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Friday, July 25, 2008

Google Breaks the URL Barrier - 1 Trillion Unique URLs At ONCE

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 11:10 AM

A picture of Dr Evil saying 1 Trillion Unique URLS

This morning the Google Blog announced a staggering milestone that even had Google engineers astounded; 1 Trillion unique URLs were found by Google on the web at once.

This statistic not only shows the amazing power of Google's indexing engines but outlines just how massive the Internet has become... it is truly mind boggling.

The full blog posting is located here but the following are some interesting segments quoted from the blog posting.

How big is the Net if that is what Google manages to index? "Strictly speaking, the number of pages out there is infinite -- for example, web calendars may have a "next day" link, and we could follow that link forever, each time finding a "new" page. We're not doing that, obviously, since there would be little benefit to you."
Are all of those 1 trillion unique URLs indexed? "We don't index every one of those trillion pages -- many of them are similar to each other, or represent auto-generated content similar to the calendar example that isn't very useful to searchers."
How does Google manage so much information? "Google downloads the web continuously, collecting updated page information and re-processing the entire web-link graph several times per day. This graph of one trillion URLs is similar to a map made up of one trillion intersections. So multiple times every day, we do the computational equivalent of fully exploring every intersection of every road in the United States. Except it'd be a map about 50,000 times as big as the U.S., with 50,000 times as many roads and intersections."

So at this point it is safe to say that the next milestone of 1 Trilliard won't be far off (that is 1000 trillion unique URLs) at the rate Google's capacity is growing; and the future orders of magnitude are even more mind boggling. Isn't it wonderful to live in a world so connected that kind of information can be available at our fingertips? Zowweee!! What other word is there to describe such nirvana :-)

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 11:10 AM.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Flash is Still Too Flashy for Competitive SEO

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 4:25 PM

June 30th 2008 was a day that Flash developers had been waiting for a long time; Google and Adobe had finally announced that Flash .swf files could be crawled by Google! In fact, the extensive news release from the Adobe Developer Center also stated that Yahoo would be incorporating similar technology in short order. When I read this news and the consequential articles from the web marketing community it became very clear that this update was a great step but far from the fix that some Flash developers are likely to pitch to their clients. As a result, I wanted to add my voice to the buzz on this topic and share with you my thoughts on how to optimize a site using Flash while considering the current updates.

What is Flash?
Okay, lets get down to basics. To introduce and establish what Flash is all about I am going to fall back on Wikipedia for a concise description:

"Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of multimedia technologies developed and distributed by Adobe Systems and earlier by Macromedia. Since its introduction in 1996, Flash technology has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages; Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, and various web page components, to integrate video into web pages, and, more recently, to develop rich Internet applications." Source, Wikipedia

BEFORE: Search Engines Could Not Crawl Flash
Up until recently the textual content found in .swf Flash files was, for all intents and purposes, just as unreadable for search engine spiders as the text in images; only HTML text on a page could be read and indexed by search engine spiders because they could not yet (and still cannot) conduct on-the-fly optical character recognition.

To explain this differently I think of the HTML that spiders can read like the braille-like feeling of running your finger over a letter written in ball point pen; you can feel the contour of writing. Whereas something unreadable like Flash or an image on a page is like running your fingers along a 4x6 picture of a road sign... you won't feel anything, so by the same token the text on that road sign cannot be read by a search engine spider.

NOW: Search Engines Can Crawl Text in Flash
For the first time, on June 30th, 2008 Google announced it could accurately spider the textual content hidden within Flash files found on the Internet. This major announcement was enabled by a partnership between Adobe, Google and Yahoo where Adobe provided their proprietary Flash Player technology to the search engines so they could integrate it into their systems and successfully 'read' the content within Flash files. This technology has vast implications for Google's and soon Yahoo's indexes because, at least in Google's case, this allows the search engine to index the content within over 70.4 million Flash (SWF) files. That is a vast amount of content that was previously inaccessible to the search engines and the ability to access it could add a lot of value for search engine users.

For example, an inspiring and eloquent Flash site like Forests Forever could be indexed which would expose more viewers to a website that provides a wonderful introduction to the world's forests. Of course that is just one Flash site of many that will add value to search engines when indexed; it just happens to be one of my personal favourites.

