Posted by great scott!Wondering how to win rank and influence users? Well, if you have multiple pages from one domain ranking in the same SERP, a little bit of optimization may help you get a coveted indented listing.  You know, one of those cool situations where two or more of your pages show up right on top of each other in the engines. While this is a bit of an advanced tactic, it can be extremely powerful for driving traffic.  Watch this week's video to learn how to optimize and target for indented listings.SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday - Getting Indented Listingsfrom Scott Willoughbyon Vimeo.Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by LindsayThis post is about three pretty interesting things in my book: opportunities at SEOmoz, a new kind of duplicate content, and me. Despite the clever title, this post is not about SEO. You’ve been warned, OK?That’s OK. Who are you, anyway?I know, I know - I haven’t been very active on the blog, nor have I been oot 'n aboot on the conference circuit much this year (Did I mention I'm Canadian?). But I have been busy! Back in January, I relocated from Denver to Seattle and joined SEOmozfor the coolest job ever as the SEO Consulting Manager.Oh, what a year!We have been honored to work on some of the web’s most exciting projects this year. From Fortune 500s to peppy start-ups, non-profits,and a fewinbetween, our clients and each of their unique situations have been as challenging as they have been rewarding. All that excitement has kept me busy behind the scenes, working the SEO hands-on and rallying some of the industry’s best, brightest, and busiest to help our consulting clients succeed in the SERPs.Big deal. What else you got?Hold your horses. I’ve been busy in more ways than one, let me tell you! One night back in April, my new husband and I were settling in for another rainy night in the Pacific Northwest when … [“Lindsay, this is a family blog!” - Rand]. Oh, sorry boss. Let’s look at this from Googlebot’s perspective …That's right, Googlebot! All except the bad neighborhood thing, but I'll let you take that up with Matt. My husband Eric and I are expecting twins on December 27th! I bet our friends have some questions. Let's see if we can cover a few of them now.Frequently Asked QuestionsQ.Were you planning to have twins?A.Yes. Of course this was planned. [looks around nervously] ... But, seriously - do I look like I'm from the future? Boy/Girl twins are so awesome, wouldn't more people be doing it if it could be planned? My hubby and I, along with our families, can't believe our good fortune ... but no, twins weren't planned.Q.Can I have your job?A.Yes! [I mean it this time.] Rand is on the lookout for someone to fill my role. You should definitely ping him!Q.Are your twins identical?A.One is a boy. One is a girl. If they are identical ... oh dear.Q.While I'm doing your job, what will you be doing?A.I'm told that caring for an infant is a lot of work. No matter how many ways I look at this in Excel, when I multiply the work it takes to care for one infant by two ... sleep, eating, and personal hygiene disappear from the spreadsheet. Any Excel wizards out there that can help me with this? I'll also be hanging around Q&A, a service we offer our SEOmoz PRO members, to keep my offspring clothed and my skills sharp.  First, I'd like to thank the Academy.Rand, Sarah, and Gillian- Each of you bring kindness, compassion, and generosity to work everyday and somehow never run out. What a team! I love you all so much, I'm inviting you into the delivery room. [*crickets chirp*]. Um, this is awkward ... How about a phone call from the hospital? Jen- Keep it up! (This woman knows her stuff. You should totally take her to lunch.)I'd also like to thank the whole crew over at SEOmoz for their warm welcome, great sense of humor, occasional lunch room snacks, and the best going away party / baby shower / fried chicken feast a girl could ask for.Wrap it up, lady.Except for the fact that I have already relocated to Florida, I'm not going anywhere yet. Pregnancy permitting, I will be working full-time until the end of November, doing what I always do on the consulting side of the business. I might even post again on the blog! ["We've heard that before!" - angry crowd]. In summary;Duplicate content isn't always a bad thing Don't forget to apply for my job Boy/girl twins can't be identical, for obvious reasons I heart SEOmoz I twitter (@lindzie) more than I blog Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by Sam NiccollsTo identify the most linked to pages on some of the world's most popular sites, we used SEOmoz's Linkscapepowered Top Pages Tool and compiled a list of the most linked to pages on the web.The results, broken out by website and by category, are not all what you might expect. From Google to GaGa the internet's most linked to pages offer a look at your favorite domains that will leave you both scratching your head and laughing.    