Written on March 27, 2008 by admin
Filed Under: Articles
Recently I made a mistake that may cost a great deal of traffic to my new web site.
Let me explain…
I studied so many books about Internet marketing over the last couple of years that I decided to start a new web site, and share my knowladge and experience with other fellow Internet marketers.
Since I read lots of information about search engine optimization (SEO), I intended to optimize all of my web pages for search engines from the beginning on, expecting Google to be my number one source of traffic in the near future.
I did an extensive keyword research using WordTraker, made a blueprint for my product and article pages, and the time has come to choose a great domain name for my new project.
I went to GoDaddy, the famous domain name registar, tried this and that, and finally came up with a beautiful domain name related to Internet marketing - netmarketingstrategies.com
You probably know that Internet marketing is a very competitive niche, so I was glad that this domain name was still available. I registered it immediately.
My site was up and running in 48 hours. Now I needed some fresh web content, and to get indexed by major search engines as soon as possible.
So, I spent a week or two writing search engine optimized content for my new online business.
I usually don’t submit my new web sites to search engines for indexing. I prefer when my sites are found on other web sites and get spidered automatically.
One of the easiest ways to have a link to a web site from other sites is by writing and distributing high quality articles. So, I wrote an article about two-tier affiliate programs and submited it to major article directories.
Within a couple of days I searched for my article title in Google and noticed that it did great. Publishers liked my article and they were publishing it on their web sites and newsletters.
I expected my home page to get indexed very fast.
Time went.
Each week I searched Google to see if my site has already got indexed. It didn’t.
I decided to see if my domain has been spidered by other major search engines. Yes, both Yahoo and MSN got it. So, what went wrong? Why Google won’t index my home page?
Here’s what I think went wrong: my further investigation showed that the domain name had already been used by another webmaster and had been expired half a year ago when I registered it. It seems that the previous domain name owner was using unfair search engine optimization strategies and his web site was banned by Google.
I sent a request to Google explaining the situation and asking to lift the ban from my web site. I am not sure if they will listen and help me.
I am ready to register a new domain name in a few weeks time if I still cannot get my site indexed by Google.
So, don’t make the same mistake I did… If you intend to optimize your new web site in order to receive traffic from Google and other search engines, make sure to check out if a domain name you’ve selected for your online business is not banned by Google before registering it.
Gerardas Norkus has been marketing online since 1997. Take advantage of his battle tested Internet marketing strategies that could quietly make you huge profits every single month. Take 7-part e-mail course at: http://www.netmarketingstrategies.com
Written on March 27, 2008 by admin
Filed Under: General
Ahhh… your company name.
Your identity. What separates you from everyone else.
I would be willing to bet that you spent a good deal of time coming up with the perfect name for your company. Am I right?
Something catchy, easy to remember, and unique. How am I doing so far?
What if I were to tell you that your company name is possibly the single biggest hindrance to your business’s success online.
Unfortunately, for many companies it is.
Choosing a name for your business online is much different than choosing a name for a brick and mortar business.
You see, in the real world, a business with a catchy, easy to remember name will get traffic simply from people driving by on the street or walking by in a shopping center even if they have never heard of you before.
Unfortunately, this is not how things work online. Online, there is no drive-by traffic, no people walking in to your business because they were next door shopping.
Online, you must be found among a pool of tens of thousands of other businesses.
Online, people don’t casually browse with friends to pass the time.
Online, people search… and unless your name is Microsoft, Wal-Mart, or another extremely well known and well branded name, people are not going to search for your company name.
Studies show that approximately 80% of Internet users find what they are looking for by way of search engines (i.e., Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, etc.), and I guarantee you, they are not going to be searching for your wonderful catchy name, they will be searching for the topic they want.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you own a gourmet coffee business called “The Brewmaster” that you decide to take online. Of course you love your name and create your online identity around your offline name. You reserve the domain name “www.brewmaster.com,” keep your company name, and title your site “The Brewmaster.”
You’ve submitted your site to Yahoo as well as all the other directories and search engines. Ahhh… life is good. Orders should start rolling in any minute now…
Guess what? Unless you have a HUGE marketing budget for banner ads, etc., you’ve just doomed your business.
Let’s look at why.
First, let’s look at the…
*Site Title*
Whether you’re dealing with a directory or a search engine, the site title is the single most important aspect of your listing. For search engines, the text found within the title tags of the page is given more weight than any other single factor on that page (i.e., keyword density, keyword frequency, heading tags, etc.). In a directory, your entire listing is comprised of two things, your title, and your description.
In both cases, if the keywords related to your business are not found in your title, your chances of coming up in a search are virtually non-existent. If your site is about “gourmet coffee” then those words, or at the very least, “coffee,” should be somewhere within your title.
*The Company Name*
Just as your site title should have your most important keywords within them, so should your company name.
Why, you ask?! The answer… directories.
In directories, when a visitor uses the search function (which is what the vast majority use) you will only be found if the search term the visitor uses is found either in your site title or your description. Unfortunately, virtually all directories require your site title to be your actual company name. Remember that directories are powered by humans, not software. A human reviews the site, and assigns the title and description that he/she decides is correct. Yes, they all let you suggest a site title, but ultimately, regardless of what you submit, your title almost always ends up as your company name.
Looking again at the above example, this would mean that your title in almost all of the directories would be “The Brewmaster.” This means the only place you would have left to put your keywords would be the description, and this again is up to the editor. This means that any site that has the search term “coffee” or “gourmet coffee” in both the title and description would come up far ahead of your site in the search results, costing you traffic and sales that could have been yours.
*The URL*
Here is another very much overlooked tool. Whenever possible, your URL should contain your most important keywords. Many engines and directories will give your site a boost if your keywords are found within your URL. Also, when you submit your site to the directories, if your URL, your company name, and your site title all match, that will virtually guarantee that you will get the title you requested.
Let’s tie the three previous areas together with an example of what you could have named your site instead of “The Brewmaster.”
Here’s one possible alternative: “Gourmet Coffee Brewmaster.”
The above alternative would give you a company name that includes your most important keywords and the perfect title for your page.
You could then reserve the domain — http://www.gourmet-coffee-brewmaster.com — giving you a perfect trifecta. The same company name, page title, and URL — practically insuring that you get the directory listing you want.
Of course, this is only one possibility, but I think this should illustrate the point.
To Summarize
- Unless you have a huge advertising budget or are an extremely well branded business, DO NOT name your online business something like the above example.
- Use a business name that contains your most important keywords.
- Use this business name as your site title.
- Use a URL that contains your most important keywords and whenever possible, is the same as, or as close as possible to, your keyword-laden business name.
Follow these rules and you should have no trouble developing a very steady flow of large amounts of traffic from the directories, and you will be well on your way in the search engine arena as well.
About The Author
John Buchanan is the author of the book “The Insider’s Guide to Dominating The Search Engines,” and publisher of a FREE monthly newsletter “The Search Engine Bulletin.” Visit us at http://www.se-secrets.com for more information or to sign up for the newsletter.
