Page Rank, was it ever worth it?

It isn't often that I find a article worth linking to but I believe this is important to those people who struggle to understand how to get more traffic. In the SEO world it seems like little is ever explained about statements made revelant to how much we are charged for SEO work.

I personally have never believed much in Page Rank, I tend to go with Key Words and Key Phrases. Putting myself in the shoes of the seacher. In other words, if I'm looking for X product, what words would I use to find that product on the web; and it works.

I've posted an article here about Google and Page Rank. I hope it sheds a little light on the subject; there are some good comments also, I said "some" good comments. (I also posted a link here so you can read comments.)

Google Ditches PageRank in Webmaster Tools
By Chris Crum

Google has quietly gotten rid of PageRank in Webmaster Tools. Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable points to a thread featuring an explanation from Google Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa.

"We've been telling people for a long time that they shouldn't focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it's the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true," says Moskwa. "We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it."

Search marketers are wondering why Google tells people not to focus on PageRank and removes it from Webmaster Tools, but still keeps it in the Google Toolbar. "Back in 2007, Google wanted feedback on removing PageRank from the Toolbar," says Schwartz. "I felt it was a good idea but the idea died out. Google cannot remove PageRank from the Toolbar, it is too much of their branding. No matter how much Matt Cutts and the Google search quality and webmaster trends team want it removed, I cannot see Google's executives allowing it."

Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim says the role of PageRank has been reduced to nothing more than a "comfort blanket for SEO Noobs." He adds, "I say this, with a high degree of confidence that most experienced SEOs pour over the data in Google Webmaster Tools, whereas those new to the industry likely let the toolbar be their only guiding light."

He also notes, however, that PageRank data can still be useful. For example, it can be a good indicator of a site's behavior in Google's index. "Any green means 'go.' No green, means there's something to investigate," says Beal.

Despite this usefulness though, Moskwa pretty much closes the case on Google's position on it. In fact, she even points to a FAQ page about crawling, indexing, and ranking, which says that webmasters shouldn't even bother thinking about it. It also says that PageRank is just one of over 200 signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed, and ranked.

Tips and advice on how to get the most out of your classifieds

The title of your ad is arguably the most important aspect as this is what people see in the categories and search results and that is what is clicked on in order to view the rest of your ad.

By default, when somebody runs a search, it's your ad title that is searched so your title must contain descriptive words that describe what you're offering.
If your ad title doesn't describe what you're advertising, it can't be returned in the results when somebody runs a search.

Your title should be short and concise and should accurately describe what is being offered in your ad.

Bad titles include generic phrases such as "For Sale" or "Best Offer" as titles like those give potential buyers no idea what you're offering so they will be unlikely to click on your ad to view the rest of it.



Having a good description can be the difference between making the sale or not making the sale.

It's important to try and put yourself in the position of the kind of person you're trying to attract to your ad and ask yourself what information you'd like to see in the ad if you were the person looking to buy.

Short ads with little information rarely perform well while the most successful ads are the ones that include lots of information and descriptions and clear photo's which answer people's questions before they ask them.

It's important to include as much information as possible and include details such as shipping terms, costs, your returns policy if you have one, the total cost, when the buyer can expect to receive the item, if you provide tracking information etc.

Generally speaking, the more information the better as this helps the buyer make an informed decision without having to contact you for clarification on anything that you may have overlooked when creating your ad.

For more information on What makes a good ad?
The most successful ads are usually ones that have a clear concise title, a thorough and accurate description with good punctuation, clear pricing, excellent im...


What to avoid when creating an ad
When creating an ad you should avoid adding any irrelevant information that doesn't relate directly to the content of the ad as this can confuse buyers. Spelli...

Using appropriate images in your ads
Having a premium membership or a Photo Pack allows you to upload up to 12 images to each ad. Uploading multiple images of the item you're advertising allows yo...

My ad is getting a lot of views but not many replies
If your ad is getting a lot of views but not many replies, that's a good indication that you've created an ad with a good title which is attracting people to cl...

My ad is not getting many views
If your ad is not getting many views, it usually means that you've either placed your ad in completely the wrong category so the potential customers browsing th...

You can go here:
">classifieds to buy, sell or advertise anything!

Delete A Blogger Comment 1.0

I found this utility Delete A Blogger Comment 1.0 on Blogger Tips and Tricks. It's a great site with lotz of information. The problem I have is a "jerk" who posts a comment on one of my other blogs Private Stock Jewelry.blogspot.com and makes some stupid statement, not derogatory, just stupid and then puts links to his site. It is solely for the purpose of recording his/her link. If the statement made any sense at all I'd leave it up.

Anyway, the reason for the utility is that sometimes that little trash can doesn't show up and you really need to delete a comment. On one occasion I had to delete the entire post and then re- post. Hope this helps someone.

I would like your opinion

I've just set up a website for my friend Millie; she's Overstocked with Rocks. This is the first phase, there are many, many pictures to take. Between you and me she should open a brick and mortar store.


