Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Not Enough KeyWord Density

All the social bookmarking in the world will not help you if the search engines can't find your article in the first place. And search engines can't find you unless you speak their language. As we all know, part of that language is effective use of keywords and keyword phrases, namely keyword density ( the number of times your keyword appears in your article compared to the number of words in your article creates keyword density) that is neither too high or too low. It is, after all, the keywords and keyword phrases that are searched, right?

Keyword Density
Yes and no. Without good keyword density, your article simply will not come up in a search. Keyword density is determined by the number of times your keywords or keyword phrases appear in your article. For the purposes of AC, 3% to 6% is considered ideal keyword density. Having good keyword density is a major part of Search Engine Optimization or SEO. To determine your keyword density, AC recommends text analyzer. Live Keyword Analysis is also a great site to use for measure your keyword density. The advantage of this site is you can edit your article and immediately see increases in keyword density by selectively placing keywords and keyword phrases throughout your article.

Searchabilty
Once you have mastered keywords, keyword phrases, and keyword density, this is probably your biggest stumbling block, especially for writing articles for submission. Finding a topic that is likely to be searched, but has not already been flooded with sites and articles may seem like a daunting task. It is manageable, but requires you to step outside your role as a writer and enter the role of a consumer.

What would someone type to find my information?
There are several questions you need to ask yourself first. Does anyone want to read about my topic? If so, who are they and what would they type into a search engine to find your information? This is where you get your key words and keyword phrases. Think like the consumer. The words and phrases they would type to find this information are the keywords and keyword phrases you should use in your article.
Are there already a lot of articles out there about my topic? If so, in order to reach SEO, you will need to find something different from what is already available. This is where you need to be specific and target your audience.

SEO Tools
There are several SEO tools available for you to check the popularity of particular keywords and keyword phrases. In fact, you can find a host of tools, many of which are actually Google tools, offered at SEO chat. (www.seochat.com/seo-tools/keyword-suggestions-google) This gives you a place to start and should help you build some possible keywords and keyword phrases.

With the use of these SEO tools, finding effective keywords and keyword phrases becomes a little less daunting and a little more manageable. Go ahead. Play around with your keywords and keyword phrases. Try similar words and see what happens.

Consumer's viewpoint
Beware! Just because keywords or keyword phrases are popular, doesn't mean your article will rate high with a search engine. It's not the way SEO work. It's likely that your article will be returned along with thousands of other articles and sites. Being buried in the midst of titles that all look the same isn't going to help you at all.

Once you've found your keywords and keyword phrases, you need to take a look at them from the viewpoint of the consumer, again. What specifically are they looking for under this topic? Look for ways to narrow down the topic while taking advantage of popular topics. Be specific about what your article has to offer.

Your keywords or keyword phrases , which you have carefully placed in your headline , must be the actual words someone would type in to search for your information. Forget the highly creative and catchy phrases we love to roll off the tongue. Search engines won't find them.

Keywords vs Keyword Phrases
For SEO, whenever possible, develop your keywords into keyword phrases of two to three words. Matches of one word are far too common and will often be ignored by search engines.Besides, people rarely use just one word to search for information. Remember, search engines are man made creatures designed to crawl the web in search of exact matches. Make sure they can find yours by giving them a clear picture of your article via your own keywords and key phrases. It is merely one way of taking advantage of SEO.
The search engine doesn't care that you have just come up with the perfect title, in fact the search engine doesn't even care if you spell your words correctly. AC does, so be careful with that one.

Beware of Social Book marking
Did you know that linking your articles to your own blogs and social book marking sites may actually prevent your article from showing up in a search? That's right. If you are linking your articles to hubs or lens that you have created you may be defeating your purpose. All your hard work may actually be turning away potential readers simply because the search engine has identified your articles and their accompanying links as spam.

A way around it
If you really want to draw traffic from social bookmarking have someone else bookmark your articles for you. If you must do them yourself, be sure to include articles from other people too. These articles could be other sites or articles that share your keywords and keyword phrases. The search engine is less likely to flag your links as spam if they include a variety of articles from others too.

Of course, linking to your blog is a great way to get traffic, if you already have high traffic to your blog. Don't rely on search engines alone to index your blog and draw people to your links.

SEO Tricks
There are a few other SEO tricks that may entice search engines to land on your article. Use several keywords or keyword phrases. That's right. You need more than one. It isn't difficult to accomplish once you discard your misplaced ideas about finding keywords and sticking to them. In fact, most articles lend themselves to several keywords and keyword phrases.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases in Headline
You absolutely must include those keywords and keyword phrases in your headline and in your first paragraph. Search engines search your headline and beginning paragraphs first. Resist the urge to use another word to avoid the redundancy of repeating key words and key word phrases. The search engine will not recognize even the most clever synonym. SEO depends on repetition of keywords and keyword phrases.
Special Font
Take advantage of using bold print for one of your keywords or keyword phrases and italics for another to take advantage of SEO. Sprinkle your keywords and keyword phrases throughout the remaining article and always check your keyword density before submitting your article.

Wrapping it up
Your last paragraph should function as a conclusion to your article. It should also contain your keywords and keyword phrases. If you have done your job well and have adequate keyword density the search engines will note that your keywords and keyword phrases are present throughout your article.

