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Diane

Are you of the belief that 'keyword density' is important for SEO ie inclusion and repeating your chosen keywords in your text paragraphs. If, so think again, that's no longer a ranking factor. You don't need to do 'messy writing' or loads of keywords over the homepage. I would also agree with Ryan regarding your url. You need to get this right from the start. (I should know with an eyewear site called 'pretavoir')

As regards keywords, have you used the basic google keyword tool? Do this first before choosing a domain/url. You need to know your figures before you start. The 'KW Tool' can be invaluable.https://adwords.google.co.uk/o/Targeting/Explorer?ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS&__u=9115528870&__c=3941445370&__u=9115528870&__c=3941445370&ideaRequestType=KEYWORD_IDEAS#search.none

Diane

First stop should be http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo which is a great starters guide. There are also lots of good books eg http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Engine-Optimization-SEO-Secrets/dp/0470554185 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-SEO-Theory-Practice-OReilly/dp/0596518862/ref=pd_sim_b_2

These books are not such daunting reads and should follow on from the Seomoz starters guide.

I too am a newbie to SEO but can give you the following pointers;

1. Build a clean SEO friendly site with SEO friendly urls

2. Optimise well written relevant title tags

3. Write h1 tags for each page

4. Write good clickable meta descriptions for each page

5. Most importantly attract links. Write good interesting content that other sites will want to link to. Write for humans not search engines. Without links you will not be found...

Good Luck (and remember pretavoir when you're writing about sunglasses)

So when is the update now to be? 25th?

Hi

I would wait another few days before confirming that you have been penalised, as this is unlikely. First check that nothing else has changed, especially your analytics tool? What are your actual organic results positions for your keywords? Do you have an adwords campaign, has that changed? Also, I wouldn't rely on page rank as a metric. Instead, use Seomoz DA and PA.

Hi

I believe that this practice is at best a little old hat and at worst has a negative effect on the client's site. On a homepage there will be links to deeper pages eg brands, categories, etc. It is through the homepage that juice will flow to these pages. If there are unnecessary outbound links on the homepage then this juice will be diluted, if only by a little. As the objective of an SEO is to optimise the clients page they really shouldn't post footer links. If they insist? then they should be no follow.

Use a 301 Redirect with .htaccess. Use the following code in your 'htaccess file:

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^./index.html
RewriteRule ^(.)index.html$ http://www.yoursite.com/$1 [R=301,L]

I have found Danny Dovers SEO Secrets very useful as a beginners as its not just secrets. I believe the Art of SEO is another worthy reference.

• Regular updating of your feed. Even if nothing's changed, regularly resubmitting, and not letting your feed expire seems to help.
• Using as many of the data fields as you can - giving customers the most accurate, up-to-date information possible gets rewarded by Google.
• Ensuring the feed you submit is without errors.
• Getting good site reviews seems to help too (and if nothing else should increase CTR).
• Finally, a good 'history' of accurate data, error-free feeds etc. - the longer you've been doing things the 'right' way, the more trust Google seems to put into your product feed

Which sector is your client operating in? Are they ecommerce?

There is indeed so much misinformation out there. We still receive emails from SEO companies offering such wizrardry as keyword density and meta keyword techniques.. I agree that Matt Cutts and SEOmoz are great resources.

Thats interesting and makes good sense. I had read elsewhere that there is some lag involved. I may be a little cynical though this misinformation could be proposed by SEOs to their clients...

If I were to receive a follow link from a blogger with DA 40 PA 40 today, relevant anchor text linking to correct page, etc., how long do you consider it takes until maximum SEO effect is achieved? Thanks

Twitter is a very useful tool for understanding what is of interest to the public. Check what is 'trending' in twitter and write about it early on. If the public are tweeting about it or searching for it then they will appreciate a well written piece. Digg, stumbleupon etc are also decent sources.

(I would also advise writing about what you know and love whenever possible)

I guess thats where the 'written for humans' part comes into play. As your title tag is almost the most visible of your organic you need to consider readability. Please also take a look at this http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/14013084.stm

Sorry if i was being a little specific and big brotherly. I guessed you were a golfer by your tan and golf shirt

I would suggest you use the available characters though bear the following in mind;

Write a title tag which is good for humans first and robots second eg Golf Training and Fitness | Video and Online Tutorials .This is an example of easy to read title tag. There is no need to spam eg Golf Training | Golf Fitness Video | Online Golf Tutorial as search engines will give you equal ranking for words in any order.

There is evidence as explained by SEO chief Rand that title tag composition should give hierarchical prominence to your most important keywords, therefore place golf training at the start of the tag.

As the title tag is underlined and bolded in search results it is important that it is readable and attractive to increase click though rate.

There is no evidence that ranking is reduced by using all of the available title tag space therefore use it all and write to sell..

Getting the location of a searcher from their IP would not really be accurate enough for this. The place Google 'thinks' I am when searching is usually some distance away from my actual location, and unless I bother to go in and change it manually or I'm searching from my phone with the benefits of GPS, it's incorrect. Google Insights for Search (http://www.google.com/insights/search) at least lets you specify 'England' as a sub-region of the UK, however.

Big Question

If you are saying that you have 7 of page one results then I'm not sure there is much of an issue. As long as you have the top 3 then I wouldn't worry. Anyone searching the exact name of your business will quickly scan the results and find their desired result. Take some time with your meta descriptions as these are what appear in the organic results and can have a big effect on click rate. If you have a local office or store then use www.getlisted.org . These directory sites have strong authority and jump to page 1. As regrads the review sites. If these results include your business and you are getting good  reviews then you want these results on page 1. Otherwise just 'keep up with the good work'

The most iikely reason is that your competitors have made changes to their sites and/or back links. Do you use Seomoz to run comparisons between your site and that of your competitors? This might give you an insight into changes..

Its a tricky calculation as to just how much a link is worth. Variables such as PA (and DA) are important. Also relevance and position on site must be considered. I think its also worth taking a view on where you see the linking site in the next 3 years ie are they ambitious and well run? Will the DA increase or decline? Once you have stirred all into the pot then you can make a judgement. Of course you could always just write good linkable content