SEO - cached for 2005

SEO - cached for 2005

As the new year approaches, many of us take time to reflect on the preceding year to remember our successes as well as tasks we could have performed better. Maybe you want to do better with health and fitness (my wife would sure like for me to do better!). Maybe you would like to improve business relationships with clients or staff. Either way, we often feel the need to learn from the past and improve for the future.

For you, does this include your online presence? If so, this article is especially written just for you!

I have read and written numerous articles regarding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Link Popularity Building with the focus on why it's important to hire a SEO professional to perform these tasks for the success of your online business website. Even if you chose not to hire a dedicated SEO, I have tried to give useful information on what to look for and how to begin SEO promotion of your own site. This article is intended to continue that tradition focused on how to design the site specifically for being cached within the major search engines like Google (see Google's statement on cached links) and Yahoo!.

Many think of search engine optimization as what to do to your website so search engines will possibly index it for the site to show up within search results. This is only a part of the reason!

Another reason centers on what happens once the site is indexed and cached. There are many on page elements of a website that may no longer function once a website page has been cached within a search engine. Some include:

• relative path URL links (e.g. files, pages and graphics)
• time sensitive page/file includes
• X and Y on page position specific placements (e.g. fixed position)

These items and many others can cause your page content not to function properly in the cached version which could exist on one or more search engines for quite some time.

Please don't misunderstand me. There are ways to prevent search engines from caching your website pages and this may be of value to many of you. I will go into more detail about how and why you might want to do this in a future article. Please forgive me, I digress.

For this article, my intention is to bring to mind the realities of getting what you wanted in the first place! That is, attention from the primary search engines which result in indexing and caching your website pages. Generally, the more they do this the better your chances of being ranked higher and found easily by those wanting your products and/or services online.

I urge you to spend time reviewing the cached pages of your website in the major search engines by:

1. Go to Google or Yahoo! then type "site:" plus your URL without the quotes (e.g. site:www.h2-seo.com) and click Enter
2. then click the link "cached" under and towards the bottom right of the page description.

This will show you what others will see if they go to your cached website pages. Notice the differences between this version and your original page. This exercise will make it easier to understand what the search engines see and rely on regarding your content. I find many times this can be an eye opening experience for my clients!

A long time ago, someone said "Knowledge is Power". If this is true then learning how to improve your online presence can give you the power to do much more throughout the world.

Here's wishing you the best New Year and the best for your online presence in 2005!

Latest from Google

Have you seen the latest from Google?

Recently, I located some new items from the Google camps that I believe a number of people will be interested in. If you are into learning more about how to promote your site or want to better understand where Google is heading, read on...

Google Suggest (beta)
http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

Google Suggest Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs
http://labs.google.com/suggest/faq.html

It is interesting this new interface brings to searching. One thing to keep in mind is that the number of links (e.g. shown quantity as you type a phrase) does not directly relate to the number of searches performed for a phrase. When thinking in terms of Search Engine Optimization - SEO, keep in mind your focus is not how many other sites there are but, rather how many searches are performed looking for your type of products and/or services. If people don't search for it, you may never be found!

As always, take a look for yourself and realize that knowledge is power. Learn, ask questions and find a better way for you!

For Webmasters And Those Who Maintain Websites

For Webmasters And Those Who Maintain Websites

As many of you already realize, competition for website designers and those who maintain business websites is quite stiff. Just perform any search for terms related to web design or development and you may be overwhelmed with the results. Of course, there is a wide range of experience levels and expertise by those performing these services.

Our focus in this article centers on what a website designer can do to help the business website attract more prequalified leads and rise higher in the major search engines like Google and Yahoo!. If you are a person who develops and/or maintains business websites, I suggest reading further.

First, we have published earlier articles detailing the need for the right keyword phrases and terms on the pages of your website. This is a critical factor in obtaining higher search engine rankings. Having the right phrase(s) properly stated in the title tag of each page, which is specific to just that page, is probably the most important element of on page search engine optimization (SEO) there is!

Second, having the proper phrase(s) in the Header tags (e.g. h1, h2, h3, etc.) is the next most important element of on page SEO. Please understand this does not mean to make every word or even every other word a header tag. As with most anything in this world, it takes a bit of common sense. Realize that people will be reading the content of your site and it must make sense to them and be appealing or they will click away in record time!

Third, an often overlooked element of a business website is one that can be the easiest to correct. This involves the navigation. Yes, people prefer the drop down menus, button highlights, and other "high quality" looks good web designers use these days. The search engines couldn't care less!

For improvement of your search engine rankings, I would strongly suggest adding plain text links somewhere on each page with the targeted keywords and keyword phrases as the links. The primary search engines pick up on these and potentially can elevate your rankings, especially for lesser contested phrases.

Doing these things can help you rise in the search engines. Of course, working with a professional SEO can do wonders for your online presence and bring a better Return On Investment (ROI) than most any other form of marketing.

Tired of Big Crowd Shopping?

Tired of Big Crowd Shopping?

There are many of us who get more than overwhelmed doing our holiday shopping in the malls and Wal-marts® of the world. Fighting for parking spaces, not finding that "perfect gift", and waiting (for what seems like hours) in checkout lines only exasperates us. There must be a better way!

May I suggest 2 better ways?

1) Visit the smaller antique and gift shops on the streets of small towns and villages such as Sneads Ferry and Topsail Island along the North Carolina waterway. Parking is much better and, unlike many downtowns these days, free parking! The isles are less crowded with frantic shoppers allowing you a much more pleasurable experience. There is even one antiques shop that offers free coffee to their visitors as well as a free North Carolina map. Where else do you get that level of customer service?

