There has been a bit of confusion about whether there is any way around ‘nofollow’ attributes. Even though some of the big open-source or community sites like Wikipedia have long since applied nofollows to all of their outbound links, there are still plenty of hopeful conversations out there. They are usually along the lines of ‘I just found this. Does that mean the link is counted?’ The answer, without an exception, is no.

The flurry of big community sites placing nofollows on all their outbound links has been deeply disturbing to the search engine optimisation community. It’s been a while since Wikipedia blocked all link juice from its pages. Facebook, which was once seen as a great opportunity for inbound links, has been out of the game for a long time as well. The most recent uproar was when Twitter, which initially provided some link juice for its users, put nofollows across the board.
Bothered and bewildered

Information on nofollows is uncharacteristically slow to filter through the SEO community. Usually, changes to the playing board of the internet are detected and defined within a matter of weeks. For some reason, the use of nofollows on important sites sends a wave of confusion through even experienced SEO circles. Not months, but years afterwards, forums are still clogged with ‘What if I did this?’ type questions.

The issue isn’t made any clearer by the fact that the industry is rarely warned before a big site labels all of its outbound links as nofollows. Of course, that’s to be expected. The industry is rarely warned about any major change, but often the websites are willing to talk about it. The emotional reaction to nofollows, however, seems to have discouraged big site representatives from talking too much. The maisma of betrayal surrounding Twitter’s move to nofollow links in the bio section of users’ profiles, for instance, not only was Twitter man Evan Williams reluctant to discuss it, but Matt Cutts, who triggered the move, was on the defensive.
Saving the situation!

This lack of information has been confusing. For example, site owners have noticed that Google still recognises a lot of links coming from sites like Facebook and Twitter. There have been plenty of hopeful posts and even a study or two suggesting that somehow, these links are still counted towards PageRank.

At the moment at least, all of these are pipe dreams. Despite appearances, Google is not suddenly going to realise the unfairness of the situation and override the instructions on big sites. The only way to get link juice remains to get inbound, followable links. You can talk to us at SEO Consult about this.

This issue is mainly an issue because of hope. A big site like Twitter suddenly laying down a nofollow on all of its user outbound links represents a big blow for the search engine optimisation of thousands of sites. SEO experts and site owners can’t help but hope that there is some way around it, a way to salvage the situation. Unfortunately, there is none.

Eat your heart out, cupid. Valentine’s Day still is nearly two weeks away, but the lover’s holiday is already attracting the attention of the web’s criminal element.

Researchers at Trend Micro on Monday said they have spotted two spam campaigns — one promoting a fake gift card promotion, the other counterfeit watches — in the wild, Maria Alarcon, an anti-spam engineer, said Monday in a blog post. As Valentine’s Day nears, internet users should expect the scams to get more malevolent.

“Every special occasion and/or holiday is, in today’s threat-laden internet landscape, not just a time for people to celebrate but also a time for spammers to scam unwitting users with their devious scams,” Alarcon said, adding that in more malicious cases, the fraudulent emails show up containing links or attachments to viruses.

And if previous holidays and media events are any indication, users also should be on the lookout for poisoned search results, also known as black hat search engine optimization (SEO). Attackers use this tactic to get their malicious links near the top of search results so users are fooled into believing the results are legitimate.

Black hat SEO is the new spam, Mike Geide, senior security researcher at Zscaler, a web security firm, said in a blog post last week. The recent Haiti earthquake is a prime example of this, he said.

“It used to be that when you checked your email and/or email spam folder, there would be a slew of messages with links or attachments that would have titles related to the popular subjects of the time, and would be used to spread malware,” he said. “Now the game seems to be that you sip your morning coffee and browse the web — largely driven from search results from Google. However, many of these search results cannot be trusted.”

Google has said it uses manual and automated processes to remove malware from its search index.

