The Myth of W3C Compliance?
By Sasch Mayer (c) 2007
The past few years have seen a huge increase in the number of search engine optimisers preaching about the vital importance of W3C Compliance as part of any effective web promotion effort. But is compliant code really the 'Magic SEO Potion' so many promoters make it out to be?
For those of you not familiar with the term; a W3C compliant web site is one which adheres to the coding standards laid down by the World Wide Web Consortium, an organisation comprising of over 400 members including all the major search engines and global corporations such as AT&T, HP and Toshiba amongst many others. Headed by Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet as we know it today, the W3C has been working to provide a set of standards designed to keep the web's continuing evolution on a single, coherent track since the Consortium's inception in 1994.
Whilst the W3C has been a fact of life on the web since this time, general industry awareness of the benchmarks set down by the Consortium has taken some time to filter through to all quarters. Indeed, it is only within the past 24 to 36 months that the term W3C Compliance has emerged from general obscurity to become a major buzzword in the web design and SEO industries.
Although personally, I have been a staunch supporter of the Consortium's standards for a long time, I cannot help but feel that their importance has been somewhat overplayed by a certain faction within the SEO sector, who are praising code compliance as a 'cure-all' for poor search engine performance.
Is standards compliance really the universal panacea it is commonly claimed to be these days?
Let's take a quick look at some of the arguments most commonly used by SEOs and web designers:
1. Browsers such as Firefox, Opera and Lynx will not display your pages properly.
Browser compatibility is possibly one of the most frequently cited reasons for standards compliance, with Firefox being the usual target for these claims. Speaking from personal experience, Firefox will usually display all but the most broken code with reasonable success. In fact, this browser's main issue seems to lie more with its occasional failure to correctly interpret the exact onscreen position of layers (Div tags - this often causes text overlap) even when expressed correctly, than its inability to deal with broken code.
What about Lynx? Interestingly enough whilst it is somewhat more fragile than Firefox, most of the problems encountered by this text-only browser mostly seem to stem from improper content semantics (paragraphs out of sequence) than poor code structure.
2. Search engines will have problems indexing your site.
Some SEOs actively claim that search engine spiders have trouble indexing non-compliant web pages. Whilst, again speaking from personal experience, there is an element of truth to these claims; it is not the sheer number of errors which causes a search engine spider to have a 'nervous breakdown', but the type of error encountered. So long as the W3C Code Validator is able to parse (*) a page's source code from top to bottom, a search engine will likely be able to index it and classify its content. On the whole, indexing problems arise when code errors specifically prevent a page from being parsed altogether, rather than non-critical errors which allow the process to continue.
* To parse is to process a file in order to extract the desired information. Linguistic parsing may recognise words and phrases or even speech patterns in textual content.
3. Disabled internet users will not be able to use your site.
The inevitable, but somewhat weak, counter-argument to this point is that only an infinitely small percentage of internet users are visually or aurally impaired. However, it is a fact that browsers such as Lynx and JAWS (no, not the shark) will view a web page's code in much the same way as a search engine spider. From this perspective, we once again return to the difference between critical and non-critical W3C compliance errors. As long as whatever tool/browser/spider is used to extract text content from a page's code is able to continue its allotted task, the user is likely to be able to view the page in a satisfactory manner.
Interestingly, one of my fellow designer/SEOs over in Japan has just run an experiment entitled "W3C Validation; Who cares?" testing the overall importance of W3C compliance to long-term web promotion efforts. Whilst the results of this, the world's most non-compliant web page, do initially indicate that compliance does not make much of a difference to a search engine's ability to index and classify a web page, I do rather suspect that further research may be needed in order to establish the long-term effects of this experiment.
At the time of writing however, the page ranks well with Google for the following two non-specific search terms; "Does Google care about validation" and "Google care validation" - not bad for a page which is supposed to be utterly and completely un-indexable. What then is the answer to the W3C compliance conundrum?
In conclusion I would say that ignoring the World Wide Web Consortium's standards at this stage may well have negative consequences in the long-term, as the internet's continuing evolution is likely to place greater emphasis on good coding practices in the future. Having said this, I would also say that the current value of W3C compliance has been overplayed by some professionals in the web design and SEO industries.
