Achieving high natural search engine ranking is
dependent on two main factors
Here is some good news; search engine rankings are dependent on two main factors; on-
page optimization and off-page optimization.
? On-page optimization can be described as the tweaking and tuning of web
pages and the website as a whole to achieve a unified keyword theme and an
easy to navigate structure. On-page factors can be improved by incorporating
keywords into the title tags, body content, and internal navigational links. The
actual content of the site falls into the on-page optimization category, and although
the on-page factors may contribute less to the overall ranking score, the content
will make or break the off-page factors since high quality content will always attract
more external links.
? Off-page ranking factors are commonly known as link popularity which
means, how many links are pointing to your site. While optimizing your web
pages is an important step, today's modern search engine algorithms mostly rely on
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external ranking factors such inbound links pointing to a website. These external
links are counted as votes for your websites popularity and quality. You can
improve your websites link popularity by acquiring relevant high quality links from
many different sources. Some of these source include links from blogs, reciprocal
link partners, one-way links, e-zine article links, directory links, government, or
trade associations links. Links from press releases or industry news articles are also
excellent sources of links.
The search engines recently started to count links in their ranking algorithms community
driven sites such as Technorati, YouTube, Delicious, Stumble Upon and Bloglines. Links from
these social websites are given a fair amount of weight because the personal preference of
users participating in a particular community is a good indication of a site's value which
simply can't be determined by a computer based algorithm. The term often used to describe
the propagation of news about a site's value on social websites is called Viral Marketing. Viral
marketing is the new traffic generation source for webmasters and we'll be covering it in the
Web 2.0 Link Building and Viral Marketing lesson. We'll be revealing all the ins and outs of
getting your site in front of thousands of social site users in a very short amount of time.
The search engines are also extremely good at figuring out relatedness between websites.
This means when all other factors are equal the quality of links wins over the
quantity of links.
In the step-by-step lessons following this introduction, we will reveal how your website can
achieve high search engine ranking with the right balance of on and off-page optimization
techniques and viral marketing.
What is the secret to getting high ranking in 2008?
Every year search engine algorithms evolve and change. In some cases, there is a noticeable
change in the ranking order of even well established sites. As SEOs we have to adapt to what
the search engines are looking for in site optimization and link popularity metrics. The
problem is, the search engines don't publish a new checklist at the beginning of the year to
tell us what to watch out for in the upcoming year. It would be very nice, but don't hold your
breath.
Short of a precise list of search engine ranking factors, we have to keep on going back to the
top 1020 results on Google, Yahoo!, and MSN to gain some insights into how those sites got
there. We look for any fluctuations in the search results for target phrases. We also look at
the sites' layout, keyword placement, link popularity, and a slew of other factors. In some
cases, there are no changes in the ranking results for months, and than all of a sudden we
may see some new websites reaching the top 10 results. When there is a massive number of
changes in the top ranking results, it's a clear sign of algorithm changes.
So what are the ranking "secrets" for 2008?
? Old well established domains still dominate the top results. If you don't
already own a domain that has been online for a few years you can always find one.
You would be amazed how many people are willing to sell their 4-5 year old
domains for next to nothing. But don't go to domain brokers to find good deals on
old domains. You need to do your own research the old fashioned way. Page
through the search results using your target keywords starting at the 4th or 5th
page or maybe even higher. Install the SEO Firefox extension and enable the
website's age information. When you find a site that is at least two years old and
the information looks a little dated, look up the contact info and send an email to
make an offer.
? Links from topically relevant high Google PageRank sites can give a huge
boost to your sites' ranking. These are types of links Google don't want you to
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buy, but in reality without putting some money down you will very rarely get a PR 7
or 8 link without some serious cash changing hands. Let's face it, if your site brand
new and commercial in nature, nobody will do you a favor and give you something
for nothing. You have to get used to the idea that you either need cash or time and
talent to build links to your site.
? Link exchanges, article and directory submissions are not the silver bullet
to building links. . Just like all link building techniques, once they become main
stream they lose their effectiveness. If the search engines find 80% to 90% of your
inbound links are coming from exchanged links, or article and directory submissions
sites, their conclusion about your site is simple: you are manufacturing links in
order to rank higher because your site has no value to offer. Your site needs some
other sources of inbound links, whether it is editorial links from your peers in your
industry or links to a great new tool you have put on your site. The bottom line is
one-way inbound links from relevant sites wins the day.
? Social media is gaining ground, so you better be sociable too. A link from
Bloglines, Technorati, Delicious, Blogpulse, IceRocket or Stumble Upon is the web
community's way of saying your site is worth checking out. In recent years the
search engines started to rely on the collective opinion of social community
websites to supplement and aid the relevancy of their machine based search
algorithms. This trend will most likely continue and gain even more momentum in
the up coming years.