Cybele NegrisWith any new technology, people need proof of concept and to see real life examples working. I decided a few months ago to track what I was doing with my own .TEL updates for http://cybele.tel and see what effect they would have on how my rank in Google.
My .TEL is now in 5th (see screenshot below) on page 1 of Google (out of 24 pages and 240 true references and 47,800 results to search term “Cybele Negris”). Perhaps more impressive is that it is also in 9th position on page 1 of Google for the search term “Cybele”.
Here’s How I Did It:
1. Enter Keywords, Description, Map – When I first updated my .TEL name cybele.tel I put very little information on it. I had my website, email address, phone number, a few key words and a map of my location. Since my .TEL name was quite new as well, I found my .TEL on page 7 a few weeks later using my name “cybele negris” as a search term. Not bad. It was a start given how new the name was.
2. Submit your Name to Search Engines:
Google – Add URL page
And to .TEL directories:
Dot TEL Central
Dot TEL Finder
And to have your .TEL featured in the following forums (other locations to come):
One Vancouver
One San Francisco
I submitted to all of the above.
3. Add Social Media Links and Link Back – A few weeks later, I added a link from my .TEL to my Twitter account and my LinkedIn profile.
I then tweeted about my .TEL and added cybele.tel in my LinkedIn profile thereby referencing back to my .TEL.
4. Add Keywords to the Text Header – Besides using the keywords section at the bottom of the page to add directory information or “Free Text” as it is called in .TEL, make sure you put key words in the text header at the top of the page. When I expanded the description in the text header to include my name my .TEL jumped up in rankings.
5. Use, Promote and Publicize your .TEL! – I started to use my .TEL in my email signature in every email I sent. I gave it out to people at events and functions rather than a business card. I had a new batch of business cards printed to feature my .TEL. I started using my .TEL for what it was intended for. Within another few weeks, I saw my .TEL name jump to page 3 of Google.
6. Folders and Subdomains – The biggest and most significant difference that I saw was when I added “folders” or “subdomains” within my .TEL. I set up separate folders for the various board positions I held with a description that included my name (in your case it may be your key word of choice) within each description.
On my .TEL I set up the following folders:
http://forum-for-women-entrepreneurs.cybele.tel/
http://vancouver-economic-development-commission.cybele.tel/
http://small-business-bc.cybele.tel/
http://small-business-roundtable.cybele.tel/
When I did this, my .TEL shot to the first page of Google in 7th spot within a couple weeks.
7. Build Up your Link Backs (Especially from other .TEL’s) – Recently I started writing for a collaborative blog, Metro Blenz News Squad (see also http://metroblenznewssquad.tel) and I used “cybele.tel” in each post and the metroblenznewssquad.tel had numerous links pointing back to my .TEL.
Having the other .TEL linking to my name managed to bump me up another 2 spots and now I’m sitting at #5 on page one after 2 weeks.
8. Use the New .TEL Features – I have just added a picture which is a brand new feature launched hours ago.
9. Build out Another .TEL – I will now go build out “cybelenegris.tel” and see what happens. Currently, I’ve added very little data to this domain and I’m just referring people to cybele.tel.
Follow as many of the above steps as you can and your hard work will pay off!
Even if your .TEL is more “generic” than a personal name, these tips will still help to boost your ranking significantly. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
