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Search engine optimization is the best way to get consistent traffic to your web site without having to continuously invest money in advertising and other forms of marketing and promotion. By optimizing your web sites properly you can bring in a steady flow of traffic and forget about marketing and other annoying and repetitive aspects of online business. In fact, many webmasters spend the majority of their time trying to find more ways to increase their search engine ranking and traffic. Unfortunately, many webmasters don’t realize they’ve already hurt their chances of being as successful online by choosing the wrong web hosting plan. Contrary to popular belief, there is a solid connection between web hosting and search engine optimization.

IP Addresses and SEO

For the advanced SEO expert that routinely does link building through various web 2.0 properties, the most obvious aspect of a web hosting plan that has an impact on SEO is the amount of IP addresses given to each webmaster. When search engines index web pages they do so with automated crawlers that index every aspect of the page and site, including the web site’s IP address. If you own a network of web sites and you would like to build a link network using these sites, then you will need to have a separate IP address for each web site. Fortunately, IP addresses are not a major factor for webmasters that don’t own a lot of web sites that are interlinking in the same niche.

Hosting Reliability and Features

Most people don’t realize that an unreliable hosting network can have a negative impact on a web site’s search engine ranking and site indexing. When your web site is down (as it often may be with unreliable web hosting) search engine robots will be unable to index your new pages. This may have a very negative impact on the amount of pages that are indexed for your site, and how often updated pages are indexed in the search engine results.

A powerful hosting plan will also be able to handle more software installations and tasks, which can be especially useful if you are using automated software for link building or to perform  other mundane tasks involved with SEO.

Robots.txt

The robots.txt file is another overlooked connection between your web hosting plan and your SEO efforts. The robots.txt file is a file that is located on your web server, which dictates how robots (particularly search engine bots) interact with your web site. If the robot.txt file is set to dis-allow all robots then your site will not be able to get ranked by any search engine, leaving you without any form of SEO traffic. Most hosting companies leave this file blank or do not include, so it is important to verify whether or not the robots.txt file is present in the web server that hosts your web site.

The internet industry is one that cannot be taught or learned in a short amount of time. The fact is that most of the people that set out to make money online will fail, unless they already have a product that is popular in the offline market. Those that do succeed from scratch, usually follow a strict game plan and adhere to guidelines set forth by professionals. However, in the world of eCommerce unpredictability is king, and there are few factors that remain constant throughout the course of an internet business.

Factors such as traffic, search engine ranking, page rank, and even returns on investments can vary. Yet there is one part of an online business that will not change, and must be selected carefully upon registering the domain – the extension of the business site itself.

The Significance of a Commercial Domain

Commercial domains (.com sites) are by far the most common kind of websites online, and nearly everyone strives to obtain a .com site before resorting to other alternatives. When a site has the .com extension it immediately is recognized as a professional web presence based on social stigma alone, so it is not surprising to see that the most successful domain names are those that have the .com extension. However, very few people know that the term – .com actually refers to a commercial website, meaning that the site conducts business on a regular basis and was established and developed for commercial reasons. However a .com domain is no the only ideal option when shopping for eCommerce domain names, as there are two other domain extensions that hold authority on the web as well.

.Net Domains for eCommerce

The .net domain extension saw it’s highest point of popularity in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Netscape was still a commonly used browser. However as people began referring to the internet as the web, and the .com craze began, the .net domains quickly faded in popularity and are now rarely seen. The .net extension is used to represent a network, and is commonly used in eCommerce sites that are parent companies to several corporations, such as software companies.

.Org

The .org domains have stayed consistent in their popularity levels and are still commonly used around the world today to represent organizations. The .org domain can be used to represent regular organizations and non-profit organizations. When used to represent profitable organizations these domains often perform at a lower standard than .com and .net domains, however they can still be used to open online shops that represent certain organizations.

.Biz?

Although the .biz domain extension was originally created to represent businesses, there are few people that actually use them for this purpose, as most people view such domains as unprofessional. The .biz domains do not rank well in the search engine and therefore are not he best decision for an online business owner. When searching for a domain name for your online business, ironically it may be best to steer clear of the .biz extension.

If you have been researching search engine optimization for some time now, then you have probably come to the realization that the domain name of a website can be crucial to it’s search engine ranking. In fact, it is possible to bring a site to the very top of the search engine for a specific keyword based on  the name alone. If you can manage to register a domain name that is an exact match to a popular keyword, then you can start seeing an instant flow of traffic with nearly no additional effort. Thus, the power of domain names in search engine optimization should not be underestimated by any means.  The URL of a website is perhaps one of the first factors taken into account by search engine web crawlers.

URL Optimization

The primary goal in URL optimization is to register a domain that will stick in the minds of your visitors, catch on virally, and be pleasing to the search engines. The only way to do this effectively is to execute proper keyword research and then base your domain name on that keyword. However, this will only allow you to target one keyword, as you cannot change your domain name in the future. This means you would need to register a new domain if you want to use the same method on other keywords, even if they pertain to the same niche. Obviously this could become quite costly, especially if you are purchasing .com domains. So what exactly is the solution the?

