Bloggers are true innovators.
Those pioneering folks (and yes they are explorers on a new voyage of discovery) who have started blogs have not only discovered an entirely new country.
They built the country from the ground up.
Starting as postings by technology experts, and adopted by the personal diary writers, blogs remained under the radar for awhile.
Then there was an explosion.
With the advent of cheap and free blogging platforms, that required little or no programming skills, blogs went supernova. Anyone could have a blog.
And did.
What was once the sole domain of the coding and technological, or the personal and diary writing, emerged as a multitude of different things. There are as many blogging types and styles, as there are writers.
There are now literally dozens and dozens of widely grouped categories in the growing number of internet blog directories.
These aren't your teenager's angst filled journalings any more.
Bloggers have created an entirely new communications vehicle. Whether the goal is marketing, public relations, expressing an opinion on a myriad of topics, or simply providing information, blogs are the innovation of the decade.
With the same drive that propels forward small business owners and entreprenurs, blogs are maintained and expanded on a daily basis. A quick check of the search engine rankings in Google, Yahoo, MSN Search, and Ask Jeeves will readily display the power of blogs, in those well known compilers of information requests.
The many innovative and creative ways that blogs are used for business, politics, and just about everything else imaginable, would fill a book. In fact, blogging has already filled several books.
Soon, that blogging book list will be a library in its own right, as more and more blog book titles are added.
Bloggers are already developing ways to tuen blogs into money making websites all by themselves. Other business people are using blogs to enhance their pwn business and professional websites.
The sky is literally the limit to the innovations and creative uses for blogs.
When I consider bloggers to be the ideal entrepreneurs, I think of this display of creativity and spirit of innovation.
Bloggers created an entire successful and skyrocketing industry.
Individuals and blogger partnerships can easily develop a number of successful businesses.
They already have.
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Monday, February 7, 2005
Carnival of the Capitalists at Catallarchy
This week sees a thought provoking adventure for the travelling business show, recognized by one and all as Carnival of the Capitalists makes a stop at a blog where politics, economics, and social commentary are the order of the day.
This week's tremendous lineup of posts feature a political and market oriented side as we visit the group Catallarchy blog.
When the Catallarchy blog isn't jam packed with political and economics posts, there are some postings dedicated to television and popular culture.
This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today.
Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, education, legal issues, spam, insider trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national and global economies, politics, and technology.
As you would expect from Catallarchy there are many discussions of politics, markets, social issues, and economics ideas.
It's always great to read and discover the many high quality blogs out there in the blogosphere.
We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones.
As I am always privileged to do, I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Capitalists as well.
My entry post this week is entitled "Optimization for Blogger hosted blogs" where I discuss search engine optimization techniques for blogs in general, and SEO methods for Blogger hosted blogs in particular.
If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:
cotcmail -at- gmail -dot- com
You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!
If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.
Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.
The extra visitors can't sent to your blog won't hurt either!
The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.
The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.
Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.
Many people are introduced to some tremendous blogs that they might otherwise have missed.
Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will make a visit to the well known politics and personal observations blog called Weekend Pundit.
In the meantime, click that mouse over to the Catallarchy hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.
If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesnt do it, then Carnival of the Capitalists certainly will offer you a chance to find some political thoughts and economics wisdom. (groan)
This week's tremendous lineup of posts feature a political and market oriented side as we visit the group Catallarchy blog.
When the Catallarchy blog isn't jam packed with political and economics posts, there are some postings dedicated to television and popular culture.
This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today.
Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, education, legal issues, spam, insider trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national and global economies, politics, and technology.
As you would expect from Catallarchy there are many discussions of politics, markets, social issues, and economics ideas.
It's always great to read and discover the many high quality blogs out there in the blogosphere.
We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones.
As I am always privileged to do, I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Capitalists as well.
My entry post this week is entitled "Optimization for Blogger hosted blogs" where I discuss search engine optimization techniques for blogs in general, and SEO methods for Blogger hosted blogs in particular.
If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:
cotcmail -at- gmail -dot- com
You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!
If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.
Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.
The extra visitors can't sent to your blog won't hurt either!
The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.
The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.
Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.
Many people are introduced to some tremendous blogs that they might otherwise have missed.
Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will make a visit to the well known politics and personal observations blog called Weekend Pundit.
In the meantime, click that mouse over to the Catallarchy hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.
If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesnt do it, then Carnival of the Capitalists certainly will offer you a chance to find some political thoughts and economics wisdom. (groan)
Sunday, February 6, 2005
Learning from the mistake
Mistakes should not be the end of the world for a business.
I recently wrote a post on the problem of defending a mistake. Instead of attempting to put a good face on the error, or denying it ever happened in the first place, the best policy is to rectify it.
Then learn from what happened.
The idea of learning begs the question of learning what and who is doing that learning?
That is indeed an important question to consider.
Once the error is accepted, and acknowledged, the busines owner or decision maker can then put in place a new system, alternative policies, different employees, or fresh equipment.
Once the mistake has been corrected, however, there is often a tendency to deny the original error once again. The position is taken that the new decision was undertaken for any number of reasons other than the fact that a bad choice was made in the beginning.
