Archive for February, 2011
February 26th, 2011 | 
Author: 301 Redirect – The SEO Way To Rename Or Move Files Or Folders
In this article I will discuss page redirection techniques what works and what to avoid.
What is page redirection and why would you want to use it?
Lets say you rename a page on your website for whatever reason. Perhaps you decided to revamp your entire naming convention perhaps you decided to restructure your site and need to move pages into different folders or you just realized that you are missing valuable keywords.
Lets elaborate a bit on the keywords issue since it is part of your search engine ranking success.
Lets say the page in question is about customized USB drives and you named it page1.htm. Then you read some SEO Search Engine Optimization articles and you found out that some search engines use words in the actual file name as search keywords. Next time you do a Google search take a look at the results most will have words in the actual file name in the URL section bolded denoting a keyword match. Your USB drives page will definitely benefit if named something like custom_usb_drives.htm instead.
Now that you renamed your page you just created a symphony of issues for yourself for your users and for your position in search engine results.
Linking issues:
You will have to point every link on your site to the new page name. If your site is small it should not be a big deal but if your site is large you will inevitably make mistakes mainly forgetting a link or two. This will result in visitors getting the dreaded 404 page not found error when clicking on your links robots also know as crawlers or spiders avoiding you etc. Also if you are heavily relying on visitors from search engines then again people will get a 404 page not found error.
Lets use the previous example for a long time your page1.htm was indexed by major search engines. If someone types custom usb drives in a search engine box your page shows up on the first search results screen. That is fantastic only if someone clicks on the link they will be pointed to page1.htm not to custom_usb_drives.htm because the first page is the one in the search engines index. It will take time sometimes months before the search engines update their indexes with your new page name.
Lost Page Rank PR issues:
Google developed a proprietary algorithm that assigns a Page Rank PR to every page on the web. PR is a number from 1 to 10 10 being the ideal and is intended to be a representation of how useful and popular a given page is. PR is influenced by many factors one of the crucial ones being Link Popularity. Link Popularity is a representation of how many quality or relevant sites link to your page. Without getting into too much detail it is increasingly difficult and time consuming to achieve a high PR for your pages especially if you dont have a really unique website with exceptional and highly sought after content. If you are merely operating a commercial site in a competitive market such as selling custom branded USB drives as in our example then it takes a lot of time and hard work to build a good page PR.
When you rename a page and discard the old page you also discard the PR of the page. Your renamed page will be seen as a totally new page with 0 PR.
What is the solution?
I will start by enumerating some of the methods used by the noninitiated.
Not recommended solution 1: Duplicate content.
First thing that probably comes in you mind is: well why cant you just duplicate the page and let nature take its course. In other words you will have two identical pages one named page1.htm and one custom_usb_drives.htm. This gives you time to update all links and the search engines will eventually index the new page.
This solution is not viable because search engines will penalize you quite badly thinking that you are trying to scam them by using the duplicate content technique.
Not recommended solution 2: Custom error message.
You could create a custom error page. However you will lose rankings on the next search engine update as the file will appear to be nonexistent. As discussed above it could be some time before the page with the new name will be indexed and will appear in peoples searches. Also your web site visitors will be frustrated by the fact that they now have to dig through your site to find the desired information.
Not recommended solution 3: An HTML Meta redirect.
You could implement a so called Meta refresh in a blank or customized page that has the name of the old page in our example page1.htm that points to the new page. The redirect can be instant or delayed by a predetermine amount of time. The delayed redirect has the advantage that you can place an extra message such as please be aware that the page you are looking for changed location.. etc. etc. you will be redirected automatically to the new location
In the past this was probably the most used technique.
Without getting into the mechanics of the Meta redirect which is basically a META tag statement you ad to your HEADER section know that there are also JavaScript techniques that achieve similar results.
What is bad about this is that this is a technique often used by spammers to trick search engines and it should be avoided unless the page is in a section of your site that isn’t indexed also known as spidered or crawled. Search engine spammers create a page that is optimized for certain keywords and phrases it usually has no real content. The page is then picked up by some search engines but when a visitor clicks on the search engine entry they are redirected to another site often unrelated. Most search engines have filters to detect this. Using this form of search engine deception will see a site eventually banned or penalized by major players such as Google.
