Number of CMS platforms like Drupal and WordPress have nofollow link attribute integrated in them, which makes it one of the most usual and consistent outbound links recently in use. Many webmasters believe there is no need to obtain or track the nofollow link.

Now, the Big Question “?”

Does the rel=nofollow link indicates PR (Page Rank), successive page value and rankings?

The answer to the above question is yes for page value and rankings.

Nofollow link works as a medium of link discovery for Google. Anchor text and internal navigations are the other degrees with which Google uses its algorithm to calculate links. Google never overlooks the anchor text used in a nofollow link. The search engine also keeps in mind whether the website that is linked from this nofollow link is reputed or not.

The nofollow links may affect the rankings. At places where there are few ranking signals to make use of, nofollow links are worthy. Google uses these nofollow links to search for organic linking patterns, enhance conviction and match them with uncapped links (if any). The search engine also uses it know if it could believe anchor text in true links, in case it is duplicated in nofollow links.

The nofollow links might not be the sole determiner of making a site rank higher in but definitely has a role to play in importance of ranking keywords.

You Know… I need to thank you for all the work you and your team have completed for the many websites I have requested you to SEO (Search Engine Optimize).

Every single website I gave you to work on has gained a front page in Google for the key words I requested. (Might I add not all of the key words were easy to rank on page one for either).

Here’s the BIG problem I had since becoming a full time internet marketer… I used many cheaper SEO companies previously (23 companies to be exact) but not one of them delivered the kind of results you and your team have delivered. At the end of the day it is all about results and you guys delivered the greatest. I guess you really do get what you pay for.

What’s the lesson here? Invest a little more to achieve the best results. If not you may never see a front page listing in Google, Yahoo or MSN at all… No front page means no money!

Well the good news is that both I and my many clients are ALL super pleased and I am totally confident when I say “I highly recommend Sunita and her Company” to achieve top listings in the search engines for your company too.

I recommend you do, if you want to stay one step ahead of your competition.

Hence you can say that now the job of a webmaster or search engine optimization has increased to a status where we should call it “Web-strategist”.

But why should we call search engine optimization process more or less web-strategy rather than calling it SEO, what are the changes that compelled us to think this way. With this article we have come up with our own experience about what makes us think this line of search engine optimization. So, let’s discuss those changes one by one and here we go.

Panda Update: Panda is the latest update rolled out by Google in last few months. This has created nightmares among search engine communities and even websites like Hub-pages, ezinearticles.com, e-how those used to rank high in the SERPs have been pushed down along the SERP ladder.

With this Google is frowning up on duplicate contents and content farmers. A single line of duplicate content may create nightmares for webmasters as they are not going to tolerate this behavior.

To achieve this Google has created a filter known as “Quality Raters” in its content processing mechanisms. Quality raters are human and not machine who segregate and sort good quality contents with bad quality.

Fig: Google quality raters

Once the contents are given rating by quality raters then they are ranked by machine. So, if your website is static and you are not updating your website with new and fresh content, stop there! You need to rethink. Or if you are farming contents then it is not going to work anymore. This is one of the greatest changes brought out by Google in last few years.

Inclination of search engines towards social media: Search engine like Google is no-longer dependent on the signals and metrics from publisher. In-fact these metrics and signals have been so abused and manipulated by users that compelled Google to move towards user generated signals and metrics. For example if your content is getting more traction in the social media space and people are sharing your content in social channels you are likely to be appraised by Google. Each comment, each face-book like, each tweet, and each +1 will be considered as vote and if you can manage to get all this you will rank high, even if you have not done proper on-page optimization.

Google Vince updates: However it is not confirmed whether Vince update was rolled out by Google or not still there is apperception among webmasters that Google is a bit biased towards brands compared to generics. Means Google has designed and adopted its search algorithm in such a manner that it ranks brands higher than generics. So brands which are already established in the market are getting an edge from Google which is a factor of concern for webmasters. Because most of the clients we work upon are new comers or start-ups and hence that have to struggle a lot while ranking their website high in the search engines.

