In reference to this question “What do SEOs believe will happen with Google’s Use of Ranking Features in the Future?“

Rank Fishkin replies: “Exact keyword match domains will fall, anchor text in external links will fall, prominence of ads vs content will increase, usage data will increase, social signals will increase, perceived valueness will increase.“

Does that sound like an SEO Doomsday or what? Slow down Rand, the people can only handle so much at once. These are some pretty powerful prophecies and I’m sure there are alot people panicking over this. And I do agree with some of these prophecies, especially the one regarding “Exact keyword match domains will fall”, I’ve been trying to hint at this for awhile as well. People just don’t seem to get it, keywords are not brand names.

I highly recommend that you take these prophecies of Rand Fishkin pretty serious, this guy seems to know what he is talking about. Therefore, let us take heed to the words of the prophet and make the necessary changes to our site lest we too be punished by the god of serps.

To see the lastest prophecies of Rand Fishkin please visit the Search Engine Ranking Factors report which was just published on the SEOmoz blog.

As always, thanks for reading and may the serps be with you.

Anyway, just wanted to make sure we showed a little respect to this day and those who have put their lives on the line for us in the past. Have a nice day and check back soon.

It is clear to me that someone in the Seattle area wants to either be recognized or talked about, so I’m going to go ahead and satisfy this little craving of theirs. I don’t think it will change anything but it does need to be said. So here is my message to this fame seeker, and I know you been waiting to hear this so I’ll go ahead and give it to you. First of you all, you need to face the fact that, yes you do suck. It’s not our fault that you really don’t have the skills to rank your own website, or anyone elses for that matter. Maybe if you spend as much time working on your own ranking instead of filing out bogus spam reports you might actually get somewhere. Second, you will never be as good as US or any other Seattle SEO in the area simple because you suck. You probably think your good because you ranked some crappy keyword domain. But let’s be real, any newbie can do that, so there is nothing special or jaw dropping about it, even if you do manage to take a few spots. Bottom line is, it’s best that you just pick another city to try and gain fame in because you will never take over Seattle, your to weak to pull something that off.

I’m sure they will come up with something. Anyway I just wanted to give you a heads up about this deal. If you want of the juicy details then I would recommend checking out this post: http://gigaom.com/2011/05/09/why-microsoft-is-buying-skype-for-8-billion/,there are some pretty good comments to it as well. As always, thanks for reading and check back soon.

Anyway, the goal was to boost the site from it’s current position which was #8 at the time we checked (see screen shot here) as high as we could using a system that has been very effective for us in the past. We weren’t able to grab #1, but the site took a huge jump from number #8 to #3 in a fairly short period of time. The site is currently number #4 for that keyword, I suspect that it will jump back and forth between these two positions, slipping past the images will require a little more effort.

I want to make it perfectly clear that no black hat whatsoever was used to get this ranking, this was done using clean white hat SEO and pure skill from me and the guys here at Online Marketing Advisors. We are confident that this site will not be punished in anyway because of what we did to boost the site.

We are sure the owners of JewelryExchange.com are pleased with these results  and we were happy to do it, not just for them, but also to show the power of our SEO Services.

You can see the post regarding this here, oddly, no one has left a comment about the results, our only guess is that we have just left everyone speechless . You can view the full offer on the forum here, but remember, if you want to sign up for the special offer you have to get an account on the forum first. No official word from Jewelry Exchange but we expect these results to funnel down to them soon.

Anyway, you can the Special SEO Offer here: http://www.v7n.com/forums/sell-web-services/247203-special-seo-offer-v7n-members-amazing-results-500-a.html

Two Heads Are Better Than One:
Ever heard the term “Man can only do so much alone”?  This is especially true in the field of SEO. If your doing SEO on your own and still can’t get over the hump then don’t you think it is time to start seeking the help of a professional? Clearly you have brought your site as high as you yourself can bring it and from the looks of things it doesn’t appear you can do any better. If this is the case then professional help is your only option.

If you run your own SEO Company this also applies to you. I know of alot of SEO firms out there closing people down yet producing 0 results. If your having problems ranking your clients then you might want to take some of those spam emails you get from outsourcing companies into consideration. The bottom line here is that while you might be good in one area it doesn’t hurt to get help for the ones your lacking in. As good as I am at SEO I have no problem going out to the forums and seeking some advice. That’s how I learned most of what I know now and I’m sure other would agree.

Don’t Be Afraid To Fire Your SEO:
It just amazes me how people refuse to fire a person or company who is producing absolutely 0 results. I understand that sometimes you might be working with a friend or someone you think is a good person. But that is no excuse to keep them around, if they are not producing then they got to go, and that is all there is to it. They might have done wonders to get you were you are now, but if your site is at a stand still then most likely they have run out of gas and it is time to start looking for a replacement. If you don’t want to fire them then at least give them some help by hiring a few more SEO guys to complete what they can’t. Remember, it’s your business and if you want to succeed then you need to have the best people on board at all times. So don’t be afraid to hand out the pinks slips when rankings aren’t climbing.

