Following are some resources that I can personally recommend!

Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.

One of the BEST ways to market your web site is to show the Internet audience that you KNOW your stuff!

If you would like to write an article about any of the following topics and submit it to our Newsletter, we would love to review it for inclusion in future issues.

Our topics of interest are...

Marketing (General)
Internet Marketing
Small Business Issues
Web Design
Web Hosting
Web site Programming

Contact us today about your article(s) and get yourself promoted!!

Editorial

Happy Autumn Everyone!

So, I went to Google News today and typed in "seo" just to see what news releases and what is going on related to SEO.

I found this press release "Google Page 1 Myth Exposed" and decided to do some investigation. After all, this company is claiming they can get your website into Google's first page of results. So, my question immediately was, "First page result for what keyword phrase?"

So, I went to their website, http://www.seodynamics.co.uk/ and it's pretty much just a few sales pages but they do explain their technique which is Long Tail Marketing. For anyone who doesn't know, Long Tail Marketing is the concept of choosing keyword phrases that are searched for BUT these keyword phrases MUST have very little competition.

No surprise, I mean if there's 5 websites on the Internet competing for a keyword phrase well, then any website that markets that same keyword phrase is going to get on page 1 of Google.

Believe me, there's nothing wrong with Long Tail Marketing, it's a great strategy. But the deception here is that they market their technique as some amazing concept, which it is not.

The SEODynamics website gave 2 sample sites so of course, I had to check them out.

Website 1 - www.EasyAlarms.co.uk - the keyword they say to look for is "home alarms". I checked on Google in the first 3 pages and I couldn't find this website for "home alarms" but I did check the competition for "home alarms" and it was very low. So, I checked the website itself and it looked as if they changed the keyword phrase to "home burglar alarms". Again, I went to Google and I couldn't find this website in the first 3 pages of Google for "home burglar alarms". Just for the heck of it I did search for the competition for "home burglar alarms" and again, it was very low.

Summary: First, if this website has "fallen from Google" then this website should at least take it off their page as a "sample" of the great work they do! Second, the fact that this website page isn't even in the top 3 for a keyword phrase with low competition tells me that this "magical formula" this company claims to have is just another round of BS!

Website 2 - www.englishfireplaces.co.uk/ - the keyword phrase they say to look for is "marble fireplaces". I found it on page 2 of Google which is good. I checked on the competition for this keyword phrase and it's moderate so it's doubly good that they got the website into the top 30 for a fairly competitive keyword phrase.

Summary: Alright, so maybe it's not completely BS! But, why is one website UP in the engines and the other not? One factor is the number of incoming anchor text links.

Website 1 has 296 other websites linking to it and almost all are linking with the phrase "wireless alarms".

Website 2 has 374 other websites linking to it. Almost all with the phrase "marble fireplaces".

Since Website 1 is marketing the phrase "home burglar alarms" there should be at least some incoming links with the phrase "home burglar alarms". But there didn't seem to be any.

Since Website 2 is marketing the phrase "marble fireplaces" AND it has incoming links using that phrase, to Google it's an absolute vote of confidence that this website really is all about "marble fireplaces".

This goes to show how important anchor text linking is to the Google algorithm. What all this ends up meaning to the website owner is that there are several factors that are needed to market a website. Just cleaning up a website won't get you into the top, just putting the right keyword phrases on the website won't get you into the top, just linking to other websites won't get you into the top. There are many factors that have to be combined to get you into the top.


Sincerely,
Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.
678.765.0120
Search Engine Optimization Services

Cool Tools

I receive so many questions about the types of tools that I use not only for Internet Marketing but also for business that I decided I should add a section to the newsletter about them. So, each month (or so) I'll try to add a new tool to this section. Of course, if you have any tools you would like to recommend, please let me know!

Anchor Text Linking - Something You Should Know

When it comes to adding content to a website or a blog or a newsletter, one of the most overlooked key pieces is the act of "anchor text linking".

In case you don't know what this is, let me explain.

Anchor text linking is the act of hyperlinking a word or phrase to a website page that is marketing that word or phrase.

An example would be...

If you're searching for affordable search engine optimization services, contact Eckweb Designs, Inc.

The sentence above has the phrase "affordable search engine optimization services" hyperlinked to the website page http://www.eckweb.com/affordable-search-engine-optimization.html which is optimized for the keyword phrase "affordable search engine optimization services"

Now, the majority of websites that I work on are existing websites created by other web designers. I will guarantee that 95% of the websites that I get, if they had this sentence on there the phrase "Eckweb Designs, Inc" would be hyperlinked to the home page of www.eckweb.com.

