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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

How to avoid Supplemental Issue

keep away from Supplemental Issue

Too much similar text on each page
Give each page a unique Title and Meta Description
Get some more trusted links
Get some links to internal pages
Avoid 302 Redirect links
Lengthy URLs
Google is a bit hosed right now

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Fast Link Building

Link building is the single most important element to obtaining high rankings in all of the major search engines. It is vital that continual efforts be made and long-term plans be laid out to insure a web sites continued success in organic search results, and reduced costs in paid placement (PPC).

Google created the most successful information retrieval device of all time based on sending spiders to follow each and every link they can find on each and every web document they come across. Yahoo, MSN, Ask, and all the other search databases have acquired the vast amounts of information they contain in similar fashion. Links play important roles in the ranking formulas of all search engines, especially Google, by providing numerous pieces of data for their algorithms to chew through.

The best links a web site can have are natural, one-way inbound links. These are links that are posted by other web sites, forums or blogs. These show a natural interest in something the linked web site offers such as valuable information, news, a tool or some other resource.

The more one-way links a web site has, the more reliable the search engine algorithms consider it to be. Google has gone as far as to rank a web site in terms of PR, or page rank. This is a sliding scale of 0-10. The more important Google considers a web site, the higher the PR that it awards it. (PR also includes visitors as well).

Place your pointer over this in the toolbar and it will show PageRank 4/10

You can check the number of back links to a web site in many different ways. The Firefox browser has an installable extension that allows users to “right-click” and scan down to “back links” to see the number of back links a site has. There are several toolbars that you can install (Google, Yahoo, etc.) that allow you to see this, and there are various web sites that offer tools to do this.

(Google is unique in its approach to back links, as it will only show a percentage of the actual back links, whilst Yahoo and MSN show all. Google also will delay showing back links in order to attempt to weed out purchased back links or schemes to affectively fool the algorithms into awarding a higher PR, and thus a higher position in the SERP’s – Search Engine Ranking Positions.)

These will check the number of back links that a page has: http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
http://www.searchenginegenie.com/backlink-checker.html

This will check the number of back links that the top 10 sites have based on your selected keyword (this will help you find relevant sites);
http://www.webuildpages.com/seo-tools/whoischeck-bykeys.pl

Types of Link Strategies
Natural Link Building – Adding quality content or something that benefits the end user that they would want to link to One-Way Linking (Purchase) – Buying one-way inbound links to your web site

Reciprocal Linking – Exchanging links with another web site
Link Farms – Companies like linkmarket.net (but not directories, FFA’s, or obvious abusers of linking)

Three-Way Linking – Site A links to Site B, Site B links to Site C, and Site C links to site A (www.three-way-links.com/)
Forums and Blogs – Links from forums an blogs

News Articles (PR Web) – Typically created by web site owners to promote their site. These are effective after 2-4 weeks when Google has crawled them and indexed them within their search results. Never put more than 1 link to any one page per article.

One of the tools mentioned above, linkmarket.net is a good tool that has spawned many other linking tools that do similar things.

Here’s how it works; you search through their categories for relevant categories. Once you drill it down to the category and click on it, a list of other members will come up as well as their Google PR. You add their link to your website and send them a request. This request will also provide a link for them to insert into their web site. The downfall is that you need to check that the link remains there, or even that it’s placed in the first place. This is where the work begins.

You need to track all of the links to verify they aren’t taken down. There are tools (Web CEO for one), that will do this for you, but you will still need to record the link page URL so that you can enter it into the tool so it can do the check.

There are many ways to gain back links from a web site. You can offer valuable information on something that an end-user finds useful, such as a map to, or of a destination, a tool such as a mortgage calculator, or even a coupon or shopping tips. This is the way the search engines want you back links to occur…as this is the Natural Link Building process; An end-user finds something on a web site that they feel is useful and they create a link to it.

