Search Engine Marketing Spot

As you all know there are thousands of website themes to choose from on the internet. It is impossible to use a free theme that will not be used by someone else. In the past few years Wordpress themes have become the popular choice by many people, many of those people do not have the technical ability to alter there themes. By not altering the themes, you will end up with exact duplicate layouts for many different websites. You could create your own site layout yourself or hire to have it done. That will not ensure though that your site will be one of a kind. People see your site and like the look of it, they will just duplicate your site layout to use for there own. All of the image names, alt tags (if there even are any), all the way down to the CSS will be the same. Some people may alter the header image, color scheme or navigation, but that is about it. The rest of the code stays the same through out the website.

So now you might be thinking this could cause a problem to your search engine marketing that you have been working so hard on. Well you do not have to worry, having duplicate layouts will not have any effect on your search engine rankings. It all comes down the content you provide in your layout that makes the difference. The search engines know that free layouts and custom layouts are used by many people and duplicated by just as many. That is why you hear everywhere that content makes the big difference, not only for the search engines, but for your viewers as well. There are many other factors that go into how your website gets ranked, page titles, proper link structure, incoming and outgoing links are just to name a few.

The only time you have to worry about duplicate layouts becoming a problem is if you are hosting them all on the same IP address and linking them all together. The search engines will see this pattern and consider this a link farm and penalize you. You can try and stretch the websites out on several different IP addresses, but this will not help you in the end if they are all still linked together. The image above represents your hosting IP address and how many sites are all hosted on that IP. The blue lines indicate the sites are all linked together which is what you do not want to do. If you had twenty websites all linked together then the search engines will consider it a link farm. Even if each of the sites have a separate layout, since they are all linked together a penalty can be given to your sites. The red lines simply indicate the websites pointing all to the same IP address.

Penalties will occur if:

1. Duplicate website content is used
2. Scraping content from other websites or RSS feeds
3. Linking all of your websites together
4. Linking out to unrelated sites
5. Keyword stuffing your content, alt tags, description, title, etc.
6. Participating heavily in a link exchange program
7. Getting to many backlinks in a short amount of time

If you do not have the technical ability to alter any free theme you have found, do not worry about getting a penalty for having the same exact look as another website. Just make sure the content you use is your own, and make it the best you possibly can. There are some people that are new to marketing a website on the internet and have read about duplicate content penalties and feel that it also applies to the layout of there site. Do not worry about your site layout being the same as another site. Make your content worth reading and build up your one way backlinks to help improve your search engine rankings. There are several other factors in helping increase your rankings, but we can discuss this another day.

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog

I was browsing through some a client’s competitor’s websites and one of them utilized an exit popup window. This window was not your typical popup window, it activates once you move your mouse over the X or back button of your browser. I had never seen this done before, so I had to find out how they made that window. Looking at the source code on the site it was all encrypted so there was no simple copy and paste to use on another site. Encrypted is not the proper term, however I am drawing a blank at the moment on the name for this. You cannot encrypt JavaScript, html, or css, there is a term for this but I cannot remember off the top of my head. Anyhow the example code looked something like this:

