How Search Engines Connect Sellers and Buyers
Maggie knows how to find what she wants. She lets her fingers do the walking - not in the Yellow Pages, but at Google.com. She wants to learn about bread baking, and you have just written Bread Baking Made Simple, and you sell some great baking tools. The good news is the Google and other search engines exist for one simple reason: to help Maggie find your website.
Google will show Maggie 534,000 resources on "bread baking". Unless she fails to find what she wants on the first page, or top 10 results, she will never find your website listed 124th in the results. (Actually, if she does not find what she wants in the top twenty or thirty results, she is likely to refine her search to "easy bread baking" or "home bread baking").
How do you get into the top 10 results so Maggie can find your website? You might have heard a lot about "search engine optimization" and "ranking analysis" and "algorithms". It all sounds very complex, but it really works on a simple 1 - 2 - 3 principle.
- A search engine will show Maggie only resources (websites) it has on record. So make sure to submit your site to the key search engines and directories. You do not need to hire somebody who will charge you big dollars to do this. Nor should you fall for any of the auto-submit software or services. This should be done by hand, and anybody can do it. You can do it yourself.
- The search engine will rank highest those websites it feels are most "important". This means you have to show that your website is most important. There are a few simple things you can do. First, make sure you have content. Text content equals importance on the Internet. Links, both coming in and going out, are key. Connectivity equals importance on the Internet. Get listed in the major directories (DMOZ.com, Yahoo.com, Zeal.com, JoeAnt.com, etc.), as this also is a measure of importance.
- The search engine will show Maggie the most "relevant" high-ranking resources. Google might rank http://www.qqwear.com relatively very high, but it is totally irrelevant to a search for bread baking. How does a search engine know which websites are most relevant for Maggie's search? By the number of times "bread baking" shows up in text on your web page. By the variety of ways it shows up on your page. By number web pages you link to and that link to you with the words "bread baking" included.
The first is choosing the right keywords. It might look simple, but "bread baking" might not even be the best keyword phrase to focus on. It might be "easy bread baking" or "home bread baking". The most searched terms might not be the best, nor the term with the least competition.
The second is to prepare a link strategy. The "link exchange" pages that are getting more popular each day are also becoming less effective each day. Here are just a few of the linking factors that will affect whether Maggie discovers your book:
- The total number of incoming and outgoing links
- The importance of the sites you link to and from
- The relevancy of the sites you link to and from
- Which pages on their sites and on yours are being linked
- What you include in the incoming and outgoing links
- Where on the page the links are placed
- How many links are on those pages
- How many pages are linked to or have outgoing links
- The ratio of links to content on the pages involved
The third place to invest is to have somebody knowledgeable review your html code. Chances are that you have missed numerous opportunities to let the search engines know your website is relevant, and possibly some opportunities to show it is important.
For more free seo-related articles for reprint, please see qqwear online fashion our article directory.
RPT-UPDATE 1-Singapore's DBS says has $1.28 bln Dubai exposure
* DBS believes Dubai exposure is manageable
* Only credit under standstill notice is $400 mln loan
* DBS shares closed 3 pct lower on uncertainty over exposure
* Singapore c.bank says bank sector exposure under 1 pct
By Kevin Lim and Neil Chatterjee
SINGAPORE, Nov 30 - DBS Group
DBS, seen by analysts as the most exposed among Singapore lenders to Dubai's debt troubles, said its exposure to the whole Middle East accounted for around two percent of its balance sheet, including its 50 percent-owned Islamic Bank of Asia.
"The bank believes that the situation is manageable as a substantial portion of this is to Dubai-owned companies operating in Asia that are sound, such as Labroy and South Beach, which is collateralised," the bank said in a statement late on Monday.
Investors are waiting for clarity from Dubai on billions in debt repayments after it raised fears of a second bout of financial turmoil last week when it asked for a six-month freeze on debt issued by Dubai World [DBWLD.UL] and Nakheel [NAKHD.UL].
DBS said the only credit captured under the standstill notice is a S$558 million bilateral loan to Dubai World Finance, representing 0.2 percent of its total balance sheet. It said it has no exposure to property developer Nakheel.
