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But how do contestants win?  Is it just a random draw?  Why limit yourself to that?

Perhaps give bonus entries for people who send in pictures of themselves dressing formally for everyday occasions:

• going to the supermarket

• walking the dog

• going to school

• running a race

• going to the beach

• gardening

• bar-b-cueing

• playing cricket

And offer double bonus entries for people who send in videos.

I presume it's the Mums and Dads who pay for the suits and dresses, so try to think of things that appeal to them as well.

What exactly is your client giving away : a rental or the actual suit and dress to keep, forever and ever? If it's a keeper, perhaps pitch the idea of how handy the suits and dresses will be even after the formal.  This is, of course, false and ridiculous -- but you could have a lot of fun with it.

And don't forget the offline component: maybe coupons in the stores promoting the contest and offering refunds to people who have already bought, if they send it pics.

Ideally, you would come up with a viral way of sharing and promoting through mainstream media. If you have great pics, this could appeal to the mainstream media on a slow news day.

Your Canadian Mate,

-Daniel

(former game show producer and publlc broadcasting executive -- oy, do I have a past!)

Hi, Mike:

This is very much my niche. I am the former editor-in-chief of the CrossFit Journal and have acted as a web consultant to CrossFit gyms, the Personal Trainer Development Center at www.theptdc.com.,  several fitness authors and experts, and some equipment manufacturers.

My Llinkedin profile is here.

I agree that press releases can be be an effective strategy -- but only as part of a diversified link portfolio. I have used both PR Web and Marketwire, and think PR Web has the edge in the fitness space due to a superior distribution list in this niche.  I currently have a bulk subscription to PR Web and could offer you a very attractive price on a per release basis.

But first things first. I would suggest you consider your overall link-building strategy before jumping into press releases. There is probably low-hanging fruit -- including niche directories and guest blogging opportunities --  that could be plucked first.

Feel free to email me at Danielfreedman78@gmail.com to discuss fuirther.

Another point. It doesn't have to be the business owner who does the verification and uses his own IP address. It can be the receptionist or anyone else. All I need is for the business owner to tell the employee to expect my call and follow my instructions. On one occasion, the employee even called me from home because she had no web access at work.

FWIW, I try to have my clients set up their own Google+ accounts, then share the login and password with me.

This is generally done during one of my update calls or web meetings, with me talking them through the process

I'd had good results doing page level redirects i.e. map each page on the old site to its closest corresponding counterpart on the new site.

Just coming up with the redirect map can take many, many hours of work. For a Subject Matter Expert, I had to read hundreds of articles on both the old and new sites.  Thankfully, I was interested in the subject!

I've used PR Web with success for several clients.

Each release is typically linked to by around 100 sites, but these are typically no follow.

The real value comes from the link from PR Web's site itself.

I always regard "real" pick-ups (i.e. a news outlet writing a story, based on the release) as a bonus. This requires individual outreach and is more in the realm of PR than SEO.

As always, don't over do press releases -- or any other technique. Regard press releases as just another part of a diversified link portfolio. Above all: don't embarrass  yourself or your client with silly releases that contain no news hook. PR Web actually has some standards in this regards -- unlike it competitors. They sometimes reject releases or require edits. That's part of the reason it's a bit pricy.

And remember: even if it passes muster,  a 20% off sale is not much of a story.

One release per client per month is plenty. I sometimes find myself doing less because I can't come up with anything worthy...even though I have a bulk subscription.

I agree that charitable contributions make good releases. Product launches and executive appointments are also press release staples.

I'm not sure I understand the question, but along the way  the original poster seems to be  suggesting that a mobile strategy should always and everywhere be a high priority for every business. I'm not sure I agree with that premise.

I recently optimized for mobile the site of a client who mobile traffic has doubled to 25% in the last few months. Much of the site traffic is from 18-35 year old males who are affluent and educated...and access the site daily for updated content.  So it was kind of a no-brainer. We just rolled the mobile optimization into an overall site re-design. There is only one site.

