Līve Ambitions

Google has finally confirmed it.  As I wrote in this post, in May, it turns out that meta tag keywords and descriptions are not factors in Google optimization.  However, meta tags may still be useful for Yahoo and Bing optimization.

You may also use meta tag descriptions to show in the search results if you are not satisfied with Google’s description of your website.

Update:  All the major search engines do not use meta keyword tags, not even Yahoo.  Yahoo confirmed it a few months ago.  However, meta descriptions may still be used as the displayed description text within SERP results.

I see a lot of articles on how to optimize for a specific search engine, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. But, I wonder why anyone would do such a thing. SEO takes a lot of work and manhours, especially if the site is new or if you manage more than 1 website. Who has time for it? Yes, there are some differences in the algorithms, but for the most part, search engines like the same basic characteristics in websites. Take your thoughts to grassroots level. It’ll simplify your job and also provide the best user experience.

To understand why the search engines are so similar you simply have to look at their business model. Their business model is based around providing the best experience for their users. They are not in business to make website owners money. They are in business not because of webmasters, but mainly because end-users find their service to be useful. Without practicality, usability or relevancy, search engines would be worthless to users. Without user traffic there is no money, and without money, there is no business.

You should think the same when developing a website. Build for the user, not for yourself or the search engines. Of course, if you don’t care about visitors or making money, then feel free to make your site as hideous as you’d like.

The search engines had the users in mind when they 1st developed their search engine algorithm, and it is still the users today that influence the factors of search engine algorithms.

So, let’s get down to the very basics. Why do people visit Google or Bing?

• To find an answer
• To learn about something
• To search for something
• To buy something

What is the best possible way for a search engine to provide a solution for its users?

• Provide relevant results
• Provide answers
• Eliminate clutter and spam
• Give speedy results
• Help protect the public

As you already know, algorithms are what determines how search engines show results. And, we know that Google and Bing care about the same things despite having separate algorithms. 

Here are the key factors that search engines agree are most important:

• Strong / quality backlinks
• On-site factors, such as keywords, meta tags, titles, alt tags, etc.
• Site architecture, such as coding, URLs and link structure
• Age and authority of website
• Unique content

Everything else is small potatoes. Optimizing for all search engines is not only efficient, but also helps you stay focused on what is important. Wouldn’t you rather receive organic traffic from all the search engines and not just one?

We’ve all been told that building relevant backlinks are important to SEO. However, have you ever wondered how Google determines relevancy between 2 websites that do not share much keywords?

For Example:

Say you have site A linking to site B, but site A is about cars while site B talks about brake pads. And, say both sites don’t really mention too much about the topic of the other site. How would Google then determine that cars are relevant to brake pads? Unless you are human or a really complex program, it would be very difficult to figure out.

For one, we know that the Google search engine is not human, although it is programmed by humans. And two, we can pretty much rule out the idea that Google has a bunch of people sitting around analyzing keyword relationships all day. My hope is that Google is smarter than that. To me, Google is about intelligence, simplicity, automation and streamlining. This may only be my opinion, but keep in mind that Google is the search engine leader for a reason, and they’ve invested billions into research and refinement over the years.  I’ve tried searching for answers, but there isn’t much to read about on this topic.

So, Here’s My Theory:

The only answer left is in their algorithm. I don’t think it’s a single factor. I think it’s based on several different factors, such as:

• Bounce rate of any given anchor text or alt tag keyword.
• An automated system that learns and compares keyword relationships over time.
• For an already established website with tons of links, acquiring new backlinks will only re-enforce its authority and improve its rankings.

Update:  Here’s what Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz.org says about topical relevance:

Years ago, Google Labs featured an automatic classification tool that could predict, based on a URL, the category and sub-category for virtually any type of content (from medical to real estate, marketing, sports and dozens more). It’s possible that engines may use these automated topical-classification systems to identify “neighbourhoods” around particular topics and count links more or less based on the behaviour they see as accretive to their quality of ranking results.

