How to Increase Google's Crawl Frequency

Google Crawl Bot

I was a part of a much anticipated website redesign and relaunch recently. I fervently monitored post launch metrics, page crawl rate, 404s, indexed pages, and so on as any other anxious SEO professional would do.
While reviewing the pages crawled per day in Google Webmaster Tools, I noticed that out of the gate we had an instant crawl of nearly all site pages.


I passed this on to the client for which I got the quick reply of, “Why is it crawling more pages now than it used to crawl?"


Seeing this reminded me yet again of all the reasons why sound SEO practices on-site can help aid in crawl frequency enhancement.


(Note: Ideal page count is around 500 pages, some duplicate pages were quickly indexed and then roboted.)

Pages crawled per day

Through the redesign, we enacted several SEO elements, which have helped to allow and some instance entice crawling bots to frequent the site more often…and more pages at that. Let's examine how those elements increased Google's crawl frequency.

Why You Should Care About Crawl Frequency

SEO, to many, hinges upon attaining enhanced visibility for highly searched terms as well as referring this traffic to their sites. Taking our blinders off for a moment, there are a few things we have to remember.
We want to rank many pages on a site, not just the homepage. Additionally, we're actively making changes to our sites and we want bots to see this as quickly as possible and as deep within the site as possible.

 

Redesign/Site Migration or Not, No Excuses

As mentioned above the redesign effort did a good job of lending to the opportunity to enhance crawl frequency as so many good SEO changes were taking place at once. Additionally, so much more new content and refreshed content drives the bots nuts giving them so much more to want to peruse on the site, thanks Google Caffeine!

For many out there, you can’t enjoy the opportunity of creating a full scale redesign, platform change, and SEO overhaul of a site all at once. If this is you, then the list below is a working order of all the standard SEO practices you can work on to improve crawl frequency on your site.

 

Get ’em on the Site

• Run a DNS check, Ping and Traceroute check of the site to assess if there are any issues with site pages loading with regard to connectivity or any other server issues. Can the bots even access your pages?
• Run a page load speed report of your 10 most important pages to review how fast your pages are loading. Crawlers lack patience. Are you asking too much of them?
• Utilize parameter-free static/clean URLs on the site. Bots have long had issues with parameter crawling. Yes, they can often see their way through these now, but why not make it easier for them to crawl the site?

 

Hand Them the Keys to the Site

• Review your robots.txt file as well as your usage of meta robots tags. What pages are holding from them?
• Have an XML sitemap as well as HTML sitemap.
• Enlist supplemental navigation on-site (i.e., footer navigation, breadcrumb navigation, and relevant internal linking in copy). Create pathways to make a site easy to crawl.
• Fix internal links resulting in 404 errors as well as ensuring that external links open in new windows. You don’t want to stop the crawl and you don’t want to usher them away.

 

Entice & Lure Them

Generate fresh content! This may be the most important point in the checklist.

Give them a reason to feel they should come back on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean you need new content site-wide every month, but it does mean refreshing existing content on a quarterly basis and maintaining site sections – news, blog, etc. –that have continuously added content onto the domain.
Generate links and social citations to your site. This can be a large scale task in itself. Think of it this way: the more links you have out on the web, the greater your chances are of attracting crawling bots. Think of links as portals into your site.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many components that aid in enhancing your bot crawl frequency and depth of crawl. These are also many of the foundational elements of SEO. This helps to reinforce that crawl frequency, is after all, a very important aspect of SEO itself.

Adhere to these recommendations and you will have a better optimized site and hopefully see an enhanced bot crawl rate.

Nintendo Hopes Its New Wii Will Appeal To U

The new Wii U console could let Nintendo shrug off its casual gamer image and enhance its appeal among core players.

Handheld device as primary device

The handheld device can be used as the primary controller

Nintendo aims to recapture the core gamer market with its new Wii U console

Nintendo is gearing up to launch its new Wii U video games console - and aims to address the shortcomings of the original device.

The Wii U is the first entry in the eighth generation of video game home consoles and delivers HD graphics and a 6.2-inch touchscreen controller.

Nintendo deliberately targeted the casual market with its original Wii.