Another method is purchasing One-Way Links. You must be very careful when attempting this strategy as many things can go awry, and the search engines (especially Google), are looking very hard at how to avoid awarding web sites higher SERP’s based on link building efforts attempting to obtain a more favorable position in their search engine.

Whilst Google Page Rank doesn’t directly affect your SERP’s, the back links from trusted sources do. The way this works is that Google looks at the PR of the referring web site and passes on PR. The influence of this “bleeding” affect is determined by:

• The PR of the referring site
• The number of outbound links on the page containing your back link
• The “trust” rating of the referring web site, according to Google, which is based on the registration date and consistent content, as well as the web sites own back links and these same parameters

This, put in basic terms, means that spending the time that it takes to obtain a back link from a site that has no PR is meaningless.
Here is an example of Google’s “weightedness” (a made up word by Gary):

Site 1 with a PR5 has 50 links (the max you want on 1 page) = bleeds .0012 PR
Site 2 with a PR5 has 10 links = bleeds .430 PR
Site 3 with a PR5 has 2 links = bleeds .776 PR
Additionally, Google seemingly awards back links from .org’s slightly higher, and back links from .edu’s and ‘gov’s significantly higher. This opens many vertical possibilities when taken into consideration whilst planning your long-term back link strategy. Ask me about these if you’re willing to do a lot of hard work.
The following is the same example above, but is based off a back link from a .edu and a .gov
.org/.edu Site 1 with a PR5 has 50 links (the max you want on 1 page) = bleeds .4352 PR
.org/.edu Site 2 with a PR5 has 10 links = bleeds .88721 PR
.org/.edu Site 3 with a PR5 has 2 links = bleeds 1.176 PR
So this means that it is important to get back links from high PR sites, as well as sites that have related content.

The Link
Just as important as the back links, the actual content of the back link is as important.

Because of the overwhelming problem the SE’s are experiencing with Spammers and Black-Hatters overtaking their results and therefore skewing the quality of the overall purpose of their primary intended function, which is search and providing relevant results, each of the main three search engines have introduced, or are soon to introduce an entirely new algorithm that, in purpose, is meant to eliminate the bad, and provide genuine, relevant results, which is what the end-user is looking for.

So Google tweaked their algorithm to place an increased weight on not only back links, but also the actual content of the back link.

What this means is that if I were optimizing a web site and one of its keyword phrases were “debt consolidation”, I would create a back link that used “debt consolidation” (actually I would use “Get Debt Consolidation” because you need a ‘grey’ word before your keywords in ANY circumstance when doing optimization to avoid obvious SEO red flags), and the link description would also include that phrase. So, a good example of this is here:

Expert Debt Consolidation – Get Cheap Debt Consolidation Now.

This is a basic example. Every web site and back link offer/tool will have different parameters stating how many characters you can use, the length, content, number of caps, number of expletives like “best”, “cheapest”, or “lowest” type. The point I am making here is that you need to take full advantage of the link. You do this with carefully selected anchor text and descriptions. These links need to be carefully created and linked back to SE optimized landing pages that mirror your anchor text and description. These elements are EXACTLY what ALL search engines, especially Google, use to weight or grade the link.
This, coupled with quality content and the correct keyword density and other SEO elements, are core in the future of obtaining high rankings with all SE’s organically, and PPC at a cost well under what the competition is paying.

Link Tools
Alexa (Part of IBP 9.2), WebCEO and many other tools are available that work in an efficient way, and can be very effective if utilized in the correct fashion. These tools will take your selected keyword and based on the parameters that you set up, crawl the search engines and the top ranking web sites that come up for that particular query. They then pull any available emails from the site, if available, or if there isn’t one available, it will default to whatever you select (i.e. webmaster@ or info@).

So lets say you are searching for back links from sites that are related to women’s under garments for Bravissimo. I would enter “women’s clothing” into the search box and these tools come back with the number of sites that you request. The tools give you the amount of back links a site already has, the PR strength, a relevancy grade and so on.

These tools have other optional settings to help in your link building schemes.

