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Search Engine algorithms are constantly evolving so that the most relevant sites end up with the highest page ranks. An algorithm is a set of rules that an engine uses to rank the listings contained within its index, in response to a particular query. Google makes algorithmic changes more frequently than leading competitors such as MSN and Yahoo - and it is a constant battle of wits between search engines and search engine marketers. Webmasters and marketers want to know how to manipulate and maintain high page rankings, while search engines strive to make sure the pages with high ranks are the most relevant possible and are filled with valuable content for searchers. Relevancy is one of the biggest perceived differentiators between the main search market share holders.One of the most important ways to improve your site’s ranking is through link building. Not only will the search engines see links to your site as increasing its relevance, but links from outside sites will always lead to more direct web traffic. Search engines see incoming links as an endorsement or vote for your site. Would you link your website to one that you did not appreciate? In addition, a search engine will think that your site is really important if you are linked to by sites with autonomous link popularity. This gives your website authority and engines will perceive you as a reputable resource.

The term “link popularity” refers to the number of indexed inbound links to your website. Simply put - the more websites that link to you the more “popular” your site becomes. Link analysis of this sort evaluates which sites link to you, and what text is being used in the outgoing hyperlink itself. This text should contain keywords that accurately tell search engines how your site should be ranked in relation to the information contained within. For example, if your website sold pottery, ideally sites that link to your domain would contain that keyword: Buy Pottery Online. (more…)

The competition in the SEO/SEM/SMO arena is quickly becoming saturated with industry leaders, medium-sized optimization firms, boutiques, and start-ups. Everybody wants a piece of the action, be it the SEO service provider or the business owner looking for the SEO. Business owners who are looking to place their website in the hands of an SEO firm may find that their options are as confusing as the industry lingo. Here are some things to consider when choosing a firm that’s right for you.

How does the SEO/SEM firm operate?
SEO/SEM firms operate in varying ways using varying techniques to push your website. The most important things to look for are link building, original content generation, site compliance, and their ability to properly format your website’s title and meta tags.

Link building is one if the most important aspects of SEO. Part of a website’s validity and quality is measured by the number of links from other websites pointing back to yours. The major search engines use this number as part of a larger algorithm to rank your website against the other billions of websites out there. When shopping for SEO firms, make sure you ask them how they handle this. Link building can be done manually or automatically in-house, or outsourced. There is no perfect scenario for implementing this but make sure you ask your SEO for a record of where the link building is being done. Sites that link back to yours should contain content that’s relevant to your content. If you sell lampshades and you have 10 websites that link to you that sell ping pong tables then those 10 links aren’t worth much.

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Search Engines, such as, Google, Yahoo and MSN, sift through the seemingly infinite pages of the internet to bring you to exactly what you are looking for. At least, that’s what they set out to do. Google has had a stronghold on the industry for as long as most users can remember, with Yahoo, MSN, AOL and AskJeeves bringing up the rear. However in recent years the gap between Google and it’s search competitors has decreased, and now both Yahoo and MSN are threatening to encroach Google’s once dominant market share.

Since its separation from Google in 2003, Yahoo has broken away from its former partner to become an industry threat with its own proprietary search technology. A study done by The comScore Media Metrix indicated that before the split Google held 79% of the market while Yahoo held a mere 16%. However - as of late 2005 this Yahoo’s portion increased to an impressive 42%.

The future of the market is also dependent on which Search Engine is perceived as more convenient, user friendly and appealing to consumers. Google and Yahoo differ in their search result styles with the latter displaying each result with a description of the page, while Google writes its own description based on the first paragraph of the webpage’s copy. Other competitors, such as AOL and AskJeeves, are adding new and unique features to keep up with the race. For example, AOL now suggests search phrases as you type your inquiry and AskJeeves displays a thumbnail of the SERP webpage result. (more…)

SPAM: the enemy of every user looking to get on-line quick to do some work. It lurks in every Web browser waiting to attack. It fills up e-mail accounts with no mercy. It is annoying, cumbersome, and relentless. A victim of SPAM is not helpless to block it, though. With enough dilligence and effort, any user can play a role in policing the net for those nasty unsolicited e-mails.

SPAM comes in many shapes and sizes. Some accounts filter out any e-mails that have attachments, since SPAM often comes with attachments. When SPAM does get through, it’s often filled with all kinds of bogus promises. Advertisers using it tell you that you’ll get something for nothing. They’ll promise free laptops, new X-Box systems, tons of money if you work from home, etc.. Perhaps the most prevalent form of SPAM is used to advertise adult sites. Following closely are all those missives promising cheap prescription drugs. Needless to say, many of these senders are not from legitimate operations. (more…)

“Don’t be evil,” sounds like a command given to a sinister three-year-old boy eyeing a batch of freshly baked cookies by a mother as she leaves the kitchen to rip a butt. In an age when we have more embezzling CEOs than roll models it is hard to imagine a new, headline making company using this as a their informal mantra.
  

Being a buzz worthy company that has recently become public, it’s informal mantra has become a lightning rod for both positive and negative attention from the press and self acclaimed “internet gurus.” Entire websites have been devoted to the monitoring and belittling of the world’s most popular search engine. Two sites that were easy to find in the Google search results were www.google-watch.org and www.dontbeevil.com.

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If you’re an SEO/SEM firm, you likely have many clients who are obsessed with and focused on only 1 keyword (variable) and 1 search engine (Google). It can be a challenging feat explaining the value of having your top words and phrases do well in a variety of engines, as opposed to just the behemoth that is Google. It’s also how we SEOs validate our services and work and - more importantly - increase client comfort levels and their genuine belief in what you do for them month after month.

