This article will explain the importance of link quality, and its application to link building. Everyone may have a different understanding of what “quality” is on terms of links, but essentially that is your decision entirely. If you have an existing site, that you need to build links for, use this as a reference check list to ensure that you are link building properly. I am going to review the key 6 areas.
Is the page linking to you indexed in Google and is the cache version fresh?
Why is this essential? Google has a cached page of any indexed page on their index. So basically, this should be your starting point for any link partnership decision. You need to verify that the page the link partner is proposing for exchange, is actually indexed and that the cached version is of the page is fresh in their records, within 20 days old as a benchmark. This will show that the page in question gets crawled often. PageRank of the page is secondary, and comes normally afterwards in comparison to this primary check.
Is the page linking to you on topic? Is this a themed link?
There is a big difference between the types of links you can get. These type of link are very targeted and carry a lot more weight over generic or unrelated links. This is part of what explains why some sites with much less links that their direct competitors are able to outrank them for particular terms. Quality links from themed sources is the short answer. Focusing on just "popularity" and inadvertently ignoring "reputation" is a mistake a lot of online marketers make. Keep this in mind.
Is the Title tag of the page linking to you on-topic? What about the text?
The title tag of the page linking to you is of great importance. When that is combined with text that is on topic with the page which is being link from, and other factors, the link value is increased greatly for the link. So as you can understand from this, is all about the co-relation of these factors that makes one link better than another.
Where is your link on the page located? Navigation, gutter, footer, body?
Location of your link is another strong factor to consider. The most beneficial location is considered to be within the body area of content. Any repetitive areas like navigation, gutter, footer, etc would normally not carry as much weight as the main body area. “Run-of-site” links fall into this group. There is a preference for the first paragraph, but the middle or bottom within the body content are good areas as well.
How many other links are on the page? Home Page vs. Link Page PR gap?
PageRank gets automatically diluted in relation to the amount of links on the page.
Google guidelines currently suggest a maximum of 100 links per page. So here you
want to make sure the number is as small as possible. I recommend targeting 20 links per page maximum on average to have room to allow those pages link growth. Also, what is the difference between the main page PR and the subpage were you are getting the link from? In the best cases, your link will be one point under the home page value. If it isn’t, you can consider other options with your link partner.
By Jose NUnez - Dedivated SEO Consultant
Tampilkan postingan dengan label seo pros. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label seo pros. Tampilkan semua postingan
Senin, 03 September 2012
Rabu, 25 April 2012
Google Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Practices - Part 5
The fifth and last part of this article will concentrate on the internal and analysis areas of the optimization for Google. I will review 3 essential areas. Let’s start:
Why do you need to use Google Sitemaps.
If your site has hundreds of pages, then a compressed version of the file can be created. You are required to create an account with Google in order to take advantage of this feature. Two things to consider before uploading the sitemap file are to verify that your robots.txt allows Google to craw the site for this to work in the first place, and that you check for 404 error pages in your site. Now to why you need this: Google will crawl your site more frequently to verify changes in the sitemap file, and index files that normally it wouldn’t. So keep it up to date with your weekly changes. It saves Google time, since it will only concentrate on updated content, and getting new or updated pages indexed as a benefit.
The importance of Web Analytics.
Keep track of your optimization and log results by understanding your analytics. It is essential that you monitor your visitor paths and exit pages. Make all necessary changes through your pages to make sure you are improving those pages that are top exit ones. One way to achieve this is by creating stronger offerings, guarantees, and calls to action among other things. SiteCatalyst is a very robust solution with a lot of features. SiteCatalyst provides data related to navigation, ecommerce, content, and other detailed visitor information. It also has a pretty flexible dashboard and it is very data intensive. One of the great features that it provides is comparison, which allows you to compare different campaigns and groups to see how they are doing so against each other, so that campaigns can be optimized. If you are looking robust features such as customizable dashboards, then Omniture SiteCatalyst might be right for you.
Staying out of the Supplemental Index.
