Getting To Know Google

Dali Singh

Having greatly benefited from my relationship with Google in the past several years, I am dedicating this article to the search engine superstar.

I have to be brutally honest and relay that our friendship hasn't always been rosy. I got to know Google several years back, when it was just a small fish in a big pond. I started to analyze its every move and realized that Google is a fickle, clever and extremely mysterious being. Still, I decided to get more acquainted.
Here are a few things I learned along the way.

When it comes to logic, Google is the queen

In other words, avoid participating in anything that may blacklist you from this search engine, including keyword stuffing, link farms and hosting 50 "sister" sites on the same server. Keyword stuffing doesn't refer merely to the content of your site, but also the alt tags, headers, URLs and any additional areas of your web site.

Google likes to stay focused

When optimizing the individual pages of your Web site, try to hone in on one or two relevant keywords per Web page. Analyze each page and identify which keyword would be most suitable.

If you decide to optimize for two keywords per page, make sure that they are similar in context. For example, if you are optimizing for the key phrase "insurance leads," you may also consider optimizing for "insurance sales leads" within the same page.

Google loves to travel

It is commonly known that Google loves links, both inbound and outbound. When it comes to search engine optimization, lots of research has focused on inbound links, but little has focused on the number of links on an actual page. It appears that Google favors sites that have several internal and outbound links over those that don't have links.

If you have any doubts about this theory, simply do a search on any high-volume keyword or phrase within this search engine and analyze the first few sites that come up. Notice how the majority of them have numerous internal links on the main pages of their Web site.

Google is popular and expects you to be, too

The more popular your site is across the Web, the more Google will favor you. Obviously, having several high-quality inbound links to your site is key in achieving higher rankings. When identifying Web sites for inbound links, target the ones that are highly relevant to your site. For example, if you run a jewelry site, look for sites that are purely informational on the topic of jewelry or gemstones. Also, make sure that the sites you decide to partner with have a good PageRank (at least a 5) and online presence.

To save yourself a lot of hassle, conduct a keyword search relevant to your business and target the Web sites that show up on the first and second pages of Google (weeding out the competition, of course); contact the Web masters of those sites and tell them about your company and find useful ways to compensate them for adding your company's information on their site.

If you have an affiliate program, don't be shy to pitch it. If you have an online advertising budget, offer them a pay-per-click deal or monthly advertising fee for promoting your Web site. Note that partnering with these sites or purchasing ads should complement your overall marketing and business development strategy-and not be used merely to get link value.

Google gets bored easily

Regardless of whether your site is informational, e-commerce or just a sophisticated version of a business card, having quality content is crucial for search engine optimization. Adding to that factor is how often you update your site's content.

If you run a site that has new content added on a monthly basis (do not overdo it), then eventually the Google "freshbot" will start visiting your site more often and index your new content into the database. The more content you update, the more Google visits your site and indexes it quicker. Do not refresh your content simply for search engine optimization purposes, but do take the effort to keep interesting articles, blogs and entries to keep your visitors coming back.

If you haven't already noticed, keeping pace with Google is not an easy undertaking. It takes a certain level of knowledge, skill and creativity to truly benefit from this relationship. The rest is up to the stars.


Dali Singh is the Managing Director for Blueliner Marketing, a full service marketing and Internet consultancy. Visit www.bluelinermarketing.com or email her directly at dali @ bluelinermarketing.com.

Child Birthday Party Game Ideas
Mike Dougherty "Grandpa Mike"

Need some fun child birthday party game ideas that will turn your child's party into an instant success? Here are some great games that your party guests will love.

The Secret Of The Mummy

Divide your party guests into two teams... Have each team choose a player to be "the Mummy."

Then give each team three rolls of toilet paper... Then start your party theme music and see which team is first to wrap up their Mummy from head to toe... To make things more fun, you might want to give them a two minute time limit... A great child birthday party game idea!

Whats That Smell

Blindfold each party guest one at a time, then place something in a paper bag for them to smell and see if they can guess what it is...

Try a peppermint, gum, toothpaste, cheese, a slice of pizza, cherry candy, grape candy, a banana, peanut butter or something milder like a slice of bread.

The Great Detective

A child birthday party game idea they're sure to love.

Have your birthday child go into another room and make a slight change in their appearance... Put on something different, one different sock, reposition their hat, or take off or add some jewelry... Then have them come back in the room with their party guests and see which guest is "the great detective" and can figure out what's different.

Quick Change Artist

Give each child a bag that contains a big over-sized shirt, big pants, big socks and a big knit or floppy hat... Start your party theme music and say "ready - set - go!"

Each player starts putting the baggy clothes over their own clothing.,.. The first one to put on all the clothes from the bag is "the quick change artist."

You might want to have your party guests remove their shoes to make it easier to get the big socks on their feet.

Sneak Attack

Have your birthday child sit in a chair in the middle of the room and place a blindfold over their eyes... Place an object under the chair. It can be a stuffed animal, a toy, a small bag of candy or a wrapped gift.

Keep everyone quiet as your party guests try to sneak up (one at a time) and take the object under the chair... If your birthday child tags them, that player is out and the next player must try and take the object... Your birthday child can move their arms around, but don't let them use their feet.

Silly Dress-Up

A great child birthday party game idea for everyone.

Take lots of wild - colored shirts, pants, hats, socks, scarves, jackets and anything else you can think of and have your party guests see who can come up with the silliest, funniest, craziest costume.

Wild Animal Act

Write the name of an animal on a piece of paper, fold the paper in half (so you can't see what's written) then put all the pieces of paper in a bowl... Have one party guest take a piece of paper out of the bowl and act out that animal... The first player to guess the animal correctly then takes a piece of paper from the bowl and acts out that animal... Keep playing until all your party guests have had a turn.

Wacky Balloon Race

Divide your party guests into two teams... Have one player from each team put a balloon between their knees... When you say "go," start your theme music and both players race to the finish line without dropping or popping their balloon.

If a balloon pops or the player drops their balloon, that player has to start all over again with a new balloon...

Every player on each team must race with the balloon. The team that finishes first wins.

Child Birthday Party Game Ideas

You can vary each of these games to make them appropriate for the age group of your party...

Have fun, laugh, enjoy, take lots of pictures and shoot plenty of video!

Mike Dougherty has lots of experience putting together successful birthday parties for his children. For more great information and tips on kid birthday party ideas, take a quick look at Fun-Kid-Birthday-Parties.com