THE SCOOP

In the number three position is Google. In their bid to compete,
they have changed their model from just a search engine to
becoming a world class portal. Adding services like free email
and groups, as well as offering a free blog at Blogger,
http://www.blogger.com, Google is seeking to attract more users
to their site by making it sticky. There’s also Froogle,
Google’s version of an online catalog where you can buy just
about any kind of product.

Number two is MSN. Not content to be in the number two position,
Bill Gates, the richest man in America, is adding a spider
search engine to his site to offer a much larger segment of the
Internet.

For some time now, the only way to get into MSN was to pay for
it. MSN was part of a network of sites including Looksmart,
which lost a lot of its popularity when it switched to a paid
model.

In the number one spot is Yahoo. Over the last several years, if
you wanted to be in the Yahoo directory, it cost $299. Until
recently, Yahoo’s backend results came from Google until they
split. Now Yahoo has acquired Altavista, AllTheWeb, Inktomi, and
Overture. Yahoo now has its own spider search engine, and you
can get listed free.

SUBMISSION

Submission to the the major search engines is easier than ever
now because all of them have, or are, building spider search
engines.

Note: A spider search engine is different from a directory.
Sites offering spider search engines actually “crawl” the site
and add all of the pages on your site to the engine provided the
pages aren’t too deep. With directories, human beings usually
review the sites before adding them to make sure sites are added
to the correct category.

Times can vary on when your site will be accepted.

For Google, it can take as little as three days to 30 days.
Google reserves the right not to accept your site.

You can submit to Google here: http://www.google.com/addurl.html

Make sure that you read all of the instructions on this site to
make the most of submitting your site to the this search engine,
as well as get additional tips about search engine submission.

MSN’s search results are currently powered by the Inktomi Search
Index. MSN is currently working on its own version of a spider
search engine.

There are no guarantees your site will be accepted or that your
site will be accepted in a certain length of time.

You can submit your site here:
http://www.submit-it.com/msnsubmit.htm

Yahoo recently created its own version of the spider search
engine. It’s free to submit, but you have to have to sign up for
an account with Yahoo to access the site. The account is also
free. It takes about 30 days for Yahoo to spider your site, and
there are no guarantees you will be accepted.

You can submit to Yahoo here:
http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request

There are also several other search engines I recommend that you
submit to that will bring you some excellent results.

DMOZ – http://www.dmoz.org – DMOZ is actually a directory, not a
search engine, but it provides backend results for Google.

Exactseek – http://www.exactseek.com – This site is part of the
Jayde Online Network and includes GoArticles, Site Pro News, and
FreeWareFind.

Alexa – http://www.alexa.com – If you’re looking for sites that
are comparable to yours, or you would like to see how you rank,
submit here. You can also gather some excellent statistical
information about your site, including who is linking to you.

Spider Hub – http://www.spiderhub.com – Although this is a
fairly new search engine, it boasts that you can get spidered by
Google in three to five days by being included in this
directory. It also only takes about two days to get added
provided you have placed the small spider on your site.

SOME TIPS

1. You are more likely to be included in Google and rank higher
if you are linked to other sites and “enter the back door” of
Google. Link to sites that are already included.

2. You can also get included in MSN by being linked to other
sites included in MSN.

3. Submit only the top level page, i.e. domain, for your site.
The spider will take care of the rest and grab the other pages.
For example: http://www.yourdomainname.com

4. Turn your sites into a network of sites. I currently own four
domains, and I have noticed that since I linked all of my sites
together, I am getting more traffic.

5. Link to other sites. You want to choose sites that
complement, and not compete, with yours. Search using key words
similar to yours to help you find other sites to link to.

6. Don’t submit affiliate pages. Search engines usually only
accept top level domains now and will not accept mirror pages.

7. Optimize your key words, description, and title. This is
often the most overlooked step, especially by newbies. Key words
are less relevant than the description and title as Inktomi is
the only one that usually uses key words for indexing sites.