Search Engine Optimization Now Possible with Flash
The implementation of Flash crawling technology means that the text within Flash can now be indexed and links can be followed. Here are some examples of the basic optimization that is now possible within Flash:

Optimizing page content for specific keyphrase(s) to ensure a visiting search engine bot will correctly perceive the page's topic.
Using keywords within internal links to pass link juice from page to page; only applicable for sites where the Flash pages are broken down onto separate URLs.
Providing emphasis (bolding) to particular words may help to emphasize keyphrase(s); but I am reaching here... it is unknown if this new technology provides text-importance recognition.

The Limitations of Flash Search Engine Optimization
Now that you have some idea of what can now be optimized for search engines here are a few pitfalls that still limit the search engine friendliness of Flash:

Single URL Flash Websites: Many websites I encounter still incorporate all of the website in a single Flash file; in other words as a user navigates the site they are still using the same URL but different pages appear. In such an instance the search engines will index the content and potentially drive traffic to the site but as Google cannot link to content within a Flash file all users will be sent to the beginning of the file. That type of indirect search result is likely to infuriate many searchers who have come to expect immediate results.

Here is a quote from Google's comment area on this topic:

"We’ve heard requests for deep linking (linking to specific content inside file) not just for Flash results, but also for other large documents and presentations. In the case of Flash, the ability to deep link will require additional functionality in Flash with which we integrate."

That last line is interesting because it leaves room for interpretation. Do they mean Adobe will have to add the "additional functionality" to Flash or that Google needs to beef up their indexing technology to take advantage of the existing Flash functionality? Perhaps some Flash gurus out there could weigh in on this one. It is definitely an ambiguous way for Google to answer the question.

If you need a work-around to deep-link single SWF files Adobe notes a solution: "you can create multiple HTML files that provide different variables to the SWF and start your application at the correct subsection. By creating multiple entry points, you can get the benefits of a site that is indexed as a suite of pages but still only need to manage one copy of your application."
Text in Images is Not Indexed: Many Flash websites inexplicably incorporate a great deal of textual content within images and currently search engines cannot index text in images; I expect that will remain true for at least another year or two. As a result, a Flash website that includes a vast amount of text within graphics will not see a noticeable benefit to this enhanced crawling technology.
Resource-File Based Content Not Indexed: I noted this in Google's comment area from their support team: "At this time, content loaded dynamically from resource files is not indexed. We’ve noted this feature request from several webmasters -- look for this in a near future update."

In addition, Google's news release announced the following limitations to Flash that Google expects to surmount soon (quoted from Google blog):

"Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript. So if your web page loads a Flash file via JavaScript, Google may not be aware of that Flash file, in which case it will not be indexed."
"We currently do not attach content from external resources that are loaded by your Flash files. If your Flash file loads an HTML file, an XML file, another SWF file, etc., Google will separately index that resource, but it will not yet be considered to be part of the content in your Flash file."
"While we are able to index Flash in almost all of the languages found on the web, currently there are difficulties with Flash content written in bidirectional languages. Until this is fixed, we will be unable to index Hebrew language or Arabic language content from Flash files."

Verdict: SEO for Flash is Still in Diapers
It is wonderful news that Flash is becoming more search engine friendly and there is no question that the addition of previously unattainable Flash content to search engine indexes will prove valuable. But the fact of the matter is that at this moment I wouldn't dream of telling a client that Flash can be a competitive medium for search engine optimization. There are simply too many roadblocks that still exist and need to be addressed before a Flash website has any hope of competing with an HTML website on the basis of just search engine optimization. I do, however, see a couple exceptions to the rule:

At a certain point a threshold can be met where significant incoming links can push even the most un-search engine friendly website to the top rankings. As a result, it is highly likely that some Flash websites with a decent incoming link support structure will see vast improvements in rankings when their content is finally considered thanks to this new crawling technology.
In less competitive arenas (obscure keyphrases or keyphrases with little competition) the basic search engine optimization capabilities opened to Flash may very well be all that is needed to attain top search engine rankings.

