Diagrams That Can Help You Define the Proper Anchor Text of Internal Links

Last month I was working on a new project, and since it wasn’t a start up project, I needed to get familiar with all of the pages and the website's architecture. On the other hand, it was necessary to select the keywords that were going to be used to optimize each page. In order to do that, I made a diagram that helped me be consistent when matching those keywords with: internal links, anchor text, meta tags, and body text for every page that was part of the website.

Two posts from Rand helped me understand the importance of being consistent when working on internal links, anchor text, and keywords. One of those was “My Personal Opinion: 90 % of the Rankings Equation Lies in These 4 Factors," and the other one was “Best Practices for Targeting Generic & Specific Terms & Phrases." If you didn’t read those, I highly recommend them.

Example and Diagram

Suppose you are working on a website that has 3 subpages (more than 3 pages were complicated to diagram on Powerpoint, so I tried to make as simple as possible). I use “KW” for the word “keyword,” and numbers to specify the different keywords.

Suppose the company sells toys (with "toys" being the most generic word for the company’s products), and the company’s website is toysabc.com. Let's say that we select 4 keywords to focus on (you certainly can work on more than 1 keyword per page, but for this example I use only 1 on each page).

• KW 1= toys (on homepage, in color blue)
  
• KW 2= dolls (on a subpage, in color pink)
  
• KW 3= balls (on another subpage, in color green)
  
• KW 4= games (on another subpage, in color red)
  

Once you established the list of keywords to be optimized on each page:

• You can decide the URL you are going to use per each page
  
• You can optimize the use of those keywords on different pages on the website
  
• You can write down the different meta tags (meta title, meta description, H1….)
  
• You can optimize your body text considering those keywords
  
• If you have an image on the homepage, you can include the keyword on the Alt attribute of that image
  
• You can include internal links from the homepage to other subpages with the proper anchor text
  

On the body text of subpages you should include links to other pages (if they are related and relevant), and even more importantly, include the link back to the home page with the proper anchor text.

It is very important to have internal links within the body text on each page, even if they are on the navigation bar. Why? Both for user experience (usability issues) and search engine (indexing issues):

• Based on Jacob Nielsen’s usability studies, people expend considerably more time looking at the content area than looking at other sections such as the header, the right bar, and the left bar (where navigation links usually are).
  
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• Search engines will crawl links within content, giving you the opportunity to improve the chances of all pages being indexed. On the other hand, you have the power of assigning the anchor text that you consider best for each page, which for inbound links is very difficult to achieve because in most cases, you don’t have control on the edited content.
  

The final diagram helped me be consistent when matching each keyword with:

• URLs and pages
  
• meta tags (such as title, description, and H1)
  
• internal links on body copy
  
• proper anchor text on links pointing to other subpages
  
• alt attributes for images on different subpages
  

I hope some of you will find this diagram helpful when deciding the proper anchor text of internal links.


Source:   http://www.seomoz.org/blog/a-diagram-that-can-help-you-define-the-proper-anchor-text-of-internal-links

Viral Marketing

Definition of Viral Marketing / advertising:

Technique to increase brand or product awareness through social media.

Success of viral marketing campaign depend on idea and creativity of person or company who want’s to promote product through social networks. If general web users like information which posted online they begin to share it with others through messaging, chats, forums, e-mail etc. “Word or mouth” could create “snowball” when information appear everywhere as most visited, best rated, featured… bringing even more attention and even global media coverage through printing press, TV networks, radio.

Effect for your business could be incredible. Funny video, good picture, creative slogan, new product, amazing post, or even stupid idea could be noticed worldwide by millions people. This effective advertising campaign increase brand recognition, customers, and business partners.

Examples of successful viral marketing campaigns:

• In 1975 (way before people began Google and Digg information) Pet Rock became worldwide sensation. Regular rock was promoted as if it were real live pet. Creator Gary Dahl sold millions rocks worldwide for $3 each.
  
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• Gorilla ad posted by Cadbury Schweppes on video social sites recieved over 10 millions viewers on YouTube only and heavy press coverage absolutely for free. View video
  
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• ”Will it blend?” videos posted online by company BlendTec got over 50 million people who watched it. Short clips where actor destroyed iPhone, iPod, glowsticks, golf balls and other stuff became online sensation and helped company to sell thousands blenders. See their videos.
  
• 
  
• In 2005 student Alex Tew created one page website called MillionDollarHomepage offering companies to buy 100 pixels of ad space for $100. His idea became sensation in social media and story was picked by major news agencies. Alex earned over $1 million when he sold last space on his site and became a creator of entire industry called pixel marketing.
  
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• Web developer Badi Jones posted quality article on Digg which was later featured by members. In one day his blog www.seologs.com received over 23 000 unique visitors. This success made Badi Jones to become important figure in blogosphere and SEO industry.
  

Creating campaign which could go viral.

Viral marketing could cost really cheap. It based on humor, creativity, talent, and unique skills to provide information. Regular video / picture camera could be enough to come up with idea. All you have to do, just post it on social networks and fee if it bring result. Failure shouldn’t put you down, many companies failed 10-30 times before they finally succeeded.

Tips which can help you to create successful campaign:

• Ad shouldn’t be just funny or creative. It should represent alternative ideas to view things.
  
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• Response to recent events could become viral.
  
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• Working with talented actors or charismatic individuals could increase chance to spread the world.
  
