Promote Your Website With Free Web Traffic

Promoting a website can be very challenging when you do not have the funds to promote your website effectively. If you are faced with this problem, you do not have to give up on the idea of having a successful online business or website. There are solutions to this problem. All you need to do is promote your website using free online generating traffic methods.

What you must first understand is this; you will basically be trading purchased web based traffic for web traffic generated by you doing work. You will either pay for web traffic or you will work to create it! It's just that simple. If you have money to purchase pay-per-clicks ads than you buy this type of web traffic with little or no work involved on your part to generate it, but if you do not have the funds to purchase this traffic, you will be left with only one solution, you have to create it!

You will know from the very beginning if you will have the funds to buy your web traffic. This is usually decided during your planning process of making money online with your website. If you designed a website without planning the process, you'll have more problems than just getting web traffic to your site. The designing process is very important, especially if your website is going to need free web traffic from the search engines. Your website must be optimized for success, using proper keywords, titles, and links. This is referred to as search engine optimization or SEO. This will be very important because if it is done correctly, your website will rank high in the search engines giving you massive amounts of free web traffic.

Now, that you have an optimized website, you'll be ready to generate additional free web traffic to your website. Let's begin with free traffic generating methods.

There are a few methods that can be utilized with this technique. They are;

Article marketing
Video Marketing
Viral Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Blogging
Free classified ads

Article marketing is the method utilized to generate free web traffic by submitting articles to article directories. This technique is powerful for two reasons. One, your article will have a link attached giving you free web traffic when the reader clicks on your link. Two, these additional links on the internet can help with your websites' ranking in the search engines. The more incoming links you have the better your website will get ranked, giving you additional free web traffic.

Video marketing is a method of creating videos for advertising your website. You must have a link attached to this video to make this strategy work. The better the videos you create, the more web traffic you will receive. This method is like article marketing; however, you are using videos to deliver the same message. Many website promoters write an article and then make a video on the same article, doubling your work and getting twice as many leads on the same topic.

Viral marketing is another great technique used to generate free web traffic. Viral marketing is usually in the form of free ebooks, written and given away to not only deliver a message but to generate free web traffic through links and banners within the ebook. If someone is giving you a free ebook, you can rest assure it's to promote their web business or a product. Articles and videos can also be viral. You should use any viral method you can to promote you website.

Social media marketing has become huge over the last couple of years. This technique is used to draw in customers on a friendly concept, but the sole purpose of this marketing is to grab additional leads for your web business or website. You have to be careful with this technique because a lot of social networks do not allow you to advertise your business on these networks. If you can be creative and careful, you will be able to grab many leads using this method.

Bogging and forum marketing is another great way of getting your website recognized. If you can write on blogs daily, you can get a lot of free traffic. This technique can be time consuming but if you want free traffic you must put in the work to generate it!

Free classified ads is another way of getting your website noticed. This technique requires creativity. You can not advertise your website free of charge. You have to promote a product or service linking to your website that makes this technique free. If you can be creative, this technique can work well, but like social media sites, you must find a way to hide your URLs or you could get banned.

These methods are the same methods that I have been using to promote my websites for years. You must first start with an optimized website, and the additional web traffic will follow. Search engine optimization is the most important free web traffic you can produce for results.

Web Traffic - Web 2-0 Has Made It Much Easier To Direct It To Your Website

You've possibly heard the saying that without web traffic you're nobody online! Unfortunately that saying is true, because online

traffic is a euphemism (translates) for visitors. Without visitors to your site you're never going to make the sale. It is clearly illustrated by this scenario; you may have the world's best invention or product that could literally turn the world upside down overnight but if nobody knows about it, nobody cares about it!

Business folklore is peppered with tales of geniuses who died penniless and in squalor (all the while sitting on a goldmine of an invention) just because they couldn't get the public interested in their product.

As an online entrepreneur you are somewhat in the same dilemma, getting people to that great site of yours:

In a nutshell you need web traffic or your online business is as good as dead! Here's why:

Traffic = Visitors to your site or blog

Visitors = Potential Buyers

Active Buyers = Profit

Profit = Successful Business

The Various Types of Traffic

There's web traffic and then there's web traffic!

Social Media Web Traffic

Fortunately recent changes in internet trends have made it a lot easier to get internet traffic. These changes are due to the widely adopted transition to Web 2.0 and the explosion of social media sites.

Web traffic from social media sites is far easier to get than internet traffic from the search engines but the downside is that this type of traffic is not as targeted as online traffic that originates from a typed query into a search engine.

So what exactly do I mean when I say that it is not as targeted?

Well if you're are to consider a prospect who arrives to your website via a particular keyword query typed into one of the search engines such as Google, that particular action means that such a person is actively seeking more information concerning that topic. Such a visitor to your site is in what I consider a proactive mindset related to that keyword! In other words they are prepared to act upon information associated with that keyword.

