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- Making Content and Design Work in Harmony
- Web Design Shouldn't Be Rushed
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- Using Google Analytics to Improve Your Website
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- 5 Reasons Why You Should Update Your Ecommerce Website
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- Get The Most Out Of Your eCommerce Store
- Avoid Making The 10 Biggest Facebook Marketing Blunders!
- How To Use Twitter For Businesses
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21 October 2011
SEO Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Manipulation
In my own home town of Derby, there is a driving school named Aardvark. I know nothing about this animal and I have no idea whether it has any characteristics which lend itself well to good driving instruction. All I do know is that due to its slightly odd spelling, it appears very near the front of the Dictionary.
Taking the cynical view, it’s this relative position in word order which makes this particular driving school appear at the top of the list in Yellow Page (remember them?) and as such is best positioned to get enquiries from lazier searchers.
Manipulation of the systems of organising information is clearly nothing new. It’s a natural state of affairs and it results in weird idiosyncrasies such as obscure African mammals laying name to driving schools in a UK heartland town.
Fast forward to the new millennium and information is rarely accessed via the Yellow pages but by the web – most notably search engines. And so the game of information manipulation moves online but it's in no-ones interest that this should be possible becasue...
- Users - Don't want to waste their time sifting through bad results
- Google - Wants to look after users in order to keep market share
- Businesses - Ask those who are at the top (on merit!) if they would like those below to maniupluate their way above them!
Google spends a huge amount of time and effort in making sure the BEST web pages appear in the SERPS. How they decide upon the best page is a big topic for discussion elsewhere. But ever since the first search engine appeared via our 56k dial up connections, manipulation of SERPs order has been rife - quickly followed by Googles response.
Google Algorithm Updates
If we happy to accept bad search results, we’d all switch to Yahoo. Google are so ubiquitous because they provide the best results (though Bing may argue that). The following is only the most general of guides as to some of the manipulation techniques used over the years and whilst Google is always improving the way in which it determines rankings, there has been some major updates which have, in part, targetted specific SERP manipulation practices.
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Keyword Density – Florida in 2003
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Hidden Text/Links – Cassandra in 2002
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Meta Tag “Stuffing” – Austin in 2004
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Reciprocal Linking – Jagger in 2005
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Link Farming – Panda in 2011
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Paying for links – Jagger
-
Similar Content on multiple URL’s – Bourbon 2005
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“Dubious” unnatural linking practices – Allegra 2005
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Blog Commenting – Nofollow in 2005
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Article Marketing – Attribtution 2011
The list above is not exhaustive and only skims the service - if other SEO's want to change, amend or add to it, please comment below. What business owners need to take away from this, though is that when it comes to SERP’s manipulation techniques, the smart money is on Google winning.
Unless you can give a real reason as to why your site should rank highly for a given word or phrase, it is unlikely that Google will simply bestow that privilege upon you. Part of the role of a good SEO, is to help businesses understand how the search engines work and guide them as to how to improve their traffic and their conversions. What they can’t do is force the search engines to rank a page highly. But once a business has the right understanding and support, their marketing outlook is changed forever.
Personally, I enjoy talking to other traditional marketing managers about Search Marketing and encourage you to get in touch. What is certain though, if someone told you to change your business name to Aardvark to get ahead, you should chuck that idea on the same pile as bad "SEO".
Topics
Latest blog
- 3 Big SEO Mistakes That Is Limiting Your Marketing Efforts
4th April 2017
- Is SEO Really Important for Your Business?
4th April 2017
- Why Your Web Design Needs To Have CRM Integration
10th February 2017
- Updating Patches for Web Domain Security
25th January 2017
- How to Integrate Linnworks with Magento 2 Ecommerce Platforms
11th January 2017
Archive
SEO Search Engine Optimisation(8)
-
2017(1)
-
2016(2)
March(11)
- What is robots.txt and how can it help with SEO?
- Why what you do for Google helps with Yahoo
- Google’s Research Tools to Find the Right Keywords for SEO
- International SEO at a Glance Part 1
- SEO vs SEM
- Ways to Optimise Your Website in 2016
- URLs and users need to be BFFs
- Do Do Not Not Duplicate Duplicate
- What are Meta Description Tags and How to Use Them Effectively?
- Give Your Web Pages a Little Labelling and a Lot of Love
- Introduction to SEO Month
February(1)
-
2015(1)
-
2014(4)
-
2013(4)
May(1)
March(7)
February(10)
- SEO & PPC – A Winning Combination
- Video Marketing Strategy And Your SEO Campaign
- Boost Your Rankings With On-Page SEO
- Let Quality Content Boost Your Rankings
- Taking It Back To Basics; Organic Backlinks
- Is Micro Formatting Important To SEO?
- Writing Good Content For Your SEO Strategy
- The Biggest Search Engine Optimisation No No’s!
- How To Achieve A Perfectly Optimised Page
- Why SEO Is Imperative for Your Business, Online or Offline
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2012(5)
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2016(5)
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May(3)
April(4)
March(33)
- Web Design Jargon
- The Top Image File Formats for Web Design
- The Best Web Design Tactics You Can Use
- Web Design Tips and Tricks
- Attention Leicester Businesses
- Mobile Internet – Internet that goes everywhere with people
- Collaborating Design, Development & Content: The Evolution of a Web Designer
- A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words: How Alt Tags Can Help When a Picture Can't
- Making Content and Design Work in Harmony
- Web Design Shouldn't Be Rushed
- The Relationship Between Web Design and SEO
- Quality over Quantity
- Tweeting for success
- How to Engage Your Audience and Retain their Attention
- Using Google Analytics to Improve Your Website
- Ahoy Anchor Text
- Navigation, Navigation, Navigation: Part 2 - How do I ensure that my website has good navigation?
