Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Hi Linda - for some reason it copied one line of address twice but I couldn't find any dupes. It just looks like a strange printing error, or something. I'm not going to verify anyway for now. It's a little confusing. Do you know when Google will roll out once click conversion option in the UK? Have they indicated dates? Many thanks for your useful advice.

Thanks guys, much appreciated and very useful. I just found Rand's whiteboard on domains and found it quite useful too - see 3: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-domain-name

and this on hyphenated domains: http://www.highposition.com/blog/hyphenated-domains-google/ - but it's hard to know. Might set up some of my own tests.

Hi Sida - it's this process but there's a fair amount of caution out there from SEOs http://www.topdraw.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-google-places-google-plus/

RE: "In order to maximize the direct traffic to a domain, it is advised that webmasters should only buy a domain if the .com version is available. "

http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/domain

• I am working for a client who's had a domain live for 5 years or so without a .com version of the domain (just .co.uk) - the domain is also hyphenated (which doesn't look like a great idea).

So, just wondering what research has been done into probs caused by lack of .com domain and by using hyphenated domain. I'm trying to figure out whether it would be worth advising client to switch to a new domain.

Your thoughts would be welcome

Hi, I'm just moving a business listing from Google Places to Google+

I have a couple of problems. (1) The verification postcard has turned up with the wrong address on it (different to the address on Google Places!) - can I alter this once I've verified Google+ page or would I need to go through postcard verification again?

(2) I see the categories in Google+ are far less flexible (and appropriate) for the business I work for, so I'm thinking that may cause problems. Has anybody else experienced this same problem?

Thanks in advance for your help

This might be helpful: http://www.wordwaiter.com/blog/about/how-to-use-newswires/ - imho there are far better ways to manage PR campaigns.

Is there any issue re: SEO?

I usually go for a local and international domain just to protect brand but these guys only protected local .co.uk domain. I'm thinking there aren't any specific SEO implications, but please let me know if there are any...

Thanks Tom - thanks for nudging me in the right direction and Somerset is just brilliant. Haven't actually been there before but... wow. Drinking a nice glass of organic Somerset Cider as I type (slurp!).

You want a content focused agency like the one I work for. Don't focus on building links - focus on building brilliant content instead. Use an agency full of PR experts, writers and other creatives, rather than just techies, as you'll need a good balance of skills to succeed these days.

Hi Mozzers,

I'm wondering whether to put placename in URL or not. This is for a hotel so it's very focused on the county.

I have loads of sub pages along the lines of www.hotelname.com/short-breaks-somerset  www.hotelname.com/eat-out-somerset and so on but I was wondering whether that placename element would help or hinder.

For example, may want to rank for short breaks in other searches (not just those seeking short breaks in Somerset) and was wondering whether the somerset bit may actually hinder this in the future.

Also noticed Somerset is mentioned in nearly all of the page urls through the site. Perhaps this is a bit spammy and just not neccesary. I can include the address of the hotel on every page anyway.

What do you think? Thanks in advance for your help Luke

Thanks for your useful response. Yes, I'm thinking it's a numbers game. If a company goes very aggressively after ad links or directory links (and even less obvious types of  link - too much blogger outreach, for example) I guess they're asking for trouble.

To be honest, I don't even tell people what back-linking anchor text I want either, from journalists or bloggers for example. I just let everything flow naturally. I feel far more comfortable that way.

Why? Is this just a tactic to dominate the SERPs or do they have 3 distinct offerings?

Why doesn't Google recommend that links are nofollow as standard, via HTML5, etc., with follow being added if the link is on a quality site (defined by PR, or whatever.) and adds value. Wouldn't this save alot of time? Then they could whack all the sites with coding that doesn't comply, couldn't they?

Also, instead of enabling negative SEO, why doesn't Google simply focus on wiping out the sites developed simply to pass on PR. I'm sure we could all send them a few thousand suggestions!

The other thing I'm finding is advertizers just don't understand the purpose of nofollow - and are not using the tag very widely in the UK at least.

