SEO Articles

Local Search Engine Optimization

As the fastest growing vertical in search, many people are now starting to recognize the value of local search engine optimization can have on their site traffic. Also known as regional search, it's basically geo-targeting your audience when they search.

Local search works best for the service provider, or a retailer that has numerous locations. While the search volume won't be as great as a non-regional phrase, the person who reaches your site will be a more targeted visit and most likely ready to convert.

Another happy accident in local search is that for sites that are well optimized may also pick up rankings in mobile search.  

So, here's what you need to do in order to rank for local seo:

• Be sure to have your location(s) full address
• If you have a regional number, list that as well since some people start with an area code
• Be sure to include driving directions to your location
• Use a mapping service to display your location
• Have pictures of your locations and name them with your street address
• Make sure your site appears in any regional directory that might be online
• If you can afford it, get listed in your local yellow pages
• Place the regions you want to rank for in your page titles
• Get text links that contain the regional phrase

Most of these techniques are are not only common sense, but also good web design. If you're in business, you want people to be able to find you, right?

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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The Search for More

Many times when someone uses a search engine they are looking to find an answer to a question. Most times the search engines deliver a satisfactory result.

But then there are some searches in which there just isn't enough information to satisfy the user in their quest.

Google has tried to address this with the rolling out of "Universal Search". This is an attempt to deliver the most relevant item about a search query, regardless of the format.

In the past the typical top result was a web page. In Universal search, that top item can now be a podcast, a video on YouTube or even a simple image.

But, does this provide enough?

Recently, I was looking for Canadian web directories. My search started in Google Canada (google.ca) and while their were some good results in the first 5 pages, after that there was a bunch of unrelated sites that just happen to mention the words "Canadian", "web" and "directories" on their site somewhere.

So, I ran the same term on Yahoo and Sympatico (the Canadian version of MSN), and I got the same results.

So are there really only about 30 directories about Canada? I highly doubt it.

The point here is that while the search engines do a great job, they need to to better. And I have real concerns when Google no longer touts themselves as a search engine but as an Advertising Platform.

I understand their perspective; it's just good business, and a good business needs to continually evolve. But when the core service that made you the top dog starts to erode away from the mission of the company, that signals the beginning of the end.

Yes, it will take a lot to unseat Google from it's search throne, but people said the same thing about Microsoft in the 90's - and their position is not so solid anymore.

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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How to Create a Google Site Map

Officially announced on June 6th, 2005 at Google'e Blog, Google Site Map allows you to submit a listing of all your urls for Google to crawl.

There have been many questions concerning the procedure of creating a Google Site Map. Below is the non-Python way of creating one. (Note: Google has further documentation at their site)

First, create a file named sitemap.xml

Use the following code in any HTML editor:



Here's a breakdown of those properties:

lastmod -
This is the date the document was last modified and uses the following formats:
dd.mm.yyyy
dd.mm.yyyy hh:mm
dd/mm/yyyy
dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm

changefreq -
Tells Google Sitemaps the frequently that content of a particular URL will change.

Your options are "always", "hourly", "daily", "weekly", "monthly", "yearly" or "never".

The value "always" should be used to describe documents that change each time they are accessed. The value "never" should be used to describe archived URLs.

priority -
The priority of a particular URL relative to other pages on your site.
You may select between 0.0 and 1.0, where 0.0 identifies the lowest priority page(s) on your website and 1.0 identifies the highest priority page(s) on your website.

Add as many pages as there are in your website.

Google Sitemap supports up to 50,000 pages per XML file.

Once you've completed all of those steps, you'll need to submit your site map page.

Submit to: (requires gmail account)

https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login

[If you don't have a gmail account send an email requesting a gmail account and I'll give them out until I run out of invites. (ts@seoforgoogle.com)]

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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Collateral Benefits of Search Engine Marketing

Many times a client only looks at the bottom line when it comes to the performance they are getting for their investment into Search Engine Marketing.

