Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Is SEO Dead? No, but it’s changing. I recap

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Skull and crossbonesA recent post by searchengineland.com covered the latest thinking on the often uttered words “SEO is Dead”.
I’ll try to recap and give you my thoughts.

1. No, SEO is not dead. You still need your site set up the right way, and to do the basics like have keyword rich title-tags and well written content on a variety of topics in your nich.

2. Yes, you need to keep adding well written articles (let’s call them blogs) to build your authority.

3. The article points out that “Social Signals” are now part of the mix, but are not the only thing. I would say, being active on social media, posting links to other good articles AND your own, helps establish you as an authority.

4. They mention that Local search is going to be more important. If you don’t already have well optimized listings in the top directories, you are missing out on the traffic they bring, and the value of those listings give you in terms of rankings.
I’m working on a solution for you to get that done in a cost effective way. Stay tuned…

now, if you want to dig deeper, check out the article.
http://searchengineland.com/the-future-of-seo-157803

Oh, and if you want to help my “social signals” please like, share, tweet etc, this post.

Thanks.

-Andy

Facebook announces Graph Search

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So Facebook just announced something called Graph Search.

See how Facebook describes it here:  http://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch

Already there are tons of people weighing in on what it is, and if they like it.

I say it’s too early to tell, but if you run a business and are online (and I hope you are) this will be something to keep an eye on. I’ll try to help bring you just the basics so you don’t have to spend hours researching the next ‘new thing’.

While lots of people are less than impressed, AJ Kohn (https://plus.google.com/115106448444522478339) says Local Search is one of the better features. In my opinion, I’m always looking to USE facebook vs. being used by it… it can be a great marketing tool if used right, and Graph Search, like Google Places may become one of those Must Do activities to help you keep a competitive edge. AJ’s post about Graph Search and Local is here: http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/what-local-search-looks-like-in-facebooks-new-graph-search/6885/

He shows an example of a search for “Restaurants Nearby”. I’m telling you. Businesses need to pay attention.

Scott Gallagher of Local Marketing Source also has thoughts, which he put into a short video on the topic. http://www.localmarketingsource.com/blog/facebook-graph-search-facebook-enters-search/

Finally, Mike Elgen (https://plus.google.com/113117251731252114390) has his own take. He says, ” if you love Facebook, you’re going to love Graph Search. But if you hate Facebook — oh, boy, are you going to hate Graph Search. He points out some serious concerns about your privacy, and possible ways “bad people” will be able to use this new feature to do all sorts of nasty things.

His blog about it is here:
http://www.datamation.com/commentary/the-trouble-with-facebooks-graph-search-1.html

Since the only constant is change, here we go with another new thing to deal with as a local business. If you are trying to keep up, and sort out what you should or could be doing online, check out my special offer. I review your site, and then consult with you on how to get more qualified traffic to your site, and turn them into paying customers.

-Andy

Annual Ranking Factors Report

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Each year, I deeply review the Rankings Factors Report put out by David Mihm Web Design.

Well, it’s out again, and if you want to dive deeper into what’s working to help (or hurt) your website rankings, especially if you have a Local target market, check out the Ranking Factors Report.

This week we’re also suffering a lot of confusion in the Online local space with Google’s announcement of something called “Local” when you are in Google Plus. From what I can tell, they are just showing people Google Places type results inside Google Plus. It’s very different than a Google Places “Page” for Business, which can also be marked as “Local” under the category.

If you really want, you might want your business to have a Google Plus “Page”. and you might even want to set it up as a “local” type business…. but this isn’t the same as going to Google.com/places and claiming / editing your business info.

The Google Places listing is even more important now, as Google + is starting to show it.

Finally, I’m hearing rumblings of how Youtube terms of service don’t want businesses to post videos (like Ads) to Youtube… Yet Google Places encourages a business to link up to 5 YouTube videos in the account.  Will we stop seeing Videos in Search results? Will we see the “add a video” feature removed from Google Places?  I think it’s all too early to tell.

As I make any sense of it, I’ll post my thoughts on my here on my blog at www.andycommons.com.

 

Google Drops Plus sign from Search Operators

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Back when Google announced Google Plus, I laughed that the search engine giant named their new social networking platform something that their users can’t even search for, since the plus sign [+] is used as a way to define a search string. This meant when you tried to search for [Google +] in Google, you might not actually find “Google Plus”.

Well, they announced that they will fix that problem, by actually dropping the use of the plus sign as a search operator.

Before, you could search for something like
relocation +missoula
and you’d get results that were about relocation, but only those with Missoula in the results.

Now, when I do that search it tells me:

The + operator has been replaced.
To search for an exact word or phrase, use double quotation marks: relocation “missoula”

I guess this works the same, but to me it seems slightly different. I always felt the plus sign meant “show me ONLY those results with that word in the results”, while Quotes meant “Show me these two words together, as in “firstname lastname”. While I suspect the latter still works the same way, which is good, since Google our own names is something I’m sure we all love to do. One guy even made it into a Documentary called “Google Me“.

I have a lot of Google Alerts set up that use the plus sign. But I guess I have to spend some time changing those now since Google had to change this core part of search… Do you think it’s because they want people to find Google Plus?

What if every time we use the plus sign in a search from here on out, they just show us Google Plus as the top result.

Well, they make the rules…
So if you’d like to get better results from your searches, I recommend you spend a few minutes studying up on the various tricks you can use in your search queries.

Enjoy…

-Andy

The Periodic Table of SEO

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I know the world loves a good infographic, and my man Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land did a great one for the world of SEO.

This chart really nails it. It shows the main factors in helping a website rank in an a simple, clean way.

