Mediaboss Marketing

There was a time when webmaster would issue a press release and instantly saw improvement on their site`s ranking in search. Is this still the case now? We are interesting to find out.

Few months ago Google updated webmaster guidelines to note that backlinks from content distribution should be nofollowed to not be seen manipulative of Page Rank. Unfortunately, this means backlinks from press releases will have to all be nofollowed to stay within guidelines. PRWeb is quick to the action by nofollowing all their links to the extent that even a release published on PRWeb.com is now nofollowed, negating all possible SEO benefits. Few other distributors followed.

Daniel Tan, SEOPressor founder did a test by linking a press release distributed by MarketersMedia back to Matt Cutt`s blog (Matt Cutts is the head of Google`s web spam team), anchored on the word "leasreepressmm". He would expect Matt Cutt`s blog to rank from nowhere to first page of Google and indeed, it worked. Read the full case study here.

As of today, Matt Cutt`s blog still ranks within the first page result forleasreepressmm. If Google had indeed implemented an algorithm to devalue links from press releases, this would not have happened. There is also a possiblity that the site is ranked due to co-citation, a condition that every timeleasreepressmm is mentioned, Matt Cutt`s blog is also mentioned.

Expert survey carried out by Moz showed the opinion that links are still the most influential ranking factor. In a recent video, Matt Cutts said it again that Google cares about the links of a site.

(Video:http://youtu.be/M7glS_ehpGY)

At least for now, successful SEO agencies are hunting and locking in on quality content providers and distribution services that do not overly apply nofollow to links from their content. They are also eagerly looking for link potential on popular and branded websites. Some webmasters argue that content distribution is not always for it`s link, but many times for the audience it can reach. Content distribution has always been a key strategy to brands wanting to reach their ideal audiences.

Panda and Penguin updates have quite successfully reduced webspam and raised the awareness of developing quality content that people will like to link to. However, quality content is definitely not all the answer to high ranking. If link continue to be the most influential factor in search, link builders and search engine agencies will have to up their game and skillsets in acquiring high quality links from high quality sites, making SEO more difficult to the average webmasters.

- Josh Lennis, MarketersMedia.com

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Backlink from Press Release Still Works, Link is Still The Most Influential Search Ranking Factor

Nesrine Malik

Allah means God, unless you are a non-Muslim Malaysian, in which case you have to find another word.

After a recent court ruling in the country, Allah can now be used only to refer to the Muslim God, and non-Muslims (mainly the Malaysian Christian Catholic community and press) have been banned from using it.

It is a decision that has inflamed opinion among minority religions and disheartened Muslims.

Apart from all the practical implications of this (re-printing Bibles and so on), there are other intangible but more heartfelt grievances.

At first glance it looks like a petty scuffle over semantics, but the roots of the dispute go deep into the issue of national identity.

The ruling was flimsily justified by the risk of conversion. Announcing the change, the judge said: It is my judgment that the possible and most probable threat to Islam, in the context of this country, is the propagation of other religions to the followers of Islam.

But the ban is less about religion than about putting non-Malay minorities in their place, subordinating their status to that of Muslims, the majority population.

The issue is made more complex by the fact that Allah is an Arabic loan-word and, when imported into other languages, can come to be thought of as a proper noun.

On my first day at a British school, a teacher going around the class and asked us what our respective non-Christian gods were called. When I floundered, she exasperatedly told me that my god was called Allah, and I couldnt quite explain to her why that felt wrong.

Originally posted here:
The Malaysian “Allah” ban is about putting minorities in their place

A Malaysian court's ruled that a Catholic newspaper cannot publish the word "Allah."

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A Malaysian court's ruling that a Catholic newspaper cannot publish the word "Allah" was more about politics than religion, according to several news accounts of the controversial decision.

"Allah" is the Arabic word for God and reportedly has been used for centuries in the Malay language to refer to God. "But the Malaysian government insists that 'Allah' should be exclusively reserved for Muslims because of concerns its use by others would confuse Muslims and could be used to convert them," the Associated Press reported.

