Monday, July 7, 2008
SEO/SEM Campaign –Order of importance
1. Funnels, Analytics and Page Naming Conventions
• Funnels help determine who is on your page, how long and when they drop off of your site.
• Page Naming Conventions are good if you have part numbers, product numbers, and product pages.
o Every page on your site (not just product pages) will benefit from this. Using initial keywords from the Keyword Analysis (See Online Visibility Analysis) to name everyone of the site's pages, folders, and other directories.
2. Brand Brief/Creative Brief
• This should be filled out by the client (company) requesting services. It is best to emphasize that answering the following is not mandatory, but the more accurately it is filled out the less billable hours we have to spend trying to figure out the answers to questions that are probably already on the tips of their tongues.
• Please also (client) attach a sheet of keywords/phrases that describe their company, services, products, brand, and anything else they would like to be found for or would assume their consumer would search for them by (this includes common misspellings, acronyms, and abbreviations).
• Also attach a sheet of any negative keywords (words they do not want to be found for). This would include competitor's products that they have nothing similar to, if they are a printing company they probably don't want to be found for Dell printers, this would also include specific services they do not offer.
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
About the client: What is the client demographic? Typical age, gender, race? Does the target audience have anything in common or more in common than just a demographic (for example some brands target audience have completely opposite demographics but they all enjoy a certain soda, are all adventurous people, all like sports, all are good cooks, all like to dance, and all like adrenaline rush sports but one could be a grandma another could be a high school skater boy and yet another could be a ballet teacher and mother of three).
About the company: How did the company get started? When? How did the company get its brand/name/logo? Who are the owner(s)? What is the company motto and mission statement? Does the company support any causes/charities? How long has the company been around and how has it evolved since then?
o About the product: What do they want to market?
What is their top selling product? What makes them the most money (this is not always the same as the top selling—(one product may cost more than the other)? Does the client have more than one brand? Do they compete in anyway? What else do they sell? What would they like to make more popular?
o Deadlines: When do they want to launch the campaign?
If there is more than one campaign (2+ products, sem/seo/social media campaigns, web launch/blog launch etc.) do they all have the same deadline or is one a promotion for the other? Is this coinciding with another big promotion, store opening, book signing, or new product launch?
o Where is everyone? Where are they?
Where is the company located? Is there more than one store? Does the company sell regionally, nation wide, or internationally? Does the company have affiliates or vendors?
Where are the clients located? Who is the biggest target market? What are the top 10 regions for sales? What are the client's competitor's top regions?
o Why?
Why do you want a seo/sem/social media campaign? Trouble in natural searches? Trouble with PPC? Want to get to know your consumer and connect with them on a deeper level? Want to know what people are saying about your brand? Need to expand your brand's web reach online?
3. Proposal
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
4. Online Visibility Analysis
• Keyword Analysis
o List of basic keywords and phrases matching the clients products/services
o (Use SEOMoz, Dogpile Wordtracker & Overture-(overture is for yahoo), webmaster tool, live keyword, Google)
• Linking Analysis
o Use: (marketleap, trillion,)
o Client name: hyperlink1
o Number of links:
o Number of pages
o Title and Anchor Text : Majority of sites contained: Keywords
o Type of links (*indicates small number from this outlet)
Competitor reference
An affiliate site
Referral
Similar site
Magazine
Pr
Newspaper
Local yahoo
Directory
Service guide
Angies list
Internal
Google answers
Yahoo answers
Merchant circle
Social networks
.edu, .org, .gov sites
Various blogs
Yahoo 360
Cnn
Wikipedia
Business.com
Linkedin
Career builder
• Site Analysis
o This is an initial assessment of items which need to be completed. Other items may come up while working on these items over the course of the year.
o Custom 404 – This tells search engines and users that this page does not exist and will tell them where to navigate to.
o HTML Sitemap – This is a roadmap for users of the site and will also help to facilitate the search engines to spider deeper into the site.
o XML Sitemap – This is a feed that is picked up by the search engines daily (not shown on the site) and is much different than an HTML sitemap. It is in an XML format and will help to tell the search engines how often content is updated and which pages are more important than others.
o Needs Extensive Linking – There need to be more links coming into the site and an extensive external linking program would be very beneficial in organic search rankings.
o Content and aesthetics example: Services Area List Looks Bad – Might want to consider trimming the services area list as it is rather jumbled and isn't providing a user benefit. This may be able to be displayed in another format i.e. another page.
o Internal Content Linking Structure – An internal keyword linking structure needs to be set up in order provide better content and keyword flow for the search engines. (Also no page should have over 100 links on it—preferably not over 50/pg)
o Subpage breakdown – To prevent pages from getting to long it is important that content be categorized into subpages. This will provide additional content and will provide a better user experience which in turn will benefit search engine rankings.
o Optimize .pdf's – This will entail creating Titles and Descriptions for all .pdf's on the site which will help them to be indexed properly by the search engines.
o Make sure all incoming links are titled, tagged, and anchored, example: Quality Pro link says nothing about the company – Quality Pro needs to be contacted and the company information needs to be displayed.