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• Try past ideas which failed.
  
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• Right after you posted something you should inform your friends and family. Use MySpace or Facebook to send link or post video in your friend comment block.
  

Source:     http://www.techwebmedia.com/articles/viral-marketing/

Google Algorithm

Many experts was trying to explain of what the Google Algorithm formula might look like. Some of them came with very close ideas but it was still just thoughts, guesses, theory with lack of evidence.

As SEO expert I decided to challenge myself and try to explain Google Algorithm. My work based on my observations, research, reading, and rankings of my clients.

Domain:

• Domain age
  
• Domain history
  
• Domain name
  
• Domain usage
  
• Branding
  
• gTLD
  
• Where registered (Geographic location)
  

Inbound Linking:

• Link age
  
• Related website
  
• Website quality (TrustRank)
  
• Deep links
  
• Page straight
  
• Quantity (not really important anymore)
  
• Type of a website (blog, directory, forum, social network…)
  
• Anchor text
  
• Surrounding text (text around link)
  
• Link Position (content, footer, header, sidebar etc)
  
• One way
  
• Reciprocal
  
• Page type (partners, news, clients, archive, resources etc)
  
• Amount of other inbound links on the page.
  
• Pagerank (loosing value)
  
• gTLD (.gov, .com, .mil rank better)
  

Keywords:

• Domain, folder, url
  
• Header
  
• Meta title (keep under 150 chars)
  
• Meta keywords (keep under 500 chars)
  
• Meta description (keep under 200 chars)
  
• Tags
  
• Position in content
  
• Page title
  
• Anchor text
  

Content:

• Duplication
  
• Grammar mistakes
  
• Punctuation
  
• Academic language
  
• Paragraphs
  
• MLS writing style
  
• Tags and title
  
• Location on the page
  
• Keywords
  
• Amount of content pages
  
• Amount of unique words, letters
  
• Content changes (old pages without changes rank worse)
  
• Privacy page
  
• Contact page
  
• Address / phone / e-mail / fax / organization name /
  

Technical issues:

• Page load time
  
• Language (PHP, HTML, CCS etc)
  
• Software / script website use
  
• Website structure (folders, pages, linking)
  
• URL structure
  
• IP
  
• Programming mistakes
  
• 404
  
• Redirects
  

Media and Social Media Presence:

• Appearance on media websites (news, articles)
  
• Appearance in social networks
  
• Social bookmarking
  
• RSS feed subscribers - ?????
  
• Alexa, Technorati rank - ?????
  
• Yellow Books, Google Maps - ?????
  

Online behavior:

• Human review if appeared on popular keywords
  
• Buying / selling links without “nofollow”
  
• Fast link building
  
• Link similarity with another site
  
• Forum, blog, comment field spam
  
• Usage of duplicate content
  
• Unlimited link exchange (reciprocal linking)
  
• Banned before
  
• Linking adult, illegal, banned, poor quality websites
  
• Adult, illegal, abusive content
  
• Scam
  
• Anchor spamming
  
• Backlinks from link farms
  
• Reported by user
  
• Legal issues (branding, trademark, privacy)
  
• Rude words and abuse in content
  
• Cloacking
  
• Hiding content in background
  
• MacAfree SiteAdvisor reports (red flag)
  

If I find more information about Google algorithms it will be posted on this page right away.


Source:     http://www.techwebmedia.com/2007/12/28/google-algorithm/

52 ways to get quality link

52 ways to build 1 quality link every week during 52 weeks of 2008.

1.  Submit link in niche directories which related to your site. Good list of niche directories you can find on DirectoryCritic niche directory list.

2.  Find bloggers with related blogs and subscribe for their feeds. Give good comments and share information with them, it is 100% guarantee that 1/10 of them will link your site in the future.

3.  Sign up with the most popular social networks and add your link in profile.

4.  Participate in forums sharing information with other members. Put link in signature.

5.  Review websites of your competitors and find who link them back. Use backlink checkers like LinkVendor , Domain-pop , or Webmaster Toolkit.

6.  Find the most popular related websites. Many of them might offer link exchange option, resource directory, or accept content from third party organizations and users.

7.  Write some good articles and submit them in the most popular article directories like EzineArticles. Only popular article websites!

8.  Go through services you were using in the past and see if they keep testimonials page. Ask if they need a good feedback. Your link could appear next to your name.

9.  Try to submit your site in DMOZ or Lii again.

10.  Create surveys on your site and publish results on a regular basis. People love statistic and you can get good natural links.

11. Use social bookmark websites to add your link, but be careful and do not spam.

12.  Submit your site in 100 top rated free directories on DirectoryCritic.

13.  Submit RSS feeds in news networks, if you don’t have news pages or weblog on your site… it mean that you are running your business like it is 1998. You should get one!

14.  Google information where you can submit link. Type “website niche submit link”, “website niche resources”, “website niche links” etc. You will find a lot of pages where you can submit your site.

15. Create “Link to us” page on your website. It works!

16.  Ad social bookmark widget on your website.

17.  Find way to create backlinks automatically, you can put link us back message if you provide some tools or service like “credit calculator”. Ask you webmaster to create simple tool which anyone can copy and paste on their blog or website, this option can “boost” your backlinks.

18.  Write breakthrough content which people will love to link back. For example: Owner of a travel website which offer trips to Canada can post article called “25 weird places to visit in Toronto after midnight.” Article like this will receive good amount of readers through social networks and will get some links from bloggers (99% guarantee).

