How to Manage Duplicate Content in Your SEO

This article will guide you through the main reasons why duplicate content is a bad thing for your site, how to avoid it, and most importantly, how to fix it. What it is important to understand initially, is that the duplicate content that counts against you is your own. What other sites do with your content is often out of your control, just like who links to you for the most part… Keeping that in mind. How to determine if you have duplicate content. When your content is duplicated you risk fragmentation of your rank, anchor text dilution, and lots of other negative effects. But how do you tell initially? Use the “value” factor. Ask yourself: Is there additional value to this content? Don’t just reproduce content for no reason. Is this version of the page basically a new one, or just a slight rewrite of the previous? Make sure you are adding unique value. Am I sending the engines a bad signal? They can identify our duplicate content candidates from numerous signals. Similar to ranking, the most popular are identified, and marked. How to manage duplicate content versions. Every site could have potential versions of duplicate content. This is fine. The key here is how to manage these. There are legitimate reasons to duplicate content, including: 1) Alternate document formats. When having content that is hosted as HTML, Word, PDF, etc. 2) Legitimate content syndication. The use of RSS feeds and others. 3) The use of common code. CSS, JavaScript, or any boilerplate elements. In the first case, we may have alternative ways to deliver our content. We need to be able to choose a default format, and disallow the engines from the others, but still allowing the users access. We can do this by adding the proper code to the robots.txt file, and making sure we exclude any urls to these versions on our sitemaps as well. Talking about urls, you should use the nofollow attribute on your site also to get rid of duplicate pages, because other people can still link to them. As far as the second case, if you have a page that consists of a rendering of an rss feed from another site – and 10 other sites also have pages based on that feed - then this could look like duplicate content to the search engines. So, the bottom line is that you probably are not at risk for duplication, unless a large portion of your site is based on them. And lastly, you should disallow any common code from getting indexed. With your CSS as an external file, make sure that you place it in a separate folder and exclude that folder from being crawled in your robots.txt and do the same for your JavaScript or any other common external code. Additional notes on duplicate content. Any URL has the potential to be counted by search engines. Two URLs referring to the same content will look like duplicated, unless you manage them properly. This includes again choosing the default one, and 301 redirecting the other ones to it. By Utah SEO Jose Nunez

How to Measure Keyword Density For Your SEO

This article will guide you through the main myths around keyword density and SEO. Even though keyword density should be a part of your SEO efforts, there is a lot of confusion about what “density” is and how to apply it properly. Also, how much is density percentage is good? This will apply to both new and existing sites, and I am covering here what to know about keyword density. There are 2 ways of calculating density. The basic method consists of measuring the number of times a keyword appears on the page as a percentage of the total word count of that page. The complex method consists of measuring keyword density of the page plus the text components in meta tags: Title, Keywords, Alt Text, Description, and Comments. Most SEOs refer to the first method when talking about keyword density though. But, how do search engines measure keyword density? They actually use the complex method to measure it. I will explain later how to adjust to this. Were should the keywords be used? Diversify the density of your keywords in different areas of your page. Starting with the Title, and following with the beginning of the page, like in the headings, other sub-headings, and in the introductory paragraphs would certainly be of benefit. Every search engine algo is different, so you must choose an average keyword density that can make your site rank well in the top ten positions in the SERPs. The importance of keyword density. Keyword density can be very beneficial when done right, but it can also have a very negative influence when overdone. This is known as "keyword stuffing". When you stuff keywords in your page, this will be detected and your site will get penalized for doing so. This could go as far as getting your entire site blacklisted from a particular search engine, if you are found keyword stuffing too many times. There is no secret keyword formula. No matter what you may think, or read on forums or even articles by such “SEO Gurus”, there is no secret formula for keyword density. There are, however, certain guidelines that need to be followed, and they are available to the public form the search engines themselves. Keywords density is one of most critical elements in SEO, and if you can master it you get higher rankings for your site. So what is the right keyword density? Your keyword density must be right to improve your search engine ranking. The “ideal” keyword density will always help to achieve high rankings. But how much is too much? If too low, you will not get the maximum benefits, if too high your site might get flagged as spam… Ok, there is no “one number fits all” here, but based on real case studies, the average top ranking Google site averages basic 1.9% keyword density. I wouldn’t go over 2%. This is an average value, and I am talking about basic percentages here, not complex. But it translates well to their complex values. By Utah SEO Jose Nunez

Links For (Search Engine Optimization) SEO - Part 1

This article covers a much discussed topic in the SEO community. Also, clients and often site owners come up with questions about what links to get, and how to get them. Note that I will not consider reciprocal links here, because of better alternatives, and because their effectiveness only applies to a small number of sites, who use them under 10% of their overall link ratio. I will review the main types you want to get for your site.

