Google has paved their way through the crowd of search engines by doing everything that they can to ensure that their searchers are getting quality results. They’re able to do this by continuously updating their algorithms to eliminate low quality sites from the SERPs. The latest update that Google rolled out is known as the Google Panda update. This particular one has caused a lot of controversy among the World Wide Web and many large websites (like eHow) have been knocked down in their search engine rankings. You can either look at this as the end of the Internet or you can look at it as a learning experience. For those who want to run away scared, please do so now. This article is for those who want to learn more about how they can prevent being one of the websites deemed as a ranking disaster in the SEO world. What the Google Panda Update Implemented This update was just – Read the full article
A few days ago we talked about how important local search / SEO has become – and what you can do to enhance your local search performance and Internet marketing efforts. Well, as we conducted our research for that story, we stumbled upon a number of neat local search engine optimization tools. And, knowing how much readers love lists (our competitive intelligence tools post is one definitely worth checking out), we made another one – this time, to help you in your search for tools that are designed to give you an edge over local competitors. Enjoy! Local Search Toolkit This is one of our favorite local SEO tools right now. The invention of seOverflow’s Mike Belasco and Mary Bowling, the Local Search Toolkit features a Google Places Results Analyzer which generates competitive analysis and data from search results in Google Places. With the Local Search Toolkit, you can download, analyze, and review citation sources – and sort seamlessly through – Read the full article
WordPress is arguably today’s most popular blogging platform – for reasons that the most brilliant Web programmers and developers or novice bloggers and startup business marketers can appreciate. Actually, WordPress is popular for reasons that even search engine giant Google can appreciate. Matt Cutts – the well-known SEO guru and Webmaster behind Google (which, by the way, has Blogger as its own blogging platform) – even went so far as to praise WordPress, saying that: “WordPress takes care of 80 to 90 percent of (the mechanics of) Search Engine Optimization (SEO).” But we’re getting ahead of ourselves – let’s go into more detail about SEO later. For now, let’s go through the list of highlights of WordPress as a blogging platform. Getting Started The process of signing up for WordPress is simple and easy enough. The most awesome part? It’s free. WordPress is open-source software, which means that you don’t have to pay any license fees to use the core – Read the full article
Tumblr is easy to fall in love with – especially if you’re looking for a light (and awesome) blogging platform. It’s going to be even easier once you’ve read the reasons why you should “Tum-blog” and taken note of the fact that the company has significant plans to expand next year. If you’re big on SEO, however… umm. Okay. So here’s the thing: Tumblr isn’t exactly the best blogging platform to support your SEO (search engine optimization) campaign. Unlike WordPress sites or even blogs hosted by Google’s own product, Blogger, Tumblr sites don’t rank well on search results. Which isn’t to say that Tumblr never ranks well – because with a few tweaks, tips, and tricks, you can position your Tumblr blog in a way that gives you an edge in the search rankings. Optimize your page titles: Here’s one good thing about Tumblr: it allows you to modify the HTML of your posts. HTML! Isn’t that a form of – Read the full article
If you’re thinking of starting your online business, then you’re part of a race where millions are striving for successful brand recognition on the Web. To win, you have to build an online brand that stands out in the competition – a brand that has a unique, likeable personality. Online brand building means thinking of ways you can make your Web identity more accessible to your potential customers, all while boosting your sales and building a reputation that engenders trust and credibility. Let me first raise some of the aspects of brand-building across the Internet: Quality Creatively built web identity Customer service Promotion and marketing Consistency Quality of products or services is your niche and is arguably most important. It’s better to have a single product that does well rather than having a hundred that perform really badly. Your product should be more innovative and superior than what the next guy has to offer. To make a product with distinction, – Read the full article
A Facebook Page with lots of fans can do wonders for your brand. Not only is Facebook a naturally “viral” online channel for engagement; its Fan Pages are also a pretty flexible Internet marketing platform, with space for lots of apps, optimization opportunities, multimedia content, social sharing, and trackable information. Of course, to maximize Facebook’s power, you actually have to get people to officially “like” your page. Without enough “likes”, you may be wasting effort on something that’s not reaching anyone at all. You’d be like a chef preparing 30 starters and 50 main courses for a restaurant that has less than 10 customers. The product/service/brand may be good, but no one knows enough about it. Want more Facebook fans? Need more people to like your Facebook Page? Here are 11 really effective tips: Comment and reply. If someone posts on your Wall, don’t ignore it. Respond in a timely manner. Say thank you or write a meaningful comment that – Read the full article
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry continues to evolve. More and more experts are finding out ways and thinking up new strategies to make their websites – and their content – friendlier to the search engines. Nowadays, it’s no longer such a mystery to figure out how to rank higher, find faster, and optimize better. For the most part, SEO covers just text and image content. That’s because search engine robots understand only text. But times are changing, and we’re seeing new innovations in video SEO that bring us closer to being able to rank published video content more systematically in search. Why is this important? Well, it’s important for the simple fact that people are publishing videos on the Web more than ever. On YouTube, the well-established leader in this industry, users upload 20 hours of video every minute – and 10.5 million hours, or 120 decades, every year. More videos are uploaded using other platforms, which include Vimeo, – Read the full article
Hard-pressed for time and money? That doesn’t excuse you from doing SEO. Now that small and medium businesses all over the world are learning the nuances of search engine optimization and paying greater attention to search marketing, you can’t let yourself fall behind. You’ve got to work hard – and work smart. Don’t make these common SEO mistakes that usually cost a lot of time and money. Image via SEO Tips Targeting Too Many Keywords in One Page SEO is not about stuffing; it’s about sharpening your focus. When creating new pages or publishing new content, remember that – while targeting a lot of keywords is a noble intention – targeting a lot of keywords and trying to hit them all with a single dart is not necessary. Create unique content-rich pages, and make each of them target unique keywords. That way, you consolidate the focus of your SEO efforts. And you build the foundation of an optimized site whose – Read the full article