Game designer and producer Shigero Miyamoto, the man behind the Mario and Zelda games, admitted this decision meant the Wii was not seen as a direct competitor to its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 rivals.
The Wii had inferior graphics, but the new Wii U pushes the resolution up to 1020p on high definition TVs and monitors which support this display.

But the most radical innovation is the tablet-style controller, an attempt to mix traditional console gaming with the ever-more-popular casual touchscreen gaming of iPads and other tablets.

The Wii U can be used with a big HD screen - and its own inbuilt screen

The controller, which features its own screen, can be used either to enhance the big screen gaming experience or as a standalone handheld device.

"What we're layering on are all types of new unique experiences," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

"Sure you'll be able to use the touchpad just from a touch perspective, but there will be a lot more activity that we'll be able to bring.

"For example, this device has near-field communication technology. So that brings a whole new level of interaction and different things that can be done beyond what you can do today with a tablet.
"But really the key part of this is that it's all one integrated system. So what you can do on the big screen and what you can do on the smaller screen.

"It's all connected, versus right now those are very separate experiences that aren't talking to each other."
Over the summer at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Nintendo illustrated how New Super Mario Bros. U could be played on either a TV or the touchscreen controller.

The Wii U lets up to five people play together (Nintendo)

The latest instalment in the brick-smashing, coin-collecting franchise lets up to four people play simultaneously with traditional controllers, while another can join in with the touchscreen controller to jab enemies and build platforms.

New Super Mario Bros. U and another title called NintendoLand demonstrate what Nintendo calls "asymmetric gameplay" - where a group of people playing together are having very different play experiences on a single game.

And after taking on board criticism of the original Wii's awkward online system, Nintendo has boosted the new console's connected capabilities.

"The system will know when you're playing with your user account - everything that you've played in the past, what your preferences are," said Mr Fils-Aime.

"So it will truly be an experience unique to you. Versus if your wife or your children want different experiences, they really are tailored for each particular consumer.

The Wii U is scheduled to be released on Saturday in North America, November 30 in Europe and Australia, and December 8 in Japan.

Smart bombs

Smart Bombs for Smart Phones

Vital utilities for work, rest and play - available on the AppStore.

1. KORG iKaossilator (£13.99)
Ever scoffed at Kraftwerk? KORG iKaossilator lets you put your money where your mouth is. Tap the screen to squeeze
loops through filters and effects, mixing over 150 built-in sounds.
Click here to download this app for iPad.
Click here to download this app for iPhone.

2. Cardiio (£2.99)
Your pulse is a key fitness indicator, but can be hard to measure. Cue Cardiio, the new sports tool that monitors your heartbeat by detecting the changing colours of the light reflected off your face via the phone's front camera.
Click here to download this app for iPhone.

3. Fluid Football (Free)
Run your own team, determining big-picture strategy and in-match manoeuvres, with this next-gen football game. Just try to avoid losing six months of your life to it, like you did with Championship Manager all those years ago...
Click here to download this app for iPad.
Click here to download this app for iPhone.

4. Divided Bill Splitter (£0.69)
Indulging in "bistronomics" is an unfitting end to an evening out. This app calculates exactly how much everyone owes, taking into account individual orders, so you'll never suffer the embarrassment of underpaying again.
Click here to download this app for iPhone.

5. Unlike City Guide (Free)
Travel guides are not only a drag to schlep around but they're also quickly out of date. Unlike City Guide recommends premium locations directly on your handset, and allows you to share your own tips across the globe.
Click here to download this app for iPhone.

Colorware blasts your retinas with custom iPhone 5 colours

Colorware for iPhone 5

Colorware continues its tradition of beautifying (or uglifiying) devices by announcing that the iPhone 5 can now receive its special paint job treatment.

For US$1700, you can use your own black or white 64GB iPhone 5 as a blank canvas, with options to change the colour of the home button, SIM tray, rear backplate and the top and bottom rear glass segments.

Colorware for iPhone 5

We've whipped up two versions, a hideous sense-destroying mess which needs to be set on fire, and a sleek and simple red and white Stuff-inspired affair. We'll let you guess which is which...

