| | | Happy Holidays from Team StepForth
| | Learning to SEO (But I Ain't Got Keywords)
When I started here at StepForth, my role was in sales and promotion. It was a natural fit for me because, as a former stage actor, I like to talk and I like to hang out with smart people. I've always figured: keep talking until you sound like you know what you're talking about. And, it usually helps to have those that do nearby, so that, some of their smarts might rub off.
After a few months as a StepForth sales rep, I managed to talk some client's ears off but the smarts just didn't seem to transfer as I had hoped: SEO still seemed like some mythical creature from the realm of code. Sure, I knew enough to explain our services and consult with our staff on projects. I knew things like why keywords are important for improving search rank. Yet I wasn't very knowledgeable about how to get good keywords, or even how to best apply them. Sadly, I was in the dark about the many tricks of our trade.
Well, a couple months ago, my title at StepForth changed: I became an 'Apprentice SEO' under the watchful wing of our Senior SEO, Scott Van Achte. Now my eyes have been opened and I see the light... of my monitor. Now I know how to target a page for primary and secondary keywords. I know how to use heading tags and analyze competitor websites, and I know how what a well optimized website needs to look like.
Surprisingly, SEO is not as complicated as it had once seemed to me, but it does involve a number of factors. Improving a web site's standing amongst Google and the other search engines can be a complex process, but there are a lot of straightforward tactics, tools and procedures to do it. So, I'd like to share with you my thoughts on how anyone can improve their SEO skills. I figure that if I can do it - so can anybody.
Good SEO always begins with good keywords. They are - pardon the cliché - the seeds of any successful optimization campaign. The right keywords will determine how most visitors find a web page, and what kinds of visitors it will attract. This is why it is wise to put serious thought and research into this area.
When I begin SEO on a website, my first task is to examine the current keywords of each search relevant page. One great FREE tool for this is Keyword Cloud. This tool will provide details about the density of each keyword on a page. Knowing what words are currently being used will provide some clarity on what needs to change; where improvements could be made. Plus if the page I'm analyzing is receiving some rankings already, this will show me how many times those keywords are already being used.
From the list of keywords I find on a page (and a list that the website's owner has, hopefully, put together for me), I will then have the ingredients I need to cook up a better list of keywords. The best tool I know of for this is Keyword Discovery. It's a paid program but certainly worth every penny. This tool will tell me how often a keyword or keyphrase is being searched for. Plus, it can show me how similar keywords and keyphrases are doing. For example, I might enter 'sporting goods' and discover that 'wholesale sporting goods' would be better or worth having in my new list.
Note: Keywords must be relevant to what the page is about. So, choose words that make sense.
Once I have collected a new list of keywords and their volume of search, I will be able to look at how competitive each keyword is. By performing a Google search for each word, I will see the number of indexed pages which have rankings for these words. When I compare the figures for search frequency (Keyword Discovery) with the numbers for competition (Google search), I can get a pretty clear idea of what words will be strongest for search. What I'm looking for is high search with low competition.
With my tested list of keywords I can now focus on updating the website: I can plan out what pages I want to target for certain keywords. For this step, I will update the page titles, meta descriptions and body content, and a number of other areas using the chosen keywords. I need to integrate these keywords, so that, they are consistent. That way, the search engine crawlers will see their frequency and, thus, evaluate each page accordingly. This is because crawlers place a relevancy score for each page they index. So, naturally, I want them to see that each page is very relevant to what their users search for.
How many times should a keyword appear?
There is no hard and fast rule for how much is too much. Of course, too much will be considered spam by most search engines but what's considered too much will vary depending on the industry and the target phrases. The best advice I can offer on this point is just use common sense, and don't be afraid to experiment a little. Try it one way and then tweak it over the following months. Remember: raising a page's search rankings will always take time - so be patient.
This barely scratches the surface of SEO. There are a number of other important items to look at, such as the site's navigation, structure, link counts, etc. One thing is for certain though, if you do not select the right keyphrases right from the start, the chances for the campaign being successful will be quite slim.