Sites of any age, size, and rank can end up in the supplemental index. For the first 2 factors, it is related to the update ratio or duplicate content. For the last one, because of missing elements. The number one reason to be listed in this index is the update ratio. So how do you fix this? Update the content of the page. Change the body content mostly. Title changes and Heading tags also helps. Number two reason is that the page is no longer internally linked from home or main category pages. So, the fix? Self explanatory. Last reason, your site is online but less than six months old. If this is your case, please read my 2 part article on “Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics” were you will be able to find out what to do to get out much quicker.
Closing Statement about Google Optimization.
To recap… Make sure that your site is compliant, stays true, stays natural, and stays organic. Focus on content, and bringing quality traffic to your site. If people are attracted to your site and buy, Google will be attracted to the site too and the site will naturally rank well. Make it easy on Google, and they will make it easy on you.
By Dedicated SEO Consultant: Jose Nunez
Senin, 23 April 2012
Directories Submissions and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
This article will guide you the importance of directories submissions in launching a new site, or ranking an existing one. I am going to review 6 important areas.
Directories are the “brand new site” best friend.
Since every new domain gets put in the Google “TrustBox”, since they favor links from trusted sites. This is a part of the "TrustRank" equation within the algorithm. Directories play a very important roll in getting good quality inbound links that help your site to get out. As they pass PageRank and reputation with Google, your site will greatly benefit from its inclusion in these directories, especially in the launching phase of its life cycle. So, finding solid directories to get your site listed is the key.
The viable alternative to link buying... and safer.
Directories provide one-way inbound links to your site, and drive traffic to your site through direct referrals. By doing this, they boost your link popularity and ultimately improve your search rankings. All this done naturally, and cost free in many cases.
Paid vs. free: the differences and the similarities.
Paid directories quickly list your site, were free ones may take several weeks or even months to review it. On the other hand, some paid directories charge expensive listing fees for the link they provide, and that is not cost effective. If you work on a limited budget for your site, you may want to submit to a handful of paid directories but a few hundred of free ones. Of these last ones, prioritize “one-ways” preferably. Whatever directories you submit to, paid or free or a combination of both types, the quality of the directory itself should be the biggest consideration in your decision.
The directory page that counts is were the link is.
When doing a directory submission, not only look at the PageRank of the homepage, but also of the subpage, where your link will be. While it may seem like a benefit to have your site listed on a PR7 directory, this is less effective when you realize that the internal page where your link is actually only a PR3, when you expected more.
Pagerank is not the only factor of directory quality.
A low PR directory is not necessarily a bad one. New directories fall in this category. These directories do review and list sites quicker. Also, when they become more popular, so will your listing. Again, base your decision based on the quality of the directory. And keep in mind whether or not the directory is search engine friendly. When checking the structure of the link to your site, make sure it is not dynamic.
Directories links shouldn’t be more than 10%.
You shouldn’t have more than this percentage in your overall inbound links count. Don’t rely on directories alone as your link source. Diversify them for your benefit.
Please refer to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics – Part 2 for more sources.
By Dedicated SEO Consultant Jose Nunez
Directories are the “brand new site” best friend.
Since every new domain gets put in the Google “TrustBox”, since they favor links from trusted sites. This is a part of the "TrustRank" equation within the algorithm. Directories play a very important roll in getting good quality inbound links that help your site to get out. As they pass PageRank and reputation with Google, your site will greatly benefit from its inclusion in these directories, especially in the launching phase of its life cycle. So, finding solid directories to get your site listed is the key.
The viable alternative to link buying... and safer.
Directories provide one-way inbound links to your site, and drive traffic to your site through direct referrals. By doing this, they boost your link popularity and ultimately improve your search rankings. All this done naturally, and cost free in many cases.
Paid vs. free: the differences and the similarities.
Paid directories quickly list your site, were free ones may take several weeks or even months to review it. On the other hand, some paid directories charge expensive listing fees for the link they provide, and that is not cost effective. If you work on a limited budget for your site, you may want to submit to a handful of paid directories but a few hundred of free ones. Of these last ones, prioritize “one-ways” preferably. Whatever directories you submit to, paid or free or a combination of both types, the quality of the directory itself should be the biggest consideration in your decision.