Interested in purchasing a Topsail Island Vacation Rental for some friends, relatives or yourself? Maybe you are part of a group holding silent auctions or raffles and need that special gift. This is a great time to stop by and speak with the fine staff of Kathy S. Parker Real Estate to get that perfect time at the beach reserved for the upcoming tourist season.

2) If time is a critical factor, or you don't want to make the trip, how about shopping right where you are right now? Online!

Don't know what to get? How about something from the following ideas list?

• Antique Clocks
• Antique Jewelry
• Barometers
• Costume Jewelry
• Dreamsicles Figurines
• Dresden Figurines
• Fenton Glass
• Flow Blue
• Fostoria
• Heisey Glass
• Homer Laughlin
• Hull Pottery
• Krieger Watches
• Made in Japan
• McCoy Pottery
• Nautical Jewelry
• Occupied Japan
• Nippon
• Noritake
• Seth Thomas Clocks
• Steuben Glass
• Steven Douglas Jewelry
• Tide Clocks
• Tide Watches
• Waterford Crystal

As you can see, there is so much to choose from without the hustle and bustle of the craziness that goes with holiday shopping in the larger downtowns and malls. Take a walk on the quieter side this season.

You may find that getting into the holiday spirit is much easier this way!

Support Our Troops

Support Our Troops

Sometimes living in a small town really has its advantages. Take for instance the small town of Sneads Ferry North Carolina. This little piece of heaven is located just South of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and approximately 40 minutes North of Wilmington along the North Carolina coast.

The people here are mostly fishermen, military (e.g. Marines), civil servants and other government employees. There is a strong sense of national pride here that you don't often find in larger cities. The people often don't agree with the politicians but, nearly all respect the courage and commitment of our military troops in their daily duties protecting our freedoms.

Just yesterday I noticed a yellow ribbon magnet on the side of a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) that said "Keep Daddy Safe". I'm rather sure the family has their opinions about the various wars and conflicts our world has at the moment but, more important to them is the person out there doing the job. This is the person who cannot let down for fear of losing his life so you and I can be safer during these holidays along with every other day.

That is a rather sobering thought.

I ask each and everyone of you who read this to stop and think during this holiday season about the many freedoms we often take for granted in the United States (and others who have been freed and/or protected by our military men and women). Please remember them in your prayers, thoughts or whatever methods you use.

When you see a SUV or other item with a "Support Our Troops" ribbon, please take the time to appreciate what so many have given up for each and everyone of us.

Support Our Troops

If Diving Is Your Game - BottomTime Is The Name!

If Diving Is Your Game - Bottom Time Is The Name!

H2 SEO is pleased to announce its newest Wilmington SEO website marketing client, Bottom Time with their stores Scuba Tech in Holly Ridge North Carolina and Bottom Time in Wilmington North Carolina along with the dive charter services of Jolly Rogers Charters.

The fine folks of Bottom Time work extremely hard to make your wreck diving adventures more pleasurable no matter whether you are into: florida wreck diving, the graveyard of the atlantic or just diving into the wreck. If you need scuba tanks, scuba equipment repair, scuba classes, or prefer to become a dive master (or divemaster), then the staff of Scuba Tech and Bottom Time have just what you need!

Don't be concerned if you're not an expert! The staff of Bottom Time will walk you through everything you need to become an open water diver and learn salt water fish identification for your underwater photography entry level adventures.

When you decide you are ready to scuba North Carolina waters or you want rescue diver training, begin research diving or maybe even Jacksonville diving, visit Bottom Time. They have the trained staff and experience to get you prepared to excel!

SCUBA Tech (Headquarters)

1306 NC Hwy 172

Holly Ridge, NC 28445

Phone: 910-329-1666

Toll Free: 877-WRENCHES

Fax: 910-329-1157

Bottom Time Wilmington

6014 Wrightsville Ave.

Wilmington, NC 28403

Phone: 910-397-0181

Toll Free: 800-NITROX-1

Fax: 910-397-0187

Topsail Gifts for the Holidays!

What better place to be than by the ocean?

During the holidays there are many who enjoy giving and receiving gifts. If you happen to be one of those or maybe you prefer to pick up that extra special something just for you...then please read on.

During this time of year the folks of Topsail Gift Basket along with Tide and Weather want to bring out the seafarer in all of us for the holidays. No, I'm not talking about scrubbing the deck or cleaning off the barnacles (although they could always use a hand with those). I'm talking about those wonderful reminders of a simpler place and time. Those trinkets and precious gems that signify the sun, surf and sand to us and those we care about.

Whether you prefer barometers, nautical jewelry, tide clocks or tide watches, they probably have exactly what you want. If name brands are more to your liking, then how about Steven Douglas Jewelry like or even Krieger Watches like ?

If you enjoy the beach, the surf or the ocean, then you owe it to yourself to check out Topsail Gift Basket and Tide and Weather. The staff are great to deal with and the atmosphere is wonderful both in person and online.

You will be glad you did!

Barometers -

Sea Witch Antiques Gears Up For The Holidays

Sea Witch Antiques is gearing up for the holidays in "downtown" Sneads Ferry North Carolina by: adding Christmas lights both inside and outside of the store, placing wreaths on the walls and even adding some trees inside.

More importantly, the addition of lots of name brand merchandise has given the store a whole new appearance. This new appearance includes famous glassware names like: Fostoria, Fenton Glass, and Heisey Glass. Add the pottery products with names like: Weller, Van Briggle, and Hull Pottery along with Salt Glaze and you just begin to get an idea of the vast array available.

