1. Search Engines – People type in certain terms to a search engine (such as Google), and websites connected with those terms come up as search results.  Example: A person types “how can I help African children” into a search engine, and one of the pages “shoesforall.org” comes up as a result, explaining how their donation will help get shoes to African children.
2. Direct referrals from other websites – Example: Another charity which provides food to poor children has a website called food4all.org, (a made-up name at the time of this writing) which has a page with links to other charities. One of these links leads to to shoesforall.org. A person visits food4all.org, arrives to the “links” page, and clicks on the link to shoesforall.org.
3. Word of mouth and offline Advertising – This includes offline referrals, where people tell others to visit your Shoes For All website, people emailing eachother about the Shoes for All movement, people passing around business cards with URLs of shoesforall.org websites, and even notices and billboards which advertise the URLs of the websites, bumper stickers, etc.

The first method – search engines – is possibly the most important one, because of its potentials to reach anyone and everyone who might be interested in the “Shoes for All” movement (even if they have never heard of the movement before).

Your goal is to have your website come up as often as possible in search results, whenever people search for related keywords.

There will be a few main keywords that result in visits to your sites, and there will be some variations of those keywords.

For example, your sites might receive traffic from these main keywords:

A bar graph of these keywords would look like this:

If you look at the above bar graph and imagine that the blue bars represent an animal, with the head on the left and a long tail on the right.

This is where the term “long tail” comes from.

Long tail keywords are the words and terms which individually are not searched for often, but cumulatively can add up to a lot of traffic.

Long tail keywords basically include the many variations of your main keywords, which can be used to find your organization’s websites. Each variation in itself does not get a large volume of searches, but all combined, they get a considerable amount.

Sometimes when you are driving traffic to a new website, its best to start off by focusing on the long-tail keywords.  The reason for this is that they often have far less competition than your main keywords.  Once you have begun to rank well for plenty of long tail keywords, and receive good traffic from them, it is much easier to go after your main keywords.  On could say that you have your foot on the first rung of the ladder.

It’s also good to research long-tail keywords because it gives you an idea of what information people are looking for.

When people type in a search term, they are generally stating their problem. It is something they are trying to solve – whether they are trying to find out the location of the nearest pizza parlor, how to pay less taxes, or where they can find a funny video so they can forget about life for a little while!

When your website appears in the search result, it should give the solution to that problem. People may have never heard of your organization before. All they know is that they are looking for information on something, and they are trying to solve some kind of problem. If your organization has a solution, or an answer to that problem, it should come up as a result when people type in those search terms!

That seems obvious, but it is far too often overlooked.

When a person types in “charity for children,” your shoesforall.org website should be amongst the search results.  And it should also be there when they type in “shoes for children,” “help Burmese kids,” “donate to charity in Ecuador,” or whatever the case may be – providing that the organization has branches in those areas, and providing that it runs programs which help solve those problems.

In the beginning it takes work to get traffic to a website and get it up in the rankings.  By targeting long-tail keywords to start off with, you can build a stable base of traffic and start building up some momentum.  Then you can go after the big ones.

This post was originally published on Websites and Webhosting at Driving Traffic to Your Website.

The Purpose of a Search Engine

When you go to a website like Google and type a word or phrase into the search engine, you probably are hoping to find results which are:

• Relevant
• Good Quality
• Useful
• Varied

Imagine if you went to a search engine and typed in “dog collars,” but then got results such as the following:

• Websites about coffee cups
• Pages written in unclear English with bad grammar, difficult to read, and uninformative.
• The same website appearing over and over in the top 10 positions, instead of a variety of different websites with information on dog collars
• Or, even worse yet, pages of incoherent gibberish which simply have the word “dog collars” repeated over and over in their text.

You would probably feel that search engine was not very useful, and you wouldn’t use that search engine again. You would look for a better one.

Those who program search engines and who write their algorithms are aware of this fact. They want their seach engines to provide results which are as useful, relevant, and high-quality as possible. This will make people want to use those search engines more.

On the other side of the coin, there are people who work against the search engines.

How and why would they do that?

Well, usually these are people who own websites. They want their websites to rank well in the search engines, but they don’t want to work too hard to get them there. So they try to short-cut the system and cheat their way to the top.

Its okay to practice SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in order to try to get to the top. But that includes building high-quality and useful websites which will provide useful and relevant information to the people who are searching for information online. When webmasters try to trick the search engines into giving them a higher ranking or more traffic than they deserve, this is called “black hat SEO.”

