SEO Factors Archives - Page 6 of 7 by Mark Murnahan

SEO Backlinks: Why Most SEO Fail at Link Building

Backlink search on Yahoo! for awebguy.com

Backlinks are massively important to SEO because they reflect a consensus that your Website is either great, or it is not. Most people know that it is important to have a lot of links pointing back to their site, and some even know why … but few really understand how. I will draw this out for you and explain just why most SEO really stink at backlinks. Unless you settle in for a good read, right now, you will miss a huge lesson in SEO that you should know before you spend another cent. Get comfortable, because this is information that will benefit your business.

Most SEO Are Clueless About Backlinks

Most SEO fail at link building, and there are a few good reasons. Yes, I said most, and I mean it. Most SEO are failing at this one singular most measurable task that will make the difference in everything from customers finding your Website, to your Website conversion. The troubling thing to note is that they will often not tell you about it, and worse yet, they don’t even have a clue why they are so awful at it.

First, I will explain the couple of terms I use here and how they work for you, since I know everybody is not totally into SEO the way I am. SEO stands for search engine optimization (interchangeable with search engine optimizer, like me).

SEO is a whole lot more than just making sure you are at the top of the list when people search for what you offer. It goes much deeper, and it has a whole lot to do with another important and misunderstood term. Conversion! Oh, you’ve heard the term, right? In my most simple way of explaining conversion, it means converting searchers into clickers, clickers into buyers, and buyers into raving fans who will take your business to a totally different playing field. Conversion does not mean you conned another sucker into buying your stuff! Conversion could be said to mean that you are converting your business from an “also-ran” to the lead in the race.

Link building, as I am discussing it here, does not mean asking your cousin Sally to add a link to your site about insurance from her site about landscaping. When I say link building, I mean valuable, sustainable proof that you are serious about your business and that other people recognize this fact.

SEO Often Lie About Backlinks!

Now for backlinks; a backlink is what you have when somebody links to your site. It seems simple, right? Every joker who sends you an email offering to sell you backlinks for $49 knows that term. It means a squillion people will come flocking to your Website and enter their credit card number to snatch up your massively important stuff before you change your mind and raise the price. Yeah? Well … NO! This is the way a lot of SEO will explain it, but then, people lie … even on the Internet. By the way, why are they emailing, and why do their Websites never have more than a couple backlinks? I actually think it is not always just a mean-spirited lie, but more because they see this huge market and they are desperate to grab their piece but not willing to learn before they sell it to you. They are trying to earn as they learn, and the customer is often a victim.

Build Backlinks With Talent and Trust

When you have quality backlinks it tells Google and other search engines that others place a trust in you and they like your site. It is a democratic process. It is often faked, just like any other democratic process, but what sets you apart is that you are up for re-election today, tomorrow, and every day. Your business cannot afford to mess this up, and a bad fake in this democratic process can get you banned from search engines and waste a whole lot of your money. The biggest portion of the cost is the money you didn’t earn because you were wasting time with what did not work and your competition got the business.

If you take a creative and well-considered approach to your business and your Website, backlinks are simple. I never asked anybody to link to this site … not even once. I did not have to. I provide information that people want and can use to their benefit. People link here because they trust the content and they believe that others can benefit from it, too. This is the mentality it takes to build backlinks that matter. This is the kind of backlink that is relevant to those people looking for you, and a whole lot more likely to give you that conversion you are seeking. It is the kind of backlink that the SEO who sees you as a meal ticket will never create, because their mind simply does not work that way.

Trust and familiarity can build a whole lot of backlinks. Branding takes time and it takes purpose. When you do it right, you build great relationships. Here is an article that explains the difference that trusting relationships make in SEO and social media marketing: “How the Big Dogs Get Paid”. Have a little faith. I would not link to it if I didn’t think it would benefit you.

How SEO Sucker People: A Simple Explanation!

How does this happen that SEO sucker people out of their money? It is another blog post all together, but it is too commonly because the nature of need, greed, and fear tells people that they should seek the lowest cost in their business. They are out to make money without spending money. They want what sounds great, but for the lowest upfront expenditure. The first SEO to claim that they can do all that those other guys do for a fraction of the cost gets the money. What you should consider is that old saying that you get what you pay for. I would add that sometimes you don’t even get that.