• Find web sites with link suggestion forms that can be setup to be completed automatically and submitted;
• Find web sites that link to your competitors
• Find web sites that already link to you (to possibly change the anchor text or add additional deep links)

Investigate the many tools available to find the one that suits your needs the best. Stay away from the cookie cutter approach if possible as link building has been going on for years and most web site owners have received thousands of “canned” requests over the years.

Things to avoid when link building
• Stay away from link farms (http://www.jimprice.com/jim-lnk.htm#people)
• The site has no possible connection to your subject matter whatsoever. The page they put your link on isn't linked to FROM any page, meaning it's floating out there in never-never land and is a ploy to get you to link to their site.
• The page where they put your link is on a URL a mile long and several directories deep so engines will never find it.
• The page looks like a farmer's field with nicely arranged rows of links to hundreds of sites which aren't necessarily organized in any logical manner, but that doesn't matter because someone told them the link is all that counts.
• It's a link and a link only. No description. No proof the person ever actually reviewed the site.
• Signs they'll accept anything that shows evidence of being a "live" link. A true Directory has criteria, frets about the quality of sites it links to and doesn't have people out begging for links. Instead the reverse is true, with people begging to be let in.
• Watch for scams such as sub-domain one-way traffic feeders where the page your site is linked to isn't part of the main website. Study the URLS carefully before you decide to accept a link request.
• Stay away from FFA sites (Free For All)
• Avoid being on a web site that has pages and pages of links. This is viewed as a Link Farm.
• Stay away from sex oriented, gambling, RX and other unsavory sites.
• Be aware of the possibility of bad neighbors. If you are on a shared server, do a blacklist check to be sure you’re not on a proxy server with a spammer or banned site.
• Don’t waste your time getting a link from a non-ranking page within a site. The page needs to hold a rank of a minimum PR value of 1 below your landing page, particularly if there are going to be other outbound links to other web sites. If there are not going to be other outbound links, or just a few, then a PR of 2 and above will still boost your ranking and benefit your SERP’s as well as your own PR.
• Stay away from link pages called “Link Partners”, “Links” or the like, especially if the term “link” or “links” is part of the URL
• Stay away from pages that have more than 50 outbound links
If you are looking to build long-term rankings, it takes more work and creativity than just sending out automated emails or joining a linking program. Create a daily “hit list” outlining exactly what you will do.

Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. This is the best way to get and keep a link. You can usually find this information at Network Solutions or the web sites “About Us” page.

Lastly, keep at it! Link building is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve been given what is probably the most important job that influences search engine results. The work you do today, will put a web site a top of the rankings tomorrow, and keep them there.

Additional Ways To Get Links
(Can’t remember where I got this)

1. Build a “101 list”. These get Dugg all the time, and often become “authority documents”. People can’t resist linking to these (hint, hint). Like mine at http://www.ppc-manager.blogspot.com. I did a PPC 101 and PPC 102 lists.
2. Create 10 easy tips to help you [insert topic here] articles. Again, these are exceptionally easy to link to.
3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic (see Mr. Ploppy for inspiration).
4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.
5. Create a list of gurus/experts. If you impress the people listed well enough, or find a way to make your project look somewhat official, the gurus may end up linking to your site or saying thanks. (Sometimes flattery is the easiest way to strike up a good relationship with an “authority”.)

Developing Authority & Being Easy to Link At
6. Make your content easy to understand so many people can understand and spread your message. (It’s an accessibility thing.)
7. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site.
8. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems trustworthier. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority.

PPC as a Link Building Tool
9. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you.

News & Syndication
10. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.
11. Submit an article to industry news site. Have an SEO site? Write an article and submit to WebProNews. Have a site about BLANK? Submit to BLANKinformationalsite.com.
12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc.
13. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.
14. Trade articles with other webmasters.
15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.
16. Write about, and link to, companies with “in the news” pages. They link back to stories and blog posts, which cover their developments. This is obviously easiest if you have a news section or blog. Do a Google search for [your industry + “in the news”].
17. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free. Salary.com did a study on how underpaid mothers were, and they got many high quality links.

