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Hey Mihai Parparita Google reader has really gotten better at the dupes thing but today … wow this one just went crazy. I’m sure it’s something Wired is doing wrong, but I’m hoping you can be smarter than them and fix it, cause as interesting as it is to know D&D has updated and it’s great I really only need to know once (click to enlarge)

One of the questions I get asked frequently is “which search conferences should I attend”. Seeing as conferences end up costing you between $3500-$5000 a pop when you include travel, lodging and meals I thought I’d share my experience.

What Search Engine Conferences Should I Attend »

Ever since my initial SEO plugins for wordpress post almost two years ago, I get asked for an updated list a few times a month. Well since we’re up to wordpress 2.5 I thought the time has come. I’ll also put some of my other favorite plugins at the end, they either enhance wordpress features or just make things easier.

SEO Plugins for Wordpress Part II »

When you view satellite images in Google Maps you can see the building, however I just noticed you can also see the building outlines in standard view. For example here’s the Long Beach Westin Hotel where SMX local was held. Look at the building behind the letter A. You can see a curved building which is exactly the way the Westin hotel is shaped. (click to enlarge)

Now Shoemoney is a friend of mine, but regarding his post SEO Has No Future today, I am forced to disagree with him. Not only does SEO have a future but judging by the number of SEO clients I am turning away, and the number of job offers I am receiving on weekly basis to take on in house positions, all during a shrinking economy and a recession, the future is looking pretty bright for SEO …

Yes Shoemoney SEO Does Have a Future »

In my early days I played a bit more in the darker side of the game. I fully admit that I built and ran more than 1 or 2 scrapers, aggregators, and MFA style sites, but as a business model those type of sites are really on the decline, and not something I’d ever recommend to a beginner or intermediate level person. Why SEO Can’t Be Your Only Value Add »

While I was off doing some work Jill and Lisa engaged in a debate over whether or not we need SEO standards. Even though I’m a day late and a dollar short I’m still going to throw my 2 cents in. No Optimizer Left Behind »

One of the things that makes me happy is when people email or come up to me at a conference and say “hey I read your blog about so and so went and tried it on my site and it worked great”, it gives me that warm fuzzy pay it forward feeling. It mekes me even happier when someone takes one of my ideas, runs with it, and then gives back sharing with the community. A few weeks ago I made a suggestions on how to improve the Yahoo plugin. Markus took the ball and came up with the Photo Dropper Plugin.

Wordpress Add Photos Plugin »

Building of of Sugarrae’s Creating Firefox Quick Search Bookmarks here are a few of mine feel free to use them. To make it easy just click the link and drag to your toolbar or bookmark folder.

Header Checker: gives you the status code of the page you are on 200, 404, etc

Link Forward: Uses MS link forward command for the domain you are currently on

Dupe Content Search: I LOVE this one, grab a bit of text (for best results select around punctuation) and search google for the exact text in quotes

If you’re new round here check out stuntdubl’s bookmarklets (best not to wake sleeping giants).

Since the writers have been on strike now for ever, and they’ve managed to all but eliminate anything interesting from TV (except of course American Gladiators and Gossip Girl) what can you do to keep yourself occupied on winter nights … check out the Semmy Awards!

The Semmys 2008 - Why I Want to Win »

While wordpress is one of my favorite CMS platforms, out of the box it isn’t search engine optimized. Combine this with people who aren’t SEO aware, and publish a blog, and you almost always end up with an implementation that’s sub-optimal. Here are some tips to help you get things on track and moving in the right direction.

Optimizing Wordpress Page Titles, Post Titles and Page Slugs »

I was notified about this post via email and have to say if it’s true I do find it somewhat disturbing. Ted Murphy of Izea (formerly Pay Per Post) sat down with Matt Cutts at Pubcon and had a discussion about links in sponsored posts. According to Ted here’s what was said …

I explained to Matt that in SocialSpark all links required by an advertiser would carry the no-follow tag. I thought this would be a great thing. Matt commended the decision, but then added ALL links inside of any sponsored post should carry the no-follow tag period, regardless of whether they are required, not required or even link to the advertiser paying for the post. That means if Nikon pays me to review a camera and I link off to a site about photography that link needs to be no-follow, along with the link to the blog of my buddy the photographer. His reasoning was that the sponsored post wouldn’t exist without the sponsor paying for it, therefore all the content is commercial and should be no-follow.

