I’ve posted a few spammy emails like this and this in the past, not to be a jerk, but to help educate those who think those are good ways to build your links.

For some people, I have no doubt that they have increased the rankings for the terms they want. But are those links going to remain in place 5 years from now?

The problem with link schemes or networks is that the effect is temporary. Getting a #1 ranking in Google takes time and effort, and to get there with a link network positions your earnings in jeopardy.

Of course we all know that even high quality links can disappear for many reasons, and therefore, a link building effort must always be active in order to maintain those rankings.

So when you see those offers of easy backlinks or “Pyramid EDU Links” and items of that nature, it’s easy to get caught up in the promise of easy rankings. I won’t lie, I have tested all of those services out. Not for any clients, but for my own properties.

The results are always the same. The term I used for the link scheme gets top 3 placement in Google for a few months, then drops out of the top ten, and doesn’t stop falling until it reaches the 70′s. Keep in mind when I do these, I make sure that I don’t get any other links for that page. Of course I know there might be some random people who link, but I am not putting forth any additional effort.

So, that tells us the Google likes fresh links, and if you don’t remain active, your rankings will fall. I have to agree with them on those points because most topics are constantly evolving, and should be updated as that content is learned. Also, good sources of content will continuously earn links over time.

So to this footprint idea. What happens when you decide to purchase one of the packages? And let’s also assume 10 others all buy the same service. What do you think Google is going to do when it continues to find the same 11 sites all getting links from the same sites? A few times on same sites is chance. When it’s consistent, that’s intentional.

And when Google sees that, all the links in that network are de-valued and your rankings perish. This is why link diversity is critical to the success of your link building efforts. Blog comments, social bookmarking, directories, etc, you know the drill.

So much is talked about getting a certain type of link. But, spend your time wisely to earn links from all parts of the web, and Google will reward your efforts.

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Now this won’t look the same for everyone, but there are some basics that all sites should have by now in 2012:

Does the site have the proper header tags?
For social too? (Bonus Points if it does)
Does the site have social icon buttons to share content?
Are the profiles complete on each social network?
Does the destination page support the keyword to get ranked?
Is the optimized page the best it can possibly be?
Are you getting links pointed to your page from various sites around the web?
Does the optimized page have a video and image that support the keyword for that page?
Will the reader find the page useful?
Is there a clear call to action for the user?
What is the action you want the reader to take?

That last question is so important, I will repeat it here: What is the action you want the reader to take?

So many times people worry about the wrong thing. Sure, a #1 ranking in Google will send traffic to your site. But, if you don’t have a clear objective in mind for what you want your visitor to do, how can you measure success?

All of your marketing efforts should center around that last question. Rankings are nice, but they won’t buy your product or service.

Always think of your reader first, and make it as easy as you can for them to perform an action!

I hope that in five years from now this post will be outdated as by then, everyone always will perform that action. But, that’s the difference between successful companies and ones that go out of business…

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I really hate spam. I’m sure you do as well. So, I’ve made it a personal vendetta of mine to re-post some of the crap emails I get to my account. And, I’m not letting these people off the hook with their “We follow the can-spam act blah, blah, blah” either.

For this first example, Steve Rudolph sends me the following:
“To: Webmaster

From:
Steve Rudolph
info@linkbuildingunderground.com

Monthly Budget
5000

Message:
I am a professional link builder with a team of 20 link builder working under me, we have huge tie ups with USA and UK based web design firm and we provide 10000+ one way links per month.

I have a good solid on-going client base who welcomes you to contact for reference with 110% positive feedback.

Please let me know if I can be any assistance to you in any of your existing/future projects.

One Way Link Building Package (Mix PR from PR1 to PR4)

PR 1 = $ 1
PR 2 = $ 2
PR 3 = $ 3
PR 4 = $ 4

Packages –

50 links = $100
100 links = $200
150 links = $ 300
200 links = $ 400

So give us a chance to build our long term business relationship, I am looking forward for your positive response ….

Thanks & Regards
info@linkbuildingunderground.com

P.S. This is an advertisement and a promotional mail strictly on the guidelines of CAN-SPAM act of 2003. We have clearly mentioned the source mail-id of this mail, also clearly mentioned the subject lines and they are in no way misleading in any form. We have found your mail address through our own efforts on the web search and not through any illegal way. If you find this mail unsolicited, please reply with “Remove” in the subject line and we will take care that you do not receive any further promotional mail.”

