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Lest We Forget
2009-09-22 20:11:00
No matter your race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age or disability, all were affected in some way to the tragedy that unfolded just 8 years ago. I applaud those who have continued to carry this torch for this long and implore everyone to consider others as they did following this tragic and ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comLest We Forget

Holistic Link Building Defined
2009-09-22 20:11:00
In my last post, Holistic Link Building 101, the beginning of a series of post was embarked upon and the topic is very subjective. When it comes to building a website for SEO success, however, link building or development is an extremely important part of an effective online marketing strategy. Like other SEO tactics, holistic ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comHolistic Link Building Defined

Holistic Link Building 101
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Link building is one of the most challenging aspects of SEO and it doesn’t appear that some people really get it, but that is no different than most SEO concepts. A lot of people find a nugget of SEO wisdom, apply thought, reason and ride it like a horse until it can easily become apparent ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comHolistic Link Building 101
More About: Link Building , Link

Long Live No Follow
2009-09-22 20:11:00
In a recent post at SEOmoz, by Will Critchlow of Distilled, entitled Nofollow is Dying: The Impact of Micro-Blogging and Nofollow on SEO, is a review the overuse of the nofollow link attribute in online publishing by webmasters and 3rd party sites like WordPress.com, Blogger.com and Twitter and it’s impact on SEO for everyone. Before ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comLong Live No Follow

Relevancy ? The Ultimate Google Killer
2009-09-22 20:11:00
A study recently compiled and released by JP Morgan, 2009 Internet Investment Guide, included some interesting insight into search, advertising and online behavior including a “potential search deal likely between Yahoo! and Microsoft.” Even as the idea that Yahoo! and anyone might happen, there is more important implications of the research data that isn’t as ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comRelevancy – The Ultimate Google Killer

Good Will Towards Men
2009-09-22 20:11:00
I would like to wish you and yours a happy holidays – pittfall Belleau Wood Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence Over Belleau Wood that night For a Christmas truce had been declared By both sides of the fight As we lay there in our trenches The silence broke in two By a German soldier singing A song that we all knew Though I did ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comGood Will Towards Men

Next Step in Universal Search
2009-09-22 20:11:00
In my most recent post, I wrote of the need for relevancy in search results and it being the biggest determining factor for switching your preferred search engine (based upon survey by JP Morgan). However, much of the changes that have impacted SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) in the past few years have had more ...Copyright © 2009, by Step hen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comNext Step in Universal Search

Bounce ? Better Than SearchWiki?
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Looking at the search landscape over just the past few months, it can be easy to see that professional SEO is not for the faint of heart. Search engines are always trying to make adjustments to their results and offerings to differentiate themselves from their competition, just like other competing businesses. For those of us ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comBounce – Better Than SearchWiki?

WordPress Turbo ? Powered by Thesis
2009-09-22 20:11:00
WordPress, along with other personal publishing platforms like MovableType and Blogger, have given everyone the ability to publish their thoughts and experiences online for the world to see. Each of these different content management systems offer different solutions including hosted and self-hosted answers. I started blogging through a hosted Blogger site for two and a ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comWordPress Turbo – Powered by Thesis
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Do Something
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Do Something Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comDo Something Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comDo Something

SEO for Local Results
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Very interesting… recently I posted about the need for Google to focus on relevancy in search results to maintain their market share that led me to look at tying a geographic location to improve relevancy and my belief that it will be the next step to reinforce universal search results. As a professional SEO consultant, ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comSEO for Local Results

Keywords ? What?s Brand Got To Do With It?
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Researching and targeting keywords is the second step in building an effective SEO campaign after developing an online strategy, so what is the value of brand messaging within targeted keywords? azure, beryl, cerulean, cobalt, indigo, navy, royal, sapphire, teal, turquoise, ultramarine All of these words are synonyms for “blue” blue bag web search – 289,000 results image search – 26,900 ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comKeywords – What’s Brand Got To Do With It?

Measuring the Value of ALT and Title Elements of Image Tags
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Not a great title, I know, but accurate. Recently, I began a test of the ALT and Title elements in the img html tag. Here is the breakdown of the testing: Conducting the research by creating a page on the topic of “dogs” that has the same image of a Dalmatian that link to four separate pages. ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comMeasuring the Value of ALT and Title Elements of Image Tags

The Trouble with Twitter
2009-09-22 20:11:00
One of the best videos I have seen in some time (thanks Garrett Pierson): As a Twitter user, I know that it isn’t just about letting everyone know what you are doing, it can be so much more. But, that doesn’t make this any less funny and unfortunately true for some. Enjoy! Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comThe Trouble with Twitter

