What Exactly is SEO
March 1, 2008
I have written a ton of articles about the technical aspects and nuisances of SEO and Internet Marketing and I have begun to realize that many people are really not quite aware of what SEO actually is, what it can do for you and how it actually works at the most basic level. So I decided to do a quick article about SEO that explains it at the very beginner level.
What does SEO mean anyway?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is simply the process of optimizing web site content to preform well in the major search engines. Today Google drives almost 70% of the search traffic on the internet so most SEO Professionals focus on Google as they gauge of their results.
How does SEO work?
SEO at its’ core is a quite simple process and is simply broken into two distinct disciplines. These are called on site optimization and off site optimization
On site optimization is simply the content you have on your web pages. This includes all the content including but not limited to the main content or text, the headings, the titles of image files, title and description tags and other factors. This is the easy side of SEO once you learn all the technical factors because you have full control over every part of what is on your site.
Off site optimization is really just link building. To way over simplify the issue you want lot of links from other sites pointing to your site and you want them formated using the words you want your website to rank well for. This is again a huge over simplification of the process the important thing to understand is that links have more impact on rankings then onsite factors.
It is also very important to understand that it is not just how many pages link to you or what sites they are on it is also highly contingent upon what sites and pages link to them and so on for many levels. As you might imagine off site SEO is far more complex because your control over many factors is quite limited.
Can a good SEO Professional get me to the top of Google for the term “xyz”?
The honest answer is it depends on a few things. First the term you want to rank for and how many other sites are competing for it. Second how much time and money you are willing to invest. Third it also depends on whether the term is worth your effort in the first place. Some terms are highly competitive but may not convert well to sales or leads for you. A good SEO is not just concerned about getting you ranked, he or she is most concerned with finding highly targeted traffic that will convert for you into buyers and or leads.
How do I know what terms to optimize for?
Keyword research is one of the most valuable skills a good SEO has and learning to do it well takes a long time. Basic keyword research is pretty easy and you can start off with a free key word tool from Google and get a lot of good data. Professional SEOs use this tool in conjunction with more advanced tools. Additionally they know how to dig deeper and their skill is a mixture of good technical skills, intuition and experience. While you can do your own initial research if there is any one factor that it most pays to seek the services of a professional for it is key word research.
Does SEO really work?
You bet it does! When you search for just about anything on Google or Yahoo today odds are most of the natural results on the search results page are there from effective use of SEO techniques. SEO takes time and it is an ever change mixture of solid technical skills and art. There are many people that call themselves an SEO today but the number or truly skilled individuals is much lower. Good SEOs are not difficult to recognize though, just judge their results.
Outdoors Place Holder
March 1, 2008
Just a place holder
The Diadem Snake
March 1, 2008
The Diadem Snake (scientific name - Spalerosophis diadema) ranges from North Africa east with some related species ranging as far east as Pakistan. I am currently working with the sub species S. diadema cliffordi (commonly called the Egyptian Diadem) which is a North African Species from the areas in and around Egypt. The photo below is of a juvinal as they grow the pattern reduces and they get beautiful shades of rose, orange, peach and red.
Diadem’s are many things, active, curious and intelligent but they are not docile by any means. They are not a snake to handle like a “pet” and do not particularly enjoy being touched (of course there are some exceptions to every rule). They will hiss much like a North American bull snake, but unlike our bulls there is no bluffing, they will strike, bite and even chew. They are technically considered rear fanged colubrid but no reactions of any kind have been reported to their mild venom on humans and their Toxicology Report officially lists them as “nonvenomous”. Still I use a hook to handle mine just because I do not enjoy being bitten or chewed on.
Many people wonder why anyone would want to keep a snake that bites, to them I say try keeping a Diadem or a pair of them and you will quickly answer your own question. Keeping a Diadem is like keeping a Saw Scaled Viper or Desert Adder with out the risk. Their show is impressive and they require you to think before putting a hand in their cages. You quickly learn to use snake hooks and how to deal with something more challenging they say a corn or ball python that just lays around.
The return for your efforts is great! Diadems like to explore a lot and don’t spend hours hiding from you. While they strike at hands that come at them they are not freaks that smack the glass just because you walk by it or attack you when you are just changing a water dish. They quickly learn to trust their captors so long as you are not trying to get to close to them or pick them up and will take mice off tongs with vigor.
Spalerosophis grow to about corn snake length (4-4.5 feet) as adults but are much more heavily bodied and therefore more impressive. Breeding is a simple affair, simply by providing a long photo period and introducing a male to a female you can get them to breed around June each year. Dr. Neil Ford of UT Tyler has a paper on breeding Diadem’s you can download here.
What really makes these snakes so wonderful in spite of an aggressive nature is how enjoyable and easy to care for they really are. I often observe my snake studying my movements and watching me work. They eat just about anything of reasonable size you place in front of them and actually prefer arid environments so humidity is a minor to no concern. As they do not get overly large topping out under 5 feet so they are easy to provide for. If you are looking for a snake that gives you a bit of the thrill of an exotic viper with out the risk of going to a hospital or loosing a hand, then a Diadem may be the perfect fit.
Internet Marketing Holder
March 1, 2008
Just a place holder