A Step by Step Guide (WebSite Optimization)

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Step 1: Find the best keywords

The basics: Why is it important to invest some time to find the best keywords?

Keywords are the words that web surfers enter in search engines
to find websites. It's pointless to optimize your web pages for keywords
that nobody uses in the search engines.

For a successful online marketing campaign, you must target the
right keywords. The keywords you use should be relevant for your website
and web surfers should be searching for your keywords.

If you target the wrong keywords, your website promotion efforts will be in vain and you will waste a lot of time and money.

Tips: Which keywords are good keywords?

There are three different keyword types: keywords for browsing, keywords for comparing and keywords for buying.

Keywords for comparing are usually the keywords that work best
for search engine optimization. People who use that keyword type are
looking for a solution to their problem and they are ready to buy. To
get best results with your search engine optimization efforts, you
should concentrate on that keyword type.

Details about the different keyword types can be found in the IBP manual.

Most people use a two to four word phrase in a search, so
phrases are very effective. Single words cannot be promoted effectively
because they are not very targeted. Internet users who use four-word
searches are more likely to purchase goods or Servicess than those using
fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).

Warning: What can happen if you target the wrong keywords?

If you target the wrong keywords, you will lose time and money.

You will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for
keywords for which your website cannot get high rankings at the moment.
Or you will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for
keywords that don't convert to sales.

It is very important that you choose the right keywords that
lead to high search engine rankings and sales. Make sure that you choose
the correct keyword type.

Action plan: What you should do now

Click the Keywords image above to open IBP's keyword tools. Use
the keyword tools to find the right keywords and to see their
popularity. Compile a keyword list of 10-40 keywords.

Start with multiple word keywords and then extend your keyword
list. Click the "Help" image in the Keywords window to get detailed
information on how to use the keyword tools.

Checklist: What you should have done (0 of 9 checked)

Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

Things you should have done:

Have you focused on keywords that consist of two to four words? yes

Have you focused on keywords that will bring you targeted visitors instead of keywords with a high search volume? yes

Have you avoided keywords that consist of only one word? yes

Are your keywords so targeted that it is very likely that they'll
attract visitors that are interested in your products? yes

Do you know which keywords potential customers use to find websites that are similar to yours? yes

Do you know the three different keyword types? yes

Things you should know:

One word keywords are not very effective because they are not
very targeted. In addition, the competition for these keywords is very
high and it is very difficult to get good rankings for them. I know
that

Web surfers might not use the keywords you expect. For example,
people searching for "rhinoplasty" might actually enter "nose job" as
the keyword. It is important to find the keywords that potential
customers really use. I know that

Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to
purchase goods or Servicess than those using fewer words (source:
Oneupweb Research). I know that

Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for
your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you
proceed.

Step 2: Optimize your web pages

The basics: Why is it important to optimize your web pages?

By optimizing your web pages, you tell search engines for which keywords you want to be found.

If you do not optimize your web pages, then search engines won't list your website or they will list it for the wrong keywords.

Optimizing your web pages makes sure that your website can get high rankings for the keywords of your choice.

Tips: How to optimize your web pages

High rankings on Google and other search engines are the result
of optimized web page content and good incoming Linkss. Start with
optimizing your web page content.

By optimizing your web page content, you tell search engines for
which keywords you want to be found. Search engines can only give your
web page a high ranking for a certain keyword if your web page is
relevant to that keyword. Make sure that your web pages don't have major
HTML code errors that prevent search engines from indexing your site.

You should optimize at least six different pages of your website
for different but related keywords (the keywords that you found in step
1). Do not optimize the same page for more than one or two keyword
phrases.

Warning: What can happen if you do not optimize your web pages?

If you do not optimize your web pages then search engines might
not be able to index your pages. In addition, search engines might not
be able to find out what your web pages are about.

If you optimize only one web page of your site then it will be
very difficult to get high search engine rankings. Search engines take
your complete website into account. If you have many web pages that are
optimized for different but related keywords than search engines will
think that your web pages are relevant to a certain topic.

