<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>WebProNews &#187; titles</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.webpronews.com/tag/titles/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.webpronews.com</link>
	<description>Breaking News in Tech, Search, Social, &#38; Business</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:32:37 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Google Talks About Why It Changes Your TItles In Search Results</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/google-talks-about-why-it-changes-your-titles-in-search-results-2012-01</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/google-talks-about-why-it-changes-your-titles-in-search-results-2012-01#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:22:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Crum</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=88787</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Google changes the titles of search results sometimes. This is nothing new, but the company is shedding a bit of light on the process, saying their alternative titles usually improve clickthrough rate. Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Pierre Far writes on &#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Google changes the titles of search results sometimes. This is nothing new, but the company is shedding a bit of light on the process, saying their alternative titles usually improve clickthrough rate. </p>
<p>Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Pierre Far <a href="http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2012/01/better-page-titles-in-search-results.html">writes</a> on the Google Webmaster Central Blog, “Page titles are an important part of our search results: they’re the first line of each result and they’re the actual links our searchers click to reach websites. Our advice to webmasters has always been to write unique, descriptive page titles (and meta descriptions for the snippets) to describe to searchers what the page is about.”</p>
<p>“We use many signals to decide which title to show to users, primarily the &lt;title&gt; tag if the webmaster specified one,” he continues. “But for some pages, a single title might not be the best one to show for all queries, and so we have algorithms that generate alternative titles to make it easier for our users to recognize relevant pages. Our testing has shown that these alternative titles are generally more relevant to the query and can substantially improve the clickthrough rate to the result, helping both our searchers and webmasters. About half of the time, this is the reason we show an alternative title.”</p>
<p>“Other times, alternative titles are displayed for pages that have no title or a non-descriptive title specified by the webmaster in the HTML,” he adds. “For example, a title using simply the word &#8220;Home&#8221; is not really indicative of what the page is about. Another common issue we see is when a webmaster uses the same title on almost all of a website’s pages, sometimes exactly duplicating it and sometimes using only minor variations. Lastly, we also try to replace unnecessarily long or hard-to-read titles with more concise and descriptive alternatives.”</p>
<p>Far refers readers to a <a href="http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&#038;answer=35624">Google Help Center article</a> about site titles and descriptions, which includes this video from Matt Cutts talking about titles and snippets: </p>
<p><center><object width="616" height="448"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vS1Mw1Adrk0?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vS1Mw1Adrk0?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="616" height="448" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></center></p>
<p>In the help center article, Google says to make sure very page on your stie has a title tag, that they’re descriptive and concise, to avoid keyword stuffing and repeated or boilerplate titles, an to brand your titles (concisely). </p>
<p>“If we’ve detected that a particular result has one of the above issues with its title, we may try to generate an improved title from anchors, on-page text, or other sources,” Google says. “However, sometimes even pages with well-formulated, concise, descriptive titles will end up with different titles in our search results to better indicate their relevance to the query. There’s a simple reason for this: the title tag as specified by a webmaster is limited to being static, fixed regardless of the query. Once we know the user’s query, we can often find alternative text from a page that better explains why that result is relevant. Using this alternative text as a title helps the user, and it also can help your site. Users are scanning for their query terms or other signs of relevance in the results, and a title that is tailored for the query can increase the chances that they will click through.”</p>
<p>If you don’t like the way Google has re-titled your pages, you can let them know <a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters?hl=en">in the Webmaster Help Forum</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/115984868678744352358/about"><img alt="Pierre Far on Google+" src="http://cdn.ientry.com/sites/webpronews/article_pics/pierre-far-gplus.jpg" title="Pierre Far on Google+" class="aligncenter" width="616" height="263" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/115984868678744352358/posts/62V16LPwzKv">On Google+</a>, Far highlighted two main takeaways for webmasters from all of this: </p>
<p><em>1. Our algorithms generate thee alternative titles so that your page is no longer constrained with having just the one title for all the different queries your page ranks for. This has the nice side effect of making the result look more relevant to our searchers and&#8230;</p>
<p>2. &#8230; On average, the alternative titles increase the clickthrough rate on the results, i.e. more traffic for you.</em></p>
<p>“The &lt;title&gt; tag is still a primary source for titles we show so all our advice about make them concise and useful and enticing still very much apply,” he says. “Keep an eye on the HTML Suggestions page in the Diagnostics section in Webmaster Tools for title suggestions.”</p>
<p>Have you noticed Google changing your titles? Are they being improved? </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/google-talks-about-why-it-changes-your-titles-in-search-results-2012-01/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Google May Change Your Page Titles</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/google-may-change-your-page-titles-2009-12</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/google-may-change-your-page-titles-2009-12#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:43:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Crum</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Cutts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search results]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snippets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Videos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Webmasters]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=52295</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>In case you were not aware, Google &#34;reserves the right&#34; to change the titles of your pages in search results. Google's Matt Cutts has released a video discussing why and how they go about doing this. <br />
<br />
Cutts says Google wants to show the titles that it thinks are most useful. &#34;For example, suppose the title of your page is 'Untitled' or if there is no title. If that's the case, we try to show a relevant, useful title.&#34; <br />
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In case you were not aware, Google &quot;reserves the right&quot; to change the titles of your pages in search results. Google&#8217;s Matt Cutts has released a video discussing why and how they go about doing this. </p>
<p>Cutts says Google wants to show the titles that it thinks are most useful. &quot;For example, suppose the title of your page is &#8216;Untitled&#8217; or if there is no title. If that&#8217;s the case, we try to show a relevant, useful title.&quot; </p>
<p>&quot;We reserve the right to try to figure out what&#8217;s a better title, what&#8217;s a more descriptive title or snippet to show the users,&quot; he continues.</p>
<p><center></p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NlJiLDn9-38&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed height="340" width="560" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NlJiLDn9-38&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></center></p>
<p>According to Cutts, if you have a title that&#8217;s really long, they may still use that in their scoring, but in the snippet, they might try to find a &quot;better title.&quot; This is presumably based on what the user is looking for.</p>
<p>As Cutts has said in the past, sometimes Google will use snippets right from the Open Directory Project (DMOZ). Sometimes, they&#8217;ll simply use snippets from the page or the meta description tag. &quot;We do a bunch of different things to find the best description that we can,&quot; he says.</p>
<p>&quot;If you have a bad title or a title that we don&#8217;t think helps users as much, we can try to find a better title, and one we think will be an informative result so that users will know whether that&#8217;s a good result for them to click on,&quot; he says.</p>
<p>Have you noticed Google changing your titles? Did they find better ones? <a href="http://www.webpronews.com/node/52449/talk">Discuss here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">&gt; </span></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 105, 210); text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/27/why-your-email-address-may-show-up-in-google-search-results"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">Why Your Email Address May Show up in Google Search Results</span></span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">&gt; </span></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 105, 210); text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/06/why-your-robotstxt-blocked-urls-may-show-up-in-google"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">Why Your Robots.txt Blocked URLs May Show up in Google</span></span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">&gt; </span></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 105, 210); text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/06/10/does-google-recognize-the-name-of-your-business"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: larger;">Does Google Recognize the Name of Your Business?</span></span></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/google-may-change-your-page-titles-2009-12/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Headline Writing In The Digital Age</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-writing-in-the-digital-age-2009-04</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-writing-in-the-digital-age-2009-04#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:30:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>WebProNews Staff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[headlines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=49511</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>There are many schools of thought regarding the Art of the Title, and generally this art varies according to purpose, medium, and culture. For better or worse, depending on your viewpoint, the Internet has changed what we expect from headlines, and how we shape them, but it is hardly a static art, especially with the advent of microblogging platforms like Twitter. <br />
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are many schools of thought regarding the Art of the Title, and generally this art varies according to purpose, medium, and culture. For better or worse, depending on your viewpoint, the Internet has changed what we expect from headlines, and how we shape them, but it is hardly a static art, especially with the advent of microblogging platforms like Twitter. </p>
