Post Server Update

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

The migration of the server has had us all holding our breath in anticipation.  I think that finally we can slowly let it go.  We had expected a small drop in SERP and thats what we got.  Down one place for Free Classifieds (currently no 2), down 2 places at number 9 for Free Ads.

Today I shall SEO via an internal link strategy as well as with external links.

I read in the local rag last night about a columnist who has unexpected traffic to his blog, to the tune of 10,400 visits.   This is not huge considering that he has been going for a couple of years.  Also users search for blogs now rather than wait for them to come to the fore.  Blogs are just waiting to be discovered from web masters who will utilise them for their own ends.  Start to get into unique topic specifics and they can feature well in search results.

So should he have taken this as flattery - hmm probably not.  As a columnist he has probably written some good material with a wide range of subjects.  However he has still only achieved small visitor numbers - to do considerably better he needs to look at his blog commenting.  If he does not allow it then he should, perhaps as moderated so that his blog doesn't get spammed.

His good range of material as well as well written posts with specific topics should yield well in Google.  Could be he is not utilising the tags.  Just taking a moment to fill these in appropriately would mean that he would be complying with the specific meta data that Google clearly loves.

So I am off to check out said blog, hopefully I will be leaving a lasting impression on it.

Wish me luck!

YapYapOK Free Ads

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Disruption Of SEO

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

A series of events has led to a huge disruption in SEO techniques utilsed by YapYapOK Free Ads

1. Computer hard drive breakdown.   - A clear issue resulting in an out of action computer necessary to facilitae and inplement link building strategy
2. Lack of manpower - stretching oneself too thinly whilst doing last minute school assessments (son due to enter secondary school education next september), as well as external web development for second site.
3.  Aforementioned sons birthday weekend.  - Yes weekend to enable sleepover with friends plus time with all family members 100 miles down the road.

Consequently the to-do list has rapidly grown to an unfathomable length whereby priorities are yet to be determined.  In a moment of blindness I have decided to post a blog and then take a step back to see if the fog clears and the route becomes a little more focused when, at such time I will commence all efforts with renewed energy.

Of course having lost a huge amount of work has not been advantageous.  Personal photos of family over the last 6 years are forever lost.  Laziness meant that whilst I did not back up data, I did email myself links, seo strategies as well as important documents.  I stored many others on private web 2.0 sites  Yes it was lazy, since I had not filed it away in a methodical manner on my harddrive.  Instead I had built a folder filing system within my inbox  - since my email is permanently open.

Thankfully this bizarre approach to document management has saved me a mountain of work.

I am ready to continue the advertising link campaign for the next hour before calling it a day and recharging my rather spent batteries.

YapYapOK Free Ads - frankly a little exhausted actually!

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Catastrophic Failure

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

  I am currently more than a little stressed that my operating system on my MAC has suffered a catastrophic failure.  To be fair its not as stressfull as the idea of server migration, which was actually OK in the end.  Having said that it is pretty damn close.

  Since the OS system has collapsed, it will not read disks and is totally unresponsive to any command.  I Googled how to reboot the old operating system but all the key commands were MAC specific and I have a normal keyboard. 

  Several websites later I was able to translate the keys such as eject and apple command and promptly went through the process of getting the computer to read the set up disc in the drive.

  All appeared to be working correctly untill the disc intitiation which came back as error.  Repeat 3 times = error.  Did I mention I have a sticky disc drive?  My MAC will not eject discs easily.  Specifically it will not eject the mac set up discs that came with the computer.  All others have been fine.  Since eject is through the screen or eject command then you are relying on the operating system to kick it out when you ask it to.

  This has been difficult even when I had an operating system and relies on the utilsation of a guitar plectrum (the only thing small and thin enough) to keep the clip back and a pair of tweezers to grab it once the disc emerges its 1 milimeter edge.  You need patience and a good grip since grabbing it first time is unlikely.  However I have had much practise at this and can usually do it within 3 ejects.

  Anyway - my MAC is more than a little sick and I am preying that with the right care it can be bought to life.  It may suffer a little "brain damage", as in all my data may be lost.

  So the lesson here is back up your data.  I know this so very well from previous experiences and had recently bought myself a new drive for that very purpose.  Sadly my house keeping is chronic and I just had not got round to it.

  So friends, please prey with me for one last chance not only to repair my MAC but to save us from lost data.  Its on its way to the specialist now!

  YapYapOK Free Ads - We're only human!    

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New Server

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

We would like to express our apologies for any disruption to the YapYapOK Free Ads website.  This is due to a change of our server provider..

The process has been seamless, however for  anyone who may have been posting or registering their may be a requirement to do it again.   Alternatively just get in touch and we will do it for you.

The other issue regarding server change over is the potential for SERP dropping.   I am unsure if this is something dreamed up by the host providers but even one independent server engineer suggested the same thing.  The host is still located in the UK so I hope that any change will be minimal.   

I would also like to express our thanks to Nick Tekhoi who was responsible for the migration of the server.  Nothing was any trouble and he personally dealt with the host company keeping communication open all the time.  I got Nicks details from People Per Hour.  Due to time constraints we were faced with needing someone to carry out the work urgently.  Hence price was less of an issue than it may have been.  I stipulated that accuracy and speed were paramount and that price was not what would win the job.

Within minutes there were several applicants, however Nick stood out with his portfolio, skill sets and feedback. I also really wanted someone from the UK since I have had issues trying to communicate with someone who's English is their second language or if they are on a different time zone.  It took very little considering when I accepted his quote.  From placing the advert to completing was less than 24 hours.