The directory page that counts is were the link is.
When doing a directory submission, not only look at the PageRank of the homepage, but also of the subpage, where your link will be. While it may seem like a benefit to have your site listed on a PR7 directory, this is less effective when you realize that the internal page where your link is actually only a PR3, when you expected more.
Pagerank is not the only factor of directory quality.
A low PR directory is not necessarily a bad one. New directories fall in this category. These directories do review and list sites quicker. Also, when they become more popular, so will your listing. Again, base your decision based on the quality of the directory. And keep in mind whether or not the directory is search engine friendly. When checking the structure of the link to your site, make sure it is not dynamic.
Directories links shouldn’t be more than 10%.
You shouldn’t have more than this percentage in your overall inbound links count. Don’t rely on directories alone as your link source. Diversify them for your benefit.
Please refer to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics – Part 2 for more sources.
By Dedicated SEO Consultant Jose Nunez
Jumat, 20 April 2012
Google PageRank Toolbar Explained
This article will guide you through the importance of the toolbar, and its accuracy at reporting PageRank. I will also discuss the feature about it that most people, including many SEOs are not aware of. If you have an existing site, use this as a reference to ensure that you are using the toolbar properly. I am going to review the key 5 areas.
The toolbar is not accurate, and it has limitations.
If you visit a page that is not in the index, but Google has a very similar page indexed that is very close to yours, then the toolbar will estimate its PageRank.
Also, Google represents PageRank through the toolbar, but since the nature of
PageRank is linear (a multiplier) and the toolbar is not, there are limitations.
Note: Please read “A few more words on PageRank” in my Google Best SEO
Practices – Part 4 article to find out more about this subject.
The information the toolbar displays is outdated.
There is a big difference between toolbar PageRank and actual PageRank. The data you see in the toolbar is 4 to 6 months old. Google tracks and assigns PageRank in real-time, but does not update the toolbar in the same fashion. There are multiple tools that estimate future PR, but they are just that, estimates. Keep this in mind.
Best SEO features: highlighting & backlinks.
You can highlight all instances of the search term on the page returned from your search. This helps you see how many times your competitors use these keywords on their pages, so you can adjust your SEO campaign accordingly. Also, the backlinks feature displays all the pages that link to yours, which Google counts towards your PageRank. Like I said above, remember this is outdated information.
The toolbar’s most hidden feature: indexing.
Ever wondered how can Google index pages with no links to them? Well, here is how it’s done: if you are browsing the web with the toolbar installed, (I am not saying just visible or enabled), Google is recording every page you visit and simultaneously checking to see if the address to it is in the index or not. So what if its not? It will be indexed on the next schedule. If you don’t want a page to get indexed yet, the make sure you don’t have the toolbar installed in your browser while getting it ready.
Demystifying the “pagerank dependency”.
PageRank is only one of the 100+ algo components of Google, and it is overrated.
Don’t rely solely on the toolbar to determine your link partners. You want links from related pages with high traffic, not high PageRank alone. And my final advice: Make sure you have at least 2 browsers, one with the toolbar (if you need it) and one without (to visit your “not-ready” pages).
By Dedicated SEO Consultant: Jose Nunez
The toolbar is not accurate, and it has limitations.
If you visit a page that is not in the index, but Google has a very similar page indexed that is very close to yours, then the toolbar will estimate its PageRank.
Also, Google represents PageRank through the toolbar, but since the nature of
PageRank is linear (a multiplier) and the toolbar is not, there are limitations.
Note: Please read “A few more words on PageRank” in my Google Best SEO
Practices – Part 4 article to find out more about this subject.
The information the toolbar displays is outdated.
There is a big difference between toolbar PageRank and actual PageRank. The data you see in the toolbar is 4 to 6 months old. Google tracks and assigns PageRank in real-time, but does not update the toolbar in the same fashion. There are multiple tools that estimate future PR, but they are just that, estimates. Keep this in mind.
Best SEO features: highlighting & backlinks.
