Let me point out here that neither practice (writing link posts - which often contain longer and more highly descriptive link text - and anchoring links with pithy descriptive terms) is necessarily inferior to the other or innately bad for a blog's SEO (when used correctly, at least). Each has a role to play in any successful blog strategy. Yet, each is entirely different, which is why I believe that each should be called by a different name - a name that's more appropriate to its function. Thus, I call writing link posts speedposting (since it speeds up the posting process) and creating links that use shorter and less complex anchor text speedlinking (since it speeds up the linking process).
Speedlinking Defined
To recap, the definition we will use in this series on Speedlinking and SEO, is the following:
Speedlinking is the practice of using just one or two sometimes-insignificant words to anchor a link. The words in question are used either as a substitute for exact titles and/or full names (which are generally longer and more time-consuming to reproduce accurately) or to highlight specific keywords and short key phrases. Sometimes, the words chosen to anchor the link are ambiguous, universal, and nondescript, giving the reader little incentive to follow them. Speedlinking may be used in either a link post or a conventional one, though it's more likely to be used in the latter, since it lends itself well to easily achieving an unbroken narrative flow.
In my previous post, I linked to a few highly respected bloggers who choose to define speedlinking differently than I do. Today, I'll refer briefly to another blogger I also highly respect, who views the issue very much the same way that I see it.
A Blogger Who Shares My Perspective
The only blogger I've found thus far, who uses the term speedlinking in the clearer and more intuitive context described above is Confident Writing Coach Joanna Young. In How to write a links post, Joanna covers this topic, differentiating between simply "linking out" and "speed linking." In this post, she offers a description of speedlinking and demonstrates the practice in a few of its more positive and negative forms. While the topic of her post may be writing a link post, she doesn't use the term speed linking to describe that practice but rather to represent one possible method of linking out from within that link post. Many may find this distinction subtle and consider it unimportant, but I agree with Joanna that the term speedlinking has a very specific meaning and serves an equally specialized function in blogging and SEO.
Outbound Link Text and SEO
The next question thus becomes, "Just how important is outbound link text to our SEO strategy?" Answering this question will help us better understand the impact of speedlinking on our sites' SEO.
Let's start by consulting the Google Webmaster Central Blog to get the Big G's take on outbound anchor text:
Descriptive anchor text (the visible text in a hyperlink) helps accurately inter-connect the web. It allows both users and Googlebot to better understand what they're likely to find when following a link to another page.
Characteristics of Good Speedlink Anchor Text
This would indicate that our outbound link text is very important to our site's SEO. Does this mean speedlinking is bad for SEO? Not necessarily. It all depends on how it's done. With speedlinking, we need to ask ourselves a few questions to determine whether our method enhances or detracts from website SEO:
Is our anchor text relevant to the link's content?
Is it reinforced by surrounding page content?
Does it use appropriate keywords?
Does the link's URL structure use recognizable descriptors, such as keywords or titles, rather than numbers?
Are the URL descriptors relevant to the surrounding content?
Does the link contain a relevant title tag to further reinforce its anchor text?
All the above factors determine the SEO-ability of our outbound links - whether they are speedlinks or conventional links.
Information to Include in Speedlink Anchor Text
In summary, good outbound linking principles apply to speedlinking just as much as they do to any other type of linking strategy. While the anchor text of an SEO friendly speedlink may be shorter, quicker, and easier to execute, it still contains such helpful descriptive information as the following:
Keywords or key phrases
Names of individuals
Company names
Website or blog titles
Publication titles (as opposed to article titles, which are generally longer)
Domain names
Combinations of the above (such as "ProBlogger's speedlinking post," which contains a blog title and a key phrase)
Other brief but specific descriptive text
Some Final Thoughts on Speedlinking
Whether speedlinking or slow-linking, the links themselves should generally be deep links (links to website pages other than a site's homepage) unless your purpose is simply to refer your reader to the website or connect a particular individual with his or her website or blog.
Speedlinking can have a positive impact on your site's SEO, just as any other kind of linking can - as long as you give your speedlinking strategy a little forethought. When done properly, speedlinking not only draws the attention of search engines, but like any other outbound link, it can give your site's SEO a boost by encouraging other bloggers to link back to your content.
