Search Engine Positioning [Illustrated] [Paperback]

1) Identify the keywords and phrases that people use to search for that which your site offers.

2) Write the copy of your site such that is emphasizes the words and phrases used by your audience.

3) Keep in mind #2 and pay close attention to Title and Meta tags, incoming links (link popularity), link text, page headers, image names and alt text, and last but not least, the actual content on your site. It's one thing to generate traffic, but quite another to convert that traffic into business! - Pick up a copy of "Net Words" by Nick Usborne for more on content.

4) Ensure a search engine can index the critical pages of your site.

5) Submit where necessary and pay particular attention to directory submissions. Once in place, they can be very difficult to change. There is some good info on submitting to YAHOO!, but if you want to attain rankings in MSN (via LookSmart) this book does not provide the know-how for that.

"Search Engine Positioning" discusses each of these steps, some in more detail than others. It provides engine-by-engine analysis (many of which no longer exist or have changed drastically - remember things change quickly here!) that details how each search site ranks sites and the interrelationships between indices that may be syndicated across multiple search sites. This book will get you started in the arena of search engine optimization and highlight specific page elements that require special attention, how to select keywords, the difference between search engines and directories, as well as where to submit to show up in the search results for a particular engine.

The book includes sites of interest including Search Engine Watch and those of various search engine submission and optimization services. WebMasterWorld and SearchEngineForums, two of the best SEP resource sites were curiously omitted from the list. They both pick up where this book leaves off, and provide forums where the most up-to-date industry information can often be found. Any print publication will be somewhat outdated the moment it is publshed.

If you are new to the world of search engine positioning, pick up this book (It appears Fredrick is coming out with a new book - if so you might want to wait for it - the information should be much more up-to-date). It is easily worth 35 bucks to have a single source of information to get started. From there, take your learning online, experiment, use the many forums available, and don't get overwhelmed by the hype out there. Positioning is a process, not a project, be persistent and you too can top the charts!

Where I think it falls short is in failing to deliver a good "fast food" solution for those who don't have 40 hours a week dedicated to search engine positioning. All of the information is in here, but there's no clear sense of what the top priority actions should be, for a typical small website.

As search engine experts go, you can't do much better than the author and his team at iProspect.com. If you've got the time to work through a dense 500+ pages, and apply the knowledge, this is a great book for you.

Search Engine Positioning (SEP) uses strategic keyword selection and placement throughout your pages' HTML to achieve high rankings in search results. In effect, you are creating tempting spider food for the various arachnids search engines use to crawl the Web.

Marckini, founder and CEO of iProspect.com and one of the pioneers in SEP, aims the book directly at SEP professionals and webmasters who want to learn the latest techniques. His goal is to legitimize SEP as its own discipline and to create "a compendium of information for the aspiring search engine professional." He aims "to provide information needed to 'top the charts' and attain top 10 to 30 rankings."

SEP, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), has its share of shady practitioners that practice what is known as "spamdexing." Marckini is not one of them. He travels the high road, emphasizing responsible SEP to "amplify" your key phrases within your pages.

At WebReference.com we can attest to the effectiveness of responsible SEP that Marckini advocates. After taking Danny Sullivan's "Search Engine Bootcamp," a private tutorial for Internet.com staff, we brainstormed our top keyword phrases, found their frequency of use, crafted catchy descriptions and titles, and placed them within our TITLE and META tags of WebRef's home page and key gateway pages. After resubmitting these pages to the major search engines and directories the effect was dramatic. Our referrals from search engines rose substantially. Having lots of backlinks didn't hurt either with engines that use popularity to rank relevance.

Marckini's book goes deeper than this. The basic strategy is to weave keyword themes throughout your key pages, using your TITLE tag, keyword and description META tags, headlines, the first and last 25 words, links, ALT tags, file names, and best of all domain names. Marckini shows that SEP is an ongoing process, not a one-time thing, as search engines and rankings change constantly. However, we found that even a one-time keyword makeover has a long-lasting effect.

Marckini's 553-page book covers the entire spectrum of SEP and has a number of interesting tidbits ranging from search engine history, choosing keywords and domain names, through actual case studies and the future of SEP.

In addition to meta-tagging your key pages, the author covers gateway, informational, hallway, and cloaked pages. Separate keyword-rich domains can be used to drive traffic to your site, although some search engines would consider this spam.

The author also recommends using full keywords, not abbreviations, within your file names, and emphasizing unique phrases over common phrases within your pages to achieve higher relevance.

Web design is an often overlooked aspect of amateur SEP. Search engines favor simple HTML markup, with keywords in the first 3K of your page. Using linked CSS for layout and presentation, and/or cleverly formatted tables that push your keyword-rich content towards the top (before your nav bars) will help achieve higher rankings.

Show Chapter 39 to your skeptical boss. It charts in dramatic fashion the effect of SEP on keyword ranking, search engine referrals, and brand awareness. In fact, studies have shown that users are five times more likely to buy when they arrive at your site through a search engine than through a banner ad.

In short Marckini shows you what to do to raise your rankings, and what not to do to avoid banishment. The author takes his own medicine, liberally sprinkling iProspect.com throughout the book.