Bramblog

Title pretty much sums it up.  I checked http://seattleweekly.trulia.com/WA/Seattle/ for the user agent cloak, and it’s no longer there.  I checked for an IP cloak using the Google translator, and didn’t see one.  If they are using a good IP cloak, we wouldn’t be able to see it on the translator.  There is a possibility that they still have an IP cloak up, but it would take some time & resources to check for it.  If I get bored, I might do so.

One of the basics of SEO is checking links. It enables you to see how you stand with the competition, to keep tabs on the competition, and to gauge which keywords to go after. Everyone knows that Google won’t show you their true count of links w/o verifying ownership of the site, so this will focus on Yahoo commands.

Simple

link:www.mysite.com/page – this will give you the # of links to the specific page you run the search for.

linkdomain:mysite.com – this gives you the # of links to the domain in its entirety.

External Links Only

When you run the simple commands above, it’s a good “quick & dirty” but won’t give you the most accurate info. The most accurate info is “how many external links does this site have.” In order to find this info, use:

linkdomain:mysite.com -site:mysite.com

Exclude Specific Sites

Let’s say that you’re really active on a forum…you’re a moderator or something like that, and you have thousands of links from this one source. You’re getting some juice from these links, but not as much juice as you would if they were spread out elsewhere. So…to see how many links you have, excluding this one source (or two, or three) use the following command:

linkdomain:mysite.com – site:myforum.com -site:myfriendsblogroll.com

So…these are the basics. There are some more advanced features out there, but this will get you going!

It struck me that my notes from Pubcon were pretty much a list, and don’t make a lot of sense to anyone but me.  So I thought it might be a good idea to expand a bit.

The link building session was very good – it confirmed a lot of what I’m already doing, and gave me some new ideas, as well.  The bottom line of any good link building campaign is to pay for links – without money.  MC is on a tear after paid links (which I’ve never paid for monetarily, btw) so now, more than ever, we need to find other currency to trade.

So….what to trade….how about an “ego fit?”  Everyone has an ego, and everyone likes it to be fitted.  But how to trade this for links?

Create a “best of the web” award.  Whatever your niche might be, create a “best of my niche website” award.  You can give it out as frequently, or as sparingly as you like (or can get away with.)  Get with your favorite graphic designer, put together a cool looking banner, and start distributing online trophies!  Make sure to create a page about this week’s/month’s/year’s winner, and let them know they won.  Email them the graphic and watch your backlinks climb!

You trade a little ego satiation, and you get a lottta link love in return!

I saw this Google SERP heat map on Knox’s blog & thought it was pretty sweet.  It shows the CTR, and gives you an idea of how important #’s 1-3 are.

Link Building 101

1) Directories – only a few worthwhile
a. Yahoo
b. DMOZ
c. BOTW
d. Specialty (Industry Specific)
e. Business.com

2) Do-Follow Blog Commenting

3) Articles/Widgets/Tools

4) Analyze high ranking sites
a. Hubfinder by Aaron Wall
b. Common Backlink Tool – Jim Boykin “We Build Pages”
c. Linkdomain:competitor1.com – linkdomain:yoursite.com

5) Ask for links from related sites

6) Look up Search Engine Journal “20 Places to Submit Your Blog”

7) Paid Links from Blogs
a. Look for blogs w/ adsense below the fold – shows they want to monetize the site, but they’re probably not making a lot of money on it.

Paid Links
a. Relevance (page good, site better)
b. Purchase Annually

9) Buying Dead Websites
a. Search “temporarily down for maintenance”
b. Search “site is offline”
c. Contact the webmaster & offer to buy – it’s probably a deadbeat client
d. Look for underperforming websites
e. Search for “copyright 1999″ and things like that

10) Site of the Month
a. Search for “site of the month” + keyword – ask to be the site of the month

11) Google “google doesn’t know the face of evil”

12) Use the Ego Hook
a. Create “Top 100 Bloggers” – contact them, they will link to you

Originally titled “96 Forms of Linkbait,” this session was more of a “Link Bait 101.”