A growing tendency has spread among bloggers. Many use the shortest, simplest anchor text possible when creating outbound links. In fact, some go so far as to label their links with such nondescript words or phrases as "here," "Click here," "his site," "they," and other similar non-specific anchor text. If you're one of these bloggers, you're not alone. With the incredibly fast pace of modern life, both online and off, who could blame a blogger for wanting to create and post links as quickly and painlessly as possible? Yet, there are some real drawbacks to this type of speedlinking (which we'll discuss later in this series).
Link Posts
Many bloggers also frequently prepare entire link collections, placing them all within a single blog post and effectively making them the whole reason for the post's existence. (This is, of course, in contrast to the practice of writing stand-alone posts, which make their own points and use a few well-chosen links to reinforce those points.) Such link collections (the best of which generally contain some commentary by the blogger in addition to the links) are often referred to as resource posts.
Link posts can be a very rich source of knowledge to a blog's readers, since they point to more comprehensive information than the blogger may have sufficient time, space, or expertise to otherwise provide. There does, however, seem to be a bit of confusion about this particular type of post, since creating it has also been labeled by many respected bloggers as speedlinking.
A Few Speedlinking Questions This Series Will Address
Given the contradictory nature of the above definitions, let's ask ourselves a few questions, as we prepare to develop some helpful guidelines for optimizing our outbound link strategy:
1. What exactly is speedlinking?
2. How important is outbound anchor text to our SEO strategy?
3. Does speedlinking help or hinder search engine optimization?
These are fascinating questions,which we will explore in our next few posts. I'll give you my take on the first question in the current post and answer the other two in the remainder of the series on Speedlinking and SEO.
My Speedlinking Definition for This Series
Since Question 1 implies that a definition of the term "speedlinking" is necessary before we can progress further into our discussion, let me share my own chosen definition and my reasons for preferring it over its counterpart.
What I Believe Speedlinking Is Not
Whenever I personally refer to speedlinking, I am not talking about the practice of writing link posts, which are posts that are built around a list of links to other blog posts, articles, and websites. This practice has been called speedlinking by none other than ProBlogger Darren Rowse. In fact, Darren has been credited by Webmaster-Source with coining the term as a description for this type of resource post. (See, What is Speedlinking?) Other well-respected bloggers agree with Darren on his definition of speedlinking, including David Airey. (See How speed linking can help you.)
Speedlinking vs. Speedposting
While I highly respect both of the above bloggers, I beg to differ. I submit that "speedlinking" is a misnomer for the post type described above. A more accurate name for this linking practice would be "speedposting," since that designation better fits its function of creating a faster, simpler blog post.
One reason I distinguish between speedlinking and speedposting is that the phenomenon I refer to here as speedposting isn't necessarily any faster in terms of creating the actual links than any other type of linking would be, since it has nothing at all to do with the design of the links themselves. Whereas the practice I refer to as speedlinking actually creates links more quickly, the only thing speedposting accomplishes - and this is a lot - is that it eliminates the need for creating an original post entirely from scratch by replacing it with a plethora of link-based referrals to credible outside sources of previously written content.
What I Believe Speedlinking Is
What I call speedlinking is the first-mentioned practice described at the beginning of this post: the practice of using just one or two words to anchor a link, rather than the lengthier - and consequently slower - method of describing a link's content more precisely, such as by using the exact title of an article or blog post or the full name of a website or individual.
To recap, the definition we will use in this series on Speedlinking and SEO, is the following:
Speedlinking is the practice of using just one or two sometimes-insignificant words to anchor a link. The words in question are used either as a substitute for exact titles and/or full names (which are generally longer and more time-consuming to reproduce accurately) or to highlight specific keywords and short key phrases. Sometimes, the words chosen to anchor the link are ambiguous, universal, and nondescript, giving the reader little incentive to follow them. Speedlinking may be used in either a link post or a conventional one, though it's more likely to be used in the latter, since it lends itself well to easily achieving an unbroken narrative flow.
Tune In Next Time for Part 2
Next time, we'll provide some further support for our perspective on speedlinking and discuss the importance of outbound link text to SEO strategy.
So, stay tuned for Part 2 of our Speedlinking and SEO series: How Important Is Outbound Link Text to SEO?
