Google

• Show PDF files in your page

  Did you ever needed to show a content of a PDF file in your Joomla page? No, I don't mean link it to be downloadable, but actually show it!

  Until recently the only way to do it was DocMan, with a specialized plugin capable to show preview of the PDF files available for download. Was a solution... but to show one or two files was an overkill. Recently I had this problem again, and invested  a serious amount of time to find this marvel:

• Sitemap in robots.txt

  Are you a SEO-conscioncious webmaster? Of course, you are!

  And you already have a nice, standards-compliant XML sitemap! Congrats! (Maybe you used a Joomla component to generate it on the fly - Brilliant!) You even had submitted it to the Google! Great! And you think you can enjoy from now that well-deserved pina colada, right? Hold on, you have some important tasks to do!

• Stopping Google from indexing e-mail links

  Recently one of my clients - who are still believing in "Page Rank Sculpting" whatever this may mean - asked me to stop Google from indexing some of links Joomla generates. Most of them are easy to "patch", using various tools (sh404SEF, Marco's nofollow plugin), the most problematic one (for me, of course) was the E-mail this button on the top of the article.

• The pharma hack

  The Paharma Hack (or Blackhat SEO Spam Hack) is a very elaborated hack wich is often unobserved for the regular visitors - and website owners - because does an ingenious trick: present a different version of your site for the searchengine bots. The site, for a long period of time looks and behaves normally for the regular visitors. This attack is very interesting because it is not visible to the normal user and the spam (generally about Viagra, Nexium, Cialis, etc) only shows up if the user agent is from Google’s crawler (googlebot). Also, the infection is a bit tricky to remove and if not done properly will keep reappearing. It's one of nastiest hacks you might have. We recommend hiring a specialist to remove it, because generally the infection reappears in no time after the site is "cleaned".

• The site name/title

  There is a setting in the Joomla site configuration, which is often overlooked or used to hold allmost nothing, in best case the URL of the site, the Site Name. You're asked during the install to fill the respective field, and you generally have no clue what to write in that box.

  So, what's wrong with that? The site is working, regardless what you wrote there...

  You may think one can wrote here anything crosses his mind, right?

• The ten commandements of SEO for beginners

  Why don't have Joomla in the title of tis article? Simply because these are the basics, the cornerstone stuff any webmaster must learn and respect. If you want a successful site, you must follow these Ten Commandements.

• To SEF ot not to SEF - is this a question?

  I'm joking, of course, but this is a real issue - from SEO perspective is a "to be, or not to be" type of question. To have some humanly readable URL's is key for your SEO success these days. And if Google and/or Bing does not loves you.... you are on the "not to be" side.

• What you should NOT do for a good SEO?

  Everybody tells you to do this and do that for SEO, and SEO companies can be very aggressive on their offerings - and misleading on free advices... But nobody really telling you what you should avoid when you want to increase your site's chances to be rank high on major search engines. And more important, nobody is telling you, that search-engine robots are getting smarter with every new release, they are harder to be fooled, and better mimicking/anticipating the real Internet user's behaviors/preferences. Having these in mind, let's enumerate a few bad ideas, known traps weekend webmasters often falling into:

• When searchengine robots are hammering your site...

  SEO is good. SEO is great. Making search-engine spiders visiting your site is even better! Or not??? Recently one of my client has complained, that he was almost banned from one host, because the search-engine bots where "hammering" - read overloading - the server. Ouch...

• Where is Yoda Professor?

  

  PATIENCE YOU MUST HAVE my young padawan

  Worry, do not, there Yoda Professor is! His old identity just hiding behind. Dark force - Google Authorship - to blame is.

  But still with you, the Force is! Browse around, young padawan, and you need find the help!

  In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.

  If you end your training now — if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did — you will become an agent of evil. You must unlearn what you have learned. You will find only what you bring in.

  Always pass on what you have learned.

  You will know when you are calm, at peace. Passive. A (Jedi) Joomler uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

  May the Force be with you.

   

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