Search Engine Optimization - Dead at age 7?

The question of the day causing all this ruckus, "Is SEO Dead"?
Well I'm here to dispel any misconceptions or confusion that currently exists surrounding this question. Have you ever heard the words, content is king, if you say enough times, then in your mind content will become your primary focus when you optimize your website and then ask yourself the question, "why don't I rank well on the search engines"?

Well the partial reality is web surfers use words to find related websites, but this in no way means content is king if you are trying to drive targeted visitors to your site. On the other side of the coin, you can't get quality links without quality content.

An SEO "blogger" has gone as far in saying "Organic SEO is dead", he's of the opinion that Content SEO is dead, and that anyone interested in raising their search engine rankings should focus only on link generation.

So which is it, what's happening off the page is more important than it's ever been. That's going to be an upward trend; this is common knowledge these days. No longer can an SEO pass themselves off as useful if they do not go after and get a respectable amount of links for their clients.

Here is a brief summary of key points to keep in mind when optimizing your website:

Carry on building links for ever.
Old links decay in value
Don't add them too fast, or risk the spam filter
Don't add them too slowly or you won't get enough
Get links from fresh pages
Ask linking site to move the link to a different page to make it "fresher"
Vary anchor text over time
Don't change the content of your key pages as not to reflect incoming anchor
Register your domain for several years
Use a solid hosting company with guaranteed uptime
Add new pages/content to your site all the time
Put Adsense on your site and make sure it gets good click through rate
Rank well in the past because Google counts your old rank in the current rank
Don't jump up and down in the serps too much. Google likes stable rankings
Make your site sticky. Sticky sites are favored
Aggressively pursuing a strong linking campaign gives you a fighting chance for competitive keywords. Google emphasizes links and sees them as indicative for the worthiness of your site to rank high as well as link text using it to determine what the linked to page is about.

Simply put, links imply that content is worth linking to and worth ranking high and more importantly your links should contain the keywords you are optimizing your website for and lastly links must be relevant to the nature of your online business.

SEO & the Google Search Engine Algorithm Patent

Google has recently filed a patent that details many points that Google uses to rank web pages. The title of the patent is "Information retrieval based on historical data" and it confirms the existence of the Google sandbox and that it can apply to all web pages.

In this article, we're trying to find out what this means to your web site and what you have to do to optimize your web pages so that you get high rankings on Google.

Part 1: How your web page changes influence your rankings on Google

The patent specification revealed a lot of information about possible ways Google might use your web page changes to determine the ranking of your site.

In addition to web page content, the ranking of web pages is influenced by the frequency of page or site updates. Google measures content changes to determine how fresh or how stale a web page is. Google tries to distinguish between real and superfluous content changes.

This doesn't mean that it is always advisable to regularly change the content of your web pages. Google says that stale results might be desirable for information that doesn't need updating while fresh content is good for results that require it.

For example, seasonal results might go up and down in the result pages based on the time of the year.

Google possibly records the following web page changes:

the frequency of changes
the amount of changes (substantial or shallow changes)
the change in keyword density
the number of new web pages that link to a web page
the changes in anchor texts (the text that is used to link to a web page)
the number of links to low trust web sites (for example too many affiliate links on one web page)
Google might use the results of this analysis to specify the ranking of a web page in addition to its content.

Section 0128 in the patent filing reveals that you shouldn't change the focus of too many documents at once:

"A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a 'stable' period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a 'doorway' document.

Another indication may include the disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document."

This means that the Google sandbox phenomenon may apply to your web site if you change your web pages.

What does this meant to your web site?

First of all, you should make sure that your web page content is optimized for Google. If your web page content is not optimized, all other ranking factors won't help you much.

Try to find out if the keywords you target on search engines require static or fresh search results and update your web site content accordingly. Make sure that you don't change too much at once so that your web site won't be put in the sandbox.

