A search engine optimization specialist assists other Webmasters in earning high placement in search results for their Web pages. Search engines rank the documents in their results according to secret algorithms but some of the rules for designing page content to establish its importance, or relevance, to search expressions are well documented.
The search engine optimization specialist ensures that pages have title tags, headers, and content that emphasizes in a fair and honest way the selected words that should be used to find those pages in search engines. Of course, no one can truly guarantee results. Some individuals and companies promise to achieve high rankings in search engine results but the general consensus among the critical seo community is that such guarantees are worthless.
Responsible search engine optimization specialists assist their clients in understanding and targeting useful keyword search expressions that will actually generate traffic. While many businesses benefit directly from working closely with a search engine optimization specialist, some businesses have experienced several poor performing contracts in succession.
Selecting a search engine optimization specialist is very difficult for companies just venturing into the field of search engine marketing. Your search engine marketing program needs to be both comprehensive and focused on your specific needs. An experienced search engine marketing specialist understands how to do proper keyword research before making suggestions for changes to your Web site.
As a specialist in the field of search engine optimization, Michael Martinez has assisted thousands of Webmasters through the years, both in learning how to do their own search engine optimization and in how to provide ethical, effective, reliable service to their clients. Michael's numerous articles and forum contributions earn both praise and criticism. There is no true consensus in the field on controversial topics, but unlike many other search engine optimization specialists, Michael shares his research freely.
Over the summer of 2006, Michael launched the Google Says ... blog, offering commentary on Google statements, guidelines, announcements, and comments made by Google employees from a search engine placement specialist's viewpoint. In December of 2006, he moved to the SEO Theory blog, where he discusses more in-depth search engine optimization theory topics. He is currently employed as Director of Search Strategies by an Internet Marketing firm.
- Very popular forum posts
- John Scott's May 2004 Google Sandbox explanation revisited - Posted at Spider-Food on February 7, 2006, this article takes a fresh look at one of the earliest attempts to explain the Google Sandbox Effect in the light of several public statements by Google employees.
- On the Googlenes of Being - Posted at Spider-Food on February 10, 2005, this theoretical analysis of the evolving Google engine inspired much content and discussion across the Web. "On the Googleness of Being" marked a return to open forum discussion for Michael after more than a year of silence.
- Notes on October 2005 Google update follows the progress of a recent Google update (referred to by some people as "Jagger") at the Highrankings.com Forum.
- Rebuttal of Phil Craven's 'Google Explained' posted at Spider-food on February 13 takes to task one of the worst-written attempts to demystify Google the SEO community has ever seen. Several ill-advised rebuttals to the rebuttal were launched in other SEO forums. Michael responded to the rebuttals in at least two other forums, but the spider-food rebuttal became the central point of the debate.
- The Google Master Relevancy Theory post on the LED Digest (a mailing list, rather than a forum) from November 2003 looks at how Google (and other search engines) may determine relevance and how Webmasters can assert it through links and content.
- Outbound linkage versus reciprocal linkage from May 2004 on the LED Digest offered unusual Google quotes regarding their use of multiple algorithms and the (implied) declined reliance upon PageRank.
- Rel=nofollow: should I do this to the affiliate links? at Search Engine Watch led to a lengthy discussion where Danny Sullivan himself misinterpreted Michael's original point by reading too much into it. Michael's lenghy followup on the second page of posts clarified many points. In the end, it appears that much of what Michael said (in February 2005) about abuse of RSS feeds came to be true. Google filtered out the spam pages Michael described over the summer of 2005.
- Blog posts
- High Quality Content: Seeding queries with semantic anchors, posted on May 18, 2006. This final entry in the High Quality Content series explains how to market proposed query expressions (Semantic Anchors) to favor pages already optimized for them.
- High Quality Content: From Content Optimization to Semantic Content Engineering, posted on May 15, 2006. This entry summarizes the High Quality Content discussion up to this point.
- High Quality Content: Branding Query Expressions, posted on May 11, 2006. This entry recaps concepts introduced earlier in the High Quality Content series and explains how to capture or anticipate popular query expressions.
- High Quality Content: Creating Semantic Visibility, posted on May 7, 2006. This entry in the High Quality Content series introduces the concept of Referring Page Relevance and explains the concepts of Semantic Bonding and Semantic Anchoring for search engine optimization.
- Yahoo! Here are some clues about spam terminology, posted on May 5, 2006. This entry examines differences between conventional SEO terminology and Yahoo!'s research terminology.
- Web Semantics: What do we mean by 'Semantic Web'?, posted on May 2, 2006. This entry earned considerable international commentary, in both English and non-English Web design and promotion communities and blogs. Michael introduces new concepts in Semantic Content Engineering to the search engine optimization community.
- High Quality Content: I've Got A Golden Ticket (Page)!, posted on April 27, 2006. This widely cited entry explains how simple content pages can unexpectedly leap to prominence and drive significant traffic.
