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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

SEO Answers #9: Domain Stop Words, Duplicate Web Sites, & Increasing Article Backlinks

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:40 PM

Three SEO questions are answered in this Q&A article:

Do search engines ignore stop words in domain names?
I created a duplicate website to target my services to a different state. My intention is not to dupe Google but I don't know what else to do. How would you approach this?
What can I do to increase the number of backlinks I am getting from articles?

Question 1) " I know search engines ignore stop words in meta tags and title tags. Do search engines ignore stop or common words in domain names? Example www.therealestate.com or www.arealestate.com " - Corey M.

Answer: Yes, to the degree in which the keywords have any effect the more common words within a domain name would be ignored. It is, however, important to keep in mind that search engines only place a limited amount of weight on keywords in a domain name. In my opinion the only time where a site keyword within a domain name wins a ranking war is when all other elements are equal between you and near-ranked competitor.

Additional Info: I like to do my due diligence before answering any question because frankly I need to be sure the rules have not changed overnight. Here are a couple links to pages that relate to this question:

WebmasterWorld Posting (membership required)
What are stop words? By Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch.

Question 2) “ Hi Ross - I just finished reading your blog... "SEO Answers #7: " What Determines Duplicate Content SPAM? "and I have a question for you. Allow me to give you a little background: One of my clients has expanded their business into another state with a different name, but it is ultimately the same business. In order to develop a Web presence for this new, duplicate company in a new area, we created a second Website that has its own unique design, etc, but is ultimately a take off on the original site, using the same content, just minor differences to allow for the new name, geographic area, etc. The original site is optimized and of course contains the original content. The duplicate site is not optimized. In no way is our intention to "dupe" anything, but will this cause problems with the engines? We are not trying to get mileage off of the content by duplicating it... this is simply a second company that offers the same services, just in a different state. Each site is in its own domain and has its own URL. Your input? Your suggestions for a different solution? Thanks for your time."

Answer: Simply put if you are truly not looking to get any mileage out of the content then you do not want rankings for it which implies that the site should be blocked to the search engines. I would recommend using your robots.txt file to block the spiders entirely to that website so you do not negatively affect your rankings on the original site. The fact is that duplicate content, good intentions or not, is frowned upon by the search engines and you are gambling by having the site available for spidering.

If, however, you do want the search engines to spider the content then you must rewrite it to avoid duplicate content penalties.

As a final note I would like to pose a question; did your client absolutely have to create a secondary website? In many cases I find that a client need not have created a second site; they just needed to add a new section to their site to manage the new target marketplace. The other option, which may have been appropriate in this case, is to add a subdomain to enjoy the benefits of a secondary home page on a pre-branded domain and fresh marketable URL; nearly the same benefits of having a secondary domain without the headache of marketing an entirely new website. Even in this case, however, you would not be able to use duplicate content so you would be faced with the same issues; either rewrite the content or block it from spiders.

Question 3) "Ross, in an attempt to improve my ranking in the search engines, I have been writing articles for article directories in the hopes of receiving quality backlinks. Recently I came across a site mypagerank.net, which I decided to check on my link popularity. The result indicated that I only had 18 backlinks. What can I do to increase the number of backlinks I am getting? I would have expected more as I have written many more articles and submitted my URL to many directories. Thanks, enjoy reading your articles" - Peter

Answer: First, good work making the effort to write articles, they are an excellent medium for promotion and I commend you for dedicating the time to writing. I certainly understand the significant commitment to time and research required to write usable content. Fortunately, there are a few techniques that may help you squeeze some extra benefits from your hard work:

