Archive for the ‘seo’ Category

For years I’ve summarized the web design secret to online success with your custom cms web design as “add original quality content often”, yet it’s time for a revision. Creating lots of new content that is original and high quality may not be enough. To truly dominate search results with seo and site optimization you need to “add original quality related content often”.

At a glance you may not notice the word “related” added to that key phrase, but it’s an important update to the web design secret to online success. To rank on page one you need content that remains fairly consistent to the theme of your niche. Occasional off topic content is okay, yet keep the majority in line with the theme of your product or service.

Since I began offering custom cms web designs exclusively, the idea behind having a cms content management system has not changed. Owners want a website they can edit 24/7 without waiting or paying each time a site revision is needed.

Customers need a custom cms website designed so they can make changes without advanced technical skills. Finally, clients need a designer who can teach them how to get on Google page one! Trust the source who says they know how, and can provide proof that they did it.

The lessons I teach including custom cms and seo search engine optimization tutorials provide evidence that my natural methods work. The only investment is time learning and applying the techniques that I teach.

If you want to learn the web design secret to online success, start with a custom cms web design, and then delegate or make the time to add original quality related content often.

A quality web design with seo search engine optimization will help attract backlinks from other websites. Achieve links you earn and deserve naturally and avoid the dangers of being tempted to trade, buy, or sell links. I never accept link exchange requests.

Most emails for link requests go to Dear Webmaster, or something like that and very impersonal. Toss those emails without reading past the greeting. The best links are those links you earn and deserve without any correspondence or request between sites. A site that links to you voluntarily without contacting you or expecting something in return is the ideal backlink.

Two-way links are also called reciprocal links and those are more or less useless for boosting your seo ranking. Three-way link agreements may seem ideal, yet they are not best practice: Site 1 links to site 2 who links to site 3 who links to site 1. It gives the deceptive appearance of independent “votes” for sites worth linking to. The truth is Google supercomputers look for the 3-way link schemes and they get zero value or perhaps a negative penalty if widespread and blatant.

The best links to your site are those you earn and do not ask for, pay for, or solicit in any way. If your business is truly outstanding and a related site links to you (one-way only) then those have seo value when found by Google.

Years ago you could pay to have ranked sites link to you and Google would mistake those paid “votes” as voluntary endorsements and assign very high value for site reputation. The paid link schemes fell apart in 2007 when en masse Google banned those sites to oblivion who were using deceptive seo methods by trading in buying or selling links.

The phrase “add original quality content often” is still the magnet to attract natural links and positive Google search results. Provide an exceptional visitor experience and the backlinks from other sites will come naturally. For web design and seo success the best links are still those links you earn and deserve.

Most SEO experts will state that it is difficult or next to impossible to achieve top search results getting free blogs on Google page one. However, sites on free hosting can make page one, and I feel that based on current lower costs to get online that top level domains are practical and preferred for personal websites. The real question of the day is can free blogs achieve Google page one?

The answer is ‘yes’. View the screenshot below (shown smaller than actual size) taken earlier today based on a visitor to one of my blogs. The search returned 3.7 million results for the phrase: Maine brook fishing. My personal blog of childhood stories entitled Growin’ Up in Maine is shown listed at #1 on page one.

SEO or search engine optimization is about quality content that returns relevent results in Google and the other major search engines. Obviously, the free blog of Maine stories has the content, credibility, and trust to be awarded the top spot on Google page one.

Another surprise search result for that blog was being #1 for the search phrase: cement lawn ducks. Granted, that search returns paid results above my free blog, yet most SEO experts will agree that the real goal and evidence of success is about being first in natural organic results.

While free blogs can make Google page one, my advice is buying a top level www domain. The Growin’ Up in Maine blog was a blog layout design experiment early in 2007 that I planned on scrapping. As it turns out nostalgia for the 1950′s and 60′s made the blog surprisingly popular with baby boomers and it got a reprieve. I suppose next I should take MY advice and put the Maine Stories on a paid domain, too.

Having purchased SubmitEaze directory submission software several years ago for seo or search engine optimization reasons, recent updates and enhanced functions make this a good time for another look at SubmitEaze. Part of website optimization strategy for search engine optimization involves backlinks which are links to your website from other sites. These are like votes when found by Google, so by acquiring more votes your site is more likely to increase its rank.

Two methods of acquiring those backlinks are “Website Directories” and “Article Directories” featured in my series of do-it-yourself seo reports released in 2007. Follow that link to download your free copies of the PDF reports (no email or registration required).

