Periodic Table for SEO Elements

By James Hobson
For those who may not have heard about the nifty new SEO Periodic Table graphic available at Search Engine Land we recommend taking a peak at it.

Here is a snippet of their introduction:

Search engine optimization — SEO — may seem like alchemy to the uninitiated. But there is a science to it. Search engines reward pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring your content generates the right type of signals. Our chart below summarizes the major factors to focus on for search engine ranking success. The Search Engine Land Guide To SEO explains factors in more depth, with tips and a tutorial on implementing them.

This cool illustration was created by Column Five, and is under copyright protection for Third Door Media.

Why Is Facebook Shutting Down Apps?

By James Hobson
Facebook, the social media juggernaut, has abruptly began shutting down apps, leaving tens of thousnads of people wondering why. There was no asvisement of the action prior to execution, just BAM,and it's done.

Supposedly, Facebook has launced an algorithm that automatically shuts down apps which are deemed to be posting "too often" to a users wall. No one seems to know what constitutes "too often", much less why it matters.

At this time we do not have a list of any particular apps affected by the algorithm induced app death, or any information on further implications. We'll post more info as it becomes available from our sources.

Google Under Federal Scrutiny - It's Feds vs Microsoft Revisited

By James Hobson
The federal government is preparing to go after Google on the grounds that Google has "abused its dominance in Web-search advertising". I don't know what that means other than they have very popular products, they promote them very well, and they are wildly successful. Only through a socialist or communist view could being successful in business be viewed as criminal.

A person could easily argue that this pending action is an adaptation of the assault on Capitalism similar to when the Clinton Administration sued Microsoft. Oddly enough, despite a seemingly cozy relationship with the current Administration, the Obama Administration seems to have no reservations in harrassing Google. When nothing else makes sense, follow the money trail.

Because I don't hear a clamor among consumers, or advertisers such as our company, it's easy to assume that this is all about a shakedown to confiscate money from Google for Federal coffers . . . . or "encourage" donations to a political party that desperately needs money to polish their image for a 2012 presidential election campaign.

For information from professional journalists we have provide below, a snippet from a Wall Street Journal article by THOMAS CATAN and AMIR EFRATI
You can also read the full article here


Federal regulators are poised to hit Google Inc. with subpoenas, launching a broad, formal investigation into whether the Internet giant has abused its dominance in Web-search advertising, people familiar with the matter said.

On today's digits: the FTC is poised to serve Google with subpoenas as the Commission looks to explore the company's dominance on the Web; Walt Mossberg gives us his review of the Google entirely cloud-based laptop, the Chromebook; and, tips for creating protective passwords (first step: stop using "QWERTY", maybe?)

The civil probe, which has the potential to reshape how companies compete on the Internet, is the most serious legal threat yet to the 12-year-old company, though it wouldn't necessarily lead to any federal allegations of wrongdoing against Google. read more

Bing Webmaster Tools Are New

By James Hobson
This is a reprint of an anouncement about changes to Bing Webmaster Tools

As of June 7th, the Bing Webmaster Tools site that you know has changed.

Bing has been investing in building its Webmaster Tools for a while now and we have recently launched a revised webmaster experience that offers expansion in tools, data coverage and content. The site redesign makes it easier for you to find content, tools and data to help meet your needs. Our new features include expanded functionality, and the data that coincides with these new features. With over 40 new self-help documents on hand, publishers now have access to a wide range of help and guidance content across various topics such as how to use our tools and search engine optimization.

Dear Bing Webmaster User,

As of June 7th, the Bing Webmaster Tools site that you know has changed.

Bing has been investing in building its Webmaster Tools for a while now and we have recently launched a revised webmaster experience that offers expansion in tools, data coverage and content. The site redesign makes it easier for you to find content, tools and data to help meet your needs. Our new features include expanded functionality, and the data that coincides with these new features. With over 40 new self-help documents on hand, publishers now have access to a wide range of help and guidance content across various topics such as how to use our tools and search engine optimization.

As part of our investment, we’ve built new functionality to help publishers find relevant data and control their accounts. Here are some of the major features and improvements Bing Webmaster account users will see:

– Crawl delay configurable by the hour
ο Control when and at what pace Bing crawls your website
– User and role management
ο Control who can access your Bing Webmaster account and what functions they can use
– Index Explorer
ο Improvements to reliability and how fast data appears in your reports
– URL Normalization
ο Manage which URLs from your site Bing holds in its index
– Deep Links Management
ο Manage which deep links are shown for your website, when your domain is selected


Beyond the updated and enhanced features, Bing Webmaster Tools has also launched detailed self-help guides and how-to documents. We’ve covered a wide range of topics, from how to accomplish tasks within Bing Webmaster tools, to what you should be focused on when performing search engine optimization. Here’s a quick peek at some of the new content topics in the 40+ new guides and how to documents launched:

• Using Bing Webmaster Tools
• Webmaster Tools Data explained
• How to perform Link Building
• Removing or blocking pages from our index
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) guidance
• Managing URL parameters
• Implementing Rich Snippets (www.schema.org)
• Managing Canonicalization (duplicate content)
• Managing redirects
• 404 page management
• Rich Media and Search


Watch for new content to appear monthly as we invest further in explaining features and highlight areas of work webmasters are focused on.

