SEO — search engine optimization — is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” listings on search engines. All major search engines have such listings, where web pages, web sites and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid search ads.
For those new to SEO, an excellent starting place is Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.” This is a free, PDF download that covers basic tips that Google provides to its own employees on how to get listed. You’ll find it here.
Of course, there’s much more to SEO than what’s just covered in Google’s guide. Further below are stories that cover all aspects of SEO from Search Engine Land. You can also drill down into specific areas such as Redirects & Moving Sites, Blocking Spiders, Titles & Descriptions and much more. To see the full range of SEO categories like these, visit the Search Engine Land Library home page and scroll down to the SEO area.
In addition, Search Engine Land has search engine optimization areas specifically for each of the major search engines: Google SEO, Microsoft’s Bing SEO and Yahoo SEO.
Still need more? Search Engine Land also has a How To SEO section devoted to practical tips and tactics plus offers our 100% Organic column that covers search engine optimization issues each week.
Thoughts On Web Developers, SEO & Reputation Problems
Oct 19, 2009 at 5:46pm ET by Danny Sullivan
After last week's "Does SEO = Spam" debate erupted, I had a number of follow-up emails where I explained privately more about why SEO has such a bad reputation in some quarters, as well as what SEO is and isn't, from my perspective. I wanted to share some of that below.
Bad Advice Sucks: From SEOs Or Web Developers
I can completely understand the frustration people can feel when they hear SEO advice from someone positioning themselves as a "professional" that seems to be all about tricking search engines. As someone who has been preaching good, content-driven SEO since 1996, I also encou [...]
Filed in: Features: Analysis, SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: General, SEO: General, Top News
Sorry, Yahoo, You DO Index The Meta Keywords Tag
Oct 14, 2009 at 2:31pm ET by Danny Sullivan
Oh, that this weren't true. Last week, Yahoo made news by disclosing that it had quietly dropped support for the meta keywords tag. As a long time hater of that tag and the insane questions it has produced, I was thrilled! But today, I see conclusively that Yahoo still supports the tag.
The test was simple. I placed a unique word in the meta keywords tag on the home page of Search Engine Land. This word -- xcvteuflsowkldlslkslklsk -- generated no results on Yahoo when I looked earlier this week. Today, when I searched, it brought back the Search Engine Land home page. Thus, Yahoo indeed ind [...]
Filed in: Features: General, Microsoft: Bing SEO, SEO: Tagging, SEO: Titles & Descriptions, SEO: Writing & Body Copy, Top News, Yahoo: SEO
SEO FAQ That’s Not From The Land Of Unicorns
Oct 13, 2009 at 7:06pm ET by Danny Sullivan
I guess Derek Powazek isn't done with attacking SEO. Now he's published an SEO FAQ page which, sorry, really doesn't provide much FAQ about SEO. So what the heck. I'll deconstruct it. Be sure to also read my previous post, An Open Letter To Derek Powazek On The Value Of SEO.
What's SEO?
First, any good FAQ ought to define what the subject is, right? So what's SEO? Turns out, we have an SEO page here on Search Engine Land that explains this succinctly.
SEO — search engine optimization — is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or [...]
Filed in: Features: General, SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: General, SEO: General
An Open Letter To Derek Powazek On The Value Of SEO
Oct 13, 2009 at 4:23pm ET by Danny Sullivan
Derek Powazek launched an attack on SEO yesterday that really said nothing that others haven't ranted about before. I've responded to many of these attacks over the years in hopes of educating people about mistaken assumptions. I've largely given up. But I figured this time I'd give it another go with some personal illustrations I've encountered recently.
In particular, rather than do an article to counterbalance Derek's post, I started to write him a private email. But as I composed that, I felt it might better illustrate to everyone why SEO is indeed a legitimate form of marketing [...]
Filed in: Features: General, SEM Industry: Community, SEM Industry: General, SEO: General, Top News
See What Googlebot Sees On Your Site
Oct 13, 2009 at 4:01pm ET by Vanessa Fox
Google Webmaster Tools has just launched a "labs" section, where you'll find new features that may be early in the development cycle and not quite as robust as the rest of the tools. The features available so far are Fetch as Googlebot, which lets you see exactly what Googlebot is served when it requests a URL from your server and Malware Details, which shows you malicious code snippets from your site if it's been flagged as containing malware.
Fetch as Googlebot
Of most interest to webmasters, SEOs, and web developers is likely the Fetch as Googlebot feature. You can specify any URL on [...]
Filed in: Google: Webmaster Central, SEO: Cloaking & Doorway Pages, SEO: Redirects & Moving Sites
Become a Premium Member and see all articles in our SEO - Search Engine Optimization archives!
Premium Members get unrestricted access to all archives - and more! Premium membership details below...
Become A Search Engine Land Premium Member
Gain insider access to the industry's leading online publication, covering the latest search engine news, in-depth features and analysis of products, technologies and search trends.
Subscribe as a premium member today and you'll get:
- Unlimited access to news & How To articles.
- Exclusive videos & webinars with search experts.
- Expanded community profile & posting privileges.
- Discounts to SMX Conferences & Events.
- 30 Day money back guarantee.
FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!
Stay on top of all the search news with our daily summary, the SearchCap newsletter. View a sample ›
STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.
SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »
Join us at an upcoming SMX event:
- SMX West - March 2-4, 2010
- SMX Munich - March 23-24, 2010
- SMX Toronto - April 8-9, 2010
- SMX Sydney - April 22-23, 2010
- SMX Advanced London - May 17-18, 2010
- SMX Advanced Seattle - June 8-9, 2010
- SMX East - October 4-6, 2010
- SMX Stockholm - October, 2010
Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include:
- PPC Advertising & Geo-Targeting - November 12, 2009
- Making Online Marketing Relevant and Responsive: Tactics and A Tool for Success - November 17, 2009
- Ask the Search Engines: War Stories from the World Tour - December 1, 2009
TRACK US SOCIALLY
- Wall Street Journal Recommended Reading
- Ad Age Power 150 Blog
- Technorati Top 100 Blog
- Techmeme Leaderboard Source
- Best Search Engine Community/Forum
Featured sites from our Blogroll
© 2009 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Google, Yahoo & Microsoft logos trademark respective companies and used with permission.
