Black Hat, White Hat Which Hat Got JC Penny in Trouble With Google?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by blogcoach

I really enjoyed reading this article about Search Engine Optimization strategies that got JC Penny at the top of the Google search for certain keywords. But what happened to make them plunge to a low placement. Was it White or Black Hat techniques?

Ok, some of you are wondering what the difference is between the two. Well, I will tell you that it has nothing at all to do with race. But everything to do with the stuff you can or or should not do that can get you in trouble with Google.

So, take a few minutes to read this really engaging blog post by the New York Times.

RSS is Spam Free

Posted on January 13, 2009 by blogcoach

RSS is your own channel. It enhances your relationship with a client. As your stuff gets updated your client;s stuff gets updated instantly! I am listening to a FREE online tutorial on Podcasts by the great folks at Baby Boomer Audio.

RSS increases your visibility. Here is a great definition of Podcasts by ABC News.

What Is RSS?

Depending on who you ask, RSS stands for either “Rich Site Summary” or “Really Simple Syndication.” But no matter what it’s called, RSS is a new way to publish information online.

At the heart of the technology is special Web coding, called XML, that has been widely developed by the global online community over the past few years.

The XML code for RSS describes a new type of Web information called a “news feed.” Essentially, the feeds can contain a summary and links of the new content on a Web site or anything else a creator desires to share. A company may publish an RSS feed that contains news of its latest products, for example.

Anyone — an online surfer or another Web site — can pick up the RSS codes and with the appropriate Web software display the information automatically.

The concept is similar to how a newswire service operates: Information published by one news organization can be “syndicated” — picked up and displayed — by any other news organization.

So, the instructor during this 90 min call takes you step by step doing and producing a podcast with this easy audio service. Honestly, the service is called Audio Acrobat but my affiliate to it is Baby Boomer Audio.

The instructor also mentions that Google is very sensitive to RSS feeds. He also reviews some critical SEO (Search Engine Optimization) points related to RSS feeds. You know, great stuff on keywords, etc.

Now, I have heard this training before but today I am listening to refresh and motivate me.

Launching New Podcast Series

I am launching a new podcast series called “Baby Boomers Bustin Loose”

So this comprehensive yet simple training session is just what the doctor ordered. I have so many questions

I didn’t have before.

So, if you get a chance go on over and give Baby Boomer Audio a try.

And yes if you click subscribe to the 30 day free trial and like and sign up for the service I get a commission. But I can honestly tell you that even if you only stay on for the trial you will gain such great value PLUS the free training.

My Baby Boomer Twitter Connections -@rebacollins

Posted on January 1, 2009 by blogcoach

Start Tweeting With My Twitter Baby Boomer Connections

I am meeting so many great, genius and “get up and going folks” on Twitter. So I decided this New Years Eve to chart some of my Twitter connections. I will post some of the great references and insights from Tweets and sites by those who I am following or who are following me.

If you are not on Twitter you are really missing some great gems and resources that are presented 24 hours a day. It is a networking and information power-packed pool. A watering hole that experts often gather.

So tonight I want to share a post on SEO that was on the blog of a couple, Brent and Reba. I just followed Reba only 60 minutes ago. From the time I thanked her for following me to the time of this post I have been hanging out on their site listening to their post and signing up for the service that allows you to listen to a post. I was also checking out other great features and plugins they have added to their site. You can learn so much about blogging just by observing what others are doing.

I am following Reba and she is following me. Her site is Internet Marketing Boomer. Read what about her and the reason why she started her online efforts. Then, check out one her excellent post she did on Search Engine Optimization.

Reba says:

There’s so much to talk about, I don’t know where to start. But I better get in gear because you’re here for a reason and I don’t need to be hemmin’ and hawin’, huh?

Well, first things first, I’ll give you a little background on why I’m excited about what we’re doing here. Brent can make his own post.

I’ve been working on the internet for over ten years now. It started when I bought my first HTML editor, Microsoft Front Page 97 and from that point forward, I was hooked. First I built websites for other companies, but that only lasted a year or so as I wanted to build sites for ME. Brent and I owned a wholesale company that sold stuffed animals to the amusement industry and I was getting bored. This internet stuff was so much fun, I wanted to just do that!

So ever since that time I’ve been piddling around trying to make money online and have never quite gotten it right. Every time I thought I was on to something, something would change or I’d get bored because the money was slow to come and I again would quit. Well, let’s face reality, it was me and my impatience, I never had the tenacity to hang in there and just MAKE IT WORK.

Well let me tell you, this time, I’m going to MAKE IT WORK and while everyone watches right here!

