Does Google Support Content Theft?

Everyone seems to hate Google these days. But for different reasons. Aaron Wall says they are in cahoots with the content thieves.

We all know Google isn’t perfect. That’s no question. But is it evil? I think it depends on how you define evil. Content theft is a serious issue, but is Google the problem?

Before we make Google the problem let’s consider that much of the search engine does is based on its algorithm. (This is what determines the positioning of a web page…good to know for your long term search engine optimization efforts:o)

An algorithm is a robot, a machine (or represents the machine). And machines are by nature amoral, not immoral. Amoral. That puts them in neutral territory. But that doesn’t absolve them of the responsibility for condoning content theft - if indeed they do.

The issue involves your robots.txt. If you tell Google not to crawl your content and someone else has scraped it, that isn’t Google’s fault. Google can’t tell that your content is original if it appears on another website while your robots.txt told Google not to crawl your content on your own site. Remember, it’s a machine. It doesn’t think. It just does what it’s told. But Google should still seek a solution for dealing with the content thieves. Perhaps somewhere outside its algorithm!

SEO: Crafting Good Title Tags For SEO and Clickability By John Buchanan (c) 2007

It's amazing to me, the number of people who still do not take proper advantage of the power of the title tag. The title tag, is arguably THE most important on-page factor in SEO (and much more as you'll soon learn).

If you happen not to be too versed in HTML coding I'll explain what the title tag is.

The title tag is found within the and tags of a webpage. It's format is as follows: “Your Page Title Here”

The title tag is important for two very simple reasons.

1. The title of the page is given an enormous amount of weight by the search engines. It always has and it always will. It's of less importance today than it was 6 or 7 years ago, but it is still the most important on-the-page factor a page has. After all, it's sole purpose is to describe the page so it *should* be considered important.
2. The title tag is also used as the anchor text of your listing in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). When someone visits a search engine and runs a search for one of your products, if one of your pages comes up in that search, it is the title tag that the visitor will see (along with a short description) and be able to click on to visit that page.

The problem is a LOT of webmaster's simply don't understand or make proper use of the title tag. Instead of name the page using keywords relevant to that specific page, they use their company name, etc.

Unless you are FORD, GE, or some other multi-million dollar company you should NEVER have your company name or website name (unless it's an SEO'ed website name) in the title tag. Are people going to be searching for your company or website name or are they going to be searching for keywords related to your product or service?

Let's look at a quick example from a real search I ran earlier today:

So a ran a search for "lawn chairs" clicked to page number two and there sitting at #14 is a site with the title "Brookbend".

Now, this particular site actually has a LOT wrong with it, but for now we'll stick to the title tag, or lack-there-of as this particular site's title tag actually just said "Untitled Document". As a result, Google replaced that with the name from the URL which Google will often do when a webmaster does something stupid such as this. ;)

As I said, this particular listing was the 14th listing for "lawn chairs". That is actually VERY good considering it doesn't have a title tag. Imagine what it could have ranked if it had actually made use of the title tag? Possible using something along the lines of:

*Beautiful Outdoor Furniture, Lawn Chairs, Patio Tables*

Think they may have been able to achieve an even better rank? I would venture to say yes.

Now, there is also a second problem with their lack of a title tag and that is that their listing in the search engine is simply "Brookbend". I don't know about you, but if I'm looking for "lawn chairs" I'm probably not going to click on a listing that just says "Brookbend". For one reason, it doesn't contain either of the search terms I used in the title. For another thing, it isn't very "clickable".

You see, a title tag should do two things. It should incorporate that pages most important phrases and it should make someone want to click on it. You will notice in my above example, for the title I used "Beautiful Outdoor Furniture... ". That is because, while I wanted the keywords in there, I also wanted it to read well and entice the surfer to click on it. After all, it doesn't do much good to get a top ranking if no one clicks on your listing.

So, when you are designing your pages always remember to:

1. Decide on what that pages target keywords are
2. Incorporate those keywords into the title tag of the page
3. Make sure the title tag is enticing enough to make the visitor WANT to click on it.

