Digital Communique, Exploring Web Content and the World of Search Engines

198 Days

2006-04-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

I just pulled into this blog-- checked into my Technorati link and realized it's been 198 days since my last post. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned....it's been 198 days since I have done this blog justice."

I read a blog by an SEO recently that said--- don't blog when you're getting a divorce. It's not good for the spirit, or something like that. I agree.

Ok. That pretty much sums it up. Unfortunately, another factor that figures in is Blogger's issue with comment spam. I have had to shut off comments. And clean up the ones from nearly every post since I began. That really.......$%&!s.

I keep a daily blog for my company now, http://blog.searchgrow.com. And I have started another one of my own using the Wordpress blog-creation platform, http://jrotman.wordpress.com.

Google It!

2005-10-20T17:18:00.000-04:00

I'd like to draw attention to an article on Search Engine Round Table, The Search Lurch: Have We Become Lazy Googlers or Smart Web Researchers? http://www.phptr.com/articles/article.asp?p=418857&rl=1.

Well, I Google nearly everything. The article touches on the increasing reluctance to use bookmarks, instead choosing to Google everything. Googling has gotten easier. Every time we type something into a search field the machine remembers and prompts us in the future when any similar keystrokes are hit. Why search through my unorganized list of Favs-- it's like a closet I have never cleaned out, still full of links (read "crap") from my Database course two years ago.

Do I consider myself lazy? The internet is the lazy-woman's tool. Real motivation is driving to the library to look things up in the newspapers as they are delivered, the recent issues of magazines or actually meeting real people to engage in conversation related to the information you are seeking.

And Another Thing...

2005-09-25T13:53:00.000-04:00

Futurewire, with a nice little rundown on the current war between Microsoft and Google. The supposition is that whichever giant takes up the staff as Lord and Master of the Internet-Universe will really be in control of architecting the future Net: The New Net War: Microsoft vs. Google, http://futurewire.blogspot.com/2005/09/new-net-war-microsoft-vs-google.html

over and out.

Similar Reaction to Ask Jeeves Radio Spot

2005-09-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

Here's an appropriate link to a post on Research Buzz in reaction to a recent Ask Jeeves radio commercial that struck me in much the same way. The spot is more than disturbing....., http://www.researchbuzz.org/2005/09/why_i_think_the_internet_bubbl.shtml

otherwise, I am on mental sabbatical.

Baidu Challenges Google In China

2005-09-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

Baidu, the search engine taking China by storm, literally means "hundreds of times" in relation to one's search "for the ideal," a notion borrowed from an ancient Chinese poem. The BBC reports that finally there may be evidence that Baidu has edged out Google as the internet search leader in China recently, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4197834.stm

I visited one of the pages of Baidu for a clue into what their bent on Chinese internet search was all about, http://ir.baidu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=188488&p=irol-homeprofile
The impetus behind Baidu. com is so steeped in Chinese tradition and cultural concepts that it is no wonder the search engine is slowly overtaking the nonsensically named Google.

In fact, in their brief explanation of their attention to internet search marketing they explained how their mechanism is so NOT a Pay per Click methodology, as it is a "Pay for Performance" model. Hmmmmm, geewhiz, "performance," you say?

SEO is Like Twisting the Rubik's Cube

2005-09-12T17:53:00.000-04:00

Search Engine Watch had an article, Chasing Search Engine Algorithms: Wisdom or Folly?, a few days ago and I did not even read the whole discussion of the debate over the perfect approach to search marketing. Isn't the draw the same as that of an elusive game, a mind-bender, a word problem where a variable is always missing? Everyone enjoys twisting the Rubik's cube to see when all the colors will match, the form will reach perfect harmony. Algorithms are like a Rubik's cube without colors, you just keep twisting and twisting while trying to tune into The Jedi Force.

The Value of Search Engine Marketing, China's On the Map

2005-09-01T01:08:00.000-04:00

Search Engine Journal, www.searchenginejournal.com, featured an article yesterday, Evolution of Search Engine Marketing, that was the usual argument for search engine marketing expertise in today's increasingly competitive online world. But for me the article was interesting in the stats it offered regarding China's Baidu.com search engine in comparison to Google's, especially when it comes to skyrocketing user interest and dollar value.

NY Times Swats at Corporate Google

2005-08-24T07:39:00.000-04:00

Like I asked a few posts back: What would happen to the world if Google went belly-up tomorrow? Huge things, I think, and with that comes an impressive (if you choose) level of power attached.

Today the NY Times online has a feature article, Relax, Bill Gates; It's Google's Turn as the Villain, by Gary Rivlin, www.nytimes.com.

The point of the article is perhaps obvious-- the once upon a time cutting edge upstarts of Silicon Valley are edging out the King of Digital Monopolies and earning a smarmy little rep while doing so. It all goes to show that the real attractive stuff of start-ups-- the gutsy, roll up your sleeves, see the new technology we've got-- morphs into taking over the world and hoarding as much money as is possible. That's what really pisses everyone off.

Wordtracker's Keyword Guide

2005-08-22T12:35:00.000-04:00

From PrWeb today: A new guide from Wordtracker synthesizes the advice, it claims, from a number of SEO specialists regarding techniques for keyword choice. The release refers mainly to keyword choices for onpage copy-- which a lot of people wrangle over,-- but I'm sure the methods used could be equally useful for those trying to research keywords for PPC campaigns. Includes a link to download a copy.

Keyword Research Guide From Wordtracker, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb275170.htm

PPC Life Beyond Google

2005-08-16T23:26:00.000-04:00

Search Engine Watch did a post back in November on the usefulness of what they called "Tier Two" search engines and the potential they have for providing a nice little market for search advertisers who might be savvy enough to think outside the Google-box, http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/041104-102000

Of course, I also stumbled serendipitously on a press release from a few days ago headlining "Tier Two" PPC campaigns from notable Redzee.com and IceRocket.com, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb271626.htm

Vertical Search Engine, Courtesy Knowledge Storm

2005-08-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

I keep revisiting the vertical search topic, but it's indicative of my intrigue with search engines and search algorithms that spurs me onward. Anything different from the majors interests me, immensely-- goes back to my knack for rooting for the underdog. Just seems the right thing to do.

Anyway, PRWeb today had a release from Knowledge Storm, www.knowledgestorm.com-- they are introducing a new vertical search engine, KnowIT, www.KnowIT.com which they claim will specialize in shaving down the search universe in the field of technology. That's what a vertical search engine does. Not exclusively for technology, but for any field of interest it aims to target. Separates the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Knowledge Storm says that their KnowIT engine is "a true vertical technology engine." Are all the others false and unreal? Advertising.....

Yahoo! Offers Audio Search Beta Today

2005-08-04T18:24:00.000-04:00

In a press release today at Business Wire, Yahoo! announced its introduction of Yahoo! Audio Search Beta. The search giant claims, "Yahoo! Search is the first major search engine to deliver an audio search product that provides users access to over 50 million audio files from major music services and independent publishers."

Read the full press release at Business Wire, http://home.businesswire.com

Dogpile Tool Compares Major Search Results

2005-08-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

Think all search is the same?

www.comparesearchengines.dogpile.com

This is a nifty little tool that will show you a Venn diagram of what search results actually overlap between the majors-- Google, MSN, Yahoo, and AskJeeves. Surprisingly, or not, there are very few similarities. Much of the search results between all the search engines come up as unique, meaning what? That each of them uses a slightly different algorithm or criteria to sort the results.

