Doorway pages used to be pages that were developed to rank highly for a specific keyword phrases, focused on one particular search engine. People visiting a doorway page as a result of a search engine query were presented with either a link to enter the main site or they were automatically redirected into the site.
You've heard the term - and you've probably seen some on the web. Many Internet marketers claim that Doorway Pages are the way to win the search engine war. They aren't anymore - they may have years ago, but the game has changed.
Search Engines hate Doorway Pages because they clog up their index. Search engines want real content pages to serve, not a "doorway" page.
Instead of creating Doorway Pages, we suggest that you create Landing Pages instead.
Landing Page Creation
Step One
Find your niche market by finding keyword phrases that you can effectively compete for a Top Ten listing. In other words, do NOT target a keyword phrase that has 100,000 competitors - how do you expect to get a Top Ten listing against that competition?
To assist you to find our niche, you can get a free trial to WordTracker.
Step Two
Create a new page. Name the page using the keyword phrase you are targeting. For example, if your keyword phrase is "leather bomber jackets", you would name the file "leather-bomber-jackets.html". Make sure the page is the same style and form as the rest of your site. Often, you can just do a "Save As" with one of your current pages. Make sure you use hyphens and not underscores. Why? Hyphens are word separators, underscores are not.
Step Three
Write an effective Title. The Title will be short and incorporate the keyword phrase at the beginning and use it just once. Keep it to 72 characters or less, but we recommend eight words or less, if possible. In your code, it would look like this:
<title>Quality Leather Bomber Jackets at Discount Prices</title>
Step Four
Your description is next and you need to write an effective one. Your description should be compelling and draw attention. After all, just because you are listed in the Top Ten, doesn't mean you will get a click-through. The description will help you get that click-through. Keep it to 10-25 words or less. In your code, it would look like this:
<meta name="description" content=
"For 56 years, we have provided the best quality leather bomber jackets in the Miami area at steep discounts. Now you can order direct from us and save!">
Step Five
Use the keyword tag, but very generically. You don't want to tip your hand to your competion. You code would look like this:
<meta name="keywords" content="bomber jackets, leather bomber jackets">
Step Six
Use the Heading Tag. Create a compelling Headline and use a heading of 1-3. The code would look like:
<H1>Leather Bomber Jackets at 60% off</H1>
or
<H2>Leather Bomber Jackets at 60% off</H2>
or
<H3>Leather Bomber Jackets at 60% off</H3>
The engines give a lot of weight to the heading tag. But only use one of them.
Step Seven
Have a link back to the main section of your site to give the visitor an option for more information. Use the keyword phrase in the link text. Your code would look like this:
<a href="main.html">Leather Bomber Jackets</a>
Text contained in a text link is given a boost by nearly every major search engine.
Step Eight
The body of your document. This is key. You will use about 250-500 words of text to discuss your product or service and give compelling information.
Step Nine
Create a Site Map. This file will have text links for every page in your site. This not only assists in the navigation for a visitor, but makes a very convenient page for you to submit to the search engines. One page to submit and it has links to your entire site. Do not expect for all your pages to be picked up by the search engines, but this method gets the most results with the least effort.
