YapYapOK Free Classifieds - Pole Position!

Clearly we are having amazing success with topic specific edu blog postings.  In Google UK we are now number 1 - yes pole position for Free Classifieds.  Our other main keyword Free Ads is coming up at number 7 on page 1 from this morning.   Our others are still moving about quite alot so we cannot take them too seriously, however the bouncing does in itself indicate that Google has noticed the extra work and is figuring where to place us.

Currently "Classifieds", as a search is seeing us on Page 4 which is a 6 page jump.  I don't expect us to stay there but it is an indication that we can take a big jump now since the ground work is in place. Our last keyword - Ads, is not quite as successful with only a 4 page jump. 

The issue with trying to find edu blogs with the correct advertising topic matter has lead me to look for edu sites which will enable me to have my own topic rich blog site.  Far easier said then done.  I managed to find one - thanks to an article I read online only to find that posting links was not allowed.  I tried html as well as ordinary hypertext links copied across, since there was no facility to create one.

So my mission, which I have chosen to accept is to see if I can create one on another edu website. 

Wish me luck!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds - getting academic!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

A good friend of mine recently told me that he had once received a post coitus of compliment of - "You are a miracle!"

Whilst delighted with this comment it fazed him as he wasn't quite sure which bit had earned him such high praise, particularly since it had been a particularly long and varied session.  In his words " Its like changing your marketing 20 different ways and then faced with success your not sure what worked!"

Well not quite, the latter would be a bit of a disaster whilst the former was a one night stand and he will be a beautiful memory to the satisfied recipient - no of course he didn't go back, he had too much to live up to!

Our SEO campaign has been a combination of many techniques running concurrently.  Since we SERPED fairly well in quite a short space of time I was loathe to anaylse the techniques I was implementing, prefering to drive myself crazy by doing everything recommend on blogs and articles.  60 hour weeks were the norm.

Since Google introduced Panda, we had slipped for Free Classifieds from the number 1 position to number 5 ( in Google.co.uk).  I had been neglecting SEO so I was fairly convinced that I just needed to redo the same SEO as before. 

How wrong, nothing I did worked.  Not until I read an article for a quality linking strategy for Google Panda friendly SEO.   I cannot believe how much the site SERP has improved.  We have suffered penalties because of spinning article which still exist - apparently Google Panda can see them, boy it got clever.

The results of quality linking has now seen Free Classifieds at number 2, OK not quite at number 1 but I am working on 4 keywords so my effort is diluted.  Having been there, it is really not making a difference to my hit rate.  Free Ads is now on page 1 number 10.  OK a few positions to climb to get to pole position but its been a tough one to work with.  Its massively competitive and despite being lower on the page we are getting far more hits on the YapYapOK Classifieds site from searchers using this keyword then we are with the first.

In addition, whilst we are not actively seeking Google.com SERP, inevitably we are getting it. However I had not expected to feature on page 2 & 3 having just a few weeks ago not being on the first 100 pages for either keyword.

Our new keyword search terms are Ads & Classifieds.  We are lagging a long way back but hopefully by using the quality link strategy I have previously blogged & implemented, we should start to dominate Google with all the competition.

So whilst I cursed the Panda - I now adore it - gone are the long days frantically working the world wide web.  Gone are my Fiverr  days, they don't have enough quality campaigns for a mature site.  Yes I have to do it all myself but there is a lot less of it!

YapYapOK Free Ads - A competitive edge!

 

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

I could not resist blogging about ads following this one for cute Italian Bolognese Puppies.  Anyone who follows my blogs will know what a sucker I am for animals and these are as adorable as they get.  Despite not having a dog at present I am a novice whelper. 

My mother is a coordinator for German Shepard Dog rescue which she commits a huge amount of time on a volantary basis.  She has rescued sheps which often have such a reputation for aggression.  The problem is that they are so misunderstood.  In truth they are too intelligent to take on unless someone is willing to learn about the breed and train them with love rather than a rod of iron.