A recent WOW within the Sea Witch is the influx of top of the line Dresden, Dreamsicles, Made in Japan and many other high quality name brand antique and collectible figurines throughout the store. Don't be surprised when you see that the vast majority of these are virtually unblemished even though they are so fragile!

Not to be outdone, the clocks product line of Sea Witch Antiques consists of the major players: Seth Thomas Clocks, New Haven Clock Co., and United which show just how devoted the owners of Sea Witch are to maintaining the high quality and personal service their customers have come to know and love.

Where else do you get a free cup of coffee and a North Carolina map to make it easier to find other places to visit?

Of course the china and dinnerware section has: Flow Blue, Nippon, Occupied Japan, Noritake, Hummel Plates, and Homer Laughlin. This is the higher standard set by both Jean and Dean Hudson of Sea Witch Antiques. This standard, along with great customer service, has brought repeat customers back again and again.

Maybe this is why their customers say "No One Does It Like The Witch!".

When you decide to do your shopping for the holiday season, give Sea Witch Antiques a look. You will be glad you did!

Money for Nothing and Your Web for Free...

There is a song that was out on the pop charts for quite a while I believe was called 'Money For Nothing and Your Chicks For Free'. It rather exemplified the concept of performing very little to get paid a lot.

I bring this up because I recalled the tune after performing a bit of research for my business regarding web designers and their variety of services and prices.

Like most studies, I found there where:

• some less than adequate so called Webmasters,
• some average web designers and,
• some excellent web designing professionals.

In doing the research, I started to see a pattern that was quite appalling.

Having the proper tools to do most any job is a necessity. The same is true for web designing. Having automation tools, templates and examples to reuse makes the project go faster and can save the customers money when used effectively. I have absolutely no problem with this practice.

The concern came when I learned that several web designers only have one way of building a website and it is only learned by the consumer when he/she wants a modification. At this point, it is scrap the existing site and start over! You have got to be kidding!

On top of this, the site has virtually no promotion to cause people to visit it. It is somewhat expected that 'Build It And They Will Come'. There are still multiple web designers stating this to potential clients and some even believe it themselves!

When pressed about getting visitors, the general answer is 'Pay Per Click' is the only promotion that works. I was absolutely amazed that this mentality still exist.

Let's put it another way... by reading this blog you are using the internet. Think about how you find websites. Do you search via a search engine? Google? Yahoo!?

When you search, do you click on the advertisements or the 'generic listings'?

In my experience, the vast majority of people avoid the advertisements unless something is very difficult to find or the ad is so compelling they can't resist.

Being a data person, I usually try to keep the law of averages on my side and go with the majority. In this case the generic listings. When you build or rebuild your next business website, please think about how you use the internet and determine what would cause you to find the site. This should go a long way towards getting others to visit yours.

Also, check into the customer recommendations first hand of a web designer before allowing them to build or rebuild yours. If I can't get a good reference when spending the money it takes for a good website, I go elsewhere. Considering this is your first impression with potential clients, I would suggest you do the same!

Retailers Need to Prepare for Christmas

Retailers Need to Prepare for Christmas by having their websites designed/redesigned with the right information on each page and each page properly listed with the major search engines. (see prior article on Christmas Retail 2003)

When you stop and think about it, it only makes sense to be fully prepared considering how many consumers now buy online. The problem is that many business owners, including retailers, procrastinate and don't get started in time. With the pace of Google updates (and other search engines), it can take two full update cycles before the new Incoming BackLinks (IBLs) and PageRank (PR) updates get recognized and displayed. For Google, this can take a full 8 - 12 weeks or more!

Time is running out and many online retailers will contact Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Website Marketing professionals with impossible deadlines to prepare for the upcoming retail season. Unfortunately, it will result in less than satisfactory sales due to the lack of forthought, planning and time.

If you are in need of online Christmas sales during the 2004 season, contact your web designer or Website Marketing professional today! Delaying now can cost you considerably later.

Google starting to index Flash Web Sites!

Many web designers and search engine optimization experts around the world realize that Google is the most used search engine in the world. They also realize that getting to the top rankings in Google is very important to people finding their products and services. It has also been recognized that Google has been getting much better at reading and indexing a number of different types of content on the web besides plain .htm and .html type files.

So it is with great interest when we now have learned that Google has developed the ability to scan and index Flash by Macromedia multimedia files!

In the past, many sites had to perform work arounds to enable better Search Engine Optimization and "fit in" their Flash content. This many soon become a thing of the past as Google gets better scanning and indexing Flash content. For more info...

H2 Takes North Carolina by Storm

The management of H2 SEO, LLC had decided to make the move from Ashland Virginia to Sneads Ferry North Carolina placing the business along the North Carolina coastline near Topsail Island, Jacksonville and Wilmington.

Considering we already had an excellent base of clients in the Topsail Island/Topsail Beach region, we wanted to make the move a positive experience by building a stronger following of North Carolina based businesses utilizing our services. What we hadn't counted on was Tropical Storms Bonnie and Charlie.

Truly the day we moved our equipment and furniture to Sneads Ferry, the front of the storms were bearing down on North Carolina with heavy wind and rain. By the time the trucks rolled into Richlands, drivers couldn't see more than one car length ahead. After pulling off the road and waiting out the heaviest of the wind and rains, the caravan rolled into Sneads Ferry and began the task of setting up and preparing for business. From that day forward, business has been a crescendo as North Carolina businesses have continually welcomed us and placed their trust in H2 SEO to improve their positions on the Internet.

