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Hi littleshobo,

Rel=author seems like it would be more beneficial to you in your personal guest-blogging than, as you had said, to attach your face to your clients' blog posts. You do want them to be attached to someone at the business. A different story might be if you are writing content that indirectly benefits the client: Say you guest blog on an external website about something you're interested in and you link to your client's blog as an example of your work. In that case, you'd want your face to be attached to that blog.

I would try to keep the client's blog attached to the client.

I am going through the same thing right now. What we are implementing is the rel=publisher tag on our clients' websites, using the clients' Google+ Profile ID. Though it's not being recognized right now by Google, we hope in the future Google will begin using it and show the dealership's logo in the rich snippets.

The other option for you is to find a person at the company who wouldn't mind their face being the face of the company, and you could "ghostwrite" for that person. You could then use the rel=author tag for that person and explain to them how they would need to add the corresponding link to his or her Google+ profile. The only issue with this is trying to find someone who would be at the company for awhile (avoid turnover) and also someone who would enjoy having their face plastered across Google. Some higher levels in the company might be okay with this.

Also, check out this link about using rel=publisher and rel=author from Mike Blumenthal's blog. http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/02/03/google-local-rel-publisher-or-relauthor-you-should-do-both/

Hope this helps!

It's definitely not a good idea. People don't like being deceived, and I imagine all of these pages have miserable bounce rates. As a user, imagine clicking on a search result thinking you're getting one company and you end up on the landing page of another. Definitely a poor user experience.

In Google's Quality Guidelines, one of the things they specifically mention is:
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769?hl=en

• "Don't deceive your users."

As for this site using the competitors names in their meta keywords (outdated) and their descriptions, I don't know if Google has a specific penalty to address that specific issue (maybe others will comment on that), but I do know that Google is looking for accurate information in page titles and other areas of the page to return relative results to searchers.

Overall, it's a bad practice unless done so for legitimate reasons (you are The NY Times writing about new owners of The Washington Post).

Additionally, there's an exception here for AdWords where you can buy a competitor's name and show up for searches in the paid search results. But I'm assuming you're referencing organic search results.

Hope that helps. I know it can be frustrating to see.

When you are looking at Crawl Diagnostics, there is an option to export to CSV. When you do that you can see the referring URLs for this problem URL. That's a good place to start.

Hi Kevin,

You should re-post this same question at the Google+ Analytics Community. I've received excellent help with Analytics questions there in no time at all.

Here's the link to the Google+ Analytics community: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/114481059214254340537

Also, are you using Google Tag Manager at all? Or are any other marketers using GTM on your website? That could possibly be why you're not seeing anything on your pages if an error exists in the GTM installation itself. If yes, there's also a Google Tag Manager community here:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104865292981489764063

Hi Nick,

You can try private messaging some Mozzers who have demonstrated interest in this sort of thing in previous threads.

Or, if you're feeling completely open, try posting your websites URL in your thread and any associated links to external content you've created (Does the site have a blog? Are you submitting guest blogs?)

Other than that, there are paid consulting services you could try, but there are many willing and helpful people in this Q&A forum who will always give you great advice!

Hi TimDickey,

How about Google's Keyword Planner? https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
Here are some additional resources with other tools too:

• http://moz.com/blog/keyword-volume-tools
• http://moz.com/blog/keyword-targeting-density-and-cannibalization-whiteboard-friday

I recommend setting up a process doc that can be easily followed by anyone across the publishing teams. It will take some time, and also some updating as algorithms change. Make it a shared doc that everyone can comment on or ask questions on, but all the protocol for keyword research always has one main source point.

That way everyone is researching the same way and keeping your entire organization on the right track. You can also make it required training that they view specific tutorials/webinars, etc., that will better educate them.

Hope that helps! I'm sure you'll get some additional great feedback in other responses too. Best of luck!

We've tried Guest Blog It but have not had much success either. I'd recommend you try:

• My Guest Blog http://myblogguest.com/
• http://www.bloggerlinkup.com/

Either way, whichever you use, be sure you look over each opportunity carefully. This free eBook has a really good guide to check out each guest blogging opportunity (or linkback). http://www.analyticsseo.com/optimising-post-penguin-world-ebook

By the way, I'm not affiliated with any of these recommendations. Just comes from personal experience.

Good luck to you!

I know we can subscribe to Q&A's for updates, but is there any bookmarking type option within the Moz Community Q&A so I can star or favorite my questions in one area?

Often I come across really great ideas/solutions in the Q&A, and it would be wonderful to quickly access all of my favorite q's/discussions in one area for later.

Thanks mucho.

I agree with James. I also use Woothemes and their FAQs, theme docs and support sites are great. I haven't yet used their WooCommerce yet. James have you?

Noob question. I'm using Open Site Explorer to hunt down some external links for a website. In the attached image (post-pressing the filter button), it says I have 889 external links, but after I've downloaded the CSV, I only get 695 links.

