| In the earlier years of search engine optimization, it | | | | Google Toolbar. Your page rank will be displayed as a |
| was all about on-page optimization. Things like the | | | | green bar measuring from 1 to 10. Don’t worry |
| page title, Meta tags, heading tags, comment tags, | | | | if you only have a Page Rank of 1 or 2 – most |
| and anchor text were the only things that mattered. | | | | websites do. In order to get your number up (4 or 5 |
| Keyword stuffing could easily get your website to | | | | is pretty good), you’ll have to get other |
| the top of the search engines results page. If I | | | | websites to link to you. |
| wanted the number one position, all I had to do was | | | | Quality Counts More Than Quantity |
| copy my competitor’s page, add my keyword | | | | As soon as webmasters realized the importance of |
| one more time, and viola – I’d rank first. | | | | back links, numerous schemes were hatched in an |
| These days, things aren’t quite that easy. In | | | | attempt to build up thousands back links very quickly. |
| order to obtain top positioning in the search results, | | | | Google has since caught on, and if your website |
| your website has to gain to credibility or “web | | | | acquires too many low-quality links too fast, you may |
| cred” in order to be recognized as important. | | | | get penalized. Here are some tips to obtain the best |
| Optimize Your Domain Name | | | | quality back links: |
| As of this writing, appears that the search engines | | | | - One-way links are better than reciprocal links. |
| do weight the fact that your domain name has your | | | | Reciprocal links are being de-valued because it is not |
| keywords in it. Problem is, many SEO professionals | | | | natural linking – it’s an arrangement |
| and amateurs are exploiting this by registering | | | | between the webmasters. If you can afford it, it |
| domains with the keywords in it, separated by | | | | may be a good idea to buy some one-way links to |
| dashes. Nobody knows how long the search engines | | | | your website. |
| will continue to weight this factor, but none the less, | | | | - Get links from pages with a high Page Rank |
| it’s probably not a bad idea to include a | | | | because some of that will pass through to your site, |
| keyword or phrase in your domain name, but | | | | increasing your own site’s Page Rank. |
| don’t get out of hand: [ | | | | - Get links from sites in a related industry or |
| The number of years your domain has, and will be, | | | | geographical location. I do a lot of web design in my |
| registered for also has an effect on search engine | | | | home town of Windsor, Ontario. Therefore, I make |
| rankings. If you have an older domain name, it is | | | | sure that I buy or trade links from other web design |
| generally concluded that the website is not spam and | | | | related sites, Canadian, Ontario, and Windsor |
| will probably be around for years to come. This | | | | directories. Google will see that your site is relevant if |
| makes sense – Google should give higher | | | | you do this. |
| priority to a website that’s been around for 5 | | | | - Make sure your keywords are included in the link |
| years, than give the high ranking to a brand new, | | | | from other sites. If your keyword is included in the |
| untested website. It may be a good idea to acquire a | | | | anchor text, Google will assume that your site relates |
| domain name that been around for a few years and | | | | to that particular keyword. |
| also contains one of your keywords. The downside is | | | | - Get a listing in Open Project Directory (DMOZ), if |
| that this option may be expensive. If you | | | | you can. Only the best sites get into DMOZ, and it |
| don’t have the budget for that, Google also | | | | gives your site a lot of credibility in the eyes of the |
| seems to give credit for the number of years that | | | | search engines. |
| the domain is pre-registered. I’ve looked at | | | | - Don’t inter-link your websites! If you think |
| some data, and it seems that if you register your | | | | you can just link all of your own websites together |
| domain for a few years out, Google assumes you | | | | and improve your Page Rank, forget it. Google will |
| don’t have a fly-by-night website and you | | | | see that the IP address of all domains is the same, |
| may be entitled to a slightly higher ranking. Given the | | | | and, either give you little or no credit, or if you have |
| miniscule cost of registering a domain name these | | | | a lot of sites inter-linked, penalize you. |
| days, it’s probably not a bad idea to register | | | | Let last tip I’ll leave you with is: make sure to |
| your domain name for 3 years rather than 1. | | | | maintain your links. Google, for one, does not |
| Page Rank | | | | immediately give you credit for your links. The age of |
| Google assigns each web page a Page Rank based | | | | the link plays an important role, and as the months |
| on the number and quality of inbound links you have | | | | go by, those links which were maintained for long |
| pointing to your website. You can view your | | | | periods of time will carry a lot of weight. Good Luck! |
| website’s page rank by downloading the | | | | |