Adeline Leigh
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- Oct 1, 2011
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We hear you, Caitlin, yes where?
Tips for your online pearl business
- Thread starter morphius
- Start date
We hear you, Caitlin, yes where?
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 1
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 1
It's been said before, not only on this forum but also many others, that the content of your web pages is the primary driver (or reason) for traffic (visitors) coming to your website. But what kind of content?
Now, just so we're clear, "content" refers to all of what appears on each individual page of your website; the text, images and links. Content does not refer to how the page is laid out or where it appears on the screen, or even in what order it appears...that is "layout and design".
The content of each page performs an important role for you (as the website owner) because it informs, sells, or directs the visitor. Informative websites (such as Pearl Guide), contain mostly informative content, while the links (such as at the top of the page) provide direction to access more pages. For a commercial website, most of the content will focus on the selling of products or services.
Unfortunately, just as there are a lot of shady pearl sellers, there's also a lot of shady SEO sellers. And depending on where you look, different "SEO Websites" and "SEO Books" will have varying opinions, tricks, tips and secrets with regards to the "best" SEO approach...but in truth, most of what you will read will fall into three categories;
1) Loophole, Black Hat and Pressure Tactics
2) Advanced Advice
3) Relevant & Useful General Information
For someone starting out with a brand new or 'still new' website, the absolute best place to get the best information regarding guidelines for content, is from the search engines. Why? Because the focus of search engines is to provide people searching for information, with access to websites that are as closely related as possible to what they are seeking. The only way to do this effectively, is to provide website owners with guidance on how to present their websites so that it is easier for people to find them.
For instance, Google provides a wealth of free information in their Webmaster Guidelines section for website owners.
But without getting into all of that, since this is supposed to be a post dealing with only the 'absolute basics', to start out with, website owners need keep only one single rule in mind when it comes to putting content onto their webpages;
"Make your web pages primarily for the people visiting them."
Original content that is informative and serves an actual purpose will always continue to rank better over time. Websites that use duplicate or copied content, that attempt to deceive the visitor or the search engine, that display more advertising then content, or do not actually serve any purpose to the visitor will eventually and always rank lower and lower (if not black listed completely).
Don't fall for promises or promotions of "SERP Page 1 Secrets", "Killer Keyword Tricks" or "Secrets That Search Engines Don't Want You To Know". There may be some good information in these types of publications, but for the most part, the advice will most certainly hurt your website in the long run.
One of the best ways to know if your website is designed from the visitor's point of view is to ask friends or yourself "Does this help my visitors? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 1
It's been said before, not only on this forum but also many others, that the content of your web pages is the primary driver (or reason) for traffic (visitors) coming to your website. But what kind of content?
Now, just so we're clear, "content" refers to all of what appears on each individual page of your website; the text, images and links. Content does not refer to how the page is laid out or where it appears on the screen, or even in what order it appears...that is "layout and design".
The content of each page performs an important role for you (as the website owner) because it informs, sells, or directs the visitor. Informative websites (such as Pearl Guide), contain mostly informative content, while the links (such as at the top of the page) provide direction to access more pages. For a commercial website, most of the content will focus on the selling of products or services.
Unfortunately, just as there are a lot of shady pearl sellers, there's also a lot of shady SEO sellers. And depending on where you look, different "SEO Websites" and "SEO Books" will have varying opinions, tricks, tips and secrets with regards to the "best" SEO approach...but in truth, most of what you will read will fall into three categories;
1) Loophole, Black Hat and Pressure Tactics
2) Advanced Advice
3) Relevant & Useful General Information
For someone starting out with a brand new or 'still new' website, the absolute best place to get the best information regarding guidelines for content, is from the search engines. Why? Because the focus of search engines is to provide people searching for information, with access to websites that are as closely related as possible to what they are seeking. The only way to do this effectively, is to provide website owners with guidance on how to present their websites so that it is easier for people to find them.
