SEO for Small Business

:rofl:I love the idea of a forum post explaining that forum posts won't work. I am, in honour, going to put a message inside my fridge at night explaining that the fridge light is broken :)And yes Jill, I went outside (to the beach no less), and it was terribly pleasant :) My dog (she is a silky Terrier) unfortunately decided to attack a pit bull. All guts, no brains that dog!!! more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 7:10:52 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15853#entry148934

Thanks for the ideas; you've pretty much confirmed what I was thinking, but I really had to hear it from others. I'm still pretty new to the business, have done lots of reading, but still new and learning much of the terminology. I will take a look/see what google sitemaps is all about. Now it's homework time. I went through my contact list and found about 25 businesses (some new, but some actively getting spidered) that I can contact and try to get the link exchange going. And yes, I understand that it won't always be a two way street. I also recently got my blog configured - and expect that as I promote it that it will eventually bring some traffic my way. -Bob more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 6:56:51 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15763#entry148933

Hi - I will add my 2 tarnished cents worth here.I was in the market for a CMS as I needed a new site to complementy our main one, fast setup, easy, quick nasty, SE friendly etc etc.I went trough the suggested CMS list a couple posts back.For my own reasons I ended up with Wordpress.Mostly cos of size, complexity and flexibilty.Anyways - its basically a Blog - but you can make it work like a CMS with its plugins. Just dont exopect it to be a super CMS - but it works.I can now add pages, posts or whatever as articles, ping and have the site recrawled in hours. Im not saying that this is a SE miracel as I really havent put a heap of work on that. But its CSS driven, PHP, dynamic pages and all and a damn fast learning curve if you dont want anything too fancy.After a bit you can customise easily.There are a lot of Plugins and stuff to ease the way - choosing a theme is the biggest issue - there are lots but it means you have to decide on design early :)Our site is new and is a bit niche so it hasnt got a real traffic magnet - but it does the job I want. Its out there with fair saturation in no time and when I pull my finger out links will happen. But thats another story.Anyways - have a look - IM-TravelThis site didnt demand a TOTAL CMS but is able to wrap CMS capabilithy (with a few limitations) with a Blog - however you weant to use that feature - not important for me.Anyways - just a thought for the mixing potKeep well.<edit>There was, like, a billion spaces, like man. So I, like, removed them, Michael</edit> more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 6:46:50 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15765#entry148932

QUOTE(water cooler boy @ Jul 29 2005, 03:51 AM)Has anyone got any ideas on improving our position in the SERP's?[right][snapback]148605[/snapback][/right]Justin, since you're only targetting the UK, there's no reason for you to be optimizing for general phrases such as "water coolers." It's not going to do you any good to have me here in Ashland, MA find your water cooler site.I'd rethink the site to better focus on your local geographical phrases that will make you sales and not worry about general phrases that will only bring you untargeted, useless traffic. (Unless you decide to put up a directory of water cooler companies all over the world. You may want to read Scottie's old article on that subject. She did something similar with her old moonwalk business.) more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 5:01:50 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15786#entry148931

Welcome mony30! :aloha:QUOTE...website design must conform with search engine guidelines , eg. no flash, graphics , javascriptsI'm sorry, but this is simply not true.There's absolutely nothing wrong with having graphics and javascripts in your pages. Nothing whatsoever. Even Flash is fine if used correctly.You may want to read through the Tips for Newbies articles when you get a chance, as well as some of the other posts here to learn a bit more about what the spiders like and don't like. Just because the engines don't read javascript doesn't mean that they don't like pages that use it. Like everything in design, you can use it to your benefit or to your detriment. more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 4:11:50 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15787#entry148929

It's only important if you have something to say. If not, there's no need, which is probably why nobody is doing it at the moment.But if you can think of interesting things to discuss in your field of business, then go for it! more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 2:36:28 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15857#entry148928

Slick Excel tool for taking advantage of little-known keyword-level bidding and tracking in Adwords. more...

http://www.sebura.com/Site_Map.html
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 1:24:44 PMContent source: http://www.web-cite.com/search_marketing/000051.html

So did anyone even notice we were missing or down?We have changed to a new server, and it looks like all is running smoothly right now. The DNS didn't propagate for me until this morning so I had to go without my forum fix all night!I hope the rest of you went outside and played like you were supposed to! more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 1:19:28 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15853#entry148927

I see now that many sites are creating a BLOG page right off the main home page link. There they write content and post RSS feeds. How important is this technique for a site who's main keywords are "Medical Alert Systems" and "Medical Alarm"?In our industry (looking at our competitors) no body is doing this. So will this give us a head start?Thank you. more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 12:58:24 PMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15857#entry148926

