As most everyone knows, Google often changes its algorithms by weeding the field but this latest update has virtually plowed under the rankings of many well-known sites, rendering their crop yield for the Google SERPs practically useless by almost 12% in many cases. The impact may only affect the U.S. at the moment but it is likely to go worldwide in the future.

Although Google states this latest “Farmer” update is in direct response to the often-criticized quality of its SERPs and their intent with this latest update is to yield a better crop of rankings for high-quality sites with original content and information, early results have some websites taking up the pitchfork in protest.

One of the biggest complaints for many sites that witnessed a drastic drop in ranking seems to be being identified as a content farm; especially since it appears Google’s recent update is targeting these sites as producing shallow and low quality content, even if they are not confirming this as one of their primary targets. Unfortunately, the stigma of the content farm label is a direct result of those sites that have not put in the effort to generate an outstanding content crop.

In response to the protests, Google has stated that if you have been negatively impacted by the Farmer (aka Panda) update, you simply need to improve the quality of your content to negate the effects. Once the low quality content has been removed and replaced with relevant content, Google will reward the effort and your rankings will begin to improve.

Despite this simple solution offered by Google, there is still considerable confusion as to why some sites saw their crops annihilated and others avoided the sweep entirely, as it is still easy to find plenty of low quality or completely irrelevant content showing up.

As a result, many are questioning exactly what Google deems to be low quality vs. high quality and how they determine which sites are really content farms that produce low quality spam crops. Many sites that have been hit the hardest by this latest update are still trying to figure out how they managed to fall in path of the destruction; and some are still trying to decide how to plant the right crop to avoid another pass of the Google plow.

While there are probably some sites that may have deserved being plowed under by this update, and are not likely to easily bounce back – if ever, there are others who are scrambling to identify the damage and find a solution to get back in the game. As is usually the case, there is no shortage of suggestions readily available in order to try and salvage what is left of a site that has been hit. While the debates are varied, most agree it will take time and diligence to recover and those who cannot adhere to Google’s guidelines will pay the price.

Clearing Up A Few Mobile Marketing Mysteries

First, let’s explore the difference between SMS and Apps; SMS, or Short Message Service is simply text messaging and since it can connect directly to most mobile phones, it can be a great tool for connecting; especially for those who may not own one of the new smartphones. Apps, or applications, are features of the smartphone. The trick here is to select the option that is most likely to appeal to your target market; just remember, SMS will cover a wider range of consumers because it does not limit the type of phone a customer may have.

Many believe that the effectiveness of mobile marketing in the next few years will be closely tied to mobile browser capabilities, rather than Apps. The ability to browse the web through mobile devices is already important and will continue to grow; do not limit who can receive or view your information.

While most business believe mobile marketing is expensive, there are tools to fit every budget and can be accomplished with the smallest budget by choosing off the shelf standard tools.

Mobile marketing consultants will charge anywhere from $200 to several thousand to educate a client on utilizing the tools of mobile marketing and recurring costs will fluctuate. The outlay will depend on the volume of messages you intend to send and can range from .05 to .20 per SMS message.

The requirements needed for a company to participate in mobile marketing will be a keyword and shortcode and, unless they look for a shared shortcode, this can cost between $1000 to $1500 per month.  A shared shortcode will be infinitely more cost effective for small business and the results will not be diminished.

A common mobile marketing misconception is the belief that mobile marketing will be the one thing to cure all the problems.  However, in order for mobile marketing to be successful, it must be incorporated in the marketing mix of a business; this is about reach and engagement and a business will lose the power of mobile marketing if it is not integrated.

One should never use mobile marketing to duplicate offers that may be broadcast elsewhere.  This is a definitive permission-based form of marketing and the offers should always be unique, which makes them valuable as they cannot be found elsewhere.

As with most everything, there are regulations covering mobile marketing, issued from the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) that has close ties with carriers; they have created best practices guidelines, keep watch over mobile marketing and any abuse will be stopped.

Any company that is interested in mobile marketing can either contact an agency to work with or go online for self-service tools to get started.  Small businesses will find the online tools to be a great way to start learning more.  There are also many agencies that will work with small to medium sized business to help create a plan and strategy to help the company get the ultimate benefits from mobile marketing.

If a company’s goal is to do mobile marketing on their own, a mobile marketing agency will be invaluable in guiding and educating them on the process until they are ready to go it alone.

