Wednesday, January 31, 2007

First Search Light Newsletter for 2007

I just put the first issue of The Search Light for 2007 to bed. Phew!

I'm so glad that's over for another month. It's a big job editing a newsletter. I don't know how Jill manages it so regularly. A monthly one is all I can cope with. As it is, I'm going to have to hand the editing reins over to my Virtual Assistant Sarah from now on. I've got a couple of new gigs writing articles for some portal sites and I just don't have the time. Luckily, the newsletter/email marketing software I use - Constant Contact - is very easy to learn so Sarah should have no trouble picking it up. Maybe she'll even create a fresh template for it (hint, hint!).

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Q and A: What is a reasonable budget for web site marketing?

Dear Kalena...

Love your website. I have been searching for good web marketing companies online and found that most of them charge upwards of $300 a month to give provide you with high rankings. Being an expert, what would you recommend is a reasonable budget for web site marketing? I have just started a website and I am overwhelmed. I contacted similar websites but I have been turned down. What is the trick to getting links? Should I only link with like-minded websites?

Abdi


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Abdi

Asking what a reasonable budget is for web site marketing is a bit like asking "What is a reasonable price for a steak?". It depends. Do you want to do all the work and cook it yourself? Do you want to have it in a burger joint with fries? Or do you want it served rare with a red-wine glaze in a 5 star restaurant? There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Marketing your web site can be a full-time job, whether you have a 5 page hobby site or a 50,000 page shopping site. You need to decide what you actually want your site to achieve before you decide how to market it. Ask yourself:

- Do I want to attract more traffic?
- Do I want to convert more sales?
- Do I want to attract more sign-ups?
- Do I want more leads?
- How much time can I contribute to marketing?

Then think about what type of budget you can afford monthly and allocate it to in-house or outsourced marketing staff according to your priorities. Search engine marketing is less focused on gaining high rankings these days and more focused on ensuring your site is search engine friendly and user-oriented so it converts to more sales/sign-ups for you. What's the point of achieving high search rankings if the new visitors to your site leave immediately?

Regarding links - there is no point in swapping links with sites that have zero to do with your own site. I've ranted about this before. Concentrate on attracting one-way links from niche search engines and high quality sites with a similar theme to your own. Search my previous posts about link building.

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Monday, January 29, 2007

Q and A: How can I stop link farms from linking to us?

Dear Kalena...

I'm using Yahoo Site Explorer to check inlinks to client sites. On one site, I'm noticing inlinks from PR0 sites that are just listings of URLs and fake 'directories' that are there to pick up adsense dollars. They were not submitted by us or our client. My questions: Is there any way to remove your site from these types of pages? Do the owners ever honor any requests? Is there any way to minimize the impact of inlinks from sites like these?

Keri

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Keri

Thanks for the caffeine injection! Re your questions:

1) You can try. If you can find a way to contact them, ask them to remove the link. A good trick I learned is to look up the domain ownership details via a WhoIs lookup and cc your email to the admin, tech and registrant emails. That shows them that you are serious about your request and have done your research about them. Most likely they will ignore your request, but you never know.

2) I wouldn't worry too much. Google and other engines are good at filtering out links from low quality sites and any impact they have on your site's overall link popularity is minimal. However, if you find sites are duplicating chunks of your client's content using site scraping, that's considered an infringement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and you can report this to Google via this link.

Overall, I wouldn't spend too much time concerned about either issue. As Google say on their own Webmaster Blog:
"Don't fret too much about sites that scrape (misappropriate and republish) your content. Though annoying, it's highly unlikely that such sites can negatively impact your site's presence in Google."

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Friday, January 26, 2007

Q and A: Is Web 2.0 an SEO Killer?

Dear Kalena...

I have been doing link building for a local SEO firm for a couple of years now. I want to learn more but the person I sub-contract for seems reluctant to teach more than bits and pieces. Never the whole picture. After reading your article 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider A Job In Search Engine Marketing, I mentioned wanting to learn more since it looks the future is good in this industry. Her response was: "Just because SEO is hot today doesn't mean with more Web 2.0 functionality coming down the road it couldn't change all that in a very short time".

Is this a belief held by the majority of the industry? I would like to know that I am putting my energy into something that will be around for a while.

