For the most part in 2006, the world escaped Natures wrath, but people were far less kind to their neighbors. 2006 is scarred not by the winds and oceans but by political turmoil across the globe. The Middle East quagmire is the epitome of how wrong things can go, with the war in Lebanon, infighting in Palestine, Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Iraq's sectarian violence the deepest scars of 2006 were self inflicted with man being his own enemy. Of course, the Middle East is not alone with it's own self-destruction. Genocide in Chad and Sudan show how truly intolerant the human race really is. North Korea's impatience and nuclear activity have disrupted Asia. In fact, few areas of the world were left unscathed by man's ambitions in 2006.

 

What do you see when you search for your company or brand name? Is there anything on the first page of the search engine results that you wouldn't be proud to display on your home page? Consumer review sites, blogs and forums have made it easy for anyone to say whatever they want about your company, whether they be disgruntled customers or competitors who like to play dirty.

If you're in a situation where 
 

 

While just about everyone agrees that informed key phrase selection is at the core of effective SEO (search engine optimization), many are surprised to find out that the self-same information also guides them to writing more effective sales copy.

How does researching key phrases help the quality of your sales copy? Because, by selecting the correct key phrases and building your copy around them, you'll be answering the questions that are being asked by your potential customers.

 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of methods aimed at improving the ranking of a website in search engine listings. (Wikipedia)

This definition of SEO sounds simple, but beware! Search engine optimization is a minefield, even for professionals, and although necessary to a business, should not be undertaken lightly. Below, is a brief look at the top 10 mistakes and how to correct them.

1. Non-Relevant Linkage.

External links to your site play a large part in most of the major search engine algorithms and can be considered an endorsement of your site.

Link popularity is by far the most important factor for determining your search engine ranking. You need to know what link popularity is, why it is so important, and how Google measures your link popularity (over 50% of all search engine traffic comes from Google, and if you can rise to the top of Google, you will rise to the top of all the other search engines as well). But, before we talk about how Google measures linking, we need to cover some basics.

I've looked at a lot of websites over the years and helped a lot of clients, and I've yet to meet anyone who is totally committed to making their site as successful as it could be.

This is particularly true when it comes to search engine optimization. Most online businesses make a half-hearted attempt to get better search engine rankings, but rarely implement anymore than one or two things that could really help make their site a success.

Anyone who's been in marketing for more than a day understands the value of customer testimonials. Better than any other form of proof (logical argument, data, endorsements), they can prove particular claims that the marketer wants to make about his product

The term "information technology" came about in the 1970s. Its basic concept, however, can be traced back even further. Throughout the 20th century, an alliance between the military and various industries has existed in the development of electronics, computers, and information theory. The military has historically driven such research by providing motivation and funding for innovation in the field of mechanization and computing.

 

The jury of search engine experts over at SEOMoz has weighed in, and here are the top factors affecting search engine placement, according to them, with my comments.

1. Keyword Use in Title Tag
I have said for many years that if I had a gun to my head, and could do only one thing to a web page to optimize it, my choice would be the title tag. Put your keyphrases in your title tag, and remember to optimize each page individually (i.e. don't overstuff your title tag, and have different title tags for each page that reflect the content of that particular page - otherwise, you may suffer from