Adding your new site to the major directories is a key task if you want to build traffic and page ranking. While the list below is not exhaustive, it will get you well underway in your directory listings.
A few points to keep in mind as you add your site to these directories:
Directories are not search engines.
Directories are edited and managed by human beings, whereas search engines are programs that troll the web looking for pages. Your site might be recommended to a directory by one of the site editors, or a very enthusiastic fan of your site, but most likely you will have to introduce yourself if you want to make a directory’s list.
Be sure the directory is indexed in the major search engines. A quick search at Google, Yahoo & MSN will do.
Be sure the directory is not banned by Google. You probably won’t get flagged by Google if you are listed there, but the risk is too great – there are hundreds of other places for your link.
Page Rank isn’t everything.
Don’t skip sites just because they have a low page rank. While Page Rank is extremely helpful, it changes over time. A directory with a PR of 3 this month could jump to 6 next month. Also, take note of the Page Rank of the specific page of the directory your site will be listed on. Just like it says, Page Rank is for pages, not for sites. A directory could have a PR of 7, but the page your link appears on might be a humble one.
Directories are not overnight traffic.
Look around the submission guidelines and to see how long the editors will take to review your site. Free sites can take up to four months to get approved.
Go after the older directories first. Google values a site’s age, and you should to.
Review the directory’s guidelines and don’t abuse them. Don’t submit your site every week. Don’t add an unrelated site to a niche directory. Don’t try to trick the editors into adding your site to more than one category if that goes against the guidelines.
Now that you know the basics of evaluating and submitting to directories, here’s a short list of the top sites:
General directories:
Yahoo http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request The world’s best-known directory. This free listing form may take months to result in a link back to your site, but it is well worth a try.
DMOZ http://www.dmoz.org/ This is the granddaddy of all directories, and is greatly respected by Google and the other major search engines. Listings are free, but the wait can be long. According to the DMOZ site, expect your site to appear in the listings at Google, AOL and other major engines about 2 weeks after you’re listed in DMOZ.
Zeal http://www.zeal.com/A free listing after you register. Zeal is owned by Looksmart.
Best of the Web http://www.botw.org/Requires a $49.95 yearly fee, or a $149.95 one-time fee. Online since 1994. Listing pages usually have a page rank of 4.
Directory World http://www.directoryworld.net/Requires a reciprocal link, but is otherwise free. Good page ranks for listing pages.
Clickey http://www.clickey.com/A free link. Also sorts companies by country.
Seoma http://www.seoma.net/Requires registration and a $15 paypal fee for a link, but the high page ranks make it a bargain (compared to buying a text link).
ExactSeek http://www.exactseek.com/A free link at an established site. You can also upgrade to a “top ten ranking” for $12.
What You Seek http://www.whatyouseek.com/Standard submissions cost $24.99 and will be posted in eight weeks. Velocity submit takes two days and costs $49.99.
Really First http://www.reallyfirst.com/One of the largest directories with over 40,000 links. Poor navigation, but a free link if you add their link to your site.
This not an exhaustive list, but a great start. Also, remember, if you have a new site, getting listed here will help your website get indexed by search engines.
23 May 2006
SEO - Selecting A Domain Name
Selecting a good domain name is the key factor for attaining a better page ranking. The most commonly used aspect while choosing a domain name is the usage of keyword in the URL. You can take the idea of selecting a domain name that has low competition but with good demand can ultimately help in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
There are many factors to keep in mind while naming your domain. A good domain name should be short and easy to spell by the users. By avoiding long domain name will help the searchers to find your website and also to remember the name much easily. The keyword used in your domain name can be descriptive to help the internet users to memorize.
Make sure to include the domain name that is unique and at the same time keyword rich. Usage of more keywords in your domain name will help in a better ranking which in turn may also help the searchers to find your website. The use of more than two keywords can bring a negative impact, as it can make the domain name lengthier and the chance of misspelling is more. So it better to use a maximum of two keywords. Another drawback is that it can also make your email address long. So it is recommended the use of shorter and catchy domain names.
Among a large number of steps while choosing a domain name, the most important and foremost one is whether you are choosing a free or paid domain. In all these, give consideration to the customer so that your potential users can find your website.
Another important factor to be remembered in domain naming is the use of hyphens (-). If you are using two or more keywords, without separators, as your domain name it can be interesting, but at the same time the search engine may consider it as a single keyword. In this case, it is advised to use hyphen to separate the keywords. But for internet users the domain name without hyphen will be easier to remember and the one with hyphens tend to bring confusion for the users. A main solution for this issue is that you may use hyphened domain name during the registration with a search engine and for online advertising. At the same time go for a domain name which uses no hyphen, so that it may help the people who prefer just keywords during the searching.
Taking these tips into consideration will help you in selecting an excellent domain name for your website. You can register multiple variants for your website at the price of a single domain name. Also, make sure to avoid the use of numbers in your domain name as it may prevent confusion. In place of keywords you can also use some unique brand names for your website
Selecting a good business and domain name can draw a good traffic, and makes the entire process of optimization much easier. All you require is a shorter and unique web address that can bring your website among the top listing.
There are many factors to keep in mind while naming your domain. A good domain name should be short and easy to spell by the users. By avoiding long domain name will help the searchers to find your website and also to remember the name much easily. The keyword used in your domain name can be descriptive to help the internet users to memorize.
Make sure to include the domain name that is unique and at the same time keyword rich. Usage of more keywords in your domain name will help in a better ranking which in turn may also help the searchers to find your website. The use of more than two keywords can bring a negative impact, as it can make the domain name lengthier and the chance of misspelling is more. So it better to use a maximum of two keywords. Another drawback is that it can also make your email address long. So it is recommended the use of shorter and catchy domain names.
