A tool developed for FireFox users giving them access to Google Toolbar and Alexa Rankings. It can be downloaded and installed free of charge.

A big thanks to developer Craig Raw for a great tool, free of charge, for those of us who want to use something that isn't powered by Microsoft and that has all advantages of FireFox browser.

WebAlerts You're doing your link-building, you're writing articles, or you just want to see what others' are saying about you. Do you really want to run searches for yourself and for your articles every few days?

Set up a Google WebAlert for a phrase from an article you've written, for your company name, for your competitors and/or for a phrase from description you're using in your link exchanges and let most powerful servers in world do work for you.

Beanstalk On Tools ...

There are definitely some very useful tools out there as noted above. What must be understood is that these tools alone won't get you top rankings any more than a map will guarantee you a good vacation if you don't know how to read it and you don't know where you want to go.

The single most important thing anyone hoping to attain (and maintain) top positioning on search engines can do is to keep himself or herself educated. While we noted a few great resources in last article on monitoring here are some of key resources I uses to keep up-to-date on what's going on in SEO world.

Search Engines

This is definitely most obvious. Run periodic if not daily searches on your keyword phrases and a few others. Don't just look for your rankings but look at who's in top positions and look at their sites and who's linking to them. Watch for changes and look for what's different in sites that are now on top.

Don't kill yourself trying to figure out every single engine. Google, Yahoo! and MSN are three biggest and just following these three is more than enough work. Generally I've found that meeting requirements of these three will generally result in solid rankings on most of other "secondary" engines.

Forums

I can't speak highly enough about forums. When you're looking for up-to-date information this is where to go. The challenge on forums however is in deciding who knows what they're talking about and who doesn't. Further, you'll need to be able to figure out which members follow your code of ethics when it comes to SEO. Business owners seeking long-term rankings with minimal maintenance should not be taking advice from Black-hat SEOs.

I mentioned a few forums on last article. A few additional forums worth watching are:

Search Engine Watch Forums - There's not much to say about this one except that it's a must-see. Tons of great information, many members so a wide variety of opinions to draw from.

IHelpYou Forums - Managed by SEO Doug Heil this is an interesting one. While I can't say I agree with everything Doug has to say I will give him credit for ethics. If you want to make sure your tactics are squeaky-clean then here's where to get advice. My recommendation: take info with a grain of salt. Doug tends to occasionally make blanket rulings on tactics that have their place but if you go in knowing this he can be a great source of some solid information.

High Rankings Forums - Managed by SEO Jill Whalen, this one has some great discussions. Sticking with my belief in giving credit where it's due I have to advise to pay attention to what Jill says. She knows her stuff and while she definitely falls into category of white-hat SEOs, she's willing to discuss a variety of tactics, their merits, and judge them based on their use and worth. Open and honest discussion - that's what forums are about. Mentioned last week but worth mentioning twice.

The other forums mentioned last week and which are worthy of note are:

Conclusion

So here we are, end of it all. 17,000 words read (thank you) and, if you've been following program, many MANY hours spent optimizing your website.

Will it be worth it? If you have followed these steps, keep yourself updated on changes, and keep working on building your links, creating quality content, and insuring that you're always putting in 10% more than your competitors then it certainly should be.

I would like to take a moment to thank those of you who have worked through these past ten articles and to wish you very best of luck in your online promotions. As always, you are welcome to contact me with any questions you might have. Our goal in this series has been to provide you with information and resources to do it. I hope we have done just that.

How Are Advertising Pages Different From Doorway Pages? There are significant differences between doorway pages and advertising pages. Doorway pages are also designed to highlight keywords, but they have very little content and serve no purpose other than to fool search engines into thinking that something is there. Since search engines do not like pages that lack significant content, they have a negative attitude toward doorway pages.

Communicating Your Targeted Keywords Designing pages to agree with top search engine placing pages is a valid optimization technique. Many search engines even have help sections on how to design pages specifically for their engines. Communicating your targeted keywords with advertisings pages is an effective way to improve your site's search engine placement.

