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Luis,
I am going to suggest you find other ways of getting links. Your first line is a major redflag: I am looking for a community eager to exchange links. I believe the folks at Google would see your effort as a scheme to build pagerank...
Given that I have gone to your site and see you have some decent links and PA/DA, why risk it with taking the easy way out?
Good Luck,
Robert
Immanuel
It appears you did not 301 your urls from the old site to the new when you were in Development. Now, you literally have the same url twice. I followed the sitelink for Coffee by Segafredo and landed on Segafredo.com.au/coffee/ see screenshot with Segafredo from sitelink. Then, in a new window, I went to the domain link you provided and added /coffee/ and got the second image.
When you design a new site you need to insure you take care of the url's from the previous so as to maintain the link juice from each. I believe the one with the beans actually has a PA of 36. the new one has a PA of 1. You need this link juice or you will lose all your rankings. EDIT TO ADD EMPHASIS - Do not wait, you need to act now.
You are using IIS and you need to follow the how to's for 301's on an IIS server. You can still fix this. Where is the other site hosted? Do you still have it, the FTP files, etc.?
Let me know and I will give you some direction.
Best, Robert
My personal opinion is that you can do either, but I would go with the hyphen.com. The reason for me is simple it is easier to read. That said, you will shortly have other opinions and they will revolve around being spammy. There is no increase or decrease in SEO value and I have yet to see any quantification of the spammy factor and any effect on CTR or conversions. But, I don't think the hyphen will out perform the non hyphen.net. I think all things being equal, they will be equal.
Best
Carrol,
Oh if it were that easy. Being at A+ for the on page is a good start as that, typically, will put you ahead of a lot of competitors. There are a lot of factors that go into who ranks where on page one for example. If after one week you are "stuck" in positions 15 to 20 you are likely on the right track.
Now, you need to look at the other factors that affect what is going on. What types of links do the sites above you have? How does the quality of your content compare to theirs? How long have their domains been established? Do they have exact match domains? Etc.
In SEO, I like to say we strive to be at 100% while understanding that is unattainable. Therefore, we are going to get as close to that as works for the client and the needs of the site. So, what you have to do is understand that there are other factors you must look at. Here is a great infographic from SearchEngineLand with a table of all the factors.
Look through these and you will find bits of knowledge that will assist you. Then, I would suggest that first you go about finding who is linking to your best competitors for the term and see how you can get some links from them. I would also track the traffic coming to the page and see if the CTR is reasonable, are people spending time on the page/site, etc. Every little bit of help will move you closer to your goals.
I hope this makes you feel a bit better about the good work you have already done.
James,
The way you do what you are asking is like this:
Create a new page: Totnes Hotels or Hotels Totnes
Your title tag convention will be like this: Totnes Hotels | Why the Sea Trout Inn Wins | The Sea Trout Inn
If you believe having a highly crafted set of kw title tags is the answer to ranking all on page one, do the same with each other term. Now, note that the current title tag you have is way over-long and the last part is essentially of no value. You are trying to use title tags as a ranking tool when you would, IMO, be better served to think about who your customer is (hint - it's not Google/Bing/Baidu). Make it recognizable and relevant for your customer and make sure it makes sense from a UI/UX point of view.
Then worry about keywords in the Title Tag.
Hope that helps,
Robert
Thanks Andy,
That is a reasonable consideration, but you have to ask the question: "Whose CTR are you affecting, your own, or the ones on the page without a number?" Yes, I think its both. But if you are lower (6 to 10) I think you take the higher traffic somewhat.
Then, say 10% of those who would have clicked through, called instead and you lost 10% of that traffic. Would you rather have ten click throughs or ten calls where you talk with a potential customer? For my money, I want to talk with the potential buyer.
Best,
Assuming it makes navigational sense, I don't think there is a problem. If you have other healthcare solutions beyond just identity, it would make sense.
Hope that helps,
Yes, the problem could be that you are doing it for the client. Have you submitted a bulk upload verification request (where they verify they have it). Did you follow the guidelines provided? I believe only the business owner can verify the upload:
If you are the business owner, you can verify your bulk listings if they comply with the Google Places quality guidelines. You can submit your file for verification using the bulk verification request form linked in your account. Please note that we don't respond to all requests for bulk upload verification.
This is taken from http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=83312
Hope it helps.
