Since Panda... Is Your SEO Kung Fu Strong?

[Mr Marketer]

That's a great resource Tom, thanks! I'm just wondering how difficult Google will make it for regular business owners *not just IM'ers to be able to get the exposure they need online. I really feel like we will see the huge monopoly Google currently holds is starting to crumble. I read in another thread that Bing & Yahoo get about 30% of the internet traffic. Not sure if that's accurate or not, but it's a major increase over the last few years.

Originally Posted by tom4business

Hey Matt,

You may want to check out this latest WBF from SEOMoz.

Rand Fishkin is usually an advocate for holistic SEO, something which is not easy to implement in IM projects or small size SEO projects.

But if what he says is true, SEO is going to be really costly and we may not be able to survive with just "unique content" or by building high PR links. There will be lot of emphasis on web design and usability, bounce rate, social signals, and they way readers share stuffs.

BTW, I've replied to your email now.

Tom

[thegotoguy]

I can't believe no one is talking about the FTC anti-trust investigation of Google's business practices. Don't you think it's associated somehow with the Panda Update? I do!

[Wakunahum]

My larger sites of 100+ pages seem to be gaining about 20-50% more traffic while my smaller sites of 15 or less pages have lost about 10% traffic since the Panda updates.

It seems that the larger sites are indeed doing better.

I use typical backlinking strategies and will continue to do so.

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by thegotoguy

I can't believe no one is talking about the FTC anti-trust investigation of Google's business practices. Don't you think it's associated somehow with the Panda Update? I do!

Yeah, I think that may play a part here too. But there's just not enough info available yet to make a call one way or another.

Definitely will be watching how this plays out though.

[eppingvonryan]

Originally Posted by thegotoguy

I can't believe no one is talking about the FTC anti-trust investigation of Google's business practices. Don't you think it's associated somehow with the Panda Update? I do!

I found some news on this although it doesn,t enlighten us much..

HERE GOES...

The Federal Trade Commission is conducting an investigation of Google, although what it is investigaing isn't clear, the company claimed in a blog post June 24.

The FTC appears to be scrutinizing the Internet search company over possible antitrust or breach of consumer protection issues, but won't discuss the matter pulicaly because the investigation is ongoing.

The current speculation is that Google may be headed for the same sort of competition inquiry with regard to its search-advertising business practices that Microsoft faced with its Windows business some years back. The U.S. government found Microsoft guilty of abusing its Windows monopoly position in 2002, but U.S. Department of Justice supervision of Microsoft only just ended in May.

Google's announcement states that it received a "formal notification from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it has begun a review of our business." The Mountain View, Calif.-based company also filed a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming the FTC's investigation.

"On June 23, 2011, Google Inc. received a subpoena and a notice of civil investigative demand from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) relating to a review by the FTC of Google's business practices, including search and advertising. Google is cooperating with the FTC on this investigation," the SEC statement read, which was filed as a Form 8-K.

Clues as to what the FTC may be investigating might be found with past litigation in Europe. In March, Microsoft announced that it had filed a complaint with the European Commission that Google's search-advertising service was anticompetitive by not providing information to other search providers. Microsoft's complaint followed earlier complaints lodged last year by three companies -- Foundem, ejustice.fr and Microsoft's Ciao! from Bing. Google alleged at that time that Microsoft worked behind the scenes to support those companies' complaints.

The Federal Trade Commission has its work cut out for it in its antitrust inquiry into Google's search engine practices, according to several legal experts.
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Now that the Federal Trade Commission has formally launched in antitrust investigation of Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) search business, it will have to prove the leading search engine harmed consumers, not just the companies lobbing allegations that Google impinges competition.

The FTC June 24 informed the search engine it has opened an inquiry into the company's business practices after fielding complaints from Microsoft (NASDQ:MSFT), Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE), TripAdvisor, Yelp and others that Google promotes its own Web services above their own in its search results. These gripes echo those made by Foundem, eJustice.fr and Microsoft's Ciao in Europe.

FairSearch.org, which includes Microsoft, Expedia and others, has argued that Google uses other companies' content without their permission, engages in "deceptive display of search results," manipulates search results to favor Google's products, and buys companies that impede its dominance online.

Google will be investigated under the FTC's Section 5 rule that deals with deceptive and unfair acts and practices, which includes "bait and switch" tactics.