Microsoft releases Windows 8

Microsoft today announced the global availability of Windows 8. Beginning Friday, Oct. 26, consumers and businesses worldwide will be able to experience all that Windows 8 has to offer, including a new user interface and a wide range of applications with the grand opening of the Windows Store.

Windows 8 Pro

As a result of close work with hardware partners, more than 1,000 certified PCs and tablets, including Microsoft Surface, will be available for the launch of Windows 8 — making it the best lineup of PCs ever across the Windows 8 and Windows RT ecosystem.

“We have reimagined Windows and the result is a stunning lineup of new PCs,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Windows 8 brings together the best of the PC and the tablet. It works perfect for work and play and it is alive with your world. Every one of our customers will find a PC that they will absolutely love.”

Launching at the same time is a new member of the Windows family — Windows RT — designed for ARM-based tablets and available pre-installed on new devices. In addition to Microsoft Office 2013, Windows RT is designed exclusively for apps in the new Windows Store.

Windows 8 features the new Start screen that gives people one-click access to the apps and content they care most about. It also features an entirely new Internet Explorer 10 that is perfect for touch, and built-in cloud capabilities with SkyDrive.

Windodws 8 Pro Metro Screen

Windows 8 will be available for download to upgrade existing PCs in more than 140 markets and 37 languages beginning at 12:01 a.m. local time and at retail locations around the world. At retail, Windows 8 will be available in two primary versions — Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro — as well as Windows 8 Enterprise for large organizations.

Windows 8 can be purchased in a variety of ways from the retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy and Staples in the U.S., Casas Bahia in Brazil, Future Shop and Staples in Canada, Suning in China, Media Markt across Europe, FNAC in France, Yamada in Japan, Telmex in Mexico, Dixons in the U.K., and many more, which will feature a variety of offers for customers looking for great deals on Windows 8 PCs, devices and software.

In addition to the range of new Windows-based devices available, consumers can also upgrade their existing PCs. Through the end of January, consumers currently running PCs with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 are qualified to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for US$39.99.

Eligible Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012, and Jan. 31, 2013, in more than 140 markets can download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for an estimated retail price of US$14.99 with the Windows Upgrade Offer.

How to increase traffic to your website for free?

Why Advertise

Really the answer to that question is simple. You have to Advertise, Advertise, Advertise...

Of course, you can always hire people to advertise for you, if only you had ton of money, which we usually don't. But I will teach you "How to increase traffic to your website for free?"

It is easy and simple.

A lot of people think that getting visitors to their website is very hard, it takes a lots of time and end up wasting a lots of money. In some ways its true, but if you know how to work the Internet, then you can still get ton of free traffic and only spent maybe an hour or less once a month.

How to increase traffic to your website for free?

• HTML tags - Spend some time to learn HTML tags. It's very easy. Your webpage or website is nothing more than hypertext markup language tags or HTML. Your web browser knows what to do with these tags when you open your webpage files. As far as search engine optimization (SEO) goes, there are only few tags you should really be concerned with.
• Title Tag -Title tag is one of the most important (and easiest) SEO facets of your website. The HTML title should set the overall theme of that page. Each page within your website should have an unique HTML title. Think of a HTML title as the top of the outline for that particular website page. It should be descriptive and must contain your top keyword phrases.
• ALT tag - it stands for alternative. Alt tag or attribute is used in conjunction with image (IMG) tag. The alt attribute provides alternative information for an image if a user for some reason cannot view it (because of slow connection, an error in the src attribute, or if the user uses a screen reader). But it is not only used by your browser to display words in place of an image also search engines scan these alt tag words as keywords. So, when people search for these words in a search engine, your website is likely to be listed in the search result page.
• Meta Tag - is also know as metadata. Metadata is data (information) about data. The <meta> tag provides metadata about the HTML document. Metadata will not be displayed on the page, but will be machine parsable. Meta elements are typically used to specify page description, keywords, author of the document, last modified, and other metadata. The metadata can be used by browsers (how to display content or reload page), search engines (keywords), or other web services.

