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Archive for October, 2009

Rel nofollow – Search Engine Optimisation Tutorial

author Author: Nick Rinylo
category posted in SEO Videos

Script:

Welcome to the SEO Video Blog.

Following from our web design video blog we were discussing the use of the rel=”nofollow” attribute to disallow a search engine taking in consideration the page indexed where the link lands on and to stop any page rank being passed on.

One thing we mentioned was when a javascript action changes the content of a web page, but the URL doesn’t change. This can cause search engines seeing multiple versions of the same webpage., which can cause performance issues within the search results.

We have experienced this when ecommerce shops have multi currency functionality. So the currency changes but the rest of the content stays the same.

So what is it?

The no follow attribute is a HTML value used to instruct Google and some other search engines that the hyperlink  should not influence the link target ranking.

It is simple addition to a <a href=””> HTML link.

It was designed by Matt Cutts the head of Google web spam team and Jason shellen from blogger.com. Developed in 2005 it is often used to stop users spam commenting on blogs forums or groups.

An example of the no-follow attribute would be:

Tutorial – showing blog comments on Creare Design and source.

It also worth knowing how each search engine interoperates it:

·  Google states that their engine takes “nofollow” literally and does not “follow” the link at all. However, experiments conducted by SEOs show conflicting results. These studies reveal that Google does follow the link, but does not index the linked-to page, unless it was in Google’s index already for other reasons (such as other, non-nofollow links that point to the page).

·  Yahoo! “follows it”, but excludes it from their ranking calculation.

·  Bing respects “nofollow” as regards not counting the link in their ranking, but it is not proven whether or not Bing follows the link.
(Information taken from wikipedia)

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nofollow

Google Wave Is Currently In The Preview Stages, But How Can Social Media Help Your SEO?

author Author: Nick Rinylo
category posted in SEO

How Can Facebook And Twitter Be Used To Improve Your Business And Your Websites SEO?

It seems you can’t watch the news, read a newspaper or browse the web without seeing or hearing something about the latest social media tool, from Facebook to Twitter and most recently Google Wave.

The latter is the newest social media tool to hit the web, currently in the ‘limited preview’ stage it promises to offer a means to communicate in real-time using images, videos, maps and richly formatted text.

With all this talk about social media we felt it suitable to broach the question; how exactly can social media help a business and its SEO?

The first, and arguably the most obvious reason to use social media is for networking purposes; Twitter is renowned for its ability to quickly and easily connect like-minded individuals and businesses, and the latest figures by emarketer.com show that by the end of 2009 there will be an estimated 18 million Twitter users, in the US alone. This offers the opportunity to share expertise, make lasting relationships and you could even forge business partnerships.

A large percentage of those that use social media websites such as Twitter use it to back-up their own blog. This is ideal for budding writers as it offers the opportunity to communicate with others with similar interests and potentially contribute to their blog, creating valuable back-links to the writers website.

Secondly, in business it can be difficult getting your voice heard by those that are influential. Using a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter enables you to communicate with others in your industry. By offering tips, advice and information about your sector it provides the chance for you to appear as an authority in your industry and consolidate your businesses position.

Similarly, as a photographer, designer or artist it can be difficult to get your work viewed; social media websites such as Virb are specifically for these individuals, a place where they can present their portfolio and get it the exposure that it deserves.

Finally, one of the most significant reasons why social media is important for a websites SEO is to generate back-links. By posting links to your website and encouraging others to do so too, for example re-tweeting on Twitter, traffic to your website could be boosted considerably.

There are a variety of reasons why social media could be beneficial for your businesses website, but first take a look into the features that each offers and decide which suits your online marketing campaign best.

Seasonal SEO

author Author: Nick Rinylo
category posted in SEO

Now could be the perfect time of year to start implementing your SEO campaign to hit the market for Christmas. The peak time for Christmas present shopping online is in November, so you really want to ensure your SEO is working by then. Look at Google Trends. The image below shows google trends for the search term “Christmas Presents”. This shows a clear peak towards the end of each year – around the build up for Christmas.

Google Trends showing clear peaks every November for the search term Christmas Presents

The second picture shows the trending for the just last 12 months. This clearly shows us that over the last 12 months, there has been virtually no interest in Christmas Presents during the year, but the line is beginning to rise. I suggest that if you want your products to be found in time for Christmas then you should start acting today to catch the peak period in November.

The last 12 months of search interest in the keyword: Christmas presents

Why bring this up now? Christmas is months away!

Well, actually in SEO terms, I may be writing this post a little late to be honest. Simply put, SEO takes time. But if you start your Christmas SEO now, you should be able to catch the peak, especially if you put everything into it, and work, work, work on it!

The Christmas period is traditionally the busiest time of year for most businesses, and the online world is no different. With many, many sites competing for the top spot for competitive search terms such as Christmas Presents or Christmas Gifts.

