Dynamically Added Meta Data Indexed by Google Crawlers

Quick history. On May 23, 2014, the following announcement was made on the Google Webmaster Central Blog: Read the full announcement here. Anyway, since I see the world through GTM-tinted shades, I instantly figured that this should extend to not only the presentational layer, but to semantic information as well. At the time, I was thinking in terms of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and the Meta Description, which prompted me to ask the following in Google+ from Gary Illyes, who made the announcement: Read More…

SEO for Sales: Making the Pitch

My days as a freewheeling, unrestrained, happy-go-lucky, gung-ho city cowboy are over. As of 31 August 2013, I’m a married man, and for the rest of my life, I will dedicate myself to optimizing my relationship to my beautiful wife. The old ball-and-chain. But before I bury myself in the bosom of our blessèd alliance, I’ll continue to blog about the dark and murky undergrowth of digital marketing that SEO is. Read More…

Website Redesign With SEO and Common Sense

So it’s been a while, I know. I’ve been enjoying my summer vacation, either swimming in the lush blue waters of Finland’s lakes or in the murky, greenish, (only slightly toxic) chemistry lab reject also known as the Baltic Sea. I’ve also had the pleasure of playing golf only to realize I’m roughly at the same skill level I was at when I first started. I blame the fact I’ve played less than ever before due to some unexpected patellofemoral pain in my right knee (yes, I know it’s called the Runner’s Knee, but if I know words like patellofemoral, I will use them). Read More…

Why Learning SEO Is (Probably) Good for You

Before I begin, it is important to note that SEO, as any other facet of web design, covers both technique and purpose. Technique in the sense that SEO comprises a number of de facto guidelines (and accompanying tools) which help improve the search engine friendliness of your website. With purpose I mean the elusive concept of setting goals, and how to pursue them. Both are incredibly important aspects of learning SEO, and it can be argued that one cannot exist without the other. Read More…

What Makes a Good SEO Report?

I recently started rewriting some of the templates we use for SEO reports at my company. I first thought that the task would be a simple one. Just rewrite all the SEO stuff to match the latest trends, add more diagrams, charts, and graphs, and make it more personal by increasing the number of client-specific sections. However, soon I started to question my motives (as I usually do when doing something independently). Read More…

SEO in a Nutshell (And Some Tips)

“Oh no, not another ‘SEO in a nutshell’ post!” I hear you scream. Oh yes! And to make matters worse, I’m actually calling this SEO In A Nutshell just out of spite! But why, oh why, must I litter the otherwise so clean and orderly forum that Internet is with yet another here’s-what-something-is-in-case-you-ever-cared-post? I promise, I’m only doing this for selfish reasons. I’m not trying to buy myself into the major league by posting about something that everyone else is posting about. Read More…

Penguin 2.0: Google's Next Major Update

When Matt Cutts speaks, the world listens. We reach out our hands to catch even the tiniest morsels that make up the bread that fills the basket that is Google. We hush in anticipation, as we know that we are about to be revealed another piece of the puzzle that is Google’s search algorithms. We want to know these dark, esoteric, technological secrets because a) as humans we are genetically coded to abhor secrets and shadow-talk, and b) as SEOs we are competing in a business where only the first place is rewarded. Read More…

Content Strategy: Know Your Audience

For years and years, the one constant in the chaotic world of SEO has been a simple statement: Content is King. This statement has been the cornerstone of content strategy in SEO projects, and its validity has hardly been contested. This is not due to lack of trying. Many posts in the blogosphere have taken an opposing stand (Heidi Cohen: format is king, Carl Ocab: marketing is king, Bernadette Coleman: trust is king). Read More…

Search Trends and What They Reveal

I’m hooked on Google Trends. For example, it probably won’t astound you to learn that whenever search trends peak for flu symptoms, there’s a similar peak for vaccine. (See also how at some points vaccine comes first and only then do flu symptoms arise. Conspiracy theorists, the ball is in your court!) Probing this particular case further, I looked at the search trends for swine flu and vaccine. The former peaks in April 2009 and, to my surprise, vaccine actually declines over the following two months. Read More…