Developer Shed Weekly SEO News for 2009-08-28

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August 28, 2009 Welcome to another great week of SEO with the SEO Chat newsletter! This was no ordinary week, of course, as anyone who has kids going back to school can attest. Here's hoping you made the most of all the sales, to say nothing of reaping the rewards from all the SEO groundwork you laid over the last couple of months or so building up to this. Speaking of going back to school, if you're a CIO (or know someone who is), you will want to check out the item we're highlighting this week from eWeek. CIOs surveyed believe in general that the importance of business tasks in their portfolio will increase faster than the importance of technology tasks over the next couple of years, calling for an adjustment in their skill sets. Will you be prepared? Click on the link for the details as to which skills will be affected. The articles we post on SEO Chat are always educational, of course, and that's especially true this week, as we bring you articles on topics you've been wanting to read about for quite some time now. Looking to optimize the speed at which your web pages load? Check out Monday's article. How about the best way to create search engine friendly URLs with PHP? We covered that on Wednesday. Here's a big one: have you been wondering what you can do about negative reviews and other black marks against you or your company that show up in the search engines? This not-so-unusual problem has just about inspired its own sub-field, called online reputation management. We cover what you need to do, in detail, in Tuesday's article. What would a good education be if it didn't dispel a few myths along the way? We may not have the Mythbusters on call here, but we do have this week's thread. You think Adam and Jamie are good at blowing things up? Wait until you check out all the SEO myths exploded by our highly capable forum members! Bring your goggles and be prepared to take notes on all the stuff you shouldn't try at home, and don't forget to bring a few myths that are ready for the dynamite. If you're trying to continue your SEO education, you'll also want to check out Tutorialized. With more than 100 SEO-related tutorials (to say nothing of the wide range of other technology topics we cover here), you'll certainly learn something you didn't know before. Or you could don the professor's robes and create a tutorial yourself to submit to Tutorialized and share with the world. Any SEO-related education must be forward-looking, and this week's Spotlight, just for the readers of this newsletter, looks to the future of search. How will search be different next year from what it's like this year? And how will that affect the future of SEO? Scroll down to the Spotlight to find out. As always, thanks for reading. Until next time, SEO Chat Staff

ARTICLES Creating Search Engine Friendly URLs with PHP Online Reputation Management with SEO Optimizing Your Web Page Speed SEO on Tutorialized SEO Thread of The Week SEO Chat News Spotlight TOOLS Get Our Content on Your Site with DevText! New Articles, Right To Your E-mail Developer Search NEW! Download a free trial of IBM WebSphere Message Broker V6.1 Download a free trial version of WebSphere Message Broker V6.1, an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) built for universal connectivity and transformation in heterogeneous IT environments. WebSphere Message Broker distributes information and data generated by business events in real time to people, applications, and devices throughout your extended enterprise and beyond. Learn more. Hello World: WebSphere Service Registry and Repository Manage, govern, and share services across your organization by using WebSphere Service Registry and Repository. Follow the hands-on exercises to learn how to navigate the Web interface to publish, find, reuse, and update services. Learn more.

IDF Sneak Preview: What's Not to Miss! By Tina Gasperson Next month, September 22nd through the 24th, Fall '09 IDF (Intel Developer's Forum) comes to the San Francisco bay area, and you'll want to put this on your calendar as a must-attend event! Read the full article > ConnMan Optimizes Embedded Internet Connection Management By Lisa Morgan In June 2009 Intel and Nokia announced a partnership to collaboratively optimize Moblin and Nokia's Maemo Linux OS for Atom-based netbooks, nettops, MIDs, automotive infotainment systems and cell phones. Read the full article > Mobile Marketing Forum September 9-10, 2009| Berlin, Europe | WEBSITE > Mobile Marketing Association's 5th Annual Mobile Marketing Forum Europe is the premier event in the region to deliver real brand case studies and detail on what is needed to maximize mobile opportunities. OSiM World Sep. 15-16, 2009| Okura Hotel Amsterdam | WEBSITE > Open Source in Mobile (OSiM) World is the leading community gathering for executives and developers in the open mobile ecosystem. IDF September 22-24, 2009 | Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA | Attend the Intel Developer Forum for global access to technology, ideas, and people who will transform the future of technology and how the world is using it. Registration opens June 17th, 2009. WEBSITE > Mobile Web and Apps, Incorporating Mobile Social Networking October 20-22 | The Cumberland, London | WEBSITE > For the fourth year running, Mobile Web and Apps, Incorporating Mobile Social Networking, will provide you with all that you need to understand, improve, and profit from this seismic shift in the industry.   JayCut Inventec's Moblin-based MediaPhone shown at Computex

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It's edgy! It's irreverent! It's all about technology! It's News You Can't Use, and you won't want to miss it! View this week's edition to learn the answers to these burning questions: Jenny is back and better than ever. Amazing what brain surgery can do. DevShed Hulk will smash the competition. And your bathroom door. Video of the week returns and this time I swear it is not because I am a lazy writer. Watch the video!