We all know that website links play a critical role in search engine optimization, but often the precise role specific types of links play is unclear to us. Today's post will focus on outbound links and their part in the SEO equation.
A Few Link Basics
Before we begin, I think we might benefit from a few definitions, so here are a few basics from W3C.org (World Wide Web Consortium), which it provides in its Introduction to links and anchors:
A link is a connection from one Web resource to another. Although a simple concept, the link has been one of the primary forces driving the success of the Web.
A link has two ends -- called anchors -- and a direction. The link starts at the "source" anchor and points to the "destination" anchor, which may be any Web resource (e.g., an image, a video clip, a sound bite, a program, an HTML document, an element within an HTML document, etc.).
Links that point toward a website are called inbound, or incoming, links. They're also called backlinks. Links that point away from one site and toward another are known as outbound, or outgoing, links. Another link type is the internal link, which refers to a link that points to other pages on the same website.
Perceived Link Value
Many believe that inbound links are the only ones that have real value for improving a site's SEO (though some website owners are willing to concede that internal links might have some value as well). Few, however, are willing to accept the notion that outbound links have much of a role to play in website optimization strategies. Yet, according to the experts, this is indeed the case.
Outbound links don't help you in the sense that they could affect the ranking algorithms - at least not directly.
He then clarifies a misunderstanding that many have about the animal:
Outbound links don't hurt you in that you're not penalized for linking to other websites. The only exception is when websites link to non-related website directories or link collections just for the sake of linking.
Direct Benefits of Outbound Links
Keyword Ranking
Joel Walsh, of AgoraBusinessCenter.com, takes this explanation one step further, stating, in his article on SEO and Outbound Link Relevance, that
Outbound links' anchor text affects a page's search engine ranking in much the same way that inbound links' anchor text affects search engine ranking.... though it is slightly less powerful. If you have a particular keyword in the anchor text of a link on a webpage, that webpage will likely show up in search engine results -- even if it appears nowhere else on the page, and even if there are no inbound links with that anchor text.
Tim Grice, of SEOWIZZ.net, has in fact discovered that one can indeed
...rank a page for a keyword with no anchored backlinks and little in terms of content.
created the page for "seo consultant leeds" and anchored the phrase to a couple of well known 'local' training and government sites.
About his results, he says,
...after this little trial my page now sits at the bottom of the first page on google.co.uk for the keyword.
His conclusion follows:
This suggests that outbound links hold a good bit of weight when it comes to ranking higher in Google. Use them in conjunction with a targeted title tag and generate some optimised inbound links and it could help cement your site at the top of Google for some pretty competitive keywords.
Trust Value
Leo di Milo, of Internet Marketing Techniques and Theories, shares a few insights he's gleaned from other SEO experts about outbound links, in 3 SEO Musings on Outbound Link Structure, Keywords and TrustRank:
I have seen several prominent SEO sites who link up very liberally....
While I can only theorize as to why this is done, I do know that linking to other sites in your niche will help springboard your site in the SERPS. I believe that it will help get that trustrank that most of us in competitive niches need in order to get to the next level.
It is really all about connections. It is the way the internet operates.
Links -- like much of the Internet and search engines -- are about relevance. If you're linking out for a good reason, don't worry about it. You may have some real fires to put out elsewhere, not the artificial ones fueled by hype.
You do not lose visitors by offering links to other pages. Links to other pages will bring you more and repeat customers. All visitors will leave your web site sooner or later. No matter how great your web site is, no one will stay on your web site forever. The question is what web surfers do when they leave your site.
If you don't have outgoing links or if you hide your links, then you send your visitors back to search engines (which give you nothing in return). If you offer your web site visitors links, you can send leaving visitors to other web sites that can send you their visitors in return.
Carefully chosen links to outside resources can improve the experience of visitors who visit your web site. Give, and you shall receive. This is true for many aspects of life and it also works for web site promotion.
There is more to having a good position in the search engines tha(n) hoarding all of your links. There are many sites that I see have wonderful keyword-rich content, many thousands of backlinks, yet are so afraid of losing their PageRank that they only link to their own sites or internal pages....You're not going to plummet in the SERPs by providing links to someone else.
Besides the anchor text itself, the text around it is also important.
So, always remember that your content must reinforce your link text to make it more relevant to search engines.