Further studies into the effects of non-compliance are certainly needed.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Roller Coaster of Link Popularity
The Roller Coaster of Link Popularity
By Bill Platt (c) 2007
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intents and purposes, building link popularity is an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there are not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar, then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flux as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
By Bill Platt (c) 2007
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intents and purposes, building link popularity is an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there are not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar, then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flux as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
4 Great Reasons to use Google Analytics
4 Great Reasons to use Google Analytics
By Sasch Mayer (c) 2007
Having used a large number of web site visitor trackers over the years, I first approached Google Analytics some time ago, with the somewhat jaded attitude of someone who's 'seen it all' or at least 'seen most of it'. What could possibly make this particular utility stand out in such a large crowd of competitors?
But first... What is Google Analytics?
Analytics is Google's very own visitor tracking utility, allowing webmasters to keep tabs on traffic to their site, including visitor numbers, traffic sources, visitor behaviour & trends, times spent on the site and a host of other information gathered via two pieces of JavaScript embedded in the source-code.
Unlike other free visitor trackers, which insist on displaying annoying and often amateurish badges or buttons when they are being used, Google Analytics simply runs quietly in the background, gathering the necessary information without any visible signs of its presence.
Which brings me quite neatly to Analytics' first major plus-point; the price.
What webmasters are effectively getting, is a fully fledged visitor tracking utility without all the irritations and limitations normally associated with free products of this type.
Ok, so its free; but is it any good?
In a word; yes.
The sheer depth of information gathered, really leaves very little to be desired. From search engine analysis to page views, bounce-rates and more, the available data is presented so as to give users an easy overview of the most essential elements, with the ability to 'drill down' to less commonly accessed or more in-depth statistics and figures.
Additionally, on the 18th of July 2007, the Google Analytics old user interface was discontinued, making way for a newer, more ergonomic look which makes reports more accessible and the interface itself more intuitive for the user.
The new Dashboard provides 'at a glance' visitor statistics for the previous month, as well as a graphical breakdown of your visitor's geographical locations in the form of a world map. A pie chart clearly shows what proportion of visitors reached the site through search engines, by referral or through direct access, whereas the 'Content Overview' provides a list of the most commonly accessed pages.
What makes Google Analytics special though?
Although Analytics boasts all the features and statistical data to be expected from a top-class keyword analysis and statistics tracker, it also features a number of additional tools which put it ahead of most of the pack where ease-of-use and depth-of-information is concerned.
1. The Map Overlay
Essentially, this feature brings up a map of the world, highlighting the countries a site's visitors stem from. Clicking on a country produces a close-up view, along with a geographical breakdown according to the region and/or city from which visitors accessed the site. This tool in itself is invaluable for all those webmasters with geo-specific sites, concentrating on a particular catchment area.
2. The Site Overlay
This is conceivably Google Analytics' single most important feature from a webmaster's or online business owner's perspective, as it provides a hands-on view of visitor behaviour. When clicked, 'Site Overlay' opens the tracked web site in a new window and, after a moment's loading time, overlays each link on the screen with a bar, containing information about clicks to the target page and goal values reached [more about goal values in a moment]. Since it allows the webmaster or site owner to navigate his or her site and see exactly how visitors flow through it, it is difficult to imagine a more effective tool than this as far as raising a site's conversion rates is concerned.
3. Goals and Funnels
Unless the site being tracked is an information site which does not rely on generating sales or enquiries, conversion rates are as important as sheer visitor numbers. The 'Goals & Funnels' feature allows users to set up specific goals for their site, such as tracking a visitor to the 'Thank you for your enquiry' page for instance. It also allows the user to set up specific monetary values for each goal, and thus track the site's financial performance and profitability during any given period of time.
The term 'Funnels' refers to the specific path a visitor takes to reach the goal's target page. Since most web sites sell a number of different product ranges or feature a number of ways to enquire, all of which lead to a single 'Thank You' page, the funnel allows for the tracking of each individual path with a minimum of fuss.
4. Graphical Representations
A great many visitor trackers out there will present the collected information in a certain way, be it a list, graph, pie chart, flow-chart or whatever. Whilst all these methods of presentation are of course valid, it is nevertheless a fact that most users are different, and a pie-chart is not necessarily ideal for those users preferring to work with graphs or vice versa. Google Analytics, however, allows users to choose between views on many of its reports. Although this may seem like a relatively minor point, it nevertheless makes things easier, as it allows the user to work with the view he or she is most comfortable with.
In Conclusion:
Google Analytics provides webmasters and site owners with a highly effective means of tracking visitors and analysing statistical data, easily the equal of most subscription based services in the industry.
