Tel: 0113 2170419
www.littlefishwebdesign.com
Buying a domain name and hosting - a new Squidoo lens
Friday, June 15, 2007
I keep hearing from various sources about a website called 'Squidoo' and how you can create a 'lens' which is a collection of links on a topic.
Today, I finally created my first lenses, pulling together information about buying a domain name and buying website hosting. Why not visit and see what you think? Either comment in the guestbook or rate it - either way, I'll be pleased for your feedback.
Labels: domains, hosting, internet, linking
Can your paid links be detected?
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
According to the 'Ramblings About SEO website;
"Many major SEO firms make it a standard practice to recommend the purchasing of links to their clients. The search engines actively discourage this practice, and do their level best to detect those paid links. Here are 15 things they can use as signals that a link is possibly a paid link..."
Read the full post 15 Methods for Paid Link Detection for more information
Labels: linking, searchengines
Free Directory Submitter Review
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Reciprocal links are an easy way to get links in to your website, are valued less than one-way links by the search engines. Websites with higher numbers of quality one way incoming links are typically the sites that rank the highest in the search engine results.
Website Directory Submission is a very popular and easy way to get quality, one way links to your website, and there are several submission programs available. I've just downloaded 'Directory Submitter', another product by Brad Callen.
It comes in two flavours - free and paid-for. The free version has over 300 directories and the paid for version over 1700, all free to submit to.
The program is very straightforward and you can be submitting in less than a minute. Unlike some software, it's not fully automated, but I see this as a positive issue for several reasons:
1) If you suddenly had 300 backlinks appear to your site, the search engines would be a little suspicious. Better to have five more links a day than 300 at once.
2) It allows you to finetune which category your site is placed under and reduces the risk of your site being rejected or put in the wrong category. The more relevant the page on which your site is listed, the more likely the search engines are to 'count' your site.
There are two steps to submitting your site to a directory with this software - firstly, you need to setup a project for each different site you want to submit. This takes a minute, or if you want to take advantage of using varying titles (anchor text), description and keywords, to look more natural to the search engines, it may take you a minute or two longer.
Once your project is saved, click on the name of a directory from the adjacent list, navigate to the category for which you want to submit and you'll see your details already filled in. Just give them a quick check, fill in the category and 'captcha' if needed and click 'submit'. Repeat for each directory in the list.
The software keeps a record of the date that you submitted to each site, so you can keep track of where you are in the list.
To have a look at the software, and to evaluate it for free (and it's free forever unless you upgrade - no nag links or shareware), see Directory Submitter.
Labels: linking, resources, seo
Sitemaps: Google, MSN and Yahoo unite
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sitemaps are the easiest way for webmasters to tell search engines about the content of their website. A sitemap can either be for site visitors' benefit, in which case an HTML or similar file is created or for the search engines in which case an XML needs to be made. This XML file contains information about each page on the site - the URL, how important the page is relative to the other site pages, when the page was last updated and how often it usually changes.
By providing this information, search engines are able to crawl your site more effectively. There are still no guarantees that your pages will be included though!
A new protocol "Sitemap 0.90" standardises the way that sitemap information is presented, so rather than having sitemap.xml for Google, URLlist.txt for Yahoo! etc... search engines will support the one format. Google, Yahoo! and MSN have all agreed to support this protocol.
I still recommend GSiteCrawler for creating your sitemap - it's simple to use and even automates uploading your newly created sitemap to your website and pinging Google Sitemaps!
Labels: linking, searchengines, seo
BackLinks.com review and a small rant
Monday, October 02, 2006
After writing about Text Link Ads a few posts ago I thought I'd see what other programs are out there. I was recommended BackLinks.com, which is free to join.
It's quite a straightforward process - they provide a service which enables webmasters to either buy, or sell and swap links by providing a server-side script that you put on your website to do the 'behind the scenes' stuff for you. They also don't get involved in the payment process, so you do get all monies charged. To be involved your site needs a PageRank of 3 or more.
