*Where religious rubber meets pop culture road*

That's motto at RelapsedCatholic.com, my daily weblog of faith & culture news. On March 27, 2001, my site was singled out for praise by Site-A-Day newsletter.

1. Send out a press release about your good press to your niche market

I IMMEDIATELY sent out a short, punchy email press release (quoting Site-A-Day's rave review) to my list of religion editors (in print and online), book reviewers (I'm also an award-winning author) and other Best of Web sites.

The day brief piece about RelapsedCatholic ran in Ottawa Citizen, I logged my busiest single day ever, with more than 300 hits. I was recently interviewed by Catholic Register, too, and expect a similar spike when that piece runs. RelapsedCatholic was also singled out for special mention in recent articles about blogging, in both Internet Business Forum and E-Zine Tips.

MY NOTE: Notice Kathy sent her press release to a VERY targeted market (religion editors) that she had previously contacted. Often times you must contact an editor a number of times with different ideas before he/she will write about you.

2. Email thank you notes and begin a correspondence with journalists

Top Search Engine Ranking

There are no hidden secrets on how to rank high with major search engines. All that is needed is a basic understanding of how search engines work and a bit of know how. Perhaps biggest contributing factor to a successful web site is incoming links or Back Links. Without links, your website will more than likely go unnoticed. So how should you accumulate these links? Below are a few basic methods to accumulate quality back links.

Before you get started

You MUST understand how search engines work. Over 90% of your business will likely come directly from search engine results. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to optimize your site for search engines. You could have greatest deals in entire world, but if no one knows about them then your efforts are wasted. Do a search on google for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You will find tons of great information on how to create a website that is both user friendly and search engine friendly. There are also countless numbers of companies and freelancers out there who offer SEO services. Just be cautious of their offers and do your research first. Remember, NO ONE can guarantee top placement in major search engines, no matter what they say.

Where should back links come from?

1. Articles are a fantastic source of links and additional traffic to your site. There are countless sites online that want your articles. It’s a win win situation for everyone. When you write articles and submit them online, you are able to leave a link to your own site and sometimes even anchor text. I know what you’re saying, “I can’t write about anything.” I use to feel same way. But truth of matter is, anyone can write. You just have to find a topic that interests you. You can write about anything from dogs, to computers, to personal training, to web hosting, heck you can even write about writing. The bottom line is, articles are a valuable source of “relevant” back links to your site.

2. Submit to directories. There are literally hundreds of “free” and “paid” directories online. With 3 hours of painless work, you can have your site submitted to hundreds of great directories. There are many quality lists of directories that are regularly updated. One of my favorites is http://www.best-web-directories.com/ which is always updated and maintained.

3. Develop link exchanges with relevant sites. The major search engines such as google see incoming links from relevant sites, and give them more rank compared a link from an unrelated site. For example, if you have a website about pet care products, your link strategy should target pet related sites. Again with a bit of hard work and determination, you can develop a great deal of “relevant” back links.