Search Engine Myths Reviewed (Briefly)

January 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I read Jonathan Leger’s latest research report last night — “Search Engine Myths Exposed“. It’s well written, very compelling and makes sense. It’s free, so you might want to check it out.

The part I found most interesting was his explanation about duplicate content and whether or not you can be indexed and ranked if you include it on your site. The key is to get links and links and more links. I know this and have known it for a long time. Why don’t I do a better job of getting links to my sites? (Don’t answer that!)

Another interesting piece is Jonathan’s contention that links do not need to be from similarly themed sites. He give a lot of proof for all he says. I’m sure there are other ways to interpret his interpretations, but he is compelling. I appreciate the report.

Then, I came upon this today. Another freebie if you do just a little work:

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

  • The best blogging techniques.
  • How to get traffic to your blog.
  • How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

That’s all for now. Have a good one!

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, SEO

Firefox and Internet Explorer Disconnect

November 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Does anyone else feel like the days just flow together? Weeks seem to fly by in what feels like minutes.

What accomplishments can I report? Much of my time recently has gone into site building. I guess that is good, since I enjoy it. (Interesting that my html editor here will not let me use an apostrophe. Hmm… I guess it is time to upgrade to a newer version of WordPress.)

I was working on my project of transitioning the Niches-in-a-Box websites to new templates and was making very good progress. Then something prompted me to double checked how the sites were loading in Internet Explorer, since I use Firefox. They looked awful! The alignment was all off and I have no clue how to fix it. (If anyone can shed any light on this I would love it!)

So, I moved to XSitePro with a little trepidation. I am now in the process of rebuilding the sites with XSitePro, and it is working beautifully. That really is a good program and I know I have barely touched its power. But I am pleased. I can clone the silos, change some keywords and be ready to go.

I have hit a snag with an ebook download and have not been able to get the images to show up on a thank you page. Seems to be an issue with where I have them located on the server. I admit I have backed off for a few days and need to get back to it. Sometimes I just want everything to go smoothly but I know I learn a ton more when it does not. (Funny writing all of this unable to use contractions!)

So, checking to make sure all of my other sites were loading properly in Internet Explorer, I realized that my eBay plugin, BayRSS, was not working correctly when using certain templates. Actually, the images from the eBay RSS feed were not showing up.

Now all of those blogs have new templates and that has been a blast. Especially creating headers with images from the stock photo sites. Very fun — first finding the images and then making them work. I am using a combination of Paint, SnagIt, and Photoshop Elements to create the headers to fit within the Cutline theme for WordPress. Very fun and gratifying and they look great!

By the way, speaking of XSitePro — version 2 is due out before the end of the year. I expect great enhancements. Anyone who buys now gets a free upgrade to the new version. That is a good deal. Anyone who purchased before this has to pay for the upgrade, which makes it an even better deal. The learning curve to create a decent site with XSitePro is a little steeper than many marketers would have you believe, but after using it just a short time, I became quite comfortable with it. This latest project has challenged me to learn to use XSitePro in ways I have not done before, and it is coming through with flying colors.

Lots is happening with the program I joined awhile back with the purpose of creating an Internet consulting business. LOTS is happening. I will fill you in very soon.

That is it for now. Thanks for being here and have a good one!

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Product Reviews, Progress Updates

Blogs, Social Bookmarking, Social Networking and Traffic

October 21, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Pretty low-key day today. I’ve spent sometime posting to blogs and adding articles to some webpages.

The blogs are ones I created to compliment the Niches-in-a-Box websites. I moved them to totally separate domains a short time ago, but used the same niches. Amidst the blog posts I’m featuring eBay auctions, using the BayRSS plugin. I have to say they look pretty cool. They’re all indexed. Now I have to promote. It would be a good idea to set aside a day this week to work on that.

I finally figured out how to put an optin box on a website and have the form fit in a sidebar! I know, I know, most people figured this out a long time ago. But I’m fairly new to Aweber and auto responders, and feel pretty good about my accomplishment. Now I can do it anywhere. Maybe I’ll add an optin to my NIAB blogs.

My latest read is “Strategic Social Marketing” by Laura Childs. I’ve sort of followed her work for a couple years now, maybe not closely enough though. She has been doing research on Web 2.0 and traffic for many months now. A definite trend she and others have documented is a decrease in traffic through search engines. Apparently SEs are not the portal of choice of a growing number of Internet users (like millions!). Web 2.0 properties are their choice instead. But there are SO many of them, I feel overwhelmed in an instant!

I’m only half way through her report so far, so still have no clue where to start generating traffic through some of the social bookmarking or social networking sites using Laura’s methods. She promises to teach how to set up a game plan. I’ve been bookmarking for a long time now and seeing minimal results. Laura also promises that this can improve, given some research and knowing how to approach each niche.

I’m interested in reading more. You can find Laura at The Stampede Secret if you’re interested. She’s sharp. She’s been on line for a long time, and knows how to weather the evolution. I’m glad I found her.

That’s all for now. Thanks for visiting and have a good one!

P.S. Remember, if you’re an eBay affiliate, there’s a free copy of the BayRSS plugin available to you. Check out the link I created for the sidebar, just under the Blog Rush box.

Filed Under: Books, Internet Marketing, Progress Updates, Social Bookmarking, Social Networking

Transforming Websites

October 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Boy, am I having fun!

I mentioned that I would be transitioning some websites that I got through Niches-in-a-Box to new templates, which will make my sites much more unique from the other members’. I’m following along with a series of videos and really enjoying the process.

The ultimate benefit will be a great looking new website. In the meantime I am learning so much. I’m working extensively with html and php. I’m learning how to take a free template off the Internet (from oswd.org) and turn it into my own. I’m learning how these complex websites are structured. What an education!

NIAB truly does offer a lot more than websites. The training is exceptional.

It’s also really clear to me that I like building websites. That’s important information as I go forward with Internet marketing.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

P.S. Are you visiting DealDotCom.com everyday? I remember most days. I’ve already purchased two products that I have been wanting for awhile.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Progress Updates

Moving Niches-in-a-Box Websites

October 11, 2007 By Leave a Comment

A few months ago I was a member of Niches-in-a-Box. The product consists of premade niche websites, including a landing page and about 12 silo sites based on related keywords. The sites look great, are full of info, and are well designed to be unique to each webmaster.

Problem is, it appears no matter how unique the technology allowed the sites to be, the basic template has proved to be too big of a foot print to avoid the notice of Google. At least that’s my take. As I put up my sites and built up backlinks, the sites were indexed fairly quickly. None of them are currently anywhere to be found in Google’s index. So, they were de-indexed. Does that mean blacklisted? I hope not! But what a waste. They’re still bringing in some traffic, but no where near where I’d like to see it.

I happened into the NIAB training center yesterday and learned they have made a series of videos that demonstrate how to move these sites to a new template. Again, with the landing page and 12 silo sites on subdomains, with php and html and 3 columns, this is a complex task. I had thought of doing it myself and had already moved the blogs to separate domains, but hadn’t moved the sites yet. Now I have videos to walk me through the process. I’m pleased and have started the process right away.

Since the sites have been de-indexed, I wonder if I should also use fresh URLs when I move them? I really like the domain names I picked originally, but it won’t help if I get attached to them. What I want is to set up solid sites and use SEO and article marketing to get them established.

I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for visiting. Have a good one!

Filed Under: Article Marketing, Internet Marketing, Progress Updates
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