SEO Tool You Can’t Live Without - Ranking Manager

September 18, 2007 on 3:47 pm | In Search Engine Optimization | No Comments
by James Stacy Jones

In order to manage how the Search Engines are ranking your main keyword phrases you need a tool that will spider the search engines you are interested in and determine your rank or position on the page or pages.  In order to accomplish this task we use a tool called Ranking Manager 6.0 at http://www.websitemanagementtools.com/

Just to summarize this seo tool  it will allow you to:

1. Analyze yourself and your competition urls with different keyword sets
2. Analysis can be stored in MySql database
3. Deliver customized reports on position, ranking and engine in different formats ( html, csv, png & xml )
4. Schedule all the reports to be sent by email or saved or even ftp'ed automatically

Just so you can see what a report looks like I pasting a snippet of the position summary for AOL:

	Rank	Page	Position	URL
	e-commerce seo
	14	2	4	www.magnetiks.com/seo
	ecommerce seo
	13	2	3	www.magnetiks.com/seo
	houston seo
	18	2	8	www.magnetiks.com/
	30	3	10	www.magnetiks.com/free

This software is very powerful becaue it give you the ability to tell if your keyword phrase has gone up or down month to month or even disappeared all together.

But what I really like the most is that once you figure out how to use Windows Scheduled Task command then you can set the reports to automatically run while you are sleeping at different intervals ( usually every 3 to 4 hours is how I set mine up ).

Of course like all things that you hope work perfectly out the box, this tool did not work the first 5 or 6 times I used their xml script modified for my settings to work.  But being the hard headed person I am I tried different variables and scripts until I finally got it to run without a hitch.

Here is the script in the user manual and here is the script I use.

The things you will need to do:

1. Make sure the in the <_Name> tag you use 1000 instead of 2000
2. When using format 'html' add a parameter for filename and use htm instead of html because it was the only way to make sure it was attached in the email.
3. Also for the format 'chart' add a parameter for filname and use jpg as the extension instead of png.

This should save you a lot of time because I had to go through trial and error to get them attached in the email.  But all in all it was well worth it.  I have successfully setup over 27 scripts that use Windows Scheduled Task command to run the ranking manager once a month for each of them at different times during the day ( 6am, 6pm, 11pm ) and email me the reports.  What a time saver.

Hope that helps someone out there.

Custom Web Sites -vs- Templates

September 11, 2007 on 10:52 am | In Web Site Information, Search Engine Marketing | No Comments
by James Stacy Jones

In today’s world of ever growing small business the internet can provide a cost effective method for any company to gain exposure. When you put your business online it is absolutely critical for your website to correctly translate your business model in every aspect. This kind of translation requires a custom web solution including: A proper analysis of your current business methods, services and products offered, and a modern interpretation of your image. Template based web pages are unable to correctly translate desired image onto the web in most cases. Templates are also, for the most part, difficult to expand upon in the future. Companies that offer mass template website packages work based on the volume of sites they sell rather than quality.

Custom sites built by professionals can provide a fully expandable, modern, solution that is a precise fit for your ever changing company needs. A website that works shows you a return on investment (ROI) because visitors can find and use it. A true custom solution requires working with you one on one for the most accurate depiction of your company model which will represent you well. This is essential with a Search Engine Marketing plan in place. Site traffic will increase significantly and it is crucial to have a solid, professional, and true representation of how you do business.