Hi! I’m Stephanie Christensen with SEO.com and today we’re going to be discussing the frequently used SEO term, “duplicate content.”

What Is Duplicate Content?

Duplicate content is content that appears online in more than just one place. There can be many different types of duplicate content issues in the SEO world. Examples of this could be: having multiple pages on your website with the same content, having both a www and non www url without proper redirects in place, having multiple domain names viewing the same website, or external issues like guest posts or other content being published on multiple websites,

This can cause problems and confusion in the search engines because when they come across multiple pieces of similar content they’re unsure of which to rank and which is the original.

Because duplicate content issues are situational, there are many different fixes. The most common are 301 redirects, placing rel=canonical tags, and updating your robots file if necessary to prevent search engines from crawling and indexing duplicate content.

Being aware of duplicate content issues that may be occurring on your own site, implementing correct fixes, and being sure to avoid duplicate issues in the future will help eliminate confusion in the search engines, assist you in ranking, and ultimately help your overall website’s performance online.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

What Is Duplicate Content? [Video FAQ] is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Sampson (Christensen – I got married!)  and today I will be answering the common SEO question: Can SEO help remove negative listings from the search engines?

Yes, SEO can assist in removing negative listings from search engines. Search engines are intentionally unbiased when they rank websites. Their main goal is to get a searcher all the information they are looking for as soon as possible, whether it is good or bad. If there is a negative website ranking for some of your key terms, the most appropriate, white-hat way to remove the negative site would be to have quality, relevant links not only to your website, but to other websites that are similarly related.

For example, if you have other micro-sites, social network pages like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, or simply neutral websites that compliment your overall website goals, you can focus on bringing these sites onto page one, thus driving the negative properties out of the rankings.

Black hat SEO’s might recommend building bad links to your competitors or other tactics similar to this. These are illegitimate forms of link building that we would suggest staying far away from.

Focus on relevance & quality – building out press releases, amping up social interaction, and driving quality, natural links to as many of your positive web properties as possible. Although it may take more time, you will see quality, lasting rankings, and positive results in the top pages.

Do you have a question about SEO, internet marketing or social media? If so, post your questions on the SEO.com  Facebook page, Tweet us, or leave a comment on the SEO.com Google+ page. For Twitter and G+ use the hashtag #SEOCOMFAQ.  Maybe we will use one of your questions in a future video.

Can SEO Help Remove Negative Listings From The Search Engines? [Video FAQ] is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

When asked what I do, I often will respond “I work in SEO,” or “I’m an Account Executive for an SEO agency”.  Other times, I find myself having to go into a longer, more detailed explanation, explaining “it means Search Engine Optimization. We get websites ranked higher in Google…” Or if there’s a very large generation gap I’ll keep it super brief and say “I do stuff with search engines.”  When I first decided to dive headfirst into the SEO world it didn’t take me long to realize if I wanted to hang, I absolutely needed to learn the lingo.  SEO has a language of its own, and if you want to stay afloat in this industry, but more importantly in the search engines, you better know your stuff!

With that said, I’ve created 5 common terms and 5 recent (and increasingly common) terms I regularly discuss in my interactions both internally and with clients.  This is the list I feel you better speak, understand, and implement in the SEO world today in order to thrive.

5 Common Terms Everyone Should Know:

1. SEO & SEM: Search engine marketing (SEM) is the overall practice of marketing your products or services through search engines whether through paid search or organic search. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing websites in order to rank organically in search engines.

2. SERP: A Search Engine Results Page (pretty self explanatory) is the page on which search engines show results for search queries.

3. Backlinks: Also known as inbound links or incoming links, these are hyperlinks pointing to your website.  In SEO it is common to hear the term “backlink portfoilio”, meaning the overall portfolio of types of links you have acquired coming back to your website.  It’s important your backlink portfolio is natural and diverse in order to achieve rankings. 

4. XML Sitemap: An XML sitemap is a file on a website that is accessible to both users and crawlers.  This tells search engine bots where and what pages can be found on a website.  It is important that your sitemap is accurate and updated so you can tell search engines to read and crawl all the pages you want them to see on your website.

5. Canonicalization: According to the head of Google’s webspam team, Matt Cutts, canonicalization is “The process of picking the best URL when there are several choices”. Implementing canonical tags will help avoid you being penalized for duplicate content issue

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to 5 terms we’ve heard used more and more as of late, if you want to be up to speed in Google’s world you’ll want to pay attention:

6. Penguin: The Penguin update is the most recent update made by Google, arguably the biggest update ever, and targets “over optimization.”In particular it targets sites that are playing the “SEO game” by keyword stuffing, linking schemes, or other forms of irrelevant and unnatural link building.  The goal of this controversial update was to enhance the overall user experience by producing more relevant search results.

 7. “The Fold”:  The fold refers to the section of a website that is available on the screen without scrolling.  Earlier this year, Cutts announced they had multiple user complaints about having to scroll down to find actual content.  He warned that sites that don’t have content “above the fold” may be penalized.  If your site is one that has recently been penalized, having no content above the fold could very well be a reason why.