Proving that Google's actions harm consumers will be easier said than done, according to David Balto, a Washington, D.C., attorney who has practiced antitrust law for the FTC, as well as the antitrust division of the Department of Justice.

"To succeed in an antitrust case, you have to look at a federal court judge and say consumers are hurt because they pay more or they have fewer choices," Balto said. The first argument may not work because Google search and other Web services are free. The second is simply tough to prove.

Balto believes Google would prevail in an antitrust case brought by the FTC because it has the consumers' best interest foremost in its mind: to provide accurate and timely results to their queries.

Noting that Google's conduct is largely precompetitive, he pointed to how Google protects consumers against deceptive Website operators. For example, Google discovered that J.C. Penney had gamed Google's search engine to push up its Website in search rankings last holiday season. The company manually dropped the retailer in its rankings.

Balto further noted that this case springs from complaints embittered companies are making that Google won't let them compete in the search market. Consumers, he argued, don't care where these companies are placed or that their advertising opportunities suffer from appearing far down on search results pages. They care about finding the results they want.

"I love antitrust and I love to go after large companies," Balto told eWEEK. "But I have a lot of doubt an investigation on search will lead to much. I think this is a dog that won't bark. It will take them awhile to walk it around the block, but I think that's what they're going to find out."

Geoffrey Manne, senior adjunct fellow at TechFreedom and lecturer in law at Lewis & Clark Law School, and Joshua Wright, professor of law & economics at George Mason University School of Law, added that "reducing consumer choice" seems to be a euphemism for "harm to competitors, not competition," where the reduction in choice is the reduction of choice of competitors who are put out of business by pro-competitive behavior.

"The fact that Google's rivals--including Microsoft itself--are complaining about the company suggests, ironically, that Google's practices are in fact pro-competitive and thus pro-consumer," Manne and Wright wrote.

However, Melissa Maxman, co-chair of the antitrust department at law firm Cozen O'Connor, wonders if there isn't a little something of the where-there's-smoke-there's-fire adage at play here; her firm has clients who are complaining about Google's search practices.

Maxman said she believes there's no question Google has earned its monopoly status, but added that obtaining a monopoly is not illegal if its earned.

"Why is [Microsoft] Bing not gaining?" Maxman told eWEEK via e-mail. "Is it because Google is gaming results? It could be very similar to what Microsoft did with the Internet browser."

In truth, Bing is gaining search share, albeit incrementally and certainly not at the expense of Google. Bing launched two years ago and has grown from 8 percent share to about 13 percent share. However, Bing's gains have come at the expense of Yahoo. Google has maintained its 65 percent share for the last few years, according to comScore.

Meanwhile, Balto noted that even though the FTC may be putting Google under the microscope, less than 1 out of every 10 investigations leads to an enforcement action. There has not been a successful Section 5 litigated case since 1972, he added.

[veenafurtado]

I am just waiting to see what Google is going to do about the complaint I have raised to them regarding this issue -
Plagiarism and copyright violations by http://68articles.com/

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by eppingvonryan

I found some news on this although it doesn,t enlighten us much..

HERE GOES...

The Federal Trade Commission is conducting an investigation of Google, although what it is investigaing isn't clear, the company claimed in a blog post June 24.

The FTC appears to be scrutinizing the Internet search company over possible antitrust or breach of consumer protection issues, but won't discuss the matter pulicaly because the investigation is ongoing.

The current speculation is that Google may be headed for the same sort of competition inquiry with regard to its search-advertising business practices that Microsoft faced with its Windows business some years back. The U.S. government found Microsoft guilty of abusing its Windows monopoly position in 2002, but U.S. Department of Justice supervision of Microsoft only just ended in May.

Google's announcement states that it received a "formal notification from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it has begun a review of our business." The Mountain View, Calif.-based company also filed a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming the FTC's investigation.

"On June 23, 2011, Google Inc. received a subpoena and a notice of civil investigative demand from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) relating to a review by the FTC of Google's business practices, including search and advertising. Google is cooperating with the FTC on this investigation," the SEC statement read, which was filed as a Form 8-K.

