August 24,
2005
In This Issue:
1. SEO Basics Still Work
2. In the News - Google Talk, Google Blogs, Banned
Help
3. More News Headlines
4. This Week's Q&A - Chat rooms and forums
5. Wrapping It Up
_________________
SEO Basics Still Work
Several months ago we completed a project with
a client which involved expanding their web site
to accommodate a new product being offered. We
approached the work with a keen eye toward seeing
that the new pages of the web site would rank
well across the major search engines. Given how
different each search engine ranks pages (see
Net
Gains #67), we knew this would be challenging.
In the end we decided to keep it simple and just
rely on the basics of building SE-friendly pages:
1. Choose appropriate keywords to target.
2. Write great content.
3. Write comprehensive content.
4. Keep the content updated with new material.
5. Cross our Ts and dot our Is.
6. Be patient.
The one thing missing in there is an effort to
acquire incoming links. Despite that decision,
we still succeeded -- perhaps because the product
is relatively new and competitors also don't have
a lot of incoming links. So here we are several
months later, and this client's pages for the
new product are now raked in the Top 5 on Google,
Yahoo, MSN, Ask Jeeves, and even Teoma.
I'll probably use this project as an example on
a regular basis, because Nos. 2-4 on that list
are the one thing many prospects and clients struggle
with -- writing great content, comprehensive content,
and keeping that content updated frequently with
new material. Without that, high SE rankings will
just get more difficult to achieve. Sales pitches
should rarely rank higher than great information.
Think about that with your own site. Do you have
great content, or just a sales pitch?
_________________
In The News
Google Talk
More Google-as-Portal news today, as they launch
Google Talk, a tool that allows instant messaging
and even voice chat. It's another venue for Google
to compete with Yahoo and MSN, both of which already
offer messenger software. The end goal, of course,
is to get and keep users.
Google Talk
Google Blogs
Also worth mentioning is a new blog from Google.
The latest one is from their AdSense team, and
should be worth reading if you use AdSense on
your site(s). The format is similar to their AdWords
blog, which you should be reading if you advertise
via AdWords.
AdSense
blog
AdWords
blog
Help for the Banned
Todd Malicoat (AKA Stuntdubl) writes up a good
primer on identifying and dealing with slaps on
the hand and punches to the gut from search engines.
"Bannings are a very interesting phenomena
that don’t get discussed often except by
those who are proud to be blackhat."
A
Guide to Search Engine Filters, Penalties, Bannings,
and Reinclusion
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time
to read. These are just some of the headlines
we've posted to OWTweb.com in recent days.
What
keeps search engines awake at night?
August 22, 2005 - ClickZ.com
A brief look at search engines' main algorithmic
challenges.
And
then there were three: Google ad display increases
August 19, 2005 - ClickZ.com
More ads on Google's SERP and other changes have
significant ramifications for advertisers. Changes
you can expect, and how to deal with them.
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
This Week's Q&A
Dear Matt,
We have a web site that's been online for a while,
and a couple people in the company are saying
we should start a Chat Room or a Message Board
to expand our site. The idea is to attract more
users to our site so they can get more familiar
with who we are and the services we offer. I know
you guys offer Chat Rooms and Message Boards,
so I thought maybe you can share some ideas to
get us started.
Thank you,
Danielle
Hi Danielle -- thanks for the email. We're actually
pretty hesitant when clients or prospects come
to us wanting to open a chat room or start a message
forum. The problem is that these things often
get launched, and then no one uses them. We think
it's a lot worse to have an empty chat room or
message forum than to not have one at all. When
you have those things and they go unused, it reflects
poorly on your and your web site. Better to not
have them at all.
That said, if you already have a substantial community
of users that frequent your site, these might
be good ideas. They can also be a lot of work
in terms of moderation. Are you prepared for people
to come in and say whatever's on their mind, even
if it's negative about your company? What will
your rules be for participants? Are you able to
enforce them? You don't want to launch these and
then ignore them; that's an invitation for abuse.
One thing you might find successful, if you have
the staff to do it, is to launch a chat room or
message board as a means of providing customer
service on your web site. Invite customers to
use the chat room to speak to a company staffer,
for example.
Ultimately, though, we think using a chat room
or message board is something that has to be really
considered carefully before you proceed with the
plan.
(Have a question? Email questions@owtweb.com)
_________________
Wrapping it Up
Hope your summer is going well and that business
is good.
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
The OWT Newsletter is a weekly service
offered free to anyone interested in learning
more about web development, search engine optimization/marketing,
and just about anything else related to running
a business web site. You don't need to be an OWT
client to subscribe to our newsletter!
Subscribing and unsubscribing can
be done online at OWTweb.com. You may share this
newsletter with others as long as the newsletter
is shared in its entirety.
Private replies to emails will
be written if we have time, but we don't provide
web site critiques or consulting services for
free. You can learn more about our web development
and search engine marketing services online at
www.owtweb.com. |