Although some concerns have been voiced amongst more paranoid internet users, that Google puts everyone's collective data to its own evil demographic uses, there really are precious few reasons not to recommend this fantastic tool as one of the best means to boost any web promotion and marketing campaign.
By Sasch Mayer (c) 2007
Having used a large number of web site visitor trackers over the years, I first approached Google Analytics some time ago, with the somewhat jaded attitude of someone who's 'seen it all' or at least 'seen most of it'. What could possibly make this particular utility stand out in such a large crowd of competitors?
But first... What is Google Analytics?
Analytics is Google's very own visitor tracking utility, allowing webmasters to keep tabs on traffic to their site, including visitor numbers, traffic sources, visitor behaviour & trends, times spent on the site and a host of other information gathered via two pieces of JavaScript embedded in the source-code.
Unlike other free visitor trackers, which insist on displaying annoying and often amateurish badges or buttons when they are being used, Google Analytics simply runs quietly in the background, gathering the necessary information without any visible signs of its presence.
Which brings me quite neatly to Analytics' first major plus-point; the price.
What webmasters are effectively getting, is a fully fledged visitor tracking utility without all the irritations and limitations normally associated with free products of this type.
Ok, so its free; but is it any good?
In a word; yes.
The sheer depth of information gathered, really leaves very little to be desired. From search engine analysis to page views, bounce-rates and more, the available data is presented so as to give users an easy overview of the most essential elements, with the ability to 'drill down' to less commonly accessed or more in-depth statistics and figures.
Additionally, on the 18th of July 2007, the Google Analytics old user interface was discontinued, making way for a newer, more ergonomic look which makes reports more accessible and the interface itself more intuitive for the user.
The new Dashboard provides 'at a glance' visitor statistics for the previous month, as well as a graphical breakdown of your visitor's geographical locations in the form of a world map. A pie chart clearly shows what proportion of visitors reached the site through search engines, by referral or through direct access, whereas the 'Content Overview' provides a list of the most commonly accessed pages.
What makes Google Analytics special though?
Although Analytics boasts all the features and statistical data to be expected from a top-class keyword analysis and statistics tracker, it also features a number of additional tools which put it ahead of most of the pack where ease-of-use and depth-of-information is concerned.
1. The Map Overlay
Essentially, this feature brings up a map of the world, highlighting the countries a site's visitors stem from. Clicking on a country produces a close-up view, along with a geographical breakdown according to the region and/or city from which visitors accessed the site. This tool in itself is invaluable for all those webmasters with geo-specific sites, concentrating on a particular catchment area.
2. The Site Overlay
This is conceivably Google Analytics' single most important feature from a webmaster's or online business owner's perspective, as it provides a hands-on view of visitor behaviour. When clicked, 'Site Overlay' opens the tracked web site in a new window and, after a moment's loading time, overlays each link on the screen with a bar, containing information about clicks to the target page and goal values reached [more about goal values in a moment]. Since it allows the webmaster or site owner to navigate his or her site and see exactly how visitors flow through it, it is difficult to imagine a more effective tool than this as far as raising a site's conversion rates is concerned.
3. Goals and Funnels
Unless the site being tracked is an information site which does not rely on generating sales or enquiries, conversion rates are as important as sheer visitor numbers. The 'Goals & Funnels' feature allows users to set up specific goals for their site, such as tracking a visitor to the 'Thank you for your enquiry' page for instance. It also allows the user to set up specific monetary values for each goal, and thus track the site's financial performance and profitability during any given period of time.
The term 'Funnels' refers to the specific path a visitor takes to reach the goal's target page. Since most web sites sell a number of different product ranges or feature a number of ways to enquire, all of which lead to a single 'Thank You' page, the funnel allows for the tracking of each individual path with a minimum of fuss.
4. Graphical Representations
A great many visitor trackers out there will present the collected information in a certain way, be it a list, graph, pie chart, flow-chart or whatever. Whilst all these methods of presentation are of course valid, it is nevertheless a fact that most users are different, and a pie-chart is not necessarily ideal for those users preferring to work with graphs or vice versa. Google Analytics, however, allows users to choose between views on many of its reports. Although this may seem like a relatively minor point, it nevertheless makes things easier, as it allows the user to work with the view he or she is most comfortable with.