<!– ExitGrabber.com Code Begins –>
<script>s=unescape(’%3CRVZH%40%26sqyo6.ykwd%3Eq%60g7%28%1A%127%7
EshprhIOFLS%5E%2B-XFYBXDAA%0A%11SQGZZBL%5C%0166_QM%24%240ydw6%3F
h%3A%25%27%25%29n-%3C018oX%5C%211%2A39517%2B%19%5BB%0Bieffj%3E%0
B%0Djhi%60k%7Faz%7Eu%3Fp%7Byye%229msui%7B%24-%2B_..%28%2C%09L%5B
KL%01EOAT%5DWH9%3FFV%5C%5DSU%5B%07%1E%0E09yNN1%23%3F%3Cd%23%25%2
8%28%20%3Bjqa%23%2Cn%5B%5D%3E64%2Ff%7D%3C0%0C%05BR4qz%23Ewofd2%0
7%01nlmdwc%7Dfzq%3Btwuui%26%3D%3D%5Ca%11%12%13%14%1E%2B-KFFD%5E%
17%0EXXXFV%0F8%3CTMKITN%07%1ER%2F7%27xIO%291-%3B%2C%27%23%3Ato88
671%3BmZR.3%3F%285d%7F%01%14%16%0C%3B%0C%08%7E%09%0F%0B%0D%26mxj
k%20fn%7Eu%7Ev4%3Brey%7E7xssjmOMQX%29%2FVH%5B%40%5EBCC%14%0FQSA%
5CX%40BR%0340IUZVKzas3%3C%7EKM%3C%26%3Aql%7F%3E7k%5CX0%21%27%258
%2Acz3%3D3%3Admk%01%16rrmq%3E%25vhag%7En%7E6%03%05m%1C%18%1E%1E%
18%1C9%7Ck%7B%7C1%7EqqTDLWEWCFS%24%20IC_JJB%1CF%5CD%0F%16%06HA%1
AHSQW%5B%60%230%2C3%2B%7DJB%2B%2B%28%27%2A%3C%20%25%3F6%7E7%3…

So after decrypting the above code I was able to find the true source to that exit window. The code itself is around 375 lines so I did not want to put it directly into the post, rather keep it clean and add it to an external text file for you to copy and paste from. You may download the text file here.You can edit the CSS to change the color of the window bar, around line 374 is where you will change the page title, height, width and link to your exit window. You can adjust the timer if you like; however this timer seems to only have the window open up one time for the user. Here is a screenshot of the window.

This gets by pop up blockers and would work great for any landing page you are using. It gives the viewer a second chance to change there mind and purchase what you are selling or fill out an information form to collect there data. I would only use this for landing pages and not on any main site. I personally hate seeing exit windows when trying to leave a site. With a landing page, most people will only go there one time to see what you have to offer. An exit window like this can help increase your conversion rate immensely. If you can remember the proper term in “decrypting” the above code please let me know as it is driving me crazy!

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog

Spot On Tuesday’s Tip is about giving something away for free in an effort to generate more traffic and/or subscribers to your website.  So before you think I am crazy, you need to understand that people like things that are free. You will have a higher conversion rate with a free offer then you will with making them just pay for something. The exception to this will be a product or service you are advertising where the viewer knows they have to purchase something. Their are thousands of ebook websites out there that when advertised say “buy this ebook on whatever topic” or “get this whatever topic ebook today”. Since you are not using the word free in any of those sentences the viewer will probably think they have to buy something. Lets take a look at a some of the more common free giveaways and then at a free giveaway that I will be implementing into SEMSpot.

Free Newsletter

Now the most common free giveaway is a newsletter, it can be weekly or even monthly. Normally you would offer your newsletter on almost any page that the viewer can run into. This way if they did not see it on the homepage for whatever reason, you are giving them a second chance to see it. You can offer that second chance to them with a small form on the side of each page, or make a custom button/graphic that stands out a little bit to show them the sign up page.

Some may argue that if the viewer does not utilize the form on the front page, that it is not setup properly. Well, what you have to understand is sometimes the viewer came to your site for one specific reason and has tunnel vision on that reason. They can care less what your navigation says, what banners you show or what form you put on the page. They see what they came for and click on it or just read it. Once they are done, they may stay and browse your site. That is why it does not hurt to offer your newsletter on multiple pages, this way you have maximum exposure to the viewer.

Free Ebook

Offering a free ebook through your website is another great way to drive traffic to your site, that is as long as the ebook you are offering has good information in it. Sites that offer free ebooks that are junk will not reap the full rewards as if they gave away an ebook that was good. With a good ebook, will come good residual traffic, as if your ebook was junk word can spread and who wants to download an ebook that is useless, even if it is free. You offer the free ebook just as you would your free newsletter. Put it on almost every page, give it a custom graphic that stands out a little bit to push the viewer to click on it.

