Time for another post, it's been a few months but I wanted to share a little something I learned that is increasing traffic to some of my clients websites as well as mine.

Have you heard of Drop My Link, a great site where you can Google queries to find thousands of sites to drop your links on and create backlinks.

There is a Drop down list that displays various networks where you can add relevant links "without spamming" . These networks are:

• .edu blogs
  
• .gov Blogs
  
• Anchor Text In Comment Blogs
  
• Angela's Backlinks
  
• CommentLuv Premium Blogs
  
• Do Follow Comment blogs <---Good for PageRank
  
• Expression Engine Forums
  
• Hubpages - Hot Tubs
  
• KeywordLuv Blogs
  
• LiveFire Blogs
  
• Intense Debate Blogs
  
• Squidoo Lenses - Add To List
  

If you are using Google Chrome you need to download the SEO Status Pagerank/Alexa Toolbar extension. and the official Alexa Extension.

Using the Official Alexa Extension allows you to see how much traffic is going to a particular page in the Google's organic listings as seen in picture below by the blue bar. Note I used the "Do Follow Comment Blogs" Query in the Drop Down Menu.

As you can see the benefit of this is based on the amount of traffic so your link can be seen, unfortunately it does not tell you the Pagerank of that particular page so I rely on the SEO Status Pagerank/Alexa Toolbar when I click through the link. While it can be beneficial and relevant to place your link here, the Pagerank is 1 as I clicked through and I'm looking for that juice to flow through to my page so I click back and sift through the search results till I find a good balance of Alexa rank and Pagerank.

The only thing you have to do is leave a relevant comment that correlates to the page your linking to. I like to leave at least 3-4 sentences and thank the author for the great information provided.

Dropping your link on .edu and .gov blogs are good for Authority and search engines tend to see them as more important for the accurate and abundance of information.

Last but not least the page I'm linking to should have the keywords in the page name, title, description, and content. its good to bold some of the keywords and have some internal links that correlate to those keywords.

Or has is all changed just like in every other relationship. Keywords, Long-Tail, Short-Tail, Keyword Variation, Keyword Backlinks, Keyword Recency, Keyword Density, Meta-Tag Keywords, Keyword Linking, Keyword Correlation, Yada yada yada. We use keywords for everything online and offline. From search engine optimization, social media marketing and direct mail to print publications like newspapers.

WE also know search engines love keywords as they describe products and services as well point to relevant content that may be important to a search query. Have search engines lost the love they once had for Keywords? or are they shaking up the relationship and introducing some new ways of spicing up their love life for fear of a 3rd wheel (black Hat) messing up a good long term commitment?.

 Keeping up with the latest updates on search engines is very time consuming and can hurt your relationship as well but can greatly help your online business. After all is it not the new thing to do in online marketing relationship building? Promoting your expertise on niches you are an expert in, Answering questions, solving problems and spreading the word through social networks, mobile apps local forums and blogs.

So if relationship building, social sharing and signals are new ways of search engines adding some spice to the relationship then what are keywords doing to add into the mix? Keywords have been the easily manipulative one,  the one who has been stuffed in headers, Body, and Footer, the one who as been re-spun so many times that they become confusing and lead search engines astray from producing relevant search queries. Keywords have endured color changing as to hide their true intent on a web-page and have been known to participate in a ménage à trois of link wheels and has added so much more negative influence on a delicate marriage that seems to be fracturing.

I give search engines credit for hanging in there and proving that love really does last and that keywords are still a founding principal of what search engines are based on. Over the years search engines have added in ways of breathing in new life to keywords by changing the ways they can be easily manipulated and pushing away the negative seducers and seductresses. Search Engines and Keywords still have it going on and they are proving it to us and laying it down write in front of our eyes.

The latest mix-up in the ongoing relationship between search engines and keywords has to do with keyword variation. Why do i like variation? well just like in any physical relationship things tend to get a little repetitive, then become boring and after doing the same thing over and over again you look to renew and spice things up a bit, you know add a little variation to it, rekindle that spark that was there but now has faded to a shimmer.

SO what about Keyword variation, How is it adding to the relationship with search engines by producing the most relevant results for search queries? I'm not an engineer for any search engine, I don't know the chemistry of algorithms that determine the best results and I did not stay at a holiday inn so I'm no expert on the subject however after years of marketing and reading, keeping up with the latest updates and changes, constantly testing and modifying websites for users and search engines you can see what works and what does not.

