James Brown reports that he has found that the taboo against “reciprocal links” is not valid. If the sites that link to you are quality sites, their links are beneficial, even if you also link to them. In the first place, most traffic comes to most websites apart from Google. Google, itself, only claims that they account for 28% of a site’s traffic. So if high-value sites link to you, it’s almost entirely positive. Their customers make good candidates for your products and services. In the second place, if Google likes a site, they will tend to like the sites that they link... [...]

The latest MOZ blog post is titled “A Startling Case Study of Manual Penalties and Negative SEO”. Yonatan Dotan says, “This January, I was at a talk at SMX Israel by John Mueller – Google’s Webmaster Trends Analyst – about how to recover from a manual penalty. The session’s moderator opened the talk by asking the hundreds of people seated in the room to raise their hands if they had ever been affected by or had a client that was affected by a manual penalty. Nearly the entire room raised their hands – myself included. Setting the Plot I am the head of SEO at yellowHEAD, an online... [...]

The latest article on ‘Website Magazine’ is titled “E-Commerce Profiles in Site Performance Optimization”. Pete Prestipino says, “One of the most pressing concerns for online retailers is maintaining a high-level of performance – particularly during the high-traffic holidays. There is, of course, no shortage of solutions on the market to support merchants in alleviating (or at least minimizing) the issue, but it’s often more useful to see how engaging in an initiative to optimize and speed up a brand’s website actually works and what it could mean for your digital... [...]

The latest article on ‘Business 2 Community’ is titled “WordPress Multisite Can Be Structural Advantage For SEO”. Phil Singleton says, “WordPress is by far the most popular content management system for small businesses.  It’s super easy to use and when structured properly, great for search engine optimization.  WordPress also gives you the ability to create a ‘website of websites’ or your own network of sites, on a single installation. You can find the official networking explanation of WordPress Multisite here.  We will not get into the background or specifics... [...]

SEO experts have said for years that of all the backlinks that can build your search engine power, .GOV links are the best. Since .GOV sites are only available to government agencies, these sites are considered authoritative in the extreme. There are a few government sites that allow you to contribute links. These sites can be useful to build authority for your site, and you can be in control of what they say about your site. Maryam Rasool has done the research and has found 10 government sites that allow you to insert links into the site. Rasool has documented these sites in Gov Rocket. These... [...]

The latest MOZ blog post is titled “Keyword Targeting, Density, and Cannibalization – Whiteboard Friday”. Rand Fishkin says, “Enough has changed about keyword targeting that it’s high time we offered a refresher. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand lays out best practices for targeting, and clears the air about density and cannibalization in today’s world of search“. Keyword Targeting, Density, and Cannibalization – Whiteboard Friday MOZ Blog  [...]

The latest ‘MarketingExperiments’ blog post is titled “Landing Page Optimization: Radio buttons vs. dropdowns”. John Tackett says, “Radio buttons or dropdowns? The question is arguably on the borderline of arbitrary, but as we discovered, this choice is far more important that one might think. During a recent Web clinic, Austin McCraw, Jon Powell and Lauren Pitchford, all of MECLABS, revealed the results of an experiment that put button options to the test. So, let’s take a closer look at the research notes for some background information on the test. Background: A large people search... [...]

The latest article on ‘Business 2 Community’ is titled “How to Maximize SEO on YouTube”. Spencer Frandsen says, “Hard to think that YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google. Admittedly that fact can be missed by some due to YouTube being, well, a video hosting website. But many people use YouTube for any queries they may have to find what they need. After all, content being consumed in video form is a popular choice for most Internet users. Back when YouTube was a new entity , getting a video optimized for search was as simple as using a relevant keyword... [...]

The latest VerticalResponse blog post is titled “Content and Pay Per Click – Using them Together for Success”. The VR team says, “With the rise of social media and Google’s search algorithm favoring new and unique content, there’s been a lot of buzz these days around producing content. Blogging, informational videos, infographics, guides, and the like are more popular now than ever. All this great content provides businesses with a unique opportunity to gain new customers.If your business isn’t currently producing content for your prospects and customers, you should definitely... [...]

The latest MOZ blog post is titled “Troubleshooting Local Ranking Failures: A Beginner’s Guide”. Miriam Ellis says, “The fallout from lost Google local rankings can be drastic, from silent phones in the office to a loss of pride in a company’s standing in the community. Don’t panic: Be proactive and take the steps outlined in this guide to begin troubleshooting the cause of your ranking failure. This article is intended for both local business owners and new Local SEOs who will benefit from having a set of procedures to follow should local rankings go south. While I can’t... [...]