What’s New in SEO for 2009?

We finally published our first podcast of 2009.  In spite of a tough economy, demand for Internet marketing services is at an all time high.  It’s been super hectic since the first of the year! Sorry for the delay…

What’s new in SEO for 2009!

Let’s start with a “profound statement.” We build websites for two audiences: humans and search engines. Often marketers are only focused on the human audience (after all, they are the buyers).  But, it’s important to implement best practices that address the search engine audience.  We have to balance the art of addressing both humans and search engines.

Search engines have “eyes.” Their eyes are their algorithm. Google’s algorithm is believed to increased from 130 variables to about 200 variables. Many of the new SEO variables include….

The basic SEO fundamentals are still important including: strong title tags representing the theme of the page, efficient code, well laid out architecture with human readable URLs, great content, link popularity (internal and external) and of course well written meta data including alt tags and title attributes.

Inbound links have always been important to Google. But, outbound links are also important. Google scores your website when they crawl your site. One factor they look for is the extent to which you link to external website to relevant content. You are penalized by not linking to relevant content that gives your visitor a good experience. Not doing so is perceived as selfish.

Webmasters often use a rel=no follow attribute (or tag) for links that don’t go to relevant content so the link doesn’t drain link juice. If you link to your partners and otherwise relevant business associates, you don’t want to use the no-follow tag. Google is looking for you to share the link love with relevant content.

When Google sees many links outgoing from images or bullets they can be perceived as paid links resulting in a scoring penalty. Google wants to see editorial links anchored from a series of two or three words embedded (editorially) in a sentence.  Google is programmed to flag and penalize single word links and images.

Google can already index 18 file types. They are looking to see that you offer great experiences for website visitors.  It is speculated that Google is giving more scoring to rich media content including photos and soon video.  Audio is not yet indexable by search engines. However, video files are believed to soon be indexable by Google.  You can submit a video sitemap file through webmaster tools. (though I didn’t refer to the sitemap file submission in the podcast).

Another factor being considered is social attributes. Google Friend Connect was launched in December 2008. It is an indication of how Google wants to see websites offer social attributes.

The complexity of Google’s algorithm is growing and evolving. We believe many new variables will roll out throughout 2009. Stay tuned on this…

Bernie Borges
@berniebay

What’s In Your Toolbox?

Have you ever tried to hang a picture on the wall and realized that the only tool you had access to was a screwdriver?  You laugh, but deep inside, you know you tried to use it as hammer, didn’t you?  Marketing a website, hanging a picture, same rules apply. If we try a tool that is cheap, free or is just absolutely wrong to accomplish the job, we usually end up with a broken screwdriver or a few extra holes in the wall.

I find that it isn’t the size of the project or even the grand scale of what you are trying to accomplish, it’s what kind of tools are you using and how you are using them. Personally, I would rather work smarter than harder any day of the week by using the right tools from the get-go. It might take a little longer, but in the long run, it was the right thing to do.

It used to be that when a website was made, the “thing to do” was to submit your site URL to hundreds of search engines and hope that they get picked up.  Unfortunately, even still today, there are unscrupulous Internet scammers that prey on the new and unsuspecting site owners who sell list after tired list and software submissions after tired submissions that do nothing to get your site into the search engines.  After that hard lesson on money-down-the-drain is learned, the site owner looks to find a better way. 

A better tool…

This brings us to the most valuable set of tools that should be in your toolbox arsenal when you are launching a website.  Google has mastered the Internet search world, no surprise here, and their ultimate objective is to create the most relevant search result to the end user.  They provide webmasters the tools needed to help you achieve exactly this in your website.  The Google webmasters tools are the first and foremost steps that anyone should utilize to properly get their website indexed in Google. 

There are two very important steps on how the Google Webmasters tools can help you.  First, they help you get your site verified.  This means that you are indeed the owner of your site and are authorizing Google to have access to information on how people are looking for your site. This, in and of itself, is priceless information from a marketing standpoint.

The second is called a sitemap.  An XML sitemap to be more specific.  This is a very powerful tool that helps feed the spiders.  Google is a very hungry spider and loves to find new, juicy tidbits of content on websites.  Unfortunately, if you do not have the right entry way to all of your pages on your site, the spiders are left out and they move onto other more enticing sumptuous offerings to nosh on.  An XML sitemap is exactly that doorway needed to help them find each and every page that you have on your site.

Coupled with the Google Analytics and Website Optimizer programs, the Google Webmasters tools is the strongest foundational tool to have in your toolbox. Additionally, we do not wish to leave all our eggs in one basket.  Both Yahoo, and now more recently MSN, have also created their versions of webmasters tools that are used to build indexed pages in their respective search engines as well.

We use these tools as an SEO foundational architecture with our clients’ sites day in and day out.  This is what we do.  We feed spiders!

Stay tuned for more tips on how to get your Google Webmaster tools and how to create an XML sitemap to feed the search engine spiders!

So tell me now… what’s in your toolbox?

Dianna F. Kersey
Internet Marketing Analyst
CIW Webmaster