It is as simple as this; keyword variation is a pheromone to search engines, we all have pheromones to attract one another and our pheromones vary and are unique to every individual. websites that have unique content and are authorities in their niche tend to rank higher in search engines because they give off certain signals. These signals include:

• Keyword Variation
  
• Social Signals
  
• Click-Through Rates
  

Keyword variations are descriptive and for good on page optimization its a good practice to include 3 to five variations of a keyword in the content of a web page. Keyword Variation can include long-tails that are descriptive, Linked within the context pointing to another relevant page or website with each variation used once. No need to overdue it, search engines will think it's a little spammy and it tends to tell your visitors all you care about is rankings and getting your page in front of the most people as possible. The goal of any website is to produce useful content that is easy to navigate and lead to conversions.

Social Signals are an added spice to the relationship with keyword variation, as the more mentions, shares, pluses, likes, pins, tweets, etc have those keyword variations in them and search engines say "hey lookey here" (Si Robertson) <--Duck Dynasty any one! anyways not to get off track search engines conclude this must be important information as many people are talking about it, leaving citations, sharing, and linking to it with various keywords. Search engines say look here, this is important and rank pages accordingly.

Now with Click-Through Rates added as a signal, you have to make those keyword variations very likable with a good descriptive text. People are searching for relevant results in their queries and your keywords need to be eye catching as they skim the serps. Adding in Authorship greatly increases the click through rates, you just have to make sure your content will keep them on your site. Search engines keep track of these signals and are including them as a ranking factor, look at news sites with big stories and prominent Authors that write about their expertise, they consistently rank high because people know about them, people like them, share their content and engage.

Search Engines and keywords go hand-in-hand, I do not think search engines have lost the commitment they only ask that their partners work with them, add value to the relationship,build on a better result that will endure the struggles and survive together, Just like most other love affairs you eventually spice things up a bit and you would only hope your partner joins in and adds to it, after-all it does take two to Tango!

Lets do Some Local Mobile Keyword Research. My go-to Keyword research tool is Google's Adwords Tool. This tool allows you to target specific keywords for mobile devices.

• First you must go to the tool (Link Above)
  
• Put in your Targeted keyword or Keyphrase
• Click "Advanced Options and Filters"
  
• Select your Locations and Languages
  
• Open the drop down menu in "Show Ideas and Statistics for"
  
• Click on "All Mobile Devices"
  
• Select "Local Monthly Searches" under "Filter Ideas"
  

Auto-Complete
For this keyword research, my query is going to be "Bars in Bullhead City AZ" I chose this keyphrase from using my mobile device's Google search widget. Most people use the "Auto Complete" feature as they don't have to type out the whole search query. Researching  Short-Tail Keywords are essential I believe in mobile keyword optimization for websites looking to promote their products and services.

What's nice is the Auto-Complete gives you a list of the most popular search terms. Copy these search terms and use them in the Adwords keyword tool to refine your queries.

Notice how I highlighted "In" & "To" you can add these words in your mobile SEO as well, don't forget to add "Near" "Area" and other Geographic Location terms. These words are not necessary to put in the keywords tool however using them in your mobile keyword research and mobile optimization cant hurt.

Refine Local Mobile Keywords
After the List of Keywords and Keyphrases has been populated, scroll down to look at the list. Google defaults the list under it's "Ad group ideas (Beta)" tab.

Here you can get ideas to add to your list of targeted mobile keywords. I highlighted "Local sports bar and grill" "Find local bars" "Cocktail bars" and "Pubs" <---last one great for St. Patrick's day, to add on my list. You can further refine your Keyword research by clicking on the blue keywords arrow and selecting "Show more like this" or select"More Like These" to the right of the Main Bold Keywords.

When finished checking the boxes of the keywords you want you can download via button above the list.

Applying Keyword Variation
In "SEO" using keyword variation allows your keywords to come up in many queries and if your using Adwords these variations can help your ads show up more often. You can check this out by using the Adwords Traffic Estimator Tool.

Optimize your site further by using these keywords in the structured data of your website. Structured data allows search engines to find important information on what your website is about and display it accordingly in the Organic listings. You can find out more about how to add structured data here: Schema

Don't forget to add these mobile keywords in your description, alt image tags, meta tags, internal links, socialize, next to phone number and address.

Geo-Tag
Geo-Tagging your pictures, videos and website allows search engines to display targeted content based on geographic location. If you have a bar, restaurant or any business that offers products and services, I recommend Geo-Tags to help boost your optimization and lead the pack for organic mobile search. You can add these mobile optimized keywords in the Goe-Tag meta-data. More about how to add Geo-Tags to your website can be found here: Geo-Tag Your Local Business

Any ideas, Suggestions or Resources? please leave them in the comments below.