Vertical Search- Gee, We're interested in TOPICS
Search Engine Watch today had an rather search engine/content significant article, "Looking for Links in all the Wrong Places," by Eric Ward,
www.searchenginewatch.com.
Ward points to the practice of link building as an "artificial" way to maneuver PageRank--the thing everyone wants.
But his theory is this: once the search engines are bamboozled enough and PageRank is earned not because of content or interest but through overused marketing artifice, the truly interesting sites will be sought for content "topic" in vertical search engines.
Well, my break time is up. Hard to believe.
Content is King
Between all the posts on Google news and MSN...stuff, and who's buying who and who's suing who, this Friday night I found a nice little article on Search Engine Watch on the (ta-da!) benefits of good web content. Voila. Just what a writer wants to hear-- that essentially beyond all the marketing tools and SEO tweaks, create some good solid website content for the real boost in optimization.
The whole article on Search Engine Watch by Frederick Marckini,
Why Quality Content is Key for Search Engines,
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3492496
aaaah, Friday. Cerveza?
Here's a link to a readable article on
SEO Copywriting,
http://www.v7n.com/seo_copywriting.php
Copywriting
I'm copywriting again.
I'm wrestling with a nuisance topic I have been assigned to research and write about. How do I conduct fast, but effecient online research and turn it around into about 5,ooo words of compelling and concise content?
I have a quota to meet per week and much of this week's information is skewed, inaccurate, outdated and convoluted.
For my output, I am only earning about minimum wage (if it were figured that way) for the rest of the week. Hi-ho, hi-ho...
I miss you, Blog.
Grow Organically, Keyword Speaking
SEO Today has a good article by Steve Jackson, "Keyword Selection Guidelines to Improve Website Conversion Rates,"
http://www.seotoday.com/browse.php/category/articles/id/486/index.php.
He specifically refers to the increasing use of organically formulated keywords as a more natural means of involving the tastes and intellect of a website's targeted audience.
Once upon a time I was a professional organic gardener and really I can make a completely appropriate or inappropriate analogy here, cuz it's Friday, post St. Patty's and....
SEO Today,
www.seotoday.com
Of Vertical Search and Active and Inactive Blogs
I just read a posting from 3/16 on Threadwatch.org's site,
www.threadwatch.org, entitled "Vertical Search creates buzz in silicon valley," which directly links to the article by Om Malick,
http://www.gigaom.com/2005/03/16/3554/. Mr. Malick, actually adds in the original article, "Google seems to becoming quite worthless everyday given that blog entries are dominating the top results. Enter vertical search. "
Maybe that's because blog content is updated rapidly. It's fresh, it's new, it's often cutting edge and on top of the envelope-pushing verbage of the moment-- sometimes just what everyone wants to see. Apparently someone out there ought to be thanking the blog-buzzing for keeping the "engines" roaring, eh?
But, geez, just another post in Threadwatch for the same day and there's a comment linking to one of Technorati's commentator's suggesting that there's an overwhelming number of blogs that are virtually extinct, or inactive at the very least,
http://battellemedia.com/cgi-bin/mt/talking-87.cgi?entry_id=1320. Threadwatch's comments on this are a pretty interesting read, too.
Google's AdSense Support Pages An Example of Search Engine Friendly
I signed up for Google's AdSense sometime last week. It took about 24 hours for my application to be reviewed--making sure my blogsite was appropriate for their ad placements. Yay. In the processs, though, I scoured a nice chunk of their AdSense support pages for technical information on setup and channel use, choice of color palettes and ad layout options. Along the way, it occured to me that here was the perfect example of search engine friendly web pages, chock full of seriously relevant content, too.
Google's own webpages do not waste space on graphics/images which many search engines disregard anyway. However, who needs graphics when your brand is in your name-- the letters of which morph with the seasons and holidays. In between the left upper corner of their support pages where the ubiquitours primary-colored "Google" sits and the lower left corner of the web pages where a few varying sizes of primary-colored spheres seem to have landed like lost beach balls or inflated pixels, is just plain text, divided in clear and concise subheadings that succinctly describes their AdSense program and technical aspects in detail. The sidebars are lined with text links in simple default colors that lead to many more information-packed pages. It is pleasing, appropriate and not missing any information I have looked for so far. Could it be, in effect, a study in what the Googlebot cares most about?
