How I Ranked A Brand New Site In Google & Yahoo’s Top 10 Within 3 Weeks
By Christine | January 7, 2009
Three weeks ago, Tara and I launched a brand new free press release submission site – Online PR News. Today, 3 weeks later, it is ranking in the #9 spot (update, it is now in the #6 spot) in Google for one of our target keywords (competitiveness of the keyword is: 1,380,000), the #13 spot in Google for another target keyword (competitiveness = 2,180,000), the #10 spot in Yahoo for yet another target keyword (competitiveness=8,360,000), and in various other spots for a variety of other keywords.
Some SEOs that I know won’t touch a brand new site – one that I know won’t work with any client if their domain hasn’t existed for 3 years or more. Reason: it can sometimes take months for a site to even be indexed by search engines let alone rank on the first page. But who has time to wait? I’m moving at the speed of business and my clients are too. Over the years, we’ve developed strategies to get rankings quickly – and I’ll show you exactly how we did it in this post.
Factor #1: LOVE and PASSION
This probably sounds ridiculous to some, but I don’t care. I believe that love and passion for any site that you’re promoting is critical. I even bring this into our business practice. When I take on a client, I make sure that I can have the same level of love and passion for their site as we do our own – otherwise, things just don’t work out as well.
I’ve tried building sites based on money and not passion. They never got anywhere – and it all stemmed from me. Building and promoting them seemed like work. Coming up with ideas for content was like pulling teeth. I didn’t know enough about the target audience to really connect with them. I didn’t like the way I felt about the whole thing… so why would anyone else?
Many years ago, I decided to stop relying solely on all of the rehashed trends and strategies I was hearing out there. I decided to read Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s college paper titled PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web. What I learned is that no matter what loopholes internet marketers find, Google’s goal is to rank the most useful and authoritative sites at the top of the rankings. So I’ve made a commitment to producing what I believe are the most useful sites to real people.
If you don’t have love and passion for what you are doing and for the people who will be utilizing your site, it will be an uphill battle to do all that is necessary to truly produce a great site and hence, get visibility for that site.
We created Online PR News because we wanted to provide the most feature-rich, best looking, most affordable press release submission website. We created it because we use PR sites constantly and wanted to combine all of the features WE desired in a press release like anchor text, image uploading, pull quotes, and an iFrame so that we readers can navigate to the publisher’s site right from the press release. (Take a look at this sample press release to see those features in action)
Sure, there are exceptions to this ‘love and passion’ rule, but in general, if you are not passionate about the site that you are promoting, it just won’t get as far.
Are you truly and honestly passionate about what you do? Do you LOVE waking up in the morning to get to work on building that business? If not, there is time to find that thing you love and let the passion of it fuel your fire…
Factor #2: Resource Building and Diversified Publishing
For any product or service, there are a limitless number of resources that can accompany it to help others to use the product or service better or to use the product or service to enhance their lives. If your products or services – and the people who use it are something you are truly passionate about, it isn’t difficult to come up with a wealth value added resources.
They key however, is in publishing those resources. Many people publish their info on only a handful publishing resources such as their blog or website. But there are so many different places to publish content. If you choose those places wisely, many of them will offer a backlink to your site (which helps it to rank higher in the search engines) as well as visibility of that resource for the search terms.
Some of the types of content I publish are:
Hubpages – leverage an authority site to like Hubpages correctly can help bring your presence to the forefront quickly.
- Slideshows – I publish how-to guides on slideshare to that truly help people learn how to accomplish a particular goal – such as this one called “Submit An SEO Press Release: A How To Guide“
- Article Marketing – I write articles that designed to help people build their businesses and syndicate them to a wealth of article directories
- Press Releases – publish press releases on sites that offer search engine value
- Free eBooks – promote them on eBook directories
- Blogs – both by blogging and by reaching out to other bloggers whose readers could truly benefit from the services I offer
- Social Networking Sites – We’ve scoured the web to find the best business networking sites that offer not only a useful service, but backlinks as well
- Directory Listings – Not all directories are great… but there are a handful that are
- Wikis – while the links on sites like Wikipedia, Wikihow, and eHow are often ‘nofollow,’ the exposure can be dramatic
- Forums – helping others to solve their problems on blogs and forums can go a long way. I interviewed a wonderful entrepreneur, Chris Hanisco, aka, The Dippy Chick, who was found by the news media because of her active presence on a popular enterprenuer’s forum.
- Email Marketing – reaching out to current clients and people who have expressed interest in our products and services to get the word out
- Twitter – Thank you Angie (one of SEO Content Solution’s awesome writers and an online writing coach) for Tweeting about the new press release site!
