SEO Checklist - Notes from the Search Masters Conference at Google

Source: labnol.org

1. The main reason why content is often blocked or de-indexed by search engines is because someone may have uploaded an old robots.txt in the root directory.

2. The site: operator in Google is designed for performance and not comprehensiveness. If you like to know more about how your pages are indexed in Google, always use the Webmaster console as it will paint an exact picture of how Google views your website.

3. The AddURL service of Google should only be used for submitting new domains that Google bots are unaware of. You should not use the tool to suggest individual web pages as your request will be ignored.

4. If you are buying a domain name, always check the backlinks from Webmaster tools and file a reconsideration request if there are links pointing to bad neighborhoods.

5. XML Sitemaps should include a list of all web pages on your website that you want search engines to know about. This file will help crawlers discover your pages but will not alleviate organic ranks.

6. If your website contains user reviews copied from sites like Amazon, Google is more likely to ignore that content. Also read Matt’s comment on empty reviews.

7. Good links are like votes. They are given consciously.

8. You may use CSS or HTML Tables to display content on your website - they are treated no differently from from the perspective of search.

9. Some search experts feel that keyword density (the number of times a keyword or phrase appears compared to the total number of words in a page) is a factor in organic ranks but that may not be true according to Adam Lasnik.

10. Never ever repeat keywords in the title of your web page. The same word appearing twice in a title may be OK but anything beyond that could be seen as spam.

11. Try to write page titles that are brief yet compelling. There’s no prescribed word limit but you should use common sense and the title should not be ‘obnoxiously long’.

12. If you embed videos, images or audio files in your blog, always add ‘thoughtful context’ to the multimedia - this is especially true if you have photo galleries on your blog and like them to show up in search engines. Talk about the embedded video in text so that bots can read it.

13. Always submit spam reports from your Google Webmasters account - the reports are taken more seriously then.

14. To prevent bots from completely indexing a certain section of your website, you should protect that area with a username and password. Other techniques like robots.txt and NOINDEX meta tags may not always work if there are alternate routes to your content.

15. If bad sites are pointing to your content, that won’t possibly effect your rankings in Google but the reverse should not be true.

16. Microformats are currently ignored by Google.

17. If you have a form on your website (like Contact Me) that doesn’t work without JavaScript, you are a potentially missing out lot of visitors who may have tried to reach you via the form.

18. All websites must have an HTML sitemap as well as an XML Sitemap. HTML sitemaps suggest how may clicks are required to reach a particular page while XML maps are also used by Google Custom Search for site search. Please not that web directories are treated differently in Google.

19. Try to describe a photo in ALT tags and the image name. For instance, if you have a picture of Panda playing with water, a good image name is panda-in-water.jpg instead of panda.jpg or photo-of-panda.jpg.

20. Be kind to your users and always optimize the size of images before uploading them on to your website. Not everyone has the bandwidth to download a 2 MB photograph that you may directly transferred from the camera to a web page.

21. A website with a .com address may be ambiguous for geo targeting. The location of your web hosting company is also a factor in geo targeting.

22. If you have a large website and some of your good content doesn’t appear or rank well in organic search, put links to those pages on your home page so that Google knows about your best content.

23. HTML validation is great as it makes your site more accessible but this will have "zero" effect on search. Google will not distinguish between valid or invalid web pages while assigning ranks.

24. Sites that are hosted on slow web servers may reduce the crawling rate in Google Webmaster Central so that frequently-visiting Google bots don’t affect their site performance.

25. Google will not penalize your content if it is found to be a duplicate copy of another web page and that’s because even good websites syndicate content on the Internet. Make sure the copy links to your original article so that search engines can credit the right owner. Adam suggests having a link in the RSS footer.

26. If you come across a website that may be stealing your content and still ranking high in Google, you may either fax a DMCA complaint to Google or post a new thread in Webmaster forums and one of the official Google Guides may look into your case.

27. Don’t worry too much about linking to websites that may not be relevant to your niche. For instance, you could be writing a tech blog but you can safely include a friend’s blog in your blogroll even if it’s about food or entertainment. Adam says that Google looks at "overall patterns" to determine if people are buying or exchanging links.

28. Always test your website in a web browser with JavaScript turned off. That’s how bots will navigate your site.

29. If you are rewriting URLs or shifting to a different CMS (like Drupal to WordPress), don’t move all your content at once. Try moving one section and see how it goes - Use a 301 redirect on a page to page basis.

30. Google looks at the history overall pattern of links going out of your site. So if one of the outbound links on your website points to bad neighborhood (because the domain expired and the new owner converted it into a porn or gambling site), you should not worry about it.

31. Have high quality web pages and please do not focus on quantity.

# 2 SEO Strategy - Social Network

Source: suncao.com

Having a good Social Networking Strategy for yourself is massively helpful if you want to be successful in SEO and consequently be able to develop truly complex SEO strategies.