If you are needy, greedy, and scared, do not cry to me or the other SEO who take the job of marketing your business seriously. Until you can get over the anxiety for grabbing fast money from the Internet, you are probably not ready for SEO performed correctly. If you take your business seriously and consider the importance of doing it right, the backlinks will come effortlessly.

Summary of SEO Backlinks

This little observation of backlinks explains a lot of reasons that when somebody asks me (as they often do) “What is your hourly rate for SEO?” I explain that they are asking the wrong question. The cost of SEO does not boil down to hourly rates for SEO or even how much money you wave goodbye to upfront. It comes down to how you look at your business and whether you only plan for tomorrow or plan to take your business to the head of the race. If you want to know my hourly rates, just Google it. If you want some free SEO lessons, go ahead and Google SEO lessons and find out if those backlinks I write about really matter.

If you want it done well, stop and think about these things and bring your lunch money. Doing SEO well does not mean doing it cheap. Real SEO means that you are in business and that you can swim with the sharks, and not that you are just willing to test the water.

HubSpot SEO and Social Media Lessons and Review

HubSpot has some things to learn about both social media and SEO. I like some of the people at HubSpot, so don’t take this all as negative. This is just my cursory review from what I know of the company. I think if you are willing to spend a lot of money for mediocre search engine results in a non-competitive market, they are a great bet. Their Website Grader product is a kind of neat tool, and the company has some great minds at work, when they elect to use them.

I met Jonah Lopin, VP of Customer Operations at HubSpot during “Integrated Marketing Summit” in St. Louis, where we both gave talks on social media. After our talks, we were both very pleased with the similarity in our message, and we exchanged cards. It was actually a bit shocking how similar some of the messages we delivered were. I spoke from 11-12:00 p.m. and Jonah spoke at 2:45 p.m., so he surely took a lot of great notes (just kidding Jonah)! I like Jonah Lopin. He is clearly a thinking man.

HubSpot is Marginal … But Trying

HubSpot has a lot going for it, but a long way to come, in my professional opinion. In the true spirit of giving and sharing, I figured “where else will they learn it but from an SEO guy whom they spit on after a social media campaign gone wrong?” Yes, that is me, and yes, I feel like HubSpot spit in my face. They still owe me a camera that I won last December, and they still do not seem to listen … but I will get to that.

Remember, I did say that I like HubSpot, so when I say I want to teach a lesson, I mean it in the most constructive possible way. The real question is in whether HubSpot will accept the lesson in good spirit, or just keep spitting until they run out of moisture.

Am I qualified to give lessons to a company that just secured $33 million and has such smart SEO people? I will allow you, my reader, to find the answer to this question. Let’s first just consider this: You were looking for information about HubSpot … and you arrived here. Most would say that I am extremely well qualified to give HubSpot SEO lessons (after all, go and search Google for SEO lessons and you will find me pretty readily). When it comes to HubSpot’s social media lesson, I think social media already answered this in my favor as well. I will explain.

SEO Lesson for HubSpot and Website Grader

My first lesson for HubSpot would be this: You are wrong about H1 tags. Go ahead and try to prove me wrong, the way a few other “SEO gurus” have tried, but the proof is in the Google. If you Google H1 tags, I will give you a cookie if you find more than one unpaid spot above my article on H1 tags titled “H1 Tags Improve Search Engine Placement“. Go ahead and Google H1 tags to see for yourself and then tell me how having multiple H1 tags on a page should create a warning on Hubspot’s Website Grader. Note: Be sure to count how many h1 tags you find in that article, will you please, HubSpot? If more than one H1 tag receives your warning, why the heck have I been riding the top of that search for most of a decade with a badly formatted page full of H1 tags?

It seems funny to me, but the issue of multiple H1 tags must be the one thing that makes this blog only rank 99.9 out of 100 in HubSpot Website Grader, while you graded your own Website lower than mine. Don’t make me pull out the screenshots.

Well, HubSpot, this blog has a comment section, and you should perhaps hike your “junk” up really high and use it to engage with your proper audience, which are my readers.