Google's AdSense support pages,
www.google.com/support/adsense
Google's Keyword Suggestion Tool--"Keyword Sandbox"
I had previously mentioned
Overture's Keyword Suggestion Tool, but I have just discovered Google's keyword suggestion tool. Google's keyword tool really purports to offer keyword suggestions for AdWords users, however, I tried it for my purposes and was pleased with the results. I entered "search engine optimization," "keyword content," "writing web content" and received back a list of More Specific Keywords I might use along with an attending list of Similar Keywords that are those of actual queried searches.
Google's AdWords Keyword Tool,
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox
Marking up a Screen Capture
Slate Magazine this morning has a titillating article by Paul Boutin entitled "Newsmashing." First, I love the headline. The very word "newsmashing" inspires images culled from a variety of sources-- journalism and music-mixing at the very least. Yes, I want to! Be a masher, of any kind.
Mr. Boutin takes an easy concept and expresses why it has not won favor with bloggers and other types of online journalists and writers who make it their business to exchange cyber news and commentary at lightning speeds. He makes an example of a utility called iMarkup and presents a viable case for its use in "the field." iMarkup really goes much further than what the article mentions. The tool can be employed as a completely collaborative active annotation system that can work within a document management framework.
I gave my RoboScreenCapture tool a whirl. I can snap a full "active" screen, or crop to a specific size. RSC allows me to highlight text, insert text boxes, arrows and shapes; it also gives me some freedom to draw, airbrush freehand and flood fill. These are some of the same features available with iMarkup. The only element I am not certain I can do with RoboScreenCapture is attach a file link. Obviously, the big difference between Mr. Boutin's example using iMarkup and my RoboScreenCapture is that iMarkup is especially geared to marking-up "live" webpages, then sharing with colleagues who can annotate even further. Pretty cool. Everyone gets into the mix.
Unfortunately, my screen capture utility demands that I save the file as a static "screen shot." It is a done deal. But, I can easily email this screen shot to a colleague or friend with my notes and comments, at the same time pointing them to the URL. Mr. Boutin purports that the same information is exchanged by bloggers, but, instead of a markup tool, they instead use their commentary embedded with various links.
Open Search Directory--Bigger Case for Dmoz
Dmoz.org is the open directory search project. The directory is one of the most celebrated "open source" internet indexes whose work of reviewing, editing and indexing websites is completely done by HUMANS, what Dmoz calls volunteer editors. So as opposed to LookSmart's very commercially driven search directory-- that I commented on a few posts ago-- that thrives on paid-inclusion and paid-placement sites, Dmoz is hard-line free-world page ranking by editors who seek websites with valued content, service and/or products.
Their search site is handsome, too, uncluttered with a nice choice of color palette, white space, clear links-- for me, anyway. But as my "Yogi Tea" teabag tag said the other day, "You are the other person." But, their site gives me a sense of professionalism with just the right amount of tech-savviness, much the way Technorati's website works for me.
Dmoz,
www.dmoz.orgAlternative Open-Source DirectoriesA couple of other open-source search directory projects that I can put my hands on immediately are Nutch and Lucene, both sort of interwoven, built on a Java platform, and appealing to a copyright-free type of search capability. If this is a vague description see Apache Lucene,
http://lucene.apache.org/java/docs/index.html and Nutch,
http://incubator.apache.org/nutch/index.html-- both of these are Apache Jakarta projects.
Marketing RISK
If I owned an herbal tea company, my teabag tags would read:
"Bland and boring doesn't impress Simon Cowell, and Donald Trump likes Simon Cowell for his 'unpopular opinion', but it is that opinion that is to the advantage of the risk-takers."-- yeah, it'd be a pretty big teabag tag, maybe lunchbag size if my yogi was having a talkative day.
(I should at least cite my information, especially on the DT's opinion-- heard it on one of his...um, interestingly slanted talkie commercials for Office Depot. I've tried to find a full quote via Google, but, instead I've turned up a collection of various sites that literally rant about the commercials, mixed in with a number of marketing sites touting the partnership. I'd love a complete version, though.)
