According to a message posted on the Yahoo Search Marketing blog in mid-April, the new minimum bidding amounts are based upon the “quality” of the advertisement and the “value” of the keyword. It explains that “quality” refers to a higher click-through rate; thus, if your link is clicked more frequently than other ads under the same keyword, it might be assigned a lower min. bid. Apparently this is aimed at improving the relevance of Yahoo’s sponsored results to what people are searching for.

As for the “value” of the keyword, the Yahoo blog post indicates that more than one factor affects this calculation, including the number of promoters who have bid on it and how high their bids are. It also states that advertisers will be provided with a “grace period” to update their bids if a new min. bid surpasses their current bids. To keep the minimum low, a separate message on the same blog recommends creating more attractive ads, monitoring each ad’s performance, and bidding on keywords which are relevant to the advertisement.

An image on Yahoo’s blog shows that minimum bidding information on specific keywords can be viewed on the “Keywords” page under “Campaigns” when you are logged into a Yahoo Marketing Solutions account. The “Status” column shows whether or not each keyword meets its particular min. bid; if not, it reads “Inactive, Bid Too Low” in red text and indicates the new min. amount on the next line. If it reads “Pending Inactive”, this means that the “grace period” is still in effect.

So how does the new minimum bid affect you? If you advertise using pay-per-click sponsored search ads on Yahoo Search Marketing, the minimum bids you have to pay may increase or decrease. It only affects Yahoo advertisers using this type of promotion; the minimum bid for Content Match ads will stay the same. If you only use Yahoo for searching, this affects what sort of sponsored listings you will see at the top of result pages.

According to a May 1st entry on the Google News blog, a “full-fledged version” is now accessible on the iPhone in thirty different nations. It can also be viewed on the iPod Touch handheld device. Like computer users, iPhone owners can access Google News at news.google.com. A screenshot provided on the blog shows that it appears similarly to Google News in a typical web browser, except for lacking the usual lefthand column with links to archives and feeds.

This additionally increases the benefit to web sites of having their articles appear in Google News results. Web site operators can submit their sites for inclusion in these results; blogs are not accepted, but some relatively small news outlets are added. Google generally prefers sites with original content to those which republish articles from other sources.

However, it is of little use to have iPhone users finding your web site if it is troublesome or impossible for them to use. Businesses and individuals who do not have access to an iPhone can test their sites for iPhone compatibility by using an online or software-based iPhone simulator; some of these are more realistic than others.

Google News enables users to search for articles from a large database comprising thousands of sources, including newspapers, internet-only organizations, agencies, television stations/networks, and other media. Aside from the titles, thumbnail images, and descriptions which appear in results, Google doesn’t host or create any of this content.

News results are not sponsored, and Google claims that no articles aligned with particular political beliefs are given priority over others. Its web site explains that articles are chosen and ordered based upon computer calculations, not human decisions.

The iPhone was introduced by Apple in early 2007. In addition to its function as a cellular telephone and handheld internet access device, the iPhone has SMS messaging, high-resolution digital photography, and voicemail capabilities. The Apple web site currently prices it at $399-499, depending upon its memory capacity.

The somewhat less expensive iPod Touch ($299-499) is an MP3 player which also plays videos, allows for the direct purchase of music from iTunes, and can be used to read e-mail (unlike earlier iPods).

Do’s

1. If it is your responsibility, make sure the web page where the copywriting will appear has an appealing description tag which will make people want to click on the link in their search results. Use a related word for the page’s file name (name.htm) as well.

2. Try to use a particular word or short phrase related to your product, service, or other offering in each paragraph of an article. It should be a word people regularly enter in search engines.

3. Do pay attention to choosing a title which is attractive to click on in search results. Remember that people won’t read the rest of your text if they aren’t attracted by the title.

4. Aim to use some SEO keywords that competitors have not utilized in their copywriting. This may allow you to gain a high-ranking position in search results without having to surpass them.

Don’ts

1. When copywriting, don’t write a promotional article that is many pages long, as some web sites have done. This makes it more difficult to attain a good SEO keyword density, and will overwhelm readers who have limited time.

2. Don’t put an SEO keyword in every sentence, or so much that it is obnoxiously repetitive or obviously manipulated. Search engines dislike excessively high keyword density, and so do readers.

3. Don’t place the copywriting text inside an image or animation; this is harmful for SEO because search engine spiders/robots cannot read this type of text and will have little indication of the page’s content.

4. Do not sacrifice the quality of your SEO copywriting for keyword density by insisting upon a specific percentage. It’s better to have easily readable copy and a three percent density than awkward-sounding, redundant text at four percent.

Basically, SEO copywriting should use META tags, file names, and popular search keywords to its advantage, but not at the expense of readability or sufficient detail. Otherwise, SEO copywriting ought to apply the same techniques which make good print or email copywriting effective.

