Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Hi Matthew,

I would start with a simple one, and fix the Title tag. At the moment, it says "Gerald Miller Super Lawyer: Minneapolis DWI Lawyer & Attorney". I would change this to something like "Minneapolis DWI Lawyer & Attorney | Gerald Miller". I would drop the 'super lawyer' in favor of something like "professional". That said, if people search for the phrase "Super Lawyer", then you need to re-think this.

I would also drop the Meta Keywords as Google doesn't use them at all, and worst case, they could be seen as an attempt at keyword spam. In fact, if you have these when doing a page analysis through the MOZ page grader, these come up as a negative SEO point.

Something to get you started

-Andy

Hi Ash,

There are a few things you could do here, but you don't need to look at redirecting to fix this.

If you don't really need Google to index the category page, you could always 'noindex / follow' it and then concentrate on the more targeted inner pages. SEO these for longer tail key-phrases if you find the they are not ranking too well at the moment, but don't keep changing these too often as this will send the wrong signals to Google.

-Andy

Hi,

It will eventually drop out if it is returning a 404 or you could always use the page removal tool in Webmaster Tools?

-Andy

Hi,

When I do a search for Nickel Alloys, I get the homepage at position 17. Other than the Adwords, I don't see www.artificialgrass4u.co.uk in the first 5 pages.

What are you using to check pages and positions?

-Andy

Hi Bob,

The best strategy is to have something that people want to link to. Give them a reason to talk about and then reach out to those who might be interested.

However, don't be put off by no-follow links, as they still provide a benefit - just not link juice.

You could also look at cocitations, mentions and social sharing. All will be a huge benefit to anyone looking to gain more exposure. Do you have a product that is only sold to a particular demographic? Look at how you can tap into specialist sites, magazines and look to create studies or articles that either haven't been done before, or make a past study even better.

There are so many things you can do, that it makes it a little awkward to list them all here, but I hope this will be of help.

-Andy

Are you sure you don't have a different login or details been used from another account? It appears to be the listing that is in question, so perhaps this has already been setup under another login?

-Andy

With a 301, you always lose some link juice, but just make sure you don't get into a situation where you are redirecting from a redirect. This can completely strip all link juice you have and cause you issues.

-Andy

Hi Alina,

Changing your site is always a daunting task, but as long as it is for the better, there is no reason why you should lose out.

I have done this a few times now and each time I have been improving the site and then seen a positive jump in traffic and conversions.

All you are doing is changing the template, but when completed, do check the site over with Screaming Frog Spider just to make sure the new template hasn't created any obscure pages or issues that you can't see.

-Andy

Hi Chris,

You are correct in thinking that commas can be problematic. I tend to get around this by creating a short phrase that doesn't require any and then either use a pipe " | " or hypen " - " to separate this before my company name.

Try not to focus too much on what the competition are doing and stick to good-old best practice. You don't want a spammy sounding title and instead something that creates a short phrase. For example, you don't really want something that would say "Link Building, Linkbuilding, Linkbuilding Services, Linkbuilding Professionals". Instead, create something like "Link building services and co-citation creation - iNet SEO Ltd".

The more you can make it read like a short sentence, the better.

-Andy

Hi,

For the most part, Google can find their way well around dynamic pages with few problems. There are always going to be exceptions, but this tends to be when there are lots of parameters to the URL structure.

As long as it is pretty simple, you shouldn't have any problems.

-Andy

I had a look at Distilled U and while it caters for all levels, there is a fair bit of advanced content. I was under the impression that there was a free trial for this, but could be wrong.

i can only speak for this, but I found it well paced with good examples and explanations.

-Andy

There is no guarantee Google will do this. The advice is work on Brand, but you can't guarantee they will change anything.

-Andy

Edgerank doesn't exist anymore.

This is why I don't do Social Media any more. There is enough to contend with SEO hehe...

-Andy

This is a subject where you are going to get a lot of disagreement and I think that the guy who insists on having HisBigAssCompany on the front end of the title tag will argue a lot louder and longer than I do. 

Amen to that

I don't agree at all with having brands at the front - not needed, but when Google appends it with this, there isn't a lot you can do, sadly. If you see a Brand: <title></strong>, then you know Google have been doing their thing.</p> <p>-Andy</p></title>

I think that what you are seeing here, is an aspects of Edge Rank. This is Facebook's own algorithm that determines how a post is promoted, by looking at various factors.

Have a read of: http://www.whatisedgerank.com/

If you understand how Edge Rank works and how it ties in with visitor interaction, you can do a lot more with your Facebook pages.

I probably don't spend enough time on SM than I should do (due to amount of work), but it is definitely something you should look in to more.

-Andy

Hi,

Brand is very important to Google now, and you need to shout about it as much as you can and it can help with a number of factors, especially now Google has said that Brands will gain dominances in the SERPs for related searches.

