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A backlink is a link that points back to your website from another site. The more backlinks you have, the better your search ranking is going to be, especially if your backlinks are included in heavy-ranking sites such as government or educational websites.

Backlink Basics

When it comes to using backlinks, you want to make the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. What this means is that you need target the right words when linking. Make sure you are linking to sites that are relevant to yours. Make a list of the different keywords that are relevant to your blog or web site and then look for links and sources that are similar to this. Finding the right backlinks for your web site is all about search engine optimization and keyword selection. For help with choosing relevant keywords, check out the Google Adword Keyword Tool.

You also need to remember that not all backlinks are created equal by Google. In general, if you have 100 backlinks to your page, you will be higher in the ranking than someone with only ten backlinks… unless these ten links are from extremely reputable sources. You want to not only consider the quantity of your backlink but also the quality. Some types of backlinks will provide much more value than others, especially those that target the right audience and come from reputable sources. Linking to authoritative sites is one of the best ways to pack more punch into your backlinks. BBC, CNN, Wikipedia, the Bureau of Labor Statistics are all great examples of the backlink heavyweights.

Furthermore, you want to use the proper phrasing in your links. Using the word “click here” is not the best way to represent your backlinks or internal links. Whenever you link to your website from other sites, try and incorporate your keyword phrase into the link text. Then underline the hyperlinked phrase to help readers connect to the other sites.

Where to Find Backlinks

Looking for quality backlinks? Keep in mind that choosing the right backlinks for your blog should not be a two-minute job. It is all about networking and finding the right sources – put yourself out there to build connections that will work in your favor. Check out these valuable resources for finding quality backlinks to help your blog:

• Online directories such as DMOZ or Yahoo! Directory
• Blog Comments
• Video sites
• .edu (educational) and .gov (government) links
• RSS Feeds such as Feedage.com and Feedagg.com
• Internal linking
• Social bookmarking links including Digg, Propeller and Delicious
• Web 2.0 Sites such as Hubpages and Scribd.
• Article directories such as ezinearticles

However, the most important thing when it comes to obtaining backlinks is to constantly write quality content. When you have excellent and informative content, others will want to link back to you.

Want to learn more about backlinks? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Does it seem like every man, woman and dog has a blog out these days? It’s true – blogging is slowly taking over the World Wide Web which is why it is so important to make sure your blog gets noticed and stands out from the crowd. The ultimate goal of any blog is to bring people who are interested in the type of content you offer. So how do you do that? Below are ten simple yet effective tips to maximize the traffic to your blog:

1. Post regularly – we can’t stress this enough. Make time every day (or every second day) to update your blog and stick to the schedule. The more often you update your blog, the more often your pages are indexed by search engines and seen by potential viewers. Although it can be tempting to set up a blog and forget about it, stick with it and you’ll see results!

2. Set up a Posting Alert – every time you post a blog, let the world know through a number of social networking sites. You can set up alerts or ‘pings’ so that every time you publish an article, the search engines are alerted.

3. Make friends with Links – linking is essential for any blogger success. Make sure you link to reputable sources and build up inbound links from another blog or website that will point readers to you. You may need to do some networking to find similar and helpful blogs for inbound links but this is definitely worth your while.

4. Make use of SEO – SEO or search engine optimization is a blogger’s best friend. Choose keywords that are relevant to your content to ensure that your blog ranks high in the search engine rankings. Check out the Google Adword Keyword Tool to find keywords that are relevant as well as popular with search engines.

5. Write descriptive post titles – when you are thinking about to name your blogs, consider this: what would you type into Google to find your post? Whatever phrase or keyword you decide on, make sure you include it in your title.

6. Use Image titles –another excellent way to bring people to your blog is to include title images with one or more words from your post title. This will increase the relevance of your post.

7. Submit your URL – take advantage of the ‘submit blog’ tool in Google, Yahoo or any of the other search engines. You will be directed to a page that will let you submit the URL for indexing which will ensure more people see your blog when searching for particular keywords.

8. Make sure you stay up to date on the current trends. See what works for other and check out the various developments in search engine technology to stay one step ahead of the crowd.

Keep in mind that the above tips are only a few of the different ways you can generate traffic to your blog. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Generating traffic to your web site is one of the most important ways to ensure its success. Unfortunately, however, obtaining traffic is not something that you will do once and forget about it – it’s an ongoing thing. However, once you have mastered the art of generating free traffic, the rest will fall into place.

First and foremost, you need to factor in SEO, or search engine optimization. You need to do your homework and determine which keywords will help with your SEO. Check with Google Adwords Keywords Tool to see what words are searched the most and go from there.

Second of all, you need to constantly add and update the content on your site. Content is key when it comes to generating free traffic. If you have something interesting to say on your site, then viewers and readers will come. Excellent content is the key to a loyal audience and following.

