Washington Post Article About SEO

Interesting article awhile back about SEO in the Washington Post. One of the quotes - from a respected SEO guru named Rand Fishkin - addresses one of the things that we are doing for our clients that seems to be working. We refer to it as e-PR or article PR.

Rand Fishkin, chief executive of a Seattle-based search consultancy called SEOMoz, said he focuses on getting editorial links for his clients, partly by creating feature articles that Web publishers will link to: "We call it link-baiting. The idea is to attract a lot of natural links."

It sounds like the Web's version of public relations, with consultants baiting webmasters much like PR firms pitch stories to reporters. Fishkin's latest success came from creating an online awards contest he called "Web 2.0 Awards," touted on Web pages that linked to his firm's Web site.

Contact us to find out how we can use e-PR to improve your cosmetic dental website marketing.

Dan Goldstein
Page 1 Solutions

Click Fraud

Many web marketers have complained for years that the pay per click (PPC) search engines (including Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing - formerly Overture.com and before that GoTo.com, and others) tolerate fraudulent clicks because they get paid for each click.

There are also a large number of small search PPC engines. These include Kanoodle, MIVA (formerly FindWhat), LookSmart and many others. There have been rumors for years that these search engines artificially inflate their PPC charges with fraudulent click throughs.

Still another problem is Google AdSense, which is Google's program that allows websites to include AdWords (Google's PPC listings) to be on their websites. The website owners receive a small percentage of the revenue from AdWords clicks through on their websites. There have been many documented cases of AdSense participants clicking on listings to increase their revenue from Google. Google is pretty good about catching major abusers of this type of click fraud, but it still continues.

And then there is the problem with competitors. Sometimes competitors will click on your PPC listing to see who you are and what you are promoting. The fact that the click costs you money is not part of the consideration. Some really nasty competitors will even click on your listing multiple times to run up your costs so you reduce your bids or run out of money.

Historically, when we have seen client PPC costs increase and have not seen a reason why that should have happened, we will complain to the PPC search engines. Occasionally, they will reimburse us, but usually, the result of their investigation is that they could find nothing wrong.

Now, the lawsuit settlements - once approved - may allow PPC advertisers to get some portion of their money back. At least they can advertise a little at a reduced rate.

Dan Goldstein
Page 1 Solutions

A Good Description for Your Google Listing

Did you ever wonder how Google comes up with the description for your site in the listing? It is pretty simple, and now you can have some control over it.

Google starts by checking the Open Directory Project to see if your site is listed in that directory. (By the way, if your site is not listed there, I strongly encourage you to submit it today as it will boost your position in the Google listings.) If your site is listed in the Open Directory Project (also known as DMOZ), Google uses the description assigned to your site by the DMOZ editors. If your site is not listed in DMOZ (sometimes it can take six months or longer to get listed there), Google will take the description you provide in your Meta Description Tag.

The problem with this situation is that the description that Google uses for your site in its listings is VERY important since it is a major factor in determining whether potential clients click on your listing. Further, DMOZ editors are known for using bland descriptions that are not very compelling. As long as you are not listed in DMOZ, you can control your listing since it will show what you want it to from your Meta Description Tag. However, once DMOZ accepts your site, you were stuck with their description of your practice - until now....

Now you can override the DMOZ editors' bland description of your practice by adding a very specific meta tag. MSN allows you to do this too. In fact, they were the first to allow this tag and now Google has followed suit. It is called the NOODP (no ODP) tag and it is simple to add in.

Just use any or all of the following:

< name="robots" content="NOODP">
< name="msnbot" content="NOODP">
< name="googlebot" content="NOODP">

Your web marketing firm should know how to use this. The key is making sure that the description that you do use is compelling enough to make potential clients want to click on it.

Dan Goldstein
Page 1 Solutions

Creative Ways to Add Content

Everybody knows content is king on the search engines, but quality combined with quantity are what make a site go from good to great. Just like inventions, it is important to think about what you could do to make your website different from other websites. Uniqueness is just as important as heavy content.

Here are some ideas to tailor your site exclusively for your dental practice:

* Add a Blog or Forum
Blogs or forums allow for frequently updated content to be added to your site. Usually the topics are keyword heavy and relevant to your site. Blogs and forums are easily customizable and are a great way to gain a regular readership base. Whether your blog or forum is about the most recent findings in dental health, about your dental practice or just social commentary, it is sure to spruce up your site.

