Your Weekly Step Forth into the World of Search Engines

» Visit the StepForth News Home Page

StepForth Search Engine Placement and OptimizationSEO News From StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Wednesday, July 14th, 2004

Dear valued subscribers,

Welcome to StepForth’s weekly SEO update.

» If you wish more information then please view our news section.
» View StepForth's latest search engine optimization and search engine placement services
» Images not loading? This could be a result of your Outlook settings. View the online version.
» StepForth now contributes articles to both Search Engine Guide and WebProNews
» Do you want to hear about the news as it comes? The SEO Blog is our daily events post.

Highlights of the Week: Mid-Summer :: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is a glorious July here on Southern Vancouver Island. The temperature is hovering at a comfortable 20 - 25 degrees (68 - 72 F), the sun shines brightly, and the sailing and golf are great. With a gentle, cooling breeze filtering down from Alaska, our short but extraordinary Canadian summer is indescribably precious. Summer may be the best time of the year but it is merely a precursor to the most wonderful time of the year. For search engine marketers, regardless of their nationality, nothing says Christmas like a warm summer day.

It is that time of year again folks. As far as the calendar year is concerned, the sun has passed the yardarm and the winter holiday season is approaching faster than any of us think. In the world of search engine marketing, it is time to begin planning the all important online Christmas shopping season.

Christmas is the most competitive portion of the year for E-Commerce websites. Like their cousins in the brick and mortar retail industry, the ten to twelve weeks preceding the holidays tends to comprise an enormous portion of their annual incomes. In previous years, StepForth, like most other SEO and SEM firms was deluged with frantic calls from online retailers towards the beginning of December. While most SEO and SEM firms can achieve strong placements fairly quickly for clients, the Christmas shopping season tends to be our busiest time of the year as well. Due to the huge volumes of service requests from online retailers, many SEO or SEM firms have to turn potential clients away from mid-October until the end of December, thus leaving many good people (the E-Tailers) to fend for themselves against their competition on the search engines. As a common practice, we track the number of searches conducted under various keyword phrases each month.

As with past years, we are starting to see a constant rise in searches conducted under the phrase "Christmas Gifts". According to the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool, there were 34,828 searches for "Christmas Gifts" in June. That's up from the 28,208 conducted in May and the 24,865 conducted in April. If search engine users continue to follow habits shown in previous years, we expect to see a figure approaching 55,000 searches for "Christmas Gifts" by the end of July of this year. (Please note, these numbers only represent searches conducted at Overture.Com. We tend to quote them as Overture is the only search tool that freely offers such accurate and timely information.) The middle of July is a smart time to research your SEO and SEM choices in order to make a decision on which vendor to contract before the middle of August.

Researching various SEO and SEM vendors is extremely important this year, perhaps more important than in previous years. Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about the poor clients of a Las Vegas spam-shop who found themselves banned en-mass by Google. The mass-banishment happened to literally thousands of websites in one almost instant sweep. Each of these sites had a fatal factor in common, the use of a highly unethical SEM vendor dedicated using to far-outdated SEO techniques. If many of the decision makers had taken the time to research the company they hired beforehand, they might still be enjoying strong placements and the corresponding strong sales. This year, we KNOW, without question, that Google is trying to clean up its listings and is targeting SEO tactics that violate its posted guidelines. If you take any advise from this week's newsletter, this should be it... RESEARCH your vendors before purchasing services. If the events of the last month are not enough to make you think twice, perhaps the events of last Christmas season might.

The last seven weeks of 2003 were exceptionally difficult for many online retailers as Google introduced the infamous "Florida Update" in the middle of November. The Florida Update was an unfortunate attempt by Google to clean up its results through the introduction of a new ranking algorithm based on a more complex examination of incoming links. At the time, many speculated that the update was targeted at sectors that are heavily influenced by SEO tactics such as real estate, travel and accommodations, and smaller retailers. While the reasoning for the update in November was very different from the reasoning behind the mass-banning of clients from the Las Vegas spam-shop, the effect on individual businesses is exactly the same. By taking the time to research your SEO/SEM vendors, you will most likely avoid being de-listed from Google. This is especially pressing during the most important shopping season of the year as your goal should be to be seen at Google, not banned by them.

 
by Jim Hedger, Senior SEO
Important ©Copyright Note: readers are welcome to republish the content from StepForth Weekly newsletters
but we do require credit in the format that follows: "Article by <author>, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc."
Major Player Updates: Ask Moves to Oakland :: Google Going Multimedia

After 10 months of searching Jeeves has finally found a new place to call home. They have been located in Emeryville for their entire life, but now it is time to move on. In May of 2005 Ask Jeeves’ contract in Emeryville expires and they will be moving into their new space in downtown Oakland later this year.

Ask has been growing to compete against the big 3, and with its new home situated in Oakland near BART and other mass transit they hope to attract new workers.

Currently Ask employs 170 at its Emeryville location, its new location will support an additional 60. According to Steve Berkowitz one of the added bonuses will be the ample restaurant in the area, "It's hard to have lunch out here," he said referring to Emeryville.