Let’s look at the subject line of my email:
Subject: Akismet: Spam – SEO Internet Marketing Services Contact: SEO Audit (Even Akismet can smell this crap on the Internet!)

So, in the subject line to which he refers here: “We have clearly mentioned the source mail-id of this mail, also clearly mentioned the subject lines and they are in no way misleading in any form.”

So, Steve, you said that you were interested in a SEO Audit, and had a budget of $5,000. Yet, in the message to me, no where do you inquire about wanting an seo audit performed for your company. Instead, you are trying to sell me link building services.

Just so that you know Steve, this is the classic definition of SPAM. Don’t worry, I am sure after people see this, you will get flooded with business. Congrats!

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An Email I just got that actually has some good quick tips:

What I mean as a high-quality backlinks here is an inner-page that has a high PageRank and dofollow. And the easiest way to add a backlink to our site is definitely blog commenting.

First of all, what we need is Mozilla Firefox add-on called SEO Quake. SEO Quake will automatically tell us the PageRank of all pages that appear in search results, and it also can sort the search results base on their PageRank.

So basically, this is what we do:

# 1. Install SEO Quake add on to your Mozilla Firefox browser.
# 2. Go to Google Advance Search setting, and set the Results per page in to 100.
# 3. Do a search using our targeted keyword + special commands.
# 4. Use SEO Quake to find the PageRank of each page on the results, and sort them base on their PageRank in descending order.

In the third step, use these following commands to filter the search results:

Find EDU domains only:
“Keyword” inurl:.edu

Find all sites in our topic:
intitle:”Keyword”

Find all inner pages of a specific site, for example digg.com:
“Keyword” site:digg.com

Find only BlogEngine blog:
“Keyword” “Notify me when new comments are added” + “Powered by BlogEngine.NET”

Find only Movable Type blog:
“Keyword” “comment anonymously” + “Email Address” + “Powered by Movable Type”-movabletype.org

Find only WordPress blog:
“Keyword” “name” + “email” + “powered by wordpress”

Find only Blog2evolution blog:
“Keyword” “Your email address will not be Revealed on this site.” + “Your URL Will not be displayed.”

Find only ExpressionEngine blog:
“Keyword” “comment” “Powered By ExpressionEngine”-forum

Find only Drupal blog:
“Keyword” “Your name” “Subject” “Comment” inurl: comment/reply/1

You can see here, the secret key is in the search command that we use. Using the command above, we’ll be able to get hundreds to thousands of high PageRank inner pages where we can leave our backlinks in it.

Yes, because it is a blog comment, some time we need to wait for the moderation, and we also don’t have control on how many comments/outbound link will be in there.

So, there you go, an easy way to use the Google machine to your advantage. I’ve tried queries like this in the past with some success – it takes quite some time to be able to get good at seeing what sites will award links and which ones are just a waste of your time.

Good luck!

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Note: This is more of a rant than anything important!

Not just from a customer perspective, but hiring as well. Seems like most people want to associate themselves with a big name, so that they look like they made the best possible choice – and if it’s the wrong choice, it’s easier to say that the failure was not because of them, but because the brand was soo big, it failed to live up to it’s own name, probably because they are so big.

Titles – Some people obsess over these. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people remain in situations that were not best suited for them all because of a title they were promised. If that’s all it takes to keep you around, I think that reveals more about your character than any other action you might take.

By hiring someone from a “brand name” there is an assumption that they know more or have had more experiences than someone working for lesser known brands.

Having worked for both “Big Brands” and “Lesser Knowns”, I can say without a doubt, the “Lesser Knowns” work much harder at what they do. They know that they have to do this in order to get the chance to compete. It’s not fair, but in life, no one said it had to be.

Big Brands are very concerned about their reputations and customer experiences (as they should be), and sometimes people are chosen simply because they have heard of the company name before.

Again, this re-enforces the notion that popularity does matter. Being a known name does influence people’s decisions.

I fought this battle for a long time (7 years) but, after seeing many times over the preference for brand name association, I’ve instead stopped fighting that war and instead focused on building on the foundation that I’ve been working on for the entire length of my career in this industry.

Brands mean you get more opportunities, but results will grant you more success in the long run.

