So i’ve decided to send the site dark in protest over SOPA as if this passes in the USA it’s only a matter of time before the UK Government is all over it.
If you’d like to black out your blog in protest then (after having done a bit of research) the best plugin is http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sopa-blackout/
It implements a 503 header on your site which protects you from any dips in SEO.
check it!
Although Matt Cutts previously stated that there would be no ‘major’ updates to the Panda algorithm change throughout December, this didn’t stop them slipping in a minor update that occurred on the 19th Dec.
Reports that this ‘minor’ update has already affected some big sites such as JC Penny, Overstock.com and a host of other big name websites. So keep your eyes peeled as to their changes if you’re interested in observing how others master this change.
How do you fix it?
At the moment there’s no concrete information on the update other than it occurred. Personally we’ve only had one client effected by December’s Pandalization and we’ll be doing so broad investigation into this and as usually starting with on-page SEO.
You’ve probably heard all of that before however we thought this client was safe too!
Heres an awesome post on how you can create masses of ‘unique’ meta descriptions, page titles, Google product/base feed info and product descriptions by programatically creating a matrix of content… AWESOME!
Just found a brilliant video thats just been posted on YouTube by Google web sheriff, Matt Cutts who is asked about exact match and keyword rich domains. Its well worth a look but a word of warning, expect to develop a healthy debt on your credit cards as you’re immediately going to run off and buy a load of domains.
Tip: Stay away from .co.cc and .info as the foremost is out of Googles index in its entirety and the latter looks like its next.
Anyway here’s the exact match video:
Updates Jan 2012
Having researched link prospecting emails for a recent presentation I thought now would be a great time to catalogue some of the SEO link prospecting emails I’ve received. These emails typical cover paid link placement and guest blogging and im’s sure you’ll agree this makes a great resource for people who are looking to improve their blogger outreach emails.
Its worth noting that I personally don’t use any of the following. They’re just there for your information.
One that Rand liked in 2005
Hi, {name} here from the {client name} and I wanted to drop you line and just compliment your site. Nice layout, good info, good resources. I was looking around at a few different sites for realty information and I definitely thought your’s was one of the best.
That being said, I also noticed you guys have some great content related to {topic}. I currently work for a company that {details of service}, target url}. We are a nationally recognized, reliable source for {topic} on the web and I was wondering if you’d be interested in us paying to advertise via text links on your site. I realize that there are sometimes set rates/fees involved in such placement of text links so feel free to name your price.
If not, thanks for the time and keep up the good work!
Thanks,
{name}
Interesting to see that rand liked a paid link post in 2005! My, how the industry has changed ;)
Hi {name},
I work for {Agency Name}; a UK based Digital Marketing Consultancy.
We represent clients interested in social media marketing on smaller sites with little or no existing advertising and we’re currently looking for advertising partners.
We pay a fixed upfront annual fee which we will agree on with you. Once the ad is in place, payment is made within approximately 48 hours.
Would you be interested in placing a small text-based ad on {yourdomain.com}?
Kind regards,
{name}
(email}
note, this company didn’t do any research into who I was!
Hi!
My name is {name} and I work at {company name}, a rapidly-growing customized apparel company. I wanted to offer you a couple free custom shirts for your blog. We can print anything you want on these t-shirts – your blog logo, a memorable quote, or a picture of a cat. You could use these t-shirts for promotion, reader giveaways, or anything else.
A bit about us: We’re a startup company located in {town, city}. We strive to provide the best quality product at the lowest price, and to make sure the ordering process is fun and easy. A few people in our office suggested I check out your blog, and I thought it was really well done and perfect for this opportunity. We rely on word of mouth and social media to market ourselves, so in exchange for the shirts, we’d love if we could have our shirts reviewed on your blog.
If you’re interested, you can reach me on the phone or just respond to this email. I appreciate your consideration and hope to be working with you soon!
Thanks,
{name}
Subject: Link Submission
{target name},
My name is {name}, and I am contacting you regarding your Birding site at {target url}.
I’m working with {client}.com to announce and link a new section on their site called {title} {client} is located at {webaddress}, and the new {topic} section is located at {target url}.
Per the link request instructions on your site, I would like to request a link to our {topic} section in your Links to {title} section at {their url}.
Please let me know if the above provides you with the information you need to review and consider our new section for linking. I can be reached via email at {email address} or, if you’d like to talk about this by phone, my direct number is {phone number}.
I have also subscribed to your e-newsletter and look forward to receiving it.
Best wishes,
{name}, for {company}.com
Dear {target name},
I’ve greatly enjoyed looking through your {topic} website, especially the {target feature} feature. I have a website on a related subject and I think it might be of interest to your readers. It’s {article title} on {target url}. This page provides a detailed{topic}, including {sub topic a}, {sub topic b}, and even a section on {sub topic c}. The page is located at {target url}.
I thought a good place on your site to link from would be on your “links” page, here: {links page url}.
Here is a description that you can use if you like:
{title}
{description}I hope you find this link appropriate and useful. We at {client name} would certainly appreciate a link from your site. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
{name}
Hi {name},
My name is {your name} and I’m getting in touch with you regarding your {category} site/blog {site name}. I’m currently working with {client} to announce their new resource {article name}, and thought this might be of interest to you and your readers, as it provides an easy and intuitive way to {Insert Benefit Here}. You can review the article at {Insert URL}. If you find the resource to be of value to you and your readers, I’d appreciate it if you could add it to your {links page url} or announce it to your readers at your own discretion. Alternatively, you can utilize the customized badge or link code provided below:
{Insert Badge or Anchor Text Optimized HTML Code}
As someone has an interest in {Category}, I’ve signed up to your site’s {newsletter/rss} and look forward to learning more about your business. Please let me know if the above provides you with the information you need to review and consider our new section for linking. I’m available Monday to Friday 9am-5pm EST, and can be contacted via telephone at my direct line {number} and also by my direct email {name@domain.com}.
Best wishes,
{name}
Strange how this popped up on SEOMoz shortly after i posted my original. Guess they must have checked their referrers (see link above) and copied the idea… or maybe great minds think alike lol.
Hello NAME, I was browsing through your site/links as a NICHE SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION myself, and they’re great. ONE/TWO SENTENCES TAILORED TO
SAID WEBSITE.
I’m contacting you specifically because I was looking through your links and I noticed a few broken ones – specifically to BROKEN LINK1, BROKENLINK2.
Other than that you’ve got a great list!
I have two more suggestions for sites that were extremely helpful to me as a NICHE SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION might make good additions to your list – GREATRESOURCE and MYWEBSITE. GREATRESOURCE is a comprehenshive and entertaining resource and MYWEBSITE has some great tips for NICHESPECIFIC DETAIL. Just a thought.
Anyways, just wanted to let you know and say thanks – have a great new year!
Regards,
EMAIL NAME
Hey NAME,
I saw that you’re the THEIR POSITION over at THEIR COMPANY and I wanted to get in touch. I’ve seen guest contributions before on the TOPIC blog and wanted to know if you were open to any more guest contributions. I am looking to write about something related to NICHE and thought that the topics I had in mind may go well on the TOPIC blog.
I was thinking about the following subjects:
- IDEA 1
- IDEA 2
- IDEA 3
What do you think about these? If you’re interested, I am happy to get something written up and sent over to you – or if you have another topic you’d like to see covered, I am more than happy to write on that.
Thanks,
NAME
Hi ,
Don’t know if you remember me, but I’ve commented on a number of your blog posts and we’ve written a couple of posts on the (YOUR COMPANY) blog that continued discussions you’d started (I think the TOPIC post was the most recent one). I wanted to reach out to you about YOUR COMPANY, the PR/SEO startup I co-founded.
We’re now preparing to launch (DATE) and I wanted to see if we could setup a time to brief you on it. QUICK BACKGROUND ABOUT YOUR COMPANY. WHY YOUR
COMPANY IS GREAT.
Here’s the gist. You can:
- SELLING POINT 1
- SELLING POINT 2
- SELLING POINT 3
Launch is happening DATE. We’d love to find some time to show the thing to you. Are you comfortable with an embargo until TIME a.m. ET on DAY, DATE (i.e. late Monday night PT)? If so, here are some suggested times…pick your poison ;)
- TIME OPTION 1
- TIME OPTION 2
- TIME OPTION 3
Thanks in advance.
Regards, NAME
Hi NAME,
ONE OR TWO SENTENCES ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE EMAIL AND WHY YOU CREATED THE CONTENT. ALSO, WHY THEY SHOULD CARE ABOUT THE CONTENT.
The guide can be found at LINK and I’d love if you could share this with your readers and help make them aware of THE POINT OF THE RESOURCE, and how they can help. If you need any further information please let me know.
NAME
Hi {NAME},
My name is Allie and I work with [Client] online marketing team.
