Back to newsletter listDate:
Wed, April 04, 2007 10:57:10 PMFrom:
High Rankings Advisor
Subject:
High Rankings Advisor: 6 Newbie SEO Questions - Issue No. 194
~~~High Rankings Advisor - Issue No. 194~~~
Your Host: Jill Whalen [jill@highrankings.com]
________________________________________________________
~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~
*Introductory Comments:
----> High Rankings Denver Seminar - June 28-29
*Search Engine Marketing:
----> 6 Newbie SEO Questions
*This Week's Sponsors:
----> KeywordDiscovery
----> SEO Copywriting Combo
*Guest Article:
----> Copywriting Makeover: Value vs. Vision - Part 1 of 2
*Pauline's Poll:
----> What Would You Like To See More of in the Advisor?
*High Rankings Forum Thread of the Week:
----> Creating a New Site Based on One Product
*Stuff You Might Like
----> Jill's SEO Tele-clinics Update
*Advisor Wrap-up:
----> Fun with SEMNE and NYC
________________________________________________________
~~~Introductory Comments~~~
Hey everyone!
Quick announcement, and then I'll get straight to the good stuff. The next
High Rankings seminar is going to be this June 28-29 at the Qwest Learning
and Conference Center in Lakewood, CO (just outside of Denver). There's
more info at
be open by Friday of this week if not sooner. Sign up early and save $200!
Plus, as always you can use our 25% discount code of FORUM if you're a
registered forum member. Oh, and we have a special EXTRA 5% off if you
register this Friday, April 6. On that day only, use the discount code of
FORUM1 and you'll receive 30% off the registration fee! (You must be a
registered forum member, but you can join for free at the forum here:
We're looking forward to another great seminar and hope to see you there!
Okay, let's get to the good stuff. - Jill
~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~
++6 Newbie SEO Questions++
Someone emailed me with a list of quick questions about some SEO terminology
they didn't understand. I figured if one person was looking for these
answers, many of you would be, too.
1. What is .htaccess?
.htaccess is a configuration file that is uploaded to your Apache web server
(it doesn't work with Windows servers). It's a text file that allows you to
change the way your web pages work. For instance, you can put some commands
in the .htaccess file that password-protect certain areas of your site. You
can also use it to create a custom 404-error page or change which page of
your site will be the default home page.
For SEO purposes, you'll often hear of it being used for redirects. For
instance, if you are redesigning your website and absolutely have to change
your URLs (because you're putting a new content management system in, for
example), then you could use your .htaccess file to set up permanent
301-redirects from the old URLs to the new. I use mine most often to turn
long URLs (like those of affiliate links) into short, easy-to-remember URLs.
Just be careful when you use the .htaccess file for your site. One small
mistake can make your entire site stop working! Be sure to always back up
your old .htaccess file before you upload a new one in case this happens to
you (and if you work with one often, most likely it will!).
2. What is KEI?
KEI stands for Keyword Effectiveness Index, which is something that was
invented for users of Wordtracker's keyword research software
measure the competitiveness of your keyword phrases, but it's never been a
good way to do this. I suggest ignoring KEI altogether and looking at other
ways to measure keyword competition. I wrote about this in a recent
newsletter article, "Why Use Keyword Research Tools?" here:
3. What are supplemental results?
If a page is shown that is in the supplemental results, Google indicates
this in their search results pages (SERPs). It doesn't mean that your page
or site is banned or penalized. More often than not, pages that are similar
to other pages (or complete duplicates) are the ones that show up in the
supplemental results. It's generally not something to worry about unless
tons of the pages on your site start showing up there. When that happens
you'll need to figure out why and fix whatever might be causing the problem.
4. What is a link farm?
There are many definitions of a link farm, but I like to go with the
traditional one. That is, a link farm is a set of websites that have all
decided to link to each other. It's basically done through a links page
that every site from the link farm is required to upload to their site.
Every time a new site is added to the farm, it would get added to the links
page for everyone to re-upload. There have been hundreds of variations on
this basic idea through the years.
Suffice it to say that you want to stay as far away as possible from any
kind of linking scheme whatsoever. Especially one that requires you to link
to sites that you might not really recommend to your target audience.
5. When does PageRank update?
I believe that real PageRank -- the one that only Google knows about --
updates all the time. Toolbar PageRank, on the other hand, updates only
about once a quarter. This is why it's important never to use what you see
in the green graph of your toolbar as any true measurement of anything. But
it's fine to look at it as long as you take the information it provides with
a grain of salt.
6. What is a 3-way link?
A 3-way link is just another crazy linking scheme that some spammers dreamed
up when they thought that the typical "you link to me and I'll link back"
scheme wasn't working anymore. With the 3-way link, you link to someone,
and they link to someone else, and that someone else links back to you.
It's silly, and nothing you need to do. If you want a really *good* linking
scheme, the best is the Trapezoidal Linking Matriflux technique:
(I even have the t-shirt!)