List all sites that need this done.
o Set up Conversion Goals – Creates base points for improvement on the site in order to be more proficient in SEO/SEM analysis and decision making.
o Change URL on BBB page – The URL on the Better Business Bureau listing online goes to the wrong URL and causes for user confusion and does not add external linking value at this point.
o Put 301 on HYPERLINKs that need reverted
o Use 201 ONLY WHEN COMPLETELY NECESSARY
o Alt Text on Images – This tells the search engines what the image is about and will help with keyword content as a result.
o Robots.txt – This text file will help to manage search engine spiders by indicating to them certain parameters.
o Give access to Webmaster tools – Very valuable tool which is already set up on the site which provides information that can be used for SEO purposes.
o Refine Keyword Focus – Too general and needs to be refined.
o Make Sure All Links Point to Relevant Pages i.e. if possible HYPERLINK "http://www.theserviceguide.com" www.theserviceguide.com would help if linked to HYPERLINK "http://www.theserviceguide.com/pages/rainbow_pest_experts.asp?cid=78" http://www.theserviceguide.com/pages/rainbow_pest_experts.asp?cid=78
o Go through SEO check list
• Search Competitive Analysis
o Sponsored search advertiser competition goes from roughly 40 to just under 100 for most of the broader keyword phrases, such as pest control or pest control Minneapolis. When you use longer tail terms (meaning more targeted or simply more words with less volume) competition can fall drastically.
o Organically Google returns between 4 and 20 million pages for any given search. This is where we would tell them how they rank on average.
o Search Competition can be broken out into 4 categories.
Lead Aggregators Directories Nationwide Companies Local/Regional Shops
o Lead Aggregators- (ie. servicemagic.com or myfreeestimates.com) generally use nationwide campaigns and because they are not an actual physical entity are unable to get listings in places like Google Maps and Yahoo Local providing a key competitive advantage to local shops.
However, because they provide the ability to get multiple quotes in one location they do tend to receive higher click rates on their ads from inexperienced consumers.
o Directories, like HYPERLINK "http://www.dexknows.com" www.dexknows.com and HYPERLINK "http://www.usdirectory.com" www.usdirectory.com, are fading quickly because they provide little perceived value to consumers. They tend to have high budgets but limited controls or optimization due to the enormous amount of industries they serve (far more than the lead aggregators).
Directories generally use keyword insertion techniques in their ads which leave them somewhat generic sounding and getting very low click rates.
Because directories have no physical office they have no local or maps listings.
o Nationwide Companies, such as HYPERLINK "http://www.orkin.com" www.orkin.com or HYPERLINK "http://www.Terminix.com" www.Terminix.com, are tough competition in the search space for a couple reasons. First, they have name recognition so someone who doesn't have a specific company in mind when they search for "pest control Minneapolis" will see the brand name and be drawn to it. Because of this they can drive their cost-per-click down and therefore get more for the same amount of money as their local competition.
Ads for nationwide companies tend to be generic and not as focused on the specific keyword however, as they use their brand name to get the click versus human time tweaking ad copy to the keyword level.
Because these companies have physical locations where they or their representatives work from, they are listed in local and maps listings. They tend to be inconsistent and do not have a strategy to harness these listings at this time.
o Local/Regional Shops, such as you, vary greatly from one to the next in their targeting, budgeting and sophistication. These are much more of a wildcard and we will be competing with 25 or more "local" shops for most high volume phrases. We will have the advantage when going after the "long tail" terms as most smaller shops do not have dedicated search staff.
Local shops have more customized and unique ads. Some however are using the basic PPC management services of the yellow pages suck as Dex Online. These campaigns are notoriously mismanaged. Because of generally more limited budgets from local companies, we can do a lot more with them regarding budget tracking, daypart spending, etc. to ensure we push their budget spend and increase our return on investment. Local and maps listings are very common and the range in sophistication is big. A few companies (including Abra Kadabra in Brooklyn Park) have obviously made an effort to have customers (or people posing as customers) submit reviews, not surprisingly all are very good reviews.
5. Keyword Research
• This is best done while optimizing a site or ppc campaign so you can test which words fit best with the company's individual site.
o Good tools to use: seobook, seomoz, trillion, aiming click, doquments, golden keywords, keyword analyzer, keyword expert, rapid keyword, the dowser, web ceo, xedant keyword harvester, google adwords, Yahoo!
