Author Archives: Josh Laughtland

About Josh Laughtland

Founder/CEO

Four Google Search Operators Packed with SEO Utility

Fine-Tune Your SERPS with Google Search Operators

Search operators are used to help narrow or expand a search. In their most basic form, search operators can be as simple as including ‘AND’ or ‘OR’ between search variables (keyphrases).

For Example, the search operator ‘AND’ can be used to return the results of two, combined keyphrases: ‘blue widgets AND red widgets’.

There are many Google search operators that exist. Including a handful that can be utilized for high-value SEO purposes.

Four Google Search Operators that Pack a Punch

1. Search for results within a specific site based on a targeted keyword

Useful for determining which page within a site has the most authority (in the eyes of Google) for a specific keyphrase.

Syntax: site:specificsite.com key phrase

Example – search calihotsprings.com for the page with the most authority for Wilbur Hot Springs:

site:calihotsprings.com wilbur hot springs

Google Search Operator in Action

2. See who’s linking to a specific website (note Google doesn’t display all sites, just a percentage of them)

Useful to determine who is linking to a specific website.

Syntax: link:specificsite.com

Example – find out who’s linking to calihotsprings.com:

link:calihotsprings.com

3. Search for sites related to a specific site

Syntax: related:specificsite.com

Example – search google for websites that are similar to calihotsprings.com:

related:calihotsprings.com

4. Display a list of websites that contain a specific keyphrase within the page title

Useful as a competitive measure by determining potential competeting websites for a specific keyphrase.

Syntax: allintitle:specific keyphrase

Example – display a list of potential competitors for the search term ‘california hot springs’:

allintitle:california hot springs

The possible SEO related applications of the resulting SERP (search engine result page) by utilizing the above Google Search Operators are limitless! Please comment with any favs of your own.

Optimize Your Social Self by Dumping Auto Updates

2 Replies

Just Be Real, Man

Much like SEO, the social media realm is beleaguered in a continuous state of flux. Which is to be expected, as we blunder and plunder our way along the path to social sentient enlightenment.

If Stuart Smalley Can – So Can You

Some of the best advice I was given long ago in regard to getting social with media, something you hear over and over these days, is to focus on your passion and just be yourself. Sounds easy, right? More like easier said than done.

I can’t teach you how to be yourself (let’s be honest – no one wants that), but I can set you in the right direction by helping remove distortion from the process.

Aggregate Syndicate Automate Repeat

Early on, SEOs and new media marketers looked at social networks as a way for rapid deployment of their branding message. Which was typically automatically syndicated, over and over and over.

Tools like Hootsuite enticed marketers with the ‘set it and forget it’ broadcast methodology by allowing users to punch in, schedule or automatically feed a status update, the exact same status update, to every single social network. In some instances multiple times. While this got (out of hand quickly) the word out, it eroded the ‘social’ aspect of engagement with bot-delivered duplicate status updates.

If you followed a brand on Facebook, Twitter and Google, it was pretty common to see the same message hit each network at the same time a few times. Lamesauce.

Dump Automatic Updates

Trading out a measure of distortion for one with more control can help your status updates regain a healthy portion of human personality.

Here’s how to get started:

Unburden your social self by disconnecting automatic feed (rss/xml/blog etc.) posting

You need to control and massage each message per social network to maximize effectiveness. That’s right. Old Skool.

This means you pick the pic that shows on your Facebook status update, not Facebook. This will allow you to ‘speak’ a little more true to self when sharing content on social networks instead of sharing status updates composed of bland web page titles like a robot.

Plus, at all costs, try to get your actual URL in the status update instead of a URL shortner. Link juice never tasted so good!

While I can’t tell you a sure-fire way to ‘be yourself’ and ‘follow your passion’ at the same time (or independently), I can tell you that focusing more on what you share on each social network will yield personality to your status updates.

Turning off automatic, syndicating status updates is a great way to start sounding less like a pre-recorded message.

You Might Also

Consider limiting daily status updates to 3-5/day and not posting the same update to each network, but to the one most relevant. Or, if you’ve got BIG NEWS, at least consider a unique approach to updating each social network.

A little personality can go a long way. Or, be a bot if you want.

@SEOinBOI is TONIGHT at 6pm – Here’s Your Event Guide

About SEOinBOI

SEOinBOI is a gathering for anyone involved in the Search Engine Optimization space; from designers/developers, writers, bloggers, advertisers, publishers, PR, content producers, managers, consultants, social media marketers to small business owners. SEOinBOI was put into motion by Marshall Simmonds of Define Media Group (formerly The New York Times), Keven Gamache of [wire] stone and myself (Jtree SEO).

