Posts Tagged ‘Aaron Wall’
Best SEO Guides, Tips and Resources of 2010
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011Ranking well in organic search results becomes more imperative every day, particularly in the B2B world. According to recent research, 9 out of 10 B2B buyers say that when they’re ready to buy, they’ll find you. 93% of these decision makers use search to begin the buying process. And it isn’t just low-level minions conducting searches at the behest of higher-ups; 63% of C-level executives say they first turn to mainstream search engines to locate information.
That makes optimization more important than ever, and leads to questions like: How can SEO be used in online reputation management? What common SEO mistakes are critical to avoid? How important are footer links to SEO? How can PDF content be optimized for search? How does the introduction of Google Instant change SEO tactics? What are the crucial tasks to include on site audit and pre-launch SEO checklists?
Find the answers to those questions and many more here in more than two dozen of the best guides to SEO tips, strategies, techniques and tactics of the past year.
SEO Basics
SEO: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners by KISS Metrics
Neil Patel provides an excellent and largely non-technical guide to SEO success, from keyword research and content development through meta tags, search-friendly URLs and link building.
Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide 2010- Plain Speak on SEO by WorkingPoint
For those without the time, inclination or webmaster jargon knowledge to read Google’s 32-page SEO Starter Guide, this blog post nets it out: choose the right keywords (based on your market knowledge, not so much what keyword tools tell you), optimize your site, pursue quality links, and unless you have such expertise internally—hire professional help.
SEO 101: Defining the long tail by Conversation Marketing
Ian Lurie lucidly explains the meaning of “long tail” in search with simple and compelling graphics showing that while individual “head” terms may get management salivating for top rank position, it’s the less sexy but more specific 3-word and longer queries that collectively generate more traffic and a much higher conversion rate.
What Is SEO, Really? by SEO Book
After providing an explanation of SEO, brief history of the discipline and recommendations on how to learn modern SEO techniques, Peter Da Vanzo concludes that SEO isn’t only about rankings—but it isn’t just about money either.
You WANT Rankings, But What Do You Really NEED? by Search Engine Guide
Frequent best-of contributor Stoney deGeyter elaborates on the “key components to a well-rounded optimization campaign,” including keyword research, website architecture, copywriting, on-page optimization, analytics and more.
Advanced SEO Tactics, Techniques and Considerations
The dangers of ranking No. 1 on Google by iMediaConnection
***** 5 Stars
Drew Hubbard quantifies both the value and risk of high rankings. On the value side, getting your site ranked #1 on both Google and Yahoo/Bing means you’ll attract (on average) 40% of ALL organic search clicks for that term. On the risk side, however, carefully choose which terms you really want to rank for. People search for different reasons. Ranking highly for an informational—rather than transactional—can end up drawing a ton of traffic to your site and putting a big load on your servers for no real business benefit. Ranking for high-conversion keywords is far more important (i.e. profitable) than just showing up well for high-traffic terms. Still, considering all of the worries that might keep an SEO pro up at night, this one is probably pretty low on the list.
How to optimize page Titles and improve click through rates by Web SEO Analytics
Vasilis Vryniotis runs through the basics of optimizing titles for search: make them brief, descriptive, attractive and branded, with the most important keywords up front.
25 tips to skyrocket your search engine rankings by Socialmedia.biz
Karan Singhal offers 25 tips that may not “skyrocket” your site’s rankings but should help, among them: understanding your target market and how they search, using internal linking with anchor text, utilizing keyword-rich URLs, and keeping your site’s content fresh.
12 Amazing SEO Infographics by HubSpot Blog
***** 5 Stars
Kipp Bodnar compiles an outstanding, highly bookmarkable set of SEO infographics suitable for printing out and posting in a highly visible location. Examples include the SEO Order of Operations (grab and include with the post?), SEO vs. PPC stats, and the ROI of SEO.
Search Marketing in a B2B World – PPC and SEO by SlideShare
Magnus Nilsson guides b2b marketers through search optimization in this online presentation, from recognizing the differences between how buyers search at home versus at the office, and how different types of business buyers search, to using analytics to measure what’s really important.
Do You Make Any of These 10 Simple SEO Mistakes? by KISS Metrics
Kristi Hines details 10 common SEO mistakes and how to correct them, such as focusing on link quantity over quality and not creating compelling, linkworthy content.
