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it really depends on the context for the landing pages. In the case of franchisees , they, quite often setup local pages and also have links back to the corporate site from the local site. With regards to the local address part, if you're trying to rank for the local listings then not having the address on the site will have an impact on your local rankings.
Based on what you're describing, i would advise the client not to go down that route. The idea for landing pages is to drive targeted traffic for a specific campaign with unique information. I would suggest adding some localized content for each of the pages to impact conversion rates and visitor interaction.The unique content will not only lead to a better conversion rate but can be optimized for geo targeted keyword phrases without being perceived as duplicate by Google.
Hi Courtney,
I've referenced a few links below that might be helpful for you.
Conversion Rate Experts - Moz Case Study ( this is a fantastic example of how to build landing pages. Their site has other excellent examples of landing page implementation)
Unbounce Article on Landing Pages
Landing Pages Guides on Hubspot
Cheers,
SEO5
One of our clients in the travel vertical generates almost 20% of their traffic from Google Images. They post a lot of images on the site each tagged/optimized properly. Image search in our opinion should be a part of an overall SEO strategy for clients.
Awesome response Miriam. No short cuts on this one Jake 
Hi John,
I would say that keyword research is the main activity to focus on. It can really make or break your launch. If you choose keywords that are very competitive , they will take a while to rank and bring traffic to the site. The idea is to choose keywords (long tail or low competition phrases) that you can get ranked for relatively quickly and start seeing traction.I've added some resources below to assist you.
All the best.
Cheers,
SEO5
Hi Nathan,
Some sites below where you can generate QR codes:
QR codes are very helpful for tracking all kinds of offline print advertising. (Magazines, Newspapers, post cards, mailouts etc)
Hi Nick,
This is a fantastic resource that we can share internally with our team members. My feedback below:
Cant wait to see more content in the academy. Great initiative. Just this resource in itself is worth the pro membership fee.
Cheers,
SEO5..
Hi James,
I've highlighted some resources below addressing this topic. The standard format is 120 Characters for the video title and 1000 characters for the description
There was a cool post recently on Clickz regarding this topic. Link available here
You Tube Ranking Factors - Whiteboard Friday
Cheers,
SEO5
Hi Fabrizo,
Some possibilities are mentioned below:
Do you post new content on the site every Monday
Is your site the kind that attracts a specific demographic that is more active on Monday than the weekends
I would look at the analytics a bit deeper to review this trend specifically what keywords are driving the traffic, the landing pages that are getting the most visits on Mondays etc.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
SEO5
Hi Ben,
Based on the volume of transactions, you might want to consider FreshBooks. Although not as comprehensive an accounting solution as QBO, it is very focused on invoicing and payment and is an ideal solution for small agencies/businesses providing services. I've provided a link to their features list below:
Cheers,
SEO5
Hi Rahul,
Your first step for clearing your cache and browsing history is spot-on; this way, you ensure you are working with a clean slate for your searches.
For your second question, changing your location in the “search tools” feature on Firefox will indeed allow you to check rankings for your site in the location of your choice. As well, the Bright Local Search Rank Checker has a free trial where you can look up a maximum of ten terms at a time in Google, Bing, and Yahoo to determine efficient keyword rankings in locations of your choice. Using both these tools in tandem will help give the most accurate information for your search results and ranking.
Hi Stephane,
As mentioned previously, there are a number of factors which can be considered by Google as over-optimization. Most commonly, these can include bad inbound links, cloaking and hidden text, and high keyword density. This can also include excessive interlinking, as evidenced by the article here, so you may want to be careful with how links are built between your domain and sub-domain. However, as long as the links are relevant and with unique content used sparingly, Google will generally not consider this over optimization.
Hi pikka,
While rel=”next” is used much more commonly based on search engine research for this query, the two do appear to be interchangeable for all intents and purposes. For best practice, it would be recommended to use the more common term rel=”next” just for safety’s sake, but I would not worry about any other terms using the apostrophes just yet.
Hi Holger,
While the merits of PageRank are still somewhat nebulous as new information develops, it is never bad idea to give the benefit of the doubt to links from domains with higher PR. That said, it may be beneficial for your client to generate even more unique content for each of these sites. Having sites with any duplicate content linking to each other is going to appear as link-scheming to some extent with Google. If these links do not cause many referrals, it would be fairly low-risk to try removing these links and rely more on stand-alone content between the sites to generate stronger PR. For example, you mentioned four of the tours begin in the same place; try creating unique content for each page to reflect the diversity of the tours, and offer links to content hosted outside of your client’s ownership. At the very least, this will help diversify content and give ideas for similar practices in the future.