Denial once again steps in, and it's disguised as either a staff problem, a market problem, or even some vague government red tape issue. In the end, an avoidance of looking squarely at the reflection in the mirror is the result.
The mistake continues in denial.
What a business should do in the wake of a business threatening disaster is examine ways to avoid a repeat performance. If the original decision maker is still making ad hoc, and often illogical choices, the clock is ticking on the next near catastrophe.
it's only a matter of time.
Every company, internal department, and small business needs some sort of internal checks and balances systems. The decision makers must consider alternative ideas from within the organization, even while maintaining final decision making power.
The recognition of other possibilities, even if not consiously acknowledged by some business owners and managers, can often alter some potentially disastrous and poorly thought out plans.
For example, checking with the company's financial experts can avert a spending error.
The legal department's input can prevent costly and often ruinous lawsuits by avoiding potential nightmares before they take shape.
Talking with the sales, marketing, public relations, and customer service people can prevent launching an expensive non-seller onto an uninterested market. This input is especially important if the owner or decision maker has a pet product that will be produced regardless of the market conditions.
The production staff should be consulted for opinions on the possibility of adding new produuct lines or expanding output of currently marketed items. Sometimes, the production system is already operating at or near capacity. Any additional committments simply can't be achieved.
A business involves more than one person. Even the most autocratic and dictatorial of business owners must face the fact that they are not infallible. They must accept that they are not experts in everything related to the company.
The urge to micro-manage small details is a huge mistake that many business owners often make in the course of business operations. Failure to listen to staff and to delegate responsibility is an example of bad management practice.
Letting go of the details, and asking assistance from others is not weakness, but a sign of self assurance and strong management. That is an important lesson for most business owners and managers to learn.
Grow beyond the original job, and let go.
The small business owner may have handled all of the business details in the past, but as a company grows, the decision making must become more widespread within the organization.
By decentralizing decision making, and seeking input from many reliable sources both inside and outside the company, catastrophic mistakes can be avoided.
A brainstorming session can be put into place to examine ways to tackle the problem, and to implement the chosen solution as successfully as possible. The final choice might look far different from the business owner's original, and potentially disastrous, "management by whim".
The full involvement of the staff who will be carring out the decision is much more likely if they are part of the decision making process.
When people feel their voices are being heard, they are much more likely to take ownership of the final policy decision and to make it work. A decree from the top is much less likely to be treated so charitably, often leading to problems of implementation and low morale.
Letting the staff do their job, and looking at several aternatives to the original choice, will reduce the need to defend a mistake in the future.
Learn from the mistake.
Don't pretend it never happened.
I recently wrote a post on the problem of defending a mistake. Instead of attempting to put a good face on the error, or denying it ever happened in the first place, the best policy is to rectify it.
Then learn from what happened.
The idea of learning begs the question of learning what and who is doing that learning?
That is indeed an important question to consider.
Once the error is accepted, and acknowledged, the busines owner or decision maker can then put in place a new system, alternative policies, different employees, or fresh equipment.
Once the mistake has been corrected, however, there is often a tendency to deny the original error once again. The position is taken that the new decision was undertaken for any number of reasons other than the fact that a bad choice was made in the beginning.
Denial once again steps in, and it's disguised as either a staff problem, a market problem, or even some vague government red tape issue. In the end, an avoidance of looking squarely at the reflection in the mirror is the result.
The mistake continues in denial.
What a business should do in the wake of a business threatening disaster is examine ways to avoid a repeat performance. If the original decision maker is still making ad hoc, and often illogical choices, the clock is ticking on the next near catastrophe.
it's only a matter of time.
Every company, internal department, and small business needs some sort of internal checks and balances systems. The decision makers must consider alternative ideas from within the organization, even while maintaining final decision making power.
The recognition of other possibilities, even if not consiously acknowledged by some business owners and managers, can often alter some potentially disastrous and poorly thought out plans.
For example, checking with the company's financial experts can avert a spending error.
The legal department's input can prevent costly and often ruinous lawsuits by avoiding potential nightmares before they take shape.
Talking with the sales, marketing, public relations, and customer service people can prevent launching an expensive non-seller onto an uninterested market. This input is especially important if the owner or decision maker has a pet product that will be produced regardless of the market conditions.
The production staff should be consulted for opinions on the possibility of adding new produuct lines or expanding output of currently marketed items. Sometimes, the production system is already operating at or near capacity. Any additional committments simply can't be achieved.
A business involves more than one person. Even the most autocratic and dictatorial of business owners must face the fact that they are not infallible. They must accept that they are not experts in everything related to the company.
The urge to micro-manage small details is a huge mistake that many business owners often make in the course of business operations. Failure to listen to staff and to delegate responsibility is an example of bad management practice.
Letting go of the details, and asking assistance from others is not weakness, but a sign of self assurance and strong management. That is an important lesson for most business owners and managers to learn.
Grow beyond the original job, and let go.
The small business owner may have handled all of the business details in the past, but as a company grows, the decision making must become more widespread within the organization.
By decentralizing decision making, and seeking input from many reliable sources both inside and outside the company, catastrophic mistakes can be avoided.
A brainstorming session can be put into place to examine ways to tackle the problem, and to implement the chosen solution as successfully as possible. The final choice might look far different from the business owner's original, and potentially disastrous, "management by whim".
