All Entries in the "SEO Myths and Facts" Category

The Rumors of the Death of Page Rank are Greatly Exaggerated

Image via Wikipedia

With Google not allowing 3rd party tools to give you Page Rank information a lot of people are speculating that Google is discontinuing Page Rank altogether. Google already hampers the ability for 3rd party tools and sites to display link popularity and search engine saturation, so it’s no real surprise they are doing this with Page Rank as well.

So all of you people out there selling links on PR whatever sites are still safe to keep convincing people that it really helps their SEO.

Personally, I uninstalled the Google Toolbar more than a year ago because I don’t care about Page Rank at all. Link building that is based on the PR of the site that links to you is worthless. Getting 100% original content placed on high-traffic websites is much more valuable. Getting a link from a page that already has related content and traffic is more valuable.

Page Rank isn’t officially dead. It’s just almost entirely irrelevant.

Related articles

• Google Has Made PageRank Updates (andrewsegawa.com)
• Why PageRank Doesn’t Matter Anymore (And What You Should Focus On Instead) (entrepreneurs-journey.com)
• PageRank is Dead (The Rush to SocialRank) (ross.typepad.com)

SEO is Easy Spam?

I wrote a post titled SEO is as easy as 1-2-3 on November 1st. For now it ranks number one for that phrase that no one is searching for. I only checked to see how many other people had used that same or a similar title on a web page or a blog post before.

Image via Wikipedia

 What got me interested in looking that up was a spam email I got from a company titled SEO can be as easy as ABC and started wondering how companies differ in the way they tell people that SEO is as easy as 1-2-3 or A-B-C.

I got the spam from the SEO company because I signed up for a service at http://www.freewebmonitoring.com so I guess since I used their service, the email isn’t considered to be spam even though it is unsolicited email.

So, Indian SEO Firms might not be the top spammers according to the chart above.

According to the spam email from a comapny. I won’t say their name, but it says;

Isn’t that ABCD? That isn’t the point I guess, but their description of the 4 things they think make a good SEO campaign don’t even begin to cover what should be included in an SEO plan.

Buzzwords like SEO Checklist and Site Improvement Roadmap sound good though. Then they recommend automated tools to build relevant and efficient backlinks. If you are using automated tools to build your backlinks, then you are definitely on the wrong track.

Original content placed on high-traffic websites is a much better way to go. Viral marketing and Link Bait are a much better way to go. So many people want a shortcut or a magic pill, they end up buying into the automated tools process and waste their time and their money.

Then they added D. Of course everyone should use analytics to make sure they are on the right track and to look for opportunities to capitalize on trends.

I’ve never tried their program, so I can’t comment on it’s actual use, but anything that has in it’s description using automated tools for submissions and link building turns me off right away. Also, any SEO company that offers gold, silver, bronze, platinum and copper pre-set, one-size-fits-all plans makes me run away.

Every client is different. Different goals, different budgets, different obstacles to overcome, etc. How can a plan for a plumber in Kalamazoo, Michigan be anywhere near similar to a plan for ABC corporation that sells parts to the Aerospace Industry? Your SEO company should be creating a custom plan that fits your specific needs and budget. Anything else is just hype.

The guy that ranks for SEO is as easy as 1 2 3 at least provides information about the topic here and here

Everyone who does SEO has their own opinions and they each have their own reasons for the most part. In my honest opinion, you should stay away from automated SEO tools and one-size-fits-all SEO packages. I’m sure the guys at this company that sent me the spam email will disagree, so it’s always left up to the business owner to decide what sounds real and what sounds like hype.

Good SEO is hard work. There are no magic formulas, magic pills or shortcuts. Don’t buy the magic beans Jack! The beanstalk won’t get you where you need to be.

 References on SEO Spam from Matt Cutts

http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/calling-for-link-spam-reports/

http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/affordable-link-building-service/

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291 where Google says, Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.

It also says;

You should never have to link to an SEO.Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

Related articles

• Google Says SEO Is Not Spam (searchengineland.com)
• SEO Scams Hall of Shame
• Cheap SEO: The Truth Behind Automatic Link Building
• Automated Link Building Software? Friend or Foe?

Another related Post about Automated Link Building says;

Black Hat SEO – There are many ways of obtaining inbound links that are considered ‘black hat’ or ‘dodgy’. These can often give excellent short term results – however, in the long term it is likely that the benefit from these links will be negligible at best.  Some examples of black hat SEO are automated link-building software, article spamming and buying lots of links (from places like link farms).  If you are after black hat SEO, this is the wrong website and company. We maintain ethical SEO practices and our hat becomes ‘muddy brown’ at worst!

source; PureSEO

Another source includes these two items in the same category;

Ways to get links:1) Spam link building

-Automated tools
-Black Hat

source

 Anyway, as I said, some SEOs disagree about methodology, but most avoid automated link building like the plague. You decide.