Curiosity Prospects

In comparison a visitor arriving from your site from a social media website was most likely drawn there by incidental curiosity. What that means is that that particular visitor probably noticed an intriguing article or post title of yours, with an equally intriguing summary which linked to your site. It was curiosity that led them to your site. Such visitors are what I term Curiosity Prospects!

Curiosity Prospects land on your website by accident rather than through active query-word engagement on their part. Such a visitor is less likely to purchase whatever you're selling because they didn't arrive with that mindset. This explains the strange phenomenon of link bait pieces that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors with very little conversion rates (i.e., few become buyers).

The Numbers Game

The driving force powering social media websites is captivating information! Riveting articles that literally grab people's attention

by the scruff of the neck! Thus getting any meaningful conversion rate from such Curiosity Prospects depends on a massive flow of traffic! The bottom line is that social media web traffic is a numbers game revolving around link bait; an art that some internet marketers have perfected to precision.

There's a definite science to writing great link bait pieces, however just like any other article, success of that aspiring link bait

piece hinges on the title or headline! When one thinks of social media websites the word that immediately springs to mind (or at least it should) is BUZZ!

BUZZ

A great link bait article has to generate a lot of buzz. In order to do that, the article should:

Stir controversy;

Be Breaking News of significance in whatever field;

Be well written;

Be polarizing;

Captivate or educate the reader;

Be witty or funny;

Be shocking (not disgusting mind you, there is a difference):

Be well formatted;

And lastly, the body text of the article should follow through on the premise of its title in a logical easily graspable step-by-step fashion.

Buzz Transferring Positive SEO Influence

So what, if anything are you getting from that Web 2.0 traffic, if those vast numbers of social media Curiosity Prospects don't

convert into purchasers? Well the plain fact is, the sheer volume of traffic flowing to your website is soon going to get noticed by the search engines which in turn will increase your ranking and positioning on those very same search engines. By its very nature that increased positive attention from the search engines is going to get your website much closer to the holy grail of any online business⬦tons of web traffic from the search engines!

Organic Search Traffic!

From experience and to my manner of thinking, this is hands down the best kind of web traffic but it is also by far the hardest to attain or get. When I say the best I mean as far as conversion rates go!

So what exactly is organic internet traffic? This is that online traffic that originates from a search query conducted on the search engines.

Say for example you're a prospect who is looking to start an online home business what online actions could you take to find out such info? Well it is highly likely that the first thing you would do is query the search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, MSN or Ask.com) with a keyword term that might be any of the following: internet business; internet marketing, home business or online marketing, etc.

The returned results for that query are what we refer to as organic listings;which are the websites listed in the Google Index (and the various other search engines). Obviously the higher the website is listed on the Google Index or SERPs (search engine rank pages) the greater the chances of that website being picked by a searcher for the queried keyword they typed into the search engine.

In reality you'd want your website to be listed on Page 1 or Page 2 of Google (as the largest search engine Google shall be used as the default term for all the search engines). And why would you wish to be on Page 1 or 2 of Google? Well pause a moment and consider how often do you search deeper than the first two pages for any online query.

I'm guessing rarely if ever do you go beyond Page 2,that's why you should aim to get your website listed no deeper than Page 2. Ideally however the best position to have your site listed for any particular keyword is the 1st listing on Google Page 1. However that is in a perfect world; but truth be told, once you are on Page 1 of Google you are made or at least your site/blog is!

Getting organic traffic is priceless because the person who typed in that keyword which ultimately led them to your site (via your listing on Google) is a deadly serious prospect. They are actively searching for whatever subject your website is about. Such a person is the most likely candidate to purchase.

An added bonus is that such an individual is quite likely new to that subject matter which led them to your site and they obviously wish to increase their knowledge on that particular topic. This type of prospect is the best kind of visitor to get to your site because there is a very high probability they have not yet been tainted by the profusion of other sites out there covering the same subject matter as yours!

Traffic From Article Directories

Submitting well written articles to article directories is another fantastic way to get web traffic. The upshot to this method, as compared to social media (Web 2.0) website submissions, is that you can avoid the time-consuming hassle of aggregating votes in order to get your articles sufficient exposure on those Web 2.0 sites to draw significant amounts of internet traffic.

Not only do consistent article directory submissions build your reputation (assuming your articles are indeed worthy) you can build up quite a following. In fact some online marketing businesses have found remarkable success based solely upon article submissions to article directories!

And finally another way of getting online traffic is participating in online forums targeting your intended market.

Web Traffic

Ba Kiwanuka is the webmaster of http://www.internetbusinessmart.com

How to get indented listings for your website on Google

1. How to get indented listings for your website on Google
Wouldn't it be great if your website was listed twice in Google's top 10 results for your most important keywords? Although Google usually shows only one page from every site in the top results, it is possible to get two listings if you do the right things.
What are indented Google listings?

