As the Search Strategist for WebFuel, I respond to the company’s SEO inquires and unfortunately hear many horror stories. As a result, I work more and more on resolving serious Search issues on behalf of newly acquired clients. Most of the time, what has been done from a SEO perspective (previous to hiring us) is a mystery. So…. like a Search Detective, I work to solve the case.

Here are the top most startling Search issues.

1. Not in the Google Index (at all)
   This sadly happens too often. We have had to resolve this type of Search issue more than any other – and it is serious. The most common reason is that the client did not have a Search Engine Friendly website built. In other words, the Search Engines cannot crawl their site. This means no indexation – and they will NOT show up in a Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page). You should hear the client’s blood curdling scream when this is brought to light.

2. Disappearing from Organic Search
   This is horrifying!!! One day key high-ranking web pages, or even worse, an entire website, no longer appears in Google SERPs. And… even more terrifying, this is often not noticed for quite a while as no one is even monitoring this.

3. Wrong Geographic Area (not your target location)
   Yikes!!! We see many variations of this frightening issue. Canadian businesses targeting the United States – Google.com but appearing in Google Canada (Google.ca). This requires lots of expertise to resolve (not simply hiring an American SEO Agency). Or… equally disastrous, Canadian companies whereby the target location is Canada – and Google displays their search results in the USA on Google.com. At the local level, Search Engine repositioning is required due to wrong city (i.e. Nepean Search rather than an Ottawa Search) or not entire geo-graphic region (i.e. province).

4. Stolen Web Traffic(that should belong to you)
   This issue is rarely known by the website owner (how chilling) – and only discovered when we audit the account. The most popular perpetrators are the client’s competitors (or the agency that was hired by the competitor), the business themselves (due to a poor online strategy) – and the worst violation, in my opinion, a third party supplier for the client. We have seen a huge increase in this type of scenario over the past year. The 3^rdparty vendor steals (and some are big well-known brands) your web traffic in order to improve their results on your behalf.

5. Bad SEO (Black Hat Techniques)
   Call it bad SEO practices or unethical standards it’s quickly becoming the norm (now that is scary). In our SEO Audits, we have discovered keyword stuffing, hidden text, duplicate content, cloaking, doorway pages, improper use of redirects and extremely questionable linking strategies – including invisible links on a page and inbound links from bad neighbourhoods (how creepy!!!).
   This is mostly due to the inexperience of the Search Engine Optimizer and simply not understanding the complexly of SEO.  But we also see many cases whereby the SEO strategy is based on intentionally “tricking” the Search Engines. This is known as “Black Hat” techniques. The real horrifying story here is businesses most don’t know that they have hired a Black Hat SEO Agency.

6. Keywords Scams, Myths & Issues
   This list is endless… SEOs selling organic keywords “you can buy these two”, rank for keywords that no one searches for, translating researched keywords from English into French (this doesn’t work) or hiring an agency that also works for your keyword competitors (no non-compete clause or they don’t honour it).

7. Google Ban (Organic & Paid)
   This is the worst horror story from our perspective. Not adhering to, or in compliance with AdWords policies resulting in a permanently suspended account. Yes – this means no Ads on Google. Or likely an even worse nightmare, violating Google Webmaster Guidelines – and getting banned from Organic Search. As a result, your website no longer appears for branded & non-branded keywords. You are now invisible in a Search!

Got your own SEO horror stories? Please share your chilling tales.

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SEO Horror Stories: From a Canadian Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

What is a Google Places Page?

 Formally known as Google Local Business Center, Google Places is like the Yellow Pages of the Internet. Think of it like a Google local web page or an online listing of your business. This local listing can display information about your business in text, image & video format and is tied into Google Maps. According to Google, 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. And… over the past year, the Search Engine’s local algorithm in Canada has resulted in more visibility for local organic search results on Google.ca.

Google Places and Google Maps appear in a Google SERP in the organic section. It’s important to understand the placement. In a previous blog post, we addressed the layout of a Canadian Google Search Engine Results Page in terms of Organic Search vs. Paid Search as well as where the engine displays Google Maps and Places. It is very prominent. Check it out if you require better understanding.

With Halloween just around the corner, and people searching for pumpkin picking farms in Ottawa, we decided to feature a local Places page.

Here is an example of a Local Ottawa Google Places Listing:

Google Canada Place Profile for a Pumpkin Farm in Ottawa

Business Information Section
This section is ideally provided by the business owner. It includes the name of the business, relevant categories, a short description, address, website and photo number. A web visitor can phone you, visit your website for more information and get directions via Google Maps (Canada).

Photo Section
Business owners and Google users can upload photos. These photos generally include storefront, products sold and people behind the business. They must, of course, follow Google’s guidelines. Videos can also be uploaded.

Review Section
“What people are saying” about your business in a review format falls under this section. Reviewers must have a Google account to post. Owners have the ability to respond to positive as well as negative reviews.

Related Content Section
Related places that appear in this area of your profile are generated by Google. It’s based on the Google Places algorithm. Google displays other related Places pages in your geographic area. If you are positioned properly in Local Search, you will also appear on your competitor page in this section.

