Posts by jay 11

I'm extending that question, if we need more traffic how many bookmarking per URL is enough. Whether there are chances to be considered as spam if we do lot of bookmarking for a single URL.

Any effort to drive traffic through social bookmarking is considered Spam. Steer clear of these tactics..

PageRank is soooo outdated. You don't really need to worry about it anymore. Better to build a quality resource with great content and provide a good user experience. Try submitting your website to directories with human editors and promoting it in major social networks like Twitter.

Online bookmarking services allow individuals to catalog web pages of interest and access that catalog from anywhere there is an internet connection. I see a lot of members here mentioning how bookmarking their websites and web pages can be used as a tool for driving traffic and increasing web citations (links). This is true but I have to think the percentage of relevant links and qualified traffic is extremely low . Am I alone here? Have their been any studies that measure the use of Social Bookmarking sites as a medium for driving sales or conversions? I'd LOVE to see some stats...

I've never really tracked any of my social media campaigns. I mostly use Social networks to help spread the word about offers or promotions we have going. And there's also the inherent branding benefits you get from networking in public places - but that's tough to put a value on. I would be interested in hearing/reading some case studies on companies who have ran social media campaigns and tracked results. I hear Dell has had success in marketing organically through Twitter and Facebook but I don't know if they saw any profits...

Hopefully someone here can share their experience?

That's a great point. Marketing digital goods and services is certainly different. Some incentives that have worked for me are:
- volume discounts ie. 10 or more downloads/orders qualify for "agency" or "wholesale" discount. Or you could do it like "buy X, get one free."
- promotional discounts. Send existing users an "exclusive promo code" they can use and save on any online purchase
- And like InsightsDigital mentions... leak "special offers" and discounts into the social media realm.

The absolute best way to improve "backlinks" is to improve the content of your site. In other words, if you have an amazing resource, product, or service AND you generally provide a good user experience. Others will naturally cite your website.

Paid links are generally BAD. You don't want to get caught trying to manipulate your search rankings.

you are supposed to submitting reciprocal links means link exchange with directories and submitting articles with a back link to your site.

I disagree. Exchanging links (aka Reciprocal linking) is a waste of time. They negate the very reason for why you would link to someone else - which would be to give them a "vote of confidence."

i use many of these mentioned above... but i just want to know to which sites u feel more productive? can any one list ?

Most productive? Some would argue that most social media networks are counterproductive. :)

What is your business, Jay? Are you referring to this forum or another business?

Other businesses. I mostly work at a marketing firm but also do some consulting on the side.

I agree tho.. 16 payment gateways is probably overkill. I can't imagine supporting that many. Was it a big company?

Welcome Nick! We are happy to have you on board and hope you will be able to add to the many marketing discussions here at DaniWeb.

So far, I'm a Big Fan of the new layout! Granted, it will take some getting used to but overall I think this is a much more professional design and hopefully, with a few tweaks here and there (and most of our feedback taken into consideration), the new skin of DaniWeb will prove to be much more efficient and user-friendly. I think it will..

In the meantime, here are a few things that might warrant some consideration (and i apologize if these were already mentioned):

1. In a subforum, I cannot 'Go to the Last Post' in a New Window (or Tab). Holding Ctrl and clicking the image(?) keeps me in the same window/tab. Additionally, Right clicking the image or link does not bring me the option to open in a new tab. So far, this is the only area of the site that fails to bring me the link in a new tab but perhaps there are others?

2. I noticed a lot of feedback saying that the font throughout the site was too big. Keep in mind that you might have set the 'Zoom' on your browser too high. I originally thought the text size throughout the the site was way too small but that was because I had my browser zoomed out for the old DaniWeb design.Hitting Ctrl+0 to reset the zoom on my browser did the trick and I now see fonts as they were intended. Wonder …

For my business, the most effective payment method is Credit Card. Most people seem to go this route and from a business standpoint, the transaction fees are typically lower than other payment methods. We also offer PayPal and Google Checkout. Unfortunately though, Google Checkout does not yet allow for automated recurring payments (i don't think) and PayPal seems to have issues with this.

I agree with the OP's reports about how consumers prefer a variety of payment methods. Especially if your business appeals to both a domestic and international audience. After all, it makes sense to make it easy for people to pay. :)

I am very skeptical of anyone offering to "build" links. I find it best to earn citations rather than fabricate them.

i think Amazon does a great job of sealing the deal (as well as cross promoting their other products and services).

They have many payment options, (credit card, paypal, etc) as well as options to bundle shipping of multiple products in order to save money. They also show the retail value on most products while allowing you to save, or at least give you the impression that you are saving by charging less than retail.