en.wikipedia.org5 Things You Didn't Know About Wikipedia:Twitteris more linked to than global warming. Search Engine Optimizationis almost 2x more linked to than Barack Obama. Series of tubesis more linked to than computer. Googleis more linked to than world wide web  Sarah Palinis more linked to than Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, or North America.www.youtube.comMost Linked to Videos:Susan Boyle Performs on Britain's Got TalentRick Astley - Rick RollJudson Laipply - Evolution of DanceWork at Home Infomercial (in Polish)Web 2.0 The Machine is Us/ing UsFree Hugs CampaignOK Go on TreadmillsMichael Jackson - ThrillerRick Astley - Rick Roll(Sadly, this is not a typo. It really is on the list twice...)Battle at Kruger Between Lions, Buffaloes, & Crocodileswww.dictionary.comMost Linked to Words:BandwidthNothingT1ReligionSchadenfreudeInteresting:Pedophileis more linked to than friend.Animeis more linked to than America. Football (American)  more linked to than love. www.craigslist.orgMost Linked to Items for Sale:Vagina CouchManly BikeSpace ShipCatbusNazi DollsMost Linked to Editorials:Hey CrackheadWhy Geeks and Nerds Are Worth ItStar Wars Guide to US Presidential CandidatesVasectomyAdvice to Young Men From an Old Manwww.facebook.comMost Linked to Groups:The Great Nationwide Kiss-inFair Copyright for CanadaA G-A-Y Foamparty"Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is Not Obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)"Nouveau Riche Nationwide Communitywww.myspace.comMost Linked to Bands:Justice (Christian Club) Fleetfoxes Lily AllenMGMTAnimal Collectivetwitter.comMost Linked to Companies:ComcasteGuideTravelMashableZapposAdSenseMost Linked to Celebrities:Ashton KutcherLady GaGaLance ArmstrongOprahStephen Frywww.imdb.comMost Linked to Actors:Heath LedgerJohnny DeppChristian BaleAngelina JolieAlison Maclnnis (The Pink Power Ranger)Most Linked to Movies:The Dark KnightThe Matrix300Slumdog MillionaireStar Trek www.hulu.comMost Linked to TV Shows:Arrested DevelopmentFireflyIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaThe Office30 Rockwww.perezhilton.comMost Linked to Celebrity Categories (tags):Heidi Montag     Michael Jackson      Britney Spears   Lady Gaga    Lindsay Lohan(Warning: You cannotunsee this page.)www.icanhascheezburger.comMost Linked to Cat Pictures:I Can Has cheezburger 3I Has a Bucket In Depth Analysis by David Mcraney Oldest Lolcat Ever Found  Lol Kitteh as a Second Language www.cracked.comMost Linked to Articles:FiguresZombiesBugsMost Badass Bible VersesMost Terrifying Foods in the Worldwww.collegehumor.comMost Linked to Videos:We Didn't Start the FlamewarFont ConferenceThe Matrix Runs on Windows24 Unaired 1995 PilotMinesweeper the Moviewww.allrecipes.comMost Linked to Recipes:Sausage, Apple, & Cranberry Stuffing   Creole Cornbread Stuffing    Brownie Mix in a Jar    Ham & Cheese Picnic Bread    Candy Coated Chocolates www.webmd.comMost Linked to Health Ailments:Cankor Sores  Dental Crowns  Tooth GrindingWisdom Tooth ExtractionPain Managementwww.foxnews.comMost Linked to Stories:Hundreds of WMDs Found in IraqCost of Freedom Recap (Dec 2004)  America's Debt RisesTranscript / Video of Bush and Kerry DebateUS Consumer Credit Card Debt May Crash the Economywww.whitehouse.govMost Linked to U.S. Presidents:Barack ObamaGeorge W. BushAbraham LincolnGeorge WashingtonThomas JeffersonMost Linked to U.S. First LadiesHillary Clinton   Eleanor Roosevelt   Abigail Adams    Jacqueline Kennedy Michelle Obama Source: All data for this post has been pulled from Linkscape, which is SEOmoz's index of the world wide web.Contributors: This post was a collaborative effort with help from both Scott Willoughbyand Danny Dover.Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by randfishThe search engine optimization process can sometimes be mistaken for a singular, sprint-to-the-finish project, when in fact, it's more like a marathon. Searchers rarely ever convert on the first click and thus, SEO campaigns that merely target a few popular keywords and call the task finished may be fooling themselves. I made this handy chart to help illustrate the issue:In my example, the hotel could miss out on dramatic opportunities for optimizing the path of discovery, investigation, brand research and conversion rate optimization by simply targeting "dubrovnik hotels" and ignoring the rest of the process. A comprehensive Internet marketer is going to approach this problem the same way a user approaches the process - by delivering value in every step of the chain.I like to think of the SEO campaign process in a format like this:Generic Research:It's very possible that, particularly for smaller brands and sites, you don't have the ability to compete for these lofy, high-level, hyper-competitive keywords. However, there's no reason you can't be listed among the references on the ever-present Wikipedia page on the subject, mentioned in a review or blog post, covered by a press publication/article or included in a directory/list of resources. If nothing else, you might consider buying ad space from the pages that rank atop the results - especially in today's market, buying CPM ads can be even cheaper than paying the engines through PPC.Niche Research:This is often the first opportunity you'll have to rank, but only if you don't ignore the indirectly relevant (though sometimes less obvious) keywords in the discovery process. Put yourself in a customer's shoes (or, better yet, talk to lots of customers and hear how they've done this), find the achievable keywords one step above your direct acquisition channel and get to work on some great content that can earn a spot in the top 5-10 listings.Brand Discovery:This is the classic, SEO-as-a-tactic process. Research the most relevant, highly-converting phrases, analyze the competitive landscape and find ways to build the content and earn the links necessary to rank.Brand Investigation:The battle isn't won until the visitor converts. Make sure that when obvious queries about your product/brand/company's value arise, you're aware of the