Best Traffic Tips

Archive for August, 2009

Thomas Clifford, or @tommytrc, is a personable guy who loves creating videos for his kids, blogging, and building relationships on Twitter as the top Twitterer in Wisconsin. He’s given talks on how to “Be a Social Media Rock Star,” inspiring audiences to develop strong relationships in social media. 

Tommy is a great example of someone who has used his personality to create a strong online (and offline) network. He holds nothing back, even sharing the the birth of his son with his online network by live-tweeting. 

In the video below, Tommy talks about what building a personal brand means to him, and how being yourself online can help your business. Who wants to do business with people they don’t like?

Here are Tommy’s three steps to building a personal brand:

1) Start slow. The number of tools available can be overwhelming. Pick one or two, learn them, and move on. You’re not going to tackle the whole world overnight.

2) Just do it. There are plenty of excuses not to try, but social media is an experiment. You don’t know what does work until you find out what doesn’t work.

3) Be yourself. Don’t be a fake person or a robot. If people fall in love with you on a personal level, they are certainly going to want to do business with you on a professional level.

Who do you know and/or appreciate for their strong personal brand?

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Posted by Nick Gerner

Just before the SEOmoz PRO Seminar, over the weekend, we updated the Linkscape index.  This is great timing because we’re also unveiling (to PRO members only, sorry free members) the prototype for a new tool!  We’re calling it our competitive link finder, powered by Linkscape.  But Tom Schmitz was good enough to explain things in a blog post some weeks back.

But before I dive into the new tool, as is traditional, some numbers:

• URLs: 39 billion
• Root Domains: 55 million
• Subdomains: 208 million
• Links: 443 billion

The sharp members of our audience will recognize that this index is, in fact, smaller than our last.  Our index size is varying from update to update as we tune quality vs coverage.  And this creates some issues around historical tracking.  Believe me, we are working on the issue, stay tuned for more information around this scenario.

More interesting is an Index Quality Study we finished just before this update.  From that study two things are immediately interesting to me. 

First, we estimate that between 60 and 70% of what Y!SE might give you (including no follows, duplicate links) are in our index today (the small one, remember?).  Moreover, we estimate that nearly 50% of what Y!SE will give you, we could too, but we filter out as duplicates, nofollows, or otherwise less important than other data we’ve got in our top 3000 links.

Next we’ve gotten a lot of feedback about how mozRank matches intuitive understanding.  Sure it’s a 10 point scale, similar to Google Toolbar PageRank, but often people are finding it’s off from what they’re expecting.  This is because of the data we’ve been optimizing our index for:

In the past we’ve been concentrating on a more or less random sample of pages users might care about (the red bars).  As it turns out, you guys care a lot more about important pages and want mozRank to be focused at describing the authority of these pages (the blue bars).  So we’ve dramatically shifted the focus of mozRank toward these pages.  Hopefully you should get a better experience out of mozRank and mozTrust for these high authority pages and sites.

We have more data for partners and power users.  PM me if you’re interested.

Finally, here’s the new competitive link tool. (I know you guys already took a peek at it!)  The idea is to identify authoritative sites and communities you could get links from, but don’t already. 

What we do is take your site, and up to five related sites (maybe competitors).  From those we find all the links the related sites have, and find the common ones.  From that we create a check-list.  These are the big important sites your industry is engaging with, but you aren’t. 

Of course, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to get some of these endorsements too.  I mean, you’ve got great content, products, tools, and services.  Users want that stuff.  Google, et al. want to deliver those search results.

So go check out your latest updated data, our new tool, and stay tuned for a Linkscape FAQ adapted from my PRO training slides.  That’s a little something for those of you who couldn’t make it to the seminar

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Suppose you run a cleaning company that serves businesses in Northeast Ohio.

You want to show up in Google search results for keywords like construction, cleaning and restoration services — but not for searches from Southern California or Northern Maine. You only care about searches from Ohio because they’re potential customers.

Right now your best tools are meta keywords (you can add local keywords to your web pages), links from local sites, and targeted local PPC ads.

But you’re about to get another very important tool: Twitter.

Last week Twitter announced that it’s going local — it’s going to make it possible to tie a location to tweets. This is big deal for marketers. It means that customers, businesses and search engines will be able to sort Twitter traffic by place.

There are at least three basic ways marketers focused on specific locations can take advantage of this new function:

(1)To Find People Looking for Their Service – Right now it’s possible to search Twitter for keywords like “cleaning service” but you get a worldwide search. That’s not very helpful for a business that serves customers within a specific geography.

But consider what happens when you can search “cleaning service” and narrow the results to a specific geography; all of a sudden the results of that Twitter search become a source of new business. Anytime somebody on Twitter asks for cleaning service suggestions, you can reach out to them.

