June 6, 2007

If you’ve been submitting your blog posts to places like Digg, Netscape, ShoutWire and the like, you know how time consuming it can be.

Now the same guys who wrote Authority Black Book have come up with a tool that drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to do Web 2.0 promotion.

Web 2.0 Submitter
Here’s what it does:

* Saves and automatically processes logins for several of the most high-traffic Web 2.0 news sites on the internet.

* Easily archive your stories (blog post) to make every submission extremely easy and gives you the ability to recall it later.

* With the push of a button, the software fills the forms on these sites so all you have to do is review and submit your story.

* Enter the content of your latest blog post one-time and submit to all of the sites individually for maximum efficiency.

The reason I’m even recommending it is because it’s completely white-hat, and will save you loads of time in syndicating your blog articles.

Check out the demo of the Web 2.0 Submitter here.


April 6, 2007

Via WebProNews I learned that the guys at SEOmoz interviewed 37 leaders in the world of organic search engine optimization (SEO) on the various factors that are estimated to comprise Google’s ranking algorithm, and came up with an awesome summary representing “90-95% of the knowledge required about Google’s algorithm”.

Personally, although I keep up with the search engines’ changing algorithms, I never build sites solely around these factors. I’d rather focus on creating authority sites with unique content, using a mix of both, online and offline marketing and PR tactics. Unique content ensures that your Pagerank doesn’t fall, and is more likely to attract inbound, one-way links. It’s worth spending good money on creating unique content. On the other hand, the PLR content and article mashers that everyone is using, are a huge waste of time and money.

Keep in mind that websites that are user-friendly, easy to navigate, and provide the user with relevant and useful information, are also likely to be bookmarked more often by users. All the experts agree that social bookmarking is going to become even more important to your rankings in 2008.

I also think that repeat traffic will become more important (given that Google most likely has access to your user’s cache), so having a subscriber database, to which you can email updates and newsletters that bring visitors back to your site regularly, should always be part of your marketing mix. Despite the inroads made by RSS, email is still one of the most important ways of sending out updates.

It’s important to keep building links slowly and consistently, using press releases and article marketing, with some blogging and social marketing thrown into the mix. If you’re into video and podcasting, they can be valuable tools to build traffic, too.

I’m currently reviewing Mike Cheney’s Traffic Videos, and they’re an excellent resource that cover a wide range of marketing techniques - which really, is the best way to build consistent and repeat traffic to your website. Though there’s something in there for everyone, white-hat and black-hat, I’d avoid the black-hat if I were you.

But if you’re a serious search marketing expert, the SEO Report on Google’s Search EngineRanking Factors is available here and is essential reading.


December 24, 2006

Although it may seem like a distant memory, there was a time when people relied primarily on human-compiled directories to navigate the internet. These directories tried to categorize information to make it accessible to users.

The inherent human bias in the process, combined with the rapid growth of the internet, however, made the directory model an ineffective way of cataloguing all of the web’s offerings. Soon, search engines based on programmed algorithms and utilizing robot web crawlers began to displace the traditional directory.

Although internet commerce was still in its infancy, those who benefited the most from the transition to search engines were the people who saw the trend developing and who made an immediate effort to capture great placement in search engine results. Search engine optimization pioneers were able to grab substantial market share in a field devoid of well-organized competition.

Today, various search engine weaknesses are leading many users to seek out yet another means of finding information Social Bookmarking. They’re relying on social bookmarking services with increasing regularity as their tool of choice. The millions of people using social bookmarking services including Technorati, Del.icio.us, and others are proof that this is the “next big thing.”

Although the growth of blogs has spurred the increased use of social bookmarking services, the phenomenon is actually much richer and more nuances than that. The success and likely massive future growth of social bookmarking isn’t just a matter of blogs being hip. It’s based on the very reasons why people use the Internet and continues to grow as an alternative means of information organization.

This new user-driven means of categorizing and ranking resources is fluid, flexible, non-hierarchical, democratic and GROWING. It defies our usual expectations about how people can find products and services online.

Millions of people are abandoning traditional search engines and directories in favour of social bookmarking services. Marketers who ignore this trend do so at their own risk. Not learning about social bookmarking is nothing short of surrendering to a changing online world.

Those who “get it” will undoubtedly prosper. Those who don’t might just find themselves expending more and more effort competing for a shrinking portion of the search engine pie. What makes matters even sweeter for those in the know is the fact that successful mastery of the social bookmarking scene has search engine advantages, too.

For more information check out The Complete Guide To Social Bookmarking.


eXTReMe Tracker