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Thursday, November 30, 2006

Google, Yahoo and MSN Market Share

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 10:08 AM

Danny Sullivan recently posted the latest search engine market share stats in the SearchEngineWatch Blog . The order of the big three, has without much surprise, remained the same with Google the clear leader followed by Yahoo, then MSN.

Google

Yahoo

MSN

Google
Since this time last year Google has seen a noticeable increase in their
overall market share as they continue to grow in popularity. Its a slow
and steady climb with no apparent end in sight. With the launch of new
tools and features and the recent acquisition of YouTube, its ever increasing
online presence is likely a leading contributor to this consistent rise
in market share.

Yahoo

Yahoo remains in the middle. Having had some dips over the past 12 months
they have risen slightly according to NetRatings and dropped slightly
with comScore; however, overall, they have remained fairly static. This
is not necessarily a bad thing as it does show stability over the long
term and retention of return users. It will be interesting to see if by
this time in 2007 they remain flat or if an increase in market share will
be seen.

MSN

Since this time last year Microsoft has seen dips across the board and
is now at its lowest point in the last 12 months. Currently hovering around
the 10% mark it falls in third place and while 10% may sound low when
considering the vastly increasing number of people performing searches,
that figure still represents a significant piece of the pie. Certainly
MSN would like to be higher, and with the launch of the new Windows Live,
probably expected an increased share, but many people are afraid of change,
and they just may have scared off some of their loyal users. That said,
I would personally expect Windows Live, as it is further refined, to help
MSN over the next 12 months.

What does all this mean for website owners? What it really comes down
to is, yes you will get the most traffic by ranking #1 in Google, but
you should not discount Yahoo and MSN, as they can still deliver a substantial
number of visitors to your site. General optimization and responsible
link building campaigns will help out with all three engines. Stay away
from anything that looks fishy, continue to build quality content and
incoming links, and keep your pages well optimized and you will stand
the best chance of success.

Labels: Google, MSN, Scott Van Achte, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 10:08 AM.

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Yahoo Search Marketing Bidding Changes

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 10:02 AM

This change has been forthcoming for some time now. The new Yahoo Search Marketing
platform is available for some who have been chosen for early release, and for the rest, the new year will see the complete rollover into the new system. At the beginning of December, however, we will see the launch of the new bidding system at YSM and some recent changes to how you will manage your bidding. So what exactly is changing?

Top 5 Max Bids and Your Position

The current bids for the top 5 paid placements will be removed along with the your position column.

View Bids Tool

No longer will you be able to view the exact bid for specific key phrases as the view bids tool is being removed.

Estimated Average Position

You will no longer be able to view your exact position, however you will see your estimated average position. This figure is based on both your bid, and the bids of other advertisers.

Bid Range for Top Positions

Rather than seeing the exact bids, you will see a range of bids that advertisers
are willing to pay for their ads.

Why are these things changing? The new bidding system with the new YSM platform is no longer that of a simple bid for position concept. The new form of bidding is now much more Google-like with click through rates, on site content, and bids all contributing to your ad rank. With this new system items such as the view bids tool, and top 5 max bids will be somewhat irrelevant to advertisers.

As some advertisers have already been rolled over into the new system, this bidding change reflected in the old system is to accommodate advertisers with more accurate bidding information. The following explanation has been provided by Yahoo to its advertisers:

Why are you making this change to the bid information on the Manage Bids page?
"We are making this change in order to provide advertisers who have not yet upgraded to the new Sponsored Search with accurate bidding information.
As you may know, we've begun inviting U.S. advertisers to upgrade their accounts to the new Sponsored Search and invitations will continue to be sent in stages to U.S. advertisers over the remainder of the year and early next year. Given the way bid information is currently displayed, as advertisers upgrade to the new Sponsored Search, their bids would no longer be visible in the current system. By making this change, we are able to provide all advertisers with consistent and accurate bidding information, regardless of whether they have upgraded their accounts yet or not."

Labels: PPC, Scott Van Achte, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 10:02 AM.

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No More Answers

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 9:54 AM

After 4 years of Q and A Google Answers is being retired and as of late this week they will no longer be accepting new questions.

Google Answers was first introduced back in 2002 by a small 4 person team based on a rough idea by Larry Page. Within 4 months of inception the product was launched in beta and answered some of the most important questions of all time such as why there is no channel 1 and how flies can survive in the microwave .

While new questions will no longer be accepted after this week, Google Answers will continue to accept answers to existing questions until the end of the year. The Questions and Answers will also remain online for the foreseeable future.

