How to Really Make Money from Blogging?

In reply to Ben's post about money making online:

The click me ads are never going to make big money cause they have had their time and now it's gone. People don't even look at the ads any more. Sidebar content may as well not exist unless it is something personal. I do find people notice my flickr badge which shows photos I have taken. But, the rest of the stuff on my sidebar may as well just be there for me. Which, most of it is.

I used to think the best way to use the Internet was the traditional way, the Information highway. But the highway is clogged up with billboards and you can't always find the highway through the signage.

Freelancing is great. If you can do that. I freelance but do not find the Internet useful in this. No one ever found my resume online except those who came to spam my email. So, not exceptionally useful.

These days I think the best way for a company/ business to use the Internet is to give information about themselves, offer sales/ coupons and such. But, don't hope people will find you. Bring the people to your site. Offer the link on business cards, flyers, and so on. The Internet can be information storage. The highway is just a traffic jam now.

The "Successful" Blog

People talk about having a successful blog. Most of those people are the money making, SEO, business bloggers. That's fine for them to measure success in terms of number, scores, ranks and ads (sometimes even revenue). It's not for me.

I don't blog for those reasons so my success isn't measured that way. I blog for personal reasons and success isn't really what I'm looking for from this blog. Often I write to hear myself think. I draw to keep myself working on understanding how to draw, learning by doing. I wished I could draw for a long time and suddenly, once I actually started doing it, I realized I could. A personal achievement. That's a successful blog for me.

I love exploring, decorating, and meeting people through my blog. Posting my photos of flowers, abandoned farm houses. Making changes to my template, taking a risk on them totally bombing and then fixing them again. Having new people comment on what I have done here and visiting them in return for more ideas of what I can do and in some cases making a personal connection that I want to keep and grow. Those are things that make a successful blog for me.

Success isn't really the right word though.

I joined up Entrecard as an experiment, something new to try. I like joining new sites and networks and learning a bit about how they work. Seeing if there is something that will interest me about it. Entrecard has become partnered with SezWho. I don't think it is a site I would have joined if it wasn't for the partnership with Entrecard. I really don't like the idea of rating/ scoring comments given to my blog posts. That seems very arrogant. I don't want to do it. If I can automatically set it to score every comment at 100% I will do that. I moderate my comments and filter out any junk. Every other comment I fully appreciate and don't feel I have the right to sit and judge them. A comment is freely given and should not be something that falls to the "successful" blogging scheme.

I've set up SezWho for those who want to score big with this. It seems like a get points quick scheme and little of real value to me. But, I am giving it a try, for now.

Online Marketing to Old Rules Won't Work

Let go of some of your old marketing ideas. Look around you, smell the coffee. This is the Internet and the format is not the same as offline.

In the past bludgeon-them-till-they-scream marketing may have worked. Out of one hundred telemarketing calls you may have caught someone on the right day and gotten them to sign up for your service. That won't work for email. It is too easy to delete it, unread and thus, unheard. Even auto deleted, untouched by human hand or eye.

Standard marketing will not work online because people online are being flooded with the stuff every day and in just about every way someone has thought up. The past several years of marketing online with constant onslaughts of spam have trained people how to not look at ads on websites. Think of the last site you were on. What ads did you look at, do you remember anything about them?

There are more ads and ad schemes online than on any other media. In one hour of time online looking at websites, checking email or using forums you will encounter easily double the amount of ads you would if you were watching TV, reading a magazine or listening to the radio. Read a book, that is one way to get away from ads (except for other books).

So the marketing plan online is ineffective and needs to be revamped. It may work on that thousand and first person to view your ad or be attacked by your marketing campaign to flood a social network. Meanwhile, what about that thousand people you just annoyed? There has to be a better way. Something more effective for your cost and your time and your energy.

I don't have the magic answer or the magic beans or the goose that lays golden eggs. But, I do know the old methods which are still being used are just turning the Internet into a wasteland. It's getting harder to find something to read versus something to ignore. Someone is going to come up with the marketing plan that works. Why can't it be you?

Instead of trying to get other bloggers to trade meaningless links with you and instead of trying to get everyone on a social network as your fake friend - come up with something new. The time it takes to find a better way will win you far more than clinging to the old ways. Be an entrepreneur instead of a follower.

