You ever hear the phrase "absolute power corrupts absolutely"? This phrase always seems to come to mind when I think about the power that those knowledgeable in SEO hold over those not so knowledgeable. It's actually a little frightening to me.
Although I've only been at this about a month and a half, I've already come across a few instances of the SEO community gaming the system, or basically Googlebombing. There was the Stephen Colbert incident- Jonah Stein (forgive me if I'm wrong and this campaign did NOT originate with Jonah) decided that Stephen Colbert should be #1 on Google for "The Greatest Living American" (there, I helped)! I thought that was funny as hell and proved that Google still hasn't really fixed that pesky little problem of googlebombing. The most recent one I came across has to do with the Ask billboards - you know, those billboards peppered throughout the U.S. that don't seem to make any sense at all?
THE ALGORITHM CONSTANTLY FINDS JESUS
THE ALGORITHM KILLED JEEVES
THE ALGORITHM IS FROM NEW JERSEY
Quite honestly, I don't think anyone quite gets Ask campaign - as a matter of fact, I can't quite figure out if that first one is a bit offensive to me or not, because I just don't get it. (Feel free to explain it to me if anyone else does).
About mid April Randall over at XKCD wrote a post about the Ask viral campaign and how so far it goes nowhere - Google it, and you get nothing from Ask about it. Instead, a bunch of blogs are as puzzled over the campaign as I am. Makes it a pretty crappy campaign so far.
So in the spirit of Googlebombing (sort of), Randall asked his readers to link to his blog using those billboards as anchor text, so when someone types it in, his site'll pop up. So far it's working fairly well - and it's not even really the "in crowd" of the SEO community participating!
This situation in and of itself isn't bad - it's actually pretty funny, and Randall's site is great, and definitely worth repeat visits. But it got me to thinking about the potential crap storm that the SEO community really could stir up if they wanted to. Really, if everybody worked together, we could probably get to the #1 spot in Google for just about any keyword.
Will this power be used for good? Hopefully. Will it be used for evil? Hopefully not. But it's why I always think about that whole "power corrupts" thing - if one well known SEOer came up with a clever way to beat out some company for the top spot in Google, it could easily be done, regardless of what the consequences would be to said company/website. Yes, I realize that a Google ranking shouldn't make or break a site, but the fact is, many sites erroneously build their profit/livelihood whatever you want to call it, on Google rankings.
Basically, SEOers could really screw a lot of people if they wanted to. For the most part, the community seems like a fairly peaceful and friendly one for as short a time as I've immersed myself in it. I mean shoot, even the idea of that much power has half of me cringing about the ethics involved and the possible consequences, while the other half of me is mentally rubbing my hands together and laughing maniacally at the thought of what we COULD do. Creepy.
Anyway, this is just something I've been thinking about, and I'm kind of curious to see if anyone
has considered the implications. I guess maybe I'm just a worrier....
Showing posts with label SEO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SEO. Show all posts
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Not so Natural Link Building
So my main focus for this week has been working on link building for GetMyHomesValue and the keyword real estate leads (yes that right there is a shameless linking plug).
After reading MANY SEO blogs and tutorials of the experts...I'm pretty sure I'm a bit of a black- hatter. Ok, no, I won't say that. I think I will call myself a gray hatter. I'm pretty sure that I am engaging in link building tactics that true SEO experts may frown upon. But you know what? Tough shit. I'm new at this, I'm still learning a lot, and I'm sorry, but I just don't have the expertise yet to do all the little intricate things to get natural links (plus I don't have ultimate power over our websites, so anything I may want to seriously change, I need to get an okay from the boss men.)
So what have I been doing to build up links for the keyword real estate leads? Two words: articles and blogs (I guess technically that's 3 words, but whatever.)
