How To Increase Traffic to Your WebsiteSince you have arrived at this page, you probably have come to realize that just having a well designed website it not enough, just as having a well designed billboard is not enough if the billboard is on a road that is closed or rarely travelled. Search Engines 411 Inc. specializes in search engine optimization, so they will increase the traffic to your website for you, so you have the time to do what you do best. They provide web marketing and search engine optimizer services to improve the web position of your site on the search engines (also known as your 'ranking' in the search engine indexes). Corey Rudl's article in Entrepreneur below will give you some insight on the complex subject of search engine optimization: By COREY RUDL, Entrepreneur.com I'm the first to admit that getting your Web site listed in the search engines--particularly in a top 10 spot--is tricky business. I get numerous questions from subscribers to my site who are totally confused about how they can get their site to appear in the search engines. I'm concerned that many of you may be making critical mistakes when it comes to submitting your site to the search engines--mistakes that could be ruining your chances of getting the top 10 ranking you deserve. So let's briefly review the different choices you have for getting your web site listed. 1. Use a free submission service. Please, please, please avoid the free submission services! Remember your mother telling you not to play with matches? And remember her telling you not to take candy from strangers? Well, think of the free submission services as strangers offering you candy and matches! Basically, free submission services offer to submit your site to as many as 500 of the top search engines for free. And while that may sound like a great deal to the inexperienced site owner, the truth is that if you use a free submission service, it'll cost you traffic and sales that should have been yours! Top-ranking positions are not achieved using a free submission service. Why? Because every search engine is different! Each engine has a different "rule book" (called "algorithms") that it uses to decide where your site will rank. As a result, free submission services are useless because they submit the same information to every single engine. This is of absolutely no value to you! 2. Use a low-cost automated submission service. Much like the free submission services, low-cost automated submission services offer to submit your site to as many as 900 or more search engines for a minimal fee (usually between $40 and $80). This is another deal that's really too good to be true! Much like the free submission services, automated submission services like this will automatically submit the same set of information to all the search engines. So your site gets submitted to 900-plus search engines without being optimized for their individual requirements! You'll be lucky to secure a spot in the top 100, never mind the top 10! You should also be aware that these services often promise to resubmit your site to the search engines on a periodic basis. Again, while this might sound good on the surface, you need to critically analyze the offer. What if you already have a top spot in a particular engine? Resubmitting your site may cause you to lose your place. What's more, because each search engine has different rules and regulations governing resubmission, you risk being accused of spamming and having your site banned. So while low-cost automated submission services may sound like a great deal, I personally wouldn't recommend this route. You'll be far more successful manually submitting your site, using a professional search engine consultant, or using software that will optimize your submission individually for each search engine. 3. Do it yourself by manually submitting your Web site information to each individual search engine. This is one of the best ways to submit your site to the search engines. You visit each search engine separately, and manually submit the information for each web page you wish to have listed. By doing this, you'll be sure that you've met the specific requirements for each of the individual engines--a key step in securing a top 10 ranking! Of course, I should point out that there are a couple of disadvantages to submitting your site this way. It can be very time consuming and labor intensive. Researching and then meeting the individual requirements of each search engine takes a lot of time and energy because they're all different. There are no professionals available to look over your keywords and titles, verify that you're using the most up-to-date search engine tricks and techniques, and then double-check your choices and test their effectiveness. The fact is, search engines change their rules almost on a daily basis, making gathering the "best" information about which techniques work, and which don't, a labor intensive process. 4. Use a professional search engine consultant. I'll tell you right up front that the services of a professional search engine consultant don't come cheap. However, they are extremely effective and worth considering if you can afford it. Search engine consultants will educate you and work hand-in-hand with you to maximize your exposure in each search engine. They know all the latest tricks and techniques for securing a top spot, and they'll show you exactly what you need to do to optimize your site for the best possible ranking. I deal with a few companies like this, and they all charge approximately $600 to $900 for their services. They evaluate your site, help design keywords and content, give tips and pointers, and design a search engine submission campaign. Then, when they start submitting your information to the top search engines, they'll not only maximize every single field in the search engine submission forms, they'll also submit multiple web pages from your site. (This is a more advanced search engine technique that I discuss in my "Insider Secrets" course.) If you can afford it, I recommend hiring one of these top-notch search engine consultants to submit your site to the search engines. They're not cheap, but they will take care of everything from designing your keywords to providing a written report 90 days later to let you know where your sites are ranked. Plus, in many cases, the traffic generated by a top position will more than pay for the cost of the consultant. It's just something to keep in mind when making this decision. 5. Use submission software. Until recently, I can't honestly say I recommended search engine submission software. This is because most of the software out there does exactly what the free and low-cost submission services do: They submit the same set of information to all the search engines so your site is never optimized and you never secure the top ranking you need. So if you're going to use submission software, here's what you need to look for: Software that guides you through the important process of choosing keywords and descriptions that will generate maximum traffic for your site Software that takes the information you input and prepares an individual submission form for each search engine. Make sure that each search engine receives the exact information it requires without you having to submit to each engine separately. Software that automatically submits your site to the top search engines, indices and directories. So far, I've only found one software program that can do all this for you. This software was created by the same search engine consultants that we personally use to submit both our sites and our clients' sites to the search engines (the ones that charge $600 to $900 per site). So if you want the benefit of their expertise, but can't afford to hire them personally, you can use the same software they are to get the top ranking you need without the expense. And if you don't want to use this software, just remember the three points I've outlined above when you're evaluating the programs. Final Thoughts However you decide to submit your web site to the search engines, I advise you to take your time. Don't rush in and make mistakes that could destroy your chances of securing a top ranking. Remember that search engines receive thousands of requests every day from people who want to make changes to their listing. These requests are at the bottom of any search engine's priority list. In fact, you'll have more success completely removing your listing and starting over than you will trying to change it. So it's absolutely critical that you take the time to submit your site the right way, the first time. Internet marketing expert Corey Rudl has gained popularity because what he teaches are not theoretical approaches to online marketing but real examples of what works when it comes to having a successful business on the Internet. He's also the author of the bestselling how-to guide, Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet. |