Latest Articles

SEO 101: Back to the Basics

November 11, 2010 By Webposition SEO Team

Keeping up with the latest in SEO requires the same dedication demanded of those who train for triathlons.  Seriously, just thinking about it almost makes you reach for a sports drink.

But professional pride drives most of us to not only stay knowledgeable about the newest methods, but to also implement them.  And because search engines continually update their algorithms, we often must also adjust our efforts accordingly to maintain the page rank we’ve already worked so hard to earn…all while answering the numerous demands from multiple business stakeholders that often have little to no understanding about SEO in general.  (Take another sip of your sports drink.)

Let’s be honest, modifying our strategies for whatever reason has become a reflex, but it doesn’t always benefit our overall SEO efforts.  Our strategies quickly grow so complex that if they were posted to the Internet, they could rank in the Top Ten Results for “How in the world did we end up here?”

If keeping up with it all has made your strategies too convoluted, it may be time to revisit those tried-and-true SEO 101 basics that have proven effective time and time again.  Offer users solid content, and optimize your keywords on and off the page.  Build a site that users want to keep visiting and that other sites want to link to.  The most successful SEO efforts are built upon a foundation that’s stood the test of time and changing search algorithms.

Happy Birthday Google

September 27, 2010 By Webposition SEO Team

Today, Google turns 12 years old.  And to mark the occasion, today’s Google Doodle is of a cake painting by well-known artist Wayne Thiebaud.

This year has already proved eventful for the search giant with its introduction of Google TV, infamous Pac Man doodle, Wi-Fi data collection troubles and battle with the Chinese government.

Yes, Google has had its difficulties this year but whichever search engine you call home page, it’s hard to deny that Google has been (and continues to be) a game-changer.

So, Happy Birthday Google!  We can hardly wait to see what happens when you’re old enough to drive.

Google Instant’s Impact on SEO

September 14, 2010 By Sue Spiker

SEO is constantly changing, and Google Instant will undoubtedly change the game yet again.  Another of Google’s improvements for the year, Instant guesses what you’re most likely looking for as you type and displays search results accordingly.  Essentially, you get predictive search results without that pesky need to hit “Enter”.

All in the name of serving up search results even faster. Which brings us to the big question – how will Google Instant affect SEO?

Over time, Google Instant could change how we use search by offering a wider variety of search results faster, enabling us to refine our searches more quickly.  And because the end goal of driving web traffic remains the same, logic dictates that Instant may also change how we get our own webpages in front of users’ eyes.

If your webpage is already optimized for specific keywords, Google Instant won’t change your search engine rankings for those terms.  But because it displays the most likely search phrases and top results, optimizing for those additional keywords may become standard.  For example, start entering “fitness equipment”.  By the time you hit the letter “n”, a different keyword, “fitness magazine”, is already being predicted – as is the first page of “fitness magazine” search results.

“Fitness equipment” isn’t even suggested until you enter the entire term “fitness”.  So, if you’re in the fitness equipment business, users can easily get sidetracked before your primary keyword is even suggested.  If it’s appropriate for your business, you may want to consider additionally optimizing for “fitness magazine” as well.

One thing is certain.  Whatever comes down the pike, adapting your SEO strategies will be critical to your website’s longevity and ultimately, your success.  Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam Team, summed it up quite nicely when he stated, “I’ve said it before, but SEO is in many ways about change. The best SEOs recognize, adapt, and even flourish when changes happen.”

Watch the announcements:

Sept 8, 2010 – Google Instant  Announcement at SFMOMA

Sept 7, 2010 – Eric Schmidt Speaks at IFA in Berlin: “Never under estimate the importance of fast”

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.

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.

Is Yahoo Flatlining?

June 21, 2010 By korbodo

We were doing some research into Father’s Day keyword positions for a SullysBlog.com post using WebPosition Reporter, and noticed something odd.

There was almost NO movement in rankings on Yahoo.

Unsure if Yahoo’s flat lines were an anomaly, we took a look at different report with over 200 keywords and saw a similar trend. There was movement in 12% of Google positions, 7% had some change in Bing and less than 3% had any change on Yahoo.

Almost as interesting is the volatility in positions on Bing – more up and down vs. a visible, gradual trend on Google. Perhaps once Bing receives an influx of traffic after the Yahoo cut-over, and therefore more user and click data, we’ll start to see more gradual trends at Bing?