Beanstalk's SEO News Blog

Matt Cutts did a great interview with Mike MacDonald from WebPronews. The discussed Google in 2009 and answered a lot of questions that I know I've heard from a number of clients and confirmed a few things I believed to be true (mainly Matt's comments on sub-domains near the end).

The video covers personalization (will it kill search results and SEO). The future of SEO and how we need to expand into other areas including usability and conversion optimization, Flash and video ranking and sub-domain and how they can be used and black hat SEO. Matt answers the often-asked question: do sub-domains work better than files in a site and when?

I won't repeat everything from the video - that would be redundant. It's a 10 minute video and worth every minute of your time. Enjoy ...

Labels: black hat, google, matt cutts, personalization

On an almost daily basis I get emails from people asking me to review this SEO tool or that or take a peek at this article or what not. As our regular blog readers will know, I've spared you the majority of them and for good reason. I try to only include reviews of the tools and information I either will use or like but might not use (for example, tools geared towards people new to SEO that I feel would have been helpful about 8 years ago when I was getting my start but that might not be as helpful now that I already use about a dozen tools and Firefox extensions. :)

That said, I generally give them a peek to make sure I'm not missing a gem.

Today I got an email from Sam who wanted me to take a peek at his new tool at ReviewMyWeb.com. It's a comparison tool that looks at a number of factors comparing your site and 2 of your competitors. I gave it a peek and for someone new to SEO and looking for some pointers on areas they need to address - it's a pretty good tool indeed (and the price is certainly right - can't argue with free).

So kudos to Sam for developing a neat tool. It's probably won't make my personal must use list only because the information it provides is redundant to a lot of the tools I already use BUT for those of you reading this post - you should give it a peek. It may provide some info you don't already collect or have tools for. You can find it on their site at http://www.reviewmyweb.com/.

Labels: free seo tools

I know a lot of our blog readers are new to SEO and coming here through searches for SEO blog or SEO news. For you this post will be most helpful - for those of you who have been performing SEO for a while now - well, hopefully this will be a good refresher.

The post won't be long - in fact it's going to only be about another sentence or two and a link. Google has recently posted an SEO Starter Guide to help those just getting involved in SEO understand the good from the bad (according to Google). I won't both outlining what's in it - I'll just link to it and let you read it for yourself. You'll find the information at http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/11/googles-seo-starter-guide.html.

Enjoy. :)

Labels: google, seo

Beanstalk SEO is committed to helping where we can and to this end we're committed to reducing our impact on the environment while helping those in need. To date this has involved looking for ways to reduce our carbon emissions and help charitable organization.

Today we've added another level of engagement and that's through the purchasing of carbon offsets. We can't help but use power - such is the nature of being a computer company but what we can do is seek ways to reduce what we produce and purchase offsets for what we need to consume to help balance our effect on the world around us. We are committed to continuing to do so and would like to see our peers, clients and blog readers do the same.

If you have any questions about how to do this please don't hesitate to contact us. We're happy to answer your questions and help you make the world just that much better.

Labels: beanstalk, charity seo, environmental

The latest press release from Beanstalk Search Engine Optimization, Inc. was released today announcing free SEO services for chairties and non-profit organizations. Here is the release:

November 6, 2008 -- Top SEO firm Beanstalk Search Engine Optimization, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of their free SEO for charities initiative. Every month a site will be selected from a group of submissions and the charity or non-profit selected will receive free SEO services and/or consulting.

"We have to realize how privileged we are and remember to appreciate what we have and share what we can," said Beanstalk CEO Dave Davies. "Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in our lives and the stresses we all have but when we take a moment to think, I mean really think about how blessed we are, sometimes you can't help but be humbled. We are not a Fortune 500 company and we don't need to be to make a difference. We can do our part in our way and hopefully leave the world a better place than we found it."

In order to have your registered charity or non-profit organization considered you simply need to fill out their free charity SEO form. Once per month the Beanstalk owners and staff will choose from all applicants and select the winner.

The winner will be chosen based on a variety of factors. These include but are not limited to:

• Which charity is most deserving.
• Which charity can be helped the most.
• Which charity has shown a strong desire to provide visitors with a good and informative experience on their website.
• Which charity appeals to the Beanstalk team most.
  

On or around the 25th of each month a meeting will be held at Beanstalk and the winner will be informed and the services engaged. The services offered here will be those that both Beanstalk and the charity feel will provide the greatest possible benefit however they will be limited to a $1,500 value. Once every six months Beanstalk will be offering a $6,000+ package. Those who are selected for a $1,500 offering will be included in the considerations for the larger package.

All entries will be kept on file for six months so even if a charity isn't selected today -- they may still be selected down the road. If your charity isn't selected within six months of applying, all charities are invited to apply again though Beanstalk asks that applications be limited to two per year.

For more information or to apply you can visit their free SEO for charities page. This is not the first charitable initiative undertaken by Beanstalk. For more information on their other efforts you can visit their main charity SEO page for further information.

Labels: charity seo