Posts Tagged ‘search results’

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As the debate over paid links continues to wage a lot of innocent business owners get caught in the crossfire. They often hear bits and pieces of information and then have to make decisions based on that information. Rarely is the average business owner as fully informed as the average SEO. Heck, even the average SEO is in the dark much of the time trying to parse statements and warnings made by the search engine representatives.

One of the areas of confusion that many have regarding paid links is knowing when a paid link is really a paid link, and when is a paid link penalized. I think a fair argument can be that a payment doesn’t necessarily always have to be monetary. Any quid pro quo on a link can legitimately be considered a “paid” link.

But not to worry, Google and the other engines don’t work that way. In fact, in their attempt to eliminate all forms of paid links from affecting their natural algorithmic search results Google has left one giant loophole in the paid link witch hunt: paid directory links.

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Yesterday I posted some thoughts on When, Why and How to Construct a Meta Description Tag. While it’s relevance in terms of rankings is rather limited, there is still some intrinsic value to implementing a good description that will appear in the search results.

Today I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about the Meta Keywords tag. You ready?

Meta description tags get a bad rap. They are often either considered to be more valuable than they really are, or dismissed as near irrelevant. The truth is that the meta description can be useful but it’s on the lower rung of importance when it comes to the on-page elements considered by the search engines. So while not a whole lot of time needs to be invested in creating workable description tags, I’ll give you a few pointers on what you need to consider.

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Google has been spidering the new URL for the (EMP) blog so I thought I’d do a few vanity searches to see if it’s showing up in the search results. Not yet, but I did see something cool. It looks like Pole Position Marketing has gained some site links:

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Back in the dark ages, long before Google entered the search market (and I used AOL shhhh, don’t tell), I found Dogpile.com and it instantly became my favorite engine. When Google entered the scene, I was horribly reluctant to leave my old friend Dogpile and the mascot Arfie. When teaching computer training classes to newbies, one of my favorite parts of teaching the “Introduction to the Internet” was introducing everyone to the meta search results that Dogpile returned.

As I said, I was reluctant to move on, but working in the IT industry it was pretty much mandatory, and I did eventually make the move. After some initial adjustment, I never went back. That is until recently. On Wednesday the AdWords Addict posted AdWords on Dogpile - Can You Spot Them? and I had to go check it out.

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I’m big on reputation management tracking. I have well over 50 Google alerts set up at any one time. I track my own name, company name, blog name, names of my employees, names of my competitors, company names of my competitors and even my articles. All via Google Alerts.

So you know I had to be interested when I got an email about trackur, a new reputation monitoring tool from Andy Beal.

Here is what I like about trackur:

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There are two kinds of duplicate content: content that is duplicated on multiple websites sites and content that is duplicated on multiple pages of a single site. I believe the search engines treat each differently and, of course, there may be different standards applied duplicate content within each of these two main differentiations, depending on the cause and instance.

Please note that I’ve not done any in-depth testing of this issue so everything I’m presenting here are my own theories. But I think as far as untested theories go, it’s pretty solid.

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I recently read a post on Technology Review noting the new Google Knol project and its potential competition to Wikipedia as the web’s main authoritative web site. Google’s Knol aims to differientiate itself from Wikipedia by not allowing the public to update articles within the site. Rather Knol will use individual authors with their creditials displayed within the article. Knol aims to perfect what Wikipedia started - an online resource written by professionals. What also makes Knol unique is the ability for users to ‘vote’ on articles covering the same subject. According to Udi Manber, a V.P. of engineering, “for many topics, there will likely be competing knols on the same subject. Competition of ideas is a good thing.”

Tech. Review noted that Wikipedia had differing views about the usefulness of this idea:

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Being a recent transplant from the advertising industry, I can’t lie and say I don’t miss the glitz and glamour that was part of our daily workload. So I was overjoyed to read 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing, by Kalena Jordan, which reminded me of the unique benefits to being in our industry. I’ve summarized her article below as a fun reminder for all of my new friends in SEM, as well as for those that may be considering Search Engine Marketing as a career.

• The Search Industry is HOT
  You can’t deny that businesses are falling all over themselves to get seen by online searchers…and they’ll pay big bucks to search engines for the privilege. Search giants like Google and Yahoo! can’t fail to make money because everybody wants a bit of the search action.




• You Can Learn it all Online
  Most all of what you need to know, to become a Search Engine Marketer, you can learn online. The information is out there, you just have to find it. Research, research, research and read everything you can on a daily basis including articles, forums, ebooks, blogs and newsfeeds. There are also online courses available to ensure you gain the right types of skills to make you immediately employable in the industry. Put your knowledge into practice by experimenting with your own or guinea pigs sites to find the methods that give you the best results.




• The Demand is Strong and Growing
  Currently, there are more jobs than there are skilled marketers to fill them. What this means for the marketer is the ability to pick and choose their jobs and/or clients, and the more skilled SEM’s are head-hunted regularly.




• The Skills are Portable and Global
  You do not need to be at a desk, in an office or on the phone all day. You don’t even need to meet your clients in person. You literally need a computer and an Internet connection. The Internet is the universal equalizer, allowing you to compete with one man operations and Fortune 500 companies on the same level playing field. The flexibility of the search industry is a huge advantage over other career options.




• Search Marketing Has the WOW Factor
  Once they know what they are doing, it is very easy for Search Engine Marketers to wow their clients. The difference that a successful SEO or PPC campaign can make to a client’s bottom line is substantial, not to mention the sheer excitement clients get from seeing their site listed in the top 10 search results for certain keywords.




• The Industry is Hip and Groovy
  There is a constant media buzz around marketers in the Search Engine Marketing field. If you have ever been to a search engine conference you’d know these ‘geeks,’ varying in age from teens to Baby Boomers and coming from many different professional backgrounds, give off an air of professionalism and a true vibe of happiness…while still managing to socialize, party and hang with the best of ‘em each night.




• Job Satisfaction is High
  With all the hype, gossip, corporate take-overs, start-ups and geek toys, you won’t get bored. This combined with a flexible work schedule and a high income keeps job satisfaction soaring for Search Engine Marketers!

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I often over hear Stoney on the telephone, describing to a prospective client, exactly what Pay-Per-Click entails. These explanations vary from one call to the next of course, depending on how familiar the person already is. Sometimes the explanation will be quick as “yes, we manage PPC accounts.” Other times the explanation goes much deeper into what are often overlooked as very basic description as to where the paid sponsored ads display in the search engine results.

Last week the Pole Position Marketing Team went to Las Vegas for Webmaster World PubCon 2007. While sitting in the Major PPC Engines: Vendor Panel presentation, there was a slide that showed screen shots of ‘ad placement’ and it suddenly occurred to me how brilliant of an idea that was. Pictures of ad placement.

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