In conclusion I would like to pass on extreme kudos to Adobe, Google and Yahoo for working this new technology into their systems. With all of the new multimedia formats coming online it has always seemed quite silly to me that Flash, having been around for years, was still not fully indexable. Thankfully Flash can now be crawled and the day where it could potentially compete for competitive rankings is on the distant horizon.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Adobe, Flash, Google, Ross Dunn, SEO News, SEO Tips, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 4:25 PM.

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Yahoo Supports the Disabled with a Brilliant Idea

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 4:20 PM

I just finished writing a post for Search Engine Guide on Yahoo's latest idea that I think is positively brilliant. Here is the lead in if you would like to go there and read it in its entirety:

"At Yahoo Anecdotal today Yahoo announced they had recently opened the Yahoo Accessibility Lab; a place where only Yahoo employees (for now) can experience the world of the Internet as a disabled web surfer would. Read on for a peak at accessibility guidelines and more on what Yahoo had to say about this important issue."

Continue reading Yahoo Champions Internet Accessibility for the Disabled at Search Engine Guide

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Accessibility, Ross Dunn, SEGuide, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 4:20 PM.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Yahoo's Second Quarter 2008 Results

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 9:10 AM

Yahoo has their second quarter shareholder conference call Tuesday evening and the numbers are in.

For Q2 of 2008 Yahoo's Revenues were $1.79 Billion, representing a 6% increase over 2007 Q2 Results. Their cost of revenues were also up substantially resulting in a gross profit up by only $18 million compared to 2007. Granted that a profit of more than a Billion dollars is nothing to sneeze at, but $18 million in growth is really peanuts in this multi-billion dollar industry.

For a full rundown of all the figures or to listen to the conference call, visit Yahoo Investor Relations.

Labels: Scott Van Achte, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 9:10 AM.

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Google Goes Shopping - Purchases Russian Service “Begun” for $140 Million

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 6:45 AM

Rambler Media, a Russian company, has recently sold their contextual ad service, “Begun” to Google for $140 million according to Reuters and announced in a Google Press Release Friday. As part of the deal, Rambler also agreed to use Google results and advertising on its Russian based site, www.rambler.ru. Ramblers search results will be enhanced by Google with Google Ads being displayed along side.

"Google is very committed to giving Russian users, advertisers and partners the best possible service and experience," said Mohammad Gawdat, Managing Director Emerging Markets, Google. "This agreement will result in better search results and more relevant advertising for our Russian users and publishers."

Currently Rambler Media owns 50.1% of Begun and will be buying the remaining 49.9% from Bannatyne Limited before selling the entire firm to Google.

Labels: Google, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 6:45 AM.

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Google and Microsoft Show Profits for Q2 2008

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 4:17 PM

Google’s earnings are in after the second quarter report was issued yesterday. While their net income is up from the same period in 2007 by approximately $325 Million (925.1 Million in Q2 of 2007, 1.25 Billion in Q2 of 2008), this is not as high as was expected – Wall Street was expecting to see $4.74 per share – actual earnings were $4.63 per share.

With the economy down on its luck Google still managed to make more than $300 Million – roughly a 35% increase over the same period last year.

Microsofts profits for Q2 are also up by roughly 46 cents a share. They saw earnings in Q2 of 2007 at $3 Billion, and an increase of 42% to $4.3 billion for 2008. These are impressive earnings, however, Microsoft’s online business did not help much in terms of this profit. Compared to 2007, Q2 of 2008 actually saw a loss of $488 Million!

Had Microsoft’s Internet division actually turned a profit, they would have achieved Wall Streets estimate of 47 cents per share, rather than their actual 46 cents.

Yahoo has not yet released their Q2 Earnings for this year. Their shareholder conference call to discuss earnings is scheduled for July 22 at 5:00pm ET.

Labels: Google, Microsoft, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 4:17 PM.

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Google Losing Market Share? June 2008 comScore Figures Are Here

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 4:09 PM

comScore released the latest figures for search engine rankings and their respective market share Friday, and Google has actually seen a drop! For all you Yahoo and Microsoft fans out there, don’t get too excited, it’s quite small to say the least.

