Webmaster Discussions » Blog/Website

EzineArticles – Are they worth the effort?

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:31:53 +0000

Blogs and article writing are essential tools of business. Anyone still questioning the value of well-written blogs and articles is simply not keeping pace. People are also questioning the difference between a blog and an article. The following answer is subjective and open to argument but a blog is information written in a casual, informal way and is simply a means of passing on current thoughts and attitudes. An article, such as those submitted to an article submission site, is a much more serious business with a strict code of conduct because the quality of the articles has to adhere to the standards set by the article submission sites.

One of the top article submission sites is EzineArticles and the sole purpose of getting articles listed on that website is to attract traffic to your own website. In other words, to create back links. Of course, for your article to be accepted on the EzineArticles website it has to be of genuine value to a reader, not simply self-promotion or blatant self-marketing. If the article is well-written, informative and of interest to publishers of newsletters, websites, blogs, forums, and printed publications, your website and information about your organisation is also printed. In other words, a well-written informative article that is subject-specific, can find its way to many thousands of Inboxes.

A number of articles written on a theme can generate an amazing level of traffic and create name awareness so that when publishers check what’s new on EzineArticles, they search for your name.

The key to success with writing articles is maintaining a good reputation. The rules laid down for the quality of the content certainly do help authors maintain high standards. Strict guidelines are not a block to the serious article writer but a superb filter, preventing less able authors from lowering the standard of the article submission website.

There are also strict rules that apply to publishers for the publication of articles posted on sites such as EzineArticles, and they are:

Author’s copyright must be respected by publishing article in full;
Author’s URL and/or contact details must accompany the published article;
No altering of the article’s title or content;
Any links within the article to be included;
Never to post an article on an illegal website with pirated goods or connections to terrorism or racism; and
The comprehensive list goes on and on.

If a publisher breaks any of the strict guidelines for use of articles then that publisher is banned from the article submission website.

It can take a bit of practice getting articles submitted but once you have learned the correct approach, it is one very good way to promote a service or organisation.

Popularity: 1% ?

Introducing Open Site Explorer

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:20:33 +0000

I attended SEOmoz’s Open Site Explorer (OSE) webinar last Thursday, January 28, and learned some things on how to make the most of the new link analysis tool.

If you’ve been using Linkscape as one of your search engine optimisation tools you’re probably pretty happy with the functionalities that the service brings. At first glance it might seem that another link analysis tool would just be redundant and, for the most part, that is actually true. However there are some things that Open Site Explorer can give that Linkscape doesn’t really do and vice versa. In the future though Rand said that OSE and Linkscape will probably become integrated with one becoming the premium version.

One of the major difference is the number of links available per report: shows up to 10,000 links in OSE and 3,000 links in Linkscape. Note though that unless you are a SEOmoz Pro member you will only be shown details of 5 links in OSE and none in Linkscape. However, you do see the other important metrics such as overall page authority, domain authority, number of linking root domains, and total number of links including those that are “no followed”. These data are things you need to know where you stand in your link building effort, but it’s really the other data that gives you more actionable items.

According to Rand some of the things you can do with the data given by OSE include finding the following:

302 pages – What you can do is turn them into 301s
404 pages – You have to options for these pages: either put content in those pages or redirect them.
Inbound links with low quality anchor text – Contact the owner of the linking page and ask them to change the anchor text to something you prefer.
Links to competitors’ error pages – Don’t forget to analyze your competitors’ links. Do the same thing as #3 but make sure you explain to the person you are contacting to link to YOUR page, explain how linking to an error page can hurt them, and give your preferred anchor text. This isn’t really unethical since the link was pointing to an empty error page anyway.
Links to old/poor pages – Redirect these links to newer pages that offer fresh and/or more relevant content.

One other thing that Rand suggested that stood out for me was in answer to a question by one of the participants. (Sorry I wasn’t able to take note of the person’s name. If you attended the same webinar and know, do let me know.) The question was: How can we use OSE to determine what to charge our clients?

Rand suggested that you simply check out the domain and page authority of your client’s page as well as the number of links. Then you check out your client’s competitors’ pages and compare the data, after which you can do a guestimate of how much effort you need to put into link building as well as how long it will take to creep up on the competitors in search rankings.

Popularity: 74% ?

Social Search and SEO

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:44:55 +0000

So how is the social search engine relevant to SEO?

It is obviously important because we see how more and more each day search is turning into something more personal as search engines seek ways to improve the relevance of search results. What this means is that we (SEOs) should encourage clients to improve their online network and to start seriously considering or putting more effort in the social media efforts.

Here are a few tips on what you should immediately do to get the most of Google Social Search (remember this may be in experimental mode now but you want to reap the benefits even before it’s fully released):

Get a Google Account and update your public Google profile – Add links to your facebook, twitter, myspace, jaiku, blog, flickr, and whatever other links you want to appear when contacts (hopefully your clients or the friends of your friends, who can turn into clients) search for terms that appear as content in those links.

