12 Things You Really Should Know About SEO

From the very beginning of the Internet, the number one challenge which all of us have faced is how to attract qualified visitors to our websites. Throughout the boom years, one of the most popular solutions was to get massive funding, relatively easy to get in those days, and “buy” traffic, by various means.

As an iconoclastic young developer, with ambitions of beating the “big boys” at their own game, more time than money or the connections to get it, I sought a less capital intensive methodology to achieve the same results. Years of study and rapt attention to the pertinent forums, trying everything that even seemed to make sense (making many mistakes along the way, and learning much from each one), then carefully monitoring the results, has lead to many highly workable tools in our SEO bag of tricks. The outcome of these trial and error methods, (lots of both) lays the foundation of our SEO services and the basis for the ongoing growth of traffic to your website and ours.

The simple fact of the matter is this: Expertise in any other form of writing in no way qualifies one for the type of writing required to optimize a website for the Internet. There are many sites which have less than correct punctuation, grammar, and even spelling which rank #1 in their optimized search phrases. This is not to say that I don’t think these things are important, only that to be found in the search engines, they are not the most important consideration.

The flip side of this argument is equally true. Just because someone knows all the ins and outs of all of the search engines, can write algorithms in their sleep, has lunches with Dr. Eric Schmidt and is on a first name basis with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, does not, in any way, make them a writer. All of the writing on this site was done as a collaborative venture between Susan K. Thompson, a professional writer with strong academic credentials and real world experience, in both business and marketing, and myself. Was there a lot of editing and re-write? Yes. Were there disagreements? You bet! Was it worth it? Look at the record.

Emerald Coast Entrepreneur was launched on May 1, 2005 with most site optimization in place and submission to the directories just beginning. With a total monetary investment of less than $100.00, and a time investment, I’d rather not think about, but which approached 300 hours, the site was given a PR5 ranking by Google on it’s first update, less than 2 months after our launch.

Studies show that over 90% of all online users use search engines to find what they are looking for, whether products/services, or just plain old information.

The following twelve points will, I hope, summarize a philosophy, approach and methodology to the SEO question which is both sound and effective, along with giving some helpful insight into the industry itself.

1. Content. Content. Content.
Effective, professional, optimized Copywriting is the single, most important factor in any SEO campaign. Search engines index websites based on the content found on each page of the site. With a thorough understanding of the language and grammatical conventions combined with intensive research, to find and exploit the market focus, one can move a website to the upper echelon of the “SERP’s” (Search Engine Results Page) in a methodical as well as ethical manner.

2. Analyze Web Logs.
Measure everything, at least twice, and then check again. While I would be the first to say that many of the procedures that make up website optimization are more art than science, one needs to take a very scientific approach to the results of the effort. This is done by methodically keeping a record of, and making an analysis of the sites web logs. There are a number of specialized software which make the job easier but at the bare minimum, one needs to keep a close eye on the site visitors and their activity while on the site. No matter how well planned the strategy, it is largely theoretical until proven by the results, which can only be measured by the logs, and a thorough analysis of their content.

3. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, or any other search engine.
Those who promise such feats will either optimize for such vague search term phrases (such as, “green stunted widgets with purple Polka-dots and icing”) that no one will ever likely look for, or they are making a false claim, which they have no intention of keeping, or they have an inside edge at Google, something which they will loose, quickly, when the honest folks at Google find out about it. The other option, that they will take the money and run, is worth mentioning here but I’ll be polite.

4. Some things are just plain silly.
You don’t need to submit your site to 50,000 search engines. Businesses which offer this service are suspect, at best. 85% of the search results on the Internet come from one search engine, which, if you have one link from an established website, or better yet, a directory, will find your site just fine, on it’s own. Four (4) search engines account for over 90% of the traffic on the web. As for any supposed benefit which may accrue from being listed in an obscure search engine in Botswana which specializes in safaris to the Kalahari Desert and receives 7 hits per day; well, you figure it out.

5. SEO is not Pay-per-Click.
While no one would argue the effectiveness of getting increased traffic and sales, through a well planned, pay-per-click campaign, the fact remains that the conversion rates are generally low and they cease the moment the “pay” stops. With a well planned and executed SEO campaign, while results may take a bit longer, they continue to produce, and in fact grow, long after the work is done and paid for. Quite often we have found that after a thorough optimization of a site, only minor adjustments are needed on an ongoing basis, primarily related to new content and/or new items of sale or service.

