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Chris Smith Speaks on SEO for Bloggers

Daniel Dessinger — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:13:22 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

March 30, 2008

Christ Smith has just taken the stage. We will begin coverage immediately. Please refresh this page to see more coverage as it unfolds.

Chris Smith specializes in local optimization. He contributes to SearchEngineLand.com and WebProNews.com.

Optimizing Your Blog

Beef up your internal hierarchical linking structure

tag clouds and tag pages (ultimate tagwarrior plugin)
related posts (contextual related posts plugin)
top 10 posts
next & previous posts

Build inbound links

add technorati tags to your posts (claim your blog first)
get onto bloggers' blogrolls
trackbacks and comments won't help with link gain in most cases

Compelling Illustrations make articles interesting. If you post photos to Flickr and link to your blog as a source of the photo, you can get some traffic and rankings from it. Photos need to be visually engaging.

Hop on a PR Feeding Frenzy

hop on it early
say something significant (don't just rehash the same info)
link over to other top blog posts (Google blog search)
watch top stories mentioned by Techmeme and comment on them

Note: I know people who have done this and made money strictly from this.

Research Jeff Crilley for tips on gaining publicity.

Link to your blog from LinkedIn.

Title Tags

put your blog name at the end of the title tag, not the beginning
tag name should go in the title on a tag page
customize with additional keywords for display only on your home page
override title tags with a custom one (SEO Title Tag plugin) (note: his company, NetConcepts, created this plugin)

URLs

Rewrite to contain keywords, using hyphens not underscores
301 redirect from yourblog.com to www.yourblog.com (canonicalization)
maintain legacy URLs even after switching blog platforms

Keyword rich domain names and blog titles are helpful.

Anchor Text

make the post's title a link to the permalink page
internally link back to old, relevant posts within the body of a blog post. use keywords for your anchor text

Header Tags (h1, h2)

category names on category pages
yes for post titles, no for post dates

Sticky Posts

always appear at the top of the page
adhesive plugin

Add author profile page and author links for group blogs

Add nofollows to trackbacks and comments where you don't vouch for a site.

Ping search engines with each new blog post – pingomatic.com, etc

Optimizing Feeds

use full text, not summaries
20 or more items (not just 10)
multiple feeds
keyword rich item
brand name in the item
compelling site description

End of session. I need caffeine.

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Perhaps I Could Use Some Reputation Management

Daniel Dessinger — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:16:43 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 13, 2007

I wonder, seeing how so many search results for my name have to do with SEO “experts” criticizing one of my older articles. Not to mention the fact that any visitor to this site has no idea what to make of me. I am the definition of Random Man. I experienced this problem last January when I was looking for a job. Everyone I sent a resume to visited this website. They got all kinds of random insights into who I am. I’m sure they decided to find someone whose online reputation appears to be more consistent.

So be it. I’m no Seth Godin, but I understand the value of being true to self. A blog is a blessed and dangerous thing. It is my opportunity to leave behind a trace of my mental DNA. Perhaps something in it will make a difference to someone.

Random thought: I just remembered that I promised Karen I would post a list of tips on how to become a copywriter and I never finished. That’s what finding out you’re going to be a dad will do to a guy… everything else fades from memory.

Back to the point, the day will come when this blog (assuming it survives the years to come) stands alone as a rich source of interesting opinions, prose, and ramblings. This site already drives anywhere from 120 to 170 visitors per day, and that’s after having lost all search results for more than a month after I switched the blog platform from Blogger to WordPress.

I don’t really care what potential clients or employers think about this blog. At some point, you have to draw the line and say, “This is my area and no one else’s. This is my personal space – even if it’s public.” I’m having a blast with it. Who knows? I may even land a client for my current agency with it through this experiment I’m conducting for Papaya Clothing. If they notice how much I am promoting their site and collecting valuable information and recommendations from their customer base, perhaps they will hire us to complete their site (so their loyal customers can shop online).

With experiments ongoing and fatherhood approaching, I’m really looking forward to this blog. Maybe I’ll start getting traffic for baby related terms. You just never know.

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SEO Myth 1.5

Daniel Dessinger — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:37:40 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

October 12, 2006

It surprised me to hear that one or two people found and responded to my article, “Breaking SEO Myths Part One: The SEO Expert. You can imagine my surprise when, after ten months of having published this, I suddenly receive several email and blog responses on the topic. I’ve asked a couple non-SEO people to read both my article and the responses so that I could hear unbiased opinions. The majority consensus was that 1) my article was an entertaining read, 2) there were a few small sections I could have written less pointedly (more PC), and 3) there must be some very sensitive or paranoid people working in the industry to respond so strongly.