A Directory vs. An Engine, Case for LookSmart
Yahoo! is a search directory.
Google is a search engine.
LookSmart is a directory. How is LookSmart different fromYahoo!? LookSmart's search directory is specifically aimed toward what it terms "search marketing." Through paid-inclusion and paid-placement LookSmart offers companies a marketing edge, a secure place at the head of the pack if that is where they want to be and can pay for it. Paid-inclusion means a website pays a fee just to be included in LookSmart's "hand-picked" directory, while paid-placement is basically a means by which a website can purchase prime real estate, a guaranteed spot in the top search results, in a directory search. LookSmart also offers a "Sponsored links" section in its search results that is basically where paid advertisers' links are situated like storefronts.
Most of these "Sponsored" links are called pay-per-click sites. The advertisers pay LookSmart for each click, or visit, made. But other search directories and engines do some of the same. Google's familiar AdWords are similar.
And wassup with the "furl" thang?
LookSmart has partnered with furl.net which is an online library of saved links. Yes. Interesting culture here-- the notion that if someone saves a link that it might be in the same interest category as your own, which you, too can save to furl, girl.
For educated Furl commentary visit Scip.com's article, "Furl.net: Say Farewell to Blogs and Bookmarks and Get Your Furl On,"
http://www.imakenews.com/scip2/e_article000250714.cfmFurl.net,
www.furl.netLookSmart,
www.looksmart.com
My wave for a skatepark website. Makes me think of summertime, sunsets and skateboarding past dinnertime.
"32 Flavors"--Alternative Search Engines
Continuing in my theme this week of song lyrics-- this one from Ani DiFranco, "32 Flavors." I've been waiting for the time to explore search engine alternatives to Google and Yahoo!. Many provide a form for manual submission of web URLs. I will only subscribe, at this point, to those that offer the service for free. But I expect to comment on others, regardless. There are literally lists and lists of search engines. So I've just started exploring a few of the smaller ones that I had mentioned in an earlier posting.
MIXCATwww.mixcat.comI just manually submitted my URL to both Mixcat and Surfgopher. Mixcat does not guarantee that my site will actually be added to their directory. Ok.... Mixcat's site is a bit confusing. Not sure what they are really marketing-- web hosting, web design, subscriptions for multi-search engine submissions, or search directory. Not sure.
SURFGOPHERwww.surfgopher.comSurfgopher confirmed that my URL would actually be added to their directory.
SCRUB THE WEB
www.scrubtheweb.comI have not submitted my URL to
Scrub the Web, yet, but the service is free. However, they provide a number of nifty and free tools. They advise making certain that my site's meta tags are cleanly and efficiently designed and since I am not sure they are at this particular point, I will hold off on submitting with them until next week when I have more time to devote to my meta tags. Also, they will provide free meta tag suggestions for me, I just have to become a member which doesn't cost anything. Once, again, not enough time, but I have bookmarked this site for next week.
All in the name of search engine visibility and hopes of some kind of page rank. I'll be continuing on with this, but right now I'm goin' fishin'.
My God! How Did I Get Here?!
So screams David Byrne in my head.
It's all about the link. Hyperlinks are like wormholes through cyberspace. After following the currents of a few I find I have forgotten where I was in the first place-- as confused as Dorothy on the yellowbrick road looking for Oz.
Since links are what got you here, PLEASE tell me how what cyber-roadway you followed. The information is important to my quest for all things leading to keyword content and search engine visibility. Sources can tell me about it, how to pursue it and how they achieved page rank, but really there is a starting point for every process and a measurable one, at that. I'm trying to do some of the measuring here. Leave a comment, just brief, won't take but a sec...
Search Engine Visibility, by Shari Thurow. Comprehensive and well-organized information on designing and developing a website optimized for both users and search engines.
Curious about those wormholes in cyberspace? The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace, by Margaret Wertheim theorizes that Man's concept of "space" as explored by early Renaissance artists to modern-day space explorers is directly relative to our concepts of cyberspace and timeless spiritual yearning.
