Recently, we looked at a debate over what is better between search engine optimization and pay-per-click. Of course both should be used typically. The general consensus seems to be that you should use both when possible, but that SEO is better for the long term, and PPC is better for quick results.
On the SEO front Google is making changes that could have some effect on the success of organic rankings. One of these changes is the introduction of personalized search to all Gooogle users. You no longer have to be signed in for Google to personalize your results, and that means it is much more important to get that first click from a user.
On the other hand, the usefulness of PPC to people who are just establishing themselves on the web. The reality is that SEO takes time, and while it is of great importance and provides long-term benefits, it is very hard to be competitive right out of the box.
When you have a brand new domain name, a new site, and no links, you're probably going to have a hard time jumping up in the rankings for any competitive keywords. PPC lets you do it and start getting your ROI quickly.
SEO is an absolute must when dealing with new web sites. None of the search engines are going to rank you very high in the organic searches if you are not meeting their criteria. And...the Organic search results are 24 hours per day ads. Not so with PPC, unless you are dealing with an unlimited budget.
PPC should be used after SEO to target special sales, or services. It is a great way to help searchers locate your products when they are on sale, or your services when a special price can be obtained.
Showing posts with label search engine optimisation terms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label search engine optimisation terms. Show all posts
23 November 2009
Creating an HTML sitemap and a XML sitemap for your website could be the easiest thing you do to improve your exposure on the web. For those of you who pay close attention to the search engine optimization (SEO) of your site, this could be the one thing that gets you onto the first page of Google's results. For those who don't devote too much time on the SEO of their site - this is a good place to start. By submittíng a sitemap to various search engines, you are telling them that you exist and what pages your site has to offer the World Wide Web.
There are two types of sitemaps, HTML and XML. An HTML sitemap provides a useful directory of all the pages that are in your site. While XML sitemaps play an important role in helping the search engine "crawl" the various pages of your site. This Roadmap discusses the benefit of creating both an HTML sitemap and XML sitemap, and how you can go about creating them using a sitemap generator. HTML Sitemaps
An HTML sitemap is a single HTML page that contains links to all the pages of your website. Normally, this is accessible via a link in your site footer, where it will be displayed on every page. With large sites, it is easy to get lost and struggle to find the page you are looking for. With a well organized HTML sitemap, your site visitors will be able to use this to easily find the page they are looking for.
From an SEO perspective, as the search engine's robot (or spider) crawls your site indexing pages, it may find some pages on your site easier using this sitemap, rather than through the general navigation. Therefore, sitemaps can benefit your site visitors and even play a role in enhancing your exposure on the web.
Take a look at WebAssist's sitemap to get an idea of what an HTML sitemap looks like. Notice that each page on the WebAssist website contains a link to this page in the footer.
XML Sitemaps
HTML sitemaps are designed to benefit your human site visitors, whereas XML sitemaps are created specifically for the search engines. All of the most popular search engines including Google, Yahoo and Ask.com utilize XML sitemaps as part of their process for indexing the pages of a website. A good XML sitemap will tell the search engine what pages are in your site, how often those pages are updated, and when they were last modified. This way, the search engines know which pages to revisit more regularly, and are likely to do a better job of indexing them. Here's an example of the XML you might include in your XML sitemap:
yoursitedomain/index.htm
2009-03-05
weekly
1.0
Notice that for the index.htm page of this website, we have provided details regarding the last modified date (), the frequency that this page is updated (), and the priority of this page in relation to the other pages of our site (). By providing this information as accurately as possible to the search engine, they will be better equipped to index your site, and give the correct pages the appropriate attention.
TIP: Be honest about the information you provide in your sitemap. If a search engine finds that you are not updating your site as often as your sitemap suggests, they may come back less often.
There are two types of sitemaps, HTML and XML. An HTML sitemap provides a useful directory of all the pages that are in your site. While XML sitemaps play an important role in helping the search engine "crawl" the various pages of your site. This Roadmap discusses the benefit of creating both an HTML sitemap and XML sitemap, and how you can go about creating them using a sitemap generator. HTML Sitemaps
An HTML sitemap is a single HTML page that contains links to all the pages of your website. Normally, this is accessible via a link in your site footer, where it will be displayed on every page. With large sites, it is easy to get lost and struggle to find the page you are looking for. With a well organized HTML sitemap, your site visitors will be able to use this to easily find the page they are looking for.