Dogs respond better to a firm but kind handler who understands dog behaviour.  My mother has huge respect for dogs and her Shep, Pippa is a member of the family who is rarely left alone, is the centre of her world and who is challenged with agility classes and ongoing training at  home.  Its not so much about the work, its a requirement for an animal that needs the stimulation to feed their intelligent nature.  It stops them becoming bored and  they enjoy it.

Additionally diet plays a critical part in their health and their mood.  Pippa has a natural diet which is freshly prepared daily.  Consequently she does not have the problematic health issues so often associated with GSD's in particular with respect to their digestion.  Flea control is also managed with diet since Sheps have a tendency for skin problems associated with either chemical treatments or/and resulting flea infestation.

In many respects, my mums complete commitment to her dog  has deterred me from having a dog until such time as I know I have the time.  I will however,  as soon as I can persuade my husband, have a couple of cats, rescue of course.  I lost my 19 year old boy last year having had him from a kitten and his presence is still missed by all of us.

YapYapOK Free Ads - A very different Classifieds

YapYapOK Free Ads


Since we are now following a Google Panda friendly SEO strategy we are  spending time troweling the internet for advertising topics.  The problem with the internet being so large is the number of contradictory articles.

The first one was doom and gloom discussing how advertising is dead and how a powerful group of ad execs were simply terrified of failing.  Whilst its true that certain media is less effective, other media has grown.

Another article discussed the merits of progressive advertising in a booming industry.

Success in any industry depends on consumer behaviour.  Clearly the reason for a demise in the more traditional marketing techniques such as printed media and TV is on the decrease because consumers have changed how they spend their time.  Newspapers no longer have the readership they used to.  Many of us now access the news via the internet which is kept up to date on a more regular basis.  Similarly entertainment has changed in more than one respect.  The internet provides a wealth of entertaining with gaming, socila networking and TV and film streaming.  Digital techniques now employed by Sky & Virgin means that it is no longer a requirement to sit through the commercial break when and if we watch TV.  Many of us record and playback our chosen channels fast forwarding through the ad break.

Advertisers have simply transferred much of their methods to where their targeted market is.  Consequently anyone still advertising on old media is getting it at bargain prices to compensate for the loss of  a captive audience.  Providing the advertising agents are progressive and are up to date with consumer behaviour then they can exist and grow.


Obviously corporate budgets are not the same in the current economy however the internet market can be specifically targeted to the consumer making it a more viable solution.   There is a wealth of data available for businesses wishing to take advantage of internet marketing.  We can, with some degree of accuracy check the popularity of the website as well as the demographic.  Alexa is often used as a marker for website publishing prices.

There are exceptions to this.  Facebook for example does provide affordable advertising space but they have a poor click through rate.  However of those who do click through the conversion rate is very high.

Every industry needs to view and adapt according to their market.  The high street was one of the first to suffer with the advent of ecommerce.  Independent retailers in particular had to adapt and change to make up for a lack of sales.  Savvy customers frequently window shop prior to an online purchase where heavy discounts can exist in a market with fewer overheads.

Even traditional industries such as the food industry demands evolution.  Restauranteurs have to be prepared to work with ingredients that they probably never heard of when they attended catering college.

Technology sectors lead rather than go with a changing market.

The writing was on the wall for failing ad agencies, many of whom did not read the signs.  To be controversial I think that they have had it easy in terms of relying on historic performance and being too lazy to implement the changes required in a ruthless industry which will leave them behind!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds - another form of internet advertising FREE.

Free Ads, Free Classifieds, Free Internet advertising.   Property Ads, List Cars, Jobs and more ...

YapYapOK Free Ads

Web Structure is an important part of SEO, ie the way in which a website is built.  Sites built within frames are difficult to see even when all the meta and content is correct.  Rather than try to SEO a site which will clearly never do well in organic searches it may be better to redo the website into readable language.  This is a cheaper alternative to PPC & SEO is certainly more time consuming and expensive than Web building.  There are many free templates available where self build is possible for even the least techy amonsgt us.

