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News

Search Engine Algorithms - Understanding the Pinocchio Effect

Earlier this year, I wrote an article that talked about the problems that search engine marketers had created by spending years focusing on rankings as a sign of successful optimization work. While the article made some important points about the need for the industry to reeducate our clients based on the more realistic and accurate measurement of ROI, I've realized in the last few weeks that we've got our work cut out for us in another area...algorithms. ...full article

posted Wednesday, May 30, 2007

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Is Your SEO Strategy Global?

Developing an SEO strategy for a global brand in one country is no easy task; but just thinking about launching that brand globally can be overwhelming for some. However, as daunting as the task may seem, if you have a strong international presence, you should start thinking about SEO globally from day one. ...full article

posted Thursday, May 24, 2007

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What Does Universal Search Mean for SEM?

Last week, Google announced a major change in the way it delivers search results, moving from "siloed" searches for blogs, videos, news and other categories to a "universal search" model, incorporating all of those categories in a single page, ranked against each other for relevance. ...full article

posted Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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Understanding Yahoo's Paid Inclusion Program

Yahoo! currently offers two flavors of their paid inclusion program: Search Submit Express and Search Submit Pro. Your needs and the amount of control you want over your submissions will determine which program, if any, is best for you. ...full article

posted Saturday, May 19, 2007

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Google slaps 'black hat' penalty on top search ranking

SEARCH marketing specialist the Found Agency has been penalised by the all-powerful Google for using "black hat" methods to ensure it is ranked at the top of the natural, or unpaid, search queries. ...full article

posted Thursday, May 17, 2007

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Should SEOs Care About Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is not a search engine, and links from Wikipedia no longer count towards increasing your link equity - so why should SEOs care about Wikipedia? ...full article

posted Thursday, May 17, 2007

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Don't Risk Your Rankings With Unethical SEO

With over 100 million Web sites on the Internet, it is more important than ever to achieve high rankings for visibility. While reputable SEO companies use ethical SEO practices, there are others who will try to trick the engines into high rankings by using questionable techniques. ...full article

posted Wednesday, May 16, 2007

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Search Engine Friendly is NOT Search Engine Optimized

When we are quoting development work for prospective clients we are often asked to develop a website that is search engine optimized. This usually brings me into a long-winded explanation on how developing a website to be search engine friendly is not the same thing as optimizing that website for search performance. Kind of like how building a car is not the same as making it ready to compete in the Indy 500. Those are two different tasks altogether. ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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Are Search Engine Rankings Dead?

The phrases "search engine optimizaton" and "rankings" have gone hand in hand since the start of the search marketing industry. Agencies have gone so far as to use "rankings" as part of their name such as Jill Whalen's High Rankings, David Wallace's "Search Rank" and of course, our company "TopRank". ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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When Google Goes Temporarily Insane

The recent Google update, known to some of us as the "Google shuffle", had a number of people freaked out. Seeing your site's ranking suddenly change is a reality we all face. Sometimes the changes are legitimate, reflecting a shift in the algorithm, or in the inbound link profile of your site or your competitor's sites. But sometimes the changes are a temporary blip, caused by any number of factors, and after a few days or weeks your ranking returns to wherever it was before the shuffle, and you breathe again. Like a game of musical chairs and your site keeps winning. ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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Linking In A Real World

Trying to figure out the best and most lucrative linking strategy for your website isn't easy, some are better than others and some are best avoided. Over the next several weeks we'll take a look at both the traditional and more controversial linking tactics as well as answer some of the most frequently asked questions about links. We'll also look at what the published search patents tell us about linking, discuss linking comments being made by the search engine reps, look at the linking tools available and ask a handful of industry experts to weight in on their topics of link expertise for a balanced perspective. Let's start this week with an explanation of link popularity, why you need it, and why it doesn't always flow freely. ...full article

posted Friday, May 11, 2007

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Don't Sweat the Small SEO Stuff