For June 2008 Google has shown a 61.5% hold on market share, down 0.3% from May of 2008. Yahoo also showed a 0.3% change, only in the positive direction moving from 20.6% up to 20.9%. Microsoft had the biggest leap of a whopping 0.7% up from 8.5% to 9.2%.

When comparing numbers from June 2007 with June 2008, Google has seen a sizable gain stealing users from MSN and Yahoo. In the past 12 months Google has seen an increase of 6.6% with Yahoo and Microsoft both losing, 2.9%, and 3.1% respectively.

Labels: Google, MSN, Scott Van Achte, Yahoo

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 4:09 PM.

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Unlimited Top Level Domains with with ICANN Approval

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 3:16 PM

ICANN has recently approved a proposal to expand the availability of top level domains to virtually unlimited levels – at least if your pockets are deep enough.

On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that businesses, or even individuals with money to burn will be able to apply for top level domain names using just about anything they want as the suffix.

What this means is, rather than the usual .com, or .ca extensions, companies could purchase the rights to brand name extensions such as “.google”, or “.ebay”, or if I was given a hefty raise and felt the need, I could spend a half million dollars and register “www.scott.vanachte”, (although I am not sure what I would do with such a pricey piece of online real estate).

Don’t get too excited however, according to ICANN it could be upwards of two years before the new domains are released, and with these vanity domains going for as much as a half million dollars, we are likely to only see them used by the big corporations until prices come down.

Labels: Other News, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 3:16 PM.

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Increase Your Conversions Up to 55%

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 3:47 PM

Marketing Sherpa is a company I have nothing but respect for due to their years of offering outstanding marketing handbooks and case studies.

Recently they updated one guide that just plain begged to be advertised - because it has the information that can increase your online conversions as much as 55%. The best part is this isn't any fluff... everything they say is backed up with hard proof based on case studies and test after test.

If you have a website that could use improved conversions (who doesn't ) check out the revised 2008 Landing Page Handbook without worrying about paying for something that won't work for you because they have a full money-back guarantee so if you don't like it send it back and get your money back. I wish everything could be that simple. Here is the info on the guide:

MarketingSherpa's Landing Page Handbook
-> Page Design & Copy Instructions
-> 54 Stat & Data Charts
-> 114 Samples of Landing Pages to Copy
-> Help for Search, Email, B-to-B, Ecommerce, Blogs & Lead Generation Conversions

Risk-Free: 100% money-back guaranteed
In Stock Now - Ships in 24 hours
More Information

Read a LOT more info on their page HERE including outlines of the many reports and findings that you receive when you buy the handbook.

Sincerely,
Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Online Statistics, Products, Web Marketing Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 3:47 PM.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

To trust or not to trust...

Written by Timothy Rule and published at 1:38 PM

I've had people ask me why I dislike using Internet Explorer so much.

I suppose part of the reason for my distaste is the behaviour Microsoft has displayed in the past and present. Forcing the use of their software has never sat well with me, particularly when the software in question is always so full of holes. Internet Explorer is infamous for bugs, ranging from major security flaws to simple annoyances and everything in between.

I just don't trust software that has always had so many obvious as well as not so obvious problems.

The example below pretty much sums up my lack of faith and explains why I use an alternate browser whenever possible.

I like to install windows updates manually so I can see what I'm installing and only install what I think is absolutely necessary. Every time I do this, I get this same window popping up.

I can’t see a point to having a trusted sites list if I have to confirm this one every single time. It comes pre-installed on the Start Menu for Pete's sake!

Presumably the warning of the potential security risk here is that you are about to expose your system to more Microsoft software. :-D

Labels: Microsoft, Tim Rule

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This SEO News was posted by Timothy Rule @ 1:38 PM.

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Monday, July 14, 2008

Goodbye Windows Live Expo

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 2:20 PM

I am not sure where I have been for the past two years, but today is the first time I have heard about Windows Live Expo - today is also the day I heard about its scheduled demise.

Apparently this classified ad platform was considered to be a major threat for Craigslist, and this month, on July 31, Microsoft will pull the plug and the classified service launched back in February of 2006.