Among a large number of steps while choosing a domain name, the most important and foremost one is whether you are choosing a free or paid domain. In all these, give consideration to the customer so that your potential users can find your website.
Another important factor to be remembered in domain naming is the use of hyphens (-). If you are using two or more keywords, without separators, as your domain name it can be interesting, but at the same time the search engine may consider it as a single keyword. In this case, it is advised to use hyphen to separate the keywords. But for internet users the domain name without hyphen will be easier to remember and the one with hyphens tend to bring confusion for the users. A main solution for this issue is that you may use hyphened domain name during the registration with a search engine and for online advertising. At the same time go for a domain name which uses no hyphen, so that it may help the people who prefer just keywords during the searching.
Taking these tips into consideration will help you in selecting an excellent domain name for your website. You can register multiple variants for your website at the price of a single domain name. Also, make sure to avoid the use of numbers in your domain name as it may prevent confusion. In place of keywords you can also use some unique brand names for your website
Selecting a good business and domain name can draw a good traffic, and makes the entire process of optimization much easier. All you require is a shorter and unique web address that can bring your website among the top listing.
20 May 2006
Link Cloaking Techniques
I've been reading a lot lately about affiliate link hijacking and link cloaking.
There are two ways you can go about cloaking your links: set them up yourself or buy a program to automate the process.
Personally, I do it myself.
In some cases, I use a little mouseover script, but that's just to trick the casual observer - it won't beat the schemers and spiders.
In the past, I've also used frames to cloak affiliate links.
This has it's limitations, but it's quick and easy.
Another method is to purchase a domain and use the domain registrars forwarding service (free with most domain registrars) to have the domain redirect to your affiliate link.
The technique I use most often is the .htaccess redirect.
An .htaccess file is a plain ASCII text file you place in the root directory of a Unix server.
The .htaccess technique is much easier than using other redirects, because there's no HTML required. All of your redirects are in one text file.
One thing to bear in mind when cloaking your links is that you should add the afsrc parameter, so legitimate adware affiliates will recognize that you are an affiliate and not overwrite your cookie.
There are two ways you can go about cloaking your links: set them up yourself or buy a program to automate the process.
Personally, I do it myself.
In some cases, I use a little mouseover script, but that's just to trick the casual observer - it won't beat the schemers and spiders.
In the past, I've also used frames to cloak affiliate links.
This has it's limitations, but it's quick and easy.
Another method is to purchase a domain and use the domain registrars forwarding service (free with most domain registrars) to have the domain redirect to your affiliate link.
The technique I use most often is the .htaccess redirect.
An .htaccess file is a plain ASCII text file you place in the root directory of a Unix server.
The .htaccess technique is much easier than using other redirects, because there's no HTML required. All of your redirects are in one text file.
One thing to bear in mind when cloaking your links is that you should add the afsrc parameter, so legitimate adware affiliates will recognize that you are an affiliate and not overwrite your cookie.
11 May 2006
How To Stimulate More Business Part 2
We'll pick up with going down our list of seven strategies that can help you stimulate new business, increase business from existent customers and build repeat business. Let me remind you that you may not be able to use all of them in your business, but you can certainly use some of them.
In your last Successful Marketing Strategy, I spoke about the first two - a frequent buyer program and discounting. Let's continue where we left off.
#3) The use of premiums.
A premium offer essentially says, "Buy this, get this free." This is an extremely effective marketing strategy suitable for many different types of businesses. In effect this type of offer let's the business customer spend tax deductible business dollars for supplies and receive free and tax-free a gift he will use personally in his home.
#4) Packaging of different products or services together.
This is a marketing strategy usually used to increase the average purchase size.
#5) The sale of prepay agreements.
You're familiar with this in the health spa and exercise salon business. You pay say $395.00 for a membership that entitles you to use the facilities 'X' number of times or for 'X' length of time rather than paying as you go per visit. The same idea is applicable to many different businesses and it even presents an interesting opportunity for the small business person to raise operating capital. With this technique, operating capital can actually be raised from customers by collecting in advance for future business.
In your next Successful Marketing Strategy, I'll finish up the last two strategies that can help you stimulate new business, increase business from existent customers and build repeat business.
(By the way, #7 is the single most effective marketing strategy that any business can use to build customer loyalty, to retain customers and to stimulate more frequent purchasing.)
In your last Successful Marketing Strategy, I spoke about the first two - a frequent buyer program and discounting. Let's continue where we left off.
#3) The use of premiums.
A premium offer essentially says, "Buy this, get this free." This is an extremely effective marketing strategy suitable for many different types of businesses. In effect this type of offer let's the business customer spend tax deductible business dollars for supplies and receive free and tax-free a gift he will use personally in his home.
#4) Packaging of different products or services together.
This is a marketing strategy usually used to increase the average purchase size.
#5) The sale of prepay agreements.
You're familiar with this in the health spa and exercise salon business. You pay say $395.00 for a membership that entitles you to use the facilities 'X' number of times or for 'X' length of time rather than paying as you go per visit. The same idea is applicable to many different businesses and it even presents an interesting opportunity for the small business person to raise operating capital. With this technique, operating capital can actually be raised from customers by collecting in advance for future business.
In your next Successful Marketing Strategy, I'll finish up the last two strategies that can help you stimulate new business, increase business from existent customers and build repeat business.
(By the way, #7 is the single most effective marketing strategy that any business can use to build customer loyalty, to retain customers and to stimulate more frequent purchasing.)
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