Search Engine Optimization and Ranking

It has been said that over 90% of all web traffic originates at a search engine or directory. Careful analysis, research, and design of your web pages BEFORE submission can mean the difference between a trickle of traffic and a gusher of profits. Titles, descriptions headlines, body text and meta tags¹ need to be carefully crafted for the most relevant traffic.

We have studied search engines and directories in depth, and have developed aptitudes and techniques that will benefit you greatly without resorting to questionable tactics.

Secret tactics? Not any more...
We approach things differently. We use time tested techniques that offer a good chance at being ranked highly, without going overboard with "secret tactics" that in the near future may get your site banned. We do not use cloaking², doorway pages³, or any other spurious efforts. Tactics that worked in the old days (two or three years ago) can get your site banned for life in the major engines.

It is also a relatively unknown fact that the search engines can change their algorithms, or ranking formulas at the drop of a hat, rendering the latest secret tactic useless. There are operators that depend on these tactics, charging an arm and a leg, realizing that things change at a moments notice.

Rather than approaching things in this fashion, we develop traffic from a number of sources, always with your site and your company's reputation in mind. Word travels fast... even faster on the web.

Ruthless Relevance[tm]
We believe that web marketing professionals should conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the search engines' goals of relevance. You do not necessarily need or want hundreds or even thousand of visitors a day. Traffic does not always equal bona fide prospects.

People who are new to the web sometimes mistakenly assume that more traffic equals more sales. Not likely. Sales conversion rates (how many people visit vs. how many buy) vary depending on the relevance of the search term that a visitor uses to get to your site. It is this backward "more-is-better- at-any-cost" thinking that gives rise to spamming, misdirection and degradation of search results. Sure, somebody who mistakenly lands on your site MIGHT be interested, but wouldn't you rather have someone who is motivated enough to be actually looking for terms that relate to your product?

Millions of people walk by stores at a mall. Only the interested actually enter the stores. THAT is who you want. People who want to buy what you sell.

Shotgun versus Rifle Marketing -
or Broadcast versus Narrowcast
Marketing through mass communications mediums like TV, Cable and radio depend on reaching millions of people, in a shotgun approach. If you get enough eyeballs, or ears, you're bound to make sales.

With a rifle approach, like direct marketing, you target your audience more closely. You pick publications that cater to your audience, you purchase mailing lists of people who have already expressed an interest in your category, product, or lifestyle segment. This is rifle marketing.

The Web goes one step further - Laser Marketing!
Direct marketing professionals know all about the value of a targeted list, versus a broadcast list. The web is upside down. People already know what they want, and are taking action to get it. the hard work of the A.I.D.A.⁴ formula is already done. They are at the Action stage. You just need to make it easy find your site.

Basing your site submission on accurate, current research information, your listings in search engines and directories will return traffic for years to come. Done incorrectly, submissions can be futile.

We target the following major search engines and directories:

These fifteen search engines and directories will account for over 90% of your search traffic.

We will also submit your site to a second tier of search engines using automated software. The second tier will not produce enough traffic to be cost effective using manual submission. By automating the process, you may see additional traffic at a significantly lower cost of implementation. We may also suggest submissions to trade,category or topic specific directories. Each campaign is customized to your needs.

"Thousands" of Search Engines $19.95!
Millions of visitors???
(Hey, I bet they've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale too!)
Beware of companies or software that promise to promote your site to thousands of search engines. Most go to Free For All pages, and are not very useful, other than for generating lots of spam to your mailbox. Some of these submissions require an email address, and this is where many of those CD lists of millions of email addresses come from! We select only the search engines and directories that will send traffic to your site, and we reroute and dump all the spam for you.

Home

1. Meta tags are sometimes sold as a panacea, a powerful "secret" to rocket your site to the top. This is no longer true, and has not been true for years. The Description Meta Tag is still somewhat important because most search engines display its contents as the description below your link in their search results. Others ignore it. The Keyword Meta Tag is counted only as "powerful " as the rest of the body text. Actually, misuse of the Meta Tags can get your site penalized and dropped in rank, or excluded from some search engines entirely. Here, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!

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2. Cloaking is a bait and switch tactic, delivering one set of pages to the visiting search engine "spider" and a different set of pages to the visitor. In this way, each search engine can be "fed" a set of pages that most closely matches their individual algorithm, or ranking formula. Each search engine has its own formula. Though it can be effective, the majority of search engines have taken a stand against cloaking due to its abuse. Much time and effort is needed to avoid being caught. Many search engines are developing ways to catch cloaked sites, and ban them immediately. This is primarily done by sites in the adult industry, who are not worried about their reputation, or banishment. They will just set up a new site elsewhere, and start again. In our opinion, not a good tactic, or good use of resources in most cases. There are cases where this might be necessary, and we will alert you if you are in that category.

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3. Doorway pages serve much the same purpose as cloaked pages, except that they are visible to the user. Their only purpose is to redirect you to the target site. They fit the individual search engines algorithms, but unfortunately, most are ugly, and put one more click between the user and the site they are directing to. This used to be a powerful tactic, but now almost requires cloaking to be effective. Nearly all search engines have taken a stance against doorway pages.

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4. AIDA - borrowed from Marketing 101 - the stages that a consumer must go through before making a purchase. Awareness of the product, Interest in the product, Desire for the Product, and Action to obtain the product. An Internet user typing "product" in a search box already has Awareness of the product, or at least the generic term for the product, is Interested enough to search for it, Desirous of at LEAST information about the product, and has taken Action - using a search engine to find more about the product.

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