I just read today that Google is looking to hire a "head of social." Too bad they missed the boat with "buzz" but i agree - i think we will eventually see the demise of Facebook and a newer/cooler platform will rise. If anyone is capable, it is Google...

how would i go about getting key words such as the one you have used to work to my advantage ? linke how would i set that up in adsence ? what heading is it under ? and what do you do ? please explain thanks.

you would have to build a site about mesothelioma, get it to rank, and then throw up some adsense. Keep in mind though that there are already a gajillion other sites trying to do this. Also keep in mind that Google or any other reputable SE frowns upon "Made for AdSense" type websites.

If i had to choose, i would pay no attention to Google PageRank as that will change once you redesign the site and add new content. Instead, i would evaluate the quality of citations each site currently has and I would also consider which domain is easier to remember and brand or fits nicer with targeted keywords.

The google toolbar should show you the Page Rank of each page on your site but i wouldn't worry about what that little green bar says. It has no baring on how successful your site will be.

There are a number of marketing tactics that will help push a sale along.. most of them have to do with language or playing with perceived values.

- "only X amount left in stock"
- "free shipping on orders over $20"
- strike through the retail value and show actual price. User perceives that they pay less
- price products below whole numbers. For example, $49.95

how did you set your adsence up so you will make money from that keyword ?

I had nothing to do with this story.. just sharing the info. I would also like to note that the story has nothing to do with AdSense. Instead, it was reported that an advertiser (allegedly) paid around $99 per click for keyword terms relating to mesothelioma. Pretty incredible but certainly believable when you consider the settlement values on class action lawsuits for people who are diagnosed with this type of malignant cancer.

On the content publishing side of things, I can't imagine that publishers would be able to make $99 on a per-click basis. A) the advertiser would have to have content publishing turned ON - which is unlikely when you are paying that much per click and B) even if they did publish those ads on an AdSense type site, the publisher would only get a portion of the revenue. They'd have to share it with Google or some other ad network. Still... that's a nice little cost per click! :)

Yes, I also want to know that does page rank play any important role here?

No.. Google Toolbar Page Rank has no effect on how well your site ranks in the search engine Result Pages. Instead, the quality of content and relevancy to the search keywords will determine how each pages ranks in the SERPs. On-site optimization doesn't hurt either. :)

But to answer the OP's question... yes a homepage will rank for keywords found throughout the site. However, a specific file page (or sub-domain) from your site might rank *better for certain keywords because that particular page is more relevant to those keywords.

For example, if you have a website selling baseball accessories, your homepage might return for queries on "baseball bats," and "baseball gloves" but that homepage result will probably be on page 42 of the search engine result pages. On the other hand, a specific file page dedicated to selling "baseball bats," will rank on page 2 or 3 of the SERPs because that page has more content and is more relevant to the search query.

Do not concentrate so much on PR... Concentrate on increasing your SERPS, PR will come eventually. Make sure you leave quality link at high PR, relevant and quality sites. Now, do not get confused, the reason I say not to concentrate on PR is because too many people make the mistake of worrying about PR and forget about other important factors. Also keep in mind that QUALITY is FAR more important than QUANTITY, and the same thing applies to links as it does to content.

This is great advice. I would also like to add that the better your content, site offering, the better citations (links) you can expect.

May be you get a back link from a website which is penalized by Google that is why your website can be penalized.

One link from a banned website typically will Not get you banned. You gotta do a lot of things wrong to get banned.

Some of the things that will get you banned:
- comment spamming
- forum signature spamming
- any other type of spamming
- selling links
- buying links
- plagiarized content
- really really bad code
- majority of links from "bad neighborhoods"

Don't focus too much on Google Toolbar Page Rank. It has no baring on how well your website will rank in the search engine results pages. There are many sites with low PR that outrank sites with high PR. That's because those sites have optimized their site components, have better navigation, and relevant content tailored towards specified keywords.

No google gives very little weight (if any) to signature links. Furthermore, I don't think they will penalize your site if you are self-promoting from within your forum signature.

Switching your host provider and shopping cart software should have no baring on your sites rankings in the search engines. Just make sure your content remains the same and you have no glaring coding errors when you deploy the new software.

And google does not give too much importance to web directories nowadays since webmasters have been abusing it.

Webmasters are also abusing so called "social bookmarking" sites. Which is why, like submitting to directories, you should only submit and try to get listed in the bookmarking sites that are established and have some sort of integrity.

yea.. i think we are now starting to realize the actual benefits and uses of Twitter. The hype has indeed simmered down and words like "tweeting" is now widely recognized and accepted in main stream media.

I also think business are starting to look at twitter more objectively. They seem to view it more as a reputation management or branding play than an actual marketing tool. But now that twitter has launched its ad platform, I think its back to the drawing board on that. :)

same here. A community is typically only as good as its users, so since it seems that not that many people adopted Buzz, it just doesn't have much value.

nice! best of luck to ya! i think a lot of your questions will be answered while researching and gaining some competitive intelligence. It may take a while for you to find your niche but stay positive and work hard.. it really does pay off. Great customer service always helps too. ;)

Google engineer Matt Cutts actually commented on this exact question about a year ago.

