This resource page is a supplement
to the September 8, 2000 issue
"Want to Get Your Site
Well-Listed in the Search Engines?
Hire an Expert!"
This resource page is a supplement to the
September 8, 2000 issue of the Ask Vicki ezine.
If you stumbled on this page and you're not
yet a subscriber, you can subscribe FREE from here:
www.eHits.com/AskVicki
Getting your site listed in the top ten results
of the major search engines can bring a huge
(and I mean huge) amount of traffic to your site.
But the cold hard truth of it is this: For many
keywords, there are tens of thousands of websites
all wanting to be in the top ten listings. But,
there can only be ten. That kind of competition
is quite intimidating. And most of us don't have
the time or technical expertise (or desire!)
to become a search engine "expert."
But I have some good news. There are services
which can get your website well-listed in the
major engines. I'm going to give you a list
of these services, explain how they work,
and tell you how to shop them.
Before we dive in, I'd like to offer you an evaluation
copy of Traffic 2000, which you can download while you are
reading this. Just click to
www.Traffic2000.com/download (this page will open in a new
window) This is the best marketing course you'll find anywhere,
it's won awards and is recommended by 33 (yes 33!) top ezine
publishers. The download takes about 5 minutes, so start it now
and by the time you get to the bottom of this webpage it
will be downloaded.
Now back to our discussion on getting well-listed in
the search engines.
The art and science of getting well listed in the
search engines is known as "ranking." If you're like
most people and you don't have the time, desire or
technical expertise to become a ranking expert, then
I suggest you hire an expert to do your ranking for you.
Ranking services will get your site listed within the top
results of the major engines. Here is a list of
ranking services:
http://www.searchengineposition.com/welcome.htm
http://www.webpositioning.com
http://www.webseed.com
http://www.magic-city.net
http://wso.net/sprytec/marketing/top_ranking.htm
http://www.top-10.com
http://www.101topranking.com
http://iasweb.com/promotion
Note: You may use the search engines to find additional ranking services.
Most services charge anywhere from about $49/month
to as high as several thousand dollars per month.
If your site generates revenue, then the monthly
service fee can seem like a drop in the bucket
compared to the revenue which can result from the
mass traffic to your site.
When shopping for a ranking service, here are some items
to consider:
- Many ranking services offer a guarantee that for
any month you are not listed within the top results,
you are not required to pay that month's fee.
If you give them multiple keyword phrases,
make sure their guarantee is for your first choice
keyword phrase, not just for any of the phrases.
Otherwise, they may be able to get out of their
guarantee by always having your third choice
keyword phrase in the top listings, but never
your first choice keyword phrase.
- Make sure there are no per-click costs or any hidden costs.
- Find out if they will go month-to-month or if they require a
6-month or 1-year contract. For services that offer month-to-month
arrangement, it is fair for them to require a three month minimum.
Since a lot of their work is done up front, the three-month minimum
helps to protect their time investment.
- Make sure that the listings link to your site, and
not to a re-direct page on their site. A few companies, like
did-it.com
charge per click (instead of a flat monthly fee), and they
have to use re-direct pages in order to measure the clicks.
Also, if they have a problem getting paid by any of their
clients, the redirect page gives them the ability to "shut off"
the traffic to that client's site.
- Make certain that the service agrees to get you
listed using your exact keyword phrase and not a
variation which is hardly searched on. Don't let them
talk you into a keyword phrase which you don't really
want. (it's easier for them to get top listings with
less common keyword phrases) For example, if your site
sells mouse mats, then the service should get you top
listings with the keyword phrase "mouse mats" and not
with "computer mouse mats" or "mouse mat products" or
some other variation.
- Will they provide monthly reports or will you be responsible
for remembering to check your results in each of the major
search engines each month? Ask them for an example of the
monthly reports they provide with their customers. A good
report will contain hotlinks to the search engines (with
your keywords coded in the hotlinks) so that you can
easily verify each item in their report.
- It is important that you check out the testimonials on
their website, and contact those people. Ask them if
they are happy with the service. Don't be afraid to ask the
service for a list of additional client references
with phone numbers.
Finally, keep in mind that if you outsource this
part of your web marketing to a ranking service,
you will free up some time to focus on other
important marketing tasks.
Getting listed on the search engines is only one of
over 100 marketing techniques. If you want to learn about
additional marketing techniques, you should check out
www.Traffic2000.com. This award winning marketing
course has received some national press coverage, and
it is recommended by 33 ezine publishers, who have
put their reputations on the line to say that this
course is GREAT. I highly recommend you click over
and check out the site.
See you next week!
Victoria Steele
www.eHits.com/AskVicki
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