Their second crucial point is,
When links are concerned, one aspect to have in mind is the ratio between inbound and outbound links. Generally speaking, if your outbound links are ten times your inbound links, this is bad but it also varies on a case by case basis. If you have a site that links to news sources or has RSS feeds, then having many outbound links is the inevitable price of fresh content.
A Final Thought
Jennifer Sullivan Cassidy leaves us with a little food for thought about the inbound links we all covet:
Unfortunately, in order to get one-way links, which are the jewels of link-building, someone has to be giving away those links. If we all hoped to get links, but never gave them, then there would be no such thing as one-way links at all.
By Brad Shorr on March 18, 2009 11:44 AM
|Permalink
Two of the most important places to insert keyword phrases are web page headers and subheads. In the first place, human readers are much more likely to read titles and subheads than the body text of a given page. Second, search engines give more weight to keywords that appear in those positions than in plain body text.
Avoid using shorthand when writing headers and subheads. It's an easy habit to fall into, especially when copy is being written in-house. Employees are so familiar with their business terminology and close to the action, they forget people will search for their products and services using the full search term.
Weaker - Our Boxes Reduce Damage Claims Stronger - Heavy Corrugated Boxes from ABC. Corp. Reduce Damage Claims
Weaker - Computer Parts Shipped Next Day Stronger - Dell Hard Drives and Other Computer Parts Shipped Next Day
Weaker - Call Now for a Complete Assessment Stronger - Call Now for a Complete Life Insurance Risk Assessment
People are unlikely to search for "boxes" when they want "heavy corrugated boxes".
People are unlikely to search for "computer parts" when they want "dell hard drives".
And nobody will search for "assessment" when they want a "life insurance risk assessment". Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips for Headers and Subheads
Use your primary keyword phrases.
Never sacrifice keyword phrases to score style points - visitors come to your b2b or b2c site for information.
It's OK to have longish headers and subheads - if they are informative, visitors won't mind at all.
Have someone outside your firm read your headers and subheads without the body text - how clearly does he or she grasp your product, service, feature, or benefit?
Keep your keyword phrases pinned to your cubicle whenever you're writing - out of sight, out of mind, out of search engine ranking!
Question - How do you optimize a 10 or 100 or 1000 page website? Answer - One page at a time.
If you are trying to improve your visibility on Google - and every company ought to be - concentrate on creating high interest entry pages. An entry page might be a landing page designed to immediately convert prospects into customers for a particular product or service. Or, an entry page simply might be a page containing information a searcher is very likely to be looking for. For instance, a company that services copy machines might create a web page dedicated to an extremely popular make and model.
Entry Pages Capture the Attention of Qualified Visitors You might think, why not optimize the home page for this particular copy machine? The company could do that - and most do - but an entry page specifically designed for the job will fetch the company better results. Visitors come to the home page for a variety of reasons, but seldom because they expect to find specific information there. Potential customers looking for help on that machine may not even notice the relevant content ... and click off.
Entry Pages Differentiate Your Brand If I'm looking for help on a copy machine, I want to see a website that dedicates attention to it, that talks about it, that concentrates on it. I'll be impressed by a whole page devoted to it. If the company mentions the machine in passing on the home page, to me, it's just another copy machine company.
Home Pages Can't Handle The Workload If the copy machine company gets results with this entry page, it can create another one around another machine, and keep going as long as it wants. Trying to optimize a home page for, let's say, 10-20 machines would be nearly impossible - the page would contain so much technical, detailed content visitors would run for their lives.
The irony is, SEO is a discipline many companies view as an utter mystery, yet they know exactly what their customers are looking for and are perfectly capable of determining what kind of entry pages to create. SEO specialists can isolate the best keyword phrases and take care of the (in many cases) complex execution. But strategy? The company itself already knows it.
Old content is the kiss of death on Google. Search engines prioritize fresh content, presumably because currency is the currency of the web. Yet, how often do companies throw up web pages and leave them sitting there idle for one, two, five years at a time? Not only does stale content cause search engine visibility to plummet, it makes a terrible impression on human readers, who can usually sense when a company's website was an exercise in going through the motions, as opposed to a mission to energetically and authentically communicate.
Content creation for the web isn't a project - it's a process.
Adding a business blog to your site is a stupendous way to ensure your site is getting healthy doses of fresh content, but even without a blog, there are many ways to get this job done.
