Help with MSN UK

[123domainname]

Hello everyone

This is my very first post here so be gentle with me. One of the places I'm keenest to start competing for domain name traffic is on MSN UK.

I have paid Positiontech for 4 months and have seen absolutely no results.

I would very much appreciate some technical geniuses with inner-MSN knowledge to have a look at my site and make some recommendations so I can start at least getting a few hits from MSN in the UK.

Thanks.

[ihelpyou]

Welcome to the forums 123domainname! :hi:

Paying PT only gets you 'included' in the database. This has zero to do with you getting rank. You have to optimize for that. These forums are here for you to learn how.

Please read this great thread that discusses the Inktomi optimization process, then you can ask specific questions on what you don't understand.

http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/t1914/s.html

[123domainname]

In that link were the following tips. In bold are my responses. I have already done everything that is suggested on all the search engine forums and nothing has worked for me yet.

1. Keyword phrase in page title. (Try the middle!)
Yes. Keyword phrase is in title

2. Keyword phrase at the beginning of your META description.
Yes. Keyword phrase is at the beginning of the meta description

3. Keyword phrase at the beginning of your META keywords.
Yes. Keyword phrase is at the beginning of the meta keywords

4. Keyword phrase at the beginning of your visible content in an <h1> element. Top of page is a must! Right under a graphic header is fine.
Yes. It's a H1 reduced in size with a css

5. Keyword phrase in your first visible paragraph.
Yes. in the first 4 words of the first visible paragraph

6. Keyword phrase in your second visible paragraph.
Yes. Shorter version of the phrase (i.e. domain names) in second paragraph

Note: Ink likes content and I suggest at least 4 to 5 paragraphs of text using a combination of the targeted keyword phrase and relative secondary phrases.
Yes. This page has 3 paragraphs of relevant keyword rich text

7. Keyword phrase in <li> tag.
Yes.

8. Keywords used in text hyperlinks and bookmarks.
Yes. There's a couple of text links in the home page

9. Keyword phrase in <alt> tag. Use appropriate image and relative keywords for the <alt> tag, don't stuff!
Yes. But not too much.


Can anyone take a look at my home page and review it's failure on Inktomi in a little more depth.

[MakeMeTop]

I think there are 2 questions here:

a) MSN UK. You need to be in LookSmart UK if you expect to get ranked anywhere in the top 150 or so for your targetted phrases on MSN UK, which I assume are domain registration or uk domain registration. Getting in Inktomi will not get you seen on MSN UK as there are too many directory listings above the Ink data.

b) Inktomi. Get rid of all the keywords apart from 'uk domain name registration'. The rest are just plain wishful thinking bordering on spam. You don't really expect someone looking for InterNIC to find your site do you? More importantly, you shouldn't expect any search engine to take your site seriously when you have stuffed your keyword tag full of words which appear nowhere on the page they apply to. Your chances of getting a decent listing in Ink for this term is also pretty low as you will be up against many sites which have a lot of off-page criteria which help in their rankings, such as incoming links etc which will outweigh most sites - regardless of how well they are optimised.

In summary, don't worry about Ink too much - worry a lot more about getting decent directory listings. This will help your ranks with all spidering search engines in due course.

Welcome to the forums :hi:

[123domainname]

Thank you for your feedback.

At this time, I simply cannot afford to pay for Looksmart so I need to do whatever I can to get the best from Inktomi.

Are you suggesting I remove all the keywords in my meta tags except uk domain name registration or am I wrong?

At the moment I'm showing just 56 backward links from Google but when Google dances I'm expecting this to double if not triple with all the links I've been building into the site.

As I've paid good money to Positiontech I really need to be gaining some results back.

Can you help further Barry?

[symivisitor]

The MSN UK search results display:

1) The UK LookSmart Directory results.

2) The US LookSmart directory results.

3) Inktomi results.

If you are in a competitive keyword area (which you are), the directory results will bury the Ink results.

Until recently I would have said pay for Looksmart directory inclusion, but as they seem to be going the PPC route, I'd hold your fire.

Ink inclusion isn't your problem.

[ihelpyou]

Yes. Even if you are #1 in Ink on your keyphrase, you will be buried under the directory listings of both UK and US Looksmart in MSN.

[MakeMeTop]

>Looksmart directory inclusion...

The PPC route is for where LS supplies ISP partners with results - this doesn't seem to effect what MSN does with LS data (so far) - so right now LS is the ONLY way to get ranked for competitive terms on MSN (apart from Goverture).

>Are you suggesting I remove all the keywords in my meta tags except uk domain name registration or am I wrong?

If I were doing this site, I would do exactly that with your keyword tag. Inktomi is one of the few engines that pays any attention to the keyword tag at all and I have found that a few words boosts the impact of those words if they are on theme. I just don't think however, regardless of how well the site is optimised, you are going to get much luck on your core terms on Ink without being in their Best of Web permanent index - and that can take a long while.

I would try and do some research on alternative keyphrases which are not so competitive and get those on to your page(s) to try and drive some traffic which will (at least) be focussed. You are going for one of the toughest markets with a lot of money being thrown at it I'm afraid.