SEO Raises Awareness and Reputation Better than PPC by MarketingSherpa Blog
Adam T. Sutton reports on MarketingSherpa research showing that more marketers view SEO as “very effective” than PPC at increasing brand/product awareness (42% to 34%), improving brand/product reputation (29% to 19%) and improving PR (27% to 6%). For many if not most companies, PPC and SEO should both be part of the marketing mix; but it’s important to recognize their differing and often complementary strengths.
The Business Of Burying Internet Search Results by NPR
Noting that “The Internet can be a hostile place, with powerful companies paying handsome sums to hide negative content in Google search results…Unseen battles are waged every day to protect and destroy brands and reputations,” Peter O’Dowd demonstrates how companies and political figures are turning to content marketing and SEO to push negative mentions of them off the front page of search results.
The Problem with Footer Links in SEO by WordStream Internet Marketing Blog
Lior Levin writes that footer links generally don’t carry much weight with search engines: “Since the webmaster has heavily devalued the link, it only makes sense that the search engines would as well.” While footer links have valid purposes, important links should be placed more highly, and prominently, on the page.
We’ll Stop Screaming “Relevance” When You Start Listening by Search News Central
Gabriella Sannino demonstrates the centrality of relevance to search results by stepping through the process of optimizing a single page, from keyword targeting and meta tags to content development and link-building through guest posts or bylined articles.
The Art and Science of SEO Site Audits [Best of SEW 2010 #10] by Search Engine Watch
***** 5 Stars
Adam Audette outlines an extensive checklist and process for performing SEO site audits, including on-page and off-page factors, reporting, and audit tools.
Twitter & Facebook links affect SEO on Google and Bing by Web SEO Analytics
Another noteworthy post from Vasilis Vryniotis, this one detailing how search engine are using social signals to impact rankings and what type of information the search engines attempt to glean from links in social media.
Fundamentals of PDF Optimisation for Search by Bruce Clay
Explaining that “Properties to a PDF are what meta tags are to a web page,” Aaron Egan demonstrates how to use text, properties, tags and navigation to make PDF documents as search-friendly as possible.
The SEOmoz Internal SEO Pre-Launch Checklist by The Daily SEO Blog
Aaron Wheeler outlines critical (e.g., title tag, URL structure, image alt tags) and “worth double-checking” (robots.txt file, H1 tags, images optimized) SEO tasks to complete prior to launch. Danny Dover elaborates on this SEO “cheat sheet” in the accompanying video.
Google Instant and SEO
Google Instant: Fewer Changes to SEO than the Average Algo Update by The Daily SEO Blog
Rand Fishkin pulls data from a variety of sources to show that the introduction of Google Instant had only subtle impacts on search behavior.
6 Ways to Ensure Better Rankings in Google Instant by Search Engine Journal
Kristi Hines here offers a half-dozen tips for ranking better in Google Instant, though most are just good solid SEO practice regardless, such as thinking like searchers, keeping your online reputation clean and producing content in a variety of formats—not just text.
Google: Complexity is Good! by SEO Book
***** 5 Stars
Aaron Wall posts an entertaining and informative rant on how the increasing complexity of Google search (incorporating personalization, social signals, video results, Google Instant, etc.) has also led to a proliferation of bugs. A quote that every SEO should print out in a large font and tape up on his or her wall: “Sometimes you don’t rank because you screwed up. But sometimes you don’t rank because Google screwed up.”
SEO Planning for 2011 by Search Engine Watch
Eric Enge reviews some of the most impactful changes for search optimization in 2010 (e.g., May Day, Caffeine, Instant) and identifies four key factors SEO practitioners will need to focus on for search success in 2011.
SEO for Bing
SEO Tips for Bing by MarketingProfs
With Bing now accounting for roughly 30% of organic search in the U.S., John Pring provides timely advice on how to optimize for this search engine and differences from Google; while backlinks, pagerank and fresh content matter less to Bing, many of the same factors (keyword research and density, an XML sitemap) apply.
SEO for Bing: Don’t Ignore It by Search Engine Watch
Stating that “Google is absolutely watching Bing’s every move, and search marketers should be doing the same thing,” Adam Audette predicts that Bing’s market share will grow and provides several general (e.g., clean code, quality content) and specific (use XML sitemaps and keep them up to date) tips on optimizing for the #2 search engine.
Google Webmaster Tools and SEO
Beginner’s Guide to Google Webmaster Tools by KISS Metrics
Neil Patel (again) provides an outstanding primer on the functions and use of Google Webmaster Tools, from adding your site and uploading an XML site map through sitelinks, settings, identifying your best external links and keywords, and much more.
