| LED Digest 2571: Marketing Predictions for 2008 |
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The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom www.WillMaster.com/Master : the LED's Key Sponsor Master Series Software - Get Connected with Your WebSite www.SEOToolSet.com/training/ : the LED's Premier Sponsor Bruce Clay's Search Engine Optimization Training & Certification ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. January 17, 2007 Issue no. 2571 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ===== NEW ======================= <Moderator Comment> --== 2008 Marketing Predictions ==-- ~ Adam Audette "...when I read these 2008 predictions from Bruce Clay, I listened." --== Bounce Rates as Ranking Factors ==-- ~ Bill Lund "It would seem to me for instance, that the bounce rate would be a huge indicator." ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Pricing Consultancy Services ==-- ~ Tom Aman "Reminds me of a comment from a car mechanic many years ago..." --== The Paid Links Scam ==-- ~ Shari Thurow "I am very, very disappointed and rather disgusted with some of the folks at Google..." ~ Dirk Johnson "Google has only itself to blame...They nurtured it, just by publishing PR values." ========= NEW ===================================== <Moderator Comment> Thanks for the interest in moderating duties here, I received over a dozen emails. After discussing it with a few gems in the bunch, I've settled on the following moderators: Anthony Kirlew http://www.WebTrafficTeam.com http://www.OldSchoolSEO.com Jeremy Weiss http://www.BluePhoenixConsulting.com I'll leave it to them to provide some bio info. What we'll do is share the load - still not totally decided on how it will work, but it's a great group and we can't go wrong. Thanks and welcome to the new mods! -Adam ---------------------- From: Adam Audette Subject: 2008 SEO Predictions There are some people involved in Internet marketing that it's important to listen to, so when I read these 2008 predictions from Bruce Clay, I listened. And you should too. Here's a snip; read the link for the whole article (it's a great one) and let's hear some other predictions here! -------- "I predict that we are going to see a much slower growth in Internet marketing due to what is expected to be a recession year. We all see it coming, and it will seriously impact consumers and businesses, thus slowing the spend on broad online marketing activities. This upcoming recession will be the biggest news of 2008 and will encourage serious growth in the number of online consumers in the coming year. Companies that can get online early and support international audiences will have an advantage, especially those that have developed SEO to displace PPC expenditures. Comparative price shopping and saving time and gas will be the rule and not the exception." Source: http://www.bruceclay.com/newsletter/volume45/2008predictions.html -------- Thoughts on this eagerly anticipated. Adam ========= Begin Sponsor Message ========= One Way Links to your Site, by the Hundreds? Yes! Get Traffic and Link Popularity to Your Site from Legitimate, General Interest Web Directories. DomainDrivers Makes It Hassle-Free. Details Here: http://www.domaindrivers.com/directory-submissions.html ========== End Sponsor Message ========== -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Bill Lund Subject: Bounce Rate and Other Factors I've been lurking since 1998. Maybe it's time for me to post. I've got a handful of web sites I've built over the years, and I've been using Google Analytics for a while now, and I have some questions that might be interesting to discuss. It would seem to me that for any given keyword phrase, there is likely to be a number of sites that have done their homework and have keyword phrases in all the right places etc. So If you were a search engine how would you figure out which sites were superior? I would use criteria such as the bounce rate, average time spent on the site, number of pages visited, number of return visits, etc. All those things that Google Analytics reports on. It would seem to me for instance, that the bounce rate would be a huge indicator. My sites have bounce rates of from 40% to about 60%, but what is good? I would think that if a search engine had similar sites but one had a bounce rate of 40% and one had a bounce rate of 60%, the engine would obviously consider the site with the lower bounce rate to be a better match for those keywords being used. Maybe that is what Google's "sandbox" is all about...giving Google time to analyze those factors and better determine how to rank the site. When I first put a site up, I begin getting hits from Google within a couple of weeks usually, but its quite a while before I get significant traffic. Which factors are the most important in achieving high rankings? Just as importantly, how do we use this information to