seo for 2016 sean odom

SEOFor2016TheCompleteDo-It-YourselfSEOGuide

SeanOdom

“Lessthan5%ofallbusinessesontheInternetuseprofessionalSEOservices,howeverofthosewhouseProfessionalSEOservices,theygarner87%ofall

clicksontheInternet.”—AccuQuality.com’s“November2015InternetUsageReport

MediaWorksPublishing

SEOfor2016:TheCompleteDo-It-YourselfSEOGuide

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Thisbookisdedicatedto:

ThisbookisdedicatedtotheSEO’s,thecontentwritersandthewebmasterswhospendcountlesshoursinthepursuitoftheperfectsearchengineplacement.And

specificallytothosewhoarewillingtoshareknowledgewiththeirpeers.

Andtherearetoomanytoname,buttoallofthosewhonurturedmyknowledgeandhavehelpedmebecomeoneofthebestSearchEngineOptimizationexperts

intheworld.

Abouttheauthor–SeanOdomSeanOdom([email protected])hasbeenintheInformationTechnology

industryforover25yearsandinthattimehehaswrittenforsuchpublishersasQue,Wylie,Sybex,Coriolis,ParaglyphPress,PearsonLearningandMediaWorksPublishing.

Seaniswell-knownintheSearchEngineOptimization(SEO)industryandhasbeensince1990whenhefirstwroteanarticleentitled,“OptimizingforSearches”inPCComputingapopularmagazineduringthattime.Thisstartedaclubwhichblossomedtoover25,000membersinthelate1990’s.Thisclubthentookonthename“TheSEOClub”andin2001SeanOdomwrotehisfirstbookonSEOoptimization.

Today,manyprofessionalpublicationsgiveSeanOdomcreditforstartinganentireindustryofSEOprofessionals.In2008hisSEObookwhichherepublishesyearlytokeepupwithSEOadvancesandchangesintechnologybecameabestseller.Today,SeanownsandoperatesoneofthemostsuccessfulSEOcompaniesintheworldWebSEOPros.com.Hiscompanycaterstoeverysizebusinessandhascontributedtothesuccessofhundredsofbusinessesworldwide.

Histeamofdedicatedofprofessionalsconstantlytrains,researches,monitors,andkeepsupwiththeconstantlyevolvingsearchenginealgorithmchanges.Implementingnewtoolsandchangestokeephiscustomersatthetopofthesearchengines.

AcknowledgementsIneedtothankallthosewhohavebelievedinmeovertheyearsandmadethisbook

suchassuccess.EventhoughIhavebeenthebestsellingSEOauthorsince2008andwrittenoverfortybooks,itstillamazesmetoseethatthereareover35,000preorderedcopiesofthisbookevenwhileIamworkingonit.

ItistrulyyouthereaderthatIdothisfor.IneedtothanktheentireteamthatworkedmeatMediaWorkstowrite,edit,andgetthisbookontheshelvesinthelimitedamountoftimewehadtodoit.SpecialthanksneedstogoouttoRobynLindsey,JasonAndrus,KevinSawvel,MonicaMorano,ToddLammle,MikeTurner,MelFuller,andKenGreggforalltheirhelpineitherpublishingthisbookorforcingmetokeepmyskillstopnotch!

—SeanOdom

Contents

TableofContentsAbouttheauthor–SeanOdom

Acknowledgements

WhereSEOBegan

What’sNewIn2016

Chapter1–SEO

Mywebsitelooksbetterthanmycompetition!I’mgood,right?

SearchEngineAlgorithms

Sidebar:Howdosearchenginescollectinformationonwebsites?

SkynetRankBrainAlgorithm

PandaAlgorithm

PenguinUpdate

PenaltyAlgorithms

DomainNameMatch

ManualIntervention

HummingbirdAlgorithm

PDFAlgorithm

SearchEngineQueries

Chapter2–Keywords

TheSciencebehindChoosingKeywords

LongTailKeywords

CreatingtheMetaDataforEachPage

ConfiguringtheKeywordMetaTag

ConfiguringtheMetaTitleTag

ConfiguringtheDescriptionTag

ConfiguringtheGoogleBotandtheRobotTags

LanguageIdentifier

ConfiguringtheMetaRevisitTag

ConfiguringtheMetaLocationTags

ConfiguringtheMetaSubjectTag

ConfiguringtheAuthorandCopyrightMetaTags

WordPressMetaData

ChoosingQualityKeywords

Chapter3-WhatdoIneedtodofirstforSEO?

AddingYourWebsitetoGoogleWebmasterTools

HowtoAddandVerifyASite:

TheGoogleWebmasterToolsDashboard

ConfiguringWebmasterToolSettings

Sitelinks

SettingURLParameters

ChangeofAddress

CreatingUsers

Associates

Malware

TrafficSearchQueries

LinkstoYourSite

InternalLinks

Sitemaps

RemoveURLsOption

StructuredData

HTMLImprovements

ContentKeywords

DataHighlighter

OtherResources

NextStep,AddaLocalBusinessListingToGooglePlaces

NextStep,AddingYourSitetoBingWebmasterTools

VerificationProcess

BingWebmasterDashboard

ConfiguringYourSite

ReportsandData

DiagnosticsandTools

SEOAnalyzer

NextStep,AddaBingBusinessPortalListing

Next,AddaBusinessListingToYahoo!

NextStep,MakeSureYourWebsiteHasGoodMechanics

Next,SubmitYourWebsitetoBing

NextStep,SubmitYourWebsitetoDMOZ

Nextstep?UseAMajorShortcut!UseSubmissionCompletetoMaketheRestofthisJobEasy

Chapter4–SEOandWebsiteStructure

SEOorDesignShouldBeConsideredFirst?

ImplementingSEOintDesignBeforeItIsLive

DesignandOptimizingForDevices

FocusOnYourWebsitesImpact

TheVeryBasicsofSEOinDesign

MetaandHTMLTags

HeaderTagContent

BodyText

Sidebar:KeywordsinText

Sidebar:ThingstoAvoid

Links

AlternativeTags

TheseAlttagsarealsoagoodplacetoincludeadditionalkeywordstomakeyoursitemorerelevant.Humanvisitors

OtherItemsYouShouldMakeSpaceFor

HowtoCreateanRSSFeedforaStaticWebsite

CreatinganRSSFeedFromaBlog

OtherValuableContent

OtherWebsiteConsiderations

HostingLocation

KeywordFrequency

Tips

KeywordDensity

Chapter5–Off-PageSEO

PlacingKeywordsinYourIncomingLinks

TheQuantityofIncomingLinks

IncomingLinkQuality

BadLinks

OfficialNewsSources

GoodWebsiteLinks

Sidebar:GettingGoodLinksfrom CustomerReviews

MattCuttsFromGoogle

DisavowTool-CommonMistakes

CustomerReviewAcquisitionStrategies

LinkJuice

Sidebar:TheOrphanPageLinkTest

LinkingWithinYoursite

OtherThingsonYourLinkingToDoList

BuyaBlog

UsingSocialBookmarkingSites

UsingDirectoryLinks

BuyingTextLinksIsA“NoNo!”

CreatingOutgoinglinks

Wherearemylinksfrom?

DiversityofYourLinks

NegativeSEO

GoogleorBingLinkPenalties

LinkSpamming

CommentSpam

BlogSpam

ViralMarketing

SelfPromoter

MoneyMakingSpam

VariedLinkingText

Sidebar:GettingGoodLinks

WordPressBlogCommenting

ForumPosting

Chapter6-GoogleAnalytics

StandardReportingOptions

Chapter7-SocialMedia

SocialMedia’sValue

Social-MediaStrategies

SocialMediaEtiquette

SocialMediaOutlets

Chapter8-SEOGoals

TimeandEffortinanSEOPlan

SEOPlanDetails

KeywordResearch

ReputationManagement

RipoffReportReputationManagement

PPC

ReprioritizingPages

AdditionalPlanItems

CompletingthePlan

Chapter9–BlackHatTactics

Flash

UsingDynamicURL’s

DynamicCodeonPages

Robots.txtBlocking

BadXMLSiteMap

AbnormalKeywordDelivery

SEOSpam

WebmasterCentralBlog

CreatingDoorwayPages

MetaJacking

AgentDelivery

IPDelivery/PageCloaking

LinkFarms

Spamblogs

PageHighjacking

LinkBombing

WhattoDoIfYouHaveBeenBanned

LookUpYourLinksandDisavowtheBadOnes

GoogleReconsiderationRequest

InGoogle’sWebmasterToolswhichisfoundatthelink:

OutgoingLinkIssues

Brokenlinks

WebsiteinaBadNeighbourhood

TooManyOutboundLinksCanBeBad,AsWellAsNoneAtAll

HiddenLinks

Ads

GoogleCallingYouOut

NYTandWSJ

ThirdpartytrustmetricslikeBlekko,WOT,McAfeeSiteadvisor

MakingGooglelookstupid

Technicalissues

Robots.txt

Nofollow

Duplicatetitlesanddescriptions

Non-crawlablelinksinJavaScript

NeitherapenaltyOrYourFault

Algorithmchanges

Competitiongotbetter

Currentevents

Chapter10–WebsiteMarketingPrinciples

SalesPrinciplesYouShouldAdopt

Stability

Statistics

Testimonials

Self-Credibility

Demonstrations

Guarantee

Accessibility

ThePersonalTouch

AdmitImperfectionsUpfront

PeopleWillBuytoSaveMoney

SpecialTacticforCreatingUrgency

TellPeopletheValueTheyAreGetting

Research

MarketingTools

Don’tJustDreamIt,DoIt!

SeeWhatYourPotentialClientsDesireandPlayonThat

DealingwithAdversity

Chapter11–TargetingMoreThanOneKeyword

SitemapsXMLformat

AllXMLTags

SavingyourSiteMap

SubmitYourSiteMaptoGoogleandBing

Wheretogoformoreinformation

Chapter12–WhenYouNeedProfessionalSEOServices

HiringtheRightProfessionals

RecognizingSEOScammers

WhattoExpectFromaProfessionalSEOCompany

Chapter13-EducatingYourITDepartmentorWebsiteDeveloper

LendaHand,Don’tReprimand.

FeelTheirPain.

BeRealistic.

BeAvailable.

ABoxofKrispyCremesWouldBeaGoodGiftHere

GiveThemToolstoHelpThem

AppendixA–SEOChecklistforNewNon-RankingSites

Accessibility

KeywordTargeting

ContentQualityandValue

DesignQuality,UserExperience,andUsability

SocialAccountSetup

LinkBuilding

SocialMediaLinkAcquisitions

AppendixB–SEOResources

BestSEOBlogs

SEOInformationResources

SEOTools

SEOForums

SEOConferences

AppendixC–Pandavs.Penguin

Pandavs.Penguin

TheTitanic’sOfAlgorithmUpdatesfromGoogle

ThePandaUpdate

ThePenguinUpdate

KeywordStuffing

HidingText

Cloaking

UnnaturalLinkBuilding

PaidLinks

ExactMatchAnchorTextonLinks

DebunkingthePandaandPenguinUpdateMyths

AppendixD-ClickFraudClickFraud

ClickFraudIsaCrime

Index

WhereSEOBeganInearly1999,IwaselectedpresidentoftheSacramentoCiscoUsersGroupjust

shortlyafterIwrotemythirdCiscoCertificationbook.Theusersgroupwasdedicatedtogettingitsmemberscertifications,accesstotrainingonrouters,switches,andusinghardwaretogivebetterqualityofservice(QoS)tothelocalnetworksandwebservers.

Justayearlatertheusersgrouphadover1,000membersandpeoplewouldarrivefromtheBayAreawhichwasatwohourdrivetoattendthemeetings.IfyouhavebeeninthecomputerindustryforanylengthoftimeIamsureyoucanremembertheY2KissueandafterthefearsubsidedmanyITexpertswerelookingforothercareers.ManywerefocusedoncreatingwebserversandusingCiscodevicestomakethehightrafficwebsitesaccessibleacrossmultipleservers.Thiskepttheuser’swebexperiencesfastandfriendlybutalsoeliminatedapointoffailure.Ifoneofthewebserversfailedanotheronewastheretokeepthewebsiteup.

Yahoo!AltaVista,andAOLweretheprimarysearchenginesatthetime.AsmembersinthegroupstartedtolearnHTMLandcreatingwebsitestheystartedtoaskwhat,“Howdowedosowellwiththesearchengines?”OneoftheearlyspeakersatthegroupwasMikeMonahanfromExcite,thenlaterLycos.HewasresponsibleforcreatingalgorithmsandkeepingSPAMoffthefirstfewpagesofthesearchresults.

Itprettyeasytotankbackthen.AddsomegoodMetatagsandputthewordsonthepagewhichyouwantedtobefoundfor.Backthenitwasreallythatsimpletooptimizeyourwebsite.TherewasasecondpartandthatwastosubmityourwebsitetoallthesearchenginesonebyonemanuallybyusingtheirsubmissionURL’stosubmityourwebsiteoverandoveruntileachsearchenginestartedlookingatyourwebsite.

Intheyear2000,IwasalsoteachingCiscoandMicrosoftcertificationclassesinPlano,Texas.ThetopicwewerediscussingwasbroughtupaboutagroupIrepresentedintheSacramentoareawhosemaingoalwastomarkettothesearchengines.Questionswereaskedbytheattendeesonwhatwedidandthedifferenttopicsweaddressed.OneofthemembersofthegroupwasTedNugent,whoatthetimewasaneditorforthequitepopularPCComputingmagazine.

AfewweeksaftertheclasswasoverIreceivedacallfromTedaboutwantingmetowriteanarticlewhichexplainedwhatwasneededtobedoneinHTMLtogetyourwebsitetobefoundbythesearchenginesespeciallyYahoo!andExcitewhichwerethemostpopularatthetime.

ThatarticlewaspublishedinNovemberof2000andwastitled“OptimizingYourWebsiteforSearchEngines”.Soonthatarticlewascopied,rewrittenandpostedallovertheworld.MorepeoplehavemademinorchangestothatarticleandcalledittheirsthanIthinkanyotherarticleeverpostedontheInternet.TodaymosteverybookandtextonInternethistorycreditsmewithstartingthetermSearchEngineOptimization(SEO)whichwasfirstusedinthatarticle.HadIonlyknownhowpopularitwouldbecomeatthetimeandIhadtheforethoughttogetthedomainname“SEO.COM”.

Intheyear2001IstarteddoingSEOformyfirstclient’swebsitesandeveryyearsinceIhavewrittenabooktoupdatemyfriendsandcolleaguesonsearchengineoptimization.Since2001therehasneverbeenayearwheretherehavenotbeenmorechangestohowyouneedtooptimizeyourwebsitethanthepreviousyear.ThisyearIthinkwasthemostchallengingandhasthemostnumberofchanges.NotonlythatIhavesomeinsightintowhatchangeswillbecomingin2017.

SEOnowencompassesnotjustwhatisonyourpagesbutwhatyoudooff-pageforyourwebsite(ontheInternet).Thishaschangedsomuchinjustthepastyearaswell.Thisincludessocialmedia,linkbuilding,andwhatyouneedtodotomakeyourwebsitelookasthoughorbecomeanauthorityinyourindustryhaschangedsomuchaswell.

NOTE:LinkbuildinghasnotgoneawayregardlessofwhatGooglehassaidorstatedpublicallyandIcanproveit.Iwillspeakmoreaboutthatlaterinthisbook.

What’sNewIn2016

Thebiggestchangesandwhat’snewfor2016?WellthisyearitwillbeimpossibletodoSEOwithoutamobilewebsite.YouneedtothinkofGoogleasmorethanonesearchenginebecausemobiledevicesnowhavetheirownsearchresults.

Secondbiggest?WellImighthavesomewhothinkthenewArtificialIntelligenceAlgorithmcalledRankBrainshouldhavebeenfirst.RankBrainappearstobeaproductofa2014acquisitionbyGoogleofacompanycalledDeepMind.Iwillcoverthisnewalgorithmextensivelyinthefirstchapter.

Thirdbiggest?WellitisacombinationofGoogleAuthor,RichSnippets,SemanticMarkup,DataHighlightingandgreatcontent.Ifyouhaveneverheardofthesetermsyoubettergetusedtothembecausetheyarenotsonewandtheyareheretostayandyouwon’trankverywellthisyearwithoutthem.

Thislastyearhasbeenaneverendingbattleforrankingpositionandthisbattlebelieveitornotisgettinghotterfor2016.GoogleisbothafriendandafoeforbusinessesusingtheInternettomarkettheirproductsorservices.Tocompete,businessesmustutilizeSEOordieforthemostpart.EspeciallysincemanywhoweredoingSEOhavegivenupandjustgonetoPay-Per-Click(PPC).ThisavenuethoughisbasedonanauctionsystemandmadesothehighestpositionsinPPCgotothosewillingtopaythemost.Itisgettingmoreandmoreexpensive.Themoreplayerstherearetheworseitgets.

Thecostperclickisraisingfasterthanthecostofrawmaterialsandeatingmoreandmoreintoacompany’sprofits.Thecostforoneclickfortheword“Microsoft”?Itjustreached$45.Localsearchesforthekeyword“DUIAttorney”havegonepast$20.00aclickinsomemarkets.

IhaveseensomanybusinessesthispastyearthatreliedonPPCinsteadofSEOtakeafallandgooutofbusiness.IhavealsoseenbusinesseswhoweredoingPPCandconcentratedmoneyontheirSEOhaveawindfall.YoualwayswanttodoPPCbutconcentratemoreofyourmoneyonSEOasitgarnersbetterresultsforthecostovertime.Peopleclickonorganicresults8timesmorethanPPC.Whydotheyclickonorganicresults?Becausetheyusuallygetmorerelevantinformation.AnyonecanputanadoutonPay-Per-Clickiftheyarewillingtopayforit.

Chapter1–SEOWhenpeoplecomeuptomewhenIamspeakingatshowsorotherbooksigning

events,theymanytimesaskme“WhatisSEO?”Iquicklyreply,“Nooneusesthetelephonebookanymore,right?”AtthispointIusuallygetanod“yes”.ThenIcontinue,“PeopleuseGoogle,BingorYahoo!astheirtelephonebook.”ThenIgoon,“Ifyourcompany’swebsiteisnotonthefirstpageofGoogle,Bing,orYahoo!forasearchforyourproductorservice,youareeitherlosingalotofbusinessoryourbusinessisgoingtofail.SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)istheexactsciencetogetyourwebsiteuponpage1ofasearch.Ifyourwebsiteisonpagetwoorlaterforthekeywordsthatdefineyourproductorservice,youareinvisibleontheInternet.”

Almosteverycompanynowhasawebsitebutlessthan5%knowofSearchEngineOptimization(SEO)oruseaspartoftheircompany’smarketingplan.Thisisahugemistakethethebottomline.OneofthelargestInternetstatisticsorganizationsintheworldisAccuQuality.com.IntheirAugustof2015InternetUsageReportitreportedthatthosecompanieswhouseprofessionalSEOservicesgarnerover72%ofallclicksontheInternet.SoifSEOisnotpartofyourmarketingplanitshouldbe.ThoseusingPPCgainedamere11.2%oftheclicks.Only2%ofthe4billionbusinesswebsitesouttheregottrafficfromsearchenginesthatdidn’tpayforitwithPPCoruseSEO.Mostofthosehavegoodbrandnamesandhavebeenaroundformanyyears.Anotherinterestingnewstatisticthisyearisthatover35%ofallsalesonlinecomefrommobiledevices.Thisisprettyinterestingasitisalmostan18%jumpinfouryears.

NOTE:StatisticsfromAccuQuality.comreportusedwithsignedpermissionstatement.

TodoSEOrightyounowneedtoalsoremembertoutilizeGoogleandBing’sWebmasterToolsaswellasGoogleAnalytics.Thesetoolshaveallchangedandbeenmadeextremelyusefultoolswithmanymonitoringandnotificationfeatures.

AsIsaidearlier,theInternetisnowthetelephonebookandasabusinessyouhavetoadaptandnotonlyadaptwell,butoneupyourcompetitorssoyourwebsiteURLcomesupatthetopofthelistinanykeywordsearch.Nolongercanyoujustpay$2,500amonthforafullpageadinatelephonebooktostandout.YouhavetodotheequivalentontheInternet.Yourwebsitehastostandoutinthecenterof4billionotherbusinesswebsitesandoutshinealltheothercompetitorsinyourindustrytobesuccessful.

Mywebsitelooksbetterthanmycompetition!I’mgood,right?

GoodSEOdoesnotreallycareaboutthelookandfeelofyourwebsiteforthemostpart.Youwanttohaveagreatlookingwebsitebutyouhavetoincorporateabout150differentcodeditemsthatGoogleandtheothersearchengineslookforandthelistgrowseveryyear.Thecodingbehindthelookofyourwebsiteisactuallymoreimportanttothesearchenginesthanwhatyourvisitorsseewhentheycomeforavisit.That’swhysomeoftheugliestwebsitesmakethefirstpageofGoogle.Itreallyboilsdowntoataskofmarketingyourwebsitenotonlytoyourcustomersbuttothesearchenginesaswell.

SearchEngineAlgorithmsFirstoff,manypeopledonotknowwhatasearchenginealgorithmis.Anothermistake

isthinkingGooglehasjustonealgorithmwhenitisactuallymany.Eachalgorithmhasaspecifictasktoperform.Analgorithmisbasicallyaprogramthatismadetofilterdataandprovideorchangesbasedontheresults.

Sidebar:Howdosearchenginescollectinformationonwebsites?

SearchenginesandGooglecollectinformationoneverywebsiteusinglittleprogramscalledbots,crawlers,orspiders.TheselittleprogramshavevisitedvirtuallyeverywebsiteontheInternettocollectinformationoneveryoneofthem.Theselittleprogramscollectkeywords,phrases,links,andothercodinglocatedoneverywebsite.Itthenstoresthisinformationinhugedatabasesusedbythesearchenginestoapplyfilterscalledalgorithms.Avirtualcopyofalmosteverypublicallyavailablewebsiteworldwidecanbefoundinthesesearchenginedatabases.

Tomakeiteasytounderstand,imaginethatyouhavealistinanExceldocumentanditcontained5,000namesandyouonlywantedtoknowthenamesinthelistthathadthelastnameofSmith.YoucouldwriteasmallprogramthatfoundonlythenameSmithanddisplayedthoseentrieswithonlythatname.Thatisabasicalgorithm.NowGoogle’salgorithmsaremuchmorecomplexandtheamountofdataithastofilterisalmostunimaginablebuteachalgorithmGooglerunshasaspecifictaskandchangesdisplayedresultsdifferently.

In2015,Googleusedmanynewalgorithmchangestoshakethingsup.Eachalgorithmhasaspecificpurposeorfilter.Let’stakealookatsomeoftheGoogleAlgorithmsinrecenthistorythatreallyshookthingsup.Let’stakealookatthesemajoralgorithmsinthenextfewsections.

SkynetRankBrainAlgorithmHaveyoueverseenmanyofthemoviesorTVshowswherehumanstrytomake

robotsassmartaspeopleandthentherobotstrytotakeover?OneofmyfavoritesistheCylon’sfromtheTVshowBattlestarGalactica.Killerrobots.

WellfromthereactionoftheSEOcommunityyouwouldhavethoughtthattheCylon’swereattackinguswhenGoogleannouncedthattheywereimplementingwhattheyarecallingtheRankBrainAlgorithminmymanyofthesearchesGoogleperforms.

In2014GoogleacquiredanartificialintelligencecompanycalledDeepMindandthisappearstobeitsfirstattemptatusingsomeofthatnewlyacquiredtechnologyintosearches.

SoGooglecameupwithamachinethattheyarecallingArtificialIntelligence(AI)thattheythinkhastheabilitytolearnandunderstandcolloquialhumanspeech.Google’snewrankingfactoriscalledSkynetRankBrain.InearlyattemptswithAIthemachinesthemachinesstruggledwithbeingabletofigureoutthenuancesofthehumanlanguage.ThenewRankBrainAIisabletousecomplexlong-tailcontextcluessuchastheuser’slocationtounderstandthesearcher’sactualintenttodelivermorerelevantresults.

SohowdoweoptimizeforRankBrain?

ForthoseSEOWritersandwebmastersoutthere.Fearnot.RankBrainisn’tgoingtodrasticallychangehowyoucreateyourcontentormuchhowyouchangewhatyouaredoingwithdesign.ThatisifyouarefollowingGoogle’sWebmasterguidelinesandbestpractices.TherearesomestepsthatyoucantaketoensurethatyourwebsitecontentisreadyforGoogle’sAI.

Muchofthisgoesbacktotheoldwaysofdeliveringcontenttoyourprospectivewebsitevisitors:

Findacompellingsubjectandmatchakeyword.

Offerafreshandpossiblyalternativeperspectiveorauniqueangleonyoursubjectmatter.Besuretoincludeatargetedkeywordortwointhetextyouarecreating.Makesurethewordspeoplewouldbesearchingforareinthetext.Don’tforgetthatpartofAIismatchingcompletesentencesearcheswhichsomeonewhomightbedoaSiriorCortanaqueryfromaphone.Normallythesearecompletesentences.

IncludeaQ&Aatthebottomofthepage.

Whatisthebestwaytogetcompletephrasesasakeywordforphonesearches?Addalistofquestionsandanswersatthebottomofyourpage.Thinkofyourproductorserviceyouaretryingtopitch.Thenholdyourownphonetoyourmouthandaskyourphonetosearchforitbasedonwhatyouwouldlookfor.Thenexplainyourproductorservicetoateenagerandseewhattheywouldsearchfor.Youmightbesurprisedbythedifferentresults.Youcanoptimizeyourpageforseveralofthoselongertailkeywordsifyouknowwhattheyare.Everytimeyoufindanewwayofqueryingforyourproductorserviceyoucansimplyaddanewquestionandanswerintothebottomofyourwebpagewithoutaddingawholenewpage.

Doasanitycheckthoughandmakesurethatconsumersareactuallyusingthekeywordsthatyouareoptimizingfortosearchforyourproductorservice.Youcanlearnmoreinthenextchapteronhowtodothis.

Don’ttargetforlotsofvisitslikemostpeopletrytodo.Don’ttargetKeywordsthatareunlikelytobringvisitorstobuyyourproductorserviceseventhoughtheyaresearchedformorethanaverage.

TIP:Standardoptimizationapplies.RankBraindefinitelyanalysesawebpagetomakesureitfollowsGoogle’sguidelinesandhasgoodcoding.Makesurethatafteryoucreatethatgreatcontentthatyouinsertyourkeywordphrasethroughoutthecontent,posttheminspecificlocationssuchastheURL,titletag,H1,H2,inemphasizedtextinthebodyofthepost,andintheALTtagsonimages.(Youwilllearnaboutthisinthenextfewchapters.)

OtherthingstonoteforRankBrainfactors.

ThereareafewotherkeynotesforRankBrainfactors:

1. RankBrainisonlyoneofmanyalgorithmsandnotusedineverysearch.

2. TheRankBrainalgorithmusesless“ExactMatchKeywords”thanmanyoftheotheralgorithms.Itlooksformorevariationsinhowthekeywordsareusedonapage.Somealgorithmsallowyoutouseoneortwoexactmatchkeywordsineveryparagraphandyouwatchyourrankingsrise.ButRankBrainemphasizestheimportanceofusingseveralvariationsofyourtargetedkeywords.Eventhoughit’samachineAI,thekeyhereistowriteforlikeahuman.

3. Laterinthisbookyouwilllearnaboutsemanticmarkupwhichactually

givesyouaneasywayofprovidingthecontextthatRankBrainislookingfor.SemanticHTMLmarkupisusedtoillustrateyourtargetedsubjectmatterbyallowingyoutotagtheappropriatecontentortargetofapage.

Whenit’sallsaidanddone,RankBrainisjustanotheradvanceinsemanticsearch.IfyoualignyourwebsitewithGooglepracticesyourrankingsshouldfallinlineandbringinvisitors.YouwilllearnmoreaboutoptimizingyourpagesforbothbestpracticesandtheRankBrainalgorithmthroughoutthisbook.

PandaAlgorithm

Thisisaseriesofalgorithmswiththespecificpurposeoffilteringbasedoncontentorwordsthatareactuallyseenonthepage.Itlooksforsuchon-pagefactorsassuchashowmuchcontentisonawebpage,whetherthecontentisduplicatedonthesamewebsiteoronotherwebsites,andhowoftenthecontentisupdatedonthepage.

Thisisthealgorithmthatrunsandreallyshakesthingsup.Thishasbeenaveryactivealgorithminthepastthreeyearsandwehaveseenover25changestothisalgorithmsinceitwasannounced.

PenguinUpdate

Thisalgorithm’sprimarypurposeistolookforover-optimizationfactorsonwebsitepagesandotherfactorssuchaslinking.Thisalgorithmismoreofashakeupalgorithm.Itrunsperiodicallytoshakethingsupandotheralgorithmsthatrunlateractuallyreversemostoftheeffectsofthisalgorithmwithintwotofourweeks.

PenaltyAlgorithms

ThesearealgorithmsthatarerunbyGooglethatpenalizewebsitesbasedoncertaincriteria.Suchcriteriaaslinksfrompornorhatewebsites,linksfromcertainidentifiedpaidlinkfarms,unnaturallinkbuilding,negativereviews,negativePR,duplicatecontent,highbouncerateswhichcanindicatethatthatvisitorswerenotfindingwhattheyweresearchingforonthewebsiteandthevisitorleftquickly,andmanyotherfactors.

Googlehasmanyoftheseandsomerunjustonce,somerunonceayear,andsomerunallthetime.

DomainNameMatch

Thisisanalgorithmwebeganinthesummerof2012whenGoogleannouncedthealgorithmtoscarepeoplefromgettingorusingkeywordmatchingdomains.Whatdoesthismean?SayyouhavearoofingcompanyinMiamiandpeoplesearchonGooglefor“Miamiroofingcompany”.TohelpyouinGoogle’sresults,youbuythedomainnameMiamiRoofingCompany.comtohelpyoubecomerelevantforthatkeyterm.Googleusesthisalgorithmtomakethatdomainnamedropinitsresultsforthekeyword.

Thisisreallyanotheralgorithmthatrunstoshakethingsup.GooglewantstobethephonebookfortheInternet.TheproblemwiththisalgorithmforGoogleisthatwhenthealgorithmruns,manyofthedomainsthatareexactmatchesarewellknownbrandnamesandGooglehasreallyhadtoturnthisalgorithmdownanditisnotveryeffective.

ManualInterventionThisissomethingnew.ItisaprocesswhereGoogle’stechnicalteammemberscan

giveamanualpenaltytoawebsiteforjustaboutanyreasonortakeapenaltyaway.Mostarewebsitesthataregivenpenaltiesareforbadpress,badPR,orusingpaidlinkingorlinkfarms.

HummingbirdAlgorithmThisalgorithmmadeheadlinesandsomuchmisleadinginformationwaswrittenabout

thisalgorithmandwhatitdoes.InOctoberoftheyearitcameout,MattCuttsformGoogleadmittedthatithasnothingtodowithSEOandworkstohelpwithfullsentencesearchesmostoftenusedwithvoicesearches.

PDFAlgorithmBelieveitornotthereisanalgorithmthatgivesPDFswithakeywordrelevance

enoughtomakeitontothefirstpage.

NOTE:EachalgorithmtakesatremendousamountofprocessingpowerandmustfilteragainstbillionsandbillionsofitemsinGoogle’sdatabases.Mostonlyrunperiodicallyandsomeonlyrunafewtimesayear.

SearchEngineQueries

Thesearchquerybaristhemostfamiliarpartofanysearchengine.Thesearchquerybaristhelittleboxwhereyoutypethewordsrelatedtowhatyouwanttofindandselectasearch.Inafewmomentsjustlikemagic,alistofwebsitesshowsupontheresultsscreen.Today,thesearchenginesaregettingverygoodatgivingyouthebestresultspossible.Itisrarethatyouwillclickonanorganiclinkthatisnotrelevanttoyoursearchwordsorawebsitethatnolongerexists.Ifitdoesn’tgiveyoutherightresultsyouneedtorefineyoursearchwords.

SincethePandaAlgorithmupdatewasreleasedyoualsowon’tfindmanywebsiteswithoutrecentlyupdatedcontent.

Imentionedorganiclinksinthefirstparagraph.Anorganiclinkisalistof7to10resultsontheresultspagewhenyoutypeinasearchthatcomeupbecauseofthealgorithmusedbythesearchengines.Untilthisyearitwasstandardtosee10resultsbutGooglehasbeenexperimentingwithpagesthathavefewerorganicresultsandmorepaidresults.

What’sinterestingisthatBingandGooglebothknowwhereyouarebasedonyourIPAddressandothergeographicalindicationsandcateryourorganicresultstoyourknownlocation.

NOTE:Googleisalsogettingsmarterwithpersonalizedresults.IfyouareloggedintoGoogleandyouperformthesamesearchmultipletimes,Googleassumesyoudidn’tfindtheearlierresultsrelevantandgivesyouadifferentsetofresults.

AyearagowhenIwasvisitingMiamiFloridaandsittinginahotelIlookedupthekeywords“Miamicomputerrepair”.SoasItypedyoucanseebelowhowGooglegavemesuggestedkeywordsandtheorganicresultsearches.Thisisimportantlateronwhenchoosingkeywordsasstudiesareshowingthatuserschosethesesuggestionsmorethan50%ofthetimeasyoucanseebelow.

Idecidedtodothesamesearchtodayjusttoseehowthesuggestedkeywordschangedasyoucanseeinthescreenshotbelow.

YouwillalsonoticefromthenextscreenshotabovethatIdidnotspecifyanyaddress

orwhetheritwasforMiamiFloridaorthecityofMiamiinanyotherstate.ItonlygavemeresultsforcomputerplacesinMiamiFloridawhereIhappentobeatthetime.Moreimportantthanthat,IgotcomputerplacesjustaroundthehotelIwasstayingat.ItknowsthisinformationsimplyfromtheIPAddressmycomputerisusingtoaccesstheInternet.It’sabsolutelyamazinghowfarsearchengineshavecomeandhowfasttheiradvancedalgorithmswork.

SonowIneedtotellyouanewtermyouwillseethroughoutthisbookwiththeinitialsSERPorSERPs.Whenyoutypeinastringofwordstogetrelevantresultsandthenclicksearch,thecollectionofpagesyouseewiththeresultsaretermedsearchengineresultspages(SERPs)inthesearchengineworld.Thehigheryourbusinessorentityisfoundonsearchresultspages,themoretrafficyoucanexpecttogeneratefromsearchesonthosekeywords.

Ithasbeenproventhatthoseinthetop20getthemostclicks,asuserstypicallydonotgobeyondpage2ofasearch.Ifyourwebsiteisinthefirstfiveresultsinasearch,giventhatthedescriptionyoucreatedforyourwebsiteisenticingtothesearch,youwillgetthemostclicksforthatkeyword.Yourgoalistogetyourwebsiteatleastonpageoneofthesearchesthataremostrelevanttotheservicesorproductsyourbusinessprovides.Itreallyissinkorswim.

Ifyouareonpageoneforasearchyougetallthebusinessintheworld.Ifyouareonpagethreeormoreyouwillbevirtuallyinvisible.Salesreallyareanumbersgame.Ifyourproductorservicemakesasaleonanaverageof1outofevery10visitorstoyourwebsite,themorevisitsyougetthemoresalesyouwillmake.

SomethingveryinterestinghashappenedwithGooglethepastfewyearsandthefirstIheardaboutthiswasfromAccuQuality.com’sInternetUsageReportfor2015.Thisreportlistsmajortrendsandusagebehaviorandsomethingbigcaughtmyeye.BeinginthefirstpositionofGoogleformostsearcheswillnotlandyouthemostclicksanymore.AtfirstIthoughtthiscouldn’tbetrue.Theresultsinthepastyearhavebeenastonishinganduserbehaviorshavereallychangedandinasignificantway.MostclicksforalmostallkeywordsonGooglebasedontheirresearcharecomingfrompositionstwothroughsixonthefirstpageofSERPs.

TherearemanyreasonscitedinthereportbutthemostcommongivenbyusersisGooglehasdoneagoodjobatmaskingwherethePPCresultsareandthefirstorganicresultsstart.GoogleappearsonmanyvideoscreensaspartofthePPCadgroupabovethepage.Thisisimportantbecausemanypeopletrustorganicresultsmuchmorethanpay-per-clickresults.Searchengineusersclickonorganicresults90%ofthetime.AlmostanyonecanpaymoneyforPPCandmanyofthePPCadsshownonpageshavenorelationtotheirsearchesastheorganicresultsmoreoftendo.

Secondly,manypeoplebelievethefirstwebsiteinGoogle’sresultsareeitherhavethemostexpensiveproductsorservicesortheyarepayingGoogletobethere.Thislastreasonisbecausethe1storganicresultonaSERPisoftenbyitselfunderneaththePPCresultsatthetopbutabovetheGoogleProductslistingsortheLocalPlacesresults.Itcreatessomeconfusion.Googleisconstantlychangingthepagelayoutsaswelltomakeitevenmoreconfusing.

Chapter2–KeywordsGooglehasstatedthathavingthekeywordsyourfocusedonawebpageintheKeyword

Metatagonthecodingofawebsitepageisnolongerarequirement.Butdon’tleavethekeywordsandthetagoutcompletely.Theyarestillhelpfulonothersearchengines.GooglescanstheactualrelevantcontentthatisonthewebpageandplacesmoreweightonthewordsplacedintheTitletagandthedescriptiontag.Infactsomuchweightisnowgiven;youshouldn’tplaceanythingotherthanasinglekeywordintheTitletagofeachpageorfocusthepageonmorethanonekeyword.

WARNING:WealreadytouchedonthisalittlebutforwebsitesthathavetheirrelevantcontentorwordsmainlyinpicturesorinFlashthesearchenginecrawlerscannotreadthis.ThisiswhythemostFlashyandspectacularlookingwebsitesareonfoundonpage54orlaterinakeywordsearch.

Thereisnowanotherreasonforthis.IfGoogleistorankyourwebsitewell,youbetterbecompatiblewithasmanybrowsersandsmartphonesaspossible.ThefactisFlashisnotcompatiblewithIPods,IPads,IPadMinis,andIPhones.Soifyouhaveflashonyourwebsite…itneedstogo.

NowIsaidthathavingthekeywordintheMetatagsonGooglewasnotarequirement,butIwouldn’tleavethemout.IfyouwerelookingatthisfromapointsprospectiveintermsofgettingmorepointfromGoogleforbetterrankingsyouhavetothinkdifferently.Yougetpointsforthemoreyoudo.Pointsforagooddescription,keywords,andotherinformationinyourMetatagalladdrelevantpointvalueistheyallmatchthecontentoftheactualpageofyourwebsite.

Aslongaskeywordsappeartobeonthewebpagenaturallyandnotanattempttotryandboostsearchenginerankingswithlotsofkeywordstuffing.NaturaloccurrenceisfairlynewterminSEO.ThisiswheresearchenginealgorithmslookatyourwebsitepageaswellashowoftenyourwebsiteismentionedontheInternet.Itthencomparesthisstatisticalinformationwiththesearchenginealgorithmtoseeifitisnaturalmeaningitisabouttheaverageamountitshouldbeseeingthekeywordsmentioned.Wewilltalkmoreaboutthislaterinthebook.

NOTE:Apagewillnevershowintheresultsofasearchenginesearchwithoutthekeywordorkeywordrelevanceshowingupontheactualtextofapage.Meaningifyouaretargetingyourpagefor“MiamiPlumber”,makesurethewordsareprominentlydisplayedonthepageinactualtext.

Inthenextfewsectionslet’stakealookathowtochooseyourkeywords.Thenlet’stakeastep-by-steplookatproperlyformattingyourMetatagsandthebodyofyourwebpagecorrectlytomarketyourwebpagetothesearchenginespidersandcrawlers.Alsowewilltalkabouthowtomakeyourdescriptionappealingtoasearcherwhoseesyourwebpageinthesearchresults.

TheSciencebehindChoosingKeywordsKeywordsaretheoneofthemostimportantelementofyourwebpage.Infactbefore

youstartoptimizingyourwebsiteyouneedtochoosethekeywordsyourpageisgoingtotarget.Now,thekeywordthatyouchoosetodaymaybecompletelydifferentthanthekeywordsyouoptimizeforayearfromnow.ThatisifyouaredoingproperSEOandtrackingyourresultsandthechangesinGoogleSuggestivekeywords.

ThatlastsentencemighthavereallygotpeoplescratchingtheirheadssoIbetterexplain.GoogleisgettingreallygoodatgettingpeopletouseAdWords.PartoftheiroverallstrategytogetpeopletodothisistochangethewaypeoplesearchandstayonestepaheadofSEO.Howdotheydothatyouask?Wellover50%ofthosesearchingGooglegetkeywordsuggestionswhentheyperformasearch.ThismeanswhenthepersonstartstotypetheirsearchinGoogle’ssearchbartheygetsuggestedkeywordsastheytype.Theythencanjustselectoneofthekeywordsinsteadofcontinuingtotypetheirintendedsearchphrase.

SoiftodayyoudecidethatyouwanttoredesignyourkitchenandyougotoGoogleandstartsearchingforakitchendesigncompanyyoumightstartbytyping“kitchen”andyoumaygetsomekeywordsuggestions.Thesuggestiontodaymightbe“kitchenremodel”.Thesuggestionsixmonthsfromnowmightbe“kitchenrenovation”or“kitchenremodel”.Itchangesupthekeywordsyoushouldbeoptimizingforatthecurrenttime.ButIwouldn’tchangethepagesyoualreadyhaveranking.IwouldmakenewonesbecausesixmonthsfromnowGooglemightgobacktothewayitwasbefore.

Bynowyoushouldbestartingtogetthereasoningbehindmystatementthatthatthekeywordsyoufocusontodaymaybedifferentoraddedtolateron.Whenchoosingthebestkeywordstofocusonforyourwebsitethereisasimplerule.Goodresearchgetsyougoodresults.YoucanstartoffwiththebasicsofsearchingforkeywordsandusetheGoogleAdWordsKeywordToolwhichisnowcalledtheGoogleKeywordPlannerTool.ItisafreetollbutthisisGoogle’ssuggestionsandnotnecessarilywhatpeoplewillbesearchingforamonthfromnow.

TIP:Thereareotherthirdpartytoolsyoucanusetodeterminethebestkeywords.YoucanuseservicessuchMOZ.com,SEOAudits.com,orSubmissionComplete.com.