You can highlight all instances of the search term on the page returned from your search. This helps you see how many times your competitors use these keywords on their pages, so you can adjust your SEO campaign accordingly. Also, the backlinks feature displays all the pages that link to yours, which Google counts towards your PageRank. Like I said above, remember this is outdated information.
The toolbar’s most hidden feature: indexing.
Ever wondered how can Google index pages with no links to them? Well, here is how it’s done: if you are browsing the web with the toolbar installed, (I am not saying just visible or enabled), Google is recording every page you visit and simultaneously checking to see if the address to it is in the index or not. So what if its not? It will be indexed on the next schedule. If you don’t want a page to get indexed yet, the make sure you don’t have the toolbar installed in your browser while getting it ready.
Demystifying the “pagerank dependency”.
PageRank is only one of the 100+ algo components of Google, and it is overrated.
Don’t rely solely on the toolbar to determine your link partners. You want links from related pages with high traffic, not high PageRank alone. And my final advice: Make sure you have at least 2 browsers, one with the toolbar (if you need it) and one without (to visit your “not-ready” pages).
By Dedicated SEO Consultant: Jose Nunez
Kamis, 15 Maret 2012
Article Writing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
This article will guide you through the main reasons you should be using article writing as part of your SEO efforts to gain backlinks and link popularity, or in other words, turning content into link s and traffic. Getting targeted traffic is a direct result of this process. This will apply to both new and existing sites, and I am covering here what to do when writing articles.
Write only about what you know well.
You should focus on known topics that pertain to your target market. As your articles are informative, you can submit them to article directories and websites accepting new content and articles that publish similar ones to what yours is about. You can get strong referrals from articles that were submitted using article databases. Keep writing 2-3 articles weekly, making sure they are getting submitted at similar rates.
Article partitioning and printable versions.
Splitting articles into parts is a great way to make a subject easier to digest by topics and having your visitors follow them by series. It does also help when you take an article for review and you add your comments in different color or bold them. Printable versions are an important addition to the original format of your articles, highly appreciated by users, and does not fall into duplicate content penalties at all.
The power of links and your article.
Use linking within your article to expand information sources or further detail topics. Reference pages, news sources, forums, bog posts, are example of resources you can offer and the user can choose to follow if needed. Now, it is equally important that your links are well defined and easy to spot by using standards when possible.
Apply SEO principles to your article.
It is important to create titles and headings that relate to what the article is about. Also, try to keep the article length to no more than 500 words, written with simple language, and providing clear and useful information. Always impart concrete knowledge to your readers. You should focus on the most important points in the topic, outlining the key areas of it. To do this, you can use headings, bold type and lists, like in the case of this particular article.
There is a lot more to article writing, but every situation is different, and for every website, the application of concepts discussed in these areas are different as well.
By Dedicated SEO Consultant Jose Nunez
Write only about what you know well.
You should focus on known topics that pertain to your target market. As your articles are informative, you can submit them to article directories and websites accepting new content and articles that publish similar ones to what yours is about. You can get strong referrals from articles that were submitted using article databases. Keep writing 2-3 articles weekly, making sure they are getting submitted at similar rates.
Article partitioning and printable versions.
Splitting articles into parts is a great way to make a subject easier to digest by topics and having your visitors follow them by series. It does also help when you take an article for review and you add your comments in different color or bold them. Printable versions are an important addition to the original format of your articles, highly appreciated by users, and does not fall into duplicate content penalties at all.
The power of links and your article.
Use linking within your article to expand information sources or further detail topics. Reference pages, news sources, forums, bog posts, are example of resources you can offer and the user can choose to follow if needed. Now, it is equally important that your links are well defined and easy to spot by using standards when possible.
Apply SEO principles to your article.
It is important to create titles and headings that relate to what the article is about. Also, try to keep the article length to no more than 500 words, written with simple language, and providing clear and useful information. Always impart concrete knowledge to your readers. You should focus on the most important points in the topic, outlining the key areas of it. To do this, you can use headings, bold type and lists, like in the case of this particular article.
