The Ecommerce Blog

One of the most problematic and confusing issues most webmasters have with Google concerns linking. How your links are ranked? How you should link out? How you should construct your internal links? How you should get more inbound links? How many links should you have on a page? And the list of questions goes on…

Perhaps, the most annoying aspect for the struggling webmaster, has been Google’s secrecy in how it actually ranks links and pages. Google’s whole PageRank and Ranking Algorithm is so complex that no one can fully boast they understand how the whole system works.

Google’s ranking secrecy and complexity has probably been well-planned mainly because there are millions of webmasters who would like to “game” the Google Algorithm and achieve high keyword rankings through manipulation with so-called “black-hat” SEO techniques and reverse engineering.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if this whole secrecy and complexity is more of a smokescreen rather than an actual deception on Google’s part. What if the keys to the kingdom are actually yours for the taking? What if the solution is hiding in plain sight for everyone to see? What if the secret to high rankings in Google is not a secret at all? Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

Actually, that’s not a far-fetched assumption to make, mainly because many of Google’s linking policies and recommendations are freely given by Google. Whether you can believe Google is actually giving you the goods is another issue that we’ll put on the back-burner for another day; but for now, Google’s advice on link building is rather generous and informative.

As a part of Links Week held recently, Google’s Maile Ohye gave some pointers on what Google is looking for and how it does its index ranking. No big surprise that content and inbound links are the two most important factors. This is what most SEO experts have been saying for years.

A site’s content is one of the main factors. Therefore, you should have a compelling site with interesting information and/or offer quality products, entertainment, opinions…

(Quoting Maile Ohye)

“One of the strongest ranking factors is my site’s content. Additionally, perhaps my site is also linked from three sources — however, one inbound link is from a spammy site. As far as Google is concerned, we want only the two quality inbound links to contribute to the PageRank signal in our
ranking.”

“Given the user’s query, over 200 signals (including the analysis of the site’s content and inbound links as mentioned above) are applied to return the most relevant results to the user.”

“As many of you know, relevant, quality inbound links can affect your PageRank (one of many factors in our ranking algorithm). And quality links often come naturally to sites with compelling content or offering a unique service.”

(End Quote)

Then Maile Ohye explained further how to create unique and compelling content for your site:

(Quoting Maile Ohye)

- Start a blog: make videos, do original research, and post interesting stuff on a regular basis. If you’re passionate about your site’s topic, there are lots of great avenues to engage more users.

- Teach readers new things, uncover new news, be entertaining or insightful, show your expertise, interview different personalities in your industry and highlight their interesting side. Make your site worthwhile.

- Participate thoughtfully in blogs and user reviews related to your topic of interest. Offer your knowledgeable perspective to the community.

- Provide a useful product or service. If visitors to your site get value from what you provide, they’re more likely to link to you.

(End Quote)

SEO experts have been telling webmasters for years that creating valuable, unique, relevant useful content is one of the best ways to get your site and pages highly ranked in Google. If you create valuable content, then other sites will want to link to you naturally.

Linking out to other sites should be done in a “common sense” manner and it’s a way of offering value to your visitor’s experience. We expect helpful relevant links when we visit other sites since it’s a natural way a good quality site should work; so be careful of linking out to spammy sites that only offer pages of links with very little or no unique content.

There are several things every prudent webmaster should be checking like making sure your site hasn’t been hacked and hidden links placed on your site without your knowledge; those with WordPress blogs should be installing the latest security measures and updates. Make sure you keep checking all your outbound links regularly since you may initially link out to a valuable resource, but over time this page may be closed or replaced with one of those spammy-links-holding pages. It can happen to the best of us.

What has confused things lately is all the “link buying” which Google greatly discourages and has shown its displeasure by de-ranking many paid directories. The size of your “wallet” shouldn’t be the determining factor in how pages and content are ranked. If you’re selling a link, it should have the “no-follow” tag so that it doesn’t pass PageRank along and confuse the system. Policing or deciding what is or what is not a “paid link” has become a major problem for the search engines, including Google.

You should not have more than “100 links on a page” as this can overload the search engine robots that regularly crawl the web, indexing pages. Likewise, your site’s “linking architecture” should be natural and easy for both your visitors and the robots to follow. Make sure your important pages are no more than a few clicks away from your homepage.

As to interior linking, the two main points being: Intuitive Navigation for your visitors and Crawlable Text Links for the search engine robots. Use descriptive anchor text links that explain your content to your visitors. The anchor text is the underlined clickable part of the link and many SEO experts suggest you place your keywords or variations of them in your anchor text.