Considering I work online and spend at least 8 hours a day sitting in front of my computer, for me to have never heard of Windows Live Expo, is probably a good indicator of why it was ultimately a failure - quite simply, Microsoft just didn’t do a very good job getting the word out.

Labels: Microsoft

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 2:20 PM.

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Microsoft adCenter picks up the pace

Written by Timothy Rule and published at 7:33 AM

Last year, Microsoft adCenter introduced changes to their Ad ranking system for advertising in the US. This represented a shift towards a more Quality Based Ranking system, along the lines of what Google AdWords and Yahoo’s Panama already have in place.

It appears that this change is now expanding into more widespread coverage. On the adCenter blog on Wednesday, Microsoft announced the introduction of this system to the Canadian and UK markets.

While it may seem Microsoft is only playing “catch up” with this initiative, they have been busy making other improvements to their system as well.

Though still low on the totem pole for market share, Microsoft is forging ahead with a level of energy that would seem alien over in the Yahoo trenches. With projects such as the Excel addon, Desktop Editor and Analytics, Microsoft may give Google some real competition in the not too distant future.

A scan of the Yahoo blog yields a host of “how to” and “tips and tricks” posts, but nothing particularly significant in the way of badly needed innovation.

In fact the last significant improvement Yahoo has implemented was the change to minimum bids. While that has been handy for getting alerts when minimum bids are about to become too low, it’s not been the sort of improvement that painfully awkward interface really needs.

There is speculation that Microsoft is overtaking Yahoo’s position for paid traffic as well.

While I don’t know if this is indicative of anything, I have noticed a recent decrease in the number of impressions in our own Yahoo accounts. Unfortunately, the bid prices have not decreased as yet.

Labels: MSN, PPC, Tim Rule

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This SEO News was posted by Timothy Rule @ 7:33 AM.

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Your Emails and Phones are Now Officially Tapped

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 4:24 PM

caption on image says - CAUTION Slippery Slope proudly brought to you by FISA

In a move that chills my bones yesterday George Bush attained congressional approval to make "a massive expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act" (FISA). This security upgrade provides FISA with "the power to order Google, AT&T and Yahoo to forward to the government all e-mails, phone calls and text messages where one party to the conversation is thought to be overseas." Source, Wired Blog Network.

So what does this mean to you? Obviously this is being done to catch terrorists and protect the American people... a noble pursuit without a doubt. Unfortunately, it also cuts off 3 vital methods of once private communication that journalists were able to utilize when researching stories using foreign contacts. After all, there is no way a journalist can feel comfortable connecting with a foreign source if they know the source is unprotected by journalistic confidentiality. As a result, a short time after the bill was passed the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of the bill. More information on that is available in the Wired posting that alerted me to this travesty of privacy.

This all makes me wonder how much more biased the news will become when responsible journalists can't continue to police the government because their sources are too afraid to come forward. I don't know about you but I have always felt that uncensored journalism was one of the linchpins of free speech that made democratic societies possible.

Oh There's More! What About You and I?
Journalistic rights are one thing but what about my fellow Canadians that use Gmail or for that matter anyone outside of the USA using Gmail? Since we are foreign users of Gmail are all of our emails subject to inspection? I realize this whole line of questioning begs the question... "why... what do you have to hide?" Well I am sorry but that just doesn't hold water, we all have a right to privacy and this latest erosion of civil rights in America sets an Orwellian precedent and has international, long-term repercussions that just plain frighten me.

What do you have to say about this latest bill? I realize this is hot topic for many... in fact I would usually avoid the subject on our corporate blog but I feel it is just too important to shake off. I would love to hear views from our American and international readers on this.

Thanks, now I hand the pulpit to you.

Labels: Privacy, Rants, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 4:24 PM.

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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

SEO Answers: "I Have Some Essential Content Duplicated Across My Websites, Will I Be Penalized for This?"

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:55 PM

SEO QUESTION:

"I have a number of websites used to market XYZ Travel. The main site features all products and a number of specialist / boutique websites feature duplicates of these products. Is this an acceptable practice or am I being penalized by Google? How can this be overcome?

