SEO - Boost your search engine rankings

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about how to get your website noticed by search engines - So that when people search the Web, your site has a better chance of appearing near the top.

The principle is simple. Most search engines pay attention to fresh content that doesn't look like spam.

They do this via a series of complex algorithms that rank websites on different dimensions. But each search engine does it differently. That's why, if you run the same search on Google and Yahoo, you won't get exactly the same results.

However, all search engines look for these factors:

• Content - Original content that is not repetitive. Google and other search engines don't rank spelling and grammar, but they do tend to dismiss websites that have very little content, or that have the same words repeated over and over throughout the website.
  
  
• Relevance: Think about keywords that people might search on in order to find your website. Use these keywords in the title and the body of your website, but don't over-use them - otherwise the search engine may assume that you are "stuffing" keywords just to artificially boost your ranking.
  
  
• Outgoing Links - Links should be related to the content. If they're not, the search engines will consider them random and spammy.
  
  
• Incoming Links - If a lot sites link to yours, search engines view your website as "popular" and give you higher ranking.
  
  
• Metatags - These are the words that define the title of your website and describe what your content is about. Metatags are like keywords, and should match the keywords that your potential audience would probably type into the search engine.
  
  For example, if your website is about overcoming shyness, your metatags might be: overcoming shyness, getting over shyness, social confidence, .... etc.
  
  You access your metatags on the actual files that are stored on your website's host. If you have a blog you can access the metatags from your blog's control panel or dashboard.
  

Each search engine gives different ranking to the above factors. Also, their algorithms change frequently. Thus, what was #1, 2 and 3 yesterday could be different today or tomorrow.

For more specifics on how to optimize your site for search engines, see their individual guidelines:
Google
Yahoo
Ask
Bing

More info is at SEOMoz.org.
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Interpret and comment on news reports

Get ideas for your articles and presentations from news reports. Build your credibility by commenting on them and providing your own expert interpretations.

Since these topics are already being reported in the media, you have a good chance of reaching potential audiences who are tuned in.

How to keep abreast of news in your area of expertise:

• Set up email alerts. Both Google and Yahoo will send you headlines of news stories that contain your designated keywords.
  
  
• Subscribe to feeds of major news outlets such as New York Times, CNN, FoxNews, etc. Look for the little RSS symbol: You'll need an RSS reader - Google Reader will work just fine.
  
  
• Search Google News and Yahoo News. Also search Topix, which aggregates news stories from 50,000 sources.
  
  
• Browse scientific news sites, press releases and blogs. Some of these include SciSeek, SciCentral, Newswise, Technorati and PRWeb.

-- Pauline

p.s. Join my monthly Q&A calls, where I will answer your questions about marketing. Get more info here.

Tools to test your articles' readability level

How user-friendly is your writing? If you are writing for the public, you know that it's wise to avoid using professional jargon.

Other factors are also important, especially when writing online:

• Make your paragraphs short - they are easier to read when they don't exceed 5 lines.
• Use headings, sub-headings and bullets - makes your content jump out at the reader
• Keep sentences brief, but vary the length and structure, so that your article doesn't read like a grade-school primer.
• Write in a conversational tone - speak to your reader.
• Write at a level that is easy for most people to understand - from 12-year-olds to your grandmother.

You can test the readability level of your articles. Microsoft Word has this built in.

There are also online tools, available here. Simply copy your text, paste it into the box, and you'll get instant feedback on several readability dimensions.

Pauline

p.s. Join my monthly Q&A calls, where I will answer your questions about marketing. Get more info here.

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5 ways to position yourself as an expert

If you have specialized knowledge and experience to help others, then you are an expert.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR EXPERTISE:

1. Give talks and lectures in your community. Even if you don't get paid, you are building your reputation as an expert - which can generate business for you in the future.
   


2. When you give a presentation, pass around a sign-up sheet for people to write in their names and email addresses. Then follow up by sending them your e-newsletter, tips or other helpful information.


3. Get someone to interview you, asking you questions about your area of expertise, and record the interview. All the better if the other person has some name recognition in your field or in your community. Place the recording on your website.
   


