Archive for the ‘Search Engine Optimization’ Category
Googles Free Ad Creation Tool
September 28th, 2007
MatthewIf you could use some help spreading the word about your small business, let Google lend a helping hand. Google’s now offering an ad creation tool to help advertisers develop newspaper ads using pre-designed templates. The tool itself is free, though it’s only available to AdWords advertisers. Marketers can also search through Google’s inventory of 450 newspapers and chat directly with Print Ads account representatives.
SEO Definitions
September 24th, 2007
MatthewThis is a líst of twelve SEO-related definitions in alphabetical order (with notes) serves as a great companion for your initial SEO reading. Read alone it will get you up to speed on some key terminology that you’ll need to know to intelligently engage the ever-changing world of SEO.
• Algorithms. A search algorithm is, in short, the incredibly complex mathematical formula that a search engine uses to “rank” web sites for keywords. Based on a huge number of variables and calculations, algorithms are among the most closely-guarded secrets on the internet. Why? Imagine if they were leaked - suddenly the less-than-honest would have a very specific guideline to follow in climbing to the top of search results in a less-than-organic way, ruining the quality of Google’s search results and their entire competitive advantage with it.
• Bot or Bots. See also “crawlers”
• Crawlers. Googlebot, for example, is a search engine crawler. Googlebot periodically traverses the web in record time, indexing content, links - everything contained in page source code - and storing it in Google’s search index. Then, when a user visits Google and enters a search phrase, the index, filtered by the algorithm, is what the user gets. Please note: there is some delay in this process since the results you’re getting are from the index and not the live web.
• Directories. When webmasters realized just how much power inbound links have in determining search rankings they quickly set out to do two things: 1) get inbound links and 2) set up web sites where other webmasters could achieve inbound links (meaning big traffíc revenues for the site). Hence the directory farms you’ll find today. Link building has been a priority on the líst of any SEO-savvy webmaster for years, and as a result “quick fix” directories that allow streamlined listing submissions get a ton of traffíc. However, Google and the other major search engines are on to this tactic, and the word among SEO “experts” is that the benefits of listing your site at directories are diminished if not gone.
• Frames. Frames are a way of laying out a website with multiple documents in one browser window. Essentially, there is one main document which contains the frameset tag - this document specifies the dimensions/placement of the frames and also the documents that will “populate” those frames. From an SEO standpoint the use of frames for your layout is not recommended. Since frames do not use links in the same way, and since links may point to one frame from another, they may cause serious problems for crawlers. Additionally, there are almost no uses for frames that can’t either be 1) duplicated with other methods or 2) thrown away without much fuss. If your site was built with frames and you’re thinking you don’t want to rebuild - it might be tough luck if you’re interested in optimizing for search. Consider it a learning experience - build yourself a CSS-based layout.
• Gateway Pages. Also “doorway pages.” Although there isn’t a real consensus about what these pages are, their function is always cited as their definition. In other words, these pages are created to “rank well in search engines” by playing to the algorithms. Often viewed as “spammy,” “gray hat” or even “black hat.” However, any page written with search in mind, and geared towards search, can be construed to be a “gateway page.” The difference between a page well-optimized for search and a “gateway page?” No clear lines there, but quality of content is probably the determining factor.
• HTML. Okay, most of you probably know this one, but there are probably some of you who don’t. HTML stands for Hyper-Text Mark-up Language, and it is the core building block that has made the web the greatest modern tool for business, social, informational, political and any other causes. Search engines look exclusively at a web page’s HTML code to determine its relevance. Therefore, it’s a good idea to pay attention to HTML and familiarize yourself with proper tagging techniques if you’re hoping to get a good handle on SEO.
• Link Popularity. Inbound links are probably the most important optimization point for web pages. Number, quality, trust - these are all factors that affect the value of an inbound link. Going back to the HTML root of search, link popularity (in terms of quantity) measures how many pages point to your site using anchor text.
• Link Building. In short, the process of gaining links at other web sites pointing in to pages on your own.
• Link Baiting. The process of generating high-quality content on your pages that users will appreciate and link to voluntarily.
• Meta Tags. Meta tags are found at the top of a page’s source code. They are used to specify certain things that might not be found in the page content. They also allow webmasters to put up certain “flags” that search engine crawlers can react to. There are many Meta tags available for use, and many of them can help with SEO to a great extent and for a variety of purposes. However, Meta tags are no longer used in the way they originally were - as a place to stuff keywords to drive your site up in rankings. Some webmasters out there are still doing this, but they are decidedly behind the times and unaware of the impending, or already cast-down, penalties.