Google Answers is a paid service to help searchers find answers to questions. While Google and the other search engines can provide information on just about anything, even for experienced users it can sometimes be difficult to find just the right piece of information. Google Answers allows you to post a question, and for a fee, have an expert researcher provide you with just the right answer.

Labels: Google, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 9:54 AM.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

How to Optimize a Webpage in Ten Minutes

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 6:04 PM

In April 2003 I wrote an article called “The 10 Minute Optimization” which outlined a 10 minute process to optimize a web page for top search engine rankings. Well, a few things have changed since then so I thought a redux (revision) would be a good idea. How I am going to do this though, is a bit unorthodox. This document is largely still pertinent so instead of rewriting the same SEO tips I reproduced the article (the boxed content) and added a revision section below each point wherever necessary; ultimately bringing this up to date with today's SEO tactics.

The result of my work is "The Ten Minute Optimization Redux", an article-turned SEO tips white paper which is 3600 words in length and will arm my readers with a concept of what it takes to get top rankings and optimize a webpage themselves. Now a word of warning... this white paper is not meant for veteran SEO's or advanced SEO's; it is strictly meant to bring business owners up to speed on the latest search engine tactics and the current standards of web page optimization. The following is a table of contents for this white paper.

1. Introduction

2. Setting the Stage
A) Determine Your Targets (Updated for 2006 with new tips)
B) Design - Is Your Page Memorable? (Updated for 2006 with new tips)
C) Spot Check for Relevancy (Updated for 2006 with new tips)

3. The Ten Minute Process - With 2006 Revisions
> Spot Check for Spam
> Polish and Optimize Text
> Optimize the Title
> META Tags (Updated for 2006 with a new tip)
> Navigation... Provide Clear Paths
> Test and Spell-Check (Updated for 2006 with a new tip)
> Hurry Up and Wait (Updated for 2006 with new tips)

4. Link Building - NEW SEO Tips!
Three sure-fire methods to build links to your website.

5. The After Thoughts - NEW SEO Tips!
Links to pertinent articles that are recommended reading and provide more tips and advice from veteran SEO's.

6. Conclusion
Tying it all up.

Read our SEO tips white paper now - it is entirely free!

Labels: Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 6:04 PM.

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Monday, November 27, 2006

SEO Answers #7: "What Determines Duplicate Content SPAM?"

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 11:12 PM

QUESTION: We're a very small company with an 11 year website history, with web development resources somewhere between quite miniscule and non-existent. Nonetheless, SEO has been a keen focus of awareness since before it was called that, and up until that infamous "Florida" event 3 or so years ago, we did very well in the SERPs. Over the years a number of people have worked on the code comprising our site, and while there is nothing egregiously, obviously wrong with our content, no one knows if now we're being penalized for something 'lurking' in our code that may be left over from yesteryear and never found and rooted out. The biggest worry and source of disagreement seems to involve "duplicate content".

Two questions:

(1) is there a fast way to ensure elimination of all code that could be found objectionable to major SE 'anti-spam' filtering? and,

(2) is there any way to learn how the SE algorithms define "duplicate content", e.g., is it a matter of word-for-word duplicity, or would a site get penalized even for re-worded content that had the same general meaning -- appearing on more than one page?

- Steve F.

ANSWERS
Thanks Steve, I am going to answer your questions in reverse order below.

Question 2 Answered:
First of all, duplicate content is any substantial piece of content that has been duplicated, word for word, elsewhere on your website. I know, 'substantial' is a bit of a weak explanation but there is no official formula describing how much content can be used without triggering a search engine's spam alarm. Just to be sure, if you are trying to use foil the search engines by using slightly reworded duplicate content then chances are you will not end up a happy site owner. Search engines are getting 'smarter' by the day and frankly I and my SEO company are of the mind that working with them is far healthier than the alternative.

Okay, requisite preaching complete... now lets consider some basics regarding duplicate content so I can assuage any basic fears should they exist. Site navigation and small sections of the page that have, for example a text advertisement, are not of any concern. What would be a concern is if you had a large portion of the content on a page duplicated elsewhere within your site; say, a few paragraphs or a large percentage of the page's content (even as little as 30% duplication may be an issue).

So what happens if you do have duplicate content, are you going to be banned instantly? No, Google (for example) will only negate the benefit of the duplicated page(s) and this negation would not result in a critical penalty. A critical hit would occur, however, if a website were composed of a high ratio of pages that had been determined duplicate content offenders.

Either way, duplicate content is wasteful and no good will come of it.

