Python Script for Creating an XML Sitemap with rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x”

Google specifies three scenarios for which rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x” is recommended:

  1. You translate only the template of your page, such as the navigation and footer, and keep the main content in a single language. This is common on pages that feature user-generated content, like a forum post.
  2. Your pages have broadly similar content within a single language, but the content has small regional variations. For example, you might have English-language content targeted at readers in the US, GB, and Ireland.
  3. Your site content is fully translated. For example, you have both German and English versions of each page.

via Google Webmaster Tools Help

Similarly, there are three means for which hreflang can be implemented. It can be tagged with the element within the section of each page, expressed through the http header for non-html files, or within your XML sitemap. There is an obvious advantage to applying it within an xml sitemap for enterprise level sites, like the ones I tend to work on. Typically, it is much easier to get an updated xml sitemap uploaded than to apply new tagging to a myriad of pages. However, even when applied within an XML sitemap, it can a be tedious process for large websites. I created a quick python script to help make that process a little bit easier.

hreflang python tool usage

This is script is designed for a website where the alternate language site has an equal number of pages to the primary language. For example, there are the same number of pages for en-uk and en-ca as there are for en-us.
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Leveraging Google+ as a Link Building & Outreach Engine

I’d like to direct my readers’ attention to a recent of post of mine published on Search Engine Journal, detailing the benefits of using Google+ as platform for conducting outreach and building links.

The post can be found at this link:
The Definitive Guide to Using Google+ for Building Links & Outreach


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Get “Natural” Anchor Text from Infographic Embed Codes using JavaScript

State of Infographics and SEO?

Infographics are an excellent part of a well-diversified content marketing arsenal, and although it should not be the sole reason for their creation, offer a great many SEO benefits to your website. In a 2012 interview with Eric Enge, Matt Cutts, Google’s head of webspam, went on foray about infographics:

“There are ways that infographics can be created and that represent an OK form of promotion […] I would not be surprised if at some point in the future we did not start to discount these infographic-type links to a degree. The link is often embedded in the infographic in a way that people don’t realize, vs. a true endorsement of your site.”

Needless to say, the interview made people second guess the SEO value of infographics. Matt Cutts’ statement however, isn’t all that bad and shouldn’t be perceived as an omen that spells the imminent demise of clever data visualization. It can also be interpreted as an affirmation that a correctly managed (non-spammy) infographic campaign will continue to be effective in the future, even if only with a slightly discounted link value. Continue reading