Create a Media Room. Post newsworthy blurbs about your firm
Create an Employees page and rotate bios/human interest profiles in and out
Add a Featured Products or Featured Services section to your home page
Add a Deal of the Month section to your home page
Create an FAQ page - and actually update it
Rotate important/timely FAQs in and out of your home page as a "Question of the Month"
Add and Industry News section to your site and post excerpts from blog posts - you might generate some search engine optimizing back links in the process
Create pages that speak to current issues ...
How to survive the recession with our products/services
How we can help you get out of debt
How our products/services make more sense under current tax law
How our products/services make more sense with the Stimulus Package
Create a Case Studies section and keep adding to it - besides being great for SEO, case studies are persuasive
Create a Client Testimonials page and keep adding to it - also the perfect blend of SEO and persuasion
Not an exhaustive list by any means, but certainly enough to get you thinking. The key point I want to make is that all these suggestions are not only going to help raise your search engine rankings, they present information that customers want and need.
Also - implicit in these 10 fresh content suggestions is the notion that the content will change. Extremely important. A "Question of the Month" implies there will be a new question next month. "Deal of the Month" - same thing. A "Featured Product" or "Spotlight Employee" implies there will be a new product or new employee showcased at some point.
The danger here is to set something like this up and then forget about the updates. If your site displays the same Deal of the Month for three years running, visitors will roll their eyes instead of their cursors.
Bottom line -The more valuable your site is to human readers, the more likely they will be to return. Stale content has limited value at best. Fresh content is what online visitors expect and demand.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we established that our most important goalas Internet entrepreneurs is attracting targeted traffic to our websites. This is the factor on which all our other marketing strategies depend. Until we've managed to attract this goldmine of interested visitors, we have little hope of enjoying any significant degree of success in meeting our business objectives.
We listed 10 helpful ways of making our copy more attractive to the search engine spiders that crawl the Web, while making it equally enticing to the humans who actually read it - in effect offering a blueprint for ensuring that these people will read it by making it easier for the spiders to find.
Whatever kind of Web copy you write, the 10 tactics reproduced belowcan help you prepare content that search engines will not only index but give high priority to. In this post, we've expanded on each brief tip, providing further insight on how to implement it.
10 Tips for Making Your Content More Search-Engine Friendly: The Long Version
Keep it relevant. Make sure it pertains to your business, your niche, or your website's topic. Be certain it's targeted to the type of visitor your site is intended to attract, then offer added value by providing other related information in sidebars and other parts of your website.
Keep it original. Never "borrow" content. Even legitimately posting someone else's copy to your site can lower your search engine ranking. Quoted content is generally acceptable, however, as long as the amount quoted is reasonable.
Keep it credible. Never make wild, unfounded claims. Be engaging - even entertaining - but always maintain dignity, professionalism, and balance in all your website communications. Demonstrate to your visitors, through the quality of your copy, that your content has been well-researched and therefore may be trusted. This will make the search engines trust it, too. Quote experts in your field or, better still, ask those experts to endorse you or your product, thereby passing on a bit of search-engine popularity to you.
Keep it literal. Say precisely what you mean. We all know that figurative language adds color and impact to our writing, giving us an artistic edge. Yet, because search engines don't "understand" metaphors or plays on words since they interpret everything literally, they return search results which are based solely on what we've actually said, rather than what we may have meant. It's totally acceptable to indulge your creative side now and then; just be sure that most of the content that's in close proximity to your most important keywords and keyword phrases clearly expresses the ideas you're attempting to convey in a way the search engines can "understand." Otherwise, the search results they return will be irrelevant to your content.
Keep it concise. State your case clearly, using tightly written prose. Avoid long, drawn-out phraseology and excessive verbiage, which seriously compromise impact.
Keep it error-free. If you'd like your content to appear in search results for the terms that people are searching for, be careful to avoid misspellings and/or typos that might prevent search engines from matching your keywords and other relevant terminology to the search string.
Keep it keyword appropriate. Use the right keywords and/or keyword phrases (based on diligent keyword research). Use them in context, and insert them in appropriate places in your document. Some effective ways to use keywords are in page titles, as well as in the beginning, middle, and end of your content.