If you do not think you have any duplicate content then you are probably safe. There is, however, another possibility. Has someone duplicated your website and tarnished your good name? To check for this take some random strings of content and search for them on Google using exact searching (surround the query in quotes). If you come up with a site that is using your content you may have your answer right there - your site has been duped! If duping is the problem you need to contact the site immediately and let them know you have discovered their copyright infringement. If they do not pull the content then if I were you I would send a more formal cease and desist letter.

Question 1 Recapped: Is there a fast way to ensure elimination of all code that could be found objectionable to major SE 'anti-spam' filtering?

Question 1 Answered: There is no single tool that comes to mind which will tell you exactly what is wrong with your site; at least not one that I would recommend. If you need your site reviewed for spam then a search engine consultant like myself can be hired for a couple hours to scan your site and provide concise feedback; in such a case often other beneficial recommendations are made. If you want to check your website yourself then I recommend reading an article written by Jim Hedger (our in-house SEO writer for StepForth at the time) called "15 Shades of SEO Spam" which will provide you with some tips on what tactics can cause problems.

The other option is to go to a reputable search engine forum and ask for the opinions of forum members; they are often very helpful and knowledgeable. Forums I recommend are: Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Guide, Webmaster World and Web Pro News

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Submit your SEO question to Ross Dunn

Labels: Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 11:12 PM.

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Battelle's Experience with Google Checkout

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 9:16 PM

John Battelle wrote an excellent article describing his experience with Google Checkout. I highly recommend the read if you are considering using Google Checkout for shopping this holiday season or as a merchant. Here is a snippet:

It seems Google is obviating the merchant entirely vis the ongoing data relationship with the buyer. The registration screen states: "'Google' will appear by the charge on your credit card statement. Your card number will not be shared with the seller."

Why on earth would anyone want this to be the case? To lose your relationship with the buyer? What information *is* passed back to ToysRUs? What rights do I have to that information, and to know how it's used between Google and the merchant?

Check out John's post for the full article.

Labels: Google, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 9:16 PM.

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Register at Litegreen.com and They Will Plant a Tree

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:07 PM

To commemorate National Tree Week, which has been celebrated since 1974 and lasts from November 22nd to December 3rd, Litegreen.com will plant a tree for every new registration on their website. After that week they will plant a tree for every 50 british pounds spent on their website.

Litegreen.com is a search engine that provides content from vetted environmentally and human rights-conscious businesses. Here is their official description:

"Litegreen is a unique online consumer information and shopping directory which makes having a conscience an easy, modern lifestyle choice.

We review the World's leading brands to assess their impact on the planet and their attitudes to workers rights (see Rating Criteria)."

I officially think this is the coolest incentive a company can give for registering to a newsletter and I highly recommend that you signup. After all, you can always unsubscribe later if you don't like the newsletter; they make that very clear.

Kudos to the gang at Litegreen.com - I just love the concept of their website and I commend them for doing something proactive for the population's environmental conscience.

Labels: Other Engines, Ross Dunn

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Google's Top Adult Rankings Get Filtered - How Does this Affect You?

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 9:50 AM

Part of my job of keeping up on the latest SEO news and tactics is to venture where I think no self-respecting webmaster should go... the black hat SEO news world. Fortunately, these occasional glimpses of the dark side are very interesting. For example, one of the more popular websites in the black hat industry, SEO Black Hat, recently noted that in a single weekend Google had managed to clear out much of the offensive adult content found in top 10 organic results; searches had to be conducted using a single adult word (use your imagination). The result? You and I may like this impressive cleanup but the adult webmaster forums were abuzz with dropped rankings across the Google board and supposition ran wild.

What does this mean to you and me, the webmasters that care nothing about the adult marketplace? Well here is the data that I found most interesting. According to the research conducted at SEO Black Hat, many of the adult websites that were dropped from single phrase searches actually lost little or no traffic. In fact, some of them increased traffic!

How Can This Happen?
Before answering this question I want you to know I am basing my answer on statistics I have not formally reviewed. I am taking for granted the stats that SEO Black Hat noted are for real and that after the Google shakeup, in some cases (the ones shown), traffic actually stayed the same or increased. The results do actually make sense to me so I felt they merited this posting on the StepForth SEO Blog. That said, now without further adieu...

How Could Traffic Increase?
Many of the sites that had managed to get a top ranking under a general adult term were obviously very effective marketers because gaining a ranking for a single keyword is extremely difficult. Taking this fact to the next step, many of these same adult websites were also targeting two-keyword phrases and had fantastic results under them as well. Now consider how the average searcher will react when they do not find what they are looking for after typing in any single word search; they will refine the query to get a finer result. This appears to be exactly what happened for the adult market after the Google clean-up; searchers decided to refine their search (again use your imagination - if you wish) and their refined results were rife with the adult material they were looking for. After all, Google has only 'cleaned' the top 10 results for single adult keyword searches and left alone the results for 2-keyword searches.