Among clients, forum members, newsletter subscribers, and seminar attendees, many hours of my day are spent answering questions about organic SEO. One thing I've noticed is that newbies and oldies alike are paralyzed when it comes to optimizing their websites because they have an irrational fear of doing something wrong. ...full article

posted Friday, May 11, 2007

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SEO for Blogs and Feeds

Many of the search engine optimization (SEO) techniques for blogs are the same as for any other Web site, such as on-page optimization of titles, categories, and URLs. ...full article

posted Friday, May 11, 2007

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SEM expert Jill Whalen on organic search engine optimization, Google and more

Pandia talks to Jill Whalen about organic search engine optimization, the Social Web, personalization and her lack of trust in Google. ...full article

posted Wednesday, May 09, 2007

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Keyword Use That Goes Beyond the Search Engines

It seems to be a single-sided debate. When you mention keyword use, all thoughts normally go to the search engines. Copywriting, however, is more about your human visitors than it is the engines. If you want truly effective SEO copy, you'll take time to learn that keyword use goes beyond the search engines. ...full article

posted Friday, May 04, 2007

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Yahoo's new robots-nocontent attribute

Yahoo! has introduced a new class you can use in your page code to mark sections that are not related to the main content, such as navigation, menus, boilerplate text and/or advertising. Good idea? Bad idea? Something you could/should consider using on your pages? Let's take a closer look! ...full article

posted Friday, May 04, 2007

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The Art Of SEO For Wikipedia & 16 Tips To Gain Respect

Wikipedia's importance as an authority site is undisputed. It's at the point where it seems a bit ridiculous how often Wikipedia shows up in the first page of Google for just about every search imaginable. In many cases, these Wikipedia entries are extremely light on content. Oftentimes they are what are known as "stubs," just the very beginnings of an article. ...full article

posted Friday, May 04, 2007

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Driving SEO Outsourcing Success

Most of us have a goal we are pursuing. Some of us want to retire early, others want to run a marathon, and some dream of buying a house. Whatever the goal, achieving it requires focus, effort, and commitment, as well as paying attention to its unique success drivers - those factors that contribute to the attainment of the goal. ...full article

posted Friday, May 04, 2007

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Key Differences Between Yahoo Search Marketing & Google AdWords

You're probably tired of reading about cultural differences between the two search marketing leaders, Google and Yahoo. Does Semel have better hair than Sergey? Does Yahoo really hire people based on softball prowess? If you're actually using the search marketing platforms, or for that matter, interacting with Googlers or Yahoos to accomplish a marketing-related task, none of this matters. Let's run down some of the most impactful real-world differences between the two search marketing platforms, in the wake of Yahoo's Panama rollout and some recent Google AdWords updates. ...full article

posted Thursday, May 03, 2007

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The Quest for Authority Links

No matter what type of link building you implement, securing relevant links from "authority" sites is the one variable all linking tactics share and recommend for success. If you're buying links, dangling linkbait, submitting to directories or swapping shrubbery, links from authority sites are considered the Holy Grail of linking and what everyone looks for. ...full article

posted Wednesday, May 02, 2007

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Committing Social Media Suicide

Sure, it's easy to drink the "I've got to market via social media" kool-aid, but the truth is that if you are going to play, you'd better know the rules. While a little bit of common sense and respect for the social community can take you a long way, Online Marketing Blog's Lee Odden offers up five quick tips to help you avoid committing social media suicide when it comes to marketing your business. ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 01, 2007

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How Not To Build Links

Over the past few weeks I have attended several conferences including SES NY, AMA Hot Topics and Ad:Tech San Francisco. Throughout each conference I have encountered tons of folks who are interested in building or buying links, but most of them are going about it the wrong way. Here is what you should not do: ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 01, 2007

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The 10 Commandments of Search

And the search god spoke all these words saying: ...full article

posted Tuesday, May 01, 2007

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