Indented listings on Google's search results pages can give your website additional exposure. Having an indented listing in Google's search results means that you'll have two listings for your website in the top 10 results in Google instead of one:

These indented listings are also called double listings. Google explains these listings like this:
"When Google finds multiple results from the same website, the most relevant result is listed first, with other relevant pages from that site indented below it."
It's obvious that your website will get more clicks and more visitors if it is listed twice in the top 10 results. Most webmaster don't know how to get these results. That's your chance to get a step ahead of your competition.

How to get indented listings for your keywords

To get an indented listing for one of your keywords, do the following:
You must have a web page that already has a top 10 ranking for that keyword. If you do not know how to get top 10 rankings on Google for your keywords, use this tool. Create a second web page on the same domain that links to the first web page that has the top 10 ranking. Optimize the second page for the same keyword as page one but use different content. Link from the first page to the second page with your keyword phrase in the anchor text. If possible, use a contextual link within a body of text rather than a site-wide navigational link. Get inbound links for the second page. Depending on the competition for the keyword, a few high-quality links can be enough to get the indented result.
Repeat step 1 to 4 for as many keywords as you want.

If your website has two links on Google's result page, then it will represent 20% of the organic results instead of the regular 10%.
That means that you'll get more clicks and more visitors. It would be foolish not to optimize a second page for your keywords. Start here to get top 10 Google rankings for keywords that attract buyers.
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2. Search engine news and articles of the week

Battle of the search engines

"I decided to check in on the major search engines to see how well each one handles the question 'who won the Kentucky derby.' My list of search engines included Google, Yahoo, MSN/Live, and Ask.com. [...]
The winner is Live Search from Microsoft by a nose. Ask.com was definitely #2. Not only did Live Search present me with the most recent winner of the Kentucky Derby, but the additional info presented alongside the results were spot on."

Four reasons why Google might not use the anchor text in the links to your website

1. Four reasons why Google might not use the anchor text in the links to your website
The text that is used in the links that point to your website has a major effect on the position of your website in Google's search results.
For example, if many people use the text "buy blue widgets" to link to your website, then it is very likely that the linked web page will get high rankings for the keyphrase "buy blue widgets" in Google's search results.
The link text (also called anchor text) is the text that is used in text links. Example:

this is the link text

Unfortunately, not all anchor texts will be used by Google. Check the following things to make sure that the links to your website pass the correct anchor tag:
1. The nofollow attribute

This is a no-brainer. Links to your website that use the rel="nofollow" attribute don't pass the link text to Google. Example:
great keyword
You can use IBP to find out if the websites that link to you use the nofollow attribute: start IBP, click the "Links" button and click "Check links".

2. Invalid characters in the URL

If an URL contains invalid extra characters then chances are that search engines won't be able to index the link correctly. Example:
great keyword
In this example, there's a space at the end of the URL. Some webmasters found out that anchor text is not passed to Google if the link contains an extra space character.
Note that most browsers are able to correct this link and they will display the web page correctly. Unfortunately, search engine spiders seem to have more difficulty with malformed links (or they take them as a signal of low quality).

3. The links use 301 redirects

Google's Matt Cutts recently confirmed that Google won't consider all anchor texts that are used in 301 redirected links. Example:
great keyword
The web server redirects "http://www.example.com/page.htm" to "http://www.example.com" with a 301 redirect. In that case, it's likely that Google won't use the link text.

4. The first link passes the link text

If a page links twice to the same page then Google will use the first link text and discard the other link texts. Example:
This is an example. The link text great keyword will be ignored by Google.
The first and the second link go to the same URL. In this example, Google will use the link text of the first link, which is "This". The link text of the second link will be ignored by Google.
If the second link points to another page of the linked website, then both link texts will be used by Google:
This is an example. The link text great keyword will be ignored by Google.

How to tell Google that your website is not about toads

1. How to tell Google that your website is not about toads
You know what you sell and you know the topic of your website. Are you sure that Google puts your website in the right category? If your website is about shoes, Google still might think that it is about frogs and toads.


If Google puts your website in the wrong category, it will be very difficult to get high rankings for your keywords.
How to find out what Google thinks about your website

To find out what Google thinks about your website, perform a "similar" search for your domain. Enter the following in Google's search box:
related:www.domain.com/ ~domain.com
Replace domain.com with your own domain name and make sure that there is no spacer after the colon. On the result page, Google will show you websites that it finds related to your site.
If the websites on the search result page are related to your website then everything is okay. If the websites are about totally different topics, then you have a problem and Google probably won't display your website in the search results for the right keywords.

Why does Google put your website in the wrong category?

Suppose your website is about selling shoes. If your site is linked by other websites that link to your website and other websites that are about frogs and toads then Google might think that your website is related to frogs and toads.
It's important that the other links on the web page that links to you are related to your site. If you're listed in the "Shoes" category of an Internet directory then all web sites in the same category are usually also about shoes.
When search engines look at this page and check the links to other sites they will think that your web site is related to shoes. That means that it will be much easier to get high rankings for search terms that are about shoes.

