Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Press release optimization: A wider base for the news reports in the audience

Websites and search engines! What a powerful combination of thoughts, ideas and technology with a wider reach open for the reporters and laymen alike. Marketing is assuming newer meanings with each passing day and online marketing has attained a cult status amongst the news/reporting channels. A top ranking of these press releases means more coverage for them with the number of press releases going even up to thousands of page views. However, lack of relevant keywords decreases the visibility factor of these press releases on the websites. With press release optimization services round the corner, press releases are optimized in manifold ways. The solution here is a proper submitting of these press releases with one of the online newswire services. The techniques are same as that of regular optimization services such as proper keyword research and page optimization and largest number of online press release distribution methods are utilized.

The marketing fundamentals of going inside the psyche of the customer are at work here. This underscores the need of the customer and the seller to be at the same level of understanding. The customer should know what you are talking about is quite relevant to their own needs. In a nutshell, the phrases and words spoken by the customer should merge on a common platform, so that your page is included in the famed editorial listings. An effective press release optimization service fully utilizes a host of PR and communications documents. Their content is effectively brought forth with a little adjustment to further repurpose and match them with high value terms and phrases used by the target audiences on a daily basis. A proper way to go in this direction is to find the gaps within your own language and then replace them with customers’ own words and terminology. Start with working on the most valuable key phrases into press and news releases in the pipeline. A press release optimization service is a guaranteed way to add tremendous value to your online press release.

Increasing the chances of press release coverage, reporters are able to break the happening events earlier than other mediums. Also, the pay per click advertising is one of the most effective ways to garner as much exposure s possible in a search engine. This increases the search engine presence while editorial listings are being built. If you are familiar with this concept, then be rest assured that the PPC charges can add up really fast and mostly in cases where you might be bidding on a popular term. Keywords hold the key towards press release optimization process. The terminology has to be clearly understood for describing the categories and products and the services you provide. An effective list can be prepared, which includes the useful terms and then research whether they are really relevant. This step surely paves a way for garnering rich results for the optimization of your press release.

Specific ways have been devised to increase the optimization of your press release which includes certain specific tags. The success parameters are definite, if the important team members are made to understand the new terminology. This entails that in a press release optimization service, the marketing people should know how to utilize these key phrases to communicate with the audiences. Technical people working for optimization should have a thorough knowledge while discussing products or while building the web pages. Thus by optimizing your PR, you brighten the upcoming results.

Source : www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

Monday, July 21, 2008

Improved Flash indexing

We've received numerous requests to improve our indexing of Adobe Flash files. Today, Ron Adler and Janis Stipins—software engineers on our indexing team—will provide us with more in-depth information about our recent announcement that we've greatly improved our ability to index Flash.

Q: Which Flash files can Google better index now?
We've improved our ability to index textual content in SWF files of all kinds. This includes Flash "gadgets" such as buttons or menus, self-contained Flash websites, and everything in between.

Q: What content can Google better index from these Flash files?
All of the text that users can see as they interact with your Flash file. If your website contains Flash, the textual content in your Flash files can be used when Google generates a snippet for your website. Also, the words that appear in your Flash files can be used to match query terms in Google searches.

In addition to finding and indexing the textual content in Flash files, we're also discovering URLs that appear in Flash files, and feeding them into our crawling pipeline—just like we do with URLs that appear in non-Flash webpages. For example, if your Flash application contains links to pages inside your website, Google may now be better able to discover and crawl more of your website.

Q: What about non-textual content, such as images?
At present, we are only discovering and indexing textual content in Flash files. If your Flash files only include images, we will not recognize or index any text that may appear in those images. Similarly, we do not generate any anchor text for Flash buttons which target some URL, but which have no associated text.

Also note that we do not index FLV files, such as the videos that play on YouTube, because these files contain no text elements.

Q: How does Google "see" the contents of a Flash file?
We've developed an algorithm that explores Flash files in the same way that a person would, by clicking buttons, entering input, and so on. Our algorithm remembers all of the text that it encounters along the way, and that content is then available to be indexed. We can't tell you all of the proprietary details, but we can tell you that the algorithm's effectiveness was improved by utilizing Adobe's new Searchable SWF library.

Q: What do I need to do to get Google to index the text in my Flash files?
Basically, you don't need to do anything. The improvements that we have made do not require any special action on the part of web designers or webmasters. If you have Flash content on your website, we will automatically begin to index it, up to the limits of our current technical ability (see next question).

That said, you should be aware that Google is now able to see the text that appears to visitors of your website. If you prefer Google to ignore your less informative content, such as a "copyright" or "loading" message, consider replacing the text within an image, which will make it effectively invisible to us.

Q: What are the current technical limitations of Google's ability to index Flash?
There are three main limitations at present, and we are already working on resolving them:

1. Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript. So if your web page loads a Flash file via JavaScript, Google may not be aware of that Flash file, in which case it will not be indexed.
2. We currently do not attach content from external resources that are loaded by your Flash files. If your Flash file loads an HTML file, an XML file, another SWF file, etc., Google will separately index that resource, but it will not yet be considered to be part of the content in your Flash file.
3. While we are able to index Flash in almost all of the languages found on the web, currently there are difficulties with Flash content written in bidirectional languages. Until this is fixed, we will be unable to index Hebrew language or Arabic language content from Flash files.

