| LED Digest 2345: Google Backlinks vs Yahoo! & MSN |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Registration from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. February 12, 2007 Issue no. 2345 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ====== NEW ===================== --== Google Backlinks vs Yahoo! & MSN ==-- ~ Jeff Schuman "I recently saw the number of links back to my site according to Google drop..." --== Sitemaps for Established Sites? ==-- ~ Tom Anson "[A trusted source] figured [a Google sitemap] could only hurt me..." ==== CONTINUING ================= --== SEO File Naming Techniques ==-- ~ John Smart "...one has to remember the human element as well as the search engine element." ~ James Miller "This is one of the reasons why I like to use blogs..." --== Best Practices for Testimonials ==-- ~ Alicia Lane "Any tips on how to get more specific feedback?" --== Domain Parking & Valuation ==-- ~ Asim Jalali "We recent put some of our collection of domains up for sale..." --== A SEO Guide - is it Possible? ==-- ~ Donald Nelson "Rates vary enormously among the various SEO companies..." ========== NEW =================================== From: Jeff Schuman Subject: Google Backlinks Compared to Yahoo / MSN I recently saw the number of links back to my site according to Google drop from 1620 to 538. My number of links according to Yahoo and MSN continue to remain around 10,000. I read somewhere that Google was now only giving credit for a link from a PR4 website and above. Does anyone know if that is true or why I would have such a large drop. Jeff Schuman -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Tom Anson Subject: Google Sitemap for Established Sites [was: Page names...] I appreciate Michael Linehan's comments on page names and the Google sitemap [see issue 2344 http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1741/55/]. For the record, I've always used the dashes in the past, but have recently moved to gibberishWords for most of my pages (an affectation I picked up from the different CSS sources I've seen). I haven't noticed any differences with Google (but then, I lack the tracking capacity to know for certain). My domain name is hyphenated. But, I have a question about the Google site map. I was asking a trusted source about this a month or two ago. He did a check of my site and found more than 500 of my pages indexed in Google. His recommendation was to leave the site map alone. He figured it could only hurt me, getting some of my pages moved from the main index to the supplemental index. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Tom Anson Anson Aromatic Essentials http://www.therapeutic-grade.com ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: John Smart Subject: Page names > Do the search engines apply any ranking differences > based on web page naming format? - B.S., LED Digest 2343 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1740/55/ This is a time when one has to remember the human element as well as the search engine element. Endeavour to secure both the hyphenated and unhyphenated version of the domain name. If you are directing someone to your site over the phone, or if someone is verbally informing another of your domain, 'seo dash, err dash, that would be minus, success, dash / minus for dash / minus everyone dot com.' Ooops, lost another hit. I have no evidence to back this up at all, but it strikes me that with all the wonderful tools Google has, I am sure it can break a string of letters into words -- I feel it must, because internetdesign.com comes up 1st still under a Google search for 'internet design' (without the quotes). Now, I would love to tell you all I am a whiz with google, but to be honest, I have no idea why I Am #1!! There are some factors: - Careful use of meta tags - Careful use of title tags - Key words in domain name - Well established site has been around for over 9 years now - Carefully submitted to google, but not spammed to google. - Never been associated to nefarious online activities - Stunningly handsome developer Ok, I made the last one up -- but even with the rest, I am startled every time I check my positioning! I am confident that google sees me as being internet and design. John Smart InternetDesign.com - A Human Touch in a Digital World -------- new post - same topic -------- From: James Miller Subject: Page names > His site could also have failed because he hired a designer. > That was a problem because he never learned how to run his > sites. A site that would be viable with a domain like this requires > constant changes and maintenance. - David Spahr, LED Digest 2344 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1741/55/ You hit the nail on the head there. Web designers on the whole do not know your business as well as you do and of course they design something that is complicated to update, so that they get the repeat business. I would also add, that the more a site changes with valid material, the more likely it will be found by searches, as there are just that many more words available for hits. So you have a virtuous circle, in that the more you add to the site, the higher it will go up the search engines. But adding large amounts of content with a designer doing it at arms length is a very expensive process. So whether you like it or not, successful sites will be updated by someone who knows the business. And that person will work in house. This is one of the reasons why I like to use blogs for news pages. Updating can be shared out and large amounts of copy can be quickly added to the site by Internet virgins. The designers job here, now becomes one of reading and editing the information and transferring the important bits to the real site. > Do the search engines apply any ranking differences > based on web page naming format? - B.S. One thing that is often forgotten about page names, is that some are completely unspellable. My son works for a firm of solicitors called Birnberg Peirce. There web address is "www.birnbergpeirce.co.uk" which is a complete nightmare to spell. On the other hand, I'm always getting offers for daisy.co.uk, which is simple. I also make things like contact pages short, such as http://www.daisy.co.uk/contact.html. The KISS principle applies. James Miller Daisy Analysis: www.daisy.co.uk -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Alicia Lane Subject: Testimonials > I am a big believer in strong testimonials. I have pages > of them all over my websites. - Shel Horowitz, LED Digest 2344 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1741/55/ Shel, I looked at your testimonials and they are wonderfully eloquent! How do you go about in encouraging such thorough feedback? I'm a web designer and often work with clients who, while intelligent, aren't naturally eloquent writers. As a result a lot of my feedback is pretty generic, like this: "It looks great!" Any tips on how to get more specific feedback? Regards, Alicia Lane -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Asim Jalali Subject: Domains > As far as domain parking goes, I've spoken to a > company called Moniker about their service. Is it > a good one? Are there others I should be looking at? - Stephen P. Levin, LED Digest 2344 We recent put some of our collection of domains up for sale on www.sedo.com as it offers this service for free. You can also pay for a domain valuation. The site has thousands of domains for sale and there are daily updates on domains that have been sold. Regards, Asim Jalali www.body4real.co.uk -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Donald Nelson Subject: SEO guide Dear All, Shaun Johnston wrote (LED Digest 2338 http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1734/55/ ) that one of his clients was being charged $2400 for optimization of five web pages, and asked whether this is a normal charge. Rates vary enormously among the various SEO companies, but judging from the information that Shaun has given I would say this client is being overcharged by around $2000 or so. Of course, if this SEO firm has some wizards and they can get your client highly ranked in a very competitive field, then the extra bookings gained through higher search engine visibility would pay for the cost of the optimization. At the end of the day it all boils down to return on investment, that is, does this optimization work result in revenue that pays for the cost of the optimization fees and more, or is it money down the drain. Sincerely, Donald Nelson www.a1-optimization.com ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains The Archives: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/126/120/ Subscribe: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/52/77/ Unsubscribe, Change Email, or Hold / Resume Delivery: http://www.led-digest.com/content/category/4/17/86/ (c) Copyright 1995-2007 Orange Wheel, LLC. 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