Exposing Gray/Black Hat Information - What Should SEOmoz Do?

For a long time, I've held the personal belief that being the best search marketer you can be requires knowledge of a vast information set. This includes black hat tactics - the unethical, the illegal, and those that merely violate a website's TOS or search engine's guidelines (or walk that fine line). Naturally, the SEO blogosphere has a number of places where this material is discussed, from forums and blogs to wikis and articles, but my stance has historically been to never suppress this type of content on SEOmoz, and in fact to encourage discovery and discussion. I've found that, at least for me, the more I know about what black hats do and what tactics exist, the better I am at every aspect of my job - from advising clients to protecting sites to identifying manipulative competitors and knowing which boundaries to cross and which to avoid.

However, a series of experiences provided a catalyst to re-examine my position regarding our publication. In the spirit of transparency, I'll describe them as best I can to help provide an accurate perspective:

* We've received some harsh criticism from those who engage in black/gray hat practices and been asked to STFU about these topics. Spam, obviously, succeeds more when less is known about it, so it's natural for those with a potential interest to keep it close to the vest.
* We've gotten some very angry comments/emails/posts written about exposing specific sites that engage in manipulative practices as well, both from the site owners themselves and from those who don't think "outing" spammers is an appropriate practice for those in the SEO field.
* Several folks who work for search engines have expressed disappointment and frustration in our open discussions of these topics, both because they're worried that our coverage will appear to be an endorsement and because they feel a wide audience with knowledge of this material, even when accompanied by an appropriate warning, may attempt more abuse of their systems (and perhaps for other reasons that I haven't heard as well).
* We recently lost a very large, very important contract due to the client asking a respected source in the search community about our work and hearing that our work is "black hat and could get them banned from the engines." Apparently, this association came not from any "black hat" work we've done, but from the blog post content :(
* In our upcoming Expert Seminar here in Seattle, we mentioned that search engine representatives would not be present, and despite my specific announcement that the seminar would contain no black hat material, this was seen as a sign to some that we'd be going into gray/black hat territory. The real reason we don't have search engineers is that we have a partnership with Third Door Media (who runs the SMX conference series), and we wanted to be as careful as possible to position our "training" as true "training" with none of the conference elements (blogging, search reps, multiple panels, expo hall, keynotes, etc). In hindsight, I should have made this crystal clear from the beginning. Let me be 100% clear now - the reason for no search reps at the show has NOTHING to do with presenting black hat material. We honestly wouldn't even know how to give high-level material on that topic, as none of us have ever run spammy, manipulative (or even affiliate) sites. We did this to differentiate the seminar from the format of shows like SES San Jose and the SMX series. To be bluntly honest, if it weren't for this concern, I would have gladly invited search engine reps and been honored if they would have accepted. It would be good for the seminar, the attendees, and the SEOmoz brand to have them present.
* In that same conference, we also gave the horribly misleading title of "Black Hat Tactics & Search Engine Penalties/Dodging Spam Detection" to Nick Gerner's presentation. Although the descriptive text below does a good job explaining what Nick's actually presenting on, a far more accurate title - "Avoid Being Labeled a 'False Positive' - How Black Hat Tactics Impact White Hat Websites" - should have been given from the start.
* Blog posts such as our WB Friday Give it Up and White Hat Cloaking suggested that we might be endorsing or recommending black hat tactics. I believe this is due to misinterpretation or a careless reading/listening to the caveats and warnings we provided, but it's true that particularly on the web (but nearly everywhere in life), content often comes through with a very different perception than how the message was intended.

Now, naturally, there are literally thousands of topics we could cover on the blog, and while we believe in diversity of information and I personally believe in sharing white hat, gray hat, black hat, and every other kind of known method that Internet marketers conduct business, I feel that perhaps the SEOmoz community would rather we expend effort on content that any and every website can use, and can/will turn elsewhere to learn about black/gray hat tactics.