If that statement is true (and yes Matt it would be nice if you clarified it) boiling that down to it’s barest components any page, post or content that was commercially motivated should have all of the links no followed.

Matt Cutts Says Financial Arrangements Should Affect All Links Within a Post »

i live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20006 yay

my favorite president is george washington who lives in richmond virginia in a nice home

The folks who publish Search Marketing Standard approached me with a special offer for you readers. If you subscribe between now and December 10 2007 you can get a 1 year subscrption for $4.95 (yep that’s $5) if you use the following code when you subscribe:

coupon code: HOLIDAY67

In addition for every person who does subscribe with that code they will donate $1 to Toy for Tots.

When I first heard about the magazine before it came out I didn’t think there was going to be much there for me, but it is one of the 4 remaining print magazines I read (the other three are non search related). This month has articles from people like Chris Boggs, David Temple, Eric Ward, Jessica Bowman, Kim Krause Berg, Joe Whyte, an interview with Chris Winfield, and whole bunch of other people who are going to totally hate me at Pubcon next week for not linking to them.

So if you aren’t a subscriber already why not give it a shot, and subscribe today

Disclosure: There are no affiliate links contained in this post, but I do receive a subscription free of charge. However the folks at Search Marketing Standard totally agreed to buy me a Saleen S7 (red of course), 60″ flat screen plasma TV, Learjet, and private island in the south pacific … ok maybe I made that last sentence up, but a guy can hope right?

Hey are you guys going to update your plugins? Custom Query String - UTW Edition and SEO Title Tag 2.0 aren’t wordpress 2.3 compatible? Now that wordpress 2.3 has entered nag mode with the 2.3.1 release, I’m reminded I still haven’t migrated 80% of the blogs I manage/run.

Puuuuuhhhhleeeeeze … I’ll be your best friend … for life …

Since I did a less than stellar job explaning what I meant by keeping your ancillary pages out of Googles index when I reviewed Mahalo last week, I thought I’d try and correct that error.

Do You Want Your Ancillary Pages in Googles Index »

Ok so Jason Calacanis is talking smack about bad SEO’s again and I think it’s time to clear the air. First of all if you want to talk to SEO’s and good one’s go to an SEO conference not a web 2.0 conference. I don’t know who spoke there and really don’t care, but if you want the best advice go to the best conference you can. I’d especially recommend Pubcon or any of the SMX series. Want to see some really helpful sessions try sitting in on a site audit session you’ll really get a much better understanding of what people in the real world have to go through. Now to prove my point I’ll do a little mini review of Mahalo for you, free of charge no $199.95 or call me later at the office tricks …

Jason Calacanis Please Stop Bad Mouthing SEO’s Because You Won’t Take the Time to Work With Good One’s »

I came across Website Grader via Guy Kawasaki’s website today and I have to say this is one of the worst ideas I have ever seen, worse than that it’s downright dangerous in the wrong hands!

Why Website Grader is a Bad Idea »

Since I’ve had so many requests here’s the presentation from the SES Paid Links Panel

mgray-paidlinks-ses2007 (powerpoint)

I love wordpress I really do it makes it really easy to publish, however the wordpress developers really need some help sometimes. It seems when there is a choice to make things SE friendly more often than not they make worst choice possible.

How Wordpress Makes Comments SEO Unfriendly »

C’mon Matt do we really have to have this semantics debate every time something gets changed? The this is an update, that was a data push, the other thing was a xoogler sneaking into the building, get tiring after a while. I know you don’t like calling it an update, even when it is, and then you “fix” the non update, and pretend it never existed, and think we’re stupid enough to not remember, or keep on believing you that an update that really wasn’t an update never happened in the first place.

Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO » SMX Seattle wrap-up

Other than perhaps for some one-word queries, I think most things remain unchanged. And even for most one-word queries, most results remain unchanged. So I’m not sure it’s worth calling it an update.