There is a lot more to article writing, but every situation is different, and for every website, the application of concepts discussed in these areas are different as well.
By Dedicated SEO Consultant Jose Nunez
Kamis, 08 Maret 2012
Explanation of the Google Supplemental Index
This article will guide you through the main reasons why pages get listed on this index, and most importantly, how to get them out. If you have an existing site, there is a high probability that you may have pages in the supplemental index, so use this as a reference, and make sure you follow the steps outlined here.
First of all, for those of you new to this topic.
What is the Supplemental Index? Here is the short answer… Google has actually 2 indexes, on call the “Main Index” and a secondary one known as “Supplemental”. One way to verify that you are looking at a supplemental result is that you can see “Supplemental Result” in green text on the bottom line of any given Google listing.
Why do pages move from main to supplemental?
There are many obvious, and some not too obvious reasons for this, but Duplicate Content and Non-Updated are the two main ones. A “too dynamic” url, in other words, with too many variables, or a page that is to deep in the site’s structure also accounts for this. A word of advice on linking: If you are doing excessive reciprocal links, link buying/selling or linking to spammy neighborhoods… stop! Google algorithms has very low trust in the inbound and outbound links of those sites.
Solutions to get out of the supplemental index.
Now that you know what this index is and why you don’t your pages in it, I will go over ways you can get them out, and back to were they belong, the main index. I will group them in pairs as they are co-related:
1. Duplicate Content and Content Quality. All your meta tags should be unique. All pages have common elements like navigation, footer, etc. Make sure your page have enough unique content to offset these elements, and that you are providing quality with as well.
2. Dynamic URLs and Site Structure. Keep all URLs as “static” as possible. Why passing 3-4 variables if there is a simpler way? And every page should be 2-3 clicks away from the home page, as far as the site structure. Please refer to Google Best SEO Practices – Part 4.
3. Your Internal Linking and Profile. Your sitemap, which is very important component of your internal linking, should include links to all the pages on your site, and it should be linked (normally in the footer) from every page. And your site’s overall link profile directly impacts the level of trust Google gives it, and since this affects the PageTrust, less trust often translates into more supplemental pages.
Again, like I said before, make it easy on Google, and they will make it easy on you
By Dedicated SEO Consultant: Jose Nunez
First of all, for those of you new to this topic.
What is the Supplemental Index? Here is the short answer… Google has actually 2 indexes, on call the “Main Index” and a secondary one known as “Supplemental”. One way to verify that you are looking at a supplemental result is that you can see “Supplemental Result” in green text on the bottom line of any given Google listing.
Why do pages move from main to supplemental?
There are many obvious, and some not too obvious reasons for this, but Duplicate Content and Non-Updated are the two main ones. A “too dynamic” url, in other words, with too many variables, or a page that is to deep in the site’s structure also accounts for this. A word of advice on linking: If you are doing excessive reciprocal links, link buying/selling or linking to spammy neighborhoods… stop! Google algorithms has very low trust in the inbound and outbound links of those sites.
Solutions to get out of the supplemental index.
Now that you know what this index is and why you don’t your pages in it, I will go over ways you can get them out, and back to were they belong, the main index. I will group them in pairs as they are co-related:
1. Duplicate Content and Content Quality. All your meta tags should be unique. All pages have common elements like navigation, footer, etc. Make sure your page have enough unique content to offset these elements, and that you are providing quality with as well.
2. Dynamic URLs and Site Structure. Keep all URLs as “static” as possible. Why passing 3-4 variables if there is a simpler way? And every page should be 2-3 clicks away from the home page, as far as the site structure. Please refer to Google Best SEO Practices – Part 4.
3. Your Internal Linking and Profile. Your sitemap, which is very important component of your internal linking, should include links to all the pages on your site, and it should be linked (normally in the footer) from every page. And your site’s overall link profile directly impacts the level of trust Google gives it, and since this affects the PageTrust, less trust often translates into more supplemental pages.
Again, like I said before, make it easy on Google, and they will make it easy on you
By Dedicated SEO Consultant: Jose Nunez
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)