SEO and Links
Providing a link to another site also increases your chances of rating higher with a search engine and increases your SEO . Although there are many links on AC that the search engine can work it's way through, it wouldn't hurt to add a link from your article to another site that contains complementary information that your reader could benefit from. It is especially helpful if the site you link to also has a good keyword density of the same keywords and keyword phrases you have used in your article. AC discourages links from the body of the article, so take advantage of the supporting links section when submitting your article. Don't forget, you want the site you link to to reinforce your keywords and keyword phrases, too. Providing links to your other work, unless it directly ties to the article your reader is engaged in, will simply irritate your reader and may be picked up as spam. Make sure the link you provide is to a reputable source, preferably one that will boost your keyword and keyword phrases. This helps the search engine confirm that your keywords and keyword phrases really are what your article is all about.

Get links to your article
Gaining a link to your article from a reputable site not only provides you with traffic, it builds SEO. So take the time to find a complementary site, once again who employs the same keywords and keyword phrases you do, that will link to your article. If you can't trade links with another site, try linking from a friend's blog that covers similar content.

The more links you have to your article, especially if they are from high ranking sites and contain the same keywords or keyword phrases as your article, the more likely you are to score with the search engine thereby approaching SEO. That is, after all, what we are all looking for.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Backlinks

Back links are the key to wealth from your website. When submitting links to directories make sure that you plan to submit farther than your first page. If your website provides great quality content then you have convinced the directories that you know what you are doing.

Every time a back link is created you are building up your sites momentum and fortune. A back link is a trustworthy way that a search engine can tell that your website provides quality content. After submitting your articles into a directory you have confirmed a deep link inside your website as you are letting the search engines know that there is more to your site than the first page.

In order to generate successful traffic you will need to have your content in order and ready for the world to see. Make sure you have the proper keyword density throughout your articles and that proper grammar has been used. If all has been followed through your directory will be another helpful guest in your group of helpers, as they will do much more than show off your work, they will help your deep links get established.

Once your back links are in place from a reliable source then you are on your way to great search engine optimization. However these are not the only ways back links can help users with their domain. Back links will enable other viewers to see that you are a reliable source and that your link is on another website that they view which creates the feeling that you are someone they know they can trust. If you have the wants from the users then you have successfully became popular, and popularity is what search engine optimization is all about.
If you had the option to put all your back links onto one website or to have multiple back links put onto multiple sites you would most likely go with the latter. The more trustworthy domains linking back to yours will make your site to be very trustworthy and instead of only having one trustworthy website linking back to your domain you will have multiple. The reason search engines take priority in this is simply because the more your name is out there, then the more popular you are, and popularity is the only way to be good in search engines. Go out there and create back links and you are surely to succeed.

Legality of Homeschooling

It is completely legal to home school a child.

Some parents are concerned of legal restrictions they feel home schooling may impose on them when deciding to home school their children. Parents fear that home schooling their children is either illegal or that the steps needed to acquire home school certification are too ponderous or odious to accomplish. Some of these fears are justified depending on where the parents reside; however, the fears are usually larger than is appropriate.

The rules and laws of a child's education are set down and enforced by the individual states even though the Constitution of the United States makes no mention of education and the Department of Education tends to play a very large role in the certification of home schooling. The laws do vary from state to state, though.

It is legal in all fifty states to home school children, but some states have fewer restrictions than others. For example, Texas and Idaho place a minimum of restrictions on parents who decided to home school their kids. However, Massachusetts and New York are very particular about the methods and keep a close watch on parents who do home school their children; even requiring curriculum approval, regular student achievement scores to be submitted on a timely basis, and even home visits. Pennsylvania requires local school districts to review any materials that are to be used in home schooling for approval.

Many bills have been introduced into Congress that would expand the power of the states to enter the home of children who are home schooled or to compel parents to enroll their children into public school. While efforts have been made to monitor or defeat these legal efforts, they were overturned in 2006. Parents need not worry too much about rights being taken away since the trend of courts has been stalwartly in their favor for many years.
The Supreme Court case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) stated that the care and education of a child rested solely on the parents of said children, not the state in which they reside. The court also reaffirmed the rights of parents to make decisions regarding their children's education in 2000 with the Troxel v. Granville case, which in and of itself was not an issue of home schooling, home school advocates used it to further their goal of freedom to choose how their children are educated.

The HSLDA (Horne School Legal Defense Association, http://www.hslda.org ) was founded in 1983 to support the rights of parents who wish to home school their children and has fought many battles in the courtroom on behalf of such parents. This association closely follows any changes made by Congress and the states regarding education and publishes a yearly account of legislative acts.

Even though government from state to federal levels have tried to chip away at the parents' rights to home school their children, court cases generally have been settled in the parents' favors.

There have been cases of social workers who zealously try to protect what they feel is their duty to protect the children of parents who home school. Even with no evidence of parental abuse, such social workers try to follow through with their attempts. The HSDLA works to provide support and resources to parents so that such legal and social issues never have to be dealt with in the first place.

It is a good idea for parents considering home schooling to assiduously investigate all the necessary paperwork, supervision and requirements by law of their resident states. The parents are the ones who need to be first educated in home schooling.