SEO involves many techniques and can vary from one industry to the next, but the basic principles remain pretty much the same. With practice, research, and a lot of reading, the basics of SEO are not out of reach to anyone who is determined to learn them. Some steps are straightforward while others seem to require a careful, practiced approach. I know I've done my fair share of hair pulling.
Hmmm... I think I know why Scott keeps his haircut so short.
For additional information (articles, whitepapers and tutorials) check out StepForth's Web Marketing Knowledgebase.
by Brayden Reger, Junior SEO
| | Google Search Wiki
Recently Google has introduced SearchWiki, an integration into its search results that will allow users to customize results to their liking. When logged into their Google accounts, after performing a search, users will now see a couple of new options appearing mingled in with the results.
To the right of the results' title you will now find two images; a little up arrow, and an X. If you feel the site is totally useless to your search, click the X and it will go away. If you feel a listing deserves to be at the top of search results, click the up arrow and the listing will be moved directly to the top.
There is also an option to leave a comment on the listing by clicking the little thought-bubble to the right of "similar pages". Keep in mind however, that all comments are posted publically so don't write anything you don't want the world to read.
According to Google the SearchWiki is not being used to influence natural rankings, and will only impact personalized search results. As soon as you log out of your Google account, visible results will return to normal until you log in again.
I have my doubts that this feature will ever be used to influence organic rankings due to one main reason: SPAM. If SearchWiki were to play a role, it would be incredibly easy for someone to round up a large group of individual's world wide to essentially vote their site to the top. This would make it easier than ever to manipulate results. I can certainly see how a feature like this could be used to positively impact rankings, but as long as the spammers are out there, it will remain heavily flawed.
by Scott Van Achte, Senior SEO
| | More Layoffs at Yahoo
According to Forbes, on Wednesday Yahoo began handing out pink slips to about 1,500 workers. Back in October Yahoo disclosed plans to reduce its payroll by 10% - Just in time for Christmas. Yahoo's profits are minimal but existent, and in an effort to increase profits, 1,500 workers will find themselves in the unemployment line this holiday season. Earlier this year 1,000 Yahoo employees lost their jobs, and after this latest round of cuts is complete it will leave Yahoo with around 13,000 workers. by Scott Van Achte, Senior SEO
| | Search Engine Market Share
Results are yet to be posted by Nielsen Netratings, ComScore & Hitwise for November search figures, but as of October all three report an increase in share for Google.
Nielsen Netratings is giving Google 61.2%, up 1.5, Yahoo down 1.2 to 16.9% and MSN also down, 0.4 to 11.4%.
ComScore is reporting 63.1% share for Google, up a marginal 0.2 over September, 20.5% for Yahoo, up 0.3, and MSN is holding steady at 8.5%.
Hitwise always seems to have far higher figures for Google with October showing 71.7%, up 0.54, Yahoo down slightly to 17.74%, and MSN hanging in there at 5.4%.
Regardless of which source you follow, Google continues to see a steady increase. Compared to October of last year Google has seen increases of 4.6%, 5.7%, and 7.21% in ComScore, Nielsen, and Hitwise respectively.
by Scott Van Achte, Senior SEO
| | The Net Reality
Holiday Gift Guide: Stuck for a last minute gift? Thankfully the Editors at CNET have done their homework again and here's their list of Editors' Choice Awards for Best Tech gadgets and gear that will fit anyone's size wallet. And here's a link to a few worthy gadgets still not yet available to us Canadians.
Virtual Yule Log: Available for download from iTunes this classic visual complete with holiday tunes can now be downloaded as an application for just $1.99 for your iphone or ipod.
Facebook Scammers: Nigerian scams are hitting Facebook members under the guise of messages coming from one of your friends. As always, please use caution and properly verify before sending money or giving out ID information.
Top Facebook Apps: Check out who Facebook awarded five $250,000 prizes to for developing apps.
100 Million YouTube Viewers: Online video is hitting its stride. ComScore has announced that 100m viewed YouTube videos in Ocotber. ZDNet reports: "Thirteen new hours of videos get uploaded every minute. It's the third-largest search engine, behind Google and Yahoo."
By Bill Stroll, Sales Manager
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