So far, the easiest and most interesting way for me to build links and gain traffic is article writing. Why? Because I love to write. At heart, that's what I am: a writer. So it's nothing for me to take a few days, come up with like 5 different articles utilizing real estate leads and than submit them to a bunch of free directories. And you know what? It works. We've gotten more traffic on another site I wrote articles for, and even made some money b/c they used our affiliates. Will Google perhaps catch on to this and penalize me? I sure as heck hope not, b/c to be honest, I think as long as I'm providing useful information, there's no reason why I can benefit a bit by getting a back link. Maybe expert SEOers out there are cringing reading this but hey, when it comes to link building a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
I'm also working on getting in the real estate blog community - possibly getting in on some forums, reading blogs all over the place, responding when I feel I have something interesting to contribute. And if I just happen to link to GetMyHomesValue.com in the process, well, so much the better than. I wouldn't call it spamming, b/c shoot, I've got more knowledge to lay than half the people commenting, but yes, I wind up getting a link out of it. (And truthfully, when it comes to blogs, it's not the links so much as possibly getting the authors of the blogs to check out my sites - word of mouth advertising rocks too and if they like what they see, they just might blog about it).
Are these tactics considered black hat SEO? I don't think so, but again, I'm not the expert. I would say at the most they are "Light Gray Hat" SEO. Will they help GMHV? Will they hurt it? Only time will tell. (Crap, I REALLY hope they don't hurt it!)
I can only assume that as I gain more knowledge and confidence in the subject, I may be able to leave more questionable link building tactics behind. But we'll see. I'm a good girl, but I've always had a bit of a naughty streak lurking!!
Oh! One more thing. While checking out my normal SEO blogs this morning, I came across a GREAT post by Stuntdubl entitled The SEO Playbook: Welcome to the Rabbit Hole Alice - an AWESOME resource that you can tell he put a lot of time into. Lots of GREAT info and resources on link building. THANKS TODD!
After reading MANY SEO blogs and tutorials of the experts...I'm pretty sure I'm a bit of a black- hatter. Ok, no, I won't say that. I think I will call myself a gray hatter. I'm pretty sure that I am engaging in link building tactics that true SEO experts may frown upon. But you know what? Tough shit. I'm new at this, I'm still learning a lot, and I'm sorry, but I just don't have the expertise yet to do all the little intricate things to get natural links (plus I don't have ultimate power over our websites, so anything I may want to seriously change, I need to get an okay from the boss men.)
So what have I been doing to build up links for the keyword real estate leads? Two words: articles and blogs (I guess technically that's 3 words, but whatever.)
So far, the easiest and most interesting way for me to build links and gain traffic is article writing. Why? Because I love to write. At heart, that's what I am: a writer. So it's nothing for me to take a few days, come up with like 5 different articles utilizing real estate leads and than submit them to a bunch of free directories. And you know what? It works. We've gotten more traffic on another site I wrote articles for, and even made some money b/c they used our affiliates. Will Google perhaps catch on to this and penalize me? I sure as heck hope not, b/c to be honest, I think as long as I'm providing useful information, there's no reason why I can benefit a bit by getting a back link. Maybe expert SEOers out there are cringing reading this but hey, when it comes to link building a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
I'm also working on getting in the real estate blog community - possibly getting in on some forums, reading blogs all over the place, responding when I feel I have something interesting to contribute. And if I just happen to link to GetMyHomesValue.com in the process, well, so much the better than. I wouldn't call it spamming, b/c shoot, I've got more knowledge to lay than half the people commenting, but yes, I wind up getting a link out of it. (And truthfully, when it comes to blogs, it's not the links so much as possibly getting the authors of the blogs to check out my sites - word of mouth advertising rocks too and if they like what they see, they just might blog about it).
Are these tactics considered black hat SEO? I don't think so, but again, I'm not the expert. I would say at the most they are "Light Gray Hat" SEO. Will they help GMHV? Will they hurt it? Only time will tell. (Crap, I REALLY hope they don't hurt it!)
I can only assume that as I gain more knowledge and confidence in the subject, I may be able to leave more questionable link building tactics behind. But we'll see. I'm a good girl, but I've always had a bit of a naughty streak lurking!!
Oh! One more thing. While checking out my normal SEO blogs this morning, I came across a GREAT post by Stuntdubl entitled The SEO Playbook: Welcome to the Rabbit Hole Alice - an AWESOME resource that you can tell he put a lot of time into. Lots of GREAT info and resources on link building. THANKS TODD!