In a hurry to learn how? Visit their site to watch the SubmitEaze demo videos.

In summary, you acquire backlinks by getting listed on other websites. The Website Directory lists businesses by category with links to those sites, and the Article Directory sites accept advice articles for syndication that includes links in the resource (About the Author) box. Get listed, or write helpful articles about your business niche and submit to 100′s of directories.

Prior to SubmitEaze, the submission process was VERY time consuming. Each site you visit meant doing copy and paste of content over and over, so submitting to 100 sites could take 2-3 days. SubmitEaze is a very fast and semi-automated software program with a system to submit your site or articles to directories in minutes, not days.

First released for web directories only, SubmitEaze now handles article submissions, too. My advice is to review the SubmitEaze software and watch their demo videos before you buy. I started out doing manual submission of my website, and then bought other software before discovering SubmitEaze and making it my standard.

My advice is ignoring ALL link exchange request emails, or any email that does not address you by name but starts out like “Dear Webmaster” or a similar impersonal salutation.

Links to your site are like votes when found by Google, but the value is zero if the links are reciprocal. You link to me and I’ll link to you negates the value because it was not a voluntary one way link to a website based on merit.

I teach natural linking and organic seo search engine optimization methods that hold value long term.

Other link schemes use 3-way linking to deceive search engines. Site A links to B and B to C then C back to A. The links are no longer 2-way “reciprocal” yet they were not earned based on merit, so 3-way links are another attempt to trick search engines. Google’s supercomputers easily catch this tactic and punish those websites with poor ranking, or if too blatant your website could be blacklisted.

Some designers or site optimizers who do not keep up with the latest trends will insist you need an active campaign to acquire those backlinks. Sadly, an aggressive campaign that worked wonders 3-5 years ago may backfire today because so many website owners have exchanged links (including for payment) as a deceptive means to increase Google ranking and traffic.

I warned about this and documented evidence from an actual case study 2 years ago in a blog post I wrote in November 2007 entitled Update on Backlinks and SEO Value. The facts and points made in that blog post are still valid today.

Provide a quality visitor experience and continue to add original quality content often to attract other site owners to link to your site. Avoid those link exchange requests or any other unnatural method of improving your ranking based on a scheme. The best strategy is keeping your site content fresh and interesting.

Some things never change. In December 2008 I created a pdf report extracted from a podcast episode transcript entitled “2009 Web Design Predictions”, and upon review a year later the web design trend predictions I made were spot on.

Looking ahead the advice from the 2009 web design trends report looks good for 2010, also. I estimate that 9 out of 10 websites will need a makeover in 2010 to keep up with what their site visitors really want, so it is time to take a critical look and consider an annual budget for keeping your website fresh.

The basics of providing a quality experience for your visitors begins with the web design layout, and I still recommend a standard web page width of 960 pixels wide. Besides an attractive web design, navigation for site usability continues to be key for keeping visitors on your site. It’s time to consider using video, flash, and audio for an enhanced visitor experience, also.

The seo or search engine optimization advice in that report is still valid, plus I’ll be reviewing new seo trends to consider for 2010 in the near future. A cms or content management system of web design is still the best way to add original quality content often, so again, some things never change.

You may view online or download the 6 page 2009 Web Design Predictions Report from this link (252kb pdf). As usual, you do not have to register or reveal an email address to get your copy.

The developers of DupeFree Pro software for checking duplicate content and testing article keyword density, just to name two great features, are asking existing users to reply to an online survey of possible new features. If YOU have taken my advice for downloading their free program and receive their survey request email, please take the time to comply. Here are some of the comments I included in my submission.

For me DupeFree Pro is used mostly for keyword density and article word count. It might be nice to have the option to set a target density for a keyword, ie 4 percent, then test and if the density is low, have a value displayed in DupeFree Pro for the number of times to add that word to achieve my target percentage.

That’s easy to achieve by trial and error yet with a number it would be easy to copy/paste that key word X number of times in appropriate places within the article while maintaining human readability. Otherwise, with trial/error and copy/paste I compromise the target and stop while thinking “good enough”.

In addition, I made the following comments

You have a great product which I am happy to promote and suggest people use. Many have. A 50 page PDF tutorial I wrote on custom cms web design and do-it-yourself seo makes reference to free resources for research and testing of website content.

The free ebook has been downloaded 1000′s of times, and includes DupeFree Pro as recommended for testing keyword density. The 4 percent target keyword density mentioned earlier in the survey is what I suggest within the 1.5-6.5 percent in your documentation. It has worked very well for me.