From an SEO perspective, as the search engine's robot (or spider) crawls your site indexing pages, it may find some pages on your site easier using this sitemap, rather than through the general navigation. Therefore, sitemaps can benefit your site visitors and even play a role in enhancing your exposure on the web.
Take a look at WebAssist's sitemap to get an idea of what an HTML sitemap looks like. Notice that each page on the WebAssist website contains a link to this page in the footer.
XML Sitemaps
HTML sitemaps are designed to benefit your human site visitors, whereas XML sitemaps are created specifically for the search engines. All of the most popular search engines including Google, Yahoo and Ask.com utilize XML sitemaps as part of their process for indexing the pages of a website. A good XML sitemap will tell the search engine what pages are in your site, how often those pages are updated, and when they were last modified. This way, the search engines know which pages to revisit more regularly, and are likely to do a better job of indexing them. Here's an example of the XML you might include in your XML sitemap:
Notice that for the index.htm page of this website, we have provided details regarding the last modified date (
TIP: Be honest about the information you provide in your sitemap. If a search engine finds that you are not updating your site as often as your sitemap suggests, they may come back less often.
17 November 2009
Search Engines Optimisation terms
Search Engines Optimisation terms
.htaccess
Is a mod rewrite file that when placed on the root folder enables Redirection on an apache server.
301 Redirect
A permanent move of website, essentially indicating that the website no longer exists and all requests are forwarded to another page.
Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of mathematical rules to get a result from an input of data. The most famous online Algorithm is that of search engine Google. The Google algorithm is used to determine the ranking of websites in its index. Many SEO Professionals see the Google Algorithm as the Holy Grail.
Bad neighborhood
Refers to sites that link to each other that may have been penalized for some unethical promotion techniques.
Blackhat SEO
Is unethical methods of optimisation, severe penalties are handed out to sites who are recognised for using techniques such as same colour text as background, spamming keywords or linking from bad neighbourhoods.
Blog
A blog, is short hand for Web Log and is a page on a website where information can be regularly updated. Useful for Search Engine Optimisation because the more frequent content is added increases the likelihood is of regular crawling and indexing, resulting in higher placement in the SERPs.
Canonicalisation
Canonicalisation essentially means that your website has two entrances to the same location/page, The error normally lies in the websites URL structure, this is classed as a negative offence towards most search engines "as it leads to duplicated content" It is always important to close off one of these entrances using a [301] Permanent Re-direct.
CMS
Acronym for Content Management System, a secure web page where you can edit your website, sometimes called an admin system.
Content/Copywriting
Content, or Copywriting is the text that is placed on a web page. Good content is key to a successful SEO campaign.
Directories
A directory is a website that details services categorised by industry. There are 1000's of free and Paid Directories available, and some can be industry specific. Within the directory you can normally submit a paragraph of information about your company, and a link is provided directly to your site.
DMOZ - The Open Source Directory
DMOZ is an open source, human reviewed Directory. Google uses the information from DMOZ to estimate the Authority of a site. Entry to the directory is not guaranteed as each and every submission is review for quality by a human volunteer.
Domain – URL
the address of a web page on the world wide web . The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.
Domain age
Is the date that a page was first available for index in a search engine. The age of a domain has a significant impact on search engine rankings, as an older domain is seen as more stable, and therefore more Authoritive.
Ethical SEO
Ethical SEO describes optimisation that does not use any underhand methods to improve rankings. There are many methods that are seen to be faking or deceive the search engines view of the site. Please read the Blackhat SEO section for some examples of unethical search engine optimisation.
F.T.P
File transfer Protocol - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over a TCP/IP based network, such as the Internet.
HTML Sitemap
The HTML Sitemap is an easy way to supply your users with a snapshot of the structure of your website and allows for them to successfully navigate quickly through your website. HTML Sitemaps also help build up "Internal Linking" throughout your entire website.
Indexed
Indexed or Indexing is the action performed by the search engine to attain a position for a website in the listings. Not to be confused with crawling.
Keywords
Keywords are used on a website to tell a search engine which specific information you are targeting and to also help target users who may in-turn search for those keywords within a search engine. Keywords are contained within a "Meta Tag" and the Body of a website.