For instance, Google provides a wealth of free information in their Webmaster Guidelines section for website owners.
But without getting into all of that, since this is supposed to be a post dealing with only the 'absolute basics', to start out with, website owners need keep only one single rule in mind when it comes to putting content onto their webpages;
"Make your web pages primarily for the people visiting them."
Original content that is informative and serves an actual purpose will always continue to rank better over time. Websites that use duplicate or copied content, that attempt to deceive the visitor or the search engine, that display more advertising then content, or do not actually serve any purpose to the visitor will eventually and always rank lower and lower (if not black listed completely).
Don't fall for promises or promotions of "SERP Page 1 Secrets", "Killer Keyword Tricks" or "Secrets That Search Engines Don't Want You To Know". There may be some good information in these types of publications, but for the most part, the advice will most certainly hurt your website in the long run.
One of the best ways to know if your website is designed from the visitor's point of view is to ask friends or yourself "Does this help my visitors? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 2
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 2
The most common questions regarding webpage content is;
1) Is it okay for someone else to put my content on their website?
2) When is it considered "duplicate" content and how does that affect me?
3) What if someone else "steals" my content?
4) Can images be considered duplicate content?
5) What about "re-written" content?
6) Does the name of my images really matter?
Is it okay for someone else to put my content on their website?
Short Answer: "Yes", but only with your written permission.
Long Answer: You have to be careful about allowing other websites to place a 'copy' of your content on their website because search engines don't like duplicate content. Excerpts of your content is okay (similar to how newspapers may include quotes or excerpts in their articles), but copied content should not exceed 50-75 words and should include a direct link and reference to the page the content originates. Where the copied content is an image, again, reference and a direct link to the original page should be present (such as "pearl image used with permission of Pearl Guide"), in addition to the image name being changed. The general rule however is that you want your content to remain as original as possible at all times with no other copies existing elsewhere.
When is it considered "duplicate" content and how does that affect me?
Duplicate content refers to text or images that have been copied from one website, and is hosted on another. For text, it may be considered duplicate content if the number of words exceeds 50-75; for images, at the present time, it's the exact same image with exact same file name and/or image name. Where two or more websites (specifically different URL address), have the exact same content, the search engine will attempt to determine the original owner of the content and give that webpage priority in ranking. For commerce websites, the rules about duplicate content are slightly more relaxed because of the fact that more than retailer can and often does have the exact same item for sale...but that does not mean duplicate content is "okay". If a large portion of the commerce site consists of content found elsewhere (such as on re-seller websites), this could and often does, negatively impact their ranking with the search engines.
What if someone else "steals" my content?
Content is considered "stolen" when another site duplicates your content without your expressed written or verbal permission. In search engine lingo, this is often referred to as "scraping". Controlling duplicate content on other sites is critical to your website ranking. Therefore if someone has stolen your content, you take the following steps;
a) Send a polite and professional email to the webmaster, site owner clearly stating that you have not given permission for them to use your content and you want it removed immediately.
b) If that fails, send an email to their host (the company that hosts the website) as most hosts have clear rules about stealing content.
c) If that fails, file a DMCAwith the search engines (if they feel your claim is valid, the website could be blacklisted from the SERPs).
The good news is that in many instances, the first step will result in your stolen content being removed.
Can images be considered duplicate content?
Yes. At the present time, simply changing the file name and image name seems to be all that is needed to avoid an image being considered duplicate content, but search engines are currently developing ways to be able to identify images based upon what they actually look like.
What about "re-written" content?
A lot of people fall victim to this one. They see content on another site, copy and paste it into Word, make a few changes to the words used and figure this is all that is needed. Wrong. Simply changing around a few words might work, but most likely will not. If you absolutely must post text content on your site that already exists on another (or even only exists in a book), then the best course of action is;
a) Read the content, then close webpage (or book).
b) Then, based upon your memory and understanding of what you have read, create your own version of the content so that it is completely in your own words.
Again, it's best to avoid duplicate content altogether.