Directories, Meme Trackers & Social Bookmarking
18. This tip is an oldie but goodie: submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.
19. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.
20. Create your own topical directory about your field of interest. Obviously link to your own site, deeplinking to important content where possible. Of course, if you make it into a truly useful resource, it will attract links on its own.
21. Tag related sites on sites like Del.icio.us. If people find the sites you tag to be interesting, emotionally engaging, or timely they may follow the trail back to your site.
22. If you create something that is of great quality make sure you ask a few friends to tag it for you. If your site gets on the front page of Digg or on the Del.icio.us popular list, hundreds more bloggers will see your site, and potentially link to it.
23. Look at meme trackers to see what ideas are spreading. If you write about popular spreading ideas with plenty of original content (and link to some of the original resources), your site may get listed as a source on the meme tracker site.

Local & Business Links
24. Join the Better Business Bureau.
25. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.
26. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources. (Easier in some countries than in others.)
27. List your site at the local library’s Web site.
28. See if your manufacturers or retailers or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.
29. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online and off, by recommending each other via links and distributing each other’s business cards.
30. Launch an affiliate program. Most of the links you pick up will not have SEO value, but the added exposure will almost always lead to additional “normal” links.

Easy Free Links
31. Depending on your category and offer, you will find Craigslist to be a cheap or free classified service.
32. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources.
33. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources.
34. If you run a fairly reputable company, create a page about it in the Wikipedia or in topic specific wikis. If it is hard to list your site directly, try to add links to other pages that link to your site.
35. It takes about 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoo page, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.
36. Submit a story to Digg that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your profile page.
37. If you publish an RSS feed and your content is useful and regularly updated, some people will syndicate your RSS content (and some of those will provide links… unfortunately, some will not).
38. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links and potentially read your site, link at your site, and/or buy your products.

Have a Big Heart for Reviews
39. Most brands are not well established online, so if your site has much authority, your review related content often ranks well.
40. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.
41. Create products lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your background (LINK!).
42. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams.
43. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.
44. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turns into links. Two testimonial writing tips — make them believable, and are specific where possible.
Blogs & the Blogosphere
45. Start a blog. Not just for the sake of having one. Post regularly and post great content. Good execution is what gets the links.
46. Link to other blogs from your blog. Outbound links are one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. Many bloggers also track who is linking to them or where their traffic comes from, so linking to them is an easy way to get noticed by some of them.
47. Comment on other blogs. Most of these comments will not provide much direct search engine value, but if your comments are useful, insightful, and relevant they can drive direct traffic. They also help make the other bloggers become aware of you, and they may start reading your blog and/or linking to it.
48. Technorati tag pages rank well in Yahoo! and MSN, and to a lesser extent in Google. Even if your blog is fairly new you can have your posts featured on the Technorati tag pages by tagging your posts with relevant tags.
49. If you create a blog make sure you list it in a few of the best blog directories.
50. Start all over again.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Great Site Ranking in Google The Secret's Out

Great Site Ranking in Google The Secret's Out

Google recently filed a US patent, which reveals a great deal of how they rank your web site. Some of it you could never have guessed at...

How many years did you register your domain name for?
If it was only one then Google could hold that against you.

Why?

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain name registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors possibly considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.

How do I know this?

Google recently made public, March 31 2005, the contents of their filing of United States Patent Application 20050071741.

In which many of the search giant’s secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very interesting reading. You must read this if you are serious about ranking well in Google. The days of Spamming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they're coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.

Listed below you will find the hard facts, I recommend that you bookmark this page now. You will need to reference it each time you optimize a new site.

• Links

It's common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Apparently the Google 'sandbox' or aging delay begins count down the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google records the discovery of a link; link changes over time, the speed at which a site gains links and the link life span.

With this in mind, fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of links. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.

