I normally take New Year’s resolutions with a particle of  salt substitute. Isee bloggers posting their personal resolutions and it got me to dwelling on the question of  what would my SEO New Year’s resolution look like if I were to make one? Given the times we live in, what would be the single item in my repertoire that I could change to bring about the greatest value to my Website initiatives? Or to look at it unselfishly, what would be the best action I could take to improve the visitor experience of my site? I considered these 5 things:

1. It’s 2009. The algorithmic loopholes of SEO are disappearing. No matter how hard you promote a site, you cannot make Google think its great if it ain’t. The lipstick eventually wears off and you face the pig of reality. You have probably read about all the “blackhat SEO’s” who have come clean over the years. Google is pushing everyone toward quality, even the paid search crowd (you know, the people who look at you funny in the elevator and ask “What is it you do again, now, something specialized right?”).
2. The methods for making pages perform well in search engines today are very different from what they were in the 1990’s. The size of search engine indices has increased. More competition. Well, it’s, um… harder.
3. What’s the point in doing anything if you don’t do it with excellence? Whether its Seth Godin’s purple cow or your own infared woolly mammoth, you’ll feel better if you create something that no one else has done before. Colossians 3:23 (Amplified Bible) sums up my feelings as a Christian on this point:
   

   Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,

My SEO New Year’s Resolution:

I resolve to publish extraordinary content.

There must be no “I better post something just to let them know I’m still alive” content. Whatever content goes up on Clickfire, whether written by me or any guest author, must be excellent, high quality and engaging.

What are some properties of extraordinary content?

• The content needs to help someone solve a problem, be remarkably interesting or significantly entertaining to visitors.
• The voice and copy should be unique. Extraordinary content doesn’t echo.
• Every post is developed around a group of researched primary and secondary keywords.

It’s not 2009 yet, so this post doesn’t count :)

Have you ever left a comment and then felt a strange sensation in your gut that made you wish you hadn’t pressed the submit button?  If you are planning on entering content into someone’s blog that they have likely worked hard to develop, take it seriously. The guy on the other side of the comment box certainly does. Take it from a long time commentor and commentee, here is how not to comment on this or dare I say any other blog.  Most of this is common sense etiquette that fall into the “do unto others” category. Yet, every day, I see comments on Clickfire that defy these “don’ts,” So here it is, spelled out in detail.

1. Don’t post affiliate referral codes in comment posts to try and get commissions. This seems obvious etiquette but I am amazed at how much this goes on.
2. Don’t copy and paste a comment post that you or someone else has previously posted to another blog or forum.
3. Don’t make trite comments like “Great article.” If you read it, say why it was great.
4. Don’t use incorrect grammar or mispellings. Doing this makes the blog look like a low quality blog. Or the blogger has to spend time correcting the errors.
5. Don’t post links or signatures to promote a site. If you post a link, make sure it offers value to the readers.
6. Don’t post off-topic comments. Let the price of tomatoes in China be debated in China.
7. Don’t lie in your comments. This has been said before by a greater authority than myself. Trust me, someone will bust you.
8. Don’t post profanity. It seemed cool in elementary school. Some readers relate to coarse language, others are offended by it.
9. Don’t use someone else’s blog as an outlet to post legal complaints you have with a service. Especially, don’t post someone else’s private emails as a comment. You may have a legitimate beef, but it usually doesn’t serve a blogging audience to read private legal correspondence.
10. Don’t issue personal attacks or insults. Be a lady. Be a gentleman. Fake it if you have to.

Now, care to leave a comment?

I’ve been thinking l deeply and for a long time about the future of the term “webmaster” and wanted to express some thoughts. Most people recognize “webmaster” as a term from earlier Internet history that describes the activities of the person responsible for Web site. I’ve previously defined it this way:

One responsible for designing, developing, and managing all aspects of a website’s content, connectivity and human resources.

I’ve always thought of myself as a webmaster, despite the unattractiveness of the term. Today, we don’t usually call ourselves “masters” of anything. Perhaps this is due to humility. Perhaps political correctness. I don’t know. I left any discomfort I had with the word back in the nineties.

On the positive side:
Google has chosen to continue using the term in products like “Google Webmaster Central” and “Google Webmaster Tools.” They are still calling the sacred SEO document the Google Webmaster Guidelines. If Google does it, it must be cool, right?

Causing me concerns:
Webmaster.org recently sold for $50,000, yet sites having “webmaster” in the domain don’t seem to be as popular as they once were. The approximate average monthly search volume according to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool for “webmaster” on exact match is reported at only 33,100.

With the advent of 3G and smartphones, the webmaster is no longer the mysterious guy behind a desktop or in an air-conditioned datacenter pulling switches. He’s at the coffee shop.

