Nov 7, 2011
Yahoo Directory - Should you pay to list your site here?
One way to improve your site’s search engine optimization is to submit it to online directories. Some directories are more respected than others. One of the most widely respected online directories is Yahoo. Should you pay $300 – $450 a year to list your website in the Yahoo Directory? Probably not. Continue reading
Comments: 3
Oct 27, 2011
Example of Footer Links on McBuzz.com: an easy way to boost Search Engine Opimization
Can you use links in the footer of your website to improve search engine rankings? If those footer links go to internal pages on your own website, the answer is absolutely yes.
I have read on some SEO sites that footer links are not as helpful to SEO as they once were. Continue reading
Comments: 4
Jun 20, 2011
“SEO Success with WordPress: How to Use a Few Great Plugins and Tools to Make Money with Your WordPress Site” will be the topic of my free, live presentation & workshop at the July Seattle WordPress Meetup on Thursday evening, July 7th at TechStars in South Lake Union, Seattle at 6:30 PM.
UPDATE: July 8, 2011 – The slides for this SEO presentation are embedded below.
If you are a WordPress user – or even if not – you’ll learn how to set up your website to collect the essential information you need to find out whether your search engine optimization efforts are paying off.
For more information – including map and directions to TechStars – and to RSVP, visit the SEO Success with WordPress Presentation page on the Seattle WordPress Meetup site.
Here’s a summary of the presentation and workshop, which also appears on our Meetup.com website (link above). You do not need to be a Meetup.com user to attend, but do sign up if you would like to learn more about our very active and growing WordPress group for developers, designers, and users of every stripe, including great support for newbies. [...] Continue reading
Comments: 4
Jun 3, 2011
Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) an art or a science? Or is it neither? Although it’s as old as the Internet itself, SEO is still misunderstood by many folks, even those who know a lot about the Internet and Online Communications. [...] Continue reading
Comments: 2
Mar 11, 2011
A good comprehensive article on Search Engine Optimization for beginners is hard to find. This is a complaint I hear often. But there are a few good SEO Resources out there. Here are three.
One great Search Engine Optimization resource for beginners is the Google guide. I can’t find a link in the form of a URL, but you can get it here: Continue reading
Comments: 0
Feb 10, 2011
Choosing good keywords is hard – no matter what size your business is. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get my clients to see the importance of using language in their marketing materials – including their website – that they themselves wouldn’t necessarily use to talk about their products or services.
Sometimes C-level executives don’t like using words they feel have Continue reading
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Nov 30, 2010
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Nov 5, 2010
Today Nichola Stott posted an excellent article on Link Building and Search Engine Optimization, When Link Loss Ain’t No Bad Thing, on Search Engine Watch.
I’m buying. Along with work by Eric Ward it’s one of the best posts I have read on link building in some time. The article is well-documented (at least I take the author at her word) and well-written.
The author recommends a strategy of developing quality links from legitimate sites rather than a large volume of links from sites that are much less obviously related to the focus of the site you are trying to optimize.
It’s particularly interesting that Stott says “Anchor text [in inbound links] isn’t the signal it once was.” I still think we should always try for good anchor text, but the point of the article is that engineered links are more obvious today than they once were, and that probably includes anchor text in inbound links.
Today Google has much more information at its disposal when it determines what a web page is about, so it doesn’t need to rely on anchor text as much, just as directories like Yahoo! and DMOZ used to have much more significance for search engine optimization. Still, all other things being equal, better anchor text is better SEO.
Here’s Google’s Maile Ohye saying very recently that anchor text in internal links will influence sitelinks.
So clearly Google still looks at anchor text for important clues about a page’s content.
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Sep 10, 2010
Last year’s WordCamp Portland was two full days of WordPress joy, and this year’s is going to be even better. Sure, Matt Mullenweg and Jane Wells were there – two people who are shaping the future of WordPress. And this year not only are they are coming back, but WordPress lead developer Mark Jaquith is coming along, too. So if you have a question or a request related to WordPress, there’s pretty much no doubt you’ll be able to have it addressed right there on the spot.
I will be speaking, as well. The topic is Search Engine Optimization and WordPress. This will not be the same SEO and WordPress presentation I gave at WordCamp Vancouver. The focus will be on keywords and the importance of links for search engine optimization.
Did I mention that WordCamp Portland also features awesome food – and BEER?! How many conferences, un- or otherwise, have you been to that have kegs of killer microbrew at the snack table? Right.
Comments: 2
Jun 21, 2010
On June 12, I had the great pleasure of presenting at WordCamp Vancouver. Duane Storey and the rest of the organizers did an awesome job. The conference was a big hit. If you get the chance, definitely check it out next year.
My presentation was called “Get Found Easier and Grow Your Business: 5 Tips for Better Search Engine Optimization with WordPress”. Thirty minutes is just about enough time to get through the essentials of SEO for WordPress, although I’m sure it could be a two-hour presentation without too much trouble.
Half of the time does not involve using WordPress! I do a quick overview of what a keyword is, how to pick a good keyword, how to check your initial search ranking, and, after optimizing, how to see if your optimization efforts had any effect!
Understanding keywords is absolutely critical to search optimization, but it’s not often talked about in a way that most people can get. This is going to have to change as more businesses use WordPress and other CMS solutions for websites and then decide that they need to do their own SEO.
The 5 Tips for Better SEO are spelled out in the presentation slide deck below. They are also available in PDF form here (right click and select “Save Target As…” or “Save Link As…” to download).
5 Tips for Better Search Engine Optimization with WordPress (PDF)
At the end of the slides and the PDF, there are links to SEO Plugins, Tools and Resources. If you would like the .pptx file of the presentation – including the Notes – contact me.
Here are the 5 Tips for Better Search Engine Optimization with WordPress in case you want a quick overview:
Tip #1 : Use keywords in your HTML page title
Tip #2 : Write a page description that makes people want to read more (include keywords)
Tip #3: Customize permalinks
Tip #4 : Use keywords in the visible page
Tip #4 continued: Make content “sticky”, useful, a resource
Tip #5: Links
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