Search Engine Optimization and The Sandbox

By: Jason Nandique
Submitted: 2008-07-23 14:21:13
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It is no secret that the major search engines favor older sites and treat younger sites the way you probably treated your younger sister when you were young! It makes sense because websites do come and go, and the fact that a website has stuck around a few years may mean that website is likely to be around for a long time in the future. A new domain has no history, and does not provide any way to tell if it will have a long future. The search engine companies do not know if the website has a good topic, or if the owner is committed to making a project that will last a long time with regular updates.

Even more important to getting noticed by search engines, are back links back to a website with targeted text. In other words, the text used over the hyperlink from another site gives a search engine a good idea of what the site is about. This factor may be as important as the actual text on the website. It highlights the really important pages of the website, and shows what other web masters think is worth linking back to.

However, even new domains can get very good search engine rankings. Of course, having a website that is optimized to be found by search engine users is important. But the subject of website optimization will be the topic of another article. The next important factor is the quality and amount of other websites which link back to the new domain! In my mind, especially for new sites, this is even more important than the words on the website. Of course, it will not work without the new website being about the topic that the hyperlinks are suggesting it is about. That would not make sense because surfers will not find what they are looking for, but the actual on site optimization does not have to be that difficult, and again, that is not the topic of this article.

If you want to develop these targeted links, called back links, you can consider several options. Social bookmarking sites are very popular, and make it simple to call attention to an interesting article on your new website. These sites usually have a good ranking with search engines, and they can also pass that on. Other places to create back links are article sites, other people's blogs, website directories, and even classified ad sites.

Before you go out and create all of these links though, make sure you have a plan. Do some research and find the words that people use to find your site. It is surprising that when we start to think like web masters, we find it hard to think like ordinary web surfers. However, keyword tools are everywhere to give you an idea what people look for.

Also, do not always assume that you have to link to the front page of your site. Deep links, or links to inside pages, can be very effective. Besides, they are usually more specific to what a web surfer wants. If you are trying to sell things with your website, you know that the less times you require a visitor to click on links, the better it is. If you want to make a link campaign for video mp3 players, deliver the web surfer to that page, and not to a page with general electronics!

With a well thought out link campaign, I have seen new websites obtain front page listings in the major search engines very quickly. Sometimes with a good strategy the race to the front page can take days instead of months or years.

Spend your time coming up with a search engine strategy, and not on the long and sometimes boring business of requesting backlinks. Use this very affordable and unique service to break out of the search engine sandbox for very reliable results! The service provides social bookmarks, directory submissions, and blog posts, and you will find that it will save you money in the long run to let professionals help you for pennies a link!

Article source: Expert Articles