SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

You may not need this information for your own personal site, but you might know somebody who sells a product or service that could benefit from a higher ranking from search engines.

If you search for "Bellevue API writer" on Google, my web site is the #4 result. Search for "redmond sdk technical writer" and I'm #6. Similarly on Live Search, my website is in the first batch returned for "technical writer Redmond" and "technical writer Bellevue". This explains why I get "found-your-résumé-online" e-mails from contracting job agencies.

To be found, a web site should have some keywords people might search for in its title, sprinkle them in the body text, stow them in the alternative text for its images, and provide terms people search for in the keywords and description meta tags.

I didn't plan it this way, but whenever I posted a question or comment on the MSDN forums or blogs, I always included my personal web site www.avrashow.com in the space provided. Turns out these links may cause Google to improve my ranking. I've read that a web site must be linked to at least once to be included in Google's results.

But don't try to game the system--those copy-and-paste paragraphs of the same words in 6pt white text at the bottom of page won't help your ranking. They may get you dropped from Google results altogether!

As tickled as I am that somebody searching for a technical writer or programming writer in Bellevue or Redmond Washington will see my Web site, I'm more excited that if somebody types in "acoustic guitar mississippi john hurt” on youtube, my version of a guitar song comes up as the #7 entry.

I think this is the best I ever sang and I'm thrilled that a few thousand people have seen it and several have written kind comments.

If you type that same search string on Amazon, the first entry is John Sebastian's DVD lessons on how to play Mississippi John Hurt's songs along with reminiscences of days in coffee houses as he watched, trying to learn those songs.

It's been said one reason so many guitar players learned Mississippi John Hurt's songs is that he was always patient and willing to show young guitar players how to play those songs.

I can't play a song's melody on the high strings while keeping an alternating bass going with my thumb on the low strings, and try to sing at the same time.

My fingerpicking fingers play one repeating pattern. It only sounds different when the fingering of my left hand changes to a different chord.  ¶ 7:13 PM