Make sure your site is transparent. Do not use “link cloaking” on your site. Make sure what your visitor sees is what the robots are indexing. Use a 301 Redirect if you have permanently moved any webpages. Again, there is stressed the need for a sitemap as this can be very helpful for both your visitors and robots to see and find all your valuable content. Make sure you have a sitemap and all your
important pages are listed on it.

One final note, many professional webmasters and marketers don’t worry about PageRank as much as they are concerned with SERPs. Getting those top rankings for their sites in the search engine results is what really matters. Again, quality content and building quality links play an important role in achieving those top spots and maybe Google has already given you the formula for getting them. Maybe, maybe not.

About the Author
The author is a full-time online marketer who runs numerous web sites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest web marketing tools try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com Discover more about linking and ranking directly from Google here: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com 2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Your Largest Investment Isn’t Just Your Home Anymore

When you consider the amount of time, effort, money and energy you put into your blog weekly if not daily, it’s time to look at this as an investment. If you’re working on your blog twenty or more hours a week, consider it a job. While your blog may not be paying you by the hour, the benefits long term could be substantial. In the future, websites and blogs that are established and ‘well built’ will likely see a steady income or nice resale value.

2. Maintenance Is Vital

If you let the roof, gutters, driveway and plumbing on your home go without upkeep, it will gradually turn into a money pit. This holds true with your online real estate. A fresh coat of paint equals fresh content. Cleaning out the gutters twice a year is the same as checking your backlinks and removing dead links on your site. Don’t wait until things start to collapse and die before freshening up and making needed repairs. It becomes too difficult if you do it all at once. Set a maintenance schedule and try to stick with it. Google will love you and so will your readers.

3. Choose The Right Colors

You wouldn’t paint your house pink, blue and red, and you probably shouldn’t paint your blog those colors either. Choose colors that complement your style, topic and personality. Stay away from color combinations that are too busy or don’t match. Stick with a basic three color scheme and accent your call to actions properly. If your blog is too noisy and distracting, guests may be drawn to and pay more attention to your neighbors (The competition.)

4. Location, Location, Location

Those three annoying but oh, so true real estate words. If you’re not on the search engines, you may as well pack up and move. Go watch television or take a sewing class. Successful blogging may not be for you. If you’re just blogging for fun, fine, don’t bother reading the rest of this. You must at least attempt to hone in on a niche. Dedicate a good portion of your blog to one subject and optimize for it. Select the main two to five keywords you want to rank for and go at it. Don’t lose focus and forget about obtaining traffic or you’ll be writing for no one. If you’re not located in the top ten on Google for anything, chances are your traffic will dwindle down to just your cousin and mother. Neat.

5. Widget Filled Sidewalks

When people approach your home, there needs to be a smooth walkway upon entry. Tripping hazards and clutter will detract guests from the true beauty of your home. If you have great content but it’s surrounded by too many ads, widgets and other animated garbage, your visitors may instantly be overwhelmed and focus primarily on the distractions. While you want your ads and fluff to be seen, you don’t want anyone tripping all the way to the big X in the sky. Find a happy medium and don’t bombard your visitors with screaming clutter.

6. There Goes The Neighborhood

Tacky decor, messy living spaces or half naked roommates isn’t what you’d likely want anyone visiting your home or blog to encounter. Not all readers have the same taste. Appealing to all may not be what you’re trying to achieve, but you can likely increase your on page viewing time and return visitors by cleaning up at least some of the smut. If nude images, foul language or distasteful ads are the first thing readers see when entering your site, some may be offended. Monitor and remove explicit ads and surround your anger or harsh language with well written content. Nobody likes a rant without substance. If you’re vulgar and that’s your niche, try to build up to it and let them read a little before getting slammed in the face all at once.

7. Ur Adress Iz Missin’ A Numbah!

There’s this nifty tool online called spell check. Especially if you’re a blogger without a solid English base, you should try to pay attention to grammar and spelling. It’s very hard to capture a sale or serious audience if you sound like a third grader. Drop your post in Word or use your browser to detect errors before publishing. Get to know and become friends with Firefox. Save the text talk for never and use short cuts only while running away from gangs with guns.

8. Interior Looks Great But The Curb Appeal Sucks

“Click Here To Enter.” … Why? I clicked on your link to enter. I typed your keywords into a search engine to enter. I filled the white box at the top of my screen with your URL to enter. Let me enter! I don’t want to click another anything to get to your information. Online users want things yesterday. The least you can do is give it to them now. If your website is well designed and offers great navigation, don’t hide it. Make your homepage deliver right away.

