Ask the Expert

How can I get Google to index more of my site’s pages?

Can you share some tips for international link building?

How to track my backlinks?
My site shows up in search results all very well, but a search of ‘link:www.domain.com’ comes out fruitless. Other tools do show a list of backlinks, however, after Yahoo Site Explorer where else can I search for the backlinks to my site?

Google not updating my meta tags!
I need help with my Meta tags description. Only two weeks ago, I changed the meta keywords and meta description on many subpages. But old Meta data is still showing in webmaster tools, diagnostic, html suggestions and other places. Why is this happening and can I fix it somehow?

I have few queries about the SEO title tags:

1. What should be the ideal length, punctuation concerns while writing titles?
2. Whether title tag is always displayed in search results?
3. Additionally, is it possible to get a list of un-optimized title tags?

I want to see what my competitor is up to and also the amount of traffic he is getting. Are there any free tools I can use for the same?

Mobile SEO - What can be done for the benefit of mobile search – to have my site appear higher in the search results?

What is the difference in SEO efforts for local search vs. national? What, if anything, is unique or separate regarding optimizing for a local only business (such as for a neighborhood plumber) rather than for a national catalog company shipping to all 50 states? If I only do local business – do I need SEO, and if so, what type?

What is the Google Plus 1 button and how will it affect my site rankings?

What is more important to do - Social Media or SEO?

Do the search engines care how fast my website downloads? Does this affect my rankings?

Is it important to buy a domain that has a good keyword in the URL?

Can I block websites that I do not want to see on the Google search results?

How can I prevent others from plagiarizing my content on the web? I want to ensure that the search engines treat my content as the original source.

How does it serve to benefit a site, (or is it detrimental) to have 2 or more public URLs as other brands, for example - but all linking to the same Home Page for the main site? I have 1 main eCommerce site - but have 5 names so as to garner more business. What are the pros and cons, please?

Our company routinely puts out press releases – talking about what we are doing and products we are introducing to the marketplace and such. How can we – should we – take advantage of these numerous postings for search-engine placement benefits from this? Is this possible, seeing whereas we may not know where all are getting posted? Some we post ourselves at sites for the purpose of listing press releases, and others we might send to various online media; We may not even know if they get posted or not. What should we do that can benefit our SEO efforts with press release postings. Also – does the format we put them out as (PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, etc.) make any difference?

I enjoy writing and sometimes that culminates in a pdf. How best can I use them for marketing and linking.

I’ve heard that Google is cracking down on websites that create content for the sole-purpose of attracting traffic and making a quick buck. How can I avoid getting penalized by Google?

I’m having trouble showing up on Google Local Maps; How can I reach the top and get listed?

Will improper SEO techniques hurt my website rankings? What should I watch out for to ensure my site does not get blacklisted from Google?

I always heard that having a lot of links on my site pointing away from my own site to other sites was generally bad for my own rankings and ratings.  Is this correct?

I always heard that having a lot of links on my site pointing away from my own site to other sites was generally bad for my own rankings and ratings.  Is this correct?

I know this is several questions, but how does discussion on a Social Network site about my site, our products or services, benefit me? Must there be a link to us in the posting? How does it benefit me and my site when people blog about us? If this is done in general terms, why is it of value? How does all of this work with Social Networks?

What might be considered fair guidelines for the prices a site owner might expect to pay for the various types of SEO services available? Even a range of price guidelines is helpful, just to know a price quoted is fair.

I was wondering: With all the hype around social networking sites, what good or harm does it do when a site fills itself with numerous buttons and links away from their own site, to click through to all these social network sites. I’m sure it helps all those sites, to have so many links pointing to THEM, but isn’t it best to keep people on your own site as long as possible, rather than making it so easy for them to click away so often? How does MY site and ranking benefit from having so many links pointing AWAY from my own site?

If I asked an SEO expert how they could improve my search engine results in the first 10 minutes - what would they likely do to accomplish that? Or, is that IMPOSSIBLE?

What changes month to month that would necessitate ongoing SEO efforts and investment? Or, may a website owner pay to achieve a quantum leap up in search engine results, and then leave it alone for 6-12 months? Pros & cons please.

Does it really accomplish anything of value at all to invest to push your appearance from page 242 in a Google search up to page 31 - for example?  With no one reviewing that deeply into page results - why bother?  Such as for a plumber in Chicago - if he can not get onto page 1-5, forget it.  Or - am I wrong?

How does a local business get into the very top postings of PAGE 1 of a Google search - listed with the "maps" & directions postings? These even list ABOVE the search results - and are not the PAID ADVERTISEMENT positions but rather SEO placements specific to these MAP results!

In your opinion, what is the best program / your recommendation (application or web-based app) for checking and choosing the best link-building strategy?

"Where can I find the best technical resources on SEO practices?  Beyond theory, where can you learn about technical application? "