(I actually took the time to check it myself--feeling very critical this evening. Yep, very few duplicates-- although I was just testing the first page of results for each.)

Preview Seek Promises Best Search Engine

2005-08-02T06:46:00.000-04:00

UK's Preview Seek Limited announced yesterday in a press release I caught on prweb.com, http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb267734.htm that they had just launched their top secret search engine, PreviewSeek.com on August 1. The company alleges that the new search engine promises to be the "world's most advanced search engine." Furthermore, they are proud of the fact that this project has been apparently kept under "stealth development."

Why the secrecy? In the world of search engines with so many grasping at the newest algorithms and wondering who will spearhead the next era in internet search, it's no surprise a company who claims to have developed a search engine capable of distinguishing nuances of word meaning, would want to keep it secret. At the very least, it makes for great advertising.

PreviewSeek.com is still currently in beta form, http://beta.previewseek.com. The company says their new product features "proprietary artificial intelligence and collaborative filtering algorithms" that give it that ability to distinguish nuances in search queries.

In my very brief tinkering with it, the interface is clean and fresh. Search results are clearly indexed by page title tags. Good argument for beefing up those title tags.

Google and RSS, Part II

2005-07-29T07:55:00.000-04:00

I posted back on 6/20/05, about "Google and RSS." At the time I was commenting on an essay by Kevin Hale of Particle Tree who offered, then, quite an insightful theory as to why Google would possibly want to explore RSS as an advertising canvas, http://particletree.com/features/the-importance-of-rss , The Importance of RSS.

Today, Search Engine Watch is mentioning a forum thread on ThreadWatch concerning a brand spanking new Google patent aimed at doing just this, automating a system of serving ads to syndicated content, ie, RSS. The whole shebang can be followed through the ThreadWatch link, http://www.threadwatch.org/node/3315

I actually read through a significant chunk of the patent application. A marriage of dry and boring with a smattering of computer-science-interesting that appeals to my completely dorky side. The proposal makes a particularly hard sell for assuring ads are served fresh at the time syndicated content is requested by a user, versus when it is initially generated or posted. The inventors argue that this keeps any targeted ads current when content will invariably become old and outdated.

Couple of deep questions for a Friday:

What happens when Google finally controls the entire world wide web?

What would happen if something disastrous happened to Google tomorrow? How many "fortunes" would be lost, deals undone, businesses fold?

Critically Thinking, I Mean... Searching

2005-07-27T16:48:00.000-04:00

Article at Search Engine Watch, by Mary Ellen Bates, http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3523241

Thinking Outside the Search Box

It's all about critical thinking, using the ol' noggin and generally cutting your own pathway, road less traveled, you get the idea.

Actually, Bates offers renewed support and suggestions to those who have become pigeon-holed into believing the only methods to exact research on the web is via the search engines.

I feel renewed.

The Meaning of DNS

2005-07-23T19:43:00.000-04:00

For a somewhat anti-establishment take on the misuse and mismanagment of the domain name system, http://www.rewired.com/98/0930.html

Rewired:
"DNS: Built for stable hierarchies.
And swamped by mayflies."
A Higher Level of Abstraction, Part Three, by Ted Byfield

Domain Dumps

2005-07-23T19:16:00.000-04:00

Really, the whole concept of online advertisers and marketers figuring out how to fool the search engines and the domain name hosts with short-term, return-it-for-a-full-refund, marketing schemes is somehow brilliant, or mischievous (I'm not sure which is more appropriate), with an equal dose of smarmy.

I begin this in response to a post in Search Engine Watch that links to a titillating article, Pay-Per-Click Speculation Market Growing, by Kevin Murphy of Computer Business Review Online. According to Murphy, in the newest search marketing "trend" online marketers take advantage of buying up hoards of domain names for purposes of "testing" which of them best drives the most marketable traffic. Guess what? They dump them in just enough time to get a full refund.

Wow, there must be some quality content there.

http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=6E7467B1-E770-4F6A-B0A7-5B7118146E39

Value of the Neighborhood

2005-07-20T18:43:00.000-04:00

I'm a few days behind, and while catching up on my reading I noticed a really interesting post from the Link Building Blog, martinibuster on Neighborhoods, http://www.linkbuildingblog.com/2005/07/martinibuster_o.html from a few days ago. A post, he says, appeared in SEW by Martinibuster-- yes, dirty with lots of olives, please-- that really emphasizes the whole concept of links as neighborhoods. While the overall concept is you are who you associate with, this leads to the notion of neighborhood mapping, or link mapping. In turn this leads logically to some fairly certain speculations about what sort of classifications Google gives those websites backlinked especially to loads of SEO and media/marketing sites. http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showpost.php?p=54060&postcount=13.

"look out, they're bringin' down the neighborhood."

AdWords Keywords-- The Money Game

2005-07-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

On an AdWords campaign page yesterday I noticed that Google has made a note to their advertisers that in the next "week or two" their method of handling AdWords Keywords will change to better serve the interests of their advertisers. Their current, and often misunderstood, methodology involves categorizing advertisers' keywords as Active, In Trial, On Hold and Disabled. Most AdWords experts have claimed that once Keywords were moved to On Hold and, ultimately, Disabled that it was nigh impossible to ever get them Active again, bringing many campaigns to schreeching halts with a lot of head scratching about it.

In the next week or two, Google will classify Keywords as either Active or Inactive. This revision might reflect a more reasonable, perhaps, margin of error allocated to AdWords advertisers who are just searching for a piece of the search results pie.

Google Experiments Keep Everyone Guessing

2005-07-12T19:47:00.000-04:00

Search Engine Watch posted on a suspicious search result sighting that was thought to be a new Google experiment.... I am linking to the SEW Forum, More Results Experiments On Google, http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=6751 because this is the original posting and I'm fascinated with how many are in turn fascinated with ANY little burp from Google. But, then again, it affects business, search, relevance, marketing, a slew of things on the ol' apple cart of Google search. How 'bout "Six Degrees of Separation From Google"?

Link-Building vs that @$%#& PageRank

2005-07-12T19:19:00.000-04:00

I really dig the idea of link building, so here is another point to a posting on Search Engine Watch today that downplays the almighty PageRank and presses the important how-to's for effective link building, Revisiting PageRank Lunacy, http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050712-105100

What is link building, anyway and why should we care?

Most SEO's charge that the trumped up Google PageRank is just that, trumped up and really indicates nothing of the import that it suggests. Instead, a number of well respected SEOs have pushed link building and the TrustRank concept as the real "meat" of site sensibility and relevance.

Basically, when you want someone to take your website seriously, you need to think about who might link to you, even who YOU choose to link to. I think intellect and good taste are a two-way street, frankly. How do you find a site worth its salt and willing to link to you? How do you ask? Where do you go?

Google For Good Writing?

2005-07-05T23:26:00.000-04:00

A posting on Search Engine Journal today from a writer who took a little survey of some top ranking pages with Google and seemed to notice a common thread among them all:

good writing, above average, better than the usual stuff available online.

Hmmmm. One of my bugaboos is good written content. I am learning scads about Google AdWords for work and it's fascinating stuff, but I am consistently for the good written word, versus the typical webpage fare.

