Archive for May, 2008

Server Updates!

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

During the course of this week SEMBUILDERS platforms and website will undergo a major server kernell update which will make the website run slower.

Facebook halts on google’s Friend Connect

Friday, May 16th, 2008
Facebook

An announcement in both google’s and facebook official blogs, states that “for now” facebook wont be able to work with google’s friendConnect because of the violation and security restrictions that friendConnect implies letting web programmers and API developers in knowing users privacy details and delicate data that doesn’t complie with FaceBook Privacy policy. It seems that website collaboration is starting to get ahead really fast, take the example of FaceBook:
Facebook Connect will allow users to drag their profile and/or applications to any third party website and interlink with that website. Facebook uses Digg.com as an example. Digg users who also use Facebook will be able to keep track of the stories their friends had dugg or commented on.

Mercadonic.com Launched!

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Mercadonic.com is the first Latin American website dedicated to the auction of domain names and web projects of several kinds. SEMBUILDERS is in charge of auditing the strategies and search marketing campaigns. The website is still in a beta Release, it was developed by cerebrocreativo interactive studios. Feel free to join the website and send as your feedback here or in MN’s contact section.

Visit the website here

Security and anti-phishing tips

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Security is somthething that concerns IT managers and CIO’s all over the world in mid to huge sized companies. In this blogging ages and network marketing pushed by search engine optimization tactics and strategies, passwords and logins into many control pannels and accounts is a common currency for most of us that develop and maintaint this kind of strategies. Wondering in our daily visited blogs and news sites, we found an article published in the official Yahoo Search engine marketing blog that will help digest some well known issues in the race to online business optimization.

Visit the article here

LinkFarms and the WHY NOT

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Image via Wikipedia

Numeric examples of PageRanks in a small system.

Link Farms

What is a link farm? A link farm is any website designed and set up for the sole purpose of getting search engine spiders to crawl and index web pages. These websites provide absolutely no end user utility or benefit.

So how do you recognize a link farm? First, you need to ask yourself, is this site heavy laden with links? Most link farms will have a “farm” of links with little to no content. As for an explanation of the site’s existence, it’s usually missing too.

The next question you need to ask is, what does the URL of the site itself look like? Most of the time, link farms will have long, hyphenated URLs (i.e. our-great-linking- directory dot com). This is a generalization so not all link farms will have these types of URLs. Many of these link farms are generated using software. The software will go out and find a domain name that contains specific keywords even if it settles on something with several hyphens and numbers. You may still consider a long, hyphenated site for linking purposes but make certain you conduct more research before you submit a link.

Next, look at the domain name extension and note if it’s .ínfo or .bíz. In order to sell these extensions, many domain name registrars provide a one-time, deep discount. I know of several registrars that sell .ínfo domains for 89 cents per year. These cheap domain names allow sp@mmers to generate thousands of sites at a huge discount.

The next criteria I use to help identify a link farm is what I call the “cheese factor”. Although some link farms will look professionally designed, most are either 1) generated with software or 2) are designed with the same cookie-cutter, non-altered templates that fill search engine results. This is especially true with blogs. Sp@mmers and Internet newbies will not take the time to brand their websites or blogs. These are commonly referred to as “pump and dump” websites.

Another question you should ask is, does it look human? That is, does it look like someone hangs around and takes care of things? You should also be able to contact the webmaster either via web form or e-mail. If there’s no contact information available anywhere on the website, be very afraid.

If it’s a directory site, check out the links in a few of the main directory headings. Are the URLs hyphenated just like the main URL? If you visit one of these sites, does it look the same as the site you just came from? Are there more URLs crammed onto one page than anyone could possibly visit in a lifetime?

Last but not least, if you have your suspicions that a site might be a link farm, for any reason, stay away. It’s better to miss a great linking opportuníty than to post your link and get downgraded in your search engine placements.

Non-relevant Links

When you’re placing your links, you want to make sure that the site you’re linking to has something to do with your site and, vice versa.

A non-relevant link is defined as a hypertext link placed on a website, or in a directory, that has little to no relevance to the linking site or directory. These links are placed for the sole purpose of 1) increasing page rank or 2) getting a website crawled and indexed or a combination of the two.