19.  Companies and corporations! Use your swag to build backlinks. Send your company t-shirts, hats, mugs to 1000 bloggers and you will see result checking your Technorati reactions.

20.  Be friendly, link more websites. Webmasters find websites who link them really quick. In exchange you can get good future reviews.

21.  Write press release and submit it in press release networks like PrWeb. Read this to understand more about press release submission: Submitting Press Releases to Help Search Engine Optimization, Press Release SEO, Press Release SEO Tips.

22.  Use ping services for your blog, news pages, and RSS feeds.

23.  Get link this page tool (the same like on YouTube pages) for your site. Tool like this for WordPress you can find here.

24.  Create affiliate program if you sell product or service. Make sure that your links are regular links with tracking code (not JavaScript).

25.  It is useful to use social shopping networks if you sell product or service. Read about social shopping networks in NY times.

26.  Send t-shirt to Jeremy Shoemaker (www.shoemoney.com ). Your link will appear on Fridays.
Visit Wiki websites and without spamming submit your link if you provide useful information.

27.  Apply your website for different contests like best design, rank websites, best content, best related resources etc. Maybe you will never win, but your link will stay in archive.

28.  Try to reach public media. Read magazines, newspapers, watch TV. Remember people who wrote article or news report and contact them directly to provide useful information they might interesting in.

29.  There are a lot of networks where you can tag your own and other websites. Many people call them Web 2.0 networks and it is pretty easy to tag your site and get extra link. Read what Andy Beard teach about tagging.

30.  Create blog directory on your site and ask bloggers to place your button in the sidebar for link submission. Approve only quality blogs.

31.  The same way like in #30 you can create reciprocal directory on your website approving only good submissions.

32.  Content or award program will bring more backlinks to your website especially from forums and blogs. Just spread the world that you will pay $100 to most active user or give $20 gift card to everyone who will….

33.  Find good content writer. Maybe someone in your family can help?

34.  Almost everyone you know use Facebook, LiveJournal, MySpace, LinkedIn etc. Ask them to link your site. You will be surprised to find how many people actually have a website or weblog!

35.  Build .gov, .mil, . edu links. To find this websites you can type on Google: site:.edu your site keyword. For our site it would be site:.edu seo. See if there are any legal ways to suggest resources or contact person who manage pages.

36.  Visit social sites where people share knowledge (Kasamba, Yahoo Answers, 43Things etc).

37.  Without spamming submit your link when it benefit others.

38.  Allow your employees to blog!

39.  Create blog for your grandmother!

40.  Submit your website in Business directories and networks. Even if it is your hobby website, you can still create “About” and “Privacy” page telling people that you are non-profit organization.

41.  Deep links is the most important part of search engine optimization. Create deep links using social networks.

42.  Submit your site in quality directories which allow deep link submission.

43.  Remember about place where you live! Submit your site in local directories and networks.

44.  Write content for your reader, not for search engine.

45.  Create podcast. There are millions places where you can tell about your podcast. How to make podcast?

46.  Allow people to subscribe for your feeds or receive updates in their mailbox. If you don’t have RSS Feeds… you should get one.

47.  Create new service on your site: marketplace, forum, blog, classifieds etc. Every new service on your site will give you a chance to build even more backlinks.

48.  Get some good buttons (mostly from social sites) if they provide link back. Buttons from networks like MyBlogLog or MyPagerank can provide backlink and improve your site user experience and design.

49.  Link your Alexa profile. It is almost impossible that search engine spiders will reach your Alexa profile by themselves. Linking your own Alexa page you let Google, Yahoo, MSN find your link on Alexa and give extra credit to your site.

50.  Always link your own profiles in social networks.

51.  Use Seochat Pagerank Search Tool.

52.  365 days is enough to find and try some ideas which might become viral.


BY:   Sergey Rusak


Source:    http://www.techwebmedia.com/2008/01/04/52-ways-to-get-quality-link/
 

14 Website Usability Guidelines That Keep them Coming Back for More

Sites that are designed to sell products and/or services must go the extra mile to enhance the visitor’s engagement with the website. Shopping cart abandonment (shoppers abandoning their carts before deciding to pay for the “items” they’ve added to their cart) can result in a significant loss in potential sales. But much of that can be reduced when the shopping process is streamlined and geared for shopper satisfaction.

The selling process–from initial interest to the very last checkout page–must be able to grab shopper’s attention and proceed to drive them through to the finalization of the sale. But even after the sell, you must deal with customer service issues in order to keep the sale finalized. Good customer service will bring your purchasers back for another and another and another. Here are fourteen general usability guidelines that will enhance your shoppers overall experience on your site.

Images vs. content

Images and content must work together to provide the user with a satisfactory experience. Relying too heavily on images and other media can be distracting, especially to those that really need to read more about what you’re selling before they are comfortable making a purchase. On the other hand, too much content on the wrong pages can also turn some shoppers away. A proper balance must be struck.

Content organization

Content must be purposeful and have a beginning, middle and end. Each page should expose need, show the importance, provide the benefits and, provide a call to action. Don’t forget to speak to each reader’s emotions.

Text formatting

Site content should be readable and understandable without the use of stylesheets. Don’t rely on visual gimmicks to get your point across as many often won’t render properly in plain text browsers.

