The Search Light Newsletter - Vol. 2 Issue #3

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                THE SEARCH LIGHT

          Guiding your web site to the

            top of the search engines...

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20 March 2002                        Vol. 2 Issue # 3       

Editor : Kalena Jordan, CEO, Web Rank Ltd
 

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 Welcome to the "THE SEARCH LIGHT".

 You are receiving this monthly newsletter because you
 are one of our clients, you've subscribed, requested
 a free ranking report or quotation via our site, sent us
 an FAQ or someone has forwarded it to you.
 
 UNSUBSCRIBE instructions are at the end of this
 newsletter. (Replying to this email WILL NOT unsubscribe you).

 If you like this newsletter, please forward a copy of it to any
 friend or colleague who is responsible for a web site and
 would like to improve their ranking in the search engines.

 

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IN THIS ISSUE
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    =>  Editor’s Message
    =>  Sponsorship Notice
    =>  Feature Article   – Interview With Edward Lewis, Creator of
                                    The SEO Consultants Directory
    =>  Industry News   – Google Challenges Overture With PPC Advertising                                
                                  – Search Engine Strategies Conference Heading For Sydney
                                  – Web Position Launches WPG v2.0 BETA
                                  – HotBot Removes Free Add URL Option
                                  – Article Criticizing SEO Buyer’s Guide Makes Waves
    =>  Search Engine FAQ's – Making Frames-Based Sites Spider Friendly
    =>  Site Spotlight – Worldwide Search Engine Lists
    =>  Subscribe / Unsubscribe information

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EDITOR’S MESSAGE
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Hi readers,

As you’re all be aware, link popularity has become an increasingly
important factor in the ranking algorithms of most search engines
these days. Lead by Google and their never ending vision for providing
relevant content, most of the major engines and directories have now
determined that high quality web sites are more likely to attract links
from other high quality web sites and have incorporated this assumption
into the way they determine a site’s ranking for certain search terms.

 

This means that in order to achieve and maintain high search rankings
for your site, you need to make sure you monitor and improve on your
link popularity whenever you can. But how? Well, seek out sites in your
industry that have good content relevant to your own customers and
add a link to their sites from yours. Conduct a search for high ranking
sites with content relating to or complimenting your own. Next, let the
webmaster of these sites know you have linked to them and ask for a
reciprocal link back to your site. Make sure you are listed in the most
popular search engines because links from these will boost your own
site’s link popularity. Avoid linking to sites of low quality or relevance
(such as link farms, FFA sites and free hosted sites). Monitor your link
popularity and check the quality of other sites linking to you. A handy free
link tool is here: http://www.linkpopularitycheck.com/.

 

So why the preamble on link popularity? Well I am on a mission to improve
the link popularity of our Web Rank sites and I need YOUR help. If you
have benefited from this newsletter in any way, we would appreciate it 
very much if you would consider returning the favour, by placing a visible
link somewhere on your site to http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com/. 

 

You could link directly to our newsletter archives here:
http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com/free_newsletter.htm or your
site visitors may benefit from our links to free stuff:
http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com/free_stuff.htm

Alternatively, you might like to add one or more of our Internet marketing

articles to your site or client newsletter:
http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com/internet_marketing_articles.htm
and link to us that way. 

 

However you choose to link to us, we will greatly appreciate your help and
consider adding a reciprocal link to your site in return. Just drop us a line
with your relevant link info.

Now on to this month’s mega issue!

Kalena J

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SPONSORSHIP NOTICE
------------------------------------------------------------

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you’re targeting the right keywords in the search
engines? Like to know which keywords are the
most popular with your target audience?

Considered "Best of Breed", WordTracker is a
sophisticated online keyword research tool that not
only locates keywords and phrases that people are
typing in to the search engines, but also suggests
related keywords that you may never have thought of!

Click Here to get your WordTracker FREE TRIAL:
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FEATURE ARTICLE

Interview With Edward Lewis, Creator of The SEO Consultants Directory          
                     by Kalena Jordan
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To many, I’m sure the search engine industry is like a wild unchartered territory.
With a horizon changing almost daily, strange algorithms, no agreed laws or
regulations and a reputation for pirates, only the fearless dare venture near.
Oh and us brave explorers, otherwise known as SEO’s (-;

 

But seriously, it is small wonder that many people are confused when it comes
to search engines and these self-proclaimed Search Engine Optimization experts
or SEO’s. How much do these SEO’s charge? How do they find an SEO in their
area? How do they know what services such SEO’s provide in comparison with
each other? How do they choose one out of the thousands?

 

Rare publications such as the Buyer’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization
Firms http://sherpastore.com/page.cfm/1759?a=home have only recently
sprung up to help provide some type of starting point for persons seeking
professional assistance with their search engine marketing campaigns.

 

However, a new attempt at mapping out the murky SEO territory is being made
by the upcoming SEO Consultants Directory http://www.seoconsultants.com/.
The vision of Edward Lewis, self-confessed SEO and owner of www.123seo.com,
the SEO Consultants Directory will be a comprehensive list of Search Engine
Optimization firms worldwide, with a detailed overview of the services they provide.
Unlike the Buyer’s Guide however, the Directory will NOT use a grading or rating
system.

