Welcome to the Q&A Forum

I still see related searches.

Try Google Trends for your search KW - http://www.google.com/trends/

Scroll down the page, right column - shows a list of related searches...

I've often wondered if these designers inform their customers that random outbound links on their webpages may affect their search rankings.

Website designers who place hallmarks in the footer section of sites they create, in my opinion are taking advantage of non-tech savvy clients.  Years ago, it probably was a much bigger benefit to the designer, than it is today with the algo changes.  But, it probably still bears some weight.

Chris - Nicely said.

Take a look at this option: http://www.cloudflare.com/features-security

I would use the disavow tool as a last resort.  Which would mean, first getting some sort of notification regarding unnatural links and only after all else failed trying to remove those 85 external links by attempting to make direct contact with those sites and asking for link removal.

This may be a good place to start: http://www.seomoz.org/article/recommended#link-building

I think he means, themes that have been reworked for resale...Like some of the vendors ColinSV mentions..

Not sure if it would be a good idea to submit the same release to all services (if you were planning on doing that).

Public Relation firms have been around before the internet.  Like SEO firms, you'll find large agencies that charge a monthly retainer (usually pretty costly), to the one man band company and everything in between.   I guess my point is PR agencies, like any other business will charge you for their time and from my experience its not cheap.

You may be better off selecting one wire service, paying the fee and sending your releases through them yourself.  In the past we've used BusinessWire and PRNewswire with success.

If its generating converting traffic for you - I would not fix what was not broken.

I've seen many websites sites that were not at all graphically pretty, or even laid out in a way that was very user friendly- they were simple design, with a strong message that generated millions of dollars in revenue.  It is pretty amazing.

Thanks, that presentation was great.

We have been members of the BBB of Los Angeles (Southland Chapter) for many many years. Within the last few days, the chapter we belong to was expelled by the National BBB Council - this affected tens of thousands of businesses in the Los Angeles area.

It is unprecedented and quite honestly pathetic.  We put our trust into an organization that builds trust with consumers.  I don't believe this has ever happened in the history of the BBB.

The National BBB council has set up a temporary website with all Los Angeles area businesses registered with the BBB - although ratings for every single Los Angeles business is blanked out.

If a member of a search engine web spam team were sitting over your shoulder, would you still embark on your campaign?

Since you are specifically targeting .edu domains, to gain higher rankings - that in itself seems like manipulation on some level.  That's just my opinion.

Be wary of agencies offering Cookie Cutter services, chasing the latest search algorithms.

While the below method is not as easier as just hiring a seo firm - in the long run you will have more control over your entire campaign - content, links etc.

Find yourself a good writer -they can write guest blog posts, articles and even your press release for at least  1/2 of what an agency will charge you.  Use the writer when you need them.  Chances are you won't need them full-time.

Use a search engine's advanced operators to query and find relevant links related to your industry.  Can't do it to yourself? learn how to do it, than hire someone and teach them how to do it.

Find a company who specializes and video creation and have them do it for you.

I feel its better to do it yourself or in-house if you have employees/resources.  You will have more control and accountability.

Chris - Nicely said.

Take a look at this option: http://www.cloudflare.com/features-security

Thanks, that presentation was great.

This is a good start - read this book: http://www.ericward.com/book/

Wordpress is a great platform.  We use the Yoast SEO plugin - among others.  We recently added  W3 total cache and integrated it with MaxCDN - site loads instantly.

Hi Chandubaba -

This is probably a good start to learn SEO - http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo

Re-writing the content would perhaps be a good start.

I've often wondered if these designers inform their customers that random outbound links on their webpages may affect their search rankings.

Website designers who place hallmarks in the footer section of sites they create, in my opinion are taking advantage of non-tech savvy clients.  Years ago, it probably was a much bigger benefit to the designer, than it is today with the algo changes.  But, it probably still bears some weight.