The full involvement of the staff who will be carring out the decision is much more likely if they are part of the decision making process.
When people feel their voices are being heard, they are much more likely to take ownership of the final policy decision and to make it work. A decree from the top is much less likely to be treated so charitably, often leading to problems of implementation and low morale.
Letting the staff do their job, and looking at several aternatives to the original choice, will reduce the need to defend a mistake in the future.
Learn from the mistake.
Don't pretend it never happened.
Saturday, February 5, 2005
My Blogosphere Radio interview still available
As many of my readers already know, I conducted a recent Blogosphere Radio interview with talented Blogosphere Radio host Mack Male.
Mack and I discussed blogging.
Boy, I'll bet that entirely unexpected revelation came as a shock to your system!
Me...talking about blogging? Imagine that!
Anyway.
Many of my readers have been e-mailing me for the link to my internet radio interview.
Well, here it is:
"Blogging With...Wayne Hurlbert"
Here are the blogging topics that Mack and I discussed:
For those of you who are not yet listeners of Blogosphere Radio, I highly recommend all of the interviews listed on the site.
Mack talks blogging, and issues affecting the entire blogging community, with some of the leading bloggers on the internet. The interviewees include Jeremy Wright, Darren Barefoot, Eric Olsen, and Mick Stanic, to name only a very few of the outstanding bloggers who discuss various aspects of blogging.
Be sure to tune into Blogosphere Radio to hear the latest news from all around the blogging world.
Mack and I discussed blogging.
Boy, I'll bet that entirely unexpected revelation came as a shock to your system!
Me...talking about blogging? Imagine that!
Anyway.
Many of my readers have been e-mailing me for the link to my internet radio interview.
Well, here it is:
"Blogging With...Wayne Hurlbert"
Here are the blogging topics that Mack and I discussed:
Episode Notes
00:00 - Opening Sequence and Introduction
00:39 - Meet Wayne Hurlbert
01:33 - Wayne on Blogging
03:47 - Carnival of the Capitalists
05:00 - Wayne on Writing
06:06 - Business Blogging
08:40 - Blogs as a Business
09:56 - Tips on writing a business blog
12:47 - Blogs and Advertising
14:16 - Innovation and Blogs
15:13 - Tips for Small Businesses new to Blogging
18:09 - Closing Sequence and Copyright
For those of you who are not yet listeners of Blogosphere Radio, I highly recommend all of the interviews listed on the site.
Mack talks blogging, and issues affecting the entire blogging community, with some of the leading bloggers on the internet. The interviewees include Jeremy Wright, Darren Barefoot, Eric Olsen, and Mick Stanic, to name only a very few of the outstanding bloggers who discuss various aspects of blogging.
Be sure to tune into Blogosphere Radio to hear the latest news from all around the blogging world.
Friday, February 4, 2005
A9 Search: Optimization on the Amazon
Amazon.com has made a major entry into streaming the flow of internet search into its main traffic river. That entry goes by the brief, and slightly puzzling name of A9.com.
With the new A9.com Search, combined with already owned Alexa, online retail giant Amazon.com is considering a move into the big leagues of search.
As a website owner, you might want to consider picking up some traffic, from what might be a player in the search engine market. While the level of search traffic, between A9.com and Alexa remains small compared to the big names, no one can be certain if the status quo will continue.
With Google experiencing some user dissatisfaction, and Yahoo and MSN Search still feeling their way to new algorithms, some shortfall may become more than a trickle into Amazon’s A9 entry. In the meantime, it won’t hurt a webmaster to be sure their site swims well with the Amazon current, and not against it.
At first glance, many webmasters will be tempted to think that their Google optimization efforts will already work with A9. Since A9.com is “enhanced by Google results”, that might be partially true.
The part that throws an anchor into the water, is A9 is also loaded with results favoring Amazon and Alexa listings. In particular, products offered by Amazon.com are heavily featured in the A9 search engine results pages (SERPs).
The additional Amazon based search results is especially discouraging, to businesses who offer similar products, as the giant Amazon.com. With those products being well positioned in the SERPs by Amazon, the average online retailer might feel overwhelmed by the competition.
Faced with a huge marketing budget, and an almost unlimited product line, that concerned webmaster response to Amazon.com is entirely understandable. Fortunately, there are some workable solutions for successfully competing with those Amazon laden results.
An additional optimization problem also presents itself, as part of the elaborate technology on the A9.com page, in the form of thumbnail images. Taken from the Google Image Search collection, it becomes increasingly important to have website photos and graphics properly indexed.
In the regular Google SERPs, the importance of images is more or less for the main search rankings. In the A( SERPs, having those images properly indexed, become doubly important.
While the navigation through the rocks and shoals of the Amazon might appear impossible at first glance, that is not completely and permanently a barrier.
With some careful enhancements, to optimization techniques that are proven to work in Google, safe passage to good search rankings in A9 can be achieved. All that has to be remembered is those Amazon results are there in Google search results too.
By charting a course through the A9 Amazon dominated waters, safe passage can be found. Any online retailer and webmaster, finding Amazon results dominating their keyword searches, will not only do better in A9, but in Google itself.
