 |
|
 |
|
by byron white
8/16/2008 5:07:00 AM
The feedback on the Exclusive Program Video has been fantastic. Thanks for your comments everyone. The reps have sold more than a dozen Exclusive Program niches topics at LifeTips since the launch just a few weeks ago-- remember it's offered first to existing exclusive sponsors and then to only one client in each niche topic-- first-come, first-served. So thanks for you support and the opportunity to show you how this program offers just what we think every company needs to be successful online.
I'm off to San Jose for the SES show soon. And look forward to a private tour of the Google Plex which I'll update everyone on when I return. And it looks like more than a dozen clients and prospects clients will join us in the Limo ride we're sprting out to the Google Plex for the Google Dance--should be good fun. Back with a report.
Currently rated 5.0 by 2 people - Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
by byron white
3/17/2008 7:51:00 AM
Enjoy the newly launched SEOContentGrader.com powered by LifeTips. It's a free SEO tool that should help you learn more about the content on your website and how well your site is performing in the search engines for the keywords you are targeting for organic marketing success. http://seocontentgrader.com The sales team is currently at the SES show in NY, showcasing this new tool to the world!
Currently rated 5.0 by 1 people - Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
3/9/2008 1:33:00 AM
How do you create content that connects with readers AND the spider bots? How do you turn browsers into believers, and believers into buyers? The following will help you understand our artistic and scientific approach to creating content for the web:
1.) Speak with Customers. Learn what content would be most valuable for your site. Speak with your customer service representatives and sales staff.
2.) Category Map. Create a category map of relevant topics that would appeal to readers. Map out your knowledge center that will make the world (and your site) a better place.
3.) Keyword Research. Grind the keyword tracking tools, and create a list of keywords and the popularity of each of those keywords related to your category list.
4.) Select a Style. Determine the content style that will connect with readers and support your brand: informational, journalistic, funny, insightful, storytelling, ect.
5.) Select a Writer. Select the best writer for a project by reviewing styles, knowledge in the topic areas, sample portfolios and even "testing" the writer for a quick assignment.
6.) SEO Strategy. By developing the SEO strategy up front, you're writer will be in tune with the needs of the readers, and the bots. Best practice SEO strategy will have you optimizing your articles or Tip and Advice Centers for long tail keywords that feature short tail keywords supporting your SEO strategy for the more competitive keywords you target.
7.) Editorial Support. You need a great Editor to splice it all together and punch up the reader appeal. More importantly, you need to give your Editor some creative freedom to bring life and engagement to the content in a bold way if you want to win the war of words on the web.
8.) SEO Implementation. Creating the final meta strategy and internal link strategy is often rushed. Take the time necessary to check the keyword density. Grade your landing pages with free tools like our new SEO Content Grader coming out next week.
9.) Reports. Content success can be measured in many ways: Position Reports, Back-link Popularity, Social Bookmarks, Conversion Rates of readers and much more.
10.) Ready. Fire. Aim. Speak with your customers and reps again, about the content you've created. Ask for feedback on the website. And start the process all over again.
Currently rated 5.0 by 3 people - Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags: content creation, content development
Permalink |
Comments (2) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
1/11/2008 7:29:00 AM
The following post was inspired by a conversation I had with Matt Cutts at Pubcon a few weeks ago, discussing the controversial link selling strategy that is a hot topic these days. Bottom line... selling links is no longer search marketing best practice. So here is how we are going to change our tune and adjust our business plan for adherence to best practice. We've been making adjustments like this for 8 years now.... to survive in the Internet world, you need business plan flexibility.
LifeTips Revenue Plan for 2008
Our mission at LifeTips.com, Inc. has been, and will always be, to make the world a better place, one tip at a time. Over the years, our mission has been funded by a variety of revenue models, directed by client needs and search engine marketing best practice standards.