- Friends – Give friends and contacts to review your site and, if they like it, to give it a Stumble or recommend it to their contacts. Offer an incentive to review your site and invite them to link to it in their upcoming posts. For example, if you would like to review and link to Online PR News, I will gladly offer you a free SEO press release upgrade. Just send me an email with a link to your post and the title of your press release and I’ll pay for the upgrade
Are you spending too much time on any one particular blog, social media site, or other resource when you could be diversifying? It’s GREAT to have a few that you focus on more than others, but you could be holding yourself back by not tapping into all of the many options out there.
Factor #3: Strategic Keyword Planning
As an SEO copywriter and online marketer, one of the very first things I ask a client about is their keywords. Establishing the keywords you need to bring traffic to want is one of the most critical factors of a strong search engine ranking.
I’ve used a lot of keyword tools, but my favorite by far is Google’s keyword selector tool. With this, you can see how many people are searching, the level of competition, and be introduced to related keyword phrases that you may not have considered.
Keywords are essential in everything from writing title tags, to writing your on page content, to titling articles, to the anchor text you’ll use in your published resources. You’ll want to keep your list of keywords handy and use them consistently in all of your publications.
Factor #4: Treat Others With Genuine Compassion and Fierce Loyalty
Business is an ecosystem. Like any ecosystem, one organism depends on the other organisms in the ecosystem to survive and flourish. This is a lesson I learned well when hitchhiking across the country and during the days that I lived in a tent. If you want to survive, you have GOT to be fiercely loyal to your pack, to share when you have something to share, and to create relationships of unconditional trust.
Being genuinely kind, helpful, and reliable to others without necessarily expecting anything in return goes a long way. The ethic of reciprocity may be cliché… “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – but so true.
Topics: Marketing |
33 Comments »
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That’s very impressive to see that you made it to the first page in so little time! The best things happen to those who do things out of passion and not out of money.
Thanks for telling us some of your tips for success!
Thanks Rowell - I completely agree with that! The more difficult part that I struggled with for years was… what AM I passionate about?!?
I think we have to give ourselves the personal freedom to try and fail at lots of things until we find that thing that we feel energized doing. Great to meet you!
~ Christine
That comment about a site taking months to be indexed is pure BULLSHIT.
I don’t blame your ‘SEO friend’ for thinking that, but honestly it’s just one of the many seo myths that are perpetuated by SEO Gurus who really just say whatever comes to their mind, despite if it makes sense or holds true, just so that they have content to write.
I’ve personally created a site that not only got into Google within 2 days of it being up but was ranking for highly competitive terms within the span of 3 weeks. And this all happened last year (2008). I had another site that within 2 weeks was PR 6 - I had just started a brand new site and domain, and fortunately in 2 weeks there was a PR Update - and the site went from PR 0 to PR 6.
Lots of SEO BS being passed around and around, never believe such claims unless they have been proven with a case study or come right from the horse’s proverbial mouth (Google in this case).
Right on SEO Sultan!! There are just sooo many myths out there about SEO that aren’t correct. Thanks for sharing your story - and great job on your accomplishments!
What you say is 100% on the mark in my experience. I particularly agree with the the first point.
I have seen the power of love and passion in business. I honestly don’t think you can have a quality company without it. It is our single biggest weapon against the giants
That one point not only reflects in your company, but in the eyes of your clients as well. For me, that is the most important thing.
Congratulations you two! I’m just so glad things are going well!
Thank you very much for the link love!
Angie Haggstrom
Thanks Angie - that means so much - especially since you know our company from the inside! You are kickin’ some butt with your blog - I’m so excited!!
Christine,
Congrats to you and Tara - that’s awesome! As always, your posts leave me insired. This post is especially timely for me. I’m grateful for the way you so freely share such valuable knowledge. Thank you. Much success to you guys!
Kimberly - I’m so glad to hear that this was timely information for you! It’s funny how things like that seem to happen so often… I truly appreciate your support and wish you all the success in building your business!
Happy New Year Christine!!! The point you made about love and passion for the site is spot on…Not often mentioned in seo books but it is a must to have that passion for that site…So easy to lose interest otherwise.
I’m really glad you pointed that out Sandy! There are tips and tips and strategies for doing anything… but I truly believe that there is something “else” that you “can’t put your finger on” that can drastically influence someone’s level of success. Thanks for your comment!
Factor #1 Love and passion. Interesting today on my site one of my copywriting tips to clients was to hire writers who have a genuine interest. So I agree pulling teeth is a good way describe certain jobs. On the other hand I can be a breeze, but those easy projects are just a bonus.