Turning on the content flow
To compete successfully with an internet powerhouse like Amazon, it’s essential for the smaller website owner to provide plentiful theme related content. This is especially true if the website is an online retailer, offering similar a similar product line, to the online giant.
That situation includes many bloggers who are Amazon.com affiliates. Many bloggers have affiliate links to Amazon, and offer books and other Amazon products from their own blogs.
Because of the placement of Amazon results, online retailers must develop a powerful content niche, by focussing their themed content on their product offerings. There are several available techniques to add more theme related content.
First and foremost, make certain that your online product line, or any other search terms where an Amazon result can appear, has abundant themed and unique content.
Since there is highly likely to be a book on the topic, somewhere in Amazon’s gigantic catalogue, there is a need for keyword rich content for all web pages. Because of the importance of content, it’s necessary to examine each of these cases separately.
Online retailers, offering a similar product line to Amazon should take care to differentiate their content, while retaining the most important keywords. An affiliate online site should provide different descriptions of the product line, if at all possible.
Google frowns upon any form of duplicate content, and many affiliate sites suffer in the search ranking as a result. The good news is a little creativity can go a long way.
For example, with book sales, a change in the content descriptions from those appearing on Amazon, or on the affiliate’s parent site, is a good idea.
Different book reviews and recommendations from those used elsewhere are also very helpful, especially if the most important keywords are retained. Keeping similar topic book titles and content, in theme related pages and cross linked site directories and sub-directories, will also help.
The need for strong keyword rich link anchor text is important with A9, as it is with Google. Link anchor text is the wording that appears on a clickable link, from both incoming links and internal site links.
Because A9 utilizes the Google results, and pads them with Amazon listings, the same anchor text requirements apply. Be certain that your anchor text is not all identical, as it could trigger a Google filter.
The best idea is to mix up your site’s anchor text to give the appearance of natural linking. No more than two thirds of the anchor text should be identical. Varying the keywords, to target the receiving page, is important as it mixes up the wording, and adds value to the page.
Links count on the river too
As most website owners know, Google places tremendous importance on a website’s incoming links. Not only the number of links is considered, but also their quality. That link importance is based on several factors.
They include theme relevance of the linking site to the receiving site, the passed along amount of Google PageRank, and the anchor text on the clickable link to the site. Because the search results in the A9 search engine, are heavily Google results, it makes sense to use standard Google optimization techniques.
Getting more incoming links to your site is usually always a worthwhile goal. Provided that such obvious search engine errors, as links to and from the dreaded link farms are strenuously avoided, almost all incoming links are good. The difference is that some incoming links are worth more than others.
Links are not a utopian egalitarian society. The search engine algorithms consider some links to be very valuable, while other links offer far less value to a receiving website.
Pay special attention to the web pages and sites that you choose for link exchange agreements. While there is some benefit to be derived from a link, that is entirely unrelated to your site content, the newer Google algorithm has lowered its value.
The trend is clearly toward related and relevant content. The weighting of themed factors means there is far less value to swapping links with irrelevant sites. Instead, the emphasis is on clustering of themes around single topics.
Links from the major internet directories like The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) and The Yahoo Directory provide added incoming link power. In particular, website owners should seek links from directories that are related their industry.
The closer the directory focus to the site’s topics and themes, the better. That said, the website will benefit from all internet directory links from related categories.
The A9 search engine, and its use of the Google search results, will reward those directory links. To compete against any additional Amazon related links, the various directory links will provide some additional value.
Additional benefits of careful navigation
One of the more interesting aspects of the A9 search engine search results is the inclusion of photographs related to the searched keywords and phrases. Along with the standard optimization techniques, the A9.com addition of photos requires extra attention to that aspect of SEO.
Because a website can be located through the A9 photos, as well as through a Google and Yahoo images search, it’s important that every photograph on the website be indexed. A dual keyword placement system might pay real dividends in this case. Be certain that the photo’s mouse over alt tags can be crawled by the search engine spiders. In this case, an html link would probably be the most effective.
When using alt tags, be careful to not be to blatant in the use of your keywords. Avoiding keyword stuffing maintains the value of the alt tags. It’s thought by some search engine optimization specialists that alt tags do not have the same value they had in the past. While their value may have indeed been diminished, some solid SEO benefit remains.
As with the visible on page photo caption, descriptive language might be the most effective. If the description and alt tags can use keywords, while remaining logical to the image content, by all means use them. Problems only arise when blatant keyword use, entirely unrelated to the photo content occurs.
As with all SEO, consider the value of the photo captions for your visitors, and use common sense and logic with your alt tags, and a positive benefit will happen for the web page. Instead of attempting to fool the search engines, provide good descriptive content, and Google and its A9 enhancement will reward you.
Conclusion
While the A9 search engine provides mainly Google results, there are some slight differences.
Because A9 is part of the Amazon family, some search results include a heavier level of Amazon results than the standard Google search returns. Keep that in mind if you market similar products to those offered by Amazon.
Because a photograph series appears as part of the A9 search results, be certain that all photos on your website include proper captions and easily indexed alt tags.
Not only will the photos gain access to A9.com and Google Images, but also add some SEO enhancement to their web page. Be sure to use common sense in captioning and tagging the photos.
