The WholesaleU Blog posted Beginners Guide to SEO with basic steps to get your web site noticed by the Deaf, Dumb and Blind search engine spider “bots,” so that your site shows up on Search Engine Results Pages. Bullet-point Search Engine Optimization Basics are:

· Get your essential key words (business, product lines, price points, sales events) into web page Heads and Copy;

· Aim for the right ratio of key words to web page words … without SPAMMING the spider;

· Put your key word descriptives into the Home Page Meta Tag Fields, which only the spiders see;

· Do not depend too much on graphics and images to carry web page messages, since the spiders can’t see them.

Betty replied: Thanks for the tips. I have tried the basics in my web sites. … But how can I rise up to page one when somebody searches for “wholesale handbags?”

We know what Betty faces, right? She mentioned Google; and we’ve all eyeballed that eye-popping line at the top-right edge of search results pages: Results 1-15 of 548,788 Results Found. Since Internet Usage research shows that typical searchers rarely go beyond Page One or Page Two search results – approximately 25-to-30 sites – there is not much marketing value in being listed beyond page 2 SERPs. Hasta la vista to the other 548,760 results found. They won’t be back.

Here are some bullet-point SEO tips that go beyond beginner:

· Time to Get Off the Reservation? This is a highline search marketing strategy rather than a handy practical tip. But, Betty mentioned wanting to rank high on search results for “wholesale handbags.” And that was after mentioning the consumer-focused search engine that holds well over 60% of search engine market share … Google. What’s wrong with this picture?

Google does a terrific job at pulling up millions of keyword matches and indexing a wide swath of the cyber-terrain. But Betty modified her hypothetical search on “handbags” with the term “wholesale.” Google’s indexing spiders will find results for both terms, independently and together; though a searcher may not find the results until Page 128 on the SERPs. Or, never.

Wholesalers of anything need to get off general search engine reservations and go vertical, to search sites, product directories and industry sites that serve “wholesalers” or “handbags” or “apparel accessories” or all the above. Try this, Betty: Wholesale Handbags .

· Think Local, Pull Global. Did you know that 30% of all products that searchers find through global online searches, even at eBay auction, are finally purchased locally and offline?

If you operate a local retail storefront, get local action. Local shopping, merchant and search sites (like those run by TV/Radio stations, newspapers, city sites and YellowBook listing sites) often have free basic listings. Google or Yahoo! spiders can find you for their Local Search channels if you get your city, region and brick-and-mortar address near the top of your home page copy.

· Get Into Specialized Product Directories. Trade and industry sites – say for wholesalers or handbag specialists or closeout/discount distributors – have online and searchable product directories. You can often buy paid advertising (banner ads or pay-per-click text ads) by product category. Many product directory sites welcome new listings at no charge. You have to meet their Editorial Guidelines, select the right product categories in their unique directory structures, and not be a SPAMMER or Link Farm.

· Use Real Estate on the Browser Window. That title at the top of every web browser window is valuable real estate. The browser title pops into view before complex graphics or active page content even finishes loading in. Don’t waste those precious six-to-eight words with your business name … unless you’re a household word. Use the browser title to say what is unique about your, let’s say, wholesale handbags: 75% Off Sale … Best Designer-Inspired Handbags … Raffle a Designer Handbag of Every Woman’s Dreams … Donate Gently Used Handbags to Job Hunters.

· Get Foot Traffic: Cyber and Real. Links to and from your business web site are one of the biggest ranking boosters around. The more links into your site, the higher your optimized search ranking (secretly scored “Page Ranking” at Google) on results pages. Some web masters try to buy their way onto paid links pages, but that can be dicey. (A lot of link-swapping schemes and pages of nothing-but-links, called Link Farms, made big search engine spiders bite back. Penalties include getting de-listed and dumped in the “Supplemental Index” aka: Dead Zone.)

Get linked the old fashioned way: Offer great tips and timely content that others link to. Customize direct mailings with a unique web page that lets you track cyber-foot traffic. If you do a special Thank-You promotion for returning customers, the unique web page appears as a hot link in an emailing, as well as printed out on a direct snail mailing.