Get more active in social network sites – Been neglecting your social site accounts? Start adding friends and posting updates WITH KEYWORDS. Don’t get spammy but think of real updates where you can insert a keyword or two. Oh and don’t forget to set your profile on public.

Get reviewed – Find ways to get reviewed by real people on industry-specific sites or even on their websites. Remember the real aim for many clients is conversion and not just traffic. For this word of mouth is still the best way to go. In search terms social search and reviews from people in your social circle is still equivalent to word of mouth. The more people review your site/product/service the more chances you get to appear on the social search results of their contacts.

Hope you find this helpful. Happy Halloween everyone!

Popularity: 100% ?

Incoming search terms:

Current Canonical Tag Support from Google, Yahoo, and Bing

admin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:32:39 +0000

The use of canonical tags to help solve the issue of web pages with valid duplicate content is now very well known, thanks to the announcement made by Yahoo, Bing, and Google last year that they would all be supporting canonical tags. However, more than a year later, the simple fact is that Google is the only one that has backed up its word and fully supports the attribute.

As of June this year, the last information we can find from Bing is that while it can understand the canonical tag, it does not interpret it as a command but only as a “hint”. This means that they do not necessarily “obey” the tag so that non-preferred URLs can still end up ranking better than your preferred URL. Bing’s algorithm will still be the one to determine which URL they will consider to be the primary URL. While Google also says that using the canonical tag does not always guarantee that they will follow the preferred URL at all times, it is obvious that they follow it most of the times. Even Yahoo seems to be doing better than Bing when it comes to clearing up the issue of primary URLs using canonical tags. Bing, however, has to catch up and take the canonical tag as more than a “hint”.

Despite the lack of full support of the canonical tag by Bing, it is still clear that its use is well worth it, especially since Google still rules the search world.

Popularity: 25% ?

Canonicalization Using Canonical Tags

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:10:42 +0000

In SEO, the term canonicalization refers to the process wherein URLs are standardized. What this simply means is that it is how you establish, or tell search engines, which URL you want them to display in search results as containing a certain document.

Canonicalization can be a big problem in SEO as search engines see different URL versions of the same page (i.e. http://www.phoenixrealm.com/ and http://phoenixrealm.com/) can lead to the following issues:

having the URL versions flagged for containing duplicate content;
having a non-preferred URL rank higher than the URL you prefer your users to land on; and
splitting the link juice between the URLs.

To fix this issue, what you need to do is just let the search engines know that these URLs really just have one content and that there is one URL which you prefer them to show in their SERPs. To do this all you need to do is use the canonical tag.

The canonical tag is recognized by all the major search engines and is very easy to use. You just need to add the rel=”canonical” attribute as a link element to all the head pages of the non-preferred URLs. For the example above, if the preferred URL is the first one, then add

link rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.phoenixrealm.com/“

to the head section of the second URL so that the search engines will route all the link juice to the first URL and also only show that in their result pages.

Popularity: 25% ?

Canonicalization Using Canonical Tags

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:10:42 +0000

having the URL versions flagged for containing duplicate content;
having a non-preferred URL rank higher than the URL you prefer your users to land on; and
splitting the link juice between the URLs.

link rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.phoenixrealm.com/“

to the head section of the second URL so that the search engines will route all the link juice to the first URL and also only show that in their result pages.

Popularity: 25% ?

Addressing the Duplicate Content Issue

admin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:03:30 +0000

Time and again Google and the other search engines have explained the fact that they do understand that not all duplicate content is malicious. In fact, Google even expressly gives examples of non-malicious duplicate content (i.e. pages that are stripped-down for mobile devices but still essentially contain the same content and printer-only versions of web pages) in the Webmaster Tools Help page on the topic. Furthermore, they also say that snippets and quotes are not considered to be duplicate content, so that you do not even have to worry about being penalized SEO-wise for this.

Despite this fact, duplicate content is still a big issue in SEO, not for fear of being penalized but because Google might rank a URL of a web page with duplicate content higher than the preferred URL. The ramifications of Google showing the non-preferred link in its search result range from usability issues (i.e. users will go to the page with the stripped-down version) to monetization issues (i.e. all the Ads will probably on the preferred URL).

Several years ago, it was recommended that crawler access to duplicate content simply be blocked, usually using the robots.txt file. However, this is now actually discouraged. Google suggests that the best way to go is to when it comes to ensuring that they show the preferred URL in their SERPs is to simply tell them which your preferred URL this. This method is called canonicalization, and can be actually be done several ways. The preferred way nowadays, since all major search engines use this method, is to simply use the canonical tag by adding a link element with the attribute rel=”canonical” to the head section of non-canonical pages.

Another way to address duplicate content issue is to use a 301 redirect. Note though that with this method the user, and not just the bot, is redirected to the preferred URL. This won’t work if some users really need to get to the non-preferred URL.

Popularity: 26% ?

