Networks, networks and networks of links. Blog review companies were smacked up as well as companies selling 1 way links of all kinds from all over the place with prices varying depending on page rank for the most part. I notice the same thing with the blog review companies and those buying from them. Page rank? Importance? Still?

Lucky for me all of my domains are run only by me. Nothing automated. Any and all content was written by me. I am no writer but can get by. I do know how to spell pretty good. Tonyandjohngarcia.com has maintained the same ranks for the most part for the past 3-4 years. A few of my other directory websites are doing well while a couple of others are rocking back and forth for keywords they’ve held for some time.

There is a society growing online that is against any and everything Google does with it’s products. I have my own thoughts on the issue but am not looking for an argument. In the end, the Google search engine belongs to Google the company. They ‘the company’ can do whatever they want with their search engine and we must do whatever we can to do things the right way. That goes for any and all webmasters and website owners looking to come up for specific keywords in Google’s search results.

I have been working on the internet 7 years now and have watched and felt the changes first hand associated with the different search engines. Of course Google has turned into the must have destination for SEO and internet marketing companies because of the dominance it enjoys in the search market online. I forget the number of billions of dollars Google made in 2011 in search advertising. The numbers are crazy but it goes to show their importance to those looking to help themselves or clients move up in the ranks.

Good content, friendly navigation, more good content, honest link building and a natural care for your web property can only help. There are many variables involved but when properly employed the darkness you see now can easily lighten up with patience and honest SEO. Don’t let the recent Google updates scare you. Pull up the boot straps get your site together the way Google likes it and get it moving.

Google has been off the hook with their updates. People I know from countless industries online have felt the effects of these updates one way or another. Some more than others but just about all caught a bit of Google’s wrath.

One of the recent updates had to do with Blog networks that let you pay for someone else posting for you while incorporating links associated with needed keywords. The payment is usually for the page rank had by the home page of the blog you get your link on. Depending on how frequently a blogger updates their website your link could be off of the home page in a week.

Google Cracking Down on “Unnatural” Links, Deindexing Blog Networks

In my industry there are many website owners and SEO companies out there that were and still are utilizing the practice of paid blog links. Over the past year and change many website owners have received emails from Google mentioning their sites were on notice for “unnatural linking practices”. Granted there is another story behind the letter, too. One “pay for post” company said that something like 60-70% of the blogs in their networks were de-listed or UN-indexed from Google’s search results. Then there are some popular companies that are shutting down completely.

What links are good for your website? I never liked blog links. I don’t touch forum signature links, web rings, spools and all of the other jargon out there in terms of linking strategies. Though many will disagree I do believe reciprocal linking can still help. Keep it relevant. Keep it real. Keep maintaining your links pages. We are still pumping out reciprocal link campaigns for clients covering a variety of industries. Even 3 way links where the 3rd party domain is an actual website offering products, services or relevant information with no ads.

The practice understandably can be seen as a way to manipulate Google’s search results at the same time if the possibility is there to show your website link on another why not try capitalizing on the name of your company or the product you are looking to popularize. The subject was a big part of one of the recent updates I will talk about soon; Anchor Text and changing it up once in a while.

Unfortunately for me many out there feel like Godzilla walked through the front of their building if Google says something that goes against something they are doing. Many forget about Yahoo, Bing and the others. I know about the numbers. Search is ruled by Google BUT millions upon millions still use the others. What are you to do? How can you now popularize your website for specific keywords without upsetting the big guy?

You think about it and let me know. The success had by websites I handle speaks for themselves. I will keep doing what I am doing. Let me know what you think.

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Just as quick as I got into it I was out of it. Now, I am back and have some backing this time with friends who are actively involved in the hobby as well. I just sent a Traxxas Jato over to my friend Billy’s house. He tuned it up, changed a glow plug and I was up and running after he advised me to change the bald tires I have on there. I already knew about it but what could I say.

Point is we are back and hope to be posting the things we are doing on a domain that I have had for a while covering the RC world in our view. We are no experts but definitely have the ability and confidence to tinker with our cars and trucks mechanically. Youtube and other avenues online allow for easy learning no matter the manufacturer or model you are handling at the moment.

I have 4 drift cars now soon to be 5; 2 Team Associated and 3 HPI Racing. I have the Jato, an older Rustler and an XTM buggy type I have never actually run because of a seized motor. My buddy has a new motor for it. I am dropping it off to him this week some time. I will get the pictures up of the track he set up across the narrow street from his house. He actually popped something off today jumping over one of the 6 or 7 ramps him and his friends set up.

