Nov 29
Javierseo internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo
Among the initial objectives of a search engine optimization (SEO) campaign is identify target keywords. At face value this is a very simple task. However, we know the path of least resistance is not always the best path to take.
To begin with, we use common sense tools such as Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter Labs, and others to identify existing keyword patterns. Google Analytics, and similar utilities will show us what keywords have been used to locate our site(s) so far. It is important to realize that this is not the end of our work. There may be a group or groups of prospects who were not able to locate your site(s) with their keyword searches. This is a fundamental concept to understand, so i will expound. For example, let us pretend that our site(s), when observed through our analytics tools, shows that users have been locating us with the keywords, “nine brief digit” and “outdated future.” There may be prospects trying to find us with the keyword “vanilla general,” but since we are not listed in the SERPs for “vanilla general” they cannot find us.
To mitigate the issue of being in as many of the SERPs as we realistically can, we must do additional research. I personally like to involve the client, or the SEO recipient(s), when I can, and this is a good place to do so. Have them provide to you keywords, trade words, terminology and such, which is used by their target market(s). This may not be the same keywords used by the industry professionals themselves. It should be the keywords used by the industry’s consumers, again, their target market. If they are trying to break into a new market, have them do what they do to get this information. Either way, we have our own task of discovering what the competition is doing.
Regardless of whether or not the competition is properly utilizing keywords, we may want to target some of theirs, if only to eat into their targeted SERPs. Much can be learned about an industry through analyzing their SEO tactics, which is even more important if you are entering a new industry, market, or niche. One thing you may be able to learn about a competitor, beyond their target audience(s), is if, and possibly when, they are preparing for a product launch, or some other event. Also, you may be able to guess as to internal issues if you watch active SEO efforts go stale along with varying Press Releases from the organization, possibly regarding management changes or low earnings, et cetera. Be creative in researching competitors. Think, open source intelligence.
Regarding analytics, they are history. I mean this quite literally. Yes, they may point towards the future, but they are just records of the past. To find the lost users, clients, or prospects, after you have canvased your competitors (all of them or as many as you can), you may find others through creative guesses with your analytics and AdWord type tools. You want this to be as accurate and thorough as possible so you can have the biggest impact possible. In order to accomplish this, I suggest we realize that the business world is not a fluffy environment full of love and goodwill, but rather a wild realm where survival of the fittest is a moment by moment reality.
Before I forget to mention this, another factor in locating lost users, clients, or whoever, is cross promotion, or to up the marketing and branding efforts in other fronts, such as print, radio, television, packaging, and so forth. Yes, this falls into the no-brainer category, but that is even more reason to not forget it. Have a unified front with your marketing efforts, and ultimately with all of your organization’s efforts.
While keeping up with the other marketing mediums, such as television, and radio, pay attention to what others are doing there as well. Television has a fairly amazing grasp of their demographics. It may be possible for you to glean some knowledge from how a certain channel, station, show, or product may target various groups, including their choice of words.
Keep up with social trends, including trends which distrust newer trends. Know where your target audience lives. If the people you want to reach listen to a certain type of music, follow that type of music. Listen to that type of music yourself! Know who your consumers are, where they exist, and how they move. Indeed, this is all marketing 101 stuff, but remember that how well and naturally you perform fundamentals is a sign of your true skill. So step back from your universe, look around, and get lost in other worlds.
While working on all of the above, go to the source. Go to existing customers, prospective customers, complete strangers, go to the masses, and ask them what they want. More important than asking them anything though, is listening to them whole-heartedly. Communicate with the public, not as a sales force, but as someone who wants to learn. Incorporate your efforts of knowing who your consumers are, where they exist, how they move, what they want into real-world relationships. Interview as many people as you can, and learn by listening to them.
Earlier I discussed SEO Through Brand Equity and Family Branding. This is where you build networks, and utilize the concepts of family branding to create brand equity, or authority. It may not be uncommon for you to have a single network, or family of one-hundred or more sites. These sites can be used for numerous ends, including testing of keywords. Tools such as Google Analytics’ Goals, and Google Website Optimizer are good for testing various aspects of page layout, design, wording, et cetera which can be used to find an optimal combination which yields maximum results. You can also do this type of testing manually, through your own web logs, though it is probably easier just to use a search engine’s utilities. If you are a fan of other search engine related analytical tools, so be it, as long as you are able to determine ideal patterns of success for your site(s).
Another rich location for discovering useful keywords is your own internal site searches. If your site offers the ability to search your site, or even your network of sites, keeping track of what users are searching for may be precious information you can use to better target your internet marketing efforts.
