ALL ABOUT SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Some of my web sites have a number one ranking on Yahoo, Google, ...,
most have not.

One of my sites is for 4 years no. 1 on Google and Yahoo.
Most of my other sites are somewhere in the middle of nowhere. So I have little advice to give, except that indeed a good position on search engines is important but only for keywords or phrases that correspond to the content of your website.

But let me tell you: it's not difficult at all to have a number one ranking. Have you tried eg. the well known keyword "Yuio gth fart"? I'm quite sure you can still get a number one position for this keyword.

 

And if every thing else (like added value content) fails, then read these famous ebooks.

Secrets of Top Search Engine Placement
Guess this ebook will bring you at the top of some obscure search engines. (Please tell me if it does!)

7 Secrets To Unlimited Traffic
Warning: the title reads UNLIMITED traffic, that's what it says. Read at own risk and don't blame your humble servant.

Search Engine Tactics
If you want to know how to submit your site and come up first in the search engines, then you have to read this Free e-book on search engine tactics (Breaking news: the tactics have changed)

7 Secrets To Unlimited Traffic
If you want to create traffic to your site there are only a few things you should concentrate on.
(Hey, I've seen this one before, must have lost my concentration)

Web Site and E-zine Promotion for Idiots
Tips, tricks and secrets to promote web sites (What's the last word of the title? I didn't read this magnificent ebook, no, not me!)

The SuperTips Book of Internet Marketing
Advertising and promotion on the web. Yeah, do keep on promoting, but please no spam.

Secrets of Top Search Engine Placement
How to get your web site in pole position (Shumi has read this book and the least you can say: he is successful in his Ferrari)

The Truth About Search Engine Optimization By Scott Buresh

Summary:
Don't leave your site's search engine performance in the hands of your designer. What you don't know about search engines can hurt you.

To help our clients further understand search engine optimization and management we have assembled a list of common myths and facts about search engines.

Myth: The key to optimizing my web site is simply using meta tags.
Fact: The meta tag has become less and less important in the past few years due to constant abuse by web designers. In fact, search engines such as Lycos and Google ignore these tags completely, and directories such as Yahoo (which are human edited) don't use them either.

Myth: Buying a program or paying for a service that submits my site to hundreds or thousands of search engines will help me to gain exposure.
Fact: Over 97% of all search engine traffic is generated from the top 20 search engines (Neilsen Netratings). Most of these extra "submissions" are to Free For All (FFA) sites, which place your link on their page temporarily in exchange for an email address to which they can send unsolicited mail. Search engines such as the increasingly popular Google are actually penalizing sites for FFA listings. In addition, Altavista has recently made changes that make it impossible for a program to make submissions, and many other sites are following suit. Properly done hand submission is the only reliable method for high-ranking results.

Myth: I will have to abandon my flash-oriented, graphics intensive site to achieve high rankings.
Fact: Search engines look for quality content in the form of html text, and can be confused by Flash animation and too many graphics. While it is virtually impossible to optimize such sites for high search engine rankings on competitive keywords, your site does not need to be abandoned! The answer is to simply send your customers to your flashy site, and try to draw search engine traffic (which you would otherwise have missed) to a search engine-friendly site that emphasizes content. As long as you do not submit your flashy site to the search engines (and are certain to insert a command to have search engine "robots" ignore it), this is perfectly permissible and can be a very effective solution.

Myth: Once my site is optimized and submitted, I can forget about it and maintain high search engine rankings.
Fact: It is imperative that your site be monitored and constantly updated in order to maintain and improve your rankings, for a number of reasons. First, search engines are putting an increasing emphasis on "Link Popularity", or the number of related, popular sites that have links pointing to your site. A successful link popularity campaign takes a great deal of time and effort. Secondly, increased competition can move your site down from the top into the middle of the pack, and retrieving that high position (even if you were aware that you had lost it!) can be a daunting task. Third, search engines do sometimes drop websites completely off their index for no apparent reason, and re-submission becomes necessary. Fourth, and most importantly, your search engine rankings must be analyzed often so that immediate action can be taken when they slip.

Myth: "Doorway", "Bridge", or "Gateway" pages are an effective way to drive traffic to my site.
Fact: Such tactics, once effective, will now get your site penalized by most major engines. Not long ago, search engine experts would design special web pages that were optimized for a particular keyword, sometimes just for one particular engine. They were called "doorway" pages simply because the sole purpose of the site was to steer searchers to the main site. Unfortunately, this method was abused by many webmasters, who submitted hundreds or thousands of such pages and cluttered the search engines. The bottom line is that almost all search engines now consider these pages to be spam, and some even ban sites that use them.

Myth: All search engine optimization companies are the same.
Fact: Many companies that call themselves "experts" are simply using antiquated software to do all of the work for them, which is rarely (if ever) effective. As previously mentioned, there are also unscrupulous firms who will cheat or "spam" the engines for a short-term result, putting your long-term goals at risk. In addition, some firms will not offer reasonable performance assurances. While no legitimate firm can guarantee you a #1 position in search results, the company that you choose should have enough experience and confidence to offer a performance guarantee.
 

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