Free Trial Membership

If your site has a paid section, then you can offer a free trial to that section to any new viewers. It can be 3, 5 or 7 days free. I do not like to go over 7 days, that gives the viewer way to much time to read over everything your site has to offer and they may think they do not need to pay now because they already got what they were looking for. Some of you may argue that if the site has great information the viewer will pay and come back. That is not always true, your site may have great information, however if it does not have a lot of it, the free membership could be enough time to see and read everything. That is why I do not like to go over 7 days. Giving someone 15 or 30 days is to much in my opinion, all you want to do is give them a little teaser to the site, let them have a small taste and then take the spoon out of their mouth. If they like what they see, then they will pay to be a member of your site. This has always been common in the adult industry, for the past 10 years you have always seen free trial access to those sites. To this day they still do it now, if it didn’t work then the large adult companies would no longer do it. This method works great if you are running a paid forum, giving the viewer only a few days to see what they can buy is great. If your forum is large enough, they will not get to read all of the informative posts before you take that spoon away from them. When you do so, chances are you will be giving them that spoon back with a payment from them. Now with a lot of forums, you normally do not ask for any payment information up front. If this is how you are doing it, then keep in mind that a smart user will just go behind a proxy and free email account to gain access to the site again. This is where you need to decide on trying to take payment information before giving them free access.

Free Write Ups and Reviews

This is the approach I am taking, giving my readers the chance at a free write up about their internet marketing website. The reasoning behind this is to have people who have write ups done for them to spread to the word to their readers. I am not requiring a link back to my site, or anything else in return. However if word gets around that you can get some free links and a write up for free, I would think that almost any internet marketer would take up on the offer. Other bloggers can write about what I am and doing and offering for free, so by doing that it can drive more traffic back to my website. It is a win/win situation in my eyes. I could be wrong though, this could all just be a bust in the end. We will find out in due time.

What other free methods have you used to help market your website in the past?

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

A while back I had stated that I would gladly put your website On The Spot and feature your website on this blog for free. Only stipulation is it had to deal with internet marketing and a slight profile about you so the readers could get to know you a little bit better. You never know, in the future a reader could want to hire your services. Well I have not received anyone wanting some free link love and being put On The Spot, so instead I took it upon myself and will add sites that I like to read, contains great information and I feel that some of you readers might enjoy as well. So this week I am putting Shady On The Spot!

SlightlyShadySEO is not your typical marketing blog, he talks about techniques that range from white hat to the blackest of black hat. He goes over techniques that most people would never think of doing or even using in there marketing campaign. Shady brings you into his world and goes into great detail on his methods. At times literally holding your hand and walking you through step by step in showing you how it is done. Some of his posts are on the extreme side for some marketers as they are afraid to even think about black hat techniques. If you are afraid to try any of these techniques, you should at least take the time to learn more about them. It is always good to know new and different marketing techniques no matter what hat you wear. You never know, in the future you may want to test out some of the techniques mentioned and test it for yourself. Shady is not afraid to express his opinion either, he keeps his cool, is polite and shows his respect while getting his point across.

So if you have not already done so, I suggest you open up a blank word document, head over to SlightyShadySEO and take a few notes. You never know what marketing techniques you will want to implement into your campaign now or in the future.

If you or a friend are interested in being featured On The Spot, then do not hesitate to contact me.  Friends, family, readers, you name it.  If it deals with internet marketing then I would gladly feature them here.  There is no charge, this is my way of giving back to the community that has taught me so much over the years and simply saying thank you.