Checklist For The Blog Itself

- Is there a separate web page for viewing each of your individual blog posts? This lets them show up as separate search results and improves SEO keyword density.
- Can links to each page of your blog be found in a Site Map or other index?
- Do all of the pages have their own title tags specific to each entry’s content? Don’t just use the blog’s name for every title.
- Are there attractive title and description tags on the blog’s home page?
- Has your weblog been submitted to the major blog directories? Most allow bloggers to submit their blogs for free.
- Is your blog’s menu system accessible to search engine spiders? Try using it in a text-only browser like Lynx.

Checklist Questions For Bloggers

- Do you regularly ensure that unrelated comments and “comment spam” are promptly removed from your blog?
- Are you checking to see if your blog entries have a keyword density which is too high or low?
- Do you avoid using the same words and phrases repetitively in separate blog posts? Entries should be different enough from each other to appear as separate results.
- Are there relatively few unrelated words (menus, copyright notices, etc) on each page?
- Is most of your blog content original material which does not appear on other sites? Unique content is usually more effective in SEO.
- Do most of the links on your blog connect to web sites with content related to its subject? Avoid reciprocal linking with sites on much different topics.

Bloggers for whom most of these SEO checklist items don’t apply should consider working toward better optimization, which will enable them to gain more traffic with less promotional effort in the long-run. If the number of unchecked SEO tasks seems overwhelming, bloggers can consider paying someone else to complete them and/or work on them one step at a time.

PROS

1. Workers in foreign countries have lower business and living expenses, so they are willing to accept less pay for SEO and other kinds of work.

2. People in these countries might also be willing to complete the project sooner in exchange for only slightly higher levels of pay.

3. Outsourcing such services helps to improve the economies of urban areas in some developing foreign countries.

CONS

1. It is harder to hold someone in a foreign country accountable for not finishing (or starting) SEO projects they have been paid to complete.

2. Outsourcing SEO or any other type of service promotes lower wages throughout the world and can lead to a competition where quality is sacrificed for price and speed.

3. Someone located in a much different time zone is more difficult to communicate with conveniently, especially over the phone or in real-time.

4. SEO firms in foreign countries which largely compete on the basis of price and know they are being paid lower rates may feel less obligation to provide high-quality service or work to attract repeat customers.

5. PayPal payments cannot be received in some countries, so there is the added inconvenience and cost of mailing a check or money order internationally. This also decreases the chance of recovering funds when a service is not completed.

6. Regardless of their SEO skills, language and/or societal differences in foreign countries can make it more difficult for someone to optimize web sites in a manner which doesn’t compromise readability or seem awkward.

For the company purchasing SEO services, the pros of outsourcing SEO to foreign countries are few but significant (cost and speed), while the several cons range from minor inconveniences to potentially major problems. Both options have pros and cons for society in general as well.

A company should carefully compare both the potential risks and advantages of outsourcing before making a decision. Either way, it is important to find a reputable SEO provider which uses ethical practices; this type of optimization can be ineffective or even harm a web site’s search rankings when performed improperly.

First, wait a few minutes after submitting a link you want to track, so that Digg’s system can update. Then click the “My Profile” link at the top of the page and scroll down to the “Submitted” link on the page which appears. It may be necessary to scroll right to find this link, which is under the “Stats” heading. Click it and a list of all the stories you have submitted will be displayed.

Find the article you desire to track (you might have to use the search feature if you have submitted a lot of stories). You will see the number of “diggs” it has received, the category, and how long ago it was submitted, along with an option to “undigg” the link. For more information, click on its title.

This will link to a page which shows comments by other Digg users, as well as a list of users who “dugg” your article or posted its link on their blogs. To more conveniently track important stories, add this page to your browser’s favorites list, temporarily save it as a desktop icon, or keep it as a minimized window and refresh it periodically. It will be visible regardless of whether or not you are logged into your Digg account.

You can also mark the page as a “favorite” on Digg, using one of the icons below the article description. This will make the link to this page show up near the top of your profile, under the “Favorites” heading, making it easy to quickly track its popularity upon logging in. Keep in mind that your favorite web site selections are visible to other users.

Digg also has a feature which sends a message to your email account if one of your stories shows up in the “Popular” section.  This is activated by default upon signing up for Digg; it can be turned on or off under “Email Settings.” However, stories seldom appear in the “Popular” section with fewer than two-hundred “diggs”, so this is not an adequate way to track most submissions.

The above-mentioned tips and directions should be helpful to more easily and conveniently track the voting or comments on your news stories submitted at Digg.com.

One of the major problems may be that Google tries to determine the original source of a published article. If your article appears on a syndicated site it is possible for Google to get confused and credit that site as the original source.

Some confusion exists around the question of if Google will ignore duplicate content if the search engine has already seen it on another site. Google doesn’t ignore the duplicative content. The best way to handle this though is to publish the content on your site first and wait a short period of time before syndicating it. Once the article is syndicated then require a backlink to your site. All of this will help Google figure out that your site was the original source of the content.

