All Entries in the "SEO" Category

How Important Is Owning Your Personal Name As A Domain Name?

More and more I’m seeing people buy up their name as an URL (ie. JohnSmith.com, MarthaBartha.net, etc.). Is this just for the sake of vanity or is there a real purpose to it?

By way of full disclosure, I have an URL that represents my name. I went for AllenTaylor.com, but it was already taken. Therefore, I settled for the more specific AllenLeeTaylor.com, using my middle name. I’ve seen some people take their name with a .me extension.

I do think there is a good reason for doing this. For me, it’s a matter of reputation management, but that’s not all. I also believe it’s a good branding tool, particularly for creative people.

In terms of reputation management, you’ll have a better chance at ranking for your name as a keyword if you use your name as a domain name. Google now will only rank a couple of pages per domain for any keyword search term. If the search term is your name then what will searchers find? Your company site should be at the top of the list and you’ll likely have a few social networks on the list as well. A personal domain name should be on that list too.

If you have three social networks, your company website, a blog and your own personal domain name then that’s a potential 12 top spots on Google. Since there are only 10 page 1 listings this increases your chances of being at the top pretty considerably. That’s effective reputation management.

But how about personal branding? I’m a writer. I write SEO content, ghostwrite blogs and write fiction and poetry. I have also worked as a journalist. A personal domain name with a CV and portfolio is a good marketing tool. While I still have to develop my domain name, I am looking forward to the day that it is actually drawing in some new business and fans. That day should not be far off.

On personal domain names, you can count me in favor. I’m sold.

Why should I trademark my domains? What are risks if I DO NOT trademark my domain names? (startups.com)
Can someone trademark my domain name simply as a means of extorting it away from me? (startups.com)
WHOIS Domain Name Search | Webmaster Blog (domainmacher.com)
How to Choose a SEO friendly Domain Name? – BlogSouls (domainmacher.com)

March 08, 2010 | Allen Taylor | Comments 0

Can Introverts Interact On Social Networks?

Social networking is getting bigger all the time. Facebook is now the second most visited website on the Internet, right behind Google. Not too long ago Yahoo! was the most visited site on the Internet. Google passed them in 2008.

It’s amazing that another social network, YouTube, is also in the top 5. And if you were to look at the top 100 most visited sites online, a good number of them are social networks. My guess is that a lot of those social network users are introverts and it wouldn’t surprise me to find more introverts on the social networks than extroverts.

I say this because extroverts get their energy from interacting with others whilst introverts get their energy from activities and pursuits done alone. While it may seem that social networking is “interacting” with others and, therefore, a source of energy for extroverts, that really is not the case. What you are interacting with when you engage on a social network is a digital replication of an individual and not the individual him or herself.

Social networks allow people to engage with others through a veil. That is not something that a true extrovert would gain energy from. On the other hand, an introvert can be completely alone and interacting on a social network for an extended period of time. The extrovert is likely to disengage and go out for a cup of coffee just to make eye contact with someone.

I believe both extroverts and introverts can gain from interacting with others on social networks. For me, a bit of both an extrovert and introvert (though leaning toward introversion), I cannot sit for too long staring at a collection of avatars. But I could sit all day and do research for content that I am writing.

Social networking has become a big part of doing business online. That’s both a good thing and a nuisance. It is what it is.

The Rise of the Web Introvert (gigaom.com)
Action Streams: A New Idea for Social Networks (readwriteweb.com)
Why You’re Social Networking is Not Working (slideshare.net)
The Forgotten World of the Web Introvert (onemanandhisblog.com)

March 03, 2010 | Allen Taylor | Comments 1

YouTube Errors Caused by Chinese Hackers?

Today, I was trying to visit YouTube.com and specific videos there. I got an error message Http/1.1 Service Unavailable.

I looked it up to see what that was. One website told me it was spyware and told me to look at my HOSTS file. I did. Nothing in it was malicious code. So that solution wasn’t the answer.

Then I found this at News-About_Knowledge.com

http/1.1 service unavailable” is the error which has been experienced by millions of “you tube” users.

It has been speculated that these are the Chinese hackers who spread this error on the internet. It was reported that Google has announced battle against the government of China. Millions of you tube users have seen a fault in the service followed by a statement http/1.1 service unavailable.