So, getting back to SEJ's article, Google's 'Good Writing' Content Filter, posted today, http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=1874
The article claims that the selected websites seemed to defy typical SEO givens: a few had frames, a couple of others were littered with images, a couple went way over the SEO limit on links, etc. So this particular writer was able to posit the theory of Google's possible attention to quality content....? Another day, another theory.

What Meets the Eye, of Searchers That Is

2005-07-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

From Search Engine Watch, a commentary on a white paper that analyzes the way search results-- namely Google's-- are scanned by the human eye, "Keeping An Eye on Google," http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3517551

Eye tracking is not a new phenom just because someone is examining it in light of a Google search results page. In fact there is scads of information on the subject, (like this from Grok.com, "The Eyes Have It!" http://www.grokdotcom.com/eyetracking.htm) which makes me wonder why it took so long to apply the science to Google. Clearly the idea behind the information lies in the possibility of using the behavior of eye tracking to produce better search results or position search engine advertisements more strategically.

Internet "Management" Changes Afoot

2005-07-01T18:23:00.000-04:00

The BBC reports that while the US means to retain much of its "control" over the internet-- basically its domain name servers, the major root servers-- that there are other parts of the international community vying for a piece of the managerial pie. Could changes in how the internet is controlled drastically affect the way business is done on the web? And how?

hmmmmm....let me get a beer and ponder this.....

BBC story, US Holds Onto Key Internet Role, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4640441.stm

BlowSearch- Engine On a Mission

2005-06-28T18:13:00.000-04:00

Wired News article, BlowSearch Tackles Click Fraud, http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67873,00.html, introduces the niche search engine, BlowSearch. On a mission to guarantee advertisers no click fraud, a problem it claims the larger search engines and directories have put their head in the sand over, the little engine draws results from a purported 27 others and deletes repetitive results.

La Voz De Tigger

2005-06-27T18:48:00.000-04:00

It's a sad day when the voice of Tigger passes on.

Google Search Operators

2005-06-27T18:42:00.000-04:00

Following up on my last post from yesterday on the new MSN search operators, I keep wondering who the heck will use these advanced querying tools, anyway? SEOs who want to track inbound links, among a host of other useful information, maybe some savvy researchers looking to drill deeper into some files in order to find associated data. Other than these users, who is alerting the general searching public that advanced search operators are ready and waiting for them to employ for more targeted search experiences?

Google has scads of information about ALL of their services and tools. For a quick tutorial into the use of Google's Advanced Search Operators, http://www.google.com/help/operators.html

How Effective Are "New" Search Commands?

2005-06-26T17:39:00.000-04:00

Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch, http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050622-082709 points to a blog that digs into MSN's desire to offer a neural network based search, but beyond this, enhanced search commands that allow one to specifically drill into anchor text, url keywords, file types and titles of webpages-- pointing up the importance of well-written/designed title tags-- among a few other search commands. I don't have time at this moment to go into them, but be assured I will.

Really my question is, besides those web users who really are intrigued with accessing information and those whose business it is to optimize for search results, is the average Joe really going to seek new search commands? I think most people don't know how to set themselves to a really effective search right now with the commands available.

Where Have All the Good Writers Gone?

2005-06-26T16:58:00.000-04:00

Where have all the good writers gone?

I actually posted a rather self-serving rant yesterday-- subsequently deleted it, once its therapeutic effects wore off-- about the fact that I have a writer who is under contract for the compay I work for and copyedit for who seems to be completely devoid of any sensibility when it comes to researching and writing a travel article. Mind you, the stuff we are looking for is basic. But, it should be concise, interesting and decently written.

Now, I've learned a few things:

First, as chapped over this supposedly "freelance" writer's performance as I have been I intend to realize that everyone has weaknesses.

That's being gracious, though. I still do not think a true writer shoud be marketing themselves with poor abilities. But this is just it.....

Are there enough good writers out there to write content for all the websites that need to be populated with the stuff?

I propose, No.

And for the writers who "think they can" like Little Toot of childhood, are they under that delusion based on the poor example of others?

I recently ranted over this particular writer's shortcomings one evening and a friend responded with, "I want facts when I search for something online. I'm not expecting a really fantastic read, Jen." omigod.

Good point. I've thought this over and I agree.

Which really means we just don't care. And I've posted on this topic before, the lack of respect for seeking good writing and good writers. Unfortunately, perhaps the lack of this precious resource is the number one inspiration for any kind of search engine opitimization. When you don't have the real stuff that makes something sought after, like intriguing information, you resort to.....well, other things to drive traffic, but I still would argue a lack of conversion.

And this is precisely why there are so many SEO experts who subscribe to acquiring good content, first.

Google and RSS

2005-06-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

I found an interesting essay quoted by the Shifted Librarian, http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com, this evening. She was pointing to an essay entitled The Importance of RSS, http://particletree.com/features/the-importance-of-rss. Written by Kevin Hale, the essay goes into quite an expository theory on why he thinks RSS will ultimately present Google another opportunity to offer AdSense and, possibly even AdWords-- their major search projects. His theory being that RSS has effectively changed the way in which data-seekers peruse information--- most of us aggregate the information we need the most of. So, instead of clumsily scouring ill-targeted search queries, RSS aggregators have cut out this middleman-- Google-- in favor of direct information, clean, uncluttered, unadulterated, stripped down and wrapped in plain brown paper. Hale pretty much infers that RSS makes Google the jilted prom date.

Technorati Excitement

2005-06-16T22:21:00.000-04:00

I have to report I just logged onto Technorati and searched for "search engines" and my blogsite listed second in their results. At first I was reading the site description and wondering, "hey, wait a minute, those are MY words..." until I got the big ah-ha. I do realize that Technorati ranks sites by most recently updated, though. Just a bigger argument for keeping content fresh.

IBM, the CIA and the Acquaint Search Project

2005-06-16T20:21:00.000-04:00

James Fallow's article at the New York Times, "Enough Keyword Searches. Just Answer My Question," June 12, 2005, goes far, far beyond the scope of his search frustrations and instead ends up trolling the waters of a virtually hush, hush search project sponsored by the National Security Agency in cahoots with the CIA.

Fallow says the project is currently classified, but posits the theory that the project, called Acquaint, aims to design a search tool/algorithm that mimics neural learning (or so it sounds). The hopes for the combined efforts, including IBM's, are that a specific query can be entered into a search field and that new order algorithms will so accurately parse and swiftly traverse the world wide webstore of documents, but return a true, pristine and unmuddied match. While he claims the project's goals, as they currently stand, are focussed on only good, he does make mention of their potential for the Dark Side of search....

Beginning Chemistry

2005-06-16T18:43:00.000-04:00

I really know very little about chemistry. I fainted in 9th grade chem class giving an oral report in front of the class. Yes--"most embarrassing moment" kind of stuff. However, where the "chemistry" comes in is my attempt to make an analogy to the basics of search engines and search optimization that yields a type of compound, something more advanced, a combination of basic elements and materials.

I set out, originally, to explore just such topics, in their basic form, and I am currently madly dug into learning all I can about link building and pay per click. But in the process, I realized I have forgotten my initial goal. I am overwhelmed with SEO "code words" that are cryptic to me because no one takes the time out from their white paper-style guide books and articles to make a brief little aside for the less educated.

Whelmed is more like it. Not over.
So for the whelmed-- like me-- a few insights into the secret code words of the SEO gurus. (I love that word- guru--).

