SEOpittfall » serps

Measuring the Value of Page Elements for Search Engine Rankings

pittfall — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:49:11 +0000

It might seem elementary, but there isn’t much study around the value of the various HTML page elements in search engine results pages (SERPs). For SEO professionals there are always discussions about what is and isn’t indexed and used as a value for search engine rankings. In fact, it has been discussed at length as [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Measuring the Value of Page Elements for Search Engine Rankings

The Pitfalls of SEO – SEO Simplified

pittfall — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:38:57 +0000

Sometimes it is easy to get lost in the details of SEO. This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball. You got it? - Bull Durham Don’t get me wrong, SEO does require some advanced techniques to compete in most of the top areas, but it does boil down [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

The Pitfalls of SEO – SEO Simplified

Link Building Tips – Google Alerts

pittfall — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:09:47 +0000

Link building is one of the most important and most difficult tasks in SEO. The most difficult thing to do is to get others to talk about your site and publish a link to your site, hopefully with anchor text, or alt element for image links, that contains a keyword that is important to your [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Link Building Tips – Google Alerts

The Pitfalls of SEO – Keywords

pittfall — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:59:31 +0000

Keywords – Tools to Online Success Many of us in the online marketing community look at keywords as a synonym of a real key that “unlocks” traffic, however, I rather like to look at keywords as actual tools that gives your website the ability to open more than just doorways to additional traffic. Let me explain: Keywords, [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

The Pitfalls of SEO – Keywords

The Pitfalls of SEO – Analytics

pittfall — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:09:55 +0000

Not knowing what to expect, in some cases can be really exciting, like river rafting or hiking or exploring a reef while snorkeling, however, when it comes to your website it can be more important to have a better perspective on what to look forward to and what to look out for especially when your [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

The Pitfalls of SEO – Analytics

Further Study on the Value of Image Optimization

pittfall — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:25:10 +0000

Yes, yet another test, and I will return to the rest of the link development series soon, but I have been sitting on this test for some time and I thought you deserve to see the results. The last test on the value of image optimization was limited to Google and Yahoo only and utilized the [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Further Study on the Value of Image Optimization

Link Building Via Content Development

pittfall — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:41:07 +0000

Maybe you have heard some of the cliches about content: If you build it they will come! Content is King! Really? Yes, it is true. However, what most of the people that use these and other cliches about content development and link acquisition fail to share the details about what content development can directly impact link building. Great content [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Link Building Via Content Development

Directory Submissions for Success

pittfall — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:31:54 +0000

Welcome to the third post in my latest series, Holistic Link Building 101. When it comes to building a website for SEO success, link development is an extremely important part of an effective online marketing strategy. Two important questions about link development regarding directory submissions: 1. Are directory submissions still a relevant tactic and worth [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Directory Submissions for Success

Holistic Link Building Defined

pittfall — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:55:35 +0000

In my last post, Holistic Link Building 101, the beginning of a series of post was embarked upon and the topic is very subjective. When it comes to building a website for SEO success, however, link building or development is an extremely important part of an effective online marketing strategy. Like other SEO tactics, holistic [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Holistic Link Building Defined

Holistic Link Building 101

pittfall — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:52:13 +0000

Link building is one of the most challenging aspects of SEO and it doesn’t appear that some people really get it, but that is no different than most SEO concepts. A lot of people find a nugget of SEO wisdom, apply thought, reason and ride it like a horse until it can easily become apparent [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Holistic Link Building 101

Server Responses – The What and Why for SEO

pittfall — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:36:38 +0000

Sometimes not understanding why a website isn’t performing well can be a difficult thing to figure out. However, many times it is important to take a step back and look at what signals can be seen. When looking for technical concerns can appear to be a daunting task, however, we are going to review server [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Server Responses – The What and Why for SEO

Long Live No Follow

pittfall — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:00:26 +0000

In a recent post at SEOmoz, by Will Critchlow of Distilled, entitled Nofollow is Dying: The Impact of Micro-Blogging and Nofollow on SEO, is a review the overuse of the nofollow link attribute in online publishing by webmasters and 3rd party sites like WordPress.com, Blogger.com and Twitter and it’s impact on SEO for everyone. Before [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Long Live No Follow

Die Duplicate Content Die!

pittfall — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:41:51 +0000

What does canonical mean? According to a biology glossary from the University of Arizona it is “repetitive; repeating in different forms“. So, what does it mean to online publishers? Simply, duplicate content. How does duplicate content exist, what is it’s impact on search engines and, more importantly, how does it affect online publishers in search engine results? I know that [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Die Duplicate Content Die!

