SiteSell: The Blog

How Widespread Is Google's Surfer-Tracking?

Ken's Blog

An interesting blog article from The New York Times caught my eye, but I think it misses the main point, at least from our e-business-oriented point of view.

I don't think Google really cares what you, or Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Web surfer, do online. Not as an individual.

I do think they use data like this, "aggregating it" as they say, to help them figure out which sites are good, as opposed to merely relevant.  So they care when someone does a search.

I don't pretend to know Google's algorithm and anyone who does is speculating.  But...

Get Creative With A Tip!

Ken's Blog

It's easy and useful to read the "pearls of wisdom" and tips that start in the SBI! Forums and end up in the Tips and Techniques HQ and the Monetization HQ as resource articles. That action alone is enough to give you an edge.

But it takes an acquired skill to get creative with a specific tip... to push it to the next level. The good news is that you can acquire this skill -- we are not born with it. Yes, some people may be naturally more curious and playful with an idea than others. But anyone can look at an idea, strategy, tip or pearl and ask themselves...

How Important Is the Meta Keyword Tag?

Ken's Blog

Good question. Google has never given a clear answer to this question, either side-stepping it or being vague.

First a bit of history...

The meta keyword tag used to be abused by early SEOers (along with the comments tag), who'd stuff this tag with the same keyword 50 times (easy to detect and shut down, of course) or with every word possibly related to the topic. (Bad strategy, how's an engine going to know what your page is about if you include everything plus the kitchen sink?)

Fast forward to today when tags are respected, and encouraged, everywhere else... blogs, Flickr, countless Web 2.0 sites, etc. And we're supposed to believe, according to some SEO sources, that the engines totally ignore this tag?

That makes no sense to me.  And I've learned to trust common sense over the no-way-they-can-know utterances of SEOers, no matter how "surely" they state it....

Just Get Started!

Ken's Blog

This post is for me and for you, from the brand new SBIer who just purchased, to the sophisticated SBIer looking to take their business to yet another level.

It started with three observations this morning...

Observation #1

Chatting with my daughter Nori about anguilla-beaches.com, she shared an important revelation. She's read the whole Action Guide, explored Search It! and the HQs, read the MHQ especially, taken notes, and...

She doesn't know what to do next. Has a bunch of ideas, can see the final destination, but...

Search Traffic Vs. Social Traffic

Ken's Blog

I used to say...

"People use the Web for one thing... they search for information.  So build a site that delivers what they want... valuable info."

Now I say...

"People use the Web for two things... they search for information and they play/socialize.  Social surfers are not searching for your information, so they are not worth much in the eyes of advertisers/Google."

-----SIDEBAR-----
There may be certain exceptions, like niche-twittering.
But your BIG reason for niche-twittering is to develop a
following and then get them to contribute C2 articles.
If you can achieve that, you're leveraging your time.
-----SIDEBAR-----

But the big bottom line?...

How To Gain 20 Hours Per Week To Build Your Business

Ken's Blog

Not so long ago, someone in the SBI! Forums read somewhere that the average American spends an average of 4.5 hours per day watching TV. "4.5 hours per day" is one of those incredible-but-true stats. TV is an incredibly insidious productivity-killer.

TV, to paraphrase Karl Marx, is today's "opiate of the masses." And "opiate" is the perfect word to describe most of those 4.5 hours per day of television.

We all need an "escape" every now and then, some passive activity where you can just turn the brain off. And the "TV escapes" are just so easy/accessible. Nothing wrong with that. But if you're at 4.5 hours per day, you have a "TV-opiate addiction" that is hurting other areas of your life.

Janice and I watched quite a bit of TV/movies when we thought we had retired, pre-Web. Harmless enough. But then the Web came along...

What's The Best Use Of Your Time, Right Now?

Ken's Blog

As your business grows, your focus and prioritization should change... from choosing the right niche... to building content and inbound links... to monetizing that traffic.

We all tend to delay the things we don't like to do, even if they are really important. Identify those tasks.

Always work on high-return activities. Ask yourself... "Should I be doing what I am doing today?"

I did that a few days ago. I love posting in the SBI! Forums. It helps, in a leveraged way, because I choose to answer posts in a style that will usually assist more than just the SBIers who asked the specific questions.

But last week, I simply had to turn my RSS feed off for two days so that I could focus totally on Brainstorm It! V3. (It's amazing by the way, ready and near-perfect technically, and the Content team has developed a new approach to choosing a niche given the new tools.)

THAT was my best use of my time at that moment.

So to all...

What's the best use of YOUR time, right NOW?

All the best,

Add to Delicious

Digg this

More Fundamental Than Even CTPM

Ken's Blog

There's a phenomenal Forums thread going on over at the 50+er gathering. One SBIer wrote something that re-rang in my ears...

"Even though I've been building sites... for almost 10 years, I knew nothing until I started with this program."

That statement stuck with me for some reason.  We know that SBI! enables small e-business people to succeed at unmatched rates.  And yes, to say it's a combination of the C T P M process and tools is boring by now.  

But, for some reason, that "building sites for 10 years" statement got me thinking...

Obsess Over Your Business

Ken's Blog

I've spoken about focus and positive attitude and persistence before. But "obsession" is something I've not discussed.

Oddly, I was talking to my daughter Nori about this the other night. Every successful entrepreneur, from the solo SBI! Netrepreneur to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, obsesses over his/her business.

It can drive my wife crazy, when my eyes go far away during dinner... she knows I'm thinking about business, whether it's a new feature or a better way to handle something... whatever. And it can drive me crazy when she starts talking about a way to do something better in the admin parts of SiteSell.

Now, this may or may not happen when you are new to SBI!, when you are learning, struggling to understand certain key concepts or master a new technique. It's normal to focus on the learning curve. But as you get that under your belt, as you start to "get it" and to realize the likelihood of business success, you start to get excited.

So...

Start an idea list. Add to it... A new way to monetize. Some way you'd like to improve your L&F. A great idea for a new page. Soon you'll sub-categorize ideas into Content, Monetization, etc. The more you become obsessed about your business, the greater the chances of getting a truly great idea and many smaller good ones... the greater your chance of success.

Of course, it's easier to do it once you get "over the hump" and start to see your traffic snowball happen. But don't wait for that -- start a "to-do" list now, whether it's in your computer, your phone, or wherever, however.

All the best,

Add to Delicious

Digg this

Sometimes I Wonder How I Survived Childhood

Ken's Blog

The degree of government regulation is one of the problems stifling America and so many other countries. Some of it, like the upcoming "HR 4040" legislation in the U.S., starts with a kernel of good intention (protecting children) but soon falls terribly on the wrong side of the 99.999/0.001 coin.

-----SIDEBAR-----
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
of 2008, which goes into effect February 10, 2009,
mandates that all items sold for use by children
under 12 must be tested by an independent party
for lead and phthalates.

All untested items, regardless of lead
content, are to be declared banned hazardous
products.
-----SIDEBAR-----

Sheesh! Sometimes I wonder how I survived childhood. No seat belts. No lead testing. No helmet while riding a bike. I'm a living miracle. Hey, come to think of it, so are you!

OK, seriously...