Co Citation - A major search engine ranking factor that few SEO’s understand. 

What is Co Citation?
I found a nice page on sourceforge.net that gives a nice definition of co citation.

Bibliographic Co-Citation is a popular similarity measure used to establish a subject similarity between two items. If A and B are both cited by C, they may be said to be related to one another, even though they don’t directly reference each other. If A and B are both cited by many other items, they have a stronger relationship. The more items they are cited by, the stronger their relationship is.

Now it’s past 11:00 pm, and my designer has gone home for the night, so here’s my chicken scratch of co citation.

 Sites A, B, C, & D are said to be related via co citation. They don’t link to each other, but sites that link to them, tend to link to the other sites. 

Let me try to put this in more SEO english by showing you Good and Bad examples of co citation.

Let’s pretend you have a site about sunglasses and you’re on the hunt for backlinks. Let’s say you bought a link on a page where you’re link looks like this:

By doing this, the search engines will think that your site must have something to do with prescription drugs and gambling. Why? Well, because the search engines look at the pages that link to you, and they say "Who else does that page link to" because they figure they must be related. So your sunglasses sites is now thought to be related to gambling and drugs. That’s your neighborhood you’re putting your site in.

Now let’s say that you buy lots of links…and let’s say that the gambling sites also buy lots of links…and let’s say that on lots of pages where you buy your links, they also buy links…now you’ve got some serious co citation going on…even though you never link to each other, your backlinks keep appearing together on other sites…now you’re considered similar to the gambling sites (this is bad for rankings).

Now let’s look at some Good Co citation:
Getting a link from a directory page, like say a Yahoo Directory page for Sunglasses, is Great for your co citation….why? Because the other links on that page are all about sunglasses, and if you’re listed on that page, then the search engines will give you the co citation of "sunglasses" (by looking at the other links on that specific page that links to you). Now let’s say that you’re also in DMOZ with a lot of the same sunglasses companies are were in the Yahoo Directory pages…now you’ve got some serious co citation…and this time, you’ve got it with the right types of sites (other sunglasses sites), so you’re getting into the "Sunglasses Neighborhood" via lots of co citation with other sunglasses sites (this is good for rankings).

Want to know your websites co citation?
Hey, it’s actually pretty easy….the engines actually show you. It’s one of those things that people see every day, it’s just that most people don’t know what it is.

Yea…it’s that that "Similar pages" link next to the "Cached" link (You can also search in Google using the Related command (related:www.your-site.com)).

You ever wonder what those Similar Sites are? That’s your co citation! That means that the web pages that link to you, tend to link to those sites as well. More often than not, the top ranked sites have good co citation (related sites as their "Similar Pages").

If you’re trying to rank high, keep in mind your linking neighborhood and your co citation. On the pages where you’re getting links from, who else do those pages link to? Are the other links on those pages related to your site? Is that co citation something that will help or hurt you?

What are your thoughts on co citation?

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Technorati Tags: links, link building, google, yahoo, seo, sem, search engine optimization, internet marketing, search engine marketing, link popularity

A few days ago I found out that I’ll be a Daddy again! Due beginning Nov.

It’s kinda funny how things happen….for over 5 years my wife and I had been trying to have a baby before we had Sam…we were about to do one shot of IVF, then if that didn’t work, we were going to Russia to adopt….then the month before the IVF, Mary got pregnant (and that was the first time we weren’t really trying).  So last month for the first time I didn’t use protection…and wa-la….Mary’s pregnant again….that’s like twice in a row after 5 years of trying….amazing!

So this weekend I spent a little time on Sam’s (our first baby’s) website, updating it….and then I starting popping in some pictures of the family history (still working on it).  I’m happy that he’s #1 for his name, and he’ll be happy I started this site so when he’s 18, and want’s to use the site, he’ll be way out of the sandbox by then

Anyone recommend any specific family tree programs?

If it’s a girl, I’m going to try to convince Mary to name her "Page"…then I try to slip in "Rank" as a middle name …..she didn’t go for it last time though….

