Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Five Bad SEO Practices in this Blog


Confession, sometimes I do not take my own SEO advice. Because, flat out ---my advice takes work, work I can not justify, if my work is not making money. Which is something else to consider, if your site is not making money or satisfying it's purpose than what is the point?

Here are five naughty SEO habits that I have lazily adopted (that you should not):

1. Fail to do keyword research. How people will find you is based on what people look for. If you have not done your keyword and marketing research you are just writing and banking on random luck.

2. Random ads. I put ads in my blog for companies that I like or have had first hand experience with. But they are hardly on topic and are not audience specific.

3. Have not networked. As of yet, since this blog is still in its infancy, I have not networked. But if you are serious about your site, links in and market buzz is crucial.

4. Bad url name. It is helpful if your url uses relevant and search able words. My blog comes up number one if you type "seo jive" into Google, but since nobody knows what seo jive is, it is entirely useless.

5. Not enough time investment. The best bloggers I know spend quite a bit of time on their blog. Not just writing, but also researching and networking.

Author: Pamela S. Stevens, SEO Jive

Monday, June 25, 2007

10 Things that can Make your Visitors Not Trust You


In the Internet business you only have about three seconds to get and keep someone's attention and there is always another thousand sites just a short search away. So what are some things that may scare away your guests or make them doubt your customer service, your product or your motives?

1. You say "we are the best XXXX in the world." Everybody says that so it logically it cannot be true. Be more specific and honest, something like "we have more low-cost royalty free images than any other stock photography site," but write it only if is true and can be verified.

2. Your links do not work. One bad link and you will likely lose your visitor.

3. Your pages looks like a 90's flashback. If you site looks out dated visitors will think that it is not well maintained and that perhaps nobody will answer their emails or telephone calls after purchase.

4. Bad grammar, syntax and word usage. Poor content makes people think that either your quality is bad or that your product is from outside the US and than they worry about what kind of customer support they can get.

5. No telephone number is posted. Although email is an excellent communication technology, many would like to feel that they can call you up and talk to a real person.

6. Information is outdated. I have seen sites where the copyright at the bottom of the page has not been updated in years or the text says something like "now supports Windows XP."

7. You require a credit card for people to see the product. Many people do not like giving out their credit card number and if they cannot see the product before purchase they wonder if they are being duped. A good demo or trial version can make or break a sale.

8. You require a social security number. Though some industries can benefit from having a potential clients social security number, many are leery of giving out that kind of information online. If you need a SSN provide excellent security and offer visitors an alternative to entering in their SSN online, such as by phone.

9. You say your product is free but it is clearly not. This makes people feel tricked.

10. You have too many pop up ads. People really do not like pop up ads, they may be lucrative but they are never fun for the visitor and they distract the customer from your product.

Gaining visitor trust can be difficult. But if you keep your site up-to-date, high quality and free of malware, spyware, pop up ads and so on your visitors may think that you are upfront and attentive to your site.

Author: Pamela S. Stevens, SEO Jive

Sunday, June 24, 2007

What is the Best Keyword Density? The Keyword Tree


It seems that the percent of suggested keywords for a body of text is always changing. Is it 5%, 6%, 7%...?

Too many keywords makes your text look contrived and the search engines may think you are just keyword dumping if your use too many. So what is the ideal keyword usage percent?

To help writers manage their keyword content I use a metaphor. Once your keyword research is done you should have one or two main phrases that support your main topic, a few related terms and maybe some more outlying related terms. These keyword groups will form your keyword tree.

In the keyword tree the main keyword phrases form the trunk or base of the tree and comprise about 3-4% of the text. The related terms form the branches or less than 1% of the total text and your outlying related terms form the leaves and are likely only used once. The reason I keep the main phrases at less than 3 or 4% is because the tags, descriptions and other text on the page may push it up a bit and you do not want to be over 5%, so 3% should keep you in a safe range.

In the research I have done I have discovered that keyword saturation is not necessary. I have seen many high ranking pages that stay under 3%. You should check your competitors pages and try to be comparable to them and maybe beat them on some phrases they missed.