Keep it natural. Don't stuff your content with keywords. Instead, use synonyms in place of some and replace others with different forms of the same word. Not only will this cause your prose to flow more naturally and make it more people-friendly; it will also enhance the value of your keywords by demonstrating their relevance to the search engines, while at the same time preventing their overuse.
Keep it cross-linked. Link your content to your homepage, as well as to other, similar writings found elsewhere on your website. Doing so will demonstrate not only its importance but its relevance to the overall purpose of your site. Linking out to quality websites that relate to your business and encouraging other similar sites to link back to you also shows the relevance of your copy. And always link intelligently. Instead of speed linking (using such terms as "here" or "there" to create your links, use descriptive anchor text which tells both search engine and website visitor what you're actually linking to. Whenever possible, go one better and use keywords or keyword phrases to anchor your links.
Keep it up-to-date. Don't allow your once-vital material to languish for years without tending or without linking vibrant new content to it. Linking newer content to older shows search engines that the older copy is still valid and hasn't become obsolete. Revamp your older content periodically to keep your message fresh and your links relevant, and update your site's copyright notice at regular intervals, so that search engines don't "think" your site has been abandoned.
Keep these 10 tips in mind as you create your content,and you'll make it irresistible to search engines, ensuring your website's rightful place in search results.
A Few Relevant Links
Here's a link that offers a few other beneficial techniques for preparing search-engine friendly content. It shows how you can use keywords to make your copy more amenable to search engines and their mysterious algorithms:
Attracting targeted traffic to our websites or blogs should be the number-one aim of every Internet entrepreneur. That's because, unless we manage to attract the right visitors to our sites, we'll never succeed in accomplishing any of our online business goals. One way we can attract such visitors - and do so organically - is by consistently creating search-engine friendly content which relates to our business and meets a need of our ideal customer. The importance of making this practice a part of our regular SEO strategy can hardly be overestimated, since it can quite literally set the stage for radical success.
Writing search engine friendly content helps your potential customers find you through a search engine. Most search engines use software "spiders" to comb the Web for the most relevant sites, and one way they determine a site's value is by its written content.
Whether your content consists of articles, sales copy, or blog posts, product or service descriptions, or your company's mission and vision statements, a number of effective techniques are available to help make your copy as attractive to the search spiders that crawl it as it is to the people who read it.
The 10 tactics which follow can help you create copy that search engines will vigorously promote. Don't let their brevity fool you. Each is a powerhouse of entrepreneurial Internet wisdom which, when used in combination, can literally turn your business around. (We will further explore each tactic in the following list in Part 2 of this series.)
10 Tips for Making Your Content More Search-Engine Friendly: The Short Version
Keep it relevant.
Keep it original.
Keep it credible.
Keep it literal.
Keep it concise.
Keep it error-free.
Keep it keyword appropriate.
Keep it natural.
Keep it cross-linked.
Keep it up-to-date.
If you diligently follow these 10 tips, you should have little trouble creating Web content that keeps you on friendly terms with the search engines.
A List of Related Links
Here's a link that offers a few other helpful techniques for creating more search-friendly content:
Set aside some time to check out the above links and add still more helpful principles to your current SEO skill set to begin improving your Web copy right away. You'll be glad you decided to take this proactive step toward improving your online presence and giving the search engines reason to advertise your business for free!
In 10 Great Ways to Make Your Web Content More Search-Engine Friendly - Part 2, we'll explore each of our 10 points in greater depth. We'll also provide another list of links that will help you maximize your use of keywords as you craft your content. So, please stay tuned to The Whoa Factor!
By Brad Shorr on February 17, 2009 7:26 AM
|Permalink
Readers of The Whoa Factor know we seldom (if ever) use our blog as a platform to blow our own horn. For the most part we like to simply let our clients do the talking. A couple things happened recently, however, we do feel are worth mentioning.
"[The SEO firms] have been reviewed over an entire year, undergone a 4 phase analysis and have come out strong each quarter. These firms understand and excel at customer satisfaction, have a great depth of knowledge, provide useful information to their clients during the project, have great unique advantages and practice what they preach." (topseos.com)
In February, 2009, The Whoa Factor made the BIGLIST of Search Marketing Blogs, a listing of top SEO and SEM blogs maintained by TopRank Online Marketing. We are in good company here, and are honored to be part of this standout collection.