results and pro-actively influencing the content. Sometimes it's enough to simply provide excellent service and take note of the few criticisms that arise. In other cases, you may need to conduct SEO reputation management campaignsto help surface the good and push down the bad.Brand Navigation:Although this should be the easiest query to win, it presents opportunities for further optimization. Controlling and carefullly choosing Sitelinks under your listing, watching the results in the top 5 carefully and even investing in paid search on branded terms (research has shown that combining paid + organic listings boosts the CTR & conversion rate of both - source needed if anyone in the comments can find that)Purchase:Queries like "discount code" "coupon code" "special offers" etc. are common, particularly for anyone selling directly over the web. It's up to you to decide how and if you want to distribute these for your savvier and more cost-conscious purchasers, but in campaigns I've observed, it appears to more than make up for the "savings" with improved conversions.Evaluation:Surfacing all of the content a visitor may be interested in about your product is wise and it can be very smart to do keyword research in the long tail around terms that follow your brand or product (so you can be sure to show up as the default resource before competitors or review sites, whose accuracy and motivation may be questionable).I don't want to overly-complicate the SEO process, but if you're ignoring important steps in your customers' search path, you could be missing huge opportunities.Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by great scott!Day 1 of the ExactTarget Connections '09 Email Marketing Conferencejust wrapped and it was pretty darn awesome, including keynotes from Malcolm Gladwelland Kelly Mooney. I've decided to try something new and check in via video to give a quick recap of the day.  As I mention in the video, I'll write up a detailed blog post recapping the whole event but, inspired by some of today's content, wanted to try and offer a little more of a real-time, participatory experience.If these little video check-ins prove to be popular, maybe I can convince the rest of the Mozzers to do the same from other conferences and events.Video Check-In: ExactTarget Connections '09 Day 1from Scott Willoughbyon Vimeo. Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by randfishWhat motivates a link? Sometimes it's referencing data/research/news or given because you've produced something interesting and valuable. Sometimes it's because another site has licensed or adopted content/widgets/badges from you. But, in most cases where an editorial link is given, I find that the underlying motivation is because that link provides some benefit to the linking site. This brings us to the fourteenth tip in our headsmacking series and possibly the tactic that will provide you with the lowest hanging link building fruit yet.Let's start with a look at the sidebar of MindValleyLabs' Blog:Not too shabby, right? The link comes from their homepage and every blog post they publish and points back to our homepage, sending over plenty of nice link juice as well as some decent traffic (from those interested in learning who SEOmoz is and why we like MindValley so much).Now let's look at Matt McGee's Speaking Presentations Testimonialspage:Again, this link is great for search engines (there's only a handful of other external links on the page), it's relevant and it provides traffic as well as search engine benefit.The next step isn't too hard to figure out: Go give testimonials!I'd wager that most of you have between 2-5 dozen contacts who would love to get something positive written from you about them that they can publish on their site. It's not hard to get started; simply make a list and start sending emails. I've provided a brief template you can use below:Hey Thomas,Long time no see! I hope all is well with TomsBlog.com and wanted to reach out to offer my help. I've been really impressed with the work you do - your posts are inspiring and educational time after time. I'd be more than happy to provide a testimonial you could publish on the site if you'd like - just let me know and I'll send something over. It would be my pleasure to share the benefits I've received with the rest of your visitors :-)Best wishes,Rand Fishkin, CEO & Co-Founder, SEOmozTestimonial links have a number of qualities that make them absolute gems in the link acquisition world:You can often customize the link location and anchor text (so long as it's relevant and sensible) - just ask when you send over the testimonial (or, better yet, send over the exact HTML code that will embed the right link so all the receiver has to do is copy + paste) Testimonials are frequently sitewide, but even when they're not, they tend to reside on popular, important pages (even homepages sometimes - an otherwise impossible place to get a link) They're 100% editorially given and meant as a true reflection of the relationship you've built - that's precisely the kind of link the search engines want to count They provide strong benefits to both parties in the deal; everyone's a winner They're not nearly as awkward or bizarre as a standard link request and the probability for acceptance is very high Start a list and get cracking - you have nothing to lose but your link poverty :-)p.s. As with all link building tactics, if you go overboard (abusing this tactic to excess on in a manipulative fashion), the search engines may not take it well. This is a great way to leverage existing relationships and contacts to help bring in links, but if you're plotting how to use this to earn hundreds or thousands of links, you're likely treading on dangerous ground (unless you're a reporter for a major publication, in which case every business you mention is likely to be linking back to your articles about them).Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by RobOusbeyHi there - I'm a blogger. Could help me? I read that massive post about 'lessons learned from three years of blogging' and I've been brimming with ideas ever since. However, I'd like to attract more views to each of my posts.OK, I can help you with that, by using one equation and five quick techniques to get you thinking. Here's the equation:Number of Posts Read = Number of Visits * Number of Posts Read on Each VisitRather than just trying to get more people to your site, we should spend some time talking about the final part of that equation - the number of posts read by each visitor.So you're going to help me increase page views?Not quite. There's a whole bunch of techniques to increase page views without increasing the number of your posts which are read. As an example: you can publish each articles over a number of pages, and make people click 'next' buttons - each single read of a post now generates three page views. Great for a spike in CPM advertising revenue, bad for a long-term play of not irritating you visitors.OK, I get it. So where do I start?One technique to consider is that of linking to related posts or content.Ah! But I already do that - there's a Wordpress plugin I have ...The links in the sidebar or at the end of the article appeal to users who have finished reading and ask 'what do I do next?' These might encourage some people to read another post, but users might just wander off through any other link. Whilst they are reading, you have the visitor's undivided attention - so offer them a few 'next step' sign-posts during the article. For example: You could open the post with a reference to another post, and use a compelling title which encourages them to open it in another tab, and 'save for later'.Wait - is that what you did at the top of this post?Indeedy. I'd also suggest doing something similar near the end of the post, so that you can suggest to the reader a 'next step' before they finish reading. Don't let their attention wander - if they've read to the end then they are likely to be happy to read other pages that you recommend. And don't scroll down to the bottom just to check if I've done it here - the answer is yes.Right, I'll intelligently include a few 'related posts' in the text. What's next?A basic idea that is often overlooked is variety. Shake up your style of posting and try some different formats that aren't just text. SEOMoz has done this quite well recently, with regular videos, downloadable PDF resources, list posts, slide shows, etc. This allows visitors to read more of your posts without succumbing to the strain / snow-blindness of page after page of similarly formatted posts.Is that why you published this post in a Q&A format?It wasn't intentional - I actually pinched the idea from a mathematics post about the P versus NP problem.Right. Keep my blog varied to keep visitors interested. Do you have any recommendations about style?Yes, two actually, and I hope you won't feel like you are 'selling out' to follow them. The first is to stay upbeat - reading a blog with posts that are consistently negative or miserable is tiring. It's like talking to that guy who always sees the worst and moans about everything - you can't wait to get away. If your posts make the reader smile a little, then they'll be more likely to linger in the 'happy place' you have created for them.The other style point?I believe that visitors will spend longer on a site if their intelligence is taken for granted, and they are made to feel clever. Avoid long explanations of basic concepts and let your visitors do their own research on any topics you mention which they aren't familiar with. Similarly, there's no need to oversimplify the reading level of your text. Fortunately, we're lucky that the SEOMoz blog is read by knowledgeable, professional types who are more than capable of reading about advanced concepts and know how to do their own independent research if necessary.Aw shucks, thanks!OK, one final idea about structuring your blog: remember that the snippets you display on category pages etc will influence people's decision on whether to visit a page. However, as these snippets target current users, they may have a different focus to a snippet you would use offsite - say in an RSS feed, on a social book marking site, etc. For example, you may choose to use this text when persuading people to visit the site:       "A popular piece of traditional SEO advice is ripped apart by Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz. Of course we should just focus on the user - right? Find out why that might be wrong, and then join the debate!" but on the site we should use:       "You've undoubtedly heard the old industry adage: 'Do what's right for users and engines will reward you with higher rankings.' This is tragically misleading, and this post covers specific tactics you must consider, beyond the purely user-focused aspects." (By the way: if you've not yet had the opportunity, I do recommend reading Rand's post about this topicand checking out the healthy debate it generated.)Is this the bit where you hand over to the readers and ask for their suggestions in the comments?Absolutely. Every post I've written for SEOMoz has been followed by some great additions, I'm keen to see what you come up with today.Do you like this post? YesNo

