Learn SEO | Search Engine Optimization Tips and Techniques

I have a question for all of your Adsense experts. I have a website that has been active for about 5 years and has become a top ranking site in its particular niche. Originally the site was set up as a standard static html website and over the years became well known. At that time I used Adsense and achieved a pretty good click through rate which added to my overall Adsense income stream.

About a year ago I decided to turn the site into a blog using Word Press as my blogging platform. The changeover went smoothly and went well for a couple of months. Then withough any explanation the Adsense revenue stopped. In fact the number of impressions that showed up in my Adsense account panel dropped to an average of 0 to 2 a day if that much. I examined all aspects of my site and could not find anything wrong. I tried several different WP layouts and still no change……….. Adsense was seemingly dead.  My Google analytics showed the same level of traffic but zero impressions on average in Adsense. This went on for a couple of months while I scratched my head.

Finally last week I decided to take the site back to a static html format. I rebuilt the site as a “directory” style website which will provide answers to about any question a visitor in this niche could have. I kept Adsense on the site and within 24 hours of re-launching the new site it was indexed in Google and voila…..  Adsense impressions immediatey climbed to the level they were a year ago. Click throughs are going up and for the first time in almost a year income is being generated via Adsense from this site.

I still cannot figure out what is going on. I have adsense on other blogs but they do not do well. Have I overlooked something with regards to Adsense and Word Press? Although blogging format provides for easier updates to my sites, am I losing income because a conflict of some sort that I am not aware of?

I would like to hear from any of you who have had the same problem.

There are several different schools of thought when it comes to linking such as where should the link come from, where should it go and how many links is enough. I have been through each of these thoughts and have tried each method plus a few more. Over the past couple of years I have seen some pretty good success with my SEO efforts and have learned quite a bit about the effects of linking and have come to the following conclusion. Deep links are the best.

What do I mean by deep links you ask? A deep link is a link that comes to you from another site but does not point to your index page. But wait a minute…… don’t I want all of my links to point to my home page so people will find out what I am all about? Not necessarily. While links to your homepage are needed and do help people to find your site, wouldn’t you rather have someone refer a visitor via a text link directly to one of your site’s inner pages and provide that visitor with an immediate solution to what they seek?

Another advantage of having a deep link is the originators website will pass “link juice” to your inner page thus making it stronger in value which in turn will have a positive effect on you overall page strength.

Let me use the example of one of my websites which is a trucking industry website. TruckerHub.com is a directory style site that has links to almost every aspect of the trucking industry. While I would certainly like a lot of in-bound links point to my home page, it is advantageous to me to have a trucking website specialty site link directly to a page within my site dealing with that subject. For instance a specialty chrome shop could link directly to one of my inner pages that deal with chrome modification and customization for trucks. The visitor to that page obviously wants chrome related info and by landing on that subject page you save the new visitor time.

Deep linking also helps in your search returns as your inner pages start to show up in better positions for more precise searches such as “chrome plating for trucks”.

If I had my preference I would want 25% of my inbound links to hit my home page and the other 75% to go to inner pages for deep linking.

What are your thoughts on deep linking?

With talk of the impending death of SEO as we know it by Google and rumors of Behavior Based Search, Intent Based Search and Universal Search, one has to wonder how they will ensure the success of their website. The only way any business, whether online of offline succeeds is by providing a top notch service or product and then having news of that service travel via word of mouth.

If your website truly provides a “solution” to a need or problem then it will be successfule no matter where it ranks on Google.  I dare say that a quality website that gives the visitor what they want on a consistant basis will do well even if they are at number 900 in a Google search return. Word of mouth is a powerful advertising medium. Good search return rankings will be a natural result of the success of a website as others link to it (at least for now).  We must learn to anticipate what visitors will want and to put ourselves in the visitors shoes. If I know someone has come to my site based on a referal then I need to make sure I solve their problem and then give an incentive to comeback.

Have content of the quality that will make them want to sign up for emails or subscribe to RSS feeds or at least bookmark your site. The new game in town is no longer going to be SEO but PQS (Provide Quality Solutions).

Minimalism is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity “. Wikipedia goes further to say “minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features”.

More and more I am of the firm belief a minimalist design is the best option for a website. Google is a perfect example of minimalism in design. With a “sparse” design the visitor will know what to do. No searching around for menu links or reading through “keyword” laden text or over the top graphics. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that by providing a simple solution to a visitors need you will not only retain a visitor but that visitor will tell others how simple it is to find something at your site.

But what about text and keywords and relevant content you ask? All of that can be provided at your website; it just doesn’t all need to be stuffed into one spot. I think as more and more people become numb to webpage sensory overload, they are going to welcome a simple interface that quickly takes them to their answer. On subject or topic per page with one supporting advertisment that a business will pay for to be the only solution your site provides to it’s visitor.

Does this make sense to you. I am about to start and expirement with a domain I have had for a couple years that has not really done anyting on it’s own. I am going to pare down the design to the bare basics and turn it into a simple directory of answers the the particular industry that it deals with. No graphics, no rows of banner ads, no overwhelming text; Just a simple gateway to an answer. We will use social networking to promote and hopefully the quality of the visitors answer will become well known enough that the site starts to be known as the “only” destination for information and answers in it’s particular niche.

If this expirement is successful I will post the url on this blog as well all the steps I took to get the site known in its niche community.

Who knows, I may just be daydreaming, but then again, I like simple and easy to use. Maybe others will too.

What is your opinion?

I know that most people that read this blog are looking to make money online with blogs or websites. Sometimes we need to step back and take a break and do something for fun. I have started a new blog at www.ILikeEating.com and just like the title says, I like eating and I like writing about anyting food related. What is great about blogging for fun is that most successful money making blogs started out this way. When you write about what you love then it is easy to take care of your blog. It is not a daily chore but something you look forward to. 

Readers pick up on the fact that you are writing because you enjoy it. When a reader is not bombared by advertisnig as soon as your page comes up ( or those damn annoying pop up window that a lot of top MMO bloggers are using) the reader has a better experience. They realize you do this for fun and therefore the info is going to be better quality and more genuine. That is when you get traffice and referrals. Once your blog has grown to hundreds of unique visitors a day you can monetize is but dont go overboard like others………  (you know who I am talking about)

So take a break and start a blog for fun and see where it takes you.