Domain Age Checker

The guys over at WebConfs.com host a plethora of pages to plug in info and get the data you need. Unfortunately, while domain age matters, with older websites seen as more trustworthy by search engines and more difficult to knock out of the top ten search results for a keyword, their Domain Age Tool flat out lies. So bad, in fact, that it can be as much as 6-7 years off! Given the Internet only really started booming in the 90′s, that’s a huge margin.

Lucky for us, SEOLogs.com hosts a similar program that actually reports good estimates. Of course, if you want the best information, you can always look up the domain at www.whois.com.

Traffic Rankings

For years people heralded (and man still do) Alexa as the gold standard when it came to traffic rankings. When considering the ability to rank a page for a keyword, domain strength and popularity matter, the volume of inbound traffic matters. As a webmaster for multiple clients, I can easily cross-reference actual traffic and Alexa’s rankings. I can tell you with certainty that Alexa at times gave clients who received triple the traffic a lower score and position in comparison to clients who received substantially less traffic. It’s a faulty system that sometimes works and many a time does not. People need to stop promoting it and using it. The same goes for Compete.com.

Quantcastdoes much better, but that’s because it requires a script much like Google Analytics, and then can only serve people when comparing sites within it’s own circle. So unless Google releases it’s own Alexa, it’s a crapshoot trying to sort out rankings amongst these three resources. Google’s PageRank might be the only alternative, but with a range of 0-10, it’s hardly precise enough.

Keyword Generator

First off, do not buy a program to generate keywords for you. You know your market best, you know the lingo being used, you should build your own list and then branch out from there. Second, do not bother with Wordtracker’s Free Keyword Suggestion Tool. The tool only gives you data based on people who type words into the tool, not into search engines! You can guess that only people concerned about keywords then, not your actual market, would be feeding it information. Wordtracker does not even supply an ample list. For example, I typed in “SEO Tips” and it gave me three phrases “seo tips,” “free msn seo tips,” and “seo copywriting tips.” I don’t know which search engines they’re useful for, what my competition might be like, nothing.

Your best free option, straight from the source, would be Google’s AdWords: Keyword Tool. Originally designed for Adword campaigns, it uses search information directly from Google, directly from 67% people searching online, for it’s estimates. It tells you the monthly search volume, the current search volume, and how many competitors target the word (assuming businesses know their stuff, high competition means difficult to rank for due to high website usage of the term). It also lists many variations of the phrase, related phrases, and even slightly related phrases. It truly lets you know whether or not you’re wasting your time trying to rank for keyword phrases people rarely search for. It also lets you specify results by language and region and you can even get recommended terms pulled directly off websites. It’s awesome and the best keyword tool you’ll find!

Lastly, Don’t be a Tool Yourself!

There’s plenty of dishonesty and bad SEO practices going around. Don’t let some SEO specialist or consultant pull your chain and waste your money. If your gut starts giving you the signs and you don’t see any good results, it might be time for a second or even a third opinion! And remember, I’m always around for a bit of handholding too. Feel free to send a question my way!