Every website, large small and in between needs traffic. There is absolutely no point in having the best looking, most interesting website in the world if nobody ever visits it. Your aim is to get a steady stream of visitors to your website and transform them into customers. To get the steady stream of visitors to your website, you need to make sure the website is visible to the search engines. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Failure to attend to search engine optimization is the equivalent of opening an amazingly decorated, well-stocked shop and keeping the blinds down and the door locked.

Search Engine Optimization sounds as if it should be a task best reserved for a specialist. It is, however, something all webmasters should tackle as a matter of course. The first time webmaster will probably not have a natural ability to send his website to the top of the search engine lists in a matter of days. He should, however, do sufficient optimization to ensure that nothing on his website is actually working against his success with search engines.

As a first step in the search engine optimization of your website, check to make sure you are not making any of these common mistakes.

1. Failing to use the right keywords. Take advantage of the tools available online to research the right keywords for your website. You need to have keywords real visitors will be searching for. An example of good keyword/bad keyword is an airline using the keyword phrase “low cost tickets” when its visitors would be searching for their product using the words “cheap flights”.

2. Keyword Spamming. If you use the same keyword too many times, there is a danger the search engines will consider this to be spam and will penalize your website accordingly. Keyword spamming can relate to phrases used in your website meta tags as well as to the anchor text on your website.

3. Keyword Stuffing. This is similar to keyword spamming. The offence is frequently found in “alt” tags where the website owner places keywords in the tags instead of an accurate description of the graphic.

4. Using Keywords Unrelated To Your Website. Inserting popular keyword search phrases that have nothing to do with your website content into your meta tags is a sure way of getting dumped by the search engines.

5. Using Hidden Text. Unscrupulous webmasters have been known to repeat keywords on backgrounds the same color as the text so that the words are invisible to visitors but will be read by the search engines. Newsflash: search engines are not stupid enough to fall for this trick.

6. Using minute text. This is a variation of using invisible text. Instead of making the text and the background the same color, the text is reduced to a size too small to be read by human visitors. Adding a string of tiny keywords does not work, the search engines can recognise when keywords are being used naturally and not just placed on a web page in a list.

7. Having broken links. Make sure you regularly check all links on your web pages. A bad link is a sure way of upsetting the search engine bots when they come to visit. If you are marketing affiliate products, keep an eye on the links to the vendors’ sites. When you delete of move things on your website, remember that one small change can have all sorts of repercussions if your housekeeping results in a broken link on another page.

8. Not Using Alt Tags. The search engines cannot see graphics, they rely on text. Therefore, you should use an “alt” tag for every image. The tag should accurately describe the image. The “alt” tags are also beneficial to blind or partially sighted visitors who rely on audio assistance to “see” your web pages.

9. Not Using All The Meta Tags Correctly. Make sure you use each and every recognised meta tag and use them correctly. Search engine fashions are subject to change: at one time the “keywords” meta tag was vital, then the experts told us Google no longer relied upon it. Have all your tags properly completed in readiness for them coming back into fashion. Also remember that what one search engine ignores, might be vital for listing by other search engines.

10. Using Free Hosting. Free website hosting might be perfectly adequate for a hobby website but it will not impress the search engines. The search engines look at where your site is hosted. They also take note of the length of time for which your domain is registered. A professionally hosted site with a domain name which is registered for two years or more will be given greater importance than a site hosted free with a domain name registered for only one year.

These mistakes can all be rectified very simply. Don’t be afraid, search engine optimization is much easier than rocket science and assistance is readily available. There are plenty of resources online to help you understand what is required and there are also resources to help you check that your optimization efforts are taking you in the right direction. Many of these resources are free.

Thousands Sucked Dry By Hard Money Parasites- How To Avoid The
Loan Leech! by The Hard Money Specialist

(c)2005 The Hard Money Specialist- All Rights reserved
www.hardmoneyspecialist.com

==========================================================

There are creatures that prowl about the lush, green hard money
jungle that ignorantly kill 99 out of 100 deals…and the chances
of you ever finding a real lender with them are slim and none.

Now I’m not talking about respectable brokers, agents or
middlemen that have direct access to the money and treat their
clients with respect. I’m referring to the ignorant leech who
has absolutely no connection to a real investor at all, and
leads the innocent, sometimes desperate client into a black hole
of false hope.

They are despicable, not because they don’t want to secure
funding for their client, but because they don’t know the first
thing about the real world of private lending… They are in it
for the hope of big broker fees and don’t really care about the
myriad of candidates vying for funding!

They don’t give a flying squirrel about the client, their
particular circumstances or the massive amount of time that will
be wasted. They set their hook and then proceed to drag their
unsuspecting prey into a daisy-chain jungle, hoping that
someway, somehow, someone they find will fund the deal (throw
enough wet spaghetti against the wall and something eventually
has got to stick mentality).

This jungle leech calls every person he can find, other leeches,
quasi-brokers and the like, hoping that someone will know
someone who knows someone’s rich brother-in-law. This fishing
can take days and sometimes weeks, and, if they ever get lucky
enough to find an interested party, they simply sit back and
pacify the unsuspecting client as long as they can until they
find a way to the cash. Now, if the interested party is another
leech (and 99% of the time they are) you can see how this
daisy-chain can quickly grow into an anchor that drags the deal
into the shadows of the jungle.

Many deals never get funded because there are too many hands in
the cookie jar…”a plethora of parasites” if you will. If one
leech senses he won’t get his cut of the profits, he can and
usually does, kill the deal so NO ONE gets paid. And the sad
thing is, a real hard money lender doesn’t go near a deal that’s
been picked over. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are
simple indicators you can learn to help you deal directly with
the real private money lender. If you follow these basic rules,
you will save yourself considerable time, frustration and
heartache.

Rule No.1- If they ask for an upfront fee, laugh, scream “leech”
into the receiver and hang-up the phone! Who knows, maybe you’ll
freak one out and he’ll change professions.

Rule No. 2- Real hard money or private money lenders know
EXACTLY what they are looking for and will tell you (always
during the first phone call) if your deal fits their criteria.
If the agent or broker is not sure, staggers a bit and has to
check, again, hang-up the phone!

Rule No. 3- Don’t throw out your deal for everyone to look at.
Go at it one investor at a time. Remember, real lenders know
when a deal has been handed around…picked over deals are already
dead! They won’t even look at them.

Rule No. 4- Do a web search on the company, group or individual
to see if there is any derogatory information floating around
about them. If you don’t find anything at all that’s OK. There
are only a handful of real investors in every area and they
generally are very private individuals or small groups.

Rule No. 5- Try to deal with someone local if you can. It’s
easier to check them out and get a good read on them.

Rule No. 6- Most genuine private investors and their
representatives are pretty laid back. It’s the over exuberant or
hyper individual I would stay away from.

Rule No. 7- With bigger deals, like commercial developments,
know what documentation you need to get together for your
package by checking with your financial advisor or banker.

I sincerely hope this article helps you in your quest to find a
real lender who can fund your deal and avoid the hard money
jungle altogether! Why not just take the easy route and visit
me? That’s what I do!
===========================================================

The Hard Money Specialist has helped thousands of clients secure
financing. Need to get to the real investor? Click here now-
http://www.hardmoneyspecialist.com hardmoneyspecialist@cox.net
or call 949-305-1793– 6 FREE GIFTS just for visiting!

ATTENTION Ezine Editors/Site Owners Feel free to reprint this
article in it’s entirety in your ezine or on your site as long
as you leave all the links in place, do not modify the content
and include our resource box as listed above.