Backed by $33 million dollars of funding and 3 ex-google software engineers, Cuil, pronounced “cool” is one the latest challengers to take on the behemoth that is Google. With a unique search engine algorithm that claims to regularly search over 1 trillion web links and 120 billion pages, they seem to be taking things seriously.

The unique way in which the search engine displays both pictures and extended text on each page makes for unique user experience, but will this be enough to start converting users? I would say not just yet, but im sure the market leaders will keep a close eye on how it progresses.

Ever wondered what it would be like to own a domain like Poker.com? Business.com? Shopping.com? I have.. And although these examples are a tiny bit over the top, it is by no means impossible to grab yourself a fantastic domain name. This of course works wonders for SEO purposes and hopefully your wallet too!

My inspiraiton for this post comes from a recent discussion with a friend, who mentioned the fact that they had just registered a fantastic “keyword rich” domain. The domain is an extremely strong search term for his desired niche market, and if done correctly could be a fantastic success. Within google keywords, the domain name as a search term has more than 500.000 searches a month! Now thats what i call promising… And it was found just through blind luck.

Feeling inspired by his fortunes, i paid a visit to 123-reg.co.uk to try my luck. I plucked the word “t-shirt” out of my head and tested some possible variants of tshirt, t-shirt, t-shirtshop and so forth to no avail. I think its a matter of being at the right place at the right time.

How does this benefit you? Well all i would suggest is to try your dream domain name, but also be flexible and creative with other variants of the word - you may be suprised what is available for registration! Secondly i would suggest reading through Mike Davidsons fantastic post here on the ins and outs of expired domains and the best ways to secure your dream domain. Last but not least, try to secure a .com or .co.uk domain - you’re wasting your time (and money) if you find a keyword and it is only available as www.tshirts.org.net.

Websites will not always function correctly. Webmasters can become lazy with re-registering. For these reasons and many more, there will always be chances to grab an established domain and turn it into something special. Good luck and get domain hunting!

Many web and e-commerce success stories we see can often be attributed to a clever idea, a well designed product or a fantastic marketing campaign. The domain name is often irrelevant to their targeted search terms (think Amazon or eBay for example). However, more and more it is suggested that a strong “keyword rich” domain name can play a huge factor in deciding your success within the search engine results pages.

Take for example the search term “kitchen supplies”, we see that it ranks number one in google. This can be as a result of a number of factors, including quality links, content and so on.. but notice how the search term is highlighted within the search results. This is not only good as a visual aid to draw customers to click, but is argued to play a strong role in shall we say “aiding” the websites position for the search. This method of including the keyword within the website name is common practice, but close study and research of the most popular search terms within your business niche may give you an edge on your competition.

Submitting your website to online directories can be a great way to increase the number of backlinks to your website. The effectiveness of this as a promotional tool can be reduced however, if a large percentage of your submissions are rejected by the directory moderators. I have outlined some useful tips for increasing acceptance rates into these directories below; which will hopefully save you alot of time in the long run!

1. Keep the title/description between 20-50 characters and avoid cramming it with keywords.

2. Submit only the root directory, and not “deeplinks” (unless the directory is a specialist “deeplink” directory)

3. Write a quality page summary describing the content or services your website provides.

4. Avoid writing in caps lock or Making Every Word Begin With A Capital Letter.

5. Submit your site to the most appropriate category possible. I can imagine directory owners taking a half second look at your websites content, and if the category and description dont match they delete it!

By avoiding writing anything too spammy, and following some of these tips you should see a steady increase in your directory acceptance rates.

The powers of MySpace and Facebook as a marketing platform have been realised for a long time, but how can they be utilised for your websites promotion?

These sites are a potenital gold-mine of visitors for your website, and best of all it is a free resource. Some tried and tested methods for generating visitors are:

• Posting funny videos or interesting videos.
• Having a useful service or profile page.
• Offering free services or trials or
• Giving discounts on interesting services.

Although your reach can be huge on a site like MySpace, the best results come from relevant, targeted links that are enticing for the specific readers. For example a post on a bands profile page of “10% Discount on all CD Albums today - Buy now!” would be much more effective than an unrelated advertisement selling hair-growth pills for example ….

These platforms are also valuable resources for brand building, and allows your logo or comments to be seen on popular profiles. Use this to your advantage - go forth and promote!

One avenue of a websites link building strategy often over-looked is Article submission. In a nutshell, this involves writing articles on topics relevant to your site and submitting them to various article submission directories. In doing so, you will gradually build links to your webpage on topics that readers are interested in and create additional traffic to your site. This is a valuable tool to help your Search Engine Rankings.

Some things to bear in mind when writing articles:

1. Keep the content unique and interesting for the reader. You want as many views as possible.

2. Dont make the article an obvious sales pitch for your products; let the reader want to visit your company website.

3. Submit your article to high quality directories and industry specific sites to increase your article’s effectiveness.

4. Become active within the article communities, and aim to be viewed as an industry expert.

5. Give readers insider tips or advice on the topics in hand to gain their trust.

By using some of these tips when thinking about writing articles, you will gain invaluable backlinks to your site and targetted traffic to go with it.