We will no longer offer the Exclusive Sponsorship program to clients-- Link strategy was too much of a standalone feature to that program, and selling links is now a thing of the past. Instead, we've upgraded the program considerably. It's now called the Exclusive Program-- still exclusive to one client in each niche topic ; - ) helping them get the SEO edge they need to get ahead of the pack. Take a look and you'll notice the program is now focused more on content development services-- our specialty historically-- that we create for the client's website. We feel the new program is best of best practice and will be recieved very well with Matt when I speak with him at the upcoming shows.
History of LIfeTips
Before you dive into our revenue plan for 2008, take a look at this snapshot of how our revenue model had changed over the years-- it's quite interesting and representative of dot com survival:
2000
Content Source: User Generated Content
Full Time Employees: 10
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorships
Comment: All employees went to the library with rented laptops to find tips that would make life better and be used to jump start the site.
2001
Content Source: Screened Hobby Writers
Full Time Employees: 10
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorship with PPC Bonus Throughout LifeTips
Comment: We built our own PPC Ad Engine to fit with the times and client needs.
2002
Content Source: Screened Hobby Writers
Full Time Employees: 2 ( The year of the Dot Bomb)
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorship + PPC Bonus + Email Promotions
Comment: Client needs lead us to email promotions, and the launch of weekly TipLetters to opt-in subscribers.
2003
Content Source: Client Writers
Full Time Employees: 4
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorships where clients can “plug” their products/services.
Comments: Clients wanted to create their own self promotional tips,
and for a brief time(very brief), we let them do just that. Yikes-- this was a disaster.
2004
Content Source: Screened Expert Writers
Full Time Employees: 8
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorship featuring Banner Ads, Text Ads and Newsletter Promotion
Comments: This was our first profitable year, with a simple sales pitch and revenue plan focused on our roots of exclusive sponsorships.
2005
Content Source: Screened Expert Writers
Full Time Employees: 12
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorships featuring Ads and 50 Links to Sponsor’s Product/Services Pages
Comments: With link popularity the key for achieving top listing in
the search engines, we introduced direct links from LifeTips which met the needs of our clients.
2006
Content Source: Screened Expert Writers Plus Published Authors
Full Time Employees: 14
Revenue: Sell Exclusive Sponsorships featuring 30 Links plus Content Development Services including creationg Tip and Advice Centers and Article featuring the SEO Edge.
Comments: In a meeting with a Google Meet the Engineers event in New Orleans at PubCon, Google gave us a
thumbs up on the link program, but advised us to decrease the links from 50 to 30, and fine tune the
contextual relevancy of the links. The link program worked like a charm with measured success by our engines. And best of all, our clients started asking our team for content development solutions for their own website-- changing our business model considerably.
2007
Content Source: Screened Expert Writers ad Published Authors
Full Time Employees: 16
Revenue:
> Sell Exclusive Sponsorships featuring Ads and Links
> Sell Tip and Advice Centers Solutions
> Sell Articles Writing Services
> Sell Ebook Solutions
> Sell Private Label Books Services
> Sell Books Published by LifeTips (101 Tips on Particular Topics)
Comments: Content development services really dominated our business in 2007. Our exclusive sponsor program was harder for the reps to sell, particularly as the year went along and Google freaked out the industry announceing that selling links was bad practice. By December, I cornered Matt Cutts at PubCon and had an open discussion about the choices for LifeTips. The conclusion: focus on content development services for the brightest future.
THE PLAN FOR 2008
2008 Best Practice Search Marketing Standards
Google latest best practice standards confirms that selling links for the sake of link popularity is no longer best practice, particularly if the links are not contextually related. Creating engaging content on the other hand is the right service to be in. The Exclusive Program will offer clients the 4 essential for online marketing. And the program once again comes with an unconditional guarantee.
Expected Full Time Employees: 20
Content Source: Screened Expert Writers and Published Authors
Revenue Source:
> Exclusive Program
> Writing Services ( But this will change in the fall of 2008-- as we are launching a new brand for Writing Services-- see ideaLaunch for a teaser)
Conclusion
I've been saying this for years: It's not about how much content you have on your website, or how many links you have on to your website. Instead, it's all about the quality of content on your website, who wrote the content, and the engagement quality of that content. By 2009, we hope most of our writers are also published writers of a 101 Tip Books at LifeTips.com. And we hope to create some of the web's most entertaining, enjoyable content that makes the world, and our clients websites, a better place.