Ok now, so, apparently, the world has become extremely high-tech. Over the past few years, we no longer conduct our traditional shop-till-you-drop extravaganzas at the shop, but rather, we drop onto webpages. Strolling down aisles has turned into scrolling down pages, while browsing from counter to counter has been replaced by navigating through links. With these newly devised, unconventional methods to shop, it is no wonder websites are optimally designed to sell. Or are they ?

Do websites truly know the tricks of the trade of online marketing and selling? This is a question only consumers can answer through their purchases. If you can constantly hear that magical sound in the background that goes something like this: “cha-ching,” you definitely know your website has successfully replaced your leading sales personnel; it manages to capture your audiences’ attention, transmits the message loud and clear, motivates individuals to buy, and most importantly, generates an actual purchase. However, often times, the only sound website owners tend to hear is that of them grasping for air every time they realize their bank account keeps getting smaller and smaller. Tragic isn’t it? Ah, if only something could be done…

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Friday, June 29 will be just another Friday in a series of Fridays for many, but for some it will be a day of change. At 6pm, droves of people will finally be able to buy an iPhone from Apple. But, how will this consumer device play a role in the SEO business?

Apple went out of its way to make the web browsing and email functionality on the iPhone second to none. SEO requires the ability to navigate convoluted pages that expect fully functional web browsers, able to handle large layouts with ease as well as the ability to utilize Web 2.0 content and AJAX-reliant pages. Apple’s Safari web browser will be present on the iPhone in a nearly full-featured capacity, delivering all of these requirements.

Typically, efficiently navigating and communicating with link building partners requires a laptop or device with a full sized screen; however, Safari’s use of dynamic zooming and panning on a heretofore-unmatched screen for cell phones, makes browsing just as natural as it is on a standard computer.  All of that, wherever you can make a phone call.

Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal calls the iPhone’s web features, “the best … we have seen on a smart phone [with] robust email software.” And other early reviewers that were advanced phones for testing have agreed.

I cannot wait to get mine - it will allow me to work un-tethered without excess bulk.

One of the most important tools for internet marketing are Directories. They provide two major benefits to a business: first, they improve the website’s position on search engines, second, they drive click through traffic to the website.

Search Engines consider websites listed on good directories as higher value links. Directories have human editors who go through the submitted links with a strict set of criteria before accepting it to their directory. The links are also reviewed to see if they are appropriate for the category they are submitted for to assure that directory visitors find what they find exactly what they are looking for. There is no human review process for Search Engine indexing of web pages, instead they use what are known as ‘Spiders’, automated ‘robot’ programs that ‘crawl’ through the internet from one link to another, indexing each pages content. In contrast, directories have highly organized and critical review processes, sites listed on them are more legitimate and credible to search engines than unlisted web pages. Thus, websites listed in quality directories will find their page rank improve substantially.

Directories existed in the early days of the Internet as the main resource for finding websites before the advent of Search Engines. They are still relevant today, for search engines and web surfers seeking quality websites relevant to the topic of their search. There are many different types of directories on the internet. They range from general directories to specific interests such as business directories and art directories. A business listing themselves to a number of these directories will find an increase in visitors to their website who sought out their product or services.

Links from a large number of good directories is just one immensely influentially part of improving the position of your site on a search result page of google.com and other search engines. Building links from directories will yield better results than links from unknown personal web pages, or worse, link farms. Directories also provide a solution for web pages low on search engine friendly content, such as flash sites, in that by being listed on a directory search engines will automatically index your site.

As a newcomer to the world and business of search engine marketing, I had no idea where to start. I was familiar with basic concepts like PPC, SEO, and CPM, but my knowlege was mostly in fragments and the process of search engine optmization was still a mystery. So SpiderSplat set me off on the first and most basic of tasks: link building.

What makes the web a web is the plethora of interconnecting links between content scattered across cyberspace. They’re one of the oldest and most basic pillars of the Internet and they’re just as important today as they were before. In fact, it can even be argued that in a world run by search engines and PageRanks, they’re even more crucial than ever before.

So the more links the better, right?

On my first day at SpiderSplat I was given a list of web directories, in which to submit information for a client to. Basically, the idea is that, once the directories listed the client’s website, presto! A link is born! In comes traffic, up goes the search rank, in comes revenue, and everyone is happy. I spent about six hours that day submitting content to whatever websites that would take my link in for free. I went home that Monday spent, but knowing that I made a difference in the (virtual) world.

The next morning, I was told that I was wrong. I had done practically nothing.

Link building is not that simple and search algorithms like Google have wisened up to such callous strategies. Sure, directories matter, but just like everything except French fries, it’s quality over quantity. The ability is to bring in traffic a tough proposition. One measure of high quality linkage (and, therefore, hopefully conversions) is Page Strength .

Here’s a someone’s list of some of the strongest directories on the Internet. Most of the free directories (and a lot of what I spent Monday submitting to) are in the zero to four range. (One notable exception is Dmoz.org, but the editorial factor weeds out irrelevant sites and makes it extremely difficult and valuable to get into.) Basically, as a rule of thumb, the harder (or pricier) it is to get listed, the better the directory.

Other lessons that Monday morning: context is key. Cramming keywords seperated by commas is not going to fly well with search engines. Links and keywords must be natural and organic-looking. Similarly, copying and pasting is also a no-no. Search algorithms will pick up on this quickly and easily. These issues have encouraged a relatively recent technique of embedding links in articles and blogs. Viral link-building on sites like Digg.com have also gained traction.

Basically, the point is that good-quality writing on a good-quality site will always equal good-quality links, and that is what search engines are after.