Want to know what pisses spiders off? When they come to a website and see the same danged title and description for every page in it. Not every page on your site is identical (if it is, you’re really in trouble because having duplicate content on your own site will make it drop like a stone in the rankings), and each page should have its own unique set of information.
The same goes for blogs. If you’re not adding a unique title and description to every post you make, you’re making a big mistake.
You need to get either All-in-One SEO Pack or HeadSpace 2, either of which allow you to add unique information to every post you make.
HeadSpace 2 makes it really easy. All you have to do is click “Page Title” under the post blank, and your post title will be carried down automatically. It doesn’t work very well with descriptions, so you’ll have to fill in the blank there, but it gives you a good chance to use some keywords for your page, as well.
Remember, the title and description of your page are what show up in the SERPs (search engine results pages), too. So, if you want people to see crappy information about your post, be sure to leave that information out. continue reading »
Linking isn’t dead, though some think it’s not as important as it once was. Not true! Search engines consider that links pointing back to your website from other sites are “votes” for your site. They’re links from new content you’re putting out on the Web, they’re links coming from quality directories, and they’re links coming from people just thinking, “Hey, cool blog,” and linking back to you naturally.
Of all the types of links coming back to your site, the last kind is what search engines love best.
The links that aren’t as effective as they once were (though they probably still carry some weight) are reciprocal links, as in “I link to you, you link to me.” Just a couple of short years ago, this was great to do and webmasters were busy sending letters to sites in their niche trying to get all the reciprocal backlinks they could.
So, that’s no longer an option. If you want great search rankings, it’s OK to do some of this, but getting that natural “Oh, WOW!” link is the best.
And what in the world does that have to do with marketers? Well… I found a connection and Danny Frank put the idea into this short video. Check it out. Danny has a way with video that really makes my articles come to life!
And if you’re interested in learning more about joint venturing or any Internet marketing topic, check out what our new levels of the ListBuilding Club have to offer: http://easyseotricks.com/lbc2
People always ask me how I learned to do customization for my blog and for the blogs that I used to manage for Overcome Everything. Truth be told, I don’t know PHP. I can observe it and after much trial and error over the past three years, I know how to manipulate it well.
But…
That doesn’t mean that I never screw up because I do. I’ve made some horrific blunders in the past, and for a while, it would set me to sweating and biting my nails, especially if it happened on one of Tellman’s favorite blogs. (Don’t ever show him this post because he thinks I never screw up… well… not really, but he doesn’t know how badly I’ve done it in the past. Ha!)
Here’s what I do:
I make the change that I think I want. It can be anything from changing a color to customizing a header to adding a special optin form and on and on. These are simple things, really, but when you’re new and don’t know what you’re doing, you can really just blow the whole blog.
I totally love Aaron Wall’s SEOBook.com, and I think that the keyword discovery tool there is really comprehensive. I use it a lot and I really prefer it to WordTracker. Gasp! Yes, it’s true. I love it. The blog is great, and well… I spend time there when I can.
But when you’re getting keywords together, do you ever consider misspellings? People either type the stuff into Google the wrong way or they just don’t know how to spell the words properly (I never know whether it’s savvy or saavy, do you?), and guess what? You could be coming up in the search results for that stuff–if you do some optimizing for misspellings.
Usually, it’s good to put them where they’re not blaring, as in the text of a long sales letter. Or, they’re great to use in pay-per-click campaigns. So, how do you find them?
Using misspelled words can boost your traffic if their words that people misspell more frequently than they spell them write. (Just kidding. I know how to spell they’re and right, but you get the idea.) Use them if you can in your copy, but more importantly, use them in your pay-per-click campaigns. They’re awesome!
I had a question today over at the ListBuilding Club Discussion Forum about shortening long posts. You know, so that only a portion of them appear on your front page?
Some of the folks in the forum gave various answers, but the discussion was focusing on changing the theme. So, it occurred to me that folks don’t really know how simple this is. In fact, I’ve been writing some longer posts (like yesterday’s) and it just never occurs to me to use the tools I have at hand. Duh. But I did it for illustration purposes.
All you have to do is use the comment <!–more–> where you want to break your post off. It’s really that simple. But, you have to do it in the HTML tab or it won’t work.
Google is going the extra step in their search listings, according to the Google blog of September 25:
“For most search results, Google shows you a few lines of text to give you an idea of what the page is about — we call this a “search snippet.” Recently, we’ve enhanced the search snippet with two new features that make it easier to find information buried deep within a page.”
What will happen is that when Google sends out results, if they find related information in the site, they may add links under the description that further enhance the information. He’s how they showed it:
Dang… I tried a few searches to see if I could get that to come out a little less fuzzy for you, but I found bupkiss so far. But here’s something else they’re doing… adding jump links to the description:
So, get optimizing! This is huge. If you can get more juice from each of your listings, isn’t that the smart thing to do?