That anchor text link doesn't do anything for www.eckweb.com, it doesn't help the marketing of any of the pages on that site.

Why?

Because www.eckweb.com is not marketing the keyword phrase "Eckweb Designs, Inc.". It's marketing other descriptive keyword phrases.

Okay, so who cares? Who's even looking at these anchor text links?

Search engines, that's who!!!

Search engines count the number of backlinks to each website. Not only the number but the quality of the website the link is coming from and the anchor text link that is being used in that link.

This backlinks checker program, www.backlinkwatch.com is a program that will show you the number and anchor text links that are being directed to your website. It's the most accurate program I've found so far, although it's not 100% complete.

Anyway, to the search engines, an anchor text back link is a NOTE saying "this website page is about this keyword phrase". So, if there are several or many pages linked to that one website page with the same keyword phrase, the search engine concludes that the website page MUST be about that keyword phrase.

Anchor text link is just another way to gain points for your website pages in the game of website marketing. Not only must website pages be optimized but they must also have other websites anchor text linking back to them.

So, what are some ways to get anchor text links to your website?

1) Reciprocal link exchanges
2) Write articles and press releases with anchor text links
3) Write blog posts with anchor text links

If you have any questions about anchor text links or any other SEO or Internet marketing issues, contact me today!


Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.
Improved Search Engine Placement Services
www.eckweb.com

What is Optimization? When are You Optimized? There’s No Such Thing as Half way Optimal.

A Blog at Stuntdubhl.com

Just a quick rant for those who would rather debate than execute and implement.

Optimal is the best case scenario in any given set of circumstances.

Optimized is creating a site that gives users and bots what they are looking for in realtime, and IS an ongoing process (show me a site that has too much content or too many links…I dare you.)

The process of someone that practices GOOD SEO (an optimizer) is balancing optimal solutions (which are generally the “ideal solution” within a vacuum of no variables) with all the other variables that impact the web, business, and marketing decisions that form the strategy of how a company website is operated and budgeted for in real time.

SEO is not voodoo - it is making informed decisions based on rules and experience and applying them to complicated sets of variables to create a process and strategy that has the highest likelihood of success, and adjusting the strategy quickly and effectively as new information becomes available.

SEO’s don’t work within a vaccuum - which is why it is important to let your SEO know about your strategies and implementation. Optimal solutions aren’t always IDEAL solutions based on things like budget, risk, and ROI. Please understand that proper SEO is about more than meta tags and anchor text:)

OPTIMIZATION: The search for the best solution among alternatives, or the extreme value of a variable or a function. -easu.edu

What’s your definition of optimal, optimized, and an optimizer?

Not Your Usual Marketing Tips

Not Your Usual Marketing Tips
Vol. 5, No. 11
November 6, 2007

I came across an ad in the sports section of the paper recently that isn’t going to win any awards for aesthetics.  But for sheer “targeted” marketing, it may end up doing just fine for its advertiser all the same.

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Set against the intensely up-close photo backdrop of a football, the headline reads: PITTSBURGH FANS, WE SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE!

The columns of copy are split in two with the one on the left a short, alphabetically listed glossary of Pittsburgh (the city) jargon: “Arn” = Iron, as in Iron City; “Gumbans” = rubber bands; “Jumbo” = bologna, and “Kennywood’s Open” = (female readers, close your eyes…) Your fly is unzipped!

So what’s the point of this ad?  Well, as it goes on to say in the second column, “Give the agent from da ‘burg a chance to quote your insurance needs.”  Yep, it’s from a local representative from one of the nationally known insurance carriers.  The guy even goes on to encourage folks to “Stop by for your complimentary ‘Terrible Towel’” that rabid “Stillers” fans enjoy waving at the games.

Mr. Insurance guy knows there are a lot of transplants in Charlotte, many of whom are from the “Arn City.”  So, presumably in addition to his more conventional and universal advertising message to everyone else, he’s targeting his “own.”  Or, maybe he’s only targeting his own.  On a limited budget, nothing wrong with that, either.

Is that something you might consider – target “affinity” groups for your product/service with whom you share some kind of affinity, be it cultural, religious, avocational, whatever?  With material specifically “constructed” to fit that marketplace.  It’s an old saw that folks like buying from folks they like.  But folks might REALLY like buying from folks who share the same interests, the same passions.  And what they really like tends to compel them to buy again from that same source. 