So today, I'm bringing this issue to you, our community, as a pointed question: Do you believe SEOmoz should continue to share gray/black hat tactics & content via the public blog & articles?

BTW - For those wondering how black hat SEOmoz really is, the truth is that we're pansies. While I'm fascinated by web spam and all the subtleties and fine points that surround it, we've never recommended anything more gray hat than some user agent cloaking to get rid of duplicate content (which, according to Stephan Spencer's post, all the major engines endorse) and some link buying (which, while it does violate search engine guidelines, is, IMO, a necessary part of many link building campaigns and very light gray on the hat scale). We've never had a client's site get banned from the engines, never had a person who got advice from us in Q+A report back that our suggestions got them into trouble, and never had to hide a client or site we worked on out of the fear of being penalized.

Video Takes To The Web - Be Optimized

Video is growing into an incredibly popular marketing medium. The Web is rapidly emerging as the largest video-distribution platform in history, and it is imperative that search engines can find your videos as easily as they can find your other Web content.
In today's post, ClipBlast CEO Gary Baker gives us some tips for making sure your video is indexed and found on search engines. Because video search is a completely different animal than traditional text search, take these five steps to help video search engines find your clips:

Create quality metadata for each video you post Video-search engines use metadata to index, categorize and rank video content.

The most important metadata are:

* Title — accurately describe your video in 40 characters or less, using upper- and lowercase letters for optimal readability.
* Description — explain exactly what users will see, emphasizing the keywords and terms for which people might search.
* Categories, tags or keywords — specify any and all relevant terms for which users are likely to search.
* Image — include a visually descriptive thumbnail, typically 60-by-60, 80-by-80 or 100-by-100 pixels.
* Publish date — typically the day you actually publish.
* Link — spell out and include the URL where a video resides.

Register your site with video search engines If you create good metadata, any video search engine worth its salt should eventually index your content. However, you can speed things up by registering with specific video search engines.

Create a media RSS feed RSS is the preferred way for most video search engines to index and update your video content.

The media RSS format uses standard fields to categorize content, virtually ensuring quality metadata. When video search engines have access to your RSS feed, they instantaneously get new video content as soon as you add it.

Have a robust library of video content Having a large library of video content, as apposed to just a clip or two, is one of the ways you can set your site apart as a serious video content provider that ranks high in search results.

Post several clips with related video content If you post more than one video on a similar topic, video search engines will leverage your other content to make “more like this” recommendations.

This will help to drive up your overall viewership and bring in more traffic.

Gary Baker is founder and CEO of ClipBlast, Agoura Hills, CA Reach him at gary@clipblast.com.
Posted by Michael Fleischner - Marketing Expert at 8:14 AM 0 comments
Labels: internet marketing, seo, video marketing
Friday, May 23, 2008
Landing Pages Improve Conversions
Today's Marketing Tip: Improve your performance with landing pages that work.

Landing pages are created to improve conversions for marketers spending on email and PPC advertising. When thinking about paid search and email, email is the cheaper route, and allows more freedom and speed in testing. Paid search is more difficult because it's not overly intrusive. As might be obvious, email puts a marketer's message directly in front of the consumer whereas search requires not only the consumer to actively seek out but to not be blind to advertisements.

As an extension to that, most effective marketers believe that landing pages should not be subtle. She prefers the "buy it now" approach, especially with smaller ticket items for sale that don't require a lot of research.

Knowing the intent of the consumer then, plays a big part in developing a landing page. Make sure the landing page matches where the consumer expects to be taken. Consumers hate to see someone come in and hit the search button immediately. That's making consumers work too hard and costing you good marketing dollars. Landing pages more closely aligned to PPC ads can also reduce click costs. Here are some other things to consider...

1. Get top-level buy-in for strategic projects; not all projects produce immediate sales, but have more strategic implications for the business.