Googlehasthistoolnotjustforsuggestions,butthemorepeopletheyhavevyingforthesamekeywords,thehigherthegoingrateperclickwillbeforeachofthosekeywords.Adwordsperclickpriceisruledbybiddingonthekeywordsandthepeoplewillingtopaythemostamountofmoneyusuallyendupontop.Isayusuallybecausetherearesomevariationstothatrulesuchasadquality.Butforthemostpart,thepersonwillingtopaythemostmoneyperclickusuallyendsupontopoftheads.

YoucangettotheGoogleKeywordsPlannerToolfrom:

https://adwords.google.com/keywordtool

ByenteringasearchphraseintheGoogleAdWordsKeywordPlannerToolyoucanseewhatsortofcompetitionyouareupagainstforanykeyword.Youcanalsogetalistofsuggestedkeywordsthatyoucanfocusonthatyoumayhavenotknownwererelatedtotheservicesorproductsyouaretargeting.Youcanseefromthescreenshotonthenextpagethatyoucanalsohaveitlookatyourwebsiteandgiveyousomekeywordsuggestions.IhaveusedthisfeaturemanytimesandrarelydoesitgivemetherelevantkeywordsIneedunlessthewebsitehasalreadybeenoptimizedforthekeywords.Tryitforyourselfhoweverandmaybeprovemewrongwithyourlineofbusiness.

YoucanseefromthefigureonthenextpagethatIhavechosentolookforthekeyword“kitchenrenovation”.IhappentohavealotofexperienceinthekitchenandbathindustryovertheyearsasIhavehadoverfortyclientsindifferentmarkets.SoIhavebecomesomewhatofanexpert.

InthefigureonthenextpageoftheGoogle’sKeywordPlannerToolitcameupwithabouttencategoriesofrelevantkeywords.Ichosethefirstcategorywhichwasthemostrelevantanditgavemeabout480keywordsuggestions.

Youwillnoticefromtheresultsthatthetoolgivesyouthebasickeywordsthatpeoplesearchfor,thenumberofsearchesforthepreviousmonthonGoogleandthecompetitionlevel.TheCompetitionLevelindicateshowharditisnotonlytorankforthatkeywordbutalsoisagoodindicatorofhowmuchcompetitionthereistargetingthatkeyword.ThehighertheCompetitionLevelindicatoris,themorelikelyyou’regoingtopaymoremoneyforafirstpagePay-Per-Clickadforthatterm.ThehighertheCompetitionLevelistheharderitwilllikelybetogetontopageoneandthemoreyou’regoingtohavetodoinSEOtermstogetrankedonthefirstpageforthatkeywordterm.

Everybusinessownerwhohasawebsitewantstorankhighlyforthekeywordsthatarerelevanttotheirbusinesswithhighcompetition.Theyarethemostrelevantandsoughtafterforanybusinessofcourse.Ifyou’renewtoSEOandyou’rejuststartingtodoSEOortryingtorankanewwebsite,you’regoingtobesorelydisappointedthatyouwon’trankwellorbeseenforawhile.

IrecommendifyouarenewtoSEOoryouhaveanewwebsitethatyoutryandfindcombinationsofkeywordsthatreturnpageswith“POOR”competitionscores.Ifyoucanwriteandoptimizeapageofcontentusingoneormore“POOR”keywordsyoushouldbeabletorankhighlyinsearchesandgetatleastsomevisitsandtraffictoyourwebsitequickly.Thatisprovidedthatyoufollowthebasicsofsearchengineoptimization.

TIP:TherearetwosubscriptionbasedkeywordsuggestiontoolsyoucanuseforkeywordresultsifyouwanttopaymoneyforthemthatIrecommend.TheyarethekeywordtoolsfromRavenTools.comandMOZ.com.Theywon’tdotheworkforyou.Justgiveyouasecondorthirdlistofkeywords.SomeofthesemayormaynotbewhatGooglealreadygaveyou.

YoucanalsoselectfromtheoptionsbelowwhensearchingandgetmoreinformationonNegativeKeywords,selectadifferentcountryforsearchresults,selectalternatelanguagesandevenchangetheresultstoseeGooglesearchpartnersinsteadofjusttheGooglesearchengineasseenbelow.

ThekeywordsintheSERPSthatGooglegivesyouarethekeywordsthatGoogleconsidersrelatedtothetermyousearchedfor.Manytimesitwillnotcoverallthebasesandgiveyouallthekeywordsyoushouldbefocusedon.Thenextstepistobrainstormnewkeywordideasbasedonwhateverthetopicisthatyourwebsitefocuseson.Itcanbemodelnumbers,partnumbers,productdescriptions,etc.Keywordtermscanalsocomefromyousittinginthedriver’sseatandthinking,ifyouwerethepersonsearchingforwhatIhavetooffer,whatwouldIsearchfor?IgnoretheresultsGoogletriestogiveyouandthinkforyourself.YoucanalsolookatyourcompetitionswebsiteoruseawebsitecalledKeywordSpy.comtoseewhatyourcompetitionoptimizestheirwebsitefor.ThissitewillalsoshowyouthecompetitionsPPCads.Theseareallgreatwaystofindsomeofthelesscompetitivekeywordstofocuson.

Nowthatwehavelearnedhowtosearchandgetthesuggestedkeywordsandyouprobablyhaveaverylonglistifyoustoppedreadingandstartedmakingthelist.Ifyouhaven’tfigureditoutyet,everykeywordyouchosehastohaveitsownseparatewebpage,writtentextfocusingonthekeyword,getlinksbuiltforthepage,andsocialmediawithkeywordanchortesttargetingthepage.Soyouaregoingtowanttonarrowthislistdowntoasmallerlistwhichwecallourtrophykeywordsifyouhaveselectedtoomanytostartwith.

Wealreadyknowthepossiblekeywords,thenumberoflocalandglobalsearches,andanestimateofhowmuchcompetitionthereareforthosekeywords.Sowheredowegofromhere?

Ispendcountlesshoursfindingandapplyingtherightkeywordsformycustomersandfindingthemosteffectivekeywordsisascience.Sometimesit’sanexperimentalprocessaswell.Ifyouhaveanewerwebsiteit’sprettyeasy,takethe“POOR”ratedkeywords,andfindtheonesthataremostrelevanttowhatyousellordoandfocusonthemostsearchedforfirst.

IfyouhaveawebsitethatisalreadyrankedoryouareoversixmonthsintoyourSEOcampaignyouhavetolookatthekeywordlistfromGoogle.Youcantakeintoaccounttheamountofcompetitionthekeywordhasandmakebetterdecisionsonthekeywordsyoucantarget.IfyouhaveahighGooglerankingforyourwebsiteorwebpageyoucancompeteagainstprettymuchwhoeveryouwantforthekeywordsthathaveamuchhighercompetitionscore.

IfIwentrightoutforthesearchterm“kitchenrenovation”asshowninpreviousscreenshot,thereare8000sitesrankedhigherthanabrandnewwebsitewhichhasaGooglerankingof“0”.It’sprettyhardtogetontopage1forthat.However,ifyourwebsiteorwebsitepagehasarankingof“3”ormoreyourcompetitionnarrowstoabout200websites.Ifonlyabout5%useanyprofessionalSEOorkeepupwiththelatestSEOtechniquesyouarelookingatonlyabout10competitors.You’renowseeinghowrankingandoptimizationplayarolewithsearchengines.

WARNING:YoumaywanttouseMOZ.comrankingforyourwebsiteasGooglehasnotupdatedtheirPageRankresultsinmorethanayear.TheMOZrankingisveryclosetoGooglePageRankresults.

IfyourwebpageorwebsitealreadyhasaGoogleRankingof“2”ormorethenyoucanstartfocusingon“MEDIUM”or“HIGH”competitionkeywords.Ifthisisthecaseyoushouldchooseonlythekeywordsthathavethehighestnumberofsearchesandchoosethosekeywordstocreatepagesfirst.Afterthosearedoneworkyourwaydowntolessoftensearchedkeywords.Youshouldcontinuedoingthisuntilyouhaveeitherexhaustedyourabilitytocreatenewkeywordpages,youcannotcreateenoughbacklinkstosupportthepagesoryoucannotadequatelyprovidesocialmediaforthenewpages.

IfyouhaveanewerwebsiteorarejuststartingSEO,sticktothesimpleruleofchoosingkeywordswiththehighestamountofsearchesandthelowestamountofcompetition.Findaplaceinthemiddleofthecompetitionscoreversusthenumberofsearches.

LongTailKeywordsLongtailkeywordsarekeywordphrasesthathaveatleasttwo,andsometimesasmany

asfivedescriptivewordsinthephrase.Justlikenormalkeywords,longtailkeywordsareusedtodefinewhatisonthewebpageandwhatthesearcherwantstomorespecificallyfind.

Longtailkeywordsaremorespecific,andtenddrawlesstrafficforthewebsite,buttendtodrawmorequalitytrafficforkeywordsthathavemuchlesscompetition.Visitorstoyourwebsitenormallyuselongtailkeywordstonarrowdownwhattheyaresearchingfor.WhenapotentialvisitortoyourwebsiteislookingtoremodeltheirkitcheninBaltimore,iftheyjustsearchedfor“kitchenremodel”theymightgetresultsfromalloverthecountryandnottargetedtotheirlocalarea.Theymightthencreateamorerefinedlongtailkeywordsearchsuchas“Baltimorekitchenremodelingcompany”togetmorespecificresults.Youhavetotakethatintoaccountandoptimizeforthatkeywordcombinationaswell.Anotherkeywordcombinationyoumightalsotargetis“BaltimoreMAkitchenremodelingcompany”.

Toknowwhatlongtailkeywordstofocuson,researchingandbrainstormingforyourselfisbasicallytheonlywaytoknowwhatkeywordstofocuson.Therearenogoodautomatedtoolsouttheretolearnthosefrom.Asmallinvestmentoftimeandeffortcouldpayoffdividendsinthefuture.Longertailkeywordsalwayshaveamuchlowercompetitionscoreandifyourwebsitefocusesonalocalgeographicalareayouneedtoalwaysincludethecityandkeyword.Youwillwanttofocusontheoppositeformaswell.SoifyouareinaBaltimorekitchenremodeleryouwillwanttofocuson“Baltimorekitchenremodeling”asonekeywordand“kitchenremodelingBaltimore”asacompletelyseparatekeyword.Peopletendtoputthecityfirstmoreoftenidentifyingtheirgeographicallocation.

Nowthatwehaveanunderstandingofthekeywordswearegoingtouse,thefirststepistocreateapageforeachkeywordandsetuptheMetaTagsandtheTitleforeachoneofthosepagesyouareoptimizing.

CreatingtheMetaDataforEachPageWealreadylearnedearlierinthechapterthatourMetataggingstartswithdetermining

ourkeywords.IamgoingtocreateanimaginarycompanyfocusingonkitchenrenovationsinceIhavealreadybeenthatexamplethroughoutthewholechapter.

Let’scallourimaginarybusinessKitchenRemodelingExpertsandsayitisinBaltimore,Maryland.WeneedadomaincalledKitchenRemodelingExperts.com.IalsodidaGooglesearchtomakesureitwasn’talreadyabusiness.

Somyimaginarycompanyneedssomekeywords.Sobasedonmyanalysisthemostsoughtafterandhighlycompetitivekeywordsare:

BaltimoreKitchenRenovationBaltimoreKitchenRemodelerBaltimoreKitchenRemodelingBaltimoreKitchenIdeasBaltimoreNewKitchen

Iactuallycameupwithabouttwohundredmorekeywordsbutthesearethemostbasicforthistutorial.AlsoifthiswerearealcompanyIwouldalsouseallthekeywordswiththecitiesWashingtonDCandDCasalongwiththecityofBaltimorethisnation’scapitalisveryclose.

SoletustakealookatwhatIcameupwithfortheTitleMetatagforthiswebsite.AfterIshowyoutheMetaTagIwillbreakeachlinedownsoyouknowhowtochooseeachlinesspecifictext.

<HEAD>

<Title>BaltimoreKitchenRemodeling</Title>

<Metahttp-equiv=“Content-type”content=“text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1”>

<Metaname=“keywords”content=”Baltimorekitchenremodeling“>

<Metaname=“description”content=”WearethebestBaltimorekitchenremodelingcompany.Callustodayoryoumaypaytoomuch!”>

<Metaname=“googlebot”content=”index,follow”/>

<METAhttp-equiv=“Content-Language”CONTENT=”EN-US“>

<Metaname=“robots”content=”index,follow“>

<Metaname=“Revist-After”content=”7days“>

<Metaname=“city”content=”Baltimore“>

<Metaname=“country”content=”UnitedStates(USA)”>

<Metaname=“state”content=”MD“>

<Metaname=“zipcode”content=”21201“>

<Metaname=“subject”content=”BaltimoreKitchenRemodeling“>

<Metaname=“author”content=”KitchenRemodelingExperts“>

<Metaname=“copyright”content=”KitchenRemodelingExperts“>

</HEAD>

<Body>

(Thisiswherethevisibleportionofyourwebsiteisconfigured.)

</Body>

Takealookateachoneoftheseinthenextsections.

ConfiguringtheKeywordMetaTagTheorderthatyouplaceMETAdataonthecodingofapageisactuallyunimportant

andtohelpthismakesensetoyouIamchangingtheorderIexplainitinjustalittlebit.Firstoff,Iamgoingtodebunkamisconception.IamgoingtotellyoukeywordsareIMPORTANTinMetadata.Regardlessofwhatyouread,someoneontheInternetsays,thelatestrumors,etc.Youshouldn’teventhinkaboutplacingaTitletagoraDescriptiontaguntilyouhavedecidedonthekeywordyouarefocusingthepageison.

Youalreadylearnedthesciencebehindcarefullychoosingyourkeywords.Soonceyouknowthekeywordyouareassigningtothepage,thetagisconfiguredlikethis:


AlthoughIdon’trecommendmorethanonekeywordonapage,ifyouweretoaddanotheryouinsertacommalikethisandaddthesecondkeywordlikethis:

<Metaname=“keywords”content=”Baltimorekitchenremodeling,Baltimorekitchenrenovation“>

Imadekeywordsboldforthisexamplebutthekeywordisnotreallyboldedinyourconfiguration.Youmightnoticesomethingelse.AllthekeywordsareinlowercaseexceptfortheCity.Why?WellGoogledoesn’tcareaboutbeingcasesensitive,butweneedtothinkaboutallthesearchengines.Somesearchenginesarecasesensitiveandmostpeopledon’tcapitalizetheirSERPqueries.Theyjusttypeintheirkeywordstheywanttosearch.

ConfiguringtheMetaTitleTagTheTitletagisusedtodefinethetitleofawebpage,withtheTitletagplacedbetween

the<head>and</head>tagsinthehtmlofthepage.Searchengineswillrecognizethe

Titletagasthetitleofthepage.EachpageshouldhaveitsowndistinctandoriginalTitletag.

ItisrecommendedthatyoukeepyourTitletagshort,withnomorethan70characters.Don’tuseirrelevantwords(meaningwordsthatarenotfoundonthepage)inyourTitlewilldilutetheimpactonyourtargetedkeywords.

TheTitletagisnormallywhereGooglelearnsthekeyworditislookingforonthepage.GooglerarelyusestheKeywordstagforlearningthekeywordsofapage.However,othersearchenginesdouseit.Thekeywordsshouldalwaysbeincludedonthetitle.HereareafewacceptableTitletags:

<Title>BaltimoreKitchenRemodeling</Title>

<Title>BestBaltimoreKitchenRemodelingcompany.</Title>

<Title>BaltimoreKitchenRemodelingatitsbest!<Title>

ConfiguringtheDescriptionTagThemaximumlengthofaDescriptiontagvariesbetweensearchengines.Increating

thistag,trytoplaceyourmostimportantkeywordsearlyinthetextjustincaseoneormoresearchenginestruncatetheresults.Yourwordingshouldalwaysincludeasuggestivecalltoactionaswell.Suchas“Callusfirstoryoumaypaytoomuch!”or“Wearejustaphonecallaway!”

KeepyourDescriptionbetween50and149characters,includingspaces,wheneverpossible.Googlewilldisplay154characters,butothersearchenginesdisplayless.Longerdescriptionsareoflittlevalue,asmostsearchenginesplacelittletonoimportanceonthistagexceptforthekeywordthatisinthetext.ThisisthetagmostSERPqueriesdisplayastextintheorganicresultshowever.

ConfiguringtheGoogleBotandtheRobotTagsThisisactuallynotonebuttwotagsthatarefocusedonallowingsearchenginesto

indexthewebsiteornot.Googlelikestoseeitsowntag.Thesetwotagsonyourwebpageinstructthebotsandcrawlersthatcomefromsearchenginewhethertheyareallowedtoscouryourpageforinformationornot.Thetagqualifier“robots”isthedefaultforallsearchengines.Thequalifiercalled“googlebot”istargetedonlytoGooglecrawlers.Herearesomeofthemostfrequentlyusedoptionsforthesetwotags:

index:Thisallowsthesearchenginetoindexthatpage.

noindex:Thistellsthesearchenginenottoindexthepage.

follow:Thisallowsthesearchenginetofollowthelinksfromthelandingpageandotherpagesitfindsandindexthemaswell.

nofollow:Thisinstructsthesearchenginenottofollowlinksfromthatpageforindexing.

Noodp:Preventsthesearchenginefromusingthepage’sDescriptiontag.

Thetagsareeasytoconfigureandyoushouldplacethemonanywebpageyoucreate.Also,youneverknowwherevisitorsorsearchenginecrawlerswillarrivefromandsotheseshouldbeintheMetatagsofeverypageinyourwebsite.



LanguageIdentifier<METAhttp-equiv=“Content-Language”CONTENT=”EN-US“>

TheLanguageMETAtagdeclarestothesearchenginesthenaturallanguageofthewebpageordocumentbeingindexed.Searchengineswhichindexwebsitesbasedonlanguageoftenreadthistagtodeterminewhichlanguage(s)issupported.Thistagisparticularlyusefulfornon-Englishandmultiplelanguagewebsites.ItalsohelpsGoogletodeterminewhichorhowmanyofitsdifferentcountysearchenginesitshouldlistthewebsitepage.

Thedifferentchoicesforthistagare:

BG(Bulgarian)CS(Czech)DA(Danish)DE(German)EL(Greek)EN(English)EN-GB(English-GreatBritain)EN-US(English-UnitedStates)ES(Spanish)ES-ES(Spanish-Spain)FI(Finnish)HR(Croatian)

IT(Italian)FR(French)FR-CA(French-Quebec)FR-FR(French-France)IT(Italian)JA(Japanese)KO(Korean)NL(Dutch)NO(Norwegian)PL(Polish)PT(Portuguese)RU(Russian)SV(Swedish)ZH(Chinese)

ConfiguringtheMetaRevisitTagGoogleandothermajorsearchenginestypicallyvisityoursiteoncepermonthby

default.Butlet’ssayyourwebsite’scontentchangesmorefrequentlysuchasanewswebsite?Howdoyoutellthesearchenginesspiders,botsandcrawlerstovisitmorefrequently?The“Revisit-After”Metatagisusedjustforthispurpose.


ConfiguringtheMetaLocationTagsThesetagsarereallyimportanttosearchenginestohelpidentifythelocalgeographicallocations.Intheexamplebelow,weaddthecity,country,state,andzipcode,justasifyouweremailingyourselfaletterasshownbelow:





ConfiguringtheMetaSubjectTagThistagarguablyhasverylittleinfluencewiththemajorsearchenginesbutitdoes

havesomewithsmallerones.ItypicallyplacethefirstlongtailkeywordfrommyMetaKeywordstagherewhichshouldbethemostimportantsubjectofourwebsiteasshownbelow.


ConfiguringtheAuthorandCopyrightMetaTagsThesetwoMetatagsalsodoverylittletoenhanceyoursearchenginerankingsand

havemoretodowithidentifyingthepersonorentitythatdidallthehardworkthatwasputintocreatingyourwebpage.The“author”tagshouldlistthepersonorcompanynamethatcreatedthecontentandgraphicaldesignofthepage.The“copyright”tagidentifieswhoownsthecopyrightforthepage.Let’stakealookathowthisfitstogethersofar.

<Metahttp-equiv=“Content-type”content=“text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1”>


<Metaname=“description”content=”WearethebestBaltimorekitchenremodelingcompany.Callustodayoryoumaypaytoomuch!”>


<METAhttp-equiv=“Content-Language”CONTENT=”EN-US“>








<Metaname=“author”content=”KitchenRemodelingExperts“>

<Metaname=“copyright”content=”KitchenRemodelingExperts“>

</HEAD>

WordPressMetaDataThereisnodoubtthatGooglelovesWordPressmorethananyotherplatformwith

theexceptionofHTML5whichhasbeguntooptimizeandindexjustaswell.Itoptimizeseasily,indexesfastandforthemostpartiseasiertorankthanallotherplatforms.SohowdoyouenteralltheMetainfo?IhighlyrecommendtheALLINONESEOplug-infortheMetatagging.

WiththispluginyoucanputintheTitle,KeywordsandtheDescriptionMetatagsatthebottomofeachpagewhenyoucreatetheminWordPress.GooglerequireslessofWordPressandthatisalltheinformationyouneedinyourtagging.TherestoftheMetadatacanbeenteredwithprogrammingonthepageorspecialfieldprovidedintheconfigurationoftheplugin.

ChoosingQualityKeywordsChoosingtherightkeywordsiscomplicatedIknow.AsIstatedearlier,keywordsin

Metatagsarenolongerarequirementbutyoustillwantthemthere.IseecompanieswitharankingofoneortwoonGoogleallthetime.AndsometimesIgetaclientorstudentthatpointsthatout.TheypointoutthatsomepagesthatdonothaveasingleMetatag,noralistofkeywordsandnodescriptioneitherareranking.

Somewhereonthepageisthekeyworditsrankingfor,orothertankingfactorskickintoplay.Suchrankingfactorsasthedomainslongevity,linkage,andrelevantcontentspedthemalongintheprocesstogetranked.Butitwon’tgetthemmuchfartherintherankingprocess.Theywillonlyrankwellduringsomeperiodsoftheyearwhenarankingalgorithmrankswebsiteswiththosefactorshigher.Itisusuallyonlytemporary.

Eachsteppingstonethatyouwithaddingitemsthathelpyourankgetsyoualittlehigherintherankingprocess.Ialwaysliketoexplainittocustomersthateachitemyoudoequalsapointvaluetothemajorsearchengines.Someofmystudentaskmewhatsomeofthemajorfactorsare.SlowlyIhavecompiledalistofsomegoodexamples:

Haveawebsitethathasbeenonlineforalongperiod(years),addpoints.Haveyourwebsiteregistrationpaidsoitexpiresin5yearsormore,addpoints.CreateyourwebsiteinWordPressgetpoints.(GoogleseemstoloveWordPressmorethananyotherwebdevelopmentplatform.)Haveitexpireinlessthanayear,subtractpoints.HaveMetaTags,addpoints.Haverelevantcontent,addpoints,havequalityandrelevantlinks,addpoints.Haveagoodhostingspeedaddpoints.(Youcancheckathttp://pagespeed.googlelabs.com.Apassingscoreis70ormore.)Haveahomepagethathasissmallerthan180KBgetpoints.HavenewsarticlespublishedaboutyourwebsiteonwebsitesthataredeterminedbyGoogletobe“OfficialNewsSites”suchasLocalNewsDay.com,DailyTrib.com,ChicagolandNewspaper.com,FoxNews.com,etc.,addalotofpoints.Havelinksfrom.govand.edusites,addpoints.Haveagoodwebsitequalityscore,addpoints.(YoucancheckthisbyemployingSEOAudits.comorAccuQuality.com.)Dowellonall130+factorsIoutlinehereinthisbook,gethigherrankings!

Thehigherthepointvalues,thehighertherankingscanbecome.Themorepointsneededisbasedonanumberoffactors,includingtheindustryyou’rein,thecompetitionyouhave,competingcompaniesperformingtheirownSEOvyingforthetopspots,localornationalcampaigns,traffictoyourwebsite,twowaylinks,longevityofyourdomain,andmuchmore.Ittakesmuchmorethanjustchoosingakeywordforyourwebpage.

Chapter3-WhatdoIneedtodofirstforSEO?

Okaylet’ssayyouhaveabrandnewwebsitethatisliveontheInternet,havetheMetatagsonlikewetalkedaboutinthelastchapter,youalsohavethekeywordschosenandapagededicatedtoeachkeyword.Butamonthlaternooneiscomingtovisit.Whatneedstobedonefirsttotelltheworldyouexist?Youfirsthavetotellthebiggestsearchengine,Googleaboutyourwebsite.TellingBing,Yahoo!,MSN,andAOLwouldn’thurteither.Thenthereareover150othersearchenginesthataresmallerandyou’llwanttolistyourwebsiteindirectories.AlsoifyouhaveabrickandmortarlocationyouwanttomakesureyoushowuponalltheGPS’sasthosehavebecomejustlikeasearchengine.

YoucanspenddaysandweeksgoingtoallthewebsitesoryoucandotheshortcutIuse.Foraverysmallchargeyoucangetitalldoneforyouinjustafewdaysatwww.SubmissionComplete.com.Theywillsubmityourwebsitetothe200+littlesearchenginesandanother500orsodirectoriesforabout$35.00.Thiswillsaveyouabout100hoursofyourprecioustime,ifnotmoretryingtogetlistedonallthesearchengines.ItiskindofalittlesecretthatgoodSEO’suse.Youcanalsosubmityourwebsitetowww.GPSListingService.comtoallowalltheGPSunitstogetupdatedwithyourbrickandmortarlocation.

AfteryouhavesubmittedyourwebsitetoallthesearchenginesyouwillwanttocreateaGoogleaccountforGoogleWebmasters.Thisisonlyonetoolofmanythatwewillwalkyouthroughconfiguringinthenextfewsections.

AddingYourWebsitetoGoogleWebmasterToolsGoogleWebmasterToolsistheprimarywaythatGoogleusestocommunicatewith

webmasters.Itprovidesgreattrafficdataandinsightaboutyoursite,helpsyoutoidentifyissueswithyoursiteandevenletsyouknowifyoursitehasbeeninfectedwithmalware.Simplystartbygoingto:

www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

TostartusingGoogle’sWebmasterToolsyouhavetoverifythatyouareanauthorizedrepresentativeofyoursite.Thisisdonethroughaprocessofverification.

HowtoAddandVerifyASite:

1. SignintoGoogleWebmasterToolswithyourGoogleAccount.2. ClicktheAddasitebutton,andtypetheURLofthesiteyouwanttoadd.Make

sureyoutypetheentireURL,suchashttp://www.example.com/3. ClickContinue.TheSiteverificationpageopens.4. (Optional)IntheNamebox,typeanameforyoursite(forexample,MyBlog).5. Selecttheverificationmethodyouwant,andfollowtheinstructions.

VerificationProcess

Therearefourmethodsofverificationtoproveyouarethewebmasterofthedomainyouaresubmitting.Ireallyhavenorealpreferenceastowhichmethodyouuse.Herearethefourways:

TheHTMLfileupload.Googleprovidesyouwithablank,speciallynamedfilethatyoujusthavetodropintherootdirectoryofyoursite.Afteryoudothis,justclickontheverifybuttonandyouwillhaveaccesstoyourGoogleWebmasterTooldataforthissite.

AddinganHTMLtag.ClickingonthisoptionwillprovideyouwithaMetatagthatyoucaninsertintotheheaderofyourhomepage.Onceit’sthereclickonthe

verifybuttontoviewyourGoogleWebmasterTooldata.TheGoogleAnalyticsoption.IftheGoogleaccountyou’reusingforGoogleWebmasterToolsisthesameaccountasyourGoogleAnalyticsandyou’reusingtheasynchronoustrackingcode(withthecodebeingintheheadofyourhomepage),thenyoucanverifythesitethisway.TheDNSMethod.SelectyourDomainNameproviderfromthedropdownlistandGooglewillgiveyouastepbystepguideforverificationalongwithauniquesecuritytokenforyoutouse.

WhenyoulogintoGooglewebmastertoolsyouwillgetascreenwhichlistsallthedomainsyouhaveassociatedwithyouraccount.

Ifyouseearedexclamationmarknexttoadomainsuchastheoneabovenotingwww.LocalNewsDay.com,itindicatesthatthereisaproblemwiththewebsiteandyouneedtolookatthemessagefromGoogletoseewhatissueGooglehasfoundwiththewebsite.

TheGoogleWebmasterToolsDashboard

Onceyouhavecompletedtheverificationprocess,youcanloginandstarttoexaminethedataforyoursite.Ifyouhavejustonedomain,theDashboardisthefirstscreenyouwillbetakento.Thisgivesyouaquickviewintosomeofthemorepertinentinformationforyoursite,alongwithanynewmessagesyoumayhavefromGoogle.

GoogleWebmasterToolsiswhereyoureceivemessagesaboutyoursitedirectlyfromGoogle.Theremaybemessagesthatinformyouthatyoursitehaspagesinfectedwithmalware/spam,errors,issueswithindexingyourwebsite,orjustinformationalmessagesuchasGooglewarningyouthatyourWordPressinstallationreallyneedstobeupdated.Pleasenote,youcanalsohaveyourmessagesforwardedtoanyemailaddressassociatedwithyourGoogleaccount.Someexamplesofalertsareshownonthenextfigure.

ConfiguringWebmasterToolSettingsHereyoucantellGooglesomebasicthingsaboutyoursite.Forexample,youcan

informGoogleofthegeographiclocationyoursiteistargeting,yourpreferreddomain(eg.www.yoursite.comoryoursite.com),andeventhecrawlrateindicatinghowoftenGoogleshouldcrawlthewebsite.PleasenotethepreferreddomainoptionjustinformsGooglewhetheryouwantthesitetoshowupinthesearchresultswiththewwworwithoutthewww.Mostsiteswillredirectavisitorfromonetotheother.

SitelinksIfyoursiteisanauthorityonaparticularsubjectwhichisdeterminedbyGoogle,

thenGooglewilldisplaylinksbelowyoursiteinthesearchresults.

TheselinkspointtowhatGoogledeemstobethemostimportantlinksonyoursite’spage.SometimesGooglewillshowalinkthatyoudon’tparticularlywanttobedisplayedinthesearchresults,andthisiswhereyoucandemotethatlinksothatitwon’tappear.SimplyentertheURLofthepagewiththesitelinks(notalwaysjustthehomepage),andthentypeintheURLofthesitelinkthatyouwanttoberemoved.

Ademotedlinkmayreappearinyoursearchresultsafter90days,sobesuretocheckthissection.

SettingURLParametersThisfeatureallowsyoutospecifytheURLquerystringparametersthatshouldn’tbe

consideredbyGooglewhenexaminingURLsonthesitetodetermineiftheyareuniqueURLs.Forexample,ifyouhadatrackingparameterthatyouuseforaparticularcampaign,thenthepageisobviouslytheexactsamepageaswhenit’sreachedwithoutthetrackingparameter.ThusGooglemightconsiderbothURL’tobeseparatepagesandcontainduplicateinformationwhichisabigissueinGoogleseyes.EnteringthetrackingparameterinheretellsGooglethattheyshouldignorethetrackingparameterwhenlookingattheURL.

ChangeofAddress

Ifyouchangeyourentiresitetoanewdomain,thenthisiswhereyouletGoogleknow.Onceyou’vesetupyournewsite,301’dthecontentfromyouroldsitetoyournew,addedandverifiedyournewsiteonGoogleWebmasterTools,thenyouinformGoogleofthemovehere.Basically,thishelpsGoogle’sindexbeupdatedalittlequicker.

CreatingUsersThisiswhereyoucanviewandcontrolallauthorizedwebmastersonyouraccount.

Forexample,anewusercanbeaddedhereandyoucansettheirlevelofprivilegelevelorwhattheyareauthorizedtoview.OwnershavepermissiontoaccesseveryitemandeverypieceifinformationinGoogleWebmasterTools.Anyuserswhohasbeengranted“Full”permissionscandoeverythingexceptaddusers,linkaGoogleAnalyticsaccountorinformGoogleofachangeofaddresswhichareseparatelyconfigurableoptions.Userswith“Restricted”permissionhavethesamerestrictionsasthosewith“Full”permissionplusthefollowing:theyonlyhaveviewingcapabilitiesonconfigurationdata,cannotsubmitsitemaps,cannotrequestURLremovals,cannotsubmitURLs,cannotsubmitreconsiderationrequests,andonlyhavethecapabilitytoviewcrawlerrorsandmalwarenotifications.

AssociatesThissectionallowsyoutoassociatedifferentGoogleaccountswithyourGoogle

WebmasterToolsaccountsothattheycanbedesignatedasofficiallyconnectedtotheaccountorwebsitesintheaccount.ThisisavailableforsitesthatareintheYouTubePartnersProgramandtheChromeWebStore.Toassociateanaccountsimplyclickonthe“AddaNewUser”buttonwhichisred,entertheGoogleaccountemailaddressthat’sassociatedwiththeYouTubeorChromeWebStoreaccountyou’reassociating,clicktheappropriatecheckboxandhittheaddbutton.

CrawlErrors

Here’swhereyoufindoutabouttheerrorsthatGooglehasdetectedwhencrawlingyourwebsite.Thisisaninvaluabletoolasitcanabsolutelyhelpyouinidentifyingavarietyofissuesonyourwebsitetheseissuescanincludeservererrors,missingpages,andmuchmore.Thistoolalsoshowsyouthenumberofcrawlerrors,liststhepagesandsevenshowsagraphofyourerrorcountovertimesoyoucaneasilyseewhetherit’sbeenagradualissueoramoresuddenoccurrence.Thisisagoodtooltokeeptabsonfrequentlysothatyoucatchtheseerrorsastheycropup.

CrawlStats

Thissectionsimplyprovidesyouwithanideaofhowfastthecrawlersareabletoreadyourpages.Pleasenotethatspikesaretobeexpectedhere,butifyouseeasustaineddropinpagescrawled,orasustainedspikeintimespentdownloadingapage,orinthesizeofapage,thenthistellsyouthatyoushouldtakealookatwhat’schangedrecentlyonyourwebsiteorhowitisconfiguredorhosted.

BlockedURLs

Thisiswhereyoucantestoutyourcurrentrobots.txtfilethatisassociatedwithyourwebsite.Youcanalsoseeifanypagesonyourwebsitetohadanissuebeingcrawledornot.Youalsohavetheabilitytotestoutmodificationstoyourrobots.txtfiletoseewhethertheywillworkedasyouanticipateagainstvariouspagesonyoursite.

FetchasGoogle

ThisfunctionallowsyoutoviewyourpagesasGoogleseesthem.Thistoolisdesignedtohelpwebmasterstroubleshootpotentialissueswiththecrawlingoftheirsite.ItwillreturntheHTTPresponse,thedateandtime,andtheHTMLcode,includingthefirst100kbofvisibletextonthepage.ThisisagreatwayofverifyingthattheGooglecrawlerseesthepageasyouexpectit.Ifthepagelookshowyouexpectitto,thenyoucansubmitittotheindex.Youareallowed500fetchsubmissionsperweek,and10linkedpagesubmissionsperweek.

IndexStatus

TheIndexStatuspageprovidesstatsabouthowmanyofyourURLsGooglewasabletocrawland/orindex.AsteadyincreaseinthenumberofcrawledandindexedpagesindicatesthatGooglecanregularlyaccessyourcontent,andthatyoursiteisbeingindexed.Ifyouseeasuddendropinthenumberofindexedpages,itmaymeanthatyourserverisdownoroverloaded,orthatGoogleishavingtroubleaccessingyourcontent.Thisisdefinitelyanareathatyouwillwanttoconsistentlymonitor.

MalwareIfGooglehasdetectedanymalware/spamonyoursitethenitwillbedisplayed

here.Pleasenotethatyouwillalsobenotifiedofthisinyourmessages.Ifyouseeapagelistedherethenyouwillwanttogetitfixedassoonaspossibleandclickonthe“RequestaReview”buttonthatwillbedisplayedhere.

TrafficSearchQueriesThispagegivesinformationaboutGoogleWebSearchqueriesthathavereturned

pagesfromyoursite.Inaddition,youcanalsoseeinformationaboutthepagesonyoursitethatwereseenmostofteninsearchresults(toppages).Hence,youcangetanoverviewofthetopkeywordsthatreturnedapagefromyoursiteinthesearchresults.Notethedatashownhereiscollectedinaslightlydifferentwayfromyouranalyticsplatform,sodon’texpectthenumberanexactmatch.Whatthisdoesisgiveyouisanideaofthetoptrafficdrivingkeywordsforyoursite,thenumberofimpressionsandclicks,andthereforetheClickThroughRate(CTR),andtheaveragepositionthatyourpagewasrankingforthatparticularquery.

Youcanalsoviewthesamedatabypageratherthanbykeyword.Thisshowsyouthetoptrafficgeneratingpagesonyoursite,andperhapshelpyouidentifythosethatyoushouldconcentrateonoptimizing,asahightrafficgeneratorin11thpositionwouldbeamuchhighertrafficgeneratorin8th.

LinkstoYourSiteThissectiondisplaysthedomainsthatlinktoyoursitethemostandyourmost

linkedtocontent.PleasenotethatyoucanalsoattainthisdataifyouwenttoGoogle.comandperformedasearchfor“Link:yoursite.com”,butthissectionwilldisplaymoresoitisveryinformative.

InternalLinksTheInternalLinkspagelistsasampleofpagesfromyoursitethathaveincoming

linksfromotherinternalpages.Thenumberofinternallinkspointingtoapageisasignaltosearchenginesabouttherelativeimportanceofthatpage.ThisservesasanindicatorofyourauthorityonasubjectaswellasprovidesyouwithaglimpseofapagethatGoogledeemsasimportant.

SitemapsSitemapsbasicallytellGoogletheexactURL’stousetofindthepagesonyour

website.ThisgivesGoogleacomprehensivepictureofyoursite.AnXMLSitemapisjustalistoftheURL’sonyourwebsite.ItisimperativethatyoucreateandsubmityoursitemaptoGooglecorrectly.

Laterinthisbookwewilldiscusshowtocreateasitemapcorrectly.However,GoogleWebmastertoolsallowsyoutouploadyoursitemaptotestit.TodothissimplyclicktheAdd/TestSitemapbutton,andyouwilldiscoverifyoursitemapisvalid.Ifyourspassesthetest,thensimplyaddthesitemapbyclickingtheAddSitemapbuttonandyouuploaditdirectlytoGoogle.

Pleasenotethatthedefaultviewhereistoonlyshowthesitemapsthatyouhaveuploadedoradded.Toviewthosethathavebeenaddedbyotherauthorizedusersontheaccountclickthe“All”tab.TheSitemaptestpageinGoogleWebmasterToolsshowsyouthesitemapsthatyou’vesubmitted,thenumberofpagestheyfoundineachsitemap,andthenumberofthosepagesthatthey’veindexed.YoucanalsoseequiteclearlyifthereareanyerrorsormisconfigurationissuesthatGooglehasdetectedwithinyoursitemaps.Simplyclickonthewarningshyperlinktoviewthemallaswellassuggestionsonhowtofixtheissues.

RemoveURLsOptionIfforsomereasonyouneedtoremoveoneofaURLfrombeingindexed,thenthis

iswhereyouperformthat.Thefirststepistoeitherremovethepageitselforusa301redirecttomovethepageelsewheresothatitcan’tbecrawledandindexedinthefuture.OnceremovedyoucannolongergettothepagesoyoucanusethistooltoinformGoogleyouwanttheURLremovedfromtheirindex.

TodothissimplyentertheURLthatyouwanttoremove,clickcontinue,thenselectwhetheryouwantitremovedfromthesearchresultsandthecache,orjustfromthecache.ClickingtheSubmitRequestaddsittotheremovalqueue.PleasenotethattypicallyGooglehonorstheserequestsquicklyandwillusuallyprocessthemwithinabouttwototwelvehours.

StructuredDataTheStructuredDatapageontheGoogleWebmastersToolslistseachtypeof

structureddatadiscoveredonyourwebsite.ItalsostatesthenumberofpagesthatwerediscoveredforeachtypeofStructuredData.ToseethesourceURL’s,clickthedatatype.IntheSourceURL’slist,clickanyofthelinksthatarelistedtoseethestructureddataGooglewasabletoextractfromthatpage.GoogleWebmasterToolswillthenshowyouapreviewofhowthepagesrenderinGoogle’sSERPsbyclickingRichsnippetspreviewoption.

HTMLImprovementsThispageonGoogleWebmasterToolsshowsyouanypotentialissuesGooglehas

foundwhencrawlingandindexingyoursitewithanemphasisonyoursite’sTitleandDescriptiontags.YourTitlesandDescriptionstagsshouldbeuniqueforeachURLandshouldbewithincertaincharacterlengthranges.ThisisamajormistakethatmanywebmastersmakeandGoogleidentifiesthosepageshere.

IfallofyourpageshavethesameDescriptiontagyou’renottellingreallythesearchenginesmuchaboutwhatthefocusisonthosepages.ByclickingoneachURLlistedyouwillgetadescriptiveoverviewoftheerrorGooglefoundanditwillalsogiveyoualistofotherpageswherethesameerrorwasdetected.

ContentKeywordsTheContentKeywordssectionoftheGoogleWebmasterToolsdisplaysthemost

commonkeywordsonyourpagesasdeterminedbytheGooglecrawler.Pleasenoteifyouseeanunexpectedorunrelatedkeyword(s),that’susuallyanindicationthatyoursitemayhavebeenhacked,sodefinitelyvisitthissectionregularly.

DataHighlighterTheDataHighlighterToolisusedtoteachGoogleaboutthepatternofevent-relatedorobject-relateddataonawebpage.YousimplyuseDataHighlightertotagthedatafieldsoneachURLwithamouse.GooglereadsthecodingitgivesyouforthepageandcanpresentyourdatamoreattractivelyandinnewwaysintheSERPs.

OneofthenewwaysisinanewfeaturewewilltalkaboutlatertheGoogleKnowledgeGraph.

Forexample,ifyouuseDataHighlightertotagdatasuchasthebusinessname,location,date,andsoonfortheeventsonyoursite,thenexttimeGooglecrawlsyoursitetheeventdatawillbeavailableforrichsnippetsonsearchresultspages:

Taggingapageiseasy.Youdon’tneedtochangeyoursite’sHTML.JusthighlightdataitemswithyourmouseandselecttheirtypefromtheGoogleWebmasterToolsDataHighlighter.

Youcanalsohighlightasetofsimilarpagesallatonce.Startwithonetypicalpage.DataHighlighterwillthenautomaticallytagsimilarpagesforyouandstayinsyncwithupdatestoyoursite.

OtherResources

ThissectioncontainslinkstotoolsthatareoutsideofGoogle’sregularlistofWebmasterTools,butareofinteresttowebmasters.ToolsincludetheRichSnippetTestingtool,whichenableswebmasterstotesttheirschemaimplementations.