Long tail
Is the term given to non-generic search terms entered into a search engine. Long tail searches generally convert into sales / leads as the visitor has been very specific about what they want.
Meta Tags
Meta Tags otherwise known as "Meta Elements" can be found within both HTML and xHTML contained between the tags of the document, they can contain specific information about a website such as relevant keywords or the webpage description.
Natural/organic
In relation to search engine results means that the listing has been gained over time and is seen as an authority site. Natural referrals are the opposite of PPC referrals.
Page Rank
Page Rank is a visual representation of a websites authority. Ranging from unranked, for weak or new websites, to 10 for highly trusted and resourceful websites. Every single web page is assigned a Page Rank and there is a blanked update every 3 months approximately.
PPC - Pay per Click
Pay per Click is the practice of advertising on a search engine or other website. Website owners will pay the site hosting the advert based on the amount of clicks they receive through to their site.
Sandbox
The Google Sandbox Effect - is associated with newly registered domains, and has never been confirmed by Google, and many believe that it does not exist as a policy, but is simply an effect of the Algorithm that Google uses to calculate a ranking for a website. It seems that it can take up to 12 months for a site to move out of the sandbox, and this can be even longer if a new domain uses Ad Sense adverts on the page. This would suggest that it is Google's way of trying to reduce the amount of spam sites on the internet that abuse the use of Google Ad Sense.
SEM - Search Engine Marketing
Is a form of internet marketing which has the goal of promoting web sites by being listed in search engines. There are various SEM methods, these include: Search Engine Optimization, paid placement and paid inclusion
SERPs
Acronym for Search Engine Results Pages.
Social networking
Is a buzzword at the moment on the internet. A social network is an online group of people who share similar interests or activities. Examples of social networks include Digg! Facebook and MySpace.
Spam
Is the term given to junk mail that arrives electronically. This is typically unsolicited, as email addresses are scraped from the internet by programmed spiders. Spam websites are sites that have the intention of deceiving users in to clicking adverts on the page, to make the owner money.
Title Tag
The Title Tag can be found within the tag of a HTML or xHTML document and can be used to display textual information to a user, The Title Tags information can be found at the very top left hand corner of the Browser/Applications window.
Traffic
Traffic is the term that is used to describe visitors to a site.
W3C
W3C Stands for "The World Wide Web Consortium" and was foundered by what many believe to be "The Father" of the internet, Sir Tim Berners Lee. The consortium exists to ensure that compatibility between vendors agree on a foundation of standards when programming for the web.
XML Sitemap
An XML Sitemap is an easy way for a Search Engine to find out what type of content is hosted on your website and where to find it. The XML sitemap replaces the previous way of users having to submit their site to various search engines through the use of submission forms, Now users can simply upload an XML Sitemap to their website and wait for the search engines to find it.
.htaccess
Is a mod rewrite file that when placed on the root folder enables Redirection on an apache server.
301 Redirect
A permanent move of website, essentially indicating that the website no longer exists and all requests are forwarded to another page.
Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of mathematical rules to get a result from an input of data. The most famous online Algorithm is that of search engine Google. The Google algorithm is used to determine the ranking of websites in its index. Many SEO Professionals see the Google Algorithm as the Holy Grail.
Bad neighborhood
Refers to sites that link to each other that may have been penalized for some unethical promotion techniques.
Blackhat SEO
Is unethical methods of optimisation, severe penalties are handed out to sites who are recognised for using techniques such as same colour text as background, spamming keywords or linking from bad neighbourhoods.
Blog
A blog, is short hand for Web Log and is a page on a website where information can be regularly updated. Useful for Search Engine Optimisation because the more frequent content is added increases the likelihood is of regular crawling and indexing, resulting in higher placement in the SERPs.
Canonicalisation
Canonicalisation essentially means that your website has two entrances to the same location/page, The error normally lies in the websites URL structure, this is classed as a negative offence towards most search engines "as it leads to duplicated content" It is always important to close off one of these entrances using a [301] Permanent Re-direct.
CMS
Acronym for Content Management System, a secure web page where you can edit your website, sometimes called an admin system.
Content/Copywriting
Content, or Copywriting is the text that is placed on a web page. Good content is key to a successful SEO campaign.