User level

Content must speak at the reading level of your target audience. Don’t neglect to write to both expert and novice users as applicable. Not everyone coming to your site is fully knowledgeable in your topic. Meet their needs verbally, without talking down to the more advanced users.

Cross-browser rendering

Different browsers will display a site in slightly different ways. Know your audience and what browsers they are using. Then make sure that your site looks clean, clear and professional across multiple browsers.

Plugins

Site should avoid using plugins that are required in order to experience the website. Most visitors won’t install these plugins and will therefore move on to other sites. While these features can be nice additions, be sure to provide a site that appeals to the lowest common denominator of your web users.

Page formatting

Keeping your site consistent from page to page makes the conversion process easier on your visitors. Don’t surprise them with a different format on other pages that forces them to rethink about how to go about continuing with the shopping or checking out process.

Eliminate distractions

Keep your site free from pop-ups and other distractions that pull visitors away from the sales process. Reduce clutter such as ads or too many up-sells. Sometimes it’s good to eliminate many navigation options, provided it enhances the customer’s experience rather than confuses them.

Contact information

Your contact info or links to contact information must be clearly displayed and easy to find on every page. Don’t make your visitors to have to hunt to find you. Sometimes displaying an 800 number on every page can lend additional credibility and trust.

External links

Don’t be afraid to link out to other sites, but be sure that all external links have a purpose that serves to enhance the user experience. Link out only when valuable to your visitors and in a way that won’t move them away from the sale.

Customer feedback

Allow your customers to provide you with feedback regarding your site, products and services. Be sure a feedback option is easy to find. Giving visitors the option to be anonymous can also be beneficial.

Order fulfillment

Once an order has been placed, be sure to continue to provide visitors with the reassurances they need. Let them know when they will be contacted, when products will ship and provide information on order cancellation and/or returns.

Follow-up program

Once a sale is made and order completely fulfilled, implement a strong follow-up program. This can encourage repeat business and even company evangelism, if handled properly.

Customer delight

Your site should aim to do more than merely satisfy customer expectations but leave them delighted with the process and products. Meeting expectations isn’t enough, enhance your site that it exceeds expectations and makes your site stand out above your competition.

When competing for shoppers that go beyond the initial sale and become long-term customers, every little thing helps. Ultimately it’s about meeting the shoppers needs, wants and desires. The more you can provide them the information they need in the format they want the more likely you’ll be to make the sale. The richer the customer experience is the more likely it is that they’ll keep coming back time and time again.


Source:      http://www.emarketingperformance.com/:/1833/search-marketing/14-website-usability-guidelines-that-keep-them-coming-back-for-more/

7 Lessons From the Blogging Trenches: Cracking $200 per Month in Adsense

Back at the end of Oct 2007, I admitted my long-term efforts to reach $100/mth in AdSense revenue on all of my blogs collectively. Embarrassing but true. Since then, I reached about $160 in Nov and just over $200 in Dec. However, January isn't shaping up too well, and I'm not surprised - especially after Xmas. (Note: this doesn't include revenue from other ad sources. My total take is still only about $475/mth, minus my partners' shares.)

I'll still be past $150/mth (AdSense) in January, I think, but not all of these earnings belong to me, since I'm partnered on some of the sites. So AdSense still hasn't worked for me. However, now that I have a bit more time to devote to sites that I own/ co-own, I do see that a scientific approach works for certain niches. Here's what I've learned since cracking $100/mth in AdSense (including emphasizing what I'd learned in October):

Traffic. It takes a great deal of traffic to earn a living with just AdSense. And then some. And traffic is seasonal, as well as affected by holidays. Even important TV or sporting events will affect traffic.
Low CTR. Many popular niches have very low ad CTR (ClickThrough Rates). I long ago gave up regularly updating any of my "how to blog" blogs. Instead, I casually add new content when I have it, and might occasionally get a dollar here and there. But my focus is down to about four niches instead of the dozen-plus that divided my efforts and earned me nothing.

Diversify topics. If you are banking on just AdSense, consider diversifying with a few sites covering topics you're interested in. But honestly, don't fool yourself into believing you can maintain more than two active blogs on your own, especially if you are covering non-overlapping topics. I've given up that effort, but I do add new content once in a while to my mostly dormant older sites. The difference now is that I do it when I feel like it, not because I have to. And the net result is better quality articles.

Supplement ads. Depending on your niche, throw in some CPM (Cost per Mille) ads to capitalize on traffic. Not all niches have suitable ad networks, but if you luck out, it can make the difference between giving up and sticking it out a bit longer. CPM ads are really useful if you plan to write and promote "resource bait", which might bring surges of traffic that earns you at least $3-5 per thousand (per Mille) pageviews.

Paid reviews. Personally, I don't like doing these. They sometimes appear on my sites, but I often get a friend to do the review and pay them the full amount. But if you have a suitable niche and don't mind, these can earn you some extra income. The problem for me is that they take extra writing time on top of what you already write.

Diversify income sources. I still don't believe MOST bloggers will earn a living with just AdSense. I've previously discussed many ways for alternate income (such as freelancing), and for using blogging as a means to promote your other income sources. This includes promoting your services and products. (For example, I hope to use blogging to promote my movies, once I finish film school. In the meantime, I'll keep building my personal brand, as well as start promoting my future film studio name. I no longer plan to make a living from just blogging. It's not satisfying enough for me.)

