This image (below post) is a visualization of how and why Google.com typically makes and breaks all online businesses. Although this does change a bit from time to time, for the most part, this is generally what you'll see accross the board when looking at web stats for various web sites. Having a great site, a good idea, or a unique service isn't enough to make it with your Internet business. You need visibility on Google to matter, period. Sites that do well on Google … [Read more...]
How Google’s Panda Has Changed The Landscape of Search
A significant part of Panda is about cleaning up the web and finding out what's real and what's not. Users are getting tired of sifting through garbage in the results and search engines are getting tired of serving it. As search itself becomes more and more competitive, users have increased choices, advertisers and eyeballs become more valuable, and it becomes a search engines key focus and responsibility to deliver the best quality results, in every search, with little to no … [Read more...]
Social Media 101 “Algorithmically Speaking”
A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AND WHY SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS: - FROM A SEARCH ENGINES PERSPECTIVE Why do I need a Twitter or Facebook page? Who cares about that stuff anyway? I just want to rank higher, isn't link building enough? Well, do you want the honest answer? No it isn't - Not necessarily anymore.... If you want to be even better and rank higher than your competitors it's a good idea to make sure you're covering every base and doing what they might not know about … [Read more...]
Google To Devalue Exact Match Domains: Is Google Going Too Far?
Barry Schwartz recently posted what he called his "Key Takeaways From Google’s Matt Cutts Talk At PubCon" One of these points stated that Matt Cutts specifically mentioned "Google will be looking at why exact domain matches rank so well. For example, if you have a site at www.blue-widgets.com it may rank a bit too well for the keyword phrase [blue widgets]". This is unwise in my opinion - just get better at fighting spam...... I wonder if it's just some webmaster … [Read more...]
Website Monetization
Website Monetization Those who make the most money usually have the largest audience… Although there are several ways to monetize a web site, there is only one fundamental requirement to making your site generate revenue, and that’s TRAFFIC. No web site regardless of how great it may seem on the surface, or how excellently designed it is, can possibly be expected to make anyone any money if it doesn’t have any traffic coming in. It doesn’t matter where the traffic is … [Read more...]
The Competitive Edge of a Great Domain
For the most part, it starts with the competitive edge of a great domain… It all has to start somewhere, and for most online entrepreneurs, it starts with a domain name. Your domain name is the beginning of your brand. From the time you launch an idea into reality, the first thing you’ll want to be sure of is the foundation for which your idea will come to life. If your doing business online, your domain name will serve as your location, your store front, your place on the … [Read more...]
Domain Auction Sites
Domain Auction Sites Domain auctions provide a way for domain name buyers to get the domain names they desire quickly. Auctions occur on auction sites specifically for trading domain names. Some like GoDaddy Auctions use expired domain names that have not been renewed and push them into their auction inventory. However, people who no longer want to utilize a domain name they own may also sell to potential buyers. Sedo.com – The world’s leading domain marketplace. Over … [Read more...]
Domain Names News
Domain Names News A handful of the industries leading experts on domains share news, sales charts, legal pitfalls as well as insider tips on the following sites. DNJournal.com – The Industry News Magazine focusing on the domain name industry. Includes popular areas for Domain Sales, Year-to-date Sales Charts, Latest News, and The Lowdown. Published by Ron Jackson. DomainNameNews.com – Leading source for daily information about domain sales, domain company news, and … [Read more...]
Domain Name Trading
Other Places to Watch for Domain Name Trading There are a variety of other forums and public sites where you’ll find deals and discussions on domains, but these two should definitely be mentioned here as additional tools to find sales on domains and web sites. DigitalPoint.com - Busy and very popular webmaster forum – Domains For Sale , Buy & Sell Your Domain section. This site seems to have turned into the Wild Wild West with frequent problems among members and a … [Read more...]
Domain Name Forums
Domain Name Forums Domain forums are a great place to start when looking for information on domains. Some of the best information on domains is found in forums where domain investors and enthusiasts are lurking for deals, buying and selling, as well as troubleshooting situations in the domain business. Usually the latest news and the industries best deals are found or at least being discussed amongst members. Here are some great domain name forums: DNForum.com - One … [Read more...]
Affiliate Programs
Affiliate Programs Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards an affiliate for each customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other … [Read more...]
Advertising Networks
Advertising Networks Ad networks are companies who have large numbers of clients looking to run their banner or text ads across networks of web properties. These companies have both “advertisers” and “publishers”. Advertisers are those who want their ads to run, and publishers are web site operators who will allow space to be filled with advertising. The ad networks serve as a middle man or go-between both advertiser and publisher. Ad networks collect fees from advertisers … [Read more...]
Direct Sales
Direct Sales Having an item for sale on your web site is one of the most direct and easiest to understand ways of making money from your web site. Products can be as simple as a downloadable file or as complicated as a product to be built, shipped, and delivered through conventional means like the postal service or courier. Direct sales can also refer to the filling of advertising space on a web site by communicating with interested businesses who are seeking visibility … [Read more...]
Lead Generation
Lead Generation A popular way developers monetize a web site is through lead generation. Leads can either be direct phone calls to a professional business or they can be email contacts to be followed up on. Most lead generation sites will have contact forms or other user inputted areas to capture a visitors contact information so that their initial interest can be utilized by a “closer” (an experienced sales person) who then turns them into a paying customer. Many web … [Read more...]
Social Signals and Search Engine Rankings
WebProNews.com recently published an article called "Are Social Signals the New PageRank?" The article basically went over a deal between Microsoft and Facebook which would integrate Facebook data in Bing search results. In the article it stated: "In essence, Bing is betting that social signals are better than link signals in determining search relevance." This will be important to watch... It supports the idea that Twitter, Facebook, and other social signals continue to … [Read more...]