The Federal government is one of the best sources for college financial aid. From low interest loans to free grants, the array of government aid is open to just about everyone. As long as you have passing grades and financial need, you almost certainly qualify for something.
The search for federal aid begins with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form can be filled out on paper or submitted online. Once it is processed, the government will make a judgement about the level and kinds of aid you are eligible for. To receive funding, you must have a high school diploma, GED certificate, or have met state standards to enroll in a qualified higher education school. You must also be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, such as a permanent resident. The key factor in determining how much aid you receive will be financial need, not grades. Of course, if you fail to maintain passing grades, you will lose all assistance. However, it is not necessary to be an “A plus” student.
Undergraduates who meet the need criteria can receive Pell Grants. These range from $400 to $4,050 a year. Students with exception financial need may qualify for a Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (FSEOGs), which ranges from $100 to $4,000 a year. The amount you can receive may be reduced if you have other sources of aid, such as a scholarship. These grants do not have to be paid back.
Federal loan programs are offered to supplement grant awards, and for those who were not eligible for a grant. For some loans, you do not have to demonstrate need. The amount you can borrow will depend both on your school expenses and your grade level. Perkins loans are offered first to Pell Grant recipients. Only a certain amount is awarded each year and when that runs out, no more loans are given until the following year. Stafford loans are available to both graduates and undergraduates. You must be enrolled at least part-time. Financial need is not a requirement for the Stafford, but for lower income students, the government may award a subsidized loan. This means that the interest will be paid for you while you are a student, and during a six-month grace period after you graduate. Finally, the parents of dependent undergraduate students can take out a Plus loan to cover educational costs.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Words In Searches
One of the things we don't seem to have much of these days is time. Everyone rushes everywhere and communication is compressed into new shorter forms like all of the text messages I receive, I still don't get all of the abbreviations. There is a danger that this short, fast communication is carried over into web sites we develop. All short, bulleted points lacking any grammar or sentence construction, and as I have said before search engines seem to like well-constructed grammatical sentences.
However, there is another knock-on effect of shortening text and that is the effect it has on key words. I am not really talking about the meta tag keywords here, but the words in the text that the search engines find multiple times. This is often known as key word density i.e. what percentage of the text is taken up by a single word or multi-word phrase. Have you ever considered this in writing your own code? Have you thought yourself very clever, by managing to get 100 instances of your key word in one A4 page?
Having your keywords and phrases sprinkled throughout the text is obviously good, but how can you ensure you don't overdo it. Well, one way is to spend time creating a more lengthy piece of well-written text. This will mean that although you still have lots of key words and phrases in there, their relative density is reduced because of the greater overall volume of text.
We have a number of domains that we run purely to test theories on topics like key word density. By creating multiple pages with similar overall information, but written differently, we can test how the different search engines treat different key word densities. Just a note of warning, don't try this at home. You can actually be sandboxed (your site held in limbo) for having duplicate pages on a single domain. So being able to calculate how similar pages are to one another is important when doing this.
Finally, just a word on meta tag keywords. The importance attached by search engines to keywords specified in the meta tag has greatly reduced due to the overuse of this feature. Many sites I have seen have tried to use the same keywords over and over again. Our advice is to choose these words carefully and use maybe 4 or 5, but don't go over board. Then try and use them throughout the actual page text, but without forcing the density. After all, if they really are your key words, then using them in the text should come naturally.
And now a poem reflecting web page writing techniques.
If I write half a page
and you write thirty four
I can use three keywords
whilst you get forty more
I can be brief and concise
and speedily spit pages out
but your one and only masterpiece
Carries far more clout,
I am but a comic strip
to your Tolstoyan drama
I am all wild excitement
whilst you are perfect karma,
I have few words to play with
to juggle in a subtle key
whilst you have an epic
to aid keyword density
the old bull takes his time
never rushing, always serene
he has created multiple options
whilst young bull was over keen,
so when you code your pages
don’t undersell your wording
or you'll be virtually alone
when you should be herding,
ten keywords in a thousand
dilutes the trend to oversell
and makes the reader relax
from the instinct he can tell
that a little page is but a ploy
to put him onto a sales hook,
whereas an interesting article
is worth a second look. About The Author: John Fowler trained as a Mathematican and has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years, much of the time in sales related functions. He now spends his time between being a partner in SEO Gurus and as a sales and management trainer for ICT companies.
