Understanding and factoring in Search Engine Optimization when you’re posting articles can be a bit daunting. However, there are organizations out there that provide data to help which can help your search engine ranking. Every two years, SEOmoz survey 100 of the industry’s top SEO minds.
In 2009, 72 SEOs participated in the data gathering process, answering survey questions that consumed hours of time. The resulting document was a useful aggregation of data about how search engines rank documents.
This data is useful when we are trying to work out how to optimize our sites to improve our search engine ranking. It looks at the factors used in search ranking by major search engines, and outlines what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to Search Engine Optimization.
It’s worth looking at the data to apply it to your own blog, bearing SEO in mind when you post:
Factors that support good search engine rankings:
1. Anchor Text with Keyword from External Links
2. External Link Popularity (Quantity & Quality of External Link)
3. Diversity of Linking Domains
4. Keyword in Title Tag
5. Trustworthiness of the Domain Based on Link Distance from Trusted Domains.
Once you understand the principles behind these positive factors, it’s easy enough to bear them in mind for search engine ranking when you post articles. Search engines respond well to well-chosen keywords, quality links to good sites, and a wide variety of diverse links.
Negative factors which lower your ranking:
1. Cloak with Malicious/Manipulative Intent
2. Link from link brokers/seller
3. Link from spam website
4. Cloaking by User Agent
5. Frequent Server Downtime & Site Inaccessibility.
These are pretty easy to understand – if you are using your site to spam, cloak malicious software or be badly behaved in any way, you’ll lose your credibility. Similarly, badly-built sites with broken links are going to be low-ranking.
Top 5 most contentious factors that put people off:
1. Cloaking by Cookie Detection
2. Cloaking by JavaScript/Rich Media Support Detection
3. Hiding Text with same/similar colored text/background
4. Cloaking by IP Address 15.3% moderate contention
5. Cloaking by User Agent 15.2% moderate contention.
If you don’t know what these are, then great! This report shows that there was very little change from the 2007 search ranking factors. The primary factors in SEO have not changed very much according to SEOmoz, despite the fact that search engines improve their features and technologies continuously.
Hopefully these search ranking factors will help search engine optimizers who are serious about managing positive changes in their sites. By sticking to the rules of good posting, using keywords and links effectively, and steering clear of spam or scams, you will be able to gradually climb up the ladder of the search engine page ranks and get to the top!
A high search engine ranking helps to bring your business to the attention of the people that matter – your existing and potential customers, and service users. SEO data provides us with the information we need to understand how search engine page rankings work, and what we need to do to enhance our own.
(source for data: www.seomoz.org)
Blogging is indeed a great way to boost your search engine rankings
Blogging is indeed a great way to boost your search engine rankings
If you don't know about it then I'm sure you're not doing it 🙂
Oy. The whole thing can be overwhelming. I'm happy to say that I don't know about any cloaking anything, so hopefully that means I'm not doing it. Right?
Thanks for the kind words Cheryl and for stopping by!
SEOmoz – I haven't spent much time studying this site and all the useful info available. So much to learn! Thank you for adding in some more new knowledge and giving me more places to explore. It's always a pleasure to visit your blog, Joel 😀
Thanks Krizia, good look with your articles and SEO!
Joel, I'm getting back to writing articles myself and taking it quite seriously to increase traffic on my site.
This is really timely advice.
Thanks!
Krizia
Very true Ben, good point. I've had one or two clients use Angela's Backlinks and they like it, but I don't have enough experience with it myself to make a judgement.
Thanks for a great article, Joel.
The big task appears to be the same.
If you can't target a totally 'untapped niche'… then it's all about inbound links with keywords as anchor text.
To that effect… what are your thoughts on link building programs like Angela's Backlinks?
keep smiling,
Benjamin
Cheers Tyrone! It does take a lot of effort you're right, it's a balancing act to get the benefits and not “waste” time.
Hi Joel,
SEO I believe is one of the most tedious and time consuming tasks to be managed online so it really takes a lot of effort, knowledge and patience to do so especially if you're focused on being “organic” and relevant. 🙂
Thanks for compiling in the tips from SEOMoz which I believe is the leading in the SEO industry.