They often only look at the selected keyword phrases that they are paying for, without fully realizing what other residual effects they are receiving.

When a site gets properly optimized, (SEO) it is being transformed into a thought-out navigational pattern to information. This is the same pattern a search engine spider looks for. Don't forget, the easier you make it for a spider to index your site, the better your chances are for getting your site a higher placement in the search engine results page (SERP's).

While W3C validation is something all sites should strive for, it is not required for better rankings. Does it help? Probably. Yahoo engineers have stated that whether a site is W3C compliant or not makes no difference to how it ranks. If it has relevant content, it will get ranked.

Another element when optimizing a site is that through proper naming of page titles, file names and placement of content make the site all the more relevant to the spider. Although Google places less value on Meta Tags, they are still used as part of the algorithm, and should not be overlooked.

After the site has coded properly, the game then goes up to the next level. Search Engine Marketing is used to drive traffic to the site through various means. Press releases, articles, blogs, RSS/XML feeds, Directory Submissions and User Groups all can bring targeted traffic to a site.

Here is where the collateral benefits of SEM begin to appear. Let's say that you have been doing a series of press releases where once a week, you talk about a new color of widget. In each press release you also list the other colors of widgets that you have for sale. Even after only the first release gets sent, you've already created a valuable In-Bound Link to your site for your Red Widget, but since you included the other colors of the widgets as well, they all pick up IBL's as well.

An even greater demonstration of a collateral benefit is ranking for keywords and phrases that you aren't targeting. Keeping to our widget example, if your site copy talks about the different uses of widgets, the available colors that they come in and the best way to preserve your widget, you've just created a multitude of various phrases that your site can get ranked on.

Example site copy:

We sell the highest-quality widget available. Our color selection ranges from red to purple, black to white and can be used in your home or for industrial needs. The widget is the most versatile tool on the market. Pick one up today!

From this one paragraph, here are the possible phrases your site could get ranked on:

• high quality widget
• red widget
• purple widget
• black widget
• white widget
• home widget
• industrial widget
• widget tool
• widget

This is only a tiny sampling of the potential your site has. Remember, each page gets ranked on it's own, so that's why it is so important to make sure every page you have on your site is optimized.

Even your contact/about page is critical because if you have a brick-and-mortar business, by listing your street address, you help the search engines geo target your site. Most search engines are already trying to focus your search results regionally. While it's not a major factor yet, it is something to be aware of.

In conclusion, the next time you start checking Google to see where your site ranks for it's keyword phrases, don't forget about all of the hidden keywords/phrases that are embedded in your site's copy. You would be surprised at how many of those forgotten about terms end up at the top of the pile....

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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Busting Google's "100" Link-Limit Myth

If I had a nickel for every time I read somewhere that having more than 100 links on any page would send up flags in Google, I might be able to pay off my mortgage by now...

While I believe there is some truth to this, as in, if you have a FFA (Free For All) site, or a link farm where anyone can add links, then I could see where this would be detrimental to your rankings.

However, if you have relevant links on your page pointing to other sites similarly themed to your site, how can you be penalized? Who's Google to say how many relevant sites there are about your topic?

How could Google (or any other search engine for that matter) tell us, the web users, who their friends are?

Suppose I have a website about the NFL. Maybe I have a page that has every player listed, and a link to their stats - currently, that would be around 500 links. All those links would be relevant, and all the links are pointing to unique content. How could any search engine surmise and penalize this?

The Internet is growing at such a rate that it's very conceivable that the search engines will never be able to index every piece of virtual real estate the web has to offer. And with growth, comes more places to be found, and in return, more places to link to.

I've read about this topic in many forums and people always want proof. I researched and found two extremely well ranked sites that easily surpass the 100 link limit...

http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm

http://www.refdesk.com/

The point is, FORGET about all the nonsense that Google spits out about a 100-link limit. That's like your parents saying that you can only have 100 friends, no more or else you will be penalized!

