Q: Why are search engines important to me?

A: 85% of all website traffic is driven by search engines. The only online activity more popular than search is email. 79.2% of US users don't go to page 2 of search results. 42% of users click on the no.1 result. For the under-40 age-group, the Internet will become the most used media in the next 2-3 years.

Q: How do search engines decide on their rankings?

A: IMPORTANT: You cannot pay a search engine in return for a high ranking in the natural results. You can only get a high ranking if your content is seen as relevant by the search engines.

Search engines identify relevant content for their search results by sending out ‘spiders’ or ‘robots’ which ‘crawl’ (analyze) your site and ‘index’ (record) its details. Complex algorithms are then employed to determine whether your site is useful and should be included in the search engine’s search results.

Q: Can't I just pay for a high ranking?

A: No. The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google and Yahoo is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a short-lived search engine.

Most search engines these days return two types of results whenever you click Search:

• Natural/Organic – The ‘real’ search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
• Paid – Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are norm
  Judging by Appearances
  We’ve all heard the statistics about first impressions: when you meet someone for the first time, only 7% of their impression of you is based on what you say, 38% on how you say it, and a massive 55% on their appearance and manner. No wonder we worry about choosing our clothes for that all-important meeting or job interview. But nine times out of ten when you go into a business meeting, the person you’re encountering for the first time has already formed an impression of you based on your communications with them up to that point. Most often that will include some form of printed material: a brochure, letter, business card, or all three.As with face to face meetings, only a small proportion of your prospect’s impression will be based on what is said. A little more comes from how it is said: is the tone confident and professional, and have you checked for spelling and grammatical mistakes? But the bulk of your prospect’s impression will come from the appearance of your communications, so doesn’t it make sense to focus the bulk of your attention there?Just as poor grooming – dirty shoes, crumpled clothes and untidy hair – gives the impression of an unprofessional individual, so poorly presented marketing materials – cheap, off-colour paper, low quality printing, free clip-art and silly fonts – suggest an unprofessionally run organization.It’s not only the quality of the materials that will concern your prospects, though. Once you’ve got past the first hurdle of proving that you pay attention to detail and value quality workmanship, you still nee
  han search is email. 79.2% of US users don't go to page 2 of search results. 42% of users click on the no.1 result. For the under-40 age-group, the Internet will become the most used media in the next 2-3 years.

  Q: How do search engines decide on their rankings?

  A: IMPORTANT: You cannot pay a search engine in return for a high ranking in the natural results. You can only get a high ranking if your content is seen as relevant by the search engines.

  Search engines identify relevant content for their search results by sending out ‘spiders’ or ‘robots’ which ‘crawl’ (analyze) your site and ‘index’ (record) its details. Complex algorithms are then employed to determine whether your site is useful and should be included in the search engine’s search results.

  Q: Can't I just pay for a high ranking?

  A: No. The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google and Yahoo is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a short-lived search engine.

  Most search engines these days return two types of results whenever you click Search:

  • Natural/Organic – The ‘real’ search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
  • Paid – Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are nor
    Make The Size Matter
    Bigger isn’t always better but small isn’t always shoddy. You can make a big impact with a small printed pen or an oversized one, depending on your theme, message or company image. You can make the size – no matter how big or small – matter when you choose promotional printed pens.Small and SuperbSkinny plastic pens may not take up more than their fair share of the swag bag but there are some places that skinny plastic pens are ideal. Wallets and planners often come with pen sleeves that don’t accommodate large or even average size pens.Some skinny pens, like the Flamenco ballpoint plastic pens, fit very well in tight pen sleeves. These Flamenco plastic pens are inexpensive, too. For between ?0.08 and ?0.14 per pen, you can order these plastic pens in a single colored logo or message.Good things can come in small packages, as proven by the Riviera Gel Pens offered by many companies. These plastic pens are available in four different colors – blue, yellow, red or green. The shiny silver barrel can be imprinted with one color for free or choose a multi-colored imprint for just a little more. The Riviera gel pens start at ?0.71 a piece, great for making a big impact on a budget. Everyone loves to use a gel pen.Bigger Can Be BetterWhile larger pens may not fit in snug spaces they sure are easier to find in a bind. As a bonus, there’s more imprint space on a large pen than a small one – all the better for impressing your message to the pen recipients.Many companies offer a number of giant plastic pe
    >Search engines identify relevant content for their search results by sending out ‘spiders’ or ‘robots’ which ‘crawl’ (analyze) your site and ‘index’ (record) its details. Complex algorithms are then employed to determine whether your site is useful and should be included in the search engine’s search results.