In Conclusion:
Google Analytics provides webmasters and site owners with a highly effective means of tracking visitors and analysing statistical data, easily the equal of most subscription based services in the industry.
Although some concerns have been voiced amongst more paranoid internet users, that Google puts everyone's collective data to its own evil demographic uses, there really are precious few reasons not to recommend this fantastic tool as one of the best means to boost any web promotion and marketing campaign.
Fluff vs. Quality Content
Fluff vs. Quality Content
By Devin Hansen (c) 2007
There are basically three types of content you can use for your site. Fluff, leased, or custom. All three have their pros and cons, but which would work best for ranking well with Google and the other major engines? Let's first explore the definitions of this varied content:
Fluff: Written cheaply by non-native-speaking writers, and used to fill up a web site with inexpensive content.
Leased: Identical articles that are well-researched and written, but sold to numerous web sites.
Custom: Well-researched, authoritative content that is tailored specifically to meet the needs of you and your business.
Fluff content is fine for businesses just starting out. It helps you to at least get a place in the race to the top of the search engines, but for long-lasting results, fluff just won't cut it. The wording is often choppy, incoherent, and doesn't achieve your primary goal which is customer conversion. Also, if the content of your site is sloppy, it will not instill confidence in a potential customer.
Leased content works well because it is professionally written, topical, and easy to find.
Search engine algorithms favor content that has keywords and phrases that are strategically placed but those words and phrases must also be embedded in text that is lean and carefully crafted for consistent results.
The drawback of leased content is that it can be found in a wide variety of other websites and cannot meet the unique needs of your business or specifically target the audience that you want to attract.
Custom Content
Custom content is content that has been professionally crafted to feature the keywords and phrases that you and an SEO expert have chosen to rank well with search engines and attract your target audience. The strengths of custom content are:
Specificity
You can consult a copywriting firm to construct your content exactly the way that you want it to convey the unique products and services that your business offers and organically build the rank of your site which leads to lasting results.
Readability
Custom content will engage the reader and invite them to read further which entices them to linger at your site and explore the other content.
Credibility
Custom content immediately lends legitimacy and lasting brand recognition to your site because discerning readers can see that you have taken the extra steps to tailor your message specifically to them.
Lasting Results
Web statistics consistently suggest that the best way to earn placement on that key first page of search results and retain your ranking is customized content.
As search engine bots become more and more sophisticated, keyword stuffing and other gimmicks get sniffed out and dismissed because they do not offer the reader any rewards for investing their time.
So, how do I hire a quality content writer?
Sure, anyone can write and practice keyword stuffing. You see it on hundreds of sites everyday, full of fluff-content that was written cheaply, and reads cheaply. Even the most basic conventions of writing are abandoned, simply to reach a high word count. Because of this, readers are having a hard time finding good, quality content. They want information, not gobbledygook.
Ask for Samples
The first rule in hiring a good content writer is reviewing their work. Ask for writing samples, as well as references. They should know the basic conventions of writing, and excel in creating informative, easy-to-read content that people will understanding.
Work Ethic
Good content writers, like any job, should also have a good work ethic. Meaning, they respond quickly to emails, meet deadlines, and keep in constant communication with the customer. People that are conscientious and prompt in their correspondence are likely to be quick and efficient in their work. This reduces the chances of procrastination as well. A good content writer will use the entire time to work on an assignment and produce good, thorough copy, while a sloppy or lazy writer will wait until the last moment and squeak in an unpolished product right before the deadline.
You Get What You Pay For
As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." There are plenty of desperate writers out there that will work for peanuts, but it is an investment to hire a more proficient writer at a higher rate, and you will have much better results on your investment. If you need quick, cheap content, then there are plenty of people willing to produce it. But again, if it is written cheaply, it will read cheaply.
Knowing the Audience
A good content writer should also have a feel for their audience. Any good writer can complete an assignment, but someone that is in tune with their audience can connect with readers much better by tailoring their copy specifically to them. A sympathetic writer should be able to imagine a piece of writing from the audience's perspective and detect what that reader wants or needs from it. This comes from in-depth interviews with the client, and really learning what message they want to convey to their readers.
Trustworthy
Lastly, a good content writer should be trustworthy. While representing a company or employer, a writer must be privy to certain information in order to write effectively. Make sure the writer you are hiring has a good business ethic and won't turn his back on you or exploit your ideas once he is gone. Although it is possible to work with someone and still withhold sensitive business tactics or information, it is much easier to work with someone that can be trusted in an open correspondence. And even if you do trust the writer, it is always smart to get a signed contract.