I’m choosy about the sites I visit. This being my second time here, I must say you have outstanding information.
Here is to 2009. Everyone is feelin’ it!
So true Jordan!! I have always said that one of the critical factors to look for in a writer is genuine curiosity about life and a variety of topics - I love the way you think!!
Glad you like the blog and I’m happy I found yours as well - count me in as your newest subscriber!
I cringed when I saw the title in my feed reader. “Oh no, some black (or soon to be considered black) hat practices.” I was happy to see you did exactly what I tell other people to do: read about how Google works.
Great posts and congrats on your success.
Patrick
Lol Dempsey! I can imagine the scene…
“Tips and tricks” will only get you so far… but it is passion that really makes the difference. I love this quote from Harold Thurman Whitman that I read in a book by my favorite author Steve Chandler:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself
what makes you come alive
and then go do it.
Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive.”
Good to see you posting again! Love the post and the new service looks great well done!
If you don’t love what you do, how can you go out and sell it to others. It doesn’t work! Having said that we love what we do not just because it is enjoyable but also because of the lifestyle it affords us!
We also love what you do so keep it up!
Happy new years…
Jason
Right on Jason! I totally agree… I used to work in sales, and the ONLY way I would sell something is if I absolutely felt confident. That’s a good thing to think about if you’re developing a team of sales people… the more training and education you can give your team about the products, and the more real-world stories you can share with your team about how the products and services are improving the customer’s lives, the more powerful your sales team will be!
Great to hear from you!
Nicely put Christine.
The above is a useful succinct reference for anyone looking to get their site or any other site on the go.
No big magic red button of course!
I love that quote WinWin! “No big magic red button” That’s awesome!
Congrats on the amazing results with your new PR site
I’ll definitely bookmark it and rec it when clients will ask my opinion on where should they submit their PRs 
Mostly because us freelancers should stick together 
Plus, I can imagine how happy you’ve been when you found out how high your site ranks. I had a similar high when I found out my blog got a pagerank after only two months of semi regular blogging
Congrats on the success of your site Jane! Yes - us freelancers should definitely stick together! Did you see the recent post on Freelance Folder that showcases 12 businesses started by freelancers?
http://freelancefolder.com/12-awesome-businesses-that-were-started-by-freelancers/
Love the title of your blog BTW!
Thank you so much Christine! I admit it came as a surprise, but hell if I’m going to question it
And yeah, I’ve seen the FF article. I had a little meltdown at the Wordprezzie graphic (which is adorable and I want one damn it)
You are the best Christine!
You should have titled your post: Christine Finally Writes Another Blog Post
Seriously Michael - LOL! Thanks
[…] Looking for a free press release submission site? Check out Online PR News! It’s absolutely free. And if you want to upgrade to the SEO release version, it’s only $6!!! You can’t beat that price! And if you want some background on how that Online PR News site got launched by two ambitious ladies and zoomed to Google…. […]
Your blog encourages people to focus their writing to appeal to particular readers, web directories and search engines. Some challenges arise when writers do not pinpoint an obvious theme to narrow their writing focus. People who write on diverse topics sometimes benefit from guidance to shift gears.
Another inspiring post christine. Thanks.
Last month I launched my first venture into the world of affiliate marketing with the website ‘Get Discount Shopping’. Your posts are partly to blame for getting me off my arse and doing something positive. In promoting my site one of the main approaches I’ve been taking is press release and article submissions which has been working well to build links. I’ll make a note of some of your other suggestions.
Thanks
Great article! Very insightful and informative!
Every time i come here I am not dissapointed, nice post
Great post, explained really well and I could really understand. Thank you
Christine, I am so happy for you. It is been a long time since I visit your site. I agree with you, one needs to have love and passion for the site. Money should not be the driver.
I just have a quick question for you. Do you see any future with free press releases? Besides that, what do you think of long tail optimization enhanced press release. I started one a while back, it was later become a press release spam site.
Regards,
Sarah
SEO press Release submission
Hi Sarah! I absolutely see a future with SEO press releases! PRs are one of my favorite products that we offer.
Did you human approve the PRs that were submitted on your site? We are selective about the PRs we approve on Online PR News in order to keep the integrity of the site. Maybe that could be a solution ~
Factor #2 is the most tedious part of your plan, but it’s the most important part in your success. Just imagine how long will it take you to accomplish all of these items in order to become successful.
In most cases, I only do what I really enjoy doing. Otherwise, my work would have a low quality result. Worst-case scenario, I’m not able to share bright ideas because I don’t even like what I’m working. It’s just like trying hard to sing even you have unpleasing or harsh voice.