The natural one-way links.
This one is solely based in good content and resources. This is the safest method of link building available as far as search engines, which look at the “intent” of links. But it is also the slowest. If your site is new, then as part of its launch, submit it to niche web directories. Start with a few highly trusted directories, but do not have more than 10-15% of your overall links coming from them. Don't overlook industry-specific directories that may be paid or unpaid. These usually send highly qualified traffic and can be a real bargain. Directories will get you site many natural one-way links, at a natural speed of growth. This combination of type and speed is very beneficial. Look for sites that would benefit from offering users your content.

Linkbaiting, or link bait.
This one is not easy, and involves creativity. But it is worth every effort. Linkbaiting refers to content, videos, images or anything on your site that is created with the intention of increasing links to it. It is highly effective in getting links, probably the cheapest too, based on the cost of the “bait” you use, has no negative effects from the search engines, at least not for the moment, since all links generated look natural. When complemented by social bookmarking, the networks associated with these links will add even more value to them.

Paying for links, or paid links.
These links can have great short-term search benefits. These are good mainly for sites that have tons of pages with content, and have been well established online for years. In addition, these sites also have tons of natural links to them, again because they had been well established online for years. These are not recommended for new sites. Look for sites that are highly on topic with yours, and in complementary niches. A very important factor in the evaluation of these links, like any other, is age. And the latest “Google Slap” effect were sites fall pass the top 30 in the listings, is affecting primarily those which do heavy link buying.

Bad links and their effects.
Outbound links play a big role in the way search engines determine who your “neighborhood” is. Bad neighborhoods will affect your search engine rankings. Things like FFA (Free For All) link pages, links farms, etc, fall in this category. Note that this has nothing to do with your pages going into the supplemental index. That is not the kind of penalty these links cause for your site. And the amount of bad links considered is a big one. A small amount of them would not trigger a penalty, but make sure that your site is not related in any way to those link patterns.

By Utah SEO Jose Nunez

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For Google, Yahoo, and Msn

In this article I will review the similarities and differences between the ranking algorithms of Google, Yahoo and Msn. Google and Yahoo are considerably reasonably close in terms of off-page factors weighting compared to Msn, which is more on the on-page side. Like Google, Yahoo and MSN will discount obviously identical and unnatural looking anchor link text. Since these algos are frequently updated, I will only concentrate on those factors that do not. Otherwise, mayor updates should take place for them to be replaced by other/better methods.

The Google Factors.
It is a known fact that Google is focused on links. Therefore, it ranks them by quality and relevancy factors. With that said, on-page factors such as title keywords, content keyword density and relevance also influence the ranking of a given page. Google also looks into the "neighborhood" of your site analyzing outbound links. If you link to related quality sites with relevant content, search engines will associate your site with these “neighbor” sites.

The Yahoo Factors.
Yahoo tends to be the most active of the three when it comes to crawling. Not a general rule though. But in addition to its nature, having RSS on your site will get it more aggressive and frequently crawled. Similar to Google, Yahoo gives a lot of importance to inbound links, looking into factors like relevancy and anchor text, and heavily at volume of links. Their TrustRank is a form of PageRank, but with a special teleportation to a subset of high-quality pages. Yahoo search rankings appear to place extra importance on your site being listed in their directory, especially for highly competitive terms. Keyword density in title and content relevance also count.

The Msn Factors.
Maybe a substantial different from the other two, Msn normally gives more weight to the title text. Also, CSS optimization plays an important role at getting better rankings here. Msn is second to Yahoo on links volume, but the link analysis is reversed, analyzing inbound links for quality, anchor text keywords, and relevancy. Inclusion in the MSN endorsed directories would boost your site high in the SERPs. This fact still holds true, but its advantage has lessened with the new Live version. Content freshness is still very important, boosting rank of frequently updated pages.

Optimizing for all.
Yes, it is possible. Did someone said: wikipedia? Regardless of the algo differences of the mayor search engines, a site with great content that attracts users, and generates lots of natural occurring inbound links having great anchor text, has a great chance of replicating similar success. Of the off-page factors, quality of inbound links is the most important. Of the on-page factors the keyword density in the title. A good balance between conservative keyword density and other elements like RSS and CSS need to exist when used, since they all get particular boots or penalties with the search engines.

By Utah SEO Jose Nunez

Links For (Search Engine Optimization) SEO - Part 2

In the previous article on this topic, I covered the main types of links you want to get for your site. On the last part, I will clearly state which types of links to stay away from pursuing, and I will further explain some misconceptions about the good types of links.

Do not do this to your links.
(1) Placing a form on your site and then allowing anyone to add a link to your site using an automated process. If you do not manually approve these links, well, you are asking for “link problems”. Manually approve these links before posting them. What works, takes work…

(2) Denying a link based solely on a low or non existing PageRank. What a mistake! PageRank is not only outdated, it is also less relevant that it was in the past. As long as it is related to your site, what really matters here, is that the site your are reviewing is indexed or not. That is the key issue, not its popularity. This also applies outside the regular sites circle, to niche directories, smaller engines, etc.

