Social Media Gone Wild

June 18, 2008

Today, I discovered a link builders list of social media sites.  The site lists social bookmarking websites, along with forums and Digg style websites. The list is huge it includes over 380 website. Be warned that it does have links to XXX sites.

The nice feature is that it includes sites that are other than English. It seems to have a little bit of everything. I read about this one in a post on webmaster Forum. Thanks guys!

Oh, yea before I forget the details, the site is The Online Cash Machine at http://www.theinternetscashmachine.com/digg-traffic.htm.

Note much of the list is 1 – 2 years old so some of the info is outdated. I don’t know about you but for me these things are like treasure hunts in that you never know what your going to find.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | 1 Comment 

What Is Search Engine Marketing?

June 16, 2008

This topic came up over at a forum that I have recently begun to use. The forum in question is the SEO Forum. Usually this is a fairly mundane topic for a forum. I responded that search engine marketing includes everything that you do away from your website to market yourself to the search engines. This is what link building is all about. You build links to lure the search engines to visit and index your website.

However, the more traditional approach too many is that SEM is all about Pay Per Click. Better known as PPC this is how the search engines makes there money. Since we are an organic results provider we don’t pay much attention to this side of the search engine community.

I have used my expanded view of SEM maybe a 100 times or so on forums and on blogs. So it seemed like a generally excepted view to me. Well, until I mentioned it on this forum. A moderator called me out and said I was wrong.

I was amazed; it was after all only an opinion. It was like I had mentioned something that could get a website banned. When called out I explained my position in detail and how I came to that conclusion. Keep in mind that this is just an opinion and that there is no regulation that has defined what search marketing should include. It will not hurt nor harm a websites search position.

That’s when things got ugly. I was wrong and that’s all there was to it. They attacked me professionally and accused me of making things difficult for the whole web marketing universe. The over reaction really caught me off guard.

I could see their reaction if I had made a suggestion that potentially could be harmful to someone’s website.Here are some links on the subject. Please check out a few definitions and decide what you accept as yours.

www.7soft.co.uk/jargon-explained-c108.html

multichannelmerchant.com/crosschannel/marketing/crosschannel_marketing_glossary/

www.searchenginegenie.com/search-engine-glossary-s.htm

www.dottraffic.com/glossary/

www.simplymedia.com.au/hints-tips-glossary-stu.html

www.i-visibility.com/terminology.htm
Thanks for consideration.

If you would like to learn more about the process of SEM and how it can benefit your website please contact at 520-777-6479.

Tucson SEO… Solutions that create probabilities out of possibilities

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | 2 Comments 

Google’s “Do No Evil” Some Say It’s Just Not So

June 4, 2008

Google is famous for it “Do No Evil” approach to doing business. However, many of its biggest advertisers are disputing this position. The Wall Street Journal recently reporter on Google and its struggle with trademark infringement in it paid ad placements. Google currently allows trademarks and copy written materials to be used in its AdSense and Ad Words pay pre click advertising

One of Google large advertisers, American Airlines filed suit last August in a Texas federal court. They are claiming trademark infringement. The suit requests that Google stop selling trade mark protected keywords.

A Google spokesperson replied that lower court decisions have supported Google concerning these matters. This matter is not limited to just American Airlines other large corporations such as Marriott Hotels and Northwest airlines have voiced opposition to the position taken by Google.

Several months ago it was pointed out to me during a business discussion that I was vulnerable to the same situation. At that time I scoffed at the notion that this could happen to our business. I stated as a local SEO service provider my market wasn’t likely to be targeted. I also replied “there isn’t much that I could do anyway; I couldn’t afford to sue Google.”

Now, that we are expanding our business presence to a national audience we have found that our position has matured on this subject. While we still can not afford to fight the search engines in courts we find that we do support American Airlines on this trademark issue.

Why shouldn’t trademark laws be enforceable on the Internet? The WJS pointed out several examples of trademarks being used as a bait and switch. This problem is often called “piggybacking” where a trademarked business name is used to lure visitors to another unrelated site.

Google is rumored to punish websites that use these kinds of methods in their organic search results. It is believed your website might actually be penalized by linking with unrelated sites, or the link is considered useless. But they are doing little to stop this practice in the money producing portion of their results. American Airlines thinks its illegal.

Now, don’t get me wrong we are big fans of Google; however, it does seem as the trademark issue is tarnishing their “Do No Evil” mantra. What do you think?

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment 

I Don’t and I Won’t Twitter.

May 12, 2008

I did grow up learning the readers digest version of story telling or sending an email. I don’t have or need a BFF. Since I’m in my fifties I run with the sight challenged crowd. So staring at a little screen just isn’t high on my agenda.

Learning the whole new language of texting doesn’t seem like to good use of my time. Many of these new social media tools and options can be effective for the right demographics.

This is also why I’m not likely to endorse using a blackberry. I like my email delivered to me while I sit in the comfort of my home or at the coffee shop, my office away from home. I might also add that I seldom bring my phone with me when I leave home.

I am well connected to the Internet because I am a website consultant. I have no desire to carry my work with me in the form of and electronic device. It’s highly unlikely that I will ever adapt to the Twitter and blackberry as ways of business. Since I work from home, I don’t have the luxury of going home to get away from work. So the thought of bringing work with me when I leave home seems insane.