Anchor Text-- this is a biggie in the realm of link relationships. Link building. Anchor text, for anyone who knows even basic HTML, are the words one sees on the webpage that lead, via hyperlink, to a destination site. The actual link information--where the site is located-- is loaded into the HTML script. The anchor text, when optimally optimized, utilizes important keywords that figure mightily into the destination website's link popularity. I'll leave it at that.

For instance-- my blogsite. The actual link is what you see in the Adress field of your browser. Not very descriptive, or helpful, if I were optimizing. But if someone were to link to me, it would be so grand if they could replace the boring technicals of the link, itself, and instead give me some anchor text in the hyperlink the likes of "search engine and web content basics."

Web Conversion-- I mean, what IS this? We see this phrase a lot and I would venture to suggest that most people really don't have the foggiest. Web conversion exists when you have actually managed to sell someone on your website. When they visit they not only hang out a bit, but they might sign up for your newsletter, email a comment or, even better, buy your product or service. It's a good thing.

Click Through Ratio-- Wow. Huh? This one I decided to search for thusly: in Google's search field I typed-- click through ratio explained. I found a number of tidy sites that defined the phrase. Web marketing is huge business, so in the world of pay-per-click marketing click through ratio is an important metric. It denotes a percentage figure which is arrived at through a ratio of number of ad "impressions,"-- these are the actual little ads that exist online-- to actual number of clicks on such an impression. I believe I was reading a percentage of 1-2% is common for a click through ratio.

End of SEO secret code words for the day.

Who Is Optimizing

2005-06-14T23:05:00.000-04:00

I had stated in my site description that my goal was to discover why everyone is "optimizing"-- for search engines, that is.

It is clear that search engine optimization, SEO, is hot. Hot, hot. So hot, in fact, that there is daily buzz about market bubbles and the ongoing sleuthing for the latest Google algorithm sidestep. When something is this trendy, money is being made, would you not think that every online webmaster is surely tracking down the nearest SEO company? (But then again, once you buy a red car, you see red cars everywhere. Were that many more red cars bought?)

Chris Winfield's article, Many Private Businesses Not Reaping the Benefits of Search Engine Optimization, http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=33036, suggests some answers and goes on to support a trend toward more natural seo.

Cut Off At the Pass

2005-06-13T23:48:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd research something brainy on Google's current search algorithms.... It's late, and I'm a bit foggy-headed.

This is hysterical.. the patented Google "PigeonRank," http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html
and I will sign off with that.

Seeds of Online Trust-- TrustRank Algorithm

2005-05-31T23:19:00.000-04:00

A few sources are heavily leaning toward the current TrustRank algorithm as a possible variation on PageRank. TrustRank, however, is an algorithm with basis in human derived "seed sites" chosen for trustworthiness, or reputation. From this foundation, the study assumes that reputable sites have a penchant for linking to other reputable sites. A search query based on such a webwork of "trust-based" links can potentially eliminate web spam-- besides conjure images of all other sorts of internet possibilities, as yet untapped.

Aaron Wall has about the best notes on the topic, http://www.seobook.com/archives/000661.shtml and the actual pdf file for the study itself can be found at http://www.vldb.org/conf/2004/RS15P3.PDF and is called Combating Web Spam With TrustRank.

Keyword Density's Shortcomings

2005-05-27T22:18:00.000-04:00

Like I was saying in my "evolution" post a bit ago: everything changes and there are differing opinions on what is valid for drawing search engine attention to sites. On the subject of keywords, here's a technical little article on SEOchat by Randfish (of SEOmoz), Keyword Density - A Bogus Metric, http://forums.seochat.com/t28007/s.html

He actually goes over the equations he's used to measure keyword density and posits a theory as to why the tactic might not be as effective as natural content.

Content's Link To SEO Evolution

2005-05-27T20:38:00.000-04:00

As the Nationwide Insurance commercial says, "Life comes at you fast."
Things change.
A few months ago I was trying to figure out what all the fuss over Page Rank was about and now I'm finding out, the whole topic is a loser. PR is not top dog anymore. It's LINKS, baby!

Keywords? Nope-- the slippery slope to spam-ville.

The one thing that I cannot imagine changing, though, is content.
Where there are search engines, there is content.
Where there are directories, human or otherwise, there is content.
Where there are links, they are attached to content.

Whether internet marketers are actually marketing the content or using it as a pure tool for marketing, means we still have to make it, write it, film it, draw it, cartoon it, imagine it. Really this brings me to a useful article I was just reading from the Link Building Blog, Building Links With Articles by Andy Hagans from a 5/16/05 posting, http://www.linkbuildingblog.com/2005/05/building_links_.html

The concept of writing articles and syndicating them in order to give yourself links to your site, even design your own anchor text to go along with the link, proposes the usefulness of content in a pure market strategy. But, from my POV as more of the writer-who-cares-about-quality it's a fantastic chance to discuss CONTENT. Like this article I just cited. This is the very thing that drives the evolutionary lifecycle of SEO that seems to be taking place.

The more solid, take action content there is, the more and faster things change. Hook content to the possibility of making money and the world really turns faster. It's like a big cyber cook-out hashing out theory and opinion over a brat and a beer. By the end of the night the dosey-do has taken place and the party-goers have hooked their wagons to different dates. But that's what's exciting, the ongoing competition to market time the elusive Google algorithm.

It's just one big merry-go-round.

Card Catalogs and Search Engines

2005-05-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

Obviously, the two concepts are deeply divided, but still pretty associated, at the same time. Clay Shirky, in his article Ontology Is Overrated: Categories, Links and Tags, http://shirky.com/writings/ontology_overrated.html talks a pretty impressive line (actually a lot of lines- but all very interesting) about the nature of categorization and how it relates to the current state of search engines. I have to give credit where it is due: I found this article link from Peter Da Vanzo's Search Engine Blog site, http://www.searchengineblog.com/ on a May 23rd note. Not sure where he found it, but really robust stuff, much more thought provoking than the usual fare.

Revisiting Link Building

2005-05-22T18:14:00.000-04:00

I wrote about link building back in February when I was hot and heavy into reading up on the practice, http://digitalcommunique.blogspot.com/2005_02_01_digitalcommunique_archive.html Information still runs rampant on the business of link building, both passive and active strategies. I've just finished reading a good article by Eric Ward on the subject written fairly recently, Linking's Holy Grail: The Passively Obtained Backlink, http://www.ericward.com/articles/backlinks.html

Sadly, taking stock of my whereabouts in the seo cyber universe-- Technorati reports I have one link to my site. Better than nothing.

Link on....

Page Headings Help SEO

2005-05-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

I've just had a big "Omigod" moment.
I have finally swung around to the SEO side of the copywriting gig and have now become the copyeditor. In the process I have just discovered why my former copyeditor was so gung-ho on pushing us (the writers) to include paragraphs broken with appropriate headings and sub-headings, often called headlines.

Page headings are an integral part of what is called on-page search engine optimization. They are included alongside such desirables as the main meta tags-- title tags, description and keywords, not to mention at least a couple hundred words of solid content. Get a decent writer.

SEO As Long Term Investment

2005-05-21T19:10:00.000-04:00

Is the new face of SEO and its marketing accoutrements the new long term investment for online businesses? Many sources claim the balloon in SEM that came upon the search engine world like gangbusters might be smoothing out and claiming territory for the long haul versus the quick return. Go organic.....