Visit Bing Webmaster Tools to see the new features in your account, and to access the new content.

SEO For Wordpress Templates

By James Hobson
There is a widespread use of templates in general, and for Wordpress in particular. Due to the unique functionality of the Wordpress platform, it can be challenging to get proper SEO work done on a Wordpress template. We will offer some suggestions here.

To properly SEO any website it is important to first understand the principles of on-page SEO. From there you can develop a specific strategy for the overall site, and each page in particular. You should certainly avoid all forms of black-hat SEO and use only proven white-hat SEO methods.

When you are confident that you understand SEO basics, and have your plan ready to implement, you should add to you Wordpress account the plugin named All In One SEO Pack . This is an extremely good SEO tool for managing basic SEO elements on your site.

In addition to utilizing the All In One SEO Pack, it is important to develop optimized content (text), use strategic intrasite linking, and take steps to meet Google's webmaster guidelines. We personally recommend making certain that your website meets W3C validation standards, and is fully cross browser compliant.

For more information on effective SEO strategies you can explore Google or Youtube.

Internet Yellow Pages - Our Thoughts On IYP

By James Hobson

The yellow pages print directories are all but dead. In order to protect the massive revenue at stake the phone companies were dragged kicking and screaming into “this internet stuff”. Now, with carefully crafted scripts in hand, the yellow pages reps have switched their stories and talk about how great the internet is, and tell tales of how much better their internet products are this year. Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), templated websites, “click programs”, and other gimmicky products often deliver lackluster results and don’t deliver a good ROI.

Do the Visibility Test! Use a search term that your customer may use and see if the internet yellow page website is on page one. If not, it’s a good indicator that your results will be very bad for that search term if you advertise on their site. When people use Google, they rely on the first page results to find a business! Forget the sales material and let your eyes guide you to the truth about value and potential.

If you take notice, every year your yellow page rep brings in a “great new product” which replaces last year’s “great new product”. Some takeaways from this annual event are: 1) they are essentially admitting that last year’s product was not so good, 2) they need to show something “new and exciting” to restore your sense of hope to renew your advertising, and 3) your sales rep still cannot fully explain internet marketing – they just stick to their sales pitch.

Here is an insider’s view of the yellow page business – Yellow Pages advertising was once a necessary evil for business owners. The phone companies exploited this and squeezed as much revenue as possible from their advertisers. Marketing programs almost force advertisers to spend more every year, and usually penalized advertisers for downsizing their advertising programs. Reps are trained in how to “pitch” products to make the biggest possible sale. Sales reps rarely understand the costs or effectiveness of other advertising options, and they almost never encourage advertisers to spend money elsewhere. Phone companies sell online advertising. They are not a true internet marketing company.

IYP Website Contracts are problematic becaue you are locked into a long term contract with limited design and development options.

1)Yellow Pages websites are “sold” to customers requiring monthly payments for as long as you want the website. The truth is that you do not own the website and it will never be paid off! Over a 10 year period you may pay well over $30,000 for a templated website, when you could own a custom website design for $4,000 or less by using a true website design company. Plus, you can easily reach a live person at a web design firm.
2)Yellow Pages websites are typically bland templates built out in a production environment that stresses quick completion to start your billing. Aesthetics are sacrificed for speed. Content is created without any real research on the client’s industry, competition or local market situations.
3)Yellow Pages websites do not include true search engine optimization techniques which means that theses sites will hardly ever rank well in competitive headings. Interestingly enough, this ranking problem “can be solved by buying internet yellow pages advertising”!
4)Yellow Pages websites do not offer many high value options like RSS feeds, W3C validation, searchable catalogs, e-commerce, website analytics, and sleek custom design features.

Search Marketing products are problematic because you are locked into a contract regardless of your satisfaction. You have little control over your program, and don't have a full range of internet marketing services.

1)“Click Packages” hype the number of clicks to your website which does not mean sales. In many cases you may not have control over the keywords selected to generate clicks.
2)No creation or implementation of critical search engine support elements.
3)No critical support services for link building, internet press releases, blog development, etc.
4)Limited to no support for submissions to vertical directories, social media and bookmarking sites, blog management, and other online listing opportunities.
5)Performance reports have no backup data and typically conflict with third party analytics data. Try Google Analytics and compare the results to what your IYP rep shows you . . . and ask them to explain the differences.

If you’re tired of yellow pages books and want to leverage the power of the Internet you should employ the services of a true internet marketing company that can provide you with objective advice on search engine marketing and local search marketing, as well as provide cost effective solutions without expensive, long term contracts.

Top Search Position Gains 37-percent of Clicks - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

By James Hobson
If you've wondered about the importance of SEO, and the potnetial value of a well managed PPC program, then you should read this article. I think that most anyone will be surprised to see the huge difference it makes to be at the top of page 1.

Top Search Position Gains 37-percent of Clicks - Website Magazine - Website Magazine