Google Webmaster Tools 101 by ClickZ
Ron Jones explains how to use Google Webmaster Tools to diagnose SEO problems and make improvements in different areas (HTML, internal links, keywords) to optimize overall website performance.
Related Post
40 (of the) Top SEO Guides, Tips and Resources of 2010 (So Far)
Best SEO Link Building Guides, Tips and Tools of 2010 (So Far)
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010Optimizing a website by incorporating keywords into page titles, headlines, text, page URLs, image alt tags and internal links will help improve the position of a site in the search engines—but it’s only half the battle. As one of the posts linked below notes, “In Search Engine Optimization, things that are happening OFF of your site can be just as important (if not more so) than things happening ON your website.” Search engines look at on-site factors to determine relevance, but at external links to gauge authority.
So how do you get more links, without resorting to spammy or questionable tactics? Find out here in some of the best blog posts and articles about SEO link building of 2010 so far.
Nine Tools for Your Link-Building Toolkit by ClickZ
Julie Batten offers nine key elements to include in a link-building toolkit–such as lists of targeted keywords and directories–to make link-building efforts more efficient and productive.
5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Page Rank via LinkedIn by VibeLog
In this brief but useful post, Jessica Nielsen explains five ways, such as crafting a relevant “professional headline,” to use LinkedIn to improve your company site’s Pagerank.
Raiding Your Competitor’s Backlinks by Internet Marketing for Business Owners
How to quickly find and replicate backlinks to competitor’s site to improve your site’s search engine ranking.
71 Technical Factors For Backlink Analysis (From 30 Link Building Experts) – Part 2 by Search Engine Land
For those who have waaaay too much time to spend on link building, Garrett French walks through the URL, on-page and sitewide factors to use in backlink profile analysis. Includes helpful commentary from a range of SEO experts like Eric Enge and Aaron Wall.
The 30-minute-a-day link building plan by iMedia Connection
Another piece from Garret French, this one outlining his recommended link building plan, starting with linkable asset identification: “common linkable assets include webinars, job listing pages, PDFs, blogs, forums, subject matter experts, deals, news, a community participant, contests, podcasts, and free tools.”
Top 100+ Link Building Resources by Vertical Measures Blog
An extensive list of blogs, tools, forums and other resources to assist with link building knowledge and tactics.
Simple tips for improving your website’s links by iMedia Connection
Ramsay Crooks presents guidelines for building quality links as well as low-value link building tactics to avoid.
Another Big Roundup of Link Tools by Search Engine Land
The always brilliant Debra Mastaler presents a helpful list of backlink analysis tools plus mini-reviews of several “non-standard, outside of the box link tools like Smarter Search.
Ultimate Guide to Link Building by Agent SEO
Jacob Stoops provides an excellent tutorial, beginning with explaining the process and importance of link building then stepping through different tactics and key sites of different types (directories, social bookmarking, article submission, etc.).
Build Links Backwards by Search Engine Journal
Rather than begging for links or hoping your content will appeal to a publisher, Jennifer Van Iderstyne suggests throwing the process into reverse — contacting great sites (blogs, educators, news sites, associations) and asking what type of content they would be interested in linking to.
SEO & Social Media Track: Show Me The Links: Real Life Link Building by Bruce Clay
In this guest post, Dana Lookadoo engagingly live-blogs a session from SMX Seattle featuring tips from several link building experts including Roger Montii (use target searching, don’t rely solely on competitor backlinks), Arnie Kuenn (targeted email requests, content development and promotion), Chris Bennett (infographics), Debra Mastaler (content syndication, guest blogging) and more.
The Art (or Science) of Building Links by Search Engine Watch
In her first post for SEW, Nichola Stott compares link building to expanding one’s professional network: factors like reputation, connections and relevance all matter in both realms.
Google’s Recommendations for Organic Linkbuilding by 10 Golden Rules Internet Marketing Strategy Blog
In this short post, Marc Purtell shares Google’s recommendations for organic link building, which basically come down to: produce quality content.
Case Study: I Listened to Google and I Failed by Graywolf’s SEO Blog
This case study puts Google’s linking advice (see post above) to the test. Is great content really all you need?