I was just over at www.alexa.com and by accident, I scrolled down the page. Hey, there’s a blog by Geoffrey Mack…and it’s got some cool stuff in it.

I really enjoyed "MySpace… Taking Over the World" (It’s in the top 10 of most visited web sites!)

Through Geoffrey’s blog on the Alexa homepage I also found one of the coolest new sites I’ve seen in a while - a site called Zillow - If you haven’t seen it, Check it out! Way Wicked Cool!

as Geoffrey says:

• Cool thing 1: Plug in your zip code and it gives you a satellite map of your neighborhood. The map is draggable, just like Google Maps.
• Cool thing 2: You can get a satellite map, a street map, or a hybrid map.
• Cool thing 3: As you zoom in, it will show you property lines and estimated values of the homes.
• Cool thing 4: Click on a property and a ballon pops up with estimated price (they call it "Zestimated price") address and home details like number of bedrooms and bathrooms and square footage.
• Cool thing 5: Click on home details and it shows you enough to make your head spin. Value of your home plotted on a graph over the last year, 5 years, etc. Plus lot size, year built, # stories, and more.
• Cool thing 6: Click on comparable homes and it shows you a clickable map with all the recently sold homes in your area. Click them and sale price, date sold, details of the home, etc.

Again that site is Zillow.

And Geoffrey, I’ll scroll down more often now when I’m at www.alexa.com to see the news you’re bringing us.

Last night I saw Philipp’s post where he points out how microsoft.com looked in 1994,

So I thought I’d take a ride on the flashback express and show 12 sites we’re all familiar with, and link to how these sites looked in the 90’s.

Google Dec 2, 1998
Yahoo Oct 17, 1996
MSN.com Oct 22, 1996
AltaVista Oct 23, 1996
AskJeeves April 12, 1997
SearchEngineWatch Dec 10, 1997
eBay Dec 1, 1998
AOL April 21, 1997
Craigslist Dec 2, 1998
Apple Dec Oct 22, 1996
Lycos Oct 22, 1996
Netscape Oct 20, 1996

Anyone have others they’d like to share?

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Technorati Tags: google, yahoo, msn, askjeeves, ask, aol, craigslist, lycos, netscape, altavista

Last night I received an email from one of my clients….he shows me 2 links to other websites who have stolen his content. (one just changed the location of the business to their state and locality on the pages, and the company name). To say my client was angry was an understatement. There were lots of $%*& in his email, and he wanted to know what to do.

To be honest, my first thought was….yea, it happens all the time…is there really someting you can do that’s effective? I’ve kinda given up on fighting that battle personally with webuildpages.com…but hey, he sounds like he wants to fight, so I gave him this advice.

I found a few nice artilces from KEYT Law, written by Richard Keyt.

One is called 
Internet Copyright Law: 
A Rat Pilfered My Web Site Cheese - What Do I Do?
Remedies for Web Site Copyright Infringement

In the artilce, Richard says that for better future legal standings, he recommends copyrighting your site. He has an article about the benefits of copyrighting your website (and throws in his plug at the end ($300)).

Richard has has an awesome resource page called "How to Obtain Web Site Copyright Protection" that’s quite detailed (detailed enough that I’d pay him to do it.).

Then he talks about what you’d want to include in your Cease and Desist Letter (about 1/2 down this page).

I wanted to find an example of a Cease and desist letter and I found a nice pdf on here - page 6-7 of this pdf. I also found this cool web page that gives a nice template for a cease and desist letter.

….but I’m not sure if you can really stop people who are stealing your content…

I have some version of www.copyscape.com that emails me each week with copies of part of my paragraphs on other websites.  I see it weekly…and I’ve kinda grown numb..and thankful that google was doing a good job of tossing others.

I see tons of scrapers…most with adsense on the top….some take sentences….some take paragraphs…some take whole pages….some take whole site….95% are done with computer scraping programs. A few will go in by hand and change the name of "We Build Pages" to "whatever SEO company" and replace the "Jim’s" with "whoever’s"….