Be Clear - Request Credit
Are you being very clear to those republishing your content that you expect a linked credit for the copy? Simply stating that you allow syndication but request credit laid out in a particular linked format will do wonders. At StepForth we clearly request credit and we occasionally troll Google looking for those who have republished our content without credit; it is usually a simple matter to have the content removed or the appropriate link added. Hence, if you see this article does not give credit and provide a link to StepForth.com then please drop me a note, ross@stepforth.com :-)
Pick a Powerful, Timely Topic
Have you noticed a topic coming up regularly in forums? Perhaps a question that appears to be asked regularly? This is usually a good indication that an article discussing the topic would do well. Remember that many of the syndication networks online are looking for topics that will get readers and ultimately provide impressions for their advertisers. As a result, picking a hot topic will make a world of difference in how widely your article will get picked up.
Optimize the Title
The title of your article needs to clearly relay the topic and should engage readers and editors alike. The title can make or break a story if it is too vague or boring.
Refer to Your Own Content
It helps to provide inline links from your article to relevant previous articles or pages on your website. With practice and once you have built up a healthy reservoir of linkable articles it will soon be second nature to refer to links in a manner that is crucial to the article; so that editors note that the backlinks are relevant and play a legitimate role in the purpose of the article. Legitimacy of backlinks is crucial to make the ‘cut' because editors are more likely to remove a link than keep one if it appears merely promotional.
Give Praise Where it is Due
Within an article don't be afraid to link to other sources where you have noted particularly good information, particularly other small business blogs. The fact is that some bloggers take a real shine to those who syndicate or give credit to their content and may just link back to you in thanks.
Put RSS On Your Side
If you have not already done so ensure that your articles are syndicated on your website in RSS format as well. This can be easily accomplished by using a blog to publish your articles because most blog systems include automated feed creation. Many of the article syndication networks use articles solely through RSS. So as soon as you get a RSS feed you should go out and tell the world about it. Try using Google and search for "submit feed" or " add blog " and you are certain to find some great sites to submit your syndication feed.

There is a lot more information on this topic so I will provide some links that should help you further:

Article Writing Tips - excellent resource I stumbled across
Related forum thread in SEO Chat
Related forum thread on Digital Point

After all this work is done, keep in mind not every proper (credited) use of your article will deliver the benefits of a backlink. The search engines are frankly too smart to give credit to every article link because of the obvious duplication and the unfortunate proliferation of article scraping sites (sites that republish articles to try and make their sites appear authoritative). That said, the links acquired from truly authoritative sites would pay off as backlinks and hopefully with the more important benefit - direct traffic.

As a final note remember that articles are meant for human consumption so be sure to proofread your work and ensure that the topic is either timely or originally written enough to be useful. I am not saying this applies to you, however, it is important that the quality of the content is high enough to merit wide spread syndication.

by Ross Dunn - CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Permalink to this Article: SEO Questions #9

Labels: Google, Link Building, Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

Email this News Post: 1 Comments for this Post
This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:40 PM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
View this Article Only: SEO Answers #9: Domain Stop Words, Duplicate Web Sites, & Increasing Article Backlinks

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An End to Google Search API

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 12:00 PM

Earlier in December Google cut off access to its SOAP API for new customers. This move has concerned many developers and webmasters.

The Google Search API was still in beta and designed to allow developers to create programs to perform a Google search using SOAP. (Simple Object, Access, Protocol).
At code.google.com the site notes:

"As of December 5, 2006, we are no longer issuing new API keys for the SOAP Search API. Developers with existing SOAP Search API keys will not be affected."

Google appears to be pushing the switch over to the AJAX Search API instead and directs users to the AJAX page.

The AJAX Search API is better suited to make it easier for webmasters and developers to incorporate a dynamic search box which includes Video, News, Maps and Blog searches and also to use when building web apps on top of Google search.

While this change will not affect the average internet user, it will have an impact on some webmasters and developers. Google says the existing SOAP API’s will not be affected, but making the switch may be in your best interest, as SOAP may be completely phased out over time.

Labels: AJAX, API, Google, SOAP

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 12:00 PM.

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Google / NASA Partnership

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:45 AM

A research and development partnership between NASA and Google was announced back in September of 2005, and now, more than a year later, they are just about ready to collaborate.

The two companies will work together through their formal agreement to study a number of issues from scientific-data search technology to expanding Google Earth to the moon and Mars.

According to CNET " the first collaboration between Google and NASA Ames will concern the availability of NASA information over the Internet. For example, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in a statement that "soon" there will be Google Earth flyovers available for the surfaces of Mars and the moon. Additional data will include real-time weather forecasting and visualization, as well as tracking of the International Space Station and space shuttle activity".

