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I talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) a lot on this blog. A little while back, Robert Phillips interviewed me about SEO. Robert, like a lot of people, had tried to rank well but had not succeeded. He contacted me and asked for my help. After he was successfully using my advice, he interviewed me about SEO. This is a 2 hour audio interview between two guys who have sites ranking #1 or #2. I've also written a new eBook, SEO Brain Dump that's included as a bonus! Click Here!

Both the audio interview and the eBook break down the nebulous world of SEO and give you, in some cases step-by-step, how to rank well. Enjoy the traffic that comes from knowing how to get and keep first page rankings! Click here for SEO Secrets Revealed and the bonus eBook SEO Brain Dump

Until Next Time, Fred P.S. Here's a 10 minute preview of the interview, taken from the first portion of the interview. Right click and save locally. 10 Minute Interview Preview.

Search Engines: SEO

Here's a list of 10 items that are standard parts of web pages and how they affect your ranking in the search engines, primarily Google. First a few definitions:

• Keywords are the words you want to rank well for in Google.
• The process of making your site rank well in searches on a search engine is known as Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short.
• If it's part of your web page, it's called On-Page vs. Off-Page things like links to your site from other web sites.

Now on with the show:

1. Keyword Density: Don't over use keywords. If you were talking to me about Rachael Ray's cooking show, you wouldn't use Rachael Ray 400 times in the conversation. You'd use her name a few times and you'd use pronouns most of the time. A normal way of having a conversation. Your web pages, articles, and blog posts should follow that same pattern of normal conversation when it comes to how many times you use your keywords. Keyword density use to be a very important factor, however, the algorithms that modern search engines use are much smarter than they were then, the best advice now is just be natural and don't over do it.
2. Don't "stuff" keywords. Very similar to not overusing them, "stuffing" refers to trying to use your keywords without it being obvious. For example, hidden text, or text that's the same color as the background, making strange entries in the non-visible portions of a web page such as the head section, or putting your keyword in a link's "title" tag or an image's "alt" tag 20 times.
3. Keep the page title short. This implies that you should have a page title. A page title is a tag in the head section of the web page. Your page title should be relevant to the subject and contain your keyword phrase. If you're trying to optimize for multiple keyword phrases then you can alternate which keyword phrase you're using across different pages instead of trying to put them all the title of all the pages.
4. Keep the page title unique. This implies that you should have a page title and it should not be the same as any other page title on your site. If you have a blog, then this is usually, or at least can be, handled automatically by combining the post's title with a base title to create a unique title for each page.
5. The Keyword META Tag is a tag in the head section of the web page that contains a comma separated list of keywords. It's not used all that much these days by most search engines because of how much it was overused in the past by people trying to stuff keywords and game the system. However, some search engines still use it, and other software will look at it as well, so you should have a short to medium list of keywords in your keyword META tag. Now notice I said short to medium. Don't list every keyword under the sun that you can think of, keep it as short and concise as possible.
6. The Description META Tag is a tag in the head section of the web page that describes your site or your page. Again, short to medium length is better than long and definitely better than way long. Google will use this description in the short snippet of text that it displays to someone searching for your keywords, IF, your description contains the keyword phrase that they searched for. This fact alone makes this a very, very important tag - it is in effect a headline and you should spend some time crafting it to get as many people to click on your site's link when listed in the results of a search.
7. Garbage is Trash. Make sure you don't have junk on your site. Have quality content, links that work, no links to illegal sites, porn sites, questionable sites, etc. If you accept links in a link exchange directory, accept articles in an article directory, or, accept comments to blog posts, then you need to make sure that these do not contain any junk or spam either.
8. Link Structure: Make sure that there are easy to follow links to the pages on your site. If you use a JavaScript menu system or something similar, then you would be well advised to use a text menu system at the bottom of the page to link to your most important pages. The objective here is to make it easy for people and an automated software tool, such as a search engine, to find your various pages of content.
9. Link Title Text: When you create a link you can specify an optional parameter to the link code called a title tag. This is the text that you will see if you hold your mouse over a link without clicking. Its purpose is to farther describe the link to the user. You should make moderately conservative use of this tag for internal linking. Internal links are links to pages on your own site. Again, don't over do it, but do use it by sparingly putting some keywords here and there.
10. Alt Image Text: When you put an image on your web page, there's an optional parameter to the image code call alt text that is used to display descriptive text when image display is turned off in the browser, or, when you hover the mouse over an image. Again, you should make moderately conservative use of this tag. Don't over do it, but do use it by sparingly putting some keywords here and there. If you want an image to be listed in the image search portions of the search engines, definitely put some descriptive text in the alt image tag.