The recommended redirect strategy 301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is the most efficient visitor friendly robot spider crawler friendly and search engine friendly solution around for web sites that are hosted on servers running Apache. If you are not sure check with your hosting provider.
A 301 redirect is just a set of commands you type into your .htaccess file.
When a visitor whether human or robotic requests a web page via any means your web server checks for a .htaccess file. The .htaccess file contains specific instructions for certain requests including security redirection issues and how to handle certain errors.
The code “301″ is interpreted as “moved permanently”. After the code the URL of the missing or renamed page is noted followed by a space then followed by the new location or file name.
First of all you’ll need to find the .htaccess file in the root directory of where all your web pages are stored. If there is no .htaccess file there you can create one with Notepad or a similar application. Make sure when you name the file that you remember to put the “.” at the beginning of the file name. This file has no tail extension.
Some hosting providers offer redirect services through their control panels so you dont have to perform low level changes on the .htaccess file itself. Instead they provide a user friendly interface for this. Check with your hosting provider to see what the optimal way to perform a 301 redirect is in your case. I will continue the article with the barebones solution.
If there is a .htaccess file already in existence with lines of code present be very careful not to change any existing line unless you are familiar with the functions of the file.
Scroll down past all the existing code leave a line space then create a new line that follows this example:
redirect 301 /folder/page1.htm http://www.you.com/folder/custom_usb_drives.htm
It’s as easy as that. Save the file upload it back into your web and test it out by typing in the old address to the page you’ve changed. You should be instantly and seamlessly transported to the new location.
Notes: Be sure not to add “http://www” to the first part of the statement just put the path from the top level of your site to the page. Also ensure that you leave a single space between these elements:
redirect 301 the instruction that the page has moved
/folder/page1.htm the original folder path and file name
http://www.you.com/folder/custom_usb_drives.htm new path and file name
The same format applies not only to renamed files but also to files moved to a different location.
The 301 redirect is the safest way to preserve your rankings. On the next indexing crawling spidering the search engine robot will obey the rule indicated in your .htaccess file and index the new page name every time a link or its internal database tries to access the old page. In the next update again this could take months the old file name and path will be dropped and replaced with the new one. Sometimes you may see alternating old/new file names during the transition period along with some possible fluctuations in rankings as things settle. Don’t panic this is normal.
What if your site is hosted on a Microsoft IIS server instead?
If you have access to the server do this: In internet services manager right click on the file or folder you wish to redirect. Select the radio titled “a redirection to a URL”. Enter the redirection page check “The exact url entered above” and the “A permanent redirection for this resource”. Click “Apply”.
If you do not have access to the server ask your host to point you into the right direction.
In conclusion the best and the most transparent way to both human and robotic users to rename and move files on your web site while preserving your search engine ranks is the 301 redirect.
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Upgrading Your Company Website
Dealing with website development issues can be an overwhelming task. There are many things your marketing team must consider in fact there are so many things to bear in mind that many of the most important ones never get dealt with or are buried under competing interests.
To avoid project paralysis you should focus on certain key areas of concern from which all other issues flow. Whether upgrading your existing website or developing a new webmedia initiative from scratch consider these four vital questions that need to be answered:
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What content should be included?
How should content be delivered?
How is your website going to be marketed?
What will visitors remember?
What content should be included?
Content is a function of purpose. Unfortunately many websites don’t have a clearly thoughtout realistic purpose; and orders alone is not an adequate website objective. Obviously every company needs sales that’s a given but sales are a result of all the marketing elements you put in place and the degree to which your presentation distinguishes you from your competition.
There is a prevailing view that traffic translates into sales; this viewpoint may be valid for websites whose economic model is commodity or advertisingbased but businesses that don’t compete on price alone or are more than an excuse to deliver advertising must be structured around a purpose that is more meaningful and far more compelling than ‘give me an order or don’t bother me.’