First, I have to thank you for repeatedly featuring [Client] on [your blog name]. The [client] team truly loves it when their customers share their favorite looks with others on their personal blogs.
Secondly, I wanted to see if you would be interested in linking to [Client] the next time you feature one of their products. I noticed that you often mention us in your “XYZ” posts and I want to propose an idea that I think we could both benefit from.
In exchange for linking to [Client], we’d like to post a Tweet about your blog sometime within the next week. As you may know, we have over x followers, so the opportunity for exposure is pretty grand. You’d also be helping our team out by sending your readers directly to our site when they see a product they like.
Let me know if you’re interested in this idea, and hopefully we can find some way to work together!
Thanks again for all your support and Happy New Year!
Subject: Merrrrrrry Christmas! Wait, too early….?
Body:
Hi [Name],
My name is {yourname}, and I work with [client] web promotions team. I came across [blog name] and wanted to see if you were interested in working with us. Our site, [client] has over 48,000 custom [product] designs across 113 categories. We were inspired by [something about their site], and seeing as how you love the holidays just as much as we do we’d like to provide you with 5 free Christmas cards for a product review on [URL].
You can either design these cards yourself with your own photos and text or select one from our already pre-designed cards – regardless we’ll be crediting you with free shipping. Please let me know if you are interested in this idea or if you have any suggestions of how we can collaborate on something else. I look forward to hearing from you!
Take care,
{yourname}
A quick post so i have somewhere central to store things…
Heres a great post pointing out how Google are manually truncating their URL’s with supposed SEO benefit
http://www.johnfdoherty.com/lessons-from-google-about-url-lengths/
Today marks the completion of a little test i created to determine if a second link to a target page would make that page rank higher… This was developed due to the ‘first link rule’ where in a majority of cases Google only attributes the Anchor Text of the first link on a source page to a target page.
To summarise this, on a page containing 2 links to the same product target page, the first links anchor would be attributed and the second ignored.
The upshot of this principle is that if your first link contains an anchor of ‘more’ or is the ALT attribute of an image, you might want to re-work your code so more appropriate anchor text appears higher in the code.
Anyway back to my test
I simply set up two source pages ’1′ and ‘a’ each containing a link to a respective target page. Both of these pages contained the same text content and same anchor text link to its respective target page however one of these source pages contained a second link to the target page using the anchor text ‘read more’
The target pages were both identical and labelled ‘peanut shell gloves 1′ and ‘peanut shell gloves 2′ ( it was a Googlewhack at the time).
After 2 months the results are in.
The page being referenced by the source page containing two links ranks higher than the singluar.
SEO Test Result
What’s more the source page for the winning target was the second link from my home page so we can count our any slight preference in one link being placed before another.
The up shot of this is go link mad and get lots of links from source pages to your target content – just remember that the first link carries the anchor text relevance.
To view the source documents view:
If you have any feedback let me know.
Despite what Rand says about Article Marketing, many like minded SEO experts agree that articles have their place in an SEO’s toolbox of link sources. There are several fundamental aspects to creating a successful article marketing campaign including – unique titles, 500 word minimum content length, making the articles useful, keyword relevance and categorisation. It is article categories that seem to be the hardest part of this equation as many people simply plonk in the same keyword strings from the meta box.
I’ve decided to stop this madness and have compiled the following list of article categories for use in AMR (Article Marketing Robot) and other article marketing programs. This list of article categories was taken from over 50 of the top article directories, de duped and processed into a CSV for your use. To make best use of these categories simply pick the ones that most closely match your topic and dont forget to add ‘uncategorized’ and ‘general’ to the list.
(got knows what this is going to do to my content relevancy lol but hey ho… for the greater good…the greater good)
If you like this list then please link to it.