Measuring the Value of ALT and Title Elements of Image Tags

pittfall — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:00:13 +0000

Not a great title, I know, but accurate. Recently, I began a test of the ALT and Title elements in the img html tag. Here is the breakdown of the testing: Conducting the research by creating a page on the topic of “dogs” that has the same image of a Dalmatian that link to four separate pages. [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Measuring the Value of ALT and Title Elements of Image Tags

Next Step in Universal Search

pittfall — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:12:43 +0000

In my most recent post, I wrote of the need for relevancy in search results and it being the biggest determining factor for switching your preferred search engine (based upon survey by JP Morgan). However, much of the changes that have impacted SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) in the past few years have had more [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Next Step in Universal Search

Relevancy – The Ultimate Google Killer

pittfall — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:54:00 +0000

A study recently compiled and released by JP Morgan, 2009 Internet Investment Guide, included some interesting insight into search, advertising and online behavior including a “potential search deal likely between Yahoo! and Microsoft.” Even as the idea that Yahoo! and anyone might happen, there is more important implications of the research data that isn’t as [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Relevancy – The Ultimate Google Killer

Bounce – Better Than SearchWiki?

pittfall — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:27:37 +0000

Looking at the search landscape over just the past few months, it can be easy to see that professional SEO is not for the faint of heart. Search engines are always trying to make adjustments to their results and offerings to differentiate themselves from their competition, just like other competing businesses. For those of us [...]

Copyright © 2010, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.com

Bounce – Better Than SearchWiki?

WTF – Malware in SERPs?

pittfall — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:58:08 +0000

Recently, Google Webmaster Central Blog republished a post from the Google Online Security Blog highlighting that Google is taking a step in protecting you from malware by warning you in listings (image on the right). You may be familiar with this type of warning, Yahoo! has been using a beta product from McAfee (SearchScan) to highlight [...]

Fishing for Links

pittfall — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:48:31 +0000

In October of last year, Google made some major adjustments to PageRank because of paid links, then in November, Google noted that buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and asked for webmasters to report them. I have heard, since this time, from a few sources, that this [...]

Anatomy of Organic Listing Snippets in the SERPs and Outlining Best Practices

pittfall — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:42:08 +0000

When returning results to a user, search engines use various resources based upon the particular search or query. The basic information published on a Web page may not be visible to a user, even when the page is displayed in an Internet browser, such as Internet Explorer or FireFox. Some of this information is used [...]

Google Search within Search – User Assistance or Retailer Handicap?

pittfall — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:31:51 +0000

Google recently began experimenting with a new site search box within results: Through experimentation, we found that presenting users with a search box as part of the result increases their likelihood of finding the exact page they are looking for. So over the past few days we have been testing, and today we have fully rolled [...]

A Note on Wikipedia – The Social Encyclopedia

pittfall — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:36:27 +0000

Once again Wikipedia is getting buzz from educators and marketers alike. Linda O’Connor regards Wikipedia the same way former first lady Nancy Reagan campaigned against drugs. She urges people to “Just Say No.” The Great Meadows (N.J.) Middle School librarian hasn’t been a fan of the online encyclopedia for years. This fall, she decided it was time to [...]

Google’s Sitelinks Become More Transparent

pittfall — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:05:35 +0000

Today, over at Google Webmaster Central, Search Quality made an announcement about webmasters providing feedback about what sitelinks they provide to users for your website and which links you may want to remove. Now, Webmaster Tools lets you view potential sitelinks for your site and block the ones you don’t want to appear in Google search [...]

What Does College Football have in Common with SERPs?

pittfall — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:40:04 +0000

It is college football season, if you haven’t noticed. Everyone is wearing their Alma Mater colors’ and talking up their team’s successes and being quiet after losses. There have been some real differences this season as opposed to many from the last 10+ years. Namely, the teams that were expected to be dominating on the [...]

Did Google Drop the Open Directory

pittfall — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:58:46 +0000

Just about four weeks ago I posted about the plight of a fellow blogger named Shoemoney and an alleged extortion attempt by a proclaimed editor of the directory. Now, I have not been exactly defending the open directory in its value with the major search engines like Ask, Google, MSN and Yahoo (in alphabetical order [...]