Keep up the great work!
Tyrone
Glad to help Raymond!
Thanks Lisa, much appreciated!
Hi Joel,
Thanks for the SEO info. I have forgotten some of them and it serves as a great reminder to me. 🙂
This is very important for search engine ranking. There are technical difficulties in the process but, it's very useful in blogging. I like the advantages & disadvantages you have mentioned in your post.
Wonderful article — boosting search engine rankings is so important, and not always easy to do — your tips are very helpful.
i thin there are so many information !
hello, They will increase your traffic, increase your search engine ranking, and make your website more useful and more enjoyable!
It can be distracting, you're right. But also very beneficial so trying to get the balance right is always a challenge!
I've always found it fascinating, albeit distracting!, to work out and try to maximise my blogs SEO. This is useful information, thanks Joel.
Thanks Joel, but it takes good teachers to keep people wanting to keep working. It is great to work with you also.
Thanks,
Debbie
Cheers Bruce, appreciate you stopping by.
Thanks!
I know you've worked hard on all aspects of your business so it's not surprising that this area is one of them too. You're right, search engines want to have quality results so providing that information is the #1 goal, and at the moment some other work is required but one day perhaps quality and relevance will be all you need!
Thanks Ronda!
I'm sure it's much more than beginner's luck Debbie! You work hard on your business and get the results. I'm glad to be able to work with someone as willing to learn as you are!
I have been fortunate to be at the top of the search engine ranking in my niche for quite some time but it wasn’t luck that got me there. I know there are way more methods out there than the one that I use so I always like to read about them.
At the end of the day I don’t think there is an easy answer excpt provide a ton of quality content and people will find you through the search engines and if they like wht they find, they will bookmark you which is really the goal.
Thanks Again!!
Thanks Joel for the information. I do have to admit that sometimes I have trouble understand all the technical stuff, however when I pull up happymaker, I am right there on top so I guess i am doing something right. Maybe it is beginners luck.
One day with a little luck I'll learn more the technical stuff. You are a really good teacher and I appreciate that more then words can express.
Debbie
As usual, Joel, you keep we bloggers up-do-date and honest. thanks!
cracking article, some really useful information to digest 🙂
Doing what you do in an open way and providing high quality content – in other words doing hard work – brings long term good results. Good review of the state of mind of those ranking what we do.
“Fog” is a great way of putting it, thanks Beat. A lot of people are guessing, but some guesses are smarter than others!
Joel, very useful information indeed. however much we think we know about SEO, it's still navigating in the fog because of the multitude of opinions out there and the ever changing environment. i love particularly about your post that it comes with rock solid credibility (“SEOmoz survey 100 of the industry’s top SEO minds.”) Will definitively be guided by it. And yes, happy to be clueless for once – re “negative factors” :-]
Glad it helped 🙂
very useful article Joel, thanks very much. An excellent reminder.
It is a wonderful plugin, but #1 for your name is always nice 🙂 Your interviews are great!
I think Disqus has had some problems, so people can't login as a Guest, only with Facebook or Twitter so I'm glad you could at least login, thanks!
Joel, I've been 'studying' SEO for a few years now. I can move up, move down, but never really get #1 except on my name or my blog name. I do LOVE LOVE LOVE scribe though… I dont' know what what most of those bad things are. and I'm glad. I want to just keep doing great interviews. Question though. Link building. good or bad?
p.s. can't get login with Facebook or twitter to work. so using guest.
Good points, thanks! I will practice what I (you) preach 🙂
Don't just link to your main domain from external links. Link to a few of your best blog posts as well.
Plus add some internal linking from one blog post to another. That helps with ranking and improves navigation for your visitors.
Andrew
More traffic is always good! Thanks Jen 🙂
Very true Paul, thanks!
Not only is it important to blog daily and comment other blogs in our niche, but also to monitor those posts where we comment, to see where they may lead. The more relevancy we find for each post, the more authoritative those posts become and ultimately our entire blog, categorically. This is even more important than having your link on the 100 best page ranked blogs in the world.
Great article – alwasy good to know how to boost our search rankings! Thanks Joel