But another client is business-to-business. Users access the site only from work, during business hours, from Monday to Friday. It's a very tech un-saavy user basis, with over 65% on IE. Mobile traffic is so small it's hard to measure. The site is not optimized for mobile. We just did a site upgrade, without optimizing for mobile. I recommended we wait another year.

That said, when building new sites from scratch these days, I would always optimize for mobile.

As to the question of whether you should build a mobi version of a legacy site, my answer would mirror the one above: follow Google's recommendation and just have one site.

I'm trying to think of a situation where it would make sense to launch a mobile version of a legacy site with identical content....but I can't think of one.

I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on the Internet.

But I am a former TV and publishing executive who dealt with these sorts of issues all the time.

And I can tell you that your proposed use of copyrighted material for your own commercial benefit raises every possible alarm bell. My advice: don't even bother consulting a lawyer. You will just waste a lot of money for a statement of these obvious alternatives:

1. Forget the whole idea

2. Negotiate with with the copyright holder to license the material (with little chance of success, even if you are willing to pay a hefty fee)

If you use the material without licensing it, you will almost certainly be served with a takedown notice. The matter will likely end if you take down the material. If you don't take down the material, you will likely be sued and incur substantial legal fees on the way to a settlement.

The question is unclear. What is a "pagination page?" Is this different from a page?

It's certainly best practice for all pages to have unique title tags to avoid duplicate content issues.

Unique descriptions for each page are also desirable, as they can increase click through rates, even though they are not read by search engines. Think of descriptions as promotional copy.

If you have the same page title and page description on each and very page of your site, you have a big problem that needs to be fixed.

Tom:

Right back at you. Let me return the favour. Good thoughts from you, too.

I should reveal here that I am a former Canadian journalist and media executive who also worked in New York on the websites of Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

My current clients include several authors and websites who publish content from leading authors and subject matter experts.

So I am not completely ignorant about books and authors and media and publishing.

That said, I am still puzzled by the issues raised in the original post.

'Tis indeed a bafflement. But I suspect the crux of the matter may be a mega/meta strategic issue, rather than a technical SEO issue.

A couple of shots in the dark:

(1) Have your Domain Authority and Mozrank remained steady? Is there any evidence that the product descriptions duplicated elsewhere are hurting you? If so, and you lack the resources to alter the descriptions, you may want to think the unthinkable: drop the descriptions and focus on what you do well -- and uniquely.

(2) Has something changed in the competitive landscape? Are your online competitors now offering features previously exclusive to you? Any other mega trends in the Canadian publishing industry (eg. sharp decline in sales?))

Grace:

Arrgh!!!

No, no, no...the advice given to you is all wrong! It's generic and outdated. And it's not appropriate for you

I know because I am  an editor and TV news guy turned "web strategist" and SEO guy.

My clients include leading authorities in the nutrition, health, food, and fitness fields. Many are leading authors and experts.

Nor will the generic keyword advice you will find in most guides prove to be especially helpful. That's because you have something rare: the ability to create high quality content for both your own site and other sites.

There is a pretty easy way through a Wordpress plug in of applying one or two key phrases to each blog post, (past and future) while also picking up the headline of the post (which should be especially written with this in mind.)

The meta descriptions should combine general info on your site with specific i nfo on the specific post.

I'm not sure what you mean by "attaching key phrases". Are these meta keywords (don't bother) or tags within WordPress designed to bring up similar posts for readers?

I agree that it all begins with which keywords you are targeting. It sound to me like you may be dividing your focus.

For example, in the SEO title cited, there is no indication of the topic of the blog: Dessert Recipes. You may be getting useless traffic from people who want to buy chocolate cakes from a shop or mail order. And what if I'm not interested in chocolate cakes but pineapple cake? There is no indication the blog may be useful.

Feel free to PM me. I have more than enough on my plate on the moment (so to speak!) but would be happy to talk to you on the phone.

Does anyone happen to have a mid to high level contact at tripadvisor.com?