6. Content and Keyword implementation
• This would be a breakdown of all the pages that need updates including specific tags, content, alt tags etc. (this is after the initial phase and would come on around the 1 mo. Mark of the campaign and again every month following).
o Go through SEO check list
7. Link Building
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
8. Social Media
• The sites that each page should use to connect to their consumers are determined by interests and demographics.
o All companies should be on business networks like LinkedIn.
o Niche networks that relate to their product/services.
o Major networks: Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Bebo (for younger audiences), Msn Groups, Delicious.
o Blogs (preferably have one and comment on ones that are relevant to the company's industry as well as link back to the company website).
o We will set up a way to directly connect and add content to multiple networks for the client if they want to be involved (this is preferred).
• Funnels help determine who is on your page, how long and when they drop off of your site.
• Page Naming Conventions are good if you have part numbers, product numbers, and product pages.
o Every page on your site (not just product pages) will benefit from this. Using initial keywords from the Keyword Analysis (See Online Visibility Analysis) to name everyone of the site's pages, folders, and other directories.
2. Brand Brief/Creative Brief
• This should be filled out by the client (company) requesting services. It is best to emphasize that answering the following is not mandatory, but the more accurately it is filled out the less billable hours we have to spend trying to figure out the answers to questions that are probably already on the tips of their tongues.
• Please also (client) attach a sheet of keywords/phrases that describe their company, services, products, brand, and anything else they would like to be found for or would assume their consumer would search for them by (this includes common misspellings, acronyms, and abbreviations).
• Also attach a sheet of any negative keywords (words they do not want to be found for). This would include competitor's products that they have nothing similar to, if they are a printing company they probably don't want to be found for Dell printers, this would also include specific services they do not offer.
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
About the client: What is the client demographic? Typical age, gender, race? Does the target audience have anything in common or more in common than just a demographic (for example some brands target audience have completely opposite demographics but they all enjoy a certain soda, are all adventurous people, all like sports, all are good cooks, all like to dance, and all like adrenaline rush sports but one could be a grandma another could be a high school skater boy and yet another could be a ballet teacher and mother of three).
About the company: How did the company get started? When? How did the company get its brand/name/logo? Who are the owner(s)? What is the company motto and mission statement? Does the company support any causes/charities? How long has the company been around and how has it evolved since then?
o About the product: What do they want to market?
What is their top selling product? What makes them the most money (this is not always the same as the top selling—(one product may cost more than the other)? Does the client have more than one brand? Do they compete in anyway? What else do they sell? What would they like to make more popular?
o Deadlines: When do they want to launch the campaign?
If there is more than one campaign (2+ products, sem/seo/social media campaigns, web launch/blog launch etc.) do they all have the same deadline or is one a promotion for the other? Is this coinciding with another big promotion, store opening, book signing, or new product launch?
o Where is everyone? Where are they?
Where is the company located? Is there more than one store? Does the company sell regionally, nation wide, or internationally? Does the company have affiliates or vendors?
Where are the clients located? Who is the biggest target market? What are the top 10 regions for sales? What are the client's competitor's top regions?
o Why?
Why do you want a seo/sem/social media campaign? Trouble in natural searches? Trouble with PPC? Want to get to know your consumer and connect with them on a deeper level? Want to know what people are saying about your brand? Need to expand your brand's web reach online?
3. Proposal
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
4. Online Visibility Analysis
• Keyword Analysis
o List of basic keywords and phrases matching the clients products/services
o (Use SEOMoz, Dogpile Wordtracker & Overture-(overture is for yahoo), webmaster tool, live keyword, Google)
• Linking Analysis
o Use: (marketleap, trillion,)
o Client name: hyperlink1
o Number of links:
o Number of pages
o Title and Anchor Text : Majority of sites contained: Keywords
o Type of links (*indicates small number from this outlet)
Competitor reference
An affiliate site
Referral
Similar site
Magazine
Pr
Newspaper
Local yahoo
Directory
Service guide
Angies list
Internal
Google answers
Yahoo answers
Merchant circle
Social networks
.edu, .org, .gov sites
Various blogs
Yahoo 360
Cnn
Wikipedia
Business.com
Career builder
• Site Analysis
o This is an initial assessment of items which need to be completed. Other items may come up while working on these items over the course of the year.
o Custom 404 – This tells search engines and users that this page does not exist and will tell them where to navigate to.
o HTML Sitemap – This is a roadmap for users of the site and will also help to facilitate the search engines to spider deeper into the site.
o XML Sitemap – This is a feed that is picked up by the search engines daily (not shown on the site) and is much different than an HTML sitemap. It is in an XML format and will help to tell the search engines how often content is updated and which pages are more important than others.
o Needs Extensive Linking – There need to be more links coming into the site and an extensive external linking program would be very beneficial in organic search rankings.
o Content and aesthetics example: Services Area List Looks Bad – Might want to consider trimming the services area list as it is rather jumbled and isn't providing a user benefit. This may be able to be displayed in another format i.e. another page.
o Internal Content Linking Structure – An internal keyword linking structure needs to be set up in order provide better content and keyword flow for the search engines. (Also no page should have over 100 links on it—preferably not over 50/pg)
o Subpage breakdown – To prevent pages from getting to long it is important that content be categorized into subpages. This will provide additional content and will provide a better user experience which in turn will benefit search engine rankings.
o Optimize .pdf's – This will entail creating Titles and Descriptions for all .pdf's on the site which will help them to be indexed properly by the search engines.
o Make sure all incoming links are titled, tagged, and anchored, example: Quality Pro link says nothing about the company – Quality Pro needs to be contacted and the company information needs to be displayed.
