Dan Perry » Online Marketing

Beginner SEO Suggestions

danperry — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:27:09 +0000

Whether it be friends, family, acquaintances, etc., I often receive the following type of email:

Hey Dan,

I have a friend that runs a website and is looking for some SEO help. Anything you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Friend, family, acquaintance

In an effort to automate as much of my life as I can, this post is the answer to that question. Then, the next time I’m asked, I can just send a link here. Smart, eh?

So here’s my advice:

Based on the site, I’m guessing that their looking to do the work rather than outsource for money. Based on that assumption, here are a few suggestions…

1. Go to this page:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291

And click on the PDF link at the top that reads “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide”. Read completely.

2. If they wants to take a deeper dive, I’d suggest reading this:

http://www.seomoz.org/article/beginners-guide-to-search-engine-optimization

It’s a little dated, but the content is high-quality, easy to understand, and still very valid.

3. If they feel like buying a book, my first suggestion is not an SEO book, but a usability book called “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug. It had a profound effect on how I look at websites. For an SEO specific book, I’d suggest “The Art of SEO“. It’s relatively new, but I know all of the authors, and it is full of more than they’ll ever need to know about SEO.

In a nutshell, learn the basics of SEO (crawlability, TITLE tags, content, links), make changes to the site to make it enticing for spiders and users, and build links.

OK, what additional advice would YOU give to a beginner?

Post from: Dan Perry

Beginner SEO Suggestions

Personal Branding – 2009 Update

danperry — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:24:27 +0000

Last year I posted about my personal branding efforts, and where I ranked in Google and Yahoo for the a search of my name (Dan Perry, no quotes.) I compared my rankings from 2008 to 2007. This is an update on that post, to keep track of the value of my personal branding efforts.

In 2008 in Google, I had 15 of the top 30 rankings. In 2009, I had the same amount in the top 30. The difference is the quality of the links, as well as the number in the top 10 (clearly the most important). Here’s what my current Google results look like:

1 www.danperry.com/
2 www.danperry.com/blog/google-fridge-giveaway/
3 twitter.com/danperry
4 www.flickr.com/photos/golf_pictures/
5 www.flickr.com/people/golf_pictures/
6 www.facebook.com/dan.perry
8 www.linkedin.com/in/danperrydotcom
10 friendfeed.com/danperry
17 www.seomoz.org/marketplace/resumes/view/28156
18 www.mixx.com/users/danperry
20 www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/dan-perry/
22 www.pubcon.com/bios/dan_perry.htm
23 answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show=exIBZGF6aa
27 www.pbase.com/topics/danperry
28 www.seo-scoop.com/2009/01/16/dan-perry-search-blogger-of-the-day/

Notice that now I have 8 of the top 10 results, including the first 6. That is a huge leap over last year, where I had 2 of the top 10 (#2 and #3.) In addition, in 2009 I now have a picture at the bottom of the results (Google Images) as well as a link to my Google profile, neither of which were an option in 2008.

Yahoo also showed some improvement. In 2008, I had 8 instances in the top 30 of Yahoo, and 2 in the top 10 (#1 and #6.) In 2009, I have 4 in the top 10 (#1, 2, 9 and 10), as well as 14 in the top 30. Here are the current results for 2009:

1 www.danperry.com
2 www.danperry.com/blog/about
9 www.linkedin.com/in/danperrydotcom
10 danperrydotcom.multiply.com
11 www.pbase.com/danperry/profile
15 twitter.com/danperry
19 digg.com/users/danperry
20 www.google.com/profiles/danperry.com
21 danperry.tumblr.com
23 www.flickr.com/people/golf_pictures
24 www.seomoz.org/marketplace/resumes/view/28156
26 www.twine.com/user/danperry
27 www.squidoo.com/danperry
30 www.pubcon.com/bios/dan_perry.htm

So what stands out this year? Let’s start with Google.

Most of the new links are from social media sites (FriendFeed, Mixx, Yahoo Answers), proving the value of continuing the optimization of these profiles.

In addition, my link from PBase changed from my Profile page to my Topic page. That speaks to the value of not just joining these social media sites, but actually digging deep and using them. I would’ve never guessed that the Topic page would supplant my Profile page, but it did. Without testing, I would have never known.

Yahoo is a different story.

The second listing in my indented result is more relevant than Google’s. I rank #1 on both engines for my blog, but the indented second listing on Google is a very popular post where I gave away a Google Fridge. On Yahoo, it’s my About page, which is much more relevant. Wasn’t expecting this, but glad to see it. Clearly, inbound link still rule Google’s world.

Of course, the Yahoo link may be there because it’s the second link on my site (in the top navigation.) It might be worth testing that; to see if I can essentially choose my indented listing on Yahoo. Hmmm.

My Google profile page shows up in Yahoo. Not a huge deal, but worth noting.