Clues as to what the FTC may be investigating might be found with past litigation in Europe. In March, Microsoft announced that it had filed a complaint with the European Commission that Google's search-advertising service was anticompetitive by not providing information to other search providers. Microsoft's complaint followed earlier complaints lodged last year by three companies -- Foundem, ejustice.fr and Microsoft's Ciao! from Bing. Google alleged at that time that Microsoft worked behind the scenes to support those companies' complaints.

The Federal Trade Commission has its work cut out for it in its antitrust inquiry into Google's search engine practices, according to several legal experts.
Rate This Article:
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Now that the Federal Trade Commission has formally launched in antitrust investigation of Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) search business, it will have to prove the leading search engine harmed consumers, not just the companies lobbing allegations that Google impinges competition.

The FTC June 24 informed the search engine it has opened an inquiry into the company's business practices after fielding complaints from Microsoft (NASDQ:MSFT), Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE), TripAdvisor, Yelp and others that Google promotes its own Web services above their own in its search results. These gripes echo those made by Foundem, eJustice.fr and Microsoft's Ciao in Europe.

FairSearch.org, which includes Microsoft, Expedia and others, has argued that Google uses other companies' content without their permission, engages in "deceptive display of search results," manipulates search results to favor Google's products, and buys companies that impede its dominance online.

Google will be investigated under the FTC's Section 5 rule that deals with deceptive and unfair acts and practices, which includes "bait and switch" tactics.

Proving that Google's actions harm consumers will be easier said than done, according to David Balto, a Washington, D.C., attorney who has practiced antitrust law for the FTC, as well as the antitrust division of the Department of Justice.

"To succeed in an antitrust case, you have to look at a federal court judge and say consumers are hurt because they pay more or they have fewer choices," Balto said. The first argument may not work because Google search and other Web services are free. The second is simply tough to prove.

Balto believes Google would prevail in an antitrust case brought by the FTC because it has the consumers' best interest foremost in its mind: to provide accurate and timely results to their queries.

Noting that Google's conduct is largely precompetitive, he pointed to how Google protects consumers against deceptive Website operators. For example, Google discovered that J.C. Penney had gamed Google's search engine to push up its Website in search rankings last holiday season. The company manually dropped the retailer in its rankings.

Balto further noted that this case springs from complaints embittered companies are making that Google won't let them compete in the search market. Consumers, he argued, don't care where these companies are placed or that their advertising opportunities suffer from appearing far down on search results pages. They care about finding the results they want.

"I love antitrust and I love to go after large companies," Balto told eWEEK. "But I have a lot of doubt an investigation on search will lead to much. I think this is a dog that won't bark. It will take them awhile to walk it around the block, but I think that's what they're going to find out."

Geoffrey Manne, senior adjunct fellow at TechFreedom and lecturer in law at Lewis & Clark Law School, and Joshua Wright, professor of law & economics at George Mason University School of Law, added that "reducing consumer choice" seems to be a euphemism for "harm to competitors, not competition," where the reduction in choice is the reduction of choice of competitors who are put out of business by pro-competitive behavior.

"The fact that Google's rivals--including Microsoft itself--are complaining about the company suggests, ironically, that Google's practices are in fact pro-competitive and thus pro-consumer," Manne and Wright wrote.

However, Melissa Maxman, co-chair of the antitrust department at law firm Cozen O'Connor, wonders if there isn't a little something of the where-there's-smoke-there's-fire adage at play here; her firm has clients who are complaining about Google's search practices.

Maxman said she believes there's no question Google has earned its monopoly status, but added that obtaining a monopoly is not illegal if its earned.

"Why is [Microsoft] Bing not gaining?" Maxman told eWEEK via e-mail. "Is it because Google is gaming results? It could be very similar to what Microsoft did with the Internet browser."

In truth, Bing is gaining search share, albeit incrementally and certainly not at the expense of Google. Bing launched two years ago and has grown from 8 percent share to about 13 percent share. However, Bing's gains have come at the expense of Yahoo. Google has maintained its 65 percent share for the last few years, according to comScore.

Meanwhile, Balto noted that even though the FTC may be putting Google under the microscope, less than 1 out of every 10 investigations leads to an enforcement action. There has not been a successful Section 5 litigated case since 1972, he added.

Wow, thanks for this post. Good info here. I am really interested to see if this will end up going anywhere.

