| LED Digest 2650: SEO Art and Science |
|
|
|
==================================================
The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom http://www.AudetteMedia.com : the LED's Publisher Boutique Internet Marketing: SEO, SEM, Social Media http://www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. May 21, 2008 Issue no. 2650 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== SEO Standards ==-- ~ Shari Thurow "...advanced SEO has a balance of part art, part science." --== Marketing Ideas Needed ==-- ~ Mario Soavi "...your description is clear, but examples could help." ~ Chris Nielsen "...I would consider adding a blog and perhaps a forum..." ~ Eva Rosenberg "Two old-fashioned ideas that still work." --== "Delivered" Packages not Received ==-- ~ Rusty Park "...my biggest problem used to be merchants who would claim short count..." ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Shari Thurow Subject: SEO standards Hi all- First, congratulations to our esteemed moderator and his wife, who just had a new baby girl. We should let Adam give us the details, of course. Congrats Adam! This is in response to Al Toman's post in LED #2649 in which he summarized: > Well girls and boys, the buck stops here. > Search engines are scientifically > engineered mathematical precision machines. > Show me the precise and concise > mathematical rule. Apply it and demonstrate > it. - Al Toman, LED 2649 I love a good challenge. Regarding the "precise and concise mathematical rule," anyone who studies and applies information retrieval practices to his/her documents knows that precision and recall on a commercial Web search engine is not 100%. How they are calculated involves many, many different variables. But debating math equations is not my point. Although I believe I understand Al's overall point, I believe he is really missing the boat on this one. SEO isn't only about mathematical equations. It's about human behavior. You can have a mathematically perfect document (for search engines, that is) and your end users might not respond to it the way you want them to. That is one reason, I believe, that cloaking is a common practice among many self-proclaimed "advanced" SEO practitioners. Give end users one document and search engines another document. Advanced SEO has come to mean advanced technical skills, and I do not agree with that definition at all because the user (searcher) is often out of the equation. IMHO, advanced SEO has a balance of part art, part science. So yes, I do believe technical skills are requirement of an SEO "expert" but not to the exclusion of other skills. I, too, was involved with information sciences years before Google came into existence. That being said, showing a precise and concise mathematical rule doesn't hold water with me as an optimizer. Fine, a person is good at math (and I'm one of those people who has been really good at math, for basically my entire life) and maybe he knows how to apply it...and that is an emphatic maybe. I study human and computer interfaces. If there is one thing I see consistently over time, it is how poorly IT people (as a generic group) are at developing and maintaining interfaces for people who do not think the same way they think. I am certainly not alone in this perspective. Part art, part science. In that post, at least, I wasn't sure if Al understood that. Sincerely, Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director Omni Marketing Interactive Designing for People Who Search ~ Search Engine Visibility book now available http://www.searchenginesbook.com/ <Moderator Comment> Thanks for the congrats Shari! I'll post a link to some pictures soon. Meantime here's the info for LEDers: girl born on May 16, 8 lb 9 oz and healthy as can be! Mom's doing well too. The only tough part at this point is our 2 year old daughter... challenges on every front :) -Adam -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Mario Soavi Subject: Marketing ideas > We thought that we'd put our situation out > the LED readership for some marketing > ideas...We're wide open to suggestions and > ideas, from the broad scope to specific > details. - Dirk Johnson, LED 2649 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/2064/190/ Dear Dirk, Here're my 2c. Generally speaking: - your site lacks for referrals; - your description is clear, but examples could help. Specifically speaking, why don't you add your target categories to your lists and "start working with your potential customers"? Usually I disdain any free offer of one's professional work, but in this case your work could show your benefits. A free demonstration could open you the opportunity to contact your prospects (eventually even with a brief e-mail) with something more in your hands: their improvement. I hope I could help. Mario Soavi http://marcomm.info -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Chris Nielsen Subject: Marketing ideas > Our core business is now focused on > servicing the market for general Web > directory link placements. - Dirk Johnson I would suggest starting with getting your site optimized. In my opinion there is obvious room for improvement, since a number of your site pages all have the same title tags. After that I would consider adding a blog and perhaps a forum if you have the resources. Then I would look at paid ads in Google and other networks like AdBright, or contacting specific sites like forums for webmasters and SEO to place ads. Having staff members fan out and joining forums is also an effective method for getting exposure and links back to your site, IF it's done correctly following the rules of each forum. Thank you, Chris Nielsen Last line intentionally left linkless -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Eva Rosenberg Subject: Marketing ideas Dirk said: "We refuse to send unsolicited commercial to these agencies, even though we've identified nearly 1000 SEO houses by domain already, and we could. But we're looking for ways reach out to them in a way that is more efficient than the phone. "We also want to identify and reach prospects among the webmaster and hosting companies. Those appear to be a groups that are a lot more scattered." It's not clear if you're only looking for specific SEO companies, or are open the broader, advertising marketplace. You do realize that traditional advertising firms are now turning to SEO to build their clients' market base, too, right? Some ideas: Start reading Advertising Age and get familiar with the style. Ad age is one of the oldest, most respected publications for the advertising community. See if you can pitch an article to them about SEO and gain visibility that way. http://adage.com/ SEO - find the SEO conventions and trade shows. Get on the agenda as a speaker. If you can afford it, be an exhibitor. Lots of companies make their millions by starting out prowling the various trade shows to pick up customers/clients. Two old-fashioned ideas that still work. Once upon a time, your Humble Guide, Eva Rosenberg, EA & TaxNerd www.taxmama.com - Your TaxMama www.homebusinesstaxcuts.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Rusty Park Subject: Shipments About 90% of the times a customer does not receive mdse from UPS after scanned in as delivered, I have found in my experience, the package was misdirected to a nearby location. Pls note UPS drivers are not given IQ tests. Although most are good smart decent folks, there are a few who are careless, lazy, etc. Always on a missing delivery, ask the intended recipient to check with neighbors. (Residential or business.) Sometimes on a UPS trace, the package will show up at the neighbors on the records, provided you ask on the trace, as to exactly where the pkg was delivered. Incidentally, my biggest problem used to be merchants who would claim short count on valuable mdse. I stopped that scam in its' tracks by showing the weight of the contents and packing box on the invoice. Now on a rare claim, all I do is tell my customer I will reconstruct the shipment. If the weight balances with the earlier invoice, I simply tell my customer to go back and check the area where the package was opened. If that does not miraculously "find" the missing items, I then tell them to file a package tampering report with UPS. And yes, I have made mistakes on the count, and when that happens, I am quick to apologize and ship the left out portion of the order, along with a bonus for their trouble. The scammers have learned not to deal with me on count issues. I do not want their business! Also in the NY, NJ, CT area beware of shipping large orders for cashier checks. Fraudulent Cashier Checks are a huge scam in this area. The only "safe" money transfer on large orders is Western Union funds paid in advance and CASHED prior to shipment! Rusty Park www.Enlightenedproductsco.com (c) Copyright 1995-2008 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Practicing philosophy in the right way is a training to die easily." - Socrates |