"SEM Growing More Complex," Jim Hedger @ Search Engine Guide, 5/19/05 www.searchengineguide.com/hedger/004493.html

I am wondering if there is the possibility that there is a SEO market bubble at work.... a la the dot com days. ..

Blogs Teach the Value of Web Content

2005-05-21T15:10:00.000-04:00

Boring.
Does anyone but the writers and copyeditors actually care about the marketability of content? I mean why not just throw up some blurbage to attract a couple of customers, do some fancy link strategizing (you can tell I'm totally from the writer's perspective here) and package it into an OK website and be done with it?

Well, that's not what bloggers do, for one thing.
If there is anything to be learned about the value of web content it is with the revolution of The Blog. Millions of people blog, whether it's their online diary, political views or information associated with their careers, among countless other things. People read them, respond to them, quote them, link to them, comment on them.

Businesses are now encouraging corporate blogging as a means to share and inspire new and necessary information exchange among employees.

My point is, why in an age where we are all craving quantifiable and interesting online information, would businesses fail to see the value of decent content? Not a thesis. But decent, solid, grammatically correct content about something a visitor might actually be interested in that might even spark some deeper searching.

Deeper searching leads to even more content possiblilities.

Test driving Uncover The Net's Search Directory

2005-05-15T11:12:00.000-04:00

I do a lot of research for my copywriting articles and I am constantly looking for a better strategy of search than Google. While Google has been my search engine of choice I also am acutely aware of the reasons that sites end up in the top ranks -- content and information that's often been manipulated to the top of "the charts."

I just took a few minutes to test-drive Uncover The Net's search directory-- as they say "powered by human, not machines"-- with a simple "writing web content" query aimed at the entire web. What was returned was their typical Sponsored Results at the top of the page and then a purported 12,000+ other finds. I scanned through the 10 results pages the directory had and came up with the same half dozen or so sites over and over from page to page. By the 10th page, the results had only managed to include no more than a dozen websites that either sold web content writing services, or offered insight and advice on the same. A pretty tiny slice of the whole enchilada.

UTN Directory

2005-05-14T07:44:00.000-04:00

Trying out Uncover The Net search directory for a while. www.uncoverthenet.com
Looks like it has competitive features to Google, image search, song lyrics search (everyone wants that), broken down into categories, services and provides a toolbar.

Neural Networks-- the Next Search Engines?

2005-05-12T23:13:00.000-04:00

The concept has been posited by Chris Sherman at Search Engine Watch, in his article, If Search Engines Could Read Your Mind, http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3503931
Not that the concept is that off when you think about it. I recently helped one of my college professors with editing and revising his proposed dissertation which was on the topic of neural networks. When computer networks are put to a task, such as search-- literally parsing words, symbols and phrases-- they eventually learn certain things. Sherman's article is worth the read.

2005-05-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

tulip coastline

Extinction

2005-05-09T09:18:00.000-04:00

I've just spent the weekend lying on the deck, gardening and otherwise looking upward to the fat fractal coastline of green leaves against the sea of blue sky and decided I need to return for a moment to my natural writing instincts: brewed in my brains, turned off and on as at a steam spigot, I write like I am gulping strong, earthy coffee from Peru or Venezuela, someplace mountainous and nearly extinct by 21st century standards.

I began reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this morning. I know I have been told a dozen or so times since the age of 18 that this is the book to read. And each time I have poo-pooed the advice. So, what changed? Have I lost my own philosphy? Do I need the directon of Pirsig's insights to endure? No, I have instead acquired my own solid philosophy, my own intent direction and now feel finally unthreatened by someone else's equivalent.

Yikes...Design and SEO

2005-04-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

Yikes! Been over 10 days since my last post. "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It's been 10 days since my last confession...I mean blog post."

It's not as though I haven't wanted to.
But I have just had the chance to rummage back through some blog and news postings I've been wanting to get to and found an article I'd like to note: "Worthless and Shady Criminals: A Defense of SEO," by Danny Sullivan on Search Engine Watch's site, http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3501146
I could sum this up with saying: content rich pages, what Sullivan abbreviates to CSEO (cuz everything in the computer world needs an acronym) combined with good page design and the wisdom to apply SEO techniques to the combo = the thinking-person's SEO.

Information Management and Blinkx

2005-04-18T23:29:00.000-04:00

Blinkx, an "information management" tool that cuts a swath through web, video, television and desktop, including intranets. I don't remember how I found Blinkx, but I thought it looked interesting from the perspective of linking similar concepts in search as opposed to keywords.

I've been scouring Google today researching some articles I'm writing and the unethical misuse of keywords by a whole corps of sleazy online casinos has just put trash at the top of page searches. So right now the idea behind Blinkx is really attractive.

blinkx, http://www.blinkx.com/overview.php

SEO Copywriters, Pandia Article

2005-04-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

Pandia has a nice excerpt from an SEO copywriting book. Basically an SEO copywriter is worth being paid well and blurbage about the value of good copywriters in general. All about how to find one and what makes a good SEO copywriter:
http://www.pandia.com/sw-2005/15-copywriting.html

Using Vertical Search

2005-04-11T23:07:00.000-04:00

I have been able to dip into the world of vertical search. My copywriting requires I do fairly extensive, and efficient, online research of various topics. I have recently been researching gambling topics for the articles I have to write. Well, via Google, gambling topics can be sketchy to wade through and top heavy with seedy, popup ridden online gambling portals.

Today I searched Google for gambling search engines and Voila! I turned up a few directories and one or two engines that have been key to getting my research done fairly quickly today.

The beginning of my turn away from Google, perhaps?

Slippery Slope

2005-04-06T23:54:00.000-04:00

no content, I mean "comment"

I'm a bit confused. What is this? I'm not going to type the name, either, it smarts too much, from a real human copywriter's vantage point.
I'm actually even embarrassed to admit how I found it. Curiously I was attracted to an adSense ad and HAD to see what the headline was leading to.
Yep, I was right.
This software actually suggests that it can produce "hundreds" of pages of "understandable" content in a workday's time. Great for webmasters and writers, "they" say.
A real writer would like this? Really?
I had the chance to read a little sample blurb produced by this bot-writing software. They can sue me I don't care. I'm apparently inconsequential anyway.
The copy read alright, actually, except that every few sentences a word would just jut right out in the way of smooth reading. An odd word, one that just doesn't fit, like the software synonym dictionary shot out something it just couldn't hear the cadence of.

I am fascinated with the internet and how the search engines work, but there is an awful lot of emphasis on the marketing and selling and production of things. And ironically that push for just mush is keeping others developing technology such as vertical search and topic-focused quality content that most people say they are really looking for on the internet.

As I said, I'm confused...if the ultimate drive is quality, then why the daily rush for quantity?

Vertical Search- Gee, We're interested in TOPICS

2005-03-30T21:22:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-24T06:53:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

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"

2005-03-16T18:09:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

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.

The article at Slate: Paul Boutin, "Newsmashing," http://slate.msn.com/id/2114791/
iMarkup, www.imarkup.com
RoboScreenCapture, http://www.helpcommunity.ehelp.com/roboscreencapture/

my "newsmash" markup example utilizing RoboScreenCapture

Open Search Directory--Bigger Case for Dmoz

2005-03-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

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.org

Alternative Open-Source Directories
A 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

2005-03-09T11:49:00.000-05:00

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

2005-03-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

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.cfm
Furl.net, www.furl.net
LookSmart, www.looksmart.com

My wave for a skatepark website. Makes me think of summertime, sunsets and skateboarding past dinnertime.