7 Random Things About Me and One Mini Rant

Mummified Times Five tagged me. She has one of the most colourful blogs on EntreCard, I have always liked pink and orange together. :)

Seven Random Things About Me:

1. I'm more girly and romantic than I would admit to anyone face to face. I really do like pink, yellow and orange, though red is still my favourite.

2. There are days when I get to work and realize I forgot to brush my teeth... and my hair. Luckily I carry a comb in my purse or usually a clip I can stuff it all up into.

3. My favourite reading at the moment is paranormal romance though I would never pass up a good science fiction. If you're looking for a good paranormal author try: Michelle Rowen, Kelley Armstrong, Lynsay Sands, or Kerrelyn Sparks. Life or Something Like Bit can give you the real scoop on paranormal romances.

4. I seldom buy a new book from the bookstore, usually get them second hand. But when I do get a brand new book I always go back into the pile for the third one on the shelf. I want to make sure it still has that new book smell and no dog earred cover.

5. I started colouring my hair this year. It's still weird to catch my reflection and see myself with a hair colour different than the one I grew up with. Almost like having a different face. I tried to match my real colour but it doesn't seem to come out exactly as it is shown on the box.

6. I have my bedroom fully set up now. Messy, but fuctional. I've got the computer on my desk, the TV on my bookshelves (radio too) and my bed in the corner. It's like my own corner of the universe in here. I never leave for hours at a time.

7. If I won the lottery I would not take another job working for someone else. I understand why the rules are there but I'm really tired of trying to follow all of them when some of them just don't make sense in day to day practical situations. People need to listen to and think about marketing less and people more.

I read an article about buzz (word of mouth marketing), how people are turning themselves into commercials. This goes far beyond the guy walking around as a human billboard. How can you trust a friend who has her mind on how she can work selling you insurance and hair gel and a pyramid scam into the conversation more than she is actually listening to you? That whole buzz thing just makes me feel kind of sick. Like the worst of the Internet and weblogs is coming out of the computer and into the real world now. How would you react if you were spammed by your friend over coffee one day?

A Siting We Will Go

Just decided to add my site to Yahoo today. Seems they never have any results for me when I look in the directory. Yahoo wrote back a nice thank you after I set my site up there.

Thank you for taking the time to suggest your site!

We thrive on user suggestions; they make up the bulk of the sites we visit as we build the Yahoo! Directory.

I'm also doing meta tags. Blogger doesn't even suggest adding them. Maybe they aren't so necessary any longer. But, when I was editing the web directory I liked using them to find the title and description for a site. If they had meta tags the information would fill in automatically for me. You can find sites that show you what to type in and you just need to change it to your own site's information. Or, you just type in your information and get the code you need. Nice and simple.

Get the Blog Clutter Bug

I think the biggest upcoming things for blogs is going to be about clutter and making them look cleaner overall. So many blogs are stuffed full of ads, traffic and seo rank related things that it's hard to find anything in the sidebar that could actually be interesting.

I found a few links today about fixing blog clutter.

Lorelle on Word Press has written about Cleaning Up and Decluttering.

Skelliewag has 50 Tips to Unclutter your Blog and A Guide to Creating a Minimalist Website

ProBlogger writes about Minimalist Blogging too.

Supper Blogging Tips has written Unclutter your Sidebar.

Blogging Tips has Remove the Clutter from your Blog.

Wisdump has the Resurrection of the Sidebar.

Pro Blog Design has Sidebar Redesign.

There are so many endless, bottomless posts about how to add more to your blog, your sidebar and your search rank. Why is there so very little good information to be found about making a site reduce it's clutter and become readable again?

To take it to the barebones of the clutter situation it's about taking what you need and keeping it and then tossing everything else, no excuses and no saving stuff you only think would be nice to keep or might be good later on or gives you an ego boost but does nothing for your blog itself or those coming to read your blog.

Decluttering does not have to be heartless. If you really can't delete it all consider making a footer with three columns. Just like sweeping the dirt under the rug, keeping a junk drawer in the kitchen or a closet stuffed full of stuff you don't have time to deal with.

There are also ways to roll up the clutter so it is not visible in full but available at the touch of a mouse. There are two types of roll away clutter busters and I'm not really sure what they official standard names are for them. Lets call one the scrolling window and the other the scrolling title.

Another plan to move clutter off your front page is to give it a page of it's own and just link back to it. Or, categories set up like an index with the same link back plan.