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

So why would an up and coming search engine marketing blog stop posting for 30 days? It wasn’t because I was being lazy, it had nothing to do with me not having anything to post, I did not get tired of this blog. I did it on purpose, to see how it would effect my RSS subscription numbers and site traffic. I had expected the subscriber base to plummet to almost nothing, however as I checked it every week the numbers would either stay the same or slightly be higher. I do not have 10,000 subscribers to this blog, not yet at least, however I did see a slight increase in the subscriber base. I also expected to see a drop in daily site traffic, however that number stayed the same as well. So after 30 days of this blog being dormant, how did I manage to not lose anyone? Some may say that it doesn’t matter how many subscribers you have. However I feel that the more you have, the more chances you have of people linking back to your site and of posts that they think are beneficial to there readers. So to me the more subscribers, the better for your website and getting more backlinks for your search engine marketing efforts. I do not have one solid answer, I am not sure that there is just one answer, but this is what I think it takes to keep your readers.

1. Provide Solid Content That Is Educational And Helpful

By now everyone knows that content is king for any blog you write for or any website you are marketing. Posting a bunch of useless text will bore your readers, why should they come back? You talked about a movie you watched, the long walk with your dog, how you had a great time on Friday night, what you eat for dinner week in and week out. People come to the Spot to read about marketing there website, they do not care about other stuff I do in my life. When they see there feed reader or come to the site, they know 9 times out of 10 they will have a good read (or at least I hope so, lol ) and possibly learn something new to implement into there search engine marketing campaign. I try and make the readers think outside of the box and achieve a new level of marketing there websites. This is one reason why I think my subscriber base did not drop.

2. I Do Not Have Thousands Of Subscribers To Lose

This statement could also be a reason why I did not lose any readers, I do not have thousands of subscribers that would leave after 30 days. I know some people will not continue to subscribe to a blog that is not updated every day or that makes a few posts a month at different intervals.

3. People Forgot

I am sure people have a lot of blogs in there reader, some have hundreds and they simply forgot to remove SEMSpot from there list. How often do you go through and clean out your feed reader? I know I do not clean mine out very often, I leave blogs in there that might only post once a month. I am not being lazy, I love to read and learn about this industry. That one post a month might teach me something new, or I can take what I read and apply my own ideas to it to make my marketing efforts that much better.

4. I Got Lucky

This statement can be very true, maybe I did get lucky and that is why none of you subscribers left me.

I believe that a combination of the reason’s listed above are why I did not lose any subscribers. Either way I thank everyone for sticking around the Spot to see what new idea’s will come out next. I do not write this blog just for me, I do not do it for the money (you should notice there are no ads on this site and no paid reviews), I write this blog to inform you the readers. I try to inform you of new techniques or methods, take old methods and revise them, talk about news in the industry, methods you should and should not to do etc. You have stayed this long and I thank you. What reason’s do you think would contribute to not losing any of your readers?
This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

This is the second part to yesterday’s post Blackhat Technique To Hide Your Affiliate Code Behind An Image/Video in regards to rotating your ads randomly on your site. Some of you might be interested in showing different ads on there site without cluttering your website with banner ads. To keep the clutter to a minimum, you can rotate your affiliate ads. If you are looking to rotate different affiliate banner ads or affiliate links then you can copy/past these scripts below to get started in just a few minutes. You can use one of these scripts on every page of your site if you like. The only disadvantage is the viewer will not see all of your affiliate banners, because these only show one at a time. When you refresh the page, you will see other banners. This is a great method if you are trying to use skyscraper banners on your site. Instead of having the entire side of your website filled with them, you can rotate through them. That is one thing that does drive me crazy, a website with very little content and a scrollbar that is a mile long to compensate for the skyscraper ads.

Let’s take a look at the first script, it is short and to the point. There are several ways to randomize your affiliate banners, however this way is very easy to understand for anyone. I could use array’s, but I feel that some readers will feel intimidated by seeing some of the PHP code. This first code is very easy to understand for a beginner, so lets have a look. Just remember to remove the PRE and CODE blocks before using them.

