My CMS

Tag: quality inbound links

  • Optimize For The Eyes, Nots The Bots

    I know the title sounds a little weird, but it rhymes, so it must be true.

    This was an article that I wrote for Andy Beal’s contest (PDF) a couple of years ago. Looking back, I would like to re-write it, as there are just a few points I would say differently now. I’m not too sure if I was trying to appeal to the audience, but some of the statements I made don’t really make sense.

    I was looking through some old posts to rehash and repost to appeal to the budding SEO or small business owner looking for information. This was an idea that I had, and still have, about the SEO process. Obviously, we are tasked to gain rankings, but there is a lot more to it; and getting too wrapped up in “rankings” can in fact end in us neglecting the bigger picture (which is creating and having better overall websites). So, I give you the updated version of an old article.

    What does ‘SEO’ mean? Search Engine Optimization, duh. No, no. What does it meeeaaan? It means ‘to optimize a site for search engines.’ Sigh. I guess that’s pretty close, but going with that thought alone can actually land you in a bit of trouble.

    We often talk on SEO and what the searchers are looking for, how they are acting, how to optimize a site, etc. But we often neglect a very important idea. Simply optimizing a site for the search engines isn’t really the best idea. If we do that and that alone, then we won’t likely find success in our business endeavor. We would then neglect our clients’ needs and/or any help that we might provide to the online community.

    Optimizing a site for the sole benefit of the search engines could result in spam or content that sounds too repetitive because we are trying to make sure our keywords are on the homepage a certain number of times to achieve ‘density.’ We may end up getting tons of links to and from areas that are less than acceptable because we keep thinking that ‘Link Popularity’ means ‘get as many as we can.’ We may end up in jail because every time we walk into Albertsons we keep hearing ‘It’s your store.’ So, what should we be doing?

    Yes, SEO means ‘to optimize a site for search engines,’ but we should be thinking of it as ‘optimizing a site, so as to show search engines what the site is about and how it can help the
    online community/consumer.’ If you have relevant copy on your site, you will likely be using your desired search terms sufficiently anyway. If you have relevant and helpful text on your site, you will get quality inbound links from other sites simply on merit. If you just remember that it’s just a jingle, your hands won’t become idle and attempt to steal your favorite candy bar.

    In closing, we shouldn’t be making and optimizing sites for the search engines alone. Consider the site and its visitors. Given proper content and quality, the optimization-for-ranking efforts will get the visitors. Yes, optimize the site for the crawlers. Make sure you aren’t doing anything too spammy. Correct errors. Clean up the code. Make proper use of header tags and meta tags. But do this for your visitors, not just the search engines. The search engines will love you for it.

    With this, and any other post, please read the disclaimer.

