Q and A: Is my forwarded domain OK for SEO?

Question

Dear Kalena

I have a site: balirental.net, which is a forwarded URL to a subdomain of surfwomen.com/balirental.

When I view the page source of balirental.net, there are no Meta Tags at all. There is this however, src=’http://surfwomen.com/balirental/’, which, when clicked on, shows all my Meta Tags. Is this hurting my SEO? Do the robots see/crawl the src?

Thanks, Paul

Hi Paul,

There are many ways to forward or redirect URLs or domains - not all of them are search engine friendly.

The technique used on your site is not actually a redirect at all, it uses “frames”, which is a largely outdated technique which is one of the worst methods, and is not doing you any SEO favours at all.

Currently all the search engines see when they look at your site is what you can see yourself when you view the source - i.e. 13 lines of code with no content and no keywords.  At the moment, there is no chance of this domain achieving any sort of rankings in the search results.

Any “content” which is on the page within the frame is all associated with the surfwomen.com domain rather than your own domain.

If you want your domain to be found via search then you will need to develop your own unique content, under your own domain, and get as many good quality links to your site as possible.

Andy Henderson
Ireckon Web Marketing

We have a tee design winner!

Thanks to all of you who entered our Design the 2010 Search Engine College Tshirt Competition and especially those of you who took the time to vote for your favorite finalist out of the ten in our poll.

From the very beginning of the poll, a clear leader emerged.

This morning, voting closed and here are the results:

My hearty congratulations to our winner Cindy N (whose design is pictured) and the two runners up Matt and Michael.

Seems that Cindy’s tag cloud design appealed to a lot of people and the way she had highlighted Search Engine College in green within the cloud - well, we thought that was inspired!

Cindy, as winner of our tee design competition, you get the following cool stuff:

- a 2 day conference pass to SMX Sydney 2010.

- a t-shirt sporting your design

- the kudos of seeing your design printed on t-shirts and distributed to all attendees at SMX Sydney 2010.

I’ll be in touch shortly with details on your prize pack. Thanks again to all who entered and voted and see you at SMX!

Choose our Search Engine College 2010 Tee Design Winner

What will Search Engine Colleges 2009 t-shirt look like?

So this week we threw down a challenge. To have you guys design us a new Search Engine College tshirt for 2010.

Now we didn’t get a great deal of entries - I blame myself for blogging about it so late - but hats off to those of you who managed to come up with something with only 48 hours notice.

To make up the deficit, I’ve thrown in a couple of last year’s entries that I felt were worthy contenders.

Here are the finalists in random order:

* Not eligible to win prize

You can vote for the design you’d like to see win by taking THIS POLL. The design with the most number of votes will be used on our t-shirts and win the 2 day pass to SMX Sydney, UNLESS the winning design is one of those submitted by SEC staff, in which case the runner up will win the conference pass.

You’ve got until next Monday April 12 to cast your vote and you can only vote once (your votes are logged by cookie and IP so no cheating). The winner will be announced on April 13.

Get voting now!

Design our 2010 Search Engine College T-Shirt - Quick!

What will Search Engine Colleges 2009 t-shirt look like?Last year we held a competition to design our 2009 T-shirt to help promote Search Engine College at SMX Sydney.

Well it’s that time of year again! We’re looking for some inspirational designs for our 2010 Search Engine College t-shirt. You can suggest a design within the comments of this blog and I’ll set up a poll for readers to vote for the winner.

The person behind the winning design will be announced on this blog and receive  a 2 day pass to SMX Sydney. [This is a single conference pass only and does NOT include travel, accommodation or a ticket to Under the Bridge.]

The winning design will be will be issued to all students who graduate from our Certification Pathways in 2010. If I get my act together in time, it may also be printed on our t-shirts scheduled for distribution to all attendees at SMX Sydney being held on 22-23 April.

Grab the blank tshirt front / back and the SEC logo and go play. Need some inspiration? Check out last year’s tee design finalists.

Competition rules are as follows:

1) Your design or slogan should be suggested within the comments of this post. You can link to a design on your own site or simply suggest a slogan in your comment.

2) Designs need to work on a white tshirt and should be no more than 2 colors.

3) The SEC logo and/or URL should appear somewhere in the design (on the back is fine)

4) Keep it clean. Unfortunately, some conference attendees and some of our students, may be offended by the use of curse words. If you need to curse, use an asterisk to censor your design somewhat. (Grrrr, I know I know).

5) Apart from the restriction of 4) your design can be as witty and creative as you like.

6) Due to my extreme procrastination and resulting print deadline, entries MUST close this Thursday 8 April 2010 at 5pm NZ time (GMT +12).