In the meantime, see you the first Tuesday of next month for another helmet-ful of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Joel Kweskin
JDK Marketing Communications Management
704.846.4835, office
704.575.8850, cell
704.841.2746, fax
www.jdkmarketing.biz

66 Ways to Build Links in 2007

by Brandon Hopkins
March 21, 2007

If “Content is King“, then links are what put that king on the throne. Build links and you’ll be able to display your content to the world. Don’t build links, and your King won’t have a kingdom.

Hopefully you already use most of these, but if only 5 of these tips get you a new link, that is 5 links you didn’t have yesterday!

Just FYI, the tip is bold, with examples linked underneath. Thanks to everyone who took time to build tools, write content, and generally be willing to help the SEO and SEM communities. A special thanks to Andy Hagans and Aaron Wall, who wrote the 2006 version.

All links open in current window, so bookmark this page.

On-Site Content Creation

Content creation is without a doubt my favorite way of creating great backlinks. The reason these links are great is that you don’t have to ask for them or buy them, they come naturally, are defensible, and last indefinitely.

1. Write an authority article. (Without a doubt the best way to gain deep links.)
101 Ways to Build Link Popularity in 2006
40 SEM 2006 Predictions
Why that site with 50 backlinks beats your site with 1000 backlinks
10 Mistakes that Will KILL a Forum

2. Write great linkbait. (This is the ultimate for 2007.)
The Link Baiting Playbook: Hooks Revisited
Andy Hagan’s Ultimate Guide to Linkbaiting and Social Media Marketing
How To: Linkbait Your Blog

3. Use numbers in your titles. (People like numbers.)
5 Tips to Increasing Blog Traffic
3 Solid Gmail Productivity Tips
Put Your Best Foot Forward: 19 Gorgeous Website Footers
Top 10 Link Popularity Services

4. Spend 10 hours and put together a huge list. (The link value will be worth the effort.)
Huge List of 390 Search Marketing Blogs

5. Say nice things about people who link out. (My momma always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, you won’t get links.”)
WBP Testimonials
Thanks Jim Boykin
Back from Boston Pubcon

6. Start something crazy like “Blogtipping”. (Good job Easton! Blogtipping has been around for about 6 months and has almost 200k results in Google.)
Blogtipping @ Google
Blogtipping - The Beginning

7. Offer awesome resources, free. (Everyone likes, and links to free.)
Free Vector Web Page Elements
WBP Free Internet Marketing and SEO Tools
Internet Marketing and SEO Tools Compiled
Free Vector Stuff

8. Spellcheck everything, twice. (I plead guitly guilty.)

9. Link to others, and they’ll link back. (Most of the time right?)
Speedlinking at Technorati
Speedlinking by Problogger
Speedlinking by Dane Carlson
Pay it Forward Tuesday

10. Design an award worthy blog or website. (Not just a site you like, a site everyone likes.)
CSS Beauty
CSS Zen Garden

11. Create a contest in your niche. (These don’t have to be SEO related.)
Nigritude Ultramarine
v7ndotcom elursrebmem
Dave Pasternack

12. Say something stupid. (Jeremy did it best.)
SearchEngineJournal doesn’t link?
The Top Ten Most Practical Superpowers

13. Write a complete “How To” resource. (They get dugg frequently.)
How To: Make a Killer Photo using 8 Simple Composition Rules
How To: Achieve the Perfect Post Frequency
How To: Evaluate If The Free Laptops and Plasma TVs Giveaways Are Scams
How To: Theming your Ubuntu desktop
How To: Comment to the Top

14. Release a Firefox extension. (Make sure you support it.)
Performancing Firefox
FoxyTunes
Google Pagerank Status

15. Interview your industries experts. (Make it easy and quick for them.)
Interview with Google’s Matt Cutts about Next-Generation Search
Five Link Development Experts: A Group Interview

Off-Site Content Creation

16. Presell and content pages. (My content page on your site.)
PreSell Pages - Striving for the Perfect Link
Pre Sell Pages - a Better Way to Rent Sitewide Links
Pre Sell Pages vs Site Wide Links
A Positive Step Forward in Link Strategies

17. Write and submit articles. (Don’t forget your byline link.)
“5 ways to use your Business Cards more effectively” (514 Google results)
EzineArticles
GoArticles
iSnare

18. Submit articles to specialized sites. (Big sites in your niche, ESPN, SEJ, Scrapbook.com, etc.)
Sometimes these sites will pick up your article and feature your link in the byline.

