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Too Much Emphasis on KEI - Issue No. 028September 25, 2002 ________________________________________________________
~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~ *Introductory Comments: ----> Something for Everyone *Search Engine Marketing: ----> Too Much Emphasis on KEI ----> Everyone's Hiding the Source Code *This Week's Sponsor: ----> WordTracker *Notes from Search Engine Strategies Conference: ----> The Spam Police *Jill's Editorial (aka Rant): ----> What it Means To Be a Professional *Stuff You Might Like ----> 1/2-day Search Engine Marketing Seminar *Advisor Wrap-Up: ----> Sorry, No Voice Left ________________________________________________________ ~~~Introductory Comments~~~ Hey! In today's issue, I've got a couple of questions/answers, a report from the SES conference, a good old-fashioned rant and a bit more info on my upcoming seminar in November. Be sure to take the time to read all the way through, as there's something for veryone! - Jill ~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~ ++Too Much Emphasis on KEI++ From: Bill Farber Hi, Jill. First, I want to say that I really enjoy your newsletter. It's extremely informative. I've just started with search engine optimization and the newsletter is a great help. My question deals with finding key words and key phrases for common industries such as real estate. I'm a web designer and most of our clients are either homebuilders or real estate agents and I find it very difficult to find key words and phrases that don't have much competition (especially for real estate agents). I know one way to target the audience is geographically; however, the KEI from Wordtracker hovers around 10 or below when I insert St. Louis (my geographical area) into the key phrases. When I leave out St. Louis, the KEI goes up, but the number of competing web pages goes up tremendously. Am I putting too much emphasis on the KEI? Am I worrying too much about the competing web pages? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Bill ~~~Jill's Response~~~ Hi Bill, Glad you enjoy the newsletter! The short answer is not to worry about KEI. I never even look at that when performing my WordTracker research </wordtracker>. My feeling is that you need to mostly worry about your own site, making it the best it can be. What others are doing should not be as important to you. The WordTracker competition reports tell you how many competing sites are coming up in the results for the various keyword phrases. This is somewhat helpful in avoiding extremely competitive phrases, but you shouldn't let it scare you away from optimizing for the phrases that are relevant to your site. I avoid it because, well...it scares me! I find that if I don't know how competitive a particular keyword phrase is, and just optimize for it because it's the best phrase for the site, I can usually do fine. Why not at least try, ya know? If St. Louis Real Estate is what you need to be found under because it's the most relevant keyword phrase for your site, then that's what you have to optimize for. Sure, you can optimize for lesser phrases too, such as "buying a home in St. Louis" or "moving to St. Louis," but you should still try to go for your big money words. You've really got nothing to lose by trying. What you can do is shoot for a longer phrase, such as "St. Louis Real Estate Agent" which will naturally also encompass the smaller phrase, St. Louis Real Estate. For more info on this, check out this past issue of the Advisor </issue003.htm#seo>. Good luck! Jill __________________________________________________adv. DOES ANYONE SEARCH FOR "SEO GURU"? __________________________________________________ Not according to WordTracker! (But they do search for "SEO Services.") Don't even *think* about optimizing your sites without first researching your keyword phrases in WordTracker. </wordtracker> "WordTracker rocks! I couldn't do my job properly without it." - Jill __________________________________________________ ~~~Next Question~~~ ++Everyone's Hiding the Source Code++ From: Ronni Loundy Dear Jill, I am fairly new to the SEO field and your column has been of great help to me. My question is this: I have noticed lately that most websites are now using some form of cloaking to hide their source code. I was always of the opinion that most search engine and directories discouraged cloaking software. Have the major search engines finally decided to accept cloaking? If so, would you have any specific cloaking packages that you would recommend? Thanks, Ronni Loundy ~~~Jill's Response~~~ I'm not sure what you mean about most sites using cloaking. I haven't seen this in the least. There are simple JavaScripts that disable right-clicking. Have you attempted to go to the View > Source at the top of the browser? You should be able to view it that way. You are correct, however, that the search engines frown on cloaking. It would not be in their best interests to accept pages that showed one thing to the search engines and another to the visitors. It's simply too easy to abuse. Just curious...what is it you want to protect your source code from? If someone stole your Meta tags, for instance, it would not help them in the rankings. There's really no reason (that I can think of) to hide your source code. Cloakers