Jon,
We do a few real estate sites (and I live with a cute lady who is an agent with the top firm here). So, I would say this about what Casey said...he is correct. The design will not work for RE in my opinion. It is so flawed as to impact the SEO for the simple reason that the bounce rate will be very high. With a $5K budget per month, you have to get the site right first: So,
Don't do anything to the site and go do keyword analysis for your area around RE. Typical mistakes are things like focusing on Real Estate Brokerage as a keyword term. Look at your regions of the area where you do best or where your presence is strongest or you have agents who really know that area. (See what Brent said, it is not necessary to eat the whole pie today, save some for tomorrow). People search for homes for sale, townhomes for sale, etc. and they add areas sometimes, but usually the largest area so, Seattle if anywhere near seattle.
Now, typically, the top terms will be Real Estate Seattle, Real Estate Bellevue, etc. But, don't trust me, do the research. Also, look at high rises, condos, etc. Sometimes people have failed to capitalize on those searches and a world awaits you.
Once you are clear that you are going to go after a few basic terms and a few basic areas now we begin. First, go look at Zillow, Realestate.com, Trulia, and see how those )&*__((Y^^(( companies are doing what they are doing. They are capturing the SERP real estate by having agents on board that allow them access to the MLS. Don't get me started.
Now, once you have say 5 to 6 areas you need to think about what does a person who is searching for a home want to see? That is what you have to give them. When I opened your site, I thought it was a travel blog because of the images. No one cares about the pretty pictures. They want homes, townhomes, condos, high rises, etc.
Now, focus all on those areas. Many MLS feeds are in I Frames which is not helpful. If you have a work around there that is great. For the areas where you are focusing, you want lots of info on the area on a single page with a couple of featured homes they can click on. Obviously you want on site search that works.
Lastly, the most important investment for RE is Local SEO. Spend there next after the site.
Now, if this has been helpful I have a request: for every plugin you use on your WP site, make a contribution of $25. to the developer of that OS plugin/widget/etc. Let's keep open source open by making sure they are compensated. Yes, linked to them too.
thanks
LELOnic
I want to be sure you are getting what you need from the forum; call it the caregiver in me. I understand the dilemma you face quite well and, unfortunately, there is not an easy answer here. The reason is that Google has never really supported multiple languages within G+ very well. Here is a quote from one of the smartest people on the planet re Google and Local,Places,plus, MM, etc. Mike Blumenthal: "Google has never fully supported multi-lingual listings in Places very well." This is from Nov. but those of us who have been at it a while remember when G had Local, which became Places, that begat Plus, then etc.
The reason this is difficult is that to truly answer your query it actually takes pages of writing. I am going to try to give you a synopsis that will allow you to carry out enough research to allow you to "learn" your way. When I am taking on something like multi lingual, multi country sites, I go very slowly and very methodically; I suggest you do the same here.
First go to Mike's blog and read this article on how to use MapMaker to assist your G+ with what you are trying to achieve. You will also see a download link for a PDF that was created by Dan Austin to use as a cheat sheet of sorts. I need you to read this next sentence from Mike who really knows this stuff very carefully five times: "As a side note, MapMaker is not for the faint of heart and is very quirky and often bug ridden. Caveat Emptor." Did you read it five times? If not go back as it is very important.
You need to understand that I own and manage a robust agency and I work at this daily. I have an expert on staff that I go to with my questions who lives on forums and blogs like Mike Blumenthals, Linda Buquet, and on the MOZ there is Miriam Ellis who is brilliant as well, etc. There are times we have to sit down and literally draw a picture of what will be done to be sure we get it right...and even then we can make mistakes.
You might want to go to the expense of learning Local SEO from Linda as she is a wonderful person who will also help anyone when they ask. I have paid to have our team members learn from her and my only complaint is I think she vastly undervalues herself, her knowledge, and her product that she delivers. She could probably charge 600 to $1K an hour to big companies. So. There is a ton to learn but there is also a lot of help as you go.
You can try to use the MM info by Mike that I have given you the link to and it is still fairly fresh info. Hopefully, I have provided the resources that will allow you to work things out. Then, remember, you can answer questions here as well. When you have worked through this you will have valuable knowledge. Share it.
Best
Robert
Good question Nicholas,
What we have done in the past and (I believe is a best practice) is to 301 url to url wherever possible. I would not do a splash page, on your pages if you added something in the header of SuperWidgets: Welcome GreatWidgets members, two great companies have now become one greater company, etc. The 301 gets you the juice infusion, GW customers are not freaking out is great too.