Server Responses ? The What and Why for SEO
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Sometimes not understanding why a website isn’t performing well can be a difficult thing to figure out. However, many times it is important to take a step back and look at what signals can be seen. When looking for technical concerns can appear to be a daunting task, however, we are going to review server ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comServer Responses – The What and Why for SEO

Behold the Power of Social Media
2009-09-22 20:11:00
Facebook, a social networking platform that I am sure you are aware of has been attracting the attention of quite a number of users for quite some time. As seen in the Google Trends chart here, you can see the impact as compared to others like MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn. They don’t appear to be ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comBehold the Power of Social Media

Rosetta #1 Independent Digital Agency 2008
2009-09-22 20:11:00
It is official… Rosetta is the Top Independent Digital Agency in the US for 2008 according to Advertising Age. This last year has been quite an adjustment for me, my family and my career. It has been quite the challenge of moving from in-house to agency, moving to Cleveland plus adjusting to Brulant and Rosetta Marketing ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comRosetta #1 Independent Digital Agency 2008

Die Duplicate Content Die!
2009-09-22 20:11:00
What does canonical mean? According to a biology glossary from the University of Arizona it is “repetitive; repeating in different forms“. So, what does it mean to online publishers? Simply, duplicate content. How does duplicate content exist, what is it’s impact on search engines and, more importantly, how does it affect online publishers in search engine results? I know that ...Copyright © 2009, by Stephen Pitts aka SEOpittfall.com, All Rights Reserved. Contact pittfall@seopittfall.comDie Duplicate Content Die!

SEOpittfall has moved.
2008-06-10 00:00:00
If you are seeing this post the DNS settings for SEOpittfall.com have not updated. This process began on June 8, 2008 and should be completed no later than June 12, 2008. Thank you for your patience and for visiting SEOpittfall.com! When the DNS changes are completed you will see SEOpittfall version 2.0. For a sneak peak, go here. Stephen Pitts Post from: SEOpittfall.com SEOpittfall has moved. Post from: SEOpittfall.com SEOpittfall has moved.

SEOpittfall is Moving
2008-06-04 00:00:00
SEOpittfall will be moving hosting over the next few days (up to a week). Please forgive me if there are any disruptions in accessibility during the DNS updates. Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything during the adjustments. Thanks, pittfall Post from: SEOpittfall.com SEOpittfall is Moving Post from: SEOpittfall.com SEOpittfall is Moving

Sharing Information With Google Reader
2008-05-27 00:00:00
Google Reader is a very valuable tool that I am sure many of you are aware of, however, it has offers more than just keeping up with your favorite XML and RSS feeds. It also gives you the ability to share posts from your subscriptions that you find valuable and would be useful to your friends. You can mark posts with a star, giving you the ability to come back to posts that you want to revisit. Along with the star option, you can label feeds with tags so you can organize all of your feeds within specific categories. Other valuable options for you to share information that you find via the feeds that you read is the ability to share the post in a couple of different ways: Email Shared Page Widget Email Sending feeds to people that you think will be able to use is a very efficient way of sharing posts from your feed reader. The Google Reader makes this rather easy to send and incorporates the post along with a message. Shared Page Google Reader also offers a great way of sharing inf...
More About: Google , Information , Sharing

Hilltop: A Search Engine based on Expert Documents
2008-05-26 00:00:00
This paper is being reproduced as a resource to my readers. The document was moved by the University of Toronto after the departure of one of it’s authors as an active professor at the institution. By no means am I trying to take credit from these individuals for the research and subsequent paper below. I have updated the references, as some of these have also been moved from their original locations. This research, theory and algorithm was very influential in my early research into ranking factors that search engines employ in the valuation of web pages in search engine results. It eludes to and assisted in my personal definition of a search engine algorithm: taking qualitative data, converting it into quantitative data, ranking it based upon a query and returning the qualitative data. Enjoy! - pittfall Hilltop: A Search Engine based on Expert Documents Krishna Bharat George A. Mihaila Abstract: In response to a query a search engine returns a ranked list of documents. ...
More About: Search Engine

Google Pushing Local Search?
2008-05-09 00:00:00
Today while doing research for a client, I happened to notice something very interesting in Google ’s results. The given search was for “hampton inn” and further research on other geographically relevant, broad terms returned similar results like “restaurant” and “mcdonalds.” Entering a city, state or zip code returned the Google map and relevant results based on the given entry. This did not appear differently if you are logged into a Google account or not. Has anyone else seen this? Post from: SEOpittfall.com Google Pushing Local Search ? Post from: SEOpittfall.com Google Pushing Local Search?

