The Eberly Systems website continues to grow and improve! Currently ranking in the 88th percentile of all ranked sites, EberlySystems.com has grown from an unheard of byway to a budding hub of Internet information – thank you for your part in that!
Recent Score at WebsiteGrader.com
But the big question on everyone’s tongue these days is – “How?” How do you grow your site? How do you attract more and NEW visitors? How do you develop a thriving online community? How do you “optimize” your site for Search Engine and Keyword results?
There are many firms that offer SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for your website at very high prices, guaranteeing 1st page (or “top 100″) results within a certain time period. But how many of us actually want to (or are ABLE to) throw $3000-$8000 into an internet marketing campaign? Probably not too many…
For all of my readers who appreciate the expertise and experience that Eberly Systems offers, I’ve included a few suggestions. You don’t need to invest in a massive Internet Marketing blitz, and you don’t need to contract a fly-by-night (or by day) SEO firm (although you can contract ES if you want 
) – I’ve broken the basics down into a few short items that EVERY webmaster should be aware of and integrate into their site, and if you pay attention to them, and are patient and meticulous, your back-water Custom Fishing Lure.com or Blue Widgets By Billy.com website could be tomorrows feature. Really. It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense and a little time!
I’ve compiled a short list of basic techniques that will go a long way for your website or blog. Here are the basics – we’ll expound on them in more detail through a series of more detailed blogs.
- It needs to look good. If it hurts your eyes or overloads your brain, no one will stay, and no one will check back.
- It needs to make sense. Make a “Site Plan” and stick to it. You want a simple, basic and logical hierarchical structure of pages that allows people to find what they want in just a few clicks.
- It needs to SAY SOMETHING! It can look good and be laid out well, but if it doesn’t SAY ANYTHING or HAVE ANYTHING, no one is going to stay.
- Pay attention to behind-the-scenes information. Meta tags, Titles and Alternate Text for images and links are all very important, both for Search Engine indexing AND users without the ability to view images.
- Learn the basics of HTML, and use them properly. You don’t NEED to know what Heading Tags do and how they work to make a nice looking site, but you’d be surprised what the proper use of them will do for your Search Rankings!
- Don’t get caught up in fancy “SEO” techniques. Gateway pages, massive link exchange/farming, hidden text, keyword planting, etc. – the Big 3 (Google/Yahoo/Bing) invest a lot of money and time in keeping results “authentic”, and as such, yesterdays “quick fix” for top results is todays “instant ban” no-no. Some of them work (with very discerning use), some of them don’t at all, some of them hurt you – it’s not worth it.
There are many more that could be inserted here, but these are just a few basics. Over the next several weeks I will explore these and other basics in more detail. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions regarding these or other Website / Network topics, contact me through our Contact page, or simply comment on this (or any) post. We love getting feedback as well!
