Ok
I have submitted my website to Ikonomi and have also looked though the website called selfpromotion.com
Im still having problmes with positin on the search engines. I know that not everyone can be number one but it woulnt be bad to be in the top 5.
Here is my site www.theinkjetguys.com
thanks.
Tom

The first thing you should do is optimize your site. I'm not going to go into details, but you need to research the kwywords and optimize your page titles and descriptions at the very least.
A great free tool for doing the keyword research can be found at www.GoodKeywords.com. You can use this program to see what people are really using to find sites like yours. Here's a partial sample of the 100 results for "inkjet cartriges":

inkjet cartridge,58861
epson inkjet cartridge,6018
lexmark inkjet cartridge,5742
hp inkjet cartridge,2942
cheap inkjet cartridge,2755
inkjet cartridge retailer,2294
inkjet cartridge refill,2249
discount inkjet cartridge,2194
inkjet cartridge canon,1756
inkjet printer cartridge,1616
cartridge inkjet valueshop,1445
remanufactured inkjet cartridge,1294
inkjet replacement cartridge,1092
inkjet print cartridge,1088
inkjet toner cartridge,1085
inkjet cartridge uk,1057
hewlett packard inkjet cartridge,756
inkjet cartridge refill kit,702
hp inkjet print cartridge,647
refilling and inkjet and cartridge,467
brother inkjet cartridge,424
empty inkjet cartridge,395
inkjet printer ink cartridge,389
inkjet ink cartridge,377
color inkjet cartridge,357
hp inkjet printer cartridge,347
generic inkjet cartridge,339
inkjet cartridge recycling,337
epson compatible inkjet cartridge,329
xerox inkjet cartridge,329

The number used is the number of times the keyword phrase was used in a search in the past month.

You should also have more text on your pages that includes keywords. Just a page full of product links is not enough.

Once the site is optimized, it needs to be submitted to as many search engines and directories as possible. You have to submit your site to more than just intomi.

SelfPromotion.com is a great place to do this if you have the time. Plan on submitting to 30-40 sites at least. When we submit for our clients, we submit to about 120 systems from this list, www.nielsentech.com/links.cfm and you are free to use this list to submit your site if you want, but SelfPromotion.com has some things that make the job easier.

I would not worry about ranking or postioning, since it does NOT mean you are going to get traffic for sure. Spend the time optimizing your site and using other forms of promotion and you should see your traffic numbers increase.

Good luck,
Christian
Nielsen Technical Services
www.NielsenTech.com

Hi Christian,

What are your thoughts and opinions on registering a domain name if available that is a popular search term for a particular subject. Does it give you a number 1 spot in Google for that key word or key word phase? Also, many people that have good content sites seem to add guide or review and do well on some keywords. Does that help? I would appreciate your thoughts on the 2 above questions.

Thank you
Phil

If the domain name you choose has keywords in it, it will NOT give you top ranking for those keywords, but it will HELP for those keywords. However, the keywords must be "readable".

newcatproducts.com will be matched for "new cat products" in Google. but not for "cat products". The search engines cannot (or will not) match for "embedded" keywords>

Using a hyphenated domain name like new-cat-products.com will solve this problem since the hyphens are treated like spaces.

Hate hyphens? But two domains, but only use the hyphenated one for submitting to search engines.

General advice: Don't worry about ranking. It is NOT a true indication of how much traffic you will get or sales you will make. It also changes daily. Just use good optimization with scored keyword phrases and submit your site by hand for the best results and NOT ongoing maintenance.

Thanks,
Christian
Nielsen Technical Services

Christian, Thank you for your quick response. I appreciate the info.
Phil

No problem. If you want to ask questions off-forum, just drop me a line.

Thanks,
Christian
christian at nielsentech dot com

Hi Christian,

I have a few more questions regarding domain names. I thought I would post it here as others may also be interested. I hope you can understand my questions.

