Friday, May 29, 2009

seo-generalist-specialist-surpirise-upset

“A generalist is someone who knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything, while a specialist is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing.”
In some fields, neurosurgery for example, nothing short of a specialist will do. There’s a reason we have a Surgeon General and not “surgeon generalists” in the United States—nobody would trust a surgeon who claims, “I’m better than average at cutting into and sewing up pretty much any body part. I even do animals.” Paging Doctor Frankenstein.
In other areas, like SEO, the tables are completely turned. The role of an SEO specialist doesn’t feel very specialized some days when I feel like anybody could perform the same SEO tasks I do, because let’s be frank—SEO isn’t brain surgery. Then I remember I’m compensated not for my depth of concentrated training, but for my breadth of skill. I’m trained to nimbly jump from one tactic to the next, seamlessly creating videos for one client one minute, doing conversion optimization for another client the next, and blogging at the end of the day. I’ve wondered whether they should change my job title to SEO generalist.
True SEO specialists definitely exist. They do only on-site and off-site optimization. They do keyword research. They build links. They generally have very boring jobs—the kind that robots will be doing soon. I get the impression that these “specialists” desperately want to convince the world that the search industry is a specialist niche, when it isn’t. Until we understand this, we’ll see the same topics being rehashed again and again in SEO blog posts and presentations while conferences like SMX Advanced will be “buzzing” with revelatory changes in myopic areas like PageRank sculpting.
I suspect that the SEO pool isn’t deep enough for a bunch of specialists. It’s not deep enough to make ultra-specialization practical or profitable (or I’m not seeing how brain surgeon-level SEO expertise translates into markedly improved rankings).
Even while SEO spending is on the rise, SEO-only companies may find it increasingly difficult to make a buck, particularly when every hosting, web design, or marketing company outside the search realm is finding it profitable and easy to expand into the SEO market – GoDaddy.com being the recent scary reminder.
So how do SEO companies take a generalist rather than a specialist approach to SEO? You have to be willing to do more for your clients.
We’re an SEO company, yes, but when an indirect opportunity comes along for our clients to get a traffic or rank boost, we draw on our acquired set of skills that includes advertising, public relations, web design, social media, etc., as if we were a full-service web marketing firm. For instance, my boss just spent time on the phone finding geo-targeted newspapers willing to publish one client’s press release and drive traffic to his site—something you would be hard-pressed to find at an SEO-only company.
This kind of Swiss Army knife approach keeps us creative enough to cater to specific client needs. It’s our version of an above-the-rim milkshake with the cherry on top. As a result, we get happier clients and higher rankings because we build better links and drive more targeted traffic.
My opinion is obviously that generalists are better equipped to accomplish the objectives associated with SEO than their specialist counterparts are, as surprising as that may be. Generalists of the SEO.com breed have enough specialization to get and maintain top search placement for competitive keywords, so what does that say about SEO-only specialists?
Search engine optimizers don’t need the education of a brain surgeon to be the best–just an expanded multi-functional skill set, which ultimately proves to be far more impactful and exciting for the client, the company, and employees like me.
read more...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

seo-is-about-communication

We’ve all heard various experts toot the horn of various elements of SEO: “Content is king!” or “It’s all about the links.” Others tout their proprietary software tools or throw out terms like latent semantic indexing. The truth is, all of these things play a part in SEO (along with a bunch of other things), but if you focus on any one of these, you’re missing the bigger picture.
SEO is about communication!

Communication is defined as: a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
The communication process involves a sender and a receiver. As long as both the sender and receiver both understand the common system of symbols, signs, or behavior, the sender’s message will be understood. Sounds simple enough, right? The challenge with any communication is that the message has to be properly encoded and then passed along through the communication medium or channel and then decoded and interpreted by the receiver of the message. With search engine optimization, we are dealing with an intermediary (the search engines) who really aren’t our intended receiver at all. We have to make sure the search engines understand the message we are sending, or the communication process breaks down and never makes it to our intended receiver. This makes for a much more complicated communication process.
Google has made it perfectly clear that they are making every possible effort to improve the quality of its search engine. This means they are doing their best to decode the meaning of web pages and other web content — at the same time they are decoding the meaning of users’ search queries — all in an attempt to match up searchers with what they are looking for. They are trying to improve the web search communication channel. Our job as communicators is to create our websites and write content that makes it clear what we are trying to say. If we send the right signals to Google through the structure and content on our site, internal and external links, and all the other “seo” tactics, Google will get the message and move our site to the top of the search heap.
Don’t forget that getting Google to properly decode and interpret our message is only part of the communication process. Google is not the final receiver of our message, remember? Ultimately you want your customers to find your site, click through and complete the desired action (lead, sale, call, whatever).
Just getting your site to the top of the search engine for your desired keywords does not mean your intended customers will get your message. If your title and description is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, you won’t get many people clicking through. Take care to use titles and descriptions that will convey the right message regarding what you have to offer. Once they click through to your site, the real communication takes place. If they don’t immediately see what they were looking for, they will back out and look elsewhere. If your message is not persuasive enough, the customer will move along to find something more convincing. Provide enough content and enough value to satisfy the searcher’s desire to find what they are looking for. Speak the same language as your site visitors and they will be much more likely to decode your message in the way it was intended.
An important part of the communication process is feedback. Try to get feedback from your website visitors. Obviously, when you get get a sale on your website, you know your message was successfully received (at least by that person). What if you’re not getting any sales? Or what about the other 95% of the people who didn’t buy? Provide other feedback mechanisms to allow your customers to give you feedback about your message. Provide clear calls to action and give them multiple ways to contact you and provide feedback. Use your website analytics reports along with tools like ClickTale and CrazyEgg to find out your site visitors’ behavior. Spend the time to close the feedback loop so you can refine and improve your communication process.
Don’t ever forget that SEO is about communication and the search engine is merely the medium to reach your desired recipient.
read more...

