Dmoz Listings

You can arguably say that Dmoz is the best free directory on the net, and probably the most trusted.  To check if your website has been included in the Dmoz directory swap your URL with ours in the following link: http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=webstarmultimedia.com.

As a Dmoz editor, I can say that the number one thing we look for when editing a website is the quality of the content.  If your content is not original than you will have a hard time getting accepted in this directory.
Yahoo Directory Links

Yahoo Directory is one of the most important paid directories online, along with Business.com.  To check if your company is listed, see the following link: http://search.yahoo.com/search?n=100&dups=1&p=linkdomain:www.webstarmultimedia.com++site:dir.yahoo.com

If your website is not listed, and you’re a non commercial site, than you can submit it for free.  If it is a commercial site, you’re looking at $300US for inclusion.
Yahoo Inbound Links

Yahoo inbound links are a great way to monitor your link building progress.  It’s also a great tool to see how your competitors are building links.  When looking for new ways to build links, I often use the following tool to see who others have built links with: http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/search?p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webstarmultimedia.com&bwm=i&bwmf=s&bwmo=&fr2=seo-rd-se.
Who is

Who is tool from Domain Tools provides some potentially useful information about one’s URL and website.  Check out: http://whois.domaintools.com/webstarmultimedia.com to find out about your own URL or someone else’s.

Ideally, you can still carry on traditional SEO strategies, but also incorporate new ones.  If you want to compete in tomorrow’s SEO world, than social SEO might be your best bet.  Social SEO can be defined as a method used to promote your site by creating awareness on social network sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Youtube or bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us and Digg.  Social media types include forums, blogs, message boards, wikis and pod casts. 

Anyway you can create a ‘buzz’ around your site, you are surely guaranteed to bring in traffic.  If you have good content, people will link to you.  You can even consider Social SEO as a form of link building.

Best way to start your Social SEO campaign is to register on sites such as Facebook, MySpace and create a company or website profile.  Add pictures, write descriptions and put links up to your website.  You can also register at bookmarking sites and ’tag’ your own website.

Just remember, the more profiles you have, the more you ‘tag’, the more traffic you will get…and ultimately, the higher your search engine ranks will be.   

Most search engines have some form of sponsored link programs.  The 3 most popular ones are Google Adwords, Overture (Yahoo! Search Marketing), and MSN.  My personal favourite of course is Google Adwords.  As many are aware, Google gets the largest share of searches, so that’s one good reason to start your sponsored link campaign with them.  Other reasons include: they have a great adwords program, quick response team (good customer service), and they have an extensive help guide.  There are also a lot of resources out there to help you jump start your Google Adwords campaign.  One that is highly recognized in the industry is Perry Marshall’s Literature on Google Adwords.

Optimizing a sponsored link campaign is very important, in order to achieve the best results.  As a marketing company, if I was targeting multiple keyword phrases and all my adds looked like the one bellow, we would not be getting the desired results we were hoping for:

Ex. #1

WebStar Multimedia Inc.
Toronto Internet Marketing 
Online Services for GTA.

Instead, it would be smarter to target different keyword phrases, and optimize a separate ad for a particular group of keywords.  For example, if we wanted to target the phrase ‘Toronto internet marketing’, we might make an ad such as the one bellow:

Ex. #2

Toronto Internet Marketing
Web Design Services, SEO,
Copywriting & Much More.

If we were creating an add specifically for the keyword phrase ‘web design’, than our ad would probably look something like this:

Ex. #3

Web Design Company
Toronto Web Designers,
Flash, CMS & More…

By optimizing your campaign, you will surely increase your ROI.  Make sure that your also sending your users to the appropriate pages.  You should not be sending your online visitor to the same page every time.   You should have targeted pages that will convert your reader into a customer.  

At the end of the day, if all this is not for you, and you don’t have time to manage your own sponsored link campaign than you can always hire a company that knows what their doing!