Take a scientific approach. In the right niche, you can often count on a consistent average daily CTR for ads. Say it's 2%. Work backwards. The daily CPC (Cost per Click) will fluctuate, and is affected by seasonal changes, but make a rough, conservative guess.

Maybe you want to earn $1000/mth. And maybe you're averaging $0.20 per click. That requires 5,000 clicks per month, or an average of 167 clicks per day. (Just consider that weekends are usually slower for most niches - something I've tested in about 15-20 niches.)

If you're averaging 2% CTR, then you need about 8,350 PV (pageviews) per day. If you are using social media sites and can figure out how to get at least 100 PV for each post you promote, then you'd need 83 posts/ day. Not a winning approach. This is where you need to put the most effort: efficient ways to promote your posts, even after the search engines finally index your new site. This is why you need to make lots of "social" friends.

On the other hand, if you can pull 500 PV per post by using five or six social media sites, then you only have to do 15 posts/day. Not long ones, but you'll still want to write at least 100 words/post, to escape "thin content" search engine penalties. Put some effort into maximizing the effect of your blog posts.

Obviously, this 15 posts/day approach is not suitable for all niches. In some niches, readers simply won't appreciate it. But the general principles I've mentioned still apply. Your niche might just have a rough scientific formula, though 3-5 quality posts per day might be all you need - especially if it has a high ad CTR, or at least provided you make the effort to promote on social media sites.

And when the search engines finally kick in and send traffic in the many thousands of pageviews per day, that's when the revenue COULD go exponential. Provided you've done everything else right, and added a reasonable mix of CPC (e.g., AdSense) and CPM or CPA ads.

Building a successful blog is like playing a game of golf: there are dozens of factors you have to apply in sync. Here are a few:
Adding timely content of at least 100+ words, if your site is newsy.
Adding quality content that satisfies your readers and induces them to help you promote.
Promoting your own content or hiring someone to do it for you.
Having the most optimal layout of content, navigation, and advertising.
Being consistent.

There are other factors, but these are the ones that come foremost to mind. You just have to find the rhythm that's right for you and your topic.

Source:     http://performancing.com/pro-blogging/7-lessons-blogging-trenches-cracking-200-month-adsense

Top 5 SEO and Link Building Challenges for 2008

Fear has infected the entire Web community -- not just link buyers and sellers. Google's public attack on paid links has caused a flood of scared Webmasters who are scared to link to other sites. Google's assault on paid links has forced Webmasters to ask: What is a paid link?

Here are the top five trends and challenges SEOs, link builders, and Webmasters face.

1. Webmasters Scared to Link Out

There has always been a segment of Webmasters scared to link out. The number of fearful Webmasters has increased drastically because they're worried Google will consider it a "paid link."

What does Google consider a paid link? Here are two real-world scenarios:
A hotel sends you vouchers for two free nights at their newest chain of suites to reward their "best customers," generate buzz, and gain links.

A software company doesn't charge you their normal consulting rate of $150 an hour for the 15 minutes it took them to fix the problem. You decide to recommend and blog about how great they are.

Linking out is not so black and white anymore.

2. Overuse and Abuse of NoFollow Tags

With that fear of linking to other sites, many Webmasters are choosing to put a NoFollow tag on all outbound links, including established links that may have been live for years. Those established links could be the very links getting you top rankings.

Just the other day I ran across a well established hosting company that put NoFollow tags on their internal links to main product pages from within their content. Most experienced SEOs understand the value and importance of links from within content.

If an established hosting company uses NoFollows in this way, can we honestly expect average Webmasters to use NoFollow on external links in the proper way?

Plus, search engines change their mind on how they want people to use NoFollows over time. At one time, NoFollow was supposed to be used for blog comments that might be spam. Now they want you to use them on all advertising and to sculpt your PageRank.

Wonder why there is confusion and overuse?

3. Neglected Link Building Destroys Top Rankings

Many sites have enjoyed top rankings for years without being proactive in link development. Once they got top rankings they started to take their rankings for granted. Some feel a sense of "entitlement" to top rankings.

"I am generally finding this sense of entitlement and arrogance among Webmasters who have maintained rankings for some time," said Benjamin Pfeiffer, president of RankSmart.com. "If they can't get the rankings, they throw a Google tantrum. This attitude, however, shows their inexperience, as a good SEO would never be so hasty."

This trend of established sites dropping off the first page will only increase in 2008. The fact is while these sites were enjoying the benefits of top ranking; their competition was been proactive in promoting their site and building links.

Ironically, it's much easier to maintain top rankings than play catch-up. Yet large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses treat SEO and link building as a one-time cure.

4. Google Paid Links Assault: Collateral Damage

With every search engine update, there's always collateral damage. As Google turns up the assault on paid links, some unsuspecting and innocent sites will be wounded.

The average site owner doesn't keep up with SEO. They're not reading Matt Cutts' blog (Google Engineer), SEO sites, or checking for updates to the Google Webmaster Guidelines. They're busy running their business to support their family.

Most people's lives don't revolve around search engines, a fact often forgotten by SEOs and search engines.

In doubt? Consider how many "professional designers" still produce sites that aren't search engine friendly.

5. Scarcity of Link Building Resources

Anyone who has spent time developing high-quality links knows it's time consuming and tedious work. Experienced custom link developers have been in high-demand for some time now.

With Google going to battle with paid links, the demand for custom link development will increase, making custom link services even harder to find.