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So, I get the following email today:

Happy New Year! We have a new product called “MegaLink Stacks” which we’ll be adding to www.MegaLinkStore.com in a few weeks but we want to give you the opportunity to purchase before our official launch.

Contact me at:
(888) 315-4657 – Toll Free
(801) 542-9410 – Business Line
Email: john[at]nextnetmedia[dot]com
Skype: nextnetmedia
Twitter: twitter.com/nextnetmedia
Facebook: tinyurl.com/nextnetmedia
LinkedIn: JohnSprock

Wow! to think that Google will never catch on to this little trick. It’s extremely easy to spot crap content coming from crap networks sites. I’m sure John Sprock will sell all these in no time, I wonder how long his clients will be happy with the results?

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Here is an interesting call I was part of. There was a potential client who called that was interested in search reputation management services because they had some negative press mentions about their company and didn’t have the time or knowledge to properly defend their name.

We talked through the process of what would be expected of them, and how I was going to coach them on the proper way to handle and deal with the bad press they were getting for their services.

I think we all know that no matter what business you are in, there will never be a company that is perfect. In some industries, this is a highly critical part of the marketing efforts.

Some companies spend a tremendous amount of effort to maintain the image of “The Brand” at all costs. So, no matter what transpires, they have to deal with it.

For this case, it was a mortgage company that was getting some very bad reviews by people who felt like they were lied to about what was promised to them. After talking with this potential client for almost two weeks, we had constructed a strategy to address the bad reviews, and a plan of action moving forward to handle any other mentions that might not put the company in the best light.

We were finalizing the details when out of the blue, the potential client decided that they would rather change their name (at a certain cost, hence the “Doing Business As (DBA)”) instead of moving forward with the plan we had crafted together.

While that might make sense for the short term, is that really a good business practice?

I was left shaking my head in amazement, and I was also sure to make certain I would never consider that mortgage company in the future!

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Mobile SEO is a myth, perhaps better used a marketing statement rather than to truly define what seo for mobile search consists of.

Mobile seo would mean that all links take place on mobile devices and only link to other mobile platforms. Does Google only have a mobile version of search?

Nope. Instead, they use detection technologies to determine if you’re browsing from a desktop or smartphone. Then, they deliver the search results in a format that makes it easier to consume.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, what should your strategy be for mobile search?

It’s really simple. Think about the person who is searching with a mobile device. Chances are they are looking for something quick, or are trying to show off to some friends about some cool video they saw, or some weird piece of information they found on a website somewhere.

You know where I’m going with this. You need to make it easy to share the content you’re promoting. Well, you already knew this from everything we’ve been doing for the web, right?!

Yes, but a laptop has a much bigger screen and user expectations are different when using s smart phone.

Your web-based solution must include recognition of the user’s browsing device. Simply serving up your web-based site into their smart phone is not the answer.

If you have WordPress, you’re in luck as there is a fantastic plugin called WPTouch that handles all of this for you. RankSurge.com uses this very plugin for this site.

Otherwise, you will still need to find a developer that can build this for you.

The next component is to make the mobile version of your site easy to navigate. There are still some people who use the flip-phones to surf. This means you typically want a one-column layout with one click links to the content you want them to read.

Make it easy to share. Be sure to include links to your Twitter and Facebook pages, and link to your videos if you have them.

Now to getting ranked. Here’s the secret: There is none! Everything you are already doing to get ranked for your site translates over to mobile search.

HOWEVER,

That is only for national terms. Since most of your audience will be searching locally to them, that is where you need to beef up your efforts. Think of mobile search the same as local search. Google Places can get involved too.

Most sites that can take advantage of local search (restaurants/hotels/places to shop) need to account for users looking for them at a time of need in a limited window of opportunity. Some of the best ways to get ranked locally is making sure you are found on sites like Yelp, Kudzu and MerchantCirle. That also means getting customers to leave reviews on those sites so that Google will see that your site is a worthy information provider.

There’s a lot here to review and this quick post doesn’t cover everything that can be done. If you are looking for someone to perform these services for you, contact us today and we can get your site found!

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First off, what the heck is C-Suite?

A widely-used slang term used to collectively refer to a corporation’s most important senior executives. C-Suite gets its name because top senior executives’ titles tend to start with the letter C, for chief, as in chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief information officer. Also called “C-level executives”.