(2) For Customers to Find Them – As soon as it’s possible to sort tweets by location, customers will get a powerful new tool for finding local business. Looking for a cleaner? Just search Twitter in your geographic area. The results will make it easy to see what the options are — and what their reputations are.

If you’re a local business, this means you need to get started building relationships and reputation on Twitter now.

(3)For Search Engine Optimization — Twitter and other social media tools are now a significant factor in Search Engine Optimization. The links and authority thatsocial media sites help your business create help you rank higher inorganic search results.

Now that Twitter is adding geodata, it will be a significant factor in local search. Searching Google Maps for a cleaner in Northeast Ohio? Chances are you’ll find a cleaner who has a lot of inbound location-specific links from Twitter.

What’s missing from this list? These are the biggest benefits that geodata will have for local businesses, but I’m sure there are more.

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Posted by jennita

We just wrapped up the first day of our Pro Training Series 2009, and what a day it was! I think most people would agree with me when I say that the speaker line-up was absolutely amazing! Every single one of them brought their A-game and provided attendees with wickedly awesome information. I know, I know I’m a little biased eh? But I’ve seriously been in awe all day long, watching some of the best presentations I’ve ever seen.

Throughout the day I’ve had my eye on the Twitter stream, responding, retweeting and keeping people up to date one what’s coming next. Almost every single tweet has been positive except for the fact that it’s freezing in here (but really, what conference isn’t cold?? I freeze at every single conference I go to). As with SES San Jose, I’ve put together a compilation of all the amazing information that attendees have been coming away with and tweeting.

The sessions and tweets are listed in descending order, in other words: select * from session order by session.time desc. Also you may be wondering where the Q & A session is… I felt it needed a post of it’s own, so stay tuned!

(Please excuse my horrible images, I had to use my cell phone.)

Good Vs. Great: Why Some Startups Make the Leap and Others Don’t

Dharmesh Shah

fabioricotta

this was the best "startup" presentation I’ve ever seen… congratz @dharmesh and @seomoz

fabioricotta

we (SEOs) are web ninjas and maniacal about data – said @dharmesh xD #seomoz

davidmihm

@dharmesh "successful entrepreneurs try things and fail very rapidly" iterate CONSTANTLY #seomoz

barbjacobucci

@dharmesh has our attention at #seomoz. talkin’ startups.

barbjacobucci

if you aren’t completely embarrassed by your new product,you waited too long – @dharmesh #seomoz

timpoindexter

an entrepreneur’s goal is to take their awful idea and make it suck progressively less over time, says @dharmesh at #seomoz

conradsaam

"You will have many chances to screw things up." #seomoz

cassy82

Financial Risk: 100% of $20 million VS 10% of $200 million (by @dharmesh) #seomoz

MCrites

@dharmesh the best feedback 4 startups is when people start paying you money. The second best feedback is when they STOP paying you. #seomoz

conradsaam

@dharmesh "Write a blog, not a business plan". #seomoz

carriehinkle

Listening to a great presentation from @dharmesh about building a successful tech startup @ #seomoz. "Recruit superheros in the making"

PPCSummit

From @dharmesh, the best startups grab the customers that are sitting on the sidelines and not yet in the game to sell to. #seomoz

The Pacman Chunk of the Piechart: Getting Links

Tom Critchlow

SEOmom

#SEOmoz Seminar. Tom Critchlow covers link bldg w/your Unique Selling Proposition… + pic of Rand as Dr Evil.

fabioricotta

Good points on how small brands can beat big brands – by @tomcritchlow at #seomoz seminar

fabioricotta

good point by @tomcritchlow – "identify successfull strategies" – you can begin by using SEOmoz Top Pages tool! #seomoz

cassy82

Competitor Analysis: There are basic links in each niche Get them all. Reverse Engineer your competitors! #seomoz

cassy82

Great Phrase "Competitors are people who rank" by @tomcritchlow #seomoz

fabioricotta

Good tip by @tomcritchlow – Investigate the links to sites already listed in niche directories #seomoz

Ed_Reese

Just realized Will and Tom Critchlow are not the same person. Thought Will reverse aged somehow since last year. #seomoz

MCrites

@tomcritchlow is killing it with linkbuilding tips… love the idea of broadening link sources across niches #seomoz

fabioricotta

@tomcritchlow is blowing my mind with all fast tips he is giving at #seomoz seminar

Ed_Reese

Use Google’s Content Network to find companies open to linking back to you. Great tip from @tomcritchlow #seomoz

cassy82

Linkbuilding Requires Resource: Business Development Managers, Community Managers, Developers #seomoz

MidiaDigital

uma das melhores palestras de seo que eu já vi. Estratégias avançadas de lkb em inglês britanico e em 45min hehehe #seo, #seomoz

Sustain Verticality for 3 Rounds

David Mihm – Local Search

SEOBoy

Google local business center (LBC) best to approve listing manually to maximize Google’s trust. By David Mihm at #seomoz.

