| LED Digest 2664: International Domains |
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The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom http://www.AudetteMedia.com : the LED's Publisher Boutique Internet Marketing: SEO, SEM, Social Media http://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 .............................................. June 17, 2008 Issue no. 2665 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ====== NEW ====================== --== Purchasing International TLDs ==-- ~ Janet Picard "Can someone in the US buy UK, AU, etc domain extensions?" --== Google Ranking Slap ==-- ~ AE Brantley "Where can I find information on...why my site suddenly fell off into cyberspace?" ==== CONTINUING ================= --== The New iPhone ==-- ~ John Andrews "The iPhone is revolutionary for it's UI design. But please..." --== SEO Standards ==-- ~ Michael Motherwell "Standards are NOT about competency..." ~ Dirk Johnson "...the establishment of standards is next to impossible." ========= NEW ===================================== From: Janet Picard Subject: Domain Extensions outside the USA Hi LED, I would like to extend my ecommerce sales globally. Can someone in the US buy UK, AU, etc domain extensions? If so where? Will that place my site in better positions in the natural search for the SEs of those countries? Would it be wise to also host in those countries? I would appreciate your take on how best to take advantage of ecommerce outside the USA. Thanks in advance, Janet Picard http://www.chesscentral.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: AE Brantley Subject: Google site position fall My site was number 2 under my domain keyword (same words) until very recently. Now it's nowhere to be found, even though google link test shows it is still listed in google. Where can I find information on google's ranking factors and possibly why my site suddenly fell off into cyberspace? Thanks! AE Brantley ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: John Andrews Subject: iPhone Fan-boys I read Michael Linehan's post about how wonderfully world-changing the new iphone is, and decided it was time to reply. After a solid week of nearly constant pro-Apple buzz on the web, I simply can't stand any more. I'm no Apple fan but I'm not a detractor either. I've had "enterprise support" on my Windows Mobile smart phones for quite a while. Whatever the details behind the scenes, it works. My Opera browser has given me "the real web" on my smart phones for a long time as well, wth an excellent rendering engine for small screens. In fact, I had the netfront browser doing that for me nearly 3 years ago on my HTC Apache (with a touch screen). As for MobileMe, an Enterprise should no sooner adopt that "out of the box" than anything else. Everything new needs careful consideration for enterprise trust, especially third-party services. Do we adopt it just because it's from Apple and Apple says it's trustworthy? I totally agree that Apple has pushed the forefront of user interface design. The iPhone is revolutionary for it's UI design. But please... it is still young and far from perfect. Use it for a few weeks and you both appreciate it's cleverness and acknowledge where it lets you down (if you're not blinded by the Apple loyalty). It's a work in progress, just like anything "revolutionary". As for the comment that "Analytics show web browsing useage [sic] enormously higher on the iPhone than other smartphones", again, let's calm down a bit. Like most people who actually use a Windows Mobile smartphone to frequently surf the web, I set my user agent to a common desktop browser for compatibility (and render it with a mobile engine like Opera's). Your "analytics" don't even see me or the majority of my high-usage peers. Just because you're not counting us, doesn't mean you can discount us. As for services from Apple and ATT, I tether my PC to my ATT Tilt with a USB cable (and could use BlueTooth) to surf the web with 3G connectivity speeds for no added cost over my unlimited data plan. I've been able to do that on ATT since I got the device at the end of 2007, and before that I did the same with my Verizon account. So far the iPhone plans won't include tethering. There's no technical reason, so why is that not allowed? Sure Apple's innovating. But does it deserve 6 paragraphs of partially baseless praise on LED digest? John Andrews http://www.johnon.com ============ Sponsor Message =========== Introducing "Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day" from Larry Chase's Web Digest For Marketers. This blog features: * Short, time-tested tips from traditional direct marketing that also work well online * Tips Larry Chase finds effective from publishing Web Digest For Marketers since 1995 http://www.wdfm.com/internetdirectmarketingtips ============ Sponsor Message =========== -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Michael Motherwell Subject: SEO Standards > My real point was that it is difficult, if > not impossible, to come up with provable > hard facts for search engines. - Tom Aman, LED 2663 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/2078/190/ No it isn't. It is just hard to come up with a LOT of them :) I am trying to grapple with why people think standards are about competency. Not all doctors are competent. Not all accountatnts are competent. Not all of any group are competent. Standards, if anything, are something that people who are good would have to live DOWN to, not live UP to. Standards are NOT about competency, but rather, and here is what everyone misses, making it harder for competitors to start up with no idea. If you are a current SEO, then standards are likely very GOOD for your unique business, because starting a site and saying "I'm and SEO" will incur a cost. Any cost raises the barrier to entry. Higher barrier, less competitors. That is a cost to consumers that is paid for by the knowledge that the person selling at least knows SOMETHING. Not, I repeat again, not that they are competent, but that they at least know some of the basics, and agree to some fairly basic code of ethics, stuff like "I won't misrepresent..." and "I won't run out on bills..." you know, basic business stuff. Call me crazy, but what is there to lose in any of that? Michael Motherwell -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Dirk Johnson Subject: SEO tactics > Some of what was presented at the recent > SMX Advanced Expo was on the grey to very > shady part of the continuum....Since when > is telling a bald-faced lie brilliant > marketing? - Michael Linehan, 2660 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/2075/190/ Michael, As we know, this constant drive toward irrelevance on the part of some in the SEO industry has been going on for a while. It's the Paris Hilton syndrome. You have to be more outrageous each time you go public, or else nobody pays attention. The generally accepted "rules" to get good search rankings are quite well known, consistent, and very straightforward. Managing that process for others is a very worthy vocation. We take on projects, get the client's sites on track, and do it for a fair price. Most SEO consultants do just that. We're satisfied knowing that what we do will not put men on the moon, but it does put food on the table, for us and the client. For some in the SEO industry, that lifestyle does not seem to provide enough excitement, nor does it yield the level of raw celebrity that they seek. Instead, there is a constant need to appear to be "leading edge", and become famous doing it. Complication, obfuscation, excessive cost, and fabricated techniques become their stock-in-trade. They claim that established, legitimate methods no longer work. The sky is always falling. People who disagree are shouted down. There is small segment of website owners who are fascinated by all of that babble. It's a circus unto itself that tries hard to keep itself at the forefront. That kind of over-the-top approach is not palatable to real clients with real websites that they want to rank well, consistently. When someone says to a business owner that they need to fabricate some fictional articles in order to get search rankings, then they rightfully wonder just exactly what this SEO industry is all about. When this kind of gaming becomes the main agenda at leading SEO conferences, then the wheels are off the wagon, folks. IMO, this condition has been years in the making. My own realization that the "nonsense theorists" were taking over the most visible aspects of the SEO world occurred years ago (about 2003), when what they claimed and what I saw with my own eyes began to diverge sharply. Factual support of SEO theories is not a requirement in this industry. There's no time for that. It's about who can shout the loudest, and more often, in a way that "sounds good". It's mostly bull. The innocent, unprepared business owner certainly has their work cut out for them, sorting out the SEO industry. This also explains why the establishment of standards is next to impossible. Best regards, Dirk Johnson www.domaindrivers.com (c) Copyright 1995-2008 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "The man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat." - Judge Smails |
