Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When a website goes online, the last essential piece of the puzzle is to get people visiting. How will the search engines know how to connect the right readers to your content? Learn about link building techniques and proper on-site optimization procedures here.

Indexed and Ranking Again

After some downtime, URLs are beginning to get re-indexed and search engine positions are returning to their old locations. Downtime may be a big set back, but it isn’t the total end of a website’s marketing position.

For SEO, Downtime Does Matter

The effects of downtime on SEO have been debated and denied, but there’s certainly a long term consequence for extended service interruptions.

Shared vs Unique IP on Shared Hosting - Initial Results

About a week and a half after transferring my sites to a unique IP address, the immediate SEO results have been significant. Here is a summary of the results I’ve seen so far and some more information about obtaining a unique IP address for shared hosting accounts.

10 Min Email

What is this 10 minute mail and why do I keep getting their search engine traffic? Learn about a great email resource for webmasters and how it became my own personal SEO experiment. Hopefully, this will fix some search engine results for the gain of everyone involved.

Pagerank goes on a wild ride

March 23, 2009 - The Google pagerank toolbar is showing strange results and hints of an update, but the fluctations are too wild to draw any conclusions yet. Instead of obsessing over the latest hints, I’m going to use the time to write a blog post!

Would you Wear a White Hat while Cleaning a Cesspool?

If Google says the internet is a cesspool, how is a white hat SEO supposed to clean anything around here without ruining their clothes?

Blame the New Google Algorithm?

Apparently, I’m not the only one who has noticed a significant decline in traffic and search engine rankings recently. What I had originally assumed a consequence of my inactivity may also be related to a new Google algorithm that seems, initially, to favor large name-brands more than it once did.

Standing Still in Sinking Sand

The temptation to sit back and watch profitable websites “take care of themselves” can be strong - but from my experience, the sand castles built of search engine positioning are sitting on top of a sinking foundation. Stand still for too long - and you might find yourself buried by new competition.

Directory Submission is Useless - A History of Web Directories

Directory submission is an outdated method of organizing the web, and trying to add your links to appropriate directories for SEO purposes is mostly an exercise in futility. Read about the history of web directories and a hint about the future of organizing the web.

Four Years Later - Nofollow has not Stopped Spam

Nofollow doesn’t work - spam is as bad as its ever been and Google’s search results are just becoming predictable.

PR Update - New Pages Only

Was that a pagerank update? Sort of, but it seems like only new URLs are currently being exported. Here’s a few hypotheses concerning PR - both the instantaneous value and the one that shows up in your toolbar or at the data-centers than can be queried publicly.

Unexpected SEO Results? Check On Page

Here is one of the biggest “duh” moments I’ve faced recently in SEO - and if you’re wondering why your off-page activities have no impact on a page’s ranking (or even if it seems to drop regardless of off-page efforts) you may just need to revisit the on-page source and do some cleanup.

Use htaccess 301 Redirects to Fix Broken Links

If you’ve got a website that’s been around a while, chances are you’ve got some old outdated links pointing to pages on your website that don’t exist anymore, or have been moved. Always make sure to use 301 URL redirects to “fix” these broken links, or if you ever need to rename or delete an old page.

Google Knows About Your Forum Posting

Google now recognizes the number of posts and authors on forum URLs. What does this mean in terms of SEO?

Content has to be the Center of any SEO Campaign

There’s no way to escape it - Content is the most important aspect of any successful SEO campaign. Links still have their place in ranking and indexing sites, but the links need to carry the authority of editorial approval that can only be earned through the production of quality content.

SEO Tweaks for PHPBB3

Here are the SEO modifications I’m making to my PHPBB3 boards before they even go live, and some links to more complete sources for PHPBB3 SEO

Can .biz Websites Rank Well?

A .com domain may inspire more consumer confidence than some of the newer top level domains, but the major search engines don’t seem to be playing any favorites.

Bounce Rates, SERPs, and Quality Ranking

Quality matters when it comes to SERPs, and search engines seem to be measuring this metric by watching visitor and surfer behavior on sites they go to from the search results. If you want to rise in the search ranks quickly, you’ll need to catch your readers’ interest in just a few precious seconds.

Are Pligg Sites Good for SEO?

Are Pligg sites good for SEO? Well, a few of them are if they meet some of the listed conditions. Most of them aren’t, and there’s quite a few reasons why most won’t be very useful to a webmaster.

Google Considering Internet Search Version 2.0

Some popular social bookmarking websites like Reddit may offer the best clue to the future of search engine optimization and SEO techniques. What is it all ultimately about? Content that the users want to see!

Over Optimized - the Minus Thirty Penalty Strikes

Too much SEO? Its possible, even with totally white-hat methods. If you want to rank high on the search engines these days, content needs to be the top priority. Here’s how I lost thirty spots on a few pages (I think)

First Law of Investment: Diversify!!!

All financial investors know to diversify their assets, so shouldn’t website builders and SEO professionals do the same?

Another PageRank Update - Does it Matter?

Does Pagerank really matter? Is it important to obsess over this one little detail when there are so many different ways to judge the value of a website? Well, the one extra bit of data probably helps, but it shouldn’t be your only goal - nor should you waste time waiting for the update to get published. There’s still other work to be done in the meantime!

Google SERP cycles?

Patience is a virtue, and radical fluctuations in the search engine positions is something you’ll just have to get used to until your website is firmly established as an authority in the field. Don’t worry though, what goes down often comes back up…

Back to Link Building

Need Traffic? Then you’re going to need new content and new links. How else will the search engines know your website is still alive?

New in Google - Top to Gone in 3 days

New content may get a huge boost in the search engines, but this crush never lasts long before the reality of establishing backlink authority comes into play and newer articles virtually fall off the map.

On-Page Seo - and SEO Planning

The first step to getting keyword specific traffic is … well, to figure out what they keyword is going to be and write something interesting about it. (Pictures and videos are great too, but some written content will have to be considered in any good on-site optimization strategy for SEO)

SEO in Young Websites

My original SEO plan for WebsiteBuilding.biz - How I brought in traffic as a virtually brand-new website.

Thou Shalt Not No_Follow (Is that a double negative?)

What does “nofollow” mean? How can it affect your backlinks and your website? Learn a bit about the relation/attribute here.

Google’s Internet: When Google sneezes, it creates a storm

Even small algorithm changes at Google can make a big difference in how surfers as a whole experience the internet. Don’t get too caught up in the latest trends, make sure you’re building a website presence and marketing plan that will survive the storms that are certain to come.