Share your comments and thoughts here:
(P.S. If anyone would like to republish the above Q&A article, please email
me your request and where it will reside, and I'll send you a short bio you
can use with it for your site.)
______________KeywordDiscovery_____________________adv.
New Keyword Research Tool -- It Totally Rocks!
__________________________________________________
"KeywordDiscovery is my new keyword research tool of choice!
I've been using it for the past few months, and each time I find
new things that it can do. Our clients are benefiting from the
additional terms we're finding that may otherwise have been missed.
I'll definitely be letting my newsletter readers, forum members,
and High Rankings seminar participants know about this tool."
- Jill Whalen
__________________________________________________
~~~Guest Article~~~
++Value vs. Vision++
Copywriting Makeover: Value vs. Vision - Part 1 of 2
by Karon Thackston C 2007, All Rights Reserved
There's no doubt. Wholesalers USA knows their customers. They've spent the
time digging through log files to analyze site stats. They've spoken with
customers on the phone and emailed with them. They've used client feedback
to develop new products that have taken off like a rocket. Wholesalers USA
understands the importance of giving the customer what s/he wants. What
they needed some help with was translating that message into
natural-sounding SEO copy that would deliver qualified traffic.
The Problems
According to Wholesalers USA, they've been working for years to get organic
listings for two extremely important keyphrases. Unfortunately, they've had
little success, their highest achievement being about page five of the
Google search engine results pages (SERPs). This left them with a hefty
monthly pay-per-click (PPC) spend of $4,000 on average to get the traffic
they needed.
Still, the most important factor to them was not reducing that painful PPC
outlay, but creating SEO copy that puts the customer first. They refused to
have copy on their site that sounded choppy or forced -- and I applauded
them for that! At the same time, I also assured them that SEO copy could be
written to meet all their goals.
Because of their extensive work to get to know their target audience,
Wholesalers USA was able to tell me that 50% of their customers were
heavy-duty crafters. These creative types might be purchasing mosaic glass
tiles, gems, stones and other items for their crafting business or just for
personal use. Regardless, we knew we were dealing with people who were
focused intently on creating beauty.
The existing copy had one sole message of value. You can see the original
at
Wholesalers USA wanted visitors to know they offer true wholesale prices and
-- unlike other companies -- had no hidden charges or minimums. Because
feedback told them new visitors sometimes questioned the quality of their
products (due specifically to prices that were far below their
competitors'), Wholesalers USA also touched on why they could sell so low.
But the two things the copy didn't take into consideration were the search
engines and the creative nature of their visitors. To get high rankings for
a page using particular search terms, the page has to reflect original
content that is keen to the topic. To mesh with the site visitors, the copy
also needs to use words like "gorgeous," "beauty," "elegant," "whimsical,"
"professional" and others.
The Solutions
This fix was relatively easy. I wanted to develop trust and set Wholesalers
USA apart from others, so a conspicuous mention of participation in a
popular TV show was included in the content. I also needed to alter the
message slightly to incorporate a feeling of belonging for creative
crafters. To do this, select words were used to connect with the visitors.
Because there was scant little copy on the home page, I wanted to expand the
content just a bit. Adding brief descriptions for each product graphic
shown was a logical choice that would be of value to customers and the
engines.
All the while, the two search terms Wholesalers USA needed to rank highly
for (along with other secondary terms) were incorporated into the copy to
aid with rankings. The client added a new title tag to further optimize the
page and continued their efforts in the way of directory submissions.
In Part Two of this series, we'll walk through every step of the rewrite in
detail and also review the results, with direct feedback from Wholesalers
USA.
Karon Thackston
Marketing Words, Inc.
www.marketingwords.com
Copywriting Course
www.copywritingcourse.com
Share your comments and thoughts here:
_________Powerful SEO Copywriting Combo______________
Your site's only as good as its writing. You need the "write" skills.
__________________________________________________
If your site is poorly written, your sales will be slow. You *must*
speak to your target audience with each and every word you write.
At the same time, keeping your keywords featured prominently is
a bit of a juggling act.
Save $10 on the most powerful copywriting combo available today!
Karon Thackston's Step-By-Step Copywriting Course & Jill Whalen's
Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines.
____________________________________________
~~~Pauline's Poll~~~
We had 300 responses to our first poll in the previous issue of the High
Rankings Advisor, and we learned some very interesting stuff. Thanks to all
who participated!
Today's question is:
What type of articles or subject matter would you like to see more of in the
HRA newsletter?
Please answer using the survey form here:
Don't forget, to thank you for taking the time to fill out these surveys,
after every 5 submitted, we'll randomly pick one person to receive their
choice of one of the following:
- 10% off a future High Rankings seminar (above and beyond all the other
discounts that you may find), or
- a free Copywriting Combo, which features my Nitty-gritty Guide as well as
Karon Thackston's Copywriting Course, or
- a $50 Amazon gift certificate.
Thanks!
Jill
~~~High Rankings Forum Thread of the Week~~~
++Creating a New Site Based on One Product++
Forum member "nahanni" posts:
"We have a website with tips and advice about health products. The
competition is quite tough in this field, but we have one product that is
doing extremely well in search engines and other websites are starting to
link to it as well.