Labs

ThelabssectionoftheGoogleWebmasterToolscontainsfunctionalitythat’sintestingmode.WhenGoogledeemsthatitisreadytobeusedandincorporatedwiththeotherregulartoolsorgetitsownsection.

AuthorStats

Ifyouwantyourauthorshipinformationtoappearinsearchresultsforthecontentyoucreate,you’llneedaGooglePlusProfilewithagood,recognizableheadshotasyourprofilephoto.Then,verifyauthorshipofyourcontentbyassociatingitwithyourprofileusingeitherofthemethodsbelow.Googledoesn’tguaranteetoshowauthorinformationinGoogleWebSearchorGoogleNewsresults.

GoogleNews

CustomSearch

ThisallowsyoutosetupGooglecustomizedsearchforyourownsite.Thereisastepbystepguidethatyoucanfollowhere.

InstantPreviews

ThistoolallowsyoutoseehowyoursitelooksusingGoogle’sInstantPreviewfeature(theviewofyoursitethatcanbeseeninthesearchresultswhenyoumouseoverthedoublearrowsthatshowupnexttoaresult).

NextStep,AddaLocalBusinessListingToGooglePlacesFirstoffyouneedtoknowwheretogo.ForGooglethelocalbusinesslistingsare

addedattheLocalBusinessCenterasbelowatthefollowingaddress:

http://www.google.com/local/addU

IfyouarealreadyloggedintoGoogleandyouhavebeenherebeforeitwilllistallyourcurrentbusinesslistingsasshownbelow.

Youwillnoticefromscreenshotabovethatthereareafewoptionstoconfigure.Alsoyouseehowmanytimesyourbusinesswasshownonthelistingsandhowmanypeopleclickedonit.Onlyrecentinformationisshown.Noticetheoptionto“ViewReport”willshowyoulegacyinformationandgiveyouamoreaccurateviewofthenumbersofsearchesandclicks.

Inthenexttwoscreenshotsyouwillseehowtoaddtheclientyousawinthepreviousscreenshotstepbystep.

Thisnextscreenshotshowshowyoutoenterthehoursofoperationandthepaymenttypesthatyourbusinessaccepts.

NOTE:GooglehasacompleteguidetoGoogle

Placesat:http://www.google.com/support/place

Thenextscreenshowsyouhowtoaddalogo,picture,andevenvideodescribingyourbusiness.

Thelastoptionshownbelowgivesyoutheoptiontoaddbrandsyoucarryandotherdetailsaboutyourbusiness.

Thelastscreenbelowsumsupalltheinformationyouhaveentered.Youwillseeinthefiguremycustomer’sinformationonGoogleLocalBusinessListingswhichisalltheinformationenteredpreviously.

ThelastthingwehavetodoischoosehowwewantGoogletoverifyourbusiness.Googleallowsyoutoeitherverifythephonenumberbycallingyouandgivingyouapinnumberoverthephoneoryoucanverifytheaddressbywaitingforthemtosendyouapinnumberbymailasshownbelow.

Verifyingbyphoneisthequickestwaytoverifyyourlisting.Todothisyoudoneedtohavethephonesittingrightnexttoyoubecauseitislessthan10secondssometimesbeforethephoneringstogiveyouyourpinnumberwhichyouneedtoenteronthemainlistingscreenwhichlistsallthebusinessesyouhavelistedontheGoogleBusinessListingasshownbelow.

OnemorereallyinterestingthingyoucandointheGoogleBusinessListing’sofferandAdWordsExpressad.ThisisbasicallyalinktocreateanadquicklyinGoogleAdWords.

NOTE:IfyouhavemultiplelocationsyoucanaddastorecodewhichisauniqueIDthatyoucanassigntoeachofyourbusinesslocations.Astorecodemustrefertotheexactsamestoreacrossmultipleversionsofabulkupload.Thesecodescanhelpyouidentifyyourbusinessesataglance.

Examples:store1,store2

location:NY,locationFL,locationCA

101,102,103

Thestorecodemustbeunder60charactersinlengthandnotcontainanyleadingortrailingwhitespace.

NextStep,AddingYourSitetoBingWebmasterToolsBing’sWebmasterToolsprovidesomegreataswellasnecessarydataforusersto

assistthemwithoptimizingtheirwebsite.Thesetoolshelpyoutounderstandmoreaboutyourwebsite’straffic,issueswithyouwebsite,andthistoolsfromasearchengineactuallyprovidesyouwithamorecomprehensiveviewofyourSEOperformance.TogetstartedusingthesetoolsyouneedtofirstvisittheBingWebmasterToolspageat:

http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster

ThefirststepistosetupyourMicrosoftaccountifyoudon’thaveone.Justfollowtheinstructionstodothisandthenyoucanaddyoursite.SimplyentertheURLofyourhomepageandthenclickontheADDbutton.ThistakesyoutoascreentoenterasitemapURLandsomebasictrafficinformationaboutyoursite.

YouthengetalittlelongerformtocompletetoaddtheSitemaplinkandthetimeofdayyouthinkyougetthemosttraffic.

AfterclickingtheADDbuttonyou’llbetakentotheBingWebmaster’sdashboardpagewhereyou’llseeathumbnailofyourhomepage.Thenextstepistoverifyyoursite.Todothis,clickonthe“VerifyNow”text.

VerificationProcess

Bingoffersthreeverificationmethods.

Option1:PlaceanXMLfileonyourwebserver

Withthisoptionyou’lldownloadafilenamed“BingSiteAuth.xml”whichwillautomaticallyhaveanentrykeyedtoyouraccount.Thisfilewillneedtobeplacedintherootdirectoryofyoursite.Onceit’sthereyouclicktheVerifybuttonatthebottomofthepage.

Option2:Copyandpastea<meta>taginyourdefaultwebpage

Withthisoptionyou’lltakethelineofcodeprovidedandplaceitinthe<head>sectionofthehomepageofyoursite.Onceit’sthereyouclicktheVerifybuttonatthebottomofthepage.

Option3:AddCNAMErecordtoDNS

Thisoptionismoretechnicalthantheprevious2,butifyouonlyhaveaccesstoyourhostingsolution,anddon’thavetheabilitytoeithermodifytheheadofyourhomepageortodropfilesintherootofyourdomain,thenthisistheonlyoptionthatwillworkforyou.

You’llneedtoaddaCNAMErecordwiththenameprovidedtothevalueverify.bing.com.Pleasenote,thereareinstructionsonhowtodothisformanywell-knownhostingsolutions.

Oncethishasbeendone,youjusthavetoclicktheVerifybuttonatthebottomofthepage.IfBingWebmasterToolsisabletoverifyyoursite,youwillseeagreenmessagesayingthatyourdomainisverifiedandyoursiteinformationwillbegintopopulateoverthenextcoupleofdays.Ifyouseearedtextmessagestating“Weweren’tabletoverifyyoursite”,reviewtheinformationinthestepsaboveandtryagain.

BingWebmasterDashboard

Clickingonyoursitetakesyoutothedashboard.Hereyou’llseedatashowingtrendingdataoverthelastmonth–clicks,impressions,pagescrawled,crawlerrorsandpagesindexed.You’llalsoseesomebasicinformationonyoursitemaps,topkeywords,andtoppageslinkedto.

ConfiguringYourSite

Clickingonthistabwillgiveyouadashboardofdataforitemsthatyoucanadjustwhenconfiguringyoursite.Forexample,clickingonthesub-tabswillgiveyoumoredetailandletyoumakechanges.

Sitemaps

Here’swhereyoucansubmitnewsitemaps,aswellaslearnaboutthesuccessorerrorstatusofthem.

SubmitURLs

Ifyoufeelthatyouhavetosubmitsomenewcontenturgently,andyoudon’tbelievethatyou’recrawledoftenenoughforittogetintotheBingindexasquicklyasyouwant,youcanusethisfeaturetosubmitupto10pagesperday,50permonth.SimplyentertheURLs,justoneperline,andthenclicktheSubmitbutton.

IgnoreURLParameters

OnthistabyouhavetheoptiontotelltheBingcrawler(Bingbot)toignoreURLparametersthathavenoimpactuponthecontentofthepagewhichtypicallyaretrackingparameters.Thereasonthatthisoptionisavailablewasbecauseoftheconcernoverduplicatecontent–samecontentdifferentURLs.Byinstructingthecrawlerstoignorecertainparameters,theideawasthatthiswouldreducethepotentialforduplicatecontent.IfyouareusingcanonicaltagsyouhavenoneedtousethisoptionasthecanonicaltagswilltakecareofnormalizingyourURLs.

Ifyou’renotusingcanonicaltags,simplyenterthekeyelementoftheparametertobeignoredandclicksubmit(thengetacanonicaltagprojectonyourproductroadmapsoyoucanignorethisinthefuture).

CrawlControl

InthistabyouareabletocustomizewhenBingcrawlsyoursiteforcontent.Searchengineswanttogetasmuchgoodcontentfromyoursiteaspossible,sotheycanprovidethatcontenttouserstoimprovetheirsearchresults,buttheyalsorecognizethattheydon’twanttoharmyourbusinesswhiletheyperformthistask.Basically,youcanadjustwhenBingcrawlsyoursiteforcontentsothey’rehittingyoursitethehardestwhenyourtrafficislowandnotwhenyourtrafficisatitspeak.Youcanchooseoneoftheirdefaultoptionsorsetthebesttimesforyoutobecrawled.

DeepLinks

DeepLinkshelpstogiveyourpagemorevisibilityinthesearchresultsbyprovidingadditionalcontentoptionsforuserstochoose.TheseareautomaticallypopulatedbasedonthepagesthatBingfeelsismostrelevanttousers.(PleaseNote-Youdon’thavetheabilitytoaddDeepLinks,butbyclickingononeoftheURLsthat’sbeenpopulatedyou’llbetakentoapagethatshowsthedeeplinksinorder.Onthispage,youhavetheoptiontoeitherblockoneormoreofthem,andifyouchooseyoucanreorderthembyratingthemviaimportance.

BlockURLs

Onthispage,youcanremoveeitherapageoradirectoryfromtheBingindexifyouneedto.Justselectpageordirectory,entertheURL,andclickoneitheroftheblockbuttonsdependingonwhetheryouareblockingitfromjustthecacheorcompletely.(PleaseNote-Bingdoesn’trequirethatyou’veremovedorredirectedtheoriginalcontent.Instead,theyblockitfor90days,andifafterthattimeperiodthewebsiteiscrawlableandyouhavenotextendedtheblock,they’llre-indexitagain.

DisavowLinks

Onthispage,youcaninformBingofanylinksthatyoudon’twant.Simplyselectpage,directoryordomainandentertheURLthathousesthelinktoyoursite.

Users

Hereyouhavetheabilitytoaddnewuserswithoutgoingthroughtheverificationprocessforeachone.JustaddavalidLiveIDemailaddress,thenselecttheirrole(Readonly,Read/Modify,orAdministrator)andclickADD.TheuseryouaddedwillthenseethissitedisplayedintheirBingWebmasterTool’sdashboard.

ReportsandData

ThissectiongivesyouaccesstoreportsanddataontheeffectivenessandperformanceofyoursiteonBing.InmostofthesesectionsyouhavetheabilityjustlikeGoogleofferstoexportthedataintoaspreadsheet.

PageTrafficReport

PageTrafficshowsyouthetrafficstatsforthetopperformingpagesonasite.Yougettoseeclickdata,impressiondata,CTRData,theaveragepositionwhenclicked,andtheaveragepositionwhenviewed.TheViewhyperlinkattheendopensupawindowthatshowsyouthekeywordsforthatURLandtheirdata.

IndexExplorer

ThissectionprovidesyouwithauniqueviewofhowBingseesyoursite.ItreflectsalltheURLsBinghasseenontheweb,includingredirects,brokenlinks,orthoseblockedbyrobots.txt,organizedinanfileexplorer-likefashion.Thisviewcanhelpyougetsomereallydetailedinsightsintohowyoursitewasseenbythesearchengineduringrecentcrawls.Itcanhelpdiscoverbothissuesonyoursiteaswellasopportunities.Anicefeaturehereisthatitshowsthesubdomainsthathavebeencrawled.Youcanalsofilterthedatatoshowonlypageswith301redirects,404errorsoridentifiedmalwareinfectionswithasingleclick.

Additionally,ifyouwanttoseepagesthathavereturnedothererrorcodes(i.e.,500series),thenallyouhavetodoisselectthatrangefromtheHTTPcodedropdown.

SearchKeywordsReport

ThisreportshowssomeanalyticsanddataonyourtopperformingkeywordsinBingwhichcomefromorganic/non-paidsearch.You’llbeabletoviewtheclickstoyoursite,theimpressions,theClickThroughRate(CTR),theaveragepositionwhenclicked,andtheaveragepositionoverall.ClickingontheViewhyperlinkshowsallofthepagesthatwereservedupwhenthatkeywordwassearched.

SEOReports

ThisiswhereyougetalloftheSEOrecommendationsthatwillhelpyoursitecomplywithSEObestpractices.TheSEOReportsprovideaggregatedcountsofalltheissuesfound,acrosstheentirewebsitescanned.ClickingonanitemintheSEOSuggestionslisttakesyoutoSEOAnalysisDetailpagewheretheissueisexplainedanditevenshowsasampleofpagesaffectedbythisnon-compliance.Simplyclickontheerrortogetafulldescriptionoftheproblemalongwithalistofthetop50pagesthatwerenon-compliant.

InboundLinks

ThissectionshowstheexternallinksthatBinghasdiscoveredthatpointtoyoursite.Thetrendinginformationonthegraphdisplayswhetheryouareincreasingordecreasinglinks.ClickingonanyURL,orthenumbertotherightoftheURL,willopenapopupwindowwhichdisplaystheURLthatcontainsthelinktoyoursiteandshowstheanchortextthatisusedforthelinkonthatpage.

ClickingonanyURL,orthenumbertotherightoftheURL,willopenapopupwindowwhichdisplaystheURLthatcontainsthelinktoyoursiteandshowstheanchortextthatisusedforthelinkonthatpage.

CrawlInformation

HereyoucanviewinformationaboutcrawlissuesthatBinghasfoundonyoursite.ThissectioncontainssimilardatatotheIndexExplorersection,butprovidesadifferentviewofthedata.Toseethepageswhereerrorshavebeenreported,clickonthenumberundertheerrortype.

ThissectioncontainssimilardatatotheIndexExplorersection,butgivesadifferentviewintothedata.Toseethepagesthattheerrorshavebeenreportedfor,clickonthenumberundertheerrortypeandthey’llbedisplayedbelow.

DiagnosticsandTools

Thisnewsectioncurrentlyhasfiveusefultoolsthatanywebmastercanuse.

KeywordResearch

KeywordresearchisoneofthefundamentaltasksofanySEOcampaign.HereBinggivesyouaccesstotheirkeywordresearchdatasoyoucanseethequeryvolumesonBingforthekeywordsyou’reinterestedin,alongwithrelatedkeywordswhichcangiveyouideasforotherareasthatyoumaywanttotarget.

Filters

Youcanselectmultiplecountriesinthesamelanguagenow:forexampleCanada,theUnitedStates,andtheUnitedKingdomcombinedwithEnglish.Inaddition,youcanfilterbydateranges(goingbackupto6months)andalsofilterbylanguageorregion.Themoneyicon($)willdisplaycost-per-clickinformationfromBingAdswhenhoveredoverandprovidesyouwithaquickwaytobuythekeyword.Clickingonaphraserefinestheresearchdataroundthatphraseandrerunstherequestinthetool.Clickinganycolumntitlesortsthedataeitheralphabetically(forkeywords)orbynumber.

LinkExplorer

InthissectionyoucanenteranyURLandgetalistofpagesthatlinktoit.Thisisagreattooltodosomecompetitiveandmarketresearchsinceyoucanuseittolearnmoreaboutwhatsiteslinkslinktositessimilartoyours.Thereareotherfilteroptionsavailable,youcanfilterbysitetogetalistofthepagesthatlinktothatURL,youcanfilterbyanchortextsoyoucanseewholinkswith“ClickHere”andwholinkswiththebrandname,andyoucanfilterbythesource–internal,externalorboth.

FetchasBingbot

Ifyou’dliketoseeyourpageasBing’scrawler,Bingbot,seesit,justenteryourURLhereandclickFetch.Youwillthenseetheheadersandcontentforthepagedisplayed.It’sagreattoolfordeterminingifapageonyoursitecanbecrawled.

MarkupValidator

ThepurposeofthistoolistohelpyouunderstandifyouhaveimplementedyourselectedstructuredmarkuplanguageinawaywhichallowsBingtoreadtheinformationproperlyforitssearchresults.ThistoolcanbeusedonanyURLtoviewthespecialmarkupappliedinthepage’ssourcecode.Themarkuplanguagesrecognizedbythistoolarethefollowing:Microformats,RDFa,OpenGraph,Schema.org,andHTMLMicrodata).Ifthemarkuphasbeenappliedcorrectlyinthecodeofthescannedpage,itwillshowthemarkupinareportbelowtheinputspace.

SEOAnalyzerInthissectionyoucanreceiveanalysisofanindividualpageonyoursitetosee

whatworkisrequiredforthepagetocomplywithSEObestpractices.

MessageCenter

ThisiswhereBingwillcommunicatewithyouinregardstoissuesfrommalwaredetectiontocrawlspeedconcerns.Youcanfilterbysiteifyouhavemultipleones,andifyouhavelotsofmessagesyoucanalsofilterbymessagetype.

It’sveryintuitive.Further,youcanalsohaveBingemailthesemessagestoyou.JustclickontheProfilelinkinthetoprightofthepageandchecktheappropriateboxestoindicatehowoftenyou’dliketoreceiveemails,andwhattypesoferrorsyou’dliketobenotifiedabout.

NextStep,AddaBingBusinessPortalListingFirstoffyouneedtoknowwheretogo.AndforBinglocalbusinesslistingswhich

arenowtheBingBusinessPortalareaddedattheLocalListingCenterasshownbelow:

http://www.bing.com/businessportal

Hereyoucanaddanewlistingandcreatealogin.Ialreadyhavealogin,soIwillloginandimmediatelyitshowsmycurrentlistingsasshownbelow.

Clickontheplussymbolnexttothesearchbaranditallowsyoutoenteranewlistingasshownbelow.

Undermoredetailsyoucanaddadditionalinformationaboutthebusinessaswellassetthehoursandthetypesofpaymentyoutakeasseenbelow.

YoucansetyourspecialtiesfromadropdownlistprovidedbyBingandalsoscalethepercentageofservicesorproductsyouprovideinthescreenbelowcalled“Profile”.

NextyouhaveauniquescreenwhereBingactuallyhelpsyoutocreateamobileversionforyourwebsiteasshownbelow.

Inthenextscreenyoucansettheitemsyousellandthepricesasseenbelow:

Thefinalscreenbeforetheverificationprocessyoucanuploadpicturesorlogosofyourbusinessasseenbelow.

Lastlyyouhavetoverifythatyouareatthephonenumberoraddressbyselectingthemethodyouwanttoverifywith.Yourlistingwillnotrununtilitisverified.

Next,AddaBusinessListingToYahoo!Yahooisstillinthetop3searchenginesandsinceMarissaMayerhastakenoverit

hashighhopesthisyearofmakinganevenbetterturnaround.ItstillmaintainsitsadvertisingpartnershipwithBing.com,soyoucanbettheirshareofthesearchenginemarketwillonlygrow.HerearetheinstructionstoaddyourwebsitetothelocalbusinesslistingsofYahoo!.GotolocallistingtoaddyourbusinessatthefollowingURLasshowninthefigurebelow:

http://listings.local.yahoo.com/csubmit/index.php

Youcanalsoaddmultiplebusinesstypesandhitsubmittosubmityourwebsite.Thereisonlyonescreentoenterinformationsoitisrathersimple.Whenyouaredoneyouwillseethescreenbelow.

NextStep,MakeSureYourWebsiteHasGoodMechanicsThroughout2015Google’salgorithmhasreallytakenastronglookathowwella

websiteisdesignedandcoded.Somuchsothatifyourwebsitehasahighnumberofbrokenlinks,itisalmostimpossibletogetranked.TherearemoredealbreakerswithGoogleaswellsuchasareyourpagestoobigover180Kb?IsyourwebsitecompatiblewithallthedifferentwebbrowsersincludingIE,Firefox,Safari,IPod,IPad,IPhone,andtheAndroidbrowsers?Howdoyoufindoutifyouhaveproblems?

EveryclientItakeongetsaSEOAuditbyanindependentauthority.AccuQuality.comReportsprovidethemostcomprehensivereportsforthemoney,howeveralessexpensivereportcanbeobtainedfromSEOAudits.com.Ihighlyrecommendthateverywebsitehaveanauditinitiallyafterthedesigniscompletedandeveryyearataminimum.Standardschangeandtheirreportskeepup.Secondly,ifchangesyoumaketothewebsitecreatebrokenlinksorlinkschangetooutsidewebsites,theycanbeeffectingyoursearchenginerankingsandyouwillneverknowit!

Ifyouhaveevervisitedagradingwebsitethatlooksatyourwebsiteshomepagein30secondsandgiveyouascore,thisisnotwhatAccuQuality.comReportsare.Thesesitesprovideabasicreportandscoreforonlyyourhomepagedoingonlyadozenorsoteststogiveyourwebsiteagrade.AccuQuality.comandSEOAudits.comtesteverypageofyourwebsiteandeachofthemdoover400testsperpage.Testingeverythingfrombrokenlinks,W3Ccompliance,browsercompatibility,searchability,andmuchmore.Theybothevenspellcheckyourentirewebsiteanddeliverahugereportonline.

Notonlydotheydoacompletecomprehensivewebsitereportonyourentirewebsite,butthereportalsoidentifiesthelineinthecodeoneachpagewithanissueandinstructionsonhowtocorrecteveryissuethatthereportidentifies.Foreveryissuethereportidentifies,ifitisnotfixedyoulosethoseimaginaryrankingpointstowardgettingrankedwell.

EverywebsiteIhavepersonallytestedwithAccuQulaity.comhasbeenfoundtohaveover200+criticalerrorsidentifiedandmanywouldhaveneverrankedwellbecauseoftheissuesthereportidentified.

Next,SubmitYourWebsitetoBingBysubmittingyourwebsitetoBingBusinessandtotheWebmasterToolsyou

mightthink…BingshouldknowIamhereright?Well,youwanttotellthesearchenginesyouarethereinhopestheywillbequickertoindexandrankyourwebsite.Sodon’tmissthisstepbecauseitalsotellsYahoo!,MSN,Live,andmanyothersmallersearchsitesyourwebsiteexists.

TosubmityourwebsitetoBing.com,completetheinformationatthefollowinglink:

http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx

NextStep,SubmitYourWebsitetoDMOZDMOZ(alsoknownastheOpenDirectoryProject),asshowninFigurebelowas

manysearchenginesincreasetherankingofyoursiteiftheyarelistedthereandrankwell.Followtheserulesandinstructionsforsubmittingyoursitethere:

1. Gotohttp://www.dmoz.org2. Firstfindthecategorythatbestfitsyourwebsite.3. Choose“SuggestURL”inthetoprightcorner.Ifitisnotavailableitmeansthat

therearemoresubcategoriesandyouneedtodrilldownandchoosetheonethatbestfitsyourbusiness.

4. AddtheSiteURL,titleanddescriptionasshownbelow.Thenselectsubmitatthebottomofthepage.

DMOZhascertainrulestofollow,asseenontheirwebsite:

Don’taddmirrorsites.Don’tsubmitanURLthatcontainsonlythesameorsimilarcontentasothersitesyoumayhavelistedinthedirectory.Multiplesubmissionsofthesameorrelatedsitesmayresultintheexclusionand/ordeletionofthoseandallaffiliatedsites.Don’tdisguiseyoursubmissionandsubmitthesameURLmorethanonce.

Example:http://www.dmoz.organdhttp://www.dmoz.org/index.html.

Don’tsubmitanysitewithanaddressthatredirectstoanotheraddress.Don’tsubmitasitethatsellsillegalservicesorproducts.Don’tsubmitsites“underconstruction.”OnlysubmitadultorpornographicsitestotheappropriatecategoryunderAdult.Youmustsubmitnon-EnglishsitestotheappropriatecategoryunderWorld.Don’tsubmitsitesconsistinglargelyofaffiliatelinks.

ViolatinganyoftheserulescangetyourURLremovedornotlistedatall.

NextStep,SubmitYourWebsitetoAlexa

SubmittingyourwebsitetoAlexaisimportantasthisisanothersitethathelpsdemonstrateyourwebsite’simportancetomajorsearchengines.Toaddyourwebsitecompletethequestionsat:

http://www.alexa.com/edit

Nextstep?UseAMajorShortcut!UseSubmissionCompletetoMaketheRestofthisJobEasy

Therearehundredsofothersmallersearchenginesandservicesandproductsdirectoriesyouneedtoalsosubmitto.Therearealsomajorsearchenginesforothercountries.Youneverknowwhensomeoneisgoingtouseoneofthesesmallersearchenginethatmightbenefityourwebsite.Themoreplacesyourwebsitecanbefoundthemorelikelythechanceawebuserwillfindyourwebsiteandbuyyourproductsorseethemessageyouaretryingtodeliver.TohaveSubmissionComplete,doallthehardworkwhichmighttakeyouweeksonyourowngoto:

http://www.SubmissionComplete.com

TimeisnotonyoursidewhenyouaretryingtogetawebsitestartedorontherighttrackforSEO.Youmighthavefiguredoutthatgettingyoursiteincludedineachsearchengineanddirectoryisnoeasytask.Therearesubmissionwebsiteswhichusecustomtoolsthatareautomatedsoftwareprogramsandapplicationsthatremembertherepetitiveinformationthatmustbeprovidedinordertogetyourwebsitelistedinhundredsofsearchengineanddirectories.

Therearealsomanysubmissionwebsitesthattrytoscamwebsiteownersbypromisingtosubmittheirsitetothousandsofsearchenginesanddirectoriesforonelowfeebutjusttakeyourmoneyandrun.SubmissionCompleteistheonlyoneIuseandtrust.EverynewclientIbringon,thefirstthingIdoisuseSubmissionCompletetosubmitallthemallovertheweb.Itwouldtakeyoumonthstoaddyoursitetoeveryoneofthesesitesonyourown.However,forabout$19.95youcanhaveacompanythatspecializesinsubmittingwebsitesdoitinstantly.

Chapter4–SEOandWebsiteStructureThischapterneedstobemoreabouthowtoapplySchema.orgcompliance,Rich

Snippets,andW3Ccompliancebecauseapplyingthoseprinciplestoyourwebsiteasthesehelptoimproveyourranking.However,thisbookisaboutSEOandIwouldhavetocreatea500pagebookoneachofthosesubjects.SobeforeIdelveintothischapter,IamgoingtopointoutthatyouneedtoresearchtheseitemsandhaveSEOAudits.comorAccuQuality.comdoanauditonyourcurrentwebsitetolearnhowoutofcomplianceyourwebsitereallyis.

Schema.orgMicroformatsandDataMarkupsaredefinitelyaplusforanywebsite.Schema.orgwasaprojectlaunchedinJuneof2011withGoogle,Bing,andYahoo!collectively.TheyintroducedareorganizationofwebsitesformanyreasonsbutthebestpartisforRichSnippets.IfyouareunfamiliarwithRichSnippetsyouprobablyhaveseenthemanddidn’tevenknowit.Let’slookatanexample.BelowyouseetheTrailblazerswebsiteatNBA.COM.Underneathyouseefouradditionallinksdirectlytotherichcontent.TheseareRichSnippetsandyouconfiguretheseusingcodingforstructureddatalearnedatschema.org.

GooglealsohasRichSnippetstestingtoolat:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets

Thewayyoudesignyourwebsitemayallowyoutofallvictimtomanyrankingpitfalls.Googlehasseveralnewmakeitorbreakitswherebeforenotdoingthesejustcausedyouafewrankingpoints.Themostseriousofwhichisbadcoding,secondlyisnotbeingcompatiblewiththedifferentbrowsers,smartphones,IPADandIPods.Anotherishavingmorethantwobrokenlinksonapage.Thelastishavingslowhostingspeeds.Googlerequiresahostingscoreof70oraboveforgoodrankings.Youcantestyourwebsiteat:

http://pagespeed.googlelabs.com

IfyourwebsiteiswritteninWordpressmostcommercialhostingcompaniescannotgiveyouspeedswellenoughtorankwell.ThereasonisWordpressloadsadatabase,plug-ins,atheme,pictures,andwidgetssimultaneously.Youneedsomuchmorepowerinhostingthanthecheaphostingcanprovide.GooglelovesWordpressmorethananyotherdevelopmentplatformbutitlovesWordpressalotmoreifthehostingspeedsarebetter.IfyouarehostingabusinessIhighlyrecommendthatyouhostyourwebsiteateitherofthefollowing:

http://www.WPHostingServices.com

or

http://www.WordPressHosters.com

ThereareotherlesserevilswithGoogleaswellthough.IoftenhearsimilarthingsfromprospectivecustomerswhenItellthemtheiroldsitewon’twork:“Whatdoyoumean?Mysitelooksawesome!It’sallflashyandthingsmovehereandthere.It’sawesome!”

OneofthemostsevereisdesigningyourwebsiteasagiantpicturethenaddingmappingsorbuildingyourwebsiteinFlashandnothavinganydatatoindex.YouwindupgettingawebsitethatGooglecan’tindexorfindrelevantforanythingasyoucanseefromtheGoogleCachessnapshotofpagebelow.

Awebsitethatdoesn’tuseFlashorpictureswouldbeindexedwithlotsoftextasshownonthenextpage.Searchenginescannotlookatthetextonpicturesandindextheinformation.AlthoughGooglesaysitcanindexsomeFlashbetter,forthemostpartGooglebotcan’tlookatFlashorvideoeither.NotonlythatbutFlashisnotcompatiblewithAppledevices.

ItseemsthatacoupleoftimesamonthIconsultwithacompanythathasaFlashwebsiteandlovesittodeath.ItissotoughforthemtopartwithitandsometimesIhavetohaveaoverwhelminglyconvincingargumentandstilltheyaskwhatIcandotooptimizeit.ThefactisIcandoafewthingswithMetadataandmaybeaddasecondarywebsiteinWordpresstoworkalongsidetheirwebsite.IftheychoosenottolistentomyadviceandstickwiththeirFlashorpicturewebsiteIcannotfeelbad.Theclientgotwhattheypaidfor,competentadvice.IfsomeonepaysmeforadviceIamgoingtogiveittothem.Iftheychoosenottousemyadvice,Iwillhavenoproblemtakingtheirmoney.Theygotwhattheypaidfor.

Also,thisissomethingnewthatnevercameupbeforeuntilthisweek.IfyoupayanSEOcompanytooptimizeyoursiteduringasiteredesign,don’tchangetheURLsofthepagesthatareindexedwiththesearchengines.Whenapersondoesfindyouandthesitefilenameshavebeenchanged,whentheyclickonthelinktoyoursite,itwon’twork.Thereisaprocesstodoingthisifyoureallywanttodothisusing301redirects.IfyouarechangingtechnologiessuchasfromJoomlaorASPtosomeothertechnologybeitHTML5orWordpress,CONSULTANSEOPROFESSIONALifyoudon’twanttoprettymuchdisappearfromGooglecompletelyforawhileorlosealltherankingworkyouhavedoneonyourwebsiteURLsbeforetheredesign.

Donottrustyourwebmasterifhetellsyouthatnothingisgoingtohappen.Hemostlikelydoesn’tknowSEOorhowsearchenginesworkandyouwillloseyourpositioningandyouwillbeprettymuchgonefromGoogleforsometimeifyoudon’ttakesstepsbeforeyoumovetothenewtechnologytoredirectoldlinkstothenewones.Notjustinany,therightway.

SEOorDesignShouldBeConsideredFirst?Agraphicdesignertellyouthatinamajorityofcasesthedesigncomesfirst,of

course.Withoutanaestheticallypleasingdesign,avisitorwillbounceoffyoursitewithinamatterofseconds.Notsofast.Howdidtheygettoyourwebsiteinthefirstplace?Agreat-lookingwebsiteisnothingifthereisnoonetolookatit.

EvenifyouintendtoemployGoogleAdwords,youwillsoonrealizeyouarespendingafortunetogetvisitors.Assoonasyoustoppayingmoney,youstopgettingvisits.ThatisusuallywhentheSEOexpertgetscalledinbecauseofsomeresearchsomeonedidtoseehowtoproperlymarketawebsitewithoutpayingGoogleandBingtheirkidsinheritanceorfutureretirement.

Thenyoulearnfromyourpoordesignandlackofsocialmedia,linksharing,etceterathatitwilltake6monthsorsoforthemajorsearchenginemarketingcampaigntotryandrescueyourwebsiterankingsandstartgettingascalablenumberofvisitors.

AsabusinessowneryousoonlearnaftersoakingtonsofmoneyinPay-Per-ClickthatinthelongrunyougetsomuchmorebusinesscheaperandeasierbygoingtheSEOroute.SomuchsothatasImentionedearlierinthisbook,PPCgarnersonlyabout11%ofallclicksontheInternet.Theorganicresultswhicharethemoretrustedresultsgettheother89%oftheclicks.

ThethousandsofbusinessownersthathavebeenthroughthisexactcycleofPPCversusSEO,willcertainlyarguethatPPCismostdefinitelyisnotthewayyoushouldgo,especiallywhentheownersofthesesitesrealizedwhenitwastoolate.Therewastoohighanamountofprofit,potential,andclientslostbecausethedesignlookedgreattohumansbutwasinvisibletothesearchenginesandnoSEOwasutilized.

Whatisreallylaughable,though,isthatifyouactuallyreadthesalespitchonanyoneofthemanyofwebdesigncompaniesthatownwebsites,manyofthemblatantlyclaimtobeSEOexperts.Youneedtowatchoutbecausemanywearitasifitisabadgeofhonorortohelpthemmakesales.Aquickcheckoftheirportfoliossoonrevealsthatiftheyaresearchenginemarketingexperts,thenitisclearlyevidentthattheirclientsaredefinitelynotonthereceivingendofanyclaimstheymake.

ImplementingSEOintDesignBeforeItIsLiveManypeoplecallmeandaskifyoucanimplementsiteoptimizationintothedesign

beforeyoulaunchawebsite?Theanswerisabsolutely,yes!ThewebdesignandSEOshouldgohandinhand.ThethoughtprocessofoptimizingawebsiteandcreatingSEO-friendlywebsitedesignshouldformthefoundationrightfromtheoutset…Ultimatelythecontentanddesignwillcapturefreeorganicsearchenginetrafficandalsomarkthewebsiteasapotentialauthorityontheproductorservice.

ManytimeswhenItakeonawebsiteforprofessionalSEO,thecosttooptimizeorchangethewebsiteisgreaterthanifwejuststartedfromscratch.Butithastobedone.Itellfamilyandfriendsstartingabusiness,havetheSEOcompanydesignandcreateyourwebsite.Thatiswhereasuccessfulbusinessventurestarts!

Searchenginesabsolutelydonotcareaboutwhatthesitelookslike:itiswhat’sbehindthescenesthatmakesthesitesomuchmorerelevanttothem.Ifwegobacktotheexampleafewpagesback,mynewclient’sinitialchancetomakethebestimpactonthesearchenginewhenthesitefirstgotindexedwaswasted.Incontrast,theextratimeandmoneyspentonredevelopmentforSEO,includingthekeywordresearchandSEOcopywritingaftertheinitialdesignwasanaddedexpense.IttookanextratwomonthstogetitalldoneandstartgarneringpagepositionsonGoogle.

Ifyouwantafarbetterchanceofgettinggoodwebsiterankingfromdayoneandeven,insomecases,apage-oneresultfasterthanyoumightthinkstartwithSEO.

DesignandOptimizingForDevicesItisamazinghowmuchtrafficisnowgeneratedbymobiledevices.Justtwoyears

agomostwebsiteaveragedlessthan10%trafficfrommobiledevices.Todayitabout35%ofalltrafficisfrommobiledevices.ThesedevicesincludeAndroid,IPHONE’S,IPAD,IPADMini’s,CarGPS,ONSTAR,andyesevenBlackberries,IPODs.MynewTeslaRoadsterelectriccarevenhasabuiltinmobiledeviceforgoingtotheInternet.

MainlythesedeviceshavealltheInternetcapabilitiesofgettingontheInternetasaregularPCjustwithsomelimitationsandasmallerscreen.Ihaven’tevenseenthisaddressedinanybooksyet.Creatingaspecificmobilewebsiteandwebsiteswhicharecompatiblewithallmobiledevicestranslatesintomoresales,moretrafficandbetterrankings.

AsacompanywehavebeendoingmobilewebSEOforlargerenterprisecompaniesforquiteawhile.Justrecentlyhassmallandmediumsizedbusinessesapproachedustocreateamobilewebsite.Herearesomelinkstohelpyouifyouwanttodomobileyourself:

BingMobile:http://onmobile.msn.com/en/Products/MobileWeb/BingMobileWeb(Don’tforgetBingBusinessforcreatingaquickmobilewebsiteaswediscussedearlierinChapter3.)GoogleMobile:http://www.google.com/mobile/GoogleMobileSitemaps:www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=34627GoogleMobileView:www.google.com/gwt/nTechnoratiMobile:http://m.technorati.com

Addyourmobile-optimizedsitetosearchenginesandletretailersknowhere:

Abphone:http://www.abphone.comBango:http://www.bango.com(OneClickPayments)Dotmobi:http://mtld.mobi/sitesubmitMedio:http://medio.com/partners/addyourmobilesite/Mobiseer:http://www.mobiseer.comNokia:http://www.nokia.com/global

FocusOnYourWebsitesImpactYoushouldfocusontheresultsyouwant.Theseusuallyincludemorevisitors,

leads,customersandsales.Everydecisionyoumakeshouldbefocusedonfulfillingthosegoals.Keepingthatinmind,youmightspendabitlesstimeworryingabouttheexactshadeofblueonthecalloutbackground,andmoretimeworryingaboutthingsthatwillimproveyourmarketingresultsandkeepvisitorsdirectedtowardyourgoals.

Therearecountlesswaysawebsitedesigncannegativelyimpactyourresults.Infact,Iwouldsaythatmoreoftenthannot,websitedesignsdonewithoutanSEOprofessionaltendtohaveanegativeimpactonmarketingresults.

AnotherproblemoccurswhenyouattempttoimplementtoomanystrategiesinyourSEO.Forone,youwon’tbeabletotellwhichofyourstrategiesaresuccessfulandtwo,searchenginesdon’tlikeitwhenyoulosefocus.Mostmajorsearchenginesliketoseeeachofyourwebsitelandingpagescenteredaroundonetopic.

Implementingonestrategyatatimeallowsyoutodeterminewhichstrategiesareworkingandwhichstrategiesarenot.SEOcampaignsarethemostsuccessfulwhenyouconcentrateononeeffortatatime.Ifyouhaveanexistingwebsiteyouusuallyhavealotofmaterialthathasaccumulatedovertime.Theseitemshelpyourprospectsfindyourwebsiteandhelpyouturnthemintoleadsandcustomers.

Whenyoudoasiteredesign,makesureyouusethesamelinksandfilenamesforyournewsitesURLs.Ifyoudon’t,thelinksthatareonsearchengineswillbecomeuselessandbrokenlinks.Theproperwaytochangethesiteistocreatethenewpageswithnewfilenames.UsetheRobot.txtfiletotellsearchenginesnottoindextheoldlinks.Inafewmonthsyoucangetridoftheoldfilesastheywillnolongershowonthesearchengines.

Agoodgeneralruleistoaddnewcontenteverydayandchangetheoldcontentasoftenaspossible.Themorecontentyouhavethemorevisitorsyouwillhaveandthelongertheywillstay.Thiswillinitselfgrowyourbusinessfaster.A100pagewebsitewillbeata10pagewebsite90%ofthetimeonsearchenginerankings.A500pagewebsiteisevenbetter.Ifsomeofthosewebpageswerewrittenrecently,that’sevenbetter.Butremember,alwayskeepthefocusofeachpageascloseasyoucantoasingletopicandoptimizethatpage,theMetaTags,Title,andkeyworddensitytothattopic.

Alittleknownrulethathelpsaddtoyourimaginarypointstandingswithsearchenginerankingsisthatthemoreoftenyouupdateyourcontent(whilekeepingitrelevanttoyourwebsitesubjectmatter),thebetter.

NOTE:Bloggingmakescreatingnewandupdatedcontenteasy.

Youwantyourwebsitedesigntoattractnewvisitorsandincreaseyourconversionrateandthenumberofleadsyougetfromyourwebsite.Overtimeyoushouldconstantlyimprovetheeffectivenessofyourconversiontools,includingyourlandingpages.

Ifyoubuildacompletelystaticwebsiteandhavetogotoawebdesigner,everytimeyouwanttosetupanewlandingpageortochangeanexistingpage,youarelimitingyourabilitytoquicklyexperimentandimproveonthedesign.YoushouldhaveawebsitethatletsyoueditcontentandbuildlandingpageswithouthavingtoknowwebsitecodeunlessyouknowHTML,PHP,orXMLwell.

Oneoftherulesyoushouldlivebyisthatyoushouldspendmoneyonresourcesandrelevantcontentthatattractsandconvertsaswellasoptimizesyoursite.Youshouldnotoverdoadesignthatlimitsyoutoonlyonetypeofcode,suchaswebsitesthatusedtobedesignedinFlashoranothervideotechnology.Thecodeshouldbedynamicandeasytochange.Ofcourse,sometimetheeasilychangedpartcostsalittlemoreupfront,butnotattheend.

Ifyoufollowtherulessetforthinthelastparagraph,youshouldbeabletocreateongoingcontentwithabuildingstrategy.Whenyouhavemorecontent,youcangrowyourwebsite.Thiswillhelpyouincreaseyourvisitorsandgrowyourbusinessfaster.

Whenyouhavefinishedyourwebsite,youshouldconstantlyhaveconversionexperiments.Thekeytodrivingyourconversionrateandthenumberofleadsyougetfromyourwebsiteovertimeistoconstantlyimprovetheeffectivenessofyourwebsite.Severalsitescanbeusedtotestyourwebsite:

WebsiteGrader(www.WooRank.com)–Hasausefultoolformeasuringthemarketingeffectivenessofyourwebsite.SEOAudits(www.SEOAudits.com)-CancheckyourwebsiteforW3Ccompliance,browsercompatibility,brokenlinks,mechanicalerrors,SEOissues,andmuchmore.AccuQuality.com(www.AccuQuality.com)-AccuQuality.comisthebestwebsitereportyoucangetonthemechanicsofyourwebsiteandcostsmorethanSEOAuditsreports.Althoughthereportsbetweenthetwoaresimilar,AccuQuality.comReportsgivesmorein-depthanalysisandactuallygivesinstructionshowtofixmanycompatibilityissueswithbrowserswhichcanhelpyoufixerrors.AccuQuality.comreportsactuallyspellcheckyourentirewebsiteaswell.