"32 Flavors"--Alternative Search Engines

2005-03-03T13:11:00.000-05:00

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.

MIXCAT
www.mixcat.com
I 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.

SURFGOPHER
www.surfgopher.com
Surfgopher confirmed that my URL would actually be added to their directory.

SCRUB THE WEB
www.scrubtheweb.com
I 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?!

2005-03-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

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...

GOOD BOOKs:

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.

Traffic and Links! Traffic and Links!

2005-02-25T17:15:00.000-05:00

It's like Chicken-Little's "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" franticity. Frantic + ity...
I do feel a bit frantic over the whole rub. I admit it.

Link popularity is a main topic in search engine optimization and web content writing. Bloggers know, too well, the requirements for link popularity as a means to be indexed in a search engine like Google. (I'm actually sick of typing and hearing about Google. Businesses love it and like wallflowers at a high school dance desperately hold hopes they will be noticed. But I have learned that there are so many OTHER search engines and search directories that can be of benefit to websites trying to stir up traffic. This topic, maybe next week....)

When I include links in my text, they are considered outbound links. They have nothing to do with me or anything to do with getting this site noticed. I put them there as access to other people's information and opinion. What bloggers and all websites, actually desire are inbound links. Inbound links are now understood to be one of the most effective means by which websites and blogsites establish a good page ranking, especially with Google. And what might you imagine that translates into? The business of link building.

There are a number of ways I can pursue getting inbound links. I can look for other sites in my area of interest and ask their webdeveloper to include my link on their site in exchange for their's on mine. I would be hoping they would agree and that they are a reputable and, even better, popular, site.

I can become a member of a link exchange, however the jury still seems to be out on the effectiveness of this method and how the practice is regarded in the industry at this time. I keep reading over and over about the importance of being choosy in who I link to and, in turn, request link exchanges with. It's a little like dating.....isn't it?

I discovered early on, though, that the most coveted brand of inbound link is one I don't ask for. My goal would be for a well-established, well-ranked site to have a link to mine. Google's search engine loves that, apparently. This is what all the hub-bub is about and why link building can give online businesses and websites an edge with their competition and spell big revenue for their companies.

SEO Papers, www.seopapers.com, is a virtual storehouse of articles on search engine optimization, including many on the topic of link building.

Also, here's a good article by Mario Sanchez on "Link Building and Pagerank," http://www.accordmarketing.com/tid/archive/link-building-and-pagerank.html

Speaking of Keywords--Drop the "Writer"

2005-02-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

I've decided, over a glass of California syrah, that "writer" is the whole problem. Yes, that's it. Anyone with a job title with the word "writer" attached to it is in serious trouble, I've concluded.

I set out to write in this blogsite about what I was learning on the topic of writing web content. In one of my earlier postings I said I had clumsily stumbled into the realm of search engine optimization. Well, I've been poking about. A lot. Very interesting stuff. I'm losing sleep at night over such issues as link popularity and keyword lists. Geez, I was just a copywriter a few weeks ago.
Ah... But that's not really what businesses want anymore.
I have extensive knowledge of this because I have become an online job-posting junkie, slave to the likes of Monster, CareerBuilder and Craigslist, to name just a few of the online job services whose doorsteps I darken daily. My particular favs are businesses on Craigslist, especially, who want "copywriters." Not really. They just want to pay what they think any old lowly "writer" would gladly take-- $7-$10 per hour. EXCEPT their expectations for such a position are--besides the requirement that this person be an experienced writer-- that such a writer will, of course, have search engine optimization experience, knowledge of search engines as a marketing tool, and knowledge of web design and development "is a plus." So, since I was a 'copywriter' a couple weeks ago, I have since found out I need to have this whole new toolbox of things. Plus be willing to be paid pathetically for the service.

"Agonizing over all there is to learn." Like I said, but now it means so much more.

Thank GOD it's Friday.

LITTLE EXTRAS:

Peggy Noonan at The Wall Street Journal with an article on the current state of blogs vs. mainstream media, http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/ .

I signed up for a counter -- from Shiny Stat. I had actually signed up for a couple of others and decided against them. A counter from Branica had HTML code that came with a nasty little ad bundled in with it, so I never pasted it into my template. Another counter from Web-Counter was easy to sign up for, but the counter itself was not a quality graphic, so I took it off the site.

The Metrics of Web Content

2005-02-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

Search engine optimization and keyword-rich content are already popular internet business phrases. Businesses that rely on website traffic are reexamining how their existing content, often added by non-writers, is impairing their web presence in an environment increasingly driven towards search engine page rankings. In light of this, why is web content nearly always an afterthought?

Consider this: Google's very popular search engine crawls website pages feeding on one thing-- text. The Googlebot doesn't care about the design, ignores graphics, and no longer includes meta tags and alt tags in its indexes. Words. Text. CONTENT.
(I don't mean to diminish the work of designers and developers, here. Color palettes, graphics, use of space, site architecture and applications are proven elements in a user experience, but they are usually already a done deal when the content is the site's real impairment.)

Save for a few universal symbols, people exchange information in the form of language. I buy magazines. I read newspapers. I read books and troll websites and blogs. And most people do at least one of these things. I crave language and language provides information.

Between customers and visitors searching for websites that match their search criteria and businesses and web sites vying for web presence and page rankings, the system of exchange has become based on a commodity of words. Keywords and web content are as negotiable as gold nuggets, then, right? But in the framework of an economical system that values the metrics of more hardware-based industries, it's not surprising that business' demands are not equalling the compensation for those who provide web content.

Why is it that one of the oldest and most accepted systems of communication is so often an afterthought? Because in the past writers as a whole have typically practiced what is thought to be a soft art, a fine art. But when the product a web writer provides is expected to shore-up a business' web presence and draw measurable financial revenues and exponentially increase customer numbers, then it's time to get a metrics system with which to measure the value of such a service. Likewise, when a writer's product becomes inextricably linked with the hardware and software underpinnings of a giant search engine such as Google's or Yahoo!'s, then can a web content writer really relate to the practice as a "fine art?" There is nothing fine about it. It requires hardcore attentiveness to current culture and trends in various areas, an understanding of the basic concepts of how words integrate into space and design, awareness of cognitive word associations, and respect for the influence that language can have on culture.

Optimization.
The word itself implies specialization, customization.

When you pay a mechanic to optimize an automobile's performance.....$$$$
When you contract a software programmer to optimize a program.....$$$$$$
When you hire a cabinet maker to customize a kitchen.....$$$$$+

These people can bring home the big cashola because their industries, their services, have their own accepted standards and measures of value. Does the car go faster? Does the program involve less bandwidth, crunch numbers faster? How much value has the custom kitchen added to the value of the house?

Web content writers have the ability to focus the scope of webpages, emphasize a product name or brand and build a keyword vocabulary that blends smoothly into a text that synthesizes with the design and architecture of a website as a whole, providing a pleasurable user experience.

What content writers need now is a toolbox of measuring sticks. Has the website counted more visitors? Have revenues increased since new or fresh content was added? Is there a more positive user experience? Are there proven search engine results? These are the negotiating beads content writers and technical writers might come to rely on as their accepted industry wampum.