<p>In the three-media-dimensional old world, headlines on the radio were generally useless; headlines are a visual art, though the late Paul Harvey certainly had a concise, rhythmic poetic aesthetic to his broadcasts very nearly bordering on the visual&mdash;as visual as the spoken word gets. It&rsquo;s mainly textual, though television, specializing in teaser-and-let-down headlining, often adds sound and graphics to widen the fall between oh-that-sounds-interesting and oh-that-wasn&rsquo;t-very-interesting-at-all-actually-I&rsquo;ve-been-tricked. </p>
<p>Magazines follow a similar format but without the benefit of motion and sound they use tantalizing photographs and lots of exclamation points to grab the readers attention before sorely disappointing them. </p>
<p>Newspaper headlines, then, are the nearest old-world example to what one wants in a Web headline or title. Newspaper headlines are at once sensational, compact, and informative. They&rsquo;re built to accommodate the scanner, who has the option of getting details below, but can move forward quickly with the general gist. A newspaper doesn&rsquo;t care if you read the article or use it for anything other than puppy training; a newspaper only cares if you buy the newspaper, which is what the headlines are designed to convince you to do.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
<p>While similar, the Internet is more complicated. Sure, RSS feeds and aggregators have required headlines to be more traditionally newsy-sounding, often with a twinge of sensationalism, but most importantly they must push on that nerve in a reader compelling them to click (the same nerve that says &ldquo;buy the paper&rdquo;). But a key difference is that Web headlines do not have to have static, eternal forms like published ink on paper headlines do. They can be changed to suit audiences, media, and changing needs; Web headlines operate on a time release. </p>
<p>And that&rsquo;s good because unless you&rsquo;re very, very good at writing a headline great for all digital media&mdash;for the reader, for the search engines, for Twitter, for Digg, etc.&mdash;you may need to write one for each target. So without further ado, here are some digital headline tips:</p>
<p><img border="0" align="right" style="margin: 4px;" src="http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/article_pics/7-tips-checklist.jpg" alt="Checklist" title="Checklist" /></p>
<ol>
<li>Can you scan it and understand what should follow? (Information scent)</li>
<li>People ignore what they don&rsquo;t understand.</li>
<li>Is it concise? Will it fit easily in an email subject line, a Twitter post?</li>
<li>Would you click it? Is it catchy? Spreadable? If you saw the headline at random in Google Reader/Digg/Reddit, etc., would it get your attention and compel you to click?</li>
<li>If possible, load the important keywords at the front. This is good for search engines and human reader/scanners.</li>
<li>Is it honest? People don&rsquo;t like being tricked and won&rsquo;t trust you again if what follows doesn&rsquo;t match what was promised.</li>
<li>If too difficult to incorporate all elements at once, define immediate and long term goals. Tailor the title for viral, buzzworthiness first so you can grab the social media/click happy crowd. Rework the title later, after everything as settled, so that it&rsquo;s search engine friendly for future reference and findability.</li>
</ol>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-writing-in-the-digital-age-2009-04/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Headline Creation Quick Tips</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-creation-quick-tips-2007-06</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-creation-quick-tips-2007-06#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:32:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>WebProNews Staff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Copy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[headlines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=38301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Headlines are tricky &#8211; especially when writing for the Web. You want to be search engine friendly, but at the same time, you don't want to readers (or potential readers) to skim over the headline like it's part of a technical manual. <br />
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Headlines are tricky &ndash; especially when writing for the Web. You want to be search engine friendly, but at the same time, you don&#8217;t want to readers (or potential readers) to skim over the headline like it&#8217;s part of a technical manual. <br />
<span id="more-38301"></span> <br />
The point of a headline is to get everybody&#8217;s attention: crawlers and people alike. While crawlers are easy to predict &ndash; the structure and timing are quite mechanical &ndash; people are in tons of different places with tons of different motivations. </p>
<p>Searchers are looking for something different in a title or headline than regular website visitors, who are browsing differently than the social network audience. </p>
<p>Writing for a spider is easy: Google Crawls Webpages </p>
<p>Simple, direct, clean. Subject, object, verb. Robots aren&#8217;t impressed with your cleverness. </p>
<p><a title="headline creation" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-for-social-media/">Muhammed Saleem</a> over at CopyBlogger says you need to write three different kinds of headlines, one for search engines, one for regular readers, and one for socially driven sites. Writing for all three is difficult. </p>
<p>He gives some good tips for how to that. If you&#8217;re especially good, though, you can write for all three simultaneously, though some might say it&#8217;s a bad idea to try. There is a bit of craft to it, and you&#8217;ll need an extra boost of creativity. </p>
<p>But as a guide:</p>
<blockquote><p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Weight the front. In English, we scan from right to left, but the important keywords first to make the instant connection with whomever is reading &ndash; whether they&#8217;re reading from the search results, on your site, or on Digg.com. 
</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No inside jokes. The headline is funny to you because you know the whole story. If you crack a joke in the headline, make sure it&#8217;s readily laughable on its own, or is enticing enough on its own to click. 
</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Announce the topic. No busy searcher is going to guess at what you&#8217;ve written about. 
</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Revisit cranky ol&#8217; William Strunk: Omit needless words. 
</p></blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/headline-creation-quick-tips-2007-06/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The SEO Playbook (Welcome to the Rabbit Hole)</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/the-seo-playbook-welcome-to-the-rabbit-hole-2007-04</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/the-seo-playbook-welcome-to-the-rabbit-hole-2007-04#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:55:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Todd Malicoat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Engine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Link]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Linkbaiting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[linking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[links]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEOmoz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Visual]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=37118</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>SEO is about more than meta tags, title tags, and targeted anchor text. Call it &#34;competitive webmastering&#34;, &#34;SEO&#34;, or any one of a <a title="other titles" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/11/24/i-like-making-up-titles/">slew of other titles</a> - it is the thought process of <a title="lateral thinking" href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001987.shtml">lateral thinking</a> and understanding of website creation and marketing combined that matters most.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>SEO is about more than meta tags, title tags, and targeted anchor text. Call it &quot;competitive webmastering&quot;, &quot;SEO&quot;, or any one of a <a title="other titles" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/11/24/i-like-making-up-titles/">slew of other titles</a> &#8211; it is the thought process of <a title="lateral thinking" href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001987.shtml">lateral thinking</a> and understanding of website creation and marketing combined that matters most.</p>
<p><span id="more-37118"></span></p>
<div align="center"><img title="SEO Playbook" src="http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/articlepictures/playbook.gif" alt="SEO Playbook" /></div>
<p>
It is a line of thinking that necessitates doing what is optimal: when to balance user experience with &quot;bot experience&quot; to create a site that will harvest any legitimate traffic without detriment to conversions, or without venturing into areas beyond the given risk threshhold for the project.</p>
<p>Technology and marketing were formerly unique disciplines with very different types of people. SEO&rsquo;s are the folks in between. In my mind, the reason SEO goes well beyond just search marketing into most areas of business is because search engine marketing IMPACTS many of the decisions that are made in a business. Marketing, infrastructure, customer relations, analytics, accounting, human resources can all directly impact search marketing and vice versa. SEO has become more and more of a strategic vision as top rankings become more competitive, and more valuable. SEO is in large part <a title="communication gap between marketing and IT" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/07/31/marketing-techie/">the communication gap between marketing and IT</a>, combined with top level executive strategy (The only good SEO&rsquo;s that leave the field at this point, do so to become CEO&rsquo;s &#8211; <a title="visual illustration" href="http://www.scoreboard-media.com/jason-calacanis-hatorade/">visual illustration</a>).</p>
<p>This is intended to be an &quot;advanced beginner&rsquo;s guide&quot; &#8211; which is a bit of a paradox, but the idea is that even the most proficient of SEO&rsquo;s often revisit the basics, and that execution on simple solutions can be very elegant and effective. It will also help to cover many of the things that all too often get overlooked. Executing on basics is the most advanced play in the search engine marketing game. A little secret I&rsquo;ll let you in on &#8211; Even the &quot;SEO Pros&quot; go back to basics &#8211; content and links. They&rsquo;re only pros because these two critical elements have become second nature, and nearly every waking thought is based around how to create mo&rsquo; betta content, or get some new links in creative ways.</p>
<p>Even if you understand every single technique available &#8211; no matter what play you call &#8211; you still have to block and tackle to reach the endzone and score your top rankings. The most proficient SEO&rsquo;s realize that search ranking, branding, marketing strategy, conversions, and postive conversations consist of two major elements &#8211; CONTENT and LINKS.</p>
<h3>Content</h3>
<p>User Experience and content organization</p>
<p>The user experience should be concise, and simple. Simple is elegant. You can have multitudes of functionality locked within a extremely simple streamlined interface. Read <a title="Don&rsquo;t make me think" href="http://www.sensible.com/chapter.html">Don&rsquo;t make me think</a>, and the <a title="Big Red Fez" href="http://www.sethgodin.com/fez/">Big Red Fez</a>.</p>
<p>Key tips with site architecture:</p>
<p>1. User architecture and bot architecture don&rsquo;t need to be identical. A bot will determine the heirarchy of a site through it&rsquo;s link structure. A user will determine the heirarchy of a site through the <a title="placement of the main navigational elements" href="http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/41/web_object-ecom.htm">placement of the main navigational elements</a>.</p>