Comments?
Look forward to your thoughts on our past, present and future plans.
Currently rated 5.0 by 1 people - Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
1/1/2008 1:06:00 AM
Happy New Year everyone!
Heather and I just returned from a fun trip to Dubai and Amsterdam. Below is a quick recap and reference point for Dubai if you're on the go. Enjoy!
> Ritz Dubai. From the Ritz beach in Dubai, we counted more than 60 cranes hard at work 24 x 7 building skyscrapers all around the city. The locals call Dubai Crane City. Interestingly, you won't find any cranes on the Ritz Dubai Website.
> Aquamarine water. The Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean) is very similar in look and feel to the Caribbean, with gorgeous aquamarine water inviting swimming and snorkeling. Some worry that The Palm and The World, two visionary offshore development projects, may damage the Gulf of Arabia. Hopefully, they'll sort out the issues and preserve the beauty, while creating these pioneer projects.
> Architecture. Shape, color and textures of the newer skyscrapers push the limits of design and development to new levels (literally), cheering the vision of hundreds of designers and architects. The Burj Dubai will be the tallest building in the world, and residence for a privileged group of people. We heard the Crane operator of this monster in construction was recruited from the UK with special "jet stream" experience.
> Culture Extremes. To me, Dubai is an extreme mix of Arab wealth and manual working class volume, all driven by the explosive growth of the city, that mixes the ancient tradition with modern flair in a most unusual way. Hard to image that less then 50 years ago, Dubai was a small pearl fishing village with crystalline seas.
> Construction Packs. Construction workers from all over the world are bused in and out of a special city about 1/2 hour away. They're fashionably color-coded clothing perhaps keeps the packs together or roles defined. Yes, the wage reports on the lower end are extreme ($200 per month). But the number of jobs created at all levels is remarkable (Hundreds of billions)
> Opulence. We could not resist the temptation to see and dine in the world's only 7 star hotel Burl Al Arab--opulence beyond comprehension.
> Shopping Mall and Ski Dubai. Although tempting to strap on the boards, I opted to dine, absorb the slope action from glass walls, and shop with Heather! What a perfect combo-- skiing for me and shopping for Heather! The concept is opening in Vegas soon. Check out the video clip on the bottom of this link to Ski Dubai.
> Al Maha Dessert Resort. Probably our favorite memories happened at this incredible resort in the dessert-- Camel Rides, Jeep Adventures in the Dunes, Safari Tours, Fine In-Room Dinning, Private Villas looking out onto the expansive Dessert. Amazing!
> Best Dubai Restaurants-- Check out this list of the ITP Best of the best before you go, and pick an International Flavor: Dining in Dubai is simply Over-the-Top!
And here are a few tips on Amsterdam that you might find helpful:
> Bike Rental. Renting a bike in this destiny is mandatory in my mind. And Tandem's are available-- For locations, check out MacBike!
> Yahoo! We stumbled on the Yahoo Amsterdam Office Location, which happens to be located on one of our favorite streets in all of Amsterdam. I'll try and pop up a pic when I can.
> Pasta e Basta. We HIGHLY recommend this most unusual Italian "entertainment" spot, especially after so many "traditional" fine dining experiences on the long 9 day trip.
> Museums. The Rijks Museum is the host of the largest Rembrandt collection in the world. And the Vincent Van Gogh Museum is one of my favorites. The Diamond Museum was also an interesting experience.
> Antique and Art Shopping: Nieuwe Spiegelstraat is a magical street. And the gateway to lots of other streets you'll find interesting on a bike and/or walking.
Hope you enjoy these tips from the trip. Now it's back to catching up and putting a few new ideas into action for LifeTips, ideaLaunch and Webfish.