- High Quality Content: Three Types of Quick, Indexable, Useful Content, posted on April 24, 2006. The first in a series of blog entries discussing how to create content that ranks highly in (Google) search results.
- The real problem with reciprocal linking, posted on April 18, 2006. This entry challenges conventional SEO wisdom regarding how reciprocal links should be valued.
- SEO for mom and pop, posted on April 7, 2006. A discussion of how to optimize and promote local business sites for local searches.
- What's In Your Link Quality?, posted on March 27, 2006. This widely cited entry discusses several types of very hard-to-get, extremely useful and worthwhile links.
- Dancing on the dark side, posted on March 20, 2006. A discussion of how good optimization techniques become abused and slide into so-called "Black Hat SEO" techniques.
- Being Rand Fishkin In A Warren Buffet Movie, posted on March 7, 2006. A discussion of the evolution of search engine optimization into search service placement.
- Create Visibility with your Clients, posted on February 21, 2006. This entry discusses some ways SEOs can build visibility for client Web sites.
- The Wicked Ways of Wiki Watchers, posted on February 14, 2006. The entry discusses how search engine optimization specialists are abusing Wikipedia and other Wiki sites to build artificial link popularity.
- Google Sandbox: John Scott seems to have been right about link aging, posted on February 9, 2006. The entry re-examines a 2-year-old hypothesis explaining the so-called Google Sandbox Effect in light of recent admissions from Google employees.
- Layering Content to Maximize Visibility, posted on February 5, 2006, is Michael's fourth contribution to the SEOMoz blog. The entry describes how large content Web sites can organize content in mini-Web site format.
- The importance of an 'About' page post by Rand Fishkin, founder of SEOMoz. Look in the comments section for Michael's suggestions on how a typical minimal business site should be organized.
- Now you link it, now you don't, posted on January 30, 2006, is Michael's third contribution to SEOMoz's blog. This entry talks about link showcasing (broken down into link warehouses and link portfolios) and how they can promote both in-site and off-site content effeciently.
- Four Fundamental Principles of SEO, posted on January 24, 2006, is Michael's second contribution to the SEOMoz blog. The entry briefly describes and discusses Visibility,
- Working with invisible Web sites, posted on January 19, 2006, is Michael's first contribution to the SEOMoz blog. The entry, somewhat lengthy, explains how to help a typical business Web site rank for its own company name.
- Articles
- Building Online Visibility: A Three-Point Plan For Any Business ... outlines a quick, effective approach to establishing visibility for new sites. This article has been picked up by many sites.
- Rand Fishkin's immensely popular and influential Search Engine Ranking Factors article at SEOMoz incorporats input from 12 other search engine optimization specialists, including Danny Sullivan, Dan Thies, Jill Whalen, and Michael Martinez (to name a few -- see the article for the full list).
- v7ndotcom elursrebmem is a personal rant by Michael about search engine optimization contests that serve no purpose other than to encourage people to create and promote worthless spam content pages. This page does not qualify for either of the two primary prizes anounced for the contest.
- Wikipedia definition of PageRank. As with all Wikipedia articles, this one may subsequently be edited beyond usefulness, but on January 6, 2006 Michael revised the original article to remove significant errors of fact and tighten the internal organization. Much of the information in Wikipedia concerning Search Engine Optimization is usually incorrect. Readers should not trust Wikipedia to properly define or explain search engine concepts.
- Wikipedia definition of a link farm. Because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, there is no guarantee that this page as you find it will reflect Michael's contribution. Michael revised the original article on January 4, 2006. Subsequent additions or edits may or may not be accurate.
Small Business Internet Marketing offers suggestions on internet marketing for small business and provides a special contact form to ask Michael further questions. You should have a clear idea of what your business goal is before asking for help.
If you have a larger need (and budget), you can also look at Michael's SEO Consulting services.
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Contact Michael
PageRank...again
People cannot seem to let go of Larry Page's bizarre measure of document importance when discussing their search engine rankings. Google clearly states that Google's order of results is automatically determined by more than 100 factors, so why do people keep talking about PageRank?
The only Google search results which are clearly ordered by PageRank are found in the Google Directory, where category pages and query results are presented in descending order by PageRank (as represented by a distinctive green bar). The user has the option of ordering results alphabetically instead.
When first presented in Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine, PageRank was defined as a function that associated weighted values related to links with indexed documents. The definition concluded with this sentence: Note that the PageRanks form a probability distribution over web pages, so the sum of all web pages' PageRanks will be one.
The basic rules of probability state that all probabilities are expressed as values between 0 and 1. A probability of 1 represents absolute complete certainty that an event will occur. The probability PageRank measures concerns the likelihood that any Web page will be visited by someone who just randomly clicks on links.
Invariably, when people seek help in improving their search engine results, they cite their PageRank as reported by the Google Toolbar -- a value between 0 and 10. What is this number? It is a proxy value of some sort provided by Google. It is not used to rank search results outside the directory. Google does claim that PageRank is one of the "more than 100 factors" that are used to rank search results.
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Michael Martinez