Software Promotion & SEOThis blog covers a range of topics concerning the SoftTester Shareware/ Software Download site. Topics include software product releases as well as SEO and software development information and tips.

OK I think I’ve done the basics now.

I’ve done a search on whatever ‘add url’ as it suggests in my book, but I can’t find any quality sites.

How can I create some quality inbound links?

I’ve taken a look at the new site and I think it’s looking good. Only afew small comments:

1. the title starts well “ms access database security” but doesn’t finish too well. Could you finish with something like | Secure your ms access databases? My feeling is that at the moment you might be repeating yourself in the title.
2. Add alt tags to any images on the page.
3. Either nofollow or entirely remove the XHTML validation link.

Other than that the only comment I’d make is that maybe the CD box picture doesn’t match the quality of the rest of the rather snazzy looking site.

Thanks, I’ll have a look at those…

I’ve had a brief chat / email with someone I don’t know very well. I asked him about wiki….

All I was saying is that one of the biggest referrals for my site is wikipedia. That’s because the entry for Habib Beye in wikipedia references my site. So you search for anything and it’s likely to get a good result on wikipedia because the search engines spider their sites more regularly and the content is generally text and is easily indexed. The same is true of the community sites e.g. facebook etc. I get two thirds of my traffic from wiki and social networking sites…. the rest is a mixture of direct and search engine hits. It takes a bit of work but it’s cheap marketting….

So my recommendations…
1. Use google’s webmaster tools and create a sitemap for submission to google.
2. Register the site with the search engines (old school but still works)…
3. Submit to macaffee site advisor for content analysis (so people know if you’re kosher)
4. Become a member of wikipedia, find entries relating to MS Access and security, or create a new entry. Try and be unbiased and include a link to more than one product of your type and they won’t get suspicious. Sure, people may go to your competitors but more traffic will come to you too.

In reply to your comments

2. Unfortunately I can’t put any alt tags as all the images have been done with css Do you think its important to have them. I guess I could redo that part.

3. I have nofollow already.

4. I’ll get round this improving the box shots at some point.

Yay, I’ve had my first sale from the new site

Do you think theres any point analysing the keywords and tracking it?

Congratulations! Roll on sale 2.

How do you intend to track keywords related to the sale. I occasionally ask purchasers how they found me and then why they decided to buy.

Good idea, could do.

Actually, I think the sale may have been from a buy link in my prog, not from the site, I have hits analytics from shareit only.