It has been confirmed that the service of you tube remained down for more than 20 minutes. However, Google has not made any announcement regarding this latest error which halted the service of you tube. We have been observing numerous cyber attacks on different web sites. We also reported a cyber attack on Twitter which was made by Iranian cyber army.

Ok, I found this a little far-fetched, but not out of the realm of possibility. Whether this is true or not right now, cyber-warfare is coming.

Do you think Chinese Hackers are the cause of this error message?

Do you think Google would “battle” Chinese Hackers?

Do you think cyber-warfare is here and now or far off in the future?

Attacks on Google May Have Hit at Least 100 Companies (Update1) (businessweek.com)
Chinese Attacked Google From The Inside? (thenextweb.com)
Google ‘investigating if employees helped Chinese cyber-attack’ (telegraph.co.uk)
Google Probes Possible Inside Job after China Cyber-Attack (dailyfinance.com)
Tech Weekly: Cyber wars (guardian.co.uk)
Fallout From Cyber Attack Spreads (online.wsj.com)
Google’s China Issue an Inside Job? (marketingpilgrim.com)
Intel Says Was Target of Cyber Attack (online.wsj.com)
Google finally adds hacking notifications to Webmaster Tools (blogstorm.co.uk)
Google Attacks Definitely From China (crenk.com)

March 02, 2010 | Chris McElroy | Comments 1

Are the Google Search Results you see the real results?

Vanity searches, we all do them. We want to see how we rank for our name, our business name and how we rank for the keywords and phrases we target. But are you looking at the real results?

Have you ever told someone you ranked on the front page of Google for your keyword and have them tell you they don’t see the same thing? I’m not talking about results coming from different servers. That’s a whole other story.

I’m talking about how web history affects what you see. If you go to Google and search for something, look up in the right top corner to see if you are signed in. If you aren’t sign in.

Then, still in the top right corner, go to web history. In the sidebar on the left, choose pause web history.

Now you will see the real results when you search. If web history is enabled, Google gives you results with more priority placed on sites you have visited. So it may look like you have a number one Google listing when you really don’t.

February 28, 2010 | Chris McElroy | Comments 1

Google Chrome Review

OK, at first I ignored the fact that Google made a browser, just as I tried to ignore Firefox. I really hate change, so I stayed with Internet Explorer. I built websites and only cared how they looked in IE.

Then Firefox users started becoming a significant number of the visitors to my websites. So I was forced to check the websites I build in both browsers. I wish IE and Firefox could get it together when it comes to what an H1 tag and other elements mean.

Firefox users defend Firefox, but IE was rendering tags the same way for years. Firefox is the one that changed how the elements look in their browser, so it is a Firefox issue, not an IE issue. Firefox is the reason you may need two css files instead of one.

Back to Google Chrome. I was having trouble with pages loading slow in my Google Adwords account. It suggested I try Google Chrome, so I did. Suddenly the pages loaded like lightning! I told everyone they need Google Chrome!

The spell-check feature is really cool. It does real-time spell-check like in a word document, even working in forms you are filling out.

It is a very fast browser for regular surfing of the web. But I have also learned that it is built for light users of the Internet. Google Chrome is a decent consumer browser for people who don’t surf the web much, but for a power-user who is online daily and for hours at a time, it isn’t ready for prime time.

After a lot of use, it suddenly slows to a crawl or won’t load pages at all. I imagine this is a caching issue and you don’t have control over the cache size as you do in other browsers.

It also doesn’t handle some Java applications very well. For instance, those of you who play Mafia Wars can’t accept or share energy packs when using Google Chrome. I don’t know how it works with other games, but I’m sure the problem isn’t restricted to just Mafia Wars.

In Google Chromes Bookmark Manager, it says you can arrange your bookmarks in alphabetical order. And in the bookmark manager, it works. Then you look at your bookmarks and you realize it did not work after all.

When you want to highlight text you will run into another issue. Let’s say you want to highlight text from right to left. You have to start at least one character to the right of what you want to highlight or you won’t get it all. If you try left to right, you’ll usually be missing the first letter of what you wanted to copy.

