Latest Articles
Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO)
September 2, 2010 By Sue Spiker
Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) is an effective and often overlooked extension of SEO. But, it’s actually an opportunity to support the content you’ve (hopefully) already worked so hard to optimize. And even extend that content’s visibility.
According to comScore’s May 2010 figures, “U.S. Internet users watched nearly 34 billion videos in May.” That makes VSEO a tremendous opportunity to:
- Drive web traffic
- Boost brand identity
- Add life to your web presence
- Connect with customers
- Showcase your expertise
- Build authority within your industry
And because YouTube “accounted for the vast majority of videos viewed”, creating your own YouTube Channel is an obvious place to begin your own VSEO efforts. YouTube tags and indexes posted videos to show up its own search results based on much the same information that search engines use to index webpages to show up in their results. Entering the right titles, tags and descriptions increases your video’s chance of being listed in the search results for YouTube and the major search engines.
Like every other aspect of your strategy, VSEO requires a carefully thought-out approach to effectively generate user interest, go viral and drive traffic to your website. And while your own Channel may not generate huge numbers, you can still increase your web presence simply by posting easily-searched 2- to 3-minute videos. So while you’re implementing general SEO strategies, consider video search optimization as a way to increase your web presence and web traffic.
Yahoo now has Bing-Power
August 25, 2010 By Webposition SEO Team
It’s official. Yahoo!’s transition from Yahoo Search to Bing-powered organic search results is now complete. The Yahoo! search interface remains the same, but Microsoft’s search technology now generates the search results. This transition began a week ago and, in a blog posting by Shashi Seth, Senior VP of Yahoo! Search Products, was stated to have gone smoothly.
“This is a great milestone for Bing and Yahoo! and our customers, and we are happy to report the transition has gone smoothly and we feel great about the progress our search alliance has been making over the summer.”
While Yahoo! continues to make improvements to its search experience, Microsoft will migrate Yahoo’s advertising customers to adCenter and is expecting to complete that phase by fall.
So far, this move is in only the US and Canada markets and is only available in English. However, it can affect some users’ search engine rankings. What’s really interesting is that a webpage may rank differently in Bing compared to the new Bing-powered Yahoo!. If you’re tracking your search engine rankings, it’s still a good idea to track your rankings across Bing and Yahoo! separately. You can do a quick check on your search rankings free at www.webposition.com.
comScore’s July 2010 US Search Engine Rankings
August 20, 2010 By Sue Spiker
comScore’s July 2010 US Search Engine Rankings report is out. And, starting this month it includes two versions of the search engine query statistics – the traditional “Core Search” numbers and the new “Explicit Core Search” metric.
Here’s the difference. Core Search captures all qualified searches and remains consistent with comScore’s previous monthly reports. The new Explicit Core Search is an extracted metric of Core Search, and it contains only searches that are the direct result of users interacting with the search box. It excludes supplemental system-generated queries such as slideshows.
Because of this new metric, comScore’s July numbers may initially leave some confused and making it difficult to compare with last year’s figures.
|
Core Search |
Explicit Core Search |
||||
|
Google |
61.6% |
-1 point |
Google |
65.8% |
-0.4% |
Last month, Cameron Meierhoefer, comScore’s Executive VP of Analytics, discussed the reasoning behind the then-upcoming change. And in his Monday blog post, Meirhoefer describes Explicit Core Search as a way to provide “increased transparency into the search market” and that it’s meant to enable “each interested stakeholder to determine which view of the market they deem most appropriate depending on the particular circumstance.”
Essentially, comScore is responding to the recent changes in how some search providers are generating portions of their search results and is presenting a way to categorize each type of search, letting its clients choose which is most applicable for them.
But however you look at it, Yahoo has made the most progress while Bing remained relatively flat. Over the past couple months, Yahoo’s numbers have been in question due to the implementation of its slideshow feature, but with the Explicit Core Search we can now see the true gains in market share. Only time will tell if it can maintain this momentum and while some may worry about the decline in Google’s market share, these numbers are almost surely encouraging to Bing and Yahoo as they move forward with their partnership.
In the meantime, analysts still hold on to their wait-and-see approach as we look forward to seeing how Explicit Core Search impacts the ever-evolving search industry.