Not all projects will involve incorporating NASA information into Google but will include a number of research based items such as dealing with human-computer interaction and education-related collaborations.

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:45 AM.

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Hacker Sentenced Cinched by Searches

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 11:30 AM

According to ZDNet, something interesting has occurred. A hacker taping into wireless internet connections and disrupting service has been sentenced to 15 months in prison, nearly $20,000 in restitution, and 3 years of supervised released. What makes this story interesting is the actual nail in his coffin so to speak.

Mathew Schuster, a computer technician for Alpha Computer Services was fired from his position in May of 2003. At that time his home account had also been terminated. In order to remain online Schuster started using the access information which belonged to other Alpha customers, such as their MAC address authentication.

While in the system, Schuster was also blamed for denial of service attacks against Alpha and other disruptions caused to the system during his use. What helped to convict him? While hacked into the system Schuster had used Google to query a number of incriminating phrases such as "how to broadcast interference over wifi 2.4 GHZ", "wireless networks 2.4 interference" and "interference over wifi 2.4 GHZ”. These Google searches were brought to life by the FBI and seriously hurt Schuster’s case.

How did these searches surface? The court documents are ambiguous, but there are a number of ways this could have occurred. The searches may have been noted in Schuster’s browser history and cache, the monitoring of the connection by an Alpha employee, or by a subpoena to Google for searches tided to his IP or cookies.

There has been confirmation that Google has the capability to provide search terms for a provided Internet address or cookie. This case is also not the first time that Google search terms have appeared in a criminal case. In 2005, before his wife was killed, a defendant was noted searching for phrases in Google which included the key words "neck", "snap", "break" and "hold" - he was found guilty.

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 11:30 AM.

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Monday, December 18, 2006

News on Google: Europe Acquisition, Domains, Google Visits Base Users

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 8:26 AM

Time to give you a little update on Google's moving and shaking as of late:

Google has acquired Endexon, a European geo-mapping company which will provide Google with an excellent European base of operations for their map products in that marketplace.
Google is now helping users get setup with Google Apps for Your Domain by providing a domain purchase option within the setup area. Here is the press release and a snippet that sums it all up:

Starting today, we're partnering with eNom and GoDaddy.com, two industry leaders in domain registration, to offer users without a domain an easy way to find, register, and buy a domain and start immediately using our services. When you register a new domain as part of the sign-up process for Google Apps for Your Domain, we'll work with our partners behind the scenes and automatically configure everything so it works with all of the services available through Google Apps for Your Domain right out of the gate. We also give you full control of your domain settings, so you can use your domain for other services not provided by Google.
Google Base users are invited to provide feedback to the Google Base Team. In fact, in this December 6th post on the Official Google Base Blog, Google made a bold offer to send a team member to your place of business so they can observe how you work with the Base system, get your feedback, and aid with any issues you may have. According to the blog the visits started yesterday and continue today in London (UK, I presume). I have no idea if they will be in your area next so try dropping them a note if you are interested. The particulars for participating are found on the post.
According to the Google Operating System Blog (an unofficial tips site - great reading) there has been sightings of two new search methods being added to the "More" link on the Google home page. The first to be added was an option to only search blogs, the second was a "patent" search option which would allow users to search the US patent database which has patent information from as far back as the 1790's. Here is a direct link to the patent search home page which was added as a new search section within Google around December 14th.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.

Labels: Google, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 8:26 AM.

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Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Stake Your Claim on the Mobile Web

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 5:10 PM

With the Internet growing so rapidly do you ever wonder if you are missing a new trend or technology that could boost your bottom line? Well, there just happens to be a piece of the Internet that I bet you haven't made the leap to yet and it is going to be BIG. This new space is mobile search and mobile Internet surfing.