The advantage of free templates is that they are generally well built and the web owner has the control of meta data as well as implementing third party tools such as Google Anaysis or Statcounter rather than re-employing the web builder to implement the changes.  They can be limiting and some free templates have limited template availability.

I recently built an ecommerce site with Freewebstore and it is a doddle.  There is an option to place code in for Google Analytics but I used Statcounter which it allowed.  Its logical where to place all the meta data both on product pages as well as main pages.  Products can be integrated onto Google Shopping and many ecommerce options are in place.  Domain assignment is easy, although there is no need providing you are happy to keep a freewebstore adress.  There are instructional videos should any part of the process be problematic.  The disadvantage is that you can only utilise the site tools so you are relying on them to be proactive regarding modern web add ons.  You can also only have a maximum of 15 products to qualify for a free site as well as have ads appearing for which you do not benefit.  After this there are various package options available.

We built a 50 product site costing £6.99 /month which is  cheap retail space as well as very cheap website and hosting.  A paid template means that you can benefit from advertising space which may actually pay for your site.

It is better to invest either time or money into a Google friendly site than optimise a website which is unlike to get seen by search engines.

Content on home pages should be keyword rich but without being spammy.  This should also be mirrored within the content of the other pages - not copied.  I have recently been asked to assess 2 websites for 2 clients.  One had no content at all, ie was just made up of images and the other had a home page that was just an image.  The harder it is to find text , the more down graded the site will be.  The former doesn't stand a chance and the latter needs the home page updating to contain text.

Images should contain meta tags but cannot be spammed with keywords. 

In summary:

• Website should be readable - not built in frames
• Text rich home page with keyword rich content

• Meta data should mirror keywords on home page and contain other search terms within the context of the website
• Individual pages should have relevant meta data differing from other pages
• Images should be labelled with tags
• Internal keyword linking - particularly use your main keywords to link the sub pages to the home page

Once all this is in place - run it through Google Webmaster Tools to see how well it performs.  If you have created an honest appraisel with relevent meta and keyword rich topic then it should be OK.  Use Google keyword tool to see what are the popular searches, make them location specific,  choose ones that are well searched but may be less competitive.  Don't be too scared at competition if the traffic is worth it for you and its your absolute target market.  Just follow the SEO rules.  Many competitor sites will not have implemented the fundamentals in meta and web build.  If you have, then as long as your prepared to put the time in to a quality external linking strategy then you will see your efforts rewarded!

YapYapOK

- SERPing on Page 1 Google UK for Free Classifieds and now for

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

The most fundamental SEO advantage is domain name.  So many web engineers are ignorant to this fact and ill advise clients.  For example if YapYapOK.co.uk was called YapYapOKFreeClassifieds.co.uk instead it would behave as a metatag telling search engines what the website.  This statement is controversial but I have worked on so many sites containing the keyword within the url and SERP is autonaitically good soon after launch providing meta and content matches.

Fortunately YapYapOK has a good long tail url, ie sub pages contain contain classifieds as a search term!  The major advantage of the url is that it adopts the advert title adverts as the long tail in the url rewrite program.  The advertiser can put keywords within the tags section of the editor which is a red flag to google to check the url against the meta keywords.  The advertiser who puts keyword rich content within the description has an excellent opportunity to get the advert viewed by potential customers who are searching for the item within the search box.

The issue that some advertisers have regarding utilising Free Ads pages is that they are concerned that it may in some way cheapen their business.  Its a little like brands who don't like their retailers placing products on Ebay.  However the quantity of visitors that visit these pages should not be dismissed.  More visitors normally equals more sales in turn creating more orders for the brand companies.

Unlike Ebay Free Classifieds advertising is no risk since their are no listing charges.  Many web owners wish to sell primarily via their own websites however they will be losing out to the competition who value the available web tools to promote from external sites.  YapYapOK Free Ads also have a Twitter feed wherby the advert title, price and a link back to the advert are posted automatically on the popular microblog.  This enhances the SEO as well as creating further visitor numbers.  We get a huge quantity of Twitter referrels utilising this method

So clearly there is no harm listing products on many different sites if they are free!