6. SEO is not witchcraft, Druidism, shamanism.
Neither does it require any special chants, ceremonial fires, or vestments, though some of us do like to howl at the full moon, on occasion. There are no “Top Secret” practices which a reputable SEO can not tell a client, a judge, or his mother, for that matter. The very nature of the Internet has always been cooperative and there is nothing about SEO that can’t be learned, with a heavy dose of time and money. A reputable SEO firm will give you an item per item breakdown of just where the money goes. Be wary if you sense a secretive atmosphere or any unwillingness to answer questions. While there are technical points which might take some background to fully understand, if one has a solid overview of the entire situation, a simple explanation should be easy enough to come up with.

7. Do-it-yourself SEO.
Yes, you can execute your own SEO campaign and find a reputable SEO firm to help plan and organize it for you. About one half of my own clientele do some part of the actual work themselves, or have their in-house dedicated personnel do it, after discussion of the goals and aims of the business/website, a thorough website analysis, comprehensive search phrase research, and focused instruction on the ways and means of achieving high SERPs. These preliminaries are followed up with a detailed program of suggestions and methods which the client can then implement themselves or hire others to perform. Average savings; 30-40%.

8. Phased Implementation.
While many companies spend thousands of dollars per month on Search Engine Optimization, an alternative is available which will pay dividends to you in increased sales and leads without the high initial investment. The most important consideration is to have a reputable firm handle the initial evaluation and suggested optimization planning first. The trial and error method will cost much more, in the long run, with or without the desired result. After studying the plan and establishing a workable budget you may implement the plan as finances allow.

9. Remember the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Never was this more true than in the realm of SEO. While concrete and measurable gains will always come from a well thought out and executed optimization strategy, the Internet is a competitive media and we all want to be number one. Accept that a steady upward movement, over time, will place you worlds ahead of a flash followed by a crash.

10. A thought to ponder.
At stake, in the race for the top, is the very existence of your website, your business, and quite possibly your reputation. Beware of any “shortcuts” or less than ethical schemes that anyone might suggest to further your business goals. When it’s all said and done it is you, the business owner, who bears the responsibility for any company or individual you hire. Insist on knowing exactly what the strategy is and what steps are being performed to implement it. If it seems, in the least, suspicious, ask for and get an explanation. In this case, not only is Ignorance not bliss, it could very well be the beginning of the end for your business.

11. All incoming links are not created equal.
Both the relevance to your line of business and website subject matter and the PR value of the incoming link determine how valuable they are to your own PR ranking. With Google starting the trend, nothing new there, and most of the others following close behind, the days of grabbing all the inbound links, in any way possible, are gone. Not only will low ranked and/or irrelevant inbound links not help, they will, in fact, cause a penalty. Link farms, free-for-all link schemes, automated link accumulation software, or any other fad that doesn’t carefully screen the links and websites they are coming from will, in the long run, do more harm than good.

12. It’s more than just facts and figures.
The relationship between an online business and SEO is, perhaps, one of the closest of business relationships. In order to be effective, a SEO must know not only the facts and figures pertaining to the endeavor, but s/he must know something of the dreams and aspirations of the business principals. Things which don’t normally come out in a prospectus are often invaluable information when searching for the “right fit” into the complex world of the Internet. My own clients sometimes ask, due to the frequency of my calls and email in the early phases, “Am I your only client?” I usually laugh and say something to the effect that until I know your business almost as well as you do, yes, you are the only one that counts.

About the author:

James ‘Doc’ Lewis spends much of his professional time as SEO for http://www.emeraldcoastentrepreneur.com/Emerald Coast Entrepreneur. Doc started practicing his magic long before the term SEO was even coined and continues to study and perfect methods of workable and cost effective SEO and SEM, devising unique solutions to diverse marketing challenges.

Bo-Blog the V2.1.0 official version

Wishes everybody Happy New Year!

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* May be different for the single diary from the definition with the diary main text content abstract content.
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* Improves passes on the mechanism, the increase appendix security chain function. Works as the document which passes on when reads takes, downloading and the demonstration, may examine the request the background whether for permission domain name.
* Supports two sides
Other more than 10 renewals place, please consult in the peaceful packaging the changelog documents.

