Welcome to the Joomla SEO Club and Book

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a new SEF extension called SerrBizSEF from Serr.biz.

I pointed out some holes I saw in their component and business model. They were kind enough to answer, replying several times in the comments section. Today they posted an extra long and detailed response including several juicy tidbits of news about their new component.

Especially after yesterdays post about bad news ranking well and good news disappearing, I felt it was fair to post their response as prominently as the initial criticisms. Here it is in full:

SerrBizSEF Developer Response

"Regarding auto mapping, we have created SerrBizSEF to do the following. Once an SEF is created for a content item, any future internal (dynamic) urls that are created are AUTOMAPPED to ONE sef. So, lets say I create an item in section called "widgets", a category called "green" and titled the item "small". The resulting SEF would be /widgets/green/small.html.

Now, let's say you add this item to Frontpage, Latest news, and News flash. Joomla wants to create 3 different dynamic urls plus the original. When SerrBizSEF is active, only ONE SEF is shown no matter how you navigate to the item.

Additionally, you can easily change which dynamic URL is the one SerrBizSEF should use. By default, SerrBizSEF will use the section/category/title url.

As you know, OpenSEF would make different SEF's for each and trying to define which internal url to use quickly became an endless nightmare. We have worked hard to make the management of this as simple as possible.

Comparing ourselves to OpenSEF, we think this is a huge advantage and the pros are obvious.

Comparing ourselves to SEF Advance, we find our install much easier as you don't need IconCube, which can be a bit of a pain in the butt for non geeks. Heck, it can even be a pain for geeks. That's one plus. More importantly, our system makes, in our opinion, better SEFS. SEF Advance urls look like a path to folder, not a file

/widgets/green/small/
Vs ours
/widgets/green/small.html

Another point of comparison is price. We have decided to launch the basic product FREE through December 1 2007. All people need to do is register and download the product and install. (Official Launch Sept 1.)

Upgrade for 3rd party extensions are tentatively priced at $24.95, which includes 5 priority support tickets.

As a bonus, anyone using SerrBizSEF can be added to a new section on Serr.biz. This will help their SEO link popularity. Details are here:

http://www.serr.biz/emarketing-services/serrbizsef-user-profiles.html

Comparing ourselves to sh404SEF, we have not used that component. However, the information on the site is not very detailed and didn't excite us. Lack of detailed documentation annoys us greatly. Plus, it's purely a FREE product and might disappear like OpenSEF at some point. We wanted control and good documentation, so we made our own component. We have not launched yet, but already we have a long list of help topics, tricks and tips.

View here: http://www.se...tion/joomla-seo-serrbizsef.html

Another aspect of the SerBizSEF is that it comes bundled with a Social Bookmark module. This module serves two functions. It assures that all words in title and meta are in the body copy, which is good SEO. Also, it helps promote a users site by allowing visitors to bookmark their users site in the popular social bookmark sites. This too is good seo.

As for SEF_EXT, we decided NOT to use the SEF_EXT format. For speed we serialize the rules we create and to assure quality of code. At a later time we may use sef_ext, but for now we do not.

As for other comparisons, we look forward to the launch and making SerBizSEF a most excellent SEF component. All suggestions and recommendation will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, real quick, one thing we think is very important is our SEO knowledge and skill outside of Joomla. We have been in this trade for over 8 years. We come to the table with SEO EYES first, and JOOMLA second. We think this is a huge advantage for anyone using our products and services. When you work with Serr.biz, you get practical knowledge based on solid results in a wide array of industries and platforms."

Comments (16)

...
written by Brian Teeman, August 29, 2007

Thanks for sharing this most informative read. Especially as I am currently in the process of evaluating all the current SEF options for a new social networking and community site I am advising on.

After reading this I will definitely be holding of making a decision until after the release of SerrBizSEF so that I can evaluate this as well.

My biggest concern when evaluating any of the options is the flexibility in handling non-core components and the generation of HEF urls as well as SEF urls.

(Human Ear Friendly)

Was This Free Advertising
written by Les, August 30, 2007

Informative... But it sure seemed like a very long ad to me. I guess the proof will be in the proverbial pudding.

Misinformation
written by Emir Sakic, August 30, 2007

The part about SEF Advance comparison is factually incorrect!
SEF Advance can very well create URLs with any extension you choose as well as no extension:
/widgets/green/small/
/widgets/green/small.html
/widgets/green/small.htm
/widgets/green/small.jsp
/widgets/green/small.whatever

Also, installing ionCube loaders is, in 90% cases, as easy as uploading a file with FTP. If that is pain in the butt for you that's your problem, but for most users it's extremly simple.

...
written by steve, August 30, 2007

Hi Les - you're right, it is free publicity to an extent. We published a negative article about this extension and felt that because they took the time to produce a very detailed response, it merited equal prominence.

Hi Emir - you're right. SEF Advance is capable of doing this. Simple open up Configuration >> Preferences >> Suffix.

Count me as one of those who thinks IonCube as a pain in the butt ... thats mainly because lots of hosting companies consider it to be a pain in the butt and refuse to support it correctly. Still, at the end of the day, we think enough of SEF Advance to run it here at Alledia.com

...
written by shumisha, August 30, 2007

Hi all,
Well, I hope we all get excited by SerrBiz component! I mean those Joomla users running a site with only core components of course...
Glad it's FREE til end of year, I'll download and have a good look

SEF Advance
written by Michael Zittel, August 31, 2007

Emir,

It seems I was wrong about Advance SEF. Please accept my apologies. Since it can create clean, full URLS with a modification to the configuration file great, great!