Yes, I will miss calls and opportunities and I’m ok with that. I’m also cool when I look out my home office’s window to view the wonderful bursts of color that my garden provides.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment 

Thank You Google For A PR 4

May 1, 2008

Thank You Google For A PR 4

We just discovered that our Page Rank was gone from a 3 to a 4. We are rightly proud of this accomplishment. The website has only been in existence for a year. We never used any link bait to create lots of traffic.

Well, that is until after we obtained our current page rank. We have embarked on our version of link bait with our “Do Follow List Of lists.” This actually was created as a public service and a thank you to the blogging community.

We are in business today because other Bloggers shared their perspectives and knowledge. We used blogs almost exclusively to gain our links and Page Rank. We read early in our SEO career that relevant site links was the way to linking success. We also read that slow and steady growth was the best way to build links.

Our goal has been 5 links a day every day seven days a week. Well, we have fallen short of that goal with about 950 links over the past year. At one link at a time that’s a lot of blogging.

We tell clients, friends, and seminar attendee’s that this is part of our continuing education. We build links while building our knowledge base. Then of course the “No Follow” rules have made blogging for links much more difficult.

So recently we started exploring “Do Follow Lists.” We were surprised that so many of these lists were not kept up to date. So we have started our own compiling our own lists with the idea of keeping them current. This is a huge time consuming process.

The process was not made any easy when we were transferring files from one computer to another and 8 hours of work disappeared. We downloaded some recovery software to no avail, but we will not be deterred. The blogosphere has given freely to us and it is our time to return the favor.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment 

Squidoo.com Was A Waste Of My Time

April 26, 2008

Social Media is all the rage in the Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Industries. Last year, 2007, saw Facebook go from almost a has been to a hot property. MySpace still is one of the busiest website destinations in the world. Yet, very little is written about ROI or return on investment and these websites.

Recently, I read an article from a respected industry leader on a website known as Squidoo. This site allows you to create one page websites, or lens, as they call them. The article went on to explain how you could use this website to affect your websites search ranking. It also explained how you could use this site to drive traffic to your website.

The truth here folks is that this story, was just that, a story, that lacked substance. I compared my lens to the one outlined in the article. My lens had about 20 times the content, as this lens, and they both covered search engine optimization. This lens and article looked as if it was a paid for project and lacked much substance.

However, It seemed like a great idea, and I was determined to expand my social media experience beyond blogging. So over two weeks I worked on creating a useful lens about SEO. Yes, I am guilty of recreating the wheel, but it is my business and I wanted to have a bigger voice.

Yet, for all my effort and about 40 hours of work over two weeks the site did not live up to expectations. It produced about 15 visitors and none of those actually visited this website. Each lens article, about a dozen of them, included links to this site, but no one bothered to visit. Two visitors rated the lens 5 out of a possible 5 and one left a positive comment. We have since seen a trickle of interest occasionally.

That is not what I call good ROI. I have mostly stopped using the site, as my time is getting more precious everyday. What I saw was a lot of spam. I am sure that someone is making money on this project, but it was a wasted effort for me. What it did do is inspire me to tackle FaceBook… More on this another Day.

Tucson SEO… Solutions that create probabilities out of possibilities.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment 

Think Of Your Website As A Car Salesperson

April 26, 2008

Think Of your website as a car salesperson.

Salespeople sell that’s there job. Well, a website is on different it’s all about selling. It makes no difference whether you are peddling products, services, or ideas. You must actively be selling to succeed in website marketing. Just throwing facts and descriptions on your website is wasted effort. It must be so because you are reading this!

We tell this story every time we talk to a perspective client. Imagine that you are going to visit a new showroom. When you encounter the salesperson they will do several things during your visit. When they start their presentation they will explain the features of the vehicle. They then will explain the benefits of those features. Finally, they will ask you for the sale.

This is basic sales 101. It is know in the industry as the features and benefits presentation. You know when you go to the car dealer this is what you will encounter. The salespersons job is to sell. You as a website owner need to be selling. Sadly, very few websites sell. This is because most websites are created without input from sales marketers. How many website have you visited that do a complete sales presentation? Does your website sell?

We offer solutions that incorporate all the elements of a good sales presentation on existing websites as part of our SEO services. We also instruct are website design and redesign clients on how to write their content to sell.

We will not provide our service to websites that are not willing to make the necessary changes with the entire site. Our belief is this “Why bring traffic to a broken website.” Your website needs to be more than just information. You have to actively bring your visitor to a buying decision.

We view are clients as partners rather than customers. SEO and web design should be a collaborative  process. We know that when they succeed we all succeed.

Is your website broken? Do you actively sell or do you just provide information and hope for the sale?

Tucson SEO… Solutions that create probabilities out of possibilities.


Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment 

Website Are Like High Maintenence Girlfriends

April 26, 2008

I have recently suggested that successful websites are like a high maintenance girlfriend. From my perspective this is so true. A high maintenance woman or man demands a lot of attention, and especially attention to detail. A website that acquires high search engine rankings and traffic requires similar attention and needs lots of it to continue to stay productive.

A high maintenance woman or man requires daily attention, as well, to maintain a successful relationship. If you are willing to pay the price a relationship with a high maintenance person can be very rewarding and seldom dull. (Voice of experience here)

A successful website is no different. It demands your time and effort that goes way beyond checking emails or traffic stats The point here is that if you want a successful relation with your website you have to be prepared to pay the price in time, or hire someone to do it for you.

Tucson SEO… Solutions that create probabilities out of possibilities.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Search Engine Marketing | Leave a Comment