Meta Tags Constitute Trademark Infringement or Not?
2008-05-03 00:00:00
A couple of influential court cases in the US have been decided, however, they differ on the overall outcome when it comes to use of trademarked words in META data including keywords constitute trademark infringement. North American Medical Corp. v. Axiom Worldwide, Inc. But in this case, I do not think Axiom denied placing those terms in their meta tags. The question Goldman has is, did the meta tags influence the site to rank for those terms? Google has told us they ignore the keywords meta tag, but said they do use the meta description tag. But would the meta description tag alone be enough to rank a site for? Hard to say. But if you add some links to the equation, then it is a no brainer. Search Engine Land Although Axiom?s website never displayed NAM?s trademarked terms to visitors and never mentioned NAM or NAM?s products, Axiom nonetheless included the terms within its meta tags to influence Internet search engines. For instance, evidence in this case indicated that, before A...
More About: Infringement , Tags , Meta , Trademark

RSS Day 2008
2008-05-03 00:00:00
What is RSS? RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format used to deliver information from websites and pages that get updated regularly. An RSS document (which is called feed) contains either a summary or the full content from a website. What are you planning for RSS Day? Post from: SEOpittfall.com RSS Day 2008

Anatomy of Organic Listing Snippets in the SERPs and Outlining Best Practic
2008-04-04 00:00:00
When returning results to a user, search engines use various resources based upon the particular search or query. The basic information published on a Web page may not be visible to a user, even when the page is displayed in an Internet browser, such as Internet Explorer or FireFox. Some of this information is used by the search engines to determine the topic (content) of a particular Web page. Search engines use many specific characteristics to evaluate a Web page for a particular query string or keyword search. Many of these characteristics differ from one search engine to another and may even vary based upon the query string itself. Because of this, this user help focuses only on the ?snippets? or information regarding a particular page, published in organic listings. These are the natural or non-sponsored listings, on search engine results pages, referred to as SERPs. Traditionally, search engines provide three specific bits of information that make up the snippet in the SERPs....
More About: Anatomy , Organic , Listing

The Future of Search is 24 Hours in Advance
2008-04-02 00:00:00
So, April Fools 2008 Begins - 1st Up Google Australia Google Australia offers gDay with MATE: About gDay technology The core technology that powers gDay is MATE (Machine Automated Temporal Extrapolation). Using MATE?s machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques developed in Google?s Sydney offices, we can construct elements of the future. From the gDay Press Release: gDay was developed in Google’s Sydney engineering centre and can accurately predict future events and internet content. It does this by using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques from a system called MATE (Machine Automated Temporal Extrapolation). Using Google’s index of historic, cached web content and a mashup of numerous factors including recurrence plots and fuzzy measure analysis, gDay creates a sophisticated model of what the internet will look like 24 hours from now - including share price movements, sports results and news events. Plus, using language regression anal...
More About: Future , Search , The Future , Hours

April Fools 2008
2008-04-02 00:00:00
Here is a quick breakdown of April tomfoolery this year: Search Engine Roundtable becomes - Search Engine Squaretable MyBlogLog goes… Plaid! Google Introduces FrankRank, an ad ranking algorithm Google AdSense announce the launch of AdSense for conversations New for gMail - Gmail Custom Time And, of course - Google Announces Project Virgle Thanks for the laughs! Post from: SEOpittfall.com April Fools 2008 Post from: SEOpittfall.com April Fools 2008

Google Turns Black To Go Green
2008-04-02 00:00:00
Google users in the United States will notice today that we “turned the lights out” on the Google.com homepage as a gesture to raise awareness of a worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. As to why we don’t do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display. However, you can do something to reduce the energy consumption of your home PC by joining the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Earth Hour Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. Great idea and for a great cause, however, I was disappointed when looking at this further and EarthHourUS.org offered up ideas of things to do while in the dark and it linked to this. Not what I was hoping for, but at least it’s for a good cause. Cheers! Post from: SEOpittfall.com Google Turns Black To Go Green
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SEO Standards - To Be or Not To Be?
2008-04-02 00:00:00
Background There has always been a lot of mystery surrounding the online marketing industry especially Search Engine Optimization. There are even some that consider the efforts of SEO as selling “snake oil” and even some discredit the industry as a whole because of perceived SEO practices that will get your website blacklisted. Chris Boggs at Search Engine Watch wrote on the topic, called for standards to be adopted and outlined steps to build these standards based upon 1. definition, 2. risk and 3. education. I think that these are all valid and could be a useful tool for accountability for marketers. The Heat of the Game Recently, Jill Whalen sited her own feelings regarding the topic in an editorial at Search Engine Land and Lisa Barone from Bruce Clay fired back. Based upon the voting on Sphinn about each of these posts at the time of writing this post here are the breakdowns: No - 56 Sphinns Yes - 51 Sphinns If you break this down a bit further, a realistic look ...
More About: Standards