List all sites that need this done.
o Set up Conversion Goals – Creates base points for improvement on the site in order to be more proficient in SEO/SEM analysis and decision making.
o Change URL on BBB page – The URL on the Better Business Bureau listing online goes to the wrong URL and causes for user confusion and does not add external linking value at this point.
o Put 301 on HYPERLINKs that need reverted
o Use 201 ONLY WHEN COMPLETELY NECESSARY
o Alt Text on Images – This tells the search engines what the image is about and will help with keyword content as a result.
o Robots.txt – This text file will help to manage search engine spiders by indicating to them certain parameters.
o Give access to Webmaster tools – Very valuable tool which is already set up on the site which provides information that can be used for SEO purposes.
o Refine Keyword Focus – Too general and needs to be refined.
o Make Sure All Links Point to Relevant Pages i.e. if possible HYPERLINK "http://www.theserviceguide.com" www.theserviceguide.com would help if linked to HYPERLINK "http://www.theserviceguide.com/pages/rainbow_pest_experts.asp?cid=78" http://www.theserviceguide.com/pages/rainbow_pest_experts.asp?cid=78
o Go through SEO check list
• Search Competitive Analysis
o Sponsored search advertiser competition goes from roughly 40 to just under 100 for most of the broader keyword phrases, such as pest control or pest control Minneapolis. When you use longer tail terms (meaning more targeted or simply more words with less volume) competition can fall drastically.
o Organically Google returns between 4 and 20 million pages for any given search. This is where we would tell them how they rank on average.
o Search Competition can be broken out into 4 categories.
Lead Aggregators Directories Nationwide Companies Local/Regional Shops
o Lead Aggregators- (ie. servicemagic.com or myfreeestimates.com) generally use nationwide campaigns and because they are not an actual physical entity are unable to get listings in places like Google Maps and Yahoo Local providing a key competitive advantage to local shops.
However, because they provide the ability to get multiple quotes in one location they do tend to receive higher click rates on their ads from inexperienced consumers.
o Directories, like HYPERLINK "http://www.dexknows.com" www.dexknows.com and HYPERLINK "http://www.usdirectory.com" www.usdirectory.com, are fading quickly because they provide little perceived value to consumers. They tend to have high budgets but limited controls or optimization due to the enormous amount of industries they serve (far more than the lead aggregators).
Directories generally use keyword insertion techniques in their ads which leave them somewhat generic sounding and getting very low click rates.
Because directories have no physical office they have no local or maps listings.
o Nationwide Companies, such as HYPERLINK "http://www.orkin.com" www.orkin.com or HYPERLINK "http://www.Terminix.com" www.Terminix.com, are tough competition in the search space for a couple reasons. First, they have name recognition so someone who doesn't have a specific company in mind when they search for "pest control Minneapolis" will see the brand name and be drawn to it. Because of this they can drive their cost-per-click down and therefore get more for the same amount of money as their local competition.
Ads for nationwide companies tend to be generic and not as focused on the specific keyword however, as they use their brand name to get the click versus human time tweaking ad copy to the keyword level.
Because these companies have physical locations where they or their representatives work from, they are listed in local and maps listings. They tend to be inconsistent and do not have a strategy to harness these listings at this time.
o Local/Regional Shops, such as you, vary greatly from one to the next in their targeting, budgeting and sophistication. These are much more of a wildcard and we will be competing with 25 or more "local" shops for most high volume phrases. We will have the advantage when going after the "long tail" terms as most smaller shops do not have dedicated search staff.
Local shops have more customized and unique ads. Some however are using the basic PPC management services of the yellow pages suck as Dex Online. These campaigns are notoriously mismanaged. Because of generally more limited budgets from local companies, we can do a lot more with them regarding budget tracking, daypart spending, etc. to ensure we push their budget spend and increase our return on investment. Local and maps listings are very common and the range in sophistication is big. A few companies (including Abra Kadabra in Brooklyn Park) have obviously made an effort to have customers (or people posing as customers) submit reviews, not surprisingly all are very good reviews.
5. Keyword Research
• This is best done while optimizing a site or ppc campaign so you can test which words fit best with the company's individual site.
o Good tools to use: seobook, seomoz, trillion, aiming click, doquments, golden keywords, keyword analyzer, keyword expert, rapid keyword, the dowser, web ceo, xedant keyword harvester, google adwords, Yahoo!