Yes, storms are a given along the North Carolina coast and the year of 2004 is not exception. What has changed is that H2 SEO, LLC is now the new North Carolina SEO giving businesses the opportunity to rise above the rest gaining higher search engine rankings and more traffic for their business web sites.

Want similar results for your business website? Contact Website Marketing of H2 SEO, LLC today to get the storm started online for your business!

H2 SEO is moving to Sneads Ferry North Carolina!

H2 SEO is moving to Sneads Ferry North Carolina!

Yes, H2 SEO is moving from their Country Club Hills of Hanover location in Ashland Virginia to Sneads Ferry which is mainland across the Intracoastal Waterway from Topsail Island.

By the way, if you are interested in a great home in Hanover County, check out the e-Commercial about our current home from our Realtor®

If you have looked at our H2 SEO website lately, you will quickly notice our facination with the water. This move will put us right on the Intracoastal waterway in the heart of shrimp country USA! We will be much closer to some of our clients including the Topsail Island Realtor Kathy S. Parker Real Estate and the North Carolina Antiques by Sea Witch Antiques.

Our clients will continue to receive the high level of service we have come to be known for while our new clients will find us easily accessible in our new Tarheel location. At any point, if you need to reach us before, during or after the move, please feel free to contact us via any of the methods on our Contact Us page.

Financial Stress Gets to the Best of Us!

Financial Stress Gets to the Best of Us!
 
You know how it is. You have the bills to pay, your regular job to do and an IPO (initial public offering) expecting shares to begin trading in the range of US$108 to $135 each. Let's see...that would amount to $36.3 billion market capitalization on the high end.
 
Oh, wait a minute! That's Google in that situation!
 
The problem is that someone let the ball drop when the Google search engine died in multiple parts of the world on the same Monday that Google, Inc. made the regulatory filing! Can we say oops!

According to initial reports from the BBC, the failure may be the result of a version of the MyDoom virus. Although not all Google servers are down, there are widespread "outages" reported across multiple Website Designer and SEO forums online. Is this a case of bad timing? Has this been a well thought out plan? Maybe time will tell... Or, maybe the folks at Google just need to read their email. I understand from all the s.p.a.m. I receive that Cialis and Viagra can get anything up!

What You Don't Know Can Be Holding You Back!

What You Don't Know Can Be Holding You Back!
 
Recently, I came across a post on one of the website designer forum threads where a person (I shall call a webmaster for clarity sake) stated he/she was not aware of the impact the website changes made over the year had on visitors. This person did not seem to know the measurable results of the work performed for a year!
 
Please understand that I don't say this to make anyone feel like I am putting them down. I make these statements here to show how blindly we can work towards a "goal" while not ever really knowing how it truly fits into the "big picture". With this in mind, I shall continue with the answers I gave this person and, hopefully, some of these can benefit you as well. I look forward to your comments!
 
The webmaster had the site on a web host whom I personally have had contact with recently. The host offers reporting tools that give detailed information (e.g. hits, view, visits, unique visitors, search engine visits, spiders, etc.) with the ability to vary beginning and ending dates for specific research results. This webmaster did not seem to know this before posting or had forgetten. Either way, the ongoing research to determine measurable results was not happening.
 
Another facet of this is the conversion rate of visits or unique visitors to sales was also being left out! This left the business "in the dark" regarding what creates sales from the website!
 
As you can see, having the details regarding what has happened can be used to "forecast" what can/should be done in the future to improve standing with clients who use the medium. I will not go in detailed analytics nor which method is best (at this time) but, suffice it to say it is critical to create a plan of action regarding how to measure the success of your website marketing and then track your results. Without this, all else is purely guess work!
 
I believe the webmaster has gained a "new life" regarding the results of the work performed and can now better determine what works, what doesn't and what to look at next!
 
 

How do I get to the top of the Search Engines?

How do I get to the top of the Search Engines?

I wish I had a dime for each time I was asked this question!

There are already posts on this blog regarding this misuse of Meta Tags, Google updates, etc. In this post we will focus on the KEY to getting your business web site to the top of the primary search engines. Yes, we will discuss the SECRET!

First, when we talk about search engines, the top of the line (currently) is Google. More traffic comes from Google to business web sites than any other search engine. Second place is Yahoo! and then some of the others. Do not forget a major directory (read here "not search engine") called the Open Directory Project or DMOZ as it is known on the web. For this article, we will focus on Google since we want to be top of the line.

Second, no matter how many people you get to visit your business website, if there is nothing on the page to hold interest then people will click away faster than you can blink. Having quality content on the page can not be over emphasized! Using graphics and Flash animation may look nice once loaded but, over doing these can significanly slow download and cause extreme frustration of your potential visitors (can we say click away?). Text is what people read and what search engines index. Text is what you should have in the proper places on your site (sounds like another post needed!).

Third, having content on the page only gets you started! Getting people to visit your site and Google to rank you highly requires Inbound Links (IBLs). The more competitive a keyword or keyphrase is, the more of these IBLs you will need. Also, quality IBls are generally considered those with a Google PageRank (PR) of 4 or better (4+). When you want to be the top Google Search Engine Rank Position (SERP) for your keyword or keyphrase, you will need to have more quantity and quality IBLs than the competition. Sounds simple!