Is your website in the right co-citation category?

The other websites to which your link partners link influence the ranking of your website on Google.
Here's an example: web sites 1, 2, 3 and 4 all link to the web sites A, B, C and D. Although A, B, C and D don't link to each other, Google thinks that A, B, C and D are related to each other because the same web sites link to them:

If A, B, C and D are all linked from 1, 2, 3 and 4 they might be related to one another, even though they don’t directly link to each other.
If A, B, C and D are all linked by many other web sites, they have a strong relationship. The more web sites they are linked by, the stronger the relationship.
If you are the owner of website A, you should make sure that web sites B, C and D are related to your site.

What does this mean for your website?

When you build links, make sure that the page that links to your site also contains other links that are related to your website topic. The more pages of the other site are about your topic, the better.
If the link to your website is in a good neighborhood then it will be much easier to get high rankings for your keywords.

Improved Flash indexing means for your website

Welcome to the latest issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.
This week, we're taking a look at Google's new way to index Flash files. Can you now get high rankings with pure Flash websites?
In the news: paid search market share numbers, a major Yahoo ranking algorithm change and more.
Table of contents:
We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it helps you to get more out of your website. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.
Best regards,
1. What Google's improved Flash indexing means for your website
A month ago, Google announced that they had improved the way it indexes Flash files. Has something changed in Google's search results in the meantime? Is this change good news for you if you have a Flash site?
What has changed?

Google can now index the textual content in SWF files of all kinds, including buttons, menus and self-contained Flash websites.
Google can also discover URLs that appear in Flash files and it adds these URLs to the crawling pipeline.

What has not changed?

Google still doesn't recognize the text that appears on images. FLV files, such as YouTube videos also won't be indexed because they don't contain text.
As many Flash websites consist of images and other multimedia elements, the only text that Google finds on these websites might be "Loading", "Please wait" or "Copyright".
Google also cannot execute some JavaScript types. If your website loads a Flash file via JavaScript, Google might not be able to find your Flash file.
In addition, Google cannot attach content from external sources that are loaded by Flash files. If your Flash page loads an HTML or XML file then these files will be treated as separate documents.

Why is Flash still a problem for search engines?

Flash content and regular HTML pages are fundamentally different. Just because Google can now index some text from Flash files doesn't mean that Flash files are now search engine friendly. Here's why:
It's hard to divide the text into meaningful sections. Flash doesn't use

or
tags to separate different sections of text. It's hard to tell what's important and what's not. Even worse, Flash designers often break down words into their individual letters to create "cool" text effects. That means that search engines cannot index these texts. Usually, the complete content of a website is presented on the same URL. You cannot link to a special part of a Flash website. That means that it is also difficult for search engines to find the relevant section of the Flash site.
In addition, this means that Flash websites don't get good inbound links to the right pages. Most Flash websites only get links to their home page.
The structure of Flash websites makes it difficult to get high rankings. Many Flash files are linked from other Flash files and no other websites link to these internal Flash elements. The lack of links from other websites makes it very difficult to get high rankings for these elements. Flash doesn't use the basic SEO methods. You won't find proper link texts, headline tags or even properly optimized title tags in most Flash sites. That makes it very difficult to get good rankings. Most Flash content is still not crawlable. As mentioned above, Google won't index content in images and it has problems with JavaScript calls.

What can you do to improve your rankings if you have a Flash site?

If possible, avoid pure Flash websites and use Flash elements only when needed. If you must use Flash on your website, the following tips will help you to get better rankings:
Include the text and the links from the Flash file in an HTML version on the same page. Use JavaScript and CSS to find out if the website visitor can parse Flash and then present the CSS DIVs that contain the corresponding content. Regular website users will see the Flash file, visitors who cannot parse Flash (for example search engines) will see the HTML version. Use CSS and create a layer with your regular HTML content and then position another layer with the Flash content above the HTML layer so that your website visitors only see the Flash content.
Note that search engines might misinterpret this method as a spamming attempt.
Use different URLs for different sections of your website. Each set of content should have its own unique URL.

Flash has not been designed for search engines and it is extremely difficult to get high rankings with pure Flash sites. Using regular optimized web pages is the best way to get in Google's top 10 results.
If you have a pure Flash website, you should make sure that your website has as many good inbound links as possible.
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2. Search engine news and articles of the week
July 2008 search engine share: Google, Yahoo, MSN

"Over all our clients in aggregate, in July 2008 Google received 80% of our clients’ ad dollars. Yahoo received 15%. Microsoft received 5%.
Put another way, Google continues to control over five times the paid search market share of Yahoo."

