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| How do I access/pay my Hosting account? |
On the left hand side of every page within
this website, you will find a list of primary links located within
a blue box. Within that list is a Link entitled “Client Login”.
This link will take you directly to the login page for your account.
Once there you will be asked to enter your login name and your password.
After you have successfully entered this, you will have full access
to your account. The login is case sensitive, so be careful when you
login! If you have any questions, problems or concerns, contact customer
support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (480) 624-2500, or see the
Newt Media Inc. Online
Support forum.
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| General Information about Search Engines
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As you know, there are millions of web sites on
the Internet. Most people utilize Internet search aids to navigate
through these pages to find specific information they need. All Internet
Search aids have databases that people query when they would like
to find information. Most people mistakenly call all search aids “search
engines”. There are, In fact, four different kinds of search aids:
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Search Engines – search
engines databases are developed using robots called “spiders”
or “crawlers” to move across the web, find web pages
and bring back copies of those web pages to deposit in the database.
The spiders then create lists of key words found on the web
pages of a particular website using invisible coding embedded
in the website. Each of those codes is known as a “meta
tag”. These meta tags, in addition to various other criteria,
are then used to rank each webpage according to the relevance
of the user’s query (more on this later). Examples of
search engines include Google, Teoma and Inktomi. |
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Directories – Directories are “human
powered”. In other words, human editors compile the databases
of directories by manually collecting websites and placing them
into categories. Because directories and search engines have
different database development processes, a search done on both
will usually return different results. Examples of directories
include Yahoo and LookSmart. |
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Hybrids – Most Internet search aides
are hybrids, i.e. their results are derived from both a search
engine and a directory. Usually a hybrid depends more heavily
on one type of search aid than another. MSN Search, for example,
is a hybrid though it is classified as a directory. Its primary
results (i.e. the results that it depends upon the most) are
from LookSmart (a directory). Its secondary or “fall through
results” are from Inktomi, a search engine. |
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Meta Search Engines – These are search
engines that search numerous search engines simultaneously.
Dogpile.com is an example of a meta search engine |
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| For the sake of simplicity, these four types of
Internet search aids will collectively be referred to as “search
engines” throughout the remainder of this section, except in
such cases where it is important to draw a distinction. |
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| What are Keywords? |
Thoroughly researched key words are the foundation
of a well-constructed web site. In essence, key words are the words
that your potential customers would use to find you when performing
an Internet search. Key words appear in multiple places on your website
including the content of your site, and in the title, description
and keywords tags of your HTML coding. Search engines use these words,
in addition to other factors,
to determine if your site is relevant to the query that a search engine
user is performing.
The point in analyzing and researching your keywords is to ensure
that you are using the words that your customers most often use when
they are looking for information related to your business. Very often
different people will use different words when searching for the same
services. For example, if someone wanted a website designed they may
search the Internet using the words Web design, Website design, or
Web Site Design. Though all of the terms are very similar, search
engines will view them as completely different terms. Not all keywords
are utilized in searches with the same frequency, thus it is important
that you select the Keywords that will give you the most exposure
on the Internet. This can increase the visibility of your site in
the search engine results. In addition, Keywords can sometimes be
helpful in determining areas of content development that are of interest
to your client base. |
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| What is Search engine optimization and
why is it important? |
Search engine optimization is the process
of designing or altering your web site so that it will rank high in
search engine queries. This includes using the appropriate keywords
and having well written meta tags and content,
as well as using design techniques that are search engine friendly
(i.e., not using frames or splash pages, or using work-arounds).
Search engine optimization is a crucial component of the long term
success of your site. Unless your potential clients know your web
address and are looking specifically for your site, they will most
likely do use a search
engine to do a general search for the services they are
seeking. A site that has been optimized will receive a higher relevancy
score than a site that has not. Consequently it will be ranked higher
in the search engine's results, which means that it is more likely
to be seen. If, for example, someone conducted a search using the
term "red buttons" and received 1500 hits, it is very unlikely
that they would look at all 1500 of them; most of us don't have that
much time. It is far more likely that they would look at the top 25
hits, and even more likely that they will look at the lop 10. Search
engine optimization can provide improved visibility for your site
and thus increase your site's traffic tremendously.
Be aware that when your site is optimized, it is optimized for specific
keywords. Thus if someone is searching for "web design",
the will not pull up sites that use "web site design" or
"web page design". Thus, keyword research
and analysis for your web site is absolutely
critical. In addition, be aware that there are a number of factors
that determine where a particular site
is placed. |
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| What is search engine submission? |
Search engine submission is the process through
which you make various search engines and directories aware of the
existence of your site. The goal for any person or organization that
has a website is to provide a tightly focused website that is aesthetically
appealing and rich with appropriate content. Unfortunately, this alone
will not bring web surfers to your site. There are literally millions
of web sites on the Internet. How will web surfers find your site
amongst this sea of other web sites? Most people use Search engines.