As for ionCube, you are right. Not wanting to install it on my server is my problem, and as Steve pointed out, many "server" problems. Since I am a geek, am not fond of the hassle related to ionCube, I figured non-geeks would appreciate not needing to install anything special on their server.

As for a detailed comparison to Advanced SEF, I don't use Advance SEF, and am not really qualified to make an in depth comparison. If someone (Steve?) who has used both would like to do so, that would be great. But, at the end of the day, I built SerrBizSEF for myself and clients. Since I am a Joomla user and have benefited from it being GPL, I decided to release the core SerrBizSEF component the same. If anyone else finds a benefit in it, fantastic. It is released as GPL, which, as we all know means, "without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE".

As the open market reports bugs and suggestions, I will improve as time permits.

Steve, thanks for the fair play write up. I appreciate it.

Does it support any extension?
written by vince2, September 03, 2007

Hi,
Sounds good, but can SerrBizSEF also give us any extension you choose as well as no extension - same as both SEF Advanced, and OpenSEF?
/widgets/green/small/
/widgets/green/small.html
/widgets/green/small.htm
/widgets/green/small.jsp
/widgets/green/small.whatever

To a degree
written by Michael Zittel, September 06, 2007

At this time you can have .htm, or nothing.
/custom-url-extensions-jsp-whatever.html
/custom-url-extensions-jsp-whatever.htm
/custom-url-extensions-jsp-whatever

Special extensions like .jsp, .asp or .whatever return an error page.

Personally, I'm not sure why you would wnat to change to a special extension as we almost always see .html, .htm or trailing / urls ranking the best whenever we conduct an SEO Audit for a client. But, hey, if that is what you want, we are happy to customize as needed if you need this ASAP. In the mean time, we'll add to our to do list. Thanks for the suggestion.

concentrate only on the most important
written by Loran, September 07, 2007

jsp php or any other dynamic extensions are not a demand. a few customer would but most don't.

...
written by vince2, September 07, 2007

The reasons to allow the site admin a choice of any extension are many.
For the best explanation, I suggest the following which many regard as the ideal, and written by none other than Tim Berners Lee himself:
http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI

Hence, as you can see, it is extremely important for any site admin that is considering content migration from either static HTML site, or even from one dynamic system to another - and would like to maintain all the existing backlinks and other SEO benefits.

Hope that clarifies the importance, and look forward to any response.

Best wishes,

- Vince

Point taken
written by Michael Zittel, September 08, 2007

Yes, that's a case for having any extension. I will upgrade the entire system as time permits. Seems lke a nice feaure would be function to "preserve" old URLS. We're working on this for Open SEF.

In the short run, people can always create an manual .htaccess redirect to point to the new SEFS.

Thanks for the suggestion.

M.

Joomla 1.5 can do it now
written by vince2, September 27, 2007

Current Joomla built-in SEF for 1.5 RC2 with mod_rewrite does allow any extension
/widgets/green/small/
/widgets/green/small.html
/widgets/green/small.htm
/widgets/green/small.jsp
/widgets/green/small.whatever

All possible now!
Not sure how many people have realised this, but was a revelation to me.

SerrBiz - No Longer FREE
written by Michael Zittel, September 28, 2007

Sorry, but due to abuse, we decided to start charging a nominal fee for the basic package.

Basic FREE again - and VirtueMart upgrade too!
written by Michael, October 11, 2007

Hi All. We've made some important improvements to SerrBizSEF and after much internal debate, we decided to allow free downloads again of the basic package. We also want some feedback for the VirtueMart Upgrade rule, so have made a special package that includes that Upgrade rule. You can get the both at Serr.biz.

Organic Results
written by Steve Douglas, November 14, 2007

This is a lovely thread and all, but I have not seen anything from anyone related to actual results. I have made awesome results on my keyword and am on the first page without pretty URLs. In fact, there are a number SEO experts out that claim friendly SEM is all you need and not a pretty english style URL. In my case I surely don't need it.

Now on the other hand if this product does what it claims to do it would be nice to see some actual results.

One question.....does this product allow for disabling of meta data?

Results you say?
written by Serr.biz, December 07, 2007

The best example of results we have is our own sites. Serr.biz and SerrRealestate.com both use the component.

Search Google for "Ethical SEO company", "Joomla SEF", "Joomla SEO real estate". You will find our site in the top ten, plus we have many other granular terms that rank well.

But, like any SEO, it's NOT just about the ON PAGE seo and SEF. Many other factors play into it. For example, AGE. The age of domain is helpful. Also the RLP - Relevant link popularity. If you make the perfect SEO site with SEFS, but do not build off-site RLP, and the spiders never find you, then, it doesn't matter. Also, you have to be building RUC - Readable UNQIUE CONTENT. SerrBizSEF helps make the content READABLE, but if you do not write UNIQUE CONTENT, you will have problems ranking.

The two biggest ingredients in SEO are:

1) Readable Unique Content
2) Relevant Link Popularity

Here are some other examples of sites using SerrBizSEF and their
"uk magazine advertising" look for webwindows.com. They use SerrBizSEF.
"music by matt spann" look for music.mattspann.com

There are others, I'm sure, as the component has been downloaded over 1000 times. But, I we are not engaged in their SEO beyond providing the component.

Note: This site, Alledia, uses a form of SEF and you found it, presumably, through the search engines. Also, we suggest you watch this video on the importance of SEF.

http://www.serr.biz/news-blog/company-news/video-search-engine-friendly-urls.html

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