http://www.new07.org Niche Blog Reviews Covering Retirement, Business, Real Estate News, Finance, Credit and Press Releases Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:17:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.new07.org/social-media/cold-calling-for-links-advice-from-door-to-door%c2%a0sales http://www.new07.org/social-media/cold-calling-for-links-advice-from-door-to-door%c2%a0sales#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:35:20 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/cold-calling-for-links-advice-from-door-to-door%c2%a0sales Continue reading →]]> About 8 years ago, I was offered a job in door to door sales. I thought it would probably be the scariest, hardest job I could ever do. So I took it. I figured if I could spend a summer selling coupon cards to strangers on their doorsteps then I could probably do anything. I was right. I learned that selling anything door to door pretty much sucks. But I also learned that being positive and resilient is an asset in any line of work. Hell, my door to door sales pitch even helped me get hired to my first SEO job. Link builders can pull a lot out of a sales person’s bag of tricks; here are just a few of the ones that have proven true in my experience. Have a Great Opening, and a Killer

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/cold-calling-for-links-advice-from-door-to-door%c2%a0sales/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:01:15 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal Continue reading →]]> In the pursuit of new inbound links, people don’t always seek out new image links. We’ve been so conditioned to go after good editorial links that image links may be the last things on our minds as we reach out and try to increase traffic (and, let’s be honest, rankings) for our sites. However, there are several reasons why you should start paying more attention to image links. They’re part of a natural link profile. Chances are that if you’ve never pursued image links but you check your external backlinks, you’ll find that you have more image links than you thought. Actually, I tried very hard to find websites that did not have any image links, and it was quite a chore. For more information on how to optimize your images for SEO, see Ann Smarty’s article . They’re good for traffic because they’re more noticeable. On certain web pages, I’d argue that an image link might be better than a text link, actually. Based on user eyetracking patterns, an image in the F-shaped reading pattern is going to have a much better shot at generating traffic than a text link at the end of the content. They can pass link juice. It might not be as much as a text link passes (and it probably shouldn’t, considering its origins and intended uses), but it’s still something. They give off a warm, fuzzy vibe. Try and find a few image links that are used to link to something that the site owner hates. It’s tough to do. Almost everyone uses text links to funnel their negativity. They can be optimized through keywords. Just as a hyperlink has anchor text, an image link has an alt (alternate text) attribute. If you used a screen reader, your browser did not load the image, or you were using a text-only browser, this would give the user a description of the image. Although it’s a great way to get your keywords in, it’s also ripe for abuse, unfortunately. While a long description may make more sense to a visually impaired user using a screen reader, if that tactic is overdone, it can definitely seem spammy. They show up in image search results. Many site owners report that a great deal of their traffic comes from Google images, so it’s nothing to scoff at, if you’re the scoffing type. They can be fantastic ways to build even more links. Images, especially really funny ones, have the potential to go viral. Remember the squirrel crasher that popped up all over the place? That wouldn’t have been such a success if it had been a piece of text. Reading about a squirrel husting into a wedding photo is slightly funny, but seeing it is freaking hysterical! Even though not everyone who created and posted their own squirrelized photos linked to the original site through their own new images, tons of them linked to it through text and pimped it using social media. Naturally there are downsides to image links, and images in general. They take more time to load than text does, which can annoy users enough to simply leave the site and never return. They may be confused for the more spammy ads that appear all over the web, causing users to ignore them or discount them. However, most people wouldn’t intentionally seek out a “Click here” link either, but it’s part of a typical organic link profile, just like image links are. Julie Joyce owns the link development agency Link Fish Media , is one of SEO Chicks, and contributes to Search Engine Land and Search Marketing Gurus . Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Add Image Links to Your

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/add-image-links-to-your%c2%a0arsenal/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/find-relevant-blogs-and-link-building-opportunities-with%c2%a0xmarks http://www.new07.org/social-media/find-relevant-blogs-and-link-building-opportunities-with%c2%a0xmarks#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:26:00 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/find-relevant-blogs-and-link-building-opportunities-with%c2%a0xmarks Continue reading →]]> Xmarks is one of those FireFox plugins that I’ve been using for ages. I mentioned it in my one of the first FireFox tool overviews and I still find it awesome. With some (arguably) great “social” features added Xmarks has turned a cool search engine as well. I find it quite relevant and precise. Sure, the database is not as huge as Google’s but what it currently has is the best of the best. Xmarks search feature is based on its users’ preferences: The rank of each site is defined by how many people bookmarked the page; The topic if the site is defined by the tags a surfer used to save the page. Additionally, with the most recent update, Xmarks developers have introduced extra ratings and reviews from the FireFox status bar. Thus, run by people, the tool is still amazingly precise. Here’s how you can use it to locate relevant blogs in your niche (and possibly consider them as link targets); Find more “similar”