Hi DaddySmurf,
While this query does depend on the extent of social media usage for your company, but a general sentiment with users is the desire to unique content catering to the strengths of each platform. Using similar content won’t necessarily fall under the duplicate content rule of Penguin, but it does create the impression of only basic maintenance of social media platforms for your company. Sometimes it may be easier to load a quick blog post or the like across multiple platforms, but based on user experiences documented elsewhere on this forum, it would not necessarily be a recommended strategy across the board, so to speak.
Hi Dan,
Changing your content management system is among the most common processes to affect search visibility. However, there are definitely ways to change your CMS while minimizing the chance of losing ranking. 301 redirects need to be used to change your old URLs to new ones, while top referring link sources should be analyzed and perhaps contacted for notification of the new URL, so your inbound links won’t be affected. Pages which cannot be mapped need custom 404 error pages, preferably with a user-friendly message to let visitors know the status of the page. Once your new CMS system is in place, make sure you pay close attention to your analytics for broken links and 404 errors so these can be dealt with immediately. Keeping all this in mind, and referring to TopRank’s blog post for further understanding, will help keep your rankings secure while you update your website.
Hi Brittany,
While it is not essential to have meta descriptions for each page, especially if they are not indexed by Google, there can still be some benefit to having meta descriptions for pages people are linking to. Users can see the meta description if the page shows up during a search query, and sites with strong meta descriptions tend to come across as more professional. There is always a chance the page can show up in other search engines and directories, so you won’t want to worry about random text showing up. There is no real ranking benefit to meta descriptions, but Google does indicate whether meta descriptions are too long, too short, or too similar in Webmaster Tools, so it would seem Google would consider proper meta descriptions to be of at least some value.
Hi pauledwards,
A good read to check out would be Bing’s recent post about their new SEO tag located here. These tags can be implemented to allow users to tell the search engine where they should rank. This way, when a query is performed, the engine can scan the page for the presumed ranking. This is achieved with the addition of a variety of SEO tools to the engine to help websites improve, including Webmaster Tools, Link Explorer, and more. If you haven’t investigated this yet, it would perhaps be an ideal start to find more information.
Hi Taimoor,
While it is impossible to decipher which links are problematic without viewing the data first hand, it is not necessarily a problem to have an abundance of links on a forum-associated website. If the links are coming from non-spam sources in your forums, Google will likely not penalize your site simply on number of links alone. However, this could also signify a strategy for other areas of your website to have more original content and less of a focus on links. Again, it is difficult to tell without knowing more about the site and the links, but this should give you a starting point.
Hi ocelot,
There is a tool called Klout which may be what you are looking for. Available as a Chrome or Firefox extension or a stand-alone site, Klout uses data from Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to determine your overall social media influence. Statistics covered include amplification probability (how likely your message will be retweeted or replied to), the size of your network and your true reach. “True reach” takes into account the amount of interaction received per post. You may not be able to find the absolute most influential Facebook users at there, but you will at least be able to better quantify your own influence.
Hi alexsu0910,
Using the Google Webmaster Tools Console along with the MozPro Crawl Diagnostics is a good place to start for troubleshooting duplicate content. In particular, the HTML Improvements section of Google Webmaster Tools support provides a guide to identifying and rectifying duplicate content. As well, make sure you have a robots.txt file installed to instruct the Google crawlers not to pick up on duplicate content. Also consider the value of a 301 redirect to steer users clear of pages not used or duplicates and instead make take them to a tidy home page. Finally, you can also use Google Webmaster Tools to inform Google of URL parameters, much in the same way a rel=”canonical” helps determine whether Google should index the content.
Hi Pzabarko,
An industry news page can be a great addition to any website if the content is handled professionally. If your page is cultivated with value-adding, well-cited content, then this will likely help your website in a variety of SEO factors. However, if your news page consists of little more than quoted (and subsequently, duplicated) content and does not add beyond the content derived from other sources, then Google will more likely see the page simply as duplicate content
Hi Mathew,
There are many different sources one can go to for outsourcing link building. Manual Link Building offers top-listed link building services, as does SEO Overflow; both services specialize in building links through tried-and-true methods like directory submissions, press releases, and content distribution.
