<title> » Search Engine Optimization

Google Profiles in Regular Search Results

Adam Moro — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:08:44 +0000

A little less than a year ago, Google started including Google Profile pages in vertical results but it seems they have taken it one step further by now including them in regular search results (as depicted in the image above). Seems "fair" enough considering Google profiles are now jam-packed with all sorts of buzz and aggregated information from other websites.

List of 138 Ping URLs (RPC / RPC2 Services)

Adam Moro — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:02:27 +0000

If you're on WordPress or another blog that lets you specify the services you want to ping whenever you post to or update your blog (e.g. Ping-o-Matic), here's a list that expands on the list of 56 RPC and RPC2 Services to Ping graciously provided by Elliott Back back in 2004.

http://shrinkurl.us/ZQl

http://www.volny.cz/tile2007/bathroom1tile/bathroom-tile.htm

http://www.feedsky.com/api/RPC2

http://audiorpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://api.my.yahoo.co.jp/RPC2

http://ping.blogs.yandex.ru/RPC2

http://ping.wordblog.de

http://blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates

http://blogsearch.google.ae/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.at/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.be/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.bg/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ca/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ch/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.cl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.cr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.hu/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.id/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.il/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.in/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.it/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.jp/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.ma/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.nz/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.th/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.ve/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.za/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.ar/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.au/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.br/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.co/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.do/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.mx/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.my/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.pe/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.sa/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.sg/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.tr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.tw/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.ua/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.uy/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.vn/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.de/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.es/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.fi/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.fr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.gr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.hr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ie/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.in/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.it/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.jp/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.lt/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.nl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.pl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.pt/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ro/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ru/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.se/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.sk/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.tw/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.us/ping/RPC2

http://ping.fc2.com

http://ping.kutsulog.net

http://ping.namaan.net/rpc

http://r.hatena.ne.jp/rpc

http://rpc.reader.livedoor.com/ping

http://www.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

http://www.wasalive.com/ping

http://www.focuslook.com/ping.php?url=http://www.yourblog.com

https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast

http://ping.blogoon.net

http://www.newsisfree.com/RPC

http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2

http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx

http://api.moreover.com/ping

http://api.moreover.com/RPC2

http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates

http://bblog.com/ping.php

http://ping.feedburner.com

http://ping.myblog.jp

http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc

http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC

http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080

http://rpc.pingomatic.com

http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

http://1470.net/api/ping

http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b

http://api.feedster.com/ping

http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping

http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php

http://bitacoras.net/ping

http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc

http://blogmatcher.com/u.php

http://www.blogoole.com/ping/

http://www.blogoon.net/ping/

http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1

http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php

http://www.blogsnow.com/ping

http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi

http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc

http://coreblog.org/ping/

http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/

http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt

http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php

http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php

http://ping.amagle.com/

http://ping.bitacoras.com

http://ping.blo.gs/

http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/

http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/

http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc

http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc

http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php

http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php

http://ping.weblogs.se/

http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2

http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php

http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/

http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2

http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/

http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2

http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php

http://topicexchange.com/RPC2

http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/

http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/

http://xmlrpc.blogg.de/

http://blogbot.dk/io/xml-rpc.php

http://www.catapings.com/ping.php

http://effbot.org/rpc/ping.cgi

http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/ping.php

HTML noindex Tag

Adam Moro — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:08:38 +0000

Someone on Twitter asked Google if they index content contained within the HTML tag, "noindex" (not to be confused with the robots meta tag directive) and, as far as I could tell, never received a response. I took to the Google Webmaster Help forum for an answer and a member stated his opinion that, "virtually no one supports this tag." I try not to rely on opinions when I'm getting paid to do SEO work so I thought it called for a simple test.

An obvious component of an SEO test is an obscure term or phrase and one of the obscure terms I use is, "habadashary." It's a misspelling of the also somewhat obscure term, "haberdashery" so it makes for a really effective test variable. So in the interest of making the most out of this test, I've wrapped the misspelling in the noindex HTML tag and included the correct spelling for another unrelated test (that we'll just keep between you and me). I've got this blog hooked up to a plethora of ping URLs so the results should be visible pretty quickly.

Find Out if an SEO is Lying in Five Steps

Adam Moro — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:46:47 +0000

I've had my fair share of run-ins with unethical car repair shops but a recent experience made me realize that there's an analogy to be drawn between shady SEO salesmen and shady auto mechanics.

To test this I simply copied an article from eHow titled, "How to Tell if a Mechanic is Lying" and made a few minor adjustments. As you will see, there were not many adjustments to make and that's what I found really interesting. So here are five steps you can take to find out if your SEO is lying to you.

Simply ask if the work that needs to be done can wait. If the ~~mechanic~~ SEO says that it is not an emergency, it is alright to hold off on getting it done. This is not to say that you should neglect getting ~~repairs~~ your website optimized, but there is nothing wrong with putting unnecessary work off.
Ask your ~~mechanic~~ SEO to show you the problem. For instance, your ~~mechanic~~ SEO tells you that you need ~~new rear brake pads~~ better rankings. But when it is time to show you, you realize that they are ~~not nearly as worn as he said~~ referring to terms for which nobody ever actually searches. In fact, ~~they~~ your rankings are not bad, ~~compared to the front brake pads~~ when you check them for the words and phrases your prospects are actually using to find businesses like yours. If you are not having any problems with ~~braking when you drive~~ your prospects finding your website, there is a possibility that your ~~mechanic~~ SEO is lying.
Get a second opinion, if you ~~drive into the auto shop~~ contact an SEO company and you do not trust the ~~mechanic~~ SEO. People get second opinions for doctors and dentists. So why not ~~leave your mechanics shop~~ find another SEO company and ask ~~another~~ them who is equally, if not more qualified.
Trust that your ~~mechanic~~ SEO is lying, if every time you get your ~~car serviced~~ website audited, they come back with a laundry list of other, unexpected issues. Unless your ~~car~~ website was ~~pre-owned or very old~~ worked on by another SEO company since the last time this one worked on it, there is a possibility your ~~mechanic~~ SEO is lying.
Acquaint yourself with the basic ~~car servicing~~ search engine optimization recommendations according to ~~your car mileage~~ leading SEO bloggers. You can do this by going online and printing out a standard ~~car servicing~~ SEO checklist. This is important information to know, especially if your ~~mechanic~~ SEO says you need ~~an oil change~~ a site redesign or new ~~tires~~ content and you know that he/she is lying because you are ~~not due for an oil change~~ meeting all the recommendations of the checklist and you have ~~a decent amount of tread on your tires~~ unique and relevant content on your site already.

Search Engine Technology Bookmarks

Adam Moro — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:03:20 +0000

Here are some bookmarks to get you thinking about SEO from a highly advanced and technical point of view. Not all of this stuff is comprehensible by those without a background in Information Retrieval but be patient, re-read, re-read and re-read again until you understand as much as you can. Once you begin to understand the concepts you thought were impossible for you to understand before, you will not only be a better SEO but you will be able to better distinguish who out there actually knows what they're talking about.

Of course, this is not a complete list. There are so many good articles out there, many of which can be found by following the links in these articles. So get your research on and, if you feel like it, please let me know about any articles you find or already know of that should be on this list.

Essential Reading

Information Retrieval (IR) - Crawling and Indexing the Web

Natural Language Processing (NLP) - Determining Relevance and Word Patterns

Link Analysis - Ranking the Web

Web Spam, Spamdexing, and Link Spamming

RFP! RFP! RFP! Then RFP

Adam Moro — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:46:48 +0000

If you've been getting more and more requests for SEO proposals that mysteriously keep getting denied, you may be falling victim to a relatively new dirty little SEO secret (or you're just not great at writing proposals but let's assume that you are).

We all know Google has been moving towards leveraging user signals over webmaster signals for some time now. We also know that Eric Schmidt is focused on brands as a solution for removing the cesspool-ish attributes of their SERPs. So let me ask you, what's the first thing you do when you get an SEO RFP? If you're like many of the seasoned SEOs out there then you probably do something like this. But what's the very first thing you do? Is it a search for the prospective client's core keywords? Is it a search for their company name? Either way you probably end up doing both and then what's the next thing you do when you're staring at the results for those searches? Don't you usually click on your prospect's result?

I wonder what sending out hundreds of requests for proposals would do for your brand popularity from Google's algorithmic perspective. Looks like the small guys still have a chance!