"The Rise of the Creative Class," by Richard Florida is well worth the read, http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0205.florida.html

The Blog Roadside

2005-02-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

If you're like me you are probably wondering "What's up with the blogside 'signage?'"
I'm referring to the sidebar space on almost any blog in cyberspace. Many of these spaces are lined with squared-off icon-links, affectionately called "chicklets." They advertise and link to services bloggers frequently use. Services include blog directories, XML and RSS feeds (more about this later), and services like BlogExplosion and BlogCrowd that promise to deliver traffic if you log on and sprint-click willy-nilly through other people's weblogs clicking ratings radio buttons as fast as you can. I tried BlogExplosion on my other blog, http://strongcoffee.blogspot.com . It was NOT a pleasing experience-- something to be said for usability if you're beyond the age of 25. The user experience-- for me-- was much like a mosh pit of blogs.

But I'm like everyone else when it comes to learning something new. I subscribe to the practice of follow-the-leader. But which leader? Does every blogger know what she/he is doing? Clearly some do. They make it to the top of Google's search results. Any career coach worth their salt would recommend using the successful blogs as my blog role model. Anyhow my role model list is still fairly small and untried...

But, back to blog signage. I have begun to subscribe to the practice. I have seen some regulars posted on the roadside shoulder of quite a few blogs, so I went with those first. Like roadside bill-boards-- they are just there. I see them, some I like, some I don't.

Lemme run down the little ditties I have added and why.

The "I Power Blogger" is the proprietary icon of Blogger, the software interface. I din't add it, just comes with the package. It has a cool look, too.
FeedBurner. I love this one. This site powers my RSS feed. Their sign-up is easy to use. The code I copied into my template makes it possible for aggregators to subscribe to updates to my site. More on RSS later, but in the meantime Threadwatch.org has an article called "The 10 Minute RSS Primer," http://www.threadwatch.org/node/1340 although it pretty specifically applies to Bloglines' service.
Blogarama is a blog directory. Adding my blog's URL to their bloglist was easy. Their site is navigable and not mucked up with pop-up ads. Easy to paste the little chicklet banner. I had the choice to go more minimal with the sidebar banner or super-size it. I don't know how long it takes for their editors to approve the site, though.
Blogwise is a popular blogside attraction I've noted, so I'm giving it a whirl. Once again, rather easy sign up and they have a few different icon/banners to choose from. But, get this, 18 days before my site is approved for their directory, they have that many blogs in the pipeline. Is this king of popularity a good thing?
Technorati is a sleek-looking site, nice greens and grays along with plenty of whitespace. I feel like I'm joining a club for blogging professionals with this one. Sign-up is free and easy. The only confusing thing about it at this brief relationship juncture is that I either need to find a way to add a ping script to my template (not sure yet if that's possible with Blogger) or ping Technorati manually, by visiting their site, every time my blog is updated with a new post. I can create a "Watchlist" by choosing blogsites or keywords--their brand of RSS aggregator. Technorati also has rather extensive links for developers. I like that kind of open-source opportunity, too.
Blog Search Engine. Hmmmm. This was the first blog list I added my URL to. They claim that by linking back to them it will give me "higher rankings." Honestly, I'm not sure I care about their rankings. Blog Search Engine's site was so gummed up with pop-ups it made navigating frustrating and ultimately impossible. I finally closed the browser window altogether. So, if you are reading this, be warned.

This is what I've tried so far. There aren't many people who write about these curious phenomena, either. Comprehensive lists are hard to come by, but here's one that stands out-- Ari Paparo's "Big List of Blog Search Engines," http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/000632.html .

A Little About Search Engines--Robots and Spiders

2005-02-21T13:15:00.000-05:00

The World Wide Web without search engines would be one vast repository of files. Epic struggles would be waged with researching, well, pretty much anything. Search engines like Google and Yahoo! are the big industrial-strength workhorses of the Internet. They make sense of the huge file cabinet in cyberspace, making the task of finding persons, places or things a rather simple pasttime. If nothing else, these tools certainly narrow down the search.

Search engines employ a few different strategies to organize their search findings. Some, like Google, use spiders-- a software that "crawls" the World Wide Web indexing new websites and updating the indices of any sites where the crawler detects updates. These are returned to the user in a ranked order, sometimes referred to as search engine page rankings. Up until a few months ago, I gave relatively little thought to the whys and hows a website ended up at the top of the search engine rankings heap. I thought, "Whatever.... just gimme my information and our relationship will be over." But now that I am wading about in the gummy waters of web content writing I've had the big "Ah-hah!" come over me. What are these little buggers, anyway and who the hell is the "Googlebot"?

What do search engines look for?
They don't all look for the same thing. Some search engines look at the site's text only. Others use a combination of site text, meta tags and page titles to index and catalog. And who are "they"? Google, AltaVista, HotBot, Lycos, MSN, Yahoo! (calls itself a "directory"), and lesser known search engines like MixCat and Surf Gopher. There are dozens of others.

The "Googlebot" is the affectionate name given to Google's website crawler. This software looks at web directories for newly added URLs and any updated websites already indexed. When you or I type in a search word or phrase into Google's "Search" box, we are actually querying the index or database of text, lots of text. The Googlebot returns those results it finds to be most relevant, current and popular based on the initial query. Returning a high Google page ranking is the hope of all websites, ("When I grow up, I wanna be..."), which is why Search Engine Optimization is big business today.

Where Am I?
So, where is my blogsite in relation to the search engines? Nail-biting time. Drum roll....
Nowhere, really. In Google, I type the site url and still find nothing. My other blogsite, Strong Coffee, at least gets found, so it has some sort of index. That's my agonizing admission for today. Time to get to work.

For detailed information on the Googlebot and how it works, take a look at Google Guide, http://www.googleguide.com/google_works.html

As far as meta tags go, this is one of the best articles I've found on the topic, from Search Engine Watch, http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167931

Web Content Writing for Newbies

2005-02-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

I am a newbie web content writer.
Repeat after me....
I have to accept my shortcomings first to realize my potential, right? As Tony Robbins says-- I really have to admit I like him-- "change is inevitable, progress is not."
My goal is to not only learn how to write effective web content, the ins and outs of the "sport," but by doing so, to provide that same product. My thought process this Sunday morning, after the help of half a pot of a strong chicory-laced coffee, was "gee, if I'm a beginner and searching for help online, it stands to reason there are most likely others like me."

My first lesson learned: target people with similar interests. This is where my first-line admission comes in. My blog would benefit most from attracting traffic from other writers who are new to web content writing and looking to put all the mental pieces together. Some of those "pieces" are elements related to search engine optimization. Web sites, including blogsites, want to be found. I know now that effective web content is that which postures itself with well-placed keywords and phrases that are often "tickled" during a search.

I also know that I don't really want to attract anyone here who is an expert. They'll be bored and my site will be useless, aside from a good chuckle, which is fine, but why spend time focusing on the wrong audience?

One of the first things I tried the other day was one of the popular-- and free-- keyword suggestion tools. I gave the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool a whirl, http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion. A lot of the web content sites recommend these tools as a way to generate keywords and keyword phrase ideas. I think keyword phrases are the way to go. When you search say Google, do you really just type in one word? It's pretty fruitless to do that. Typically, most people are searching for more precise information. I thought that by targeting my audience with more precise keyword phrases I might draw someone to my blog site who is in a similar position. The beauty of blogs over static web pages is that the blog environment allows for a fluidity of information and an openness to communication via comments and tag-boards. And maybe, just maybe, if I learn something, I can actually generate traffic and--dare to dream-- decent search engine page rankings.