Social Media Lesson for HubSpot

This social media thing is great, but does HubSpot get it? I think they really want to, and I think they try really hard, but just like so many other companies busy borrowing millions of dollars and appeasing their investors, they lose all grasp on doing what they set out to do. They let me down, and I am quite certain I am not the only one.

In my case, I clearly showed HubSpot how social media works.

To HubSpot: I not only provided a very creative response to your contest on Facebook, I won it by such a huge margin that Stevie Wonder saw that from a mile away! Was anybody even within fifty percent of the votes, or even one tenth as many new Facebook fans that I brought you? What I am left with is a bad taste of HubSpot for dropping the ball and not standing up and showing that you can do anything with the benefits you receive. If your Facebook fans are worth so little that you have to wait for a $200 camera to go on sale to fulfill your contest, then what in the heck did you do with the $33 million reported by Jonah Lopin at Integrated Marketing Summit in St Louis?

My Summary Review for HubSpot

We can all talk about doing things to create more business, but only the companies who actually back it up will matter in the end. HubSpot has a good grasp on the importance of inbound marketing. Of course, if you look at HubSpot material, it seems they think they invented it. Wrong, HubSpot … it has been around for a very long time, and even here on the Internet.

I have been an inbound marketing practitioner for decades. I built one of the most recognized companies in the wholesale Internet access market without so much as speaking at a single conference or even poking my face above a computer screen for years. I was even called a “bully CEO” by some pretty huge and well-funded competitors because I would engage in real business instead of just talking about it or letting investors screw it up. I have been doing this “new” online inbound marketing since the mid 1990’s, so I guess online inbound marketing is not so new, really. Maybe it just takes a pack of hungry investors and a Guru or two putting out fluff and maybe some people will buy it. Maybe it will last until the investors are happy, and maybe it will not.

We can all make up cool and flashy terms that sound so “engaging” and as if HubSpot is the latest flock of Guru birds, (I tasted my own vomit when I saw the word “Guru” in your articles) but what HubSpot failed to recognize is their market. The market for HubSpot is being missed by a mile, and the ones that are not being missed are the ones you are irritating.

What do you have to say about this, HubSpot?

Hubspot is Trying, I Get That

I am aware that you are seeking to improve HubSpot, and I want the best for you. The best thing I can say that this individual needs to get paid better than you may be ready to hear, and come in prepared to upset the apple cart and start making things happen. When you want to make improvements to inbound marketing, don’t go shopping for a camera on sale, and be ready to give this person the kingdom. He or she may teach you a lesson or two.

REVISION: 3 February Mid Day:

Did anybody notice that Mike Volpe of HubSpot responded pretty quickly, but did not come back when people started to question his word after realizing he was not truthful with me? Denial is a curious thing. It can save you from your shame … for a little bit. I hope you will enjoy all the comments below.

REVISION: 3 February Evening
I got the camera … but you should really watch this video! Somebody over at HubSpot is not very apologetic, and may do well to get his conscience in check. o_O

I think he should read “Living in the Storm” for a better look at life beyond only the moment.

In any case, the camera is fantastic and I still have some respect for HubSpot. In my overall HubSpot review, I must say that they have a lot to learn, so I may just have to treat them like kids once in a while. They will likely never be able to provide a return on investment for their customers the way I can, but maybe they will improve in time. For now, it seems that if you look around a bit for other reviews of HubSpot, it reflects a similar sentiment to mine, and a lot of potential to improve.

Tynt Helps Track Content When it Leaves Your Website

Tynt content tracking has some great uses and is extremely simple to implement. I just cannot figure out why more people are not using it. My guess is that they will!

I am a fan of knowledge. I love to know things, and this is especially true when it comes to Websites. I use a lot of tools to track what people are doing on my sites. I use Google Analytics (of course), and I love Clicky Web Analytics because I like to watch what people are doing on my site in real time (yes, I see you there, reading and copying stuff). I use BackType and Disqus, and many other great applications to keep a finger on the pulse of what is around me. Of course, not the least of these is Twitter.

What is Tynt and How Can it Help Track Content?

Today I want to share a handy tool called Tynt. What is it? It is really very simple. It helps to track content that is copied from your Website. People copy and paste things from Websites all the time. It is often just to share it with others in an email message, their Facebook, or on their blog. For the most part, it is a really great thing, and often innocent rather than theft of your content.

