Ask the SEO Guru

As long as a web page, any web page, is being spidered, given sufficient time and motivation, I can generate CONVERTING TRAFFIC to a target web page for ANY keyword or phrase with nothing more than search engine placement. WITHOUT PAYING FOR LINKS!

I realize that is a bold statement but I’m one of those rare search engine placement specialists who do more than just talk about it. I actually put my money where my mouth is, (http://massa.techndu.com/default,month,2008-01.aspx0), and brother, that can take a lot of money!

{For those of you whom sarcastic humor may easily escape, that was a vague reference to the size of my mouth which is another vague reference to people who talk too much}

While that may seem like unabashed boastfulness, it is merely a fact. A reality borne of applied pressure against a specific obstacle.

But that is not what keeps the statement from being nothing more than bragging. What reduces the statement down from bragging to the simple observation of a proven reality is that I don’t do anything you could not do as well.

There is no need for magic to be applied. I don’t need to use any custom programming that gives me an insider’s eye into the inner workings of the Google algorithm. I don’t need to be a wizard, a computer whiz, a script kiddie or guru. I just need to roll up my sleeves, use my head and do the work.

Quality Work Isn’t Hard, It’s Just Hard Work.

If you have a website that is more than 60 days old, is being spidered and is not generating qualified traffic, then you have either gotten lazy and starting taking shortcuts, (thereby quickly reducing your own trust rank), or you have given up and stopped working on it. If the former is true then you might as well move on to the latter because the more short cuts you take the more sense stop working on it makes. PPC is always an option.

MOST COMMON SHORTCUTS

Starting off on the wrong foot thinking building a website is a way to make money without having to work at it

Failure to set a realistic objective and strategy

Failure to test basic navigation and functionality

Failure to secure a quality design and layout

Start buying links as a quick fix

Start participating in link exchanges in public forums, (do you NOT realize those forums are being spidered???? Duh!)

Start auto-generating content

Start using auto-submit programs to submit your site to 1000’s of directories and add a link sites

Start spamming forums, blogs and social media sites

Failure to monitor your own stats, (it is amazing how many people come to me for help in generating traffic when they already have significant traffic and just don’t know it.)

Failure to set effective milestones and abandoning strategy prematurely

Start using some technique you read in an seo forum or blog without so much as even thinking about how that technique would beneift your own goals

How to Avoid the Shortcuts and Make It Work --- Without Having To Pay For Links

I had written a blog post back in October of last year titled, “What is a Directory Submission Worth?” http://massa.techndu.com/2007/10/24/WhatIsADirectorySubmissionWorth.aspx.  

In that post I had discussed the negative press directory submission was getting in the seo community and how I felt the need to clarify that while it was true that a great many free directories were losing their page rank,  that did not mean they all had no value. The gist of that post could be summed up pretty well with this one paragraph:

So, whether it’s free or paid for review, taking the time to select an “appropriate” directory and category that you feel could benefit your site, writing a proper title and description that indicates you care what someone reading  it would think of your site and doing these things on a schedule that a human could actually do is not only a good way to promote your site on a virtually non –existent budget but I also think it helps to build a little trust in your site. It is natural, logical and should be done because it is kind of like online promotion  101.

By carefully selecting directories that are good and submitting properly, you can move your target keywords! ” But how do we know if it is good Guru”, you may ask. Well, grasshopper, the best rule of thumb is if you look at it and think it makes sense for your site to be there, then you are right.

It is not about trying to second guess Google and decide what THEY think is good. Even if you get lucky and get it right it would only be a guess and you could very well be just as wrong tomorrow as you are right today. Worry about what you are doing and let Google worry about Google. I know that is difficult to accept but it is true and the more you can do it, the more you are going to make.

It is about slowing down and taking the time to give a damn. Give a damn about your own site, the quality of the site you are submitting to and the experience the end user will get by you being there.

Quick, Cheap, & Easy

http://www.seobook.com/google-gives-article-directories-boot

Just a couple of weeks ago,  SEO Book wrote another brilliant post about Google devaluing article syndication directories. The always observant Aaron Wall is right of course --- almost.  

You can’t argue with evidence we can all see. Anyone can look ad tell that the toolbar PR of a LOT of those type of sites has dropped or fallen and can’t get up. BUT, there are two issues I would point out at the risk of overstating the obvious and possibly spilling the beans on some upcoming issue of the SEOBook blog. If that be the case, my apologies in advance.

#1. Even this post admits that not all article syndication sites were popped. Aaron said:

” EzineArticles did not get edited, perhaps because they have more stringent editorial guidelines, they were a known market leader, or they were a Google case study. Just about every other article syndication directory did.”

{the bolding was added by me for emphasis}

There is, (or at least could be),  some value in article syndication directories.

My point is that Google is not trying to eliminate article syndication directories, if they were EzineArticles would be gone too. Rather Google is simply trying to eliminate crap.

#2. He also said:

“Search engineers can't stop everything, but by the time a technique is cheaply and reliably outsourced the value has already been diminished or will soon become worthless. “

This point could very well be true BUT, I have always been of the mind that when everyone else is taking the shortcuts, taking the long road around makes you stand out as being different. In other words, the more people doing it wrong, the more value there is in doing it right.

Doing it right is not quick, easy or cheap. It is time consuming, difficult and time is money. BUT, it works when you take the time to help eliminate crap!

What About Free Add Your Link Sites? Do they do any good?

If you mean do they work as a quick, easy and cheap solution, then the answer is unequivocally --- no. BUT, if you are starting to see a pattern to the post, then yes, GOOD, free add your link pages COULD have some value.

“But how do we know which ones are good Guru?”

Boy, if you have to ask that question again, then you haven’t been listening. But, here is your answer again.

“Well, grasshopper, the best rule of thumb is if you look at it and think it makes sense for your site to be there, then you are right.”

If you are one of those people who simply can’t trust your own judgment, then you can always check to make sure the free add a link page is indexed but beyond that, I could give you a list of like 25 factors you could check but a few of the factors being found could be good or could be bad. All the factors being found could be good or could be bad. None of the factors being found could be ---- well, you get the point.

By the way, for those of you who are worried about the size of your small toolbar PR, there are literally millions of add your link pages with a PR of 3 or more. BUT, the irony lies in the fact that if you do it for the PR alone -- you lose!

The Million Dollar Secret To SEO Success

I don’t feel the need or the inclination to go into forums, blog comments, social tagging etc. I feel all I could do from here is belabor the point. If you don’t want to take the time to slow down and LOOK at what you’re doing, set a realistic objective, develop a strategy and then execute that strategy, or just call me and I’ll do it for you.

If you say you don’t have the time to do it yourself and you can’t afford PPC or to hire anyone to do it for you, then you are dead and you are wasting your time because you will fail. Promoting anything online or off takes an investment and if you are not willing or not able to make that investment, then save you and everyone involved with you the grief of having to listen to you complain about how the world is unfair.

It can be done. It’s not about taking the quick or easy or even cheap route. It is about knowing what you want and what you are willing to invest to get it and then giving a damn. You can do it. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it but you have to believe in yourself enough to quit following the herd and to think for yourself.  Use your head and look for the places you belong. There ya go. That’s the million secret to SEO success.

Peace Y'all

G

If you don't stop pickin at that thang it never is gonna heal.