True SEO beyond RED Yellow Green

[pakevin]

I would just like to add in another factor that comes into play and that is time. One thing that you must take into consideration when it comes to off page SEO or back links to be more specific is how much time do you have to devote to get them. If you have more time then you will be able to get more links…there for you'll be able to go after the bigger sites.

If you do not have the time but you have the money to pay some one else to do it then you can always go that way. I wouldn't recommend outsourcing until you have a good understanding of how it all works and comes into play. If you do not have the basic understanding then it will be very easy for someone to rip you off.

The best way to get the basic understanding is to follow along with the 30 day challenge and start small.

[morleyl]

Now I am not a newbie but not a SEO expert yet either. Whats the purpose of presenting the SEO analysis in the 30DC if its considered too advance? I would expect a little more breakdown of the factors. A simple mind map could help.

[SteveWilliams]

Eric that post has to be one of the best post I have ever seen on TDC, I totally agree with your ethos in keyword research and SEO

[GinaSinese]

I've been using MS in addition to my normal research, and got caughtup with the 'glitter'. Forgot it's a tool just like everything else I use for my business

The reality check worked! Thanks again

[RuthHoward]

Originally Posted by alexander13

June you make some great points about staying calm and how far ahead of the competition you are if you're a newbie just starting in 30dc. "7 days to SEO expert" is not an ebook (that I'm aware of) and don't buy it if it is. SEO has its own jargon and nuances which can take years to master and Eric has been in the SEO game for 8 years now. I have the benefit of being on his team and can attest to his extremely high advanced knowledge of SEO.

I would consider myself intermediate level skill because I've been studying SEO for over 5 years but only done a small amount of work in the field since I'm a copywriter and enjoy doing that. I asked him what his main evaluation factors were and I believe that was his motivation for this post.

Bookmark this thread in your delicious account (or your local computer hard drive through your browser if you're old school). You will want to refer back to it after the challenge is over and these terms are second nature to you.

I asked via pm a couple questions about DMOZ and Yahoo. I've included my response here (with fees for the services redacted due to 30dc rules, pm me if you want to know the cost to get these links):

[DMOZ and Yahoo are the 2 web directories Google respects the most. This gives you the most link power and weight meaning they contribute greatly to increasing your rankings in google.

Yahoo costs an annual fee for their power link. This is the easiest to get because for the most part when you pay they put you in their directory (the yahoo team does review your site for quality, non-porn, etc AND they make no guarantees you'll be included but the people I've talked to who had a working site and paid the fee did get included getting the power backlink).

DMOZ is even more greatly weighted by google but almost impossible to get into. It's a volunteer human review directory meaning it takes months (if ever) for your site to be EVEN BE looked at by an editor.

It's also believed to be harder to get into. They have a huge backlog of sites to look at. So unless you know an editor it's tough sledding.

botw.org is another old and respected directory. They have 2 fee options a yearly plan or a 1-time fee plan.

When you have a money site (making money) i'd advise getting these power links because they do help your rankings.

They make no guarantees either but follow their terms and you should get in. Hold off on paying the fees to any of these directories until you know you have a winning market/keyword and are making money WITH YOUR MAIN SITE.

No need to pay for something you're going to abandon or are unsure of the profitability. Don't spend money until you have to or are confident it will benefit you.]

Thanks Alexander13, Thanks June!

[RuthHoward]

Originally Posted by pakevin

I would just like to add in another factor that comes into play and that is time. One thing that you must take into consideration when it comes to off page SEO or back links to be more specific is how much time do you have to devote to get them. If you have more time then you will be able to get more links…there for you'll be able to go after the bigger sites.

If you do not have the time but you have the money to pay some one else to do it then you can always go that way. I wouldn't recommend outsourcing until you have a good understanding of how it all works and comes into play. If you do not have the basic understanding then it will be very easy for someone to rip you off.

The best way to get the basic understanding is to follow along with the 30 day challenge and start small.

Thats very important to spell out to newcomers, its prioritising new info especially critical if intend to blog,let ourselves be the beginners and gradually get familiar with terminology!And let ourselves get frustrated and excited both! My 3 year old is great teacher of course.... thanks Pakevin

[RuthHoward]

Originally Posted by bigebiz

Hello 30Dc's. People are asking a lot of the Red Green Yellow Questions of SEO based upon the Market Samurai SEO Analysis tool.

It is a fantastic tool and gives great information, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater or go gung ho based on a COLOR. Use it as a guide.

