INTRODUCTION

If you want to be found in the search engines, it is important that you add search engine optimization to your action list. In a nutshell, search engine optimization--or SEO for short--is the process of making your web pages "search engine friendly."

SEO is a relatively new marketing industry. Although there are many purported experts, most of us who call ourselves SEO specialists are learning. The search engines are constantly in flux, so SEO techniques that worked yesterday may not necessarily work tomorrow. As a result, it is exceedingly important to keep up with the fervent pace of the Internet, and the search engines in particular.

One of the frustrations of search engine placement is that your rankings are constantly fluctuating. The key to a successful search engine optimization campaign is creativity, perseverance and practice, practice, practice. Do not try to fool the search engines by "tricking" them with unsavory techniques (e.g., keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text) because you will risk having your web site lose favor with the search engines, or worse, getting banned altogether.

WRITING KEYWORD-RICH WEB COPY
I'm sure you've heard the old cliché: Content is king. Well, you know what, it is! Although the Internet is graphic-rich, it is a text-based medium. Information is what your visitors are seeking. If your web site doesn't present the information they want, don't forget your competitor's web site is only one mouse click away.

Search engines need copy to know what your web site's theme is and how your site should be indexed in their directory. If your home page consists solely of a Flash movie or an image map, there will be nothing for the search engines to index. Flash is cool, but it is not so cool when your web site doesn't come up in search engine results.

So, how do you write keyword-rich copy?

The first thing you need to do is identify the keyword phrases that are important and relevant to your web site. For instance, how would you describe your company, products and services? More importantly, how would your visitors describe your company, products and services? Although the answer may seem like a no-brainer, it really isn't, because you need to think outside of the box. You need to get into your visitor's head and think like your visitor.

What search terms would they use to find your web site?

A good place to start your keyword research is by looking at your log files. What search terms are your visitors using to find you? Armed with this information, you can begin researching the popularity of those terms. Researching your keywords is a very important task, because if you target the wrong terms, your traffic will suffer. Although your site may rank number one for some obscure term, if no one is searching for that term, your site will not be found in the search engines.

There are a number of handy tools available online to help you begin building your list of relevant keywords. Overture (formerly Goto.com) offers a Search Term Suggestion Tool on its web site that will not only tell you how many times a particular keyword phrase was queried in the past month, it'll also present you with a list of alternative terms to consider for your search engine optimization campaign.

In addition to utilizing keyword suggestion tools to research your keywords, We highly recommend brainstorming keywords with your co-workers, employees, friends and family members. Better yet, ask your clients and customers what terms they would use to search for your web site. Brainstorming keywords will teach you a lot about how others think and use the Internet to find information.

Once you have identified your keywords, you will need to integrate them into the body of your web page. Your sentences need to be intelligible and grammatically correct. Don't forget: Your web copy will be read by human beings, as well as the search engines. If your web copy doesn't make sense, your visitors will hit their back button never to return again. Bad web copy will defeat the whole purpose of your search engine optimization campaign.

WRITING YOUR META TAGS
The most important tag in the header section of your web page is the title tag. The title tag is displayed in the bar at the top of your browser window--above the toolbar. Many webmasters do not use the title tag properly. For example, their page will be titled "Home" or "Welcome," or worse yet "untitled," because they don't include a title at all. The search engines place a lot of relevance on the words contained within the title tag, so be sure to include your targeted keyword phrases when writing your title tag. This tag is generally limited to 60 characters, so choose your words with care.

The next important tag in the header section is the description meta tag. This tag is used to describe your web page. Like the title tag, many of the search engines will extrapolate this information to summarize your web site. Again, be sure to include your targeted keyword phrases.

The third and least important tag in the header section is the keywords meta tag. Because of abuse by unscrupulous webmasters, the keywords tag is ignored by many of the search engines. Even so, some do use it, so it doesn't hurt to include it. Like your title and description tag, choose your keywords carefully. Do not include keywords that are not included in the body of your web copy or irrelevant to the theme of your site.

LINK POPULARITY
Much is said about link popularity, but what is it exactly?
A few years ago, people were joining "link farms" to increase their link popularity, but today that is frowned upon and can actually be detrimental to your quest for higher rankings in the search engines. Now the emphasis is more on the quality of the links pointing to your web site versus the quantity.