In an effort to combat black-hat SEO and to maintain the integrity of their search results, search engines (or, the people who program them, that is) are continually modifying and improving their algorithms. Every time someone comes up with a new trick they can use to get around the algorithms, the search engine companies come out with a new algorithm in response – and so it goes.

Search engines algorithms are kept a secret, in order to make it harder for people to try to shortcut them. Therefore, Search Engine Pptimization is an interesting field. It is an area of constant change, some mystery, and lots of room for opinion.

At the same time, there are many key basic facts that you can learn and apply, successfully and ethically, in order to get more relevant traffic to a website or websites. And most importantly, keep in mind what the purpose of a search engine is – so that you can work with it, and not against it. Good website content and good SEO go hand-in-hand. Together they are a highly powerful combination. One without the other is not.

This post was originally published on Websites and Webhosting at What a Search Engine is and Does.

You might already know what many of these terms – but many people don’t.  And as you are reading, you might realize that you yourself didn’t know what all of these words really meant, even when you thought you did.

What is the Internet?

The Internet (or the “net” for short) is an enormous network of computers all over the world, which are connected together with wires, cables, wireless transmissions, and satellite signals.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is the address of a website (which is a specific group of files or pages under that domain name). For example: websitesandwebhosting.com is the domain name for the website called “Websites and Webhosting.” This website could have many pages inside it, but the address of every page would include “websitesandwebhosting.com.” For example, the following web pages all fall under the domain name websitesandwebhosting.com:

http://websitesandwebhosting.com/webmaster-resources/
http://websitesandwebhosting.com/email-marketing-free-trial/
http://websitesandwebhosting.com/books-ebooks-training/
http://websitesandwebhosting.com/website-building/website-building-services/

What is a Website?

A website is a group of pages which are linked together under one domain name. So, for example, all of the files which are linked together under the domain name websitesandwebhosting.com are referred to as one website.

What is a URL?

“URL” stands for “uniform resource locator.” It is the exact address of any particular page or file on the Internet. (The pages and files are considered to be “resources.”) Most websites have many pages, and each page has its own URL. Here are some examples of URLs:

http://websitesandwebhosting.com/books-ebooks-training/

http://websitesandwebhosting.com/email-marketing-free-trial/

What is a Hyperlink?

A hyperlink (also called a “link” for short”) is a piece of text or an image which connects web pages and files together, usually on the Internet. If you hover your mouse pointer over a hyperlink and you click on it, it normally leads you to some other web page, file, or image. One can also put hyperlinks into a document or an eBook. This is a hyperlink

What is a Search Engine?

Some websites have special computer programs which you can use to search for information. These are called “search engines.” A search engine can rapidly look through millions of websites on the Internet to help you find the information you are looking for. When you type a word or phrase or phrase into a search engine, it displays a list of websites which should have information and pages about the term you typed in. Technically speaking, the search engine is actually the computer program which searches for information, not the website itself. But we tend to refer to websites which use search engines as “search engines.” So the term “search engine” has come to refer to not only the computer programs which search, but the websites which use these programs. The following websites are examples of search engines:

www.Google.com

www.Yahoo.com

www.MSN.com

www.AOL.com

What is a Keyword?

A keyword is an important word which represents the subject you are searching for information about (if you are searching for information). When you are publishing information on the Internet, a keyword is an important word which represents the subject you are writing about. When you publish photos, videos, or sound files, the a keyword is a word which describes the image, video, or sound. If you are searching for “dogs” and you type “dog collars” into a Search Engine, your keyword is “dogs.” If you are publishing a website about dogs, your main keyword would be “dog” or “dogs.”

What is a Key Phrase?

A key phrase is just like a keyword, except it is a group of keywords. An example of a key phrase would be “dog collars.” But most people use the term “keyword” to refer to both keywords and key phrases. I will use the word “keyword” to refer to both keywords and key phrases, as many people do. Its simply easier than continuously saying “keyword or key phrase.”

What is a Search Engine Results Position?

A Search Engine Results Position (or SERP) is the position of a website on the results for a search engine, after a particular keyword is typed in. As I write this book, the URL en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog is #1 in the Google SERPs for the keyword “dog.” What that means is that when I type “dog” into the Google Search Engine, the Number 1 result which shows up is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog.

What is Page Rank?

