Quality Links Are Gold

Still, people have learned bad habits and been rewarded for poor linking practices for years.  It’s not going to be easy for them to change up.  That’s why you still so many people sending out automated blog comment spam by the tens of thousands.  You also still see plenty of faked ‘Web 2.0′ pages being made for the express purpose of backlinking.  Apparently these tactics may still be working for some, even though a different set of people were penalized.

Reality dictates that your results may vary, regardless of the link building tactics you use.  Certainly some tactics have declined enough in popularity that anyone would have to think twice about using them.  However, even out of favor link building techniques are effective for some sites who use them in a specific manner.

In recent months there seems to be a push towards quality over quantity for many people who are building backlinks.  Certainly it seems realistic.  Link builders are basically trying to emulate what a ‘real backlink profile’ looks like.  Really, very few websites can expect to garner huge amounts of links in a short period of time using their desired anchor text.  For this reason, link “blasts” are probably falling off in popularity, at least with people who run ‘thin websites.’

If your website has great content and already has decent backlinks, it doesn’t seem like you’re quite as susceptible to wild fluctuations like newer websites are.  Still, older websites that get blasts of backlinks followed by very few are probably suspect.  In fact, it seems the unnatural backlinks warnings that so many websites got in the past few months is largely because large number of backlinks fell off.  This ‘negative link velocity’ caught up with them after their link blasts were removed.  Therein lies the big problem for ‘blasting links.’  Like a junkie, you’ll need to keep on blasting to get the same effect.

Slow but steady with an emphasis on high-quality seems to be leading the charge these days.  Keep your link building efforts focused on the sunny side of the street and avoid the dark.  That and a bit of patience should do the trick.

So what has changed?

Really spammy, spun backlinks seemed to take a big hit.  Websites that are ‘auto approving’ any sort of content also seemed to take big hits.

In the few months prior to the Penguin update, many blog networks were completely de-indexed, another sign that the quality of the content that links to websites is being taken into careful consideration.  Of course Google has merely been cleaning up what they consider to be ‘poor quality sites’ and bad backlinks.  They haven’t changed their guidelines much, but it does seem as if enforcement actions are at an all-time high. The company has made billions because they’ve been able to satisfy the majority of searchers who use their services.  Ever since February 2011 and the first Penguin update, it’s clear that the cat and mouse game between SEOs is ending up with the SEOs being the mice!

Has high-quality content been rewarded?  That’s a question that is impossible to answer, since it involves subjective interpretation of the results.  There does seem to be evidence that people who focused less on building backlinks have gained rankings.  In fact, there are even some blank pages ranking for terms!  That shows you how far SEO has come when a page that is the poster child for anti-SEO is ruling the roost. Whether that can continue for long remains to be seen.

People who have been hit by the Penguin have only a few choices.  They can try to reclaim their original rankings with their website or they can try and found a fresh domain.  Neither is a guaranteed recipe for success.  Still, if you were hit, you have to do SOMETHING.  If you stay paralyzed and wait for Google to revert their results, you might be in for bitter disappointment.  Google doesn’t seem to have totally changed the rules of the SEO game.  They have increased enforcement, though, which is having a profound impact on how people are doing things these days.  For those who adapt to the new environment, all will be well.

Penguin Update Takes The Cake - Away From Webmasters

Much like the way the Penguin rocked Gotham City in the movie Batman Returns, Google’s Penguin is leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to improve their search results.

After all, it was the Penguin himself that said:  ”My dear penguins, we stand on a great threshold! It’s okay to be scared; many of you won’t be coming back. Thanks to Batman, the time has come to punish *all* God’s children! 1st, 2nd, 3rd *and* 4th-born! Why be biased? Male and female! Hell, the sexes are equal with their erogenous zones blown sky high! Forward march! The liberation of Gotham has begun!”

While these sweeping changes might be something that the average web user isn’t likely to notice in their daily searches, the pains of these adjustments are being felt by long standing website builders that have been building sites geared towards keywords and ad displays as their primary focus.

In many cases, older domains and URL’s that once reigned supreme in Google’s search results are feeling the pinch and reporting lower traffic and revenues as a result of the Penguin update.

Also seemingly targeted – sites that were ‘over-optimized’ and/or were using the services of blog networks to acquire backlinks in an ‘unnatural’ way. Since a number of these blog networks were completely de-indexed from search results, any link equity that would have been built up over the years would have evaporated and caused a tremor affect that caused the destination website to fall off the side of a cliff.

This leaves webmasters to re-think their online strategy and analyze what their next step should be. Should they remove content from their afflicted sites? Should they try and get links to their site removed? Should they be attracting new visitors to their site from other sources such as social media or would they be better off starting a brand new website that doesn’t carry all the dings of penalties and malfeasance?

