Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #016
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Sales from the EDGE Issue #016
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Sales from the EDGE
Breaking Through the "White Noise" Of Selling on the Net
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>From time to time, the EDGE publishes important updates that
you need to SELL on the Net. Most "latest and greatest" Net
marketing & sales developments simply waste our time. Today's
"hot new technology" is tomorrow's "whatever happened to?"
Occasionally, though, something comes along that STICKS. It
might NOT even be NEW... but we need to be reminded. When
that happens, the EDGE cuts through all the "white noise" of
Web marketing. It explains the issue and outlines clearly
how YOU can best take advantage of it.
SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent ONLY to SiteSell product owners.
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March 24, 2001
Issue #016
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
o SITESELL NEWS
1) Analyze This!
2) The 98% Solution For Submitting To AltaVista
o ARTICLE
1) GoTo's Pricing Changes
2) Getting the Most Out of GoTo's Changes
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>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>-News-
---1---
>-News-
Analyse This!
Last week we announced the completion of the Analyze It!
module to our Site Build It! Subscribers. The feedback has
been awesome -- after all, what's NOT to like if you become
as good at SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as the pros?
Thanks to everyone for their kind words!
Now, there's...
NO NEED to buy and learn a keyword density analyzer.
NO NEED to master Web Position Gold.
NO NEED to read, read, read to keep up. We do that for you.
NO NEED to put your calls on hold, and retire to a cold,
dark room for two weeks.
Just click the "Analyze It" button and Site Build It! tells
you exactly what to do to score higher with the engines for
all of your keywords.
-----SIDEBAR-----
The secret is to create content, lots of it.
Which would you rather have? 3 dozen pages, of which half
fit the best match at a top ranking engine... or two pages
that you've slaved over for a week, of which both score
high?
And when the engines shuffle their algorithm, guess what?
Both of your "slaved" pages disappear. But, while some of
your SBI! pages do drop down, others replace them since none
are that far off from scoring well.
Simply put...
CREATE CONTENT, tons and tons of profitable content (SBI!
shows you how). Then OPTIMIZE your pages such that all
have a chance, with a good percentage of them scoring high.
No doubt about it...
SBI! gives you all the tools to become an SEO master.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Best of all, there's no learning curve for the proper use of
the Analyze It! tool. Press the "Analyze It!" button,
follow the simple instructions, and re-analyze. That's all
there is to it!
Analyze It!...
Puts technology on autopilot!
Where it belongs. :-)
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
>-News-
---2---
>-News-
The 98% Solution For Submitting To AltaVista
Last week, AltaVista changed its submission protocols.
Check this out...
http://add-url.altavista.com/cgi-bin/newurl?
This new submission page dynamically generates an 8 digit
GRAPHIC code (letters and numbers in various different
fonts, all embedded within a graphic). Because of the way
that they've done it, there's no way to "read this" with a
script.
-----SIDEBAR-----
The term "dynamically generates" means that the graphic
changes every time you visit that page.
-----SIDEBAR-----
*YOU* must correctly enter this code into a text box (in
addition to the URL of the page you wish to add), in order
to have your URL successfully queued for spidering and
addition to the AltaVista index.
Why do they want *YOU* to do all this?
Like I said, it forces you to be there to submit -- there is
no way to automatically parse the code from the page. This
prevents vast quantities of low-quality remote submission
programs from entering thousands of spammy, low-level,
no-content, gateway pages. In short, mass-submission
programs will no longer work.
Successful addition into the AltaVista index means that a
real live human visited the site and manually entered the
desired pages. The good news is...
This will improve the quality of the AV index. It will
increase the likelihood that genuine sites will be spidered
and indexed much more quickly. And you won't have to
compete against all those zillions of spammy pages.
Great news, right? Yes, but...
Because the graphic changes all the time, and because
there's no way to parse it, there is *no* possible way to
automate the process of submitting your site to AltaVista.
All those popular submitting software programs... now are
rendered useless by AltaVista. They may even be watching to
see which IP addresses fail over and over at AltaVista, and
then ban those pages, or assign them negative numbers in
their ranking algorithms.
If you were an engine, wouldn't you?
Be careful out there. And...
For those of you who own Site Build It!, check out the...
> "98% Solution."
No need to submit through the AltaVista submit page. No
need to enter URLs since Site Build It! already knows. And
when you click to submit, Site Build It! records the date of
submission, and reports it.
When we launch the spider-reporting module, having the date
of submission will become extremely important. Why?
Because for ALL engines, Site Build It! resubmits
automatically if a spider doesn't come. For Alta Vista, it
will send you an e-mail to remind you to re-submit.
Yes, you still have a bit of work to do... but our AV
Submitter is definitely the 98% solution.
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
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>> THIS ISSUE'S ARTICLE
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---1---
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GoTo.com's Pricing Changes
Unless you've been holed up under a rock these last few
weeks, you've probably heard roars of outrage generated by
GoTo's new pricing policies. Doubtless you have an opinion
on them, too! ;-)
If you're a little shaky on the details, here's the gist of
them...
o GoTo has implemented a minimum monthly charge of $20.
