Cool,
Good suggestions Charles.
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Hi Charles,
I agree -and i've recently instructed a new copywriter, one I am very confident in.
I just need to seed a few ideas and then find a place to get the content published - which is the issue, who would want to use it now, in March?
Pinterest is a good shout, as we can use this years new ranges and begin promoting them .
Hey Tom,
Making furniture could be a great concept, as is the idea of conservation - trouble is we are selling Artificial predominantly, although those articles could still develop some links.
Cheers!
Hi all,
We have a couple of seasonal websites (Artificial Christmas trees).
Now, its fairly easy to develop good content that people are interested in when the season is approaching, and even easier mid season.
However, this somewhat stalls when everyone has had their fill of Christmas, between Jan and Sept.
So, my question is, how would you suggest an approach to link building for a seasonal ecommerce site such as this?
Obviously my aim is to develop links now, so when September comes, the site is up there.
Thank you
Hey guys,
One of our clients has just reported that they've received an email from WMT stating they may have "Unnatural Inbound Links".
I've done some research and found this link which certainly seemed applicable;
http://searchengineland.com/how-to-remove-your-unnatural-inbound-links-130073
As you can imagine, going through all of the client's backlinks may be a time consuming process so I was just wondering what the time frame for these Google warnings is like?
Because we've got the email now, does it mean that a bad link was built fairly recently? Or could it have been a number of months ago?
Also, what are people's experiences dealing with these type of emails? Is it just a case of sifting through links and then re-submitting to WMT?
Thanks
Great answers guys, many thanks.
You have confirmed that the track I was looking at is indeed the correct one. The Wikipedia page is a great idea. Thanks for the link to http://www.quicksprout.com/ - looks like an awesome resource.
Thanks Andy,
Yeah, I was thinking about a pure content based strategy and getting some top-notch writers lined up as the main way to generate a decent link profile.
We are also developing their site, and so we will have bucket loads of time initially to develop on-site too.
However what, in addition, could be utilised that would add real value outside of content?
Further to the content - I'd need to look at some additional writers which may take a while to locate and bed in, so does anyone know of any trusted third party (UK Based) writers that could be contracted in in the short time?
Hi All,
This is more of an open discussion to gather some advice / strategy tips for a large spending client - so looking for some experts tips here.
Potentially, there is a large client on the horizon, with a budget for 'SEO' starting at the 15k PM region.
My question is- in what way would you personally begin to utilise this budget in absolute benefit of the client. What would you propose strategy-wise to begin with, what else would you incorporate along the line? How would you generate results not just from SEO, but from additional channels?
PS - They have a separate budget for PPC.
An open discussion and plenty of ideas would be fantastic.
Hi Mozzers!
We have recently been handed this client due to the former SEO company building up a bad link profile, which resulted in the site dropping off the search results all together. Forcing them to get a new domain.
This happened in July last year and we are unsure whether it would be wise to submit a reconsideration request and then 301 their old sites pages to the new domain.
Basically I'm asking whether you can spot any spammy links being built in their profile.
Here is the old domain: http://www.claimssolicitors.co.uk/
It would be great if you could help me out!
Thanks
There also seems to have been an increase on the prevalence of EMDs - anyone else picked this up?
Thanks for the reply - i've not seen the stability tool, where is this in the pro account?
Getting some strange results, yes the it services results of the last few days do not make any sense whatsoever. Will have to see what happens with these....
Hey guys,
Can anyone shed some light on these bizarre and confusing SERPs which Google seems to be producing following their latest update??
For example, we have a client who targets "payday loans" with another targeting "IT services".
However, since the update, the former keyword brings back a host of spammy domain results while the latter seems to have given all focus to educational institutions like universities.
This just seems utterly ludicrous considering that if I'm searching for "IT services" I don't want the help desk of a local university - that's completely irrelevant, right?
Can anyone provide some information on what seems to be going on?
Thanks
It looks as though there has been an update of some kind. Take a look at the 'payday loans' sector for example, there seems to be a lot of new, spammy domains which have found their way onto the first page. With the likes of Wonga dropping down several pages, in some instances. Really strange.
Hi All,
I have a client who is looking heavily at Google+ Local.
He has a main business, with a number of locational franchises.
He has created a local listing for each of these franchise pages.
The question he has asked is 'How do I improve my rankings for these local listings?'
Now some of them seem to rank well without any work performed to improve them, but some are not.
