346. Each week we meet here to answer the questions asked on the dumb SEO questions Facebook group with us tonight. We have masataka versa. Messy turkey is webmaster of Watson. Web net he’s also a Google product expert on the Adsense community. Tim kappa, o massacre. He is based in Wimbledon. A suburb of London.
Tim capper is about 100 miles north of London. He is Sierra online ownership. Calm he’s also a Google product expert on the Google. My business community, yeah tim jacoby, sorry, I’m saying Mike official Kershner, is director of SEO and content of turn rhythmic capital he’s also the president of a popular SEO. Meetup group, Silicon Valley, yeah about 6,000 miles west of London 6,000 miles west of London.
Is that fair enough? Do you think I don’t know, I just threw it out there. Alright, we’ve got 10 questions tonight. We’ve actually got more than 10, but we’re just getting back into after our three-week high itís getting back into the swing of things all right. Let’s look at the it’s titled: how to select suitable keywords. It’s from cameral Islam and camera says hello, everyone. I need some suggestions running regarding keyword, selection and how to find suitable keywords thanks in advance.
Well, suitable keywords will depend on your business. What what you specifically focus on, where do you spend the time essentially wanting to make money, will kind of determine essentially the type of keywords you’re going to want? It’s pretty broad. I think the question will come down to you know what kind of tool start through you are you looking for. I mean Google, Google, Adwords Keyword, planner, I’m not perfect without a paid search program.
We’ll give you kind of a set of terms that you can understand about. You know a range of what people were searching for online and give you general concepts of that. There are other tools like SEM rush. That will give you a bit more details and you can find kind of areas of which more specific numbers of what people are searching for and yeah assuming you’re. Looking at the search results for them, you can get an understanding of whether or not those terms are appropriate yeah to your business line, but that’s kind of just a quick way to to think about.
You know what term is going to be actually useful to your business. Thank You, Maya anybody else, there’s also ones which are free, which are quite quite useful. This it’s called answer the public. It’s now it depends on what your your main sort of keyword is or product that you’re going to add in to start with depends on what kind of answer you’re going to you know it sort of data you’re going to get from it normally pretty good.
They can normally come up. You know, even if it’s very vague, they can normally come up with a few ideas for you. You can split it down into questions and phrases, things like that and there’s a free tool. It’s it’s it’s pretty helpful and then what you can do is at the same time you can use those and bounce across to to add words to kind of you know, sort of fill you in a little bit more if you wanted to get actual numbers related To that but yeah, that’s that’s quite a you know, good selection to play around with thank you, Tim okay, let’s wrap that up for camera and let’s go to the next this one from SWAT.
Neil tides does web hosting effect the Google ranking of a website. If the web host doesn’t do a good job of actually hosting your site, that can definitely play a part in to affecting how you ain’t good, for example, if it’s not up all the time, if it’s yeah the servers are extremely slow, those are things that can Definitely affect the ranking of your website outside of a few of those things. For the most part, it’s not going to be hugely detrimental if you’re choosing between one kind of web hosting versus another yeah, but just like that still the case it might be fine, but certainly for around about ten years.
Godaddy was notorious for blocking the crawling of Googlebot and, of course, then Google would naturally drop those pages from its index and search most for it. Sir. You know they then turn it back on and, of course, the the owner of the website would not know why. He wasn’t performing all that. Well, it was just them that its performance was heretic but as a server and now, if that’s still the case, anybody fill us in okay, all right.
Let’s move on committed to number three on the run list, it’s from PIM Sandra and it’s team us how many articles should you have to increase organic rankings? 42? No, more, no less yeah! I think there were a few answers. Like my kiss, oh yeah yeah. I think in range from 17 upwards of 40 yeah look, I think, you’re looking at in the wrong way, in the sense that it’s not necessarily about a specific set number of articles.
You know if you’re going to if you’re going to write articles or you’ve got the you know, you’ve got. You know someone there on the team that can, you know, create content or whatever the case may be. I think you should, and it’s always good to to focus on the specific topics within whatever your site is product service whatever and to you know, focus on answer on all the prospective customer, stroked users, potential questions, queries, informational queries around those products or service or whatever The site may be proper, you know interlinking throughout the articles, segmenting it towards.
