The Maine SEO Blog

Google loves well-aged sites.  Yahoo loves meta-keywords. Live loves fresh content.  And who really cares what Ask likes.  (Just kidding…but seriously, who cares.)

With so many differences between the major engines, subtle though they may be, is it really possible to optimize for every one of them?  To push matters further, is it even worth trying to optimize for them all?  With Google taking the cake on search engine market share, is it worth worrying about the under dogs?

Take a look at the (major) differences…

Only Major Issues of Optimizing for Everything

1. Generally, Google does not like meta-keywords; Yahoo does.  There’s always been speculation as to whether Google finds meta-keywords spammy; perhaps a healthy balance could work here – something to test out!
2. Using robots.txt vs. robots-nocontent, depending on who you want to optimize for.

Is it even worth optimizing for anything other than Google?

For the most part, I tend to focus entirely on Google. I check for indexed pages for a new site there first.  I check PageRank before WebRank.  I use nofollows and robots.txt, not robots-nocontent.

Maybe I’m just partial to Google; then again, isn’t everyone?

Nicki Hicks
Equal Opportunity SEO

Photo Credit: Associated Content

Let’s say I have a small business in downtown New Orleans, where I sell everything you could possibly want or need to celebrate Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday.  How will I ever optimize my site with all the competition?!

(Note: This guide is assuming all other things are equal on my site: including clean and readable code, as well as proper keywords optimized for)

1. I would first optimize my website for my location, including:
   - Keywords in title tags, meta-descriptions, and content.
   - Address on all pages (most likely in footer).
   - Phone number (with location specific area code) in meta-descriptions and on all pages.
   - Blog: posts incorporating location and local events.
   
2. Verify my local listings using GetListed, as well as any niche listing sites in my industry.
   - Add as many images as I could to these local sites (including images of my storefront and products).
   - Add videos to listings (of anything and everything: from a scan of the store, to a scene from downtown New Orleans on Mardi Gras, to “What do you need to celebrate Mardi Gras 2009?”)
3. Create (and optimize) a YouTube channel, and upload all of my videos.
   - Optimize channel using geo-specific keywords.
4. Acquire backlinks from local bloggers and businesses, preferably (for local purposes, anyway) in New Orleans or surrounding Louisiana towns.
5. Set up an AdWords campaign geared specifically toward New Orleans and the surrounding towns.
6. Submit to all of the general and niche directories; as well as location specific ones – like the local Chamber of Commerce.

Nicki Hicks
Happy Mardi Gras

More and more, we’re using WordPress here at flyte as our CMS of choice.  Not only is it an easy platform for our clients to learn to use and update themselves, but it’s also incredibly search engine friendly.

As always, there are way to increase search visibility even further.  With WordPress, that way is by adding SEO Plugins.  WordPress has an extensive collection of such plugins, but I thought I’d take a look at two: one for the WP beginner, and another for the more advanced WP user.

For WordPress Beginners: All In One SEO Pack

• Quickly and easily change title, meta-description, and keywords for your homepage, specific pages, or posts
• Edit your title formats on your homepage, specific pages, posts, archive pages, category pages, etc. (Making them “Page Title – Blog Title” vs. “Page Title”)

For the Advanced WP User: HeadSpace

• Everything from the All in One SEO Pack, including the option to import and support All in One SEO (as well as other related plugins), PLUS….
• Ability to more easily add (without getting messy with HTML) Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools
• Add cool tools and tracking devices, like CrazyEgg

Nicki Hicks
Plugins with something for everyone

Video is just one more way to connect with viewers/visitors/customers.  Generally speaking, video is even more powerful than text – it can be more interactive and personal.  Not to mention:

1. You can start your own YouTube channel, and upload all of your videos. (Hey, even the President is doing it…)
2. Your videos can come up in Google’s Universal Search Results.
3. You can integrate your videos in your Local Search listings.
4. You can link from your video back to your site/blog.  (It is, unfortunately, nofollowed; but Google does still look at them!)
5. You can link and/or embed the video on your on website or blog. (Views of the video on your site count toward the total viewings, which help your YouTube rankings.)
6. You can optimize your videos to rank well – in both Google and YouTube searches.

The best part? You can make a video about almost anything. I could, for example, make a video catching the major points of going through keyword research on my favorite sites.  Or, I could showcase my favorite measurements from Google Analytics (like Rich just did).  And YouTube is just the place to upload it.

Nicki Hicks
Show Me The Movie

Last week we finished up another SEO project, this time for another property in the True North Hospitality Partners family: Migis Lodge.  The Lodge is a resort right on Sebago Lake up in South Casco, Maine.

Like many businesses in the hotel and resort industry, local search visibility will be key for Migis.  They already have an ideal location: right on Maine’s second biggest lake – Sebago.

