| LED Digest 2432: New Guest Moderator! |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.GetWebContent.com/LED : the LED's Key Sponsor The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== Guest Moderator: Published by: John Audette LED Digest john, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. June 18, 2007 Issue no. 2432 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ===== NEW ====================== <Quick Intro by Adam> <Moderator Comment> ~ "Well, now...." --== Duplicate Content Penalties ==-- ~ Chuck Hiatt "...avoid potential ranking loss from duplicate content reprimands..." ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Drop in Rankings at Google ==-- ~ Peggy Deras "...gaining links, in my position in the kitchen and bath industry, is one of the hardest things to do." --== The Importance of Customer Service ==-- ~ Shel Horowitz "I have always maintained good relationships with competitors and get quite a bit of business from them." --== Live Chat Software ==-- ~ Joe Taylor "...these guys have some of the best software out there for the price." ~ Asim Jalali "We...use livechatnow.com's hosted service." ~ Philip Scriver "I climb mountains in Scotland and find great difficulty pronouncing the Gaelic names..." ======== NEW ====================================== By way of introduction, let me first say a huge thank you to my Dad for spending his valuable time with our list. This is the start of some great discussions, no doubt about it. For those who don't know him, John Audette is something of an Internet pioneer. He founded one of the first online marketing agencies in the mid-90s. His online press release service, Internet News Bureau, is still running under Internet.com (who he sold it to a decade ago). His discussion list, I-Sales, was literally the model for the LED Digest, and for good reason: he founded the LED. He's been around! A great way to get to know him is through his moderator comments, but also check out his "Sweet 16: Principles for Building a Successful Internet Business" http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1286/204/. That will give you insight into his strong character and moral code. Alright, I'm outa' here! Have a great week. -Adam ------------------ From: John Audette Subject: Still Striving Hello LEDers... Here's the deal. Your able moderator Adam is swamped. As many of you know, he has quietly (that's Adam's style - but old-timers here know it's not mine) started doing Internet marketing for clients. The word has gotten out despite his lack of marketing for his company -- AudetteMedia -- and he is B-U-S-Y. I personally kind of like it because he's starting to get an idea of what I went through 40 years ago when I started an Internet marketing company called Multimedia Marketing Group (MMG). As the real old-timers here know, I started the LED originally. It was called the Link-Exchange Digest and I started it for a company called - ! - LinkExchange. Adam took it over early on and has moderated it ever since. I was also publishing a list called I-Sales at the time and I focused my attention on that. Which paid off because I could go just about anywhere in the world and have a Guinness with a fellow I-Saler. Adam has referred to me as being dusty & rusty, which I like -- he could have called me over the hill, washed up, etc. But I can't be that uninformed about Internet marketing because I read the LED every day (I especially like the quotes at the bottom). I loved the Internet when it first started to bloom in the early 90's -- and I still love it today. I saw it as revolutionary as opposed to evolutionary when I first got involved in 1994, and I have not seen anything to change my mind. It's not quite as tidy as it was in the early days, but it's still powerful and intriguing and I'm thrilled to still be involved. Be patient with me though. I might be a little behind the curve, but I pick things up pretty fast during the time of the day that I'm lucid. I'll try hard to be worthy to serve as your moderator while Adam builds the second coming of MMG. Your Striving Moderator, John Audette Comment? -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Chuck Hiatt Subject: Duplicate Content Penalty Dear LEDers: I received this in a message from an associate this morning and wanted to pass it on: An easy step that can help avoid potential ranking loss from duplicate content reprimands is to make sure there aren't four or five different URLs navigating to the same page. Google views these two domains below as separate entities and if the content is exact, they can take punitive measures against the offending site. mysite.com http://www.mysite.com To address potential duplicate content penalties, manipulate your .htaccess file and redirect secondary domains to the preferred listing. This means every time a web user enters the mysite.com address without the preferred prefix, they are redirected to the correct domain. Add the following code to your .htaccess file (change the "mysite" to your domain): RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^mysite.com RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mysite.com/$1 [R=permanent,L] Hope this helps someone. Chuck Hiatt Promogear.com, Inc. www.promogear.com Comment? ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Peggy Deras Subject: Lost rankings & Links > First, from reading your entire post, I do think that you need > to adjust your concept of what works in SEO. I think that maybe > you have spent far too much time buying into the "great content > trumps all" theories that are rampant in the SEO world. - Dirk Johnson, LED Digest 2421 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1825/190/ I wanted to respond to this advice from Dirk thoughtfully. The participation angle is difficult. If you looked at my site you would know I have three blogs linked there with questions and answers from the public on one of them. Most of the questions I post are from my current clients, not from strangers online. I also spend time every week on Yahoo Answers with links back to my site and blogs. I do agree I need more content but I also think the blogs address that issue satisfactorily (if viewers go to them). Thank you Dirk, but gaining links, in my position in the kitchen and bath industry, is one of the hardest things to do. Since I no longer sell product, no manufacturer or industry site is likely to link to my site, even though I specify them all the time. It's because I am a competitor (for design services) with those kitchen designers who do sell product. The industry is very closed that way...loyal to their dealers. Everybody has their "turf". I get offered junk links all the time from sites that have no relationship to my site. I delete them or turn them