TheVeryBasicsofSEOinDesignWehavealreadyhitonthepointshere,buttheyfallintothischapteraswell.Solet’s

makesureourdesignorredesignhasthesepointscovered:

MetaandHTMLTagsHeaderTagContentBodyTextLinksAlternativeTagsHeaderTagContentOtherItemsYouShouldMakeSpaceForRSSFeedsOtherValuableContentOtherTips

MetaandHTMLTags

MetatagsareHTMLtags;theyjustappearinveryspecificplacesonawebpage.TherearetwoMetatagswhicharegivenmoreweightthantheothersonmostsearchengines.Thosearethekeywordtagandthedescriptiontag.

MostoftheMetatagsarealsogivensomeweightonlessmajorsearchenginesanddirectories.However,notallsearchenginestakekeywordanddescriptionMetatagsintoconsiderationbecauseinthepast,thesetagshavebeenoverloadedwithkeywordsthatwereirrelevanttothewebsite.

HeaderTagContentThisisasimpleattributebutaboutascommonlyoverlookedbywebdesignersas

theMetatagsare.Theheadertagsareabitdifferentfromothertagsdiscussedearlierinthisbook.Thesearetheattributesthatsetupthedifferentlevelsofheadingsandsubheadingsonyourwebsite.Therecanbeasmanyassixdifferentlevelsofheadingsbuttypicallysearchenginesonlylookatthefirstfour.

Tohelpyouunderstandthis,thetitleortopicofawebpageshouldbetheH1titlethatthehumansidecansee.SubheadingofthetopicshouldbetaggedwiththeH2tagandsoon–kindoflikeatreeasabove.

Solet’ssayyouhaveawebsitepagethatsellsmotorcyclehelmets.Theheadinghierarchyinthisexampleshouldlooklikethis:

H1:(PageTopic)MotorcycleHelmets

H2:(MainTopic)BuyMotorcycleHelmetsandAccessories

H3:(SubTopic)MotorcycleFaceShields

H3:(SubTopic)MotorcycleCustomStraps

…andsoon.

Ifthereisanewsubtopicsuchasthereisintheexample,youwouldstartagainwithanH2tag.

H2:(MainTopic)

Headingsdenoteimportantinformationandenableuserstoquicklyskimthepagetofindtheinformationtheyareseeking.Thesearchenginesusethisintheirscanningofwebpagestodeterminewhat’svitallyimportant.

Headertagsonawebpageshouldcontainyourmostimportantkeywordsinacontextuallyappropriatemanner.Specifically,searchenginespiders,bots,andcrawlerstakeintoconsiderationthetextwithinaheadertags.Lookingatthedifferentlevelsofheadings,first-levelheadingsshouldcontainthemostimportantkeywordsonyourwebpage.

NOTE:Youshoulduseyourmostimportanttrophykeywordsinthelevel-oneheading,thenlower-levelheadings(levelstwothroughsix)shouldcontaindecreasinglyimportantkeywords.

Theheadingtagsaresimilarinformattoothertagsthatyou’veexaminedtothispointandusedafterthe<Body>tagofthewebsite:

<H1>Header1</H1>

<H2>Header2</H2>

<H3>Header3</H3>

<H4>Header4</H4>

<H5>Header5</H5>

<H6>Header6</H6>

WARNING:SearchenginesaresmartenoughtoknowwhenyourkeywordsarethesameshadeorcolorasyourbackgroundandwillpenalizeyouforhidingtheH1tagsortextthatcontainsyourkeywords.

Headertagsshouldbeincludedbeforethebody-texttagsofyourwebsite,andthetextoftheheadergoesinbetweentheopeningandclosingtags.

BodyTextLiketheHeadertags,theBodytextisalsotextthatisvisibletohumanreadersof

yoursite.Whenyoulookatthepagesofthisbook,forexample,thetextthatisbetweeneachoftheheadingswouldbethebodytext–thesamewayasitisforawebpage.

Thebodytextisanotherplacewhereyouwanttoincludeyourkeywords.Agoodruleofthumbistouseyourkeywordsonceineveryparagraphaslongasitmakessensetoareader.

Sidebar:KeywordsinTextHavingyourkeywordstrategicallyplacedinyourtextoneverypageisoneofthemostimportantelementsofanywebsite.OfparticularimportancearethetrophykeywordswhichwedeterminedinChapter2and3.Thetrophykeywordsneedtobeplacedthroughoutthetextonyourprimarylandingpage.Itisofparticularimportancewherethosekeywordsappearandhowoftentheyappearonthepage.

Thekeywordsyouchoosemustmatchthewordsandphrasesthatpotentialvisitorswillusewhensearchingfortheproductsorservicesyourwebsiteprovides.

Youcanalsouseadditionaltagstoindicatespecialformattingintext.Thosetagsareasfollows:

<b>Bold</b>

<i>Italics</i>

<strong>StronglyEmphasized</strong>

<em>Emphasis</em>

<li>NewLineinList</li>

Eachofthesespecialtagsindicatesspecialformattingforthewordorphraseinbetweentheopeningandclosingtags,andthespecialemphasismakesasearchenginecrawlertakenoticeofthosewords.

NOTE:Youshouldtrytousekeywordswithinthespecialtagsifpossible.Onlyusekeywordswhereappropriate,andavoidstuffingkeywordsintoyoursitesimplytoimproveyoursearchenginerankings.Ifyouusethosetactics,theywillmostlikelyfailandmayevengetyoursitebannedfromsomeofthesearchengines.

Sidebar:ThingstoAvoid

Tomakeyourwebsite’sbodytextvisibletospiders,bots,andcrawlers,avoidthefollowing:

TextembeddedinJavaScriptapplicationsorMacromediaFlashfilescannotbeenread.Textcontainedinimagessuchasthosewithextensions.jpg,.gif,.png,and.bmpcannotbeseen.Textthatisaccessibleonlyonasubmissionformisnotreadable.

Mostofthesethingsmakeyoursitelookflashyandcool.Sitedesignersstrugglewiththeseissuesandsometimechooselooksoversiteoptimizationonpurposetomakethesiteownerhappy.Thereareonlyabout8differentfontsthatcanbeusedonawebsitewithoutpicturesbecauseofthestandards.Also,certaintextstylescannotbeindexedbysearchengines.

Ifsearchenginespiders,bots,andcrawlerscan’tseeyourwebsitetext,thentheycan’tindexthatcontentforvisitorstofind.

Links

Youshouldhaveanareaofyourlandingpagededicatedtolinks.Thelinksshouldberelatedtothecontentofthepageandbeactivelinkstorealwebsites.Brokenlinkswillloweryoursearchenginerankingsonmajorsearchengines.

Linkshavealwaysbeenanimportantfactorinhowwebsitesrankonthedifferentmajorsearchengines.Mostimportantarenotonlylinksfromyoursitebuttoyoursiteaswell,aswediscussedearlierinthebook.

AlternativeTagsAlternativetagsforpicturesandlinksarealsoimportanttohaveonyourpages.

Thesearethetagsthatareabriefdescriptionofapictureorgraphiconawebsitetoexplaintospiders,bots,andcrawlerswhatisdisplayed.

TheseAlttagsarealsoagoodplacetoincludeadditionalkeywordstomakeyoursitemorerelevant.HumanvisitorswillneverseeyourAlttagsunlesstheyintentionallyturnoffimagestoenablewebpagestoloadfaster.

OtherItemsYouShouldMakeSpaceForYourwebsiteshouldhavesomeoftheitemsbelowonitsmainlandingpages.The

moreofthesethebetter.Eachoneoftheseincreasesyoursite’svalueondifferentmajorsearchengines.

NolittleflashConversionpage(submissionpage)RSSFeedVideo(YouTubeifpossible.ItisownedbyGoogle.)Blog(BlogSpotifpossible.ItisoperatedbyGoogle.)Facebook,Twitter,Instagram,Pintrestlinkstocompanypage.Linkstootherpagesinyourbodytext.Textlinkstootherpagesinyourwebsiteifyouusepictures,maps,orFlashforbuttons.Textthatcanchangefrequently.

AddingRSSFeeds

ReallySimpleSyndication(RSS)orit’ssometimesreferredtoasRichSiteSummaryisanXML-basedcontentformatfordistributingnews,headlines,content,andmoreaboutawebsite.ItisalmostarequirementnowforhigherrankingstohaveanRSSfeedonyourwebsiteorblogtorankwell.

RSSFeedreaderscomeinallshapesandsizesthesedays.TheFirefoxbrowserhasonebuiltrightintotheBookmarksfeature.IpersonallyuseGoogleReader.

http://www.google.com/reader

Youcanalsocreatefeedsforyourownwebsitesoyouraudiencecansubscribetothem.Ifyouupdateyourcontentfrequentlyandpromotethefeedeffectively,itcanhelpdrivemoresteadytraffictoyourwebsite.

AdvantagesofCreatingRSSFeeds

Thisisanexcellentwaytobringrepeattraffictoyoursite.Thinkaboutit,everytimeawebsurferopenstheirRSSreadertogettheheadlinesforallthesitestheymonitor,they’llalsoseeyoursite’supdates.

Insteadofrelyingonthemtobookmarkyoursiteandreturnatalaterdate,theirRSSreaderkeepsyoursitefreshintheirminds.

Manyentitiesarenowpushingouttheirnewslettersandswitchingtothismethodofcontentdistributionbecauseyoudon’thavetoworryaboutdodgingthespamfilters.

Whenyousendanemailnewslettermorethanhalfofthosepeoplewon’tevenreceiveitduetospamfiltersorjunkmailalgorithms.WithRSSfeeds,youdon’thavetoworryaboutthatbecauseyou’renotsendinganemail,you’resimplysendingoutanewsfeedforallthereaderstopickup.

HowtoCreateanRSSFeedforaStaticWebsite

IfyouarenoviceincreatingXMLcode,Irecommendusingwww.feedforall.comforstaticwebsites.Theyhaveaneasy-to-usefeedbuilderthatletsyoucreateandmanageallyourfeedsinoneplace.

OnceyouhavecreatedyourfeedyouhavetouploadtheXMLfiletoyourwebserver.FeedForAll.comwillautomaticallyconvertyourfeedintotheXMLformatsoyoudon’tneedtoworryaboutadditionalformattingorcodingandmakeyourRSSFeedURLsomethinglike:

http://www.yoursite.com/yourfeed.xml

Anytimeyouaddanewarticletoyourfeed,thatXMLfileisupdated.FeedForAllalsohasabuilt-inuploadfeaturesoyoucanuploadtheXMLfilerighttoyourwebserverwiththeirsoftware,aslongasyourwebhosthasFTPaccess.

CreatinganRSSFeedFromaBlogGoogleallowsyoutocreateanRSSfeedusingtheirblogwebsiteBlogger.com.

WordPressisanotherwebsitetypethatoffersafreeblogequippedwithRSSfeeds.

OtherValuableContent

OtherItemsthatcanbeconsideredgreatcontent:

AfreewhitepaperAhow-toormanualAseriesofarticlesAYouTubevideoApodcastAbadgeorimageAproprietarystudyAquiz,poll,ortestAjokeorcartoonAcalculatororfreesoftwareAblogorforumAwikiorknowledgebase

OtherWebsiteConsiderationsForawebsitetorankwell,thesearchenginesmustretrieveinformationfromthe

website–notsomuchfromthehumansidebutfromthecodingside.Theretrievalofdataisacombinationoftheactivityfromthecrawler,spider,bots,thedatabase,andthesearchalgorithmusedbyeachsearchengine.Thesethreeelementsworktogethertoretrievewebpagesthatarerelatedtothewordorphrasethatauserentersintothesearchengine’suserinterface.

Thealgorithmschangefrequently,whichisonereasonthisbookisupdatedeveryyear.InSEO,rankingiswhatyou’llspendthemosttimeandefforttryingtochange.Yourrankinginasearchenginedetermineshowoftenpeopleseeyourpage.

Howsearchenginesrankapageorpagesisadifficultsciencetofigureoutandchangesfrequently.Searchenginesdon’twanteveryonetoknowtheexactscience.Ifitwereknowntoeveryoneitwouldbetoughtogetonthefirstorsecondpageofasearch.

Rankingissuchalargepartinsearchengineoptimizationandappearsfrequentlythroughoutbook.Therearesomethingsthatcangiveyourwebsiteanadvantagerightfromthebeginning.Letustakealookattwo:hostinglocationandfrequencyofkeyworduse.

HostingLocation

Therearealotoflocationsthatwetalkaboutinthisbook.Inthissectionofthebook,Iwillspecificallyrefertothelocationwhereyouhostyourwebsite.Ihaveacustomerwhoisingoodstraightsnowbuthadtriedtohandlehisownoptimization.Nomatterwhathedidhecouldn’tgethiswebsiteoffofpage68onaGooglesearch.

AtWebSEOPros.com,wedoaninitialcompleteSEOReporttofindissueswiththewebsitebothonthewebsiteandexternallyandwhatwefoundwasthatthewebsitewasbeinghostedonthesameserverasseveralporn-relatedwebsites.InSEOtermswecallthisbeingina“BadNeighborhood.”ThatiswherepornorblacklistedwebsitesareusingthesameIPorIPRangeasyourwebsite.

Inthiscase,thewebsiteownerhadboughthishostingoneBayfor$42.00peryear.Ifyouhavearespectablebusinesswebsite,youhavetobehostedonarespectablehostingprovider.TheMajorsearchenginesdonotliketorankwebsitesthatcontainpornography,racialcomments,orothersuchcontentorareonveryslowhosting.

KeywordFrequencyWebsitesmustberelevanttothekeywordsyouchoose.Sothefrequencywith

whichthekeywordsappearonawebpagemayalsoaffecthowapageisrankedinsearchresultsforthatkeyword.Forexample,onapageaboutofficefurniture,onethatusesthewords“officefurniture”fivetimesmightberankedhigherthanonethatusesthewordsonlytwoorthreetimes.

Whenwordfrequencybecameawell-knownfactor,somewebsitedesignersbeganusinghiddenwordshundredsoftimesonpages,tryingtoartificiallyboosttheirrankings.Almosteverysearchenginerecognizesthisaskeywordspammingandignoreorevenblacklistpagesthatusethistechnique.

TipsDon’trepeatkeywordsinyourtitletags.Repetitioncanoccasionallycomeacrossasspamwhenacrawlerisexaminingyoursite,soavoidthatinyourtitleifpossible,andneverduplicatewordsjusttogainaspider,bot,orcrawler’sattention.Includeacalltoactioninyourtitle.Thereisanadagethatgoessomethinglike,‘‘you’llneversellathingifyoudon’taskforthesale.’’That’strueontheWebaswell.Ifyouwantyouruserstodosomething,youhavetoaskthem.Thetitleisneverabadplacetoask.Butincludeyourtrophykeywordsthere,too.CreateawebsitethatcontainsMetatags,content,graphics,andkeywordsthathelpimproveyoursiteranking.Usekeywordsliberallyonyoursite,sotheyareusedinthecorrectcontextofyoursitetopicandcontent.Keepthemrelevantandsearchengineswillkeepyourelevant.Includereciprocallinkstoyoursitefromothersaslongasthoselinksarelegitimateandrelevanttothetopicofyourwebsite.Continuouslyencouragewebsitetrafficthroughmanyvenues,includingkeywordadvertising,reciprocallinks,andmarketingcampaigns.Submityourwebsitetosearchenginesmanually,ratherthanwaitforthemtopickupyoursiteinthenaturalcourseofcatalogingwebsites.

KeywordDensityOneofthebiggestdesignrulestokeepisthenumberoftimesyouuseyour

keywords(knownaskeyworddensity).Mostsearchenginesallowarelativelylowkeyworddensity.Googleisbyfaroneofthelesslenientinthisregardwhenrankingwebsites.Googlelikestoseeakeyworddensityof3to5percent–muchlowerandyouriskoneofyourcompetitorsoutdoingyouintheoptimizationareaormuchhigherthanthatandyouriskyourwebsitebringpenalized.Bing,Yahoo!,MSN,andothersearchenginesseemtobestricterandwantkeyworddensitiesofabout5percent.

Useawordprocessingprogramtofindoutyourtotalwordcount.PastetheHTMLsourcecodeofthepageintoablankdocument,thenchooseFile,Properties,Statistics,andWordCount.InMicrosoftOfficeitisfoundatFile,Prepare,Properties,andStatistics.

Let’smoveon.Ifyouareoptimizingthatpageforasinglekeyword,youneedtofigureouthowmanytimesthatparticularwordisrepeatedwithinthat250wordtotal.

Manuallyscanthepageandcounteveryrepetitionofyourkeyword.IfyouhaveMicrosoftWord2007/2010/2013/2016,youshouldalsohaveFindandReplacefunctionundertheHometaballthewaytotherightinthenewerversionsofOffice.Pasteinthecodeandthentypeinthekeywordsinboththeeditboxandthereplacebox.

Theprogramwillreplaceeachoccurrenceofthewordwithitself…andproduceatotalcountforthenumberofrepeats.

Letusassumeforthisexercisethatyouhaveusedakeyword10timesonyourpage.Tocalculatethekeyworddensity-takethatfigureanddivideitbythetotalnumberofwordsonyourpage.

Sointhiscase10dividedby250=.04

Keyworddensityisalwaysreferredtoasapercentageofthetotalwordcountforthepage.Sonowyouneedtomultiply.04by100togetthepercentagefigure.Yourcalculationwouldlooklikethis:

.04x100=4%

Thepagehasakeyworddensityof4%.

ForeffectiveoptimizingthatwillboostyourpagesintotheTop20spotsonthemajorsearchenginesyouareaimingforakeyworddensityofbetween5-7%.

Whatyouhavejustbeenshownisaboutassimpleasitgetsforworkingoutthekeyworddensityofawebpage.Torecap,theformulalookslikethis:

10dividedby250=.04x100=4%

-or-

Thekeywordcountdividedbytotalwordcountx100=keyworddensityinpercent.

Soyoucanaddyourkeywordanotherfewtimeswithoutgettingapenaltyonmostmajorsearchengines.

Algorithmsfluctuateconstantlyatthemajorsearchenginessoitismuchsimplertooptimizeafewpagesfordifferentweightingordensities.Afewpagesat5%,6%,and7%keyworddensitywillmeanatleastoneofyourpagesshouldrankwelloneachmajorsearchengine.

Chapter5–Off-PageSEOIfyouareonpage1ofaGooglesearchforthekeywordorkeywordsthatrelateto

yourwebsiteyougetallthebusiness.Ofcoursedividedbytheother9websitesonpage1.Ifyouareonpage3orlater,youareinavirtualblackhole.AsImentionedbefore,goodSEOisabout30%whatyoudoonpage.Meaninghowyourwebsiteisdesignedandthecontentonyourwebsite.

Nowlet’slookattheother70%whichiswhatmakesyourwebsiteappeartobeauthorityonyourwebsitessubjectmatter.Thisincludeseverythingfromwhereyourwebsiteislisted,reviewsyouget,howmanyvisitsyouget,howmuchsocialmediamentionsyourdomainname,andthenumberoflinksfromotherauthoritiesontheInternettoyourwebsite.

AllofthesethingsmustappearnaturaltoGoogleandtheothersearchenginesoryourwebsitewillbejustamemory.Thatseemslikealot,butletmebreakitdownforyouinthenextfewsections:

PlacingKeywordsinYourIncomingLinksTheanchortextusedtolinktothewebpageshouldcontainimportantkeywordsor

keywordphrases.Thelinkingtextisviewedas“contextual”bysearchenginesespeciallyGooglebutcan’tbethesameonalargenumberofincominglinksthankstoGoogle’sPenguinupdate.

TheGooglePageRankisbasedonLarryPage’sidea,whoisaco-founderofGoogle.Hisideawasthatawebsitethathasgoodcontentandismoreimportantwillbelinkedtobymanyotherwebsites.Thisisonereasonthatincomingandreciprocallinkstoyoursitearegivenaveryhighimportancetoitssearchenginerank.

Incominglinksarelinksonotherwebsitestoyourwebsite.Thismetricismorereliableinsearchengines’eyes,becauseitismuchhardertomanipulateanotherperson’swebsite.IfalinkappearsontheCNNhomepage,linkingtoyourwebsitewiththeterm‘greattravelwebsite’intheanchortext,searchenginescanseethatahighlyrespectedsitebelievesyourwebsiteisworthlinkingtoforthetopic‘’TravelWebsites”.WhenitseesthisitactsasifthereisanimaginaryvotingsystemontheInternetandthelinkfromCNNcountedasavote.

TheQuantityofIncomingLinksLinkbuildingisoneofthebiggestSEOtasks.Youcangetyourwebsitetoa

GooglePageRankof2withoutasinglelink,butafterthatyoursiteneedstobecomerelevanttothesearchenginewithasmanylinksaspossiblefromsitesthatareinthesameindustry,relatedsocialmedia,otherwebsitesrelatedtoyourwebsitestopicorarenewsorganizations.

SearchEngineswilloftenmonitorthequantityofincominglinkstoawebsite.Alargequantityofincominglinksisanindicatorofpopularityorimportance,andthesearchengineswillfavorsiteswithalargernumberofwhatarenowasbacklinks.Searchenginesusethevolumeofincominglinkstogivebetterrankingtothemorepopularsites.

However,thereisplentyofplacesheretogetintrouble.Ifyougoandcreate10,000linksinaweekandthennootherlinksareevermade,youarelikelytogetblacklistedfromGoogle.Linkbuildingneedstohaveanappearancethatitwasmadenaturallyandgradually.

IfyouareinmarketingthereissomethingIhatetotellyou.Mostconsumerdon’tlikeyou.InfactconsumersaretiredofyouradvertisingonTVads,billboards,andfullpagenewspaperads.Theyliterallycomplainandrebelagainstpop-upsandpop-underads,CPM,CPA,andCPCads.Theyseeadsnowinbathrooms,ontheirphones,andespeciallytheinternet.Ihaveseenagrowingmovementofpeopledeliberatelygoingoutoftheirwaytoavoidadvertisingorcomplainingtoanylisteningearaboutthem.

AsanSEOexpert,Iaminthemarketingbusiness,invirtuallyeveryaspectofsocialmedia.Iconsidermyselfanexpertatcreatinglinks,buildingcontent,makinglinks,andcreatingawebpresenceformyclientswithoutthemrealizingtheyarebeingadvertisedtooritisintheinterestofSEO.Becauseassoonasanonlinevisitorgetsawhiffthatwhatyou’redoingservesamarketingpurpose,itdoesn’tmatterwhatthequalityofthecontentistheywillduckforcover,andgoaway.

ItistimetoeducateyouonnotonlywhatisSPAMbuthowtoavoidbecomingaspammeryourself.FirstIwilltellyouhowtogetthebesttypeoflinks.Theonesthatcomefromofficialnewssources.

IncomingLinkQualityNotalllinksarecreatedequal;thereforesomelinkbuilderswillspendmonths

tryingtogetonestronglinkfromabig,important,orrelevantwebsite.Asometimesgoodlink-buildingtacticistotrytogetthousandsoflinksfromsmallersites,whicharepresumablyeasiertogetthanalinkonahighlyprestigioussite.Manyofthosewebsiteswillnotstaylowrankingandbuilduparankingoftheirown.Whentheydoyoureapanevengreaterbenefit.

Onceyourealizetheimportanceofrelevantincominglinkstothesuccessofyourwebsite,youwillunderstandtheneedtoengageinlinkbuildingandhowaprofessionalongoinglinkbuildingcampaignisparamounttothesuccessofyourwebsite.

Thereisareasonthatsearchenginescareaboutlinkstoandfromyourwebsite.Rememberourimaginarypointsystemfromtheearlychapters?Thesearchenginestreatyourincominglinksfromotherrelevantwebsitesasa“point”foryoursite.Themoreyouhavethebetter.Somesitesgiveyoumorepoints.NewsoutletssuchasLocalNewsDay.com,ChicagolandNewspaper.com,CNN.com,andTheKnowVegas.comhelpyourrankingsincreasefasterbecauseGoogleseesthemasanofficialnewssource.Asinglelinkfromapositivenewsstorycanbetheequivalentofgetting300PageRank3linksfromwebsites.Thatisfromasinglelink.ThatishowimportantGooglefeelsthelinksfromofficialnewssourcesis.Othersitetypesthatseemtogivemorepointsare.EDUand.GOVwebsitesthatprovidelinkstoyourwebsite.

BadLinks

Thenumberofpitfallstolinkbuildingarelimitless.YouhavetobeveryexactwhenitcomestofollowingtheGoogleWebmasterGuidelines.Ifyouseeadvertisementsforthefollowingtypeoflinks….Thinktwice.

10,000linksfor$29.95–Verydubiousoffersfromspamemailsofferingyou5000linksfor$19aretoogoodtobetrue.Theyleadalmostdirectlytoapenalty.PaidlinksonhighPRsites–It’sactuallyquiteeasytogetnoticedwhenyoubuylinksonso-calledhighPRsiteswherethetoolbarPageRankis6andabove.Whenonewebsitegetsintroubleforbuyinglinksfromthesamesources,everyonelistedgetsthesamepenaltybydefault.HiddenlinksinWordPressthemesorcounters–SomeWordPressthemessitesarejustSEOscamswhichrelyonhiddenlinksinthethemestobespreadaround.Ifyourelyonsuchlinksfor“linkbuilding”.Youwilleventuallybepenalized.Somevisitorcountershavedonethatinthepastaswell.Artificiallinkprofile-withalwaysmatchinganchortext–whenevery

singlelinktoyoursiteiswelloptimizedsayingsomethinglike“SEOcompany”thismightlooktooartificialtostayunnoticedbyGoogle.Wronglanguagelinks–It’sobvioustosearchenginesthatanEnglishsitehavingthousandsoflinksfromRussia,India,Pakistan,orChinamakesthewebsitestandoutandopentopenalizingorblacklisting.Googleengineersaresmartenoughtocomparethelanguageofyoursiteandthesitesthatlinktoyou.Gainingtoomanylinkstoofast–it’snotalwaysthemorelinksthebetter.Evengoodlinksgainedtoofastcanresultinapenalty.Linkbuildingmustbenatural.Ifyouget10,000linksinaweek,youbetterbepreparedtodothateveryweekforeverorGooglewillseeitasunnatural.

OfficialNewsSourcesIamgoingtogiveawayoneofmybestkeptsecrets.ForyearsIhavehadaccess

toover50officialnewssourcesthathavebeenabletogivemethebestlinkstomyclientswebsitesanddeliveramarketingmessagetomyclientstheycouldnotgetanywhereelse.Notonlydothenewsarticlesdeliverthemarketingmessageyouwanttodeliver,itdoesn’tappeartobeanadvertisement,youcreatetrustinyourproductorservice,andyougetalinkbacktoyourwebsitethatistheequivalentofhundredsofmediumqualitylinks.

Sohowdoyoudogetthebestlinkintheworldforlessthan$50.00?Takealookatbelow.Youwillnoticethatthemainarticleisaboutcoffeefundraisingandthenthereareadsundersponsors.BothofthesegreatwaysofgettinglinksbacktoyourwebsitefromofficialnewswebsitesthatGooglehasdeterminedareofficialnewssources.Therearemanylocalnewsoutletsnationwide.Theyhaveonlinenewspapersaswellassmallpapernewspapersyoucangetatsupermarketsandlocalbusinesses.Theylikeeducationalarticlesandtheylovetohelpthosethatareadvertisers.Itisaperfectexampleof,“YouscratchmybackandIscratchyours.”

Therearesomerulesthough.Firstyouusuallyneedtopayforabanneradforthewebsite.Usuallylessthan$50permonth.Itisabout$30permonthforTheKnowLA.comwhichhasabout15,000visitorsperweektotheironlinenewssite.TheKnownewsfranchisehaslocalnewspapersinmajorcitiesalloverthecountryandanadwillrunabout$40permonthoneachwebsite.OneofthemostexpensiveisChicagolandNewspaperwhichrunsabout$200.00perweekbuttheyhavealmost20,000uniquevisitorsperday.

Afteryoupurchaseadvertisingyouneedtosubmitanewsarticlethatisofjournalisticqualitywhereitdoesn’tseemlikeanadvertisement.Onethatinterestspeoplebutdoesn’tmentionyourcompanynameuntillateinthearticlewhereyourcompanyandwebsitearementionedasanexpertinyourfieldandaquotefromsomeonewhoisanexpertinyourcompany.

Thiswayyoueducatetheconsumer,givetrustinyourcompany,getalinktoyourwebsiteanddeliveryourmessagewithoutappearingtobeanadvertisement.ThisisoneofthebestwaystosubtlyadvertiseandgetyourmessagetotheconsumerandyourhelpSEOatthesametimeandataverylowcost.

Sowhodoyoutalktodothis?Herearemypersonallistofcontacts.

OnlineNewsSourceEmailAddressTheKnowFranchiseAdvertise@TheKnowLA.com

[email protected]

[email protected]

GoodWebsiteLinksThereareaninfinitenumberofplacesyoucangetgoodlinkstoyourwebsitethatare

relevantandwillincreaseyourrankings.Theseare:

1. Websitesinyourindustry(Experts,yoursuppliers,wholesalers,industryregulators,Industrytrainingandcertificationsites.)

2. AngelasAndPaulsBacklinks.comisamonthlyinexpensivenewsletterwithhundredsofeasilyobtainablelinks,articlesonhowtoobtainlinks,andplacesthatofferfreehomepageanddeeplinks.

3. Charitywebsites,educationalinstitutions,placesyousponsor4. Chambersofcommerce,BBB,Industryassociations5. Customerreviews6. Oldsiteswithestablisheddomains7. Newsorganizations8. Pressreleasesites9. Blogsandforums10. Buyabloginsteadofbuyinglinksonablog.11. Qualitynewsarticles

12.Websitesfrom.govand.edusites13.Socialmediaandbookmarkingsites14.Customerreviewwebsites15.Anyplacethatyoufeelwillbringyoupositiveandrelevantbrandingtoenhanceyourcompany’scredibility.

Sidebar:GettingGoodLinksfromCustomerReviews

Google’sacquisitionofZagatanditsuseofYelp’scustomerreviewsbringsagreatwayofcreatinglinksbacktoyourwebsiteandatthesametimeincreasesocialmentionsofyourwebsiteontheweb.

Ifyoubreakitdown,therearefourtypesofbusinessesontheweb:

Businessesthatgetmostoftheirbusinessfromreferralscouldcarelessaboutreviews.Businessesthatgetmostoftheirbusinessfromreferrals,getonlinereviewsandthinkthatnobodyreadsthemorevencaresaboutthem.Businessesthatthinkreviewsareimportantandworkhardtogetasmanyaspossible.Businessesthattrytogetreviewsanddon’tgetverymany.

Thetypesthatrelyheavilyonreferralsandignorereviewsdon’trealizethatsometimeinthenextyearortwosomeoneisgoingtowritesomethingaboutthemonlineandthereisaverygoodchanceit’sgoingtobenegative.Yourwebsitecanavoidsomeof

thesebyprovidingawayforpeopletogivecommentsonyourwebsite.Whetherpublicornotandalwaysmakesureyoufollowuponcommentsthatarenegative.

IfnegativecommentsgetaroundontheInternet,whichitusuallydoesthankstoGoogle,theirreferralsareatriskofdryingup.IfthefirstthingthatshowsupinGoogleforyourbrandnameoryourwebsitesdomainnameisanegativecommentorreview,youarepotentiallyinaverybadspotandrisklosingbusiness.InsomeextremecasesIhaveseenacompanygooutofbusiness.

Positivereviewsaregreat,therealpowerisinthereviewer.Acustomerwillingtospendthetimetoreviewyouisabrandambassadorisalwaysapowerfulally.Insteadofjustaskingthemforreviews,youshouldbethinkingabouthowyoucanharnessyourrelationshipwiththesevaluablepeopletohelpspreadtheword,bothonlineandoff.

Forthoseofyouthattrybutcan’tseemtogetanytractionwithreviews,youshouldconsiderthefollowing,onhowtobuildreviewgenerationintotheirbusinessprocesses.

MattCuttsFromGoogle1.Donotabuseguestblogginglinks.

MattCuttssaidinDecemberthatyoushouldnotabuseguestblogginglinks.Thismeansthatifyourbloggingorcommentingasaguest,yesGoogleunderstandsthatifyouareanauthorityinyourindustrythatyouwillhaveblogcommentingorlinksbuttheyshouldnotsaythesamethingoverandoverandthereshouldnotbeamajorityofyourlinksinthisarea.

2.Don’tbuyorselllinks!

MattCuttssaidinJulythatasifitwasasurprisethatGoogletendstolookatbuyingandsellinglinksthatpassPageRankasaviolationoftheirWebmasterguidelines.“Ifweseethishappeningmultipletimes,repeatedtimes,thentheactionsthatwetakegetmoreandmoresevere.”MattCuttssaid.

Neverbuylinks!

3.Howmanylinksonapageweshouldhave?Istherealimit?

MattCuttshassaidthatifyouhavesubstantiallinksonasinglepageyouneedtohavesubstantialcontent.

4.WhenshouldyouusetheDisavowLinksTool?

MattCuttssaid,“Feelfreetodisavowlinks,whetheryou’vebeenpenalizedornot.”

5.Whatshouldbeinblogcomments?

Thisisoneoftheeasiestwaystogetlinks.However,MattCuttssaysyoushouldmakeyourcommentsfromblogcommentinggenuineandrelevanttothewebsite.Healsowarnedwebmastersthatblogcommentingshouldnotbeahugefractionofyouroveralllinkportfolio.

6.ShouldIguestblog?

MattCuttswarnedagainstdoingguestblogginginlarge-scaleandpay-for-links.Healsowarnedagainstoff-topicorirrelevantbloglinkbuildinginguestblogging.Intypicalguestblogging,thereisusuallyaparagraphthattellsabouttheguestbloggerandwhyyouwereinvitedtopost.

7.IfIhavebadlinksshowItrytoremovethelinksbeforeresortingtousingtheDisavowTool?

MattCuttssaysthatyoushouldalwaystrytoremovelinksbeforeresortingtoistheDisavowTool.Googlewantstoseethatyouhavemadeanefforttoremovethoselinksbeforeusingthetool.Hesaid,“Ifthosefolksaren’treceptive,thenjustgoaheadanddisavowthoselinks.Aslongasyou’vetakenthosesteps,youshouldbeingoodshape.”

DisavowTool-CommonMistakesMattCuttsfromGooglediscussedthecommonmistakesheandhisteamcontinueto

seepeoplemakewhentheyareusingtheGoogleDisavowTool.Let’stakealookatthose:

1. Notuploadingaplaintextfile:Thefileyouuploadhastobearegulartextfile.YoushouldnotuploadWordfiles(.doc)&Excelspreadsheets.

2. Notlookingdeeplyatyourbadlinks:ManytimeswebmasterssendaReconsiderationRequestthatisjustalightlistofbadlinks.Ifyouareawebsitewithaverybadlinkportfolio,ratherthanusingabutterknife,youmightbewisertouseachainsawandgoalotdeeper,gettingridofallyourreallybadlinks.

3. Don’taddtheHTTPorWWWofthedomainname:Thedomaincolonneedstohavetherightsyntax.Soaddthedomaincolonandthenadomainname.

4. Rebuttalsshouldnotbeinthetextfile:Manywebmastershavebeenputtingexcuses,context,orthestorybehindthelinkintheDissavowToolTextfile.TherightplacetogiveGooglethisinformationisintheReconsiderationRequest.

CustomerReviewAcquisitionStrategiesWhenyougetrightdowntoit,therearebasicallyfourwaystogetanonline

customerreview:

1. Viaphone2. Viaemail3. ViaaWebsite4. Viatranscriptionfromahand-writtenreviews

Whichmethodisrightforyoudependsonhowyouconductyourbusiness.OneofthebiggestmistakesIseeisbusinessesthatdon’tcollectemailaddressesforadvertising.MostofthebusinessesIworkwithknowtheyshouldbutrarelydo.Evenwhentheydo,theydon’tkeeptheirlistuptodateandoneclientslistweworkedonrecentlyhadlessthan10%withcurrentaddresses.

Ifemaildoesn’tworkforyourcompany,thenyou’llneedtoconsiderhowyoutypicallyinteractwithyourcustomers.Ifmostofyourbusinessisdoneinpersonthengivethemacommentcardtocompleteandthenputthosecommentsonline.Ifit’soverthephone,youmayhavetodoitviamail.Trystaplingacommentcardwithreturnpostagetoyourinvoice.Especiallyforthoseclientsyouhavegoneoutofyourwayfor.

Whenfiguringoutyourcustomerreviewacquisitionstrategy,askyourselfwhatyourstaffcanrealisticallydoeveryday.Sometipsforaskingcustomerreviews:

1. OfferIncentives?Alargepercentageofyourcustomerswilldoitforfree.Ifyouoffertopayyourtopclients,it’spossibleitwillbackfireandtheywillgetturnedoff,whichcouldhurtyourbusinessbydampeningtheenthusiasmoftheseclients.

2. Makeiteasyforcustomers,butdon’tsendthemalinktoreviewyouonGoogleunlesstheyhaveaGmailaddress.

3. DonotaskpeopleforYelpreviews.Thisalmostalwaysbackfires.Youmaygetafewpositivereviewsintheshortterm,butifyourcustomersarenotactiveYelpers,Yelp’sSPAMfiltersremovethem.You’llendupwithnoreviewsandpotentiallysomeangrycustomerswhowonderwhytheirhardworkreviewingyourcompanywentaway.

4. Sendarequesttoreviewyourcompanypromptly.Don’twait.Peoplearemostlikelytogiveyoufeedbackrightawaywhentheyarehappywithyourserviceorproduct.Thelongeryougofromthetimeofservicetothetimeofyourrequest,thehigherthelikelihoodyourcustomerwillnotgiveyouareview.

5. Ifyouhavethecustomer’semailaddress,followupyourinitialrequestthreedayslaterwithareminderemailcontaininglinksofwheretogoforreviewsubmissions.Reminderemailscanaccountforahugepercentageofreviewconversions.

6. Don’tsetupakioskinyourbusiness.FunnythingisthatsomecompaniesallowpeopletologintotheirGmailandleaveacommentrightthereinthebusiness.Theproblemis,thatallthereviewscomefromthesameIPaddress.Eventhoughtheyarevalid,mostSPAMfiltersandGooglewillseethattheycamefromthesameIPaddressandthinktheyarebeingspammed.

Tip:Ihaveoftenheardfrombusinessownerstheyfeelembarrassedwhenaskingcustomersforreviews.Ifthatsoundslikeyou,myadviceistobe

totallycandidwithyourcustomers.Inotherwords,underpromiseandoverdeliverandhopeforgoodreviews.Onegoodwayistotellyourclientsthatyouareworkingonimprovingyourbusinessandonlinereviewsareagoodwaytodothis.Ihavefoundthatthiskindofcandidnessmakestheaskerfeelbetteraboutaskingforreviews,whichimprovesthechancesofactuallygettingthem.

Ifyoustillcan’tfigureoutthereviewthingthereareseveralcompaniesouttherethatwouldbegladtohelpyousuchasthefollowing:

AngiesList.comCustomerLobby.comCustomerRating.comDemandForce.comMoreBiz.comRatepoint.comYelp.com

LinkJuice

Theterm“linkjuice,”referstothevotingpowerthatalinkpassestoapageinwhichitlinks.ThefactisonlyGoogleknowsexactlyhowmuchlinkjuiceisgettingpassedonfromeachlinkonapage.However,therearesomebasicfactorswecanusetodeterminehowvaluableagivenlinkwillbe.Lookforlinkswiththesequalitiesforbetterresults:

Thepageisrelevanttoyourcontent.Thelinkfromthepagetoyourpagehasagoodanchortext.Theotheroutgoinglinksonthepagelookrelevantandappeartobetoqualitysites.Thetextaroundthelinkthatyouwillreceiveisrelevant.ThepagehasbeenrecentlycachedbyGoogle.Thepageisarespectedorauthoritypagesuchasacharity,news,educationalorgovernmentwebsite.

Sidebar:TheOrphanPageLinkTest

Anorphanpageisapagethathasnolinksfromanyotherpageandhencecannotbefoundbysearchengines.IfyouwanttotestifGooglelearnslinks.Placealinktotheorphanpage.

ThenexttimeGoogleindexesyourpagewiththelinktotheorphanpage,checktoseeiftheorphanpagewasindexedbythesearchengines.IfyourorphanpagegetsindexedbyGoogle,thenthereisagoodchancethepageyouaretestingispassingonlinkjuice.

LinkingWithinYoursiteIt’seasytofocusonlyoninboundlinks,butthereareimportantbestpracticesfor

linkingwithinyoursiteaswell:

Sitemaps–Createagoodone.Ifnotforyourvisitors,forsearchengines.It’sroughforsearchenginestohavetodrilldownandfindallthatcontent.Makeiteasyforthem.Oh,andkeepitupdated!Secondlyyouneedtomakesurethatyouhaveasitemapforthesearchengines.PreferablyanXMLsitemapwhichyoulistthelocationinyourRobots.txtfileaswellasuploadittoGoogleWebmasterTools.

Anchortextwithincontent–Thismaybeevenmoreimportantforonsitelinksthanforoffsitelinks.Youhavefullcontrolofyouranchortext,souseit.Plusyoursitethemeisalreadyinplace,soeachlinkwillhavecomplete,naturalrelevancetothepageitpointsto.

Breadcrumbs–Arealittlepieceofsearchenginelove.Breadcrumbsarenotonlyhelpfulfornavigation,butsearchenginescanpickupgreatanchortextfromthem.Breadcrumbsarethenavigationelementsthatlargesitesusetohelpcategorizecontent,andallowyoutofindyourwaybacktocorecategoriesifyouloseyourway.

Featuredproducts,news,etc.–Linksfromyourhomepageare,ingeneral,consideredmoreimportantthanlinksfromotherpartsofyoursite.Soifyou’vegotsomethingyoureallywanttoshowoff,itmakessensetoputitonyourhomepage,notonlyforusability,butforsearchenginesaswell.

Linkstoyourself–Linktoyourproductorservicepagesfromyourownblogs,articles,resourcesections,newsreleases,oranyotherrelevantpages.Usetheanchortextwithineachoftheseresourcestosendalittlelinklovetoyourcorepages.So,forexample,ifyouselltoothbrushes,andyouwriteablogpostaboutcorrectbrushingpractices,linktheword“toothbrushes”fromyourblogposttoyourmaintoothbrushproductpage.