"I accept that creative write-ups can be rewritten if essential but fact is fact - what can I do about factual data i.e. room numbers, types, facilities, amenities, address, rates, name etc?"

ANSWER: Since duplicate content became a hot issue a few years ago I have been asked this question many times. Fortunately it seems you are in a position that should not yield any problems but before I explain let me first state what I understand from your email so there is no miscommunication.

Your state of affairs: You have one larger site that has all of your products and a few other sites that serve as niche sites specializing in particular products from your main website. You are concerned that some essential data such as travel details may count as duplicate content because they have to be identical across both the main site and the niche site(s).

And Now My Answer: Provided each page with the duplicated product details also has substantial unique content I believe you will have no problem with duplicate content "penalties". And I am sure you have substantial unique content on these niche sites otherwise there would be no point in creating the sites short of spamming the search engines which is always a bad idea.

It is worthy of noting, however, that even if there were an issue of duplicate content Google representatives have clearly noted that pages with significant duplicate content are merely met with disinterest by the search engine algorithm and passed over; so your site is not directly penalized per se.

The only penalty of any significance takes place when there is evidence of serious duplicate content abuse; when there are nearly identical pages across an entire site. This is common when sites are copies of other sites at which point serious penalties (such as removing the site from the index) are without question the best action.

I hope that has helped you. If you or anyone else would like to pose a question to the StepForth team please visit our SEO Questions form and we will get back to you as soon as possible with an answer.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Ross Dunn, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:55 PM.

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Friday, July 04, 2008

A Bakers Dozen: Ways to Increase Link Density

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 9:59 AM

In today’s race to the top of the Google SERP’s (Search Engine Result Pages), there are a number of factors that can help you achieve those coveted spots. While certain techniques may weigh better than others based on your industry and level of competition, there is no questioning the power of links.

There are several methods, some common and some yet to be discovered, you can try out to help boost your link density and search rankings. While it would be near impossible to go into great detail on all methods (that would require a book) below I have outlined some of the more common techniques a web site owner can use to increase their site’s popularity.

1. Reciprocal Links
Reciprocal links used to be a huge asset and played a significant role. Today, fewer sites are employing this technique as it is thought by many to have no role in the eyes of Google. This is simply not true. While the overall value of reciprocal links has declined over the years, they can and will still help your rankings if done correctly.

The key with reciprocal links is very simple - relevance. If you trade links only with highly relevant sites, you will get value from this. There are some things to watch out for: ensure that the links returning to you are spider friendly, that they reside on pages with as few links as possible, and are contextualized, meaning the content on the page, and preferably the site as a whole, is related to the content of your link and site.

If you contact a relevant site to request a link exchange, keep the email personal to help grab the attention of the webmaster. Most link exchange emails are spammy automated submissions and are deleted without being read. Write the subject and entire email in such a way as to entice the user to read on, but keep it short. Offer to put their link up first, or even better yet, put it up before you contact them.

2. Purchasing Links
Google has been devaluing links, and in extreme cases, even penalizing sites for selling links, but there is no denying that this technique still works as many sites have skyrocketed to the top of the SERP’s through the art of buying links.

Many high profile sites such as major and local newspaper publications sell text links, yet nobody seems to be penalized for it as the publications rank well with high PR and the site they link to ranks well as a result.

If you choose to take the gamble and purchase links back to your site, check out how they are linking back, how relevant they are, and try to get a sense of how their site is treated by Google. If you see other sites that appear to have purchased links from them, check their back links and see if the linking site appears (although it may not be displayed as Google displays very little of this information to the public these days).

It is thought that if penalties will arise from the sale of links, that only the selling site will be penalized. Even if this is the case, Google’s policy could change at any moment, so be warned that this could potentially come back to bite you.

3. Industry Contacts
Get in touch with your industry contacts and ask them if they will link to your site. You just never know, and the worst they can say is no. This is usually best requested in person or by phone if it is someone you have a good relationship with. It may include manufacturers or retailers of your products, or various business partners and companies you have a relationship with.

4. Good Old Fashion Content
Believe it or not it works. If your site is loaded with original, valuable content, you will get some people linking to your site on their own. While you can not base your entire linking strategy around this concept, as it could take forever to get enough links, rest assured knowing that if you build it, some will link.