For example, I've just been looking at a tourism sector website. 80% of their links (140) are directory and advertizing links - some generic and some specific to the tourism industry - a half-half split.  Only around 10% of these directories/advertizements are using nofollow links.

I guess I SHOULD contact every single one and ask for a nofollow (which will NOT be easy - I've tried it - you get a lot of confused responses I can tell ya!) on the advertizing links anyway, but again... is this time well spent. And if competitors in the same industry have a similar backlink profile (which they do, locally at least), does it really matter!

Hi,

I'm noticing increasing numbers of scraped directory links pointing back to the websites I manage. Much of this info appears to be scraped from a well known (and respected) directory.

I don't build links to an of the websites I manage - and none have more than 200 linking root domains currently - not that many.

The problem is I focus on quality links and the scraped links are incredibly weak on the whole. Diluting the quality links.

I've noticed a certain paranoia in the SEO community about removing / disavowing links, and yet I'm tempted to ignore the rubbish (unless part of a major negative SEO push) and just get on with the job, focusing on quality content that drives natural links, and social media work.

Might be a challenge! I suppose you could identify any interesting/unique newsworthy attributes of your company / windows and send the information out to relevant media outlets. Do your windows have any stand-out energy efficiency / cleanability / design features which will be of interest to the media. Do you offer discounts to the elderly or sponsor any causes, is your fitting fleet running on biodiesel?

There may be sites doing 2X glazing price/quality comparisons as well, and of course partners / suppliers may offer you opps for links / case studies.

Hi Christy - I will check OSE and see...

Thanks for the good advice there mememax!

I am working on a website and have noticed managers own only the relevant national domain name and not  the .com domain name.

Does this matter from an SEO perspective?

Hello, I know this probably depends on market sector, etc., but are there broad guidelines on the optimal ratio of different types of links - blogs, directory links, citations, etc.

I'm working for a tourism business and see nearly all of their links are from directories - both generic and tourism specific. I'm thinking about re-balancing that with guest blogs, PR work, etc.

Hi Irving. Links on site I'm managing pointing to web developer sites. Yes, wasn't sure if nofollow would make enough of a difference, so think I'll delete them. Thanks, Luke

Just wondering how best to see this - which tool to use. I'm dealing with a website with several thousand inbound links from around 100 root domains. Thanks in advance, Luke

Thanks for the advice. The answers are no, no, no and I have absolutely no idea why web developers are still doing this! They're just links back to developer, etc. so I'm tempted to simply add nofollow tags - but will that be enough to deal with Google's issues surrounding footer tags?

Hi, I've just come across a website with 3 sitewide links. I was thinking of adding nofollow but then thought, well, is that the best option? From an SEO perspective is it better to actually delete those links? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Hi Cyrus - that's really helpful, and interesting - thanks so much. I think you're dead right RE: sticking to newsworthy releases! Look forward to your blog post on the subject Best wishes, Luke

I work mainly in PR and this is the advice that's been offered by the CIPR in the UK> [http://www.cipr.co.uk/sites/default/files/CIPR_Wikipedia_Best_Practice_Guidance.pdf](CIPR Guidance "http://www.cipr.co.uk/sites/default/files/CIPR_Wikipedia_Best_Practice_Guidance.pdf")

Hi, I'm a PR and haven't used a newswire once over last 10 years. There are usually better alternatives which give you more control.

Anyway, now a client has asked me for distribution of investor information via a newswire and now I've started worrying about the SEO consequences.

I've spent a couple of days phoning around newswires and I think there's a real danger of picking up lots of backlinks from syndication sites (most of the distributors have sites they "partner" with to reproduce your original news release) so...

Lots of backlinks will suddenly appear from external duplicate content (I will not carry the news release on client's website (no newsrooom) and I will just use url as link).

I'm thinking there's the potential for a penalty (and even if not now, then in the future if Google decides to tighten rules further which looks likely).