Does the name of my images really matter?
Yes. At the present time, search engines cannot "see" what your images actually look like...so if your images have no names (or numbered names like "12345.jpg"), then the search engine cannot properly index the image for searching. Both the file name and the "alt" name should relate directly to what is in the image, thus allowing the search engine to make your image available for searching. For instance, if you have an image of Tahitian pearls on top of a Black Lipped oyster, then name the image "tahitian-pearls-on-black-lipped-oyster-shell". Now the search engines can index the image properly and when someone searches for images of similar name, your images are now pointing people to your website.
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Content Part 2
The most common questions regarding webpage content is;
1) Is it okay for someone else to put my content on their website?
2) When is it considered "duplicate" content and how does that affect me?
3) What if someone else "steals" my content?
4) Can images be considered duplicate content?
5) What about "re-written" content?
6) Does the name of my images really matter?
Is it okay for someone else to put my content on their website?
Short Answer: "Yes", but only with your written permission.
Long Answer: You have to be careful about allowing other websites to place a 'copy' of your content on their website because search engines don't like duplicate content. Excerpts of your content is okay (similar to how newspapers may include quotes or excerpts in their articles), but copied content should not exceed 50-75 words and should include a direct link and reference to the page the content originates. Where the copied content is an image, again, reference and a direct link to the original page should be present (such as "pearl image used with permission of Pearl Guide"), in addition to the image name being changed. The general rule however is that you want your content to remain as original as possible at all times with no other copies existing elsewhere.
When is it considered "duplicate" content and how does that affect me?
Duplicate content refers to text or images that have been copied from one website, and is hosted on another. For text, it may be considered duplicate content if the number of words exceeds 50-75; for images, at the present time, it's the exact same image with exact same file name and/or image name. Where two or more websites (specifically different URL address), have the exact same content, the search engine will attempt to determine the original owner of the content and give that webpage priority in ranking. For commerce websites, the rules about duplicate content are slightly more relaxed because of the fact that more than retailer can and often does have the exact same item for sale...but that does not mean duplicate content is "okay". If a large portion of the commerce site consists of content found elsewhere (such as on re-seller websites), this could and often does, negatively impact their ranking with the search engines.
What if someone else "steals" my content?
Content is considered "stolen" when another site duplicates your content without your expressed written or verbal permission. In search engine lingo, this is often referred to as "scraping". Controlling duplicate content on other sites is critical to your website ranking. Therefore if someone has stolen your content, you take the following steps;
a) Send a polite and professional email to the webmaster, site owner clearly stating that you have not given permission for them to use your content and you want it removed immediately.
b) If that fails, send an email to their host (the company that hosts the website) as most hosts have clear rules about stealing content.
c) If that fails, file a DMCAwith the search engines (if they feel your claim is valid, the website could be blacklisted from the SERPs).
The good news is that in many instances, the first step will result in your stolen content being removed.
Can images be considered duplicate content?
Yes. At the present time, simply changing the file name and image name seems to be all that is needed to avoid an image being considered duplicate content, but search engines are currently developing ways to be able to identify images based upon what they actually look like.
What about "re-written" content?
A lot of people fall victim to this one. They see content on another site, copy and paste it into Word, make a few changes to the words used and figure this is all that is needed. Wrong. Simply changing around a few words might work, but most likely will not. If you absolutely must post text content on your site that already exists on another (or even only exists in a book), then the best course of action is;
a) Read the content, then close webpage (or book).
b) Then, based upon your memory and understanding of what you have read, create your own version of the content so that it is completely in your own words.
Again, it's best to avoid duplicate content altogether.
Does the name of my images really matter?
Yes. At the present time, search engines cannot "see" what your images actually look like...so if your images have no names (or numbered names like "12345.jpg"), then the search engine cannot properly index the image for searching. Both the file name and the "alt" name should relate directly to what is in the image, thus allowing the search engine to make your image available for searching. For instance, if you have an image of Tahitian pearls on top of a Black Lipped oyster, then name the image "tahitian-pearls-on-black-lipped-oyster-shell". Now the search engines can index the image properly and when someone searches for images of similar name, your images are now pointing people to your website.
