Friday 16 May 2008

Social bookmarking sites list

Yes, that is what I typed in the Google search bar "social bookmarking sites list" and it gave me a result so ever useful. Here are a few links I found really good - lots of social bookmarking sites to pick from.

Well, why social bookmarking? It is a way to announce your niche. What you are and why do you want to be in the peer group is what brings you to bookmark your website.

Here are some of the URL list

http://www.arsenalmarketing.com/blog-marketing/social-bookmarking-list-over-120-sites-with-page-rank

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social30

http://www.blogmarketingtactics.com/social-bookmarking/social-bookmarking-top-links.html

Worth the wait for me.

Another super site I found - http://www.buzzle.com/articles/5-quality-check-tips-from-a-professional-seo-company.html

Tuesday 13 May 2008

Off Page Optimization Tips for Directory Submission

When you talk about optimization, it includes your on-page and off page optimization. What is interesting to note is that it is the off page optimization that does help you increase your chances to have your website being seen/ visited frequently.

Let me talk about directory submission today.

Before you submit to a list of directories (there are hundred thousands of them there) make sure you DO understand what the website does. By that I mean, you must be sure of "What" your website does. You must understand the purpose for what your website is here. That is called the niche.

Pick up the niche factor for which the website is all about.

Prepare titles appropriate to the type of business / service it does. Ensure that its not too lengthy or even too short. Remember to put in all the service based words / phrases in the title - of course make it a sensible sentence and not just a mixed bag of keyphrases thrown in together.

Prepare a set of description which is apt and says just what the website does. Aim at the keywords in your website, thats a good thing to do. Just make sure your description does contain the best keywords in it.

But mind you, do not make it look like you are pouring out all the keywords into the description. Make sure that its meaningful, so the readers do understand (again, just like the title - make your desription sensible as well)

Lastly, if your website has a ranking report being run for the past 6 months, look out for keywords that ranked well and seen frequently on the top pages, say 1 to 3.

If you do not have a ranking report run, just run your keywords on Keyword Discovery or Overture and you will get the best ranked keywords for your website.

Chose them wisely and place them as your best keywords.

For directory submissions, besides this you will need a valid working email address that is not a free account (like GMail, Hotmail and the likes), but which belongs to a domain (like submisions@mybusinessmarketing.com). An email that belongs to a website is always trusted. It pays to have a couple of such addresses in case one is already used up.

You must have a valid (fake does work though) submitter's full name. Make sure that the name matches well with the region (for example, you cannot have an Indian name for a Canadian website, got me? Say you cannot have an Indian name like "Harbhajan Singh" for a Canadian Immigration Attorney's website (unless the owner is Harbhajan Singh of course, lol).

The full address of the company, including the telephone number, fax, email address and importantly the Zip or PIN code.

When you submit make sure you submit it to the right category. Thats important. Its better to NOT submit it in case you don't find an appropriate category for any particular directory. That way you won't be banned (obviously, your IP address would be tapped, a reason good enough to ban you)

In case there are directory websites which demand a login, sign up for it.

Make sure you do note the login details somewhere for future use. Its great to use the Google Docs for this. Accessible anywhere, anytime!

After having submitted to various directories, you may need to confirm the entry by clicking on the link which would be sent to you by mail (that is the email address you provided as a point of contact).

The email address you provide as a point of contact should NEVER be the official email address of the company or that which belongs to some department. For example, you cannot use an email address like info@mybusinessmarketing.com or that which belongs to a department like sales@mybusinessmarketing.com. Instead it could be submisions@mybusinessmarketing.com - which is valid and sounds good.

Doing that ensures the trust you have built in the directory submission websites.

Lastly, you need to wait and watch (and reap the fruits of your efforts) until you get mails from the websites approving or disapproving your entry.

In case its approved, make a note of it so that you don't blunder by re-submitting it to the same category.

In case your entry is disapproved also, make a note of it. Look out for any provisions for resubmissions or a 'time gap' before which you can try your resubmission.

Its recommended to wait until you resubmit lest your IP is marked and you are blocked from submitting again.

Comments? Suggestions?