Just when you thought the linkbait saga had started to die a slow death… it seems Lyndon Antcliff may be at it again in the unlikely location of the land down under. Perhaps looking to avoid the fallout from the money.co.uk linkbait scandal, rumours are rife that Lyndon has flown into Australia to continue to work away from the intense spotlight. Indeed, some are even suggesting he has converted to offline media in an attempt to keep a low profile. However, despite his best efforts to remain anonymous, a recent marketing campaign has all the imprints of a Lyndoman special…
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The Internet is still a relatively new tool in the marketing mix. Sure… it’s been commercialised for over a decade, but it’s a mere baby when compared to TV, radio and print. As a result there’s a LOT of business people (and even marketing people) with more dollars than Internet marketing sense. So they come to us for help. They come to us with their problems… and their grand ideas. The only problem in this equation is sometimes their ideas really suck. So what happens when they’re not willing to deviate from their totally sucky plans…? Do we take their cash and implement a plan we know won’t work? Or do we take an ethical stance and tell them to take their ideas elsewhere…?
The long tail of search truly is a wonderful thing. For new bloggers like myself it offers a rare opportunity to pull in a little organic search traffic. And believe me… that ain’t such an easy thing to do for new bloggers in the digital marketing space. After all… you’re competing against an industry of SEO’s. Every search engine referral is like a little nugget of gold… or is it…? While reviewing my top search rankings in Google Webmaster Tools I came across a few peculiar phrases that made me chuckle…
Blogging can be a tough gig. I generally summarise my blogging experiences in a couple of words - rewarding, inspiring, engrossing & addictive. But there are also days when ‘pain in the ass’ enters my mind (usually when I’m still in the office at 10pm). Blogging is an ongoing commitment and most of us will encounter days when motivation and inspiration is lacking. But what happens if/when the camel’s back finally breaks and you decide you’ve had enough? Could you sell your soul blog…? And more importantly… would anyone really be interested in buying it?
Just a quick post today to celebrate the loss of my PageRank virginity. It seems the Googlebot has finally decided to recognise my humble little blog. Now… I know that little green bar within the Google toolbar means very little… my good pal Dave told me so. But I do still tend to believe toolbar PageRank contributes to the social proof that influences perceived authority, just like Jonathon Fields wrote earlier this week (super article).
So a quick huzzah to me for reaching PageRank 3 within 4 months of launching the blog. Not bad considering I’ve done diddly squat to optimise the thing. Methinks it’s time to unleash the optimisation beast within…
It was only a few weeks ago that I diagnosed myself with a severe case of schizophrenia. Yet just as I come to terms with the reality of living with split personalities, I’ve been hit with another revelation… The torment doesn’t end there! You see… it has come to my attention that ever since I started blogging I’ve been behaving differently… and not just in your regular split personality sort of way. Oh no… it’s far worse than that. I’ve become obsessed… with blogging! That’s right… I’ve developed a little case of obsessive compulsive disorder. Crap!
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Hey folks. You may have noticed it’s been a little while since my last post. Rest assured I haven’t lost motivation or creative inspiration… I’ve just temporarily lost my health (and my lunch on more than a few occasions). I guess that’s what happens when you burn the candle at both ends… Anywhoo, I’m on the mend and am hoping to be posting again by tomorrow. Until then…
Social media is a pretty basic process. Up until now I thought I had it all figured out - people submit content to their favourite community (such as Digg, Sphinn or StumbleUpon), other people read it and then vote for the stories they like. The articles that generate the most votes get the greatest exposure. Simple huh…? Sure… except it seems we’ve been taking one thing for granted… the fact that people actually read the stories…
Is it just me, or is anyone else out there getting a little tired of the generic Top 10 articles that flood the blogosphere…? It seems everywhere I go I’m confronted with a list that will revolutionise my digital life:
“10 ways to optimise your blog in 10 minutes”
“The Top 10 ways to use social media to build your brand”
“10 ways Twitter enhances your cyber-stalking capabilities” (Ok… I made that one up)
Etc, etc… Sound familiar…? Personally, I’m so sick of this article format that I thought I’d develop my own little Top 10 list - Ten reasons why Top 10 lists suck!
The war between good and evil continues. But in a significant development, Dr Jekyll has landed a major blow against the evil Mr Hyde. It seems the world was quite amused with my case of schizophrenia. And the social media community in particular rallied behind Dr Jekyll’s cause. The end result was a traffic spike that sent Dr Jekyll into orgasmic overload…
I’m not crazy… at least I think I’m not. But of late I have noticed a certain phenomenon… certain behavioural traits… certain feelings… that just aren’t quite normal. In fact, I’m convinced I am the first person to recognise and diagnose their own split personality. Luckily, I seem to have a handle on both personalities. Furthermore, I’m also inherently aware of the potion that sparks my own transformation… social media. Allow me to introduce you to my alter egos - Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde.
Hey folks. Just a quick note to say I’m taking a few days off from blogging over the long Easter weekend. So I won’t be posting any new articles for a few days. I suspect most readers/authors have similar intentions, so the care factor is likely to be zero… 
Anyways… enjoy the long weekend and have a great Easter.
I have a theory. I’m sure it’s true. And it goes like this - Digital marketers are sluts! That’s right… sluts. They love jumping in to bed with new customers… they love the thrill of the chase… so much so that a range of sub industries have emerged to fulfill this primal urge (think SEO, Pay-Per-Click, Affiliate marketing etc). But when it comes to the development of meaningful long-term customer relationships, they’re out the door before the sun has risen…
Find your niche. It’s the marketing buzz phrase for 2008. Seth Godin probably has a lot to do with that, as he continues to spread the love for niche marketing via his blog. And when Seth talks… people listen (for good reason)! It seems like every man and his dog is trying to establish their own little blogging niche (myself included). And while I generally subscribe to the whole niche marketing theory, it’s not without its limitations…
It may almost be the end of Friday (at least here in Australia), but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for the latest installment of the Friday F#ckwit. And while the segment proved to be extremely unpopular (40% of my small subscriber base left after the first installment), I’ve decided to bring it back. After all… it’s my blog and I’ll rant if I want to…
One of my favourite segments on Australian radio is called the Friday f#ckwit (censorship in Oz radio ain’t that strict). During this segment the hosts and their listeners nominate people who have pissed them off for some reason, thereby earning the title of f#ckwits. It gives me a good laugh every week, but I have never felt compelled enough to make a nomination, until I came across the most inane piece of online copywriting drivel I’ve ever read. So today, I make my first nomination for the Friday f#ckwit… digital marketing style.
Ok… I admit it… I grossly underestimated the time required to establish and maintain a blog. By no means did I ever expect it to be easy, but I have found myself a little overawed by the time I’m putting into it (part by necessity and part by addiction). In fact, it got me thinking about the sacrifices we make in order to create and maintain an online presence…
Blog regularly. It’s the unwritten rule of the blogosphere. Actually… what the hell am I talking about? It’s probably THE most written about blogging rule on the web. Maki & Tony are just a few to discuss the virtues of regular blogging. So I won’t bother going any further into why it’s important. What I will do is show an example of the impact reduced blogging frequency has on your traffic.
I’m not going to lie… Setting this blog up wasn’t easy for me. While I’ve worked in the online space for over 5 years, domain names and web hosting aren’t topics that have particularly excited me. But over the course of the last few weeks I’ve had to learn and implement processes such as domain mapping, site exportation and ftp transfers/uploads. Before you nod off I’ll get to the point… it got me wondering about online marketers reliance on technical resources…