77 (of the) Best SEO Blog Posts and Articles of 2009
Monday, March 8th, 2010Search engine optimization (SEO) can sometime seem like the province of quick-buck hucksters, particularly when well-regarded technology writers like John Dvorak refer to SEO proponents as “snake oil salesmen” (wrong as he is). This is particularly so for those on Twitter, which is infested with scammers and spammers: “Buy my miracle internet marketing kit and get thousands of clicks overnight!” Ugh. The advice I gave in Just Say No to Bad SEO still applies.
But while the sleazeballs are out there, most companies seeking SEO assistance understand that it’s a long-term investment, and most practitioners are honest, competent sorts doing their best to produce results through a mix of art, science and established, non-manipulative techniques. For that majority just trying to produce quality content and get it fairly ranked through legitimate practices, here are some of the best articles and blog posts from last year on various aspects of SEO.
The posts and articles are divided into six categories: SEO Guides, Tips and Tactics; SEO Tools; SEO Link Building; SEO Keyword Research; SEO Keyword Tools; and Local Search Tips, Tactics and Tools.
SEO Guides, Tips and Tactics
Learn the Basics Before You Try Anything Fancy! by SEO.com
Dan Patterson
Performance-based Pricing for SEO won’t work by Conversation Marketing
Ian Lurie
SEOmoz’s Biennial Ranking Factors 2009 Released by SEOmoz
Rand Fishkin
Top Ten Ways To Get Banned From Google by High Position
Tobias Bowman
Top 5 Ranking Factors by SEOmoz
Rand Fishkin
Tips and tools for measuring your SEO strength by iMedia Connection
Grant Simmons
TopRank BIGLIST of 100+ Search Marketing Resources by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Lee Odden
Google Caffeine Update: “Real-Time” Indexing Favors Fresh Content by All Virtual Marketing
Rebecca Murtagh
What should I do if I don’t know why I’m penalized? by YouTube
Matt Cutts (video)
Why Your Company Needs a Google Profile by Search Marketing Sage
Tad Miller
25 Link Building Tactics to Improve Blog Search Engine Rankings by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Lee Odden
The Ultimate Fast Guide to SEO + Flash by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Rachel Moran
Social media offers SEO opportunities for dominating top 10 search terms by Brafton
The Importance of Business Blogging by SEO Wizardry
Pete Hollier
List of Best and Worst practices for designing a high traffic website by webconfs.com
The Truth About SEO by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Lee Odden
Do It Yourself SEO by SEO Wizardry
Pete Hollier
SEO Tools
List of Free and Paid SEO Tools on the Internet by SEO & PPC Expert UK
Xenu’s Link Sleuth – Find broken links on web sites
Google Base Opens Up New Doors for Internet Marketers by Best Rank Search Engine Marketing
Ryan Frank
Crawl Your Site for Broken Links, Errors and Duplicate Content by Daily SEO Tips
Loren Baker
Google Insights for Search Just Got More Insightful by Find Resolution
Erica Barth
WordStream: Keywords Management Made Easy by Search Engine Journal
Mihaela Lica
BuzzStream – Link Building Tool
Google AdWords Traffic Estimator
101 Free SEO Tools by Investintech.com
Covario (formerly netconcepts) SEO Tools
Compare domain backlink history by Majestic SEO
KPMRS – Free Website Ranking Monitoring SEO Tool
Backlink Watch Free Backlink Checker
How to Do Keyword Research with OneLook Wildcard Search by Search Engine Journal
Ann Smarty
21 Free Keyword Density Analyzer tools to optimize your website by Kittu K
Aakanksha Kekan
List of Great Firefox Plugins for SEO by SEO.com
Dan Patterson
LinkExaminer: SEO Friendly Link Scanning Utility by Search Engine Journal
Ann Smarty
Free SEO Tools : 12 Absolutely Free Keyword Suggestion tools, Keyword Popularity tools by Kittu K
Aakanksha Kekan
Web Page Analyzer – 0.98 – from Website Optimization by Website Optimization
Small Business Guide to Tools that Help Your SEM by Search Engine Watch
Carrie Hill
Best Keyword Ranking Tools for SEO by WordStream Internet Marketing Blog
Ken Lyons
BLVD Status – Live Stats, Keyword Vitals Ranking Report and Custom Alerts
Analyze Link Popularity : 20 Free Backlink Checker Tools by Kittu K
Aakanksha Kekan
SEMRush – Advanced Keywords and Competitors Research Tool
SEO Link Building
Link Bartering by Search Engine People
Donna Fontenot
Link Building 101, Part 2 by Search Engine Watch (February)
