Veteran SEO scientist and SEO2g, Michael Martinez announced that he will no longer be writing for the SEO Theory Blog. To anyone seriously interested in the nuts n bolts of practical scientific SEO; I would highly recommend taking the time to peruse Michael’s blog. You will find wisdom therein.
I read a H-Y-S-T-E-R-I-C-A-L post over at Search Engine Journal by some short-sighted SEO who was claiming to “debunk” the “myth” that there are secret methodologies in search optimization. Holy shit this post had me rolling.
My favorite “Myth” :
There is some mystical secret formula that SEOs use to calculate, analyze and optimize a website and/or web page..
Some of the “Facts” put forward to debunk this myth include:
…most methodologies for analyzing SEO factors both on and off-page are very scientific. They are based on factors that can be readily quantified and often are defined on specific rule sets.
…As changes occur in search engine algorithms, so do these formulas. Complicated, perhaps, but there is nothing mystical here. With enough research and time, anyone can learn the very same formulas used by even the best SEOs.
WTF is this clown talking about? Readily quantified? Defined on specific rule sets? Or even better: “anyone can learn the very same formulas used by even the best SEOs.”
These statements are supported by pointing out that there are many online resources, browser toolbars and applications that will provide anyone with the necessary tools to do SEO just like the pros.
Then there is lots of blah, blah, nonsense, something about the scientific method, blah, blah,
Go check it out for yourself if you want a good laugh.
A warning to SEO Scientists & other Serious Practitioners: you may piss yourself so grab a box of depends before proceeding!
An added bonus to the post is the comments (SEO Circle-Jerking at its finest). Poor, SEO-folks: “If I haven’t found it posted on _______ (insert name of beloved SEO resource), then it doesn’t exist.”
Ha Ha Ha! Priceless!
Just read a great post over at Science for SEO about one of my favorite subjects: PHI. PHI (also known as the Golden Ratio) is approximately 1.6180339. There are many mysterious and beautiful properties to this ratio which can be found throughout all of man’s crafts and nature itself.
Would you take on a new client if they were currently employing a Black Hat SEO campaign to promote their website? How might you approach such a campaign?
Poll your answer. Leave a comment.
Google’s announcement that they have (along with Yahoo! and Microsoft) adopted the canonical attribute for link tags is great news for SEO’s. This special attribute is great tool for resolving duplicate content issues within a given website.In the last 24hrs.
I have seen several plugins and code snippets appear which will allow webmasters to take advantage of the canonical url attribute within various open source CMS platforms. I didn’t however see anything for use in Zen Cart that struck my fancy. Since Zen Cart is my preferred shopping cart system I decided to write a simple PHP script(let) so that my Zen Carts could take advantage of the canonical attribute.
The following code is easily implemented, and may be freely distributed and used (at your own risk of course).
The Code:
<!– Begin SE Canonical –>
<link rel=”canonical” href= <?php
$original_url = HTTP_SERVER . $_SERVER[’REQUEST_URI’];
$split_url = explode(’?', $original_url);
$no_querystring_url = $split_url[0];
echo $no_querystring_url; ?> />
<!– End SE Canonical –>
The Install
Simply copy and paste the script right after the closing title tag (</title>) of your html_header.php file (located in your Common folder of your custom template folder in your Zen Cart installation).
BAM!!!! Don’t say the Ninja never did anything for ya.
Fantomaster has published some insightful and entertaining predictions for SEO in ‘09. I am very pleased to see a fellow search ninja reporting on the industry’s favorite pastime.
Please read Fantomaster’s Prediction for SEO in 2009
For those who missed it: my initial expose on SEO Circle Jerking
In my last post I briefly discussed the SEO industry’s love of coming up with clever terms and jargon; i.e. SEO Wordsmithery.
My general disdain for SEO industry vocabulary/jargon has nothing to do with the jargon itself (for the most part). Rather it is the application thereof that I find annoying: SEO’s like to come up with neat terms and creative phrases solely to impress each other.
This pointless show-n-tell for ego stroking is a common trait within the industry that I have commented on many times. If you would like to delve further into SEO circle-jerking please read my post on Search-Masturbation-Expo.
Accordingly I tend to resist incorporating any fancy SEO wordsmithery into my own professional interactions and communications; even within my own private work. However I often find that a certain language barrier does exist; certainly with many clients and especially so with potential clients.
For example the term SEO2g, which I use to distinguish high-end, scientific SEO from common SEO, is a term that is essentially meaningless to persons who are unfamiliar with my work. Furthermore an explanation that SEO2g stands for Second Generation SEO, offers little remedy (Worse still I have noticed that most people slip into a kind of trance as soon as anything remotely technical enters the conversation. The eyes just glaze over…). This is no good for a technical guy like myself and is one of the reasons that I prefer the solitude of a brains-behind-the-operation type role for most projects. I am exaggerating a bit, but you understand.
The industry at large offers almost no assistance as the common SEO vernacular is mysterious at best, and possibly even laughable in certain company and therefore remains of little use when in discussion with non-SEO’s (i.e. clients. Clients and potential clients are, after all, the only people that I am interested in discussing SEO with.). So it seems that when it comes to effectively communicating the finer points of SEO2g to the world, I’m on my own. Fair enough.
If I turn my attention to communicating the distinctions between SEO2g and common SEO with the SEO industry itself (which I occasionally find myself required to do), I am faced with a variety of problems. Most of which seem to stem from the personalities at work within the industry. It has been interesting to note the caustic reactions that my ideas tend to incite (especially to some of the definitions found in my SEO Glossary).