19. Write and submit a press release. (Don’t forget your byline link.)
Optimizing press releases
PR Newswire Testing SEO Press Releases
Next Level SEO: Press Release Optimization
Benefits of an SEO Press Release

20. Offer to be a guest blogger. (Almost anyone is up for free content.)
How to be a Good Guest Blogger
How to Get Guest Blogging Jobs

Spending Money to Build Links

Spending money isn’t anything new for 2007, but it can still be effective.

21. Buy under the radar direct links. (You can email website owners asking to buy links.)

22. Buy in-content links on old pages. (Ask to buy a certain word on a certain page, make it simple for the owner.)

23. Buy old sites and link to your site. (Can be expensive.)
Screw the Sandbox - Buy an old site
Today is the Right Time to Buy Old Sites…

24. Pay for a sponsored post. (I usually pay $5-50+ for a small footer link in a post.)
Top 10 Reasons Why Proposals Fail
Looking for a VPS

25. Buy direct directory listings. (Some directories are better than others.)
Yahoo! Directory ($299/yr)
Business.com ($199/yr)
StartingPoint ($99/yr)
Best of the Web ($69/yr or $199 one time)
Joe Ant ($39/yr)
Aviva Directory ($50/yr or $75 one time)

26. Pay for bulk directory submission. (You can find people willing to submit your site at forums usually for less than $20 to 400 directories.)

27. Trade something for a link. (Often times you can buy an office staff pizza on Friday in exchange for a link on their website. Or maybe you can sponsor an office contest or promotion in exchange for publicity on their website.)
Buy, Borrow, Beg, and Barter: Techniques for Link Development

28. Pay a link builder. (This will involve substantial cost and results aren’t guaranteed.)
WeBuildPages
Todd Malicoat
Andy Hagans
Eric Ward

29. Send your product to potential reviewers at no cost to them. (I wrote a review for a flash drive that had military grade encryption because they sent me a 512 kb model.)

Finding Free Links

30. Post your link in forums. (Use footer links on forums that allow links.)
DigitalPoint Forums
Webmaster Talk
SEOChat

31. Post your feed in forums. (Many vBulletin forums show your latest post (on your blog) by your name, in your “User CP>Options scroll down to the bottom and put your feed address in.)
DigitalPoint Forums
Webmaster Talk
SEOChat

32. Comment on blogs. (Pick a reasonable number, and try to post that many every day.)

33. Submit to generic directories. (Directories without major branding.)
Easy Google Search
DirectorySEO
Fresh Directory

34. Submit to the big free directories. (Everyone’s invited here.)
DMOZ
HAABAA
Ezilion
AddURL

35. Ask for a link. (You’d better have a good resource, or be the authority in your niche.)

36. Sign guestbooks. (I know this just reminds you of Geocities, but there are thousands of guestbooks on sites with PR that are abandoned. Go get yourself a free link.)
Free Template guestbook

37. Find out where your articles are shown, and offer exclusive content. (This only works when real sites, not article-only sites, pick up your article. Explain why an exclusive piece would benefit them.)

38. Ask friends to read a new post, and reference it if they like it. (This can go over really well if you are well connected.)
New blog recommendation
Blog Recommendation
Blog Recommendation - The Housing Bubble Blog

39. Leave a testimonial. (Do it for every product you use, be specific when necessary.)
Testimonial Generator (just a joke, write your own…lazy.)

40. Support a non-profit website/company. (Make sure they have a website and will link you first.)

41. Build a website for a non-profit organization. (I’ve built 3 non-profit websites. You might also get paid for this work.)
The Resource Partnership (link at bottom)
South Shore Conservatory (designer didn’t link himself!)
American Vaulting Association (link at bottom)
IRCPS (link on left sidebar)

42. Form partnerships with online “friends”. (I have 6 people on my gmail chat list that I chat with regularly, I don’t mind asking for a link to a new site, or a great post. In exchange, I Digg their articles, post links to their good articles, etc.)

43. Create an awesome tool. (This is just one example of the many free tools out there)
Mom’s Salary Wizard (PR6, over 100k links to this page alone.)

44. Send targeted emails. (Make sure the first email asks a question, or helps them. Then ask for a link.)

45. Create a Del.icio.us account and start tagging. (Del.icio.us Popular Pages can send as much traffic as Digg.)
My new Del.icio.us page

46. Talk to manufacturers or retailers that you buy from about linking to you. (This could work with #36, leave them a testimonial.)

