Hackers and security experts use various custom and open source tools to complete their tasks. In fact, one of the tools they use you probably use every time you browse the web, the Google Search Engine.

I remember the first time I used the Google Search Engine years ago. I was amazed at how quickly it fulfilled my search request. Google’s huge index of systems / information and it’s ability to perform complex searches have evolved over the years. When we performed security assessments and penetration test, we regularly use Google to locate information that organizations typically want to keep private and confidential.

The reason for me writing this article is to give you several examples of basic and complex Google search terms and queries. As a disclaimer, it is not my intention that you use this information to invade the privacy of someone else or access data and files on systems that do not belong to you. It is strictly educational information and a way to make people more aware of what kind of information they may be exposing to the rest of the world.

Using Google To Locate Password Files: One of the most common remote web authoring tools is Microsoft’s Front Page. Front page extensions and WebDav, the services on the web server that allow you to remotely connect and author web pages, can be configured with a certain degree of security. However, in certain configurations, the userID and password are stored in local files on the server. Using a Google query, you can easily locate thousands of these files and dump the contents.

The query form is quite simple: "inurl:(filename).pwd", where (filename) is the name of the .pwd file. This query can be expanded to be very specific and target a specific site by using a command to search for a specific site or domain. The results of a specific search like this would list hundreds if not thousands of these files that would contain something like "# -FrontPage- dmiller:I1KEaH1TZqxEw". Basically dumping the userID and password.

This type of basic query can be used to find all kinds of interesting information such as using the "intitle:"index of" (name of directory you want to locate)" which not only reveals many web directory structures of "index of/", it also reveals how many web servers on the Internet do not have even the most basic forms of permissions and directory security. You will find that once you access a particular directory, that you can then move up the directory tree and you never know what you may find.

More Complex Search Queries: The Google Search Engine supports very complex query types. For instance, if you were to construct a query like ""parent directory " Gamez -xxx -html -htm -php -shtml -opendivx -md5 -md5sums", the query would result in lists upon list of systems that have a /Gamez directory off the root of the "parent directory" of the web server. Or, to locate music files of type mp3 you could issue a query like "intitle:index.of mp3 (name of band/song)".

The bottom line here is that it is possible to locate very specific types of files. It is also possible to perform queries for inline passwords from various search engines by performing a query similar to "http://*:*@www".

What Else Can Be Found With Google Search Queries: One of the things we do when we are performing a security assessment is perform a quick review of the various web servers to determine what types of scripting is being used. For instance, a lot of people use PHP code to create dynamic content. Many people install PHP example code and administrative tools to help them manage their site. Unfortunately, most of the time these files are not secured and contain login ID’s and passwords. We then use Google search queries to locate these specific files on the servers in question. I’d say we are successful in finding files like these that help us gain access to systems approximately 60% of the time.

We recently learned of a financial institution that was taking credit card information from one of their partners using a web based upload service on their primary web server. The problem was this file was being indexed by the Microsoft Index Service, the information was being spidered by search engines, and the file itself did not have effective security permissions on it. The result, the file was indexed by Google and someone performing a Google query found it and was able to open it in the browser, revealing hundreds of credit card numbers, names, and other personal information. This happens all the time.

Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with over sixteen years experience. He has written many technology & security articles, some of which have been published in nationally circulated magazines & periodicals. If you would like to contact Darren you can e-mail him at Darren.Miller@ParaLogic.Net. Read More Articles at http://www.christiannotepad.com

A Search Engine Optimization Company can be an invaluable asset in your Internet marketing campaign. They specialize in knowing how to raise your search engine positions, monitoring those positions on the regular basis, and adjusting their strategies to account for undesirable results in any given month. Since this takes a lot of time, effort, and specialized knowledge, it can be in your best interest to go to an outside source rather than try to maintain high search engine positions on your own.

However, like every business, there are good companies and there are lemons. Knowing the right questions to ask and the criteria to look for will help you in choosing an affordable, effective search engine optimization company.