Overall, keyword selection is an involved process which is critical for a successful search engine optimization campaign. Like just about every other aspect of SEO, keyword selection is an on-going process which is constantly changing and morphing. Because this is an issue which will continue to exist, understanding how to confidently select keywords for your websites is a highly important aspect of successful and strategic search engine optimization.
Nov 20
Times EnemyChina, security China, insecure news
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212101227&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev=
China Targets U.S. Computers For Espionage, Report Warns
The 2008 Annual Report to Congress urges tighter computer security measures to prevent data loss or corruption.
By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
November 20, 2008 07:11 PM
Chinese cyberattacks on civilian, government, and military networks are rising, a congressional advisory committee warned in a report released Thursday, and the United States needs to bolster its defenses and engage with allies and Chinese authorities to clarify the consequences of aggression in cyberspace.
“China is targeting U.S. government and commercial computers for espionage,” says the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s (USCC) 2008 Annual Report to Congress. “Alan Paller from the SANS Institute, an Internet security company, believes that in 2007 the 10 most prominent U.S. defense contractors, including Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, were victims of cyberespionage through penetrations of their unclassified networks.”
Citing examples of Chinese espionage, the report looks back to 2005 at an incident in which hackers from China stole files related to NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that detailed the space vehicle’s propulsion system, solar panels, and fuel tanks. It also cites an incident that same year in which the aviation mission planning system for Army helicopters and related software were stolen from the Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
More recent examples abound. On Nov. 18, Quan-Sheng Shu, a Chinese-born scientist who worked in Virginia, pleaded guilty to selling U.S. military rocket technology to China.
Earlier this month, The Financial Times, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official, reported, “Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials.”
In June, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., said that four computers in his office had been compromised in 2006 and that computers used by other members of Congress and by the House Foreign Affairs Committee had also been hacked.
“These cyberattacks permitted the source to probe our computers to evaluate our system’s defenses, and to view and copy information,” said Wolf. “My suspicion is that I was targeted by Chinese sources because of my long history of speaking out about China’s abysmal human rights record.”
In February, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrests of four individuals — Tai Shen Kuo, Yu Xin Kang, Gregg William Bergersen, and Dongfan “Greg” Chung — and accused them of stealing military and aerospace secrets and sending them to China. The Justice Department linked those cases to that of Chi Mak, a former engineer for Anaheim, Calif.-based defense contractor Power Paragon, who was arrested in 2005 and convicted last year of spying for China, his native country.
The USCC report also warned about the risks posed by IT hardware manufactured abroad.
“The global supply chain for telecommunications items introduces another vulnerability to U.S. computers and networks,” the report says. “Components in these computers and networks are manufactured overseas — many of them in China. At least in theory, this equipment is vulnerable to tampering by Chinese security services, such as implanting malicious code that could be remotely activated on command and place U.S. systems or the data they contain at risk of destruction or manipulation. In a recent incident, hundreds of counterfeit routers made in China were discovered being used throughout the Department of Defense. This suggests that at least in part, Defense Department computer systems and networks may be vulnerable to malicious action that could destroy or manipulate information they contain.”
Such concerns have been circulating for years in government security circles. But action may be at hand. On Tuesday, civilian and defense procurement groups published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comment on whether federal acquisition rules should be revised to require that “contractors selling information technology (IT) products (including computer hardware and software) represent that such products are authentic.”
In February, the FBI announced that its ongoing anti-counterfeiting campaign had resulted in more than 400 seizures of fake Cisco equipment worth more than $76 million. A five-page FBI PowerPoint presentation dated Jan. 11, 2008, summarizes some of the agency’s findings in its investigation of fake Cisco gear. It notes that fake hardware is vulnerable to supply chain subversion and attack, and could allow others to access to systems meant to be secure.
Nov 17
Javierseo internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo
A tactic used by ants is overwhelming force by attacking their prey with large numbers. There are some exceptions to this, however, most ants use their superior numbers to achieve victory. Ants work as a highly efficient team, even when observers may see their actions as chaotic.
In search engine optimization (SEO) , overwhelming force can be very effective. Add strategy and efficiency to the SEO efforts and the limits of what is possible can be pressed.
How can the concept of overwhelming force be applied to search engine optimization, and other SEO endeavors, such as reverse search engine optimization (Reverse SEO)? PPPPPPP. One definition of this acronym is “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pathetically Poor Performance.” In order to maximize the tactic of overwhelming force in search engine optimization, proper prior planning must take place, where large volumes of content are generated, before the SEO campaign goes into full motion. The “proper prior planning” also requires that you have in-depth information and knowledge of the campaign, the campaign objectives and campaign goal(s). Having this understanding will allow for the “proper” content to be generated. Any misinterpretation in this area may set the entire campaign on a path for undesirable results, which in SEO can be fatal.
