Google and Sites That Don't Belong

SEO is complex.  SEO is maddening.  SEO is confusing.  But more than anything  SEO is EFFECTIVE.

It is unanimously agreed that SEO is the top source of driving targeted traffic to sites. Everyone wants top SEO rankings.  The problem is, you look at the SERPs (search engine results pages) and you find sites there that you don't expect to.  You see sites that are filled with spam, you see sites with no content, you see sites with no inbound links.


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And worst of all is what you don't see - YOUR site.

It makes no sense - you've done everything you can, followed all the rules and still your site is no where.  How are these other sites that don't belong there holding on to your coveted spot?

The truth is, as smart as the engines are, they don't catch all the garbage sites out there as quickly as we would like them to.  There are 2 things we can do to help eradicate this problem.

1.  Report any and all spam and garbage sites to Google (and the other engines you use).  This is not being a tattle tale, this is not going out for revenge.  This is simply asking Google to uphold the rules that they are asking you to follow.  It is saying, "I'm playing fair here, so level the playing field so my competitors that are "less-than ethical" don't rule the SERPs".  To notify

Google of a spam site, click here:
http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html


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2.  The second thing you can do is follow best practices 100%.  Be aggressive, be proactive, but be ethical.  The more people insist on "black hat" tactics, the more sites we'll see that are sneaking by Google.   Know that with active efforts Google is making daily to weed out spam - you have everything to gain by patiently, aggressively and ethically optimizing your site.

Top SEO Rankings: Do You Have A Plan?

You need traffic to build a business. There are a lot of different ways to get traffic and hopefully your marketing plan includes many of those different strategies. Most online marketers agree that the foundation should always start with SEO. Regardless of what you do with paid traffic, you always want a stream of targeted traffic coming from the organic engines.

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So what are you doing to get that traffic?

And here's a question we never had to ask in the past....what are you doing to KEEP that traffic if you already have it?

While rankings were never something that were "owed" to you, in the past when you ranked well you could pretty much count on it continuing. These days that isn't the case. With Google targeting links, or duplicate content or lack of fresh content, there are plenty of ways a site that was sitting pretty could get knocked down.

It's getting harder to get rankings, but it's no less important to get rankings. So what is your plan to get and hold on to rankings?

I want to offer you 2 things today and I hope you'll take advantage of one or both of them...

1. Breaking The SEO Code is my downloadable book about SEO. It's less than $15 and it goes over SEO and social media. It's the perfect reference tool and at that price it's a no brainer. Whether you want to learn SEO or check up on work someone else did, this book is a comprehensive resource that includes lifetime updates (at no additional charge). If you own a site, you need this book. It's that simple.

2. If you don't have the rankings or traffic you need, if you don't have a plan for social media or fresh content, if you have any questions at all about your business - request a free consultation or proposal now. I'll review your site and help you come up with an action plan.

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There is no obligation with a consultation or proposal, but I ask you to seriously consider 2 things...

1. Be honest about your budget. You are under no obligation to outsource but if there is even a slight chance you need some help, you want a proposal that is tailored to your needs. If the budget you list is too high or too low, there is no chance that it'll work for you.

2. Please reply and acknowledge the proposal. I am not pushy. I don't harass people into doing business with me. But I do put a lot of time into the site reviews and proposals and want to be sure you received it, so I will follow up. I am looking for serious business owners that want to actually grow their business this year. I am prepared to share helpful information. But only if I know you will at least confirm you received it and let me know your thoughts and questions. You don't have to work with me - that's OK. But do seriously consider the info I share with you!

It's early in the year and NOW is the time to take action. Action may mean hiring someone, it may mean buying a book and digging into the work for yourself. Either option is fine. But inaction is not fine. Not if you want to grow your business. Think about it. Buy the book if it makes sense to you. Request a consultation or proposal if it makes sense to you. Reply with any questions if that is what you need right now. The only thing I ask is that you don't file this email away and do nothing. :)

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December SEO News

Topics Covered:
Facebook Marketing
Google Patent
SEO Tips
And more

One last thing: If you don't have a killer Facebook Fan Page with a custom tab (studies show fans grow 44% faster with a custom tab) now is the time to get one. Save $50 for a limited time. Email me for details.

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Google Algorithm Update

I recently received an email telling me that it's insulting that I act like I "know and am friends with" the people that subscribe to my newsletter. Since I never want to be insulting, let me start by saying:

Dear person I do not know, please find important and impersonal information below. If I knew you, I may say you would find this info helpful but since I don't know you, I would never presume to know what info you like....

OK, can't do it. Sorry guys, it's my style. I like people and I like my work, so I come across as <gasp> friendly and personable. Needless to say, she is no longer on my list to endure the blatant insults. :)

So now that I got that little rant out of the way (it's cloudy and cool this morning in Huntington Beach - seems like a perfect rant worthy morning), lemme share some info with you....