If someone has registered a domain name that you would like and it is not a trademark (I'm aware of making sure of that before registering and using it) and you add a space or a - for example: dog-and-cat.com is taken so you go with dog--and-cat.com How do the search engines spiders see that extra dash and where in the domain is the best place to add that dash. Also, can you run into any problems if the business not using the dash is not a trademark. Good idea or bad in your opinion? Also, someone has told me that if you add words as I have above in my example that you really have to own the domain name cat.com or business.com etc. to add and register these type of names. I can't believe that's true as there are thousands being used. Can cat.com etc. create a problem down the road? Final question on this topic, if you add the word (the) in front of any domain name as my same questions above about the (-) any difference with search engines or problems.

Christian, thank you so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. I have mentioned your name and company Nielsen Technical Services
http://www.nielsentech.com to many who may need your services. They always comment that you always help them with their questions fast with great customer service.

Sincerely,
Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the kind words...! :-)

>If someone has registered a domain name that
you would like and it is not a trademark (I'm
>aware of making sure of that before registering
>and using it) and you add a space or a - for
>example: dog-and-cat.com is taken so you go
>with dog--and-cat.com How do the search engines
>spiders see that extra dash and where in the
>domain is the best place to add that dash.

While you could add a second hyphen to the domain name, I'm not sure I would recommend that. Hyphens are treated like a space, which is not allowed, so it should not be a problem, but it would not be my choice.

There are still a large number of domains available if you use a little research and a little creativity. There are also domains that have expired or may be for sale.

>Also, can you run into any problems if the
>business not using the dash is not a trademark.
>Good idea or bad in your opinion?

Not sure I understand this question. Are you asking if the other business is using a domain without a dash does not have a trademark on it?

>Also, someone has told me that if you add words
>as I have above in my example that you really
>have to own the domain name cat.com or
>business.com etc. to add and register these
>type of names. I can't believe that's true as
>there are thousands being used.

The domain dog-and-cat.com is completely different from cat.com. There may be some confusion with third-level domains like dog.and.cat.com, which you would not be able to use.

>Can cat.com etc. create a problem down the road?
If you register a domain that is also someone's trademark, ro CONTAINS someone's TM, then they could come after you. Many somain name squatters have lost their domains to a trademark holder.

If you have a domain like that, you need to show that you have not registered it in bad faith and put up a web site that is somehow related to the theme of the domain name.

>Final question on this topic, if you add the
>word (the) in front of any domain name as my
>same questions above about the (-) any
>difference with search engines or problems.

No problems, but use a hyphen for sure as in the-dog-and-cat.com.

But consider adding a word that will really help your site in the search engines with something like:

dog-and-cat-food.com
dog-and-cat-pet-toys.com
dog-and-cat-supplies.com
dog-and-cat-information.com
new-dog-and-cat.com
good-dog-and-cat.com
find-dog-and-cat.com
buy-dog-and-cat.com
dogs-and-cats.com
dogs-not-cats.com
cats-not-dogs.com

If you add words that relate to your business, you have many more options and can get a little more edge in the search engines then the site that has just dogandcat.com, since the search engines will only match "dog" and "dog and cat" and not "cat", since it is embedded.

Thanks,
Christian Nielsen
Nielsen Technical Services
www.NielsenTech.com

Hi Christian,

Thanks again for the info. Just to clarify my question you didn't completely understand... I'll try to simplify it. I was told that anyone that takes names like baseball.com, wellness.com, toys.com, loans.com, pharmacy.com, cosmetics.com, business.com etc. etc. and you add for example: products-for-baseball.com, guide-to wellness.com, best-toys.com, 1st-choice-products-pharmacy.com, choice-cosmetics.com, boston-business.com, equipment-used-for-baseball.com etc. etc. As there are thousands of these type of domain names like these that people are using can they become a problem in any way? I guess this question is not really search engine related but I thought I would ask you.