Currently rated 4.0 by 1 people - Currently 4/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
10/27/2007 3:22:00 AM
Regarding the recent PageRank social chatter, this post sums up my thoughts:
8 Things We Learned About Google PageRank by Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal.
And the Good News for LifeTips is….
1.) Clients will hopefully start buying more of our content development services. You win the war of the web with quality content on your website. This represents most of our business now.... we're in the center of the storm I think.
2.) Clients that choose to Sponsor a Tip Site at LifeTips will be doing so with the right kind of perspective of PageRank-- that it's pretty much worthless from a Link Value perspective.
3.) Clients that choose to Sponsor a Tip Site at LifeTips will be the right kind of person to develop a long term relationship with—They value quality content sites like LifeTips, regardless of PageRank. These mavericks really "get it" and will likely be around for the long haul.
4.) The PageRank warning shot is getting old, very old. Google's link strategy is crystal clear: You need links for organic success, but don't acquire them (with money). But can Google, that takes lots of our money, really tell us how to spend our money? And continue onward with this double standard? Wake up people, and buy quality links necessary for survival.
I encourage all my employees to bring me solutions to problems. So here’s my solution for Google and this PageRank debate.
Create LinkRank.
LinkRank would be for authorized, approved publishers... publishers that really have a business model focused on getting good informaton out to readers. Publishers would apply and be accepted by Google.
This new LinkRank would rate their publishers sites link activity with a few variables:
> Outbound links vs Inbound links
> Competitive companies linked to from the publishers site
> Relevancy of content between publisher and sponsors page
> Content surrounding the keyword link phrases related to the SEO strategy of the landing page (See Our Page Strength Reports)
> Number of links coming off a topic area ( Taxes.LifeTips.com)
> And several other variables I have in mind...
In terms of link value alone, LinkRank would put LifeTips as a model for the future perhaps, with ONE sponsor per niche topic, and a limit of 30 links per sponsor per niche topic (and DNS like Taxes.LifeTips.com).
With that problem solved, clients could take a deep breath, and focus more on the look and feel of a publishers website, the quality of content on the site, the amount of content in a variety of forms ( books, magazines, video, ect).
LinkRank would be also be a positive public badge and black and white industry standard. Google could make a change across the board for publishers LinkRank as the volume of quality informational sites in a particular topic area increased or decreased, based on traffic flow to various publishers sites in that niche.
LinkRank of 10 would declare quality content, quality sponsors, quality (inbound and Outbound) link strategy.
LinkRank of 1 would declare poor content, shaky sponsorship strategy (non exclusive, ect), limited inbound links strategy.
Larry and Sergey… what do you say?
Be the first to rate this post - Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
10/9/2007 10:01:00 AM
Perhaps you caught me eComXpo Q&A session today, as a followup to an online speech that I offer in their university. In case you did not catch the session, below a copy of it that I may get sued for... but what the heck... here you go:
10/9/07 eComXpo Q&A Session on Content that Connects:
Byron White: Hi
Byron White: Any questions
Peggy Chan: I dread writing in general, but it's even more difficult as an internet retailer to write content that's not too-much of a "hard sell". For example, we have difficultly writing posts for our blog, Audio-Video-Buzz.blogspot.com. Any suggestions?
Ronald Stackman: Bryon, most people will agree that content is king but how do scrapers and dup content affect the kingdom?
Byron White: Coup;le of good questions.
Rebecca Levinson: How can you get your sales staff to get excited and engaged over Web 2.o
Byron White: Creating content is challenging Peggy. What resources do you have to work with? Writers? Optimizers? Freelancers? Research data? What engaages your readers? Any data there?
Byron White: Ronals. CopyScape... others as well. Heck, put quotes around copy and bang into Google, you'll find dups if there is any
Darlene Moore: should i be seeing a presentation here or is it just Q&A?
Byron White: Peggy. Do you have multivariate testing technology in place? If so, test soft sell copy vs hard sell copy vs engaging copy that you and I would like... copy that tells a story and engages and entertains. I bet the later will win the conversion war
Peggy Chan: I am writing it myself, based on our team's knowledge, loves, and hates
Byron White: This is a Q & A Session, although you can view my presentation on Content that Connects in the University here.