Google Sandbox & Search Engine Optimization

In a recent thread in an online forum webmasters discussed the question how long it takes to get listed in Google. A webmaster had submitted a web site with 15 individual pages to Google six months before and he was still not listed in Google although Googlebot visited his web site on a monthly basis.

It's normal Google behavior that a new web site is not listed in the natural (unpaid) search results for about six months. This Google practice is called the Google sandbox .

However, Google did not return any pages of this web site in its search results. Not even for obscure search terms or the company name.

Why was the website of this webmaster not listed in Google?

There were two main factors that prevented the site from showing up in Google's search results:

1. The age of the web site

Once a web site has been put into Google's sandbox, it takes six to eight months until it comes back to the normal index. It's likely that the web site of the webmaster is still in the sandbox.

2. The number and the quality of links to the web site

The webmaster admitted in the discussion that he only had a few links to his website and that these links didn't have high quality. Actually, a link popularity query on Google returned no links at all for that web site.

Yahoo showed only one backlink to the web site and the web site with the backlink was not accessible.

Google will only list a web site in its result pages if other good web sites link to it. If only a few other web sites link to your site and these web sites are of low quality, it will be difficult to make it into Google's search results.

You can find out the link popularity of your web site with this freeware link popularity check tool.

What does this mean to you and your web site?

There are three things you can do to get into Google's index:

1. Make sure that your web site is not in Google's sandbox.

As soon as you have finished your web site, submit it to Google. It takes about six to eight months to get out of Google's sandbox. The sooner you submit your site, the sooner you'll get in Google's normal search results.

2. Get high quality links from related web sites and Internet directories.

It's important that other web sites with similar content link to your site if you want to be listed in Google. A senior member in the discussion said it this way:

"Don't buy links... there's a good chance that they'll turn out to be dodgy in the long-term, and will do you more harm than good.

[...] search for sites that are similar or complimentary to your own, and send them a polite email asking if it would be possible to exchange links. Don't bother doing this unless you think your site is worth linking to.

DMOZ and Yahoo Directory listings are tremendously valuable, even though some might tell you otherwise, (usually because they couldn't get into them)."

An easy way to exchange links that way is our link popularity tool ARELIS.

3. Optimize your web pages.

It is important that your web pages are optimized for Google if you want to get high search engine rankings. Google must be able to find out what your web pages are all about.

A combination of optimized web pages and high link popularity leads to high rankings on Google. Make sure that your web site has both and you'll benefit from high rankings on Google as soon as your web site is out of Google's sandbox.

Leave Cloaking to the Romulans

Cloaking shields may be great for spaceships, but can be extremely damaging to a website. Here is a short discussion about cloaking pages.

When you choose a web hosting company, you don't expect that they are going to change your web pages. You also don't expect that they change your web pages for their own benefit. Unfortunately, that's exactly what some web hosts seem to do.

What do these web hosts do to your web pages?

These web hosting companies change your web pages when a search engine spider requests them. For example, if Googlebot visits your web pages, the web host will return a different web page than the web page that is returned when a normal web surfer visits your web pages (a technique with the name cloaking).

The changed web pages contain links to the web host web site so that the link popularity of the web host site is improved. In addition, the web host creates new page and complete sub directories full of links on your web site.

Note that these changed URLs and the new pages cannot be seen by you. The URLs are not static and you cannot see them with your FTP client. Only search engine spiders can see the changed web pages because the web host intercepts the requests and dynamically creates the pages.

Some hosts also seem to add links to some of their clients on your web pages. They do this to artificially improve the link popularity of their clients' sites. If you see any Secret backdoor to Google offers from your web host without further details, you should be skeptical. If a web host changes the web sites of other people, it is likely that they will also change your web site.

What does Google think about this?

Shortly after this issue has been raised in an online discussion forum, a Google spokesman commented on it:

"What a scuzzy practice. [...] I've seen stuff like that before, but it's usually pretty rare. Legitimate hosts have a lot to lose from deceiving their hosting clients like that [...] Practices like that just go way beyond legitimate and into scamming."