One of the more interesting things that happened with this project was, being in a somewhat remote location, we found that Google Maps had Migis’ location wrong.  (Google got something wrong. Pause for reaction.) Admittedly, they have the correct street, but the location of the Lodge is actually on the water, which isn’t being shown accurately.  This is the current picture shown:

Using Google Local Business Center, we were able to use what I think is one of the coolest tools, relocating the resort to its proper location:

Checking, verifying, and submitting your local listings is quick and easy – so always be sure you take the time to do it!

For a stay on Sebago Lake at the gorgeous Migis Lodge, be sure to make a reservation.  Also, keep up with what’s going on at Migis by checking out their blog!

Nicki Hicks
Maine SEO

Thanks to Barry Schwartz and Keri Morgret from Search Engine Roundtable for taking the time to live blog many of the SMX West sessions!  Here are a few of my notes from Thursday, Day 3…

Ask the Link Builders

(Archived version on SE Roundtable)

• How to stay whitehat when link building:
  - Stay away from things that go against SE guidelines; don’t be obvious
  - Follow Matt Cutts’ blog and only do things he would suggest
  - Have great content
• Personnel involved need to know the niche area, social network(s) in area, research fees involved, etc.
• Good to have in-house link building – good, quality links take time to develop (difficult to have a bronze, silver, gold package for link building)
• Stay away from people who guarantee a certain number of links
• Link building = relationship building
• StrongestLinks.com, DirectoryCritic.com, ISEDB.com – other directories besides the “dreaded” DMOZ
• Niche directories are better
• Panel’s favorite link building tools?
  - Aaron Wall’s suite of tools
  - Linkdomain operator at Yahoo
• Link building forums:
  - Webmaster World
  - Aaron Wall – private forum
  - Digital Point

Ask the SEOs

(Archived version from SE Roundtable)
(Ask the SEOs from SMX East)

• If reDEVELOPING, submit your old URLs and spiders will see your 301 redirects
• keywords in URLs aren’t THAT important – don’t consider renaming everything after the fact
• Use dashes not underscores in URLs
• Title tags are about readability

(more…)

Thanks to Barry Schwartz and Keri Morgret from Search Engine Roundtable for taking the time to live blog many of the SMX West sessions!  Here are a few of my notes from Wednesday, Day 2…

Google’s SearchWiki, Customized, and Personal Search

(Archived version from SE Roundtable)
(Personalized and Customized Search from SMX East)

• For SearchWiki research, Google has actually gone into people’s homes to see what they’re searching for; not only on their computers but on notes around their computer!
• How Google thinks SearchWiki will help people:
  - Bookmarking
  - Improve specific name searches
  - Collect information for a task
  - Look at the RIGHT sites
  - Refinding hard-to-find info
• SearchWiki = explicit tool, Personalized Search = implicit tool (Google does work for user)
• Personalized Search: privacy-sensitive, transparent, show searcher is on and has ability to turn OFF
• Google Preferred Sites – add preferred sites with Google experiments (bases SERPS off of this)
• What does this mean for SEOs?
  Bad news:
  - Hard to collect metrics
  - See how page ranks
  Good news:
  - Easier for people to find you
  - Easier to retain customers who prefer your business
  - Top position no longer means winner takes all!
• From Google, how to deal with these new forms of search: “Make a good website.” (Ingenious.)
• To control personalized search
  - Use search details
  - Disable by appending &pws=0 in URL
  - Log out of your Google account
  - Look for extensions
• Google isn’t PRESENTLY using SearchWiki to change search results
• Not a large percentage of search results are personalized – most are simply due to geographic location
• Both SearchWiki and Personalized Search do NOT have a role with Ads
• There is still an opportunity for newcomers to be found: simply by making your site valuable to users and it will come up
• Get around localized results by changing location, specifying the location you’re looking for
• Right now, SearchWiki is meant for personal use
• Someone leaves a negative SearchWiki comment on your site? Give the comment a thumb’s down and/or flag as inappropriate – feedback is taken into consideration
• As soon as a comment is flagged as inappropriate, it is removed until reviewed
• Personalized results may even happen without your logging in (using IP address)

(more…)

Thanks to Barry Schwartz and Keri Morgret from Search Engine Roundtable for taking the time to live blog many of the SMX West sessions!  Here are a few of my notes from Tuesday, Day 1…

Technical SEO Issues for Developers

(Archived version from SE Roundtable)