By Devin Hansen (c) 2007
There are basically three types of content you can use for your site. Fluff, leased, or custom. All three have their pros and cons, but which would work best for ranking well with Google and the other major engines? Let's first explore the definitions of this varied content:
Fluff: Written cheaply by non-native-speaking writers, and used to fill up a web site with inexpensive content.
Leased: Identical articles that are well-researched and written, but sold to numerous web sites.
Custom: Well-researched, authoritative content that is tailored specifically to meet the needs of you and your business.
Fluff content is fine for businesses just starting out. It helps you to at least get a place in the race to the top of the search engines, but for long-lasting results, fluff just won't cut it. The wording is often choppy, incoherent, and doesn't achieve your primary goal which is customer conversion. Also, if the content of your site is sloppy, it will not instill confidence in a potential customer.
Leased content works well because it is professionally written, topical, and easy to find.
Search engine algorithms favor content that has keywords and phrases that are strategically placed but those words and phrases must also be embedded in text that is lean and carefully crafted for consistent results.
The drawback of leased content is that it can be found in a wide variety of other websites and cannot meet the unique needs of your business or specifically target the audience that you want to attract.
Custom Content
Custom content is content that has been professionally crafted to feature the keywords and phrases that you and an SEO expert have chosen to rank well with search engines and attract your target audience. The strengths of custom content are:
Specificity
You can consult a copywriting firm to construct your content exactly the way that you want it to convey the unique products and services that your business offers and organically build the rank of your site which leads to lasting results.
Readability
Custom content will engage the reader and invite them to read further which entices them to linger at your site and explore the other content.
Credibility
Custom content immediately lends legitimacy and lasting brand recognition to your site because discerning readers can see that you have taken the extra steps to tailor your message specifically to them.
Lasting Results
Web statistics consistently suggest that the best way to earn placement on that key first page of search results and retain your ranking is customized content.
As search engine bots become more and more sophisticated, keyword stuffing and other gimmicks get sniffed out and dismissed because they do not offer the reader any rewards for investing their time.
So, how do I hire a quality content writer?
Sure, anyone can write and practice keyword stuffing. You see it on hundreds of sites everyday, full of fluff-content that was written cheaply, and reads cheaply. Even the most basic conventions of writing are abandoned, simply to reach a high word count. Because of this, readers are having a hard time finding good, quality content. They want information, not gobbledygook.
Ask for Samples
The first rule in hiring a good content writer is reviewing their work. Ask for writing samples, as well as references. They should know the basic conventions of writing, and excel in creating informative, easy-to-read content that people will understanding.
Work Ethic
Good content writers, like any job, should also have a good work ethic. Meaning, they respond quickly to emails, meet deadlines, and keep in constant communication with the customer. People that are conscientious and prompt in their correspondence are likely to be quick and efficient in their work. This reduces the chances of procrastination as well. A good content writer will use the entire time to work on an assignment and produce good, thorough copy, while a sloppy or lazy writer will wait until the last moment and squeak in an unpolished product right before the deadline.
You Get What You Pay For
As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." There are plenty of desperate writers out there that will work for peanuts, but it is an investment to hire a more proficient writer at a higher rate, and you will have much better results on your investment. If you need quick, cheap content, then there are plenty of people willing to produce it. But again, if it is written cheaply, it will read cheaply.
Knowing the Audience
A good content writer should also have a feel for their audience. Any good writer can complete an assignment, but someone that is in tune with their audience can connect with readers much better by tailoring their copy specifically to them. A sympathetic writer should be able to imagine a piece of writing from the audience's perspective and detect what that reader wants or needs from it. This comes from in-depth interviews with the client, and really learning what message they want to convey to their readers.
Trustworthy
Lastly, a good content writer should be trustworthy. While representing a company or employer, a writer must be privy to certain information in order to write effectively. Make sure the writer you are hiring has a good business ethic and won't turn his back on you or exploit your ideas once he is gone. Although it is possible to work with someone and still withhold sensitive business tactics or information, it is much easier to work with someone that can be trusted in an open correspondence. And even if you do trust the writer, it is always smart to get a signed contract.
