Words and links are still two of the biggest influences in search engine optimisation. Used in combination, they have a lot of power. That’s why you can benefit from taking care with choosing how you link to your website. But social media platforms like Twitter, with character limitations and the desire to be more minimalist, have taken some of that linking flexibility away.

Anyone using Twitter will notice that they often automatically convert links into a shortened, unrecognisable link which directs to the source. You can also choose which shortening service to use to shorten your links, but you are rarely able to use a longer link with keywords.

Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing recently spoke on a panel at the Online Marketing Summit about the intersection of social, search, and public relations. He talked a bit about this concept with WebProNews in an interview.

Essentially, Odden equates journalists to customers, and emphasizes the idea of optimizing content for what journalists are looking for. As he says, you can get credibility, and sales as a result of media coverage. You can also get links, which can help you in search engines.

While ostensibly aimed at helping Google target potential weaknesses in its own product pages, and of no direct use to SEOs, there is nonetheless more than a little gold to be found here, if one just examines the document in a little more depth. So while the Google’s Webmaster Central Blog is already beginning to bristle with comments lamenting the fact that this isn’t a clear treasure map to the search-ranking mother lode, it’s worth sifting through the Report Card to see what informational nuggets are hidden inside.

Subject I: Search Result Presentation

Following in the footsteps of Rand Fishkin and Guy Kawasaki, I decided to come up with my own list of don’ts.

There is no shortage of don’ts when it comes to SEO copywriting. It seems this niche got off to a rough start many years ago when early comers somehow misconstrued the core principles of the trade. Allow me to elaborate on how not to write SEO copy.

1. Don’t shove as many keyphrases into the copy as humanly possible.

SEO is a race. And in any race learning from your competitors makes you a better runner. Even when you’re running first it’s sometimes good to look back and check the runner-ups. And if you’re not the yellow jersey guy, you absolutely should examine the leaders: their gear, their training, their strategy. In SEO the most interesting thing about your competition are their links.

Whether you like it or not SEO is still pretty much about links. Good link profile can make up for almost any lack of optimized content and other onpage flaws. Love or hate, the best thing you can do about it is embrace the fact and run with it.

Frankly, the biggest search engine optimization mistake you can make is not doing any SEO at all. It’s amazíng how many people believe “if you build it, they will come.” Marketing coaching makes one thing clear. Just putting a site up on the Internet won’t get you the traffic you want or need. By the same token, building a site and then thinking about SEO after the fact is a bad plan too. SEO needs to be at the heart of your Web plans from day one, and it’s a job that isn’t ever “finished.”

Google Base is one more tool from Google that can help you get the most out of your marketing efforts. If you sell products online, this is not only a good way to get your product listed in a product search engine, but it has added benefits for visibility as well.

I’ve discussed in the past why you should not overlook other Google search engines when looking to rank well. I did not talk about Google Base though. As Ryan Frank points out, getting listed in Google Base means getting listed in:

WNW Design are proud to announce the launch of the Kynaston Autobodies Ltd website.

Kynaston Autobodies Ltd is a revamp of the Kynaston Auto Services Ltd website. Kynaston Autobodies at Exeter and Taunton specialise in Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda, Mercedes car and commercial including specialist aluminum structural repairs. They are also competent on all makes of vehicle and vans, included HGVs. Their new MOT and Service Centre offers main dealer servicing at independent rates on all mechanical repairs to all makes of vehicle and vans.

Browse the website http://www.kynastonautoservices.co.uk/ for more information.

Welcome to part three of this three part series on SEO tools and resources. In the last two articles we discussed the variety of Firefox extensions used for SEO as well as an assortment of other free or affordable SEO tools. In this article we’ll discuss some of the resources you’ll want to access on a regular basis to keep up to date and informed on the goings-on in the search engine and SEO realm.

We’re going to cover a few different types of resources below and I’m going to try to keep this article to a reasonable length so let’s begin …

A lot of businesses are just starting out on Facebook, experimenting with the best ways to use this platform to generate more fans and turn them into customers. But because Facebook started out as a free communication tool for individual users, many businesses might not realise that they have some fairly strict regulations when it comes to ways in which you can capitalise on their site.

For example, once you have a good number of fans on Facebook an excellent way to get those fans interested is to run a competition on Facebook - offering a prize for the winners. Many companies on Facebook have just gone ahead with this, and inadvertantly broken Facebook rules. Their salvation is the fact that currently Facebook has nowhere near the amount of resources required to police these issues.