Your Host: Jill Whalen [jill@highrankings.com]
________________________________________________________
~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~
*Search Engine Marketing:
----> Video Elevator Speeches for Websites
----> Twitter Questions
----> Blog Post Meta Data
----> Calendar for Long-tail SEO
----> Redirecting Website to a New Domain
----> Multiple Keyword-rich Domains
*High Rankings Happenings:
----> SEO Training Class – A Few Openings for June & July
----> Recession Buster SEO Website Review
*Stuff You Might Like:
----> 85 Reasons Why Developers/Designers Keep SEOs in Business
*Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week:
----> Page Title Question
*Advisor Wrap-up:
----> All Hail the Hail!
________________________________________________________
~~~Introductory Comments~~~
Hey everyone!
I've got 6 search marketing questions (with answers, of course) for you today. I was too busy to answer most of these personally during the past few weeks, so this newsletter was a great opportunity catch up.
Also, I wanted to mention that there are just a few seats left for our June SEO class:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-U.50BEE2TL47A%404283024-j9XD9Hi92mq4w
here in Framingham, MA. We expect it to sell out, so if you've been debating whether to register, please do so now. June is awesome here in Mass. as it's typically not too hot or too cool. The classes are held on Fridays so you can even make a weekend out of it if you'd like!
Anyway, let's get to the good stuff! – Jill
~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~
++Video Elevator Speeches for Websites++
Jill,
I create short videos for companies to post on their websites and for other purposes as well, including posting on YouTube. My philosophy is that when people come to your website, you should tell them in a very concise, compelling and coherent way who you are, what you do, and what makes you special in the marketplace. That is what marketers call an "elevator speech" – a 2-minute version of your branding or mission statement. I create 2-minute (or less) videos that state a company's mission statement.
Jill, why do so few websites use a video to do what I seek to do in my videos? My sense is that web designers are not marketers, so they have no idea how to shape a compelling message – hence, most websites do not convey a very clear and concise message as to what a company does. Do you think a positioning video has value on a website, or does it interfere with the structure and architecture of the website?
Best,
Alan
++Jill's Response++
Hi Alan,
For the past couple of years – since Google introduced their "Universal Search" algorithm – companies have been scrambling to put video on their websites. Some SEO companies have gone so far as to say that websites without video won't be ranked well in the search results!
I very much disagree with that statement, but I do believe that video can be an important addition to a website for SEO purposes as well as for marketing in general. I think you'll find more companies embracing video on their websites for years to come.
That said, there are usability issues to consider when adding video to any page of a site. For instance, I highly recommend that you do not have pages where the video plays automatically – at least not with the sound on. This can be very annoying and disruptive to people when it happens. But having a video with an optional "play/pause" button that provides a few minutes of elevator pitch about the company? Sure, that's a good thing for those visitors who prefer listening over reading. As always, the more ways you can appeal to your target audience, the better.
As to whether embedding a video on your website impedes the structure and architecture of a website, no, it shouldn't.
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-qLTbi70Z1OOTM%404283025-6U/yLxYpsIazQ
________________High Rankings SEO Training_________________
In-person SEO Training Classes – June & July Classes Available
_______________________________________________________
One-day SEO Training Class for beginners to intermediate learners.
You will learn what SEO is and isn't, as well as what you need to do to
bring in more search engine visitors who are seeking out exactly what you offer.
Class is limited to 6 students, and we will work on YOUR specific website issues.
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-nqR4KsJd//kJ2%404283024-GEo9FmHihLcN2
_______________________________________________________
++Twitter Questions++
Hi Jill,
I have a few Twitter questions in terms of right or wrong ways to tweet, if there even is such a thing.
1. If I see something interesting that somebody has done a tweet on, I know I can click the link and see the site and info myself. Should I retweet the person/company that found the original info? Or should I do a tweet from the original site? Does it matter?
2. If I see a blog posting on a product or line that we carry – can I do a tweet on it? I would think so if that blog has icons/links for Facebook, etc.