What Does this Mean for Google?
Who knows just how much of this was planned by Google but this is what was accomplished:

By cleaning the top 10 organic results of xxx sites for single adult keyword searches Google has gotten some serious brownie points - at least from me. After all, to be relevant the resulting content is still adult related but at least it isn't rife with a myriad of questionable words and stomach-churning calls to 'action'.
Google did not filter the Adwords results for the top 10 so now adult sites that want to be found on the first page will have no choice but to pay for the ranking... interesting tactic by Google but not an admirable one in my book.
Google has successfully implemented a clever algorithm improvement that appears to specifically filter only the top 10 results; very interesting indeed. I wonder how this will be applied elsewhere?

What Does this Mean For You?
I believe this information provides some extra weight against focusing on attaining rankings for single keywords. The fact of the matter is that a single keyword search may be shown to have a lot of searches but it is far too general and is not likely to be as effective as a top ranking for a phrase; since users are more likely to refine their search with an additional keyword.

My Question To You
Have you noticed this filter affect your non-adult rankings? In my opinion, it is highly likely that this filter may have been applied across the board on Google (even past the top 10); the adult market has just been the worst hit. I would love your opinions on this, please post a comment. Thanks!

A Note to Google
If you did indeed target the top 10 organic rankings (for single word adult searches) in order to clean out the most offensive sites then I find it questionable that you left the pay-per-click sites unfiltered on the first page. Of course I see the financial benefit to you by forcing adult sites to advertise to get first page exposure but this pushes the limits of your "don't be evil" motto. My recommendation would be to make the Adwords results start on the second page so that misguided searchers do not come across offensive advertisements on the first page.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
visit StepForth's SEO Blog for the latest search engine news

Labels: Google, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 9:50 AM.

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Ross Dunn Answers SEO Questions - Edition 6

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 5:18 PM

Two excellent questions are answered in this article:

A.) Which steps should I follow when optimizing my dynamic website?

B.) Can you maintain the integrity of my design while implementing SEO?

QUESTION A) Which steps should I follow when optimizing my dynamic website? - Chriz R.

ANSWER:

To be certain of the particular answer for you I would need to know more about your website so I will provide a list of what I would term the most common steps to optimizing a dynamic website that utilizes a shopping cart.

URL's: Banish those ugly dynamic URL's and open your website to the search engines. Accomplish this by using a rewrite such as ISAPI_rewrite on Windows servers or a mod_rewrite on Apache servers. This tweak will provide search engines with an easier route to follow through your website. Why? When search engine spiders visit a website and find dynamic URL's there is a high likelihood that the website will not be fully spidered. This is because search engine spiders are trained to avoid the possibility of getting caught in a loop when indexing a website. For example, what if a search engine spider was indexing a website and found a dynamic calendar? Theoretically this spider could go on forever indexing the calendar, day after day. As a consequence, spiders place a limit on the depth that they will index a dynamic website; usually 3 levels. Here is a sample of a bad URL and a fixed URL:

Unfriendly URL: filename.php?id=F98ZF4&productId=39222&section=
wicked&brand=582&template=53

Search engine friendly URL:
http://www.surfboardsforyou.com/boards/wickedboards/39222/board53/

In short, by making your website's URLs appear static the higher the likelihood that your website will be properly indexed. Once this fix has been applied optimize your website for rankings.
Titles and Meta Description Tag : Common in my world of SEO consultation is dealing with Content Management Systems (CMS) that do not allow for product/page specific title or Meta Description tags. These lower quality CMS end up using the same title and Meta Tags on every page within the website; this is the kiss of death for search engine rankings. If you are serious about obtaining top rankings you need to either increase the functionality of your CMS to provide title and description customization or switch to an alternative, more search engine friendly CMS.

Title Tags: A page title must concisely correspond to the ranking target for the page that it is on; after all it is used as the title for any ranking you obtain so it should be highly relevant. How this is done is up to you and the degree in which your CMS is setup for search engines. For example, excellent search engine friendly shopping carts such as Product Cart and Apple Pie Shopping Cart already incorporate the automation of optimized titles based on the product or page you are on within your website. If your system does not have this innate automation then the best option that comes to mind is to have additional functionality added to your website to allow automation. You can usually hire the maker of the software to make this addition.