The Absolute Basics of SEO - SEO Scammers
The Absolute Basics of SEO - SEO Scammers
Normally I immediately block the sender of such messages, but I thought before doing so this time, I'd post it here as an example of the type of SEO scammers lurking out there;
Sounds like a great offer right? This guy is going to put links to your website all over other websites, which in turn will drive traffic to your site...what could go wrong?
Well what this guy is not telling you is that he is trying to get you to pay to join a link farm. A link farm refers to a group of websites that serve no real purpose other than to display links to other websites with the purpose being to falsely increase the rankings of the sites. A link farm can be direct (all links point to other sites) or reciprocal (links on sites point back to each other).
Most people have encountered link farm websites (even if they don't know what they are called). These are the websites that at a quick glance, appear to be useful sites, but then you quickly realize they are usually filled with just links to other sites - almost like you stumbled upon a mini-search engine. These link sites usually have no real content other than links to other sites and are usually packed full of ads for you to click on.
So, this guy is going to take your website name and plaster it all over other websites...purely for the purpose of fooling the search engines into thinking that your website is more important than it currently is.
Link building is important this is true...but if you join link farms, you're asking for nothing but trouble down the road.
The Absolute Basics of SEO - SEO Scammers
Normally I immediately block the sender of such messages, but I thought before doing so this time, I'd post it here as an example of the type of SEO scammers lurking out there;
Some Scammer said:
Sounds like a great offer right? This guy is going to put links to your website all over other websites, which in turn will drive traffic to your site...what could go wrong?
Well what this guy is not telling you is that he is trying to get you to pay to join a link farm. A link farm refers to a group of websites that serve no real purpose other than to display links to other websites with the purpose being to falsely increase the rankings of the sites. A link farm can be direct (all links point to other sites) or reciprocal (links on sites point back to each other).
Most people have encountered link farm websites (even if they don't know what they are called). These are the websites that at a quick glance, appear to be useful sites, but then you quickly realize they are usually filled with just links to other sites - almost like you stumbled upon a mini-search engine. These link sites usually have no real content other than links to other sites and are usually packed full of ads for you to click on.
So, this guy is going to take your website name and plaster it all over other websites...purely for the purpose of fooling the search engines into thinking that your website is more important than it currently is.
Link building is important this is true...but if you join link farms, you're asking for nothing but trouble down the road.
Adeline Leigh
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2011
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- 722
Morphius, you are an absolute wealth of information. I'm keeping an eye on this thread in the remote possibility that I set up shop one day 
perlinda
pearl lover
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
- Messages
- 150
Morphius, many thanks for the valuable information you've shared. I'm in the process of building my website from scratch, so every piece of info is a gem.
I received Google adwords coupon from my hosting, which I'm planning to use once the website is ready. I realize a $100 coupon won't get me much on ppc, but do you have inputs on how to get the most of it? About the keywords and all that... I'm really new with this kind of stuffs.
I received Google adwords coupon from my hosting, which I'm planning to use once the website is ready. I realize a $100 coupon won't get me much on ppc, but do you have inputs on how to get the most of it? About the keywords and all that... I'm really new with this kind of stuffs.
Adwords (whether by Google or any of the other search engines), is the entire world of online marketing...basically similar to paying for ad space in a newspaper, on the radio, or on TV.
The $50, $75 and $100 adword coupons are simply meant to get you into online marketing without having to put your own money upfront...and they're a great resource to use. However, if you're totally new to online marketing, then you really need to exercise a lot of caution because if you're not careful, you could wind up owing thousands of dollars.
Before you get into online marketing however, step #1 is to get your website up and running. Please note that I'm not referring to website space like an Etsy or eBay shop...but your own personal website with your own unique domain name (like "pearl-guide.com").