When looking at different companies, begin by considering the approach they employ to raise your search engine positions. Steer clear of companies that use cloaked, doorway, or bridge pages to raise your positions. These techniques violate most search engine policy, and in the worst case scenario, will only get your website severely penalized, if not removed entirely from a search engine’s index.

A cloaked page is a page that is created which is invisible to the regular visitor to your website. The cloaked page is coded to detect a search engine spider and divert them to this special page, which is set-up to artificially boost your search engine position. Doorway or bridge pages utilize the same concept, but often reside on an entirely different server. Google, one of the largest and most important search engine on the Internet, will remove your website from their index if they detect you have cloaked pages. Never, never employ any company that uses this technique!

Another important element is to get a guarantee that the company you hire will not work with your competitors while they are working for you. Obviously, this would seriously compromise the effectiveness of the search engine optimization campaign. Be aware that some companies will use the success they achieve for your website to sell their services to your competitors. So get your guarantee in writing, and make sure it is legally binding.

Of course, one of the most important factors you want to check out is the company’s track record of results. However, don’t take the company’s word for it. They will undoubtedly be slanting their results in order to sell their services to you. To go beyond their simple statement of success, ask them a few pertinent questions, and verify their answers.

Ask them which engines they have achieved the best results on. The ones that are important are the most popular engines, and these are the ones you want to see good results on. Since the popularity of search engines can change with the landscape of the overall Internet, check out the Nielsen Netratings page at Search Engine Watch. You can access this at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451.

Next, find out what keywords and phrases they are claiming great results with. It’s easy to get high rankings with unpopular words. For instance, the keyword "cat leashes" will get high popularity ranking because no one else would think of using it. What you are looking for is good results using popular keywords. Check out the software Wordtracker, available at www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription ranging from 1 day to 1 year. This software rates the popularity of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.

Next, look for good results over an entire site that the company claims to have successfully worked for. You want to see a wide range of positions over a number of different search engines using different keywords or phrases for the entire site. Request a report for any client the company claims to have done well for. This report should show good positions on a number of the most popular search engines for a variety of different, popular keywords and phrases.

When you are checking out search engine optimization companies, make sure they have actually done the work they are claiming to have done. Some companies will use other company’s results in order to get you to sign on with them. If you are in doubt, call the company they are showing you results for, and ask for the name of their search engine optimization company.

It’s important to keep in mind that a successful search engine optimization campaign will result in maximum exposure across a wide range of popular search engines using a variety of keywords and phrases. This is the formula for a successful campaign, and you should keep it always in the forefront of your marketing strategy.

Ask the search engine optimization company you are considering for a report that shows you rankings across a number of popular search engines for a period of at least six months. Remember: search engine marketing is a process that is continual, and you need a company that not only understands this, but keeps constant tabs on your search engine positions. That company must also be able to adjust its strategy in the event that search engine rankings drop.

Since search engine marketing is an on-going process, your positions must be constantly monitored. If you want your search engine optimization company to do this for you, request a sample of a monthly report. It is essential that this report should show rankings for the most popular search engines. Don’t be impressed by a report that only shows great results for a limited number of small search engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire. Also confirm that the popular search engine results they are showing you are indeed the popular search engines currently.

Be sure the sample report the company shows you is in a format that you can easily understand. For example, it could be in the form of a chart that covers a period of at least six months and presents data such as the top 50 positions broken down on a monthly basis or the top 5 pages each month. Then, ascertain that the company you are considering actually monitors these positions or pages every month, and that the sample report they show you includes findings and recommendations for the specific site. This insures that the company will actively monitor and make adjustments to their strategy on a continual basis rather than simply gather statistics on your positions. You need a company that is actively participant in your search engine marketing campaign, not just an information gatherer.

Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization company is crucial the success of your marketing campaign. It is not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a company that will do a thorough and reliable job for your website, you might consider waiting until you do have the finances in place.

If you have to find a company and can’t wait for your finances to catch up, you may be able to find an affordable company that will also be able to supply quality, reliable work, such as a fairly new company. Just remember that there are risks involved with using a company without a proven track record - and that risk is your money! Don’t take that leap unless the company can supply you with a least a few references.