My question is, What can we do to improve the rankings of Google+ Local listings?
This has changed greatly since I last looked into it, so anyone who can say 'right, this is what you need to do to improve Google+Local listings' would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Many thanks Guys!!
Hi Nightwing!
I had the exact same problem a couple of weeks ago. But I seem to have resolved the issue now!
Try adding a link to your Google + page in the 'author bio' section of one of your articles. As well as a link to that article in the 'contributor to' section of your G+ page. Which I can already see that you've done the latter.
It can take a couple of days to show up but it worked a treat for me!
Best of luck
I see, that's certainly cleared that up!
Thanks again
So it wouldn't make a difference if I included a link back to the original piece?
Thanks for the help anyway
Hi Mozzers!
Quick question for you all. This is something I've been unsure of for a while. But when a guest post you've written goes live on someone's blog. Is it then okay it post the same article to your own blog as well as Squidoo for example?
Would the search engines still see it as duplication if I have a link back to the original?
How old is the site?
Have you been building back-links with the aim of manipulating Google rankings?
What is the URL of the site?
What keywords/pages rank in what engine?
Were you previously ranking well in Google/Yahoo for that search term but not anymore?
Bing and Google are different search engines and there is a lot of difference between two. These search engines use different algorithms, and so look at different factors. There could be lots of reasons,l but without knowing the above it might become tricky for the community to help / provide reasons why.
Also, you can install the this word press plugin http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/.
Works very well and has an option in the plugin menu to make redirect changes to your htaccess file for redirecting pages.
The string to add in is:
redirect 301 "/page-name.html" http://wwwdomain-name.com
Egol is correct. This doesn't sound like a company i'd want to be working for yet alone paying money to look after my online interests. One good point of this company is you, in that you are wise enough to instantly spot the flaws in what was asked by the manager and in what was promised by your head of dept - no doubt in a panic.
This not only puts unrealistic pressure on him/herself but also on the employees reporting to the manager. All in all i'd take Egols advice and bail.
It sounds like its all too desperate based on lack of knowledge. Things arn't going right, so they pluck a figure out of the air and promise to hit it - they should be asking the guys for a brainstorming session to pool ideas and generate some realistic goals to acheive.
Hitting 600+ could be possible, as mentioned if the search volume is there then why not? But how will it be achieved, where will the visits be from and will they add value to the business(s)?
This could be an opportunity for you within the company to demonstrate your understanding of the situation and current landscape and prove your worth. Or seriously consider moving on.
Are you sure this is the 'Best' practice post panda/penguin?
er, contrary to some posts on here i'd say that yes, it still does play a (small) part in the overall mix.
Getting a listing in Dmoz no longer has the impact it once had, and getting listed can take an age, so submit to it and forget about it.
Most of the manually edited directories can still play a part, and more than anything getting listed in directories is a natural process for any website.
If you have already visited the moz list and submitted your site to them then good work, as long as you worked towards getting listed in directories that are specific to your industry then a job well done.
Keep moving along with your day to day seo efforts and submit to directories as and when you find a good, relevant one.
Further more, as you have probably already seen on the moz list and by reading other Q&A posts there are some paid directories such as Yahoo and BOTW (others are available) that for me have proved worthwhile when submitting to, and I did see a ranking increase as others have in the weeks after I submitted to them.
Hi,
We had a vaguely similar thing happen where we took over the running over a site and the old dev added a robots.txt disallowing the site from being indexed, which wasn't pick up for a while as dev work was on-going. Basically the sites rankings panned out.
We fixed the issue an re-submitted the site through webmaster tools. Site was reindexed within a week or so and rankings came back over the next 6 weeks.
"Therefore what weighs more - a domain name with a lot of years behind it or a domain name with the no. 1 keyword included in the domain name."
I'd go for the domain name with lots of years behind it every time. Put your site under this.
_ "writing thousands of unique product descriptions, and I was actually wondering if it is really worth the effort?"_
How many other companies are selling the same product, using the stock description? IMO it's worth spending time creating unique product descriptions along with your other SEO activities - the more ways you differentiate yourself, your site and your products the better. There are no short cuts, all areas need attention however long it takes.
Ah right. I'd still go with putting a site straight onto the domain you have bought.
How old was is the domain / how long has it been registered before you bought it and what are the DA/PA of the domain?
Keyword specific urls no longer have the value they once did, although I suspect that they do give some advantage when trying to rank for a specific keyword.