8. Author Authority:  Also referred to author rank, this is the process of influencing rankings by indicating the writer.  Google’s official statement explains this further.

The name of the writer can be used to influence the rankings of web results by indicating the writer responsible for a particular content piece.  Assuming that a given writer has a high reputational score, representing an established reputation for authoring valuable content, then additional content authored and signed by that writer will be promoted relative to unsigned content or content from less reputable writers in search results”.

In a nutshell, by using the rel=author tag you can gain authority, get links, and social shares to your content.

9. Infographic: An infographic is a visual representation of information, data, or knowledge.   Implementing infographics into your SEO campaign can be very beneficial.  Infographics can be submitted to infographic aggregators, and the chance of achieving a good amount of backlinks through these aggregators and those sharing your infographic can be very high.  Creating an interesting, unique, funny, or extremely informative infographic is a good idea because it can help drive both links and traffic to your site.

10. Blog: By definition, a blog is an online web journal.  Why is this on the list of “recent terms”, you ask?  It is true internal blogs have been around for ages.  It is no secret that having an internal blog on your website is always going to provide value.  But now, more than ever, frequently updating your website with fresh, unique content, keeping posts relevant, interesting, and timely will increase the chances of your content being shared and websites ranking you.  If you have an internal blog, having social buttons to persuade users to share content will influence your social signals and possibly your author authority (as discussed above).

Conclusion:

Overall, having a good understanding of some of the common as well as increasingly common phrases is only going to benefit you as a website owner.  The beauty of SEO is that is the industry is constantly changing. Understanding and staying up to date on important terms is the first step in having a successful website that will not only perform, but thrive in the search engines.

Do You Speak SEO? Ten Terms You Want to Know is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

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A link farm is a website with a high number of links to different websites with no relevance or category logic, grouping, organization, or relevance to the domain name.

If you land on a site and there are hundreds of links all over with many unrelated topics, you’ve probably landed on a link farm. Link farms ARE spam and will be considered as such by Search Engines. The key purpose of link farms are to easily and illegitimately send signals to search engines to assist in ranking.

A few important things to keep in mind when it comes to link farms:

1. If you’re using link farms in any way for your SEO, STOP! It will not serve your clients end goal to rank well and long.
2. If you take a client on or have a website where you find your website has somehow been included in a link farm take corrective action to be removed.
3. And most of all, remember that SEO is ALL ABOUT RELEVANCE. Links farms are the exact opposite of obtaining the correct relevance signals to rank organically. The best and most legitimate way to build an quality SEO marketing campaign is through legitimate digital marketing initiatives like guest blogging, public relations, high level directory link building, internal blogging and user generated content, social media and keeping your business at the forefront of news and minds so that natural links are acquired.

It’s important to do everything you can to diversify your link portfolio and make your links appear as natural as possible. This means having different types of relevant links coming from various different domains and IP addresses.

What is a Link Farm? [Video FAQ Series] is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

Search engine optimization and public relations need to become best friends. Why? Because SEO as we knew it two years ago is dead. As our approaches to link building are constantly evolving, a stronger tie between these two marketing fronts is being seen.

With that said, let’s examine just how these two audience-building genres can play nice. First off, just what is public relations?

Public relations is the process of building or maintaining a company’s reputation and image through positive offline and online coverage. Link building, on the other hand, builds the site’s “popularity” by acquiring a large amount of diverse links from various domains in an effort to establish top ranking positions in search engines. Where I see SEO and PR butt heads is in the work rather than the perspective. SEOs think, “how can I gain rankings, traffic and ROI,” where public relations experts think, “what coverage will provide us with the most prestigious image to engage in positive events and conversations both on and offline.”

In the end, both thought processes will achieve similar results. But here’s the good news—there is a way to get the best of both worlds. We can achieve top rankings, as well as a solid reputation through a cohesive approach and understanding. Here are some pointers for the best approaches to killing two birds with one stone:

1. Optimize press releases for SEO

When crafting press releases, be sure to do so with keywords in mind. Most companies have a specific SEO campaign underway. Within that campaign will be a designated list of phrases designed to increase search rankings and relevant traffic. Narrow the list according to relevancy to your subject matter. Also, be strategic in adding these keywords to your content. Place focus keywords in the headline and beginning of the body of your content.
Outside of keyword optimization, remember that links and branding are HUGE ranking factors. Be sure your website is linked to the company name. Within the release you should also include other branding signals search engines use to identify a business:

• Address
• Phone Number
• Email

Ensure identical information is used in press releases and other content online.

Finally, don’t forget that getting your press release seen by pushing it out through the correct distribution channels is essential.

2. Host “SEO friendly” contests

No doubt about it, social is now a big part of SEO. Whether affecting it directly or indirectly it plays a role in the success of organic rankings. Hosting contests on various social mediums like Facebook and Twitter will benefit your site by achieving brand awareness as well as driving social signals to your site. It is also important to keep in mind that often times those who are finding your site through social media, are typically those who are most likely to link to your site. Contests and giveaways via social networks are a great way to generate interest and conversation. Get your target market involved in your organization, and acquire links along the way.