Ron Jones
5 Ways to Optimize Your Existing Links for Maximum SEO Benefit by Winning The Web
Gyutae Park
The Perfect Link Request Email Template by Wiep.net
Wiep Knol
Online Forums: Marketing Muscle and SEO Strength by E-Commerce Times
Brandon Leibowitz
Link Building for Small eCommerce Sites by SEOmoz
Rob Ousbey
Linktive tries to end the SEO gaming with a social network for site links byTechCrunch Europe
Mike Butcher
Link Building from A to Z by SEOmoz
Wiep Knol
Link Building Tactics 101, Part 2 by Search Engine Watch (August)
Ron Jones
SEO Keyword Research
Peering into Match-Types: The Hidden Info Advantage of the Google Adwords Keyword Research Tool by The Acquisio Blog
Naoise Osborne
What Parts of Marketing Can’t be Automated? by SEO Book
Aaron Wall
SEO Keyword Tools
Do more with less – Part 3 of 3 by Indside AdWords
Amanda Kelly
An Insider’s Look At Google’s Search Based Keyword Tool by Search Engine Land
Josh Dreller
Free Keyword Suggestion Tools by Marketing ROI or Die
Rebekah Paul
Use Multiple Keyword Research Services with KeywordSmash by Search Engine Journal
Ann Smarty
4 tools for measuring your keyword strength by iMedia Connection
Bob Alperin
Improving Keyword Research by SEO Wizardry
Pete Hollier
Local Search Tips, Tactics and Tools
Search Engine Confidence Score Has A Google-Like Feel by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Laurie Sullivan
Gettin’ to Know GetListed.org by SEOmoz
Rebecca Kelley
3 Keys To Success For Local Search SEO by Search Engine Journal
Ryan Caldwell
How Citations Help with Local Search by ClickZ
Mary Bowling
Leveraging Reverse Search For Local SEO by Search Engine Land
Chris Silver Smith
A Framework for Thinking About Local Search Campaigns by Mihmorandum
David Mihm
Local Search Strengthens Move To Maps, Reviews by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Laurie Sullivan
Tools for Local Search by ClickZ
Mary Bowling
Local Search 101, Part 2 by Search Engine Watch
Ron Jones
A Closer Look At Local Search Ranking Factors by Search Engine Land
David Mihm
I Think Yahoo Neighbors Could Be Huge by Small Business Search Marketing
Matt McGee
Local Listing: An Attempt to Understand Rank Factors by SEOmoz
Tim Sorweid
Despite Assurances, Google Place Pages Now Showing In Search Results by Search EngineLand
Greg Sterling
Citysearch Rolls Out Twitter Integration On Business Listing Page by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Laurie Sullivan
When All Search Is Local by ClickZ
Mary Bowling
Best Search Engine Marketing Tips of 2009, Part 1
Sunday, January 10th, 2010What’s the real optimal cost per lead for your SEM program? How can you improve conversion rates? Keep your search marketing program growing? Assure you that aren’t overlooking any important opportunities for optimization?
Discover the answers to these questions and others here in some of the best posts on search engine marketing of last year.
Finding The Optimal Cost-Per-Lead by Search Engine Land
Patricia Hursh makes the case that the lowest cost per lead isn’t always best, as this pursuit can cause marketers to leave leads on the table, so to speak. The goal, as she states it, should be rather on “maximizing lead volume at an acceptable (profitable) cost/lead.”
5 ways to boost your lead conversion rate by iMedia Connection
Noting that 78% of marketers consider generating online leads one of their top priorities, Andreas Roell offers advice on how improve both the quality and quantity of leads, including sharing source information between marketing and sales (as not all leads are created equal) and carefully monitoring the lead generation performance of each source. In another excellent piece from iMedia Connection, 10 tips for extending paid search growth, Noah Elkin and Rick Dalton provide tips on how to increase results from paid search, such as expanding your keyword list, optimizing text ads, carefully segmenting keywords and using the AdWords Search Query report to identify negative keywords to add to campaigns.
9 things you MUST know before you start any conversion rate optimization by Search Engine People
Though this post is aimed primarily at b2c e-commerce sites, b2b marketers may find a few useful takeaways as well. Khalid Saleh provides helpful tips on how to improve conversion rates such as analyzing your analytics, viewing optimization as a long-term commitment, andstarting optimization during the initial site development process.