are using their software to show one thing to the search engines and another to the users. They may claim that they want to protect their code, but that's just an excuse (in my opinion). No need to hide your code. No need to cloak. Simple as that! [Jill's Note: After a few emails back and forth, Ronni and I discovered that she actually had a problem with her Internet Explorer, which was why she wasn't able to view the source on every Web site she visited! (She simply needed to clear her cache, as it was quite full.) I wanted to let you know about this because very often when we see something happening, we assume it's because of one thing, when in reality, it's something altogether different. It's important with SEO -- and really with everything in life -- not to jump to conclusions. Just think what could have happened to Ronni had she not come to me...her cache is full so she sees no source code...she thinks it's suddenly necessary to cloak in order to get into the search engines...she purchases cloaking software and goes for it...next thing you know, her site is banned! All cuz of a bug in IE! The moral of the story is to make sure you always try to understand the true cause and effect of everything that's happening around you, and never make assumptions without fully checking them out! - J ] ~~~Notes from Search Engine Strategies Conference~~~ ++The Spam Police++ Today's reporter on the street is Shari Thurow from Grantastic Designs, Inc. <http://www.grantasticdesigns.com>. You may remember her past guest article a few months ago, "Search Engine Spam Affects Us All" </issue021.htm#guest>. As you may have guessed, search engine spam is a subject that is near and dear to her. I'll bet you can't guess her other favorite subject. (Here's a hint, it has nothing to do with search engines.) Give up? Okay, I'll tell you...it's guinea pigs! Shari is a guinea pig expert. After mentioning that my kids got one last week, I received a very detailed email from Shari with all sorts of great guinea pig tips. She's had guinea pigs since she was just a toddler! (I got lots of other cute guinea pig stories from others too...thanks!) I just thought you might be interested in that little tidbit of information. I always like learning about the people I know online. It gives you a new perspective on them. She's now Chip's honorary guinea pig godmother! Anyway, here's Shari's coverage of the Spam Police session from the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose. (Sorry, no guinea pig tips in it. You'll have to email her privately to get those!) Guest Article The Spam Police Shari Thurow To keep search results relevant and accurate, search engines actively work to thwart excessive and unethical optimization tactics. Spamdexing, commonly referred to as spam, is taking extreme or excessive measures to achieve top search engine positions. Spam can be also using any words, HTML code, scripting, or programming on a Web page that is not meant to benefit user experience. In a session entitled "The Spam Police," representatives from FAST Search, Google, and the Open Directory explored the issue of spam. Major spam guidelines include the following: (1) Don't create Web (doorway) pages, domains, and subdomains with the same or very similar content. (2) Don't deliberately hide text or links from your target audience. Do not create text or links solely for the reason of search engine positioning, such as hiding links in a transparent image (e.g. blank.gif). (3) Don't create pages built primarily for the search engines. This especially includes auto- or machine-generated pages of little value to your end users. (4) Don't stuff irrelevant keywords anywhere on a Web page. (5) No misleading Meta information or anchor text. (6) No redirects. (7) No cloaking. (8) No excessive cross-linking to artificially boost link popularity. (9) No keyword stuffing in graphic images (alternative text). (10) No domain spamming, e.g., typos (yhaoo.com) or "celeb" spamming. (11) Don't commit identity theft/page jacking. Tim Mayer, Vice President of Web Search at FAST, stated, "Spam is more about how and to what extent a [spam] technique is used rather than the technique itself." For example, the Web design technique of using hidden layers in Cascading Style Sheets is not considered spam. Many drop-down menus are created with hidden layers, and Webmasters that utilize this navigation scheme on their sites will not have their sites penalized for using it. However, if hidden layers are used deliberately for keyword stuffing, that technique is considered spam. Mayer also mentioned pop-up-window spam, where excessive pop-up windows appear when users leave your site. "FAST does not want Web pages in its index that harm the quality of our search results," said Mayer. To determine whether a search engine optimization strategy can be considered spam, Matt Cutts, Software Engineer for Google, said that Webmasters should ask themselves: (1) Would you utilize the optimization technique if the search engines did not exist, and (2) Would you be embarrassed if others knew what you were doing? (Cutts called this the "Grandmother Test.") "As Google improves its spam detection, it gets riskier to take shortcuts or to try to cheat. If an SEO spams on behalf of a client, both the SEO and their clients can be removed from our