search engine optimization doesn't always make sense.

search engine optimization doesn't always make sense.
our searches depend on computers that are trying to be
"creative." so the results are often comical.

ways to increase your external links:
keep answering questions on yahoo answers! throw a link
to your site (if it's relevant). watch the links add up!

sitemaps:
sitemaps allow pages beyond yourdomain.com to show
up in a search. if you type in a specific search you may see your site listed, and then directly beneath it an indented listing that directs the user to a more specific page. this allows users to directly
click to the page they are looking for, and it allows
google to index the content from the subsequent pages.

simple to-do list to increase your presence:
make sure you have a listing at the following sites... make sure your web address is there!!
switchboard.com
superpages.com
yahoo.com
maps.google.com
rgj.com (local newspaper)

so, what's so comical about all this? these are some of the top search queries; how people got to my site in the last week:
1. girl stuck youtube
2. webdesign myspace
3. moves to do on a girl

nice. the third one is really great for business. *sarcasm*

the content on a website is so important to get the right people to your site. the words and phrases you keep repeating on your site need to be relevant to your business. now, sometimes we accidentally repeat a word over and over again.

the words i'm repeating:
1. waking
2. girl
3. business
4. design
5. myspace
6. hosting

i should probably focus on bringing waking and girl down lower on the list, while pushing design and web (where's that one?!) up higher. or, maybe this month i'm targeting video clients. then video is the word i need to keep talking about.

those are also the words i should bold. :)

top search engine placement

[from an email to a client]

curious, i googled my internet nickname. i do this
every few months.

the response this time was fascinating. the order in
which sites were returned should illustrate my point
about using other sites to drive traffic to your own
site.

1. NICKNAME.com (google looks first to see if there's
a domain that has the search phrase you typed in)

2. youtube.com..... (a link to my youtube profile,
which links to my business website)

3. yahoo.com.... (a link to my yahoo answers profile
which links to my business site)

4. myspace.com.... (a link to my myspace profile which
links to my business site)

after that it goes into more yahoo answers (every
question i have answered is indexed!). beyond that are
various forums that i have posted on.

since these "TOP" sites are linking to my business
website, it's going to help my ranking when someone
types in something like "girl web design" (1st page)
or "reno marketing consultation" (1st page) or "reno
web maintenance" (1st!).