Duplicate Content - Setting the Record Straight

Duplicate content is one of the most misunderstood concepts in search engine optimization.

So let me clarify it in a nutshell. If you repeat / duplicate large blocks of text on your website, you run the risk of incurring a duplicate content penalty from Google and suffering lower search engine ranking as a result.

Thankfully, Adam Lasnik of Google recently explained how their software handles duplicate content. Surely this will clear up some of the confusion (and silence some of the panic pushers). One can hope anyway.

Read Adam's blog post

Happy Holidays!

~Brandon

P.S. - If you need additional content for your website. Don't resort to duplicating or rehashing the same old material. Let me create content for you.

Download the Seminar Agenda

There is now a seminar agenda available for download in PDF format. If you're not sure what seminar I'm talking about, here's a recap:

• What: Search Engine Visibility Seminar
• Where: Embassy Suites Hotel (Austin Arboretum)
• When: April 18, 2007 (8:30 am - 5:00 pm)
• Why: Increase your website's visibility and profitability

Download the agenda (PDF)

If you have any questions about this seminar, please don't hesitate to contact me. It's also worth noting that there's an early bird discount that will save you well over $100 on admission!

Hope to see you there.

-Brandon

Affordable SEO Training

Do you mind if I try to revolutionize the way SEO training is offered?

I hope not, because that's what I plan to do.

Picture This
Let me paint a vision for you. Imagine signing up for a virtual SEO training model, picking a time and date convenient for you, and then receiving your SEO training right over the Internet ... while wearing your pajamas at home, or maybe with a group huddled around an office computer.

Can you see it? Great! Because that's what I'm pioneering: Virtual SEO Training. No need to pay for travel costs or spend two days out of the office. I'll bring professional SEO training to your computer at your convenience (thanks to the screen-sharing technology of GoTo Meeting).

Maybe it's the geek in me talking, but I think this is going to be fun as well as valuable for anyone wanting to learn SEO techniques.

Learn more

~Austin SEO Guy

Austin SEO Seminar - Date, Time & Location

Where are my manners?

I finalized all the logistical details for next year's Austin SEO Seminar, and I forgot to share it through my blog. I blame it on an overdose of holiday cheer.

Anyway, here are the details:

Search Engine Visibility Workshop
Right now, your potential customers are using the search engines to find exactly what you provide. But are they finding you? In this full-day workshop, you'll learn the concepts, strategies, and time-saving techniques used by modern search engine optimization (SEO) professionals. Led by SEO and Internet publishing expert Brandon Cornett. Register early and save!

When: April 18, 2007, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Embassy Suites, Austin-Arboretum
Cost: $650 early registration. $795 regular.

Seminar Registration Page

Austin Business Journal Entry

Hope you can make it!

-Brandon

Naming & Labeling Your Images for Search

Chances are, you've noticed a new development when using Google. The big 'G' is now incorporating results from Google Images on their regular search results page.

The image below shows a Google search I did for "foam fingers" on behalf of a client. Notice how they display thumbnails from Google Images at the top of the page. Now I ask you, if you were looking for this kind of product, what would you be more inclined to click on ... an actual photo of the product, or text describing the product?



So how can you get your images to appear in Google Images, and by extension in regular Google searches? Simple. You name your images descriptively and label them with the ALT tag. That's how the images above got to where they are. Their file names and ALT tags all include the phrase "foam fingers."

Ask yourself — how many images do I have on my website? How many of them are optimized and labeled for search engine visibility?

Until next time,

Brandon, Austin SEO Guy

New SEO Article You Might Like

I just published a new article on ISEDB.com that you might enjoy ... especially if you're the owner of a relatively older website (say, 5 years old or more).

The article is a mini case study on my experiences with older websites, and how you can significantly increase your search engine visibility by making small changes on-site.

Hope you find it useful:

Case Study: How Title Adjustments Doubled Search Traffic
Much has been written about the importance of the title element for search engine visibility. But I'm going to revisit the topic, because there's one point I don't feel has been given sufficient coverage.

Does Google + Yahoo = Yoogle or Gahoo?

If a form of plagiarism weren't involved (which I detest), this would be rather amusing.

