Weekly Search & Social News: 03/16/2010
Welcome to another edition of 7 Days of Search and Social last week was a pretty damned busy one out in the search news/blogging space and we have a TON of good reading this week. From compliant code for SEO to the ever popular (debated) SEO standards and a whack of search geeky goodiness, there was plenty out there. Oh and whats with Matt lately? There have been some funny ones over there (Video section) the last two weeks. Thanks for the giggle bro. I hope this editon finds you well theres def something for everyone.
And away we go
Is compliant code an SEO rankingfactor?
Over the last year or so Id had the conversation many times about SEO and valid mark-up. For the record I am of the mind-set it is more a factor of good webmastering than it is anything. Sure, if the site lags bad or even worse, doesnt render, it certainly can have an SEO effect, but from a ranking perspective, no not a signalaint gonna happen.
Interestingly I was going to pen a post about it for the SEOBS blog (for me pal Edward), but now? No point its been beaten to death last week. Witness;
W3C Validation for SEO; Myth andReality SEJ
W3C Validation for SEO? Separating Facts From Fiction Springboard SEO
W3C Compliance Not an SEO Factor? – SEO Consultants
W3C compliance is it a requirement? – GW Blog
And Ive spoken to a Googler whom said;
There are many good reasons to validate markup for instance, cleaner code might display better on mobile phones or be handled better by screen readers but ranking on Google isnt one of those reasons. There are currently too many pages with original and compelling content but poor markup for us to justify favoring well-validating pages. So nothings changed since 2006 on this front.
Hopefully we can leave this one alone for the moment. That being said, it really cant hurt to take some of Edwards thoughts to heart as it does still make good sense. It simply shouldnt be considered a ranking factor.
Talk of thetown
A modest proposal for SEO standards was so damned tempting as the lead story, I thought Id give it a little extra space ( Owe it to Edward to at least give the other a leg up). As long time readers and old horses would know, standards has been a long running source of discussion and frustration in the SEO world. When someone I respect speaks about it (Michael, and Bill before that) I tend to take another look. Give the above post a read and consider writing about it or otherwise discussing it.
He followed that up with A modest proposal for SEO training course standards and in talking with him over the weekend he also mentioned; Can we talk SEO? In one SEO lexicon? that post is really a good starting point even. Will we ever nail it? I sure hope so.
Advice for a New Internet Marketer (or How to Spot Internet Marketing Snake Oil) was a great post on a few levels. For starters I really enoyed the rant quality to it. Secondly, she separated link building from SEO something a LOT of peeps dont seem to grasp. Great stuff T!
Have Google Index Your AJAX, Here Is How some good tips on a topic weve been hearing more and more of lately. Seems Google has a good grip on not only JS, but its super-powered kin, AJAX. Certainly worth reading if applicable to your situation.
3 Tricks on SEO & UserEngagement I was going to put this one into the Weapons section, but I liked it so much, it was worth giving more attention to. While I am still in the process of testing the concepts, its some solid stuff regardless. I am curious if Tip 3 qualifies as cloaking, something to look into.
Website Redesign, SEO, & Video Keys to E-Commerce Future for the universal search geeks out there, this post once more shows the value of video. A quick tip for you; not many SEOs are good at video. Mkay? Thars gold in them thar hills!
Picking Wise SearchProjects Lyndsay was getting into what I like to call pre-qualifying clients. It is a safe bet that one doesnt want to take each and every client that rolls in Some common sense tips here for grading yours.
Study: Searches Ignore Real-Time Search Results wasnt really a big surprise to most search geeks. Barry also has some links to convos and more to the story. While I wont call it dead just yet, its current iteration leaves plenty of room for improvement.
4 Things That Are Getting Me Rankings, Right Now Dave Bait is alive and well this week, but have no worries, Glen is a kick ass kid! And his post teaches us once more, that SEO isnt all about links as many would have you believe Ya know?
20 Things You Can Teach a HIPPO to Make Your Website Better Speaking of bait, this post from Todd came up on the radar this week thanks to a mention of zee Dojo. But as always, entry does actually have a bar around here. Todd does a great job of
A Practical Guide To Information Architecture Changes being a more content centric SEO, information architecture is something I pay attention to. From CMS to architecture, this is a solid post worth reading. Even if you arent planning changes good elements to remember.
Migrating to a New Domain and URL Structure speaking of IA and site changes, this post on SEJ was also solid in that regard. Between the two, you should have a good framework.
71 Technical Factors For Backlink Analysis (From 30 Link Building Experts) Part 2 Garrett French is at it again with his mega-geek round ups. See how I dont use the word experts G? Hee hee. OK, nit picking. Some solid advice all-around.
Google Responds To Privacy Concerns With Unsettlingly Specific Apology and last, but certainly not least, a good laugh at Googles expense (they can take it). I truly had a good search geeky guffaw with this one. Enjoy.
Honourable Mentions;
Targeting Multiple Keywords vs. Singular Keyword Focus SEOmoz http://www.seomoz.org/blog/targeting-multiple-keywords-vs-singular-keyword-focus
Crafting SEO Landing Pages http://www.seobook.com/crafting-seo-landing-pages
SEO Love It or Hate It SEO People
How to handle SEO client problems Solo SEO Blog
Search GeekCentral
Search Patents
/end SOSG session
7 Days of Search and Social is a joint effort from Search Engine Journal and the SEO Training Dojo to bring you the latest in SEO and Social Search news. Each week (on Tuesdays) well be posting the highlights of the most recent (SEO Geeks) newsletter here on Search Engine Journal.
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Source: www.searchenginejournal.com