Linking is the third most important part of successful web site traffic. You need to not only include internal links (those to pages on your site), but also need to factor in backlinks, or links that come from other sites.

Another great place to find free traffic is through social networking sites as well as Twitter and Google Buzz. Facebook is a great place to start. Build a profile and start updating frequently, always linking to your site. Social bookmarking sites, such a Digg and Delicious also offer a free way to generate traffic. You can also submit to article directories, which is another great way to promote your site for free.

Another sure-fire way to get viewers to your site is to offer a free product or service. You do not have to give away a DVD to the one-millionth viewer but you can offer something that is useful – this could be a free guidebook or manual on something pertaining to your site. You could also include a free video or presentation for the more visual viewers.

Finally, consider using viral content, which, like a virus, will help spread your site around. When users like your content, they send it to their friends, post it on various sites, and promote it for free in many different ways. Viral content distributes on its own and your only task is to create it and submit it to a couple of popular sites.

Finally, take advantages of other blogs and forums. If you have something useful to say that relates back to your site, say it. Then include a link for more information. However, do not simply add your link and “great post” to every forum that pertains to your site. This will only annoy visitors and most likely annoy the search engines as well. If you are going to comment, make sure you have something useful and informative to say.

Keep in mind that the above tips are only a few of the different ways you can generate traffic to your site for free. Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Check out these common, yet deadly sins that could cause your SEO to mentally breakdown. Be sure to read through the seven deadly sins of SEO to know what to avoid in the future:

1) Forgetting to place a robot.txt file on the dev server: why? Because this will cause serious duplicate content. Make sure you secure the dev serve with a client login or place a robots.txt file to ensure that the site is properly indexed.

2) Duplicate Linking – no need to link to www and non-www versions of a site. One will suffice.

3) Excess Coding – tables are the past. Make room for divs when you are coding page content. Why? Because divs are flexible and clean. This makes for easier readability and successful SEO design.

4) Multiple Linking – instead of linking ten pages to the same site, only link one page per anchor text that describes its content most accurately. This will save a lot of confusion for both Google as well as your viewers.

5) Picture Site mapping – sure, you want to make your sitemap pretty, but using images is not the way to do it. Sitemaps are supposed to be simple to navigate. So, skip the images and instead link to pages using words that accurately describe the pages.

6) Confusing URL’s – your URL is the first clue as to what your site is actually about. Make sure you choose URL’s that actually make sense. Set up dynamic URL’s so that more information is passed or create a rewrite engine that will fix them for you.

7) Paragraph Linking – when it comes to linking it might make sense to use an entire paragraph as a link – that way you can pack a bunch of anchor text keywords into one link. Not the case – instead, use a few well chosen words when linking to different pages. Stay away from paragraph linking.

When it comes to mastering the fine art of SEO, there are more than enough rules and regulations put forward by Google and other search engines. However, if you do not follow these rules correctly, you could end up being blacklisted and your content dropped off the ranks completely. This is why it is so important to know the SEO sins and avoid them like the plague.

Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.

Looking to master Google Buzz? Look no further than below where you will find the secrets to success when using Google Buzz. Google Buzz is yet another social media gadget used to attract viewers to your blog or website. Similar to Twitter, Tumblr and FriendFeed, Google Buzz can, however, help you move up in the ranks if used correctly.

Google Buzz is the perfect middle ground between a blog and a tweet. Although most Buzzes are not the type of quality content that will make it into your blog, you may have something more substantial to say than your average tweet. Buzz is a great middle man for your opinions. And because Google is so big, your buzz will be read by all the right people.

Keep the following tips in mind when using Google Buzz for SEO and SMO purposes:

When using Google Buzz, keywords are just as important as always. Buzzzy.com is a third party Google Buzz search engine that will help you determine the most popular keywords at the time. This can help you find the right keywords to get noticed. Linking is also as important as ever; however, Google Buzz does not use ‘nofollow’ which is important to keep in mind when linking to your other pages such as Twitter.

When using Google Buzz, it is also beneficial to consider life streaming. Similar to Friendfeed, Google Buzz can be used as a life streaming tool which will add your contributions and content from elsewhere. For those who do not use Friendfeed, Google Buzz can be a great addition for life streaming.

It is also critical to note that anytime someone comments on your Google Buzz, the comments will put you back at the top again. So make those buzz informative, controversial and comment-worthy!

Buzz supports multi platform publishing which ensures that your content is distributed across the web without having to publish a number of different times. This is a time saver for those who like to cross-post.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when it comes to using Google Buzz is that is it part of the
Google family and thus very closely connected to your Google Profile. Make sure you only buzz about quality stuff and keep the chatter to Twitter or Facebook to ensure the best SEO results.

Google Buzz can be a very effective SEO tool if used correctly. The number of buzzes you write, the content you choose to include and the number of comments you receive will all impact your ranking. SEO still applies to Google Buzz so don’t forget the importance of quality linking and strategic keywords.

Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.