There are many keyword analysis tools that can take the guess work out of keyword density.

Here are a few for pages that are already launched and are checked by URL:
Webmaster Toolkit
VIP Search Engine Marketing
SEO Tools - Keyword Density

I use SEO Tools, but most of them work about the same and many will allow you to compare two URLs. This can be used to compare your page to your competitors.

If you are still in the process of writing your text you can use proof reading software like Editor, which also checks grammar and usage. Or you can paste your text into an online analyzer like Textalyser.

Author: Pamela S. Stevens, SEO Jive

Friday, June 22, 2007

PC World Announces Top 25 Sites to Watch, Are you on the List?


If this list is an accurate mirror of the future we can conclude that wiki, user generated content and interactive web sites are by no means going away.

People are no longer content with a good looking, informative site...they want to be able to interact with a site, add content and customize their experience.

And as you can tell from this list, people want to have a little fun with their practicality.


























Thursday, June 21, 2007

Promises, Promises...what can an SEO Consultant Offer?

Ok, Snake Oil is pushing it. SEO consultants can be quite helpful. But beware of those that make you promises or guarantee results. Unless they can personally go in and manipulate search engine algorithms and manually point search engines and visitors to your site, they can not guarantee anything.

They can certainly help you by tying up your loose ends but they cannot promise you anything. Some SEO consultants may also offer services like link buying and so on to try to improve your sites ranking. I have seen these "'links" dumped into dummy blogs, lame directory sites and unused forums, see Pharmacy Online as an example. This practice (may help you in the short term) but make you look stupid and slimy in the long run. I wouldn't be surprised if some do this and charge you a whole bunch of money for it, when you could have just written your own blog yourself. Try Blogger, it is free.


Good SEO consultants will not make you promises but will help you improve your site and create a positive visitor experience for your guests when they come, so they will want to return and want to link to your site voluntarily.

Author: Pamela S. Stevens, SEO Jive

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

So what is Google's Time Frame Anyway?


Many wonder how long it takes for Google to notice new content. Of course the time varies, but in our experiences, Google can access new content almost immediately, though it may take up to a week to become indexed and perhaps up to a month to be ranked.

The SEO game in general is a game of patience. Though I do know some teenagers that published a new blog and counted over 30,000 hits it the first week. Wouldn't we all love results like that?

Often buried or hidden pages are not indexed or slow to be indexed. A lot of webmasters add keyword rich pages to boost content but hide them, so the potential effect is lost because Google ranks them low or doesn't really look at them if they are not well linked with the other site pages. If you have sub pages that are not being indexed by Google but you want them to be you can submit a site map, which may or may not help, but certainly will not hurt.
If you do not see the results you were expecting in about a month or month and a half you may want to reconsider your strategy.

How much Duplicate Content is too Much?

Everybody does it right? Well, likely. But should you?

How much duplicate content is too much?

Really in the ideal world all work would be original and accredited and new ideas would flourish. But that takes so much WORK.

Many sites use content form other sites, some sites do not even really have any original content but are just kind of like indexes to other web page's content. There is a fear that some day you will not be able to find more that a few sources of new information online since most would refer to take the easy road and generate content rather than create.

If you choose to use others content it should be accredited (even linked to) and applicable. If you want to use a chart or other data snippet it can be placed on your web page as an image instead of text so it does not appear as duplicate content. Most search engines will over look short selections. However, you may want to be careful about duplicating your own content too much, such as displaying your mission statement or company philosophy over and over again on your site, that may also be seen as duplicate content. If it is helpful to your site to do this, post it as an image.

As mentioned in a previous post, if you plan on keeping your site around for a while, you may want to do a little extra work now to prevent problems later. And if you think duplicate content may hurt you in the long run, create original content and quote other web site content only when it is necessary and properly credited.

Should you Buy Links?

It is a common practice to buy links. It is possible to make your site look a bit better to SEs by making it appear that you have quality links in. But is it a good idea?

My philosophy is that if you plan on being in business or having you site for a while it is best to not do something in the short term that may damage you in the long term. Since Google is considering putting a hammer down on link buyers and link spammers, you may want to think twice about purchasing links. See SEO: To Buy Links, or Not to Buy Links?