- Navigation, Navigation, Navigation: Part 1 - Why is Navigation an important part of website design?
- How Important Is It to Have a Good UX Design?
- Why it’s Important that FDC Is Almost a Decade Old
- Measuring the Quality of Ecommerce Web Design
- Web Design Mistakes to Avoid
- Resizer: Google’s stance in web design standard practice
- The Future of Web Design
- Why Web Design is About More Than Just Different Colours and Templates
- Minimal, Clean and Simple: futuristic web design
- Looking for an E-Commerce Web Design Agency in Leicester? Look no further!
- FDC Studio - Web Design
- FDC - Decoding Web Design
- Predicting Web Design Trends in 2016
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Ecommerce: how to make your online business succeed
- What Makes Web Design Great?
- Web Design for Leicester-based business Dustraction by FDC
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- 4 Best Practices of E-commerce powered by Magento 2
- Top 4 Benefits of Magento 2 to make shopping carts
- The use of Extensions in Magento 2 for Improved Marketing
- The power of Magento 2 as a Catalogue Management Tool
- The Top 4 Advantages of Magento 2 for Web Developers
- The need for effective E-commerce Platforms
- The flexibility of Magento 2 for Creating Mobile Apps
- Magento 2-The best Content Management System
- Magento 2 Perks for a winning E-commerce solution
- Magento 2 offers amazing Online stores
- Magento creates the best web customisations
- Improving Website SEO using Magento 2
- How to use Maegento 2 to create the best shopping websites
- How to select the best Magento 2 Web Designs
- How to create an engaging E-commerce website with Magento 2
- Creating Beautiful Stores with Magento 2
- Best 5 Features of Magento 2 as a CMS
- Employing Magento 2 for empowering Affiliate Marketing
- 4 E-commerce stores that have successfully migrated to Magento 2.0
- How to Manage High E-commerce Traffic with Magento 2
- How a transition to Magento 2 can help you rank better on Google
- Is Magento 2 Suitable for Small Merchants?
- Scalability Gains with Magento 2 - A Myth or Reality?
- The 4 Best Features of Magento 2 That Make It the Best E-Commerce Platform
- What Makes Magento 2 a Robust E- Commerce Platform for B2B Businesses?
- Generating business through your website
August(11)
- 4 Magento 2 Extensions That Can Reduce Your Cart Abandonment Rate
- 6 Reasons You Should Move to Magento 2
- Affiliate Marketing Made Easier with Magento 2
- How to Migrate Seamlessly from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
- Magento 2 Extensions that Make Your Payment Process More Efficient
- Magento 2 Offers Improved Performance - What the Hype is All About?
- Magento 2 vs. Magento 1- Understanding the Differences
- Magento 2 vs. WooCommerce - Which One is a Smarter Choice?
- The Four Best Magento 2 Themes for Fashion Stores
- Understanding the Tech Stack of Magento 2
- Why Magento 2 is Likely to Win against Shopify in the E-Commerce Battle?
March(2)
February(7)
- Is the old way to sell the new way to sell?
- How Magento Can Benefit Your Business
- Compete With the Big Boys with Magento
- Magento: Amazon and eBay Integration
- Magento – Making E-Commerce Easy
- Small Tweaks To Increase Your eCommerce Website Conversion Rates
- 5 Reasons Why You Should Update Your Ecommerce Website
January(6)
- The Complete Package: Get the E-Commerce Website Your Business Deserves
- Climb the Ranks – How SEO Can Increase Business Profits
- Commerce Made Easy with Magento
- Stand Out – Why a Customized Website is Invaluable to Your Business
- Stay in Control – An Integrated Website to Optimize Business Performance
- Effectively Market and Grow Your Business in 2016
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- Google MyBusiness – Integrate location, reviews and your website with one program
- How to Use Raven Tools to Effectively Manage SEO and Social Media
- Google Merchant Centre – Perfect for E-Commerce Solutions Part 2
- Google Merchant Centre – Perfect for E-Commerce Solutions Part 1
- Google AdWords the Basics Part 2
- Google AdWords the Basics Part 1
- Google Webmaster as an effective tool – Part 2
- Google Webmaster as an effective tool – Part 1
- How Google Drive and Youtube Can Drive Your Business Forward
- Google Analytics Explained - Part 2
- Google Analytics Explained - Part 1
- How Google works as a Search Engine
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- Affiliate Marketing And Its Value
- Are You Missing Out On Vital Marketing Opportunities?
- How To Attract The Female Audience
- Is Your eCommerce Site Designed Around Your Customers?
- Get The Most Out Of Your eCommerce Store
- Avoid Making The 10 Biggest Facebook Marketing Blunders!
- How To Use Twitter For Businesses
- Is Your Business Making The Most Out Of Google+?
- Google+ State That There Is No Concern Regarding Facebook Search Tactics
- Boosting Lead Nurturing Campaigns
- Embrace Open-Source Marketing
-
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- E-marketing Campaigns: How to Win the Rat Race
- The Golden Rules of Selling Through Your Website
- Generate Cash Without Having to Do a Thing - Here's How
- The 10 Biggest Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- The Seven Key Considerations of Branding
- Dale Shows You How to Cash in On Your Website
- eCommerce: Have You Done Your Homework
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