Rebecca Levinson: What is an example of multivariate testing technology?
Peggy Chan: No,...no multivariate testing technology in place yet.
Byron White: Peggy, forget your teams knowledge, loves and hates... you need to connect withyour target audience, and get inside there head... pick up the phone and call them
Peggy Chan: Actually,..that's the other problem,...people don't really want to be bothered.
Byron White: Multivariate Testing Technology is changing the way we write and even think about web marketing. Go check out Optimost.com or OfferMatica.com, or even Google's Site Optimizer you'll find in your AdWords account.
Byron White: Peggy, you'd be surprised how easy it is to get great information from your customers... you just need to approach them the right way, and bribe them with free stuff or money in return for their time as a last resort.
Peggy Chan: So something like an e-mail survey with a coupon?
Byron White: Bring on the tough questions.... I'm here for you.... challenge me!
Byron White: Anyone need to find freelancers?
Dyan Carlson: in the world of internet retailing, do people even read anymore? I mean, are they just searching a keyword and then looking at a picture and a quick description? Is it really necessary to get all "warm and fuzzy" in ads or will just a few keywords do?
Rebecca Levinson: How can you get your sales staff to get excited and engaged over Web 2.o
Peggy Chan: Good question, Dyan. We spend a lot of time in our product descriptions and presention.
Dyan Carlson: i am all for presentation, but does that mean excessive words?
Byron White: Testing Dyan. Testing Testing Testing. Every site is different, with a different pool of readers, with different needs.
Dyan Carlson: agreed. and your point about knowing your target audience is well taken.
Peggy Chan: We are actually looking for freelancers, since besides our retail e-commerce site and blog, we want to develop content sites (such as community forums)
Byron White: You need to dig in and test different offers, written with different styles, to see which converts higher..... using multivariate testing.
Dyan Carlson: byron, can you give an easy example of not only a great offer, but of ways to track its success?
Byron White: Quick buyers need quick information, bullet points, ect
Dyan Carlson: my point exactly about not getting warm and fuzzy
Byron White: Detailed buyers need the facts, datasheets, compeling stories that confirm the decision to buy
Dyan Carlson: if you want warm and fuzzy, go for the print version-internet means speed
Byron White: You never really know who to write for without doing some testing
Byron White: Actually Dyan, internet does not always mean SPEED. Instead, it means goldmine of an opportunity to run tests to see if speed or depth is the motivator for the sale.
Dyan Carlson: for me, if I am going on the internet to shop, it's a hard-targeted search. since I can't feel or smell, or taste what I am buying, it's a quick search, quick description reading, presentation, and purchase. is that wrong?
Byron White: Your perception is not right or wrong, it's one. One perception. Buyers are readers, with different goals and agenda's, habits and behaviors. You need to find out what type of messaging will work for a majority of people that are readers on your retail site.
Dyan Carlson: great advice Byron, it really is all about finding your target audience.
Byron White: Hi, back now, I got kicked out.
Sherri Trowbridge: everyone got quiet
Byron White: Exactly. I'm ready. Any questions? Fire them at me, the tougher the better.
Sherri Trowbridge: how do you do your surveys?
Scott Branch: Will you re-write all my sales docs for me??
Byron White: Sure. Lets start now, ready?
Scott Branch: I was kidding, of course, but I find it hard to find an audience to run content by...other than my business partner
Byron White: OK, well, answer these questions Scott, and maybe you'll find some wisdom, OK?
Scott Branch: OK
Byron White: 1.) What does your target audience seem to get excited about, besides discounts?
Ellie: Do you have a process to determine the "type" of audience you need to write for?
Byron White: 2.) Where does your target audience hang out? Online and off?
Byron White: 3.) Scott, do you like to be sold to? Probably not. Noone does really. So is your current sales material doing to much selling, and not enough connecting?
