Tips and tricks for better Search Engine positioning!

• Create an effective title. Many search engines weigh the data in your title more heavily than other data in your page. Make sure that your title has keywords that represent your site effectively. For the most part the title should be short but always include your keyword(s). 
  
  

• Don't use frames. Most search engines simply can not index a frames page. They get to your site and can't go anywhere.  Consider frames like a big 'GO AWAY' sign. If your site does use frames, doorway pages are ideal for better rankings.
  
  

• Don't try to fool the search engines. This is probably the biggest trap people fall into. People come up with ways to 'fool' search engines, and they work for a little while...sometimes.  But then the search engines catch on and write routines that penalize sites that use this practice.  Examples of this include, but are not limited to: repeating keywords over and over; using invisible text (white text on white background); using very small text to jam the keywords in a small area.

• Keep the important content near the top of your pages. The actual text on your website is very important.  Search engines (spiders) read this to determine rankings.  Some engines will place a higher rating of importance based on where they find the text in your page. Closer to the top is usually better.  But having keywords throughout your page develops a "theme" and that too is important. 
  
  

• Don't stuff the top of your pages with data the engines can't read. As with the last example, something higher up in your page can be more important that something further down.  Therefore, HTML formatting, images, scripts, etc. toward the top of your page can result in lower ratings.
  
  

• Website Content should be your #1 priority. Your quest for high placement must start with a good website.  It is important to have a lot of text describing what you do.  Use your keywords in the content, but don't repeat them over and over.  Many search engines rate sites based on 'keyword density'.  This is usually a formula that looks at META Keywords, words in your TITLE, words in paragraph text, words in links to other pages, and even words in the 'ALT' text on your images.  They will even look at different forms of your keywords.  For example, if an important keyword for you is 'FISH', the word 'FISHING' in the body of your document will raise the confidence in the word 'FISH' on some engines
  
  

• Keep your site updated. Make sure that your site is up to date. No one likes to go to a page that never changes or that is very out of date. Make sure that the data in your page portrays the message that you want to send.  Check the links on your site every now and again.  Make sure the links are still active.  Dead links are not only an inconvenience for the visitor, but can also negatively influence your rankings.
  
  

• Don't go image crazy. We have all seen pages that are almost all images. Usually they are the most beautiful sites.  After all, your artist can make beautiful screens that display your content in the most eye-pleasing way. However, the search engines don't have eyes. They don't see the beautifully formatted text in your image. All they see is 'yourimage.jpg', and 'yourimage.jpg' doesn't go far in terms of content and relevancy.
  
  

• Links to Other Pages. We can't emphasize enough the importance of links. Both from your page to other pages, and from other pages to yours. We recommend Linkshare as a great resource for name brand advertising links.  See our resources page for more information on the Linkshare link exchange program.
  
  

• First consider links on your pages. When many search engines see them, they consider your site more 'real'. It also give the search engine spiders a place to go.  Make your links meaningful. Make sure they relate to what you do (and keywords that are important to you). You can't have too many links on your pages.
  
  

• Links from others websites. Some search engines place a very heavy rating of importance on how many other sites in their index have links to your website. Think of it for a second.  If you knew that a company was only linked to by one website, versus a company that was linked to by a thousand websites, which one would you consider more important?  If you were a search engine, you would surely try to link the more important ones first.
  
  

• This is where patience comes in again.  It can take some time to get a  ton of links to your website.  We help quite a bit here, the fact that we submit to so many sites will help you get a great head start in this area!  
  
  

• Consider Banner Ads. These are a very popular method of promoting your Web site. They are the little rectangular graphics that you see near the top or bottom of some popular Web pages. If you click on them, they transport you to another Web site. You can make your own banners using one of the many "banner creating" websites.  Most offer free banner making.