5. Build a Blog
Everyone and their dog seem to have a blog these days, and for good reason - they work. Blogs help you create a never ending stream of content, and if updated regularly, written well, and interesting, you will find people will link to it. Not only that, others may pick up your blog through your RSS feed - this can result in an increase in both links and site traffic. Be sure to utilize your Digg and other social media accounts within your blog to help gain a little extra attention.

6. Social Media
Promote your site and your blog using various social media tools. When someone "Diggs" or "Stumbles" your article you can not only get a link back to your site from the media platform, but you can also see traffic generated by this. The more people that flag your article, the more traffic you can get, and the higher the value of the link.

Creating company profile pages on platforms such as Squidoo, Facebook, MySpace, and even uploading photos and videos to Flickr and YouTube, can all count as back links to your site, so be sure to utilize these platforms to the fullest extent. Do not use these networks to spam them full of links, but rather to inform. Build unique relevant content and become a member of the community, and you will find your links will work much harder for you.

7. Article Syndication
When you write worthwhile articles, submit them to any known article aggregation websites in your industry or great general portals such as ezinearticles.com. When submitted to the right places you can drive traffic and increase your links. Again, be sure to include a link or two within your article that links back to your site when possible.

8. Press Releases
Press releases are still doing wonders. When your business hits a milestone, releases a new product, or has anything worthy of a press release, issue one through the services of PRWeb. You will get a link back to your site, and you may also get some targeted traffic from those interested when reading your release.

If your press release is of significant news, you may also find bloggers and other writers referencing it and linking to it from their articles, providing even more value. Ensure that with any press release you include deep links back into your site. Links from within the bio are helpful, but those integrated into paragraphs of the release are worth much more.

9. Comments
I know I am going to get a hard time for this one, but if used wisely, it can help. When reading relevant blog posts, if you have something useful, constructive, and worthwhile to say, leave a comment and include your link if they provide the option. A comment like: "nice post" is inappropriate, but if you have something to add or contribute that others will find of interest then go for it. These links can add up, and they do add some value. Don’t stuff your comment or name with keywords, keep it natural, and use your real name.

10. Forum Posts and Signatures
This is an area where you may be able to grab a few links, but it is also one you need to be careful about as it can backfire. I do NOT recommend going out and wildly posting in random forums and including your link.

Where this area can be useful is if you establish yourself as a solid contributor to a particular forum directly related to your industry. Once you are established, and people know and trust your name, and understand that you are not there as a spammer, then you can consider adding your link to your signature file, and including the odd link in your forum posts when it is fully in context. This will allow you to get the odd relevant, inbound link. Check with the terms of the specific forum though before you start. Some do not allow links of any kind.

11. Testimonials
You see them on many sites offering products or services, and quite often they include a link back to the submitter’s website. If you have used a product or service, don’t be afraid to write a testimonial for the company. In many cases online businesses will post your testimonial along with a link. The testimonial helps that business instill confidence in their customers, and you get the valuable link back.

12. Directory Submissions
Yes, do still submit your site to the major directories. While DMOZ can be very difficult to get into, once you are there, it is like gold and will play a part in your top rankings. Yahoo directory has a high price $299US, but can also provide you with a valuable inbound link. Consider submitting to the major directories, as well as any industry specific directories. These links add up and will contribute to your site’s well being.

13. Link Bait
We have heard this phrase thrown around for a while now, but the technique has worked long before the phrase "link bait" was coined. Why all the hype? Because it works.

Take a look at your web site, your business and your industry. See if you can think of some way to attract people to link to your site. Perhaps sponsor a contest, add an elaborate and unique tool, write a controversial article, provide something useful for free - whatever you do, do it well, and promote the heck out of it, and people will naturally link to you.

A Few General Rules:
Before you actively seek out a link from a specific site do some investigating to ensure that the site is not spamming or using any black hat techniques. If they are, run.

If the link you are seeking is merely for you to try and boost your link density, then also check out how they are linking to other third party sites.