Its incredibly important that you develop a real verifiable presence on all the key SEO networking sites and all the major business networking sites.

Tips for improving Social Rank(SR)

1. Create a real profile on all the major networks
2. Create a full detailed profile on each, not the usual crap profiles you use for your SEO work
3. Keep profiles consistent but remember that each network is different and reflect this in your profile
4. Interlink all your profiles, not for PR, but for making it easy for people to verify you
5. Use the same picture on each
6. Make sure you have your own personal site thats linked from all the profiles, this gives you freedom to publish more comprehensive information
7. Set aside a an amount of time for each site to build up your reputation
8. Join Groups on each that are relevant to SEO
9. Respond to messages on each until you know who to ignore
10. Frequently update your profiles
11. Its always better to socially network in person at conferences etc. when you have the opportunity, this will massively boost your online credibility
12. Remember dont get confused with doing this for Google, this is for real people who do real business with people they trust

To read the full artcile, Click here

#1 SEO Strategy - Press Release

Press Release distribution will definitely add more value to your SEO efforts. Now let's have a look at the rules for creating and distributing press release

Research Keywords

This must be a familiar term for SEO's. Discover the keyword string that attracts high search volume. The keyphrase attracting high search volume needs to be present in your press release title

Content

Write a simple content with primary intent to convey the desired information to the Visitor. Use the keyword phrases to link back to your site.

Press Release distribution

Press Releases can be distributed in two ways.

1. Paid distribution: PRWeb and PR Newswire are paid distribution sites however paid distribution will lead to posting your release in few sites.

2. Free Distribution: There are a lot of press release submission websites that offers free distribution of press release.

The next step is to monitor the traffic patterns and start paying attention to the traffic from sites that leads to sales conversion.

Here goes the list of free press release distribution websites (source: idowebmarketing.com)

www.prcompass.com
www.clickpress.com
www.free-press-release.com
www.prlog.com
www.i-newswire.com
www.free-press-release-center.info
www.pr-inside.com
www.pressmethod.com
www.prurgent.com
www.pr.com
www.1888pressrelease.com
www.24-7pressrelease.com
www.ideamarketers.com
www.mediasyndicate.com
www.pressreleases.kcstar.com
www.directionsmag.com
www.live-pr.com
www.freepressreleases.co.uk
www.afly.com
www.seenation.com
www.pressreleasepoint.com
www.transworldnews.com
www.usprwire.com
www.prwindow.com
www.myfreepr.com
www.freepressindex.com
www.sbwire.com
www.pagerelease.com
www.techprspider.com
www.pressbox.co.uk
www.openpr.com
www.pressreleasespider.com
www.pressexposure.com
www.myjournalcourier.com
www.prfocus.com
www.user-groups.net
www.worldacd.com
www.pressrelease.com.np
www.adhesivesmag.com
www.baygo.com
www.bizeurope.com
www.downloadjunction.com
www.newsreelnetwork.com
www.pressbox.com
www.promotionworld.com
www.webnewswire.com
www.XpressPress.com
www.businessportal24.com/en
www.franchisenewscenter.com
www.free-press-release.info
www.ukprwire.com
www.pressreleasecirculation.com
www.pressflow.co.uk
www.anyrelease.com
www.bignews.biz
www.pr9.net
www.postafreepressrelease.com
www.exactrelease.com
www.pressbooth.org
www.newsblaster.com
www.pr-usa.net
www.newsalbum.com
www.pr-gb.com
www.prfriend.com
www.indiaprwire.com
www.fastpitchnetworking.com

Search Engine Updates

Source: searchenginewatch.com blogs

Yahoo Announces Changes In Algorithm

Google Translate Adds 7 Languages; Now Up to 41

Microsoft Live Search Tests: Best Match And Categorized Listings

Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset to Sell Better

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

The ability to take risks, recognize opportunities quickly and adapt to changing business environments are some of the qualities that distinguish successful entrepreneurs from others. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset will also allow sales people to find new ways to make sales happen.

Among the most critical and consistent characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is the passion for what they do, the ability to confront and overcome obstacles, collaborate with others for success and constantly listen to what the market is saying. Being able to imbibe such qualities, most importantly having a passion for what you sell, can help you become a better sales person.

Be Aggressive to Thrive in a Downturn

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Sales people who are aggressive during a recession not only survive, but create opportunities for themselves and their company to attract new customers. As with advertising, companies that have taken an aggressive approach to sales and sales promotions have seen significantly higher sales growth than those that maintained a moderate approach during recession.

The key then is to develop an aggressive sales approach. More than strategy this depends almost entirely on the sales people concerned. Since the natural tendency for most of us is to go downstream, a commitment to success and fierce competitiveness are prerequisites to be an aggressive sales person. Allow yourself to face challenges, get out of your sales comfort zone, avoid negative thoughts and focus solely on getting sales; no matter what the circumstances are.

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