I looked at the selling and exchanging part of the process. After registering for a free account, you then complete your details - URL of the page, title and description, your geographical location, price you want to charge per link and payment method etc...
You then customise the link block and once this is done, choose the relevant code for your site and insert it where you want the links block to be. Once this is done, you'll be in the searchable database for other webmasters to request link exchanges or to buy a link. You have complete control over the process.
However, the code does have a downside. I did e-mail the technical support people about my issues (more in a minute) and to their credit, the reply was incredibly quick. However, I did ask that if the code could not be changed or split into different options then my account was deleted. The reply from them was literally:
"we deleted you...
James"
So what was my problem with the code? As a web designer I follow coding and legal standards. When previewing the link code I noticed the following issues. (It is possible that the preview code and the actual code are different, but this was not pointed out to me by the technical support and my issues therefore refer to the code preview only):
1) I use XHTML encoding on LittleFish Web Design - capitalised HTML tags are not allowed in XHTML and won't validate at http://w3c.validator.org. The BackLinks.com code uses capitalised tags.
2) Font size should be specified in % (percent) or ems. If they are specified in pixels, they cannot be resized in some web browsers and are therefore not compatible with section 508 (US) or DDA (UK) which is a legal requirement. Although highly unlikely especially for small websites, a site owner of a non-personal website could be sued for breaking the law. The BackLinks.com code uses pixel font sizes.
3) I don't use tables for layout as CSS is a more modern coding standard. The BackLinks.com code uses tables for its layout.
If you aren't worried about these issues, then have a look at BackLinks as it seems to be a very good idea. If you do want to take notice of what I've mentioned, try Text Link Ads (and remember you can get $100 off when buying text links).
Meeting with coding and legal requirements has many benefits - the code is more streamlined meaning faster loading pages; the search engines like it; your pages look the same across more web browsers and more browsing platforms and really there's no excuse for not doing so. Even if you are a complete HTML novice there are plenty of website tutorials out there that teach good practice e.g. W3Schools.com and Tizag.com to name two off the top of my head.
Rant over.
Labels: linking
Text Link Ads Review
Monday, September 18, 2006
Text Link Ads is a service for matching up website owners offering advertising space and advertisers wanting to buy advertising space, a bit like a dating service really!
The website is very straightforward to use - as an advertiser or as a publisher:
Advertisers: Search by keyword or category for the suitable sites. Alternatively, you can request a free custom proposal - just give your website address, monthly budget and an explanation of what you're after, and you'll be sent back suitable suggestions. Full information is provided on each site (number of links available, popularity, price, number of pages where your link will appear, description and Alexa Rank). The price you pay is a flat rate for 30 days so you needn't worry about running out of cost-per-click budget. Furthermore, the links are static links on the target website which are search engine and website visitor friendly.
Publishers: As long as your site supports a server-side technology i.e. your pages aren't just html files, you'll be able to join the Text Link Ads program. Just complete the form for review which includes your URL, site title, short site description, keywords, whether you'll display the ads sitewide or on one page, the number of pages if the ads are to be sitewide and how many ad spots you'll provide (4, 6, 8 or 10). Once you have been approved, you are given simple instructions on how to integrate the Text Link Ads script with your site. Payment is either by cheque or PayPal and is paid at the beginning of each month. Text Link Ads choose the price of your links, starting at $15 per 30 days, and take a 50% commission.
If you signup through the following link as an advertiser, there's a special offer of $100 in free links.
Labels: biz, internet, linking
How To Get Indexed In Google Search Fast Without Submitting To Google
Monday, July 03, 2006
Most new websites think that the only way to get indexed into Google search or any search engine is to submit their website.
Once a webmaster goes and submits there website into search engines their site normally will be placed on hold. Google calls this the Sand Box affect. This can take months before your website shows in search index.
Do you have months to wait and see if your website shows in Search Engines?
