SEO

What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the act of modifying a website to increase its ranking in organic (vs paid), crawler-based listings of search engines

How do organic search listings work?
A spider or crawler, which is a component of a Search Engine, gathers listings by automatically "crawling" the web. The spider follows links to web pages, makes copies of the pages and stores them in the SE’s index. Based on this data, the SE then indexes the pages and ranks the websites. Major SEs that index pages using spiders: Google, Altavista, MSN, Aol, lycos. “Spiders read only text, nothing else”

SEO strategies/techniques

1. Domain name strategies
Domain names are traffic magnets. At the time this article is written, there are 63 million domain names registered. 4.7 million domain names were registered in the 1st quarter of 2004. How to choose a domain name that will increase your search engine ranking? Here are a few general guidelines:
- simple, short, no hyphens, no numbers
- use keywords, common words, advertising terms, product names
- choose a keyword that is important for your business

2. Linking strategies
- the more inbound links the higher the SE ranking
- if the site linking to you is already indexed, spiders will also receive your site
- quality of inbound links is critical
- how to increase links: a) good content b) good outbound links c) target a list of sites from which you can request inbound links
- links for the sake of links can damage your search rankings
Link relevancy is critical in getting your site indexed by search engines. A small number of inbound links from high-quality, relevant sites is more valuable than many links from low-traffic, irrelevant sites.

3. Keywords
- important in optimizing rankings
- keywords are words that appear the most in a page
- the spider chooses the appropriate keywords for each page, then sends them back to its SE
- your web site will then be indexed based on your keywords
- can be key phrases or a single keyword
- do not use common words eg ‘the’ ‘and’ ‘of’: spiders ignore them
- write keyword-rich text
- balance keyword-rich and readability
- always have text in your page: at least 100 words

4. Title tags
- important in optimising rankings
- the first thing that a search engine displays on a search return
- must keywords in title to be ranked no. 1
- should have the exact keyword you use for the page
- every single web page must have its own title tag
- you can use up to 65 characters

5. Meta description tags
- the next important
- displayed below the title in search results
- use dynamic, promotional language
- use keywords

6. Meta Keywords tags
- no longer carry weight with major SEs
- a myth that meta keywords alone affect rankings

7. Alt tags
- include keywords in your alt tags

8. Submit your website to SEs for indexing
- submit your site to search engine directories, directory sites and portal sites
- indexing takes 1 wk to 3 months

SEO - what is NOT recommended

Flash and shockwave: spiders do not pick up these files

Image only sites: spiders do not pick up images

Image maps : spiders cannot read image maps.

Do not use them on your home page or critical pages.

Frames: only one page can be titled (titling is critical in search rankings). If the spider cannot read the complete page because of the frames, the page will not be indexed properly. The worst case is that some spiders may not even read a frames web site

Password protected pages: spiders cannot enter password protected pages.

PDF files: It can be problematic for spiders. Although some search engines can index them, the pages must be interpreted into HTML and can lose much of their content. So to place PDF files on your website could lower down your website.

Dynamic pages: Spiders cannot index some content on pages using ASP, CGI or other dynamic languages. Make sure that important pages are in the format of HTML, no dynamically generated content.

Drop down menus – spiders cannot read them. So avoid them at your best.

SEM

What is search engine marketing (SEM)?
SEM is the act of marketing a website via search engines by purchasing paid listings

What are paid listings?
These are listings that search engines sell to advertisers, usually through paid placement or paid inclusion programs. In contrast, organic listings are not sold.
Paid Inclusions is an aadvertising program where pages are guaranteed to be included in a search engine's index in exchange for payment. However, there is no guarantee in ranking. The payment is made on a Cost Per Click (CPC) basis. For example, a directory that lists pages and sites, not based on position but based on relevance. Advertisers pay to be included in the directory on a CPC basis or per-url fee basis with no guarantee of specific placement.
Paid placements are advertising programs where listings are guaranteed to appear in organic listings, at which the higher the fee, the higher the ranking of the advertiser’s website. For examples, the sponsored links and Google’s Adwords They can be purchased from a portal or a search network. Search networks are often set up in an auction environment where keywords and phrases are associated with a cost-per-click (CPC) fee. Now, Overture.com and Google.com are the largest networks.
Search marketing is at its infancy and is advancing by leaps and bounds. No one knows exactly what is coming. But we know the information provided here is just the tip of the iceberg. We at BRCWWW will keep abreast of the technology edge to provide the best SEO and SEM services.

Search Engine Statistics
130 million Internet users in the U.S
85 percent have made some type of search
450 million queries per day on the internet
Google does 250 million requested
Google has indexed over 4 billion pages
Marketers spend less than 1 percent of their budget on search engine optimization – even though this can increase site traffic 75 %. Don’t wait, pick up your phone, let us help you expand your business. Your success is our success.