The success of mobile marketing is all about consistency and commitment. In order to realize success with mobile marketing, a company needs to consider what they are offering and be committed to continuously refining and measuring the results of their offerings. A mobile phone can offer a great deal of creativity and it helps us to better understand the customer.  As with any marketing vehicle, it is a matter of trial and error as to what works and what does not.

When Google Instant was launched in the early autumn of 2010, there were those in the search engine optimization business who fully expected it would render SEO virtually impossible to perform.

Adapting to Change

When the practice of indexing sites using keyword meta tags were dropped around the turn of the century, there were likely webmasters who also experienced panic. However, people adapted to the change; this not only included the white hat SEO, it also includes the practitioners of black SEO who will always look for ways to game the system.

Weighing the Differences

With Google Instant being the newest alteration, people will learn to adapt again. In order to remain relevant, changes will always be a part of new technology. While Google Instant may affect some aspects of SEO, the one thing that still holds true is that content is still vitally important.

Google will now return results that are actually relevant much quicker and the black hat SEO technique of dumping junk content will be infinitely more difficult to practice as fewer people will ever see it.

Writing content that others think is worthy of linking to is important for getting links back to your content. Rather than relying exclusively on SEO, you can diversify your results, which simply means content is still king.

The Need to Adjust Keyword Usage

Now, when people begin typing, results being appearing, which means it is important to target short, one or two keywords with the instant results of Google Instant, and most people who stop if they find what they are looking for with a few words. However, this does mean that long tail SEO should be discarded.

Long Tail SEO is Still Very Important

Despite what you might think, this really isn’t a contradiction of what was stated earlier.

You need to remember that there are two aspects of Google Instant. Not only are you offered results as you type, it also offers users search suggestions that they may find of interest.

Even if the user finds the results they want right away, there will always be those who will choose the Google suggestions offered.

Top 3 Positioning Is Now More Vital Than Ever

Being on the first page of SERPs is now no longer adequate, which is one of the truly negative aspects affecting SEO efforts with Google Instant. Each time another word is typed the SERP changes and being within the first few results is vital for maximum exposure, as the entire page is not likely to be seen by most users.

Some will even go so far to try and hide these multiple domains when SEO is being implemented and the client will only disclose them after the fact, unless they are discovered during the process.

As a result, when one is working on SEO, these misguided clients usually end up fully expecting more than one of their multiple sites to show up at the top of the search results.

The problem here is that these secondary domains usually contain duplicate content and most everyone will tell you this is not a good thing. Although there are rare cases when multiple domains might be effective, it is not something that most SEO professionals would recommend.

So, why would this practice of multiple domains continue to be so popular with many businesses? There are usually two main factors that lead to this misconception and these are given from the perspective of SEO professionals who often run into this issue.

Panic Stricken Domain Buyers

Many businesses will go on a panic buying spree for domains in the belief that if they buy all the keyword oriented domains, they will prevent their competition from rendering their website indistinct. The goal is to try and own all the available domains in the hope that they will beat out the competition in the rankings.

Although there might be an element of truth with this tactic, there is no effect on your SEO and it seldom achieves the goal of blocking out the competition. It would be next to impossible to think of every domain variation and it can get expensive trying to buy too many, not to even mention trying to maintain multiple domains. Most savvy competitors know that better content will increase their rankings, regardless of the domain name.

If you are one that is still determined to own multiple domain names, it would be wise to ensure that all of them are redirected to your main domain site with a 301 redirect.

The Strategy of First Page Domination

Some businesses set out to try and dominate the search results and they believe that buying multiple domains will facilitate this strategy. The thought here is that if they have multiple sites on the first page, the traffic will naturally follow. Although this might happen on occasion, there are some pretty serious negative aspects to this way of thinking.

– Content Duplication Issues – It will be necessary to write all new content for each site, as you cannot use content from another site. The cost and difficulty of writing unique content for multiple sites should never be underestimated.

– Brick and mortar Locations – Multiple websites do not work well if you have a single physical location. It is confusing for your customers and visitors and most SEO professionals will strongly avoid utilizing the same address for multiple websites. Google does not provide effective results for businesses with multiple sites with the same address and might easily be confused for spam.

