Image-based search engine optimisation (SEO) could be a sound way of driving traffic to company websites, according to one expert.
Econsultancy's Patricio Robles advised marketers to optimise their images for search engines by inserting descriptive text into alt tags, image names and folder names.
However, the practice of keyword stuffing should be avoided when placing text within these elements, he warned.
Other ways of boosting image SEO include making use of keyword-rich anchor text when linking to images and ensuring pictures are of a decent size, Mr Robles commented.
"Since it does make sense that if someone is searching for an image, he'll probably be more inclined to click on a larger image with higher quality than a smaller image with lower quality, using a larger image seems to be a good approach where available and appropriate," he remarked.
Grant Crowell of Grantastic Designs said in a Search Engine Watch article in 2006 that image-based SEO is particularly underused element of organic search engine marketing among online retailers.... read full details »
Search engine optimisation executives are likely to see success with link bait initiatives if they market their content in the same way as a paid-for product, it has been claimed.
Creating value in this way is likely to widen the appeal of the link bait among web users, according to Peter Da Vanzo of SEO Book.
"People often value things based on the price they pay for it. So if you aren't charging for something, some people will assume it is worthless," he remarked.
Mr Da Vanzo also said that companies should avoid using only blogs to promote their link bait, as such postings are generally seen as being of little value.
Instead, businesses should create dedicated websites devoted to the content in question.
Link bait should be further promoted by emailing respected industry commentators and making the company's name more familiar to bloggers by commenting on influential blogs, Mr Da Vanzo added.
Smashing Magazine advises marketers creating link bait to ensure their content is as valuable, useful and creative as possible.... read full details »
Unethical or black hat search engine optimisation (SEO) will decrease in effectiveness over time, according to web expert Seth Godin.
The entrepreneur and author told .net magazine that he believed black hat SEO will not be as productive as it used to be as search engines clamp down on more of these tactics.
Instead, white hat SEO will remain as a viable tactic, as it involves designing websites "intelligently", he remarked.
"Search engines benefit when sites do a better job of presenting the information people are seeking. They fail when you need to spend time or money to trick them in order to gain traffic," Mr Godin noted.
He also claimed that internet marketing should not be seen as advertising; it is more to do with creating a good online experience through "remarkable" websites, the expert suggested.
The majority of sites on the web make use of ethical SEO strategies, Matt Cutts of Google told CNET News.com last year.... read full details »
Concerns that search engine optimisation (SEO) as a practice may become extinct in the future are unfounded, it has been claimed.
SEO Theory's Michael Martinez said that marketers should see new trends such as personalised search, universal listings and social media as indicators that they need to ramp up their SEO campaigns rather than as a threat.
Google's recent additions to search listings pages, such as local map results and videos, should be taken advantage of by optimising the necessary content to ensure these pages appear in these results, he advised.
"As long as there is search, there will always be SEO. It doesn't matter how people search ten years from now. People will find a way to influence those search results," the expert commented.
Google is experimenting with a new personalised search service called Preferred Sites.
This lets web users state which websites they want to see the most when conducting online searches.... read full details »
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