I know many people, including myself, are considering alexa traffic rank when evaluating the possibility of advertising on other websites or purchasing of websites.

However you have to be careful, there is a widespread misconception that the Alexa Traffic Rank indicates the actual traffic or is in any way related to actual traffic. If you are only going by the numbers and the rule “Low Numbers = High Traffic” you may be fooled. As you’ll find out in my little demonstration, you also need to consider how many pages the site has indexed in search engines, for example in google (type “site:www.domain.com”).

I have hooked up 2 independent websites with google analytics, which tracks the number of unique visitors rather precisely (many people like to use webalizer which comes on cpanel hosting accounts, as it tends to give “nice, high numbers” but for me, these are just fantasy numbers). After 2 years, SITE A, which has 5000 unique visitors per day consistently and less than 100 pages indexed in google has an Alexa Traffic Rank of 185,000 while SITE B, which has only 100 unique visitors per day and over 2000 pages indexed, a Traffic Rank of 100,000.

So even though they call it “traffic rank”, if someone tries to sell you a website which has traffic rank of 15,000 it does not necessarily mean that it gets more traffic than a website with traffic rank 120,000. You should definitely take more factors into consideration, demand a traffic stats history from a third party hit tracking service like google analytics and analyse traffic sources closely.

admin Misc Stuff

(Recommended reader skill-level for this article: Beginner)

Websites and blogs have made such an increase in number that it has become harder than ever to get your own site or blog noticed. If you own a blog or a website, you have most likely engaged in some sort of promotional technique, which may or may not be free of cost. You might even be using an expensive promotional tool. Saving money is always a must so you should look for an affordable alternative. Now there is one particular kind of promotional method that has been overlooked by so many people and yet it brings guaranteed results at virtually no cost! It allows you to draw more traffic to your site and gain higher results page ranking at the same time. The simple solution you have been looking for is here – ARTICLE WRITING.

To make you understand in the simplest terms why article writing is the best free and effective promotional tool, you must realize one thing. Publishing your quality articles online gets you free promotion thanks to the Author Bio that accompanies each article, containing important information about YOU and a link leading back to YOUR WEBSITE. If your article manages to strike the interest of your article reader, chances are he’ll click on the link and arrive at your website instantly.

There is also the great possibility that other sites and blogs will want to use your well-written articles. But in order for them to do so, they have to keep the article in its original form. Your article will then carry a link back to your site even if it appears on somebody else’s blog or website. Each time an article of yours gets published online, you get another link to your site. This will not only generate more traffic for your website, it will also add to your LINK POPULARITY. Once you have published your articles, check for links through a search engine by submitting a query for the words: link:(name of your site).com. A list will appear soon after.

I’ll share with you some tips for better article writing. Before writing, make sure you have done the necessary research. Your article must contain sound information from reliable sources. You will be rewarded when the reader begins to trust your authority on a topic. Remember your article must contain plenty of useful information that is relevant to your readers. Otherwise, why should they bother reading it? Limit your words to 400-700 per article. Be concise. Do not bore the reader with a super long article. The point of writing the article is to keep the interest of the reader so write in a style that is appealing. Once done, publish your articles through Article Submission Sites. There is even software so you can submit your articles to many sites with less effort.

Get started in article writing, submit your articles to article directories and relevant blogs and watch your server complain about the increased workload

admin Article Marketing, Web Traffic

The fact that link building is a potent SEO tool only makes it even more imperative that you use it correctly. Correct implementation and use of link building will ensure that your SEO efforts achieve maximum positive results. Your website has a lot to gain from this tool so do all that you can to get it done right.

The following is a helpful list of ways to avoid link building blunders for you to familiarize so that you can avoid errors completely. Remember these when building links:

1. Make sure to avoid placing backlinks repetitively in a single area on your webpages. Place them evenly over different locations on each web page.

2. For new websites, it is advisable not to choke your pages with hundreds of backlinks all in one day. Gradually add links as each day passes by because Google will not necessarily penalize you but possibly flag you for adding links by the hundreds in a single day. Do this continously and you may be up for manual review. Always keep in mind: Quality links matter more than quantity.

3. Refrain from linking out to pharmacy, casino and adult sites if possible. These kinds of sites are notorious for spam.

4. Combine taking links from both old and new sites because having variety will add to possibly more positive results in the future.

5. It is a good idea to create reciprocal links while building your links. However, keep in mind that too many reciprocal links particular from pages crowded with links from different related or unrelated sources may look spammy to search engines. Even if you aren’t penalized for this, search engines do not place much weight on links that come from pages crowded with links, so you may waste your valuable time here.

6. You have the option to go for three way or whatever n-way linking but don’t expect that they are treated much differently by search engines than reciprocal links. The same I wrote under 5 applies also here.

7. It cannot be said enough that not all directories can be trusted with your links. So choose reliable directories such as Yahoo! and ODP when considering adding your links to directories. Be careful when doing directory submission.