PR is now very valuable

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. That's 'anchor Spam'. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically. If you don't and you get caught, the recovery from a ban can be months and your host and IP may also be recorded.

Softly seems to be the message. The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more and they will be much more likely to be over the long-term which is good too.

• Site click through rates (CTR)

CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools. Many have suspected for some time that sites are rewarded for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result.

CTR is also analyzed for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.

• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.

• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer. Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.

• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.

• User behavior in general could be monitored.

As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you will want to integrate a call to action in there to increase your listings CTR.

Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored. Make your site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.

• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded, as is the number of pages.

Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.

On the other hand, few or small updates to your site could see your rankings slide --unless your CTR is good. A stale page that receives good traffic may hold it's own and not require an update. So don't update for the sake of it.

Depending on your market, fresh content may not be a requirement. If the information your pages contain do not go out of date then updating may not be necessary. If your market is more news based for example, then changes regularly are a must. In general changes don't necessarily have to mean fresh content. They could involve simple edits to current content.

A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Reference is made to changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Here's the quote –

"A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a ’stable’ period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a ‘doorway’ document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document."

There's still more to look out for: -

• Changes in keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.

• The domain name owner’s address is considered, most likely to help in a local search result.

• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.

• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server it's possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spamming. If so, your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google has learned from the Spam 'attack' they suffered in early 2004 and they are determined to eradicate it from their listing results.

So what do you do?

There's a lot to take onboard here and consider. But you can't go far wrong with your SEO if you try to grow your site as organically as possible.

If you know what you are doing you can take short cuts. Carry on with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them. Vary your anchor text. Add small amounts of good quality content to your site regularly. Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible. Make your site more 'sticky' to encourage visitors to stay a while. Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site. Oh, and register new domain names for at least two years.

Before you do anything remember to reference the above info first. It may just save you months of misery as your site gets banned and 'Sand boxed'.

Overall keep it ethical and you can't go far wrong.

Do not be tempted to spam. Stick to the guidelines above and you are much more likely to outlast and out rank your competition.

By Darren Yates
Published: 6/11/2005

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Brad Callen - Free SEO Books (Tutorial)

.htaccess Tips and Tricks

.htaccess Tips 1

.htaccess Tips 2

Apache mod rewrite docs

Apache RewriteBase docs

Mod rewrite forum

Absolute and Relative paths

SEW mod rewrite tips and tricks

Friday, October 13, 2006

SEO Resources

All rights reserved by Phoenix, SEO Chat Member

We have compiled a comprehensive frequently asked question forum for common questions relating to search engine optimization. This blog will provide a very good resource for you to read up on the facts about SEO. Enjoyed the FAQ? Been a help to your promotion? Would like to submit questions to be added?

Specific SEO Site Resources

SEO Glossary

http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Optimization/A-Glossary-For-Search-Engine-Optimization

DazzinDonna's - 1000th post
http://forums.seochat.com/t8704/s.html

Fundamental Differences Between Search Engines And Web Directories
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Directories/Fundamental-Differences-Between-Search-Engines-And-Web-Directories/

Google PageRank Primer
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Google/Google-PageRank-Primer/

eMarketing - What Is Link Popularity?
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Link-Development/What-Is-Link-Popularity/

Search Engine Myths Debunked
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Optimization/Search-Engine-Myths-Debunked/

The DMOZ Directory: Get Your Site Listed
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Submission/The-DMOZ-Directory-Get-Your-Site-Listed/

Keyword Selection Strategy
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Choosing-Keywords-Help/Keyword-Selection-Strategy/

How to Optimize Images to Increase Rankings

http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-Optimization-Help/How-To-Optimize-Images-To-Increase-Rankings/

SEO Chat Tools - 14's Tools including the Original Google Dance Tool
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/

Link Popularity

1.) Why don't all my links show up when I use the link: command?

A. At this moment Google is only showing a sampling of the total links to you.
A few months ago it seemed as though they were only showing those backlinks which were PR4 or higher. This has, however, changed and which links Google chooses to show is now a topic of debate. As far as numbers, it is only important to remember it is a sampling and to just continue your link building strategy.