To summarize, he basically says it is OK as long as the Directory provides an editorial review service. In other words, does the directory reject spammy sites?

Agreed - it can be confusing for both users and search engines alike if each page has the same title.

There is still some value in twitter as a micro-blogging platform. That's really it tho. If you like someone or something and want to stay connected with updates, then twitter fills that void.

I don't know if opening up an ad platform tailored around twitter search results will kill it. Facebook was able to start serving ads without too much of a backlash but they are a much different beast than twitter - which is largely accessed via API, RSS, and mobile apps. That said, the ads shouldn't really interfere with it's core user base who are mostly just "following" feeds. Instead, this is more of a gamble on how it will effect the display of its real-time search results. Might take some getting used to but ultimately, I don't think this is a stake in the heart for them.

yea - it's best to limit the amount of keywords per ad group. To optimize an ads performance, it helps to tailor each ad so that the keywords are included. If your keywords are included in the ad, they are displayed in bold text, which enhances visibility for you ad. That said, it makes sense to have a small group of keywords for each ad.

It will depend on the type of site you offer. If your site is informational and well indexed in the search engines, than users may be quickly using your site to locate information and nothing else. Can you tell us the type of site you are operating?

no one knows when "caffeine" will appear. Some claim it has already been rolled out. I have been noticing a fair amount of differences in the way Google is indexing my site.. not sure if anyone else is experiencing the same?

I am probably missing something but I can't find any do follow blog.

Don't worry about it. Just genuinely contribute to participate or spur intellectual commentary.

Well so far i think they sold between 300k-700k units. A pretty solid opening weekend. Problem is... the iPad doesn't replace anything. Nor is it really better than anything already out there. Plus.. it's web browsing is done with a limited browser (safari). Bigger businesses already optimize for Safari (and many of the other popular browsers for that matter) but most businesses do not optimize their websites for Apples default browser. In fact.. a good portion of Apple users download a third party browser (mainly Firefox) because of Safari's limitations. I personally think the ipad will prove to be a dud... and we are more likely to see App Developers optimizing apps than site owners optimizing websites... BUT time will tell. :) I'll give Apple props for coolness but I think they came up way short in terms of usefulness.

In terms of seo should my categories, blog roll, latest posts etc columns be on the left of the posts or to the right.

My thought is that if they are on the right then the search spiders will get to the posts and main content a lot quicker as they are not been sent off by any links?

It won't really matter. As long as you don't have any major road blocks (aka coding errors) the spiders will be able to capture all the content and follow most of the navigation structured on your site - no matter where it is. Develop the site nav for the user first. Let the spiders find their own way. Though its probably a good idea to set up a sitemap and use Google Webmaster tools to learn about any issues they might have with crawling. Running the site through a W3C validator wouldn't hurt either.

i personally think the ipad is a dud and will prove to be a dud. I love most apple products but what does this new product replace? Or what is it better than? Not a laptop or netbook. virtual keyboard is a fail. It certainly doesn't replace a phone.. way too big. Maybe it can replace the Kindle? But then why the glossy display or half the battery life? It seems more like an over sized and overpriced ipod.

Ya... email, stock portfolio, cnn.

I think most check FB because they want to stay connected... get updates from friends and family. It's fun!

i still see both the 'like' and 'become a fan' options. Did they not change it yet? Or maybe they changed it back?

fixed the typos for ya. Looks like your 'c' key got stuck ;)

yea.. i'm embarrassed to say that FB is definitely one of the first sites i visit in the AM.

Because of comment and sig spam, most reputable community and social media sites employ 'nofollow' attributes. Search engines too view these links with less weight than a typical citation. Don't waste time commenting on blogs or sig spamming forums. By doing so you are classifying your site in the dumpster of the internet. Try focusing on creating a valuable resource. EARN the citations by promoting your valuable resource within your niche industry. Listen to your users/customers and provide a better experience. Optimize sites naturally.

i think it will depend mostly on how many units are bought and the content of the site. If ipads become wildly adopted and i can expect a lot of ipad users on my site, then yes, i would go through the trouble of optimizing. Otherwise, I think it is just one less thing to worry about.

I have heard that it is OK to have a few no follow links. I guess you don't want all follow links. I'm not sure why.

well because a link is a link is a link. :) Link citations from relevant resources have better potential for driving qualified traffic to your website regardless of nofollow attributes.

That's pretty awesome. Triangulation rules!! :) seriously though... quite the powerful tools we wield.

i imagine the same rules would apply. Good quality content pertaining to and optimized for desired keyword phrases. Promote the site/offering within your niche. Focus on driving relevant traffic and qualified users. Grow user/customer base naturally and steadily by watching (analytics) and listening (customer care).

in terms of SEO, it doesn't really matter. Choose the one that makes more sense from a navigational standpoint. Will there be other subdivisions of your business? If so, you might want to think about going with subdomains.