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IN THIS ISSUE:
"Revealed: Google's top two ranking factors"

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http://www.SearchEnginePatrol.com

Editor: mharty@SearchEnginePatrol.com

Editor's Note

Here we are on the eve of Easter weekend. Now those of you with kids, a word of warning: don’t OD on the marshmallow peeps or chocolate eggs. (Yes those peeps are light and airy but watch out for the sugar crash, trust me on this one!)

I was waxing nostalgically while on the phone with my sister about how far the art of egg coloring has come. In my youth (granted, eons ago!), when we colored eggs, about the only enhancement possible was a wax pencil. (You write on the egg, and the writing shows up as white.) That was it! This was definitely pre-stickers, glitter, tie-dyed eggs and what have you now-a-days.

As you can see, my mind’s on the holiday so let’s get started with this issue of SEO Insider!

Note: this issue's feature article is from my good buddy and SEO expert, Michael Wong. Michael is the author of Search Engine Optimization Strategies, an absolute must read for anyone interested in SEO techniques.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to
SEOInsiderinfo@SearchEnginePatrol.com


News

SmartPages R.I.P?

You may be asking, “what's a SmartPage?” Well, earlier this year, an e-book called “Under Oath, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth about Internet Marketing” advocated that if you built pages according to a certain formula you’d get quick, high rankings.

And initially, they seemed to be right. However, there has been growing evidence that SmartPages have been getting banned or blacklisted by the search engines, especially Google.

In fact, Markus Allen, who was originally a key supporter of SmartPages now has a much different view:
http://www.markusallen.org/cgi-
bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=search_engine_smartpages

Here’s another post from a forum about SmartPages disappearing:
http://ablake.net/forum/index.cgi?read=112197

SEO Insider’s take:
Just like Markus, we were intrigued by the idea of SmartPages and tested them. I reviewed the “Under Truth” ebook and gave it a thumbs up. Even today, we still like many of the ideas in the “Under Oath” book.

Yet, SmartPages is but one more victim in a long line of “miracle cure, quick fix” SEO ideas.

Bottom line: you may find a crack in the wall that you can slip though and get a good ranking via a questionable technique. But it will be fleeting. Count on evolving search engine technology, the market, and other competitive forces to seal up that crack.

So what you’re left with is what you always have had: create a site with relevant content, a good architecture and site map, and trust that those principles will never be sexy and flashy, yet they will continue to be effective, today—and more importantly, tomorrow.

Commentary

Giving SEO a black eye (like it needs any help!)

When I was in the ad business, I often lamented how we ranked right up there (or should I say down there) with used car salesman. I also had a brief and disastrous fling with the entertainment business and found that to rank even lower, especially on the business side.

Now, a few years ago, I got into the SEO business to help my ad clients with marketing that delivered a high ROI. Good in theory, and we’ve been very successful to date.

Still, through no fault of our own or the many other legitimate SEO providers out there, we, as an industry, have some tough sledding ahead.

First, many sites continue to get good rankings with questionable techniques. This makes it difficult to adopt a comprehensive set if industry standards. Second, how many of you have been sp’ammed with ridiculous SEO offers?

TrafficMagnet = 100% pure s’pam.

It’s amazing how many people have been spammed by Traffic Magnet. In fact, I have had their emails forwarded to me by several business associates. Of course, now they know it’s s'pam and they simply delete them.

SEO Insider's take:
Here's a sure tip-off to any dubious SEO offer, whether it’s via email or on the web: if there isn't a phone number listed, don’t trust them.

Additional resources:
Here's an article on TrafficMagnet and the mysterious Sarah Williams:
http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=140


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Feature Article:

Revealed: Top Two Google Ranking Factors

Editor's note: this issue’s feature article is by guest author, Michael Wong. You’ve heard me talk about Michael’s expertise in both SEO and internet marketing in previous issues His site, Mike’s-Marketing-Tools.com is definitely worth checking out. Take it away Michael…

In this article I reveal what I believe are the two most important ranking factors used by Google.

My findings are as a result of my ongoing optimization experiments of my network of web sites on Google.

The top two Google ranking factors are:
1. PageRank
2. Incoming Text Link Keywords

I'll explain each in more detail and what you MUST do to maximize the effectiveness of each element.

1. PageRank
PageRank is determined by the number and quality of links to a page. Both the quantity and quality of text links are important. Always try to get links from web pages with a PageRank rating of at least four.

Concentrate on getting as many different quality sites as possible to link to one page on your site, usually your home page. Do not spread the links to different pages. This will maximize the PageRank of your main page, plus those of the subpages.

2. Incoming Text Link Keywords
ALWAYS provide text links for linking to your site. Avoid image links.

Google does index image links, but without any text for it to index, it won't help your link popularity rating for your important keywords.

In addition:

Well, there you have it. Those are what I consider the two most important ranking factors used by Google. Other factors are considered by Google, but their importance pales in comparison to the two I have discussed in this article.

Follow these tips whenever you optimize your web pages and they will quickly shoot up the Google rankings.

About The Author: Michael Wong is a respected internet marketing and SEO expert. He is the author of a leading search engine optimization guide, and a popular internet marketing column. Mike also offers reviews of marketing tools and ecommerce software. Publishing Rights: You may republish this article in your web site, newsletter, or ebook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links completely intact.

Insider tool:

Directory submissions: undiscovered ranking opportunities

When you submit your web site, you naturally think of search engines. But don’t overlook another important part of any SEO strategy: directory submissions.

The most important directory is the Open Directory Project or DMOZ.
http://dmoz.org/

You may find an online directory that’s specific to your industry or others that are geographically-based.

The key to remember here is that these directory submissions will help your search engine rankings. (Especially DMOZ’s with it’s high PageRank linking back to your site.)

Even better, most of these directories listed here are f’ree!

Additional resources: here is a list of directories you should consider with any website submissions:
http://www.beaucoup.com/
http://www.gimpsy.org/
http://www.joeant.com/
http://www.goguides.org/
http://www.dmoz.org/
http://www.jayde.com/
http://www.ask2k.com/
http://www.zeal.com/
http://www.webworldindex.com/


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