Once your website is "up", or while it's being built, create search engine accounts (like a Google account), and add the 'analytics' app to your account - this will provide you with a tracking number which you embed into your web coding - which in turn will provide you with analytical information about the people visiting your website.
The 'analytics' information is important because, among other things, it tells you what words people are using in search engines to find your website. And without getting too deep into this topic, it is this information that will form the starting point of your online marketing efforts. The longer the time frame of information you have to reference, the more refined, and more valid, the information you are provided with...so if your website is brand new, you will most likely want to wait and collect 6-8 weeks of data before moving into search engine marketing.
Once you have this initial information, you can decide to hire a company or do this yourself. When first starting out, it's actually a good idea to try and do it yourself - unless you've got money already, in which case, go nuts. It's not hard to do it yourself, but it will require time; at least a couple weeks of you time to learn the basics and get a clear understanding, then a couple of weeks for hands-on experience.
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Layout Part 1 - Above The Fold
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Layout Part 1 - Above The Fold
Alright, so I've talked a lot about the basics of coding, content and images...but I also must mention layout.
The layout of your website specifically refers to where, on the screen, elements appear on each page. For instance, most people put their site menu towards the left side, right side, or top side of the screen (similar to PG's forum menu). But you might be wondering; 'what does layout have to do with SEO?'
Well, your layout often determines how long a visitor will stay on your website. Easy to navigate layouts encourage people to browse through you pages, while sloppy or hard-to-follow layouts discourage visitors (or give an unprofessional opinion), and cause them to leave your site sooner....and you really want to know how many people are leaving your site quickly.
Proper SEO isn't just about keywords and coding, it's also about the actions of your visitors...because the search engines track and record, what people do online. So, the more people who spend more time on your site, the greater in value the search engines will view your site...which can improve your search engine ranking.
Additionally, search engines use their algorithms to analyze and score the quality of each page on your site based upon 'above the fold' content.
Above The Fold? The term is taking from the newspaper industry, where the length of the magazine requires that it be folded in half for convenience. Customer's buying the paper see the front top-portion of the paper first because it's literally folded in half...and as such, most papers put their attention grabbing headlines 'above the fold'.
For a website, 'above the fold' refers to what can be seen on the screen without needing to scroll...and like a newspaper, this is what most visitors will base their initial assessment of your website on. So, the above the fold section of each of your webpages should be designed to accomplish 2 goals;
People in general are lazy...and even though we're just talking about a finger movement, it's still a movement most people prefer to avoid...so the less scrolling they need to do the better. This is not to say you should avoid placing content below the fold completely (as that also isn't realistic), but you should avoid placing 3-4 pages (or more) of content on a single screen (for sales web pages).
You should always keep the content that most important above the fold, (including as clean and as relevant as possible). Websites that display advertising on their pages often place quite a few ads at the top and the sides of the screen...making the page very distracting...and often causing people to leave.
So...how do you know what is above the fold? Check out http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ and enter your website address. This will show your website against the most common screen resolutions in use today. Your 'above the fold' should be within the range of 70% or better (where 70% or more of people have their screen resolution set at).
The Absolute Basics of SEO - Layout Part 1 - Above The Fold
Alright, so I've talked a lot about the basics of coding, content and images...but I also must mention layout.
The layout of your website specifically refers to where, on the screen, elements appear on each page. For instance, most people put their site menu towards the left side, right side, or top side of the screen (similar to PG's forum menu). But you might be wondering; 'what does layout have to do with SEO?'
Well, your layout often determines how long a visitor will stay on your website. Easy to navigate layouts encourage people to browse through you pages, while sloppy or hard-to-follow layouts discourage visitors (or give an unprofessional opinion), and cause them to leave your site sooner....and you really want to know how many people are leaving your site quickly.
Proper SEO isn't just about keywords and coding, it's also about the actions of your visitors...because the search engines track and record, what people do online. So, the more people who spend more time on your site, the greater in value the search engines will view your site...which can improve your search engine ranking.