Let’s talk about how you fiddled with the settings for what is/isn’t supplemental for starters, and go from there

Let’s have some fun with anchor text part II

monstigaligation click here

click here monstigaligation

It’s official SEO Class has teamed up with WebmasterWorld here’s the official press release

Today’s question comes from Joe Tao who asks:

“Is it a truth, based on your experience, that anyone can make a living blogging if they understand how SEO works”

Can You Make a Living Blogging »

Client work has it’s own set of problems and when you’re publishing a blog where people expect regular updates things sometimes get “icky”.

Client Work and SEO Blogging »

Changes with Google SERPS give some interesting results

make wordpress search engine friendly

any questions …

Yesterday I stumbled across a curious subdomain, after poking around I discovered it was actually a wildcard subdomain implementation. So I had a bit of fun playing with Jason Calacanis but then discovered it’s really a bug that’s present in all of the weblogs inc blogs.

Wildcard Subdomains »

So I’m looking through my stats in log programs and I’m seeing strange things. Hundreds and in one case nearly a thousand people coming from keywords that I can’t place anywhere in SERP’s. I’ve tried the MCDar data center tool and still not finding anything. I’m still looking but at this point, but my most likely candidate is personalized search. Yes these are from sites that are working the blog, social search, linkbait scene but it’s still rather annoying to not be able say/see anything with any level of certainty.

Informal poll are you seeing traffic for keywords in your logs you can’t trace back to SERP’s, and if you are what are you attributing that to?

Douglas Karr sent me a question that I get asked pretty often so I thought I’d share it with you here:

Can W3C compliance and accessibility impact your Search Engine Optimization?

Does W3C compliance and accessibility impact your Search Engine Optimization »

Over on the Bruce Clay Blog, Susan posts about a cool SEO Charity Contest they announced today.

Bruce Clay Charity SEO Contest »

Recently I’ve come across an increasing number of ‘link bait is dying’, ‘link bait is dead’, and ‘linkbait is so 2006′ blog posts. To those people I say, please remove your head from ass quickly, because you look ridiculous.

Linkbait, Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exagerated »

Generally speaking it’s a good idea to include keywords in your url structure whenever possible, however there are some instances when using an alternative method is more desirable.

Reasons Not to Use Keywords in Your URL’s »

One of the reasons for my light blogging this week is we’ve been putting some finishing touches on our upcoming two day SEO Workshop over at SEO Class.

We’ve got a special offer we’re offering $500 off the registration price for anyone who registers between now and May 4th. What do you have to do to qualify for this special offer, just say “graywolf sent me” in the extra notes section and we’ll take the discount off the registration price.

If you’re wondering what it’s about check out the SEO workshop wrap up or check out some of the testimonials as well as a review from one of our past attendees.

Here’s the details:

When: May 17-18 2007
Where: New York Helmsley Hotel Manhattan, New York
Cost: $2999 (40% discount on second attendee from same company)
How: Register Now

And if you want a discount be sure to mention graywolf sent me in the extra notes section of your registration.

Over the past few months I’ve had more than one client ask me my opinion about Endless.com Amazon’s new shoe shopping site. Since Rae talked about Endless and Danielle gave an Endless review I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share some of what I saw, what I liked and what I didn’t.

A Technical SEO’s Look at Endless.com »

We’re adding a new article series over at the SEO Class Blog where we’ll be answering your Search Engine Optimization questions.

Got a Question About SEO? »

Posting will probably be light this week while I’m at SES NY.

Here’s a question what are you learning from leading SEO and internet marketing bloggers? Are you hoping one of them drops a thinly veiled, or rather obvious tip that will let you set a “virtual cash machine” on your front lawn? If you are you just might be ignoring the real pearls of wisdom that are right there in the open.

What Are You Learning From Leading Edge SEO Bloggers »

Lately it seems to be quite fashionable to be on the linkbait bashing circuit. I came across a story on Digg which ties into my belief that you can make practically anything cool if you try hard enough.

How to Make Sea Slugs Cool »

Seems like someone or something is out to bury me, three stories in three days all without coming close to making the homepage

The Evidence for Auto Bury Builds »

Looks like Google doesn’t seem to have an issue with bad spelling. In addition to ranking my website they also ranked people who linked to me with bad spelling snippets. However as far as convincing people you are trustworthy or authoritative well that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Baad Spellors Rejoyce »

I have a client who’s looking for a full time blogger in the NYC area. This is a full time position and you will be required to “go to the office”. They are looking for someone who understands blogging. Knowledge of some SEO, viral marketing, SMO and community building would be a plus.