<p>2. Search engines are becoming extremely proficient at incorporating semantics into link structure. Keeping a site sectioned into themes is extremely important. The importance of internal anchor text to this factor is rarely over-rated.</p>
<p>3. Internal search is incredible for gathering data on your site.</p>
<p>Resources for understanding information architecture, and balancing the user experience with the bot experience:</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="User expectations for common ecommerce elements" href="http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/41/web_object-ecom.htm">User expectations for common ecommerce elements</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Search engine theme pyramids" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum34/68.htm">Search engine theme pyramids</a></li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Content Creation</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Keyword based content</strong></p>
<p>Creating content specifically to rank for keywords. This is a borderline practice, depending on the intelligence level of the content. A thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters could lookup and change content based on a set of words.</p>
<p><strong>User generated content</strong></p>
<p>The beauty of web 2.0 &#8211; people decide to connect together to do something. Whether it&rsquo;s worthwhile or otherwise, two heads are very often better than one, and conversation is the backbone of the web.</p>
<p><strong>How to content</strong></p>
<p>Everyone loves to know how to do something. I really wish I could download things like &quot;how to do your own plumbing&quot;, and be able to figure it out. Someday, perhaps a well optimized and informative video will be able to do that.**</p>
<p><font size="2">**after publishing Rob pointed me to <a title="installation resources" href="http://www.vintagetub.com/asp/videos.asp">these</a> <a title="installation resources" href="http://www.vintagetub.com/asp/installation_guides.asp">installation resources</a> on <a title="Vintage Bath and Tub" href="http://www.vintagetub.com/">Vintage Bath and Tub (who have some cool clawfoot tubs)</a> &#8211; great examples of howto content</font></p>
<p><strong>Blog content</strong></p>
<p>Write what you know. Talk about a relevant, cohesive topic.</p>
<p><strong>Linkbait content</strong></p>
<p>Make a GREAT idea even better. Be remarkable.</p>
<p><strong>Commodity content</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes cheap content is better than no content. Don&rsquo;t be <a title="lazy seo manifesto" href="http://tropicalseo.com/2007/the-lazy-seo-manifesto/">lazy</a>.</p>
<p>Content Resources:</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="10 Web Tools to Help Generate Blog Content Ideas" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1501">10 Web Tools to Help Generate Blog Content Ideas</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Adding content pages - 78 possible topics - Jim" href="http://www.jimboykin.com/building-backlinks-through-content-advice-and-tips/">Adding content pages &#8211; 78 possible topics &#8211; Jim</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Can your content pass a hand check - Martinibuster_" href="http://www.martinibuster.net/">Can your content pass a hand check &#8211; Martinibuster_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Content Planning for Search Engine Optimization - SEO by the SEA" href="http://www.seobythesea.com/?p=229">Content Planning for Search Engine Optimization &#8211; SEO by the SEA</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Content to create links - SEW" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showpost.php?p=48902&amp;postcount=47">Content to create links &#8211; SEW</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Read Copyblogger through twice" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/">Read Copyblogger through twice</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Directory of Government RSS Feeds _ Threadwatch.org" href="http://www.threadwatch.org/node/2534">Directory of Government RSS Feeds _ Threadwatch.org</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing - lifehack.org" href="http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/fifty-50-tools-which-can-help-you-in-writing.html">Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing &#8211; lifehack.org</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Search&rsquo;s Long Tail" href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050314-164653">Search&rsquo;s Long Tail</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="The Long Tail_ SEO Tips" href="http://www.allstarmakeovers.com/blog/2005/05/long-tail-seo-tips.html">The Long Tail_ SEO Tips</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="When Unique Content Is Not &ldquo;Unique&rdquo; - Sugarrae" href="http://www.sugarrae.com/permalink/when-unique-content-is-not-unique/">When Unique Content Is Not &ldquo;Unique&rdquo; &#8211; Sugarrae</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Finding Hidden Content - Content idea - RogerD&rsquo;s notebook" href="http://www.rogerd.net/articles/finding-hidden-content">Finding Hidden Content &#8211; Content idea &#8211; RogerD&rsquo;s notebook</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Editing Press Releases" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum44/1705.htm">Editing Press Releases</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Writers' Block_ Breaking Out With Ten Simple Ideas" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/content_copywriting/3244343.htm">Writers&#8217; Block_ Breaking Out With Ten Simple Ideas</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<p>WebmasterWorld Supporter&rsquo;s forum:</p>
<li><a title="63 Questions to Ask Prior to Building a Content Site" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/10276.htm">63 Questions to Ask Prior to Building a Content Site</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Content creation What do you know about writing for the web" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/3532.htm">Content creation What do you know about writing for the web</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Providing Decent Content vs Providing Crap Content" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/8162.htm">Providing Decent Content vs Providing Crap Content</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Content Structure:</p>
<p><a title="Duplicate content thinking" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/06/12/dupe-content/">Duplicate content thinking</a></p>
<h3>LINKS</h3>
<p><img title="SEO Bot experience" src="http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/articlepictures/hedobot.jpg" alt="SEO Bot experience" /><br />
<strong>The &quot;Bot Experience&quot;</strong></p>
<p>&quot;Create a site with your users in mind&quot; has become an oft-quoted mantra of search engine representives when asked about how to rank better in search engines. While the logic is sound, it is also somewhat incomplete. The &quot;experience&quot; that a bot has when visiting your site will often determine the initial experience that a user has with your site as well. Controlling where the bot enters the site, and how the bot &quot;sees&quot; the site is of paramount importance to determining how users will find and navigate through your site.</p>
<p>Information architecture is one of the most overlooked areas of good search marketing. Mainly because it is one of the most difficult areas to retrofit on a site, and it&rsquo;s extremely difficult for consultants to demonstrate the value to justify the workload needed to overhaul a site.</p>
<p><strong>Link Development</strong></p>
<p><img align="right" title="Old sites" src="http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/articlepictures/burns.jpg" alt="Old sites" />Old is good &#8211; Old sites are trusted. Trustrank is a part of the game, and if you don&rsquo;t believe it you&rsquo;ve been sleeping. There is no sandbox, there is only the trustbox, and the trustbox emphasizes old, aged links that are on trusted domains that are relevant to your targeted query.</p>
<p>Link equity is the new brand building. Perhaps I&rsquo;m a bit wrong &#8211; link equity, strategy, and development is the new brand building. Brand building and link building should coexist peacefully. Those folks out there that you&rsquo;re paying $10 &#8211; $20 per hour for link building, are building your brand for the future. Why? because a brand is only a google search away these days. If I want to know how strong McDonald&rsquo;s brand is &#8211; I do a google search. Perhaps I&rsquo;m ahead of the curve, but even Joe sixpack isn&rsquo;t that far behind me. He knows that google is a verb, and he&rsquo;ll soon figure out how to change his default search application from windows live to yahoo or google. New brands don&rsquo;t underestimate the intelligence of their consumers. Default search doens&rsquo;t &quot;WOW&quot; anyone. Relevance, and information quality does.</p>
<p>Types of links and how to get them. Learn what they are, and how they apply to you. <a title="12 types of links and how to get them" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/08/21/link-types/">12 types of links and how to get them</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Article link development</strong></p>
<p>Write articles &#8211; submit to various sites based on automation for quantity or personal contacts for quality.</p>
<p><strong>Press link development</strong></p>
<p>Write articles &#8211; see above.</p>
<p><strong>Partner link development</strong></p>
<p>Network at conferences, through IM, or email, and make nice with friends.</p>
<p><strong>Affiliate link development</strong></p>
<p>Start an affiliate program with a service that is in the know. Redirect appropriate pages.</p>
<p><strong>Paid link development</strong></p>
<p>Buy text links on relevant sites</p>
<p><strong>Viral link development</strong></p>
<p>This one is probably among the toughest because it is becoming increasingly difficult to do something remarkable that people talk about.</p>
<p>Try <a title="learning what linkbaiting means" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2007/01/12/linkbaiting-hooks/">learning what linkbaiting means</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Directory link development</strong></p>
<p>Proceed with caution &#8211; you don&rsquo;t need many.</p>
<p><strong>Reciprocal link development</strong></p>
<p>See above.</p>
<h3>Link Development Resources:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a title="Graywolf&rsquo;s Linkbuilding roundup on TW" href="http://www.threadwatch.org/node/8338">Graywolf&rsquo;s Linkbuilding roundup on TW</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="10 steps to getting links to your site from M$ employee" href="http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/online_marketing/10_steps_to_getting_links_to_your_site.mspx">10 steps to getting links to your site from M$ employee</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="101 Ways to Build Link Popularity in 2006 _ SEO Book.com" href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001792.shtml">101 Ways to Build Link Popularity in 2006 _ SEO Book.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="131 (Legitimate) Link Building Strategies" href="http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2160301">131 (Legitimate) Link Building Strategies</a></li>