The C-suite is considered the most important and influential group of individuals at a company. Being a member of this group comes with high-stakes decision making, a more demanding workload and high compensation. As “chief” titles proliferate, however, job-title inflation may decrease the prestige associated with being a member of the C-suite. (source)

What are the objectives of a C-Suite SEO Audit?

The C-Suite level person is crunched for time and they need critical data to make important decisions based on a logical presentation. By breaking down all the important points into an easy to understand document, you make the decision process easier for the C-Suite executive, and you can be thought of as someone who can grow their business with realistic projections of success.

Finer points of the C-Suite SEO Audit

– People consume content in different ways and those must be accounted for when performing C-Suite SEO Audits.

– Search engines rely on brand signals that can trump poor seo methods.

– Can reveal where effectiveness and efficiency of process can be improved.

Accessibility
(Conversion funnels, action paths [registration/purchase/download/email]) – main focus for this section.

Goals: Identify and remove barriers that prevent search engines and more importantly, users from accessing content and items that prevent users from completing the conversion action item.

Site Structure
Identify ease of use for registration process/remember me features.
Identify any broken links or visits to any page that isn’t driving the reader to a conversion.

Relevance
What happens when visitors do arrive?
What pages are they using the most? (Top 5)
What pages are they leaving? (Top 5)
Are the keywords being targeted in line with company objectives?

Targeting
Keyword types:

Navigational
Queries that seek a single website or web page of a single entity (e.g., YouTube).
30% of all search queries are navigational queries

– Site login
– Customer package tracking

Informational
Queries that cover a broad topic (e.g., Colorado) for which there may be thousands of relevant results.

– “How To…”
– “Tips” on…
– [Keyword phrase] “Guide”

Transactional
Queries that reflect the intent of the user to perform a particular action, like purchasing a centrifuge or signing up for a newsletter.

Informational and Transactional queries drive new business and sales.

Determine commercial intent when selecting keywords.

Quality of content and design

Distinct Search behavior patterns – (source: About.com September 2011)

Answer Me (46% of all searches) – People in an Answer Me search want exactly what they ask for, and no more, delivered in a way that allows them to get to it as directly as possible. The top categories in Answer Me search are Entertainment, Fashion and Beauty & Style.

Educate Me (26% of all searches) – People in an Educate Me search want 360 degrees of understanding, and multiple perspectives on critical topics. They will search until their goal is achieved – which may stretch over long periods of time and through related topics. The top categories in Educate Me search are Health and Finance.

Inspire Me (28% of all searches) – The fun, “browsy” type of search, where people are looking for surprises, have open minds and want to be led. The top categories in Inspire Me search are Travel and Home & Garden.

What all of this means

As stated before, keep it simple! Talk to them in their language. ROI and expected growth. Money spent will equal a certain amount of profit. Of course we all know nothing is guaranteed, but being able to present a logical strategy backed up with realistic numbers for success will enable the C-Suite executive to make important decisions that will make them look good.

…assuming you can deliver those results!

Good luck!

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If you’ve been performing search marketing for any amount of time in competitive spaces, you’ve had this conversation before.

The tone of this conversation is typically set by the relationship you have with your client. If you’ve spent the time explaining to them that success should be measured by the traffic that arrives at their site through other means that you are promoting, than this shouldn’t be too painful.

Also, the amount of the rankings drop is critical as well. Anytime a client drops from #1 to anything else, it’s a big deal.

Things to look for:

• Has the entire site been hit with a penalty in the rankings?
• Have only certain terms been impacted?
• Are any other rankings of theirs still in place?
• Have any code changes been made to the site?
• Has the content of the destination page been updated?

Also check your other client rankings. If you have been doing similar efforts on other clients and they all suffer the same, then that tells you that your linking strategy needs to change.

The last (and most obvious) thing is that the competition that saw you at #1 responded to the challenge and began a more aggressive seo effort to get those top rankings. I always tell the clients that reach that top spot to expect this, yet while they are basking in the glory of the top spot, they forget that they were once looking up and earned the top spot by being more aggressive than the site that was occupying the top spot. What goes around comes around…

So, when that panicked message comes in, those are some things to ckeck out before resorting to the oldest fallback in seo: “Well, Google updated their algorithm and now we’ll have to do some new/other methods to regain those rankings.”

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