The basics

Search Engine Tactics
(v. 2.2)

12. Tracking Your Progress

We mentioned before that the best way to find out how each search engine works is to look at the results of searches conducted on each engine. Analyze the results and apply your findings to your pages.

The problem here is that you will have no way of knowing how effective your search engine campaigns are unless you analyze your "server logs". Your server logs will give you detailed information about how much traffic you have and where it is coming from.

Remember, when we say "analyze" here, we're using the word in two different ways. The Keyword Density Analyzer is for figuring out what formulas work in the engines. Tools for analyzing your sever logs tell you how much traffic you're getting, where it's coming from, and a wealth of other vital information.

There are a great many programs on the market for analyzing your logs and most of them are quite expensive. Generally, a good program will run from $400-$1000 or more.

Luckily, we were able to find a program for analyzing your log files that is every bit as powerful as the most expensive software and only costs $99. It's really a godsend for a small office entrepreneur. This software is called FastStats and has just about every powerful feature you could imagine. It's even faster than the more expensive software!

Now, there is some software on the market that will even track your ranking (or position) in a given engine for a given keyword. Quite frankly, I don't think it's worth your time or your money. I mean, who cares if you have a #1 ranking for a particular keyword if it's not bringing in any traffic? Your server logs will tell you what is bringing in traffic and you can track things down from there. Focus on that and you will have far more success than if you were to spend your time chasing down every single keyword in every engine.

Now, that's just my opinion. Some people swear by that type of software. I just don't think it's worth it. I formerly used this type of software myself, but found that it just didn't do the trick for me. My server logs told me everything that really made a difference. Tracking other stuff ended up just being a big waste of time for me.

Now, as for actually getting the formula that gives high ranks, the Keyword Density Analyzer is still your best bet.

If you use FastStats in combination with the two submission programs recommended and also the Keyword Density Analyzer, you should have no problem getting thousands of relevant hits a day.

Now, this may seem like a lot of software to buy, but really it's not. The cost for these programs is quite negligible compared to the results they will bring you. Spending a couple hundred dollars on marketing is a mere drop in the bucket really. You'd spend several times that amount on a banner ad or print ad campaign and not get even close to the same results.

Either way, you should always opt to automate these tasks one way or another. Your time is too valuable to spend doing it all by had.

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Be sure to check out the Search Engine Tactics forum at the Internet Marketing Library! You can find the latest tips and tricks there.

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