For new readers, The Whoa Factor's main mission is to put the often complex issues of search engine optimization and search engine marketing in layman's terms. We hope that non-technically oriented business people will find some clarity and insight ... without needing a reference book of terms and acronyms. Since cowriter Jeanne Dininni and I are both writers, we concentrate on content-related SEO and SEM issues. ________________________________________________
Finally, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank our clients. It's because of you that we're inspired to keep learning, keep growing, and keep expanding our capabilities.
Do you sometimes wonder if your SEO plan is a trifle inadequate? You may have embarked on your optimization project with stars in your eyes and many hopeful plans for success. Yet, your results may be proving somewhat less promising than you'd hoped. Do you wonder why the end of 2008 has brought so little growth to your business? That's a very valid question. Yet, a far more important question would be, "What will you do to change that in 2009?"
If you're grasping at mental straws, desperately attempting to convince yourself that your past half-hearted SEO efforts will eventually pay off, there is a better way. Instead of stubbornly hiding from the truth and holding on to the notion that if you wait around long enough some good will simply have to come of your meager search optimization efforts, why not take the following proactive steps instead:
1. Admit that circumstances and conditions aren't to blame when your SEO strategy fails.Not even economic conditions - as bad as they have been of late - deserve this dubious honor. Business isn't a static entity but a dynamic one, which means that the company that has the most flexible plan and the greatest ability to adapt to the rapidly changing economic landscape will be the company most likely to stay afloat in the impending economic storm. No matter how bad things may get, circumstances and conditions don't determine your SEO strategy - you do. And if circumstances or conditions make that strategy ineffective, you're the one who needs to do something about it.
2. Recognize that your optimization plan has been less comprehensive than it's needed to be. It's never a sign of weakness to admit that you aren't perfect and that perhaps you've gone into your SEO experiment with less knowledge or experience than you may have needed for developing an adequate plan. This is a reality you simply must face - or ignore at your peril. Yet, it's also a factor over which you can exert an amazing degree of control - and in fact one that you're wholly capable of changing in the future once you've made up your mind to do whatever it takes change it.
3. Stop making excuses for your laxness in developing a more comprehensive plan. Perhaps the task seemed overwhelming at the time and you hardly knew where to begin. SEO seemed like a foreign language, as you attempted to move your business online and make it successful in an increasingly competitive, Internet-based economy. These facts are certainly valid, and each one places a very real obstacle in our path. Yet, a little initiative can counteract a host of obstacles when we finally come to realize that we simply have no choice but to act. Accept your lack of initiative in overcoming past obstacles - accept it gracefully and forgive yourself for your past SEO naivete. Then make up your mind to change that in the coming year.
4. Determine to learn the SEO strategies that can turn your business around. Make a conscious decision to move forward, making 2009 the year that you actively seek and put into practice the principles that will make your optimization efforts more effective than they've ever been before. Do your research. The search engines work both ways: they can send targeted traffic to your site, increasing your profits many-fold, and they can also send you to the websites that carry the information you need for building your strategic SEO program. Seek out those sites that can add to your store of SEO knowledge and those individuals with expertise in the critical art of SEO planning. Pick their brains, ask for their help, and most importantly, heed their advice. You might even find it worth your while to pay an expert to help you develop and implement your company's SEO plan. If that's what it takes, by all means go for it - but be sure you've done your homework first and are dealing with a reputable company or individual with a proven track record.
If you're a non-conformist or a do-it-yourselfer with an inquiring mind - or you're simply on too tight a budget to pay someone for SEO help - you'll find a host of excellent search engine optimization strategies online.
These three informative posts offer a variety of helpful SEO tips:
If you're a beginner to search engine optimization - and even if you're not - you'll find a great deal of help in this step-by-step, illustrated Google SEO guide:
Now that you have the SEO tools you need to make your optimization plan successful, all you've got to do is use them.
Are you ready to get your SEO program off the ground and make it fly in 2009? If so...Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines - or rather, start using the search engines at your disposal to maximize the effectiveness of your SEO program and really make it soar!
In 
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=c67a9740-ac07-47ee-8f73-3de5a58d1ff3)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=34fa8114-2b73-426b-bb54-6039e6a10b49)