Friday, March 30, 2007
SEO information overload anyone?
You know that sensation where your brain feels filled to the brim with information that you haven't even processed all the way yet? And possibly just one more piece will make make your head explode like one of those little confetti popper party favors?
I'm there.
I think this weekend will be for going over the information I've already taken in, the basics of SEO such as link baiting, linking, building content, etc. The easy parts (or at least, easier to understand). Then maybe I can get into the more technical aspects, like getting a basic understanding of search engine spiders and crawlers and how search engines actually work.
For someone raised on a computer, there was a WHOLE lot I didn't know. But hey, now I know that I DON'T know and knowing is half the battle (GI Joe reference anyone?).
At least I've come up with a simple way to explain my new role as an SEO-er for WebXtreme.com in layman's terms: "the goal of my job is to make our websites pop up near the top of the page in Google's search body." (Can't say organic search - most people have no idea what that means.) There. Even someone who is basically computer illiterate could understand that, right?
The problem I'm fielding right now (besides the possibility of a minor brain embolism due to info overload) is figuring out just WHERE to start with optimizing our websites. Do I start with getting us quality backlinks? Do I start with article/content building? Do I go back over the current pages and make sure they're search engine friendly? Sure, I know on-page optimization with keywords may not count as much for ranking anymore - but just in case, I'd rather not overlook that factor. I think this weekend it's time to come up with a game plan. I need to be a bit more organized than I'm used to.
For anyone else out there trying to learn basic SEO and move on up through the ranks from novice to expert, here are some of the top SEOs of the community - their websites and blogs have been invaluable to me. In no particular order, they are:
Eric Ward (the LinkMoses)
Search Engine Land
Aaron Wall and SEOBook.com (the glossary has definitely been a handy reference)
Rand Fishkin and SEOmoz.org
Andy Hagan
Sugarrae
Scoreboard Media Group
Michael Gray
That's about it for now - there's definitely more on my list, but I'll add them at a later date. If anyone has any suggestions at all on what an SEO beginner should be reading up on, feel free to let me know.
One thing I've learned - SEO blogs are an INVALUABLE teaching tool.
Thanks to all you SEO bloggers out there.
I'm there.
I think this weekend will be for going over the information I've already taken in, the basics of SEO such as link baiting, linking, building content, etc. The easy parts (or at least, easier to understand). Then maybe I can get into the more technical aspects, like getting a basic understanding of search engine spiders and crawlers and how search engines actually work.
For someone raised on a computer, there was a WHOLE lot I didn't know. But hey, now I know that I DON'T know and knowing is half the battle (GI Joe reference anyone?).
At least I've come up with a simple way to explain my new role as an SEO-er for WebXtreme.com in layman's terms: "the goal of my job is to make our websites pop up near the top of the page in Google's search body." (Can't say organic search - most people have no idea what that means.) There. Even someone who is basically computer illiterate could understand that, right?
The problem I'm fielding right now (besides the possibility of a minor brain embolism due to info overload) is figuring out just WHERE to start with optimizing our websites. Do I start with getting us quality backlinks? Do I start with article/content building? Do I go back over the current pages and make sure they're search engine friendly? Sure, I know on-page optimization with keywords may not count as much for ranking anymore - but just in case, I'd rather not overlook that factor. I think this weekend it's time to come up with a game plan. I need to be a bit more organized than I'm used to.
For anyone else out there trying to learn basic SEO and move on up through the ranks from novice to expert, here are some of the top SEOs of the community - their websites and blogs have been invaluable to me. In no particular order, they are:
Eric Ward (the LinkMoses)
Search Engine Land
Aaron Wall and SEOBook.com (the glossary has definitely been a handy reference)
Rand Fishkin and SEOmoz.org
Andy Hagan
Sugarrae
Scoreboard Media Group
Michael Gray
That's about it for now - there's definitely more on my list, but I'll add them at a later date. If anyone has any suggestions at all on what an SEO beginner should be reading up on, feel free to let me know.
One thing I've learned - SEO blogs are an INVALUABLE teaching tool.