6. Content and Keyword implementation
• This would be a breakdown of all the pages that need updates including specific tags, content, alt tags etc. (this is after the initial phase and would come on around the 1 mo. Mark of the campaign and again every month following).
o Go through SEO check list
7. Link Building
• This is the client's who, what, when, where and why.
o Who is the client and who is the consumer?
8. Social Media
• The sites that each page should use to connect to their consumers are determined by interests and demographics.
o All companies should be on business networks like LinkedIn.
o Niche networks that relate to their product/services.
o Major networks: Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Bebo (for younger audiences), Msn Groups, Delicious.
o Blogs (preferably have one and comment on ones that are relevant to the company's industry as well as link back to the company website).
o We will set up a way to directly connect and add content to multiple networks for the client if they want to be involved (this is preferred).
Top 100(+) Steps to Check Off For Great SEO/SEM/Social Media Campaigns
Keywords in title tag
2. Keywords in urls
3. Keyword density in document text (no more than 10% per page)
4. Keywords in anchor text (especially on inbound links)
It is not enough just to have a lot of backlinks, it is the Quality of backlinks along with the Quantity that help you rank better in Search Engines.
A backlink could be considered as a Quality Backlink if
1. It links to your website with the keyword (keyphrase) that you are trying to optimize for.
2. The Theme of the backlinking website is the same as your website.
5.Keywords in headers
6. Keywords in beginning of document
7.Keywords in alt tags
8.Keywords in metatags (more for yahoo and msn)
9. Keyword proximity (dont have them all right next to each other in the same paragraph
10. Keyword phrases
11. Secondary Keywords
12. Keyword stemming (more important for other languages that have root words that branch off for meaning)
13. Synonyms
14. Keyword Mistypes in metadata or ppc (not on the site!)
15.Keyword dilution -avoid unrelated keywords, try to be as specific as possible, don't go excessive on all similar keywords
16. keyword stuffing (10% and over for keywords risks getting you banned from search engines)
17.Anchor text of inbound links
18. Links from similar sites
19. Links from .edu and .gov sites
20. Backlinks
21. anchor text on internal links
22. text around the anchor that is relevant
23. Age of inbound links (older the better)
24. Linking directories (yahoo directory etc. careful not to over do it to fast)
25. Number of other outgoing links on a referal site's page (fewer the better)
26. Named Anchors
27. Don't have a ton of outgoing links on one page (max 100)
28. Don't link spam (lots of links from one site)
29. cross linking (pyramid of links or circle or them)
30. metatag description, keywords, language
31. metatag refresh (better to use 301 redirect code)
32. unique content
33. frequently update content (blogs help)
34. keyword size, formatting
35. age of documents
36. shorter pages
37. poor coding and design hurts seo
38. illegal or copyrighted content can get you kicked off search engines
39. invisible text is bad
40. cloaking is bad (showing search engines one version of a page and people another)
41. creating pages to trick spiders into thinking you page is more relevant than it really is, is bad.
42. duplicate content is bad
43. java script needs to be used wisely because spiders can not see most of it
44. images in text will not be seen and needs alt tags
45. podcast and videos are good, but need tagged
46. images instead of text links need tags
47. frames need to be avoided
48. siders can not see flash
49. no fully flash home pages
50. keyword rich urls
51. site accessibility is important
52. site maps are also important and make it easier for spiders to navigate them especially if they are google formatted
53.the bigger the site the better
54. the older the better
55. having a theme is bes
56. not barrying your site in directories
57.having a seperate domain from having desaraev.blogspot is best
58. dot com is better than .ws or .biz but .org and .edu or .com are best
59. hyphens in words that are in urls make them easier to read
60. shorter urls are nice and look less like spam
61. ip address is important your not on a blacklisted or free domain
62. adsense doesnt boost your rankings or hurt it but it is distracting to consumers (and will give you money while giving you competitors the opportunity to advertise on your site)
63. hosting down time hurts you because its time where your missing being indexed
64. dynamic urls are bad spiders prefer static urls example of dynamic: php?categoryid=1&productid=10 vs. /product-categoryid-1-productid-10.htm
65. session id should not be used by information that needs to be indexed by spiders
66. keep robot.txt bans to a min.
67. properly placed redirects (301 and 302) are good but when not applied properly, redirects can hurt a lot – the target page might not open, or worse – a redirect can be regarded as a black hat technique, when the visitor is immediately taken to a different page.