In order to maintain all of these vehicles you have to have a reliable hobby shop able to service any and all makes and models of RC whether nitro or electric. We have a place in Branford Hobbies on Rt. 1 in Branford, CT. The owner Mark I believe his name is along with his staff have helped my friends and I countless times. They will custom order parts, service vehicles, test them on a small track and be there when in need of expert advice.

Once we get a Youtube channel going and some pictures up I will get some here. Just as well when I get the domain running I mentioned earlier I will be sure to link it on this blog. We are in the process of getting a small spot in a warehouse or something to set up shop. We aren’t going to be selling anything but will probably end up posting some cool videos and daily musings of 3 knuckleheads and their associates. Thanks for stopping by.

I am getting to the point. I searched and search and searched for some sort of starting point to get the problem right. My day does not happen without my emails going in and out. I could work off of the respective servers BUT the experience sucks as I am sure many of you know.

An obvious answer from reading the error message is that the settings are wrong somewhere along the line.

“But nothing has changed. I haven’t changed any of the settings in months.”

I looked for settings related help. I kept getting the advice to try 587 or 2525 for the SMTP server with no luck. I found something that mentioned clicking the box for a secure SSL connection on the POP server which had a default number of 995 with nothing about the SMTP server. I tried mixing it up over and over to no avail.

Finally I changed the SMTP to 465 and made that SSL as well. I saw it somewhere. With the POP server showing 995 and a secure connection I clicked the ‘test settings’ button (something like that) and “Voila” it worked. I didn’t get all of the accounts to work. 2 that were on Network Solutions servers and 2 that were on, I believe Omnistar servers. The others that worked are on Hostgator, Readyhosting and Godaddy servers.

My solution for the Outlook 2007 Send/Receive issue are shown below:

1. The SSL connection was needed for both the POP3 and SMTP servers.
2. POP3 number was 995
3. SMTP number was 465

If it doesn’t work for you I am sorry. It did work for me after going through site after site offering all kinds of crazy advice. I am sure most of it was meant to help. Much of it seemed to be to get us to click one of the many ads showing on their pages. Be sure to let me know if it worked for you. I am not promising anything.

I will be posting about other issues  as they arise and I am able to come up with solutions. Thank you for reading if you made it this far.

I am far from a regular user of Facebook but do admit the importance of its networking power when it comes to selling products and services online. You don’t have to have a website to market yourself with Facebook. I would recommend keeping a website going as well as your Facebook and other social media accounts.

What am I looking to get out of having a Facebook page?

I am looking to get other people that are thinking the same way I do about link popularity and its importance to marketing for keywords. Visitors to our new FB page are able to visit other domains we have available for free link exchange opportunities as well as access to this blog and link to us page for those willing to jump straight to the point.

I am in no way implying that with out linking of some kind a person’s or company’s website cannot succeed online for competitive keywords. Through experience I have seen the affects of campaigns with and without linking and the results are mixed. We choose to use it on a case by case basis.

There are many tools available for those looking to create a presence through Facebook using their business page options. In my view for right now Shortstack gets my nod for creating custom Facebook pages. Drag and drop an assortment of different types of widgets that you can choose to code yourself using HTML and CSS or keep it simple with the layout and pre-installed templates available from Shortstack; even with the free edition that I am using. The premium version includes analytics and other more advanced features. The premium version would kick in when we free users get up to 2,000 fans.

Tonyandjohngarcia.com has been around for quite some time now. I have exchanged links with webmasters from around the world covering industries the general public would never think about. I have links active from back in 2006 and them still reciprocating to us. Become a part of a website that wants you to have a listing that counts. All of our pages have page rank and many rank for different keywords that help bring them unique visits. Yes, directory pages getting unique visits for real keywords and useful phrases.

We hope you visit our new Facebook page. Leave a comment and be sure to like it. What do you think about linking as a whole. I am open to many different forms of linking as long as the exchange is beneficial to all involved. If you made it this far, Thank YOU.

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Webmasters not following your link instructions?

I have 8 domains I work on regularly. All of them have link instructions available to those looking to exchange links. Out of 100 link requests, 85 of them will be pure junk. The sad part in my view is that they would not be around so much if there weren’t so many individuals out there taking the shortcut and accepting the exchanges just to amass links; quantity over quality. I am not against the idea in some cases but where my links are located does and always has mattered. Though it isn’t like we are going to contact all of those websites where our link ends up without our knowledge and I believe the search engines know the differences.

I have been exchanging links for clients and myself for over 6 years. I am to the point where I am using a translator tool depending on where I figure a given webmaster to be from. It works. I have proof. lol. Another funny thing is that many of these companies overseas do things my company nor many I know of would never do with many aspects of search engine optimization as whole. Unlike the communication we have with our clients where they always know and see what is going on many website owners don’t seem to have a clue what is going on when employing these companies. Know that these companies are not only overseas but right here in the USA as well. Watch your back.

