Some SEO advice

[tfbpa]

Hello all,

recently I started a hotel bookings site and would like to know if everything I have done is enough for some high rankings.

My main site is Discount Hotels (http://www.hotelalliances.com/) which target searchterm is Discount Hotels. I have created several subdomains in order to rank well for search terms such as Amsterdam Hotels (http://www.amsterdam-hotels.hotelalliances.com/) .

All the information used to be dynamic, but i have created static pages for all hotels so they can be found more easily. On all pages per subdomain the second link/text is 'Amsterdam Hotels' ie. the searchtems I would like to be found under. The link exchange program has just started, so there are not yet that many links pointing to my site. At this time all the links are going to my main site, when my linkspage on the subdomains have some PR, I will start asking for links on the subdomains.

The text on for example www.amsterdam-hotels.hotelalliances.com can be adjusted, but as far as I know the text on the pages itself is not that important compared to anchor text links. Please advice if this is true and if not what could be changed in order to rank well for 'Amsterdam Hotels'.

Ofcourse is all other advice welcome as well!

Thanks in advance for your time.

Paul

[seo guy]

Honestly I would lose the subdomains and make them subfolders, instead of dividing each mini sites strenth why not amplify the main site, giving it the amazon effect

[tfbpa]

Thanks for your insight, but can you please clarify what you mean by 'the amazon effect' and how this could be more effective. As I understand it Google treats subdomains as different websites, but it is not clear to me why it is better to have all the information in one site, especially when part of the focus is on more specific searchterms such as 'city name + hotel'. Or do you think it is better to go for a more general searchterm such as 'discount hotels', personally I think it's a bit ambitious, but than again I have big plans!

[tfbpa]

Can somebody please tell me what Seo Guy could mean by 'the amazon effect'. Thanks and appreciate other suggestions/comments!

Paul

[seo guy]

hello,
What I mean by the amazon effect is that larger websites covering a larger breadth of topics, especially when themed such as specific hotels in geographical areas, get a lot more credit in the rankings. They are seen as an authority, a small site does not have this luxury. What you are doing is creating many small sites with the subdomains, each one seen as not very important and this a LOT harder to rank.

Google is finicky about subdomains, sometimes they are unique domains, sometimes they are part of the collective, however this much is sure, as subdomain gets no ranking benefit from its association with the root domain. This is why this forum is not forum.seo-guy.com it is www.seo-guy.com/forum/ does that make sense?

I call it the amazon effect because amazon is so big and massive covering such a breadth of subjects that as soon as they put out a page on ANYTHING it immediately does well, no PR no backlinks nothing. Just by its association with the main domain.

[tfbpa]

Very, very interesting....
Changing the structure will mean a lot of work, but if the Master says so I would be stupid not to react on his advice!
Thanks a lot for the extra work Seo Guy!! ;) ;)

[tfbpa]

Actually it was really easy to make neccesary adjustmenst...
If you need to do something simular, like replacing links or something here is a good free program you can use http://www.orbit.org/replace/
Now I just need some advice about the 10000 pages which will no longer exist, but i guess that's for another forum.

[tfbpa]

Ok, I have made some adjustments and would like to know what you people think...These are the changes I have made.
The subdomains are gone, all pages are now in folders.
Added some meta tags.
Added a H1.
Used the 'alt' and 'title' tags for images/links. Not too sure if this doesn't make the pages overloaded with keywords now...

Not all pages are optimized yet, but the main page + amsterdam folder have been adjusted. I would really like to have some more advice/comments as it would be easier to adjust now than later on.

Thanx a bunch!

[seo guy]

GREAT STUFF TFBPA!

I am looking at hte main page for amsterdam right now and its well on its way. There are 2 things I would adjust

First off, I would lose the map to other hotels "Looking for a different place to stay? Select your new holiday destination below. " There is no need to have your sitemap on everypage, just have a link TOO your sitemap on every page, you dont want to dilute the page with a hundred links that have nothing to do with the subject.

That being said Linking to relevant pages within the amsterdam folder is certainly encouraged including the Popular hotels in Amsterdam section its GREAT!

The other thing I would do as far as copywriting goes is mention your main kw phrase at least once in your main body's paragraph at least once. YOu mention amsterdam, but not "amsterdam hotels or discount hotels in amsterdam, these are your keywords make sure you represent them on page.

Finally I might make the copywite mention of Amsterdam hotels an anchor link to the top of the page

© 2004 HotelAlliances & [url=http://www.hotelalliances.com/amsterdam/]Discount[/ur/] Amsterdam Hotels

The H1 is good for sure, but I might use and H2 as well

Right above my paragraph like so:

<h2>Amsterdam Hotels</a>
<p><b>Noone knows Amsterdam Hotels like Hotel Alliences</b>. Amsterdam is one of the world's best hangouts, a canny blend of old and new: radical squatter art installations hang off 17th-century eaves, BMWs give way to bicycles and triple-strength monk-made beer is served in steel and glass 'grand cafés'. The city seems to thrive on its funky mix and, despite its hordes of tourists, it still manages to feel quintessentially Dutch. The 17th- and 18th-century architecture, the fleets of bicycles, the tree-lined canals, fine hotels and scattered parks all contribute to the atmosphere. Don't forget to book your <b>Discount Hotels in Amsterdam with Hotel Alliances</b></p>

Obviously you can rewrite to suite but you get the picture yes? I put my text insterts in bold

here is what it looks like to an SE, feel free to format with CSS

<h2>Amsterdam Hotels</a>
<p><b>Noone knows Amsterdam Hotels like Hotel Alliences</b>. Amsterdam is one of the world's best hangouts, a canny blend of old and new: radical squatter art installations hang off 17th-century eaves, BMWs give way to bicycles and triple-strength monk-made beer is served in steel and glass 'grand cafés'. The city seems to thrive on its funky mix and, despite its hordes of tourists, it still manages to feel quintessentially Dutch. The 17th- and 18th-century architecture, the fleets of bicycles, the tree-lined canals, fine hotels and scattered parks all contribute to the atmosphere. Don't forget to book your <b>Discount Hotels in Amsterdam with Hotel Alliances</b></p>

[seo guy]

oops html isnt turned on, ah well

[tfbpa]

Thank you Seo Guy!
This must be the best advice/forum/dude I have come across in quit some time!
I am gonna let it all sink in and start fresh tomorrow morning. There are really no words to describe how I feel now, but this comes really close :D :p :cool:

[seo guy]

Dont forget your allowed 2 links in your sig, so if you have a particular page you are working on to get indexed quicker then feel free to add one more link to a particular page :)

[tfbpa]

Back again!
Made all the adjustments Seo Guy suggested and removed most of my footer links in order to minimize link weight waste. Also added a new sitemap.

Now I am wondering if anything else can be changed/altered for some good rankings and/or useability of the site.

Muchos Gracias!

[leeds1]

Looks good

However, do a spell check

HotelAlliances.com here you can find Discount Hotels in almost every city on every continent. We have teamed up with one of the largest hoteldatabases so we can give you acces to 10.000's hotels worldwide. This Alliance assures that you will get the best price for your hotel, no matter if it is a budget or a deluxe hotel. All bookings are made through our secured server to guarantee your privacy.

If you would like to have more information about the city you are planning to visit just select the city of your choice beneath or you can use our searchbox on the left to find the hotel you are looking for.

[tfbpa]

Thanks, sorry am stupid foreigner ;)