Directories
A directory is a website that details services categorised by industry. There are 1000's of free and Paid Directories available, and some can be industry specific. Within the directory you can normally submit a paragraph of information about your company, and a link is provided directly to your site.
DMOZ - The Open Source Directory
DMOZ is an open source, human reviewed Directory. Google uses the information from DMOZ to estimate the Authority of a site. Entry to the directory is not guaranteed as each and every submission is review for quality by a human volunteer.
Domain – URL
the address of a web page on the world wide web . The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.
Domain age
Is the date that a page was first available for index in a search engine. The age of a domain has a significant impact on search engine rankings, as an older domain is seen as more stable, and therefore more Authoritive.
Ethical SEO
Ethical SEO describes optimisation that does not use any underhand methods to improve rankings. There are many methods that are seen to be faking or deceive the search engines view of the site. Please read the Blackhat SEO section for some examples of unethical search engine optimisation.
F.T.P
File transfer Protocol - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files over a TCP/IP based network, such as the Internet.
HTML Sitemap
The HTML Sitemap is an easy way to supply your users with a snapshot of the structure of your website and allows for them to successfully navigate quickly through your website. HTML Sitemaps also help build up "Internal Linking" throughout your entire website.
Indexed
Indexed or Indexing is the action performed by the search engine to attain a position for a website in the listings. Not to be confused with crawling.
Keywords
Keywords are used on a website to tell a search engine which specific information you are targeting and to also help target users who may in-turn search for those keywords within a search engine. Keywords are contained within a "Meta Tag" and the Body of a website.
Long tail
Is the term given to non-generic search terms entered into a search engine. Long tail searches generally convert into sales / leads as the visitor has been very specific about what they want.
Meta Tags
Meta Tags otherwise known as "Meta Elements" can be found within both HTML and xHTML contained between the tags of the document, they can contain specific information about a website such as relevant keywords or the webpage description.
Natural/organic
In relation to search engine results means that the listing has been gained over time and is seen as an authority site. Natural referrals are the opposite of PPC referrals.
Page Rank
Page Rank is a visual representation of a websites authority. Ranging from unranked, for weak or new websites, to 10 for highly trusted and resourceful websites. Every single web page is assigned a Page Rank and there is a blanked update every 3 months approximately.
PPC - Pay per Click
Pay per Click is the practice of advertising on a search engine or other website. Website owners will pay the site hosting the advert based on the amount of clicks they receive through to their site.
Sandbox
The Google Sandbox Effect - is associated with newly registered domains, and has never been confirmed by Google, and many believe that it does not exist as a policy, but is simply an effect of the Algorithm that Google uses to calculate a ranking for a website. It seems that it can take up to 12 months for a site to move out of the sandbox, and this can be even longer if a new domain uses Ad Sense adverts on the page. This would suggest that it is Google's way of trying to reduce the amount of spam sites on the internet that abuse the use of Google Ad Sense.
SEM - Search Engine Marketing
Is a form of internet marketing which has the goal of promoting web sites by being listed in search engines. There are various SEM methods, these include: Search Engine Optimization, paid placement and paid inclusion
SERPs
Acronym for Search Engine Results Pages.
Social networking
Is a buzzword at the moment on the internet. A social network is an online group of people who share similar interests or activities. Examples of social networks include Digg! Facebook and MySpace.
Spam
Is the term given to junk mail that arrives electronically. This is typically unsolicited, as email addresses are scraped from the internet by programmed spiders. Spam websites are sites that have the intention of deceiving users in to clicking adverts on the page, to make the owner money.
Title Tag
The Title Tag can be found within the tag of a HTML or xHTML document and can be used to display textual information to a user, The Title Tags information can be found at the very top left hand corner of the Browser/Applications window.
Traffic
Traffic is the term that is used to describe visitors to a site.
W3C
W3C Stands for "The World Wide Web Consortium" and was foundered by what many believe to be "The Father" of the internet, Sir Tim Berners Lee. The consortium exists to ensure that compatibility between vendors agree on a foundation of standards when programming for the web.
XML Sitemap
An XML Sitemap is an easy way for a Search Engine to find out what type of content is hosted on your website and where to find it. The XML sitemap replaces the previous way of users having to submit their site to various search engines through the use of submission forms, Now users can simply upload an XML Sitemap to their website and wait for the search engines to find it.
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