4. Write articles. Here's a link to several of my blog posts on tips for writing articles.
   


5. Under your signature add one or two tag lines - not only showing your professional designation, but also promoting your expertise. Thus, your signature on emails and letters might look something like this:

John Doe, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
...Helping couples fall in love again

Jane Smith, CPA
Public Accountant
Family business expert

Why position yourself as an expert? These days, with fewer consumer dollars to go around, more people will turn to experts, in order to get the most value for their investment.

Get more visible online, so that people can find YOU and learn more about how you can help them.

I've removed the guesswork for you, in my step-by-step home-study course, Market With Authority: Build Credibility and Professional Name Recognition on the Web.

-- Pauline

Holiday-themed articles: Re-use them every year

Every professional should have a file of holiday-themed articles. Whatever your field, write about something related to the Christmas season, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.

Once you write a holiday-themed article, you can use it every year, with minimal tweaking.

It's OK if you publish it over and over - because someone reading it this year might not have noticed it last year.

People pay attention to what pertains to their own lives at any given moment. Thus, your Valentine's Day themed article on how to stay emotionally connected when your spouse is overseas, will be noticed by women whose husbands are in Iraq. But it probably won't be of much interest next year when their husbands are back home.

OK, now that you have a set of articles, what can you do with them?

• Rotate them on your website or in your newsletter
• Submit them to article banks such as ezinearticles.com, so that others can find and publish your content in their own newsletters or websites.
• Upload them to social media sites such as scribd.com
  
• Post them on your social networking page, such as Facebook.com
• Create press releases out of them and send them to off-line media - newspapers, TV, radio. See my blog post on press releases.

Always be thinking a couple of holidays ahead, and plan your strategy on how to distribute your articles.

It's also OK to repurpose them in different formats. See my slideshow on 7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content - and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

And be sure to include in every article that you write:

• Your full contact information - name, phone number, email
  
• A link to your website
• A specific offer or directive - e.g., Start building your expert status online today, with my step-by-step audio-narrated course, Market With Authority: Build Credibility and Name Recognition on the Web. ;-)

--Pauline

p.s. My friend Mark Hendricks is still going gangbusters with his 12-Days-of-Christmas Giveaway. Get dozens of marketing tools for free! See my last blog post below.

Special marketing tools giveawy

I don't usually promote specific marketing programs, but here's one you must not miss: Mark Hendricks's "12 Days of Christmas" program.

Every December since 2003, this Internet entrepreneur known for his integrity as well as his expertise, has coordinated a giant giveaway program, with Internet marketing products donated by dozens of the best marketers online. (I'm honored to have my product included.)

These products will be released a few at a time, every 2 days in December - which means you'll have access to dozens of high-quality products over the 12 release dates.

Here's how the program works:

1. Sign up here

2. That will put you on the list to get emailed notices when new products are posted.

3. Click the links in the emails to browse and to download whatever you want - all FREE!

What's the catch?

The donors are providing their products at no charge, in order to introduce themselves to you and to showcase what they can offer you.

For most of the products you will be asked for your name and email address, which will subscribe you to their individual mailing lists. 

There is no obligation, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you are new to marketing online, this is a great way to explore the possibilities.

Pauline

Get media attention with a press release

You don't have to be a corporation or a publicist to write a press release. Anyone can write one.

The main purpose of a press release is to make a newsworthy announcement about your business. Journalists are always looking for story ideas - and your press release may prompt them to contact you.

In order to get the attention of the media, your press release must answer the question: "Why should anyone care about this?"

Write a press release to announce things such as:

Your new book

An event that you're planning or sponsoring

A new service that you're offering

Expert training that you have completed

Write in an engaging manner, as if you were talking to a friend. The press release should fit on one page, and should have attention-grabbing headline.

In my Market With Authority Home Study Course, you'll hear a Chicago Publicist reveal how she worded a headline that generated calls from major media with minutes of posting a press release online.

Press releases follow a certain format. For guidelines and tips try one of these websites:
eHow: How to write a proper press release
wikiHow: How to write a press release
PRWeb: Press release tips and guidelines
Pressbox: Writing press releases for online use

Submit your press releases online. Here's a list of sources.