Corinne Kerston

By now, you know all about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. You get it; you know why it’s useful and how to do it. Even if you don’t have SEO Expert status, you still have a pretty good grasp of the concept. Now, to throw you off, here’s a new initialed term for you.

SEM. Search Engine Marketing. It is a way of gaining more web traffic by essentially paying the search engines. The most common method used is Pay-Per-Click advertising, with Google AdWords being most used. For a small fee, you can get your website to the top of the search results as a sponsored link. When you do a Google search, often times you see the sponsored links that appear at the top of the listing, in a yellow box. This links point to ads on the right-hand side. These ads get featured, and get a ton of traffic, but they do come at a cost. The website owner must pay Google each time the link is clicked. Hench, Pay-Per-Click.

The more you are willing to pay the search engine for each click, the higher up your ad will be. Pretty tricky right? Now the ranking algorithm also takes into account how relevant your ad is in relation to the others on the same page, and this is where good SEO practices help. Using the right keywords will help get your ad placed on the right results page, right where you want it.

There are other ways to take advantage of SEM. Here are a couple other methods that do not include SEO practices.

• Paid inclusion. This is basically paying the directory or search engine to add your website to their database. This is a quick and easy to get your website noticed. Rather than waiting for your SEO efforts to work and the search engine spiders to notice your site, you just pay to have it done for you.
• Traditional ads. This method involves using paid advertising on the results pages. Using the right keywords, your ad will appear with the search results and you will get charged each time your ad appears. In other words, you are paying for the ad to be seen; it does not matter if it gets clicked or not, you still get charged.

SEM is not necessarily a new marketing strategy, but it does seem to be gaining popularity. It is a quick and easy way to get your website traffic and high rankings. Of course, nothing this easy comes without a price. The amount you pay is up to you, but the more you dish out, the better results you get.

Have you ever wondered why some websites show up on the first page of your search query, but yours shows up on the second, third or even further back than that? The reason for it is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. SEO is what helps the search engines find your website and get it to the top of the first page. Exactly how does SEO work? And how can you get it to work for you? Here is a guide that will tell you the basics of what you need to know when it comes to SEO.

How SEO Works

SEO works by using strategically placed keywords in your web content. Search engines continuously scan, or crawl, the Internet to find new content using software called crawlers. These crawlers go from one link to another and index what they find.

To be indexed, a webpage is placed in a huge database where it can later be found. Basically, the index identifies the words and phrases that would best describe the webpage and assigns it specific keywords.

When you use a search engine to look up something on the Internet, the words you place in the search bar gets processed and compared to the keywords that are indexed in the database. The search engine then spits back the results to you, with the most relevant ones on top.

How SEO Can Work For You

The first thing you should do to use SEO successfully, is to come up with a list of keywords for your website. Start by writing down as many words or phrases that you think people might use to research for your website. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think what you would put in the search engine bar if you were going to search the web for your specific niche or topic.

Once you have done your brainstorming, the next step would be to broaden your list using online keyword tools. Here are few free ones that work well and can help you with your search.

• Google AdWords Keyword Tool
• WordTracker
• SEO Book Keyword Tool

When doing your keyword research, be sure to focus on the words that a layman might use. For example, a customer looking to find your website would not be using standard industry jargon when describing your field. Also, cover synonyms of the most relevant keywords. For example if one of your key phrases is “website content writer,” you may also want to include “web content writer” and just “content writer.” Do not forget qualifier words such as those that describe the location of your business. For example, if you are a freelance writer in Hawaii, you may want to include “Hawaii freelance writer” or even “Honolulu freelance writer” in your list of keywords.

When it comes to web content and websites, it pays to understand SEO. Without it, your website is just another page floating in the sea of thousands and thousands of faceless websites. With SEO done right, your website can crawl to the top of the search results, gaining you more page views and more clients and customers.

The art of spinning an article is taking a single article and using it generate many spin-off articles. The articles can then be used to populate the web and point back to one website. Articles can be spun using article spinning software or done manually. Before you decide on having your articles spun, take a look at the pros and cons of article spinning.

Pros

Get more out of one article. The spin-off articles will all revolve around the same keywords and topics. If your purpose is SEO, then spinning articles may help you attract more traffic.

The more articles, the more web coverage. If you are planning on using your articles to submit to different article directories to get your business name out there, then having many unique articles may be a good tactic for you.

Overlooked marketing option. Many marketers tend to avoid article spinning for their own reasons. If you do choose to spin your articles, this would give you a marketing option that is untapped, which may end up being an advantage for you.

Cons

Spun articles can be seen as spam. If you send out a ton of nearly identical articles, you increase your chances of being marked as a spammer. This can either get your site removed from search engines or knocked way down on the results queue.

Narrowed subject matter. When you spin the same article, you are using the same content, just in different words. You need to make sure that the subject of your articles will be popular with readers and search engines.

Correct grammar can get lost. Especially if you spinning software, you may end up with an article that is not completely grammatically correct. The software goes word by word and inputs synonyms, but it cannot proofread to make sure that the structure is correct.

Article spinning gets a bad name, but there are times that it can be beneficial. Take a look at the pros and cons and decide if it would work for your business.

Image via CrunchBase

With the advent of Google came the rise of the Internet search engine. Google skyrocketed to fame and quickly became the most used tool for searching the web for content and information. With so many people perusing Google, you want to make sure that your ranking is high so that potential customers can find you. Here are some ways that you can help your website get a better ranking on Google.

Use keywords. Placing keywords in your work can greatly help improved your ranking in the search engines. Research your potential keywords to see what people are actually using to find your website and use them within your text. Do not over use them though, keyword stuffing can be just as bad as not doing it at all.

Write content that is important. Make sure that your writing is relevant and helpful. If you fill your website with articles that can be found elsewhere, your ranking will lower. Do not copy articles that have been used over and over, but come up with your own well-written content.

Limit advertising. If you throw a bunch of ads all over your site, Google will view your site as spam. The goal of Google is to provide readers with high-quality information so spammy sites get ranked low. A few affiliate ads are fine, but having so many ads your content gets lost is not.

Use a Google +1 button. You’ve seen that little button with +1 on other sites. Join Google Plus and get one for your site. Like retweeting and Liking, readers can +1 your posts as well. The more +1’s you get, the more important your site looks to Google.

Add a blog. Utilizing a blog on your business site will allow you to continually use new keywords. A blog lets you update your site often, which Google tends to like more than a static website. It also allows you to use inbound links to gain more traffic.

Use inbound links. Quality links can show that your website is important. Comment on similar blogs and leave a link to your own. Guest post on a blog with related content and end with your byline and a link to your own site.

For any business that has a website, having their website rank high with Google is a goal to strive for. A high ranking will give your site maximum exposure and lead to more customers.

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