However, there is another knock-on effect of shortening text and that is the effect it has on key words. I am not really talking about the meta tag keywords here, but the words in the text that the search engines find multiple times. This is often known as key word density i.e. what percentage of the text is taken up by a single word or multi-word phrase. Have you ever considered this in writing your own code? Have you thought yourself very clever, by managing to get 100 instances of your key word in one A4 page?
Having your keywords and phrases sprinkled throughout the text is obviously good, but how can you ensure you don't overdo it. Well, one way is to spend time creating a more lengthy piece of well-written text. This will mean that although you still have lots of key words and phrases in there, their relative density is reduced because of the greater overall volume of text.
We have a number of domains that we run purely to test theories on topics like key word density. By creating multiple pages with similar overall information, but written differently, we can test how the different search engines treat different key word densities. Just a note of warning, don't try this at home. You can actually be sandboxed (your site held in limbo) for having duplicate pages on a single domain. So being able to calculate how similar pages are to one another is important when doing this.
Finally, just a word on meta tag keywords. The importance attached by search engines to keywords specified in the meta tag has greatly reduced due to the overuse of this feature. Many sites I have seen have tried to use the same keywords over and over again. Our advice is to choose these words carefully and use maybe 4 or 5, but don't go over board. Then try and use them throughout the actual page text, but without forcing the density. After all, if they really are your key words, then using them in the text should come naturally.
And now a poem reflecting web page writing techniques.
If I write half a page
and you write thirty four
I can use three keywords
whilst you get forty more
I can be brief and concise
and speedily spit pages out
but your one and only masterpiece
Carries far more clout,
I am but a comic strip
to your Tolstoyan drama
I am all wild excitement
whilst you are perfect karma,
I have few words to play with
to juggle in a subtle key
whilst you have an epic
to aid keyword density
the old bull takes his time
never rushing, always serene
he has created multiple options
whilst young bull was over keen,
so when you code your pages
don’t undersell your wording
or you'll be virtually alone
when you should be herding,
ten keywords in a thousand
dilutes the trend to oversell
and makes the reader relax
from the instinct he can tell
that a little page is but a ploy
to put him onto a sales hook,
whereas an interesting article
is worth a second look. About The Author: John Fowler trained as a Mathematican and has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years, much of the time in sales related functions. He now spends his time between being a partner in SEO Gurus and as a sales and management trainer for ICT companies.
Engines Change So Fast
Few things are as important to online businesses as reliable Search Engine Optimization. Get listed high on top search engines and you can just about bet on getting a big boost in sales.
Businesses often spend big bucks on SEO experts, advice, and systems that are touted to deliver your site into the promised land of high rankings. The bad news is -- most of this advice is outdated, untested, or just plain wrong.
Here's why. Search engines are extremely complicated and constantly changing. What worked last year may be completely wrong today. What worked yesterday may be outdated by this afternoon. SEO advisors who get their information from discussion groups (as many do) are often repeating untested guesses, theories, and rumors. Sometimes they misinterpret what search engine changes really mean for real websites.
Keeping up with search engines has become a full-time job, not just for one person, but for a full team of seasoned pros. It takes that many trained people to pour through the hundreds of pages of new findings, and TEST new methodologies.
I stress the word TEST because that's really the only way you can know an optimization or marketing strategy is going to work. My team constantly tests new strategies in real life situations to see how search engines will respond.
In general, it's good to learn how at least some of the Net's most important search engine features (like Google's vital PageRank system) work. You should also learn how to use meta tags and Overture to get your site listed quickly and in a way that will bring you more visitors and sales.
If you really want better ranking for your site, you are well advised to get the help of a qualified SEO professional. Choose a firm that specializes in SEO or SEM. You'll know which ones are the most successful because THEIR sites are ranked high in search engines.