Google Acquires Picasa and Prepares to Goes Multimedia?

Google announced yesterday (July 13), its acquisition of California based digital photography company Picasa. Picasa develops software used by users to organize and share digital photos. This follows the May 2004 partnership between Picasa and Google’s Blogger service to make publishing digital photos faster and easier.

Google hasn’t disclosed how it plans to integrate Picasa, but in a Google statement Jonathan Rosenberg, VP of product management, stated “"Picasa enables users to easily manage and share digital photographs, and its technologies complement Google's ongoing mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful,"

In the near future Google will also be adding multimedia search capabilities giving searchers the ability to locate video and audio files. There is undoubtedly a connection between the pending multimedia search and Picasa but it is yet to be determined. Their multimedia search will likely be used in conjunction with Picasas photo album.

Although Google has not yet officially announced its plans for offering this new multimedia service, founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page made it no secret during their talks with investors at an annual retreat in Sun Valley Idaho hosted by investment bank Allen & Co.

Currently Yahoo, AltaVista, and AOL's Singingfish.com all support audio and video search.

by Scott Van Achte
Pay Per Click Advertising Tips: One Simple but Useful Trick

There are many techniques people use for tracking the performance of their PPC campaigns. Some are incredibly advanced and intense and others are plain and simple. One little trick I like to use is not only simple to put in place, but can provide very powerful results.

You may have a great Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign running that drives a ton of traffic to your website, but what do you really know about the visitors you are getting? Many webmasters that take part in PPC advertising simply have direct links in place to landing pages, but there is a simple and easy way to get the information you need.

We’ll stick to the over-used example of widgets. If you are running an AdWords campaign to promote your site www.widgets.com all you need to do is add a little piece of tracking code to the end of your destination URL that clearly identifies the source.

If your campaign is with AdWords and your keyword phrase is ‘blue widgets’ a good destination URL may be: ‘http://www.widgets.com?source=google&keyword=blue-widgets’. This can be shortened to ‘src=ggl&kw=blue-widgets,’ or whatever works best for you. The real estate after the ‘?’ is yours to place whatever will best suit your needs. I have seen people simply use ‘?g1’, ‘?g2’, etc, but if you have an extensive keyword and ppc engine list, this may get confusing when it comes time to analyze your traffic.

So you have the URL’s in place, now what? There are several popular pieces of tracking software on the market today, and it is near impossible to cover them all, so for the purposes of this article I will use ClickTracks. ClickTracks is a very powerful web stats tool that displays visitor behaviour visually right on your website. (For additional information on Clicktracks please visit the StepForth Website at stats.stepforth.com.)

ClickTracks allows you to create labels based on a variety of items, one of which is entry pages, and visually see exactly where visitors have gone on your site. By creating labels that refer to the specific URL’s entered in your ad campaign you are able to not only see various stats such as number of visitors and country of origin, but also time spent on site, which links they have clicked, and their actual path through the site. You can also identify specific target pages, which are likely to identify the visitor as a successful sale or lead.

By including such a small piece of code to your destination URLs you can increase what you know about your visitor behaviour making it easier to find tune not only your PPC campaigns but also your website, ultimately increasing sales.

by Scott Van Achte, PPC and Link Building Expert
Not to Miss! Software Feature
In the Client Spotlight this Week:  Flowers Victoria

Victoria is known as the City of Gardens. With a warm climate and nearly year round beauty, Victoria is the host to several weddings, special events and conventions. StepForth client, Fine Floral Design supplies fresh flowers and arrangements to many of the special events that happen in this area.

Fine Floral Designs by Jane provides the highest quality fresh flowers and extraordinary designs for your wedding or special occasion. With many years experience, Jane can assure you a quality creation that will make your wedding or special event truly unique.

Come and visit Fine Floral Designs at their showroom, located at 159 Menzies St. in the heart of beautiful James Bay, just blocks from the Inner Harbor and downtown Victoria BC., or visit their Flowers Victoria BC website.
BILL’S BARK: Bill Stroll Joins StepForth Placement

Last Wednesday I joined StepForth, gladly joining some of the best known and respected names in the SEO industry. For years I had been inquisitive about the field, read a little here and there, and been intrigued by the fast-pace of changing technology. Now I’m like the proverbial kid in the candy store: so much to grab, and so little time.

I'm on the threshold of an extraordinary opportunity, working at an exciting place to learn and to grow while helping clients become successful. I am ready for this moment.

At our first meeting, Ross Dunn, the founder and CEO of the company smiled and talked with me. I was impressed with his genuine desire to offer his clients only the best. I met the staff and chatted with each of them. I knew then this was the place I wanted to be. So I came on board with total enthusiasm to explore and learn.

I have a unique opportunity to tap into resources few people get first hand. I am learning directly from some of the leading authorities in their fields, to become skilled at proper technique utilizing cutting edge technical resources, and be trained by talented, dynamic, and proactive experts and technicians. What better way to achieve exceptional skill development in search engine placement and optimization. A truly positive and enriching experience, viewed with an enthusiastic attitude.