I share this as a way to promote good thinking when it comes to SEO. Can this stuff be done by business owners? Yes, but as I’ve said before on why hire an SEO, it’s a matter of focusing on what you do best. I’m not scared to let others know what I do. Many will happily hire me to do it for them.

See the table here:

Search

The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors, used with permission

SEO is no pun anymore. How Article Headlines are no longer funny thanks to SEO – in Missoula MT :-0

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In this article for the Atlantic, David Wheeler talks about how SEO is affecting headlines. (go read it. I’ll wait right here). :-)

I enjoyed the article, but had to grin when I went back to read the headline of the article itself. It’s a mix of both humorous and Keyword rich.

But, this actually makes the case for building a good online following and not just relying on Google. People who use online media site on a regular basis don’t need to find them via a search. They come to the home page and see what’s being offered (much like the catchy headlines in the paper or magazines). They get to enjoy the headline all the same. I will say that sometimes the puns can be so esoteric they leave me working too hard to figure out if I’m even interested in the content. When this happens, you do risk the chance of turning off your readers. Also, SEO is not all about the headline. It’s important, yes. But,  if the keywords are in the title tag and article body, it should still come up. And once it’s well liked and shared a bunch (linked to for real, by real people), even more so.

Perhaps headline writers of the future will just have to up their game and figure out how to write a headline that is both keyword rich AND entertaining. Thoughts? Leave me a comment… and be sure to submit this to your favorite bookmarking site, post it to facebook, tweet a link, and stumble it.  (But only if you really want to).

-Andy

Small business workshop in Missoula Wednesday

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Did you read hear about this? I’ll be there, and I would suggest you try to attend if you’re at all interested in the things I talk about here on my site.

Montana Senator John Tester will host a Small Business Opportunity Workshop in Missoula on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. The event focused on expanding small business opportunities, especially for young entrepreneurs.

The upcoming workshop will be held at the University Theater at the University Center on the campus of The University of Montana.

He’s bringing with him a top Microsoft executive who will deliver a keynote address on his experience working with the software giant, and several social media gurus who will give a presentation on how websites like Facebook and Google can help grow businesses.

The social media portion of the workshop will show attendees just how important a tool the medium can be for small businesses.

Sign up here http://tester.senate.gov/Resources/workshop.cfm

Ford Drops Superbowl Ad

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Ford Motor Company sees spending their ad dollars on Online Ads as a better choice. The article below ends with a statement of “If sales continue to grow after the Super Bowl and the company continues its successful marketing online it will be interesting to see who else drops their Super Bowl ads.”

While Ford may be able to look back at the history of Superbowl ad performance and compare that to this year’s ad spend, there are a few problems with the idea that if Ford is successful online, others should follow. I’m not suggesting buying a Superbowl ad is or isn’t the right choice… but, like so many things, it depends on the situation. I’m a huge believer in online marketing, with the improve tracking, and demographics, and Geo-targeting… it’s a great place to look for effective advertising. But other avenues may work well to… often in combination. A great Superbowl ad, with a call to action to “like” the company on Facebook, and be entered to win….  You get the idea. Beware of thinking what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Here’s a link to the article about Ford, from Search Engine Watch:

Ford Drops Super Bowl Ads For Online Spends

Leagues to start at Ranch Club

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League Play Starting at The Ranch Club
League play is set to begin at The Ranch Club, the premiere family-friendly Missoula
golf community. The Greenhorns’ Club has already started, meeting every Saturday morning, offering
relaxed, league-style play for those new to the club or new to golf. Ladies’ Night is every Monday of the
season, beginning May 17. Men’s League starts on May 18 and will continue every Tuesday evening. Call
The Ranch Club Golf shop at 406-532-1000 for details.

“The beginning of league play signifies the transition from spring golf to full-on golf season,” said John
Powers who, along with his wife Colleen, owns The Ranch Club. “Even with the back-and-forth spring
weather this year, our fairways are already at mid-season color and the greens are rolling true.”

The Ranch Club continues its evolution into the first private golf community in Missoula. Non-members
will be able to play The Ranch Club course six times throughout the 2010 season with greens fees of $55
with a member (including cart) and $95 unaccompanied (cart extra). Early season rates are in effect through
May at $40 accompanied and $80 unaccompanied.

In addition to golf leagues beginning, teaching pro Mike Barnett will return to The Ranch Club at the end of
May. The popular Ladies and Junior Clinics will be offered again in 2010 beginning in June. Call the golf
shop for details. June will also mark the opening of the new, family favorite, resort-style, four-pool complex
The open-to-the-public restaurant continues to please the most discerning tastes with a unique menu that
changes seasonally and the most complete wine list in the state. Lunch is served seven days a week. Brunch
is served from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Sunday. Dinner is served Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. – 10
p.m. with the last seating at 9:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended for dinner, 406-532-1019.

Living options at The Ranch Club include custom homesites and Club Lodges. The first Club Lodge is
completed and ready to welcome new owners. The Ranch Club Lodges offer finished residences, Club-
maintained grounds and complete exterior maintenance with prices beginning at $985,000. Custom
homesites at The Ranch Club begin at $97,400.

The Ranch Club is a golf community which sits on a 340-acre scenic swath of land in the Clark Fork River
Valley. Conveniently located just six miles northwest of Missoula’s city center and the main campus of The
University of Montana; The Ranch Club offers easy access to the considerable events and culture of
Missoula while still enjoying the calm of the countryside. At the center of this Missoula property is a
championship 18-hole links-style golf course designed by Les Furber. Missoula land for sale at The Ranch
Club includes custom homesites and Club Lodges. Club amenities include a Clubhouse with a fine-dining
restaurant featuring newly expanded indoor, outdoor and private dining areas, golf shop, four-pool complex,
fitness center, and members’ locker rooms. For more information about The Ranch Club, call 406-532-1000