ShowoffRankings

ShowoffRankings
- Started using this as a way of showing all the usual standards for ranking a site via traffic and links. It is important to some people to know the numbers. I like watching them, just as often and with as much importance as my web counter. If you want to find your numbers this seems a good place to get them. I will try to figure out what they mean some day. Seems one is good low and another is good when it's high. The Google PageRank doesn't actually update on it's own. I manually added mine as 4 cause that is what it was last time I looked and it seemed to be stuck there the past couple of years. Not likely there has been any great change.

Too bad there isn't a widget/ script which melds them all and gives your overall score. That would save some time and figuring out. It could give each blog one score/ rank out of 100. Wouldn't that be simpler than all these other numbers.

Free Traffic Exchange Sites

Sites that I have found for free traffic exchange. I'm not using all of these, I'm considering adding one of them. The trouble is making space above the fold for more than one. Also, not sure I want more cause they do look like ad clutter. But, I'm enjoying EntreCard and My Roomie is such a cheerful looking site. Likely some will stay and some will go, over time. I find the more stuff you try the more interesting things you find.

EntreCard

Spottt

My Roomie

BloggerSwap

Blog 125

Blog Explosion (Rent My Blog is currently offline, for maintenance they say but it seemed to be mothballed quite awhile).

If you know of others let me know.

Look At Me!

Look at me, in the top row of the EntreCard personal blogs. I thought I had gotten as high along as I ever would. This was a real surprise this afternoon. Plus, I've gotten more blogs to advertise on my site. I was down to just a couple and feeling a touch blue about that. Had thought about just letting my blog drop out of sight and focusing my incredible power of becoming completely obsessed on something else. What a nice surprise today. Now I can get back to being obsessed on EntreCard again. ;)

Wanted: Spam Killer Web Browser

I've been thinking about blog ads lately. They really do annoy me. I understand someone wanting to make a buck, enough to pay for their web host. Seems that is how a lot of it started, just making enough to pay for the Internet connection and web domain/ host if you have one. That was a nice plan if you could do it.

Now I think more than two thirds of the blogs and sites existing are about money making, SEO, monetizing and so on. It amazes me that people still keep making more. How much of the same information does the world need? It is choking the Internet.

I still understand running an ad or two. If you are hosted on Blogger it is nice to run their AdSense, as thanks for the free site and hosting. You might run an ad to see what all the fuss is about or try to make a bit to pay for your Internet connection, etc. There are some blogs which are trying to make money to pay for college, surgery, a car or other things they need and hope to find charity from others online.

But, that is the cut off for me. I feel I am in an ad farm and it is becoming the whole Internet. It's like watching TV and wishing the ads would pause long enough for the show to come on. But they don't. There is no end to the ads and it is just getting worse.

Sites are writing about products and posting them as if they were regular personal blog posts. As if they just love denture cream, credit cards or having a bigger penis. Who do they think they are fooling? I'm sure a lot of people are confused by these fake posts, likely some assume they are sincere. There must even be people who do buy the stuff. If there were no sales the stuff would stop but it's not stopping it's growing.

I'm not against people who spam (and I am going to call it spam no matter what you protest). I'm against having it shoved down my throat. I want a break! I want to be on the Internet and enjoy it, unplagued by ads. I want a web browser, call it Spam Killer, that will stop web abuse. I want it to give me the option of not loading a spam infested blog or site. I want a little note to come up before the sites loads and tell me how many ads are running on the site. Five or more ads, YUCK! I won't waste my time. Two or fewer ads, ok, I'll have a look.

I am tired of being abused. Yes, I am a consumer. I am someone who could choose to shop online. However, that does not mean I want to be a captive audience. I'm tired of being abused by those who call themselves business people online. Run your business, great. Just get it away from me. I don't want to see beauty product ads when I am reading a blog about business women. If I want to know about beauty products I can choose to go to a site about them. Business women are not about beauty supplies. Find your correct niche and stay there. If I want to find you I will.

I'm at the point where I will not buy anything online cause I am just sick of being a victim to the ad mongers.

That's my rant for now. I will be watching for that Spam Killer though. Anyone who remembers the days of pop up ads knows it can be done!

Breaking my Code

I am against splogs and I don't like ads in blogs. But I am trying Text Link Ads. They are not as intrusive as a lot of the ads I have seen. I won't be running any others. But, I wanted to try this one and see if it actually does make any money.