A well designed site with relevant key words and rich content
will go a long way to helping you get successfully submitted to
the search engines. A good linking strategy, as well as
submitting to the search engines regularly, and you have a much
better chance of being found by the potential customers looking
for you.

Here are 10 tips for writing effective web copy:

1. Make sure content is easy to read

In the online world, less is nearly always more. Write your copy for the impatient, online reader. Here are some guidelines for the length of your content:

Headings: 8 words or less
Sentences: 15 – 20 words
Paragraphs: 40 – 70 words

Page word count: 250+ words

Eliminate pompous words and fancy phrases. Effective online writing is not about impressing the reader with your extensive vocabulary. It’s about communicating. Use short, simple words. Get to the point. And then stop.

2. Write from me to you

The most powerful word in the English language is “YOU”. Write for your reader, in a conversational tone, not for your ego.

Get to know your reader. Is there a common style or tone you need to use to reach her? Don’t forget, she’s come to your Web site to do something—make a purchase, obtain information, sign up for a subscription. Make sure every word you write moves her toward a solution.

3. Drive Actions With Content

Content is about getting the reader’s attention and keeping it. Content is about selling. Make sure your content is driving your customer’s actions. Then put that content on your home page.

4. Write for how people search

If you want your site to be found when people search the web, use words your target readers use. Before you begin to write, sit down and think carefully about the keywords you’re going to use. Then carefully weave those words and phrases into your copy. Here’s two Web sites that will help you find the right keywords and phrases for your site.

1. www.overture.com

2. www.wordtracker.com

5. Create Effective Headings

The heading is the most important piece of content you’ll write.

That’s because:

1. Internet users scan read and the first thing they read is your heading. If it doesn’t grab their attention, they’ll leave.
2. An effective heading can used in title tags (more about this later).
3. The heading can be placed on your home page as a link to content.

When writing headings:

Keep them to eight words or less
Include important keywords
Avoid the use of adjectives and prepositions (and, a, the, of).
Be clear and concise. Avoid wordy, wishy-washy phrases.

6. Write keyword-rich title tags

Title tags are a small piece of HTML code that appears in the top bar of your browser. “For example, “Acme Company Home Page.” Title tags, along with meta keywords and meta descriptions, are one of several important factors in achieving high search engine rankings.

Title tags appear in your site’s HTML code like this:

You can view a site’s title tag by clicking VIEW then SOURCE on your browser’s tool bar.

Because search engines use title tags to gather information about your Web site you need to think carefully about what words you put in the tag. Don’t be tempted to put your company name in the tag (unless you’re a well-known brand like Nike or Microsoft).

Instead put specific keywords relating to your business. For example, if you’re a California real estate company, you would want your company to appear in search engine results for searches on keywords such as “California Real Estate” or “Realtors in California.” So, you would use the keywords “California Real Estate” or “California Realtors” in your title tags. If you wanted to be more specific, or you prefer seeking business in a specific geographic area you would use keywords such as “Silicon Valley Real Estate” or “Silicon Valley Realtors.”

7. Provide links and connections

The web is about linking information. Make sure your site links your reader to other information and other sites link to you. Never make your Web site a dead-end. Some search engines, including Google, are based, in part, on their ability to find you from links on other sites

8. Write effective summaries, sentences and paragraphs

An effective summary is who, what, when, where, how. It’s about getting the information across in 50 words or less. Keep your summaries short and factual. Make sure they encourage your reader keep reading.

Remember, keep sentences to between 15-20 words. Paragraphs between 40-70 words. Make your first sentence grab your reader’s attention or they’ll move on.

9. Sell Benefits not Features

If you want your Web site to sell your product or service you must write about benefits and not about features. A feature describes a product or service. A benefit is what the user gains from using that product or service. Don’t say, ” Our duvets are warm and comfortable,” say “You’ll be warm and comfortable in one of our duvets.” Tell your customers how your product or service will make them happier, sexier, healthier, wealthier. In other words focus on making sure every line of your copy is dedicated to what’s in it for them.