When people refer to “page rank” they are normally referring to “Google Page Rank.” The Google Search Engine has a way of rating the value of different pages on the Internet, from 0-10. Later on in this book I will tell you how to find out the page rank of different pages when needed (its very simple).

What is an IP Address?

Every computer in the world has its own number which is assigned to it. Its kind of like a street address, but its a string of numbers which other computers can understand. IP addresses in different parts of the world begin with different numbers. IP stands for “Internet Protocol.” The definition of Protocol is “the rules which determine the format and transfer of information on a computer.”

What is the World Wide Web?

The World Wide Web (also referred to as “www” or “the web”) is a term referring to the giant network of computers all over the world which are connected on the Internet. If you imagine all of these connections around the world, it looks a lot like a huge spider web of inter-connection. It is basically a synonym for the word “Internet.”

What’s a Web Server?

A web server (or server) is a big powerful computer where the pages and files of websites are stored. The server is running all the time (ideally) so that anyone can access them via the Internet. Usually web servers belong to big companies which have the entire purpose of storing website and files so that they can be accessed by others via Internet. These companies are called “web hosting companies” or “web hosts.” An example of a web host is my web host, Hostgator My websites, for example, are stored on one of Host Gator’s servers, in Texas, USA. If you visit one of my sites, such as www.WebsitesWebhosting.com, you will be reading the pages which are stored on the server in Texas. If a tornado has just ripped through my server, you will not be able to see my website, you will see an error message instead, like “Internal Server Error.” (Sound familiar?)

What is a Webmaster?

A webmaster is a person who owns and creates one or more website.

What Does “Download” Mean?”

When you find a file on the Internet and you save it onto the computer you are using (the one you are typing on or a storage device connected to it) this is called “downloading.”

What Does “Upload” Mean?

When you take a file from your own computer and send to another computer on the Internet, usually a server, this is called “uploading” the file. You can upload files to your own server if you are creating a website. You can also upload files to other people’s servers. When you publish a video on a website like YouTube you have to upload the file to that website’s server.

What is a Blog?

The word blog is short for weblog. It is a type of a website. The entries in a blog are made in the style of a journal, and they are displayed in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent entry “at the top,” or on the front page. Originally, blogs were used like online journals or diaries. People would post their day-to-day thoughts and ideas on blogs. Blogs became a medium for displaying artistic creations, discussing news events, sharing the latest recipes with friends, and announcing accomplishments. Businesses also began to use blogs in order to keep their customers up to date with the latest developments. Modern day blogs have expanded into much broader use, and they have become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons. This will be discussed in more detail, later on in this book.

What is a Blog Post?

A single entry on a blog is a blog post. Blog posts are made chronologically and the most recent posts usually show up on the front page of the blog. To look at older posts, you usually search through the blog archives section.

What is a Comment?

When you come across a blog, video, image, or similar page on the Internet, you will often be given the opportunity to leave a comment. This will usually be in a space beneath the video, picture, or written text. A comment is a short message, opinion, or idea which you leave in response to whatever has been displayed on the page. Later on in this book you will learn why comments are very important.

What is “Online” and “Offline?”

When a person or computer is connected to the Internet, the person or computer is online. When the person or computer is not connected, the person is offline.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization (or SEO, for short) is the process of putting a website into an optimum condition so that it will be found as frequently as possible by people searching for relevant information on the Internet. For example, if you had a webite which sold dog accessories, you would want as many people as possible to visit your website, and you would want those people to be dog owners or dog lovers, or anyone who might be interested in buying a dog accessory from you. You would want people to find your website toward the top of the search results when they type in “dog accessories,” “dog toys,” “dog collars,” “dog seat covers,” “dog leashes …” and the list goes on. Anything you do in order to get more relevant traffic to your website through search engines is called “Search Engine Optimization” or “SEO.” There are different aspects of SEO, and there are right and wrong ways to do it. This will be covered later in this book where appropriate.

What is “Black Hat” and “White Hat” SEO?

In a nutshell, ethical SEO techniques are called “White Hat” SEO, and dishonest SEO Techniques are called “Black Hat SEO.” Different people have different ideas of what falls under which category, but once you have a basic understanding, it is pretty easy to tell the difference. Black Hat SEO techniques are often characterized by efforts to “trick” the search engines, or to shortcut one’s way to success. They are not workable in the long term, and are harmful to one’s reputation as well as to the effectiveness of one’s SEO efforts. Black Hat SEO techniques can even get websites removed from the Search Engine results entirely, because Search Engines don’t like black hatters.