[gearmonkey]

WElp, my site continues to drop. I just lost another 400 per day starting Friday. I'm now at a 75% loss. I've been through ever crack and crevice of my website looking for the 'snag', but can't seem to detect anything wrong. I am obsessed finding the solution to the problem that it's effecting my life in a negative way. I'm at the breaking point, and 'bout ready to give up after spending $10s of thousands of dollars building my brand.

I can't afford to post high-quality unique content anymore... I'll probably be letting 3 of my authors go this week. Sad day for many people. I just can't survive like this anymore, Google has ripped my heart out for no reason. I should have sold my website for 6 digits last year when I had the chance...

One of my crappy autoblogs decreased ever-so-slightly in traffic. The other is still going strong.

[Zenkarma]

Originally Posted by Shadowflux

I actually wrote a 20 page report about the Panda update. If anyone wants a free copy just send me a pm

I'd love a free copy but I only just joined so don't have the post count. Would be much appreciated!

[Boricua]

POST Panda issues?

- Don't Spam Google or trick Google

- Submit numerous quality 500 word articles to numerous networks that work

* You know black belt Karate, right?

[Rollmodl]

Master, my Kung Fu is still strong. After the Google PR update this week I noticed the following:

• My index went from 0 to 4
• 8 of my inner pages have received a PR of 2 to 3
• Even my contact page has a PR of 3
• A few of my business listings have received a PR of 3 and are placed within page 1 and 2 of Google
• 2 of my keywords have gained the #1 spot on Google, one has only 5 backlinks
• I use my own article directory for backlinks, rely on great content, social bookmarking on the content, no automated tools and on page SEO

With all of this I am doing great but there is still work to do .

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by Boricua

POST Panda issues?

- Don't Spam Google or trick Google

- Submit numerous quality 500 word articles to numerous networks that work

* You know black belt Karate, right?

What kind of networks are you submitting to? Article directories? Blogs? Web 2.0 properties?

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

I'm trying to keep this thread helpful to the forum community and get some answers to questions a lot of us have. The less irrelevant posts people have to read though the better don't you think?

I think once a seller begins to push his services in a thread then its gets less relevant don't you think? So its a two way street. If you push it then people can critique it.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

Is anyone else experiencing this? I gotta be missing something here!

Haven't you been building your own network if you are in the SEO business?
Doesn't need to be thousands in your network at all. 50 -100 sites with authority will smoke most of whats out there getting you better than page one (into position that actually gets traffic - 1-5) in competitive niches not old weak ones and it lasts.

[HKSEO Rotzee]

What is that, a joke? I was being funny....no different than when he said..

Originally Posted by mattlaclear

My kung fu is still strong.

...why don't you get the stick out of your ass, I contribute to this forum all time with case studies, my personal opinions and answers to help people. I saw a thread about kung fu and since I also teach Jiu-Jitsu in real life thought it would be fun to play on the words.

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

Haven't you been building your own network if you are in the SEO business?
Doesn't need to be thousands in your network at all. 50 -100 sites with authority will smoke most of whats out there getting you better than page one (into position that actually gets traffic - 1-5) in competitive niches not old weak ones and it lasts.

I outsource my SEO tasks to a team of SEO pro's I've worked with now for over 2 years. Methods include Web 2.0, Profile Back linking, Article/Video Submission, Social Bookmarking, High PR Link Pyramids etc.... So If you're asking me if I've personally built my own network... No. Until recently everything working smooth as butter and there was no need to. But I don't see how 50-100 high authority sites are going to make a huge difference. Especially with some higher competition keywords.

[idk007]

I have to say that given the changes, it actually moved my page up.

[seothatworks]

this is what i do

make really strong linkjuice machines for your off page seo

1) create 3 web2.0 with UNIQUE ARTICLES
2) moneypage linked to web2.0 linked to web2.0 2 linked to web 2.0 3
3) blast the web2.0 with what ever tools you have got (black or white hat)
4) leave the money page alone. (dont blast it)
5) rinse and repeat. the key is UNIQUE ARTICLES in you off page as well as your money site.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

. But I don't see how 50-100 high authority sites are going to make a huge difference. Especially with some higher competition keywords.

sorry but you haven't spent any time in the serps. Its no wonder you are hitting a brick wall but carry on with what you think are pros because profile backlinking used to work and they could run some bots.

