eCa$hTalk

My good friend and fantastic SEO, Bill Ross, just got back from SMX Seattle.  Bill kept up with the information he was learning at SMX on his blog at SeoWebsiteAnalysis.com.  Very insightful stuff.

Check it out.  And, if you don’t have his blog bookmarked, you should.   You are missing out on some valuable information.

I came across this really great list of resources, showing what people are searching for today. This is a good, comprehensive list:

http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=po

Tags: seo, searchengine, Google, Yahoo

I was registering one of my sites this weekend on Best of the Web (BOTW.org) . I don’t know about you. But, when I ever I see a box for "Promo Code" or "Promotional Code", I know that since someone/somewhere has that promotional code, I am going to find it. And, I did! Use this code at BOTW to get 40% off a directory registration:

LPROCKS

Enjoy.

It’s a known fact.  The search engines like good, original content - and for the most part, large sites.  So, as you build your rankings, you will want to keep track of how many pages on your site that are indexed in Google.  This is actually, a very simple process.  You can check it out in Webmaster Central.

Or, you can simply go to the Google command line and enter site:www.[name of your site] .com .  You will get the total number of pages.  For example, I did a query on MommyAdvisor , one of my sites.  I have 18,100 pages indexed in Google.

From there, go to the bottom of the results and click on the last page of the results.  It is my own personal belief that any of your pages that are not presented after that page - it is a darn good chance that they are in the supplemental index.  Now, if you know what I am talking about, you are saying, "but, I thought that Google abandoned the supplemental index ".  Officially, yes, but, I still believe that their is some distinction in place for less significant pages.  And, if you are seeing that a considerable number of your pages cannot be seen, it is time to build some links.  Look, the supplemental index did not go away… Google just made it harder to find those pages.

In finding link partners, one of the things that you may want to know is … how much traffic is that site getting? Not that this is the end-all in finding potential sites to link to you … but, knowing about traffic may allude to bigger issues, such as what their trust rank is.

But, if you are just trying to discover someone’s traffic, there are a few sources that you should take a look at:

• Alexa - This site has become completely unreliable over the years. I find that the numbers are frequently off. Alexa numbers are largely based on who has downloaded the Alexa toolbar. I would certainly look at Alexa if I am trying to find out how much traffic someone is getting. But, I would not rely on this information.
• Compete - I have found Compete.com to be the most reliable source for determining a site’s traffic. Compete has a paid service, but you can get quite a bit for free - probably, everything that you need. However, it is still not completely reliable. If I need to find a site’s traffic, here is what I do. I average Compete numbers with …
• Quantcast - Quantcast is a great site filled with information on numerous websites. They actually have a pixel that you can place on your site, and they can give you some very detailed and amazing demographic information on your visitors - if you have the pixel.

So, for me, personally, if I am trying to determine a site’s traffic, I look at Alexa, and I average the results from Quantcast and Compete. Bottom line.

I admit… I picked up a few tricks from “The Rich Jerk“…
but, just a few. There really aren’t many good things I can say about
this particular e-book. It is really, more or less, a hodge-podge of
get rich quick schemes and short-term traffic tactics. For example, it
discusses white hat strategies but also “how to cloak”. Are you kidding
me? Also, who wrote this thing? Look, if an author will not even claim credit for something he writes, it probably isn’t that good. That is, certainly, the case here.

And, the worst part of it is that it really doesn’t delve into
anything deeply. So, it is a cursory view of a lot of things that
should be treated with a greater degree of time. In some ways, I think
you will be worse off by reading this e-book.

Here are the main chapters in the book:

• Creating an affiliate website that sells like crazy.

In this chapter, he walks through the different affiliate networks (Clickbank, CJ). But, he also mentions BeFree. I’ll give them a shot, along with Linkshare. Then, there is another (ClickxChange, ClixGalore, and a few more) that I am not familiar with.

He gets into writing sales letters. His tips in this area are certainly nothing that you couldn’t find for free elsewhere… instill hope, cause a sense of urgency. Blah, blah, and blah. I have always found that the key to a good sales letter is modeling yours after the pros. Frank Kern has just recently completed a successful product launch. I saved those e-mails. I would go look at those sales letters. Very good. The key is to look at who is doing well and to model them. It is that simple. See what they are doing, find a good one, and replicate it.

But, I will say that the jerk’s Hope, Urgency Authority, Unbiased, and Fear tactics are good. But, they aren’t mind-blowing… and certainly nothing you could not get through some good modeling.

The jerk also discusses the idea of offering rebates - since most people never actually take the time to ask for their money back. A good tactic. One that I like - since I am a huge believer of market economics. And, in this case you are competing on price.

Getting paid for leads… now here is an approach that most people don’t think about. There are number of pay per lead networks out there like Commission Junction.

• Unique Search Engine PPC Strategies that kill the competition

The author suggests using Google Adwords and Yahoo to drive site traffic. But, frankly, he oversimplifies how easy SEM really is. Actually, he includes practically no informative information on Adwords that you could not find on even the most basic SEM blog. If you want to learn SEM, I would highly recommend Perry Marshall’s Definitive Guide to Google Adwords. This is a complete course from A-to-Z and not the joke in “The Rich Jerk”. This advice this book gives is, well, Adwords malpractice.

• SEO Strategies

For SEO, The Rich Jerk tells you that you should get links from “government pages”. Well, laddie freakin’ duh… I think that most people knew that. Now, how do you do that, again? Once again… short on details. Heavy on ideas.

Oh, and this e-book also advocates that you buy links. Not a really good idea in today’s web. I am sure I will get into a good discussion of link buying at some point.

The Jerk has a nice list of directories that one should get in: 01webdirectory.com,abilogic,bigall,ezillion, and the majors like Business.com, Gimpsy, Go Guides, and of course, DMOZ. I actually like this part of the book. Look, it is very important to get listed in good directories. Some say it is not as important as it used to be. I disagree. I think it is more important now than ever.

• Selling your own informational product
• Buying wholesale and selling on eBay
• Websites you can make profitable right now
• Other online ventures to consider
• Supplemental info for beginners
• Quality Products/Services I Highly Recommend
  

For the most part, I feel that “The Rich Jerk” was an attempt to just make money. It really is not a comprehensive guide to what one needs to compete online. And, at $10, it might be worth it - if you are an online marketing novice. But, it will not give you a comprehensive treatment of online marketing, in general.