One of the most often asked questions we receive as Affiliate Managers is in regard to Affiliates wanting to make their own sites to promote DentalPlans.com and how to go about it. The best way to do this is to make your site utilizing SEO.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making your site friendly to search engines. Search Engine Positioning (SEP) is the methodical process of informing search engines as to your site's existence. Performing SEO and SEP requires you to look at your website from the point of view of internet users trying to find services, products and/or information like that available on your website. It also helps to be familiar with some of the underlying technologies of search engines - but this is not a critical requirement for performing SEO and SEP.
The majority of websites are found through search engines. Because "web searches" search databases of information rather than the web itself, you need to drive visitors to your site through the search engines' information databases. Although optimizing your site and strategically submitting is time-consuming, it is a traceable method of attracting the self-qualified customer.
Here are the basic components to building SEO:
Build a Search Engine Friendly Frame
- Flat directory structure (One page linking to the next and not one inside the other)
- Keyword stuffed file, directory, and image names (Use the dental related keywords you want to emphasize for that page)
- Homepage has links to every important page on the site
- No broken links
- Develop a sitemap (A page with a listing of all the pages on your site, usually broken down by category)
Use the correct interactive and development features
- Pages generated from user input cause problems
- No Frames
- Use very little in the way of Flash, Java, Animations
- No intro or splash pages
Build Search Engine Friendliness into the Source Code
- Each page has its own Title (Think of using keywords here as well. Words like Dental Plan, Dental Coverage, Individual Dental Care)
- Specific Meta tags on each page
- Use Image Alt tabs
- Basically each page should be tailored to a specific keyword so that when the search engine's program views it you'll have a better chance to rank under that word or phrase
To see what we are referring to, please go to our home page, www.DentalPlans.com, once there please right click on your mouse and select ‘view source'. A new window will open and you will see the html code for our home page. There you will quickly see our title, which is keyword rich, and if you scan down a short distance to about the 6 th line or so, you will find our meta tags with the keywords we are using for that page.
More Hint and Tips
Place links at the bottom of your pages that link to different spots around your site and call these links keywords like dental plans, dental insurance, dental care, dental coverage. These pages should feature that word along with content that relates to the subject. This can be as little as a couple of sentences.
For more info and for a place to start a discussion about techniques and strategies please visit www.DentalPlanAffiliate.com and join the forum there. |