Thanks
Sue

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Sue

It sounds like you should find a new employer! It's interesting that somebody working in SEO is so sceptical about its future. Regardless of her personal opinion, not embracing the opportunity to educate you about search engine compatible design (and that's what SEO is in a nutshell) seems very short-sighted. Perhaps she's concerned that you will indeed learn more than her and take her job?

I can assure you that the majority of us working in SEO have no immediate concern about its continuing viability. Traditional search engine optimization methods may change over time as we move towards a Web 2.0 approach to design and collaboration, but there will always be a market for consulting to make sites more search engine compatible, user friendly and accessible.

What you need to do is expand your skills to a range of areas aside from link building (think blogging, search-friendly design, web site copywriting, usability etc.) so that you will be ready to meet the market demand that continues to grow. Good luck!

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Q and A: How will search engine ranking be affected if I change domain names?

Dear Kalena...

As always, I am very much enjoying your insightful newsletters.

I have a question for you: If I change domain names and keep the identical website on the new domain, how will search engine ranking be affected?

Thanks!
Marco


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Marco

If you are moving your site to an entirely new domain, you've got to be careful that your search rankings and link popularity aren't negatively affected. This can occur if you use the standard 301 "permanently moved" redirects on your old pages, or worse, use no redirects at all.

Technically, your new domain is treated as a brand new site, regardless of whether the content you use on it has been published on another domain and therefore, Google will subject it to the aging delay for new sites.

To avoid losing all those hard-earned rankings for the six to nine month Google limbo that is the aging delay, it's recommended that you use 302 "temporarily moved" redirects on your old domain pages until your new domain has aged the required time in Google. You can then safely switch the redirects to 301's. You can read more about this method in Scottie Claiborne's article: Switching to a New Domain Without Losing Your Google Rankings.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

A Job With Jill Whalen

Ever wanted to work with the First Lady of SEO, Jill Whalen? Well now's your chance.

Jill is currently seeking a Search Marketing Associate to work directly with her on client SEO/SEM accounts at her SEO consultancy High Rankings. The job is based in Framingham MA and you'll need a degree and 1-2 years experience. See the link above for how to apply.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Q and A: Why has our site suddenly dropped out of Google?

Dear Kalena...

Hi there, I have done a lot of work optimizing my wife's web site and succeeded in getting the site to number one on Google, Yahoo and MSN for the search term - "childminder milton keynes" - It took me 3 months to do it and her business has boomed. She is now completely booked up. I do regular checks to ensure the site is still no 1 for the search term and on Yahoo and MSN the site is still at number 1, however, on Google the site isn't even listed in the first 15 pages whereas 2 weeks ago it was indeed listed number 1. I am completely baffled, can you help please.

Thank you very much.
Mark

Kalena's Answer:

Hi Mark

First up, thanks for the caffeine contribution, it really helps! Now, about that site.

I've run the site through Google's Site Status Tool and according to the results, it is still being indexed, with the last visit by Googlebot on 14 January. However: the current Google cache of the site is completely blank and the Google Toolbar PageRank for the site is zero out of 10. Both these things indicate a major problem.

Now, I know the site is over a year old and that you last made changes over a month ago, so my guess is that rather than the aging delay, an algorithm penalty or other such manual suppression, Googlebot encountered problems when indexing the site last, which resulted in zero pages being indexed and stored. Naturally, the site has dropped off the charts because there is zero information stored in Google's datacenter as a result of the indexing and caching issue.

However, I'm not surprised Googlebot had trouble indexing the site. It breaks all the rules for search engine compatibility by using outdated Frames technology. Honestly! Frames are sooooo 1996. Search engines have always had trouble indexing frames-based sites and haven't gotten much better at it over the years. Search engine spiders generally only see the master frame-set (the page pulling all the frames together), not the individual frames. Consequently, there is no content for the search engine to index, apart from the content of the NoFrames element.

Because search engine spiders index sites by following links and because there are usually no links within the frame-set HTML code, search engines are usually unable to index frames-based sites beyond the home page. If you insist on using such dated design technology, you absolutely need to give the search engines a juicy No Frames tag to suck on. Yours currently states:
"Sorry, the Little Steppers website is only veiwable (sic) through a frame compatible browser. Please upgrade to a frame compatible browser."
What does that tell a search engine about your business? Zero, zilch, zip. The only reason your site was ranking on Google for "childminder milton keynes", was because you used that phrase within your Title Tag.