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

transformer-of-seo

I have yet to see the sequel to Transformers but I grew up playing with transformers as a little boy and I loved the first movie. Seeing the sequel is one of the top things on my list of things to do this summer. I have watched many trailers for it and it looks like it’s going to be just as good, if not better, than the first one.
When it comes to SEO, there are a few things that can be done to transform a campaign. These are what I call the transformers of SEO. Instead of transforming from a car into a robot, these elements, when properly optimized, will transform a good SEO campaign into a great one. When not used properly, or not used at all, getting top rankings may seem to be next to impossible.
Title Tag (Optimus Prime):
The title tag is like Optimus Prime; it can be the anchor of a well-optimized website. The title tag appears at the top of the browser when browsing the web or visiting a site. Of all the HTML elements, the title tag carries the most weight in search engine algorithms. Properly optimized titles should contain keywords that are relevant to the page, and should be no more than 70 characters long. It should be a well-written sentence formed from the targeted keywords and should not be just a list of keywords.
Meta Description Tag (Ironhide):
The Meta description is like Ironhide, and can give the website a tactical advantage when used properly. When optimized, this tag can increase the click-through-rate of a site listing in the search results. The Meta description tag is not displayed on the website page. It is placed in the head section of the HTML code, usually right below the title tag. Meta Descriptions have no influence on search engine rankings. However, if if they contain the same terms of the search query, then they are normally displayed for the description in the search results.
A good Meta description should contain the targeted search terms and describe the website page. It should be about 160 characters long and contain a call-to-action that will entice a searcher to visit the site. Meta descriptions should not be a long string of keywords separated with commas. This is referred to as the Meta keywords tag, not the Meta description.
Internal Links (Bumblebee):
Bumblebee had an important role to play as an Autobot. Like Bumblebee, internal links have a critical role in an SEO campaign, and can impact site rankings if optimized. To optimize a Website’s link structure, the site should have navigation using HTML text links. The links can be formatted to appear as buttons using cascading style sheets. They should use keyword targeted anchor text and should match the targeted keywords of the page the link is pointing to on the website. Links created with JavaScript, Flash or Image rollovers without optimized anchor text, or the ability to be crawled by spiders, should be avoided.
A good SEO campaign should not neglect the optimization of any of these site elements. Including them can often make the difference in a second page or a first page ranking.
read more...

Thursday, May 14, 2009

transformer-of-seo-the-decepticons

Before anyone asks the question, the answer is: “Yes, I finally got out to the theater to see Revenge of the Fallen.” About 10 years ago life was much simpler. I could just pick a night, meet some of my friends and head out to the theater to see a movie. Now I am married and have a couple of kids. Getting out to the theater has become a rare event, but I did manage to make time over the weekend to see it with my brother in-law.
Thanks to a couple of comments from Princess Zelda and Dan Schulz on my previous post about Transformers of SEO, I have had some inspiration to write a sequel. My previous post compared a few optimization strategies to the Autobots. This post will contrast some of the current blackhat SEO strategies to the Decepticons. I think this comparison is appropriate because, in the end, blackhat SEO only “deceives” the person using it by making them think that it will bring top rankings and instant wealth.
Cloaking (Megatron):
Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons and one of the most powerful Transformers. Just like Megatron, cloaking can be a powerful blackhat SEO tactic that could result in high search engine rankings. The negative aspect of this tactic is that once a site has been caught cloaking it is removed from the search index and all the top rankings are instantly taken away. Cloaking is done by making a website appear to be something completely different for site visitors than it does for search engine spiders. There are many ways a web developer can go accomplish it, but whatever method is used, the end result is always the same.
Doorway Pages (Devastator):
Several Decepticons combined together to transform into one large robot called Devastator. When combined together they were a powerful and formidable opponent. Doorway pages can be compared to these Decepticons. One doorway page on its own can be an effective tool for driving traffic to a website, but multiple doorway pages can have a “devastating” effect. Doorway pages are single web pages that are set up and optimized for a couple of search terms with the singular goal of sending people from that page to a main website. Creating several doorway pages targeting multiple search terms can eventually help a webmaster rank well for all their targeted search terms. Doorway pages are just another way of tricking or deceiving the search engines. The goal of search engines is to provide the searcher with the most relevant websites to their search query. They want those websites to be what is displayed in the search results and not a page that directs a visitor to another site. Once doorway pages are discovered, they will be removed from the search index and all the work of creating them will be for nothing.
Keyword Stuffing (Starscream):
Starscream is the sidekick to Megatron but always seems to be more like a thorn in Megatron’s side. He was useful when he assisted the Decepticons in battle but was usually more of a hindrance then a help to Megatron because he was constantly plotting to overthrow him and take over as leader. I think keyword stuffing is much like Starscream. Many webmasters stuff webpage elements like titles tags, alt attributes and headers, full of keywords to either target many different search terms or inflate keyword density. While this strategy may have worked in the past, today it only results in reducing the weight of the elements that have been stuffed. So instead of possibly ranking well for a few targeted search terms, the site will struggle to rank for any search terms at all. Keyword stuffing is a strategy of the past that is dead and gone. Anyone practicing it today can expect their SEO campaign to also be dead and gone.
Don’t be fooled by any of these blackhat strategies, they deceive webmasters into believing they can bring quick rankings and wealth, but in the end it is the ethical SEO techniques that will bring the lasting results.
read more...