Maximizing the Triangle of Relevancy With Google
Maximizing the Triangle of Relevancy With Google
By Sydney Nelson (c) 2007
The "Triangle of Relevancy" is used to describe the relationship between the text in a landing page, a sponsored advertisement and the keyword or phrase that's entered into a search engine. Google places a premium on relevancy as it endeavors to ensure visitors have a positive experience by getting search results relevant to their search terms. I will outline specific steps an advertiser can take to maximize their landing pages and sponsored advertisement's effectiveness in their search engine marketing endeavors.
Relevancy with Landing Pages
The product, if you will, of any search engine is the resulting landing pages. The page's relevance to the search terms determines whether the page will show up in a search and at what position. Google's algorithm scores each page and/or sponsored ad's relationship to the keywords or phrase and uses this information to assist in determining the order in which the landing pages and AdWords ads are placed. The algorithm also monitors the amount of time a visitor spends on a page and includes this in the score.
Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques such as placing keywords in the page's title and throughout the body of the page can sometimes affect the position of a page in the search results. But of greater importance to Google's algorithm is whether or not the keywords are located on the landing page and whether they are randomly included simply to increase the density of the keyword on the page.
A common scenario is for Web developers to design a number of landing pages for the same product specific to certain keywords. Using this method you can end up with 10 or more landing pages for each of your products. This can be expensive, time consuming and difficult to maintain as regular updates are required on each page.
This can be much more efficiently accomplished by using a product entitled Search Chameleon. This product uses scripting on a landing page and a related sponsored ad to adjust the text in the landing page in REAL TIME according to the keywords entered in the search bar. The scripting can be used in the page's title or anywhere in the body. This not only saves development time but makes page updates much simpler since you're only working with one page.
It also assures your page will be relevant to the search regardless of the search term entered. This can be a compelling factor in a visitor's decision to spend more time on a landing page. An advertiser is then able to maximize on the relevancy of their landing pages by automating previously manual processes.
Relevancy with AdWords and Sponsored Advertisement
The "Triangle of Relevancy" would not be complete without the search terms being included in the title and/or body of your sponsored ad. Google and most search engines will highlight the search terms in the sponsored ad anywhere it shows up. This allows your ad to stand out and draws attention to the visitor that your ad is relevant to their search.
So, instead of loading your Adwords campaigns with numerous non-relevant keywords, your best bet is to use a single keyword or phrase that's relevant to your ad allowing it show up in both the title and the body of the ad. This means you should write several ads specific to a keyword or phrase for your Adwords campaigns. This not only makes your ad more relevant but it pre-qualifies your prospect as the ad contains the specific key terms they're searching for.
Another way to really boost your sponsored ad's visibility is to have the keyword or phrase in the destination URL at the bottom of the ad. If you're using an affiliate link, you may not get as good a click through rate as with a non-affiliate domain, because people will respond more favorably to your ad if they think you're the product owner.
The best way to show you're a professional is to use your own domain name as a redirect to your affiliate site. You can use the keyword or phrase in a successful ad as the domain name and your keyword will be highlighted in the title, the body of the ad AND in the destination URL!
The second best way to show you're a professional is to use a keyword as a sub-domain for a domain you already own, i.e., http://keyword.MyDomain.com. Notice the keyword is in front catching the eye of the prospect first. An alternative would be to add the keyword as a landing page name, i.e., http://MyDomain.com/keyword.htm. Using these two methods works best when you have a generic domain name like http://123.com which will work with any product and does not conflict with the keywords.
In Summary
The "Triangle of Relevancy" is the most important aspect of a successful search engine marketing strategy. Google is very careful to ensure their visitors have a positive experience with their search engine so they reward the more relevant advertisers with a higher position in the search results and their AdWords ad placing. Both the landing pages and the AdWords ads should focus on specific keywords or phrases for maximum relevancy.
As previously highlighted, Search Chameleon will allow you to customize a single landing page, which will update the page title and body text with the specific keywords or phrase a visitor enters into the search engine. Search Chameleon is a proprietary application included in a suite of B2B productivity software called PromoBlackBox. Also included are Google AdWords training CDs developed by a top Internet marketing company. There are a number of additional proprietary applications and software included that will assist advertisers in maximizing on the triangle of relevancy.
The search engine marketing landscape is continually evolving as new technology is introduced. Search engines are continually updating their processes as developers learn how to counteract them. One thing that probably won't change is the triangle of relevancy with the search term, the sponsored ad and the landing page. People will always want specific answers to specific questions.