What you will find is many ‘General Directories’ out there are loosing their significance.  General directories tend to produce little to no traffic whatsoever.  If you’re submitting your website to a general directory simply for ‘link juice’; don’t be mistaken – major search engines can acknowledge the fact that there is little relevance between your website and the general directory you submit to, and therefore putting very little weight on the link established.  There are a select few general directories that are still worth submitting to.  My top 3 include:

http://www.dmoz.org – Free submission (but probably the hardest directory to get in to), and most likely the most valuable directory link you can create.  If you get into this directory, you are also in Google’s Directory, since Google uses Dmoz results for their own directory.  

http://dir.yahoo.com – This paid submission directory has a recurring annual fee of approximately $300.  Yahoo directory provides a very trusted link and also generates  quite a bit of traffic.

http://botw.org – This paid submission directory has 2 options for payment.  You can either pay a recurring fee of approximately $100, or $250 for a one time fee.  This directory has been around the longest and boasts the fact that they only cater to the ‘best of the web’.  BOTW is a very trusted link according to the search engines.

If you are a business than you might want to look into http://www.business.com. This paid directory is very good for businesses in many industries.  It also has a pricy recurring fee, just like Yahoo!, but has a fair bit of traffic and also provides a trusted link.

The future of directory submissions and link building for search engine optimizers is in niche directories.  By submitting to a directory in your niche market, you are creating links that are much more related to your content and thus more trusted by the search engines.  Ultimately you can expect higher search engine rankings by creating fewer, more trusted links; as apposed to 10 times the amount of less important links.

For example, if you are a Canadian mortgage company you may want to look for mortgage directories or perhaps even real estate directories.  Another good option is to seek Canadian based directories where you can submit your website to.  All these directories would be highly relevant and would be more beneficial than submitting to spammy, general, low traffic directories.

There are a few good lists of directories out there.  One fantastic, but more general directory one is: http://www.avivadirectory.com/strongest-directories/.  

In essence, stick with the top general directories, and search for the niche / relevant directories to submit to.  Directory listings should not be your only means of link building, but should be one of several means of building valuable one-way back links.

I started off like any other person curious about learning search engine optimization.  I Googled various terms like ‘SEO’, and was overwhelmed with millions of results.  Many sources seem to have repetitive information.  Sure you will also find a variety of perspectives - but who can you trust with your SEO knowledge? 

Over a period of time, I have researched various SEO resources and have developed a top 5 list.  This is not to say that these are the top resources for SEO necessarily…this just happens to be my favourite ones.  The below list is in no particular order:

1. www.seobook.com
2. www.bruceclay.com
3. www.seomoz.org
4. www.searchenginewatch.com
5. www.google.com/support/webmasters/   

I know the last one is a little ironic because it’s Google.  But hey, if anyone is going to tell you how you can market your website properly and rank well on the largest search engine in the world…than that person must be Google.

Creating a Sitemap

Whether your website is 4 pages or 4000 pages, you need to have a text-based sitemap.  It’s imperative that you have static links of all your pages directly on the sitemap.  If you’d like you can provide a short description of what each page is about right beside each static link.  This will allow users to find what their looking for more efficiently.  Having a sitemap also allows the search engines to easily spider your entire website and index all of your pages.

Consistent Design & Layout

When designing a new website make sure that each component is consistent throughout.  In most cases, a website will have a unique home page layout and inner page design.  The most important factor once again is consistency.  Make sure you have the same color scheme, font, text size and navigational menu throughout your site.  The last thing you want is a user to feel like he/she is going to another website when they click on a link that goes to one of your inner pages.

Navigation

The way you structure your website’s navigation will determine the level of ease your customers can access information.  If this crucial step is not done properly, you face the risk of loosing potential customers.  By providing various visual paths or links to inner pages, you ensure that people can easily find information throughout your site.  One excellent way to do this is through a menu, also known as a menu bar.  A detailed menu bar should be visible on each page on your website.  Most effective menu designs are created down the left side of the web page or across the top.  Since it might not be feasible to include your entire sitemap in the menu bar; pick your main categories / funnels to include.  A drop down menu can be created to include sub-categories within the menu bar.  Also try to avoid using too much flash or complicated java script for you menus.  It may appear to be visually appealing at first, but can just cause a great deal of confusion for your users.