Why the difference in number? And if I'm doing something wrong, how do I make sure I'm getting the full amount of external links to my client's website?

Thanks!

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A few ideas:

1. Do you have an email subscriber list? I'm a big fan of many companies who've sent me requests to give my information for awesome guides by submitting my information. HubSpot and Optify are two great examples of companies who are doing this right. It's not necessarily links, but you do get customer leads and customer leads bring sales. I've also shared links from some of these guides on G+ and Twitter, because I've found them so useful.

2. SlideShare - Another great place to get the word out about your guide.

3. Twitter/FollowerWonk - I've heard many times of excellent ways to search Twitter (using FollowerWonk, for example) to find qualified people specializing in your topic. Check out Will Reynolds presentation at MozCon2012 http://www.slideshare.net/wilreynolds/do-real-company-stuff-mozcon-2012-version

4. Search/Guest Blogging - This SEOMoz post by  Pratik Dholakiya is filled with tons of techniques to get guest blogs and attention. Check out the "Guest Posting Query List" http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-advanced-guest-blogging

Hope that helps.

I'd love a better resource for this one also.

I know you're looking for something specific, but here are some worthwhile resources you could try if you haven't already:

• http://blog.kissmetrics.com
• http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33742/12-Revealing-Charts-to-Help-You-Benchmark-Your-Business-Blogging-Performance-NEW-DATA.aspx
• http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/library/studies/?cat=measure-and-analyze
• http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Future-of-Big-Data/Overview.aspx
• Google+ - follow people like Avinash Kaushik which will then lead you to a slew of other Analytics brains as well. They often post interesting stats they come across.

Some big research firms also have Internet Roundtables, for example, like the one JD Power & Associates has for the automotive industry.

You might also see if any research papers have been published by doing a scholarly search since programs such as Masters of Science in Analytics are growing.

You could also check out some of the Google Analytics Certified Partners' blogs.

Not knowing what sector you're in, you could be right in that there hasn't been a study specifically catering to it, but maybe you'd be able to pull in some applicable data from the resources above.

You can also implement cross-domain tracking in Google Analytics so it won't be considered a bounce as your web visitors go from one site to the other.

See these guides https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingSite

http://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1034342?hl=en

Your other option could also be to make one domain a blog of the other domain. For example, something like:

www.sparrowmakeup.com.au/portfolio

You'll have to forgive me if that structure is incorrect. International SEO is not my forte yet.

We use the "See more" script on our sites, and from what I understand, at least from other Mozzers, this is an okay practice. http://www.seomoz.org/q/using-more-info-javascript-toggledisplay-tag-for-more-info-text

We also use the rel="prev" and rel="next" to some success, but I can't comment on how that's functioning canonical-wise, because IT WAS DROPPED from our latest redesign and is going to be added to our client's website in the latest release. Oye.

I'd love to hear how this works out for you. There are some really great Mozzers on here with loads of experience about canonical tags and duplicate page issues. Can't wait to see what they have to contribute.

Kind of funny, but I just realized I piggybacked something onto your thread, but this is a discussion after all ; )

Francisco,

What is Avinash's program? Is it still offered?

Thanks!

Beta version has been out for awhile. Curious to know what people think of Moz Analytics.

Personally, I'm having a hard time making the switch from Pro to Moz Analytics because I'm so used to the navigation and layout of Pro.

What does everyone else think of the new Moz Analytics? Advantages? Disadvantages?

Also, a link is still a link. Even if it's a no follow link on an external website, it can still help your website from a user experience. If website B has a lot of dedicated visitors and traffic, they could follow your link back to your website and become fans of yours. Just something else to keep in mind.

Thanks. I thought that might be it. Definitely was considering that one. Great to know it's worthwhile.

Federico,

I do the same thing! I have been wondering if one day that option to switch back will eventually go away...

To determine whether the profile links are indexed, do a site search using your profile link on Twellow or Manta. I picked a random business on Manta "Romana Cake House"

Attached is a screenshot of the site search which shows that the page is in Google's index.

The second screenshot shows a brand search (history disabled, incognito) for "Romana Cake House" and it shows the Manta listing on the first page.

Any of these listings will most certainly strengthen your NAP (name, address, phone number) and help with local search results for your business.

Do these profile links pass value?

I ran the profile link through open site explorer and that page does have page authority and the link to the company's website on that page DOESN'T contain a "no follow" tag, so the profile link is saying, in a way, "I vouch for this business"

You should also see if you get any referral traffic from these sites in your Web Analytics tools, but so far, with Manta at least it looks like the right move, especially if it can get you a SERP on the front page for your business name that could push down another, not so nice listing about your business.

Hope that helps.

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I'm headed to the feature request also to add this request. This would be very helpful for the future. Thanks for providing the link Chiaryn!