Businesses often spend big bucks on SEO experts, advice, and systems that are touted to deliver your site into the promised land of high rankings. The bad news is -- most of this advice is outdated, untested, or just plain wrong.
Here's why. Search engines are extremely complicated and constantly changing. What worked last year may be completely wrong today. What worked yesterday may be outdated by this afternoon. SEO advisors who get their information from discussion groups (as many do) are often repeating untested guesses, theories, and rumors. Sometimes they misinterpret what search engine changes really mean for real websites.
Keeping up with search engines has become a full-time job, not just for one person, but for a full team of seasoned pros. It takes that many trained people to pour through the hundreds of pages of new findings, and TEST new methodologies.
I stress the word TEST because that's really the only way you can know an optimization or marketing strategy is going to work. My team constantly tests new strategies in real life situations to see how search engines will respond.
In general, it's good to learn how at least some of the Net's most important search engine features (like Google's vital PageRank system) work. You should also learn how to use meta tags and Overture to get your site listed quickly and in a way that will bring you more visitors and sales.
If you really want better ranking for your site, you are well advised to get the help of a qualified SEO professional. Choose a firm that specializes in SEO or SEM. You'll know which ones are the most successful because THEIR sites are ranked high in search engines.
Friday, December 24, 2010
SEO Specialist
Search Engine Ranking is a buzz word that you will hear all over the Internet. If you want your website to rank high on any of the major search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing, you use a method called SEO. There is no doubt about the fact that if you want your business to be successful online, you have to rank on the first page of the search engines.
Do not expect too much traffic if your website is not on the first page. Almost 40% of traffic is generated from the Number one ranking spot in Google for any given keyword. Almost 90% of the traffic is generated on the first page.
No one set of rules will make this happen for you, but it is rather a series of good SEO strategies that will get your site to the top. First learn the Key elements of SEO or get a SEO Specialist to do it for you. Develop your own optimization system as you learn more and more tricks and tips.
You can learn the basics of SEO by means of online courses and systems. My advice to you will be to get a good understanding of how SEO works or hire a good SEO Specialist that can do it for you.
Using an algorithm, the likes of Google decide which site will rank at the top. They keep this algorithm a secret, but I have found that if you apply a few principles you will almost always get to the top position. Some basic principles are things that they look at and will influence any Search Engine Ranking.
Content is one of the factors that can make a great difference in getting to the top of the search engines. The Search Engines are always looking for good quality unique content to display to their visitors. If you have good quality content that is unique, you already have a good chance to get better rankings. If you write that content yourself it is far better than copying someone Else's from an article directory. With that said however, I had instances where I ranked number one with Directory articles as well.
There are a lot of other factors that also influence search engine optimization. According to what I have found, back links is the second largest factor of search engine ranking. When doing SEO you must ensure that you don't just use any links, as some links will rather get you penalized than helping you. If you take some time and learn the basics of SEO and back links, you will be well rewarded.
Christo Fouche is an Online Marketer and Full Time MLM Marketing Coach who specializes in Free Online Training. His Website, The SEO Specialist is an Informative website about Search Engine Ranking methods.
Do not expect too much traffic if your website is not on the first page. Almost 40% of traffic is generated from the Number one ranking spot in Google for any given keyword. Almost 90% of the traffic is generated on the first page.
No one set of rules will make this happen for you, but it is rather a series of good SEO strategies that will get your site to the top. First learn the Key elements of SEO or get a SEO Specialist to do it for you. Develop your own optimization system as you learn more and more tricks and tips.
You can learn the basics of SEO by means of online courses and systems. My advice to you will be to get a good understanding of how SEO works or hire a good SEO Specialist that can do it for you.
Using an algorithm, the likes of Google decide which site will rank at the top. They keep this algorithm a secret, but I have found that if you apply a few principles you will almost always get to the top position. Some basic principles are things that they look at and will influence any Search Engine Ranking.
Content is one of the factors that can make a great difference in getting to the top of the search engines. The Search Engines are always looking for good quality unique content to display to their visitors. If you have good quality content that is unique, you already have a good chance to get better rankings. If you write that content yourself it is far better than copying someone Else's from an article directory. With that said however, I had instances where I ranked number one with Directory articles as well.
