Getting your images to rank in search engines can be as effective in driving traffic as text can be, especially with the amount of queries done in image sites like Google images and Flickr. Even a non-technical user or beginning SEO-er can easily start getting images ranked by focusing on a couple of key image features when it comes to SEO. More on SEO for photographer websites and blogs in this ebook.

Alternate text

The most basic element of an image is the alt attribute that lives within its HTML code. The alt attribute allows a machine, like a search engine, to interpret the visual image that it normally would not be able to understand. For example, by looking at alternate text within the snippet of HTML code below, you know exactly what my image is about even though you can’t see it. A search engines works in the same way and can rank an image in the same way as a page if the right text and links are in place to promote your images.

<img src=”/racecar.jpg” alt=”Red Sports Car Driving on a Racetrack”>

Use a short complete sentence for your alt text and do not list a bunch of keywords.

Images as Links (Navigation)

Many websites use images as its main navigation links. For example instead of a text link that says Products, you have it as an image that a search engine cannot read. When you use the alt attribute as previously mentioned, not only do you tell Google that you image is about “Products” but you tell it that the page it links to is also about products (much more important). Google weighs links more heavily than text, especially in main navigation when the links are on all pages of your site. So remember to use alt text in all your images and not just photos, and especially the linked images, so that Google knows what the pages are about that the links point to.

Text on the Page

You can obviously fool Google by telling it the image is “Red Sports Car Driving on a Racetrack” when really it is a photo about something else. So Google takes into account the text that surrounds the image on the page. If you have a bunch of racecar photos on one page, don’t depend on just the alt text to get you ranked, you will need text on the page as well that talks about race-car stuff too.

Image Captions

Use captions for your images wherever possible. This goes back to text on the page helping your images rank. But also, in template systems (like blogs) captions are often used to generate the alt text as well.

Social Tools like Flickr

In addition to posting images to your website, you may more easily be able to rank in search engines by posting to social sites like Flickr or Picassa. Search engines index these photo sites often (look at these sites very frequently for updates) so you have a good chance of ranking quickly and they often have more search power than your own site. Flickr also has built in labeling that helps Google understand what your images are about. Bottom line: post images to multiple places, but remember to brand your social portals so that searchers can contact you if they like your photos.

Next Step in SEO

Nobody has more images than photographers, so if you’re looking for photographer google rank, then check out the Photographer’s SEO Book.

- Zach

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The reason no relative links were used within the content is because I hired a writer to create all of the content so far and schedule it to be published, not because I didn’t think they were necessary. Creating links relative to the content you’re linking to can take some time and planning but should come naturally. Create your links to content within your site that is relative to the topic you’re trying to present. For example, in this article we are talking about how interlinking can improve search engine optimization and in the first paragraph I created anchor text linking to the category of the site relative that topic.

Internal links help your visitors find relative content while improving your seo score at the same time. Typically it’s a good idea to have the same term mentioned on both the url you’re linking to and the url you’re linking from, that way each of the pages have similar content. When you obtain the proper links from relative content from internal or external pages you will be able to improve your seo and hopefully increase your pageviews at the same time. Make sure to use the proper anchor text when using html hyperlinks and try not to overuse the same exact keyword. Google isn’t stupid and if you spam keywords you can lose ranking or even get sandboxed all together.

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Until recently the only free article directory I’ve used was http://ezinearticles.com/ because of how respected it is and the quality backlinks each article you write provides. I had heard that submitting your article to multiple article directories could have a viral effect that creates hundreds of backlinks but had yet to give it a try. One of my primary concerns has always been duplicate content and how Google views backlinks to my site.

So I talked with a buddy of mine and he flat out told me that I am a dummy for not using Unique Article Wizard already and if I don’t give it a try he’s going to fly out to my house just to slap me in the face! You don’t know my buddy but when he tells you to do something he’s not playing around.

