Links are All You Need !!!

links, links, links, links, links, links, links, links, links.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.
There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time
It's easy.
All you need is links, all you need is links,
All you need is links, links, links are all you need.
links, links, links, links, links, links, links, links, links.
All you need is links, all you need is links,
All you need is links, links, links are all you need.
There's nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.
All you need is links, all you need is links,
All you need is links, links, links are all you need.
All you need is links (all together now)
All you need is links (everybody)
All you need is links, links, links are all you need.

Death of SEO, Part XVII

SearchTHIS: For Whom the Search Bell Tolls

From the communications I have seen, the advice offered to site owners is pretty consistent with what is posted on the search site in helping site owners avoid terrible mistakes and helping them structure content better. Rumors abound relating to search sites deliberately trying to remove agencies from the picture with search advice.

They probably don't typically want to remove agencies to offer quality in depth advice in house. They simply want people to realize that PPC ads are better than SEO, which of course is not universally true.

Also, if they can get enough people to think that structuring their site is all they need to do then it becomes much easier to create relevancy algorithms and mitigate index manipulation.

With search sites offering counsel to webmasters on how to properly structure sites, why should a site owner pay anyone when they can simply check in with Google for a search solution?

Because Google will not say "this is the most effective way to undermine our current relevancy algorithms." Most of the people who are making a living from manipulating regular search results may not have enough money to reach those direct search engine channels.

Pay per click will get easier and easier to sell and manage, but that market will also get increasingly competitive.

As long as there are social networks and machines that interpret them there will be SEOs. Surely as time passes it will get harder, but that means more profits for those who do it well.

Incorporating Third Party Triangular Link Email Spam as Effective SEO?

Hello I am a Bot, Please Link to Me:
So I just got spam email offering a trinagular link relationship. They didn't mention my name. They do not know who I am. Hell, they might even be a script. Not a big deal really.

An Even Trade?
Unlike most reciprocal link spam requests I get, this wanted me to link to a site which regularly lists on the first page of Google for terms such as "SEO."

In exchange they wanted to give me a link on this crap site:
www.hannahdesign.net
doesn't this directory look appealing?
www.hannahdesign.net/business-directory/linkspage.htm You are only as good as Your Partners:
Some firms like to play stupid when they outsource things. They like to say "we didn't realize what they were doing" but after you have been providing SEO services for many years you should have your shit in one sock.

If you can't promote your own SEO site without sending spam email then what does that say about the quality of service you provide to your clients?

Even if it is a lack of research that caused the problem it is still your fault for partnering up with people who provide shoddy services.

A friend of mine wrote popular software. A person who he hired to do link building spammed people. I being a friend of this person told him about the spam I got and he fired them. Weeks later they were still sending spam at least a few times each week. Firing a shoddy partner does not necissarily mean they will stop!

Email Spam Builds Brand, or Maybe Not!
In a service based industry such as SEO why would any well established company use automated scripts or outsourced email spam to promote their main site? In a social network that is a rather stupid way to build relationships.

If an SEO firm is that successful at ranking and is that sloppy promoting their own site imagine how they must destroy their customers brands.

At least 3-5 times a week I get asked who I would recommend for SEO services. I certainly will not be recommending these people anytime soon.

Building Social Value:
I do not think link exchanges or triangular linking schemes are bad, but I think that they are not usually cost effect on a unit time basis. Most link trade offers are a waste of time.

Emails like this one are the exact reason I emphasize that most people new to SEO should look at some of the community aspects of their topic and try to build social relationships to augment their SEO efforts.

I still like the idea of picking at the edges and am a big fan of manipulating the machines sense of authority, but if you are trying to build a business and a strong brand why not try to build it authentically at the same time too?

At some point after you have built enough brand value it probably makes a bit of sense to be a bit more conservative with the promotional techniques as well. Using that measure, the email I just got sucked.

disclaimer:
I realize that the web is somewhat anonymous and competitors could try to destroy each others brands. Hence I did not list the main website in this post.

[update: I emailed the person / bot who sent me the link request pointing them to this page and got the following reply:

Hi,
I m not able to find my link .
Plz tell me where my link is placed .
Sorry for this.
Thanks
Sonal

hmm...guess you get what you pay for]

Google Temporal Analysis Patent, Google 2004 Financials, Yahoo! to Disclose API Future?

Google:
Patent dealing with temparal ranking effects - Greg Boser called this "The most important SEO related document in the last 5 years."
2004 annual financials report

Yahoo!:
to give a clear API Answer? maybe

Search Awards:
Danny Sullivan's SearchEngineWatch announced the 5 annual search awards. Yahoo! wins the outstanding search service award.

Blog & SEO Business Models: Hosting Content Spam

SEOs Are Scum:
For a long time many bloggers have stated that SEOs are scum, as said best by Anil Dash.

I've always had a pretty low opinion of the Search Engine Optimization industry. Though there are of course legitimate experts in the field, it seems chock full of people who are barely above spammers, and they taint the image of the whole group.

Content Spam:
Blog comment spam is one common type that bloggers know all too well, but creating tons of rubbish content is another type of spam.

HotNacho hires writers to write low quality articles for $3 each. The articles, being of low quality, have little value by themselves. However, if you can get an authoritative site to host the articles you can make a ton of money from advertising.

Affordable Quality Hosting:
WordPress - an open sourced blog software make which is part of the anti spam brigade - hosted over 100,000 HotNacho spam pages, linking to them from the home page using a negative div.