SEOinBOI Event Details

SEOinBOI #6 is tonight (Friday, October 5th), from 6pm – 7:30pm at Balihoo’s downtown Boise location [View Map]

If you’ve been to past SEOinBOI events, Balihoo is located in the same building where we usually have our meetups (at Cole Marr), upstairs instead of downstairs.

Speaker Lineup

Marshall Simmonds of Define Media Group will kickoff the event with a presentation to be followed by (you probably haven’t heard of this guy) Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz. 😉

It will be great to hear from Marshall (his first time speaking at SEOinBOI) and to have Rand back for a second time. Last time he spoke at SEOinBOI was last November.

Event RSVP

SEOinBOI is a free event. However, due to limited space we ask that you please RSVP on the Facebook event page.

If you are live Tweeting the event, please use hashtag #SEOinBOI. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Twitter Follow Guide

Follow the SEOinBOI crew:

Follow Rand:

Follow Balihoo (event hosts):

Follow @balihoo

Follow @calebdonegan

Follow @Amber_Daley

Can’t make the event? Or, if you did, curious what the person sitting next to you is posting on the social nets? Check out the Live Feed and hashtag.

SEO and Web Development – BFFs?

Many Options for SEO

Curious who is who? Easy. The SEO has obviously ‘optimized’ his chest hair. 😛

The chances are that if you’re in search of SEO for your website there are multiple options available. You could use a dedicated SEO company or select from a variety of add-on service providers such as a PR or Advertising Agency, traditional marketing company or website development company.

Most likely, your website developer is pitching SEO. Which, may or may not be a bad thing. A quick Googling for your city name + SEO should reveal if they take SEO seriously. If they are not on page one, I wouldn’t have high hopes (unless they utilize the services of a dedicated SEO company with their own).

A Little Background…

We’ve had a lot of experience with web development. In fact, that is actually how I got started with SEO over in San Francisco at Les Concierges years ago. Those were the good old days of search engine optimization. The wild west, really. One could pull-in hundreds of thousands of ‘hits’ just by using the phrase ‘Britney Spears’ heavily in visible and hidden website copy among similar and related tactics. Ahh the good old days. 😉 SEO has come a very long way since then. Thank goodness.

Presently, Jtree has frequent engagements with web development in the form of:

Helping programmers optimize their content management systems (CMS) for search
Working with developers to help improve the efficiency of a given website in terms of speed and usability
Helping clients ‘select’ search engine friendly web developers
Managing project teams that include multiple web development shops that service hundreds of clients
Aiding in the removal of any malware or virus attached to websites that hinder search engine rankings
Providing consulting to web development agencies and companies as a component (project team member) of their web dev or marketing service to clients
And on…

Web Development – A Prerequisite for SEO

Why doesn’t Jtree provide web development services? This is a question I’ve been asked a lot. We can work with just about any CMS, programming and scripting language out there, some of my sandbox websites have turned out to be quite successful and I was actually a web design and development consultant for years… so what gives?

While we have a vast working knowledge base of web development, which is a required SEO skill, we focus on what we do best… SEO. We have the advantage of learning from SEO implementations across multiple web development platforms and CMSs. This helps us understand which platform is the most suitable for a particular purpose or industry. The website design and development aspect is best handled by the pros. That’s not to say that SEO shouldn’t be consulted with during the early stages of development of any web-based project.

So, SEO and Web Development – BFFs?

You bet.

Should they be one in the same (provided by one company)?

Not necessarily. Only a handful of web development companies are going to be good at SEO, while companies specialized in SEO will be GREAT at SEO.

Developers should be focused on creating highly usable websites that look and perform beautifully. They need not be concerned with ‘which words appear where’. The creative balance between code and content is best leveraged by an experienced SEO. The inherent risk of blending elevates the potential of muddying web development efforts with SEO considerations.

In my own experience, it is extremely rare to see a combo company (providing both web dev and SEO) managed website outrank a website managed by a company exclusive to SEO.

Exceptions, of course, would be:

Agencies that involve SEO specific consultants or companies with their own project teams
Talented, boutique shops that have successfully embraced SEO and integrated it with their core development processes
Veteran webmasters/developers that specialize in SEO and have an active history of design and development experience

There you have it. SEO and Web Development are definitely BFFs, but not necessarily best offered together.