AxleIt : The Business Technology Group

Importance of HTML and XML sitemaps

Like many others you also want to increase your online presence, developing an HTML sitemap and a XML sitemap for your website are some of the right steps in this direction. Besides, it will also add value in SEO, which in turn will help bring your website onto the first page of leading search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. Submitting sitemap to various search engines confirms that you also exist in World Wide Web.

Sitemaps are basically of two types-HTML and XML. An HTML sitemap is one that offers a directory sort of thing comprising all the pages present in your website. On the other hand your XML sitemaps helps search engine in crawling diverse pages of your site. In the below given content we are discussing the various advantages of developing HTML and XML sitemap, and how to create them using sitemap generator.

HTML Sitemaps

It is a single page comprising links to all the pages related to your website. Generally, it is shown on every page and accessed through link in your site footer. A well developed sitemap helps visitors visiting your site access the right page they are looking for, while if your HTML sitemap lacks quality, visitors will face problems searching right page and content. In such a situation, they may be forced to look for other options.

Even from an SEO perspective HTML sitemap is of immense importance, using sitemap search engine’s robot crawls your website’s pages easily and brings them in the search result. Thus your website gets exposed regularly to millions of visitors. For more clear picture on the HTML sitemap you can also have a glance at the IT companies offering sitemap development through search engines , there you will notice that each page on the website comprises a link to this page in the footer.

XML Sitemaps

HTML sitemaps are tailor made for human visitors visiting your website, while XML sitemaps are created keeping in view the technical requirements of search engines. It has been found that popular search engines like Google and Yahoo use XML sitemaps in their search process for indexing the pages of websites. A well designed XML sitemap will easily converse search engine-what kinds of pages are there in your website, when and how often those pages are updated and when they were last modified? This will help search engine in doing indexing job more accurately and deciding which page to revisit regularly.

Given below is an example of the XML you would like to integrate in your XML sitemap:

<url>

<loc>yoursitedomain/index.htm</loc>

<lastmod>2009-03-05</lastmod>

<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>

<priority>1.0</priority>

</url>

If you analyse above example, you will notice, we have provided details concerning the last modified date (<lastmod), the frequency regarding updating (<changefreq>) and the priority of this page with respect to the other pages of the website (<priority>).

Tip: Don’t indulge in unethical practice in giving information in your website’s sitemap. Enter accurate information in your website’s sitemap, otherwise your website will be shown less often in the search results of diverse search engines.

Creating both HTML and XML Sitemaps

Creating HTML sitemaps is similar to creating a basic HTML page containing links to all the pages of your website. Remember whenever you are creating a new page for your website, you must add those links on the sitemap of your website without fail. Although creating XML sitemaps is not only challenging and time consuming manually but you can also collect information on this key subject browsing leading search engines like Google, you can select paid or free information on the subject as per your convenience.

Frequency of submitting sitemap

In case if you are updating information regularly on your website’s web pages then you should update your sitemap more frequently. Keep on updating and submitting your sitemap regularly on search engines, this will increase your exposure on world wide web.

Conclusion

If you are interested in increasing your online presence then give due importance to both HTML as well as XML sitemaps. It will improve your search engine ranking that in turn will offer you more exposure on World Wide Web and business. But apart from HTML and XML sitemaps, there are many more things involved in the search engine optimization.

priyank Search Engine Optimization brisbane SEO, html sitemap, SEO, website optimisation, xml sitemap

Content and Its importance

While developing your website focus on quality of content as it is one of the essential components of website. Give equal importance to each and every web page of your website, think it may lose or capture audience. Writing paragraph after paragraph will not inspire visitors to read the web page, it is the quality of content and manner in which you have written the content that matters. In this article we are covering some of the key guidelines to help in writing web content for your website, these are:

Communicative Headings

It has been found that visitors decide to read your web page generally after having a quick look at a heading or two. Before deciding on headline, consider which headline will be more attentive:

• PHP solutions for the web

• Three eCommerce PHP Solutions for the Web

Although both could be headings for the same content but the second heading has a better chance to attract attention as it points what will follow next. Besides, it also specifies a level of expertise. Keeping headings short helps visitors scan and infer content in advance. You can also add subheading in the content if required, it will make reading more interesting, and moreover visitors can read content of their application and leave the rest.

Conclude and expand

Remember your website is not only for unwearied visitors but also for impatient readers, clearly state what your content has primarily in the  first few lines. This will give clear picture about the web page and force visitors to read further.

Effective bullets lists

Content in bullets form looks concise and easy to understand but don’t forget if you add too many bullets, it will lose the interest of the visitors. In case if you think you want to add more than 10 bullets, add subheadings. Visitors can jump from one bullet to another in accordance to their interest.