Many of the major search engines use link popularity to gauge the relevancy of your site in their search results. Plus, links are what makes the web go-round. Many webmasters have the notion that links are bad because they are sending visitors off of their web site. Although this is true, links to and from web sites that complement yours help to build credibility and set the stage for making your web site an authority in your field.

Much is written about the importance of getting links from directories like Yahoo!, Looksmart and the Open Directory Project, because they are reviewed by human beings. If you want a link in the first two, however, it will cost you money. A listing in Yahoo! and Looksmart is considered "paid inclusion." Your marketing dollars will be well spent, though, because listings here will not only generate increased traffic, it will add greatly to your web site's link popularity.

F.A.Q’s

What is Search Engine registration or Site Submission?
Site Submission is a service that helps you promote your site more effectively by listing your Web site's address in many popular search engine and directory sites.

What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)?
A URL is an address that locates a file on the Internet. A URL is generally comprised of a domain name, a domain alias, one or more directories, a page or file name or a combination of those elements. This structure allows Internet users to type an alphanumeric address into a Web browser and access the files that comprise a Web site. An example of a URL is: www.mybrand.com.

How does Site Submission work?
Site Submission submits your Web site address as outlined below:
You have to provide us the site details for each Web site address you are submitting. This information includes the Web site's title, the URL at which your Web site can be found, keywords that accurately describe your site and a brief description of the content of your Web site. This is all you need to do.

Once you have done this, the information you submitted will be processed and distributed to the various search engines and directory sites.

After your site has been submitted to the various sites, Bpath will generate a report, sent via email, indicating to which search engines and directories your Web site address was successfully submitted.

Depending on the site, your Web site address will begin to appear in the search engines you have submitted to. Keep in mind that every search engine and directory has its own timeline for processing submissions, so your Web address will not appear in every site simultaneously.

Can I choose the search engines and directories to which my site will be submitted?
At this time, you are not able to choose to which search engines and directories your Web site address will be submitted. View Bpath's current list of search engines and directories.

Will I receive verification that my site has been successfully submitted to the search engines and directories?
Yes. A detailed report of the submission process will be sent to you via email within 48 hours of completing the submission process. This report will contain a list of each of the submissions, the sites to which they were submitted, submission time and submission results.

What are meta tags and how do I create them?
Meta tags are HTML keywords that help search engines to determine the content of your Web site. Keep in mind, however, that you do not need meta tags in order to list your Web site with a search engine.

Does submitting a site guarantee that every submission will result in a successful search engine or directory listing?
We can only guarantee that your Web site address is submitted to the various search engines and directories. However, once your address has been submitted, the search engine or directory site will determine whether to post the site or not.

Is there a guarantee that my listing will appear on the first page of a search engine or directory's search results?
The position of your site address in a search engine will depend upon the relevance of your site content to the subject matter being searched for. Search engines usually determine internally the order that sites will be listed in.

To which search engines and directories will my site be submitted?
Your Web address will be submitted to at least 400 leading search engines and directory sites, including Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, InfoSeek and WebCrawler. Please refer to the list of the search engines and directory sites your site will be submitted to given below.

How quickly will I get results?
Average results vary, depending on the search engine or directory that you have submitted to. However, your site will usually appear consistently in the search engine and directory sites within 3 or 4 months after submission.

Where on the search engine list will my URL appear?
Depending on your site's content and the relevance of the content to what the user is searching for, your Web address will appear in various positions on the search list.

How long does the URL stay on the search engine before it needs to be resubmitted?
Your site will be resubmitted every month for one year. Therefore, you will only need renew after one year of service.

How long does my site stay submitted once I've signed up?
Every search engine and directory is different. In some cases, your Web site URL will appear right away; in others, it may take several weeks for your site to be added. In some cases, your site may not be listed at all, due to content or a backlog of submitted sites. Additionally, listings may move higher or lower, or be removed.

Submissions that appear right away
Some directories automatically add your submission to their site. Within several minutes, your submission is checked and added to their indexes.

Submissions that take time.
Many search engines and directories put your site address in a queue. Some will manually add your site when they get a chance. Some will wait to check your site out for content and add the site if the content meets the criteria for their links and if your submitted information matches your site's content.

Submissions that never get added.
Some search engines and directories have a maximum allowed listings value. For instance, if the site only allows 1,000 entries at any one time and your site is submitted as number 1,001, your site will not be listed. However, these sites regularly delete entries to allow new sites to be submitted.