We're all familar with the little bit of HTML code, TARGET="_blank" and how annoying it can be if misused.  For newbies, it's the command that tells the browser to open a link in a new window rather than opening the link in the same window (default browser behavior).

There are times when you can improve your conversion rates by implementing the new window command sparingly and for the right type of links.   Use it too much, however, and your visitor loyalty will suffer.

One of the most important ways to get quality traffic to your site is through article syndication. Unfortunately if your articles don't get read you are completely wasting your time.  In this story we'll provide 5 tips on writing strong headlines, but more importantly we'll introduce the first fully automated and free tool for headline creation and analysis.

Article clicks are based upon one thing and one thing alone, whether or not your headline is compelling.  You should think of your headline as an advertisement for the article contained within.

The world has gone mad for blogs over the past few years; if you don't already have one you'd better catch up since they're essential for search engine optimization (SEO).

A blog, or "web log" is a simple a web site featuring multiple articles organized in chronological, or more often, in reverse chronological order.  Originally, blogs were more or less used as a sort of personal diary.  Because blogs were deemed so useful they have become the principle source of news on the internet.  To learn more about blog basics you should read the article about blogs on Wikipedia.

There is often confusion between a “sitemap.html” file, which is used by site visitors as a navigation aid, and “sitemap.xml” file, which is used by search engines as a navigation aid. I should point out here that the robots.txt file is also a sitemap, but essentially backwards, since it tells the search engines where not to look. There are many other kinds of Sitemaps too, and for different purposes, as I will explain below.

One of the most important on site factors for search engine optimization is the number and quality of links your site contains.  As strange as it may sound some links help, while others hinder your rankings with major search engines.

Anchor Text

For those of you that are new, anchor text is the link text that appears highlighted (and typically underlined) when you place your mouse cursor over it.  The anchor text of all links should be descriptive, and should relate to the subject of the source & destination pages.  Ideally it should contain keywords for your site and for the destination site.  Avoid using the url as the link text, e.g. www.seoblogspot.com and avoid writing a great description about the link only to put "click here" in the anchor text.  Using the site name is generally ok, if it's descriptive enough. 

Next to having a lot of quality content, creating great title tags is the most important single thing you can do to your web site to increase your search engine traffic.

There are a number of reasons for this.  First and foremost, the major search engines weight title tags as the greatest factor in determining the relavence of your site.  Second, your title tag shows up as the description in search results.  So even if you manage to get listed high in search results people may not click on your link if the title isn't relavent.  Finally, if the title tag doesn't match the page content the search engines will penalize you.

Here are some guidelines for creating great title tags:

Most webmasters spend countless hours attempting to increase organic traffic by increasing the number of backlinks to their site.  There is no doubt that high quality backlinks are critical to getting high search engine rankings.  Even more important, however, is creating a site that's search engine friendly.

Here I've compiled the 10 most important onsite design factors for search engine optimization.  Presumably you have already done your keyword homework and are ready to create or update your site.  I will be covering each item in more detail and will be including links to free tools over the next several weeks.

Choosing an appropriate domain name for your website is no mean feat in today's competitive internet world.  To make matters worse, you need to carefully consider several factors besides just having a short and catchy name.