YapYapOK will very soon be changing its server as we have grown and need to have more available space.  Consequently our site will be down for a day within the next week.  We are sorry to anyone wishing to place ads on this day but we hope that disruption will be minimal.

YapYapOK Free Classifieds!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

I had to follow up on yesterdays blog since I received this SEO newsletter which I read after I had posted.  It supports not only what I posted but also what I had suggested may be the case regarding relevent linking strategy.

So, according to the article, one good link on a topic relevant site is worth more than multiple links.  So rather than troll through sites for commenting it is importnat to try to get as many quality sites with the correct topic matter.  This is not as time consuming as you may think.

Simple put into the Google search the following:-

"Keyword"+edu "leave a comment" -"comments closed" -"you must be logged in to comment"

I am requesting edu sites for the quality that they represent, you can substitute this for gov or wp-admin.  I am also asking Google for it to give me the comments page where comments are open without registration, one of the commands is negative. 

Replace keyword with your choice of keywords.  Eg this morning I chose advertising:-

"advertising"+edu "leave a comment" -"comments closed" -"you must be logged in to comment" 

I can replace the word advertising with ads, classifieds, free classifieds - well you get the picture, this will bring up alternative sites so that I can comment on them.

The article also reinforces what I mentioned regarding the quality of the comment that you leave.  Whilst I am unsure if this effects your Google- worthiness it is more likely that in the event of a moderated blog your comments will be published.  Since you very often do not know if its automatically live,  then it really is worth at least skim reading to ensure that you post a comment referring to the article with some consideration for the writer. Only 1 or 2 links a day will be worth more so in fact SEO is less time consuming than before.  Great news!

YapYapOK Free Ads

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

Since we have reclaimed status on Google it is important now to jump that last place to number one and to continue to work on our other keywords, ie Ads & Classifieds.  The problem is diluting the effort, however I am certain that daily blog posts and blog posts will have some impact in light of recent progress.

Blog posting is time consuming if its done properly.  I am spending a couple of hours each day adding profile links to edu blogs for 2 sites at present and the blog postings can be incredibly interesting.

What downgrades their reading is the spammy links that so many web marketeers choose to use.  IMHO it is a courtersy to the owner of the blog as well as its readers to actually read the blog post that you are commenting on and to provide a considered response.

So many comment "Great Article", or really obscure comments such as "This does not operate properly in my browser" and "I love the colour of the design" and "you write with great flair on I am pleased to find your blog".  Often these posts are on pages where the "article" is a music video or just an intro page.

We can all be a little guilty of this at times and inparticular if we have found an edu blog with auto commenting (not a fast job) it is not easy to pull yourself away and go in search of the next one, additionally creating a spammy link for the hell of it on a page with no text is already not so appealing to readers so where is the harm.  When the post is interesting, thoroughly researched with some obvious interested readers then it would be nice to read their opinions to create a relevant discussion. 

Spamming is not only degrading to the material on the site but if the search engines see too much activity then the web marketeer may see their links given less importance - ie less is more.

This is subjective, I have read too many articles suggesting that it is detrimental and others that insist that at worst they will not be considered so are more than likely a waste of time.  Personally I hope that this is more likely since sabotage with unethical webmasters makes it all too easy to achieve in a competitive industry.

I don't believe that Google penalises for too many links, but I have certainly seen an increase in SERP with a quality linking strategy rather than an all out across the web spam approach.

Another issue with quality linking is resource.  SEO companies that provide a manual linking campaign do charge accordingly, You can do it yourself but quality links are impossible with software so you can forget your cheap Fiverr Gigs.  That said quality manual links are possible on Fiverr.  My favourite is from Stormchaser who provides 50 edu links using a minimum of 5 keywords. 

Even then, paying for the service does not give considered commenting which will not affect the link quality as far as the marketed site goes.  It does however cheapen the site which is being posted on and I wonder if this continual spamming effect will see a decrease site commenting availability or if edu links will be given lower status.  Google already denies that they are worth more than others but so many disagree that I for one feel that if I am going to provide manual posts I may as well do it on a site that may have a higher value.

