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Yahoo link and Google (In: Google)
how to increse the google rating on my site (In: Google)
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erbenson
Joined: Jul 25, 2007
# Posts: 6
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Posted: 2007-Oct-03 12:28
We have a regional service business site (dog sledding, Maryland) that we started in June 2007. We seem to get reasonable search results for Yahoo (#1 - #3), but we seem to be getting hit hard recently in Google (two pages in). Our ranks have slid down in recent weeks. The sites moving above us largely have not been updated recently while we update on a regular basis.
One of the searches of interest includes the first three words in our company name (Maryland Sled Dog)... which extensively populates our pages. It would be like typing "Nike" and getting "Rebock" above them.
We've gotten good comments on the style and layout of the site, but the searchability is a concern.
We suspect that it's a bit of a coding issue, but are not sure what to look for.
We periodically run an assortment of validators on the site to make sure that it meets code requirements.
Our site includes a variable length left sidebar that includes relevant content and a main content window. Unfortunately, with a table based format, the left sidebar is ahead of the main window in the code.
One thing we will probably do is start to cut down on the alt text since we have a concern that our natural text based alt text may be considered spamming.
Any suggestions?
-Eric
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mj1256
Staff
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
# Posts: 981
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Posted: 2007-Oct-03 16:07
your alt tags are fine. not a problem
get rid of all of these meta tags (only these as they serve no purpose at all)
<meta name="Copyright"
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language"
<meta http-equiv="reply-to"
<meta name="resource-type" content="document">
<meta name="revisit-after" content="3 days">
<meta name="classification" content="consumer">
<meta name="distribution" content="global">
<meta name="Rating" content="General">
change robots meta tag to
<meta name="Robots" content="index,follow">
I would change the name of the links page to something else, maybe resources.Google is hip to the link strategies and devalues it.
you don't need to optimize for maryland dog sledding, its in your URL and its your company name, you should always be found for your URL and company name
I would take your company name out of the beginning of your titles, add it to the end if at all. Your brand is not your company name, its your service. The way you have it set up has made all of your titles almost the same.
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bhartzer
Staff
Joined: Jun 08, 2000
# Posts: 7042
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Posted: 2007-Oct-03 17:21
New sites are generally given a "ranking boost" for a period of time...and then they tend to slide in the rankings.
Have you been getting new links to the site? You say that you've been updating the site often (which is good) but have you been getting more links on a regular basis?
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mj1256
Staff
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
# Posts: 981
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Posted: 2007-Oct-03 19:43
oops i missed that, you are a new site and as such do not have the age and trust factor yet, you need more time, it cantake 6 months to a year or more
[ Message was edited by: mj1256 10/03/2007 11:55 am ]
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erbenson
Joined: Jul 25, 2007
# Posts: 6
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Posted: 2007-Oct-05 11:04
Thanks for all of the suggestions.
I understand on the titles of the page.
Resources seems like a reasonable suggestion... I'll need to redirect in some way since some people may have our links page.
How much are the names of the images and page names used in the algo? If we wanted to optimize more for say "dog sledding", are image names like "dog_sledding" more useful than "gallery_091007"? Likewise, if we wanted to optimize for "girl scout dog", are page names like "Scouting_Programs" more useful?
Thanks a lot!
-Eric
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Quadrille
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 1064
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Posted: 2007-Oct-05 11:57
Everything helps - a little.
For example, it is better to have a file called blue-widgets.html than one called cftvb7546.html. BUT the advantage would be more than wiped out by the damage done by changing it, so consider that for new pages only.
ALT text is their to assist with accessibility; so it should be a phrase that is relevant to the picture. The SEs know that, and keyword stuffing is depracated.
Image files, like page files, could usefully have 'useful' names; but here again, the advanategs are very small, and would probably not justify renaming on existing pages (and certainly not if you get value from image search.
There are at least a couple of hundred factors that matter; most of them are tiny, and you may never feel the benefit.
Every bit helps, but change involves resources, and it also risks SEs treating old, established stuff as new - which more than negates 50 small changes! So always stop and consider costs versus benefits.
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mj1256
Staff
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
# Posts: 981
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Posted: 2007-Oct-05 17:33
you seem to be very concerned with the alt tags. they play a very minor importance in the algo. they will do next to nothing for your ranking.
your site is fine, you are a new site and have been treated as such, over time your site will age and grow in trust and will rise in the rankings. SEO is a long term process, it does not happen in three months and once a ranking is achieved, it is not static or sticky and will not in most cases last forever without constant tweaking.
refer back to bhartzer's comment
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