<pre><code>

<?php
$rand = rand(1,2,3,4,5);
if ($rand == 1)
print ‘Affilate script 1′;

elseif ($rand == 2)
print ‘Affiliate script 2′;

if ($rand == 3)
print ‘Affilate script 3′;

if ($rand ==4 )
print ‘Affilate script 4′;

if ($rand ==5 )
print ‘Affilate script 5;
?>
</code>

</pre>

The above script will rotate through 5 different things for you. You could input your affiliate javascript code or IMG and A HREF tags. If you only have 4, then simply remove the last 2 lines of

<pre>

<code>
if ($rand ==5 )
print ‘Affilate script 5;

</code>

</pre>

and change the $rand string to (1,2,3,4) so it knows to only randomize between 4 numbers. What I suggest doing is putting this in a separate file, lets call it random.php and simply use the php include on any page you want it to go on.

<pre>

<code>

<?php include(”http://www.YOURSITENAME.com/random.php”) ?>

</code>

</pre>

So if you have this on 40 pages and you need to make a change to an affiliate, you only need to make the change in the random.php and not on the 40 pages. This saves you a lot of time and makes your job much easier.

Now the second method is a little more complicated and requires a MYSQL database. You will need to create your database and have a minimum of 2 rows. I called the table BANNERS and created 2 rows, url and image. You can create another row for your alt tag if you like, this way every banner that gets rotated with have alt text for each.

This code simply connects to the database of DBNAME, selects all ( * ) from BANNERS and then order’s it by randomly choosing one of the items to display. The “.$row[“url”].” and “.$row[“image”].” are used to select the data from those rows in the database and echo’s them into the url and img tag. You would still put this code in a separate file, like random.php above so you only have to make changes to one single file. This also allows you to use this on multiple websites while only using one database. The only change you would make is the server address, instead of having “localhost” you would put in the direct server address to where the database is stored. So if you have 20 websites and are looking to monetize them with affiliate banner ads, this would be a great solution for you as well.

<pre>

<code>

<?php

mysql_connect(”localhost”,”USERNAME”,”PASSWORD”);
mysql_select_db(”DBNAME”) or die(”Unable to select database”);

$query = “SELECT * FROM BANNERS ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 0,1″;
$result = mysql_query($query) or die(mysql_error());

mysql_close();
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{echo ”
<a href=’http://”.$row[”url”].”‘>
<img src=’http://www.YOURSITENAME.com/images/banners/”.$row[”image”].”‘ alt=”></a>/>
“;}

?>

</code>

</pre>

As stated before, there are several ways to randomize data with PHP so I am sure you could write a shorter code or whatever. Please feel free to post your alterations in the comments below to show the readers other methods of ad rotation besides what I have listed here. I hope this answers question and/or gives you the reader some ideas for ad rotation for your website.

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

Before going any further you need to realize that using such a technique, you run the risk of getting your account banned. I do not suggest using this on your major sponsors. If need be, sign up with a new affiliate or two and test it out for yourself.

The concept is simple, we are going to be showing the affiliate image with the size of 300×250. At the same time we will be overlaying our own image or video that is of the same size and hiding the affiliate image behind it. Why do this you might ask? It is easy, you want the people to click on your image or video and think they are going to see more of it. Instead they are clicking on your affiliate think and making you a little bit of money.

Here is a screen shot of the image being fed by the affiliate, in this case I will just use Google to show you.

Now we have our custom image or video that we would like to use on top of our affiliate link.

So now let me show you an easy way to take your own image or video and overlay it on top of your affiliate image. Here is the sample code that can be used to display your affiliate information under an image. You can replace the image with a video as well, just remember to keep the image or video the same size as the ad you are trying to cover up. I also suggest using a rotation script so your CLR is not 100%. I can go over an easy method of rotating you ads with PHP tomorrow. This technique works great for stumbleupon traffic and such, if you truly do have a video though you can always ad a link under the image. This way after they click on the image and see it did not work, they can go back and click on the link “click here if video does not play”. That way they can at least see the video and can help keep the heat turned down a little for you. There is a live link at the bottom of the code block to see this code in action and see how easy it is. Just remember this is against some affiliates TOS and will get your account banned quickly.