2. Create urgency, such as a deadline to increase CTR and conversion

3. Print destination URLs on pages in your catalog

4. Sepertate CSS and data points for ease of use

5. Make sure landing pages deliver on a promise that drove the shopper to the site with consistent products, benefits, offers and branding

6. Split test different paid search landing pages

7. Split test different email landing pages. Don't throw consumers to a category page, but a specifically designed page using the email messaging, creative and extended product offering

8. Track key performance on all pages

9. With landing pages - think like a consumer

10. Test, test, test

Landing pages are a good investment, especially when they're done right. Follow these landing page guidelines and optimize your conversions.

Today's Marketing Tip: Innovative Ways To Market

Each day, marketers are seeking new ways to reach their target market more efficiently than every before. Marketing is a multi-faceted approach to promoting a product or service. Both traditional and unconventional marketing methods have a place in the small business world. Marketing helps small businesses focus on building their brand and identity.

There are few limitations to tradition marketing options, and the opportunities listed here are just a few that will result in a positive ROI (Return On Investment) for most businesses. That said, do not be afraid to be creative. No one knows or understands a small business like its owner, so think outside of the box and don't be afraid to experiment.

Identity Consistency

Create continuity between an online website, logos, letterheads, business cards, and packaging. Create an identity that will make your business stand out from the competition, and leave a good initial impression on potential customers. A professional image associated with your company or product will remind customers of their past brand experiences, and will reinforce your product line.

Trade Publications

Niche publications are journals or magazines that focus on a specific market. If your product or service is appropriate for a specific market, then advertising in their trade publications will allow you to immediately drill down and target that very specific audience.

Promotional Items

Branded giveaways have long been used by marketers to attract potential customers. Products that have a long shelf life will help keep your business in the forefront of a customer's mind. Weeks, months, and even years after a product is purchased or service is performed, promotional items will remind the customer of your brand.

Reviews

Solicit product reviews from reputable industry sources, magazine reviewers, bloggers, or industry journalists. Product reviews lend credibility to a product or company.

Keyword Advertising

In order to help your website's search engine ranking, use keyword advertising. Focused and targeted keyword advertising will drive web traffic that has a genuine interest in your product or service.

Niche Directories

Use online niche directories to promote products or services. Visitors who frequent topical directories have a strong interest and are more likely to purchase.

Viral Marking

Once known as "word of mouth" marketing, viral marketing has taken on a life of its own. Encourage product buzz, as well as customers referring customers.

Opt-In Email Marketing

Use email as a marketing tool to notify your existing customers about specials, new products or services, or product releases and updates. While some say email marketing is dead, others say that measured results of email marketing tell a very different story. Opt-in, targeted email marketing works, and produces results when done correctly.

Partnerships / Strategic Relationships

We see large companies leveraging their assets every day, and small online businesses should too! Whether it be as a partner, an affiliate, or a strategic relationship, all of these relationships can benefit small businesses. Businesses can use strategic relationships to penetrate niche markets. Affiliates can expand their reach and tap into the customer bases of similar products. Partners can provide additional value to existing products or services. Determine what types of relationships could be beneficial to your small business.

RSS

RSS is growing in popularity. It is an alternative communication channel that has the benefit of reaching a larger audience through syndication. Supplement and enhance email and newsletter campaigns by providing an RSS channel for their content.

Forums / Newsgroups

Participation in newsgroups and forums will result in building credibility. Business relationships will often result from online dialogue in industry forums and newsgroups. Actively participate and always behave in a professional manner.

Forum / Email Signatures

All forum posts and emails you send should contain a "signature" that advertises your business name, tag line, and URL.

Blogs

Blogging and posting comments on blogs can result in an increase in web links and traffic. Socialization and engaging others with well thought out comments can establish a business reputation and generate product interest.

Article Syndication

Writing articles can help lend credibility to your product line and improve your business reputation.

Local Newspapers

Contact local newspapers and pitch a unique story to them. Publicity is free and can generate discussions and interest. Consider exploring alternative channels for advertising and marketing. Keep in mind that advertising need not be costly; creative marketers can often find inexpensive avenues that will result in a great return.

This post adapted and provided by Sharon Housley who manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.