You, know your proper category and then towards the actual. You know the actual product or service on the site, those particular pages, and even then you know. Let’s just say you know. This is a brand new site. You don’t really have any links pointing to it. You haven’t really built up anything. You know you could talk on a hundred articles and it might you know, dial an evil a little bit. There’s this a lot more to it than just creating articles, but that is a really good way.
You know providing the information to customers or users for when they get there. It’s also a good way of catching them in between the purchasing stroke, research phase. So yeah. Definitely you want to be looking at that, but I think for you to just think I write articles to get this that’s kind of the wrong thinking. You need to understand why you’re going to be creating the content and what you’re intending the content to do.
You know you shouldn’t just be thinking content to rank. You should be thinking, I should be capturing they user or the customer. During that you know their research or their purchasing journey and the more times you start appearing to them, you creating that brand affinity along the way and then trusting what you’re saying you’re answering all the right things. They continually start seeing you for things around that product questions answers you know it doesn’t necessarily have to be also written content.
You know you can think YouTube. You know article may work better depending on what the service or product is and you’re building up, that brand affinity, making it a more more likely for them to use their product or service that their actual site offers, because you’ve built up that trust throughout the research Process that or the console you know the consumer journey that then they’re taking. So you know, yeah do you know, concentrate and invest in in sort of content, but don’t think of it is that how is it going to increase my rankings? Thank you Tim.
I think. We’ve world covered yeah. There was a lot of levity on answering that, because we’ve got to also consider that when we’re answering it is that the user or the person that’s answers the question. I should say that they have no idea whether you know they have no idea how funny yes Jim, but we also need a little bit of fun along the way. Fair enough. Micah was telling us to better, maybe see, helicopter.
If the city saw you in Trafalgar Square hanging on assets, you said the right pocket. I can neither confirm. Nor did I come Brown asked. The question he wants to know can SEO help your business. I wonder if he expected a negative answer from an well. It’s like yeah, it depends with what Tom um it’s like yeah. It really depends look. So if you are some hip trendy, up-and-coming, a fashion label pair of jeans right yeah, you’ve got your site.
You’ve got your products, you know, there’s kind of you know and as long as that, you know, if you had a developer that had the basic understanding of SEO. You know, let’s say for argument’s sake, that the probe that you, you know your site is probably set up. It’s you know it’s properly developed. You know images everything’s taken care of, so you haven’t then had to sort of in a sense, invest in as now and then because you’re, a hip and trendy sort of thing you know like for jeans or whatever your primary focus for the target market.
You think right we’re going to hit YouTube, Facebook and Instagram and do and maybe even tick, tock or whatever right, because it’s hip, it’s trendy, you can do like really cool article kind of stuff. Well that in a sense could probably drive the business for that model. To the the side and to purchase right so that necessarily wouldn’t be a CEO. Yes, they could, you know, help tie it all together, but in the sense you could take that out of this situation right, if you were looking at you know so the for me yeah, it surely can.
But what I’m saying is, it doesn’t always have to be just SEO and it can be portions of it. It can be, you know, part of it that can be as long as you know, all the different cogs work together as they’re intended and all the different pieces are are working. Then you know technically not but of course those other little aspects along the way to incorporate small pieces of SEO in terms of outreach, pushing out your content, making sure it’s found in the right places things like that.
So yes, it can. But I wouldn’t say it’s always an essential element depending on what the businesses. Thank you Tim, fantastic answer. Nobody wants to anything that do they. Okay next is number five. It’s from Joshua Wells, it’s on citations and ender, three listing for national SEO. Joshua said hey. I have a question: do you do citations and directory listings for national SEO, or is that just for local SEO? No, you can’t do it for national.
Also, in the sense that look, it’s still national is still based on an address. So therefore, technically it is still local, but you know if something was just a national company you’re still having to use an address with citation where it still makes a technically local, although it’s the head office, which serves that so national. So it’s a bit of yeah. You know defining that, but essentially yeah you can.
