Obeying the Current Rules of SEO

 Search Engine Optimization  2 Responses »
Oct 162012
 

Obeying the Current Rules of SEOYou really have to hand it to the experts behind Google, because these guys have the ability to dictate what happens online with their algorithm updates. In 2012, Google updates include: Panda, Venice, and Penguin. Did Google updates have a huge impact on your website?

If you have not updated your SEO status to agree with the current Google updates, you noticed a drop in your ranking in search results. You need to know that it is vital to have great ranking for your website. If you do not have this, it will definitely affect your online business prospects. Take note of the following recommendations:

Links Used Correctly:
The concept of link building has really changed. In 2011 and 2012 , Panda and Penguin updates effected link building. The point is that the quality of your link is more important than the quantity of links you have. This means that if you have too many irrelevant links, Googlebot spiders can spot these links and ignore them or even penalize you for trying to play games with links.

Links from article directories will not do you much good and neither will links from link farms and paid link builders. What you really need to rank high are links from reputable sources and the links need to be relevant to the content of your website.

These days, Google promotes natural links. If you have a habit of stuffing your content with links and keywords, change this practice or you will be penalized. An article laced with keywords may be good for search engines but it is not good for the reader. Google prefers to rank articles high if articles benefit the reader and not just to the search engine. Penguin updates do not favor content which Google thinks is mis-using the concept of links and link anchor texts because such content will be considered an abuse of the system and penalized.

Guest Blogging for Linking:
How does Google feel about guest blogging? Recently, Matt Cutts shared Google’s current rules and recommendations in a Youtube video:

Understand Quality Content:
Before Panda updates, a lot of published articles published online were senseless. These articles preferred quantity to quality and used the keyword stuffing to get visibility from search engines and, at that time, it worked. These days, keyword stuffing will not work because Google has a desire to index valuable content.

SEO is not dead….but  the game has changed! Be smart. Use good material and linking practices so Google robots can “read” your blog posts. Give websites value and write articles for your readers instead of search engines!

Does Google Penalize Duplicate Content?

 Search Engine Optimization  5 Responses »
Jan 172012
 

Question: Does Google Penalize Duplicate Content?

Answer: The quick response would have to be “yes!” Avoid duplicate content and use unique content on your website.

Does Google Penalize Duplicate Content?The other day I noticed a website that had duplicated another website trying to promote the other site by “helping” them. But in reality, using an iframe to do this will only cause Google to penalize this duplicate content and lower the rankings for this other site. That’s unfortunate because the person was intending to help the original site owner.

Today’s article is to help a website owner understand the importance of adding unique content to their site. This means when you see an article you like, you do not copy it and put it on your website. (This would be called duplicate content!) Google would view the second website with the same material as plagiarism and could possibly lower website ranking or eventually might kick out the second site from search results.

So, how do you avoid adding duplicate content to your site? Sometimes I write original articles from my own experiences. If I see an article I really enjoyed reading, I might write my own original piece of content based from what I just read.

Focus on adding new, unique content to your website. Write about the field your website is centered on and always use some good keywords to help optimize each of your web pages. Google will like you and come back and visit often!

Rapper Steps for SEO

 Search Engine Optimization, Videos  2 Responses »
Feb 152011
 

This post is for the younger generation! Here is a rapper that preforms and raps some SEO tips! I thought he did a pretty good job and I was “down” with this video! This is for teens and young people interested in SEO.  Watch this video and follow these steps for SEO that this rapper raps about, all translated below for those who can’t understand the rapping rapper! :)

Steps for SEO:

  • Page rank – If you want your listing in the top position, you should pay attention and increase your website’s  page rank. (This can be seen in Google’s toolbar)
  • Content – Add lots of unique content to your website with at least 250 words per post or page. The more often, the better! (Use  content relevant to your site.)
  • Headers or Titles – Add the H1 to the title on your web page
  • Cross Links – Make sure to use links within your site. (Also known as internal linking)
  • List items – Use bullet points to make it easier to read. (As I am doing here!)
  • Keywords – Use good keywords and make sure to use the keyword(s) approximately every 100 words (Also known as keyword density) Don’t use the keywords too many times. (Also known as keyword stuffing)
  • Navigation – Make sure the navigation of your web pages are done well without errors. (Also called on-page optimization)
  • Link Sculpting – Make sure your links work and don’t have errors. (This can be seen in Google Webmaster Tools)
  • Meta Tags – Use unique meta tags on each page.
  • Text Links – Use good keywords in links and put the link in the middle of content. (also known as anchor text)
  • Inbound Links – Get people to link to your web pages. This helps search engines know your website is valuable. Constantly work to increase links to your website. Use clients, distributors, manufactures and other related sites. Note: Link quality in better then link quantity. (This rapper doesn’t trade or buy links which can develop into bad SEO tactics and be expensive.)
  • Directories – Add your website to directories. (The rapper mentions Yahoo directory and states it costs $300.) You can find numerous good directories that are free!

I hope this rapper’s video and the summary helps you take some initial steps for SEO!

FINAL NOTE: If any of the rapper’s words are confusing, you can get the definitions in our SEO glossary. After watching this rapper’s video dealing with steps to SEO, search our SEO blog for more valuable information!

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