A vasectomy reversal clinic has announced its partnership with Dallas-based Internet marketing firm SEO 1 Services. The clinic has enlisted the help of the SEO services firm to spread the word about their surgical expertise. A spokesperson for the Legacy Male Health Institute, PA said that they were happy to work with a company like SEO 1, which is well-known for its organic SEO initiatives.

Vasectomy Reversal is a surgical procedure that often provides hope in case of male infertility due to previous surgical vasectomy. Microsurgical vasectomy reversal is a specialized field of surgery. The surgery is itself different from other urological procedures. Consequently, it is imperative to choose a surgeon who has expertise in these types of interventions.

The Legacy Male Health Institute, PA offers microsurgical vasectomy reversal procedure with a success rate of 98% for return of sperm; this means that 65% of the couples who get the vasectomy reversal surgery done from this clinic achieve pregnancy without additional medical interventions.

Dr. Jeffrey Buch stated that SEO 1, with their top-notch expertise in search engine positioning, could help the practice achieve its goal of a higher search engine ranking. The renowned male infertility expert also mentioned that it had become essential for the clinic to establish a leadership presence on the Internet at a nationwide level as demand for his surgical remedy transcends the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

“One of the reasons for choosing organic SEO over the traditional PPC campaigns was the long-term price tag associated with the former. Just as we have a long-term commitment to the families we help, we understand that a strong organic presence is essential for branding and visibility rather than opting for pay per click (PPC) favored by fly-by clinics,” said Dr. Buch.

When contacted, a marketing executive from SEO 1 said that they were confident that very soon the prestigious Legacy Male Health Institute, PA will be in their list of satisfied clients who had managed to turn their website into prime online real estate with the help of the search engine optimization firm.

About SEO 1 Services:

SEO 1 Services is a search engine marketing company specializing in online visibility solutions by increasing its clients’ ranking and positioning in popular search engines. Leveraging over three decades of combined Internet marketing know-how, SEO 1 Services’ integrated approach creates highly targeted optimization campaigns that deliver online visibility, web traffic and Internet business objectives. SEO 1 Services’ certified consultants drive the innovation, the proprietary technology and optimization methodologies that have delivered our clients’ success.

Stoney deGeyter runs though the four basicS of SEO, which he calls the “foundation” for online success: indexed pages, rankings, visitors and conversations. Implementing these tactics correctly could improve conversions.

The more difficult to navigate, find information and make a purchase or get conversions on the Web site, the more likely visitors are to leave. They’ll move on to another site where things are easy, deGeyter writes.

While not publicly announcing it at this time. Many SEO Internet Marketing companies and Social Media firms are taking cues from each other. The catalyst behind this positive trend is Google Caffeine and its emphasis on ‘Real Time’ search results.

Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing have long been considered by many to be polar opposites. However, according to Irbtrax founder Scott Moir that’s about to change-

“Google Caffeine and its ‘Real Time’ search feature uniquely combines the science of SEO with the art of Social Media. This trend is not only a good business move by Google, it’s a great outline for Internet Marketing companies seeking to achieve optimal results for their clients.”

Irbtrax realizes that at their core, Social Media Marketing and SEO have a lot in common. Social Media (SoMed) and SEO both strive to increase traffic. Both aim to expand Internet Visibility. And both endeavor to improve website visitor user experience. The difference is in the platforms they use.
“Google Caffeine and its ‘Real Time’ search feature uniquely combines the science of SEO with the art of Social Media. This trend is not only a good business move by Google, it’s a great outline for Internet Marketing companies seeking to achieve optimal results for their clients.”

An analysis by Irbtrax of some basic fundamental differences include:

- SEO seeks to increase traffic by improving a company’s organic Page Rankings. Or enhancing their Search Engine Page Results (SERP’s) for a particular keyword phrase. Social Media aims to increase traffic using third party platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and ‘Real Time’ Blogging.

- SoMed focuses on outbound content. SEO emphasizes quality inbound links.

