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There have been a number of patent filings and whitepapers from the major search engines over the past 5 or 6 years that describe how they might break a page into blocks or segments to understand things like the main topic or topics on a page, which block might be the most important for a page, what to show on smaller screens for mobile devices, and to apply different weights for links depending upon which block they are located within. I’ve written about a number of those in the past in posts such as: One of the areas that most of the patents and papers that I wrote about didn’t delve into in much detail is how a search engine might understand the functions of blocks that they identify. Is a block primarily navigation, or advertising, or a footer? Does it contain mostly information or noise? Is it decorative in purpose, or primarily a way to interact with the site owner, such as a contact form? There are a few reasons for a search engine to break pages into blocks. One … [Read more...] about How a Search Engine Might Identify the Functions of Blocks in Web Pages to Improve Search Results

One of the great things about PPC advertising is its immediacy.  You can start running ads right now and see almost instantaneous results; whether good, bad or just ok.  But, the trap that we don't want to fall into when running our accounts is limiting our thinking just to what can be gained right now.  The fact is, PPC is a great way to help build all areas of your online business long-term.  And with the continuous expansion of features and avenues being offered in this channel today, the possibilities continue to grow.But for this series of posts, I want to focus on keyword advertising.  I want to take you through a theoretical progression of how solid PPC search campaigns are started, developed and used to build a foundation for the long-term growth of your brand and website. Build Your Net When first starting your keyword advertising, you probably have some sort of idea about what your main keyword themes will be.  For our fishing … [Read more...] about PPC for a Day or For a Lifetime?

As a small business owner, the web holds a lot of challenges that, if navigated successfully, may yield some treasures. But there are some waves on the horizon, and uncharted waters ahead for many who would pursue those riches. A secret for those of you who are starting out with a fresh website, and something to learn about the storms ahead. There are fundamentals about conducting business online that will be helpful for you to learn, and there are a few best practices that have been well documented in some places. But a constant on the Web is that there’s always something new, always something that even the most experienced business folks and online marketers alike all face together for the first time. Let’s take a look at some of those cresting waves approaching from the distance. Exploring the mobile web The web provides some big opportunities, but the mobile web may provide even more. For a small business owner, making your goods and services available to people over … [Read more...] about A Smooth Sea Never Made A Skilled Mariner

As a link builder and content publicist, I rarely see a link building challenge that cannot be overcome. Today there are many unique and legitimate ways to attract and generate links that didn’t exist ten years ago. There are different styles and approaches to link building, all of which can be effective. And there is no single approach that will be 100% effective, 100% of the time. Link building is more exciting than ever, and this November, as I enter my 15th year in this field, I can say with certainty that link building is as much art as it has become science, and sometimes the science gets in the way. That said, while this may sound like heresy, there are times when the link building solution for a site is to simply give up. There are some types of content for which no amount of trying will help, no amount of link bait will matter, and no amount of money can fix things. I had such a scenario come up this past week. Without giving names and URLs, here’s what happened. I … [Read more...] about When Link Building Is Pointless

Last Friday, in a well received and thoughtful White Board Friday at SEOmoz titled Prediction: Anchor Text is Dying…And Will Be Replaced by Co-citation (title changed at SEOmoz) Prediction: Anchor Text is Weakening…And May Be Replaced by Co-Occurrence, Rand Fishkin described how some unusual Search Results caused him to question how Google was ranking some results. I’m a big fan of looking at and trying to analyze and understand search results for specific queries, especially when they include results that appear somewhat puzzling, and I think those provide some great fodder for discussions about how Google might be ranking some search results. Thanks, Rand. In Rand’s presentation, he pointed out that: Consumerreports.com ranks well for the term “cell phone ratings,” without using the terms “cell phone” or “ratings,” or uses some of those words, but not in the page title, or in other prominent places on the page. … [Read more...] about Not All Anchor Text is Equal and other Co-Citation Observations