Search Engine Optimization Purpose of Pinging-in plain English

I get asked occasionally from Search Engine Optimization clients about my recommendation that they “ping” Google after each addition of content to their site. “Why do I need to do that after each post or page?” “How do I do it?’

With WordPress as your blogging platform or website CMS, pinging could not be simpler, but first the WHYs… Let’s start with the obvious ones. It get’s your site indexed in Google and other search engines quickly. Simple as that. Many’s the time that I have optimised a post for search engines and published it, followed by a “ping” and the page was indexed almost immediately and post ranked in Google almost that fast.

It is eery the first time you do it. Magical the second time. Downright addictive after that.

But there is a better reason. You may have heard of “scraper sites” - -sites that “scrape” your post and then put it on your blog. Here’s a test: Put a post up on your blog and wait for a couple of weeks. Go to copyscape and SEE where it has gone on the web. You will see at least a couple of copies of it floating around.

Search engines’ only way to determine WHOM to credit with the original ownership of the page is the first one that they have found (or indexed). Being first helps assure your ownership. You would be surprised how quickly other sites grab your content.

There are the WHYs…a couple of pretty doggone good Search Engine Optimization reasons to “ping” after each post. Fortunately in WordPress, the how is a piece of cake. I use a plugin called Sitemap Generator that generates a new sitemap (taking into account my latest post) AND it pings all in one step. This gives me everything I need in one click of the button. Download the plugin and install it in the usual way, with the files under Content - Plugins. Activate it and you are SET.

First, I finish the post and publish it. Then I go to the OPTIONS menu in WordPress. After activation, there will be a menu item under options called “Sitemap”. Click on that and click the “Manual Rebuild” button.

Pretty simple huh?

Posting to your blog or adding pages to your website should be a process of lather-rinse-repeat. Post great content - Publish - Ping.

For other practical insights on how to Simply and Effectively get to where you want to be on the search engines with a WordPress blog or WordPress based Website, feel free to contact us. The form on the upper right hand corner of this page will work just fine.

Thoughts from others on pinging?

Yahoo lays off hundreds, the librarian wins again.

With the news breaking this morning that Yahoo will reportedly layoff hundreds in an effort at retaining profitability. WOW. What caused this, in an industry that is generating a stagggering increase year after year in advertising revenue? How can you have layoffs in such a great environment?

Here’s my take:

This is a CLASSIC example of a large company losing focus. I mean sure, we are a search engine, but we are a portal, I mean, but we are free email, I mean  but we are all about connecting people. WHAT?? They didn’t really WIN at any of those other things before attempting to expand.

Meanwhile, the librarian (Google), has focused primarily on being a search engine. Look at their website. (Yeah, that’s all Google is is a website…but they have become a VERB…you Google something.) Their interface is clean and simple. Want something? Google it. We’ll give it to you FASTER and MORE RELEVANT. Spot on what you need and when you need it.

Meanwhile Yahoo has been beleiving the hype of their own marketing campaigns that 2nd place is good enough. It isn’t in today’s internet.

But you say, well…Google has added many other companies as well (YouTube, etc.). They puchased DOMINANT entities that have created VALUE that have SYNERGY with their MAIN focus –being a search engine. Subtle, but critical difference.

FOCUS is the key. Google, as librarian to the world has succeeded in providing the best and most relevant answers to Title, Subject and Author related queries and has won the hearts and minds of consumers in the process.

Yahoo is neither a great librarian, nor a great email platform, etc, etc…Jack of all trades and master of none.

There’s a lesson to be learned there with online marketing. Focus. Focus. Focus. Find a niche and DOMINATE it. Just my opinion.

SOUTHERN INDIANA WEBSITE and Search Engine Optimization SALE!

Southern Indiana Web Works is going to grow in 2008! More importantly, our goal is to grow with LOCAL websites. One of the ways to get more people to try our great websites, blogs, forums, hosting, SEO and all the other great services we offer is to lower the price!

 From now until Valentine’s Day, we will be offering the following:

Basic Websites for Southern Indiana Small Businesses:     $400

Basic Hosting:                                                                            FREE with website purchase

Upgraded Hosting: (call us and ask if you need this)           $20 per month

Basic SEO Phone Consultation (first half hour):                   FREE

Custom SEO Consultation:                                                       $75.00 per hour

Custom Website Development Hours:                                  $75.00 per hour

(custom SEO Consultation and Website development must be purchased by Valentine’s day to get this credit…). You can use them WHENEVER you want, but they MUST be purchased BEFORE Valentine’s or they are at our usual price.

To answer a couple of questions before they get asked…Yes the websites are for Southern Indiana locally (OK–we’ll do the same thing for Louisville…if you insist–grin).  Yes, hosting is FREE for those websites, but that is limited and some websites may need to go to upgraded hosting. Contact us and we will let you know.

Custom SEO consulting and Website development do NOT just apply to Southern Indiana, but must be PURCHASED in advance.

