14 March 10

The most common question I get at grader.com is about how the Twitter Grader algorithm (and associated rankings) works.  Before we dig a bit into the details, it will help to understand the what before the how.  What Twitter Grader is trying to measure is the power, reach and authority of a twitter account.  In other words, when you tweet, what kind of an impact does it have?

Normally, we don’t like talking about the details of the Twitter Grader algorithm.  This is for the same reason that Google doesn’t like to talk about its algorithm: revealing details increases the degree to which people try to game the system.  So, lets approach the question from a different way.  If one were to look at data for a given user available in twitter, what kinds of things would one look at to determine whether that user had power, reach and authority?  Also, when looking at these various factors, it’s helpful to think about each of these in the “all other things being equal, what’s better” context.  Otherwise, it’s easy to get caught up into non-productive arguments on why a certain factor is or isn’t important, because there are so many cases that “prove” that it doesn’t matter.  Let me explain.  One of the factors that goes into measuring your Twitter Grade is the number of followers you have.  Many of you will argue that the number of followers is completely irrelevant because it’s so easy to game.  There are automated tools to do nothing but acquire followers by following a bunch of people.  That’s true.  It is easy to spike up your follower count.  However,  I would counter with this:  If we were looking at two different twitter users, all other things being equal (and I do mean all other things), the one with more followers is likely more powerful and deserves a higher twitter grade.  Of course, all other things are usually not equal and that’s why the Twitter Grade is interesting.

So, let’s go into the factors.  Note:  These are NOT in order of priority or weight (and they’re not all weighted equally — not by a long shot).

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13 June 09

There have been a couple of pretty interesting articles written this week that ask a legitimate (if not somewhat sensationalized) question: Does Google consider SEOs to be criminals?

SEOs being SEOs are, by definition, people who make a living trying to manipulate the results of search engines. Now, before you eat me alive here... I don't necessarily mean manipulate in a negative sense. But in many aspects 'optimization' and 'manipulation' are somewhat interchangeable terms. An SEO 'optimizes' a site in an attempt to enhance that site's search engine rank or placement. By moving a site in the results, you are, by definition, manipulating the results.

There is nothing wrong with that. There are lots of sites that aren't 'search engine friendly' and lots of sites that just do things 'wrong' that, when fixed, will notice an enhancement in their positioning for search queries relevant to their site. Search engines don't mind this. The existence of resources like Webmaster Central are a testament to this.

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10 June 09

Professional website developers know the importance of web design and the role it plays in making a website successful.

Designing a successful website is no easy task, especially for someone who is new to the world of web development. With the help of web development applications many people can and do create decent websites. But decent in most cases is not good enough to make a site successful from a traffic or financial standpoint.

There are five crucial components of web design that you must focus on in order to make a site valuable to its visitors and successful for you.

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16 March 2009

Zappos.com Inc. credits its novel Web 2.0-based sales philosophy for much of its significant sales growth -- and continuing profitability -- during the current hard times.

The online shoe and clothing store doesn't spend massive sums creating and implementing online or offline marketing and advertising campaigns, yet it still generates significant buzz among its current and potential customers.

How? Mostly through its heavy use of Twitter Inc.'s eponymous social network and, to a lesser extent, its use of tools from Web 2.0 providers like Facebook Inc.

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08 March 2009

Whether you are just starting a web design project, looking at revamping an existing site, or just wanting to double check the usability of your current web site you should consider these 7 Basics of Good Web Design.

These basics are aimed at new visitors/customers; your repeat customers will be judging your web site on different values. Just like wearing the appropriate clothes for a job interview, these basics will help you pick out the "look" of your web site so that you make a good first impression.

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Keywords: Web design, Good website design, standard website design practices

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03 March 2009

Christie asked the following:

I have been told that the only way to get site optimization is to get pay per clicks! I have been doing my own blogging but so far I have not seen much good. As well I was considering an autoresponder as well but I am told I need a list and purchasing lists I am told are not allowed to use. I am just working so hard on high site rankings. It is a lot of work that is for sure!

Just not so sure how long you have been working with SEO but felt I should write to see your insite on things. Take Care!

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21 February 2009

We've all done it at some point in our professional lives. We search a keyword that describes our business only to scratch our head as to how our competitor's website shows up on the top of the líst instead of ours. If you've gone one step further and read about Search Engine Optimization, then surely you have come across the conflicting information online.

One article tells you to do one thing while another tells you to do the opposite. Which one should you believe?

This gray area of what you should or should not do is much like the modern day "Bat Cave." If you are lucky enough to stumble upon it, chances are you don't quite know how you got there and if you had to go back one day you would probably just find yourself lost in the woods.

So what should you believe? The general rule is to combine what you read or heard with what you have experienced and somewhere in there lies the truth. To get you started, let's debunk some of the more commonly used myths floating around.

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Keywords: SEO, Search Engine Opimization, Myths, Meta Keyword Tag

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15 February 2009

I think this is, quite possibly, the most asked question by anyone starting out in this business or hitting a plateau even with their sites progression and development. Here are some ideas to consider when trying to get more traffic to your website. I suggest you test out methods and see which specific techniques work for your specific website because everyone’s sites works differently

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