Keyword Optimized URLs

Instead of a registering a new domain to gain the same benefits of URL optimization, you could simply  create pages on your site that contain the keyword in the URL. For example, if your site is “mynichesite.com” then you could create a page with the URL “mynichesite.com/subniche.” This gives you a substantial opportunity to rank for the keyword “subniche.” This same concept can be applied to to the registration of sub domains, with an even more powerful approach. The following information should help you understand how to piece all of this together for maximum results.

Sub Domain URL Optimizaiton

While creating pages on your site that are URL optimized for a specific keyword may be beneficial, they do not hold as much power as a subdomain that is registered with the same keyword. In the above example, it may be more beneficial to register sub domain on your site by the name of “subniche.mynichesite.com”. Then you could also post pages on that sub domain that target the subniche keyword for example – “subniche.mynichesite.com/subniche” or “subniche.mynichesite.com/howtosubniche” etc etc. Combing the power of the main URL, a sub domain , and a related page is the best way to target specific keywords or sub niches within your niche. This method is recommended is you do not want to purchase a new domain for each subniche you plan to pursue. Securing an excellent domain name should be the first step in anyone’s search engine optimization efforts.

Building backlinks is perhaps one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization in any scenario, as it directly affects the way the search engines view the popularity of your site. Without an adequate amount of backlinks, it is nearly impossible to get the search engine ranking you desire, as your site will simply not have the overall web presence it needs. Building backlinks is also one of the most difficult aspects of search engine optimization as it often requires a lot of manual work. If you are not familiar with the concept of backlinking, then you’ll need to know that a backlink is any link on the web hat links back to your website. The more links there are, the more popular your site appears to be to the search engines.

Proper Link Exchange

It may sound impossible to get a lot of other sites to link back to your site with no experience or connections in the web industry, but it is actually quite possible with the right technique. All you need to do is exchange links with other webmasters in your industry. Simply contact them, and offer to place  their link on your site, if they will do the same for you. You have to remember that it is not the quantity of the backlinks that matters, but the quality. Meaning, your goal is to have backlinks placed primarily on sites that are highly relevant to yours, and that have plenty of incoming traffic. The reason for this is because you want the traffic that is coming through those links to be as targeted as possible. If the traffic is not targeted, then you’ll simply be wasting bandwidth and time, as the traffic coming to your website is simply not going to convert into sales.

Take Your Time

Since there are two different kind of backlinks, the amount of time it takes to build those backlinks varies. If you want high quality backlinks then it will most likely take you several weeks to several months before you have established a healthy amount of backlinks. On the other hand, there are other options for you if you are not concerned about the quality of the backlinks, such as automated software and backlink building services. The problem with the backlink shortcuts are that Google monitors the progression of backlink building closely, and if your site is building too many backlinks too quickly, it can easily become de-indexed from Google.

Link to Your Whole Site

One of the main mistakes people make when building backlinks is using only links to their home page. If you decide to spread only the link to your homepage, then you’ll effectively be promoting only your home page. This means the rest for your site will not get nearly as much search engine traffic, thus minimizing your overall web presence. The best way to drive targeted traffic to your site in large amounts is to have at least 5-10 backlinks to every one of your pages.

Domain names are by far one of the most important aspects of the website industry. Without the right domain name, even the most advanced website will fail to produce results. Web surfers tend to prefer websites that have catchy, easy-to-remember domain names that pertain to a particular keyword or phrase. However this does not mean that a domains value arises from these attributes. In fact the value of a domain really has very little to do with these features. Domain name value is a very complex issue and it should be noted that the real value of a domain can only be decided by the buyer of the domain. As always, what one person may regard as useless, another may find to be priceless. Although there is no way to place an exact value on a domain, there are ways to boost the value of your domain.

Search Engine Optimization

Perhaps the single most important aspect of your domain in regards to value will be it’s search engine ranking It is an undeniable fact that websites that are ranked higher in the search engines, generally tend to sell for more money. The reason for this is obvious. In fact, even domains with terrible names can sell for a good price if they have a solid search engine ranking. One of the most important search engine optimization attributes in regards to domain value is the amount of incoming links your website has. Incoming links, also known as backlinks, are links placed on other websites that lead to your website. Generally the more backlinks your site has the more traffic it will receive. Potential domain buyers are looking for domains that can be acquired and then monetized with as little effort as possible, so high traffic means high value in the domain game.

Domain Age

The age of the domain will also play a tremendous deciding factor in it’s overall value. The older a domain is, the more valuable it is considered. This is because older domains have an established web presence, which means they have had a longer time period to gather traffic enhancing attributes such as backlinks, search engine ranking, and overall popularity and recognition. Newer domains are considered relatively useless because they lack these qualities and are essentially bare projects that would need larger investments to grow. Although this is true in most cases, there are some cases when the name of a domain alone can cause it to sell for a high price. For example, you may own a domain name that matches a popular phrase or slang. Even though the domain name may be brand new and the domain itself is completely blank, the name alone could inspire a more fortunate buyer to spend an exuberant amount of cash for the name alone.

Name Value

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of your domain’s values is it’s name. So, what makes a domain name valuable? Names that are short tend to be more valuable, and names with four letters or less or considered the most valuable. Names that are popular keywords carry a lot of value as well, however any key phrases that contain hyphens should be avoided. Site names with hyphens generally hold a lower value. The extension of your domain name also matters as well, as .com domains tend to sell for more.