Promotion method (from 2.0.3sp1):
1 the bo-blog table of contents underexcept outside install/, images/emot/ and indata/ all documents passes toblog under the table of contents, "cover" all old versions document.
2 Unix kind of server please establish the post/ folder the attribute is 777 or the guarantee procedure may read-write.
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4 records the backstage, "the parameter establishment" center disposes "all" the blank new option and the preservation. "Renovates the buffer" place to renovate all buffers.
5 bases actual situation, may choose opens the different URL optimization way as well as the appendix security chain function.

Promotion method (from 2.1.0 beta):
1 the bo-blog table of contents underexcept outside install/, images/emot/ and indata/ all documents passes toblog under the table of contents, "cover" all old versions document.
2. passes to blog tools/updateto210.phpon under the table of contents, inputs this document in the browser the address to carry on the visit, this document will act according to your current blog edition automatic revision construction of data.

2.1.0 promotion methods (from 2.1.0 rc 1, 2.1.0 rc 2, 2.1.0 rc 3):
Under downloading provides the special-purpose promotion package, inside in all documents will pass to blog under the table of contents, "cover" all old versions document. At the same time, please read following "2.1.0 rc 3 repairs questions to tabulate", and comparison operation.

2.1.0 and 2.1.0 rc 3 compares, the repair question tabulates:
* Revision batch diary deletion mistake.
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Best Review of Google AdSense