Website Legibility

Make sure your website is legible. A website that can be easily understood, with a professional design layout will maximize your online sales potential.  Using dark text on a light background is the standard practice for creating legible text.  Split up content into short sections and use subheadings to highlight the major topics.  Organize your content with headings, bullet points and accentuate key areas with bold key-phrases.  By making your message clear you can count on users spending more time on your website, and ultimately converting into customers.

Check for Errors

Review your website on a regular basis for content, design and/or technical errors. Having a professional website with spelling and grammar mistakes can destroy the message that you are trying to convey to your audience.  Even if you are working with a professional content writing team – make sure different people are editing your content for grammar/spelling mistakes. 

We all know how frustrating it can be when we browse a site and end up clicking on dead links that lead nowhere. As new pages are created and/or deleted on the World Wide Web, it’s pretty common for a link to go bad.  Check your site for dead links on a regular basis.  Just type in Google “free broken link checker” and you will find plenty of them. Here is one free tool that will display the broken links within your site: www.dead-links.com.

A good way to avoid technical / design errors is to validate your code.  These days, users have many options when it comes to web browsers and this means that your website runs the risk of not displaying properly in one of them.  The best way to avoid this issue is to use validation tools to ensure your web pages are W3C and CSS compliant.  Visit: http://validator.w3.org/ and http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ to diagnose your site’s code. 

Contact Information

No matter what product or service you’re selling, if a prospective client has a hard time contacting you, than they will surely go to one of your competitors who are more easily accessible.  Make sure all your phone numbers are displayed on a contact page.  Sometimes, it’s a good idea to even have your phone number in the top header/banner of your page.  On your actual contact page, include all your phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc.  You can also have a contact form for users to fill out so they can get more information.  Some people prefer to be contacted by an agent, as apposed to calling in right away.  The more contact info you display, the more assessable you become to your users and the more reliable and trustworthy you appear to be.

When considering which directories to submit to here are some important factors to think about: Try focusing on building valuable links, as apposed to large numbers of meaningless links. Submitting your site to thousands of general directories that list spammy sites will only tell the search engines that you are in fact one of those spammy sites too. Look for web directories with lots of traffic. Make sure the page you wish to be listed on is actually in the search results. For example, type in Google: “site:directory.com/page-i-will-be-listed-on.html” to see if the page you are about to submit to is actually indexed.

Look for niche directories in your particular industry. If you are an event planner, type ‘event planner directory’ or ‘event planner listings’ in Google and the major search engines. A good rule of thumb to follow: if the search engines find the site valuable and list it in the top 20, than it might not be a bad idea to be listed on their site too.

Keep analyzing the first 20-30 search engine results for different keyword phrases that pertain to your industry or business. Write out a list of websites (not direct competitors) and prepare a method to approach them for a link exchange. Yes I did actually suggest reciprocating links. But be aware, only do this if a) in fact you are exchanging links with someone in your industry and b) if it’s in your best interest to do so (i.e. this website / page gets a lot of traffic that would benefit your site).

Writing good content is probably the olderst form of link building. When the internet was just evolving and websites were nothing pretty to look at, webmasters would surf the web and when they stumbled upon some interesting content, they would often link this content to their website. This is still true to this day - if you have unique and valuable content than you have the best link bait you can ask for.

Writing outside of your website is also a popular means of getting quality inbound links. Write articles that are related to your business and submit them to article search engines. You can also post meaningful comments on blogs and forums and put anchor text inside the comment or conclude your post with a signature that is linked back to your website (this also can be done with articles). Be careful with blogs, since most bloggers avoid spammers by putting a ‘no follow’ tag to prevent spammers from getting any link juice from their posts.

In general, when building a link think about its value in terms of traffic. If your doing it solely for search engine rankings, than it’s probably not the best of links. A good resource for link building strategies is http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2160301. Lastly, if your still to lazy or simply don’t have time to do a proper link building campaign, than you can always higher a professional to do it. One piece of advice: make sure you receive some kind of report on what kind of links they are building and where they are getting it from.