You can still do certainly for a head office or for a corporate brand. You can you can still do it normally, ordinarily, they wouldn’t, but there’s no harm in not you know, I don’t think Mike’s head office in London would go and do you know a handful of citations in Yale, and you know one one, eight or whatever the case May be, but it wouldn’t be a problem if they did so, it’s not going to, you know hinder, but ultimately it still just it still does boil down to two local in that sense, because in this, in the sense of local is with local and citations you’re.
Trying to reinforce online that business that business name at that address locally and that’s what you using these to reinforce it wouldn’t hinder, but it’s not going to be like some make-or-break thing, for you know a head office to to be listed in that excellent. Thank you. Tim well, I think that covers it. If there are no objections, I’ll move on okay number, six on our list is from Scott Clark.
Scott asked a question titled a large number of or often pages in a sitemap Scott said how severe is a lion’s number of often pages in a sitemap found during an audit. I’r assuming this is a cruel budget waster at the very least, but what else it was found on the prospects, not a client site. So I would really have a look at what this page is up, because I know some like like, for example, we commerce, depending on how its set up if a product is out of stock.
It blends that out of stock, it takes another, never get patient and, and they technically become offering pages from a auditing tools perspective, that’s what they kind of label it in, but it’s still, it’s still being. You know treated kind of correctly in that sense, so a large number in that instance wouldn’t be a problem because they come in start. There come out of stock and it makes sense the user to remove it out of the navigation and when it’s out of stock and then winner, the new stock comes in it comes back in so from that perspective, it’s it’s not an issue, but I’m guessing.
If that was when we say a large time, I don’t know what a large number, but you know if we talk in thousands here and they not being treated in that way coming in or going out, then yeah there could be an issue. I would probably look at tidying it up not from a sense of sort of a cruel budget, but I would I would want to tidy it up so that the search engine really understands what you’re doing if these things are just hanging about all over the place.
I would want to tidy it up from that sense if they’re not coming back or it’s just some weird kind of I don’t know. Sometimes you know some of some of them are like sometimes images attached to labels and stuff yeah, there’s all kinds of different different ways. It would appear, but I would say, depending on what they are, would be depending on how I’m trying to clean it up or yeah yeah opt to too long to it to cover here, but you should also look at the dumb SEO questions.
Facebook group there’s a there’s some very useful comments in for this question, all right. Let’s move on to the next and it’s a question from Jeb and John. He asks it’s titled to do. Canonical tags, past, linkjuice and German went on to say and we’re not to ask also. I am stuck with the thought about some about same domain, canonical versus third-party site, canonical tag. How would search spots look and treat them got my fingers crossed on this one.
Thank you guys, so so in a sense, do canonical tags cross, link juice, um! Well, let’s, let’s think about this. Let’s put it this way. If a, if a third party, you know a pretty big third party in the in the instance where someone took your your you know, you sent your content to them. They published it in a new truck. You know you had your version of it and there’s like totally outranked you, which we see all the time in that sense and ultimately, the way they should treat.
That is by putting your the canonical tag. You know treating with canonical to allow google or to at least show the attributing source or whatever the case may be now so in the sense does it pass linkjuice? No, I don’t think in the traditional sense, but it does allow search engines to understand who actually produced it, and I and I think that has a lot of value in it not necessarily link juice, I’m not making sense.
I know what I’m trying to say. I don’t mmm yeah, I think I’m getting where you’re trying to get it’s that if a third party has a canonical to your site, then you know, then that would sort of transfer to your site, yeah. So you’re saying these guys actually wrote it almost as if this is the act. These are the authors. This is you know, I mean we. We know how Google shows these things that can scholarship articles and things like that where they show the citation source they want to attribute, or they want to know who created this, and I think it would so.
I wouldn’t say he purses Authority, but it shows who created it. You know where, where it comes from, so you know if it’s a fairly, you know decent site that that has obviously published it it it’s it’s showing. You know I hate to say, but trust and authority it’s a tributing, trust and authority to you by that canonical tag. Kind of that’s yeah contain this. The way that Google did about indexes and works was dynamic.
