Friday, April 6th, 2007
It is believed that Google has been making adjustments to their algorithms targeting duplicate content. This has resulted in some clients having part of their sites designated “supplemental” in Google’s results. We suggest you regularly review your site content both for internal duplication (e.g., a “printer-friendly” version of the same text) and external duplication (i.e., someone plagiarizing your content on their site).
Google has provided recommendations for identifying and dealing with duplicate content at http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2006/12/deftly-dealing-with-duplicate-content.html. This primarily addresses unintentional duplication within your own site.
A good tool for identifying where on the web your content appears is www.copyscape.com. This free service allows up to 20 searches each month. They also offer Premium and Copysentry services at different rates. You simply type in the url of the page you want checked and it will return a list of all sites that have the same content. We suggest you schedule a regular search for sites that have duplicated your content.
If you find that someone has lifted entire pages or chunks of your site, you can file a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint with Google at http://www.google.com/dmca.html. We have found that sending a warning letter to the site asking them to remove duplicated content under threat of a DMCA complaint usually achieved the desired response. If that fails, then you can always file an actual complaint.
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Friday, April 6th, 2007
Google Maps has a feature that allows for searches within a geographic location. You can see how these searches work by going to http://maps.google.com and clicking “find businesses” under the search box. This will divide the box into two: one for the business name or search term and the second for the location. As an example, type in “search engine optimization” and “Scottsdale, AZ” and click “Search Businesses.” Then click the balloon that corresponds to “Elixir Systems” and then “more info.”
This free feature allows businesses to provide as much information as they like: hours of operation, payments accepted, links to e-mail and website, etc. To add your business location to this feature, return to the main Google Maps page and click “Add/Edit Your Business” in the left-hand column. This will take you to Google’s “Local Business Center” where you can follow the instructions to create your listing. After you have registered, you will receive a postcard about a week later with a password for making future changes. This is to prevent anyone else from accessing your listing.
We suggest that any business with branches or franchises pass this information on to each location with instructions on how to register and coordinate your online branding. If you have only one office, it will be simple to enter your information and manage your listing.
Yahoo! has their local directory sign up at http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/local/lbl.php. They have a “Basic Listing” for free and “Enhanced” and “Featured” listings for a monthly fee.
Update: 3-12-2007
We want to advise you that Google has announced an update of these services. There are now more features available for you to use in listing your business.
If you visit the Local Business Center you can expand your listing by uploading photos, changing your address if you move, and choosing a category for your business. You can then provide “custom attributes” based on the category of your business.
Additionally Google is providing analytics of the Maps clicks you receive. This lets you see just how many people are viewing your listing.
We definitely recommend that all of our clients put this tool to good use. If you haven’t created your listing yet, do so today!
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Friday, April 6th, 2007
Here is a way to build two useful and fee links to your site/sites
Linkedln
Naymz
Both of these sites enable you to include live links to your business site. They are also valuable as networking tools.
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