It’s all about internal linking. Don’t be lazy. Remember that Google ranks your PAGES, not your site. So, optimize each page individually. It’s really important and now, more important than ever.
And if you want to read the whole article about these new changes to search listings on the Google blog:
Way back in the Stone Age of SEO (like in 2006), linking was the potentate of the country, “IWPR,” or “I Want Page Rank.” It didn’t much matter where the links came from. You could buy them or sell them, add them to a gazillion directories, or trade with other folks in your niche in link exchanges. It really didn’t matter much where they came from, as long as you and the site linking to you were in the same biz.
Then came 2008 when Google cracked down on linking. No longer was it a good idea to either buy or sell links, to add your link to a non-human edited directory, or to exchange links with all your pals in a forum.
Linking became less important, but don’t get me wrong…
It will still boost your rankings. Google, our 600-pound search gorilla in the room, says that it wants linking to occur “naturally,” as in someone comes to your site, likes the content, and adds a link to it from their own website. You don’t ask, pay, or even try to get the link, it just happens naturally because YOUR content is just that awesome.
We know that those kinds of links are gold. They are one-way, meaning you don’t link back to their site, and the more of this type link you have, the better for your search engine optimization. Google will raise your page rank because of your one-way links from reputable sites and directories, and they’ll place your page higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages), too.
So, how do you get more people to link to you?
Well… social links are important, so make it easy for people to link to you from their social accounts at Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, to Tweet your posts. When folks can just push a button and do something, they’re much more likely to do it. You’ll notice that I have several different types of buttons on my blog to help you to add my posts to many different Web 2.0 sites. (So, please do! )
Another way to have your stuff linked to is by making it good, solid content that people can learn from. I have different types of posts here, but each week, I try to post more information than chatter. I have to admit that I’ve been chattering for a couple of weeks here, mea culpa. That was because I was so busy with the ListBuilding Club launch that I had minimal time for much else. However, if you go back into my archive, you should be able to find more information than chatter. That’s important.
Folks want information, and they want a good time. If you can be funny while providing information, all the better. Who doesn’t need a good laugh these days?
Be sure (and I’ve already mentioned this) that you stick to your topic. Wandering off about your vacation is OK, if you do it once a year or so, but generally, if you have a blog about Depression glass, you should write about Depression glass and not much else. People who read your blog come to read about Depression glass, not about the latest marketing promo going around.
That’s really all you have to do. Encourage linking, and make it easy for people. Folks who enjoy what you’re providing for them will do it naturally because it adds value to their audience or their list. And that’s exactly what Google wants. Use your time to create good, linkable content and forget actively searching for link opportunities and I’ll betcha that the great content will win out every time.
Everyone is involved these days. Aren’t you? And if you have a Twitter account, how visitor friendly are you setting it up to be?
My background has information about my other social memberships, my blog and me. But it’s not quite what I want, and so I’ve been shopping. Plus, someone on my list asked me where to find a good Twitter background, so Chiwa, this is for you…
Here are a collection of sites where you can find some cool templates:
TwitterBackgrounds.com : You can get some snazzy backgrounds, but none with your picture. I think that’s essential, even though it’s already on your profile. People should have a clear idea of who you are. You can, however, design a personalized background from one of their templates and they’ll install the whole thing for you for just $5.
WishaFriend.com Twitter Backgrounds: Lots of stuff here. Just some cool backgrounds and some snazzy templates where you can add your photo. All free, and the site uploads the template for you.
*Caveat*: Giving your Twitter username and password out isn’t always a good idea. If you are going to let the site upload the template for you be sure to change your password as soon as it’s done.
Now, there’s no reason for you to have a crappy or boring Twitter background. Use these sites to make your background zing or create your own! Just be sure you’re a decent designer. Having an ameteurish looking background is worse than having none at all.
One thing I have been crazy about since they came of use are the widgets that we’re able to use in our WordPress sidebars.
A few short years ago, editing a sidebar was as big a pain in the butt as editing the theme still is now. I’m not sure if they’ll ever made that as user-friendly or imagine that it’s even doable. But then, I’m not a PHP queen, only a PHP manipulator.
Anyway, widgets are great, and so versatile. Look at all the stuff they hold just in my sidbar. I have an optin box there. How easy is that? Just use a text widget, pop in the autoresponder code and you’re all set!
And there are other widgets that need PHP code. Sometimes that code won’t work in a plain old, every day text widget. So, what’s a non-programming type person to do?
I have the solution!
The plugin for WordPress is called “Daiko’s Text Widget,” and if you’re using WordPress 2.7+, you can find it and install it right from the comfort of your own blog.
This widget will do everything a text widget will do, and then some.
So, if you ever toss some code into a widget and it won’t work?
You’ll know what to do.
I don’t know who Daiko is, but his/her widget is the bomb!
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