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/find-relevant-blogs-and-link-building-opportunities-with%c2%a0xmarks/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/75-prarticle-submission-sites-to-generate-inbound%c2%a0links http://www.new07.org/social-media/75-prarticle-submission-sites-to-generate-inbound%c2%a0links#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:38:54 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/75-prarticle-submission-sites-to-generate-inbound%c2%a0links Continue reading →]]> Article submission sites do not have as much authority and link value as they used to, but they can still help build your link portfolio and give a temporary boost in rankings. Certain sites like EzineArticles and PRweb tend to rank better organically which can help increase traffic, while other article sites are better for gaining high PR links. A Few Quick Optimization Tips You want to be careful with submitting the same article to multiple submission sites because you could potentially receive duplicate content penalties.  If you do decide to submit the same article to multiple sites, take the time to change the article title, along with a few sentences in each paragraph to make it unique enough for the search engines. Make sure you use SEO best practices.  Use keywords in the article title, use different variations of the keyword/phrase throughout the content, optimize the url (if possible), deep link to inner pages on your site (if possible). Now to the list… 75 PR/Article Submission Sites Here is a complete list of PR and article sites that allow you to submit content.  Certain sites require a fee to submit an article and usually provide a syndication service. Download the full list of submission sites here (xls) URL Pagerank http://Prnewswire.com 7 http://Allbusiness.com 7 http://Prweb.com 7 http://Ryze.com 7 http://www.Bpubs.com 7 http://www.hooverwebdesign.com/ 7 http://www.marketwire.com/ 7 http://www.sitepoint.com/ 7 http://Advisor.com 6 http://contentdig.com/ 6 http://ezinearticles.com/ 6 http://isnare.com/ 6 http://Sbinformation.about.com 6 http://thewhir.com/ 6 http://www.goarticles.com/ 6 http://www.isnare.com/ 6 http://www.prlog.org/ 6 http://www.PromotionWorld.com 6 http://resources.powweb.com/ 6 http://www.articlesbase.com/ 6 http://www.pr.com/ 6 http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/ 6 http://news.thomasnet.com/submitpr.html 6 http://www.nanotech-now.com/submit-press.cgi 6 http://www.newswiretoday.com/ 6 http://www.pr-inside.com/ 6 http://www.articlebiz.com/ 5 http://www.new-list.com/ 5 http://Activeauthors.com 5 http://E-zinez.com 5 http://new-list.com/ 5 http://Pressbox.co.uk 5 http://webdesign.ittoolbox.com/ 5 http://Webreference.com 5 http://Weeno.com 5 http://www.1888pressrelease.com/ 5 http://www.a1articles.com/ 5 http://www.articlealley.com/ 5 http://www.articlecity.com/ 5 http://www.articledashboard.com/ 5 http://www.Bharatbhasha.com 5 http://www.brint.com/write.html 5 http://www.Buzzle.com 5 http://www.Constant-Content.com 5 http://www.FreeSticky.com 5 http://www.PowerHomeBiz.com 5 http://www.prleap.com/ 5 http://www.prolinkdirectory.com/ 5 http://www.SearchWarp.com 5 http://www.Site-Reference.com 5 http://www.webproworld.com/ 5 http://www.work911.com/ 5 http://presszoom.com/ 5 http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/ 5 http://www.bignews.biz/ 5 http://www.openpr.com/ 5 http://bestezines.com/ 4 http://Ezinefinder.com 4 http://free-press-release.com/ 4 http://guidemegreen.com/ 4 http://www.articleclick.com/ 4 http://www.bestezines.com/ 4 http://www.free-press-release.com/ 4 http://Article-emporium.com 4 http://www.prfocus.com/ 4 http://www.prurgent.com/ 4 http://www.pressexposure.com/ 4 http://www.pr9.net/ 4 http://ecommwire.com/ 4 http://express-press-release.net/ 4 http://www.pressmethod.com/ 4 http://www.i-newswire.com/ 3 http://www.freepressindex.com/ 3 http://www.pressabout.com/ 3 Need more sites? Check out Top 50 Article Directories by Traffic & PageRank Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . 75 PR/Article Submission Sites to Generate Inbound