"We are thinking about creating a whole new website for this product
only...Is this a good idea? Or, is it better to keep the current website as
it is?"
See member responses or leave your own here:
~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~
++Jill's SEO Tele-clinics Update++
Speaking of polls and surveys, we've also been surveying the folks who've
taken me up on my introductory 15-minute tele-clinic offer. Since first
announced, I've done 31 of these. As you may recall, the purpose of the SEO
tele-clinics was to enable me to provide some level of SEO advice to small
business owners who can't afford my typical SEO services. I set the price
at $150 for 15 minutes of telephone time for looking at the site in question
and giving my impressions and advice on how to make it the best it can be
for search engines and users. I also answer any specific questions that we
have time for.
Curious as to how it's been going? Here's the scoop so far...
At first, we scheduled a whole pile of them all in one day. That was
definitely one of the craziest days of my life! After that, we decided to
spread them out over the week and offer only 2-3 per day max. That's been
waaaaaaay better and very manageable for me. You may also recall that I
felt I was spending too much time scheduling the appointments, which was
making them not really worth my time to do. I solved that problem when I
found a sweet little program from Acuity Scheduling:
Now, you can schedule and pay for your tele-clinic without my involvement.
We both get sent the appointment time, plus a reminder email, and I even
have the appointment feed go straight to my iCal-based calendar program!
The folks at Acuity have been great at tweaking things here and there so
that it works for my needs, which has been a huge plus. It's funny because
I looked at more expensive programs, but decided to try this one first
because it just seemed so simple and inexpensive.
With the scheduling taken care of, I feel like I've been doing a much better
job overall on the actual phone consultations as well. I usually give the
site a quick looksee a few minutes before the scheduled appointment time,
which helps me familiarize myself with what is going on.
According to my survey results from those who had a tele-clinic consultation
with me, 81.8% of them felt that overall the tele-clinic was worthwhile to
them. That's enough for me to continue doing them for awhile. I'm also
going to keep them at the current $150 price for the time being, as 40.9%
felt that cost was just about right. (22.7% felt they were worth less than
$150, 4.5% thought they were worth $175, 9.1% thought they were worth $200,
and 13.6% thought they were worth $250.)
If you're a small business looking to get a jump start on your SEO, you can
sign up for your 15-minute $150 tele-clinic with me here:
you're a large business that really can afford a more in-depth consultation,
or if you have more SEO questions or issues than can fit into 15 minutes. I
really want to save these time slots for those who can benefit from them the
most. You larger companies can use the form to sign up for the 1-hour
phone consultation that comes with a few hours of advanced research.
~~~Advisor Wrap-up~~~
That's all for today!
Last night's informal SEMNE meeting at John Harvard's in Framingham, MA was
a lot of fun! Lots of fresh-brewed beer and good company. Registration is
open for our next big event. This one's in Connecticut on May 2, 2007 from
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM and it's called "Blogging and Search Engine Rankings."
You can learn more and register for it here:
SEMNE members and $35 for non-members until April 17, at which time it will
be $45.
On Wednesday next week I'll be speaking at the Search Engine Strategies
conference in NYC. If you're at the conference, please stop by and introduce
yourself! I'll be around Monday evening through Thursday afternoon. The
highlight of this trip will be going to the theater to see "Frost / Nixon"
with my daughter Corie, her boyfriend Robbie, and my SEO buddies Pauline and
Christine. Should be a fun trip!
Catch you in two weeks! - Jill
Today's issue will be available in the archives at the following URL:
http://www.highrankings.com/advisor/
--
Please send all questions to mailto:newsletter@highrankings.com.
If you prefer RSS/XML please feel free to use our newsfeed here:
http://www.highrankings.com/advisor/feed/
I do send personal replies as time allows; however, I do not give out
individual site critiques for free. Please check out my various SEO
services if you're interested in a complete review of your site.
Visit the High Rankings Advisor website at
http://www.highrankings.com/advisor.htm
and don't forget to check out the High Rankings Search Engine Optimization
Forum at:
Best Regards,
Jill Whalen
http://www.highrankings.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The High Rankings Advisor is a free, biweekly email newsletter discussing
the latest news and information in the world of search engine marketing.
--
To ***/change profile:
http://www.listcast.com/x?u=66532938f-a6080fb6
To subscribe:
http://www.listcast.com/x?oid=18425d
Paid sponsor ads are clearly marked as advertisements and neither the
High Rankings® Advisor nor Jill Whalen take any responsibility for the
claims made within these ads, nor the Web sites they point to. Paid ads
do not constitute an endorsement for the products, services or companies
advertising in the newsletter. Please visit our sponsors and use your
own due diligence for any purchases you make on the Internet. Feel free
to forward this email in its entirety to anyone you feel might be
interested in it.
Copyright 2007 High Rankings Advisor 116 Cochituate Rd.; Framingham, MA
01701
Email list management powered by Listcast