2.)How come I get a different amount of links when I use www.example.com
and example.com?

A. In the search engines eyes, these are two different domains and therefore have different amounts of sites linking to them. It is best to be sure your link partners are only linking to one of these as it would be considered extremely rare for both "domains" to rank high at the same time.

3.) What's a Link Farm?

A. A set of web pages that have been built for the sole purpose of increasing
the number of incoming links to a web site. This is done in order to increase
link popularity and search engine rankings. Link farms usually require a reciprocal
link from sites seeking listings. Link farms are a known spam tactic and sites
that participate in them are likely to be penalized or banned from the major search engines.

4.) What is "Anchor Text"?

A: Anchor text is the text that you use within a html link.

For example (This is Anchor Text)

The anchor text that you use, should reflect the keywords of which you are trying
to get a higher listing for. It should also accurately describe what information
will be found on the next page if you click on the link.

5.) What is an "IBL"?

A: An "IBL" is an 'In Bound Link'. When a site links to yours, that
link is an IBL. The same thing as a BL (Backlink).

6.) What is cross linking?

A: When multiple sites link to each other for the purpose of increasing link popularity.

7.) How long after I am listed in DMOZ should I start to gain the benefit of the "4000" new links?

A: It usually takes close to a month for your listing to show up in Googles Directory which is the most common asked about one. Then to gain the full benefit it many times takes 1 - 2 years to fully propagate. This is a good way to make sure all links realize their full potential as that slow growth is something that Google seems to like.

8.) Would I be penalized if a "Link Farm" or a "Bad Neighborhood" linked to my site?

A: No, you have no control over which links to you and this would be an easy way for a competitor to sink your site. What you SHOULD be careful of is if you are linking to them. This CAN hurt your site and should be avoided.

Search Engine Optimization

1.) How do I use a Robots file or do you have an example of one?

A. You mean robots.txt. It's a file in the main directory of a website which tells
the search engine spiders where they are allowed to go.

A basic, spider can go anywhere file is:

User-agent: *

Disallow:

You can disallow folders or files by putting this into the file:

User-agent: *

Disallow: /foldername/

2.) Should I use a Site Map? and does anyone have an example of one?

A: Every site should have a sitemap of some sort. It provides a way for visitors
to navigate your site, as well as a shortcut for bots to crawl all your pages.
Google for "sitemap" and you'll find nice examples, although it would
be advisable to follow Google's official guidelines and keep the number of links
per page under 100.

3.) How do I tell how many people are searching for my keywords?

A: The Search Term Suggestion Tool here will show you number of searches per month on Overture's network. You can also use Digital Points Keyword Suggestion Tool

4.) What are SERPs?

A: Search Engine Result Pages

5.). I am number 5 in Yahoo, but not in the top 1,000 in Google. Why?

A. Yahoo and Google use two different algos to come up with their SERPs - Yahoo favors on- page optimization such as H1 tags, keyword density, etc while Google favors off page like in bound links. If you have done more on page then Yahoo will rank higher and vice versa. As part of this if you are now addressing your off page then you need more backlinks with anchor text and time for these links to age (Google lag).

6.) Is there a way I can find out where I rank?

A: There are two sites you can use if you are just checking a few keywords -
www.googlerankings.com for Google and www.yahoosearchrankings.com/ for Yahoo. If you are looking to track multiple keywords over time then the best (and free) tool is Digital Points Keyword Monitor at http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords (Google Only)

7.) What is an "ALGO" ?

A: An 'Algo' is an abbreviation of 'Algorithm'. (In short, the mathematical
formula or calculation that Google use in order to rank websites.)

8.) What is Hidden Text?

A: Text that is visible to the search engine spiders but not to site visitors.
Hidden text is primarily used to add extra keywords in the page without actually
adding content to a site which may mostly consist of images. Most search engines will penalize Web sites which use hidden text.