How can you find out if your web host changes your web pages?

Go to Google, search for your domain name and click on the "Cached" link next to the results. You'll see the web page that Google has indexed then.

If the web page in the Google page has links to other web pages that you don't know, chances are that your web host has changed your pages. In that case, you should contact your web host or Google so that the problem can be solved.

Web hosting companies with ethical business standards don't use these techniques. If you find out that your web host changes your pages, you should consider a new hosting company.

If Google finds out that your web site uses cloaking, you will get into trouble, even if the cloaking has been done by your web host and not by you.

Search Engine Optimization Technique Survey

1) Which top level domains did you have the most success with?
.com 57 (82.61%)
.net 7 (10.14%)
.biz 2 (2.90%)
.org 8 (11.59%)
Other 12 (17.39%)

2) What is the total number of web pages per website have you had the most success with?
1 3 (4.35%)
1-5 12 (17.39%)
5-10 11 (15.94%)
10-20 13 (18.84%)
20-30 13 (18.84%)
30-50 4 (5.80%)
50-100 5 (7.25%)
100 or More 18 (26.09%)

3) What % of keyword density has been most effective for you in the Body text?
Less than .5% 2 (2.90%)
Between .5% to 1% 3 (4.35%)
Between 1% to 2% 4 (5.80%)
Between 2% to 3% 9 (13.04%)
Between 4%to 5% 16 (23.19%)
Between 5% to 6% 10 (14.49%)
Between 6% to 7% 6 (8.70%)
Between 7% to 8% 5 (7.25%)
Between 9% to 10% 6 (8.70%)
More than 10% 8 (11.59%)

6) How many words per page have you had the most success with?
Less than 10 7 (10.14%)
Between 10 to 100 16 (23.19%)
Between 100 to 200 6 (8.70%)
Between 200 to 300 12 (17.39%)
Between 300 to 400 14 (20.29%)
Between 400 to 500 8 (11.59%)
Between 500 to 1,000 5 (7.25%)
More than 1,000 1 (1.45%)

7) What % of keyword density has been most effective for you in the Title tag?
Less than 10% 13 (18.84%)
Between 10% to 20% 14 (20.29%)
Between 20% to 30% 12 (17.39%)
Between 30% to 40% 6 (8.70%)
Between 40% to 50% 4 (5.80%)
Between 50% to 60% 7 (10.14%)
Between 60% to 70% 4 (5.80%)
Between 70% to 80% 1 (1.45%)
Between 80% to 90% 3 (4.35%)
Between 90% to 100% 5 (7.25%)

8) Does a keyword rich domain name guarantee better ranking?
Yes 41 (59.42%)
No 28 (40.58%)

9) Do you place your keywords in your folder/directory names?
Yes 38 (55.07%)
No 31 (44.93%)

10) Do you name your web pages with your keywords?
Yes 53 (76.81%)
No 16 (23.19%)

11) Do you name your image files with your keywords?
Yes 46 (66.67%)
No 23 (33.33%)

12) Do you use hyphens or underscores when naming your directories and web pages?
Hyphens 36 (52.17%)
Underscores 32 (46.38%)

13) Have you created a search engine friendly site map?
Yes 47 (68.12%)
No 22 (31.88%)

14) Do you optimize text-based navigation of the site with an optimized inter-linking structure?
Yes 45 (65.22%)
No 24 (34.78%)

15) Do you control the web page content headings through optimized CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)?
Yes 44 (63.77%)
No 25 (36.23%)

16) Do you add keyword rich H1-H6 tags to your web pages?
Yes 48 (69.57%)
No 21 (30.43%)

17) Do you create an optimized robots.txt file to control indexing of your website by the search engines?
Yes 32 (46.38%)
No 37 (53.62%)