All the rest of the links in Yahoo are from social media sites, except one (my Pubcon speaker page.) In order, the new listings in Yahoo in 2009 as compared to 2008 are from: LinkedIn, Multiply, Twitter, Digg, Google, Tumblr, Flickr, Twine and Squidoo. If that doesn’t show the value of being social, I don’t know what does.

If you’ve been following my personal branding study over the past 2 years, I hope you are learning and applying items from it; I certainly am. Plan on the next edition in November or December, 2010, and thanks for reading!

www.danperry.com/

Post from: Dan Perry

Personal Branding – 2009 Update

Image Optimization by BusinessWeek

danperry — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:41:11 +0000

Did a bit of ego/vanity-surfing this morning (typed Dan Perry into Google) and saw something new in the images section:

Image Optimization with Business Week

The image on the far right is from my Twitter Feed, so I decided to click-through. It’s from a few months ago, and references a Time Management Tip I provided.

Twitter Time Management Tip

The question is… How did this rank for my name in Google Images?

Doing a bit of digging provides the answer. If you visit the page in question, you’ll notice a few things.

They use my name in the TITLE tag of the page.
Although there are many images (I think 26 tips total) each got their own page and URL, instead of a Flash/JavaScript/AJAX delivery of images.
Under the image (wrapped in an H2 tag) it reads: Tweeted by Dan Perry, with a link to my Twitter page.
The filename of the image includes my name (008_danperry.jpg).
The ALT text does too (Tweeted by: Dan Perry)
Finally, BusinessWeek.com is a strong domain, which in itself give it a ranking boost.

I’ve said it many times before, but I’ll say it again: SEO isn’t doing 1 thing perfectly, it’s doing 200 things correctly, and in this example BusinessWeek did a great job. Congrats!

Post from: Dan Perry

Image Optimization by BusinessWeek

Bing Advertising Fail

danperry — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:35:06 +0000

Details, details, details. If there’s one thing I learned in the Navy was attention to detail.

Looks like Bing may have forgotten a very small detail in their online advertising. Saw an ad for Bing online today that was specific to golf. Here it is:

Golf Advertisement for Bing

According to the ad you can enter a tournament in the Bing search box, and see who’s on the leader board. The example is the LPGA Corning Classic. In the ad, note that the term “LPGA Corning Classic” is spelled out. Once you click on the ad, you get this results page:

Bing SERP

Note that the results page doesn’t have spaces between the terms LPGA and Corning and Classic. If you actually add the spaces (or click on the link to it directly beneath the search box) you’ll see the correct result.

The correct SERP result

You might think I’m nitpicking, but the reality is that this single ad has altered my perception of the quality of Bing’s results. What if I hadn’t added the spaces? I would’ve found that Bing didn’t deliver on its promise to provide me with a leader board, and would’ve left the site with a very poor experience and a negative opinion of Bing.

Small details can have a big impact on perception. Just ask anyone who’s ever worked in User Experience.

Post from: Dan Perry

Bing Advertising Fail

Decrease email unsubscribes by adding frequency option

danperry — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:21:52 +0000

Frequency option for email

I was getting a lot of email from L.L. Bean, and decided to unsubscribe. On the unsubscribe page, I saw the above image. Instead of just unsubscribing, it gives me the option to change the frequency that I receive email from them.

This may be old hat in the email marketing community, but I found it interesting enough to share. It actually caused me to change my frequency, and keep me from totally unsubscribing.

Job well done L.L. Bean!

Post from: Dan Perry

Decrease email unsubscribes by adding frequency option

My Favorite SEO Bloggers

danperry — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:19:18 +0000

I was recently asked which bloggers among the SEO community that I read the most. Considering there are easily hundreds (if not thousands) of SEO bloggers out there, I thought I’d share my list of must-reads.

I know I’ll forget some of the great ones, so be sure to add them in the comments, and explain why you think they’re great.

In no particular order:

Danny Sullivan – This was a given, but when I think of journalism and SEO, Danny bubbles to the top by a wide margin. His writing style, depth of content and ability to consistently provide citations makes him the well-deserved king.

Aaron Wall – Generates some of the most thought-provoking SEO posts, period. Aaron has such a keen business sense in addition to SEO, and the combination of the two makes for a must-read.

Stephan Spencer – Has a knack for taking technical SEO issues (301′s, nofollow, canonical tag issues, etc.) and conveying them in an easy to understand format. Plus, Stephan’s Powerpoints are top notch (like these two on Long Tail and Internal Linking and Architecture.) Truly adding value to the SEO community by sharing these.

P.J. Fusco – Been writing for ClickZ since 2004, but actually works for Stephan Spencer at NetConcepts. Very impressed with the consistency of articles. Love her writing style, and appreciate the value she puts into SEO. She (as well as Aaron) are quoted in my favorite marketing quotes page as well. Preaching to the choir, I know, but she finished this article perfectly:

“Attaining peak search engine performance is not free. It’s an ongoing, evolutionary process that requires adequate budget allocations year after year. If you are surrounded by those who think SEO is free, now is a great time to remind them that they get what they pay for.”

