SEOs Who Party Like It's 1999

Written by Kalena Jordan


Search engine optimization has come full circle inrepparttar last couple of years.

Back inrepparttar 120749 mid 1990s it was easy to achieve high search engine rankings. Just tweak your META tags and site copy with keywords and submit. Then, as more and more webmasters started to catch on to META Tags, it became more difficult to beatrepparttar 120750 competition. Many companies turned to spam tactics such as hidden text (the same color asrepparttar 120751 background ofrepparttar 120752 page), hidden links (using 1 x 1 pixel gifs to hide them), doorway pages stuffed with keywords and cloaked content, all designed to be seen by search engine robots and not humans in an attempt to trickrepparttar 120753 search engines into givingrepparttar 120754 site a higher ranking.

Thankfully, overrepparttar 120755 past few years, achieving high search rankings has become fairer and more straight-forward. The search engines have given less weighting to META tags and more relevancy weighting to sites that are popular, of high quality and contain unique, relevant information. Most search engines have developed comprehensive spam filters that weed outrepparttar 120756 spammers fromrepparttar 120757 legitimate sites and penalize sites caught trying to cheatrepparttar 120758 system. Google in particular has ledrepparttar 120759 charge for quality over quantity.

Fortunately,repparttar 120760 web site aspects that most search engines prefer are also those that visitors prefer. Build a quality site with plenty of text, up-to-date, relevant content that other sites link to, a solid navigation system, submit it by hand to popular directories and search engines and you will be on your way to high rankings in no time. It's not difficult, it's not tricky and it certainly doesn't involve any black magic.

That's why I find it difficult to understand search engine optimizers who party like it's 1999 - using invisible text and hidden links in some pathetic, misguided attempt to trickrepparttar 120761 search engines into believing their site content isrepparttar 120762 most relevant. I mean, what are they thinking? I've heard excuses like "the search engine guidelines are unclear so we have no choice but to pushrepparttar 120763 envelope". Give me a break. The search engine guidelines are quite obvious to those who are actually good at SEO and understand what is necessary to achieve results for their clients. Many search engines even publish their guidelines clear as day on their sites. Unfortunately, it seems this industry is full of lazy non-performers who prefer to rely on outdated cheat sheets that haven't worked for years.

I am so sick of allrepparttar 120764 cowboy SEO firms who clog uprepparttar 120765 search engine indices with meaningless keyword-stuffed pages, in a vain attempt to dominaterepparttar 120766 search rankings with their client's sites. Don't they do any research? Don't they readrepparttar 120767 search engine guidelines? Don't they understand these tactics are fruitless and ineffective? Don't they know these techniques haven't worked for years and are regarded as spamming? Don't they realize they are putting their client's sites at risk of ranking penalties or outright banning? Don't they care aboutrepparttar 120768 long term effects andrepparttar 120769 future of their client's web sites?

To see an example of these blatant spamming techniques, visit Google.com and type in a search for "new zealand power companies". Visitrepparttar 120770 first site inrepparttar 120771 results (a doorway page), right clickrepparttar 120772 page with your mouse and choose "select all". Run your mouse overrepparttar 120773 darkened area atrepparttar 120774 bottom left ofrepparttar 120775 page. See allrepparttar 120776 hidden links? All leading to yet more doorway pages.

Create New Products: Use Leveraging

Written by Catherine Franz


It still surprises me when a light bulb flash turns into an aha moment. Yesterday I hadrepparttar light bulb flash that grew and grew until it gave me a big smack upsiderepparttar 120748 back of my head this morning.

Yesterday was like most of my days, yet while writing yesterday’s article, I stopped mid sentence, and my thoughts went back to an ezine article I read early that morning. It was one of those times when your thoughts completely jump to another circuit -- you knowrepparttar 120749 kind.

Quickly I dashed downrepparttar 120750 hall and corner with lightening speed. Not. Just walked. I had always wanted to write that, I know cute, Catherine. What caught my attention wasrepparttar 120751 contest announcement in that ezine. I remembered that Janice (name not changed to protectrepparttar 120752 innocent) would be interested inrepparttar 120753 information since she wrote poetry. I found it and e-mailed herrepparttar 120754 info. Cut and dry, huh? I thought so to, but not quite.

Later that evening during our coaching session, Janice mentioned how she appreciatedrepparttar 120755 information but she didn't write poetry for children. Oops, I didn't even see that important detail. However, she appreciatedrepparttar 120756 thought and explained that it gave her a flash of another contest she knew about that she had always wanted to enter. As she was talking about this, I remembered my childhood try at poetry. "Now where did I put those" came to mind.

Yes, you guess it; I went looking for my old poems afterrepparttar 120757 call. Including staying up past midnight reading them again and chuckling on my mindset atrepparttar 120758 time. I even wrote quote a few on President Kennedy’s death -- but that’s another topic. I chose three, submitted them, and went to bed pleased with myself about taking some action with them.

Did you know thatrepparttar 120759 difference between a light bulb moment and an aha moment isrepparttar 120760 depth of experience in whatever is occurring. Light bulb isrepparttar 120761 flash,repparttar 120762 aha is when you makerepparttar 120763 connections between that and other experiences in your life.

This morningrepparttar 120764 aha part ofrepparttar 120765 light bulb moment hit me --repparttar 120766 marketing aspect to all this. In order to give you a complete picture, let me includingrepparttar 120767 "ad" I found inrepparttar 120768 ezine. This is a quote.

*************** AD ********

Half Price Books' 10th Annual Bedtime Story Contest DEADLINE: December 1, 2003 GENRE: Children's fiction and poetry OPEN TO: All, except employees of Half Price Books and The Texas Bookman, or any agents or affiliates thereof. LENGTH: Stories: up to 300 words; Poems: up to 50 lines. THEME: To promote literacy and encourage people to read, Half Price Books will publish a book featuringrepparttar 120769 winning stories. All proceeds fromrepparttar 120770 sale ofrepparttar 120771 book fund literacy and education projects. All entries should be appropriate to be read to and by children, ages 8 and under. We do not require our authors to illustrate their own stories. However, if you are an artist and would like to submit your artwork along with your story or poem, we encourage you to do so. All entries must be typed and include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Entries, whether mailed or e-mailed, that do not include contact information will be disqualified. See our online contest guidelines for more information. PRIZES: Grand Prize: $200 gift card from Half Price Books; 2nd Prize: $100 gift card; 3rd Prize: $50 gift card; Finalists: $20 gift card ELECTRONIC ENTRY: Yes, must be in MS Word or rich text formats. ADDRESS: Half Price Books, ATTN: Bedtime Story Contest, 5803 E Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231 EMAIL: saygoodnight@halfpricebooks.com URL: http://www.halfpricebooks.com (Click on "Enter our Bedtime Story Contest")

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