YapYapOK Free Ads - Still SERPING

YapYapOK Free Classifieds  Page 1 Google #2

SERP is up!  We briefly made the top spot last night having relinguised at between 4 and 5 for a few months.  So the ongoing SEO has been a tremendous success.

I have helped quite a few sites travel up the ranking but none have proved as difficult as YapYapOK.  This is clearly due to the competition that we are up against. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the most successful sites are ones that implement all the usual suspects in link strategy.

In the last month we have been busy with directory submissions, edu links and blogging with keyword rich anchor text.  It is frustratingly slow but rewarding.  Free Ads still languishes behind at number 13 but is on the up.

The amount of hits that a site as a result of SERP is subjective.  A friend of mine manages his own site in Spain which is on the top of Google for many of his products.  He also manages a competitors website for SEO.  This one is now as a result coming in at number 2 and he insists that Google traffic does not vary that much.  Clearly there are reasons for this.

Google works hard to bring the most relevant sits to the fore in search results so once you are at the top of Google its clear that you are dependant on the searcher to click on your site rather tahn others on the page.

This is where fine tuning the meta data is important.  For Google relevance its necessary to match all aspects of the data with the page content to be rewarded in the top.  For the searcher they will see duplication of keywords in the title, and the description.  To gain interest from the searcher you need a great sales pitch using only 150 characters.  Balancing keyword identity with the sales pitch in one short paragraph takes a little application.  By thinking about how you choose a site to click on, then you can put yourself in your customers shoes.

Whilst we are all taught not to use words like cheap in describing our ecommerce sites, it is a very common term put before the object in a users search.  We have all searched for cheap flights, cheap tickets, cheap computers etc.  The best way to get some kind of recognition without downgrading our products is to utilise this in the meta keywords whilst using relative words such as bargain, or unbeatable prices in the description or/and title.  Try to match this in the home page content as well as you can.  Obviously this is only true should your parices be very competively priced.

I hate searching for cheap anything only to end up on a website which clearly does not represent great value.

Yesterday I was looking for Billabong sale T shirts for my sons birthday.  Many of the sites returned had sales and Billabong but only a couple had the 2 together despite putting "Billabong sale 50% off", or similar, in the meta title.   This meant that Google accuratley gave me the results, with keyword matches on their product pages,  however instead of taking 30 minutes to be an online purchase I had to sort through and navigate my way around several sites which took most of the morning.  Result - my confidence in those sites is low and I probably won't return.  Had their meta accurately depicted the sales or been more vague, such as sale and then Billabong in the meta I would have been more forgiving.  This was a clear case of misdirection.

Its the same as looking for links with no recipricol required only to go through the process of registration to find that unless they see your link on their home page it won't go live,

So yes you can still fool Google but it may be at the cost of the a returning customer.

YapYapOK Free Classifieds - no delusions, no misdirection,  just totally Free Ads!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

SEO is a continuos necessity on any website.  Even when you have achieved the top spot a level of maintenance os required to keep you there.  After all other proactive web marketeers are vying for position.  The level of maintenance depends on your niche.  The less niche your site is - the more maintenance.  Age dependance in this arena cannot be relied upon.

YapYapOK Free Classifieds is currently in the middle of a large SEO campaign so SERP has dropped (normal) whilst Google assesses. 

This includes :-
Article writing, spinning & submission
Link campaign - blogs, edu & gov
Blogging - via Bogger & YapYapOK Free Classifieds blog
Twitter
Social Sites
Meta data update


This is the basics of any SEO campaign.  I am unsure which of these works best but it does work.  Clearly each of these must use keyword anchor text to ensure that search engines associates the search term (keyword) with the Free Classifieds.  We use Fiverr for most of the work although any analysis & meta data is best done internally.

So watch this space.  I anticipate a rise which in turn leads to more website visitors on the YapYapOK Free Ads website.


YapYapOK Free Ads - setting the pace!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds


Now with a new Adult Classifieds section.  Strictly for the over 18s. 