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Creating Search Engine Friendly URLs with PHP by Ivan Strouchliak 2009-08-26 In this article we will help you understand the difference between static URLs and dynamic URLs and the benefits of coding search-friendly URLs. We'll also explain why it is important to optimize URLs and how they impact search engine click through rates. We will introduce you to the basics of PHP URL structure, the mod_rewrite and how to use it to produce static-looking search engine friendly links. The article only touches on the basics and assumes you have a general knowledge of PHP, as well as some knowledge of SEO. Why is it Important to Optimize URLs? In the earlier days of search engine optimization, keywords in your URL helped pages rank higher in search results. Today URLs have little or no impact on search engine rankings; however, URL optimization is still crucial for several reasons. Read Creating Search Engine Friendly URLs with PHP

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Online Reputation Management with SEO by Alan Webb 2009-08-25 The fact that anyone can post anything online is a mixed blessing. Many companies have found, much to their horror, that others have posted half-truths or outright lies about them. What can you do if this happens to you or your company? This is where online reputation management comes in. What is Online Reputation Management? It is rare that a successful long standing company does not at some stage have some kind of negative feedback from a competitor who is jealous, a dissatisfied client, a prima-donna who wants to look special or just someone who simply wants to rock the boat. Of course the vast majority of website owners do not have a problem with their reputation. However, with more and more user- generated content media and social media opportunities, there is the danger that negative comments/posts can find themselves in the top 10 of Google, or even worse, above-the-fold on a search for your company name, individual name, brand/product name or main keywords. Read Online Reputation Management with SEO

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Optimizing Your Web Page Speed by Ivan Strouchliak 2009-08-24 Fast delivery is the key to success. Website speed optimization (load time) can help you increase conversion rates, win more customers and improve their satisfaction. Think of Google's approach to search and the milliseconds it takes to display results; it was one of many reasons people loved it when it first came out, though this speed is taken for granted today. In this article you will learn how to minimize page load times by reducing HTTP requests, optimizing graphics, optimizing multimedia, converting tables to CSS, optimizing JavaScript and more. Speed Optimizing Your Website Start by stripping out all inline style and converting files into pure HTML code. Look at the pages and see if elements can be created more efficiently (usually tables can be converted to CSS). Once pages are stripped of all style, you can put those styles into an external CSS file. Read Optimizing Your Web Page Speed

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Tutorialized is dedicated to programming, designing, and many other tech related tutorials. Submit Your Tutorial Today! Beginner's Promotion Guide You have built your handy dandy, do it all, all things to all people web site. Now it is time to promote it. Read the tutorial. How Can I Boost My Google Rankings? A definitive guide that teaches you how to boost Google rankings. Read the tutorial. Website Sales Optimization This tutorial covers website sales optimization which might lead to greater sales per visitor. Read the tutorial. Submitting your URL to Search Engines How to get search engines to crawl your site as often as possible. Read the tutorial. How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google Simple and effective way to submit your sitemap to Google. Easy read. Read the tutorial. Learn Techniques Required for Creating Content WordPress Business Blog from average to extraordinary. Read the tutorial.

How can this SEO Newsletter be better? What do you like or dislike about this issue? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? What issues in search engine news are important to you? We'll consider your suggestions and ideas for improvement, so please email us. Email us.

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Some topics are just guaranteed to inspire a flood of replies. For example, ask a group of working SEOs about the great SEO myths that annoy them, and...well, just check out this week's thread to see what happens. Noj What are the great SEO myths that annoy you? What are the great SEO myths that annoy you when people roll out tired arguments they have heard someone else say with no or little thought and understanding ? My favorite is PR is useless and bears no relation to SEO. akinak akinak Links!! Links!! and Links!! I know link building is good, but overdoing it? Even to the extent of spamming people's blogs and articles, just to post a comment (actually a link to your own website). How about writing content of your own? tstolber Optimizing your META Keywords will make you rank better! - That one never dies! Posts from this thread may have been abridged or removed. Forum members are responsible for the content of these posts. Read the full thread.

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The Future of Search The Search Engine Strategies conference always features thought-provoking panels for those in the field of search, and the most recent one was no exception. David Carberry, writing for Search Engine Guide, offered a summary of one titled “Where to Next?” The moderator's main question concerned what we can expect to see on the search radar for 2010 and beyond, a topic of vital interest to forward-thinking SEOs. Deciphering user intent remains a tough challenge for search engines, but one that will receive more focus in the days to come. Panelist member Carla Borsoi, from Ask.com, noted that “Engines will be able to tell what the user intent is, when they ask the question...” and that it “goes well beyond the ten blue links” and even contextual queries to involve location. She envisioned search engines being able to answer questions such as what is the best school for the searcher's kids. Different interfaces will also play a role. Stephan Spencer, the founder of Netconcepts, seems to think that being able to talk to your computer will become more common in the future. We do have that kind of software today, of course, but it's not yet good enough to be used as a matter of course (typing is still often more accurate and sometimes faster). I don't think a voice interface will ever become as common as Spencer thinks, however; I can see many situations in which users would not want to vocalize their intentions. If I'm working in a cubicle or searching for something with a mobile device on public transportation, for example, I might not want everyone within earshot to hear what I'm doing. Long-tail keywords may continue to grow in importance if Heather Dougherty's projections are correct. She's the research director at Hitwise, and she notes that 18 percent of search queries today include five or more words â€" and those queries are becoming more complex. If searchers are becoming more precise about what they want, you can offer them more precision, and content that is hopefully more relevant to their queries. If you sell fruit trees, for instance, perhaps on your site you can offer information on growing fruit trees in climates that are less than ideal for the plants. Or even better, if your buyers come from particular areas, you can make suggestions about what plants to buy based on their local climate. Sadly, there don't seem to be any mind-reading computers or programs planned for the future, but it certainly seems to be the goal for which most in this market are striving. What does this mean for you? Surprisingly, classic business practices are the answer: think about what your customer wants, and give it to them. To do that, though, you have to be able to think like a customer. That may be easier said than done, but you're likely to master it - and reap the benefits from this knowledge - before you score the number one spot on Google for “mortgage loans.” Good luck! Read the relevant forum thread.

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