Seriously, I would like "objective" opinions. I know that most of you are not jewelry designers looking to purchase precious and semi-precious gems, that's not the point here. I want an objective opinion of the website.

Please keep in mind the about page, and the blah, blah, blah pages have not been constructed, those aren't the important pages. I won't give you a quarter for your opinion but I'll give you a link!! That's worth a bunch more than a quarter!

What we have here is a Lack of Communication!

Feel the need to communicate your expertise? Need Traffic? Need Links?
Try: http://www.buzzle.com/ With categories covering everything from animals to tourism, Buzzle.com is your complete source for news, articles and information. Get the latest buzz, interact with authors and other readers on message boards, or add to the buzz by becoming a Buzzle.com author.

Here is another great way to get "your words" out: Ezine Articles

EzineArticles For Authors
Submit Articles
Members Login
Benefits
Expert Authors
Most Emailed
Most Viewed
Article Rating
Read Endorsements
Send Testimonials
Editorial Guidelines
Author TOS

This is an enormous site, well organized with very helpful information. You can communicate 'til your heart is content! Give and Get Back.

Search Engine Optimization

"Search Engine Optimization May Not Be As Hard As You Think"

About the Author: Stefan Hyross publishes information for the Toronto search engine optimization company WebClimb. Specialists in real estate search engine optimization techniques. Visit the site for more information, news and tips.

Being found on page one of the major search engines is one of the number one marketing techniques you can use.

It's all about bringing targeted traffic and visitors to your site for your niche. Not only that but it is often one of the least costly kinds of advertising even if you hire an expert to do it for you.

For example a Toronto search engine optimization company may charge a few hundred dollars a month for their services. In comparison you would easily spend upwards of a thousand dollars trying to get similar results from paper ads. And optimizing your site can give it much a broader exposure.

You don't always need to hire an expert because you can do a number of things yourself if you are willing to put in the effort.

Before you even begin to optimize your site you need to think about which keywords you wish to rank for.

Think like a customer to discover keywords phrases they might use to find a similar product or service. The more you can think of the better. These may then be plugged into on-line tools like Google's keyword research tool or on sites such as Wordtracker or Wordze.

These sites can give you an estimate on how often these terms are searched for. If you find some terms that have a great number of monthly searches then it is a good indication that being on page one for that phrase could equal a large number of site visitors.

Remember that frequently the keyword phrases with the most amount of searches are often the most competitive also. That does not mean that you can never rank for them, only that it may take quite a lot of time.

A good strategy is to select a mix of difficult and easy to optimize terms. This will help get you a short term and long term focus.

The content contained on the pages of your site should be your next focus.

Try to use your chosen keywords into the various web pages. Despite the fact that one of the reasons for using your keywords in your site is for the search engines don't forget that actual visitors will be viewing it.

The greater the number of pages you can add to your site the better. Every time you add new content you are attracting the search engines to frequently return and reindex your web site. This can increase the chances of getting you to page one for many more terms than the ones you are specifically focusing on.

Finally comes what is definitely the most critcal part. Every time another site points to your web site you are one step closer to being on page one. That does not mean getting just any kind of link from any site. They need to be from sites that are of the same theme to yours.

For example if your site is real estate oriented site then you will need to have a real estate search engine optimization strategy. This may include getting links from various real estate agent sites, blogs, or anything related to that topic. You should be more concerned with quality, not just quantity.

One of the premier ways to accomplish this is with article marketing. You create content in the form of articles. These can then be submitted to various directories for inclusion like Article Alley. Your site will get a link pointing back to it in return for handing out free content. This is step you should be doing a minimum of once a week.

You will slowly begin to see your site's traffic and ranking soar. The greater the time period you optimize your site for the better your results will be. It could take some time and work however it is well worth it.

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Wednesday, May 13

How Many Backlinks Do You Need?

When it comes to link building there is no way to overemphasize the importance of backlinks. It is pretty much common knowledge that you need them. Different search engine optimization experts will put varying degrees of emphasis on them, but all SEOs pretty much agree that they are important. How important are they? Do you need thousands? Hundreds? How many is enough?

There’s no easy answer to the how much is enough question. It depends on a lot of factors, primarily the competitive nature of your niche. One keyword in a very competitive niche may require tens or hundreds of thousands of thousands of backlinks just to make a dent, and a small one at that, in the armor of your competition. Why bother beating your head against a stone wall?

Instead, go for the smaller, less competitive keywords first. The ones that won’t require an army of link builders to spread artillery all over kingdom come just to sound like the squeak of a mouse. If you target those less competitive key phrases and get respectable traffic from those, once you capture the top of the search engine rankings for the long tail phrases, you’ll start to see yourself climb for the more generic phrases within your niche. But it takes time. And patience.

How many backlinks does it take to succeed? One more than you had yesterday. Just keep plugging away, one link at a time, until you win.

http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2009/05/13/how-many-backlinks-do-you-need/