We're already making progress on these issues, so stay tuned!

Update: Everyone, thanks for your great questions and feedback. Our focus is to improve search quality for all users, and with better Flash indexing we create more meaningful search results. Listed below, we’ve also answered some of the most prevalent questions. Thanks again!

Flash site in search results before improvements


Flash site after improved indexing, querying [nasa deep impact animation]


Helping us access and index your Flash files
@fintan: We verified with Adobe that the textual content from legacy sites, such as those scripted with AS1 and AS2, can be indexed by our new algorithm.

@andrew, jonny m, erichazann, mike, ledge, stu, rex, blog, dis: For our July 1st launch, we didn't enable Flash indexing for Flash files embedded via SWFObject. We're now rolling out an update that enables support for common JavaScript techniques for embedding Flash, including SWFObject and SWFObject2.

@mike: At this time, content loaded dynamically from resource files is not indexed. We’ve noted this feature request from several webmasters -- look for this in a near future update.

Interaction of HTML pages and Flash
@captain cuisine: The text found in Flash files is treated similarly to text found in other files, such as HTML, PDFs, etc. If the Flash file is embedded in HTML (as many of the Flash files we find are), its content is associated with the parent URL and indexed as single entity.

@jeroen: Serving the same content in Flash and an alternate HTML version could cause us to find duplicate content. This won't cause a penalty -- we don’t lower a site in ranking because of duplicate content. Be aware, though, that search results will most likely only show one version, not both.

@All: We’re trying to serve users the most relevant results possible regardless of the file type. This means that standalone Flash, HTML with embedded Flash, HTML only, PDFs, etc., can all have the potential to be returned in search results.

Indexing large Flash files
@dsfdgsg: We’ve heard requests for deep linking (linking to specific content inside file) not just for Flash results, but also for other large documents and presentations. In the case of Flash, the ability to deep link will require additional functionality in Flash with which we integrate.

@All: The majority of the existing Flash files on the web are fine in regard to filesize. It shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

More details about our Flash indexing algorithm
@brian, marcos, bharath: Regarding ActionScript, we’re able to find new links loaded through ActionScript. We explore Flash like a website visitor does, we do not decompile the SWF file. Unless you're making ActionScript visible to users, Google will not expose ActionScript code.

@dlocks: We respect rel="nofollow" wherever we encounter it in HTML.

Source : Click Here

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Introducing the Google Webmaster Tools Access Provider Program

Creating content for the web is easy, but getting people to discover it can be a challenge. When we launched Google Webmaster Tools in 2006, the goal was to reach as many webmasters as possible in order to help them create more search engine-friendly sites. We wanted to help webmasters understand how their sites interact with Google, and we've introduced a number of features that help webmasters identify and fix problems with their sites that prevented visitors from reaching them. Google Webmaster Tools offers important data such as when sites were last crawled, who's linking to them, and what the most popular search terms are that drive traffic to their sites.

To further help webmasters create better sites, we're launching the Google Webmaster Tools Access Provider Program, which lets domain hosters from all over use our APIs to get their customers started with Google Webmaster Tools. It's an exciting development for us, and we look forward to helping more webmasters understand search. Read more about the program on our Webmaster Central blog.

Source: www.google.com

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Getting To Done: SEO Made Easy

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be at the top of your Web publishing priority list. If Web surfers can't find your site, they can't read it, use it or share it with others.

One might think SEO is an arcane science that only a few experts have mastered. There is quite a bit to it, and there are times you might want to employ an SEO firm or expert to help you optimize your site. Often this is a costly solution that's not feasible for individuals or small businesses.

The good news is Search Engine Optimization doesn't have to be rocket science. There are quite a few things you can do on your own. I've got a few proven, and easy to do tips and techniques that will help people find your content and make it easy for Google (and other engines) to crawl and index your site.

Lead with good content.

My number one tip for SEO? Provide frequently updated content that people want to read. Incoming links are key and if you can provide content that people will read and get something out of, there is a good chance they will link to that content.

Research your keywords.

You can use a Keyword Suggestion Tool or simply put yourself in the mindset of your target audience. Learn which terms people will search with and get those into your content and meta information.

Provide a good, clear title.

If SEO is important to you make sure you don't get cute with the titles for your pages. Write titles that are clear and contain your keywords. Once you've got that title written, make sure it appears in your title tag as well as in your top level heading tags (h1) on your pages.

Don't use splash pages or Flash.

Search engines like text. A Flash or image intro can block an engine's crawler right at your homepage. If you do use images, be sure to add keyword laden descriptions to your alt attributes.

Use Robots.txt

Make sure you provide a robots.txt file that will help tell crawlers what to index on your site. There are quite a few neat things you can do with your robots.txt file, so you might want to read up on them.

Code your pages with standard, clean and semantic markup.

