SEO For The Common Webmaster

Blogging can be a lot of fun and can also be financially rewarding but unless you have readers, you have no blog. One of the best ways to get readers is through social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. The problem is, sometimes your link to a post is too long or you just want to to show a generic link url. That is where a good  Url Shortener comes in handy.

One of the really good ones I have found is gg.gg. This site is free and has no advertising. It is a quick easy way to shorten your URL links and get a quick easy code. You can also track your visitors right on the site. There are so many advantages to shortening the URL.

GG.GG also has an adding bonus of a free url shortener chrome plugin for your chrome browser. This makes your task quicker and easier with less bouncing back and forth. This is one of the top URL services I have found and they are always trying to improve the service. Rumor has it that they are working on adding even more features to better track where your visitors are coming from. Check out this cool, site today!

Keyword density is basically how many times a word or key phrase is uses on your blog or web page compared to the rest of the content. This is given as a percentage. Using too much of any given keyword can cause the search engine to lower your rankings in the search engine results or worse yet, remove you from the index.

Back in the early days of SEO, keyword density was the easiest way to raise in rank for a key term. This caused many webmasters to stuff their websites with keywords in order to rise in the search engines. Once the big guys like Google caught on, they starting devaluing this and they redid their algorithmic formula. Does this mean keyword density plays no more part in SERPS?

Keyword Density still plays a small part in the overall rankings and you as a webmaster should be well aware of that fact and make sure your site does not get tagged as spam. The ideal percentage is between one and three percent for any given key word or phrase. Be sure to use in the content so it flows with the rest of the article, post or website description.

I have seen sites where webmasters stuff keywords all over the site and even try to hide them with blended font colors. This does not work and will cause your site to be penalized or banned. If you have Adsense or another ad site, it could cause you to lose your account and any earnings not yet paid. None of this is worth the risk and the only webmasters doing this now are those trying to seell a website quickly before the Search Engines catch them. This is not good for the webmaster community and be careful dealing with anyone like this.

Please as always, share your opinion by leaving a comment below.

Remember those long rides as a kid where you were in hurry to get somewhere? Maybe it was a special trip to Grandma’s house, an amusement park, a vacation. As kids we always asked, ” are we there yet”?  As a blogger and webmaster, I am always thinking about this question and I am sure many of you are too. We build, we design, we do SEO, and we promote. Why do we do it? Though almost of all of us wish to make money from our blogs, this is a more personal question that only you as a blog o0r website owner can answer.

I have known and worked with many webmasters who start one project after another and they put almost nothing in it with dreams of getting rich. Does this happen? More times than not, it does not. There are those few who have conquered the dream but it took hard work, endless hours, and a good investment to achieve. I have been part of many Online projects and made some money here and there. Did I get rich? Not yet. However, I have not invested my whole life to my Online projects.

As webmasters, we need to look at what motivates us and why we do what we do. Only have we do this, can we honestly answer the question “are we there yet?” I know the answer for me changes as my life changes.

When most of my money comes from offline work, I am where I want to be with my blogs. They have held through the test of time and they are always there waiting for me when I need them. They generate enough income to pay for their cost and they supply a value to the readers.  These are the best of times!

However, when my offline income is low, I go back to the love of the blogs and realize that the journey is far from over. It is in those moments that I know that the real answer is to enjoy the adventure on the way and not be an hurry to get there. Building a blog or website takes work and time and if you always try to improve, you are never truly there. However, if your love is to share your knowledge, maybe you have already completed the journey.

So with that I ask you, Are you there yet?

Creating a website that will catch your audience is key when creating a top blog or site. However, you will never see an audience if your site is never found. This is where SEO becomes important. It is a race to the top and only the fittest websites survive the challenge.

Reaching the top of the major search engines requires quality SEO services. There are two ways to create this, do it yourself or pay a professional to do it for you. Many major cities offer quality companies that can create a website and do your SEO work for you. If you live in New York, it is a preferred to use a company from New York, if you live on the west coast like in Portland, you would look for a quality Portland SEO Company that can handle your needs and offer an array of services. However, if you find the company you want to deal with in any part of the world, most jobs can be conducted through the Internet.

It doers not matter if you do the work yourself or hire it out, the key is to use all methods to reach an audience and achieve a top spot in the search engines like Google. Link building has always been and still stands as one of the best ways to get noticed. Along with links, you can use the many social media sites to both advertise your site and draw in a audience who will naturally wish to link to your site. Writing articles is good way to get noticed but be careful of those over used article directories because they can backfire and cause negative damage to your reputation and website.

Finding the best method for you and your websites seems like a huge hurdle but the investment will be worth the reward when you win the race to the top.

I often talk about promoting a website and doing proper SEO. However, there are other things to consider when creating an site. It must be appealing to the viewer or they will not stay on the site for long.

Designing an attractive website depends on who you are trying to reach. For example, I am mainly a blogger so my audience is readers of my related topic. However, many web entrepreneurs create full business sites or other product related sites designed to sell something. For these types of sites, one may need to hire a professional. It is often advisable to find one in your sate so for me I would look for a New York web design company.

There are many professional web designers so it is important to find everything you can about the company you decide to hire. Check out their portfolio and look at their designs to see how they rate compared to what you are looking for. Next, make sure you carefully look at their testimonials and see what their other customers are saying and if they are happy with the service.

Webmasters need to remember, SEO is very important but it is what people see when they come to your site that determines if they ever return. A well designed site with all the looks of a professional business will draw people in and keep them coming back.