I’ve not been able to verify anything regarding Google Labs and their automatic classification tool, but it seems plausible.  Also, I don’t think Google wants to make it any easier for link builders to do SEO.

Business Listings with DoFollow Links:

VentureBeatProfiles.com
MerchantCircle.com
Kudzu.com
HotFrog.com
JigSaw.com
LATimesInteractive.com
BizCommunity.com
MyWikiBiz.com

Business Listings with NoFollow or Redirected Links:

AboutUs.org
GetSatisfaction.com
InsiderPages.com
Yelp.com
FreeIndex.com

PR Sculpting is the process of optimizing the linking structure within a website for the purpose of achieving the highest possible PR (Google Pagerank).  The primary technique used for PR sculpting is the utilization of the “nofollow” tag within links.

According to Google, their search engine robot does not crawl links with the nofollow attribute which means they don’t pass PR juice.  So, you would think that by “nofollowing” the crap out of all your external links, that you would be able to retain the full potential of the PR on your site, right?  Wrong.  This may have been the case before, but Google now handles “nofollow” tags differently.  Here’s an illustration for all you visual folks:

So, does PR Sculpting work?  Probably not.  Worry about what is more important  – content and inbound links.

Nigerian 419 Scams?  Nope.  Now the scams are right in our backyard.

Today, I received this email:

Dear Website Owner,

65% of people searching the Internet will never find your web site unless you’re ranked on first page of Google, MSN, or Yahoo. If I help you obtain as much as 4 times more WEB traffic to your online business by promoting you to the first page of the search engines would you be interested?

Our company is on the first page when you search on Google for our primary search term “SEO Company.” We would like to do the same for your web site so you can come up for your main keywords as well? All of our processes use the most ethical “white hat” Search Engine Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or penalized.

This special SEO program includes:

• No upfront fees
• A month-to-month program
• More traffic guaranteed

Please reply to my email and I would be happy to send you a proposal.
______________________________________________

Sincerely,
Cliff Blackwell
501 VERDUGO WAY
WESTLAKE VILLAGE , CA
91362 – USA

______________________________________________
Simply reply with opt out if not interested to hear from us.  

I try to check out all emails even if it ends up in the spam box because I figure you may eventually come across a legitimate offer.  In the past, I have done business with companies who have solicited me via email. 

With all offers like this, I do some research even before responding to the email.  Running a simple search on Google led me to a bunch of complaints regarding the same type of scammy email.  The verbiage is usually the same – sometimes they change the name, address and contact information.

Speaking of SEO scams, the company I currently work for was recently scammed by a company called Visible.net.  This was before I came into the picture, but they got scammed for about $6,000 within a couple of months.  My company tried to dispute the charges, but Visible.net fabricated a bunch of BS documents at the last minute.  Credit card companies don’t know crap about the SEO business, so it’s no surprise they bought the documents as proof.  Also, under the terms of contract, should there be any dispute, the client would agree to use an intermediary service chosen by Visible.net.  This intermediary service would probably end up costing more than the disputed charges, so no point.

There are 2 parties at fault here – Visible.net for being the scammer and the person at my company who failed to do their homework on Visible.net.

To make matters worse, these dirt bags post positive reviews on various review sites hoping to fool someone else.

For businesses seeking to hire a SEO company, my advice is:  Do your research!

• Just because they call you on the phone doesn’t mean they are legit!
• Just because they have a legit sounding company and domain name, doesn’t make them legit!
• Just because they tell you what you want to hear doesn’t make them legit!
• Just because they have a fancy looking website doesn’t make them legit!
• Just because they have some positive reviews doesn’t make them legit – it’s easy to make phony reviews!
• If their email address is using a different domain from their website, I would be suspicious.
• Check to see that their credentials are legit.

A good way to find some sincere reviews of companies is by reading forums.  If the forum is popular and well-maintained, more often than not, the reviews will be from real customers.