I took a few minutes to jot down the keyword phrases I would most likely use to search for sites related to writing keyword content and web content writing based on my experience level. I came up with "web writing how-to", "beginner's web content", and "web content newbie." My rationale was if I was using these phrases, so would others. Perhaps attracting an audience is based on keyword-rich content, but it has to appeal to someone specific, at the same time.

After all this, keyword or keyphrase rich web content is only one of the factors that make websites effective.
In my next posting, I think I need to explore what all the hub-bub is over web traffic anyway. After all, if I can't generate traffic to my site, why bother providing content? Most people who develop a website have knowledge to share or products to market. People need to find them.

Also, what are search engine page rankings and what are they based on? How do sites, even some blogs, end up in the top positions on Google's search engine?

If you're here, please contribute with a comment, link suggestions, or advice.

keywords, keyword content, content writing, keyw

2005-02-18T20:17:00.000-05:00

Maybe you get the message.
I didn't.
In the interest of researching a job lead for a "Keyword/Content Copywriter" I quickly found myself up to my nares in marketing blogs, how-tos for content "that sells", and articles about how the right keywords in your web copy add up to SEO.

Yes, SEO. Search Engine Optimization.
Wow.

I thought I was a decent writer.
Feeling this big and ignorant. Where the hell have I been, anyway?
"Watch Newbie Tech/Content Writer Blunder"-- my headline for today.

At this moment I have a line of orange Post-It notes with pencilled links to blogs (with no RSS feeds, fyi), freelance outsourcing sites, web content tutorials, and I'm not done yet. I have a headache, but nothing a Corona Light and a fresh lime wedge can't cure. These Post-It notes are the little guys. A caterpillar-like configuration of them is lined up along the desktop in front of me. And a cat is lying across the head of it.

I'm unemployed again. I just came to the end of a short-lived contract with a marketing firm for whom I researched and wrote original articles/copy on subjects ranging from debt consolidation to erectile dysfunction and travelling in Italy. The articles were destined for informational websites somewhere. Now I'm second-guessing every word I wrote for this firm. omigod, did I competely screw myself?

Anyway. (Shovelling my angst out of the way.)

I am at the bottom of the food chain and not comfortable with that position. And there are a hell of a lot of freelance writers who are bidding for work. Some of them run significant companies that specialize in all forms of web development work including the copy and the design.

This is where I begin to try and compete.
I am like an amoeba today. Let's evolve.

little guy (gal)

2005-02-12T01:19:00.000-05:00

See? That's the thing. I want to quote a familiar phrase-- "the little guy", but in my case that's a misnomer. Everyone wants to quote someone. Makes it authentic that way. Like my way isn't alright enough. My thought or idea somehow needs to be underscored by someone (guy), no (gal), "bigger" than me.

I want to comment on communications or miscommunications, and while surfing around other "big" blog sites where they have underscored LOTS of things with much "bigger" guys ideas, cuz their's aren't concrete enough, I began to get this puny feeling. Here I am blah, blah, blahing about the smudgy little coins in my piggy-bank-mug and overpriced cups of coffee and then again about address changes-- the little things that mean a lot. I haven't posted the one on address changes yet (squirrely little buggers), but I think I'm going to edit the draft and get it on.
Without underscores, without comments.

Did you know corporate America is behind on the blog scene?
I refuse to underscore anything here with a link to someone else who links to someone else who links to someone else.....like some ugly blog-tsunami.
And what a g.d. surprise.
Here's my thoughts: Big corporations are still having problems securing their network backdoors. Blogs are like schoolgirl's dating diaries to some of them. Clearly out of reckless ignorance, yes....Truth is, regardless of all the slick corporate annual reports, the cleanly designed websites-- paint makes it what it ain't. That's a saying. And I'm not going to quote anyone. It's all out there.

I quit working for one of the major medical institutions in the country, uh, lessee, nearly 3 months ago. I can still login to their corporate intranet to check my email account. Yes, I still have an account. I'm sure they're planning to roll out a corporate blog campaign anyday now. smirk.

2005-02-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

afternoon blinds study

Fu Zhang zoo

2005-01-30T18:01:00.000-05:00

Just a bunch of nonsense in the titles, but that's what miscommunication is about, right? Missed communications, the childs' game of 'Telephone'-- you whisper it to me and I'll whisper it to Patty and she'll tell two friends, and they'll whisper it to two friends and so on 'til this very simple thing I first said is translated into a completely new language that now some card-carrying-member-of-Mensa-geek needs to design software for.
Recently I was trying to access Duke University/Healthcare's Human Resources website where job-hunters, it is explained very clearly in the homepage text, can post their resumes and maintain an online application. Easy enough, right? I spent nearly 1 1/2 hours completing this task. Most of that time was trying to figure out how to register a login name and password for a new user.
I am not a stupid person.
I know what is intuitive and what is not.
I know what is expedient and what is a total waste of my time in convoluted, dead-end buttons. My frustration was that here is a well-renowned University and Healthcare system with what appears to be a friendly, usable HR site. The irony is that I am looking for a technical communications job with a potential web design/development bent to it and find myself hobbling about the various links like some half-wit still believing that somewhere I can register a login name and password. Two words: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
A lotta clicks later, I finally accomplished this very simple thing. But don't ask me to do it again.

2005-01-28T17:36:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon coffee with marble

Who Sent who?

2005-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

No other way to start this business than with the ceremonial emptying of my change mug this morning. Speaking of "two cents."
I am down to $2.00 in my checking account. I wrote to a friend this morning that this really no longer constitutes a "checking account," but is more akin to the hollow environment of a child's piggybank. I HOPE there's a lot in there when I shake it around, but I know the chilly reality. I'm writing content for informational websites....I think....for a marketing firm. I hope--there's that word again-- that I'll find work doing more technical writing and utilizing some tools I'd really like to build into my resume, versus, MS Word zip files over and over.
My cash mug. I decided I'd try and dig up enough change to get a coffee at "Third Place" at the end of my block, a luxury I have denied myself for the last 2 months. That's sad, isn't it? Coffee as a "luxury" item? My other blog is titled "Strong Coffee" . THAT's some strong coffee.
So, a luxury on a Friday afternoon--cuppa joe down the block at one of the most popular coffee houses in Raleigh. That's what I'm paying for. Popularity. I know, Free Trade beans and all that, growers making more.....
I've really wandered from what I intended to say, but, it's all about the cup of coffee right now.

I managed to dig one quarter, 3 dimes and 2 nickels off the top layer in the mug. Mixed in with the mash of odd marbles and seaglass chips. I was downright angry over the Canadian quarter that someone ripped me off with once upon a time. Everyone else but me seems to have eagle-eyes on those--handing them back with a, "Sorry, caught ya" wink. Even vending machines won't be gyped. I finally dumped the "I Love NC" mug over. Marbles rolled everywhere, much to the amusement of one of my cats. Mexican coins.....why? Old guitar pick. Dead AA battery. Mother-of-pearl shard. Allen wrench. "Mother-of-Pearl," is right. Kennedy half-dollar and Betsy Ross silver dollar--who the hell even knows those are real cashola anymore--no. Great, another Canadian quarter. Ripped off twice. Polished stones-- agate, tiger's eye, turquoise. I love rocks. I did find half-a-dozen more dimes and enough nickels that perhaps might buy me a small black coffee of the day. SMALL luxury.