Matt Cutt even tells you how to report spam or paid links in his blog entry "how to report paid links."

It maybe a better idea to begin a link campaign with your associates, clients, fellow webmasters and so on and get real links in. And links in do matter-----very much so. If you feel like you have been doing everything right, like having good content and you covered the basics and did your keyword research and are still not climbing up the rank ladder it may very well be because you need more quality links in to your site. Last question to ask yourself is if you have done everything but nobody seems to want to link to your site, than maybe your site is not as cool as you thought it was and it is time to revamp.

If you would like to read a bit about the other side of the coin see 7 Reasons Google's Paid Link Snitch Plan Sucks.

Photo "borrowed" from webpronews.com.

Should your Content be PC?


Your site can be anything your want. Subtle, full of flash, raunchy, funny or serious, it really is your choice. However, before traveling down any extreme route you may want to stop a second and clearly define the purpose of your site. Once your purpose is decided, you have to conclude what type of content will support your sites goal.

PC or Politically Correct is an archaic term, but the idea behind it is still applicable, especially in a global economy. If you have a site that is intended for a broad audience than you may want to not write in ways that offend or isolate your market. Keep in mind, that your market includes areas outside the US, they may not understand your marketing language if your use colloquialisms or common language. Even those in English speaking countries may not understand US common language. Miscommunication is not communication, with poorly chosen words you can create a non-communicative situation that makes it hard to educate potential customers about your product.

In the US we tend to be a bit ethnocentric and forget that people outside the US surf the Internet and buy product online. There may even be people who translate your pages into their native language, which can further increase the communication breakdowns. The same advice also holds true for sites who are not hosted in the US, common language or translated pages may miscommunicate marketing ideas.

In general you will want to write using language that is not sexist, racist, religious or political, unless that is the point of your site. It would be unwise to assume that everyone shares your views and opinions.

There is of course plenty of room on the Internet for market specific sites, sites that appeal to a body of people that share a common background, slang and humor. Some people may even want to launch multiple sites. You can create a site for the US which uses common US phraseology and humor. You could write a second site for the rest of the world that uses plain language and translates well and does not present ethnocentric stock photography or language.

If you are wondering about how to write content that translates well, see How to Write Translation Friendly Text.

I found an article on Gender Neutral Technical Writing, that makes a good point. If your write actively and address your audience, as in "You," it elements the whole he/she problem.

Good FREE Web Traffic Trackers

Keep in mind that stats, like keyword stats are guidelines and can indicate trends only. You should consult several sources. If you use PPC (pay per click) you should use a third party professional web traffic service so you can compare stats to what Google, Yahoo or other PPC service click reports. Without some kind of record proving click fraud is difficult.


Stat Counter, has a good free, easy to use low volume counter, but other features are fee based.
Site Stats

Free, Google Analytics . Google offers numerous free tools to webmaster. You may also want to see Google Webmaster Central which offers tools for webmasters such as a site status wizard, forums, a submission tool and help.

If you plan on having a blog, WordPress offers free visitor tracking. WordPress can also track RSS stats. If you choose to use Blogger for your blog you can add a third party counter easily.

Popular SEO Blogs

After reading a few SEO blogs, you will notice that most people are scrambling as much as you are and even they, after years, still do not know all of the answers. But they may have a few good ideas for your site or you may find discussions on situations similar to your site.

If you look to Google you will find that they say, create unique content that people want to read. Ok, but that doesn't sound like a trick or an algorithm. To top it off, it is really difficult to prove what strategy you implement works or why it works. But from what I have found the real deal breaker and where you will rank is a combination of content and links in to your site. The highest ranking sites are the most popular and have what people are looking for, period. They are not always the best looking, the most high tech or the most informative.

Matt Cutts:
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/

GrayWolf''s Blog
http://www.wolf-howl.com/

Beanstalk
http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/blog/

SEOmoz
http://www.seomoz.org/blog

Bruce Clay Inc
http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/

Duh?
http://seojive.blogspot.com/