I know, I know, mobile Internet use has been around for a while, but even now it is very much in the infancy phase of development. After all, it was only over the past year that a W3C working draft appeared that allows web designers to create mobile sites compatible with the many mobile phone browsers. I have tried to use the search and navigation abilities on mobile phones and I have not been impressed; clunky is a nice way to put it. That said, there is no question in my mind this is a market that will explode over the next couple of years. To back up my lofty claim here are just a few of the notable headlines on the build-up to mobile search and advertising published over the last 30 days:

• Vodafone and Yahoo to Launch Advertising on Mobile Devices (Yahoo)
Mobile technology is way ahead in Europe and Vodafone is currently “the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £86 billion (November 2006)” ( according to Wikipedia ) . Yahoo has signed a deal which will provide Vodafone users with carefully targeted advertising in exchange for cheaper phone options.

• Google Testing Mobile Ads in Eight More Countries (MarketWatch)
“The ads apparently will appear whenever someone in those countries use a cell phone's Internet capability to access a site or to search via Google's engine.” The article also states that Google is “… also going after the $11 billion that advertisers are expected to spend on mobile marketing by 2011, according to a recent report by the telecom division of Informa Group.”

• Google and Microsoft in Mobile Search Race (Financial Times)
This article notes that “ Google announced a deal to put its search function on 3mobile's handsets”, and “Sprint Nextel, the US carrier, said it would place Microsoft's search engine on its mobile phones.”

So we know from the articles above that the mobile web is poised to really take off. However, did you know that it already has to some degree? For example:

• Google Mobile has an option that will only provide results from sites that were created mobile-friendly. ( link )

• On November 28, 2006 the Webby's, which are labeled the “Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, added a new category specifically for the mobile web: “ Webby Awards Join With dotmobi To Launch Webby Mobile Awards. ”

In short, there is a huge amount of positive growth in the mobile marketplace and I recommend taking a slice of it before your competition does. So what do you need to do? Get a dotmobi domain, build a mobile version of your website and promote it by adding it to various mobile directories and sites.

1. Get a .Mobi Mobile Domain
Just this year a consortium of major players including Google, Microsoft, Vodafone, Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia sponsored a new domain meant specifically for a new mobile web: .mobi . Opened for general registration as of September 26, 2006, the .mobi top level domain “is the first and only top level domain dedicated to delivering the Internet to mobile devices” says the official “ What is dotmobi? ” page).

The idea of the .mobi domain is to create a mobile version of your website so that users can simply type in your .mobi address and be assured of a streamlined viewing of your company website on their mobile device. It really is quite brilliant in my opinion and it has a good chance of becoming a popular address with such monsters as Google and Microsoft on the list of supporters.

If you wish to register your dotmobi domain here is a list of registrars provided by the dotmobi website. From what I can tell, however, GoDaddy is providing the best annual .mobi registration price of $15 per domain (min. 2 yrs).

2. Build Your Mobile Web Site
Designing for mobiles is not exactly new but as it is still new to me I cannot provide a great deal of first hand knowledge. That said, StepForth will be creating our own mobile site in-house so I know my Senior Designer and I have a learning curve ahead. Fortunately, to this end, a little research and patience led me to some great resources that I recommend. The following sites will take you in the right direction:

- MobiSiteGalore.com : if you are looking for a simple cookie cutter approach to creating your mobile website you can develop it for free using this website's mobile compliant website builder. I watched the demo movie on how a website is created and I must say I am very impressed with its functionality.

- Official .mobi Development Standards : If you would like to custom design your mobile website so that it stands out from the rest then this is the site for you. Develop a mobile website to meet .mobi guidelines at the .mobi development website . The .mobi development site appears to be designed to make the move to mobile as easy as possible – thankfully! The development site even offers a free course to put your designer through so that he/she can understand the needs of a properly designed mobile website. In short, I am very impressed with this website and I expect it to provide all that StepForth needs to get our own mobile website online (it will be stepforth.mobi when it is complete).

Additional Mobile Resources
Here are some sites that provide some great additional information but they would likely be a bit too technical for the average site owner. These are, however, great for your designer to check out:

- Mobile FAQ: a mixture of general and specific questions for understanding the mobile phenomenon and designing a mobile site.

- W3C Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group: this is not light reading but your designer may find it interesting.