Google has made a bunch of algorithm changes recently (about 10) - which is not newsworthy in and of itself - they always make changes. I'll cover the other ones in my next newsletter. But there is one that is worth talking about now.

It seems freshness is good not only in baked goods but also in the engines (yep, another attempt at humor, don't tell my husband, he still doesn't get how funny I am!)

OK, back to Google freshness.... Here is a quote from them:

"As we announced just over a week ago, we've made a significant improvement to how we rank fresh content. This change impacts roughly 35 percent of total searches (around 6-10% of search results to a noticeable degree) and better determines the appropriate level of freshness for a given query."

So the take away? Keep content fresh! Hmmm, I think I've been saying that for years. It's becoming more important than ever. Especially if you are in an industry where things are changing and there are clear and strong trends - you want to keep feeding fresh content to the bots (resisting the urge to insert a really bad joke here about them eating fresh content and me preferring fresh bread!).

You are busy running your business and taking care of a zillion things but content addition needs to make your list of things to do - unless you are outsourcing. Someone needs to be adding high quality content to your site.

OK, this is a long one, so 2 last things and then I'll let you go.

A tip from PubCon: Matt Cutts said that Google was testing algorithms that determine how much content is available above the fold on your web pages. He cautioned that sites that have ads that obscure content could be in trouble. Check your site - do your website visitors see the content easily and readily on your site or is it obstructed by ads and other distractions?

Lastly, I wanted to remind you about (and shameless promote) my book:

Every day I get so many questions about SEO, social media, budget for SEO, Blogging and more. I realized that a lot of you may not know about my book Breaking The SEO Code.
For under $15 you can access to my book with all the step by step details on SEO, in-depth social media information and Blogging etc.

Who is this book good for:
1. Anyone that wants to do their own SEO on their site
2. Anyone that wants to understand SEO so they know if their current contractor is actually doing a good job or not
3. Anyone that wants one source of info they can trust on SEO, Blogging and social media
4. Anyone that knows a little about SEO but wants to know more

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SEO Case Studies

Real Results!

I wanted to take a minute to share some really cool results that real clients have gotten from SEO:

Check out this case studies and see for yourself the full impact of optimization.

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canfi.com
Before EcomBuffet: 0 top rankings
Now: 386 top rankings
"Ecombuffet has provided us with excellent results. We have seen a 200 % increase in booking via internet sites" - David Breithaupt

If you are interested in achieving results like these for your own site and aren't able to do the work yourself, please contact me to request a consultation or a proposal. I will outline how I can help you and what the costs would be. No obligation.

Can you afford not to find out how to improve rankings, traffic and sales?

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One final quote I wanted to share with you: "I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse" -- Florence Nightingale

16417 Lazare Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, USA

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Secret SEO Tip To Spy On Your Competitors

Here's a quick and easy way to see what content your competitors (or even you) have for any given keyword phrase.

Once you know how much content you both have, you can create an action plan to build more content and beat them out!

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In your Google toolbar or the search box on Google.com type in:
=> site:website.com Keyword Here

So for example if you wanted to search CNN to see how many pages refer to election you would type: site:www.cnn.com election

Hope it helps you to spy on your competitor!

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The Importance of SEO in Todays Market

SEO has evolved and changed over the years (I've been doing this for over 10 years and have seen so much change sometimes my head spins). One thing that remains constant is the importance of SEO. Actually that isn't even entirely accurate. SEO continues to become more important.

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Back in the good old days, not everyone understood the importance of SEO so there was less competition. As more and more companies realize the importance and hire an SEO company, the competition continues to get even more fierce and the importance of getting listed in the engines is greater.

Now add the economy into the mix, and things really start to heat up.

As much as I hate to bring up the economy (we are inundated with talk of the economy all day long) I have to. Not because I want to add to the negative talk out there, but because the poor economy is actually playing an interesting role in how people search online. More than ever people are comparison shopping, so getting your site listed on top is even more crucial. You want to be one of the sites they consider when they are doing their comparison shopping. You also want to make sure your site is in tip-top form so that you can earn that business while they are doing their comparison shopping.

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Another interesting tid bit about people's shopping habits in this crazy economy: while people always look for a deal - they are now looking for who offers the best value and not necessarily the cheapest price. Rather than automatically lowering your prices like everyone does, why not try building up the value? Make yourself stand out from the crowd. Add some freebies in there and win them over with the value you offer!

So, the take away here?

1. Make sure your site is listed on top of the engines.
2. Make sure your site is a selling machine and prepared to convert your traffic into good old fashioned paying customers.
3. Consider bulking up your offerings to increase the value and make sure people feel it's a no brainer to do business with you.

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That's all for today. Stay tuned for a cool SEO trick that allows you to spy on your competitors a little bit!