<li><a title="A Few Quick Link Building Tips - Jason Hendricks" href="http://www.jasonhendricks.com/seo-advice/a-few-quick-link-building-tips/">A Few Quick Link Building Tips &#8211; Jason Hendricks</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.justilien.com/link-building/advice-increase-email-response-rate.htm">Advice_ Increase Email Response Rate _ Justilien.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="All links are paid - More No-Follow Fallout" href="http://blog.v7n.com/2006/07/06/more-no-follow-fallout/">All links are paid &#8211; More No-Follow Fallout</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Are You Guilty of Stinkin&rsquo; Linkin&rsquo; Thinkin&rsquo;_" href="http://marketingfind.com/articles/are_you_guilty_of_stinkin_linkin_thinkin.html">Are You Guilty of Stinkin&rsquo; Linkin&rsquo; Thinkin&rsquo;_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="7 Even More Effective Ways to Build Links SEO Black Hat" href="http://seoblackhat.com/2006/08/17/build-links/">7 Even More Effective Ways to Build Links SEO Black Hat</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Building an outsourced team of link builders" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/10763.htm">Building an outsourced team of link builders</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Buying Links - O&rsquo;Reilly In Debate Over Link Selling" href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050824-155812">Buying Links &#8211; O&rsquo;Reilly In Debate Over Link Selling</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="CSS Redesign list - How-to increase your links through a redesign" href="http://www.linkbuildingblog.com/2007/03/howto_increase_.html">CSS Redesign list &#8211; How-to increase your links through a redesign</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Delegating Link Development_ Outsource or In-house_" href="http://www.sitepoint.com/article/delegate-link-development">Delegating Link Development_ Outsource or In-house_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Determining the Value of Links from Link Renting" href="http://www.search-marketing.info/newsletter/articles/linking-matters.htm">Determining the Value of Links from Link Renting</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Does Your Site Have Link Building Potential" href="http://www.threadwatch.org/node/3666">Does Your Site Have Link Building Potential </a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Doing SEO in a Vacuum - natural link development" href="http://www.search-marketing.info/newsletter/articles/seo-vacuum.htm">Doing SEO in a Vacuum &#8211; natural link development</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Email is Still the Key to a Successful Link Building Campaign - seomoz" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1401">Email is Still the Key to a Successful Link Building Campaign &#8211; seomoz</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Filthy Linking Rich by Mike Grehan" href="http://www.e-marketing-news.co.uk/Oct04/RichLinking.html">Filthy Linking Rich by Mike Grehan</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Finding Most Relevant Powerful Page for Link from Jim" href="http://www.jimboykin.com/tips-for-finding-the-best-pages-to-get-links-from/">Finding Most Relevant Powerful Page for Link from Jim</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Getting Links 1 of 5 - Neil ACSEO" href="http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/getting-links-1-of-5.html">Getting Links 1 of 5 &#8211; Neil ACSEO</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Google s New Link Filter" href="../../../../../../insiderreports/searchinsider/wpn-49-20050407GooglesNewLinkFilter.html">Google s New Link Filter</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="How to Request Links From Picky Sites - mm - seomoz" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1389">How to Request Links From Picky Sites &#8211; mm &#8211; seomoz</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Increase Your Link Request Conversion - Don&rsquo;t Do This!" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=7870">Increase Your Link Request Conversion &#8211; Don&rsquo;t Do This!</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Interview of Patrick Gavin" href="http://www.search-marketing.info/newsletter/articles/patrick-gavin.htm">Interview of Patrick Gavin</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Jump-start Your Link Building (without Getting Sandboxed) by Andy Hagans" href="http://www.andyhagans.com/Jump-start_Your_Link_Building_WEB.php">Jump-start Your Link Building (without Getting Sandboxed) by Andy Hagans</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building 101 - SEW" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=2616">Link Building 101 &#8211; SEW</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building for Blogs Online Marketing Blog" href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/04/link-building-for-blogs/">Link Building for Blogs  Online Marketing Blog</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building Guide - jim westergren" href="http://www.jimwestergren.com/link-building-guide/">Link Building Guide &#8211; jim westergren</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building Services - How much $$ per link_" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=343">Link Building Services &#8211; How much $$ per link_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building Strategies - Who To Link To" href="http://www.seoconsultants.com/articles/1468/link-building.asp">Link Building Strategies &#8211; Who To Link To</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building Wiki - Main - Link Building Wiki" href="http://www.textlinkbrokers.com/wiki/Main_Page">Link Building Wiki &#8211; Main &#8211; Link Building Wiki</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="link building with affiliate programs &mdash; does it work_" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=1915">link building with affiliate programs &mdash; does it work_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Building with Landing Pages_ a basic guide" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=3187">Link Building with Landing Pages_ a basic guide</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Popularity and Link Building Basics-Linking101.com" href="http://www.linking101.com/">Link Popularity and Link Building Basics-Linking101.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="LinkHounds - Great Link Building Tips &amp; Link Popularity Tools" href="http://www.linkhounds.com/resources/">LinkHounds &#8211; Great Link Building Tips &amp; Link Popularity Tools</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Linking Strategies that work in 2005" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?threadid=5932">Linking Strategies that work in 2005</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Linking Strategies, items 1 to 50" href="http://www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&amp;subcat=mp_Linking">Linking Strategies, items 1 to 50</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="List of Searches for Link-Popularity Building" href="http://forums.seochat.com/t26200/s.html">List of Searches for Link-Popularity Building</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Natural Backlinks - Getting backlinks without even asking. - Jim Boykin" href="http://www.jimboykin.com/natural-backlinks-getting-backlinks-without-even-asking-2/">Natural Backlinks &#8211; Getting backlinks without even asking. &#8211; Jim Boykin</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Natural link paterns - How &ldquo;Internet Phenomenon&rdquo; Gain Links Over Time" href="http://forums.seochat.com/t48762/s.html">Natural link paterns &#8211; How &ldquo;Internet Phenomenon&rdquo; Gain Links Over Time</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Recommendations on Content to Attract Links" href="http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=10263">Recommendations on Content to Attract Links</a><br />
    <a title="Secrets from Debra M" href="http://thelinkspiel.blogspot.com/2006/01/big-link-secret.html">Secrets from Debra M</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEOmoz - Unconventional Link-Building Ideas" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=365">SEOmoz &#8211; Unconventional Link-Building Ideas</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="# SEOmoz Blog _ 5 Rare &amp; Valuable Link BuildingTactics " href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1160">SEOmoz Blog _ 5 Rare &amp; Valuable Link Building</a><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1160">Tactics</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEOmoz Blog _ Long List of Link Searches" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1494">SEOmoz Blog _ Long List of Link Searches</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEOmoz Blog _ What a Good Link Request E-Mail Looks Like" href="http://www.socengine.com/seo/blogdetail.php?ID=146">SEOmoz Blog _ What a Good Link Request E-Mail Looks Like</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/09/what_makes_an_i.html">S</a><a title="# Seth&rsquo;s Blog_ What makes an idea viral_  " href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/09/what_makes_an_i.html">eth&rsquo;s Blog_ What makes an idea viral_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="The Link Building Knowledge Base by Andy Hagans @ www.linkbuilding.info" href="http://www.linkbuilding.info/">The Link Building Knowledge Base by Andy Hagans @ www.linkbuilding.info</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Threads of the Web - Linking for Success" href="http://www.searchengineguide.com/claiborne/2005/0525_sc1.html">Threads of the Web &#8211; Linking for Success</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Threadwatch to Build Killer Link Analysis Tool" href="http://www.threadwatch.org/node/1494">Threadwatch to Build Killer Link Analysis Tool</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Linkbaiting</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="21 KEYS TO LINK BAIT SUCCESS" href="http://www.famousagents.com/link-bait-success">21 KEYS TO LINK BAIT SUCCESS</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Blogger Relations 101 - Lee - How to pitch a blogger" href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/10/blogger-relations-101/">Blogger Relations 101 &#8211; Lee &#8211; How to pitch a blogger</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic The Ultimate Guide" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/increase-web-traffic/">How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic The Ultimate Guide</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="I Just Hired A Billion Linkbuilders _ Scoreboard" href="http://www.scoreboard-media.com/billion-linkbuilders/">I Just Hired A Billion Linkbuilders _ Scoreboard </a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Bait - jim westergren" href="http://www.jimwestergren.com/link-bait/">Link Bait &#8211; jim westergren</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Linkbaiting or Link Baiting Strategies - Aaron Wall" href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001936.shtml">Linkbaiting or Link Baiting Strategies &#8211; Aaron Wall</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Linkbaiting or Link Baiting" href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001936.shtml#more">Linkbaiting or Link Baiting</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Linking The Unlinkable_ When Digg Won&rsquo;t Work" href="http://searchengineland.com/070201-100342.php">Linking The Unlinkable_ When Digg Won&rsquo;t Work</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Viral Marketing With Blogs _ Copyblogger" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/viral-copy/">Viral Marketing With Blogs _ Copyblogger</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="What is Linkbait" href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/01/19/what-is-linkbait/">What is Linkbait</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Webmasterworld Link Development Threads</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="Bad Webmaster - No Donut for You!" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2270.htm">Bad Webmaster &#8211; No Donut for You!