SEO Is As Easy As 1-2-3

There are SEO Gurus that will disagree. It’s a lot more fun to tell everyone how smart we all are and how only we can get you ranking better in the search engines and improve your sales. And a little of that is true. If you don’t learn how to code well, write well and you don’t do all of this for a living, then SEO Professionals can help you achieve a higher success rate.

That being said, there are some basics that any website owner or online business owner should know whether they do it themselves or hire an SEO Company to do it for them. So let’s get to the 1-2-3 SEO plan. Remember, I’m not teaching you how to do each step here. I’m just letting you know what the steps are, so a lot of details won’t be included.

1. What Needs To Be Done To Improve My Website?

This is sometimes referred to as onsite optimization and is always the first step. This includes cleaning up the code and making sure the navigation not only works well, but that it is intuitive to your visitors, easy to use. It also includes creating a targeted keyword list.

The structure, (header tags and such) and the text on each page of your site needs to be optimized to target not only one of your key phrases, but also related phrases and words Google would expect to find on a page that is really about what you said it was in your title and header tags. New pages may need to be created to help you target a wider range of key phrases.

These pages should also be written to close sales or generate leads. Many SEO Experts will say that sales is not their job and that their only responsibility is search engine rankings and/or traffic. However, it does you no good to rank number 1 in Google if your site doesn’t close sales. So choose an SEO that knows how to close sales and knows how to use calls to action.

Last, but certainly not least is putting in analytics. Google analytics is free, but there are other worthwhile analytics programs you can use as well. It’s your job as the client to learn how to read your analytics. If the person you hire to do the work is also the person who tells you whether they are doing a good job or not, does that really make sense?

Learn how to read the analytics so you can judge whether or not your current SEO plan is working or not. However, don’t expect overnight miracles. Give your SEO person a chance to do their job even if you don’t see immediate drastic results.

2. Okay, I have my site optimized and it’s ready to close sales, what’s next?

Now you need to add fresh, original content to your website on a regular basis. Whether you choose to add one or more new pages each month, add articles or press releases and news, or choose to install a blog and write content there, you need to understand the value of adding content and updating your site with new information regularly.

The more often you update your website, the more often search engines will update your rankings. And if you are incorporating social media into your online marketing plan, then you will have new content to share. You can’t keep sharing the same content with your network of friends if you want to keep them interested.

3. Now the site is optimized and I’m adding fresh content, what now?

Adding high-quality, original content to high-traffic websites. You’ll read a lot on the web about how you should or should not build links. There is a difference between link building and content promotion.

Just adding hundreds or thousands of links that all use the same anchor text and point to your home page is completely worthless. I don’t care what the PR or page rank is of those sites. So when you see offers to build you 1000′s of links from high pr sites, just know you’re about to waste your money. Submitting articles to 1000′s of article directories is an equal waste of time. It worked years ago, but not anymore.

However, choosing websites like squidoo.com and building a lens with good, original content that is also helpful to readers with links to different pages of your site and using different anchor text that is related to the content on the page you are pointing to is well worth the effort.

There are other high-traffic websites that will allow you to post good, original content out there. These links back to your website are permanent and valuable.

The 3 principles to keep in mind are;

1. Participate on the web, don’t just try and take from it. That means being on twitter and facebook and google plus and not constantly saying “Look at me!” “Look what I have!” “Go to my website!” It means taking an interest in other people and sharing other things besides just what you have to sell. Join forums where your potential customers are or industry forums. Participate.

2. Add value to the web. When you put content on the web, make sure it has value to others. There is a ton of noise on the Internet. Rehashed blog posts and other content that doesn’t produce a new idea or original thought. If you want to stand out and be heard among all the noise, make sure what you have to add has value.

3. Be helpful. When you are in forums or social networks and see a question posted, stop and take the time to answer them. If you don’t know the answer, look it up and get it for them. Add links to where you found it and where they can learn more. Your links are in your signature line or in your profile. They’ll find them. That has a lot more value than going into a forum just to tell people the great deal you want to sell them.

So there is a 3 step system and 3 principles to learn here. I hope this has been helpful. It’s part of me doing number 2 of the first 3 step process and number 2 and 3 of the 3 principles above.