If so, kindly PM me.

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Thanks and regards,

-Daniel

No, I haven't heard of reputable PPC companies accepting of percentage of sales in lieu of a flat fee or percentage of the spend.

Why would they?

Because they're nice guys who want to mitigate their clients' risk? Um...no.

The problem with agencies -- at least the good ones -- is that they have little interest in small accounts. Commissions of $1,000 to $1,500 per month are often required to attract their attention. That implies an ad spend of $100,000 to $150,000 per annum.

You might try to educate yourself by joining the Google Engage program and taking other education steps. But this will most likely take weeks or months and you will waste hundreds or thousands of dollars along the way. And beware: the advice you get from Google is not only self-serving, but surprisingly ignorant about PPC basics.

I describe myself as a "web strategist" and PPC is only about 10% of what I do. I use PPC for only a few of my clients; a purely organic approach  works best for most.

It's impossible to say more without knowing more about your client's competitive position. But I agree with emphasizing the USP, if prices are the same as competitors.

I've had success with ad copy that talked about:

• family-run business
• guaranteed
• personal service
• made in USA by licensed ________
• Save 12% in big summer sale

These lead directly to landing pages that repeat the keywords and and ad text phrases.

Too many people confuse PPC with a roulette wheel: if only you get lucky on a magic phrase you will win big. Unfortunately, it's a lot more complicated.

PPC is hard.

You have to come up with ad groups containing tightly related groups of keywords. You have to test ad copy over time. You have to refine keyword, dropping some and breaking others into new ad groups. And you have to develop the capacity to easily create new landing pages.

Some good suggestions here. I'd add a few more.

First and foremost, make sure it's very clear who is expected to do what.

Some designers are great at coming up with a concept and creating the basic layout of the interior pages. But they fall down at the detailed execution level. Some designers think it's the job of the client or consultant to actually populate the pages, position the images, and futz around with fonts.

One designer said to me: "You know WordPress. Just go ahead and insert the content."

Umm, no. I do know WordPress, but I'm not a designer. That's why I hire designers. My understanding of the scope of work is not "some assembly required." I want to buy a furnished and decorated house, not plans and a pretty picture of what the finished product MIGHT look like.

But: my bad for not making this clear. The designer in this case was an honest and competent guy. He just had a different idea about the scope of work.

You should also try to get a feel for whether the designer will be doing the coding himself or subcontracting to others. Sometimes the subcontractors do shoddy work. Many are offshore and are paid a pittance.

Finally, I would never hire a designer until I had detailed  telephone conversation with two or three previous clients (who are NOT friends or relatives.)

I'm afraid it's hopeless. Kick your dog. cry in your beer, whatever. Then:

Pay the $30 and get on with your life.

Thanks. Much appreciated!

I'm having exactly the same issue. Except the results in OSE are equally erratic.

And as I wrote elsewhere, it took 5 months for another of my clients to show up at all.

Remind me again, please, why I'm paying $99 a month?

Forgive me, but my first thought is that posting such speculation  in an open forum is not the wisest or most prudent course of action.

I have been involved in sensitive situations with law firms and hedge funds and private equity firms...and their competitors. And I would never talk about them here. Ever.

May I gently suggest you take this post down?

I helped a friend  sell a domain name for $5,000.

It was perfect for the buyer's business.

And the buyer made the mistake of describing his business as "a small little company in France." A little research revealed the company was small only in number of employees and had sales of neary 2 million Euros!

Even for a much smaller company, $300 is peanuts. Go for it.

A client's friend has had a parked domain for over 11 years. He has done nothing with it but throw a couple of ads on it. It has some traffic, most likely from typos: the domain domain is somewhat similar to a leading search engine.

But the parked domain has no content, no links, no DA.

I can't see the benefit of the redirect.  My client might get a little traffic -- but the parked domain has nothing to do with his niche.

Am I missing something? Is there any risk involved in the redirect (beyond unqualified traffic that isn't valuable?)

Great advice.

