Surviving In The Web Without Google by Sitecritic .Net
Google is the king of search engines today and it is almost certain that your
website will not get decent traffic if it does not appear in the first few
pages of Google search results. The converse is also true. If your site is
ranked well in google, you will enjoy tremendous amount of free traffic.
The Problem Other than banning sites that uses illegal Search Engine
Optimization Techniques, Google also put new websites into hibernation (also
known as Google sandbox effect). Famous SEO techniques such as keywords
optimization and linking strategies will not work on new domain names, ie new
websites will not appear in Google search results for at least a few months.
Instead of trying to outsmart the Google sandbox, why not focus your effort in
getting leads without using Google Search Results?
As a webmaster and SEO researcher, I have created numerous websites and many of
them are affected by the Google sandbox as well. This article outlines the
techniques that I found useful in getting hits for my new websites without
using Google SERPs.
Forums A good way to start is to post questions or comments in forums. You will
want to include your website address in your signature so that people can visit
your website after reading your posts. The more busy the forum is, the more
your signature will be exposed and the chances of your urls being clicked will
also be higher. The catch is that you must be friendly and abide by the forum
rules, else your post might be deleted by the moderator.
Write Articles If you do a google search for "Submit Articles", you will find
many websites that are looking for articles to host. Write articles that are
related to the keywords of your website and submit to their sites. Make your
articles interesting and original. Visit the library, do research....etc.
Writing good articles is hardwork but your effort will be well rewarded.
Copying other articles wholesale will only get you into trouble. This is the
most popular SEO technique now but the problem is many people are spamming
links in their articles. My suggestion is that you do not provide any outgoing
links in your body but make sure you have 1 clickable url of your website in
the author biography section.
Impress Your Visitor During Their First Visit If you can make your website
unique so that your first time visitors remember you, they will return to your
site again in the future. They might also spread your url around for free. A
website can be unique in 2 ways, either the content or design. Always ask
yourself what makes your website special? There are millions of websites
around, what makes people remember your site?
I personally hate websites that have a 1 column layout and start off with a
header in red:
"Let me tell you a secret, I made 50000 thousand dollars this month and I want
to share with you the secret...."
Websites like these were long out-dated because there are millions of them
appearing everyday in the internet. It only gives people the impression that
the author is thirsty for money and nothing else. That is the problem if you
advertise too much in your site.
One of the tips in creating effective websites is to make your index page fit
within the window with minimal scrolling. Make your menu obvious. People are
lazy. Make them click on your links and browse through your site rather than
making them scroll. Use images and design elements to break the monotony of
your web pages. Many websites are ranked very well in Google but they do not
sell. People usually do not stay more than 30 secs after entering the index
page.
Submit Your Site For Competition or Reviews If your website is very well
designed or has really great content, submit it for reviews. You will get free
exposure, recognition and prestige if your site wins the "Site of the Day",
"Best Web Design Award" or something similiar. Putting the award on your site
gives your visitor confidence in you and your services.
Remember MSN and Yahoo Many traditional SEO techniques still works for MSN,
Yahoo and other search engines. You should not stop optimizing your pages even
if Google does not like you. Of all the techniques, I found quality 1 way links
to be the most effective. This is not an article about effective linking
strategies so I will not go into details. Always think of ways to built up back
links. It works for all search engines.
Advertising This is the most expensive option but might also be the most
effective in getting hits for your site. Look for sites that are ranked well in
Google and provide similiar services as you. Visit their site and see if they
provide an advertising section. If you can, advertise on their index page but
be prepare to pay a few hundred dollars per month at least.
Another proven advertising technique is google adwords. Sign up for an adwords
account at adwords.google.com. Your advertisement will appear in many websites
across the google network, giving you great exposure immediately. The bad news
is that you might need to pay alot every month.
Blogging I am putting this option last because it is the hotest topic nowsadays
and definitely worth investing. Getting leads from blogs is an effective
technique, no doubt about that. By actively posting blogs and participating in
conversations, you are exposing your website especially to people who share the
same interests or are in the same industry as you, giving you quality leads.
However, it is also interesting to note that statistics shows that most blogs
just sit there and do nothing. Therefore, marketing your blog becomes another
issue to worry about.
Conclusion I have only covered a few important tips here but they are alll valid
optimization techniques and will make you visible to Google in time to come
while waiting for the Sandbox to disappear. There are of course other ways to
get hits without depending on Google. One popular technique is to buy
guaranteed hits. Just search for "get hits" and you know what I mean.
Sometimes, I think that being too dependent on Google is a bad thing. This
gives Google the power to do what they want.
About the Author
Sitecritic.net is formed by a group of
web addicts, mainly volunteers from all over the world. Our goal is to create a
community of web designers and developers who share the common interest in
bringing out the best in creatiing effective web sites.
|