Thursday, May 7, 2009

top-seo-tips-for-blogger

Millions of blogs, and only the top 10 results. It seems like a recipe for headaches and back pain. If you don’t mind, I’ll see if I can give you some pain medication in the form of tried and true methods for getting your blog to show up in those top 10 results.
1. If you are using WordPress, start by installing the all in one seo pack. You can specify unique titles and descriptions for each post using the all in one. The reason you want to have unique titles and descriptions is so that single posts show up easier for long tail keywords, which sometimes bring in visitors or clients 6 months down the road. It’s always nice to be there for an obscure search term, so you can beat out your competitors who aren’t showing up for that term.
2. Headlines: Should be no more than 60 characters, How to’s and top 5 or 10 lists usually work the best to bring in readers. It is also easy to digg a “How To List” or “Top 10 list”. If your keywords are “Internet Business” or “Movie Critiques”, an example could be “The top 5 movie critiques for online shoppers.”
3. Text: Make your paragraphs no more than 6-7 sentences. Lists and bullet points are easier on the eyes and help people read your whole post. Obviously your keywords are an important consideration, have your keyword research handy when writing any post. First and foremost is your reader though, so don’t sacrifice semantics/readability for your keywords.
4. Links: Link to influential blogs or sources as much as possible (no more than 8 links in one post though, you don’t want the reader to get all confused by the abundance of outbound links). There are at least two reasons for this: 1) If you link to an influential blogger, they will see your link, and possibly reciprocate one back to you if your article is good enough. 2) Trusted sources are worth their weight in gold if you want to be seen as an industry expert and to keep your readers coming back for more.
5. Ultimately you will want people to read what you write on your blog. That’s why we have to prepare your blog in such a way that the search engines will find it easier. There are ways to get immediate traffic to your site using Stumbleupon or Digg or some other social bookmarking service, which we use extensively. But the real value in having your post or article go “viral” is for the links that almost automatically come from people who like what you have written. Relevant, keyword targeted text links from a high profile blog or site counts alot towards how well you rank for a particular keyword phrase. Use Stumbling and Digging as much as needed, but first write good content, and make your site search engine friendly.
6. Last but not least, make your RSS feed readily available at the top of your page somewhere. That is usually the first place people look for an RSS feed if they like your post, and if someone wants to link to you or a post of yours, you should give them as many options as possible to do so. An RSS feed is great for publishing content that will then get read and possibly linked to more often.
read more...

Monday, May 4, 2009

Dangling links and outbound links

Artike before discussing the effects of outbound links. What if a page has a link to a pdf file or document? A page that does not have an outbound link (that page has no link). In this case owned pagerank pages of this type can not be distributed to other pages. This happened on several types of documents are also in the google index as a PDF file, exel, word and also the page linked to a page but not be allowed to index the files from the restrictions on the robot.txt file. This characteristic is called dangling links by Lawrence Page and Sergey Brin, in which the current Google index, so many dangling links.

For these types of pages, the iterative process (recursive) pagerank, this page removed from the calculation of pagerank, to other pages that refer to the page count pageranknya completed. Once a page has a link to a page has finished its computed pagerank, pages that do not have an outbound link pagerank otomasis provided by a particular algorithm.

So in this case dangling links will not affect the pagerank of your page for the pagerank calculation process this iteration excluded from the calculation of pagerank.
read more...
 
seo Copyright © 2009 Blogger Template Designed by Bie Blogger Template