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Home » Computers And Internet Articles » 21 Search Engine Terms Every Web Marketer Should Know Part 1

21 Search Engine Terms Every Web Marketer Should Know Part 1.

1. Search Engine - Is a database of web sites that is ranked according to the computerized criteria that the programmers decide upon called an algorithm. Various search engines determine ranking on their own different factors of importance or relevancy. For the last few years the Google search engine was the most popular search engine supplying the search results for Yahoo and to a lesser extent MSN and AOL. This all changed recently after Yahoo purchased different search engine companies and developed its own search engine. Soon MSN will enter this market with its own search engine algorithm.

Searchers input keyword queries into search boxes and are given results from the databases of the search engines in accordance with the ranking algorithm from whatever search engine they are using.

In other words, search engines index sites it feels will be of value to its customers, which are Internet surfers searching for information.

The most important concept to grasp with a search engine, is that it uses an automated computerized system to find and rank the sites within its database of web sites.

2. Internet Directory - An Internet directory is a large listing of categorized web sites - however the concept that should be understood with the Internet directories, is that they actually have editors that decide what goes into the directory. Remember an Internet directory is decided and managed by human editors, while in contrast, a search engine is ranked by a computerized algorithm or system. Directories are important to get links from because, they will raise your rankings in the Google algorithm (which is based on PageRank™ or links from other sites to a great extent).

3. SEO - Search Engine Optimization From the Tao of Search Engine Promotion represents the Ying or Female Principle in that it is more fluid and receptive to the algorithms of the search engines, which of course you - do not control. SEO promotion is using known conventions and in some cases deconstructing the algorithms of the developers of the search engines and working with them. In other words it is like Judo where you use the momentum and power of the search engines to build your business. You will have to be constantly vigilant, in order to try to stay abreast of the latest developments in SEO promotion.

4. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising with the search engines is bidding for particular keyword phrases or search terms used most frequently by Internet users related to information on certain niches and sectors. Overture was the first great pay-per-click advertising sales channel for the search engines. It presently represents Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Alta Vista, Hot Bot, and related partners allowing advertisers to bid on particular keywords. Google presently runs its own PPC Search Engine advertising branch called Google's Adwords Select. Since PPC advertising is so expensive use it in moderation by setting daily and monthly budgets (otherwise for high volume searched keywords you could go broke).

After setting budgets, which you do in the Overture and Google advertising interfaces, use PPC to test your conversion rates for subscribers, sales, etc., and constantly monitor it and fine-tune it. You want to increase your conversation rates. This is critical because as we alluded to the expense of PPC in earlier in this article the typical major ad agency or corporate brand only spends $5 - $15 dollars to reach a thousand people (CPM). Although they may go higher for a responsive direct mail lists like $100 or $150 to reach a thousand people. In PPC advertising small business are usually paying at least 35 cents on the dollar (for any word with any real competition) to reach a thousand people or $350 dollars. I have seen and experienced people paying $2.50 a click or $2250 dollars to reach a thousand people.

The true expense of PPC is never discussed by experts in that industry. Any small business using PPC should have an outstanding product ready for prime time, to see any return in investment. Alternately, they should only use it for limited testing or to get a product quickly to market on-line. Given the expense of PPC some small business people might be better off buying classified direct response advertising in a niche publication or obtaining ad space in ezines.

Another point to discuss in PPC is how the major companies hurt their advertisers (stab them in the back) by using pop-up blockers, which hurts the advertisers ability to collect email addresses on the front end, and with spam filters block even legitimate marketers ability to reach opt-in subscribers on the back end. Google is more of a front end pop-up blocker, AOL is more of an email blocker, while Yahoo is both. There are better ways to stop email and web site spam. What is important is that small business, if it is not careful with PPC could be paying AOL, Google, and Yahoo/Overture to put them out of business.

5. Pay Per Inclusion is paying to be included in the database of a search engine or Internet directory. Presently it is free to be included in the Google search engine. You just need a link to your site from a few other sites already in the Google database and your site will be spidered in many cases. Recently it has been announced Yahoo will charge a fee to update your new content into their search engine database. From what I understand if you are already listed in Yahoo its all well and good, but any new content that you put on your site will not be indexed.

6. Search Terms (AKA Keywords or Keyword Phrases) - Search terms and more specifically keyword phrases are words searchers put in a search box to find information on a particular product, service, or item. Keywords and Keyword phrases have different tiers. For instance the top tier keyword 'business' probably receives 500,000 searches a month. But it is so general that it would not be a good keyword for which to optimize your site. However, the second tier Keyword phrase 'small business' would have less searches, but it is more of a targeted search. The third tier keyword phrases are even more targeted and would be ideal for persons to optimize their sites for although there are less monthly searches for them.

7. Search Engine Algorithm - Algorithms are sets of rules according to which search engines rank web pages. Figuring out the algorithms is a major part of SEO. The thinking is that if you understand how they calculate relevance, you can make specific pages on your site super relevant for specific search terms. For more on algorithms and SEO in general, please check out http://www.searchengineplan.com .

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Payday Loan: Legalized Highway Robbery Or Real Financial Help?

Need extra money to get you to the next paycheck? Payday loans come to the rescue. However, you should be prepared to pay the price which is usually a hefty one. But there are steps you can take to minimize the financial damage.