WaysofCreatingGreatContent

Herearesomegreatwaysyoucanspendmoneytoadduniquecontentandvaluetoyoursite:

1. Writehow-toguide.2. Placeyourbrochureonyourwebsite.3. Buildmicrositeswhicharewebsitesthatfocusonasinglekeywordortopicand

workbestwhenthekeywordisinthedomainname.4. Buildbetterkeyworddensitylandingpages.5. Createabuyingguideorcatalogforyourmostpopularproductcategories.6. Writeweeklypressreleasesandnewsarticles.7. Createvideoreviewsofyourproductsorservices.

8. Writeopenletterstoyourcustomers.9. Care—deeply—aboutthequalityofyourwriting,andaboutyouraudience.

10.Godeepwithoriginalresearch.11.Shareanever-before-seeninterview.12.Avoidredundant,duplicated,orstolencontent.13.Buildsomuchtrustwithyouraudiencethatpeoplewouldbehappytohandovertheircreditcard.14.Buildyourauthority—andyoursite’sauthority.15.Spellcorrectly.16.Fixfactualerrors.17.Don’tusebadgrammarortextlanguage18.Writeforhumanstoreadbutbeacutelyawareofsearchenginebots.19.Createsomethingnobodyhaseverseenbefore.20.Remainbalancedandworthyofyouraudience’strust.Don’ttakeonesideovertheother.Youchancemakingamajorityofthepeopleupset.21.Coveratopiccomprehensively.22.Createsomethingpeoplewouldwanttoshareandbookmark.23.Don’toverusepromotions,calls-to-action,andads.

24. Writesomethingagoodmagazineorjournalwouldprint.25. Spendalotoftimeondetail.26. Createsomethingpeoplewanttotalkaboutpositively.

OtherThingsonYourLinkingToDoListLookatallthefreelinksyouhavepointingtoyourwebsite.AlsouseGoogle

WebmasterToolsandpossiblyaSEOAudits.comReportoranAccuQuality.comReporttogetfamiliarwithits404and302reports,logfiles,orbrokenlinks.MakesurethatyourownlinksandthosepointingtoinactiveURLs,andURLsthataregoingthroughmultipleredirects.Makesurealllinksarefindingtheirwaystoyouractivepageswithoutpassingthrough302redirectsorsomesortofredirectchain.

Inmylineofwork,everytimeIbeginninganewSEOcampaignforaclient,itneverceasestoamazemehowmanybrokenlinksIfindinontheirwebsite.Onsomebiggerwebsitestherearethousandsofbrokenlinks,notonlyfromthewebsitebuttothewebsite.Theonescomingtothewebsitetopagesthatnolongerexist.Ifyouused301redirectstofixtheseissuesyouwouldgetthelinkvalueofthoseincominglinks.Thesearefreelinksthatyouearned!Makesuretheyare301redirectedtoactiveURLs.

BuyaBlogBuyabloginsteadofbuyinglinksiswhatItellpeople.Googleliterallyloves

WordPressmorethananythingespeciallywhenyouhostitatadifferentIPasyourwebsiteandgetdiscussionsgoing.Buyingablogcanbeamuchmoreeffectiveuseofyourmoneyinthelongrunaswell.You’llgetalotmorevaluethanjustthelinks,andyouwillneverruntherisksofbeingpenalizedforbuyingpaidlinks

UsingSocialBookmarkingSitesTogetyourlinksonsocialbookmarkingsites,allyouhavetodoiscreateaprofile

andpostthem.Thatpartisprettyeasy.Gettingpeopletobookmarkorvoteforyourlinkscanbethetrickypart.

Togetpeopletobookmarkorvoteforyourlinks,youneedtobepatient,andyouneedtobeactiveonyourchosenbookmarkingsite(s).Findotherpeoplewithsimilarinterestsandcolleaguesthatyoualreadyknow.Sharetheirlinks.Theywillbemorelikelytopayattentiontoandvoteforyourlinksinturn.

Popularbookmarkingsitesinclude:

del.icio.us-Theoldestsocialbookmarkingwebsiteandmostpopular.Userscanalsoaddpeopletotheirnetworksandsharebookmarks.StumbleUpon.com–Hasabrowseradd-onforsavingandsharingwebsites.WorkswithIE,andMozilla.Digg.com-Diggallowsyoutosubmitstories,thendigguserscan“Digg”thestories,andmakecomments.Userscanalsouploadvideos,imagesandpodcasts.Sphinn.com-Socialbookmarkingsiteformarketers.Allowsyoutosharenews,articles,etc.,andparticipateindiscussions

UsingDirectoryLinks

Searchengineshavenotabolisheddirectories.Googlehassimplygottenmuchstricterwhenitcomestoacknowledgingspecificdirectories.Despitethat,theyarestillbeneficialforbuildingpagerankingandincreasingtraffic.

Therearemanydifferenttypesofdirectoriesthatcanbeofgreatvaluetoyourwebsiteorblog.YoucansearchfordirectoriesonGoogleforgoodonesorforasmallfeeyoucangetyourwebsitesubmittedtothousandsofdirectoriesbyhavingservicessuchasSubmissionComplete.comorWebsiteSubmitter.orgdotheworkforyou.Thesesiteschargebetween$15and$69toperformthesubmissions.Butitsuresavesalotoftime.

BuyingTextLinksIsA“NoNo!”ThisisdefinitelyanexampleofwhatnottodoaswementionedinChapter1talking

abouttheGooglePenguinupdatesandPandaupdates.Themajorsearchenginesdowhattheycantomakesureawebsite’spopularityisnotincreasedbytheuseofpaidlinksorlinkfarm.ThecheapestlinkbuyingcomesfromRussia,India,Pakistan,Nigeria,andthePhilippians.Googleknowwherelinksarecreatedandthatisthefastestwaynowtogetaredflag.

CreatingOutgoinglinks

Outgoinglinkingiscriticalforblogsandwebsites.ManywebmastersstoppedlinkingoutinordertohoardtheirPageRankfromothersintheirindustrybutnowitbackfires.Havingtoomanyoutgoinglinkscanbeasbadashavingnone.Somewherebetween15and70outgoinglinksonyourhomepagecanbehealthyforawebsite.Butthisinvitesalotofchallenges.Youneedtomakesurethatyourlinksgoingouttootherwebsitesremainvalid(Notbroken),theydon’tlinktothoseinabadneighborhood(porn,spammy,hate,orpoliticalsites,etc.),therearenohiddenlinksandtheygenerallyareinthesameorarelatedindustry,local,association,oralinktoawebsiteGooglemightconsiderapossiblevendor.

Wherearemylinksfrom?Thereareseveraltoolsthatcanletyouseewhatlinksaretargetingyourwebsite.I

wassaddenedthatYahooSiteExplorerwentawayin2012.ThereisonlyoneotherIhighlyrecommendandthatisMajesticSEO(http://www.majesticseo.com).BinghasalsohasalimitedversionoftheYahooExplorerintheBingWebmasterTools.

DiversityofYourLinksWhentryingtogainlinksyouneedtogetadiversenumberofqualitylinks.Ifallthe

linksyouarebuildingarefromBlogpostingswithaPageRankof1itisveryeasyforGoogletodetectsincethatisveryunnatural.YouwanttogetlinksfromsiteswithdifferentPageRankedpagesandnotjustblogpostings.

Itisbesttochoosearangeofsitesthatarebig,small,popular,unpopular,noPR,higherPR,etc.YoushouldneverignorepotentiallinksfromsocialmediasiteslikeTwitterandFacebookorfromorganizationsyougetbusinessmaterialsfromorassociationsyourcompanybelongsto.

NegativeSEO

Asifbusinessownersdidn’thaveenoughtoworryaboutwhenitcametomarketingtheirbusinessonlinewhenuppopsaveryrealriskofunscrupulouscompetitorsattackingyourwebsiteinabidtogetyoursitebannedfromGoogleorhaveyoursearchenginerankingsdrasticallydemotedtothelostregionsofGoogle’ssearchresults.

ThereisabadsidetoSEOandyoucanfallintotheNegativeSEOtrapifyoudon’twatchoutforit.Thishasbeenanissueforawhile,butitisnowhittingthemainstreamandisnowalsoatacticyourcompetitionmayuseagainstyou.TheharshrealityisthatnegativeSEOpracticescancauseyoursitetodropinrankingandevenberemovedfromGooglealtogether.

Ashorttimeagoabusinessownerbraggedabouthowthemoreheupsethisclientsandtheycomplainedonlineabouthim,thebetterhisrankingresultsgot.Googlehassinceputmeasuresinplacetodeterwebsiteownersfromusingtacticsthatareintendedtomanipulatetheirsearchenginerankingsusingbadpublicity.

AsaresultofnegativeSEO,practitionershavelookedatsitesthathavebeenbannedasaresultofbadpublicity,andoff-pageSEOtacticsthathavedrainedwebsitesoftheirranking.Theythenlearnwhattechniquestousetotargetawebsitethattheywanttoeradicateordemote.Theythenusethesetechniquestoharmthecompetition.

GoodSEOcompaniesemployReputationManagementasaearlywarningsystemthattheseissuesarehappening.Italsocatcheswhenclientsorformeremployeesbeginacampaignagainstthecompanytoharmthewebsiteorcompaniesreputationonline.Therearemanytechniquesthatcanbeusedtoeliminateorreducethenegativeeffectsthatthesekindsofcommentsorlinkingcandotoyouifcaughtearlyenough.Bothfortheenduserandtothesearchengines.

SeveralpeoplewhoworkintheSEOindustryhaveconsultedwithmeonaregularbasiswhentheirclient’swebsiteisunderattackfrombadcommenting,reviews,orothernegativeSEOpractices.Almosteverystrategysomeonecanusetodemoteyourwebsitethereisacounterstrategytoemploytoreverseorminimizeitseffects.Insomeindustrieswherethereisseverecompetitionandweknowitisgoingtohappenweemploytechniquesinadvance.

Insomecasesyouknowwhoisdoingit.Animpossibletopleaseclient,aformerdisgruntledemployee,andsometimesitisacurrentemployeewhoismadatthecompany.OthertimesitisimpossibletofindoutwhoiscarryingoutanegativeSEOattackbecausemanyofthepeopletheyhavedonetheirresearchorinvolvedahighlyskilledpersontohelp.

ThiscouldbeanotherbookIwrite,butifbadYelpreviewsarekillingyou,yougetlistedonRip-Report,Scammers,etc.Itisbestthatyoucontactmeimmediatelybeforeyourbusinesssuffersanditistoolatetotakeanyaction.Thesooneryoustarttakingactiontoreversethissituationthebetter.

GoogleorBingLinkPenalties

WhenyoureceiveapenaltynoticefromGoogle,youareinstructedtocleanupyouractandremoveanylinksthatmaybeviolatingGoogle’sguidelines.Sometimesyouhavenoknowledgeofwhoplacedthelinksandifthereisnowaytoremovethem.LuckilyyoucankeepthemfromhurtingbyusingtheGoogleDisavowLinkToolinGoogleorBing’sWebmasterTools.

LinkSpammingTotheall-knowingeye,spammylinksareeasilyfound.AgoodSEOcompany

provideslinksthathavetheappearanceofbeinganorganicandcustomerorvendorprovidedlink.

Evenbeforesocialmedialinkshadbeenpartofthemajorsearchengine’salgorithms,theywerethere,usuallyfromSEOwannabesthatdidn’tknowanybetter.Letmewarnyounow,ifyouareinvolvedinsocialmediasolelyfortheSEOvalueofthelinksfromyourfavouritesocialmediasites–you’redoingitwrongandyouaregoingtoeventuallymeetwithalessthanfavourableoutcome.

Youaretreadinginanareawherefartoomanypeoplehavealreadyabusedthisarea.SomuchsothatnowincreasinglysavvycommunitymembersareOVER-sensitivetoit.IhaveseenlegitimatecontentcalledSEOspamsimplybecausetheusercouldn’tfindanothermarketingpurposetoapplyanametoit.

Howcanyouavoidbeingcalledaspammer?ProvideGREAT,notjustgood,contentthatdoesn’tlooklikeyourdirectlyadvertisingtheserviceorproductwhereverpossible.Ingeneral,thebetteryourcontent=thelesslikelyitwillbeconsideredspam.

Let’stakealookatdifferenttypesofspammycontent:

CommentSpamBlogSpamViralMarketingBeingTheSelfPromoterMoneyMakingSpam

CommentSpam

Thistypeofspamneedsnodescription.CommentspamisamajorannoyanceandmadeentirelytooeasywiththeadventofDeamonsoftwarethatautospams.Blogs,Forums,WordPresswebsites,Facebookpages,socialmediabookmarkingsites,andthelikeallhavetodealwiththiskindofspam.

Whenyougotoawebsite,dropacommentwithalinkbacktoyourwebsiteeitherbyhand,usesoftware,oruseabotthatdropsalinkbacktoyouwebsiteyouareanoffender.

Youshouldnevercommentunlessyouhavesomethingtoaddtotheconversation.Uselinksonlyifitisrelevanttotheconversation.

BlogSpamBlogspamisessentiallywhenanunknownblogtakeshighqualitycontent,likea

viralvideoorimages,fromelsewhereandhostsitontheirblogtoattracttrafficandattentionwithcontenttheydidn’tcreate.

AsecondarytermcalledLinkJackingisessentiallythesamething,onlythistime,itiswellknown/hightrafficblogsdoingitinordertogettrafficspecificallyfromsocialmediasitessuchasDiggorReddit.

AnotherdifferencebetweenblogspammingandLinkjackingisthatblogspammingtakesmultiplepiecesofcontentfromvarioussourcestoattempttohidethefactthatitiscopiedanditreallyspam.Linkjackingusuallytakescontentfromasinglesourceandsimplyaddsauniquedescriptionsoasnottobe“duplicate”content.

Blogspammingserveslittlepurposebuttorobtheoriginalcontentproducersofcreditfortheirtimeandeffortincreatingthecontent.

ViralMarketingViralmarketingislikehittinga“homerun”insocialmediamarketing.Havinga

pieceofcontentgoviralgivesanumberofobviousmarketingbenefits,especiallyeveryone’sfavoritemarketingbuzzword:branding.That’swhymanybigbrandstrytogothisroute.Theproblem?It’sbecomingharderandhardertoachieve.Why?Becauseithasbeendone…aLOT.Notonlyareusersbecomingmorecautiousofthistypeofmarketing,butthecontent’sbecomingredundant.

Howtoavoidthislabel:Yourcontentmustbeorlookcompletelygenuine,stirupREALemotions,andstrivefororiginality.It’seasiersaidthandone,butnotimpossible.

SelfPromoterThere’snothingwrongwiththeoccasionalself-promotionhereandthere.The

problemiswhenyourwebsitecontentisonlyself-promotionwithlittleothercontentoreducationalpurpose.Consumersknowwhenyouarebeingself-promotingandnotofferingtotheirconversationsanditbecomesareasontoexitfromyouronlinecontent.Whensharinglinksfromyoursiteorblogexclusivelyandfromnowhereelse,peopleconsiderthisspamming.Evenifit’ssuperfantastic,neat-ocontent,you’respammingpeople.Evenifyourbloghasnoadvertising,marketingorbusinessmodel:you’restillaspammer.

Whenyousharemorethanyourownproductorservice,URL,etc.,notonlyareyoubetterreceived,butotherswillbemorewillingtoshareyourcontentagainbecausetheytrustwhatcomesfromyou.Sharingnothingbutyourowncontent,istheeasiestwaytoendupinaplacelikeRedditandreportedasaSpammer.

http://www.reddit.com/r/reportthespammers.

Reddit.comisaplacepeoplecangotoreportthegoodandbadaboutwebsites.Now,wehaveallheardthephrase,“thesqueakywheelgetsthegrease,”wellthesameconceptappliesrighthere.Morepeoplecometoreddit.comtoreportspammersthentheycometoremarkonhowwellsomeoneisdoing.

MoneyMakingSpam

MostsocialmediausersfeelifyougetpaidtosubmitlinkstoDiggorReddit,youareaspammer,evenifthesite(s)you’vesubmittedmakenomoneyfromit.Ifasitehastoomanyads,toolargeacall-to-action,oreventooprominentabrandmessage,itmightbeconsideredspam.Evenwell-knownpublicationshavebeenknowntofallvictimtothislabel.Thefactis,ifsomeonehassomethingtogainbycontentbeingspreadthenitprobablysmellsofmarketing.Andifitsmellsofmarketing,thanitprobablyismarketing.

Youshouldlimityourcall-to-actionadvertisingorcomments.Ifyoucan,youshouldalwayshideyourmainbusinessobjectiveandfirstfocusonmakingsureyourcontentisbeingspreadandeducationalifpossible.

VariedLinkingTextJusttogivealittlehistory,oncewebmastersfiguredoutthatlinkshelpedyour

rankings,allsortsofabusestartedtooccur.Peoplestartedcreatingwaystobeatthesystemincludinglinkfarms,massivereciprocallinknetworks,automaticallygeneratedcontentwithautomaticlinks,andautomatedsoftwarethatautomaticallypostedtothousandsoflinksontheInternet.Mostoftheselinkswerenevermeantforahumanvisitortosee.

Thisiswherethemajorsearchenginesbegantofightback.Theydidn’twantjunkintheirresultsanymorethansearcherswantedtoseeit.Searchenginesstartedcountingsomelinksmorethanothers,anddiscountingsomelinksandtypesoflinksentirely.Thentheystartedtobanwebsitesforusingthesepractices.

Now,linkbuildingisnolongerasimple“moreequalsbetter”formulaandthemathematicsbehindsearchresultshasgottenmuchmorecomplicated.Meanwhile,theabilitytouse“rightlinkbuilding”hasactuallygottenaloteasier.

Varytheanchortextslightlyforyourlinksallowsyourlinkingtoappearnaturaltothesearchengines.Thetextusedtolinktoawebpageshouldbevariedandifpossiblecontainapositiveword.Soifyourkeywordis“Dentist”,youmightput“GreatSacramentodentist”or“BestSacramentoDentist”astheanchortextforyourkeywords.

Sidebar:GettingGoodLinks

Anchortextisthevisible,clickabletextofahyperlink(alsoknownaslinktext).Forexample,ifthiswereawebsite,theninthissentence,UthiswouldbetheanchortextU.Youdon’talwayshavecontroloveryouranchortext.Ifsomeonelinkstoyoufromtheirblog,orsomeonewritesanarticleaboutyou,thewritermaynotgiveyou“keywordfriendly”anchortext.Inthosecases,justbehappytheylinkedtoyou.But,inothercases,youmaybeabletochooseyouranchortext.

Searchenginespayparticularattentiontotheanchortextthattheyarefollowing.So,foryouranchortext,usedescriptivekeywordsandanchortextvariantsunderwhichyouwouldliketorankandmakesurethekeywordyouareusinginyouranchortextislinkedtoapageonyourwebsitefocusedonthesamekeyword.

Manypeoplemakethemistakeofmakingeverylinktotheirhomepage.Thisgivesyourhomepageagoodrankingbutalltheotherpagesonthewebsitesuffer.

TIP:Pickupthephoneandmakeacalltotheadministrators/editorsforthewebsiteyouwantalinkfrom.Suchasimpleconcept,andonethat’sadoptedbyvirtuallyeverysalesorganizationintheworld,andyetthevastmajorityoflinkbuildersouttherefailtoutilizethephone,insteadoptingformountainsofemailsorheapsofsocialnetworkmessaging.

WordPressBlogCommentingWhencommentingonblogs,particularlyWordPressblogs,useakeywordphrase

inthe“name”boxandusea2to3%keyworddensitywhencommentingontheblogs.Thatwilloftenresultinabacklinktoyourwebsiteforwhichyouhavecontroloftheanchortext.

ForumPostingWhenpostinginforums,includeyourkeywordsorphrasesaspartofyourforum

signatureaswellaswritingwithyourkeywordinmindata4-5%keyworddensityisanotherwayofencouragingbacklinks.

Chapter6-GoogleAnalyticsGoogleAnalyticsprovidesgreatdataandinformationforyoutolearnmoreabout

theperformanceofyourwebsite.Forexample,youcanlearnmoreabouthowmuchtrafficyoursiteisattaining,whenthebusiesttimeduringthedayisforyoursite,whereyourtrafficiscomingfromandmuchmore.Further,youcansyncyourAdWordstoGoogleAnalyticstogaingreaterinsightaboutyourmarketingcampaigns.

TocreateyourownGoogleAnalyticsaccountgoto:

http://analytics.google.com

Fillintherequiredinformationandyouwillsoonbeonyourwayasshownbelow:

Home

ThissectionisverybasicasitsimplyjustdisplaystheURLsthatyouhavesetupforGoogleAnalytics.AllyouhavetodotogettothereportsisclickonyourURLlinksandyouwillbetakentoyourdashboard.

Dashboard

Thisscreenwillprovideyouwithsomeselectreportstogiveyouaquicksnapshotofhowyoursiteisperforming.Initially,yourdashboardispre-populatedwithsomebasicreports,butyoucancustomizethereportsthataredisplayedonyourdashboardtogetthedatathatyouwant.Eachreportthatdisplaysvariousmetricsisknownasawidget.Pleasenotethatyoucancreateupto20dashboards,andeachdashboardcancontainupto12widgets.YoucanalsoemailyourdashboardreportsaswellasdownloadthemintoPDF’s.

IntelligenceEvents

InthissectionGooglewillnotifywhenyoursiteexperiencesbigspikesintrafficorlargedrops,andtheseepisodesoreventsareknownasIntelligenceEvents.Googlebasestheseeventsoffofyoursite’straffichistory.Therearetwotypesofeventsthatoccurhere:automaticalertsandcustomones.AutomaticAlertsaregeneratedbyGoogleviatheirstatisticaldata,andwhenaneventoccurssuchasalargespikeintrafficoralargedrop,thisiswhereyouwillfindout.

ACustomReportiscreatedbyyousothatyoucankeepclosetabsonthedatathatismostimportanttoyou.Forexample,youcansetanalertifyoursiteexperiencesa25%increaseintrafficorifyourrevenuefalls10%.YoucanadjustthesettingssothatGooglewilleitheremailortextyouwhenthisoccurssothatyoucanrespondimmediately.TheseIntelligenceReportscanbeviewedinfourways:theOverview,DailyEvents,WeeklyEventsandMonthlyEvents.

TheOverviewgivesyouasnapshotofyourautomaticalertsandyourcustomalertsforaspecifieddaterange.DailyEventsdisplayautomaticandcustomalertsperdayforthespecifieddaterange.WeeklyEventsdisplayautomaticandcustomalertsperweekforthespecifieddaterange.AndMonthlyEventsprovideyouwithautomaticandcustomalertspermonthforthespecifieddaterange.

Tip-TheFindReports&MorefeatureallowsyoutoquicklysearchforreportsthatareofferedinGoogleAnalyticsanditalsoshowsyouyourrecentlyviewedreports.Soifyouarelookingatareportandthenyougetdistractedforabitandcan’trememberwhichreportyouwereviewing,thenthistoolwillbehandy.

StandardReportingOptions

Real-Time

Realtimeanalyticsallowsyoutoattaindataaboutyoursite’strafficandperformanceasithappenslive.Thedatawillappearwithinsecondsofvisitorshittingyoursiteandthedatawillbedisplayedinunitsoftimeforthelast30minutes(ie.Thepast30seconds,thepast60seconds,5minuteincrementsandlive).

Someofthedatayoucanattainisthenumberofpeopleonyoursiteatthecurrentmoment,thevisitors’geographiclocation,thesourcesthatreferredthemtoyoursiteandwhichpagestheyareviewing.Marketersandwebsiteownerscanusethisrealtimedatatogaininsightifforexampleperhapstheyhavechangedortestingsomenewcontentontheirsiteandarerunningaonedaypromotion.

ThefourreportsthataredisplayedonthescreenaboveinReal-TimearetheOverview,Locations,TrafficSourcesandContent.PleasenotethattheOverviewscreenalsoshowsyourtopSocialsitesthathavebroughtyouyourtrafficandthetopkeywords.

Audience

Thissectionprovidessomeaccuratedataandinfoaboutyourvisitors.Thethreemainareasofinsightthatcanbegatheredhereare:whereyouraudienceiscomingfrom(geography),howtheyarereachingyourwebsite(eg.viaamobiledeviceorsomeotherdeviceandevenwhatbrowsertheyareusing),andtheirbehavioronyoursitewhichindicateshowinterestedtheyareinyoursite.

TheOverviewtabwillprovideanicesnapshotoftheaforementionedreportsandthenyoucandrillintotheothertabsforthistooltolookdeeperintothedata.

Demographics

UndertheDemographicstabyoucanlearnabouttheexactgeographiclocation(city&country)andlanguageofyouraudience.Thisdataisgreatformarketersbecauseitletsyouknowwhereyouraudienceismostlycomingfrom,butitalsoshedssomelightonwheresomepotentialnewmarketsmaybe.

Behavior

UndertheBehaviortab,youcanlearnaboutthenumberofnewvisitorsvsreturningones(andthepercentage),thefrequencyofthesevisitorsandhowengagedtheyare.

Thenewvisitorsvs.returningvisitorsreportshownabovegivesyougreatdetailsabouthowmanypagesonyoursiteeachoftheseaudiencegroupingsviewspervisitandhowlongtheystayonyoursite.Youcanalsoattaintherevenuevalue(ecommerce)ofeachoftheseaudiencesubsets.

Technology

Inthissectionyoucangetinformationaboutwhatbrowsershownbelowandoperatingsystem(OS)yourvisitorsareusingtoviewyoursite.ThisinformationisvaluablefornotonlyyoubutalsoyourITdepartmentifyouhaveone.

Thisreportalsoprovidesinformationaboutwhichserviceprovider(ISP)youraudienceisusingtoaccessyoursite.Knowingwhichserviceprovideryouraudienceisutilizingtoaccessyoursite,allowsyoutofigureouttheirconnectionspeedsothatyoucandeterminehowtechnologicallyadvancedyoucanmakeyoursite.

Forexample,iftheserviceprovidersofferthefastestconnectionsthenyoucanofferyouraudiencetopqualityvideosanddynamicgraphics.Thisisalsousefulinfotoknowbecauseifyoursiteisveryhigh-techbutyouraudienceisconnectingviaanISPthatoffersasubparconnectionspeed,thenyoursite’sperformancewillsuffer.

Mobile

Thisreportgivesyousomeinsightintoyouraudience’sbehavioronyoursiteandwhatmobiledevicestheyareusingtoviewyoursite.Thisinformationisveryusefulforyourbusinessownerswhomightbewonderingiftheyshouldmaketheexpenditureforamobileversionoftheirsite.

Forexample,eventhoughyoumighthaveasmallpercentageoftrafficthatcomesviamobiledevices,thistrafficsourcemightberesponsibleforalargeportionofyourrevenue.

Pleasenotethatifyouutilizemobileappsthenyoucantrackandattaininsightaboutyourtraffichere.ItisrecommendedthatyousetupanIDforeachapptokeepitsimple.

Content

ThisreportshowsvisitoractivitybycustomsegmentsthatyoucreateyourselfbymodifyingyourAnalyticstrackingcode.

Thistrackinginformationisusefulforecommercebusinessesbecauseyoucanadjustthesettingstofindoutthenumberoftimesavisitorhassayplacedanitemintheirshoppingcartandthenremovedit.

VisitorsFlow

Thisreportingtoolprovidesaccurateinsightintothetrailyouraudiencetakeswhentheygothroughyoursite.VisitorsFlowwillletyouknowwherethistrafficiscomingfrom,thepagestheylookat,andwhichpagetheyexitfrom.

Notethateachcolumnrepresentsapageonyoursiteandthestepbysteproutethateachvisitortookwhilevisitingyoursiteforthetimeperiodthatyouselect.Youcanevensetthecontrolstoviewthetrafficthatcomesfromtabletsandviamobile.

TrafficSources

Similartotheotheroverviewreports,thisonegiveswebsiteownersanoverviewoftrafficsourcemetricsforyoursite.

Thegraphdisplaysthedailynumberofvisitstoyoursiteandthepiechartprovidesyouwiththepercentagesoftrafficbysourcetype(Search,Referral,Direct).Belowthepiechartyoucanclickoneachofthesetypesoftrafficsourcestoattaindeeperinsight.

Sources

InthisreportuserscanattaindetailedmetricsonthetrafficthattheyreceivedirectlytotheirsitewhenausertypesintheirURLorvisitsviaasavedbookmark,andtheycangetinfoabouttheirreferraltrafficwhichiswhenauserclicksalinktoyoursitefromanothersource(website,socialmedia,anemail,video,etc.)

Thesetworeportswillletyouknowhowmuchbrandidentityorrecognitionyouhaveinyourmarketviathedirectreportandwhichsitesaredrivingthemostreferraltraffictoyou.

Search

Thistabgivesyouanoverviewofsomemetricsaboutthepercentageofyourtrafficthatisorganicandorpaid(viaads).Underboththeorganicandpaidtabsyoucanlearnmoreaboutwhichofyourkeywordsareperformingwellandboostingyourresults.

Hence,ifthisreportshowssomekeywordsthatareperformingwellforyouthatyouarenotutilizingasmuchasothersonyoursite,thenyouhadbetteradjustyourstrategy.Further,thisreportalsogivessomeinsightintowhichsearchengineissendingyouthemostvisitors.AdWordsuserswillwanttocheckthisreportoften.

Campaigns

UnderthissectionintheTrafficSources,ausercanattainmetricsontheperformanceoftheirAdWordscampaigns.Hereyouwillbeabletoviewhoweffectiveyourcampaignsareandifyouaregettingyourdesiredresultsaswellasifyouneedtoadjustyourstrategy.Rememberthekeytogettingbetterresultsandbetteratthisingeneralistestingyourcampaignsandmeasuringtheresults,refiningyourstrategyanddoingitagain…andagain.

SearchEngineOptimization

Inthissectionyoucanattaindataaboutyourwebsite’ssearchhistoryandresults.InordertogetthisdatayoumusthaveaddedyoursiteandverifieditwithGoogleWebmasterToolsandconfiguredSEOreportinginGoogleAnalytics.

TheSEOMetricsthatGoogleuses:

1. Impressions:ThisisthenumberoftimesanyURLfromyoursiteappearedinsearchresultsviewedbyauser,notincludingpaidAdWordssearchimpressions

2. Clicks:ThisisthenumberofclicksonyourwebsiteURLsfromaGoogleSearchresultspage,notincludingclicksonpaidAdWordssearchresults

3. AveragePosition:ThisistheaveragerankingofyourwebsiteURLsforthequeryorqueries.Forexample,ifyoursite’sURLappearedatposition3foronequeryandposition7foranotherquery,theaveragepositionwouldbe5((3+7)/2).

4. CTR:Thisistheclickthroughrate,calculatedasClicks/Impressions*100

Queries

ThisreportshowstheGooglesearchqueriesthatgeneratedthemostimpressions,thenumberofclicks,andclickthrough’stoyoursite.ItalsodisplaystheaveragepositionofyourURLsfromtheseGooglequeries.Asweareallvyingforthat#1spotfromaGooglesearch,thisdatawillhelpyouunderstandwhatkeywordsthataredrivingtraffictoyoursite.

LandingPages

ThisreportsimplydisplaysyourwebsitestoplandingpagesfromGooglesearchresults.Againthisisgreatdataforyousothatyoucanunderstandwhereperhapsyoursiteisperformingwellandsubpar.Ifmostofyourtrafficiscomingfromorganicsearches,thenknowingyourtopperforminglandingpageprovidesyouwithknowledgeofwhereyoushoulddevotemoreofyourefforts.

GeographicalSummary

Thisreportgivesyouadetailedaccountofwhichcountriestheclicks,clickthrough’sandimpressionsarecomingfrom.IfyouselectGooglePropertyviathePrimaryDimension,youcanseethesourceofthissearchtraffic(web,mobile,image,video).

SocialOverview

Thissectiongivesyouasnapshotofvisitorsthatfindtheirwaytoyoursiteviasocialsources.Italsoprovidesyouwithaconversionvalueforthegoalsthatyousetup.IfavisitortoyoursiteviaasocialchannelimmediatelyconvertsontheirinitialvisitthenthiswillbeshownundertheLastInteractionSocialConversions.Ifthisvisitorjustvisits,butcomesbacklatertoconvert,thenthisactionwillbeshownundertheAssistedSocialConversions.

NetworkReferrals

Thisreportgivesyouaquickunderstandingofhowmuchofyouroveralltrafficiscomingfromsocialchannels.Youcanalsoviewwhichnetworksandthedirectlinksthataredrivingthistraffic.

LandingPages

Hereyoucanclearlyseewhichofyourpagesarereceivingthemostvisitorsfromsocialchannels.IfyouclickontheactualURLsitwillshowyoutheactualsocialsource.Soifyouarecreatingalotofcontentonvarioussocialchannels,youcanlearnwhichofthesechannelsyourtopperforminglandingpagesare.

Conversions

Hereyoucanseethetotalnumberofconversionsaswellastheirvaluethathavecomeviaasocialsource.YoucanalsoseethestatisticsonhowmanyoftheseconversionswerefromLastInteractionsversusAssistedSocial.

Plug-Ins

Thisreportallowsyoutoseewhicharticlesonyoursitehavebeensharedviaasocialbuttonandthenumberoftimes.PleasenotethatthisreportwillautomaticallygiveyouGoogle+data,butforFacebookandotherdatayouneedtomodifyyourtrackingcode.Insertthislinktolearnmoreaboutthisoperation:

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingSocial

VisitorsFlow

Thisreportprovidesavisualmapwhichhelpsyoutounderstandwhatsocialchannelsyourtrafficiscomingfromandwherethattrafficflowsormovesoncetheyvisityoursite.Henceyoucanlearnwhatpagesyourvisitorsvisitandevenwheretheydropoffordepartyoursite.Onceagainthisreportisveryhelpfulsothatyoucanunderstandwhichsocialchanneldrivesyourtrafficandwhatpagesonyoursiteattainthemosttraffic.

CostAnalysis

AtthetimeofthiseditionthisreportisinBetamodewhichisGoogle’swayofrollingoutnewreportsbeforetheybecomepartofthestandardset.Thisreportallowsyoutogetahandleonthecostofyourcampaignsversustherevenuewhichshowsyouyourmargins.MetricscanbeshowforyourAdWordscampaignsaslongasyouhavelinkedyourAdWordsandAnalyticsaccounts,andevenyournon-Googlecampaigns(youjusthavetouploadthedata).OnceyouhaveyourpaidmarketingchannelsconnectedtoAnalyticsyoucangetyourROI(returnoninvestment),marginsandRPC(revenueperclick)foreachcampaignyouarerunning.

Thisreportgivesyoudetaileddataonthebehaviorofthevisitorstoyoursitesuchas:thenumberofvisitors,thenumberofpagespervisit,theaveragedurationofeachvisit,thepercentageofvisitorsthatarenewvsreturning,thebouncerateandrevenueresults(ifyoursiteissellingproducts).Obviously,thisreportisveryusefultolearnwhichofyourcampaignsisdrivingthemosttraffictoyoursiteandyoucandiscernwhichofyourcampaignsmightneedsomeadjusting.Forexample,ifyouseethatoneofyourcampaignsisdrivinglotsofvisitorstoalandingpagebutyourbouncerateishigh,thenyoushouldmostlikelytakeacloserlookatthelayoutandcontentofthatlandingpage.

Keywords

Thisreportgivesyouasnapshotofthetrafficaswellasrevenuethatisdrivenfromeachofyourkeywords.Hereyoucangetanideaofwhichofyourkeywordsisperformingthebestandthemostefficient.

MatchedSearchQueries

Thisreportisfantasticbecauseitshowsyouhowcloselyalignedyourkeywordsaretowhatyouraudienceissearchingfor.Hence,thisreportisgoingtoshowhowefficientandvaluableyourkeywordstrulyare.Ifyouhaveanecommercesite,thenthisreportwillbeveryusefulbecauseitwillprovideyouwithdetaileddataonhowyourkeywordsareperformingandhowtheyareimpactingyourrevenue.

DayParts

Thisreporthelpsyoutorefinethetimingofyourcampaignsbecauseyoucanlearnwhattimeofthedayandwhichday(s)oftheweekarethemostoptimalforyourads.Youcanseeeachofyourcampaignsbythehourforeachdayoftheweektoevaluatetheirperformance.Youcanevenattainusefuldataonyourkeywordstoseewhenthebesttimeforeachoneis.

DestinationURLs

Thisreportisfairlystraightforwardasitletsyouseehoweachlandingpageisperformingfromyourcampaigns.Henceyoucanseehowmuchtrafficishittingeachpage,theirbehaviorandiftheendresultyouwantishappening.

Placements

ThisreportallowsyoutoviewwhereonGoogle’snetworkyouradsaredisplaying.Forexample,ifyouaredisplayingadsonGoogle’smanagedandautomaticnetworks,thenyoucanseewhichismoreefficientforyourbrand.Additionally,youcangaininsightontheactualURLswhereyouradsareappearingtolearnifyoumightneedtoadjustyouradstoimprovetheirperformance.

KeywordPositions

ThisreportgivesyouinformationonwhereyouradsactuallyappearonGoogle’ssearchresults(i.e.rightcolumnoratthetopwithotherads)andthetrafficthatderivesfromtheseads.Hence,ifyouradsarenotappearingperhapswhereyoudesirethemtobe,thenyoumightwanttoupyourbidstogainthosecovetedspotsonGoogle’stoppage.

Chapter7-SocialMediaLet’sgobacktomyanalogyintheearlychapterswhereeverythingyoudoaddsto

theimaginarypointsvaluethatGoogleandothermajorsearchenginesusetoassessyourrankings.Themoreyoumakeyourwebsiteinteractive,thelongerpeoplewillstay.Thegeneralthinkingis,themoresocialmediaelementsyouadd,themoreoftenvisitorswillvisitandfindyourwebsiterelevanttoitssubjectmatter.

Searchenginesbelievethoserulesmentionedinthelastparagraph,soyoushouldmakesocialmediaplayabigroleinyourwebsite’soptimization.Ifyouareanoviceyoumightbeaskingrightnow,“whataresocialmediaelements?”Whenyouunderstandwhatsocialmediaelementsare,it’snotalongleapfromtheretosocial-mediaoptimization.

Socialmediaiscontentcreatedbypeopleusinghighlyaccessibleandscalablepublishingtechnologies.Abetterdefinitionmightbethatsocialmediaelementsareworksofuser-createdvideo,audio,textorothermultimediathatarepublishedandsharedinasocialenvironment,suchasablog,wiki,orvideohostingwebsite.WellknownsitesthatengageinsocialmediaareGooglePlus,BlogSpot,Pinterest,Houzz,Reddit,Twitter,YouTube,LinkedIn,andFacebook.Youshouldn’tdiscounttheneedtoengagereviewwebsiteswhichalsoactasproductandservicesdirectorieslikeAngieslist.com,Yelp,CitySearch,orCustomerLobby.

Creatingyourownsocialmediaelementssuchasblogsonyourwebsiteorparticipatinginothersocialmediawebsitesiswhatbringstraffictoyourwebsiteandaddstoyourwebsitescontent.Oneofthebestthingsaboutsocialmediaisthatingeneralmostelementsarefreeintermsofmonetaryinvestment.Thereis,forthemostpart,nocosttoparticipateinthesenetworksexceptforyourinvestmentoftime,whichdependingonhowinvolvedyougetcouldbecomesubstantial.

Whencorrectlytappedintosocialmedia,marketingspreadslikeavirus.Thisiswhyitissometimescalledviralmarketing.Viralmarketingisanotabadthing.Whenyouparticipateinsocial-media,youcanalmostguaranteethatyourmarketingwillsoonhavethatviralqualityyou’reseeking.

Unfortunately,social-mediaoptimizationisnotassimpleasgoingtoawebsiteandsigninguporstartingaoneparagraphblogandwaitingforpeopletocometoyourwebsite.Forthemostpart,theywon’t.

Approachingsocialmediainthatmannerwillwasteyourtime,andbythetimeyoufigureitoutthebadreputationyoumayleavebehindmayhauntyourwebsiteordomainname.ManagingyourreputationonthewebiscalledreputationmanagementinSEOcirclesandIcouldwriteanotherbookjustonthistopic.Ihavehundredsofstoriesonwhattolookoutforandstoriesofcompaniesruinedonthewebbecauseofsocialmedia.

Thebasicstokeepyourselffromhavingabadreputationinsocialnetworkingisthis:whenyouprovideinputusingsocialmediamethods,makesureyoudothefollowing:

1. Provideonlyrelativecontentandnoexaggeratedclaims.2. Addpositivecommentsanddon’tmakeitappearasthoughyouaretryingtooutdosomeoneelseorare

advertisingyourservices.Peopledon’tforgetwhenafakertriestojumpintheirmidstforpurelymarketingpurposes.Youaremarketingbutthisissocialnetworking.Youaremakingfriends.

3. Ifyouareanexpert,makesureyourclaimsareaccurate.Therearerealexpertsoneverysubjectwhowillpointoutyourflawswithactualdata.

4. Don’tignorepeople’sissueswithyourproductorservice.Addressthemimmediatelyoryouareinvitingeveryonewhohaseverhadasmallissuewithyourproductorservicetoaddtheirtwocents.

5. Don’tbadmouthacompetitor.You’reonlyinvitingatidalwaveofretributionfromyourcompetitorandothers.

Seemseasyenough,right?Social-mediaoptimizationisaboutfirstjoiningcommunitiesandcreatingrelationshipsorfriends.It’sbygoingthroughtheprocessofbecomingpartofthecommunityandprovidingrelevantandhelpfulinformationthatyourbrandwillbegintoberecognizedbyothercommunitymembers.That’swhenyoucanannouncethatyourwebsitehasusefulinformation,andyoureffortswillbegintopayoff.

SocialMedia’sValueSomesiteshaveobviousvalueinsocialmedia.WebsitessuchasGooglePlus,

Twitter,YouTube,andFacebookareallwebsitesthatnoonethoughtwouldamounttoanythingwhentheybegan,buttheyeachsuddenlytookoffintheirownway,becomingsomeofthemostpopularsitesontheinternet.

Internetuserslikesomethingtodoandtobeapartofsomethingbigger.Theylovetobeapartofthecommunity,andthatincludesonlinecommunitiesaswell.Thegenerationthathasjustenteredtheworkforceandthosegrowinguprightnowareverycomputerandinternetsavvy.Forthemostpart,thisgenerationhasbeenapartofthosesocialnetworkingsitesduringtheirschooling.Thesesiteshaveprovidedeverythingfromevaluationsofteachers,classes,entertainmentevents,self-advertising,keepingupwiththelatestschoolrumors,andevenschoolsprovidingtheirschooleventcalendars.

