SEO Diva

Monitoring Your Search Engine Rankings

Seo Diva — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:14:52 +0000

How do you know if your web site is doing well for a large number of keywords, both top tier and long tail?

How do you quantify the results of the huge amount of effort you’ve put forth?

You gone to a lot of hard work to include quality content, optimize the site for both visitors and search engines, develop a quantity of good quality links to it, and have made every effort to make it a respected site in the eyes of the search engines, especially Google.

Has all your work paid off?

Advanced Web Ranking is a software application by Caphyon that I have used for 5 years to help measure how my clients’ (and my own) websites are doing in the SERPs. I will tell you right now this is a sponsored article, however I NEVER recommend anything that I don’t believe in.

Visual Results

My clients absolutely love the ranking reports I send them from the results I get from Advanced Web Ranking. It gives them a visual of how well our SEO efforts are doing, and it’s exciting to see how a specific keyword advances in the rankings from month to month.

As a keyword rises in search engine rankings, reports give it an awesome green + along with the number of places it has gone up, and that gets my clients (and me) really excited and happy. Conversely, if a keyword is dropping in rankings, it’s indicated with a red – sign, and although that can be a bummer, it’s also a call to action to work on that particular keyword phrase.

Below is a screenshot of one of the pages of an actual ranking report I ran for a client.

If you’re running reports for clients, you can personalize your reports by adding both your and their logos. Reports can be exported in HTML, PDF, Excel (XLS), XML, TXT, and CSV formats, and printed or emailed directly to clients.

Search Engine Friendly

I typically choose the Google search engine, of course, and a couple of others. I like it that if my client is located in another country I can check the rankings that show up within that country’s search results. There are over 1,000 search engines available to pull from, located all over the world, so it doesn’t matter if you’re in the USA or Guatemala or the South Pole. These are constantly updated by Caphyon to ensure that results are always correct (it seems like almost every time I use it there’s an update).

Because AWR uses human emulation technology, when a report is run the search engine requests are indistinguishable from a web browser. (Sometimes Google will demand that I complete a Captcha on my personal searches for the remainder of the day following a run, but it’s a small price to pay.) You can use multiple proxy servers to decrease the update time, which can take quite awhile if the list of keywords is extremely long.

In addition, you can check the position of your keywords in Google through the Google AJAX API, and by using more than one Yahoo API key.

Keywords

Speaking of keywords, you can easily import a list of as many keywords as you want, from a website, a .txt file, Google Suggest or Wordtracker. I get quite a bit of use out of the automatic keyword suggestion tool that’s built right in. The keyword builder feature will help you create compound keywords, starting from the individual words you provide, which will save you a lot of time when you’re setting up a site’s keywords within their profile.

Check Out Your Competitors

Add your competitors’ URLs to the run and you can directly compare your rankings with theirs. Target the keywords you want, get to work, and over time you’ll (hopefully) be able to watch their rankings drop while yours increase. You can also get a visibility overview of your site compared to theirs.

I Could Go On and On…

But I won’t – there are so many features available with this software, and you can learn more about them from the product’s website, where they describe them better than I can.

But I’ll tell you this – once you’ve tried the 30 DAY FREE TRIAL you’ll be so impressed you’re gonna want it! Yep, a 30 day fully functional free trial – so here’s my suggestion: download the software, set up your profile, add your keywords and run the program. Work on your site optimization and build some inbound links. 29 days later, run it again (set it up to run automatically so you don’t forget) and see if you’ve made progress. It gets addictive when you start seeing a site get increasingly better search engine rankings, and with the program starting at $99, not too expensive even if you use it only for one site.

Bonus

When you download the free trial, you’ll also get a 30 day trial of Advanced Link Manager. I haven’t used this software yet, but with it you can find out who links to your site, what keywords they use, and track the status of your links. You can also easily discover where your competition is getting their links.

Got paid links, you bad boy or girl? If so, you can monitor them using this software, and get warning emails if a link is taken down. That alone could save you a bundle of money over time.

If you download the free trial and try out the program(s) I’d love to hear your opinion. Just leave a comment below.

The Flavor of Me

Seo Diva — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:23 +0000

This is my new personal profile on Flavors.me. The photo is from my personal collection, and I had a lot of fun setting up this splash page to suit my personality.

Flavors gives you the opportunity to combine the various aspects of your online presence on one public-facing page. The interface is drag-and-drop, and it’s super easy to use, although a little slow and awkward at times.

There are over a dozen options for social media services that you can choose to share on your portal page, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr, as well as your blog feed(s).

There’s a movie on the site that shows you all the cool ways you can personalize your page. The directory is a marvelous showcase of splash pages – people are truly inspired when they set these up! Be sure to take a look at it before you create your page – you’ll get some great ideas on ways to make yours awesome.

Wouldn’t it be perfect if Google would show this page as the first entry when your name is Googled?

After you create your own Flavors splash page,
come back and leave the URL in the comments.
I’d love to see what you create!

Galiwumpus Update

Seo Diva — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:03:08 +0000

An update on my made-up word ‘Galiwumpus’ now shows 9 listings within 2 weeks.