68. proper 404 codes
69. microsites (on different ip addresses) are best
70. properly indexed and tagged .pdfs are good
71. submit your site to search engines
72. web pr is good
73. links from all your ACTIVE social networks, blogs, and microblogs
74. submit your site to search directories, forums, and special sites:
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
75. commenting on other peoples blogs in your field and adding your link is GOOD
76. Managing online business development campaigns
77. submit site maps: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40318
78. no "shadow domains" or deceptive redirects
79. Nav. that points to main areas of the site with subpages after
80. Use a text browser like Lynx to examine your site to see what spiders will see (firefox web tools works too): If fancy features such as JavaScript, cookies, session IDs, frames, DHTML, or Flash keep you from seeing all of your site in a text browser, then search engine spiders may have trouble crawling your site.
81. Make sure your web server supports the If-Modified-Since HTTP header. This feature allows your web server to tell Google whether your content has changed since we last crawled your site. Supporting this feature saves you bandwidth and overhead.
82. If your company buys a content management system, make sure that the system can export your content so that search engine spiders can crawl your site.
83. The more people that go to your site and stay on it for a period of time the better for PageRank, so email campaigns that encourage lots of visitors are good, but consistant page visits like this is better (so give users a reason to continually come back to use your pages and content) such as blogs, shopping, weekly tips, etc.
84. Affiliates are ok, if they are unique and add value (cj is good)
85.If you're selling something, try to make it easy for a visitor to buy something from every page.
86.If your site carries a few "flagship" products or articles, make sure those are promoted on every page.
87. How to optimize flash: http://www.hochmanconsultants.com/articles/seo-friendly-flash.shtml
88. competitor analysis
89. keyword research
90. negative keywords
91. google analytics
92. msn, yahoo, ask, google (the four big ones)
93. find out goals, objectives, who is the consumer
94. tag all images on social sites
95. find additional keywords from sites like flickr (what would the consumer tag your product as?)
96. Submit client to social bookmarking
97. submit consumer websites to google products via xml
98. social media integration (facebook groups etc.)
99. hta access file
100. microblogs/optimize blogs
101. Google/Mapquest link and directions
102. Who is the consumer or their target audience
103. google products
* Google Webmaster Guidelines: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
* Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web.: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897
Questions we should ALWAYS answer (even google recommends them):
SEO include:
* Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
* Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
* Do you offer any online marketing services to complement your organic search business?
* What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
* What's your experience in my industry?
* How long have you been in business?
*Examples of bad practices we will not do: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html
2. Keywords in urls
3. Keyword density in document text (no more than 10% per page)
4. Keywords in anchor text (especially on inbound links)
It is not enough just to have a lot of backlinks, it is the Quality of backlinks along with the Quantity that help you rank better in Search Engines.
A backlink could be considered as a Quality Backlink if
1. It links to your website with the keyword (keyphrase) that you are trying to optimize for.
2. The Theme of the backlinking website is the same as your website.
5.Keywords in headers
6. Keywords in beginning of document
7.Keywords in alt tags
8.Keywords in metatags (more for yahoo and msn)
9. Keyword proximity (dont have them all right next to each other in the same paragraph
10. Keyword phrases
11. Secondary Keywords
12. Keyword stemming (more important for other languages that have root words that branch off for meaning)
13. Synonyms
14. Keyword Mistypes in metadata or ppc (not on the site!)
15.Keyword dilution -avoid unrelated keywords, try to be as specific as possible, don't go excessive on all similar keywords
16. keyword stuffing (10% and over for keywords risks getting you banned from search engines)
17.Anchor text of inbound links
18. Links from similar sites
19. Links from .edu and .gov sites
20. Backlinks
21. anchor text on internal links
22. text around the anchor that is relevant
23. Age of inbound links (older the better)
24. Linking directories (yahoo directory etc. careful not to over do it to fast)
25. Number of other outgoing links on a referal site's page (fewer the better)
26. Named Anchors
27. Don't have a ton of outgoing links on one page (max 100)
28. Don't link spam (lots of links from one site)
29. cross linking (pyramid of links or circle or them)
30. metatag description, keywords, language
31. metatag refresh (better to use 301 redirect code)
32. unique content
33. frequently update content (blogs help)
34. keyword size, formatting
35. age of documents
36. shorter pages
37. poor coding and design hurts seo
38. illegal or copyrighted content can get you kicked off search engines
39. invisible text is bad
40. cloaking is bad (showing search engines one version of a page and people another)
41. creating pages to trick spiders into thinking you page is more relevant than it really is, is bad.
42. duplicate content is bad
43. java script needs to be used wisely because spiders can not see most of it
44. images in text will not be seen and needs alt tags
45. podcast and videos are good, but need tagged
46. images instead of text links need tags
47. frames need to be avoided
48. siders can not see flash
49. no fully flash home pages
50. keyword rich urls
51. site accessibility is important
52. site maps are also important and make it easier for spiders to navigate them especially if they are google formatted
53.the bigger the site the better
54. the older the better
55. having a theme is bes
56. not barrying your site in directories
57.having a seperate domain from having desaraev.blogspot is best
58. dot com is better than .ws or .biz but .org and .edu or .com are best
59. hyphens in words that are in urls make them easier to read
60. shorter urls are nice and look less like spam
61. ip address is important your not on a blacklisted or free domain
62. adsense doesnt boost your rankings or hurt it but it is distracting to consumers (and will give you money while giving you competitors the opportunity to advertise on your site)
63. hosting down time hurts you because its time where your missing being indexed
64. dynamic urls are bad spiders prefer static urls example of dynamic: php?categoryid=1&productid=10 vs. /product-categoryid-1-productid-10.htm
65. session id should not be used by information that needs to be indexed by spiders
66. keep robot.txt bans to a min.