Therefore I have decided to work within the framework of common SEO vocabulary in an attempt to create a palatable packaging for my brand of SEO.
Building upon the two most popular distinguishing terms used by SEO’s:
I would like to introduce a third denomination of search engine optimization. One that describes scientific, research-based, advanced search optimization in easy to stomach language (This should not be taken as a retirement for the term “SEO2g”. SEO2g will continue to describe truly advanced and evolved SEO practices.)
For the SEO world at large; I am pleased to introduce to you:
The other day I received (via email) the latest exciting information for the upcoming SMX (Search Marketing Expo). I’ve pasted a little screenshot of this gem below.
Notice anything “funny”? Hint: I’m not talking about “ha ha” funny.
I thought; “Could this be the latest and greatest example of fancy search marketing lingo?”
Convertion
mmmmm…. Notice how it just rolls off the tongue? Convertion. Imagine the possibilities:
“As you can see Mr. Smith, your Convertion rate is up 300%”
“Cost per conversion? You’re living in the stone-age. Let’s talk about Cost per Convertion.”
“Sorry baby, we just don’t Convertion anymore.”
However after clicking on the word (the velvety, scrumtrulescent, singularity of linguistic power that it is) ; and following the hyperlink it contained, I was sorely disappointed to find that it was just typo (so much promise, what a shame).
My sorrow however quickly faded as a realized that I was staring at none other than “The Complete Agenda Information for SMX Advanced”!
How Exciting! Yeah! Another opportunity for would-be SEO’s and other interested parties to watch the “leaders” and “top thinkers” of the Search Marketing world perform a dazzling three-ring spectacle sure to awe and delight even the most rigid spectator. (In the tradition of it’s predecessors, siblings and familiars) This event is certain to include :
IR Secrets (Information Regurgitation): Exciting hands-on workshops in which today’s top SEO’s reveal closely guarded SEO “secrets” like: Put keywords in Title tags (they must be crazy to share this stuff!).
followed promptly by:
Exclusive Networking: Watch with awe and wonder as SEO’s tell each other how clever they are, then pat each others heads and otherwise jerk each other off.
wrapping the event up with a nice game of:
Get Them Digits: This wondrous spectacle is then concluded with a mass exchange of business cards.
“Why?” You may ask, “would a professional SEO, collect so many useless contacts…”
Well In the weeks following the conference, you may find yourself in need of a good SEO circle-jerk.
Worse still; the next conference is 5 agonizing days away! What to do?
Fortunately, you got-them-digits at SMX and your competitor’s contact information is close at hand! Your fellow SEO is sure to oblige. Give a call! Hell, how about a conference call?!?!
The description above, effectively summarizes and distills ALL of the SEO, SEM, SMO, Expos, Conferences, Workshops, etc. etc. ad nauseum, for years to come. Furthermore, I have done this all for you free of charge! The Search Ninja will accept your generous tokens of gratitude in the form of exceptional backlinks, research grants and of course instruments of the silent assassin.
A primary obstacle faced by search engines is poorly formed searches. Poorly formed queries fall under the auspices of the
Three I’s; which describe (problematic) features of a query that will hinder any search engine. They are:
Imprecision
Incompleteness
Inaccuracy
Imprecise queries are inexact or ill-defined searches in that they do not effectively describe the specificity of an informational need.
For example let’s say that I had to find an annotated diagram of the supramarginal scutes of the Chelydra serpentina osceola; and I approached this by searching Google Images for “Turtle Shells”. The search results returned would be imprecise (in regards to my informational need). Therefore imprecise queries will return results that are technically correct, however their lack of granularity makes them useless.
Incomplete queries are lacking key terms that describe the informational need. This is easy to confuse with Imprecision, however it is very much its own unique devil.
Returning to our turtle example: If I needed to find a good synopsis about turtle shells; their structure, general appearance, sizes common to major species, etc. and I approached this by going to Wikipedia, ha ha… just kidding I would never go to Wikipedia if I needed reliable information. So I go to Google or possibly Google Scholar and type in “Shells”. Here the topical-realm of shells is so vast and diverse that it does nothing to represent an informational need for turtle shells.
Inaccurate queries lack contextual elements of word sense that are essential to proper classification and association with relevant documents. Polysemes and homonyms are a significant obstacle in information retrieval and word sense disambiguation (WSD) represents a large piece of the IR/WebIR puzzle.
Help the search engines (and yourself) out a little! If you want to do a little fly-fishing and need to find a listing of prime spots to cast your line; DON’T search for “Local Banks” (bank could be a financial institution, a stockpile; such as a blood bank or yes even a shoreline as in river bank).
Yesterday, I was scanning my spam folder to see if anything useful was unfairly filed as such. This was an exceedingly wise decision (aren’t they all though?) as my invitation to test drive PageOnce (Beta) was in there.
After completing a simple registration process and adding some personal data I was up and running. My start page (pictured below), featured information from multiple Internet based accounts allowing me to conveniently track everything from one interface.
I have only added a handful of accounts at this point; Gmail, Yahoo, Banking, POP3, but it is already apparent just how useful the common interface is going to be. One major benefit is that I don’t have to lookup my login information to check my various accounts. Or worse, rely on my browser to remember for me. It’s all stored in one simple, secure common interface.
PageOnce allows you to add just about any type of Internet based account; financial, travel, shopping, social and of course email.
The core benefit of using PageOnce is obviously saving time by reducing browsing and login activity. Accordingly the service is probably best suited for frequent business travellers and online business professionals.
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