down. I see no point in having a truckload of irrelevant links, or even relevant links that I would not recommend to a client. Any fool can see the future consequences of such behavior. I think junk links just pull you down. They may work for a while, but it is savvy design and content that really wins the eyeballs and the ranking. I provide relevant links myself and just hope to get some in return. I have had the companies comment on how much business they get from my referring links. And a sale of cabinets for a kitchen can amount to big bucks. Over the years I have managed to garner some good links and I am pleased with that accomplishment. Your brand of link-cultivation advice is not for me. What I needed was a better understanding of some of the nuances of web site design that were not apparent to me. The nice folks here on LED generously gave their time to help and I appreciate their efforts. I am already seeing results with one evening's work. Thanks anyway Dirk. Peggy Deras, CKD, CID Kitchen Artworks Kitchen Design - Problem Solving - CAD Drafting - Cabinetry Design web: www.kitchenartworks.com blog: http://kitchen-exchange.blogspot.com/ Comment? -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Shel Horowitz Subject: Customer service > The majority of my sales come from repeat customers, > referrals from other customers, and referrals from competitors(?) > by taking the time to work hand in hand within other companies > who sell like products. I never fear a competitor. Instead, I try to > get to know them, know their strengths and weaknesses. - Mark Roberts, LED Digest 2429 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1834/190/ Absolutely! I have always maintained good relationships with competitors and get quite a bit of business from them. For the first 12 years or so, my core services were resume writing and term paper typing. I still remember years ago (around 1989 when a competitor opened up a big splashy resume storefront. I picked up the phone and did a "welcome to the neighborhood, let me know if I can help" kind of call. Alone among all the people I've reached out to like that in 26 years of business, he was hostile. I was not surprised that he was gone within a year. Meanwhile, I get tons of business in that line (resume writing) from local competitors or ex-competitors (not to mention plenty from previous clients), and tons more in my current core industry (copywriting / marketing consulting) from non-local competitors -- including a number of nationally known experts. I also get a lot of work from businesses who overlap. I used to belong to a local association of secretarial services owners. The best thing about my membership was that I was one of only two people in the group who liked writing resumes -- and a lot of them enjoyed transcribing tapes, which I loathe. So I got a gazillion resume referrals from them and I referred out all my transcription inquiries, and we were both happier. Similarly, when I get a request for full-service PR services, I send those folks elsewhere -- and the PR shops send me the people who just want a quick press release or web page written and don't want to go on retainer, etc. Of course, when I'm not right for a project I try to send the prospect to another vendor. What goes around, comes around. BTW, my book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, talks quite a bit about building relationships with competitors and others -- and also about ethics -- these are two key drivers of business success. Shel Horowitz - Marketing Strategic Planning, Consulting, and Copywriting http://www.frugalmarketing.com Comment? ============ Sponsor Message =========== Now you got 'em, what are you gonna do with 'em? Surfers, that is. They're at your site, but is your copy ready? Is it powerful enough to convert casual visitors into free-spending customers? At www.GetWebContent.com/LED we first write "sell" copy that makes you money and your website sticky. Then we SEO it to make sure it gets read. ============ Sponsor Message =========== -------- new post - new topic --------- From: Joe Taylor Subject: Live chat > ... I have suggested adding a "live chat" feature > to her site. So, can anyone suggest a competent, > low-cost solution? - Rod Aries, LED Digest 2431 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1836/190/ Hi Adam and Everyone, Finally, there is a way I can help too. I would recommend some inexpensive software from http://www.phplivesupport.com/. Having been in this business a while back, these guys have some of the best software out there for the price. They have hosted service, but I recommend buying their software and running it on your server. It has lots of features. PHP and MySQL are required, and it runs on pretty much any type of server. Good Luck, Joe Taylor Powder and Bulk Dot Com Comment? -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Asim Jalali Subject: Live chat We have been using live chat on our site for many years and use livechatnow.com's hosted service. One great feature is the ability to see what the visitor is typing so you can reply with lightning speed. It's also useful to see what they are deleting ;o) Regards, Asim Jalali Comment? -------- new post - same topic --------- From: Philip Scriver Subject: Live chat Rod you might want to go in a different direction. Not sure how to do it, but I would guess somebody here might! I climb mountains in Scotland and find great difficulty pronouncing the Gaelic names of the mountains. Then I hit upon this great site which does it VERY simply. Have a look yourself, go to this link http://www.munromagic.com/MountainInfo.cfm?Mountain=194 and on the left-hand top image of the mountain with its name Meall nan Con you will see "Pronunciation". Click that word and heh presto I can repeat it as manytimes as I like and I can try to say the word correctly. I would prefer that the pronunciation was spoken when I click on the name (easier) but I think this is a great idea. Philip Scriver Explore Britain Guided & Self-Guided tours at: http://www.xplorebritain.com Comment? ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by: GetWebContent.com The Web's Most Experienced SEO Content Providers. Free no-obligation proposal: http://GetWebContent.com/LED SEOToolSet.com Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification Join the certified SEO directory: www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ The Archives: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/126/120/ Subscribe: http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/52/77/ Unsubscribe, Change Email, or Hold / Resume Delivery: http://www.led-digest.com/content/category/4/17/86/ (c) Copyright 1995-2007 Orange Wheel, LLC. 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