.
It takes time, but you must research the key words and phrases being used. You can do this on your own using free tools from sites like Google or hire a professional.
It is important that you pick higher traffic keywords that also aren’t too competitive. Keyword analysis is an art that takes time, but you need to do it.
3. Keywords in Titles
Once you have identified your keywords, it is important to place them naturally within your text.
If you are able to do so in context, place them as headers for new paragraphs using html headline formatting. These phrases are important, but be sure not to stuff too many keywords in, you don’t want more than 2-3% keyword density.
4. Teamwork
There are probably sites already offering your product or service. Rather than viewing them as competition, contact them and get them to link to your site.
They already have traffic, and their viewers may look to you for more information. Offering incentives such as a free sample to the website owner is a great way to make this happen.
5. Keep it Fresh
Search engines look for sites that frequently update their material. It is crucial to add fresh material using keywords frequently.
Adding a blog to your page is an easy and efficient way to keep on top of having a steady flow of new content.
Conclusion
Online success is very possible, but the entrepreneur must be prepared to dedicate time and patience toward the project.
With regular updates, lots of research, and networking, you will be on your way toward acquiring the traffic you need.
About The Author
Rianne Hunter is a mother of three from Southern California. She is an aspiring author, part time marketer interested in local search engine optimization and loves spending time being active with her family.
Guest post by Timothy Torrents
If you have been searching for information on how to make money online than you have undoubtedly stumbled on several articles where the author recommends submitting articles to article directories for back links and traffic.
However, due to recent search engine algorithm changes, and other factors, submitting articles to directories for back links and traffic is no longer a viable technique.
Outdated Information Continues to Circulate on The Internet
Several years ago submitting articles to article directories such as Ezine Articles and HubPages was indeed a great way to build strong back links and attract additional traffic.
However, if you submit articles to most article directories today the back link that you will create will be low quality and click-through rate will be practically non-existent.
So why do people continue to advertise this technique? Because articles and other products that recommend this technique are simply outdated.
But, people keep buying these products, and trying this technique, only to find out that it does not work, or not as well as it used to.
It is important that you remember that not all the information that you read online is relevant today. Some website admins do their best to update their products and articles when the information is no longer relevant but most website admins forget.
Editing hundreds of old articles can be incredibly time consuming. But if you own a website that is dedicated to helping people earn money online, I highly recommend that you at least try to keep the information as up-to-date as possible. Don’t keep spreading outdated techniques.
Are Article Directories Totally Useless?
No. Submitting articles to article directories can be quite beneficial to your online campaign. In order to understand how you can benefit from article directories you should first know how article directories are designed to work.
Article directories are designed to provide people with free articles on a wide variety of topics. Once you submit the article to the directory it becomes public property and people can copy it and share it as they please.
Most people, thanks to the outdated information floating around, believe that the articles found in the directory belong to the website and cannot be copied.
The truth is that a lot of people use article directories to find articles that they can publish on their website. Everyone needs website content. It is not entirely necessary to publish original content on your website.
The act of copying the content of an article from one website and publishing it elsewhere is called content syndication.
If you learn how to advertise your articles for content syndication your content could spread like wild-fire. That is how you can benefit from submitting articles to article directories.
Content Syndication Tips
Forget about building back links and increasing your traffic with article directories. Focus on submitting articles that people will want to publish on their websites.
In order to do this you will need to custom write articles specifically for people who have websites in certain niches. Conduct some research to find out what niches are popular and then write some articles for each niche.
If you publish a lot of well-written and informative articles for a certain niche people in that niche will want to syndicate your articles and future articles.
When someone syndicated your content the link that you included in your article will be published which will create a back link and more traffic.
I know, I stated that article directories are not useful for building back links and traffic. That is still true. You won’t be receiving traffic from article directories.
You will be receiving traffic from your content syndication partners who found your articles THROUGH article directories.
Closing Thoughts
I highly recommend establishing yourself as an authority in one niche. The niche should also be related to the niche of your website.
Don’t forget to build a list of article syndication partners that are in similar niches. Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to publish your article on your website before you submit to an article directory.
I hope this article helped clear up some confusion on how to use article directories. They can still be of some benefit to rankings, but it is better to seek links from relevant sites in your niche with good authority.
About The Author
Timothy Torrents is a Canadian internet marketer and freelance writer who can be found in coffee shops in Taiwan. He has written articles on topics ranging from fashion advice to internet marketing tutorials. For more information check out his website.