Being that the Internet is a social environment, how else would someone learn or find out about a new site? Advertising will alert you to new products and services, but they won't be able to tell you how bug zappers work. The search engines need our links. They can't grow their index without us. Therefore, exercise your right to link!

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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PDF Optimization: Death to SEO?

On April 18th 2005, Adobe announced that it was going to acquire Macromedia.

Besides delivering a critical blow to competitive balance of two highly recognized and respected companies, it has inadvertently created a new form of optimization.

That's right. PDF optimization.

The main technology that Adobe wanted from Macromedia was Flash. Now that they have it, they will be able to incorporate all the power of Flash into a PDF. With one fell swoop, they have changed the face of search engine optimization.

As a site owner, I can now potentially have my entire site reside within the content of a PDF. Sure, it was textually available before, but now I can even have compressed video, dynamically generated content and visually appealing content conveniently wrapped up into the web's only cross-compatible portable platform.

No more worries about having a Flash player installed - that will be incorporated into the PDF reading software. No more worrying about needing Quicktime and Media Player versions of video clips. They'll all be in Flash.

Not only is the PDF web friendly, but it is also PDA and Kiosk ready. Now content can be delivered anywhere to any device that can read a pdf. It can also be included on CD's, DVD's and even your cell phone.

From a user perspective, this is awesome. From a search engine perspective, it is great to push boundaries, but we may also see the end of optimizing for client sites, instead a client will pay a one-time fee to optimize a pdf.

Anyone who makes a living optimizing sites can see the potential loss of revenue as companies move forward and place their marketing efforts into promoting a pdf instead of a web site.

Why would a company not embrace this? While it's a true a site like Amazon would not be able to take full advantage of this, they could embed pdf optimization for dvd's and cd's sent to your cell phone, based on previous selections you've made.

It's a marketer's dream, and it makes a buzz agent's job even easier. Word of mouth marketing will be coupled with a portable demonstration of the product or service being sold.

While the general public may not become aware of this technology for a few years, those who reside on the cutting edge will find great ways to use this in promotion.

Now instead of just watching a movie trailer, you could also have the script, actor bios and studio contact information. Maybe even after the movie gets released, you could get your pdf updated with box office results.

The benefits of storing information in a pdf are huge. Instead of storing all of that information in a database, you have everything you need as a portable document. No worries about server stability, access to the database or even an internet connection.

By embracing this new development, it will be another service you can add to your seo repertoire and allow for your business to adapt to this emerging technology.

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com

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Blogs Versus Articles

Blogs have arrived as a means to get your message across in a personal way. Articles are usually considered to be more informative and accurate where details are concerned. From a search engine perspective, both are a great source of information. But which one to rank better?

First, let's look at the value each one brings:

Blogs:

Timely, personal, have "inside point of view" usually updated on a frequent basis

Articles:

Informative, Authorative, detailed, marketing driven.

From a freshness perspective, Blogs clearly win out over the articles.

Exposure:
Unless your blog is highly ranked, the articles will get more exposure, since there are more chances of your article being seen by more people. There are many sources on the internet that you can submit your articles to, here is a link for some: seoresources.seoforgoogle.com

From a business perspective, I can tell you that articles help re-enforce what you are selling. By writing an article instead of a blog, there is a perception that more care is taken to writing an article, therefore the information contained within is worth more.

People know that a blog will have a personal spin to it, whether the author is blasting a company, or promoting something that they have a personal or professional interest in.

From my own trials, no one has made any purchases for any product being pushed in a blog, but instead there has a distinguishable influx of sales that can be directly traced back to an article.

So what does this mean to you?

If you have a product or service you want to promote, use an article. If you need to get something off your chest, create a blog. While both are thought of very well by the search engines, you're ultimate goal is to convert the user, not confuse the search engines.

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com