—begin paste-
Business & Careers, Investing, Legal, Marketing, Real Estate, Stocks, Arts, Culture, Fashion, Food & Dining, Poetry, Blogging, Computers & Gadgets, Education, Environment, Family, Games & Toys, Health & Wellness, Home & Garden, Military, Pets, Relationships, Science, Snipsly, Transportation, Travel, Celebrity News, News, Politics, Sports, 1031 Exchange, Avoiding Foreclosure, Business Management, Buying Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, Condo Hotels/Condotels, Condominiums, Credit, Flipping, For Sale By Owner (FSBO), Foreclosure Investing, General Real Estate, Government Owned Properties, Green Real Estate, Housing, HUD, Insurance, Land Investing, Landlord, Lease Options, Local Real Estate, Marketing Real Estate, Mobile Home Investing, Money & Finance, Mortgages & Lending, Negotiation, Property Analysis, Property Management, Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Law, Real Estate Psychology, Real Estate Stocks (REITs), Real Estate Tools & Tech, Rehabbing, REO Investing, Selling Real Estate , Short Sales, Starting Out Investing, Statistics, “Tax Liens, Notes & Paper”, Taxes, Wholesaling, Arts & Entertainment, Business, Communications, Computer, Disease & Illness, Finance, Food & Beverage, Health & Fitness, Home & Family, Internet Business, Product Reviews, Recreation & Sports, Reference & Education, Self Improvement, Society, Technology, Travel & Leisure, Vehicles, Writing & Speaking, Automotive, Book Reviews, Cancer, Computers & Technology, Food & Drink, Gaming, Home Based Business, Home Improvement, Internet & Businesses Online, Kids & Teens, News & Society, Shopping & Product Reviews, Womens Interests, Accounting , Advertising, Angels & VCs , Bank Loans, Branding, Business Coaching, Business Financing, Business Plan, Business Travel, Buying A Business, Franchises , General, Going Green, Home Based Biz, Human Resources, Leadership, Management, Personal Finance , Productivity, Products, Public Relations, Retail, Sales , SEO, SBA Articles, Small Biz Consulting , Small Biz Loans, Starting A Biz , Women, Work-Life, Entertainment, Home, Writing, Science & History, News & Politics, Living, Humor, Movies, Music, Photography, Gambling , Family law, Immigration, Personal Injury , Aviation, Destinations, Vacations , Health, Acne, Beauty, Alternative, Dental, Depression, Diabetes, Lifestyle, Medicine, Men, Nutrition, Sleep, Stress, Supplements, Vision, Fitness, Weight Loss, Women , Astronomy, Biology, Physics , Mobile Phones, Satellite Radio, VOIP , Career, Communication, PR, Sales, Customer Service, Small Business, Networking , Cars, Maintenance , Dating, Divorce, Marriage, Religion, Weddings , Loans, Mortgage, Debt, Insurance , Internet, Email, Web Hosting, RSS, Spam, Affiliate Programs, Web Design, Security, Site Promotion, Online Business, Domains, PPC Advertising, Forums , Fishing, Golf, Extreme, Bodybuilding , Copywriting, Public Speaking , Attraction, Success, Happiness, Motivation, Spirituality, Creativity , Computers, Hardware, Software, Games , Home and Family, Parenting, Pregnancy, Hobbies, Kids, Gardening, Interior Design, Home Security , Food, Cooking, Recipes, Wine , Shopping, Accounting, Auditing, Bookkeeping, Budgeting, Receivables, E-Commerce, Financing, Home Business, Import Export, Network Marketing, Public Company, Strategic Planning, Cars and Trucks, Classics, Motorcycles, RVs, SUVs, Trucks, Vans, Data Recovery, Databases, E-Learning, Information Technology, Intra-net, Netbook, Networks, Notebook, Operating Systems, Programming, Tablet Computer, Culture and Society, Consumer, Current Affairs, Inspirational, Language, Social Issues, Sociology, Television, Elder Care, Genealogy, Holidays, Pets and Animals, Clothing, Cosmetics, Jewelry, Banking, Currency Trading, Financial Planning, Leasing, Personal Finance, Stock Market Investing, Structured Settlements, Wealth Building, Equipment, Muscle Building, Yoga, Food and Drink, Coffee, Gourmet, Wine and Spirits, Alternative Medicine, Hair Loss, Meditation, Multiple Sclerosis, Psychology, Wellness, Arts and Crafts, Collecting, Accessories, Home Security, Broadband, Domain Names, E-Business, New to the Internet, Search Engine, Social Media, Technologies, Tools and Resources, Web Browser, Web Development, Webmasters, Internet Marketing, Adsense, Article