– Over branding through multiple sites – Branding issues can easily arise with two or more sites. Which one becomes the high end and which site takes the low end? Will the prices be the same for all the sites? What names will you use on your sites? If there is only one phone number, how will you know how to answer it? Even though there might be exceptions, such as targeting different demographics, this conflict-ridden branding effort involves a lot of risks and will definitely require additional work.

Country Specific Domain Exception

When you get into other countries, there is an exception to the usual negative aspects of multiple domains. The aforementioned problems do not apply and a country specific domain actually becomes a necessity. When it comes to achieving the best possible results for international SEO, a country specific TLD (top level domain) is a must. If you are doing business in the United Kingdom, your ranking will improve if you have a .co.uk domain. While you may rank without a country specific TLD, it will prove to be more difficult and this is one exception to the multiple domain tactic that should be fully employed.

The SEO Process and the Indented Listing Option

For those who still intend to own, maintain and run multiple domains and wish these sites to appear in the search results, you must understand that any SEO work will be doubled and the results may vary. Despite what some may tell you there are no free rides or shortcuts, and quick rankings are virtually impossible, even if your main domain is already ranking well.

Any new domain and site will be infinitely more difficult to rank than one that already has history and a semblance of authority in place. One option to seriously consider would be indented listings, which are secondary pages that show up underneath the first main listing for your site. This option will yield better results than trying to accomplish multiple domains for the same search.

The Marketing Objective

This is one of the fundamental aspects of a website and you need to have some idea of how your companies marketing objective will be enhanced by SEO. What will SEO accomplish and what do you want it to accomplish. Have a specific reason for enlisting the SEO professional and always be open to their suggestions. A well-respected SEO professional has earned their standing for valid reasons (namely, successful optimization) and they are usually keen on keeping that reputation. Be willing to learn from their experience.

Timing is Very Important

The last thing you need to do is to be pressured into rushing into an SEO campaign.  There are a few timing issues to be considered before you start:

Seasonal Timing. If your business has a high and low season, it stands to reason that the best time to start an SEO campaign is during the low season. By doing this, you are ready to capture key traffic during your high season. SEO should be avoided during your busiest season.

Redesigning, Updating Or Launching Your Website.  If you are launching a new website, considering an update or a complete redesign on your current site, do not start an SEO campaign until the new site is up and running. Launching a new site, or attempting a redesign, should never be undertaken during an SEO campaign, as it is a huge hindrance and the SEO results will be significantly delayed.

There is no such thing as a quick fix and that includes SEO

If there is only one thing you need to remember when considering an SEO campaign, it needs to be that there is no quick fix, instant results or magical tactics.  Always keep in mind that effective search engine optimization is a long term marketing strategy.  Do not be taken in by any SEO organization that promises instant results; these are usually what are known as ‘black hat tactics’ which are short lived and may result in losing your website.

As much as you might want immediate results, or unreasonable guarantees, there is nothing that is going to make this fairy tale come true.  Effective, organic SEO can take anywhere from 6-18 months to yield top results and there is simply no way to get around that fact.

Web Developer Access

Most business websites have a developer that manages the website so, before you begin an SEO campaign, make sure that your developer is readily available to implement recommendations from your SEO professional in a timely manner.  SEO campaigns require many time sensitive adjustments to your website and unreliable developers are often the main cause for unnecessary delays in your campaign.

The Capability of Content Generation

Content is the name of the game when it comes to a successful website and a huge aspect of SEO is relevant content.  Depending on your current layout, your site may be one that requires more website content than others.  Make sure you have the ability for content creation and if this is not the case, be sure to discuss your limitations upfront with your potential firm.

“If you could just do this one little thing…”

SEO experts can provide more than just SEO, they have the ability to offer Internet marketing expertise that can help you to realize your marketing vision; they can be true partners in your marketing strategy.  The key is to allow them to do what they know is best.  It would be unwise to look upon your SEO partner for nothing more than link building or intentionally tying their hands.  When you prevent them from utilizing their SEO expertise, you will undermine their efforts and sabotage any successful outcome.  Always permit your SEO professional to accomplish what you hired them to do by allowing them to perform their work.

No Secrets Please

Most everyone already knows that a partnership that is based on a common goal of success cannot be achieved if you do not practice complete honesty and full disclosure.  It is no different when you enlist an SEO firm as your marketing partner. Communicate your goals and be honest about the current state of your business, what you have tried in the past, and what you hope to accomplish now.  Always provide complete data to your SEO partner so they can provide you the results you are seeking for your investment.

