SEO

Let’s Discuss PageRank

July 26, 2008 By: Justin | 11 Comments

Google is in the middle of an SEO pagerank update, so let’s discuss PageRank a little. I’ve discussed it briefly in my post about PageRank basics, but I want to give you a better idea about PageRank and how much it matters. PageRank matters the most when you’re getting backlinks, but is not the biggest factor when it comes to ranking and success.

Lets look at an example. I started off this site as a local niche site, but recently changed it to focus on bigger keywords. Well lets look at my site’s original keyword. My site sits as the 2nd site, but sometimes fluctuate into #1. My site is 3 months old or so and the site that competes with my site is around 5 yeas old and a PAGE RANK 6! But my PR 0 (soon to be PR 2) blog can sometimes knock them from their top site. Here is proof.

Now this is huge guys. When you’re looking for a niche, do not be intimidated by the top guy’s PR. It is NOT the factor that will rank your site. I will soon out rank Sitening for Nashville SEO, even though I’m moving away from that term and working the general term SEO.

So let’s look at the site that ranks above me:

PR 6
30,000 links
About 5 years old
DMOZ listing

So how do I / will I out rank them?

Here is a list of keywords used in their anchor text, ranked by the number of times they appear

  1. Sitening 33.2%
  2. Henshaw 4.8%
  3. Jon 4.2%
  4. web 3.2%
  5. seo 3.2%
  6. Nashville 2.6%
  7. blog 2.6%
  8. search 2.1%
  9. marketing 2.1%

Now lets look at my keywords ranked by usage

  1. seo 53.3%
  2. nashville 29.3%
  3. zombie 18.7%
  4. justin 18.7%
  5. briggs 14.0%
  6. search 8.0%
  7. optimization 7.3%
  8. marketing 7.3%
  9. internet 7.3%
  10. engine 7.3%
  11. seozombie 7.3%

The prominence of the keywords Nashville and SEO are MUCH higher in my anchor text. This is why I still rank #2 for Nashville SEO over sites that have it on their site and in their title when I hardly mention “Nashville SEO” on my homepage. The only reason they rank above me is due to age. Google puts a heavy emphasis on domain age and link age. As my domain matures my rank will goes up. In addition, link weight increases over time. They do not push their full weight up front. And lastly, as the sites that link to me age, the juice they pass me will increase.

Guys, SEO is two things.

It is solid on site design.

But more important than that.

Related authority keyword anchored backlinks.

So even though PageRank is a decent measure of your link building progress, it is not a measure of your success. I have now moved on to “SEO”. As I build SEO links, my authority for Nashville SEO will continue to increase, since I already have Nashville SEO links and the SEO links support the Nashville SEO links.

So don’t get hung up on PageRank. Link anchor text has a larger impact on rankings than PR!

Filed Under Nashville, SEO

Why Do You Blog?

July 23, 2008 By: Justin | 10 Comments

Most people blog to make money or express themselves, but I’ve noticed that many bloggers lack a defined purpose. Sure they’re blogging to make money, but that is way too vague. Every blog or website you launch should have a specific goal and purpose. So many people trying to make money rush and launch a blog, but in their excitement to make money, they don’t stop to consider the detailed goal. They start pumping out articles 3 to 5 times a week, but after a few months they realize they’re going no where.

You need to have a focus for every blog. Do not purchase a domain or launch a site without having a reason. The reason needs to be more than “for money”. For example, the reason could be “this blog is going to be a small 10 post niche blog that promotes geotargeted Adsense contextual ads for  the keywords X, Y, and Z”. I know it seems dumb to need to say that, but it will change the entire process. For that type of blog, the focus needs to be 100% on search traffic, not social. Second, the site needs to not answer the question, because you want them to visit the ad for the answer. You need to set up the site in a way that improves CTR; this means no 125 ad blocks, this means you should got with the basic white background, blue links, black text colors OR go with the dark background, dark text, and bright links colors. Each type of blog defines setup, content, theme, promotion, and monetization.

You need to have a focus or the task quickly becomes overwhelming. Lets say you find a sweet keyword, do not instantly rush out and buy the domain, launch it, and start pumping out content. Before you ever start your site, you should know: all the major keywords, how difficult each one is, know your competition, determine what you’ll need to do to promote it, and estimate a time frame. Then you need to consider how you’re going to monetize it and deal with all that stuff. Get all your information in order BEFORE you start.