Thanks to all you SEO bloggers out there.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
SEO terminology
As previously mentioned, I am very new to the SEO / web development world. Sure, in high school I had my own little website (back when frames were the "in" thing) but it's been a while since I got to play directly with html and reformatting of websites and what not - and there's a whole lot to remember. I mean one little word or tag or punctuation mark messed up can just blow the whole page. Does that make anyone else nervous? Luckily, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to reading and rereading anything I write, be it scripting, articles, blogs, etc.
The thing I'm working on now is getting the terminology down. I find that I actually knew a lot more about SEOing than I originally thought - I just didn't realize it or use the correct terminology.
For example - when I came across the word link bait, I just kept thinking about fishing (it's finally Spring and it's about time I got my license and spent some lazy afternoons AWAY from my computer). NOW, of course, I realize, that link bait is just a word referring to anything cool on a site that draws people in - such as extremely useful info, special/discount promotions, videos, etc - just content that gets people talking and more importantly, linking!
Something else I wondered about - WHY do people have so many urls for one site - ex: http://www.domain.com, http://domain.com, http://www.domain.com/index, etc.
What I never realized was those sites CAN be to totally different and non related pages - but most sites will get all those domain names for themselves and just redirect traffic to the main page. If your site is www.domain.com, well then, you might want to pick up domain.com and www.domain.com/index and whenever someone types in those urls, it is redirected to your MAIN site, www.domain.com.
Once again, I know about that sort of thing - I just never knew there was a TERM for it - canonical url - and canonicalization is just the process of of picking the best url when there are different choices. I still haven't quite grasped all the ins and outs of it, but Google's Matt Cutts laid it out better than I can in his post.
So for now, it's all about reading and learning anything I can on web development and SEO in general. Anything I find interesting and useful will get posted right on here, because actually, when I learn a new concept, it helps for me to write it on out. Hopefully other people will find what I share useful, if not, well, it sure is helping me!
FYI, SEOBook has a great Search Engine Marketing Glossary. It's definitely been a lifesaver.
As a side note - Web Xtreme is just an AWESOME place to work. This Thursday Rory, Steve and Dave are treating all their employees to food and drink at the Brickyard here in Lancaster, PA. And Rory just got done running around the halls getting everyone hyped up for their weekly podcast. He is totally the Flavor-Flav of the business/real estate world.
The thing I'm working on now is getting the terminology down. I find that I actually knew a lot more about SEOing than I originally thought - I just didn't realize it or use the correct terminology.
For example - when I came across the word link bait, I just kept thinking about fishing (it's finally Spring and it's about time I got my license and spent some lazy afternoons AWAY from my computer). NOW, of course, I realize, that link bait is just a word referring to anything cool on a site that draws people in - such as extremely useful info, special/discount promotions, videos, etc - just content that gets people talking and more importantly, linking!
Something else I wondered about - WHY do people have so many urls for one site - ex: http://www.domain.com, http://domain.com, http://www.domain.com/index, etc.
What I never realized was those sites CAN be to totally different and non related pages - but most sites will get all those domain names for themselves and just redirect traffic to the main page. If your site is www.domain.com, well then, you might want to pick up domain.com and www.domain.com/index and whenever someone types in those urls, it is redirected to your MAIN site, www.domain.com.
Once again, I know about that sort of thing - I just never knew there was a TERM for it - canonical url - and canonicalization is just the process of of picking the best url when there are different choices. I still haven't quite grasped all the ins and outs of it, but Google's Matt Cutts laid it out better than I can in his post.
So for now, it's all about reading and learning anything I can on web development and SEO in general. Anything I find interesting and useful will get posted right on here, because actually, when I learn a new concept, it helps for me to write it on out. Hopefully other people will find what I share useful, if not, well, it sure is helping me!
FYI, SEOBook has a great Search Engine Marketing Glossary. It's definitely been a lifesaver.
As a side note - Web Xtreme is just an AWESOME place to work. This Thursday Rory, Steve and Dave are treating all their employees to food and drink at the Brickyard here in Lancaster, PA. And Rory just got done running around the halls getting everyone hyped up for their weekly podcast. He is totally the Flavor-Flav of the business/real estate world.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Experiment Begins...