Be clear in your concept and give concise

Remember time is precious, whether your visitors are looking for business, sports or information but they don’t have plenty of time to visit your website. Be very clear in your concept and give concise and to the point information about your business in your website.  Unnecessary content may force your visitors to jump to your competitors’ website, for instance in place of “pink in color”-you can just say pink.  Also avoid repeating content, whatever content/issue you have discussed earlier should be avoided in the future content. When writing content use present indefinite and continuous tense but passive voice.

Audience specific content

In order to judge the quality of your content and targeted audience-you can also ask people from your social circle to read and tell their opinion. This is one of the key exercises you can carry out to know and understand your audience. Whether you want to sell a product or disseminate Information on education-speak with your audience first before coming to any conclusion. If you are targeting students use student centric language, avoid using literary or philosophical terms, this is one of the ways to attract audience and repeat visitors. Don’t use content or links that may distract your visitors or targeted audience.

Be specific about links

While adding link to your website, make sure that these are different from the text of your website, it will assist visitors in properly scanning your web pages.  Use short heading or sentence for “click here” option, for example instead of saying click here to read more just say read more.  For content that has two or above pages, use click for part 2 or web development tips. This will compel readers to read further.

Proofread and make content error free

you may think it is ok to have 5% to 10% grammar error in the content but it will create bad impression on many visitors. There are people who are fond of prudence, for them quality matters, you may lose such visitors.  To attract and retain such visitors you should read your web content two to three times before integrating it on the website.  Check your content for spelling and grammar, also for flow and connectivity.

Conclude leaving curiosity

You may think it unwanted but it is nice to close the content of the web page summarizing key points. And if you think you want your visitors to read some more related or remaining content, leave some hint for them.

Once you know what you want to offer to your readers, and the requirements of your readers, you are in a better position to make your website and business successful.

admin Content Development content development, content write brisbane, how to, seo brisbane, website content

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priyank General

As traffic over the internet increases and more people start using search engines to find useful information, the use of local search engines is becoming more important and continues to rise. Any website or service provider who services local or limited geographical areas should seriously consider local search engine optimisation.

What is Local Search?

Local Search uses specific and specialised search engines, commonly known as directories, which are used to focus on a selected geographic region to find local businesses and websites focused on your area.

Local Search directories allow users to select their location, and narrow their search by categories until they find the listing they want. Google works as a local search directory, for example, when you search on Google using a geographic modifier or search phrase like “outsource bookkeeping Brisbane”, a map appears with results specific to that location. You can also take it one step further and search Google Local specifically. Many local web directories provide a basic free listing with a paid advantage listing option.

Where is the Best Place to be Listed?

There are some places where local service providers don’t want to miss such as Google Local.

priyank Search Engine Optimization Australian search company, local search optimization, local website optimization

Landing Pages are lead generators or revenue makers in online marketing. On a landing page a visitor clicks on an advertisement or search engine result to bring up a seller’s website.

A landing page can be an advertisement or link, that is optimised to feature specific keywords or phrases for indexing by search engines. In pay per click (PPC) campaigns, a landing page is modified so that an advertisement’s effect can be counted.

There are two types of landing pages: orientational and transactional. Orientational landing pages show information in the form of display text, images, dynamic compilations of relevant links, or other elements. The effectiveness of reference landing pages is measured by revenue earned by the advertisements displayed on the landing page.

Transactional landing pages are designed to get information from a visitor by persuading them to complete a transaction such as filling out a form or interacting with advertisements or other objects on the landing page. This landing page achieves its ultimate goal of direct or ultimate trade of a product or service. The efficiency of transactional landing pages is measured through the conversion rate, that is, the percentage of visitors who have acted on the desired purpose for what a transactional landing page was formed.

priyank Search Engine Optimization landing page optimisation

There are six main steps in undertaking Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):

1) Mapping out a keyword strategy 

2) Optimising the website structure 

3) Developing optimised web pages and content 

4) Link building and promotion campaign 

5) Analyse result 

6) Refine result

 The first step towards a SEO campaign is Keyword Analysis and mapping it with the website theme and content. There are many tools available over the internet for keyword analysis, which can be easily found on Google. However, the major issue is the cost of those tools. Costs can vary from around US$60 per month to several hundred dollars per year.

What if you know how to analyse keywords for your websites?

You can analyse your website’s keywords using free tools such as:

 (a) Google external keyword tool    or    (b) word tracker free tool.

When you plan a new website, you want to take your main keyword phrase (which should represent the theme of the site), and break it up into sub-phrases that have less competition. You can do this with Google’s external keyword tool. When you get the tool on your screen you can enter your keyword phrase in the box to the right, then hit the “Get Keyword Ideas” button.

Steps for keyword analysis: 

1) Brainstorming to find out related keyword and phrases for website 

2) Determine core keywords related to your website theme

3) Make clusters of keywords, then dilute them using some low profile keywords 

4) Add this cluster to you web pages and articles.

priyank Search Engine Optimization seo analysis, seo keyword analysis

Webmasters are always concerned about attracting more traffic towards their websites. There are many ways to do this, but the most important way is link building i.e. to attract links from the related websites. It is important not only to attract many links but good quality links.

