The issue of Google’s duplicate content policy came-up several times during question and answer sessions at our SEMpdx SearchFest conference last week here in Portland. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to write a quick post addressing the most important aspect of this policy, and how it is being enforced by Google.
Gaining exposure for your brand through social media marketing channels is all about reaching “influencers” in your target audience. Influencers are individuals or sources (such as a Web site, blog, or forum) that are turned-to by a large number of target audience members for current information and trends.
Last Saturday (07.21), Matt Cutts announced at the WordPress Wordcamp that Google now recognizes underscores (_) in URLs as valid word separators. Previously, Google only recognized hyphens (-) as a word separator. So feel free to use either word separator in your search engine friendly URLs.
First off, let me say that having a background in Web site design and development, I understand the unique and often complex issues that both designers and developers face when approaching a new site project. Secondly, I’m still amazed at the number of poorly designed sites I see every day.
Yesterday, Google updated their Google Webmaster Guidelines, which provide basic information on how to help Google find, index and rank your site. While most of the quality guidelines are similar to the previous iteration, Google now provides more specific information about illicit practices that may lead to a site being banned or penalized.
One facet of search engine optimization (SEO) often misunderstood by Web site developers is the effect of URL structure on search engine rank. URL structure can have a major impact on the performance of a site in the search engines. The following post provides insight into creating properly optimized URLs.
If you are in the process of re-designing your site from the ground up, you know it has to be search engine friendly. You have spent days researching keywords. You have written relevant content with just the right mix of messaging and keyword density. And, you have developed the most accessible code possible. You are ready to launch . . . right? Well, not quite. Consider this: By changing your site’s previous file names and directory structures, you are essentially removing many – if not all – of the pages that have been assigned a PageRank by Google. Unfortunately, there is no way around this. But, one way to make sure that your new pages are crawled as fast a possible is to implement 301 redirects, and submit an XML Sitemap.
More than likely, you are well aware that prominently positioned Natural search listings are highly coveted assets. Search engine users routinely report that the companies found in the top Natural search listings are perceived to be leaders in their industry. Once you have achieved highly ranked listings within major Natural search engines, the last thing you want to do is lose these valuable assets. Here are the top five mistakes that you will want to avoid to ensure that you maintain your hard-fought positions within relevant Natural search results.
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