Remember, your SEO partner can only perform their work based on the information you provide. If you do not give them complete access, you are likely to create a quagmire of frustration when you do not provide the entire picture.  Soon you will have a failure to communicate and the success of the SEO campaign will be in jeopardy.  If you are not yet willing to disclose all that is necessary, this might not be the time to enlist an SEO firm.

What About the ROI?

It is always about the bottom line and one pertinent question is to determine what you are getting for your investment and how will you know.  If you don’t know, then ask.  Are there specific methods in place that will inform you?  These are important questions to ask and if you do not know the answer, consult a reputable SEO firm to learn more.

There is no way to stress the importance of communication when you are looking for an SEO company and, unless they discuss the subject in the initial contact, make sure you convey the importance of evaluating ROI and be willing to cooperate in that effort.

A Partnership Involves More Than One

It should now be clear that cooperation and trust are important aspects of your partnership with an SEO firm and you must be involved if you truly want a successful, effective SEO campaign.

Constant communication is required during an SEO campaign because it is an active marketing effort and adjustments are an integral part of the process.  A professional SEO firm will strive to work together with you as an active partner and communication is the cornerstone of achieving success.  If you are not able to be readily available during the process, be sure to appoint someone for the task who fully understands the importance of keeping the flow of information moving.

In order to facilitate a smooth campaign, it is imperative that you avoid delays and eliminate red tape.  The simple rule to remember is, the faster the recommendations are implemented, the sooner you will see results.

If you have studied this primer, it will hopefully prove helpful in asking the right questions when you are ready to begin your SEO campaign.

Most people start a website to generate income and hope to see that goal fulfilled around the 2nd quarter.  Rankings certainly play a part in the overall scheme and link building is a way to achieve it, keeping in mind that the acquired links are in sync with your websites progress.

Any seasoned SEO professional knows that a healthy balance of links is the optimum objective. The key is to appear natural to the search engine and, if your backlink lineup is made up of anchor text links, you are going to have a problem.  The same is true is everything is a bookmark or directory link and particularly a comment link.

During the process of submitting articles, you need to ensure you are using your anchor text; however, make certain that some of these back to your site are the business name or URL.  For those with a just launched site, the rule of thumb for branded links to anchor text should be a 50-50 ratio to keep the backlinks from appearing unnatural.

This does not necessarily apply to an established, sizeable website. Submitting a higher ratio of anchor text links is not going to hurt you or your rankings if your site already has 40,000 backlinks.  A prime example would be YouTube; if you directed 1000+ spamlike, anchor text comment links to that site, it is not likely to make a bit of difference.  However, trying to do with a new site that has no authority or reputation will very likely result in a penalty.

An individual with a personal website related an excellent example of their experience when this rule was not followed.  They began submitting content using their anchor text and, even though there were anchor text variations, they failed to throw in their URL for that natural appearance.

For a short while, they experienced an increase and even attained first page ranking for two of their main keywords. All seemed to be sailing along smoothly and they began to anticipate an inflow of cash…until they attracted the wrath of Google.

Despite being extremely upset, they began looking through their backlinks and discovered they had not been following the best procedure; they had not built enough credible, natural looking links.  They had been caught up in the great rankings and had kept submitting content, bookmarks, directories and other links that only utilized their anchor text.

Since it was a new site, whose online existence was limited, building those links worked for a short time, until it caught up with them.  Had their site been one with authority, with a healthy, natural appearing assortment, it is not likely this would have occurred.

It is important to remember that when you are pointing links back to your website, be sure to vary your anchor text and method of the link being built.

Despite the fact that they are usually a waste of time, there are still those out there in the SEO industry who continue to practice these tactics and pocket the money from unsuspecting clients who often think there is some quick fix or shortcuts for effective SEO.

What many fail to understand is that these unscrupulous tactics are all too familiar to search engines and Google; the only thing you will accomplish is being totally banned from the SERPs.  They also irritate visitors to your website, which is the last you want to do.

1.       Spamming Keywords – One of the oldest tricks in the book and still employed by black-hat practitioners.  It simply involves writing content utilizing the keyword over and over to the point that it appears absurd.