Tynt makes it easier to not only know what they are copying, but also to help them provide attribution. When they copy something from your site, it will automatically add additional information that you specify to their clipboard. In my case, I just have it add the page title and the Web address for where they found it. However, you can also add additional information, such as Creative Commons Licensing, an advertisement, or some other greeting.

It does not stop there. Tynt also reports back to you with what was copied and statistics on the copied content. You can choose to receive emailed reports, and you can even have it automatically post the most popular text copied from your Website to your Twitter account!

It is still simple for somebody to delete the additional information, so it is not really for thwarting content theft. There are other great tools for that (which I also use). In this case, it is more about knowing what people found compelling, outside of the commonly measured metrics like page views, time on page, and sharing statistics.

Perhaps the best way I can explain this is if you simply select some text from this page and paste it somewhere … anywhere. Just copy a little piece of this post and paste it in the comments below to see what I mean (or a text editor, or anywhere else). You may be surprised just how cool it really is. Oh, and there is a FREE version of Tynt! Here is some more information about Tynt.

Please add your comments and tell me what you think about Tynt.

Ethicon Sutures: Endo Surgical Sutures

Ethicon sutures are widely used sutures in surgical procedures ranging from an episiotomy to orthopaedic surgery. Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has been the world leader in the manufacture of surgical sutures and wound closures since before World War II, and has since increased in market share to over 80% in the USA. Ethicon’s famously popular Prolene nonabsorbable polypropylene sutures, Monocryl absorbable sutures, and Vicryl (polyglactin 910) absorbable braided sutures have propelled Ethicon to lead the surgical suture market in a fashion not unlike Google’s capture of the search engine market.

Ethicon and SEO?

For most of us, Ethicon braided synthetic absorbable sutures are certainly not in the top 100 things we think to search for when we visit Google, but the term posed an important question in a recent conference call I had with a surgical supply company.

Ethicon Sutures: Surgical Supply SEO Study

While meeting with the team of executives from a leading endo surgical supply company specializing in sutures and wound closure supplies to hospitals and surgical centers, my prospective client brought up a concern of being at the top of search engine results for the search term “sutures”. In fact, one of the company leaders indicated a strong opinion that the only useful term for the company to focus on with their SEO campaign was simply “sutures”, and that other lateral keywords would not be valuable to their company. He made the analogy of an automotive supply company who only sold tires, and that if they only sold tires, the term “tires” would be the only value to the company. My response to this was to ask if this hypothetical tire company sold truck tires, tractor tires, z rated tires, h rated tires, Bridgestone tires, light truck tires, SUV tires, valve stems, tire rotation, or whether the company could potentially benefit from having tire care tips on their Website to provide useful information or warranty information to their customers.

As a clear leader in his industry, I give this gentleman much credit as the top of his field, and a genuine American success story. If you need sutures, this is the man to know. If you need SEO services, he is still working on it, and with my help, he will hopefully be a great resource in the subject matter as well. I certainly would never mean to offend this gentleman, but I tried to present these points in very matter-of-fact terms. I wish I was better at sugar-coating the facts, but my job as a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant and practitioner, is largely that of research and mathematics. There is not always an easy way to tell others that their estimation of their potential industry reach is not as they expected. This is especially true of those who have enjoyed great success as the leader in their field.

Sutures vs. Ethicon Vicryl Sutures

Our discussions led us to the topic of one word searches versus two and three keyword phrases. I tried to suggest that a wide range of industry related keyword phrases such as Ethicon sutures, Ethicon Vicryl sutures, polyglactin 910 braided sutures, and others would produce far more results and be more targeted to his desired audience. My explanation was that estimates show roughly only 10% of searches are for a single word, whereas two and three word phrases comprise well over half of keyword searches. The actual numbers are a moving target, and may vary slightly by industry, but suffice it to say that single keyword searches like “sutures” are statistically insignificant in terms of actually reaching their target market. These single keyword searches may make nice bragging points, but in actual use and in conversion rates, they are not very useful. An example of this I have found is that in a Google blog search, I have often found this very blog in the number one position for the search keyword “SEO”. Just as the term “SEO” will mostly attract other SEO companies checking out their competition, the keyword “sutures” produces many results for consumers while this client needs to reach hospital administrators. The lesson here is that if your keyword phrases of choice do not reach the desired audience, they are useless.

