Search Engine Optimization
Seach Engine Optimization Guidelines For Webmasters
© Copyright 2002, Pandecta Magazine.
You may not reproduce this seach engine optimization page without prior, written permission from Pandecta Magazine. If you find this page or these specific optimization guidelines duplicated somewhere else on the web, please let us know at legaldesk@pandecta.com. You may print these guidelines for your own use. For more on seach engine optimization, please refer to the current version of the Search Engine Yearbook at www.searchengineyearbook.com.
Search Engine Optimization Without The 
There are no shortcuts in serious search engine optimization.
The few people who generate targeted (and consistent) traffic through search engine optimization:
1. Know what works and what does not and
2. Know that search engine optimization takes time, effort and sometimes money
If you are looking for "tricks", you're on the wrong site.
99% of all site owners spend their search engine optimization time searching for new tricks. That is why the other 1% get all the traffic.
This page is about spending your time, effort and money in the right places and on the right things in order to get maximum value.
What 99% Of Site Owners Are Missing
Valuable web site content is key.
That is why this site is filled to the brim with free tutorials like this one on search engine optimization. When you create real value and give it away for free, people want to link to your site - and they do. People want to tell their friends and colleagues about your site - and they do.
The punchline is that search engines want to - no, they need to - list good sites at the top of their search results. And they are constantly finding more ingenious ways of doing just that. Find ways of delivering real value from your site and the search engines will find ways to rank your site at the top.
This is not just theory.
Real Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization - real search engine optimization - is about clearing the way for the search engine to spider and index your site correctly.
EXAMPLE:
This page starts with the phrase "Search Engine Optimization" - and we stick to that term. We call it "search engine optimization" right the way through. We don't switch between it and related terms like SEO, search engine marketing, search engine placement etc.
By simply sticking to one term, we increase it's density considerably. No doubt in the spider's mind what this page is about.
Half The Effort, Twice The Traffic
Search engine optimization does require work, effort and money. Like any other marketing project, the results are not necessarily correlated to the input, but to the quality of the decisions made along the way.
The most important decision you will make in your search engine optimization campaign is which keywords to target.
This is a crucial, make-or-break decision.
Do you know what keywords your customers are using when looking for your product? There are ways to see which search terms people actually use. These statistics are invaluable to any search engine optimization campaign. If you're interested in more about this and you have about 30 dollars to spare, our Search Engine Yearbook shows you exactly how to do keyword targeting - and everything else that's crucial to your optimization campaign.
The Truth About Domain Names
Yes, as far as is practical, your domain name should contain your top keywords.
BUT
There are many factors that determine a good domain name. Having your most important keywords in there helps, but having a domain like "look-at-all-the-keywords-in-my-domain.com" is just not practical.
A good domain is
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short,
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easy to say and spell,
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descriptive,
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memorable,
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distinctive, and
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keyword-rich.
You should be able to say it over the telephone without having to spell it or explain it further.
There are search engine optimization experts who maintain that you don't need keywords in your domain. I've done a little research on this and from that, it seems that it does make a difference - especially at Google. I've also asked this question in a discussion forum and the consensus was that it's a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.
You should not mess up your domain over it.
Are You Paying For Someone Else's Mess?
The theory is that, if you share an IP address with other sites, your site may be penalized for someone else's mess. When someone who shares your IP address spams the search engines, the IP (and therefor all domains on that IP) is penalized.
Your domain might be on a shared IP without you even knowing. Check with your hosting service. Setting up a dedicated IP is fast, cheap and easy.
Note:
A dedicated IP and a dedicated server is not the same thing. A dedicated server is expensive and only becomes necessary if you have a large, complex site. A dedicated IP is something else - and it's cheap - around $2. Its significance in search engine optimization has not been proven, but at $2 it's worth having.
Having your own domain name is not the same either. Having a dedicated IP means your domain is associated with a unique IP address - an address not shared by other domains.
More Mission-Critical Search Engine Optimization Guidelines
If you already have the basics of search engine optimization under control and want to dig deeper into the subject, we have a complete resource on search engine optimization called the Search Engine Yearbook that you should get your hands on.
It is recommended only for
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professional webmasters,
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search engine optimization experts,
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marketing professionals,
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Internet researchers,
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serious web site owners and
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search engine fanatics like us
If you fall into any of the above groups (or aspire to) try the Search Engine Yearbook risk-free for a full year. Yes, it comes with a 1-year guarantee.
Listen to search engine guru Jill Whalen says about the book: "André le Roux from Pandecta has just finished his Search Engine Yearbook 2003, and it looks like a winner! I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing (it's huge!), but I did read the entire section on search engine optimization and found nothing to disagree with. You know me -- if there *were* something I would have found it! André's been researching search engines since 1997, so he has a good sense of where this industry has been and where it is headed."
I am giving you a whole year to use the book risk free. If, after a year of using it, you want your money back, just e-mail me. This is a full, no-questions asked, money-back guarantee valid for an entire year.
Thanks for visiting the Pandecta site.
Feel free to continue browsing using the menu to the right.
André le Roux
Editor, Pandecta Magazine
PS: If you have a question about the book, you are welcome to e-mail me directly.
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