It’s interesting to note that 2 listings are from Twitter, and several others are from groups I belong to, including friend feed. Using a word with no previous listings gives a clear view of what Google grabs and uses.

How to Get 50% Off BOTW Local Listings

Seo Diva — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:38:20 +0000

Wow, here’s a nice Valentine deal for you!

Best of the Web (BOTW) is one of the top directories I encourage my clients to register with, right up there with the Yahoo Directory and Business.com. If you have a local business, it’s a good idea to register in their BOTW Local listings.

Best of the Web Local Premium listings are 50% off this month! The deal ends February 28, 2010, so don’t put this one off – get it while you can and, if you’re like me, while you’re thinking about it.

BOTW Premium listings usually run $29.95 per month – so you’ll get your listing for the next year for only $15 per month. Not sure? Sign up for a free listing. You don’t get as many features, but free is a good deal on a PR6 site. Promo Code: YOUSAVE50

Galiwumpus Means Top Google Rankings in Hours not Months

Seo Diva — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:02:57 +0000

I just read a great blog article written by a fellow Azima member, Ed from EightTrails, on getting top rankings for keywords that no one ever searches for.

It brought to mind the realtor that would crow to me about ranking on Google for terms like “Best short sale real estate agent located in Phoenix Arizona that will give you a discount.” He was never interested in any of the free SEO advice I offered him about ranking for keywords that people actually search for, because he was already ranking #1 on Google.

Using Galiwumpus for Top Google Rankings

Galiwumpus is a made-up word with no search results as of this writing. I expect it to start ranking soon, though, so I’m using it to make two points:

Anyone can rank for a term that no one searches for. Of course you want to rank for your company name, but this is not a huge feat if your business name is Galiwumpus Google Rankings. This goes back to my article on writing titles that give you better rankings for keywords that will both rank and convert.
Spend a serious amount of time on keyword research. If you don’t, you could be missing out on a huge number of searches that would bring you traffic and put money in your pocket. Just because you think a search term like Galiwumpus is a good one does not mean a lot of (or any) people are searching for it. You’ve got to do keyword research. Start with the Google Adwords Keyword Tool – that alone will help you a lot. From there choose three to five keywords you think are most relevant to your product or service and concentrate on those.

As soon as I publish this post, I’ll start keeping an eye on Google rankings for Galiwumpus, and will add a screen shot when it ranks. I’ve wanted to try this little experiment for years

Update (on Google’s 1st page 3 hours after posting):

Update 2 (on Google’s 1st page less than 8 hours after posting):

Learn SEO and Get Higher Google Rankings

Seo Diva — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:44:11 +0000

Now you have the opportunity learn the secrets experienced SEO professionals use to help sites rank in Google.

Search engine optimization is a specialty. Although a lot of people do an “okay” job of it, it takes knowledge , experience, and a little fairy dust to get it just right.

Join the SEO Power Team

SEO Power Team Guides have been developed to give you step-by-step instructions on how to:

Rank in the Google ‘10 Pack’ for competitive keyword phrases
Optimize your website for better search results
Build hundreds or thousands of inbound links for higher Google rankings

The only thing missing is the fairy dust!

If you’ve ever checked into online marketing costs, you know these SEO services from a qualified professional can cost thousands of dollars by the time it’s all said and done.

SEO Training from a Pro

What if you could get step-by-step instructions, with screenshots, teaching you how to do it yourself, for less than the cost of your daily latte? These training guides have been carefully written by an SEO professional (that would be me) and I’ve included everything I can think of to help you get your website higher rankings in Google.

If you’re truly want to take your online business to the next level, and are willing to invest a little time and money to get it there, then the SEO Power Team Guides are exactly what you need. Click on the link below to learn more.

P.S. Got a question? Leave it in the comment section and I’ll respond.

SEO Title Switch for Better Rankings

Seo Diva — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:12:41 +0000

While watching a video on how to tie shoelaces (most of us do it the wrong way, resulting in sloppy looking bows that come undone), I realized this could be applied to website optimization.

Specifically, a good number of people have the right idea when it comes to (source code) titles, but they set it up backwards, making sloppy work of their SEO and sabotaging their efforts.

Let’s say you sell socks and your CMS insists on putting your site name on every page. Make this change…

Instead of this: Marathon Sports Shop – Men’s Running Socks (site name – product)

Do this: Men’s Running Socks – Marathon Sports Shop (product – site name)

This simple switch means your keyword phrase is now at the beginning of every title on the pages of your web site, which will make a huge difference in your SEO ranking efforts for your keywords.

Even better, if you don’t have to put your site name in your title, use that real estate for keywords. You’ve got 65 characters that will show up in Google listings. After that, you can insert your site name if you really want to…it won’t show up in the Google title results, but unless you’re a well known brand, like Coach or Nike, it won’t matter.

Just in case you’re worried about tying those shoelaces wrong, here’s the video

Free SEO Checklist

Seo Diva — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Here’s a freebie for you – download your free SEO Power Team website optimization checklist.

That’s all for today, just something to help you make sure you’re covering all the bases with your website optimization.