On the local, it really will be around what other assets. Brick and mortar, staying open or closing, etc. You won't be able to use a 301'd url in Places, but the others will still resolve. As to unclaimed, I would claim and then use that for as long as it is good.
Best,
When you say, "this page and the pages below it in the structure now get...," did you do a redirect for each of the urls that are below this?
If you redirected this url only and then did not do the same to the pages below it, that is likely your problem. With a 301 you need to do every url that is involved individually.
We did a site a while back and did not do this and it simply was not ranking. After changing and doing each url where applicable, we were back within about 10 days.
As to the page rank of one to the other, the original /malmo had a PA of 25 with only one linking root domain (per OSE). I would think if you could add a few links from other root domains you would assist your effort quite well. But, the url to url is most important.
Just curious and obviously not a highly technical or highly SEO question, but I keep getting inundated with people who do not know me, don't know anyone I know, etc. but on the largest professional networking site that you can Link to others on, I am ready to end my membership. The vast majority are staffing, recruiting, and outsourcing firms. The settings are such that when pointing out how you know someone you are wanting to connect to, there is one that does not require you to have worked with them, gone to school with them, or done business with them, and that is "Friend." On the others if you don't meet one of the requirements above you must put that party's email address, but on "Friend" if the person wanting to contact you says they are your friend, magically they are.
Do you think that for things like this, most people don't mind the spam and say "Ignore" the request, or just "accept" because having 500+ on their profile is so cool?
Also, when you look at the endorsements others have given, do you care? do you believe they add validity? Do you believe most people fail to look beyond and consider who is endorsing them and whether or not that person works in a field that has been endorsed?
I am really curious as to what Mozzers (the coolest group of people on the planet) think.
Best,
I am not sure about the term link cannibalization. I think you are mixing two things. Excessive internal links and keyword cannibalization.
First on the internal link url.com/example to url.com/example the issue first to me is one of user experience and the second is that while it may not directly harm your ranking in the sense you are losing something, it does nothing to assist in crawling the site for the purpose of indexing which leads to ranking and could potentially do otherwise.
As to the shoes as keyword issue, at some point you have to offer differentiation to the software and to the client. If you are using the moz on page optimization and you put in shoes for the page, that is what it will look at. It is not looking at the site, it is looking at the page. So, if you have said on the page we have men's shoes, green men shoes, running shoes, ladies sating running shoes, etc. it is going to find every occurrence and report that. It has nothing to do with the link. The link issue is a different issue all together. You are linking to yourself for no reason.
Many use these sites and my experience with their sales staffs is that they can say SEO more times in a minute than anyone I have ever met. Yes, they can have some impact on backlinks, but the vast majority of that impact flows to them.
The biggest problem with these as I see it is that the vast majority of "press releases" are actually flagrant BS ads for a company, etc. So, if you are going to do them, write real press releases and do not let their people interfere. For example, if you are a dentist and there is a new teeth whitener that guards against cavities do not put out a press release about it and how you use it. (Every other dentist will do the same). Dentist Jones announces XYX teeth whitener, blah blah blah... This is the most common PR they all put out. It is of little or no value.
Also, they all ask for $$ up front, which I don't like and then want to control how often you put out a press release which just struck me as odd. IF they were really press releases, how would they be timed?
That is my two cents.
Gary,
Instead of going into a lot on Places, I will tell you what I see and what I think would turn the tables for you. First, If you want to rank for Kitchen Remodeling in Butler, you need to do a few things. As it stands, any of the dots around you can pass you.
First, your on site SEO has to be spot on. You have Internal links from your menu only. You need internal links just like you need external. So they have a lot of internal because they have a much larger site. Look at the mega menus and the options they have. Keep working on getting back links.
On your on page, you have room in the Title tag to add Butler or even Butler, NJ and I would. With the H1, you have Kitchen Remodeling and I would add at Butler again. For the H2 I would change it to something around your keyword like: Best Time of Year to Remodel your Kitchen, etc. Then, look at your content and see if you can be more informative as opposed to flowery. (Kitchen Remodeling One Step at a Time, then list), etc. Now, here is a pet peeve of mine: You have no map on the site at all. I would have one on every page (Certainly on the Contact page).