Thanks
Phil

I see what you are saying... no, your thought is correct in that fans-for-baseball.com has no connection with baseball.com.

They are considered completely different domain names. But this is because no one has a trademark on "baseball".

If someone has a trademark on a word and you use a variation, it then gets into how close and confusing is the new domain name?

I would not worry about it too much unless you are pushing the limits of what is going to bother someone. I just did a search for "cocacola", since that's a trademark. I found 603 domains that contain that word. Here is a small sample:

cocacola
1800cocacola
1cocacola
2001cocacola
2002cocacola
2003cocacola
2004cocacola
2005cocacola
2006cocacola
2007cocacola
2008cocacola
2009cocacola
2010cocacola
3dcocacola
800cocacola
abortcocacola
accesscocacola
acocacola4u
acutecocacola
adacocacola
allwayscocacola
alwayscocacola
alwayscocacolaenjoy
americadrinkscocacola
americancocacola
amerrycan-cocacola
anti-cocacola
anti-cocacolakorea
anticocacola
antiquecocacola
anythingcocacola
b2bcocacola
bacardiconcocacola
bancocacola
bebecocacola
bestcocacola
bevicocacola
binkscocacola
boycott-cocacola
boycottcocacola

Thanks,
Christian

Hi Christian,

I enjoy all your posts on Idea Cafe and I-Sales. Please let me know any other great sites you post on and recommend.

I would like to ask you a couple questions.

Almost everyone these days on the internet says build websites on a tightly focused niche with great content. They say don't have content about different topics on the same site.

There are many sites that have great content on many different topics like http://infoplease.com and many others. I have a complete understanding of optimizing each page on a keyword or keyword phrase.

So my real question is, can someone still build a successful site and have great content on different niche topics within the same site and be successful in the search engines?

Each page optimized on a highly profitable keyword or keyword phrase with a different file name for each page like http://infoplease.com/people.html http://infoplease.com/history.html
and like many other sites do.

Of course using the keyword or keyword phrase in the file name of the website. The reason I'm using http://infoplease.com as my example is that Google Adsense uses them as a case study on their website and they have Google Adsense ads on many pages. Even though http://infoplease.com is one of the largest informational sites in the world can't other sites be successful as I explained above?

Sorry, if I've gone on so long with this question but I just wanted to be clear.

I look forward to your answer. I appreciate your thoughts and opinions

Thank you
Tina Halvorson
thalvorson@canada.com

Hi Tina,

Thanks for the kind words...!

>So my real question is, can someone
>still build a successful site and
>have great content on different niche
>topics within the same site and be
>successful in the search engines?

I had not heard the advice you mentioned. But it's true that I would recommend a fairly focused site in some cases. For example, a site selling a certain product line may "dilute" the overall site optimization if they include related content areas, such as a history of the product or the use of the product in different cultures. If they are just trying to sell the product, then it may dilute the overall optimization. But it also bring in "related" that could also convert to sales at some point, so it's hard to say.

>Each page optimized on a highly
>profitable keyword or keyword
>phrase with a different file name
>for each page like
>http://infoplease.com/people.html
>http://infoplease.com/history.html
>and like many other sites do.

I'm sure those pages and the site has great traffic, but it's in spite to the really bad optimization...!!! Greate content, lots of traffic, and many quality links count for a lot.

>Even though http://infoplease.com is one
>of the largest informational sites in the
>world can't other sites be successful as
>I explained above?

Any site with good content can be successful. The playing fiend is still pretty "even" for the most part. But what makes for a sucessful site will vary somewhat, but mostly you need to following:

Content - It's the foundation

Optimization - To make the most of what you have

Submissions - people have to find you

Traffic - the result of the above items

Ongoing maintenance and marketing plan - You have to keep working on the site, trying different marketing methods, new content/feature ideas

I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me directly if you'd like...

