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Using
doorway pages (also called "Gateway" pages) are an excellent way
to score high with the major search engines.
Done RIGHT! -- traffic to
your Web site will soar!
The first thing to understand is the purpose of your doorway
pages. So, here are the most compelling reasons for developing them...
-
Score
high with search engines for searches on a collection of keywords or
keyword phrases.
-
Get-the-click!
-
Once
the surfer arrives at your pages, DELIVER content that PREsells them
on your most wanted response...
-
Make
the sale!
Notice
that "make the sale" is after the PREsell. So, sales
generation is not the primary focus of these pages.
Getting TARGETED TRAFFIC is.
Your "Most Wanted Response" (MWR) is to get the surfer to
click-through to your main page or Web pages designed to actually do the
selling.
Search,
Click, Click, Cha-Ching!
Doorway pages can also be used to deliver great content about specific
products. More on this later.
So for now let's...
Build
Doorway Pages That
Focus On SELECT Keywords!
First,
think about the main "FEATURES" of your product(s) or
service(s).
What are the keywords or phrases that potential customers might use in
searches to find YOU!
A great tool to help you focus on the "most popular"
search terms used is this Keyword
Suggestion Tool.
Another
key feature of this doorway page campaign is to attract free traffic that
the competition has not thought about. Or, areas where competition is less
heavy.
For example...
A search on the phrase "internet marketing" (with
the quotes) at Google reveals about 79 million sites. But, a search on "internet
marketing strategy" shows that you are ONLY competing against a
little over one million competitors.
Your chances of scoring on the first page with the term "internet
marketing strategy" at Google is almost 80 times better than
trying to score with the highly used phrase "internet
marketing."
However...
Do the same search at MSN and you will discover only 10 million
returns for "internet marketing" and a mere 260,000 for
"internet marketing strategy".
So as you can see, with MSN you have a much better chance of ranking high
for "internet marketing strategy."
Doorway
Pages Have
Varying Results On
Different Search Engines
It is
almost impossible to get one doorway page to score really high on more
than one or two search engines. The algorithms are so different that you
must NOT focus on the individual search engines in order to score well.
Added to that, competition on the Web is INTENSE. For a small business on
a limited budget, building doorway pages can bring in a tremendous amount
of free traffic. However...
The most effective way to get more traffic is to...
...work
the fringes.
Occasionally,
you will score really high on a "MAJOR" keyword-phrase. Whenever
that happens, GREAT! Your page does not need additional
optimization.
But, your MAIN OBJECTIVE is to build traffic through the path of least
resistance. And that means, working the keyword-phrases with the least
amount of competition.
Now let's keep this all in proper perspective.
If you use the Keyword
Suggestion Tool to determine what words to focus on, be
careful not to waste too much time on the keyword-phrases that are not
bringing in traffic.
My suggestion is to cut your keyword suggestion search down to
"relevant" returns at about 600 hits or more per month for any
keyword-phrase. That's equal to no less than 20 hits per day.
Our mini-course on pay-per-click
advertising shows you in detail HOW to effectively use the Keyword
Suggestion Tool.
Okay!
Now
let's get back to developing doorway pages.
How
To Create Doorway Pages
Once
you have made a list of great keyword-phrases, now is the time to start
developing a page for each. So...
You will need to develop a Title, Description, Headline, and Content to
get the customer to deliver your MWR
for each keyword-phrase -- the Click-Through!
Title -- The title must
include your most important keyword. This is the most vital ingredient
for high search engine placement. Your page title should be 6-10 words
(60-80 characters max) that will entice searchers to click-through. Use
your keyword (or some variation of it) no more than twice in the Title,
and never back-to-back.
The Page Title is not a meta tag!
Description (Meta Tag) -- This
meta tag is used by many search engines to index your Web site.
Include your keywords no more than 2-3 times in a 20-30 word description
(around 140-180 characters max). This description is what will show up in
most search engine results, so make sure it's written well enough to get
the click.
Keywords (Meta Tag) -- This
meta tag is probably the most misunderstood meta tag used today.
Every Web page should focus on no more than 2 or 3 keywords (also use
their root word and variations). These are the words and phrases that
should show-up in the Keyword Meta Tag. The words and phrases in
this section must also be on the page itself, not just in the Title
and Description.
Content -- The first 250-400
words on a page are probably the most important to the search engines. In
this area, starting with the lead paragraph, the concentration of keywords
is most important. After the first 3 or 4 paragraphs, sprinkle your main
keywords and variations throughout the rest of the page to add balance.
**DO
NOT create a Web page under 250 words!**
Be
cautious in your attempts score high, because you must also maintain
readability and good flow to create a strong message to the reader.
There is no magic number of words or phrases. The key to high placement is
a solid message, loaded with great content and keyword
concentration.
SPECIAL
NOTE: For the search engines that do not use meta tags, the first
words on your page will usually be displayed as the description under
the Title. Make them count!
As
mentioned before, this process is not designed to "SELL"
your product or service. However, the page does have to be loaded with
BENEFITS that PREsell your idea so you can get the click-through.
Here is how to handle it...
Focus on the keyword-phase chosen for that doorway page and
work it into the Title, Description, Headline, and four or five GREAT
paragraphs around the BENEFITS your product or service provides as it
relates to the keyword-phrase.
Always start with a Headline that shows your MOST compelling benefit to
the potential customer.
Keep in mind, there is no MAGIC NUMBER of times to include your keyword
phrase. However, be sure to use it in the first paragraph and about two or
three more times in the next four or five paragraphs.
Remember, this is not an exact science! Every search engine will have
returns that differ sometimes, and they can be EXACTLY the same for the
first ten results.
So don't get too hung-up on the actual returns.
Here's the cycle of events...
-
Create
5 to 10 benefit-laden keyword-focused pages, starting with the most
relevant to your site.
-
Submit
them to the most popular search engines according to their submission
policies.
-
Wait
a couple of months to give them time to be indexed.
Personal Note: I
have lost #1 positions by CHANGING things AFTER a page was indexed. Be
patient!
-
Check
your position with each search engine. If your page is not in the Top
Twenty on any search engine, tweak the page by slightly increasing or
decreasing keyword concentration and re-submit.
Note: Opt to create more pages over constantly trying to tweak old
ones.
-
If
your page appears in the Top 10 or 20 on a major search engine,
CONGRATULATIONS! No further action is require.
-
Gradually
expand this program. Start the cycle for the next batch of 5 to
10 based on some sort of timetable. Maybe once a week or once a month
for each batch, depending on time available.
I
ALMOST forgot...
If you
have a product, don't forget to check on the popularity of the product's MODEL
NUMBER. This might be the NICHE you've been searching for!
Build
your pages around the model number and any variations that might show up
in your keyword suggestion tool.
Creating
and submitting doorway pages is a lot of work.
However, it is vitally important to generating free search engine
traffic to your site.
One way to DRAMATICALLY increase your potential to score high with the
major search engines is to build your Web site around a theme. Our
site, for example, is built around the theme of "Web Marketing".
Everything on our Web site is RELATED to that theme!
For more ideas about building a theme-based Web site...
Visit
our Site Build It! Reference Center.
Click here to learn more...
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Skip" form and I'll personally reply with the answer
and make suggestions about how to use the Internet to benefit your
business.
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