7) 5 finalists will be chosen by staff of Search Engine College and blog readers and Twitter followers will be given the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalists via a poll to be announced Thursday evening.

8 ) The final design winner will be announced on Monday 12 April 2010.

9) You MUST comment here to enter.

Good luck all!

Post Script:  Some of you have asked which tee won last year’s comp? It was the clever LOL Cat by Pete Newsome. I should also mention that we liked last year’s tee submission from the very talented Andrew Ballard so much, that we adopted his concept (with permission) as our new SEC logo. A revised web site featuring the new logo is in progress now. Thanks Andrew!

SEO Proposal Template Software

A few  years ago I discovered a terrific new business tool and I was so excited about its potential that I wrote a review article about it to share my discovery with others.

The product was Proposal Kit.  My review was called Close the Sale With Proposal Kit and I’ve had a lot of feedback from readers of that article, thanking me for introducing them to the product.

In case you’re not already familiar with the software, Proposal Kit takes the guesswork out of drafting a proposal or contract. It automates the chore of putting together a complex business proposal. Basically, Proposal Kit provides a comprehensive range of templates to suit any business requirement and helps you build a framework for your proposal to match virtually any product or service offering.

seo proposal template software

You then flesh out the templates with your own data and contact details. Templates are particularly suited to online businesses and include documents for the initial sales pitch, the planning stage, estimating, contracting, project timelines, analysis and even invoicing.

I’ve been using Proposal Kit for over 5 years now and I am still as enthusiastic about it as ever. So when developers of the product (Cyber Sea) told me of their latest upgrade this month, I was very excited.

You see, amongst the 40 new contract templates available in the new versions of Proposal Kit Pro and Contract Kit Pro is a Search Engine Optimization Services Contract, designed for SEOs just like me.

Let’s take a look at what’s been upgraded in the latest versions of the product:

sample business proposal

Proposal Packs 9.0

  • Over 300 pages of new material have been added to Proposal Pack (new templates, checklists, samples, instructional material) adding over 60% more material to this version.
  • Added 61 new proposal templates increasing the total number of templates to over 270. Templates added include: Profile, Client Summary, Abstract, Estimate, Significance, Activities, Design, Planning, Approach, Innovativeness, Project Plan, System Plan, Promotion, Site Planning, Environmental, Public Relations, Community, Coordination, Responsibilities, Documentation, Authority, Measures of Success, Dissemination, Budget Information, Wholesale Price List, Retail Price List, Cost Effectiveness, Resources, Hourly Services Contract, Invoice, Memorandum of Understanding, Credentials, Capabilities, Accreditations, Certifications, Geographic Information, Key Positions, Contractors, Legal Eligibility, Authorization, Board of Directors, Policies, Flow Chart, Board Resolution, Contact Letter, Letter of Transmittal, Support Letter, Commitment Letter, Collaboration Letters, Report, Tab, Worksheet, Supplied Form, Appendix F, Appendix G, Appendix H, Appendix I, Appendix J, Fax Cover Sheet, Bid / No-Bid Checklist, Grant Proposal Development Checklist.
  • Added a proposal bid/no-bid decision checklist.
  • Added a government grant proposal development checklist.
  • Added a complete service level agreement to the Contract and Terms template.
  • Added an additional manual for writing Federal government grant proposals using Proposal Pack.
  • 15 general business sample proposals have been added.
  • 10 Federal government grant sample proposals have been added (USDA, Department of Justice, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development).
  • New Title Page graphics have been added for “Resume”, “Contract”, “Plan”, “Submission”, “Presentation”, “Report”, “Study”, “Estimate”, “Response”.
  • The Table of Contents has been updated to add all of the new templates.

Proposal Kit Pro 12.0

Over 500 pages of new material have been added to Proposal Kit Pro (new templates, checklists, samples, instructional material) adding over 50% more material to this version.

Contract Pack:

  • Minor grammar changes made to some documents.
  • Four new categories of contracts have been added: Advertising and Marketing, Graphics and Printing, Computer Systems and Internal Company Plans.
  • 41 new contracts, agreements and related documents have been added (over 144 pages of new material): Authorization to Start Work, Replication Quote Order Form, Email Marketing Creative by Agency Agreement, Email Marketing Creative by Designer Agreement, Pay Per Click (PPC) SEO Campaign Services Contract, Signage and Printing Order Form, Print Quote Form, Colocation Hosting Short Form Contract, Managed Hosting Service Level Agreement, Web Hosting Change Addendum, Pocket Photo Release Agreement, Photo Reprint Rights Agreement, Photo Credit Waiver, General Services Agreement, Repair Estimate Quote, General Contractor Work Order, Right of First Refusal Partnership Agreement, Right of First Refusal with Non-Disclosure Agreement, Works for Hire Agreement, Project Acceptance Partial Signoff, Project Acceptance Simple Signoff, Software Development Plan, Reprint Rights Agreement, SEO Services Reseller Contract, Disaster Recovery Plan, Software Disaster Recovery Plan, Human Resources Guide Update Addendum, PDA Usage Policy, Wireless Networking Usage Policy, Application for Employment, Employment Non-Compete and Non-Disclosure, Drug and Alcohol Testing Consent Form, Employee Promotion Authorization Form, Employee Notice of Salary Increase Form, Employee Injury Report Form, Expense Report, Hourly Services Agreement, Company Equipment Checkout Form, Agency Photo Shoot Model Release Form, Employee Grievance Form, Employee Demotion Form
  • Many existing contracts have been updated with new replaceable tags and consistent usage of terms.
  • Added 20 new standard mail merge tags to many documents.

Sample Proposal Pack Template Styles (sold separately)

Estimate Pack:

  • Updated HTML organizer to help find and open documents easier.
  • Added Customer and Proposal Number tags to all spreadsheets for helping organize estimates by customer and proposal.
  • Updated line items in existing spreadsheets with additional material.
  • Added Help Desk Services Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Added Print Project Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Added Flash Animation Project Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Added Network Server Setup Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Added Software Services Project Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Added Computer Repair and Maintenance Estimate Spreadsheet.
  • Project Management Pack:
  • Renamed product from “Web Plan Kit” to “Project Management Pack”.
  • Minor updates to existing documents to update outdated material.Proposal Pack Template Styles (sold separately)
  • Added Web Development Worksheet Overview.
  • Added Describe Your Web Site Worksheet (R01).
  • Added Describe User Controlled Content Worksheet (R02).
  • Added Describe Your Web Site Functions Worksheet (R03).
  • Added Describe Your Web Site Users Worksheet (R04).
  • Added Describe Your Web Site Administration Worksheet (R05).
  • Added Describe Your Web Site Home Page Worksheet (R06).
  • Added Project Plan Worksheet.
  • Added Project Analysis Overview Worksheet.
  • Added SEO Organic Keyword Report.
  • Added SEO Pay Per Click Keyword Report.
  • Added Customer Service Call Log Spreadsheet.
  • Added Disaster Recovery Plan.
  • Added Software Disaster Recovery Plan.
  • Added Expense Report Spreadsheet.

Visit the Proposal Kit website for details on pricing, a product comparison chart and information on how to upgrade.


SEO Proposal Template

Now, about that SEO Services Contract that I’m so excited about. Having run an SEO business for over ten years now, I KNOW how difficult it is to produce a reliable, standard contract to give to SEO clients. Search engine optimization can be such a complex process that it is vitally important your client contract spells out your services, delivery schedule, responsibilities and campaign expectations while addressing all areas of potential client confusion.

Such contracts take time to develop and can be very expensive if drawn up from scratch by a law firm. Many SEOs, especially those just starting out, simply don’t have the time, resources, knowledge or budget to have a high quality, water-tight contract developed for their business. That’s why I see the inclusion of an SEO Services Contract in the latest Proposal Kit upgrade as a boon for SEOs everywhere.

Proposal template designs (sold separately)

Even if your business already has a contract in place, the purchase price of Proposal Kit Pro or Contract Pack Pro, (both which come with the SEO contract included), is well worth the investment to be able to compare your contract with the detailed sample provided. Something important to keep in mind is that legal contracts in the Contract Pack should not be viewed as binding legal documents until they are reviewed by your lawyer. Because every business has different products, services, clients and operates in different geographical environments, legal requirements vary widely. By all means use the contract templates to draft your contract, but make sure you have the document carefully reviewed by your company law firm to ensure it meets your specific legal requirements. This is emphasized within the templates.

Not all sections of the SEO Contract will apply to every SEO business, particularly those listed under “Services Provided”, but the document is so comprehensive that you can mix and match sections and clauses that are specifically relevant to your business, such as “Delivery Dates and Milestones”, “Web Page Creation, Edits and Custom Programming” and “Keyword Selection”. I’ve already spotted three or four important clauses that our existing client contract overlooks. Not to mention the benefits of having access to hundreds of professional proposal templates from which to pick and choose to match your own business requirements.

business proposal templates

For smaller SEOs or those just starting out in the industry, the latest version of Proposal Kit could save you a fortune and give your business a much needed injection of professionalism.

Of course that goes for non-SEO businesses too!