</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Basic Link Dev Strategies" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/1875.htm">Basic Link Dev Strategies</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Buying text links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2177.htm">Buying text links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Confessions of a Link Building Casanova" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/1146.htm">Confessions of a Link Building Casanova</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Explaining to Clients How to Get Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/1422.htm">Explaining to Clients How to Get Links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="How can I get inbound links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/993.htm">How can I get inbound links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="How much to quote for link building_" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/6908.htm">How much to quote for link building_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="It's time to get some new links!" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/785.htm">It&#8217;s time to get some new links!</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Development in the Blogosphere" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2956.htm">Link Development in the Blogosphere</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Development Persona_ Male Versus Female" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2072.htm">Link Development Persona_ Male Versus Female</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Development Post Toolbar PR" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2415.htm">Link Development Post Toolbar PR</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Development Strategies In the Age of Sandbox" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2456.htm">Link Development Strategies In the Age of Sandbox</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Development vs. Traffic Development and Staying with the Times" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/3047.htm">Link Development vs. Traffic Development and Staying with the Times</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Strategies To Build Presence and Gain Exposure" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/722.htm">Link Strategies To Build Presence and Gain Exposure</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="New Link Spamming Technique" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2348.htm">New Link Spamming Technique</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Promoting deep linking" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/1664-1-30.htm">Promoting deep linking</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Quality Content as Passive Link Development" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2783.htm">Quality Content as Passive Link Development</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Research your Competition" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/422.htm">Research your Competition</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="The Art Of Persuasion in Link Exhange Requests" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2112.htm">The Art Of Persuasion in Link Exhange Requests</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="The Dark Side of Exchanging Reciprocal Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/2036.htm">The Dark Side of Exchanging Reciprocal Links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Buying Links - 'Staying under the Radar'" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/1714.htm">Buying Links &#8211; &#8216;Staying under the Radar&#8217;</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Supporter&rsquo;s Forum (worth every penny of membership)</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="How many new links per month to be on the safe side" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/7921.htm">How many new links per month to be on the safe side</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Things to watch out for when outsourcing link development" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/2109-1-25.htm">Things to watch out for when outsourcing link development</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Tips For Attaining One Way Inbound Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/6426.htm">Tips For Attaining One Way Inbound Links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="If I was a search engine, part 1&hellip;" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/7995.htm">If I was a search engine, part 1&hellip;</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="&quot;Triangular&quot; link exchange" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/6872.htm">&quot;Triangular&quot; link exchange</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Brainstorm On How To Get One Way I.B. Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/11369-2-15.htm">Brainstorm On How To Get One Way I.B. Links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Employing Link hunters" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/508.htm">Employing Link hunters</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Hints from Search Engine Engineers about Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/10869.htm">Hints from Search Engine Engineers about Links</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Link Patterns" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/8272.htm">Link Patterns</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="The text link market" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/6563.htm">The text link market</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="They Handy Dandy [Sponsoredy] Linky Getting Guidy" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/4725.htm">They Handy Dandy [Sponsoredy] Linky Getting Guidy</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Paid Links - Is it time to take it seriously_" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/7091.htm">Paid Links &#8211; Is it time to take it seriously_</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Part 2 Explaining to Clients How to Get Links" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum78/4252.htm">Part 2 Explaining to Clients How to Get Links</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Welcome to the Rabbit Hole Alice &#8211; Resources for those figuring out what SEO really is.</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div align="center"><img title="SEO Playbook" src="http://images.ientrymail.com/webpronews/articlepictures/pill.jpg" alt="SEO Playbook" /></div>
<p>
You can take the blue pill or the red pill. The blue pill will take you back to your cozy desk job coding for the man, and the red pill might lead you to insomnia induced by ideas of how to turn your startup into a real company using only your laptop combined with some technical and marketing skills, and a realistic gameplan to pull it off. Or you might end up going from self employed to unemployed real quickly.</p>
<p>The first converstation I have with folks generally consists of them asking some questions about what SEO is. If they are REALLY interested, and get beyond thinking about the fact that I tell them meta tags generally don&rsquo;t matter much, I would guess it feels a bit like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I am still overwhelmed with information overload on a daily basis, and this is after over about 6 years of studying and experimenting with SEO techniques on a daily basis. I think the information overload stems from having so many opportunities to apply the information, as well as trying to keep up and evolve process with emerging opportunities. Digesting, managing, and even thriving on the information overload is extremely important in a business built on timely, relevant information.</p>
<p>Here&rsquo;s where to start with your SEO Training if you&rsquo;d prefer the  red pill:</p>
<ul>
<li><a title="SEO Glossary" href="http://www.seobook.com/glossary/">SEO Glossary</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEO Beginner&rsquo;s Guide" href="http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization">SEO Beginner&rsquo;s Guide</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Google hot topics" href="http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/3269983.htm">Google hot topics</a> (Tedster is  truly amazing)</li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Search Engine Ranking Factors V.2" href="http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors">Search Engine Ranking Factors V.2</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEO Tools" href="http://tools.seobook.com/">SEO Tools</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEO Tools 2" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2005/06/27/internet-marketing-tools/">SEO Tools 2</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="SEO Manifesto" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/11/24/stunttrain/">SEO Manifesto</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a title="Jim Boykin&rsquo;s best posts" href="http://www.jimboykin.com/jim-boykin/">Jim Boykin&rsquo;s best posts</a></li>
</ul>
<p>If that&rsquo;s not enough, check out <a title="Lee&rsquo;s list of SEO/SEM blogs" href="http://www.toprankblog.com/search-marketing-blogs/">Lee&rsquo;s list of SEO/SEM blogs</a>, or <a title="Search through them" href="http://www.google.com/custom?num=100&amp;hl=en&amp;safe=off&amp;c2coff=1&amp;client=google-coop&amp;cof=CX%3ASEO%2520Search%3B&amp;q=secrets&amp;btnG=Search&amp;cx=000055334942202488495%3Ade3ctvzlkpg">Search through them</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>More resources on site strategy: <a title="18 questions your CEO forgot to ask when building your website" href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2006/10/04/website-questions/">18 questions your CEO forgot to ask when building your website</a></p>
<p>Practice your blocking and tackling every day. Read these long enough, focus on refining tactics, and experimentation, and you&rsquo;ll always have a team to play for; your clients, vendors, employer, or partners will be dumping the gatorade all over you for being the one that &quot;made it rain&quot;.</p>
<p>What resources do you use for your SEO Playbook or your SEO blocking and tackling?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stuntdubl.com/2007/04/18/seo-playbook/#comments" title="Comment on the SEO Playbook"> Comments</a></p>
<p>Tag: </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/the-seo-playbook-welcome-to-the-rabbit-hole-2007-04/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Deliver on your Page &amp; Ad Titles</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/deliver-on-your-page-ad-titles-2007-04</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/deliver-on-your-page-ad-titles-2007-04#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:37:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael Jensen</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=36899</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>A radio ad I heard the other morning starts out &#8220;Another how-to half minute from the Home Depot&#8230;&#8221;. Now, before you read on, what are you expecting to get out of the next 25 seconds or so left of this radio spot? A &#8220;how-to half minute&#8221; makes me ready to learn something about landscaping or home repair or even picking out appliances. Teach me something!!</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A radio ad I heard the other morning starts out &ldquo;Another how-to half minute from the Home Depot&hellip;&rdquo;. Now, before you read on, what are you expecting to get out of the next 25 seconds or so left of this radio spot? A &ldquo;how-to half minute&rdquo; makes me ready to learn something about landscaping or home repair or even picking out appliances. Teach me something!!</p>
<p><span id="more-36899"></span></p>
<p>Well&hellip;.the ad continues with 2 guys, the first talking about how he loves his old tools. The second guy mentions an instant discount on tools going on now at the store. The conversation switches instantly back to the first guy who then says he hates his old tools.</p>
<p>So what did you learn?</p>
<p>Zilch. Me too.</p>
<p>Teach me something if you say you are going to. If you say you&rsquo;re going to teach me something, then just give me a blurp about your sale, I&rsquo;m going to turn off (I might even blog about how much I dislike your ad).</p>