How important are these on page factors? Not as important as they used to be, but they're important. If you have a page ranking that's nowhere to be found, these changes may help it get found, but it probably won't put it on the first page of results. But when used as a part of an overall plan that includes other items, such as link building (3WayLinks), then it can make a big difference. Until Next Time, Fred

Search Engines: SEO

In a previous article I talked about Google Dip, and I've also mention here before that Google will take a site that's ranking well and seemingly just give it a wack to see what happens. I think that this is built into their algorithms to try and throw off Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts of people trying to get their sites indexed unnaturally. What do I mean and why would they do this? If you're focusing on content and providing a web site or blog that gives value to your visitors, the search engines will do a pretty good job of finding and ranking your site. Combine that with the SEO methods that I use and promote on this blog and you can get good rankings. However, if you're trying to "game" the system and rank well for terms that maybe don't have that much to do with your site, or trying to keep a site ranking well that's not very good, perhaps all ads, poor content or something, then you're more likely to jump and tweak your site anytime your rankings waver. The Dunking So by Google randomly, and I will add, temporarily, giving your SERP (Search Engine Result Page) ranking a dunking, maybe they think they can rattle the nerves of those types of sites and cause them to make changes that will, or possibly will, result in their SERP ranking going down permanently. What? Yes. For example: if my site is ranking on the first page for a particular keyword or keyword phrase and has been there for a while, and then all of a sudden, without me changing anything, my ranking drops to 150 or 300, then I'm rattled. I panic. I started ripping out code and changing things. I start altering my linking strategies, etc. But.... It was a head-fake. Had I done nothing, in few days to a week my SERP ranking would probably have returned to near where it was before. But, because I was intent on "gaming" the system, I panicked with a kneejerk reaction and now who knows what will happen. Proof? Don't believe me. Below I give you a history report from one of my sites for two different keyword phrases. I'm not going to reveal the site or the phrases because that usually results in people trying to beat my rankings or Google messing with the rankings (maybe). This data comes from my ranking tracking software that I'm developing and have mentioned several times. I had hoped to have it finished in August but it's not ready yet... to many other things going on! Be sure to sign up to my announcement list and when the software is available you'll have a day or two to get it at a reduced price before it officially goes on sale! The drop is more noticeable with Keyword Phrase 1 than with Keyword Phrase 2, but its there in both. I've been monitoring this particular site for much longer than the data I give here and it's a regular occurrence for the SERP rankings to follow the patterns below. Note that 0's mean the site was not found in the ranks, or, an error occurred.