David Mihm – When it comes to Local SEO, this is THE guy. Realizing one of my favorite posts is a compilation (thus not specifically a blog post) it’s the thought-process that goes into it, and how to get there that I appreciate. Plus his Links of Local Interest are gold if you’re working in the Local SEO space.

Laura Lippay – Doesn’t blog as often as most, but her inhouse stuff (she does Inhouse SEO at Yahoo!) is easily the best I’ve read.

Eli Aloisi - Most of what Eli discusses is over my head, and some of it uses “blue” language, but I’ve never read a post of his and not learned something. Definitely read his post on building an SEO Empire but I’m warning you, have a few hours cleared. BlueHatSEO is like crack; once you start reading, you can’t stop at just one post.

OK… Now who did I forget?

Post from: Dan Perry

My Favorite SEO Bloggers

Twitter Quality vs. Quantity

danperry — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:17:12 +0000

There are lots of new Twitter tools out there to help you generate followers via auto-follows, follow-backs, etc. (Ever have someone follow you multiple times in a day or two? Bingo.) This helps you create a large number of followers in a very short period of time. This comes back to the old debate of quality vs. quantity. If you generate followers via these tools you will have quantity, but no quality (or at least, very little.)

On the other hand, if you grow followers organically, and people follow you because they enjoy your tweets and are actually interested in what you have to say, your quality is through the roof (and your Twitter experience will be much better as well.)

So this begs the question… How do you tell if someone has used one of these tools? Although there isn’t a perfect solution, there is something you can do, and that’s simply check TwitterCounter. Twitter Counter shows you how quickly you (or anyone else) has gained followers. It only goes back three months, but honestly that’s when these tools started to come in vogue anyway.

Here’s a screenshot of my follower growth over the last 3 months:

As you can see, a nice straight line of followers. It just looks natural. Now let’s look at someone who told me that they “tested some software”.

Doesn’t look nearly as natural. In fact, the only way you’d see a spike like this is if you were highlighted on CNET or Gizmodo or something.

This isn’t fool-proof, as I’m sure you’ve deciphered, but it is a decent tool for a quick measurement. The next time you see someone gain a huge amount of followers in a short period of time, send them a link to their TwitterCounter graph, and ask them which Top 100 Blog they got listed on. If the answer is “Whu?”, you’ll know they value quantity over quality.

Post from: Dan Perry

Twitter Quality vs. Quantity

Best Internet Marketing Posts – 2008

danperry — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:02:46 +0000

OK, a personal “pat on the back” post coming, so brace yourself.

One of my posts (about personal branding) made Tamar Weinberg’s list of the Best Internet Marketing Posts of 2008!

I’d like to thank my parents, my wife and the city of Chicago. If it weren’t for cold winters keeping me off the golf course, I probably never would have started this blog (seriously)!

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Best Internet Marketing Posts – 2008

LinkedIn Spam, or am I just that popular?

danperry — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:38:03 +0000

I’m a regular user of LinkedIn, and usually connect with those that reach out but lately, I’ve noticed an interesting trend, and I’m not sure what to make of it.

During the month of December, I’ve received invitations to connect from some very attractive women. Normally, I would consider this a good thing, but the ratio of young, attractive women as compared to everyone else is just too high, and it’s set off a red flag. For reference, I’ve received a total of 20 invitations to connect in December, and 15 were of the “interesting” type of invitations.
I’d like to think I’m wrong, and that these individuals really do want to connect. It’s just that there’s too much in common, and my Spidey-senses are on high alert.

First, they all work for very large companies (such as Bank of America, British Airways, Oracle, etc.) It isn’t that some or most work for large companies… all of them do.

Secondly, well… take a look. See if you think they have anything in common.

They are all attractive (at least I think so.)

So, is it LinkedIn spam and if so, what’s the end goal?

Really interested to see if others are seeing this as well.

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

LinkedIn Spam, or am I just that popular?

Christmas shopping via text messaging

danperry — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:16:41 +0000

I was leaving work on the day before Thanksgiving, and there were a number of people (at least 3-4) handing out the following card at the entrance to Union Station:

Sorry for the crappy picture of it, but here’s what it says:

Shop for Holiday Gifts – On your Phone!

Text JEWELRY to 73277
Browse & Buy on your phone
Pick-up in store or ship home

Alrthough this may already be old news, I’ve never seen a company test this and for that, I applaud Sears. I’m sure this is relatively inexpensive to execute, and considering most commuters have at least 1/2 an hour of time on the train (I have more like 50 minutes), it gives them the opportunity to consider it.

I’d LOVE to see the final numbers, and the success metrics for this, although I doubt I ever will. I do know someone who works at Sears (corporate headquarters is about 10 minutes from my house), but don’t think it’s their department.

Thoughts? Was it a good test or a waste of time and money? How would you measure this, and what would you consider a success?

If you like this post you might enjoy following me on Twitter: twitter.com/danperry

Post from: Dan Perry

Christmas shopping via text messaging

Anchor Text Still Rules