Matt Cutts of Google on SEO and Search Engine Ranking Algorithm

Matt Cutts of Google talks a lot about SEO recent days. In a webmaster discussion at SXSW, Matt Cutts spoke about some changes Google is working on that would seem to make SEO matter less, in that sites with fresh, original quality page content that don't do a lot of SEO could potentially rank just as well, or better than a bigger site with a bigger SEO budget and a lot of SEO tactics implemented. The whole thing appears to be more about Google getting better at not helping sites just because they employ a lot of grey hat/borderline black hat tactics. Google has always tried to do this, but based on what Cutts said, it sounds like they're about to get better at it.

Changes to Google's search engine ranking algorithm have the ability to make or break businesses. Google is sending out the signal that you should worry less about the current SEO trends, and more about producing great page content, and that they're "leveling the playing field" for sites that don't pay as much attention to SEO. Obviously great content is a positive, but at the same time, Google is showing us each month all of the changes it is making, and all the while, providing tips about how to do certain SEO things better. Is Google sending mixed signals? Just how much should webmasters worry about optimization?

Local Internet Marketing and Local Listings for Small Business

There are many entrepreneurs whose spirit impressed me the most, and their concern of not being found online keeps me thinking of what I can be of any help. Our auto parts business kingsource.com has been online for quite a few years, and we have been successful in getting customers from all over the United States. However, not until recently have I started thinking of reaching to our local customers. I have been working on getting our Aftermarket auto parts store listed online for FREE, and here is what I would like to share with you who are interested.

The Big three search engines Google, Yahoo, and Bing can list your local store free. They all need to verify your entry, so it takes about a month to get your store listed on the Big Three. We already have our store listed on Yahoo, still waiting for the post cards to verify with Google and Bing.

The next source for local listings is Yext PowerListings.  You may type in your business name and address and see how your business appears across the internet. Most likely, your shop is not found in any of those local listings. You may choose to pay for the powerlistings so they fix it all for you or go through those listing sites and do it yourself like I have been doing now. Most of those listings are free for the basic features. What you need to do is to sign up an account and provide your business information. Since there are so many local listings out there (+30), I would like to get some idea by trying those free listing first, and then decide which local listing would work best to our store and move on to premium local internet marketing.

Here are some examples of KingSource Auto Parts Store's local listings.

1. Yahoo: Alexa#4. Listed as Auto King Source.

2. Yelp: Alexa#195. Listed as KingSource Auto Parts.

3. FourSquare.com: Alexa#834. Listed as KingSource Auto Parts online store.

4. EZLocal.com: Alexa#55,974. Listed as KingSource Auto Parts. 

SEO SEM Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research is one of the critical parts of SEO and SEM for any eCommerce online business.

The following is some of the keyword research tools I would like to recommend:

Google AdWords Keyword Tool: better for SEM keyword bidding, need to consider the long-tail keywords or niche keywords for Google organic search results page.

Google Analytics Keywords: You can find those keywords that your online store pageviewers get to your online store for the product or service they are looking for. Tweed and optimize those keywords in those specific pages to enhance the page rankings.

Bing Webmaster Tool Keyword Assistant: Bing and Yahoo work together trying to compete against Google. How well are they doing? Need more time to test the results. Same as to Bing's keyword research tool.

Alexa.com: Amazon-owned web information company. More and more web sites are citing their Alexa Ranking though be aware Alexa data is more accurate for the higher ranked websites. The small online business owners could only use the data for reference purpose only. Gather those keywords and combine them with other sources (Google & Bing), and work on those niche keywords. I also like to search our competitors' sites for inbound links to build.

WebConfs.com: free SEO tools for website keyword suggestions, Alexa Global Rank #3451, US #6007, inbound links #6756.

Wordpot.com: another free keyword research tool for niche key terms and phrases Alexa Global Rank# 80,565, US Rank #26,617, inbound links #273.

WordTracker.com: they offer 7-day free trial for the keyword tool, which costs $69 per month to continue the membership. There are some free guides and webinars for the keyword basics which is worth to explore.

NicheBot.com: it is not free anymore. $1 for a 14-day trial and $17.5 per month for silver membership, $33.7 for gold and $108.5 for platinum monthly membership.

KeywordDiscovery.com: Owned by Trellian company which has a bunch of .com websites for SEO services. Will check it out later.

How to Generate Keyword Combos

Your site is a puzzle, with each piece playing an integral part. Some of the most important pieces to the puzzle are keyword combinations. If you're having a hard time creating keyword combos, give the Keyword Suggestion Generator Tool a try.

Just type in a keyword and you will get keyword results and suggestions from Google, MSN, Yahoo and more. With this tool, you can stay ahead of the curve for particular keyword usage.