theinternetmarketer.com.au » Opinion

SEO service provider shame file

Pete — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:31:56 +0000

I stumbled over an extraordinary example of poor SEO ethics recently that I’m ashamed to admit was undertaken by a well known Aussie SEO house.

No this is not about using some black hat SEO technique, this is blatant abuse of a client’s site by the SEO service provider for their own purposes.

This well known Melbourne based internet marketing business had covertly planted a link farm in their client’s site which was feeding keyword aligned links back to other clients

If you’ve been involved in internet marketing for more than a minute, you know how important links are and just how hard they can be to secure. Incoming links that it is, not outgoing ones like this.

So in summary the situation is this:

• The SEO provider has created a hidden page that linked out to seven of their other clients sites.
• Net benefit for the client in question is nil
• Net gain for the SEO provider – Some free links that aid their other clients

BTW when I enquired, the client was unaware of this page and certainly had not approved it.

Before you mentally interject to suggest that this client probably benefited from seven similar links back in, there is no evidence of this. The link farm file date placed its last update at 2008, so it wasn’t a revenge attack linked to their recent loss of this clients business.

Where’s the return on investment for your now ex-client!?
Shame. Shame. Shame.

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Gawler Bookkeeper proves Online marketing really works

Pete — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:41:02 +0000

I was really pleased to see this story by Dean Allen from MYbookkeeping Services

Dean took some advise I provided in recent internet marketing presentation at the Gawler BEC & turned it into some international business by bringing together two of his customers, Living with Wildlife and Compliance & Competency Management

Now that’s really providing value to your clients! Well done Dean!

Google Profiles now in SERPs | Goodbye Linked In ?

Pete — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:01:47 +0000

Profile sites like Linked In that have emerged recently as business-relevant social media (should that be business media ?)

These sites will start to feel pressure from the omnipresent Google with their recent announcement that Google Profiles will now be featured in SERPs. ie if you create & fill in your Google Profile you’ll appear in search results.

The Google Profile screen sets the expectations right up front: ”Adding more information will help you improve your profile’s rank.”

The simplistic Groups ( Co-worker & regularly contacted etc) already provide scope for an embryonic business network capability.

I for one will be watching this space closely…

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Internet marketing in '09

Pete — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:47:49 +0000

Firstly, a belated new years wish & I trust that your business succeeds in what appears to be evolving into a more challenging commercial scene.

A greater emphasis on financial accountability in advertising (ah yes there is such a thing!) is creating even more demand for online marketing.

While many industry segments have already embraced online marketing; new advertisers entering the fray are increasing the level of competition.

Simplistic online campaigns that may have performed adequately previously, are increasingly not able to perform cost-effectively, if at all any more.

This next phase in online marketing’s evolution will be focussed on campaigning smarter for less.

Under-pinning this evolution, Google continues to offer tools and capabilities to help online marketing strategies and campaigns be better researched; better managed and ultimately more competitive.

Here is a list of recent enhancements from Google as an illustration…

Ads everywhere

AdWords users would be aware that these ads are optionally shown on the Content Network i.e. sites that choose to host these ads for a commission from Google. Easily identified by the Ads by Google label they are everywhere, but more recently…

Placements
Like to have your ads featured in a high profile website? The Age, The SMH, Face Book?

Now you can place pay per click advertising in on-topic websites, rather than paying exorbitant fixed fees using the new AdWords Placement Tool.

Even Sensis sites are potential placements following their landmark agreement with Google.

Image and animated ad placements
Now that you can place ads in these high profile sites, you can also put image ads, animated Flash ads and even fully interactive ads on a per click basis.

Google has a range of new tools to create and place these new ad types.

Google Maps ‘local business ads’
If you don’t have a Google Maps registration you are missing out even more now.

New local business ads display inside Google Maps to promote where your business sis located.

Research & Management Tools

A series of enhancements to Google’s research and management tools can sharpen the competitive edge of your advertising campaigns including:

Google Insights for Search
A fascinating new tool for insight into what words are being used for searches for in differing regions and even search trends over time.

Analytics

Google continues to enhance this amazing website analytics system – I still can’t believe its free.

In the last two months they have introduced:

· Customised reports

· Advanced segmentation for metrics comparison

· Motion charts (animated charting for a time lapse view of metrics)

· AdSense integration (used by Content Network hosts)

Keyword diagnosis

Late breaking news! AdWords now offers a new keyword diagnosis tool

Whew! And these are just some of the changes in the last two months…

The pace of online marketing evolution is unrelenting; but so will your online competition in ’09

Service Area updates to Google Maps Google Maps’ Local Business Centre is an absolutely key aspect...
When will Local Listing Ads make it to Oz ? Google are trialling Local Listing Ads; another online advertising medium...

