The Maine SEO Blog

I want to discuss some of the links a little further that Eric Ward brought up in the MarketingProfs Link Building Webinar I attended a few weeks ago.  He said something very important: there are a select group of links that you should pursue that, while they have no PageRank or SEO value, are overwhelmingly valuable simply by the conversions you recieve.

1. Email links - Would you consider sending out an email newsletter without a link to your site?  I hope not.  For while you get no SEO value for that link, you will most certainly get the clicks…and conversions.
2. Temporary Buzz links - from sites like Digg and Sphinn.  While these links do get “followed”, the temporary buzz created will get you a boost in traffic while they’re up.
3. Social media links - Links from Twitter and Facebook are nofollowed, but can create buzz and traffic just the same. (Linkedin links are followed.)
4. Blog comment links - Generally, when you leave a comment on a blog or article, your website is nofollowed.  But that doesn’t mean people can’t click on it.  Leaving an insightful comment just might get more traffic to your site.
5. Collateral/Marketing materials - Technically not a link, but still necessary.  These include every physical marketing flyer, handout, newspaper/magazine print your company puts out to radio and tv advertisements.  Give people a call-to-action: go to our website.

So while these links may not yield in more search engine traffic or (in most cases) backlinks, they will certainly give you more direct traffic and conversions.

Nicki Hicks
Linking for Traffic’s Sake

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

Keywords/Trends

1. Keyword Discovery - for all the keyword research you could ever care to know. It does require a subscription - this or Word Tracker (which I’ve never tried) are considered the best.
2. Google AdWords Keyword Tool - supplement keyword research; also gives better stats as to what people are actually searching for.
3. Webconfs.com Keyword Density Tool - there are a million keyword density tools out there, but I’ve found this one to be the most user friendly.
4. Google Insights/Google Trends - both give good insights as to what’s hot and what’s not.  Insights will also give you upcoming popular search terms.

Link Building

1. Marketleap’s Link Popularity Checker - gives you both Google and Yahoo!’s index of backlinks, plus others.

Plug-ins and Apps

1. SEO for Firefox - see nofollow links; look up PR, backlinks, meta-tags; plus much much more!
2. SeoQuake - many of the same benefits as SEO for Firefox, but you don’t necessarily have to have Firefox.  Plus, when activated, SeoQuake will give you a handy little toolbar with at-a-glance SEO stats.

Analytics (the one and only)

1. Google Analytics - it’s free and gives you everything you need.  Why go for something else??

I use quite a few more, but these are my favorite, and the ones I use the most often.  Do you have any favorites?

Nicki Hicks
I think I need a bigger toolbelt…

I made a post when I first started blogging with an SEO Checklist for Web Developers.  I recently reviewed the list, noticing that while all those things are great to remember, sometimes it’s the simple parts of SEO we forget.

I also decided to write this post after thinking about office alignment.  Ahh, alignment, a term I grew sick of all through college (and one of my professors in particular, I’m sure, would be ecstatic to know I noticed it in the real world).  I realized that even though I work in an office of only eight people and our work constantly overlaps, we sometimes forget the effects our roles have on others’ work.

I, for example, forget that even though I have knowledge about so-called “easy” SEO best practices, not everyone I work with knows them.  So here are some major points to remember (and I apologize for any repeats from other posts):