Check Your Final Product
Once your mobile website is complete you need to verify that it is completely mobile compliant. The .mobi development site provides a “ MobiReady Report ” which will check your site for compliance. This is a great way to be sure that your designer has done a good job and that your website will be as compliant as possible across the wide range of mobile products available.

3. Optimize Your Mobile Site
Optimizing a mobile site is only slightly different than the average website. The basics of optimization remain true; be sure to create great Title Tags, Description Tags, headings, navigation, and focus your content to match page targets. The only difference is you will have less screen real estate to work with so try to keep your optimized content concise – no one wants to read useless information on his or her mobiles. After all, you can be reasonably sure that the time a visitor is willing to spend on a mobile site to find information will be significantly less than their standard visit from their home computer; thus the word ‘mobile'. In short, you will have very little time to convince a visitor to stay at your website.

Google Optimization Note: create a Google Mobile Sitemap so Google can ensure your mobile content is properly noted and categorized as mobile friendly. Will this help traffic? I would think so, here is Google's message verbatim, ‘ by using Mobile Sitemaps to inform and direct our crawlers, we hope to expand our coverage of the mobile web and speed up the discovery and addition of pages to our mobile index.' ( link )

4. Promote Your Mobile Web Site
The mobile Internet is composed of a growing exclusive group at the moment so it is important that your new website get as much visibility as possible. Here are some great tips and resources to help you do that:

- Submit your mobile site to Yahoo! Mobile for free

- Use PRWeb.com to send out a press release about your new .mobi website. Show the world that your company is cutting edge and strives to provide multiple solutions for accessing your products/services.

- Publish your mobile address on your website, business cards, and any other promotional materials. If you don't tell your target market that you have a mobile site they won't know to use it.

- Tell dotmobi about your site and it might just get some free publicity by being featured or becoming a case study.

In Summary
I think the .mobi domain is a fantastic way to provide a unique presence specifically designed for the mobile world. The fact that mobile phones are ubiquitous simply reinforces the need for the informed website owner to get their own mobile site setup ASAP. At the very least I would recommend picking up a .mobi domain of your own so that it is not snatched up when the inevitable rush to the mobile web becomes a reality.

Other Excellent Mobile Content
The following are some sites that I came across throughout the creation of this article. I found them very interesting and well worth noting:

• WAPReview.com “It's all about the mobile web”: this site is well written and includes some great tips and stories that you may find revealing – I know I did. Here is a particularly good posting that attracted my attention: “ Mobile Web (un)Usability ”

• Open Gardens : a blog that discusses the latest innovations in wireless mobility.

Labels: Google, Mobile, Ross Dunn, SEO News, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 5:10 PM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Yahoo! Applies Search Engine Update

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 8:07 PM

Just under a couple of hours ago Yahoo! announced a "Weather Report", which, in Yahoo terms means that their search results are getting revamped (if only slightly). Apparently the update began on Sunday and is expected to be completed by Wednesday morning. There isn't much to this notice other than it is being applied, but it is worth knowing about.

Remember not to panic if you see your Yahoo rankings fluctuate over the next couple of days. Search engine updates like this tend to produce a ranking shuffle and it is useless to act on any changes until the dust settles.

I will keep you up to date if any of the changes have a measurable impact.

Labels: Algo, Ross Dunn, SEO, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 8:07 PM.

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Monday, December 11, 2006

Ross Dunn's Interview on WebmasterRadio.FM

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 1:26 PM

For those that missed my interview with Jim Hedger on WebmasterRadio.FM last Thursday here is a direct link to my archived interview. Please note that you will have to fast forward about 20 minutes (about a 1/3 of the way on the Quicktime status bar) to get to my interview.

Labels: Ross Dunn, StepForth

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 1:26 PM.

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Click Fraud and National Security Concerns Raised

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 12:47 PM

WebmasterRadio.FM has released a fascinating, if not alarming, story series based on the issues of click fraud and terrorist fund raising that is sure to be the subject of many water cooler sessions. As the story unfolds we will know more but here is a snippet that describes the concerns/accusations against the pay per click industry:

"The series starts with an interview with Clarence Briggs, CEO of hosting firm AIT.com. Mr. Briggs was a lead proponent in one of the class action lawsuits Google settled in the spring of 2006. Because the case was settled out of court, Google was never forced to show how they charge for some clicks and dismiss others as invalid. Mr. Briggs maintains Google is doing business as usual, just as they did before the class actions were initiated.

