Archive for the ‘SEO Advice’ Category
Monday, April 6th, 2009 |
How to simplify nofollow links in Wordpress
Annoyed that you cannot add rel=”nofollow” to your Wordpress blogroll links? Are you leaking link juice like crazy and want to do something about it? This fix will add a “nofollow” checkbox under the “Advanced Options > Link Relationship (XFN)” section when adding a link.
This fix was applied in Wordpress version 2.7x, however I do not currently have a fix for older versions. I’ll post new ones if there are any changes. To start, look for the edit-link-form.php file in your Wordpress wp-admin folder:
At around line 254 look for this:
–Code Removed–
and right after paste this:
–Code Removed–
Update the file and you’re done!
Your “add link” page should now look like the image below.
UPDATE: After a little digging i found this Wordpress Plugin that does the trick. No need to edit core files unless we REALLY have to.
Enjoy!
Ump
Posted in Development, SEO Advice, Wordpress Help | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 |
Simple search engine performance tracking has long been a dream for many SEO and web development professionals… but not anymore!
Authority Labs has has teamed with the great guys over at Gangplank to create a comprehensive but simple search engine monitoring and reporting tool that can save us all from our cumbersome spreadsheets, scattered whiteboards, and chaotic charts! While the goal of many SEO’s is to dominate the search engines for their targeted keywords, it’s often difficult to measure success without constantly tracking the slightest changes in search engine performance. This can be time consuming, frustrating, and riddled with human errors. That’s why Authority Lab’s web-based interface now does this for you!
Authority Labs allows you to monitor multiple websites (including the competition) for search engine placement results on thousands of possible targeted keyterms so you always know where your site stands. The easy-to-use interface gives you a great site summary that indicates general performance, and then expands on each site for a detailed day-by-day chart of SERP fluxuations for each of the major search engines. You can be aware of any rises and falls in placement within 24 hours as their system queries the search engines for you. This can be a life-saver for any professional SEO because it provides a concrete measurement of the ROI from search engine marketing efforts. They are currently offering basic monitoring service, but have expanded features such as email notifications, advanced keyword grouping, safe client access, and more so you definitely want to keep an eye on this great SEO resource!
Too many people try to be too many things these days. We just want to do one thing really, really, really well … monitor rankings. - Authority Labs
Posted in Arizona Internet Marketing Showcase, SEO Advice, Services | No Comments »
Friday, October 10th, 2008 |
Justifying the benefits and even necessity of a quality organic search engine optimization campaign is something that I find myself doing to the point of exhaustion with almost every new client. SEO is often seen as over-priced with little tangible product to those who are not fluent in its’ practice so the first step to any strong SEO pitch is to educate the client on why organic search engine optimization provides the best ROI (return on investment) of any marketing campaign online or off.
Search Engine Marketing vs. Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Marketing began as the practice of promoting a website’s visibility through higher natural search engine results listings (achieved through SEO) and paid ad placement and directory inclusions. Over time the organic and paid campaigns have each branched into separate industries of their own, with experts on each side. Both are extremely beneficial and have their pros and cons, so where to invest your online marketing dollar really depends on the goals of the individual client.
Search Engine Marketing as a service focuses more on cost-per-click and paid inclusion campaigns which require ongoing maintenance in order to continue receiving traffic or sales leads. PPC campaigns are competitive and ad placement through ad brokering services are negotiated for set periods of time (ie monthly, quarterly, annually, etc ) before having to be renegotiated. Each normally involves paying a set dollar amount for each click or lead generated through that advertising model and unless properly managed can quickly exhaust a marketing budget.
Search Engine Optimization focuses on using the content and structure of the website itself to be its own advertising engine while avoiding the ongoing cost of an SEM campaign. A quality SEO campaign begins with identifying what the highest volume and most profitable relevant keywords are that individuals would use to find your product or service. The SEO professional will then create content and code to include in your site that will best align your website with those profitable search terms, causing your site to appear at the top of search engine listings. Beyond just achieving the desired search engine placement, quality content will also assist in converting visitors from just traffic into sales or leads.