Realize that there are hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) of other people on this planet who realize the same thing! From professional Search Engine Optimizers (SEOs), professional website designers who have truly studied optimization and website marketing recently, to wannabe SEOs on the web there are a number of people striving to obtain the quantity and quality of IBLs for their particular website. This is exactly the reason you need to hire a professional SEO you can trust!

An ethical and professional SEO knows:

• when to trade links,
• when to purchase links,
• when to purchase Pay per Clicks (PPCs) and other pay per options,
• and, when to just ask properly which obtains the link for free!

There are even occassions when it is best to perform a three way (or more) back link trade to better the SERP standings of all!

The question to ask yourself is "Do I want to invest the time and resources to learn SEO and links?". If so, by all means, go after it! If you do master the processes and devote the time to maintaining your SERPs, you will have a number of visitors to your site on a regular basis.

On the other hand, if you have a business that already takes up your time and resources, hire a professional SEO! Think about how much effort and how long it takes to obtain 10,000+ Inbound Links with specific keywords/key phrases pointing to your business web site page by page. There is a reason why so many of the top web sites rely on professional Search Engine Optimization to obtain and maintain their SERPs!

For more about Search Engine Optimization, SERPs and Website Marketing please visit H2 SEO, LLC today!

Latest Google Update May Cause ReThinking of Link Promotion Campaigns

Latest Google Update May Cause ReThinking of Link Promotion Campaigns
 
Recently (approx. July 15-17th), Google updated the backlinks tracked for indexed websites. It seems they are now showing many more low ranking (PageRank less than 4) backlinks than they usually do. In addition, it seems, certain high ranking backlinks are not showing up in backlink search results using the advanced search option link:www.mywebsite.com.
 
As of posting this document, Google has only updated the backlinks while not modifying visible PageRank (PR) nor Search Engine Ranking Positions (SERPs). There has been much discussion regarding this "update" among the SEO community via online forums questioning whether Google is trying to look at relevancy more for high PR links.
 
Also, there is considerable discussion that Google seems to be trying to make link brokering less effective or at least more difficult to perform as a business. Considering the history of Google and web site backlinks, it seems only prudent to continue striving for more Inbound Links (IBLs) from a wide variety of C class IP addresses while keeping "theme" where practical. If we can maintain a perspective on PR values for specific pages, this would be ideal. If not, we must work with what we have (in my personal opinion).
 
Posturing Changes on the Forums
 
Considering the above mentioned changes by Google and the concerns expressed within the SEO and Web Designer online forums, there have been people trying to rent hundreds of links from varied IP addresses for a few dollars (or equivalent) each. This very well may become a more cost effective technique of link purchasing rather than buying a few higher PR (e.g. PR 4+) IBLs or even just sponsoring a single extreme web site.
 
As usual, time will tell...
 
 

Domain Name Dilemma: Do Dashes or Underscores Goose Google Rankings More?

Domain Name Dilemma: Do Dashes or Underscores Goose Google Rankings More?
Copyright 2003, John Gergye (originally posted online Nov. 2003)


It's a fact. When it comes to Google ranking you don't have to be a lot better to beat out the competition.

So let's take another dip into the "every little bit helps" pool.

Now believe it or not there are those who like to debate the merits of using dashes or underscores in domain names.

Some assert dashes are better.

Some have an ongoing love affair with underscores.

Others are certain there is no difference.

I agree you do get a bit of a bounce in Google if you do this right. But it's only marginal.

Still let's end this debate once and for all and PROVE which is better.

To sort this out we need to conduct a study. Using the Google search results to test if Google treats dashes or underscores the same or differently.

The guinea pig search term I picked is "affordable search engine placement".

There's nothing special about it. It's more or less your run-of-the-mill multi-word search term.

So let's get searching.

First, to set a benchmark I cast the broadest net possible by doing a simple search using

affordable search engine placement

Google returned these results:

Searched the web for affordable search engine placement.
Results 1 - 10 of about 78,600

That simply says there were 78,600 pages indexed by Google for
ANY of those keywords.

Next I searched on the same phrase only this time I separated the words by dashes like this:

affordable-search-engine-placement

Google turned up these results:

Searched the web for affordable-search-engine-placement.
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,160.

As you can see our term with dashes gave considerably fewer results than the one without.

Then I searched on the same words separated by underscores:

affordable_search_engine_placement

For this one Google didn't find much:

Searched the web for affordable_search_engine_placement.
Results 1 - 4 of about 6.

Whoa! Next to no pages with underscores, right?

Finally I searched for "affordable search engine placement"

Note the quotes. Using quotes limits the search results to one specific phrase. Just like you were doing an advanced search for that exact phrase.

In this case Google returned these results:

Searched the web for "affordable search engine placement".
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,160.

Huh, exactly the same number of pages as with the keyword phrase with dashes.

Okay so what do we got?

Let's see. The first search returns what you could say is a free for all of listings with any of the words in the keyword phrase. That's why there are so many search results.

SIDEBAR: Reality check time. This is how most search. In fact I saw a stat the said only 3% use the advanced search feature provided by Google. Yet the dramatically bigger number of resulting SERPS explains why it is harder to rank high sometimes. Reason being you are going up against a whole bunch more pages - some unrelated to what is being searched for. So it takes more juice, ie on-page optimization, internal links and maybe even in bound links to come out on top.

Now our study also showed the phrase with underscores (which Google treats as any other CHARACTER) produced negligible results. As in next to none.

While the keyword phrase with dashes and the exact phrase search turned up the same number of listings.

At this point you should be wondering "Why is that?"

Glad you asked. Even if you didn't let me explain. Oh and since this is important engage your brain NOW.

