In my opinion one of the more powerful and underutilized tools of a blog or website is the ability to tag your pages and posts. That said, effectively using tags isn’t easy or straightforward. In this post I’ll take you through some examples of how to use tags and get the most out of them, the pitfalls to watch out … [Continue reading How to Use Tags on Your Blog or Website]
How to Build an Affiliate Website Google Doesn’t Hate
Post Updated: September 21, 2016 - By
In over a decade of working on websites I’ve see a lot of affiliate websites. Some were good but a lot were very bad. In this post, I’ll share my experiences about what I think Google is looking for and the common traits of things I’ve seen fail.
How To Silo Your Website: The Footer
Post Updated: September 7, 2016 - By
This post is part of a series on How to Silo Your Website. The other parts in the series are: How to Silo Your Website: The Masthead, How to Silo Your Website, The Breadcrumb , How to Silo Your Website: The Content, and How to Silo Your Website: The Sidebar. For this last part, we’ll be looking at the footer.
How To Silo Your Website:The Sidebar
Post Updated: September 2, 2016 - By
The following post is part of a series on How to Silo Your Website. You should review, How to Silo Your Website the Masthead, How to Silo Your Website the Breadcrumb, How to Silo Your Website the Content. For this part, we’ll be taking a look at the sidebar.
Are Search Engines Using ClickStream Data
Post Updated: August 20, 2016 - By
Recently there was a big kerfuffle over Bing copying Google results, Bing denying it, the Google FUD machine in full force, and some nice conspiracy theory about who is pulling the strings and why. While this makes for some exciting drama and fun twitter banter, there is some actionable information for SEO’s: paying attention to and using clickstream data.
How Google is Reverse Engineering Page Dates
Post Updated: August 18, 2016 - By
In recent weeks I’ve noticed a disturbing new trend in Google SERP’s: Google has become much more aggressive at trying to reverse engineer the publication date of a post/page.
HCards, Microformats and Address Data does it Matter for SEO
Post Updated: August 16, 2016 - By
A few weeks ago @etnainteractive asked me a question on twitter about HCards and Microformats, and do they matter for SEO. I’m going to explain what they are for those of you who don’t know what thay is. I’m also going to be taking a bigger look at address data and SEO implications.
How Often Should You Update Evergreen Content
Post Updated: August 13, 2016 - By
The idea of evergreen content is that it is essentially unchanging, intended to last “a long time,”and have little or no maintenance. So isn’t updating evergreen content a bit of an oxymoron? In some cases yes, in some cases no.
Dear Matt Cutts, What We Have is a Failure to Communicate
Post Updated: August 13, 2016 - By
Dear Matt Cutts, I know you and I don’t always see eye to eye on everything, but I think we’ve got enough of a working relationship that I feel comfortable saying, that the way the brand update/ Vince change, went down could have been better. Indulge me while I make an analogy to prove a point.
How To Silo Your Website: The Masthead
Post Updated: August 10, 2016 - By
One of the more powerful tools an SEO can use when setting up or fixing an existing website is siloing or themeing. However, when I mention this to beginner or intermediate SEO’s, they are often confused about how and where to start. In this multi-part series, I’ll be giving you some examples of how I use the technique.
Is There Any Value in Getting Links From Directories
Post Updated: August 8, 2016 - By
Today’s post is answer to a question from Curedream: Is there really any value in getting links from the Yahoo directory I’m going to move that up a bit and tackle directories in general. In my opinion, yes, there is value in getting your website listed in some directories–but not all. The trick is figuring out which ones matter most. … [Continue reading Is There Any Value in Getting Links From Directories]
Why You Should Avoid Numbers in Your URL
Post Updated: August 5, 2016 - By
While linkbait posts aren’t as popular as they once were, top 10 lists have been popular ever since Moses came down from the mount with his top 10 list of “thou shalt nots.” Magazines like Rolling Stone will always have top 500 playlists and AFI will always publish top 100 movies lists. However, as a responsible publisher, marketer, and SEO … [Continue reading Why You Should Avoid Numbers in Your URL]
Building a Mobile Website Should be Your #1 IT Project
Post Updated: August 2, 2016 - By
If I had the ability to reach through the screen, grab you by the shoulders, look you in the eye, and tell you that building a mobile version of your website should be your number one IT project this year, I would. While I may be on the bleeding edge of mobile consumption, the adoption of smart phones, tablets, and … [Continue reading Building a Mobile Website Should be Your #1 IT Project]
Creating Better Auto-Generated Text
Post Updated: July 28, 2016 - By
Over the past two weeks we’ve taken a look at different aspects of copywriting, including aspects such as the value of good copy, outsourcing your content, and tools to make your content better. To round out the series I thought I’d touch on auto-generated content and how to make it better.
How to Optimize an eCommerce Category pages
Post Updated: July 24, 2016 - By
Today’s post is in response to a question that came in via email asking, “How do I optimize a department/category page with a lot of products?” This is a fairly common question, but it has some subtleties and nuances to it. I’ll try to address those issues in this post.
Tips for Ajax for SEO
Post Updated: July 22, 2016 - By
Whenever Ajax enter the conversation for an SEO or internet marketer, chances are good there will always be a deep sigh or an “ugh” face. While it is true that search engines are getting better at indexing this type of content, we still aren’t at the point that you can realistically rely on them to index it properly or even … [Continue reading Tips for Ajax for SEO]
Linkbait and Content Marketing – What Are Your Goals
Post Updated: July 21, 2016 - By
One of the most difficult conversations I have with new or perspective clients is about Linkbait and content marketing and explaining how its real goal isn’t to drive sales but to build links, build awareness, and send social signals to the search engines. To make this post useful and actionable, I’m going to take you through the process/planning stage for … [Continue reading Linkbait and Content Marketing – What Are Your Goals]
Building a Niche Website
Post Updated: July 18, 2016 - By
Tips on how to build a successful niche website, that is easy to run and doesn’t require much maintenance.
Case Study: I Listened to Google and I Failed
Post Updated: July 10, 2016 - By
This is a post of why natural link building seems to be no longer working, despite Google not admitting that. I don’t know how many times Google have said: “Produce great content and if users find it useful, they’ll recommend and link to you.” But Google, how do I get these people to even come through your engine? “Produce great … [Continue reading Case Study: I Listened to Google and I Failed]
Shopping Cart SEO Tips
Post Updated: July 6, 2016 - By
When you run an online ecommerce store with a shopping cart, it’s quite easy for your architecture and URL’s to enter into territory that’s not friendly for search engines. Here are some basic tips I recommend for everyone working with an online shopping cart.