Rather than turn this into a huge thread, have a read of this article, which looks at many aspects of what Google is doing to branding now:

http://socialmediatoday.com/georgestevens48/1317336/google-rewriting-page-titles-time-brand

-Andy

For the most part, Google can find their way well around dynamic pages with few problems. There are always going to be exceptions, but this tends to be when there are lots of components to the URL structure.

As long as it is pretty simple, you shouldn't have any problems.

-Andy

I honestly wouldn't look at PR services to build links Brandon. Google is well on to this one and it could do you more harm than good.

For links, there are hundreds of available tactics that can all help you, without penalty, and like you say, if you build something that people want, you will build links more naturally. Everyone likes a good tool, but the same is also said for great articles, studies and research that might have been done, but perhaps that you can improve on.

The only limitations here, are how creative you can get

-Andy

My rule of thumb for guest posting...

If you start with the intention of adding in highly targeted anchor-rich links, you will fail at the first hurdle. You can get away with a URL link, click here, co-citation, but I would only guest post now if I were getting credited as the author. This link would follow through to my Author page on G+.

Co-citations are great you can add surrounding text to a link, but even though the link isn't live, there is still a benefit, and one that isn't going to see you get a penalty.

-Andy

Hi,

First of all, it isn't imperative to have any keywords in a URL to appear 1st, or indeed, anywhere in the URL. There are circumstances it will help, but it isn't imperative. How well your site matches the content of the pages is going to be key for you. Google is always going to be looking for a site that is going to be seen as an authority on the subject.

To answer your question, if you just buy a domain and then forward it, the domain that is just forwarded will not appear in Google at all. The only time there will be a forward, is when someone types the domain in exactly.

it sounds like they have a good domain that is old and will have lots of history attached to it. I would start to look at penalties, what has happened at specific dates and see if you can come up with a correlation. There is always a reason, and there is no reason why they cannot rank again.

-Andy

I had heard it was 733, and that final one is the secret!

Do you want to share an example article here, or PM me a link over? Without seeing one, I don't know what you do an don't have in there. For example something as simple as a correct / acceptable news layout, cited sources to back the article up, etc.

-Andy

Well, if you don't fancy trying to become a Google news publisher (it is pretty easy to do), then there is no guaranteed way to ensure that you are going to get a spot in one of the first 3 listings, or included at all.

This is going to be based on a number of factors, such as relevance to the search query, freshness of the article, how many others have written about this before you (if any) and if you are actually seen as a reputable news source.

I have only set others up to become news sources in the past, so can't offer any additional insights to this, but happy to take a peek at one of your articles to see if I can offer further help?

-Andy

As Chris said, Google has recently changed how long your titles can be, but rather than give you a definite number of words you can use, you now have a number of pixels. The general consensus here is that you have 512 pixels.

Screaming Frog Spider has just updated to a newer version that now includes how long your titles are in pixels, as well as words. I don't know if there are other tools that do this yet, as I haven't searched, but they do a free version that you can download and will crawl up to 500 pages of a site.

You can download it here.

-Andy

Have you thought about becoming a Google news publisher? This page will give you a load of information on how you can do this to ensure that news is more readily picked up and used.

https://support.google.com/news/publisher/?hl=en#topic=4359865

-Andy

Hi Reece,

A lot of sites do this and I think it is pretty much common place these days. All you have to remember is that the important information that you want Google to see, should be the paragraph that is shown on load.

Just remember though, that the more you hide, the less that Google is likely to see the page as an authority if all they are left with is just a single paragraph.

That said, build the page for visitors rather than search engines and make it as user friendly as you can.

-Andy

Well, the correct / best thing to do would be to try and get all of those links edited and pointed to live pages. That said, if you don't know who posted the links or have no way to get in touch with those who do, then it can be very awkward to achieve - still, link reclamation can be a great way to help with new links, seeing as they are already pointing to your site.

-Andy

Hi Armin,

First of all, try not to focus on quantity. Look only for quality and don't worry just about do-followed links.

Google now likes to see sites with a very natural looking link profile, so don't bother with the likes of blog commenting or article marketing. Instead, focus on what you have to offer a potential link partner, and if this is nothing, perhaps look to create an article or study that is specific to your industry / specialism.

Link building changed a little while ago, so please be careful, otherwise you will end up with a penalty in the shape of a Penguin!

EDIT-----

Adding a few links that should provide you with additional information:

• Google: Link Schemes
• MOZ: Link Building ideas to get more customers
• MOZ: Scalable Link Building tactics

-Andy

I love doing audits as they allow you to see the things that don't work, and the things that need work.

When an audit is completed, you end up with a very clear roadmap of what you need to do in order to correct issues. Jane and Donna have both covered pretty much all of the points.

What I particularly like, is finding those areas that might otherwise go unchecked and only performing an audit will reveal them. I end up with a long list of checks, and as I go through them, they pass or fail. If they fail, how can they be corrected.

OK, they can end up very long, but I still see them as one of the most comprehensive studies any site owner can have completed.