Common Forms of Linkbait

1)      Informational

2)      Controversial

3)      Humor

4)      News

5)      Tools

 Benefits of Linkbait

1)      Links

2)      Link Profile

3)      Traffic

4)      Branding

5)      Bookmarks

6)      Media Publicity

 Finding Ideas

1)      Run searches on the social bookmarking sites for ideas on what to write on.  What was popular.

 Creating Content

1)      KISS

2)      Lists

3)      Pictures

4)      Videos

5)      Example: myspace for rehab – wrote “The Most Dangerous Drug in the World”

Great list of pointers to follow when writing specifically for social media sites.  Very fickle readers, is key #1.

1)      Eye catching titles

2)      Image(s) above the fold

3)      Short, easy, scannable content

4)      Don’t make pages dead-ends.  Include links at the end.

5)      Don’t be a grinch – link to sites you’re not related to.

6)      Be topical & time sensitive.

7)      Solve someone’s problem.

      Use buttons/widgets to encourage linking/voting

9)      Everyone loves “top 10″ lists

10)  Make your list go to “11″

One of my friends recently launched WhoDelivers.com an online Austin Food Delivery website & directory.  It’s a really cool idea – basically, you get on the website, plug in your zip code, and it spits out all the restaurants that deliver to you (with their menu & reviews.)  He has a developer working on an app to take into account exact address & delivery radius to be even more accurate.

He’s seeing quite a bit of good traffic through PPC (pretty cheap, too) and his bounce rate is sick (as in good.)  He’s working on monetizing it, so I’ve basically been helping him w/ that, and with SEO.  His programmer put together the site with a really intuitive hierarchy, so it should crawl really well.  I introduced him to “anchor text” & PR, so he has the basics.  He won’t need too much link building in order to take on the guys showing up for local results.

Regardless…check it out.  If you’re in Austin, it’s a sweet service to use.  If you’re not in Austin, maybe he’ll expand to your area soon!

I’m putting together a new website for Steiner Ranch & I’m about 80% complete. I have the hard sections done – education, shopping, amenities, etc… and just have to write the unique, basic copy for the template sections – buy, sell, lease, etc…Â I’ve incorporated a bbpress forum, advertise it as a bulletin, and hope that residents will start using it as a super-local craigslist.

Steiner Ranch is a master-planned community in Austin that has ~3000 homes already constructed, and will have 4500 when it’s built out in ~3 years. My ericbramlett.com site ranks #1 for most Steiner Ranch related searches, and ranks behind the HOA & the developer site for “steiner ranch.”

So…I’ve seen some decent traffic from those terms & thought that it would be cool to build a neighborhood specific site. The SEO doesn’t look like it will be extremely difficult, and I’m a big believer that Google looks at the continuity of a website’s theme. Google’s obviously trying to go as local as possible, and searchers are becoming more & more savvy. “Power Searchers” are using the advanced search features to find exactly what they want.

It’s my feeling that super-niche sites are the wave of the future. Matt Cutts has expressed that webmasters should focus on owning one good site – but I think that it’s very powerful to have a specific niche site that a searcher will find that is exactly what they’re looking for.

So…check out LifeinSteiner.com & let me know what you think! I’ll let you guys know how well it converts (unless it’s incredible – then I’ll report that it’s awful )

My girlfriend & I went to dinner w/ Jim Olenbush & his wife last night.  We had a great time, and during the course of dinner, Jim let me know he’s going to PubCon, and that I ought to come along.  So…I booked my room today, and even persuaded my web designer friend, Wes Cox, to come along.  This will be my first SEO/SEM convention, and I think it will be really cool.  I’m particularly excited about the interactive site reviews they’re offering.  I’m going to spend the next month revising the sites I want reviewed (eb.com, osmetro.com, tantans.com, banyanliving.com) and will be anxious to get feedback.

The only downside is that it’s in Vegas – I f’ing hate Vegas.  I’ve been for business & for pleasure on a few diff’t occasions each, and I never have a good time.  DING DING DING DING.  That’s all you hear from the minute you get off the plane until you leave.  So…I’m going to spend the next few weeks trying to coordinate some activities that I will actually enjoy – I don’t particularly like to gamble, don’t like to lay out by the pool, and don’t like to shop…I do like the shows, but I’m not crazy about $200/ticket…we’ll see what I can come up with!