An overemphasis on search engine friendly site design ignores the fact that when someone does a search for what you do they’ll not only find you they’ll also find many of your competitors as well. And even if you appear first in the search nothing will stop potential clients from clicking on any of the other organic or advertised listings or even the numerous Adword links on the side of the page.
The biggest website design problem companies have is not the amount of traffic generated from search engines but rather how visitors react to your content. Are visitors engaged enlightened and entertained so that they stay on your site long enough to get your marketing message and is that message compelling enough for them to remember it?
There are many misconceptions about advertising content one of the biggest is that people hate it but the truth is what people hate is bad ad content; qualified clients actually look forward to good advertising because it presents a relevant problem and provides a believable solution in a distinctive memorable presentation.
If your content doesn’t engage your audience with a persuasive memorable presentation then you’ll never achieve whatever website marketing goals you’ve set.
How should content be delivered?
We know the vast majority of people don’t like to read text on a computer screen so they scan for relevant information concentrating on bulleted points captions and headlines but does that truncated information really get your message across? Website text is really designed for search engine spiders which is fine but how about paying a little attention to people and how they absorb and remember information?
We also know people are impatient and are ready to abandon your website with the click of mouse often in mid sentence before they ever get to the point you are trying to make. Your clients are sophisticated media consumers raised on video games and television and are used to making quick decisions on limited information; this kind of leapoflogic protocol demands a clever focused presentation.
Your audience will be gone in seconds no matter how convincing you think your content is if it is not presented in a mediasavvy manner that holds viewer attention otherwise your website is nothing more than a glorified Yellow Page ad.
Audio and video has the potential to deliver information in a form and format that attracts and holds viewer interest while it makes a memorable impression. But even audio and video will fail if it is badly conceived poorly written and amateurishly performed.
How is your website going to be marketed?
Everyone is concerned with traffic and how to drive it to their websites. Search engine optimization is only one marketing technique and it’s one that ignores the impact of content on your audience in favor of attracting the attention of search engine robots. By all means build search engine friendly elements into your site but don’t ignore peoplefriendly elements as well.
Having textbased articles on your site is an excellent way to provide search friendly information but presenting that same information as a professionally produced audio option or a lively video presentation is certainly more memorable.
An entertaining webmedia presentation makes a lasting impression that viewers are more likely to recommend to colleagues thereby increasing your traffic and reputation. Wordofmouth is the best way to generate qualified traffic and the best way to generate interest in your site is to make your site’s presentation a rewarding experience.
What will visitors remember?
In a brickandmortar environment visitors are more likely to make a decision to purchase on the spot simply to avoid driving halfway across town to save a few dollars but on the Web jumping from New York to California is as easy as the click of a mouse. People are just more likely to shoparound because it’s so easy.
Of course what people think they want is the lowest price but providing the lowest price only attracts the least profitable buyers and ignores the biggest obstacle website businesses need to overcome and that’s credibility. Who are you and can you be trusted? And after visiting ten different websites all selling the same thing can they even remember who you are?
Your presentation has to be memorable and establish credibility so that when all the searching and browsing is finished your site is the one they remember and go back to; your site must be the one visitors can trust to deliver what’s promised.
How to Hire A Web Video Firm
The ability to produce an effective video or audio presentation requires more than the possession of some cool hardware and software. Owning an expensive camera doesn’t make you a producer and even the technical ability to edit doesn’t qualified you as a commercial marketing expert. When the time comes to hire someone to add video and/or audio to your website what should you be looking for? Below are eight things you should consider when hiring someone to create webmedia.
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Can the webmedia provider deliver a turnkey solution from concept to implementation or do you have to act as your own producer hiring different people with different skills complicating the project and creating both technical and conceptual implementation problems?
Can the webmedia provider produce everything from scripts to custom music inhouse or do they have to farmout some of the work increasing costs?
Does the webmedia provider understand how to use verbal and visual performance to create a convincing memorable presentation or do they substitute expensive production techniques for costeffective psychological persuasion?
Does the webmedia provider just shoot video or do they have the ability to analyze your offering and purpose and focus it into a consistent meaningful branded presentation?