What happens when you take a fairly intelligent, computer-literate girl (or I guess to be PC, young woman) and make her the SEO in training for your entire company? This blog!
I went from being an account manager/sometimes writer for GetMyHomesValue.com (the brainchild of Web Xtreme, Inc) to being the resident SEO buff - okay, so I'm not a buff yet, but that's the whole goal behind this change. The owners of WebXtreme.com came to me on 3/19/07 and asked me to become the new SEO-er for our company - I didn't even have to think about it - it was a chance to use a few more of those skills I paid over a hundred grand for by going to college (totally worth it by the way!).
It's nice to know that Rory, Steve and Dave have confidence in my writing skills as well as my ability to learn a totally new subject. So now I'm officially the SEO for Web Xtreme, Inc and all of their websites.
Except I had VERY little knowledge of what exactly it MEANS to do SEO, the ins and outs, heck, even what it stands for and all that it encompasses! So step one has been researching SEO and getting intimate with what exactly SEO is about. Step 2 has been getting familiar with all the famous SEO-ers out there (whose blogs are a godsend!) and step 3 is simply gobbling up any and all information on SEO in an attempt to make myself an expert.
Is it going to take time? Yup. Hard work? Oh heck yes. Am I confident that I can do it? Ya darn straight I am - as I said, I'm a fairly intelligent girl and a quick learner. If all those self-taught experts can do it, well then, so can I!
The blog is to help me keep track of what I'm doing on a day to day basis, sharing my successes and failures, what works and what doesn't, pretty much from a layman's point of view (I don't know all the fancy vocabulary yet, but I'm learning!).
The ironic thing about this whole situation is that I've been whining about how much I miss school and learning (I'm a nerd) and just getting to read, read, read on new subjects. And *poof* this opportunity is dropped in my lap. So now I get to learn new things, and not only do I NOT have to pay to learn, I'm actually getting paid to do it (thanks guys!).
More to come on the basics I've learned, what I'm working on, where I'm going, etc. If ever I post any bonehead comments and you SEO experts out there see it - PLEASE feel free to comment - I am SO open to suggestions, tips, help, etc it's ridiculous!
I went from being an account manager/sometimes writer for GetMyHomesValue.com (the brainchild of Web Xtreme, Inc) to being the resident SEO buff - okay, so I'm not a buff yet, but that's the whole goal behind this change. The owners of WebXtreme.com came to me on 3/19/07 and asked me to become the new SEO-er for our company - I didn't even have to think about it - it was a chance to use a few more of those skills I paid over a hundred grand for by going to college (totally worth it by the way!).
It's nice to know that Rory, Steve and Dave have confidence in my writing skills as well as my ability to learn a totally new subject. So now I'm officially the SEO for Web Xtreme, Inc and all of their websites.
Except I had VERY little knowledge of what exactly it MEANS to do SEO, the ins and outs, heck, even what it stands for and all that it encompasses! So step one has been researching SEO and getting intimate with what exactly SEO is about. Step 2 has been getting familiar with all the famous SEO-ers out there (whose blogs are a godsend!) and step 3 is simply gobbling up any and all information on SEO in an attempt to make myself an expert.
Is it going to take time? Yup. Hard work? Oh heck yes. Am I confident that I can do it? Ya darn straight I am - as I said, I'm a fairly intelligent girl and a quick learner. If all those self-taught experts can do it, well then, so can I!
The blog is to help me keep track of what I'm doing on a day to day basis, sharing my successes and failures, what works and what doesn't, pretty much from a layman's point of view (I don't know all the fancy vocabulary yet, but I'm learning!).
The ironic thing about this whole situation is that I've been whining about how much I miss school and learning (I'm a nerd) and just getting to read, read, read on new subjects. And *poof* this opportunity is dropped in my lap. So now I get to learn new things, and not only do I NOT have to pay to learn, I'm actually getting paid to do it (thanks guys!).
More to come on the basics I've learned, what I'm working on, where I'm going, etc. If ever I post any bonehead comments and you SEO experts out there see it - PLEASE feel free to comment - I am SO open to suggestions, tips, help, etc it's ridiculous!
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