9.) What is cloaking?

A: Determining which search engine spider is visiting a web page and then giving each spider a page optimized for it's particular algorithm. This method of search
engine optimization can result in a website being removed from the major search engines.

10.) What is a doorway page?

A: A method of search engine optimization considered to be SPAM. These are pages created for nothing but the purpose of ranking first for a particular keyword phrase. These pages usually lack any significant content and do not reflect
the tone of the rest of the website. If a search engine determines a website
has used this tactic then the website will be removed from the search engine
permanently.

11.) What is Geo Targeting?

A: The distribution of ads to a particular geographical area. For example, you
can use a place name in your keyword, such as "Texas Web Design".
Some search engines allow you to target specific countries – and languages
– without using keyword relevance.

12.) Do XHTML pages rank better than HTML-pages?

A: No. They have the same value. Google however puts more weight to well structured content, and thus XHMTL is in most cases more suitable option.

13.) Does using CSS affect my rankings?

A: Not directly. Googlebot does not (at the moment) read CSS-files. Using CSS
makes pages lighter, and page structure more organized. Thus using CSS could
lead to better rankings. When adding CSS styles to page, it is recommend to
put them to external file (using link-tag).

14.)Should I use submission software to make sure all the search engines have
me included?

A: Most submission programs that promise to "Submit Your Site to 1000's
of Search Engines" are used to harvest your email address for spammers.
The truth is there are only a handful of Search Engines used by enough people
to justify a submission and these can all be submitted by hand. Even better
yet is to get other sites to link to you. Search Engine spiders follow these
links and you will be indexed naturally. Submission programs are unnecessary
and may actually hurt you.

15.) I submitted to DMOZ but didn't hear anything. Should I resubmit?

A: You should only submit once as resubmitting only deletes your original request and lengthens your wait. Resubmitting too many times can have you classified as SPAM and blocked. You can also submit to a "normal" category and
a "regional" one if it fits. You must be physically located somewhere to be able to also submit to regional and read their guidelines as certain sites like real estate are the exception. They have set up a forum as a way of letting you know your status and this is a much under posted and under used area of DMOZ - The address is http://www.resource-zone.com/forum/ . Just remember to take the time to follow the posted directions.

Google General

1.) What is the "Sandbox Theory"?

The sandbox theory proposes that Google has a unique ranking element in their algorithm that has been affecting sites whose major SEO efforts began after March of 2004 (this would include all sites registered after this date). The criteria, elements and solution of the 'sandbox' have not yet been identified or publicized by the SEO community, but ongoing discussion and testing have determined that the two of the most likely issues creating the sandbox could be:

Age of backlinks - older backlinks now carry greater weight at Google

SEO specific filters - Google is actively attempting to filter sites out of their index that are actively optimizing (link-building, etc) or appear to have un-natural attributes (optimized pages, links, anchor text, etc.)

If your site is ranking well for specific keyword phrases at engines like Yahoo!, Teoma, MSN & for the allin sets of searches at Google (allinanchor:, allintitle:, allintext:, etc.) but not listed in the top 50-100 results at Google, the sandbox effect may be at work. However, it is important to keep in mind that this phenomenon is an 'unknown' algorithm piece at Google and standard optimization tactics, even by some of the best and most experienced SEOs have yet to consistently beat this effect.

2.) When does Google update their SERPs (When is the "dance")?

A. There is no longer a Google "dance" per se as SERPs tend to be
updated constantly.

3.) I now use the link: command all the time, is there a list of the
other commands I can use in Google?

link:www.domain.com (returns a list of backlinks that google has indexed. Only
a small selection is listed however.)

related:www.domain.com (returns a list of sites that google sees as related
to the topic on your page. At present, not very accurate.)

allinurl:keyword (returns a list of pages and sites that contain the 'keyword'
in their url.)

site:www.domain.com (returns all pages of the domain that google has crawled
and indexed.)

allinanchor:keyword (returns a list of pages and sites that contain the keyword
as anchor text in their backlinks.)

cache:www.domain.com (will show the current cache that google has for the page)

info:www.domain.com (will return information that google has for the page)

allintitle:keyword (returns WebPages that have the specified keywords in the
title)

intitle:keyword (returns listings of WebPages that have only the specific keyword
as the title.)