8. There are times when Google devalues backlinks particularly when they originate from commercial sponsors and advertisements. So take care not to take links from web pages with negative reputation as well as sites that link to such types of web pages.

9. Be aware that using multiple languages in your web pages is a big mistake in web design. Google makes it a point to take into consideration various aspects such as IP address, domain name, and website language when evaluating a website. So do not mix languages in your web pages. For example, using three languages for three web pages is not good. Carefully select the language you wish to utilize for your entire website, which includes your backlinks.

Use this list to check your website for any mistakes that could be harming your site. If you find any errors, correct them immediately for smoother sailing in backlinking.

admin Link Building, Link Exchange

Writing articles is already a tough and time consuming task without having to worry about proper keyword use and placement. Let these tips for keyword usage guide you when writing your article:

1. Article Title

The first possible place to put appropriate keywords in is the article’s title. Any good article writer would know that a title tells what the piece is all about. Don’t write “African turbans” in the title if there are no African turbans being discussed in your article. Be aware that the proper keywords in a title deserve legitimate related article content.

2. Semantically Related Words

A great tip in keyword use is to learn the ability to produce keywords in semantically related forms because Google is able to distinguish them despite dissimilarities in wording. Articles that use identical keywords in their content again and again might be negatively labeled as spam by Google. The trick is to say what you mean in different ways. (Extra Tip: Use our semantic word finder tool on the article rewriter page (“User Area” > “Manage Articles” page) to conveniently find semantically related words)

For instance, cotton cloth can also be referred to as: cloth made of cotton, cotton-made cloth, cotton fabric, cloth from cotton. These words are definitely dissimilar to a certain degree and yet, are semantically related. When writing a series of articles on a particular topic, make use of this ability and use a variety of keywords instead of relying on the same ones.

3. Article Resource Box

Another place to put keywords in is what we call a resource box. However, do not repetitively use the exact same keywords in the hyperlink so exchange keywords with each other, particularly if you use HTML resource boxes. Repeating keywords in the resource boxes might be interpreted by Google as being manipulative, which is not in your favor.

Instead, use different yet related anchor text (the hyperlinked keywords) in resource boxes. This allows Google to grasp what your article’s content is all about without the risk of being negatively labeled as being manipulative.

4. Page Theme Related

Create articles based on the main theme and topic of the website they are going to appear in while making sure that they are written in such a way that they encourage the use of keywords.

5. Use Keywords Natuarally

Do not overdo the keyword inclusion thing to the extent that readers will say that your article was just an irrelevant piece with too much repetition of the same words. Be subtle in your writing so that readers will be unable to tell that you are concentrating on including keywords. Have them think that the article is a well-written post that is relevant to the topic they want to read about.

6. Density

Keyword density per article should be limited to less than three percent. Use the free keyword density checker in our seo tools section.

7. Keyword List

A good idea is to come up with a list of at least twenty to thirty keywords and phrases for each particular topic and update that listing on a regular basis.

8. Long Tail Keywords

In article writing, choose long-tail keyword terms rather than ordinary keywords. They rank higher when it comes to search engine results because of lesser competition. Long-tail terms are made up of 3-6 words while ordinary keywords measure up to only 1-3 words long.

admin Article Marketing

It has been emphasized time and again by SEO experts that both inbound links coming from other significant websites and a website’s internal structure are uniformly essential. They are both needed to help a website achieve better SERP ranking. Internal links are undisputedly valuable tools in the process of SEO especially since you have absolute control over their creation and function. In fact, a link building campaign should always begin with the links already found in your website.

The Advantages of Internal Links

* Attracting Search Engine Spiders

Well-ordered internal links and their efficient linking structure cause your website to easily attract search engine spiders since they make it easy for spiders to crawl over all your webpages. The simplest way to improve your SERP ranking is to get all your webpages spidered. It can actually aid in making search engines index more webpages from your site as well as raise the quantity of key phrases your site can be ranked for.

* Enhancing Webpage Relevancy

More often than not, a website’s homepage is responsible for containing the most significant pages while the internal pages are given less important keywords. Maximize your use of links’ anchor text through the use of keywords to increase the internal pages’ relevancy.  Do not limit linking to internal pages at the homepage because footers, inline text links and good navigation also have SEO value.

The functionality of a website’s navigation structure is essential to make sure that your site’s navigation system enables viewers to find their way around your site with the least number of clicks. Although image based navigation structure may be awesome from the visitors’ point of view, they do not do anything for your website’s page ranking.

* Improving the Inner Pages’ Page Rankings

Based on the search engine system of ranking, being closer to the homepage increases the value of a webpage. However, do not interpret it to mean that your entire site’s webpages must have links from the homepage. Maintain a tree-like structure from your most important to your least valuable pages.