Whenthisgenerationisoutofschooltheybecomeinvolvedinallkindsofactivitiesonline,fromshoppinganddownloadingmusictoparticipatinginsocialnetworks.Thekidsarenetworkingsociallyfordifferentreasonsthanadults,butbothhavelearnedtoparticipate.

Social-MediaStrategiesSoyouhaveawebsiteandyouneedtomarketit.Usingsocialmediaisdifferentthan

mostmarketingtechniquesyouaretaughtineconomicsormarketingincollege–Atleastuntiltheystopusing15-year-oldtextbooks.Nowtherearethousandsofsitesandyoucanmakeyourownsocialmediacomponents,butthegoalsarethesame.Intheendyourgoalsareto:

Knowhowtotargetyouraudienceanddelivertherightmessage:Ifyou

approachthewrongaudiencewiththewrongmessage,you’lllearnaquicklessoninreputationmanagementwhenthecourtofopinionattemptstodestroyyourreputation.Createvaluablecontent:Goodcontentiskeytosocial-mediamarketing.Ifyoumakeitapointtocreatefresh,uniquecontentregularly,visitorswillcometoyoubecausetheyknowtheycanfindthecurrentinformationtheyneed.Ifyou’reafraidofgivingawayallyoureggsexceptonaoneononesalescall,youwillgetyourmessageoutveryslowly.Beavaluableresource,evenifitdoesn’thelpyoumonetarily:Ifyoutrytohelpwithoutexpectinganythinginreturnyougainpointsandyoucangainagoodreputationwhichwill,inturn,drawuserstoyourwebsite.Alwayswearingyoursalesmanhatworksinthecorporateworld,butonlineitisadeathsentence.Beauserresource:Internetusers,andespeciallythoseuserswhoparticipateinsocialmediaandsocialnetworking,expectyoutoprovideinformationthatisusefulandrelevanttothem.Ifyou’renotprovidingaccurateandhelpfulinformation,they’llgotosomeonewhoisandbadmouthyouontheway.Helpyourcontentspread:Onewayofadvertisingyourwebsite’sservicesorproductsdiscreetlyistouseyourtrophyandlong-tailkeywordsinyourhelpfultipsandcommentsonsocialmediasites.Searchenginesalsoindexthisinformationandwhenpeopleusesearchenginestosearchonthosekeywords,yourblogorothersocialnetworkingsubmissionsshowup.AnothergoodtipistocollectorgroupyourhelpfulinformationintootheronlinecontentsuchasaPDF,anaudiofile,orvideofilewhichyoucanprovidelinksfor.Increaseyourlinkability:Youwantusefulinformationthatothersiteownersfindvaluableenoughtoputalinkontheirwebsitetoyours.Thelinkabilityofyoursiteisdeterminedbytheamountofcontentthatyouhaveavailabletouserswhomightcomefromsocialnetworks.Oldinformationthatrarelychangeswillnothelp,somakesureyourcontentisupdatedregularly.Makebookmarkingyoursiteeasy:Don’tmakeuserstrytofigureouthowtoaddyourblogorsitetotheircontentfeed.PostyourURLorcodeforvisitorstoaddyoutotheirimportantlinksortheirwebsite.UseatoolcalledRSSButtonMakeratUwww.toprankblog.com/tools/rss-buttonsUtocreateabutton.Rewardhelpfulusers:Ifyouhaveusersthatarehelpfuland/orsendbusinessyourway,findawaytorewardthoseuserssotheywillcontinuetobehelpful,especiallyifyoumadethesale.Don’tbeafraidtotrynewthings:Useyourcreativitytodosomethingdifferentasoftenaspossible.Insocial-mediaoptimization,creativityisrewarded.

Socialmediamarketingisagreattoolifusedwisely.Itcanalsobeaterribleoneifyouuseitwrong.Usingthewrongtacticsorusingthemonlyhalfwaywillrenderyoureffortsworthless.Youcanalsoexpectthatitwillbeveryhardtorebuildthetrustthatyoudestroyontheweb.

Therearesomerulesofetiquettetofollowthatwillhelpyoukeepoutoftrouble.Letustakealookatthoseinthenextsection.

http://www.toprankblog.com/tools/rss-buttons

SocialMediaEtiquetteAsanSEOexpert,Ifindthatcompaniescometomefrequentlybecausetheirweb

reputationhasbeeninjured,manytimesunintentionallybytheirownstaffandsometimesthroughnofaultoftheirown.

Let’stakealookatafewrulesofetiquettethatyoushouldfollowtokeepyourselffrombecomingastatisticinthebadcategory:

1. Spendsometimelisteningtoyouraudiencebeforeyoujointheconversationsoyoucangainanunderstandingofthelanguage,thetone,andtheexpectationsoftheconversationparticipants.

2. Afteryoubegintointeractwithsocialmediaelements,usetheinformationthatyougatherwatchingandlisteningonasocialnetworkstoensurethatyourstrategyistargetingthecorrectpeopleandthattheresponsestoyourinputarepositive.

3. Trackyoursitemetricstoseeifthereareanysuddenspikesordipsinyourwebtrafficwhichcouldindicatethatyourinvolvementiseffectiveorineffective.

4. Provideonlycontentthataddsvaluetotheconversation.Ifyourcontentdoesn’taddanythingorisinaccurate,theotherparticipantswilleitherignoreyouorbegintodestroyyou.

5. UseRSSfeeds.RSSfeedsinstantlyupdatethosewhohavechosentowatchyourcontent.Thismeansthatyourlinkswillspreadfasterthanyoucouldeverimagine.

6. Keepinmindthatsocialmediaisallaboutrelationships.Bothengageinandbewillingtoencourageparticipation.

7. Makeanindividualapproachasanexpertinyourserviceorproduct.Approachingasthebusinessorcompanywillautomaticallycreatesuspicion.Theymaythinkyouarejusttheretosellsomething.Ifyoudon’thavethetimeyourself,considerhiringbloggersorotherstohandleyourcompany’ssocial-mediaparticipation.

SocialMediaOutletsTherearemanytypesofsocialmediaelementsoutthereinthewebworldforyou

totapinto.ItissometimesreferredtoasWeb2.0andisdefinitelythemajorshiftinSEOrightnow.Web2.0isallaboutthesocialnatureoftheinternet,andifyoudon’ttapintothatsocialaspect,theSEOonyoursitewillquicklybeout-of-dateandrankedverylowoneverymajorsearchengine.Usingsocial-mediaelements,however,youcangetajump-startonyoursocial-mediastrategy.

Sowheredoyoustart?Herearesomesuggestionsonwhatsitesyoushouldvisitandincorporateintoyourwebsite:

AngiesList:www.angieslist.comBlogger:www.blogger.comBlogspot:www.blogspot.comCitySearch:www.citysearch.comCustomerLobby:www.customerlobby.comDeliciousBookmarks:www.delicious.comDigg:www.digg.comGooglePlus:https://plus.google.comHOUZZ:www.houzz.com(Forbuilders&remodelers)Instagram:www.instagram.comTwitter:www.twitter.comPintrest:www.pintrest.comFacebook:www.facebook.comLinkedIn:www.linkedin.comMerchantCircle:www.merchantcircle.comStumbleUpon:www.stumbleupon.comReddit:www.reddit.comYelp:www.yelp.comYouTube:www.youtube.comWikipedia:www.wikipedia.com

Thesesiteseachhaveadifferentsocialmediaelementwhichcanbeincorporatedintoyourwebsite.Buthereisalittletip!InSEOcirclesthesayinggoes,“ThemoreyoudowithGoogle,themoreGooglewilldoforyou.”Itcouldn’tbetruerinsocialmediaeither.WhyamItellingyouthis?Wellfromthatlistabove,GoogleownsandrunsGoogle+,Blogger.com,Blogspot.comandYouTube.com.ItalsoheavilyborrowsinformationfromYelp.Soifyou’rejuststartingwithsocialmediaelements,whichdoyouthinkwillgiveyouthegreatestrankingsonGoogle?You’reright,brainscientist,theonesownedbyGoogle.

Chapter8-SEOGoalsFormostpeoplethegoalissimple,outdowhatyourcompetitiondoesforthesame

keywordsandbeattheirrankings.SoIguessthechapterisdone.Well,maybeit’snotthatsimple.MaybeIshouldbreakitdownjustalittle.

Beforewebegin,youshouldhaveasearchengineoptimizationplaninplace.ThiswillhelpyoucreateyourSEOgoals.Thiswillhelpyourfocusasthepurposeofmakingcriticalchangestoyourwebsiteforoptimization.

YourSEOplanshouldbeupdatedevery3monthsbasedonwhatyourcompetitionisdoingversuswhatyourpreviouschangeshaveaccomplished.Inthenextchapter,wewilllookatwebsiteanalyticswhichwillhelpyouunderstandwhereyourneedsare.Itwillalsohelpyouseewhereyouneedtoconcentrateyoureffortsatanygiventime.

Beforereadingthischapter,however,youshouldhaveagoodunderstandingofyourtrophykeywordsandtheotherkeywordsyouwanttofocuson.Ifyoudon’t,youshouldvisitChapter2andmakesureyouknowthekeywordsyourcompanyneedstouseandthecompetitionthatiscompetingforthosekeywords.

Inthebeginning,youaremostlikelygoingtobefocusingyourSEOongettingyoursitelistedonallthesearchengines.Forthispart,Chapter3shouldbeyourfirststop.Ifyouhaven’tdoneallthestepsoutlinedinChapter3,thenyoushouldstopnowandgobackthereandmakesurethatyourwebsite’sURLislistedonallthehandsubmissionsandyouhaveyourwebsitebeingsubmittedthroughautomationtoalltheothersmallersearchenginesanddirectories.

Bynowyoushouldbefamiliarwiththefocusoftheotherchapters.Wehavealreadytalkedaboutaddingyourkeywordsintothecontentofeachpageandmakingeachpagefocusedononesubject,gettingrelevantlinkstoyourwebsite,addingkeywordstothecontentofeachpage,addingMetatags,addingcorrecttitleswithkeywords,addingmultimedia,addingsocialmedia,andprovidingthecorrectworddensityoneachpageforafocusedsearchengine.

EachoneofthesecomponentsisamustonyourwebsiteandisallapartofyourSEOstrategy.TheseareallapartofyourSEOplanandallofthesecomponentsarean“additonceandforgetaboutit”typeofdeal.Youneedtocontinuouslymonitorwhatisworking,whatisnot,whatyourcompetitionisdoing,andmakeadjustmentsasnecessarytomaintainandupdatetheelementsofSEOthathelpyourankwell.

Thebasicrulehereisthatyoureffortswillchange,buttheywillneverend.Youneedtoplantocontinueusing,modifying,andupdatingyourwebsitetohelpyourSEOrankings,andchangingyourstrategiesbasedonsearchenginechanges,newinternetcomponents,etc.

Forinstance,lastyearhavingTwitterandRSSfeedsonyourwebsitedidvirtuallynothingforrankings.TheyearbeforehavingaYouTubevideoonyourwebsitedidalmostnothingforrankings.Thisyeartheyareanabsolutemust-havetoincreaserankings.

Thisyearamajorchangetookplace.Bingdidn’tevenexistlastyearandourrecommendationwastofocusyourSEOstrategiesonlyonGooglewithYahoo!asanafterthought.Nowbecauseofallthechanges,youmightactuallygetmorebusinessbyoptimizingforBingthanyoureverrealized.Binghasamajormarketsharenow.WithamajorityofthewebsiteoptimizedforGoogleandnotBing,thereismarketsharetogainbyoptimizingforBing,especiallyintheverycompetitivekeywordarenawherethecompetitionishigherthanmostforakeyword.

Today,everymajorsearchenginefocusesonmanycomponentsofawebsiteinrankingawebsite.Onlyafewofthesmallersearchenginesfocusonasingleaspectofawebsitetheirrankings.Thismeansthatovertime,ifyouarefocusedonlyonasinglekeywordorlinksforyourwebsite,youwillfindthatyourSEOeffortswillbegintofailquickly.

Youhavetokeepyoureffortsupandnotletdownyourguard.Youcanspendayeargettingyourwebsite’srankingshighandbeonthefirstpageforanysearchwithyourkeywordsonlytoloseeverythinginaweek.Thefactisyoucanspendmonthsgettingyourrankingsupandtheycanbelostinafleetingmomentifyouarenotcareful.

Letmegiveyouanexample.ThereisaverylargesoftwarecompanythatIdotheSEOfor.IspentayearandahalfgettingthemtoaGooglerankingof8outof10.ItwasoneofmymostprizedaccomplishmentsandIjumpedforjoyandbraggedtoeveryoneIworkedwiththedayIlookedandtheirwebsiterankingwasan8/10onGoogle.OnlyamonthlatertheywereaPageRankof2.

Sowhathappened?

Someonetookovertheirwebsitedevelopmentwhodidn’thaveaclueaboutSEO.Thenewdesignerworkedwiththeownerofthecompanytocreateaflashynewwebsitewithoutanyconsultationfromme.Infact,mypointofcontactwiththecompanydidn’tevenknowitwasbeingdone.ThenewwebsitewasallFlashandlookedgreatandbelieveitornottherearestillpeoplewholearnedtodevelopinFlashthatwilltryandsellyouaFlashbasedwebsite.Ofcoursetheywillcallitsomethingveryappealing..

Thetroubleisthatwhenitwascreated,noneofmySEOworkwasincorporatedintothewebsite.Evenworse,thenewwebdesignerchangedallthepagefilenamesforeverypagethatwasindexedwiththesearchengines.Sowhenusersonthesearchenginessearchedontheirkeywordsandclickedonalinktotheirwebsite,therewasnopage.Rather,therewasanerrorsayingthepagedidn’texist.Theywerenowinvisibleontheinternet.Salesdroppedtoall-timelowsinasinglemonth.Itwastwoweeksbeforesomeoneatmyofficenoticedwhatwasgoingonandcontactedthecompany.Bythenitwastoolate.

Whenyouwenttotheir“AboutUs”pagethatusedtobenamed“aboutus.html”itwenttoanerrorpagebecausethenewwebdevelopernamedthefile“about_us.php”.ThishappenedfourmonthsagoandtheyhaverevertedbacktotheoldsiteastheSEOworkIneededwouldn’tincorporateintothenewsite.Searchenginesdon’tlikewebsitesthatchangetheirURLoftheirpagesandrankingreallyisbasedonURLandnotactuallybywebsite.EachpageonyourwebsitehasitsownrankingfromGooglebasedonitsrelevanceandalltheotheritemswediscussinthisbook.

Today,thesoftwarecompanywebsitethatwasonceonthefirstpageofeverymajorsearchenginefortheirkeywordsisonpage3ofGoogleandhasarankingof4/10.Theirsaleswentfromaveraging150-200salespermonthtoonly63lastmonth.Thiswasacatastropheforthem.TheywereonanuphilltrendaddingnewemployeesandgrowingallbecauseoftheSEOworkIwasdoingforthem.Todaytheyarefouremployeesfewerandjustbarelystayinginbusiness.

AwebsiteneedsconstantgrowthandrelevantmaterialconstantlytomaintainitsSEOstatusandkeepthesitefrombecomingwhatisknowntosearchenginesasastalewebsite.(Awebsitewherethematerialneverchanges.)Thosechanges,however,needtobelookedatfromanSEOoptimizationperspectivefromeveryangle.MostoutsidersthinkthateverywebdesignerisfamiliarwithSEO.Frommyexperience,veryfewhaveanyknowledgeofit.Itisaspecializationthatmostwebdesignersanddevelopersknowlittleornothingabout.

SowhatshouldyourSEOPlaninclude?Let’slookatthisinthenextsection.

TimeandEffortinanSEOPlanThefirstthingyourplanneedstoincludeislotsoftime.Thenaddmoretimetothat.ThisisoneofthemainreasonsthatmostcompaniessubouttheirSEOwork.NotonlybecauseittakessomeonewholivesandbreathesSEOtokeepuponthelatesttrendsandtechnology,butbecauseoftheamountoftimeinvolved.

SimplyaddingnewcontenthereandthereonyourwebsiteandchangingaMetatagortwowon’thelpyouincreaseyourrankingsonthemajorsearchengines.

NOTE:IfyouaredoingtheSEOyourself,tokeeppaceandsavesometime,youmightconsiderdesigningyoursitesimilartoablogwherecontentiseasilychangeable.

YourSEOplanshouldbeconsideredadynamicdocumentthatchangesallthetimebasedonyourneedsassessedfrommonitoringnotonlyyourwebsite,butthesearchenginesandyourcompetitiononthesearchengines.Ifyoucan’tfigureoutwhatyourcompetitionisdoingtooneupyourSEOwork,thenyouneedtocallinaprofessionalassoonasyoucan!Thereason?Whatyoudotodayhasvirtuallynoeffectonsearchenginesformonths.Inessence,youareplanningtodaywhatyouwanttohappenonthesearchengines3-6monthsfromnow.AnSEOplanwillhelpyoustayontrack.

Nowthatyouunderstandhowimportantitistoputtimeintoyourwebsite’sSEO,weneedtocreateaclearlydefinedgoalbuiltaroundyourbusinessneeds.Virtuallyeverybusinesshasdifferentneedsandatdifferentlevelsevenwhentwodifferentcompanywebsitesareinthesameindustry.

Asmalllocalbusinesswouldfocusonlyonthelocalarealong-tailkeywordsearches,whereasalargebusinesssellingnationallyorinalargegeographicalareawouldneedtoinvesttime,money,andconsiderableeffortintoincreasingtheexposureoftheirwebsitetopotentialcustomersoutsideitsgeographicregiononalargerlevelusingmoregenericshorterkeywords.

Forexample,ifyousellsportsequipmentinPortlandOregon,youwouldtargetalocalcampaignusingthekeywordof“Portlandsportsequipment.”IfyourwebsitesoldsportsequipmentnationallyyouwouldtargetamuchharderSEOkeywordwithmorecompetitionsuchas,“sportsequipment”.Thefewerthewords,theharderitistogetyoursitelistedhigherinthesearchengines.Thebroaderthekeyword,themorecompetitionthereisforthatkeyword.

InPortland,Oregonthereareprobably40websitescompetingforsportsequipmentandmaybetenpercentdoanyprofessionalwebsiteoptimization.However,nationwidethereareprobablythousandsvyingforfirstplacewiththosekeywordsandifonlytenpercentdowebsiteoptimization,youhavealotofcompetitiontobeat.

BoththesmallercompanyandthelargercompanyneedtoimplementanSEOplan.Thelargercompanythatneedstoconcentrateonanationallevelwithlotsofcompetitionwillrequiremorethanthisbookcanoffer(unlessyouarejuststartingyourwebsite).

Ifyouaretryingtodoanationalcampaignwithlotsofcompetition,mostlikelyyourcompetitionisemployingpowerhouseprofessionalhelp.Thisisnotthetimetoexperiment.Yourrevenue(themoneyyoumakefromyourwebsite)isanimportantfactor.YourSEOplanandgoalsshouldnotonlyfocusonincreasingyourwebsitevisits,butalsoonincreasingyourrevenues.Youcantrackrevenuebyfunnelingyourwebsitevisitorsthroughindividuallytargetedsalestransactionpageswhiletheyarevisitingyourwebsite.

Youshouldmakesurethegoalsyousetarerealistic.It’sveryeasytobecomeunfocusedwithyourSEOeffortsandgetdiscouragedwhenthoseeffortsdon’tmeetyourgoalsorexpectations.It’sveryeasytospendgobsofmoneyonSEOandneveraccomplishanything.

YourSEOgoalsandtheplanyoucreatemustbeflexibleandgrowwithyourorganization.

SEOPlanDetailsNowthatyouhaveasetofgoalsinmindforyourwebsite,it’stimetocreatean

SEOplan.TheSEOplanisthedocumentthatyou’llusetohelpyoustayfocusedasyoutrytoimplementyourindividualSEOstrategies.

KeywordResearch

ContinuouskeywordresearchshouldbeyoursecondlineitemafteryourtimeentryonyourSEOplansdetails.GoogleAnalytics(discussedinthenextchapter)hasawayoflookingtoseewhatkeywordswereusedtofindyoursite.Manytimesitbecomesclearthatthereareamarketofpeoplewhofindyoursitethatyoudidn’tevenknow.

Iwillgiveyouanexample:

MySEOwebsitetargetsmanykeywords,butInoticedthatseveralpeoplesearchingforbetterwebsiterankingssearchedusingthekeyword“searchenginehelp”andfoundmywebsitewaydownonthelistofasearchengine.Afterafewoftheseinonemonth,IaddedthekeywordtomyPPCcampaign.Aftergettingabout80hitsfromthatinonemonth,Ioptimizedalandingpagejustforthatkeyword.Inowgetabout200hitspermonthfromthattermwhichisbusinessIneverwouldhavegottenhadInotbeenanalyzingthekeywordspeoplewereusingtoaccessmysite.

Itwasaminorchangeinthebiggerpicture.Iwasalreadycreatingcontentforthesite,butbyfocusingonsomeofthemostlogicalandwellknownkeywords.Ididn’tcrawlinthemindofaprospectivesearcherbutGooglecaughtitforme.Ijusthadtointerprettheresults.

Youshouldneverdiscountthelittlethings.Evenminordetails,suchasrefocusingandchangingyourkeywordeffortsormodifyingthetaggingonyourpagescanhaveamajorimpactifitisdoneright.ForeverywebsitethatIdoSEO,Ifindalittlenicheonamonthlybasisthatmyclients’competitionnevercatchesandIcapitalizeonthat.Usingthoselittlenichesintherightplacescanmakeamajordifferenceintheamountoftrafficthatyoursitereceives.

ReputationManagementThenextitemyoushouldhaveinyourplanisreputationmanagement,whichisa

criticalpartofanyonlinebusiness.IfyouGoogleanyoneofmySEOclient’sURL’s,youseenothingbutgoodorneutralpress.Thetop10resultsofasearchareusuallycorporatesites,blogs,pressreleasesandotherlandingpagesIoptimizedorcreatedforthem.Thisisnoaccident.

Manyclientswhodoanyvolumeofonlinesaleswillgetadisgruntledcustomerortwoandsometimesanegativenewsarticleorblogentryorotherproblemcanaffecttheironlinereputation.

Sometimesthisbadpressisknownwhenitcomesoutinanewsarticlethateveryoneseesandtalksabout.Sometimes,however,adisgruntledpersoncanplacenegativeinformationonblogs,ascomments,andmanyotherplacesthatcanbeindexedintothesearchenginesandworktodestroyyouronlinepresencelittlebylittle.IfyoudonottaketimetomonitoryouSERP(SearchEngineResultsPage),youmaymissthereasonyouaredroppinginsalesorhitstoyourwebsitebecauseofthenegativethatisdisplayed.InonecaseIhadacustomerwhoownedalargemortgagecompany.

Theircompanydoesabout8,000loansperyearandhavetoturndownsomeclientsforaloan,oftenatthelastminutebecauseofsomeunforeseenissuesuchastheclientusedacreditcardorboughtacaranddroppedtheircreditscores,disqualifyingthemfortheloanproductforwhichtheyhadbeenapproved.Itwasinevitable,likeitornot,thatthosefewdisturbedclientswhopostedtheircommentsonblogsmanagedtofillupfourofthetoptenspotsonaGooglesearchformanyoftheirimportantkeywords.

Thentheinevitablehappened.Thewebvisitsstoppedandthephonecallsstoppedcoming.Thisisagoodexampleofwhatcanhappenifyoudon’thavemonitoringyouronlinereputationapartofyourSEOplan.You’reprobablysaying,thisisnicetotellmebutwheredoIstartifIfindnegativelinksorinformationaboutmycompany?

Beforethiseverhappens,youshouldidentifykeyeditorialcontactsatindustryandbusinesspublications,ezines,andpressreleaseportalsthatcanhelptoplacepositivepressinitsplace.Makeaseparatepageinyourplantologthesecontacts.Youshouldalwaysbelookingforopportunitiestopostcommentsonrelevantarticlesandplacelinkstoyourcompany’sURL.

Today,youcanpublishstoriesinminutes,versusdays,weeksormonths.Sowhenyoudopostcontent,itnotonlyappearsontheWebsite,butonsearchengines,syndicatedcontentsites,andnewssearchenginesaswell.

Youshouldalwayscreatetargetedpressreleasesthatcanbelinked-tofromavarietyofsources.Thepressreleaseshouldalsobeoptimizedforthebestrelevantkeyworddensitysoitappearsashighaspossibleinrelatedsearches.Ifyouskippedlearningaboutkeyworddensity,thereisanindexinthebackofthisbook.Iwouldrecommendlearningabouthowtousethattoyouradvantage.

Launchyourownblogandbecomefriendlywithotherbloggers,becausebloggersarethemostpublicizedarmofsocialonlinemedia.Bloggersareincreasingtheircredibilitywiththeconsumer,whichmeanstheiropinionsreallydomatter.Thisissomewhatlikea“ThirdPartyEndorsement.”Havingbloggerspostnegativecommentsaboutyouoryourbrandcanspelldisaster.Bepreparedtogetintotheconversationbypostingcommentsonblogswithnegativecontentaboutyourproduct/servicesandlinkbacktoyourownpressreleaseorblog.

Anotherveryeffectivetoolistheuseofsub-domains.Googleseesthemasseparatewebsites,buttheydostillcarrytheauthorityandtrustoftherootdomain.Whenyoucreateasub-domain,youmustnotsimplycopycontentfromyourmaindomain.Thecontentmustbedifferent.Thenewsub-domainmusthaveuseful,uniquecontent.Itdoesnotneed100pages;justtenorsopagespersub-domainwilldo.Allyouneedistwotothreewell-optimizedsub-domains.

SignupforaTwitteraccountandplacetheTwitterWikiorscrollingpluginonyourwebsite,butkeepupdatingitwithrelevantinformationaboutyoursite.YoumightalsoconsiderPintrest,Instagram,Facebook,orothersocialbookmarkingnetworkentries.Andofcourse,postlinkstoyourpressreleasesusingkeywordsinyourtextlinks.

Managingyourreputationrequiresthecreationofrelativecontentonyourownwebsite,distributionofpositivecontent,aswellasstrategicparticipationinonlinediscussions.Whenyoucombinethesestrategies,anintegratedsearchenginereputationmanagementprogramisinplaceandreadyforactionintheeventanegativepieceofinformationisindexedaboutyourcompanyorURL.

RipoffReportReputationManagementOnceyourwebsiteislistedonRipoffReportorasmallerwebsitecalledScammers,

itisvirtuallyimpossibletogetitremovedunlessyougetacourtorder.EventhoughwhenyousearchforRipoffReport,thereareplentyofPay-Per-Clickadssayingtheycangetthemremoved.Theycan’t!TheyarescamsthatareevenlistedonRipoffReport.

Thatbeingsaid,IamoftenaskedwhattodowhenadomainorpersonislistedonRipoffReportbecauseitrankssowell.WellthereasonitrankssowellisthatRipoffReportknowsthatwhenyouusethepersonofinterestsnameorwebsiteURLoverandoveragainontheirlistingpageitmakesforaverykeyworddensepageandoptimizeswell.

SinceyoucannotgetittogoawaytherearemanythingsyoucandobothtoburythelistingonRipoffReportnowandprepareforthefuture.ManypeoplegoonRipoffReportanddoarebuttalofthearticleandmakethingsworse.TheydothisbyplacingtheirwebsiteURL,theirname,theircompanynameoverandoveragainintheirrebuttalresponsemakingthelistingonRipoffreportevenmoreoptimized.Theyjustmadeitworse.Yourresponseshouldbecarefullychosenwordswithnonames,nocompanynames,noURL’sandifpossibleworkingwithaprofessionallikemyself.

Theproperwaytorespondwithnonamesorkeywordsassociatedwithyourbusiness.ThisisanactualresponsefromoneofthedoctorsIworkwithtoaRipoffReport:

Wecarefullyreviewedthisindividual’srequestforarefund.Wereviewedwhatwaspaid,themanyhealthencountersshereceivedandtheclinicaloutcomeachievedovermanymonths.Wefoundtherequesttobewithoutmerit.Thispostingisalsofactuallyincorrect-especiallyinregardtotheclaimthattherewasnoimprovementinhealth.Inthepastwehaverefundedmoniestopatientswhenappropriate.Inthiscircumstancewedidnotfeelitwaswarranted.Wecareforthehealthandfinancialhealthofourpatients.Currently,weareworkingtohaveourvaluableservicescoveredbyinsurance.Weseepatientswhodonotdoverywellwiththecurrentmedicalparadigm.Weareproudofourresults,innovationsandcaringstaff.Thispatientisfreetoreturntothepracticeifshewishes.Wemaybeabletohelpherseekreimbursementfromherhealthinsurer.Wecan,asacourtesy,provideherourlatestinnovationsingenetictestingaswell.

Sohowdoyouprotectyourselfinadvanceorinthefuture?Easy.Reputationmanagementshouldincludeprotectingyourselfinadvance.Youshouldwritearticles,webpages,andblogpostingsthatincludeyourdomainname,thekeywordsscam,andfraudinawaythatispositivetothereader.Iftheysearchforyourdomainnameorthedomainnameandthewordsscamorfraudtheywilleventuallyseepagesofarticlesthatareolderandrankedhigherforthefirstcouplepagesofthesearchengines.

PPCMonitoringyourPPCaccountis,ofcourse,important.WhetheryouuseGoogle

AdWordsorBing’sAdCenterorrelatedpay-per-clickprogramstogetyourmessageoutthereyouneedtoconstantlymonitorwhichkeywordsareworkingforyouandwhichonesgetalotofclicksbutdon’tturnintosales.Toobroadofakeyword,aswelearnedinpreviouschapters,cancostyoualotofmoneywithverylittleresults.

Intermsofreputationmanagement,aPPCcampaigncanhelpaswell.Whileoptimizedpressreleasesandrelatedcontentmaytakedaysorweekstoappearhighinrelevantsearchresultsonsearchengines,paidtextadsarevirtuallyinstantaneousandprovidetotalcontroloverplacement(bykeyword)ofyourmessage.

ReprioritizingPages

Inthebeginning,prioritizingyourwebpagesiseasy.Giveprioritytothepagesthatfocusoneachofyourkeywords,andinthesameorderthatyourkeywordsarein.Youshouldprioritizeyoureffortsonthepagesthatsupportthosetrophywordsanddrawthemostamountoftrafficandsales.

Thesearetop-prioritypagesandvisitorsshouldnaturallygravitatetothosepages.Theseshouldbefocusedlandingpagesthatutilizealltheoptimizationtechniques,includingsocialmediaandkeyworddensityoptimization.Thecontentshouldremainrelevantandconstantlybeupdatedsoitnevergetsstale.

PagessuchasyourhomelandingpageorthosethatwillgeneratethemosttrafficorrevenueshouldbearoadmapandincludedinyourSEOplanandgoalsshouldbesetforyourmarketingefforts.Iffourofthewebpagesonyoursiteareyourtoppriority,thoseshouldencompassamajorityofyourtimeandeffortsinyourSEOplan.

AdditionalPlanItems

Afteryouhaveprioritizedyoursiteswebpages,youshouldassesswhereyoustandandwhereyouneedtobewithyourcurrentSEOefforts.Makeachecklistanddedicatetimetoassessallthepagesinyourwebsite.Thosethatshouldbecheckedmorefrequentlyarethefollowing:

Keywords(Focus1keywordoneachoptimizedpage.)KeyworddensityLocalSubmissionsOnlineReviewsTitletagsSocialmediaelementsSite/pagetaggingPagecontentrelevancyReplacementofstalecontent

FrequentlychangedcontentBlogsSocialmediaoptimizationSocialbookmarkingSitelinkingPressreleasewritingArticlesubmissionsVideooptimizationRSSFeedsSearchengineplacementPPC

Itemsthatcanbecheckedlessfrequently:

SitemapaccuracyLongevityofdomainregistrationRobots.txtoptimizationSitemapHTMLsourcecodeanderrorsAlttagsLinkdevelopmentManuallinkrequeststorelatedsitesDirectorylistingsOne-waylinks/two-waylinksHTMLdesignASP.andothercodingsuchasJavaandFlashLinkedURLs

CompletingthePlanAtthispointyoushouldhavecollectedalltheinformationyouneedtoputintoyour

SEOplan.Youshouldalsohaveagoodideaofthepriorityofeachitemandwhatneedstobedonefrequentlyandwhichonescanbedoneonalessfrequentbasistoincreaseormaintainyourwebsite’ssearchenginerankings.

Nowit’stimetoputalloftheinformationthatyou’vegatheredintoacomprehensiveplancomparingyouravailabletimeanddeterminingtheSEOeffortsyoushouldbemakingtobestutilizethattime.YourSEOplanismorethanjustasimplepictureofwhat’sincludedinyourwebsiteandwhat’snot.Thisisthedocumentyoushouldusetohelpdetermineyourwebsite’scurrentsearchenginerankings,reputationmanagement,yourneededmarketingefforts,capitalexpenditures,timeframes,andhowyou’regoingtokeepyourwebsitefrombecomingstale.

Theplanshouldlookmuchlikeabusinessplanwhenyouaredone.Itincludesyourgoals,aworkplan,marketinginformation,howyouwillgrowyourbusiness,plansformanagingproblems,andmuchmore.

Thosestrategiescanincludeeffortssuchasmanuallysubmittingyoursiteorpagesfromyoursitetodirectoriesandplanningthecontentyou’llusetodrawsearchenginebots,spiders,andcrawlers.Itshouldalsooutlinewhichpay-per-clickprogramsyouplantouseandatimelineforthetestingandimplementationofthoseefforts,aswellasregularfollow-ups.

IalwaysrecommendthatyousupplementyourSEOwithawell-managedPPCcampaign.ButthegoalistomaintainyourURLonthefirstpageofasearchengine’ssearchusingorganicSEOtomaximizethosenaturallyoccurringelements.Whenyoubuildoneachinternalandexternalelementonyourwebsitetocreateasitethatwillnaturallyfallnearthetopofthesearchengineresultspages(SERPs),youachievehighSERPsrankingsfree—otherthanthetimeittakestoimplementyourSEOplan.

AchievingeachrankingpointfororganicSEOcantakeanywherefromthreetoeightmonthsifyouimplementtherightSEOplan.Don’tgetupsetifyoudon’tseeimmediateresultsfromyourSEOefforts.SticktoyourSEOplan.Ifyoudon’tseechangeswithin3-6monthsoryourrankingsgetworse,youshouldreevaluateyourSEOplanorseekprofessionalhelp.

Chapter9–BlackHatTacticsIhavesomanyinstancesandreferenceswhereImyselfhavemademistakesorwhere

othershavefallenbeforemeandIhavelearnedfromtheirmistakes.Inthischapterwewilltalkaboutmanyofwhatareknownasblackhattacticswhichyoushouldavoid:

FlashJavaScriptMenusUsingDynamicURL’sDynamicCodeOnPagesBadXMLSiteMapsAbnormalKeywordPlacementSEOSpamDoorwayPagesMetaJackingPageCloakingIPDelivery/PageCloakingLinkFarmsSpamblogsPageHighjackingLinkBombingWhattoDoIfYouHaveBeenBannedProblemPagesandWork-AroundsValidatingYourHTML

FlashWhenusedcorrectly,itcanenhanceavisitor’sexperience,unlessyou’retryingto

getmobiledevicestobecompatible.Thenon-mobilesideofyourwebsiteshouldn’tbebuiltentirelyinFlash,norshouldyoursitenavigationbedoneonlyinFlash.Searchengineshaveclaimedforacoupleyearsnowthatthey’rebetteratcrawlingFlash,butit’sstillnotasubstituteforgood,crawlablesitemenusandcontent.

UsingDynamicURL’sA“dynamicURL”ismostsimplydefinedasonethathasa“?”init,like

HTTP://WWW.YOURDOMAIN.COM/PAGE.SRC?ID=3456

That’saverysimpledynamicURLandtoday’ssearchengineshavenotroublecrawlingsomethinglikethat.ButwhendynamicURLsgetlongerandmorecomplicated,searchenginesmaybelesslikelytocrawlthem(foravarietyofreasons,oneofwhichisthatstudiesshowsearchersprefershortURLs).

So,ifyourURLslookanythinglikethis,youmayhavecrawlabilityproblems:

HTTP://WWW.YOURDOMAIN.COM/PAGE.SRC?

ID=3456&XID=9765487&CID=333394445&VID=34521456&SESSION=875694875

Google’swebmasterhelppagesaysitwell:“…beawarethatnoteverysearchenginespidercrawlsdynamicpagesaswellasstaticpages.Ithelpstokeeptheparametersshortandthenumberofthemfew.”

DynamicCodeonPagesCodethatisheldinadatabaseandpagesthatdisplaytheoutputdynamicallyand

onpagesthatdeliveruniqueoutputwillhaveissuesbeingindexedbythesearchengines.Somepagesalsohavewhatistermedas“codebloat.”

Codebloatissituationswherethecoderequiredtorenderyourpageisdramaticallymoresubstantialthantheactualcontentofthepage.Inmanycases,thisisnotsomethingyou’llneedtoworryabout—searchengineshavegottenbetteratdealingwithpagesthathaveheavycodeandlittlecontent.

Robots.txtBlockingFirst,youarenotrequiredtohavearobots.txtfileonyourwebsite;millionsof

websitesaredoingjustfinewithoutone.Butifyouuseone(perhapsbecauseyouwanttomakesureyourAdminorMembers-onlypagesaren’tcrawled),becarefulnottocompletelyblockspidersfromyourentirewebsite.It’seasytodowithjustasimplelineofcode.

Innocircumstancesshouldyourrobots.txtfilehavesomethinglikethis:

User-agent:*Disallow:/

Thatcodewillblockallbots,crawlers,andspidersfromaccessingyourwebsite.Ifyoueverhavequestionsaboutusingarobots.txtfile,visitrobotstxt.org.

BadXMLSiteMapAnXMLsitemapletsyougivealistofURLstosearchenginesforpossible

crawlingandindexing.They’renotareplacementforcorrecton-sitenavigationandnotacure-allforsituationswhereyourwebsiteisdifficulttocrawl.

Ifimplementedproperly,anXMLsitemapcanhelpsearchenginesbecomeawareofcontentonyoursitethattheymayhavemissed.But,ifimplementedincorrectly,theXMLsitemapmightactuallydeterbots,crawlers,andspidersfromcrawling.

Ifyou’recurious,I’veonlyoncerecommendedthataclientuseXMLsitemaps,andthatwasawebsitewithupwardsof15millionpages.IfyouneedtogetaprofessionallycreatedXMLsitemap,youcanhaveonecreatedatwww.smcreator.com.

AbnormalKeywordDeliveryThereasonIamdiscussingthisfirstisbecauseitisthemostcommonoccurrence.

IreadallthetimeonSEOblogsthatapersongothiswebsiteonthefirstpageofGooglebyplacinghiskeywordsahundredtimesatthebottomofhiswebsitelandingpageintextthatwasthesamecolorasthebackgroundofhiswebsite.Thepersonissoexcitedthathediscountsandignoresalltheprofessionalswhocommentthatheshouldn’tdothis.SometimetheblogcreatororcommenterwhohashissiteonthefirstpageofGoogleevenbadmouthstheSEOprofessionalstryingtohelphim.

Icomebackandreadallthetimehowjustafewshortmonthslater,thesameguythatwassoexcitedthathiswebsitewasonthefirstpageofGooglehaswritten,“Youguyswereright.GooglebannedmyURLfordoingthis.”ItiseasytotemporarilybethemostrelevantsiteonGooglethewrongway.ButGoogleandtheothermajorsearchengineshavewaysoffiguringitoutquitequickly.Andonceyouarebanned,youbettercallintheprostohelpyou.Thereisasectiondedicatedtothisastheendofthischapter.

SEOSpamSEOspamistheSEOversionofemailspam.Emailspampopsupinyourinbox

whereit’sleastwantedandthosewhoaresendingitbelievethatthelawofaveragesisontheirside.Theythinkifyousendoutenoughmessages,eventuallysomeonewillrespond.

SEOspamusesthesameprinciple,exceptSEOspamfillsthesearchengineresultspagesonsearchengineswithresultsthathavelittleornovaluetothesearcher.Thiscangetyouquicklybanned.ImagineifyouwenttoGoogleandeverytimeyoudidasearchyougotresultsthatwereforsomethingtotallydifferentthanyousearchedfor,orifthetop10spacesofthesearchresultswerefilledwiththesamecompany.IfthathappenedyouwouldswitchtoBinginaheartbeattogetbetterresults.Right?

Googleandtheothermajorsearchenginesdon’twantthistohappen.Soifyoudosomethingthatasearchengineseesasspamming,yoursearchrankingswillbepenalized.It’snowevenmorelikelythatyouwillberemovedfromsearchrankingsentirely.IfGooglebansyourURLit’sasifyouwebsitehasbeenremovedfromtheinternet.Itisalmostinvisible.

AtermforsomeSEOspamiscalledblackhatSEO.BlackhatSEOreferstotheuseofaggressiveSEOstrategies,techniquesandtacticsthatfocusonlyonsearchenginesandnotahumanaudience.SomeexamplesofblackhatSEOtechniquesincludekeywordstuffing,linkfarms,invisiblewebsitetextanddoorwaypages,whichwewilllearnaboutlaterinthischapter.

BlackHatSEOismorefrequentlyusedbythosewhoarelookingforaquickfinancialreturnratherthanalong-terminvestmentontheirwebsite.

NOTE:BlackHatSEOwillmostlikelyresultinyourURLbeingbannedfrommajorsearchengines.However,sincethefocusisusuallyonquickhighreturnbusinessmodels,mostexpertswhouseBlackHatSEOtacticsconsiderbeingbannedfromsearchenginesasomewhatirrelevantrisk.BlackHatSEOmayalsobereferredtoasUnethicalSEOorjustspamdexing.

Tomakethingsalittlemoreperplexing,searchengineschangetheirdefinitionsofspamregularly.Whatworksandisacceptabletodaymaywellbeclassifiedasspamtomorrow.Thiscanhaveaprofoundeffectonyourrankings.Onedayyoumayberankedhighandonpageoneofasearchandthenextyoumayfindthatyou’reonpage8oftheresultsallbecauseofthelinksyoumaintain.

Theeasiestwaytomonitorsearchenginechangesistokeepupwithwhat’shappeninginSEOontheGoogle

WebmasterCentralBlog(http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/)

Thegeneralruleis,ifyou’redoingsomethingonyourwebsitethatyouhavetoworrymightgetyoubannedfrommajorsearchengines,youprobablyshouldn’tbedoingit.IfyoureadanywherethatSEOspamtechniquesareokay,orthatyouwon’tgetcaughtbecausesearchenginesdon’tpayattention,ignorethisadviceatallcosts.Thepenaltiesdifferaccordingtothesearchengine,butifyouarecaughtspammingevenonce,mostsearchengineswilldelistyoufromsearchresultsimmediately.