You can find all the Operators at Google
Advanced Operators

4.) Am I banned in Google?

A: You can tell if you are banned or not indexed in google, by using the 'site:'
command in Google's search.

(ie. site:www.domain.com)

5.) What is the first thing you would check for if you saw your site
slip down the listings at Google? ( i.e. I'm not on top anymore, what happened?)

A: A drop in backlinks. Obviously when not aggressively acquiring new backlinks
to your site from day to day, existing backlinks may even deteriorate in value.
The referring site may disappear, be changed, lose relevance or lose PR itself,
reducing the PR that is passed onto you.

6.) When I look up my site in Google, I am #23, but when my friend in
California looks it up I am #31. Which one is right?

A: They both are! Actually, a more accurate explanation is that Google using
multiple data centers that deliver the results you see. The data center that is
used depends on your geographical location. It is very common to see a small
difference in results depending where you are. Sometimes, results can differ
when you move just a few miles away!

7.) Why does Google hate me/pick on me?

A: "Google" does not pick on individual sites but instead allows complex
mathematical equations to decide the value of your site in any particular search.
Although it may sometimes feel like they are picking on you, most times a ban
or bad results can be traced to a small piece of bad or misguided SEO.

8.) Should I submit my website to Google every month?

A: No, you only need to do it once. In most cases you will not even need to
submit your website to Google. If you are active in building links to your website
then Googlebot will frequent your site soon, and thus include it in the index.

9.) My site is not cached in Google, I've submitted it to google numerous
times but I'm not seeing the googlebot crawl my entire site. I'm also seeing
an incomplete listing.

A: Sometimes the googlebot will visit, and leave, only to come back at a later
time in order to crawl all of your pages. If a site has no cache, or an incomplete
listing, it has not been crawled and indexed properly yet. The best thing you
can do is get more in bound links to your site, so that the googlebot arrives
to your site from more than 1 source.

Google Page Rank

1.) I am changing my domain but want to keep my PR, how do I do it?

A 301 redirect is the most efficient and spider/visitor friendly strategy around
for web sites that are hosted on servers running Apache (check with your hosting
service if you aren't sure). It's not that hard to implement and it should preserve
your search engine rankings for that particular page. If you *have* to change
file names or move pages around, it's the safest option. If you are unfamiliar
with editing your .htaccess file, you should ask your hosting company for help.

2.) I have a new site but it has no PR .I have backlinks, etc When does
it update?

A. It updates internally every day or so, (every time google's spider follows
a link through to your site) you may see a difference in the SERPs very soon,
however you will not see the backlink appear in a link:www.domain.com command
search in google, until google do an official backlink update.

3.) I noticed my PR in the Google directory is different from my PR
on the toolbar, Why?

A:This is because the google directory gets its listings from DMOZ. As with
google's PR and backlink updates, it only updates its directory every so often,
so your site may be showing an old PR.

There are also a host of "theories" such as "Googles Directory
is on a scale of 0 to 8" and "The Directory PR is actually a comparison
between you and other sites in the Directory". No matter what you may believe,
it is most important to state that they rarely match and this is VERY common.

4.) When does Google update backlinks and PR?

A: There isn't a set schedule as many times an update is skipped or late. Backlinks on average are updated around once a month while PR has seemed to move to quarterly. The best way to "guess" when the next update will be is to utilize the SEOChat Calendar.(forums.seochat.com)

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Press Release Tips
http://pratheeba.blogspot.com/2006/09/press-release-tips.html

PPC Conversion Ratio in Major Search Engines
http://pratheeba.blogspot.com/2006/09/ppc-conversion-ratio-in-major-search.html