Help the Children in Haiti

Seo Diva — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:25:17 +0000

The devastation in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, struck a chord in me. Especially the photos of the children, who are so innocent and whose live have been severely impacted.

Compassion International is a group I have been involved with for over 30 years, sponsoring children all over the world. I am fully confident of them and the management of the money that is sent to them.

Any donation you can make to aid the children in Haiti, no matter how small it is, will make a huge difference in the lives of some of the poorest people on earth. I hope you will open your hearts to them. Thank you!

Trademark Infringement Can Kill Your Site

Seo Diva — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:36:30 +0000

A lot of people don’t understand DMCA, the US Copyrights Law that provides protections against, and criminalizes the use of other people or businesses intellectual rights.

No one wants to lose a website due to copyright infringement, but Mark over at The Niche Store Builder had that very thing happen. If you are using a copyrighted name in your domain name you’ll want to read his article I Lost a Site Due to DMCA Violation – Trademark Infringement!

A couple of his guidelines include:

If you have a site about foreign cars and it has the word Honda in the domain… you are are in violation! If its foreigncars .com, and you have Honda’s on it, you will not likely have an issue!
If you have a domain named “CheapMacs.com” and it has Apple computers… problem! CheapComputers.com with Apple computers, no problem! If you are a company that sells “Miniature Apple Cart Stands” that are commonly called “MACS”… and you sell them at CheapMacs.com, again, you will likely have no problems, since you are not representing or infringing on the mark.

Get an Invitation to Google Wave

Seo Diva — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:19:26 +0000

Yay! I got an invitation to Google Wave from my good friend Amy from AZ Kids Eat Free.

I’ve got 5 invitations left to give away, so if you’d like one, please sign up for my newsletter, and I will randomly select 5 subscribers and send them an invitation. I’ll make the selections on Wednesday, December 23rd.

Google Wave is incredibly innovative, and will change the way the Internet works:

Adwords Guide for 1 Penny – Don’t Get Banned

Seo Diva — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:41:28 +0000

Thousands of Google Adwords clients were banned (for LIFE!) recently for not following the TOS (Terms of Service). Google is not responding to their requests for more information, and there are many frantic advertisers out there right now.

Don’t let this happen to you. I found a guide written by Brittany Lynch, former Google employee, that explains what Google is looking for and how NOT to get banned from Adwords. The best part is it only costs $.01 – for real. I paid my penny and downloaded the guide, and it contains valuable information on what Google is looking for when you place ads.

Get it quickly – distribution is limited: Adwords Big Ban Report.

Update: The first 200 at 1 cent were sold out, and the price for the report is now $7. If you’re using Google Adwords that price is still super low and worth spending to make sure your ads are not at risk.

Tags: Google, search engine optimization

Google’s New Translate Option

Seo Diva — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:21:24 +0000

Have you tried Google Translate lately?

I used it recently, and it did a fantastic job of translating an email from German to English, with no odd phrases or bad grammar.

Now they are offering this option in the Search Options panel of Google search. This is a nice feature Google has just rolled out. When you click on the option, you get a clean interface with the choice of translating a block of text, finding out the meaning of a specific word, or translating an entire web page.

It’s great that this new feature seems to have been debugged and works seamlessly for its users right from the get-go, unlike new rollouts by search engines that rhyme with Ding.

How to Make Great Videos for Your Blog

Seo Diva — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:29:32 +0000

For months now I have been looking at the cute little Flip I bought specifically to do videos for this blog. There it sits on the shelf, condemning me for dragging my feet on this issue, even though I heartily encourage others to do so.

Today I read a great blog article by John Jonas, How I Do Videos for My Blog. He has taken away every excuse I had – he gives away all his “secrets” to creating a great blog video, including what he uses (a specific camera), the perfect tripod, and the free software that all work together to make his videos look and sound great.

I’ll stick to my little Flip for recording, but I’m going to put all the rest of it together, get over myself, and start taping. Hopefully his blog post will help you get started too!

Truth in Advertising – New FTC Guides

Seo Diva — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:04 +0000

The new FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising are now in effect. There’s been a lot of hype going on about it, but really it’s just truth in advertising.

Endorsements must be honest, with true experiences related by the endorser. They must also be representative “of what consumers can reasonably expect to achieve.” I love it that advertisers can no longer use the disclaimer “results not typical” – like when the 350 pound woman loses 200 pounds in 3 months. Really?

The guideline that is causing all the online hoopla is the one that requires material connections, including free products or monetary compensation, must be disclosed. This is going to affect blog reviews of products and web sites, make-money-fast-online testimonials, and acai berry weight loss claims (see 350 lb woman above).

To help you make sure you’re in compliance, here is the exact wording:

Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions and true experience of the endorser. If paid actors are used, this fact must be disclosed.
Endorsements may not contain any representations which would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if made directly by the advertiser.
Endorsements must be representative of what consumers can reasonably expect to achieve. Any claim made by the endorser must reflect the opinion or experience of a significant proportion of consumers. Disclaimers like “results not typical” are no longer sufficient.
All material connections between the advertiser and the endorser (including research or medical organizations) that consumers would not expect must be disclosed, including free products or monetary compensation.

Tags: advertising, blog reviews, SEO