<pre>
<code markup=”none”>
<style>
iframe{
opacity: 0;
border: 0px none transparent;
position: absolute;
top: 0px;
left: 0px;
height: 300px;
width: 250px;
filter:alpha(opacity=0);
}

img{
position: absolute;
top: -50px;
left: 0px;
height: 300px;
width: 250px;
}

</style>

<img src=”http://www.semspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/blackhat-image-trick.jpg” alt=”blackhat image trick”>
<script type=”text/javascript”><!–
google_ad_client = “545″;
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
google_ad_format = “300×250_as”;
google_ad_type = “image”;
google_ad_channel = “165464″;
//–></script>

<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>
</script>

</code>

You can see a live example of this in action by clicking here.

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

Could they compete with Google at this point?  Google owns the search market and MSN is way behind at this point.  Google will be putting there operating system on cell phones in the near future, of course with there Google search feature.  What about there conquest to have free WiFi access?  Why else would they be partnering up with EarthLink the offer this type of service?  You know the default search will be Google.com for anyone using the service. msn has there head in there ass

Imagine what could have been if MSN did in fact buy Yahoo last year.  We all know that Microsoft has some deep pockets, but are they putting there money in the right places?  Do they really care to try and catch up to the Google Giant?  Over at Google they are hiring the greatest computer minds in the world, and they have the bankroll to do it.  MSN has the money as well, however there attempt to launch there new MSN Live did not live up to all of the hype.  The only thing Microsoft has going for them is people who use IE7 (with no plugins) and or have there homepage set to MSN.com.  Now some people who do have there homepage set to MSN might not necessarily use that.  They could have a toolbar installed that uses Google or they just type in Google.com and start there search.

You use Google if

• You own a brand new computer from dell (Google toolbar/desktop)
• You have installed the Google toolbar on your own
• IE7 after installing adobe acrobat, WinZip, java updates
• You use Firebox browser
• You use Opera browser
• Have installed a long list of shareware that auto installs the Google toolbar if you do not uncheck the option

The list above can account for a large number of people in the world.  Could this be a reason why Google stays ahead of Microsoft in the search industry?  Think about the home page for a second, you go to Google and it is very plain and easy to use.  It has there logo and a search box.  Now think about MSN.com, the page is cluttered with all sorts of news, information, flash ads and takes longer to load.  With all of that going on, the not so average computer user might get lost and not know what to do from there.  Instead they head on over to Google and just worry about that empty search box.  Could this be a reason why Google stays ahead of Microsoft in the search industry?

Microsoft does not collect that much data from what users they have.  Google on the other hand collects and saves the data from any search performed, adwords, adsense, Google tool bar uses, firefox searches, and more.  It then takes the data and figures out what they can do to make the users experience a better one.  There were talks about Google geo-targeting there search results based on the IP address of the person.  So if you did a search for “website design” while having your IP based in New York then it would only show you website designers in the New York area.  Google not only thinks ahead, they also plan ahead.  Could this be a reason why Google stays ahead of Microsoft in the search industry?

Microsoft has there Windows OS, Office suite software, there business servers and they 3rd most used search engine in the world.  Google is always growing, they are showing no signs of stopping at this point.  I really think the only thing to knock down the Google giant will be the government to step in and try to break things up just like they did with Microsoft.  It probably wont be this year or next, but it will happen eventually.  Maybe this is what Microsoft is waiting for, when that happens they think they can snatch up the market share?  I highly doubt it, they changes to compete with Google and maybe if they pulled there head out of there ass they might see some sort of light at the end of a long tunnel.  If not then they will never catch Yahoo and sure as hell will never catch up to Google.