What are Payday Loans?

Cash advance loans, post-dated check loans or deferred deposit check loans are high-rate loans and are intended to be used for short term. Emphasis here is on short term, usually 14 days since most of us get paid bi-weekly.

How does a Payday Loan work?

The old economy created the idea of living paycheck to paycheck. As if that wasn't bad enough. In today's economy many don't even get to the next paycheck. So, the potential borrower writes a personal check payable to the lender for the amount she wishes to borrow plus a fee.

The lender cashes the check and keeps the fee, of course. Ideally this type of loan will get the borrower room to breathe and he/she can pay off the loan when he/she gets paid.

Lets take a look at an example. Ms. Susan Borrower needs $200 and the cost is $30. She writes a check for $230 and the payday lender agrees to hold the check until her next payday that is usually 14 days away.

After 14 days, depending on the particular plan, Ms. Borrower takes $230.00 in cash to the lender and takes back the personal check she wrote. Or, she can roll-over the check by paying a fee to extend the loan for another two weeks. Each time she rolls-over the check, she will pay a fee that in this example was $30. In theory, if she rolls-over the check for one year, she ends up paying $30 for 26 times or $780 for borrowing $200.

How is the payday loan fee calculated?

Usually lenders charge a fixed fee for per amount borrowed. For example $10.00 for every $100.00 you borrow and it can be as high as $30 for every $100.00 you borrow. Ouch and double ouch! This translates to something like 700% annual rate of interest and some people are worried about the 20% credit card interest rate.

How can Truth in Lending Act help you?

Under the Truth in Lending Act, the lenders must disclose the cost of payday loans. So look for them to compare. Among other information, you must receive, in writing, the finance charge (a dollar amount) and the annual percentage rate or APR (the cost of credit on a yearly basis).

What type of collateral should you have?

Your personal check is the collateral. Reverting back to the old days of my word is my bond. But since many people break their words as easily as they would their bonds, lenders make these loans very very expensive so that those who do pay will carry the cost of collection from those who do not pay.

What alternatives do you have instead of payday loans?

Contact your credit union or small loan company, find out if your company offer any short term assistance. I know it could be hard to tell friends and family members about your financial hardship but swallow your pride a little bit and ask them for help. Just make sure that you don't swallow your pride too much by not paying them on time.

If you are borrowing to pay other debts or other bills, why not just ask your creditors for more time to pay your bills? Find out what they will charge for that service including late charges and additional finance charge or a higher interest rate.

What steps can you take to reduce the cost?

When you need credit, shop carefully. Compare offers. Look for the credit offer with the lowest APR.

Compare the APR and the finance charge (which includes loan fees, interest and other types of credit costs) of credit offers to get the lowest cost.

Some firms will offer you a low cost guarantee that helps you save time in comparison shopping. An example of this type of guarantee is: "Must be a verifiable, bona fide offer from an online payday loan provider. Excludes one-time, promotional offers. Rate comparison must be based on a 14 day loan of less than $500."

How to cure the problem not the symptom?

Pick up meditation and prayer and I don't mean bombarding God or whatever higher power you believe in with requests for money. I mean take the time to get to know your higher Self that can help you look at life in a more balanced fashion. This knowledge can help you control emotional stuff which are major reasons for out-of-balance expenditures and emotional spending binges. Who knows, you may even be able to have a direct communication with God and straighten out more than your finances.

Remember that the outer world is just a reflection of us inside and we cannot change our outer circumstances without changing what we think in our hearts.

The need for money usually stems from a combination of low income and lack of disciplined spending habits. Take steps to improve your income which usually starts with better education. Look for ways to improve your education and acquire new skills that can help you get better jobs and higher paying positions. I know it is hard to get enough energy at the end of 50 â€" 60 hour week to study. But, don't you rather have the stress of studying for a better future for a limited time than to keep worrying about payday loans for years to come?

Also, with the Internet, you may have small business opportunities that did not exist before.

Take a good look at where your money went during the last six months. If an item shows up over and over, it is no longer a one-time deal. Make a budget that really reflects your monthly and daily expenditures.

If you need help working out a debt repayment plan with creditors or developing a budget, contact your local consumer credit counseling service. There are non-profit groups in every state that offer credit guidance to consumers. These services are available at little or no cost. Also, check with your employer, credit union or housing authority for no-cost or low-cost credit counseling programs.

Finally, if you decide you must use a payday loan, borrow only as much as you can afford to pay with your next paycheck and still have enough to make it to the next payday.

What are the benefits?

So what are the benefits to this payday loan? It sounds like there isn't any.

With so many companies cropping out every day offering this service and thousands of individuals using them and even offering testimonials to their benefits, I have to concede that there are benefits.

To start with, many times Payday Loans are really the only fast alternative to get you out of a financial jam. The qualification is hassle free. You can get a yes or no answer fairly fast and it can be done online.

In many cases there aren't any credit checks.

Some lenders do not even require you to fax them documentation.

Your inquiry is kept confidential.

And you can have the cash by the next business day.

* DISCLAIMER: Vishy Dadsetan, http://www.MyPersonalFinance.com or My Favorite Shop, Inc. do not endorse any reverse mortgage product or lender. This article and website does not provide legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Although Vishy Dadsetan has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this site, it assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or inconsistencies.