Finding Google AdWords Super Converter Keywords by MediaPost Online Media Daily
Laurie Sullivan reports on an online presentation by AdGooroo founder Richard Stokes, in which he explained how to find “super converters”—combinations of keyword phrases, ad copy, and landing pages that align to produce “enormous profits.” Stokes pointed out that “They are nearly impossible to predict,” but explained a formula for identifying them and methods to increase the odds.
Researchers: paid search ads don’t get as many clicks as believed by Econsultancy
Patricio Robles reports on a study which showed that contrary to other research indicating that paid search results get 25-30% of all search query clicks, the actual number is closer to 15%. The study authors admit that because they focused on meta search engine DogPile, the figures may be different for other search engines (such as Google, maybe?). What is clear is that, regardless of the precise figure, a significant majority of clicks go to organic results; therefore, smart marketers will invest in both paid search and organic SEO.
Aaron interviews Ben and Karl from Conversion Rate Experts (CRE) by SEO Book
Aaron Wall talks to Dr. Karl Blanks and Ben Jesson of Conversion Rate Experts about improving conversion rates, the most common mistakes search marketers make, messaging, audience targeting, testing, the role of public relations in the conversion process, generating referrals and more.
Never Get Bored With My PPC Tasks Checklist by PPC People
As Amber writes, “This post is dedicated to all the PPC search advertisers out there who think they have done everything to their PPC account and still can’t get the results they need to meet their goals. Just like any job out there, you can never be bored with your PPC account. There is ALWAYS something you can do to improve your performance.” She goes on to provide 15 tips for areas to check and tweak, such as geotargeting settings, keyword groups, negative keywords, ad text, bids, day-parting, landing page design and more.
Best of 2009: SEO Tips, Part 1
Sunday, January 10th, 2010Which factors are really most important in search engine rankings? How do search engines treat different forms of keywords? How can you get the most of out of Google’s free webmaster tools to improve rankings? What other tools are worth checking out for keywords, linking and website analysis?
Find the answers to these questions and others here in more of the best SEO blog posts from this year.
Guide to Search Engine Ranking Factors by HuoMah SEO Blog
The brilliant—and entertaining—David Harry provides an exhaustive list of the primary and secondary factors affecting search engine rank, from link-related factors (link text, relevance, PageRank) and header data through trust-related factors (domain history, outbound links) and “dampening factors” (poor coding, duplicate content and URL issues).
Q&A: A Few Things You Need to Know About Keyword Usage by Search Engine Guide
Stoney deGuyter offers valuable insights on how search engines treat keywords, such as that capitalization (usually) doesn’t matter, keywords have more weight if they are used in a title or header tag or are bolded, and search engines are getting better at recognizing forms of a word (e.g. sites including “kayaks” or “kayaking” will show up on a search for “kayak”). On that last point though, keep in mind that for popular search phrases, even a single character can make a big difference. For example, one website shows up at #2 on Google for “business services management,” but at #23 for business service management.
Build A Great B2B Search Engine Marketing Campaign by The Milwaukee SEO
This post combines useful information about setting up b2b SEO and SEM campaigns (such as getting the website information architecture right to start with, choosing keywords carefully with an eye toward the long tail, using PPC advertising effectively, and targeting local search) with humor—at least to those of us who live and breathe b2b marketing, and are amused by how perplexing it can be to b2c marketing agencies. Another noteworthy post from this blog is Get Keyword Rank Data from Google Webmaster Tools, provides detailed step-by-step instructions for analyzing website performance using Google’s webmaster tools. This is geekier than even most search marketers will go, but can supply valuable insights.
SEO Basics: 6 Tips for Google Webmaster Tools by TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Thomas McMahon serves up more tips for using Google’s webmaster tools, including how to spot site errors such as broken links, analyze meta and title tags, and identify a site’s top keyword search queries.
Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines by Best Domain Names
Dan LeFree explains how properly set up forwarding for multiple domain names to a single website without being penalized by the search engines for duplicate content. The site looks a little spammy, but the article is a helpful, quick read.
Five Tips for Avoiding Deceptive SEO Companies by Small Business Trends
An excellent piece from Janet Meiners Thaeler on manipulative practices to watch out for when hiring an SEO firm, such as “guaranteed” rankings, use of hidden links, and duplicate content on multiple domains or subdomains. For more on this topic, see Just Say No to Bad SEO on SEOmoz.
SEO Tools 101, Part 1 by Search Engine Watch
Ron Jones reviews several keyword, site grader and linking tools. His favorite keyword tool is the SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool; as Ron explains, “I like this one because it links to most of the other existing keyword tools, such as Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery, and tools from Google, MSN, and Yahoo. This one tool lets you explore many others.”
