SEO For The Common Webmaster

It is pretty certain that the next Page Rank update is going on. Many PR tools are buzzing with new numbers to excite the masses of webmaster. All the webmaster forums are pumping threads and threads about the current PR update.

I do not claim to have inside knowledge but I do believe Google has changed a few things in their algorithm again. I do not rely heavily on the PR number but it is a good measure of how well a webmaster has done when it comes to link building. I spent a good bit of energy and money to build links for this site. As of now, we have went from PR0 to PR2. This is much lower than I expected for all the back links that I have acquired. I have other blogs which are higher with a lot less links. I also think my links to this site were higher quality than the ones for the other blogs. This proves one thing, you can not figure out Google because their algorithm remains a secret.

Overall, some of my blogs were up and down. Some regained the lost PR from the last update and some remain the same and one loss ranking. This means nothing in the matter of traffic, my traffic has slowly increased over the last two months and I look forward to a bigger jump in the months.

How did your sites do? How important do you think PR is in the whole scheme of things? Please share you thoughts by leaving a comment.  

In a journey to get the quick buck, many webmasters turn to automatic blogs. Basically an automatic blog is set up with either some software or a Word Press plug in to bring in feeds from other blogs. The automatic blog is made up of copies of someone else’s blog posts and articles.

There are a few problems with this. First, readers will catch up and you will lose your traffic. Readers like to read original content and when you copy other blogs, your readers will catch up and quit coming.

Another problem is that you may be infringing on copyrights of others. This could cause you to be sued, your hosting account to be suspended, or face other legal issues. Besides that, it is ethically wrong.

The final problem I will mention is the fact that many search engines like Google frown on this type of duplicated content. It could cause you not to be indexed in the SERPs or cause you to be placed so low that it does not matter of you are listed or not.

When creating a good blog, it is important to write for your readers and write original content. We all want to make some money but the short term quick buck of automatic blogs will dry up and you will be left started over from scratch.  It is better to do it right from the beginning and build your blog or website over time.

This does not mean that you can never copy a good article if you think it is useful. However, you should only do so with permission and only if you give credit to the original author.

Creating a blog or website can be fun and profitable, don’t take the cheaters way by stealing from others. Create the best you can with your talents and you will form a long term project that will attract lots of traffic and earn you money

What is your opinion on automatic blogs? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment.

The number one way I always stress on this blog for getting traffic is to build solid back links. Social bookmarking sites are the biggest craze in building both links and traffic. I am one who likes to explore all options when it comes to building back links. I have checked on many services that will help build back links by doing the leg work for me. I have not found many that I liked but there a few good ones.

I ran across a great service for Social BookMarking Submissions. This company offers submissions to 500 social bookmarking sites for only $47. If you do the math, that is less than ten cents per link. This service provides professional service done manually. Building back links is important so you do not want to rely on a company that uses software to do the work.

They have a list of over 750 social bookmarking sites and they choose 500 of them to submit your site for the one time fee. They provide advice and offer a full report as to what sites your site was submitted to. One thing I have not seen offered elsewhere was the offer of a screen shot of the submission to ensure that the work was done professionally.

The site is set up for easy ordering and they accept all forms of payments including major credit cards, Paypal, e-gold, and more. The easy to fill out order form takes just a couple of minutes to complete and your order is processed quickly. They also include links to tools for SEO and some informative articles.

If you need help with building back links and are looking for a professional company, I recommend checking out the link provided to get a great deal on link building.

I have used Stumble Upon since they first came out. A few days ago, I got an email that my account was suspended for violating their terms of service. It seems that you can not promote your site or anyone else’s. In other words, if you choice to stumble all your posts or websites, you could violate the policy. I see no other purpose for Stumble Upon.

It seems that they sucked people in to use their service but once eBay purchased them, they decided that unless you pay for their premium services, they no longer want you around.

As far as traffic, I got a lot of traffic from the service but it amounted to just click through traffic. Most did not even read a post or bother staying on my sites. I am annoyed that they suspended my account but I am glad to delete the clutter off my browser. Good bye Stumble Upon, YOU SUCK!

I have run across many webmasters who use the excuse that they do not have the time to do Search Engine Optimization for their websites. They create tons of great content and they set up a beautiful website with all the frills and wonder why they get no traffic. I want to shake them and tell them that SEO is not an option, it is a requirement.

Creating a great site is nothing if you do not do everything you can to help people find your website. This is done through quality SEO. I understand that people are crunched for time and they often do not have the time for everything. My answer is this, if you do not have time to prepare your taxes, do you just not do them? No, you hire a professional accountant or tax preparer. If you do not have time to fix your car, do you quit driving? No, you hire a mechanic to fix it. These are all things that are important and required in life.

Guess what? SEO is just as important if you plan to be successful as a webmaster. If you do not know how to optimize your site or you just do not have the time, it is time to get help. A SEO Company can do all the work for you. From optimizing your keywords to building back links, a quality company can make your site search engine friendly and easy to find.

No more excuses, as a webmaster you have two choices when it comes to SEO. Either make the time or do as many other webmasters do and hire a professional SEO Company to do the work for you. Either way, you can no longer afford to ignore the importance of SEO.