• Robots. See also “crawlers.”
• Search Engines. If you don’t know what a search engine is congratulations on finally making it out from under that rock. Search engines are essentially programs that scan an existing index of the web based on a query of search terms, or keywords, that a user enters. However, the word more commonly refers to companies as a whole - Google, for example, controls a search engine, while Googlebot is the crawler that gathers content for its index, but most users and webmasters think of a search engine as the whole package.
• Search Engine Marketing. Most often this refers to Pay-Per-Click marketing in which an advertiser bids on chosen keywords and writes several ads to be displayed should their bid achieve placement. These ads are displayed in the “sponsored” section of search engine result pages (SERPS). However, in some circles this term is used to refer to any action taken to gain rankings both paid and organic.
• Search Engine Optimization. This one is open to interpretation. It is quite often used to encapsulate a huge amount of different tactics. On-site optimization, off-site optimization (link building, etc) and many other techniques all feasibly fall under the SEO blanket. However, there is an obvious difference between optimizing a page’s code to be clean and search friendly and writing link bait that will be popular and get linked to.
• Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The pages resulting from a search engine query run by a user. Webmasters review these pages to determine where their pages are ranking for certain search terms.
• Sp@mming. Basically, any unnatural effort to bring a page higher in search results. What constitutes sp@m is open to some interpretation, but the only interpretation you need to worry about is that of the major search engines. If Google, for example, considers a technique “spammy” you’d be wise to cease at once.
• Spiders. See also “crawlers.”
• Submission. For SEO this has traditionally meant submitting a web site to search engines so they’ll know about and crawl it. SEO firms offered submission services as a big selling point to bring in clients. However, for a long time now submitting your site to search engines hasn’t done jack. They’re all much smarter now - just focus on gaining quality inbound links and your site will be indexed in no time.
This is just a sample of the core vocabulary associated with SEO. Is this all you need to know? Absolutely not. But in my experience these are the words and phrases that newcomers have the most trouble with. If these definitions help one person have a better understanding of SEO, then I will be satisfied.
Find a good domain name
September 18th, 2007
MatthewGood domain names are out there, but they can be hard to find. Here are some tools to help you in your search.
1. Dislexicon - Takes common words and adds suffixes and prefixes. It even gives you the meaning. This site is great for finding short domain names that look like they could be real words.
2. JustDropped - This site lets you search for domain names that have recently expired. You get a few searches for free with limited results. I’ve found that the free searches are usually adequate for my needs.
3. Word Mixer - This one lets you enter up to five words which are mixed up into new, semi-pronouncable words. The same website also has a couple other tools that are useful such as the random words tool which is hit or miss, and the mixer seeds page.
4. WordFinder - This is actually a tool for crossword puzzles, but it can also be very useful for finding a domain name.
5. DomainsBot - This search engine is geared specifically towards finding a domain name. It works best if you’re looking for a compound-word domain rather than an invented word.
6. Online Generators - If all else fails, sometimes you’ll find a gem using one of these online generators. This is usually a last resort for me though, they tend to suck up your time without out producing much.
Google Sketch Up
September 18th, 2007
MatthewWhat is Google SketchUp 6?
Google SketchUp is a deceptively simple, amazingly powerful tool for creating, viewing, and modifying 3D ideas quickly and easily. Google SketchUp was developed to combine the elegance and spontaneity of pencil sketching with the speed and flexibility of today’s digital media.
Developed for the conceptual stages of design, this powerful yet easy-to-learn software allows for quick and easy 3D form creation, the result is an interface that supports a dynamic, creative exploration of 3D form, material and light.
Google SketchUp combines a compact yet robust tool-set with an intelligent guidance system that streamlines the 3D drawing process.
3D for Everyone
Design software has been around for decades and is clearly here to stay. But we think something has been missing—the freedom, flexibility and fun that should go hand-in-hand with the design process. It’s our view that while traditional CAD software is necessary for developing detailed drawings, it’s simply too complex for most conceptual design work.
Google SketchUp bridges the divide between design utility and fun. As designers ourselves, we created Google SketchUp as much to satisfy our own wishes as those of our users.
We know you’ve heard it all before: what company doesn’t claim that its software is ‘a piece of cake to use’ or ‘the best around?’ We’re guilty of saying this too. But you don’t have to take our word for it—you can try it yourself. Just download Google SketchUp 6 fire it up and give it a spin. Most people say they’re off and running in a few hours.
