I’m a big fan of these things, but this one has added appeal. I can’t really improve on the words written in this article on Computerworld:

In its relatively short life, the World Wide Web has already made many of our most mundane, tedious tasks quicker and easier to perform. But there are still a surprising number of activities — from helping us buy concert tickets to protecting our privacy — that, for one reason or another, the Web still can’t get right, stirring the ire of even the most patient users.

Ranking number one and two are privacy policies and online forms, something that I’m sure we’ve all struggled with, but everything from buying event tickets to complaints about Web 2.0 gets hit in this article. A nice Friday read for everyone.

It’s probably the single most asked question - how do I rank high on Google (or any other search engine). While I’ve said it before, there’s no clear cut, fool proof way to rankings, there are some simple steps that you can follow. The first step, as obvious as it may sound, is to submit your site to the search engines. It’s suprising how often this is overlooked. While there are a variety of search engines you could submit to, the big three are Google, Yahoo!, and Live search. For other search engines, just do a search for search engines, and then search how to submit to them, but for the big three:

http://www.google.com/addurl/ 

http://beta.search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx 

https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit 

The second step would be to look for major, respected directories that you can add your business or site to. A good example is DMOZ, the most comprehensive human-reviewed directory. While it can be difficult to get a listing, there are submission guides and articles with tips to help you get through the process. You can look to add your site here. While listing with these types of directories can have positive affects on your search engine rankings, it’s important to avoid spam directories. Do research on where you’re listing your site to make sure it will provide positive link juice. Business.com has been suggested as another example, but I’m not overly familiar with the site or the process of getting listed.

The final step would be to become involved in your industry via blogs and forums. It will take time, and almost a daily effort, but it is one of the most cost-effective ways of getting your name out in the community. If your business works locally, target local directories and blogs, and consider being less industry specific. If your business or website is relevant globally, be more specific to your industry with your efforts.

I’ve said it repeatedly, there’s no clear cut, fool proof method to ranking high on search engines, but there are simple steps that everyone can take to get the ball rolling.

Earlier today I posted about Abalone Designs, and pointed to an interesting article on the site. One of the statements really stuck in my mind: Your web site can be optimized for the most competitive keyword in the world […] and it will do absolutely nothing whatsoever for your business if your web site is not user-friendly. It reminded me of the first time I experienced ‘professional’ Search Engine Optimization.

At the time, I was quite familiar with copywriting, had written copy for a half dozen or so websites, but was not overly familiar with SEO. Since it was on someone else’s bill, the charity copy that I had provided was passed off to this individual to optimize. When it came back, it definitely took advantage of useful keywords, but the copy lacked any real flow, and everything seemed forced. If I were a customer looking at the site, I would have been turned off after reading the first page.

While Keyword Usage & Content Relevance are definitely important in establishing a high ranking in search engines, I’ve always thought that the website should still be easy to read. Professionals may tout all sorts of nonsense about keyword density optimization, linearization, and things like tokenization, filtration, and stemming, but if your target is the average joe, they would probably prefer you simply got to the point.

Relevant keywords should be carefully placed throughout the text, but not by sacrificing how your website reads. I would never try and describe my blog as ‘the best Web 2.0, Internet Technology and Internet trends blog in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and the surrounding Lower Mainland and Greater Vancouver suburbs blog.’ First, I’m not… but more importantly, who would want to read anything else I’ve written if that’s how I describe my blog?

If you choose to entrust your content to a professional, it’s important that the end result is something that satisfies your target customers as well as your search engine ranking. It’s definitely re-assuring to see a professional in the industry making a similar statement.

From their changing headers, all pics that were personally taken by individuals at Abalone Designs, to their offer of Free Web site Analysis, Abalone Designs is a different kind of company. In an effort to thwart corruption and scams, Courtney Heard started Abalone Designs in 2001, and the offer of free website analysis is her personal effort to give honest and professional advice on web development. Abalone’s services focus on web design and search engine optimization (SEO), but there are also free SEO articles and tools available for everyone to take advantage of.

From a recent SEO blog post:

SEO: Focus, Focus; Not Hocus, Pocus 

The most important aspect of any web site in any industry, anywhere in the world is user friendliness. There is no straying from this. Your web site can be optimized for the most competitive keyword in the world, it can rank number one across the board and you can even have your URL flashed across the posing torso of America’s Next Top Model on CNN and it will do absolutely nothing whatsoever for your business if your web site is not user-friendly.

Visitors need to come to your site and know immediately what it is about. You have literally just a few seconds to capture their attention. If they don’t see what they are looking for, quickly, they will leave.

Some tips to help you make sure your web site visitors stick around and understand what your web site is all about are as follows:

See the rest of the article here.

As I’ve mentioned before, there is no clear cut solution for increasing traffic to your site or your search engine ranking. Whether you simply take advantage of the tools and tips provided by Courtney Heard and the rest of the team at Abalone Designs or you call on them for their professional help, Abalone Designs is a great (Canadian) resource for your SEO needs.