  Postedby randfishI'm in the middle of a wild 6-week stint. First Oslo for a week, then home for 4 days, then SMX Eastand a week in New York City. Tonight, I'm back in Seattle, but only for a few days - our SEOmoz/Distilled London seminaris just a scant 168 hours away. And, of course, on my return, I couldn't help but be compelled to do another set of SEO graphics (first series here) after seeing this great collection of Infographics & Data Visualization Blogs.These are somewhat disparate, but hopefully valuable. I've provided some descriptions and explanations below each:This first graph is fairly basic. In low-level competition results - long tail or relatively unpopular queries and sectors - the relative value of basic on-page optimization is very high. That drops down as competition increases because many, many pages and sites will have proper keyword usage and targeting. The engines will instead choose rankings based on popularity and authority metrics, where links play a much larger role. This isn't to say that it isn't still important to get the on-page stuff right; it's just unlikely to give you the boost you'll need to rank well in more competitive arenas.I've obviously chosen only a few link building tactics to highlight here, but when constructing this graph, I found these to be particularly interesting.Manual link building tactics tend to trail off in value (in my experience) as a site becomes better known, more popular and earns a collection of thousands-millions of high quality links. The incremental value added by another tiny directory or article submission site (or other small-site focused tactics like link exchanges or requests) becomes miniscule. Linkbait and Viral content is almost always high in value, particularly when you can craft content that helps to bring in links with the right anchor text pointing to the right kinds of places (like badges, widgets and embedded content). However, relatively speaking, the value is highest when the site is brand new and drops gradually with popularity. Media + Press links, like Linkbait, are consistently valuable, but the same principles tend to apply. Once you're a behemoth in your field, another link from the Wall Street Journal or the Chicago Tribune won't provide a substantial boost. Content licensing (or technology licensing) and partnership-style links are particularly interesting. For new sites, the value tends to be low, simply because you have very little content to license and few big brands are willing to make arrangements with you. As you gain traction, though, this technique climbs in value and, in my experience, provides some of the best ROI for large, dominant sites that can leverage their content warehouses to earn dozens or even hundreds of individual external links to every piece of content they produce through licensing agreements that require a link back to the original. The panel I spoke on at SMX East about PR Sculpting featured six speakers with six unique perspectives on the topic. While it was tough to find consensus around the minute details of PR Sculpting, the panel mostly agreed that the tactic is primarily valuable for helping sites that have additional pages they want in the main index that simply don't make the cut get in. This handy chart illustrates that principle, showing that, relatively speaking, you're only really getting value out of the practice of PR sculpting (whether you do it with nofollow, careful link selection, link consolidationor something else) when you have pages that languishing in search engine index obscurity (see this recent post for more).The reason I've made the value low when you have 0-20% of your pages indexed is that this generally corresponds with an overall lack of the required link juice to spread around. You need to get over that barrier before you can start to tackle where to flow it internally to get pages indexed.Similar to PR sculpting, XML Sitemapstend to carry more value in certain scenarios (and, interestingly, with certain engines). It's been my experience that Microsoft's Bing engine gives slightly more preferential treatment to pages in XML sitemap files than Google, but at high numbers of URLs, the value is high for both engines (I've not included Yahoo! because I haven't seen consistent results with their treatment of Sitemaps - and because I strongly suspect that 8-10 months from now, we'll be SEO'ing in a two engine world).p.s. As always, these graphs are based on my personal opinions & experience; please feel free to share your opinions and critiques.Do you like this post? YesNo

  Posted by great scott!This week our very own Jen Lopezis at SMX Eastin New York. She took a few minutes to sit down with Googler, Maile Ohye(first name pronounced like the Disney teen pop-star, last name rhymes with "Oy vey!"), to get the answers to some of webmasters' most frequent questions. Watch the video to get Maile's take on how to best approach such issues as:Getting deep sites indexedHandling multiple sitemapsHow to influence crawl frequency and scheduleWhether or not to worry about spammy inlinksDuplicate content from scraper sitesAnd much more!SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday - Interview with Google's Maile Ohyefrom Scott Willoughbyon Vimeo.Do you like this post? YesNo