Your Newsletter As Search Engine Superhero?
By Jessica Albon
Copyright 2003, The Write Exposure
Newsletters are magical things--they can attract customers, increase company profits, establish expertise and much more. But, did you know they can also help you increase your search engine rankings?
Your newsletter can help your search engine ranking by specifically focusing on your keyword phrases. Perhaps the easiest way to keep each issue of your newsletter relevant to your keyword phrases is to make a list of the phrases you target and brainstorm article ideas for each phrase. Then, as you write each article from your list, try to incorporate the keyword phrase into the title of the article, and, of course, use it regularly throughout your article (caution: don't overdo it or your article will be awkward to read).
By posting archives of your newsletter on your website, you'll be keeping each targeted issue available to search engine spiders. If you archive issues by subject (using your keyword phrases, of course) instead of date, they're likely to help your rankings even more. Also, when archiving issues, make sure you use a standard HTML link (instead of JavaScript) to help search engines catalog each issue.
Another benefit to posting archives online is that other sites will frequently link to either the specific issue or your website, telling visitors about your newsletter archives. This can help boost your link popularity (along with bringing you some extra targeted traffic). You can make the most of such links by actually suggesting webmasters link to your archives.
Because you'll be updating your newsletter regularly, search engines will give you points for regularly updated content. Plus, your site will be continuously expanding, giving spiders new information to index with each visit. And, when you're posting each new issue, make sure it has a link back to your index page. As spiders go through the new content, you might as well register another link to your homepage.
Some publishers go the extra step of setting up a domain specifically for their ezine, separate from their regular website. If you feel you have enough content to support both (without duplicating your content), this might be something to consider. Just make sure you have the time and energy to manage two separate sites as adding a new domain will take more time.
By focusing each issue of your newsletter on one or more of your keyword phrases, posting archives online, inviting webmasters to link to your newsletter archives, and keeping your newsletter updated, you'll find your rankings climbing. Go the extra mile and set up a domain just for your newsletter and you may find yourself with two top ranked sites. As with any newsletter, remember, content matters most, whether your primary goal is more sales, or better search engine rankings.
You're already producing a newsletter. It's definitely worth the extra time training the newsletter to multitask and to see your site climb in the search engines.
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