Search Engine Ranking

How to Improve your Search Engine Position

Your search engine ranking depends on a number of factors: assuming you get listed in the first place. If you have managed to get that listing then you can improve your search engine position by means of links back to your website and also by improving your content.

Significant improvements, however, will likely involve radical restructuring of your website, and would have been better thought out before building your site.

Many so-called SEO experts will attempt to make sure that all your meta tags are in place, even though they have little bearing any more on your search engine rank, be that on Google, Yahoo, MSN or Ask.

They might even have a look at your internal linking, but once you have built your website it is too late for that. Your internal linking strategy should have been formulated prior to constructing your website. There are ways to design a site to be search engine friendly, and I use them all the time.

The very first two websites I tried these techniques on each reached page #1 on Google for their main keyword within less than a month. They were listed within two days due to other techniques I use, but their high listings were due to the site design. I then designed a third, and true to form, it reached page #1.

You want that success as well, and it is not difficult to achieve. However, it involves starting from the bottom up, although there is a lot that you can do with your existing website apart from just playing around with meta tags. I am not suggesting that you shouldn't make sure that you have meta descriptions and a title tag in your html, but they are nothing like as significant as the changes I make to my websites to improve their search engine ranking. Not even close!

There are a number of changes you can make to improve your search engine position, ranging from your internal linking to the way you lead the spiders around your site.

Just ask yourself one simple question: what determines your search engine rank on Google? How does Google calculate your search engine position? That's the first thing you have to learn if you want to improve yours. You have to know your enemy to beat him.

It's not only links, as many would have you believe, or I would never have achieved a Page 1 position so quickly. In fact of my two main websites, one is at ~1 and the other at #2 for their main keyword: the titles of their first page. I achieved that by using a silo structure in my website design, but not only that. Many people use silos without achieving high search engine ranking.

I added a little more, and made sure that the search engine spiders moved from one section of my home page to another, exactly as I wanted them to, before leaving for the next page at exactly the point I wanted it to.

It's not difficult, and you can do it too. In fact anybody can get a top search engine ranking, or improve their search engine position (everybody can't be top!), with just a little thought, and by using a couple of simple rules when designing their web pages.

One of these is by using a silo structure, and the other is by careful use of their html, and of their internal links.

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About the Author: Peter Nisbet - If you want to learn how I achieve my high search engine ranking positions, visit SEOcious where I will show by means of screenshots of my html exactly what I do, and also how I lead search engine spiders as though they were on a lead.

The Effectiveness of an Empty Space

The Effectiveness of an Empty Space

There are so many facets of ad design that get hammered home in article after article. Everyone is telling you how to maximize your headline's impact and how to make your font stand out amid a sea of marketing.

So much time is spent on what should go into your ad that we sometimes neglect one of the most important and eye catching elements, the empty spaces.

This is really one of the simplest, but easiest to mess up, factors of your print design. Have you ever listened to a song like the Who's "Wont Get Fooled Again" or similar songs that build up to a crescendo then suddenly have a break in the music before kicking the guitars back into overdrive? That empty space in the music is powerful.

It can give you goose bumps and it can make a whole room feel electric. When the music starts again and breaks that moment of silence, the notes sound louder and more powerful as a result. This isn't a trick that is reserved only for musicians. The same principle applies to ad design (or any sort of design, for that matter).

What you should be shooting for is to draw attention to the important parts of your ad: the message, the offer or the image. People at times and it is an easy trap to fall into, make the mistake of simply enlarging the item they are trying to bring focus to. Granted, disproportionately large text can stand out, but it also has the effect of making an ad seem lop sided or amateur.

The eye needs to be drawn to your focus, though, and the most effective and most professional looking way to do this is through the use of space. Don't clutter your ad with unnecessary text and images, especially around the main areas, since they can detract from the central focus.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that if there's a big empty space in your ad that you have to fill it with something. Just include the pieces that are necessary to effectively convey your idea or message. If you just have too much information that has to be conveyed about your product, you should save it for a brochure or catalogue instead of jumbling it all together in your advertisement.

There are no hard and fast rules dictating how much or how little space you should have in your ad, but a good rule of thumb is to leave at least one fourth of ad space empty.

The same applies to the images you use in your ad. When taking photos keep it clean and free of distracting clutter. Use a background that will accentuate your product and make it stand out. For example, using an image of your product against the back drop of your office's out of date plaid wallpaper, is going to be distracting.

Space can make your ad design sleek and professional in appearance and that is what will make an impression on consumers. Sometimes, it is not what you do with the space you are given, it is what you do not do that counts.

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About the Author: Katie Marcus writes about print design technologies being used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Registering Your Domain Name

Registering Your Domain Name

Registering a domain name is a quick process that often seems complex. It is far easier than most general web surfers suspect. You can quickly learn how to register a domain name with a little forethought.

You need little know-how to register a domain name. Your first task is to find a company that will let you perform a search in what is known as a "WHOIS" database. These databases contains all registered domain names worldwide. Domains that are currently in use will offer the name of the individual or company with ownership. The WHOIS will also tell you if your desired domain is free.

Domain names are an evolving aspect of the web. The development of new extensions has created many wonderful Internet opportunities. Extensions are the letters at the end of a URL, or web address. The most popular extensions are ".com", ".net" and ".org." Webmasters can find additional extensions, such as:

* .biz * .info * .tv * .us

New extensions allow webmasters to use the precise domain names they want. Potential webmasters are often disappointed to see the name and extension they want is already taken. It may belong to a rival company or may have fallen victim to a common practice of reselling.

Domain name reselling is where a company purchases a large number of generic domain names in order to raise the resell price and turn a profit. It is not recommended to buy a domain name that is being virtually scalped. Webmasters can find many other name/extension combinations available at the standard price.

The added bonus of these new extensions are many. It is common to find multiple domain registrar companies offering discounted prices on domain names with these new extensions. This will lower the costs of starting a website and give you a unique slant for your domain.

The best domain registrar companies will be established. They should have a good rating at independent websites. The domain registrar should offer constant customer support and a variety of payment options. It is a trend amid many registrars to offer "credit card only" services. It is best to avoid these practices. Your registrar and your hosting company should both be eager for your business. This means providing good service and accommodating your payment needs. The credit only sites tend to be lax in their customer service and will not readily work with clients who must change payment information. They have a company infrastructure that automates as many functions as possible.

You will move on to the registration process when you have selected your company. Resources are available across the Internet to help if you have specific concerns. Domain name registrars are the record keepers of the Internet. Your registrar sells you your domain name and sends out information that your respective domain has been purchased. You will need to pay for your domain annually. Many companies offer services that allow you to purchase a number of years into the future.

The checkout process for buying a domain name is much like buying anything else online. You enter your standard information and payment information. Your receipt is sent via e-mail.

You will need to wait for a period of 48 hours before you can begin publishing your domain. This is to allow adequate time for a process known as propagation. When your domain name propagates, it travels to WHOIS databases worldwide and submits the data that the domain name is in use. It really is a simple process. Even if you don't know how to register a domain name, you should be confident. It's an easy process.

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About the Author: Doug Milton