References are the most reliable indicator of a good company. Don’t use a company that won’t show your references because of any reason, confidentiality included. Remember - even doctors will provide references! The firm you choose should provide you with a minimum of two references, one that is from the past, and one that is current.

When you contact these references, be prepared to ask precise, specific questions so that neither of your time is wasted. Ask them what their experience was like with the company, such as their availability to answer questions and deal with problems and their ability to meet deadlines. Ask the reference to rate the overall performance of the company.

Find out if the company requested that the reference make significant changes to their web pages that affected the visitors coming to their site. You are looking for a search engine optimization company that can balance the needs of both search engines and site visitors without compromising either.

The most essential question to ask is whether the work of the search engine optimization company resulted in higher profits for the reference. Without profits, it doesn’t matter whether your positions are at the top of the list or not.

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents information on to enhance your site, newsletter, marketing and other Internet related topics. You’ll find his other articles that expand your horizons at http://WebWorkersWeekly.com

Uniquely built web sites can create unique issues when being promoted on the search engines. From a basic 3 page brochure site to a corporate site with hundreds of dynamically generated pages, every web site needs to have certain design aspects in order to achieve the full effects of an SEO campaign. Below are a few points to take into consideration when building or updating your web site.

1. Size Matters.

The size of a web site can have a huge impact on search engine rankings. Search engines love content, so if you have only a few pages to your site and your competitors have dozens, it’s difficult to see a top page ranking for your site. In some cases it may be difficult to present several pages of information about your business or products, so you may need to think about adding free resources for visitors. It will help in broadening the scope of your web site (which search engines like) as well as keep visitors on your site longer, possibly resulting in more sales.

2. Graphics-Based Web Sites.

While web sites that offer the visitor a more esthetically-pleasing experience may seem like the best choice for someone searching for your product, they are the most difficult to optimize. Since search engine robots cannot read text within graphics or animation, what they see may be just a small amount of text. And if we learned anything from point #1, small amounts of content will not result in top rankings. If you really must offer the visitor a graphics-heavy or Flash web site, consider creating an html-based side of your site that is also available to visitors. This site will be much easier to promote on the search engines and your new found visitors will also have the option to jump over to the nicer looking part of your site.

3. Dynamic Web Pages.

If most of your web site is generated by a large database (such as a large book dealer with stock that is changing by the minute) you may find that some of your pages do not get indexed by major search engines. If you look at the URL of these pages they can be extremely long and have characters such as ?, #, &, %, or = along with huge amounts of seemingly random numbers or letters. Since these pages are automatically generated by the database as needed, the search engines have a tough time keeping them up to date and relevant for search engine users.

One way to combat this problem is to offer a search engine friendly site map listing all your static pages just to let them know that you do have permanent content on your site. If search engines see links going to and from these dynamic pages within a good internal linking system, this may also lead to the pages getting indexed. The link popularity of your site may carry more weight in this case as well, so if you can’t offer as much static content as your competition, make sure you have an aggressive link campaign on the go.

4. Proper Use of HTML.

There is quite a bit of sub-par web design software out there. Word processors usually have a way to create HTML documents which can be easily uploaded to a site via ftp. However, in many cases the code that the search engine robots see is mostly lines and lines of font and position formatting, not relevant content. The more efficiently written web sites usually achieve higher rankings. Our choice for web design software is Macromedia Dreamweaver, as it is an industry standard. It also makes using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) a breeze, which can drastically cut down on the amount of text formatting in HTML code. Hand-coding HTML to design sites is also a good method if you are proficient enough.

There are some no brainers too: Web sites with abnormal amounts of hyperlinks, bold or italicized text, improper use of heading, alt, or comment tags can also expect to see low rankings.

5. Choosing a Domain Name.

The golden rule to web development of any kind is to keep your visitors in mind above all else - even search engine optimization. When choosing a domain name, one should pick either your business name (if you have a high-profile business name such as Chapters or Coca-Cola) or a brief description of your products. Domain names can always help with search engine optimization, as it is another area of your web site that important keywords can appear. Forget about long- winded domains such as www.number-one-best-books-on-earth.com as no one will ever remember it and it will be hard to print on business cards or in ads.