9. Nobody Is Knocking On Your Door

Gee, I wonder why? Let’s see… You have no contact me, about me, phone number or email present. Your call to action is key to being accessible, personable and connectible. This is most important if you’re trying to sell something. If your readers can’t find where to contact you, what’s the point? If you want your visitors to know more about you and trust you as an authority, you have to clear off your porch and give them a place to knock. Some will want to email you or inquire personally. You may be missing out on advertising, linking or networking opportunities. Secluding yourself from the public is a good way to limit your future success, Grizzly Adams.

10. Thou Shalt Not Kidnap Thy Guests

It should be on a blogging commandment list somewhere. I’ll leave that up to the blogging Gods, but if your visitors want to leave, let them! Don’t force them to listen to your music, x out of pop up ads, or register just to read your content or get more information. Remember the golden rule while adding this nonsense-maligarnomy to your site. Author’s Note: The term “Maligarnomy” was specifically designed for use in this post only. Unauthorized usage of the term maligarnomy without prior consent is not permitted. With that being said, don’t borrow content for your blog without properly crediting the author or owner of photos. It’s similar to stealing your neighbor’s flowers directly from their yard. It’s just something you don’t do…

About the Author
Cecilia Sherrard maintains and runs the largest Cleveland Real Estate website and also writes for the Ohio Real Estate Blog A full time Realtor since 2002, the YouShouldOwn.com team of agents assist home buyers and sellers all over Ohio and throughout the country.

Text Format

Important details that you should consider when writing for the Web

When you’re browsing the Web for information, you’re coming across variously structured pages. Some contain the exact information that you need, while others are full of details that prove to be inconclusive. The rule of thumb when writing for the Web is to keep the information well structured, and to respect some basic, very simple directions. Failure to do so will result in web users never attempting to access your web page again.

Theoretical Basis

In 1997, John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen have conducted a study to determine the way users read various texts on the Web. Their conclusion was that people tend not to read the text thoroughly, but they scan it instead. They browse through it, looking for the relevant information at the surface.

Web users are people that want to find information as quickly as possible. They seem to prefer short, right-to-the-point pages, and factual information to the overcharged, insipid and sometimes incomprehensible (due to the hyped language) “marketing fluff” that characterizes most of the writings that populate the Web nowadays.

The quality, credibility and relevance of the information are of utmost importance. Failure to satisfy any of these needs will determine users to never access a web page that has not provided concise, scannable and objective information.

In support of the above, the following paragraphs will attempt to cover some of the most important details that you should consider when writing for the web.

Text Format

• Sections

Since scanning is the universally accepted norm for web texts, do try to make your text short, or, if not possible, split it into sections/chunks with relevant headings and subheadings. Web users are usually in a hurry. They need bite-size information, and fast. Help them and you will also do yourself a favor.

• Headings and Subheadings

The first heading on the page is the most important. It tells the reader why the text is worth reading.
The next headings that you use must have more of an objective value than a stylistic one. They should sum up the content of the corresponding paragraph or sub-paragraph.

• Bulleted and Numbered Lists

The purpose of the bulleted lists should be to make information more obvious. It also contributes to reducing the amount of text on the web page and improves scannability. Information that is obvious is easier to remember.

For example (See our Usability Evaluation Services):
The usability concept
A usable sales website is one where:

• Your visitors can easily find what they are looking for;
• Your answers to frequently asked questions are helpful and easy to locate;
• Your ordering system is easy to use and intuitive;
• Your visitors feel comfortable trusting you, the company that operates the website.

• Tables

A table that contains relevant results of a study, for example, can be useful. It draws the reader’s attention and also adds to the scannability of the text. Tables of contents are also useful, since they give users the opportunity to see right from the beginning if the information that they are looking for could be found in the text.

• Captions

When you write for Web users, include pictures, tables, flowcharts, or diagrams in the page structure to support the text. Make sure that you also insert captions that identify the illustrations or table. Remember though that illustrations need captions only when the context is not clear enough.

• Links

Use links to support the text’s credibility. According to the nature of the text on your web page, you could provide links to glossaries that explain certain terms and concepts that you use in your text or to resources that you have used.

Nevertheless, refrain from using too many links. Users may think that what they read does not have a significant personal touch, and this will affect the credibility of your text. Avoid using terms such as “Click here” or “follow this link”.

