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Get The Rankings You Want
By Ayat Shukairy (c) 2007

Introduction

Where do you rank on the World Wide Web? It's not enough to
have a website; you have to get ranked on the first page to get
noticed. Otherwise, holding your position at number 28,432 on
Google isn't going to do you much good. Check out some easy
ways to improve your page rank and get yourself noticed.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) ensures that your website copy
is written and structured in a way that improves chances that
your website will be found when someone performs a search. For
example, if your company sells insurance, you'd use words or
phrases such as life insurance, insurance quote, insurance
agent, or home insurance.

Content

Write articles that grab the interest of readers right now.
Include case studies and whitepapers on your site that will
give your visitors a reason to always come back. Or even
check out what's going on in the news and be there first to
report changes that impact your industry. For example, if you
sell mortgages, be the first one to report the drop in mortgage
rates. You'll generate a lot of traffic and increase your
ranking. Remember, time is of the essence. If you find out
something new and hot, you should write about it before your
competition does!

Search engine spiders are looking for sites that are
periodically updated with rich content. Do not offer content
that isn't useful. Some people try to place content that is
rich in keywords but doesn't offer the incoming traffic
anything beneficial. Low traffic will equal lower rankings with
top search engines. The idea behind rich content with specific
keywords is that because you keep posting content, soon you
will be ranked within the search engines for specific words.
So, when I post articles about the different insurance rates
and options, etc.; when an on-line visitor is searching for
this info they will land on your site and may become potential
clients.

Content must be used to provide new and interesting information
that your reader wants to know about, offer helpful tips, or
solve a problem. This content will get you link-backs which are
excellent for driving traffic. You can also post articles
through authentic submission sites, and that will also generate
a lot of traffic. Many companies publish with different online
magazines etc., not only to prove their expertise but also to
gain more traffic linking to their sites.

Offer resources

Offer resources that will help your reader. For instance, if
you are an insurance agent, and you want to attract new
clients, offer a comparison chart of all the insurance agencies
in the area so your user can make an objective decision. At
first, it seems like the insurance company is driving business
away that way. Not so. If you offer your users resources that
benefit them, they will come back for more when they are
searching again.

Link it up

Linking to other websites is a great way to increase your page
ranking. Linking to other websites raises credibility in the
eyes of the search engines. Who should you link to? Provide
links to websites that offer a similar product or service as
you do, or websites that are industry related. A spa can link
to its beauty suppliers, for example. Ask them if they will
provide a link to your website, and remember to offer to link
to theirs in return. You can also submit articles to
directories or credible article submission websites to gain
links. Good articles and resources will get you bookmarked and
potentially linked to by other users.

Include a site map

Generate a site map that links to every page in your site.
Search engines like pages that can be accessed easily, so make
sure your important pages remain in the first or second level.

Make changes

Every month or two go back and update or make changes to your
website. If you let it become stale, the search engines will
toss you out like yesterday's news. Update it to generate new
interest. Another great way is to add a daily blog. This will
ensure that your content is updated daily and stays fresh.

Live bookmarks

Updates happen all the time. A live bookmark keeps track of
updates and lets you know that information has changed, rather
than you checking to see if websites have made additions. By
providing live bookmarks, you are increasing your traffic and
ranking because people will come back to you sooner, and more
often.

RSS Feeds

Create an RSS Feed. RSS or Rich Site Syndication is a file
format used by publishers to make their content available to
others in a format that is universal. RSS is a way to publish
content and update it in real time. This gives the user the
opportunity access information through an RSS reader.

Targeted headlines

A clear, targeted headline will nudge your ranking a little
higher. Use large text and words that relate to your website.
For example, if you are a content developer, you could write a
headline like: "Ten Quick Tips For Killer Copy."
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Ayat Shukairy is the creative director at INVESP consulting.
Ayat leads enterprise implementations to help clients
increase site traffic (http://invesp.com/tb), improve site
conversion rates (http://invesp.com/cs), optimize landing pages
and establish customer loyalty.
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