Copy Brighter

The SEO playbook changes fast. Really fast. Best practices shift on a monthly basis, and time-honoured methods can become obsolete and dangerous – literally overnight. Here are a few SEO staples that went out of style in 2007:

1. Reciprocal links. In May of 2007, Realtors who relied heavily on reciprocal links started to sob as -30 penalties were dished out by Google, harming their business. It became clear that the decade-old tradition of reciprocal links programs was over. Done. Finished. Time to get one way links.


2. The "site: *** -sljktf" command (to show the supplemental index results). Google's supplemental index used to be handy for finding out which pages on your own site were doing poorly and needed some extra TLC, and spammers had their own uses for it. For a while in 2007, the supplemental index still existed with no obvious markings. Now it got merged into one main, regular index.


3. Directory links. Buying directory links is another decade-old SEO tradition that Google took a pretty big swipe at when it devalued the PageRank of hundreds of lower-quality, made-for-webmasters directories this year.


4. Open link brokers and link networks. Not so long ago, it was possible to pick up the phone and call a major text link broker with open inventory and buy your way to good rankings. Now sites that openly sell links are coming under heavy fire. Top-secret brokers and hand-picked, carefully negotiated and camouflaged buys are the paid way in 2008.


5. Sponsored blog post networks. Pay-per-post bloggers also got whacked. Bloggers who accept payments are going to have to do their best to look legitimate and be undetectable.


6. Owning the SERPs with subdomains. This common reputation management and branding technique was recently declared obsolete when Google announced that there would be no more than 2 results from any one domain served up in the search results. However, real life searches show that some companies are still getting away with it. [Note: Nick Wilsdon clarified this issue and provided this link on Google's treatment of subdomains]


7. 10 Blue Links. It used to be the gospel that there were 10 identical search results for any given query and there was some kind of way to rank. Now that Google's universal search includes video, audio, news, blogs and local listings and mammoth sites like Wikipedia and Knol are sure to rank for a few of the slots on popular searches – MFA and thin-affiliates are in trouble. Webmasters can't take being able to rank for granted anymore. Even more remarkable, more linkworthy, more multi-media content is in order for 2008. Quality over quantity.

By offering professional SEO services, I have made commitment to read feeds and forums and keep on top of these changes on a daily basis.

Yet, I wonder: How many local SEO firms and practitioners out there aren't aware of any of these changes and will continue to provide obsolete or dangerous advice to their clients?

Is there anything else that should be on this list? Aside from specific techniques or practices, what were some of the noteworthy changes in the SEO playbook and organic search landscape for 2007?

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This week brought us two powerful new resources for link building: * Dutch SEO and link building expert, Wiep, released a survey of over 15 industry-recognized link building experts as Link Value Factors. This reports takes a cue from SEOmoz's Search Ranking Factors, which I call the "Rosetta Stone of SEO" because it offers many different perspectives and trusted opinions on the secret Google ranking algorithm. Wiep's report offers a panoramic perspective on assessing link potency and value. * Another top-notch Dutch SEO and Web developer, Joost de Valk, released the link analysis tool for Firefox. This is a superb tool for looking at backlink profiles of your own sites and your competitors and finding out which links have value. I'd consider both of these resources a "must" for anyone serious about SEO and link building. Enjoy!

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If you're launching a new site and you are submitting it to some of the more reputable old & expensive web directories, you want to get as much anchor text bang for your $279.95 as possible. But most "reputable" directories will only link to your site by the "official" name, whatever that is. Before: So pick the right "official" name. Just make new graphic header for your site, and throw it up there for the one week that you submit it to the directories. If the site is for a real estate office called "HomeFinders Realty" you might just want to name it "Denver Real Estate, Inc." And change it back after you get accepted with juicy anchor text. After: In most cases, after they've charged your credit card for the link buy editorial review fee, they won't be double checking it anytime soon. Okay, some people might say this is a little bit grey hat... but I rationalize it by saying that if you are going to pay hundreds of dollars for an ad listing, you're entitled to (try and) get your money's worth with good, descriptive anchor text that doesn't mislead the search engines or users. And when that auto-billed $499.95 annual review comes around again, they are more than welcome to change it back– if they notice. Read the rest of this entry »

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