Please Don’t Get Stuck on Google!

Internet Business April 29th, 2008 Say Something (0)

Is it laziness? Is it narrow or closed mindedness? Is it lack of direction?

Maybe I’m just lucky. I stumbled upon the right information online early in my online business to avoid this pitfall… For some reason, people think when you have a website, there is only one way to promote them and make money. And that’s why they will ultimately fall someday!

Gee, I get all this Google traffic and make some good money… And then one day Google changes something in their Algorithm and their business is toast… I know it’s cliche, but don’t put all your eggs in the Google basket. Not even just Google… but search engines in general.

The reason I brought this up today is because someone called anything other than SEO (Search Engine Optimization) a fad… Wow.! The reason he said that is because I said that Webmaster’s have to evolve and think outside to the Search Engine box. And I guess there are types of websites that thrive in the Search Engine environment or don’t care if they make money… and that’s fine. But if you want to make a living online and make some money, you have to expand your horizons.

The things I was suggesting are not fads. These are techniques and ideas the are tried-and-true methods that have been used for years to make a lot of people a lot of money… People (that I know) have made millions of dollars online without ever giving Search Engines… and even Pay Per Click advertising… any attention at all. They don’t care. They don’t need them. I’m not going to get into all the different ways you can make money or get traffic without search engines in this one post, but they are out there…

Don’t think I’m saying I don’t think search engines aren’t a good way to get free traffic. They are! At the very least though, go after multiple engines… don’t get stuck on Google…

I think long term. There are things you MUST do to protect your long term objectives. Just worrying about SEO isn’t going to secure that.

SEO Stuff… Submitting to Search Engines is a Waste of Time…

Internet Business April 28th, 2008 Say Something (1)

Sumitting to search engines is largely a waste of time and money. I spent a lot of money submitting to search engines in my early days before I was told that I was being robbed… Many submit sites claim they are going to submit your website to 150,000 or more search engines. That’s bogus. There are only a handful of SEs that are worth worrying about. The rest are spammers…

Search engines use spiders or crawlers to crawl the net to find sites on their own. They do this by following links from other sites.

Repeated submissions to the search engines will not help. SE’s will rank the most important and relevant sites first and not those the submit repeatedly. If submitting to search engines did help, everyone would be doing it… They’re not.

A moderator in another forum I hang out in put it best:

“So why do search engines have a “Submit URL’ form?
The only reason I can think of is that its a public relations exercise. You feel good that you have actually done something after having submitted. Keep in mind that the ’submit a url’ is probably a bit like the ‘close door’ button on the elevator — it doesn’t work either, but you still push it.”

They are also used because often clients expect it. The clients expect it that’s why you’ll see a lot of web designers and SEOers have to offer submit services because they may not get the biz if the client sees another with the service… Submiting has been so Hyped up that it’s a hard battle to win.

I strongly feel many website submit services are a scam. They’re just taking your money for something that isn’t necessary…

So How Do You Get Indexed by Search Engines?

Links to your website. And to rank well the more important and relevant those links are the better. If you’re just starting out, submitting to directories is a perfect place to start…

You will get spidered quicker and more often if you get links to your website. Much faster than submitting. And you can find a lot of FREE directories.

For any site I put up, one of the first things I do is submit to as many directories as I can. Because some of the directories (not all of them) get spidered all the time. When a search engine’s spider goes through a website, it follows links off of that website.

So let’s say you have a directory that you submitted to that gets hit by the spiderbot daily, well as soon as your link gets added to the directory the spiderbot will pick it up and follow it to your website…

It may not do a deep crawl right away, but eventually if you create enough content it will… content is important. The bots feed off of it and will visit more often if you add fresh content frequently.

I’ve used this strategy very effectively. I get visited daily by the SEs. And the best thing about it is that it’s free. A few years ago I spent $50 per month for a service to submit my website… wasted money.

It does also help to put your URL in your signature of any Public Forums you’re in. The SE’s crawl forums like crazy as well…

BTW, there is nothing wrong with it; it’s a common practice. I’m even in forums where they actually encourage you to place your products or new deals etc. in your sigs. It’s beneficial for the community as a whole. I may need what you’re offering…

DMOZ is important, but don’t get obsessed with it. A lot of people get angry or freak out about not getting listed. If you do, it’s a bonus.

Submit your site only once. If you submit again you are sent to the back of the line. There is no guarantee you’ll even be listed.

I really believe that it is better to get one way links to your website (not recipricol). Search Engines like Google use inbounds to weigh how important your website is. If people are linking to your website naturally, that’s a very good thing. Recipricols are artificial and I think SEs can pick up on that…

One of the best way to get links is to create content that people want to link to… that’s sound simple, but it’s very important. I have pages designed just for that purpose.