3. Continually publish and post unique and relevant content

Having an internal blog can be beneficial in many ways. From an SEO perspective, a healthy amount of content is good. Frequently updating an internal blog is a great way to send fresh signals to search engines, provide a constant flow of high quality content and provide additional internal linking opportunities. In addition to the SEO benefits, internal blogs are a great way to establish quality relationships with your viewers by allowing them to share with others, post feedback, questions and other comments.

4. Look for opportunities to sponsor/donate, then request a link

Looking for opportunities to sponsor and donate can be another great method. Sponsorship opportunities are everywhere, and establishing long-lasting relationships can be beneficial from both a PR and SEO standpoint. Involving your company in service projects and donations often stirs up conversation online, on television, in print and other forms of media. Along with the benefit of obtaining a positive image in the media, you’ll receive high quality .org and .edu links.
In a nutshell, the online world is constantly changing, and competition is growing. Finding ways to increase your online visibility from an SEO and public relations standpoint could do wonders for your company. If you find ways to get the best of both worlds, you may save time, money and be successful.

SEO and PR — Getting the Best of Both Worlds is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.

You’re fired up. You’re a new business owner set with your latest idea (the best thing since sliced bread). You’re ready to jump into making your product or service respected and well known. How hard can it be?

Well, there are millions of sites on the Internet and your competitors are working to rank higher than you.

But don’t be overwhelmed.

Check out this list of common misconceptions about online marketing and learn from others’ mistakes.

Have a good product and it will sell

You must make your online presence known in order to be successful. Word-of-mouth advertising is not enough. With millions of competitors, it is imperative that viewers find you through search. This requires website optimization.

Here are some suggestions you can apply to your site to increase its chances for success:

• Have A Solid Title - A good title is essential to search engine optimization. Your title is what the search engines display in the search engine results pages. Make sure your title describes what your site does and all it provides. And a good title summarizes is just a few words long.
• Consistency - Your presentation should be similar throughout your site. Ask yourself: If visitors come to my site would they be confused? Overwhelmed?  Overjoyed?  If your site is confusing, you can count on visitors not staying long and not returning in the future.  Consistency ensures happy viewers.
• Content - Catchy, relevant content will guarantee happy visitors who come back time and time again. Relevant content is also a huge factor in ranking for specific keywords.  Keep the target market and search engines in mind when adjusting your content. Strong content will keep visitors coming back for more.
• Avoid Flash - From an SEO perspective, sites built with Flash generally struggle. Because Flash sites are usually slower, the lack of speed turns off some visitors. And the Google algorithm takes speed into account. Remember that Flash sites often make it difficult for on-site optimization. Understanding Flash can impact your search engine placement.
• Internal Linking - Internal linking helps in more ways than one.   Along with increasing the page rank of an internal page, it helps your entire site get spidered (noticed by search engines).
• Descriptive URL – These are beneficial for several reasons.  Obviously, they are memorable to users and can assist in navigation, making it easier for visitors to understand which page they are on.  The text in your URL is also used as a factor in rankings.  If your URL has a keyword that is related to your search, you’re likely to get a higher ranking for that term.

My site looks great, it will make money.

Ever been referred to a really good restaurant in the middle of nowhere?  You think to yourself “this place is a hidden treasure; I can’t believe there aren’t more people here.”  You know they would thrive if they made an effort to get the word out. The same is true with websites. You may have your site completely polished, the design and content flawless and ready to go.  Your product may be amazing, but if you don’t generate traffic, you won’t have visitors.  A huge misconception many rookie site owners have is that “my site will sell itself.”  Unless you take the right approach and do proper search engine optimization, your site will be nonexistent to search engines.

I can do this quickly.

Another common myth in the online world is the “get rich quick” mentality. Although many people make a fortune selling their products online, their success does not come overnight.  When an entrepreneur sets out on any new business endeavor, it is important to take the long-term approach. Look at the big picture. Consistency on your site, along with proper SEO, gives you a solid foundation, loyal visitors, various ranking keywords and positioning in the search engines that is necessary to see the results you’ve been working for.

I did the work. I rank high. I’m done.

Success!

Your site is highly ranked! Life is good.

You’re getting recognition, traffic and sales.  A mistake many site owners make is quitting once they are ahead.  To be successful, you must be relentless.  Businesses suffer when they become comfortable with their rankings and neglect the fact that their competitors are nipping at their heels.  Their rankings will pass yours if they continually to improve their SEO.

Online marketing takes dedication, knowledge and commitment.  Educate yourself, put in the work and learn from others’ mistakes.

Before you know it your site will no longer be a “hidden treasure.”

Back to Basics: Common Misconceptions About Online Marketing is a post by SEO expert Stephanie Christensen. For information about our SEO services or more great SEO tips and tricks, visit the SEO.com blog.