About Dmoz

Now and then I read comments about Dmoz, the web directory run by volunteer editors. I was an editor from almost the time it began, before it was called Dmoz. Negative comments from people who want to get their site listed are common. You will always find them in any kind of discussion about web directories. Dmoz began as a good idea but it grew faster and farther than the available volunteers.

If the directory submissions could be strictly filtered we would lose some actual good submissions but it might out weigh the good in losing a tonne of complete garbage. If you could look into the submissions in one category second from the top or at the top, like Arts/Weblogs for instance you would find submissions for porn, submissions about monetizing your blog, submissions about travel to India and you might even find weblogs about the arts (dumped in the main category instead of the right subcategories). You would not be likely to find a site you would actually list in Arts/Weblogs. Maybe if you spent a couple of hours going through all the submissions... But you're a volunteer, how much time do you really want to put into Dmoz today. More than that, how long will your patience and interest hold up?

I wrote the below comment in reply to yet another person bad mouthing Dmoz. Even though I quit Dmoz for a few reasons, I still think it has value and I still think the biggest problem is the quantity of junk submissions. There is no way a few volunteers are going to keep up with the volume. No way they would even want to stick with a chore like that. It's not fun. There are so very few decent sites that you come across that it is not even interesting work.

I was a dmoz editor for 8 years. The idea behind it was great but we were soon overwhelmed with garbage. In the end, there are only so many volunteers willing to wade through the trash to find something actually submitted to the right category and not just another splog or ad farm. In the current directory you are fed up in a week, all your beginner enthusiasm is gone. Most new editors quit. It's not like you're getting paid to do that job. I read complaints about dmoz like yours and I'm not impressed. Most often those complaining have the worst sites. Or, they have a decent site until it gets listed and then it changes to become craptastic and full of spam/ ads. Dmoz doesn't have enough volunteers to keep up with the submissions, to fix errors in submissions and to check sites again once they are listed. It's not the system that sucks its the crap that gest submitted that chokes the life out of the directory.

Monster Friends

Be my friend! Be my friend!

Urghh! It's not that I'm a nasty anti social hermit. Well, not totally. But it bothers me how people on social sites expect me to call them my friend for the least reason. I know it's all about building traffic, getting their site pimped higher on Google and other whoresome things. That doesn't make me feel any better about it.

A friend should be someone that actually matters to you. Someone you actually have kind feelings for and about. Someone you could meet some day and find common ground, good conversation and a few laughs about life. A friend is not someone who clicks on your site and invites themself into your world as if they know you. I know I'm being a bit overboard. But, it does irk me that the term friend has come to mean something very different and not very worthy.

Some people you meet online and do click with. In my case, I go back to read their blogs and see what they are doing. I may never live close enough to just arrange to meet them for coffee on the weekend but I enjoy hearing from them and taking the time to get to know them. Friendship can happen online but it is something that grows rather than something you step into.

I'm not someone who has or keeps friends. I move too much and have grown into the custom of leaving people where I found them. I am not a good friend when it comes to long distance. Though I grew up as the great letter writer of my family and friends I am not that person any more. My Grandparents are all dead and Canada Post just won't send my letters there. I've had a lot of friends over my life and I do think of them now and then. I just don't get to see them or hear about how their lives have been going. Maybe someday...

I am still getting rid of this cold. It's getting gone. My head is full of snot, I can hear but it all sounds like it's coming from another room. Really an interesting experience. Sort of like losing your voice and yet it's hearing. I was at a Subway shop (a sandwich chain) and the server was talking to a friend (in Greek I think), very loudly. I could not hear her asking me if I wanted pickles and etc over this other woman talking. It was really beginning to peeve me off but I kept a smile and endured. Though, it was horribly rude of them both to behave that way. Sometimes you just pick your battles and I was not quite up for a battle today.

Zack and I had a funny thing happen this past week when I was there. I drove to the bookstore on Mulock which is a fairly busy street in Newmarket. As we neared another busy intersection two ducks crossed the street in front of the car. I had to make that decision... to roadkill or not to roadkill. It was not so simple as being nice and not squishing ducks. There were cars behind me, driving too close as people tend to do. There was a light ahead which had changed from red to green and the oncoming cars were already through it. The ducks were only on my side. But, I did save the ducks.

Zack would have been upset if I had gotten them. I wouldn't have been happy about it, ducks are not like those ratty squirrels and pigeons, but I did not want another car smashing into my back bumper. (Likely that would have pushed me into the ducks anyway). But, the ducks and myself were lucky this time. I think the car behind must have been watching (paying attention to the road) cause we both waited for Ma and Pa Duckworth and the driver behind did not honk at me. (Neither did the ducks).