• Picture - When we visit a webpage or website, you will notice that almost always it will have some sort of image embedded somewhere within its page. It is not a coincidence that people are embedding or placing images in their website. Search Engines are not just website with search box anymore. You can search for a websites or images or videos by entering their name. That means search engine bots like GoogleBot or website crawler will take note and index your images from within your web server. So, having an image in your website or webpage increases your chance of being found on the Internet. In fact, you can go one step further when it comes to using image on your website. Remember I mentioned ALT tag for image above. Well, search engines love this attribute as well. It will index your images along with your alt text. Thus, it further helps to be found on the Internet. On one of my blog I have a picture of an American flag with alt text "American flag" for it and I have noticed that just from that image alone I have been getting 1000's of hits according to my web stat.

• Videos - Need I explain what they are? Since the days of Google Videos, we have come to accept videos as an expected feature of every websites or webpage. Having your website video posted on the internet or linking to a video from the internet on your website is one more ways you can gain traffic to your website(s). In fact, you should have videos for all of your website(s) if you have more than one. As in the case of Youtube.com, you can post your video with your website information back to your site. The more interesting your video is the more hits you will have on Youtube and thus more chance people are going to visit your website. I have a website that serves online flash games. Guess what, I've made videos for each and every flash games (over 100) I have on my website and they are all posted on Youtube.com and elsewhere. Not only are these videos are being served to the world by Youtube on your behalf but they are also being picked up and linked to your videos by other websites serving similar content. So, then the real question is "How do you create videos?" 
• On Windows operating system (OS), if you are not too crazy or picky on what programs to use for your video creation, then the simplest and the easiest program for creating video is Movie Maker. Besides it comes with your operating system already. If not, then you need to download it at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/get-movie-maker-download. So, you don't need to purchase anything. If you are worried about not having any content to create your video with, then you shouldn't be because you can still create video without anything but animated texts or if you have bunch of pictures on your hardrive that you don't care if the world sees it you can use that to make your video.
• Run your Movie Maker on your Windows OS.
• If you want to import videos or pictures or music from your hardrive to Movie Maker, click on the appropriate commands to the left.
• Then, you should see a time line below for video, audio and titles.
• Assuming you don't have anything to create your video with, you can just create clips with texts on it that's all. Say for instance, title could say, "How to increase traffic to your website for free?"
• Then, stretch the clip to desired length of time and you title.
• Now, test run your video right from within your Movie Maker. You probably noticed that the Movie Maker has a lot of other features. They are there to make your video more fancier like transformation, etc. You can spend a lot of time doing that. That's up to you.
• At this point, you probably didn't hear any music or sound from your video when you played it. That means you need to add music or audio file to your video. Now, this is optional. If you are going to post this video on Youtube.com, then you don't need to have your own music in your video. That's because once you upload your video on Youtube, they you give you thousands of music or audio files you can apply to your videos. These music according to Youtube is free for you to use.
• After you are satisfied with your video, title and musics, you can "Save Movie File" option from your main file pull-down menu. It will prompt you to enter name for the video and location. Once you finish, it will be saved into your hardrive.
• Now, you can upload your video to Youtube or similar websites.
• Once you upload, you will have to make sure on those website you leave or post your direct URL or link back to your website. After that you are done.

• Article Directories - another easy way to increase traffic to your website is by simply writing article about your website or related contents and posting them on article directories like Ezine. This website hosts many articles written by people just like you on many subjects. You will notice that at the end of each and every articles there is information about the author and any of their website information. Well, this is how it works. Once you finish writing your article, you will submit it to article directories. If your article is very popular and a lot of people like it, then they are allowed to download your article and post it on their website exactly as you posted it with all of your information including author information (YOU). In a matter of days you could have 100s if not 1000s of traffic. Again, you have to write something interesting and popular that's related to your website that you are trying to promote. I will list number of popular article directories.
• Ezine.com
• GoArticles.com
• ArticleCity.com