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

sorry but you haven't spent any time in the serps. Its no wonder you are hitting a brick wall but carry on with what you think are pros because profile backlinking used to work and they could run some bots.

I never said profile linking was the key here... read up on my posts here thread. But your right, obviously I know nothing about SEO, I have no idea how we've helped over 100+ clients get to the first page.

Obviously you are more interested in criticizing others on this thread than actually helping anyone. Move on bro.

[Michael Nguyen]

Hi there everyone. My sites are still strong as they were 2 years ago and these are little Amazon sites. So you want to take your SEO skill to the next level?

Not everyone is going to agree with me but if you want to do REAL SEO then it's time you start learning to buy links. Good links with real PR, pages with real PR. Buy site wide links and your site's rankings will rocket.

Example 1.

I had a site ranking at the bottom of page 1 and has been there for months. I purchased 1 sitewide link and created a few web2.0 links and after a week it jumped to #3 right under Amazon.co.uk. Making bank here and there.

Example 2.
Client is a car dealer and wants to target "used cars + location" (outside his local area. His page was ranking position 57 and was there for some time. I purchased 6 sitewide links (PR2 home page links) and after 3-4 days the page is now ranking above the fold on page 2.

I'll tell you this. All big companies in competitive niches such as insurance buy links and there's nothing to stop you doing it on a small scale.

In the UK, a few months ago I started seeing adverts for the insurance company morethan.com a nobody company and today they are ranking at 5 in Google UK for the term "insurance".

If you guys are still doing profile links, web2.0, article submission (low level links) then it's time to up your SEO game because once you learn that, you'll start going after harder niches where the big money is.

Ask me a year ago whether I would have targeted the term "hair loss treatment", I would have said too hard and competitive (plus I had no idea what kind of seo I would need)

Ask me today and I'll be confident and say "yes I can do it"
This guy hairlosstreatment-s.com (number 1 rankings in .com) is not gonna know what hit him!

Peace out

[magnusmora]

My two pennies worth

1. Make sure you have good solid quality unique content - It needs to read well and naturally
2. Make it as visual as you can - If you have videos, pictures get them up there
3. Add content and keep it fresh. Doesent need to be daily - Even once a week will help
4. Don't go mad with keyword density, it just does not look natural. When creating an article use google wonder wheel to give you ideas on related keywords to sprinkle through the article.
5. Have a good internal link structure - Ensure your articles link naturally amonst each other and are not just linked for the sake of SEO. Use related article plugin.
6. Build links using a variety of methods, article sydication, contextual links, blog networks, bookmarking, profiles ect. Get a diverse range of links is key. Don't worry to much about pyramids, link wheels ect - Straight linking to your main and internal pages mixing anchor text works just fine.

Overall, when you look at your site, imagine you are a user, do you want to stay on the site and explore, if so this is good. Does it have quality information which is visually intersting, this will keep people on your site and give you the google love you deserve.

I recently had one of my sites which post Panda dropped from the no.1 position down to middle of the second page. I tweaked my site, made the above changes and now I am steadily moving back up and am this week back to no.3.

Don't be disheartened by your drop in rankings, think of it as a challenge and dont give up, patience is key so just keep going.

[gearmonkey]

I'm reading a lot of stories on other forums/blogs that one bad page can cause the entire website to be penalized by Panda.

If this is true, how do we find that one bad page when there are over 2,000 posts? Also, why don't message forums get hit because forum members don't always create useful, high-quality threads.

Why doesn't the entire wordpress.com/blogspot.com get penalized for having so many spam blog accounts indexed?

What am I missing?

[bhuff85]

Originally Posted by Rollmodl

Master, my Kung Fu is still strong. After the Google PR update this week I noticed the following:

• My index went from 0 to 4
• 8 of my inner pages have received a PR of 2 to 3
• Even my contact page has a PR of 3
• A few of my business listings have received a PR of 3 and are placed within page 1 and 2 of Google
• 2 of my keywords have gained the #1 spot on Google, one has only 5 backlinks
• I use my own article directory for backlinks, rely on great content, social bookmarking on the content, no automated tools and on page SEO

With all of this I am doing great but there is still work to do .

