LotusJump Blog

Search Engine Optimization is a significant way to measure and improve a webpage’s performance. By now, you are probably familiar with basic SEO techniques such as posting quality content, writing full-length articles, adding meta tags, title tags, etc. In reality, there are many different techniques that help users position their web pages ahead of other websites in search engines. During the initial stages of posting articles, quality and relevant content can draw traffic to one’s website; however, using advanced SEO techniques can help users drive traffic consistently for a long-lasting campaign. This article enumerates some of the advanced SEO tricks that would help bloggers to showcase their web pages to a broad spectrum of internet users.

Utilize Internal Linking

Providing internal links is one the easiest ways to rank higher in the search engines. In fact, internal
links help to popularize the other pages in your website which might have poor visibility through search
engines directly. Linking internally will also help you to list several links from your website in the search
pages, thereby increasing the chances for viewers to visit your contents. In addition, the use of anchor
tags in internal links boosts the search engine rankings as well.

Optimize Your Images

As images visually represent the content of a blog post, they too need proper keywords and tags. In fact,
about one-fifth of the daily users search for images related to their needs. You might have noticed the
name of certain images represented as image 1, image 2, DSC002, etc., which are the default names
assigned by the tools used to photograph them. Such default text should be renamed with words
relevant to your content. Only then, these images will be listed in the top pages of the search engines
when users search with keywords related to the content in your webpage.

Another common mistake that most bloggers commit is the use of blank spaces while naming their
images. A blank space in an image will be displayed as “%20″ which looks awkward, especially in the
address bar. Instead, use special characters like hyphens or plus signs for keyword spacing. If you are using
blogger to post your content, add ‘alt’ and ‘title’ attributes to the image tag through its HTML source
code.

Translate Feature

If you think that majority of the internet users make their searches in the international language, then
you are wrong. In fact, certain sources predict that more than 60 percent of the total users perform
their searches using languages other than English. Translating your content to other languages will open
up your web pages to a broad spectrum of visitors, not to mention there is less competition in foreign
search engines when compared to the conventional ones, thereby making it easier for your webpage to
climb higher in the search list.

Optimize keyword phrases

If you are familiar with the basics of SEO techniques, you should know the significance of keywords and where to include them on your site and in content. However, keyword phrases are mutually important as well.

The use of generalized keywords would drive a lot of traffic; but, as several blogs and web pages use
similar keywords, chances for your page to rise amidst the others are less likely. That’s when keyword
phrases help users to boost their content’s visibility and proceed forward in the ranking system as well.
Most content creators target users who make their searches with one or two words. But, you would be
much more successful if you target users who type 3 to 4 words to make their searches that are very
specific to their needs.

Utilize Free Resources

There are several analyzing programs available over the internet. In fact, some of the best tools are
available for free. To mention a few, Google Analytics & GoogSpy are some of the dedicated online services that collects information
about the popular keywords which are used in a popular search engine. Typing the words related
to a website would bring a list of keywords that the particular website bids on. In fact, users can get
information about the best keywords and keyword phrases that have high conversion rates. There are
several other free applications that would help you learn the practical keywords in use.

Examine Log Files

A casual glance at your server’s log files could provide you useful information about the keywords that are being used to find your website through search engines. If you find unfamiliar keywords in these files, optimizing them in your website will boost traffic further. This process should be done periodically to increase traffic consistently.

The above tips have the potential to help you boost your webpage’s ranking and traffic in search engines. However, don’t expect changes to happen overnight. Keep an eye out for potential areas to optimize your website and improve accordingly. After all, learning and implementing SEO techniques requires time and dedication for successful results.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology, health and parenting. Beside this she is fond of games and gadgets. These days she is busy in writing articles on nokia lumia 800 specifications and Andrew Lauren.

First of all, happy ‘leap’ day to everyone out there, especially those with birthdays today. To make this day even more special, we are going to start offering a free months credit for every person that you refer to LotusJump SEO software. All you have to do is send us an email at support@lotusjump.com (including the name and email address used by your referral to sign up for an account) and we will credit* that amount to your account. If you do not already have an account with us, sign up for a free trial and we will extend it an extra 30 days. Happy link-building!

Sincerely,

Your friends from LotusJump

*Referral bonus only applies to subscribers who continue past any trial phase offered

Millions of businesses throughout the world rely heavily on traffic generated through the major search engines (Google, Yahoo!,  Bing) to generate traffic and sales, which is why the latest Google Panda(monium) update has led to chaos around the web. The update, designed to improve the overall search quality for users, was said to have affected over 12% of website rankings. This figure could be on the rise as newer (but smaller) updates seem to be released monthly.

