Neil Shearing’s Internet Marketing Strategies

I was sent a question about PageRank… specifically, how can you best link your website pages together to maximize your PageRank?

Well, firstly, a few caveats…

1: If you try to boost PageRank at some pages in your site, realize that other pages will suffer… they will lose PageRank. You only have a certain amount of PageRank coming into your site. Be sure you know where you want to target it before you try distributing the PageRank.

Do you want your “homepage” to have the lion’s share of the PageRank (if your site is targetting one highly competitive keyword), your “category” pages (if your site targets several reasonably competitive keywords, one per “category” page) or your “article” pages (if your site targets many long-tail, low-competition keywords from many different “article” pages).

Note, the distinction of “homepage”, “category” and “article” pages may mean different things in your site structure… but I’m basically using it to mean “one”, “several” and “many” pages.

2: Make sure you’re only linking pages within a site. Linking multiple sites together can look artificial to the search engines and can require you to have different websites on different IP-blocks which means different webhosts, and that can be a hassle. If you’re going to attempt linking multiple sites together, be prepared.

OK, so the simple answer is that how you link your pages really depends on which pages within your site you want to have PageRank. Point as many “donor” pages to the “recipient” pages as you can, and don’t have links back to the donor pages unless you include the “nofollow” tag.

Sabrina O’Malone was kind enough to give a nice mention about me and my Internet Success Blueprint product in her March newsletter, so I’m more than happy to return the favour… especially when she compares me to James Bond…

(”Neil has a cool English accent –kind of like having James Bond teach you how to work online”)

[I really need to add that to my sig file, or the blog header graphic! I think it’s the best quote I’ve heard in 10 years of selling online.]

The newsletter is a great read, with excellent tips for beginners wanting to make money online. There’s even some valuable GoDaddy.com coupon codes for you to get discounts on GoDaddy.com domain registrations.

It seems like the venerable Overture (Yahoo) Keyword Suggestion Tool is to be allowed to slowly fade into Internet history. According to this report, Yahoo have said they will discontinue support for the tool. I guess it’s time to update your bookmarks to Google’s Adwords who give you a ton of free search information. If you’re looking for a professional tool, check out the excellent Nichebot.

Once in a while I get migraines that last for a few days. They’re not much fun. I basically hide from the world for a few days… hence the lack of blogging. Did you miss me?

… online or offline.

Yes, this is a vague generalization. But look at the facts.

If you work with your hands… packing, digging or assembling, you’re not thinking… you’re doing. You’re easily replaced. You’re a cog in a larger machine.

If you consult with people, they pay you for thinking. You can charge more for your time because you’re not easy to replace. You will have skills that most people do not.

If you take the time to think through how a business runs, set one up, take the hard knocks and master the steep learning curve, you’re definitely using your brain, and the rewards will follow.

The more you use your brain, the greater the rewards will be. If you just put up a website using content freely available at other websites, you’re not really thinking, you’re doing.

Take the time to look objectively at what you’re going to do to make money. Are other people doing it? If so, you’ll need to think of a way to do what they’re doing better than they’re doing it.

If they’re building a page writing HTML code by hand, you could use a web-editor. If they’re typing articles by hand, you could use a ghostwriter, or pre-written semi-exclusive articles from other sources. If they’re submitting articles to article directories by hand, you can try to think of a better, faster way.

Use your brain to think your way to success. Most people don’t.

Michael Campbell is usually very reserved, professional and thoughtful.

But not this time!

At his blog he’s posted a critical comment from a newsletter subscriber.

For a start, that’s impressive and should be congratulated. How many Internet marketers would make a post at their own blog that starts with an attack on them?

I know I don’t let a single squeak of criticism about me appear on my blog. I’m 100% pro-censorship. No way would I allow negative comments… let alone start a blog post with someone saying unkind things about me.

(that was a joke, by the way. I try to let this blog be an open and free discussion. Otherwise, what’s the point? A big ego-trip for the blog publisher. Whoopee)

OK, so back to Michael’s Blog. The unkind person said things like, “What you said in IMS #115 is a bunch of cr*p” and “You are a liar”. Ouch.

So how did Michael respond?

Well, let’s just say he took his gloves off and rolled up his sleeves.

Click here to read the blog post in full.

In an ever-growing hype, hype, hype environment, it’s really refreshing to come across an ebook which genuinely delivers valuable advice at a great price.

I’ve just reviewed “Ordinary People Extraordinary Income” by Dan Lok. In this 190-page ebook Dan details nine interviews he did with ordinary people who have made money online. Not just a little bit of money, but $50,000 To $2,000,000 each year.

Learning from people who are succeeding is a great way to see what you should be doing in your own online business.

You’ll find out exactly how they did it by either reading the PDF transcript (190-page ebook) or upgrading to both the PDF and MP3 audio files (so that you can listen to the hour-long interviews too).

There’s way too much info in the ebook for me to describe here. Check out Dan’s full description of everything the interviews reveal.

… if the crazy British pound keeps rising.

“The pound soared to its highest since September 1992 against the dollar as signs growth in Europe’s second-biggest economy is quickening stoke speculation the Bank of England will raise interest rates again this year.