* Internal Links and Anchor Text

The homepage also benefits from the internal links’ anchor text. For better results, make use of the your keywords in the anchor text instead of your website name or any generic text like “click here” when linking to your internal pages.

* Manipulation of Internal Links By Anchor Text

Unnecessary and too much internal anchor text linking has been reported to trigger an automated penalty from Google which is why you should refrain from doing this “manipulating” of anchor text with internal links. There has been divided opinion from SEO experts and webmasters alike on whether such action is beneficial to websites or not.
However, Google may treat it as over-optimization of anchor text and just plain keyword stuffing. Consequently, it is imperative that your SEO services should take note of Google’s say on the matter.

admin Link Building

One of the techniques for search engine optimization is article marketing. Steady article marketing helps your website by directing targeted traffic to it from the publishing sources as well as generating backlinks to your website which increases the authority and significance of your website in the eyes of search engines which then place your website higher in their search engine results.

To perform article marketing, you should write useful, content-rich articles or have someone to write good articles for you and then afterwards have them submitted to ezines and major article directories because these are tools that publish new and quality articles.

There are article directories that offer to list your article for free which will help you promote your business and have your blog exposed to more readers. There are hundreds of article directories to choose from. If you are able to create several unique articles, try to publish a unique article to all the major article directories and duplicates of your article to the minor article directories.

Using Article submitter software will help you with your work easily, because they automatically submit your article to many article directories. But you also have the option to do it yourself without using the software.

Submission of these articles is not always to your advantage. There are disadvantages too like time and quality of the articles, and the actual final results will be measured after submission of the articles by the number of backlinks and visitors you gain. In short, it is a trial and error process.

Article marketing is currently one of the most time/cost efficient ways to promote your website, blog or product. So start submitting your articles to article directories today.

admin Article Marketing, Link Building, One Way Links, Web Marketing

As website owner you should consider diversifying your inbound links. Link diversity refers to obtaining links coming from different types of sources such as social networking sites, static websites, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and directories that are within and without of your niche (always stick to sites within your niche is possible, however if your niche is too small or underdeveloped, post to sites as closely related to your niche). This is done at different authority levels. In short, your entire inbound link portfolio does not need to come from only one source (i.e. you only publish articles at ezinearticles.com)

How does link diversity get achieved through the use of quality articles?

Well-written articles can help you do so by making your high quality content available for the perusal of online publishers who are on the look out for new and informative pieces of writing such as yours. The higher the quantity and degree of quality your finished works have, the greater the chances are that they will be readily published by web publishers. The main objective here is to have as many of those articles published as you possibly can through as many people who are willing to publish them. This is why quality and quantity go hand in hand in achieving this objective.

Many webmasters only consider links from high page rank websites. This is generally based on the misconception that websites with low Page Rank are of no consequence and are better of left behind. Little do these webmasters know that they will actually get fewer inbound links by continuing this practice. Building links with sites that have low Page Rank will not harm your website. The important point is that your keyword appears in the link anchor text from any website, regardless of their page rank (as long as it is indexed in search engines).

Besides, over time some of those links might transform into links coming from the most authoritative sites. Such links that were developed through time will be “aged” links and like wine, the older they are, the higher their value will be. So do not underestimate those low Page Rank sites, they just might become more authoritative one day.

Article marketing can be considered as a type of free advertisement. This is apparent when articles come out in websites and ezines that reach the right target audience. If you are in the pet industry and make use of article marketing, it would be in your best interest for you to try submitting unique articles to industry relevant websites such as bestpetdirectory.com and thus get a targeted back link leading to your website. On the other hand, if you happen to be a pet article publisher, you may make use of those articles by featuring them on your website or newsletter.

Finally, just a reminder regarding article and blog posts: Keep a 400-500 word limit per article or 200-300 limit per blog post. Also use bold headlines for each paragraph whenever possible (squidoo style).

admin Article Marketing, Link Building, One Way Links, Web Marketing

It is no secret that google’s index is full of duplicate content. If you would like to convince yourself, just search for “Plus Size Fashion:  Is There Really Such a Thing?” or “Fashion Trends for All Body Sizes”. The exact same article appears multiple times in the top 10 results for these keyphrases.

My message to Google on this is very clear: You need to do a much better job in filtering duplicate content, you are actually in serious need of a duplicate content filter, with one of your smart algos, you need to determine the best possible relevant source for a specific content and ignore the other ones, because why do you suggest me to read the same article multiple times?

However, recently I faced a situation where I was actually thankful for duplicate content in results.

When  I was searching for a specific joomla api integration method, I stumbled upon a forum where a solution was discussed and a link to the solution provided, unfortunately the link led to a dead website. Knowing the keyword to search for, google found 2 alternative sites where the exact same solution I was looking for was published.

Thats why I say now to Google: Keep the duplicate content in your index to offer alternative sources when searching for specific content.

admin Web Content