He told me that the web based software uses multiple versions of paragraphs you create to generate unique articles that are automatically submitted to article directories. Your articles are then downloaded from these free directories and webmasters use your articles as content for their site or blog. Usually when they do this they leave your site link intact and this provides you with hundreds of backlinks in a very short time.

So I paid the $67 for 1 month and signed up.

Once I logged in to the members area I was provided with a step-by-step wizard that guided me through the whole process. To begin I write an article 7-10 paragraphs using 2-4 sentences per paragraph and create a bunch of different titles. Once I’d written the original article I had re-write each paragraph using the same message but in different words.

After I was done writing the article and created 3 different versions of each paragraph I moved on to the creation of the about the author box. This is where I added in a link to my site and used a name that would show up easily on Google if I searched for it. I just made up a name, David Curbkenny, and checked to make sure that Google hadn’t indexed any pages for that name.

I set unique article wizard to submit to 50 directories per day, the recommended default setting, and submitted the article. Within a few days I already had 5 pages indexed by Google with a link to my site using the anchor text I had provided in the about the author section.

To find these sites all I had to do is Google “David Curbkenny”.

Use this link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22david+curbkenny%22&btnG=Search
Unique Article Wizard provided over 250 backlinks to http://madworldwii.com in less than 30 days.

Site: MadWorld Wii
Registered: 11-30-2008

As of 12-30-2008, within 30 days, I have a PageRank3!
- I did do a couple link exchanges but other than that most of my backlinks were created by Unique Article Wizard.

For screenshots and basic use information check out our Unique Article Wizard Review.
-This is a real review and as you can see we use and highly recommend UAW for anyone looking to help them create backlinks.

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So the functions are really basic and believe it or not the training only took me approximately 5 minutes. My biggest problem is my Wal-Mart headset was a piece of junk and had too much sound interference with the microphone. So I went and unplugged my $50 turtle Beach headset for my Xbox 360. Now if you don’t have turtle Beach headset for the Xbox 360 then you probably know by now that you need to get one. On a side note I went like 52 kills and 16 deaths on Dome in call of duty 5 last night.

So all this typing so far has been in Dragon NaturallySpeaking and I haven’t typed a single thing. Now all the basic key commands you can say just like you are talking to a servant and he was transcribing everything that you say. Now forgive me for another TV reference but I was just watching the Tudors last night and King Henry wasn’t doing as much dictating as he probably should, most of the time he was just signing legislation and stuff. Oh and by the way, I’m currently on season two of the Tudors and it’s definitely worth watching especially since Rome was canceled.

 Okay I apologize for all the nonsense lets get back to the point. I’m not lying to you when I tell you every single word in this post has been spoke and not typed by my own hands. The newest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking number 10 is amazing, it’s like it’s learning as I go and if I say something that could be something else it chooses for me but I can say to select that word or phrase or entire line and it will give me options to edit it. It’s almost like spellcheck, it will pop up with five different options and tell me to choose which one I want or I can give this a commands like to learn a word or something else.

This entire post is a real test of how well the newest version works in how well you can get it working within an hour. Now my voice is fairly normal it’s not like most elegant or anything but I don’t say the word UHH which believe it or not it ignores. It actually doesn’t even pick up that word and I had to spell it out manually, so if you kind of stutter or filler words the software should be determine the difference.

The software should work really good if you use it to read articles out loud and rewrite them in your own words at the same time. It should be a good alternative to hiring article writers or using article spinning software. Once you get it down you should be able to write approximately 150 words per minute without getting tired now that doesn’t mean you’re not going to lose your voice.

Okay so as you know the software still getting used to my voice and building a database so in the future I can talk quicker than I am now. I’m talking about a normal pace but I could be talking really quickly even faster than I can type by hand.  You know, another issue I didn’t even think about is that a lot of bloggers have a problem speaking to their reader in a voice that they can understand. If you haven’t noticed some of your friends you talk to in real life can’t type worth a damn and you can’t understand a single thing they’re trying to tell you. Yeah, I’m talking about you Nick, LOL.