Since then I've been seeing ducks all over the place. Maybe it's just the season. But, funny to see pairs of ducks nearly every time I am out since that day.

Where Do I Pick Up That Cheque?

My blog is worth $337,030.38.
How much is your blog worth?

Tracker Grrl

What is the fascination with tracking people online? I came across FreeOnlineUsers.com today and as I read the front page I began to think... Why?... Why would I need to track the people who pop in here? Why do I need to know where they came from, where they went and what brain of toothpaste they use? It was nice of them to come, thanks. But, why do I need to track them down like some kind of animal? When you read my blog I choose the catch and release program. Come, enjoy, stay awhile and then, you are free to go... back out into the great wide world. Have a nice day... don't spend all your time looking down at your feet, catch the sun on your face a few times.

Do you Care About your Google Ranking?

How important is it to a personal blog, ezine or site? I found this site with information about making your site Google search friendly. I don't want to care and yet I'm curious enough to look.

My Google Rank is 4. What I wanted to know is... what does 4 mean to Google? I know it's between 1 and 10 but is it 4 medium-high or medium-low? Because it's my blog I've decided it's medium-high. In that case, I'm ok with a Google Rank of 4. Although, 3 is one of my favourite numbers and some people believe 4 is unlucky or down right evil. I don't want to be down right evil, just a bit wicked. So I may have to work on that.

Not an SEO…

Today is Sunday and I’m looking out the window at snow covered trees in the mild light of a cold day. I like the snow on the pine trees, I always like pictures of that. The sun isn’t fully up yet, it’s just coasting over the the tops of the trees, showing each branch against a light background while all the branches themselves are in shadow.

I’ve been trying to come up with where I fit in and what I can do as my business. I considered web design and then SEO but neither are really good fits for who I am, what I can do and what I’m willing to do. SEO was interesting but each time I look at their sites and their practices I feel they are missing the point. They focus on search engines, not people. They focus on tricks to get sites ranked high but they forget that a business doesn’t need to be popular in a search engine, it needs to be found by customers. SEO’s use a lot of spam tactics to promote sites which will alienate the very people the business needs, it’s prospective customers. Creating garbage sitess to link to garbage sites to show a search engine how popular you are is not cost effective for a business. Impressing a search engine is not going to make sales, it’s not going to build a good impression of a business and it won’t do much to get your name out there to people who don’t use search engines.

I know this may surprise some people. But, there are quite a lot of people who don’t use search engines. They aren’t really all that important. If you really want to find a business there are better ways than looking them up in a search engine. In fact, the only time I look up a business in a search engine is when I’m just too lazy to type in the URL. Instead I type in the name of the company in my Googlebar and let it find the site for me. I know where I’m going, I’m not looking for anything. The site I’m looking for comes up first every time cause I looked for it by name.

I found the site without a search engine. Imagine that you silly SEO’s. You’re all so focused on appeasing the search engine gods that you’ve abandoned all other options. You’ve convinced a lot of people that your services are essential, when they really aren’t. In fact, in my opinion as a Dmoz editor of seven years, your services should be avoided. Your services can get a site banned from being listed at all. Your services promote spam and clutter instead of real original content which would bring people to the site. People, not software, not robot spiders, not automated popularity checkers, but people real humans.

So, this morning while watching the snowy trees get lighter I am looking at how to start a business as in web promotions, not focused on search engines but on the business itself. How can that individual business better market itself to the people who would shop there? It might mean less focus online and more locally even. Not every business site needs to be found by people around the world, even on the world wide web.

SEO Today was conceived and developed to create and collect timely and informative content about search engine optimization. This site was created by search engine optimization experts - we are in the trenches day in and day out insuring that our clients achieve optimal search engine placement. Our search for a site that was focused on SEO and only SEO came up empty - so we created one.

Our hope is that SEO Today will become the focal point of online SEO knowledge - where a community of search engine optimization professionals come to share experiences, learn new methods, and experience the camaraderie of the SEO society.

The Wiki page for SEO

Search Engine Optimizers from Google

SEO is an abbreviation for “search engine optimizer.” Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

I need to come up with something else for the business proposal. Both web design and helping seniors get online are out. Seniors I had to eliminate cause it was just getting too complicated to deal with all the potential problems. I think someone would have to have a background or a professional credit/ course in Health or Personal Care.