• Original Content - High-quality, unique content has been (and always will be) the way to go when publishing content on a website. One of the biggest reasons sites were penalized was due to a lack of original, unique content. Spend the necessary time to ensure you don’t violate this website “code of conduct” and strive to have at least 500 words of content on your homepage, as well as the rest of your product/service sub-pages. If you are using content that is found on a different site, be sure to link to it and give credit to the source.
• Relevance - This one may sound like a “no-brainer” but you’d be surprised at how many sites there are that don’t match up the title tags/header tags with the content on the page. For example, if your site has a product page about dog food, make sure that the title tags, meta description, and headline tags contain the words “dog food” (hopefully a little more descriptive than that) in them.
• Backlink Profile -Search engines still rely heavily on a website’s link profile to determine how well the keywords rank. Strive to build a diverse backlink profile - don’t try and build all of your links from the same type of source. If you need help finding relevant places to build links, there are a few quality SEO softwares out there that can help. Also strive to integrate social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) into your business since any mentions of your brand via these mediums can lead to positive outcomes.
• Keyword Density/Variation - Don’t try and abuse or manipulate the system by spamming your keywords throughout your site’s content - search engines grow smarter by the minute and can almost always detect this. Instead, shoot to use your keyword (in different variations) about 2% of the total content. So if you are targeting a search term such as “weight loss pill”, use phrases such as “pill that can assist in weight loss” or “losing weight is a problem we all face. Fortunately, there are pills…”.
• Professionalism - Or in other words, make sure that the written content is grammatically correct without any misspellings, sentence fragments, or run-on sentences. To ensure that your site maintains a high level of professionalism, consider having 2-3 people read over each page of content to check for any of these errors. Yes, search engines can detect grammatical errors and may have an adverse effect on your keyword rankings.
• User-friendliness - Is your site easy to read and navigate, and does it offer insightful information (or helpful links)? High bounce rates are suspected to have a negative effect on rankings, so be sure to provide engaging content that will keep the user on the page for as long as possible with a desire to visit other pages of your site. Broken links are never a good thing. Be sure to update or 301 redirect them to their respective pages.

Keep in mind that having just 1 bad or irrelevant page of content can negatively impact the other pages of your site. Don’t get careless! Take some time to give your website a thorough review or get help from a professional SEO company and make sure you are keeping up to date with the latest SEO practices.

LotusJump is currently seeking partnerships with businesses related, but not limited to online marketing & PR, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), web hosting, web design, content generation, social media marketing,  SEO tools, bloggers, and more. LotusJump is an affordable web-based  SEO service that shows users how and where to build relevant back-links, which will help improve the overall search engine rankings for their chosen keywords. Find out how you can become a LotusJump partner or affiliate and start generating a lucrative residual income today!

For those of you out there who consider yourselves deal-hunters, we now have some new price-saving options for our LotusJump Pro and Basic accounts. Instead of paying the normal monthly fee, users now have the option of pre-paying for either 6 months or a year, which can lead to a savings of  up to 25% off the regular cost. See the links below to learn more:

LotusJump Pro account - Discount pricing

LotusJump Basic account - Discount pricing

The month of June has been exciting for us here at LotusJump. One of the highlights was the Internet Retailer Conference Exhibition 2010 show, held June 8-11, in which we were able to exhibit our new SEO Designed for E-Commerce product. Our proprietary “Keyword Opportunity Engine” by LotusJump is designed to help e commerce companies maximize the value of existing, yet unknown, keywords rankings. We’re excited about this new and innovative product and the value it can provide for new clients as well as existing customers.

There are 5 powerful advantages to the Keyword Opportunity Engine:

• Intelligent, Automated Keyword Research

• Find and Focuses on the Most Profitable Keywords

• Supports Large E-Commerce Sites

• Analytics Integration

• Powerful Keyword-Level Ranking Reporting

Not only were we able to debut our latest product, we also had the opportunity to meet many partners and users of LotusJump. The show was a great opportunity to see how like minds are paving the way for better business opportunities. We felt eagerly accepted at the show and hope to attend IRCE 2011 to follow up with the latest LotusJump improvements.

LotusJump attending the Internet Retail show in Chicago

Writing articles is one of the best ways to share what you know and to get your name out there at the same time.  Sharing valuable information with readers will help you establish yourself as a knowledgeable source on certain matters and will give credibility and strength to your own website.

Writing original articles can have great SEO benefits as well.  When you leave natural, contextual links back to your site within an article, you are showing the search engines that your site is relevant to what is being said in the article.  If search engines are frequently seeing links to your site surrounded by relevant and accurate content, they’ll give greater authority to your website in regards to those keywords.

Now the real question: What do you write about?

Answer: Anything!

• Are there any current events that can relate to your business?
• Do you have any upcoming company events?
• Are there any community events that you could tie into your services?
• Do you have a flagship product that you could spotlight?
• Search for your keywords on other article submission sites and see what other people are writing about.
• Anything with a human interest angle - bizarre, interesting, heartwarming, out of the ordinary.
• Set Google alerts for your keywords and company name and monitor what’s going on in regards to your business, products, or field of work…write about it!

And Remember….

• Keep a pad of paper handy for those moments where you read something, hear something, or see something that would be good to write about - you’ll be surprised how quickly your list will grow!

When using LotusJump you’ll find that there are a myriad of content building sites suggested as outlets for the original content you create.  While we have a handful of favorites, a useful and easy to use content building site is Knol.  Knol is a Google project that launched a few years ago and consists of user-written articles on a range of topics.   It’s almost like Google’s version of Wikipedia, but with an option for contributors to allow, or not allow, the public to edit their page.

Knols can be on just about anything - create a company profile, an article about your services, a topic relevant to your industry… the sky is the limit.  You can work off a previously created template, or get creative and start from scratch.  Once you’ve written your Knol make sure to add pictures, links and charts to make it even more enjoyable for your readers and then publish your page for all to view.

Writing your own Knol entry is easy and can be fun- especially when you’re writing about something that you enjoy!  So, what are you waiting for? Write your own Knol today!

This guy has taken the Pogo Stick to an entirely new level! His tricks are unbelievable!
Now, if only I could master a flip on the trampoline…

[Every Wednesday LotusJump highlights a Jump of the Week (JOTW). It can be any kind of jump (over tall things, in search engine rankings, through hoops of fire, whatever). Submit your favorite Jump via comment and we'll consider it for future Wednesday JOTW's!]