Archive for September, 2006

OK…..that was fun….not.

I deleted my political post, it was getting kinda nasty in there. Yea, I should have listened to those who warned me.

Comments closed here too - you’ll have to go elsewhere to talk politics.

Guess that was just one of Jim’s Crazy Ideas.

End of discussion…..and now, back to the regularly scheduled SEO talk….

All I ever hear is numbers numbers numbers.

So and So has this many links, we need this many links, how many links can you get us, buy 100’s of links cheap, get your link on 100 pages, ahhhhhhh.

The numbers game died a few years ago.  There’s another line of thinking out there that you might not know about…..

It’s not always "He with the most links" who wins the game……often, "He with the right links" can win the game as well. Really, very often, he with the right 10 links can beat the guy with 1000 of the wrong links - I see it all the time.

I’m sure most of us have looked at search results, and followed it up by checking the backlinks of the top 10 sites….and then scratched our heads and said "Hum….why is that site in the top 10? It only has X amount of links….hum…doesn’t make sense."….I know I used to do that a lot. Upon closer inspection I’ll usually find that the sites with fewer backlinks that rank on the first page of search results have links that are more relevant, or more trusted, or seem to come from the "right places" (trusted industry related sites).

Sure, there’s different ways to play the game of SEO….go for volume of links……or go for Trusted links…..but few go on the angle of "get the right links" and you might not need as many links as you thought you did.

See, a problem with going for volume is that you can’t stop…you and your competitors might be running in a dogs race always trying to get one more link than the other guys….you buy ‘em in volumes…you trade ‘em in volumes, you 3 way ‘em, you site-wide ‘em….you do what ever you can to get your total backlinks up, up, and away….problem with that is, is that you often get links from non-trusted sites (artificial backlink sites), you get them on "links" pages (tossing a sign on your site saying "Google, kick me, I’m an SEO trying to artificially inflate my backlinks), you get them for 200 directories (another Google kick me, I’m an SEO sign), and the more you get, the more you fall, and the more you fall, the more you cry "I must need more, more, more", and the further you slip…..it’s really a bad SEO trap that’s been laid out for you.

Now, getting trusted backlinks is way better….finding sites that have "Real backlinks" (not SEO’d sites)…and getting your links on real pages is really cool….and winning by trust can be done…..until the engines start to say "here’s the neighborhood, but you’re not in it" and wa-la, yea, you’re trusted too….just not by your peers, and your rankings slip again.

I truely believe that the engines are trying to find the neighborhood…..and that the numbers game is dying big time. So….remember that site that ranked high, yet had few backlinks? Let’s look at that with some "Jim Pictures"

Ok….see the black dot in the middle? That site might not have the most backlinks….but it’s in the center of the activity….it’s got the right links….the hubs and the authorities….it doesn’t have a link from everyone, but it’s got the right links….ok…I’ll admit, my artwork might not be the best…let me try another picture (I didn’t draw, but it can help to show my point).

Again, see my red arrows that show the sites that have votes from the authorities and hubs of the communities.

Getting a few of the right links, from the right places can be more valuable than getting 100 links from the wrong places.

Well my last poll asked

Do you listen to Podcasts?

And the results are:

15% Daily
18% A few times a week
15% A few times a month
21% Rarely
32% Never.

There’s also 22 comments so far where people voiced what podcasts they listen to.

Ok…every now and then I feel that I just gotta throw some fun into this blog…all business and no pleasure makes Jim a dull blogger.

Wanna see a quick funny clip of a pretty cool portable computer?

Wow, I just realized it’s been over a year since I started this blog. 

I’m seeking feedback on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I’ll also select 1 person (who I feel gives the most helpful response) to receive a box of goodies that will include: A Napster Ballcap, A Napster hoodlum hat, a We Build Pages polo shirt, a We Build Pages wall clock, and some other trinkets I’ve got laying around.

Also, I’ve been thinking of breaking a cardinal rule, and posting, at least once, on my political views….do you think that’s a bad idea?

I thought that instead of calling non seo posts "Cat Posts" as I have in the past (I got this name from Seth Godin’s "Who’s Where - Seth Godwin’s guide to blogs and the new web"(PDF)), that I’d just call them "Non-SEO" from now on.

So, here’s a Non-SEO thingy…..

Check out this Trippy collection of eye candy.

Found via Digg. If you haven’t heard this, ya gotta check it out.

I love Weird Al….have since the 80’s.

FYI, here’s some other music I enjoy in case you care: Kiss, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, The Who, Grateful Dead, eminem, Bob Marley, ALice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queensryche, Pink Floyd, Barry Manilow, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Tupac, Simon and Garfunkel, Supertramp.

Yea, feel free to pick on me, Barry still kicks ass in my eyes

Who do you like?