I’m a member of that great generation that was born between 1946 and 1964. Yes, I’m a member of the generation that made America what it is today. According to the Wikipedia, I’m a “Trailing Edge Boomer” or “Late Boomer” since I was born in 1959. I really like the “Late Boomer” label as that’s what I am in Internet Marketing as well, I’ve been online for 10 years and still haven’t Boomed! Yes, it’s taken me 10 years to realize and understand my role as an internet marketer, yes, I’m a “Late Boomer”.

As a Baby Boomer my concerns include things like:

thinking about retirement that is just around the corner

taking care of an aging parent

making sure my kids graduate from college and preying they do it without too much debt

working all day in a workforce where young fresh minds could replace me at a moments notice

trying to turn my internet hobby into a full-time business

and the list goes on, add a comment and let’s discuss your concerns as a Boomer

And that’s why I’m here. I want to share what I learn about internet marketing with others who want to become financially independent with their own company using the internet. I’ll share what works and what doesn’t, what products are good and which ones aren’t, and I’ll give you info on the latest fads and the latest crap.

There’s so much information on the internet about internet marketing that it’s mind boggling, it’s a full-time job keeping up with it all and I hope to make it my full-time job some day soon. But what will be different about the information I give, is I will filter it from a Boomer’s perspective assessing cost, risk level, time investment to outcome ratio, and much more.

I’m looking forward to this new journey with a group of people that “see things the way I see them”.

Thanks for following me Reba!

Your Blog Is Talking-But What Is It Saying?

Posted on November 6, 2008 by blogcoach

Your blog is talking, but what is it saying? I just read an insightful post about how our site communicates to our readers. After reading it I decided to pay closer attention to what my site may be saying. When you review these simple, yet powerful points you will, like me, pay closer attention to what your site is saying.

This post was written by a popular web designer who has combined some practical SEO tips into his 21 ways your site is talking with your visitors.

How Does Your Blog Site Score?

Posted on October 22, 2008 by blogcoach

Do you know how your blog scores with Search Engine Optimization?(SEO)

Well, I plugged a couple of mine into this really great free tool and found out that I have a lot of work to do.

Give it a try at Website Grader.

Free SEO Kit

Posted on October 21, 2008 by blogcoach

You can get a FREE SEO kit from Hubspot. Okay, just a reminder, SEO means Search Engine Optimization.

Below is an excerpt from their website:

HubSpot’s free Social Media Marketing Kit gives you the tips and tricks you need to harness the power of the social mediasphere – facebook, digg, del.icio.us, twitter, and many others – to get found by more potential customers, develop meaningful relationships with others in your industry, and position yourself as an expert in your field. Learn:

-Why social media is important for your business
-How to start engaging in social media to reach customers and the media
-What and how to measure results from your social media marketing efforts

Going Beyond Google, MSN and Yahoo-Part 5

Posted on February 25, 2008 by blogcoach

Lexxe is a powerful easy to use search engine that you can submit your url. Not only that but it uses something called natural language processing technology.

They have a search service for 9 major English speaking countries and regions, where English is a main spoken or media language in everyday life. Users can search within the websites the countries. They apologize that the United States is left out in the country search. It is because most American websites do not carry country code in their URLs.

When you do your search choose a country you want to narrow your search on by clicking on the national flag image.

You can also go deep in searches on the news. There are other good things here that will make your search engine experience easy and fun.

Oh, and about submitting your urls, well I submitted 7 without a hitch!

Going Beyond Google, MSN and Yahoo-Part 4

Posted on January 21, 2008 by blogcoach

Have you you heard of metasearch engines? Here is a definition from my friends at Wikipedia (Actually I don’t know any of the volunteers working on the site-it could be one of you)

A meta-search engine is a search engine that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source. Metasearch engines enable users to enter search criteria once and access several search engines simultaneously. Metasearch engines operate on the premise that the Web is too large for any one search engine to index it all and that more comprehensive search results can be obtained by combining the results from several search engines. This also may save the user from having to use multiple search engines separately.

The next question some of you might have is, “Where and Who are these masked search engines?”(That is a take off from the old western The Lone Ranger, it’s a boomer thing)

Well I am glad you asked. I am sharing 16 of them right here right now. If anyone has others please share them also. The links below work as of today. You assignment, if you decide to accept it, is to do a search on a term in a few of them to see the results. You can also search on one of your blogs.

Dogpile.com

Clusty.com

(I covered this site in more detail in an earlier post)

Academicindex.net

(This site is recommended by teachers and librarians and is great for research. You can also search for sounds. I looked for bird sounds it was really cool. Just go to t he bottom of the page and click on more reference tools.)

(This is a travel search engine that will search over 200 sites) ***Note: Some Baby boomer bloggers really do travel