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/75-prarticle-submission-sites-to-generate-inbound%c2%a0links/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/local-marketing-with-hyperlocal-blog-and-news%c2%a0aggregators http://www.new07.org/social-media/local-marketing-with-hyperlocal-blog-and-news%c2%a0aggregators#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:09:01 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/local-marketing-with-hyperlocal-blog-and-news%c2%a0aggregators Continue reading →]]> Last year I did a short post on building links via local blogs . Looking back at that post I think it is quite limited. Those resources are so much more than just link building tools. Learning to find and build contacts with local journalists and bloggers will benefit you in plenty of ways (yes, it may take quite some time but it is well worth it in the long run). What should I do with these resources? ( If you are a local blogger or a local journalist ) Subscribe to each of them to make sure you cover all major events in the area; ( If you are a local blogger ) Submit or claim your listing there to increase your content distribution, visibility, and traffic; ( If you are the owner of a local business ) Track news and build connections with local bloggers to get covered by them (run contests, sponsorships, promote your events, etc); (If you are a link builder) Connect to local bloggers to get links when you need them, etc Tool Sources of local information How to track local updates How to promote your local resource Reach Placeblogger Blogs Register to add places and blogs to favorites Submit your local blog here Universal Outside.in Blogs, news resources Subscribe by RSS (bottom of the page) Register your site with Outside.in for Bloggers Universal Patch Local media Register to follow events, subscribe by RSS feed Apply as a local editor here ; Add your events here US: New Jersey, Connecticut, New York Every Block government Web sites, blogs, local media iPhone app, email alerts, RRS feed To get covered or included, contact the team feedback at everyblock.com US: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, DC “Local” Twitter search Microblogs RSS feed Follow and make friends with local influencers on Twitter Universal (Below are some details on each one) 1.

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/local-marketing-with-hyperlocal-blog-and-news%c2%a0aggregators/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/seo-wins-sins-5-questions-with-industry-leader-joe%c2%a0laratro http://www.new07.org/social-media/seo-wins-sins-5-questions-with-industry-leader-joe%c2%a0laratro#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:57:59 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/seo-wins-sins-5-questions-with-industry-leader-joe%c2%a0laratro Continue reading →]]> Effective search engine optimization is equal parts art, science, and EXPERIENCE, so I sat down with industry veteran Joe Laratro to get the dish on what matters most in SEO. Joe is a recognized and leading expert in the Search Engine Marketing industry, and regularly speaks at industry events like Webmaster World, SMX, and Search Engine Strategies. He sits on the advisory board and is the lead moderator and speaker for PubCon . 1. What are the most common mistakes newbie SEOs make? Search Engine Optimization has changed over the years. I would say there are three distinct generations of SEOers: the meta taggers, the link builders, and the social media marketers. I have seen newbie SEOs try to choose one path for optimization. For long term success all areas and disciplines of Search Engine Optimization need to be addressed and made part of the ongoing strategy. Another newbie mistake involves trying old and dated spam tactics. I do quite a bit of teaching for the Industry. I am always surprised when someone hints at cloaking, or using white on white text. When I think about it, where is the history book on SEO? Newbie’s need a resource of what not to do and how to learn from the mistakes of Webmasters / Marketers / SEOers of the past. 2. On the flipside, are there common mistakes that experienced SEOs still make? I think to some extent experienced SEOs can make the same mistakes as my first point in question one. We cannot pigeonhole ourselves into only doing one type of SEO. Site architecture, optimized growing content, and natural link building are essential for success. I have seen SEOs that just focus on one area. If we look at link building, it is possible to rank for keywords without ever optimizing the main site. But will that cover the hundreds if not thousands of keyword variations that might drive traffic to that Web site? No. Benchmarking, analytics, and tracking SEO changes are more common problems. Clients come back and ask what SEO accomplished for the Web site? The numbers should be easy to prove – increasing search referrals and increased number of keywords driving those referrals. This has become even more important since Google’s announcement in December of 2009 of full time personalized search results. The last mistake that is fairly common does not happen because of the SEO professional. This problem lies in communication and tracking between marketing departments and technical departments. Unfortunately SEO work gets overwritten without anyone’s knowledge. It can be days, weeks, or even months until the issues are identified. Each department claims the other speaks Greek. Finger pointing flies, but the real loser is the Web site. SEO’s have to monitor their implementations. 3. What are 3 things marketers can do RIGHT now to improve their organic rankings? Have a solid technical infrastructure that is search friendly Have an ongoing content development plan to add new and useful content to the Web site Have a link building plan in place: target directories, social media sites, and related Web sites 4. What are the 5 most important elements of an effective search optimization practice? Write great subject based content – optimize the basics: title, meta description, alt tags, H tags, and links (anchor text) Make a link building plan, stick to it, and monitor it’s growth (hint – social media sites should be a large part of this strategy) Consider the value of internal linking when it comes to keywords and anchor text (navigation and in content links) Make sure the Web site is registered with Google Webmaster Tools, Yahoo Site Explorer, and Bing Webmaster Central. Regularly review for issues and new insights. Monitor Analytics for keyword performance and trends 5. After implementing an effective search optimization practice, how soon can marketers expect to see changes in the SERPs? Search Engines have become very adept at listing fresh content. The Search Engine Marketing community used to say wait 90 days to see the results. Some changes can occur much more quickly now. Personalized search also throws a large monkey wrench into seeing changes in the SERPs. I suggest monitoring Analytics for natural search growth and occasionally spot checking positions. Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . SEO Wins & Sins: 5 Questions with Industry Leader Joe