I think you need to do more fact-finding to make an informed decision.

How spammy are the links? How many are there?

You need a detailed analysis of the link profile.

More questions:

What has happened to the site since Penguin ?

Why is the owner selling now ?

OTOH, the purchase could still make sense.

But what are you planning to do with site? Put your content on it? Or plant a bunch of links on it that point to your site?

Skip it.

You feel like taking a shower after spending time on this site.

Seems to be mostly a bunch of small-time sleazebags trying to con each other into spending a few bucks of marketing guides that provide...

Secret Tips!

Get Rick Quick Schemes !

There may be a little worthwhile info on the site, but it's a very bad neighborhood, IMHO.

Umm...if this is such a great solution (whatever it is)...

...why isn't the original developer licensing it to a handful of Fortune 500 Companies at $39,000 a license, instead of flogging it on the Web for $39.95?

It seems to me unlikely  that replicating software from a dubious source is a good idea.

I agree it's unclear what the plug in does.

Nor is the developer's name or physical address easily available.

I never buy stuff from people who can't be googled.

A wise investor once told me: "I always look at the people before I look at the plan."

Indulge me for a moment on a real world analogy.

I suppose it's possible the man in the mask standing on the street corner peddling snake oil in a bottle with no label is selling a legitimate product.

But I don't think it's very likely.

I'd keep walking.

I think it's very risky.

This is precisely the sort of thing Google is targeting -- and for good reason. It's inherently manipulative.

This fits under the general heading of "magic software": a nifty tool that does the work for you -- all for $39.95!

But, wait...there's more:

MAKE MONEY WHILE YOU SLEEP!

SPIN STRAW INTO GOLD!

Okay, I exaggerate for dramatic effect. But you get the idea.

If this actually works, it won't for long.

There is a larger issue at play here.

Submitting the same article to multiple outlets is a sure way of pissing off editors and destroying  relationships. It could be seen as less than exemplary conduct. I speak as a former editor.

If your client is a thought leader, the best bet is to submit one article to one outlet. Which is not to say you can't write another article for another publication that is a variation on the theme.

I work with thought leaders in several fields.  Guest blogging is a hugely effective technique. The outlets are thrilled to get a free article from a leading expert that is far more authoritative than what they usually publish.

But you must insist on a link back or there is no SEO benefit. (There may be a marketing and branding benefit.) Often the link back can be done in the author's note. Even better is getting it in the text in a natural way.  And you have to be relentless is ensuring the links actually appear. Not infrequently, you have to follow up post-publication.

My strategy is to time the guest blogging activity to coincide with the release of research or an e-book. We target 5-7 leading publications. Each gets an original and unique article that focusses on one aspect of the material. The articles on the third-party sites point back to the full version on our own site.

Just to be clear: we're not talking about cutting and pasting. We're talking about an original article customized to the third-party site and its audience that may have go through several drafts.

It's quite a bit of work, but it pays off. Big time.

These days, I call myself a web strategist. But sometimes I also act as a content strategist. I really think this is the future of our industry, post Panda and Penguin.

Specific model name or number for blender is not important in the page description. But it might t well be used in the page title. And I  always try to write different descriptions for each page -- even if it's just a minor variation. For titles, of course, it's crucial there be no duplication.

You're definitely on the right track. A few comments:

• As a consumer, I'm not sure I care the blender is preferred by chefs. Could actually  be a turn off: it's more blender than I need for home use. I'd prefer a cheaper one. So, no thanks.

-I also don't care that this blender is the most popular. The issue is whether it's right for me.

Maybe something like:

With rave reviews and a 20 year warranty, Swiss-made Bamix blenders are the very best. So is our personal service. We include free shipping and a money back guarantee!

I agree. With that in mind, I'd rewrite as:

**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp                           **

Get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. **Anytown Fitness: **Caring, supportive environment, rave reviews. Try us!

and if there was a $59 a month special, I might hold off on that info.