"During the interview, Mr. Briggs noted the use of click fraud by criminal and terrorist organizations. Our investigation has found several incidents of this type of activity. We have also found evidence of bot-nets used to facilitate click fraud, primarily against Google advertisers." (source, WebmasterRadio.FM - linked here)

Jim Hedger, a past writer at StepForth and a good friend is one of the leaders of this investigation so I am sure to get notified as soon as more information is released - at which time I will post a follow up ASAP.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.

Labels: Click Fraud, Google, PPC, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 12:47 PM.

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Thursday, December 07, 2006

Microsoft Book Search Beta

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 8:34 PM

Following in the steps of Google, Microsoft has launched a Beta version of its non-copyright book search. Live Book Search doesn't look like much, and when visiting the site there are no immediate indications that there is anything different here than the regular live search, but performing a search will reveal book results, and a change in the title tag to "Live Search Books: "

The new Live Book Search will include more than 25 million pages from the British Library which had received funding from Microsoft to transfer the out of copyright material into digital format. It will also include collections scanned from the University of California as well as the University of Toronto.

Sometime next year these book search results will be integrated into the regular windows live search results after the beta period has ended. Book search will also be integrated as a category in the main Live search engine.

Labels: MSN, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 8:34 PM.

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Google Handles Hacked Site Responsibly

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 10:01 AM

Google engineer Matt Cutts wrote an extensive post describing Google's response to a website that had undoubtedly been hacked. If you are at all curious as to what would happen to your website rankings on Google should it be hacked please read this post - it is an excellent read and comforting in my book.

In summary, here is the process that Google followed in the case provided by Matt Cutts:

TalkOrigins.org was hacked November 18th
November 27th Google was the first to notice that TalkOrigins.org had obviously been hacked; due to the new presence of pornographic links hidden within the background of the page. Google's staff was notified and the site was removed from Google results so that Google users were not exposed to the ugly results of the hacking. A 60 day de-inclusion penalty was applied to the site.
On the same day of November 27th, Google provided a warning within the Google Webmaster Console noting that the site had been penalized.
November 28th Google tried to contact users at TalkOrigins.org via some basic email addresses such as contact@, support@, info@, and webmaster@ (some pretty reasonable guesses). This note included the exact problem and where it was located along with a link to follow to reinclude the site once the hacking had been removed (a copy of hte email is on Matt's posting). Unfortunately this email did not get to the staff at TalkOrigins.org and the poor people went frantic when the site was dropped - understandably.
TalkOrigins.org understandably got very upset and thought that Google was penalizing them unfairly. They wrote this note and this note describing their situation.
TalkOrigins.org requested reinclusion into Google once the hacking had been removed. Matt Cutts confirmed the reinclusion and expected the site to be back up within 24-48 hours. Note that I can only assume that TalkOrigins.org filed the reinclusion on their own accord; there is no note that the two companies had actually connected and the tone of Matt's post appears to reflect this.

All-in-all, this situation was handled well in my opinion. I am sure there is more that Google could have done... such as picked up a phone (I mean come on!!). That said, I am impressed with the responsiveness of Matt's team and I am completely empathetic to the nightmare that the staff at TalkOrigins.org must have experienced.

If you are at all curious how Google handles different types of hacking or spam penalties, Matt also provided a great article - with examples - describing how Google responds in different situations.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.

Labels: Google, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 10:01 AM.

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Google Checkout Free in 2007 But Affiliate Industry Raises Flag

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 7:20 AM

Now this is a coup that must have PayPal shaking. Google has announced that it will be extending its waiver of fees past the end of 2006 to December 31st, 2007! Unfortunately, however, there are reports that companies with affiliate programs have switched to this affordable system way too soon.

