Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
Have you ever pushed your limit on SEO efforts, and experienced the OOP? On November 15, 2003, the Google SERPs were dramatically altered by Hurricane Florida, also known as Over Optimization Penalty. Google has increased the threshold for triggering the OOP since, and SERPs are back to pre-Florida level.
One of SEO technique well known for OOP target is over usage of anchor text. For example, you decided to change the navigation on your site to include a keyword, say “Keyword Home” instead of “Home”. After a few days, you lose search engine rankings. You change navigator menus back to original, without the keyword, and the lost rank comes back.
Google does not want a site to rank well overnight. If you start a new site, you can easily build search engine optimized pages with good backlinks and your site will be placed in a sandbox for several months before slowly rising to the top.
On the other hand, if you have an existing site and decided to optimize your site with the seo effort. The new pages are fully optimized, but now the OOP comes into play. The site does not rank well and gets held back for several months before slowing rising to the top. This isn’t proven, but OOP seems to play bigger role in more competitive keywords — money making keywords.
The OOP exists for the same reason Sandbox exists, and delays a site from rank well overnight. This might have some affect on Google Adwords sales, as new entrants will likely buy adwords for the keywords until its rank rises.
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Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
If your SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) rank fluctuates, don’t be alarmed. Everyone’s rank fluctuates, and that is the nature of search engines. You may be happy to see your site rank highly on most coveted keywords, but don’t expected to last forever without constantly updating your site. Search engines are constantly tweaking their algorithms and new sites are constantly being added, so SERP ranking fluctuations are expected. Also, your competitions are updating their sites to achieve better rankings.
About once in every 30 days, Google recalculates the page rank of each web pages, and re-indexes the SERP for all keywords. The Google Dance is the time period between the start and end of the re-indexing. During Google Dance, the search results are different on www.google.com, www2.google.com, and www3.google.com. The www2 and www3 are known to be Google’s test engines. The dance normally takes about 4 days.
Even when no Google Dance is in effect, SERPs may be different for same keywords at different time of the day. This may be due to hitting different Google servers between searches. Search results may be different on different Google servers, and geographic location and load balancing potentially makes users land on different servers.
You as a website owner should concentrate more on targetted traffic and conversions rather than pure SERP rankings. As you enrich your website by adding more relevant contents and building backlink to your website, you are ultimately attracting more targeted and qualified traffic.
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Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
HTML meta tags are not magic bullets that will magically boost your site rankings in search engine listings. They are one of many tools that will help improve your standings in search engines that use them. Google does not seem to value meta description and keyword tags anymore, but many other engines do. Use them with other search engine strategies will help improve your overall site rankings. We have only focused on the tags that have relevance in search engine optimization.
What is a Meta Tag?
Meta tag or what are officially referred to as Metadata Elements, are found within the <HEAD></HEAD> section of a HTML document. The information inserted in a meta tag is not visible to the user, but are intended for search engines. The meta tag has three possible attributes: content, http-equiv, and name. Meta tags always provide information in a name/value pair. The name and http-httpequiv attributes provide name information, and the content provides the value information. Meta tags do not have a closing tag. For detailed specification, please refer W3C Metadata Specification.
Why are Meta Tags used?
Meta Tags are originally designed to let search engines know what the site is all about. This information is in turn used by the search engines to decide how to rank the sites in their search results. However, as the competition increased, webmasters started manipulating this information for their advantage and search engines started withdrawing their support to meta description and keyword tags. For this reason, there is no guarantee that your website will do any better than the ones that do not have meta tags in search engine rankings. Apart from search engine rankings, some search engines use meta tags to describe its web pages on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Title Tag
The Title Tag of a HTML document describe title of a webpage. The Title Tag is NOT a meta tag, but it is defined in the <HEAD> block of a HTML page and it is displayed at the top title bar of the browsers. Search Engines use this title information in the hyperlink listings on the search engine results.
The title tag plays a vital role in describing your page to search engines, and it does influence your rankings on search engine results. The title of a web page should be carefuly assembled, especially the words that appear and the order in which they appear. Your targeted keyword should be stuffed in the title tag, instead of your company name to boost the content relevancy. You may also place the keywords in the order of their importance. Google is known to read only about 90 characters of the title tag, so you should leverage this length to cover prominent keywords relevant to the page. It is also helpful to have custom title tags designed for each page you have on your website.
META Description Tag
The Meta Description Tag is used to provide a short and concise summary of your web page contents. Some search engines index contents of META description tag to present the description of your site on their search engine result pages (SERPs). In the SERP, the users go through the description of the page and decide whether to visit your site or not, so it’s important that you compose an eye-catching and descriptive information about your website. About 25-30 words description should be used. Keywords and phrases should be included in the Meta Description Tag, though care should be given not to repeat them too often as over usage may penalyze your website ranking.