The U.K. currency is at its strongest since billionaire investor George Soros and other speculators drove it out of Europe’s system of linked exchange rates. It was also near its best versus the euro since January 2003, buoyed by the fastest economic expansion in two years.” (source)

I’m looking for one or two quality ghostwriters, preferably with experience. I’m looking for about 50 articles per month and would be willing to pay $350 for about 400-500 words per article of totally original content. I may not require the articles each and every month, so please don’t apply if you’d want me to guarantee you work.

If you’re interested in doing this, please make a comment below and include a way to contact you… preferrably an email. If you’d like to remain anonymous, please use my support ticket system to let me know you’re interested. Having English as a primary language is probably a requirement too.

I think I’ll make a category for posts about Google’s “supplemental index” as I seem to be a bit fixated on it.

I was just meandering around the web and found this at Matt Cutts blog . It’s from Jan 2007, so it’s bang up to date, from the horse’s mouth info…

“As a reminder, supplemental results aren’t something to be afraid of; I’ve got pages from my site in the supplemental results, for example. A complete software rewrite of the infrastructure for supplemental results launched in Summer o’ 2005, and the supplemental results continue to get fresher. Having urls in the supplemental results doesn’t mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank. If you used to have pages in our main web index and now they’re in the supplemental results, a good hypothesis is that we might not be counting links to your pages with the same weight as we have in the past. The approach I’d recommend in that case is to use solid white-hat SEO to get high-quality links (e.g. editorially given by other sites on the basis of merit).”

So, lots of marketers are now frantically trying to get you to buy Pipeline Profits which went LIVE!!! today.

And they’re all frantically trying to out-do each other with their own “value added” bonuses.

Check these out…

John Reese: “I am going to hold a private 90-minute teleseminar for all of the people that purchase through my affiliate link…”

Mike Filsaime: “P.P.S. You’re going to get the entire DVD package to my SOLD OUT $5,000 workshop–the same DVDs that I’d planned on quietly using instead of selling–if you buy Buck and Brock’s pipeline course through this link here”

Brad Fallon: “Let’s add it all up:

*Stomping the Search Engines $295

*Profits from Physical Products DVD course $1296

*China Proits (sic) DVDs $15,000 value

Total value: $16,491.

***WARNING***: All three of these courses can NOT be purchased–and if you want to buy Profit Pipeline just to get them that’s fine, but you’re going to be in the same FOOT RACE as everyone else to get you slot.

Remember, you can ONLY get these bonuses if you SUCCESSFULLY buy through the link I’m JUST ABOUT to provide you with.”

Michael Cheney: “You are getting a very special opportunity to join the one and only Brock Felt himself and me on a Private Live Learning Teleseminar!”

… and there are probably umpteen million more offers being made that I’m not aware of.

Oh, of course, there are only 500 places available (initially) and the first 200 get something totally valuable by Frank Kern… some email marketing course or other… another “bonus” to add to the pile.

Would it surprise you to learn that all this incredible cut-throat marketing is because of just $700 commission per sale?

Surely that’s not a huge amount of money to these people? I mean… there are only 500 places, so, unless I’ve been misinformed, the “average” super affiliate selling one or two places isn’t really going to walk off with a truckload of cash.

OK, I know that in the “real world” $700 is a lot of money to most people. But these “big name” marketers, who are paraded as the million dollar guys, should they really be fighting a cut-throat battle with each other over these limited sales?

Your thoughts?

And, hey, if you want the course, pick one of the guys above to buy from, ‘cos I’m not offering any bonuses, or even an affiliate link.

I’m sometimes amused by the contrasts I see. Earlier this morning I was busy sending emails here, there and everywhere across the planet via the ‘net… and about an hour later, I saw a local farmer buy a sack of potatoes from a local supplies yard (where I was getting sawdust bedding for our small animals), put the sack of “spuds” in his tractor and drive off.

It’s great fun running a digital business from a rural location. Potatoes and emails! Ooo-arrr!

Richard Grady, a fellow Brit who’s been making money online almost as long as I have and who has a wealth of knowledge about making money on eBay, has dropped his long-running (5-years!) Online Trader newsletter in favor of launching a new audio podcast.

With a clever twist, he’s calling it a “wad”-cast. A “wad” is large roll of banknotes. Apparently it’s not only a slang English word… which I thought… my wife informs me that Americans know the word too… so it’s a genuine English word… thankfully. You don’t really want to accidentally market to only a fraction of the people online.

OK, the name’s smart… but will people listen to the 30-minute “wadcast” every two weeks? Only if the content’s great. In true audio-broadcasting style Richard has hooked up with Stuart Morrison to “chat” throughout the wadcast on various money-making topics. In the first episode… currently on the homepage… they talk about John Reese’s “multiple streams of income”, New Year’s Resolutions, Flash animations/intros and various other topics related to making money online.

Take a look… it’s something original and refreshing in a world where I get continually bombarded by “me too” email messages from “me too” marketers.

(Plus there’s the first Wadcast competition with a $197 Internet marketing course up for grabs!)