The unanimous decision Monday by three Muslim judges in Malaysia's appeals court upheld that ban and overturned a 2009 ruling by a lower court that had allowed the Malay-language version of the newspaper, The Herald, to use the word Allah, according to Reuters.

"The decision was intended to protect Islam, the countrys official religion, from conversions," The New York Times reported.

It is my judgment that the most possible and probable threat to Islam, in the context of this country, is the propagation of other religions to the followers of Islam, the chief judge, Mohamed Apandi Ali, said in the decision, according to the news website Malaysiakini, the Times report stated.

But news accounts also noted political tensions between Malaysia's Muslim majority and minority Christian, Hindu and other faiths. AP reported that the lower court decision sparked a string of arson attacks and vandalism at Malaysian churches and other places of worship.

"The decision coincides with heightened ethnic and religious tension in Malaysia after a polarizing May election, in which the long-ruling coalition was deserted by urban voters that included a large section of minority ethnic Chinese," according to Reuters. "In recent months, Prime Minister Najib Razak has sought to consolidate his support among majority ethnic Malays, who are Muslim by law, and secure the backing of traditionalists ahead of a crucial ruling party assembly this month."

Continued here:
Non-Muslims banned from using the term 'Allah' in Malaysia

(Daily Express) - The word "Allah" can be used in a proper manner by anyone with good intentions, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said even as a row between Christians and Muslims over its use continued following Monday's Court of Appeal ruling which bars a Catholic newspaper from using it to describe God in in its Bahasa Malaysia newspaper.

Referring to the view of international Islamic scholar Yusuf Qardawi, Anwar said there were no prohibitions against the use of "Allah" if it is used in a proper manner and with good intentions.

"Now that the courts have decided, I would like to appeal to all to maintain their calm and not to allow religious zealots to further exploit this issue," he said in a press conference after visiting several mosques here.

Anwar said he believed that the whole issue would be exploited by Umno to make it look like it was defending the dignity of Muslims.

"If we look behind all these from the point of Islamic laws, it is not right to politicise this issue at all," he said.

The Permatang Pauh MP urged the public to respect the right to appeal against the recent decision by the Court of Appeal to quash an earlier High Court decision that had allowed the use of "Allah".

Anwar pointed out that even the Prophet Muhammad's father was named Abdullah which meant "a servant of Allah" even before the existence of Islam.

The PKR de facto leader said he understands why some Muslims are worried that Christians are using the word "Allah" to intentionally confuse Muslims.

"They have been misled by Umno into thinking that this is a ploy by Christians to convert Muslims so it is now our duty to explain to Muslims that it is not so," he said.

Originally posted here:
Anwar: Allah can be used with good intentions by non-Muslims

BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH October 17, 2013

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) maintained its stand today that non-Muslims can refer to God as Allah, despite the Court of Appeals Monday ruling that banned the Catholic weekly, Herald, from using the word.

"We remain consistent with what we said earlier," said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) at a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Tropicana today. Also present were DAPs Lim Kit Siang and Datuk Mustafa Ali from PAS.

The opposition pact had in January this year said they supported the non-Muslims' use of the word Allah in their publications and worship.

"We ask everyone to remain calm while waiting for the judiciary process to continue and the appeal to happen," Anwar said.

Anwar had previously said that Allah can be used by anyone as long as it was used in a proper manner and with good intentions.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had also maintained that there was nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the term in their faiths provided it was not misused or misinterpreted.

On Monday, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal reversed a High Court ruling allowing Catholic weekly Herald to use the word Allah. It reasoned that the word was not an integral part of the Christian faith and practice.

Anwar criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's silence on the issue, noting that it reflected on his "poor" style of leadership.

The PM never seems to be around for this issue so I think it reflects on poor leadership in this country. The country is like running on auto-pilot," he said.

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