I strongly recommend People Per Hour for outsourcing.  Unless you are confident that you can communicate a complex requirement then you need to be wary of some of the cheaper labour.  Due to hiring skill sets directly it is still highly likely that you will save money using UK workers.

On that note, I am off to SERP!

YApYapOK Free ADs - Performing better - getting bigger!

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EDU Blog Sites

YapYapOK Free Classifieds - Pole Position!

Clearly we are having amazing success with topic specific edu blog postings.  In Google UK we are now number 1 - yes pole position for Free Classifieds.  Our other main keyword Free Ads is coming up at number 7 on page 1 from this morning.   Our others are still moving about quite alot so we cannot take them too seriously, however the bouncing does in itself indicate that Google has noticed the extra work and is figuring where to place us.

Currently "Classifieds", as a search is seeing us on Page 4 which is a 6 page jump.  I don't expect us to stay there but it is an indication that we can take a big jump now since the ground work is in place. Our last keyword - Ads, is not quite as successful with only a 4 page jump. 

The issue with trying to find edu blogs with the correct advertising topic matter has lead me to look for edu sites which will enable me to have my own topic rich blog site.  Far easier said then done.  I managed to find one - thanks to an article I read online only to find that posting links was not allowed.  I tried html as well as ordinary hypertext links copied across, since there was no facility to create one.

So my mission, which I have chosen to accept is to see if I can create one on another edu website. 

Wish me luck!

YapYapOK Free Classifieds - getting academic!

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The Results Of Panda Friendly SEO techniques - So Far

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

A good friend of mine recently told me that he had once received a post coitus of compliment of - "You are a miracle!"

Whilst delighted with this comment it fazed him as he wasn't quite sure which bit had earned him such high praise, particularly since it had been a particularly long and varied session.  In his words " Its like changing your marketing 20 different ways and then faced with success your not sure what worked!"

Well not quite, the latter would be a bit of a disaster whilst the former was a one night stand and he will be a beautiful memory to the satisfied recipient - no of course he didn't go back, he had too much to live up to!

Our SEO campaign has been a combination of many techniques running concurrently.  Since we SERPED fairly well in quite a short space of time I was loathe to anaylse the techniques I was implementing, prefering to drive myself crazy by doing everything recommend on blogs and articles.  60 hour weeks were the norm.

Since Google introduced Panda, we had slipped for Free Classifieds from the number 1 position to number 5 ( in Google.co.uk).  I had been neglecting SEO so I was fairly convinced that I just needed to redo the same SEO as before. 

How wrong, nothing I did worked.  Not until I read an article for a quality linking strategy for Google Panda friendly SEO.   I cannot believe how much the site SERP has improved.  We have suffered penalties because of spinning article which still exist - apparently Google Panda can see them, boy it got clever.

The results of quality linking has now seen Free Classifieds at number 2, OK not quite at number 1 but I am working on 4 keywords so my effort is diluted.  Having been there, it is really not making a difference to my hit rate.  Free Ads is now on page 1 number 10.  OK a few positions to climb to get to pole position but its been a tough one to work with.  Its massively competitive and despite being lower on the page we are getting far more hits on the YapYapOK Classifieds site from searchers using this keyword then we are with the first.

In addition, whilst we are not actively seeking Google.com SERP, inevitably we are getting it. However I had not expected to feature on page 2 & 3 having just a few weeks ago not being on the first 100 pages for either keyword.

Our new keyword search terms are Ads & Classifieds.  We are lagging a long way back but hopefully by using the quality link strategy I have previously blogged & implemented, we should start to dominate Google with all the competition.

So whilst I cursed the Panda - I now adore it - gone are the long days frantically working the world wide web.  Gone are my Fiverr  days, they don't have enough quality campaigns for a mature site.  Yes I have to do it all myself but there is a lot less of it!

YapYapOK Free Ads - A competitive edge!

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Off Topic - Doggies

YapYapOK Free Classifieds

I could not resist blogging about ads following this one for cute Italian Bolognese Puppies.  Anyone who follows my blogs will know what a sucker I am for animals and these are as adorable as they get.  Despite not having a dog at present I am a novice whelper. 

My mother is a coordinator for German Shepard Dog rescue which she commits a huge amount of time on a volantary basis.  She has rescued sheps which often have such a reputation for aggression.  The problem is that they are so misunderstood.  In truth they are too intelligent to take on unless someone is willing to learn about the breed and train them with love rather than a rod of iron.

Dogs respond better to a firm but kind handler who understands dog behaviour.  My mother has huge respect for dogs and her Shep, Pippa is a member of the family who is rarely left alone, is the centre of her world and who is challenged with agility classes and ongoing training at  home.  Its not so much about the work, its a requirement for an animal that needs the stimulation to feed their intelligent nature.  It stops them becoming bored and  they enjoy it.

Additionally diet plays a critical part in their health and their mood.  Pippa has a natural diet which is freshly prepared daily.  Consequently she does not have the problematic health issues so often associated with GSD's in particular with respect to their digestion.  Flea control is also managed with diet since Sheps have a tendency for skin problems associated with either chemical treatments or/and resulting flea infestation.

In many respects, my mums complete commitment to her dog  has deterred me from having a dog until such time as I know I have the time.  I will however,  as soon as I can persuade my husband, have a couple of cats, rescue of course.  I lost my 19 year old boy last year having had him from a kitten and his presence is still missed by all of us.

YapYapOK Free Ads - A very different Classifieds

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