One of the most well-known and popular advertising networks on the internet, Google’s AdSense offers its users a way to monetize their sites through both ad links and the Google search feature. Its main draw is that the advertisements it offers are targeted to fit the content of the page on which they appear and the search terms that are entered into the search field.
This means that the advertisements it displays are more relevant to the content of the site on which they are posted, and therefore more likely to be clicked by visitors to that site. This is a major innovation in advertising and still fairly uncommon among ad networks, and has proven much more effective at earning money for site owners than untargeted advertisements.
In addition, AdSense provides a variety of ways to customize both the ads’ appearance and the way in which their value is reported, making it a very comprehensive and straightforward provider of relevant advertisements.
Features
AdSense works by instantaneously auctioning off the available advertising spaces on a site to various advertising companies.
The default form of advertisement available from AdSense is CPC, but CPM may also appear on sites if the ad agency chooses the site and wins the auction, but these types of ads cannot be specifically requested by an AdSense user.
The advertisements are targeted by language and geographical location as well as content, and include both large and small businesses in a wide array of categories.
Google chooses not to officially disclose the percentage of profit it takes from what the advertisers pay for its services and ad space. The New York Times, however, calculated from Google’s published financial reports that AdSense partners receive 78.5% of the profits that Google makes off of their ad space.
Controls
AdSense accounts are managed by logging into www.google.com/adsense. From this page, users can customize their accounts in a variety of ways. Firstly, they may control whether to enable ad links, the Google search feature, or both. If advertising links are enabled, the site owner may choose whether to show only text ads, or to also allow image and video ads. AdSense also offers link units and referral buttons, which can be enabled or disabled. Furthermore, the appearance of the enabled ads can be customized from this page. Users may choose the color and template of their ad links and search results so that they are more integrated into the site’s overall appearance and therefore will likely be clicked more frequently. Another way in which AdSense users can customize the ads that appear on their page is by applying and adjusting several filters, which can be used to filter out competitors’ advertisements, as well as ensuring that content on the site is relevant and appropriate. If users do not feel that many of the ads selected by AdSense are useful, they can also set their own default advertisements or fill the space with a solid color until better ads are available.
Available Types and Formats
Currently, AdSense offers text only, image, video ads, link units, and referral buttons in a variety of shapes and sizes. Note that some ad sizes only support text or images:
Text, Image, and Video Ads:
728 x 90 Leaderboard
468 x 60 Banner
234 x 60 Banner
160 x 600 Wide Skyscraper
120 x 600 Skyscraper
120 x 240 Vertical Banner
336 x 280 Large Rectangle
300 x 250 Medium Rectangle
180 x 150 Small Rectangle
250 x 250 Square
200 x 200 Small Square
125 x 125 Button
Link Units:
728 x 15
468 x 15
200 x 90
180 x 90
160 x 90
120 x 90
Reporting
The final function of the control panel is to report the users’ earnings through their ads. AdSense offers several ways to customize these reports. Updated hourly, reports on earnings can be sorted by page, date, ad type, and a number of other factors. Users can create both URL and customized channels in the advanced reporting tab of the control panel. With URL channels, site owners can create clusters of URLs to see which pages or clusters of pages are earning them the most money through advertisements. Customizable channels allow users to create their own groups of links, allowing them to test, for example, whether their red banner ads or their blue side links generate more clicks so that they can alter the layout of their site accordingly.
How to Get Started
To become an AdSense publisher, prospective users must complete a short online application on their website.
After 2-3 days, AdSense will process the application and reach a decision on whether to support the site or sites, as AdSense will support multiple sites for only one user. After they accept, users simply need to log on, select which type of ads they wish to display, and customize their options.
When this is completed, AdSense will generate an html code that site owners can simply paste into their page like any other code. This will allow the advertisements to show in this space. For the first day or two, only public service ads may appear, for which the site owner will not be paid. These can, however, be replaced by the site owner by default ads or a solid color. After Google’s bots have inventoried the site, however, content specific links should begin to show and site owners will be paid for the clicks these links receive.
Continued service from the AdSense network is contingent upon users obeying their terms and conditions, which include not clicking their own ad links, not bribing others to click the links or pointing them out in any way, and not displaying pornography or anything illegal on their site. It is acceptable, however, to have non-Google ads on the site as long as it is clear that they are unrelated to the Google ads.
Payment
Receiving payments from this network is fairly simple. AdSense offers both EFT and mailed checks in the user’s specified local currency. When a site owner’s ad revenue reaches $100 or greater, a payment will be issued to that owner within 30 days of the end of that month. If revenues do not reach $100, the account balance is rolled over to the next month and does not expire.
Referral Program
Google’s AdSense does have a referral program. Unfortunately, due to its immense popularity, it is difficult finding prospective publishers who have not already signed up.
When a referral earns $5 within 180 days of sign-up, the referring publisher will be credited with $5.
When that same referral earns $100 within 180 days of sign-up and is eligible for payout, the referring publisher will be credited with an additional $250.
If in any 180-day period, 25 publishers are referred who each earn more than $100 within 180 days of their respective sign-ups and are all eligible for payout, the referring publisher will be awarded a $2,000 bonus (bonus payouts are limited to 1 per year).
More Information and Support
Google is very thorough in supplying information about AdSense, and information regarding a vast range of issues and possible problems is available at AdSense’s main website, along with demos and guides designed to walk new users through most of AdSense’s functions. News, updates, and tips are also available at www.adsense.blogspot.com. Finally, the support staff at AdSense is reachable by email and usually responds politely and intelligently within 1-2 days of receiving an inquiry.
Summary
AdSense is a very user friendly ad network that is simple to set up and run for even new site owners. Its targeted advertising makes it more likely that the posted advertisements will appeal to site viewers, and the Google search feature allows site owners to keep viewers on their site longer and also lets them receive revenue for clicked searches. Reports are customizable so that Adsense users can view and maximize their profits, and receiving payments from AdSense is simple for most people with a major bank account. Overall, AdSense seems to be a very simple and flexible advertising network.
Source: publisherspot.com

Using flash avatar

This is simple modify to help you insert flash avatar in your vbulletin forum :pOpen posbit template (or posbit_legency) find:

href="member.php?$session[sessionurl]u=$post[userid]">src="$post[avatarurl]" $post[avwidth] $post[avheight] alt="1="$post[username]">$vbphrase[xs_avatar]" border="0"
/>

Replace with

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/>/ />

Do you see fieldX ? X = number and you must make a new fieldIn APC > User Profile Fields > Add New User Profile Field

-Profile Field Type :choose Single

-Line text box => next

-Fill with my info:

Title: Flash avatar

Description:Insert flash avatar

Private Field: Yes

Field Searchable on Members List: No

Show on Members List: No

In User Profile Field Manager find your field and remember it and fill in my codeSave this templateSave my avatar and upload it to images/Go to your usercp and edit your avatar