Search Google for a query like “seo myths” or “how to do seo” and you’ll see the top results are often dominated by old articles that either gave bad advice in the first place, mixed advice, or advice that is now outdated. Some old SEO advice is still good but some of it was nonsense. For example, in many articles I find that SEO pundits were telling readers that “PageRank no longer matters”. PageRank has always mattered — it just never mattered as much as most people in the SEO community thought Click to continue […]
Year: 2013
Oh Google Hummingbird, You REALLY Suck at Search
It is getting to the point where I can no longer use Google to search the Web. Every day I have to clear my browser cache/cookies so that Hummingbird doesn’t get its evil, nasty, filthy little claws into my queries. Whoever at Google thought this “We’ll remember everything you search for” idea would be good for the Web was obviously shot up with more heroin than a Taliban can sell on the open market. For many weeks I have found myself designing more complex, more intricate queries. I kept Click to continue […]
How to Promote Your Website for Free
Free Website promotion remains a cornerstone of Internet marketing but there is so much mixed and outdated advice available on the topic these days that people can be forgiven if they come away from the SERPs in a state of total confusion. In 2012 I wrote “Promote Your Website – How to Do it For Free” on SEO Theory (and did you notice that the URL spells out “lessons in humility on the query space”?). I provided some practical advice there but let me address the issue from a different angle. Step Click to continue […]
On the Perils of Using SEO Tools to Help With SEO
I love SEO tools. They are tasty, crunchy little morsels that make for delightful morning snacks. I had a case of the munchies this morning and so I’ll share my masticating thoughts on a recently announced SEO tool. Actually, I’m just going to make fun of it. You see, a while back I was dancing and singing down the Yellow Brick Road — well, actually, I was browsing SEO Blog, which is a pretty cool SEO blog aggregator site (disclaimer: SEO Theory is one of the blogs included in their feeds). I Click to continue […]
Social Media Mistakes that Are Easy to Avoid
A friend of mine on Facebook today (and yesterday) shared a photo of a huge blister on his toe. It was about the size of a grape, in fact. Of course, he got lots of sympathy and plenty of requests from his friends to visit a doctor. He also had one person unfriend him. This might not be a big deal for some folks, but for someone who has hung out a billboard as a web marketing professional, it’s the kind of dumb mistake that can lose you a lot of credibility. It was also the inspiration for Click to continue […]
You’ll Never Believe the Message We Got from Google…
This morning I received an email from “Link Removal” with the subject line “You’ll never believe the message we got from Google…” Needless to say, I was intrigued. It turns out that the sender wants me to remove some links to a site. I always enjoyed critiquing link request emails in one of my other SEO blogs, but now it looks like I can start critiquing link removal requests. Here’s the text of the email, with the identifying stuff removed: Hi, Google has complained to us about some of Click to continue […]
Confused Over Web Design Basics? You Should Be
UPDATE: I have disabled the experimental ad described in this article because the Javascript conflicts with the theme design.I released an eBook over the weekend. You can read about it on SEO Theory. It’s called SELECTIONS FROM THE SEO THEORY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER, VOLUME 1 and if you follow that link you will be able to read all about it. But here’s the thing. Although I’ll need to promote the book more aggressively, after spending a lot of time working on that project I decided to experiment Click to continue […]
My Take on Google’s 100% Implementation of Secure Search
We have now officially entered the NOT PROVIDED AGE, where Web marketers can no longer expect to see Google’s keyword referral data in their analytics unless they are part of the AdWords program and connect their AdWords account to their Google Analytics account. This change has been a long time coming. Google has always promoted “(Not provided)” as a user-oriented policy that protects user search terms from marketers. Of course, Google excluded its own AdWords customers from that “consumer Click to continue […]
How to Get Search Engine Visitors without Building Links
One reason I enjoy reading Michael Martinez’s articles about search engine optimization is that he’s an SEO who hasn’t drunk the “it’s all about link building” Kool-Aid. He’s pointed out in multiple blog posts (How to Get Traffic to Your Website for Free is one of my favorites of these) that link building isn’t even necessary to build traffic. All that’s really necessary is the willingness and the ability to publish interesting content on a regular basis. Earlier this year, I tested this approach Click to continue […]
How to Increase the Value of Your Website
Not everyone wants to sell their website. But if you’re planning an exit strategy, maximize the amount of money your site sells for. This post offers some practical suggestions for increasing your site’s value. Invest in a premium domain name. In real estate, a house in a good location is more valuable that a house in a less desirable location. The same is true on the Internet. A site on a premium domain is worth more than the same site on a less desirable domain. For example, “hotels.com” is Click to continue […]
Creative Marketing is all about Finding the Next Problem to Solve
Whenever I need inspiration for a new blog post I put on my headphones and listen to Classic Yes’ “Tales from Topographic Oceans”. The music inspires me although the words are kind of freaky. I listen to music when I need to be creative because I have a problem with creativity: I’m not the most creative guy on Earth. In fact, most of the time what I create can be boiled down to “crap”, “mediocrity”, and “rehashed aphorisms”. Or maybe I just spend a lot of time quoting my favorite books and movies Click to continue […]
The Search Engine is Not Your Customer
As Web marketers step back and reassess their “best practices” for attracting search referral traffic, I think one of the most important points has yet to be raised: that a search engine neither buys nor recommends your products. We seek out bloggers because they can recommend our products and services to other people. We seek out customers because they buy our products and services. But all we ask of search engines is that they send people to visit our Websites. The average marketing profile Click to continue […]