• Submitting to major search engines MONTLY- I am sure you are saying to yourself, "Obviously." However, some people tend to think once they submit their website to the major search engines for the FIRST TIME they are done. WRONG! It is highly recommended that you submit your website to the search engine once a month. Even though some search engine do crawl websites on a routine basis, it is not guaranteed that they will get to your website this month or the next or even month after the last. I do this all the time. Granted I don't remember to do it every month, but I made it a habit to do it. Plus, I have a reminder on my desktop that lets me know once a month to submit my website to the search engines. Submitting tells the search engine to schedule a date for crawling your website - usually within weeks. Does this help to bring traffic? You betcha. Because every time a search engine visits your website, it will look for any new contents or changes to your website and if you did add or update contents, it will make notes and index them on the search engine. I usually use websites where you can just enter your website information and click the submit button. Then, it goes out and submits to all the available major search engines. Important note: Don't submit the same website twice within a month. If you do, there is a good chance your website might get banned from their server. However, most of them all accept once a month submission.

• Link Exchange - I have heard that exchanging links on the Internet is not accepted form of practice for the purpose of increasing your website traffic. On the contrary, it is one of the major ways in which one can bring ton and ton of traffics to their website. Sure, Google search engine may have changed their search algorithm to counteract against link exchange, but your site linked to 100s of other websites serving similar content is not only going to bring you more traffic but also make your website more popular such that your website Rank on the Internet will go up i.e. Google Page Rank, Alexa Rating, etc. I try my best to exchange link with some website everyday. "How to exchange links?" 
• Link Exchange Directories
• LinkMarket.net
• AutomaticBacklinks.com
• Posting or reviewing comments on blogs or message board with your site information as part of your signature. 

• Social Networking - That's right. The more places on the Internet you advertise your website on the more traffic you are going to get. Plus, social networking on the Internet is Free. Why not advertise your website on these websites like on FaceBook.com, Myspace.com, etc. All of my websites have facebook page.

 

• Content - Last but not least, all these techniques are for nothing, if you don't have real contents to serve to the world. If your website is all about cookies, then any and all information should be about cookies and there should be lots of it and new or updated contents every so often. Again, content is the key. Also, you should make sure that your content has popular keywords. So, that when people actually search for cookie related information or content, your webpages show up in the search result hopefully on the first page.

So, there you have it. If you follow these techniques, you are sure to get tons of traffic to your website in no time all for FREE.

Amazon apparently discontinues Kindle Touch in favor of Paperwhite

Amazon has apparently discontinued the Kindle Touch, which started at $99, in favor of the new Kindle Paperwhite, which starts at $119 and is still experiencing 4- to 6-week shipping delays. The company also discontinued the 9.7″ Kindle DX this month.

Amazon Kindle Touch

It appears that Amazon is no longer selling the Kindle Touch, the touchscreen e-reader that preceded the front-lit Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon also seems to have discontinued the large-screen Kindle DX last week.
I’ve asked the company for comment, but the Kindle Touch’s product page lists it as “currently unavailable,” and a link points to “a newer model of this item,” the Kindle Paperwhite. The Touch is also no longer shown in Amazon’s Kindle lineup.



The change leaves consumers who want a Kindle right now with limited options. The Kindle Paperwhite has been sold out since early October and its product page still says it won’t ship for four to six weeks. The bare-bones, non-touchscreen Kindle, $69 with ads and $89 without, is available, as is the old Kindle Keyboard, $139 with 3G and ads.

It seems Amazon considers the front-lit Kindle Paperwhite the new normal — that there is no reason you’d choose an e-reader without a light over one with a light. But the Paperwhite with ads, at $119, is $20 more expensive than the Touch with ads, likely due to the inclusion of a capacitive touchscreen; the old model uses infrared sensors to “see” a touch. (The Paperwhite also has a higher-resolution screen.)

The Paperwhite and Touch are also not completely identical in other ways: As Amazon notes in a special disclaimer page through a link on the Kindle Paperwhite’s product page, the Paperwhite doesn’t have audio or text-to-speech and has 2 GB of storage rather than the 4 GB on the Touch. In addition, the company notes that “under certain lighting conditions, the illumination at the bottom of the screen from the built-in light is not perfectly even.” (I didn’t have a problem with this when I tested the Paperwhite, but I only tested it for a week.)

In the UK, the Kindle Touch is only available through Amazon’s retail partners, like Tesco. The same may be true in the U.S.