3. I see that several competitors – "bigger online sites" – have a Twitter page. Is there a way to follow or bookmark without actually following? I see some of the bigger companies are following each other. I just feel weird actually doing it. But I do want to see their posts.
Thank you for helping out.
Tyler
++Jill's Response++
Hi Tyler,
Regarding your first question, if you're asking whether you should retweet the first tweeter (giving them credit for the info) or whether you should just tweet the interesting info yourself, it's a personal decision rather than a rule.
There are no Twitter rules, just basic rules of "netiquette." I personally believe in giving credit where credit is due. So if someone points me to something great that I want to share, I try to mention them via a retweet; but I'm not sure everyone does or feels the same way. Having only 140 characters to work with doesn't help. It's often hard to retweet with the original person's name and still provide all the necessary info, so some just don't do it.
For your second question, the answer is that you can tweet on absolutely anything you want to tweet on.
And regarding your third question, yes, there are ways to keep tabs on what your competitors are tweeting without actually following them. Just go to http://m1e.net/c?86763832-HDkDTuYGcNmac%404283026-B5OfWFqoHy3to and type their Twitter name into the search box, then save the RSS feed to your favorite feed reader. Do the same for each competitor. Then you only have to monitor your Twitter feeds and they will be none the wiser that you are following them.
I discussed this previously in my "Heard It From the Social Media Grapevine" article:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-dSb6prCiPFfRs%404283027-vJvJaLQZVdlQQ
Hope this helps!
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-im0ZIHW47G5ZM%404283028-J70ciit3iiPfU
__________Personal Site Review from Jill Whalen__________
Recession Buster SEO Website Review – Only $600
__________________________________________________
In this economic climate, can you afford to put your SEO on the
back burner?
What you'll receive:
* Jill Whalen will personally review your website for the top 10
problems preventing you from receiving the targeted traffic
you deserve.
* An emailed statement written by Jill of the issues she found.
* Answers via email to any questions about the review.
Learn which tasks will provide you with the biggest bang for your
buck and stop missing out on highly targeted opportunities and sales.
Learn more here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-n2LmEhxYNvBug%404283029-SlpU6M7P37WQc
__________________________________________________
++Blog Post Metadata++
Hi Jill,
I met you at Pubcon 2007 in Las Vegas. If you could help me out with an SEO question, I'd be very grateful!
I've been asked to edit a blog for a friend/client. Here's my question:
Are the Title, Description and Keywords (the metadata) always the same for each blog post? I figure they are because all the blog posts are on the same home page. But then, each blog post can be clicked to read the full post, so do I need separate metadata for each blog post, to reflect the subject of that post?
Looking forward to hearing from you soon – and thank you!
Susan
++Jill's Response++
Hi Susan,
Every blog post does indeed have its own URL and therefore needs its own Title tag. Meta descriptions are good as well, but not as necessary if there's lots of great info in the post itself already. And Meta keywords are not, in my opinion, something worth wasting time on.
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-dVQMuuo4qf2cU%404283030-0zRQ.G5F0BDrU
++Calendar for Long-tail SEO++
Hi Jill,
We want to put a calendar of events on our website. Google Calendar appears to be a great product but since it is not hosted on our website the long-tail SEO value (which is one of the main reasons we want to do the calendar) is lost.
Is there a robust calendar product available (at the little to no cost a small business can afford) that can be hosted on our site?
James
++Jill's Response++
My initial thought is that, because the main reason you want this calendar is for SEO purposes, then it's not a good idea to do it at all. Search engines should never be the driving factor for adding something to your website because when it is, it's rarely done correctly.
If you believe that having this calendar on your website will truly be beneficial to your website visitors, then I'd suggest reviewing this Google search:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-ozo8tpQruVOPE%404283031-aDQNS85FleP/s
where you should find a wide variety of crawler-friendly HTML calendars that can be added to your site.
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-wETUo5Knaae1o%404283032-QUV6TmL0qtGkk
++Redirecting Website to a New Domain++
Dear Jill,
We have a website of which the home page has 5 PageRank. This website has 5,000 pages that are indexed in Google.com and many of the pages have good PageRank.
