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  • SEOMoz Is A Scam!! » SEO Factor

    « Example of a Google Penalty – I’m Back » 12 June 2007

    Well….not really. But that seems to be the sentiment felt by a lot of posters over at Digital Point. There is a big uproar over the Page Strength Tool that SEOMoz offered for some time to show various metrics of a given site. After a while, the bandwidth and queries to the search engines became a bit much, and they had to scale things back to offer a once-a-day use unless you are a premium member (in which case you can run as many reports as you desire). Here is where the problems comes in…

    Some are a little upset that SEOMoz was using this tool as a sort of bait and switch, forcing those that want to use the tool to sign up for their premium membership.

    As I so blindly do on far too many occasions, I’m going to give my opinion.

    First, the tool required time and effort on the part of the members of SEOMoz to create and implement, and merely it’s use thereafter requires further effort as scraping the engines for information requires the use of many IP addresses. So, they were cool enough to offer it on an unlimited basis at first, and then saw the incredible return it brought, preventing them from being able to support it on such a large scale. Now, they still let you use it once a day if you aren’t a member, and unlimited if you are.

    Everyone is upset that “they are charging for the use of this tool.” Actually, that’s not the case at all. The premium membership brings more of a benefit than just the PS tool. You also get access to very useful articles, a number of other tools, recently a Q&A section where a member can ask a question and, even to my surprise, get a very timely and intelligent answer from a panel of experts that have been in (and are very successful at) the business.

    The members of Digital Point that have a problem with the Page Strength tool are going so far as to push it to be included in the Quick Buck Crew, a “place where Internet scammers get exposed.”

    I’ve been in the Internet biz for quite a large chunk of my young life. A lot of the learning you are forced to do is almost completely reliant on your self motivation and research. When I happened upon the world of SEO, SEOMoz was one of the first places I found that had a community feel, and the members of their team have been nothing but helpful to me. There were times, however rarely, that I was completely confused on a subject, and when I asked a number of forums and other blogs, was met with horrible, unsubstantiated answers. It wasn’t until I got to a ‘Mozzer’ that I received a competent explanation that was actually tested and/or experienced.

    Add to that the invaluable information they provide by disclosing aspects of running an SEO business (or any business for that matter), and I can easily say they were, and are, one of the top 5 most helpful and beneficial group of people I have ever had the pleasure to not even meet, and I gladly pay my monthly premium membership payment.

    So head over to Quick Buck Crew, and voice your opinion. Unless you think they are scammers. Then don’t go over there

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  • Header Tags and SEO » SEO Factor

    « A Free (sorta) .EDU Link – New Service » 2 July 2007

    I recently got to have discussions with a few other SEO’s, and there was a topic dear to my heart that became the highlight in discussion. That was the importance of H tags. It so happens that some SEO’s do not hold the header tags as important at all, even discounting their use all together. This brought on a great conversation (I don’t get to speak face-to-face with other SEO’s, so even a disagreement is exciting to me) about optimization and navigation, to which I had very different views.

    Before I declare my opinion on how effective header tags are, let’s show those who are unfamiliar what they are.

    A header tag is an HTML function that creates a larger, bolder font. These are delimited in HTML with

    through

    , with

    being the largest. It’s most common to use

    ’s or

    ’s at the top of a page, giving a noticeable “header,” and using some of the lower forms for sub-headers throughout the page. There used to be a large weight (this was some time ago) given to the terms wrapped in these tags, but not anymore.

    You see, there are elements of on-page optimization that have been abused in the past, and their weight reduced. This seems to be the case with the header tag. You will not get to page one in Google with good header tags. However, that is not why I say that they are important.

    I argued that the use of proper header tags is important for 2 reasons. First, usability. I’m a big fan of simplicity. A user should be able to barely glance at a page to decipher their current location in a site’s infrastructure. This can be even more important the larger the site. A nice header at the top can help a

    Second, there still is (in my opinion) a little weight given to their use. Even if it’s the most minute amount of credit, it is credit still, and every bit helps. The idea is to properly structure a site, with proper titles, and use the H tags accordingly to navigation and that page’s subject matter.

    I suggest the use of headers for these 2 reasons. And to be quite honest, I can’t think of anyone who disagrees. But be sure to use them for their intended purpose. If it seems as if the headers are used simply for ranking (wrapping every keyword in H tags with no coherant reason) then you may actually be penalized. I’ve only seen it once, and we couldn’t be completely sure that it was the cause, but you shouldn’t optimize solely for the engines anyway.