Get More Aggressive:
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like losing rankings. My goal is to rank as high as I can for every keyword I’m targeting, no exceptions. If your rankings have dropped lately don’t be so quick to blame the Google update, chances are your competitors have stepped it up a notch. If you think that your the only one interested in your current ranking position I can promise that you are wrong. There are thousands of sites waiting to take that spot from you and some of them aren’t to far behind. If you want to continue to be where you are or climb higher then it is time for you start stepping up your game. Don’t just sit around and watch your ranking get took, do something about it. Build more links, buy more links if you have to, do whatever it takes to make sure that your site doesn’t get pushed around by some new hot shot who probably isn’t even as smart as you in terms of SEO. He or she is just more aggressive,  and you better jump on board as well, or get left behind.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read:
There is so much misinformation about SEO out there that it is almost impossible to find out what really works. Funny thing is that people teach this stuff like it’s the Gospel without ever even trying it themselves. If you want to know for sure what really works then your going to have just do it yourself. I have found that the best way to do this is by creating a throw away site that targets just one keyword and then slamming the hell out of it with every trick I can think of, but one at a time. This is the best way to see which tactic works and which doesn’t, it’s a little time consuming but you learn alot in the process.

Buy Some Software:
If you really think that you can do everything manually and produce better results then I’m all for it. However, some of these can in fact be automated and bring no harm to your website. The trick is finding the right program that fits your needs. Don’t be afraid to grab a few of these and give them a spin, it just might get you over the hump you been stuck on. Now there are a ton of programs out there and all claim to be the best, I won’t tell you which ones I think are better so don’t ask, you’ll have to discover that on your own. What I will tell is that which ever program you choose make sure that it really fits what you are looking for. You might have to test a few before you find the right ones, but once you do it will be well worth the investment.

Beef Up Your Backlinks:
If your not linking to your own backlinks by now then you better get with the program. Consider this, your site is ranking pretty well based on the links you have now. If you are in the top 10 then I would say you probably have some pretty strong links pointing at your site. Why not add more strength to those links by linking to them from other sources? Remember, rankings are based on authority, the stronger the links pointing at your site the stronger your site becomes, and the higher you rank. Not only is this a powerful method for boosting your own links, it also helps hide your footprints from competitors. I’m sure you heard people complaining about someone out ranking them with only 5 links, now you know why.

And Finally – Stop Being Cheap:
To many people think they can fly to the top of the search engines just by using all of the free services they can find, or going with the cheapest SEO Company in the city. While this might be true for less competitive keywords, you’ll never get there doing this for the terms that are the most important or that produce the most sales. If you want to be a dominate force in your market then you need to pay to play. If your not investing a few hundred bucks a month to improve your rankings or hold the ones you already have then you deserve to stay at the bottom. There is nothing wrong with forking out some cash to get you ahead of your competitors, how do you think the top companies got where they are today? I can promise you it didn’t happen for free. I know, I know, you can get people to do the same thing I do for cheaper. Well I can also build my own race car, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll win the Indy 500. Remember you get what you pay for, I’m not saying you can’t throw in a few cheap services here and there, but if your only dropping $50 or $60 into your site every 6 months and see little results, then again, you deserve to stay at the bottom. The point is, if you can’t afford to truly compete in your market then my advice is that you switch to one that you can handle. There’s no point drooling over a market you’ll never taste.

While writing this I did a search for the 10 Commandments of SEO, just to see if anyone had it already, and of course someone did. So for further reading and motivation I highly recommend that you check out Eric On Search and his Ten Commandments of SEO. I was gonna swipe it, but I didn’t want to break the 7th Commandment .

Well that’s it for now, as always, thanks for reading and if you need some Seattle SEO Service just let me know. “May the Serps be with you”.

Anyway, just thought I through this out there, It’s sad to see a site have to resort to this tag, but in some cases it is the best choice if you want to control the spammers. Well thanks for reading, and  may the serps be with you.

SMX Meet & Greet

Monday:  June 6, 2011 – 6PM to 7:30PM

This year the Search Marketing Expo will start off with an informal evening reception on the Bell Harbor’s Rooftop Plaza.  Those who show up early will have a chance to meet and speak with fellow attendees, speakers and other invited guests. It looks like there is going to be alot of cool things going on at the Expo this year, of course my favorite part is going to be the “You&A With Matt Cutts” I’m sure the audience will have some pretty interesting questions for Matt this year and I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he gets stumbled by something.

Anyway, if you haven’t registered yet then now is a good time to do so while they are still offering some good deals. Here is a break down of current prices for different types of passes that are available.

Pass Options	Super Early Bird Now – Apr 2	Early Bird Apr 3 – Apr 30	Full Rate May 1 – Jun 6	On Site
All Access Pass	$1,395	$1,595	$1,895	$2,195
All Access Pass + Workshop	$2,195	$2,445	$2,795	$3,195
Workshop Only* (Workshop Descriptions)	$895	$995	$1,095	$1,195
Pass	Free	Free	Free	$50

You can register for the SMX Advanced Seattle Expo here. Well I  hope you guys enjoy the Expo this year, I’m sure you will be able to learn alot of cool new tricks to add to that already powerful SEO arsenal you have, I know I will. As always, thanks for reading, and  if you need SEO Services for your business then don’t forget to check out our Search Engine Marketing Seattle page.

If you are already a member of SEOmoz then you may have already gotten this email. I’m mainly posting this for those who may not be aware of the powerful tools that SEOmoz has to offer. So go ahead and sign up, it won’t hurt to at least try it for 30 days, after all it’s free  .