Relevant web pages get better search engine rankings. For that
reason, you should optimize as many pages as possible for different but
related keywords.

Some HTML errors can prevent search engines from indexing your
web pages. If your web pages have such an HTML error, you won't get
listed on search engines because search engines cannot index your pages.
For that reason, it is also important to check the HTML code of your
pages.

Action plan: What you should do now

Click the Optimization image above to open IBP's Top 10 Optimizer
tool. Enter the URL of one of your web pages and the keyword for which
you want to get high rankings.

Then select the search engine on which you want to be listed in
the top 10 results. Click the "Help" image in the Optimizer window to
get detailed information on how to work with the optimization tool.

Checklist: What you should have done (0 of 14 checked)

Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

Things you should have done:

Does your website consist of at least six individual web pages? yes

Does each of these web pages contain at least 200 words of visible text? yes

Do your web pages contain so much text content that it is easy
for web surfers and search engines to find out what your web site is all
about? yes

Are your web pages Linksed so that search engines and web surfers
can find all web pages of your website through the Linkss on other
pages of your site? yes

Does your website navigation use Linkss that search engines can
follow? Flash Linkss and JavaScript Linkss can cause problems. yes

Do you have optimized at least six of your web pages for your
keywords? Each web page should not be optimized for more than one or two
keywords or key phrases. yes

Have you made sure that the HTML code of your web pages is valid
so that search engines don't have difficulty when they try to index your
website? yes

Have you removed frames wherever possible on your website? It is
very difficult to get high search engine rankings with a website that
uses frames. yes

Have you made sure that you don't use a welcome page or intro
page on your website? Many search engines won't be able to index your
site if you use such a page. yes

Do you use as few Flash elements as possible? Search engines cannot index them properly. yes

Have you made sure that your website URLs don't use special
characters or too many variables? Search engines have difficulty with
web page URLs that contain many variables. yes

Do your web pages look attractive to human web surfers although they are optimized for search engines? yes

Would you prefer your website over a competitor website if you were a web surfer who is not affiliated with you? yes

Does your website have its own domain name and is it hosted on a fast and reliable web server? yes

Have you made sure that your web pages don't contain spam elements (hidden text, cloaking or other shady tricks)? yes

Do you have an "OK" for all factors in the Top 10 Optimizer report? yes

Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for
your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you
proceed.

Step 3: Optimize your inbound Linkss

The basics: Why are inbound Linkss important?

Linkss are one of the most important factors for high search
engine rankings. It is not possible to get high search engine rankings
without good incoming Linkss!

The idea behind this concept is that search engines think that
your website must be important if many other websites Links to your
site. The more other websites Links to your website, the higher your
search engine rankings will be.

If more than one website has been optimized for the same keyword
(see step 2) then the page with the best incoming Linkss will get the
highest search engine rankings.

Tips: How to optimize your inbound Linkss

High rankings on Google and other search engines are the result
of optimized web page content and good incoming Linkss. You need both to
get high search engine rankings.

The number of Linkss alone is not enough to improve your search
engine rankings. It is also important that the other websites are
related to your website. If the Linkss to your website include your
important keywords in the Links text, then it's easier to get high
rankings for these keywords.

If the Linkss to your site include your keywords, then search
engines will think that your website must be relevant for these
keywords.

Warning: What can happen if you do not build inbound Linkss?

It is impossible to get high rankings on Google or other major
search engines without good inbound Linkss. It is absolutely crucial to
the success of your website that you work on the inbound Linkss to your
site.

Inbound Linkss are extremely important for modern search
engines. You cannot get high search engine rankings without good inbound
Linkss.

Action plan: What you should do now

Click the Linkss image above to open IBP's Links management tool.
IBP offers many tools that help you to get Linkss from other websites.

In addition to IBP's Links management tool, use IBP's
semi-automatic submitter to submit your website to Internet directories.
Linkss from Internet directories can also increase your search engine
rankings.

Details on how IBP's Links management tool and IBP's semi-automatic submitter work in detail can be found in the IBP manual.