Google Maps Section
This section is also generated by the Search Engine based on your Places listing. Google displays a street view with a map icon to indicate your location. Web visitors can click on the map for a large view and get directions by car, bus, walking or by bike (if applicable).

Google Ads Section
Unlike your listing that is free, this section is for paid ads. This is where Google Ads (known as AdWords) are displayed. While you cannot remove these ads, you can certainly place your text ads on Places Pages.

How does this relate to SEO?
From a SEO perspective, your Google Places profile page can give you visibility in the SERPs beyond your website. Think of it as an additional web property. Depending on your industry, and relevancy from a Google perspective, your Places listing can even outrank your website based on a local branded geo-search. You can also rank in Places for generic searches based on related local non-branded keyword queries. And… your business listing can send you qualified web traffic via the inbound link on your page (SEOs’ love this!).

Your business can also appear on other Places pages under related places and/or in the ads section. From our perspective, this means more visibility in local search!

At least 20% of Canadian searches are local. People search Google.ca and Google Maps to find local businesses. Claim it, optimize it, monitor it -and measure it!

Can you get found?

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SEO & The Anatomy of a Google Places: From a Canadian Perspective is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

According to Matt, there are plenty of good SEOs out there (also known as White Hat SEO). He explains that Search Engine Optimization basically means trying to make sure that “your pages are well represented within Search Engines”. He also acknowledges that are plenty of “White Hat” SEO strategies that can be implemented. They include helping out with the initial site architecture, URL structure, making sure the website is crawlable, finding the right keywords, ensuring fast website speed and optimizing content to convert.

He did add that there are bad SEOs out there, known as Black Hat SEOs that can produce web spam. Unfortunately for our industry, this is true.

Here is Google’s first video on the topic: Does Google Consider SEO to be spam?

And… just in case you are wondering, WebFuel is an ethical SEO agency.
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Google Says Ethical SEO is Not Spam is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Here are five good SEO reasons to use Google Analytics:

1. Search Engine Traffic
Google Analytics tracks search engine traffic to your site. This captured data tells you how many of your site visitors arrived via engines as well as the how your search traffic ranks compared to your other traffic sources (direct traffic / referring sites). It also identifies the engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo! Bing) and who sent the most traffic. By default, GA tracks more than 20 different search engines. There is also a breakdown available between paid and non-paid keyword driven traffic.

2. Keywords
In addition to automatically tracking search engine sources, Google Analytics tracks keywords that send search traffic to your site. This data tells you which keywords / keyword phrases were used by your site’s visitors and ranks them according to popularity. You can drill down further to determine more details for each keyword including statistics on organic and paid search.

3. Content Performance
Since optimizing content for search is the basics of search engine optimization, tracking page performance is essential. Google Analytics tracks data on which web pages attract site visitors and displays them in order of which are performing the best (listed by URL). You can also view this data by Page Title. The Content Drilldown report provides a list of top pages based on content sections within your website. Top Landing Pages, sent by search engines traffic can also be identified, as well as data on how well they perform.

4. Campaign Tracking
This is a more advanced feature than the above three, as it needs to be set up. Google Analytics can do campaign tracking. This includes Google AdWords by default. However you can also track any search marketing (as well as offline) campaigns. Campaign tracking is implemented by using link tagging (a unique URL to identify each marketing source).

5. Site Search
Likely the most overlooked – yet a real valuable source of SEO data. This is only for those sites that have a search box and allow web visitors to do an internal search to find information. Google Analytics can track these search terms as well a search term refinements at the site level. This requires set up as well.

Accessing the data, of course, is only the first step in the web analytics process. You need to measure, analyze, test and modify – always working towards your desired outcomes.

If you do not have Google Analytics installed on your website or if you are not monitoring your site outcomes, it is time to get started.

Recent Post: Google Analytics Qualified Professional Helen Faber

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Why use Google Analytics for SEO? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

• SEO can’t save a sinking ship
• SEO recommendations don’t implement themselves

Jill

Jill Whalen, CEO  of High Rankings and co-founder of SEMNE, has been performing SEO services since 1995. Jill is the host of the HRA SEO newsletter and the High Rankings SEO forum. Original article published on Talent Zoo.

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SEO: You’re Bound to Lose Website Traffic If… is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

For those of you just getting started, here is a list of the seven most critical things to manage.

1. Track your inbound links
This is where you must start. Using a Word document, or Excel spreadsheet, record all your incoming links. Additional data should include the name of the site, Google PageRank, linking URL, link type (organic or non-organic), anchored text, link status (i.e. active), date reviewed and comments.

2. Recheck your backlinks
Tracking the links to your site is just the beginning. Not all links are permanent (for a wide variety of reasons). Periodically, you should check your list to ensure that your incoming links still exist. If not, you should determine if they were simply moved to another page (during site redesign) – or were removed all together. And… if it is a paid link, it should be at the top of your to be addressed list!

3. Test search results
You should also think past just getting a link. Ideally it should be crawled and indexed by the search engines – and show up in an organic search engine results page (SERP). This is when you get the real value. Test and record the results in the comments section of your Link Building Report.