<p>On the web there are many places where we only get one small sentence or &ldquo;intro&rdquo; to get a click, mainly page titles and text PPC ads. Your visitor expects you to deliver on the page or ad title, and if you don&rsquo;t&hellip;your reader will quickly use that back button. If you have something lackluster to deliver, you may want to think twice about overpromising on the page or ad title.</p>
<p>Underpromise, over deliver is the old adage of sales. This holds partly true, except for when marketing you need to dazzle them, lure them in, pique their interest. You will lose customers if you then under deliver on the landing page, but if you deliver and then some you might just have yourself a sale (or a reader, or a friend, or a &hellip;. ).</p>
<p>A recent article featured on <a title="CopyBlogger" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/">CopyBlogger.com</a> also discusses the importance of not going overboard with your title to the point that what you promise to deliver isn&rsquo;t even believable.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/why-your-best-headline-could-be-too-powerful/">Why Your Best Headline Could Be Too Powerful</a></p>
<p>Essentially, your headline itself can be so unbelievable you don&rsquo;t even get a click in the first place. Headlines not only need to deliver the content they promise, but they need to be believable so you at least get the first click.</p>
<p><a title="Comment" href="http://www.soloseo.com/blog/2007/04/09/deliver-on-page-titles/#respond">Comments</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/deliver-on-your-page-ad-titles-2007-04/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sensational Titles: So 2006</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/sensational-titles-so-2006-2007-04</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/sensational-titles-so-2006-2007-04#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:00:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brian Thibault</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digg]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reddit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=36741</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Well now that people on the social media sites are starting to catch on / have caught on to link baiting, I&#8217;ve noticed it&#8217;s much harder to make the likes of the <a title="Digg" href="http://www.digg.com/">digg</a> or <a title="Reddit" href="http://www.reddit.com/">reddit</a> front pages. One to two months ago this was a <em>much</em> easier task. I&#8217;m not exactly sure if there has been one incident or algorithm change that caused the increased difficulty of making digg&#8217;s front page, but I do know that the window on link baiting is quickly closing.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well now that people on the social media sites are starting to catch on / have caught on to link baiting, I&rsquo;ve noticed it&rsquo;s much harder to make the likes of the <a title="Digg" href="http://www.digg.com/">digg</a> or <a title="Reddit" href="http://www.reddit.com/">reddit</a> front pages. One to two months ago this was a <em>much</em> easier task. I&rsquo;m not exactly sure if there has been one incident or algorithm change that caused the increased difficulty of making digg&rsquo;s front page, but I do know that the window on link baiting is quickly closing.</p>
<p><span id="more-36741"></span></p>
<p>I think part of the reason of the increased link bait promotion difficulty is people have caught on to the <a title="Sensational titles" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/">sensational titles</a> that were <em>the</em> critical component of a successful link bait. Its becoming more and more rare to see an &ldquo;ultimate guide&rdquo;, or &ldquo;12 tips you never knew&rdquo;, on the much sought after front pages of the big time social sites. I think as a general rule these are great copy writing techniques that really spark the readers&rsquo; interest, but with the communities link bait radars now on high alert these are now a sure-fire way to get your story buried.</p>
<p>The next logical question becomes &ldquo;So how do I make my story stand out without a sensational title?&rdquo; Quite honestly, I&rsquo;m not exactly sure. I think comes down to several things:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>High quality domain name.</strong> People are now giving an extra look at the domain the story appears on. If you happen to own freedebtconsolidation.info I think you maybe in real trouble.</li>
<p></p>
<li><strong>High quality site design.</strong> Kill anything that can be construed as &rsquo;spammy&rsquo;: ads or misaligned text and images, or just a crappy all around design.</li>
<p></p>
<li><strong>High quality content.</strong> Its more important now than ever to create actual valuable content. Take your time, and make your writing as perfect as possible.</li>
</ul>
<p>The long and short of it is: make a quality website <img src="http://www.convertup.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" /> &hellip; I know, I know, we all hate doing it. I have always defined link bait as creating quality content that adds value and then promoting that content. With the promotion vehicles wising up, the quality content part becomes all the more important, or, maybe you just have to just get used to a lower successful link bait average. If that ends up being the case, I wouldn&rsquo;t worry, some other link building method will come along shortly.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.convertup.com/sem/thats-sooo-2006-sensational-titles/#respond" title="Comment on sensational titles">Comments</a></p>
<p>Tag: </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/sensational-titles-so-2006-2007-04/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Self Serving Agenda of Search Engines</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/the-self-serving-agenda-of-search-engines-2007-03</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/the-self-serving-agenda-of-search-engines-2007-03#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:21:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Aaron Wall</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=36375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="entry">Andrew Goodman recently <a href="http://www.traffick.com/2007/03/phony-blogs-that-give-blogging-bad-name.asp">posted about SEO industry reputation woes</a>, but the real reason for the problem is the self serving agenda of search engines. Don't underestimate the marketing of the search engines, which outside of their own link buying and selling, generally like to hint at this equation SEO = spam.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="entry">Andrew Goodman recently <a href="http://www.traffick.com/2007/03/phony-blogs-that-give-blogging-bad-name.asp">posted about SEO industry reputation woes</a>, but the real reason for the problem is the self serving agenda of search engines. Don&#8217;t underestimate the marketing of the search engines, which outside of their own link buying and selling, generally like to hint at this equation SEO = spam.<span id="more-36375"></span></p>
<p>People spam everything though &#8211; <a href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/001791.shtml">media creating biased news</a>, misquoting interviewees, <a href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/002112.shtml">blending ads in content, ads as content</a>, free votes driving <em>communities</em>, <a href="http://speakingfreely.wordpress.com/2006/12/07/linkbait-is-the-new-bullshit/">deceptive article titles</a>, <a href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/002026.shtml">spinning numbers from small sample sets</a>, bogus posturing <a href="http://www.threadwatch.org/node/13356">formated as research studies,</a> etc.</p>
<p>Look at how much Google had to clean their PPC ads. Yet we don&#8217;t associate PPC service providers as people pushing thin content arbitrage sites, fraudulent search engine submission services, and off target cookie stuffing offer spams. Should we?</p>
<p>If spam is hosted by Google, ranked by Google, and displays Google ads, then why the need for outsourcing that fault? Why can&#8217;t we just call those people Google affiliates and leave it at what it is, Google = spam?</p>
<p>Some people claim that Google is out for the best interest of their users, but why the need for cost per action ads that are only labeled as ads on a scroll over? Ads cloaked as content are what is best for users? In a couple years <a href="http://publishing2.com/2007/03/20/can-google-transform-the-entire-web-into-a-direct-marketing-machine/">we will see</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The game is now to manipulate consumers not only to click, but to take some further action. And I don&rsquo;t use the word &ldquo;manipulate&rdquo; arbitrarily. This is about turning the web into one big pile of junk mail, aimed at getting you to sign up, buy, or commit to something that you hadn&rsquo;t necessarily wanted.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.seobook.com/archives/002119.shtml#start_comments"> 	 				 			Comments</a></div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/the-self-serving-agenda-of-search-engines-2007-03/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Blogspot and SEO</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/blogspot-and-seo-2007-03</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/blogspot-and-seo-2007-03#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:42:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Richard Hearne</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogSpot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bubble]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Categories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[comments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[domain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[linking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Meta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[navigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tags]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=36310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Well it never just rains. It has to pour. I made an offer of some free SEO reviews a while back and a nasty confluence of happenings has upset my apple cart.</p>
<p>But I&#8217;m going to try and get some advice out to a few more people now. And this is going to be the toughest task I&#8217;ve had in a while. You see it never dawned on me that so many folk would be on hosted blogs. Let&#8217;s just say that optimising Blogspot is not a straight forward task.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well it never just rains. It has to pour. I made an offer of some free SEO reviews a while back and a nasty confluence of happenings has upset my apple cart.</p>
<p>But I&rsquo;m going to try and get some advice out to a few more people now. And this is going to be the toughest task I&rsquo;ve had in a while. You see it never dawned on me that so many folk would be on hosted blogs. Let&rsquo;s just say that optimising Blogspot is not a straight forward task.</p>
<p><span id="more-36310"></span></p>
<p>As a result I&rsquo;m amalgamating the site reviews for all Blogspot blogs into one post. Apologies, but BlogSpot limits much help I can give to these hosted blogs. Here&rsquo;s the post navigation to make life easier for you.</p>
<h4>Internal navigation (this is another mammoth post)</h4>