The canonical tag would have that value. I guess, but it doesn’t. Google doesn’t work that way now all care, no responsibility. I wouldn’t normally try to say this. I just say these from having readed giggle, but you know taking their set of files and the consequences of a search. So but what I understand this is getting too complicated from my own head, so you go ahead to so there’s the interesting test.
Dan Petrovic did in 2012 with the canonical tag in how he hijacked well, essentially, hijacked Rand, Fishkin blog using the canonical. So so in the sense, I suppose it it doesn’t necessarily past painted juice, but it does pass on that. Like I mean, I don’t even know what to call it, I mean search engines understand what it is and they understand you know who the the originator of the content is so in terms of link juice.
I don’t know, but search engines certainly understand who the originator is and will display the originator or understand it. You know yeah yeah. The problem there, of course, is that Google may assign a different canonical to the entity and so that’s an issue when a site is seen as perhaps more authoritative or trustworthy, then the there’s a possibility that, despite what it says on the page or in the header, Google may assign a different source as the canonical copy of that thing.
So there’s that element as well. It’s a great question Jeff and John a great question. No, I guess if we should move under the next, I’m sure there’s no, what we can add to this but difficult to encapsulate in such a way. That would be understandable from the basic user anyway be hard for us to prove what we think yeah all right. Let’s move on to the next number right on our run list. It’s from me, King, it’s tunnel between keyword, matching brain match domain.
He said services like plumbing etc. Do I go with a keyword, match domain or stick with a brand exact match domain? It seems to rank more quickly and higher. What’s your end, you know, sort of thing is: what’s your end game? Is this a business you think you’re going to create and you’re going to stick with for the next to retirement. You know, is this your? Is this your passion right? You know what what do you yeah, because, ultimately, you know what is best plumber in in London going to do for you as a brand, that’s going to sustain you and your family for the next 30 years.
Is that going to build affinity, you know, is it going to be be a brand? Is it going to be something that people will put in their phone book and you know call you every year for a service? You know we need to be real about these things, if you’re, not if you’re, if you’re in it, just for a bit of a laugh for the next couple of years. Think you’re going to you know, try and use that, as as as a as a lead gen for the actual business, you know then best plumber in London for sure, but if you’re going to feed your family off this for the next 30 years, you build a Brand build around.
Yes, that’s right, you good! Let’s move on to number nine on our run list at this time, it’s from Bob marks and he the question is: titled. Do Google Sites still past juice, he said? Do Google Sites and other Google properties still pastures? Is this still doing so when you say juice, I mean it’s like if you think about a search engine following these links from different things and understanding who’s doing what, in what context is this being added, etc, etc? Yes, if it’s in the old thing of I just want to talk a link yard to get this done.
No but yeah, you know, if you you know if these are already in place or were you thinking of creating you know a YouTube YouTube account. You know for the brand a couple of different. You know, sort of different things all over the place. You know different accounts for the brand etc. You know as long as it’s consistent, it’s fine. You know you’re building a sort of an infrastructure around to support what you do in terms of passing, linkjuice mm-hmm, I’m not so sure rather, and I suppose it’s what you define as link juice.
Okay, that will we move on to the last question. I run this tonight Linda Lee. It’s a question about backlink building. She said how effective is error hate AR as a tactic for buckling buildings, and I know what Harrow is you guys can tell us what dollar value would you put on each backlink you earn? Are there any metrics used to track the performance, so it’s that so? Firstly, Linda, I think you know just I know, you’re asking about Harrow, etc, but I think you’re completely looking at the wrong way in terms of links, I think you’re going about it completely wrong and I think you need to actually do and understand.
You know natural link building a little bit better than going out and you know because essentially you’re looking at at building links, I think you should understand how you can do this yourself in different ways or shapes or forms, and how to do it sustainably over time. That being said, I don’t I don’t see how this company can it. You can look, I don’t know what product or service for your website is.
