Search Engines (SEs) have been called the Bargain of the Millennium - they attract targeted, pre-qualified prospects to your site in large numbers at the lowest possible price.
But only if you rank somewhere on the first or second page. How many times have you chosen the 112th link on a Search Engine?
There are many factors that will get you on the first or second page. One critical element is the proper selection of key words or phrases words that both describe you and help people find you.
Don't waste your time paying someone to submit your site to the SEs unless you have carefully researched your key words.
You could pay someone hundreds of dollars to do very valuable key-word research for you. Or, you can do it yourself at no cost! Here is how.
Your first stop is GOTO.com: http://www.goto.com/d/about/advertisers/othertools.jhtml. Click on *Search Term Suggestion List*.
You will see a Search Term Suggestion Box:
- | Not sure what search terms to bid on?
- | Enter a term related to your site and we will show you:
- | - Related searches that include your term
- | - How many times that term was searched on last month
- | (Note: This may take up to 30 seconds)
- | Get some suggestions for:
Enter a keyword or phrase that you think best describes your product or service. Let's say you are a florist, so you enter the word "florist", and find these results:
- 9919 florist
- 1723 virtual florist
- 1660 ftd florist
- 395 online florist
… and so on
The most popular search term during February 2000 was "florist", for which there were 9,919 searches. Remember, this is only for one Search Engine ... GOTO.
To get an idea of total searches for this one word over *all* SE's, multiply that number by at least 30. That's about 300,000 searches in just one month. I think we have a clue here that "florist" is a very good key word!
Copy and paste these results onto NotePad or your favorite Word Processor.
Next, do another search on "flowers" for more key words. Try "Bouquet". But don't stop there - next enter phrases, like "florist shop", and so on.
Using this simple method you can easily generate hundreds of very valuable keywords. And, since you have them saved on your word processor, carefully choose your best words and sort them in the order you wish.
Other sources that can help you include Bruce Clay's *phenomenal* Web page …
http://www.bruceclay.com/web_rank.htm
Also, download this great freeware: http://virtualpromote.com/freeware/. It will tell you which keywords and phrases are getting the most action on the SE's and will also keep track of all of your keywords on all of the major search engines.
*Caution*: Just just having good key words for your site will *not* provide you a high rank. There is *much* more involved. If it were that easy ... well, how many "number one" spots are there available on any Search Engine?
I recommend that you check out Make Your Site Sell, by Ken Evoy. For about $18 U.S., you can have the everything you will need to reach the top. While you're there, be sure and download the free trial.
Click Here to Email Bob Smith
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