  • SEO Factor Blog

    October 6, 2006 I know there is a lot on this blog, but it just started and I want to get a lot of the basics on here so we can start to get into the good stuff. I’m also gonna try to categorize the basics so that we can reference them as needed. So now I want to talk about link popularity. We will discuss the basics of this, then get into the coding anchor tags so hold on to your butts…it’s gonna be fun. Google, as stated many times, wants to make the Internet “easier and more organized.” This is a big debate lately as some results they provide are lacking in both of those areas, but that’s what they are trying to do according to them. One thing Google does is look at how the rest of the community feels about you. Let’s say I sell cars. I post a sign, but my lot is far back from the road and hard to see. Well that kinda sucks, how am I gonna sell cars this way. So I go to my local repair shop one day, and talk with the manager. I say “Dude, if you get a customer that comes in, and needs a new car, why not send them my way.” So Mr. repair guy is cool with that. So this brings me a few customers, and as time goes by, my customers refer me to more customers. Well one day, the mayor of SEO Town gets his car repaired, and is told about my lot. He gets a shiny new car for his daughter. Wow. The mayor now knows about my lot and liked my service. He tells all his friends. This will bring in a lot more customers. And these customers will spend more money because they are higher in our food chain. The mayor happens to have a cousin in a major car manufacturing plant. When he finds out about me, I get a ton more business. Who wouldn’t buy a car from a place that was referred to by the car maker? This is great and dandy, but my lot is still so removed from the road. And then it happens. The state newspaper does a poll and everyone in SEO Town refers my lot as the best car sales lot around. So the paper gives me all sorts of space in the periodical. Now, everyone that picks up the paper will see me. Now, I can afford a new lot with a better location, and even some advertising. I’m gonna sell many much cars. This is Google. Google is the newspaper and everyone one of these customers is another site. Some of those referrals from these other sites definitely helped, but when the car manufacturer (a very “important” site) decided to plug me, I got a lot more attention, especially when Googled asked about me. You want a link on other pages that point to your site. This is link popularity. But more importantly, you want links on other pages of sites that are relevant and rank well. This is quality inbound links. This will help in online business in 2 ways. First, for a while you will get hits from that other site and probably some business if it’s a good site and people trust them. Second, after a while Google will crawl the Internet and see that all these relevant, well-ranking sites link to you. Google will say “Dude, this guy must totally be werd up.” (That’s really how Google talks. Really) Now, a link is not a link. You could have a banner on someone’s site, and that will bring traffic, but not help in Google like it could. What you want is a “text link.” This is just a simple link with no pictures or frills. And here is the reason. This is what a link looks like in HTML: My Site This is technically called an anchor tag. All that will show on the site is the ‘My Site’ part, but will likely be underlined and can be clicked to go to the ‘http://www.wspseoguy.webword.com’ site. Now, look at the ‘My Site’ part. This is what everyone will see and will be real text on the site, so also what the search engines will see. You would really want this to be a search term. So maybe SEO Service would be more appropriate since I would want to be found by that term if I were optimizing this blog to be found when someone types “seo blog.” You will want as many of these out there, and really target sites that are relevant and rank well. Well what the hell, SEO Guy? How do I get these links. My customer will be clueless. Well, I can’t give away a bunch of secrets. Perhaps the next thing we will talk about is directories, but for now I’m really tired so let’s do it like this. Do a search for the terms you would like to be found under in Yahoo!, Google, and MSN. See all those results? Those are potential link partners. Every website has/ should have a contact e-mail address of some sort. Send them an e-mail. Tell them what you’re site is all about. Make sure to have a link to their site first, and ask if they would be cool with linking to you. Most sites are all to obliged to do this, and some even have a form that you will simply need to fill out, automating the process. You should shoot for the relevant sites for the first three pages on the results. Then, go to their “links” page if they have one. See all those links? Those are likely already link partners and have a higher chance of being willing to become link partners with you. Obviously this is SEO. There is a little more to it sometimes, and there are tricks you can do to legitimately get links. One thing I would like to warn against is “Link Farms” or “webrings” or any service that can guarantee “thousands of quality links in minutes,” or anything like that. These are not quality, never legit, and will almost always be frowned upon and known by Google.

    I love you all. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

    The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://www.seo-factor.com/Blog/bblog/trackback.php/6/

    Line and paragraph breaks automatic, HTML allowed:

  • SEO Factor Blog

    October 7, 2006 One of the terms used a great deal in the SEO industry is “PageRank.” PageRank is basically Google’s way of telling how “important” a page is. It is often thought that a good PageRank will inherently mean a good ranking. This is not so…sorta.

    Google’s PageRank is determined primarily on quality inbound links, sometimes called “Link Popularity.” There is a neat little explanation of the algorithm used to determine PageRank here for all you math enthusiasts out there. It’s a good read, but gets deep. One thing on this. For your PR to increase, the site linking to you will need to have a good ranking and be a relevant website.

    Now, PR does not mean that you will rank higher in Google, it just means that you have the proper criteria for inbound links, which means you will rank higher in Google. Funny huh? There is a lot of debate on whether you should consider a website’s PR before exchanging links with them. Nobody can give an exact answer for sure, because nobody knows. I can tell you that considering the algorithm, and logic, the theory is sound to me.

    I do indeed use the PR as a way of seeing if my SEO methods are working. Not the first way, and not the most important, but a way. You can check your, and other site’s PR with Google’s Toolbar.

    RSS feed for comments on this post.

    The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://www.seo-factor.com/Blog/bblog/trackback.php/13/

    Leave a Comment

    Line and paragraph breaks automatic, HTML allowed: