Hey,

I own an arcade that, at one point, was ranking near the top of the 2nd page for the rather competitive term ‘online games.’ At the moment, however, the ranking has taken a plunge to the third page. I earned the current position within roughly two-to-three weeks, and simply feel incapable of improving the rankings any further as I have utilized my tactics (articles, directory submissions and social bookmarking) in their entirety. Could any of the SEO gurus here please guide me in reaching my goal of ranking on the first page through any other means?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :helpsmilie:

As a side note, you can view my current rankings here. I am also an expected PR5 by the next update, but unaware if that will aid SERPs greatly.

I recent trick I've tried is to get more backlinks by commenting on high PR blogs (like TechCrunch) and leaving your link in a sig. You'll have to wait till the next PR update, but expect lots of good PR 5 or better links.

Awesome; is there a software that I could use to automate the collection of blogs that have a 'nofollow' attribute? I am aware that there's an add-on for FireFox that outlines such links, but I am more interested in an automated software for collecting them itself. Thereafter, I would assess the blog’s content individually in an effort to submit relevant comments. :blush:

No idea. I just look for interesting blog posts, give a relevant message, and attach a signature like a forum. 3-4 months later, that page has a PR of 5 or 6

Basically, you're getting free PR 5+ links for hardly any effort. It's like bending down to pick up a $100 bill. Just don't abuse the system, or it might get nasty.

There's plenty of community blogrolls around for dofollow bloggers.

The simple truth is that you have a backlink problem. Blog comments, forum signatures and Yahoo Answers posts are not going to be enough. Neither are article submissions.

I understand that handsome rob, but while your post outlines the dilemma, it doesn't give any suggestions to tackle the problem. Aside from the methods you criticized, I can't think of any other means to improve my SERPs any further (besides the blog posts route). This is, after all, the reason I began this particular thread. :innocent:

I don't know if maybe you've already done this but what about letting users put smaller versions of your games on their myspace profiles? What about coding some games as iPhone applications? There's a lot of people blogging about iphone webapps right now. What about hosting the first ever flash games olympics? What about making some funny tshirts for online gamer geeks (add'l revenue stream in the process)? What about getting a bunch of mousepads printed up and giving them (or something similar) away to anyone who writes a review of your site or gets your site reviewed on another blog? Then you've got inbound links and visitor feedback. What about facebook applications that let users display their high scores on whatever game on their facebook profile? What about recycling some of your income into buying links? What about having games created that feature certain bloggers (maybe SEO bloggers) as the characters? There's some linkbait for ya.

This is by far the most useful advice I’ve received to date! Thank-you so much; I will definitely try these tactics! Thus far, I’ve been too absorbed in getting visitors from particular websites, but I’m convinced that these techniques will be far more valuable. Thanks again! :winkiss:

Million Dollar Answer

Change the text link code in your game HTML output field. Currently it says "arcade temple" but thats not your targeted keyterm. Also change your sig file link text to "online games" instead of arcade temple. From now on, stop targeting the term arcade temple. You have no need to seo this term because you already own the domain name. Google will always give you 1st spot for the term "arcade temple" so there is no need to use this text anywhere you post or list your link. I will also change the order of your title tag and move the term "Online Games" before the term arcade template. Also Replace the term "home" in your footer to the term "online games" My last website I optimized for a single term started to receive over 27,000 unique visitors per day from google.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this. Research your competition - how are they ranking on page one? Dig through some of their backlinks and you're bound to get some ideas.

Using your keyphrase in anchor text is good too.

mmtv, I was thinking along those lines as well. I will definitely update the game codes and cache all the pages to reflect the change, although not many websites appear to be displaying the games directly on their pages (rather they simply link to them). Even so, using your technique will definitely aid me in bettering the SERPs with the ones that do. I will also be changing the title shortly to ‘play free online games’ as I want to expand my scope and target several other keywords, including in order of importance, ‘online games,’ ‘free online games’, ‘play free online games’ and ‘internet games.’ I will be satisfied with my efforts once I am listed on the first page for at least those terms. :yes:

Tekime, I have actually been using that route quite frequently (scrutinizing others’ backlinks and referrals when publicized) to great triumphs. In most instances, websites being sold tend to display such referrals in their entirety, which is ideal for improving traffic and creating backlinks. It’s techniques such as this that are often overlooked, but do derive superb results!

Thank-you for your advice guys, and do keep them coming! I am yet again at the top of the 2nd for the term ‘online games!' :thumbup:

Nothing wrong with paid links... google "bras" and investigate the backlinks of the #1 result. Spend about an hour going through their backlinks and when you see the pattern that emerges, proceed to use excessive profanity.

I am officially on the 1st page of several Google search engines (including the American one) for the term 'online games' - let's see how long it lasts or whether it improves! I will keep working on improving the rankings whenever I have the opportunity. :yes:

I've got you on pg 2 in 2nd place, but it's probably a datacenter thing

I suppose it dropped again, although it is still ranking within the 1st page on several international Google search engines. :innocent:

Originally Posted by handsome rob

The simple truth is that you have a backlink problem. Blog comments, forum signatures and Yahoo Answers posts are not going to be enough. Neither are article submissions.

Yep...



Pay for some blog reviews... payperpost or reviewme etc... or pay for some backlinks form related sites...

What's a reasonable amount to invest for blog posts, considering that they are each upwards of $15 per post?

Hello

I strongly believe that changing keywords, submitting to high PR directories (paid ones) and post on High Blogs could help a lot. This helped me too and I am sure you will get what you want soon.

Steve