IhaveseenitahundredtimesandhavehadithappentomeonaccidentwhenIwentoverboardexperimenting.Yes,eventheexpertsmakeamistakeortwo.Butwelearnfromthem.

Here’swhatisdefinitelyconsideredspam:

Tryingtomakeyoursiteappearmorerelevanttothesearchenginesbyembeddinghiddenkeywordsinyourwebsite.Artificiallygeneratinglinkstoyourwebsitefromunrelatedsitesforthepurposeofincreasingyourrankingbasedonlinkanalysis.Artificiallygeneratingtraffictoyourwebsitesothatitappearsmorepopularthanitreallyis.Submittingyourwebsiterepeatedlyforinclusionintherankings.

NOTE:Youshouldsubmityoursiteonceandthenwaitatleastsixweeksbeforesubmittingitagain.

CreatingDoorwayPagesDoorwaypagesarecreatedtodowellforparticularphrases.Theyarealsoknown

asportalpages,jumppages,bridges,gatewaypages,entrypages,andbyothernamesaswell.Searchengineshavedevelopedwaystoeasilyidentifythesepages.Theyareprimarilytomakeapageseemmorerelevantforsearchengines,andnotforhumanbeings.

Youshouldalwayshaveyourpagesdesignedforhumaneyesandnotjustforasearchengine.Therearevariouswaystodeliverdoorwaypages.Thelow-techwayistocreateandsubmitawebpagethatistargetedtowardaparticularphraseorkeyword.

Thesepagestendtobeverygeneric.It’seasyforpeopletocopythem,makeminorchanges,andsubmittherevisedpage.Sometimesthesearesosimilarthatthesearchconsidertheseduplicatesandautomaticallyexcludethemfromtheirlistings.

Anotherproblemisthatuserssometimesarriveatthedoorwaypage.Sayarealpersonsearchedfor“weldingsupplies”andthedoorwaypageappears.Theyclickthrough,butthatpageprobablylacksanydetailabouttheweldingsuppliesthatyousell.Togetthemtothatcontent,webmastersusuallypropelvisitorsforwardwithaprominent“ClickHere”linkorwithanautomaticpageredirect.

Somesearchenginesnolongeracceptpagesusinganyredirects(sometimesreferredtoasfastMetarefresh).Thishasledtosomeblackhattersdoingabait-and-switch,or“code-swapping,”onthesearchengines.Someblackhatwebmasterssubmitarealwebpage,waitforittobeindexedandthenswapitwithadoorwaypage.

Thetroubleisthatasearchenginemayrevisitatanytimefigureoutwhatyouhavedone.

MetaJackingMetajackingisthetakingoftheMetataggingfromonepageandplacingthemonanotherpagehopingtoobtaingoodrankingsandrelevance.However,simplytakingMetatagsfromapagewillnotguaranteeapagewilldowell.Infact,sometimesresubmittingtheexactpagefromanotherlocationdoesnotgainthesamepositionastheoriginalpage.

AgentDeliveryWhenyoutargetasingledoorwaypagetoasinglesearchenginethisiscalled

“agentdelivery.”Eachsearchenginereportsan“agent”name,justaseachbrowserreportsaname.

Agentdeliverypagesaretailoredpagesthatdirectuserstotheactualcontentyouwantthemtosee.Italsohastheaddedbenefitof“cloaking”yourcodefromonlythesearchengineyouaretargeting.Themajorsearchengineshavegottenwisetothis,though.Theychangethenametheyreportspecificallytohelpkeeppeoplehonest.

IPDelivery/PageCloakingToavoidtheagentnamechanging,youcanalsodeliverpagestothesearch

enginesbyallowingonlythesearchenginesIPaddress.Ifabot,crawler,orspidervisitsyourdoorwaypageandreportsanIPaddressthatmatchesthesearchengine’sortheIPresolvestoacertainhostname,itcanseethecodeofthewebsite.

LinkFarmsLinkfarmsaresimplypagesoflinksthatarecreatedjusttoartificiallyboosta

linkingstrategyinanefforttospeedtheappearanceofthewebsiteinthetopsearchrankingpositions.Typicallyyoupaymoneytojointhemorbuysoftwarethatallowsyoutomasssendyourlinks.

SpamblogsThesearesoftwareormachine-generatedblogswhichhaveonlyonepurpose–

increasesearchenginerankings.

PageHighjackingPagehijackingoccurswhenverypopularwebpagecodingisstolenandusedto

representyourwebsitetothesearchengines.Whenusersperformasearchandseeyourwebpageinthesearchresults,theyclickthroughthelinkonlytobetakentoyouractualpage.

LinkBombingOneanchortexttactictoavoidislinkbombing.Linkbombingreferstothe

methodsusedbyblackhatSEOstoartificiallyinflatetheirwebsiterankingbyconnectinganunrelatedkeywordtoaspecificwebsite.Forlinkbombingtowork,morethanonewebsitedesignermustbewillingtoparticipateinalinkexchange.

WhattoDoIfYouHaveBeenBannedIfyouhavebeenbannedfromthemajorsearchengines,youmayfindittheworst

experienceofyourlife,especiallysincetheinternetisnowtheofficialyellowpagesformostandbeingbannedfromthemajorsearchenginesislikelockingyourbusinessdoorsandtakingthephoneoffthehook.

Mostofthetimeyouwillknowwhatwasdonethatgotyoubanned.Inthiscase,itmayrequireexplainingtothesearchenginethetacticyouemployed,whyyouemployedit,andhowyoufixedit.Google,forinstance,allowsyoutosendinanexplanationbygoingtothe

LookUpYourLinksandDisavowtheBadOnes

TheDisavowlinkstoolintheGoogleWebmasterToolsistheretosaveyouwhenyougetyourwebsitebanned.Thereareotherreasonsyoumightgetbannedbutmostofthetimeitisthelinksthataredirectedatyourwebsite.

YouwanttoDisavowLinkstoolshouldbesubmittedwithalistofURLswhicharenotrelatedtoyourwebsite,containpurchasedlinks,orlinksthatareofbadquality.AfterthatyouneedtosendGoogleaReconsiderationRequest.

GoogleReconsiderationRequestInGoogle’sWebmasterToolswhichisfoundatthelink:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/toolsyoucanfindyourwebsitewhichhasbeenverifiedandclickontheoption:“SiteReconsideration”linkontheleft-handside.Thiswilltakeyoutothewebpagewhichoutlineswrittenandvideoinstructionstoresubmityourwebsite.

Itcouldtakeacoupleofmonthstoayeartobereindexedintothesearchengine.InsomecasesitisquickerandeasiertoditchtheoldURLandstartabrandnewone.Thenyouhavetoworkyourwaybacktothetopoftherankingsagain.JustmakesurethatyouhavefixedorstoppeddoingwhateverwasdonetogetyourURLbannedinthefirstplace.

OutgoingLinkIssuesLinkingoutiscrucialforblogsandevenstaticwebsites.Manywebmastersstopped

linkingoutinordertohoardPageRankandnotallowothersintheirindustrytogetabetterrank.Googleengineersabsolutelydiscouragethispractice.Infact,somuchsothatGooglehasstartedtoreallywanttoseeindustryrelatedlinksthataretwo-waylinksonnotonlythehomepagebutthedeeppagesaswell.Linkingoutcanberiskythough.Herearesomethingstolookoutfor.

Brokenlinks

ToomanybrokenlinksonapageraisearedflagintheGooglealgorithm,soyouneedtomakesureyourlinksgoingout,arealwaysgood.Thismightnotbeapenaltyinthestrictestsense,butyoudropsuddenlyinrankingsoncemorethanoneortwolinksarebrokenonthesamepage.

WebsiteinaBadNeighbourhoodBadneighborhoodsareserverIPaddressesthathostwebsitesGooglefindsbad.

Suchaspornsites,hatesites,somepoliticalsites,spammersetc.Mostoftheselinkshappenmorenaturallyaspartoflinkdecay.Sitesdisappearanddomaingrabbersbuythemtodisplayadloaded“domainparking”pages.Thesepagescanbebadaswell.

TooManyOutboundLinksCanBeBad,AsWellAsNoneAtAllThisfigurechanges,butcurrentlyourtestingshows,Googleisfinewithupto76outboundlinksonapagebutdegradesthepagesrankingafterthisnumber.Awebsitethathasmoreoutgoinglinksthancontentitselfcanloseitssearchvisibility.Thismightnothappenovernightlikethetypicalpenaltyyou’dexpect,butitcanamounttooneinitseffects.Also,pageswithoutasingleoutboundlinkarenowbeingtermed“dead-ends”.InthiscasetherearenooutboundlinksandGooglehasbeenplacingaseverepenaltyonthesepages.

HiddenLinksThismaysoundcrazy.Howdoyouhidealink?Wellinadd-ons,inCSScoding,

etc.IamaddingthissectionbecauseofacounteraddedtoaWordPresswebsitethatcontainedlinksinittootherwebsites.Thelinkwasnotonlyhidden;butwaswhatyouwouldconsideraspammylink.Infactwecouldn’tfigureoutthesourceoftheproblemuntilanAccuQuality.comreportweranonthewebsiterevealedtherewereover180outboundlinksandthereasonGooglewaspenalizingthewebsite.

Content

Googleconsistentlystressesthat“contentisking”,butitalsocanmeantrouble.Ifthereisnokinginyourkingdom,orthekingisdressedinrags,oryouborrowedyoukingfromsomewhereelseyoulookbadtoGoogle.

Herearesomecontentissuesyoushouldlookoutfor:

Duplicatecontent–duplicatecontentonyourownsiteorevenelsewherecanresultinasignificantrankingdrop.WhileGoogledoesnotconsiderthisapenalty,mostwebmasterswhoexperiencetheproblemdo.Lowqualitycontent–Google’shighqualityupdatedubbedPandaanditlaterupdates,focusesonlowqualitycontent.Shallow,keyword-richcontentonsomepagescanmakeyourwholesitedropinGoogle.Scrapedcontent–Scrapedcontentistexttakenfromothersitesanddisplayedonyours,isasurefirewaytogetderankedveryquickly.Unlegiblecontent–ContentthatiswritteninbrokenEnglishormisspelledcanhurtyoubadly.SomuchsothatAccuQuality.comnowspellschecksyourentirewebsiteintheirreport.Asageneralrule,yourcontentneedssoundgoodtothehumanvisitorasmuchastothesearchenginescrawlerwhoisvisiting.

AdsGoogleisnotreallyasearchenginebutanadvertisingcompanyasalmostall

revenueoftheGoogleCorporationstemfromadsdisplayedinthesearchresultsthemselvesandonthirdpartysites.Nonetheless,thepressureonGooglehasgrownovertheyearstotackletheproblemofsocalledMFA(MadeforAdsense)sitesthatpollutetheGoogleindex.WithGoogle“Panda”thesearchgiantfinallydidtacklethisissue.

Sothismeanstherearesomenewrulestofollow:

Toomanyads(lowcontenttoadsratio)–eversinceGoogle“Panda”hasbeenthetalkofthetown,mostpunditshavepointedoutthatatoohighnumberofads,especiallyGoogleAdSenseads,mayleadtoapenalty.Affiliatesiteswithnovalue–Googlealwaysexplainedthataffiliatesarenotanissue,butonlyaslongastheyoffersomegoodcontentandadditionalvaluebeyondtheactualaffiliateoffer.Besuretoadddifferentcontent,products,orservicesoryouwillfaceapenaltysoonerorlater.

GoogleCallingYouOutTheissueofso-called“SEOouting”hasbeenahotonesince2011andcontinuing

into2016.ThenumeroushighprofilewebsiteshavebeenoustedandalongwiththemtheirSEOteamsorcompaniesfordoingbadSEOtricks.ManySEOpractitionersargueonmoralgroundsthatoutingisadespicablepractice.Theymightberight,butaslongasthereisnothingtooutyou,farebest.Soyou’dbettermanageyourreputationonlineandfromtimetotimecheckwhattheSEOteamdoes.

NYTandWSJ

HighprofileoldmediaoutletsliketheNYT(NewYorkTimes)andtheWSJ(WallStreetJournal)liketoscandalizeSEO,soifyougetacallfromajournalistyou’dbetternotbragaboutyourgreatSEOtactics.Google,inmostcases,reactstohighprofileoutingsakabadpress.

ThirdpartytrustmetricslikeBlekko,WOT,McAfeeSiteadvisorIfyoudon’tshowupinBlekko,becauseyouarebannedthere,andwhensiteslike

WOTandSiteAdvisorlistsyoursiteasdeceptiveordangerous,thismightmeanyouareheadingtowardsaGooglepenalty.Googledoesnotusethesesites’databuthasothermeanstoscreentheWebforthesameissues.

MakingGooglelookstupidYoudonotneedanNYTarticle,aSEObloggerorGoogleemployeetoget

penalizedforabadrep.PubliclyshowingoffyourblackhatSEOsuccessesmakesyouvulnerabletothe“makingGooglelookstupid”penalty.LeadingSEOspecialistsagreethatfromacertainpointon,Googlecan’tkeepquietaboutitandwillpenalizeyouinordertokeepitsface.

TechnicalissuesNoteverysuddendropinrankingsandtrafficisapenalty;somearestupidityor

grossnegligence.Youcanshootyourselfinthefootbymessingwithsometechnicalaspectsofwebdevelopment.

Robots.txt

Therobots.txtisnotreallyneededtoimproveSEO.Itcanbreakalotofthingsthough.JustrecentlyIblockedoneofmyblogsfrombeingindexedbyGoogle.OfcourseIsuspectedapenaltyatfirstbutthencheckedGoogleWebmasterToolstofindoutImadethemistake.

NofollowI’veseenleadingblogsbarredfromtheGoogleindexbecausetheyactivatedthe

WordPressprivacymode.Itsimplymeantthatalloftheblogwassettonoindex,nofollowwhichequalsblockingitintherobots.txt.

DuplicatetitlesanddescriptionsWhenyoursiteusesthesameoraverysimilarpagetitleanddescriptionforevery

singlepage,it’snowondermostofthemwon’tshowupinsearchresults.Thisisn’tapenaltyeither.It’sjustlogical.

Non-crawlablelinksinJavaScriptTherearestillJavaScriptsitemenusouttherethatcan’tgetcrawledbyGoogle.

AlwayscheckwhetheryourmenuusesrealHTMLlinkswith“<ahref=””>”init.OratleastthewholeURLmustshowup.

NeitherapenaltyOrYourFaultInsomecasesalossofrankingsorsearchtraffichasnothingtodowithyouoryour

site.Somethingelsechangedinstead,andthat’swhyyougetoutrankedallofasudden.

Algorithmchanges

Googlechangesandrefinesitsalgorithmallthetime.Majorchangesarecalledupdates,andsometimesmeandramaticshiftsinsearchresults.Justsearchfor“GooglePanda”.Theonlythingyoucandothenistofindoutwhatchangedandwhyyoursitedoesnotmatchthenewrankingfactors.

CompetitiongotbetterAcommon“problem”isalsothatyourcompetitiondoesmoreSEOworkthanyou

doandonedaytheyoutrankyou.Arankingchangefrom#1to#2onGooglecanmeanatrafficlossof60to80%.

CurrenteventsSometimesbreakingnewsmaypushyoursitedown.GoogleNewsresultsget

displayedontop,andforlesscompetitivephrasesnewsmediastarttorankinregularresultsaswell.Mostoftheserankingchangeswillvanishafterafewdays.

Chapter10–WebsiteMarketingPrinciplesThroughoutmycareerIhavebeenthoughtofbymanyasbeingoneofthebest

salespersonsbothonlineandinreallife.Therearemanythingsthathelpmemakesales.Inthischapter,Iwilloutlinethelittlethingsthatadduponebyonetohelpyoumakesales.Althoughthefocushereisononlinesales,thesearesalesprinciplesthatyoushoulduseeverydaybothonlineandinreallifetohelpyousell.

SalesPrinciplesYouShouldAdoptThesearemytop12directmarketingprinciplesyoucanusetomakesureyour

internetmarketingreallyworksforyou:

Stability

Peoplewanttoknowyouarenotgoingtodisappearovernightsoifyouhavebeeninbusinessforanylengthoftime,thiswilladdcredibilitytoyouandyouroffers.

StatisticsUsegenuinestatisticstogiveyoumorecredibilitywhenlistingthenumberof

customersserved,moneysaved,profitsmade,trueresults,andsoon.

TestimonialsIcan’toverestimatetheimportanceofgettingrelevantandcrediblereviewsfrom

yourcustomersandclients,sayinghowyouandyourproductsorserviceshavehelpedthem.

Self-CredibilityIfyoucan,establishyourselfasanexpertinyourfield.Noteveryonecanwrite

numerousbooksorbeonTV.However,youcanwritearticlesandhavethempublishedonyourproduct,service,orindustry.Youcanrunworkshopsthataredesignedtodemonstrateortrainhowtouseyourproductsorhoweffectiveyourservicesare.

Reprintsofarticlesaboutyouinthepressorhavingyourarticlespublishedinthemedialendweighttoyourcredibilityastheexpertorauthorityinyourmarketandarehighlyvaluabletoyou.Showyourmarketthatyouareindemand,andhavestatusasanexpert.

Youcanalsoshowyou’reanexpertwithindustrycertifications,awards,memberships,andaccomplishmentsthatarerelevanttoyourmarket.

Demonstrations

Itisalotcheapertosellonlinewiththeuseofonlinevideosor‘howto’DVDstosellyourproduct.Ifyouhireasalespersonhecanonlybeoneplaceatatime.Theinternetcanbetheequivalentofhundredsofsalespeople.Awebsitethatisproperlydesignedcanmakeitveryeasytoshowademonstrationofyourproductorservices,bothonandoffline.

YoucanalsocreateanddistributeademonstrationeBookbyprintingitoutandtalkingthroughwhatitcontainsliveonscreen.CamtasiaisfreesoftwarethatletsyoumakeascreencapturevideowhereyoucandemonstrateyourwebsitetalkingthoughthesalesletterorgivingademoofhoweasyitistodownloadyoureBook.

NOTE:YoucanalsoprinteBookscosteffectivelyatLulu.comandCreateSpace.com.

GuaranteeIfyoucan’tguaranteetheproductorserviceyou’reselling,thenfindsomethingelse

tosellthatyoucanguarantee.Toreallymakeyourpotentialcustomersfeelsafebuyingfromyou,haveanironcladguarantee.

AccessibilityOnyourwebsite,havingyourfullcontactdetailinformationisabigboosttoyour

potentialcustomerconfidence.Usingjustanemailcontactoraformshowsyouarehiding.Putyouremail,phone,andaddressthatshowsthatyouareintheU.S.andarecredible.

NOTE:NevergiveaP.O.Boxasyouraddressasitimmediatelymakespeoplesuspicious.

ThePersonalTouchBevisibleinthebusinessyou’reinandmakesureyouhavealivevoiceanswer

yourphoneifpossible.InmySEObusiness,ifIletvoicemailpickupforonedayInevergetasale.IfIanswerthephone,Iusuallyalwaysmakeasale.Also,tellyourcustomersaboutyourself.Makeitpersonaltothemandshowthemyouarearealindividual.

AdmitImperfectionsUpfront

Nomatterhowgoodyourproductorserviceis,itwillmostlikelyhaveadisadvantagesomewhere.Admititupfrontandhonestlycommentonthisfact.

Answerquestionsandobjectionsinatimelymannerwhenapotentialcustomerasksthemviaemailorthephone.Buyersbuymoreoftenwhentheycancallanofficethroughouttheweekandemailatanytimewithquestionsandgetahumanresponse.

PeopleWillBuytoSaveMoney

Peoplewhoareinterestedinyourproductorservicewillusuallydonothingunlessyouaskforthesaleandgivethemincentive.Peoplearejustbombardedbytoomanysalespitchesandtrytochoosethebestone.

Thebestpitchistocreateurgencytobuynow,suchasinformingthemthatthepriceisgoingupnextweek.Butyouhaveplentyofoptionshere:youcanofferareducedprice,abundledspecialdealonyourproductsorservices,orasmallerfreeitemforbuyingalargeritemnow.

SpecialTacticforCreatingUrgencyAspecialtactictocreateurgencyistoputanenddateonyourpromotionsand

discounts–buyitnowbeforethepricegoesupnextweek,nextmonth,tomorrow.Evenifyourregularpriceisyourpromotionalprice,doamonthlycampaign.Whentheylookonlinetheyseeahigherpriceifyoudon’tbuybytheendofthemonth.

Ifyourbusinesslookslikeitisalwaysinpermanentsalemode,there’snourgencyforthecustomertobuy.Customersarenotstupid;theyseetheadvertisingandknowthatthiscompanyALWAYShasasaleon.

Thatiswhyit’simportantyoucreateadeadlineforyourpromotion.Byhavingadefinedenddateshowinginboldletters,itcreatesurgencyandareasonforyourpotentialcustomertoactnoworloseoutonsavingmoney.

TellPeopletheValueTheyAreGettingThediscountsandvaluetothecustomerarenotalwaysobvious.Somakeitclear.

Ifyouputavaluenexttotheitemsyouareselling,don’tassumeyourprospectorcustomerhasworkeditoutforthemselves.Ifthetotalvalueis$250,tellthemitis$250becauseifyouleavethemtoadditupforthemselvestheygenerallywon’tdoit.

ResearchResearchisanessentialaspectofmarketing.Inadequateresearchofyourproducts

andtargetmarketisoneofthebiggestpitfallsthatcanaffectamarketingstrategy.Researchprovidesawealthofinformationthatisvitaltoyoursales.

Determinewhatmarketisgoingtomostlikelybenefitfromtheproductorserviceyouprovide.Thisisthegroupofindividualsyouwillwanttotarget–insomeareas,theremaybemultiplegroups.Whileitmaybepossibletomarkettoallthesegroups,inmostsituationsitisbettertomarkettoasinglegroupwhichcontainalargepercentageofsimilartraits.Thismakesiteasiertoconsolidateamarketingplanaswellaseliminateasignificantamountofresearch,time,andeffort.

Thesecondaspectwhichneedstoberesearchedforamarketingplantobesuccessfulisyourcompetition.Itisalsooneofthereasonswhymarketingfailstoproduceappropriateresults.Researchingyourcompetitionisnotjustaboutresearchingthepricesofacompetitor.Itincludesnotingthingssuchastheirsalestechniques,findingoutwhatmarketingtoolsandresourcestheyuse,andhowoftenthosetools.

Manybusinessownersandbeginninginternetmarketersfailtonoteanythingmorethanpriceandperhapsgenerallayoutoftheircompetitor’swebsiteandendtheirresearchthere.Theymissvitalinformationthatcansavetime,money,andeffortwhenitcomestosettinguptheirownmarketingstrategy.Ifyouarenotthemostsuccessfully-marketedbusinessontheinternetpromotingyourproductorservice,findoutwhois.Findouthowtheymarketandwhatmakesthemsuccessful.

Collectinformationonthetypesofdeals,offers,discountsandpromotionsthatyourcompetitionusesandoffersomethingdifferenttohelpyourbusinessstandout.Manypeoplesimplydowhattheircompetitiondoes.Indoingso,theyoftenlowertheirmarketabilityandtheirmarketingplancanultimatelyfailinthisarea.Youmightpickupmoremarketsharebydoingwhatthecompletiondoesn’t.

MarketingToolsHavingenoughresearchtocreateyourmarketingplanisonlythefirststepin

solvingtheproblemsthatoftencausemarketingplanstofail.Thenextstepistotakethetimetopickouttherighttools.Havingtherighttoolsforthejobisessentialtoensuringyougetthemostoutofyourmarketingstrategies.

Marketingtoolshavediversifiedovertheyears.Toolsarenotlimitedstrictlytoemailandpromotionaloptions.Video,socialnetworking,SMStexting,Blogs,Twitter,Facebook,PPC,andmanymoreareavailabletoyou.Youjusthavetopickthetoolsthataregoingtobeeasyforyoutolearn,use,andrequireminimalmaintenancewithmaximumpotentialresults.

Don’tJustDreamIt,DoIt!OneofthebiggestreasonsIamsosuccessfulisthatifIgetanidea,Idoit.Nothing

standsinmyway.HenceyouarereadingthisbookbecauseIcameupwithanideaforitwhiletakingashower.Don’tpicturethat,bytheway.InJohnPinette’swords,“You’llhavenightmares!”

Oneofthebiggestreasonswhymarketingstrategiesandbusinessesendupfailingislackofactionandgivingup.Marketingisanactivepartofyourbusiness,itisnota“setitinmotionandletitrunonitsown”componentofawebsite.

Inordertoensurethatamarketingstrategysucceedsyoumustbeactivelyengagedinworkingthatplanandrevisititandmakethestrategybetterbasedonexperience.Thismeansthatemailmarketingmessagesshouldbeupdatedandredesignedregularly.

SMS,Facebook,andTwittermessagesshouldberewrittenaftereverysend.Thesemessagesshouldbeshort,containonlytheminimumnecessaryinformation,andfocusononeitematatime.ItisimportanttorememberthatthistypeofmarketingisrelativelynewandinvolvessendingmessagestoWiki’s,blogs,members,andmobiledevicesthatoftenindicaterepeatmessages.

Videosshouldbeproduced,edited,andupdatedtoashighalevelaspossible.Computersandtechnologycanturnjustaboutanycomputerintoaproductionstudiowiththerightsoftware.Keepvideosinteresting,engaging,andrelevant.Thevideosshouldberelatedtothecompany,theproducts,ortheservicesoffered.

Itisimportanttosetupamarketingscheduleandfindouthowmuchtime,generallythroughtrialanderror,thatyouneedeachday,weekormonthtohandleallyourmarketingtasksandkeepeverythinguptodate.

Thereasonswhyamarketingplanmightfailarenumerous.Ihatetooutlinesomeofthemhere,butyouneedtoknowsoyoucantakestepsavoidthem.Someofthesereasonsincludethefollowing:failingtodotheproperresearchintothemarket,notdoingproperSEO,nothavingtherighttoolsavailable,notresearchingcheaperdeliverymethods,havingtoomanytoolsornotusingthetoolsyouhaveeffectively,andnothavinginventoryonhandthatyouareselling.

Takingthetimetomakesurethatyouhavetheinformationyouneedaswellasputtingintheefforttoensureyoursuccesscangoalongwaytoeliminatingthesereasons.

Whenyoudevelopamarketingmessage,youhavetohitmanylevelsofdesire.Goodmarketinghappenswhenyougivelogicalreasonsforyourprospect’semotional-buyingdecisions

Somegoodmarketingmessagesinclude:

SavetimeSavemoneyMakemoneyTryforfreeAvoideffortIncreasehappinessFindsuccessBepain-freeGetbetterhealthHavefunEnjoyyourlifeGainpraiseFeelsafeandsecureFeellikedorlovedBepopular

Yourtaskistofindamessagewhichmatchestoyourproductorserviceandstartpromotingyourmarketingmessageinyourmarketingstrategy.

SeeWhatYourPotentialClientsDesireandPlayonThatYoushoulddeveloptheabilitytoseewhatotherswant,need,anddesirethrough

yourownresearch.Youwillbesuccessfulifyouarealwayssatisfyingyourcustomer’sneeds.Sometimesyouhavetolookforthegapandcreateanewproductorserviceordevelopanimprovementofanexistingproductorservice.

Youshouldalwaysfocusonserviceanddeliverwhatyoupromiseontime.Mygeneralruleistoalwaysunderpromiseandoverdeliver.Tellacustomerthathe/shewillnothaveituntilFridayeventhoughitarrivesonWednesday.Ifsomethingisdelayed,thecustomerisnotupsetandwhenyoudeliveritearlyyoulooklikethehero.

Theinternetallowsyoutostartsmallandgrowtoanysizebusinessthatyouwantto.FollowingtheadviceandprinciplesIhavelaidoutinthischapterwillhelpyourcustomernumbersgrowandyourprofitsgrowwiththem.

DealingwithAdversityMylastwordsofadvicearealwaysmaintainhonestyandintegrityinyourdealings

andstaytruetoyourvaluesevenwhendealingwithstressfulsituations.Everybusinessownerisgoingtohavetodealwithanxiety,frustrationandproblems,socopewiththembydevelopingtenacityandperseverance.

Ifsalesdon’thappenthefirsttimeyoutalktoapotentialclient,lookatthesestatisticsfromtheNationalSalesExecutiveAssociation:

2%ofsalesaremadeonthe1stcontact;3%ofsalesaremadeonthe2ndcontact;5%ofsalesaremadeonthe3rdcontact;10%ofsalesaremadeonthe4thcontact(and)80%ofsalesaremadeonthe5th–12thcontact.

Formostbusinesses,ifyoudon’tofferanopt-incontact,likearegularemailnewsletterorblogpostings,you’remissingoutonmostofyourpotentialsales.

Whensettingupanopt-ininternetmarketingcampaign,youshouldofferincentivestosubscribe.Toenticepeopletoopt-in,youcanoffer:

SpecialpricingforemaillistmembersAfirstlookatnewproductsAbilityforcustomertoselectsubjectsandemailstheyreceivePromisenottoshareemailorotherpersonalinfowithothercompanies

Usingopt-incontactallowsyoutosignificantlyincreaseconversionsbyintroducingyourselfovertimetoyourpotentialcustomers,inasoft-sellmanner.Websiteoptimizationisimportant;thegoalisincreasedinternettraffic,salesandsalesleads.Butwhetheryou’vehiredanonlineSEOconsultantoryou’redoingtheprocessyourself,affordablesearchengineoptimizationbyitselfdoesnotaccomplishthoselastpointswhichincreasesalesandsalesleads.Itjustdrivesthepotentialcustomerstoyourwebsite.Youstillhavetoclosethedeal.

Chapter11–TargetingMoreThanOneKeyword

Mostwebsitessellinganythingneedtotargetmorethanasinglekeyword.Evenifyoujustsellasingleproductorservice.Sowhatdoyoudotopromoteyourwebsiteandfocusonmanykeywordssincemanyofthemajorsearchenginesonlyallowawebpagetoberelevantforthreekeywords.

Theanswerisasimpleonebuttheexecutionisaboutthemostcomplexofanypartofyourwebsite’scode.Theansweristhatyouneedtocreateaperfectlyoptimizedlandingpageforeverysinglekeywordyouwanttofocuson.Youthenhavetohavethesearchenginesindexallthoseadditionalpagesseparatelyasseparatelandingpages.Thisisthetoughpart.Eventhesingularandthepluralversionofyourkeywordsneedtobefocusedonotherpages.

TobefoundbyGoogleforallthedifferentpagesonyourwebsiteyouneedtohaveasitemaptotellthesearchenginesthelandingpagesyouwanttoindex.Notjustany,thereisastandardcalledSitemapprotocol0.90whichGooglerequiresalongwithGoogle’smanyupdatedrequirements.

WARNINGS:TherearesomanywebsitesandwebdevelopersontheInternetthatclaimtheycancreateasitemap.Manyjustcreatepageswithlinksandcallthemasitemap.Also,therehasbeenmanyupdatestotheSitemapProtocolandmanywebsitesstillpusholderversions.IhighlyrecommendthatifyouarenotaprofessionaldeveloperyougotoatrustedsourcesuchasSMMaker.comorSMCreator.comandhavethemprofessionallycreateandinstallaSitemapforyourwebsite.

InthischapterIamgoingtotellyouhowtomakeaSitemapspeciallyformulatedtoGoogleandBing.AndthenhowtotellGoogleandBingwheretolookforyoursitemap.Asyousawfromthewarningabove,itisalotofworktocreateasitemapandtestittoseeifitisworking.

Youcanmakeoneyourself,payawebsitetomakeyouasitemap,orifyouuseWordPressyoucandownloadoneofoverahundredpluginsthatwillnotonlycreateaSiteMapbutalsokeepituptodatewithchanges.

Solet’stakealookathowtocreateasitemap.

SitemapsXMLformatInformingsearchenginecrawlersofyourdifferentpagesisthejobofyourSite

Map.ThisdocumentdescribestheXMLschemafortheSitemapprotocol.TheSitemapprotocolformatconsistsofXMLtags.AlldatavaluesinaSitemapmustbeentity-escaped.ThefileitselfmustbeUTF-8encoded.

TheSitemapmustincludethefollowing:

Beginwithanopening<urlset>tagandendwithaclosing</urlset>tag.Specifythenamespace(protocolstandard)withinthe<urlset>tag.Includea<url>entryforeachURL,asaparentXMLtag.Includea<loc>childentryforeach<url>parenttag.

Alloftheothertagsareoptional.Supportfortheseoptionaltagsmayvaryamongsearchengines.Refertoeachsearchengine’sdocumentationfordetails.ForGoogleyoumustincludethistag:

<urlsetxmlns=“http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9”>

Let’slookatanexamplewhichshowsaSitemapthatcontainsjustasingleURL:

<?xmlversion=“1.0”encoding=“UTF-8”?>


<url>

<loc>http://www.WebSEOPros.com/</loc>

<lastmod>2013-01-01</lastmod>

<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>

<priority>0.8</priority>

</url>

</urlset>

AllXMLTagsHereareallthetagsthatcanbeusedinyoursitemapandtheirsyntaxesand

descriptions.

<urlset>(required)

Encapsulatesthefileandreferencesthecurrentprotocolstandard.

<url>(required)

ParenttagforeachURLentry.Theremainingtagsarechildrenofthistag.

<loc>(required)

URLofthepage.ThisURLmustbeginwiththeprotocol(suchashttp)andendwithatrailingslash,ifyourwebserverrequiresit.Thisvaluemustbelessthan2,048characters.

<lastmod>(optional)

Thedateoflastmodificationofthefile.ThisdateshouldbeinW3CDate/timeformat.Thisformatallowsyoutoomitthetimeportion,ifdesired,anduseYYYY-MM-DD.

<changefreq>(optional)

Howfrequentlythepageislikelytochange.Thisvalueprovidesgeneralinformationtosearchenginesandmaynotcorrelateexactlytohowoftentheycrawlthepage.

Validsyntaxesare:

alwayshourlydailyweeklymonthlyyearlynever

<priority>(optional)

ThepriorityofthisURLrelativetootherURLsonyoursite.Validvaluesrangefrom0.0to1.0.Thisvaluedoesnotaffecthowyourpagesarecomparedtopagesonothersites—itonlyletsthesearchenginesknowwhichpagesyoudeemmostimportantforthecrawlers.

NOTE:Thedefaultpriorityofapageis0.5.

ThepriorityyouassigntoapageisnotlikelytoinfluencethepositionofyourURLsinasearchengine’sresultpages.SearchenginesmayusethisinformationwhenselectingbetweenURLsonthesamesite,soyoucanusethistagtoincreasethelikelihoodthatyourmostimportantpagesarepresentinasearchindex.

WARNING:AssigningahighprioritytoalloftheURLsonyoursiteisnotlikelytohelpyou.Sincethepriorityisrelative,itisonlyusedtoselectbetweenURLsonyoursite.

Hereisanexampleusingthedifferenttags:

<?xmlversion=“1.0”encoding=“UTF-8”?>


<url>

<loc>http://www.WebSEOPros.com</loc>



</url>

<url>

<loc>http://www.WebSEOPros.com/seo-pricelist.php</loc>



</url>

<url>

<loc>http://www.WebSEOPros.com/SEO.php</loc>



</url>

<url>

<loc>http://www.WebSEOPros.com/SEM.php</loc>



</url>

</urlset>

SavingyourSiteMapSearchenginesknowtolookforaplaintextsitemapattherootdirectoryofyour

websitewhereyourIndexpageresides.

Itshouldbenamed“Sitemap.xml”

ItshouldbeaccessibleusingyoursiteURL.Asanexample.

http://www.WebSEOPros.com/Sitemap.xml

Youcansubmitasitemapusingaportnumber.IfyousubmitaSitemapusingapathwithaportnumber,youmustincludethatportnumberaspartofthepathineachURLlistedintheSitemapfile.Forinstance,ifyour

Sitemapislocatedat:

http://www.www.WebSEOPros.com:100/sitemap.xml

TheneachURLlistedintheSitemapmustbeginwith:

http://www.WebSEOPros.com:100

SubmitYourSiteMaptoGoogleandBingYoucansubmityourwebsite’ssitemapURLtobothGoogleandBing.Todothis

gotothefollowingwebsitesandloginwiththeGoogleandBingID’syoucreatedearlierinthebook.

ForGooglegoto:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

(GotoSiteconfiguration,clickSitemaps)

ForBing.comgoto:

http://www.bing.com/webmaster

WheretogoformoreinformationFormoreinformationonhowtoconfigureasitemapvisit:

http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/siteindex.xsd

ThereareanumberoftoolsavailabletohelpyouvalidatethestructureofyourSitemapbasedonthisschema.YoucanfindalistofXML-relatedtoolsatthefollowingwebsites:

http://www.w3.org/XML/Schema#Tools

http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2000/12/13/schematools.html

Chapter12–WhenYouNeedProfessionalSEOServices

Afterreadingthisbookyoumayhavecometotheconclusionthatyoudon’twanttoorhavethetimetoinvestonoptimizingyourwebsite.Ormaybeyouhaveinvestigatedthecompetitionandfoundthattheamountofcompetitionistoomuchforyoutohandleonyourown.Whateverthereason,youmaycometoapointwhereyoufeelthathiringaprofessionaliswhatyouneedtodo.

Icouldjuststopthechapterrighthereandsayhey,e-mailmeat:

[email protected]

Wewilltakecareofyou.Ifthatisnotwhatyouwanttodo,letmegiveyousomepointerstohelpyouout.Therearealotofscamartists,cons,andthelikewhichwanttoseparateyoufromthemoneyinyourbankaccount.InfactIthinkitiseasiertofindthescamartistspeddlingSEOthantherealthing.

IfIweretoguessonaratio,thereisprobably1,000scammersforeveryoneSEOconsultantthatknowsenoughtogetyoulistedatthetopofthesearchengines.Theinformationinthischapteriscrucialtolearntokeepyoufromfallingvictimtoscams.

HiringtheRightProfessionalsInthisbusinesscuttingcornersisnotanoption,becausethewrongSEOpractices

canbefarmoredetrimentaltoyourwebsitethandoingnothingatall.VirtuallyeveryoneofmymajorclientswasfirstscammedbyanSEOscammerbeforecomingtome.Infact,itisnotatallunusualtohearaboutacompanyorwebsiteownerthat’sbeenscammedbyasupposedSEOconsultantwhoguaranteedthemtopplacementinhundredsofsearchenginesinjustdaysandtheyactuallysentthefraudulentcompanymoney.

Oneofthefirstcluesistheabsoluteguaranteepart.It’sjustnotpossibleforanyone,evenanSEOexpert,toguaranteethatyoursitewillappearatnumberoneofsearchenginerankingsallthetime.Nonetheless,manypeopleclaimingtobeSEOexpertswilltellyoutheycandojustthatandinjustdays.Don’tbelievethem.Goodorganicrankingsforkeywordsworthusingtakesmonthstoachieve.

Inmostcases,whathappensisthis:AwebsitedesignerorownerwhohashadtocreateawebsiteforSEOdecidesheorshecanimplementSEOforotherstomakeaprofit.

However,justbecausethesepeoplehavedoneSEOontheirownsitesdoesn’tmeantheycanplanSEOandimplementoptimizationtechniquesonyourwebsiteinthemosteffectivemannerpossible.Everysite,companyandindustryhavedifferentoptimizationneeds.

Inmostcases,ittakesateamofpeopletoperformproperSEOtechniquesforabusinesswebsite.Thatteammightincludesomeonetosubmityourwebsitetodifferentdirectoriesandsearchengines,someonetocreateandsubmitarticlestoonlineresources,someonetodesignandimplementSEOelements,someoneelsetocodethewebsitetomakeitattractivetosearchengines,andaprojectmanagertomanagethewholeSEOprogramfrombeginningtoend.

RecognizingSEOScammersTherearecertainthingsyoushouldcheckorlookforwhenchoosinganSEO

company.Thesearethefollowing:

Getreferencesfromthem.Seewheretheircustomersrank.Goonestepfurther,though.Ifatthebottomofthereferralwebsite’shomepageitdoesnotshowthattheSEOcompanyyouarecheckingoutdoestheirwebdesignorSEOwork,calloremailthecompanyandverifythattheirSEOworkishandledbythem.

Itisnotuncommonforscammerstofindahighly-rankedsiteandclaimitistheirwork.InWebSEOProscase,manyofourcustomersallowustokeepalinkatthebottomoftheirhomepagethatstates,“SEOServicesProvidedBy:WebSEOPros.ccom”andalinktoourpage.Itmakesiteasyforourcustomerstoseewereallydotheworkwesaywedo.

Bewaryiftheprospectivecompanysaysthattheyguaranteethatyoursitewillshowupinthefirstpageofresultsorevenasthenumberoneresulteverytime!Timeforarealitycheck:thealgorithmsthatthesearchenginesusearecloselyguardedtradesecretsmeaningthatnooneoutsideofafewpeopleatthesearchenginecompaniesknowsexactlyhowitallworks.Guaranteeingacertainpagerankingisasignofinexperienceatbest–andmuchmorelikely,indicatesascam.Ifyouhearanobviouslybusycallcenterinthebackground,run.Iftheirsalesdepartmentisaroomcrowdedwithtelemarketerstrollingforbusinessaroundtheclock,it’sabigredflagthatyouarebeingscammed.Theypromisetosecureyoutoprankingsforlong-tailkeywordswhichstrikesyouasunlikelytobeusedbyanyone.Forstarters,theyaretryingtosellyouaguaranteedpageranking(butweknowbetter,don’twe?).Ifthekeywordtheyareofferingyouatoprankingforsoundsalittlefishytoyou,lookupitspopularitywiththefreeGoogleKeywordToolwediscussedearlierinthebook.Seewhatitspopularityis.KeywordsthatnooneeversearchesforareeasytomainonpageoneofaGooglesearch.Iftheirservicesareofferedatunrealisticallylowpricesbeweary.TherearesomeSEOscammerswholurevictimsbyofferingtooptimizeyoursiteandrunpromotionalcampaignsforpricesthatsoundentirelytoogoodtobetrue.Usuallytheywanttheamountupfrontandfromacheckingaccountratherthanacreditcard.REDFLAG:“WecangiveyourwebsiteandSEOtuneupfor$499.00.”REDFLAG:“Resultsin48hours(orless).”Ifthiscouldbedoneitwouldsaveeveryonealotofmoneyandtime.Everyonewouldbenumberone.Ohwait.Theycan’tbe.