47. Post a listing on Craigslist. (Posts below are pretty spammy but do have links.)
Grand Opening Sale!!! Modern style furniture, Sofa, Platform beds…
ResumeOutlet.com - Resume Writing Service for Sale (Website + Domain) - $3000
2005 Chevrolet Impala Sedan! Like New! Pic! Look! - $13999

48. Post a helpful post with a link at Google Groups. (Gotta love the straight html links.)
300 Links, PR of 1?

49. Post link spam helpful posts to Yahoo! Answers. (Do they ever moderate this stuff?)
SEO: What words come to mind?

50. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. (Every city has one.)
Orlando CoC
Madera CoC (could have links)
Palm Desert CoC

51. Join the Better Business Bureau. (Join your local chapter, most have a directory of members with links.)
Central California BBB
Northern Nevada BBB

52. Talk to similar but non-competing businesses offline, and ask for a link. (Explain how, by linking to you, their customers will see their site as the complete resource and are more likely to return.)

53. Create a free template or theme. (Wordpress or CSS/XHTML are both popular in the free template sector.)
Kaushal Sheth
615+ Wordpress Themes List
Free CSS Templates

54. Review a product or service. (Bonus points if you have authority in the niche, and are one of the first to review it. Many times you’ll rank right behind the product.)

Search for text-link-ads.com and you’ll find:
Site #4 - Opinions on Text Link Ads.com
Site #8 - Text-Link-Ads.com Review

Best Practices for Gaining Links

55. Have a privacy policy. (Every reputable company does.)
Privacy Policy Generator
Create an Online Privacy Policy (From the B.B.B.)

56. Create a contact page. (Mine is coming…I never said I was perfect!)
Contact Seattle Times
Contact Intel
Contact Apple

57. Don’t post spam content. (This includes PLR articles, only RSS feeds, or just “borrowing” content.)
Stolen Content: What to do first
How to Stop Those who are Stealing your Content
DMCA @ Google

58. Hire writers who are better than you. (Especially important when you have multiple sites and don’t know what to do.)
How to Locate, Hire, and Work With an Article Writer
GetAFreelancer

59. Get 1 link per domain. (Sitewide links are SOOOO 2006.)
Get 1 Link and Go! Drive By Linking

60. Stay ahead of the curve. (You’ll get thousands of links if you have the first and oldest site about new technology.)
TechMeme

61. Link out, especially to blogs. (I always read people who link to me. Technorati keeps great track of who is linking to you.)

62. When writing, never lose sight of the “Super Digg”, and write accordingly. (Who doesn’t love a good super digg?)
Anatomy of a Super Digg

63. Install a page translator. (Anyone have a recommendation?)
WordPress Plugin: Automatic Machine Translation for Your Blog
Plugins/Translations and Languages - Wordpress Codex

64. Submit to a sub-category on Reddit. (Submit to the sub-cat and the homepage.)
Get ‘er Dugg - A Comprehensive Guide to Going Viral on Digg (Scroll down half way and look for “Going Viral on Reddit”)

65. Ping appropriate sites with every new post. (Wordpress and Typepad make this easy.)
List of Ping Services
RSS Ping List
Pingoat

66. Be creative when link hunting. (You’ll be getting links nobody else is even asking for.)
Want a Free .edu Link? How about 64,200?

Have You Got Something To Say?

From 101 Website Marketing Ideas

Try to build other websites that revolve around your primary niche. Use them to better market and infuse brand and traffic into your primary website. I’m not talking about building scraper websites. Build quality content ones, and invest money and time and work hours in them. But in the end, just make them a vehicle that you will use to better market your primary website.

Creating Custom 404 Error Pages
WebsiteMagazine.com

- Next, save the text file and rename it on the server to .htaccess (with nothing preceeding the dot)

- Then create an actual error page for surfers to see when they are unable to access the file they initially intended to see. It helps considerably to have a page that your users will be familair with such as one using the same design, layout, etc. You may want to include links to alternate locations within your site and possibly a search box to help them locate specific pages. Upload the error page to your server.

- Finally, visit a page you know does not exist. You should be able to see the error page you created.

Advanced Error Page Techniques:

- If you are receiving multiple requests for a missing page you can make your .htaccess file redirect any requests for missing pages to their new location. Add a line for each one in your .htaccess file that says 'Redirect /oldpage.htm /newpage.htm'. Use the full path name if the old or new files are in directories.