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I-SALES HELP DESK / WEB REVIEW
"Data -> Information -> Knowledge -> Wisdom"
List Moderator: Eva Rosenberg
E-Mail mailto:evarose@mmgco.com
Published by: AudetteMedia
URL: http://www.audettemedia.com
DATE 9/16/99
Issue # 445
"Why Web Pages Are Like Lottery Tickets"
~ Rod Aries
From: mailto:howtointernet@home.com
Subject: "Why Web Pages Are Like Lottery Tickets."
HOW DO WEB PAGES REALLY WORK?
DETAILS This article discusses web strategies... "Why Web Pages Are Like Lottery Tickets."
OK, so you finally broke down and decide to not only get onto the net, but to actually get your own domain. Now you have to construct your site. You wonder will one or two pages do the trick. The answer... NOPE!
Let's take a look at an example: assume the lottery is $20M and you decide to go out and purchase a single $1 ticket. You now have one chance to win $20M - Wahoo! Now assume, the same $20M lottery and you own $10 in lottery tickets. You don't have to be a math major to see you have 10 chances to win $20M. Of course, it still is luck and a random drawing.
This same logic applies to web pages. When you perform a search for any typical keyword, it is not unusual to find hundreds of thousands (OR MORE) of pages for YOUR keyword. And if you have one page, well it is tough, just one page fighting against thousands, millions of pages. Top ranked pages generally have a certain keyword density, plus skillfully crafted meta keywords, meta descriptions, alt-tags, meta titles, and carefully sculpted HTML source code and structural layout. Hard to get all that in one web page for a keyword.
But, how many people have just ONE keyword they want people to search for? Most people want to be found on any keyword search that even remotely relates to their product or service.
Take a long distance web site - what keywords might apply?
How about these keywords for the example long distance site? Interstate, intrastate, international, 1+, switched, phone, rates, calls, calling, toll free, toll-free, inbound, outbound, ATT, MCI, telephone, lines, cheap, discount, low... well you get the idea.
And I have just started with the relevant keywords, there are more, lots more.
OK, so now you have one page and a few keywords. Hmm, do you think that one page is going to rank for one keyword, let alone all keywords. Remember, if you do a search for "long distance" you get 1M pages, a search for toll free your get 500,000 pages, a search for toll-free you get 200,000 pages... it is a jungle out there.
And what if a person does a search for "vanity toll free numbers?" Gosh, I didn't list "vanity" or "numbers" in my keyword list, how am I going to compete with a site that talks about nothing but "vanity tollfree 800 888 877 telephone numbers at low rates for all your interstate telephone calls?"
You ask yourself, "How am I going to compete?" You have to build your site around two perspectives. One, the natural layout and flow of your site; and two, the concepts of your site. You have to have pages that flow naturally so humans can find what they want and, second, you have pages that allow for concentrated usage of your keywords to reinforce to the engines what you are about, i.e., more lottery tickets.
Do you know what the difference is between lottery tickets and web pages is... Lottery tickets are luck, web pages are skill...
Make sense?
So if it gets down to spending a few extra dollars on lottery tickets, or a few on improving your site, you are going to get more return on your site...
Copyright 1997-99 HowToInternet.com
At your service,
Rod Aries, How To Internet Your Business
Our last two clients had over 600 top 20 rankings for their
keywords... yep, 600+
~
http://www.howtointernet.com/?600
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