One or two years ago Randy Ray and I were looking at one of our blogs from the admin panel. I noticed there were a lot of unmoderated comments that the assigned editor had not reviewed (the blog had been inactive for a while). Before I could start scanning the page for legitimate comments Randy clicked on “EMPTY SPAM” and said, “Well, that problem is handled.” I still laugh at my reaction. I was astounded, befuddled, and beside myself. “But–but, what if there was a legitimate comment in there?” Click to continue […]
Year: 2013
Why I Choose Not to Link to Your Website
Web marketers have all sorts of theories about why people will link to their Websites. They also have theories about what they can get away with in terms of user tolerance. One well-known social media expert, for example, proudly boasts on his Website that he boosts email subscriptions by using a plugin that puts a form in your face as soon as you land on his Website. I would link to the article except that I don’t link to Websites that use popup ads. If earning links is important to you and Click to continue […]
Link Building for the Reflective Marketer
OMG, Batgirl! Link building is, like, so dead you’ll never want to place your own links again. Whatever is a Web marketer to do? We’re not sure but we believe that some people may now be afraid to link out to other Websites. This whole “links are dead” frenzy appears to be picking up momentum (except on black hat SEO forums, where link placement is Business As usual). Web Spammers are not the brightest monkeys in the jungle but they can be a hard-working lot who persevere (as a group), whereas Click to continue […]
How Google Is Secretly Managing Your Website Traffic
The other day a reader wrote in to ask us an interesting question: Michael and Randy, Do you think it’s possible that Google is really playing us for fools? I was looking at my Analytics report the other day and saw something really disturbing. I was hoping you could take a look and see if you come to the same conclusion I did. We don’t normally do pro bono SEO analyses but this particular reader had recently been in the news for saving a woman from being hit by a taxi. We figured we could do Click to continue […]
Content Marketing Myths That Threaten to Unseat the King
Content is King but most people in the digital marketing world don’t seem to have a clue as to why. I can only make that observation based on what I read on their blogs and in their forums. The content marketing that everyone talks about these days is just spam. All you’re doing is publishing articles for the sake of attracting links and increasing advertising page views. Real content marketing creates demand. What demand are you creating when you “publish high quality content to become an Click to continue […]
How Google’s Disavow Tool Works with the Penguin Algorithm
[ Update 2023 ]Google changed the Penguin algorithm’s behavior in September 2016. Instead of punishing sites for violating link spam policies, Google began ignoring the paid links. The disavow tool became almost unnecessary from that time forward. This post is preserved for historical purposes and no longer provides useful guidance. More than a year after Google announced its Penguin anti-spam algorithm (in April 2012), many search marketing bloggers continue to misidentify manual spam actions Click to continue […]
Use Blogger Communications to Reflect the Story You Want to Tell
There is a growing experimental industry that is cultivating networks of bloggers who want to be notified about interesting Websites and stories. The image of the “Citizen Journalist” has inspired a few companies to create blogger outreach channels that are just used for pitching or announcing stories the bloggers might want to write about. What’s in it for the bloggers? They are presented with ideas that may inspire them to write some great content. In some cases they may also be presented Click to continue […]
Native Advertising Is Poor Reflective Marketing
Native advertising is the new buzz expression. If you embed your content on someone else’s Website in such a way that it looks like their own content, their visitors may be more likely to click on the links or buy the products being advertised. To a marketer this may seem like a slam dunk play. But to the consumer it could just be creepy and deceptive. The sense of betrayal one feels when discovering that content on a trusted Website was placed there by someone else for pay breaks the rapport Click to continue […]
How NOT to Ask for a Link to Your Website
Some people still do old-fashioned link outreach, where they email other site owners and ask them to link to their sites. Done correctly, this can be an effective (and even efficient) way of acquiring backlinks to your site. I like to think I’m pretty good at this approach, in fact. Some people have the wrong approach, and even if you try to help them improve their approach, they get mad. As my partner, Michael Martinez often tells me, “Don’t get mad. Get glad!” When you’re asking for help Click to continue […]
Digital Audience Relations – What Internet Marketing Should Be
I had a conversation last week with a friend and business acquaintance in which we discussed the directions the online digital marketing industry is moving through. “Online Digital Marketing” has a nice ring to it but it’s an expression I grabbed at random. One could just as easily say “Social Media Marketing”, “Search Engine Marketing”, “Online Public Relations”, and any of a dozen other terms and you’re still talking about a conglomerate of agencies, consultants, freelancers, and permanent full/part-time Click to continue […]
Succeeding in Spite of Your Backlink Profile
Eric Ward taught me how to find backlink targets in 2009. Looking at the backlink profiles of competitors’ sites was part of that process, and I still use that in my arsenal of linkbuilding weapons. One of the things I’ve discovered by doing this kind of research is that many websites succeed in spite of, not because of, their backlink profile. Less seasoned SEOs might look at a competitor’s backlink profile with the intention of getting as many of the same links as their competitor has. More Click to continue […]
Useful Metrics for Reflective Marketing
As I mentioned in “Does Reflective Marketing Include Blog Commenting?” the goal of Reflective Marketing is to build audience. While it’s true that this should be the goal of all marketing a typical link acquisition campaign is not tied to audience metrics. Reflective Marketing strategies look like link acquisition strategies but Reflective Marketing really needs to focus on creating reasons for people to visit your Website. This may be done with or without links. Remember: Reflective Marketing is Click to continue […]