One newswire has recognized this and now only syndicates on 2 websites. The others haven't including the business newswire I've been asked to use.

Your thoughts would be welcome... Thanks in advance!

Hi - just been looking at a clients backlinks and seeing a couple of hundred from this website - from different subdomains.

http://www.wales.info/ is the main url

then you have loads of subdomains: e.g. http://esplanade-hotel.wales.info/areasite_list.asp?Curpage=7&q_group=7 - all with follow backlinks pointing at the same bed and breakfast / hotel / hostel.

I'm tempted to remove my listing or request nofollow links. Is that the right thing to do?

Wondered if any of you could recommend a very white-hat and trustworthy Chinese SEO specialist who I can partner with? Thanks, Luke

I've investigated a huge list of newswires. I really like the look of a couple of heavily business oriented wires - very regulated and unspammy, so for business stories I will be using those. I found one newswire which is very aware of the SEO implications of too much syndication to awful sites - they appear only to syndicate to a handful of reasonable quality sites. Others do much heavier syndication. I will stick with the 3 that appear to be safest for now...

I've investigated a huge list of newswires. I really like the look of a couple of heavily business oriented wires - very regulated and unspammy, so for business stories I will be using those. I found one newswire which is very aware of the SEO implications of too much syndication to awful sites - they appear only to syndicate to a handful of reasonable quality sites. Others do much heavier syndication. I will stick with the 3 that appear to be safest for now...

This was interesting http://searchengineland.com/how-prweb-helps-distribute-crap-into-google-news-sites-140597 - I think there's a level of nervousness about what happens further down the line. Interesting times. Think I will hang fire for the time being, and explain the issues to my client.

Thanks for useful feedback guys - appreciated.

I've been a PR for over a decade and never once have I used a PR newswire. I find the personal and targeted approach far better. Research your target journalist. Write a bespoke news release. Speak to the journalist. That's the best way to achieve coverage in the most influential media outlets.

You don't need to use a PR Newswire of course. In my experience as a PR, only a minority of journos use them. Far better to target individual journos after researching your key targets. Do something bespoke for each journo.

Just been investigating PR newswires for the first time (despite having worked in PR for over a decade!)

One of my clients has asked my to send out a news release via a newswire of my choice. I will not be posting the news release on my client's website, to avoid the most obvious duplication issue.

Has anyone had SEO probs from newswires though? I just saw one which offered: "Minimum guaranteed number of media websites on which your release is posted" alarm bells!

Hi, I'm just putting pizza restaurant on various very relevant 'eating out' directories. Just noticed one directory then proceeds to place your listing on around 40 other sub-directories (each with own URL). They don't put <no follow="">tags on any of the 40 odd backlinking URLs.</no>

I currently have around 300 existing backlinks, to this pizza restaurant, from a diverse range of sites. Should I ask them to put a nofollow on these 40 odd new backlinking directory URLs?

Thanks Keri and CMC-SD - on my way to take a look at SEMrush

Thanks Fred. Yes, it would be very useful to see where all your rankings are - I guess I can do a trawl through Google Analytics to see the keyphrases people are actually clicking through from, but it sure would be nice to be able to click a button and get a full run-down, for strategic reasons as much as anything (am I ranking for keyphrases which may be worth focusing on? Just found such a keyphrase this morning - never focused any effort on it because I imagined it was too competitive to bother with!).

Hi, I'm working for a client that draws custom from 3 nearby cities - I was thinking of creating a new page for 2 of the cities, reachable from within the website and not simply doorway pages.

Each new page would include (1) General info (2) info relevant to the city in question, if relevant to client - perhaps well-known customers already coming from the city in question (3) transport from the city - directions.

Is it OK to do this, or could Google see it as manipulative seeing that business is not geographically located in all 3 cities (in actual fact the business is in just one location, within the official borders of one city, in another city for some administrative services and 40 miles away from the third).

Thanks in advance, Luke

Was wondering how easiest to find all of a website's existing SERPs?

Thanks Oleg and Matt for the really helpful feedback