What do you think? Is podcasting a great marketing technique? Are Richard and Stuart doing it well? What would you do differently? Would you download the wadcast from iTunes to your iPod nano and listen to it on the train or in your car?

Interesting findings I uncovered recently… a website can be banned from the Adsense service without the actual publisher’s account being banned. The publisher is still free to run Adsense ads on other websites.

Now, this is a smart move by Google. As it’s probably not cost-effective for them to police all sites, this tactic basically lets low traffic sites do what they want, but as soon as a site gets decent traffic, they had better be playing by the rules because if Google checks into the site and sees non-compliance, they’ll hit the site with a permanent ban.

Once the news spreads, medium and high traffic sites will all fall into compliance for fear of losing their Adsense revenue. Meanwhile, low traffic sites can try to bend the rules if they wish, but as soon as they start getting some real traffic, they’d better wise up and become compliant with the rules or risk losing the Adsense income they worked hard to build up.

I was considering joining Filinet because of a recommendation I received for their service. So I signed up and then had to wait for approval.

I just got an email asking for a “phone interview“, “a link to your websites Privacy Policy” and a “valid SS or FEI number. If you are not based in the US, then you must supply a W8 Form and two trade reference with contact name, company name and telephone number.”

Sheesh!

I don’t know if they request that info from everyone who asks to join, or they just didn’t like my application!

I’ve taken this from Michael Campbell’s Internet Marketing Secrets blog. I don’t normally reprint anyone else’s posts verbatim, but Michael has summed everything up neatly in one post. That’s what I like about Michael… crystal clear, actionable info.

From his blog…

—
Adobe Acrobat Security Alert

If you haven’t updated to Acrobat 8 or higher, you may want to do so right away. It is immune to a security flaw that plagues versions 7 and earlier. If your computer is too old to update to version 8, Adobe recommends a full install of the patched version 7.

According to Adobe, “”The flaw let hackers use a technique known as cross-site scripting, in which they blend malicious JavaScript with a link to a Portable Document Format (PDF) file on a Web site to hijack a user’s computer.

The problem does not affect PDF documents themselves, and can only be used when someone attempts to retrieve a PDF document by clicking a malicious link, such as one a spammer might embed in unwanted e-mail.”"

So please note, there are no security issues with the actual PDF files. According to my hosting company MaxNetHosting.com, “To be a risk, it means that a hacker would have to hack a hosting account and inject the javascript code into the URL of the PDF file.

They told me that they, “”Have a whole arsenal of security measures on the MaxNet servers, but most hacks are at application level, due to security holes in the PHP code. Hackers can exploit those holes to do a lot of things.”"

But of course someone could download a PDF, and then upload it to their server and put the nasty code in the link. So as always, don’t open attachments, or PDF files from strangers… or even from people you know, unless you were expecting something, as it’s very easy to spoof an email address.

The easiest and safest thing to do, is to upgrade to the latest version of Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Professional, for those of you owning the full app, including Acrobat Exchange and the Distiller.

Here are the official Adobe Security Bulletins and Advisories:

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/index.html

Update your Adobe Acrobat Reader here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

—

Thanks for the info, Michael. By the way, if you don’t want to upgrade to version 8, there are other options recently described by Adobe here.

As always, be careful what you click on … it could be a phishing email, an infected Word document or a link to a PDF containing “cross-site scripting”!

A week ago, PayPerPost.com added $100 to my account. I guess they wanted me to start using the account. I’d previously set up an account, but hadn’t “funded” it. So, providing I used it within 3 days, they said they’d add $100 to the balance. Nice.

So I posted an “opportunity” for their network of bloggers to write about this blog. They’d get paid $5 per post (if PayPerPost.com approved it) and I’d pay for a maximum of 15 posts ($15 x 5 = $75, plus service fees = $98.75). I’m not exactly sure how they calculate the service fees… it seems a bit high to me… but it’s not my service.

So, I’d basically use the free $100 to get 15 posts about this site on people’s blogs.

My opportunity was approved on Thursday and today, one week after the initial email, I see that 15 people have blogged about NeilShearing.com as a result of using the service.

Apparently, those posts have resulted in 1600+ views. I’m slightly skeptical about that number because most of the blogs have little or no PR… and 1100 views have come from just one post. Hmmm. Still, I was doing it more for the links than the traffic, and 15 nice shiny new links to the blog is exciting… especially as it was free money I was paying the bloggers with.

(If you plan to use PayPerPost to earn money, you’ll need to clearly say on your blog that you’re accepting sponsorship)

Well, almost no-one!

Check out the latest stats from Mike Liebner…

Last month data (as of today):

December 16, 2006 350 set 1 191
December 16, 2006 350 set 2 133
December 16, 2006 350 set 3 121

So, of the 350 people who are entitled to download each set, less than 150 people on average do. For one set, only 121 people downloaded the articles!

… and that’s only counting the downloads. How many people who download the articles will actually do anything with them… like build a website… and then promote that website?

My guess? Almost no-one.

That means next-to-no search engine competition for these articles. So that’s 400 articles which almost no-one uses, for $97 per month. If you’re looking for content, this is a true no-brainer. Especially when you consider the excellent blog announcement system Mike lets you access for free to promote your sites.