67. properly placed redirects (301 and 302) are good but when not applied properly, redirects can hurt a lot – the target page might not open, or worse – a redirect can be regarded as a black hat technique, when the visitor is immediately taken to a different page.
68. proper 404 codes
69. microsites (on different ip addresses) are best
70. properly indexed and tagged .pdfs are good
71. submit your site to search engines
72. web pr is good
73. links from all your ACTIVE social networks, blogs, and microblogs
74. submit your site to search directories, forums, and special sites:
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
75. commenting on other peoples blogs in your field and adding your link is GOOD
76. Managing online business development campaigns
77. submit site maps: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40318
78. no "shadow domains" or deceptive redirects
79. Nav. that points to main areas of the site with subpages after
80. Use a text browser like Lynx to examine your site to see what spiders will see (firefox web tools works too): If fancy features such as JavaScript, cookies, session IDs, frames, DHTML, or Flash keep you from seeing all of your site in a text browser, then search engine spiders may have trouble crawling your site.
81. Make sure your web server supports the If-Modified-Since HTTP header. This feature allows your web server to tell Google whether your content has changed since we last crawled your site. Supporting this feature saves you bandwidth and overhead.
82. If your company buys a content management system, make sure that the system can export your content so that search engine spiders can crawl your site.
83. The more people that go to your site and stay on it for a period of time the better for PageRank, so email campaigns that encourage lots of visitors are good, but consistant page visits like this is better (so give users a reason to continually come back to use your pages and content) such as blogs, shopping, weekly tips, etc.
84. Affiliates are ok, if they are unique and add value (cj is good)
85.If you're selling something, try to make it easy for a visitor to buy something from every page.
86.If your site carries a few "flagship" products or articles, make sure those are promoted on every page.
87. How to optimize flash: http://www.hochmanconsultants.com/articles/seo-friendly-flash.shtml
88. competitor analysis
89. keyword research
90. negative keywords
91. google analytics
92. msn, yahoo, ask, google (the four big ones)
93. find out goals, objectives, who is the consumer
94. tag all images on social sites
95. find additional keywords from sites like flickr (what would the consumer tag your product as?)
96. Submit client to social bookmarking
97. submit consumer websites to google products via xml
98. social media integration (facebook groups etc.)
99. hta access file
100. microblogs/optimize blogs
101. Google/Mapquest link and directions
102. Who is the consumer or their target audience
103. google products
* Google Webmaster Guidelines: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
* Google 101: How Google crawls, indexes and serves the web.: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897
Questions we should ALWAYS answer (even google recommends them):
SEO include:
* Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
* Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
* Do you offer any online marketing services to complement your organic search business?
* What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
* What's your experience in my industry?
* How long have you been in business?
*Examples of bad practices we will not do: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Fwd: Website Incident: 080630-000241
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: MTA Email <mta_nyc@custhelp.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Subject: Website Incident: 080630-000241
To: desaraev@gmail.com
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Website
Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Andrea Popp) - 07/01/2008 01:08 PM
This is in response to your recent e-mail to MTA New York City Transit regarding our website.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in MTA New York City Transit. Your comments have been forwarded to supervision in the appropriate department for their review.
We are sorry but you are not able to purchase MetroCards by mail or online. However, you may be interested to know that customers may purchase various MetroCards in batches of fifty from our Division of MetroCard Extended Sales Network. These purchases can be made with ACH, Check, Wire or Credit Card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover).
For further detailed information, we ask that you contact Ms. Kathy Thomas at (718) 694-1750 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday or visit our website at www.mta.info. http://www.mta.info/metrocard/cc_application.html
You may also purchase MetroCards (up to 49) from our Transit Gift Shop in Grand Central station at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. You may contact the Transit Gift Shop by calling (212) 878-0106 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, for details.
If you have further questions, you may call MetroCard Customer Service at (212) 638-7622, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.
Thank you for having taken the time to contact us.
Andrea Popp
Staff Analyst II
Customer (Desarae Veit) - 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
I'm not sure if the MTA owns Metro transportation nation wide or not, but I've been trying to do searches for the Minneapolis MTA system and this is the only site to show up. I've been to NYC and a few other areas and recognize the logo, but you are doing your site and your business a huge disservice not hiring an advertising/marketing agency to update your website for user experience and aesthetic improvements. Plus I would love to be able to purchase cards, bus, and train passes online but it is impossible for me to navigate through this site. If it is because of a lack of funding, think of all the money your service would make just by improving the way customers purchase their tickets! Even Paris and other European systems are easier than this!
