Submit Express Newsletter #33
October 15, 2000 (Updated Sept. 2002)
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1- Intro
2- Choosing a Search Engine Optimization Company
3- Search Engine News: Netscape, Google, AltaVista, FAST Search and
LookSmart
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1- Intro
Seems that new search engine optimization companies are popping up
every day , but do they really know what they are doing? In this issue
we will provide you with a list of things to look for if you happen to
be looking to outsource your optimization work.
We would like to announce that Patricia Seybold Group
(customers.com)- an ebusiness consulting firm to Fortune 1000
companies- did a feature article about Submit Express and our
optimization services. They are highly recommending our services to
their clients. You can visit their site at:
http://www.customers.com/
An interesting fact: when we were contacted for an interview by
Patricia Seybold Group, they asked who our competitors were. Our
response was that there are several companies and not really one leader
in the field. However, every other optimization company that they
contacted named Submit Express as one of their competitors! That is
why they decided to do an article about us and our optimization
services. We were not surprised, as we are currently #1 or near the
top for the term "search engine optimization" in almost all major
search engines. You can see the details at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/optimize.html
Feel free to forward this email to all your friends that have websites
who may benefit from this information.
Subscription is completely free and can be obtained at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/newsletters.html
Thanks,
Submit Express
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2- Choosing a Search Engine Optimization Company
(Note: This Article was updated Sept. 2002)
You may have spent countless hours trying to get a good search engine
ranking. Maybe you have been successful and maybe you haven't. In
either case you may have considered outsourcing this part of your
website promotion to a professional search engine optimization company.
Here we will provide you a few tips on how to choose a good company.
1) Find a Company by Searching the Search Engines
What better way to find a company that practices what they preach? Look
in all the major search engines to see which companies come up on top
most of the time. You can do a search on keywords such as "search
engine optimization" or "search engine placement." If a company can get
itself up in the top, then chances are they can get you on top as well.
Narrow down your search to a few different companies and follow the
rest of the steps below until you find one that you like.
2) Guarantees
Find out what kind of a guarantee they provide. No one can guarantee
that 100% of your keywords will get a top 10 ranking in all the major
search engines. However, most companies will give a minimum guarantee
and a refund if the guarantee is not met. Some companies, such as us,
provide a pay-per-performance type placement, where you may pay an
initial set-up fee and nothing more until you see results in the top 10
or top 20. Note that most companies will only guarantee results after
minimum of 2-3 months, because search engines do not index sites
immediately.
3) Reputation
Find out how long the company has been around and who are some of their
clients. Ask them if they can provide you with a client list that you
may contact. You may also ask to see some recent ranking reports for
their existing clients.
4) Technique
Ask them what technique they use for optimization. Almost everybody
uses some sort of doorway page technique for placement. Some may use
cloaking software and some may use other redirection techniques, where
the visitor does not actually see the optimized page. Some do not use
any redirection and the visitor may end up on an ugly entry page
constructed only from a few sentences of text. Cloaking software may
be a little bit risky because the search engines may detect them, and
also it requires a high level of maintenance to keep up with the IP
number changes. If the optimization company does not update their IP
addresses on a regular basis, then you may lose all your rankings. For
more on cloaking software please see our May 1st, 2000 issue at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/newsletters/may_1_00.html
Also, ask the optimization company if they use any software for
optimization or if they use manual techniques. Stay away from companies
using software such as Web Position Gold. A while ago, AltaVista
dropped many sites that use Web Position software for optimization.
This type of software usually places certain text on all pages that can
be detected. Although, Web Position now states that they have
randomized their software. However, companies using such software
normally do not have true knowledge of how search engines work and they
rely on software that anyone can buy to do the work. A true search
engine placement expert will not need any type of software to get you a
high ranking.
Here at Submit Express, we optimize client's actual website content.
We also do not use any type of software to create optimized pages.
We will gladly explain the details to anybody interested in our services.
5) Directory Submission
Since directory submissions are reviewed by actual humans, other
techniques must be used for optimization. Make sure that the
optimization company knows what they are doing. Make sure that they
will submit you to Yahoo, LookSmart and Open Directory (Dmoz.org).