Ed_Reese

@davidmihm & Google Local. Check out his incredible Local Ranking Factors for the complete details: http://bit.ly/HQPPF #seomoz

fabioricotta

you should use microformats to improve your local search rankings – by @davidmihm #seomoz

cassy82

Location Page Optimization Tips-> Submit your location page for each location as your LBC Url, use geographic kwd in Titles #seomoz

Ed_Reese

Per @davidmihm Link out from your contact page to main citation sources and YouTube videos to increase rankings & reviews. #seomoz

MidiaDigital

David Mihm e Matt Brown falando sobre busca local e universal search: ambos falam da importância dos microformats. #seo, #seomoz

Matt Brown – Image & News Search

Ack! twitter glitch… no tweets coming through. Matt’s giving us awesome information! Tips for optimizing news – which is easier than image optimization. How do you get image search to turn into money?

• Alt attribute is the highest ranking factor.
• Keyword in the filename
• Differentiate alt text – don’t want all the pictures on a page with the same alt text

Ed_Reese

Arrrgh. Twitter down right in the middle of the #seomoz conference.

ThunderSEO

Optimizing your image alt tags can help your search engine rankings #seomoz (via @matthewjbrown)

cassy82

News search mistakes to avoid: registration walls, changing URLs, changing headlines to update story, bad relateds #seomoz

Make SEO Tools Work for You

Nick Gerner – Linkscape and other SEOmoz tools

dharmesh

At the #seomoz seminar. @gerner totally rocks. He’s one smart freakin’ dude.

seomoz

Woot! @gerner talks about the value of #seomoz Q & A and how to find answers to questions already answered plus get specific answers

cassy82

You Want to Be here ->mR = mT! #seomoz

fabioricotta

@dannydover citou o bit.ly como ferramenta para monitorar links de competidores… #seomoz

Tools from Across the Web

Danny Dover

davidmihm

@dannydover presenting @seomoz ‘how to make seo reporting sexy’ obviously step one is to grow KILLER facial hair #mozinar

Ed_Reese

Add a "+" to the end of any bit.ly link to get almost real time analytics. "Sweeeeeet!" #seomoz

SEOBoy

SEOs need to better understand the web developer world to improve overall campaigns from @DannyDover at #seomoz

First you Get the Keywords, Then you Get the Money

Ken Jurina

Enquisite
Linkscape

Ed_Reese

Enquisite mentioned as tool for long-tail keyword research. It’s a good anlaytics tool. Worth checking out. #SEOmoz #mozinar

ThunderSEO

Use Google Insights, Trends, and AdWords tool & IceRocket, ScoutLabs and Twitter to find low-competition keywords #seomoz

cassy82

Usando O Google Keyword Tool, Volume alto de busca, e pouca competicao, eh hora de atacar! #seomoz

SEO is Nothing without Content

Structurally Sound: SEO for Site Architecture

Jeremy Dearringer

@Rand at @seomoz training "Links, Links, Links!" http://yfrog.com/4zqa7j

MCrites

SEOmoz Pro Training Seminar Word of the Day: "automagically"

cassy82

Se o nofollow esta funcionando em seu site, para que remove-los? #seomoz

grav

At SEOmoz training – let your privacy policy get crawled – don’t block in robots.txt, use rel="noindex, follow" instead.

mpvanwinkle

SEOMOZ Rand Fishkin notes that for content-driven sites, sharing is your most important call-to-action. make is a priority in your design

cassy82

How to earn links to UGC -Make it Easy to Share -Reward Links with Trackbacks -Make Sharing functions a Call To Action #seomoz

briancarter

SEOmoz 2009 Tips & Tricks Seminar Kicks Off http://bit.ly/9wP6L #seomoz

See you all tomorrow for more great tips, tricks and information!

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Posted by randfish

I’m thrilled to announce that after months of hard work, SEOmoz’s biennial Search Engine Ranking Factors is finally launching. Every two years, we survey 100 of the industry’s top SEO minds. In 2009, 72 SEOs participated in the data gathering process, answering survey questions that consumed hours of time. The resulting document is an amazing aggregation of data about how search engines rank documents and, at least in my opinion, should be read by anyone serious about practicing search engine optimization.