Additionally, search engines use their algorithms to analyze and score the quality of each page on your site based upon 'above the fold' content.
Above The Fold? The term is taking from the newspaper industry, where the length of the magazine requires that it be folded in half for convenience. Customer's buying the paper see the front top-portion of the paper first because it's literally folded in half...and as such, most papers put their attention grabbing headlines 'above the fold'.
For a website, 'above the fold' refers to what can be seen on the screen without needing to scroll...and like a newspaper, this is what most visitors will base their initial assessment of your website on. So, the above the fold section of each of your webpages should be designed to accomplish 2 goals;
- Grab the visitor's attention
- Be easy to understand
People in general are lazy...and even though we're just talking about a finger movement, it's still a movement most people prefer to avoid...so the less scrolling they need to do the better. This is not to say you should avoid placing content below the fold completely (as that also isn't realistic), but you should avoid placing 3-4 pages (or more) of content on a single screen (for sales web pages).
You should always keep the content that most important above the fold, (including as clean and as relevant as possible). Websites that display advertising on their pages often place quite a few ads at the top and the sides of the screen...making the page very distracting...and often causing people to leave.
So...how do you know what is above the fold? Check out http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ and enter your website address. This will show your website against the most common screen resolutions in use today. Your 'above the fold' should be within the range of 70% or better (where 70% or more of people have their screen resolution set at).
CLICLASP
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,208
Thank you for such a rich post. I just want to add my " 2 pences" to the subject.
I have spent a lot of time reading the google advices for webmaster, and spent some times to put it in, though there is still a lot to do.
Thanks to this, I have been selected for the major french jewelry exhibition that will occur in next may in the prestigious Palais de Tokyo, http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/fr/informations-pratiques/le-palais-de-tokyo
and besides for the ones who know a little bit my work it will be with a meteorite jewel.
Organisation said they found me on the internet, that's why, i post this comment here.
In addition to this, I will say that flash technology is all over now, and that's a pity because it allows nice effects and designs, but that's 2013.
Also google has some favourite blog applications, and wordpress is one of those, if you are going to write a blog somewhere else, it might be not as well red by google.
I have spent a lot of time reading the google advices for webmaster, and spent some times to put it in, though there is still a lot to do.
Thanks to this, I have been selected for the major french jewelry exhibition that will occur in next may in the prestigious Palais de Tokyo, http://www.palaisdetokyo.com/fr/informations-pratiques/le-palais-de-tokyo
and besides for the ones who know a little bit my work it will be with a meteorite jewel.
Organisation said they found me on the internet, that's why, i post this comment here.
In addition to this, I will say that flash technology is all over now, and that's a pity because it allows nice effects and designs, but that's 2013.
Also google has some favourite blog applications, and wordpress is one of those, if you are going to write a blog somewhere else, it might be not as well red by google.
CLICLASP
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2006
- Messages
- 1,208
Caitlin,
I don't know what is mainly used as laptops and computers in the US, but in France there are mainly the apple company and "touch tablets" now,
so here is what is seen ...(att.)
That's why people are mainly moving to wordpress blogs coupled with e-shops rather than beautifil flash sites.
Sorry I don't have the vocabulary
I don't know what is mainly used as laptops and computers in the US, but in France there are mainly the apple company and "touch tablets" now,
so here is what is seen ...(att.)
That's why people are mainly moving to wordpress blogs coupled with e-shops rather than beautifil flash sites.
Sorry I don't have the vocabulary
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Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
Oh. Tablets don't do flash. And neither does apple? That does get rid of a very annoying plugin- I never realized it was useful for anything.
Your English is good. That was an advanced nuance you stumbled onto. No more apologies for your English; you make yourself clear 99%+ of the time.
Your English is good. That was an advanced nuance you stumbled onto. No more apologies for your English; you make yourself clear 99%+ of the time.
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