PR went up on one of my sites too, but guess what else happened? Dropped from #6 on the 1st page to oblivion. Unique, engaging and READABLE content, great internal linking structure and diverse backlink portfolio. It was a smaller Amazon site (15+ pages of content) with about 50 uniques per day. Was bringing a decent amount of cash and then BAM - traffic loss of 90%.

Will it bounce back? We'll see. The thing is, I was just getting ready to really ramp things up and build this into a large authority site, but I'm going to turn my efforts on other sites until I see this one bounce back.

The irony? One of my thin sites that was BLASTED by the 1st Panda update is now ranking #1 for it's keyword term.

Things can change in the blink of an eye, and that's why I try to build websites across several niches and use different monitization and traffic methods. Can't rely on Google these days for much of anything.

[Ben Armstrong]

Guest blogging is the best strategy I have. It's one of the only things that seems to give me a boost in rankings. That would suggest that in context links on high ranking pages are very effective. And if you think about it... why wouldn't google reward you for that?

I still use blog commenting as well but I can't say I've noticed a jump in rankings from my efforts there.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

Obviously you are more interested in criticizing others on this thread than actually helping anyone..

Actually I gave you a great tip which countless profesional SEOs have done and are doing but you claimed it was worthless. I'm kind of glad with your attitude though. Meanwhile you are the one coming on the board that has hit a brick wall and yet still claiming to know what the answers are and are not.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen

Not everyone is going to agree with me but if you want to do REAL SEO then it's time you start learning to buy links. Good links with real PR, pages with real PR..................If you guys are still doing profile links, web2.0, article submission (low level links) then it's time to up your SEO game because once you learn that, you'll start going after harder niches where the big money is.

darn tooting right and I suggested just that Michael and was told by the Op that a 50-100 High Pr network won't make any big difference and wasn't being helpful. LOL!!

Please PM and I will run you through how to not have to buy so many links either (although you are SEO savvy and may already know). I wouldn't want to make more suggestions along the lines that we both know work since the Op doesn't think its helpful.

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by Mike Anthony

darn tooting right and I suggested just that Michael and was told by the Op that a 50-100 High Pr network won't make any big difference and wasn't being helpful. LOL!!

Please PM and I will run you through how to not have to buy so many links either (although you are SEO savvy and may already know). I wouldn't want to make more suggestions along the lines that we both know work since the Op doesn't think its helpful.

Why are you busting my chops bro? I wasn't disregarding your 50-100 high pr network method, I said I don't see how it would make a huge difference. Wasn't trying to be disrespectful, just never needed to build my own network of authority sites to get results on the serps before, and I don't think I'm the only one.

I've helped over 100+ clients in 2 years reach the 1st page but I never claimed to be the SEO Guru here, in fact that's WHY I created this thread. I need new solutions too. So if you have something you'd like to contribute great, post it here and stop busting my chops. I think we both have good intentions here.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

I've helped over 100+ clients in 2 years reach the 1st page but I never claimed to be the SEO Guru here, in fact that's WHY I created this thread. I need new solutions too. So if you have something you'd like to contribute great, post it here and stop busting my chops. I think we both have good intentions here.

ummm...... Nah why bother come to think of it.

whatever........bro . Good luck with your "SEO".

Like the old proverbs says - folly to be wise when ignorance is bliss.

[Mr Marketer]

Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen

Hi there everyone. My sites are still strong as they were 2 years ago and these are little Amazon sites. So you want to take your SEO skill to the next level?

Not everyone is going to agree with me but if you want to do REAL SEO then it's time you start learning to buy links. Good links with real PR, pages with real PR. Buy site wide links and your site's rankings will rocket.

Example 1.

I had a site ranking at the bottom of page 1 and has been there for months. I purchased 1 sitewide link and created a few web2.0 links and after a week it jumped to #3 right under Amazon.co.uk. Making bank here and there.

Example 2.
Client is a car dealer and wants to target "used cars + location" (outside his local area. His page was ranking position 57 and was there for some time. I purchased 6 sitewide links (PR2 home page links) and after 3-4 days the page is now ranking above the fold on page 2.

I'll tell you this. All big companies in competitive niches such as insurance buy links and there's nothing to stop you doing it on a small scale.