The reason for this apparent match of search results is Google uses the dash to separate the words in the phrase. Programmers call this a "delimiter". In essence Google sees it as a space
or separator between the words. Or in other words Google treats the dash as a spacer.

Yet Google does NOT treat the underscore as a delimiter. Again to Google it's just another character.

Which is proven by the search results. Had Google treated the dash and underscore alike the number of SERPs returned for

affordable_search_engine_placement

or

affordable-search-engine-placement

would be identical. But as you saw they are not. Not even close.

So to answer the original question of which is better dashes or underscores is obvious isn't it? You want to go with dashes in your domain names, folder names, files names etc.

That's because using dashes to separate the words will give you the biggest Google impact -whatever that impact may be. Since Google can parse the different words. While using underscores won't help one iota.

Look. This isn't theory or speculation. It's fact. And you can repeat the same searches with any keyword phrase you want and you'll get the same results.

In any case let's be real. Don't expect some kind of massive boost from this dash trick. Sure it can help at tad as part of an over all optimization scheme. But whether or not you use dashes in a domain, folder or file name is not going to be what gets you top Google listings. Content and links are.

Still this study settles the debate about dashes and underscores. Giving you yet another little thing you can do to rank well.



How much is more traffic worth to your business? Take John Gergye’s Search Engine Quiz and get a special report "Coming Out On Top" with 49 tools that make it easy to get more traffic. http://www.traffic-test-tube.com/search-engine-quiz.shtml

Meta Tags Are Dead!

A construct placed in the HTML header of a web page, providing information which is not visible to browsers. The most common meta tags (and those most relevant to search engines) are KEYWORDS and DESCRIPTION. The KEYWORDS tag allows the author to emphasize the importance of certain words and phrases used within the page. Some search engines will respond to this information - others will ignore it. The DESCRIPTION tag allows the author to control the text of the summary displayed when the page appears in the results of a search. Some search engines will ignore this information.
www.beyondink.com/glossary.html

Meta tags have been considered the "saving grace" of many websites over the past years. Having Keywords and Description tags was often given more consideration than much of the remaining page. Then the major search engines like Google and Yahoo! got wise!

Before the world of SEOs and web designers decide to hang me up by my toes, let me set a few things straight!

Google still uses the Description tag from time to time. Also, there are still many secondary search engines and directories that use and/or require both tags mentioned above. All in all, you still want to have these tags within each web page but, they no longer hold the prominence they once did.

Now you have to work for it!

In today's competitive online world, the Title tag is the most important on-page content there is! Bar none! No exception! Amen!

After the Title tag comes the Heading tags, emphasis tags (e.g. bold, strong, italics) and then the page content itself including the density of your keywords/key phrases throughout the page. It is best to have these keywords/key phrases as close to the top of the page content as practicle to make it easier for search engines to find and index.

Then comes the names of your pages themselves and the folder naming conventions of the site. Not the least of this side of optimization is the actual domain name itself!

As you can see, there are a number of things to consider which is why it's important to hire a Professional SEO when you want it done right.

Like when your business livelyhood is on the line!

This only touches the surface regarding on-page optimization. Then there is link popularity but...that is a whole other story.

An Affordable Health Care Plan for All

Pre-existing Conditions Accepted

MedCare Advantage is not an insurance, HMO, PPO, or managed care plan. It is a patient advocacy organization that provides access to affordable, quality healthcare services to all individuals and families, including Uninsured, Foreign travelers, Underinsured, Self-insured, Pre-existing conditions, and Employee groups. We offer multiple non-insurance solutions with significant savings on physician visits, hospitalization, dental care, prescription drugs, vision care, hearing, chiropractic services and much more.

One of the great tragedies of today’s society is that over 41 million Americans are uninsured, and over 60 million people are underinsured, leaving millions of hard working people no longer having health insurance for their medical needs. With the cost for normal doctor visits, as well as health insurance premiums, skyrocketing to almost unimaginable levels, many of these employees, friends and relatives are left to the Effects on the Uninsured Population.

EFFECTS ON THE UNINSURED POPULATION
· Thousands of premature deaths each year
· Being uninsured for even a year diminishes a person’s general health
· The majority of uninsured go without healthcare until an illness becomes too serious to ignore
· The quality and length of life is lowered and shortened for the uninsured
· Many uninsured discover serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and HIV too late. Most uninsured never receive treatment for mental illness, high cholesterol, arthritis or asthma...

MedCare Advantage: 100% Guaranteed Acceptance including:
· Individual & Family Plans Under $100
· Save up to 60% on Medical Services
· Dental Exams & X-rays at No CHARGE!
· Pre-existing Conditions Accepted
· Accident Protection of up to $5,000
· Save up to 80% on Prescription Drugs
· Save up to 60% on Vision Care Services
· Save up to 50% on Chiropractic Visits
· 24 Hour Nurse Hotline Included
· 24 Hour Counseling Services

MedCare Advantage has partnered with Healthcare Advantage, which was created based on the highest principles of patient advocacy by a select group of professionals with a common goal in mind. Our vision is a system that dictates healthcare coverage without diminishing care. We provide the consumer with alternatives that access information and quality healthcare, while at the same time educating consumers and providers. Healthcare Advantage has accepted the challenge to set a new standard in the healthcare industry by servicing the needs of the uninsured and underinsured consumer. This commitment includes the creation of a specific and unique medical provider network (“Preferred Savings Network”) for the uninsured and underinsured through contracts with providers at fixed and/or daily per-diem rates.