META Keywords Tag
The META keywords tag is use to list keywords and keyword phrases that you’ve targeted for your webpage. Most search engines do no longer value the Meta Keywords Tag anymore, so it is up to you to use them or not.
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Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
There are probably more than 100 rules that Google uses to rank pages in the search engine result pages (SERP). No one really knows all the rules, and they’re changing on a periodic basis. Various confirmed and suspected SEO rules described here are educated guesses by SEO experts.
Positive Google Rules (On Page)
- Keyword in URL.
- Keyword in domain name.
- Keyword in title tag.
- Keyword in Heading tag (i.e. H1, H2, and H3).
Positive Google Rules (Off Page)
- Google Page Rank (Higher the better).
- Anchor text of inbound link to your site.
- Link from “Expert” site.
- In directories (dmoz.org, Yahoo, and etc.)
- Site Age.
Negative Google Rules (On Page)
- No body text. Text represented in graphics form.
- Over Optimization Penalty (OOP) – Google Florida
- Link to a bad link farm.
- Redirect through refresh metatags.
- Use of poison words.
- Excessive cross-linking within same IP block.
- Keyword Stuffing in body, meta tags, and alt text.
Negative Google Rules (Off Page)
- Zero Links to your site.
- Link buying.
- Cloaking
- Domain Hijacking (Copied website)
- Rank Manipulation by Competitor Attack.
For more comprehensive details of this report, please visit Google Ranking Factors
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Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
As Google does not reveal its engine algorithms, no one really knows whether the sandbox really exists. The sandbox is nothing more than a theory developed to explain what many SEO experts have witnessed with their listings.
Google programmers may feel uncomfortable ranking new websites well until they have proven their viability to exist for a few months. The term “Sandbox Effect” refers to the idea that all new websites are placed in a sandbox (“away from real web sites”) for a period of time deemed appropriate before a ranking can commence. The usual holding period seems to be anywhere from 90 to 120 days.
The sandbox is a relatively new filter that appeared after the widely publicized updates of Austin and Florida. If you don’t know what Austin and Florida updates are, don’t worry they’re mostly in the past.
The Sandbox Effect is that new websites may get into Google’s Search Engine Results Pages relatively quickly and may even perform well for a couple of weeks. When the filter is applied to the new website it is referred to as being put in the “sandbox” status. The new website will still show in the result pages, but it will not rank well regardless of how much original, well optimized content and regardless of how many quality inbound links the site may have. The filter restrains new websites from having immediate success in the search engine result pages.
Is there a way to get out of the Sandbox? The simple answer is wait. The sandbox is not a permanent fileter, and is only intended to reduce search engine spam. If your website is in the sandbox, you may want to use this time to build traffic using traditional methods such as writing articles, building a strong community visitors, and partnering with companies. You may also use this time to build strong inbound links from other sites.
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Posted by admin on Wednesday Oct 27, 2010
Filed under :SEO
Search Engine Optimization refers to the marketing technique of preparing a website (or web pages) to enhance its chances of being ranked well in the search engine result pages when a relavant search is undertaken. Search engine technologies are constantly evolving, and new algorithms are being deployed on a periodic basis. With ever changing search engine technology, a good way to keep your site at a top place is by applying basic SEO techniques and constantly monitor your website for improvements.
Ranking higher on search engines require persistence and dedication, and it doesn’t usually happen overnight. Even if you already have good placements on major search engines, they should be constantly monitored to maintain your rankings. The basic tips described below will help you improve your search engine placement.
Identify your keywords
One of the most essential aspect of SEO work is deciding on the keyword phrases. Think about what your intended audiences are looking for, and what they would type in the search engines to find your website. If you choose the wrong keywords, you will not be found by your intended audiences. Identify up to 50 keywords (and phrases), and evaluate them for their competitiveness and identify 5-10 keywords that you can optimize for your website. Use keyword analysis tool such as WordTracker and KeywordSpy to identify the keywords. It is practically impossible to optimize every keywords that you have in mind in a single web page. For best results, optimize one or two keywords in a page.
Title and Meta Tags
The title, meta keyword, meta description tags play important role in determining relevancy of your webpage compare to your competitors’. In general, make them concise and optimize for one or two keywords yields best result. Although some search engines neglect META tages, it doesn’t hurt to describe your keywords and description as there are plenty search engines still use them.
Relavancy
When a search engine rank one site higher over another, it uses relavancy rules. Searche engines use following criterias for determining relevancy of a web page on a particular keyword or phrase.
- Prominence: Prominence is determined by how early your keywords appear in your tags and in the body contents. The earlier it appears better off it is.
- Density: How many times have you used the keyword phrases in your webpage? More is not necessarily better, but it should balance overall length of the web page. The keyword density is appearance of your keyword phrases in relation to the total number of words in the page.
- Proximity: Keep your keywords near each other.
- Link Popularity: How many websites and webpages link to your website? More the better. Check out your Google page rank by installing the Google toolbar.