Give me some comments and let me know what you think!

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• Write a unique META description for each page: Make sure that you are adding a unique META description to each of your pages and not just using the same ones since that will be seen as duplicate content to Google search engines. These page descriptions will not give you a better page rank, so you don’t need to load them full of keywords, but they will make your site more user friendly so that your traffic is more apt to click through these pages.
• Give Every Page Original Content: No matter what you are peddling in your niche market site, it is incredibly worth it to take the time and effort to give every one of your pages its own original content with their own natural keywords within them. So if you are selling pages of cowboy boots, then you can have about 200 words of content per page, as well as using the specific type of boot within the text as the keyword. You can also link back to your own pages from your additional content, so that there are no past pages, such as blogs, that are getting moved back into an archive status. You want every page within your site to not only have original content but to be within a few short links back to your home page.
• Optimize the Titles of Your Pages: Your title will be where it’s at for you in carrying the weight to rank for your keywords, so that is where you need to make sure that you are optimizing your keywords. Do not make your title more than around 70 characters, and it will be most helpful if you have already researched the targeted keywords for your niche site. You need to make sure that the keywords that you are targeting are something that is already being searched for so that your scope is not too narrow in your niche marketing.

If I have said it once, I have said it 100 times- SEO strategies are vast, and these methods are just the tip of the iceberg. If you are looking to target your own niche audience that are looking for the top brands in men’s and women’s cowboy boots, for example, then put these ideas into play so that you are making sure that your site is utilizing prime SEO tactics to draw more traffic and rank you even higher. Be sure to also focus on making things descriptive so that your users have an easier time quickly navigating your page, becaue studies have proven that the more user friendly that your site is, the better! That is obviously why you are targeting the niche you are in, so make sure that your visitors feel comf0rtable and at home so they can come back again and again. You cannot go wrong!

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1. Impeccable Content: One of the main things that we have stressed over and over is to focus on quality content full of your primary keywords and phrases so that your site will always be seen by Google. If you are using other methods to manipulate your ranking, then you must know that those may fall out from under you as time goes on, but having solid content is something that you can always rely on. So, if you are specializing in a site selling cell phone accessories, then pump up your site with articles and pages of blogs on the latest cell phone covers and the top chargers for each cell phone brand. Make sure that it too is factual and informative so that it will not only create content for you but will really cause people to link back to you as a valid resource.

2. Quality Links: As we all well know, links need to be our second focus on the list. That’s why we are all here, right? Look to build a large amount of quality backlinks using your keywords as the link. But one thing to keep in mind is if there is no relevant reason for a site to be linking to you, then you should avoid it. Quality!

3. Add More Fresh Content: Back to the subject of content… Not only do you need a solid amount of content for your site, but you need to stay vigilant in constantly adding fresh content so that you stay on the radar of the search engines as an in demand and knowledgeable site. Fresh content can add to how well you rank, and this may even be something for you to think about outsourcing to a skilled blogger or article writer as your business grows.

4. Get Found Locally: Not only do you need to hit the market of the world wide web, but you mustn’t neglect all of the people available to you in your home front! I can think of an example of a site in my area that began to boom online, and then they suddenly had people showing up at their address to find out more about their services! They then had to change the storefront of their business to allow customers and still focus on their internet demand. The best of both worlds- you can’t beat that! So focus on search phrases and not just keywords that also have the name of your city and company, like “the best Dallas cell phone accessory retailer”. That way, when people in your area are looking for cell phone accessories, they are automatically drawn to you!

These are just a few easy tips to either help you understand better or remind you of the basics that still work. The building blocks of SEO should not be neglected in place of fancier tactics, because while the latter do have their own results, these easy tips are proven to work every time. Another point is that these tips will be the most reliable way to take your site to the top and may take some time and investment. In other words, if you are looking for a get rich quick scheme, keep right on lookin’.