Scott Branch: No, I do try to be careful of that....that's why I would much rather speak to or meet with a potential client rather than just email them a bunch of info
Byron White: 4.) Lets focus on connecting now. Ready. Content that connects. That is the goal. Call up a few of your customers, and ask them what would really impress them on the sales material you are creating. Or ask them what impressed them on any sales material they have ever recieved.
Byron White: 5.) Engagement. Connection is not enough Scott. You need to engage them. You need to thrill them. You need to add instant value to their life. You need to make their life better, smarter, faster and wiser. And you need to do it quickly. Very very quickly. Beacuse as Dyan points out, web surfers are tough to pin down.
Scott Branch: THis is fantastic advice
Byron White: 6.) Testing. You're going to come up with your own guess as to what might work, and test the response rates with A/B or Multivariate testing. Test Test Test.
Dyan Carlson: ok Byron, getting back to the question that started this whole thing...
Byron White: 7.) Testing Again. Your going to keep testing, with more A/B or Multivariate Testing, again and again and again. Until your subscriptions go up, your conversions go up, your sales go up. You go up. Maybe your partner goes out! Just kidding.
Byron White: Which question was that Dyan.
Byron White: Process for "type" of audience to writer for? Yes. I have my own process. Want to here it?
Dyan Carlson: once we have determined what are target audience wants, is it better to hire freelance writers and give them direction? Peggy says she "dreads writing in general". Is that the person you want representing your company?
Byron White: Sorry, I type very fast and make spelling mistakes...sorry about that. Mind ahead of motion.
Dyan Carlson: Or is someone inside the company, the one with the product knowledge, really your best resource?
Byron White: Tough question. Easy answer. Ready?
Byron White: Peggy vs Freelancer vs Inside Guy at Company with Product Knowledge. The each come up with there own version of the page. Each version is tested against the other. The winner gets to keep their job and keep testing more.
Ellie: yes
Dyan Carlson: wow! that sounds like effective communication...
Byron White: You see Ellie and Dyan. You never know who will win the war of words on the web. Sometimes its the college grad with NO experience with copy testing, that just has common sense. Sometimes it's the professional copywriter, that knows the closes path to conversions.
Dyan Carlson: Gosh, there really is a Santa!
Byron White: Ok, you guys need to take imediate action, and put this to work NOW. Want me to tell you how?
Dyan Carlson: yes please!
Byron White: Go to Google. Have a tech friend of your mess with the Site Optimizer code generator. Bang out some code that you past onto your website, say at the top of a sign up form. Create 4 versions of copy on TOP of the sign up form. Four different versions that address different obsticles and moods of the prospect. And test those 4 variables, and study your conversions variation, then go ask your boss for a raise... cause you just figured it out-- the secret of the web!
Byron White: sorry, paste not past...spelling errors, brain spinning to fast.
Byron White: Team Content that Connects. Are you guys getting this message? Was this helpful?
Byron White: I'll post a summary of this on my Blog. Google Byron White Blog and you'll find me.
Ellie: yes, thanks
Byron White: Thanks Ellie.
Byron White: Last minute questions?
Byron White: And do catch my Content that Connects Presentation. Good stuff in there.
Byron White: Anyone challenged with optimizing web pages for particular keyword phrases?
Ellie: of course
Sherri Trowbridge: yes
Byron White: Use this tool. It is our proprietary tool: http://www.lifetips.com/services/free-page-strength-tool.html
Byron White: Just bang in a keyword phrase, and the URL, and it will grade your work, and tell you how the page is performing in the SERPs.
Ellie: cool, thanks
Sherri Trowbridge: thanks
Byron White: Our clients LOVE that tool. It is quick and easy and better than just about anything out there.
Byron White: If you have further questions, or just want to cheer me up, then send an email to Byron@LifeTips.com. Also tune into our radio show on WebmasterRadio.FM on Wednesday 5 PM EST!
Byron White: Happy to keep anwering questions. How can I help you make the world a better place?
Chin Yeap: sometimes people dont have the time to constantly test and refine - especially smaller companies. what would your advise be?
