MappingTheWeb //

Most people recognize Wordpress as a world class blogging platform. What most people don’t realize is that Wordpress can be used to quickly and easily set up a website. In other words, the blogging platform doubles as a simple website CMS.

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[The Fundamentals of SEO] - Forget about META tags and complicated back-linking campaigns for a second. The fundamentals of SEO revolve around two ingredients that lack sex appeal: proper page structure and well-written content. The successful combination of these elements will benefit your search rank more than any outsourced SEO campaign ever will.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Search engine algorithms incorporate both on-page and off-page elements. On-page elements include both page structure and content. Wait a second… if both fundamental ingredients of SEO are included in the on-page elements, then what about the off-page side of the equation (i.e. back-links)?

Well, theoretically, back-links should be a byproduct of well-written content. In other words, there shouldn’t be a need to proactively poach external links. This is of course theoretical. It is probably a good idea to scout external links from relevant sites to increase your PageRank and drive traffic.

Moving along…

Proper page structure basically means mandatory:

• Page titles
• META descriptions
• Header tags
• Paragraph content
• ALT tags
• Strong and emphasis tags
• Keyword-injected URLs, if possible

Well-written content is a bit more vague, but encompasses some of the following: keyword consistency, proper grammar, and logical article development.

If these two areas can be targeted, SEO success is inevitable. It has to start with the web design (i.e. proper page structure), followed by the site copy (i.e. page content). So, instead of looking at SEO from a micro point-of-view, the macro perspective may provide a better overall picture of the situation.

[The Beauty of Organic Search Results] - Yes, I just called organic search results beautiful. The reason is simple. They drive free, qualified traffic. It doesn’t get any better than that. I’m a true believer in quality content and good page structure. From a corporate perspective, too little money is being put toward SEO. Its inorganic cousin, PPC, seems to be reaping in the bulk of the marketing budget. There must be a balance though.

I am extremely biased when it comes to search engine marketing. I think that most companies tend to overlook SEO in favour of PPC, as they assume that the latter provides more immediate, visual results and a better ROI. Little do they know, a well-executed SEO campaign can also provide immediate results in as little as a few days. Obviously, the upfront cost of optimization needs to be taken into consideration, but I still believe the long-term, residual benefits of SEO to be greater than those of a short-term PPC campaign.

In other words, an SEM budget should be weighted slightly toward PPC in the beginning, but transition to SEO over time. In the end, the ROI should be excellent, as organic search should be driving the majority of traffic.

New start-up LingoZ has an ambitious goal in mind. They’re looking to build a dictionary from scratch. Thanks to the new concept of crowdsourcing (or user-contribution), LingoZ plans to harness users in an attempt to redefine the traditional ‘dictionary’ space.

Why would anyone want to enter an area dominated by such big names as Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster? Simply put, they don’t plan on competing in the same way. The traditional players function in a stagnant manner. They are not dynamic. Obviously, definitions do not change much over time, but context, slang, and new words are appearing all the time. This is the reason for being for LingoZ. As the company puts it:

“We aim to prove that a user contributed dictionary who is subject to the community moderation can be as accurate and of high quality as a “regular” dictionary, while evolving and being updated faster than any other source.”

Registered users can do one of a number of things, including:

1. Add a new term
2. Define an existing term
3. Vote on definitions

Currently, the site supports 8 languages. They include English, Hebrew, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.

So why would anyone want to edit or contribute to the site? Notoriety is key. As is the case with most sites that do not offer monetary compensation, LingoZ has done a good job of outlining the main incentive of participation:

“Users who are highly praised will gain credibility and enjoy visibility within the LingoZ community.”

The way I see it, LingoZ is to dictionaries as Wikipedia is to encyclopedias. Both will hail their criticisms, due to sourcing from so-called amateurs. Opinions and personal angles may be taken, but a community-controlled and -patrolled system should essentially weed out all the discrepencies. What’s also interesting to note is that SEO will probably be a main traffic driver, somewhat akin to Wikipedia as well.

Negatives aside, many will embrace these new dynamic mediums. Definitions, phrases, and references do change from time to time. Furthermore, new additions and words are appearing all the time, especially in this new era of technology and science. A reluctance to accept or accommodate for these trends may ultimately lead to the demise of traditional giants.

This week, TechMeme officially launched its anticipated “Leaderboard”. The board tracks the top 100 news sources on TechMeme, based on the number of headlines attributed to each source over the previous thirty days. To some degree, it can be interesting to follow. But I think it poses more problems than benefits. What is truly the point of displaying the top 100 sources? It simply creates a hierarchy of power and inflated egos.

Such a ranking system isn’t what the blogosphere needs. We all know that TechCrunch is popular, but we don’t need to be reminded yet again. The so-called hierarchy (A-listers, B-listers, etc..) is a bunch of crap. Blogs are meant to break down these barriers. A leaderboard simply creates an echo-chamber and a positive feedback loop within the realm. In other words, blogs may be giving way to the manufactured world of popularity.

I don’t really care who has the biggest presence. I don’t care that a lot of people read XYZ blog. What I care about is the content - I truly appreciate insight and analysis beyond the basic facts. If the content is good excellent, readers will follow. They don’t need to be influenced by a ranking system to see what ‘everybody else’ is reading. This is the herd mentality.

Personally, I judge every blog based on the quality of each individual post. Over time, I become more and more loyal if the content meets or exceeds my expectations. On the contrary, I lose respect for blogs when the content begins to degrade and succumb to mediocrity.

The TechMeme Leaderboard simply reinforces the so-called leaders and ignores quality content from lesser known sources. The way I see it, this board does nothing more than provide an added marketing mechanism for TechMeme. Now, the ego maniacs at the top will re-visit the leaderboard on a daily basis to view how their ranking has changed. Lemmings and wannabes will also frequent the chart to catch a glimpse of their idols and get an idea of what they should be reading. Is this what the blogosphere was meant to be? I hope not.

In my opinion, the best quality content nowadays isn’t always found at the top. A lot of these blogs have taken a more conservative approach and refuse to take a stance or express an opinion. This creates appeal to a larger crowd, but shows neglect for the initial minority. To some degree, these blogs are moving toward the more traditional media model (shame on them). Lower level blogs have nothing to lose. Therefore, opinions and thoughts are articulated in a much more concise and thought-provoking manner. This is the reason such content shouldn’t be ignored.

Don’t get me wrong… I’ve always been a big fan of TechMeme in the past. I just think this new move may be one filled with ulterior motives.

PS. I’m not bitter about not making the list. I couldn’t care less. It isn’t the reason I blog.