Ideally, a short keyword-filled description of the site should be included in the NoFrames element, as well as a link to the site map or main links page, which acts like a signpost for search engines so they know where to find and index further site content. Danny Sullivan wrote a terrific tutorial about how to optimize frames-based sites. Make sure you read it. But if you are really serious about optimizing your wife's site for search engines, you'll update the technology to a design that is search engine friendly.

To fix your immediate problem, here's what I suggest:
  • Verify your site with Google's Webmaster Tools, check for site errors and study Googlebot's indexing patterns.

  • Create and upload an XML sitemap to Google Sitemaps and study the results via Webmaster Tools. See the free sitemap creator that I recommend.

  • Use Danny's tutorial to reestablish the Frames Context for each page on your site so search engines can jump from one page to the next when indexing.

  • Give Frames the flick!
Oh and one last thing, you are using keyword-stuffed ALT IMG tags on your home page. That is a real Google no no. Better nip that in the bud before you DO get penalized.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Monday, January 22, 2007

Second Cre8asiteforums Scholarship Recipient Announced

Search Engine College is pleased to announce the second recipient of the Cre8asiteforums Educational Scholarship Fund. The winner is Miriam Ellis of Solas Web Design.

Miriam is another long-time cre8asite forums member (nickname = SEOigloo) and besides helping answer lots of webmaseter questions in the forums and running her own web design business, she is also an accomplished artist. Miriam will receive a $400 credit from Search Engine College towards any Certification course of her choice in our curriculum.

Congratulations Miriam!

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Cre8asiteforums Educational Scholarship Fund Selects Search Engine College

I'm thrilled to announce that Search Engine College has been chosen by members of Cre8asiteforums to be one of the five recipients of the first Cre8asiteforums Educational Scholarship Fund.

Cre8asite members were asked to take part in a poll over the past month to vote for the training institution they would most like to see allocated $400 US of forums revenue in order to cover search engine marketing tuition for a deserved forums member. Search Engine College came in as 3rd most popular training provider behind SEMPO and FreshEgg Internships.

It is my great pleasure to announce that the recipient of Search Engine College training for this educational scholarship is Elizabeth Able from Olympia in Washington. Elizabeth is a long-time crea8asiteforum member (nickname = ablereach) and is interested in accessibility, data analysis, seo and just about anything in between.

Congratulations Elizabeth and I hope you enjoy whichever Search Engine Marketing course you choose to take from our curriculum.

But that's not all folks! We were so impressed with the educational vision that Cre8asiteforums have come up with that we've decided to match their scholarship fund dollar for dollar so that two people can participate in our programs. So stay tuned for the second lucky scholarship winner.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Friday, January 19, 2007

I'm struggling under a backlog of questions

As this blog has become more popular, I am getting more and more questions on a daily basis. I'm grateful, truly I am! But what it means is that I'm currently struggling under a backlog of questions to answer.

I've currently got over 50 reader questions to be answered, so if you do the math, you'll see that it could take some time to see your question answered. If you're in a hurry for an answer to your question, I've been known to take caffeine bribes (ssshhhh!). Click on the cup of coffee on this page and watch your question magically appear at the top of my pile.

Meanwhile, thanks for your support and patience. I promise I'll get to them all!

Labels:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Q and A: Can you please suggest improvements to my web site?

Dear Kalena...

I enjoy your Q. & A. column and note from your profile that you enjoy looking at new websites. I invite you to take a moment and give my website a look at
www.thetreeofselfrealization.com especially the section on partnerships.

Please feel free to ask questions and to make suggestions for its improvement. Your comments will be greatly appreciated and helpful as I try to reach my target audience.

Sincerely,

John

Kalena's Answer:

Hi John

Lots of things will improve your site's search engine compatibility. Here are just a few suggestions:
  • Your title tag only contains the phrase "The Tree of Self Realization". Unless persons know the name of your site, they are not going to type that phrase into search engines. You need to expan on your title tag to include logical search keywords relating to your content.