18) Do you add a visible keyword rich text to the anchor text with the Title tag attribute?
Yes 35 (50.72%)
No 34 (49.28%)

19) Do you add a visible keyword rich text to most of the images with the Alt tag attribute?
Yes 51 (73.91%)
No 18 (26.09%)

20) Do you use Bold, Strong, Italic and other font attributes to emphasize keywords?
Yes 49 (71.01%)
No 20 (28.99%)

21) Do you include and optimize the META keyword and description tags?
Yes 65 (94.20%)
No 4 (5.80%)

22) Do you place your domain name in the Title and META tags?
Yes 30 (43.48%)
No 39 (56.52%)

23) Do you engage in reciprocal linking and maintain a resource or link page?
Yes 44 (63.77%)
No 25 (36.23%)

24) Do you solicit or buy one way inbound links?
Yes 17 (24.64%)
No 52 (75.36%)

25) Is a link a link, or do you look for quality authority websites to get links from within the same business as yours?
Yes 44 (63.77%)
No 25 (36.23%)

26) Do you specify to your link partners which internal page(s) you want their links to point to or most of your inbound links point to your home page?
Yes 38 (55.07%)
No 31 (44.93%)

27) Do you submit your website(s) to DMOZ?
Yes 50 (72.46%)
No 19 (27.54%)

28) Do you submit your website(s) to the Yahoo! directory?
Yes 50 (72.46%)
No 19 (27.54%)

29) Do you agree creating a community on your website(s) with a forum or web blog will help your ranking?
Yes 54 (78.26%)
No 15 (21.74%)

30) Is high Page Rank as effective as it used to be to get high ranking?
Yes 33 (47.83%)
No 36 (52.17%)

Symbiotic Search Engines

A recent study of Nielsen/NetRatings revealed that a minority of searchers exclusively use only one of the top three search engines Google, Yahoo and MSN Search.

Which search engines do web surfers use?

According to the study, 58 percent of Google searchers also visited at least one of the other top two search engines, MSN Search and Yahoo, showing that even though Google's market share is dominant today, there is significant opportunity for its competitors to grow their share.

The use of multiple search engines is not limited to Google's searchers. Nearly 71 percent of those who searched at Yahoo also visited at least one of the other top two search engines, and 70 percent of those who searched at MSN also tried their luck at one or both of the other two.

"While it shouldn't surprise anyone that Google is the search engine to beat, it is critical that all of the major search players, including Google, recognize that they exclusively own only a minority of their users," said Ken Cassar, director, strategic analysis, Nielsen/NetRatings.

"This highlights an opportunity and a threat to all of the established players in the market, and underscores the importance of continued innovation in a highly competitive market that is anything but mature."

What does this mean to you and your web site?

We have mentioned it before in this newsletter: don't focus on a single search engine. To get best results, optimize your web site for all the top three search engines.

Optimize some of your web pages for Google, some for Yahoo and some for MSN Search. Both Yahoo and MSN Search have so many visitors that they can drive a considerable amount of traffic to your web site.

While everybody else concentrates on Google, it's much easier to get targeted visitors from the other two big search engines.

Google is an important search engine but others are quickly catching up. If you optimize your web pages for more than one search engine, you will get targeted traffic from many sites. In addition, you are less dependent from a single source which is important if your rankings drop on one search engine.

PPC for Dummies Part Deux

Two of the most important factors of any Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign are creating successful ads and deciding how much to pay per click. There are many PPC options out there to choose from, I am going to focus on the two most popular, Google AdWords and Overture.

Creating Your Ads for AdWords
Creating your ad copy is the single most important part of any ad campaign. You want your ad to stand out amongst the others and scream out 'click me!' If your ad looks the same, and says the same, as everyone else's, searchers will simply pass it by.

Before creating your ads you need to determine your target market and keyword selections. If your company focuses on a specific market niche, try to target your ads in regards to that niche. Properly targeted ads will almost always out-perform those directed at a general audience.