Keyword Phrase 1 Date: Google Rank, Yahoo Rank, MSN Rank 9/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 1, 2 9/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 1, 2 8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 1, 2 8/28/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 1, 2 8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 2 8/22/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 2 8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 0, 1, 2 8/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 0, 1, 2 8/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 152, 1, 1 8/10/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 1 8/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 1, 1 8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 1 8/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 3, 1 8/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 110, 3, 1 7/31/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/24/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 0, 1 7/23/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/22/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/21/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 0, 0, 1 7/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 0, 4, 1 7/10/2008 12:00:00 AM: 90, 4, 1 7/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 3, 1 7/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 4, 1 7/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 4, 1 7/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 4, 1 7/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 4, 1 7/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 2, 1 6/30/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 2, 1 6/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 2, 1 6/27/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 1 6/26/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 1 6/25/2008 12:00:00 AM: 66, 1, 1 6/24/2008 12:00:00 AM: 70, 2, 1 6/23/2008 12:00:00 AM: 72, 2, 1 6/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 69, 1, 1 6/19/2008 12:00:00 AM: 71, 1, 1 6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM: 74, 0, 1 6/17/2008 12:00:00 AM: 68, 1, 1 6/16/2008 12:00:00 AM: 69, 1, 1 6/15/2008 12:00:00 AM: 0, 1, 1 6/14/2008 12:00:00 AM: 104, 1, 1 6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 96, 1, 1 6/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 175, 1, 1 6/9/2008 12:00:00 AM: 107, 2, 1 6/6/2008 12:00:00 AM: 159, 1, 1 6/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 108, 1, 1 6/4/2008 12:00:00 AM: 154, 1, 1 6/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 158, 1, 1 6/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 166, 1, 1 6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 165, 1, 1 5/31/2008 12:00:00 AM: 171, 1, 1 5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM: 127, 1, 1 5/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 173, 4, 1 5/27/2008 12:00:00 AM: 129, 2, 1 5/22/2008 12:00:00 AM: 118, 3, 1 5/21/2008 12:00:00 AM: 117, 3, 1 5/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 107, 3, 1 5/19/2008 12:00:00 AM: 157, 1, 1 5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM: 112, 1, 1 5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM: 689, 2, 1 5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM: 40, 4, 1 5/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 42, 4, 1 5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 864, 4, 1 5/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 15, 3, 1 5/4/2008 12:00:00 AM: 16, 4, 1 5/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 15, 2, 1 5/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 15, 2, 1 5/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 16, 3, 1

Keyword Phrase 2 Date: Google Rank, Yahoo Rank, MSN Rank 9/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 7, 9 9/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 6, 7, 10 8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 7, 8 8/28/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 7, 8 8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 7, 8 8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 78, 7, 7 8/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 65, 7, 6 8/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 24, 7, 6 8/10/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 7, 5 8/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 7, 4 8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 7, 4 8/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 6, 4 7/31/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 4, 4 7/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 0, 4 7/24/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 0, 2 7/23/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 0, 2 7/22/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 0, 2 7/21/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 4, 2 7/16/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 3, 2 7/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 16, 3, 2 7/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 19, 3, 2 7/10/2008 12:00:00 AM: 18, 3, 0 7/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 3, 3, 2 7/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 2, 3, 2 7/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 6, 4, 2 7/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 4, 2 7/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 4, 4 7/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 5, 1, 4 6/30/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 1, 4 6/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 1, 4 6/27/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 1, 4 6/26/2008 12:00:00 AM: 4, 1, 4 6/25/2008 12:00:00 AM: 125, 1, 4 6/24/2008 12:00:00 AM: 131, 1, 2 6/23/2008 12:00:00 AM: 129, 1, 2 6/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 116, 1, 2 6/19/2008 12:00:00 AM: 118, 1, 2 6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM: 123, 0, 2 6/17/2008 12:00:00 AM: 110, 1, 2 6/16/2008 12:00:00 AM: 109, 1, 2 6/15/2008 12:00:00 AM: 66, 1, 2 6/14/2008 12:00:00 AM: 14, 1, 2 6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM: 14, 1, 2 6/11/2008 12:00:00 AM: 18, 1, 2 6/9/2008 12:00:00 AM: 13, 1, 2 6/6/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 6/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 6/4/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 6/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 6/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 5/31/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 5/29/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 3, 2 5/27/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 5/22/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/21/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/20/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/19/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 2 5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 1 5/8/2008 12:00:00 AM: 11, 1, 2 5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM: 12, 1, 1 5/5/2008 12:00:00 AM: 9, 1, 1 5/4/2008 12:00:00 AM: 7, 1, 1 5/3/2008 12:00:00 AM: 8, 1, 1 5/2/2008 12:00:00 AM: 8, 3, 1 5/1/2008 12:00:00 AM: 7, 3, 1

Until next time, Fred P.S. Remember to sign up to my announcement list and when the software is available you'll have a day or two to get it at a reduced price before it officially goes on sale!

Search Engines: SEO