A logo can be very simple or very detailed.  Some of  the most well known logos in the world are as simple as it gets.  For example, the swoosh for Nike, or Ford’s logo.  A good logo, generally tends to be one that can easily be replicated anywhere and on any particular object.  Even though many of us enjoy the simple method, some of us prefer a more detailed and perhaps ‘flashy’ approach when it comes to our brand.

Some of us have a perfect idea of what we want our logo to be and represent.  Others have no clue and need a designer to do the bulk of the brainstorming and create concepts for review.  The trick is to find a designer that you will be able to work with and who can create a brand that will leave you completely satisfied for the rest of your company’s existence. 

This one is probably a no brainer, but it must be said: when choosing a logo designer look at their portfolio of logos.  Even if the designer has 100’s of different logos; if barely any of them spark your interest or are unappealing than the probability of them designing you your dream logo is highly unlikely.  Make sure the designer has a similar style to what you’re looking for.  Are their logos very cartoon like, sharp and professional, trendy or gothic?  Keep in mind though, that every client has their own specific requirement and taste.  You might be looking at something that another person likes very very much.  It might also be a good idea to ask the designer for references and speak with some of their past clientele.  

Please remember, don’t settle for a temporary solution or a half fast job, or an ‘average designer’.  You will regret it later once you’ve branded yourself.  Do your due diligence and get it right the first time!  Your business deserves the perfect logo and corporate identity. 

The most common misconception about the alt attribute is when people use them to insert a description about a particular image.  The alt attribute should be used as it was originally designed to be used - in place of an image which cannot be displayed.  Therefore, people with slower bandwidth computers, hand held devices, screen readers (for those who are visually impaired), can appreciate the image that the website is trying to display.  For example, you have an image of a magnifying glass on your website. When a user clicks on this image/link a search function is then enabled.  A good use of an alt attribute would be to insert alt=”search” in your code.  

The alt attribute is mandatory for images according to HTML 4.01 guidelines.  If an image’s purpose is solely for ’eye candy’, than you don’t need to include alt attributes such as alt=”spacer”.  This serves no purpose to people using screen readers, and can actually get quite annoying.  Instead, simply include an empty alt attribute: alt=”", with no spaces in between the quotations.

The title attribute is where you can include a description of the image / link.  Back to the magnifying glass example - if your alt=”search”, your title=”search the entire website” as an example.  When creating your alt attributes and title attributes, keep in mind what they were actually designed to do. 

In Internet Explorer (IE), you will see the alt attribute appearing as a tool tip.  IE’s error has undoubtedly caused a lot of confusion in the online world.  This is simply a bug, that I assume will be fixed in the near future.  If you wish to prevent the alt attribute from displaying as a tool tip in IE, simply add an empty title attribute: title=”".  If you wish to show your readers a tool tip, this is through the use of the title attribute.

Knowing how to use alt and title attributes properly can give you an edge in your SEO campaign.  Especially in regards to the alt attribute - it has become known that Google does cache this text and perhaps may even use the alt attribute as the heading for images in Google Images.  Therefore, proper uses of the alt tag throughout your site is known to improve search engine optimization efforts.  Misuse of the alt attribute, such as spamming (keyword stuffing) can get your website penalized by the major search engines or perhaps even removed.  As a rule of thumb, make your alt attributes no longer than 100 characters. The title attribute can be longer than the alt attribute (which is quite normal).  However, keep in mind that certain browsers such as Mozilla, only display the first 60 characters of the title attribute. 

Blogs are a means to express your ideas, thoughts and two-sense, and in short - they are a great means for increasing your content and exposure online.  These days you can find blogs that are the main principal site or vice versa, a key component that is part of a company’s website.

The trick to keeping a blog alive and interesting is as simple as continuous blog writing.  For many of us, its easy to want to keep writing, but what do you write about?  You should stick to what you know best, what you are interested in or what your readers will be interested in, and its never a bad idea for it to be related to your website’s theme.

In terms of marketing your blog, there are many directories that are devoted to blogs, which you can submit to and increase your blog’s exposure.  If your looking for new ways to increase your internet marketing efforts, consider starting up a blog which is sure to attract more visitors to your website.