You're probably aware that Internet Explorer launched a new version of its browser lately. Well, as is the current trend, Google and Yahoo both offer customized versions of this browser. And now, Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo points out how Google clearly copied Yahoo's splash page to promote their own version of IE7.

The resemblance is undeniable (and indicative of both competitiveness and laziness)!

SEO Tidbits From Around the Web

Some days, I just don't feel like blogging. You can relate to that, right?

But even on the "lazy" days, I like to provide value through this blog. So today I'm going to offer up a list of helpful resources from around the Web. I hope you like it. And if you like it more than my regular posts, please keep that to yourself. My ego couldn't take it. :-)

An excellent comparison of search ad programs (Google, Yahoo and MSN):
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/006842.html

An interesting article about Site Advisor popping up in search results:
http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1566

Further advancements with Google News Search:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/staying-informed-with-google-news.html

"10 Signs That Your SEO is a Quack" (Jill and I agree on this one!)
http://isedb.com/db/articles/1571/

AdSense Preview Tool (See what kind of Google ads your site would generate)
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/google-adsense-preview/

The Ultimate Keyword Primer
http://www.wordtracker.com/articles/index.php/academy/the_ultimate_keyword_primer/

What do you think?
Do you like this kind of summary of SEO articles, tools and resources? If so, comment on it and let me know.

Until next time,

-Austin SEO Guy

How Do Search Engines Work?

To make your website more visible to search engines, it helps to have a basic understanding of how search engines find and evaluate websites.

With that in mind, I've written this article to help you learn the basics of search engine function. Once you've read the article, the fundamental techniques of search engine optimization techniques will begin to make a lot more sense.

Read the article:
How Do Search Engines Work?

Until next time,

-Austin SEO Guy

21 Things I'd Like to Do With Spammers

I own several websites and have multiple email addresses and contact forms. So I deal with my share of spam. Actually, I think I get more than a fair share of spam. Over time, this endless battle with spam has planted seeds of hatred that have become full-grown trees of animosity.

How much do I hate spammers, you ask. Let me share my desires with you.

21 Things I'd Like to Do With Spammers

1. Make them sit through a 12-hour marathon presentation about discount mortgages, free software, Paris Hilton and Viagra ... hosted by Dr. Phil.

2. Drop them on an uncharted island, sew their lips together, and make them communicate solely through the use of hand puppets.

3. Fill their pockets with hamburger meat and give them a 90-second head start before releasing the wolves.

4. Strap them into recliners, clamp their eyes open (Clockwork Orange style), and make them watch Ishtar over and over again.

5. Coat them with honey and tie them down over the fire ant mounds behind my house.

6. Make them stroll through Reagan International Airport wearing t-shirts that say "Ask Me About Shoe Bombs."

7. Drop them off at a stock car race in Alabama on a Friday night wearing sandwich-board signs that say "Honk if you love the Teletubbies."

8. Tie them down beneath a hive of killer bees, smack the hive like a piñata on Cinco de Mayo, and then take off running.

9. Force them to walk through a slaughterhouse blindfolded and eat the first moist item they come in contact with.

10. Put them on "Dancing with the Stars" partnered up with members of "The View."

11. Make them go duck hunting with Dick Cheney.

12. Put them on a new version of Fear Factor with host Charles Manson.

13. Make them compete for First Place in an eyelid-yanking contest.

14. Make them jog through Death Valley in thermal underwear and mittens.

15. Have them compete in a sailboat race when the next "perfect storm" comes around.

16. Have them sail through the pirate-infested waters off East Africa in a ship flagged as the "SS Moneybags."

17. Sign them up for hundreds of magazine subscriptions using the "bill me later" option and their mailing address.

18. Give their phone number to every Army recruiting office in the U.S. with a note: "Can you tell me about opportunities in the U.S. Army?"

19. On their behalf, mail letters to Mike Tyson insulting his mother.

20. Let them take over for the cleanup crews who follows elephants during circus parades.

21. Send them to Iraq to replace troops on both sides of the conflict.




Do I have anger issues? I don't think so. I just feel it's important to share your feelings.

-Austin SEO Guy