SEO Advice

[MommysClub]

I wanted to get some additional advice

This is what i have already done to my site
I uploaded the sitemap to google and verified my siteT
The main content on the homepage is changed and includes keywords
The page titles are more descriptive
I added my site to google and yahoo directories

Am I missing anything?

Also can someone explain or possibly give examples of html alt tags i still have this left to complete

thanks

[website_seo]

I haven't mentioned backlinks ,which are very much required to get good ranking on any search engine.

[MommysClub]

can you explain

i am still learning all of this lingo

[Publisher-For-You]

Backlinks is just a fancy word for links from other people's site to your site.

Here's a link to Yahoo's Site Explorer. The link is set to take you to the backlink stats for your site:

http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/ad ... o=d&bwmf=s

Looks like you have a great start already.

Now, do you have an organized plan for getting more links, and some method to keep yourself motivated to work at it regularly?

That's what I'm working on now for myself.
I've always been lazy about link building, cause it's kinda
boring. And.... this is not a good plan at all!

[MommysClub]

thank you for the link i just uploaded my sitemap there as well

I constantely look to exchange links but only with relevant sites and sites with at least a rank of 3 or better

[Brie]

Have you optimized the keywords on the articles of your site as well? I'd optimize keywords for EVERY page on my site. When people do a search, they may not land on your home page.

[MommysClub]

how do i do that

[Brie]

May I use the title and first paragraph of one of your articles for demonstration?

[MommysClub]

sure

[Brie]

For starters, buy this book or get it from your local library: Search Engine Optimization for Dummies by Peter Kent.

Then use this free tool to get your keyword phrases: http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html and practice the longtail approach. What is the longtail approach? Use keyword phrases that aren't generic terms and are not searched for often. Most likely the big sites have those keywords already. And you're competing with them (yikes!). For example:


Here is a snippet of an article on your site:

6 Common Single Parent Struggles

If there’s a single group of people who are underappreciated more than any other, it has to be single parents. While everyone knows being a parent is hard, being a single parent tends to be even harder. Not only do you have to play the roles of both parents, but you’re financially responsible for a set of bills that are often paid by two incomes. …

Here is what I’d do:

I’d look for the subject of the article, which is “single parent struggles.”

I’d go to the keyword-search tool and type those words in (“single parent struggles”).

Here’s what the search results gave me. The number in parenthesis is the number of times that this word is searched for:

- struggles of being a single parent (5 searches)
- single parent struggles (2 searches)


The maximum searches for that phrase is not a lot. I'd re-phrase my keywords to see if I can get keywords that are getting more searches (20 searches is a benchmark for me, 1000 searches is NOT. Why? Remember, the longtail approach).

I typed in variations of "single parent struggles": parent struggles, single struggles, parent struggle. Nothing. So I eliminated the word "struggle" and hit the jackpot! Of course, now it's time to weed through the results because "single parent" is broad and vague. But maybe the word "struggle" wasn't the right word? Another word that means the same thing, perhaps? Let's take a look at promising keywords that showed up in the keyword-search tool:


- effects of single parent families (34)
- stress on a single parent (31)
- single parent household (19)
- negative effects of single parent homes on children (19)


Hmmmm. What is the keyword phrase that tells most what the article is about? I'd go with "effects of single parent families." Then I'd re-title my article: "6 Effects of Single Parent Families." You, of course, know what your article is about exactly. So you choose the one that is most effective for you.

Then, within the first paragraph, you want to repeat the keyword phrase (although I'd try to get the phrase within the first three sentences):

6 Effects of Single Parent Families

The effects of single parent families can range from blah, blah, blah to blah, blah (or whatever sentence you'd like to put here). If there’s a single group of people who are underappreciated more than any other, it has to be single parents. While everyone knows being a parent is hard, being a single parent tends to be even harder. Not only do you have to play the roles of both parents, but you’re financially responsible for a set of bills that are often paid by two incomes. …

I would even repeat the phrase further down, but not too much.

Search engine optimization happens in phases. When your site gets more popular and can out perform the bigger sites, you can venture out and try the more popular keyword phrases (although I will always see my site as small no matter how big it gets).

Keywords in the title of the article, within the first paragraph, and keyword-dense links (i.e. www.yoursite.com/articles/effects-of-si ... ilies.html).

I apologize in advance for typos.

[MommysClub]

thank you for the information. I will be checking out the book this weekend.

[Brie]

No problem. I've been very successful with this technique, and it cost me nothing, but a little sweat equity.

[MommysClub]

that is good since i have no money (lol)

hey would you mind taking a look at my homepage content since someone told me i need to redo it and i just did but i do not know if it is good or not the keywords are in bold

[Brie]

I don't believe in sinking an endless supply of money into any business (even if you had money).

I will take a look at your homepage later and post my thoughts, gotta run an errand.

[Brie]

Create a bulleted list. A bulleted list may work better because the text on the home page is not coherent (It's not a complete article from beginning to end); each paragraph is simply stating what you have to offer. So it's kind of an info dump.

Why don't you make each one of the bolded-text phrases an active link?--linking to the actual part of the site where the resource is located?

You may also want to think about the user-friendliness of your site: is it easy to navigate? Can a visitor jump to where they want to go without digging for it? This was one of my competitor's weaknesses, so I paid special attention to it.

There are so many other things that can be done with your site to maximize its effectiveness with search engines and visitors (both new and returning). I would start off with maximizing the use of your home page and get the right keywords in those articles.

I didn't see an RSS button on your site either. Do you have one?