2.       White to White, et al—Yet another old chestnut that yields nothing. It involves using a white background and writing inane, optimized keyword content in white, trying to fool the visitor, and Google, into thinking it is invisible.

Regardless of how it is employed, yellow to white or brown to black, the search engines are still capable of knowing when this is done.

3.       Utilizing the Word “Scam”—Although this works occasionally, it is more likely to end up going very wrong and is hardly worth the risk. This technique usually involves targeting a well-known service that you have an affiliate link with, and receive remuneration for selling their product, then posting an article stating the “ABC Product is a Scam”

While individuals are researching the product to learn whether or not it is a scam, they may end up finding that page…and you.  Once you have told them why it is not a scam, you sell the product along with your affiliate link.

The real downside of this tactic is the initial doubt you have planted in the visitor’s mind and it may result in their not buying anything at all.  In addition, the business you are an affiliate for may not find your methods amusing and end up banning you.

4.       Farming Links – A good way to get Google to notice you is to build links back to your website, leading some individuals to construct websites that consisted of nothing other than links to other websites.

The mistaken belief was that Google would notice them and consider the site as popular. It did not take long for Google to get wise to this tactic and begin penalizing sites that practice link farming.

5.       Bowling for Google— Once the unethical practice of link farming was discovered, some people hatched the scheme to get their competition banned from Google SERPs by creating link farms that pointed to their competitor’s site. However, this seldom works, due to the various algorithms Google has in place to counter this and the fact they will also perform manual checks when they detect something of this nature.

6.       Jump or Doorway Pages—A sneaky way of grabbing the attention of the search engines by posting inane, over optimized keyword content on a page that provides nothing but links to other websites. It only serves to irritate visitors and repel advertisers.

There is always the possibility that visitors to your site will never even see these doorway pages because they have a redirect built in to move them to the real website.  Make no mistake; you may get delisted because Google knows they are there.

7.       Stuffing Meta Tags—A once popular technique utilized by some deceitful website owners that stuffed the meta keyword tags with insignificant keywords. Even today, some people try to stuff titles and descriptions, but since Google does not use these for indexing either, it only serves to aggravate visitors and has no useful purpose.

8.       Blog and Forum Spamming—There is little to be gained in the way of link back points from Google with this tactic; it also irritates people who visit, along with the owners who must delete your junk, and they will never visit your site.

9.       Deceptive Headlines— Even though you are not likely to achieve much in the way of SERP rankings by doing so, there may be nothing wrong with using an obscure headline. However, using sensationalized, false or misleading headlines to sell your product will only get you banned from Google.

10.   Bombing Twitter—This is the latest trend that can get you banned from the Google SERPs and Twitter, which involves trying to get more links by using a bot to automatically post numerous Twitter messages.

Despite being an excellent opportunity for businesses to increase online sales, Search Marketing is often overlooked by companies who are too busy to keep up with growing trends.  There are three Search Marketing trends that should be considered of utmost importance to the small business.

1.  Marketing Integration: Both Online & Offline – It has been estimated there was $917 billion in web-influenced retail sales for 2009 versus $155 billion of consumer goods sold online in the same year.  With many customers being influenced by online searches when purchasing offline and an in-store experience that results in a customer searching and purchasing online, a small business needs to have all bases covered.

2.  Local Search and Mobile Devices – Now that so many consumers have moved beyond the personal computer and are searching from their mobile devices, Blackberries, iPhones and iPads, a company needs to understand what this means in the way of marketing opportunities.

Companies that target customers with geographically specific needs or in specific regions need to be present in local search results, map results and for queries on specific geographic locations. Paid search advertisements for geographic targeting will help direct the right ads to the right customers.

3.  Advertising Through Social Media – With the advent of the social media venues, many small business marketers have come to realize these are a great opportunity to reach customers that goes beyond the usual paid search. With over 400 million registered users, Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited website for a week in mid-March of 2010. Social networks should not be overlooked as they can serve an excellent targeted, advertising opportunity for new customers that will go well with paid search programs.

Small businesses that incorporate these 3 essential Search Marketing trends will definitely realize a competitive advantage.

The Structure of URL’S

Abstain from using ID’s for your URLs. In order to help with SEO, and make it easier for your visitors to know what the page is about, change your URLs to a worded structure. WordPress is often used for building websites and in order to keep your URLs clean, go to Settings > Permalinks > and enter /%postname%/ as a Custom Structure. To avoid duplicate content issues, you also need to make sure to have your site go to the www or the non-www version, but not both.