Companies must decide where to allocate finite resources. For companies with larger budgets, it's easier to outsource link development or take it in-house. Many may reallocate funds from traditional marketing to SEO.

This is harder for companies with smaller budgets. They must make more difficult choices about allocating their limited resources.

This will surely be a challenging and adventurous year. Creative and outside-the-box thinkers will thrive.

As Winston Churchill said, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."


Source:       http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3628061

Reality Check: In-House Search Marketing Pays Well But Not Dot Com Hype Levels

SEMPO’s 1st Ever In-House SEM Salary Survey Reveals Traditional Approach: SEM Job Salaries More or Less Commensurate With Experience

In-house search engine marketers (SEMs) are receiving healthy salaries in line with their experience levels but if you want a salary in the mid-to-high $100s to the $200K range you are usually going to have to invest five to seven years to get there – a traditional dynamic in which experience brings greater compensation. The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), www.sempo.org, today announced this and other top line findings from its first-ever survey of in-house SEM job salary compensation.

One of the key findings is that roughly one third of in-house search engine marketers are managing monthly budgets in excess of $200,000. “We anticipated a lower ceiling of monthly spend closer to the $100,000 range so we were pleasantly surprised,” says Duane Forrester, co-chair of SEMPO’s In-House SEM Committee and Lead SEO Program Manager with Microsoft. “The $200K monthly spend is a healthy barometer of the search marketing industry and it syncs up with SEMPO’s current trend projections that SEM spending will double by 2011, to more than $18 billion.”

A cross section of global entry level, mid and upper level, in-house managers and in-house analysts completed the online survey during the fall of 2007. There were 656 completed surveys, a strong market response to this inaugural project. The survey was open to all in-house SEM professionals – working in organic or paid search. SEMPO membership was not a requirement to take the survey.

The pool of respondents also reflects the relative newness of the industry and the flatter organizational charts prevalent in companies today, Forrester notes. Some 64% of the respondents have five years or less SEM experience.

As expected, less than four percent of the respondents had a vice president’s title and more than two-thirds of the VPs have from one to 10 people reporting to them. About 20% of the VPs said they earned between $100,000 to $120,000. Interestingly, 25% said they managed both SEO and PPC efforts while 29% said online and search marketing were combined functions in their organizations.

SEMPO’s largest pool of survey respondents – more than 26% - came from managers, whose compensation clustered in the $60,000 to $90,000. Despite the manager’s title, SEMPO found that almost half did not directly manage people.

Senior managers and directors comprised close to 20% of the respondents. Salary ranges for senior managers clustered in the $70,000 to $100,000 range, with more than 36% reporting an annual salary of $80,000+ to $100,000.

Director level compensation tracked with experience: more than 18% of the directors taking the survey said they had from five to seven years experience. About a quarter of this group reported annual salaries between $100,000 and $120,000. With this comes greater responsibility: more than 44% said they managed monthly budgets in excess of $200,000.

Reality Salaries

While robust, the SEM salary data captured in the survey shows basically realistic tracking of compensation with experience and title. “While there are a good number of six figure salaries people need to understand all the salary levels represent reality. SEMs need to be realistic about their careers and plan as they would for any viable career opportunity,” says Forrester. “On the other hand, if you’re ready for a six figure job, go get it! There are a lot of good jobs out there.

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Budget Levels

Budget data collected also shows polarization: while one third of the respondents are managing monthly budgets at the $200,000 level, at the
opposite end of the spectrum, 26.6% are managing budgets of up to only $25,000/month.

Other budget findings:
Of those managing budgets greater than $200,000/month, 42.3% are managers, and within that group, 27% report salary ranges in excess of $100,000/year.
39.4% of respondents managing monthly SEM budgets in excess of $200,000 report having 3 years of experience or less. 34.2% have between 3 and 5 years experience, and those with 5+ years of experience totaled 26.4%.
42.6% of those managing budgets larger than $200,000/month do not manage staff. 92.9% are part of a dedicated “in-house” SEM team and 77.4% of those “teams” are considered to be part of their company’s Marketing departments.

About the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)
SEMPO is a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. Its purpose is to provide a foundation for industry growth through building stronger relationships, fostering awareness, providing education, promoting the industry, generating research, and creating a better understanding of search and its role in marketing. Representing thousands in over 30 countries, SEMPO has over 720 members. It represents the common interests of companies and consultants worldwide and provides them with a voice in the marketplace. SEMPO’s education and outreach initiatives are sponsored in part by Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, Superpages.com and Search Engine Strategies.


Source:       http://www.sempo.org/news/releases/01-10-08

Understanding Search Usability - Part 2

In part 1 of Understanding Search Usability, I looked at search usability and the wide variety of search behaviors it addresses. SEO professionals tend to focus on query-related behavior, and web site usability professionals tend to focus on browsing behaviors. When both groups open their eyes and realize that all of these search behaviors are related, then real progress can be made toward creating and maintaining a search-friendly, user-friendly web site that converts visitors into buyers, subscribers, attendees, students, or [insert desired target user group].

Search behavior realization is a big step, as it has multiple components applicable to SEO:

Identifying types of search behavior
Understanding how these search behaviors are all related
Designing a web site that addresses all or most of these search behaviors
Search-engine friendly design has never been as simple as making a crawlable web site. Then again, some web designers/developers do not always create crawlable URLs, you know?