I hate receiving the emails where my link instructions are blatantly ignored and looked over but have come to accept it as part of playing the ‘links’ game. PLEASE follow the instructions of the website you are looking to exchange links with. It not only shows you are serious about the link exchange but also opens the doors for future link relationships with the webmaster involved. I have built and still have many solid relationships with webmasters in possession of countless domains spanning a variety of industries from across the globe. Keep it real with those that are real to you. There aren’t many out there that care like you do. When you find them keep them close.

Webmasters Not Following Your Link Instructions? Ignore them. They aren’t worth the time.

Though we would love to get partners for every category of the directory the time associated with no automated software to generate links is crazily time consuming. We will never deal with the automated stuff. There is nothing like taking the personal approach. The success rate compared is considerable. Though automation can maybe bring in a lot of link backs the pages you are placed on most times count for nothing or contain something that may in some way affect your website in the future with the search engines. For this reason I try my best to stick to only reciprocal exchanges.

3 way exchanges are essentially 1 way links. I will only deal in 3 way or triangular linking when the page I am being placed on is on a real website offering real products, services or updated information. Ad revenue websites are not what we are looking to be affiliated with.

Do you have a website? Looking for a place to have your link count? Do you have a good page to place a link to Tonyandjohngarcia.com? If any of those questions are answerable on your end let me know. Maybe we can do something. I am providing a link to the link page on our website. Be sure to go through first and check out the different categories available. We will ONLY list a website in the most relevant category available. If need be I will create the new category and then move your link once the new page is indexed.

Thanks for stopping through. We are looking for new link partners. We have other directory websites available as well for free link exchange opportunities. Let us know what you have.

A subject I have been hearing about a lot around the office has to do with websites seemingly disappearing from the what was once at least decent positions within the search engine rankings. Of course I am mainly talking about Google, for some there was a trickle effect with the other 2 as well; Yahoo and Bing. I want to call the 2 just 1 now. Am I wrong for that?

Here it is over a year later and I am still hearing about the “negative” effects felt because of Google’s Panda update regularly.

The Panda update Google rolled out in early 2011 was meant to cleanse search results of duplicate content and lower the rank of lower quality websites attempting to alter the results for ad revenue, lead generating, micro sites to take visitors to a main site and the list goes on. I understand the ad revenue only websites and some companies that have dozens if not hundreds of micro sites to try and flood the search results with websites only meant to get visitors clicking on links to get them to their main or corporate type website.

Being in the SEO industry myself there were very few clients within our portfolio the new Google algorithm seemed to have any negative effect on. We stress before a client’s contract is signed about avoiding duplicate content even of the smallest variety. In my own experience it seemed that many who were affected offered product category and product page descriptions found on every other website that carried the same products from the same manufacturer. Again, from the beginning we work to create or have created unique product descriptions and copy for every category and product page on a website.

There are many opinions out there about the overall effect the Panda update on the internet in general. My experiences usually have to deal with business websites whether ecommerce or offering a service in a local area compared to the many industries affected; music, entertainment, sports, major brands, non-profits and more. In most cases I would assume the owners had no clue while they were creating their websites that there would be ramifications for simple change done to their website.

I can admit that with the Panda update many, many companies and individuals with websites are starting to clean up their acts. From avoiding spammy tags and keeping only unique content things can change in a positive way. Even a few of my directory websites, Yes link directory websites gained page rank and were boosted in the ranks for all kinds of keywords. Avoid the junk links. Yes having many links can help. Having them on junk websites that are either never maintained or have nothing to do whatsoever with your industry if anything takes away from all of your hard work. 3 way link exchanges are essentially one way links BUT in most cases do they really do all that much for you. In 98% of cases the webmaster attempts to place you on some junk website that just happens to have page rank. It is obvious in my position that so many people fall for it.

Just be careful when it comes to building link popularity.

If you were a victim of the Panda update, I am sorry to it happened to you. At the same time I am assuming that you and many have found a way to get things moving again in terms of SEO and your place in the ranks. The economy took a toll on many small and large business owners in the real world and on the web. Don’t let simple mistakes with your search engine optimization tactics hinder orders going through your shopping cart or leads coming from the contact form.

Did Your Website Freefall from The Search Engines? I hope not. Let us know your experience.

The perennial all-star of gospel and soul singing Whitney Houston has died. Though I can talk about her past addictions to drugs and alcohol, past arrests or the crazy marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown I do not want to take away how special Whitney Houston was and still to millions of people across the planet Earth. Like Michael Jackson, Whitney is known throughout the world for a beautiful voice, memorable films and years of great music. We will miss you Whitney.

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