I guess it’d be impossible to go after the scrapers (and 90% of scrapers are on subdomains of older domains….with adsense on top…and left…and bottom)….pray that the engines know which content they found first, and hope they supplemental the others…(and don’t get me going on how this will effect the current Supplemental issued going on for when they do come back).

The ones I take any action on are the ones where whole page were scraped….a few are people even have the balls to actually go in by hand and just replace the name of "We Build Pages" to "whatever SEO company" and replace the "Jim’s" with "Whoever’s". (My new wording on our homepage should make this harder for them (comments anyone?)).

It’s those people that I think I’ve got a shot at, and that I’d go after. To be honest I’ve only had to send them emails requesting the content be down in 24 hours or I’d involve my attorney and I’d be seeking damages. I’ve never had to grab my lawyer, and there’s no one burning in my mind who’s stole my content and still has it published….maybe I’ve been lucky so far.

At what point to you take steps if someone stole your content, and what steps would you take?

Jill Whalen, the SEO Queen, will be running a Search Marketing Seminar at the end of the month in the San Francisco area.

Why do I call Jill the SEO Queen you ask?

I’ve been reading Jills newsletters for years. She started Rank Write Roundtable with Heather Lloyd-Martin, back in June 2000, and then in 2002 she split off with her own newsletter - The High Rankings Advisor newsletter (see archive).

I remember when Jill moved on from ihelpyou forum and started her own High Rankings Forum in July of 2003.  And with a forum topic called "SEO No-No’s" you were sure to just be on the sane side of "white hat preaching" (Doug being "insane white".).

Today when I clicked "Todays most popular posters" I see Jill has already commented 26 times this morning…and it’s only 10:00am in the morning for her!….yea, ya know how women love to gab…hehe…I also see that there’s 126 usersonline at 10:00 am EST…not bad for and "off time"! It looks like the forum has been a major success as well!

Jill is also the author of The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines ($49). As well as she’s been an industry conference speaker at the SES conferences.

In 2002 I won a drawing that Jill was giving in her newsletter for a Free SES San Jose pass. That was a dream trip for me. I met Jill, Bruce, Larry, Sergey, Matt (in the days before he was mobbed), and several more people whom I highly looked up to. At that conference I sat front row center with my notepad in hand, and thought - Someday I want to be a speaker - that’s my goal. (achieved!).

Jills site at highrankings.com has also held some killer rankings over the years.  Yea, I think she’s the Queen of SEO.

Ah yes…..so here’s the News….Jill and High Rankings are having a Search Marketing Seminar at the end of the month in the San Francisco area.

Justilien reports that the speakers will be:
Jill Whalen, Scottie Claiborne, Karon Thackston, Christine Churchill, Matt Bailey and Diane Aull.

I’ve met and read some great works by Scottie, and Christine has been a friend for years.  Christine has written some fabulious articles as well (and from NetMechanic days) and runs Key Relevance among other SEO Projects.

Jill was nice eneough to offer my readers 25% off if you use the discount code of BOYKIN

Here’s the who, what, where and when:

The High RankingsR Search Engine Marketing Seminar
Thursday March 30 and Friday March 31, 2006
The Holiday Inn Walnut Creek, CA
Registration before March 15th is $1195.
After March 15th, it is $1395

The agenda and registration can be found here:
http://www.highrankings.com/seminar

I know it’s only been 3 days since I last posted on "Tons of sites going “Supplemental Results"- but I should post an update.

GoogleGuy has posted a few times in Webmasterworld in the thread called "Supplemental club- Big Daddy coming"

GoogleGuy jump in at message #160 with:

I’m happy to ask someone to check this out. Please send an email to sesnyc06 [at] gmail.com with specific domains and the keyword "gonesupplemental". I have a theory about this, which I’m asking the crawl/index guys to check out, but I’ll need 5-10 specific examples to check if my theory holds. If my guess is right, I’ll try to get the crawl/index folks to get things back to the previous behavior.