Marketing, Click Bank, Email Marketing, Ezines and Newsletters, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Marketing, Viral Marketing, Copyright, Cyber Law, Intellectual Property, “National, State, Local”, Patents, Regulatory Compliance, Personal Development, Advice, Coaching, Goal Setting, Stress Management, Time Management, Weddings, Baseball, Basketball, Biking, Football, Hockey, Running, Soccer, Cable and Satellite TV, Cell Phones, Electronics, Gadgets and Gizmos, GPS, Video Conferencing, VOIP, Air Travel, Boating, Camping, Cruises, Hunting, Outdoors, E-Books, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Publishing, Uncategorized, Advertising & Marketing, Animals & Pets, Auto & Trucks, Babies & Parenting, Business & Management, Computers & Internet, E-Com & Online Biz, Health & Exercise, Laws & Legal, Reviews, School & Education, Sports & Recreation, Website Promotion, Home Repair, Self Help, ECommerce, Autos, Other, CATEGORIES, Business & Finance, Environment and Going Green, Music and Movies, Politics and Government, Religion and Faith, Arts and Entertainment, Crafts, Games, Movies TV, Poker, Health and Fitness, Internet and Businesses Online, News and Society, Recreation and Sports, Reference and Education, Shopping and Product Reviews, Travel and Leisure, Cruising Sailing, Vacation Rentals, RV, Careers Employment, Entrepreneurislism, Networking, Outsourcing, Presentation, Workplace Communication, Broadband Internet, Mobile Cell Phone, Satellite TV, Web, Bankruptcy, Debt Consolidation, Debt Relief, Mortgages, Stocks Mutual Funds, Cooking Tips, Wine Spirits, Allergies, Anti Aging, Arthritis, Back Pain, Build Muscle, Dental Care, Diseases, Exercise, Massage, Mental Health, Quit Smoking, Skin Care, Sleep Snoring, Babies Toddler, Crafts Hobbies, Decor, Home Appliances, Home Audio Video, Interior Decorating, Landscaping Gardening, Pets Cats, Pets Dogs, Scrapbooking, Affiliate Revenue, Traffic Building, Crime, Marriage Wedding, Online Education, Sexuality, Building a Home, Buying, Commercial Property, Foreclosures, Homes, Leasing Renting, Mortgage Refinance, Property Investing, Selling, Auto Racing, Martial Arts, Snowboarding, Tennis, College University, Environmental, History, Home Schooling, Addictions, Creativity, Positive Attitude, Self Esteem, Writing and Speaking, Consumer Electronics, Fashion Style, Gifts, Arts & Entertainment , Animation, Art, Books, Celebrities, Humanities, Literature, Modeling, Pottery, Singing, Theater, Business , Accommodation, Business Branding, Business Cleaning, Business Communication, Business Finance, Business Franchise, Business Gifts, Business Technology, Careers, Changing Careers, Direct Mail, Employment, Entrepreneurs, Ethics, Industry, Material Handling, Meeting Management, Moving Services, Multi Level Marketing, Non-profit Organizations, Notary Services, Office Equipment, Planning, Printing, Project Management, Recruitment, Relationship Building, Risk Management, Shipping Goods, Shipping/Logistics, Staff Development, Standards, Tax Tips, Team Building, Workplace Safety, Communications , Radio, Telephony, Computers , Computer Certification, Computer Games, CSS, Data Security, Internet Fraud, Malware & Spyware, Multimedia, Online Games, Phishing, Printers, Robotics, Scripts, Servers, XML, Disease & Illness , Acid Reflux, ADD, ADHD, Alzheimers Disease, Anorexia, Anxiety, Arteriosclerosis, Asthma, Autism, Bird Flu, Bronchitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Chicken Pox, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cold & Flu, Colitis, Crohns Disease, Fibromyalgia, General Illness, Gout, Heart Disease, Hemorrhoids, Hepatitis, Hypoglycemia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Kidney Stones, Leukemia, Liver Disease, Measles, Medical Breakthroughs, Medication, Mesothelioma, Morgellons Disease, Mosquito Disease, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Osteoporosis, Parkinsons Disease, Psoriasis, Renal Diseases, Repetitive Strain Injury, Rosacea, Sexual Disease (STD), Tinnitus, Tuberculosis, Wilsons disease, Environment Issues , Global Warming, Polution, Recycling, Sustainable Development, Fashion , Body Piercing, Fashion Accessories, Fashion Modelling, Fashion Photography, Hair Styles, Handbags, Jeans, Kids and Baby Clothing, Prom