However, as stated before, it may be more fruitful to research the Moz community more thoroughly and discover the link-building strategies of your contemporaries. If one is not familiar with the link building resources used or if you do not have measures to check the quality of the links, then outsourcing may not be worth the time or the effort. A great guide to building links on your own can also be found at Quicksprout, which may help to illuminate your strategy without having to outsource your link-building.
Hi Alex,
If you have an idea of what keywords you would like to check the ranking for, then there are a couple of tools you can start using. Advanced Web Ranking has a thirty-day free trial and can handle large amounts of search volume with consistent accuracy and over 2000 search engines. This is used as an external tool and can be set to update automatically. As well, Bright Local offers a similar tool with many of the same functions, although only ten keywords can be calculated per ranking run in the free trial version.
If you do not know which keywords your site could be ranking for, trying using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to help generate some likely ideas. As stated previously, your site could be ranking any number of unlikely, worthless keywords, and you want to measure the ones which matter.
Hi Yosepgr,
Backdoor linking is a way to build links to a site using content also constructed on the behalf of the client. This is usually found by creating value-adding content for sites already verified as relevant to your content. There are tools to help further build links to this content, such as AHrefs, SEO Moz, Ayima v2 and Majestic SEO; these tools find as many live pages as possible linking back to your client, so be sure to check them out, too.
An informative article from Alchemy Viral can be found here explaining more.
Hi Shawn,
There is some discrepancy with details in regards to what each of these terms could be used for. Some see these terms as basically synonymous, as organic traffic does indeed refer to web traffic directed through search engines. Organic traffic can also include direct and social media links. Natural traffic can also be used to describe the same element, with links from search engines or any website. When traffic is generated through users directly entering a URL, this is usually referred to as “direct” traffic.
Hi Laurent,
These terms can have slightly different meanings depending on what report you are looking at, but most commonly these terms will be in reference to Google Analytics, so definitions for this report can be provided here. The organic search report in Google Analytics is to show the user what kind of traffic has come to website organically (which is to say, users who have visited the site by searching for a related query). Keywords are the search terms used to find websites, and the terms people use with their websites in order to attract relevant traffic. These keywords are naturally non-paid. Paid keywords are keywords with a high search volume and competition, utilized by Google Adwords to create advertisements which show in searches for these keywords. For each click these advertisements receive, the merchant will pay the advertiser (Google) a small amount for the prime location of the ad in relation to the search. It is always good to have a high amount of organic search traffic as it means Google is picking up your site easily and users are finding the site naturally. Paid keywords are good to use in higher volume searches where a site may have trouble ranking otherwise. For more information, the Google Analytics help page can guide you further.
Hi Garry,
You are certainly correct to speak with your site maker to add unique titles and descriptions to each page. This will definitely help give your site a professional appearance and help search engine factors. As well, it may be beneficial to examine the URL structure for some of the pages on the site, as they could be cleaned up and optimized with keywords. Also, be sure to set up a 301 redirect to resolve any WWW issues one may have. And, as always, providing your website with lots of relevant content is a great way to raise your website’s profile on the internet. Start with these suggestions, and along with your current line of thinking, you will be on your way.
Hi mynewco,
To develop effective FAQ software, try one of the following links if you haven’t already:
HotScripts – search various scripts of PHP, ASP, JavaScript, and more
PHP FAQ Manager – uses PHP5 and MySQL to store questions and answers; supports recording of FAQs and a simple search interface
These items have scripts and software for FAQ functionality and are customizable for various specifications. Check them out!
Hi Garry,
A focus on two or three main keywords on your page is perfectly appropriate, even for longer tail keywords. It may be recommended to use longer tailed keywords for pages on your site appropriate for such keywords. As well, it is recommended to put the keyword(s) as close to the beginning of each tag as possible. Keywords can be combined to create longer tail keywords, but only if they are relevant to each other; try to put two unrelated phrases together will look like spam. If your business is located in a certain area, using long tail keywords with location can help your results; with other keywords, your site can still rank for longer tail keyword due to natural relevancy. With a focus of more than three keywords, your tags will be bulky and read unnaturally.
Hi Wayne,
Google released an official post regarding this topic located here which may help to explain your question. As stated previously, by Google and in the post, Google does take measures to ensure submission to low quality links will not necessarily result in a penalty, but will likely not help your site a significant degree. This also means a significant ranking drop for specific keywords is likely not the result of low quality directory submissions.