While the content is being strategically generated, the foundation for their voice is being created. This may be a new website being designed and developed, or new social networks being tapped into, or publication outlets being prepped, or all of the above. Setting up all of these outlets is so critical to the entire SEO campaign because this is the springboard for the overwhelming force part of the project. This also falls into the same guideline that an in-depth understanding of the campaign, in it’s entirety, must exist. Also, failure to realize this knowledge can make or break the entire campaign.
Once enough strategic content has been generated, the outlets for these pieces should be in place and ready to go live. This is where the two fundamentals of this tactic join forces, where the overwhelming force is put into motion.
Utilizing this tactic, as outlined above, is a guerrilla warfare type of maneuver which can give a small organization a strategic advantage over more established organizations, including large enterprises. One of the very powerful advantages of this tactic is surprise, which then leaves any interested competition repeatedly behind the curve as your content, your arsenal, was amassed before you made your move.
Hopefully, in your PPPPPPP, you chose the right ground to go after….
Nov 12
Javierseo internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo
Consider the concept of voting. You really only can vote for one thing, with one vote. When a decision has to be made, you generally do not have the option to vote for both options or all of the above. This is because a vote for more than one of the options would skew the overall vote, and would in essence, weaken your votes from a full vote, to half-votes or less. In regards to search engines, every web page has a vote. How that vote is used effects not just the item or topic being voted on, but also that web page.
If you have a web page which is called thebest.html which raves about the best internet marketing blog, the links which that page points to are considered as votes made by that page. So, if the thebest.html page has two links to two different internet marketing blogs, then consider the vote split, and each vote from that page is actually a half-vote, because every web page only has one vote. If that web page which is raving about internet search blogs links to a dozen different blogs, each vote is weakened even further! However, if the entire page only has a single external link, which points to some amazing internet marketing blog, then the vote made by that page, as far as organic search engines are concerned, holds more value, and is not as watered down.
From a usability perspective, a site or web page which has an excessive amount of links on it may have its uses, but will most likely be a cluttered mess. Sure it is possible to list links in a clean fashion, but chances are, if you are going to put that much effort into the page design, you will probably be more selective as to the content you are posting.
This concept of a single vote for a single page holds true, regardless of how popular that page is or is not. Perhaps later we can discuss factors which cause some votes to hold higher sway over others.
Nov 12
Javierseo internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, sem, seo
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process of using strategy throughout the web development processes to achieve greater exposure in search engine results. In most forms of SEO there are specific keywords or keyword phrases which are targeted as destinations for higher exposure.
Throughout the course of a Search Engine Optimization effort, or campaign, the concept of “brand” has numerous forms. The primary “brand” is that of the ultimate object or objects for which the SEO campaign is being done, be it the product for sale, the company selling the product, the person running for office, et cetera. If a single product is the focus for the SEO campaign, then that product may have it’s own branded image which must be marketed accordingly. If the company producing or selling the brand would prefer their company itself be the focus of the SEO campaign, then that company’s branded image must be marketed according to it’s brand.
Inside of the SEO campaign, the term, “brand,” may also be the specific keywords or keyword phrases being targeted. This is actually more a form of branding than being an actual brand, but, in internet marketing, at least one form of Search Engine Optimization exists which uses the Brand Equity and Family Branding concepts as it’s foundation. In order to understand this relationship, and definition of keywords as brands, both brand equity and family branding should be clarified.
Brand Equity can quickly be defined as market recognition and its effects. If two products are essentially identical to the consumer, but one of the products is of a particular brand, how that brand effects the consumer’s decision as to which of the two products to purchase is a measurement of the branded product’s brand equity. For example, if there are two choices of paper to purchase, one is not branded, and the other is branded as “Crane & Co.” paper, Crane & Co.’s objective regarding their brand equity would be that just their name on a product should be enough to sway the outcome of the purchase in Crane & Co.’s favor. (There are of course further levels of branding which Crane & Co. would most likely, and in fact does employ, which may place their products in different subsets of the paper market, but that is somewhat unrelated to our current topic.)
Family Branding can most easily be explained as a product line; even though the products may not all be part of the same “line,” this still gets the concept across. Family Branding takes place when a product is part of a pre-existing brand, from which the hope is that the “new” product will enjoy more immediate market results due to the brand equity of the brand itself. For example, if Crane & Co. where to provide a notepad, a pen, or some other paper related product, then by keeping their name on the product they are using the most common form of family branding. Family branding does not have to use the company, individual, or organization’s brand directly, but may use any existing brand which has enough equity to have a significant impact on sales and how the “new” product is perceived and accepted. An example of this is Nike Air, and the Nike Air Jordan product line. Nike, the shoe company, has an entire product line called the Nike Air Jordans, which eventually became its own brand called, “Jordan.” Now, if Nike wants to push a new product to the same markets they can just add the new product to the Air or Jordan lines, and hopefully enjoy the benefits of their strong brand equity in those lines, their family brands.
