MarketPosition.com Archives for May, 2003
May 20, 2003
Hidden Images and Links Explained
May 20th, 2003 Update: Matt Cutts, a Google representative, put out a warning at a recent search engine conference in Boston that Google will be cracking down on hidden text and invisible pixel images. Since Google already has the technology to index images, such a threat should carry some weight. You'd be wise to avoid typical methods to hide text and links if you wish to be safe with Google. Rather than hiding links, consider creating a site map page that links to your other important pages without using the transparent pixel technique. We'll report more on this as information becomes available.
May 15, 2003
Study: 40% Change Brands After Researching Online
A recent study by The Dieringer Research Group reported that 40 percent of Internet users in the US changed their opinions of brands due to information they gathered online. That means it's more important than ever to expand the presence of your business on the Web if you wish to influence discerning buyers. It's also just as important to build an effective Web site that educates and sells consumers on the products and services you offer.
May 15, 2003
Will Yahoo Purchase Overture?
Yahoo! priced $750 million in convertible bonds on May 1st despite having $1.5 billion in cash on hand. If you have that much cash on hand, why would you need another $750 million? This has led to speculation that the search giant may be planning a major acquisition soon. According to some analysts, the most likely target could be Overture. Overture's stock jumped 6% the following day after a long run of sagging stock values.
May 15, 2003
WebPosition's Page Critic Made Easy!
By Robin Nobles
WebPosition Gold's Page Critic is a wonderful tool for checking your pages to learn how to get them primed for top rankings. However, because the Critic offers such a huge volume of information, one issue I see with my students is that they think they have to do every single thing that Critic tells them to do. They spend hours and hours trying to create a "perfect" page, rather than following the Critic's basic guidelines to get their pages online sooner rather than later.
May 15, 2003
Advanced Tip: Improving Table Prominence for Higher Rankings
Seasoned search engine marketers know that to gain top rankings, your important keywords should appear as close to the beginning of your HTML code as possible. In search engine marketing lingo, this is called keyword "prominence." Search engines assign greater value to keywords that appear early in the text.