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  • SEO Chicks » SEO Factor

    « The Concerns Of An SEO – WordPress Optimization » 8 June 2007

    Ahh…nothing is more appealing to a young male than the idea of a beautiful AND smart woman…or “chick.” A brand new (brand new is a relative term) site for SEO Chicks and by SEO chicks was recently created by Lisa Ditlefsen and Anita Chaperon over some of the drinky drinky, and soon included Julie Joyce.

    I really don’t want to take away from the validity of this blog, and I will indeed be adding it to my sources of information (they’ve gotten themselves a strong team with SEO specialists and a “real world” marketer), but it’s Friday, I’m tired from Email Marketing research (if I here the word “autoresponder” one more time, I’m going to punch something), and I want to make it a light day.

    So, I want to showcase an image of Rand from SEOMoz wearing an SEO Chick shirt:

    Nice. Now that’s hot….I mean….ummm….crap….

    2 Responses to ‘ SEO Chicks ‘

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  • SEO It’s Own Downfall? » SEO Factor

    « Selecting Quality Keywords for Qualified Traffic – SEO Industry Survey » 23 April 2007

    Poking around my usual blogs brought me to Aaron Wall, who in turn wrote on an article by John Andrews (both incredible SEO’s and business men in many respects).

    The gist is, that because there are so many firms out there offering a much lower priced, lower quality service, that the industry as a whole suffers, and will continue to do so. John cites that:

    “…As “boiler-room” SEO firms cold-call companies and pitch ridiculously low prices for SEO contracts, based on old and incorrect SEO information readily accessible to consumers, high quality SEO firms start looking “too expensive”…”

    On this point I can’t agree more. It’s very obvious, from our clients’ stories alone, that there are a plethora of ill-advised/ill-advising SEO firms out there raking in clients by the loads.

    Think about how nice “The top of Google in days for only $39.95!” sounds. Pretty nice.

    However, in regard to the industry as a whole, John also stated:

    “This puts the prospective SEO client at a distinct disadvantage, and provides an opportunity for the contract-seeking “snake oil SEO salesman” to close a deal at a good profit, often without realistic accountability or other consumer safeguards in place.”

    This is the part I have to disagree with. Yes, there are a lot of companies and freelancers alike providing a bad service. Again, I get stories everyday about “such-and-such company that ripped me off.” And some of them are pretty bad. But our industry is a new one. It was just 1995 that Danny Sullivan opened the world’s eyes to the idea of search and it’s technology; and I can remember 3 years ago trying to explain what SEO was in the first place. 2 years ago I had to fight how SEO was important. Last year, we started to not only get into the SEO with a client, but discussions on online marketing and Internet exposure as a full on business strategy.

    Maybe we are very lucky (and believe me, that’s not it) but I’ve seen clients that are pretty savvy themselves. As time goes on, and more attention is given to the idea that there are firms out there that offer a dis-service, I think our clients will also become more aware. I don’t believe SEO will be it’s own downfall, but I do believe that SEO’s will be forced to offer services on more than a fake contract basis. There better be some return for our clients.

    One Response to ‘ SEO It’s Own Downfall? ‘

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  • Description Tag Optimization » SEO Factor

    « CSS and Google – 301 Redirect Those Old URL’s » 18 May 2007

    Following in suit with all the SEO title posts I’ve been providing lately, I will discuss the description today. Though the meta tags has a whole have decreased in value, the description is still important from a marketing standpoint (MSN does seem to give a little weight to the description, so optimization of such is necessary, but don’t stress too much over that part). Most often, the description tag will appear just below the clickable link (which is usually the title tag) in the SERP’s.

    This is important to remember for a couple of reasons. The description is your first “sales pitch” to a potential customer. It should be concise, and call the searcher to action. Also, the words searched for will be in bold, bringing more attention to the description. See below for an example on how our description for the meta tag optimization page shows in Google:

    So you can see how it would be important to showcase your target search terms in the description, and make it clickworthy.

    The description does have a max length. It seems that Google is being the shortest, at about 150 – 160 characters. It’s not always the same number, but you should be aware of this as too long of a description can result in a mixed message to a searcher.