- SEO strives to optimize a website for search engines while enhancing visitor experience. SoMed endeavors to optimize website content sharing while improving visit portability.

Irbtrax strongly believes that SEO and SoMed can play a combined role in achieving optimal client results. And is in dialogue with select Social Media companies to form a mutually beneficial business relationships.

Article marketing is a good tool for reaching out to a broader audience and letting them know about your expertise on a given topic. The purpose is to establish credibility and drive traffic back to your Web site. So let’s first cover the basics of article marketing and submission, and then touch on potential duplicate content issues.

What is Article Marketing?

Article marketing allows writers to promote themselves and their company by writing articles and making the content freely available for reproduction on other Internet sites. Basically, you’re providing something of value for free to those who have similar interests or work in your field.

Writing articles helps set you up as an expert or authority on the topic. Writing a number of articles in a niche area helps establish you as a specialist in that particular field. Readers will reciprocate by wanting to learn more about you and your company.

Tips on Writing Good Articles and Headlines

The first thing to consider when writing an article is to find a good topic. Keyword research is a great resource here because it will help you understand where people’s interests lie.

You’ll want to incorporate those keywords into the body of your article and, most importantly, in your headline. Applying SEO best practices will also increase the chances your article will be picked up by search engines with your target keywords.

When thinking of a good title for your article, consider your target keywords and make sure you use them in your title. Consider using your keyword first and then follow with a catchy phrase or benefit (e.g., “Link Building — The Top 5 Methods for Placing Links”). In addition to helping with SEO, this will help people quickly understand what your article is about.

Articles don’t have to be long. They should be around 500-700 words and structured in a way that’s relevant to the reader.

It’s important to refrain from selling within your article. Your readers will genuinely regard your article as something of value if you provide good, useful, relevant content. Indirectly, you’re selling them on your value, which is more important.

Article Submission Directory

You can post your completed articles to various article submission directories, such as EzineArticles. Here’s a link to the top 50 article directories supposedly ranked by Alexa and Google PageRank. These directories are generally free and offer many categories of topics to choose from.

Duplicate Content and Article Submission

Now we run into the problem with duplicate content. You might get some good links from submitting your article to several directories, but you also might get lost from the search engines.

Ask yourself which is more important: links or SEO? You may not be able to have your cake and eat it too.

Search engines are looking for quality, original content. So if you’re going to send your article to many directories, make sure you have a link pointing back to the original. For this reason, you should also avoid over submitting your article and try to look for quality placement by manual submission.

There are other methods for content syndication than just using article directories. We’ll go into this in more detail next week.
Article from:Article Marketing 101

Hackers are increasingly using search engine optimisation (SEO) to attract people to websites containing malware, it has been revealed.

Sunbelt Software claimed that cybercriminals are exploiting people’s thirst for news by including keywords related to current affairs on malicious websites that contain trojans, which may concern IT outsourcing in London users.

Michael St Neitzel, the company’s vice president of threat research, commented: “Their sites place in the top hits in many online search engines when internet users go looking for current topics in the news.”

The organisation also revealed that ‘Brittany Murphy’, ‘chromium os download’, ‘ new year’s parades’, ‘Tiger Woods car crash’ and ‘Tiger Woods rumors’ were the most dangerous terms to search for in December, as they brought up results for websites which hosted malware.

McAfee Labs’ recent 2010 Threat Predictions report recent said that social networking websites and their third-party applications will become the preferred target for hackers launching malware attacks.

Domain based reputation

Domain based reputation is on the upswing and I see that continuing through 2010. I don’t, however, see domain based reputation replacing or even becoming more important than IP based reputation. A few people have predicted that domain reputation will replace IP reputation, and they’re wrong. Domain based reputation will augment but not replace IP based reputation. It is easy and efficient to check the reputation of a connecting IP address and a receiver can make a preliminary delivery decision without having to accept the full email.

