Two new spam tricks to get higher rankings on Google

Many people will do anything do get on Google's first result page. That's why some webmasters regularly come up with new spam methods to get on Google's first result page.

Phillip Lenssen recently reported two new methods that might be used by some people to get top 10 listings on Google.

Spam trick 1: Get higher rankings in Google's local results

It seems to help if the address of a business is close to the city center or the main station. If a business gets a post box close to these locations and submits that address to Google Maps, it will be listed higher in the local results on Google.

As the local results are usually displayed above the regular listings in Google, this could be a way to get many clicks.

Spam trick 2: Get higher rankings in Google's regular results

This trick is somewhat hard to believe. It seems that some webmasters hire cheap Chinese workers to get higher rankings on Google. As strange as it sounds, these webmasters pay couriers on bikes to drive to various Internet cafes, search for their keywords and then click on the listing of the webmaster's site.

Over time, the listings go up. Actually, Google does have a click tracker in the result URLs. Until now, it had been unclear for what purpose Google uses this tracker. If this story is true, Google might use the number of clicks that a listing gets to determine the ranking of a web page.

Will these methods work for your website?

The local search trick might work but it will probably be difficult for most webmasters to hire an army of Chinese bike couriers. In general, you shouldn't use spam techniques at all. So far, Google has detected all spam methods sooner or later.

Websites with spam techniques are usually banned from Google's index. You might get a small advantage for some time with some spam techniques but you're risking all rankings of your website.

The difference between spammy SEO methods and ethical SEO methods

If you use spammy SEO methods, you will quickly get high rankings on search engines. Unfortunately, Google will completely remove your website from the search results as soon as they find out that you use these methods:

If you use ethical SEO methods, it will take longer until you get high search engine rankings. However, your rankings will grow steadily and you'll get a much better performance in the long run:

Do not use spammy SEO methods to increase your rankings on Google. It will backfire on you.

If you want to get high rankings on Google, you should make sure that your web pages can easily be parsed by Google's robot. You must make sure that your web pages have been optimized for the right keywords and that enough other websites link to your site.

How to Use Boolean Search Operators : SEO Application

Boolean logic consists of three logical operators:

• OR [keyword1 OR keyword2] = either keyword1 or keyword 2 or both:
  

• AND [keyword1 AND keyword2] = both words (Google and Yahoo use this opeartor by default):
  

• NOT [keyword1 -keyword2]: excludes keyword2 from search results
  

Now let’s look at each operator possible SEO application:

1. [keyword1 OR keyword2] shows results for at least one of the keywords:

For link building / competitor research

(Yahoo) find who your competitor’s sponsors or partners with: [linkdomain:competitorsdomain.com intitle:partners OR intitle:sponsors]

Sample search: pages linking to Amazon.com as to their partner or sponsor

Search for both plural and singular nouns:
(Google) find relevant forums: [keyword inurl:forum OR inurl:forums]

Sample search: [seo inurl:forum OR inurl:forums]

2. As noted above both Yahoo and Google AND operator by default, so there is no need in using it to include all search terms in the search results. However you can use + operator [+keyword] that allows for a forced keyword inclusion:

include stop words in the search results, e.g. [seo +for];

3. [-keyword] excludes the keyword from the search results:

for backlink analysis: find only external inbound links (or exclude any other domain from backlink search):

(Yahoo) search: [linkdomain:yourcompetitorssite.com -site:yourcompetitorssite.com -site:anysitehere.com]

Sample search: [linkdomain:ebay.com -site:ebay.com -site:topxtop.com] - to exclude repeating topxtop.com listings.

How To Choose Domain Names For SEO

How To Select A Domain Name

Google tends to give weight to keywords in the domain name. This increases the importance of selecting a good name.

When choosing a domain name for SEO purposes, there are three main factors to consider:

• Brand
• Rankability
• Linkability
  

Brand

Should you use hyphenated, multi-term domain like search-engine-marketing-services.com?

I'd avoid such names like the plague.

Why?

They have no branding value. They have limited SEO value. Even if you do manage to get such a domain top ten, you're probably going to need to sell on the first visit, as few people are going to remember it once they leave. It is too generic, and it lacks credibility.

In a crowded market, brand offers a point of distinction.

It is easier to build links to branded domain names. People take these name more seriously that keyword-keyword-keyword-keyword.com, which looks spammy and isn't fooling anyone. Would you link to such a name? By doing so, it devalues your own content .

It can even difficult to get such domain names linked to when you pay for the privilege! Directory editors often reject these names on sight, because such names are often associated with low-quality content. Imagine how many free links you might be losing by choosing such a name.

Is there a downside to using branded names?

Yes.

Unless you have a huge marketing budget, no one is going to search for perseefgxcbtrfy.com, which is a new killer, brand I just made up ;)

Thankfully, there is a happy medium between brand and SEO strategy.

Rankability

SEOs release the value of keywords. When naming your site, and deciding on a domain name, try combining the lessons of SEO, branding and domaining.

Genric + term is a good approach to use. Take your chosen keyword, and simply add another word on the end. SeoBook, Travelocity, FlightsCity, CarHub, etc. These words have SEO value built into them, because people are forced to use your keywords in the link. Also, Google (currently) values a keyword within the domain name for ranking purposes. Finally, such a name retains an element of unique branding.

These types of domain names score high on the rank-ability and link-ability meter. They are generic enough to rank well for the keyword term, yet contain just enough branding difference to be memorable.

The SEO Advantage

There is another advantage for SEOs in the domain space.

Dot com's can sell for 5-20 times as much as a .org or .net. Keyword + .com can sell for millions of dollars, depending on the domain name.

Expensive, huh.

But...

By registering or buying the cheaper .net or .org equivilent, building out the site, and ranking well for the keyword + net, or +org, you increase the value of the domain name markedly. Sure, you're one step away from pure domaineering and you still have Google to contend with, but you'll be head and shoulders above those who are undervaluing these names.

A lot of domaineers aren't operating in this space.

Yet.

Other Tips And Ideas

Leave The Keyword Out Entirely

Used the related search function on Google ~ + keyword and see if any of the related keyword terms fit. This can be a good strategy to use if all the good generic keyword names are gone. It might get you close enough to the action, without the enormous price tag. Might be more memorable, too.

How To Test A Domain Name For Penalties Before Buying It

• Verify the site is not blocking GoogleBot in their robots.txt file
• Point a link at the domain from a trusted site and see if Google indexes it
• Within a couple weeks (at most a month) Google should list the site when you search for it in Google using site:domainname.com