No matter how the e-commerce site is powered, there are specific features that we look for in order to know if we will have full liberty to optimize the site so that it has the best opportunity to position well in the organic search results. Some applications already have SEO friendly features built in but many do not.
Greg Boser (aka WebGuerrilla) doesn’t post often on his blog but when he does, boy does he have something to say. This latest post which refutes the half truths being spread first by Did-it.com’s president, David Pasternack and followed by executive chairman, Kevin Lee, is no exception. Both David and Kevin’s articles attempt to paint a picture that SEO is a dying art while the future is all PPC. Greg exposes their hypocrisy in a most excellent post. I’ll provide a few excerpts below but definitely take some time to read it in its entirety.
While there are many fine SEO firms spread out across the globe, there is equally a share of bad firms as well or as Jill Whalen calls them, “Quacks.” In her most recent newsletter, Jill provides 10 signs that your SEO may be a quack. Some of them are obvious but others might not be quite so obvious to those shopping for SEO services. That is why when searching for an SEO vendor, it is so important to perform due diligence so you can have confidence in who is finally selected. Jill’s tips will help identify firms to stay clear of. I will list them below but for more detailed explanation of each, visit her newsletter archive.
SEO, short for search engine optimization is the act of optimizing web pages so that they position well in the organic search results for related keyword phrases. Hopefully the effort drives traffic and increases conversions in the process. Part art, part science, part common sense, SEO has become a necessary ingredient for web sites if they are going to capitalize on the 70 – 80 percent of searchers who click on organic search listings. Is SEO a one time fix – something that can applied to web pages once and then leave them be or is it more of an ongoing practice?
Aaron Wall (aka SEO Book) has authored a new article that takes a unique look at the difference between what he calls “Tactical SEO vs Strategic SEO.” He explores the idea that many SEO tactics work well at achieving a certain goal, but to be wildly profitable one needs to go beyond tactics and approach things from a strategic front. “Many people who are great tactical SEOs do not build much equity because tactics without strategy have little value,” Aaron proclaims.
Bill Slawski who is an expert at tearing into all the patents search engines file and explaining them in layman’s terms has put together a list of twenty possible ways search engines rerank pages before they deliver them to a searcher. I’ll list the first three below but definitely check the entire article out as it is an interesting read.
In performing search engine optimization, should SEOs keep their procedures and strategies secret from clients? Should their clients sit patiently by, waiting for the end results and not be concerned about the process that gets them there? I would answer no on both questions. In fact, I firmly believe that the client should know everything that is being done to optimize their sites for organic search. Not only do I believe in full disclosure, I believe in documenting it in writing.
Is Google now getting into the beverage business? Not really. However in a new article at the Washington Post, Leslie Walker coins the phrase “Google Juice” which she associates with how high a Web site ranks in Google’s search results.
“Google juice, for the uninitiated, refers to how high a Web site ranks in Google’s search results — the higher the ranking, the more juice. Google juice is all about links.
This is a “back to the basics” type of entry as I wanted to deal with the fundamental elements that are involved in optimizing individual web pages, giving them a better chance to position well in the organic search results of engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. While each page of one’s site should be a candidate in targeting various phrases relevant to your business model, the fundamental elements of those pages that can be optimized always remain the same.
I just came upon and interesting thread at High Rankings started by Leann Pass of IncreaseRanking regarding another “rotten apple” in our industry. This company combines blackmail with SEO – in other words, “let us SEO your site or we will resort to blackmail.” It sure is amusing how companies who obviously suck at what they do will resort to scare tactics to try to earn new business.
