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It's difficult to get high rankings on search engines. It's a lot of work and it takes some time until people can find your site for search terms that are relevant to your business.

When people find your web site through search engines, you must keep them on your site and you must convince them. A new study that was recently published in the journal "Behaviour and Information Technology" shows how important it is to make a good first impression.

The first impression is very important

A new study that has recently been published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology shows that the snap decisions Internet users make about the quality of a web page have a lasting impact on their opinions.

It is very important that your web pages look good and that they have a trustworthy design.

You have 50 milliseconds

The study was conducted by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa. Lindgaard and her colleagues showed volunteers briefest glimpses of web pages previously rated as being either easy on the eye or particularly jarring, and asked them to rate the websites on a sliding scale of visual appeal.

Although the images were shown for just 50 milliseconds, the ratings were very similar to the judgments made after a longer examination of a web site.

Psychologists call this the halo effect. If people continue to use a web site that gave a good first impression they "prove" to themselves that they made a good initial decision.

What does this mean to your web site?

It's crucial that your site makes a good first impression. Otherwise, people might go to the next web site in the search results before finding out that you have great offers.

Make your web pages easy to read. Use a clear web site design and make it easy to find out what your web site is about.

Don't put everything you can on a single page. Focus on a clear message and tell your web site visitors what's in it for them when they visit your site.

Making a good first impression can be the determining factor for the success of your web site. If you're sure that your web pages don't deter web surfers, you can optimize them for top 10 rankings on Google, Yahoo and other important search engines.

If you have a compelling web site then more visitors will convert to sales. If you don't know how to get your web pages on the first page of the search results, take a look at our free search engine optimization eBook.

European tech giants craft new search engine

"Quaero is billed as Europe's answer to Google, but it has a lot to live up to. [...] So far Quaero is just a scattering of top tech minds in labs across France and Germany, working on what they hope will be the world's most advanced multimedia search engine."

Google unveils personalised homepage

"Google has launched a personalised homepage for mobile users, which gives them the opportunity to view on one screen, the information they often access through their Google homepage."

Canada.com, Google team up

"The multi-year partnership will provide Canada.com users with content and search-related advertising, while offering Google's advertisers access to Canada.com's extensive reach across the country."

Microsoft raises stakes in paid-search game

"Microsoft's investment in adLab will raise the bar in click-advertising technology by providing advertisers with richer data about users -- such as the gender or likely age of the Internet consumer."

Search engine newslets

• Loomia is a new search engine for podcasts.
• AOL buys a video search firm.
• Read the CES keynote speech of Google founder Larry Page.
• Yahoo! announces the acquisition of company before its foundation. (satire)
• Is Google infringing Bollywood copyrights?
• Microsoft plans the launch of its search ad system by June in the US.
• Yahoo search strategy aims 'inside heads'.

St Lawrence of Google

"If Google is a religion, what is its God? It would have to be The Algorithm. Faith in the possibility of an omniscient and omnipotent algorithm appears to be what Messrs Page and Brin have in common."

Google's shadow payroll is not such a secret anymore

"Google.com and the company's foreign search sites contribute more to Google's bottom line than AdSense, because for every dollar the company brings in through AdSense and other places that distribute its ads, it pays roughly 78.5 cents back to sites [...] that display the ads."

20 billion and counting

"A few months back, Yahoo said that its search engine index had topped 20 billion items. 20 billion! To put that in perspective, 20 billion seconds ago, Columbus had yet to make his controversial journey. [...] I know it's trite to say, but we are surrounded by a cacophony of media. [...] This cacophony is why search marketing is so successful."

What video search means for search

"The masses are no longer willing to live at the beck and call of the information gatekeepers. Instead, they’re looking to get information on their own terms."

Google amazes but for how long?

"Google remains a slightly dodgy long-term proposition. Although it is diversifying in all directions, it remains essentially a one-product company. Just as Google, a second mover, dislodged AltaVista a few years ago, so a newer, better search engine could do the same to Google. [...] All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Make sure that you have the chance to make a first impression

The main article above shows how important it is to make a good first impression. However, you must also have the chance to make a first impression.

If people don't find your web site on search engines, you won't have a chance to tell them how great your web site is.

Do the following to get targeted visitors from search engines:

1. Find the best keywords for your web site with IBP's keyword tools (the keyword generator is free in the demo version).
   
   
2. Optimize your web pages for these keywords with IBP's Top 10 Optimizer and IBP's Website Optimization Editor.
   
   
3. Submit your web site to all important search engines, Internet directories and special interest sites with IBP's next-generation search engine submission tool.
   
   
4. Increase the number of links to your web site with IBP's Link Popularity Improver.
   
   
5. Check your results with IBP's ranking checker.
   

IBP helps you to get top 10 rankings on Google, Yahoo and other important search engines. If you target the right keywords, you'll get more visitors, more customers and more sales.

Businesses all over the world successfully use IBP to get more customers and more sales. If you haven't done it yet, give it a try.

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