I am something of an SEO buff but have found this niche a little difficult to analyse.  Keywords are generally highly competitive, words like Sex however are not.  Established sites have extensive links often into the millions.  Words like Dirty Chat is not too competitive although Sex Chat is.  Some keywords do not seem to be dependent on the searches.  I always take a look to see which sites come up first in Google & take a look at their source.  Unlike other industries I have worked in these are as expected well optimised - irrelevent of the often lower competition.

So a harder niche - forgive the pun. I have worked in areas of high competition only to do further analysis to see that its not that they are well optimised, just that there are a lot of them.  Conversely many of the keywords in the Adult Industry represent low competition but the resulting sites are beautifully optimised so competing with them is incredibly difficult.

YapYapOK Free Classifieds will work as an accidental portal for now since hits on this part of our site is reasonable considering thats its only just live.  I have found that some hits are purely through visit site navigation but we have also had hits from searchers of Adult Classifieds - amazing since we appear on page 8 of Google for this term.

YapYapOK Free Ads - strictly for the over 18s!!
 

 We are delighted to see so many new shops posting on the YapYapOK Free Ads UK website.

We look forward to seeing more private classifieds, its free, its easy and we get the hits!

All ads are automatically sent to Twitter upon saving.  The title, price and a link back to the ad are fed into Twitter where we have a huge Twitter following.  Additionally keywords are picked up and fed into RSS feeds of many sites.  To maximise the chances of your ad appearing, put the word Classifieds in, this means that they are often fed into other free classifieds site who subscribe to this keyword.  

Make sure the title is not too long so that it remains in tact for the Twitter micro blog.  Be concise, authors, brands & other good keywords are very often  fed into fan pages and directed right under the eyes of your potential customers.

Keep happy, keep well & keep posting your Free Ads!

YapYapOK UK Free Classifieds - so much more than a Free Ad site

The YapYapOK Free Ads UK will be getting a whole new look!

We love all the feed back!  Many of you have requested a cleaner simpler layout with neutral colours more condusive either to their business image or to selling more upmarket brands.    Everyone who has expressed their opinions on the functions of this  Free Ad site should not worry,  they are staying. 

Any one who has any requests or issues, please post here.  We are happy to continue getting the emails but an open forum either here on the blog or on the forum encourages an open discussion.  So dont be shy, post your comments - we told you we were listening!

YapYapOK -  so much more than just a Free Classifieds!

Reporting the new fuctionality on YapYapOK Free Ads UK. 

We welcome your comments and ideas for to make this FREE Classifieds better.  Make YapYapOK your Free Ad site of choice!

High listing and sellers fees of auction sites have created a void in internet trading. General classifieds are often free but are either difficult to navigate, visually disorientating or do not have the complex shop hosting facility available. We aim to change all that with our visually superior classified website with integral shop hosting.  We greatly appreciate your comments.  

If you don't think that this is for you, then tell us why!  

YapYapOK Free Ads UK was launched in November 2009.  Our hits are growing daily.  We think this FREE AD site rocks.  Superior functionality.  YapYapOK Free Ads UK is equipped with a great  layout to enhance selling.  Picture Gallery and embed video linking makes this free classified site an ideal medium for selling gaming, movies music and even as an aid to sell property.

I am off to Tweet.  So untill next time..........

As we reach out to learn more about the universe, we’re all coming to terms with our relationship to our home planet: Pollution, solutions, and challenges in the way we live – and what we may leave behind. New Gadgets, and new discoveries, from the lab to the edges of the Galaxy; and the crossroad where science, religion, money and politics collide. Find a deal here today at YapYapOK Free Ads UK or get rid of the old!

Struggling with your budgets at college?  Why not keep your costs down and trade FREE as a private seller.  Register now to sell unwanted text books or buy last year editions at reduced prices.  Buy and sell anything at YapYapOK Free Ads UK & Shops.

We are keen to target the Colleges and Universities in the UK. 
Whats stopping you-  its FREE to join, FREE to list and FREE to sell.  

Everybodys talking about it!