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/seo-wins-sins-5-questions-with-industry-leader-joe%c2%a0laratro/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/creative-writing-tips-for-linkbait%c2%a0production http://www.new07.org/social-media/creative-writing-tips-for-linkbait%c2%a0production#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:50:05 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/creative-writing-tips-for-linkbait%c2%a0production Continue reading →]]> Have you ever sold a client linkbaiting content and when it came time to produce the bait, you’ve thought “oh dear, there’s not much to write about ___” (copper pipe manufacturing, hermit crab pet insurance, massage distance learning, etc)? Writers block.  Brain freeze. Call it what you will – the inspiration behind link bait doesn’t come easy to all.  Most of us are SEOs, not trained copy writers, but on occasion writing link bait or guest blog posts for client products land in our laps.  I tend to get creative, and think up dramatic story lines to combat the sometimes sterile concepts at hand. Creative Writing Tips for LinkBait Production Tone . Toys for kids, project management software for AB’s, electric guitars for musicians – these groups don’t speak the same language.  Get the lingo down for any one group – lets focus on guitar musicians in this case. Google’s Wonder Qheel is great at suggesting industry relevant terms . After searching for top blogs in any given industry, I use the Cloudlet plugin for Firefox which scrapes SERPs to form a tag cloud of often used keywords on a results page. Looks like I should also mentions amps, top brands like Fender, and the popular sunburst finishing glaze. Character Development . SERPs image results, Flickr, and Picassa often give a pretty accurate idea of the types of people using any given product.  Results for electric guitar: men, 20 – 60yrs, dark outfits, large boots, long hair, holding electric guitars, sweaty, 1 syllable names.  Now I must imagine myself as a man who likes to dress for funerals, goes hiking, doesn’t own scissors, is in need of some Axe, named Spike. Adversity . This is the opportunity to incorporate the client. What is your character having to overcome?  This challenge will ultimately result in utilising your client’s product as an aid or the full on solution.  Spike’s adversity: He needs to buy a new guitar because he smashed his old favourite on stage in last weeks gig. Plot Line .  Like any good story line we need a beginning, middle, and end evolving in the face of this adversity. Beginning: Set the scene and explain the adverse situation.  Spike the electric guitarist has just moved to Memphis.  His record company has given him an instrument allowance and he needs to decide on a new electric guitar. Middle: Spike hum’s and ha’s over the types of electric guitars in his price range. End: Spike decides on the client’s brand of electric guitar because of the great X, Y, and Z features it possesses.  Spike can’t wait to play it on stage and share it with his friends. While an obvious challenge, try to be subtle about how you introduce your product.  The entire point of a story line and character is be more organic so that you appear legitimate, and not just another product cheerleader. I hope you take away a refreshed creative edge when producing client linkbait, be it a blog post or perhaps even using your character to explore (infiltrate?) social media avenues and forums.  Please, leave comments below and share your own inspiration for writing linkbait copy for clients – bonus points for especially monotonous industries. My “Spike” inspiration. Chelsea Blacker is a London based search consultant currently working at Base One Search With a background in SEO & PPC cultivated at Promediacorp in NYC, Chelsea focuses on engaging B2B brands in social media and online PR. If you want to further procrastinate from getting on with your real work, check out her current Marketing Pilgrim post You Know You Work in Search When… or say hi to her on twitter @ChelseaBlacker Check out the SEO Tools guide at Search Engine Journal . Creative Writing Tips for LinkBait

]]> http://www.new07.org/social-media/creative-writing-tips-for-linkbait%c2%a0production/feed 0 http://www.new07.org/social-media/6-ways-to-extract-all-links-from-the-current%c2%a0page http://www.new07.org/social-media/6-ways-to-extract-all-links-from-the-current%c2%a0page#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:40:31 +0000 cgseo http://www.new07.org/business/6-ways-to-extract-all-links-from-the-current%c2%a0page Continue reading →]]> Seeing what a web page links out to is one of the major steps of SEO diagnostics process. This way you can see which internal pages are given more emphasis to, which anchor texts are used for both internal and external links; you can identify some red flags of possibly paid links, research the site “neighborhood”, etc. This post lists 6 tools to help you run the analysis of all links used on a page: Type Internal vs External Linked page info Link details Extract links IWebTool Link Extractor Web-based no Google PR attributes (nofollow), title, anchor no Link Extractor Web-based no no Link anchor text CSV FireLink Report FireFox (Firebug) addon yes no Link anchor text no SEM tools FireFox addon no no Link position on a page copy all / selected links SEOquake FireFox addon yes Google PR, incoming links, etc nofollow CSV OutWit Hub FireFox addon yes no no CSV (Some details and screenshots can be found below) 1. IWebTool Link

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