Checklist: What you should have done (0 of 11 checked)

Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

Things you should have done:

Do the Linkss from other websites to your website contain your keywords in the Links text? yes

Have you used IBP's semi-automatic submitter to submit your site to Internet directories? yes

Have use used IBP's Links management tools to build inbound Linkss to your site? yes

Do you get an "OK" for all aspects in IBP's Top 10 Optimizer report? yes

Things you should know:

Good inbound Linkss are very important if you want to get high search engine rankings. I know that

It is difficult to get high search engine rankings for a web page
with optimized content that does not have good inbound Linkss. I know
that

It is difficult to get high search engine rankings for a web page
with good inbound Linkss that does not have optimized content. I know
that

Linkss from related websites that contain your keywords will
increase the ranking of your website on search engines. I know that

Linkss from automated Linksing schemes and FFA (free for all)
Links pages won't help your rankings because search engines can detect
them. I know that

Linkss from your website to websites with a bad reputation (spam
sites, Linksing schemes, etc.) can hurt your search engine rankings. I
know that

The PageRank number that Google displays in the Google toolbar is
often outdated. If you see a website that seems to have a high quality
and that is related to your website then it's okay to exchange Linkss,
no matter what the displayed PageRank is.

I know that

Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for
your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you
proceed.

Step 4: Submit your website

The basics: Why should you submit your website?

By submitting your website to search engines you invite search
engines to visit your website. You ask search engines to take a look at
your pages.

Tips: How to submit your site correctly

IBP allows you to submit your website to search engines, Internet
directories and special interest sites (vortals or vertical portals).
Only submit your website to the correct categories in Internet
directories and only submit your website to a special interest site if
the site matches the topic of your website.

Do not submit your website if you don't have your own domain
name or if your domain name is only a redirection to another domain. Do
not submit multiple domains that lead to the same web space.

Warning: What can happen if you do not submit your site correctly?

When you submit your website to search engines, you invite search
engine spiders to visit your web pages. That does not mean that your
website will get high search engine rankings.

If you did not optimize your web pages, it's pointless to submit
your website to search engines. You won't get high rankings if your web
pages are not search engine ready.

If you don't use your own domain name or if your website is
hosted by an unreliable web host then it is likely that your website
will not be listed on search engines. If the submitted website URL is
only a redirection or a welcome page then it's also likely that search
engines won't index your website.

Action plan: What you should do now

Make sure that you have optimized web pages before you use the submission tool.

Click the Submission image above to open IBP's search engine
submission tool. IBP offers automatic and semi-automatic search engine
submission.

Details on how to use IBP's submission tools can be found in the IBP manual.

Checklist: What you should have done (0 of 10 checked)

Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

Things you should have done:

Does your website have its own domain name? yes

Have you made sure that your website URL is not just a
redirection to another URL? Many search engines won't index
redirections. yes

Is your website hosted on a fast and reliable web server? Search
engines might not index your website if your server is too slow of if it
is down when the search engine visits your pages. yes

Have you made sure that your website is not hosted on a free
server? Many search engines don't index websites that are hosted on free
hosting Servicess because they often contain spam. yes

Have you made sure that your website URL doesn't contain special characters? yes

Things you should know:

It is enough to submit only the index page of your web site
because search engines will find all other pages of your website through
the Linkss on your site. Do not submit all pages of your website. I
know that

The moment a search engine spider visits your website is not the
moment your website is added to the search engine index. It's only the
moment in which the search engine takes a look at your site. I know
that

It takes some time until search engines show your new pages in
the index. Search engine spiders have to visit your web pages, they have
to scan the web pages, they have to evaluate your web pages and they
have to add your web pages to the index. If your website has many
inbound Linkss, search engines will index your website faster. I know
that

If you submit an unoptimized website then you won't get high rankings. I know that

Only submit your website to Internet directories and special
interest sites that are related to your website. Anything else might be
considered spamming. I know that

Can you tick all boxes? Great!

Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for
your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you
proceed.