Where domain based reputation will have the biggest effect is for IP addresses with mixed mail streams or IP addresses with no reputation. Small senders often have to share IP addresses with other senders and domain based reputation will allow them to establish their own reputation separately from the reputation of other senders using the same IP. The other real bonus will be when moving mail from one IP to another. Domain based reputation may decrease the time required to warmup an IP address.

Engagement

The buzzword for 2010 is engagement. ISPs will be measuring engagement and making delivery decisions based on how much their users want particular email. In the past ISPs have used measurements like complaint rates and bounce rates to measure how wanted email is. These numbers correlate with how wanted mail is, but are relatively easy for senders to game. In 2010, ISPs are going to actually start filtering based on how wanted mail is. “Wanted” mail will no longer be measured using the proxy measurements, as those have proven to be easy to game. Instead, ISPs will directly measure how much recipients want a particular mail. These changes will force senders to stop sending mail that does not generate complaints and start sending mails that recipients are eager to receive.

Social Networking

I don’t see social networking replacing email marketing at any time. I do see, though, email marketing giving recipients opportunities to share information with social networks. Smart senders will provide easy links so that recipients can share information with their social networks. When marketers do well, they’ll have happy recipients who want to share the information. When marketers do poorly, however, they will have to deal with unhappy recipients. It only takes a few people publicizing a company failure to generate negative buzz.

Conclusion

In 2010 email marketing is going to get much more challenging for everyone. Recipients, and their ISPs, are expecting more and better things from email marketing. Senders who are currently meeting expectations may struggle to meet those increasing standards within their current marketing frameworks. Successful marketers will be able to make the switch from sending mail that doesn’t annoy customers to sending mail that recipients truly want. On the ESP side, they may find they had to provide more guidance and consulting support for customers. They may also need to change some policies and improve their problem detection systems.

This is the year of engagement, and senders can’t fake engagement the way they can other metrics. Marginal senders will struggle to adapt to the new conditions. Better senders will need to change some things, but will improve their marketing to meet the new standards. Overall, though, the changes will drive all senders to really send mail people want. This leads to more engaged recipients. More engaged recipients leads to better delivery and better ROI for those marketers as well as a better inbox experience for recipients.

Over the past several years, there has been an increased emphasis on web design in an increasingly digital world. Web designers are employed by nearly every major company, and freelancers are seeing steady business from clients eager to maximize their online presence in an effort to stay competitive.

To honor the best firms currently making a name for themselves across the globe, online vendor authority Top SEOs has recently released their list of the top 10 web design agencies in the world.

“A good web designer can create a site map that makes navigating a website flow,” claims the Plymouth, Indiana-based tech firm. “Oftentimes, fickle customers won’t spend the time looking a website if it isn”t organized and attractive. Web designers create a journey for the visitor that is the most effective experience possible with that website.”

Receiving top honors is New York developer, Mind Smack studios – a prominent multimedia company currently designing sited for CitiGroup, Time Warner, Dreamworks and Pepsi among others.

Turismotec will design and execute a natural search marketing campaign with the objective of delivering increased exposure in the main search engines for a number of target search phrases relating to Corona Holidays core destinations of the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands.

“Having wasted a lot of time and money on other SEO organizations, we have already noticed a huge difference in the professional approach and management of the commencement of our SEO campaign by Mark Scriven and Turismotec” says Domingo Sánchez, Director of Corona Holidays Ltd. “We are confident that this time we have made the right decision and are looking forward to working with Turistmotec, and being involved in the optimization of our website. This is the start of what we envisage to be a long term commercial relationship” says Sánchez.

The natural search strategy will incorporate optimization of the site content along with online PR and Social Media campaigns to ensure the site achieves maximum exposure online.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with such a well established and reputable company as Corona Holidays” says Mark Scriven, Director of Turismotec Ltd. “They have an excellent website and very strong product offering. All that’s missing is good visibility in the search engines, which is where we come in” says Scriven.

The campaign will commence in January 2010.