Description Tags: The Description Tag is often used as the description for any search engine ranking a page obtains. As a result, this content must be highly relevant and engaging; to get users to click and visit the page. Fortunately the higher end SEO friendly carts (linked to above) already provide automated Description Tag functionality with the option to override automation with a custom Tag on a page-by-page basis. If your system does not offer automation and/or customization then you should again consider hiring an informed programmer include it.

Note: Keyword Tags are not mentioned here because of their vastly diminished importance in the world of search engine optimization. The fact is that search engines are paying little (if any) attention to this tag. In fact, I would venture that the Keyword Tag is ignored unless it is being used to SP@M in which case it will produce negative affect. So my tips generally do not include Keyword Tag advice – just FYI.
First Text : If possible, ensure that the first text a search engine indexes is relevant to the page at hand. For example, at StepForth ideally we like to include the page's target keyphrase within the first 10 words of text on the page.
Headings : Often the heading on a page is within the first 100 words of text that a search engine spider will index. To ensure the heading aids rankings it is important that it not only reflects the page's keyphrase but that it utilizes a Heading 1 tag. The Heading 1 tag will provide enough emphasis that the keyphrase will stand out from the prior words indexed. In addition, the Heading 1 tag (H1) was originally created as the signifier of a page's topic and for the most part this fact stands true to this day. If your CMS does not already incorporate H1's in the formal heading of the page then you should seriously consider having this functionality implemented.
Site Structure: If at all possible create a site structure that is no more than 4 levels deep. An example of how this can be arranged is to minimize the number of sub products/pages within your system.

For example, try to avoid the following 6 level site structure (extreme example):
Bike Helmets (styles shown) -> Racing Style Bike Helmets (about this style) -> Racing Style Bike Helmets (brands shown) -> Racing Bike Helmets (Styles shown) -> Racing Bike Helmet (image shown) -> Racing Bike Helmet (detail shown)

Instead you could use this tighter 4 level structure:
Bike Helmets (styles shown) -> Racing Style Bike Helmets (about this style integrated with a listing of brands shown) -> Racing Bike Helmets (Styles shown) -> Racing Bike Helmet (detail shown)
Navigation : The navigation of your website is paramount to proper search engine spidering. The navigation links should be in text format and use the keyphrase that the target page is optimized for. In addition each page must have a link to a central Sitemap that comprehensively lists every page and product/service within your website.
Images : If your system can support this make certain to place descriptive product information in the ALT tags for each product image. If you can you should also stamp each product picture with your website address in as attractive a manner as possible. The result is that search engine spiders will be able to index your product images appropriately and they may be featured in Google Image searches. By having your website address on the images you will have the added benefit of potentially receiving business from this search venue.

Is There More You Can Do to Optimize Your Dynamic Website?
There are many additional customizations that can be added to a dynamic website to produce efficient optimization results. Unfortunately, it would take too much time for me to describe each one effectively. If you would like more information on what can be done please give me a ring or drop me an email , I would be glad to help or refer you to someone who can.

QUESTION B) Can you maintain the integrity of my design while implementing SEO? - Chriz R.

ANSWER:

My first instinct is to say “yes, of course!” because 90% of the time we do not need to disturb the general integrity of a website when optimizing it (i.e. layout, site structure, the majority of content, etc.). Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The fact of the matter is that some websites are provided with restrictions that stifle proper search engine optimization. For example, it is exceedingly rare but occasionally we are given websites to optimize that:

* Are entirely Flash based
* Have content the clients do not want us to touch at all
* Have too many links to outside sources
* Are loaded with too many incidences of a keyword phrase (SP@M)
* Etc.

In such cases, it is our job to educate the client that the restrictions being placed upon us will significantly diminish the chances for ranking success. It should be noted, however, that in no situation whatsoever will we make changes without the express approval of our client. StepForth is a customer-centric firm so effective communication is our mainstay; we know you know your business far better than we do; we are here simply to help you properly succeed online.

Thank you for your questions Chriz. I have many other great questions awaiting responses and I promise to respond to as many as possible over the next two weeks on the SEO Blog . Tune in and send in your SEO questions here . – Ross Dunn

Labels: Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 5:18 PM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

SEO Answers #5: "Should I Use More Than One Press Release Service?"

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 9:28 PM

Question: There are a number of wire services (like PRweb) for submitting
press articles to online news feeds. Is it recommended to use a few of them
for article submission or am I running the risk of having my article
submitted to any particular distribution partner more than once. Is there
any advice you can give me regarding which services distribute to which
distribution partners and how to select which ones to use. - Frank O.

Answer: I recommend using only a single company to distribute your releases. In my opinion PRWeb is the leader in the world of online press release distribution.