Another question many people have is how much of the original content needs to be changed so that Google sees the link as a link to expert content. The best answer is that you can’t really alter the same article enough for Google to view them as unique. You’re better off creating two different documents to do this.

All told, the best way to syndicate your content is to publish your articles and things yourself. After they’ve been published for a couple of weeks syndicate them using proper linking structures. Doing this should help Google realize your site is the originator of all of the content and you’ll receive the benefit of the backlinks without being a site that has other sites content duplicated.

1. Posting original content on your blog with new ideas, hard-to-find information, or useful tips makes other bloggers more likely to add it to their blogrolls. On the other hand, this is of little use if the blog isn’t promoted sufficiently enough for many people to know it exists.

2. Leaving positive, interesting comments on relevant blogs with a link to your own weblog (if this is allowed) might attract the other blogger’s attention to it. The chance for this to work effectively is increased if you regularly post high-quality comments in this manner, rather than just once.

3. If another blogger posts an interesting entry on a subject related to your blog, consider linking to the entry from your own blog and encouraging readers to have a look. Post a comment on the other blog responding to the entry and mentioning that you linked to it. Other bloggers will likely appreciate this, possibly getting you on their blogrolls.

4. Consider offering helpful tips to a blogger who asks for assistance with a technical problem or other issue, and mention that you also have a blog. You may gain a regular visitor or even a link on his or her blogroll, but don’t expect this sort of benefit as a certainty.

5. Make sure the name of your weblog fits well on blogrolls (preferably not too long or short) and is attractive to click on. In general, it is also helpful if the blog title either provokes curiosity and/or refers to the topic of content it offers.

6. A few blogs actually provide their own tips or instructions for getting on their blogrolls. Have a look around blogs on related subjects and see if you can find any directions of this type. Some are specific, others only specify what sort of blogs they consider for their blogrolls.

Even after getting on one or more blogrolls, keep in mind that the links can always be removed. If your blog is not updated for weeks, becomes too promotional, or stops covering the subject other bloggers are interested in, blogroll links to it might be replaced with other blogs.

Google’s personalized search feature is integrated into its Web History system, which keeps track of the web sites users visit and the searches they perform. It then provides personalized results with the record of previous internet use as a basis. Members can choose to install a toolbar which records all web sites they visit, or just have it monitor the search keywords they use on Google.

Nsyght.com is another example of personalized search; it allows members to enter bookmarks or import them from social bookmarking services, then uses the member’s bookmarks to customize their results. Users can also “block” listings they aren’t interested in from showing up in their personalized results again. Nsyght has a very short registration form and does not use a toolbar.

One possible example might be that someone interested in radio communications would see police scanners in their personalized results when searching for “scanner”, whereas a person more interested in computers would see results pertaining to image scanners. Such a system could possibly divide the traffic from a particular keyword among a greater number of sites. If effective, it may also result in searchers entering fewer words to describe their searches, except when they are on subjects the user is not usually interested in.

Potential obstacles to the success of personalized search systems include privacy concerns and technical demands. Some internet users are likely to worry about having all of their searches and/or other online activity indefinitely stored by search engines. These systems must have the capacity to store a large amount of data on each user, which could dissuade smaller engines from adopting this concept.

Overall, personalized search is likely to provide searchers with results more relevant to them, except when they look for information on subjects they weren’t previously interested in. It also offers a way for engines to provide additionally user-targeted advertisements. If personalized searching becomes more widespread, it may complicate search engine optimization efforts because people will see different results depending upon their interests.

1. Email: Consider starting a free email service at your website, which can attract several types of links. People often post links to these when recommending them, and directories of free email services exist. You can also automatically add links to the end of every outgoing message sent by users of the system. Make sure you have sufficient time to maintain this service.

2. Groups: Start a “user group”, “club”, etc. for people who own a specific product and want to share information and tips about it. The product can be a particular car, computer, camera, or any item that is fairly complex and cost at least $50 new. This will often attract links from any forum or webpage answering questions about the product, giving general information about it, or trying to sell it. It can also attract users who keep coming back to the website.

3. Unique Content: Your website probably isn’t going to attract many links if it offers the same information a thousand other sites provide. Try to create content, systems, or online “tools” which can be found nowhere else on the internet, or have few competitors. Write about something new before everyone else does. Using offline information sources can be helpful in these efforts.

4. Graphics: Consider creating icons or banners other website owners can use as links to your site. This seems to have greater effectiveness for sites which offer useful free services, promote a particular “cause”, or solicit donations for a charitable organization. Make a variety of sizes available, and keep the download size low. The GIF image format is best for this purpose.

5. Prizes: Offering a chance to win prizes of some sort to visitors for using a feature of your website (such as searching or answering poll questions) is likely to attract links, especially from users who receive these bonuses. The prizes can be funded with advertising or sales income. However, keep in mind that some ad revenue systems prohibit incentive-based traffic.

Following these suggestions on how to attract links should help you successfully make your website more popular at little expense. However, these methods should be combined with submitting your site to web directories and other types of link-building techniques.