6) Keyword Consultation
Most optimization companies will help you decide keywords for your site
or can recommend better or similar keywords to use. There are tools
that can determine what the most searched keywords are. A good
optimization company will have such tools and will help you decide
keywords for your site. You can see a list of such tools in our August
15th, 2000 issue at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/newsletters/aug_15_00.html
7) Who will own and host the pages?
Make sure that you have full ownership of the optimized pages. Some
optimization companies will register new domain names under their own
names, host it on their own servers and redirect all traffic to you.
The problem is that the day you decide to cancel service you will lose
all traffic to your site. If new domain names are being registered for
optimization, some companies may offer to host the optimized pages for
you and redirect traffic to you. However, make sure that the domain
names gets transfered to you after service maintenance is complete. Note
that it may not be necessary to get a brand new domain name. Some
companies will optimize your existing domain name. If so, make sure to
ask what changes will be made to your site in advance.
8) Ranking Reports and other Extras
Make sure that the company offers you monthly ranking reports. Ranking
reports could be a very time consuming process, unless you have your
own software. Most search engine companies will offer this in the deal.
Also, ask what other extras or options can be provided. For example,
with our plans we provide Yahoo and LookSmart Express fee based
submissions and link popularity improvements. Link popularity is a very
important ranking factor these days. Make sure that the company you
choose offers a plan for improving your link popularity.
9) Fees and Plans
Some companies may charge a one-time flat fee and some may have
monthly maintenance fees or some others may charge on a
Cost-per-Click (CPC) Basis. All plans have pros and cons. On a flat fee
or monthly fee based plan you have a fixed budget and most of the time
you are guaranteed a certain number of top 10 or top 20 results. However,
most companies will not give you a traffic gauarantee. On the other hand
with a CPC plan, you pay a fixed fee such as 50 cents a click, but there
could be no limit on what the max fee is on a monthly basis. You only pay
for traffic delivered to you. You will have to decide for yourself which plan
is the best option for your needs.
There are only a handful of good optimization companies out there that
do not charge an arm and a leg to do the work and offer everything
above. Feel free to do your own research and compare them to our
services. You can see more details on our optimization services,
sample ranking reports and testimonials at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/optimize.html
If you are interested in a quote for your site, please email your URL
address and 10-30 keywords from our feedback page and we will get back
to you. You can also call us toll free at: 1-877-737-3083
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Advertising space in this newsletter is now available. The next issue
will go out to over 76,000 webmasters or website owners. See details
at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/newsletter_advertising.html
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3- Search Engine News
Netscape and Google:
Netscape renewed search partnership with Google. Google will be the
secondary search result provider after the regular listings at
Netscape, which are currently pulled from Open Directory (Dmoz.org).
Please see details at:
http://www.google.com/pressrel/pressrelease37.html
AltaVista:
AltaVista Expands to Australia. AltaVista just launched an Australian
version of their search engine at: http://altavista.com.au
Please see details at:
http://doc.altavista.com/company_info/press/pr100400.html
FAST Search:
FAST Search at www.alltehweb.com is claiming to be the largest search
engine with over 575 million sites in its database and having crawled
over 1.5 billion sites. Please see details at:
http://www.submitexpress.com/fast.html
LookSmart:
LookSmart Acquires Zeal Media at www.zeal.com. Zeal media offers a
community based directory, where members can submit sites and rank the
existing listings. LookSmart will integrate the Zeal.com technology in
its non-commercial site listings. Please see details at:
http://www.looksmart.com/aboutus/press/pr/pr00-09-28.html
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Is your site anywhere to be found in the search engines? Do you need to
be in the top 10 of search engines, but don't know how? Are you tired
of trying everything you possibly can and still are nowhere to be
found?
If you need help getting your site in the top 10 of major search
engines, please check out our search engine optimization services:
http://www.submitexpress.com/optimize.html
We guarantee results or your money back.
We can also give you free advice when you order our 75,000+ Search Engine
Submission. We will visit your site and send you a list of suggestions
on how to improve your rankings. See details at:
http://submitexpress.com/submit2500.html
Don't just submit your site to the search engines, SUBMIT IT RIGHT.
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Submit Express
Website: www.submitexpress.com
Past Issues of this Newsletter:
http://www.submitexpress.com/newsletters/
Submit your website to 40 top search engines for FREE!
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Copyright 2010-2002 Submit Express - No part of this newsletter may be
copied or published without prior permission, but please feel free to
forward this to all your friends as long as you keep it in its entirety.