Search engines cut through this enormous sea of websites and help
users to find the sites that are most likely to match what they are
searching for. It is estimated that well over 315 million searches
are performed daily. To ensure that your site gets noticed, you must
submit your site to search engines and directories. Note that simply
submitting a site does not ensure that it will be accepted and listed.
Having a site that is well constructed, search-engine friendly, with
high quality content, and properly researched keywords is a prerequisite
that will help to ensure that your website gets listed. This, in turn,
will drive more traffic to your site.
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| How does a web site get listed on search
engines or directories? |
Search engines are in the business
of providing information to people who are seeking it. Thus it is
in their best interest to have high quality websites listed in their
databases. There are a number of ways a site can be listed in a search
engine:
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Natural selection – As
spiders crawl across the web, they make note of sites that are
popular or heavily used. If your site has a tremendous amount
of traffic, it is only a matter of time before your site is
indexed (or added to the database of) one of the major search
engines. If your site does not have a lot of traffic, there
is no telling when and if your site will be indexed. This is
the least effective way of getting your site listed. |
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Free Search engine submission – as
mentioned previously, search engines are in the business of
providing information. Thus, most search engines and directories
have a section where you can submit your website in its entirety
or submit individual URLs to the search engine for free. If
you utilize this method of getting your site listed, there is
no guarantee that your site will be added to the database of
the search engine. If it does appear, there is no way of telling
how long it will take for your site to appear there. If your
site is approved (and most well designed sites are) it may take
a few weeks to a number of months for your site to appear in
the results offered by the search engine. |
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Pay for inclusion – With this method,
search engines will guarantee that your site is indexed within
a given time frame (usually 3 to 5 working days) for a fee.
The fee will generally cover you for a specific amount of time
(this varies by search engine). This method can save a website
owner a great deal of time and aggravation. The fees of many
of the major search engines are pretty reasonable, and if you
expect a significant portion of your business to come from the
web, it may be worth the investment. This method will not guarantee
where your site will appear. Thus your site could appear at
the beginning, middle, or end of the list of results for a particular
search. |
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Pay for placement – This method will
guarantee that you will be placed in a top position of search
results for a specific key word or key word phrase for a fee.
This can take two forms: sponsored links, or pay-per-click.
Sponsored links are somewhat like paid advertisements: after
paying a fee, a link to your website will appear in a sections
above the “normal” search engine results. This section
is usually marked “sponsored links”. For an example
of this see Google.com, Teoma.com, or Yahoo.com. Related to
the Pay-for-placement method is the Pay-per-click method. Here
individuals bid on actual placement in the search results for
a specific term. The highest bid gets the highest placement,
the second highest get the second placement, and so forth. Each
time a person clicks on a company’s link, that company
pays their bid amount to the search engine. This method can
get very expensive, particularly when one considers that there
is no telling how long a person viewing your site will stay
or if they will utilize your services. |
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| What determines where your website is placed
in a search engine? |
Each search
engine has its own ideas about which aspects of a website
are important. As a result each search engine has its own method of
determining the relevance that a website has to a particular search.
This relevance decides where a website will fall in the list of search
engine results – the higher the relevance, the higher the position
a website will occupy. Some of the factors that help decide placement
are:
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Key
words – when a user
searches the Internet for information, certain terms are more
frequently used than others. For example, some one looking to
have a logo or brochure designed might use the term “graphic
design” or “graphic designer”. Lets assume
that the first term however has been used in a search 3642 times
in the past 60 days, whereas the latter has been used 871 times.
That is a difference of 2771 potential visitors to your site.
Though these terms are very similar in meaning (or perhaps in
the intent of the user), they are, in fact, 2 different terms.
Thus if a user uses the term “graphic design” instead
of “graphic designer”, sites that use “graphic
design” will have a higher placement. |
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Meta tags – invisible tags in your
website’s coding that help describe your site. These tags
include keyword tag, title tag, description tag, and heading
tag. How these tags are written, and what key words are used
are critical to a webpage’s ranking. |
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Keyword location – where your keywords
appear in your Meta tags and content. Your keywords should appear
as close to the beginning of your meta tags and content as possible.
Search engines will sometimes lower your relevancy score if
they are further away. |
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Keyword density or Keyword Repetition –
how may time does your keyword appear in your Meta tags and
content? If it appears too many times, search engines will consider
it spamming and your site will be penalized. If it does not
appear often enough, the relevancy score for your site will
be low. |
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Content – Websites that are full of
high quality content that is tightly focused generally tend
to fare better than site with poor content, content that is
too broad, or content that has little relevance to the user’s
search. |
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Link popularity - when a spider indexes a
site, it makes a note of all of the text and links listed on
that site. When measuring links, they make note of all incoming
and outgoing links. A site that has many links pointing to it
is assumed to be popular and is given a higher relevancy score.
Please note that not all links are judged equally. Any site
that links to you may affect your site. If that site is judged
to be a poor site, then a link from that site negatively impacts
your site. |
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