Does the webmedia provider have the ability to think strategically as well as tactically? Can they implement and repurpose your investment into your existing website create a targeted mini campaign site and provide alternative versions ready for ad implementation?
Does the webmedia provider have the ability to create lasting campaigns that can be rolled out and built upon or are they just interested in making a quick buck from a oneoff effort? Are they willing and able to be your ongoing webmedia marketing advisor?
Does the webmedia provider have the ability to turn advertising into content and content into an experience or can they only produce nondescript infomercials?
Does the webmedia provider understand business marketing branding and what can and can’t be achieved so that you have appropriate achievable expectations?
Commercial presentation production requires a multitude of skills and talents. Big companies solve the problem by hiring advertising agencies that drive the cost of production beyond what most businesses can afford. By understanding what’s needed to create an effective webmedia presentation you can look for a firm that possesses all the necessary talents inhouse; an approach that keeps costs down while producing an exciting Web video campaign that achieves corporate marketing objectives.
About the writer: Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia a Thornhill Ontario based website design firm that specializes in delivering their North American Australian and British clients marketing messages using the latest audio video and interactive Flash presentation techniques to create compelling informative and memorable Webexperiences that enhance brand personality and increase sales and profits. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com http://www.136words.com http://www.sonicpersonality.com. Contact at infomrpwebmedia.com or telephone 905 7641246.
How To Find The Perfect Domain Name For Your Internet Business
Let’s face it finding a good domain name is tough these days. Over 100 million domains have already been registered; and from all accounts the trend is not likely to stop soon. So what’s an aspiring internet entrepreneur to do? While not a guarantee these eight and a half steps will go a long ways towards landing that perfect domain name without breaking the bank.
1. Start the search.
The best place I’ve found to locate domain names is http://DomainTools.com formerly WhoIs.sc. They can tell you if the .com is taken and by whom as well as offering other variations of the name that are available. They can also look up the history of the domain name if it’s been registered in the past as well as providing information about the domain’s current traffic where it’s hosted and who it’s hosted with. When you come across a name that you might want open an account at GoDaddy.com or eNom.com so that you can purchase the name affordably generally 8 to 9 to register a new domain name.
Other sites to search for preowned names are Afternic.com Sedo.com and BuyDomains.com. Each has a large inventory of names that can be searched by category. Unlike finding an unregistered name these names will often run in the hundreds to thousands of dollars so determine ahead of time how much you are willing to invest in a good name. Lastly look at sites such as SnapNames.com for names that will be “dropping” or expiring soon. If you find a name you like and you have the time to wait you can pick up some good names from domain owners that let their names expire. Now that you know where to search for a domain name let’s take a look at how to do it effectively and successfully.
2. Get the .com extension.
This is the number one mistake I encounter when dealing with naming disasters. In a hurry to go to market eager entrepreneurs decide to take the available .net or a hyphenated version of their name. You will likely regret this decision as future customers default to the .com address. You may even find your emails going to the .com domain address which is even more frightening if the .com version is a competitor. This can be a costly mistake in terms of customer confusion. And you will spend valuable time in explaining the .net or hyphen to each new client you encounter. Be patient and get a name that’s unique distinguishable and memorable and one that’s a .com.
3. Be creative.
Here’s another cold hard reality the simple oneword domain names are either gone or tremendously expensive. So if you think the name Paradigm or Pinnacle is cool those names were probably registered about the time Al Gore invented the internet. You will have to do better than this. If you insist on using a common name of this type then look for endings to go with these names such as . . .
* Group * Inc * Agency * Systems * Global * Solutions
You may also try adding an industry specific modifier such as . . .
* Media * Medical * Tech * Capital
Even if these endings are available as a .com domain name be aware that a competitor might have used the same strategy and have a very similar name. Generally it’s better to go one step further and create a truly unique domain name that won’t show up with a slew of others. Here’s one way to do just that.