As a cost containment advocate and liaison, Healthcare Advantage keeps its finger on the pulse of healthcare services provided within the industry. Consumers are well represented with the most practical healthcare benefits at the absolute highest savings available. With national access to networks with over 400,000 medical doctors, 3,500 hospitals, 50,000 ancillary facilities, 50,000 pharmacy locations, 17,000 dental providers, 10,000 vision providers, 6,000 chiropractic providers, 1,100 hearing facilities, as well as medical providers nominated by our members, consumers should not encounter difficulties in locating providers within their communities.


For more info about MedCare Advantage’s Affordable Health Care Plan, please visit our website at http://www.MedCareAdvantage.com or

3516 Plank Road
Suite 5A
Fredericksburg, VA 22407

Phone: 888-785-6565
Fax: 540-785-7671

This information is courtesy of H2 SEO LLC. Ask us how we can promote your website business.

Why Hire A SEO When I Already Have A Web Designer?

There seems to be a common misconception regarding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Website Developers/Designers. Business owners often think that having a website designer precludes the need to hire a SEO expert. This is a fallacy we will quickly dispell!

How often would you expect the chief mechanic of a NASCAR race car to win Daytona driving the last lap? This may seem quite ridiculous. It is obvious that the chief mechanic wouldn't be the driver since he is not there for that purpose. He is there to oversee the car.

The same holds true for website design. There are plenty of tasks and responsibilities for a website designer to do. Graphics, content text, and overall interface take up a considerable period of time to develop and maintain. If a site becomes stagnant, people will quickly stop visiting and your site becomes meaningless. Technology changes and users expect your site to keep "up with the times". All of these are the responsiblity of the website developer/designer.

But what about SEO?

Once you have a quality website for users to see and use, you need to get people to visit! Whether they come from search engines and directories like Google, Yahoo!, MSN or the Open Directory Project (DMOZ) it is another task that needs to be performed and maintained for your business website to be productive. Getting the right keywords and keyphrases on the pages is only one aspect of SEO. Another is getting the Inbound Links (IBLs) which drive leads to your site as well as assist your website rankings on the major search engines.

Working together...

There is not need for conflict between website developers/designers and Search Engine Optimizers. Each has specific talents and duties. Making the most of these talents while coordinating as a team easily gives the business owner (e.g. the customer) the best value for his/her money. The resulting success is a win-win for all involved from the website designer, the SEO, the business owner and the website end-user.

For more about SEO, please visit our website at http://www.H2-SEO.com.

Why Doing Business On The Web Isn't (Shouldn't Be) Free

Christmas sales exceed Billions online!

You would think with the multiple years of Christmas retailing that have reeled in billions of dollars of sales online, businesses would be rushing to get a piece of the pie. Considering the ability to lower overhead cost and the outstanding Return-On-Investment (ROI) many online retailers have these days, you would tend to believe that everyone would be dying to get to that realm...When it comes to many small and mid-sized businesses, you would be wrong!

I'm Too Small To Deal With That!

Fear of the unknown is a strong deterrent to placing a small to mid-sized business online. Hearing from others around them who have "failed" to make money on the web gives them reason to hold back. Learning that others have spent tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to place a site on the Internet leaves them feeling like a small fish in a big pond. How could they ever compete?

Proven Results!

Placing a business website online takes thought, planning and execution similar to creating a good printed mailer or other publication you expect a lot of people to use towards buying your product or service. You cannot expect to have just any "16 year old" create the site and make you money. {Before anyone comes after me saying their 16 year old could do it, I'm not speaking about any particular individual but rather the notion of professionalism.} It is this professionalism that this message is all about.

http://www.SeaWitchAntiques.com was the result of hours of planning and effort by Michael D. Hudson of H2 SEO, LLC along with the hours of photography and text by Dean Hudson of Sea Witch Antiques in Sneads Ferry North Carolina. Since its inception on December 26, 2003, the site has risen to a number one ranking for "North Carolina Antiques" on over a dozen search engines and directories including Google and Yahoo!. Add to this the site has reached over 120 keyphrases with a number 1 ranking position and maintained over 50 much of this time! That doesn't even get into the fact that a store with approx. 2000 square feet achieving over 150 unique visitors on occasion and maintaining over 80 uniques month after month. Understand that this is all during their very first year in business in North Carolina as well as on the Web!


But I Don't Sell Antiques!

Along with Sea Witch Antiques, we have driven consistent unique visitor counts to small upstart companies in Insurance Training, Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup and a very small Virginia Radio Station. Each of these sites were created on a "shoe-string" budget and the SEO services were performed to help get them "off the ground". Contact the business owners of any of these example sites and you will hear their comments regarding what the Search Engine Optimization services of H2 SEO, LLC has done for their small business. Just in case you are wondering, they have not been paid nor offered anything exceptional to endorse us. We don't believe in "baiting" to get these comments. Satisfied customers will take care of speaking for themselves.

What About An Established Company?

http://www.TopSailBeach.com is the Topsail Beach Real Estate website of Kathy S. Parker Real Estate. Kathy has been in business for quite a while with the existing website for the last few years. She became frustrated when a company that promised to keep her website "top ranked" missed the fact that her "home page" had changed considerably and they hadn't seemed to do anything for months since that time. Along came H2 SEO, LLC...

With some major changes to the Topsail Beach Vacation Rentals portion of her website along with minor changes to the Topsail Beach Real Estate portion, Kathy's website was ready to begin promoting. Soon, www.TopsailBeach.com ranked number 1 on Google and Yahoo! for Topsail Beach Real Estate and ranked highly for other similar phrases. This "face lift" has been fairly recent, as of this posting, and only time will tell how far the site goes and just how many more visitors will continue to find the website and become customers of Kathy S. Parker Real Estate.