I'm going to post my "large" signature here, since you asked about other sites that I am involved with. Also, one of the best discussion lists outside of the Adventive "I" lists is http://www.led-digest.com.

Thank you,
Christian Nielsen
Nielsen Technical Services
http://www.nielsentech.com/
http://nielsentech.blogspot.com/
Search Engine Optimization and Internet Consulting
"Be what they're searching for!"
___________________________________________
We are members of:
www.seopros.org
www.seoconsultants.com
www.seolist.com
www.semlist.com
www.searchguild.com
www.techsoup.org
www.webmaster-forums.net

Hi Christian,

Thank you! for All the info. Much appreciated. Great looking new blog site. I'll have to read through it and check out all the those sites.

One of your comments creates another question. You mentioned... and many quality links count for a lot.

Unless I'm misunderstanding. I'm familiar with quality link Exchanging but are External links to Gov't and other informational sites helping sites like http://infoplease.com even though external links take you away from a companies website. How does Google spidering look at external links and since a lot of those sites are not optimized are external links any good. I guess most sites would love it when sites link TO them without linking back.

Thanks again for your time.
Sincerely,
Tina

It's the links that point to your site that count, but the whole linkling thing is very hyped up. Links do count, but not as much as most people think for "ranking". If you are going to work on getting links, get them for the traffic they can bring directly and not any possible increase in ranking.

Anyone can exchange links, so the effect on ranking is not that much, in my opinion. However, a well placed link can bring a lot of qualified traffic in some cases.

Thanks,
Christian

I see I did not really address your question exactly... No, links from a site to another site do not affect the site that does the linking. If that were true, I'd like to IBM and Microsoft and have it made... :-)

Thanks,
Christian

Ok, first I will tell you that this is an extremely competitive field online. A lot of hardcore affiliate marketers are marketing this product. If you want top five on a term that will produce traffic, you have a lot of learning to do about search engine optimization. I suggest you start here: http://www.webmasterworld.com. Meta tag tweaking alone isn't enough to pull ranks in the ink industry. You will need to get yourself versed in SEO.

Also, Inkitomi isn't going to be enough. Because this is a competitive field, MSN will pull directory results for major queries first which are then followed by Inkitomi. Other than MSN, Inkitomi really doesn't pull much traffic. Type in printer ink at MSN and more than the first six pages are looksmart directory results. Inkitomi is the backfill, so I would focus on google as far as free traffic, since that also gets you yahoo and aol. If you want now traffic, you may want to try the PPC's.

Hi Tom,
Search engine placement has, no doubt, become very tough.
In fact, it's not wise to go for the very popular keywords at all...simply because there is so much competition. Most of the sites that you see in the top 10 usually pay a good amount to the search engines, or other agencies to be in the top 10.

So, like others suggested...focus on a niche and target those keywords.

I suggest a tool called Word Tracker (http://www.WordTracker.com). It's a paid service which has excellent features to help you target your niche keywords on most major search engines.

Now a days, search engines want more than just good keywords and a content rich website. They want popularity!! The more popular your site, the easier it is to get it on a top spot. Of course, if you are just starting, how do you get popular?

So here's what I did with my last business. I took my keywords from Word Tracker and went to Google Adwords - a pay per click advertising service. You can start for $5 and you pay a few cents every time a visitor clicks on your link on Google search engine. (You can see Ad words at Google - http://www.google.com/)

I spent about $50 and got 100 some visitors to the pages on my website. As these visitors came, my popularity grew!

Then I used a tool called Web Position Gold and kept submitting my pages to all major search engines.

Well...after 3 months my site finally got ranked on the top 10 list on mostly all search engines!

So yeah, it takes time, patience, hard work, and these days - a little money...or lot if you have it.

Good luck,
Abhi

Tom, you can also find hot keywords for your website and seo here:
http://www.keywordsleuth.com

Best,
Alexander
Marketing Architect
http://www.HypnoticProfit.com