Google search engine has become so pervasive that we tend to forget other search engines. Microsoft Bing is a search engine which has a unique algorithm and displays search results based on a different set of criteria. What are the repercussions? For one, if your website, for any reason, does not attract better search engine ranking on Google, it may fare better with Bing. The overall share of Bing in the search engine market is less than 15% but is picking up fast. There are reports that Bing provides better and more relevant search engine results than Google.
You must submit your website separately to Bing to get registered. Keyword searches work differently in Bing and the search algorithm is a secret like in Google. Since the competition is less severe in Bing, the chances of getting a higher listing are better in Bing.
SEO for Bing is not any different from Google. It is also based on keywords and therefore the content on your website need not change dramatically. In fact, since you are submitting your site to Google as well as Bing, the content has to be suitably modified. You must take care that in the process you don’t lose a good ranking in Google.
The presentation in Bing has been altered and is different from Google. Microsoft claims that this has been done after in depth research and analysis. Many experts confirm that the Bing interface is better suited for human physiology. Despite all these claims Google still seems to hold a psychological edge. But it would not be a surprise if Bing with its pedigree comes up trumps in the search engine market. You must remember that there is enough space in search market for more than two players. It is therefore advisable to do due diligence at this stage. Who knows how the search market would evolve in future?
Search Engine Marketing or SEM is a widely used term for a form of Internet marketing that utilizes an array of online marketing strategies to promote a website, improve its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), and increase its traffic and conversions. These strategies, inter alia, include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), paid ad placements etc.
SEM predominantly (though not invariably) combines search engine optimization (SEO) which pulls in traffic (website visitors) from organic (natural) searches, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising which helps to draw in qualified traffic (people who are already searching for the product category being promoted by the website) through sponsored ads (or sponsored links) put up by search engines (against payment per click) on the top and right-hand side of the SERP.
Combining SEO and PPC techniques in SEM helps to drive traffic to the website as they focus on different segments of potential visitors and have different types of strengths. SEO has strengths where PPC does not, and vice versa. PPC, for instance, generates traffic faster (sometimes in hours) than SEO (which may require 3 – 15 months) whereas the cost per visitor is much lower with SEO than with PPC. SEO helps to generate higher volume of low-conversion traffic (good for increasing site visibility) while PPC attracts more qualified (higher conversion potential) but lower-volume traffic and so on.
The trick to any successful SEM campaign is to optimize the site for both SEO and PPC separately and to have a judicious mix of the two strategies depending on the target market and the website goals.
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is the ongoing process of making a website (and its content) relevant for searches carried out by people surfing the net; and facilitating search engines to display (rank) the site high up in the search results page. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of website traffic from ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ searches by tweaking various elements (such as keywords, anchor text in metatags of web pages, the type of coding etc) of the website to optimize it.
SEO includes two distinct and important aspects which need to be addressed if the optimization is to be successful. The first is the technical aspect (such as keyword research, site architecture, use of keywords in title and metatags, site navigation for web spiders, incorporation of site map and directory, building links etc). These technical features make it easier for search engines (their web spiders or web crawlers) to find and index a site for the appropriate keywords. The second aspect relates to marketing-focused tasks to make a site more appealing to users (content, layout, images, easy navigation for visitors, function tabs or buttons e.g. ‘add-to favorites’, ‘refer-a-friend’, ‘quick enquiry’ etc, that are easy to access and operate and so on).
SEO strategies can be learned but need a lot of hard work, dedication and a will to experiment. It would be worthwhile to you to check out some guides on the subject. If you plan on learning this SUPER important Traffic Getting Strategy, check out some of my beginner guides here, you can start with entering your name and email in the box to the right to Receive - “The 7 Brutal Certainties Of Search Engine Optimization” – A Mini Guide To the World Of SEO
Optimize it!
Ok, so check this out…
One way to get natural search traffic to your website is to place a video on the page. Since the most widely used search engine is Google, then we want to start there. YouTube happens to be owned by google, so it will help your rankings by using them to host your video.
- Get an account on YouTube, make sure you place your website links in the videos as well as on your channel.
- Upload the video, the one you want on your website, into your YouTube account.
- After it is done uploading and is processed, take the embed code and send it to your webmaster. If you do it yourself, put it on the page where you want it viewed.
Every time a visitor watches the video on your page, you also get a view on YouTube, cool right? So the more popular your video is, the more weight it carries in the search engines. But what if they don’t click play, you ask? Then make the video auto-start!
Typically if it is a landing page and the first thing your viewer sees is your video, then you want the video to play automatically. ESPECIALLY if its an important message, you don’t want to take the chance of them not playing the video! (This will also help with your bounce rate)
So here’s what you do:
- Take your embed code and look for the URL, its in there twice and usually looks something like this – “http://www.youtube.com/v/FjTcA7i0f32pP0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0″
- Take this little snippet of code – &autoplay=1 and place it right before the first & symbol (in this case its &hl)
- Make sure you also place it on the other URL
So you set your video to play automatically, now every time someone visits your page, you get a view on YouTube also!
One easy way to rank high in the search engines for your specific keyword is to buy domains for it. For example: If your keyword is “flower shop in long beach,” use a domain registrar like NameCheap.com to search for it. your website can be www.FlowerShopInLongBeach.com or www.Flower-shop-in-long-beach.com or any variations of it. you could even reverse the words – www.LongBeachFlowerShop.com.
Buying domains like these are what some call “Search Engine Friendly URLs.” These rank SUPER FAST for your keywords, and often come up before in results before your site is even complete! Just make sure you don’t try to buy domains with TOO MANY keywords stuffed in it, you don’t want it to read funny.
Once you buy your domain, make sure you get hosting. I recommend HostGator, they are extremely reliable. When you choose hosting with hostgator, make sure you atleast buy the baby plan. Its a great plan for only 10 bucks a month (if you pay monthly) and you can have UNLIMITED domains! So imagine, you just keep buying SEO Friendly URLs and have plenty of space for their websites.