Happy 2008!

Greater Clark County School Board - $99 MM spending plan needs more input

I try to avoid political issues, but I find myself hard pressed to explain what the Greater Clark County School Board is up to. They have the authority to spend $99 Million to renovate an aging Jeffersonville high school. You’d think that they would seek input from everywhere.

The school board has instead opted to get far less input than needed, cutting the cost down for the project by NOT renovating the fine arts wing of the high  school. But that is not what irks me. I can respect differences of opinion about where money is spent. I cannot respect the following:

They did not let the affected teachers in the arts wing know that they would be part of the “alternate” plan and would be cut out of the base budget until after the base budget was in place. How conVEEENient.

They did not post details of the base bid online on their website for public comment in a timely manner at all. This is 2008. You are teaching our kids about computers and yet your latest posted material in some cases is May 2006?? Huh?

School board members.. meetings at 2:00pm or 5:00pm are not the kind that will get public input. I’d encourage you to have more meetings when parents can attend.

Bottom line: You are spending $99 million on renovating a high school. There ARE going to be tough decisions made. Some folks will be upset. But they will be less upset if you allow us some input into the decision.

In for a change? Want to sell your domain?

Southern Indiana web works has clients looking for local domains in a variety of industries. Domains have value. If you are closing down a shop, shifting to a new line of work, retiring, or otherwise in for a change, your website and its domain can have value to others. Here are a few tips to keep your domain value as high as possible:

1. Don’t let it expire- It has value. Many sales professionals (insurance, mortgage, real estate, etc) let their domains expire and needlessly throw away much of their value. It is like bending a baseball card can remove much of it’s value.
2. Plan ahead to sell it– It may be worth a little or a lot. The difference is often in PLANNING and taking time to find the RIGHT people to sell it to. Southern Indiana Web Works can help. We will happily offer free appraisals of your domains value and show you EXACTLY what adds value to your domain and who would be best to sell it to.
3. Avoid hustlers and shysters- There are a lot of people out there buying domains. Did you know that? You need to talk to experts and not simply take the first thing you are told as the gospel truth. Respectable people in the world of websites will be happy to give you a list of others to check with on the value of your domain.
4. Don’t be dissapointed if the value is less than you thought–you can increase it’s value and then sell it!! Unlike baseball cards, you can actively build the value of your domains! Want to know how? Give us a call, we will be happy to consult with you! The time to get started on this is NOW.

Network Solutions - Holding Domain Ideas for Ransom

So you are thinking about building a website or two. You go to Network Solutions and look up some domain names. But then you look around and decide to register them elsewhere and they are not available? WHAT!!!!????

Network Solutions (as reported in several places on the web–Like Here. ) is temporarily buying those domain names and FORCING you to buy them FROM them at 3 X the money! Talk about anti-competitive.

If indeed it is true and it seems to be since they themselves have called it a “security measure”…It is time to BOYCOTT them. The answer is simple. Search for your domains elsewhere. Any other registrar is fine.

In my opinion, Network Solutions’ move is LOW CLASS and we need to vote with our feet. Security measure my eye….this is a revenue grab plain and simple. They say it is to stop “Domain Tasting”. Ye, tasting IS a problem. No, I don’t participate in domain tasting. And No. This isn’t the solution.

This is simply a way for this overpriced company to charge unsuspecting searchers who are looking for possible domains much more money.

Just my opinion.

Eric

Todd Kaufman Assessor - online reputation management in reverse

Todd Kaufman Loudon County Virginia just screwed up big time. I have never met Todd Kaufman. I have never been to Loudon County. I am not from Virginia. But I am in the business of online reputation management and I can tell you already, his mistake(s) could be career threatening.

That having been said, let’s learn from them. First off, Mr. Kaufman disagrees with post made by a local REALTOR on their blog. Does he engage and correct what he perceives to be the error? No. Does he call the person and ask to talk with them as he might if a reporter mis=reported something No. As reported in several real estate blogs, including here–what Todd Kaufman did was fire off a written assault on the REALTOR and threaten him with lawsuits and letters to his broker and NAR and anyone else he can name.

I hope you enjoyed your arrogant tirade as you tried to silence a blogger Todd. Now you get to pay the price. You see this thing called freedom of speech–it applies to bloggers as well as newpapers. And Todd, you now get a sideline seat to watch them take you on…yeah even ones like me who don’t know who you are, Todd Kaufman. You do not get a free pass to threaten those who disagree with you. If you try to intimidate a person from expressing their opinion, you make the problem worse. The world has changed and it is bigger than your ego.

And to think…all you had to do was comment on this blogger / REALTOR’s post and you could have actually ENHANCED your online reputation. Now you did it in REVERSE.

Let’s look at the results:

Google the following

Todd Kaufman

Todd Kaufman Assessor

..and several other choice Keywords…

This is truly how NOT to do it.