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Digg is a great social content website truly run by the users it cultivates. If this is what people are looking for, then this is where you want to be! The content on Digg is all submitted by the readers, so if you submit your article relating to your business- like the best dog leashes for a pet accessory website, then it will be dugg by all of the users out there if it proves to be interesting and in demand content. If you do end up having some popular content on Digg, then it could be a good idea to add a comments area that users have to register to so that they are drawn to come back to your profile again and again, thus adding to return traffic to your site.

Wikipedia is another popular source for users on the internet to look for knowledgeable info on what they need to know about their subject they are searching for. The content for Wikipedia is contributed by people all over the world, and if you do search for keywords, you will often find that Wikipedia surfaces in Google’s top ten. Not too shabby! So, if you have references and supplies on your pet website for the best dog training tools, then you can post your link to your site on the external links section of a corresponding Wikipedia article. If you do choose to write an article about the information on your site for Wikipedia and shamelessly plug your site, then it will be deleted. Instead, you need to write original content for Wikipedia as an objective source that is unrelated to your site so that the article can be informatively posted and linked back to you.

And now we come to Facebook… the incredibly popular online community that can be used to market to young adults looking for common interests and hot topics. You may actually want to consider starting by buying ad space on Facebook, if you can afford the investment. Know that whatever ad you purchase on Facebook will be seen by overwhelming amounts of young adults that are looking to find the best products or sites to meet their needs. And that can be you! You best bet for Facebook, however, is to use the group method that is so popular among Facebook users. If you create a group dedicated to Pet Training or Animal Rescue or anything that relates to your pet accessory site, then you can build an edgy hype that will cause many Facebookers to jump on board and join your group, as they are often looking for new ideas and causes within the community. An effective way to get your name out there!

These are just a few social media sites that I touched on, but the point is that when you begin to explore these circles, the options for promoting and linking to your site seem to be endless. Take time to look around, and do not discount the communities of users that are looking to learn more about you.

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So you have taken the plunge and started a blog on your site that will increase your page rank and cause you to rank even higher- good for you. Now before you get too excited and start to kick back, there are some blogging traffic strategies that you may want to know to help you even more in this game we call niche marketing.

You may be shocked to know that getting traffic for a blog is different than getting traffic for most other websites in that the blogging technology is full of social elements that are integrated into the results of the blog itself.

One way of marketing your site is to make connections.  Your blog will be more about creating an internet buzz or giving people some water cooler talk about a certain topic, relating to your site and business, of course.

Here is a breakdown of how the social means of blogging works. If you started  a blog on your site about hair care products, then know that your readers can easily begin to subscribe to your blogs through RSS and feed readers. They can then be updated every time that you publish the blog. Another fun fact is that many of your blog readers will probably be bloggers themselves, and often with a large following. So, if they decide to link to one of your blogs, then it can have a delightful domino affect of being viewed by all of their readers, opening a whole other door to you and expanding your market. Another thing to try on for size is that a popular blog will probably have reader feedback, like users asking you for answers about what hair care product would be best for their hair type, which will give you some new and unique content that your page can rank for in addition. An easy bonus!

Basically, what you are trying to go for in optimizing your blog is to spread the word about your topic and business and  get a loyal following of people to give you their attention, rather than matching search relevancy algorithms by optimizing page copy. It can be done! There are several sites out there like Wordpress and Blogger where you can host your blog, but I would advise against it. You are so much better off starting your own domain name with a reputable host, that way you can build your audience at a much faster pace without some of the limits of the sites mentioned.

From there, it is time to get creative. You need to brainstorm and find some content ideas for your blog that will catch the public’s eye and draw traffic to your blog. Utilize social news sites like The Digg to see what is the latest among social bookmarkers, and you can tie that to your business and blog so that what you are posting is relevant, catchy, and in demand. Many people will also use their own social media networks, like Twitter or Facebook, to update their followers on their latest blog posting so that you can have even more people flooding your site. Again, back to one of my past examples of connecting to people in social media circles as you would at a party, be sure to really relate to your followers on Twitter or elsewhere so that you are not simply popping in every day to plug your blog and only your blog. Users will get disinterested in that real quick. SEO blogging is under the same umbrella as all of the other niche marketing startegies- meaning you need to remain genuine to get the results you are looking for.