There are a lot of other factors that also influence search engine optimization. According to what I have found, back links is the second largest factor of search engine ranking. When doing SEO you must ensure that you don't just use any links, as some links will rather get you penalized than helping you. If you take some time and learn the basics of SEO and back links, you will be well rewarded.
Christo Fouche is an Online Marketer and Full Time MLM Marketing Coach who specializes in Free Online Training. His Website, The SEO Specialist is an Informative website about Search Engine Ranking methods.
SEO Techniques
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. This process is used for the promotion of online business. In this process, the web page is structured in such a way so that it can be easily and swiftly accessed, read and indexed by the search engines. If a marketer follows a few easy and simple steps, he can gain online presence and reputation for the company's site.
The search engine optimization enables a marketer to promote the website of the company over the Internet. In this process, the content of the page should be keyword-rich so that its relevance is recognized by the robots and the content can be easily indexed. The keyword-rich content can become easily accessible for the target customers. An entrepreneur should first research and study the kind of keywords which match with the content of the web page. These keywords and phrases should closely relate to the business of an organization. For instance, if you are running a business of IT solutions, you should implement those keywords that best describe your product or IT business.
You need to have the meta tags in your website to optimize your site in a proper manner. Meta tags comprises of meta title, meta description and meta keywords. Meta title is the first tag. You can include keywords in this title tag. The search engine robots crawl the content of the web pages and give relevance to those title tags which are keyword rich. Do not stuff the phrases or words unnecessarily otherwise you may face the risk of your entire content being considered a Spam. The Meta Description Tag is a kind of Meta tag that describes the subject of your site. Meta keywords are used to have your all keywords in this. These are the most low priority tags but still we include them. Therefore, you can make your website accessible to the potential customers and gain online presence by following the right search engine optimization techniques.
Myself Louis Thomas webmaster of emarketing.netsmartz.net providing various e-marketing services, pay per click services, search engine marketing services and internet marketing services that can help generate huge traffic to your site and build strong identity online.
The search engine optimization enables a marketer to promote the website of the company over the Internet. In this process, the content of the page should be keyword-rich so that its relevance is recognized by the robots and the content can be easily indexed. The keyword-rich content can become easily accessible for the target customers. An entrepreneur should first research and study the kind of keywords which match with the content of the web page. These keywords and phrases should closely relate to the business of an organization. For instance, if you are running a business of IT solutions, you should implement those keywords that best describe your product or IT business.
You need to have the meta tags in your website to optimize your site in a proper manner. Meta tags comprises of meta title, meta description and meta keywords. Meta title is the first tag. You can include keywords in this title tag. The search engine robots crawl the content of the web pages and give relevance to those title tags which are keyword rich. Do not stuff the phrases or words unnecessarily otherwise you may face the risk of your entire content being considered a Spam. The Meta Description Tag is a kind of Meta tag that describes the subject of your site. Meta keywords are used to have your all keywords in this. These are the most low priority tags but still we include them. Therefore, you can make your website accessible to the potential customers and gain online presence by following the right search engine optimization techniques.
Myself Louis Thomas webmaster of emarketing.netsmartz.net providing various e-marketing services, pay per click services, search engine marketing services and internet marketing services that can help generate huge traffic to your site and build strong identity online.
SEO Writer
Why hire an SEO writer? What can an SEO writer do for you?
On the World Wide Web, it is not only your potential customers you need to convince that your company is the best. You also need to convince the search engines that bring your website to the customers' attention in the first place. An SEO (Search Engine Optimization) writer is an expert in the inner workings of these search engines and knows from experience and research how to strategically create content that increases your website's ranking.
The higher your website's ranking with search engines like Google or Yahoo, the higher your website will appear on a list of search results. The consumer will rarely look past the first or second page of those search results - so coming up on the tenth or eleventh page is almost as bad as not coming up at all.
The goal of the SEO writer is to get your website to appear at the top of all relevant search results so that more potential customers are driven to your website - which means more potential income for you!