Successful Internet Marketing Strategies:

AFFILIATE PROGRAMS An affiliates program pays a commission for incoming traffic that leads to sales. One of most well-known affiliate programs was introduced by Amazon.com in 1996. Amazon.com pioneered affiliate program model, paying commissions when Amazon banners, buttons and links placed on their sites resulted in sales. Their program currently has over 500,000 affiliate associates. Every time an affiliate sends Amazon a customer from their site affiliate earns up to 15% of each sale.

An affiliate program can be an inexpensive way to increase traffic and sales for small businesses too. Traffic Power will soon be launching an affiliate tracking program that small merchants can use to implement their own affiliate program.

VIRAL MARKETING Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others. Tell-A-Friend promotions aren't new, but they have become more powerful on Internet because e-mail makes it so easy to pass word along. One of early leaders of viral Internet marketing was Blue Mountain Arts. This company provides electronic greeting cards people can e-mail to friends and family. To pick up card recipients are required to visit Blue Mountain site. While there, visitors are encouraged to send their own greeting cards. Thus electronic greeting card spreads like a virus as new visitors send multiple cards. Viral marketing like this can be a highly effective method for bringing traffic to your site if you can provide something of value that will entice visitors to pass your message along.

BUILDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY Fostering customer loyalty is another strategy successfully used by major Web sites. The travel site Expedia, recipient of a Customer Loyalty Awards from Brand Keys Research, is an example of a site that has been praised for its customer loyalty efforts.

Expedia works to increase customer loyalty by providing personalized services for its customers. The Web site provides traveler tools such as a currency converter, driving directions, and current status of airports and flights. They also offer e-mails based on customer's preferences and purchases. Weekly updates are sent through their Fare Tracker service detailing current ticket prices to three destination cities chosen by member. A few days prior to departure customers begin receiving emails that are specific to their travel plans. They receive links to weather reports, schedules of entertainment events, and locations where they can purchase tickets to specific venues. These highly targeted emails along with user friendly services on site have helped Expedia to build customer loyalty.

Mastering Search Engine Placement:

With changing business models for search engines and an ever increasing number of Web sites on Internet, Webmaster submission techniques are no longer adequate for getting search engine placement. Today's newsletter will focus on importance of employing a complete placement strategy with right professional search engine optimization firm.

Submitting Ain't What it Used to Be: It used to be that having your Webmaster periodically submit your site was enough to get placement on major search engines. The Web Position Gold software widely used by Webmasters to submit sites worked amazingly well. The success of Web Position Gold made it a high profile target for search engines who saw its success as direct competition for a limited pool of profit. The search engines attempted to counteract that success by devising strategies to undercut Web Position Gold's effectiveness. As a result, Webmasters using manual submission process or Web Position Gold are no longer able to obtain good placement results.

Are Search Engines Our Friends? In today's competitive Internet marketplace, submission alone just isn't enough. The search engines are strapped for cash and many have set up senseless toll gates for submission. For instance Yahoo charges a $299 non-refundable, reoccurring fee to merely review your site. This yearly payment provides no guarantee that your site will actually be included in their database! Search engines like Google actually rank a site lower if it is submitted rather than if it is found by their spider. This, coupled with exponentially growing number of Web sites in search engine databases, is making it more and more difficult to get good placement.

Search engine placement today has moved from simple submission by Webmaster to highly technical methods. Since Webmaster submission is no longer enough, it is important to find right search engine optimization firm to guide your placement efforts.

The days are gone when you could rely on advice of search engines or rely on a part-time search engine specialist who was simply submitting your site using keywords.

Make no mistake; search engines view optimization tools like Web Position Gold as enemy because they are competing for same dollar volume. Listening to rhetoric of search engines presents distorted views. Pundits who trumpet search engine party-line fail to realize adversarial position search engines have taken against Search Engine Optimization. Search engines view ranking criteria as a proprietary secret and protect it fiercely, and they are quick to give disinformation to those who blindly follow their recommendations.

Need professional SEO help? Contact SEO@jscmarketing.com or 1.888.435.5156