4. Identify the web page(s)
We often find when reviewing the external links for our clients, that they generally all point to the home page. Is there another web page that would be better suited? Remember we want to improve ranking of more than just this one page. Spread the Google juice!

5. Analyze anchor text
Along the same lines, in analyzing the data, you may also discover that all (or most) of the anchored text is your “business name”. In addition, you may also find a number of meaningless terms such as “website” or “click here”. Or even worse, there may be no text just your company’s URL embedded into the link (Google is all about words). The company name, of course is good for building brand – but take this one step further and think “keywords”. You will need to request this modification from the linking site.

6. Use link value (as a gauge)
Yes, believe it or not, there are situations when managing a link is not worth the trouble. If the link value is low (PageRank 0 – 3), you may decide to pass it up. Keep it in your report for review at a later date.

7. Review your web analytics
Last but not least, you should be tracking and analyzing your traffic sources including both referring sites as well as the search engines. This will also help you determine – which aspects of your Link Building Campaign is working as well as what is not.

This, of course, is not a complete list. But these are some of the major and common oversights that we see when we audit or consult on in-house link building efforts. Before you embark on link submissions and link development, we recommend improving the links that you have already acquired. It holds true regardless of whether they are paid or natural links.

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Are you managing your inbounds links? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

Myth One: PPC impacts SEO
It is still commonly believed that a Pay-Per-Click Campaign, such as Google AdWords, helps your ranking in organic search results. This was not true last year (on the list) and is still not true in 2009. Just ask any PPC expert.

Myth Two: Sites must be submitted to Search Engines
A more common search engine myth is that you need to submit your URL to the crawler-based engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing/MSN). In reality, they find your website (and do a good job of this). It used to be true – but it no longer is (with a few exceptions). If there are industry-related specialty engines, that do not have as advanced indexing technology as the major engines, then by all means – submit.

Myth Three: Meta keyword tags improve rankings
This was once true many years ago (likely the biggest myth) and based on outdated understanding of how Google indexes (still King of Search in 2009). This crawler-based engine ignores this tag. As a result, this will not help your positioning in search results.

Let me repeat: Google does not use the keywords meta tags. And…don’t take my word for it; here is Matt Cutts, Google Software Engineer.

Myth Four: SEO is a one-time deal
Another misconception that has likely been around the longest. Those new to search engine optimization often just assume that once improved ranking have been accomplished – the SEO process is complete. Just like fixing a broken car. In reality, the SEO process is more like maintaining a car so that it continues to run well. Why? Google (and the other Search Engines) are constantly upgrading and changing their formula (algorithms) and that does not even factor in what your online competition is doing to improve their rankings.

Myth Five: SEO Firms can guarantee number 1 ranking
Unfortunately, this myth still exists and is likely the most frustrating one for reputable SEOs. Google, and the other major search engines, determine ranking based on (constantly changing) complex formulas. They are not public knowledge. Nor do search engine optimizers have special relationships with the big search engines (if they claim to have a partnership with Google – beware!). This one is like the old saying…”If it sounds to good to be true….. it is!”.

And… always remember that not all SEO companies are equal (White Hats / Black Hats) – nor are all those offering SEO equally skilled and up-to-date with the latest trends.

What are the most common SEO myths of 2009? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

White hats are those that practice “ethical” SEO. They optimize sites for web visitors, and within that framework modify content (keywords) for search engines. Simply put, they make it easier for search engines to do their job – which is to provide relevant and accurate results for the web searcher.

White Hats do not:

• Promise quick results
• Make ranking guarantees

Bottom line: White hat search engine optimizers are concerned with improving search engine visibility for the long term in organic search results. In case you are wondering, at WebFuel we only practice White Hat techniques. We are one of the “good guys”!

What is SEO White Hat? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

A Black Hat SEO (vs White Hat SEO) uses strategies that are not approved by search engines. Their intent is to trick Google and the other major engines. One common deceptive technique is to use invisible text (i.e. text colour is the same as the web page background). This hidden text (usually keywords and keyword phrases) can only be viewed by search engines – not humans.

To ensure relevancy and accuracy, search engines actively search out unethical optimization tactics. If you are identified as a “search engine spammer”, expect a dramatic drop in your search ranking position. Or even worse – you could get placed on a search engine blacklist and get permanently banned.

Now that is a scary thought!

What is SEO Black Hat? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel

So… Does the keywords meta tag improve your Google rankings?

While I have blogged about SEO myths in the past (Myth Three: Meta keyword tags improve rankings), this optimization strategy still exists. The problem is that not all SEOs or companies that offer Search Engine Optimization (usually an add on) are keeping up with search. And… this is an under statement because if you are optimizing your site for Google, we are actually going way back to the early days of Google.

Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web search. And…don’t take my word for it; here is Matt Cutts, Google Software Engineer.

So… as far as organic search results are concerned, they make no difference. In other words, adding keywords to your meta tags will not help your website rank any higher. It’s just a waste of time.

Should you ignore the keywords meta tag? is a post from: SEO Ottawa | Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing Agency | WebFuel