So start your Seasonal SEO Campaign today to reap the benefits during November and December. You will find it well worth while and could boost your sales at this peak period.

SEO Content: Email Etiquette And How Not To End Up As Junk

author Author: Jenny
category posted in SEO

How The Right Email Content Can Make All the Difference

Email Marketing has been one of the most popular ways to reach target consumers for a long time and an integral part of many SEO campaigns. However, since the popularity of emailing, developments have been made to make emails look a lot more professional with specific designs for individual companies.

One thing that hasn’t changed within this time is the sales content for which emails should be written. It can be said without a doubt that people have become more aware of email scams that appear in their inboxes everyday so are more inclined to delete those that look like spam.

To prevent this from happening to any emails you send, whether they are general informative emails, or with a newsletter or ezine, then there are measures to ensure they don’t end up as Junk.

Subject Line;

The key to getting your email read is in the headline. People will read your headline before even opening your email so if the Subject Line reads salesy, spammy or just boring, then expect to be sent to ‘Trash’.

‘Free’ doesn’t have to mean scam. If you are offering a free service such as a new ezine subscription or analysis of a web site, then using the word ‘free’ can be inserted without looking like a scam. Insert it within the headline but ensure it is not at the beginning.

Don’t over sell with lots of exclamation marks and punctuation. This puts people off and rather than promote it, this can actually cheapen the email and makes you look unprofessional.

The subject line may seem like a pointless element to worry over, but it makes the biggest impact to getting your email read. Regardless of the super-duper email you have hidden within the email, if your headline doesn’t urge your reader to click, then your time and effort is wasted.

Main Body;

Main Body;
There are a whole range of content ideas out there to base your email body around. Many suggest the inclusion of how-to’s, problem and solution, top tips and of course, seasonal based content.

But how you write this email makes the difference of whether they put future emails from your address in the junk folder. With this in mind, research the message you are trying to send. Don’t over sell and don’t come across as desperate.

People will have received the scam emails from those asking for money or asking for bank details, and although some people are happy to provide this information, most businesses won’t, and of course the image it gives a company isn’t a positive one.

Urging customers to want information you provide is the key and with this in mind, use language that not only reflects your professionalism but also makes reading your emails worthwhile.

Images;

Images can add an exciting element to an email, but don’t accompany them with reams of text. Include captions with a short and snappy explanation. Be aware that many people may have spam filters that prevent content from being viewed and in turn they may be unhappy to accept the content if they are unfamiliar with your company.

Of course, common sense tells you that images that are obscene or offensive will automatically get you deleted off their list and possibly more serious action may be taken. Use images that are related to the email content and those that are user friendly will be sure to get a good response.

Finally…

Smaller things that can make a difference include;

Inserting the name of the receiver within the email is proven to have a higher success rate of being opened and read.

Writing in caps lock is a turn off for many readers and they associate emails like this as unsavoury. IT”S LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING AT THEM!

Make sure the preview is clear and gives a good over view of the content to make them click further.

Put all of your details down. This will ensure they can respond to you in a variety of ways and also look at your website to see if they want to opt-in to anything you are offering.

It is vital to reach out to your consumers in the most convenient and environmentally friendly way possible. Don’t make your consumers do the work to find out about you, it’s your job to make sure you provide enough information to make them want to find out more about your services, whether this is SEO like Creare, or something completely different.
So, even with the advances in technology it is too easy to be ignored. Creare killer content to ensure you remain on their mailing list and not clogging up their junk folder.

301 Redirects – Search Engine Optimisation Tutorial

author Author: Nick Rinylo
category posted in SEO, SEO Videos

Scripts:

Welcome - 301 redirects for search engine optimisation purposes.

Matt Cutts recently released and video blog regarding the ability of merging 2 websites and how to correctly use 301 re-directs. The video can be seen at the bottom of this post.

We have used 301 redirects in the past to move sites from one URL to another and it differs from a HTTP redirect as the 301 requires on site coding.

Matt Cutts also suggested that you should try and contact any link authorities that point to your old domain and ask the webmaster to redirect the link. This suggests to me that a direct link is worth more than a 301 redirected link.

If you cannot do this then you can use 301 redirects for individual pages as well as domains on a root level. We have done a simple tutorial to show you how to correctly use a PHP 301 redirect.

So in Google type ’301 redirect’ and then click the top result, which is web confs . They supply a very comprehensive list of different 301 methods.

As you can see this page that we want to re-direct from Creare Communications to Creare Design.

Add the php code and type in the new URL.

As you can see it now correctly re-directs, If you have any comments or questions please add them to the blog of youtube channel.

Thanks for watching.

Resources:

Matt Cutts Recent Video

Welcome to Creare Communications SEO Blog, you will find tips, tricks and video tutorials all about SEO.
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