But nevermind what we think, here’s what customers have told us Google SketchUp is to them:
Personalized Search Ads
September 14th, 2007
Matthew24/7 Real Media Inc. has conducted direct marketing campaigns with online advertising distributed via Internet search engines across a network of more than 950 Web sites.
Campaigns conducted in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region combined Internet searches with geographic, behavioral and keyword targeting.
Ads were personalized and customized to match specific Internet keyword searches initiated by individual consumers. The targeting resulted in increased click-through and response rates, according to the digital marketing agency.
Linking search and display advertising is an important step in integrating advertising strategies to take advantage of the Internet’s vast reach and targeting potential, said Brian Lesser, director of product marketing for 24/7.
Techniques like behavioral targeting and demographic targeting give advertisers an idea of what users might be looking for, but search targeting allows advertisers to serve ads based on what they know a particular consumer is interested in buying, according to Lesser.
Web Statistics Made Easy
September 11th, 2007
MatthewHere is a quick explanation of your web statistics.
Hits: “A “Hit” is a term used that represents the number of files downloaded from a server to your computer. For example, if a page has 20 different graphics, and someone visited it, it would count as 21 hits, one for the page load, and twenty for all the different graphics. The only real use for this statistic is for server administrators, so they can determine the server load.
Visits: The Number of Visitors shows you how many users come to your site and request a page. The visitor can move around your site visiting several pages, however he will still be counted as only one visitor. An exception to this rule occurs in the rare occasion when a visitor takes more than half an hour (or the amount of time set by your host) to click from one page to another, in which case the program will register two visitors.
Page Views: A parameter indicates how many pages have been requested. It is a very important number because it is indicative of the “stickiness” of your site. Stickiness is a good thing: if, for example, your statistics show 10 visitors, but 50 page views, it means that, on average, each visitor has viewed 5 pages. A large “page views per visitor” ratio usually means that your site is so interesting and valuable that users are inclined to “stick around” and explore.
Google Wifi
September 11th, 2007
MatthewThe Mountain View WiFi network just celebrated its first anniversary, and they thought you’d appreciate a few data points. The network’s 400+ mesh routers cover about 12 square miles and 25,000 homes to serve approximately 15,000 unique users each week month. Since the beginning of 2007, traffic has grown almost 10 percent each month, and the network now handles over 300 gigabytes of data each day, sent to over 100 distinct types of WiFi devices. Virtually the entire city has been taking advantage of the network, with 95 percent of the mesh routers being used on any given day.
Around the globe and across the U. S., many people are still not able to access the online services that are increasingly helpful, if not essential, tools for our daily lives. This is why google is committed to promoting alternative platforms for people to access the web, no matter where you are, what you’re doing or what device you’re using.
For those who have been following the effort to create a free wireless network in San Francisco, we continue to hope that EarthLink and The City will find a way to enable all San Franciscans to enjoy the free WiFi network they deserve. On a broader scale, they hope that the success of the Mountain View model will encourage others to think creatively about how to address access issues in many other communities.
Google Mobile Search
September 11th, 2007
MatthewGoogle quietly launched a page explaining all of their mobile search features at mobile.google.com. Anyone who has gone to www.google.com on their cell phone or portable device in recent times might have noticed that you were being shown a different user-interface than when you were using a normal browser. That’s because google has been forwarding mobile devices to a WML gateway to make using Google on your phone/PDA a more pleasurable experience. From what I’ve seen of Google’s XHTML mobile search — available at http://www.google.com/xhtml if your phone’s browser won’t automatically redirect from Google.com — they’re using many of the same methods along with some upgrades to make phone-searching as easy as possible.
Check your web rankings
September 11th, 2007
MatthewMake it a habit to check your search engine rankings at least weekly. This will give you a good idea of your visibility on the Web and alert you to any trends - up or down - in your rankings. You should check all of your important keywords and key phrases, and check all the search engines that matter to you, not just Google. There are programs available that will automate this task. One of the best is Web Position, but there are many other tools on the market, including free ones
Bad SEO
August 29th, 2007
MatthewLinks gone Bad.
Some links are bad… for example, if you are a car sales company and you’ve got dozens of completely irrelevant links to international hotel sites… yeah, YOU know the ones! in Prague, Munich, Shanghai etc! That’s a BAD neighborhood over there! That IS going to put a world of hurt on you! And as for the Free-For-All link sites, web rings, and 3 way link schemes… that’s just suicide in cyberspace! Why? its a blatant and completely indefensible attempt at cheating the system!