In April 2003 I wrote an article called “The 10 Minute Optimization” which outlined a 10 minute process to optimize a web page for top search engine rankings. Well, a few things have changed since then so I thought a redux (revision) would be a good idea. How I am going to do this though, is a bit unorthodox. This document is largely still pertinent so instead of rewriting the same SEO tips I reproduced the article (the boxed content) and added a revision section below each point wherever necessary; ultimately bringing this up to date with today’s SEO tactics. Read more…

QUESTION: We’re a very small company with an 11 year website history, with web development resources somewhere between quite miniscule and non-existent. Nonetheless, SEO has been a keen focus of awareness since before it was called that, and up until that infamous “Florida” event 3 or so years ago, we did very well in the SERPs. Over the years a number of people have worked on the code comprising our site, and while there is nothing egregiously, obviously wrong with our content, no one knows if now we’re being penalized for something ‘lurking’ in our code that may be left over from yesteryear and never found and rooted out. The biggest worry and source of disagreement seems to involve “duplicate content”. Read more…

John Battelle wrote an excellent article describing his experience with Google Checkout. I highly recommend the read if you are considering using Google Checkout for shopping this holiday season or as a merchant. Here is a snippet:

It seems Google is obviating the merchant entirely vis the ongoing data relationship with the buyer. The registration screen states: “‘Google’ will appear by the charge on your credit card statement. Your card number will not be shared with the seller.”

Why on earth would anyone want this to be the case? To lose your relationship with the buyer? What information *is* passed back to ToysRUs? What rights do I have to that information, and to know how it’s used between Google and the merchant?

Check out John’s post for the full article.

To commemorate National Tree Week, which has been celebrated since 1974 and lasts from November 22nd to December 3rd, Litegreen.com will plant a tree for every new registration on their website. After that week they will plant a tree for every 50 british pounds spent on their website.

Litegreen.com is a search engine that provides content from vetted environmentally and human rights-conscious businesses. Here is their official description: Read more…

Part of my job of keeping up on the latest SEO news and tactics is to venture where I think no self-respecting webmaster should go… the black hat SEO news world. Fortunately, these occasional glimpses of the dark side are very interesting. For example, one of the more popular websites in the black hat industry, SEO Black Hat, recently noted that in a single weekend Google had managed to clear out much of the offensive adult content found in top 10 organic results; searches had to be conducted using a single adult word (use your imagination). The result? You and I may like this impressive cleanup but the adult webmaster forums were abuzz with dropped rankings across the Google board and supposition ran wild.

What does this mean to you and me, the webmasters that care nothing about the adult marketplace? Well here is the data that I found most interesting. According to the research conducted at SEO Black Hat, many of the adult websites that were dropped from single phrase searches actually lost little or no traffic. In fact, some of them increased traffic! Read more…

Two excellent questions are answered in this article:

A.) Which steps should I follow when optimizing my dynamic website?

B.) Can you maintain the integrity of my design while implementing SEO?

QUESTION A) Which steps should I follow when optimizing my dynamic website? – Chriz R. Read more…

Question: There are a number of wire services (like PRweb) for submitting
press articles to online news feeds. Is it recommended to use a few of them
for article submission or am I running the risk of having my article
submitted to any particular distribution partner more than once. Is there
any advice you can give me regarding which services distribute to which
distribution partners and how to select which ones to use. – Frank O. Read more…

In a bid that is sure to raise the interests of many e-tailers, Google has announced that it will be providing free merchant services for the holiday season. Say what?! Yes, FREE.

For those of you who are not familiar with transacting online suffice it to say that this promotion could save participating e-tailers hundreds if not thousands of dollars this holiday season. Read more…

A new shopping search engine has brought to the public a technology that has been used mostly in movies and the offices of law enforcement – visual recognition. The new search engine, Like.com employs their “Likeness Technology™ to create a digital signature that describes the photo’s contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products,” says the About Us page on Like.com. Read more…

This is a heads up for my readers and clientele that MSN search applied an update that has significantly affected rankings. The client results we have reviewed so far have all done well by this update but we are continuing to review. So far it appears that MSN is still following the basic principles of good SEO but I have noticed the following elements appear important: Read more…