Brian Moore: some great info here thanks
Be the first to rate this post - Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by byron white
9/8/2007 7:47:00 AM
You’ll find a previous post by me regading the Matt Cutts paid link debate that you may also want to reference.
To pay for links or not pay for links? That is the question. Is the future of link buying dead? Where does the LifeTips Sponsor Link Program stand in this mess?
The SEO community is running scared thanks to Matt’s post, similar to the McCarthy communist scare of the 50’s. Thousands of posts have been made on blogs all over the world discussing the death of the "paid link strategy" and the uncertain value of paid links in search marketing strategy.
We need to put a end to this scare, and restore sanity in the search marketing industry with a simple explanation of what is good practice and what is bad practice in buying paid links, and why sites like LifeTips.com are clearly in the good practice camp.
The notion that "all paid links are bad links" is absurd. Look at directories and news sites and authority sites that offer sponsorships. I do not know of even ONE reputable site that has lost it’s Google Juice as a results of selling paid links. The key is reputable.
Each website that sells links as part of a revenue strategy needs to be looked at individually. Below are questions that might help you determine if a paid link is a whitehat paid link or blackhat paid link:
Is the site reputable?
Does the site itself have genuine value to readers?
Does the site limit the number of links it sells?
Does the site sell links to “anyone” or only quality, relevant sites?
Does the site have great content or solve problems?
I have a few other questions that I recommend to clients before the purchase a link. No question that a best practice manaul should be created for paid links, but the elimination of paid links altogether is absurd. Note that page rank or back link popularity are not really important if I were to write the best practice manual. Maybe Matt, in his spare time, could create the best practice link buying standard for us. Come clean on the subject, instead of pushing this scare.
LifeTips.com in my opinion will continue to be labeled as a whitehat link source for many reasons. We've worked with Matt and other engineers over the years to fine tune our business model and link program and have made many changes along the way with their input. Below are example of recommendations we received from the Google engineers over the years to remain clean and pure in our mission and business strategy which does include links to our clients site as part of the sponsor package:
> Decrease the links from 50 per topic to 30, as 50 seems to excessive. (Aaron—WebmasterWorld New Orleans)
> Continue to be exclusive with sponsorship of each niche topic to preserve the power of the links.
> Inform the LifeTips readers that the links on the tip sites point to your clients site (For example, add HR Block Tip to all the tips that point to HR Block)
> Clean up new technology that might be hindering the bots from seeing content on your pages. (Thanks Matt--WebmasterWorld Vegas 2006)
> Get rid of the Do Not Follow your developer forgot to remove from your beta version of your site that you launched on a new version of your website (Thanks Aaron)
We have lots of other reasons we feel LifeTips is “safe’ from the paid link scare that may surface from angry competitors of our clients that “submit” LifeTips for review.
> Our sponsor package involves more than just links.
> LifeTips is a great site, offering lots of professionally written content to fans and readers.
> LifeTips has been around since 1999, with a pure mission to make the world, and the web, a better place, one tip at a time.
> We pay the expert writers for their words of wisdom, making our content some of the best on the web... and an authority status for tips and advice.
> In the history of the company, not one of our clients has ever requested their money back or filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. We’re proud of that, and we think it matters.
> Our focus on quality content development services is exactly what Google supports. We believe Google wants companies like LifeTips to not only survive, but thrive.
> Our readership stats are well know by Google. We’re popular and have fans.
> We're a publisher, running Google Ads, so why would they want to black list their own clients?
For clients or prospects, I look forward to your comments or thoughts! Long live whitehat link buying which is simply part of the Google recipe for top listings in the search engines.
Be the first to rate this post - Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Tags:
Permalink |
Comments (0) |
Post RSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
About our Blog
The LifeTips SEO Content Blog helps businesses and writers get in-the-know with the latest content and SEO discoveries. Learn how to make content more engaging and SEO friendly. Browse the latest paid writing assignments offered for approved Gurus at LifeTips. And catch SEO industry insights and observations from our President Byron White.
|
|