We'll be spending quite a bit of time discussing keywords and how search engines position your website based on their use.  Following are the actual words use on one site.  What do you think?

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Will a search engine spider lessen your chances for a higher placement just because you choose to use a template?  Some people believe that it's important to avoid using a template website design based on the premise that one gets what they pay for.  In other words, a site that costs thousands to build will fare much better than a generic model.  Although it's true that engines look at the amount of content, i.e. pages, there's plenty of evidence to support the notion that it doesn't make any different everything being equal.

From experience I've had the same amount of successes using a "quickie" website design than a site that was developed from scratch.  Having said that we all know that the designer is limited as to what features a template will allow.  But if you can find a template that fulfills your needs the spider will not penalize you for your choice of design.

Alright, you've read a couple tips on improving placement.  At this point the question may arise in your mind whether any of this stuff actually works?

Yes, it does.  My clients have seen their placement rise to at least the first page and some boast a first or second listing under their key words.

Why?  Simple.  Search engines have rules how they rank sites.  It's not random and based on specific criterion which is designed to give their users the best possible match for the keywords entered. Through experience and trial and error those who study these types of things see a pattern and use it to the advantage of their clients.

Keep reading as we explore other ways to improve your website's placement.  We have just scratched the surface since there are dozens and dozens of other rules you need to know.

The Same "Old Hat"

Some websites have the belief they're fine wine.  That is, it gets better with age so nothing changes on the home page month after month after month.  Search engines on the other hand advance the motto: "It's time for a change."

The bottom line is to keep your content fresh and show those spiders that you are alive and well and haven't traveled to a distant land forgetting about you beloved site.

So go ahead and rotate the stock and do a little spring cleaning.  The spiders will love you for it and reward your efforts by a higher placement.

Flash movies and photos may add flare to your site;  however, search engine spiders are not impressed.  If you rely entirely with photos and a flash introduction the spiders will pass you by.  You can spare yourself some pain by labeling your photos with a title that can be read by the engines.  Use common sense on your pages and blend your visual aids with appropriate key words.

A well chosen domain name earns you points with the search engines.  For example a real estate site with a domain of michiganland.com along with other appropriate content will score much better than a site with a random URL not associated with the theme of your site. 

Dead links do not make search engines happy.  In fact, in many cases the spiders will ignore and not rank your website at all.  Dead links indicate a lack of maintenance by the owner.  All engines pride themselves on having the most up to date results.  Links that do not work point to a site that has been abandoned or at the least a site that is out of date.  Bottom line is to check all your links to make sure they work.

Every color that you use on a website has a unique code that a search engine spider can understand.  Avoid using a separate color for a specific sentence or word that you hope a search engine will capture.  For example if the color of the wording on your home page is black but you use red for a phrase your reader may be impressed but not the spider.  This same rules applies to fonts.  It's best to use the same colors and fronts throughout your home page keyword descriptions.

Don't attempt to outsmart the search engines by trying to be noticed without letting on to the spider that's what you are actually doing.  At one time many websites were successful by repeating their keys words over and over again.  For example shoes, shoes, shoes, etc.  Today, that strategy falls flat on its face.  In the posts that follow we'll explore more attempts at fooling the spiders without success.

Consider this.

For how many years have you reserved your domain?

All things being equal the longer your domain is reserved the more "points" you received.

So go ahead and reserve your domain for as long as you can, 10 years is great.  Hopefully you see the reasoning.  The longer you invest your funds in the domain the more creditability for your site that you will be around for a while.

More later.

No one wants to be second, unless of course, it's to volunteer for the front lines in battle or you just want to try harder like Avis.  Let's face it being positioned first, or at least on the first page of your keywords is better than a sharp stick in the eye.  Give me a poorly designed site ranked first than a state of the art website that can't be found.  Do we agree thus far?  There are tons of individuals, companies and organizations that promise great results for a couple of bucks - you probably have received a few emails along that line.  My approach is a little different.  That is, share some insights and perhaps the proof will be in the pudding.

Over the next days we will explore some of the techniques to get your site noticed and placed properly.  So visit often and together let's see what we can do.

The plan is to post rules starting from 1 and moving forward from there.  Please submit your comments and welcome aboard!!!