The Voodoo Magic of Google (not really…)

Google’s ranking choices aren’t really magic. Google doesn’t favor any one site over another without clear and measurable calculations. But what are these calculations? (more…)

Getting Consistent Search Results

Something that is rarely talked about is consistency between organic search results served to different users. This is a very real challenge for SEO, especially a company like ours that helps others rank in Google. (more…)

Your Keyword Anchor Value for SEO

Everyone knows the value of high quality links to a site and how important that the anchor text can be. In the past all you had to do was blast a gazillion links with your desired keyword and you’d rank. But there is more to it… (more…)

Web Designers that offer hosting as well? Beware!

We see all kinds of advertisements from web design companies, from big firms to fly-by-nighters, that offer web hosting as one of the many features offered when you hire them.

“We’ll even host your site for you” (for a small fee, of course). Sounds good, right? Well, maybe not….. (more…)

SEO Team or SEO Superstar??

Which would you rather hire? The guy that is an SEO savant? The company offering a team of SEO specialists? Both? Which is better for you in the long run?

Here’s our thought: Definitely not both! (more…)

Google Mobile Search Results

Just how different is Google’s standard SERP’s from Google’s Mobile SERP’s? What’s the SEO take?

So you are working hard optimizing your site, right? You’ve made your on-page changes, updated meta-descriptions, posted new material to your blog and built enough links to your site to cover it in Medieval Chain Maille. (more…)

Why 3-Way link exchanges are dead.

It was early 2007, when the idea of reciprocal linking (you link to my website and I’ll link to yours) suddenly became a bad idea. Google declared that link swapping was not only an irresponsible linking practice, but a ranking penalty could be imposed if done in excess.

And 3-way linking was born…… (more…)

SEO as Offensive Tool

In the past couple of weeks we’ve run across a couple of clients that know the value of natural ranking in Google and are interested in maximizing the results. What’s great is that there really are a ton of options… (more…)

The “Big Rocks” First (Part 3)

So it has taken me a little longer than a week to post the conclusion to the “big rocks” post. (Thank you Rachel for the reminder)

We left off with: “But why?”, you ask. “Why would I begin to rank higher on Google for ‘New Widget model 335C’ if I am not specifically targeting that keyword phrase”? (more…)

SEO Warning – Google Punishes JC Penny for Black Hat SEO

A NYTimes piece recently came out talking about how JC Penny broke the rules. They bought/rented links to their money site and used other Google-disallowed techniques for ranking their site’s pages. They ranked very well for a wide variety of phrases ranging from comforters to curtains until someone (probably a competitor) pointed out that it was worth looking in to.
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Choosing the right keywords is critical…

Today we had our usual mid-week SEO meeting to review new clients and make keyword suggestions. We had four new folks come on in the past week and we always start with what they think should be the keywords. While some have a good handle on what they should be, many do not. (more…)

Is Indexing Required to Rank in Google?

In the search engine optimization world, the latest fad is getting in the Google index. Right now most SEOs think a link doesn’t count unless it’s in the index, right? Wrong!
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The “Big Rocks” First (Part 2)

In terms of optimizing your website, you want to consider the “Big Rocks” first.

It is easy to be consumed by the multitude of keyword phrases for which your website might be relevant. (more…)

Your Company Name Should Not Always Be Your URL

When you are in business for yourself, you take an immense amount of pride in your company name – as you should! This is the basis from which your brand is born. You have put tons of thought into your name, and now that you are happy with it you want to proclaim it to the world! (more…)

Why Did Overstock.com receive a penalty from Google?

Way back in February, Overstock.com was penalized by Google for improper SEO tactics involving link building.

At the request of some Humankind SEO clients, we will attempt to explain what Overstock.com is accused of and what you can do to learn from their error.

An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal article: (more…)

Humankind SEO teams up with Talk Radio’s ‘The Price of Business’

Humankind SEO is proud to announce its role in the creation of the news website USDailyReview.com. The websites owner, Kevin Price, and Humankind SEO development director Chris Hudspeth reached the agreement late last week. (more…)

The recent Google changes…

There was a great blog post on SEO Blog today that covered the recent Google changes and how they impacted many sites out there. (more…)

Humankind SEO to speak at Marketing Advantage Seminar

Search engine optimist Chris Hudspeth is scheduled to speak at the Houston Business Marketing Advantage Seminar at the Bank of America building in Downtown Houston on Wednesday, March 9th, 2011. Representing Humankind SEO, Hudspeth will cover (more…)

The “Big Rocks” First (Part 1)

Sometimes, a task is so great, or of such importance, that you do not know where to begin. We all can find examples of this instance in everyday life, but especially in regards to SEO. (more…)

You Know You’re an Internet Marketer When

Our life as marketers isn’t all tough stuff. It’s not specifically SEO related, but I found this on the interwebs and got a good laugh… (more…)

Is Google on the Decline?

I recently read a great article over at techcrunch: Can Google Get its Mojo Back. (more…)

An interesting thing happened with Linklicious

As the dedicated readers of the Humankind blog, you know we do a lot of SEO work. And over time we’ve built up internal tools to help us streamline our optimization work. (more…)

Top 10 SEO Mistakes

What year end post would be better than coming up with a Top 10 list? And why not make it something interesting like common mistakes that many folks make when engaging in search engine optimization mistakes. So without delay, here’s the list… (more…)

What is Black Hat SEO?

When working on any search engine optimization project the question always comes up wondering if what we are doing is “white hat”, “black hat”, or somewhere in between. To understand the question it’s important to know what is “black hat”… (more…)

Twitter as SEO Ranking Tool

Over the past year the buzz over Twitter has hit an all time high. Everyone is using it so you’ve got to jump on the bandwagon too, right? I’m the first to openly mock posting what I’m eating for lunch or the traffic status of I45. But there can be a optimization angle for this that is attractive… (more…)

A Link is a Link…

At Humankind Web Placement we build lasting relationships with our clients. One such friend of Humankind Web Placement are the top notch Houston advertising specialists from Design at Work. (more…)

Dancing with Google is a Good Thing!

Many SEOs talk about the “Google Dance” and I figured it would be good to talk about these for a bit to clear up some confusion. (more…)

Humankind Web Placement to Participate in the 2010 Houston Business EXPO in December

The premier Houston SEO firm is closing out the year in GRAND FASHION! Humankind Web Placement has confirmed participation as an exhibitor in the 2010 Houston Business EXPO held at the fabulous Hyatt Regency Houston on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010. (more…)