Now we want to shift this website to a new domain. If we use the 301-redirection method, do all old pages require redirect using 301 so they can take advantage of old pages' PageRank? Or is just using main domain 301-redirection enough?
HK
++Jill's Response++
Hi HK,
It depends on whether you're keeping the same exact website on the new domain as on the old domain. If all the URLs will remain the same (other than the domain name), then redirecting the old domain to the new domain via a 301-redirect at the server level will get people and search engines from any page on the old domain to its equivalent page on the new domain.
If, however, you're completely changing the website and/or its content management system (CMS), things won't be so clean and easy to redirect. You will want to try keep the names of the new URLs as consistent as possible with the old URLs so that you can devise a formula to automate the 301-redirection.
Otherwise, you could be stuck hand-coding your URL redirects, which may or may not be feasible for your website. We have lots more info about redirects in that section of the High Rankings Forum here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-vAY/w85kib6Oo%404283033-rZhVpkxat9x02
Best,
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-sxFMIsZgRXHXA%404283034-3RiAE9PvMx.b6
++Multiple Keyword-rich Domains++
Jill,
I have a series (15) of keyword domains (3 to 5 years old) that are related to my site. Currently most of them are mirrors with just a slight content differential.
My million-dollar question is: What should I do with the other domains, some of which rank well for the specific keyword of their domain names?
George
++Jill's Response++
Hi George,
I'm not a fan of the multiple-domain strategy for SEO, nor is Google. My recommendation would be to 301-redirect all of your domains to your main website. This would carry over any link popularity the additional domains may have picked up over the years and help your main site. Because keywords in domains are not much of a factor, the redirection is all they're good for, in my opinion.
You might be interested to know that my stance on this subject hasn't changed over the years as evidenced by the numerous articles and posts I've made on the subject:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-ndR14pQzH3vDw%404283035-tDR7qTawekgWo
Hope this helps!
Jill
Share your comments and thoughts here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-a6JjmHiRpbZjA%404283036-2D1qo9kp57Tus
(P.S. If anyone would like to republish any of the above Q&A posts, 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.)
~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~
++85 Reasons Why Developers/Designers Keep SEOs in Business++
A few months ago, I was quoted by Google's Matt Cutts:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-gVuI7VxxFVG7c%404283037-52o2kfmMKN9fg
as saying that "website developers keep SEOs in business." I honestly do believe that and have for a long time. While I don't mean to say that ALL website designers and developers believe or do all of these things, you'll likely encounter many who have done or believe in some of these.
See my 85 reasons why:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-dVQMuuo4qf2cU%404283038-KSZz9mGaTZGRk
~~~Advanced SEO Forum Thread of the Week~~~
++Page Title Question++
Forum member "vanzist" asks what the best Title tag for a page would be. While my first response was the usual "it depends," additional comments make for a very interesting forum thread.
You can read it and share your own comments here:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-1Ta5Ln.nlo9Ko%404283039-3RiAE9PvMx.b6
~~~Advisor Wrap-up~~~
That's all for today!
We finally got some nice weather this past holiday weekend, which was a welcome change. I spent most of it outside and away from the keyboard. One interesting weather glitch was the brief hailstorm we encountered on Sunday when we were about to head out for dinner. Gumball-sized (the big ones!) hail came crashing down for about 5 minutes straight. Our lawn was covered with it! I had never seen hail up close before as it usually seems to come at night around here, so it was a cool experience.
Here's a few pics I took:
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-bIuuBJr6T5tXY%404283040-5pwHMiv1oPCG%2e
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-yeqLOEnQVn2mY%404283041-boRIdvubSow0U
http://m1e.net/c?86763832-e5EzmPgcAjaPQ%404283042-vYI1NFkjtBt4A
Catch you in 2 weeks! – Jill
Looking for SEO Services, Consulting or Training?
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http://m1e.net/c?86763832-dvFb3DectI.3c%404283044-WZ6wB4aR6Dis%2e
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