Links and Search Engine Optimisation

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:36:56 +0000

published by Gary in Link Strategies with

There is an ugly rumour on the Internet; it’s permeating the chat rooms; it’s tainting many-a-tweet; it’s clogging blogs wherever you look – it’s… it’s saying that link building is not all that it’s stacked up to be. The tweets are tweeting that fresh copy, sweetened with keywords, is a much more effective Search Engine Optimisation tool than uncontrolled, uncensored, low-quality, unfettered link building!

Of course, it’s a hoax but there is a germ of truth. Every organisation is looking to the Internet to raise its market profile and to increase sales. Search engine optimisation is not simply about choosing the right key words it also includes judicious link building. A well-thought-out strategy of link building is not a case of “I’ll put your link on mine if you put my link on yours”. Effective online marketing requires discerning link building, connecting your website with websites that genuinely complement your product or service.

Some companies whilst formulating their SEO strategy pay fees to online directories to help build up their inbound links, but search engines do not consider links that are paid for in the same light as those that are sited on a quality website that offers a reciprocal link.

In truth, most organisations when looking at their SEO strategy, and factoring in link building, are very keen to establish inbound links but less keen to feature outbound links. After all, once a potential customer lands on your website, do you really want the person to be lured away by an outbound link before buying your goods? The answer is to build up a network of inbound and outbound links that do not compete with your service or products. For example, a good link with regard to search engine optimisation would be for a motorcycle accessories company to have inbound and outbound links with a company that sells motorcycles.

Careful, quality link building has to be part of a good SEO strategy.

Popularity: 25% ?

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on Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 10:02 am and is filed under Link Strategies.
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Today is March 7, 2011

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Before inviting guests, get your Home Page right

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:53:57 +0000

published by Gary in SEO Basics with

Many mistakes can be avoided when designing your website but it takes more than a good eye to know what they are and how you can ensure that your Search Engine Optimisation is fully effective.

The most important page on your website is the Home Page or the landing page. If you want all the SEO and effort in getting visitors to your website to pay off, it is important that your landing page encourages visitors to linger and to take a good look around your website. For that to happen, the design needs to be clean, clear and welcoming and for your web-page titles to properly reflect the content of the web page. Although the web page title does not feature on your web page, it is prominent in the browser bar and is one of the search engine optimisation elements that will help to attract your customers.

It may seem obvious, but good website copy that is well-written is also a key feature to consider seriously. There should be enough copy to inform the reader and enough copy to enable you to lace appropriate key words for effective search engine optimisation.

Links are another key feature of most web pages and it is amazing how many times links are incorrect and a customer is taken to the wrong item or web page. Check your links regularly, as there is nothing more annoying for a visitor than a link not working.

Creating a website that looks good is the secret to SEO success but there is still much to do to ensure that the search engine spiders like your website. For example, photos and images should be described correctly in the image tags, bearing in mind that the search engines can only read pictures and not see them. It’s a good idea to use the image descriptions as another opportunity for working in your key words for SEO. Some browsers also pick up ALT tag-descriptions, when the pointer hovers over the image, which offers a further opportunity for some good image SEO.

Popularity: 22% ?

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on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 10:20 am and is filed under SEO Basics.
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Today is March 6, 2011

Is your SEO strategy up to date?

The only current SEO book on the planet.

Buy the industry standard #1 ranked SEO Book. But don’t take my word for it…

#1 Ranked. Everywhere.

Google Search: SEO Book (#1)

Yahoo Search: SEO Book (#1)

This is the #1 ranking SEO book on all major search engines.

The search engines love it. Thousands of webmasters have build their business using SEO Book. Learn why today.

SEO with Users’ Help

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:53:53 +0000

published by Gary in SEO with

As search engine algorithms improve, and as competition increases, the pressure on SEOs to think of newer and better strategies to generate traffic to a site increases. While “more traditional” search optimisation methods such as link building through article submissions are still very useful, it is important to find more ways to generate traffic and utilise the new methods and strategies more effectively.

One of the things that SEOs tend to overlook are user generated content or UGCs. User generated content can actually be used to help you optimise your pages, especially if you have an affiliate site or a product site. User generated content is also very good for any content thin site.

Most of the time the comment or review section of a website is left as is. Comment moderation might be done, but usually for the purpose of weeding out spam. What many SEOs are missing if the comments and reviews are left as is, is the chance to use unique and fresh content that is relevant to some of the other pages in the site. What you can do is pick several of the most substantial comments and reviews about a product or service, collate them, and add them to a content thin page that has a topic connected to the review or comment. Choose reviews and comments that use specific keywords and phrases you are targeting. This helps you not only generate content for pages where you need it the most, but also gives an opportunity to link those pages to the product pages where the original review or comment was posted.

Popularity: 20% ?

This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under SEO.
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Today is March 6, 2011

Is your SEO strategy up to date?

The only current SEO book on the planet.

Buy the industry standard #1 ranked SEO Book. But don’t take my word for it…

#1 Ranked. Everywhere.

Google Search: SEO Book (#1)

Yahoo Search: SEO Book (#1)

This is the #1 ranking SEO book on all major search engines.

The search engines love it. Thousands of webmasters have build their business using SEO Book. Learn why today.