SEO 101

If you have been debating whether or not you want to run ads on your website, there is a tool that can help you decide if it is a good idea. Or at least help you decide if the ads that would be showing on your pages are what you would want on there.

Google has created a Google AdSense preview tool so that you can see what ads would appear on specific pages, based on the content on that page. You get all kinds of neat options like various formats and colors, as well as geotargeting options that will let you see what people in other parts of the world would see on your site.

One of the coolest things about this tool though, is that it shows you what Google thinks your page is about. Have you optimized your page for the right keywords? Try out this tool and find out.

A quick yet enlightening post today at Search Engine Land: 5 Deadly Sins Guaranteed To Kill Your Link Requests by Eric Ward (aka LinkMoses).

First, Eric lays down rule #1 of link solicitation - respect the person on the receiving end by customizing your request to the site you’re approaching and the context of the proposed link.

The deadly sins that follow are common sense tips that would be easy to overlook. Don’t make these same mistakes!

No. Including your main keywords as part of the domain name is not going to have a big impact on your site’s rankings. Because this technique is so open to abuse, the major engines stopped giving much weight to keyword-rich domains long ago.

The only negligible benefit would involve the anchor text of your inlinks. When someone links to your site, many times your URL is all that used as anchor text. While that is a minor justification for getting keywords in the domain, it shouldn’t be a priority.

If you decide you absolutely must have one or more keywords in your domain name, separate them with a hyphen rather than an underscore.

• keyword-keyword.hml is seen as 2 words by the search engine
• keyword_keyword.html is seen as 1 word
• keywordkeyword is seen as 1 word

The golden rule to keyword research is: Don’t research keywords you want to be found for, research the keywords a searcher would use to find you.

To that end, there are some very useful subscription-based keyword research tools available including Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery, and Nichebot. While you should use one or more of these to get an idea of how much search traffic each term attracts, don’t limit yourself to only such tools when building your keyword list. Diversify your keyword research by using other sources, such as:

• Brainstorm - Your first step should always be to cast a wide net to generate a broad list
• In-House materials - Review company collateral including mission statement, press releases, etc; these materials often aren’t written in the same lingo your customers would use to search for you, but they can focus and/or expand your research
• Industry magazines - Check both online and print versions to uncover ideas
• Log files - Essential source; your host and/or analytics program should track how much traffic different keyphrases are already sending - don’t overlook this goldmine
• Internal search box - If your site has its own search functionality, you’re a step ahead - scan the results to find out what info your visitors are looking for when they arrive
• Competitors - Figure out which keywords they are targeting, especially in PPC; SpyFu is a great tool for this kind of competitive intelligence
• Dictionary/Thesaurus - Finally, don’t underestimate the value an online dictionary and thesaurus can provide to your research efforts

Don’t be hesitant to link out to other sites that are relevant to yours. Google Page Rank is largely a myth in itself, but the idea that your site will ‘leak’ PR by linking out without a reciprocal link in return is totally false.

Relevant sites are: vendors, suppliers, alma maters, professional organizations, community involvement organizations, etc. Keep in mind that the company you keep in links reflects back on you in the eyes of Google. So don’t waste your time getting involved in free-for-all linking schemes where you cannot personally vouch for the quality of sites being associated with yours. Do provide avenues to related, quality info for your visitors and spiders.

Don’t be hesitant to link out to other sites that are relevant to yours. Google Page Rank is largely a myth in itself, but the idea that your site will ‘leak’ PR by linking out without a reciprocal link in return is totally false.

Relevant sites are: vendors, suppliers, alma maters, professional organizations, community involvement organizations, etc. Keep in mind that the company you keep in links reflects back on you in the eyes of Google. So don’t waste your time getting involved in free-for-all linking schemes where you cannot personally vouch for the quality of sites being associated with yours. Do provide avenues to related, quality info for your visitors and spiders.

One internal linking strategy that is often overlooked is the use of breadcrumb links. These links represent the site’s architecture through text links arranged horizontally across the top of the content section of the page. A common format would look like this:

Home > Category > Subcategory > Product

While actual usability benefits are negligible [studies have shown that most visitors don't use em], there are 2 definite SEO advantages to adding this navigation to your pages:

- breadcrumb links provide an opportunity to place keyword-rich anchor text toward the top of the page

- breadcrumb links reinforce the importance and relevance of your main pages and their targeted keywords to the search engine