Posted on March 19th, 2010 by Randy
This post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc.
In the past, I have tried several different ways to skip the first link that Google takes into account for a given URL (nofollowed links, links with 301 redirections, etc). However, all these attempts had little success (301 works but it’s very suspect). Recently, I ran a test to see how Google handled the anchor links (links to different sections within the same page, eg: <a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://example.com/index.php#anything)”>example.com/index</a> and was surprised by the results I found. In the setup I tested, Google completely ignored the first standard link and instead credited the second anchor link.
The Test
For my test, I included several links on a page (Page A),
- the first link is a simple link. (<a href=”http://example.com/category/product.php”>text</a>)
- the second and third link are anchor links. (<a href=”http://example.com/category/product.php#anchor-example”>other text</a>)
Or in graphic form: 
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Posted on March 19th, 2010 by Randy
Marketers will love the targeted ads, but consumers might tire of the over-personalization.
Foursquare and other location-based applications are a great idea, but commercializing them may be a challenge. Key will be making them minimally intrusive and maximally useful, as well as avoiding the nightmare scenario of a world totally engulfed in personalized, located-based ads.
The South-by-Southwest festival this week in Austin has provided a platform for Foursquare to demonstrate its social networking application, in which users give their friends permission to see their whereabouts after they “check-in” at specific locations.
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Posted on March 19th, 2010 by Randy
Make sure you examine your business goals before jumping on the blogging bandwagon.
Business blogs attract search engines, display your startup’s personality and encourage customer participation–a form of marketing that startups crave and money alone can’t buy.
But before you jump on the business blogging bandwagon, get familiar with the basics and choose a blogging solution that’s right for you and your startup’s goals.
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Posted on March 19th, 2010 by Randy
Search engine marketing can be costly, get the most out of your efforts.
Among web marketers, it is the big debate: SEM versus SEO. Sound like just a bunch of letters to you?
If you owned a web site, you wouldn’t think so. SEO stands for search engine optimization, a process that seeks to boost a site’s traffic by helping it rise within a search engine’s organic, or un-paid, search results. It is often seen as the Holy Grail for internet marketers, as people tend to click those links over their paid counterparts. However, the conversion rate–that is, the number of shoppers that turn from browsers to buyers–tends to be lower in organic search listings.
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Posted on March 16th, 2010 by Randy
Early reviews have been tepid, but Apple’s latest still demands attention from your business.
On April 3, Apple’s long-awaited tablet computer, iPad, hits the streets. Despite the initial mixed reviews it received when it was introduced, there is no denying this new device will change the way you do web business.
I’ll get to exactly how it’s going to do that in a moment. But first, let’s take a quick look at the iPad, and its key features.
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Posted on March 12th, 2010 by Randy
13 things not to do when adapting your product to an online model.
Here’s a compilation of 13 silly and even stupid ways some companies are hindering adoption of their products and services. So if you are doing any of them, don’t.
1. Forcing immediate registration: Requiring a new user to register is a reasonable request—after you’ve sucked him in. The sites that require registration as the first step are putting a barrier in front of adoption.
2. The long URL: Say a site generates a URL that’s 70 characters long or more. When you copy, paste and e-mail this URL, a line break is added. Then, people can’t click on the link or it only links to the first part of the URL.
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Posted on March 12th, 2010 by Randy
Test, test, test! That’s the mantra these days. Conversion Rate Optimization is the buzzword on everybody’s lips (and tweets). So why are we telling you NOT to test? Well, we’re not, we’re just saying to be smart about it.
People often get a testing platform ready to roll and then start obsessing over just how intricate they can get with multi-variate tests…it’s a walk before you crawl scenario. Start with the big picture: A/B tests of major page layouts, even MVTs on major design changes. Those things can yield MAJOR uplifts in conversions and they’re the things you need to focus on before you worry about what color font you use in your H1 tag and the 0.0001% lift you get from it.
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