I wrote this article as a warning to business owners and decision makers everywhere. I wrote it because it should take more than a good sales pitch to win a client. I wrote this because an unregulated industry has no real accountability, and an expert without accountability succeeds on nothing more than his or her ability to make a sales pitch and the client’s blind faith. Am I claiming that all SEO firms and individuals are fakes, phonies, or shysters? No, and I said this in my article. I was not condemning an entire industry when I posted the article ten months ago. It’s when we fail to read each sentence and consider the context carefully that we come to faulty conclusions and poorly considered responses.

Who am I to criticize anyone? Well, fortunately for me, I don’t have to be an expert to criticize self-proclaimed experts (after all, if we followed that horrid logic, none of us would have the right to comment on politics, religion, terrorism, Medicare, education, or criminal justice unless there be a doctor/lawyer/priest/senator/terrorist out there among you). As far as talents, abilities, and interests lie, I am a writer/editor at heart. I love the English language.

As a copywriter, more than half of my clients have been interactive marketing / SEO companies. I have participated in two local interactive marketing / SEO associations, listened to the speakers, read my share of SEO articles, bought and read SEO books, etc. That does not mean I claim to be an expert. It means that I have sufficient exposure to the industry to have developed informed opinions. It’s not that I think the search engine optimization industry is in worse shape than all other industries.

But there are few checks and balances at present. The lack of checks and balances (i.e. regulation) means that no one is unequivocally qualified to claim expert status. Some people out there offer a free list of qualities that they think defines an expert. Of course, we have to trust such a person implicitly to take their word for it. Looks like we’re back to blind faith again.

As I’ve already mentioned, the primary purpose of “Breaking SEO Myths” was to warn potential clients about self-proclaimed search engine optimization experts. The secondary purpose was, if anything, to challenge SEOs to actually do something about the problem. So what is the problem? Well, there are many. I cannot possibly deal with all the problems or solutions in one article or post. Here are the top three problems I see with self-proclaimed expert SEOs:

No regulating agency. Simply put, no existing committee or organization fulfills the role of W3C for the SEO industry. Want a suggestion rather than just a list of problems? Here it is: Form a worldwide committee that functions for SEO like the W3C does for HTML/CSS. Sure, a regulatory committee/organization presents its own set of challenges and difficulties, but so does selecting the right SEO. Obviously, universal standards would be difficult to define in some areas due to the number of ways a task can be accomplished. If coming together to found a regulatory agency is impossible, then each SEO should be a little more humble and willing to admit that their credentials are based upon hearsay or repetition (How many people do I have to pitch, land, and practice open-heart surgery on before I become an expert?).

Because of the lack of a regulatory agency, most SEOs create alliances with other SEOs. They form small committees, organizations, blogs, chat rooms, and conferences. They write as much as they possibly can on the subject of SEO to increase exposure and the perception of authority (after all, if 80 websites post or quote your article, that makes you an expert, right? Oh, right! That’s how Google determines authority, and SEOs just happen to be experts at creating backlinks to improve the perception of authority and importance. How convenient.)

Because of the lack of a regulatory agency, people create service directories of the Top 5 or Top 10 agencies in a given field. This would be extremely helpful if only those directories weren’t offering placement for a price. For example, see topseos.com. Want to be listed in the Top 5 Organic Optimization List? If you’re willing to pay the price, you can be listed #1. They say that they will call three of your clients to ensure the quality of your work, but history has not proven this to be true. Doesn’t lend much credibility, does it? Not only does this reflect poorly on the people who created the site directory, but it reflects poorly on the companies paying to be listed as experts. Do you honestly think that a business owner is going to realize he or she is looking at paid placement advertising? It is one thing to list sponsors. It’s an entirely different thing to rank companies so as to show preference and recommendation. Websites like these are a far cry from the Better Business Bureau of SEO.

There you have it. I am not challenging the statement that many SEO companies are offering useful and helpful services to their clients. As they say, at the end of the day there are still only ten spots on the first page of each major search engine. There are certainly challenges to face, and many of which are unique to the client.

I recently accepted an SEO position at a local Dallas interactive agency. I met the president of the company in 2005 and worked on several projects for the agency over the past year. Taking someone at their word simply isn’t playing it smart, unless you have a strong relationship with someone who can vouch for them. Then again, if you have that benefit, this article isn’t meant for you anyway.

Some of the responses to my article indicate that there are more than a few SEOs out there who feel uncertain about their own right to claim expert status. The irony is amusing. And before another person reads this and gets all huffy, you can rest assured that I have never called myself an SEO expert. I work for a company that offers professional services.