By watching the river, the A9 search engine can be successfully navigated by most website owners.
With the new A9.com Search, combined with already owned Alexa, online retail giant Amazon.com is considering a move into the big leagues of search.
As a website owner, you might want to consider picking up some traffic, from what might be a player in the search engine market. While the level of search traffic, between A9.com and Alexa remains small compared to the big names, no one can be certain if the status quo will continue.
With Google experiencing some user dissatisfaction, and Yahoo and MSN Search still feeling their way to new algorithms, some shortfall may become more than a trickle into Amazon’s A9 entry. In the meantime, it won’t hurt a webmaster to be sure their site swims well with the Amazon current, and not against it.
At first glance, many webmasters will be tempted to think that their Google optimization efforts will already work with A9. Since A9.com is “enhanced by Google results”, that might be partially true.
The part that throws an anchor into the water, is A9 is also loaded with results favoring Amazon and Alexa listings. In particular, products offered by Amazon.com are heavily featured in the A9 search engine results pages (SERPs).
The additional Amazon based search results is especially discouraging, to businesses who offer similar products, as the giant Amazon.com. With those products being well positioned in the SERPs by Amazon, the average online retailer might feel overwhelmed by the competition.
Faced with a huge marketing budget, and an almost unlimited product line, that concerned webmaster response to Amazon.com is entirely understandable. Fortunately, there are some workable solutions for successfully competing with those Amazon laden results.
An additional optimization problem also presents itself, as part of the elaborate technology on the A9.com page, in the form of thumbnail images. Taken from the Google Image Search collection, it becomes increasingly important to have website photos and graphics properly indexed.
In the regular Google SERPs, the importance of images is more or less for the main search rankings. In the A( SERPs, having those images properly indexed, become doubly important.
While the navigation through the rocks and shoals of the Amazon might appear impossible at first glance, that is not completely and permanently a barrier.
With some careful enhancements, to optimization techniques that are proven to work in Google, safe passage to good search rankings in A9 can be achieved. All that has to be remembered is those Amazon results are there in Google search results too.
By charting a course through the A9 Amazon dominated waters, safe passage can be found. Any online retailer and webmaster, finding Amazon results dominating their keyword searches, will not only do better in A9, but in Google itself.
Turning on the content flow
To compete successfully with an internet powerhouse like Amazon, it’s essential for the smaller website owner to provide plentiful theme related content. This is especially true if the website is an online retailer, offering similar a similar product line, to the online giant.
That situation includes many bloggers who are Amazon.com affiliates. Many bloggers have affiliate links to Amazon, and offer books and other Amazon products from their own blogs.
Because of the placement of Amazon results, online retailers must develop a powerful content niche, by focussing their themed content on their product offerings. There are several available techniques to add more theme related content.
First and foremost, make certain that your online product line, or any other search terms where an Amazon result can appear, has abundant themed and unique content.
Since there is highly likely to be a book on the topic, somewhere in Amazon’s gigantic catalogue, there is a need for keyword rich content for all web pages. Because of the importance of content, it’s necessary to examine each of these cases separately.
Online retailers, offering a similar product line to Amazon should take care to differentiate their content, while retaining the most important keywords. An affiliate online site should provide different descriptions of the product line, if at all possible.
Google frowns upon any form of duplicate content, and many affiliate sites suffer in the search ranking as a result. The good news is a little creativity can go a long way.
For example, with book sales, a change in the content descriptions from those appearing on Amazon, or on the affiliate’s parent site, is a good idea.
Different book reviews and recommendations from those used elsewhere are also very helpful, especially if the most important keywords are retained. Keeping similar topic book titles and content, in theme related pages and cross linked site directories and sub-directories, will also help.
The need for strong keyword rich link anchor text is important with A9, as it is with Google. Link anchor text is the wording that appears on a clickable link, from both incoming links and internal site links.
Because A9 utilizes the Google results, and pads them with Amazon listings, the same anchor text requirements apply. Be certain that your anchor text is not all identical, as it could trigger a Google filter.
The best idea is to mix up your site’s anchor text to give the appearance of natural linking. No more than two thirds of the anchor text should be identical. Varying the keywords, to target the receiving page, is important as it mixes up the wording, and adds value to the page.
Links count on the river too
As most website owners know, Google places tremendous importance on a website’s incoming links. Not only the number of links is considered, but also their quality. That link importance is based on several factors.
They include theme relevance of the linking site to the receiving site, the passed along amount of Google PageRank, and the anchor text on the clickable link to the site. Because the search results in the A9 search engine, are heavily Google results, it makes sense to use standard Google optimization techniques.
Getting more incoming links to your site is usually always a worthwhile goal. Provided that such obvious search engine errors, as links to and from the dreaded link farms are strenuously avoided, almost all incoming links are good. The difference is that some incoming links are worth more than others.
Links are not a utopian egalitarian society. The search engine algorithms consider some links to be very valuable, while other links offer far less value to a receiving website.
Pay special attention to the web pages and sites that you choose for link exchange agreements. While there is some benefit to be derived from a link, that is entirely unrelated to your site content, the newer Google algorithm has lowered its value.
The trend is clearly toward related and relevant content. The weighting of themed factors means there is far less value to swapping links with irrelevant sites. Instead, the emphasis is on clustering of themes around single topics.