**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp                           **

Get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. Anytown Fitness: great staff who care about you. Just $59 per month.  Find out why we get rave reviews.

Both of your examples could be greatly improved. Way too many numbers.  And you're trying too hard to cram too much stuff in. You need more focus.  Far too many page descriptions read like transcripts of cheesy used car commercials.

You have to consider how page descriptions  look -- and work -- in conjunction with page titles. Words in the page title that are repeated  in the page description are bolded.

I generally hand craft page descriptions  for each page that make my client stand out from the competition.

My first draft might look something like this.

Example 1

**Anytown Fitness | Anytown, NY Gym and Fitness | Boot Camp                           **

**A****nytown Fitness **will get you in the best shape of your life, no matter who you are. Caring, supportive environment, rave reviews. Try us!

Example 2

Widget People | Custom Widgets and Doodads | Googas                                                          Save up to 70% when our certified widget makers lovingly handcraft yourdoodads & googas.  Family- run company, rave reviews. Find out why.

I'd then throw the descriptions into a character counter and refine. In Example 2, I might eliminate "Find Out Why" and sub "great service" to make the final phrase: "Family run company, great service, rave reviews."

Of course, I would never talk about rave reviews unless we had the Yelp and Google and other reviews to support the claim.

And I'd only use the & if I was short of space. I'd use + only in something like 500+ widget styles.

Title says it all.

No experience with this....so please consider this a gut instinct howl of passion from the depths of my soul:

NO! NO! NO!

A THOUSAND TIMES "NO!"

AND ONCE AGAIN: "NO!"

This seems to fall under the general heading of something I warn potential clients of in the first five minutes of an initial call:

Magic software.

It's the latter day equivalent of spinning straw into gold.

Writing is hard. Engaging with audiences is hard. I speak as a writer and former news executive.

The idea that a Wordpress plug in can make all this easy strikes me as....

(wait for it)....

...extremely unlikely.

If someone has experience with this tool an has had outstanding success, I'll eat my Elements of Style baked into humble pie.

But I don't think that's likely.

We all agree that the comment to my client's site is spam.

The issue is whether http://apps.pathology.jhu.edu/blogs/pancreas/?p=121 is also a spam site. I initially thought it might be  sophisticated fraud: someone replicated actual content form an authentic Johns Hopkins site with the aim of raking in donations. But that doesn't explain the URL and seemingly legit links.

So I'm left wondering why the bad guy sent spam to my client's site, with an authentic site's URL. What was he hoping to achieve?

Okay, so based on common sense re: author name and generic comment...

...I'm pretty sure this blog comment awaiting approval is aimed at getting users to a phony site in hopes they will make a donation to a fraudster impersonating Johns Hopkins.

But if you check out the URL, you'll see they are not idiots. It's an .edu address with a high DA.

Two questions:

• Are my suspicions well founded?
• How would I go about proving this, in a less clear cut case?

Author : how to grow weed (IP: 173.208.91.231 , 173-208-91-231.ipvnow.com)
E-mail : Diekema@gmail.com
URL    : http://apps.pathology.jhu.edu/blogs/pancreas/?p=121
Whois  : http://whois.arin.net/rest/ip/173.208.91.231
Comment:
After study a few of the blog posts on your website now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Pls check out my web site as well and let me know what you think

Not sure of the technical answer. I'll leave it to others.

But why not publish slightly different versions on the company site and the press release site (unless there is a compliance or disclosure issue.)

Verbatim press releases on company websites often disrespect readers by including things best avoided:

• a hyperlink to a site people are already on
• an "about XYX company" that duplicates material already on the site
• boring, label-like headline wording done for SEO purposes, or to comply with the "news hook" requirement from some PR distribution sites

If I read one more press release headlined "XYZ Company Announces Launch of Super-Duper Widget" I'm gonna scream.

IMHO, best practice is to produce a slightly different version for the website.

Failing that, you can just summarize the news release and link to it on the press release site.

If practical, a better approach is to write different articles on the same topic for different sites.