Then Google Guys Jumps in again at Message #195 with:

Based on the specifics everyone has sent (thank you, by the way), I’m pretty sure what the issue is. I’ll check with the crawl/indexing team to be sure though. Folks don’t need to send any more emails unless they really want to. It may take a week or so to sort this out and be sure, but I do expect these pages to come back to the main index.

This sounds like good news!

So yesterday I was chatting with a client, and he tells me that he’s really happy with his Google rankings…but feels he could do better in Yahoo. He then asks me if I could focus more on Yahoo.

I tell him that Yahoo just eats up big ole powerful sitewide links….but that Google doesn’t seem too keen on those types of links anymore. I then tell him that we should continue our current linking methods, and keep the focus on Google. His site ranks really good in Google, and OK in Yahoo - and I’ll take that.

Today I was reading a blog by a yahoo employee and saw a mention of a particular huge powerful site that I used to advertise on a few years ago, so I thought I’d check to see how the advertising is doing for those who are advertising there now….and man….people getting the sitewide links appear to be getting over 1.5 million backlinks and most are sitting at #1 in Yahoo for the phrase they’re targeting….most are new sites, and don’t do squat in Google (this site has the google PR block…and has for years)….but man oh man…look at Yahoo eat them links up and rank them sites at the top just on backlinks from this 1 site…..man, I miss when Google would eat that stuff up too. Don’t you?

Wanna know the secret to top Yahoo rankings? Buy huge sitewide links….but keep in mind, doing that might bite you in the ass with Google…..but then again, you’re choices with a new site are: 1. wait for several years to have a chance in Google. or #2 Aim for Yahoo with Huge Sitewide links and wait a few weeks.

…oh yea, and another thing about this site’s advertisors….most have Google adsense on the top of these pages….funny….Google block the PR and Value of the link….Yahoo doesn’t, and thus ranks the advertised sites at #1, and then Google pays them people $….. I’d say it’s a conspiracy….but sadly it’s not.

Don’t really see anyone chatting about it….not sure why…. but tons of sites have gone Supplemental in Google…all pages except the homepages.

Is this a BigDaddy Fluke? Anyone with ideas?

**update..found thread on webmasterworld discussing.

Sunday Night:

Kim Krause of Cre8pc and Cre8asite forums

Rand Fishkin (SEO Moz)

DaveN & Matt Cutts…Darth Vadar and Obi-Wan?

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Monday Morning

Barry Diller of IAC and Danny

Me and Barry Diller

Monday Night Ask.com Party

 

Jango Fett, Jeeves frozen in carbonite, and Stormtroopers

Brian of BOTW and Ask.com Chicks

Brett Tabke and Neuron

Ask chic and Chris Boggs

Jango Fett, Dave Carberry, and stormtroopers

Justilien, Brian, Tony, Amy

Lee Odden of Online Marketing Blog

Lee looks pretty happy here.

Frozen Jeeves

Me and AskGuy

Me, JenSense, Shoemoney

Tony Spencer (notsleepy)

Rand - and Party StormTrooper

I never knew I had a thing for Neon Red Hair until this party.

StormTroopers

I think she’s pinching George Werty’s butt.

DaveN and me

Tuesday Night:

(starting w/me going clickwise), Tony Spencer (notSleepy), Todd Malicoat (stuntdubl), Ekky Ashgar, Dani Horowitz, ?, Morgan Carey (SEO Guy), Rob Langfeld (dclick), Jay

Nacho Hernandez

Adam, David Ogletree, me, Paul (PMAC)

Wed AM:

Bill Slawski, Andy Hagans, Barry Schwartz (standing), me, Nick Wilson, Jay

Andy Hagans, Rand Fishkin, Nick Wilson

Wed Night:

Tony Wright of Kinetic Results

Morgan (SEO Guy), Botw Guy & Neuron

Aaron Wall - he could use a fashion designer.

What a Motley Crue!
Tony Wright, Chris Boggs, George, Greg Boser, Greg BOTW, Neuron

Anyone else have pictures posted?

Technorati Tags: sesny2006