 August 2009 Edition | |
 Lessons from Sealand: How to Stake Your Website’s Claim as a Sovereign Nation, by Andy Chestnut, SEO Specialist |  SEO BlogInteresting excerpts from the most recent entries |
E Mare Libertas, “From the Sea, Freedom” is the motto of the tiny water fortress and country of Sealand. You may never have heard of this micro-nation before, but locked within the history of this principality we may find parallels on how to stake a claim on the virtual seas of the Web. The British developed a series of these fortresses to deflect German air raids in World War II. They hosted more than 200 soldiers, had radar and were equipped with enough firepower to defend the islands. These metal beasts successfully prevented any invasion. After the war, all the fortresses were dismembered except for the one known as Roughs Tower located seven miles off shore in international waters. Can anyone say free real estate? British military abandoned it; Roughs Tower stood in solitude until ex-Major Roy Bates came along. Bates claimed it for himself and his family; he declared himself, “Prince Roy of the Principality of Sealand.” As you read the following history, compare these:
Britain Returns for Her Baby If you are a business owner trying to defend your position on the Web, you need your site recognized, and you are aware of the fight to get pages indexed and acknowledged for the authority they really are. To do that, follow Prince Roy’s example. He’s been there. He knows how to stake a claim. In 1968, one year after Prince Roy declared his sovereignty, Britain wanted the fort back. As British Naval Forces approached Sealand’s territory, Prince Roy buckled in to defend his keep. With arsenal at his disposal, he fired warning shots at the encroaching vessels. Bold? Yes. Similarly, how many of us are prepared when the competition comes back to claim the top spot we took, after our competitors let their guard down and stopped optimizing? How many of us are so well optimized that regardless of the SEO efforts of our competitor, we are one step ahead? Keep the following items in mind when attempting to be prepared: Keyword Research - For each new page, are you finding the appropriate keywords for that page to claim as real estate? A Hostile Takeover and the First War in Sealand I will use an excerpt from the History of Sealand to describe the horrific scene: In August of 1978, a number of Dutch men came to Sealand … to discuss business dealings with Sealand. While Roy was away in Britain, these men kidnapped Prince Roy’s son Michael, and took Sealand by force. Soon after, Roy recaptured the island with a group of his own men and held the attackers as prisoners of war. The Governments of the Netherlands and Germany petitioned for their release. First they asked England to intervene … but the British government… made no claim to the territory of Sealand … Germany sent a diplomat directly to Sealand to negotiate. Roy first released the Dutch citizens, as the war was over, and the Geneva Convention requires the release of all prisoners. The German was held longer, as he had accepted a Sealand Passport, and therefore was guilty of treason. Prince Roy, who was grateful that the incident had not resulted in a loss of life, and did not want to bloody the reputation of Sealand, eventually released him as well. Roy discovered, just as we have all witnessed, that some of our enemies are willing to go to great lengths to sabotage our operations and our rankings. There are companies who would promote black hat SEO techniques and would use them against you. Those tactics are in no way appropriate in the world of legitimate SEO. If those tactics are used, search engines have the right to take those sites as prisoners of war (aka: ban them). We should think of how Roy handled the situation. Yes, he was caught off guard and his opponents used unethical tactics, but he doubled his efforts and followed the rules of engagement when recovering his claim. As algorithms change, there are times when your rankings will slip and you will lose your real estate. But you should never give up if you feel that your site is worthy of having sovereignty over that keyword. One last lesson from Sealand: Britain made one last attempt to retake Sealand. Since it is located just seven miles off the coast, the United Kingdom decided to expand its border to a 12 mile perimeter instead of three. Luckily, Roy caught wind of this (competitive analysis) and expanded his own borders to 12 miles off his own “shores” one day prior. What is my spin on this? He expanded the keywords that his site was optimizing for. You can only gather a portfolio of real estate in the search engines if you are attempting to rank for a well designed, targeted list of keywords. Expand that list to niche keywords and gather as much territory as you can before the competition tries to suffocate your traffic. Today, Roy’s son Michael governs as Prince Regent of Sealand because of the valiant efforts of his father. For our own sites, I hope we are all willing to leave the type of legacy and example that Prince Roy has given to us. Happy Optimizing! | 4 Ways Any Business Can Benefit From Social Media, by Dan Patterson Social media is all the rage right now. You see it in blog posts everywhere. You see Twitter feeds on news shows. In the last month my mother and several uncles joined Facebook! Simply put, social media is all over the place. But is it useful for the average business? Read more. How to Design a Content Generation Strategy, by Ash Buckles Remember in grade school, when your teacher asked you to begin writing for two minutes; without stopping, and then forced you to pass this masterpiece over to a friend for editing? It was embarrassing and challenging as a young child to try something new and become an author in 2 minutes or less. Yeah, I believe that experience is to blame for why we fail at writing lengthy, descriptive, fun, colorful words today. Designing a content generation strategy for your website is similar to this process. Read more. When White Hat SEO Turns Black, by Nelson James What really hurt me most about this experience was that with the exception of the last practice, the marketing that had been done seemed to be fairly white hat. Someone was using good for evil. I know this isn’t the first time this has happened in the SEO industry, but it was definitely the closest I have been to it. Read more. Google Caffeine - What You Need To Know!, by Greg Shuey As an SEO, I know that my industry is constantly changing and evolving. That is one of the reasons why I truly love marketing through the search engines. One upcoming change will be the release of what has been code-named “Google Caffeine.” It will be a new, more powerful version of Google’s search engine technology. Read more. |
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 SEO.com NewsSEO.com Acquires Graphics.net, Expands to Include Search Engine-Friendly Web Design SEO.com expanded its services by acquiring Graphics.net, a Maryland-based Web site design and development firm. This acquisition makes SEO.com a more inclusive Internet marketing company by enabling it to combine Web site optimization with Web site design services and social media applications. In essence, it will help existing customers and future clients’ Web sites become search-engine friendly, aesthetically pleasing and more user-friendly. Michael Benson from Graphics.net will join SEO.com as the vice president of Web development. “Mike brings a robust mix of creative and technical expertise. We’re excited to have him,” Dave Bascom said. “He has been in the industry since its inception, and managed the company for the last year. He’s worked with many types of clients, ranging from large corporations to small, non-profit organizations. His broad experience in marketing, project planning, and management skills make him a valuable team member.” To read the full press release click here. SEO Team Braves the Rapids of the Colorado The SEO crew had an incredible time navigating the rapids of the Colorado River in West Water Canyon. To view pictures of the event, visit our facebook fan page. Many thanks to Holiday Expeditions for delicious food, experienced guides and an exciting trip. | |
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