10. Edit. Edit. Edit. Then edit again

Mistakes in online copy are temporary and easily fixed, but by the time you’ve noticed your errors so have thousands of other people. Have two or three people proofread your text. Check it yourself for consistency in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations etc. And finally, read it backwards—you’ll be surprised how many errors you’ll spot.

Directories
It is important to note that the sheer number of incoming links is not as important as the quality of the sites that are doing the linking. The fastest way to get some quality incoming links is to get listings in the popular directories, such as Yahoo and the Open Directory Project. For business sites, Yahoo costs $299 per year (it is free for non-commercial sites, although it takes a while to get listed). The Open Directory is free for all sites that meet certain quality standards, but it sometimes takes a lot of follow-up inquiries to make sure your site gets listed. When listing your sites, try to get them in the highest-level category that is applicable to your site. For instance, if your company in Podunk Ohio ships wind chimes to consumers nationwide, make sure you submit to the national “Wind Chime Dealers” category, not the “Retailers in Podunk, Ohio” category.

Finding Partners
Once you have submitted your directory listings, you should look for other sites that might link to yours. Ideally, the businesses that run these sites will be related to yours but will not be direct competitors. For example, if you had a site that sold supplies for swimming pools, it could be useful to your visitors if your site had a link to a swimming pool installer, and useful to his visitors to have a link back to your site. Since your offerings complement each other, neither of you are likely to lose business by exchanging links. You also have to find sites that show a propensity to link to others. Google is an excellent engine to use when looking for potential linking partners. Typing in keywords that you think your customers might use to find you, look for quality, well-ranked, non-competing sites that have “links” or “resources” pages, and objectively look to see if your site would fit with the other sites listed. If you think it is a possibility, make a note of the site, including the webmaster’s address and something specific about the site you particularly liked. It is also very useful to look at each of the sites on these “links” pages, as many of them might also be potential link partners. When you have found a good number of sites, add a link to each of them from a “links” page on your own site. It is important to do this before contacting the site owners, as they are much more likely to reciprocate if they see that you have already taken the trouble to link to them.

Making the contact
Once you have added a link to each of the sites you have identified, it is time to contact the site owners. Usually this is done by email. Due to the volume of spam most webmasters receive, it is very important to let them know that you have actually visited their site in the first few sentences. Compliment them on the site and specifically mention the attribute you particularly enjoyed (as previously noted). You should then let them know that you have already provided a link to them, and give them the URL of your links page so they can see this link for themselves. Only then do you mention that you would appreciate it if they would reciprocate.

Monitoring
Once all of your initial emails have gone out, check back to the sites you have targeted periodically to see if they have added your link. If they haven’t added it within a month, one follow-up email is normally acceptable. If you don’t hear back from them for a month after that, it may be time to remove their link from your links page, unless you feel that the resource they provide is of critical value to your visitors. Check your rankings every month or so to see how they improve, and, if necessary, start the process again.

The List Of Don’ts
Don’t exchange links with sites that you would not want your visitors to see. This type of link can make your site look indiscriminate while defeating the entire purpose of link popularity. Also, do not ever exchange links with sites that contain nothing but a huge collection of links (AKA “link farms”). Search engines have been known to aggressively penalize sites that are associated with such sites. In addition, do not harass people who do not answer your emails. Remember that you are contacting someone, out of the blue, who probably has too much to do already. If they haven’t responded within a month of your second email, don’t expect a link. Finally, do not expect overnight results. Link building takes a great deal of time and labor, and there is no real shortcut- a primary reason why search engines place importance on it. If your site is terrible, you aren’t going to convince many others to link to you, no matter how sweetly you ask.

Conclusion
A properly executed link building campaign will help boost your ranking with many search engines, but this is only part of the benefit. The quality sites that have agreed to link to you will also send you highly relevant traffic. Also, your brand and name will become better known within your industry as a result of the link requests that you make. Finally, your additions to Yahoo and the Open Directory will send you a great deal of additional quality traffic. Link building is a laborious process, but if done properly it is most definitely worth the effort.