I know you asked how to submit to SE’s etc., but it really is a waste of time and money. And time and money is precious in this biz. SEO is not just about keywords, density, and meta tags. Your linking strategy is one part of the formula. There are really no shortcuts. You just have to take a systematic approach and hopefully your website offers something the SE’s eat up.

The Subconscious Mind and a Positive Attitude

Personal April 22nd, 2008 Say Something (1)

Image via Wikipedia

Your subconscious mind can feed on thoughts of defeat or thoughts of success.
It’s a bit of a chain reaction. What you decide to think about or dwell on will leave an impression on your mind that will effect everything you do day in and day out.
A Man is as Big as the Measure of His Thinking
It’s simple really. If you give up and get frustrated with something, that frustration will have a negative impact on the rest of your activities. On the other hand if you plow through something, work hard and find a solution, the impact of that victory will be seen throughout your activities…
Confidence stems from convincing yourself you can…
I often see people arguing online and getting all worked up because of some issue or whatever… And a lot of times you will see emotion come out of people that you know is impacting their attitude at least in the short term.
I’m not saying I’m always level… but you can’t get too caught up emotionally or negatively in something that really isn’t necessary.
Sometimes we must battle; other times it’s not going to make an impact anyway… just walk away and do something else.
You are the master of your attitude and because of that, you can control your effectiveness, productivity, and results online or offline in your business or personal life.
The choice is really yours to think what you think. It may take some effort to train yourself to think a certain way, but it’s worth it. That effort will translate to your subconscious and make for a better YOU.
You can decide to control your subconscious or turn it over to itself and let it control you.
Think Positive… not negative.
A lot of people will joke when someone starts chatting about positive attitudes and such… but I can guarantee you there is something to it. You will have much better relationships and results in your life if you are positive rather than negative…
A book worth picking up and reading about building a positive attitude is:

Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by W. Stone

I at least suggest taking a peek. This approach to life has made my life better and happier…

This doesn’t mean I don’t get brake through episodes of negativity… I’m still human… but I have trained my mind to be much more positive (sometimes) and as a result have improved my life drastically… Take it and Act!

Registering The Right Domain Name To Attract Affiliates

Guest Posts April 21st, 2008 Say Something (0)

OK everyone, this is a guest post by Emilia Johansson from AffiliateTips.com. I am cool with doing these types of posts as long as it fits into the affiliate marketing realm. I found this information to be helpful so enjoy someone else’s outlook.

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An affiliate program without affiliates is like a boat without water. In order start sailing toward success, you need to attract excellent affiliates who can achieve real sales results. Fortunately, there are preliminary steps that can make finding a new affiliate much easier, starting with the domain name that you select for your business. As with any type of website, your domain name can play a major role in your success, so this is not a decision to be made lightly.

Registering a Domain Name That Will Attract Affiliates

Once you have launched your affiliate program, it may take sometime to acquire a good supply of successful affiliate partners. In order to get started on the right foot, it is important to select a domain name that appeals to potential affiliates and customers. Fortunately, selecting a domain
name designed to attract affiliates is not so different from choosing
a domain for a regular business.

Consider some of the following tips before registering a new domain name for your business:

Choose a professional domain name. In order to gain affiliate partners, you need to establish trust and credibility with your audience. By presenting your business in a highly professional manner, affiliates will be more likely to join your program.

Keep your domain name relatively brief. It’s easy to misspell and forget long domain names, making it difficult for your target audience to find your site. By keeping your domain short, your online address will be much more memorable.

Focus on the interests of potential affiliate partners. Your domain name needs to meet the needs of affiliates, so spend some time considering your core audience.

Choose a name that appeals to potential customers as well. In order to achieve real results, you need to build a site that your affiliate partners can effectively market. By choosing a domain name that is well suited to consumers, your affiliates will have an easier time promoting your products and services.

Choosing the Best Domain Name for Your Business

Before you select a domain name, it is important to spend some time brainstorming and organizing your ideas. Start by conducting a brief assessment of your business and goals. Generally, it is important to make some type of connection between your business identity and sales niche.

In many cases, your domain name will simply be your business name, but there are other ideas that you may want to consider as well. Think about utilizing a name that associates you with your industry, your audience or geographic location. For example, it your business sells products exclusively in the U.K, consider registering a “co.uk” domain rather than a “.com.”

Utilize Targeted Keywords in Your Domain Name

In order to attract new affiliates, it is essential to register a domain name that major search engines will easily index. Having a keyword-rich domain name that will rank will in Google, Yahoo and MSN search can dramatically increase your website traffic and number of potential affiliates.

Why? These keywords are the terms that your target audience uses to search for information on the web. While other search engine optimization (SEO) tactics are also important, registering a keyword-focused domain is a great way to attract new affiliates.