I just went over Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.  It’s a solid foundation to have if you’re just starting out in SEO.  The PDF file provided by Google is only 22 pages long, but I decided to make it even shorter.

1.   Create unique, accurate page titles
       a.   Accurately describe the page’s content
       b.   Create unique title tags for each page
       c.   Use brief, but descriptive titles

2.   Make use of the “description” meta tag
       a.   Accurately summarize the page’s content
       b.   Use unique descriptions for each page

3.   Improve the structure of your URLs
       a.   Use words in URLs
       b.   Create a simple directory structure
       c.   Provide one version of a URL to reach a document

4.   Make your site easier to navigate
       a.   Create a naturally flowing hierarchy
       b.   Use mostly text for navigation
       c.   Use “breadcrumb” navigation
       d.   Put an HTML sitemap page on your site, and use an XML Sitemap file
       e.   Consider what happens when a user removes part of your URL
       f.   Have a useful 404 page

5.   Offer quality content and services
       a.   Write easy-to-read text
       b.   Stay organized around the topic
       c.   Use relevant language
       d.   Create fresh, unique content
       e.   Offer exclusive content or services
       f.    Create content primarily for your users, not search engines

6.   Write better anchor text
       a.   Choose descriptive text
       b.   Write concise text
       c.   Format links so they’re easy to spot
       d.   Think about anchor text for internal links too

7.   Use heading tags appropriately
       a.   Imagine you’re writing an outline
       b.   Use headings sparingly across the page

8.   Optimize your use of images
       a.   Use brief, but descriptive filenames and alt text
       b.   Supply alt text when using images as links
       c.   Store images in a directory of their own
       d.   Use commonly supported filetypes

9.   Make effective use of robots.txt
       a.   Use more secure methods for sensitive content

10.   Be aware of rel=”nofollow” for links

11.   Promote your website in the right ways
         a.   Blog about new content or services
         b.   Don’t forget about offline promotion
         c.   Know about social media sites
         d.   Add your business to Google’s Local Business Center
         e.   Reach out to those in your site’s related community

12.   Make use of free webmaster tools

13.   Take advantage of web analytics services

You should keep these things in mind whenever you decide to develop a new website.  It’s easier/better to launch a website having all these things already implemented vs. fixing any issues later down the line.

I’m a little late on this topic, but I wanted to share my thoughts on it.  I think it was Google who first implemented it, but the others quickly followed.

To me, the search query suggestion feature is just another blow to the SEO industry.  Although the feature adds convenience and saves time, I believe it also alters natural search behavior.  This hurts the little guys the most because people aren’t typing in the long-tail keywords anymore.  Now, people simply select the most popular suggestions even before they’re done typing the entire search query.  I often do this myself.

Undoubtedly, the search suggestion feature only helps to bring more traffic to the bigger websites (and corporations) that are already ranking in top positions for popular keywords.  Therefore, the mom-and-pop sites will have to work twice as hard to compete for the same keywords.  In addition, more money would have to be spent for SEO and marketing.

This may seem unfair for small business, but I think there is an ulterior motive behind the search query suggestion feature.  This is my theory: Since the little guys (small business) can’t compete for top 10 rankings naturally, they would have to resort to paid search marketing or PPC.  This would generate a lot more PPC business for the major search engines.  Why would they target small business?  Because small businesses account for 99.7% of all firms in the U.S.  This is a huge market, especially now that more and more small businesses are looking towards the internet for new customers.

How does this affect the users?  Sure, it adds convenience.  But does it alter natural search behavior?  I think so.  I’m not sure about everyone else, but when I do searches now, I catch myself choosing from the top 3 list of suggestions.

Has it changed your search behavior?

This is the age-old question that never seems to go away.  I think the answer depends on a number of factors.  I always try to do some preliminary research on the directory I’m thinking about submitting to, especially if I’m spending money on it.  Here are some questions to ask yourself before deciding to submit.