If your answer is no than I have a 4 step easy process that will get your website into Google Search index in some times less than a week and you never submit it to Google.
Read on to find out how.
1) The first thing you want to do is forget about submitting your site directly to the big engines like Google, MSN, Yahoo. This is the old, slow way.
2) Now the next thing you want to do is look online for free online directories and websites to submit your site to. Just type Free Search Engine Friendly Directory List into your favorite search engine. This should give you a good number of websites to start with.
3) Once you have found a list of free directories you can start submitting or suggesting your website. Be sure to place your website into the proper related categories. Try to look for directories that have a page rank of at least 2 to 3 to submit to first. They hold a bit more weight with Google Search than a 0 to 1 page rank sites.
4) Be sure to use a text link with your keyword phrases when submitting rather than just your URL. This will help search engines determine what keywords to index your website under.
That's it. It is that simple. Google Search and other search engines will find your website link while crawling websites and directories already indexed. Search engines look at this a vote for your site. Because most directories are human edited and if your link has been approved, engines like Google Search realize that your website must have some value.
Note: Not all directories will approve your site submission so you want to continue to find new link possibilities as this is also an excellent way to build link popularity.
Search Engines are always looking to supply new, fresh valued content websites to their update index, increasing the quality of their query results.
There are other things you can do to create links to your website like forum marketing, article submission and press releases but submitting your website to directories works just as well and free directories are all over the net.
About the author
This article was written by Wayne Hagerty certified Search Engine Internet Marketing professional with years of SEO experience. Discover how to increase traffic to your website. FREE Internet marketing news, and more. Succeed online, visit us today at: http://www.pixseo.com
Labels: linking, searchengines
Your Actual Number of Google Backlinks
Thursday, May 18, 2006
I've just discovered how to find out a more accurate number of backlinks* to your site that Google holds. If you just type your domain name into the Google search box, you'll only be shown a few backlinks but if you type the following code, you'll see a much higher, and more likely, number.
@:http //"yourdomain com"
or
@:http //"www yourdomain com"
* backlink = inbound link to your site. The more backlinks, the more popular your site is.
Labels: linking, searchengines, webdesign
More web directories to submit to
Thursday, April 20, 2006
http://www.seocompany.ca/directory/top-web-directories.html:
Top Web Directories - rated by Inbound Link Quality.
http://info.vilesilencer.com/main.php?rock=submission-tips.php:
SEO Friendly free directory list
Where to submit your website to
Friday, March 24, 2006
Following up my post about how to generate and submit sitemaps to Google and Yahoo!, I was asked where to submit your sites in general. I wholeheartedly recommend the list below, and of course, there are many more places - just don't fall for the "Submit Your Site to 80,000 Search Engines". Firstly ask whether there really are that many search engines and secondly, if so, what sort of quality are they and finally, do you want to be associated with them?
Google
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Yahoo! (Registration required)
http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
MSN
http://search.msn.co.uk/docs/submit.aspx
http://submitit.bcentral.com/msnsubmit.htm
ExactSeek Family (E-mail address required)
http://www.exactseek.com/add.html
About.com
See http://a-zlist.about.com/ and contact the guide directly. Tends to be non-commercial sites only.
Labels: linking, searchengines, seo
Reciprocal Linking
Monday, March 13, 2006
According to their website,
"Link Choices is an international link exchange that can help increase search engine rankings for your website. It's based on a comprehensive link directory and a nifty bit of software that allows you to manage your links once you've got them."
All links are manually approved by an editor at Link Choices, which reduces the number of 'spammy' sites and inappropriate content - a feature that many link exchange programs do not have. In addition, it's free to join.
Find Link Choices at www.link-choices.com and if you are one of the first 1000 people to join, get a free download of their software!
How to choose a pixel advertising site
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Since Alex Tew and his highly successful million dollar homepage, pixel advertising websites have appeared in abundance. The secret to finding which one to advertise on is fivefold:
- Is it affordable?
- Are the other ads suitable for your market e.g. are there adult ads?