  • Your home page HTML is missing a META Description Tag. This tag is often used by search engines to describe your site in their search results pages, so it shouldn't be excluded.

  • Your navigation menu is entirely graphical, meaning search engines can't index it. I suggest changing it or supplementing it with a text-based menu.

  • Your home page copy consists of long paragraphs of text. People don't read on the web, they scan. So you need to break up long pieces of copy with headings and bullet points if you want them seen.

  • There's no site map. A site map is important for usability and also to enable search engines to find and index all the pages on your site.
Happy Editing!

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Q and A: Is SEO a good work-from-home business opportunity?

Dear Kalena...

I read about SEOs in your article 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing which was listed as a potential career for Baby Boomers. My background is in Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing; however, due to illness, I can no longer travel with this work. I want to find a way to earn a decent amount of money from home on my computer or make calls in person to companies locally around the Washington, DC area in US. What are your thoughts about a single older woman who needs to start over? Is this a potentially good career move?

Thank you!
Linda


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Linda

Sure! SEO/SEM is a great business option for persons who are Internet savvy and are willing to re-train and spend the time learning the industry from the ground up. Just be aware that it takes time to absorb the knowledge required to correctly optimize a web site and you really need to practice your skills on quite a few sites before taking on paying clients. See this post for more info and good luck!

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Q and A: Should links from pages with zero PageRank be avoided?

Dear Kalena...

I'm working with a customer to get some better rankings for their site for a particular keyword phrase. In my analysis I noticed that the number of available "high quality" link sources for their business is small, but there are a lot of low quality sources (sources with 0 page rank, et.)

My question is this: Should links from pages with no page rank be avoided, or does every link count to some extent and high quality links just count more?

Also, another issue we're having is that the businesses competitors are all in DMOZ, but, given that right now you cannot submit sites to DMOZ, we can't get in. Have you heard any news on when this feature might be restored? Any tips on working around not being in DMOZ?

Adam


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Adam

Re the first part of your question, it all depends on what you mean by low quality. Are you assuming the links are of low quality because they have a zero Google PageRank? Not all sites with a zero PageRank have that status because they are of low quality. They could be quite new sites with few links pointing at them yet.

If by low quality you mean the sites are barely disguised link farms covered in AdSense ads, then yes, I would avoid them like the plague or else be tainted by what Google calls a "bad neighbourhood". When link building for your clients, try looking for niche directories, regional directories and industry portals relating to your client's business as a source of one-way incoming links. Or seek out sites with a similar theme and offer to do a reciprocal link swap if the return link would benefit your client's visitors.

Re part two of your question, you'll be pleased to know that DMOZ resumed the editing and submission functions last month.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Web Site Statistics in Video Game Format

Think that ClickTracks has the most advanced graphical displays of web site visitor statistics? So did I. But today I came across a web site analytics program that has the visualization cool factor x 10!

Visitorville uses video game principles to help you more easily visualize your web site traffic statistics. If you've ever played SimCity, you'll recognize the avatar-populated 3D virtual world created by Visitorville. But what's cool is that each building represents a web page, each bus a search engine and each animated character is a real visitor to your site.

You can watch your live stats and see people "walking" around your site in real time with IP labels attached to them. Each visitor has certain additions that appear with their avatar, depending on their status. For example, repeat visitors wear a halo, paying visitors wear a coin on their head and repeat/paying visitors have both. Your VIP visitors are flown in by virtual helicopter. Each visitor has a "passport" associated that contains 24 pieces of information about them. Clearly, the developers of this program have a LOT of time on their hands.

If you run PPC campaigns, you can even watch Google or Yahoo branded buses drop people off at your buildings (pages)! How cool is that? You can even watch an entire day's traffic activity fast-forwarded to speeds of up to 1000 x real time. Another great feature is that the service buys you both a stand-alone log analyzer AND a hosted service.

With prices ranging from USD 15 to 170 per month, Visitorville is not cheap. But the fun factor makes it worth a look if you view your site stats on a daily basis. As the reviewer from Wired Mag said: "It's SimCity for traffic nerds".

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Q and A: Why can't I see the favicon I just created?

Dear Kalena...