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SEO and The Great Conversation

Daniel Dessinger — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:02:24 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

October 10, 2006

Some days I wonder how I get from point A to point B without tripping over my own feet. Other days it seems the world is my oyster. Then there are days when I’d rather be a cat… don’t ask. This, however, is not one of those days. What does that mean exactly? I honestly don’t know. But wouldn’t it be cool if I was a cat!?!?!

I’d like to thank each and every one of the people who have taken the time to send me an email these past two days. I am more than a little surprised at the response I’ve gotten for an article I wrote more than six months ago. I want to reassure you that I will be writing a response to Randfish’s blog post on SEOmoz. After reading through his post and many of the other people’s responses, I need a day or so to consider all of the suggestions and opinions.

Contrary to now popular belief, I prefer not to go shooting off at the mouth (or the blog) simply because someone else has something to say about my writing. I am reminded of The Great Conversation as taught by Dr. Davey Naugle of the former Pew College Society at DBU. He invited us to join into The Great Conversation by reading books written by some of the greatest minds of human history. He challenged us engage with the thoughts, ideas, and postulations of brilliant philosophers, novelists, poets, astronomers, playwrights, and scientists. We would borrow their thoughts, try them on for size, and keep the ones that fit.

While blogs are a far cry from The Great Conversation, they are yet an opportunity for us to engage each other on topics large and small, allowing even the most socially challenged to stand up and proclaim their heartfelt convictions and beliefs and, yes, even criticisms. I welcome you all to discuss what weighs heavily on your minds, whether it be the true standing of Search Engine Optimization in American/Global economics or the need for a faster and younger quarterback on the Dallas Cowboys (did I bias that one already? shoot!). Intelligent conversation is always welcome.

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Daniel Dessinger Joins VIZION Interactive

Daniel Dessinger — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:30:21 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

October 9, 2006

I decided to go against tradition and stick with a blog post rather than an interactive press release. It’s official: Monday, October 2nd was my first day at Vizion Interactive, Inc. It’s an exciting move – one full of possibilities. I’ve worked with the president of the company on several projects over the past year. Recently, he called me up and offered me a full-time position – something we had discussed at length back in January yet never acted on.

After the crucial discussion with my wife (I’m no fool), I accepted the position. I know that some people will think it ironic that I joined an interactive marketing company that specializes in SEO. I think it’s kind of ironic too. Quite a few SEO “experts” have left quite a bad taste in my mouth, but contrary to popular opinion, I don’t hold that against everyone in the profession.

I am a writer at heart, and so I prefer to write creatively as the “juices” flow. That’s great and all, but there are many other tasks to be accomplished in the interactive marketing space and I respect them for their level of difficulty and sheer necessity. With that said, I would like to thank the team for the warm welcome. I look forward to contributing where I can and learning quite a bit at the same time. The team is earning new and repeat business left and right, and it’s exciting to be on the team!

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My First Visit to the DFWSEM

Daniel Dessinger — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 15:35:13 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

December 25, 2005

I had the pleasure of attending a DFWSEM meeting in December. For those not in the know, that stands for Dallas / Fort Worth Search Engine Marketing Association. It was a cozy group of 15 to 20 people from almost as many different local companies. It was a great opportunity for me to meet new people in the interactive marketing and search engine optimization industry.

Since my decision to stick with copywriting, I’ve really enjoyed those SEO types much more. They do the keyword research and analytics while I get to use my talents based on the words they select. It’s a win/win for me.

Anyhow, while some may snub their noses at a smaller professional organization, I give them kudos! The atmosphere was very personable. I warmed up to several people much quicker than I would have if I was drowning in masses of scheming businessmen and women. These people (including the founders of the organization) were very friendly and more than willing to offer advice and help. Granted, some of their willingness to help may stem from the fact that I, as a copywriter, am not direct competition. On the contrary, I am a potential tool in their SEO arsenal. I am told that most search engine marketing firms are limited in growth potential because they have limited copywriting resources.

Well, if that be the case, here I am! I am willing and able to ease the burden. That is the beauty of specialization. By focusing strictly on writing and not SEO research, I can perform at faster speeds while maintaining a very high standard of copy quality. Web copywriting is a blast! I love it. Press release writing is just as enjoyable.

I have high expectations for this group of Search Engine Marketers. They run successful businesses and I look forward to working with many of them very soon.

More to come on The DFWSEM.

If you are looking for a search engine optimization organization in north Texas, visit them on the web at http://www.dfwsem.org. And tell them I sent you.

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