Ten tips to
help your website rank better with search engines
By formatting
your website correctly, you can save money on advertising by using the search
engine to bring in good, quality, targeted viewers.
1.
Links - Links are what make the web tick. All search engines consider a link
a vote and this is one case where and it is ok to stuff the ballot box. Google,
Yahoo and the others base their rankings to some extent on how many good quality
incoming links you have. Many incoming links from various sources will make your
website seem more important to search engines and will make your site rank higher.
Try
to get your web site listed in the following sources.
DMOZ
- The open source directory is a huge listing of websites about any conceivable
topic. It is run by volunteer editors, the listing are free of charge, but it
may take a long time to have your site listed. When trying to get into the DMOZ
make sure you follow the rules listed on the site to the letter. Make sure your
web site has a fair amount of quality content. Sometimes the editors can be picky,
but the wait is worth it. DMOZ can be the most important incoming link that you
receive.
Internet Auction List - A huge listing of live auction related
topics and calendar of events. Many buyers look here for auction information.
Your
local state auctioneer association - Because of the way search engines are set
up, and the way most people search for information on the web with longer and
more specific search terms, it is far more important to get a link from a state
auctioneer association than the national organization.
National organizations
- The National Auctioneers Association. The way they have their web site set up
a link from them to you will not count as a vote in the eyes of the search engines.
Other
auctioneers - If you know another auctioneer, maybe one from out of town, that
has a website ask that person to trade links. It will help both of you in the
long run.
Other related sites - Collectors organizations, a realtor, others
that you have a business relationship with are all good places to look when trying
to exchange website links. Luv2bid.com will happily display a link to all auctioneering
web sites.
How to make your links work for you - Create a separate
web page to place links on. Create the links in such a way that the link text
or the underlined portion of the link is as descriptive
as possible. Link text like Kansas Auctioneer is
much more effective than joeauctioneer.com
2.
The right text is worth a thousand pictures - With each word in your site
a potential match to someones search, it has been shown that the more text on
your website, the greater chance that your website will bring in targeted traffic.
Use plenty of descriptive text in your web pages. Try to describe what you have
to offer in as many different ways as possible. Keep the paragraph structure short.
People scan web pages, they seldom take time to actually read something on a site.
Look at how CNN and Yahoo break up their pages for clues on how to structure a
site succesfully.
3. Publish ASAP -
If at all possible get information on upcoming sales on your site one month in
advance. This will give search engines time to index your page, and allow targeted
searches from collecters and buyers to find your content.
4.
Don't worry about being #1 auctioneer, worry about being one of the #1 auctioneer
for a town close to you. Being the #1 listed auctioneer for antiques or in
the United States probably will not pay off for you in terms of time spent to
get that ranking. Being the #1 listed auctioneer for your town, or the #1 auctioneer
for selling antique radios is a much more achievable goal and will bring pay off
better in the long run.
5. Nothing too fancy
- Avoid using flash, javascript/css menus, large pictures, or anything else which
detracts from your message. Search engines can't read pictures(yet). If you have
pictures of items up for auction, place a preview on one page with the closeup
larger picture on a second page. Make sure you use text to describe what is on
that picture.
6. Separate the new from the old
- It is a good idea to keep old auctions on your website. It isn't a good
idea to place old auctions on the same page as new auctions.
7.
Know the basics - You don't need to know a lot about building web pages, with
today's web programs you really don't need to know much at all. One thing you
do need to know is how to make a title of your web page. The title is what appears
when someone looks at your page in a search engine. Learn how to create a title
on your web page and make it as descriptive as possible. Antique, collectible
auction in Kansas is a far better title than, Steve Smith's auction.
8.
Learn about keywords - Keywords are the terms which web surfers type into
Google or other engines. It is good to add important keywords in the title, links
and written pages of your website. Too many repeated keywords will get you into
trouble with the engines. Make it easy for others to get around on your site and
you will be fine. Keep the keywords that you place in the page related to the
page.
9. More is better - Written content is
the easiest way to increase the visitors on your site. Don't just have an old
auction page, use the page to describe how the auction went, (which was great
of course). If you feel comfortable with the idea, put the prices realized on
the old auction page. It is unique content which search engines love.
10.
Share the wealth - Add your knowledge of collectibles and antiques to the
web, either on your web site or other pages. Join forums and if possible put a
link back to your site in the forum entries. Search engines have eyes everywhere
and will reward you for your effort.