The ad you create should include your main keywords either in the title or near the beginning of the body text. Draw attention by using call to action phrases and words that provoke enthusiasm and response. Use phrases like "Save on DVDs," "Get cheap stereos," or "Join now for 20% discount," etc. Just be cautious and be sure to follow Google's Guidelines. If you advertise something that you don't offer, Google will pull your ad. Also, if your ad offers something free, make certain that its listed on your landing page!

Once you are satisfied with your first ad, create 3 more ads that are radically different from the first. After 3 or 4 days, take a look at how your ads are doing. (If you are using less frequently searched terms you may have to wait 1-2 weeks for better results.) Check the click through rate (CTR) of each ad. In most cases, one of your 4 ads will be out-performing the rest. If this is the case, delete the poorly performing ads and create 3 new ads that are similar to the successful one, each with subtle differences in the title and body text.

Again, wait 3 or 4 days to see which ad is performing best. If you notice that one ad stands out, repeat the process. Eventually you will end up with 4 quality ads that are performing equally. Once the ads have leveled out, continue to keep an eye on them. I recommend that you do so daily. If one begins to slip, tweak the wording. Monitoring your ads is essential, if you want them to perform well.

Determining Your Max Cost Per Click with AdWords
With AdWords, when you enter your MAX CPC, Google will show the estimated average position for each keyword. (The position predictions provided by Google are based on historical data from previous advertisers and are not 100% accurate, but will give you an idea of what to expect.)

Unfortunately, there is no way to see what the competition is paying, so in most cases, it's a bit of a duck hunt. I suggest starting with a MAX CPC that is slightly higher than you might normally pay. This will ensure a slightly higher ranking for your ad and increase your chances of accumulating clicks. If your ad performs well, your rank will increase. Once you have attained a good click through rate (CTR), you can adjust your max CPC to reflect the position you wish to obtain. (See part one of this article to find out how Google ranks ads.)

Creating Your Ads for Overture
Writing the perfect ad for Overture is somewhat different than for AdWords. Overture only allows you to create one ad per keyword, so testing various ads and going with the obvious winner is not an option. However, the basics for creating your initial ad is virtually the same. After you have selected your target market and main keywords, write a specific ad targeting each individual keyword. Be sure to include the keyword in the title or beginning of the main body text along with a call to action phrase that will draw attention. Remember to check the status of your ads on a weekly basis and tweak as needed. Keep an eye on your click through rate and regularly modify poorly performing ads.
Determining Your Max Cost Per Click with Overture
Deciding how much to spend on Overture is simple. Take a look at what the competition is spending and out bid them. With Overture you should always try to be in the top 3 if you wish to have your ad dispersed among partner sites (Yahoo, Lycos, MSN, etc). If the number 1 spot is currently paying 25 cents per click, you need only bid 26 cents to grab the number 1 spot. If you want the number one spot but are also willing to pay more, you can bid 40 cents, and will only be charged the 26 cents. One penny above the competition. Keep in mind though, if someone else increases their bid, your actual cost will also increase up to the max CPC you have entered.

Managing an AdWords or Overture PPC campaign can be confusing at first, but it doesn't take long to get a handle on what works. Creating a highly successful ad the first time around with either AdWords or Overture is a rare occurrence, but with a bit of regular maintenance and a well targeted campaign, it doesn't take long to start seeing results.


Highlights from a SiteProNews article by Scott Van Achte

PPC for Dummies

For the beginner, understanding PPC (Pay Per Click) services can be utterly confusing. With so many search engines to choose from, and so many options within each one: different billing schemes, different terminology, and different techniques for ranking in the top spot, the learning curve is quite substantial. So why would anyone go to the trouble?