The cleaner your code the easier it is to crawl. Use markup as it is intended with the proper tags tied to the proper information. For example, place your headings with in heading tags, paragraphs within paragraph tags, etc. Another good idea is to move all your presentation into a CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) file. This makes your code lighter, faster and easier to index.

Don't get tricky!

Whatever you do, don't try to "trick" your way into more traffic. Duplicate pages, hidden links and other less-than-honest techniques can get you seriously penalized and ruin any positive work you've done.

Be patient and don't forget the people!

Search engines are constantly updating and re-indexing. It may take awhile after you've made some changes to see the results. Hang in there, keep working on your content and keep providing something that people find useful.

It's easy to forget that the reason you want to optimize for search in the first place is that you want to bring people to your site and your content!

Source: Click Here

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Search engine optimization: Carve out a niche in the market for yourself

Basically, the term carries the definition of a process, which improves the volume of traffic on your website. In search engine optimization number of techniques are used, which are natural or algorithmic by which the targeted keywords are searched. A top ranking is given to the site which arrives earlier than others and this helps in attracting a large volume of traffic for the site. An optimization site can target different types of search such as image search, local search and industry specific vertical search engine. Earlier, businesses were conducted in a more unorganized manner and depended on the goodwill factor of any company’s clients. But, given the fast changing market scenario, a thoroughly strategy based approach works in a better manner towards an organization’s growth. Now, optimization techniques help in increasing the visibility factor of a company.

In the early 1990’s, organizations had begun to recognize the importance of making their sites rank higher and thus more visible on the internet. A number of eye-opening studies have been done, which show that the searchers read the pages on a site from top to bottom. A left to right scanning is also done by them to look for the meaningful results. Thus, placement near the top of rankings increases the number of searchers visiting the site. In the search engine optimization process, other internet strategies like paid advertising can increase the traffic on a particular website. This is the most effective step as it can increase the quality of the web pages. Many technical issues are addressed in the search engine optimization process and setting up of an analytics program helps the owners to evaluate their success.

Some of the leading search engines on the internet like the Google, Yahoo, Rediff etc., use the crawlers to find the pages for their results. The search engine optimization process involves a systematic methodology where an initial search engine optimization report is used. The next step involves the customized keyword analysis to define the most suited key phrases for any business. For designing the web pages, a title tag and the Meta Tag optimization is then carried out. This is followed by on page and image optimization process and then the search engine friendly site map is created. A number of search engine optimization plans also include the hand submissions to the top search engines, search engine submission confirmation reports as well as email assistance is part of the plan. Crawlers are used by some of the leading search engines, like the Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! etc., to find pages for their algorithmic search results. But for the pages that are linked from other search engines, the indexed pages need not to be submitted. As they are found out automatically, there is no need to go for it.

Search engine optimization is a good source of revenue for the companies. You, however, have to be cautious while opting for these optimization services as there is no guarantee of a continued referral. There is no need to put all your eggs in one basket. The lack of certainty, your business can suffer heavy losses as the algorithms change on a regular basis. This might result in lesser traffic on your website and can thus suffer heavy losses. Therefore, too much dependence on search engine traffic can be misleading. Since links from other websites could be the major sources of traffic for them, it is wise to look for the alternatives.

Source: www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Affiliate Marketing Tips - Is There a Best Affiliate Program?

This question just got asked of me today at one of the forums where I hang out and offer my advice. It's a question that I get asked a lot. For some reason, I don't believe I've ever put my thoughts down in article form before. So for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of getting the straight scoop on affiliate programs, this article might just be one that you'll want to read. It's a little controversial, as not everybody agrees with this, but it's based on over five years of experience as an affiliate marketer.

So let me get the answer to the question out of the way right here. No, there is NO best affiliate program. It doesn't exist. A program is only as good as YOU make it. In other words, if you don't know how to promote something, it doesn't matter what it is. Heck, pure junk can be sold if promoted the right way. Think I'm kidding? Then obviously you haven't heard of the Pet Rock and Google Ads For Free. Both of those products had absolutely NO real value to them, but they had great promotional campaigns.

Having said that, to give yourself the best chance of making a sale with the program or product you're selling, you want to find one that has a good reputation, either through the product itself or through the creator. Some people have such great reputations that they could sell just about anything. That's not to say that they'd create something that's garbage. If they did, they wouldn't have a great reputation. So that's the first thing you want to look for...somebody who people rave about.

The next thing you want to look for is a product or program that pays well. It doesn't make sense to promote something that only pays you a few dollars. Forget about ad costs. Your time is worth something too. And if I'm going to promote something by writing a ton of articles for it and putting up a blog or whatever, then I want to know that I'm going to get a decent return on my investment. So I look for products that come with a pretty hefty price tag, unless it's something I've created myself. That's the only exception. I also want to make sure that the product converts well. I want the highest return for the least amount of work.

Affiliate marketing is not easy because most people go about it all wrong. In my signature you'll find a book that will turn you into an affiliate marketing expert. I am almost 100% sure of that.

Is there a best affiliate program? Yes, the one that YOU make the best.

Source: www.ezinearticles.com