Hey Gio

The business climate on the Internet is TOUGH!!!

Books that were published a couple years ago on traffic, conversion and SEO are now mostly outdated. In 2004/2005, you can rank really well just on reciprocal links. If you wanted one-way incoming links, all you had to do was submit your article to submission services. There were thousands of directories you can submit to for one-way links. Content was king back in the day and if your site had unique content, links were almost guaranteed. Just as recent as 2007, you can easily find and buy quality links from sitepoint, digitalpoint and even ebay.

What Happened?

1. Google – Search giant cleaned and tweaked their ever changing algos. A lion’s share of the directories lost their Page Rank, reciprocal links carried almost no significance and article submission services suffered from duplicate content. They also created FEAR amongst link buyers and sellers with the punishment of banishing from their index.
2. Webmaster Greed and Fear – SEO used to be a niche, almost secretive and the majority of website owners knew little about it. In 2008, ALL of my friends who own websites, even the non-commercial ones knew basic SEO principles. Graphic and website designers who at one point despised SEOs are now offering SEO services. Everyone knows that you rank based on your links and anchor text. Of course, this got Google worried and thus executed the actions above. This also led to one of man’s greatest flaw, greed. People are getting stingy with links. It’s getting so much harder for webmasters to link to sites. Maybe it’s because they are afraid of Google’s penalties or they know that sites rank based on links so they decide on preserving their link juice. Two years ago, I got highly authoritative links, one .edu, just by ASKING. These days, it’s not going to happen…even if you paid for it!!!
3. Pollution, Spam and Content Authenticity – I’m very skeptic (optimistic pessimist) yet sometimes I am easily fooled by spammy, fake content. Everyone is jumping the work-at-home, make money now, get rich quick on the Internet band wagon while providing no to very little value to the web. I’m sure you’ve come across the long, colorful, bulleted, numbered and oh so hype-up sales letter written in a Meth lab.

Strategies You Can Apply

• SEO is getting tougher by the second. If you are launching a new site, it helps to invest in pay per click advertising. Prior to doing so, make sure your website is conversion oriented, useful and has a nice custom design.
• Write killer content that will blow your target audience away. By audience, I am referring to websites that will link to you. Seduce their interests with your writing.
• Learn the basics of PR and “tie” your website to controversial topics so people in the know will recognize you. This is lesser spammy form of link bait.
• I was going to write submit your story to Digg, but last week, they changed their algos so it will be a lot harder to get traffic there.

Ah, so many books so little time. It would be totally awesome to have a Spring time book reading retreat in the Swiss Alps. It’s not going to happen this year but maybe in 09. Anyway, I thought it was time to refill my mind with new knowledge because change is faster than ever before and old rules underperform. Via my Amazon.com affiliate link, I got the latest books on marketing, Internet marketing, business strategy and even a book on the history of capitalism.

 I think I’ll start reading the one by Mike Moran, “Do It Wrong Quickly” then reward myself with the “History of Capitalism” by Michel Beaud. After these two, I’ll just randomly pick a book and start reading away.

When I finish, I’ll write a summary that covers the main points and share it with everyone.

I’m rich and you’re a loser. If you want to get laid by the prettiest girls, then save the weekly allowance you get from your grandmother and buy my products – you rotting pool of pus.

Sound Familiar?

I get irked when marketers lobby their products and claim that their strategies are the only valid methods on profiting online. The Internet is so vast and diverse that it is unwise to think and limit yourself to just one single strategy. In fact, you are better off testing various methods which will then return figures you can analyze.

Some marketers use the “I’m rich, you’re not” ultra-demeaning approach to sell their wares. What fascinates me is that there is actually a market that responds and pays to be insulted.

Despite my meager income, I love what I do and feel there is tremendous room for growth as long as I remain in a supportive and creative environment.