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The real costs of internet marketing with Social Media

Pete — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:33:14 +0000

Using blogs, Twitter, Face Book and the plethora of other emerging social media ‘devices’ to promote your website is without doubt a powerful new force and worth considering when planning your website’s internet marketing campaign.

Social media evangelists will exclaim loudly (and passionately as enthusiasts do) that if you create great content in the social media entities that match your target market then you have an excellent chance to attract traffic. You may even pick up some great Google PageRank’d links that will also help in your site’s overall ranking. There’s no doubt about it, social media will help your website sales, but at what cost ?

Feeding the content machine
For social media to work for you, someone has to feed the content beast. Someone has to invest time and effort in creating articles/blogs/lens/etc Inventing stories (just like this one !) or whatever form the social media entity calls its particular form of content.

To effectively improve your website’s marketing status you’ll need to be grinding out that content on a regular basis. How regular ? Monthly; weekly, daily ?
I’d value input from social media gurus (leave a comment !)

“That’s easy” social media evangelists will exclaim – they live and breathe social media so it is easy – for them – but if you’re a social media mere mortal; or time poor and flat out running your business then it’s really not at all easy. If fact finding time – any time at all – becomes a genuine problem!

Time poor
So…. Have you noticed that many websites have out of date information ?

When I point out the sales disadvantage of this to clients their response is typically ‘no time’.
What they really mean is that busy business people have to prioritise their time and website updates along with other non core activities typically get re-prioritise, sometimes right out of existence.

If these busy folks don’t have time to update their website, then you would be extremely optimistic thinking they (that’s you by the way!) would invest time on non-core social media activities. Particularly so when the social media activity is probably perceived as even further removed from core business activities &/or comfort zone.

If you don’t have time to drive social media to acheive your internet marketing objectives, then maybe you can delegate it; if of course you have staff with reasonably developed authoring skills; if they have time for this task; if they are motivated etc.

The alternative is to get one of the new breed of social media consultants to do it for you; which is probably the most sensible solution but unfortunately costs have suddenly sky-rocketed again…

So has anyone done a cost-benefit analysis for using social media as an internet marketing aid ?

At this stage I think that directly engaging with social media is a poor use of time for small business but Im happy to be proven wrong.

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Chrome – Elegant simplicity

Pete — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:10:59 +0000

As someone who spends his day inside a browser I strongly recommend Google Chrome, their new browser.
Its simple, uncluttered and it works. What more can I say.

Well it would be nice to be able to display PageRank like I can from the Google Toolbar in IE & Firefox, although a nifty script from www.chromefans.org does provide the info in a popup window albeit a little clunky.

Anyway after years of being an IE user I think Im convinced. I think….
Hmm should I change my default browser settings to Chrome ?

Wow that’s a big commitment.
Ill try it for a few more days but Im tending to think I will…

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Are the White Pages turning Yellow?

Pete — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:27:27 +0000

It’s the marketing version of a moral dilemma for me – Should the White Pages carry overt advertising ?

I thought I understood the service boundaries which define the telephone directory services brands Yellow Pages and White Pages. Fundamentally I know which book to reach for in a given information scenario. Well I thought I did…

Time for a bit on honesty. I don’t think I could put my hands on either telephone directory just now; I always use the internet and actually I have no idea where the books are, but I know the website addresses.

Time for even more honesty; I use Yellow Pages (online of course) less and less and I hear the same from most people I speak to. Why ? The quality of results is just not there.

I tell the YP search interface what I’m looking for and where, but the results I get are based on advertising spend not on my search criteria.

I’m not interested in who advertises with you Mr. Yellow pages, like most people I’m only interested in what I want to know right now.

The longer it takes’ you to get it; the less popular you will continue to become!

Take a lesson from Google’s success.

Are they successful just because of AdWords ? No!

Their success comes from being able to deliver the most relevant search results.

Their advertising revenue then flows from that success, not the other way around.

Anyway I note with some concern that White Pages are slowly ramping up their advertising offerings; premium listings; and even contextual advertising.

Deep inside, I’m not comfortable with this traditionally pure (white ?) information source using blatant advertising. I suspect neither will many others of White Pages clients.

I’m not denying White Pages should try to diversify its revenues; its just about how blatant they are about it.

Hopefully the White Pages folk will see how the Yellow Pages has diluted its brand and based on what I’m hearing, its revenues as well through inappropriate advertising.

Mr White Pages, don’t abuse your brand’s creditability. It has consequences.

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