- Use Root Path: Don’t place important pages in subdirectories. Place your keywords in all important pages. If you have directory structure in place, you may use Apache (IIS or web server) rewrite rules to achieve root path goal.
Add your website to directories
It is helpful to list your website in the directories such as dmoz.org and yahoo. Although it may take some time (and money for yahoo) to list your website in directories, they are worthwhile doing it.
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Posted by admin on Tuesday Oct 26, 2010
Filed under :Facebook
Setting up a business page under your Facebook account is an integral part in building a traffic to your “business” website. Facebook allows a business to setup a vanity url (or username), such as the facebook.com/webtrafficexchange, but it seems to be a mystery for many and it isn’t clear how to claim your business username.
Before we describe how to do this, we need to understand whether to create a personal or a business account. Facebook allows a user to create a personal and business account, but not both. According to Facebook’s terms of service, creating more than one Facebook account whether it is personal or business is NOT allowed.
Please be aware that managing multiple accounts is a serious violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If we determine that an individual has more than one account, we reserve the right to terminate all of their accounts.
Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, then we cannot allow you to create business accounts for any reason.
Even though Facebook business account allows you to assign a username (“vanity url”) immediately, it is preferable to create the business page under your personal account. The Facebook Page will then be in the possession of your personal account, and you’ll have the full control over it. You may grant administrative right to whom you wish to allow making changes to your facebook page. You may also create multiple business pages for multiple businesses (or websites) that you may own, and do not violate facebook’s terms of service.
To create a Facebook page, logon to your facebook personal account and click on the “Ads and Pages” link under your Facebook profile. Create a Facebook page by following the wizard provided by Facebook, and publish the page. To claim a facebook username (or vanity url) for your business page, you’ll have to find 25 fans for your page. Facebook imposed this requirement to make it difficult for anyone to cybersquat, claiming someone else’s identity. So, you’ll need to find 25 fans to change your Facebook page username.
To change your Facebook “page” username, logon to facebook and go to facebook.com/username. Facebook will provide you with an option to change your page username as shown below.
As shown on the dialog above, you do not have the permission to change your username if you haven’t found 25 fans. Go ahead and publish your business page, find 25 fans, and claim your vanity url.
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Posted by admin on Sunday Oct 24, 2010
Filed under :Google Adwords
Topic of the week: CTRs. Sales. Success. How to track all of it.
Understanding the best ways to use AdWords reports, Conversion Tracking and Google Analytics could be the most valuable thing you do with your AdWords account.
Tip #1. Get to know your AdWords reports
Check your campaign reports to learn about the clicks, impressions and click-through rates (CTRs) you’re getting from AdWords.
Tip #2. Start tracking sales/leads from AdWords
See which clicks turn into sales using Conversion Tracking or Google Analytics.
Tip #3. Use Search Funnels to get the big picture
See how different keywords and ads work together to influence a customer before they purchase (Conversion Tracking required).
Remember, next week is the final stage of the competition. To make sure you’re still in the running to win a trip to Sydney, Australia, you must have completed the four steps.
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Posted by admin on Sunday Oct 17, 2010
Filed under :Internet Marketing
Topic of the week: Bids. Budgets. And how to balance the two.
Remember, you’re in total control of how much you spend on AdWords. Now the trick is to find the right balance between what AdWords is costing you and the sales you’re getting from it. And that’s really all there is to a “bidding strategy.”
Tip #1. Develop a budget and bidding strategy
See where your ad spending is working best and focus your money on the efforts that are generating business.
Tip #2. Check your “first page” bid estimate to stay competitive
If you’re not on that first page of search results, it means your competitors are. This means potential customers are seeing their ads; not yours.
Tip #3. Use the Conversion Optimizer for better results
Conversion Optimizer automatically adjusts your bids to get more sales and leads within your budget (Conversion Tracking required).
Remember, the secret of AdWords success is to check in often, test new ideas — and don’t be afraid to make changes.
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Posted by admin on Tuesday Oct 12, 2010
Filed under :Google Adwords
Topic of the week: Better keywords = Better traffic
Since you’re spending money on your ads, it makes sense to spend a little time on your keywords. In about 10 minutes, twice a week, you can check in, change anything that’s not producing the results you want and try some new keywords. You’ll be impressed with how quickly you can improve traffic to your site.
Tip #1. Add negative keywords
Specify which search terms you don’t want your ad to appear on. This will help you keep costs down because it prevents clicks from people looking for things you don’t offer.
Tip #2. Use the Opportunities Tab to find new keywords
Check this tab regularly for new keyword ideas based on your goals. Hint: for new keywords, click on the Keyword Tool.
Tip #3. Find seasonal keywords with the Insights for Search tool
See how your customers’ search terms vary by season. Create an ad group with seasonal keywords.
Remember, your AdWords success is all about trying new things. If they work, do more of them. If they don’t, change them. It’s all up to you.
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