If your text is long, or split on several pages, add navigation links to other sections in your text, as this also improves scanning. Always make sure that you have no broken links (either internal or external) and that it is clear enough where the internal links will take the Web user.

• Highlighting

If you want to bring something to your reader’s attention and add to the scannability of the text, highlighting is a good policy. Highlight only key information-carrying words. Do not highlight entire sentences or long phrases because a reader that scans your page is only able to pick 2-3 words at a time, and larger chunks of highlighted words may become tiresome.

Highlight words by using:

• boldface characters
• italics
• colors
• upper case letters

Text Content

• Clarity

Writing for the web means that you have to be a good organizer. The information that you will place on your page for the whole world to see must be carefully organized. Use words that make sense to the audience. Use simple, meaningful language.

Check your spelling (use a spell checker). You wouldn’t want your readers to encounter something like “Our software provides state-of-the-art soultions that “?.

Use correct grammar. Make sure that you know the difference between “it’s” (contracted form of “it is” or “it has”) and “its” (possessive pronoun, 3rd person singular), between “you’re” (contracted form of “you are”) and “your” (possessive pronoun, 2n person singular and plural), or between “they’re” (contracted form of “they are”), “there” (adverb of place, antonym of “here”), and “their” (possessive pronoun, 3rd person plural). These examples may sound a bit “too much”, but you’d be surprised how often they occur.

Avoid word play (puns), euphemisms and metaphors: you could be taken literally. Also, think of your non-native speaker audience. If you have to have abbreviations in your text, use only the standard ones. If you use your own abbreviations, explain them (between brackets), at least once in the beginning.

• Quantity

Since web users are usually people in a hurry, they need information that can be seized easily. Limit each paragraph to only one idea (topic sentences). Be concise: web readers prefer short texts, from which they can extract the information with minimal effort. Studies show that web reading is slower than regular reading by 25%. The information that you offer must be condensed enough to fit in one screen. Users don’t enjoy scrolling too much. They want to get the information fast, so web texts must have half the word count used when writing for print.

• Relevance

Do not overcharge your page with information. Provide only what is necessary. The text that you write for the web page must be relevant for the target audience, organized in an intuitive manner. The short bits of text that constitute your paragraphs must be self-explanatory, so that your readers will understand your point on the spot and will not require much mental effort to do that, or additional information to support them.

• Style
  • Verbs
    Use active verbs (provide, assess, implement, focus, validate, etc.) rather than passive ones (is being done, are solved, were built). Active verbs give a sense of vivacity to the text, which becomes more energetic and powerful.
  • Pronouns
    Use “you” rather than “I”, “we”. Like this you will show readers that they are the target, and your text will have a greater impact on them.
  • Language
    Use easily understandable language, with familiar, everyday words, short and simple sentences.
    Avoid jargon by all means: jargon is usually technical or abbreviated and difficult to understand for people not in the profession.
    Establish a balance between promotional (marketing) style and the useful information that you include in your text. For example, when writing a presentation web page for a product, it is understandable that it is meant to help sell the product. Nevertheless, avoid marketing exaggerations and overstatements. Too much enthusiasm can be a turn-off. Refrain from using (too much) humor. All Web users have different perceptions on humorous instances.
  • Keywords
    Identify the keywords in your text. Highlight them to add to the scannability of the text and to add to the probability of your web page being found much easier when searching the Web.
  • Graphics
    Graphical elements must complement text. Insert only images that have relevance to the text, and avoid full-page graphics, as they can take quite a while to load and this gets users annoyed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It is not easy to learn how to write for the Web in an appropriate, professional manner. In principle, if you respect at least the most important principles according to which this activity can be performed, you may find yourself on the right track. Whenever you have to write something for the web, remember that people may not want to spend long minutes or even hours to read everything you have to say on a particular topic. They do not have, or don’t want to have, time to waste on reading long, exhaustive paragraphs, as they want only the “cold facts”.

Web texts should be like the instructions for microwave food:

• Insert food in oven
• Heat for x seconds
• Serve

Users prefer summaries or “inverted pyramid” style texts. Start with the conclusion, and then continue with the details. Thus you are sure that if the users gets bored along the way and close the web page, at least there’s something they have already read and from which they could actually benefit.

About the Author
Copyright © 2006, www.avangate.com all rights reserved. This article was written by a Web Marketing Specialist at Avangate B.V. Avangate is an eCommerce platform for electronic software distribution incorporating an easy to use and secure online payment system plus additional marketing and sales tools.