If you need to change your domain name for any reason you obviously don’t want to lose existing rankings. An easy way to do this, and one that is currently supported by most search engines, is the 301 redirect. It allows you to keep your existing rankings for your old domain name, while forwarding visitors to your new web site instantly.

6. Using Frames.

Don’t use frames. Frames are a thing of the 90’s (and in the Internet world that is eons ago) and are not even supported by some search engines. The search engines that are able to index your site through frames will most likely frown upon them. Whatever you are trying to accomplish by using frames can usually be done with the help of PHP includes or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Some browsers are not frames-compatible, so there is the danger of some visitors not being able to see your site at all. Bookmarking of individual pages within a frame becomes difficult without lengthly scripts being written.

7. Update Your Information.

Not only does information printed two or three years ago look badly on your organization when it is read by a visitor, it is also looked down upon by search engines. Web sites that continuously update and grow their web sites usually experience higher rankings than stagnant sites. When the trick to SEO is offering visitors the most relevant information, you can bet that the age of web pages is taken into consideration by search engines. Consider creating a section of your site devoted to news within your organization, or have a constantly updated resources area.

Many shortfalls of web sites can easily be attributed to designers who just don’t keep the user or search engines in mind. Search engine algorithms are quickly improving to try and list the most user-friendly sites higher, given that the content and link popularity are there to back it up. So first and foremost, know your target market and make your web site work for them before focusing on search engine optimization. If you build it (properly), they will come.

Copyright John Metzler of Abalone Designs, November 2004. This article may be freely distributed if credit is given to the author. Abalone Designs is a family-run Search Engine Optimization firm in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Visit http://www.abalone.ca for a free personalized analysis of your web site.

Search engine optimization has become a major factor in internet marketing among webmasters. We can all say that if your website is nowhere near the top 10 rankings on Google, Yahoo, or Msn then you simply don’t generate any traffic from search engines and you don’t make money with it. Many webmasters are constantly trying to get on top by tweaking their websites and using all kinds of methods and tricks that usually won’t do much for you anyway. Search engine optimization is actually easier than you think. It’s all about three major things like original content, unique quality of links, and popularity in searches made specifically for your website.

If you even want to be included in Google index then you must have original content on your website. Your content cannot be duplicated and you should carefully review everything you decide to publish on your pages. Write your own content and never try to duplicate someone else’s site which could result in permanent penalty from Google. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with fresh original content simply because we do not have all this time to write it. There are a few ways you can gain content without writing it on your own. You could create a forum on your website where visitors could interact with each other and make constant posts. This would keep the search engine spiders revisiting more often. Also creating possibility for visitors to submit their articles to be published on your site in exchange for a link back is another way to do it.

How to gain unique one way links to your site? Well, it’s also easier than you might think. Writing press releases is highly beneficial to get the word out and gain links back from highly trusted mediums like PRweb.com. Also writing your own articles to be published on other people’s websites can produce not only many links but also lots of targeted visitors which could result in many sales for your business. This actually saves you a lot of time and money because you don’t have to look for webmasters to exchange links with or even buy links as some webmasters do.

Another factor that effects your search engine rankings is popularity of your site within searches being made. Let’s say your site was featured in one of the major nationwide newspapers that would result in many visits to your site and searches being made for your particular domain name from different IP addresses. Google would notice that and immediately put you out in front all of the search results. If your site is popular and people are looking for it then you could gain rankings even without many links to it.

I believe that trying to trick search engines and gaining tons of links in a short period of time with one example of anchor text in it would result in red flag for Google which could put you out of search results or even get you banned. If you gain many links by writing articles and press releases then you should be fine. Remember that original content, quality one way links, and search popularity is the key to your success. For some seo resources please visit http://www.affhelper.com/search-engine-optimization.html

Copyright Policy: If you wish to publish this article on your website or newsletter you must include all the urls and make them clickable and followable by search engine.

Pawel Reszka is the author of this article who earns $300,000 per year promoting affiliate programs online. Affhelper website is published by Pawel Reszka and provides affiliate marketing resources.

How many years did you register your domain name for? If it was only one then Google could hold that against you.

Why?

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain name registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors possibly considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.

How do I know this?

Google have recently made public the contents of their filing of United States Patent

Application 20050071741 on March 31 2005.

In which many of the search giants secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very interesting reading. You must read this if you are serious about ranking well in Google. The

days of Spaming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they’re coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.

Here are the facts.

• Links.

It’s common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Apparently the Google ’sandbox’ or aging delay begins count down the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google records the discovery of a link, link changes over time, the speed at which a site gains links and the link life span. With this in mind fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of links. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.

PR is now very valuable.

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. That’s ‘anchor Spam’. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically. If you don’t and you get caught the recovery from a ban can be months in coming and your host and IP may also be recorded.

Softly softly seems to be the message. The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more anyway and they will be much more likely to be long-term which is also good.

• Site click through rates (CTR)

CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools. Many have suspected for some time that sites are reward for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result.

CTR is also analyzed for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.

• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.

• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer.

Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.

• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.

• User behaviour in general could be monitored.

As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you want to integrate a call to action in there to increase your listings CTR.

Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored. Make your site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.

• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded as is the number of pages.

Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.On the other hand few or small updates to your site could see your rankings slide. Unless your CTR is good. A stale page that receives good traffic may hold it’s own and not require an update. So don’t update for the sake of it.

A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Mention is made of changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Here’s the quote -

“A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a ’stable’ period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a ‘doorway’ document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document.”

There’s still more to look out for:-

• Changes in on page keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.

• The domain name owner address is considered, most likely to help in a local search result.

• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.

• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server it’s possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spaming. If so your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google have learned from the Spam ‘attack’ they suffered in early 2004 and they are determined to eradicate it from their listing results.

So what do you do?

You can’t go far wrong with your SEO if you try to grow your site as organically as possible.Carry on with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them. Vary your anchor text. Add small amounts of good quality content to your site regularly.

Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible. Make your site more ’sticky’ to encourage visitors to stay a while. Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site. Oh and register new domain names for at least two years.

Overall keep it ethical and you can’t go far wrong. Stick to the guidelines above and you are much more likely to outlast and out rank your competition.

Darren Yates is the owner of http://www.how-to-make-money-online.info a site featuring, news, tips, resources, thousands of Internet marketing articles and useful links.

This article comes with reprint rights. You are free to reprint and distribute it.

All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is include, and that the link above is intact.

We all want to get our websites high up in the search enignes but how do you do it? One thing you shouldn’t bother doing is submit your site to any search engines. Not Google, not Yahoo!, not AltaVista. Sound a bit strange? Read on…

Submitting to all the search engines

Submitting your website to every search engine is an incredibly time-consuming process. There are hundreds and hundreds of them out there - no doubt, you’ve come across the companies who’ll submit your website to 1000 search engines for you.

Search engine professionals know that the vast majority of these search engines have a very low usage rate and will drive hardly any traffic your way. In fact, it’s only a handful of search engines that drive the majority of traffic from search engines to websites.

The major search engines

Some of the most important search engines, probably accounting for over 90% of the search engine market, are:

- Google
- Yahoo! (released earlier this year)
- MSN
- Teoma
- Fast
- AltaVista

Don’t submit to these search engines

"But there’s only six of them - why on earth not!?" Well, aside from saving time and a bit of money (some require a submission fee), quite simply there’s no need. Allow me to explain…

Search engines crawl the web every few weeks (or months) looking for websites to index. Here’s how it works:

- Search engines start at one website with a large number of outbound links (usually a directory)

- They follow every link they come across, indexing each page they arrive at

- Once a page has been indexed they follow all the links from that page

- And so on until there are no more links to follow

- Unless today is your very first day on the Internet, you might have heard that inbound links into a website are extremely important in establishing its search engine ranking.

If a search engine can’t find you by itself through crawling the web, then your website doesn’t have any inbound links. If so, you’ll never achieve a decent search engine ranking so what’s the point in registering?

Getting incoming links quickly

So, how do you get incoming links? Well, this is a vast topic which I won’t be discussing now, but if you want to get a few good links quickly then there is a solution: web directories. If your website is listed in the Yahoo! directory (http://dir.yahoo.com, not the same as Yahoo! search) and the Open Directory (http://www.dmoz.org, used by Google) all the search engines should find you within two to three months.

There are plenty of other directories you should get listed in too. Global, local and industry-specific directories abound on the Internet. To find them run a search for ‘web directory’ on your favorite search engine. The directories that come up highest in the search rankings will probably generate the most traffic. You can also check the directories of directories listed at the end of this article.

Another even quicker solution is webmaster forums. Search engines love forums because they include so much fresh content. Most have an area where you’re allowed to enter your URL to get feedback from other webmasters. http://www.webmasterforumlist.com has a list of webmsater forums - sign up to them all and get posting!

Long term strategy

Search engine optimisation is a long term strategy. You’ll be successful if you:

- Structure your pages correctly by positioning your keywords in effective places

- Build a great site with unique content that other websites will want to link

Register with as many web directories as possible and then concentrate your efforts on these two things. Within a few months you’ll start to see success.

Directories of directories:

- http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Directories/
- http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/
- http://www.seo-lab.com/directory-articles/best-free-directories.php
- http://www.isedb.com/html/Web_Directories/
- http://www.directory-pages.com/

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He’s crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

If you are looking around for a search engine optimisation company to carry out some SEO work on your website, then make sure you choose the right colour hat. There are a large number of companies that adopt a fast and unethical approach to SEO, known as black hat SEO, while there are a smaller number or companies that implement ethical SEO work, known as white hat SEO. The key to choosing the right colour, which is obviously the white, is as follows…

Before you even think of taking on a search engine optimisation company, the first thing is to shop around and see what is out on the market. The same principles would apply if you were to buy a new computer. You would look at a few models, prices and what each model has to offer. If an SEO company was to offer a service that would guarantee you top ranks, there is a very good chance they are wearing a black hat. No SEO company can guarantee top ranks since they have no direct control over the search engines and their ranking algorithms. They can however mention that top ranks are highly achievable due to their previous success with other clients.

Be sure to look at a companies’ portfolio page (if they have one on their website or simply ask them) and carry out some research on their clients. This can be done by looking at the client’s website performance within the search engines for the selected keywords they have been optimised for. Another good idea would be to write a courtesy email to the client asking for a reference on the SEO company they have used to optimise their website.

The most important giveaway on a black hat SEO company is the way they would describe their services. If a company cannot go into detail on how they carry out their work (meaning they are very vague), and this involves justifying each step of their work, then it would be best to avoid their services. A proper SEO firm will be more than happy to explain their services in detail and justify their reasons for using such techniques. If you cannot quiet understand the techniques they use then be sure to do some research on the internet and read SEO articles that explain each technique. If you find that their work fits along the lines of your research and that it is all ethical, then they are a company you should put on your list.

A last point to mention, a company should stress the phrase ‘patience is the key to success with SEO’. If a company claims that they can achieve results very fast, then it is time to start running. In theory, SEO that is carried out correctly on a website will take time until the results start to show (most cases 3 to 6 months but could be longer).

Would you like to know what could happen to your website if you hire a black hat SEO company, regardless of how big or small your website is in terms of brand recognition? An example would be the story of the BMW German website. They hired a black hat SEO firm to carry out some work on their website and that resulted in their site being banned from the Google ranks. So it is best to do your research on SEO by reading articles such as this one and question a companies approach on search engine optimisation. This will ensure that you have selected the clean white hat and that your website will not be tarnished from the black.

About the Author: David Touri works for SEO Sydney Search Engine Marketing, the SEO Consultants. He has worked on various projects and offers search engine optimisation in Australia.

Want to reach the top of Google for your niche, or keyword phrases? Don’t let it cause you stress or anxiety, simple read on…

Google, MSN, and Yahoo all use their own formulas to calculate the relevance of your pages, but here are a few common factors to guarantee you will rank above those not using them.

Start analyzing your pages today, don’t forget to resubmit the changes when you are done, and the traffic will start to flow.

1) Keyword Density

You should strive to obtain a keyword density in the 3.5 to 7 percent range for each of your pages. Do not overuse your keywords on the same page, instead simply use related keywords.

2) Keyword Phrase Choices

A single keyword is almost impossible to rank high for, so you should shoot for lower demand phrases. Overture lists the keyword "coffee" as being searched 370820 times per month. The keyword coffee has a huge amount of competition, but a keyword phrase such as "coffee club" is only searched 1813 times. Of course ranking number one for coffee would be fantastic, but ranking well for many lower demand keywords should be an important part of search engine optimization strategies.

3) Original Content

Google will tend to penalize sites offering the same content resulting in lower ranking for all sites. Think about all the sites you have seen promoting the same resale rights product. They all have the same sales page. The best thing you could do is to simply rewrite the sales letter and submit that page to the search engines. This is an incredibly important Search Engine Optimization tip. Try to work in related words and phrases not just the top keywords.

4) Proper Linking

Make sure all your links use proper text. How many times have you seen "click here to visit" on a website? Simply changing the link text will cause your page to rank higher in all the search engines. You can also choose related phrases for link text.

5) Repeat Keywords and Phrases

Always make sure that your selected keywords and phrases appear several times in each of your paragraphs. Try to add related keywords and phrases to help boost your SEO. Do not get involved with keyword stuffing (repeating the same keywords over and over), and make sure to leave some space between keyword occurrences (once every second or third line)

5) Stay Current Visit SEO news sites to stay current with the latest trends. The engines are always changing their strategies and formulas so it is a good idea to read the latest news at least once a week. A great place to start is http://www.seo-buzz.com

6) Alt Tags

When adding a photo or picture to your pages you should always add relevant keywords to the alt tags. This helps to boost your page rank with little work.

Taking the time to review your site, make the necessary changes, and staying current on the latest trends in SEO will help ensure that you achieve a top ranking site for your chosen keywords and key phrases.

The author is a internet research specialist with an interest in hypnosis. For info about self hypnosis mp3 files visit us http://www.fear-phobia.com/self-hypnosis-mp3 and for keyword research related information at http://www.keyword-track.com/category/keyword-research/

When you want your brand new site to be indexed into major search engines, you usually go to their free submit page and submit your website, correct? Seems like the right thing to do, right?

Well, many people fail to realize that not submitting your site is usually better than actually submitting it.

Let, me explain.

All the search engines, or the MAJOR ones, for our discussion here have what are called webcrawlers. Now, webcrawlers are little programs that go out onto the web and search or "crawl" around looking for websites that are not already indexed into their databases.

Google search engine is a well-known engine that does this, its webcrawler "GOOGLEBOT" crawls the web looking for "non-existent" sites that are not in their index(database). To see evidence of this, look at your stats for your website and see if Googlebot has crawled your site lately, chances are it has.

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My personal experience indicates that Google actually prefers this method, crawling and indexing, rather than using their Free Submit page.
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Basically if you wanna get your site indexed into Google and the Major search engines, simply post it and wait,… I realize this seems like a weird or bad idea, but take my word for it,… IT WORKS.

Another idea is that, if you already have a site that is indexed already in Google, simply put a small link to your new site toward the top of the page thats already indexed and when Google crawls your already indexed site it will automatically index your new site, since it has yet to be indexed. Easy huh?

A site map can do the same thing. In order to get all your webpages for your new site indexed simply link your sitemap of your new site as above, and when it crawls your existing site, it will index all the pages of your new site, via your sitemap.

Two points to always note: Link all your important pages into a sitemap, important pages first, and link to another already existent site, and let the major engines find your pages on their own, via webcrawling.

NOTE: The above works for FREE search engines that have crawlers, Google for example. See my previous article I wrote last week on PPC and PPI.

This article was written by Burke Ferguson of The ACE! ezine. Burke olds both a BSc. degree in Computer Science as well being Certified in Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Strategies. He also regularly publishes The ACE! newsletter, in which he shares his experience, methods, and knowledge with others. He can be contacted by his main website AltaCanWeb.com or The ACE! ezine

Do you know how to use referrers to increase your traffic? How to increase your conversions? This article is the second in our series on learning how to analyse and understand your web site’s statistics. The goal of this series is to help you increase your site’s revenue.