Hi Anthony,

Has the business claimed its Local+ page? Perhaps a verified listing would help. Also some downstream local citations could possibly give it a boost. Scott also has a great point about making your link profile look more natural too, even though it's completely justified to have lots of links on the company name.

-EEE3

Okay, so this may not be the answer you're looking for, but maybe another tactic would better serve this hotel?

What about a marketing campaign something like "So off the grid even Google can't find it"? There are lots of adventurous people on this planet--and though the true cause behind the lack of street name, landline phone or zip code may be due to poor infrastructure and not because it's in the middle of a jungle reached only by canoe--you have an audience there.

As far as tackling the local issue, Mike Blumenthal and David Mihm might have some resources for you on their websites and blogs.

http://blumenthals.com/blog/

http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/

Best of luck to you.

P.S. A fake phone number is not a great idea. If you do go that route, please make sure someone familiar with the hotel is able to answer it. I heard at Local U stories of Google calling phone numbers to check on the location and make sure they were accurate.

Areas Served vs. Magician + Location

I agree with the developer and definitely think you should move toward an areas served approach, either via the nav menu or working the areas into your home page content once (don't make it sitewide footer links that look spammy). With this approach, you're next task is to create custom local landing pages with content relative to those areas (photos, history, places you've performed, your favorite "magical" places within the towns, etc.)

I have seen some local landing pages with exact match in the Nav menu. Personally, as a web user, I'd much rather click on a town name than see a dropdown list filled with "Magician Surrey" "Magician Hampshire" that looks exactly the same, save for the location.

There are quite a few experts in this area:
Mike Ramsey: http://niftymarketing.com/optimal-local-landing-page-infographic/ Linda Buquet: http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/ and the forum here: http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/ Mike Blumenthal: http://blumenthals.com/blog/

The important thing to remember is take the time and effort to make these custom local landing pages UNIQUE and something a web visitor would get value from.

Exact Anchor Text in Nav Menu

Don't overdo it. Make your navigation menu links be something that your web visitor will understand without question. There may be certain times when it's okay to use exact match anchor text but do so SPARINGLY and don't sacrifice your web visitors for the sake of exact match anchor text. Adding keywords in your anchor text should make sense to your visitors.

Here's Matt Cutts answer about exact anchor text and not overdoing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ybpXU0ckKQ

I also use the technique of doing site:rogerlapin.co.uk magician hampshire and then seeing the top 10 pages google has for me and placing a text link from each of these pages in the body text.

A better technique would be paying attention to your content on your website and linking internally where it makes sense. Be careful with overloading your pages with links as well. The way I like to think of internal linking is much like you would see a newspaper or informational site providing links to give you more context about what you are reading.

Does Google only take into account the first link to a page i****t discovers? AND When doing link analysis I now see I have two links to each page but understand that google will only account for the first one (from the menu)

No. Google will crawl all internal links on a page up to a certain extent. If you have hundreds of links on a page, the crawler may abandon ship eventually and not crawl all of those links, which is why Moz and others have recommendations about the number of links on a page. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769?hl=en (Keep the number of links on your page to a reasonable number.)

Link Priority:
There's a 2010 article from Rand saying that links higher up on the page are given more weight, however, it's three years old and one of the comments on that article says Matt Cutts debunked that idea, though I can't find the video. It seems like there hasn't been much conversation on first link priority since 2012. Here's another article from 2012 about internal link placement on the page: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2185977/Anatomy-of-an-Internal-Link

There's also a video from Matt Cutt's about the history of page rank and multiple instances of the same link on the same page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYWlEItizjI

I don't have a definitive answer here as far as link priority and order on the page. Maybe you can find more resources in the Q&A on that topic, such as this one: http://moz.com/community/q/duplicate-internal-links-on-page-any-benefit-to-nofollow

Hope all of this gives you some guidance and a lot of resources

I would add 301 redirects as a best practice even if they don't have any juice to pass on to the new links. Just make sure they are being redirected to a similar relevant page or a page that makes sense.

Also, the way you're searching is not going to be how a consumer searches, so to see if these older pages are currently hindering your keyword strategy (I'm assuming you might be worried that two pages would be jockeying for one term?), perform a search as your customer would using the keyword only.

If you see these old pages in the search results and they're ranking higher than your newly optimized pages (which would better serve the customer), then you might have an issue only as it relates to conversion and bounce rate.

I would strongly recommend you 301 the old pages.

Thanks Andy! I'll add the second step of the URL removal tool.

Hi Melissa,

If I read your question correctly, you've run into a situation where your mobile URLs for your mobile website are appearing in desktop searches? Do you have a sitemap on your mobile website that is properly formatted for mobile websites? That's a strong indication that your website is in fact a mobile website and should not appear in desktop search results, only mobile search results.

Here's a great resource on mobile sitemaps: http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=34648

Hope that helps.