By Sydney Nelson (c) 2007
The "Triangle of Relevancy" is used to describe the relationship between the text in a landing page, a sponsored advertisement and the keyword or phrase that's entered into a search engine. Google places a premium on relevancy as it endeavors to ensure visitors have a positive experience by getting search results relevant to their search terms. I will outline specific steps an advertiser can take to maximize their landing pages and sponsored advertisement's effectiveness in their search engine marketing endeavors.
Relevancy with Landing Pages
The product, if you will, of any search engine is the resulting landing pages. The page's relevance to the search terms determines whether the page will show up in a search and at what position. Google's algorithm scores each page and/or sponsored ad's relationship to the keywords or phrase and uses this information to assist in determining the order in which the landing pages and AdWords ads are placed. The algorithm also monitors the amount of time a visitor spends on a page and includes this in the score.
Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques such as placing keywords in the page's title and throughout the body of the page can sometimes affect the position of a page in the search results. But of greater importance to Google's algorithm is whether or not the keywords are located on the landing page and whether they are randomly included simply to increase the density of the keyword on the page.
A common scenario is for Web developers to design a number of landing pages for the same product specific to certain keywords. Using this method you can end up with 10 or more landing pages for each of your products. This can be expensive, time consuming and difficult to maintain as regular updates are required on each page.
This can be much more efficiently accomplished by using a product entitled Search Chameleon. This product uses scripting on a landing page and a related sponsored ad to adjust the text in the landing page in REAL TIME according to the keywords entered in the search bar. The scripting can be used in the page's title or anywhere in the body. This not only saves development time but makes page updates much simpler since you're only working with one page.
It also assures your page will be relevant to the search regardless of the search term entered. This can be a compelling factor in a visitor's decision to spend more time on a landing page. An advertiser is then able to maximize on the relevancy of their landing pages by automating previously manual processes.
Relevancy with AdWords and Sponsored Advertisement
The "Triangle of Relevancy" would not be complete without the search terms being included in the title and/or body of your sponsored ad. Google and most search engines will highlight the search terms in the sponsored ad anywhere it shows up. This allows your ad to stand out and draws attention to the visitor that your ad is relevant to their search.
So, instead of loading your Adwords campaigns with numerous non-relevant keywords, your best bet is to use a single keyword or phrase that's relevant to your ad allowing it show up in both the title and the body of the ad. This means you should write several ads specific to a keyword or phrase for your Adwords campaigns. This not only makes your ad more relevant but it pre-qualifies your prospect as the ad contains the specific key terms they're searching for.
Another way to really boost your sponsored ad's visibility is to have the keyword or phrase in the destination URL at the bottom of the ad. If you're using an affiliate link, you may not get as good a click through rate as with a non-affiliate domain, because people will respond more favorably to your ad if they think you're the product owner.
The best way to show you're a professional is to use your own domain name as a redirect to your affiliate site. You can use the keyword or phrase in a successful ad as the domain name and your keyword will be highlighted in the title, the body of the ad AND in the destination URL!
The second best way to show you're a professional is to use a keyword as a sub-domain for a domain you already own, i.e., http://keyword.MyDomain.com. Notice the keyword is in front catching the eye of the prospect first. An alternative would be to add the keyword as a landing page name, i.e., http://MyDomain.com/keyword.htm. Using these two methods works best when you have a generic domain name like http://123.com which will work with any product and does not conflict with the keywords.
In Summary
The "Triangle of Relevancy" is the most important aspect of a successful search engine marketing strategy. Google is very careful to ensure their visitors have a positive experience with their search engine so they reward the more relevant advertisers with a higher position in the search results and their AdWords ad placing. Both the landing pages and the AdWords ads should focus on specific keywords or phrases for maximum relevancy.
As previously highlighted, Search Chameleon will allow you to customize a single landing page, which will update the page title and body text with the specific keywords or phrase a visitor enters into the search engine. Search Chameleon is a proprietary application included in a suite of B2B productivity software called PromoBlackBox. Also included are Google AdWords training CDs developed by a top Internet marketing company. There are a number of additional proprietary applications and software included that will assist advertisers in maximizing on the triangle of relevancy.
The search engine marketing landscape is continually evolving as new technology is introduced. Search engines are continually updating their processes as developers learn how to counteract them. One thing that probably won't change is the triangle of relevancy with the search term, the sponsored ad and the landing page. People will always want specific answers to specific questions.
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