    Q: Can't I just pay for a high ranking?

    A: No. The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google and Yahoo is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a short-lived search engine.

    Most search engines these days return two types of results whenever you click Search:

    • Natural/Organic – The ‘real’ search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
    • Paid – Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are nor
      Affiliate Marketing in E-Zines
      Affiliate marketing is all about promoting the product. But it is not cold or hard selling. The affiliate lures the Internet user to visit his website by offering information and even free online courses. The visitor of the affiliate’s website will find the free information and will even enroll in the free online course. And while reading the informative articles, the visitor will slowly be convinced of the value of certain products.And when the visitor realizes the value of certain products, he will most likely click the banner that links to the website of the merchant who manufactures the product or who officially sells the product. The affiliate does not do the direct selling. The affiliate simply sets the mind of the visitor, who is the target client, so that this visitor will be easier to convince to proceed to the purchase or order form of the merchant’s website.Thus, for an affiliate marketing business to be successful, the promotional strategies carried out by the affiliate should also be successful. One that will contribute to the success of such promotion is the utilization of e-zines.An e-zine is basically a newsletter which is emailed to the subscribers of the e-zine. This newsletter contains the types of information that the subscriber has already expressed a willingness to read about. And when an ad is placed together with such information, the subscriber will be made aware of the presence of the products promoted by the affiliate.There are two types of e-zine ads that an affiliate can pay for. The first type is
      bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). In other words, their results must be relevant. Relevant results makes for a good search engine; irrelevant results makes for a short-lived search engine.

      Most search engines these days return two types of results whenever you click Search:

      • Natural/Organic – The ‘real’ search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
      • Paid – Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are nor
        Failing to Plan Your Business Properly Can Be the Death Sentence to Your Business
        A great business plan can only get your business so far, but having the business capital to go along with that business plan can bring your business to new heights. It can also go the other way as a great plan is the first step to obtaining the capital you are seeking for your business.Failing to plan your business properly can put your business in with the 90% of businesses that fail. Developing a business plan is hands down the most important step any business can take if they want realize true success. The business plan will be used by potential lenders or investors to determine where your business is going and how you are planning on getting there. A well written business plan will assist you greatly when you are seeking financing. Both lenders and investors look at your business plan differently. The lender is mostly concerned with whether you can repay the loan, and the investor wants to know how far you can take the business to maximize their potential earnings on the investment.The first, and probably most important, part of your business plan will be the Executive Summary. This is where you grab the attention of the lender by providing an overview of your product or service, the market, your niche, the management, the mission, company structure, funding amount requested, use of funds, the proposed terms, and collateral offered. The lender or investor will not look at your business plan further if you don’t grab their attention with the Executive Summary.The next item you will need to include will be a narrative, which is also known as
        rch engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.
      • Paid – Pure advertising. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers pay the search engines to display their ad whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are normally labeled “Sponsored Links”, and normally take up a smaller portion of the window.

      Q: How do I get a high ranking?

      A: There are four main steps:

      Step 1 - Use the right words on your website
      Step 2 - Get lots of relevant sites to link to yours
      Step 3 - Use the right words in those links
      Step 4 - Have lots of content on your site & add more regularly

      Q: What is search engine optimization (SEO)?

      A: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of creating a website which is search engine-friendly. This means:

      • using the right words in your copy
      • using the right words in your HTML code
      • structuring your site properly
      • designing your site properly

      For more information on these 4 elements, download our free 'SEO Secrets' eBook from divinewrite.com/seosecrets.htm.

      Many people use SEO to also describe the other ingredient in a high ranking, 'Link Popularity'.

      Q: What is link popularity?

      A: Think of the search engines as a big election. All the websites in the world are candidates. The links to your website are votes. The more votes (links) a candidate (website) has, the more important it is, and the higher its ranking. Link popularity is all about how many links you have, and how you can get more.

      Links to your site tell the search engines how important your site is. They assume that if it’s important enough for a lot of other sites to link to, it’s important enough for them to display at the top of the rankings. Links are the single most important factor in ranking. Generally speaking, the more links you have to your site from other sites, the better your ranking.

      Q: Are some links better than others?

      A: Yes! The ideal kind of links are those that:

      • come from relevant site