MappingTheWeb //

Almost every blog has a blogroll. It is the notable list of links to other blogs that the author finds interesting and/or valuable. Most bloggers find it easy to add blogs to the list. But for some political reason, many find it hard to delete such links as they want to steer clear of potential tension created with the affected party.

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Here’s a thought for all the serial entrepreneurs out there: next time you’re looking for “the next big thing”, look no further than “the current mediocre thing”. I’ve come to the conclusion that rather than trying to reinvent the wheel with a completely new business model, it is easier to modify a recently-adapted idea. This will likely yield greater potential success and minimum downside.

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Without even testing Flickr video yet, I can tell you why YouTube shouldn’t be worried about the industry’s newest entrant. When you think YouTube, you think video. When you think Flickr, you think photo. These well-known associations are embedded in the minds of users. A huge change in perception would be needed and I just don’t see this happening.

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Evolution is a funny thing. It is the gradual process of improvement, whereby every cycle leads to a more superior result - whether it be an organism or a product. Having said that, evolution is not an exact science. Quantitative analysis cannot be employed and qualitative analysis may vary depending on the views of the observer. Over time, external factors and changes in the surrounding environment may skew the ultimate path of the original design. This leads us back to humanity and, well, the Internet. As we continue to push forward, the future begins to look eerily similar to the past. Evolution has come full circle.

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[The Fundamentals of SEO] - Forget about META tags and complicated back-linking campaigns for a second. The fundamentals of SEO revolve around two ingredients that lack sex appeal: proper page structure and well-written content. The successful combination of these elements will benefit your search rank more than any outsourced SEO campaign ever will.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Search engine algorithms incorporate both on-page and off-page elements. On-page elements include both page structure and content. Wait a second… if both fundamental ingredients of SEO are included in the on-page elements, then what about the off-page side of the equation (i.e. back-links)?

Well, theoretically, back-links should be a byproduct of well-written content. In other words, there shouldn’t be a need to proactively poach external links. This is of course theoretical. It is probably a good idea to scout external links from relevant sites to increase your PageRank and drive traffic.

Moving along…

Proper page structure basically means mandatory:

• Page titles
• META descriptions
• Header tags
• Paragraph content
• ALT tags
• Strong and emphasis tags
• Keyword-injected URLs, if possible

Well-written content is a bit more vague, but encompasses some of the following: keyword consistency, proper grammar, and logical article development.

If these two areas can be targeted, SEO success is inevitable. It has to start with the web design (i.e. proper page structure), followed by the site copy (i.e. page content). So, instead of looking at SEO from a micro point-of-view, the macro perspective may provide a better overall picture of the situation.