Fashion, Shoes, Sunglasses, SwimWear, Tattoos, Finance , Credit Cards, Credit Fraud, Credit Repair, Debt Management, Fundraising, Kids Money Tips, Real Estate Foreclosure, Retirement, Student Loan Consolidation, Tax, Food & Beverage , Barbecue, Beer, Chocolate, Dinnerware, Eating Out, Home Brewing, Kitchen Appliances, Organic, Tea, Vegetarian, Wine & Spirits, Board Games, Card Games, Lottery Games, Party Games, Puzzles, Sports games, Health & Fitness , Air Purification, Aromatherapy, Bad Breath, Body Pain, Cardio, Chiropractors, Constipation, Cosmetic Surgery, Dentistry, Detoxification, Digestion, Disabilities, Eating Disorders, Eczema, Eye Care, Fatigue, Fear & Phobias, Fitness Equipment, Fitness Training, Foot Health, General Health, Health Care, Health Supplements, Hearing Loss, Herbal Medicine, Home Remedies, Hydrotherapy, Hypertension, Hypnosis, Infertility, Memory Loss, Mens Issues, Migraines, Natural Remedies, Personal Fitness, Pilates, Sexually Transmitted Disease, Sidha, Sleeping Disorders, Smoking, Surgery, Womens Issues, Workplace Burnout, Home & Family , Alternative Energy, Antiques, Babies, Christmas, Clocks, Disaster Readiness, Elderly Care, Fabric Mending, Family Planning, First Aid & Safety, Flower Arrangement, Furniture, Gift Ideas, Hair Removal, Home Accessories, House Cleaning, Household Appliances, Landscaping, Model Aircraft, Moving House, Online Shopping, Parental Care, Parties, Plant Maintenance, Rugs & Carpets, Self Defense, Sewing, SoundProofing, Toddlers, Woodworking, Internet Business , Ad Tracking, Affiliate Marketing, Audio Streaming, Auto Responders, Ebooks, Ezine Marketing, Ezine Publishing, Forums, Graphics Design, Internet Security, Joint Ventures, Link Building, List Building, MySpace, Online Auctions, Podcasting, PPC Marketing, Private Label Rights, Resale Rights, SE Optimisation, SE Positioning, SE Tactics, Social Networking, Traffic Analysis, Traffic Generation, Twitter, Video Streaming, Web Site Promotion, Investing , Forex Trading, Gold Investing, HYIP Investing, Initial Public Offering, Mutual Funds, Retirement Planning, Silver Investing, Stock Market Trading, Stock Options, News & Politics , Commentary, Current Events, Political History, Product Reviews , Live Performance Reviews, Movie Reviews, Music Reviews, Recreation & Sport , Archery, Athletics, Bearball, Billiards, Bird Watching, BMX Racing, Bowling, Boxing, Canoeing, Cricket, Croquet, Cycling, Dance, Darts, Figure Skating, Gym workout, Hiking, Horse Racing, Horse Riding, Kayaking, Motor Racing, Mountain Biking, Pentathlon, Pool, Rock Climbing, Rugby, Sailing, Scuba Diving, Skateboarding, Skating, Snow Skiing, Softball, Sports Psychology, Surfing, table tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Walking, Water Sports, Reference & Education , Adult, Architecture, Boarding School, College, Distance Learning, High School, K-12 Education, Maps, Mathematics, Philosophy, Reading, Special Education, Teaching, University, Weather, Self Improvement , Anger, Assertiveness, Astrology, Competition, Dreams, Feng Shui, Grief, Innovation, Job Applications, Job Hunting, Law Of Attraction, Manifesting, Memory, Metaphysical, Mind Mapping, NLP, Organizing, Philanthropy, Power of Focus, Problem Solving, Procrastination, Psychic, Self Awareness, Self Discipline, Speed Reading, Visualisation, Society , Charity, Death, Economics, Feminism, Friendship, Vandalism, Technology & Gadgets , Digital Products, Home Theatre, MP3, Personal Digital Assistant, TV, Travel & Leisure , Luxury Travel, Pet Travel, Travel Tips, Vacations, Vehicles , Aircraft, Bicycles, Boats, Horse Drawn, Hybrid, Number Plates, Recreational Vehicles, Scooters, Tractors, Trailers, Trucks & SUV, Vehicle Parts, Writing & Speaking , Article Writing, Audio Books, Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Freelance Writing, Ghost Writing, Newsletters & Ezines, Press Releases, Public Speaking, Screenwriting, Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Skin Cancer, Stock Market, Wine, Men’s Issues, Women’s Issues, Auctions, Audio-Video Streaming, Podcasts, Homeschooling, Trucks-SUVS, Article Archive, Art and Culture, Blogs, Buddhism, Business News, Business Opportunities, Christianity, Construction, Cuisine, Ezine, Ezine Sites, Family & Parenting, Fashion & Cosmetics, Female Entrepreneurs, Finance & Investment, Food & Beverages, Free Web Resources, Gambling, Government, Hinduism, Import – Export, International Property, Investment, Islam, Judaism, Law, Link Popularity, Manufacturing, MLM, Party Ideas, Press Release, Quotes, Recreation & Leisure, Research, Science & Technology, Search Engines, Seniors, Spiritual, Telecommuting, Travel & Tourism, UK Property Investment, Video Games, Web Traffic, Website Design, World News, Art & Entertainment, Actors, Comics & Animation, Movies & TV, Visual Art, Driving Tips, Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Agriculture, Business Ideas, Career Development, Case Studies, Consulting, Corporate Finance, Direct Marketing, Entrepreneurship, ERP, Financial Management, Franchising, Fund Raising, Furnishings and Supplies, Human Resource, Industrial Mechanical, International Business, Licensing, Non Profit, Organizational Behavior, Promotion, Sales Management, Sales Training, Strategic Management, Supply Chain, Venuture Capital, Career Management, Interviews, Resumes, 3G, Cell Phone Accessories, Cell Phone Reviews, Cell Phone SMS, Fax, GPRS, Mobile Games, Telephone System, WiFi, Wimax, Certification, Childhood Education, College & University, Financial Aid, International Studies, Languages, Learning Disabilities, Tutoring, Credit Counseling, Day Trading, Food & Drinks, Catering, Crockpot Recipes, Desserts, Low Calorie, Main Course, Pasta Dishes, Restaurant Reviews, Salads, Soups, Wine Spirit, Communities, Console Games, Console Systems, Online Gaming, Video Game Reviews, Anti-Aging, Bladder Problems, Blood Cancer, Chest Pain, Children Health, Cholesterol, Digestion Issues, Drug, Ears Hearing, Emergency Services, Excessive Gas, Eye Vision, Fever, First Aid, Fitness Equipments, Genetics, Hair Care, Hair Whiteness, Headache, Health Regulations, Height Issues, Hiv/Aids, Hospitals, Hygiene, Injury, Knee Pain, Leg Swelling, Medical Equipment, Men Health, Nosebleed, Pain Management, Pain-Swelling, Physical Therapy, Polio, Proper Diet, Safe Sex, Sexual Health, Stroke, Sugar Disease, Teen Health, Traditional Medicine, Ulcer, Vaginal Pain, Weakness, Women’s Health, Wound Care, Craft, Bath & Showers, DIY, Energy Efficiency, Flooring, Heating and Air Conditioning, Kitchen Improvements, Moving & Relocating, Patio Deck, Pest Control, Remodeling, Roofing, Storage-Garage, Tools and Equipment, CMS, Free Stuff, Media Streaming, Paid Surveys, PPC Programs, Social Bookmarking, Video Marketing, Copyright Law, Criminal Law, Employement Law, Identity Theft, Immigration Law, Personal Injury, Trademarks, Energy, Free Journalism, International, Opinion, Politics News, Pure Opinion, Technology News, World Records, Aquatic, Birds, Camel, Cat, Dog, Ferret, Fish, Horse, Pig, Rabbit, Reptile & Amphibian, Rodent, Sheep, Buying a Home, Land, Mortgage Financing, Property Investment, Selling Property, Relationship, Advice for Men, Advice for Women, Affairs, Breakups & Separation, Counseling Services, Cyber Relationships, Dating & Flirting, Love, Singles, Anger Management, Motivational, Appliances, Coupon Codes, Tips & Advice, Toys, New Age, Adventure Racing, Airsoft, Animal Sports, Badminton, Bocce, Bodybuilding, Boomerang, Cheerleading, Climbing, Equestrian, Events, Extreme Sports, Fencing, Flying Discs, Footbag, Gaelic, Goalball, Greyhound Racing, Gymnastics, Handball, Jai Alai, Kabbadi, Korfball, Laser Games, Lumberjack, Motorsports, Skiing, Skydiving, Swimming, Wrestling, Advancements, Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Computer Architecture, Computer Forensics, Data Storage, Gadgets & Gizmos, Intranet, IT Trainings, Laptops, Malware, Mobile Computing, Office Automation, Operating System, Support & Services, Tech Updates, Adventure Travel, Aviation Airplanes, Bed Breakfast Inns, Budget Travel, Car Rentals, Charter Jets, City Information & Guides, Cruise Reviews, Cruising, Destination Tips, Golf Travel & Resorts, Hotels and Lodging, Limo Rentals, Luxury Cruising, Pet Friendly Rentals, Ski Resorts, Timeshare, Travel Reviews, Vacation Homes, Technical Writing, “Business (14, 948, 936)”, editX, “Advertising, marketing, public relations (60, 113) “, “Aerospace and defense 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Removing rel=nofollow and linking out to other websites is good for your SEO.