It seems that Yahoo released a major algorithm update

Webmasters in an online forum reported major changes in Yahoo's search results: "Sites having the keyword in the urls are gaining positions. Internal anchor text links have more weight than ever. [...] Definitely something going on.. I've been tracking keywords daily for the last few weeks and have been noticing yoyo's, updates and rollbacks."

"Since publishing his groundbreaking book 'The Search' three years ago, John Battelle has shifted his attention to his new company, Federated Media, which aggregates blogs into a conversational media platform where brands can advertise."

"The maxim about the Internet is that content is king. [...] There’s one important caveat: if it’s not text-based content, our crawler might not notice. [...]
Use text in addition to images when possible. Please note that the crawler can't read text contained within images. If you use images, be sure to title them appropriately and provide descriptive ALT tags."

Google lowers the bar on customer service yet again

"If we were discussing deep complicated technical questions then I could understand a bit of confusion here and there. However, in my experience the reps at Google AdSense and AdWords seem to have problems with some of the most basic concepts of communication."

Search engine newslets
Cuil stats - the early numbers.Yahoo is still searching for, well, Yahoo.Why Microsoft will try again for Yahoo in 2009.Time Warner is ready to deal AOL components.With automated tagging, Web links can surprise.Yahoo CEO faces shareholders.Google Translation Center, a new human translations service.Privacy watchdog hoists Google by its own petard.Did Google kill journalism?Yahoo! Maps gets a summer-time refresh.Can we please kill the Google killer talk?Email spammers be warned - you are hurting your SEO.Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
"IBP helps me keep my clients happy."

"I first learned about SEO techniques about a year ago and after much research into the best tools for achieving top rank for keywords, I settled upon IBP and bought the full version after experimenting with the trail download. [...]
Within 6 months, I was on page 1 of Google for my most important keyword and even in the top 3 on page 1! IBP works!
Now, a year later, I am so impressed with how up-to-date IBP continues to be, keeping pace with all of the search engine updates and changes in their ranking algorithms. IBP is worth every penny and has increased my sales exponentially, no joke! Thanks IBP :o)"
Amy McCoy, Doodlebuckets Family Gift Store

Share your success story with us

Let us know how IBP has helped you to improve your website and we might publish your success story with a link to your website in this newsletter. The more detailed your story is, the better.

Is your website down? Does everything work as expected?

If your have a business website, every single minute will cost you money if your website is down.
Monitor your website and get notifications by email, instant messenger or SMS when your website is down.

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You may publish one of the articles above on your Web site. However, you must not change the contents in any way. Also, you must keep all links and you must add the following two lines with a link to www.Axandra.com: "Copyright by Axandra.com. Web site promotion software."
All product names, copyrights and trademarks mentioned in this newsletter are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.

The effect of the Yahoo/Microsoft deal on your website

Welcome to the latest issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.
This week, we're taking a look at the effect of the Yahoo/Microsoft deal on your website. Yahoo will change its search engine, and there will be a new search result provider that reaches a lot of potential customers.
In the news: There are new search engine market share statistics, new interface changes on Google result pages, and Twitter becomes more and more a search engine.
Table of contents:
We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it helps you to get more out of your website. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.
Best regards,
1. The effect of the Yahoo/Microsoft deal on your website
You've probably heard about the Yahoo/Microsoft deal. This will have a major impact on the search engine landscape and there definitely will be effects on your website rankings and the number of visitors that your website will get.
The basic facts

Yahoo is going to give up their own search technology and use Microsoft's search technology instead. Bing.com will power the organic and the paid search results on Yahoo (except for premium ads on Yahoo).
Self-serve advertising (i.e. the AdWords competitor) will be managed by Microsoft's AdCenter. Microsoft will get access to Yahoo's search technology and can use it to improve its own search technology.

What does this mean for your website?
You should optimize for Bing.com.

Yahoo/Bing will have a search market share of at least 15% (that's the current market share of MSN and Yahoo combined - some statistics show a much higher market share).
If you do not optimize some of your website pages for Bing, you'll lose a lot of visitors and sales. Fortunately, IBP's top 10 optimizer already enables you to optimize your website for Bing.
The optimizer works with the US version of Bing as well as with many country versions. Recent research has shown that Bing's traffic is more likely to convert.
Yahoo's inbound link data will probably be lost.
Yahoo is the search engine that currently returns the most inbound link data. When Yahoo drops its index, that data will probably be lost. We recommend using IBP's link manager if you want to get an overview of the websites that link to your website.
The link manager in IBP will retrieve all links that are returned by Yahoo, Bing, Google and other search engines.
A big PPC provider will be gone, an even bigger provider will appear.
Microsoft will provide the search ads for Yahoo and Bing. Yahoo will close its own paid search offerings. That means that you will be able to manage your ads for both Yahoo and Bing in one user interface. It probably also means rising bid prices on Yahoo and Bing.
Yahoo might close some of their websites.
Yahoo might put its Internet directory into question as well as their alternative search applications SearchMonkey and SearchBOSS. Applications such as Yahoo Maps might also be reconsidered because Bing offers similar services.
There will be two independent search result pages.
Yahoo will have full control over the user interface of their search form. The ordering of the results, the layout and the whole search focus can be different from Bing. That means that you still might have to optimize your website for both search engines.
The deal still needs shareholder and legal approval. Yahoo and Microsoft hope that the changes will be in place by early 2010. If you want to participate from the change as soon as possible, you should optimize some of your web pages for Bing now.
Optimize different pages of your website for different search engines and different keywords. What works with one search engine might not work with another. Optimize each web page for a dedicated search engine/keyword combination to get better results.
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2. Search engine news and articles of the week
Out of search business, Yahoo shifts its focus