Blog software is another factor. The fact that anyone can get a WordPress or Blogger weblog up and running in minutes with a really nice looking pre-made theme makes coding and maintenance less of an issue. Most bloggers probably don’t think of themselves as webmasters.

What about the social media user? He doesn’t have to design, develop or manage anything except relationships. If he happens to be a poweruser, he may control a lot more traffic than the average webmaster.

These are some random entertaining comments I picked up from Digg users that show some insight into their view of the word:

Who still uses the term “webmaster”?

I remember the first time I read some “webmaster” complaining that Firefoxe’s [sic] rising popularity was making more work for them, and “breaking” all their pages. (Fake tear dabbed from my eye.) I almost burst a blood vessel. Firefox isn’t Netscape 4.7, people.

I haven’t used the “webmaster” term in years.

Well the term “Webmaster” died in 1998 so web developers had to come up with something legit sounding.

Does anyone else absolutely abhor the term “webmaster”?

…that’s what they called you 8 years ago if you knew HTML.

Any web guy that calls himself a “webmaster” probably isn’t a master of anything. The term “webmaster” has become a translation for the word “amateur.” The web has diversified into so many different realms that webmaster is no longer meaningful (was it ever though?)

The term “webmaster” just makes me cringe. “Look Ma, I’ve mastered the web!”

Never call yourself a webmaster. Why people still insist on using that terrible term is beyond all comprehension.

I thought webmasters were extinct.

You can tell Syria is behind in Internet technology when they use terms like “webmaster.” In the US we stopped using that term when they realized it made them sound like Spider-Man villains.

…the fact that he calls people that code and design for a living “webmaster”, proves that he is out of touch. he should go back to being a dungeon master like he was prior to writing this.

I don’t know what is going to become of the term “webmaster,” but I have an uneasy feeling about its future.

The Problem

SEO industry professionals have lost the will to link to each other. They are hoarding valuable PageRank capital. Unless action is taken to free up links, firms are expected to report losses in search engine rankings.

The Solution

Congress must act to pass SEO bailout legislation with these components:

• 700 link rescue plan for failed search engine strategies
• Fresh infusion of links from .gov domains
• Buyout of defunct Web directories

This SEO bailout must go into effect immediately. Otherwise, search engine marketing firms could risk going belly up. Once the bill has passed, the president must appoint a SEO Czar.

Arguments Against

How will Americans react to the idea of creating a link pool to help an industry that engaged in risky linking practices? Is the U.S. government manufacturing of PageRank essentially the same as printing currency?

What you can do to Help

Help secure the future of search engine marketing by writing your congressman and demanding that the SEO bailout legislation be passed without delay.

Nuff said.

Sifting through some files on my PC, I found this letter that I wrote to my AT&T Broadband expressing the need for high-speed Internet service. The file is dated June 27, 2002. The note makes me remember the defeating sadness of 56k modem Internet life. Despite having to endure a painful Comcast outage or two, having a high speed connection these last several years has made my life much more productive and fun. I think it is beneficial for us who are fortunate enough to have a high speed connection to take a moment and remember from whence our slow past.

AT&T Broadband
P.O. Box 2127
Norcross, GA 30091

AT&T Broadband:

I am a current AT&T Broadband customer and operate a home-based business from my condominium complex. I am in need of a high-speed connection but have been unable to find out when the service will be available in my area. Over the course of about 5 years, I have been given various projections of when service will be available, but none have proved to be accurate. Can you advise me on when and if service will ever be available in my area?

Thanks for your time,

Emory Rowland

• Learn stuff
• Meet new friends
• Edit stupid things you said
• Make money
• Help others solve problems

Take a look at this story that speculates about Digg’s plans in relation to the recent bannings. I submitted it to Digg and was tracking it on DiggBoard:

My Story Submission 2 Minutes Later is gone:

I had been watching the story (highlighted in yellow) rise for hours until it starting placing at the top of the Tech Industry and Technology categories’ Hot and Most Dugg when suddenly the story dropped off completely. I checked the Digg site to make sure it wasn’t just an issue with DiggBoard (great tool by the way) but it had lost all popularity.

Did I just get a visit from the Digg Bury Brigade?

On Friday, August 15, 2008, Digg poweruser, MrBabyMan exceeded 10,000 submissions. He also passed the 100,000 digg mark! MrBabyMan is by far Digg’s most popular and beloved loved user. He’s known for his keen ability to locate interesting stories and tirelessly sharing them round the clock with fellow Diggers. The Digg rock star also seems to be a pretty likeable guy with a sense of humor, which always helps on Digg.

Congratulations MrBabyMan!

Check out MrBabyMan’s Digg Profile http://digg.com/users/MrBabyMan

I found this when checking a random page with the W3C Validation service tool. Is this a case of a really bad web designer with no budget? Nope. The page belongs to a fortune 500 company. I’ll spare them the embarassment and keep them nameless.

“This page is not Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional!” — What an understandment!