My core business is custom cms web design. I truly believe holding my position on Google page one at #1 and #2 for custom cms web design for the last 2 years is due in part to your fine software. Thanks!

Finally for my readers, given the opportunity please take the DupeFree Pro survey to help them in deciding on future developments and enhancements of their software.

Forget the old time carnival barker yelling “Step right up…” when your goal is drawing a crowd to your website. There are other methods to keep visitor interest once they land on your website by providing value that is instantly recognized. A method that I use and recommend is valuable expert tips and advice written as a report or ebook in pdf format that your visitors can download.

People go online shopping for information. They bounce from site to site comparing notes before they stop shopping and decide to buy. The home page is the most frequent landing page on typical sites, so have a free download graphic and link there to share your expertise. The report or ebook topic of interest will likely be related to what brought them to your website, so quite often the pdf will be downloaded.

Unless you need to build a mailing list, my advice is allowing people to download without registering or revealing an email address. I am blessed and busy, so all the reports and ebooks on my website are grab it and go.

What makes this philosophy of sharing interesting is people will trust you and your motivation more if they can commit without worrying about being on a junk mail list forever. Provide quality, and many will forward your pdf report or ebook to business owners, peers, family, or friends.

One copy sent to two people who each send it to two more is like the snowball rolling downhill. In no time you can develop brand recognition and momentum by giving away quality information that others try to sell or at least trade for an email address. Thousands of my pdf reports, ebooks, and tutorials have been downloaded directly from my site. Email feedback from happy visitors promising to tell a friend confirms the value of paying forward.

One of the most popular is the 50 page ebook for people interested in diy seo and cms web design. You may download yours now or read it online, and then please tell a friend.

Bonus Tip: Do not ZIP your pdf report, ebook, or tutorial for download. As a raw pdf visitors may view it online including search engines. Yes, Google can index and send you traffic based on the quality of your pdf download. Win-win.

The most popular DIY Do-it-Yourself web design system for managing websites is called a cms, or content management system. It allows the owner to take over and add unlimited new pages to their site without learning advanced technical skills. For example, you write content in plain text and enter info in a few boxes from an admin area and it publishes that text in xhtml with zero code errors. Easily upload photos to insert in the page, too. Google rewards sites that add original quality content often, so imagine having a site with 450-500 pages without paying for changes each time.

My specialty is custom cms web design. Go to Google search and type in that phrase: custom cms web design. Next, look at the search results (after the paid ads) and my site should be listed #1 worldwide (maybe #1 and #2) for companies who offer custom cms web design. Besides the initial design, technical setup, and launch, my clients get a 50 page pdf ebook showing how I made page one, so they can use the same seo search engine optimization principles and strategy to dominate their niche.

View or download the 50 page DIY CMS Web Design and SEO Ebook for an overview of cms plus advice on writing content optimized for search engines. The ebook includes links to free online tools and software plus advice for best practices in search engine optimization.

Most small business owners get started with a small website as a good “starter” site, yet converting that to the cms will allow them to take over to easily add, edit, or delete content. Other designers who offer seo services will charge as much as $5000 to $20,000 just for the search engine optimization advice contained in that ebook download.

I give that seo advice away at no charge to my clients as part of a custom cms web design project. My current published rate for adding pages to an older static web design is $250 per page, so 20 pages would be $5000. Imagine a do-it-yourself website and having a 100 page site. Instead of $25,000 at $250 a clip for each new page, the custom cms design and technical setup plus converting existing pages into the system is yours for a one-time fee as little as $2500.

Compare older static web design services and the latest custom cms web design price list, and then contact me with questions or to learn more about custom cms web design and search engine optimization.

Final tweaking and launch of an Orlando vacation rental cms web design took place within the last month for anOrlandoVacationVilla.com. This custom cms web design is a content management system in xhtml with css and features a flash photo slide show on the home page, virtual tours, contact reservation forms, plus a visitor comments guestbook, and more.

The custom cms web design website photo gallery created entirely in css includes searchable text for seo search engine optimization benefits compared to flash. Mousing over thumbnails presents an enlarged view with text captions that can be indexed by search engines.

The advantage of a custom cms web design is the owner may add, edit, or delete content without any knowledge of xhtml by simply creating plain text files, entering content in the admin backend, and selecting publish to update content. A cms, or content management system, is the easy way for a website owner to update a web design optimized for seo without paying each time for changes.