    So for those descriptions, keep them short, sweet, and enticing.

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  • 301 Redirect Those Old URL’s » SEO Factor

    « Description Tag Optimization – Beginning SEO Podcast by Lee Odden » 22 May 2007

    Today I consulted on an issue that comes up all the time, but I don’t think I have ever blogged about it. 301 Redirects. More specifically, in reference to moving a site to a new domain name.

    For whatever reason, you want to change the domain name of the site, but need to keep the link juice, traffic from bookmarks, and the rankings gained by the old domain name. The way to do this is with the use of a 301 redirect. This is a method used in the .htaccess file in the root directory of your website. A 301 redirect tells a visiting browser (and therefore search engines), that “the site has moved forevers and evers, and it is now here.”

    In reference to the ranking and link juice, the amount of time for recuperation can vary. I’ve experienced as little as a week, and as long as 2 months. Mind your SE’s and O’s and you should be fine.

    This is the only acceptable way of redirecting in the eyes of a search engine. I say “acceptable” because, skilled black hatters aside, the search engines will not play well with other methods, and will likely penalize or drop the site all together with the use of other methods.

    So, how do we implement a 301 redirect correctly? Like so:

    • Navigate to your website’s root directory (this is normally where your index file is)
    • Look for a file called .htaccess (notice that there is no extension)
    • If there isn’t one, open notepad, and make one (again, be mindful that there is no extension)
    • In the .htaccess file, write this:

    Redirect 301 /old.com http://www.newsite.com

    Notice we are saying Redirect of a 301 type from the /old.com to http://www.newsite.com. Pretty simple, huh? Make sure of a few things. First, that you are not including the whole URL in the first part, but are in the second; also, that you are including a single space between the old site and new site.

    Well, because that was so simply and quickly explained, I would like to explore a few reasons why we would want to do this.

    One of the most common these days (the days of social and viral marketing) is that you made some marketing efforts that will bring much to a domain in the way of hits, diggs, and then links. Well, eventually that marketing effort will pass, and the need for that page will likely fade. So why not take advantage of all those links you got, and send them to another of your pages?

    Maybe you decided that the domain name you had before didn’t mesh well with your company name, or the domain name you have been waiting to become available has finally done so. Pick up the new domain name, and 301 redirect it to the old (or vice versa if you are wanting to get that one ranked).

    I also want to discuss a few of the methods that are not accepted by the search engines.

    You can make use of a “meta redirect,” by placing the necessarry code in the head of your site. Doing so allows you to set the amount of time before the browser redirects to the new page. This will provide the browser with the 200 OK status on both of the pages. This causes a problem because the search engine will want to index both of those pages. You could (if you were so inclined) setup a whole bunch of text and meta for whatever terms you wanted for the benefit of a search engine, and direct the “real” visitor to the page you want. As such, this method will get the/both sites penalized in most cases.

    You can do the “sneaky javascript” thing, but as you can see from that link (it’s an old method, obviously) it’s a bad idea. There are a few updated methods, but I’m not too well versed in those areas. You think SEO is tricky? Try being a skilled Black Hat; Now that’s hard work.

    I hope this helps with any questions regarding 301 redirects. If you have anymore, please feel free to comment or let me know.

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  • Book Review – SEO: An Hour A Day » SEO Factor

    « Week In Review 4/30 – 5/04 – Analytics Gallore » 7 May 2007

    I have always hated books with the “An hour a day,” or “in 24 hours” in the title. Being so nerdy and technical in nature, I sometimes cower in the presence of something too simply explained. However, this wasn’t the case with “SEO: An Hour A Day” written by Gradiva Couzin and Jennifer Grappone. The thing with SEO And SEM, is that once you start learning, you are forever on an upwardly mobile course; learning new and more complicated aspects almost everyday. It isn’t often that you re-read something that is tagged “for beginners.”

    If you’re like me, you love seeing how others approach SEO and Internet marketing. That being said, that isn’t likely to be found with this book. It is indeed very beginner oriented, following the common “read this chapter today, and the next tomorrow” format. It’s a little hard for me to be critical of that fact because I assumed this going in. However, there were a few things that I didn’t count on from a beginner book that actually made me very happy.

    There are obviously some very tricky aspects to optimization that can not be explained in a matter of a few sentences. I think they were conveyed so easily in this book in fact, that someone who had never heard of SEO would be able to grasp such ideas. With inserts giving real world examples and actual past cases (with identifying information changed, of course) one such beginner could quickly asses some basic problems and find solutions for them.

