Earn By a Click Blog

The problem of finding and storing the Internet’s never-ending content is fast becoming a task even Google can’t keep up with. As Mike Grehan pointed out to me a few weeks ago, millions more pages are added to the Web than are indexed by the major search engines.

All three engines have been using a variation of link analysis to determine what’s relevant and what gets ranked into their databases. But the news of the week has been Microsoft’s research into BrowseRank — analysis that includes time spent at a site or page — added into the source and number of links to the content.

The old way was garnered from the scientific method of giving weight to articles referenced by other academic articles. Given the Internet was initially started as a way for academics to share information, this initial approach made sense. However, with the sheer volume of information, the Web has reached a plateau where such simple methods no longer work well. Add the ability to game the system and you have a methodology that needs an overhaul.

Will Microsoft’s BrowseRank be the answer? That remains to be seen; but it brings its own problems. As Navneet Kaushal of SearchNewz points out, ” As BrowseRank takes into account the time spent by a user on a particular website while compiling its data, it then becomes obvious that it highlights a lot of social networking websites. However, the issues with such websites is that the content of these websites isn’t generally valuable or relevant to audiences at large. This factor makes the BrowseRank ineffective, as it could lead to a lot of results that are irrelevant, spam, or both.”

The Microsoft paper explains their approach where “the user browsing graph can more precisely represent the web surfer’s random walk process, and thus is more useful for calculating page importance. The more visits of the page made by the users and the longer time periods spent by the users on the page, the more likely the page is important. With this graph, we can leverage hundreds of millions of users’ implicit voting on page importance.”

The biggest question is how they get the time information. Sites would need to have a pixel or some way of passing this information to Microsoft. The push to have sites give this level of access has been around for a while and hasn’t been met with much support.

The conversation I had with Grehan discussed the use of trust — not directly tied to the TrustRank Google has been dropping information about — but the combination of social networks and ranking of Web sites. When a friend tells you about a site, you’re more likely to visit it as you trust his judgment. The building out of communities that have their own ranked access to various places on the Web could well be the way of the future.

Everyone is trying to improve the quality of the information presented by the engines. Microsoft may have some short-term success, but it doesn’t appear to offer the answer needed in our rapidly multiplying information sources. A communal effort using social bookmarking with the ability to search through them may start finding more popularity if the results keep getting less relevant.

Kevin Newcomb Fires Back

It’s good to see Microsoft doing some innovating around search, but I agree with you, Frank. BrowseRank, in its current iteration and used on its own, doesn’t seem to be the answer. But it is a good step in the right direction. I do see a few obvious flaws, including the data-gathering methods you described.

In Microsoft’s paper, the authors say that PageRank, which relies on links, is “not a very reliable data source, because hyperlinks on the Web can be easily added or deleted by Web content creators.” I fail to see how user behavior can be any more reliable, as that can be gamed as well, just in different ways. Instead of buying links, we’ll see spammers employing legions of low-cost Web surfer “farms” to spend time on their sites, for example.

Besides the ability to game BrowseRank, I’d also argue that it’s not an entirely fair way to measure quality in the first place. While a content site may strive to keep readers on the site for as long as possible, a transactional site may focus on getting users to complete a transaction quickly. And a landing page that’s mainly navigational may suffer from its efficiency in directing users to the proper page.

As you mentioned, the experimental results show that social network sites like MySpace and Facebook scored especially high, when scoring sites instead of individual pages. Will they be the new Wikipedia, dominating search results for every search, no matter how irrelevant?

By Frank Watson, Search Engine Watch, Aug 1, 2008

Search engine optimizers typically label themselves as white hat or black hat to identify their basic philosophy, approach, and methodology for SEO.

Find out what it means for your brand.

How Not To Get Web Design Work
by: T. O’ Donnell
I get the occasional web design lead from my website. I wanted to find a company I could pass these onto. So I put an ad on a freelance site. It specified the programming qualifications needed, stated that the successful candidate should have good English, and was for companies only.

The replies I got were enlightening. So much so, I made a list of things applicants did wrong. Here it is.

I should point out I was initially prepared to give everyone a fair go. After the first twenty-odd emails, my attitude changed. I was looking for reasons to delete applicants. I only needed one successful one; with 100 replies it was getting to be a headache, so I decided a brutal approach was needed.

1. Failed to read the spec.

Many applicants couldn’t write properly in the English language. Many were individuals only. Result: instant deletion.