The Tools of an SEO Writer
The experienced search engine optimization writer has a wide array of tools in his or her arsenal to help increase your website traffic:
• Well-placed, relevant keywords: Using just the right amount of relevant keywords in the right places in your website content will also draw the right kind of attention from search engines. What these search words are, where they are placed and how often they are used are all crucial in yielding the desired results.
• Avoiding outdated and overused keywords: The lack of relevant keywords or the use of outdated keywords can demote your website in the search engine's eyes - as can the overuse of the right keywords. If you have broken any of these rules, search engines will disregard your website as junk and push it right to the bottom of the pile - no matter how beautifully designed and informative your website may be!
• Proper formatting of keywords: Strategic formatting of keywords can also be used to help draw even more attention to your site and further improve your search engine rankings.
• Meta Description Tags: For every website, there is a 200-word description of the site which search engines may use to determine whether or not your site is relevant to a particular search string. The SEO writer knows how to phrase keywords properly within this description for maximum results.
• Articles, Press Releases and Newsletters with Deep Linking: Generate even more interest in your website by hiring a search engine optimizing to produce a series of articles, newsletters and press releases for distribution on the Internet. The writer will include many links back to your website, which will help bring potential customers right to your door!
• Taking Advantage of Current Events and Trends: The savvy writer knows that bringing current events into the mix is a sure-fire way of generating even more interest in your website. For instance, after a certain major event, the writer might write an article which references this event. This way, your website will benefit by being included in a search string executed by millions of Internet users.
• Keeping Web Content Fresh, Accurate and Up-To-Date: Search engines like websites with quality, dynamic content. The experienced writer knows how to capitalize on this fact by updating the site regularly with new, informative and relevant information, as well as making sure that all basic content is accurate and up-to-date.
• Website Analytics: By studying the activity around your website, the writer can better determine what is working well - and what is not. What consumers want can change on a daily basis. Keeping abreast of these changes is easier to determine by studying these analytics.
When so much of today's business world is conducted over the Internet, hiring an experienced, quality SEO writer is an essential ingredient for your success!
On the World Wide Web, it is not only your potential customers you need to convince that your company is the best. You also need to convince the search engines that bring your website to the customers' attention in the first place. An SEO (Search Engine Optimization) writer is an expert in the inner workings of these search engines and knows from experience and research how to strategically create content that increases your website's ranking.
The higher your website's ranking with search engines like Google or Yahoo, the higher your website will appear on a list of search results. The consumer will rarely look past the first or second page of those search results - so coming up on the tenth or eleventh page is almost as bad as not coming up at all.
The goal of the SEO writer is to get your website to appear at the top of all relevant search results so that more potential customers are driven to your website - which means more potential income for you!
The Tools of an SEO Writer
The experienced search engine optimization writer has a wide array of tools in his or her arsenal to help increase your website traffic:
• Well-placed, relevant keywords: Using just the right amount of relevant keywords in the right places in your website content will also draw the right kind of attention from search engines. What these search words are, where they are placed and how often they are used are all crucial in yielding the desired results.
• Avoiding outdated and overused keywords: The lack of relevant keywords or the use of outdated keywords can demote your website in the search engine's eyes - as can the overuse of the right keywords. If you have broken any of these rules, search engines will disregard your website as junk and push it right to the bottom of the pile - no matter how beautifully designed and informative your website may be!
• Proper formatting of keywords: Strategic formatting of keywords can also be used to help draw even more attention to your site and further improve your search engine rankings.
• Meta Description Tags: For every website, there is a 200-word description of the site which search engines may use to determine whether or not your site is relevant to a particular search string. The SEO writer knows how to phrase keywords properly within this description for maximum results.
• Articles, Press Releases and Newsletters with Deep Linking: Generate even more interest in your website by hiring a search engine optimizing to produce a series of articles, newsletters and press releases for distribution on the Internet. The writer will include many links back to your website, which will help bring potential customers right to your door!
• Taking Advantage of Current Events and Trends: The savvy writer knows that bringing current events into the mix is a sure-fire way of generating even more interest in your website. For instance, after a certain major event, the writer might write an article which references this event. This way, your website will benefit by being included in a search string executed by millions of Internet users.