How old is the directory?  Websites are like fine wine, it gets better with age.

Is the directory banned or penalized in any search engines?  Run a simple check on all the major search engines.  Simply run a search on the domain name – if the site shows up in the results, it means that directory has been indexed by the search engine and is not banned.  If the directory isn’t ranked top 5 for it’s own domain name, then that’s a red flag for me.

Does the directory have a Google PageRank?  Having a greyed-out PR bar could mean that the directory is too new or it’s being penalized by Google.

Are the directory links “do-follow”?  Obviously if the links are “do-follow”, you’ll be getting the benefit of some link juice.  However, the amount of link juice you get will depend on the strength of the actual link page.

Does the directory have lots of backlinks?  The more backlinks it has, the stronger the directory it is.

Does the directory rank for popular keywords?  If the directory ranks for many popular keywords, it may be an indicator that it receives considerable organic traffic.

Does the directory have a good linking structure?  I look at the linking structure for 2 reasons:  One, to make sure that the directory is SEO-friendly.  And two, to make sure that your site can be found within a reasonable amount of clicks.  I think 1 to 3 clicks away from the homepage is good.  Although, some of the bigger directories like DMOZ or Yahoo will have deeper sub-categories.

Does the directory feature unique categories?  If you have experience with any of the popular directory scripts out there (such as php link directory), you would know that most of them come with pre-filled categories.  I’ve seen hundreds of directories using the same default categories.  This tells me that the directory owner is really not that serious about building a unique directory experience.

Is the directory using a dropped domain name?  Beware of directories that simply use dropped domain names.  Often times, these type of directories are put up overnight to make a quick buck.  Dropped domains normally have an existing PR from their previous website, so people are often fooled into thinking that the directory itself has the PR.

Does the directory have a unique custom design?  Seeing a unique design on a directory tells me that the directory owner is serious about his business, or at least investing money to promote his directory.  Not only that, it’s more appealing to the user.

Do you see a future for the directory?  If you get the sense that the directory was built to make a quick buck, don’t submit!  Try to target the directories that you feel will continually work to improve themselves and plan to hang around for long-term. 

Is the directory inundated with excessive advertising?  I think having moderate advertising is ok.  However, too much advertising can degrade the appearance of the directory and deter users from browsing. 

Are there recurring fees?  I usually try to avoid directories that have monthly or yearly recurring fees.  The only exception I make is for the bigger directories like Yahoo or Business.com.  For BOTW, I pay the extra for the permanent listing, so at least I won’t have to worry about recurring payments.

After weighing out the goods vs the bads, it’ll be easier for you to decide whether to submit or not.

Once logged in your Google account, you’ll notice that search results will look a little different vs when  you’re logged off.  This is because Google has long been working to provide a more personal search experience for the user.  This means that when you’re logged into your Google account, Google keeps track of your online activity, such as which sites you visit and which sites you visit most often.  Google will also manipulate your search results based on your search behavior – placing sites you visit more often nearer the top of the results.

This search feature provides a better personal experience for the user, while at the same time allowing Google to capture greater accuracy in their data.  However, how does this personal search feature affect SEO and Internet Marketing?

I think personal search is changing the dynamics of SEO.  Google is getting their way, and so are the users.  We all know that on-site optimization has always been an important factor of SEO, but never more than now.  Website content and structure is the undisputed king of SEO.  Although link popularity is still an important factor of SEO, off-site optimization services such as link building will probably hurt the most in the long run.  This is what Google has been fighting for all along – more quality content and less SERP manipulation through unnatural link building.

From the Paid Advertising standpoint, business can only get better.  Because Paid Advertising such as display ads, PPC and affiliate marketing are not affected by the natural search results, you can expect this market to grow.  There is some sense of ”you know what you’re paying for” with paid ad placement, so I think advertisers will be more receptive to this type of online marketing.