Will using multiple press release companies hurt your online visibility? First of all consider that a professional, well-entrenched company such as PRWeb is going to do an excellent job of disseminating your news so chances are high that you would be wasting money using multiple companies. Secondly, consider the damage you could do if your news appears too often... spamming could produce backlash and I highly doubt multiple submissions will help search engine results.

I have used and hear enough about PRWeb to suggest that it is the 'go-to' company for press releases. That said, I am not an authority in the world of press release advertising (I have a hard enough time staying focused on the SEO world) so I cannot provide much more advice. I did, however, spend additional time studying the forms and they state that the base $80 SEO distribution package on PRWeb (note free submission is now no longer available) gives a great bank for your buck at only $80 per release. In addition, I came across some good feedback on the new SEO + social media $120 package.

In short, I believe my advice is informed enough to serve you well but I am sure there are many with more experience than myself in this area that can provide more detail. If you need more information I suggest checking the forums out at WebmasterWorld, WebProNews or SmallBusinessBrief (Search Engine Guide's forum) and posting your question(s) there.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Submit your SEO question to Ross Dunn

Labels: Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 9:28 PM.

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Google Shares break $500

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:25 AM

For the first time Google shares have broken the $500 mark and Wednesday morning saw an opening at $510.78. These figures give 8 year old Google a market value of approximately $154 billion. When they priced its IPO back in August 2004, the value per share was $85 and after the first day of trading it broke the $100 milestone.

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:25 AM.

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PPC Campaign Assistance

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:13 AM

I recently had a conversation with a client who was having some difficulties with his Google AdWords account. This client had then made some changes to financial settings and had resulted in significant charges beyond what was anticipated. In this example, the date range being displayed on the reports was set to a range which made it difficult to see the charges being accrued.

I spent some time working things through with the client which ultimately resulted in the effect on the account being originally sought after.

While managing PPC campaigns is an additional service offered by StepForth, for existing clients I am happy to answer any questions to try and help. For extensive issues we may require a PPC contract, but in many cases I will likely be able to simply answer your questions to help get things on track.

If you have any PPC related questions, please feel free to drop me a note at scott@stepforth.com and I will see what I can do to assist!

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:13 AM.

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Google Checkout Processing is Free for the Holidays

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 9:05 PM

In a bid that is sure to raise the interests of many e-tailers, Google has announced that it will be providing free merchant services for the holiday season. Say what?! Yes, FREE.

For those of you who are not familiar with transacting online suffice it to say that this promotion could save participating e-tailers hundreds if not thousands of dollars this holiday season.

Here is the press release and if you have any interest in this product I expect it will be worth any headache involved in the transfer... after all I don't expect anything Google is going to disappear anytime soon; they have a wee bit of a nest egg to work from. ;-)

Warning Fellow Non-US Citizens - Don't Get Excited
Us Canucks may be neighbors but as usual that doesn't count for much at Google Headquarters. Google Checkout is not available to any non-American.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Compliments of the SEO Blog

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 9:05 PM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
View this Article Only: Google Checkout Processing is Free for the Holidays

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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Visual Recognition Technology is Applied to Search at Like.com

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 9:49 PM

A new shopping search engine has brought to the public a technology that has been used mostly in movies and the offices of law enforcement - visual recognition. The new search engine, Like.com employs their "Likeness Technology™ to create a digital signature that describes the photo's contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products," says the About Us page on Like.com.

The Likeness Technology™ can be put to work searching for products in the following ways:

By Description:
- Type a description of a watch you are interested in viewing: i.e. "dual chronograph"
- You will be presented with a list of watches that have (in most cases) only two chronographs on the face.
- Now choose a watch that has a particular styling that you like such as the chronographs appearing above and below the dial.
- Once you select a watch you are then asked to draw a box around the portion of the watch that intrigued you. In this case I drew a box over the whole face.
- After selecting I was provided with three options to tell the system what I liked about the selection I made; was it the "Shape", "Color" or "Both"? I selected "shape".
- The result of my search presented me with a larger selection of dual chronograph watches interspersed with less relevant results.
By Celebrity: this search option allows you to match the latest styles of favorite celebrities by using the Likeness Technology™ to search for products that match a particular piece of clothing that a celebrity is wearing. For example:
- Go to the Celebrity section
- Now select your favorite celebrity and you will be presented with the latest photos of your celebrity where you can search for particular aspects of their wardrobe that have been preselected by Like.com for queries (i.e. Tom Cruise's shoes, or Sienna Miller's ear rings).
- Just click on the bauble that you are most interested in and you will be provided with a plethora of products that match (in some manner) the object shown in the image.
- Now you can alter color, shape and pattern in order to find the ideal product for you.
Like Upload: a feature coming soon will allow you to upload your own picture and have the Like search engine help you find products that match the item from the image that you desire.