However there really is no way to say RED Green or Yellow is a definitive answer based upon the scope of information that is given. More Research is required. Use the Color as a Guide but take it one step further.

Suggestions:

If you find a Niche you like, Find a Keyword Term that is Good based upon the Market Samurai traffic data, Run the SEO analysis but then take it a step further. Instead of saying RED GREEN YELLOW as a determining factor. Actually look at the Results on the screen.

Ask yourself these Questions about the 10 Ten Results:

Look at the Actual Domains, are they Authority Sites?
Amazon, Ebay, Wiki. About. etc?


Is the Keyword in the URL?
order of importance
keyword .com
Keyword. com/Leyword/Keywords
keyword.garbageurl .com
garbageurl/Keyword .com




Search the actual Backlinks via Yahoo
(linkdomain:www. domainname. com)

Thanks for this browser cue!

generally speaking the first results of this list of yahoo will be the most valuable links. So evaluate them.


WHO is linking to THEM? Where are they getting the Backlinks,
what sites? what domains, what platforms? Same Niche Themes?
are there links coming from Blogs, Bookmarks, authority websites, Forums etc?
does it appear the are new links or very old links?

Meaning another Person is Actively working on LINK BUILDING as well? If they have 10K links and you have 0 and you both are working for links will you do enough work to beat the other GUY/GAL?

What is the Anchor Text in the Backlinks?
Search Google for SEO Backlink Anchor Tool you will find some.

When was the last Google Cache for those domains?,
Use SEOFirefox plugin to find out, Is it recent?

Is the AGED Domain Updating and actually Relevant information?
is the site growing, new blog posts, new information, etc

How many Pages of the Site are Indexed in Google?
use command Site: domainname. com

What are the ON site SEO factors of the Domains?
Look at a View Source. Are the keywords in the Title? H1 tags, Are their Internal Links with the Keyword, What is the keyword density of the site how many times do you see the word appear on the page?
( Look at the actual Cache of the page in Google and the keyword terms will be Highlighted)

Are they In Yahoo in Dmoz?
If they are in Yahoo either they are very old site, Authority site, or Paid $300- 400 to be included. A webmaster that pays that much, has a budget and is usually actively working his Keyword and Site building links and traffic.

If they are in DMOZ another sign of Age, as well as a unfortunate powerful LINK that Google give weight.
In a very generic sense, you might have to create 1000 backlinks just to overcome the power of a DMOZ LINK


You have to evaluate all of those factors to really SEE if the Competition is Vulnerable for you to overtake those ranking positions.


Sorry but a Green, Yellow, Red generic LOOK is not a true SEO look into the possibility of breaking into a keyword.

If you find a Niche TERM you can create content upon, has the Right Traffic Numbers, then Take the time to really research the SEO Competition and not relay on a Red Yellow Green Assumption. You will save yourself a lot of time and effort down the road to success, if you stop and take a REAL look at the competition and look for Vulnerability.


Top Level SEO Main Factors:

Amount of Links
Source of Links
Keyword Anchor Text Of Links
Keyword in URL / Domain
Amount of Pages Indexed
Dmoz
Yahoo
Domain Age
On Site SEO ( Title, Body, H1, Keyword Density, Image Tags, Internal Linking, PR)


Use the above list as a Guide and research and the answers become clearer.

There is a lot more to SEO, but this is a good place to start to analysis the competition.

Meaning that authority domains are too big to compete? Would a social networking site article/link be able to compete with these at times instead?

Thanks thats clear a guide to domain choices keyword url info!

the power of a DMOZ LINK beaut thanks

Amount of Pages Indexed is that tha same as cache info???

On Site SEO ( Title, Body, H1, Keyword Density, Image Tags, Internal Linking, PR)Ill have to look up image tags and understand the anchor text stuff amidst other things... Is linking inside site own pages helpful/unhelpful limited use?


THANKS VERY MUCH Eric for pointing to the "must checkout" jargon!!!!

[morleyl]

One thing I discovered is that Google has a way to look at posting frequency and decide ranking. This means if your posting is regular it will keep its ranking but if adhoc, it could be worst than not posting at all. I just did a joomla site for experiment before the challenge, added a few related articles. Now Joomla is not officially a blog but a CMS. This site has been #1 for a month now with no updates with the main keyword. Very few backlink etc..

I think your posting frequency and the platform you use can be a major factor in ranking. Bottomline search engines are looking for the best results for a search not only how many links.. I think the back link theory be misleading..

Here is a good post for context - Official Google Blog: Introduction to Google Ranking

[Isha]

[this is a great thread. Let's keep it near the top of the posts]