Do the above three consistently and you will see the results in no time.

See you at the top!

John Buchanan is a veteran search engine optimization specialist with over 9 years experience. For more information, visit his site at http://www.sesecrets.com or his newest site http://www.seovideoanalysis.com where he will provide you with a professional SEO Video Website Analysis of your site.

7 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid when Promoting your Business

Many people rush into business thinking it will be easy to run, but very soon they realize that it is not as easy as it looks. A successful business is a finely tuned machine. In order to keep your business running smoothly it is important to avoid making mistakes.

Here are the 7 most common mistakes to avoid:

1. Not having clear objectives:
Many business people start a business without clear objectives. They fail to set realistic goals for their marketing and consequently set themselves up for failure. It is important to make a list of goals and objectives based on a quarterly time line. If you do not have company goals and objectives you are like a car driving without a road map. Make sure all employees are briefed on company objectives. When your employees are not properly prepared you will not be able to achieve company objectives.


2. Neglecting to analyse your potential customers
Neglecting to analyse your potential customers is a dangerous mistake. It can lead to many problems. When you do not analyse your customers wants and needs you do not know what products and services to develop for them. This will lead to targeting the wrong market and neglecting to understand your own niche market. It is important for any business to do their marketing analysis so that you can target your market and maximise your sales.

3. Not testing:
By not testing your sales copy and places you advertise with split testing your advertising, you will be losing sales. Split testing is simple to do but many businesses fail to do this. This results in a lot of wasted time and effort. If you do not test your ad copy and marketing promotions you will not have a proper idea of the ads and promotions that are pulling and what is not working. It is simple to do by placing 2 ads for the same product in a publication or website etc. You can then see which one is performing the best.

4. Not budgeting:
Budgeting is extremely important in business. Your business should never run out of money. This is especially true with your marketing and advertising ventures. It is important to have a monthly or quarterly budget for your marketing. Within that budget put aside money for each promotion you will be doing. Start small, test and then build on successes. This will allow you to always stay solvent and have enough for promotions.

5. Giving up too soon:
Companies go out of business at an alarming rate these days. One of the reasons is that the owners give up too soon. Just when success might be just around the corner they give up and decide to close the business down. In exactly the same fashion marketing promotions can fail. You need to give your promotions at least 3 months before you decide to scrap them. Some promotions will take longer than others to bring results. As always, test all marketing tactics before you launch a larger promotion. Patience is one of the hallmarks of business and you need to implement it.

6. Poor sales copy:
How often have you wanted a product but when you read the sales page you had serious doubts? Poor unprofessional ad copy will cost you sales. In fact without good sales copy you will not be able to sell effectively at all. It is critical to your business to get this right. If necessary get an experienced copywriter to do this. It is worth the investment, as you will see returns when you make sales.

7. Not screening your employees carefully:
To handle the extra load for the Christmas season you will need to hire new employees. It is very important not to rush into this. There is no dearth of people needing employment but you need to screen them carefully before hiring. One rude customer service agent can cost you customers. Do not take this type of risk. You want to preserve the integrity of your company at all times and screening employees is the way to achieve this. You will then be able to build a core of loyal professional employees that will be an asset to the company.

The golden rule is to diversify. You should always use multiple forms of marketing promotions in your business. Do not just do one or two promotions and then wait for results. This will slow company growth and your business will stagnate. The last thing you need is to slow your marketing in the Christmas season. So remember to diversify and enjoy the increase in sales.

By avoiding these mistakes you will take your company to the success you deserve. You will be able to have year round success for your business and really be able to cash in on the Christmas season. So plan ahead and be careful not to make these common mistakes.

About the Author: Sean McPheat is a leading authority marketing consultant and helps businesses across the UK, Europe, US and the Middle East. Sean's marketing services include direct mail, internet marketing, sales copy, sales training, telemarketing, PR and strategic alliance marketing.