Local search and mobile search getting more traction: With the advent of high generation mobile technologies and handheld devices Local search is gaining more traction from users. The higher demand of local search have compelled overwhelming increase in local search /web portals like Google maps, Bing maps, Yelp, City search, urban spoon and Foursquare. Businesses which are targeting local market need to be optimized differently from those who intend to market across globe. So, webmasters need to be more conscious about search engine optimization and the same strategy may not be worth it for these two searches.

Fig: Google maps.jpg

One thing that is very clear by aforementioned discussions is that each and every activity that you are doing on the online world is going to have an impact on your overall search ranking. Gone are those days when you are painstakingly working on your meta tags and asking for link exchange. The above changes show that webmaster should now work as a web-strategist and not merely a search engine optimizer.

Domains

When it comes to start doing things in a right way, it begins with domain selection. When you are targeting a specific location, it’s better to choose a domain accordingly or go for .com. For example if you are targeting UK go for .co.uk. For all these things to be done properly we need a TLD (top level Domain) with right domain extension for each country you are targeting. This is more complicated than one might think. There are many countries which put a condition that you should have a physical business location in the same country before getting a LTD.

If you are trying to rank the most relevant search result for search engine ‘LTD’ should be considered. If you are searching being in U.S.A on google.us, Google figures more better results than google.com.

Hosting

Only few companies consider hosting as important factor and they hire unique hosting services, while other just choose any host provider.

As per Search Engine Algorithms they look at host location (IP) of websites to offer the most relevant result for the searcher.

So, you should host your unique LTD in that particular Country. If you are targeting U.S.A. go for .us and host it within U.S.A.

Content

Content is single and the largest issue I came across till day. If you are going to operate globally then does not waste time and effort to localize your content to country wise… The search engine is devoted to deliver relevant result.

These are few factors mentioned above, and I will come back with rest soon.

1. Take a Close Look on Your Link Profile: It has become essential for you to take a look on your link profile. Majority of links from low quality websites are definitely going to hurt you, irrespective of the fact that you are providing useful and relevant contents to your users. You also need to give importance to anchor text link. Don’t overuse it. Always limit anchor text linking. Majority of links to your websites need to come from a domain having high authority and good standing in the eyes of Google. Moreover, all links – inbound or outbound – need to add value to the user.

2. Target Quality Links: Penguin was a Google message to those webmasters who were trying to gain link juices through unethical practice. That is now history as you are required to work on quality linking policy. But, what are quality links? Following are some indicators of quality links:

- It is coming from respected websites or authentic contents.

- The link exists on those pages which are already linked by many other good websites.

- The basic reason behind link is ultimately adding value to the contents

- Links are there within the content itself

- Links are not directing to the same page for multiple times

It may seem to be tough requirements, but it is what you need to have in the new milieu.

Quality links are not only essential in terms of SEO, but it can help you make a long list of loyal followers which is going to be essential elements in the coming months. Make sure that links are generating real traffic for your content, helping your website to make a brand, and adding some value to your content.

3. Crawling and its path: It is important for big websites to mind the crawling nature of their website. Always ensure that your whole website is being crawled by Google and other major search engines. Further, you are also required to mind duplicate contents.

Recently Google has recommended that webmasters should not use Robotx.txt file for duplicate content. They should rather allow bots to crawl duplicate content and let them know about the nature of contents through the use of rel=”canonical”.

4. Don’t play with your URL: It is a common practice among webmasters to change the URL. The reasons are varied like new content management system, new software, new design, or even new applications. But, remember it may create serious implications for you. Though 301 redirect is a legit way for it, but still you are going to lose little bit of Page Rank juice. It may also leads to lots of 404s which will hurt your reputation in the eye of Google. Further, Facebook and Twitter don’t recognize 301 redirect. Hence your no. of likes and retweets will go down to zero nullifying your previous social media efforts.