I tried to follow all your details to create a favicon in your article How to Create a Favicon for Your Web site, and I still don't see it on my site. I saved the pic as http://deadbeats1.bravehost.com/favicon.ico and also placed a html link into my main page as favicon.ico and it doesn't seem to be working. Any ideas? Hope you can help.

Thanks
Mike


Kalena's Answer:

Hi Mike

Your site is free-hosted on bravehost.com. Your favicon will never show on your site because your site doesn't have it's own domain. The only way your favicon would appear is if it was uploaded to the main public_html folder of bravehost.com (something they are unlikely to do as you are simply one of thousands of customers and they have their own favicon).

thanks
Kalena

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Friday, January 12, 2007

Q and A: How do I start a career as a Search Engine Marketer?

Dear Kalena...

Hi, I am interested in starting a career as a Search Engine Marketer but honestly do not know where to begin. I currently have an online store hosted with ecrater.com, but I am looking to supplement that income. I am looking for a suggestion as to how to start the new endeavor. Any help would be appreciated.

Carolyn


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Carolyn

I can only assume you are writing to me after reading my article 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing? Apart from the tips contained in the article, I have the following suggestions:
  • Scan the Search Engine College Employment Forum and these SEO/SEM job sites to see what employers are looking for in an employee and try to match your skills to the demand.

  • Consider taking an industry-recognized formal certification course in SEO/SEM such as the Certification Pathways we offer at Search Engine College.

  • Join Elance.com to freelance your services and bid on projects you are interested in to supplement your income.

  • Practice your skills on as many guinea pig sites as possible.

  • Join a few busy webmaster forums and observe and participate in discussions regarding the search industry. This really helps keep you up to date with methodologies used by the experts and the problems faced by general webmasters. I recommend cre8asite forums and high rankings.

  • Read everything you can get your hands on relating to search engine marketing. This includes blogs, sites, newsfeeds, magazines, articles and newsletters.

  • Create a business plan, even if you are setting up a part time freelancing business. It helps you get organized and focus on where you want to be in 5 years.
Good Luck!

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Thursday, January 11, 2007

25 Tips to Optimize Your Blog

Jennifer Slegg over at Search Engine Land has just saved me a ton of research by writing an article called 25 Tips to Optimize Your Blog for Readers & Search Engines. I'd been planning a similar article - kind of a dummies guide to social bookmarking - but this article is all this and more. The only problem now is that her tips have added another 20 or so tasks to my MUST DO list.

Great stuff Jen.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Q and A: When will Google Checkout be available to merchants outside the US?

Dear Kalena...

I was just wondering if you knew when Google was going to roll out Google Checkout to merchants located outside the US?

Impatient


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Impatient

I wish I knew! I too would like to set up a Google Merchant account and give our buyers the option of purchasing Search Engine College courses via Google Checkout. I'm so jealous of merchants who currently pay zero fees via Google Checkout. It would be nice not to have to pay the huge chunks of commission we are currently paying 2Checkout.

Can anyone suggest a reliable, alternative payment processor to 2Checkout where you don't need a merchant account?

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Q and A: How can I get a top position in Google for my site?

Dear Kalena...

I am Verma from Mumbai. I submitted my site several times on GOOGLE. But I don't have any good results even my site is not listing on top 10 in google. So please can u send me some comments & Solutions . How can I get my site in google on top position...Please?

Verma


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Verma

Tsk Tsk. What a naughty site you have. And I'm not talking about the fact that it's advertising an escort service. I'm talking about the obvious spam techniques and search engine incompatibilities listed below:
  • Keyword-stuffed, over-utilized Title Tag
  • Excessive keyword repetition in META Keywords Tag
  • Duplicate content in the both the Title Tag and META Description Tag
  • Incorrect formatting of the Title Tag
  • Multiple keyword-stuffed comment tags
  • Multiple, keyword-stuffed nonsense META tags that are unsupported by any search engines
  • Use of Flash in your HTML code placed above important text content
  • Use of keyword-stuffed tiny text
  • Hidden 1 x 1 pixel links
  • Graphic navigation menu instead of text-based
  • Use of low quality link farms to inflate link popularity
  • Excessive use of flashing titty banners (ok this is not technically spam, but it should be!)
I could go on but I'd have to charge you a consulting fee. Nearly all these things go against Google's Webmaster Guidelines. Still not sure why your site isn't ranking? You might also want to check out this post for info about recent changes to Google's algorithm that has affected sites containing adult content.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

New Blog Template

This is my first post using my new blog template. Do you like it? I thought it was time for a change.