In other words, if your monthly click-throughs don't total
at least $20, GoTo will subtract the difference from your
account.
Comments: Not really a big deal. If your business can't
sustain $20 a month in advertising, you don't need me to
tell you you're in trouble. Just be sure you get $20 worth
of QUALITY clicks!
o GoTo has raised its minimum bid amount from $.01 to $.05.
Comments: Ouch! This is the one that really hurts us. In
one fell swoop, GoTo has severely limited our ability to
effectively target those hidden gems... at a nickle a click,
it simply may not be worthwhile anymore.
To soften the blow somewhat, GoTo has "grandfathered" all
accounts until Sept 1, 2001. That means all your 1 cent
bids remain in effect until that time. There's a caveat, of
course...
You can't change your bids. Should you decide to, your next
minimum bid is $.05. Since your 1-penny bids are probably
niche-targeted keywords, you're probably fairly safe leaving
things exactly as they are. Remember, if anyone wants to
compete for your word, they'll have to begin bidding at a
nickle.
Existing accounts are also exempted from the $20 minimum
charge until Sept 1, 2001.
o GoTo has raised the minimum amount required to start-up
an account from $25 to $50.
Comments: No biggie!
So, those are the changes. Analysis is below.
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---2---
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Getting the Most Out of GoTo's Changes
I'm not going discuss what *I* think about these changes.
It's totally irrelevant. The changes are here to stay, and
that's final. There's no point in us ranting and raving
about them -- it doesn't change anything.
What we need to do NOW is address the issues, and see how
we can best deal with these new policies.
Let's focus on how to turn what many perceive to be a
negative, into a positive. Believe it or not, GoTo's
actions may actually help us become better, more efficient
marketers!
No, I haven't gone off my rocker. Yes, I *am* serious!
Here's why...
At a penny a click, most of us can afford to be a little
lax when it comes to the traffic we attract, and the Web
pages we send that traffic to.
Not anymore.
Now we have to be 5-times as efficient in our targeted
traffic efforts. If you've got your hard-hats on (we'll be
working from here-on in), let's see how we can best deal
with GoTo's changes...
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #1
o Investigate other Pay-Per-Clicks.
GoTo doesn't have a monopoly on paid listings. Although
they don't get the same amount of traffic, there are other
Pay-Per-Clicks worth considering. After GoTo, your best
bets are (in descending of popularity)...
Bay9
http://www.bay9.com/
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FindWhat
http://www.findwhat.com/
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7Search.com
http://www.7search.com/
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Kanoodle
http://www.kanoodle.com/
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For more...
http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/
Of course, for anyone who has manually built a list of
hundreds of keywords (plus doing the research for the top 20
listings, preparing your bids, submitting your bids, etc,
etc. for each of those keywords), the idea of dismantling it
and doing it all over again at each of the other
Pay-Per-Clicks is disheartening, to say the least.
That's where owners of Site Build It! enjoy a HUGE
advantage. You see, Site Build It! is fully compatible with
7 other major Pay-Per-Clicks.
And what's the really cool part?
Setting up additional pay-per-click campaigns requires
absolutely *No" extra work (unless pressing two buttons
constitutes "work"). :-)
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #2
o Review your bids... keywords, titles, descriptions and
destinations
1) Review your keywords -- Any words that are only
marginally targeted to your site's focus will probably not
be worthwhile purchasing any longer. Get rid of them now!
2) Next, review your titles and descriptions -- Remember,
you only want people interested in what you have to offer
clicking through to your site. Are your titles absolutely
clear? Are the descriptions really attracting highly
targeted visitors only? Or a pile of semi-targeted visitors?
With the increase to 5 cent minimum bids, you can no longer
afford to market to semi-targeted visitors.
3) Double check your destination URLs -- Make sure your
destination link at GoTo directs the visitor to the most
relevant page. Do not direct a visitor to your home page and
let her try to figure out where she's supposed to go.
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #3
o Review all the steps in your income-generating process,
from your Site Build It! site to those merchants with
affiliate sites who you represent (if you earn affiliate
income), and also on your own sales sites.
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*IF YOU'RE AN AFFILIATE...*
PREselling a merchant partner's product? If so...
1) Review your own Web site. Are you effectively PREselling
your visitors through to your merchant partner's sites? Is
your Valuable PREselling Proposition (VPP) crystal clear?
This is important!
----SIDEBAR----
Not so clear on the VPP and its importance? Review the
Affiliate Masters Course. If you've misplaced it, just send
a blank e-mail to...
tams@sitesell.net
----END SIDEBAR----
2) Site Build It! owners should go one step farther...
Review the "Click In" and "Click Through" data in the Site
Build It! InfoCenter of Site Central.
3) Review your merchant partner's site. Is it *really* a
Site that SELLS? Does it inspire confidence in its
visitors? If it isn't, and if it doesn't, you'd be better
off promoting something else.
Bottom line?