This column will offer a useful, fresh perspective on functional and exciting new SEO technology. Whether as a business owner or an interested employee, those new to SEO, web design and construction can learn along as I offer new shortcuts, programs, and suggest links to assorted hints, articles and references I've found particularly helpful and practical. As well, web designers and other IT people who have become comfortable in their knowledge base will also benefit as they come across something new to learn or just simply refresh their memories.

IMPORTANT TIP FOR SALES CAMPAIGN PLANNING:
To properly promote a product, information or service site, take your campaign target date and calculate backwards. To illustrate, let’s choose the Christmas-Chanukah period as an important selling campaign for your site.

  • Estimate four to six weeks to see the site debuting in the Top20
  • One month for tweaking web design, optimizing it, and establishing more back-links.
  • About a month to properly focus on what the campaign should all be about, choosing keyword phrases, and getting budget approval for the initiative.

This adds up to about two to three months of pre-planning, direct web work and placements. If your company wants to place itself in the best possible position for Christmas-Chanukah sales, guess what...
THE TIME TO PLAN FOR CHRISTMAS-CHANUKAH IS RIGHT NOW!

BRINGING THE CANDY STORE TO YOU
If you’re like me, you might need to optimize your own personal output while focusing on a project, working long hours and risking burning out. Coffee alone won't do it. When I need energy and inspiration, I don't fool around. I go directly to the fridge and get me some bark. Bill's Bark. Nutritious and delicious!

Bill's Bark An outstanding 5 minute recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 package high-quality semi-sweet or white chocolate (approx 8 oz.)
  • 1 cup mixture almonds, pistachios, and cashews

Method:

  • Place chocolate in a microwave bowl. Heat chocolate on medium-high setting for 2 minutes. When soft, stir until smooth and satiny texture.
  • Stir in nuts and empty onto a baking sheet with wax paper. Level out evenly.
  • Place in refrigerator for 1½ hours to chill. Break into about 20 pieces.

Shelf life:

  • About 15 minutes – you’ll notice all of a sudden you have many friends.

Note: I usually make 2 batches at the same time; one with semi-sweet and the other with white chocolate.

Enjoy the break and go back to work!

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
I envision this weekly feature as an interactive column. I warmly encourage you to email me at bill@stepforth.com and send along any particular questions, comments, feedback, tips, and/or ideas.

by Bill Stroll, Sales Manager
The Net Reality: Before I send the money, could you please stand on your head?

Everyone who receives this newsletter by Email will almost certainly have received an unsolicited Email from the spouse or sibling of a former and generally deceased dictator or some other indignitary. (Heck, who doesn't regularly receive Email from dictators and their spouses?) Working an online grift known as the 419-Scam or the Nigerian Money Scam, some very well organized criminal syndicates have taken advantage of the blind-greed of the money hungry and walked away with tens of millions over the past ten years. Many victims of this scam are too embarrassed to contact the police so an accurate count of victims is difficult to find. There are several variations on this scam, including ones that call to help relocate orphans. Regardless of how the Emails are phrased, these Spam Emails are scams.

Now, a group of regular Internet users has started to turn the tables on the spammer-scammers. Calling themselves "Counter-Scammers", a growing number of Internet users are outwitting the scammers and wasting their time. Here's how they do it.

The first Email you receive tells of millions hidden away in secret accounts for one reason or another. After finding your contact information from a reliable source such as the local Chamber of Commerce, the son/daughter/wife or cousin of a former dictator/finance minister/senior bureaucrat requests your assistance in moving the money to a safe location, generally YOUR bank account. If you help them, they will give you a percentage of the money.

If you choose to respond, the ball gets rolling and you will be asked to supply any number of fees, bribes and payments until the scammer has bled your accounts dry. If the scammer does his or her job well, you will have invested so much money in freeing up the millions that the idea of stopping and losing the money you've invested is less appealing than cutting communications. This is the point the scam-busters start to play with the scammers. The scam-busters will tell the scammers the money is going to come but first they need proof the scheme is not a scam. After some form of "proof" arrives, the scam-busters ask for something else before releasing the money. Once the scammer provides whatever the scam-buster asks for, the scam-buster asks for something else. We've read reports where the scam-busters have even gotten the scammer to pose for pictures with signs reading "I am not a scam".

Police will generally advise Internet users NOT to communicate with these people and that is likely good advise. If you do get a 419-Money scam letter, our suggestion is to contact the FBI, RCMP, or Interpol, depending on where you are located. All three law enforcement organizations are quite interested in Email fraud.

By the way... If you do send information to the police, we advise you not to get them to pose for pictures with signs reading "I am not a donut"
by Jim Hedger, Senior SEO

Visit the SEO BLOG Regularly for Daily SEO Tips & Updates
SEO Blog - SEO Tips

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call the StepForth staff:
Toll-Free: 1-877-385-5526 | Local: 385-1190
http://www.stepforth.com


To unsubscribe from this weekly newsletter simply reply to news@stepforth.com and include "unsubscribe" as the subject