The document contains five important sections:

• The Overview – offering the most high level view of the ranking elements
• Ranking Factors – the raw data, showing the importance and level of consensus for each factor; this year also includes a set of opinions on how geo-targeting across countries is perceived.
• Link Building – this year, we’ve also added a section asking our SEO participants which methods they find most effective for link acquisition. I think this data is tremendously valuable and interesting for anyone seeking to engage in link building campaigns.
• Additional SEO Data – we asked a few specific questions around SEO to gauge the opinions of the experts; lots of cool stuff in here, too
• Contributors – a list of those who participated in the survey and details about who they are and where you can find them on the web

My great thanks goes out to Timmy & Sam here at SEOmoz, who helped create this year’s document and to all of the generous participants from across the SEO world. Practitioners in more than a dozen countries around the world, all of whom have extremely busy schedules, gave up their time to help those learning SEO get a better view of the subject – please join me in thanking them.

If you’ve got questions, feedback or want to bring up interesting topics, feel free to do so in the comments on this post.

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This article is by Lauren Brown, a HubSpot marketing intern for the last six months. She’s now leaving to study in Australia. 

About a year ago I had the opportunity to go to Paris for a semester. I had decided to do a study abroad program, and as I’ve been taking French classes for eight years, France was the logical choice.

But right before the forms were due, I decided not to go. I realized that I had not really chosen Paris; I had just seen it as my only option. I took some time to explore other programs, and in four days I will be leaving for Sydney, Australia, an option I hadn’t even considered a year ago.

This week’s top five stories of the week from InboundMarketing.com all prove that you shouldn’t always take the next logical step. Never do anything by default. Assess what’s around you, explore your options and go to Sydney (metaphorically speaking, of course).

1. A Case Study: Using Contests to Build Links

Author: Debra Mastaler of Search Engine Land

In this case study, Mastaler discusses the challenges of working with a client whose industry is highly competitive. The internet was already overflowing with good content about the industry, so she knew her campaign had to be creative; she could not just publish another white paper or article.

Instead, she decided on hosting a no-string-attached contest for which participants were not required, only recommended, to link back to the client’s site. Through a series of sales-pitch-free emails to a top industry association the client had joined, Mastaler helped the client to build trust with potential partners and host a successful contest, resulting in over 50 inbound links to the client’s site.

Lesson: See what’s been done, and do something else

2. If you blog, make it easy for people to comment

Author: David Meerman Scott of WebInkNow

We create blogs to share information and conversation. But as Scott points out in his article, sometimes we are unknowingly squashing the conversation before it has even begun by either not allowing or limiting commenting on our blogs.

Scott suggests opening up your blog to anyone who wants to comment, not just others who use the same blogging platform. If you’re worried about spammers, you can always manually approve comments or install spam-blocking tools like a captcha. One commenter on this post also reminds us that it never hurts to end a post by asking readers to share their thoughts.

Lesson: Let the conversation happen

3. How to Manage Twitter

Author: Chris Brogan

People often wonder how Chris Brogan, as busy as he is, has the time and energy to respond to the dozens of people that tweet him daily. In this blog post, he gives us a little insight on his favorite tools and tips for organization, and how he uses Twitter to maximize its benefits.

What’s important to remember, and Brogan points this out near the end of the post, is that this is his way of using the site. He needs to manage the onslaught of Tweets he receives, connect at events, keep in touch with friends and followers and learn more about cities he’s travelling in, but you may not. Keep this in mind when using Twitter and all social media.

Lesson: Learn from others but do what works best for you

4. SES SJ: SEO Through Blogs And Feeds

Author: Top Rank Blog

Blogging combined with the use of RSS feeds can be a very powerful marketing tool. In a panel at Search Engine Strategies 2009: San Jose, industry leaders discussed how blogging can help search engine optimization efforts, and if you’re not already blogging, why you should be.

As you all probably know, link building is extremely valuable. However, the panelists also share some advice about making your company stand out from the crowd, distributing content and finding the time to blog if you are a small business.

Lesson: Blogging is far from dead

5. Generating New Business Online With Local Search

Author: Stephen Logan of Ezine@rticles

An often overlooked and potentially worthwhile aspect of SEO is local search. Particularly for small businesses, local search can be a beneficial addition to a marketing campaign. In this article, Logan gives some suggestions on ways to move your company to the top of the rankings in local search.

A good start for companies looking to improve their local searching rankings is to make sure the company is listed in all relevant online directories, as these directories create links back to the company’s site. Companies should also identify important keywords, and use the chosen words naturally throughout the text of the website. Tweaking headings and metadata to reflect keywords can also give you an SEO edge.

Lesson: Look to Local Search

Photo Credit: wilf2

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