4. Combine evergreen words.
One of the best domain name creation strategies I’ve discovered is combining simple positive words in a unique fashion. To accomplish this create a list of basic words that describe your business or industry. Then try adding a positive connotation/evergreen word that will give the name that little extra twist to make it stand out. An example of this is a company that came to us that specialized in embossing and promotional goods. We took the basic word “Boss” from emboss and combined it with the evergreen word “Mark.” The result was BossMark.com a name that resonated well and was available as a .com domain. Other examples we have found using this method are KoreOne.com TeamLogicIT.com and BrightHire.com. Even though 100 million domain names have been registered it doesn’t touch the number of names available if you take every known word and combine it with every other possible word. The more basic dictionaries contain 60000 words. So combining 60000 words with a possible 60000 other words results in 3600000000 possibilities. So yes there are still good domain names available. Some good evergreen words are . . .
* Star * Mark * Point * First * Line
Not only will this open up possibilities it will allow you to track your company’s success online since you will have a unique name. When we created the name Coghead.com there were few if any references to that name on Google. The client was then able to monitor their exposure simply by looking at the number of matches on a search of their name. As of this writing Coghead brings up 345000 hits a good indication the word is getting out. A search of the word “summit” brings in 73000000 unrelated matches so imagine trying to get noticed using that name.
5. Think of phrases.
This is another strategy that is often overlooked. In a rush to come up with short domain names memorable phrases get overlooked. An example of this was an online jewelry company we named SeaOfDiamonds.com. By using the metaphor of an ocean we created a thirteen letter domain name that is still easy to say and recall. And the name was just sitting there available. Does this require a lot of thinking and digging? Yes! But if you hit upon the right name it’s worth it. Another client with the name Harbour House Crabs found the phrase ilovecrabs.com and secured that domain as their primary ecommerce site. If you can’t find a word then try a phrase that pays.
6. Invent new names.
Another method is to invent names but be careful. Totally invented names such as Xerox or Kodak start off with no inherent meaning. So if you invent a domain name still try to use familiar parts of speech that contain some sense of feeling or emotion upon which to build your brand. An allnatural bug spray company we named Skedattle.com. A web based IT company we branded Graynium.com to underscore their intelligence and insights. A knowledge management firm we named Claricent.com for bringing clarity insight and understanding to their clients. If you go this route make sure the name you invent can only be spelled one way or on a minimum capture all possible misspellings of the name and redirect them to the main domain name.
7. Run a legal search.
Once you locate an available domain name be sure to check and see if you can trademark it. The best place to start is http://www.uspto.gov. There you will find a database of trademarks you can search to see if your new name might conflict with a similar existing business. Just because it doesn’t show up does not mean you are in the clear. There might be a business that operates on a state or local level that doesn’t appear in the uspto.gov database. So do a Google search as well. This will generally provide a good indication if someone is using the name or something similar to it. To make sure you have a clear name check your list of available domain names with your attorney or an online trademark company such as http://Tmexpress.com.
8. Hire a specialist.
If your time is valuable or you can only find domain names with huge price tags consider hiring a naming firm. They can provide the experience and expertise to devise names often for less than the cost of purchasing a mediocre domain name. I’ve encountered more than one instance where a client was prepared to pay upwards of 20000 for names that were bland at best when they could have a custom created domain name with a matching tag line and logo artwork for about half the price. Instead of just a domain name you’ll have an entire brand identity. Granted not everyone can afford this type of help; but for those looking to build a substantial internet presence the expense is often well worth the price.
8.5 Make the decision.
This really doesn’t warrant a full step since it seems obvious. But in the end it simply comes down to a choice. And to move forward in business you have to make choices. Don’t be paralyzed by indecision. Review the steps above and ask the opinions of those who have your best interest at heart i.e. your best clients trusted employees a spouse. Limit the feedback to those whose opinions you value otherwise you will get overwhelmed and confused. In the end it must be a name that you believe in and about which you can tell a story and feel passionate. And once you find that perfect domain name all that’s left is making a name for yourself!
About the writer: Phillip Davis is president and founder of Tungsten Branding company naming consultants located near Asheville NC. Phil and his team have assisted over 200 regional national and international corporations with business and product branding strategies. To view his company naming portfolio visit http://www.PureTungsten.com