Do you think Microsoft, or anyone for that matter can top Google as being the leader in search for 2008 and beyond?

This article was originally written on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.

Whether you are just starting out with search engine marketing or you have been involved with it for years, you need to realize that not everything you read is true. Separating truth from speculation is something that will take time, your own testing, plenty of reading and getting to know other people in the industry. Just because you read something on a forum or a blog, does not mean it is always true. Some people do not look much further past what they have read. Instead they start making changes to there site or marketing campaign based on a single discussion in hopes of it working. Later to find out that it did more harm then good for them. Before making any major changes, participate in the discussion to ask further questions. You need to fully understand what the topic is at hand, realize the good and bad from it. Try and dissect the theory behind what is being talked about before trying to utilize it for your self. By doing this you will not only have a better understanding of what it is you are trying to do, you will be educating yourself further on the subject for future reference. By referencing back to it in the future, you can then start to come up with your own ideas for your marketing efforts.

Realize that in many cases what you read is not the entire story; it is nothing more then a bit of information to start with. Some parts could have been left out on purpose in an effort for that person to have there 15 minutes of fame. What they left out though was probably what makes the technique effective. In some cases what you read is a flat out lie in an effort to deceive people into thinking it really works. It sucks to have to read that last sentence, but it is true. Some search engine marketers will say whatever they think sounds good to throw other people off and even harm there rankings. That is why it is important to follow up more before implementing it to your website.

After spending a good amount of time at your favorite forums, you should be able to tell the good people from the ones that are full of crap. These are the people that you can, for the most part, trust in what they say. Get in contact with them, introduce yourself, and even try and help them out if you can. If you scratch there back, they will scratch yours. The search engine marketing industry does have some really helpful people in it; you just have to find them.

Here is a short list of people and there websites that I trust on what they say. This list could be much longer, but I am just going with a quick 15 to start. Some on the list are household names in the search industry. Even though I have never met them, what I have read by them along with there reputation is why they are on the list. You can read them on your own and discover other marketing methods that can help you.

Danny Sullivan
Barry Swartz
Andy Beard
Sebastian
Jill Whalen
Marty Weintraub (AimClear)
Jaan Kanellis (Incrediblehelp)
Michael Gray (Graywolf)
Rand Fishkin
Bill Slawski
Donna Fontenot (Dazzlin Donna)
Tamar Weinberg
Aaron Wall
Ruck
Lisa Barone

One thing you have to realize is there are circle’s of friends in this industry that help each other out. In these circle’s there are techniques that each of them use that they hardly tell anyone. In the end improving your SERP’s is a competition, so if you have found something that is really helping out, chances are you are not going to share it right away.

I hope you come to understand the difference between truth and speculation in this industry. You will find the truth by exploring, researching, and participating more on what it is you have read. You then can determine if the technique is worth the time and effort and how it COULD help or hurt you.

This can be compared to a drag race, where what you have read tells you how to run a 9 second ¼ mile time. “Just increase the boost of your turbo, increase the fuel flow and use nitrous”. Ok great, you just increased the boost to 22lbs. (22 was a good number to use I guess since I didn’t bother to research what effect it has), increased the fuel flow by over ½ and I will use nitrous right at the start and not let off until I reach the finish line in 9 seconds. After reading about it for the first time, implementing into your car you head down to the track. Your up next and start to shake in anticipation…will what I read really work for me…I can’t wait! The light turns greet, you drop the clutch and hit stage 1 of your nitrous and your…oh shit……BOOOOOMMMMM! You then realize that your fuel management system was turned up to high, thus flooding the car at the start and by hitting the nitrous you just shot your pistons out the side of your fender.

See what can happen when you speculate on something that was supposed to work. I guess next time you might look a little deeper into the source of your information.

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http://www.register.com/promo/acquisitions_8772090537.rcmx

This article was originally written and posted on SEMSpot.com, a Search Engine Marketing Blog.