The most obvious way to combat not-relevant links, over which you have complete control, is the placement of links on your site. Avoid placing links on your site to another that has no relevance to your content; even if it’s legitimate. Why? The link doesn’t do anything for you or the person whose link you placed. On the other hand, don’t ask someone to place a link on their site which doesn’t relate to yours.

Google, Yahoo, and MSN all look closely at whom you’re linking to and who’s linking to you. In fact, Google’s PageRank definition specifically states that link relevance (quality) is looked at more than just the link itself.

So what’s the solution? As in researching a potential link farm, you need to check out the sites that you’re linking to. If you’re submitting your site to directoríes or article directories, make sure that you’re submitting your content and links to the most relevant topics and sections.

Don’t worry about getting an exact match in terms of relevance between your site and the linking site; just make sure that each site complements the other.

Know the Linking Pitfalls

In summary, you can be accused of being a link sp@mmer even if you think you haven’t done anything wrong. To keep your linking strategy clean, I’ve outlined two specific techniques that will keep your site safe with the search engines.

First, watch out for unscrupulous link directories and sites (i.e. link farms). Use the techniques and ask yourself the questions I’ve outlined to recognize and avoid these harmful sites.

Second, make sure you’re posting to relevant sites/directories/ articles/ blogs or wherever you choose to submit your content and links.

Most importantly, if you think you might get accused of being a sp@mmer, by attempting to use a linking technique you just read about or software you just bought, trust your gut and don’t do it. Linking software creators claim that you can get thousands of back links with the press of a button or for only “$49″. The only way to get good quality back links is to do the research yourself and hand-submit every single link.

If you avoid these two traps, you’ll be well on your way to getting the links you need to get your website placed higher in search results and, as a result, generate more sales.

This was published by LinkAquire.com in a newsletter sent to users in 2008.

Privay Policy

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Thank you for visiting our web site. This privacy policy tells you how we use personal information collected at this site. Please read this privacy policy before using the site or submitting any personal information. By using the site, you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy. These practices may be changed, but any changes will be posted and changes will only apply to activities and information on a going forward, not retroactive basis. You are encouraged to review the privacy policy whenever you visit the site to make sure that you understand how any personal information you provide will be used.

Note: the privacy practices set forth in this privacy policy are for this web site only. If you link to other web sites, please review the privacy policies posted at those sites.

Collection of Information
We collect personally identifiable information, like names, postal addresses, email addresses, etc., when voluntarily submitted by our visitors. The information you provide is used to fulfill you specific request. This information is only used to fulfill your specific request, unless you give us permission to use it in another manner, for example to add you to one of our mailing lists.

Cookie/Tracking Technology
The Site may use cookie and tracking technology depending on the features offered. Cookie and tracking technology are useful for gathering information such as browser type and operating system, tracking the number of visitors to the Site, and understanding how visitors use the Site. Cookies can also help customize the Site for visitors. Personal information cannot be collected via cookies and other tracking technology, however, if you previously provided personally identifiable information, cookies may be tied to such information. Aggregate cookie and tracking information may be shared with third parties.

Distribution of Information
We may share information with governmental agencies or other companies assisting us in fraud prevention or investigation. We may do so when: (1) permitted or required by law; or, (2) trying to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud or unauthorized transactions; or, (3) investigating fraud which has already taken place. The information is not provided to these companies for marketing purposes.

Commitment to Data Security
Your personally identifiable information is kept secure. Only authorized employees, agents and contractors (who have agreed to keep information secure and confidential) have access to this information. All emails and newsletters from this site allow you to opt out of further mailings.

Privacy Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about our privacy policy you may contact us using the information below:

By e-mail: info@sembuilders.com
By Phone:+5411.4834.6656

We reserve the right to make changes to this policy. Any changes to this policy will be posted.

SEO SEM companies VS google Advertising

Monday, May 5th, 2008

With the increased offer of online business optimization companies, search engine marketing and optimization consultants, studios, agencies and firms, it seems no surprise that the same “creators” of the services that started this keyword battle, would open doors to offer their OWN services combo towards services in the search business. YES this is real…Google now offers their own services including keyword investigation, website submission and visibility, etc. In a commercial basis, and with rates far from what small business can afford. The question here would be…does that includes the actual MSN, YAHOO competition? We are no stupid and know that a commercial “solution” or “option” is always offered at least in the major search companies mentioned in this article, but would this be a honest competition among search business consultors? We thinkg this is something that only SERPS and conversion results will define.