The problem is that Google Checkout requires serious tweaking before affiliate codes are passed along and properly recorded. And when I say "serious tweaking" I mean that even Commission Junction (CJ) has been reported to having some difficulty with the switchover; I smell some unfriendly programming! As a result, if companies with affiliate programs switch to Google Checkout too soon they may be alienating their bread and butter - affiliate sales.

I expect that if Google does not provide a clearer path to passing along affiliate id's then there will be significant to the companies that switched too soon as well as some bad feelings towards Google. It should be noted that the affiliate marketplace is massive and carries some extensive clout; I am certain that many online businesses stay afloat solely on the backs of efficient affiliate programs. Caveat Emptor!

Fortunately Matt Cutts noted in WebmasterWorld that he, "...escalated this to the Google Checkout folks as soon as I heard about it, so I know they're looking to see if there's anything they can do pretty quickly to help on this issue." (source link)

This is a great overview of the affiliate issue: Google Checkout Affects Affiliate Tracking
Here is a link to a WebmasterWorld forum that discusses the Google Checkout affiliate id issues (sorry you have to be a member but if you are not - make the leap - it is worth it!)

Do you have an opinion about this subject? Please post a comment, I am very interested to get the opinion of some affiliates.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
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Labels: Google, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 7:20 AM.

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View this Article Only: Google Checkout Free in 2007 But Affiliate Industry Raises Flag

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Click-Fraudster Case Dropped by Google

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 8:35 PM

Back in March of 2004 we reported on a man arrested for trying to extort Google. Last month, in order to protect its trade secrets Google has dropped its case against Michael Anthony Bradley. Bradley had attempted to extort $150,000 from Google by threatening the generation of millions of fraudulent clicks by using his 'Google Clique' software.

The case would result in the exposure of Google trade secrets and the risk of this information finding its way into the hands of potential future fraudsters. These "anti-fraud" secrets being exposed could cause a decline in advertiser confidence in Google's system and has caused Google to reconsider the case.

This decision does mean that Bradley will get away with his extortion attempt, but may also be the best move for Google's future with paid search. Not only would revealing their secrets open things up for future fraud attempts, but it would also expose their system to competitors.

Labels: Google, PPC, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 8:35 PM.

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View this Article Only: Click-Fraudster Case Dropped by Google

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Ask Goes Local

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 8:32 PM

On Monday Ask launched a local search service that strongly competes with other existing services offered by the big 3.

AskCity allows users to search for businesses, events, movies, and maps with directions. This service has integrated a number of those owned by parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp including CitySearch, ReserveAmerica, ServiceMagic, Ticketmaster and TicketWeb. Ask has also incorporated services from IAC partners.

Many of the new services from AskCity are also similiar to those offered by Google, MSN and Yahoo; however, the big three have to sign partnerships with other companies in order to provide these services.

In the big scheme of things local search is still in its infant stages, but as the internet continues to grow and evolve the world of local search will continue to grow as more and more people allow the internet into their lives.

Labels: Ask, Local Search, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 8:32 PM.

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Tuesday, December 05, 2006

GigaOM's NewTeeVee.com Covers Online Video Explosion

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:15 PM

GigaOmniMedia Inc. has launched a new website called NewTeeVee.com that is designed to cover the massive growth of the online video industry.

Liz Gannes, the editor of NewTeeVee.com introduces the site in her first post with the following paragraph: "We aim to cover online video from end to end and front to back. We’ll point you to hot startups, hot videos, hot pipes — tracing the talent, money, code, and data across the network. We’ll combine the signature GigaOM skepticism with a healthy sense of wonder for all the cool stuff that’s going on out there. And lots and lots of pictures and video."

GigaOM.com is named after Om Malik; a highly respected technology writer who has written for the likes of Red Herring and Business 2.0 among others. His GigaOM network has a host of quality information resources that I refer to regularly for intelligent insight into emerging and existing technologies. If NewTeeVee.com maintains the quality of content I have come to expect from other Om Malik sites then I expect it will be well worth the read for anyone interested in keeping tabs on the emerging video sector. In addition, if you have any invested interest in online video perhaps it would be worthwhile to look into advertising; after all it is a new website so perhaps the price will be right!

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:15 PM.

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The Top Searches This Year Compliments of Yahoo

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 1:38 PM

Here is a great peek at what the world appears to be searching for: Yahoo!'s top searches of 2006.

My favorite listing happens to be the "Top News" where the average searcher's priorities are inexplicably out of order. For example, the search "North Korea nuke" is the 7th most popular search and "Anna Nicole's son dies" merits a second ranking; what a warped world we live in!

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 1:38 PM.

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Monday, December 04, 2006

Listen in Thursday as Ross Dunn is Interviewed On Webmaster Radio

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 3:01 PM

Jim Hedger, our favourite SEO columnist and the first-ever employee of StepForth is having me on his talk radio show this Thursday at 2:00 Pacific at www.webmasterradio.fm. I hope you will listen in as Jim and I discuss the latest SEO news and our experiences in this rapidly growing industry. Until then!

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 3:01 PM.

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Friday, December 01, 2006

SEO Answers #8: "How Can I Get Rankings When Using Flash and Splash Pages?"

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 11:22 AM

QUESTION: I have just started my own design company and although very well trained in both designing and programming, earning two associate degrees in this field, not one professor ever said anything about making your websites search engine friendly. I recently designed a website for my sister and i cannot even get her site to show up in any search engine. I have several keywords at the top including a description as well. one problem may be that the index page is sort of a splash page except it is just a handler that detects whether or not the user has flash installed and whether or not they have the bandwidth to view the flash page accurately. it then redirects them to a new page based on the feedback. therefore, there is no real content on the index page. Another possible problem is that she is mentioned on hundreds of other websites. do you have any suggestions for me? Any advice would help. -- Laura P.

ANSWER: As with most questions I receive I could use more information to be certain I am providing an insightful answer. That said, it sounds to me like your design has shut the door to the search engines or in the very least made their task of indexing content more difficult.

Unfortunately Splash pages are extremely search engine unfriendly; especially when they are designed to redirect users to specific content. There are different ways that the design put in place could be hurting results. For example, a search engine spider may be less than happy that you are redirecting it to what appears to be different content (it could look like cloaking) but this one is an unlikely scenario (because search engines tend to be more intelligent these days). On the other hand, the search engine spiders may not have a problem at all with the redirect but the addition of extra steps to reach content never helps rankings.

So what is the solution to this issue? There are a couple ways to fix this and they all vary in the work involved. I will start with the best solution and work my way down.

Flash Integration: I know I am going to get some nasty looks from Flash designers but I honestly feel that Flash is best integrated within HTML. This is especially true if the site in question is concerned about obtaining rankings. So the best way to fix this whole problem is to combine the content with the Flash. In this situation the Flash would appear within the content like images do on a standard HTML page. I realize this will be a load of work but I believe the pay off is substantial; the slick benefits of multimedia with the ranking benefits of spiderable content.

Improve Spider Accessibility: Another option is to remove a step and simply have the Flash option available immediately, continue to automate the detection process but add a final option at the bottom of the page which would be a textual link to the sitemap of the HTML version. By offering a link to an HTML sitemap you provide the search engines with second level access to a page that can access every page within the HTML version of the site. This will improve the search engine friendliness of your website considerably.

In addition, I recommend adding a Google Sitemap and submitting it to Google using Webmaster Central. Here is a link to a Google sitemap tutorial written by StepForth's Senior SEO, Scott Van Achte.

Note: it would be to your benefit to offer a prominent link somewhere on the page for users to go directly to the HTML format if they wish.
Working With What You Have: The final option I recommend is to provide content on the splash page (essentially your home page) by way of an introduction. Make the introduction at least one sizable paragraph and ensure that your target phrase appears a couple times within it. Then offer the two options, Flash or HTML for users to choose from thus removing the automation script. Now the home page will actually have some optimized content and you still provide visitors with the two media options.

I hope this helps. Honestly the more I think about the question the more additional options come to mind but I think I have provided some helpful suggestions above. Please let me know how it works out Laura.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 11:22 AM.