index," advised Cutts. Unfortunately, due to the rampant abuse of Cascading Style Sheets to hide text, Google highly recommended that Webmasters not place the robots exclusion protocol (robots.txt) on any external style sheets. Cutts also advised against using automated programs because they have a greater chance for abuse. He cited rank-checking software and doorway-page-generating software as examples. "You are responsible for what happens on your domain," said Cutts. "Be careful whom you link to. You have no control over who links to you, but you have complete control over the sites you link to." Elisabeth Osmeloski, Volunteer Editor at the Open Directory (ODP) and search engine optimization expert at Beyond Ink <http://www.BeyondInk.com>, addressed the spam policy at ODP. To avoid getting labeled a spammer by ODP, remember these tips: (1) Don't use auto-submitting programs. Watch out for those offered as a "free or cheap bonus" from your Web hosting company because they can hurt your domain's reputation. (2) Don't submit mirror sites using different domains - editors have eyes and will see through it pretty quickly. (3) Don't submit multiple deep links to multiple categories unless your site truly has useful, original content that adds value to the directory. Deep links are the exception, rather than the rule. "There are several myths about the Open Directory Project that contribute to the frustration submitters often have when trying to get sites listed on dmoz.org," said Osmeloski. "For one, there is a common notion that if your site hasn't been listed in three weeks, you should resubmit. This only contributes to the backlog of sites that editors must manually review before adding a submission to the directory. After making sure you've submitted to the most appropriate categories (one regional, one topical), wait at least four weeks, then email the editor listed at the bottom of the category page. If there isn't an editor listed, it DOES NOT mean that the category is lacking an editor -- drill up a category and email the editor listed there. Also realize that the delay in your listing may be due to a highly competitive category where spamming is prevalent, or the category branch may be undergoing a massive reorganization that is intended to improve the overall quality of ODP's ontology." ODP guidelines can be found at <http://dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html> and <http://dmoz.org/guidelines/spamming.html>. Below are the URLs/email addresses to report suspected spam abuse. (You can also use these addresses if you suspect your site has been penalized for spamming, or if you wish to dispute a spam penalty.) Google: mailto:spamreport@google.com or <http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html> AlltheWeb.com (FAST Search): mailto:spam@fastsearch.com Open Directory: mailto:staff@dmoz.org Shari Thurow Grantastic Designs http://www.grantasticdesigns.com [Thanks, Shari! Just wanted to mention that you can learn more about what Matt Cutts from Google was talking about, i.e., "Would you utilize an optimization technique if the search engines did not exist?" in Alan Perkin's white paper on "The Classification of Search Engine Spam" <http://www.ebrandmanagement.com/whitepapers/spam-classification/>. Next week, Craig Fifield from BCentral's "Submit It!" will be covering Shari's SES conference session "Designing Search-Engine-Friendly Sites." So stay tuned! - J] ~~~Jill's Editorial (aka Rant)~~~ ++What it Means To Be a Professional++ I've noticed that every time I put out a newsletter that has a lot of talk about spamming the engines, and how you shouldn't do it, I seem to get a few more "unsubscribes" than usual. So go ahead, all of you who are now going to unsubscribe because of the above article (and this one). Go! Do it now before you read this. (Don't let the door hit you on your way out!) I don't want you to read any further. You might learn something important about being a professional, and I know you're not interested. Okay, now that I've gotten rid of them...let's talk seriously here for a minute. There's a lot of stuff posted on search engine forums and newsletters around the world about how companies who spam the search engines are unethical, and that it's important to hire only "ethical SEO consultants" or "ethical search engine marketers." But, if you think about it, ethics is not something that's quantifiable. What makes any given SEO technique ethical or unethical? Isn't ethics more of a way of life than a method for doing something? Is trying to trick the search engines really unethical? Sure, it's stupid, in my opinion, but is it really unethical? I don't believe that those who practice what I sometimes refer to as "shady SEO techniques" can necessarily be classified as unethical. Just as everyone who follows every search engine rule can't automatically be assumed to be ethical. What we should instead be discussing is which companies are *professional* and which are just out for a buck. This is true in every industry, not just SEO. If the people in our industry can remember this when trying to create a professional organization of SEOs (and there are many factions trying to do this), it will go a lot smoother. It's really quite simple. My friend Alan Perkins, who is a champion of "professional SEO," pointed out this page to me