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First, when you are joining a site like Facebook, Squidoo, or Hubpages, make sure that you are there to make connections and form relationships. You must avoid self-promotion. If you take all of your time plugging yourself and your company, then the users will not respond well to that and your reputation in that particular social media site will be shot as a spammer. Believe it or not, when people begin to see you as a credible authority on your business and subject through social media sites, then they will come to you to ask you questions about, say poker chips and where to find them (if that is what your site sells), and that is how a loyal relationship with your customer is born. It almost seems a little old fashioned, doesn’t it?

Next, please do not try to ride someone else’s coat tails in their efforts. Be original! If you see someone that has taken the time to build a poker group, or anything related to your business, and you then jump in there and begin promoting yourself and your site, that is a serious social media marketing faux pas. People will not respect you when you are simply trying to edge in one what someone else has created, so it is wasted efforts on your part. Instead, be original, and take the time to create quality groups of your won that poker lovers can join to get the latest poker tips and find out where to get the best poker supplies.

Lastly, you completely need to give to get. If you want people to start checking out your site, your business, your poker tips, then you need to first look in to what they have to offer. If you are constantly sending people comments or tweets saying, “check out my new poker supplies at XXX”, then that comment will most likely be disregarded as spam. Instead, if you begin to go to other poker player’s blog and comment on them, then their interest will be peaked to visit your site or blog as well to see what you have to offer. You may notice that the majority of users in the social media marketing venues are all about taking and promoting, so just the mere fact of you showing interest in really connecting with someone else’s community will set you apart as a real person that people will want to buy from. And that is what you are, right?

I hope these ideas have shed some light for you on the best ways to navigate your way through the social media sites that are thriving out there right now. Use these tools for the proper internet marketing etiquette, and you will be surprised to see how easily it gets you ahead in the game and draws traffic to your site. Brilliant!

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You have to be willing to experiment in your social media circle. If you are one of the many users out there that tries Twitter, Facebook, or Hubpages and feel like it didn’t work to market your site, then I have to say that you may not have been putting your efforts into the right areas. If you have simply set up a profile in several sites but have not put forth the necessary effort, then of course you are not going to see hardly any results in that time period, sad to say. When you actually delve into these communities, good or bad, then you will be able to know what does or doesn’t work in marketing your site.

Stick to the ideas that work. When you are putting yourself out there in the social media sites, and you notice that one of your particular comments or groups or blogs got quite a few responses, then you should stick to that for as long as it is working for you! There is a reason that numerous people responded to your specific blog topic or tweet, so you need to tap into that resource and give your audience more of what they are looking for. From there, you can check out what your peers are doing to succeed, because there are so many people out there like you who are using these social media sites to promote their service or business, and it is working for someone! You wisest move would be to pay attention to the individuals who are creating a mass following and see how they do it. People on every social media site do want to take an interest and follow other users, which is why they are all there as a community. The catch is that the person worthy of the large following has to provide a genuine reason as to why the public should be interested in him or her. Seems easy enough, right?

My personal recommendation to you is to get away from the cookie cutter type approach to people and begin to market what is unique about you. Whether you make a personality for yourself that is related to your site, or just tailor your approach to people in a more personal way, you want to make sure that you are standing out from the crowd. This in essence is a popularity contest, but users out there are really wanting to see something original. What comes to my mind is one of the most popular Twitter users that is a mommy blogger, and all she does is make hilarious comments about parenting. That’s it. And people lover her! So that backs up my point about doing what is authentic to you to create a huge following that will end up trafficking to your site. Viola!

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