In Google search results, single word searches, especially the competitive ones, are very commonly accompanied by a selection of suggestions to refine the search. Google does not make a lot of mistakes, and these are included because the more refined searches are better suited to the search engine users’ needs and expectations. Most users will define their search without prompting, but in cases where the user does not, search engines will often provide a prompting to help the user on their way.

Buy Ethicon Sutures Online

When you seek to buy sutures online, it is my research experience backed with statistical data that tells me you will be vastly more likely to search for a more specific phrase reflecting the type of sutures you need, and perhaps even referencing the type of surgical procedure you intend to perform. A simple test of this fact is that by searching Google for sutures, you will find mixed results including how to tie a suture knot, caring for sutures, facial sutures, and many things unrelated to your need to buy sutures or seek the best suture option for your surgical needs. This brings me to a point I have made many times before that if you select effective keywords and use a lateral keyword approach, it will provide for a much greater return on investment and SEO value.

Relationships and Internet Marketing

Relationships come in many types. The relationship we are sharing as author and reader may seem to be very casual and even a bit superficial. I want to explain how and why it matters.

Since statistical data tells me that it would be nearly impossible in my lifetime to even shake hands with all of my readers, I always find it important to try and reach out in my, can I say, “authorly” way. We will probably never do business together, and for now I am just another guy on the Internet. Of course, I welcome your business, so don’t get me wrong. I just want you to know that I am not selling you anything more than some thoughts right now. So just relax and hear me out about relationships and the Internet, and how it all ties together to make you more successful and happy.

I have noticed for some time that each time my wife is pregnant I see a dramatic increase in new business. It has puzzled me for years exactly why this happens. I have always had my ideas on this. Of course, there is a lot that probably comes down to instinct. Doing all the right things just somehow sinks in and I find myself making better judgments, thinking more clearly, and most importantly developing better relationships. I know that having a new baby may be a little too extreme for increasing your business, but there are substitutes to help you emphasize building better relationships.

I find the relationships I build on the Internet to be absolutely crucial to my success. Just consider our new relationship as an example, you and me. Perhaps if I give you valuable information that helps you, and if I help you to feel good about me and my knowledge, you may become a regular reader. Eventually, if you grow comfortable with our relationship, you may call on me for advice or to hire my services. Notice how this is a process. By the time you call me, you will have many opportunities to know me on your terms. You can read hundreds of articles that I have authored, learn of my background, and know just who you are dealing with. It all comes back to the same reasons why social networking Websites have had such amazing success. People are there to actually interact with other people, and not just some corporate giant or sketchy small business. They are building relationships, right here on the Internet.

I hope that I do not insult you if I group you with “most people”, but in many respects, we are all “most people”. What I know about most people is that they want to feel good about the people in their lives. We can say that this does not apply to “those people on the Internet”, but let’s face it … it matters. In case you have not heard, Facebook has over 120,000,000 users in under five years of business. It has been built on relationships. Social networking sites are some of the most successful Internet businesses ever created, and that should teach us all some lessons. “Those Internet people” are you and me. The Internet is where I communicate with many friends, and it is even where I met my wife about eight years and two-going-on-three three kids ago, so you cannot convince me that what I am telling you is false.

People want to know real people. To set a picture for you, it is 6:00am and I am sitting in my kitchen where I just happened to plop down my laptop to make this entry. I have been working since early yesterday morning, and I have a meeting with a new client in just a few hours. As I thought about my morning meeting, it really hit me why this meeting feels different than so many others, and it inspired me to write you this blog entry.

In a short time, I will meet with somebody with whom I have already laid the groundwork of a personal relationship. He is a fellow member of a business networking group where we have both been members for some time. I see him every Thursday morning, and we have a mutual friendship and respect. You may be thinking that it would be great if every meeting could be so relaxed as this. The good news is that they can. It all starts with a relationship, because behind every business person is the person. Be certain that you express this in your business.