What’s an Algorithm?

An algorithm is a computer program which goes through a series of steps in order to solve a problem or make a decision. Search engines use algorithms to determine which results should be displayed, and in which sequence, when a person performs a search. Search engines constantly change their algorithms in an effort to display the highest-quality and most relevant search results possible to their users.

What’s a Browser?

A browser, or web brower, is a computer program which is used to view and work with pages and documents on the Internet. The names of two popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

What is Internet Marketing?

The use of the Internet to promote one’s company, cause, product, message, or website is referred to as “Internet Marketing.” Internet Marketing is most commonly associate with income-generating activities, since most Internet Marketers are using the Internet in order to earn money (by selling products or services, or by selling advertising space on their websites). Internet Marketing, however, can be applied to any activity in which one wants to spread a message or promote an idea.

What is a Social Networking Website?

A social networking website allows many different users to create their own profile page with information about themselves, publish content, interact with other users, create and join groups, make friends, send messages to eachother, share photos and videos, etc. Examples of popular social networking websites are MySpace and Facebook. There are many different types of social networking websites. Each is unique in some way. Different types of social networks are tailored for different purposes or different types of people. Some focus on particular subject matter, such as YouTube (a vido sharing site), Flickr (a photo sharing site), and Blog Catalog (a social network for bloggers). Social networking sites usually allow you to pubish links to your own websites or to other sites which interest you.

What is a Social Bookmarking Site?

A social bookmarking site is a type of social networking site, with two main purposes:

1. To allow you to store and organize records of websites and pages you find, so that you can find them again easily later on. When you store a record of a webpage you like, this is called “bookmarking” the page.
2. To allow you to share your bookmarks with other people who have similar interests, and to search for useful content among other people’s bookmarks.

An example of a social bookmarking site is Delicious.

What is Spam?

Spam could be defined as unwanted, unwelcome, or uninvited communication which is sent in some way via the Internet. The type of spam we are most familiar with is unwanted and uninvited bulk email, which is usually sent out to large numbers of people. The person sending the spam emails is usually trying to get money – whether by trying to sell something, or by trying to steal people’s personal information so that their bank accounts can be hacked. There are many other forms of spam. Some examples are:

• Leaving irrelevant and self promoting messages and comments on other people’s websites, leaving a link to one’s own site in the comment, in hopes of generating traffic to one’s own website.
• Creating hundreds of copies of the exact same website and publishing it under many domain names, in hopes of getting more traffic.
• Sending out unhelpful, unwelcome, and inappropriate friend-invitations or messages on social networking sites, in hopes of getting more traffic or sales for oneself.
• Creating numerous social network or social bookmark profiles which have little value in themselves, with the sole purpose of publishing links to one’s own websites.

There are other examples but this should give you an idea. Spammers are very badly thought of, and are heavily rejected, in the online world. Some forms of spam are also illegal. But its not hard to follow the rules once one has a basic understanding of them.

Summary

Okay. If you are relatively new to this subject, you might feel like I have just given you a lot to digest at once.  If you are familiar with the Internet, then none of this may be new to you.

I have just touched on these basic definitions so that future articles and concepts will be easier to understand.  After all, when one doesn’t have a grasp on basic concepts, it is easy to get confused later on down the line.   If you forget what one of these terms means, you can always refer back to this post.

This post was originally published on Websites and Webhosting at Basic Definitions.

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We can usually get a website and blog put together relatively quickly – within a week, or even a few days of receiving your text and graphics.  However, the time it takes depends on several factors, including your the time it takes for your web-hosting account to be set up.

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We are affiliates of the top web hosting companies.  We have experience with several web hosting companies, and only want to work with those that we know to the the best in terms of reliability, quality of service, and speed and helpfulness of customer support.

By ensuring you use a reputable and trustworthy web hosting company, we make our own job that much easier (since, after all, we will have to put your website together for you and we will have to work with your web host as well).  Additionally, when you sign up for web hosting through one of our links, the commission we receive from the web host helps us keep the prices of our website building services low.

As you would have to purchase web hosting in any case, this offer means that you can get your website built for a lower cost, while ensuring that you sign up with a reputable and reliable web host.

We will give you exact sign-up instructions for your web hosting account, so please contact us before you sign up.  If you already have purchased web hosting, just let us know and we will see what can be arranged.

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This post was originally published on Websites and Webhosting at Website Building Services.