2. Failed to address the spec’s criteria.

Applicants bragged about how great they were. Many copy-and-pasted standard marketing guff about ’solutions’ and ‘partnerships’ into their emails.

To engage anyone’s interest about a proposal you need to talk less about yourself and more about the benefits to *them* of using you. One of the first things I learnt about applying for jobs is you need to show how you meet the criteria in the job description; see if you can find the employer’s wavelength.

3. Lots of jargon.

You quickly tune this out. Anyone dealing with web companies probably gets a lot of this. Applicants should talk to the client about *the client’s* site and *their* needs, and avoid techno-babble.

Write an application letter. Leave it for a while, then edit it. Brutally. Short punchy sentences, no guff. Talking convincingly about how you can make the client money would be an attention-getter.

4a. ‘Coming soon’ client-listing pages.

You say you’ve done work for lots of clients, then put up a ‘coming soon’ sign on the web page where your client list is supposed to be. Hmmmm.

4b. ‘Under construction’ pages on your company web site.

This looks bad; something you’d see on an amateur’s site. Another reason to bin your application.

4c. Only put up pictures of sites you’ve done, rather than links to the actual sites.

I’d have liked to see some working example sites. Pictures can be faked, and they don’t show background programming.

4e. No mention of your main web site URL.

Let us guess where your own site is (if you have one). It’s more fun! I tried guessing from the email address. After a while I didn’t bother.

4f. No hyperlinks at all.

Just a short email spiel saying “I am great designer, hire me”. Next!

5. Using Yahoo.com or Hotmail.com for your email address.

A pro designer shouldn’t use a freebie email address service. Basic web hosting costs $5 a month these days.

I can conceive that a web designer might use a freebie account for some special purpose, but your own domain name is a basic advert that goes out in each email you send.

6. Bad spelling and grammar.

Western civilisation is doomed, if using SMS jargon becomes the standard way to write to people. It doesn’t impress old frts lik me, fr strtrs Especially if you’re looking for work where good spelling and grammar are important.

7. Front-loading Flash designs.

I admit it, I don’t like Flash. I especially don’t like it when it loads slowly on my broadband connection. I suppose it might impress an ignorant client, who doesn’t know the economic consequences of having a Flash-heavy site.

8. Don’t phone the employer up.

Unless they say ‘canvassing will disqualify’, ‘phoning the employer is a good idea. Why? Because geeks are famously introverted and tongue-tied, supposedly. So if a web site designer can communicate clearly over the telephone, that, coupled with a good application, puts you streets ahead of the email-only applicant.

No need to jabber. A polite enquiry to establish contact will do. “Just checking you’ve got my CV”, that sort of thing.

9. Keep yourself mysterious.

Emails are impersonal. Anything that can establish you as a human being, a person, a potential ally and friend, is good. It’ll make you more memorable. No need to jump out of a giant cake, ‘though!

However, you have to fulfil all the other criteria as well. However great a guy you are, if you’re a Unix man and they want Windows, forget it.

10. Leaving unclear phone messages.

One chap left a phone message, in which he mentioned his site, twice, but not his ‘phone number. His pronunciation was bad, so I guess I’ll never know how good he was.

11. Too far away.

Most replies were from India, Ukraine, Romania etc. Anyone who was closer to home (the UK) stood out. I mention it simply as a winnowing criterion.

Also, I needed someone who could land contracts from UK residents; good English, written and oral, was important.

12. Give your rates per hour.

Forget that. You’re not a lawyer. Web design jobs can be clearly defined, in terms of time, work and software required. A definite price can be agreed on in advance. It’s called a contract. Otherwise, you leave the client open to escalating bills, and yourself to mission-creep.

13. Delay applying.

The first few applications were more scrutinised. After that, fatigue set in. After one hundred, only an applicant who seems a real prospect would be given more than five seconds’ scrutiny.

About the author:
T. O’ Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk.T. O’ Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk.

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hostmonster ,which offers services in this regard. As most of the internets traffic uses search engine to reach a site, it has started a concept of
affiliate marketing to get higher ranks in search engine results.

To gain more search engine traffic you can focus on these three things to get you started. First, you need to know which keywords you are targeting. Don’t try and go after the most popular such as Advertising, as it will be next to impossible to compete against the corporate giants. Try and make it as specific as possible such as Advertising in Chicago, or Advertising Blogs. Next you will want to optimize your key word or words to your page. Don’t dump them all on one page, but spread them out. And never just load a page at the bottom with keywords, and then make them white so they blend in with the background. Even though your customers cannot see them, the search engines will, and they will consider that keyword spamming which will only count against you.