Personally, I wouldn't look to change an already established 'mini' brand url just to include keywords. There are lots of massive websites that started off small, ranking well and generating brand awareness. You wouldn't necessarily know what they are selling either judging by their domains, but it hasn't hindered them. Look at Amazon, play.com, or even Google - no keywords in the domain - just great sites with great products and customer service.
I would continue with the brand, improve onpage and content where needed, keep marketing the way you have been and carry on.
You could always build a separate blog on a different c class with the keyword rich domain.
**Be carefull if amending the htaccess file. **
Make a back-up of it before you change anything. Test one redirect to make sure its working before you go ahead and add multiple redirects to the file.
**Be carefull if amending the htaccess file. **
Make a back-up of it before you change anything. Test one redirect to make sure its working before you go ahead and add multiple redirects to the file.
Moosa is right, again, if using wordpress install the yoast SEOplugin: http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/
As well as enabling you to handle your on page seo, you can also handle your redirects and robots.txt files through the plugin.
Hi,
Personally I don't use them and have not seen any negative or positive effects of doing so.
The main reason I don't is, considering Google doesn't use them as a ranking influencer, then I just don't waste time filling them in. I don't think the time it can take warrant's the reward from any search engine that still looks at them. Plus, I don't like the fact a lazy competitor might take a look to see what my main focus is.
Your time would be better invested focusing elsewhere.
If the keywords tab is already on the site, then how many pages would you need to remove it from? How long would it take? And given the only real reason to remove would be to stop competitors seeing them - info which they can easily find anyway, is it worth the effort? I'd be inclined to say not.
So, in short - if they are NOT present don't bother adding. If they ARE present, don't waste time removing.
Hope this helps.
I'd agree with Keven, there is nothing wrong with directory submissions as long as they are relevant and manually reviewed by an editor. Also look into local and niche directories that suit your site business.
The problems with directory submissions for me begin with mass submissions where the work is outsourced or automated - I cant see you getting any value from this.
There is a great list of decent directories right here on moz, with a guide.
Thanks Billy, i'll be taking a look at that then. Is there a free/trial version?
Sorry, I am the one that misunderstood your question, read it too fast.
I don't believe there is one single tool that can be used to 'discover' all the keywords any single site ranks for. There are a number of tools you can use collectively that may give a bigger picture.
I dug out an old moz post that might be of interest - http://www.seomoz.org/blog/what-keywords-do-i-rank-for.
Other than that I've not been able to locate a programme in the past that will do what you need on its own.
You can install rank tracker from here for free: http://www.link-assistant.com/rank-tracker/
Pretty simple to use, once installed add your sites domain name and then a few keywords you with to see your site ranking for.
Might be a silly answer from me here, but have you logged into your Yahoo account to see if the listing is live?
I took some PA/DA metrics and rank date for my target keywords before signing up to the directories. I re-checked a couple months later and noticed decent increases in PA/DA and steady rank improvements, so i'll say signing up to both was a good move - but hard to say which directory contributed to the improvementes, whether it was one of or both.
But yes, I liked BOTW, much easier than Yahoo to get the listing approved and live, and cheaper to boot.
A great answer from Matt in the first instance, well covered.
Interesting to hear a possible positive story of a site begining to recover from Google changes.
It sound like you have taken some positive action in rectifying the issues you became aware of, which is what Google is saying webmasters should do - so well done.
It would seem Google has picked up on this and re-indexed the site accordingly.
I registered one of my sites back in May on Yahoo Dir and BOTW, started showing in OSE at the start of August, so can take a bit of time - but 7 months would seem way to long!
As mentioned you may need to wait a little while for the index to update.
There are a number of great tools you can use on SEOmoz for site, competitor and ranking analysis.
Here is their rank tracker: http://ranktracker.seomoz.org/
Yes, they work ok - best to keep an excel sheet to track who you have emailed. If you dont get a response after a couple of weeks resend. If you still dont get a response then move on.
You can pick some links up, but just make sure you don't spam web-masters and that your requests are relevant.
I'd work towards making a great user experience on the site. Look at improving title tags, calls to action, improve the descriptions of the properties and some additional content. Personally I'd remove the ad-sense
That would seem like a pretty decent load time - anything sub 2 would be on the right lines.
DA - Domain Authority
PA - Page Authority
This is a great whiteboard Friday that will help you understand more on this: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/whiteboard-friday-domain-authority-page-authority-metrics