YPO: The Original SEO
August 17, 2010 By Scott Penrose
You may not be familiar with the name YPO (Yellow Pages Optimization), but you’ve seen it in action.
Go grab your Yellow Pages directory. What is that you ask? It’s that big book full of ads sitting in the closet under the bread maker you always said you’d use. Thumb to a category like pest control and tell me what you see.
The concept of advertising optimization is nothing new. Long before search engines and secret algorithms, all a person needed to know to get a first page listing under their Yellow Pages category was the alphabet. Eventually, somebody figured out that all they had to do to make sure more eyeballs saw their company’s name was to stick some A’s at the beginning of it.
Now, if you want to rank on the first page of say, Google…the old formula was that the more links you had, the more popular you must be and so the higher you would rank. The concept is similar to “Alpha Loading” your company’s name with A’s. The more A’s (or links) you have, the closer to the top you ‘ll be.
So the next time you think SEO is something new, think back to your handy dandy Yellow Pages. As long as there are marketers trying to sell products, there will be marketers who try to game the system whether they be online OR offline.
SEO in the Mobile Search Space
June 17, 2010 By Sue Spiker
In 2007, search went crazy for mobile devices. Once the iPhone launched, Google’s search on the mobile Internet bloomed. Then smartphones were introduced – they now have about 15% of the mobile search market, and statistics show that smartphone users are more engaged on their mobile devices than ever before.
Which means that now, due to the limited display space on a mobile device, the top search rankings have become more valuable…but the details of each listing are shorter. Each carrier displays results in a different layout, and each carrier is highly focused on providing the most relevant information to their end user. For optimum SEO, this focus makes your meta data, description and keywords even more essential.
Why is Meta Data Important?
- Results listings are shorter compared to traditional search results, and the URL displayed is often truncated to save valuable space.
- Some users evaluate the URL itself when selecting a site to click on. However, many mobile search results display a URL based on its relevancy to a user’s query AND location.
- Mobile devices now provide GPS coordinates with geo-targeting capabilities. So, much of mobile search focuses on providing relevant local results that include maps, weather, local points of interest, sports scores, etc.
- Some mobile devices allow you to set your location preferences for search results, and these location settings impact both the local and vertical results the user sees.
What does this mean to you?
Everything if you want to be listed at the top of mobile search results.
Mobile SEO techniques are still in the beginning stages and there is much left to be learned. Many providers continually test to improve mobile search experience, making mobile SEO more challenging than traditional SEO. But, not so much we have to re-invent the wheel. So keep your eyes wide open on these slowly forming standards and be ready.
Online Search Behavior for BP Oil Spill
June 14, 2010 By korbodo
As the catastrophe of the oil spill continues to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico, and the discovery that BP is buying related search terms sparks outrage, it certainly got us wondering what people were searching for.
Using anonymous search data provided by InfoSpace, Inc.’s Dogpile.com, we gathered close to 150 examples from June 8, 2010 that included the search term “oil spill”, and looked at what people searched for next.
After viewing search results for “oil spill”, close to half searched again. The top follow-on keywords were “bp spill live cam” at 13% of users, “gulf oil spill” and “oil spill cleanup” at 11% each, followed by “oil spill live feed”, “Obama”, and “bp oil spill” at 5%, 4%, and 3% respectively.
As searchers continued their journey, they used emotionally stirring terms: pelican, oil spill update, unique marine group, oil cleanup jobs, boycott bp icons, crying bird, bird in oil spill, larry king on oil spill, obama mad, and bp flack.
Unsurprisingly, while only 6% of searchers started with a search for images, 18% of the searches across all sessions were for images.
How to Leverage Expired Domains to Increase Your Rankings and Traffic
May 15, 2004 By Webposition SEO Team
Written by Matt Paolini / Edited by Brent Winters
New sites appear on the Web each day at a blistering pace. Just as thousands of new sites are born each week, according to DomainsBot.com, one hundred thousand other domains will disappear. What happens to these domain names? Unless the owner continues to pay rent on the defunct domain, the name will eventually expire and be offered back to the public.
