Monthly Archives: September 2008

Q and A: Is it spam to have multiple domains forwarded to one site?

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QuestionDear Kalena

I’m currently taking your SEO 101 class for certification.  I’ve been looking over some of the recommended reading and I am confused about something.  Can you tell me if it is SPAM if you have multiple domain names forwarded to one website?

Thanks for your assistance.

Laura

Dear Laura

No, not necessarily. It depends how they are forwarded and the original purpose of the forwarding. For example, if you have a main site e.g. site.com but also own regional domains for the site e.g. site.com.au or site.co.uk and you wish to forward people typing in those regional domains to your main domain, then that is a legitmate use of forwarding.

Same with domains for branding purposes, for example, I own both www.ask-kalena.com and www.askkalena.com but I prefer to use the first one for branding as it is easier to read the site name. However I don’t want to miss any persons who type in the second version of the domain, so I forward the latter one to the former one automatically. You’ll see if you type in the second version it will automatically redirect you to the hyphenated version. This is also a correct use of domain forwarding and the correct server redirection technique to use (not META refresh or similar).

The only time it gets spammy is if you are deliberately redirecting people from one domain to another in a direct attempt to mislead them and trick search engines, for example if you click on a domain in the search results that looks like www.baby-strollers.com and it takes you instead to a porn domain or something. Also the redirection of hundreds or thousands of domains to a single domain is likely very dodgy.

Q and A: Do Search Engine College courses have an emphasis on coding?

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QuestionDear Kalena

I am a marketing person and have been working for over 10 years. I love the IT side of marketing and considering to take some of your courses to become specialized.

My concern is that it might just be a little too much on coding and I am concerned that I might find it too dry. Will this be the case or can you expect some coding but not too much with further focus and learning on picking the right key words for companies etc?. I look forward to your reply. Note, I already get your newsletter.

Thanks
Natalie

Dear Natalie

There is only a minimal amount of coding discussed in our SEO courses. SEO101 assumes zero knowledge of the topic and teaches students how to optimize a web site from start to finish, with emphasis on a holistic approach rather than just coding and design.

There are links to further HTML and coding resources if you are interested, but they are not compulsory for completion of the course. Take a look at the full lesson detail for SEO101.

My background is also marketing (I’m not a programmer) and I have written the course from this perspective, so you should find it both interesting and enjoyable. I think your idea to specialize in search engine marketing is a good one, particularly with your background. May I suggest you read my article: 11 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Job in Search Engine Marketing.

More questions? Check out our FAQs or chat to our staff via Live Help.

If you do decide to enroll with us, simply go to our order form when you’re ready.

Hope to see you in class!

Google Tackles Global Warming

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No I’m not kidding.

Yesterday I made a post on SiteProNews about Google’s little-known Webmaster Help Group and included a throw-away gag about them also solving world peace and global warming while they were at it.

Anyway, Google’s anti-spam avenger (and Assistant to Matt Cutts) Adam Lasnik commented on the post and said that another branch of Google were already tackling global warming.

“Very funny”, I thought. But you could have knocked me over with a feather when I took a peek at Google.org and saw that they actually ARE working on how to solve global warming and climate change!

From the site:

“Google.org aspires to use the power of information and technology to address the global challenges of our age: climate change, poverty and emerging disease.

In collaboration with experienced partners working in each of these fields, we will invest our resources and tap the strengths of Google’s employees and global operations to advance five major initiatives: Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (RE<C), RechargeIT, Predict and Prevent, Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services, and Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.”

Now that’s what I call Philanthropy with a capital P.