B2B Marketers: Setting Expectations For Your SEO Campaign by Search Engine Land
What’s the magic formula for SEO success? Julie Shumaker writes that “Setting realistic goals, measuring the right thing, and establishing a baseline” are all key parts of the process. She emphasizes that SEO is a long-term project, that getting on page one of Google isn’t always realistic (at least in the short term), and that ultimately, traffic and conversions are what matters—not just rankings. Another excellent SEO post from Search Engine Land is The Evolving State Of Social Media & SEO. Eric Enge notes that “social media will be a major source of ranking signals for the search engines in the future,” both due to its link-building potential and the emergence of real-time search.
Setting Expectations for Search Engine Optimization by Search Engine Watch
Following on the same theme as the post above, Mark Jackson writes a case study on setting realistic expectations with SEO clients. It’s very difficult for small websites to outrank large ones, particularly for highly competitive phrases. Among his conclusions: more content helps. Blogging helps. Social media works. Link buying isn’t supposed to help, but it does, and some large companies spend big bucks on this, which is difficult for smaller firms to compete with. Focusing on longer-tail terms can provide respectable traffic and conversions without huge costs.
Why it Makes Sense to Target Longtail Keywords First by SEO Book
Aaron Wall explains that because new or small sites without a large number of external links pointing to them are unlikely to rank well for highly competitive search phrases, it’s better to focus on longtail terms first, building up trust, links and traffic gradually. This post includes a couple of excellent graphics showing the differences in how search engine algorithms treat highly competitive terms from more specific longtail phrases.
12 Easy Mistakes That Plague Newcomers to the SEO Field by SEOmoz
For those new to SEO, Rand Fishkin provides some excellent advice on mistakes to avoid including reciprocal linking (it doesn’t work, and it looks spammy), targeting the same keyword on multiple pages, and not using XML sitemaps. My only quibble would be with his advice to use the nofollow attribute for PageRank sculpting; the nofollow tag is insidious and the value questionable.
SEO Quality Indicators & The Heap Paradox by Search Engine Journal
Ryan Caldwell ventures from the philosopical to the practical in this post, providing 10 key indicators of website SEO quality, from “lean code and meaty content” along with proper tag usage to listing a physical address and toll-free phone number. Another notable post from Search Engine Journal is There Is No Secret Sauce in SEO! , in which James Morris debunks several common SEO myths, such as that there is “mystical secret formula” or “complicated scientific method” to achieving SEO success. He closes with advice on where to begin, and the missions of an SEO including a clear understanding of goals up front and collaborating with developers and writers to optimize content.
Blog SEO: 5 Tips To Improve Ranking and Increase Traffic by PCWorld
Mike Keller offers a helpful set of tips for new bloggers to optimize their blogs for search, covering basics such as variable title tags in Blogger (note: this won’t work with all templates), meta tags and setting up RSS feeds.
Blog SEO Tips: Top SEO Mistakes to Avoid by Blogsessive
Alex Cristache details five common SEO mistakes bloggers make that cause their sites to fare more poorly than necessary in search engine rankings. Among the mistakes are ignoring (or improper use of) h1, h2 etc. title tags, and viewing SEO as a one-time process rather than an ongoing discipline.
5 Client Pitch Tips That Score Contracts by Search Engine Journal
Dev Basu provides five tips to SEO consultants on how to successfully sell their services, such as asking good questions, focusing on solving client problems, and identifying exactly what the prospective client needs to know (and then not wasting time by telling them everything under the sun). Great tips for SEOs who know their craft but may struggle with business development.
SEO Trends and the Future of SEO by SEO Theory
In this extensive and thoughtful post, Michael Martinez discusses the impact of trends such as personalized search, universal search and social media, and advises SEO professionals to focus on optimizing for query spaces (all the queries and content relevant to a specific topic) in order to capture traffic for long tail keywords.
The Answer To All Your SEO Questions! by Search Engine Land
Jill Whalen exposes the simple two-word answer that applies to nearly any question about SEO, including how quickly Google indexes new pages, what to do if your search position suddenly drops, the benefit of including keywords in URLs and more.
How to do a 301 redirect for a website by Revenue Robot
This post, which belongs in every SEO consultant’s bookmarks on technical topics, explains how to create a 301 redirect for PHP, ASP .Net, Java, ColdFusion and other environments.