If you know where to look, you can often purchase a pre-owned domain name at a bargain basement price.There are at least five benefits to buying “used” rather than “new” when it comes to domain names:
- A Better Name – With so many of the best domain names already taken, many businesses settle for a domain that is less than ideal when they first get started. However, there are services that can watch for the availability of your ideal domain name and can then grab it as soon as it becomes available. Keep reading, as I’ll explain more about this soon.
- Better Rankings via Keyword-rich Names – While you may have a great domain name now, it may not include all of your best keywords in the name. Sites with the keyword in the domain tend to rank higher than domains without the keyword. Many search engine optimizers will divide their content among various keyword topics with each topic hosted on it’s own domain. This allows you to improve the focus and theme of each Web site, along with the ability to cross-link the sites for improved link popularity. WebPosition Gold’s Page Critic describes this strategy in more detail.
- Existing Traffic Flow – Many active domains still receive a steady stream of traffic when they expire. If you snap up a previously active domain that is relevant to your business soon after it expires, you could benefit from an instant flow of free traffic.
- Reselling Domains for Profit - There are individuals and companies that turn a profit from domain name speculation. This is similar to someone purchasing land in a certain area believing that it’s value will increase over time or when offered to the right buyer. There’s risk involved of course, but if you’re careful, you can make money.
- Built-in Link Popularity - If you’ve had a Web site long, you know building link popularity takes time and dedication. Previously active pre-owned domains often have dozens if not hundreds of existing links to them. Those links do not disappear as soon as a domain expires. Acquiring such a domain can save you a lot of work if you can find a domain that relates to your type of business.
Purchase only Relevant Domains
It is very important to find a domain name that is relevant to your industry. For instance, if you own a Web site design company, don’t try to purchase an expired domain name that was once hosting a clothing site just because it has a lot of incoming links. Remember, search engines rely heavily on “relevance” when calculating your link popularity score.
If your pre-owned domain has a number of sites related to “clothing” pointing to your Web design site, the traffic will not be targeted and the links will not be relevant. This could hurt your link popularity score and visitors traveling from these links would feel deceived, and thereby will be unlikely to buy anything. In addition, Google and other engines may frown on such a tactic, declaring it a form of link spamming. However, if you’re in the clothing business or are planning to start one, then a pre-owned domain like myclothing.com could be an excellent buy for you. For example, you might be able to acquire such a domain for $20 that includes several dozen incoming links and a flow of existing traffic. In this scenario, everyone wins.
Some of the most valuable pre-owned domains are those that are already included in Yahoo and DMOZ with a description relevant to the new site you have planned. These directories are great for improving a new site’s link popularity and traffic.
In this article, I will supply you with the resources needed to help you locate and purchase pre-owned domain names that already have built in traffic and link popularity. Armed with the proper tools and knowledge, it is possible for you to find a “hidden gem” for no more than the cost of a regular domain.
Domain Name Life Cycle
Our first step is to become familiar with the actual domain name life cycle. This is the cycle of a domain from the time it is first registered through the time it is finally deleted.
Below is an outline of the important phases of a domain’s life cycle:
After purchasing a domain, it becomes active for 1 to 10 years depending on the length of the subscription. Most people purchase domains for one or two year terms and then can renew at the end of that term.
Expired and Pre-owned Domain Names Resources
In order to find expired and pre-owned domain names, you need to know where they’re listed. There are many services that maintain large databases of domain names that have expired each day. Below, I have compiled a small list of the best services I could find:
DomainsBot.com – This service offers an extensive list of expired, high traffic, and pre-owned domains that are listed in Yahoo and DMOZ. They have a light version that you can try for free. Alternatively, you can subscribe to their pay service for $34.95 per month which offers unlimited access to all areas of their site such as automated email notifications of expired domains and much more. There’s also a search function to help you find the domains most relevant to your business. I subscribed to the service and was very satisfied with the results.
Pool.com – This site also offers an expired domain names list via its searchable interface. Best of all, it’s FREE. You can view their list here.
DirectNic.com – They offer a list of expired and pre-owned domain names. You can sign up for free.
Domain Name Pro – In my opinion, this $59 software tool is an absolute must to save time in locating the best pre-owned domain deals. It can be used in conjunction with the services listed above, which is what I would suggest, or it can be used on its own. The program is feature rich and after trying about every expired domain software program on the market, this one is by far the best I’ve found.
