A few days ago at Pubcon, Matt Cutts of Google announced the “new and improved Disavow Link tool”. (A good write-up of the Google announcement at PubCon by Lisa Barone).

So what is this tool? Bascically it’s a way to tell Google which links pointing at your site are low quality junk that you don’t really want held against you. (In case say, a competitor purchased bad links for your site to try to hurt your rankings). Yeah, that’s it.

But do you need to worry? Well, if you didn’t see a big drop in your rankings, or in your search traffic over the past couple of years for your site, you’re probably fine.

But, If your site has a large number of spamming inbound links, you may want to check with the person doing your SEO about running this tool on your site to clean up some of your past indiscretions. Again, for most people this won’t be a problem. Just keep up the good fight of

a. adding good quality content to your site (via a blog or adding pages)
b. getting a guest blog opportunity on a relevant site which includes a link back to you
c. encouraging others to link to your content via social networking and social bookmarking tools.

Here’s a deeper look at the tool by David Naylor.

Oh, speaking of rankings. Remember my post called “Movies without Shaq in them“? I just checked my rankings for that phrase while not logged in, and that post now ranks in 5th position on page 1 of Google. Kinda fun.

-Andy

How did some guy in Montana rank for Movies without Shaq in them? That’s called SEO or Search Engine Optimization. Can I help you rank for something?

So this is really a little experiment. Someone just created a spoof of Google, that is poking fun at the NFL Replacement Refs. So if you visit http://replacementgoogle.com/ and you enter a search phrase, you’ll get sent to the real google with a seeming random different search, such as “Movies without Shaq in them”.

Seeing this, I thought… Hmmm, can I get on page 1 of Google for that Shaq Movies phrase?  You tell me. Did I?

Want to help? Link to this blog post.

And if you want me to help you review your website for how it can rank better in the search engines, drop me a line at andy@andycommons.com.

I have clients all over the world.

In all my years of doing SEO, I’ve seen link building articles come and go.
And while this one may someday be dated as well, I’m very impressed with the ideas here. Most of them are the kind that will stand the test of time.

I’m often telling my clients how important link building is to their rankings.

Yes, it’s lots of work. It would fall under the “work on your business, not in your business” list.

http://pointblankseo.com/link-building-strategies

As for me, I think my favorites are:
- Blogging with keyword rich links to other pages of your site.
- Research the links of your competitors and see if you can get them for your site too
- Get listed in Business Directories (I tend to favor Best of the web)
- Fixing broken links on your site. (just good to do anyway)

So, give this a read, and let me know if you can find one or two that you’ll take on in the  next week. Just leave it in a comment here on this post.

Oh, and to walk the talk, here’s a link to my Missoula SEO page.

I enjoy listening to a podcast by Leo Laporte at twit.tv.  During his Valentines Day show (2010) he told a caller that SEO was snake oil, and was so simple, most folks should  just do it themselves.

Ugh. Not really.

Sure, if someone has time, and the computer skills, yes, they can spend the hours to learn what works to help a site rank higher in the search engine results, update title tags, do keyword research, build out more pages on their site, add a blog, verify and update their local and directory listings, and do backlink research on the competition…

But then, they could also spend hours learning tax laws and do their own business taxes… or hire a CPA.

Or they could read a few articles on the Internet about framing and dry-wall, and mud and tape… OR they could hire a contractor to remodel their basement. It comes down to what business you are in, and what you should really spend your time doing. Leo seems to think a couple small changes to a title tag and “get some links” will be all you need. Sorry Leo.  It’s just not that simple.

And even if it were.. the guy running the shoe store is too busy helping his customers and trying to motivate his employees than try to learn how to update his website. So when I can point out his home base title tag is “Untitled” and he has an all flash site that isn’t indexed… the money he pays me to optimize his site will be money very well spent.

If you want your site to rank higher (and you probably should), ask yourself… do I really want to spend my time learning all about this crazy web stuff? or should I spend my time doing what I do well, and hire someone else to help me with my rankings.

I know it’s tempting to save money and do it yourself. I tried to give myself a buzz cut right before a holiday party last December. Let’s just say, the results were not pretty, and the only option was to shave my head and go to the party bald.

There are bad apples in every industry (Leo, I bet you even know of some radio talk show hosts that are snake oil salesmen.. and they might even be on the same AM stations that broadcast your fine show). So as with most things… when hiring someone to help with your website, do your home work, get references, and be careful of anyone promising you top rankings.

-Andy Commons

www.andycommons.com

A sales rep called today offering my company a way to get on page ONE of Google.  I played along and got a website to check out with their offer. What a rip-off.  (Step one, don’t call an Internet Marketing company with that pitch.)

This type of company frustrates me to no end, and they give the industry a bad name.

If someone is telling you they can get you on page one of a search engine, you need to be very careful. The are probably talking about getting an ad to show on the right hand side under “sponsored listings”. And frankly, that’s not hard at all for a long tail keyword phrase. Want to appear for the search  ”Seattle Law Firm with free underground parking”? No Problem.  Is anyone really searching for that? Even if they were, is this the kind of client you want?

Oh, and even if they do target a phrase that people are actually searching for, the Guarantee says if they fail to deliver, they give you another month of their service at no charge! Wow, more bad results for free??? Thanks!

Look. No one has a ‘special relationship’ with Google that gets your site higher in the rankings. And even if they help you run ads with Adwords, are they really taking the time to review the results, optimize the bids, and test ad copy that pulls in people ready to buy? Will they help you review your landing pages and set up the campaign in tightly targeted groups for optimal performance? Highly doubtful.

-Andy