For a few years now I’ve been proud to be known as a dofollow blog. And so long as my visitors don’t abuse the trust I place in them by commenting with spammy names, I’m pretty happy to link out to anything except porn pills and poker.
In my posts I try to link as much as possible however to date, I’ve been reluctant to link using keyword rich anchors to pages on 3rd party websites for fear of being too generous. To this end you might have noticed a lot of my external links use the anchors ‘here’ or ‘take a look’.
Over the past month I tried an experiment and switched off my dofollow plugin for WordPress, making all links from the site nofollowed like most default installations of WordPress.
I haven’t changed much of anything else and left the changes to be indexed. To my astonishment, my site plummeted from 4th to 8th for my chosen keyword. Confident that the site had been fully re-indexed, I turned my dofollow plugin back on and reinstated dofollow links throughout my site.
The net result is that once again my website has risen through the search engines to a prominent place.
The up-shot of this research is that by using the default nofollowed state for all links on your blog and its comments you are in fact holding back your website and reducing its ability to rank.
I’s further like to highlight that most of my comments link to sites of unrelated topics so make of that what you will.
Happy dofollowing.
This is part two of my guide to title tag optimisation. Read part one here. Part two is as follows.
6 – Your Page Titles Are Over 69 Characters Long
A few years back I remember reading about how someone had maxed out the Title string at around 240 characters. This is all good and well however research suggests that the closer to the beginning of the string the more effective the keyword is. The net effect of a long title tag is that your web pages will probably compete against each other causing you lots of problems when trying to rank for specific terms. Plus you will increase your click through rates when you have a neat and focused page title that’s easy to read and impacting.
7 – Your Titles Are Missing a Call To Action
Now that you have condensed and optimised your Title tag you should have somespace left in the 69 character string which can be used to add in a call to action. This could be something as simple as writing “Click Here” (11 characters), “Buy” (4 characters) or “for Sale” (9 characters), all of which will help in improving your click through rates.
It is interesting to note that “Buy” is a synonym of “cheap” so by adding “Buy” to your Title Tag and building links with “cheap” in the anchor text to this page, your website will easily rank for “cheap” terms whilst displaying a proposition that is not based on a bargain buy.
Adding in “Sale” keywords has the benefit of maximising your coverage during key annual sales periods as your website will naturally rank high during this time for searches including these terms.
8 – Your Titles Don’t Reflect The Pages Content
The words and phrases used in your Title Tag should be used in the text content of your page. This helps improve your pages relevancy score and improves your rankings.
Think about synonyms and add these in where appropriate.
Don’t worry about keyword density however do try and get your Keywords in your H2, H2 and first paragraph of text content of the page. You might also want to make sure that you link to the page internally using your target keywords but remember the first link rule!
9 – Forgetting Capitalisation
Title Tags should be written so that the first letter of each word is capitalised. This helps people understand that this is a title and makes your ad stand out. Do not capitalise every word or write your title in lowercase as Google does not like upper caps and lowercase text is less effective at driving clicks.
10 – Your Missing The Long Tail
Many SEO companies operate a shit-or-bust practice when pitching for work, relying on a client’s greed and some spurious numbers to coerce the client into agreeing to optimise for a small pool of key phrases. This approach usually means all of the clients eggs are in one basket and that for each term targeted they are missing out on anywhere between an additional 100 – 150% of searches by not factoring in the long tail.
Long tail keywords are usually phrases over two words long. Although these terms see significantly less traffic than the one or two word head terms, they usually convert at a much higher rate the more specific the searches become. Because of this, factoring in long tail terms into your link building and on page optimisation can bring you some quick-wins being both easier and faster to rank for.
My usual approach is to use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to pull out a text file of a Head terms long tail, then run it through a keyword density checker and match up the top repetitions with the better search volume metrics. Then all you need to do is work it back into the Title Tag as suggested previously.
Well thats it. You should now be an expert on SEO title tag optimisation and you have no excuses for not getting them right in the first place. If you have any doubts why not ask for your free on page SEO audit?
Toledo: I think the things that most people leave out from...
Mark Rushworth: Hi Niall Ah i think youve caught a typo its...
Niall: Well, I Googled something about follow and dofollow plugins and...Niall: I am moving towards offering my blog for dofollow commenting....
Julius Jones: Thanks Mark! I know prefer the ping device you suggested...