- Can you still get a good space i.e. when someone first view the page, will they see your ad without having to scroll down, and is it down one edge e.g. more likely to be noticed?
- How long will the site be up for?
- Finally, does the site have a pagerank? Whilst this isn't the only traffic-related factor to take into consideration, it is a good indicator of the site's popularity. If there is a pagerank value, the site owner has taken the time for promotion of the site, which can only work in your favour.
How to get your site indexed in Google and Yahoo
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
When you've got a wonderful website, you want the world to see it! Submitting to Google, Yahoo and MSN means that your site will show up in the listings at some point, but how do you tell the search engines which pages to list?
Firstly, use robots.txt - this states which parts of your website you DO NOT want to share. You can also use the robots meta tag in your web pages, but not all engines use this yet. For more information, see www.robotstxt.org/ and www.searchengineworld.com/robots/robots_tutorial.htm.
Secondly, create a sitemap, which links to all of your pages and link to this from your index page. You don't have to just list all the links - it is for your visitors benefit too. For an example, see our sitemap at www.littlefishwebdesign.com/sitemap.htm.
Finally, create a Google and Yahoo sitemap, for the search engines benefit. You will need to create a Google Sitemap account (http://google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/) and Yahoo account (http://edit.europe.yahoo.com/config/eval_register?.intl=uk&new=1) to be able to submit your sitemaps. To create a Google Sitemap, I thoroughly recommend SOFTplus GSiteCrawler found at http://johannesmueller.com/gs/. There is a settings wizard, which walks you through the whole process and you can even choose for your completed sitemap to be uploaded to your website, and Google to be alerted.
The "URL list for export" function of GSiteCrawler means that you can then generate a text-only list of all your site's pages, ready to upload to Yahoo. This is a slightly more manual task than the Google Sitemap, but still a fantastic time-saving tool, as you don't have to type out each of your pages into a list. To submit your sitemap to Yahoo, upload the file to your website and then go to http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request and fill in the location of your sitemap file.
Of course, there are no guarantees that Google and Yahoo will index all your pages, or rank your site as highly as you would like, but at least using the sitemap method, you are giving your hard work a fighting chance to get noticed.
Labels: linking, resources, searchengines, webdesign
Submitting your site to online directories
Saturday, January 28, 2006
When promoting your site, you'll want to submit it to as many legitimate resources as possible. This can be an impossible task as there are so many resources. There are three free directory submission managers that we've found and use ourselves:
- Direcory Submission Manager by 123promotion.co.uk
- Directory Tracker by submissiontracker.net
- Directory Tracker by articletrader.com
Labels: linking
Check your website popularity with us!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Link popularity checking is a quick and easy way to see how "visible" your website is on the Internet. It is a measure of the total number of links that a search engine has found for your website. Obviously this will change between search engines, so the top engines are queried for a collective result.
To use the link popularity tool, go to our resources page and complete your URL in the form of www.yourdomain.co.uk, and if there is a competitor you want to compare yourself with, enter their domain as well. Next, complete the access code given to you and finally press the 'generate' button.
Marketleap provide the data for this tool, and will give you a comparison table for where you stand on the internet, from a limited presence to the "900 lb gorilla" category! It will also collect your data over time, so you can see how well your web promotion is going!
Labels: linking, resources, searchengines
Link Metro - free link and article exchange
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Linkmetro (www.linkmetro.com) is a website setup by Brad Callen, who is famed for his "SEO Elite" software and SEO e-books. [SEO = search engine optimisation]. The basic principle is that by listing your website and your link text and any articles you may have written, other website owners can approach you for a link and/or article exchange.
Pros
- Free to join
- You have full control over which links you accept
- Simple way to link exchange with relevant sites, great for search engine rankings
Cons
- Can be time consuming manually entering the links (can upgrade to automated membership for about £10 per month)
- A lot of 'spammy' sites, not so good for search engine rankings
Labels: linking
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