The SEO Blog from cognitiveSEO

Once you have decided on the keywords you are targeting for your search engine marketing campaign, your next task will be to do a little competitor analysis. This is where you look at the top websites in your industry to see what they are doing to rank highly in search. In this post, we're going to look at defining your competitors in search and what you should look for to determine your next course of action. Who Are Your Competitors When working with a new client, they will supply a few piec [...]

  I’ve noticed lots of data visualisation posts and infographics being posted on many websites lately. Many of them are displaying too much information on a poorly designed visual post. Is this just another tactic to gain links? Just a few months ago, I heard some SEOs talking about how infographics don’t work for SEO campaigns and now the tables have turned. I’ve noticed a lack of strategic planning in the industry, which is the first and foremost step forFtops any campaign. A wel [...]

I just received this mail, in the morning, from a certain "Steven Robert" whom I never talked to before asking me to publish his SEO article. Here is the mail. Straight to the subject wouldn't you say :) (FAIL) What is his name again ... Robert or Robart ... !? ( FAIL) This is a bulk mailing with a WORD file attached containing the "master SEO piece article" ... ( FAIL AGAIN) And he wants to rank for "search engine". Hey Google ... you got competition! (TOTAL FAIL) Quick Idea: [...]

Finally I got to the point where I can write this. We have been continuously working for the last 5 months on this upgrade. To put it simply, this is the biggest upgrade to cognitiveSEO yet, and it improves the way you analyze backlinks by adding even more link data points into a new & simplified user interface. In the age of raw link data and hundreds of SEO metrics, we are improving the backlink analyzer concepts used in our  tool by providing: Fresh & Complete Link Data [ [...]

Over-optimisation of targeted anchor text has been given a lot of importance by SEO experts, in a bid to avoid getting slapped by Google’s penguin update. We saw the effects of the penguin update on many websites that have unnatural anchor text distribution and, as anyone would expect, this should have been applied to the ‘payday loans’ niche but, surprisingly, this is still not the case. Any rational SEO would think anchor text distribution is crucial in a competitive and controversial [...]

Anchor text has always been a hot topic of discussion, but it's not more important than ever thanks to Google's algorithm changes that have affected link building. While most have known a natural link profile doesn't equal a majority of links with targeted keyword based anchor text, it hasn't stopped many SEO's from pursuing keyword anchor text heavily in their link building efforts for clients and many times, by the client's own request. What Might Be Considered Natural Anchor Text While ther [...]

There are many SEO tactics that could negatively influence a sites' ranking. The tactics presented in this article are 7 of the most important ones, that I consider you should avoid, as to the 2012 events (Penguin/Panda/other Google updates). They are both onsite and offsite tactics. (Note: LQ = Low Quality) 1. Directories (LQ) This is one of those "Post Penguin" tactics to avoid. Of course there are still, great human-edited directories that will give you quality links (even if paid). bo [...]

I am starting a series of high quality SEO reports and Case Studies on variety of verticals. The first one that I chose is the "Online Gambling" vertical. This is one of the most competitive markets online. All these reports are in PDF format. To get the Free SEO report, I just ask for a Tweet. You will get real world case studies and a limited time discount on cognitiveSEO. PDF Quick snapshot Here are some pieces of content from the PDF report. "Contents 1. Introduction [...]

This is a guest article written by Traian Neacsu. He is the Director of SEO and co-founder of Pitstop Media Inc, a top rated Canadian SEO company that provides search engine optimization services to businesses across North America. The views of the author do not necessarily represent the views of cognitiveSEO. High authority, relevant backlinks are gold for search engine rankings. And we are always attempting to trace and to get our hands on them. When it comes to find the best backl [...]

"Before you continue reading this post you need to be aware that the case study presents actual data and results from Google. We do not endorse using these kind of black hat practices. We only present them as they are being used and abused. Maybe Google will fix these faster. All for the sake of search transparency ... " High rankings for highly competitive keywords are still being obtainable, post “Penguin”, with black hat practices. How do I dare to say that you might ask? Well bec [...]