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DOWNLOAD: Boost search rankings

24 ways to get a lot smarter about boosting your search rankings

http://techrepublic.com.com/5138-10548-5650420.html

Search engine optimization has no doubt been played a major part in the marketing of Web sites for many TechRepublic members. How did you improve your SEO? Did you use a Web site or tool that is missing from this list? Let us know so we can add it and improve this download.

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TechRepublic Downloads Team

This may be a really cheap tool but if offers VERY little.

Keyword density for example differes for each search engine (or search engine GROUP) that uses a completely different Search Engine Algorhythm (SEA) for measuring page placement.

The BEST tool I have seen or used, by FAR, is WebPosition by First Place Software.

This tool uses an constantly updated knowledgebase of SEA's and offers comparissions on nearly a hundred popular engines. It will monitor and create statistical reports of multiple keywords or phrases acorss ALL engines. It shows where you have dropped in rank, where you have increased and also what needs to be done to keep falling pages in the top 10.

I have created numerous sites with different positioning tools, and WP has been the ONLY one that sees my pages in the Top 5 of MAJOR engines such as Google. I have more than one company who's pages outrank their own product providers/manufacturers, they have top 2 or 3 positions for relevant keywords/phrases for numerous pages of their site. It was impossible with similar yet less effective tools.

Web Position offers the webdesigner SO many different tools, page building, copy writing, link popularity, Meta and Alt tag placement, as well as a weighted system for EACH engine that shows how your page will be ranked. You can also compare YOUR pages to other higher ranking competetive pages and work your was well beyond their ranks with the use of the Page Reporter that evaluates pages against that SEA and shows WHY other pages outrank your own. Either before of after they are submitted, the submitter is another VERY useful tool, no more droning through scads of SE pages to submit sites.

I find the BIGGEST mistake people make is that they design for ONE engine, they also overuse the keywords and meta tags not realizing that this disqualifies rank in many engines. Some (make that MANY) don't even use ALT tags for images and thuslose out on an entire area where they can improve rankings.

Each engine is different, each engine changes constantly, the only proven way to beat this is by a continued focus, ranking checks and tweaking of custom pages designed for different engines.

How did I improve my SEO? One product that has never failed with more than a dozen sites at hitting top ten slots on major engines. Web Position, everything else is just a partial solution. It has never failed me, and I DO get paid based on rankings, whether top 20, top 10 or top 5 and then for how long it remains in position with a particular engine. It is EASY to get those bonuses, it is EASY to beat out competetive pages and it is EASY to be warned of dropped ranks and what needs to be done to improve them. One tool, relatively inexpensive, even with a knowledgebase update subscription (imperative to keep on top of changing SEA's).

SEO is my fast cash grab and VERY important to me, nothing else has cut the mustard.

http://www.webposition.com/

Tried the rest, now I stick with the best.

Thanks for the suggestion and the link Oz. That's quite a testimonial.

Maybe a roundup of paid SEO services is in order? The download in question concentrated on the free or nearly free tools, but you seem to be saying serious optimization requires more substantial tools.

Is that the general TechRepublic consensus? The Wisdom of Crowds and all that?

As the majority of users here appear to be system and network administrators, I would say perhaps that is why you havent received a large response to SEO content, just a guess.

As for myself, I am more aimed at target marketing, key metrics and overseas promotions, so this is an area I have spent countless hours studying.

In breif, there are a thousand free tools, with Meta Tag builders (by far the most detrimental to site positioning). WP products are really cheap and it is a FULL suite of page analysis, reporting and comparissons based on CURRENT and constantly changing search engine algorhythms.

I have actually thought about proposing some marketing plans for those guys (Web Position), they have a proven and effective product yet I don't see the widespread use of it, probably good because it makes it easier to beat out the competition with more people using the wrong tools or not making an effort at all.

I think part of the reason they are not better known is that their SER is not as high as it should be. heehee

The approaches required for natural placement are different from those needed when seeking paid placement.

Some tools are useful for both; others, for one only.