While it’s ultimately up to the webmaster to decide what course of action to take next, unless you’re truly dedicated to the cause of trying to bring the dead back to life, it might be a healthier idea to get started on something new.

A new website and fresh domain name will give you something else to focus on other than the beating you’ve been taking in search – plus it gives you the chance to design a better website that’s more in line with today’s modern Internet – a second chance so to speak.

If you want a fresh start, here is a little more food for thought. If you’ve been using the same webhost, the same server and the same website publishing tool maybe it’s time to switch that up, too. I think of it this way – a website is like a love interest. Although you might be sad that your site stopped working the way you wanted it to, a new site can help rekindle your enthusiasm as a webmaster and maybe even bring better opportunities your way.

No matter what way you decide to address the Penguin update, keep in mind that the Penguin wasn’t all bad. After some thought, he did give a pass and told Max Shreck “Okay, you got a point. I’ll let the little prince live.” Perhaps if you appease him, he’ll let you live, too.

Face it: Twitter is the BEST website around. Where else can you go and ‘Tweet’ all day with people from all over the world? I’m waiting.

The Sootle Experience Is On Twitter

Still stumped? You can’t go anywhere else and Tweet! Only Twitter offers a way to ‘Tweet’ back and forth and that’s what makes the site a destination for millions of people every day. It’s even okay if you market your products and services at Twitter. In fact, it’s superior to other ways of doing it.

Why do I make that claim? Because Twitter allows for ‘permission-based marketing’ opportunities that aren’t available elsewhere. You can ‘target’ your list of followers and send them information and occasional offers with no issues. Just keep in mind a few points.

• Twitter is like anywhere else. Don’t overdo the ads and spare the content.
• Don’t forget to be friendly. Nobody wants to deal with negative people on Twitter.
• Be respectful. Follow the rules of etiquette and treat people right.
• Work that Twitter every day! You can’t skip. Always show up.
• Don’t expect miracle results. This is a new media, experiment.

If you’ve been neglecting Twitter, you should really get yourself over there and get involved! If you follow me, I’ll follow you back.

As a realtor or real estate agent you have to stay in touch with potential home buyers and also make connections with people that want to put their home on the market, you have to be able to manage your time to have “Open Houses” and private home showings along with a myriad of other tasks that need to be done. And that doesn’t even include online marketing campaigns to help raise your local visibility.

Boost Organic Traffic With Web Directories

A well rounded internet marketing campaign can help boost your search engine rankings so you have a greater potential to connect with those that are in need of your services. A well rounded internet marketing campaign should include social networking at places such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and others and related real estate web directory listings. By having coverage in different segments of the Internet you’re extending your reach to a broader audience and maximizing the chances of conversion across the board.

Web directories are a long standing way to build relevant links to your real estate website without a lot of hassle. Since the web page contains other related realty websites, a tightly themed relationship with the other sites listed on the page makes it stronger and more helpful to visitors. By using specific titles and anchor text, you can boost your organic traffic with better search engine traffic which is always helpful for small and medium real estate businesses.

This affordable link building is a great strategy for any realtor that needs to raise awareness about the homes they have available for sale, rent or lease.

Check out this list of great web directories to get started!

Is SEO Still The Art Of High Rankings?

Are SEOs now a dying breed?

Let’s examine the question first.  Of course we should point out that search engine optimization is still very much alive and many self-described ‘SEOs’ are doing well.  Yet market dynamics have really changed in the last few years, and SEO as a standalone practice would seemingly be in decline.

There’s a whole lot more to successful search engine and internet marketing these days, and SEO is only one part of the picture.  Consider just how much search engine friendliness is already built into programs.  Wordpress can be made very search engine friendly in minutes with a plugin.  Most popular applications are the same.  You no longer have to have heavy knowledge of the dark arts of SEO when so much of it is pre-built and the rest is a result of off-page factors.

SEOs are essentially ‘backlinkers’ these days.  Many of them have been relegated to attempting to ‘create backlinks’ through multiple channels to help impact client’s search engine ratings.  This is great, but as anyone who’s been paying attention in the last few years has probably noticed, social signals are now just as important if not more important than backlinks!  That compounds the job of an ‘SEO’ even more by making them have to learn SMM in order to compete!

At what point will all SEOs drop the title and focus on a broader title?  I don’t know.  What do you think?

Have you been smacked around the face and head by the world’s meanest search engine algorithm?

Pandas Are Not To Be Feared

If so, sympathy for your cause is starting to wane.

After all, it’s been a year now since Google Panda first unveiled it’s sharp teeth.  You’ve had time to ‘fix your website.’  You’ve had ample time to improve your low-quality content.  Heck, you’ve had plenty of time to build a whole new website!