(3) Sites that exchange links with you, but at a later time they do a “nofollow” on your link, or they just simply take it down. That is why you need to check your backlinks periodically to verify the status of these links exchanges.

(4) Sites with faked PageRank. Yes, they are all over. The problem is that you are doing an exchange link or buying a link from a site that doesn’t have the PageRank they claim to (offending domains use a 301 or 302 redirects that point their sites to sites with a high PageRank) and instead getting your genuine PageRank added to them as a trade, or your money.

Considering link exchanges.
This one is not easy, (see above) but also a good way if done right. How? Well, to start look for sites with lots of quality content that is directly related to yours. In this area, articles that are good introductions to your products or services create an opportunity. Focused on your visitors, look for resource pages that would increase their experience. Look for forums that allow actual links to be passed, as there are lots of then available, especially from authority sites, educational and governmental entities. And last, but not least, look for “information paths”, in other words, pages that lead visitors to additional information on a product or service.

Article swapping for links.
This one is very good. When you swap articles with a related site in your industry (for the most benefit) plus you add your own comments (preferably in a different color, hint: blue) to the article you are posting on you site (to avoid duplicate content among other things) this allows you to have additional content on your site, plus the immediate benefit of a properly implemented reciprocal link.

By Utah SEO Jose Nunez

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Basics – Part I

The first thing you should know about SEO is that Consistency is the “key word”.
Because of that, in this first article I will cover the immediate things that relate to
solid Search Engine Ranks for particular number of key phrases. This will apply to any type of website, on any industry you are targeting. Lets review first 5 areas:

Search Engines Rank web pages, not web sites.
You should have unique Titles, Descriptions and Keywords in your pages. Therefore,
there should be only one page per keyword phrase you are targeting, highly focused
on that phrase. You can also target as many related combinations of your phrase as searches are using to find it, as long as you have individual pages focused for them.

Your web site has to be relevant to searchers, not just the search engine.
One very important area of SEO is to be well-balanced. There many variables that
matter when it comes to optimizing a site, there is not a specific area were all the
effort should be on. Instead focus on achieving a Top 10 Position, and here is why:
It is OK to be number 5 or number 3 in any given rank… If you are in the 1st spot and you are clicked simply because that spot gets more clicks, are you really going to get more of whatever your site’s goal is just because you are the number 1?

Less is more, when it comes to targeted keywords.
If you have like most, an average site, focus on 5-10 keywords. Build your entire site around these keywords. Remember to be relevant to searches using these keywords. You should rather have one keyword for which your site is on the Top 10 (first page), than ten that are on secondary pages. Put those keywords in your Title, Description, and Keyword areas, and remember the uniqueness factor.

Build real content for people, not for machines.
It is said that “content is king”, and for a good reason. When two sites highly optimized in a particular industry for a particular key phrase compete, this is
one of the most important areas Search Engines evaluate for relevancy, and
therefore positioning. Keep your content updated either by adding new, or by
editing existing one. The relation between content and its freshness is a must.

Tell me who links to you, who you link to, and I will tell you who you are.
Yes, linking is that important in SEO. You must have incoming links, but what really matters, is that you must have quality incoming links, and you must build them all naturally. Search Engines reward sites when their links are build steadily over time.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Basics – Part II

In the second and final part of this article I will cover the remaining 5 areas that relate to solid Search Engine Ranks for particular number of key phrases. Again, this will apply to any type of website, on any industry you are targeting.
Lets review the last 5 areas:

Provide a road map of your web site, and search engines will follow it.
Called the "sitemap", this very simple page contains links to every page on a web site and serves one very important purpose. That is to get your sub pages crawled, and into a search engine's index.

Search Engines look for the robots.txt file, so make sure you have it.
As its name implies, this is a text file that tells robots what to and what not to index. Its content consists of so-called records. Only mention files and directories that you don't want to be indexed. All other files will be indexed normally if they are linked on your site. Having a proper robots.txt file gives your pages the rankings they deserve. If search engines know what to do with them, then they can give them good ranking.

Submit your site to related categories in niche directories.
Internet directories have become very important because they represent an easy path for inbound links creation. Now, when you submit your site to related categories in your industry you get that extra link factor, quality. Links from these categories can have a very positive effect on the search engine rankings of your web site.

Writing articles about your site, a great way to get new content.
This will help you get good positioning on search engines and quality incoming links as well. Always keep your articles as informative as possible. Other web sites will link back to your articles if you do. Write about the topics that your visitors are interested in, and don’t forget to send them to syndicate sites. They will in turn offer them to others. Just make sure that you always have a link back to your web site so that all sites who publish your article will automatically link to you.

Become an authority in your field. Visit relevant forums and blogs.
Only join forum and blogs that are relevant to your industry. Use your expertise as a site owner in your industry to give information and advice. Of course, put your URL into the signature of your posts. Being the authority is simply knowing your industry, and giving people the information they need to trust you and your site.