Keep Flash to a Minimum

A little Flash goes a long way and the last thing you want to do is build the entire website using Flash, a practice that photographers are notorious for doing. Do not place any text or vital information within Flash files, as search engines are restricted by what can be read within them. You will end up shielding the content of your site and rendering it irrelevant for most of your keywords.

With Google’s new instant preview feature, using Flash can result in empty or blank content.

Each Page Should Only Contain One Topic

Refrain from listing a variety of services or products on one page. Create your homepage to reflect the overall focus of your business and then utilize menus to describe your categories. By listing one product or service per page, you will have a cleaner presentation and it makes it easier for the user to find what they are looking for. It will also serve you well when you begin to target pages with keywords.

Making the Most of Heading Tags

Separating topics and assigning a title to each page are accomplished with heading tags that range from H1 to H6. Heading tags can be a very effective tool, but each page should only have one H1 tag. When possible, keywords within the H1 tag are a great way to increase its potential.

Stay Away From iFrames

Although iFrames were once a popular method in Web development and, there are a few major sites that continue to use them to enable users to easily display content, there really is no reason to utilize iFrames for your website. They are nothing more than a window or portal into another page on your website and the search engines are not able to read the information within that window, which is why they are a waste of time.

You can test the ineffectiveness by visiting iFrame sites and try searching for some of the content on the site; you won’t find it and the same holds true for the search engines.

Efficient Call to Action’s

Although traffic is an important goal for any website, if you are not converting the traffic, it is of no use. Never underestimate the value of optimization when it comes to conversion and how it will greatly improve your bounce and conversion rate.

Whatever you are using to identify a conversion – a caller, orders, emails, leads or subscribers – the key is to make it easy for the visitor to find what you want them to act upon. Whether it is filling out a form or calling you, make sure that the call to action is clearly displayed so your visitor will not miss it. There is nothing that will discourage a visitor quicker than trying to figure out how to contact you and some websites are notorious for complicating the effectiveness of converting traffic.

Images Containing Text

Often a website will contain text with an image in an effort to display a special font but this practice reflects a basic misunderstanding of HTML. Text within an image cannot be ready by the search engines so, unless you want to be faced with the task of doing it twice, do not fall into this trap.

Navigation with JavaScript

The links and drop-down pages from using JavaScript to display your navigation can generate problems for the search engines in trying to read it. Unlike HTML, there are too many variables in creating the same product with JavaScript and it only serves to confuse the search engines.

When JavaScript is disabled in your browser, it looses its function and ceases to exist.

Structuring Navigation

Many make the mistake of complicating the navigational structure of their websites, which only serves to confound the visitor. The key is to keep it simple and clean; utilize parent pages, categories and don’t forget to include key pages. By including it in your menu you make it easier for a visitor to buy your product or learn more about your service.

Effective Content

Distinctive text and images should be utilized for each page. Video is also another component that will serve you well. At minimum, each page should contain one picture with descriptive alt text and 150 unique words. The keywords for each page can be incorporated in the text and alt tag image as long as they are not overdone. The safest method is to use your keyword once every 100 words because SEO is a delicate balance.

The Downside of Using a Splash/Doorway/Squeeze Page

When a visitor comes to your website, the first thing they should see is your homepage. Do not make the mistake of thinking a fun or chic page will somehow increase conversions or improve your bounce rate. More often than not, creating a splash page often results in an unnecessary obstruction between your visitor and you.

Blogging for Fresh Content

One fatal misconception is the belief that once a website is up and running, you can sit back and rack up the profits; nothing could be further from the truth. In order keep the search engines coming back, you must serve up fresh content and blogging is perfect way to accomplish this; it will even help you achieve rankings for longer tail keywords.

Blogs with relevant and up-to-date information for your products or service are exceptional methods to keep your content fresh.

The Importance of Site Speed

In this fast paced world, there is nothing that will discourage a visitor quicker than a website that takes too long to load. We have all experienced the frustration of such a site and usually end up going elsewhere. Search engines are not patient either, so your site speed is a vital aspect of your websites success. Large images, HTTP requests, CSS files and numerous HTTP requests are all guilty of slowing down your site speed, so use them sparingly.