So, Google seems to have taken a page out of the Microsoft development handbook. It doesn’t matter if the product doesn’t work very well yet, release it anyway.

I really hope Google will follow through with Google Chrome, but the trust just isn’t there anymore. Google launches a lot of things, then they seem to just abandon them. See Orkut, Google Web Pages, Google Knol and others for examples.

I’ll continue to use Google Chrome when I want to do something in Google Adwords. I think they should rename it the Google Adwords Account Browser. That’s something it can really do.

February 27, 2010 | Chris McElroy | Comments 4

Is SEO Dead, Dying, Half Dead Or On Its Last Leg?

Are you tired of people asking if SEO is dead or dying or on its last leg? I see these blog posts all the time and it seems to be increasing. You’d think the last horse of the Apocalypse just rode into town and caught a glimpse of the great dragon with 7 scrolls in its hands. In that case, I guess we’re all as good as dead.

But, as the saying goes, SEO will never die. It’s not dead. It’s not close to dead. It’s not crippled or falling down all over itself drunk. As long as there are search engines there will be SEO. We may be performing it a little differently in 50 years, but if search engines still exist then (and I think they will) then we’ll still be performing SEO.

Of course, we could all just be members of one big giant borg then too and the last horse of the Acopalypse will have to ride into our brains on a dancing neutrino.

What’s your take on the death of SEO, or the last horse of the Apocalypse?

Effective Blog Writing for Search Engine Optimization: Webinar recording (kevin.lexblog.com)
What can I do to be found on the search engines? (insights-group.com)
Writing for humans and robots (marketing.fm)
Search Engine Optimization (pilatesandreikiinparadise.com)
Themed reading lists: Reading about the apocalypse and immortality (shannonturlington.com)

February 24, 2010 | Allen Taylor | Comments 1

Google vs Facebook is a Dumb Comparison

I keep seeing posts titled; “Google vs Facebook, which is better?” or “Is Facebook better than Google?”. Why do people insist on making these comparisons?

Why would anyone need or want to choose one or the other? I want traffic from many different sources. I want Bing traffic, Google traffic, Yahoo traffic, traffic from social media websites, traffic from other people’s websites and blogs and I want traffic from anywhere my target audience might be.

So the answer to the question, “Which is better?” is YES.

Facebook Posts Phenomenal Growth In Search (allfacebook.com)
Facebook is Now Second Most Popular Website (slyvisions.com)
Bing Fuels Monthly Microsoft Search Growth (marketingvox.com)
Facebook Overtakes Yahoo: Now the Second Most Visited Site in U.S. (matei.org)
Why is Google Afraid of Facebook? Part II: Facebook’s Traffic Passes Yahoo (ReadWriteWeb) (domainmacher.com)
ComScore: Facebook’s Search Query Volume Grew by 13% in January (insidefacebook.com)
Don’t Count Out Facebook as a Competitor to Google (webpronews.com)

February 21, 2010 | Chris McElroy | Comments 0

Do You Have To Spend Money On SEO Tools?

SEOs like to spend money. Some SEOs will spend $100 or $200 on tools that make them look pretty when there is a free version of the tool that does the same the thing, or a free alternative. Is it really necessary to spend money on keyword research tools, analytics tools and so on when these tools are available for free?

Google has both a free keyword research tool and a free analytics tool. Are they good enough or should you pay for the Cadillac version from Company X?

There are SEOs who will recommend the product from Company X because they’ve joined the affiliate program. That’s nice. You’ll make a commission. But is it really the best thing for your customer? Perhaps saving that $299 will impact the company’s ROI in the positive.

Again, I ask. Do you really have to spend money on SEO tools? Are there any SEO tools that you absolutely must spend money on or can you get them all for free?

Keyword Research-Factors to consider (bruceclay.com.au)
Google Analytics Tracking Code Basics and Time Saving Plugins (mt-soft.com.ar)
SEO Training (slideshare.net)

February 12, 2010 | Allen Taylor | Comments 1

What is the best way to use $2,500 to promote a new site?

That question was posted in a forum I’m a member of. I thought I’d share the question and my response here.

My response

Set up a wordpress blog on your website and start blogging every day. Social Bookmark each post at 5 social bookmarking websites. Use a different 5 each day so you are not spamming any of them.