"Yahoo will lose some of its most talented engineers to Microsoft and as many as 400 employees through layoffs. The deal also undercuts years of investment around search technology. [...] While encouraged by some of Bing's innovations, [Yahoo CEO] Carol Bartz figures that Google will most likely match them soon. 'That is the arms race I don’t want to be in,' she said."

Hitwise: Bing + Yahoo! now equals 26% of search market

"Now that the deal is official, the latest search numbers tell us that Google has 70.6% of all U.S. query volume while the combined Bing and Yahoo! Search now comprise 26% of all U.S. searches, leaving only 3.4% for the other 54 engines that we track in search share (1,465 search engines that we track in market share of visits)."

It's Google's world, we just live in it

"Google has a 60% share of search queries in the U.S., but that number is 67% worldwide, according to ComScore. In many top and growing internet countries, including Germany, Canada, Brazil, Turkey and Italy, Google has more than 80% of the search market."

Google adds custom date range search to result pages

"Google's web search toolbelt has been updated and it now includes an option that lets you find web pages from a user-defined period of time. "

Google launches a major offensive against Microsoft with 'Going Google'

"Google is back on the offensive, with a major promotional campaign to get the word out about organizations switching to Google apps for their daily computing needs."

Twitter plays up search with new home page

"Twitter unveiled a brand-new home page that [...] makes Twitter look a lot more like a real-time search engine. [...] The new home page sums up the way Twitter sees itself today: a tool to 'share and discover what's happening right now, anywhere in the world.'"

Search engine newslets Google's 'Show More Results' link goes contextual.Google Docs integrates with Google Search.Google new AdWords interface is out of beta.Google releases Bid Simulator to AdWords advertisers.Google not liable for false ads.Yahoo is testing a new search results layout.Yahoo enhances local search results with more business information.Microsoft has kicked off a new series of ads for Bing.Ask.com's parent company IAC posts lower Q2 profit.Updated list of Google accounts on Twitter.Google challenger Blekko raises US$11.5 million.Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
3. New: IBP 11.5 now supports Google's keyword suggestion tool!
We have just released IBP version 11.5!
Based on user feedback we have improved the keyword manager so that IBP now supports the Google AdWords keyword suggestion tool in many different languages. You don't even have to enter a captcha code when searching for keyword suggestions.

Get the number of Google searches for any keyword in many languages, including English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and more. Download IBP version 11.5 now!
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How Google's latest algorithm changes affect your website

Welcome to the latest issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.
This week, we're taking a look at Google's latest ranking algorithm changes. They are good for searchers but they might be bad for your website.
In the news: Google becomes more local, Murdoch wants a Google rebellion, Google seems to be a startup-killer and more.
Table of contents:
We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it helps you to get more out of your website. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.
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1. How Google's latest algorithm changes affect your website
Google improves its ranking algorithm on an ongoing basis. During the last weeks, Google changed three things on the result pages that are visible to all Google users.


The changes are an improvement for searchers but they might be bad for your website.
1. Google has increased the snippet length. Less visitors for you?

Google now shows an extended snippet for queries that consist of three or more keywords. The idea behind this change is that these multi-word queries are very targeted and complex. The usual short snippet might not contain enough information.
What does this change mean for your website?
The longer snippet contains much more information. As Google tries to provide the user with the most relevant information in the snippet, the snippet might already contain the answer to the user's query. The longer snippets might result in the following:
Fewer users might click through to your website because they get the answer to their question in the search results. Users might begin to use more multiple-word queries to get more detailed search result snippets. As the longer snippets need more space, the longer snippets move another result page below the fold and web surfers will see fewer results at first glance. That increases the importance of very high rankings.
It seems that Google ignores the meta description tag for the snippets. That means that you must include a call to action in your web page titles.

2. Google now shows more related searches at the bottom of the results

When you search for a keyword, Google will display related searches at the bottom (and sometimes at the top) of the search results.
For example, if you search for the keyword "principles of physics", Google will suggest "angular momentum," "special relativity," "big bang" and "quantum mechanic" as related terms that could help you find what you need.
What does this change mean for your website?
It's important that you optimize the different pages of your website for different keywords. Do not concentrate on a single keyword but cover a wide range of keywords so that Googly will classify your website as relevant to the complete topic.
The more related keywords and pages can be found on your website, the better.