<p><strong>General topics:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav1">Taking Control &#8211; getting your own domain</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav2">Blog titles and META tags</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav3">Best use of the Header tag</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav4">Using blog categories to theme your site</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav5">Linking to other blogs and content</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav6">Keep comments on the same page</a></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Site-specific topics:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav7">bocktherobber.blogspot.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav8">twentymajor.blogspot.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav9">elblogador.blogspot.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav10">skinflicks.blogspot.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav11">theangrydome2.blogspot.com</a></li>
<p></p>
<li><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#nav12">greeninkpen.blogspot.com</a></li>
</ol>
<h4>The Blogspot Conumdrum</h4>
<p>I&rsquo;m going to jump to what I hope is a logical assumption &#8211; if you asked for some SEO advice you must be passionate about blogging. So in that vain I&rsquo;ll try to offer advice that might help your blogging careers:</p>
<ol>
<li id="nav1"><strong>Taking Control</strong>
<p>If you are really serious about blogging the best advice I can give you is to take it to the next level. Hosted blog platforms are a fantastic way to get started. You don&rsquo;t need much technical know how, and you can be up and blogging in a flash. There are downsides however, and the natural progression is to buy yourself a domain and publish to your own blog.</p>
<p>Before I go any further I better give a warning: This isn&rsquo;t a trivial matter. You will need some technical prowess (or borrow someone for a few hours to help you out).</p>
<p>A search for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=blog+hosting+ireland%22">blog hosting Ireland</a> returns hosting with a free domain name for &euro;42.99 p.a. That&rsquo;s fairly reasonable, and you&rsquo;ll find that WordPress (the same platform I publish this blog from) is highly customisable and extendible thanks to the thousands of plug-ins available. WordPress also helps you to import all your Blogger posts (<strong>beware &#8211; the new Blogger no longer supports this function. See <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Importing_Content#The_information_below_is_outdated_as_of_February_17.2C_2007%22">here</a> for more</strong>.)</p>
<p>If you do decide to take the jump then many of the comments I made on the <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/09-03-2007/corporate-blogging-blogspot-301/">Bubble Brothers</a> post should also be useful.<a name="resume">
</p>
<p></a>
    </li>
<li id="nav2"><strong>Blog titles and META tags</strong>
<p>I notice that the default title on Blogger posts are &lt;blogtitle&gt;&lt;posttitle&gt;. My advice is to flip the order. It looks much better in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) because the page title is used by the search engines as the title of your listing. If you want to see what I mean go to Google and search for &ldquo;site:yourblogname.blogspot.com&rdquo; (stick in your own blogspot domain and remove the quotes). That should give you an idea of what I&rsquo;m talking about.</p>
<p>The page title is probably the most important element for on-page SEO. You really want to get some keywords into your titles. I know this can be difficult when you&rsquo;re trying to write quirky titles that grab attention, but have a think about the phrase you would type into Google if you wanted to find a page like the one you&rsquo;re writing. Test it out in Google &#8211; when you get relevant results you know you have good keywords (you can also use keyword tools, which I&rsquo;ll describe in a follow-up post). Then try to include that phrase or words from it. You wont get it right every time, but chances are that you will get a bit more search engine love.</p>
<p>Blogspot seems to have a built-in function for spitting out your META data. The main problem here is that there doesn&rsquo;t appear to be any quick and easy method to create unique description and keyword elements for each page.</p>
<p>A quick Google search for &ldquo;<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=blogspot+meta+tags">blogspot meta tags</a>&rdquo; should provide a few resources to help with your META data. I wrote previously about the benefits of <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/18-01-2007/meta-tag-optimization/">META Tag Optimization</a> &#8211; you can find out how a well crafted page description, which the Search Engines use for your snippet, can increase clickthroughs and site visits.</p>
<p>The other META I think you should ensure exists is the RSS link auto-discovery. If you include a META link to your feed visitors can easily add you to their reader of choice from the address bar in their browser.<br />
    &lt;posttitle&gt;&lt;blogtitle&gt;</p>
</li>
<li id="nav3"><strong>Use the Header tag</strong>
<p>If you write long posts you should definitely break up your content with paragraphs and sub-headers. It makes life easier for your readers, but the search engines also give a wee bit more weight to content found in &lt;h&gt; elements. So you might find your in-page post title (not to be mixed up with your page-title, although usually the same text) will be in a &lt;h2&gt; element.</p>
<p>If you are prone to long posts (looks in mirror) you should further break up the page with a sub-header, perhaps in a &lt;h3&gt; element. I use &lt;h4&gt; for my sub-headers and style them via CSS to my own preferences.</p>
<p>Search engines will also pick up some theme signals from the text you use in your sub-headers so try to retain and extend you primary post title through the sub-header text your choose.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav4"><strong>Blog categories</strong>
<p>Unfortunately this wont work so well for Blogspot blogs, but the category names and URLs you use also help to theme your content. If you look at my blog I include the category name in the URL and try to use descriptive anchor text to help silo and theme my content (siloing is an architecture technique used to theme areas of a website). Again, as with post titles, try to think of the terms you would use to search for the theme or category your writing about, then try to use those words as your category names.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav5"><strong>Linking to other blogs and content</strong>
<p>If you are blogging about more serious content then it can help to link to authority content on the web. Linking to a Wikipedia article or a post by an authority blogger can help the search engines apply theme (did I mention theme already?).</p>
<p>Links out also help get you traffic. You probably know about trackbacks and pings, but basically if you link to another blog you will more often than not appear as a comment in the post you linked to. If the opening sentence or two of your post is interesting you will get traffic from the trackback.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav6"><strong>Keep comments on the same page</strong>
<p>I know that some bloggers leave the comments on a pop-up page. Personally I like to see the comments on the story page. Others may differ. But from a search engine perspective it is often better to incorporate the comments into the story page, especially if you do not have a strong back link profile. If your comments are not published on your post page then you should probably read <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/12-03-2007/thin-content-site-optimisation/#site-architecture">my advice to John McWilliams on site architecture</a>.</p>
<p>I believe the way to change how Blogspot publishes your comments is <strong>Dashboard-&gt;Settings-&gt;Comments-&gt;Show comments in a pop-up window?-&gt;NO</strong>.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Some specific advice for the Blogspot bloggers</strong></p>
<ol>
<li id="nav7"><strong>bocktherobber.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>There&rsquo;s not much wrong that I can see. If i could I would exclude the search pages via a robots.txt file (or through the METAs) as these pages are turning up in the <a href="http://www.google.com/search?num=100&amp;q=***+-oyoy0Y0Yeu+site:bocktherobber.blogspot.com">supplemental index</a>. You could try hunting down the links that the bot is crawling to find those pages and add <code>rel=&quot;NOFOLLOW NOINDEX&quot;</code> to those links.</p>
<p>I cant see too many links from your site to anywhere (checked a few posts &#8211; MSN Live LinkFromDomain: operator is kaput at the minute). If you want to add relevancy and theme to your pages I would link out to related content if possible. You seem to have, how shall I put it, unique content however <img src="http://www.redcardinal.ie/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif" alt=":grin:" class="wp-smiley" /></p>
</li>
<li id="nav8"><strong>twentymajor.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>In fairness Twenty didn&rsquo;t ask but I said I&rsquo;d drop him in the pot anyhow.</p>
<p>First things first, Twenty no longer posts on Blogspot. Yippee. One convert. Twenty can now be found at <a href="http://www.twentymajor.net/">www.twentymajor.net</a>. A couple of things:</p>
<p>Now that you have your own domain I would look into transferring your content if you haven&rsquo;t already done so. Then take a look at my <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/09-03-2007/corporate-blogging-blogspot-301/">Bubble Brothers</a> post, in particular the &ldquo;Redirecting Blogspot with a 301 Redirect&rdquo; section. In your case you may be able to set up the redirect, your visitors will all automatically be sent to your new blog, and, best of all, you will keep all that authority and link love you&rsquo;ve built up (Twenty&rsquo;s old site was a PR7 site). Whatever you do don&rsquo;t let that Blogspot domain lapse.</p>
<p>The other thing I would do is fix the canonical URL issue. Your new site resolves to both</p>
<pre>http://twentymajor.net/</pre>
<p>and</p>
<pre>http://www.twentymajor.net/</pre>
<p>You&rsquo;ll find some more info about Canonical URL in Point 9 of my <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/19-10-2006/10-steps-to-getting-into-google-and-staying-there/">Google Best Practice</a> article.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav9"><strong>elblogador.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>This blog looks well and the content seems very well written. But there is one gaping issue that I can see &#8211; the bandwidth consumption. The homepage is a staggering 1.32MB. This is primarily down to the images used. You should look into compressing those images if possible because for the majority of Irish Internet users your page load times would be really off-putting. The header image (top_div.gif) alone weighs in at 55KB.</p>
<p>A would reduce the number of posts on both your homepage and archive pages:</p>
<p>    <strong>Dashboard-&gt;Template-&gt;Page Elements-&gt;Blog Posts-&gt;Edit-&gt;(Pop-Up) Number of posts on main page<br />
    </strong><br />
    And as you seem to be quite a prolific blogger:</p>
<p>    <strong>Dashboard-&gt;Template-&gt;Page Elements-&gt;Archive-&gt;Edit-&gt;(Pop-Up) Frequency-&gt;Daily or Weekly</strong></p>
<p>If you already on a daily frequency there&rsquo;s not a lot you can tweak (apart from blogging less which isn&rsquo;t really a solution).</p>
<p>As a political blog I would also take a look at the post titles &#8211; some could be more descriptive in my view and could contain more accurate references to the content:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Outrage!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>to perhaps:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Outrage! &#8211; Mandelson Bent Over Backwards for Sinn Fein</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Having &lsquo;Mandelson and &lsquo;Sinn Fein&rsquo; in title will help with post theme, but to me the idea of Peter Mandelson bending over backwards is considerably more catchy and more likely to grab my attention.)</p>
<p>You seem to have a lot of posts in the supplemental index, including some fairly recent stuff. This is a it worrying, but perhaps you could try a bit more internal linking from one post to another. So in one post you might reference in an earlier post. This might help.</p>