What is my take? Well this is a great technology that will undoubtedly be huge in the future but is very much in beta at the moment. The fact is that the results appear to be very shaky; I found myself wading through many irrelevant results.

Criticisms aside I must commend Like.com on their ingenuity and technological brilliance; this technology has serious potential. All-in-all I highly recommend at least trying out Like.com especially if you are a vendor of wares that is constantly on the look out for new advertising opportunities. Give it some time and I bet Like.com will be offering a submission scheme like Google Base; for offline and online vendors to submit their own products for Like.com search results.

Oh and about the Celebrities... as if the world needs another avenue for celebrity worship! I felt rather queezy to see that search option.

By Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 9:49 PM.

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Future Evolution of Search

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 4:18 PM

The search engine world never rests. As online marketing professionals discover new ways to obtain top rankings the algorithms evolve right along side. There are two primary reasons behind the updating of ranking algorithms. To increase the quality and relevancy of the results, and to decrease the many page of online spam.

As the algorithms are updated, new ways to affect the results are discovered, and the algorithm must then be again adjusted. This is a cycle that has been around since the early days of search, and one that won't be going away any time soon. A lot has changed over the years, and the future is sure to also deliver its plethora of surprises, but there are three main factors that will always have some level of impact on your search results.

SEO, Content and Links
Some people say that the world of search engine optimization is over and that the entire basis behind successful rankings lies in the power of incoming links. While incoming links do play a significant role, and in most cases are a necessity, they are far from the only determining factor.

There are many determining factors behind what will affect the ranking of a site. The three largest contributing factors are SEO, links, and site content. To compete in highly competitive industries a site needs numerous on topic pages of content, relevant incoming links from a variety of sources, and, solid site optimization. While search is always changing, these three factors will remain constant. Each may change in the level of impact they have, but they will always contribute to the top listings.

Site Content and SEO go hand in hand. Content is very important, but without the SEO to add focus, it can go unnoticed. Proper keyword densities, link paths and keyword placement will always play a role in having the content discovered and ranked by the search engines. If the fundamental SEO aspects are not in place, there is a strong chance that the content may never see the light of day. Incoming links add focus and relevance for the site overall, but if the content is not relevant to the desired phrases the odds of obtaining a top ranking are very bleak.

Links play, and will continue to play a strong role in the future of search rankings as they add that important vote of confidence. When site A links to site B, that tells the search engine site B is worth considering. Value is passed based on relevance and the overall authority of site A.

As more and more webmasters develop new linking schemes, the algorithms responsible for displaying top sites have to continually evolve to weed out the ever increasing amounts of SPAM. While Google's current algorithm relies heavily on incoming links, especially for sites in highly competitive markets, this algorithm will have to change and mutate over time as the internet continues to evolve. If rankings were determined 100% by inbound links where would this leave us? Thousands if not millions of valuable websites would go completely unnoticed. We would also see many sites ranking that are not relevant to the actual search term due to issues related to Google bombing.

Political opinions aside, the single world "failure" does not accurately represent the George Bush bio page; however, it continues to rank #1 in Google. This was made possible by the anchor text used in links posted by thousands of bloggers and webmasters. If links were solely responsible for rankings, we would see a lot more examples of Google Bombing as the actual number of links required to 'bomb' would decline.

Where is Search Going?
For us to know the exact future of search we will have to wait and see what happens but some things are certain to grow in popularity.

The future will undoubtedly see more advances in localized search, serving results relevant to the locality of the searcher. Is this the best way? Only time will tell, but even if this is the future, we will still see SEO, links & content dictating the results. The SEO and content will have to be in part geared towards local information such as zip codes, city names, etc, but will be an important contributor.

Links will undoubtedly contribute to rankings long into the future, but quite possibly will have a reduced role with more SEO fundamentals making a comeback. One example is to take a look at MSN Live Search. As reported by Ross Dunn in the SEO BLOG just this past weekend an algorithm update has shown increased value on fundamentals such as title tags and domain names. These two areas were once an incredibly powerful tool in obtaining rankings, and had reduced in value. Now, at least in MSN, they are gaining ground once again.

Still in its infant stages, Mobile Search is growing as more and more people turn to their cell phones and other mobile devices for search. Mobile search will likely have the most benefit for localized type searching. People looking for an address, weather report, local business, entertainment information, etc. As time goes on the number of users using Mobile Search will continue to grow, and optimized sites will be the ones found by these searchers. A whole new level of optimizing mobile websites will likely emerge.

