SEO Project #1 – SEO – SEO Rank Final Results – Update #20

Previous Post For This Project

It's been nearly 2 months since I posted an update on this project. I haven't done anything at all. I've just been sitting back and looking at the results of my labor. I've managed to secure a lot of top spots for my keywords on MSN. Maintaining this has been very easy. Google on the other hand has been completely different.

Every time my site shows up at the top of the results, I'm ready to raise my hands in victory only to be disappointed by my site completely disappearing for the next week. This was the case for nearly 6 weeks. I haven't been able to make any sense of it.

Finally about a month ago my rankings finally stabilized and I have a rank #7 for my top keyword on Google. Granted, this isn't where I wanted to be, but it tells me at least some of my work was effective and with more time and more work, I can secure a spot in the top 3.

The problem with SEO is there really isn't a way to go back and sort through my actions to determine which were productive and which were a waste of time. I have came to a few conclusions.

#1. I believe the article marketing was a big plus. I'm still getting a fair amount of clicks directly from the article directories. This is something I will continue to do with my future sites. The best and easiest way to do this is with Article Post Robot. For more information, check out my affiliate banner on the right side of this page.

#2. I believe the paid directory submissions were a positive. It took some time for my links to be indexed, but I believe they were responsible for my ranking to finally settle down and stablize.

#3. The mass submission of my site to 500+ free directories was a waste of time. When you have that many free spammy links pop up at once, it can't be good for your reputation as far as Google is concerned. This was a complete waste of time and money and may have caused a negative impact on my ranking.

#4. I could do a better job of organizing my keywords and picking better keywords to rank for. I've recently come up with a new method of keyword research that I'll be trying on a second site. I'll start posting those results later this week.

#5. I have a .net domain that is an exact match for my top keyword phrase. Most SEO guys believe this has some impact on ranking. I believe the exact amount is small, but every little bit helps.

Conclusion

I'm finished posting about this project, but I'll continue to work to improve the ranking. Overall, it has been a success. This project nets me $300 - $500 a month in adsense and affiliate income.

For now, I'm on to the next project and will begin posting about it by the end of the week.

Posted by: Brent Crouch on 31 Oct, 2008No Comments »