DBS shares closed 2.98 percent down on Monday, after a Singapore market holiday on Friday, underperforming a 1.1 percent drop in the broader index <.FTSTI>.
DBS told Reuters the $1.28 billion included exposure from the Islamic Bank of Asia, which focuses on banking in the Middle East and Asia from its offices in Singapore and Bahrain. DBS owns about 50 percent of Islamic Bank of Asia.
DBS, 28 percent owned by state investor Temasek [TEM.UL], derives the bulk of its revenue from Singapore and Hong Kong. But in its earnings statement for the second quarter ended June 2009, it blamed an increase in non-performing loans to "exposures to shipping and Middle East corporates and institutions".
"The exposures to Dubai World debt are relatively limited, and are less of a concern compared to the spillover effects for related entities, corporates in the UAE region and potential refinancing issues," said JPMorgan in a report on global banks.
DBS has partly financed, together with UOB, OCBC, HSBC and Sumitomo Mitsui, an S$800 million loan for the South Beach property development project in Singapore, a JV between City Developments
Singapore's second biggest lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
OCBC shares eased 0.36 percent while UOB fell 0.95 percent.
Singapore's central bank said on Monday the total gross exposure of the country's banking sector to the United Arab Emirates was well below 1 percent of total banking assets.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore also said in a statement that it does not expect the developments in Dubai to adversely affect the financial stability of Singapore, a growing wealth management centre and currency trading hub. ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))
PM Lee proposes extra day of non—campaigning before Polling Day
PM Lee proposes extra day of non—campaigning before Polling Day PORT OF SPAIN: The Singapore government is proposing an extra day of non—campaigning as a cooling—off period just before Polling Day, ahead of the General Election due in 2012.
The extra day of non—campaigning will also apply to a presidential election.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the announcement to the Singapore media after wrapping up his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago.
Under current election rules, political parties are not allowed to campaign on Polling Day itself.
Except for party political broadcasts and news reports, there are to be no more mass rallies, door—to—door visits and even display of party symbols.
Mr Lee said the cabinet had been considering an additional cooling—off day over the past several elections.
He said this would give voters time to reflect rationally on issues, after the emotional high of election campaigning.
Mr Lee said: "I think 24 hours after the last excitement of the election campaign period, the rallies, the door—to—door campaigning, the adrenaline flowing, the clash in the mass media as well as in person, perambulating vans blaring away loud speakers, it’s good to have 24 hours to just calm down, think about it — tomorrow we vote."
He added that having a cooling—off period will also lessen the risk of public disorder.
"Previously, once in a while, we have had pushing and shoving at election rallies as the crowd gets worked up and doesn’t disperse, but the main thing is to have time for people to think over the issues and to vote in a calm state of mind," he said.
Mr Lee was asked how this additional 24—hour cooling—off period would apply to the online world of networking and video—sharing sites.
"On the Internet, it’s grey and also the policing is not so straight—forward but even then, in principle we should say today is a quiet day. I cannot control several million videos on youtube but your website, what you’re putting up in your own name, I think that should end the day before the cooling—off day," he said.
Countries that have imposed a similar period of campaign silence include Australia and Indonesia.
Australia has a three—day black—out of election advertising and Indonesia has a three—day cooling—off before Legislative Elections and a two—day cooling—off before the Presidential election.
In Singapore, this means that the minimum period between Nomination and Polling Day will be extended from 9 to 10 days to keep the same number of minimum campaigning days.
This comes on the back of new election rules proposed earlier this year to bring more diverse views to Parliament.
These include having more single—seat wards and smaller Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), as well as allowing for more non—elected seats.
Mr Lee had said then that the proposed changes are aimed at a more balanced system and to bring diverse views in Parliament to better reflect the aspirations of Singaporeans.
On whether the changes mean the General Election is near?
Mr Lee remained tight—lipped. "Maybe ... no I don’t have a date for you — it could be, it could not be," he said.
The Prime Minister did not give a date but he did say it is getting closer. One thing’s for sure, the General Election is unlikely to be in the first quarter of next year. That’s because the new election rule will have to be read in Parliament before the Budget in February or March next year, and the Constitution changed after the Budget. — CNA/de