I know of one subject matter expert who does this to great effect.

Yes, the manual searches are de-personalized.

Almost without exception, each data source is different on each occasion.

I think you should look at any single rankings report -- or even a group of them -- much as smart politicians look at public opinion polls: as snapshots in time subject to random variation

** What matters most are broad trends over time using a variety of data sources. **

I favor a "poll of polls" approach.

Here how I do reporting for a sophisticated client:

• monthly reports on just ten keywords
• data from three sources: SEOMOZ, Raven Tools, and a panel of 5 geographically dispersed people in the US doing depersonalized manual searches using the same devices, IP addresses and browsers each time
• attach equal weight to each of the three data sources

All this smooths things out and you can more readily see the trends.

Like so much else in SEO, client education is the key. When I explained to the client what I was doing and why -- it really helped gain trust and move the relationship to a new level.

i agree. Outsourcing to anyone who doesn't have a deep and strategic command of the brand is a mistake....unless you're just chasing phony metrics.

Let me zoom up to the 30,000 feet level to offer a much broader perspective than a techie/geeky approach that draws on general principles. The reason is simple: your situation is very particular.

As i'm sure you are aware, NLP is hugely controversial. Many consider it a discredited and crackpot theory roughly on a par with the flat earth society. I'm not saying that's true....only that those doing a quick Google search might reach that conclusion.

The Wikipedia article on NLP has a bone of contention for years. It is currently edit-protected and includes the sentence:

"NLP is unsupported by current scientific evidence, and uses incorrect and misleading terms and concepts."

In a former life, I was the editor of a fitness publication. We published an article that drew on some NLP concepts. It provoked a furious response -- up to, and including, suggestions from otherwise rational people that all those responsible for publishing the article should be fired and blacklisted!

Again, I'm not saying I agree or regret publishing the article.

But given all the above, I can see no arguments in favour of including NLP in your domain name and many against.

I am also not suggesting you hide who you are, what you do, or what you believe.

Only that there is a time and place for everything.

Right. And some of the backlinks you earn from the initial no-follow links can be very valuable. Reporters often begin research with Wikipedia.

Yuck. Very slick. And very wrong, wrong, wrong.

This sort of thing makes me want to puke. But I guess it's the cranky old journalist in me coming out. Your mileage may vary.

But here's how i see it: a rotten-to-the-core pay for play scheme.

The site goes on and on about its high ethical standards -- never an encouraging sign. The fact that the payoffs are disclosed doesn't cure the conflict. It just publicizes them.

The site says the opinions expressed are honestly held. But it also gives advertisers pre-publication censorship rights  in the name of correcting  factual errors ( which is conveniently left undefined. )

I'd stay away. As far as I can see, no law or regulation is being violated. But there is still too much risk of blowback: a real reporter writing a real story about the really dubious tactic of making payoffs for content.

P.S. The site says this about no follow:

Search Friendly Links

Each sponsored link in SocialSpark automatically carries the NoFollow attribute so as not to affect search engine rankings. This is designed to protect Publishers and advertisers from search engine penalties based on paid linking. Publishers and Advertisers participating in the marketplace agree not to circumvent this practice and manually remove the “nofollow” attribute.

What Steve said.

Especially:

"Slipping in one or two suggestions about direction and budget in the verbal reports can be very beneficial."

I've found  verbal briefings every week or two are far more effective than written reports. Sometimes we take a quick dive into the raw data in a "guided tour" type of way. Often that goes away over time. But first you have to establish trust. That means getting some wins user your belt.  And it also includes  fessing up to failed initiatives.

I see a lot of people get hung up on metrics of questionable significance and obsess over reporting. They never ask a basic question: "Is any there evidence my reports are being read?"

Of course, meetings and calls are far more easily arranged with small business owners than in big, bureaucratic organization that lack a single decision-maker. But I'd move heaven and earth to try to get a monthly 20 minute meeting with someone as high up the food chain as possible. Pretty soon, he'll start inviting others and stuff will really happen.