The “rel nofollow” tag in hyperlink text is commonly thought to instruct Google and its spiders that a link should not be counted toward the target web site’s link popularity.  This is enormous implications on link building efforts.  First, however, a little background…

In Google’s blog, instructions to webmasters about how to avoid being blacklisted include identifying what links are “paid” versus “free”.  The presumption is that Google considers that paid links should not count toward a site’s link popularity and, if it discovers that a site is attempting to distort its position in search engines through excessive spamming (buying or trading of links, posting of redundant content for SEO purposes only, etc.), that site could be penalized.  One way that webmasters are asked to instruct Google’s spiders whether a link is indeed paid is by inserting the “rel no follow” tag into hyperlink text.  An example of what rel no follow looks like in a link tag, ummm, follows:

<a href=”http://www.visitorcamp.com” rel=”nofollow“>Website Packages</a>

As compared to a standard hyperlink:

<a href=”http://www.visitorcamp.com”>Website Packages</a>

You can’t tell if a rel no follow tag exists unless you actually look at the page source code.  In both of the above examples, the link looks like this: Website Packages .

Why should webmasters or search engine marketers care?  Well, for one thing, a lot of web sites that feature link exchange now surreptitiously add the rel no follow tag into their hyperlinks.  Thus, if you, an honest wbemaster, add a link to a third party site in exchange for one back, you may not actually get any benefit if the site does use rel no follow.  Many major web sites like Wikipedia do this automatically.

There are many implications:

1. Many Link checkers, used to verify that site that you link to are linking back, do not check for this

2. Webmasters that manage web sites using content management solutions or databases can sometimes tweak hyperlink tags across their site very quickly – sites that used to provide link popularity can stop doing so overnight

Having said all that, the actual truth behind rel no follow is not so clear cut.  Many other major search engines like Yahoo appear to ignore the no follow tag.  Even Google is said to potentially include links toward pagerank in some cases according to the nofollow article in Wikipedia.  Finally, even if a link does not count toward your link popularity and Pagerank, you can still benefit from web site visitors that click on it to visit you!  So don’t let SEO objectives completely cloud visitor traffic and other benefits of having links simply because rel nofollow is used.

The best strategy is vigilance.  Check if your link checker software detects rel no follow. Stay aware of developments in how rel no follow is evaluated by visiting the Google blog, and check the source code of sites that you partner with.  You don’t have to avoid seeking links that will have a rel no follow tag, but consider whether link exchange is worth it or if its justified by other factors like traffic or visibility.

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During this time of economic struggle, many businesses cut back on their marketing budgets in hopes of conserving money and increasing their chance of survival. However, research shows that this tactic will harm rather than help your business. Instead of cutting back, businesses should INCREASE their marketing budgets during a recession.

The Harvard Business Review found that companies who increased their marketing budgets during recessions saw the biggest growth in sales. During the Great Depression, Kellogg continued to push their marketing while Post did not. For the next fifty years, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes dominated the cereal market while Post struggled to keep up. Read even more about the benefits of increased marketing during a recession.

What does this mean for your business? That it is important to continue your marketing efforts, and one of the best ways to do so is through search engine marketing. Read about Polar Design’s search engine marketing packages to put your business on the path to increasing sales!

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Google released a search feature in November 2008 which allows Google Account Users to personalize their searches. Forty percent of internet searches are duplicate queries a web user has made one or more times before. Using this knowledge, Google created SearchWiki which is integrated with Google Search to allow users to rank, remove, and add notes to search results. Each time that Google Account Users perform that search query in the future, they will see the results as they have modified them. Currently, users can view other notes that have been created about search results; “See All Notes for this SearchWiki.” To learn more about these new features, read Google’s support page.

At the moment, Google is not using feedback from SearchWiki to influence their organic search ranking. However, one can imagine that this would be a logical next step for Google which poses an interesting question about how SEO will evolve. Read the New York Times article, Google Personalizes Search with SearchWiki, to learn more.

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Getting your content published in Wikipedia is notoriously hard. Wikipedia has strict guidelines about what they will allow to be published as well as a “no point of view expressed” policy which stop users from adding blatant advertising articles. For an amusing tale of one wiki writer’s struggle to get his web conferencing article published, click here.

Despite all of this, for-profit companies do have Wikipedia pages. This is accomplished through providing relevant content and following strict guidelines, as well as an understanding of Wikipedia’s inner workings. Polar Design was recently successful in creating a Wikipedia page for Kalahari Tea. This is a great search engine marketing tactic since the content gets copied and syndicated to many other sites, like this one.

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Since the launch of Kalahari’s redesigned site, conversion has more than doubled! This is a great example of Polar Design’s search engine marketing work. Kalahari’s site has great design and interactive features–two of the most important factors in conversion. Check out Kalahari’s site for yourself!

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Google has a “waiting period” or “sandbox” method that it employs with new sites. This means that when a new site is developed, it will take between three and four months before you can expect it to show up in Google searches. This Google “waiting period” article explains this process in more depth.

However, there are certain things that you can do during this “waiting period” to ensure that your site will rank highly in Google searches after this period. Contact Us to learn how we can help you prepare your site for search engines.

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I have worked with Polar Design for several years now. With their help, I have built a great website and have exposure on all the major search engines. Our web presence is so important because this avenue is a large part of our marketing resource. In fact, our number one referral source is word of mouth, and the second largest is the internet. Because there are so many dentists obtaining on line presence every day, it is important to have optimal search engine positioning. Your website must also grab attention. While having prime positioning may help, people will not care about your site if it is dull and does not speak to their needs and wants. Providing helpful information in a website that is welcoming and easy to navigate will help drive people from the virtual door to your physical front door. Polar Design helped design my original website and was instrumental in completely updating it recently. I have been happy with their suggestions and services they have provided. Although, I receive offers to help with my internet presence on an almost daily basis, I quickly delete those offers as I am not planning to switch companies anytime soon.

Kimberly Loos, DDM (www.drloos.com)

**Dr. Loos’ site is on the first page of results in Google for the terms “California Dentist” and “San Jose Dentist,” among other terms.

This blog provides information and updates about Google’s philosophy of filtering results. It explores relevant topics such as the negative scores sites can get by having massive link exchanges or spamming the web. Visit the blog to read more about these topics.

However, Google’s blog does not provide information on the fastest way to get good links from quality sites. Contact Polar Design to learn more about obtaining quality links.

BMW and Rioch had their German web pages removed from Google due to their “black box” SEO attempts.

An overview of the process in which Google indexes sites and determines search ranking.

Read the full article