• Disallow certain forms from being crawled (like Contact Us page)
• Use Webmaster Tools
• Need both human and XML sitemaps
• Canonicalization (www vs. non-www issues) fix: stay the same throughout the site; the fix when someone links to the wrong version: redirect it
• Meta/title tags: HAVE them, CHANGE them
• Be simple.  Use static HTML, meaningful page titles, clear anchor text, don’t link to spam.
• Brevity is GOOD for URL’s, make them simple, stable, and scream COPY ME!
• Improve crawler discovery by leveraging robots.txt (use only if fully understood, validate with Google), sitemap, and metatags
• Use Yahoo Site Exploreer and Google cache to see what’s indexed
• Use easy-to-crawl and search friendly URLs, keep titles and content close to the top
• iFrames = good for gadgets, bad for homepage
• Eye tracking software results: put your BEST keywords FIRST in the title tag (people read them first, and don’t always read all the way to the right)
• Absolute URLs = BETTER

Up Close with Google Maps & Local

(Archived version from SE Roundtable)

• Google Local data from:
  1. Google Local Business Center
  2. 3rd party providers
  3. General web crawl
• Submit/verify your site at: infoUSA, Localeze, Yahoo, Best of the Web, OpenList, CityVoter, InsiderPages, SuperPages
• Search for “your city and blog” for good blogs in your area
• Factors that influence Local rankings:
  1. Proximity to city
  2. Reviews, number of reviews, positive reviews
  3. Overall SEO health of site
  4. Keyword relevancy
• Make sure your address is on your homepage, contact us page, etc.
• If you have multiple locations, submit them ALL to local sites; you still only need ONE website
• No permanent address? Use a PO Box.
• Claim listings with ALL applicable categories
• Add videos!!
• Track calls for free:
  - Pretend to start a Google AdWords account
  - Go to Audio Campaign page
  - Get free phone number
  - Track calls!
• Large companies with multiple locations: create landing pages for geographic locations
• One speaker encourages customers to follow up with work done with local reviews with Visa coupon incentives for next services
• Remember – you CAN report Google Maps spam! (They welcome it!)

(more…)

Last week we wrapped up another search project; this one for Black Point Inn, a luxury oceanfront Inn on Prouts Neck just south of Portland, in Scarborough, Maine.

This was one of the first projects where we had to deal with a Content Management System (CMS) flyte hadn’t dealt with before – called ModX.  A lot of times, optimizing for search may not bode well with the CMS.  However, as web development and search evolve, they work better and better together.

For example, WordPress, the CMS this blog is built on, has a variety of special plugins for practically everything you could think of: SEO and sitemap plugins are just two.

For BPI, ModX was different and challenging, for it involves creating templates to accommodate many of the changes needed for optimization.  As web developing changes, intuitive CMS platforms will start becoming the norm.

In the mean time, for a beautiful ocean view and a luxury stay on the coast, check out the Black Point Inn!

Nicki Hicks
Maine SEO

Yesterday, I attended another MarketingProf’s webinar, this time with Sandy Carter; the Vice President, SOA & WebSphere Marketing, Strategy and Channels for IBM.  As this post’s title suggests, it was all about adding Social Media to your Marketing Mix, which is obviously quickly becoming critical for every company, no matter what business you’re in.

Here are some of my notes from the seminar:

• We’re moving out of Web 1.0 (accessing info, purchasing online) to Web 2.0 (share, collaborate, experience, participate, co-create). We’re also moving to Marketing 2.0 (Better ROI, Better Collaboration, and Better Results!)
• Sandy’s Marketing 2.0 “Cookbook” – ANGELS:

1. Analyze Market
   - Identify key websites/blogs where conversations are happening
   - Develop a repeatable, systematic, and focused process
   - Segment by “digital citizens” and “non-digital citizens”
   - Develop “social sweet spot”
2. Nail strategy and story
   - Use social media to demonstrate strategy
   - Explore how you will operate differently as orchestrator not owner
   - Look for opportunities to put a human face to your brand
   - Develop strategy with authenticity!
3. Go to market (socially)
   - Develop wheel of influence: what does yours look like?
   - Use Social Media to define and develop your value proposition
   - Embrace co-creation
   - Execute so that influencers feel touched individually
4. Energize channel and community
   - What are your goals?
   - Never stop learning! Drive education to your organization
   - Experiment, and see what works
   - Start by adding to what you already do; go at your own pace
   - Listen. Constantly.
5. Leads and Revenue (Measurement)
   - Select the right set of metrics – both qualitative AND quantitative
   - Build marketing dashboard including all of your metrics, NOT just ROI
   - Design dashboard to be relevant to business
   - Track whats valuable not just measurable
6. Scream! (Get your message out there)
   - Add Marketing 2.0 tactics which accent your Marketing 1.0 (Traditional) tactics

• Sandy’s 5 Marketing 2.0 “To-Do’s”:

1. Keep your eyes on profit generation.
2. Remember that marketing is about intimate relationships.
3. Leverage the power of Marketing 2.0.
4. Understand the value of the influencer.
5. Tune your Marketing Mix.

Nicki Hicks
Maine Social Media Optimization (SMO)