No you won’t be working for me, and it’s a blog about retail products and not about SEO. If you’re interested use the contact form and select “jobs” from the contact reasons.

Now that the Dave Pasternack SEO contest is over it’s time to exercise some professional responsibility and clean up the mess we created.

Cleaning up After the Dave Pasternack Mess »

If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been noticeably absent from my regular postings it’s because I’ve been helping put the finishing touches on a new project I’m involved with called SEO Class.

SEO Class Announcement »

One of the more common questions I get asked is is it better to have one big site or a whole bunch of little sites, and my answer is, it depends.

How Many Websites Should You Run »

Are you tired of wearing the some old dud’s to Search Engine Conferences? Does that tired matching Ken & Barbie polo shirt that your boss made you wear stifle your creativity? Does that blue pinstripe business suit not allow you to show your SEO FOO? Then you may want to check out the new line of clothing designed specifically for Search Engine Marketers by Lisa Barone of the the Bruce Clay Blog!

The Lisa - Search Engine Conference Clothing from Lisa Barone »

I’ll admit I haven’t been following the Dave Pasternack contest that strongly, but I came across Incredibill’s Dave Pasternack page today who gave a good update. There’s a little bit over 3 weeks which means this is your last shot to make any adjustments.

As Bill says #1 remove or no follow any links to his page on did-it.com (I did).

The only two strong pages that not controlled by him are my Dave Pasternack page and the Dave Pasternack Threadwatch contest page. So if you want to affect things throw some links or 301 your page to one of those two pages. As is standard practice for me in all these contests any and all prize money goes to charity, a policy I’ve always had.

I was looking for something on Google Video today, and looking at the most recommended videos I see some personalization going on.

Google Video Getting Personalized »

After the mini spat over the MyBlogLog icon usage earlier this week I updated my image too. While clear heads eventually prevailed and everybody made up, not surprisingly the “babe-ification” of my icon definitely boosted my subscribers. MyBlogLog Icon Update »

Hosting sucks (stop)
will be moving to new host soon (stop)
being your own system admin sucks sometimes (stop)

Update:
40,000 +spam comments and trackback spams in 7 days
comments and trackbacks disabled until further notice
some comments were lost
SOS …..

Lately I’ve gotten a few requests to install the email comments subscrption plugin. I’m a little hesitant to install it and I’ll tell you why.

Wordpress Email Comments Subscrption Plugin »

I updated my picture because you know I wouldn’t want to be accused of false advertising or being a spammer or anything.

I got a tip that our friend Dave Pasternack has taken to spamming MyBloglog now. Pretty nice, one community is his own bio page at Did-it, the other is Did-it.com main site and the third is his CafePress shop. Which is particularly funny because they left out the Did-it.com actual blog, way to go for relevancy there guys!

Almost as Funny as Kevin Lee of Did-it.com posting a question on LinkedIn and then pulling it because he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted.

Now of course the page in question could be someone posing as Dave Pasternack and not the real Dave Pasternack, which would make him not guilty of spamming but make him collateral damage in reputation management problem of his own making.

Jeremy announced today that they got Guy Kawasaki on the Elite Retreat panel for San Francisco, nice job! Sadly my MySpace friend request to Guy Kawasaki remains un fullfilled. Yes it’s really his profile he mentioned it here yesterday. Even though I only met him for 30 seconds before he was speaking at Pubcon I’m totally counting it in my 43 people account.

The SEO space is a buzz with “SEO is/isn’t Rocket Science” and “SEO is/isn’t like Baking a Cake” and every other silly analogy anyone can come up with. Here’s the thing it’s stupid argument, not worth the effort and really worth polluting your the SERP’s for your name over. Since I offer reputation management as a service I figured I’ll give a few quick pointers on how to fix things.

Dave Pasternack of Did-it.com How to Fix Your Problem »

Looks like the first bit of Yahoo integrating into Mybloglog happened today, check out my profile. Now when TechCrunch posts this in a few days and gets all the link love, you remember who scooped it first baby!