-Andy

First of all, a subdomain structure has no negative effect on the SEO or that page, or a complete site, but it has to be done right. However, there are many factors that could come into play here, such as "what would Google think if they did a manual review of the site and subdomains?"

If your feeling is that they look like very obvious attempts at SEO, then yes, do something about it, but using subdomains is sometimes necessary. I use about 8 subdomains for my site, but that is because I use a single page design so I am limited in my options.

That said, I have some great rankings for these, with many 1st page and top 3-4. This is because I can create a site (subdomain) that is very highly targeted.

Not many will take this route for SEO though - there generally isn't the need. You can normally do just as good a job with a normal site structure.

-Andy

Very pleased to have helped Peter

The practice itself is not considered ethical, as Matt Cutts has talked about this and their view is, why are you registering multiple sites just to get a boost in the SERPs? If found out, I would expect they would take a dim view of it. They said that all of this information should be kept on a single site.

If I were to want to achieve something like this, I would handle it either though a subdomain or within the current site structure.

-Andy

I would only do this if it sits with the general theme of what is being said. Don't just try to make it fit just so it's in there.

-Andy

Err on the side of caution where there is any doubt at all. No-one really know if Google use this in some capacity, so take no chances and keep it all clean.

-Andy

Google say they don't use this in SEO at all, and if we believe that is plays no part, then you have a maximum of 150-160 characters to play with. If you go over this, it doesn't get shown anyway, so all you are doing is creating content that will never be read, or that 'might' get seen as an attempt to keyword spam.

Stick to the threshold and you can't go wrong

-Andy

"In my opinion the PR services have been infiltrated by a lot of spammers who wear suits to work."

What a fantastic way of putting this Egol

The only thing that could have really happened, is if pages had a noindex / nofollow added to them. This could cause problems like this, but it doesn't sound like this has happened.

If you have a sitemap on the site, make sure it is up to date and then resubmit it to Google again, just to make sure they can see everything.

-Andy

Hi Peter,

I would certainly walk away from this, but that is just my opinion. Some people are OK with it, but it makes me very nervous when these types of post are a) being paid for and b) against Google's TOS.

A real guest blogging article should have a link / citation to the author, rather than to a site. For me, these articles always look spammy, sometimes content spun, but never really beneficial. Opening up the link as a 'do-follow' is also passing page rank from you to their client, something they are clearly doing for their own personal gain.

I hope this helps.

-Andy

Hi Jon,

I guess the first question is, have any changes been made to the site recently? Are there pages that might have been changed to stop Google from crawling them?

Do you have anything to be concerned about? I would look at your traffic and visitors for the answer to that one and if you see a drop in either / both at around the same time, then yes, I would be concerned and then start digging deeper.

-Andy

Hi Kerry,

Certainly in your circumstance, it makes sense to keep everything structured, as long as plastic wallets do fall within badge accessories, of course.

There would be little point trying to go down the route of keeping everything just one level up from the domain as this wouldn't allow for any crumb-trail that made sense, and people like a nice easy way to go back to a particular area.

Sorry, I forgot too add that as long as the navigation is clear and google has an easy route to follow, there is no reason why your current structure won't be just fine.

I hope this helps.

-Andy

Hi Carlos,

Aside from visibility in the SERPs, look to see if the site is indexed by Google. This is by no means a sure sign, but if you have a site that used to be indexed, and no longer is, it is usually a sign that something odd is going on.

The only way you can ever be 100% sure that a site has had a penalty, is if you get  manual action message from Google. The rest of the time, you need to check analytics to see when drops in searches and traffic happened and see if they correlate with a known algorithm update.

-Andy

And you have a reply

As far as I'm aware Billy. You can always catch me at info@inetseo.co.uk too

Haha...

News article on Search Engine Land here http://searchengineland.com/google-makes-official-new-search-results-look-live-186491

Of course. You can see one of mine here at http://linkbuilding.inetseo.co.uk.

That started to rank after less than a week of it going live.

-Andy

You will need to use a package that allows you to track competitors. I'm not sure MOZ lets you do that, unless you had a pro account and just used you allocation on your own site and others.

There are lots of tracking apps out there though.

-Andy

Hi Carlos,

The best measure of how well a site is doing, is when you look at the positions in the SERPs and how much traffic they are getting.

As far as I am aware, if a site is penalised, MOZ has no way to tell this, so it is not going to be reflected in their own stats (someone correct me if I am wrong here).

-Andy

I am making use of subdomains more and more and the thing I love, is that they start to rank much more quickly.

There has been a lot of discussion on this recently, and one very similar to this whereby there was a requirement to create a branded experience, but something that wasn't wholly in-keeping with the rest of the site.

The result was that subdomains were build to great effect. Because of the way they work, you can gain a lot of leverage from the primary site and people recognise that they haven't been shifted off somewhere else.

There is less of an argument to go with sub folders today.

-Andy

You are correct Billy. I am not referring to G+ local results really. More that the organic sites are delivered based upon my IP & location. If I fire up HideMyAss and set it to Manchester, I will get sites local to there.

-Andy