our advantage? How does one go about reducing bounce rate etc.? Bill Lund ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Tom Aman Subject: Pricing The problem is that a lot of people still- Big Bill, LED Digest 2570 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1985/190/ Reminds me of a comment from a car mechanic many years ago (in the 50s), made after he spent 5 minutes under the hood solving a starter problem: "Now is the time you pay me for what I know, not what I do." The point being, of course, that he, like a gem cutter, had originally spent a lot of time learning about all the things he needed to know to be able to do the job. Tom Aman Aman Software http://www.cyberspyder.com ========= Begin Sponsor Message ========= 50 Things You Can Do With Master Form V4 Get the visual ebook. Discover why people say Master Form V4 is the best form-handler on the 'net! Click to download: http://flowto.us/LED/download.html ========== End Sponsor Message ========== -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Shari Thurow Subject: Paid links Hi all- This is in response to the discussion thread on paid links and Google. It has been a hot topic for a long time, and I have had my share of flaming (much to my amusement) for my opinions on this topic. I might as well come out and get right to the point. There are hypocrites on both sides: from Google and from the SEO community. What ticks me off about both sides is I see a lot of finger pointing ("Oh, Google shouldn't do this!") without certain SEO professionals taking responsibility for their own actions. Likewise, I am very, very disappointed and rather disgusted with some of the folks at Google that they honestly believe that people do not see through some of Google's hypocrisy about paid links. This whole link thing as an endorsement, I believe, originated from academia. When a scholar makes a citation, he/she is genuinely showing the research and support for their hypotheses and theories. Plagiarism is a no-no. A lot of search behavior research has its origins with scholars and their interactions with databases. The Web? Completely different. The average searcher is not a scholar. Many (not all) scholars have considerable research skills. Plagiarism and outright copyright violations are rampant on the Web. Likewise, just because something is popular does not mean it is "good" or "valid." This whole link as an endorsement thing has been unbelievably exploited under the argument, "Google has no right to tell me who I can or cannot link to." I agree. Web site owners should be able to form partnerships for links and format their links in any way they choose (as long as it's not illegal, which is a whole other discussion). Likewise, Google has every right to determine which sites they include in their indices. Don't want your site in Google? Then don't follow their guidelines and accept the consequences. Want your site in Google? Then follow their guidelines. Nevertheless, if Google's guidelines are contradictory and hypocritical...? I think it is easier for me to accept and listen to criticism of Google from people who aren't hypocritical in their perspectives and actions. I know there are people at Google who genuinely want to build a better search engine with more accurate results. I respect their drive and intelligence and talent. Likewise, I respect Web site owners and SEO professionals who genuinely want to build better Web sites. I think plenty of SEO professionals need to look in the mirror before they dish out criticism of Google. I also think plenty of people at Google need to understand that we are not stupid. Your PR department is not fooling everybody. My 2 cents. Sincerely, Shari Thurow, Founder and SEO Director Omni Marketing Interactive http://www.search-usability.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Dirk Johnson Subject: Paid links Most of Google's "problems" with paid links and link gaming would evaporate if they simply stopped publishing that hideous PageRank value. More time and money been wasted on that one number than anything else on the WWW. Likewise, more quack theories surround it than you'll find at a UFO convention. If the PR values were gone from sight, most site owners would very quickly revert back to linking for genuine business reasons, and not PR reasons. Sites with low PR values would once again be considered solely on their merit, and not shunned due to their temporary lack of PR. Sites selling links based on their PR would have to find another justification for it. Google has only itself to blame for the 99% of the "paid text link ad" industry. They nurtured it, just by publishing PR values. The answer to thwarting it is easy. Just turn off the PageRank reports, permanently. Best regards, Dirk Johnson DomainDrivers LLC www.domaindrivers.com (c) Copyright 1995-2008 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson |
