Ever since whispers of Web 2.0 started in 2004, rumors have
flown fast and furious. Within two weeks of Tim O'Reilly
(founder of O'Reilly Media) coining the phrase, there were
over 100 guesstimated definitions for Web 2.0. So what is
it? Web 2.0 is basically the concept of using the Internet
for bigger business purposes than simple Websites. It
includes a wide range of areas like shared multi media,
social networking, online collaboration and adding the
human factor back in to the Web.
Primary tools of Web 2.0 include video sharing sites such
as YouTube; Wiki sites like Wikipedia; blogs and various
"live face" technologies. We'll cover three of the fastest
and easiest ways to optimize for Web 2.0, beginning with
blogs.
1.) SEO for Blogs
Optimizing a blog is one of the absolute best ways to
capture Google's most coveted top spots very quickly. You
can hit number 1 on Google in a matter of days. Here's how
you do it...
a.) First, find a good blogging tool. There are plenty out
there. I use WordPress (http://www.WordPress.org.) I
originally picked it because it was so quick and easy to
setup. And soon I realized the platform does 50% of SEO by
its very nature. It's free and you can get thousands of
themes, to fit any style you wish, also for free.
b.) Next, make sure your hosting provider can support your
blog. I've never seen one that can't. If you are starting
fresh, do a Google search for "WordPress blog hosting" and
you'll find great packages that only cost $25 for a whole
year. Just avoid the freebie hosts since you are almost
guaranteed to be sharing server space (and likely an IP
range) with sites banned by Google, which can cost you your
ranking.
c.) Once your blog app is installed, turn on the
"permalink" option from the control panel. This ensures
each posting you enter will also get its own URL. And
finally, start entering postings of 200 words or more,
focusing on only one or two keywords per post. Try to begin
each post title with the primary keyword for that topic.
d.) To best optimize your keywords and content follow the
steps outlined in SEO cbt's release "Google Domination"
(http://www.SEOcbt.com). This is a free computer based
training module for SEO do it yourselfers that works
extremely well. It was not written specifically for blogs
but all the information is perfectly suited to them.
Inside Tip: Register your domain name for a five year
period or longer. Just extend it if needed. Google has been
known to check "whois" records and assumes the longer the
domain is registered in advance, the more "real" the site
is.
2.) SEO for YouTube Videos
YouTube accounts for more than 60% of ALL online videos
watched in the US. And your YouTube videos can be found in
Google's search results just like any normal Web page. This
means they can rank number 1 in just days, with the right
SEO.
If you're looking to capitalize on SEO for Web 2.0, this is
a fast and free way to do it. I won't get into how to
upload the videos and optimize the frame size, etc. That
said; let's assume you have signed up for your free account
at YouTube.com and are ready to upload your first video
using their easy to follow instructions. This is all the
SEO you need to know...
a.) When forming your title, think in terms of "long tail"
keywords, meaning keyword phrases of three or more words.
Be sure these are in the same order people would search for
them (eg/ "long tail keywords" not "keywords long tail.")
Also try to anticipate what the user will type in his
search. "How to" is one of the most common search phrases
people use in Google and YouTube to get answers quick.
b.) Think of "tags" as keywords and enter them like you
would the Meta keyword tag of a web page. Select only the
most likely search terms people are using and keep the
words in the order people use them. Don't just use random
words separated by commas. Use full length search phrases
exactly how people search for them. And don't go too crazy
here. Excessive tags tend to confuse the YouTube engine.
Incidentally, if you have "how to" as a tag, also add
"howto" (without the space.) If "how to" returns a bunch of
unrelated junk your "howto" tag can better cut to the chase
in YouTube's search engine.
c.) The description is where you have the most freedom.
It's best to begin the description with your main keyword
(and title) as close to the beginning as possible.
Something like this works well... "Learn how to..." then
follow up with several sentences rich in long tail keywords
(the same ones from your tags.) Grammar is not the most
important thing in the world but try to make it friendly
for people who might read the description before they
decide to watch the video. Also remember that Google uses a
natural text algorithm that can spot unnatural keyword
spamming a mile away.
Real Life Example: I just saw a commercial on TV for a spy
movie and someone threw a knife. I went to Google and
entered "how to throw a knife" (without quotes.) The top
three matches include a YouTube video and Wiki entry. Wow!
Welcome to Web 2.0!
3.) SEO Using "Live Face" Technology
One of the biggest reasons for the dot com crash of '01 was
that Websites became way too impersonal. One of Web 2.0's
strengths is the ability to help people relate to people
once again. And one of the hottest technologies leading the
way is "Live Face."
Live Face allows a video spokesperson to meet, greet and
inform your Web page visitors. As far as SEO benefits, any
sort of video has usually involved heavy RealTime or Flash
files that block search engine spiders and hurt rankings.
Now however, there are services like Live Face for Web
(http://www.LivefaceForWeb.com) that can add full length
videos to your site without it interfering with onsite SEO
one bit (due to the file's location) while greatly
enhancing offsite efforts such as acquiring the highest
quality one way and reciprocal links.
Most sites employing this technology report conversion
increases of up to 5x. This means they are converting up to
five times the number of sales they did before using Live
Face technology.
Real Life Example: The SEOcbt.com site mentioned earlier
uses Live Face for Web and they hit number one on Google
for all of their major keywords within two weeks of site
launch.
That's a good start to SEO for Web 2.0. Good luck!
----------------------------------------------------
Mike Small is a ten year veteran SEO specialist with
thousands of top search engine rankings to his credit. He
is the author of seven SEO books and founder of
http://www.SEOpartner.com
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