For quite some time now Google has been the primary source for web search. Nearly everyone who has ever used a computer has either used, or at least heard of, Google. But as the Florida update has shown us, free placements in the search engines are not as stable as we would like them to be. Sure, after an algorithm change, we can go back to the drawing board to figure out the newest line of attack, re-optimize a site, and bring back that first page placement, but how much traffic and sales are lost as a result of the down time?

When it comes to most PPC campaigns you can be sure of one thing: Your rankings are stable. When you go to bed, you know that when you wake up the next morning your placements will still be there. Now, of course in many cases you may be out bid in Overture and find yourself slipping a couple of notches, but after a quick adjustment to your maximum bid, you're back in contention. This is a far cry from the months potentially lost after slipping (in some cases off the charts) into the dark abyss of positioning.

Google is not going away any time soon, so it is still very important to optimize and try to get those top placements regardless of whether or not you wish to pursue a PPC campaign. If you are ranking well on Google, in many cases it is still well worth it to pursue PPC placements as well to get that extra exposure. With a PPC campaign it's important to remember that it isn't always as simple as paying top dollar to dominate the number one spot. Regular tweaking and maintenance are required.

So what is involved in achieving top spot in a PPC campaign?

Google Adwords
Your Google AdWords Ad is given a ranking value by multiplying your maximum Cost Per Click (CPC) with your current Click Through Rate (CTR) and ads are sorted accordingly.

For AdWords, you must constantly monitor the performance of your keywords and ads. If the CTR of your keywords begins to slip then your position will most likely drop, and it's time to either re-write your ads to draw attention, adjust your max CPC, or a combination of both. What will work best, depends on a variety of variables; your CTR, current CPC, how competitive your keyword phrase is, and the wording in your competitors ads. Remember you want to stand out as the obvious best choice.

Looksmart
Looksmart has a PPC Service that is somewhat different than AdWords and Overture. With Looksmart you write your own title and ad text for your listing and pay a set rate PPC. The ranking order for listings is "based solely on their relevance to a user's search as determined by LookSmart's proprietary search algorithm. Payment does not influence the appearance or rank of the listings in the Reviewed Web Sites section." ( - Looksmart)

If you choose to use Looksmart, it is essential for your website to be properly optimized. The main downside to Looksmart is that your CPC payment is just to get you listed, and does not guarantee any positioning.

Overture
The ranking of your Overture listings is determined by one thing and one thing only. How much you are willing to pay. If your ad position drops, increase your bid and within seconds you are back to where you left off. Now remember, being number one is not everything. If people see no interest in your listing, they will simply click on number two. Of course, this doesn't cost you anything directly, but indirectly you may be losing the all so important sales. This is why it's important to have carefully written copy for your listing.

In the case of Overture, Looksmart and Google ads, the copy you choose does not affect your position, so you don't need to worry about the ad being 'search engine friendly', but you do need to ensure it is searcher friendly. Carefully select the wording to use in your ad copy and be sure to include the keyword phrase in either the title or the beginning of the text. Say something that will jump out at the reader. You want them to see your ad as being highly relevant to their search, as well as being interesting and inviting. Remember; just because you dominate the top spot, does not mean you will necessarily draw all the traffic (although it does help!)

Before you get started with any PPC Campaign be sure you understand the search engine's billing practices. Google AdWords charges a one time, $5.00 setup fee, and after that you pay only for delivered traffic. Overture does not have a setup fee, but they do require a minimum charge of $25/month, regardless of whether or not your click through's have accumulated to that total. Looksmart bills at a flat rate of 15 cents per click. Each engine has a different billing plan for minimum usage, and it's important to understand them so that you don't get burned.

Once you have selected what search engine, or engines, you wish to use, start off by reading through their FAQ page, guidelines, tips pages, and absorb as much information as you can to get a good grasp on how their PPC system operates. If you are new to all of this, AdWords and Overture will seem overwhelming at first glance, but your understanding will grow the more you review the information offered by these engines. It doesn't take long to get a firm grasp of the various systems.

Highlight from a SiteProNews article by Scott Van Achte