3. Google now shows local results based on IP addresses

Search Google for the keyword "pizza" and you'll see local results in the middle of the search results. These local results are delivered based on the IP address of the searcher. That means that you will get different results than people in another city.
What does this change mean for your website?
It's now easier to rank for competitive keywords for some local searches. While it's very difficult to get a high ranking for a very competitive keyword such as "lawyer" in the regular results, it's much easier to be listed for that keyword in the local results if you're living in a small town.
You should submit your website to Google Maps so that web surfers can find you in these local searches. You can submit your website to Google Maps with IBP's semi-automatic directory submitter.
If you run a local business, you should include your business name, your category and the name of your city in the title tag of your homepage.

If you want to get on top of Google's search results then your website must have optimized content and good inbound links. If you give Google what it wants then your website will get the best possible rankings.
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2. Search engine news and articles of the week

Google becomes more local

"We like to make search as easy as we can, so we've just finished the worldwide rollout of local search results on a map, which will now appear even when you don't type in a location. When you search on Google, we will guess where you are and show results near you."
Editor's note: Further information about this new feature can be found in the article above.

Murdoch wants a Google rebellion

"Rupert Murdoch threw down the gauntlet to Google Thursday, accusing the search giant of poaching content it doesn't own and urging media outlets to fight back. [...] Sites like Google, which don't produce any journalism of their own, have made themselves into destinations for readers."

Wikia death proves Google is search-startup killer

"Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales' open source, human-powered Google killer died a quiet death Tuesday, making Wikia.com the latest object lesson in the futility of trying to unseat Google as the king of search engines. [...] Wikia even managed to force Google to adopt a Wikia-like feature in November that solicits user opinions on whether search results are relevant."

Guardian: Google is just an amoral menace

"Google presents a far greater threat to the livelihood of individuals and the future of commercial institutions important to the community. [...] Google is the portal to a massive audience: you comply with its terms or feel the weight of its boot on your windpipe. [...] What we are seeing is a much older and toxic capitalist model - the classic monopoly that destroys industries and individual enterprise in its bid for ever greater profits."

Google sees voice search as core

"Google has said it sees voice search as a major opportunity for the company in building a presence on the mobile web. [...] Early iterations that worked best with North American accents had problems understanding other accents, including British."

Search engine newslets
Google's plan for out-of-print books is challenged.Second circuit says Google's keyword ad sales may be use in commerce.Google says it is still examining Korea's real-name verification law.The Google ventures cheat sheet.Little known Live.com features: currency conversion, calculator and dictionary.Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
"We recommend IBP."

"Over the years we have tried many SEO methods on our site at www.freebears.com, including high-priced US companies, low-priced companies in India, and rather random in-house methods.
While we have varying levels of success, the cost was too high. Then we decided to try IBP. Since we started using IBP our search results are more consistent and higher than with any of our previous SEO options.
We especially like the easy way we can track search engine rankings and see the effect of page changes.
The suggestions that IBP makes for improving rankings have also helped us. We recommend IBP for anyone who wants to understand SEO and wants to stop wasting money by having someone else do their SEO for them."
Gary, http://www.freebears.com/

Your website can be found on Google's first result page

High rankings on Google mean more website visitors, more customers and more sales. Watch the video for further information:

170,000 readers will see YOUR website

Let us know how IBP has helped you to improve your website and we might publish your success story with a link to your website in this newsletter. The more detailed your story is, the better.

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The Search Engine Facts newsletter is free. Please recommend it to someone you know.
You may publish one of the articles above on your Web site. However, you must not change the contents in any way. Also, you must keep all links and you must add the following two lines with a link to www.Axandra.com: "Copyright by Axandra.com. Web site promotion software."
All product names, copyrights and trademarks mentioned in this newsletter are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.
Back issues:
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Official Google statement: the effects of outbound links on your website

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Welcome to the latest issue of the Search Engine Facts newsletter.
This week, we're taking a look at an official Google statement about the effects of links from your site to other websites.
In the news: Links from .edu or .gov domains have no special value, search engines (and webmasters) might benefit from the economic crisis, Microsoft won't make Yahoo another offer and more.
Table of contents:
We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it helps you to get more out of your website. Please pass this newsletter on to your friends.
Best regards,
1. Official Google statement: the effects of outbound links on your website
Last month, Google published an official statement about linking out to other websites. Some webmasters still think that linking to other websites might have a negative effect on their Google rankings. That is not the case.

Links to other websites can have a positive effect on your website if you link to the right websites. Here's a summary of Google's statements:
The good side of outbound links

Relevant links to other websites can help your website visitors. For example, you could provide your readers in-depth information about similar topics or you could offer your readers your commentary on existing resources.
Outbound links can also help your credibility. Links to the right websites show that you have done your research and that you have expertise in the subject manner. Good links to other websites can make visitors want to come back for more analysis on future topics.
A very positive effect on links to other websites is that they help you to build relationships with other domain experts. If you send visitors to another website then that website might send visitors to your website in return.