* Reviews
Whether you are reviewing new products or new procedures, reviews are a great way to get your name out there as a reference on the subject. You cannot only publish reviews on your site; you can also send them to online publications. By getting articles out there, you are promoting yourself and your dental office. It often does not matter what your opinion is, it is more important that you have one.

Noël Otten
Account Manager
Page 1 Solutions

Organic SEO - More than just free listings

When you think of "organic SEO" (search engine optimization), you probably limit your thoughts to the “free” or unpaid listing on search engine results. However, there are different ways to achieve such listings and for the more credible SEO firms, “organic SEO” also applies to HOW they achieve top results.

Search engine optimization companies can generally be divided into two categories. "White Hat" search engine positioning firms focus primarily on a content-based approach and avoid tactics that undermine or deceive the major search engines. "Black Hat" SEO companies typically rely largely on a technology driven approach, that many times ignore the search engine’s terms of service.

Although both approaches can achieve high rankings, a search engine optimization company that interprets and applies the word "organic" more universally believes that a "Black Hat" tactic is not "organic SEO." They approach search engine optimization similar to how Google grew in popularity, organically, and through providing good content and results (rather than relying on mass media advertising).

The following are just some of the comparison differences between the two approaches taken by SEO firms.

Information vs. Technology Loopholes:

Studies indicate that search engine users primarily seek one thing: credible information. They are not investing online time to be entertained or “wowed” by fancy sites or splash pages. They are not looking for digital art. An “organic” search engine optimization company that is truly practicing "organic SEO" recognizes this and refuses optimization work when prospective clients insist that content addition is not an option. Technology-driven SEO firms will allow a practice to leave its website as it is, even if it offers no substantive information. This is because their work is largely technical and designed to trick the search engines into showing content that it would not otherwise. Although there are acceptable technical aspects that any good search engine optimization firm will use, such as relevant page titles and meta tags, there are many more unacceptable methodologies including cloaking, redirects, multiple sites, keyword phrase stuffing, hidden links, and numerous others. A company practicing "organic SEO" will avoid these.

Building A Resource vs. Chasing SE Algorithms:

For those somewhat familiar with SEO, you may be familiar with the terminology, search engine algorithms, which are used to help engines index their listings. Search engines modify algorithms for two reasons. One is to improve results using their most recent research on users. The other is to remove sites that are ranked artificially high. Such changes raise panic in SEO firms, especially "artificial SEO" firms who discover that their core trick no longer works and even may have gotten their clients websites’ removed all together.The websites that typically remain highly ranked, even through these algorithm updates are sites that have value to their visitors and are seen as a resource for their industry. Organic SEO firms generally do not have go back and redo all their work to react to algorithm changes. Artificial search engine optimization companies scramble, looking for a new technical loophole to re-attain the rankings it lost, while organic SEO firms continue adding valuable information-rich content, increasing your website’s value and solidifying its rankings.

Attracting Good Links vs. Link-building Schemes:

Inbound links are critical to the success of a natural listing campaign. But there are different ways to go about it. Firms that employ "organic SEO" will look at the website and find ways to make it something that other sites would want to link to. Artificial SEO tries to find ways to get links pointing to this site without adding anything of value. The latter usually incorporates reciprocal linking schemes, link farms, purchasing text links, and more.Any decent search engine optimization company should ensure your website is listed in the popular directories, like the Yahoo Directory and the Open Directory Project. An organic SEO firm also continually seeks industry specific directories where your site should be listed. Generally speaking, though, "organic SEO" means your site evolves into something that has real value to your prospects.

Learning from SE Research vs. Exploiting Search Engines:

Search engines continually invest in expensive research on what their users expect to see when they conduct search queries, and no company has a bigger vested interest in giving the results their users want than the engines themselves. An "organic SEO" firm will try to learn the results of this research by continually examining websites that figure prominently on top results over an extended period of time. In doing so, the SEO firm using "organic SEO" not only makes the website better for search engines, it leverages the search engines’ research so that the website offers what their users desire. Artificial optimization firms have no real interest in these studies and prefer finding the next technical loophole to exploit, particularly after recent ones no longer work.This also brings up a point about the experience of the users after they find your listing. Since artificial search engine results only focus on loopholes, they don’t invest in finding out what users want, which defeats the whole purpose. In short, you may get visitors, but they will be brief, short-term visitors that do not find what they are looking for and immediately leave.

"Organic" Growth:

An organic SEO firm also looks at a good website as a growing organism, where an artificial SEO company is ok with things remaining continually static. An organic SEO website builds upon itself and learns how to grow and thrive within its search engine environment.
So if you are wanting to be "organic" in your search engine marketing, think of your website like organic foods. What makes them organic isn't just the end product, but the process it takes to grow it. It may also require more work and attention, but the value of the end product is much higher.

Bill Fukui
Page 1 Solutions

Google Moves the Position of Adwords Ads

Google has decided to try out a test and will begin to move the position of the sponsored ads at the top of the screen, in the blue, to the right side of the screen. This is dependant on the behavior of the user. This happens when a user performs multiple searches and does not click on an ad. Google comes to the rationale that the user does not want to see the ads and by moving the ad, lowers the chances of a poor prospect clicking the ad. The user will have to clear their cookies to go back to a normal viewing of the results. So if you are checking up on your keywords and start to see your ads moving to the right hand side of the screen, it is because Google thinks that you are not interested in those ads. If you want to get around this and still check your ads without having to constantly clear your cookies, using Google's ad preview tool (www.google.com/adpreview) can help you accomplish this. This will show you the position of your ads without affecting the impressions, or the amount of times your ad is shown. This will keep your ads more relevant and at a better ranking.

Alex Juel
SEO Specialist
Page 1 Solutions

Using a Blog to increase SEO results

Using a blog to augment your search engine positioning results is a great way of focusing on specific keywords and growing your dental practice’s website into an informational source for users and a powerhouse on the search engines. Many times blog writers will not focus their attention on creating articles that focus on what the blog should be about. Blogs should be an avenue for you to talk about your services to your patients and potential patients.

The question always arises “What should I write a weekly article about?” Well, look at how your website is doing on the search engines. If there is a specific term or phrase that you’re not showing up for, start writing articles focused on that term. Spend a month writing weekly articles on that specific topic. After the month is over, try a different area of practice. You should start seeing results percolate up. This will be due to the increased content on your site and because the articles are specific to what you and your practice offers.

Aaron Gerblich
Account Manager
Page1Solutions

Getting the Highest Search Engine Rankings

It's everyone's wish - Getting page 1 rankings on the major search engines and staying there!

In the face of the constantly evolving SEO techniques and the ever-changing search engine algorithms, how do you become number one and stay there?

The key words are perseverance, consistency and adopting a well- rounded strategy.

Firstly, it's important that the product and the site be relevant to the consumer, not just the search engine.

Focus on very few specific keywords and to put those keywords in the title, description and keyword lists.

Build user-friendly content and update it on a regular basis.

Get quality, incoming links one at a time.

While these guidelines may be just the beginning of search engine optimization, following these keys on a consistent basis will help get your site get a page 1 ranking and will ensure it stays there!

Debby D'silva
SEO Specialist
Page 1 Solutions

Creating Effective Email Campaigns

Many times clients will setup email campaigns thinking that they can produce results by sending out a monthly solicitation to a list of potential leads. As we all know, SPAM is aggravating and many times these emails are viewed as SPAM. It’s often times hard for a practice to accept this, but the fact is, that unless you are providing useful information you’re no better than the Viagra resellers.

So how do you re-purpose your email campaign? The simplest way is to consider changing the overall delivery. Instead of considering it as an advertisement, start thinking of it as a newsletter or a method to deliver information to your list of potential patients. Consider tying your website into the email campaign and promoting the two. This sort of campaign would start bringing repeat visitors to your site and create an informational source for potential patients. A simple way of doing this is by adding a blog to your site. Blogs are simple and allow anyone in the organization (who you permit) to access your site and post articles. If you married the email campaign with your website you could promote your site more effectively through your emails. People will in turn value the information and view your emails less as a solicitation, or intrusion, and more as an informational source, or at least a gateway to one.

This type of viral advertising benefits not only your email solicitations but in turn the overall effectiveness of your website.

Aaron Gerblich
Account Manager
Page 1 Solutions