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BrettFromTibet
Superlative article! Found this earlier today in a Google search, and didn't realize it was new!
Great article. Fascinating reading for me (a guy who doesn't do PPC).
Danny,
This article, where you talk about "toning down" SMX and buying into the "blackhat vs. whitehat" mentality, strikes a sad note in me.
I go to the shows to get potent, real-life inormation about what is working for other people... and the biggest complaint I hear about them is "the speakers didn't say anything really juicy or in-depth... I learned more at the bar."
Even if I don't do any "blackhat" SEO, I sure need to be razor keen on what the compeition is doing. You HAVE to know about "blackhat" SEO to be a good competitive webmaster... or you are as useless as bartender who only knows how to make non-alcoholic drinks.
So please don't make SMX content more toned-down, tame or "safe and corporate friendly"
It would be a real shame.
Cenacle,
I'm not a Wikipedia expert, but here's what I do know:
Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, but it isn't meant to include opinions or slams - just citable facts, in theory. If there are factual incidents (news stories, lawsuits) that your client may want to avoid publicizing, they CAN be listed in Wikipedia. If you argue over it on the "talk" page, you'll probably lose.
Wikipedia has a feature called a "watchlist" and you should definitely add the article to the watch list and monitor it for edits. Keep an eye on it weekly, if not daily.
If the article becomes problematic, you can always propose to have the article deleted as insignificant or not having enough major media mentions or citations.
Ann,
I found the search on finding blog posts that meet a specific criteria (by looking for "tag" inurl) to be very helpful. I was looking for a way to do this, and this nailed it. Thanks!
As much as I really hate to see extortion / negative review sites that are built around trashing people - and don't support them - there are, sadly, an awful lot of SEO rip offs. Plenty of slick-talking business dudes and shady agencies use SEO as a tool for making money and they know and care very little about what actually gets done or doesn't get done. I've seen it firsthand and I feel the backlash of other people's behavior almost every time I tell people what I do - and I get a suspicious look or groan.
I saw this keynote and I didn't get so offended by it. Yeah there was some anti-SEO bias and ignorance (which I have heard plenty before, and I am learning to take in stride) - but overall, I found his talk interesting and within the context of what he was invited to do: speak on an pannel featuring some new social / human enhanced search technologies.
I use Twitter, I "get" twitter.... and after 15 years of using IRC and instant messenger... I think is rather overrated.
I think it's a cool social site. but I don't find it as "revolutionary" as some people do.
This is excellent, crystal clear advice from Andy Beal... an enjoyable and useful little article.
Story: Widgetbait Gone Wild
Great insight into the ups and downs of a very creative link bait campaign, and to how Google may act if your SEO efforts are too successful or get reported by competitors.
Boorishamerican,
I don't really like any of these tactics... and I agree that threatening a lawsuit is usually bad form and can very easily backfire. That's why I put it down at #6 on the list. A last resort, for sure.
But sometimes it works, and it is one of the few working ways of removing a web page you don't like.
I think Twitter / IM / IRC is a huge time suck. I'm self-employed so I try to avoid it during work hours - how can I really focus on building links, writing copy, fixing code - with an online chat going on? The answer is, I can only do so with the faction of the effectiveness that I am capable of without it.
We are going to witness a lot of stuff like this as people understand how valuable reputation is, and people's extortionistic and greedy side starts to kick in. I can't tell you how many times I've been drinking after a conference and some guy gets a dark twinkle in his eye and says something like "I had this idea about reputation management. It's a little bit twisted, but i think it could work. If we made a bunch of xxx-sucks.com sites about all the companies in an industry, and..." starts to fantasize from there. It makes my skin crawl.
Start building your online identity profile now or fall victim to someone who is planning on creating user-generated content about you for profit!
I live in Boulder, Colorado - startup central - and it feels like 90% of the people in the startup scene are completely oblivious to what SEO is, or why it could possibly be important to a startup.
Companies get millions of dollars in funding and are all trying to launch a big idea, and they don't even include basic keywords on their home page - or anywhere on the site!
When I tell people I do SEO, I get a blank stare... or in some cases, chuckling and mirth from developers or business guys who think I am an idiot before they've had a chance to even speak with me.
I actually hate going to startup events because it feels so different than the search & social media-centric world I live in.
You just spend the day on Twitter and tell your friends, and eventually you will get mentioned on Tech Crunch.. and eveything will magically click. Myabe it does for a few lucky companies, but for most of them, it does not.
This is a refreshingly well-written piece. Great explanations of the currency of the web!
Cenacle,
The problem is, you can ban your own affiliates, but you can't ban affiliate competitors. They can bash you all they want.
@SlightlyShady,
True enough, but affiliate marketing has developed a particularly vicious culture of negative marketing. Attacks and casting doubt aren't just reserved for people who deserve it, they are dished out as a matter of course. There is no other online "scene" I know of where you need to be more defensive about your reputation.
Everett,
The Rich Jerk DOES beg for bad publicity, and he's the guru of teaching his n00b affiliates how to use anti-marketing to get attention. I think he started it all.
From what I've seen, affiliates now say bad stuff - as a matter of course - about a wide variety of quality information products and premium content, not just sleaze. It has to do with competition and being desperate for clicks.
Story: Must Read WordPress SEO