<p>The other possible solution is to leave internal links when commenting on other blogs &#8211; rather than leave your URL as</p>
<pre>http://elblogador.blogspot.com</pre>
<p>leave a post URL like</p>
<pre>http://elblogador.blogspot.com/2007/03/arthur-m-schlesinger.html</pre>
<p>Of course this will only make a difference from non-Blogger blogs, and blogs where the owner hasn&rsquo;t NOFOLLOW comments.</p>
<p>I suppose you could also try building a few links here and there &#8211; more backlinks will lead to more pages coming out of the supplemental index.</p>
<p>There&rsquo;s not a whole lot more I can add apart from taking the dive to your own host. You&rsquo;re doing as good a job as you can with Blogspot.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav10"><strong>skinflicks.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>Without sounding like a broken record, I think that quite a lot of the same issues I see with elblogador also apply here. Not so much the images, but the number of pages in the supplemental index really surprises me. You actually have a decent amount of backlinks, and I a couple of directory links in there also. If you have the time then I would keep adding a couple of directory links a week. You can find new, free, human edited directories over in the Digital Point <a href="http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65" rel="external nofollow">directory sub-forum</a>. Just a couple of directory links alongside your regular links will help. Just make sure to use appropriate anchors and deep-link (link to page other than your homepage) at every given chance. Again, my <a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/search-engine-optimisation/19-10-2006/10-steps-to-getting-into-google-and-staying-there/">Getting into Google</a> post might help, particularly point 6.</p>
<p>If there is a way to NOFOLLOW the category labels I would do this also. In my Blogspot Dashboard (the newer version) I can edit the templates, but they are in xHTML with XML flavouring so it&rsquo;s not clear to me if it is possible to manually NOFOLLOW those label links. If anyone knows how to edit in NOFOLLOWs please leave a comment.</p>
<p>Otherwise I suppose your blog titles are a little generic. I would try to get some more focused keywords in there where possible. Of course this may not be appropriate for your readers &#8211; bear in mind that my advice is primarily for the Search Engines.</p>
<p>Apologies I cant offer any more.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav11"><strong>theangrydome2.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>I&rsquo;m afraid it&rsquo;s more of the same &#8211; lots of pages in Google&rsquo;s supplemental index. Good to see you using video. I think readers like to have text content mixed up with some rich media.</p>
<p>You seem to have plenty of links showing via <a href="http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/advsearch?p=http%3A%2F%2Ftheangrydome2.blogspot.com%2F&amp;bwm=i&amp;bwmf=u&amp;b=1">Yahoo!</a>, but from a quick glance there seems to be a high proportion of blogroll links (Google is only showing 1 link currently &#8211; either a glitch or they don&rsquo;t like the blogroll links). If this is the case you should try to get a few editorial links (links embedded in blog posts) to mix it up a bit. In my experience embedded links will give you a far greater boost than blogroll links. Not sure how you should best go about that, but maybe try to start discussions that go back and forth between blogs.</p>
<p>As with others, you have quite heavy pages &#8211; about 200KB for your homepage. You could try tweaking the default number of posts shown per page from 7 to 4 or 5 to reduce this somewhat. You might make some poor dial-up soul a bit happier.</p>
<p>Again, you might find some of the general comments I made above useful when it comes to your on-page stuff like titles and headers.</p>
</li>
<li id="nav12"><strong>greeninkpen.blogspot.com</strong>
<p>Right last Blogspot blog I&rsquo;m going to look at. And again I can see about 1/3 of indexed pages in the supplemental index. I&rsquo;m beginning to be at quite a loss. Google shows <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=link%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fgreeninkpen.blogspot.com">32 backlinks</a> to your site, Yahoo! shows <a href="http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/search?p=http%3A%2F%2Fgreeninkpen.blogspot.com">422 backlinks</a>. There really doesn&rsquo;t seem to me any good reason that a blog with 140 odd pages can&rsquo;t be supported by those backlinks. Again I have to fall beck to a belief that Blogspot is inherently weak when it comes to search engine indexation.</p>
<p>Similar issues to page size, with a 610KB payload for your homepage. Images seem to be the culprit so any attempt to reduce the image weights will certainly help you retain any dial-up visitor.</p>
<p>One other thing worth mentioning &#8211; I would try to ensure that you have at least some text in most posts. I can see a couple of posts that just have an image or perhaps an image and some links. It&rsquo;s nigh on impossible to rank most posts that don&rsquo;t contain at least some plain text.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>The more I look at Blogspot the more I think that there is something wrong with the architecture of that platform. When I see pages that had received Pagerank (yep, it&rsquo;s only toolbar PR) that subsequently go supplemental I have to wonder whether the archive architecture is the problem. And I wonder if the problems would persist if the same blog was on WordPress or similar?</p>
<p>I want to apologise to the Blogspot bloggers who asked for my advice. I really hadn&rsquo;t considered the implications of hosted blogs &#8211; I&rsquo;m so used to viewing Blogspot as a spam platform that it didn&rsquo;t dawn on me that many people actually use the platform for quality content. (I probably should mention that Blogspot is absolutely notorious for splogs and sneaky redirects. If you want proof then just head over to www.blogspot.com and check the recommended blog link bottom-left of screen. It&rsquo;s NOFOLLOWed &#8211; they don&rsquo;t even trust the blogs they recommend!)</p>
<p>Individual advice to each blogger is limited because, to be honest, you will all suffer from the same deficiencies in the Blogspot platform. My wish is that I could offer more, but the blogging platform that is Blogspot has become my nemesis. I do hope, however, that you will all find something of use in this post (and if you only read the small piece relevant to your blog I strongly advice you read the whole piece &#8211; most of this applies to all Blogspot blogs).</p>
<p>I hope to make some amends by publishing a guide to blog post keyword research using freely available tools. The guide should help you write posts that increase your search engine visibility. It may take me a couple of weeks to put it all together (and finish the rest of the reviews), but I will post something here ASAP.</p>
<p>Oh, and one final observation for this post. Is it just my imagination or do Irish bloggers tend to curse a lot?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.redcardinal.ie/general/18-03-2007/seo-for-blogspot-bloggers/#postcomment">Comments</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/blogspot-and-seo-2007-03/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Keyword Optimisation or Compelling Copy in Blog Titles?</title>
		<link>http://www.webpronews.com/keyword-optimisation-or-compelling-copy-in-blog-titles-2007-03</link>
		<comments>http://www.webpronews.com/keyword-optimisation-or-compelling-copy-in-blog-titles-2007-03#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:30:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christine Parfitt</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Copy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[headlines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keyword]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[titles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.webpronews.com/?p=36242</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="entry">Brian Clark has some excellent ideas for writing effective titles in his blog <a onclick="javascript:urchinTracker ('/outgoing/www.copyblogger.com/');" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/">copyblogger</a>. He has recently <a onclick="javascript:urchinTracker ('/outgoing/www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-well/');" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-well/">re-written headlines</a> submitted by his readers along with a rationale for the changes. It&#8217;s a good way of demonstrating what works.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="entry">Brian Clark has some excellent ideas for writing effective titles in his blog <a onclick="javascript:urchinTracker ('/outgoing/www.copyblogger.com/');" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/">copyblogger</a>. He has recently <a onclick="javascript:urchinTracker ('/outgoing/www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-well/');" href="http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-well/">re-written headlines</a> submitted by his readers along with a rationale for the changes. It&rsquo;s a good way of demonstrating what works.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the core of his recommendations is the need to use the title to clearly communicate the value of the content to the reader. There are some tried and tested techniques for this such as:</p>
<ul type="disc" style="margin-top: 0cm;">
<li class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;10      ways to &hellip;&hellip;&rdquo;,</li>
<p></p>
<li class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;How      to (do xyz) and get (some benefit)</li>
<p></p>
<li class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;What      you need to know about (xyz)&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are optimising a page for the search engines the title is important because having keywords in the page title is one of the most important factors contributing to ranking well for those keywords.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, should you optimise for the search engines by making sure the title contains keywords, or should you make the title persuasive so that the reader is motivated to click through and read the rest of the post or article?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There&rsquo;s no reason why you can&rsquo;t have both of course. A title can be both persuasive and contain keywords. That&rsquo;s always going to be the best result. I would always make sure that consideration is given to keywords in the title for the following reasons:</p>
<ol type="1" start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;">
<li class="MsoNormal">Using keywords will get more targeted traffic than people clicking a clever headline out of curiosity. Untargeted traffic doesn&rsquo;t have as much value.</li>
</ol>
<ol type="1" start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;">
<li class="MsoNormal">If one of the goals is to get your article republished, publishers will search article directories for relevant content using keywords.</li>
</ol>
<ol type="1" start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;">
<li class="MsoNormal">The titles of most interest to your target audience are the ones that have relevance to them. Keywords are exactly that &ndash; words that have relevance for your target audience. If you don&rsquo;t include the keywords the headline is less likely to stand out when someone scans a page.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="http://www.semfire.com.au/blog/?p=37#respond">Comments</a></p>
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.webpronews.com/keyword-optimisation-or-compelling-copy-in-blog-titles-2007-03/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

<!-- Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/

Page Caching using memcached
Database Caching 1/51 queries in 0.032 seconds using memcached
Object Caching 727/851 objects using memcached

Served from: webpronews.com @ 2012-02-13 00:32:31 -->
