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Copying Content From Other Websites

Internet Use, Realtor Websites, Search Engines No Responses »

Jan 082005

When building a website it is always a good idea to look at other successful sites and see what they have done so you can find clues as to what you can do to be just as successful. Some decide that the easy solution is just to copy some of the content or duplicate the meta tags. Those that try the unscrupulous and illegal route will be very disappointed!

It is not that there may be a risk of being caught – it is 100% certain that you will be caught. Not only will you eventually be caught and face the potential embarrassment of having your crime publicized throughout the internet where anyone searching for your name and/or business will find that you are an unethical crook – the tactic does not work. Continue reading »

Google Shakes Things Up

Search Engines No Responses »

Dec 282004

Back in early November in this post I wrote that we were due for Google’s annual big shakeup. We seem to be experiencing it now.

Google began an update around December 15th and results are still jumping around. Many in SEO forums are not happy with the current state of affairs and report irrelevant results for their keyword searches as well as a loss of their own positions. Continue reading »

Google and the Sandbox

Realtor Websites, Search Engines No Responses »

Dec 072004

Search engine forums have been buzzing with talk of the “Sandbox” for months now – “does it or does it not exist” and “can it be beaten” are the usual topics of discussion.

In case you don’t know, the “Sandbox” is a label that has become associated with Google’s practice of not ranking new sites – more precisely, not ranking new sites in new domains competing for competitive commercial search terms. Continue reading »

Google Page Rank and the Hilltop Algorithm

Search Engines No Responses »

Nov 262004

Here is something to think about… as discussed in this article several months ago, Google’s Page Rank likely means little as of November 2003 – at least to all sites that compete for the competitive keywords that were affected by last November’s Florida update and the updates that followed which added even more keywords to the list.

A consensus has been pretty much reached in the SEO forums that sites affected are now being ranked by a variation of the Hilltop Algorithm and the rules for linking for maximum benefit are different. Continue reading »

Check Your Reciprocal Links

Realtor Websites, Search Engines 1 Response »

Nov 132004

I just finished checking reciprocal links in the Epowered Professionals Realtors Directory and had to remove a couple of dozen Realtors from the directory because they were no longer reciprocating links.

Every time I check it is the same old story – a number of agents put a link on their website, apply for inclusion in the directory and then once they are in they remove the link. I wonder if they are just as dishonest in their dealings with clients and other Realtors? Continue reading »

How Some Realtor Sites Rank Well In Google

Realtor Websites, Search Engines 2 Responses »

Nov 092004

Ever since Google’s big shakeup update last November – dubbed the “Florida” Update – it has been extremely hard for individual Realtor sites in most market areas to rank highly in Google for competitive keywords. This is not isolated to Realtor sites but is a phenomenon that applies to all commercial sites in all industries.

For Realtor sites it does not apply in all market areas either. Google has a list and some market areas are not on it usually because they are very small and managed to stay off the radar. The sites that replaced the missing websites were sites deemed to be “authority” sites or directories for the most part. Continue reading »

Link Exchanges That Are Of No Benefit

Realtor Websites, Search Engines 2 Responses »

Nov 042004

I can’t believe how many requests I get for link exchanges that are rejected because they are of no benefit. I bet I reject 80% of requests and you probably should be doing the same. If you are wondering why your search engine positions suck – you should pay more attention to this issue as outlined in this posting at agentsonline.net

When someone contacts you regarding a link exchange you need to:
a) Make sure their links page is actually listed in Google
b) Make Sure the links themselves are indexable – i.e. not in script but plain html.

Instructions on how to do that can be found here.

Awaiting Google’s Annual Shakeup

Search Engines No Responses »

Nov 032004

Am I the only one waiting with nervous anticipation for Google’s annual fall shakeup? Remember the one last November that was dubbed the “Florida” update? Whoo Boy! That was a doozie!

Apparently Google reps have said that future shakeups will not be as dramatic as “Florida” – I don’t know whether that is good or bad. With Google’s current situation maybe this year will be the first year without a major fall shakeup.

Google must be as happy as a clam as their Adwords revenue is producing record profits and a skyrocketing share price. Since they stopped ranking newer sites for competitive keyword searches the only alternative for some is to purchase Adwords. Where is Google’s incentive to fix their index?

Gee, I wonder if it is just a coincidence that having an old stale index that doesn’t rank new sites also happens to increase revenue?

A few years ago when Inktomi was king they broke their index and then charged for the fix – paid inclusion. They had good revenues as result too until searchers noticed that their results were no longer relevant and left in droves to the new kid on the block – Google. Now Google is following the same path as far as I can see.

That leaves a great opportunity for MSN’s new search engine!