Search digest, October 12-23 2009
October 23rd, 2009 Jason Posted in Week in Search, geek, links | No Comments »
Articles and things we’ve seen this week.
SEO basics, best practices, and tactics
- Terrible SEO Advice: Focus on Users, Not Engines
Rand sparks a debate: “In my view, SEO starts with the user (of course), but cannot ignore the incredible importance of search-engine targeted (and specific) tactics” - Is Choosing Search Engines Over Users A Fatal Flaw In SEO?
Jill Whalen responds to Rand: “If you listen to this advice, your SEO will be fatally flawed from the get-go” - SEO Truths Or Should That Be SEEO?
SEEO = Search Engine Evolutionary Optimization. The “truths” are mostly based on observation, and fluctuate based on change… - When the PageRank Toolbar Goes Dark…
Where PageRank is the great distorter is that many site owners – not SEOs – value their sites by that alone.
Marketing and content
- Can Viral Marketing Be Manufactured?
The very nature of viral content makes a traditional marketing plan next to impossible. How can a marketer improve their chances of striking viral gold? - The Web Marketing Checklist: 37 Ways to Promote Your Site
A useful checklist – All you can do to promote your site online - 10 Useful Social Bookmarking Websites to Promote Your Content
What it says on the label - Link Building With Content: How To Attract Links And Leads
This article outlines how to merge the practice of linkbait (we call it linkable content) and the strategies of content marketing to maximize the value of your content creation and publishing efforts. - Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Tips for News Search
Tips, background and FAQs for all publishers interested in Google News Search
Pretty graphs
- 4 Visual Charts on the Value of SEO Tactics
Particularly interesting graph on the value of XML sitemaps, which we’re working on next sprint. Would be a fun exercise to scatterplot where we think each of our sites land on these various other graphs. - Explaining (Some of) Google’s Algorithm with Pretty Charts & Math Stuff
Interesting [and heady] charts about the Google Algorithm ranking factors.
The big picture
- Why SEO Training Should Be An Organizational Imperative
Failure to train people can lead to serious problems, with a frightful waste of time, blown schedules, wasted expenditure and ultimately a failure to effectively capture search traffic. - The Guardian / Trafigura Thing – Gagged by Carter Ruck Solicitors? Fail.
The days when corporate malfeasance could be hushed up by a deal cut in the smoke-lined back rooms is over. - Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion
The key to success in business hasn’t changed – provide good customer service and work your butt off. [Video, full of profanity but great]
Enjoy!






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