Yet here it is a whole year later.  And you’re still dealing with the ‘Panda problems.’  Your Panda-slapping has emasculated you and ‘destroyed’ your entire online business.  The truth is, there are all kinds of successful websites that weren’t impacted by this algo update.  In fact, some even claim that high-quality content has been justly rewarded.  If that’s true, the poor people still taking their beatings from Panda might really consider the fact they have to start over with a new website.

It’s Time To Move On

There’s nothing more to do for your Pandalized website. It’s dead, Jim. Say a few prayers and leave it go. How many more hours do you really plan on spending resuscitating old content? After all, let’s face a few facts about online content.

• It usually doesn’t get better with age.
• Lots of people are creating it, because of the low barrier to entry.
• Yours isn’t as good as you think it is.
• Great content contains pictures, videos, and is socially shared by many people.

When all is said and done, unless you’re really creating top-notch content every day, you can’t expect to be rewarded.  Stop using Google Panda as an excuse.  It’s 2012 now and you need to recover your income.  A whole new website could be the answer!

Good luck!

The quality issues seem to boil down to these:

Infrastructure – the server, IP, and ‘neighborhood’ your website is located on
Niche – many ranking issues are now very query specific
Freshness – you need updated content to rank in Google. QDF is now real.
Competition – Sometimes you’re getting your ass kicked by competitors, not by Google.
Design – Your design must be updated to reflect today’s surfing choices

All of these seem basic, because they are.  It’s important to gain control of all the most basic element’s of your website’s SEO before worrying about more advanced techniques.  That’s how lots of people end up doing it, though.  They skip the basics and move on to other things.  This can cause the foundation to crumble, resulting in a tragic end for rankings.

Anyways, please share if you were impacted by the update on the date mentioned in the title.  If so, please explain what happened.  Thanks.

Effective basics

1) Google loves websites with many backlinks. Of course you can enter into the debate on whether Google loves quality or quantity when it comes to backlinks, but suffice it to say, backlinks are still a huge factor in Google. Most people recommend foregoing quantity in favor of “high-quality” links. This phrase is subject to interpretation, but to most people it means links from related pages. The older the domain holding the related page, the better. Quantity of links tends to be in the form of many unrelated links in footers and blog rolls. From what I’ve seen, both methods are still valid if followed with enthusiasm.

2) Careful on-page construction is a key to a high ranking. Most pros don’t overlook the careful construction of the on-page factors that lead to high rankings. On-page factors are something that webmasters have complete control over, so it’s definitely an area to consider. One nice thing about on-page optimization is that you can easily tweak the pages and experiment. There’s no good reason to ignore the obvious.

3) Google loves “authority.” In the last few years Google has become enthralled with the concept of “authority” and “trust” and has created a rather convoluted system to measure it. Once a website has been conferred authoritative and trusted, they seem to get a boost that helps lift even mediocre pages on their domain to a higher status. This is opposed to how it was several years back when Google would let each page fight it out on its own. The concept of authority and trust are well worth investigating if you’re looking to optimize your site for higher rankings.

4) Outgoing links. Not only are the links that point to you important, but so are the websites you point to. It’s easy to understand this concept as “the company you keep.” If you link to low quality resources and your website is linked to from low quality websites, Google could infer that your website is also low quality.

The progression of the years has seen Google’s algo get more sophisticated. But at its core the same essential principles that always applied still do apply. Your website is judged by a number of criteria that is not fully understood by anyone outside of Google. Based on continued observation, certain core principles have emerged. If you follow these principles, success will likely follow.

1) Do you still have pages indexed in Google? If not, you’re likely banned. If the site command shows nothing, you have probably been dropped from their index.
2) Do you rank for your own unique domain name? If you don’t, you likely have incurred a penalty. It’s not severe enough to keep you completely out of the index, and can probably be fixed on its own.

But if you still rank for your own domain name and you have plenty of indexed pages and incoming links, the problems gets a bit murkier. Add in the fact you may even have “sitelinks” to your website and the situation is downright cloudy.

“Domain trust”, “authority,” and “TrustRank” are all concepts that explain away the symptoms, but with no official word from Google, it’s all speculation.

In any event, I witnessed this phenomena again on 4/8/2009. Something “removed the filter” from one of my websites and a massive amount of long tail traffic returned to the logs. By the 12th it was gone again.

To me that looked like Google did some testing of user data signals and shit-canned the results for further study. Of course it could be something unrelated. Since I’m not privy to Google’s internal thinking, I can simply guess.

I have to admit that “All or nothing” form or ranking certainly does appear Draconian.