I'm sorry if this is the first time you've heard any of this, but your site is dated two decades ago. The colors are bland and if I find this site hard to navigate (I work on websites for a living) then I can't image how hard it is for someone who doesn't understand the medium.
Here is some free advice: Hire an agency and then market the new site as an alternative to wasting gas. This could be a huge turnover campaign to encourage a greener transportation alternative, save commuters money, and even offer huge discounts to people who buy year round tickets vs. monthly or even better offer a nation-wide ticket for frequent travelers who like to use public transportation as an alternative!
Regards,
Desarae A. Veit
Auto-Response - 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
Title: How do I submit an electronic request for records under the Freedom of Informatio
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=678&p_created=1164997339
Title: How can I contact the MTA via e-mail?
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=548&p_created=1067627256
Title: How do I report suspicious activity such as an unattended package?
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=590&p_created=1079360930
Clicking on the above question(s), if any, will open up a new window with a response to the question. If you have reviewed the response(s) and your question has been answered, you may return to the MTA home page.
If this response did not address your e-mail, use the Send E-mail button.
You will receive a response as soon as possible; however, some responses can take up to 15 business days.
Question Reference #080630-000241
---------------------------------------------------------------
MTA Service: MTA-Wide
Category: Suggestion
Date Created: 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
Last Updated: 07/01/2008 01:08 PM
Status: Closed
Date/Time of Event:
Location of Event
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: MTA Email <mta_nyc@custhelp.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Subject: Website Incident: 080630-000241
To: desaraev@gmail.com
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Website
Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Andrea Popp) - 07/01/2008 01:08 PM
This is in response to your recent e-mail to MTA New York City Transit regarding our website.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in MTA New York City Transit. Your comments have been forwarded to supervision in the appropriate department for their review.
We are sorry but you are not able to purchase MetroCards by mail or online. However, you may be interested to know that customers may purchase various MetroCards in batches of fifty from our Division of MetroCard Extended Sales Network. These purchases can be made with ACH, Check, Wire or Credit Card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover).
For further detailed information, we ask that you contact Ms. Kathy Thomas at (718) 694-1750 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday or visit our website at www.mta.info. http://www.mta.info/metrocard/cc_application.html
You may also purchase MetroCards (up to 49) from our Transit Gift Shop in Grand Central station at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. You may contact the Transit Gift Shop by calling (212) 878-0106 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, for details.
If you have further questions, you may call MetroCard Customer Service at (212) 638-7622, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.
Thank you for having taken the time to contact us.
Andrea Popp
Staff Analyst II
Customer (Desarae Veit) - 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
I'm not sure if the MTA owns Metro transportation nation wide or not, but I've been trying to do searches for the Minneapolis MTA system and this is the only site to show up. I've been to NYC and a few other areas and recognize the logo, but you are doing your site and your business a huge disservice not hiring an advertising/marketing agency to update your website for user experience and aesthetic improvements. Plus I would love to be able to purchase cards, bus, and train passes online but it is impossible for me to navigate through this site. If it is because of a lack of funding, think of all the money your service would make just by improving the way customers purchase their tickets! Even Paris and other European systems are easier than this!
I'm sorry if this is the first time you've heard any of this, but your site is dated two decades ago. The colors are bland and if I find this site hard to navigate (I work on websites for a living) then I can't image how hard it is for someone who doesn't understand the medium.
Here is some free advice: Hire an agency and then market the new site as an alternative to wasting gas. This could be a huge turnover campaign to encourage a greener transportation alternative, save commuters money, and even offer huge discounts to people who buy year round tickets vs. monthly or even better offer a nation-wide ticket for frequent travelers who like to use public transportation as an alternative!
Regards,
Desarae A. Veit
Auto-Response - 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
Title: How do I submit an electronic request for records under the Freedom of Informatio
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=678&p_created=1164997339
Title: How can I contact the MTA via e-mail?
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=548&p_created=1067627256
Title: How do I report suspicious activity such as an unattended package?
Link: http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/mta_nyc.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=590&p_created=1079360930
Clicking on the above question(s), if any, will open up a new window with a response to the question. If you have reviewed the response(s) and your question has been answered, you may return to the MTA home page.
If this response did not address your e-mail, use the Send E-mail button.
You will receive a response as soon as possible; however, some responses can take up to 15 business days.
Question Reference #080630-000241
---------------------------------------------------------------
MTA Service: MTA-Wide
Category: Suggestion
Date Created: 06/30/2008 04:47 PM
Last Updated: 07/01/2008 01:08 PM
Status: Closed
Date/Time of Event:
Location of Event
---------------------------------------------------------------
--
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