Now, you have three reviews on the Places page and they are at best very low value: They were all put on within one month and there have been none since. Trust me, it matters. I would certainly be talking with customers and getting them to supply a review. Also, is the site listed in Yahoo Local, Bing Business Portal (no), etc. BTW, when you search the same in Bing and then click on images it serves up about 50; of these roughly a third are the competitor. It matters. You need to have them on Yelp, citysearch, etc. At least 5 to 8 other than the engines.
Are your images GeoTagged? Now on Places you have to take a Google Category first, then the others can be your choice. If there is a category around remodeling as opposed to construction, I would choose it as the first. On the others, I would make sure that if the preponderance of the business is remodeling the categories are too: kitchen re, Bathroom re, Closet re, etc. I would put construction last as it is over-broad.
I think you should worry less about what the competitor is doing (I have to tell myself that every day) and make sure that you have their site so tight for local that no one else ever gets to the top. You can certainly pass the competitor with just a small amount of work...did I mention a google map??? 
Hope this helps,
Prestashop,
While I appreciate the response, I never find name calling or creating derogative terms for people, companies, etc. to provide the clarity that we all need. (Calling them scummy or saying they should be damaged -sued- doesn't help things.)
I have clients who do have success with them and in most instances, when there has been an issue, I have found them to be mid range helpful. Certainly, if there is an erroneous review about a client company and you have the proof, they have removed them. My concern came when I was investigating an issue of my own and saw several people complaining about their reviews being removed.
I have been a regular Yelp contributor for a while and had a very serious $30K issue with the company who I was going to review. After I posted the review in several of their locations, the company began trying to resolve the issue for the first time. (It is still not fully resolved at all.) But, I just found Yelp had removed the bad reviews and I am positive they are valid as I wrote them and have the proof to all I wrote. But, just like the customers without my resources to fight back, my reviews were removed too.
I have written Yelp and requested a response from them. I am simply wanting to know if others have experienced the same or similar.
Thanks
Complete
I think the first thing you should do is understand you are likely a bit impatient. Typically for us, when we build or redo sites, the rankings are all over the place - schizophrenic. This can last for a month or more. You can also see yourself on page one number 4 for example, pat yourself on the back, and two weeks later you can't find yourself.
For office refurbishment Kent, you are actually doing fairly well given the redesign and, likely due to some degree on your Google Places ranking so highly for that term. (you are number five).
On the SERPs main page, you have two urls that are ranking: ** www.completeoffice.co.uk/Services/office_refurbishment.php **ranks 2nd on page 2 and your home page ranks third on page two.
Now, as it is you have no page authority for /office_refurbishment so that is affecting you. I would first suggest cleaning up your urls as throughout the site you have some-with-dashes and some_with_underscores. This url as noted has underscores and they are not a best practice. So get some links to this page.
I don't believe you have done the "canonical redirect" to clear up the www and non www as OSE still shows two with no redirect and when I use either, either resolves. If you haven't, you need to do a 301 in the .htaccess file of the non www to the www and set the www as preferred domain in Google Webmaster Tools (GWMT). Otherwise you are showing as two sites.
So, there are some basic cleanup items (cleaning up the .php would be nice too) to do and some link building (this is how you get found page by page by the bots) for pages and you should do well given where you are and the work you are doing. Understand that we all wonder why a given site is ranked below another regularly, you cannot focus on that and must focus on your site and making sure you have done all you can.
I hope this gives you some help and that you rank one on one soon!
Best
BJS1976
You can view your DA history in campaigns.
Go to your campaign and click on Link Analysis. You will see the summary of this with you and whatever competitors you have put in. Just above Competitive Domain Analysis you will see Summary, Links, History.
Click on history and you will see the DA history along with Links, CBlocks, Moz trust, etc. over time.
Best
EGOL says it well regarding a designer. Unfortunately, whether its websites or interiors of homes there is something about the monicker that brings out the worst in functionality.
This is strictly an opinion, but most people want convenience when shopping. Whether for a product, a service, or information they do not want to have to walk around your art work to get to the peanut butter. They also do not want to have to find the mute button or skip intro button in order to proceed past your design distraction.
My suggestion is skip the click to enter unless the designer can show some A-B testing where they have made miraculous strides in bounce rates. I am not sure that from a search engine pov there is an issue, from a customer usability pov there is.