So Why Do I Blog on SEO Zombie?

Some might wonder what the goal of this blog is. I don’t really monetize it, but I spend a fair bit of time on it and I’m getting ready to spend a ton of time on it. So this may leave you wondering why?

Most of the work I do with SEO involves promoting my own money making sites. Well this presented a problem for me. People asked me, what do you do for money? Or when I went in for an interview, someone asked to see my sites. Well I’m not going to show them my sites. I needed a flagship, which is the reason I launched SEO Zombie. I created it to rank for my local SEO market, a task I accomplished in about 2 months. So now I am expanding this site. My new goal is to become an authoritative site for SEO with a focus on making money online. Everyone goes after “Make Money Online” and they all have a huge focus on social blogging, which leads people to fail in making money online because people think they should apply flagship promotion methods to their niche sites. My new focus is going to be making money with organically targeted traffic.

I know everyone says the make money niche is not the best money maker, so why am I doing this? Two reasons.

Help People - I’ve known web design for years, but I learned how to make money by digging through tons of information online. I’ve read a lot of good stuff, but I’ve read even more crap. I want to share my knowledge. Blogging allows me to make money part time while going to school. My income isn’t as high as some of the big name guys, but that’s because I do this part time. I go to college full time, so during the school year I do this between classes and at night. I know there are tons of people who would love to have a site that makes a  passive income with a few hours of work each week at night and on weekends. It allows me to go to college without needing a set job, which is nice. My schedule is flexible, which is important when you have homework and exams. I’d like to “pay forward” things I’ve learned.

Build Personal Authority - Even if this site makes no money, a flagship has huge benefits. Imagine the leverage people like Shoemoney and John Chow have with affiliate networks. Having a brand like that, allows you to have weight to throw around. Look at Griz for example. He makes a killing with his blogspot blog, but there are people who are hesitant to take him seriously because he doesn’t have some nice shinny social blog. Sadly, having a whole army of niche sites doesn’t seem to impress people as much. (but it will make you money)

Now, don’t take this wrong. I’m not telling you all to go out and launch a big MMO blog. If you want to make money, build your small army of niche sites in non-MMO niches. I’m working on a degree in web design and my future goal is to have a portfolio that is more diverse than niche affiliate sites. This is why I’m targeting such a huge term. This site is a two year long goal, which is how much time I have left till I finish up all my college stuff. I don’t stress that this site doesn’t make me money, because that’s what my army of sites are for. That helps me work on this site as a long term goal without getting discouraged.

So my new target keyword is…

SEO

Yep, I’m going for the mother load. =P

My group of bloggers I talk to and read already has people dominating the MMO and Internet Marketing niche, but nobody is going for SEO, so I thought it was a good spot for me.

So if you have an empty spot on your blogroll =P
lol, I’d love an SEO link =)

What to Expect?

So here I’ll be sharing my version of MMO, which is heavily focused on gray tinted SEO. I mainly promote affiliate products, BANS, and a few Adsense blogs. I’ve worked in areas that many other blogs consider taboo (adult), so I’m considering sharing some of that knowledge here. Its taboo, so I don’t know if I want the label of a porn marketer, but it does make killer money.

If you guys have any questions, or need help, feel free to leave comments and ask questions. I’ll do my best to help you out.

Filed Under SEO Zombie

Marc - I think I can, I think I can

By: Justin | 2 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3GlIpe2Acg

I’ve written multiple times about Marc from One Mans Goal. This guy faced an overwhelming amount of criticism over his purchase. Yes, even from me when I fired of a post about his guest posts (a post I regret making). But this guy never gives up. Although Marc may lack the experience of a seasoned blogger, he has  the trait all successful bloggers say is a must. He has persistence. Marc has found a renewed focus on his blog and has surrounded himself with friends who really want to see his make money online blog take off.

I really cannot say it better than Zani did in the post One Man’s Goal Fights Back. Zani really says it all. I just wanted to point you guys there, because we can all learn something from Marc. He may not be teaching you the newest make money secrets or the keys to SERPS domination, but Marc is no push over. He has more staying power than 90% of everyone trying to make it in Make Money Online.

Good luck to Marc. His site has grown into something totally different than any other Make Money Online blog. His comments become a source of quality information as helpful bloggers come together to help Marc solve his problems. Just check out his post where he’s trying to verify with Google webmaster tools.

Filed Under Bloggers

« go back — keep looking »