 Although
not the only ingredient needed for Net success, search engine
traffic is a must. Rising to the top of organic (non-paid)
search engine returns is vital in order for your site to receive
enough traffic to be a dominant force in its niche and, more
importantly, turn a profit. If you need assistance in getting
your site to appear at the top of search engines, continue reading.The
critical importance of search engine returns has been recognized
long enough that many Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies,
software and services are now available to assist in gaining a top
ten listing (representing the first page of search returns) in the
three major search engines: Google, Yahoo and MSN.
In short, some SEO businesses, software and
services can be helpful, although some are a waste of money.
Some, in fact, may use unscrupulous methods to get your site
temporarily listed high in search engines, only to see the site
blacklisted (that is, delisted) by the search engines when the scam is
uncovered.
Nonetheless, high search engine rankings are a
must. In fact, if your site is not listed in the top ten
results in Google, Yahoo and/or MSN for major related
keywords and phrases in your niche, you cannot count on Net success. Better
yet, you really need a top five listing, as the top
five returns on the first search page receive far more search engine
traffic than the bottom five.
Getting a legitimate top ten listing for
worthwhile keywords and key phrases is neither easy nor quick, but it can be done.
Here are some examples of top ten (and
top five in bold)-listed
keywords and phrases in Google, Yahoo and MSN for my
portfolio of sites (as of December 2006):
| |
|
|
|
| |
Google
Ranking |
Yahoo
Ranking |
MSN Ranking |
|
Yellowstone Net |
|
|
|
| "yellowstone" |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| "yellowstone national park" |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| "yellowstone park" |
5 |
5 |
3 |
| "yellowstone reservations" |
2 |
1 , 2 |
1 |
| "yellowstone hotel" |
4 |
2 |
2 |
| "yellowstone lodging" |
9 |
3 |
3 |
| "yellowstone park
reservations" |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| "yellowstone national park
reservations" |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| "yellowstone wildlife" |
1 , 2 |
1 , 2 |
1 , 2 |
| "yellowstone geysers" |
1 |
2 , 3 |
1 , 2 |
| "yellowstone news" |
1 |
1 |
5 |
| "old faithful" |
5 |
5 |
-- |
| "old faithful webcam" |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| "old faithful geyser" |
5 |
8 |
5 |
| "yellowstone vacation" |
-- |
5 |
5 |
| |
|
|
|
|
ParkReservations.Com |
|
|
|
| "national park
reservations" |
9 |
8 |
3 |
| "park reservations" |
7 |
-- |
3 |
| "yosemite webcams" |
5 |
-- |
5 |
| "mt rainier webcam" |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| "sequoia webcam" |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Montana History Net |
|
|
|
| "montana history" |
1 |
-- |
1 |
| "history of montana" |
6 |
-- |
2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
BaptistLife.Com |
|
|
|
| "baptist" |
-- |
6 |
-- |
| "baptist seminaries" |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| "baptist jobs" |
1 |
3 |
-- |
| "baptist classifieds" |
3 |
2 |
-- |
| "baptist blogs" |
3 |
1 |
1 |
| "baptist bloggers" |
5 |
5 |
2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
Baptists Today |
|
|
|
| "baptists" |
-- |
-- |
4 |
| "baptist classifieds" |
1 |
-- |
2 |
| "baptist news" |
3 |
3 |
-- |
| |
|
|
|
|
Baptist History & Heritage Society |
|
|
|
| "baptist history" |
1 |
5 |
1 |
| "baptist heritage" |
9 |
5 |
4 |
| "baptist journal" |
5 |
5 |
1 |
Also, in recent years, the popularity of
Google Image Search has risen dramatically, making it worthwhile
for photo-centered web sites to strive for a first page rankings on
major keywords and key phrases within the appropriate niche.
For example,
BruceGourley.Com appears on the first page of Google Image
Search returns for the following major keywords and key phrases:
"photography" (2 images)
"montana ranch" (2 images)
"appomattox"
"acadia"
"acadia national park"
Yahoo and MSN also now have image search engines, and achieving a
first page ranking in both is desirable, although not as beneficial
as with Google Image Search.
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