You need to consider the following points when attempting to attract links:

1)    Domain Age and Page Authority: Try to get links from high “authority” websites i.e. from higher page rank website. “Authority” websites have more weight than links from lesser-known websites.

2)    Relativity: The best links should come from websites which are related to your website’s theme.

3)    The anchor text should include keywords that relate to the topic covered on the web page that is being linked to. Anchor text should be varied; links that all have the same anchor text will appear manipulated and contrived to the search engines.

4)    Position of links on the page also count. Some search experts claim that footer links carry less value than links which are integrated into the actual web page content.

5)    Deep linking appears more natural to search engines. The links should direct visitors to a related page within the website. Do not make the mistake of directing all of the web links to a website’s home page.

6)    Links should come from a variety of sources. Fewer links from a larger number of websites will generally “weigh” more than a large number of links from a small number of websites.

7)    It is more likely that links containing surrounding text are more likely to be relevant, and as a result those links tend to be worth more.

priyank Search Engine Optimization link building, link building strategy, perfect linking

ALT tags are placed inside your HTML code as a text description for a graphic or image that appears on a web page. When spider crawls are performed, these ALT tags will allow the spiders to ‘see’ the image as indexable content. Text will pop-up when the mouse hovers over the graphic or image on the page.
The idea of alternative text is to provide a textual replacement for pictures (images) - a replacement that conveys the same thing as is communicated to a sighted user seeing the image.
The SEO practitioner should use ALT text in the manner in which it was designed to be used by the W3C: to describe the image. Then, they can include the keyword phrase in one or two images on the page, if appropriate.

ALT Text / ALT tag Tips . . .

1. Remember that the purpose of ALT text is to describe the image for the benefit of those who surf the Web with images turned off and for those who have the contents of Web pages read out loud to them. The WC3 highly recommends that Web site owners use ALT text to describe images.

2. Use your keyword phrase in one or two instances of ALT text on the page - no more. Use moderation in everything you do in search engine optimisation.

3. Don’t use text that is non-relevant to the imageJerry West adds, “Give the visitor information that is worthwhile, especially for the visually impaired.”

priyank Search Engine Optimization ALT tag SEO, SEO ALT attribute

The economic recession is resulting in more self employment. Starting an online business can be low risk because the start up costs are less, the overhead is low, and the returns can be high. Like any other business, success is dependant on time, effort, marketplace and how viable the business idea is.
The Internet is rife with exorbitant claims of how much money can be made as an online entrepreneur and that you can be making a huge income by next week. Remember, most “overnight” successes are actually years in the making, and online businesses are no exception to this rule.
Here are some steps to follow to test your idea without breaking the bank:

1. Research your Business Line :  Brainstorm and found out the list of keywords someone might use to find the product/service that you’re offering.  Once you have a list of keywords, conduct searches (use quotation marks around your search term for stronger results) in Google, Yahoo, and MSN to see who else is out there.
2. Monetize the Idea : After completing your research, have you discovered enough competitors in the marketplace who are making money from doing something similar? If so, how are they making money — is it from the sale of info products, consulting services, subscription to their site, advertising, etc? If you don’t see much competition, that usually means one of two things:
a. There’s not enough demand for the product/idea or
b. You’re ahead of the curve in seeing the profit potential.
Unfortunately, in most cases, that result means that there’s not enough demand for your idea in the way that it’s been presented.
3. Test your Keywords : The idea here is to begin to establish your online presence and your online brand.The easiest way to test your idea is by creating a blog. Buy a keyword-rich domain name for the blog and map your blog to that domain. Then begin to blog about your insights on your topic, or reprint articles others have written on your subject.
4. Build a List : Once you’ve got a blog set up, you need to begin to build your marketing list. The easiest way to do this is to create a free giveaway on your site (ebook, video, report, audio recording) and a form for the visitor to input his name and email address to receive your giveaway.
5. Drive Traffic : Once you build your blog, they (visitors) won’t come without some encouragement. Create profiles on prominent social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Start writing articles about your topic and submittíng those to article directories. Discover if your target market hangs out on niche-specific social networking sites and start networking there.

priyank General brisbane SEO, online business

The Transit layer is a visual overlay of public transit options on Google Maps, which offer an alternative to driving directions wherever possible. The next time you visit London and want to visit the Tate Modern, you can simply search for [Tate Modern] on Google Maps, and then click on “More” and activate “Transit” to see nearby tube stations and which lines serve them. You can even click on a station and see which transit lines are passing through right now. The layer is available for 50 cities around the world, including Chicago, Dallas, London, Madrid, Paris, San Francisco and Seattle, and you can find schedule data and itineraries for any transportation agencies that are part of Google Transit.

Source: Google Newsletter

priyank General google map, transit layer