You know from previous posts that search engines love text. So, you need to feed them text over and over again. But – not just any text…
Inbound Links: Ask those who link TO your website to replace the linked words with words that your target audience will use to search for you. Instead of “visit their website” or “see the xyzcompany.com”, use keyword terms appropriate for your business. For Adventures Online, I would ask that “adventuresonline.com” (as the text) be replaced with some lead in phrase to “experienced Web developer” or “website design and development”.
Testimonials: When you receive a testimonial, review it for its search-engine friendliness. We already know that the person will say that you are the “best, gosh darn expert in your field” and that they would “choose you all over again.” These accolades, while flattering and true, do not help improve your rank with the search engines. So, when you receive one of these, gently ask if you can re-phrase the “best, gosh darn expert in your field” statement to (example for Adventures Online) “best, gosh darn Web developers in Massachusetts” and replace “choose you all over again.” with “choose Adventures Online to do my website development all over again.”
These simple changes will help improve your website’s ranking with the search engines. Add them to your list of To Do’s on your 2006 Marketing Plan.