• Use hyphens (-) NOT underscores (_).  It seems to have been handed down from the old school programming and web developing generation to tech gurus today that underscores should be used.  Don’t use them!
  Search engines see hyphens as a space (example-page is example page) and underscores as no space (example_page is examplepage).
• Keyword rich domain name.  There is debate about this - some say a domain name doesn’t matter as long as you can say it out loud and someone can easily spell it back to you (which is very true).  But I say - why not make it keyword rich while you’re at it?!  (While also remembering other domain rules: short, sweet, and memorable.)
• Title URLs intuitively.  When creating secondary and tertiary pages, make sure they make sense!  For example, NOT category2/animal12.html, BUT marsupials/kangaroo.html.
• Titles/Headers/Meta-descriptions.  These should all be keyword rich, unique, and accurate portrayals of what is on each individual page.  However, I caution you: these become difficult to create when a keyword analysis has not been done.
• Links. Links should be those important points web users will want to click on.  Links should have keyword rich anchor text, not a simple “click here”.  Also, try to use as many text-based links as you can; if images are necessary, use keyword rich alt tags.
• To have a site map or not to have a site map? I wrote in the original Web Developer’s Checklist that yes, you do need a site map.  This is another SEO conundrum.  What I’ve heard most recently is that site maps are important for large sites (retail, especially - with a ton of products).
• Directories…do I submit? Every SEO has his/her own opinion about this one too.  In my mind, you should absolutely submit a client to niche directories for their specific industries - especially a free directory.  Also, submitting to a well known directory like DMOZ never hurts either - it’s free!  I’ve heard it’s also good for new sites, especially, to buy a $299 for a Yahoo! directory listing.  Since you have to pay this fee every year, why not have the link for the first year for getting started??
• Most importantly…(drum roll, please)…design sites for web users AND search engines.  Site design and development is an art, and should be treated as one.  However, try not to get caught up in the fever that is making a website beautiful instead of the web user’s pleasure of a site being functional.

I’d like to add that SEO is most successful when done before and during a website’s existence.  Therefore, this list should really only be necessary when a site is built without optimization being done simultaneously.

Nicki Hicks
Advocate for Alignment

Lists are a handy dandy thing to have, don’t ya think? They captivate us: the Top 10 Signs Your Airline is Cutting Costs or the Top 10 Things Overheard in Line to See the New Batman Movie.  They are inviting and an easy way to access information. Want to know what else is easy? Doing basic SEO on your own site.

Before you get too excited, I’m not advocating that you never get a professional web design firm to do SEO for you (*cough cough*), but there are a few things you can do to increase your visibility all on your own.

1. Write naturally for both search engines and humans. You want to include enough keywords for the search engines so they know you are optimizing for those words, but not so many that they see you as spam…or worse: your users find your content spammy.
   You may have read that there is a certain number of words a page of copy should be: 250 seems to be the magic number. You’re more than welcome to stick with that number, but in my mind, why not write until you get your point across? If you only need 150-200 words to say what you need to say, it would be silly to continue writing and (most likely) keyword stuffing. Likewise, if you naturally write 400 words of copy, there’s really no reason to condense that. Many of your users won’t scroll, but then again, many of them will!
2. Use keyword rich titles. If you don’t know which one is the title, look to the top of your web browser on the same line as your minimize/maximize/close buttons. Then, look to the right if you use a Mac, to the left if you use a PC. There’s your title!!
   While you’re on a site, it’s not something most people notice. However, when you’re searching it’s the very same title that pops up on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). This is important - think in your own searches how those titles can make or break your choice to click. Would you click on a link if the title is simply “Home Page”? My guess is no.
   Your titles should be keyword rich and different for every page on your site. The last discrepancy amongst SEOs about titles: length. Some say 10 words should be all you have (you’ll notice Google cuts off the title at 65 characters). This simply means you should put all of your important words near the beginning of your title, and it shouldn’t be much longer than those 65 characters/10 words (you wouldn’t want your title expanding off the title bar!)
3. Create descriptive meta-descriptions. Just under the title in SERPs, you’ll see a description. If your site has a meta-description in its code, the search engine will pull that and insert it for the user to see (otherwise the user won’t see it unless you View the Source). If you don’t have a meta-description, search engines will simply pull a piece of your content to show the user. This may be all well and good, but you have absolutely no power as to which piece Google or any other SE uses! So WHY NOT put in a description you actually want your users to see?!
   For meta-descriptions, 165 characters is the limit when Google cuts them off. Again, it’s unnecessary to conform to under this amount. However, it’s always a good idea to insert a marketing message at the end of your description (phone number or address - essentially a call-to-action). In doing so, you’ll want it where users can see it: right on the SERP.

By optimizing your site in just these three ways, you’ll increase your search engine visibility in no time. That isn’t to say that it couldn’t be better still - there are many ways to optimize a site above and beyond these major ones (many having to do with simple usability). But for today, get started on these pieces, it could make all the difference!

Nicki Hicks
Maine SEO