6 cures for common SEO mistakes by iMedia Connection
Brian Easter runs down six common SEO mistakes—such as ugly URLs, duplicate content, and a disconnect between SEO and PR—and explains how to correct or avoid them.
Canonical URL Tag – The Most Important Advancement in SEO Practices Since Sitemaps by SEOmoz
Rand Fishkin extols the virtues of and details the process for using the cannonical rel parameter to resolve duplicate content issues with less technical muss and fuss than implementing a 301 redirect. He outlines the tag’s purpose, operation, and treatment by search engines as well as answering common questions. The incredible number of comments this post generated is a testament to the tag’s importance in the SEO toolbag.
Minor Miracles And Major Feats of First-Page Rankings by MediaPost Search Insider
David Berkowitz reports on how critical video is to attaining a first-page ranking on Google, reporting on a study showing that “Videos are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results than text pages.” He also quotes a finding from Nate Elliot of Forrester that there are “an average of 4.7 million text pages competing for a place on results pages with an average of just 9.4 text results—giving each text page about a 500,000-to-1 chance of appearing on the first page of results.” Every SEO who’s ever achieved this feat should be proud.
Rewriting the Beginner’s Guide Part VIII: Search Engine Tools and Services by SEOmoz
Danny Dover updates one of the most indispensable guides to the SEO craft anywhere. Though written for beginners, even fairly experienced SEOs are likely to find at least a few new ideas, and helpful reminders, in this detailed guide to the robots.txt file, search engine tools and more.
Check Your Search Engine Rankings, Why Your Competitors in Organic Search Might Not Always Be Who You Think They Are by The Internet Marketing Driver
In this extensive post, Glenn Gabe points out that the competitors for a keyword in SEO are often quite different from a company’s real world competitors; they can include reference sites, blogs, publications, review sites, directories and other websites that a business owner wouldn’t normally identify as “competition.” To support his point, Glenn uses example searches for flat screen TVs (only two manufacturers listed in the top 10 sites), HD video cameras (only Canon at #4), cabernet sauvignon and fuel efficient cars (no makers listed in the top search results).
Understand Google’s Guidelines by Alibaba
Jon Rognerud reveals what matters to Google when indexing and ranking pages, and what doesn’t. He provides tips on design (how to get Google’s spider to read your text before your menu links), how to get your site indexed in 24 hours or less (though you need to be careful with this technique), and what Google ignores (e.g. the meta keywords tag, duplicate links, and graphics—except for the alt tag assigned to them).
6 SEO steps for a website redesign by eVision Online Marketing Blog
George Aspland offers an excellent primer on incorporating SEO considerations from the start when doing a website redesign, from the initial site audit and keyword research through navigation, linking and URL structure changes.
Dirty SEO tricks you should avoid by iMedia Connection
Rich Cherecwich delves into the details of two “gray hat” SEO practices that are best avoided: link buying and domain buying. He also gives advice on what to do if your site does somehow get blacklisted by the search engines.
Why do SEOs forget about REAL marketing? by HuoMah SEO Blog
In this long guest post, Ben McKay starts off with the contention that “with market research, planning, implementation, creative flare, and an ongoing feedback loop of course, you can do just that –(SEO to draw the right kind of traffic) the same way you attempt to carry-out more traditional marketing campaigns.” He then goes on to discuss the art vs. science of SEO, ROI measurement, what SEO practitioners can learn from traditional marketing, before concluding “A more fulfilling and professional online presence could be found from thinking along structured lines—both in the way you operate with clients and also the way you achieve your SEO goals.”
DoFollow Links vs. NoFollow Links by The Minority Report
Supporting my recent post on the insidious nofollow attribute, this post notes that “the entire Internet is built on the premise of hyperlinking and as The Pasty Muncher says it here: ‘Links form the chain that holds the web together.’” The writer notes that WordPress blogs are nofollow by default, but again you can fix that with the dofollow WordPress plugin. Just say “no” to nofollow.
How Yahoo Might Automate SEO by SEO by the Sea
In this controversial post (just read the comments!), Bill Slawski reports on a patent from Yahoo! that seems to suggest the search engine can “optimize” pages automatically. Bill outlines what’s in the patent, then points out a number of obvious flaws in any such approach, including “A site owner might want to target less popular search terms on pages that are a few directory levels deep in their site and have those pages rank well for searches that their audience will conduct rather than target more popular terms with those pages, and rank very poorly.”