Hi Mike,
Pinging an RSS feed is definitely a good way to try expanding your index list. Located here is a good starting guide to building and managing your own RSS feed to help increase your online visibility. This will show you how to set automated RSS, how to manage your own feed, and how to register your feed with major search engines. This will help raise the online profile of the URLs indexing the content you have published.
Just to add to Mihai's response, you can always delete the sitelinks from the GWT if there are some irrelevant links showing up for your website.
Hi Luke,
I'd probably use the reference from the link below for a list of potential companies to work with:
All the best.
There are many things one can do to help Google recognize your business as a store. First, if your business has a centralized location, be sure to create an optimized listing for your company at Google Places for Business. As well, be sure to use selling related terms when optimizing your pages for keywords, e.g. instead of simply listing “hard drives”, use “hard drive retailer” or “hard drives for sale” along with your company name. Ensure your URL and landing page reflect your business wares as well by having a short, clear URL and using reflective keywords within the first 100 words of text on your site.
It will always be a struggle to compete in Google against major corporate retailers, but by following these steps, you should begin to see a change in your results.
Hi Neil,
A direct link to download the program mentioned previously can be found here. What the previously user likely meant in regards to your question is to extract the data to a CSV file using Open Site Explorer, and then to use the aforementioned PowerPivot (a data analysis tool for Microsoft Excel) to help sort and gather information for your data. This tool is designed to help organize large datasets, so it would be worth a try.
Hi Vliegtickets.nl,
For targeting keywords, this is a good start. Putting your keywords near the beginning of your meta titles and descriptions is proper format and will help your click-through rate.
However, as stated previously, make sure not to use the same word repeatedly throughout the tags. By using more varied text while focusing on variations of your keywords, you can optimize your keyword use and not have your text read like spam. Also, make sure not to waste characters on smaller, unnecessary words; instead, create short phrases emphasizing your keywords. As well, make sure your keywords are used within the first 100 words of visible text on your site. This will help your keyword ranking even more than emphasizing the keywords in the meta description.
If you are inquiring about overall page building, then also be sure your site design is static, organized and has lots of relevant information pertaining to your keywords on the main page. A clear call-to-action and contact form in the upper right hand corner is also an essential component.
Hi Dustin,
By adding additional characters to your keywords, this can have the effect of “splitting the vote” with crawlers. If the initial keyword has a strong ranking, then adding additional text to complement it likely will not affect the main keyword ranking. Crawlers are fairly adept at finding keywords within other keywords, but for more precise effect, it may prove beneficial to use both the main keyword and the additional keyword as separate entities (e.g. “Lawn Mowers | Cheap Lawn Mowers”) to cover the most amount of ground. Use this tactic only with proper meta tags, and do not repeat phrases more than once to avoid keyword stuffing.
Hi Vjay,
Tripwire Magazine offers a recent article showcasing 40 different webpage templates which may help provide a frame of reference for strong landing pages. A clean, static design with a clear call-to-action and contact information in your top right corner will always help your user navigation. As well, ensure your landing page has a simple, descriptive URL visitors can easily use and remember. Featuring current, relevant text on the page explaining your services to potential customers will also help your user experience.
Hi Tim,
We recommend Wordpress for all non ecomm sites and Joomla/Magento for the ecomm ones. Wordpress with all their plugins is very SEO friendly as well as a user friendly interface in the backend .
We tried it for e-comm sites as well however had a very bad experience when the client wanted to customize the e-comm solution on the wordpress platform.
Cheers,
Some more update services below:
http://rpc.pingomatic.com
http://rpc.twingly.com
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://www.feedsubmitter.com
http://blo.gs/ping.php
http://www.pingerati.net
http://www.pingmyblog.com
http://geourl.org/ping
http://ipings.com
http://www.weblogalot.com/ping
Hi Claire,
RocketTheme is another good wordpress theme club. You might also want to read the link below:
No changes noticed on our end. Seomoz's algo change monitor also has not recorded any changes.
Any top digital agency should be able to fulfill your syndication request. I'd refer to the list of SEOmoz recommended providers.
I'd also suggest craigslist. Always results in tons of responses, Might need to do a bit of sorting through the pile to get the good resumes.
Any Online PR service provider should be able to assist you. They already have established accounts with these agencies and you can also avail discounts through them.
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