In the UK, a few months ago I started seeing adverts for the insurance company morethan.com a nobody company and today they are ranking at 5 in Google UK for the term "insurance".

If you guys are still doing profile links, web2.0, article submission (low level links) then it's time to up your SEO game because once you learn that, you'll start going after harder niches where the big money is.

Ask me a year ago whether I would have targeted the term "hair loss treatment", I would have said too hard and competitive (plus I had no idea what kind of seo I would need)

Ask me today and I'll be confident and say "yes I can do it"
This guy hairlosstreatment-s.com (number 1 rankings in .com) is not gonna know what hit him!

Peace out

Originally Posted by magnusmora

My two pennies worth

1. Make sure you have good solid quality unique content - It needs to read well and naturally
2. Make it as visual as you can - If you have videos, pictures get them up there
3. Add content and keep it fresh. Doesent need to be daily - Even once a week will help
4. Don't go mad with keyword density, it just does not look natural. When creating an article use google wonder wheel to give you ideas on related keywords to sprinkle through the article.
5. Have a good internal link structure - Ensure your articles link naturally amonst each other and are not just linked for the sake of SEO. Use related article plugin.
6. Build links using a variety of methods, article sydication, contextual links, blog networks, bookmarking, profiles ect. Get a diverse range of links is key. Don't worry to much about pyramids, link wheels ect - Straight linking to your main and internal pages mixing anchor text works just fine.

Overall, when you look at your site, imagine you are a user, do you want to stay on the site and explore, if so this is good. Does it have quality information which is visually intersting, this will keep people on your site and give you the google love you deserve.

I recently had one of my sites which post Panda dropped from the no.1 position down to middle of the second page. I tweaked my site, made the above changes and now I am steadily moving back up and am this week back to no.3.

Don't be disheartened by your drop in rankings, think of it as a challenge and dont give up, patience is key so just keep going.

Originally Posted by Ben Armstrong

Guest blogging is the best strategy I have. It's one of the only things that seems to give me a boost in rankings. That would suggest that in context links on high ranking pages are very effective. And if you think about it... why wouldn't google reward you for that?

I still use blog commenting as well but I can't say I've noticed a jump in rankings from my efforts there.

Thanks for your contributions =)

[Brad Seid]

My Kong Fu is stronger than ever! Google wiped out a lot of competition those that adapt will succeed even more in SEO

[howto]

Originally Posted by Jake Gray

Hey there,

Although I don't share industry secrets (for this very reason), I'll give
some light on this subject. I've been noticing great results from domains
that are older than 3 months. Also, Keyword density is around 2-5%. I
often add new content to the site because I constantly notice a huge jump
within SERPS whenever I add a new piece of content.

LOL!! Keyword density, you're a funny man. Do you still use meta keyword spam too?

[Ben Armstrong]

Originally Posted by Brad Seid

My Kong Fu is stronger than ever! Google wiped out a lot of competition those that adapt will succeed even more in SEO

Great advice.

Don't just focus on what will work today or try out the latest method to 'game' the search engines.

Think about what the search engines really want to see and how they'll adapt in the future.

[chukcha]

Originally Posted by Jake Gray

Hey there,

Although I don't share industry secrets (for this very reason), I'll give
some light on this subject. I've been noticing great results from domains
that are older than 3 months. Also, Keyword density is around 2-5%. I
often add new content to the site because I constantly notice a huge jump
within SERPS whenever I add a new piece of content.

Yes, I have noticed that too. I update text it jumps on the first page then it starts sinking. My site is now about 4-6 month old and it still sinks in SERPS and I'm doing a lot of backlinks with unique article content. If you would share some more info that would be great because it's a lot of frustration there.

[thegotoguy]

Originally Posted by Ben Armstrong

Great advice.

Don't just focus on what will work today or try out the latest method to 'game' the search engines.

Think about what the search engines really want to see and how they'll adapt in the future.

What do you mean by "game" the search engines? Isn't google pretty too smart for that these days? I think the Panda update itself was to rid the search engine of google gamers. Of course you may have meant "game" in a completely different context. My site wasn't affected by the Panda update, though I do notice my site fluctuating on page 2 from around #3 to #6 but that's about it.

[TBInternetMarketing]

Yea actually seems to be getting stronger. A couple of my new sites have suddenly jumped onto the first page of Google earlier than I thought.