recently: <http://www.npanet.org/public/position.cfm>. It says in part: What defines a professional? "A professional is a person who, by education, training, and experience, performs work, analyzes and solves problems, makes decisions, and promotes ethics associated with a particular field of study." - A. Carol Rusaw, Learning by Association, HRD Quarterly, Summer 1995. They go on to list some criteria for defining a professional. The one that really jumped out at me was this: "[The] Professional assumed to know what is good for the client better than the client." That really hits the nail on the head. It would be easy for any of us to say, "Sure, why not, I'll take your money and just tweak your Meta tags" when asked to do so by a client. Of course it would be easy money. But would it be right if you knew that doing so probably wouldn't really help their site be found in the search engines? Not in my opinion; nor would it be professional. So what about when a potential client comes to you saying "we know exactly what we need" because they read somewhere how SEO should be done. They ask you for a proposal to create 10 zebra (doorway) pages for their site. They don't want you to touch the actual pages of their site, they just want pages that live on the "fringes" of the site. You know, the kind that only the search engines will find (because you added a link way down low on the home page to a sitemap of all the zebra pages). Once the user arrives at one of the pages from the search engines, they're basically forced to click an extra time to finally arrive at the *real* site that they wanted to begin with. Should you give the client a quote for this even though you know in your heart that it's not necessarily the best way to optimize their site? Certainly, creating those pages that way couldn't really be considered unethical or anything. But what if you see that their current site already has tons of great content pages? They really don't need to add zebra pages, they just need to tweak their current content a bit to make sure they're using words that real people use when searching. Or perhaps they just need to make sure the search engines can easily spider through the site and find all that great content, e.g., turn dynamic URLs into static URLs. What do you do if when you explain this to the client, they're still set on using those zebra pages? They refuse to make changes to their actual pages (cuz someone told them they shouldn't have to!), and even though the site will be much improved by making these changes, no amount of cajoling will convince them of this. So what do you do then? Do you do things the way they want you to? Do they really know better than you, the SEO professional? If I were in this situation, and I couldn't persuade them how wrong, unnecessary and shortsighted their preferred technique was, I'd have to turn down the job altogether. Yeah, it's hard to turn down some decent money that a job like that could bring. I mean, you could probably even create those zebra pages using WPG's Page Generator, and give them some fancy new name. They're really not zebra pages...these ones would be giraffe pages! It could be good money for little work. And after all...it IS what the client wants, right? There are plenty of ways you can justify it to yourself. But the bottom line is that it's your job as a professional to do what you know in your heart is right. If it means you don't get that particular job, then so be it. There will be other jobs. And there will be other clients that appreciate your looking out for their site's long-term well-being. You can bank on that. Seriously. The money you lose from declining that type of work will be made up in so many different ways. Trust me. ~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~ ++1/2-day Search Engine Marketing Seminar++ Okay, I've got a little more information for you regarding my November 18, 2002 search engine optimization seminar. It will be held at the Boston Marriott Burlington, which is easily accessible from Rte. 128, Rte 3, and many other major highways in Mass. So there's no excuse not to come! I believe the price will be $250 for early-bird sign-ups, and $299 after that, but that's not definite. I've received a lot of interest so far from you guys, and I look forward to seeing you all there. A registration form will be posted on my site, hopefully by the end of this week. In the meantime, if you want to be notified when it's up, please email me at mailto:seminar@highrankings.com and I'll let you know. You can see what I'll be teaching you here: </seminar>. I'm also working out the details for a luncheon after the seminar, which will only be open to a limited number of conference participants. If you think you might be interested in attending it, please mention it in your email so that I can get some idea of a head count. I want it to be a small enough group that we can get some really good SEO discussions going, and have a more social atmosphere. Maybe I'll even have a contest where one lucky seminar participant gets to come to the luncheon for free! Watch this spot for more info. ~~~Advisor Wrap-Up~~~ Well, I think I've talked so much this issue that my voice is starting to wane <grin>! I'll just end it here. See you next time! - Jill    |
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