Just a few thoughts of mine on basic SEO tactics from TeenBiz.
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SEO – Backlinks from Directories
November 9th, 2007As I was doing some SEO research for Hawkeye Technology recently, I found that the top two results for their target keyword string we are optimizing for had almost complete different types of backlinks. One had backlinks almost exclusively from press release sites from their various product launches. The other had links coming almost exclusively from directories, both paid and free.
I had heard from various SEOers that most directories weren’t worth the time it took to submit your site to them; espically free ones. But, my research was saying that the the highest ranking site on Google for a competitive keyword string was backed by a bunch of directory links. In decided to test the effectiveness of these links with my business, Second Nature Snowmaking. I submitted to a small handful of free directories and will be seeing how they effect the Google rankings.
Directories Submitted To:
http://www.livelinkdirectory.com (pr 3)
http://www.gulqro.com (pr 3)
http://www.domaining.in/ (pr 5)
http://www.TheCommercialDirectory.com (pr 2)
http://www.zalink.com (pr 1)
http://www.hotvsnot.com (pr 4)
I submitted to them on November 5th, the same day I had been approved and was listed on www.domaining.in/ (pr 5) and now a backlink search on Google shows that directory as the second link. I am yet to hear back from the other directories regarding the approval of my submission.
DESIGN PROJECT – Lori G Bird
November 7th, 2007I was recently approached by Lori G Bird, a professional genealogist specializing in danish family history. Lori is a stay at home mom that was wanting to sell her genealogical skills as a service to add a small secondary income for her family. This is what we came up with.
The Design
I decided to keep it as simple as possible, we put all the info on one page, and simply had a “buy now” button at the bottom accompanied by a form on the following page that got all the information someone may need that came to the site. After testing we changed it to a simple form that asked them how she could help fill their needs; a sort of free consultation. Here is a screen shot of the final design:
The Plan
She had very little real competition for the search phrase “danish genealogy” which after some keyword research seemed to be the most popular keyword string. The site was optimized for “danish genealogy” and we purchased the domain name “danish-genealogy.com” to add in the efforts.
The Results
A month later, Lori is getting an average of 2 new clients a week at an Adwords cost of about $5-$6 a month. With little off-site SEO her site has a Google ranking of #20 for “danish-genealogy” (check it now). She has gained a total of 6 clients from a total visitor count of 121 giving the site a conversion rate of just over 5.0%. This could probably be improved but Lori is content with the$100-$200 a week she is making in her spare time. Visit www.danish-genealogy.com for more info.
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Former entrepreneur now a 9-5'er (by choice), I'm a web marketer, blogger, designer, and lover of all things outdoors. Happily married, living in the mountains of Colorado.