Does the site use the rel=nofollow attribute? Are the pages your link would reside on blocked by the search engines, or do they use the robots Meta nofollow? Are they using other techniques that would not allow a spider to follow them (such as JavaScript, Flash, or frames)? If so you may want to move on.

And a note on Google PR (Page Rank) - the PR you see on your toolbar is outdated. While it can give you some insight, just because it says 0, doesn’t mean it is. Also what has a 0 or 1 today, could be a 4 or 5 tomorrow. Don’t use PR as your sole means of deciding if you should obtain a link or not.

Summary
Using any or all of these linking methods will help you to increase your link density. There is power in diversification. Use variations on anchor text and descriptions, use inline text links within articles, and gain links in as many different venues as possible. By being diverse your site will stand the best chance of being around well into the future.

Today, blogs are huge and can be a strong asset, but what would happen if tomorrow Google decided to ban blogs? Highly unlikely, but it could happen, and if it did, would your site survive? By being diverse, your site has the best chance to survive change.

Labels: Link Building, Scott Van Achte, Tutorials

Email this News Post: 11 Comments for this Post
This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 9:59 AM.

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Increasing Conversions with AdWords Demographics

Written by Timothy Rule and published at 4:42 PM

Users running a PPC Campaign in the Google AdWords platform are given the choice of displaying ads on the Google Search Network and/or on the Content Network. I have never been a big fan of advertising on Content Networks, as I find the automated matching process to be less than ideal. I can generally browse the net and quickly find ads that are irrelevant to the sites they are displayed on. This can give one a healthy dose of skepticism.

While advertising on Content doesn’t generally cost a great deal, we have never seen much in the way of results. By and large we do Search Network only, however recently I have had to re-assess that view.

Back in March of this year, Google AdWords released a tool for Demographic bidding from beta into mainstream use. This allows advertisers to specify demographics for age and gender, to filter out unwanted sites. This tool is for use with the Content Network only. I was skeptical as to the value and accuracy of this tool and had not tried it out until just last week.

One of the AdWords campaigns we manage was having some difficulties in an extremely competitive market. Costs were remarkably high, paying $10+ per click on Search Network keywords in order to achieve decent ad positioning. While making some headway towards improving the conversion rate, it was taking too long to get results.

This campaign was a slow starter and had difficulty getting impressions from the beginning. I had tried displaying on Content earlier on in the campaign in a bid to generate more traffic, with predictably poor results. Last week we decided to try this again, this time using the demographic bidding tool to narrow the focus on a more specific audience.

The results were astonishing.

In the first 2 days, we had more conversions from Content than from Search, at a fraction of the cost. I thought this might be a fluke, but we continue to see conversions from that source.

I decided to try this on a campaign for a new client. The first conversion was from Content within a few hours of campaign launch. Needless to say I am testing this out on any existing client accounts that can be targeted in this manner.

For anyone interested in trying this, it can be found on the lower right of the campaign settings page within AdWords.

Here’s a peek at what it looks like:

You can also specify age groups, as this sample shot shows

In this particular case, we have set a higher bid percentage offering for display on sites that would be viewed by women in the 25-34 age range, which is the primary demographic target for this campaign.

Oddly enough, the table shows only impressions. There’s a considerable amount of data from this particular campaign that’s not showing here. There are quite a number of clicks and conversions for the time period this purports to display yet the numbers don’t show. Hopefully it’s just a glitch.

On this page a third image is displayed showing overlapping bid totals for gender and age. (See example on left.)

The difference in stats between the two networks is quite significant. As you can see in this ad group example, the Content cost per click is significantly lower than that of Search.

When the demographic bidding feature is implemented, reports can also be generated in the AdWords reporting tool.

Overall, I like how this is shaping up. It’s nice to find inexpensive new ways to drive more customers to clients.

One thing Google excels at is constant innovation. With the announcement of a beta utility called Ad Planner, more features are in the works for assisting advertisers with Content Marketing. Hopefully we’ll all get to see more of this great stuff in the near future.

Labels: Google, PPC, Tim Rule

Email this News Post: 1 Comments for this Post
This SEO News was posted by Timothy Rule @ 4:42 PM.