QUOTEI've found at least 10 directories that 5 days ago I was listed with and today they're all banned. Most are dmoz scrapers.There are over 360 sites listed here making use of ODP data. Some are directories, other are sites with informational directories in them. All are sites recognized by the DMOZ. Scraper sites are spam, thrown up to be keyword drift nets and as such, treated and removed --as spam sites should be. Were you listed in a directory using DMOZ data or on a scarper site? There is a big difference. QUOTEI noticed a whole series of .info directories springing up over the last year. Most of them seemed to be connected.I equate all things basketball with Michael Jordan and all things baseball with Babe Ruth. And while I know about other basketball/baseball athletes, none I associate with their sport like these two.I believe DMOZ is like that for the Directory world. They've been around the longest, are used by the major engines and exude that " I wanna be like Mike" vibe since a majority of directories adopt their structure and guidelines. Say Directory, think DMOZ.They're also an anomoly, a deviation from the norm. There is no other ODP, and probably for good reason - no other entity wants to take on the huge task of coordinating the volunteer manpower needed to run another. New Directories coming online have adopted different business models as the Web has matured and use paid inclusion/adwords/link advertising options as a way to retain staff to fill the Directory and/or pay for bandwidth. Nothing wrong with any of that.So what's happening to our dear Directories if all of that is ok? Of the handful of Directories I'm watching fall out of Google's index, all but one have been hard at work adding footer/site wide links instead of content. Others fill pages with Adwords and offer only a handful of "real" sites and some never build out cats. Search engine bots take note of changes/updates/additions and most importantly, inbound links. Directory owners need to cultivate a link and search marketing plan just like any other site.As slow as she is, the DMOZ is a work in progress. And that's what engines want. more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 11:04:23 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15808#entry148925

Concise rundown of the issues in deciding to stay in-house or seek outside help. more...

http://www.sebura.com/Alphabetical_Site_Map.html
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 10:36:37 AMContent source: http://www.web-cite.com/search_marketing/000080.html

Link popularity & page rank is part of the optimization plan , but you cannot count on it solely to achieve high rankings, other factors are important for example website design must conform with search engine guidelines , eg. no flash, graphics , javascriptsAlso make sure your content consists of keywords that has relevancy , in addition to checking the density of your strategic keywords[Removed inpost sig. Please feel free to create a signature in the forum controls area.] more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 9:34:21 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15787#entry148923

http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.ph...opic=6980&st=30 more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 8:11:21 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15855#entry148922

How reliable is Alexa? When my web site first stated, Alexa showed to be in the 2 million range. Now I am about 150,000. I like their ranking system because I can see growth, instead of with Google where I have been at 4 out 10 for months with it not letting me know if I am doing any better.I do have a concern about Alexa. Symantec keeps flagging Alexa as a Spyware program. Is it? more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 6:48:12 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15855#entry148921

I also agree with Dimmerswitch that the site is nicely laid out.However, besides the same navigation issue that they had with the site, (Where'd the fitness go?), I'm not a big fan of the buttons used for that navigation system. I find the stark contrast from the blue fields with the bright white bold-ed text to be somewhat hard to read. (I must say I really liked the Brita link though).I'm also not a big fan of the top-right image. Seems too "stock-imagey" to me.Your site is using text based navigation, and all your images from what I saw use great Alt attributes. Good job.I'm thinking that you have done a good job with your on-sight content, and if it converts well, then maybe it's time to focus on off-site factors, primarily quality back-links.How well do you rank on the search terms your potential customers search for your products by? For all the websites that in-front of your site, run some back-link tests on them, and who links to those sites and if they'll link to yours.Good luck!One more thing, with your text navigation on top, with the Home Page, About Us.... Why use an image to separate those words? Why not just use the | key? more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 5:46:00 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15786#entry148919

Keep in mind that for a product sales site other things are far more important than rankings like pricing, copywriting , positioning etc. As for his secret of rankingsing...there are no secrets..if you hang around on this site you will begin to realise the same. Theres loads of good material to learn from here! more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 4:36:57 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15841#entry148918

I'm not sure, but I think there has been another mention of my website in the media.Which would be super cool!I came across this article MacUser which mentions my website, and I'm trying to get it in print.I've looked all over town for a copy of MacUser, but I think its only distributed in the UK.Anybody have any ideas how I can get a copy of it? eBay? more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 4:25:57 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15854#entry148917

Thanks Jill,I spent a good hour in here last night but didn't see that thread. I'll head over and take a look!Gator more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 3:33:56 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15840#entry148916

We are back but the home page is a little crazy. Still working on that.If you see this, you already know things are running again... more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 3:21:56 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15853#entry148914

You'd definitely want to get rid of one of them. more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 2:49:55 AMContent source: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15843#entry148913

The Blog Search Engine, one of the premier search engines for finding blogs, has announced that it has increased its searches by over 10% with the implementation of a new Blog Search Toolbar powered by EffectiveBrand.

Blog Search Engine says their Blog Search Toolbar has attributed to a jump in searches. ... more...

http://www.sebura.com
Originally Posted on 8/1/2005 12:43:53 AMContent source: http://blogsearchengine.com/blog/index.php?p=124&c=1