Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Thanks Rob, glad you agree  

You're welcome Julie.

Lots of those results as shown on the page ( http://www.myvipwebdesign.com/myvipwebdesign/get-found-on-google-maps.html ) are 'local results' based on local business listings and appear in what's known as a '7 Pack' which lists 7 local results for Google Maps.

Others that are ranking number 1 naturally in Google will be for long tail low competition keywords and chances are, they won't be number 1 for long where there's any degree of competitiveness.

There is some complete nonsense on their website, such as statements like "Their is a certain algorithm that Google follows" and "We also apply the formula  we have devised that is "Google Friendly" and submit it to Google on your behalf."

Google don't follow an algorithm, they have the most complex algorithms ever devised. There were over 13,000 changes to their natural search algorithm last year (mostly tests) with around 560 permanent changes. It's impossible to guarantee any top results with any degree of honesty.  Also, the second statement is complete nonsense, there is no formula that's 'Google Friendly' that can be submitted to Google, they are making up total rubbish.

So rest assured that you would be making a wise decision by avoiding any such company as this one that makes such ridiculous guarantees and claims.

For some more reassurance, have a read of a page on Google's site  "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" which has some really useful advice and even mentions that no one can guarantee a number 1 ranking on Google.

You've probably noticed that this is something I feel rather strongly about.  SEO is an unregulated industry and as such, there are way too many 'cowboys' out there looking to make a quick buck from those that are simply looking to grow their business. It really annoys me when such people take advantage of good honest hard working people. As such, whenever I can, I like to highlight what would be wise to avoid getting into. There are plenty of good ethical agencies and freelancers that can help you in an ethical and sustainable way.

Regards

Simon

PS.  I don't work for an agency, I work in-house so do have a totally non-biased view here  

Hi Julie

Your suspicions are well justified;  that content is indeed spammy and certainly cause for concern.

What's more, most companies that say they will get a website to Page 1 of Google's search results 'for your popular keyword phrases' in order to win a pitch is likely to partake in unethical practices, especially when their services are free or way too cheap as in your example of $150 per month.

I say this because there can be no guarantees and any company that gives them (plenty do) cannot be trusted.  Take a popular phrase such as 'life insurance' or 'loans', any guarantee could not be trusted.

Chances are they participate in questionable practices and/or only target very long tail keywords with little competition and low search volume.

That kind of rate of $150 per month leads me to suspect they will outsource poor quality link building to India or the Philippines for short term gains. There will be nothing sustainable or ethical in free work or work that's that cheap.

My advice is to steer well clear and invest in high quality content, seed and distribute it well, plus find an ethical trusted agency to help you out with the Search side. There are plenty of such agencies around, the one you've found there appears to be anything but.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Hi StreetwiseReports

The code to add onto the end of a URL Search Query is:

• &pws=0

Check out a blog post here on SEOmoz from last week, entitled "Face-off - 4 Ways to De-personalize Google" which is all about de-personalizing search.

Regards

Simon

Hi Baptiste

A good question.

Check out an awesome blog post from Rand from back in May 2010, entitled "All Links are Not Created Equal: 10 Illustrations on Search Engines' Valuation of Links" you'll see that Topic Number 1 provides some great information specific to your question.

I believe that on the whole (as in more times than not, but not always) visitors are more likely to click on the first link as opposed to the second, third...

As the most important content is often towards the beginning of a page's content, generally speaking, it's logical that the first link would be deemed more important than the second, third...  Therefore the first link would pass on more of any available link juice.

Of course, relevance and context also play a part, there is no absolute answer one way or the other.

On a closely related topic of "multiple links", check out these two blog posts here on SEOmoz:

• Results of Google Experimentation - Only the First Anchor Text Counts
• 3 Ways to Avoid the First Link Counts Rule

In summary, "Google does not appear to count multiple links to the same target page from a single page", which I believe is still true today.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Too right, though is always amusing to see the passion displayed by both parties! Owning both, I shall remain neutral

Hi There

Yes there are differences between the two options you've described.

• If you simply want to redirect one domain to the other and nothing more, then Option 1 does the trick, quick & simple.
• If you require services such as email forwarding from the .co.uk to the .com or wish to have further control of the .co.uk from your .com hosting, then Option 2 is the better one to go for.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Good job, 301's are usually the reliable & trusted solution. Canonical tags are really useful for other redirecting purposes such as similar content issues. All the best  

Hi Danielle

Hopefully you'll be pleased to know that it makes no difference whatsoever.

There are a few differences in some browser extensions, nothing that will impact the SEO of a website though.

As for tools, most good tools are paid tools (such as the SEOmoz Pro Tools) and as such, work on both a PC and Mac OS.  So many are browser based rather than installs, they work on cross-platform browsers, or at least all the tools worth using do.

There are some good free tools (usually cut-down version of the paid ones) and all the tools work across both platforms anyway.

So deciding between a Mac or a PC  ~  decide for reasons other than SEO, such as what else you'll be using it for like design work, gaming, accounting, even the look of it on a breakfast bar...  Both are fantastic for differing reasons.

Regards

Simon

Hi There

There are a couple of options;

1. 301 Redirect the index.html page to your root domain, e.g. http://example.com/index.html  301 redirected to http://example.com

2. Use a Canonical tag, pointing the index.html page to your root domain.

You'll find a really helpful Redirection Guide here on SEOmoz.

