Link Blog

Are all of your pages indexed in the major search engines? If not do you know why? Are the pages so new that the spiders have not had a chance to grab them? If not then you need to review how your internal links are structured.

It never ceases to amaze how many people miss this simple step. There have been numerous occassions that a client will come to me for help and they are just positive that all of their problems are because they don't have enough links pointing to their site, when that simply isn't the case. Often all of their links are in a javascript, or the navigation of the site is laid out so poorly it is difficult for a spider, let alone a human being, to find all of the pages.

If you have a large site or if you utilize javascript or DHTML for your navigation without providing a static link to a sitemap, you could be hindering your site from receiving all of the benefits of your content. It is crucial that any link campaign start in your own backyard, so to speak. Before you ask for the first link swap or before you submit to your first directory MAKE SURE A SPIDER CAN FIND ALL OF YOUR PAGES!

The best way to make sure all of your pages are accessible is by adding a link to a sitemap into your navigation. Personally, I like to use CoffeCup's Google Sitemap Creator. It allows you to create a sitemap based on the files on your hard drive or by spidering the site from the web. By having the software put together the sitemap based on what it finds online, you can get an idea of how well a search engine spider can read and follow your internal linking structure. Of course, if you use it to create the sitemap based on the files on your hard drive, it will grab all of the files for you and create your sitemap. Once the map is created you simply upload it to your folder and incorporate the link onto the pages of your site. It only takes a few minutes and it is well worth the time.

Internal Linking Structure Elements Strategy is an article written by RustyBrick that provides a lot of useful information. He explains the different types of links and how to make the best use of them. While the article was written in 2003 the information here still holds true. Thank you Rusty for this little gem!

Until next time,
LinkQueen

Well, there is more to top placement on Google than what will be covered in this post. But, these are some tips that could make a lot of difference your placement.

Last year Google filed a US patent, United States Patent Application 2005007174, that tips their hand a little at what they are looking for in identifying TrustRank.

Of course links and content are still extremely important, but the thing that a lot of webmasters found interesting, including myself, is the fact that the length of your domain registration now comes into play. Yes, Google is paying attention to your registration as well as how visitors access and use your site. Through the Google toolbar they can learn a lot about your site. In my opinion, they know too much, but that is for another topic.

Why does it make a difference if I register my domain name for one year or ten?
Well, that is a good question, why does it matter to Google. It matters because a lot of spam domains are registered for only one year at a time, because the webmaster of the site knows the likelihood of a penalty to all the cloaked pages and blog links is very very high. Once the penalty has been placed on the site it no longer produces enough revenue to make renewing the domain worth it. However, if a domain is registered for a longer period of time it tells Google that the intention for the site is to build and cultivate it. In other words, it is not a "fly by night" domain. It seems to me however that any webmaster can easily shell out an extra few $$ in the beginning for a domain to initially work around this, but who am I to question the brillance of Google. It just doesn't seem to me that an extra five bucks is going to deter spam to the point of oblivion, but it might help.

While the registry of the domain now has more significance it certainly doesn't mean that it is the end all be all for top placements in Google. There are a number of other factors that come into play. However if you have a quality site that you have been cultivating - quailty content, regular updates, steady link acquisition and general SEO techniques applied, but still seem to be falling short of placing, try extending the registry date of your domain.

For more information visit Great Site Ranking in Google The Secret's Out by Darren Yates of Buzzle.com.

Also SEOmoz has put together a comprehensive report regarding Google's Patent: Information Retrieval Based on Historical Data. This site is ran by Rand Fishkin and his remarkable team. Rand has worked hard to make a name for himself in this industry and his efforts speak for themselves.