    I also give a very large ‘Kudos’ to the fact that a lot of the book covered SEO in a fashion that wouldn’t make it obsolete next year. It’s difficult to write something, send it to an editor, have it printed, published, and distributed, and still expect the information to be pertinant to such an ever changing world.

    I have know read three “beginner” SEO books (In print, not online books), and this one was by far the best. If you are just starting your walk down the SEO road, I really suggest looking into this one. You can get a copy here (Affiliate Link). If you have been reading on SEO or have been involved for any length of time, you may not get a lot of new information from it. However, again, it’s always neat to see how other professionals organize and implement their methods. You may also find some use out of the spreadsheets they provide in conjunction with the book, which can be viewed here.

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  • SEO Tools | Reference | Resources » SEO Factor

    Through consulting with clients and the need for more information and resources ourselves, we often end up creating our own tools or resources. Over time, we will be able to post our articles and tools here for use by anyone.

    If you have any ideas, comments, or questions on any of the information here, please feel free to let us know. Also, if you need the Adobe Reader, you can download it here.

    Disclaimer: Some of these may have links to the product, giving me credit for any purchases. This certainly will not effect any reviews written.

    Reference

    Article and Press Release Distribution List
    Word | PDF

    List of 40+ Social Bookmarking Sites – A little list provided by Mr. SEO of a bunch of social bookmarking sites.

    Books

    Search Engine Optimization: An Hour A Day

    One of the better of the beginner books I’ve read, this one will offer not only examples, but real world cases that the authors have encountered, giving you just a bit more to base your new SEO strategy on. They also provide you with a plethora of spreadsheets, email examples, and documents on the sister site to the book. You can read the whole review here, and purchase it from Amazon here.

  • SEO Factor Blog

    November 2, 2006 To continue with my recent rants on alt tags, their importance, and proper use, I wanted to further my stance on this subject with Google backing me.

    Google has been, and continues to work on “Google Accessible,” a Google search engine built specifically for the seeing impaired. It will rely a lot on the same ranking procedures as Google, with the exception of the heavy weight given to sites that are easily conveyed to the vision impaired. This can include making the pages easy to read, preventing visual clutter, and yes, proper use of the alt tags.

    On a personal note, this is a great thing for our online community. I really like seeing Google push further for the better of the Internet by accommodating the needs of not only the mass population, but those with disabilities as well.

    Professionally, this, with the impending suit against Target, will only help to validate my argument that this is a subject to be taken, and dealt with seriously.

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  • SEO Factor Blog

    November 1, 2006 I was recently posed the question, “Can any SEO company truly be white hat?” Though some very valid points were argued that the answer is no, I stand by my answer of “yes.” First, the definitions.

    Black Hat SEO – Search Engine Optimization techniques and methods which fall outside of the guidelines issued by the Major Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. This can include hidden text, bad redirects, participation in link farms, etc.

    White Hat SEO – Search Engine Optimization techniques and methods used to modify a site so that a search engine will more easily crawl and index it.

    I think these definitions are a bit simple, and with enough conversation the line separating the two can become very blurred. One of the points argued was that of link popularity techniques. One of Google’s guidelines is as follows:

    • Don’t participate in link schemes designed to increase your site’s ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or “bad neighborhoods” on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.

    I was asked about my link-building / directory submission service, and how this rule applies. Well, it clearly states to not become involved in link schemes. These are very prevalent in the SEO industry. This is not the act of submitting to directories or approaching other relevant sites with a link exchange proposal. These “schemes” would be something to the tune of automated link exchanging software, or completely irrelevant links. Another of Google’s rules that was brought up was:

    • Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

    If I am optimizing a site, is this not exactly what I am doing? No. No it’s not. When optimizing a site, I am doing so to help provide a crawler friendly-environment for the search engines and building quality content to prove that the site is relevant and worthy of ranking, not tricking the search engines into thinking the site is something that it is not.

    So, in the end, I do in fact believe an SEO company can be completely white hat. I am one. I have worked for many, and I know of many. Unfortunately there are indeed a number of black hat SEO companies out there that do a wonderful job of ruining our name, but those are getting easier to spot by the day. And the online community is becoming more educated and harder to fool.

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