[Ben Armstrong]

Originally Posted by thegotoguy

What do you mean by "game" the search engines? Isn't google pretty too smart for that these days? I think the Panda update itself was to rid the search engine of google gamers. Of course you may have meant "game" in a completely different context. My site wasn't affected by the Panda update, though I do notice my site fluctuating on page 2 from around #3 to #6 but that's about it.

What I mean is don't try and create backlinks for the sake of creating backlinks. Create links that will give you value in other ways.. eg. traffic. Things like guest blogging and submitting quality articles for syndication.

Googles aim is to eliminate sites that have been manipulated to climb the rankings. And while they may not have found a way to eliminate all of the methods currently being used to do this they eventually will. And with each update another method will be rendered obsolete.

Basically what I'm saying is you can try and stay one step ahead of google by trying the latest link building technique and risk getting slapped in the next update or you can give them what they actually want, which is quality content thats easy to navigate and easy to crawl, and natural links that help direct the right people to your site. And all the while building traffic generating methods that don't necessarily rely on the whims of the big G.

[aanchalsharma]

my job becomes harder and harder.

[barbrine]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

Thanks for all the replies.... Are there any SEO ninja's out there that have found strategies that work?

I think unique content is the key, try to provide quality and useful content within your website. For link building, social bookmarks and videos submission are always as effective as before. Paying more attention on on-page optimization is a good strategy to deal with google big panda.

[aryangarg]

Originally Posted by gearmonkey

For those who lost 50% plus traffic since panda, how is your sites peed?

use this tool to check:
Page Speed Online

I am curious because my site was dangerously low, I improved it my stie from 47 out of 100 to 82 out of a 100 scale. I am hoping this reflects in SERPs.

According to page speed (google) 82 and Yslow 85 .. nothing happens.. its a myth

[clickbumped]

Originally Posted by Mr Marketer

Nobody want's to kick in their 2 cents on what's actually working for them POST Panda?

Really???

Here's what I've noticed,

Site with AGE are ranking nicely, which have been created properly (i.e. white hat backlinking, long original content - lots of it, etc.).

I have new sites which are sitting on page 2 of google for their respective keyword phrases which would otherwise already be ranking. Google is working very hard to "fish out" any spammers and search engine manipulators. That being said, now you must spend much more time ranking your sites and pages. With that in mind, I think link velocity and diversity are more important than ever. Keep your linking at a reasonable pace, and do it all manually, no more xrumer, scrapebox, sick submitter.

Thin content has taken quite a hit as well. Any page you want to rank should have well over 500 words of unique, helpful content. Utilize heading tags, where appropriate, and try to incorporate more synonyms within the post content as well. It seems Google is looking more closely at synonyms than ever before, and ranking related pages over exact match pages, given they have more helpful and unique content, and come for more reputable sources - aged sites.

I'll be working with these conclusions and testing for a while to find some solutions to this problem. I was hit pretty hard as well, and I'm eager to find a fix to this.

[clickbumped]

Originally Posted by aryangarg

According to page speed (google) 82 and Yslow 85 .. nothing happens.. its a myth

What's a myth? If you think page speed affecting your SERPS is a myth than you're greatly mistaken. Google strives to provide quality sites in their results, a site which does not load is not quality. If using wordpress, use W3 Total Cache or Wp Super Cache plugins.

Reduce the amount of javascrapt and css coding per page, when you can. Create external files of all sources and rel href them all. This helps. My sites load on average .24 seconds per page. Both static and Wordpress.

[clickbumped]

Originally Posted by Ben Armstrong

What I mean is don't try and create backlinks for the sake of creating backlinks. Create links that will give you value in other ways.. eg. traffic. Things like guest blogging and submitting quality articles for syndication.

Googles aim is to eliminate sites that have been manipulated to climb the rankings. And while they may not have found a way to eliminate all of the methods currently being used to do this they eventually will. And with each update another method will be rendered obsolete.

Basically what I'm saying is you can try and stay one step ahead of google by trying the latest link building technique and risk getting slapped in the next update or you can give them what they actually want, which is quality content thats easy to navigate and easy to crawl, and natural links that help direct the right people to your site. And all the while building traffic generating methods that don't necessarily rely on the whims of the big G.

I second this.