For example, Domain Name Pro gives you the capabilities to import domains from an external text or html file. Or, you can copy and paste a list of domain names into the program. It then reports the link popularity of each domain as well as the Alexa rating and the status of the domain (i.e., the WHOIS information).The Alexa rating gives you an idea for how much traffic the domain may receive after you purchase it.
Another great feature of Domain Name Pro is its ability to intelligently parse through text that may contain both domain names and extraneous text. This is extremely useful when you’re trying to quickly copy and paste from a Web page or text file produced by another program or service.
The whole point of Domain Name Pro and services like it is to help you efficiently sift through the tens of thousands of expired domains and zero in on only the most attractive ones.
You’ll also find Domain Name Pro to be a great domain name brainstorming tool. Just plug in a couple of words related to your business, click “Search” and you have a list of thousands of domains that are available for purchase within minutes!
How to Estimate the Resell Value of a Domain
If you are thinking of purchasing an expired domain to resell for profit, be sure to learn how to estimate the value of a domain. You’ll also need to have a good plan on how you’re going to resell it later. There are many helpful resources on the Web for this, including a free guide at domain-research-labs. While you can turn a profit reselling domains, you must be careful not to purchase a lemon, or to pay too much for the domain.
Backordering a Domain Name
So you’ve searched the list of new and pre-owned domains and found nothing? If you haven’t found that perfect domain, there are several services that will allow you to backorder any domain name for a fee. If the domain does become available, each of the following services will attempt to register the expired domain on your behalf.
SnapNames – At $69 per domain name, SnapNames will attempt to register a domain name as soon as it expires, on your behalf for a period of one year. If the name becomes registered to someone else within that year or if you want to pursue another domain name, SnapNames will allow you to modify your subscription as many times as you like.
Pool.com – This is probably the best and most successful service I tried. Unlike many similar services, they only charge you if they actually secure the domain for you. However, there’s one catch. Once Pool.com secures the domain for registration, they will notify you and if there are other people whom backordered the same domain through their service, then they will auction off the domain name to the highest bidder.
Enom – Enom offers a service called “First Dibs.” The service costs $35 per year, which includes the price of the domain registration for one year, assuming no one submits a higher bid than you. Unfortunately, you pay the $35 fee upfront even if they aren’t successful at securing the domain. When and if they secure the domain name, whoever previously submitted the highest bid wins the domain.
GoDaddy – This can be the least expensive of these services, but from my experience, the least effective. I tried GoDaddy’s service and unfortunately didn’t have any luck securing expired domain names. You pay only $18.95 per domain name. However, they keep that money until they finally secure the domain that you originally requested or another domain if you should change your mind later. Your odds of securing a domain increases if the original registrar for the domain is GoDaddy.
Backordering services should be used with caution. The reason being that many people are utilizing the same or similar services to try and register those same domain names when they expire. Competition can be fierce for the better domain names that have not yet expired. Whichever service manages to register the domain first, wins. Therefore, there isn’t any guarantee that you will be the one to successfully acquire the name assuming it ever becomes available at all. That’s why using any service that requires a non-refundable fee upfront is a gamble.
On the other hand, an automated service will give you the best chance to grab a domain you really want as they monitor availability 24 hours a day. Many will also notify you when any changes are made to the WHOIS record.
Of course a back-order service is not always needed. There are thousands of pre-owned domains available today without having to wait around for availability. Therefore, try to find that hidden gem from the lists of currently available domains before considering a back-order service.
In Conclusion:
You might be asking yourself, “Does this really work?” or “Is this worth my time?” For me at least, the answer was a definite yes. I tried it and found it very possible to discover those “diamonds in the rough.” Through my research, I found and registered several domain names that had expired or were about to expire that were already included in Yahoo, DMOZ and/or had high link popularity. I benefited not only from the new domain, but also from the built-in traffic, the instant link popularity, and by using WebPosition Gold, the improved rankings.
Matt Paolini is a Webmaster and support specialist for WebTrends, the makers of WebPosition Gold. He’s also an experienced Search Engine Optimization Specialist and Cold Fusion, ASP.NET and SQL server developer.