Search Engine Marketing Spot

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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.