Hmm... manipulating search results for personal gain by posting complete crap to a hidden section on your site.

What makes that action more ethical / better than actions of the average SEO?

Is this the type of openness we should expect from open source software? Where is the transparency? hehehe.

Google Funds Web Pollution, Again:
Google is funding that web pollution with their AdSense program.

If the stuff is bad enough that it needs kicked out of Google's index then how were they displaying ads on over 100,000 pages on that site without noticing the problem. Why are the ads still there?

I think this is the real story that everyone is missing. Google's AdSense quality control is a complete joke.

Advertisers and content publishers should be disappointed in Google's lousy policing of their AdSense program. Much web pollution would not exist if Google did not lucratively fund it.

The WordPress moto has never been more true:
Code is poetry!!!

The Death of Keyword Density Tools

Keyword Density Analysis:
is complete rubbish - according to Dr Garcia.

this overall ratio [keyword density] tells us nothing about:

  1. the relative distance between keywords in documents (proximity)

  2. where in a document the terms occur (distribution)
  3. the co-citation frequency between terms (co-occurrence)
  4. the main theme, topic, and sub-topics (on-topic issues) of the documents

Thus, KD is divorced from content quality, semantics and relevancy.

Go Network to Use Overture, Black Hat PPC Techniques, Creating Bulk Content

The Go Network:
is to Go from Google to Overture

Black Hat:
PPC Techniques. First time I have seen an article about Black Hat PPC. Good stuff Mikkel.

I do understand the reasons as they want to know what pages they send users to but why on earth does Google have to reset my hard earned high CTR if all I change is an added tracking parameter? In any case, I am not going to pay for it!

The simple solution is to set-up some kind of layer between you and them so the URL you use is actually not the one that shows the content.

Content, Content, Content:
A couple newerish (is that a word) products aim to help people grab or create loads of content. I have yet to use any of these.

  • Article Equalizer - pulls articles from various content sources. I think he also created traffic equalizer, rss equalizer, and many other equalizer products. Wonder if he will eventually release the ultimate equalier suite. ;)

  • AdSense Gold - evidently comes with thousands of articles
  • ArticleBot - rewrites articles using grammar rules, allows you to dynamically reorganize SERPs, can mix up content and create many readable articles from a given seed set
  • Yahoo! Creative Commons search - seach for content that can be freely used
  • some people translate and then untranslate content.
  • how not to steal content 101

LinkExplore:
reviewed

Deceptive Advertising in Search Results

Deceptive?
deceptive advertising in search results.

  • Who profits the most from others believe in their divine word?

  • Are threads and articles about ethics just an underhanded form of marketing?
  • Ever wonder if search engines employ SEOs to do the ethics spin B/S?

NFFC has always had a silver tounge

Spy vs Spy:
SEO Counterintelligence
competitor link spying tool (with free happy music)

Various Resources

Urchin:
Is apparently good stuff.

AutoLink:
48 minute IT Conversation w cory Doctorow, Robert Scoble & Marty Schwimmer

VC:
Venture Capital When You Need It When You Don't
ResearchBuzz posted that GigaBlast was looking for some funding. the VC page looks like it is no longer up though.

Books:
list of MBA resources.
Design thinking books
(both found on Seth's Blog)

FireFox Extensions:
the ones that DaveN uses

Getting Exposure:
how to get media coverage: create your own channels.

Another Blog about Google:
from News.com (found on Blogoscoped)

Flickr:
Jeremy Zawodny says Yahoo! bought them. Looks like Jeremy is getting into marketing too?

This is SEO:
Greg Boser, known for talking straight about SEO, gets a mention in Wired.
Xan states that he views the article as short sighted. I was going to post on his blog, but I did not feel like signing into my .net passport to do so.

LEGOs Rock:
and now, so does Batman.

TV B Gone:
brilliant

Website Dating:
My Density shows first and second degree relationships between websites.

The interface could be a bit cooler and smoother (perhaps if they used a bit of AJAX and ensured the text was easier to read on scroll overs if they are showing a ton of data in a small area), but it looks like a cool idea. more info about My Density and even more info here.

A9 OpenSearch:
I saw this mentioned a while ago, but I think I forgot to link to it. Essentially it allows search results to be reformatted & reappear elsewhere. Robin Good has more about why he feels it is important.

Amazon Ads:
Amazon textual ads hack. cool.

Google AdSense Ad Links, Google Local Business Center, The Butler, The Sandbox, New SEO Blogs

Ad Links by Google:
Peter D shows new AdSense change

Google Local Business Center:
wonder if the Yellow pages are feeling yellow? Andrew Goodman has the details. for now US only.

Wonder What Google thinks?
of a free product that strips out their published ads for the user

their response to autolink thusfur has been nothing short of pathetic. nice job Mark.

Ask Jeeves also recently created a FireFox toolbar.

Google Sandbox:
Does the sandbox only affect phrases containing popular words?
found on ThreadWatch

I have recently seen a site under a month old rank for some rather short query sets.

New SEO / SEM Blogs:
maybe not new, but at least new to me.
Got Ads? - seems to be more focused on the ad / ppc side of the search game. have not read it a ton yet but have seen John contribute many good posts on Andrew Goodman's SEM 2.0
Wolf Howl - should have mentioned and found this one a while ago as multiple friends have recommended it to me. his most recent post references Flatland, so it must be a cool blog :)

the conference I am at:
ended today. I could blog about a bunch of stuff but now find myself headed toward the closing party, which I suspect may give me more stuff to blog about.

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