Lastly, find partner sites to link to you. Search engines view backlinks as votes for your site. Remember to be cautious of joining link farms, as they could potentially have a negative effect on your placement.

When you think of  online marketing, there are two popular methods that a company can use to enhance its visibility on the Web: organic search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. Ideally you would want to engage both strategically to optimize your sites profile. There are a few questions when looking to hire a internet marketing firm. Do they use hidden links or text? Have you ever gotten a site penalized? Will there be any changes made to my site? These are some basic questions to ask before employing a vendor to help with your online search optimization.

USWeb.com was founded in 1995 and deal with medium to Fortune 100 companies.  They employ top tier strategies to  develop, deploy, and integrate search engine marketing for your business. Let USWeb help you to build brand awareness and customer retention while you focus on your business. There are thousands of firms that will claim to get your site listed in 24 hours, or top search engine placement in less than 48 hours. Remember that you get what you paid for. If they use tactics to try and trick the search engines, such as invisible keywords on the page, you may actually loose traction in the search engine world. Ask questions, and stick with a reputable internet marketing firm like USWebs to increase your exposure and revenue.

By Darren Yates

How many years did you register your domain name for?
If it was only one then Google could hold that against you.

Why?

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain name registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors possibly considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.

How do I know this?

Google have recently made public, March 31 2005, the contents of their filing of United States Patent Application 20050071741.

In which many of the search giants secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very interesting reading. You must read this if you are serious about ranking well in Google. The days of Spaming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they’re coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.

Listed below you will find the hard facts, I recommend you bookmark this page now. You will need to reference it each time you optimize a new site.

• Links.

It’s common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Apparently the Google ’sandbox’ or aging delay begins count down the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google record the discovery of a link, link changes over time, the speed at which a site gains links and the link life span.

With this in mind fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of links. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.

PR is now very valuable.

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. That’s ‘anchor Spam’. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically. If you don’t and you get caught the recovery from a ban can be months in coming and your host and IP may also be recorded.

Softly softly seems to be the message. The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more anyway and they will be much more likely to long-term which is good to.

• Site click through rates (CTR)

CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools. Many have suspected for some time that sites are reward for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result.

CTR is also analyzed for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.

• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.

• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer. Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.

• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.

• User behavior in general could be monitored.

As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you want to integrate a call to action in there to increase your listings CTR.

Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored. Make your site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.

• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded as is the number of pages.

Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.

On the other hand few or small updates to your site could see your rankings slide. Unless your CTR is good. A stale page that receives good traffic may hold it’s own and not require an update. So don’t update for the sake of it.

Depending on your market fresh content may not be a requirement. If the information your pages contain does not go out of date then updating may not be necessary. If your market is more news based for example then changes regularly are a must. In general changes don’t necessarily have to mean fresh content. They could involve simple edits to current content.

A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Mention is made of changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Here’s the quote -
“A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a ’stable’ period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a ‘doorway’ document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document.”

There’s still more to look out for:-

• Changes in on page keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.

• The domain name owner address is considered, most likely to help in a local search result.

• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.

• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server it’s possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spaming. If so your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google have learned from the Spam ‘attack’ they suffered in early 2004 and they are determined to eradicate it from their listing results.

So what do you do?

There’s a lot to take onboard here and consider. But you can’t go far wrong with your SEO if you try to grow your site as organically as possible.

If you know what you are doing you can take short cuts. Carry on with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them. Vary your anchor text. Add small amounts of good quality content to your site regularly. Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible. Make your site more ’sticky’ to encourage visitors to stay a while. Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site. Oh and register new domain names for at least two years.

Before you do anything remember to reference the above info first. It may just save you months of misery as your site gets banned and ‘Sand boxed’.

Overall keep it ethical and you can’t go far wrong.
Do not be tempted to Spam. Stick to the guidelines above and you are much more likely to outlast and out rank your competition.

About the author:
About the Author

Darren Yates is owner of How-to-make-money-online.info a site focused on Making Money Online and Internet Marketing, listing the many and varied ways of making money online. Featuring, resources, thousands of Internet Marketing articles and useful links.