Links from the major internet directories like The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) and The Yahoo Directory provide added incoming link power. In particular, website owners should seek links from directories that are related their industry.
The closer the directory focus to the site’s topics and themes, the better. That said, the website will benefit from all internet directory links from related categories.
The A9 search engine, and its use of the Google search results, will reward those directory links. To compete against any additional Amazon related links, the various directory links will provide some additional value.
Additional benefits of careful navigation
One of the more interesting aspects of the A9 search engine search results is the inclusion of photographs related to the searched keywords and phrases. Along with the standard optimization techniques, the A9.com addition of photos requires extra attention to that aspect of SEO.
Because a website can be located through the A9 photos, as well as through a Google and Yahoo images search, it’s important that every photograph on the website be indexed. A dual keyword placement system might pay real dividends in this case. Be certain that the photo’s mouse over alt tags can be crawled by the search engine spiders. In this case, an html link would probably be the most effective.
When using alt tags, be careful to not be to blatant in the use of your keywords. Avoiding keyword stuffing maintains the value of the alt tags. It’s thought by some search engine optimization specialists that alt tags do not have the same value they had in the past. While their value may have indeed been diminished, some solid SEO benefit remains.
As with the visible on page photo caption, descriptive language might be the most effective. If the description and alt tags can use keywords, while remaining logical to the image content, by all means use them. Problems only arise when blatant keyword use, entirely unrelated to the photo content occurs.
As with all SEO, consider the value of the photo captions for your visitors, and use common sense and logic with your alt tags, and a positive benefit will happen for the web page. Instead of attempting to fool the search engines, provide good descriptive content, and Google and its A9 enhancement will reward you.
Conclusion
While the A9 search engine provides mainly Google results, there are some slight differences.
Because A9 is part of the Amazon family, some search results include a heavier level of Amazon results than the standard Google search returns. Keep that in mind if you market similar products to those offered by Amazon.
Because a photograph series appears as part of the A9 search results, be certain that all photos on your website include proper captions and easily indexed alt tags.
Not only will the photos gain access to A9.com and Google Images, but also add some SEO enhancement to their web page. Be sure to use common sense in captioning and tagging the photos.
By watching the river, the A9 search engine can be successfully navigated by most website owners.
Thursday, February 3, 2005
Unique blogger auction to get links
Holding a blogger auction as a way to attract incoming links is the brainchild of Australian blogger HeroineGirl.
The concept of the HeroineGirl Auctions is to earn bidding dollars from links and clicks to her blog.
The more links and clicks to HeroineGirl Auctions, the more blogging dollars are available for bidding on the donated items.
In effect, the links are the currency for bidding on prizes. The more links to the HeroineGirl Auctions blog, and the more clicks sent, the more link dollars a bidder has to compete for prizes. The "wealthy" bidders in the auction are heaviest linkers and traffic providers.
Note that some of the donated prizes are rather whimsical in nature, as befits a humour blog like HeroineGirl.
As a technique for attractive visitor traffic and incoming links to her blog, HeroineGirl Auctions has developed a truly creative concept.
As with all new ideas for attracting blog links and visitor traffic, there is no guarantee that it will work.
The early indications, from a visit to the auctions blog, are that there are quite a few participants in both the traffic and links generation side, and on the donated prizes side. The idea appears to be working.
Warning: some of the language and commentary on the HeroineGirl Auctions page is not for everyone.
Thanks to hilarious offbeat humour blog Fat Eye For The Skinny Guy for the link.
The concept of the HeroineGirl Auctions is to earn bidding dollars from links and clicks to her blog.
The more links and clicks to HeroineGirl Auctions, the more blogging dollars are available for bidding on the donated items.
In effect, the links are the currency for bidding on prizes. The more links to the HeroineGirl Auctions blog, and the more clicks sent, the more link dollars a bidder has to compete for prizes. The "wealthy" bidders in the auction are heaviest linkers and traffic providers.
Note that some of the donated prizes are rather whimsical in nature, as befits a humour blog like HeroineGirl.
As a technique for attractive visitor traffic and incoming links to her blog, HeroineGirl Auctions has developed a truly creative concept.
As with all new ideas for attracting blog links and visitor traffic, there is no guarantee that it will work.
The early indications, from a visit to the auctions blog, are that there are quite a few participants in both the traffic and links generation side, and on the donated prizes side. The idea appears to be working.
Warning: some of the language and commentary on the HeroineGirl Auctions page is not for everyone.
Thanks to hilarious offbeat humour blog Fat Eye For The Skinny Guy for the link.
Voting starts over in The 2005 Business Blogging Awards
Voting for The 2005 Business Blogging Awards has resumed.
Following a huge number of voter irregularities, and numerous voting system malfuntions, with all of the previous vote totals were discarded.
Voting has begun again, with all of the previous vote totals returned to zero.
That means that everyone has to vote again.
Of course, if you were already voting for your choices for best business blogs, you can just keep doing what you are already doing.
The link has changed for the voting, so anyone following an old link will be disappointed as all that appears are the old discarded totals.
This is the new voting link.
As you know Blog Business World has been nominated in two categories.
