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                        May, 2007
In This Issue:

Announcements
Search Engine Optimization Articles:
 . . . Realistic SEO Expectations
 . . . 3-Page Search Engine Optimization Technique
 . . . 10 Tips for Getting Back-links to your Web Site
Web Design Articles:
 . . . 8 Tips to Create a Landing Page
 . . . 9 Ways to Improve a Bad Web Site Design
 . . . Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design

Welcome New Clients:
www.businessvalueexperts.com

www.lavozhispana.biz

Great Free Resources

Have some fun exploring SEOMoz's new Page Strength Tool.  What does this tool tell me?

 + The Relative Importance and Visibility of a Webpage
 +  The Potential Strength and Ability of a Page to Rank in the Search Engines
 +  Data on Popularity, Links & Mentions of the Page Across the Web


A handy free Keyword Research Tool is available now at http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/


Our quest is to find the most progressive and promising spinal cord injury research and rehabilitative methods available.

A Community Celebration and Fund Raiser for Spinal Cord Injury Research

Proudly Presents
Rally Hits the Road: Chicago
Sunday, September 9, 5:00 p.m.
Navy Pier, Grand Ballroom
Featuring
Second City Comedy and Special Guests
All Proceeds to Benefit Spinal Cord Injury Research
Striving From Laboratory towards Human Application
Click here for more information or contact:  Next Steps SCI Rehab
708.467.0657   nextsteps1@aol.com 
To purchase tickets online or sponsor the event

Contributions are tax-deductible per IRS codes

Announcements:

Based on studies and our own experiences over the past few years, natural organic top 10 placement always results in higher sales than paid placement on the same page of search results. If paying someone to optimize your web site is not an option, learning how to optimize your own web site is an excellent investment of your time.

WingsDove offers web site design solutions and search engine optimization for small to mid-size businesses and non-profit organizations and is considered one the most effective and affordable Web Design and optimization companies in the Chicago area.

Search Engine Optimization and Marketing

Realistic SEO Expectations

Those who've been in the SEO biz for a number of years know how much more competitive it is these days as compared to a few years ago. The number of web pages indexed by search engines has doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in past years. On top of that, a good portion of site owners and webmasters know just enough SEO to be dangerous. In the golden age of SEO, the vast majority of websites hadn't given a thought to the search engines, and when they did, it was only to place some keywords in their Meta tags. (Which, incidentally, didn't help then either.) Those were the days when anyone who knew even the slightest bit about SEO could easily rank highly in all the major search engines, with very little effort. Even competitive areas were doable with just a little more work than their non-competitive counterparts. Continue reading at  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/article-seo-realistic-seo.htm

The 3-Page Search Engine Optimization Technique

Performing basic optimization to improve the rankings of a page in search results is not truly that difficult. Generic search engine friendly optimization techniques work well in most engines. When competition is fiercer, and many of your competitors have some level of search engine optimization too, things become harder.

At this point, the content needs to be better optimized for the particular algorithm than the competitors' content is - and this means choosing which algorithm (and search engine) you will attempt to match. One page cannot closely match different algorithms, and each of the major search engines has its own algorithm.

Continue reading this article at:  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/article-seo-3-pg-seo-tech.htm

Top 10 Tips for Getting Back-links to Your Website

Thinking of outsourcing your reciprocal linking? Think again. There are more benefits to linking than just getting links. Consider doing at least some work yourself.

First let's make a master list, all the usual ways we can think of to get quality, relevant links back to a website.

1. Fill out a form or email a webmaster, asking for a reciprocal link.
We'll assume for the purpose of clarity that we mean exchanging links to post to a traditional directory page.
Continue reading this article at:  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/article-seo-10-tips-backlinks.htm

Web Site Design and Usability

8 Tips To Create A Landing Page

Introduction
You need copy for your landing page but you're not sure where to start. First let's clarify what we mean by a landing page. A landing page can be a page that visitors come to after clicking on a promotional banner or link. Ultimately, the landing page must convince the visitor that they should stay on your site. You may also have a goal that you want accomplished, such as: 
Continue reading this article at:  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/articles-des-8-tips-landpages.htm

9 Ways to Improve Bad Website Design

Introduction
You're website reads well and you're proud of it. But, you've tried and tried to create something that looks good too, and you can't seem to get it together. You're waiting for rave reviews but none have come your way. Your website is a flop. Not to worry. You're not alone. You want to fix it but you don't have the big budget you need to hire a great web developer. Check out some simple ways you can improve your website and get it into better shape, now!
Continue reading this article at:  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/articles-des-9-ways-improve-design.htm

Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design

Summary:
The ten most egregious offenses against users. Web design disasters and HTML horrors are legion, though many usability atrocities are less common than they used to be.

Since my first attempt in 1996, I have compiled many top-10 lists of the biggest mistakes in Web design. This article presents the highlights: the very worst mistakes of Web design. (Updated 2007.)  Continue reading this article at:  http://www.wingsdove.com/articles/articles-des-10-design-mistakes.htm


Mary Walilko
WingsDove Web Design Solutions
800.439.0270, ext. 702