 

With such a brave expedition afoot, I decided to interview Edward about the
task ahead:

 

Q. What exactly IS the SEO Consultants Directory? 

A. This will be a directory of select search engine optimization consultants and
companies from around the world.

 

Q. Is there a cost involved to submit to or use the Directory? 

 

A. No, there is no cost to submit to or utilize the directory. Our goal is to maintain
an advertising and spam free directory. Donations would of course be accepted but
we won't ask for those until we've proven our worthiness!

 

Q. Who is the Directory targeted at and what do you hope these users will get out
of the Directory? 

 

A. We are targeting businesses or individuals who are researching a reputable SEO
Firm or Internet Marketing Consultant to fulfil their web site promotion requirements. 
Since we will be offering a consultants profile page, we hope the user will be able to
determine from the results we've presented to them whether it warrants further contact
with the SEO. We are more or less providing a gateway to a select portion of the
SEO community.

 

Q. Who can be listed in the Directory? 

 

A. Anyone who can present to us a successful past and current history in promoting
businesses online. We are looking closely at the web sites of those who are
submitting to the directory and are reviewing actual content for correctness and
presentation. This will be more of a community driven directory with editors in place
to keep things in perspective. 

 

Q. When will the Directory be launched and can SEO's submit to the Directory
before launch? 

 

A. Our estimated launch date is 06.01.2002. We are accepting submissions at this
time and will be reviewing those prior to our estimated launch date. We've received
just over 100 submissions to date and each time a newsletter such as this makes
mention of the directory, we get another 20 or 30 submissions. We like this pace,
it gives us time to review and refine our criteria for inclusion into the directory.

 

Q. Can any SEO's submit or do you have a specific selection process? 

 

A. Anyone can submit at this time. Please keep in mind that we are not accepting
affiliate type sites nor are we going to accept spam of any type. Define spam? You
figure it out. If the site you are submitting for review promotes any sort of blatant
spam strategies, then you most likely will not get listed. I've personally been in this
industry since 1996 and can recognize spam at first glance. I have a neutral stance
on cloaking technologies and only know of a small group of professional cloakers
who would pass muster and make it into the directory. It’s not something that
many advertise and we don't expect it to become a major issue.

 

Q. How are SEO's categorized within the Directory? Do you use a "Best Practises"
grading system or similar? 

 

A. Absolutely not! There are no grades. My intention with this directory was to start
off with a few hundred select SEO's from around the world. Results are powered by
the search criteria that the user enters during their initial search. The more information
the user selects, the more refined the results will be. Initially there will be five results
per page. Each result will contain a descriptive title and a 200 word description for
that consultant or company. We are not using any secret technology behind the
scenes. This is a Sequel powered database using .asp. My programmer will be
adding a few twists here and there to ensure that all consultants and companies
get equal rotation in the results. No-one will be able to dominate the listings,
these will be continually rotating. 

 

Q. As you know, the search engine industry changes weekly, with new SEO's
appearing and existing SEO's changing their services all the time to keep up.
How will you keep the Directory updated?

 

A. Ah, you touch on an important aspect of this directory. We are going to
provide a user management interface so that consultants and companies can
maintain their listings. We will allow a certain number of edits in any given time
period and those edits are subject to review before going live. We are still working
out the logistics, but it’s the way I want to go. Again, I want this to be a member
driven directory.

 

Q. What gave you the idea to launch such a Directory? 

 

A. Oh, there I was one day with some extra cash and decided to go on a domain
spree. I picked up quite a few SEO related domains and www.seoconsultants.com
was one of them. I've always had ambitions of developing some sort of network
group and thought to myself, why not SEO? I'm also very displeased with the amount
of junk that populates the SERP's these days when searching for SEO related terms.
There are web sites holding top 20 positions and they really don't deserve to be there.
I also thought this would be a great way to develop a community of professionals
with one more avenue of advertising exposure. Think of the power behind this
directory once the membership is in place and the consultants profile pages are
being indexed. Give that some serious thought!

 

Q. What do you hope to ultimately achieve by launching this Directory and do you
have any specific plans for its future expansion?

 

A. My ultimate goal is to develop a close knit community of SEO and Internet
Marketing professionals from around the world. The success of the directory all
depends on the members themselves. If our community grows at a respectable rate, 
we will invest the time and money to make sure that the member’s time is well
invested. Future expansion includes further refinement of the directory and sub
categorization of services offered. We realize there are many aspects to Internet
Marketing and SEO is just one of them.

 

 

Our sincere thanks to Edward for his time and we wish him all the best with the
project! If you’d like to submit your SEO site to the directory, just visit:
http://www.seoconsultants.com/submit-url.asp.

 

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The above article may be re-published as long as the following paragraph
and URL link are included at the end of the article: 

Kalena Jordan, CEO of Web Rank Ltd, was among the first
search engine optimization experts in Australasia and is
well known and respected in her field. For more of her tips
on search engine ranking and online marketing, please visit: 
http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com

 

Web Rank Ltd, Search Engine Ranking Specialists
Visit our web sites : www.high-search-engine-ranking.com,  
www.webrank.biz