I am putting web design on the back burner, more as a personal interest. I feel kind of relieved about that actually. I love web design and putting a site together but I don’t (yet) have the skills and am not comfortable with the technical skills (CSS and HTML code) to put up a site for someone else. That doesn’t mean I won’t do it, just that I will keep learning and practicing on my own sites until I am ready. When I feel good about what I can offer rather than thinking I have to downgrade myself cause I don’t know it all.

So, I have been thinking about what to do. Today I even thought about packing it in, the whole idea of doing anything. But, I didn’t stay there for too long. I want to do more than be a cashier zombie, selling credit cards, being threatened if I don’t comply with every directive from the company, no matter what.

At first I did think about SEO but I think of SEO’s as those idiots who get paid for spamming Dmoz and other web directories. I have a very low opinion of SEO’s and what they do. Most I have encountered are a pack of liars. No one can make promises about being listed on the front page of a search engine. Anyone believing that is just inexperienced. I have spent seven years working behind the scenes at Dmoz. I have fixed the garbage SEO’s submit. I have checked and deleted their mass submission and spam filled descriptions for seven years. So, I am not at all impressed with what I have seen.

But, today I read that definition of what an SEO is from Google and that is what I can do. I can provide information and experience with site architecture and search engines. I can also provide content and I can handle some HTML too. Just cause I don’t know it all doesn’t mean I don’t know enough to make things work better.

Maybe this is what I will do then. I need to find more information. But, I only have a very short time now to pull it all together for a new business proposal.

Here is more from the Google page, I’m leaving it here so I can find it later as I get writing the proposal.

* Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

“Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…”

Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or through the Google Sitemaps (Beta) program, and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

* Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.

Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or “throwaway” domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it’s best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to “help” you.

* You should never have to link to an SEO.

Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

* Some SEOs may try to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar.

Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do so. Evaluate such proposals with extreme care and be skeptical about the self-reported number of users who have downloaded the required applications.

* Be sure to understand where the money goes.

While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they “control” other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn’t work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you’re considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.

* Talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they’d recommend the firm you’re considering.

References are a good start, but they don’t tell the whole story. You should ask how long a company has been in business and how many full time individuals it employs. If you feel pressured or uneasy, go with your gut feeling and play it safe: hold off until you find a firm that you can trust. Ask your SEO firm if it reports every spam abuse that it finds to Google using our spam complaint form. Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that violate Google’s spam guidelines.

* Make sure you’re protected legally.

For your own safety, you should insist on a full and unconditional money-back guarantee. Don’t be afraid to request a refund if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, or if your SEO’s actions cause your domain to be removed from a search engine’s index. Make sure you have a contract in writing that includes pricing. The contract should also require the SEO to stay within the guidelines recommended by each search engine for site inclusion.

What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?

One common scam is the creation of “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client’s behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor’s domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place “doorway” pages loaded with keywords on the client’s site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO’s other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.

There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It’s far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

* owns shadow domains
* puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
* offers to sell keywords in the address bar
* doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results
* guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
* operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
* gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware
* has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google

The Site Fights

There are a lot of online communities. Most work with the standard message boards and include optional newsletters, chat and so on. There are few which offer something really unique as an experience you could not get at another community site. I would say NeoPets is one and another is The Site Fights. Both should be experienced rather than judged out of hand. I've been having fun with Neopets this past week. But, I knew The Site Fights long before NeoPets was online. It's a community based on driving web traffic and encouraging webmastery: making graphics, learning HTML and other basics of having your own personal site. Don't look at it and think it's not "professional". No, it's not professional, that's the point. It's fun, time consuming and definitely something you will learn something from, somewhere along the way.

ThatGrrl

ThatGrrl

I have a new curiousity. See the Google Ads. Watch them change as I change my topics. It's so interesting to see what they will come up with next.

For anyone else adding the code to their blog....

I found you have to choose a banner which is less than 250 wide. Which means you are stuck with the longer towers. I don't mind it too much. I had planned on a three ad tower. But this one fits my template. The colours blend in pretty well too. Later I may go into the options and change that blue font colour. Or not. Kind of nice that it sticks out a bit randomly, makes it seem less under my control. Which it isn't.

I Have a Fan Club

The best thing is that I didn't start it myself. ;)

SpiritoftheNight's Fan Club

Adorable, in a wicked, modest way that only the ego-maniacal can pull off.