There are always exceptions to these guidelines but, if you are planning to built a new website in the future, perhaps they will be useful for avoiding common mistakes. Your goal should always be to bring visitors to your website, increase conversions and bounce rate while maximizing your SEO efforts.



How Does A Duplicate Content Problem Arise?

You might discount the merit earned from your true homepage if you have duplicate homepages as they can be seen as individual pages.

If the homepage on your site can be viewed as the examples below, you may want to learn about correcting the error.

Although both http://www.example.com or http://example.com are acceptable, it needs to be one or the other.

You will need to correct http://www.example.com/index or /home or /homepage.

Another possibility is that someone has stolen your content outright.  The thief isn’t likely to benefit on the search engines from your content if it has been crawled and established in Google’s index. With any luck, they will simply be filtered out.

A popular ling building technique is to create numerous versions of the same article for submission to articles sites and networks.  By creating several versions of an article that is already on your site, you run the risk that it may create problems, as the correlation between the copies and original can still be seen by the search engines.

You may find different paths to get to the same product or category page contained in some shopping cart content management systems; this can be seen as duplicate pages when two different URLs are pointing to the same product.

On the other hand, if you have posted a blog in different categories and are concerned with duplicate content, you need to know the Search Engines understand blogs. The more posts within those categories, the more the content will be mixed up to prevent duplicate content problems; the same holds true for post snippets.

How Can I Determine If Duplicate Content Is Affecting My Site?

First, peruse your site to determine if you have any of the aforementioned examples. Typing your URL in Copyscape is another method but remember that when you perform this step, this does not reflect the entire site, you will only be shown the result for the particular page that was entered. In addition, it will not reflect duplicate content results that are on the same URL for your submitted query.

What Is The Solution For My Duplicate Content Issues?

It isn’t likely you will be hurt from others stealing your content. Go to copyscape.com and lookup SEOmoz.com; there will be pages of results but since they were the originators of the content, it is not likely they will be penalized or filtered out.

Should you find that others have stolen or copied your content, try emailing the webmaster to respectfully request that it be removed. Since it is not likely you will receive a response, the next best thing is to simply let it go. Stealing content is practiced frequently and since you are probably not being penalized for it, worrying about it is futile.

Repairing Duplicate Homepage Issues

If you find yourself being penalized for duplicate pages, it is usually easy to remedy as it is on your end.  Locate your htaccess file if you have duplicate homepage issues.

Redirect all your www-URLs to the non-www URLs by Addingthe following code

# RedirectMatch: 301 ^(.*)$ http://domain.com

# RedirectMatch permanent: ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com

Use your URL in place of “domain.com” and choose either www or non-www for as the go to place for everything.

You will need to execute a simple 301 direct to get rid of your /index or /home page issues.

In addition, specify this in the htaccess file by using this code:

# Redirect 301: /badurl.htm http://www.example.com/

To make sense with your particular situation, change the example URLs.

# Redirect 301 /index http://www.example.com

This will result in a clean URL structure because it is telling the site to permanently redirect your /index to http://www.example.com.  Depending on whatever you choose, all of your duplicate homepages should go to either http://example.com or http://www.example.com.

Using the Rel=Canonical Tag to Fix Other Duplicate Pages

If you have a product site that features more than one way to get to the product, this URL duplication could be affecting each other. For instance:

http://www.site.com/skins/ipods/blue-ipod-covers vs. http://www.site.com/ipods/skins/blue-ipod-covers are different URLs for the same page.

In this case, using a rel=canonical tag will be in your best interest; it will tell the major Search Engines that the page that copies your other page should be considered as one and the same. As an example:

If http://www.site.com/ipods/skins/blue-ipod-covers isn’t the correct page, and you prefer to have http://www.site.com/skins/ipods/blue-ipod-covers be the main page, you need to put a rel=canonical tag on http://www.site.com/ipods/skins/blue-ipod-covers to achieve that preference. This will tell the Search Engines that this is a user-generated duplicate page and you would like all the links and other metrics to be directed towards the correct page. The search engines will no longer be confused about which page to display or give credit to.

A 301 redirect is still the preferred way to ensure the search engines understand your intent to move content from one URL to another but, an alternative to programming a 301 direct, would be to use the rel=canonical tag.

By treating the two separate pages as one, you are not only addressing the potential duplicate content issue, it will also help to alleviate any keyword cannibalization that could be occurring.