The next big step, in my opinion, has to do with the degree of objectivity in understanding searcher behavior--not only the SEO professional's objectivity, but also their clients' objectivity.

Understanding the searcher experience

I remember my first usability test as the observer (not the facilitator). In web site usability, as an observer, your job is to listen, above and beyond all else. It is not to think, "Why are you doing it that way? This is what I would do."

The moment you allow the thought, "This is what I would do," to enter your mind, objectivity is lost. The idea is to observe the different types of search behavior exhibited throughout testing and why test participants exhibited those behaviors. Were keywords used inappropriately, or not at all, and is that the source of confusion? Were navigation labels and formatting noticeable enough to clearly communicate "You are here" cues?

"You are here" cues are very important in search usability. When searchers click on a link from Google, Yahoo, Live, or Ask, they are not likely to land on a site's home page. Searchers are going to land on a page in the middle of the site. Searchers immediately form a mental model of a web site, and that mental model should generate user confidence. The commercial web search engines use term highlighting in their cache views to help communicate user confidence.

User confidence is another item that can be measured through usability testing. Think about it: if searchers do not feel confident that a web site is delivering desired information and is credible, then they are less likely to make a purchase, enroll in a class, sign up for a newsletter, and so forth.

Observing actual searcher behavior—objectively—is crucial for understanding search usability. SEO professionals can quote Jakob Nielsen and Jared Spool all they want to support their methodologies. However, until SEO professionals can objectively observe and/or facilitate a series of tests, analyze the behaviors and interfaces, and scientifically tabulate the results, I do not believe that they are search usability experts.

Three things to remember during search usability evaluations

SEO professionals certainly understand how search engines interact with various types of web sites and the technologies implemented on these sites. Usability professionals understand standard usability and design/interface guidelines, which is great. Nevertheless, web pages need to be tested on specific profiles, personae, and/or roles. (These three items vary among usability professionals.) The average web user can have so many different characteristics and goals. Some guidelines fly out the window when dealing with a specific profile or role.

Objectivity is crucial to understanding search usability. Here are three things I always remember when dealing with clients who want a search usability analysis:

(1) You are NOT the user.

Clients are not selling their products and services to themselves. Google is not purchasing thousands or millions of dollars in products or signing up for a newsletter. The IT department (or whoever is in charge of building and maintaining a site) usually designs and programs web sites to suit their needs, not the user needs.

One red flag? "You're just mad because we learned how to automate a process," is a comment I often hear from web developers who have not tested web pages. It is classical avoidance behavior - change the subject instead of focusing on the issue at hand: the end users.

Remember, usability is about balancing user goals and business goals. It is not only about business goals. It is not only about searcher goals. It is a balance. You should observe user behavior objectively. That previous sentence has two parts:
Observe user behavior
Objectively
Many SEO professionals do not actually observe user behavior.

I am never going to forget some of my first observations of searcher behavior. I watched people click Google ads who had no idea that they were ads. When I provided the task of searching for specific web sites, I watched people type in a URL (specifically, a domain name) in the Yahoo search box instead of the address bar on a browser. I have watched many, many people begin at Yahoo and not Google, and some people search for Google on Yahoo. SEO professionals? Try watching this behavior with a straight and non-judgmental face, and try not to comment without coming off as rude or condescending. It is not as easy as it might seem.

(2) Even if a user fits a profile, persona, or role, a user is not objective or accurate about evaluating his own behavior.

I have watched many, many test participants say they are going to click on one link and then click on a different link. I have listened to many people say that they did not see text or a link, and then eyetracking results show the exact opposite.

When I am a usability test participant, I love seeing my own results if the facilitators will allow it (they sometimes do). I always burst out in laughter because I can see how "not objective" I am about my own search behavior.

Therefore, whenever I hear, "Well, this is what I would do," I know that the client or SEO professional is not being truly objective. I think it is really difficult to fully grasp the concept, "I am NOT the user."

(3) Users are not always right.

Once people get past the realization that they are not the targeted user, and that they are not very effective at self evaluation, then comes another important realization. Users are not always right.

I know many SEO professionals and their clients already believe that users are not always right. However, there is a difference between, "People have to think my way because my way is better and I make more money," and "There are reasons that users think and act this way." The latter attitude is more objective.

Here are some examples where users were not right. A tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable. A frog is an amphibian, not a reptile. When I visited China last year, at breakfast I listened to Americans wonder why the tomatoes were presented with other fruits. I remembered this natural categorization when I worked on an online grocery site later that year.

I know to accommodate the text in places to re-educate site visitors who believe that a tomato is a vegetable and a frog is a reptile. But I would not change the categorization. Maybe I can cross-reference tomatoes and frogs within the categorization. For example:
See Fruits > Tomatoes
See Amphibians > Frogs
Keyword implementation within an information architecture is crucial for search engine visibility. A resourceful SEO professional should understand when users are genuinely wrong and try to diplomatically and gracefully guide them in the right direction.

Conclusion

Search usability is a complex subject. There are many types of search behaviors, and plenty of elements on a web page that need to be formatted in such a way to accommodate these behaviors. At the forefront of understanding search usability is to observe and listen to users objectively. Focus groups, web analytics, and A/B and multivariate testing are all ways in which search engine marketers try to understand their target audience. Don't rule out usability testing.


Source:      http://searchengineland.com/080110-145013.php

Understanding Search Usability

The term "search usability" is widely misunderstood throughout a variety of industries: Web design/development, search engine marketing (SEM), online advertising, information sciences, human-computer interface (HCI), and usability industries. Even the term "usability" is misunderstood by search professionals.