Part one was about using your sales statistics to enhance your web business (part one can be found here: www.redcarpetweb.com/promotion/0509.html#feature). Part two is about using your referrer statistics to increase traffic, ranking, and conversions.

Part 2: Referrers

A referrer is a website that directly sends you traffic. The bulk of your traffic is referred by search engines, but other sites send you traffic as well. These referring sites will help you increase your position in search engines because by linking to you, they are essentially "voting" for your site. The search engines take these "votes", and count them towards how popular your site is. The more popular the site, the higher the site will rank on a search. Of course it is not that simple; content actually plays a more important role, but everything should be taken into consideration when fighting for your hard-earned placement within the search engines.

Referring domains

So to get back to our main point: How can you use referring sites to help you make more money? Simple. By looking at your statistics, and finding out who is linking to you, you can see trends or patterns and capitalize on your site’s strengths. For example, if you sell real estate, who is linking to you? Local businesses? Government sites? Other real estate sites? Is it only sites you have swapped links with or are there a pleasant amount of unexpected sites linking to you as well?

If you do not have many sites linking to you, than maybe you should consider posting more useful information on your site. Try to make your site useful for anyone who wants to know about your industry (not just potential customers) by writing new informational pages. This will do two things:

1. Your potential customers can find out about your industry without leaving your site, thus increasing your site’s professionalism and usefulness.

2. Other sites in your industry will start seeing your site as a useful resource to link to. You will become a leader in sharing information about the industry online.

This can only lead to more links, more traffic, and ultimately more people talking about your site.

Exchanging links is a good idea too, but it should only be done if the site is appropriate to link to. Do not link to sites that are unprofessional, or sites that are just a gathering of links (link farms); it will make your site lose its authority.

Finally, there are directories. Directories like www.dmoz.org will link to you if you have good useful content on your site. Even if people do not actually search for your site on those directories the links from them tend to propagate your site throughout the web. Take your time and read the directory’s instructions carefully before submitting. If you submit to them haphazardly, they will simply ignore you.

Search Engine Referrers

Looking at your site’s statistics, you can find out which search engines are sending you the most traffic. Usually the search engines that show up in statistics are Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask Jeeves. Find out with search engine sends you the most traffic, then take a look at what keyphrases the surfers are using to find you. These keyphrases will tell you what your clients are looking for.

For example, here at Red Carpet Web Promotion, we get a lot of searches for carpets. Obviously we do not want or need this traffic, but due to our name it cannot be avoided. For us, it is important to keep track of this "carpet" traffic because it skews our numbers. If traffic doubles one month, is that because our position for "carpets" went up, or is it because our position for "web promotion" went up? It is important for us to figure this out, because if our position for "web promotion" went up but we did not get more sales, than we would need to update our web site to convert these potential clients into paying customers.

By verifying the keyphrases that people are finding you with, you will better understand why people are coming to your site. If you are a plumber and most people find you with the keyphrase "sump pumps", you’d do best to make sure your site, or the section of your site they are arriving at, offers them sump pumps! Likewise, if they are coming from a site that is referring you as a great deep well repair man, than make sure that that section of your site promotes your deep well repairing skills.

Conclusion

Look at your stats regularly, see where your traffic is coming from, and make sure your site caters to these people. If they are coming looking for sump pumps and you do not sell sump pumps, either start selling them, or sell something of value to these people. If you do offer the product that these people are looking for, but they are not buying, than figure out why. Is it your price? Is the shopping cart too complicated? Do people not see the "Buy a Sump Pump Here" link? Figure it out and fix it fast, because the Internet is so fickle that your "sump pump" traffic might be gone next week, and you would have missed out on the easy jackpot.

Shawn Campbell is an enthusiastic player in the ecommerce marketplace, and co-founded Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. He has been researching and developing marketing strategies to achieve more prominent listings in search engine results since 1998. Shawn is one of the earliest pioneers in the search engine optimization field.