60 Site SEO Audit Checklist

Reviewing SEO in an audit sometimes can be overwhelming. We all want to make a systematic approach so we are able to address two important issues: a) Make use of time efficiently and b) Ensure we don’t miss any relevant SEO issue. Hence this SEO audit checklist for webmasters who don’t want to engaged with a consultant and learn more about SEO at their own pace.

1 Indexed pages
Use the “site:” operator in Google search (for example enter “site:seo-hongkong.com“) and verify how many pages are indexed in Google.

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Unsafe PPC Ads

One of the things a Google AdWords advertiser must bear in mind before setting a campaign live is to ensure that the landing page website is safe and not infected with unwanted entities like spyware or links to unsecure websites. Otherwise, the appearance of an ad — displayed with special symbols on certain browsers — discourages people from clicking on them. Consequently, the likelihood of getting traffic from targeted sources becomes pretty low.

Take a look at a sample ad appearing on Google search results. Even though not all browsers display warnings, those with anti-virus add-ons automatically tag a website as unsafe to visit with that bright red button.

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Google Oil Spill Aid: BP’s Expensive AdWords Campaign

In its effort to save itself from further trouble, BP is employing search engine marketing as a PR tool. Yes, search engine marketing can be used as a reputation management device, even if it’s not sustainable or long term solution. I posted an entry about the benefits of having multiple pages appearing on the same search query results citing that by trying to own the page for a certain keyword query, the information search engine users see is the one you want them to see. That’s probably in the mind of BP, which is now spending up to US$10,000 per day to maintain its ads at the most prominent ranking. Hopefully, to those who use the query to find more news (and probably more degrading to BP) they’ll be able to find an alternative tone, essentially a positive message in spite of the huge tragedy the spill has caused. All searches on Google for ‘BP oil spill’, ‘BP oil spill lawsuit’ and ‘BP suit’ show a sponsored listing from BP as the first result.

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10 Most Read SEO Hong Kong Articles of 2009

Happy New Year from SEO Hong Kong!

Just before we put 2009 totally behind us, SEO Hong Kong presents its most read blog posts of that eventful year:

1. Giordano’s Online Shopping Site
A review of how Giordano organizes its website and implications on search engine marketing.

2. Broadway Electronics: When Competitor Steals Your Traffic
A brief examination on how a search for ‘broadway’ electronics queries displayed a competitor’s (Fortress’) website appearing on top of search results.

3. Learning from Langham Hotels Social Media Experience
A blog post that describes how a social media campaign transpired and explores how could such mistakes have happened.

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Is the Future of Google Organic Search Not So Bright?

Have you noticed that some search results yield way too many paid search ads and local map listings above the fold? Take a look at the search results for the search phrase hong kong hotels. Note that the presence of paid search ads and Google Maps listings took almost all of the valuable browser property above the fold.

Traditionally, 70% of search result space has been devoted to organic search results,

While this is not yet happening on most search queries, this phenomenon applies to the more generic terms (say hotels) that imply local listings (hong kong hotels). Organic search results for these terms are pushed towards the bottom of the page, effectively losing its prominence.

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