Every time I hear an SEO professional claim that his or her firm implements web site usability best practices, I wait to hear about the formative and summative usability tests performed. And I wait... and I wait... and I wait... and I wait. Then I go about my daily business because I will wait forever.

In my opinion, the vast majority of SEO professionals do not give a hoot about user-centered design (UCD), or, more accurately, usage-centered design. Nevertheless, they use these terms during a sales pitch or a conference presentation because it sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it?

In today's article, I hope to dispel some of the common misconceptions about search usability, and to show how important search usability is to the SEM industry.

1.      Usability, Focus Groups, and Web Analytics
2.      Berrypicking and Search Usability
3.      SEO vs. Usability Professionals
4.      Conclusion

Usability, focus groups and web analytics

One of the most ignorant (and defiant) statements I ever heard from a client about web site usability was, "Our site is user friendly! Millions of people use it every day." After I picked up my jaw from the floor, I had to patiently explain some differences among web site usability, focus groups, and web analytics.

Web site usability is task oriented, meaning that usability testing measures the efficiency of how users (who fit a specific persona or profile) complete a desired task. Testing is done one person at a time, not as a group, and each participant's behavior and actions are carefully observed and recorded. I have personally witnessed, countless times, many participants say how beautiful they think a web site is and subsequently never complete the desired task. I have observed many participants say they will take one action and then do something else. You can have the most beautiful, award-winning web site with top search engine positions...and little or no conversions because the site just is not user friendly.

Focus groups measure group opinions about an interface. A focus group's measurements are not task oriented. The negative aspect of focus groups is a herd mentality. Granted, if I do not like an interface and genuinely would not use it, no amount of peer pressure is going to get me to change my opinion. But that is just me. Peer pressure often yields poor interfaces.

Web analytics certainly provides useful data, but actual users are not observed interacting with a web site. That one-on-one interaction is crucial to determining why desired tasks are not being taken on a web site. And therein lies the key to understanding SEO and web site usability: the human factors. Why do people do what they do before and after they arrive on your web site? By objectively observing target audience members and carefully analyzing their search behavior, web site owners can improve their web sites. Jill Whalen said it so nicely in a recent SearchEngineLand column:

"Everything that we teach people to do in SEO has a purpose, and that purpose is not to make the search engines think our site is better than it is. The purpose is to actually make the site better than it is."

Berrypicking and search usability

In order to understand search usability, I believe one must fully comprehend the concept of berrypicking. Back in 1989, UCLA professor Marcia Bates wrote a landmark search behavior paper entitled The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface.

Even though Google and Yahoo were not yet in existence when she wrote and published her article, Bates' research is applicable to the commercial web search engines. Many people want to believe that searching is a linear behavior, and it is not. Searching comprises a wide variety of behaviors including, but not limited, to:
Querying
Refining
Expanding
Browsing/surfing
Pogo-sticking
Foraging
Scanning
Reading

The term search usability applies to all search behavior, not only one search behavior, and that is why Bates' research and findings are so monumental. She recognized long ago that berrypicking behavior is the true behavior of information searchers, and that this knowledge can guide us to design more effective interfaces (in our case, web pages).

SEO vs. usability professionals

The problem with many SEO professionals is that they only focus on the following search behaviors:
Querying
Refining
Expanding

Usability professionals, on the other hand, tend to focus on the following search behaviors:
Browsing/surfing
Pogosticking
Foraging
Scanning
Reading

I understand why usability and HCI professionals tend to ignore querying behavior when they study search behavior. During interface testing, participants tend not to exhibit querying behavior overall. They scan, browse, read, and pogostick. Therefore, in the web site usability industry, the term "search usability" has come to mean only the usability of querying interfaces (e.g. the search box, search results pages, defensive design of search interfaces, etc.)

Enter the commercial web search engines. Now, querying behavior has emerged as a very popular and profitable industry. In an effort to distinguish themselves from black-hat SEO practitioners, many usability professionals prefer to differentiate search-friendly design and search engine-friendly design. Search-friendly design is user-centered or usage-centered design. The focus is on end users. Search engine-friendly design, on the other hand, is a design for information retrieval systems only. Want your web site to show up in the top 10 results in Google? Then design a web site only for Google. Want your web site to show up in the top 10 results in Yahoo? Then design a web site for Yahoo. While you're at it, design a site for Microsoft Live and one for Ask.com. Cloak all of these sites and make sure you redirect them to the "real" site when you believe you have detected an actual human user. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I empathize with usability and HCI professionals. Taking end users out of the design/development process seems completely illogical. Google isn't going to spend thousands or millions of dollars on a web site's products and services. End users will. Besides, the search engines want what searchers want, and searchers want to be delivered to high-quality web sites that meet user expectations.

Nevertheless, usability and HCI professionals need to face reality: people search. People use the commercial web search engines for research, shopping, browsing, and entertainment. Just as SEO professionals should not ignore other types of search behavior, usability professionals should not ignore querying behavior.

Conclusion

The term "search usability" addresses all search behaviors on a single web site, not only querying behavior, and not only browsing behavior. A user-friendly, search-friendly web site accommodates berrypicking behavior and delivers searchers to the information they desire as quickly and easily as possible.

Source:        http://searchengineland.com/071101-090126.php