Dump the non-performers. Why buy clicks for products that
don't sell, or affiliate programs that generate lousy
returns and fewer sales? Concentrate on promoting your most
popular, highly profitable products or programs. Everything
else is deadwood. Get rid of it.
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*IF YOU'RE A MERCHANT...*
Selling your own product(s) directly from your own site?...
Review your own Web site. Is it really a Site that SELLS?
Is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) clear? Is your
call to action clear? Do visitors know exactly what they're
getting with your product? In short...
Is your Conversion Rate as good as it could be? What can
you do to improve it?
----SIDEBAR----
As a result of GoTo's price increases, several online
discussions have turned towards the quality of the traffic
generated by advertising on the GoTo network.
The problem lies with the way GoTo's listings are displayed
on partner's sites -- many label them as "Sponsored
Listings". This label may make many surfers wary -- they'll
suspect they're about to be advertised to. Arriving at a
Web site with negative preconceptions means less people will
buy, especially when they find their suspicions were right!
How to know whether you're getting your money's worth?
Again, SBI! Subscribers enjoy a huge advantage...
They can use the Link Tracker and the "Click In/Click
Through" data to their greatest advantage. By setting a
tracking link for all of their GoTo.com buys (and each of
the other Pay-Per-Clicks), they can make sure that all
clicks are reported accurately. You can even use the
Click-Through data to see how many visitors are clicking
to their income-generating sites!
----END SIDEBAR----
Bottom line?
Spend advertising dollars only on your best selling, most
popular items. Get your money's worth.
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #4
o Prominent E-zine Sign-Ups
Any pay-per-click advertising tends to be a hit-and-miss
affair -- with many more "misses", than "hits."
To improve the long-term efficiency of your pay-per-click
advertising, be sure to place your e-zine sign-up form
prominently on your most important entry pages... work to
capture those e-mail addresses!
Remember...
Your e-zine is your backup response -- your opportunity to
stay in touch with visitors *after* they have left your Web
site.
Site Build It! has this base covered as well. Subscribers
will have access to the upcoming E-zine MailOut Module that
will allow them to build and manage their own e-zine mailing
list directly from their own sites.
Yes, at no added cost.
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #5
o Investigate other advertising opportunities.
Advertising dollars are in short supply these days... it's
a virtual buyers market! Pay-per-click engines are only a
small cog in the over-all traffic-generating machinery --
e-zine advertising, endorsement marketing, paying for Search
Engine inclusion -- only a few of the many ways to drive
targeted traffic to your site.
Try this site on for size...
http://www.ezineadauction.com/
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GoTo Guerilla Tactic #6
o Work the *Free" Search Engines.
Cheap targeted traffic from the GoTo network has meant many
of us have shifted our attention away from the engines that
still generate free traffic. Perhaps now would be a good
time to review your most important pages.
Don't go overboard! Just review the basics...
o Keyword(s) in the <TITLE> tag.
o Keyword(s) in the <META> tags.
o Keyword(s) in the <H1> tags.
o Keyword(s) in the body text.
o Keyword(s) in the <A HREF> link tags.
Or, if you're a Site Build It! owner, use that "Analyze It!"
button. It scrutinizes your page according to 30 SEO
(Search Engine Optimization) rules and suggests how to
improve your page. Talk about getting the most traffic for
your time!
http://buildit.sitesell.com/
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BOTTOM LINE with GoTo?
At the end of day...
The pricing increase isn't a personal attack on us, the
small business owners. It's just business... that's all!
Yes, I know that we don't care that GoTo's new partnerships
have left it a little strapped for cash.
But if GoTo goes under, we all lose.
Annoying as this "moderate" increase in the minimum bid may
seem, a nickle for a top listing across the entire GoTo
partner network, which includes...
o AltaVista
o Go
o HotBot
o AOL
o Lycos
o Direct Hit
... and many others, remains a pretty good deal. It's still
one of the best on the Net, provided you're targeting the
correct keywords, and your titles and descriptions are good,
of course.
And a real bargain compared to programs like Google's.
However...
Be a mercenary. Track the results from your GoTo campaign
ruthlessly.
GoTo's business decision is calculated to make as much money
off you, with as little work as possible.
That's all.
At the end of the day, you should be trying to do the same.
Get as much value out of them as possible. If a keyword is
not pulling its weight, take the delicious satisfaction of
giving the boot to GoTo -- yes, just like they gave the boot
to us! Instead, buy from their competitors.
If it makes sense to use them, by all means do so!
Don't boycott them on principle, if it doesn't make financial
sense to do so. You can bet your competitors won't.
"It's just business. Nothing personal."
Tell them the same. Show them the same.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SiteSell Discount Directory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
Please bookmark this page -- it's the only page that you
will EVER need to buy SiteSell products at an owners-only
discount. For owners of SiteSell products ONLY, it provides
discounts on all products, except for the Electronic Version
of MYSS! -- if I reduced the price on it, I'd have to pay
*you* to buy it! ;-)
SiteSell Discount Directory
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
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Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.,
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2001 SiteSell.com
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