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Q and A: Is my site in the Google Sandbox?

Dear Kalena...

Hello, I have read some of your comments with great interest. Like others, my site keyword listing on google have been dropped (am I in the "sandbox"?). This accounted for quite a bit of traffic for me hence my desire to do everything possible to rectify the situation.

I would be grateful for any help you might be able to provide.

Regards,
Nicholas


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Nicholas

The fact that your site was ranking for certain keywords and is no longer suggests that the problem is not sandboxed-related. Nor does it seem to be Google's aging delay. I think your ranking issues are due to a new algorithm introduced by Google in November which particularly affected sites containing adult-content.

Learn more via this site and this FAQ.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Monday, January 08, 2007

Q and A: Why doesn't my web site rank for any specific keyword?

Dear Kalena...

I have a web site www.narendran.co.nr, this web site does not getting any ranking in search engine for any specific keyword. Could I know what is the reason for this?

Naren


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Naren

Oh boy, where do I start? Here goes:

1) The site is powered by www.freedomain.co.nr which uses URL redirection to display your content. As far as search engines are concerned, there is no site at www.narendran.co.nr.

2) The site uses Frames to display the redirected content. Frames are notorious for causing problems for search engines. If you want your site indexed, you don't use frames.

3) The content displayed on www.narendran.co.nr via the URL redirection actually comes from another site: www.narenmunna.com.

4) Both domains listed above display identical content. Even if they could index both sites (which they can't), most search engines would choose to only index and list one site.

If you want your site to be taken seriously by search engines and users, you need to use your own domain and host your site properly, not piggy-back it on some free service and duplicate the content of another site.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Friday, January 05, 2007

Final Search Light Newsletter for 2006

Did you catch the last issue of The Search Light for 2006? If not, you can grab it now. Published on New Year's Eve, it includes my article 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing, as well as a whole bunch of FAQs from this blog.

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels:

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Q and A: How do I find out what the pricing models are for online content?

Dear Kalena...

Not really an seo question but I saw your article on content aggregators.

We are about to launch an innovative site in Canada devoted to events across the country. It is positioned as a one-stop, free site for all kinds of event information - over 100 event categories covering the demographic spectrum and across geographies - towns, communities to large urban cities. Think of it as a 'Google' for events in Canada. We have the largest most comprehensive database of event info in Canada.

I want to sell category event data feeds tht would be integrated to other's websites i.e cultural events/ local attractions to tourism sector, hotels, etc, How do I find out what the pricing norms/ models are for online content?

Thanks!
Susan


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Susan

I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself. Firstly, if the site isn't even launched yet, you will have trouble selling your RSS feeds to other sites based on claims alone. My guess is that your potential partners will want to see your site in action for some months before being interested in syndicating your content.

Secondly, if you are offering all the event information for free on your site, why should other sites want to pay for the feeds? I think your income model is backwards. I actually think you should offer the feeds for free (like most other content providers) and use the syndication to drum up more visitors to your site. You could sell advertising space within the feeds to tourism -related sites or businesses OR you could charge a small membership fee for sites to have their events listed in your feeds, which then get syndicated to other sites. That's they way I'd do it.

But back to your real question, which is how you find out pricing models for online content. This is a difficult thing because it's very subjective. Someone in the U.S. might be willing to pay $100 for an e-book that is distributed online in China for free. It all depends on your market. A couple of sites that are successfully brokering online content in bulk include Mochila and Elance.com. Check out the pricing models they use for some tips to selling your own.


Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Rand Fishkin's SEO Salary Story

Continuing the theme this week about jobs in search engine marketing, the very hunky Rand Fishkin has been Tubed over at Salary Stories.

The video interview sees Rand reminisce about how he got started in SEO, what the average SEO/SEM employee can expect to earn and who he knows that earns up to USD 400K per year from the biz. If my article earlier this week didn't convince you to become a Search Engine Marketer, then perhaps this interview will.