• Keeping Web Content Fresh, Accurate and Up-To-Date: Search engines like websites with quality, dynamic content. The experienced writer knows how to capitalize on this fact by updating the site regularly with new, informative and relevant information, as well as making sure that all basic content is accurate and up-to-date.
• Website Analytics: By studying the activity around your website, the writer can better determine what is working well - and what is not. What consumers want can change on a daily basis. Keeping abreast of these changes is easier to determine by studying these analytics.
When so much of today's business world is conducted over the Internet, hiring an experienced, quality SEO writer is an essential ingredient for your success!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
SEO and Backlinks
What are Backlinks or Inbound links?
The popularity of a website is based on the links that it receives. Backlinks are the links that enter your website. Backlinks were the only source of web navigation few years back, before the emergence of search engine optimization. Now, backlinks are the backbone of search engine positioning. Backlinking is very useful for the people who cannot afford more money on advertising. These links lead to a web page and back lead to another web page. The backlink works great with the websites that is designed with high quality, well established and with good rank.
There are numerous techniques used in the internet market to gain from backlinks. Some of them are article submissions, Directory submission, press release, blog posting and social networking.
Why search engines consider backlinks to rank a site?
The search engine treat your website is like a Ballet Box. So, it takes every backlink to your site as a vote. Depending on the number of backlinks received, your website is branded in the search engine. So, if your site receives more backlinks, then your site has something useful or informative for the audience.
At present, knowing the value and importance of the backlinks, people have started selling and buying it which is not a good sign for online business. So, people who can spend money to purchase backlinks shines and others with empty pocket are dumped in a corner. This forced the Google to take action on the sites that are selling backlinks. Even this strong punishment could not completely bring solution and even now you can find some culprits in the internet market.
Even though it is a cause of worry for the people who could not spend money on buying backlinks, still they can do better with good content. The content plays the vital role in grabbing the attention of the audience. So, if you can post keyword rich and informative rich content, then you are sure to win the race. The content should be related to your business or that is useful for the audience. You can drive traffic to your site through blogs. Posting blogs will have great impact in building your website and improving search engine rankings.
A Backlinking strategy seems to be easy. For some it also looks like a fun. But, through backlinking, a website owner may learn more and get the opportunity to meet new people. The slow and steady process will definitely lift your website to the first page in the search engine optimization.
The popularity of a website is based on the links that it receives. Backlinks are the links that enter your website. Backlinks were the only source of web navigation few years back, before the emergence of search engine optimization. Now, backlinks are the backbone of search engine positioning. Backlinking is very useful for the people who cannot afford more money on advertising. These links lead to a web page and back lead to another web page. The backlink works great with the websites that is designed with high quality, well established and with good rank.
There are numerous techniques used in the internet market to gain from backlinks. Some of them are article submissions, Directory submission, press release, blog posting and social networking.
Why search engines consider backlinks to rank a site?
The search engine treat your website is like a Ballet Box. So, it takes every backlink to your site as a vote. Depending on the number of backlinks received, your website is branded in the search engine. So, if your site receives more backlinks, then your site has something useful or informative for the audience.
At present, knowing the value and importance of the backlinks, people have started selling and buying it which is not a good sign for online business. So, people who can spend money to purchase backlinks shines and others with empty pocket are dumped in a corner. This forced the Google to take action on the sites that are selling backlinks. Even this strong punishment could not completely bring solution and even now you can find some culprits in the internet market.
Even though it is a cause of worry for the people who could not spend money on buying backlinks, still they can do better with good content. The content plays the vital role in grabbing the attention of the audience. So, if you can post keyword rich and informative rich content, then you are sure to win the race. The content should be related to your business or that is useful for the audience. You can drive traffic to your site through blogs. Posting blogs will have great impact in building your website and improving search engine rankings.
A Backlinking strategy seems to be easy. For some it also looks like a fun. But, through backlinking, a website owner may learn more and get the opportunity to meet new people. The slow and steady process will definitely lift your website to the first page in the search engine optimization.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)