Best SEO Blog
Best Overall Blog
I appreciate the strong support that my Blog Business World blog has received in both categories. Your support is still needed for and for the many other tremendous blogs that were honoured with nominations.
I know the vast majority of the nominated blogs very well, and I can assure that they are all worthy of support.
The previous voting term was to end on February 9. The date for casting ballots has now been extended to noon PST on Wednesday, February 16, 2005.
Surf on over to The 2005 Business Blogging Awards and cast your votes.
The support received in the voting tells everyone in the internet community of the importance of business blogs.
You can vote every day until noon PST on Wednesday, February 16, 2005.
Vote for Blog Business World now!
Danger - Quicksand - Have A Nice Day: Download now
Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment is a brand new must read book from one of the finest bloggers anywhere: David St. Lawrence of Ripples.
If you haven't been reading David's Ripples blog, you have been missing out on one of the treasures of the internet. His unique combination of business knowledge and wisdom combined with his personal warmth and humanity is unsurpassed.
As if his Ripples blog weren't enough, David St. Lawrence has written a new book about the corporate experience and preparing for a career in entrepreneurship.
The book is called Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment.
About the book, David wrote the following:
The book is excellent, as I expected from David St. Lawrence. He never disappoints me.
And even better...
You can download the book as a free pdf file!
That's right. You read correctly!
In fact, this free book is the one pdf download you will want to have in 2005.
Get the free book download of Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment now!
You will be glad you did.
If you haven't been reading David's Ripples blog, you have been missing out on one of the treasures of the internet. His unique combination of business knowledge and wisdom combined with his personal warmth and humanity is unsurpassed.
As if his Ripples blog weren't enough, David St. Lawrence has written a new book about the corporate experience and preparing for a career in entrepreneurship.
The book is called Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment.
About the book, David wrote the following:
My whole point in writing Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment is to prepare corporate employees to take their lives back and get them under control.
The book is excellent, as I expected from David St. Lawrence. He never disappoints me.
And even better...
You can download the book as a free pdf file!
That's right. You read correctly!
In fact, this free book is the one pdf download you will want to have in 2005.
Get the free book download of Danger - Quicksand: an unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment now!
You will be glad you did.
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Blogs still not well known in business community
Business blogs are still not mainstream concepts in the business community.
Many otherwise very knowledgeable business people, whether business owners or corporate middle managers, are not aware of the power of blogging.
I know. I was shocked to find that information too.
As many of my regular readers already know, I belong to many internet message boards. I post regularly on forums about search engine optimization. Along with the SEO forums, I post on several small business ideas and information boards.
In other words, I read a ton of posts written by some very sharp business people. Many of them are professionals in the search engine optimization field.
As all of you are aware, I write constantly about the power of business blogs for SEO.
A business blog, with its regular updates of keyword rich content and the blog's abundant inbound links, ranks very high in the search engines. Whether we are talking about search engine leader Google, Yahoo, or MSN Search, blogs score very highly for searches for their keyword phrases.
Blogs are one of the most powerful search engine optimization tools available, for any business person, and for strengthening any online business.
You would think that SEO profressionals would be recommending blogs to their clients for those reasons. After all, search engine optimization is all about improving a site's visibility in the various search engines.
Well, SEO professionals or not, many are not aware of the power of business blogging in the search engine field.
I see this phenomenon first hand in the search engine optimization forums. I am constantly answering basic blogging questions that even the newest entrant into the blogging arena could answer.
The good word about business blogs still has not reached the wider business
community.
When we talk to business people about our blogs, we often have to start at square one. The concept of blogging is still not as widespread as some of us would like to think.
Even me.
After answering the same old basic questions, on SEO forums about blogging, I think we need a fresh educative approach to business blogging. We simply can't take for granted that other business people are aware of the blog difference.
As far as blogging has come over the last year or so, there is still much work to do in helping business owners and managers understand the true value of a business blog.
As experienced bloggers, it's up to us to educate them.
Whether we teach blogging techniques, provide professional blogging services, or simply point the business people in the direction of a blog host, we are the source of blogging information and knowledge.
We have to spread the word.
No one else will.
In the meantime, I'm back to some SEO forums to continue posting and spreading the word.
Business blogs work for your business and your bottom line.
Pass it on!
Many otherwise very knowledgeable business people, whether business owners or corporate middle managers, are not aware of the power of blogging.
I know. I was shocked to find that information too.
As many of my regular readers already know, I belong to many internet message boards. I post regularly on forums about search engine optimization. Along with the SEO forums, I post on several small business ideas and information boards.
In other words, I read a ton of posts written by some very sharp business people. Many of them are professionals in the search engine optimization field.
As all of you are aware, I write constantly about the power of business blogs for SEO.
A business blog, with its regular updates of keyword rich content and the blog's abundant inbound links, ranks very high in the search engines. Whether we are talking about search engine leader Google, Yahoo, or MSN Search, blogs score very highly for searches for their keyword phrases.
Blogs are one of the most powerful search engine optimization tools available, for any business person, and for strengthening any online business.
You would think that SEO profressionals would be recommending blogs to their clients for those reasons. After all, search engine optimization is all about improving a site's visibility in the various search engines.
Well, SEO professionals or not, many are not aware of the power of business blogging in the search engine field.