In 10 years time search will certainly look very different. While it has become a staple in the lives of millions, in the big scheme of things the internet is still very young and search even younger.

Why SEO will always be important
SEO will always play an important role in having sites found in the search engines. Regardless of how search algorithms evolve they will always require a level of on site content in order to correctly rank websites. As long as this content is considered, proper keyword placement and frequencies will play a role.

SEO in itself will continue to change. The proper frequencies of keyword placement, linking techniques and URL structure may alter, but will always have an impact.

As we move into the future and as the search engine algorithms continue to evolve SEO will always play an important role in having your websites obtain top rankings. While the small things will always change it is important to have the basic fundamentals in place and doing so will help sustain consistent rankings into the future.

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 4:18 PM.

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Saturday, November 04, 2006

MSN Algorithm Update Nov 3rd 2006 - StepForth Client Update

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 7:51 PM

This is a heads up for my readers and clientele that MSN search applied an update that has significantly affected rankings. The client results we have reviewed so far have all done well by this update but we are continuing to review. So far it appears that MSN is still following the basic principles of good SEO but I have noticed the following elements appear important:

Title Tags: MSN appears to be placing a dubious amount of weight on Titles. When I searched a multitude of terms it was very clear that all of the top performing sites had clearly utilized the full key phrase within their title.
Domains: along with the Title tags another rather simple optimization technique seems to be affecting ranking - keywords in the domain. Here is a very obvious example; type in "Whistler Real Estate" and you will see the first site is doing exceptionally well, take note of the great domain (www.whistler-realestate.com) now do a search for "Whistler Realtor", note the domain for the top ranking site is "www.whistlerrealtor.com". Now this is not a silver bullet, you still have to have a good site to compete; however, I do believe that keyworded domains provide a sharper edge on MSN more than any other major search engine. Just remember they have little or no effect on Google so don't go to any significant work to change your tactics unless you are focused entirely on MSN.

Here is an improvement worth noting have Adwords landing pages been removed?: It appears this update has removed many of those leader pages filled with Adwords links. I have tried many searches without finding a single page in the top 10. Have you found any? If not, then this update was well worth the shakeup... I hate those damnable leader pages.

More to come as I follow up on how MSN has affected rankings. If you see anything worth noting please post a comment, I am interested to hear your experiences with this update.

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 7:51 PM.

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Thursday, November 02, 2006

A9 Announces Clickriver - Sponsored Links on Amazon.com

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 3:48 PM

Search engine company A9, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com has launched a secure beta called Clickriver which allows advertisers to launch pay-per-click campaigns on Amazon.com. The service is currently in Beta and for the moment is only offered to pre-screened applicants - apply here.

Advertisers will be able to promote their wares "on search results pages and on many product detail pages" according to Clickriver's FAQ. Opening Amazon to the PPC marketplace has some impressive implications considering the millions of consumers that Amazon caters to. For example, advertisers will now be able to advertise next to products that are currently being reviewed for purchase; a qualifier that will undoubtedly heighten the interest of cutting-edge advertisers. Simply put, the cross-promotional potential of this new offering is huge.

If you happen to get in on the beta I would love to get your opinion on this new service. Just drop me a note via ross@stepforth.com or post a comment.

Special thanks to John Battelle and ResourceShelf for cluing me in on this excellent new offering.

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 3:48 PM.

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Yahoo! Launches Yahoo! Food

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:54 PM

Today Yahoo! announced the launch of Yahoo! Food, a site focused entirely on content from foodies and other culinary household names. In my opinion Yahoo! Food is a smart move and I look forward to seeing how it affects Yahoo!'s bottom line. After all, I don't know about you but I know many people watch the Food network on a daily basis (including me) and I expect that a site run by Yahoo will offer yet another great resource for foodies.

When Deanna Brown, General Manager of Yahoo!'s Lifestyles was asked on MarketWatch how Yahoo! Food will compete against other food resources like the Food Network and Bon Appetit she had this to say,"I think it is the ease of use and the compelling design, kind of the comprehensive all in one destination." She finishes by emphasizing the personalization that Yahoo! Food allows; (the site becomes) "your property... and keeps you in touch with what you are looking for." - source MarketWatch blog.

Finally consider the marketing benefits of business owners who need to promote their cooking wares or resources (books, online directories, etc.); this addition to the Yahoo! Search Marketing network will prove a tasty one indeed.

Kudos to Yahoo, they are definitely trying hard to increase their bottom line. After announcing their 3rd quarter financial results on October 17th, Yahoo! definitely needs all the help they can get.

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:54 PM.