What does this all have to do with search engine optimization? In at least one method of SEO, everything. Family Branding in SEO can even take different levels.
One objective of internet marketing is to create a strong brand presence online. The internet allows for very targeted marketing efforts as well as a diverse potential audience. In such market environments brand recognition generally has a strong impact on internet traffic, and ultimately sales, use, votes, or whatever the ultimate goal may be.
When dealing with search engines, of the organic type, brand equity is the name of the game.
Create at least one domain or website which has a strong brand for a specific keyword or keywords. Then, use the brand equity of this domain to point to the domain or website which you wish to promote. In this instance, the term “brand equity” is the search ranking, the site’s authority, for that keyword or keywords. The idea is to have several domains or websites with a strong search engine ranking, authority, or brand equity, from which you can springboard and promote related products, services, individuals, organizations, or whatever fits the trend.
Nov 07
Times EnemyChina, security China, insecure news
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2931c542-ac35-11dd-bf71-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Chinese hack into White House network
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: November 6 2008 19:13 | Last updated: November 7 2008 00:24
Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, a senior US official told the Financial Times.
On each occasion, the cyber attackers accessed the White House computer system for brief periods, allowing them enough time to steal information before US computer experts patched the system.
US government cyber intelligence experts suspect the attacks were sponsored by the Chinese government because of their targeted nature. But they concede that it is extremely difficult to trace the exact source of an attack beyond a server in a particular country.
”We are getting very targeted Chinese attacks so it stretches credulity that these are not directed by government-related organisations,” said the official.
The official said the Chinese cyber attacks had the hallmarks of the “grain of sands” approach taken by Chinese intelligence, which involves obtaining and pouring through lots of – often low-level – information to find a few nuggets.
Some US defence companies have privately warned about attacks on their systems, which they believe are attempts to learn about future weapons systems.
The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a new unit established in 2007 to tackle cyber security, detected the attacks on the White House. But the official stressed that the hackers had only accessed the unclassified computer network, not the more secure classified network.
”For a short period of time, they successfully breach a wall, and then you rebuild the wall … it is not as if they have continued access,” said the official. ”It is constant cat and mouse.”
Dana Perino, White House press secretary, declined to comment. The Chinese embassy also did not comment, but in the past China has called similar allegations reflective of “Cold-War thinking”.
The US has increased efforts to tackle cyber security, particularly since Chinese hackers believed to be associated with the Peoples’ Liberation Army last year perpetrated a major attack on the Pentagon.
US military computer experts battled for weeks against a sustained attack that eventually overcame the Pentagon’s defences. The cyber attackers managed to obtain information and emails traffic from the unclassified computer system that supports Robert Gates, the defence secretary. Pentagon IT technicians were forced to take the network down for days to conduct repairs.
Concerns about Chinese hacking last year prompted President George W. Bush to tell reporters ahead of a meeting with President Hu Jintao of China that he might raise the issue with countries of concern.
Over the past year, the US government has tightened restrictions on officials using BlackBerrys and computers overseas, particularly in Russia and China, and sometimes bars them from removing the equipment from US government aircraft in the country.
In another incident, US government cyber investigators have determined that an attack this summer on the Obama and McCain campaign computer networks also originated in China. Details of the intrusion were first reported by Newsweek.
The Secret Service warned the Obama and McCain campaigns their networks had been comprised. The hackers successfully downloaded large quantities of information, which security agencies believed was an attempt to learn more about the contenders’ policy positions.
According to the Newsweek report, the Obama campaign speculated that China or Russia were behind the attacks. A second US official said cyber analysts had concluded that the attacks originated in China, but stressed that they were not able to determine who was responsible.
”There is no doubt that foreign governments are actively targeting cyber space not only for sensitive information but to influence our most sensitive processes such as the US presidential election,” said Sami Saydjari, head of the Cyber Defence Agency, a private company that advises government on hacking.
“This underscores the need for President-elect Obama to take leadership in the cyber space race that is well underway.”
While the US has raised concerns about cyber attacks, many governments believe the US is also engaged in electronic spying. Bob Woodward, the veteran Washington Post reporter, this year revealed that the US had been spying on the Iraqi government.
To contact the reporter, please email Demetri.Sevastopulo@ft.com
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