I Am Still Skeptical...

There are always more questions than answers when it comes to spending your money over the web. Feel free to visit the H2 SEO, LLC website at http://www.H2-SEO.com or email us at Website-Marketing@H2-SEO.com. If you prefer the phone, please call us Monday-Friday between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (USA).

Google update of PageRank (PR) and BackLinks (BLs)

Last night and through early this morning, Google results were getting updated for both PageRank (PR) and BackLinks (BLs) for all of our clients, H2 SEO sites and for many other websites as noted by my counterparts around the world on SEO and Web Designer forums. This update was a rather significant change for some of the H2 SEO clients who are still in their infancy on the web. Changes caused sites with virtually no BLs listed on Google to jump to 40+ and PR values went from 0 to 4 and 5!

Many SEOs around the world noted on the forums that PR values have been on a roller coaster lately along with the rankings slipping. Examples of sites getting top rankings similar to their respective PR values in the outset slipped to almost random order between Google updates. Many of us are watching and waiting to determine of this gets "corrected" by the completion of the update or stays as a standard.

For those unfamiliar with PageRank...

From: http://www.google.com/technology/

PageRank Explained

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."

Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don't match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of the page's content (and the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query.

For those unfamiliar with Back Links...

From: http://www.computerdictionary.info/computer-term-details/Back-Links

Any and all links that you have coming to your website from websites outside of yours.

Of course there is so much more involved. Luckily, there are some really great people out there who help fill in the voids. That is why people come to technology geeks like us and why we spend countless hours developing solutions to make the business world on the web a bit better.

Search Engine Optimization and Website Promotion taking hold...

As of today, H2 SEO, LLC. has made significant strides in promoting our client websites via Search Engine Optimization and Website Marketing. The evidence for this centers on some of the number 1 rankings for keyphrases, increased unique visitor counts, as well as over 2,000 Inbound Links (IBLs). This goes to show the impact of true SEO on marketing a business website by H2 SEO and the speed with which it can take place.

Examples?

Sea Witch Antiques is a small Antiques & Collectibles shop located in Sneads Ferry North Carolina on the mainland just a short drive from the Topsail Beach vacation areas. Their site opened days after Christmas of 2003. Since that time they hold a number 1 ranking in Google for the phrase North Carolina Antiques. They have held over 120 other significant number 1 phrases already and continue to climb for others while achieving increased daily unique visitor counts and IBLs.

Topsail Beach Real Estate by Kathy S. Parker Real Estate is another fine example of the success achieved from the North Carolina SEO services of H2 SEO, LLC. The Topsail Beach Real Estate site represents a rather small brokerage service that handles both real estate sales as well as Topsail Beach vacation rentals. Having already achieved first page rankings for the keyphrase Topsail Beach Real Estate in the short time H2 SEO has had the site is a wonder. Realizing this has happened during the period of time with the site having significant downtime is a minor miracle (H2 SEO does not host this site!).

Insurance Training Services is another small business that is a client of H2 SEO, LLC. Insurance Training Services specializes in providing continuing education and prelicense training for insurance professionals. H2 SEO built the Insurance Training Services website in the early spring of 2004 and already has them listed on national training classes websites as well as first page rankings for keyphrases. Being such a specialized business with clients who often rely on word of mouth and internal business contacts, this SEO project has been a challenge to make headway. Headway is starting to be achieved which directly affects their bottom line! They are already in the top 10, first page, for the keyphrase Insurance Training Services on Yahoo! web results.

There are other accomplishments made by H2 SEO, LLC which we will go into in future statements. Until then...

Virginia SEO: New To Blogging

Being new to blogging, this is my first attempt to let the world know via this tool about Michael D. Hudson and the company in Ashland Virginia known as H2 SEO, LLC. If I make mistakes, please consider me human and politely point out my indescretions directly to me so I may attempt to make corrections. I will make every effort to do the same for others.

About H2 SEO, LLC

In October of 2003, I started doing website design and some search engine submissions for a couple of clients as Michael D. Hudson Internet Consultant. This was slowly starting to build into a respectable business due to the extensive technology background I have as well as the family and friends who support me throughout life. More recently, my wife joined forces with me in the business world and we purchased the license and name for H2 SEO, LLC.

From that point until now the business has been one continuous whirlwind. As we perform the Search Engine Optimization for our business clients, they rise in the search engine rankings. As this occurs, they recommend us to other potential clients and we start the whole process over and over again. It is better than a pyramid scheme! Sometimes I feel like I just need to pinch myself and wake up.

Please understand that I am a perfectionist and this may sometimes drive my wife and others absolutely nuts. I work long hours performing extensive research to ensure our clients get the best service possible. This diligence may help explain why they keep coming back as well as recommend us to others. Whatever the reason, it works and keeps paying the bills.

On top of getting the content correct on the websites, H2 SEO, LLC handles the Website Marketing of our clients' business websites. Understand, we started with clients from around Ashland and Richmond Virginia as well as along the North Carolina coast in Sneads Ferry and Topsail Beach.

One of our biggest achievements was the creation and promotion of the North Carolina Antiques & Collectibles website for Sea Witch Antiques in Sneads Ferry North Carolina.

There is so much more to say...maybe in the next post.

Virginia SEO Blogging is Alive and Well!

This is the initialization of blogging on Virginia SEO.

Looking forward to seeing where this might lead...