Tag: SEO

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Using HubSubHubBub to Tag Your Content for Google

Writters Need to Follow These Important Steps to Tag Their Content
Writers Need to Follow These Important Steps to Tag Their Content

On Monday I spoke a little about HubSubHubBub which Google recommends as a way to push out to the Web and tag your unique content to protect your AuthorRank for organic placement. In this post I want to dive a little deeper into this topic to help you understand how using these tools can help you with organic placement.First, I recommend that if you are a blogger that you set up your feed to be delivered by Feedburner which is a Google property. It is easy to set up and account and migrate your blog feed to Feedburner. You’ll end up with a feed that looks like this: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/TheWebAuthority instead of a WordPress generated feed that would look like http://www.mccordweb.com/weblogs/feed.xml. Make sure to select in the publicize tab to connect your feed to PingShot so you are pushing your content out.

Second, use the FD Feedburner Plugin for WordPress to override all settings in your blog platform to point to your new Feedburner RSS feed. It is simple to do once you have your Feedburner account set up.

Third, set up an account at FriendFeed. This is a fairly old application but one that I like and with the ability to push content to it now with Feedburner it operates as a hub for HubSubHubBub which will tag your content. At Feedburner make sure to link not your blog URL, but rather to link your Feedburner feed URL. This action completes the process to tie everything neatly together.

Here’s a great article I found that taught me how to take these steps for my own blog as part of my research for this post. I’d like to thank Jorge Escobar for his excellent article and tips. You can also watch this video about HubSubHubBub to understand why using these protocols are now best practices for any blog and writer.

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Google and Unique Content Authorship

This is a very interesting video from Matt Cutts about who gets credit for content when someone steals your content.

If you wrote content, someone steals and changes a date stamp to appear that they were the originator of the content what can you do. Matt addresses several scenarios in this excellent video.

First, Google will try to see who is the content owner by not only the actual content, but by co-citation on the web. I personally feel this is also why posting your blog out on Twitter and Facebook is important to link your content to your own web properties.

Second, taking time to let other sites know via a DCMA notice that they need to remove your copyrighted content although time consuming can be well worth the time. I have actually had web hosts take down full websites until the owner removed the infringing content. That is sure to get a thief’s notice when they will not respond to your take down notice!

If you can’t see the YouTube embedded video from Matt Cutts watch it online at YouTube.

Third, consider using PubSubHubBub protocols to push your content from your blog out to interested parties tagging your content early on the Web before scrapers can get it.

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SEO’s Take a New Strategy with Anchor Text

Don't get nailed by Google's Penguin filters
Don’t get nailed by Google’s Penguin filters

It used to be pre-Penguin era, that you researched your keywords and then actively worked to include the keywords you wanted to place on organically in your anchor text. For some of you who are reading, anchor text is the actually text that is shown that is underlined in a hyperlink. Now, to prevent link spam penalties on Google.com, you’d better mix up your anchor text!How So?

Now it is a big no-no to constantly repeat the same anchor text in on-site and off-site efforts. In fact some SEO’s are moving to general terms such as visit our website, click here, find out more instead of very targeted keyword uses such as Maryland SEO firm, or SEO experts. Google actually recommends using descriptive text for links and not the very general click here types of use. However, some SEOs are trying to mitigate overly optimized strategies now by introducing generic links to move their SEO client sites out from underneath Google’s microscope. Here’s a great article I’ve found that really expounds on that topic. 

So what’s a website owner to do in regards to anchor text?

1. Make sure you do not use the same three to five phrases of anchor text in your website and off-site efforts starting now!

2. Mix it up, use generic text as well as descriptive, but not keyword dense phrases. Consider the reader, use what works best and is descriptive of the link versus a set phrasing albeit even in unnatural wording to not be hit by Google’s Penguin filters.

3. Work to increase your visibility on the web so co-citation can work for you for organic placement. Google is very smart now, you don’t need to spoon feed keywords important to your traffic; rather take time to let others share your content and Google will understand what you do through these offsite mentions.

Just a few tips to help you take a new direction. If you need more concrete help to move your website into becoming a web authority site, make sure to check with McCord Web Services.

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Keyword Blackout in Google Analytics Makes It Hard to Know Your Traffic

Over six months ago, Google announced that for users signed into their Google account using https:// at Google.com Google, would no longer have their search terms or activity shown in Google Analytics. Matt Cutts at that time mentioned that this would not be a big impact for website analysis but would however provide secure searches for users.

Fast forward now about six months, and if you are like me, in Google Analytics I cannot see upwards of 54% of my website traffic’s search keywords. That’s no small number! So, what’s a website owner to do to understand what is happening on his or her website and to try to know what keywords are popular to your web presence.

Here are three things you can to to try to get more keyword data:

1. Make sure to link your Google Analytics account with your Google Webmaster control panel account and verify your access. When you do this, Google Analytics will show more keyword information under the Search Engine Optimization links from the left side bar. Although this is simply not as much data as before, it does give you additional insight into the traffic and keywords popular for your website.

2. In Google Analytics add query parameters to you can track activity on your own site search function. This article found at SiteProNews written by Nell Terry explains how to do just that; track searches in Analytics.

3. Advertise on Google AdWords for keyword and conversion keyword discovery. Using AdWords, and if you link your AdWords account to Google Analytics the data will flow into the section called traffic and then advertising and will give you more keyword insights.

Unfortunately with keyword blackout in Google Analytics, and the “not set” descriptor, even site owners find it hard to understand what keywords are driving search traffic. However, these tips will allow you to glean a little bit more knowledge into what is driving your own traffic so you can further evaluate activity and change accordingly.