I see this phenomenon first hand in the search engine optimization forums. I am constantly answering basic blogging questions that even the newest entrant into the blogging arena could answer.
The good word about business blogs still has not reached the wider business
community.
When we talk to business people about our blogs, we often have to start at square one. The concept of blogging is still not as widespread as some of us would like to think.
Even me.
After answering the same old basic questions, on SEO forums about blogging, I think we need a fresh educative approach to business blogging. We simply can't take for granted that other business people are aware of the blog difference.
As far as blogging has come over the last year or so, there is still much work to do in helping business owners and managers understand the true value of a business blog.
As experienced bloggers, it's up to us to educate them.
Whether we teach blogging techniques, provide professional blogging services, or simply point the business people in the direction of a blog host, we are the source of blogging information and knowledge.
We have to spread the word.
No one else will.
In the meantime, I'm back to some SEO forums to continue posting and spreading the word.
Business blogs work for your business and your bottom line.
Pass it on!
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Defending the mistake
Defending the mistake.
It happens all the time in business.
A choice was made and it turned out to be the wrong one.
Very wrong.
It could have been choosing the wrong equipment, location, employee, or giving the reins of power to an undeserving but favoured relative.
Following the decision, everything went bad. The error could even threaten the very existence of the business itself.
So, the decision makers corrected the mistakes, right?
No, they didn't.
Instead, they defended the mistake as being the right choice all along. They refuse to admit that they are indeed capable of actually making a mistake.
Instead of rectifying the situation, they choose to pretend to themselves, others involved in the business as staff, suppliers, and customers, and to the outside world, that they made the proper choice.
The mistake gets defended.
The worst part of the defending the error problem is everyone knows that a mistake was made. Well, everyone but the decision maker, who refuses to acknowledge the problem at all.
Since the decision maker is often the business owner, there is little the other people affected by the bad choice can do, to help with the problem. They can try to offer suggestions, advice, and cost effective alternatives, but those ideas are often flatly rejected in many cases.
Too much ego is at stake.
The small business owner chooses to defend the mistake, rather than admit it even happened. The decision maker might not even consider the possibility, that the choice was even an error, in the first place.
The results are often a nightmare for everyone involved.
In a large company, a serious error can often be absorbed. It might affect profits and shareholder value, but usually the company survives.
But not always.
In a small business, a major mistake often means the doors close on the business for good.
Small business owners and managers must accept that a mistake was made and correct it as soon as possible. Defending the problem only causes it to get worse. Like an untreated wound, it only becomes infected and is often fatal.
The key is to admit your fallability. You do make mistakes. We all do. Even the most successful business people have made major blunders.
Correct them and move on to the next business problem.
Defending the mistake might sooth the ego for awhile, but the long term consequences of the action are seldom pleasant.
So, fire that problem employee with grace and some nice post employment help, get that incompetent relative off your payroll, buy some different equipment, and get on with business.
Your business associates, staff, and everyone else will be happier as a result.
And your business will have a healthier bottom line.
Don't defend the mistake.
Correct it before it's too late, before your small business goes down the tubes.
Your ego will survive, and so will your business.
It happens all the time in business.
A choice was made and it turned out to be the wrong one.
Very wrong.
It could have been choosing the wrong equipment, location, employee, or giving the reins of power to an undeserving but favoured relative.
Following the decision, everything went bad. The error could even threaten the very existence of the business itself.
So, the decision makers corrected the mistakes, right?
No, they didn't.
Instead, they defended the mistake as being the right choice all along. They refuse to admit that they are indeed capable of actually making a mistake.
Instead of rectifying the situation, they choose to pretend to themselves, others involved in the business as staff, suppliers, and customers, and to the outside world, that they made the proper choice.
The mistake gets defended.
The worst part of the defending the error problem is everyone knows that a mistake was made. Well, everyone but the decision maker, who refuses to acknowledge the problem at all.
Since the decision maker is often the business owner, there is little the other people affected by the bad choice can do, to help with the problem. They can try to offer suggestions, advice, and cost effective alternatives, but those ideas are often flatly rejected in many cases.
Too much ego is at stake.
The small business owner chooses to defend the mistake, rather than admit it even happened. The decision maker might not even consider the possibility, that the choice was even an error, in the first place.
The results are often a nightmare for everyone involved.
In a large company, a serious error can often be absorbed. It might affect profits and shareholder value, but usually the company survives.
But not always.
In a small business, a major mistake often means the doors close on the business for good.
Small business owners and managers must accept that a mistake was made and correct it as soon as possible. Defending the problem only causes it to get worse. Like an untreated wound, it only becomes infected and is often fatal.
The key is to admit your fallability. You do make mistakes. We all do. Even the most successful business people have made major blunders.
Correct them and move on to the next business problem.
Defending the mistake might sooth the ego for awhile, but the long term consequences of the action are seldom pleasant.
So, fire that problem employee with grace and some nice post employment help, get that incompetent relative off your payroll, buy some different equipment, and get on with business.
Your business associates, staff, and everyone else will be happier as a result.
And your business will have a healthier bottom line.
Don't defend the mistake.
Correct it before it's too late, before your small business goes down the tubes.
Your ego will survive, and so will your business.
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