The bad side of outbound links

Links to other websites can have a negative effect on your website if you don't monitor to which websites you link. According to Google, unmonitored (especially user-generated) links and undisclosed paid advertising outbound links can reduce your website's credibility.
If your website allows user comments or other user created contents, then you should make sure that these comments are moderated and/or you should add the rel="nofollow" attribute to user generated links.
Google doesn't like paid links. If you accept money for outbound links, you should also add the rel="nofollow" attribute to the link.
Google recommends not to have more than 100 links per web page. Too many links on one page confuse your website visitors.

Should you worry about the PageRank of the linked website?

Google makes it very clear that you shouldn't worry about the PageRank of a website as long as you are linking to a website you believe your website visitors will enjoy.
It doesn't matter if the linked website has a lower PageRank than your website as long as the website is somehow related to your site. According to Google, webmasters should consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to their users, not as a complicated formula.

If you link to good websites, outbound links will have a positive effect on your site. IBP's link builder helps you to find good related websites, it helps you to build relationships with other websites and it also helps you to increase the number of inbound links to your website.
Further information about link building, how to get good inbound links and how to avoid common mistakes can be found in our free SEO book.
Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
2. Search engine news and articles of the week
Links from .edu and .gov domains have no special value

Many webmasters and marketers think that a website will get a ranking boost on Google if it has links from .edu or .gov domains. Google's Matt Cutts and Google's John Mueller recently said that this wasn't so:
"This is a common misconception - you don't get any PageRank boost from having an .edu link or .gov link automatically. If you get an .edu link and no one is linking to that .edu page, you're not going to get any PageRank at all because that .edu page doesn't have any PageRank. [...] We generally treat all links the same - be it from .gov or .edu or .info sites."

Google tries to improve search quality with an improved user interface

"The role of 'user experience' research is to try and get the inside story on what people do when they search. We're constantly asking: What's the user's experience of search? What works and doesn't work for them? What are they looking for? What DO they want?"

Search won't fall off cliff as online ads slow

"Although the slowdown threatening to drag out two quarters or more has hit the online ad industry, search could remain the bright spot in an otherwise dismal scenario. [...]
Economic hardships have led consumers to use search engines more as they evaluate shopping options and compare prices."

Ballmer rules out new bid for Yahoo.

"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Friday that Microsoft is 'not interested' in making a new offer for Internet company Yahoo, despite Yahoo's share price currently sitting at less than half what Microsoft initially offered. [...]
'Look, we made an offer, we made another offer. It was clear that Yahoo didn't want to sell the business to us, and we moved on.'"

Google at 10: searching its own soul

"As Google recently turned 10 years old, some analysts and investors began to say the company was suffering from early signs of maturity. Google’s growth rate, while still brisk, has slowed significantly and is expected to slow more because of the economic slowdown."

Search engine newslets
Microsoft tries to steal Verizon deal from Google.Google improves its AdSense ad filter.Google CEO on Obama tech czar job: No thanks.Google and Microsoft executives trade jabs.Hitwise ranks election traffic to news sites.Russian company to sue Google for $3 billion for contextual ads technology.Google's China market share to grow in 2009.Microsoft in web search deal with Sun.Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
"This only took us approximately 3 months."

"I began working in SEO in 1998 with one of the first Internet hosting and marketing companies. Working with Ken Stubbs, the first President of ICCAN, and Glenn Davis of www.openvision.com I was responsible for SEO for large US companies like Wilson Sporting Goods, Fortune Brands, and others.
Our group was at the cutting edge of SEO at the time and still is today. Today I own www.1contemporary.com, an online and store based import/export dealer of high-end modern designer European Italian furniture. 1 Contemporary Furniture is the 3rd oldest website under the keyword 'contemporary furniture, Italian furniture, designer furniture, and european furniture. We ship to 50 states and around the world over 40 of the most renowned names in the industry world-wide.
For the past 7 years www.1contemporary.com has been at the top on the first page of our keywords and we remain so today thanks to IBusinessPromoter."
Gill Fisher, President, 1 Contemporary Furniture

Get your website in front of more than 160,000 readers

Let us know how IBP has helped you to improve your website and we might publish your success story with a link to your website in this newsletter. The more detailed your story is, the better.

Back to table of contents - Visit Axandra.com
The Search Engine Facts newsletter is free. Please recommend it to someone you know.
You may publish one of the articles above on your Web site. However, you must not change the contents in any way. Also, you must keep all links and you must add the following two lines with a link to www.Axandra.com: "Copyright by Axandra.com. Web site promotion software."
All product names, copyrights and trademarks mentioned in this newsletter are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.
Back issues:
http://www.free-seo-news.com/