You can also find here on SEOmoz a useful guide to Canonical tags.

I'd almost always recommend for this particular scenario, opting for a 301 Redirect on the page index.html to your root domain.  Chances are (for these two pages) your inbound links will tend to mainly point to your root domain rather than the index.html page.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Hi DentalPlanSEO,

There's a similar question here on SEOmoz from about a year ago that has some answers from SEOmoz staff which can be found at:  Effectiveness of simultaneous paid and natural results

There are a couple of links in the answers to a study and an article on this very topic, also worth a read.

Basically, there is no definitive yes or no answer to your question.  It varies from industry/sector to industry/sector and from brand to non-brand.  There are competition factors too as well as others.

Sometimes, there is an obvious positive correlation, I have personally seen it many times from using Hitwise to identify& analyze any effect of having both a natural and paid result both appearing highly.

Then again, many times, there appeared to be no difference in CTR whatsoever.

I'd suggest doing your own test (if budget allows) to see what works for your site and business.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Hi there, from how you've described the link building that you outsourced, 'commenting on blogs and forums', there will likely be little SEO value to be had there, especially as so many links are not followed (though some no follow links can still pass link juice). It's the non-relevance and poor quality factors of those blogs, forums and links that will not help to add any Search value for your website, if that's the case which is very likely when outsourcing such link building, depends on the professionalism and competence of the agency being used.

Though can't be sure without a proper analysis of the blogs and forums in question.

Guest blogging is an important part of inbound marketing, helping to build up ones' profile and Authoritiveness. However simply commenting for the purposes of link building is all too often wasted effort and money.

I'd suggest focusing on creating some really useful socially shareable content and distribute it well. You'll find the links being obtained as a result of great content work far more valuable and beneficial.

Regards, Simon

That's a great answer from Robert.

Additionally, if the inter-site links would benefit your visitors, then by all means provide them, otherwise, really not much benefit to be gained on the SEO front as Robert correctly mentions.

You mention that the various websites have their own Content. Use this unique content to attract links by ensuring that it adds value to the visitors, is topical, informative, useful. Distribute it well and socially share it amongst relevant networks, focus on those such activities for your links.

Regards, Simon

You're welcome Gajendra, glad to be of help.  All the best with your site and business

You're welcome Matt.  That sounds like the best plan, a homepage, even a simple one, is usually much better for the user experience and search rather than not having one.

Good luck with your blog, keep the content unique, fresh and shareable

Hi Gajendra

That's a good answer from James.

Also inform Google of your preferred domain using Google Webmaster Tools.

Additionally, some information to try and help you out;  your website has some areas that could be improved on the SEO and User Experience sides, such as your URL structure which is not currently ideal for the user experience or for search. Your current homepage is:

http://joeyvalyphotography.com/#/special/splash/orlando-wedding-photographer--portrait-photographer--joeyvaly-photography-/

which is 4 levels deep with some unnecessary folders there, such as # and special and splash

These Splash pages are very 1990's and create an unnecessary step and barrier to your main content, I'd suggest getting rid of it and bringing your homepage up to the root level ( i.e. http://joeyvalyphotography.com )

I know an impressive good looking website is usual and really good to have for a photography website; you can still have that on your homepage without a Splash page getting in the way.  Also worth considering HTML5 rather than flash moving forwards.

I'd also suggest considering adding some real textual content to your homepage, such as migrating your Information page content over to your homepage, to benefit both Visitors and Search.  Adding to this content with some fresh unique interesting & valuable content is worthwhile spending the time on.

That's just a couple of areas to start with.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Hi Matt

You say that you 'don't have a homepage built yet'  ~  if you are planning on creating a true homepage, then consider a 302 redirect as supposed to a 301 as a temporary redirect sounds like it could be the better option until you're completely sure on your site structure & what's best for the user experience.

If you're just planning on publishing a blog without a primary website, then why not host your blog on the main domain, e.g. http://myblog.com

If you are planning a primary website as well as a blog, then my advice would be to create a homepage on your website, even if it's just a quick first draft version, then link to your blog from there rather than redirecting to it.

Though if you are set on redirecting, then consider the first paragraph & a 302 for now.

Hope that helps,

Regards

Simon

Hi Diane

There's an awesome White Board Friday video by Rand entitled 'Article Marketing + Submission for SEO' which is well worth a view, seems like it will provide some useful ideas and suggestions for you with your article marketing.

It is a real shame to be giving high quality topical content away to other sites that benefits those sites but not your own.  There are ways to address this issue, such as:

• being really selective over the sites you distribute your content to and insisting that they provide a link back for the privilege of using your content (though not always an easy task granted)
• guest blogging instead of writing so many articles
• producing different types of content such as Infographics that are generally more likely to provide a link back to you
• consider some Video content which other sites would want to embed on their site

Also, Google's Search Plus Your World (and an SEOmoz post here) is worth reading up on and viewing the video.  Ensure that your website has the Publisher link between your website's pages and your Google+ profile. Also ensure that your articles link to your Author page (about you page) on your website and that that page links to your Google+ profile with an Author link.

Regards

Simon

Thank you Miriam

And likewise, some excellent points from yourself.

Thank you Keri