SEO Focus: MSN & Live Search

With the recent MSN/Live Search algorithm update causing a stir amongst webmasters, this is a good time to review how search engine optimization tactics for MSN/Live Search differs from SEO for Google, Yahoo! and other search engines.

Of course, there's no authoritative list of SEO rules to follow for MSN and Live Search (that would just make it a bit too easy!), and the live.com search engine algorithm is still very much evolving - so something that might work today may no longer work in a few months time. Nevertheless, here are a few post-algorithm rules that seem to be accepted in webmaster circles at the moment:

Microsoft Still Has a Problem With Spam.
Most people believe that Microsoft is still lagging behind other search engines in determining relevant, non-spammy search results. Spammy blogspot blogs continue to rank quite well to the frustration of many - you would assume that MSN is hard at work trying to improve the relevance of their search results.

Keywords in Domain and Subdomain Names
Currently, keyword rich domain and subdomain names definitely seem to help a website's ranking in MSN/live.com. As this tactic is also quite prone to be abused by spammers, the question is how long MSN will continue to reward keyword rich domain names.

Keep It Short
Relatively little text content seems to be enough to get good rankings in MSN and live.com. As this really contradicts Microsoft's aim to provide relevant search results - you would assume that relevant and authoritative sites would contain a lot of content, not little - it remains to be seen whether this rule of thumb will stand the test of time.

Lower Keyword Density
Microsoft's spam filters appear to be more sensitive to high keyword densities in the content of web pages than other search engines. So it seems that erring on the side of caution and sticking with lower keyword densities will provide better results for MSN. Of course, that might hurt your ranking in other search engines.

Make It Relevant
Whether they are currently doing it very well or not, MSN states that its search engine places great emphasis on the topical relevance of a web page for ranking it. So make sure your copy is highly relevant and on topic.

Clean and Simple Code
While this applies to all search engines, MSN/Live Search seems to respond better than other search engines if the code of your page is well-written, clearly structured and error-free.

Inbound Links
MSN currently doesn't seem to be very discerning in regards to the quality of inbound links to a site, which means that there are a lot of examples of site rankings being boosted by a large number of low quality inbound links. Again, this seems to be favoring spammy search results quite a lot at the moment, so this rule of thumb might not be around for long, and we wouldn't recommend chasing lots of low quality links as you may be penalized in future algorithm updates.

Compared to Google and Yahoo!, the live.com algorithm is not as mature, which means that you can expect to see quite significant changes to the algorithm as Microsoft's engineers tweak it to provide more relevant and less spammy search results. So I'd recommend that you don't get too fixated on the current algorithm, but apply common sense when it comes to your search engine optimization, just like you would for other search engines. If you want to stay up to date on the latest MSN/Live Search developments, I recommend you visit the Webmasterworld Microsoft Search Live forum regularly.

News Source: http://www.ineedhits.com/free-tools/blog/2006/11/seo-focus-msn-live-search.aspx

Making Sense of Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the strategy of using techniques to try to improve the rank a website has among search engine listings. Longtime marketers know that techniques of SEO must adapt to structures of the popular search engines.

Although most SEO strategy can be done online, some is done offline, like adding URLs to direct mail pieces to drive traffic to sites. Mailing postcards to prospects to advertise an online opportunity, via website URL, can be a very effective marketing effort, as it combines traditional marketing by mail to more advanced internet marketing. Likewise, distributing flyers can be very effective, particularly in urban areas. These are offline methods of traffic-generating which can create traffic, which is one element the search engines are eyeing.

The search engines keep track of a lot of other elements related to your website which tell them, “This is a site of interest and significance”, resulting in a higher ranking for the site in the search results they return to online information seekers.

SEO methods can certainly cover a wide range of website components; including but not limited to domain name, title / heading / HTML tags, file names and directories, frequency of quality terms used, keyword info, image ALT tags, text without frames, photo captions, targeted quality content, regular updating of content, back-links, and overall website popularity.

And SEO strategies that involve manipulation of these various SEO components can be broken down into two main categories; "white hat" or “black hat.” White hat SEO methods are generally those that are approved by search engines, like adding good content and other quality to your site. Black hat SEO methods are referred to as tricks, like using cloaking devices. Some people say all SEO is manipulative. Others say only black hat is.

Some companies offer SEO services. For practically any budget range, you can buy:

- PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns where you try to draw online traffic to your site by bidding on words relating to your niche that you think people will use in search engines to find you.

- Site Submission – There are plenty of companies out there that will allow you to enter your URL into their form and then they will submit it to a group of top search engines for you at no charge, like Submit Express at: http://www.submitexpress.com/list.html . You can also pay them to submit it to many more. Submitting in this manner is generally recommended once a month. You can also purchase products like: WebPosition Gold, a search engine software all-in-one package that optimizes your web pages, submits them to top search engines, then tracks the page rankings and web site visits and visitors.

- Article Marketing – Online marketers write articles that focus on keywords or key content that would attract search engines to them when people search for their key content.

- Links – Not only through article links but other links as well (whether link exchanges or purchased in-bound links), webmasters try to increase their search engine rank by establishing quality linking with top sites or high-traffic sites out there.

- Posting to Opportunity Seeker Message Boards – This is just another method of creating back-links to the website. An e-mail signature with a compelling line of advertising can redirect readers, who have already shown to have an interest in the opportunity market, back to selling website—more back-links.

- Online Directories and Classified Ad Sites – These are more fine sources of potential back-links to the website. Search engine spiders regularly determine popularity of sites via back-links, and rate them higher accordingly, which creates even more traffic flow.

- Link Exchange – This is a slower way to create back-links, but it can be effective if done regularly. Usually, this type of arrangement must be set up webmaster-to-webmaster per mutual agreement, but there are automated tools such as Link Machine which greatly speed up this process.

So add some SEO into your Internet marketing. SEO, when done successfully, can bring waves of traffic that you never expected, and that translates into sales success. Even at little or no cost, there are plenty of things you can do to keep the search engines happy, helping to bring internet visitors to your websites!

News Source: http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=110506_seo-search-engine-optimization-making-sense-internet-marketing.htm