Again,doyourduediligence.Lookattheircredentials,findoutwho’susedtheirservicesinthepastandwhattheyhavetosayaboutthecompany.YoushouldexpectregularweeklyreportsonhowyourkeywordsareperformingandyoushouldbeabletoeasilygetintouchbyphoneandspeaktooneoftheSEOconsultantstogettheiradviceandinputasneeded.Itneedstobeaninteractiveprocess.Ifthereportsareonlymonthlyorquarterlythatisnotenoughtimetogetnotifiedwhenakeyworddropsandtakeimmediateactiontocorrecttheissue.

ThebestSEOcompanieshaveyearsofexpertiseinthefieldandknowthemosteffectiveSEOmethodologiesinsideandout.Whenalgorithmschangetheyalsoknowhowtodeterminethechangesandreactandhaveaprocessinplacetonotifytheircustomers.YourplacementsonthemajorsearchenginesmaychangefrommonthtomonthbutwillreturntonormalasyourprofessionalSEOcompanydoeswhatisnecessarytogetyoubacktothetop.

WhattoExpectFromaProfessionalSEOCompanyWhenyoufindanSEOfirmthatofferstheservicesthatyouneed,youcanexpectto

receivecertainspecificservicesfromthem.Theservicesvaryfromfirmtofirm,buthere’salistthatyoucanuseasagoodruleofthumb:

YoushouldbeprovidedwithaninitialprofessionalSEOaudit.TheauditshouldthoroughlyexamineyoursitesURLproperties,currentSEOelements,problemswiththecurrentdesignandstructureofyourexistingwebsite,providekeywordandcompetitorresearch,andlookatthemechanicsofawebsiteasawholeandincluderecommendations.IfyouaretryingtoemployanSEOcompanythatisaonemanshowwhodoestheauditing,theoptimization,thelinking,thearticles,theresearch,thesocialmedia,thewebchanges,monitorstheanalytics,doesthebilling,andeverythingelse,youwillsoonlearnthatnoonecanbeanexpertateverythingandyouwillsoonbelostamongsthismanyclients.AtWebSEOPros.comeveryonewearstheirownhatandfocusesonjustonepartoftheprocess.Thatmeansthereisateamassignedtoeveryclient.Thecompanyyouhireshouldemployaprojectmanagerwhotracksalltheneedsofyourcompany’swebsite(s)andfollowsthereports.Thispersonneedstobeabletobringintheexpertsneededatagiventimetheyareneededandalwaysbeavailablebyphone.IfyourSEOexpertsaysheisonlyavailablebye-mailthatisabigredflag!Youshouldbeprovidedwithrecommendationsforkeywordsandaplantooptimizeyourwebsite.Thisreportshouldindicatehoweachpageofyourwebsiteisoptimizedincludingwhaton-pageSEOelementssuchasHTMLtags,keywords,andcontentneedstobechangedonyourwebsiteonanongoingbasis.YoushouldbeprovidedwithinformationonhowtheSEOcompanyplanstoperformtheoptimizationoftheinternalsitenavigation.Yourinternalnavigationcanhaveaseriouseffectonhowyoursiteperformsinsearchresults,soagoodSEOwillexamineandoptimizethatnavigationstructure.YourSEOcompanyshouldbeabletoscantheInternetweeklyformentionsofyourdomainnameinBlogsandothersocialmediaandprovidethisinaweeklyreport.Thisisnowknownas“ReputationManagement”andisacriticalpieceofanyonlinepresence.AndshouldbepartofyourweeklySEOReport.TheSEOcompanyshouldbeabletoscanyourwebsiteweeklyfordesignchangesmadethatinadvertentlybrokelinksorstrayedfromtheSEOgoalssetinplace.ThesewarningsshouldalsobeinyourweeklySEOReport.AplanonhowtheSEOcompanyintendstoperformlinkbuildingforyourdomainandverifytheyareonlywhitehattechniquestositesrelevanttoyourindustryorfollowguidelinessetathttp://angelasandpaulsbacklinks.com/.Thecompanyyouchooseshouldhaveproceduresandtheabilitytotestthe

differentsearchenginealgorithmstodetectchanges.Theyshouldbeabletoimmediatelymakechangestoyourwebsitetocombatthosechanges.AplanonhowtheSEOcompanywillshowtheirprogressandthemonitoringofyourSEOeffortsandkeywordstatistics.Theyshouldalsobeabletogiveyoustatisticsonyourmajorcompetitorsaswell.IftheSEOcompanycannotprovideyouthisinformationonaweeklybasis,especiallyinthebeginning,findanothercompany.SEOrequiresongoingefforts.TheSEOcompanymustbeabletotrainyourstaffwiththemostsuccessfulmethodsformaintainingoptimizationandprovidingnewsarticlesandsuggestions.

ProfessionalSEOfirmscanofferalotofbenefitstoyourwebsite.Afterall,yourcorebusinessisnotlikelySEO,butanSEOfirm’sis.Thegoodonescanproperlyoptimizeyoursite,andyourservices,inlesstimethanyoucan.Forthatreasonalone,itshouldbeenoughtomakeyouconsiderhiringanSEOfirm,whetherornotyouendupdoingso.

Chapter13-EducatingYourITDepartmentorWebsiteDeveloper

InmostlargecompaniesIhavecomeintocontactwithovertheyears,thewebsiteispartoftheInformationTechnology(IT)departmentandchangesgothroughmultiplelayersofapprovalsforchangesandtheSEOcompanyisusuallyhiredbytheMarketingDepartment.

SoontheMarketingDepartmentisaskingforcodingchangesandthingsthatgocompletelyagainsttheniceestheticallypleasingwebsiteandfrictionstartstomount.OneofthethingsmustbedonetocreateagoodSEOcampaignischangestotheon-pagecoding,keyworddensity,andmanyotheraspects.ItisimpossibletodoSEOwithoutmakingatleastsomechangeson-page,andthatmeanseventuallyyou’llneedtoenlisttheservicesoftheITDepartment.

Eventhoughweareworkingforthesame,theSEO/ITrelationshiphashistoricallybeenfraughtwithmistrust:youfeelmisunderstood,theyworryyouwillbreakthewebsite,andyou’rebothoperatingwithtwoverydifferentideasofwhata“simplechange”is.

LendaHand,Don’tReprimand.EducationisthebesttoolinanSEO’sarsenal.Don’tworryaboutguardingyour

preciouslyheldsecrets;we’vecometoofarforthat.Mostofthegoodstuffisstuffyouwon’tneedITforanyway,amIright?.

It’seasyforSEOprojectstogetstalledbecausenoteveryoneinvolvedunderstandswhatisgoingonorwhyit’simportant.MakesureITgetsaneducationinSEObasics(especiallyrelatingtositearchitecture/backendissues).

Itaccomplishestwothings:itgiveseveryoneaframeofreferenceforyourfutureprojects,anditgetsawholelotmoreeyeballslookingoutforback-endchangesthatcouldhavecatastrophicSEOconsequences.

FeelTheirPain.Youknowhowsometimes,someonewantsresultsonanSEOprojectrightaway,

andyouarealllike“Youjustdon’tunderstandhowlongthattakes”?IT’slifeislikethat,onlytimesamillion.

Beappropriatewithyourrequestsandreasonablewithyourexpectationsandyou’llmakeeveryone’slifealoteasier.

Ifyougetpushbackonaproject,workwiththeteamtofindasolutionratherthangoingovertheirheadsrightoffthebat.Sameteam,people.Sameteam.

BeRealistic.NobodyexpectsyoutobecompletelyawareofallofIT’sprojects,butsometimes

yourchangesjustarenotasimportantasotherstuffthey’vegotinthehopper–yourtitletagchangesaren’tgoingtogetpriorityoverasecurityflawinyourSaaSproduct.

Additionally,thebenefitforsomeSEOtaskswon’tbeworththetimeandeffortitwilltaketocompletethem,andyoushouldtrytolearnandacceptthatwhenyouhaveto.

Thatsaid,iftherearethingsyoufeelareactivelyhurtingthewebsite,makesureeveryoneknowstheongoingcostsofleavingthemunfixed.Ifyoucantieadollaramounttoit,youcanbetitwillgetfixedeventually.

BeAvailable.Ifyousubmitalistofchangesandthenwanderoff,don’tbesurprisedifITdoesn’t

wanttomeetupattheflagpoleafterschoolanymore.

PartofbeingBFFswithITismakingyourselfavailableforfollow-upandclarificationquestions.Yes,asmanyasittakes.

DoNOTtaketheattitudethatonceyouhandoffthetaskstoIT,theybecomeIT’sproblem.IfthesiteSEOfailsbecauseyourprojectwasimplementedincorrectly,youwilllookbad,notIT.Thatmeansthatyourprojectscontinuetobeyourprojectsandyou’reavailabletoprovidethemwithalltheTLCtheyneeduntilthey’recompleted.

MakesureITdoesn’tjustseeyourfacewhenyouneedsomethingrightaway.Takesometimetohangoutwiththeteam–bringcookiesordoughnutstotheirteammeetingsonceinawhile,geteveryoneouttohappyhour,andthentalkaboutthewebsite.

ThisisagreattimetorevisitsomeoftheSEObasicsyouhavealreadytakentimetoteachthemabout.IfanyoneontheteamexpressesaninterestinlearningmoreaboutSEO,forGod’ssakemakethemyourlunchbuddy.

Soonerorlateryou’regoingtoneedafavorfromthesepeople.Wouldn’tyouratherbetheirpalwhobringscookiesthanthatneedyannoyingpersonfromtheMarketingdepartment?

ABoxofKrispyCremesWouldBeaGoodGiftHere

GiveThemToolstoHelpThemThisbookisobviouslyaplacetostartbutyoucanalsosendtheI.T.Department

articleseducatingthemonwhytheyneedtomakeeachchange.Anotheritemtoconsiderissendingthepersonresponsibletomakethechangestoatrainingclass.Iofferclassesbothoneononeorinlargegroups.Visithttp://www.WebSEOPros.com/trainingformoreinformation.

AppendixA–SEOChecklistforNewNon-RankingSitesIfyou’renewtoSEO,Ihavecreatedaquicklittlelisttohelpyoustartrankingquickly.Ihavealsoincludedrecommendationsonhowtomakeyourwebsiteovercomeeachissue.KeepinmindthatIamassumingyouhavealreadycompletedallthestepsinChapter3.

AccessibilityUsersandsearchenginesbothneedtobeabletoreachallofthepages,youalso

needtomakesureyoudon’thaveanydumbmistakesthatcanharmyourSEO.Thesearethingslike404sand500errors,and302sinsteadof301s,missingtitletags,orthincontentwherethereisnotmuchmaterialonthepageforthesearchenginestograbontoandmaybeforusersaswell.GetanAccuQuality.comorSEOAudits.comreportdonetohelpyoueliminatetheseissues.

KeywordTargetingChoosingtherightkeywordstotarget.Youmightnotbeabletotargethighvalue

termsbecauseyouarealsolookingforlowdifficultywhenyouarefirstlaunchingasite.Youcanlookatsearchvolume,therelevancetothewebsite,andlowdifficulty.

ContentQualityandValueIfyouhaveuserscomingtothispageandtheyarethinkingthisdoesnotreally

answermyquestionormaybeonlyonepartofmyquestion,butIwishtherewasmoredetail.Ifyoucanchangethatto“Ilikethissite,itmakesmehappy!”Thiskindofsatisfactionfromyouruserswiththequalityofthecontentthatyouproduce,youaregoingtodomuchbetterinthesearchengines.Googlehasgottensomuchbetteraboutnoticingthetruequalityandvaluewithresults.

DesignQuality,UserExperience,andUsabilityUnlessyouhaveaprofessionaldesigneroryouhaveaprofessionaldesign

background,youalmostcertainlyneedtohiresomeoneorgowithaverysimple,basicdesignthatisveryuserfriendly.Thentakeasurveyfromfriendsandpeopleinyourcompany,seehowtheyreacttothesite.Theirreactionwilltellyouifthedesignworksandiftheusabilityiseasytounderstand.Thereisreallynopointinrankingunlessyouarenailingthesetwo,becauseyouarenotgoingtogetmanymorecustomers.Peoplearejustgoingtobefrustratedbythewebsite.

SocialAccountSetupBecausesocialandSEOarecomingtogetherlikeneverbefore,Googleisshowing

plusonesandthingsthatpeoplesharebydefaultinthesearchenginerankings.Itreally,reallypaystobeinsocialandsocialsignalshelpsearchenginesbetterrankthingsaswellashavinganicesecondordereffectonuserandusagedata,onbranding,ontheimpactofpeopleseeingthosesitesthroughsocialsharingandpotentiallylinkingtothem.

Foryoursocialaccountsetupyouwillwanttohavethesefour:Facebook,Twitter,LinkedInandGoogle+.LinkedIn,Twitter,Facebookareallover150millionusersrightnowandgrowingeveryday.Twitterisat200millionandFacebookisat750million,theirnumbersaregrowingquickly.Whilehavingyouraccountsspreadthroughoutthesesocialaccountsyouwillwanttokeepthemlookingconsistentsowhenpeoplelogontheyknowitisyoursite.Thingslikelogos,colors,andphotoshelppeopletofeelcomfortableastheygettoknowyou.

Onceyouhavegotthesesocialaccountssetup,youcanfeelgoodaboutsharingthecontentthatyouareproducingthroughthosesocialaccounts,findingconnections,buildingupinthatworld,andspendingtheappropriateamountoftimetheredependingonthevalueyouarefeelingbackfromthat.

LinkBuildingWhenyoudon’thaveanytrustworthyqualitylinkstoboostyouup,thisiswhen

lowqualitylinkscanhurtyourwebsitethemost.So,startwithyourbusinesscontactsandyourcustomerstoseeifyoucanexchangelinks.Ifthecontactsthatyouhaveinthebusinessworldarewillingtosay,“Hey,myfriendStevejustlaunchedanewwebsite,boom,thatisagreatwayofgettingalink”.Allyouremailcontacts,yourLinkedIncontacts,thepeoplethatyouknowpersonallyandprofessionally,ifyoucanaskthem,hey,wouldyousupportmebythrowingalinktomeonyour“AboutPage”oryourBlogRolloryourlistofcustomersoryourlistofvendors,whateveritis.

Highqualityresourcelistsaregreattoo,thiswouldbethingsliketheBetterBusinessBureau.Ifyouareastartupinthetechnologyworld,youdefinitelyneedtohaveaCrunchBaselisting.YoumightwanttobeonsomeWikipedialists,itisagoodplacetostartgettingsomevisibility.Anothergreatwayistalkingtothepress,letthemknowwhenyouarelaunchinganewsiteorchangingabranding,anythingthatcoulddrawattentiontothecompanyandbringaboutpublicity.

SocialMediaLinkAcquisitions

ThisiswhereyouspendtimeonTwitter,onFacebook,onLinkedIn,Google+connectingwithpeopleandovertimebuildingthoserelationshipsthatwillgetyouthelinkspossiblythroughoneoftheseotherformsorjustthroughthefriendlinessofthemnoticingandliking,andenjoyingyourcontent.Thatiswhatcontentmarketingisallabout!Allofthisisveryimportantandarereallygreatwaystostart,buttheyarenotshort-termwins.Mostofthesethingsrequireeffort,investmentoftime,energy,creativity,goodcontent,andsomeauthenticityinyourmarketingversusalotofthestuffthattemptspeopleveryearlyon.

Itisnotlikeyouwilljustgooutthereandinstantlylinkupwith500linksandallofasuddeneveryoneisworkingtogetherhappily,thereismuchmoreworkthanthat.Almostalllowqualitydirectorieshavespammymanipulativelinkprofiles.Plus,theywillnotevenshowthebrandnamesonthelist.

Stayawayfromthelowqualitydirectoriestheywillnothelpyouwithyourbusiness.Youmightwanttoalsoavoidarticlemarketingorarticlespinning,unlessyouknowhowitreallyworksitcanhurtyouwaymorethanhelpyouinthelinksworld.Onelastthingtobecautiousaboutaretheforums,openforums,becarefulofwhereyoudecidetoleavealink.Googlelooksatsitesthataregroupingwithabunchofbadsitesandwillpenalizethemfortheiractions.Atermforthisislinkfarms,essentiallythisiswhenpeoplearesettingupallthesedifferentsystemsoflinksthatpointtoeachotheracrosstonsofdomainsthatarecompletelyartificialorlinkfornohumanreason,theyaretheremerelytomanipulatetheengines,Googledoesnotlookontotheseverynicely.

AppendixB–SEOResourcesTherearemanyfreeresourcesforSEOontheInternet.Hereisafewofthemthat

Ifindmostvaluable,productive,orunique.

BestSEOBlogsTheworldofSEOisconstantlychangingbecausesearchenginesconstantlychangetheiralgorithms.Theseblogshelpyoutokeepuponthelatestnews,information,andtipsaboutSEO.

1. SearchEngineLand(SearchEngineLand.com)–OneofthemostwellrespectedsearchengineandSEOnewswebsite.

2. SearchEngineGuide(SearchEngineGuide.com)–AblogwithaheavyfocusonSEOforsmallbusinesses.

3. SearchEngineWatch(SearchEngineWatch.com)–Oneoftheoldestblogsoutthere.

4. OnlineMarketingBlog(TopRankBlog.com)–AgreatmixofSEO,PR,andsocialmediaarticles.

5. MattCutts(MattCutts.com)–ThisisablogbytheheadofGoogle’sWebSpamteam.Whenhetalks,youbetterlisten.

6. SearchEngineJournal(SearchEngineJournal.com)–ThisisonethatIpersonallyfollow.

7. GoogleBlog(GoogleBlog.BlogSpot.com)-Google’sofficialbloghowevertheyonlydiscusseverythingrelatedtoGoogle.

8. Traffick(Traffick.com)–AblogwithastrongfocusonPPC.

SEOInformationResourcesBlogscanbeyourmainsourceofinformation,howevertheydon’tcovereverything.Usuallythelatestchanges.IfyouaregoingtostartfromthebeginningofSEO,herearesomegoodresourcesaswellassomeuniqueresources.

1.MarketingTerms(MarketingTerms.com)–Thissitehasadictionarywhichwillhelpyouunderstandallofthemarketingtermsyouruninto.

2.Google’sSEOGuidelines(google.com/webmasters/seo)–Google’stakeonSEOaswellastheirrulesandastarterguide.

3.SEOChat(SEOChat.com)–HereyoucanfindaweeklySEOvideoandmoreinformation.

4.SearchEngineColossus(SearchEngineColossus.com)–Hereyoucanlearnthatthereisalotmoresearchenginesthanyoumayknowof.Thisisaplacewhereyoucanfindthemall.

5.WebProNews(WebProNews.com)–InformationandvideointerviewsfromSEOexpert.

SEOToolsIfyouarenotcheatinganddoingSEOrightitisaverytimeconsumingprocess.Thesetoolswillnotonlymakeyourlifeeasier,butthey’llhelpyouunderstandwhatyouneedtodoandhowtorankwellonsearchengines.

1.SEOAudits(SEOAudits.com)–Atooltocheckyourwebsiteformechanicsissues,browsercompatibility,SEOissuesandmuchmore.

2.AccuQuality(AccuQuality.com)–BestwebsiteanalysistoolIhaveeverused.Theyrun450testsoneverypagewhichinincludeW3Ccompatibility,errors,codeviolations,browsercompatibility,linkproblems,SEO,andtheyevenspellcheckeverypageandprovideareport.

3.SubmissionComplete(SubmissionComplete.com)–Averyaffordabletooltosubmityourwebsitetoallthemajorsearchenginesanddirectories.

4.WebsiteSubmitter(WebsiteSubmitter.org)–Anotheraffordabletooltosubmityourwebsitetoallthesearchenginesandmajordirectories.

5.SpyFu(SpyFu.com)–Thissitewillhelpyouunderstandwhatsearchtermsyourcompetitionisusingorisadvertisingwithandhowwelltheyaredoing.

6.Wordtracker(WordTracker.com)–Youdon’thavetowonderhowpopularkeywordsandphrasesare.

7.GoogleToolbar(toolbar.google.com)–ThistoolbarwillshowyouwhatyourGooglePageRanknumberisandmuchmore.(SeeChapter1formoreinformationontousethistool.)

8.GoogleWebmasterTools(Google.com/webmasters/tools)–Itseemsthistoolgetsmoreandmoreimportant.Youcannowseethekeywordspeoplefindyoursitewith,errorsonyourwebsite,submitanXMLsitemap,andsoonyouwillbeabletoseeifyourwebsitehasduplicatecontentsomewhereontheInternet.

9.AdWordsKeywordPlannerTool(adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal)–Althoughyoumightnotbelookingtopayfortraffic,thistoolwillgiveyouagoodideaofhowmanyclicksyoucangetfromGoogleandhelpyouwithyourkeywordresearch.

10.KeywordSpy(KeywordSpy.com)–ThistoolcanbeusedtoseewhatyourcompetitorsareusingforKeywordsandPPC.

SEOForumsSometimesyouaregoingtobeunsureofwhattodo.Thebestthingtodowhenthishappensistoasksomeoneforadvice.ThroughforumsyoucancommunicatewithotherSEOsoraskquestions..

1.HighRankingsForum(HighRankings.com/forum)–AgoodcommunitywithalotoffriendlySEOstohelpyou.

2.WebmasterWorld(WebmasterWorld.com)–ByfaroneoftheoldestandwellknownSEOforums.

3.DigitalPointForum(forum.digitalpoint.com)–OneofthelargerforumsintheSEOworld.

4.SearchEngineWatch(forums.SearchEngineWatch.com)–Almost60,000SEOsdiscusssearchrelatedstuffhere.ThisisonethatIuseandhighlyrecommend.

SEOConferencesAgoodwaytolearnSEOisinperson.Goingtoconferenceswon’tjustkeepyouup-

to-dateontheSEOworld,butitwillallowyoutolearnfromsomeofthemostsuccessfulSEOs.

1.PubCon(PubCon.com)–ThisconferencestartedfromtheWebmasterWorldforum.NotonlywillyoulearnaboutSEO.ItisheldinLasVegasandAustinTexasonceperyear.UsuallyOctoberorNovemberinLasVegasandinAustininMarch.

2.SMX–Thisisbyfarthelargestoftheconferencesandareheldallovertheworld.

AppendixC–Pandavs.Penguin

Pandavs.Penguin

TheTitanic’sOfAlgorithmUpdatesfromGoogleDuring2011andthrough2016thebiggestGoogleupdatestotheiralgorithmthat

decidesorganicplacementofwebsitescontinuetochangeandscarewebsiteownersandSEO’salike.Tosomeitseemshardtoovercomethechallengesthesetwoalgorithmchangescreateandsomehavefounditstressfulandhardtoovercome.IspeakalloverthecountryatmanyindustryshowsandIopenmyforumsupforquestions.ThenumberonequestionsfrombusinessownersandtheirmarketingpersonsarewhatdoIneedtodotofixmywebsitetogetitbacktowhereitusedtobeinthesearchengineindexes?

GooglehasmadeitnosecretwhatyouneedtodotostayupatthetopandifyoufollowGoogle’sownWebmasterGuidelinesyouwon’tbehurtbyanyoftheseupdates.Ifyouareaffected,understandingthereasonsbehindeachupdate,helpstoknowhowtofixyourwebsiteifitisaffectedbyPandaorPenguinortheirupdates.

ThePandaUpdate

ThePandaAlgorithmanditsmanyupdatesmaingoalistogetgreatcontentandgetwebsiteownerstorenewtheircontentsoitisfreshandrich.AsecondgoalinthePandaupdateistomakesurethatduplicateorsimilarcontentdoesn’texistanywhereelseontheInternet.PartofwhatGooglehashadtodealwithispeoplewhovisittheirsearchenginenottrustingtheresultstheyget.

Imagineyouaredrivinginacarandyouaregoingtoastoretobuysomething.Whenyougetthere,youpushonthedoorandnoticethedoorislocked.Youlookthroughthewindowandyouseenothingbuttrashonthegroundbecausethecompanyhasgoneoutofbusiness.

ThethirdandmostimportantgoalofthePandaalgorithmistomakesureyourwebsitestaysfresh.Itwantstoseethatthetextonallyourrankingpagesisupdatedaminimumofeverysixmonthsoryouwilldropintheresults.

OntheInternet,howdoyouknowifabusinesshasgoneoutofbusiness?Youmaybebuyingsomethingfromawebsitethatcanstillcollectmoneybutthereisnoonetheretoshipyouwhatyouordered.Itisatrustissue.Googlewantstoknowyouarestillinbusiness.Itdoesthisinamultitudeofways.Firstbyknowingyourecentlyrefreshedorupdatedcontentonyourwebsiteandanupdatedcopyrighttagwiththeyearyourcompanywasestablishedandthecurrentyearisjustastart.

Copyright2001-2016(Makesurethisisonyourhomepage.)

NextGooglehasprovenitgotsmarterandwantstomakesureyourcontentisuniqueandnotfoundsomewhereelseontheInternet.Googlewantstomakesureyouknowthatyouarenotdoingyourselfanyfavorsstealingsomeoneelse’scontentandputtingitonyourownwebsite.Googlewilldegradetherankingorplacementofbothwebsites.AgoodwaytocheckifyouhavecopiedorsimilarcontentfromtheInternetistocheckyourURL’satwww.copyscape.com.

ThePenguinUpdateThePenguinupdatehasatotallydifferentfocus.Ittargetsthosewhotrytopullthe

wooloveronGoogle.Ifyouhaveeverheardof“BlackHat”techniquesforgettinguponGoogleyouknowthatthosearetechniquesthatviolateGoogle’sWebmasterGuidelinesincludingthosethattrytoSPAMGoogle.Thiscanbemanythingsincludingkeywordstuffing,hiddentext,cloaking,linksSPAM,andmuchmore.

GooglehasstoppedcheckingformanyitemsfromtheiralgorithmsthatGooglevirtuallyoutlawedovertheyears.Theseitemswhentheywerecheckedforheavilywereconsider“BlackHatSEOtactics”.PreviouslyusingthosetechniquescouldeasilygetyoubannedfromGoogleandpeoplestoppedusingthem.OvertimeGoogleremovedcheckingforsomeofthosetechniquesintheiralgorithmsmostlikelytoconcernprocessingpower.

Overtime,somepeoplerealizedbyaccidentorbyresearchthatusingthesetechniqueagainactuallyhelpedtheirpositiononGoogleandtherewasvirtuallyneverapenalty.Wordgotaroundandpeoplestartedusingthesetechniquesinhugenumberandprobablyprayingthisdaywouldnevercome.ThedaywhenGoogleputthepenaltiesbackintheiralgorithm.

KeywordStuffingKeywordstuffingwasoneoftheoriginaloptimizationtacticsandoneofthefirstfor

Googletopenalize.Youwanttoputwordsonyourwebsitespagesthatyouwanttobefoundfor,however,whenyouputit25timesinarowyougetintrouble.Infactnowwhenitismorethanafewtimesinarowyoucangarnerapenalty.Asaruleyoushouldneverplacethesametextonapagemorethanonce.

HidingTextThereareseveralwaystohidetextsuchasmakinghiddentextbymakingthetext

thesamecolorasthebackground,makingtexttosmall,coveringtextwithapictureusingDIVtags,hidingtextwithCascadingStyleSheets(CSS),andmanymore.Thosearejustexamplesofthemostcommonways.

Googleandothersearchenginesdon’tlikeanythinghiddenonawebpage.Theircrawlerswanttoseeeverythingthatavisitorsees.Whenawebsiteownerplacescontentjustforthesearchengines,they’reoftengoingtoextremes.

ThegeneralruletoavoidapenaltywiththePenguinUpdateistoneverhidetext,whetherbyusingstyles,fonts,display:nonetaggingoranyothermeansthatmeansatypicalusercan’tseeit.

CloakingCloakingisjustsophisticatedhiding.Therearemanywaystomakethewebsite

Howaboutriggingyoursitesothatsearchenginesareshownacompletelydifferentversionthanwhatthehumanvisitorssee?

That’scalledcloaking.Searchenginesreallydon’tlikeit.It’soneoftheworstthingsyoucoulddo.Whilemostpeopleareunlikelytoaccidentallyspamasearchengine,theoppositeistruewhenitcomestocloakingandGooglegivesaniceheftypenaltywhenyou’recaughtdoingit.

UnnaturalLinkBuildingTemptedtorunaroundanddropyourlinksonforumsandblogsallovertheweb,

perhapswiththehelpofautomatedsoftware?Don’tdoitandnext,don’tmakeyourlinkbuildingconsistent.WhatdoImeanbythis?Sayforexample,youhaveabudgetof$1,000permonthandyoupaysomeonetobuild50articleswithlinkspermonthcreatingasetamountoflinkseachweekoreachmonth.WhenGooglelooksatyourlinkgrowth,whatthey’llnoticeisthatyourlinkcountisgrowingbythesamenumbereachmonth.

Thistypeofislinkgrowthisabsolutelyunnatural,particularlyifyou’rebuyingallthelinksfromthesamesource.It’seasyforGoogletonoticethistypeofpaidlinkbuildingbecauseGoogleissmart.Don’tmakeiteasyforGoogletofindapatterninyourlinkbuilding.

PaidLinksThesearelinksyoupayforonawebsiteoryoupaysomeonetomakeforyou.If

youhaven’theardthenationalnewsstoriesofJCPenney’sorOverstock.comgettingblacklistedforbuyinglinksyouneedtovisittheNewYorkTimes.comandWallStreetJournal.comandread.

IfyouchoosetoignoreGoogle’sWebmasterPoliciesandbylinksfromoverseasorpaytobeonhighlyrankedsiteswhichyouarenotcontributingtoorourinyourownindustry,bepreparedforaquickdeathofyourwebsiteinthesearchrankings.Buyingtheselinkswillhelpyoutemporarilybutwhenyouarecaughtyouwillsuffer.Don’tbelievethesepaidlinkwebsiteswhentheysaythey’reundetectable.They’renot.

NOTE:Bing,officiallydoesn’tbanforpaidlinks,butitfrownsuponsuchpurchases.

ExactMatchAnchorTextonLinksStopbuildingexactmatchanchorlinks.Itisnowoneofthebiggestredflagsto

unprofessionalSEO.IfyouareaplumberinTampaandallyourlinkssay“TampaPlumber”andlinktoyourhomepage,Googlewilleventuallypunishyou.It’sjustnotnaturaltohavelinksthatareanexactmatchanchortexttoyourwebsite.Youshouldbediversifyingtheanchortexts,focusingmoreonlinksthatmentionyourbrandnameandlessonlinksthatmentionhavejustyourkeywordsinthem.

DebunkingthePandaandPenguinUpdateMythsSincethePandaandPenguinupdatescameoutIkeepalogofvirtuallyevery

personsopiniononwhatcausesandeffectstheseupdateshavehad.InmyownlineofworkasanSEOExpertIhavetotestandproveordisproveeachofthem.Let’stakealookateachoneoftheseandwhetherornotmyresearchconfirmedthetitleinboldornot.

ReviewYourWebsiteBasics—Makesurerobots.txt,XMLsitemaps,searchenginewebmasterregistrationswithGoogleandBingareup-to-date.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

DuplicateContent—Getridofduplicatecontentandcheckhttp://www.copyscape.comeachURLyouhaveonyourwebsitetomakesureyounoonehascopiedyou.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

MakesureyourwebsiteiscompatiblewithallbrowsersincludingIE,Firefox,Chrome,IPAD,IPOD,IPHONEandAndroid—IfGoogleisgoingtorankyourwebsitehighlyitbetterbecompatiblewithallthebrowsersoutthere.TheonlywayIknowoftestingthisisthrougheitherwww.SEOAudits.comorwww.AccuQuality.com.Notonlydotheyshowyouifyouarecompatibleornot,theirreportsalsotellsyouhowtofixeachissuetobecompatiblewitheachbrowser.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

GetRidofMetaorotherRedirects—YouhadGooglefooledupuntilnowbutmaybePenguinistellingyouthatGooglenowknowsaboutyourhiddenpageredirects.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

StopDeliveringContentBasedontheVisitorsIPAddress,User-agent,etc.—MaybeyourattemptstoservethebestcontenttopeoplebycountryarebeingmisinterpretedbyGooglewhothinksyouareaspammerandtryingtodeceivepeople!Stop!RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”YOUWILLBEPENALIZED.IFYOUWANTTOSERVEOTHERLANGUAGESANDCOUNTRIESGETADOMAINFORMTHEIRCOUNTRYANDHOSTITPROPERLY.

De-optimizetheWebsite—Ifyouhavebeen“optimizing”yourwebsitewithahighkeyworddensityandoverdidit.Makesureyourkeyworddensityisaround6%andnohigher.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

IncreaseGoodLinksPointingtoYourSite—Makesurethattheyarefromauthoritywebsitesinyourindustryonly.Don’tuseprofilelinksoranylinkyouhavetopayfor.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

AddMoreSocialButtons—Innormaltimes(Thepasttwoyears)upuntilnowaFacebook,Twitter,andbloglinkorwidgetwoulddojustfine.Thisisn’tthenormaltimesIwastalkingabout.AddGooglePlus,Google+1,andPintrest.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

MoveContenttoaNewDomain—IfyouhavebeenpenalizedbyGoogleyoucantryandgetGoogletoremovethepenaltiesbutresearchshowsitiseasiertostartwithanewdomainandignoretheolddomain.ThistimedoingthingsrightandinaccordancewithGoogle’sWebmasterPolicies.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

ReduceYourWebsiteFootprint—Youthinkthatbyremoving800ofthe1,000pagesonyourwebsitewillhelpyouovercomethePenguinpenalty….Myth.Addandkeepaddinggoodoriginalcontent.RESEARCHSAYS…”NO!”

WriteBetterContent—Writehumanreadablesentencesthatmakesense.Startwritingforhumansandbotsalike.Makethetextmakesensetoboth.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

StopExchangingLinksonYourWebsite—Absolutelynot.Exchanginglinksisagreatwaytobuildrankings.Butmakesureeachlinkhasrelevance.IfyouareinChicagoandyouareadentist,youcanexchangelinkswithotherbusinessesinChicago,otherdentists,insurers,ChamberofCommerce,othermedicaldoctors,etc.Youarestretchingitifyoutryandexchangealinkwithacarshippingcompany.RESEARCHSAYS…”NO!”

DoNotUseLowQualityLinkDirectories—Ifyouhavebeenbuyingeasy-to-get-intodirectories,ormakinglinksusingWPprofilesyouneedtostop.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

RemoveIrrelevantLinkstoandfromYourWebsite—Ifyoursiteisaboutcarshipping,youshouldnotbelinkingouttoWebsitesthataredealingwithdentalimplants.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

DecreasetheNumberofAdsonEachPage—IfyouhavebeenplacingalotofadvertisingoneachpageandthinkthismaybethecauseofthePenguinupdatepenalizingyou,It’snot.Don’tremovethe

advertising.RESEARCHSAYS…”NO!”

RemoveYourSponsoredLinks—IfyouhavebeensellingortradingahighvolumeoflinkstootherwebsitesandyouwereaffectedbyPenguinupdate,getridofyour“non-contextual”links.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

GetRidofSpammyBacklinks—IfyouhiredsomeoneinIndiatogiveyou10,000backlinks,Googlewantstoseethemgone.GooglewillalsocallyououtwithmessagesinyourWebmasterToolsaccount.Googleisgettingbetterandbetteratdeterminingwherelinkscamefromandthecheaplinksyoucangetfromthemhavemorenegativevaluethanpositiveinthelongrun.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

UseSoftwareGeneratedContent—Absolutelynot!Googlehasfigureoutthearticlespinningsoftwareandwillpenalizeyouforusingit.Getridofitnow!RESEARCHSAYS…”NO!”USEREALARTICLESMADEBYHUMANS.

GetRidofDeadorBrokenLinks—Googleisreallylookingatcodingandbrokenlinks.MorethanacoupleofbrokenlinkscanbedetrimentaltogoodrankingsonGoogle.YoumaywanttogetanSEOAudits.comorAccuQuality.comReporttofindouthowhealthyyourwebsitereallyis.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

UpdateYourBestContentFrequently—Refreshallyourcontentpagesatleastevery60to90daysforbestresultsonGoogleespeciallyifithasnotbeendonesincelastSeptemberwhenGooglecameoutwithaPandaupdatejusttomakesurecontentwasrefreshed.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

WriteLongerBlogArticles—Yourarticlesaretooshortandhavelessthan300-500wordsinthem.Writelongerblogarticles!RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

SendaReconsiderationRequest—AReconsiderationRequesttellsGooglethatyou’rereallysorryyoumadeorusedbadlinksandthatyouwillneverdoitagain.It’salongshotbutyouhavetodoitoryou’llremaininthepenalty.RESEARCHSAYS…”YES!”

AppendixD-ClickFraudClickFraudSayyouownawebsitethatallowsGoogleAdWordstoappearonthesite.

Knowingyoumakeaprofittheadsareclickedon,yougotothesitewheneverpossibleandclickontheads.Cha-ching!Moneyinyourpocket.Thiswouldbewhatisknownasclickfraud.

Sometimesclickfraudhappenswhenaperson,groupofpeople,orautomatedscriptclicksonPPCadvertisements.BecausetheconceptofPPCisthatadvertiser’spayeachtimesomeoneclicksontheirads,thisdrivesthecostofadshigherandhigherwithoutresultinginanyconversions.

Sometimesthereisnoimmediatemonetarybenefit.Forexample,yourcompetitionmightdoitjusttomakeyourcostshigher.SomeadvertisersalsobelievethatPPCproviderscommitandevenencourageclickfraudtodriveprofits.Thismightnotbesofarfromthetruth.SeveralcourtcaseshaveresultedinsettlementswhenPPCproviderssuchasGoogleandYahoo!weresuedforcontributingtoorallowingclickfraud.

UnlessalltheclickscomefromthesameIPaddress,it’shardtoprovethatclickfraudisactuallyhappening.Therearemanysoftwareprograms,calledclickbotsthatcancreateclicksfromwhatappeartobespoofedordifferentIPaddresses.

Inmanycases,thereareindicatorsofclickfraudsuchasaninflatednumberofclickswithoutconversions,clicksthatalloccurfromthesameIP,thesamecity,orifthetimeofclicksisunusual.Thesecanallbesignsofclickfraud.

AnothergoodindicatorformeiswhenthelevelofclicksfromGooglepartnerwebsitesaremorethanhalfthenumberofclicksontheactualGooglesearchenginewebsite.ThatisabigredflagformeandwhenthatstartshappeningIknowtoturnofftheadsonaffiliatewebsites.

Ifyoususpectthatyouarebeingtargetedbyclickfraud,immediatelycontactthefrauddepartmentofyourPPCprovider.Ifyoudon’treceivesatisfactoryresultsfromreportingtheactivity,thenyoushouldconsiderpursuingsometypeoflegalactionordiscontinuetheadsthataresuspect.

Clickfraudintheendcancostyourcompanythousands,eventensofthousands,ofdollarsandultimatelydestroyyourPPCadvertisingcampaignaltogether.Onlyclosemonitoringofyourstatsforanysignsofclickfraudwillhelppreventit.

Lookatthischartbelow.Becauseofconstantmonitoringwepickeduponwhatappearstobeanautomatedclickfraudondaytwoofthefraud.Lookatthefigure.Canyoutelltheday?

Wenoticedthedaythishappenedrightaway.WewenttoGoogletoseewheretheywereallcomingfromanditwasseveralaffiliatewebsites.Itwaseasytoseethehugeincreaseinclicks.Halfwaythroughthenextdayweeliminatedtheproblem.Ithurtinitiallybutatleastwedidn’tgobankruptnotknowingtheproblemwasthere.

ClickFraudIsaCrimeClickfraudisacrime,whetheryouarefalselyinflatingthenumberofclick-

throughsonPPCadseitherforpersonalgainorsimplyasawaytoharmthecompetition.

Inanefforttoinsulatethemselvesfromcriminalchargesandtocreateasmanyproblemsaspossible,someadvertiserswillemploywhatarecalled“clickbots.”ThesearesoftwareprogramsthatsearchforandclickonPPClinkstodriveupprices.These“clickbots”areusuallyautomatedandveryoftenalmostimpossibletotracebacktotheirowners.

Anotherformofclickfraudarecalled“Paid-to-Read”searchers,alsoknownasPTR’s.BusinessesactuallyhirereaderstoreadandclickthroughPPCadsonline.It’smuchhardertotrackmultipleindividualsthantotrackasingleindividualatonelocationusingrepetitiveactivityor“clickbots”tocommitclickfraud.

Searchenginesarebeingmadetoanswerforclickfraud,andtheassociatedcoststhatPPCusersarehavingtopaybecauseofit,causingsearchenginestocrackdownontheproblem.Ifyougetcaughtconductingaclick-fraudscheme,youcouldfacestoutfinesandpossiblyevenacriminalprosecutionthatcouldresultinjailtime.

TIP:IuseaspecialtoolcalledClickReport(www.clickreport.com)whichreporttheIPinformation,whereaclickcamefrom,andthekeywordusedtofindit.ItalsoletsmeknowwhenanIPhasclickedonmyadmorethanonce.IcanthenputthatIPintoeitherAdWordsorAdCentersIPExclusionlisttomakesurethatIPneverseesmyadagain

Index

Alexa 112

Bing 102

blogspamming 159

Blogs 144

bots 23,35,49

Breadcrumbs 151

CopyrightMetaTags 50

crawlers 23,35,47,49

DataHighlighter 73,74

del.icio.us 154

DisavowTool 147

DMOZ 110,111

Flash 34

GoodWebsiteLinks 144

Google 44,45,47,49,51,77,81,82,138,150

GoogleKeywordPlanner 36

GoogleWebmasterCentral 54

GoogleWebmasterTools 212,249

Googlebot 47

index 44,47,50

Keywords 34,49

linkfarms 161

Linking 150

LinkJacking 159

MetaLocationTags 49

MetaSubjectTag 49

Metatagging 43,44

Metatags 47,51

Microformats 99,115

nationalcampaigns 52

noindex 47

PageRank 138

PandaUpdate 252

Pandaupdates 155

PenguinUpdate 253,254,256

Penguinupdates 155

PPCcampaign 195,200,202

RankBrain 19,24,26

ranking 41,51,110

ReputationManagement 157,195,198,238

RichSnippet 75

richsnippets 74,115

RipoffReport 198

RSSFeed 130

scam 114

Schema.org 99,115

SearchEngineOptimization 5,21

searchengineresultspages 32

SERP 196

SERPs 32

SiteMap 231

sitemap.xml 231

SocialBookmarking 153

spiders 23,35,49

StructuredData 71

W3Ccompliance 107,115

XMLsitemap 249