So I don’t know, but I honestly don’t know how they can. You know say: they’re going to get X amount of fat because ultimately Harrow is is all depends on what’s in vogue at the minute and what the reporters are asking. Yes, there’s a tons and tons of different genres and different journalists on there. But what happens if, in that particular month literally no one asks for anything in that particular genre or tactic, or that never saw website or industry, and you know they.
They can’t pitch anything to a journalist. Well then, that window, so I and my second part to the answer I already said to you, is, I think you need to understand a little bit about building something, that’s sustainable and and how to go about it yourself rather than buying, because that’s essentially what you’re Doing is you’re buying links in that sense or paying someone to go and build links for you so and – and I think you really need to step back and understand a bit before you even go down that road, but you know, for I think it was yet Two and a half thousand dollars you can hire a pretty good writer for that too.
Obviously, you would you, you know possibly need to do some research. I don’t know what your problem for company is due to and come up with a sensationalized piece that fits with what journalists are looking forward to minute one you provided you creating the content, you’re publishing the content. You’re then, feeding that sensationalized bit of journalism to the other journalists, who will then create the other pieces off the back of your piece when you’ve got the content, they attributed everything and to this sensationalist piece, whether it be a poll, a survey, some graph or charts That you’ve created to go with it to back up the the the sensationalist piece.
You know there are tons of ways for two and a half to create something far better than some shitty eight little links of a journalist who may or may not even be in some mainstream publication. I think you you know, I think you need to really step back and understand something a little bit better about. You know, building links for your brand and company that is sustainable. Then then, thinking of these ways of you know, by paying a company to build them for you or if you are going to do it, you go with a company that is not even going to mention Harrow to you all right.
You should be looking at something. That’s going to be building at scale nationally sustainably. Thank you Tim. Yes, sir. I often wonder what prompts questions on the demacia questions. Facebook group, I wonder if Linda lily – and I have I’m not disparaging without cause, but I wonder if you’re really mentioning Harrow so that people will become aware of it. Well, it’s it’s. I mean heroes like well.
That’s old school man. I mean it’s really old school. I think yeah, I think the thing is with this is people who people read? How can I help my company online or website and then invariably always there’s something or someone mentioning backlinks and then the person goes? How do I get backlinks and Jesus Christ? Even Google, you know, allows ads for it, so people get into this thing that I mean Google’s doing ads for it.
There’s all this and I think they can literally go and buy him. But we all know you know the the misery after penguin that just shit cause – and I just I just wish there was something more informational. I think we’ve discussed this quite a few times. You know if you got it, but if Google’s going to sell these ads, there should be something up there. Like a warning, you know warning before you use these products.
You realize that you know there’s manual, penalties, potential of manual penalties and things like this, but on the other hand, you know people should be doing due. Diligence like Linda has never asked in the sense like she was like cost value, isn’t worth it. She never asked or said: is there potential for a manual penalty like I don’t think she even realizes that her entire site could have a manual penalty and just disappear from from search results? That’s the that’s! The worrying thing is, I think, the lack of due diligence that people do in the sense of their business online.
It’s almost as if that this you know, if you were signing a contract in the real world, you know you would dive into that. You would. You know cross the eyes dot. The t’s sorry other way around, but you would you know what I mean if your livelihood is at stake. You will really check this stuff out. Wouldn’t you, but for some reason in the online world, uh yeah look girl, just got ta, buy some links and then – and if that’s your livelihood, you know it’s a it’s a problem I mean, and this stuff hurts yeah yeah.
Who wants him? Alright, um. I think we’re at that time. Yes, it is. It is that time we’ve answered well. Actually, we haven’t answered them all with quite a few additional questions which will put into the run list over the next week or two so that we don’t suddenly have to deal with their three-week buildup of questions. I don’t want to tire these guys out. Okay well ago, I’d like to thank people like Michael Martinez who answer questions on our dumbest fear questions Facebook group, but through the week I’d like to think that people who answer questions on our Facebook group and on our panel here each week are people.
Like Tim, Kappa, masataka, wasa and Mikey pusher Kershner, your contribution is greatly appreciated, we’ll be back here at the same time next week to do this all again, but for now it’s good night.
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