Ok, so those of you that are regular visitors to Seounique may or may not have noticed a few blog changes happening. For those of you who are not aware of my changes:

• Added social bookmarking buttons after each post
• Added a contact page (roll on the spam)
• Added an advertise page to offer spots on my “Top Spots“
• Updated blogroll and included “Seo Blogs”

I hope all these features will help with the usability of the site and make performing actions that little bit easier. As to why I have started to add “Seo Blogs” to my blogroll is quite simple. Nothing in this world is free as many people know (not all) and I have a list of around 20 seo blogs I visit on a regular basis which part of me thinks I should link to. As much as I would like to send them over a little complementary link juice I just can’t justify it at this point. Although 2 sites that have given to the site in different ways will now be positioned on Seounique.

I will only be linking to SEM or SEO blogs as thats what my readers find interesting, so no gambling yada yada…

If you feel like you could offer something to the site (however little) and join in with my sometimes rambling discussions then let me know and you could see your link here.

I suppose it was inevitable at some point but yesterday afternoon my dedicated server was compromised and all 12 of my websites were disabled.

I thought about it long and hard whether or not to blog about it as I’m sure it happens to many people on a regular basis. At the time I was distraught, I thought that over 2 years of work had been erased at the click of a button!

Luckily my server had been backed up by my hosting company so it was a matter of contacting them and getting the problem fixed within minutes. It made me think however that some bloggers and website owners out there might not be as lucky as me. I for one will be taking extra measures in the future to make sure I never feel like I did for that short period of time on Sunday again.

1.    Make weekly backups of your files from FTP
2.    Backup your databases on a regular basis
3.    Increase server security with an advanced software firewall or hardware firewall
4.    If you experience a hack, change all server passwords
5.    Choose a hosting solution that includes backup, it costs under $10 per month and is worth it for piece of mind.

Heart attack over, and look forward to a new week of seoing!

Reports of a new Google Page Rank have hit the long seo shores already. Before everyone started with the blasphemy, I couldn’t care less if it is or not.

Page Rank thread on Digital Point today had at least 3 or 4 people based in North America reporting changes in different sites. Screenshots were provided for different sites and people were assured this wasn’t a bug issue. Like I mentioned I have no interest in PR, I think it’s dated and does not accurately represent a websites true rank for anything.

What I will say for anyone interested in PR (shame on you) is that before the last update in October 2007, there were reports of websites listed in different countries receiving an update before others. This could mean an update is on the way for certain people.

Before you start jumping for joy or begin preparation for a noose, just bare in mind that page rank holds very little weight on search engine rankings. You should always build and maintain a website for your customers and readers to provide them with the best online experience you can offer, the rest will come free!