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Google’s Text Only Cached Pages Raises Issues With Alt Text
There have been many discussions in the SEO world over the usefulness of alt tags that accompany images. It is generally accepted that Google primarily indexes alt tags as long as the images have a link. If there is no link on the image, the alt text is ignored.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-30

Does Title Tag Placement Matter In Regards To SEO
In SEO, it's generally the case that you can ask 10 different experts the same question and almost always get 10 different answers. A general consensus in this industry is a rarity. However, there is a sense of agreement concerning the importance of title tags. But, among programmers and designers, there is some confusion on whether or not the placement of these tags is important in regards to search engine results.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-29

Why Can't Google Read My Mind? A Look at Personalized Search
Several top search engines, including Google and Yahoo, are competing to make personalized search a reality. How long will it be before search engines are able to "understand" - and, more importantly, how will personalized search affect your business?
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-28

Google Update Causes PageRank Mania
Google updated PageRank and backlinks Tuesday night, at approximately 8:30 PM (EST), SERoundtable announced Wednesday.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-25

Has The Yahoo/Google Split Changed Referral Rates?
Now that Yahoo and Google have parted ways and we've had a few months for the dust to settle what's really happened? If you're speaking in terms of SERPs, the short answer would be, well, not really a whole lot. You can check Ranking.Thumbshots.com and find that the overlap in the SERPs for Google and Yahoo is fairly high, running anywhere from 40-60% depending on what you're searching. If Google is the standard for relevance in the industry, Yahoo seems to have succeeded in measuring up at least.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-24

Are Yahoo! and Hotmail Blocking Gmail Invites?
Joel Johnson created a buzz earlier today by reporting that some Gmail invites and emails aren't getting through to Hotmail users. Several reports also claim the emails aren't getting through Yahoo! Mail filters.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-23

Has The Yahoo/Google Split Changed Referral Rates
Now that Yahoo and Google have parted ways and we've had a few months for the dust to settle what's really happened?
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-23

Making Text Graphics Available As Text For SEO Purposes
With the exception of alt tags and file names, optimizing images for search engine purposes has always been a difficult task. This task may have become easier thanks to dynamic text replacement technique developed, in part, by Stewart Rosenberger.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-22

Google And The Buying Of Links
One popular method of raising rankings is the buying of links from high PageRank sites that often have no relevance to the subject of the buyer's site. Google discourages this practice, stating, "Many sites that advertise link-sharing programs not only offer little value., but will distribute your email address without your permission."
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-18

Drunken-Style SEO
"I say the best rule of thumb is to optimize like a drunk guy would. Don't leave a pattern." - seomike I saw this quote over at the SEW forum and about busted out laughing. There's some truth to it though, especially if you're doing large linking campaigns.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-18

Adware Now Capable Of Hijacking Google Results
Adware and spyware have become, next to viruses, some of the more nefarious types of software on the Internet. However, there has been very little word of adware affecting search engine results, until now.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-16

Yahoo Adds Movie Showtime Shortcut
Gary Price (via SEL) noted Yahoo's recent addition of a movie showtime shortcut.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-16

Are Backlinks The Most Important Factor In Google Rankings? Depends On Who You Ask
How do search engines evaluate relevancy when ranking search results? Do they concentrate on optimized content, or do they value contextual backlinks more? Do they place more importance for on page content (optimized web copy)? Or do they emphasize off page, anchored links pointing to the site in question?
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-15

PPC Guerilla Tactics
If your promotion strategy includes pay-per-click, listen up. You need to be aware of a few guerilla tactics that are gaining popularity - and as a result may end up hurting legitimate businesses.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-15

Keyword Competition Analysis: KEI and Beyond
A poster at the ihelpyou forum has an idea for a site but before he launches he wants to determine the competition for his chosen keywords. Dan Thies, a "Super Moderator" at ihelpyou, offers some fantastic advice that applies to those analyzing business model viability or hunting for some less competitive keywords to optimize for.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-14

Link Structure Beats Google's Network Filter
If you run a network of sites then there's a new algorithmic speculation you need to be aware of - the network filter.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-11

Search Optimization For Adult Sites
The online adult industry lures many online with promises of easy riches. During the crash one ecommerce pundit pointed to adult sites as sites that could survive. While we know that wasn't true, it's true that the adult industry grew through the down turn and remains to day a major technology driver (so much so that USAToday wrote an article on adult tech recently).
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-10

Ranking Well In Non-US Searches
Yes, we supposedly work on the World Wide Web, but localization and micromarketing (a term I learned from a Stuart Elliot column describing a marketing pitch by Sharper Image to one area of Soho in New York) increasingly segment and complicate results, especially across foreign search portals. So here are some suggestions - from the Search Engine Watch forums - for reaching potential clients who live in countries other than yours.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-09

SES London: Link Building And Domain Name Issues
The Search Engine Strategies London conference started a week ago and I'm glad that Alan Webb attended and shared his observations over at SEOChat. I've gone through his posts and lifted what I think are the most important SEO tips - be sure to check out his complete posts.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-08

Yahoo Busting Up 301 Redirects
Barry Schwarz of SEORoundTable (and now moderator of the SearchEngineWatch forums - congrats!) brought to my attention the troubles webmasters have had with 301 redirects in Yahoo. Yahoo SiteMatch reps even recommended creating doorway pages rather than using 301 redirects, and I've read that they will treat 301s as duplicate content.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-07

Formula For Keyword Connectivity
The Search Engine Watch forum is off to a grand start with a hyper-scientific keyword research post from Orion, "a formal scientist, with special interest in AI applied to IR technology." His posts focus on "keywords semantic connectivity and what it can do for improving success across search engines."
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-04

Free Keyword Research Tools
I was visiting Dan Thies' revamped SEO Research Labs site and found a couple SEO tools he linked to that may help your efforts.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-03

Wiki Back Link Spam Tactic
Wiki - I first saw the word in "wikipedia," though I didn't know that a wiki had anything to do with the creation of the information I read there.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-02

Google Back Link Update Underway
It appears that Google's updated/updating (depending on when you read this) their back links. This means that Google's evaluating the links to your site and awarding or penalizing it with more links. If you've been especially industrious about finding more links to your site you may see a growth in your PageRank.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-02

Old Google Link Allows PageRank Sales
WebProWorld's been buzzing with talk of a link on one of Google's pages to a page (with PR 9) that sells links. That's right - it appeared that Google was deliberately sending PR to a page whose business was selling text links to the highest bidder.
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-01

Banking PageRank For Non-Existant Sites
Our "New Google Bomb" discussion in WebProWorld is one of our most popular to date, but the question remains, how does this phenomenon affect search optimization?
Directory: > Insider Reports > Search Insider
Date: 2004-06-01