Endangered SEO Birds

[tedster]

In recent months, threads on WmW have suggested or documented that these once dependable techniques are now on the endangered species list for at least some of the major search engines.

1. META keywords tags
2. doorway pages
3. link farms
4. 100% frames
5. alt tags
6. noframes text
7. mirror sites / duplicate pages
8. keywords in domain name

What have I missed?

[DaveAtIFG]

If memory serves, early last summer someone declared cloaking dead, but later recanted ;)

[Marshall Clark]

define "doorway page" :)

[tedster]

Doorway page: a page whose purpose is not to deliver content but to acquire good rank -- and then to direct the visitor to the actual content.

At first, you just optimized a page for a keyword/search engine, threw in a link or three, all with <H> tags and you were set. Mass produce a few dozen or a few hundred of these little puppies and watch the traffic grow.

Little by little, the requirements to get such a page well ranked got more stringent -- No meta refresh. No blue lines ;) Inbound links required. No near duplicates. Must not have exactly the same links as another page.

The SEs are after the doorways. Prediction: soon the algo requirements will be so complex that you will need a real content page anyway.

[austtr]

Tedster.... hopefully I won't start a war of words here but re your questions:

1. META keywords tags (OK when used correctly. They'll stay, the spammed sites will get filtered more effectively)

2. doorway pages (good riddance)

3. link farms (good riddance)

4. 100% frames (just another contrived work-around)

5. alt tags (if used correctly they serve a purpose for impaired surfers and graphics off surfers... should stay)

6. noframes text (framed designs remain relevant so this will remain until SE's can spider past the frame controls. Its when they are used as pseudo doorways ... refer 2)

7. mirror sites / duplicate pages (good riddance... and also to all those "near dups" that are just those few words different from each other)

8. keywords in domain name (good riddance... some countries will not register a domain unless it incorporates the business name. For many sites there is no way to get keywords into domain names. Pete's Poodle Parlour can register www.petespoodle.com.xx bur cannot register www.doggrooming.com.xx. Why should some sections of the web world be penalised?

"Prediction: soon the algo requirements will be so complex that you will need a real content page anyway."

We were always going to get to that scenario sooner or later and for me it cannot come soon enough.

[tedster]

>> We were always going to get to that scenario sooner or later and for me it cannot come soon enough.

Amen. I'm just reporting on the death throes of previously widespread techniques. It's a lot of change/progress in roughly one year or so. The algos are getting very intelligent, although there's still lots of room for improvement.

BTW, re: meta keyword tags -- several of the major engines could care less what's in there. At this point, it's nearly a vestigial organ. You can get number one spots without even using it at all.

[Woz]

>BTW, re: meta keyword tags -- several of the major engines could care less what's in there. At this point, it's nearly a vestigial organ.

True, but then some of the secondary or minor engines still rely on them. So if you are submitting to those as well then Keyword Tages are worth that little extra effort.

Also, as a side benefit, thinking in keyword mode can help you focus the content of the relevant page as well.

Onya
Woz