On a side note - I've only ever seen Rand in photos before and seeing an animated Rand is quite disarming. Now I understand SEO FanGirl's obsession. That smile is every dentist's fantasy! If I ever see him in the flesh, I may need sunglasses. Thanks Rand for putting the sexy back into SEO. [note to self - suggest husband buys yellow joggers]

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Q and A: Does the SEO toolbar pose a privacy risk?

Dear Kalena...

My XoftSpy has been turning up "SEO Toolbar", three hits, and says they constitute "moderate risk." Should I remove them?

Peter

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Peter

I am assuming that XoftSpy is anti-spyware software of some kind? I've not heard of the SEO Toolbar, is it part of a search engine marketing software package you bought recently? If so, it might collect information about your search history in order to personalize your use of the software. This is fairly standard procedure for toolbar plug-ins (e.g. the Google Toolbar does it). This might be considered a moderate privacy threat by XoftSpy, hence the warning.

If you are concerned about what type of information the toolbar manufacturers are collecting about you, I suggest you write to the software manufacturer and ask them to clarify. Then you can make an informed decision about whether to remove or keep the toolbar.

Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Monday, January 01, 2007

11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing

Are you currently seeking employment? Looking for a new profession? Considering a career change? Then a job in the field of Search Engine Marketing should be at the top of your list. Here are 10 reasons why:

1) The Search Industry is HOT

The first dot-com bubble may have burst 6 years ago, but the current bubble is getting bigger and stronger every day. One of the main reasons for the current dot-com boom is the skyrocketing growth of the search engine industry. No longer the territory of geekdom, search has exploded into the mainstream over the past few years and businesses are falling over themselves to get seen by online searchers. And they'll pay big bucks to search engines for the privilege.

Have you noticed that Google shares recently hit USD 500 EACH? It's not a coincidence. Search giants like Google, Yahoo and AOL can't fail to make money because everybody wants a bit of the search action. There's no denying, search is HOT, HOT, HOT.

2) It's Considered one of Four Jobs on the Cutting Edge

According to a recent article on MSN Careers, the position of Search Engine Optimizer is considered one of four jobs on the cutting edge right now. Who gave it this title? A representative from the world's largest specialized recruitment firm - Robert Half International Inc.

Search Engine Optimization is considered a sub-set of Search Engine Marketing. If you're unsure what a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO) does, below is a definition provided by MSN Careers:

"Search engine optimizers (SEOs) increase a firm's Web site traffic by improving its search-engine page rankings. This is an especially important task in today's Internet-driven world, where many customers first learn of an organization and its products or services through the Web. Because of a shortage of experts in this relatively new area, many top SEOs receive multiple job offers. SEOs typically supplement their knowledge of how various search engines operate and determine page rankings with strong marketing skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and program using HTML."

Wikipedia also defines Search Engine Optimizers here.

3) The Pay is Fantastic

A job in the search industry can be unbelievably lucrative. As noted recently by Jennifer Laycock of Search Engine Guide, "There are quite literally more jobs than there are skilled marketers and salaries can skyrocket to almost embarrassing levels."

Have you seen the type of salaries that search engine marketing and search engine optimization consultants are currently commanding in the US? Clearly, the search industry is making some people rich. Here are some typical salaries in USD:

Entry level SEO/SEM position = $30-45K

Three to five years experience / online account managers = $50-75K

Five + years / organic SEO specialists = $75-90K

Senior management level = $70-120K

SEM Director = $95-150K

VP Level = $100-315K

Additional Salary links:

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3591061

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=10543

4) You Don't Need a College Degree

Because the search industry is relatively young, there are only a handful of online courses and certifications offered in the field of Search Engine Marketing (Search Engine College being one training provider).

Most search engine marketing practitioners are self-taught, learning the trade by experimenting with their own sites, researching trends, attending conferences and participating in discussion forums and so employers don't generally require SEO / SEM certification or a tertiary qualification as a pre-requisite for a position in the industry.

However, candidates who hold a marketing degree or specific industry certification in Search Engine Marketing may well have an edge over their fellow applicants when it comes to interview selection.

Continue reading article...


Add to: Digg | Del.icio.us | Ma.gnolia | RawSugar | Reddit

Subscribe via: Yahoo Feeds | Feedburner | Technorati | Bloglines

Labels: , , , , ,

AddThis Social Bookmark Button