These are top four considerations you can make to remain safe from any Google Updates. In the end, what matters is playing safe without compromising with your aggressiveness in the internet marketing. Making sure that you are going to provide some impeccable experience to users will go a long way.

Following are some of the most important SEO myths

1. No follow links: Google had introduced ‘no follow’ links in 2005 to counter web spammers. Many websites, forums are using it. You can also find lots of blogs with their commenting system having ‘no follow’ link rule. It helps them to reduce spams. Google doesn’t consider ‘no follow links’ in the computation of the Page Rank. Later, webmasters also started to ignore websites and forums with ‘no follow’ link policy. This is in fact a myth. The latest major update of Google (Penguin) has shown the importance of ‘no follow’ links. If your website is only linked on ‘do follow’ webpages, Google can consider that as a web spam. Why? Because it gives an indication to Google that majority of your backlinks is ‘un natural one’. It is tough to imagine a website having lots of back links only from ‘do follow’ websites. Additionally, some ‘no follow’ backlinks can give you lots of visitors which can enhance the reputation of your website in the eye of search engine algorithms. Remember algorithms do check ‘no follow’ links. It can even help them to find your webpage easily. Don’t avoid a good online place for the promotion of your website just because it has a ‘no follow’ policy.

2. Social Media: This is another major myth about SEO. Though almost all webmasters consider social media important for the purpose of getting web traffic, but few think it as a potent weapon for SEO. The reality is something different. Social media has changed the way people interact on the internet. Search engines can’t ignore this fact. In fact, they are giving importance to social media indicators. Google and Bing have specifically mentioned about it. To gain from wide social media presence for SEO purpose, you need to build your authority. Search engines algorithm check the authority of users who share contents. This way they can stop fake profiles from trying to game the algorithm. Build yourself a social media authority, engage with other authority users and you can expect better search rankings for you contents. You can also get better SERP through Google, if you have linked contents with your Google+ profile page.

3. The Importance of Meta Tags: Many SEO experts still profess for providing keyword rich Meta tags. As a matter of fact, Meta tags are no more used by search engines for the purpose of ranking. It has been severely abused by many professionals in the past, and hence, search engine algorithms started to just ignore it. Don’t stuff Meta tags with keywords. Two Meta tags which you still need to consider are TITLE tag and Meta description. You need to prudently use title tag for SEO. Place the primary keywords in the Title tag. It can help crawlers to understand contents more efficiently. Using short, descriptive, and attractive Meta description is also important. Though, it is not helpful for SEO purpose, but still it can help to enhance click through rate of your website through search results. Generally, Search engines show Meta description below the link of your website in the search result. A good Meta description can make a difference here as visitors can click to check your website.

4. Google Page Rank: It is another ubiquitous SEO myth. You need to remember, Page Rank has nothing to do with the rank of your website in search result. You can check it for any keywords. You can find many low PR websites outranking higher PR sites. You are still required to try for a better PR, but don’t base your SEO success on it only. It is just a visible thing which anyone can check. Don’t assume that Google will rank a website on the base of such an open stuff. It is just a factor among more than two hundred factors Google use for ranking purpose. The crux of the matter is, try to enhance the PR of your website without considering it the most important factor for SEO.

5. Keyword Density: There is no co-relation between keyword density and search ranking. Newbies in the world of internet marketing consider it important to stuff keywords in the content to get more organic traffic. The reality is something different. Never do it. It is not going to help you. Rather in the age of smarter and efficient search engine algorithms, your website can get penalized for keyword stuffing. There is no rule for keyword density. But, you need to ideally limit it below 2%. Remember content is the king. If you can publish useful, informative, and easy-to-comprehend contents, it will automatically start to more organic traffic.

These are five important search engine myths you need to avoid. Google and other major search engines always welcome SEO since ultimately it helps to make a website user friendly. However, you need to avoid anything which is against the guidelines of these search engines.

Keeping users in mind can help you to optimize your website in line with Google’s desire.