How is Organic SEO Valuable?
Statistical Value:
Organic search traffic accounts for anywhere between 65-80% of all traffic to a website. From these searches, at least 60% of users only click on results found within the first page before making a purchase or changing their search terms. What this means is that the majority of visitors a website receives are a result of a person using relevant key words in a search engine query that returns that website in the top ten. The best aspect of a quality SEO campaign is that there is no end to the amount of traffic that can be garnered from natural search engine placement. Unlike a PPC campaign, you are not continually having to pay to receive these visitors.
Perceived Value:
While high search engine placement has the statistical benefit of increased visibility and traffic, a well optimized site also provides strength to your brand image. With search engines placing higher penalties on low-quality sites, a site that naturally lands at the top of search engine results has a greater perceived “authority” than it’s paid counterparts. And because proper market segment research was performed and applied in the campaign this transforms each site visitor into a more qualified potential sales lead. Above all else, organic search engine optimization is built into the site from the onset of the project and can be modified at any time to meet changing consumer trends with very minimal effort.
How do I express the benefits of organic SEO to my client?
Increased awareness – SEO’s intention is to broaden the search terms that apply to the the client’s web properties in order to gain more traffic to prospective clients. This will include more in-depth content and strategically placed keywords that have a naturally high volume of traffic each month.
Increased qualified sales leads – All content will be written in such a way that it encourages readers to contact the sales team to gain more information without being offensively sales-pitchy. This request for contact can be in the form of a call, visit, or email, but often works best when the design team prepares a custom inquiry form on the site that is open to the public. The more accessible information is to the potential customer, the easier and more convenient the entire experience will be.
Increased ongoing sales effort opportunities – Through the increased visibility, traffic, and customer contact, it will be easier for the sales team to identify upcoming date opportunities, events that could garner new business, and trends in the consumer market. They will also have a fast-growing list of pre-qualified contacts for future promotions.
The end result?
The end goal of an organic search engine optimization campaign is to increase conversions through inbound inquiries, while decreasing both the outbound sales effort costs and ongoing online marketing expenses.
Posted in Arizona Internet Marketing Showcase, Organic Search Marketing, SEO Advice | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 |
How to increase business while building brand loyalty and associate esteem.
What Is Personal Branding?
Personal Branding is the practice of marketing an individual by name as its own product, much in the same way you would market a company or organization. This includes that individual’s interests, hobbies, and professional associations. Everyday millions of companies overlook their single-most valuable marketing opportunity. The expansive reach of their associates. (more…)
Posted in SEO Advice, Services, social networking | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 17th, 2008 |
My response to the handful of people that have asked me “I want to do what you do… where do I start?” here are some web-blogging 101 tips for the novice writer:
- Stick to what you know: If you want to corner the market of readers, then stick to content you are familiar with. Write about and showcase something you are passionate about. It will come through in your work and gain you dedicated and loyal visitors. This is especially true when your blogging niche is something off the beaten path, narrowing the scope of sites out there that are already covering this material.
- Be original: Chances are for every “popular” website on the internet, there are hundreds of invisible knock-offs. People see the success of one idea and try to recreate that success by creating a duplicate but slightly varied version of the same marketing idea even if they know nothing about the subject matter. This is a waste of time and leaves the copycat looking like an idiot. (more…)
Posted in SEO Advice, Web-Journalism | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 22nd, 2008 |
Building Relationships Between Web Content and Search Engines
I was recently contacted by a local businessman who asked me to teach him all about the magical world of SEO. After a few more messages back and forth the guts of his request finally came spilling out. He was asking “My website has been on the market for years, and it’s really good looking… Why won’t any search engines give me traffic”? This is where true SEO work shows its ugly underbelly. You see, SEO(to me) is a lot like building a relationship between your web content and your search engines. A search engine’s entire job is to bring its’ consumers “the one”. The website that answers their questions and catches their interest without being some sleezeball or cheat. To do that a search engine’s algorithm has to sift through every classic dating cliche known to us humans. (more…)
Posted in SEO Advice | No Comments »
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